davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
ALMOST A PRESIDENT.
Root Declined Mckiney's Offer of Sec
 ond Pace.

Special Dispatch to the Boston Herald.
 MT. Root might have been President now if in 100 he had accepted President McI<inley's invitation to him to take the second place on the ticket.
 It was formally announced for the first time at the dinner given at the Country club Saturday night in honor of Secre- tary Root by the general staff that he had been offered, and had declined. this opportunity to be vice president. and subsequently President.
 Postmaster General Payne vice chair man of the republican national commit tee, told this story to the other guests and read a letter written by Secretary Root to him in the spring of 1900 stat ing that he could not allow his name to be used because he believed he would re- main at the head of the war department and work out the problems issuing from the Spanish war.
 Mir. Payne said it was an illustration of the patriotic self-sacrifice with which MT. Root had served as secretary of war.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
BUY ANTHRACITE NOW.

From the New York Tribune.
 The sales of anthracite coal this sum mer have been extremely large. More- over, mining operations have been carried on at no low pressure, and the railroads and other corporations have been storing up tall, thick heaps of the precious fuel. "A dollar saved is a dollar earned" ran the old maxim "A dozen tons of an- thracite in the bin may be useful in case of labor troubles later'' Is a saying which has found extensive acceptance and ap- proval. Men and brethren, buy your an- thracite now and make your purchases liberal You can get a great deal of fuel this month at fair prices.
 Later the quotations will rise. Be pru- dent Remember how you suffered last winter Don't take the chances of risk and dangers of enduring not only discom- fort but actual misery from lack of heat in the coming cold season. How can you tell what Mitchell will do or leave undone in midwinter? Get warm while you can and keep warm. Get anthracite by all means, and lay in large stores of it. You may need huge treasures of it when the snow is on the ground. In any event. it is as good as gold in it's way. No one can water it extravagantly or make 1t worth less. Bear In mind Christmas Is coming, and old King Coal, jolly old soul will be wearing his crown of carbon when the icy blasts are blowing
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
ART OF ILLUSTRATING
 OUR MODERN FICTION
From the Boston Post.

From the Boston Post.
 Mir. Howells has delightful story of New York life. called Letters Home," running as a serial in the New Metro politan Magazine. The Illustrations how ever, by comparatively new man named Glackens. are not at all in harmony with the authors work. The artist is a man of ''chic" Parisian tendencies. who might have gone to school to Steinlen or Will Independently the latter, having scarcely the sympathetic quality that marks the work of the talented Swiss The artists manner affects too much the touch-and-go, slap-dash, gee-whiz manner of handling with breezy lines flying at loose ends; aiming more at a superficial catchiness produced by sort of sketchy instability which, in the way of good drawing leaves much to be desired than at a sympathetic rendering of the spirit of the story as expressed in It's scenes and characters. One would never take these persons for Americans depicted in a domestic environment; if anything, they suggest New York people attempting rather unsuccessfully to pass themselves off as French. The illustrator is unques- tionably a clever fellow. but he is not at all at home with Howells. He might go better with Richard Harding Davis or Justin Miles Forman. A style so delicate and at the same time so directly observed as that of Howells needs corresponding directness of interpretation in illustration. Men like Steinert and Lucius Hitchcock have expressed the sentiment of Howells' stories in strikingly sympathetic fashion their figures not only animate. but feeling and thinking. The average illustrator, instead of carefully studying his manu- script and absorbing the spirit of 1t, Is too prone to skim it hastily. and. catching at detached phrases or situations" hang pictures upon them that are extraordinar- fly irrelevant to the themes. The ideas of a story writer can be charmingly illumin- ated by the right sort of illustration-the sort that seems to step directly out of the text and needs no catch lines'' under the cuts reproduced from the authors work to make the reader clear as to what they represent. according to bookmaking fashion in America and England There is much good French. Spanish and German work of this kind. And here in this country we have so many good illustrators that 1t seems a pity there should be a fashion among not few young fellows
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
Now for Nlcarauua.

