davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Imperial press., 1905-04-08
A Good Law

The late California legislature passed and Governor Fardee signed the fellow ing bill toe the regulation of corpora- tions which certainly is salutary meas ure-
 "9ection l. Any superintendent, di- rector, secretary, manager, ageut or other officer, of any c0rD0ratiOn f0rmed or existing under the Iaws of this state, and any persOn pretending or holding himself out as such superintendent, dir ector, secretary, manager, agent, or other officer, who shall willfuliy sub scribe, sign, indorse, verify, or other wise assent to the publication either generally or privately, to the stock holders CT other persons dealing with such corporation, OF its stock, any un- true OF willfullv and fraudulently ex Aggerated report, prospectus, account, statement of operations, values, busi- cess, profits expenditures or prospects, or other paper or docu ument intended Go produce or give, to the shares of stock in such corporation a greater value or less apparent or market value than they really possess, or with the intention of defrauding &ny particular person or persons, or the public, or persons gen orally, shall be deemed guilty of a felony and ou conviction thereof shali be pun ished by Imprisonment in State prison or a county iaii not exceeding two years or by fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or by botk."
 It will be seen from this law that some of tke things that have been done in this State cannot be done again with impunity. A strict enforcement of this Jaw will clean out all kinds of wild cat corporations, and as the "wild cats'' are especially bad in new countries lmperial Valley is interested in both the passage and the enforcement of this law.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04
Lac. Hours of the Session.

Today at 12 o'clock the Fifty eighth Congress will have run its course. and in theso last hours all is chaos. Each member or senator is trying to get all he can, and the great supply bills go through loaded with amendments. Tho conferee is a power in these closing hours, but whether for good or ill all needful bills will be passed and signed by the President before he takes the oath of his new term.
 The session now nearly ended will he known in history as the session that began the Panama canal. It passed the Cuban reciprocity act. It acquired the canal zone, and author ized the digging of an isthmian canal, If ordered the beef trust investiga- ton. It ratified, after a fashion, a Int of arbitration treaties with Flu ropean powers. It returned the Con federate battle flags. It authorized an investigation of the Standard Oil trust. It tried to regulate the rail
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04
Blrminqham's Federal Building.

This tow. did not need new post master in order to ascertain that it's feCeral building is outgrown. It is altogether inadequate, and all at tempts to patch into permanent util- ity will pro,e waste of public money
 The Birmingham district is grow ing rapidly, and a new building will soon become a public necessity. The present building may be made to shelter the government officers need ed here until an adequate building can be erected, but that is the limit of the present buildings usefulness. Such a structure as this district needs will cost a million dollars, and five years may be covered in it's con struction. If the present building can be carried along five years it will have served it's purpose excellently. That is all t is good for-to fill a gap. The Birmingham district needs a mil lion-dollar government building.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04
Iiu Iitsu Growing in Favor.

The Japanese soldiers are, it is plain, we'll trained for their work, and the administration has already considered the advisability of adopt ing some of Japan's methods of train ing. Physical development is carried in Japan to a high level, and 1t is believed the Japanese method of wrestling, known as jiu-jitsu, has much to do with it. A joint military and naval board has been appointed at Washington to consider the subject with view of ascertaining what changes in physical culture should be made at West Point and Annapolis.
 The jiu-jitsu is vastly superior to any wrestling we are familiar with. Our best locks, holds and tricks are inefficient against the jiu-jitsu. They are absurdly crude in comparison, and this is why the superior Japanese method will probably be adopted for use at both West Point and Annapolis.
 It also appears that in close com bats the Japanese are far superior to the Russians, and this is said to be due to their skill in sword play. Night combats are becoming frequent, and in these the sword is freely used. The Japanese sword is short, and 1t is made for actual use. It indulges in no grandstand plays, but it cuts. It is made to cut.
 Along with jiu-jitsu will come per haps the Japanese sword, and mid night combats, such as the Romans often indulged in. They, too, fought locked with snort swords. They liter ally hacked an enemy to pieces. Japan bids fair ia short to teach the world how to fight both on the land and the sea. She may not be able to teach the inert Russian how to fight, but she has no desire to make him more war like. She prefers to teach more dis tant nations. and America will per haps be her soonest" scholar.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04

