The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-11-28
By JOE ROSS

Aside from the fact that not only Birmingham, but the entire state of Alabama, is becoming known throughout the country as home of writers, this state can lay claim to writers covering as many different subjects as can any other section of the union.
 In this list may be found poetry, H. tivl, history, religious works, ar ucles on how to save frost bitten sugar cane. law, banking, transla- tons, or, in fact, almost anything one can think of.
 The remarkable thing In this con nection Is that all these people, the poets, the Actionists, the writers of technical works, the translators, have all been going along quietly for years, turning out their work seeing 1t ap- pear in magazine or book form. mak- ing their names count for something In the circles where such works are read, while their next-door neighbor may have known nothing of what they were accomplishing.
 There is many an Alabama name which is known from one end or llis country to the other because Of things the owner has written. while many of that persons acquaintances, coming in contact with him day after day, never realizes that the other is Interested in anything other than the humdrum matters of his every yday work.
 There are many reasons for this. One is that numbers of people do not read as much as they should. An other Is that there are lots of people ready to expect great things of peo- pie thousands of miles from them, but never seem to realize that the man or woman next door may be just as cap able as anyone in any other state.
 There are many people of fair in- telligence who place far too little importance on fiction, poetry. history, translations, technical articles and other works. There are others of more than fair intelligence who give these things but scant attention.
 But the people of Birmingham--of the entire state-are beginning now, just as have editors and publishers for some timA past, to realize that this city and state hold many writers of really worthwhile material. And as time goes on they will realize it more and more. and will come to know that while the product of the coal and
 
 of the forests, are valuable, that the product of these men and women who are placing their thoughts, their knowledge on paper, is of at least equal worth.
 Among these writers there Is Bir- mingham man who has a reputation second to none as an educator-as man whose ambition has ever been to see. young men and women go forth into the world equipped for the tasks they may find before them. But this man has not stopped at his regular duties. Despite the fact that his time has always been pretty well taken up with his work he has found time to write much which is valuable. His articles have attracted wide attention In educational circles, his translatons have instructed and delighted thou sands.
 This man is Dr. John c. Dawson, president of Howard college.
 Dr. Dawson was born at Huntsville. e. He received his A. B. at Georgetown (Kentucky) college In 1901; A. M. Howard college, 1910 (L. L. D., 191O. In addition he attended summer ses- sions of the University of Chicago, Cornell university, Columbia, and also studied in Germany and France, hay ing been a student at the University of Caen, France. In 1903 Dr. Dawson became a professor of modern lan- guages, dean since March, 1917, and from September, 1917, until February, 1919, was acting president of Howard college. He was with the educational corps of the United States army as American dean of student detach- ment. University of Toulouse, France March to July. 1919. He was pre-