Those newspapers that are under the hoodoo of the transcontinental railroads are urging President Roose- welt to dicker further with Colombia, . a,d to look to Bogota and the Panama scheme rather than to the route which all engineers consulted by the govern ment have endorsed. Every govern ment commission endorsed the Nica- ragua route as the better and more practical of the two. Every advantage goes with it, including full sover- eighty, health and clear title Why then should this country continue to look to Bogota? The transcontinental railroads and their tools can make the answer plain if they would.
 The Spooner law passed in June of last year makes it. the positive duty of the President, Reasonable time [ having elapsed long ago, to dig a canal on tue Nicaragua route. He is an honest and courageous officer. He is cratic and impulsive, but no one questions his honesty. Let him then dismiss the suggestions of the trans continental railroads, and proceed at once to build a canal on the Nicara- qua route. Any further dealings with the rotten and ridiculous crowd at Bogota means more delay, and the dt- lays already foot up fully fifty years. The country demands the digging of an isthmian canal, and the way to do this is to drop at once the entire Pan anna business, and make treaties at once with Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Action in this direction cannot be too quick or too thorough.
 Senator Morgan in dispatch to tte Selma Journal shows that this is the only course open to the President under the Spooner law. The President has no right to negotiate further with Colombia. He can procure from Mica r.gua and Costa Rica perpetual and
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
Popular Selection of Delegates.

Not even for the sake of selecting delegates in favor of a favorite soE, orIa favorite of any other kind must we Nose sight of the fact that the selection of delegates to the next democratic national convention is the peoplees business, and that the people desire to transact their own business in theirN own way. They do not need 8 guardian, and will not quietly per init one to be showed upon them by the bossess big and little.
 With its4 customary courage the Huntsville Mercury endorses the proposition of popular selection. The primary. 1t says, has come to stay. The Montgomery Journal thinks a state primary for delegates to the national convention "might reunite the party in this state. Such a con- test" 1t adds, "would be educational" even if 1t should not result altogether satisfactory to MT. Cleveland's friends. The Journal thinks those friends would learn something they do not seem to know just now.
 The Journal is, however, mistaken <s han it says that the state executive committee must call a state conven- tion, and that the convention may then hand the selection of delegates over to the people. The state com mittee need not and should not do anything of the sort. No convention is wanted, and none will be readily or patiently tolerated. The state con- mittee is authorized by precedent and by its own makeup to provide with out intervention of any sort on the part of scheming politicians for state and district primaries to elect national delegates. A state convention would be a superfuity, and also an absurdi- ty. No honest man wants one. No intelligent and honest man hopes to see another in this state. As the Huntsville Mercury well says, "The convention plan with its heartaches, grumblings, dissatisfactions and treacheries Is gone forever In Ala bama."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
Fatal celluIoid Collars.

T see some of the northern papers are again discussing celluloid collars" said a lawyer.
 When l was living in Chicago two men who were guilty of wearing collars made of celluloid were brought prominently be- fore the public by accidents in which they were the principals. both of which had fatal results. In one case the wearer of a glistening collar was a motorman on an electric car. In some unexplainable way a spark from the controller set fire to his collar, and before it could be removed he was so severely burned that death re- suited His wife brought heavy suit for damages against the company and won her case and the company even went so far after that as to make a rult that no employe should wear a celluloid collar while at work.
 "The other case was that of a livery man who accidentally set fire to the hay in the barn with his lantern and his cell luloid collar took fire. burning him so badly that death finally resulted.
 "Celuloid is made chiefly of gun cot ton and is highly infammable and actual flame is not necessary to set it afire. It can be ignited by heat.
 "A case has just come up in Chicago where man wearing a celluloid collar was attacked by footpads, who attempted to sever his jugular vein. A long gash was cut in the collar but his neck was saved and the man now claims he owes his life to the fact that he wears cellu- Ibid collars. I suppose this will be cited by devotees of the collar as sufficient rea- son for wearing them"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
North Carolina Towns.

