davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
Chaes or Autocracy.

The strikes in Russia are not indus trial. but political. The labor organi- cations are utilized partly because they are in sympathy with the effort to overthrow the government, but chiefly because backward Russia has no other available organizations. The stoppage, too, of all industries wonderfully pro notes the effort to upset the existing social system.
 The leaders of the masses are now endeavoring to turn the strikes into armed rebellion participated in by the masses in general. Thus far, however they have not succeeded in winning over the army, and the strikers lack arms.
 A crisis is at hand in Russia, out of which will come either a new govern ment whose form can not be foreseen. or else severe repression and a practi- cal establishment of the autocracy, including the bureaucrats, who have not an honest hair on their heads. The action of the army will decide the con test. precicely as it did in France in 1789. What the military will do is not as yet determined. The urban rank and file come from the poletariat. They are wretchedly paid and meagerly fed and cared for by the rascally officials. They have many grievances of their own. Upon such material the govern. ment depends, and the next ten days will be apt to show what the army proposes to do.
 The lack of intelligence in the rank and file, the loyalty as a rule of the officers, and the presence of a vast number of peasants in the army, to- gether with the Cossacks, may be suf ficient to tide the government over the crisis, hut in any event the seeds have been sown that will in the near future create new and better Russia.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26

ing to stop the production of his own play, but there is a string tied to his endeavors, and he knows when and how to pull il.
 The country has rarely had press agent so strenuous as the one attached to the Dixon play. In the south he worked the other end of the social sys- tenn. He rallied the whites to a dis cussion of the play, and to some ex- tent his campaign was remunerative. In New York he plays upon the pref udices of the negroes, and a New York telegram states that the Colored Citi- zens' Protective League, through it's president, Philip Payton, a wealthy real estate dealer. has mailed broad cast to the negro elergymen of the city serious letter aimed to bring the Afro-American pulpit to their aid in stopping the production of the play. They are to follow this up with a wide call to all the negroes in New York to attend mass meeting that will be held in Carnegie hall or Cooper Union.
 All this is simply the work of the irrepressible press agent. The negroes of New York know little and care less about the opinions of MT. Dixon as to the future disposition of4their race, but the press agent knows a great deal about the box office and he is plainly taking good care of it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26

The Belgian manufacturers are un- derselling those of Great Britain, and recent observer thus explains how they do it, as follows;
 Belgium Is the greatest manufacturing country in the world according to its size. There is one plant where I was. which was started in 1792. It employees 12. 300 men. The wages they get there is insignificant. In America a roller would make SIS to S2O a day. In England he would make from s1O to SIP. In Belgium he would re- ceive s1. .25 a day. A common laborer would receive 30 cents a day. It Is no wonder that they can undersell.'
 A like explanation would show that not only English and German manu- lecturers will in the long run be driven out of the Orient by the cunning and ambitious Japanese, but that the United States, bound hand and foot by Dingleyism, will go first.
 A writer in the Booklover's Maga- zine shows that Japan will develop the immense coal fields and ore beds of China. and that they will also promote the growing of cotton in that country. Cotton is already staple product of China, and the Japanese will no doubt take good care to see that they grow enough to supply all the needs of tho Far East.
 But when that is accomplished, will Japan rest content? Will not Japan endeavor to supply the entire Pacific with cotton goods-with iron and steel and fuel? The results of the recent war are far-reaching, and they may readily include the commercial control of the Pacific which we have fondly counted as our own.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
Best City in the Land.

"ChIistmas was certainly celebrated in Birmingham" said a prominent drummer of the east last night and it reminded me of some of the larger towns of the east. The streets were crowded all day, and everyone had the appearance of being prosperous. l noted many strangers in the city and these could be easily distin- guished from the others by their actions on the streets. From what l saw the frolickers were very orderly, and 1t speaks we'll for a city like Birmingham, for there is usually more or less disorder on the steets.
 Business will be effected somewhat for several days in all lines as the holi- days usually break the average buyer. and both the retail and wholesale busi- ness will be dull, This condition will be natural in all parts of the country.-and l guess the merchants of Birmingham are satisfied and glad to secure little time
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
Plans Are Useless,

"I have been a railroad man for ten years and have always had my ideas as to what I would do in case of an accident but 1 forgot all about my weh-laid rules and regulations tonight" said passenger who was in the car of the Decatur ac- commodation which was derailed near Boyles last night.
 You may plan all you please as to what you would do in case of an acci- dent, but l want to tell you that 1t will all come to naught in the actual test. must confess that tonight when I thought we were trembling on the brink of king dom come,' l stood on my seat and looked as absolutely helpless as the youngest child in the car.
 "All previously laid plans are useless to the average man in an accident"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
SPANK E M.

