davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
Credit to Birmingham.

q have heard many of the great choirs in this country-CatAolic and Episcopal but few were as fine as that which sang at St. Pauls last Sunday said an old music critic WHO has lived in a half dozen different cities ard who has spent much time in New York.
 This choir was indeed revelation to me. In volume. in vigor of attack, in in- tonation and in expression, called now adays dynamics, the chcir was up to New York or New Orleans standard. As ev- cry one familiar with musical literature knows, Weber's mass in G. which was the work rendered Sunday is extremely trying to the sopranos and tenors on ac- count of It's high range. Nevertheless. the singers delivered it with wonderful facility.
 "The solo soprano acquitted herself with the highest credit. Not often does one hear a voice in church so pure and musical and of such compass as hers. It recalled to me a famous soprano heard in an historic Episcopal church many years ago. In New York there are vocal artists holding choir positions and
  do not come Up to the soprano I listened to at St. Pauls. This singer has all the qualities that make an artist-beautiful voice. which God gave her; temperament, which is a subtle something that causes one to say of this or that person: He Cor she) Is a born musician imagination. musical education and experience. The work that the solo soprano does in Weber's mass is more than any principal in grand opera Is required to do. From the Kyrie Eleison to the Dona Nobis she has little rest. Swift runs and brd-lke trills and high As and sustained notes in the 'Et Incarnatus est three whole bars on G-seemed easy to the woman who essayed the leading part on this oc- casion. And she had the pitch every time
 'If the pope ever interdicts colorature music in church, as I understand he is considering, Webers mass, with many master works of Mozart and Rossini, will be laid aside. But so long as Weber's operatic work Is tolerated by the church. I will always be on hand to hear it. Bir- mingham should be proud of choir that can sing classic compositions like St. Paurs."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20

scheme for making hardened criminals out of county convicts is before the legislature, and it calls aloud for leg islative action. Dr. Bragg presents the case none too strongly.
 The jails of the state, says Dr. Bragg, beggar description. They ere ate disease. Prisoners are herded in them like sheep, with no ventilation, no sanitation, no bathing facilities, and no change of clothing, although they may be confined for months, reeking with filth, and covered with vermin, the food being "of the toughest" These are Dr. Bragg's own words, and he knows whereof he speaks.
 When the fact is considered that the convicts yield net profit of s100, 1000, more or less-probably more under the new system-all excuse for permitting such inhumanities and barbarities to go uncorrected, is taken away. Prison reform, 1t is plain, should be extended to the jails and to the fee brigade. The whole problem of county convicts needs revision, and the present legis- lature cannot cut too deeply or thor Oughlv
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
Less Oil at Beaumont.

Even the compressed air plants, cost ly as they were, no longer can raise oil at the Spindle Top wells, and noth- ing short of vacuum pumps will answer now, and they are very expensive. The "gush" period is ended, the gush- CTS no longer doing any gushing, and the marking up of the price of oil to one dollar barrel is sufficient evi- dence of its scarcity.
 There will continue to be a good supply of Texas oil, but there will be no more cheap oil that will trench upon the market for coal. That dan ger is passed, and there is no prospect of return. Texas will do well to pro- duce oil enough for it's own various uses and even this is problematical.
 The Texas wells do not at all re- semble the Russian wells at Baku, which seem to be almost inexhaustible, a real worlds wonder. No American wells are lasting, the stored-up prod uct falling lower and lower until the point of exhaustion Is reached. And particularly is this true of gushers or great wells. In a section that affords small wells, yielding from five to twenty barrels each a day and all bumpers, the supply remains good many years, but in the long run they too, cease to be productive and new field becomes necessary. The country is so large and the oil fields so well distributed, an oil famine is scarcely probable, but a glut of oil, such as was one promised at Beaumont, is equally improbable.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
Convicts of the State.

