davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
DURATION OF ORATORY.
,incinnati Enquirer.

From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
 So cold-blooded a sage as the Balti- more Sun says: "A man who has anything interesting or edifying to say ought to be able to deliver his message to the pub lie in twenty minutes. There are few orators and statesment who are worth listening to for more than one-thrd of an hour. Unfortunately there are many public speakers who think otherwise The Sun is a destructionists It is not iconoclast, and opposed to the established order of things. Think of what the Con- gressIonal Record would lave lost had Senator Morgan ever been confined to half an hour on the canal question: It took Tom Carter two or three days of continuous speaking to xii, river and harbor bill The late Senator Quay once diverted the course of general legislation by delivering a tariff argument that was almost never-ending. The Hon. John F. Jones took up a week in the delivery of a speech on the silver question, which is to- day still a classic in finance, and he is said to have closed his observations with the remark: And now MT. President, l believe that is all I have to say on the subject at this time" Force bills have been killed by persistent oratory. relieved by kindly interruptions. In the United States Senate minority members have been frequently encouraged to speak against time to kill measures that they (the minority would have felt obliged to vote for had roll call ever been reached The long speech is of great use occasion- ally in the public economy.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
Ten-Hour Law in Court.

tCi-IIUul Law ui 0ON'S
 The United States supreme court has rendered another 5-by-4 decision, the last one relating to hours of labor. The case arose in the bakeries of New York state in which a state law makes ten hours d days work, and sixty hours a weeks work. The court de- clared that law unconstitutional. Chief Justice Fuller and Justices Brewer, Brown, Peeliham and McKenna con stituted the five that rendered the de cision. On the other side stood Jus tices Harlan, White, Day and Holmes. Justice Peckham wrote the op!non of the court.
 The court stretches the fourteenth amendment so that it covers labor laws. That amendment says no per son shall be deprived of liberty without due proces. of law. The lib erty to make labor contract in ones business must not be taken away with out due process o law. It is difficult in the light of new decision to see a limit to the fourteenth amendment It promises to be rival of even the welfare" clause in the preamble of the federal constitution. Between the welfare" clause in the preamble and the liberty" clause in the fourteenth amendment there i5 no subject scarce ly that the federal constitution cannot be extended to and made to fit.
 "No one" says Justice Harlan, that rare old American, "can doubt that there are many reasons, based upon the experience of mankind, in support of the theory that, all things consid- cred, more than ten hours steady work each day, from week to week, in a bakery or confectionery establish ment, may endanger the health, im- pair the usefulness and shorten the lives of the workmen If such reasons exist, that ought to be the end of this case. for the state is not amenable to the judiciary in respect of it's legisla- tive enactments unless such enact ments are plainly, palpably. beyond all question, inconsistent with the consti- tuition of the United States"
 But such considerations the five who had decided to upset the ten-hour law would not consider. Judge Alton B. Parker wrote the opinion in this identical case when it was brought be- fore the New York court of appeals. He upheld the law as a proper police and health regulation. He regarded 1t as a sanitary law rather than as a labor law. The five Peckhamites were, however, willing to have the bakers work fourteen hours a day, as they do whenever union hours are not enforced
 The effect of the Peckham decision will not be great. What the workmen cannot obtain through statutes they will demand from employers through agreements. It may promote strikes, but that is about all the decicion will accomplish in the ranks of labor.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
THE BIRMINGHAM LINE OPENS.

