The age-herald., 1901-02-17

- N these latter days of expansion
 there are no walls to city and
 u but one gate. Usually the gate
 <S is fin the center, and instead of the city being encircled with gates the gate Is surrounded by the city.
 This gate Is never closed and through if year in and year out pours a stream of restless humanity moved by the pas sion of sef-interest.
 The gates of Birmingham stand wide open To enter 1t Is not necessary to blow bugle or summon a watehman. All the law requires is a frightful clang ing of bells and blowing of whistles. If this Is done the train rolls smoothly in, and the passenger alights In clean and airy station. If he keeps his wits about him he crosses the tracks in safety and reaches the haven of the lunch counter or hack stand, according as he is hungry or weary. If he is but a passing tourist the lunch counter goes to him, for inside the iron bars which separate the ticketed from the ticketless there are small lunch stands presided over by black imps who deal out fried fish, fried spare ribs, fried chicken, fried pork, fried oysters, hard boiled eggs, and black liquid called coffee.
 Hi mister, come here minute; I want to see you," calls out one of these men to a rural traveller standing aim lessly by drinking In the sights and sounds of the Birmingham station. He
 ,+r ,,,l tries to sell something. "Yessir, mister, what yo' want? Everybody in de world eats wid me" The man says he doesn't want anything and hasn't time to eat If he did. "Oh, yesslr, dere's plenty ob time." says the darl1ey. Somehow there is always plenty of time about a station. If the train is actually leaving the man who wants to sell something will tell you there Is plenty of time. It is a stock phrase, just as dentist who Is prepar- ing to pull tooth always says it won't hurt"
 Life at a station is at high pressure. Everyone Is on rush. The engine, i'm patient to be gone, stands panting un- der TO pounds steam pressure. People get wildly excited. They sit in the wait ing room and imagine they are getting left. Then they gather up their bundles, swallow an unfinished banana at a gulp and rush out to the ticket gate to find that their train does not leave for four hours.
 The mob that surrounds the gates seems designed by fate simply to ask questions of the gatelSeeper. Mister" says a woman with glasses and an anx- ious look, what time does my train leave?" The gatekeeper is supposed to be a mind reader and know what train she wants He can tell the train If they show him their tickets, but there are many travellers who do not know that In cities tickets must be shown at the gates. They arrive there laden down with bundles and then have to shed these to hunt for the tickets. One lady recently had her ticket packed at the bot tom of her hand bag from fear of losing 1t. She was allowed to come inside the gate where she unpacked the bag and discovered the ticket Sometimes sleep ing car tickets are presented at midday for a sleeper which is not even in the station. How long before the L. and N. accommodation goes?" asked q wouldbe traveller
 "Train not made up yet" answers the gateman.
 'ls the Decatur accommodation ready?" asks another.
 Not pushed in yet. Step aside,