The report of the board of convict inspectors is document to which much thought and care have been given. and it should be read by every humane person in the state. It dis closes conditions that are by no means creditable to Alabama. Prison reform has been extended in some degree to the state convicts, but it has not yet touched the county convicts. During the year covered by the report 3471 county convicts were handled, as againts 3090 state convicts. The num- Der of state convicts is not rapidly in creasing, the average being 1776, which was very nearly the number on hand when the year began. But the county convicts are rapidly increasing in num- Der. Dr. Bragg says in his report: Many county convicts are convicted on the most frivolous charges, given a sentence of few days, with cost bill extending to the very limit of the law So universal has this custom be- come in some sections of the state, that it would appear that many of these poor unfortunates were convicted
 principally for the fees" What is the result of imprisonment for the benefit of the fee brigade? Dr. Bragg an- swers this question: "I have seen little
 boys dying of tuberculosis and old men serving on some frivolous charge dying of senile debility and begging with their last breath to go home" This
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
CAPT. R. p. ROBSON
Assigned to Duty at the Puget Sound
 Naval Station.

Washington, January 17-Upon the recommendation of Admiral Bowles. chief constructor of the navy, Acting Secretary Darling today signed an order assigning Constructor Hobson to duty in charge of the construction department at the Puget Sound Naval Station at Bremerton. Hob son has been for some months on waiting orders, having declined an assignment to Pensacola, pending action of congress upon a bill authorizing his retirement Special action of this nature was re- garded as necessary in view of the failure of two naval examining boards to find him physically disqualified for active ser vice. The navy department concluded that the straits through the resignation of Constructor Nibbs. leaving vacant the important post at Bremerton. justifles the action taken today. Hobson is now in a position where he must resign from the naval service altogether or undertake ac- tive duty, for which he feels himself un- fitted by reason of eye trouble.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
STATE NEWS ITEMS.

Georgia people will erect a large oil mill at Jasper.
 The governor has appointed J. F. McCool chancellor of the Sixth district.
 Saturday afternoon in Selma Levi John son was shot and mortally wounded by Frank Frambow in a crap game
 The Cypress Tank company, having a capital stock of s2o,Ooo. has been organized at Mobile. The company will manufacture tanks vats and cisterns.
 The banks of Opelika held their annual election Monday and Tuesday of last week, and without an exception reelected their old directors and officers.
 A negro was found dead beside the Southern railway track near Selma Fri day. The negro is supposed to be Will liam Jackson. His slayer Is unknown.
 
 Miss Ethel Tillman Heard of Auburn has been appointed sponsor for general headquarters. representing all the camps of the U. c. V. Miss Heard has also been appointed sponsor for the Alabama d. vision.
 Tom Benton, a notorious negro or Seiiha is at large in Shelby county. He proke jaf three days ago and rewards nave been offered by the sheriff, the county or fcials and the. Shelby citizens for his capture.
 George B. Bryant, sheriff of Baldwin countv has rendered his resignation to the governor. to take effect when his suc- cessor has been appointed and qualified. M Armstrong, the present county tax commissioner, Is the only applicant so far.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
From the Washington Times.

From the Washington Times.
 In declaring his opposition to the elec- tion of the Hon. Reed Shoot, the Mormon apostle, as senator from Utah. President Roosevelt seems to have subjected to a violent strain certain theories which he has been wont to preach and practice. It is difficult, in fact, to reconcile the Presi- dents pointed disapproval of the Nor mon churchman's candidacy with the logic which led him recently, in the face of strenuous protest, to bestow on Dr. Crum, a South Carolina negro, the collectorship of the port of Charleston.
 In nominating pr. Crum against the in- dignant remonstrances of the leading cit izens of Charleston the President sought to dscredit-anG did discredit-the south ern contention that political preferment can bean should be-denied on the sole ground of race, color, or previous con- dition of servitude."
 The nominee was objected to by South Carolina sentiment singly ana solely be- cause his skin was black, and the Presi- dent held that it would be a betrayal not alone of the letter of the constitution, but of the spirit and theory of American de- mocracy to let that ill-grounded objec- tion swerve him from an appointment against which no other note of protest had been raised.
 But If a negro in South Carolina is not to be debarred from the rights and priv ileges of citizenship because of color, why is mormon in Utah to be stripped of similar rights and privileges solely be- cause of doctrinal faith and doctrinal practices?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
STREET CAR TAXES.
The Amount Cincinnati Derives From
 It's Street Car Systems.