From the Baltimore Herald.
 The Naval academy foolishness has gone far enough, and 1t Is more than ever evi- dent that the very best remedy would be a good sound spanking for the whole brigade. Apparently absolutely indifferent to the fearful lesson which was presented to them by the Branch-Meriwether case and without regard for the advice of their friends and the orders of their superiors, midshipmen have been working out devil ment unworthy of men of adult years.
 Having played the part of unruly chill dren, they should be treated as children and only chastsed after the fashion of old. March them all out Individually. or collectively and apply the shingle. If there is not a sufficient supply of rough boards in Annapolis to do the job, there are plenty of public-spirited citizens here who will gladly donate enough "made-in- Baltimore laths to fill the bill.
 Shank 'em
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
IbsoIutism in the House.

The rise of the Senate as delibera- tive body and the consequent decad- ence of the House is well explained in the recent remark of Leader Tawney to some of his disgruntled brother re- publicans who desire reductions in the ropber rates of the Dingley tariff. He said to them:
 "If you have to make fight. make 1t In the United States Senate If a fight is made in this House you but decrease the party effectiveness of the majority anu accomplish no good end, for 1t is in- evitable that you come putting your heads up souarely against the Reed rules. under which we work, and you will get nowhere"
 The machine-like nature of the pres ent government of the once popular branch of Congress win be well illus trated when Congress assemblies after the holiday recess, for speaker Cannon stands ready to rule that the Philippine rate reduction bill is domestic mat ter, and that amendments touching rates with foreign countries would not be germane The rules committee will sustain the Speaker, anu the standpat- ters will sustain the rules committee. Czarism could not further go, but the standpatters need Czarism in their rob Der business. and they will secure it in it's most aggravated form when Con. gress reassembles.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
MISTAKES OF ARTISTS
 THAT ARE DISCOVERED

naturally forms his conception of the way ton, and is disposed to tax the inaccuracy OF the author
 Artistic freedom may be as sacred as the academic freedom that we read about, but there is a point beyond which we in- sist that it should not go. It should not attempt to reverse the elemental arrange ments of nature, or to do violence to the fundamental facts of life. Here Is an in- stance of an attempt to do that MT. Edwin A. Blashfied has painted a great allegorical picture for the capitol of Iowa at Des Moines It Is entitled Westward Hon' and in it there Is a man driving an OK team and walking on the off side of the team as he drives Naturally all agricultural Iowa Is stirred up about this. We do not wonder. The position of the driver on the near, Or left, side of the oxen is one of the elemental things that belong to all time. No man could move @ yoke of oxen six inches if he stood at the right side of them to do It. To see a man attempting it would be like seeing one attempt to drive a trotting horse while sitting with his back toward the animal It is as bad as putting the cart before the horse.
 All this MT. Blashfield doubtless knew. We assume that he had a. purely graphic purpose in thus representing his OK driver. He upset the economy of the universe for some occult purpose of his composition. But we repeat that some things in the way of artistic license are over the line, and this seems to be one of them.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
IN HOTEL. LO3BEES
Edward H. Hartman.

Edward H. Hartman is a mystery to me- said a railroad man yesterday. He has been in high finance nine years, and while he gains capital power. yet he gains many enemies He openly proclams his independence. and he seems to be able to keep peace with no man.
 His enemies include George J. Gould, Thomas F. Ryan. j. J. Hill, j. P. Morgan, George r. Baker. William H. Moore, Ed win Hawley and the Huntington millions He has lost control of the Equitable Life and in the course of nine years he has accumulated the most dangerous crop Of enemies that the country affords Yet he goes right on, planning and conauering new fields and new railroads
 Tn the far west all are ready to cry out Too much Hartman, but the mag nate does not heed such cries. or any thing else. He buys railroads, or builds them, and his hand is felt from New York to Frisco. He Is 8 wonder"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
plscovERER OF SALT LAKE.

Arthur Chaplain in "Jim Bridger'' In
 The Outing Magazine for January.
 Jim Bridger stands forth as the most conspicuous figure in the brief but glorious reign of the trapper and trail-maker in the far west. The greatest fur-hunter ana the greatest pathfinder of them all. and possessing the most intimate knowledge of the Indian nature ever vouchsafed white man. Bridger will grow In stature as time goes on and accurate history is written.
 . No part of the great Rocky mountain country hold a secret from Jim Bridger. lie was the first white man, after John Colter, to view the wonders of Yellow stone park. and the first to look on Great Salt Lake Seemingly bearing a charmed life, he wandered through the lands of many Indian tribes, sometimes fighting the red men. but more often living their life and finding the solace of true brotherhood at the lodge fire. Every mountain Jim Bridger climbed, every stream he crossed and every game trail he followed was written down in the most marvellous memory ever granted plainsman As a result, years later. whom the white men bold but blunderins, sought the easiest paths over the noun tains. Jim Bridger showed them the best trails for their wagons; and, when the chief engineer of the Union Pacific had well nigh given up hope of getting his rails across the Divide. it was Jim Bridger who showed an available pass which he had traversed years before in his trap ping days, and the existence of which no other white man knew A few months ago. this chief engineer, Gen. GrenNihe M Dodge. showed hls gratitude by rescn- ing Jim Brdgers body from neglectea grave and interring It al Kansas City, under an appropriate monumeni-prob- ably the first act of gratitude ever per formed for the man who had put the whole empire of the west in hls debt
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
Millions for Irrigation.