of ITO Have and to Hold" is spending the winter in the far south. and is now at Nassau.
 " c. Henderson of Mobile is at the Morris.
 j. R. Ross of Memphis is stopping al the Morris.
 II. A Washington of Louisville is al the Morris.
 o. R. Hood. c. NJ Wood and L. L. Herzberg of Gadsden are stopping at the Morris.
 Bert C. Veil of Montgomery is at the Metropolitan.
 Dr. Shirley Bragg of Montgomery, state physician inspector for the convict board is at the Metropolitan. A. J. waggoner of Louisville is at the St. Nicholas.
 S. M. Jackson of New York is at the St. Nicholas.
 Fred K White of Charlotte, N. C., is at the St. Nicholas.
 
 H. E. Newman of Hendersonville, Ky is at the Colonial.
 w. F. Adams of Cornith, Miss, is al the Colonial.
 Dr. T. F. Huey of Blocton is at the Metropolitan.
 C. A. Thompson of Anniston is at the Hillman.
 c. F. Peter of Mayline is at the Hill. man.
 Ora Minnis, formerly a clerk at the Metropolitan, has accepted a position a; one of the clerks at Hotel Hillman.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04
THE REAL RUSSIA.

Two Anecdotes from Bismarck Autobi-
 ography.
 The Emperor Nicholas-he who sent 15O,0OO troops into Hungary in 1s49 to help out a brother. despot-sent to Francis " of Prussia for two grenadiers. He wanted them to perform certain massage upon the imperial back while it's pos sessor lay upon the imperial stomach.
 "I can always manage my Russians when I look them in The face" he said, according to Bismarck, but on my stom- ach and without eyes I should not like them to come near me-"
 He got the grenadiers.
 In 1859 the Russian Emperor saw sol- dier in the middle of grass-plot ir the palace grounds. Why was there daily guard, relieved at stated intervals? No one knew. Curiosity was aroused and at last a veteran was discovered who remembered hearing his father say that the Empress Catherine-she died in 1727- once saw snowdrop in the bloom al that point unusually early and asked that a guard be placed there to protect it. And there sentinel remained for al least 132 years; no one knew how much longer
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04

roads, but it failed to perfect the ef- fort. It promised railroad building Tn the Philippines. It talked tariff re form, but onl. talk was indulged in No tariff action was taken or con templated by the republican leaders in either house. The Santo Domingo protocol goes over to the extra ses- sion of the Senate
 All in all it has been an active and inquiring Congress, and some of the reforms it talked about will reappear as ghosts in the Fifty-ninth Con gross. When the latter will be con- yened is now a presidential problem, but whenever it does meet tariff re- vision and railroad regulation will be on hand to me-. it half way. They are questions that will not down"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04
From the New < ork Mail.

From the New 4 ork Mail.
 1 HE fact that half the coffee ex- \CD ported from the coffee produc-
 ing countries should be consum- ed in the United States will strike most Americans with a sense of surprise They have real of the extreme devotion of Spaniards. Turks, Arabs and other old world people to the divinest of berries, and have no doubt supposed themselves to be mere dabsters in the art of drink ing coffee as they undoubtedly are in the art of making it. But Americans in- cline to forget that coffee is generally taken in Europe and she east in linl- tied If a regular way. whereas the Amer ican often drinks it as If 1t were a food three times a day and sometimes in sev- eral cups at a sitting. Moreover, while the Spaniard or Turk prepares his coffee in such a way as to get the full ben- eft of the powdery substance to which he reduces it, and thereby economizes it, the American is prone to grind his berry so coarse that it is necessary to boil great deal of it in order to get sufficiently strong decoetion. We may consume as much coffee as all the rest of the world but it does not follow that we use as much. There can be no ques- ton that we waste more than all the rest of the world put together.
 Extreme American methods in treat ing coffee were illustrated in the Span- ish-American war when whole coffee, indifferently roasted, was served to
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04
Kansas, Oil Mar.