From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
 Almost s2,Oooooo was taken in by the street cars in this city during the last six months of 1902. This is shown by the ex- animation of the books of the Cincinnati Traction company, which has just been completed by experts, Fred A. Stegner and George I. King. of the city auditors office They report that the total gross earnings of the company for the last half year amounted to s1. Ss2. s6o. "A, and the per centage due the city at 5 per cent was S91, ,643. .04. Of this amount the company pail $S3, ,490. .09, leaving a balance still due of sSl52 95. The increase in percentage over the corresponding period of 1901 was s5OS3.S2. City Auditor Milliken will sub init the report to the B. of L. Monday night. It shows the monthly receipts of each of the thirty-four car lines, also of the incline plane. special cars, letter car riers and advertising in cars. The largest
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
Convicts to be Carried Home.

Representative Benners has prepared a bill that deeply relates to the wei fare of Jefferson county. It provides that a convict shall, on the expiration of his sentence, be carried back to the county that sentenced him. Mr. Ben ners urges that some of them would reform if carried back to their rural surroundings, whereas if they are turned loose in this county they would seek other criminals, thereby drifting into criminal careers
 Even if there be not much founda- tion for this belief, yet it is monstrous- ly unjust to unload on the chief tax paying county of the state criminals from sixty-fve other counties. It is unjust to do so, and MT. Benners will endeavor to change a practice so un- fair and so wrongful. Every county should tote it's own skillet, and Jeffer- son is becoming tired of toting sixty five skillets other than it's own.
 The chances are that MT. Benners' bill would promote both the good of this district and of the released con victs themselves, and it should become law. It is difficult to see in short how any member can conscientiously vote to unload on one county the con victs of the entire state. Such a state of things IS anomalous, and it must be due more to neglect than to intention.
 Let us hope MT. Benners will press his bill, thus putting an end to one of the sorest grievances of this district. The fact that this grievance has been patiently borne, when in any other state it would have been bitterly op- posed, should not initiate against MT. Benners bill. The people of Jefferson are entitled to fair and just treatment, ard the representatives of the other counties will doubtless concede such treatment when MT. Benners bill IS brought before them.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
TradInu in Stocks.

'No man can tell as a rule, just no" the stock market is going to jump salo an old financier, who owns many rallroao securities, but In a growing country hke this stocks of intrusive value will seek' all the while. higher levels.
 The reason that so many men lose money in stock speculation is because they lack patience If the stock does not advance pretty soon after they buy 1t they sell out. Those traders who use judg- ment in selecting stocks for purchase lose less money in the course of years than the merchant who does credit business. have always practiced pa tience and have profited by 1t. Several years ago I bought Southern railway pre- ferred at r or 171R. I have 1t yet ana 1t is selling above 95. I bought Southern Railway preferred all the way up to 50 and soaked 1t down. l knew no more about the inside workings of the Southern than outsiders generally know, but l felt confident that unless the bottom dropped out of this great country of ours the preferred stock would be a dividend payer and would be worth par The per cent dividend that I receive on what l bought when 1t was cheap makes the investment a 25 per cent affair. Patience is the thing"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
Result of a Mistake.

"Creatore's attack of vertigo at the Jefferson, which, however, turned out not to be at all serious, was the result of a mistake made in Atlanta said Creatore's manager at the Morris last night.
 "Our train from Atlanta was scheduled to leave at 6:1O a. m. According to hls rule the bandmaster remains in bed until within three-quarters of an hour before train time. The Birmingham train was reported at the hotel over three hours late. That was a mistake, and there was rush and excitement when 1t was found that Creatore had only twenty minutes in which to dress and run to the train shed. The nervous strain was severe; hence the vertigo. Creatore was sleeping quietly here at the Morris at midnight. He will be all right in time for the mati- nee.''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
ICE CREAM AN eAcILLI.

