The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-23

rassed to be caught in the melee of traffic in the street"
 Perhaps" said the sergeant And an- other thing that they invariably do is to get off street car backward. They al- ways have and always will,' he declared vociferously.
 Why, have never seen one do such thing in all my life" I said pettishly. And besides the new gates on the street cars which have recently been instituted by the company, preclude any such per- formance"
 If you haven't noticed it you are the only one" was the quick reply Any motorman in town will tell you that a woman invariably backs out of a car and having stood at the corner of this thor oughfare for many year, I am in a posi- tion to add by testimony, too"
 l saw that the sergeant had no idea of being convinced by my theories in be- half of my sex, so I mustered what pa- tienee I could and listened to what he had to say.
 Another thing that women always do is to cross the street just as a car starts"
 Again l must say I have never seen them perform that hen-like Tnaneuyer." promptly stated
 Well, stand here for an hour and you will observe for yourself" was the an- swer
 Then traffic ordinance should be nut into effect by the city authorities to reg ulate that, like New York. Philadeln,,,a Baltimore and other large cities have. Stop all the cars and traffic on the street Tor pedestrians to pass, blow the whistle and then cross the street at the risk of your life" That would decrease the danger large " replied the sergeant. seemingly con- Vlnced that l had an idea or two on the subject tucked back in my little head
 But really very few women are fn- 1ured by being run over" I Suggested III lact, II IS nearly always men who furnish the casualties" "
 That's true" admitted the sero..n. as he smiled at my statement
 What Is the hardest corner In tha c,+v 10 manage when 1t comes to tra file o,' [ asked, quite interested in my chance in terview " Second avenue and Twentieth street and First and Twentieth are hard to beat promply answered the officer
 Hundreds and hundreds of vehicles pa ss these corners each day, and it's a ha rd matter to keep order and life intact''
 People are always going to a police man with their troubles.' I said. Don't you ever have any yourself?" Dozens of them," laughingly replied the Sergeant
 What are some of the worst?o I asked with curiosity.
 'It would be hard to specifyp was tbe reply. "The policemen who are on duty at night have the most troubles While most of the city Is asleep the patrolnan n is on his rounds. looking out for it's safety | and placing himself in jeopardy night after night"
 Why is it that you can't ever find a policeman when you want one and they never appear until after a fight Is over?' dared
 The big officer looked down upon me with great disdain. but having a sense | Of humor, took up my remark in the | same spirit that 1t was meant and said: "oh. that's reputation that the funny papers have given us. and it will stick all through life, I suppose"
 Aren't policemen expected to know ! everythingr' I inquired. Certain ones are," he responded. For | instance, those who are on the promi- | nent beats. If you want to hear troubles | we can tell them to you by the whole- sale in that line. Why, a policeman Is supposed to have more knowledge about the city than a census taker or a bureau | of information. Some of them take along | small sized directories, so that any infor- nation that a stranger may need can | be furnished while you wait.'' I've been thinking that in the summer ] time the police force should wear shirt 1 waists instead of those terribly hot, but toned-up blue coats and helmets" sug- l gested.
 That wouldn't be descipline,' said the officer. Besides, we must carry our re-
 volver, and the coat serves to hide It." l "Tell me-" asked, why 1t is police
 man can never look upon a big automo-
 bile when it is-red-without chasing it?"
 The sergeant smiled appreciativey, but 1 only replied that a man told him recently | that he didn't see any use of owning a car unless he could drive 1t over 12 miles | an hour.
 And do you enjoy being a member of I the Beauty Squad? v said, as l looked
 up and saw my car coming. But the sergeant. who had proven one | of the most amiable interviewers I had | encountered for some time, refused an ] answer to this personality and I boarded my car with the firm determination not
 to get off backward when I reached my
 destination if women ever really do such
 fooolish things.