The age-herald., 1900-01-09

l is still in his teens.
 Hello, Centra!'
 Accept our thanks and good wishes, | And this little present, too, 1 In appreciation of your services To the gang at "forty-two." | We would be greatly lnconvenienced, In th.s cruel, cruel world
 | We're it not for the politeness Of a certain ''hello-girl.
 What pleasure 'tis to telephone, When "Number?" quickly is asked, And we will regret sincerely When the day of phones has passed. We thank you for your kindness; There's lots more that we could tell, About how we appreciate the services Of the girl who rings our bell. We wish you merry Xmas, And a happy New Year. too, And we thank you for your kindness, To the boys at "forty-two."
 Number" "Forty-two. please ma-m."
 
 Something not unworthy was printed in
 the place yesterday regarding Colonel Lu-
 ther A. Hare, the hero in the rescue of the
 American prisoners from the Ffhpinos
 Hare was with Renos command when Gus
 ter and his valiant band were massacred by
 Indians on the Little Big Horn, nearly
 twenty-five years ago. Reno was but two
 miles away from Custer; but intervening
 bluffs and the steep banks of river lay
 between the two bodies of soldiers, and the
 firing of Clusters men and the firing of the
 Indians could not be heard by Reno. Ac-
 cording to instructions, Reno was to look
 for Clusters support and cooperation
 Somehow things went wrong, and one of
 the most terrible tragedies in American
 Indian warfare was enacted. Hare pur-
 sued his work from year to year, and is
 now a colonel Almost immediately he will
 be made a brigadier general. Possibly the
 general public does not fully comprehend
 the sacrifices that are being made by our
 brave troops in the Philippines. Of the five
 Heutenants who went to the Philippines on
 the transport with Lieutenant Kelly Par
 sons, of Birmingham, three have been killed in battle, as Lieutenant Parsons writes to
 his father, Hon. Lewis E. Parsons, of this city. That tells in a few words a very elo- cuent story.
 The American interest in the Ang1o-Boer war is almost intense; and in Birmingham tho desire for news from the scenes of strife is very nearly as great as it would be if the war were one in which America was directly concerned. Men differ, even the children are taking sides, as to the merits of the conflict. In one enlightened household the husband and children favor the Boers, but the wife and mother is in- tensely English in sympathy. The Ameri- oan military attache in South Africa is Bertie tSlocum, who at the moment holds the rank of colonel. He is charged to ob- serve and report upon the technicalities | of the war. Colonel Slocum is attached to | the British army. He entered the service as lieutenant in the Seventh Cavalry; and | ne marritd daughter of pr. Brandreth, the one-time famous pill-maker and his father was the late General Henry W. | Slocum. whose is familiar to all
 Americans. When Colonel Slocum arrived at Capetown he was informed of the Tu- gela disaster to the British troops Re- ferring to the British troops, he asked, laconicaTly, ''Was there no way for them to get around the enemy?' This question of the American officer seems to have made
 a powerful impression upon the British officers, and the British public Colonel i Slccum is said to be remarkably good
 soldier, and one of the best of good fellows
 in the American army. "Bertie" Is his pet name in the army, and it is spoken affec- i ticnately by every officer who knows him. Colonel Wood, of New Orleans. who com l manded the Second Louisiana cegiment of volunteers during the Spanish American l war, is at the Morris. The Second Louis ian and l thrown constantly together, and warm Friendship was formed between the officers l and the men respectively. Colonel Wood was in consultation with his friend, Col,
 Robert c. Jelks, on business matters. The Louisiana colonel is a handsome, gracious 1 and graceful man. This visit is the first he 1 has made in fourteen years, and, of course. l he notes remarkable changes. Even the Morris, where he Is staying, was not in ex-
 istence when he was last here and the site ! of that splendid building was merely a
 mud hole. Colonel Wood is charmed by the 1 Birmingham of today.
 Many silly stories have been printed to | the general effect that Duncan Hood. son l of the late Confederate General John B. Hood, was fighting in the Boer army in l South Africa This canard has been re- | peatedly denied; but 1t still fiourfsf1es. personal friend of Colonel Hood informs 1 The Age-Herald that Colonel Hood is now pursuing course of study in the School of l Mines Of Columbia University, New York | and the colonel writes that he intends to
 remain at his studies until he has finished l them. Colonel Hood was in command of
 the Seventh Immunes during the Spanish | American war.
 | F. A. Hood, president of the Bryan club 1 of Chattanooga, came to the city to attend 1 the Jackson banquet last night. R. F. Dexter. of Montgomery, is at the