davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15
VIII Take Needed Vacation.

MT. H. H. Mayberry, after years of close application to business, has decided to take vacation of two or three months. He and his family will leave this week for Franklin, Tenn, near which town MT. Mayberry owns fine farm. Mrs. Mayberry and the children will remain at the farm until next October, but MT. Mayberry will return to Birmingham and resume active work early in the spring. In .ho nlea.itisee.. t5- s:s:: .sIt Birming- ham frequently for the purpose of look ing after his interests here.
 MT. Mayberry is largely interested in valuable options on coal lands, and it is said that he is thinking of engaging in the mining and coke business within the next twelve months.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15
4 HOLD-UP ERA.

From the New York Mail and Express.
 If the experience of three great com munities is any criterion, there has been am outbreak of highway robbery and street hold-ups in many American cities.
 Nearly every day recently some woman has been attacked and robbed in the streets of the metropolis, and on several occasions the miscreant has been negro. In Boston, the chairman of the board of police has advised women to take some body with them when they go out at night, or else carry revolvers and shoot if assaulted" AS a business woman put 1t, "Thngs have come to a pretty pass if we must have a body guard with us whenever we go out on the streets after dark, or else be quicker shots than professional thieves and thugs"
 Things certainly have come to pretty pass in Chicago. The city has just round- ed up a murderous gang of boy bandits. but street attacks have become, so nu- merous that many lt:zens go armed. More than a thcdsand such cases are now awaiting .Tlai in the criminal courts; the charge ,s made that the police and poli- ta..ans protect thugs, and that every criminal from a dip to a "hold-up" man operates under regular tariff. There were a score of hold-ups one night this week.
 It seems that outbreaks of lawlessness in this country run fin cycles. In the summer time look out for lynchings. The colder months are the season for desper- ate crime in the cities. Only the grafter is consistently active all the year around. l There Is reason in the influx every win | ter of tramps into the city in the great CT lonliness of the suburbs, and in the in- creasing hardness of life that follows it, why the first fall of snow should be the signal for the outbreak of bold robbery in the cities.
 Unlike lynchings and grating, highway robbery Is not national evil. But like them both, 1t derives countenance from still another national evil-the laws delay. And the odium in which it is held is be- ing diminished by another evil that threatens to become national. Picket ing" and Friendly persuasion" as prac- ticed by entertainment committees on honunion men as they go to and from their work, are so like highway robbery that some people can not see the differ ence.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
New Orleans on Top.

While New York and other of the great eastern cities are complaining of hard times,'' remarked a New Orleans drummer last night "our city, the real metropolis of the south, is in a more prosperous condition than ever before. We are exporting more cotton, more corn and more wheat than any one of the eastern ports. The high price of cotton-a staple which New Orleans really controls-has brought millions of money into our section; and will bring much more. Our merchants are doing an immense business this fall; our bank clearings are greater than ever before; our postoffice receipts marvelously in- creased; our hotels crowded, and you may count New Orleans clearly on top
 And, by the way, New Orleans is growing more rapidly in wealth and pop ulation than ever before in her history. When New Orleans is on top the whole south is a winner"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15
Preparing for Battle.

The republican national convention is to be held in Chicago on June 21. The democratic national executive commit tee will meet on January 12 to desig- nate the time and place for the holding of the democratic convention. When that is done the campaign will be defi- nitely defined.
 Pittsburg and St. Louis were rivals of Chicago before the republican nat ional committee but Chicago won the honor readily. It is more than probable that the democratic convention will likewise be held in Chicago, although it is stated that both New York and Bal timore will contest for it.
 As rule republican conventions are held first, but there is feeling that an aggressive campaign should be con ducted by the democrats, and that they should not therefore await the action ol the repuDllcdHS. III Jne Olu QdyS, when democratic nomination was generally equivalent to an election, the democratic standard bearers were chosen first, and there is no reason why the rule should not be readopted.
 At any rate let us have a warm campaign. Let the fighting be forced from the beginning, and leg all the evils of republication frem Dingleyism 'oYn to Machenism Je exposed on very stump. In order to do this a )ng campaign will be needed. The tory of the misdoings of the republi an party can not be speedily told. IL 5 too long. An early nomination is de.
 able Place the democratic stan. dard bearer early in the field, and let 'dogged war bristle his angry crest" The country wants warm contest, and it does not care how soon 1t Is begun.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15
SpindIes and Raw Cotton.

