The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-11-19
City Engineer Kirkpatrick
Explains System Which
He Has Recommended
PUBLIC MEETING
TO BE HELD.SOON
7. H. Motion, John w. Sibley, Joe
Berger, Robert Ewing, Hill Fer
gusOn and Others Speak Be-
fore the Commission

After a discussion of over an hour on
the merits and demerits of the street re-
naming plan. City Engineer kirkpatrick
came off with flying colors at the city
commission meeting yesterday afternoon.
Several delegations appeared before the
commission from civic clubs and organ
izations to protest against Mr.. Kirkpat-
ricl1's plan.
Their grounds were that the proposed
plan was too complex, intricate and there
fore confusing, and it was generally
agreed that after Mr. Kirkpatrick finished
answering their arguments he had proven
that If the plan was anything at all, 1t
was not that. AS a matter of fact, every
one of the speakers prefaced their talks
by admitting they knew nothing about the
plan.
John w. Sibley, as chairman of a Ro-
tary club committee, opened the argu.
ment. He read letter from a Polk d.
rectory man stationed at Washington,
D. c. The plan proposed for Birmingham
is almost similar tc the one used in Wash
ington and the letter urged that it not
be adopted here, as it was very unsuc-
cessful in the national capital Mr.. Sib-
ley stated that he had no time to give
the Kirkpatrick plan the study 1t de-
served but from his present knowledge
he believed it was too complex.
Motion Talks
r. II. Motion argued along the same
lines, suggesting that a plan be adopt
ed by which the autonomy of the different
sections of the city be not lost He ad-
vocated naming streets Fourth avenue,
West End, Fourth avenue, Pratt City,
Fourth avenue, East Lake. ETC., which
will practically leave them as they are
at present and at the same time would
distinguish one from the other. Mr. Mol
ton appeared for the Rotary club.
Hill Ferguson appeared as the head of
a Chamber of Commerce committee. He
said he believed the northeast, southeast
and similar features of the proposed
names was confusing and opposed the
effort to link together different streets
at present into one continuous street as
was proposed in parts of the plan. Joe
Berger, representing the Board of Trade
stated that the merchants of Birmng-
ham had spent 100000 in educating
force of delivery men how to deliver
merchandise and was spending $35O.OOO
the street names proposed would mean
that all this had been for naught and
they would have to begin all over Rob-
ert W. Ewing for the Board of Trade
argued along the same line. Postma ster
I. Fl. Aldrich opposed the plan on the
grounds that it was too involved and in
tricate.
Kirkpatrick Explains
In answer to a question from Mr.. Mol
Mr K irls ri pl- +bof,
any given address would be located un-
der the new system. with a given street
and street number" he said, ''it can
be told in an instant just how many
blocks in each direction the address is
from the center of the city as fixed by
the two dividing lines. If the separate
subdivisions were used as suggested by
some of you. it would be necessary to
memorize the location of all these sub
divisions or keep them mentally located.
You can imagine what a stranger would
do If he was given an address with Pratt
City attached to the end of it. He would
not know whether Pratt City was on one
side or the other side Of the city.
THE numbers will be easy to locate
and instead of putting the merchants
to expense as Mr.. Berger fears. 1t will
actually stop that great expense which
they are now going to every year in
their deliveries by our present system of
addresses.
Il am perfectly willing to undertake
to convince any man in Birmingham that
this plan is not complicated, is not COM
pleX and confusing and I do not hesi-
tate to say that If any fair-minded man
will give me his attention and let me
show him these maps that | can con-
vince him in five minutes"
Mr. Sibley suggested that public meet
ing be held at some time in the future
and the suggestion was indorsed by w
c. Radcliffe, r. i. Yancey and others
The commissioners and Mr.. Kirkpatrick
will confer in the near futures over
date for this meeting and it will be an
nounced and all civic clubs of the city
will be invited to have delegations pres
ent. The purpose of the meeting will
be to hear Mr.. Kirkpatrick make a de-
tailed explanation of his plan and answer
all questions concerning it.
Change Made
After Mr.. Kirkpatrick talk at the
meeting yesterday, many of those who
had objected to the plan agreed with
him. 1t is generally believed that when
the citizens once understand the sys-
TEN there will be little if any opposition
to it.
The details of Mr.. Kirkpatrick's sys-
tenn of remaining the streets has been
published in The Age-Herald. Roughly
speaking, he proposes to divide the city
into four quarters by drawing lines
through it north and south and east and
west The streets in these four quar-
ters are then to be known as northeast
southeast. northwest and southwest
streets. The names Of very few streets
in the central, northern and eastern parts
of the city will be changed. The main
changes will occur in the western sec
| tion and some few In the southern Sec