Secretary of Interior Hitchcock has already approved irrigation plans that will render 1903, 600 arid acres product i've at a cost of 370OO,OOO. The work thus undertaken by Uncle Sam is fast assuming gigantic proportions. NO money is sunk in project, for the cost of each scheme is levied upon the land benefited, and the cost of the i'm provement is returned to the govern ment as fast as the reclaimed land IS sold. Besides, the proceeds of all other public land sales go into the irrigation fund. and the aggregate is rising rap idly.
 The gigantic work thus undertaken by the government is to be carried on in fourteen states that have arid lands. Texas reserved its public lands when it entered the union, and that state was not at first included in the irrigation plans An act of last winter author izes the interior department to reclaim lands in that state to a limited extent.
 Twenty-four projects have been ap- proved by the interior department, and Secretary Hitchcock's annual report shows that the projects fairly under way are as follows:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
Hanceville Growth.

'Haneevllle has enjoyed tine best trade this fall and winter that we have had for several years" said c. Berckart of that place yesterday.
 The farmers of this section have made good crops this year and are in good condition financially The country in Cullman and Blount counties adjacent to Hanceville is developing very rapidly and this place is getting to be one of the best markets dn north Alabama.
 We have thrifty farmers who own their homes in most instances and are independent in small way. This class of people make the best citizens and see a bright future ahead for this com munity.
 "Hanceyille is growing very rapidly, many handsome residences. as well as business houses having been erected with in the past few month, in fact I believe Hanceville has some of the .prettiest residences on the Louisville and Nash vile railroad between Birmingham and Decatur"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR.

From the New York Times.
 A girl has to be pretty stupid not to be able to fool the cleverest man.
 All you have to do to make a girl think you are making love to her is to mention the moon.
 When a man is in love he wants to go out and whip wildcats; a girl just wants to sit in a trance
 A man hates to see his sister get mar ried because he knows what men are and he despises her if she doesn't.
 If a man could save all the money he thinks he would by not being married. he would have so much he wouldn't need to.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
At least Odell is now a quitter.
PAT EXPLAINED IT NICELY

From an Exchange.
 They met on a bridge. Each held out his hand, and they shook, and instantly realized that they were utter strangers. Had not ono of them been a genuine Hibernian the situation might have been embarrassing.
 "Begorra. that's quare," says Pat. ''When we wor so far off that we couldn't see aich other l thought it was you an you thought it was me, and now we're here together it's nayther of us"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
From the New York Mail.

From the New York Mail.
 1 HE artistic mind is not an exact \CV mind. Perhaps If it were it would
 not be artistic. faculty for scrupulous accuracy, when found in con junction with the graphic talent, must produce. it is to be supposed. a mechanical draughtsman, not an imaginative artist. magination argues liberties and things. Presumably that is the reason why the H. lustrations of & story never agree with its text. The artist sees the story in a different way from the author, and pio- lures 1t as he sees it. The author says, "The three men seized their victim by the shoulders, feet and body and hurled him over the precipce." But the artist, in his illustration of the incident, pictures only two men doing the hurling; and he justifies the elimination of the third man on the ground that three figures in the particular position represented would have violated the artistic unities, and that
 In any case, matters of mere detail of this kind are of no importance.
 The artist is probably right. If stories were illustrated exclusively by artists who never make mistake, we should have very poor lot of illustrations in books and magazines. Probably the almost in- variable discrepancies between the story and the pictures supply the reader with an added element of interest. It becomes kind of game to see how wide and how numerous the divergencies can be. Be- sides, as the reader always looks at the pictures before he reads the story, he
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
Hotels Crowded.