From the Atlanta Journal
 The Birmingham branch of the Sea board Air Line has been opened. The first passenger train 10 run over the new road reached Atlanta from Birming- ham Sunday afternoon at 2:05 o'clock.
 The new line, which is said to be one of the finest pieces of railroad work in the south, Is 166 miles long, and should have a great influence upon railroad con- ditions in the south.
 In these days of railroad concentration it is impossible to have too many compet- ing lines of track. The Seaboard people are to be congratulated upon the compile ton of this enterprise which gives them another link to the westward, and the cities of Atlanta and Birmingham are like wise to be congratulated on this addi- tional means of direct communication.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
MARRIAGE IS VERY EASY
 IN THE UNITED STATES

An American Lady in London Telegraph IN America, the land of the free,p it
 is a shade easier to get married than | it is to be divorced. Until recently in New York city it was possible to enter into common-- marriage under ex- tremely simple condit ms. There was no ceremony, civil or religious, not even Il cont.cct verbal or written, between the persons entering into the relations. To inscrbe their names on hotel register as man and wife was enough to make 1t a legal marriage; or i a man introduced a woman as his wife came to the same thing. This extremely free-and- easy form of matrimonial alliance has now been done away with, but the rt- sultant complications are still in tie courts.
 American girls are impulsive, and the great freedom permitted to them enabl's them to get easily entangled in unpr.- meditated matrimonial alliances. For in- stance, man ana a young girl were automobiling. q am not afraid of any thing" asserted the girl.
 You are afraid to marry me rlgnl now" said the young man.
 "oh, I'm game if you are." retorted the girl, and then they went to the house of the nearest justice the peace and were married.
 Over the border line in every state which is at all strict in the marriage laws, there is a toNA known far and wide for the ceierity and ease with which couples fleeing from 'rate T'rents may be united in wedlock. In Ohio, for in stance. where the laws are severe, young folk wishing to evade them cross the Ohio river at certai point and land at a little town in Kentucky known widely as "Gretna Green"
 ,.Marriage parsons" as .Aey are popu- lar,, known. are to be found in most of the easy marriage stalors. Ta-c-e domi- nies are ambitious to make records. and are widely advertised by grateful clients. Persons come to them fror, far and near, and in little out-of-the-way place one of these marrying parsons may have 1000 marriages a year to his creditor discredit.
 In New York city there is famous church known as The Little Church Around the Corner although its proper title is "The Churci. of ..e Transfigura- tion." It is a picturesque Episcopal church, and it's record of marriages far surpasses that of any othe- church in the city. Within a year, however, the clergy of the parish have made stricter rules, and it is no longer so easy as it
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
Strange Story of Green Purse.

At o'clock yesterday afternoon an au- tomobile halted in front of the First Ma tional bank building. Two fashionabiy dressed women got out of the car and entered the building. On the front block seat of the car was left a sea a-green lady's purse or handbag.
 A gentleman passing by caught sight of the purse, stepped up to the car, picked up the handbag and placed it in his coat pocket. Then. smiling faintly, he stepped into a doorway nearby and awaited developments.
 Ten minutes later the two women came out of the bank building and got into the automobile They were evidently agi- tated. As they were about to leave the gentleman stepped up and handed one of the women the sea-green purse, say ing. by the way, that he had found 1t on the seat of the car.
 The women glanced suspiciously at the man, who stood uncovered on the curb ing. One of the women nervously opened the handbag. Then she drew out waG of bills and began to count them.
 -Four hundred and sixty dollars" she whispered to her companion. Its all right. But aren't we lucky to get it back" she added Then. turning to the man. she said sedately:
 Thank you so much."
 For answer the man merely lifted his hat and-his eyebrows.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
Lobsters Disappearing.

The Massachusetts state board of fish and game commissioners officially declares that the commercial extinc- tion of the lobster is as sure to result as day is to follow night" This is sure enough. The lobster is following in the disappearing tracks of the buff falo. or rather it would if it were am- phibious.
 The Massachusetts commissioners say the lobster pots are yielding but 30 per cent of former catches, and hundreds, if not thousands, of New England lobstermen will soon be out of employment. The chief lobster grounds of the country are along the coast of Maine and the coast of New Brunswick. Scarcely a lobster is caught south of Boston.
 The Massachusetts commissioners urge public action for the preservation of the lobster. They are rarely brought to the south except in cans, and the disappearance of the lobster will not seriously affect, therefore, this sec ton, but shows how readily the hu- man appetite annihilates almost any species towards which its fancy hap pens to turn. The buffalo disappeared
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
Motor Club Meeting.

