The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-03-20
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

1 est LTdulp. l A tramp, for he is always on th' 1 road. but he is more than a tramp He is a troubadour. His songs of th' road are read with interest wherevei American newspapers circulate. l It has been a score of years since l first saw and heard him. His famt Is built on his power to write stories | that appeal to the man in the street Fewer know him as lecturer ot marked ability. I heard him deliver ! lectures on China, Japan and Cores and he had the power not only tc visualize these oriental lands but t' make his hearers see them. I had reach much about the Chi nese the Japanese and the Coreans had a hazy kind of an idea as to the land and the people, but CarpenteI made me feel the spell of the orient and long to visit the natives in their own countries.
 He did what missionaries had failed to do. He ne e4cae the men and women real and not mere converts. He made the lands throb with human interes' and not lose their flavor as mere mis- sionary territories.
 Who is Frank c. Carpenter? Nc need to look in Who's Who" Ask the first man you meet and he will tell you that Carpenter is the great news paper correspondent whose stories never grow tiresome. was alive with interest to meet the man whose weekly letters are feature of The Age-Herald, and SO went to the Tutwiler.
 knocked on his door and voice said, "Come in." and in went. He was half dressed and I started to back out. Come on.'' said he. "and we Will talk while I dress
 Well, in less than 10 minutes we had formed a compact. l was to. be his good man Friday during his stay IT the state. He wanted a guide and l wanted to see that he properly saw Birmingham, and so I put in very full day in showing him the residence sections.
 Findinr that he was interested in Fairfield. I called on Robert Jemison, Jr.. and he delegated Otts to go along as spieler, and he is some lt- tie mine of information when 1t comes to telling about Birmingham past, present and future.
 His daughter, Miss Frances, who is his companion, is some traveller She needed some films for her camera and so we drove by Bromberg's. When he learned who was in the car he came out to meet Mir Carpenter and his charming daugh- ter, and won the fathers heart by telling him he was a regular Carpenter fan and read all he wrote.
 The Tutwiler itself made an impression on the great traveller. He is used to the best hostelries in the world, but confessed his pleasure and surprise that Birming- ham had such hotel.
 He was also greatly interested in the Ridgely apartments. When he learned about the playground for the 'kiddies'' on the roof he said, Finer and when told that it was one apartment house where couples with children were welcomed, he said, "Good,''
 
 He was astonished at the skyscrapers The business section caused him to sit up and take notice that he was in city. Miss Frances went into ecstasies ovel Birmingham show windows. q told yor they were as attractive as any in the land)
 It seems that MT. Carpenter had taken a peep into some of the show windows and was surprised to find that shoes could be bought cheaper in Birmingham than in Washington or New York. I've been through the residential sec. ton with many visitors, but none were half as enthusiastic as the distinguished globe trotting writer and his wide-awake secretary.
 They were loud in their praise of ths way in which the homes seemed to fit ir the landscape. 'why, they just seem z part of the hills" said MT. Carpenter
 
 1 Hill Ferguson's house greatly pleased them. When told that it was built ou of iron ore rocks, Miss Frances said: q. must Kodak it," and she did. l The Helen Bess mines in the very bacl Eyards of the mountain homes gave then great enjoyment and was snapped for flu ture use.
 l We rode out through Miner Height and the rock fence in front of the at tractive home of Frank Grider strucl their fancy and they made note of tn fact that it was built of iron ore rocl which was cheap and plentiful enough t be used in place of brick or ordinar stone.
 They were interested to learn that Johl Caldwells home was erected over an irol mine and that the foundation went dee down into an ore gallery.
 Some of the homes in Mountain Ter race struck them as unusually pictur esque, particularly those built on tn mountain side with the great nativ rocks showing through the front yard like giant sentinels.