"Nevs before in the history of Br- mingham have the hotels been so crowded ss they have been during the past six days" said a hotel man last night. Ut was a hard matter for anyone to secure accommodations last night.
 During the county fair the visitors to Birmingham were so numerous that all the hotels put cots Into use to supply sleeping accommodation for them. At the beginning of last week the rush was felt and 1t was increased every day. Saturday night Q great many people called at my house who said they could secure rooms nowhere else and l could not take care or them. It has certainly been 8 banner week for hotel men and the merchants of Birmingham evidently came in for their share of business on account of there being so many out-of-town people here."
 About Persons.
 Fred Hillman of Aldrich spent yester- day at the Metropolitan.
 c. L. whorley of Selma is at the Metro- politan.
 
 the Morris.
 Paul R. Morrow a well known young business man of Anniston, was among the arrivals at the Morris last night.
 E. L. Russell of Somerset Ky, is at the Metropolitan
 Louis Burger of Oxmoor was a guest at the Hillman yesterday.
 ". J. Beaman of New Orleans is at the Hilman. ". W. Cook of Mexico is spending a few days at the Hillman.
 J. c. Crawford and S. M. Crawford of Louisville are registered at the St. Nlcho- las.
 T. S. Eldridge of Florence is a guest at the St. Nicholas.
 A c. Turner of Corona is among the arrivals at the St. Nichslos.
 John D. Ashcraft of Florence was a guest at the Hillman yesterday.
 T. S. Christopher of Gadsden is at the Metropolitan.
 J. B. ChIlders and c. W. Grisby Of Put laski, Tenn, are stopping at the Morris.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
ArousInq the Negroes.

The press agent of "The Clansman" has left the provinces" to go to New York. where Mir. Dixons play is to be presented on January s. He is arous- ing-in the papers-antagonism to the play, and, he hopes, discussion that will crystalline at the box office.
 At present he is attempting to con jure upon paper of course-meetings of the negroes of New York. who are soout 75,000 stronr ie 5 yor-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
HAD ENOUGH DAMAGE.

FrdA the Lancaster Law Review.
 There had been railway collision near a country town. and a shrewd lawyer had hurried to the scene of disaster. He noticed an old man with a badly injured head, and hurried up to him where he lay moaning on the ground.
 How about damages?'' he began.
 But the sufferer waved him off.
 'G'way, boss. g way he said. "Ah neb- Der hit de train. An nebber done such ting in all nah lifel To cyaint git no dana ges out ob me.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26
An Earnest Man.

Tt is great thing in pubic or private life to be considered an earnest man of courage" said Capt. J. Lawler Darby yes- terday.
 He stood watching the orderly and quiet observance of Christmas even in the most crowded streets. The day was simply ideal, and yet there was no rowdy- ism, no drunkenness, no disorder in sight.
 'rhe whole truth is' said Captain Darby, Mayor Ward executed a big movement when he said he would put the entire police force on duty, and that every fine imposed by the police court in the Christmas season would stick. He said he would not remit one.
 The rounder and roysterer knew he meant just what he said, and to man, so far as I could see, they were on their good behavior. They kept within Christ mas bounds, and everybody was the hap pier for 1t. Thanks to Mayor Ward, a man who means what he says"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-26

military men of Kansas think they are tin soldiers.
 Christmas gift of s1.ooo,ooo reconcied Mrs. Corey to her husband Many people have been convinced for less
 PRESENTS.
 He hoped to get nice new hat, A stiekpin or neat cravat.
 He got pipe because he was never known to use tobacco in any form. He hoped he'd get a book or two Among the novels that are new
 He got a knife and added it to his collection of six, brought over from last Christmas
 He dreamed about some clothes to
 wear,
 The things he got just made him
 swear.
 He got pair of art suspenders. He thought he like to have a fob But Santa Claus did a poor job. He brought four stick pins. No matter what he hoped to get He finds that he Is hoping yet.
 He is not the only one who had such
 an experience Christmas.  Mir. Ade-George-is out with his usual engaged to be married Out in Texas a quartet of prisoners sang God Be With You Till We Meet Again while one of their fellows was being hanged. They hoped for the best About all the Czar found in his stock- ing was a brand new fright. "Umpires are born, not made,- says a sporting writer. Everybody knows what happens to them after they are born.
 PRESS AGENT BISHOP. We had to let him go. Alas, We could not stand the cost He'll never get another job Just like the one he lost
 Birmingham Age-Herald Lament no more his fate, dear Cook. For. see, your prophecy's awryl He's lost one job, but only lookl He snatches more canal board pie!
 Florida Times Union. He snatehes more canal board pie? In sooth, twas cut and ready. They had to hand him something else To please fire-eating Teddy. MT. Robert Fitzsmmons has bsen knocked out He remarked after he woke up that he was "all in." which was his picturesque way of saying that he was a "has been" Now 1t is reported that MT. Fitzsimmons wife-his third-has eloped with another man. Verify, sorrows come not single spies, but in upper cuts and right jabs to the face.
 PAUL COOK.