In 1892 there were 90,S20000 spin dies in the world; in 1902 the number had been increased to 0S,S90.O00. The average annual increase in spindles in the world is about 2,300,0O0, or about 21-3 per cent.
 The commercial crop of the world is about 16,O00,0O0 bales, and in order to keep pace with the increase in spin dies, this crop should be increased each year 2 IS per cent, or 427,000 bales. The worlds crop is not increas- ing at that rate.
 The Wall Street ournal presents the subject in this form:
 In 19O2-03 the cotton crop of the United States reached the figure of 10,75S326, and the number of spindles operated in Flu rope, America and India increased to 107,- G5s,OOo Sixty-five per cent. of these spin dies uses American cotton in their opera to have increased to 1oS,Oo0, OOO and the cot preaching 1904. the number of spindles in Europe, America and India is estimated tohave increased to los, ,O00 900, and the cot ton supply for GO per cent. of these spin dles will have to come from a crop esti- mated to be at least million bales under the heavy crop of 1s9S-1S99 when there were 100000 less spindles in Europe, America and India
 The number of spindles may be con. sidered representative of the consump tion of the world. At any rate every ac. tive spindle consumes cotton, and it is mooted question whether the worlds crop can keep the worlds spin. dies in motion. This is but another form of the old problem-supply and demand, production and consumption
 The two chief facts that share all in the face are these the worlds crop of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15
Early County Primary.

Almost unanimously the county ex. ecutive committee decided to hold a county primary on Monday, March If, when candidates for county and beat offices will be selected.
 The committee wisely decided to hold the primary under the excellent primary law passed by the last legis- lature, and all who were democrats two years ago are invited to participate. The committee also decided to cut off all run-offs, for the man who receives the highest vote, be it majority or a minority, shall be the nominee. This is the rule in elections, and there is no reason why it should not be the rule in primaries. All efforts to prevent a choice at the primary will now be abandoned.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15
Expansion of the Telephone.

From the Chicago Record Herald.
 The Electrical Review calls attention to the fact that hardly a day passes in which several telephone companies are not incorporated in the smaller cities and towns throughout the country. In the west it appears that farmers are finding the telephone very useful not only in con- ducting their household affairs, but in marketing their produce. Formerly the farmer stored his grain in elevators, wait ing for an advantageous time to sell. Now he stores it himself, says the Elec- trical Review, receives the market uuota- tions over the telephone and disposes of his grain by telephone whenever in his judgment he can do so to the best ad- vantage. He does this without loss of time, and has the satisfaction of closing a bargain at once at current prices
 According to statistics compiled by the Bell Telephone company, there were in 1902 2,525, COG telephones in the hands of licensees under rental in the United States. There was d total of 1,O2064 sta tions. and the number of exchange con- nections daily was 7531 7sl. or a total per year of over 2,425, ,O00O00. The entire capt. tai invested in telephone systems in this country was estimated at $S50.O00.000. The statistics for 1903, of course, will show a great increase in number of stations in stalled and number of instruments under rental.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15

In other words, raw cotton has been advanced 45 per cent, while print cloths are cilly 13 per cent higher; drills, 1e per cent, and sheetings, 23 to 25 per cent.
 These figures are rather discourag- ing. but compensations are creeping in. Wages have been reduced in New Eng land ten per cent, and the commission houses are beginning to mark up the prices of goods. The southern hosiery manufacturers decided lost week at a meeting held in Chattanooga, to ad- vance prices on their products five per cent, holding further advance of ten per cent in sight.
 The goods market will speedily re- spond to the situation, and curtailment will not become necessary. Few if any of the Alabama mills will resort to it, and the chances largely are that we have heard the last of it. The world wants rather more cotton than the south can ordinarily make in these days of the boil weevil, and consumers will pretty soon appreciate the state of things, and will buy goods at slightly higher prices. The raw material will not be materially cheaper, and it fol- lows. therefore, that the prices of fin ished products must be increased. This will be done long before the North Carolina mill owners meet again in May.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15