Willce Bruce Dowd, writing in the New York Sun. call attention to the fact that while the south is not being filled up with foreigners it Is increasing its population with a most desirable class of people from the east. He tells especially about the growing towns of North Caro- lima
 "The whole of the western part of North Carolina" says Mir Dowd." is being filled with people from various sections of the country who go there because they are free from excessive heat and cold, the climate Is almost ideal in winter or sum- mer there are no pests and bountiful na- ture supplies to everybody abundance of good things to eat and drink for a moderate outlay of skill and labor
 ''The most marked proofs with regard to the influx of foreigners into North Carolina are to be found at Greensboro and Charlotte. cities which are growing as fast as any others in this country, which exhibit in their enterprises and people. all the aspects of thriving New England towns, notwithstanding they are essentially southern in their social life.
 "on recept trip to Charlotte I found on getting off the train at Philadelphia, for a little leg exercise. young Holland CT whom I had seen at o'clock that morning at a table in the hotel in New York in which he and I had been tempo rarily living. I had no idea where he was going. but on inquiry found that his destination was Charlotte, the place to which I was journeying. He was going there to take up his residence as the rep resentative a large German chemical and dye house. having a branch in New York, and he gave as a reason for the selec- ton of Charlotte as the place of opera tion of his firm that it was the center of manufacturing and commercial industry in that section of the south. and 1t IS a fact that there are several hundred cot tcn mills alone within a radius of a hum dred miles of that thriving town. Char lotte has grown in population from l0, 900 in 1880 to SO,O0O in 1900. A very large and important element of the new population comes from the north and the west, and there is no longer any excuse for such people not going there if they want all the comforts and conveniences of modern life. One finds there street cars as good as those in New York, electric lights. a Carnegie library, a beautiful new theatre. large quantities of flowers. splendid trees and a good climate. which has given to
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
SENATOR ALLISON, DIPLOMAT.

From the Washington Star
 Senator Allison's reputation as a diplo- mat and smoother-o of wrinkles is so great he is instantly suggested for every republican job of difficulty. The Iowa idea caused some friction in republican circles in the Hawkeye state, and the announcement followed that MT. Allison would write the platform. A capital piece of work was turned out, and the senator received the credit for it. Now comes the currency problem. There are many men of many minds" on that sub ject and forthwith 1t is proposed to hand it over to Mir. Allison for consideration and report. He Is familiar with both the eastern view and the western view, and is supposed to be able to reconcile the two The present job. however, is much more difficult one than was the other
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
SPLENDOR FALLS ON CASTLE
 WALLS.

By Alfred Tennyson. The splendor falls on castle walls And snowy summits old in story; The long light shakes across the lakes, And the wild cataract leaps in glory. Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes
 flying, Blow. bugle! answer. echoes. dying. dy-
 ing, dying. o hark, O hear! how thin and clear, And thinner, clearer, farther going! o sweet and far from cliff and scar The horns of Elfland faintly blowing! Blow, let us hear the purple glens reply
 ing: Blow bugle; answer. echoes. dying. dy-
 ing, dying. O love. they die in yon rich sky, They faint on hill or field or river; Our echoes roll from soul to soul, And grow forever and forever. Blow bugle. blow set the wild echoes fly-
 ing, And answer, echoes answer. dying, dy-
 ing. dying.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
IN HOTEL LoBBIES.
Episcopal Primate.