"I did not attend the meeting of the motor club last night" said a man who owns a machine, but l think the mem- bers are on the right track in their ef- forts to secure better streets and roads, 1 am with them in these efforts and will dc all in my power to aid them.
 "The club has settled on couple of definite things to do, and if the members go ahead and do them they will benefit the city, the county and the membership of the club
 "The Twentieth street proposition is one that should be worked on at once. The committee went before the street committee of the council today at moo and urged action. Now if they will go ahead and carry some of the members Of the Board of Revenue over bad country roads they will be in fair way to ac- compish their purpose
 "If the aldermen and the Boa]l of Revenue are given a good j,< ing over the bad streets and roads l think they will appreciate what the man who drives auto cars have to contend with, any that they will make an effort to help us out of our trouble by taking action im- mediately to relieve the conditions
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20

used to be to be married there by day or by nigh, with no qr- ions asked.
 Failing to convince the rector or bis assistants of the Little Church Around the corner Of their eligibility, impatient couples have the city hotel chaplain to fall back upon. He can be reached at any time through any hotel in New York city, and will marry a couple be- tween trains if desired. Recently an Eng. lishman and his intended bride cana over on one of the ocean steamships. The law in his country prevented his mar.v- ing his deceased wife s sister American law would condone far greater offenses than that. The couple went to a hotel. were married by the hotel chaplain ann went back to England by return steamer
 One does not need the services of a. clergyman at all to be joined in wed- lock. There are numerous other persons who may be called upon legally should the clergy prove reluctant The Mayor or the city has power of this sort and in most places the aldermen also. In New York city the other day Little Tim Sullivan, popular local politician, holding aldermanic office, married fifteen couples in one morning. The same week twenty-one divorces were granted by a single judge in PAT minutes and that in Kew York, where only one cause for di- vprce exists. Throughout the rural dis trcts justices are resorted to by the poorer classes. These civil marriages do not require a religious form in addi- tion!
 It Is the looseness of the divorce laws in ths country that accounts, to large degre. for the irregularities and pecu- iiarities of many marriages. While a di- vorce Il being granted in one room a par son or Justice may be waiting in the next to maks one of the parties the mate of anotier person.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
A FAsT-TRoTTING STEER.

From the Kansas City Star.
 Out in Al Dougherty's barn in Logan, Kan. there resides what is perhaps the most pampered steer in the country It answers to the rather fierce name of San Antoine Pete, and it really has very fierce looking horns, but it's coat is soft and glossy, and 1t wears bandages on it's legs.
 When the public sees this animal it is hitched to a pneumatic tired sulky and is carrying MT. Dougherty at the rate of a mile in 2:2S. For be 1t known that San Antoine Pete $ the only racing steer in the country, and is said to have out-trotted all the ambitious horses in and around Logan.
 The steer weighs 1850 pounds. and is of Texas and Hereford breeding.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
Maundy Thursday,

This is Maundy Thursday. The name is derived from the first word of the anthem sung in churches during the ceremony of feet washing that takes place on Thur day next before Good Friday, 'Manda- tum novum do vobis" etc.-"A new com mandment I give unto you, that ye love one another'-words of Christ recorded in the 18th chapter of St. John. Feet-wash- ing as a ceremony of the church is not practiced in this country, but in Catholic countries the priests still wash the feet of pilgrims on Maundy Thursday. It is the custom on this day to give doles to the poor. In England the custom is kept up of giving Maundy-money or Maundy- pieces to the needy The Kings almoner distributes royal bounty to the poor.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
MODERN PHILANTHROPY.

From the Chicago Tribune
 "Gentlemen' said l.e multi-mlllion- aire, 'I have given a treat deal of money to other enterprises, but the interests of the one with which you are connected have been nearest to my heart always It is my intention to make yours the best endowed institution in the world, with fund of s5OO,0OO, 600 at its disposal"
 The trustees could scarcely believe their ears. They broke forth in wild, incoher- ent exclamations of deign.. But he in- teTupted them.
 "To that end,' he went on, q have set aside the sum of $10,O0O,OO0, to be made over to you absolutely when you shall have raised from other sources the re- maining si9O, ,000, ,O00
 Then followed a silence so dense that the hopes of the trustees could be dis tinctly heard falling, falling, with muf- fled thud, upon the mosaic floor.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR.