 who was injured several days ago In ar explosion at Flat Top, will be glad to heai that he is rapidly recovering from the several burns received in the explosion He has been undergoing treatment al Tally & McAdory's infirmary since the accident occurred.
 w. T. Northington. a prominent citi- zen of Prattvlle. was one of the Hill mans arrivals last night
 The Hon. Flex L. Smith of Rockford one of the leading attorneys of east Ala bama, is at the Morris.
 F. B. Clements. of Tuscaloosa, presi- dent of the Tuscaloosa Plumbing company and vice president of the Demopolis Elee- trical Light and Power company. is regis tered at the Metropolitan.
 A. E. Shahan, a prominent young busi- ness man of Attalla, is at the Florence.
 Gordon McDaniel of Atlanta is stopping at the Morris.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15
THE ALIEN STANlZA.

From the Baltimore Herald.
 A New Orleans dispatch calls attention to the fact, by no means generally known, that "The Star-Spangled Banner" has a stanza that was not written by the immortal Francis Scott Key, but was added during the stress of sectional diff ferences when impulse got the better of calm judgment. This extra stanza has appeared in books and other publications since the civil war, but, happily, was given little attention. The confederate veterans of New Orleans have objected to it. and make the request that it be excluded from the school and music books. where it is sometimes published.
 It was a thoughtless injustice to Key and his inspired production to add to it. The alien stanza should be omitted. The original manuscript is now in the possession of one of Keys descendants who resides in this city, and it does not contain the stanza in question.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15
VILLAIN ELLIE.

By John Payne.
 The air Is white with snow flakes clinging, Between the gusts that come and go: Methinks I hear the woodlark singing. Methinks I see the primrose springing On many bank and hedge, although The air is white with snow flakes clnging. Surely the hands of spring are fiinging Wood scents to all the winds that blowj Methinks I hear the wood lark singing. Methinks I see the swallow wingine
 Across the woodlands sad with snowt The air is white with snow flakes c1iuGihe, Was that the cuckoo's wood chime swihg-
 ing?
 Was that the linnet f1uting low7 Methinks hear the wood lark singing. Or can it be the breeze Is bringing
 The breath of violets? Oh. no! The air is white with snow fiakes einging. It is my lady's voice that's strlnging
 It's beads of gold to song, and Sd Methinks hear the wood lark singing: The violets see up-springing
 Are in my lady's eyes, trowj The air is white with snow flakes clinging: Dear. whilst thy tender tones are ring
 ing,
 Even whilst amidst the winters woe The air is white with snow flakes clinging Methinks hear the wood lark singing;
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15