The war that Kansas is waging against the Standard Oil is no child's play. The anti-disc7imination bill has pHssed both houses of the legislature, and it will be signed by Governor Hoch. It provides as follows:
 Any person. firm or corporation, foreign or domestic. doing business in the state of Kansas an1 engaged in the production, m nufacture or distribution of any con- modlty in general use that shall inten- tionaly. for the purpose of destroying competition, discriminate between differ ent sections, communities or cities of tie state by selling such commodity at a lower rate in on. community. or any por- ton thereof. than is charged for such commodity in another community, after equalizing the distance from the point of production. manufacture or distribu- ton and freight rates therefrom, shall be deemed guilt of unfair discrimination.
 This is to be followed by an anti trust law, and maximum freight law The attorney general has also filed a suit in the state supreme court asking that a receiver be appointed for the Prairie Oil and Gas company, which is the name of the Standard Oil in Kansas.
 The legislatur5 of Kansas, the state officers, including Governor Hoch, the county officers, and, best of all, the people, nave enlisted for this war, and they propose to drive the oil octo. pus out of Kansas. Woe" says the Kansas City Star, ito any deserter who may leave the ranks to fight on the side of Standard oil.' Public sentiment in Kansas is in a healthy condition. The battle that Kansas Is waging could not be conducted in the tossridden states. It would be i'm possible in such ,ates as Pennsyl yania, Rhode Islanl, New York or NeW JeI5ey, Dul III haHSdS It IS pos s.ble, and public sentiment is prac tically solid. Standard oil money is powerless in Kansas, and the lobby ists are hocted down and out. It is great moral revolution, and bids fair to point the way to a release oi all tba ctatac fron tha orocD of mn nopoly.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04
undertakers, cnnuentinn.

The Alabama Funeral Directors and Embalmers association will meet in it's annual convention at Montgomery on April } and G." said Sam Foley of Pratt City member of the state board of examiners. At this meeting all the un- dertakers of the state will meet and dis cuss the best methods that oblain among the profession.
 Before any embalmer is admitted into the association he is required to stand a rigid examination. The board of exanin- CTS will meet two days before the time for the convention and will examine ten applicants, who are desirous of obtain ing state licenses.
 'rhe national association is now work ing for a number of reforms in the un- dertakers' laws. The most important of these is to have Congress take up the question of sea burias. and If possible abolish them altogether"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04
New Street Cars.

'The new cars of the Birmingham Railway. Light and Power company are by far the finest tha- are run on any street car system in the south," said a travelled man yesterday "They are up tc date in every way, having all the modern equipment for the accommoda- tion of the street car travelling public.
 "iIhe cars are being run on the East Lake and the Besse.- IT divisions of the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power company and they have attracted great deal of attention. One difference that is very noticeable is tt the platforms are nearly a foot longer than on the older cars. This is an> improvement.
 '"rhese new cars arc built for making speed. They are heated n the winter and so arranged that the windows can be dropped very low in the summer, making them practically summer cars. | They are longer and seat eight mere people ,han the older cars. They have the push buttons to each seat for sig mailing the conductor. and are finished in very pretty ss ,.
 'It was one of these news cars, mak- ing it's first run, that was so badly dam- aged in the collision at Wahouma sta tion yesterday afternoon. and it was hard on the company to lose one of them. By she addition of these cars. the cars on other lines cas be improveG as the cars which were used on the East Lake line before the arrival of the new ones. can be switched to some other division and so on down, improving she service a little on eysry division.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04
Powerful Engines.

