One is a Confederate monument in the form of an
obelisk, and the other two are statues erected in memory of Mary A.
Cahalan, for many years principal of the Powell School, and of William
Elias B. Davis, a distinguished surgeon. Workers in these fields are too
seldom honored in this way, and the spirit which prompted the erection
of these monuments is particularly creditable; sad to say, however, both
effigies are wretchedly placed and are in themselves exceedingly poor
things. Art is something, indeed, about which Birmingham has much to
learn. So far as I could discover, no such thing as an art museum has
been contemplated. But here again the critic should remember that,
whereas art is old, Birmingham is young. She is as yet in the stage of
development at which cities think not of art museums, but of municipal
auditoriums; and with the latter subject, at least, she is now
concerning herself.
Even in the city's political life contrasts are not wanting, for though
the town is Republican in sentiment, it proves itself southern by voting
the Democratic ticket, and it is interesting to note further that the
commission by which it is governed had as one of its five members, when
we were there, a Socialist.
Another curious and individual touch is contributed by the soda-fountain
lunch rooms which abound in the city, and which, I judge, arrived with
the disappearance of barroom lunch counters.
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