From the New York Sun.
 Probably Miss Henrietta Thomas of the Womens Medical college of Balti- more cares naught for lay opinion and lives and moves by science alone. She has been investigating ice cream, mostly cheap ice cream and she finds 1t bulg- ing with bacteria. In one cubic centi- metre of the perilous stuff she 'discov- cred 36,000,0 GOO bacteria of various sorts." We love science, but we're a little par ticular about figures Is it reasonable to any other substance in such vagues round numbers as "3s,0O0, COOP" Demon strate to us that in one cubic centimetre of ice cream there are 36,623, 497 bacteria and we may be convinced. As 1t is, we decline to be frightened even by that horrible bacillus, the Streptococcus lance olatus, which Miss Thomas took out of ice cream and inserted into a guinea pig to the sudden death of that guinea pig For all we know to the contrary, the constitution of the guinea pig may be delicate and he might die of exposure after a dose of Roman punch. Bad Ice cream sags with bacilli. All right. Don't eat bad ice cream In this world of woe: Many a blamed bacterium, many a bad
 bacillus,
 Day and night and overtime is working
 for to kill us.
 'F~TzsgyETFv5sI Life Is often resigned with cheerful ness, but ice cream Is a necessity
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
Death of Gonzales.

The brilliant and forcible editor of the Columbia State lies dead in a weeping state. He founded the State, and he and his paper were household words in every part of South Carolina. His integrity was never questioned. and his courage was shown in the most dangerous branch of the Cuban serv- ice. As a scout he served Cuba and the Cubans against Spain to the end of the war.
 Few newspaper men had led more active life. He grew up under the trained eye of the late Editor Francis w. Dawson of the Charleston News and Courier, and he served that paper many years as it's Columbia corre- spondent. He served in that capacity until he founded the State, and in the State he never failed to speak his con victions. His outspoken, bold words cost him his life, and South Carolina mourns today one of her worthiest sons-one whose eloquent pen never traced an untruth or lent itself to an unmanly act. The living sons of the state should erect in some central square or street in the capital city statue that should tell to future gen erations how brave man lived and died for the sake of truth.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
MRS. VANDERBILT RULES
 @ BY LOVE AT BILTMORE

dinner guests of MT. and Mrs. Vanderbilt in the chateau.
 Cornelia Vanderbilt, 2 years old, is the Princess of Biltmore. She is known to every resident for miles along. She has three nurses. Every employe from high est to humblest, doffs his hat when Miss Cornelia appears. This is in obedience to one of Mrs. Vanderbilts unwritten laws. No princess in a fairy tale ever had such living quarters as Cornelia.
 q have been through all the famous palaces of the Old World" said the wife of an architest, who winters in Asheville, "and nowere are there such perfect pro- portions and such beautiful appointments in way of decoration and convenience as in Biltmore. The thirty-nine separate suites for guests are equipped so thor oughly that traveller finds every toilet essential provided. even to pajamas of varied size and weight
 Mrs. Vanderbilt's days are apportioned carefully. There are hours for audience with the housekeeper and the heads of domestic apartments; hours for inter views with men and women employed  to conduct the educational and philan- thropic work of the village. Then comes the time which Cornelia demands. What with these duties and social demands the mistress of Biltmore is as hard worked as any society leader in New York Music plays a large part in the social life of Biltmore. An organ, one of the finest in the world, is built in the music-room. MT. Vanderbilt plays the instrument. With hfs drawn-up shoulders and his care less stride as he strolls over the estate, he easily might be taken for one of the employees. Whenever there is an opera, drama or ball in New York to which Mir and Mrs. Vanderbilt feel inclined to go, button is touched. That sends call for the Vanderbilt private car and engine, and they are borne to that city.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
From the New York Press.