q have seen many of the engines on many of the railroads in this country. but I have noticed but few that were larger or more powerful looking than the new engines of the Louisville and Nash ville," said a railroad man yesterday.
 "I had not seen the engines until yes- terday when l happened to be at the station looking for a friend when the train from the north came in. l stood in front of the engine and looked at 1t and then examined it thoroughly. It Is a monster.
 'These engines were bought by the road to pull their heavy trains over the hills of Alabama, and they are certainly pow erful enough. l do not believe that there is another engine as large in the south unless the Southern has some running out of Atlanta. However I understand that the Alabama Great Southern is soon to get several very large and powerful iron horses, and that they are equally as large as those of the Louisville and Nashville.
 Both of these roads are making im- provements in their tracks and bridges so that they will bear the weight of this immense equipment. Heavier rails have to be used and the bridges have to be strengthened.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04
IN HOTEL LOB3IES
New Union Depot.


 There are many rumors anoat con- corning efforts being made by trunk lines entering Birmingham making attempts to secure certain property for the purpose or erecting new union passenger sta- tlon' said a railroad man yesterday.
 This may be fact. but l doubt it. However. l think there is no doubt but what Birmingham is soon to have a new passenger station and I vouch for the statement that 1t will be one of the finest in the south, although it may be several years before actual work begins In my opinion the depot will be erected on the present site of the Louisville and Nashville railroad shops. This system Will then probably extend its freight de- pot along the site of the present passen- ger station.
 The freight receipts of the Louisville and Nashville railroad in Birmingham amounted to nearly three million dollars last year and it's business is gradually increasing. Tho company, l understand has not space in it's large freight house to care for the enormous freight it re- ceives daily"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04
THE STAGE GERMAN.
From the New York Mail.

From the New York Mail.
 Harris Morris, who was considered the original German dialect comedian, was only 50 years old when lie died, but he lived long enough to outlive the vogue of that stage character. As a fun-maker the stage German has lasted less than a generation. He first appeared in 1872. He had his greatest popularity about the time that the Teutonic immigration reached flood tide and began rapidly to recede. The old Germana with it's farces of German American life is no more, and the type persists only as a survival in serious plays like "The Music Master"
 The German dialect comedian with his shoe brush mustache, his red vest his pneumatic abdomen and his unmanage- able yodel embodies a view O, the Teu- tonic character that goes back to Ameri- can revolutionary times. He is an amiable Hessian. if there ever were thick headed stupidly jocular Germans, they disap- peared from view about the time of Ger man unification; just a year afterward they reappeared in this country as a comedy type-a type that libeled Teutonic intelligence as much as the stage Irish man libeled Celtic beauty.
 We are destined to go through these various exotic brands of humor in turn; the stage Hebrew has already taken his place beside the Irishman and the Ger man. and some day we may find the stage Italian just as funny as his prede- cessors. But it will mark an advance from a colonial ard transitional reriod when farcical humor is evoked. as George Ade evokeds it, by depicting na- tive, rather than transplanted. types
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04
Japanese Patriotism,

Recently a secret order issued by General Oku was captured by the Russians, and by them it has been given to the world. It reads as fol- lows:
 "Throughout all fights all from the chief to the last soldier, haze done their duty. Nevertheless, we have not yet been able to thoroughly deft the ene- my. The most difficult and heaviest fighting is yet before us, and the end of the war Is far distant. Let commanders instruct subordinates that any hesitation or irresoluton increases the loss, and a determined attack causes sS. It is, therefore. imperative to advance with determination. Commanders must pun ish the unworthy without the slightest mercy. There must be no following per- sonal inclinations except in the strict line of duty"
 This order assists us in ascertain ing why the Japanese win battles, and are never defeated. It shows the spirit that animates all the people, whether in or out of the service. The Russians are not in this war because of love of country or hatred of the Japanese. The rank and file are driven into the service, and a good share of the officers are not in touch of the bureaucrats. In Japan every man, woman and child is deep- ly imbued with love of country, and their veneration for ancestors renders all who enter their army or navy he roes. Fear is left behind, and they fight as few nations have fought in this world. The percentage of pa triots in the Japanese army and navy is certainly higher than any nation | in Europe possesses or ever did | possess. This patriotism is based perhaps on the worship paid to ances- tors. and the result is an army that is well nigh invincible. The navy is filled with men who are equally in- domitable. Russia cannot whip such men, simply because her individual unit is vastly inferior to the individ- ual unit in her adversary's army and navy.
 l
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04
AMERICANS DON'T KNOW
 HOW TO MAKE COPPER
out. PAUL COOK

