The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-08-14
PLANS MADE FOR
 CELEBRATION OF
 SEM|-CENTENNIAL
Important Meetings to Be Held This Week to Com plete Details of CeIebra-
 ton and Pageant

Rapid progress is being made in the eonsummation of the plans for the semi-centennial celebration and the visit of President Harding.
 Following the meeting Friday, when many representative citizens pledged their hearty co-op$ation and support of the efforts of Sydney J. Bowie, general chairman, and Erskine Ramsay, chairman of the finance committee, the work of or ganizing has proceeded rapidly.
 Chairman Bowie is working on the list of the various committees and plans to have them ready dur ing the coming week. MT Ramsay 10 naming the members of the if nance committee, generally consid- cred the most important of all the committees, and it is anticipated that he will announce his appointments early in the week.
 c. N. Wiley, chairman of the com mittee which has in charge the fash ion and automobile show and the in- dustrial exhibit, has called meeting
  ing at II o'clock at headquarters on the mezzanine floor of the Jefferson County Bank building. The fashion and automobile show has met with . ready response from the business men of the city and the industrial corporations are lending their active support to the industrial exhibit.
 Reduced Rates
 Another meeting which will take ...1 1,snF. 6 quarters tomorrow morning at II o'clock will be the gathering of the passenger representatives of all the railroad lines entering Birmingham. The object of the meeting will be to arrange plans for getting reduced rates on all railroad lines to this city for the celebration, and the Presi- dents visit. General Chairman Bowie and MT. Ramsay will attend the meet ing and will present the claims Of the committee to the railroad men It is announced that the Southern railway has already agreed to grant reduced rates, and it is considered certain that all lines will do the same.
 Wide publicity Is being given the celebration, because of the offer or the Birmingham Writers club to give a prize of $150 for the best poem comrnemorating the fiftieth anhi- versary of this city. Publications throughout the country have com mented on the offer, and many let ters are being received by the club from leading poets of the nation.
 Gordon Erickson, chairman of the Ageant committee, will leave tomor- Vow for Chicago, where he goes to investigate matters connected with the pageant. He will confer with leading pageant writers of the coun- try, and will also investigate the matter of securing costumes, equip ment and other materials needed for the event
 Merchants to Meet
 Reid Lawson, vice chairman of the Jefferson county unit of the Alabama Retail Merchants association, has called a meeting of all members of that organization for Wednesday night at o'clock at the Chamber of Commerce for the purpose of making plans for thet semi-centennial celebration and the visit of the Presi- dent. Erskine Ramsay, chairman Of the finance committee and Sydney J. Bowie, general chairman of the cele- bration committees, will be present, and will explain the matter to the merchants. Following the hearing in regard to the mi-centennial, there will be an executive session of the merchants.
 Permanent headquarters of the semi i-centennial and the visit of the President have been opened on the