“Mr. Plant was overwhelmed with graceful attentions from his employees, the Exposition directors, and our citizens generally. The day at the Exposition was a celebration in his honor, and at night the directors entertained him at a banquet.
“It goes without saying that this tribute is worth more to Mr. Plant than presents of silver and gold. It will touch his heart as nothing else could. That he may long hold his honored place among us is the earnest wish of all who know him.
“MR. PLANT AND THE NEGROES.
“In addition to what has been said of Mr. Plant and his great System, the negroes are grateful for what he has done for them. There are over two thousand negroes employed by Mr. Plant. A great number of them have accumulated homes, educated their children, and have nice bank accounts, and they all love him. He has contributed liberally to churches, school-houses, and other negro enterprises; in fact, he has built several institutions of learning for negroes. A number of negroes hold positions of trust, with good pay attached, as is not the case with any other system the size of his in the United States.
“May the years of Mr. Plant’s usefulness in behalf of the South, colored and white, be many more.”—Atlanta Constitution.
“HONORS TO MR. PLANT.
“Few men have done as much as Mr. H. B. Plant to develop the South, and the Journal joins heartily in the tributes which are being paid to him to-day.
“He has reached the age of seventy-six with a record which any man might envy, and we trust is good for many more years of usefulness. Mr. Plant is the head of great corporations which have been of incalculable value to the South. They have been so, not because they are rich and powerful, but because, under his direction, they have been conducted on broad and liberal lines. Mr. Plant’s policy has been to build up. His career presents a splendid contrast to those of the railroad wreckers who have enriched themselves at the expense of thousands of individual victims and of great regions of the country.
“Mr. Plant has used his power nobly. He has made it beneficial to multitudes of his fellow-citizens, and has contributed immensely to the general development of the South. As the president of a great railroad system, of steamship lines, and of the Southern Express Company, and the Texas Express Company, Mr. Plant enjoys, not only the kind regards of a host of employees, but the respect and admiration of the public as well. The many evidences which he receives to-day of the good-will and esteem of his fellow-men must be exceedingly gratifying to him, but we are justified in saying that seldom have tributes been more richly deserved. We extend to Mr. Plant our cordial congratulations on his seventy-sixth birthday, and hope that we shall have the pleasure of seeing his honored and useful career continued for many years to come.
“Mrs. H. B. Plant, the wife of the distinguished president of the Plant System, is at the Aragon. She is a beautiful, cultured, travelled woman, and as such receives everywhere the most flattering social attentions. She will be the conspicuous social figure of this week, and several brilliant affairs will be given in her honor. Mrs. Plant is one of the New York Commissioners, and has proven her interest in Atlanta’s Exposition in many satisfactory and assuring ways.”—Atlanta Journal.