Connersville businessmen visit Hemingray

CONNERSVILLE MEN

INSPECTED MUNCIE

Visitors Came to Learn How a

Great All-Round City Was

Made.

GOT PLENTY OF POINTERS

Trips to Factories, Meeting at

Commercial Club and Ride

in Automobiles.

Business and profesional [sic] professional men of Connersville, fifty in number, came to Muncie yesterday, headed by a band, to get pointers from the most enter­prising city of its size in the United States for their plans to boom their home city. And they were successful in their undertaking, for when they left, after a stay of nearly six hours, they said they had been imbued with a great supply of public spirit in ad­dition to having had one of the most pleasant experiences of their lives.

The party arrived on a special train via the Lake Erie & Western at 10 o'clock in the morning and were met at the Union station by a delegation from the Commercial club, headed by Mayor Sherritt, Senator C. M. Kim­brough and H. C. R. Wall, president of the club, A march was made up Walnut street to Main and thence east to the club rooms, where a special train of street cars was in waiting.

AT BALL BROTHERS PLANT

A trip was then made to the im­mense plant of Ball Brothers, where it was explained to the visitors, one-half of all the fruit jars manufactured in the world are made. The great in­dustry was carefully inspected by the visitors, who marveled at the systematic operation of the greatest man­ufacturing plant of its kind on the globe. Members and representatives of the firm personally escorted the party through the various depart­ments. It is also noteworthy that a number of Muncie men who had not visited the splendid factories for several years were astonished by the wonderful growth and development of the concern.

From Ball Brothers, the party tramped over to the new plant of the Indiana Bridge company, which was inspected under the direction of Sena­tor Charles M. Kimbrough, president of the company, who took special pride in showing the visitors around for the reason that he once lived in Connersville and was known personally to many of the city's guests. The party took note of the extensive and prosperous plant of the Hemingray Glass company and then went to the new and rapidly growing boiler works of Broderick & Quinlain. This is one of Muncie's new industries and local rep­resentatives took much pride in con­ducting the visitors through the build­ings.

Ollie Baldwin, who is clever in this line, had an appetizing luncheon spread for the hungry sightseers and their escorts at 1 o'clock. Then fol­lowed an informal meeting, in which a number of highly profitable and en­tertaining speeches were made, Presi­dent Wall, of the Commercial club, presiding Mayor Sherritt, who can always be counted on at any hour of the day for a happy talk, was at his best and made the guests of the city feel they were thrice welcome.

ROOTS MENTIONED FOR GOVERNOR

Francis T. Roots, the leading citizen of Connersville, was give a warm reception when he was introduced. He is far from being an unknown quan­tity in the city, having numerous val­uable realty investments in the business section of Muncie. He spoke of the determination of Connersville citi­zens to boom their town by locating more manufactures, the hope being to increase the population to 20,000 by 1910. His address was a plea for a state union of Indiana Commercial clubs and business men's organiza­tions. Such a pact he argued, would tend to develop and boost Indiana's natural resources and the slate’s ad­vantages otherwise as could be done in no other way. He paid special trib­ute to the enterprise and interest in public affairs that brought Muncie from an ordinary county seat to one of the finest all-round cities in the country. He and his fellow townsmen had come, he said, to learn how Mun­cie had accomplished the wonder­ful work.

M. M'CULLOCH IS HEARD

"How It Was Done" was explained by George F. McCulloch, who was in­troduced as the one man of the men "who had done it." and both the Mun­cie men and the visitors from Connersville gave him a rousing reception, Mr. McCulloch said that in the beginning of the city's marked progress, there were special natural advantage, chief of which was the abundant gas supply. Then, enter­prising citizens got together in a com­mon cause and worked industriously toward the general result. Muncie is still locating factories and is branch­ing out along lines for civic improve­ment. he said. An art league has been formed and other plans are being car­ried out, all of which have a part to play in the business of making Muncie better and larger. "Making a town is a business proposition," said the speaker, and the truth made a deep impression on his auditors. For genuine value to an ambitious and growing community, Mr. McCulloch's remarks hit the nail squarely on the head, as a Connersville "rooter" re­marked.

E. V. Hawkins and A. E. Leiter, of Connersville, commended their home town for its many advantages and predicted greater things for the near future.

Mr. Hawkins said that among the many things, in which the people of his home town take pride and inter­est, is the gubernatorial candidacy of Mr. Roots, who is an aspirant for the next Republican nomination for gov­ernor. There was vigorous applause at this statement.

MUNCIE A "LITTLE CHICAGO"

Senator Kimbrough was warmly applauded when he was introduced. He gave it as his opinion that Muncie people as a whole are unusually hus­tling and industrious, which trait is largely responsible for the city's won­derful spurt as compared with the slow development of many neighbor­ing points. "Muncie is what may be termed a 'little Chicago' in public spirit and enterprise," said he.

V. E. Silverburg was pleased to claim for Muncie that it is the best city of its size to be found anywhere, because, for one reason, it is situated in a splen­did commonwealth and section of the country. Indiana is the natural high­way of all travel from the east to west and vice versa.

"Very little traffic goes in either di­rection without traversing the con­fines of the state. And Muncie is one of the centers that has prospered in this section. Because of its advan­tageous location and other resources, Muncie is destined to go on develop­ing and growing. Muncie feels pleased to have other cities come to see and learn, and Connersville's example could doubtless be followed by An­derson and Marion with benefits to these two cities for the trouble," said Mr. Silverburg, whereupon the Muncieites smiled and cheered.

TRIP IN AUTOMOBILES

The special treat of the day's pro­gram was a trip in automobiles. The use of twenty-two machines was gen­erously donated for the afternoon by the owners, and a ride was taken from the club rooms out past the beauti­ful homes of Ball Brothers, thence through McCulloch park and from there through the eastern part of the city, and finally to the Union station, where the visitors found their special train ready for the junket to Ander­son.

The Connersville folk were enthu­siastic in their praise of Muncie hospility [sic] hospitality and manifested this feeling by giving three hearty cheers as they broke for their train, Muncie men re­turned the compliment and the visitors waved good-bye and were off for Anderson. It is likely that the Muncie Commercial club will accept the press­ing invitation to visit Connersville in a body in the near future.