troops who had no other means of grind- ing it than to put it into their tin cups and pound it with the but of their bay onets. It had become so damp that it was almost impossible to break it up, the berry, when pounded, showing almost the resistance of india rubber But the boiling and drinking of this coffee was permitted and even enjoined three times day, but nothing but the mposslbility or making a strong decoction of such berry prevented the entire army from becoming coffee sick.
 Probably there are few articles of con- sumption on the import list from which the people derive any more genuine sat- isfaction than coffee And yet they might derive a little more 1T they brought a little more of the spirit of the epicure the gourmet, and less of that of the gourrand, to it's preparation and de- gustation. It should be treated as if it were loved, not as If :. were lived upon. It is a stimuant, an exhilarant, rather than a food, though the coffee berry con- tains important food elements. Perhaps it prepares the waste of the tissues, and perhaps it does not-that is one of t,:e points on which the doctors disagree In any case, it cheers and comforts and, like salt. leaves a bad gap in the Dill of fare when 1t Is left out. But when it is good, as 1t ought to be, and is pre- pared from the pulverized berry, little of it does one more good than a great deal.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04
Fishermen Are Buying Tackle.

Yes" said a sportinggoods man last night. q have sold yards on yards of fishing line. and hooks, fiys, rods, reels galore the past week. The warm sun has fired into activity the comatose disciples of Isaac Walton. They have begun ac- cumulating the delicacies that tempt aquatic palates. and laying in contriv- ances for their capture.
 Tn few days fishing parties will be making excursions to the various good fishing holes in the vicinity, and then we will hear tales unusual and wonder ful of the monster fish caught and of others that broke the line or upset the boat There seems to be something em- mating from the water or other liquids fishermen come in contact with that pro- notes hyperbole. I have known the most exemplary men to go on fishing trip and come home and amplify the truth to such proportions their children were dead sure the sailor story of the mermaid did not give the creature twenty-five per cent of justice dues
 "In the country districts the boys are already selecting the straightest sassa- fras saplings in the fence corners. pick ing up snuff bottle corks, egging a few buckshot from the grocery man, purloin- ing thread from their mothers spool, investing pennies in hooks and getting the whole in working shape. The first oppor- tunity and young America will dig his bate. roast wasps' nests, and with mar shaled forces make war upon the percE ID the pasture brooks.
 .erhe young fishermen will probably not make large catches nor will they tell stories so glowing as the older ana more experienced liars, but there IS no keehef pleasure known to boyhood than day on the creek with his rude homemade out fit"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-04
ABOUT BIRMINGHAM

Tuscumbia North Alabamian: Birming- ham and the Birmingham district re- sponded nobly to the appeals for relief of the Virginia mine sufferers. Over twenty thousand dollars was raised and this amount will be increased. The good peo- pie of that section always respond to ap- peals of this kind.
 Selma Journal: Birmingham Is stirred up over a plumbing inspection bill which is pending before the City Council. Citi- zens of Selma have been too busy stop ping leaks and thawing out frozen pipes to think of legislation upon the subject of plumbing. Doubtless when the plumb CTS get time enough to make out their bills not the. City Council but the indi- vidual citizen will have plumbers bills enough to keep him busy for while.
 Gadsden Journal: Birmingham is grow ing so fast that it's best posted citizens are unable to keep tab on just where the center of the business district is located. Of course if it's future prospects material ize everything now embraced in the ousi- ness section will be the center or the city ten years hence.