 ffHALK about the idle rich" said an
 " interior decorator recently re-
 turned from the neighborhood of Biltmore, mo sons of toll put in more hours of work than MT. and Mrs. George vanderbilt The village of Biltmore, which they created. loves them to death,' as a little girl said one day when Mrs. Van derbilt's automobile halted to let her pass. The story of the extent and beauty of Biltmore has been told repeatedly. but one must live near by to appreciate the colossal scale upon which 1t is run. For two weeks I drove over the estate, and 1t did not seem then had exhausted It's variety.
 Every man, woman and child on the es- tate-there are GOO employees-is known personally to Mrs. Vanderbilt Tall, grace ful and beautiful, she moves among them in true Lady Bountiful style. She takes the liveliest and most active interest in the church and school of the community that has grown up around the estate. She attends all the meetings. MT. and Mrs. Vanderbilt pay the salary of the clergy man. He and his wife are charming per- sons. Mrs. Vanderbilt has introduced in the school basket-weaving modelling, sew ing and other crafts now part of the most progressive educational system. Biltmore is divided Into sections. each with an overseer, who lives in a picturesque house overlooking the domain intrusted to his care. The overseers of forestry are young, stalwart youths. They wear khaki uniforms and sombreros. To each knight of the forest every tree on the estate is a personal acquaintance. As the men fit by on their horses a dash of Robin Hood Is lent to the sylvan scene. The heads Of each department are cultured men. They make In themselves society not unlike that of a college town. They are frequent
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
THE LADDER OF SAINT AuGUS.
 TINE.

By Longfellow
 Saint Augustine! well hast thou said, That of our vices we can frame A ladder, If we will but tread
 Beneath our feet each deed of shame! All common things, each days events, That with the hour begin and end, Our pleasures and our discontents,
 Are rounds by which we may ascend The low desire, the base design
 That makes another's virtues less; The reyel of the ruddy wine,
 And all occasions of excess; The longing for ignoble things;
 The strike for triumph more than truths The hardening of the heart that brings Irreverence for the dreams of youth; All thoughts of i'll; all evil deeds,
 That have their root in thoughts of Ill; Whatever flinders or impedes
 The action of the n-bler will All these must first be trample down
 Beneath our feet, if we would gain In the bright fields of fair renown
 The right of eminent domain. We have not wings, we cannot soar; But we have feet to scale and climb Bl slow degrees. by more and more, The cloudy summits of our time. The mighty pyramids of stone
 That wedge-like cleave the desert airs, When nearer seen, and better known, Are but gigantic flights of stairs. The distant mountains, that uprear
 Their solid bastions to the skies, And crossed by pathways that appear As we to higher levels rise. The heights by great men reached and
 kept
 Were not attained by sudden flight But they, while their companions slept,
 Were toiling upward in the night. Standing on what too long we bore
 With shoulders bent and downeast eyes We may discern-unseen before
 A path to higher destinies. Nor deem the irrevocable past
 As wholly wasted, wholly vain, If rising on it's wrecks, at last
 To something nobler we attain.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
BETTER SCHOOLS WANTED.

From the Butler Advocate.
 The Advocate sincerely hopes that the legislature will provide for better rural schools The future greatness of Ala bama depends upon the present and fu- ture generations. The children should be educated and it is the duty of our law makers to give them all the advantage obtainable. We must have longer free school terms, better salaried teachers, more comfortable and better equipped school houses. Our rural schools are not what they should be. The legislature will go q good work and receive the plaudits of the people by establishing better schools
The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-01-20
Ambulance for Those Requiring It.

Said a well-known citizen: Many things have been said pro and con about our ann bulance service, but l have railed to see in print just what I wish to place before the people. We know that our ambulance service is given cheerfully by the under talzer continuing the system, but we should not call for his service in cases where 1t is not actually necessary. For instance man is rhuematic or is threatened with some other trouble, but is yet able to walk. He should use a car riage which he could hire for 50 cents instead of putting some one else to an ex- pense of two or three dollars just because he can.
 "The city should not have imposters. Such cases, if continued will tend to a discontinuation of the ambulance service so freely and cheerfully given by Lige .Loy He is the only one doing am- bulance business gratis inside the city limits. the other undertakers having signed an agreement to discontinue on ac- count of the expense. We should each and every one of us be careful not to abuse the privilege"