The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-01-17
LETTERS TO EDITOR
WRANGLING OVER TRIPLES

Awhile ago collective Birmingham decided to take a week off from it's troubles and worries and celebrate it's fiftieth birthday. As was fit ting and proper, our President was invited down to play with us and, of course, make a speech. Presidents always have to make speeches, you know Much to our qualification and antici- pated joy and pleasure, the invitation was &C., cepted. The great day finally came and with 1t our President, escorted by our future President. We were all sweed up with pride at having the honor to play host to the biggest man of the greatest nation earth. Some of our best schemers laid awake nights thinking up ways and means of showing our President how much we appreciated having him with us and planning to give him touch of real southern hospitality. We knew that before many years one of our own favorite sons would be President and prob ably invited to Marion. We wanted to make sure of putting the Marion people, including the Star" under obligation for a return compi- ment.
 Any way, when the appointed day arrived and the sun raised his face over the crest of Red mountain and flooded our world with glori- ous autumn morning, Jones valley poured its population into our downtown streets, 100000 strong with but single thought-welcome and
 
 moved as per schedule and when time came for the speech-making we filled every available foot of the park to listen to and applaud our Presi- dent. What would he talk about? Upon what stirring topic of the day would he discourse with words of wisdom and encouragement? We had not thought about that. We knew that the whole world was sick nigh unto death; we knew that it was confronted with a multitude of vital, J,. 4L.A great nations were virtually bankrupt-some of them owing us huge sums of money; we knew that millions were starving in Europe; we knew that other millions here in our own America were hunting jobs and going to bed hungry while corn was being used for fuel in Kansas; we knew that government at Washington was confronted with a thousand problems of national concern and urgent need; we knew that the official leaders of the great nations were driving their brains to find remedies for the ills of an afflicted world
 All this and more flashed through our minds as our President arose to his introduction to make us speech on that beautiful day out in Woodrow Wilson park. We knew without the effort of thought that our President could find hundred crowdng, pulsating, vital things to ] tell us about. As he arose on the platform the thunderous applause was followed by grave like silence. Even the small boy and the pop vender for once stood in awed and reverenced silence and breathless expectancy as our Pres ident began his great speech-on the nigger question.
 l Two short, quick gasps of utter and absolute l astonishment swept the vast throng, then low growl of disgust. A big sx-footer from the "black belt" swore under his breath muttered, "oh, hell!' and strode from the park followed by thousands Ae we moved away some one re- minded us that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. We remembered then of having once heard that history sometimes plays return dates.
 l / In the name of common sense, struggling business, hungry women and babies and the eternal fitness of things, why are some of our city commissioners, civic bodies and editors SO hell-bent on starting community row at this time over the question of mangy dance hall. If such activity is the part of community lead- ership in local government, business, thought and morals, then heaven help us, for indeed have we fallen upon evil times and into the hands of imbeciles masquerading as leaders. Men are dying in the streets for want of hospital accom- modations while the city commission wrangles over dance hall; hundreds of men, women and children are going to bed hungry and cold for the want of a job while "7oo young business men" trot around the streets with dance hall petition; flocks of young women and girls are stepping out into the broad, smooth down-grade heading for hel physical wrecks and moral bankrupts, while press and pulpit discourse long, loud and learnedly on personal liberty" "in- nocent amusement" and the regulated" dance l hall!
 | It must be our Anglo-Saxon sense of humor and the ridiculous that enables us to stand this daily deluge of dance hall-Sunday amusement tommyrot that greets us morning and night without cracking under the strain. Please, if we will not or can not do any constructive work, thinking and talking, then let's waste our time in discussing the Genesis story of creation, the probable age of Ann, why Chinaman is born yellow, what happens when an irresistible force is introduced to an immovable body, the dis tinguishing and distinctive characteristics of the