From the New York Press.
 A man always lends money where he never could borrow it.
 A nice thing to give up in Lent Is flowers and candy for your best girl.
 A irritation is where each pretends to mean 1t. and, whichever one does, the other doesn't.
 It is very easy to think you are inter- esting a woman when it interests her to make you think so.
 If mans daughter puts on a wee bit of ribbon it catches his eye, and he never knows whether his wife is dressed in a morning sack or d ball gown.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
COMMENTS ON MEN Alp
 MATTERS OF THE W9RLD

south as the 'bad nigger.eovaraI at tempts have been made to ar,,,o b,u
 but with such unvarying l,,ro thai he has not yet scome a dist. ,,tarorv type. It might be added thal,o ..haa nigger" is a recent developml ona Ia usually found in town. Now an.hon ha reveals himself in a pitched bao ,v,th officers in which he displays sd ,ao,, less bravery and disregard of 1 that his name is sent flying over the, bntrv by the telegraph wires. The "ba n,s- ger" is always absolutely fearless.te ia apart rom the more oeaeeaple me1ers of his race and is outlawed by Aiita citizens. He is no coward, althougEbe may be one of the worst renegade.it would be possible to find. The bad t. ger" comes to violent end as a ru. but he is an interesting figure and vt worth studying. Students of economic and literateurs in search of materia could find no more promising type fo powerful character drawing.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
A PROTEST.
Said a bear to Teddy Roosevelt:
 You don't practice what you preach. l can't lead the simple life and
 Always keep out of your reach.'


 Here is part of what Chinese editor wrote when he was returning manu- script that was not available:
 We have read it with infinite delight By the holy ashes of our ancestors, we swear that we have never seen so su- perb masterpiece His Majesty, the Emperor, our exalted ruler, l. we were tU print 1t, would command Us to take it as model and never publish anything of less striking quc Z. As We could not obey this order more ths once in 10000 years. we are compelled to send back your divine manuscript and eg a thou sand pardons.
 Truly, we have here an admirable dis play of that courtesy, regardless of truth, which is often lacking when "the man with the pencl's fires back manu- script that he does not want. If Ameri- can editors would show such thought fitness toward aspiring literary lights heartaches By the score an. buckets of salty tears would be spared. But what is the victim of a ceaseless manuscript bombardment to do? He finds 1t diff cult enough, even now, 10 choke off bud ding authors. What would be his fate if he should bestow such hattery as con- tained in the Chinese editors letter of rejection?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
Bingham's Ready Wit.

Ralph Bingham, the wit and humorist, stepped into barber shop in New Or leans one day last week and submitted to the manipulations of the boss barber That worthy with an eye to the main chance, was wondering if this was new customer.
 sHave you ever been here for a shave before?" asked the barber.
 "Yes, once'' was the reply.
 "But I do not remember your face"
 q don't suppose you do,' said Mir Bingham.
 ..It's all healed up now"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20

AI~/ n Adseilhut SlApS HIS II eAlilt anu ifAo
 mind eraves sureease from the strenuous life, a fellow longs for a visit to one of those quaint old southern towns where peace and plenty reign and the atmosphere is heavy-laden with the odor of roses. In fancy he can picture himself seated on a broad veranda, embowered with sweet-seented vines that almost con- ceal the huge white pillars of an ante bellum portico. PeTcn-nce a book is in his hand and his eyes, wandering dream fly over an expanse of lawn shaded by aged oaks, follow a driveway which ex- tends down to an old-fashioned gate. If the rose bushes do not obstruct his view he can see through the gate street typical of many small towns in the south that have dozed away for fifty years or more, Mayhap he catches a glimpse of other stately homes similar to that in which he Is guest-homes where much of the old south's chivalry fingers and exaggerated courtesy does not bring a smile. As he sits there in luxurious idle ness, at the beck of teeming fancies, the day advances toward night and twilight falls. It is then he hears girlish laugh ter. Daughters of the south, fit em- bodiments of painters dream, and clad in simple garments of white, stroll down the quiet avenue What contrast be- tween the ideal life led in such a place and the turmoil and hustle of city? No wonder fellow indulges in revery and wishes for only one day in a haven where there is t-.ne to livel
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20

