The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-04-28

A stranger within our gates was talk ing Inc other day npout being lost down. towa and having no idea of her way
 he nie, asked seve Il people, all or whom were extremely polite, out rather H. definite in their advice.
 ''They mean well enough, said she'
 '.as much as I hate to use that phrase about anyone. but they are hopelessly ih-
 explicit in their directions to strangers "Birmingham is supposed to be the hest laid off city in the south, and the manner in which it's streets and avenues are numbered is so plain that blind
 man could find his way about said de- fensively.
 "It is not exactly that she replied, "but in the older cities of the south when | one asks ones way, the philanthroplst turns about with true civic pride and ac- | colnpanits the stranger to the very door | of the place he wishes to reach. "But you dent stop to consider that peorle in Birmingham are too busy for that sort of thing l replied quickly. T have traVeledea great deal came the ready response, and l have found even in as busy cities as Boston, Phila- delphia London and Seville that they give intelligent directions to the inquirer such as
 "rhcn to your right and walk three blocks; then to your left and go straight ahead for half a mile, and you can't help
 but find the place. "I feel sure that anyone here would do the same" suggested. Tn Birmingham found when got lost
 the other day" was the strangers an- swer, whether I asked my way of a
 big iburly policeman, a smart looking young woman, or a tousle- -headed boy the reply was about the same
 walk east lady about two blocks, then turn south and go until you reach Five Points, then turn again to the east and you can't help reaching your destina- ton
 "That's plain enough" said l very much
 strange town which 1 had arrived in only 24 hours before" said she. "Under those circumstances, when big encouraged as l thought from first ac' counts that the stranger had really been badly treated.
 But that puts one in an awkward position" she replied, when one doesn't happen to know east from west in a
 strange city. i remember when l was a child at school l studied very artistic picture of small boy balancing himself on a fence, apparently staring the rising sun out of countenance. Below this work tof art there was note explaining that the only proper way to discover the points of the compass is to turn ones face to- ward the east when if the points are
 behaving themselves as they should, the south will be on the right hand, the north on the left, and one will have impolitely turned his back on the west" That is still considered very good way to locate ones self," I suggested But in the absence of rail fence at the corner of Second avenue and Twen- tieth street" replied the stranger, "and when one doesn't travel with compass safely ensconced in ones pocket, how is one to know the east to begin with? More than that, perhaps, at that very hour of day the sun happens to be disobligingly in It's zenith, so that to say to a stranger, Walk east conveys no more to his be- knighted mind than similar suggestion as to the manner in which one might find the north pole. l don't even know which is east in my native city, much less in a