Q T see the Churchman of New York comes out in an article in which 1t says that chief executive for the Episcopal church in the United States Is demand ed" remarked layman. "That paper points out that the American church has no real head The oldest bishop is styled the presiding bishop and he is chairman of the house of bishops, but during the recess of the general convention he has really no administrative authority fur ther than to appoint consecrators for bishops elect.
 This question of creating the office of archbishop or primate with authority over the entire church in the United States will doubtless be brought up at the next meeting of the general con- vention which will be held in Boston in 1904 I have never been in favor of changing our church organization and am strongly opposed to changing the name of the church, but the time will come when the Protestant Episcopal body will have to be divided Into provinces with an archbishop at the head of each pIoNlHCt. lie SIOWln pA iAS bONhti will demand such an organization, think; and the rank of archbishop once establish ed in the Protestant Episcopal church it will be an easy step to real primacy. Bishop Potter has long been in favor of such an organization with himself as pri- mate. The good bishop is growing old and no such hierarchy as is suggested will be created in his day; but very likely Bishop Potter's successor in the diocese of New York will be raised to the rank of archbishop. Those American prelates who visit England come back, as a rule, favorably impressed with the organization of the Anglican church. But in England, while the two rchbishops-Canterbur and York-have honors and great influence their power outside of their respective archdiocese is exceedingly limited. If we ever have a primate in this country he will be just what the Churchman wants, a real executive"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
FOR THE ST. LOUIS FAIR.
Foreign Countries Have Appropriated
 More Than for Chicago.

Washington, August 1S.-The managers of the St. Louis exposition are much en- couraged by responses received from for eign governments in connection with the exposition.
 At the Chicago exposition forty-six countries were represented, and their ag- gregate expenditures for exhibition pur- poses were $5, 769, 103. Thus far fifty-three countries have accepted the invitation to exhibit at St. Louis, of which forty-two have appropriated the aggregate sum of $6,sS9,65O to defray the expenses of their exhibits, eleven have not yet made appro- priations and fourteen are yet to be heard from.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21

fNASAt VI Seies Otto 0. Wheeler of Louisville is stop ping at the Hillman. w. Lansdale of Washington is at the Morris.
 J. E. Love of New Orleans is register ed at the Metropolitan.
 R. B. sperry of Baltimore is stopping at the Hillman.
 D. M. Andrews of Montgomery is registered at the Morris.
 w. L. King of Anniston is stopping at Metropolitan.
 Dr. and Mrs c. H. Barnwell of Tus- caloosa are at the Hillman. H. T. Gill of New Decatur is regis tered at the Morris.
 A. E. Wright of New York is stopping at the Metropolitan.
 c. NJ Pleasants of Richmond is regis tered at the St. Nicholas. J. w. Hooks of Selma is stopping at the Morris.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR

From the New York Press.
 If a dumb woman walked into room full of widowers every one of them would marry her before she could get out
 woman thinks she has been a v.dow long enough when it comes time Tor her to buy her second stock of mou,ning.
 When a bank cashier tells a woman she hasn't sufficient balance to pay check she has issued she is sure he does 1t merely to be impertinent.
 The man who knows enough to tell somebody near enough for her to hear that his wife is the only woman in the world who knows how to have coffee made may never get to heaven. but he will never land in divorce court.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
Beer and Whisky.

This has been very good summer for our trade" said a beer agent. "The con- sumption of beer increases every year and when we have long summers beer sales run high. The only thing that hurts our business is the luscious watermelon. Beer and melon do not go well together But many men are like I am-they like watermelon, but they like beer better and rather than run any risk they forego the melon.
 T never expect to see the time when beer and wine will run whiskey out of the market, but these mild drinks are certainly encroaching on John Borleycorn. Here in Birmingham comparatively little whisSey is sold in frst-class bars and liquor stores in hot weather"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21

exclusive rights, and no engineering difficulty stands in the way. No legal or legislative obstacles present them selves. Such a canal" says Senator Morgan in conclusion, "could not fail to give additional help to our indus tries and to add strength to our mil itary power" Let the President act with his accustomed vigor and cour- apa
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21

to make their drawings look as foreign as possible. Our artists have learned. and can yet learn, much that is most admir- able from foreign examples. One of the most admirable things that the best for eign masters would teach them is to make their pictures look as if they were done at home.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
ALABAMA

