The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-09-20

| HHE aftermath of the great south | lOD ern storm continues to fill the
 columns of our daily papers. It Is a noticeable fact that it was only the smaller vessels. including fishing smaeks' schooners, and freight steamers that suf
 fered in the combat with the waves. Although the hurricane was one of the heaviest in years. there were compara- lively few lives lost. The greatest dam- age was to property, perhaps, the losses on land surpassing in magnitude those on the water. Such a catastrophe teaches the lesson that men are gradually reach ing that point where the war of the ele- ments will lose its terrors. Our large ocean steamers are able to weather with out great trouble the fercest gale that Boreas can send out and the worst mis- fortune to be feared on one of these boats is an accident to the machinery. Such a contingency as that of sinking is not often considered when one is safely ensconced within the huge bulk of an ocean liner. The waves may toss and the winds roar their loudest but great steamers plough across the Atlantic undaunted and seldom allow a storm to interfere with their schedules. The same thing is true on the land The worst damage storm can do to our huge sky-scrapers Is to loosen a part of the cornice or perhaps blow out few windows We have not yet learned to look upon the warning elements with any degree of fortitude but as the years pass dangers from this cource are grad ually becoming less.
 After so much discussion it would seem that the canteen question had been effect ually settled, but it Is extremely hard to down. The matter has again cropped out in army circles since the recommenda- ton of Brig Gen. Frank D. Baldwin com handing the department of the Colorado, that the army canteen be restored He points out that when the men are not permitted to enjoy a decent glass of beer in the military quarters they will resort to vile brothels that surround the posts All this has been brought out many times before but there are some people who can not bear the idea of legalizing drinking among soldiers or any other class of men,
 Whether there is an army canteen or not the soldiers are determined to drink It would be hard task to stamp out the habit in the United States army and it is this fact that induces wise officers to recommend the army canteen. thus bring ing down upon their heads the maledic- tions of temperance reformers.
 The Columbia, s. c. State bewails decadence in the southern pronunciation. In the early days when blue dress coats. buff vests, and blue trousers drawn tightly down over the shoes, were the accepted attire of the gentlemen there were many quaint expressions that are now regarded horror by precisions of a new school. If at this day a man in po- lite society should be guilty of saying bile" for boil or "deef" for deaf he would be overwhelmed with ridicule In colonial days the south was the arbiter of gentility and the best exponent of English culture. but now the phraseology of that day Is considered illiterate by people who are not we'll informed on matters appertaining to the English lan- guage Such pronunciation is now heard only in the rural districts or among ig- norant classes in towns. Yet it has been poiutcu Out py SHdIltS tBDeTC CrdQQOck that the dialect of her Tennessee noun taineers is really of Elizabethan origin. In the time of the miracle plays such a. word as git was eminently proper but nowadays no one but Gen. Joe Wheeler is permitted to use 1t in polite society.
 The staid old London papers are hay ing troublous time just now with an avalanche of forged letters The War wick" rattlesnake letter has been given such publicity and has raised so many laughs that the incident is familiar to all. This hoax was perpetrated on the venerable Times but other papers are not exempt. Both the Standard and the Post have been victimized by designing persons who seek to get their views air. ed in the papers over the signatures of well known persons Recently a letter purporting to come from Dean Holland <<<<-<<-<<><-<-<-<-<