Henry Watterson in the Courier-Journal. 6 HE long and the short of the canal \0 business is that the administration,
 having taken the bit in its mouth, has also the whip in Its hand, and means to buck it through, willy nilly. and that those of us who want both to get the canal and to be honest, can either stand aside anG let her go, Gallagher, or make common cause with the trans continental railway ring in opposition, and, in the event of beating the treaty, lose the canal.
 Thus, literally, we find ourselves be- twixt hell and the iron works. It is case of be-damned if we do, and be- damned if we don't; the moral accounta- bilities, however upon the broncho-buster who can be relied upon to keep the Ten Commandments lighted in the vestibule of the White House whilst rifiing Colom- bia across the way in the back office of the state department. In the face of such a dilemma. what is a poor girl to do?
 She might take to the woods. But, soon or late, she would have to come out for meat or drink. The most virtuous damsel must live In the olden time, when convents were provided for the distressed and the devout, Virtue was able to seek her refuge within moated grange and gabed wall; but who shall rescue her from this terrible Teddy, who, with honeyed words and pious phrases, casts conscience to the winds and would debauch the very Grandmother Superior even of his own beloved order of the Holy Zebra
 At last, we need to be in no hurry. We are not bound to say our catechism &C., cording to the Quay-Addicks reform rit- uai, nor to cry "amen" every time the President opens jackpot with prayer. We are not bound to accept P. Bean Va nila even as a second Elijah Dowie. We may still question the Gray Wolves or the senate We may still look those forty millions in the mouth, and cry TWO to the mule In short, and in fine, the ad- ministration having gone fh to make spoon or spoil a horn, must come out With hands, if not clean, yet not reeking with loot and blood-with skirts not redolent with tragedy and scandal-which 1t de- liberately invited when ignoring the al- ternative Nicaragua clause of the Spoon- CT act. it undertook to conform the steal clause of that act to the skunks in Wash ington and the bucket shops of Paris, repudating the while be Monroe doc- l Urine. which it had voluntarily sworn to support. and foully gobbling Panama In defiance of all our boasted trade prospects with Latin America, to say nothing about the moral sentiment of mankind.
 As democrats, we are answerable for | none of these things. Nothing seems more certain than that the way before
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15
RLowPIPE sHARPsHooTERs.
The Remarkable Weapon of the In
 dians of Guiana.

From Longman's Magazine.
 There are two kinds of bowpipes in use among the Indians of Guiana. The first, called the poocoona, is made of the oorah reed This remarkable reed is found in the Orinoco river only, and there only at certain spots. The oorah grows to the height of at least thirty feet and the basal joint of which the blowpipe is made, is fourteen or fifteen feet long, straight as an arrow, and without knot.
 The inside of the reed is as smooth as glass, hence the facility with which the dart traverses it. Very little of the reed is cut away, so that the pipe is about twelve feet long, and is so strong that when held horizontally there is not the least bend in it.
 The reed having been carefully selected, cut and prepared is inclosed in a small, thin palm trunk, which is split open for the purpose, scraped thin as wafer, and then rejoined with the reed in the center. This palm, for length straightness and lightness, is as remarkable as the reed. The whole pipe, when finished, never weighs more than a pound and half or a pound and three-quarters. Both the mouth or muzzle, and the breech are bell mouthed, the bell pieces being fixed on.
 There are front and back sights, the lat ter formed of the curved teeth of the dasyprocta acouchi, a species of rodent somewhat larger in size than a wild rab bit. Two of the incsors of this animal are fixed on the breech of the pipe by means of wax. The teeth being placed parallel to each other and very close together, the sight is taken between them. Sometimes the foresight is made in the same way, but it more often consists of the single sharp tooth of fish It is placed about a foot back from the mug gle. the back sight being affixed four feet along the tube, so that it is a consdera- ble distance from the eye when aiming.
 The missile used with this tube is mis- named an arrow. It is really a dart, scarcely bigger than a large alarming needle, and with a point quite as fine. The dart is made of the rib of the coocoo- reete palm leaf and is so heavy that it will sink in water. It is about seven inches in length, not thicker than a large needle. and the usual number that an Indian carries with him when shooting is from $50 to 300. ready poisoned. but not prepared with the necessary cotton plugs.
 These darts are strung together some thing like the reeds on which soft cheeses are placed, and then rolled on stick and carried in a quiver points upmost, 1t be- ing requisite to protect them from every chance of being broken or dulled. To protect the hand when handling them the top of the stick is furnished with a small, wheel-like shield
 The fine points are given to the darts by means of the teeth of the devilfish (serrasalmus pirava). and the cotton with which they are plugged before use is found growing wild. It is bound to the base of the dart with thread, with wax obtained from several trees, being largely used also in making the blowpipe.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15
Churches Prosperous.