Capt. William T. Pettus, a we'll known river man. died yesterday morning at his home in Mobile.
 The Agricultural club of Dallas coun- ty will meet today in the court house at Selma. Important matters will be con- sidered.
 Governor Terrell of Georgia has tele- graphed to Governor Jelks of Alabama asking him to send several rifle teams nah next week.
 Suit will be pushed against the Sea- board Air Line railway for its crossing on the lower wetumpka road near Mont gomery. The crossing is reported to be a public nuisance.
 The Anniston Star advocates forming two district associations of Alabama newspaper men. one to be composed or publishers of dailies and the other in cluding editors of weeklies
 The furnace of the Woodstock Iron works in Anniston is producing over two hundred tons of iron daily. This is con- sdered a good record and the company Is finding a ready sale for the output.
 There are about one hundred families in Huntsville without cooks and the question of domestic help is troubling the matrons. There seems to be an epi- demic of laziness among the negroes.
 R. L. Adams and R. A. Mitchell had thrilling experience with a runaway au- tomoble down Belleview road near Gads- den The machine jumped over thirty foot bluff but neither occupant was in- jured.
 It is rumored in Mobile that Capt. John Quill, part owner of the Nettie Quill. and his brother, Capt. James Quill, have purchased the Alabama river steamer Mary. The deal has awakened much in- terest among steamboat men.
 It is reported that the farmers of Shelby county are in better financial con- dition than they have been for several years. In fact prosperity among Ala bama tillers of the soil will be general this year if the cotton worm does not prove disastrous in some sections.
 The adjourned session of the state leg islature will meet in September. and as the date Is not far off Alabama politi- clans are beginning to discuss the busi- ness to come before the lawmakers The session will last twenty-two working days. Matters of local legislation will consume most of the time
 Candidates for governor in the ap- preaching election have already become numerous. Among the state officers mem toned are Lieutenant Governor Cum ningham, State Auditor Sowell, State Treasurer Craig Smith. Commissioner Poole of the agricultural department President Carmichael of the state board of convict inspectors and Secretary of State J. Thomas Hefin. Others consider ed possibilities are: President Pro-Tem Godsby of the senate, Colonel Quarles of Dallas, Gen. George P. Harrison of Lee, Alex London of Jefferson. From present indications the campaign will be one of the most stirring since the noted contest in which General Clayton. Cap tain McKelroy and Tom Sea were the oopdidotac
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
A BIT OF A LAUGH
Safe With Him.

From the Chicago News.
 Mrs. Doubleigh-"Does your husband ever disclose any of his lodge secrets?''
 Mrs. Clubleigh-"No. indeed. By the time he gets home from the lodge his memory is a blank.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ALABAMA

If Jew wrong Christian, what Is his humllity?-revenge; if Christian wrong a Jew, what should his suffer ance be, by Christian example ?-why, revenge.
 --Merchant of Venice.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21

The Cheyennes, who claim con stitutional right to celebrate the sun dance, evidently have not heard from the little brown Americans in the Philippines. There are many things the republicans do not consider them selves bound to respect.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
Lord Roberts Coming.

London, August 20.-Lord Roberts and his staff have booked passage on the Dominion steamer Mayfiower, which will sail from Liverpool September 2S for Boston, Mass.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
Every Little Counts.

From the Washington Star
 That historical novel of yours doesn't read as if you had studied history much" said the brutal critic
 Thank you," said the author whom nothing disconcerts. This is the first time you have given me credit for origi- nality."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21

The Chicago Tribune says the latest reports from Senator Morgan convey the intelligence that he is feeling peart, chipper and sassy.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21

A fleet of icebergs is off the New England coast, and the 400" feel chilly, especially when so much water Ms oozing ont of Wall street.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
Cautious Man.

From the Philadelphia Record.
 Photographer-Dont assume such a fierce expression. Look pleasant.
 Murphy-Not on your life. My wife is going to send one of these pictures to her mother, and if I look pleasant she'll come down on a visit.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21

David B. Hill denounces lynch law. The Montgomery Advertiser should not, however, lay this up against him. He does not know better.