The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-09-16

| ~ LEN V l13E, SuDufD OIL OltNo-
kO land. has CURLY declined to ac-
~ cept library from the hands Of
Andrew Carnegie. Occasionally the phil
anthropist discovers a town that is not
overwhelmed with gratitude when he Of
fers his free libraries that are not alto
gether free Although Mr.. Carnegie has
the appearance of being very liberal in
his donations, and viewed from his point
of view, is exceedingly so, 1t is not so easy
| for all towns to meet his requirements.
The utility of these wholesale gifts has
been discussed so often that the subject
has become tiresome, but so long as Mr..
Carnegie continues his scheme for edu-
eating the world through the medium of
books the matter will be of live interest.
When an aspiring community Of eight or
ten thousand people come to the conclu-
sion that they must have a public IL
brary, 1t seems very easy to ask for one.
Before the desired institution Is obtained
those same people frequently regret that
the notion ever entered their minds. To
town that is not In good financial condi-
ton 1t is a serious matter to collect enough
subscriptions TO meet the donor half way.
In fact 1t is much harder for a town TO
accept Mr.. Carnegie's gift than 1t Is for
him to make 1t. People are not SO eager o
provide the public with books when the
matter touches their individual purses.
Then again there are many thinking per-
sons In this country who are firmly con-
WINGED that true philanthropy is much
best exemplified in building charity hos
pitals When mans stomach is empty
he has very little relish for a verse of
Omar or the syntactical monstrosities of
Thomas Carlyle
1t is reported from London that the
practice of announcing news from the
stage is spreading rapidly. Is result the
English theatre-going people are making
protest against having the sordid af-
fairs of the world hurled in their faces
when they have comfortably settled down
to enjoy an hour or two in the play
wright's fairyland. 1t has long been the
custom In England to give first tidngs of
important victories to the populace in
this manner, but the expedient In that
case is justified. 1t is the unpleasantness
of being reminded of worldly affairs in
the midst of recreation that is a hardship
for people who have paid for seat. An
nouncements from the stage of an Ameri-
can theatre are doubly impressive from
the fact that they are seldom made, but
in England the practice has become so
common that 1t is tiresome.
Romance is not yet dead in the world.
Now and then we are reminded of this
fact by parties of adventurous spirits
who sail away to hunt for treasure in dis
tant lands. The Pacific ocean provides
material for many wild dreams of this
description while the possibilities that lie
hidden in the numerous isles dotting the
South SEP appeal even to those persons
who have wisdom enough to resist the
temptation of making a voyage Aside
from hope of real treasure that has so
often lured sailors to these far away re-
gions there are undoubted opportunities
for man to become wealthy with very
little trouble IL he will just make up his
mind to be shut off from the world for a
period of five or ten years The improba-
BILE stories we sometimes read in the pa
pers are not at all the invention of mag
NATIVE reporters. There are men who
have had adventures equally as interesting
as those described. For instance, the So
called king of Yap' was a Savannah
man who amassed large fortune in the
South sea and was actually monarch of
all he surveyed" To those spirits who
have tired of the world the pleasant
isles of the Pacific call with an attraction
hard to resist. The utter isolation is the
only thing that prevents many from try
ing their fortunes there. where life is
nothing but an idle dream and where a
man can rapidly sink into slothfulness
from which he will never emerge. Hon
olulu has been subjected to Americaniza-