"One of the many evidences of the pros- perity of the churches of Birmingham is the number of pipe organs that have been installed here within the past two years.' said music lover. 'The First Methodist church has the largest organ not only in Birmingham but, with perhaps two exceptions, the largest in the south. It was purchased several years ago at a cost of s10,000. Among the organs built this season is a 5000 instrument in the Highlands Presbyterian church and a very sweet voiced instrument at the Sec ond Presbyterian church.
 Pipe organs, unlike pianos, improve with age. An organ fifty years old is far sweeter than new one. The finest organ that I ever heard was in the Protestant cathedral in Berne, Switzerland. I at tended recital there in 1894 Hess one of the greatest virtuosos in Europe was the performer. At that time the organ was eighty or eighty-one years old"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15
FoRTUhoUs ATOMS.

From the Baltimore Herald
 The British government Is in bad way If Sir William Vernon Harcourts characterization of it has even a frag- ment of fidelity He declares that it cannot be called a government at all. "Only derelict Sf fortuitous atoms" he says, which has lost it's best officers and is being washed by waves over which it has no control.' Derelict wreck is dis couragng enough, but to accuse the gov ernment of being a experimentation of fortuitous atoms is very close to the depths of despair.
 A government that is only an affair of chance deserves sympathy. It is to be hoped that the blue outlook Is confined largely to Sir William, and that his ex- traordinary metaphor is just bit exag- gerated.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15
The Dead in Westminster.

Said a churchman yesterday: Herbert Spencer is not the only one of his class whose body has been refused burial in Westminster abbey. George Eliot's friends were denied admission of her remains in the historic place. Spencer was one of those friends and asked Huxley to sign q petition to allow the body to repose there; but even Huxley declined, pointing out that Westminster was not Pan- theon, but a church.
 One cannot eat his cake and still have it. said Huxley. and added that he recognized the right of the church to debar those who in life had been against it's ordinances and it's teachings.
 Darwin, it is true, is buried in Vest minister but that was an exception, and must not be set up as a precedent. There is no place for the Huxleys nor the Spencers nor the Eliots in that spot so sacred to God-fearing believers. To place their remains there would dishonor those who though dead still liyeth. This last denial is an object lesson"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15
About Persons.

Dr. R. S. Hill of Montgomery is regis tered at the Hillman.
 The Hon. w. B. Oliver of Calera, sena- tor from the Fifteenth district, is regis tered at the Florence.
 S. P. Mcdonald of Sylacauga was one of the St. Nicholas arrivals last night.
 
 Feyton H. Shook of Atlanta is stopping at the Hillman.
 A. steinhart. prominent merchant and business man of Greenville. is stopping at the Metropolitan
 D. S. Boyd, a representative of H. & E. Beer of New Orleans, is at the Morris. He is in he>city for the purpose of con meeting the wires of the Beers with the stock exchange of Ward & Caldwell. Our stock exchanges" said MT. Boyd, "are doing a rushing business this winter. We are establishing new exchanges every week. l spent last week In Montgomery. where we put in an exchange. Already our house there is doing a good business" w. c. Hearn of Talladega is stopping at the Metropolitan.
 E. l.. Pease of Atlanta was one of the St. Nicholas last arrivals last night. G. B. Tyler of Montgomery was one Of the Hillman's arrivals last night
 
 John B. Tanner of Athens is registered at the Florence.
 The many friends of w. L. Rodgers superintendent of mines for the state
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15
An Accommodating Conductor.

We have a very accommodating con- ductor on our street car line" said a man who works half the night "The last car on our line leaves the business portion of the city at 12 o'clock, and there are about five regular patrons of the midnight car, The conductor has been on the run for sometime and he knows his passengers quite well.
 ''The midnight car has no regular schedule, and the conductor will hold the car until every one of us is ready to go home. I have known him to hold the car at the Florence hotel corner for at least five minutes. And it pays him we'll, too, for the reason that every night al- most, he receives his next days supply of cigars. Anyone will give two or three cigars and five cents to get a ride home if he lives in the suburbs, and 1t Is the last car"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-15
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR,

From the New York Press.
 Next to being pretty herself woman would rather have her next best friend not be.
 If there is nothing else to be jealous of a woman can be it about an old pipe with a cracked stem.
 About the only man who has contempt for marrying for money is the man who has married without it.
 The difference between a widow and an old maid is only the difference between rich cream and skinned milk.