The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-21

no valley nearby where a landing place could be constructed. But it is a good ly city for all that and one cannot help but like the peopIe nere, for, like those in Clay and Randolph counties, they do not put on airs and thank God that they are not as other men are.
 But I got jolt here. Entering the hotel the all-absorbing question of un- rest in the labor wor1U was under dis cussion, with the proprietor of the hots leading participant. Usually one finds these hotel men somewhat of diplomats, but this man would never grace the court of St. James, or any other court where 1t was necessary to hold ones viewpoint to himself This hotel man was strictly agin" all strikes and did not hestitate to say so. A strike with consequent tie-up of traffic is an entirely novel thing to these people, and the thing that seems to stick in the craws is that so great person as Uncle Sam cannot operate all his mall trains and they have to be content with modified form of serv- ice, but If I am any judge of public sentiment they are willing to bear any thing to have 1t definitely settled as to who is going to run this country" as the hotel man put it They have never had strike before-there will never be any more in this section if the great mass of the people can make them selves felt. Just what effect his out spoken utterances will have on his business remains to be- seen, but there is one thing certain, one hotel man ha , the courage of his convictions and does not hestitate to let 1t be known.
 ALL WANT TO HELP
 It is remarkable how people want to help man in trying to do something. When l got here last Monday every thing was tied up and no mail, express or freight could be moved except by truck. I got in touch with LaGrange over long distance and somehow the night operator got on to what I was trying to do and that fellow gave me connections right off the bat and helped me to get my parties in short order.
 MT. Will Hays ought to be proud of his posmasters from Talladega and La Grange. for they cerxaInly put their shoulders to the wheel and served the public in way to make him smile l got the postmaster q, LaGrange up in the night, told him what l wanted and the next morning at 5:30 he struck out across the country with the mail for Roanoke-and he made the trip in two hours, which shows that somehow Georgia has more efficiency in her road system than we nave, for they are much better than in adjoining ter ritory in Alabama. Arriving at Roan- oke the postmaster here took his seat on the truck and hurried away to in- land towns to let them read the papers and see that business was going to be done at the same old stand, strike O. no strike
 It was at Roanoke that heard my first incendiary utterance some crazy fool was blowing off about what would happen to the 'd--- millionaire" if he attempted to run train over the line into Roanoke. What got me was that he was blowing off in the presence of a policeman who made no attempt to close his blow-off valve. I suggested to him that he was hurting his friends in labor by such wild utterances, and finally calmed him down I know Rick Woodward well enough to know that nothing would have given him greater pleasure than to run an engine right under the nose of that poor fool.
 EXAMPLE OF GRIT
 Speaking of clean grit. l saw a piece of 1t recently. The first train that went into Manchester was operated by d young engineer whose sense of loyalty was such that he was willing to take his life in his hands if need be. As we rolled into the yards at Manchester a train had just passed from Atlanta, with large crowd of new men. and the situation was tense. Without any save that of citizens on the train, this young man ran the train in and turned around on the 'Y" to coms back. Not a thing could that chap get to eat nor could his fireman, who like wise calmly rode in and out of Man chester. When We got back to La orange the engineer got off and en- tered lunch stand, where he was re- fused food, and so was l. Has the closed shop idea run riot when a man engaged in public service IS refused food?
 who served us promptly and with that same reasonableness in price that we find in the Greek restaurants of Bir- mingham. We got away after few minutes delay and reached home with out mishap. The negro that fired from hneville to LaGrange and back into Birmingham on the first train that ran through deserves an extra lay-off, be- cause when he left the engine at the Elyton yards it did not take an exper, to see that he was about all in. He, too was a Rick Woodward product and had that same sense of loyalty to his boss that the engineer had. Can you possibly tie up traffic when million aire" engineers are capaDie of creating that fine sence of loyalty?
 AN INDUSTRIOUS AGENT
 The Atlanta, Birmingham and At lantic has one man that has been worth more to them in the present crisis in setting the public mind at res> than Colonel Bugg or Superintendent Whitaker. That man is the agricul- tural agent for the line who works between Talladega and EaGrange. He fa his children, visits the schools, helps the teachers to enlist the aid of the children in modern agriculture, tries his level best to make the world better place to live in. I have always felt that Pope was right when he de- clared that the proper study of man, kind is man." and I watched that fell low with ever increasing admiration. He was guide, counsellor and friend to all, and the way those farmers rely on him bodes we'll for the future When the agents would continue on vacation" this man would assist the people in getting their freight out at stations. Tactful. loyal, true, ne moved along and helped to get trains run ming.
 am changing up whole lot of my ideas about women; I ran across on. at Abanda that can vote, but at tho same time can run a tractor without loss of dignity. Her husband bought a new tractor. and while he was busy In other work, his wife mounted the and made things hum. like that good woman for her "spunk" ano disregard for conventions when 1t comes to getting things done. A mali truck has only to get in five miles of her office, and she would pick up the