because his hide was valuable. The alligator went the same way for the same reason, and the lobster is fading out because it became delicacy on the menu card.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
THE FIRST FLOWER,

R. K. Munkittgick in Harper's Weekly. Along the wooded way
 Where shadows dance and drift, All tremulous md gay
 Your pale stai you uplift. The zephyr's fragile toy,
 You languorousy beam, , syllable of joy
 In melodies of dAeam. Iris yours to bloom and blow
 In sunshine and ia song And wheresoe'er yol go
 To take the spring along.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
A HISTORIC FEED.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
 That famous Cambon dinner In New York seems destined to be classed with the great feasts of all times And its cost might make even Lucullus sit up anl look interested.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
Are ConvaIescent.

Mir Nathan l.. Miller, who has been i'll at his home for week or more, is improving and will be out in few days
 Judge A. A. Coleman has been confined to his house by slight indisposition for two days but will be out by tomorrow or Saturday.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
GOOD NArURED GIRL.
Mary had a little lamb
 She got 1t on the head. "Goshi that hurts awful" Was all that Mary said.

Henry Wattersons letter from Naples, which apeared in the Louisville Courier Journal of last Monday morning. is one oe the most brilliant -a that superb se- ries which the Kentuckian is writing from abroad. No man living can better appreciate the beauties of nature, both animate and inanimate. than Colonel Watterson; none can describe life more graphically and there is no man who is a more experienced cosmopollte. The Watterson letters afford half hours of rare pleasure to less fortunate mortals. who have never been able to follow "Marse Henry's" pace ard will never be able to see as much of this old world as he has viewed.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20

One of the handsomest and neatest special editions that has reached this office in some time was the spring trade edition of the Gadsden Journal. Typo graphically, the paper is work of art and it contains some good reading mat
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
Pr0speriiY in the South.

Railroad earnings are a sure test of traffic nowadays. and no section shows larger or steadier gains in railroad gross earnings than does the south. The returns for March are coming in. We give the figures from four roads as an illustration of all the rest in the month of March, as follows:
 Increase. Louisville and Nashville ............ .$231 JAS Southern railway .......... .......... 3G3, S57 Illinois Central ...........,.......... 2OS, 50l Yazoo and Mississippi Valley....... ,S60
 The development of the south ac- counts for such remarkable increases in gross earnings in single month. And this section will keep up the pace if the weather clerk looks with favor. able eye upon us.
 The damage by frost to crops in the south was immaterial. This is in fact no drawback in the south to the pros perity that is increasing as rapidly as circumstances will permit. Lumber is increasing in value, and every mill is pushed with orders. Stumpage is going up by leaps and bounds. Iron, too, is firmly held. Cotton is low priced, but low prices enable the cot 
 ton mills to make good profits.
 The entire southern country is pros porous, and just at present 1t is very busy. Great crops of corn, cotton and sweet potatoes are going into the ground, and sunshine and moisture are speeding their growth. The min gling of sunshine and moisture is in fact the glory of the southern country. Other countries have sunshine of equal potency, but in no other land are warm suns and frequent rains so hap oily intermingled. This is why the commercial cotton crop of the world is grown in these states-why it will continue to be grown here.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-20
CHAMPION LlGHT-WElGHTs.

From the Kansas City Journal
 The lightest-weight family in Kansas is found in Cloud county. John Heilman weighs 100 pounds, his wife weighs eighty five pounds and the baby three pounds. Total 1SS hounds