The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-01-23
AUTOMOBILE CLUB.
WILL THREsH OUT.
INSURANCE PLAN.
Finances and Possible Com
liberalization of Club viii
Be Discussed at Meeting
Monday Night


mingham Automobile club and pos
sib1e commercialization of the club
to the detrlment of any members OF
the organization will be discussed at
a called general meeting to be held
Monday night in the Tutwiler hotel
ball room. Charles G. Davis, presi-
dent of the club. Monday set the
meeting at the request of a commit
| tee of club members.
The meeting is expected to bring
/ to a head a hot fight begun last
Thursday night when about 16 mem
bers of the club appeared before the
board of directors and protested
against a plan whereby the club will
sell automobile insurance to mem
bers at a reduced rate. This plan,
they argued, although detrimental to
insurance men members, might be
the forerunner of other commercial
schemes. For this reason. opposition
to the plan was voiced, It was
learned from members who appeared
before the board of directors
Club Revenues.
Members of the committee which
requested the meeting set for Mon
day night say that the clubs reve-
nues have been approximately
$4,000 per year and that they want
to know how this is being spent Mr..
Davis received a salary of $3.50 per
month as president, according to p.
Y. Whitman, treasurer. Mr.. Davis is
the first paid president of the club,
the salary having been voted him
when Clarence Lloyd, former secre-
tary, left the automobile club, leav-
ing various organization duties to
be handled by the president and cler-
ical assistants, members of the COM
mittee stated Mr.. Whitman placed
the present income of the club at
about $4,000 annually. He said a
financial report would be made to
the club membership Monday night,
adding that Mr.. Davis had not been
paid his salary for several months,
due to lack of funds. He praised Mr..
Davis work as chief executive.
Officers of the club anticipate
that the meeting will resolve into a
direct fight upon them as sponsors
of the insurance selling plan. They
declare that the fight centers about
this plan and that opponents are
malcontents in the club membership.
Membership.
Members of the committee which
requested the meeting Monday night
assert that the club had member
ship of $500 eight months ago and
that it now has roster of 1900
members. They also claim that a
large percentage of the membership
of the club is suburban and from
the outlying districts of the county.
Mr.. Davis denied this, saying about
2 per cent of the membership of the
club was suburban While Mr.. Whit
man, though refusing to say ma
jority of the members of the club
were from outlying districts, stated
that good portion of the members
did live out of the central part OF
the Birmingham district. On the
question of membership there is a
discrepancy in the figures offered by
the president of the club and P. Y.
Whitman, the treasurer. Mr.. Davis,
the president, when talked to over
the phone at his room in the Tut
wiler hotel, stated that the member
ship of the club has approximately
1000. Mr.. Whitman placed the
membership at 1900.
Insurance Plan
Mr.. Davis. when called at the Tut
wiler. declared that he expected a
fight on the insurance plan but
stated that he was confident that the
club would indorse the prope sition
He compared the fight on the plan to
the fight of the railroads on the
Warrior river transportation system
He. asserted that the club could
undera the plan, sell automobile in
surance to members at reduction of
10 per cent under the rates of i'm
surance agents and that the policies
would be participating and that by
the end of each year holders of them
would have saved approximately 80
per cent on their automobile in
surance. Arrangements to care for
the policies have been made with the
keystone Indemnity company OF
Philadelphia, he said.
Selling Insurance
The president of the club asserted
that the selling of insurance by an
automobile club was the surest way
to increase the membership of the
club. The Los Angeles automobile
club has in two years increased its
membership from about 1000 to TO-
900 in this manner, he said. He cited
the automobile clubs in Chicago, De.
troit, Los Angeles. Jacksonville
Tampa and Miami as organizations
which have introduced this feature
| successfully. The chief object of the
club In undertaking the selling OF
automobile insurance is to increase
it's membership, he said. He expects
to have rs per cent of the automobile
owners in jefferson county member.
of the Birmingham Automobile cIuf
if the plan is adopted, he stated.
Mr.. Whitman, treasurer Of the
club declared that the policy was
strictly for the good of the mem
bers of the club ard that If they
did not want it no effort would bs
made to carry it out. He said the
active members of the club were
greatly interested in the plan.
Members of the committee which
called for the meeting are. Ed S
Moore, A. ]. Arrant. Hill Ferguson
j. l.. Yancey, C. o. Woodward. E.sO
Stafford, John c. Tomlin. ". X. Mon
roe, II. G. Ireland, John t. Glover
George w. Yancey, William w
French, B. F. Moore, w. B. Leedy, r
| p. Allen, ID. b. Lightner. Jelks III
Cabaniss, Henry H. Cobb and A. NJ
Bruce.