davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-02-17
MOROCCAN GUNBOAT
 FIRES ON FRENCH
WHITE FLAG HAD BEEN HolsTED BY PLEASURE PARTY, BUT THE TURKEY FIRED ONE SHOT, ANY. WAY.

Gran, Algeria. February 16.-The Echo D'oran says that the French steamer Zenith left Gran Wednesday evening" go- ing to Marchica. On her arrival at that port she debarked five persons who visited Delbief. the chief of the pretender s staff. Towards noon, percefving the Mo- roccan gunboat Turkey, which had been anchored in the bay of Melilla, leaving port, and coming in his direction, the captain of the Zenith went on board his steamer. hoisted the white flag and gave orders with the object of entering into conversation with her commander. The Turkey thereupon fired a loaded shell without hitting the Zenith which put on full steam for the Zaraine islands, the Turkey pursuing. The pretenders shore batteries bombarded the Turkey but with out touching her as she was out of range The Zenith having a good lead and be- ing about to reach the Zarafnes was brought up by a blank shot from the French crusier La Lande and immediately stopped The Zenith. the La Lande and Turkey arrived at the Zarafines when full explanations were furnished by the Zenith which was ordered by the com mander of the LaLande to return to Gran, where she arrived this evening.
 The passengers of the Zenith who were left at Marchica will be brought to Gran by the LaLande.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-02-17
The Backward Japanese.

William J. Bryan in the Commoner.
 The handshake is uncommon even among Japanese politicians, except in their intercourse with foreigners.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-02-17
CONVENTION WILL MEET
 NEXT YEAR IN BOSTON

Continued from Fifth Page)
  and maintenance of trade schools. The motion was carried.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-04-16

year at $1S,OO0,00O. Disbursements are usually heavy in April, but in May and June they will be lighter, and the years surplus promises to range from five to possibly ten million dollars.
 The standpatters started in last fall by declaring that the tariff should not be touched because already the coun- try was suffering from a deficit. In very truth the Dingley taxes com plained of are not taxes that go into the treasury. They are the taxes that sink away untotalled and unacknowl- edged to fill the pockets of the asso- ciated Dingley beneficiaries These beneficiaries are the real force that creates standpattism, for they simply want an extension of their privilege to rob the many.
 Real genuine Dingleyism has in other words no relation to deficits or surpluses, for it calls for absolute mo- nopoly-a Chinese wall that will let nothing come in. The fact that the country's trade is piling up surpluses again should accentuate the demand for revision, and no doubt it will op- crate in that direction. Between the surplus taxation and the taxation for the benefit of the few revision cannot much longer be delayed It will be an issue in 1908 It will be the great issue in 1908 if the regulation of trusts and other monopolies do not outrank |
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-04-16
Wants Sub-Postosfice.

T hope the postoffice department will be induced to authorize Postmaster Car ter to establish sub-station for the dis tribution of mail on the South Highlands in the neighborhood of Twelfth street, said resident of that section.
 "I am travelling man and have no office down town For my mail l am de- pendent on the carrier from the post office, and it is frequently Il o'clock in the day before the carrier is able to reach my residence. Other people living in my neighborhood have of course similar experience. The South Highlands should be entitled to delivery station"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-04-16
Money and Wheat.

Gold is coming in. The total en- agreements and arrivals are nearly s10,000,O00, and the movement was not begun until March 12 How far it will go it is impossible to say, but there is wide margin for gold imports in an immense trade balance running in our favor, nd In the high price for money in Wall street.
 The volume of stock exchange trans actions in New York is becoming smaller month by month. and prices are lower than they were on January 1. It is not just to say that specula- ton Is creating money stringency. The trouble lies elsewhere-in our unelast- ic currency system and in the absence of some central regulating authority such as European money centers have. And the worst of it Is Con- gress does not propose to give us cur rency reform legislation of any sort. The general condition of business is sound and the high money rates will attract money to New York, and the acuteness of the crisis will no doubt soon be relieved.
 Some have said that the stringent money market has some relation to the winter wheat crop report, but there is nothing in the present winter wheat prospect to encourage the bears. A crop of 475, 100000 bushels IS now expected. This is 26,000000 bushels below the highest estimate, but the April conditions point to the second or third largest crop on record. An improvement in conditions is by no means improbable. The killed area is not unusually large, ana the chances are that at harvest time a big crop will be threshed and marketed.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-04-16
Tennessee's Troubles.

Tennessee democrats vote directly for an United States senator and the contest between Senator Carmack and ex-Gov. Bob Taylor will be fought in good order and propriety to a finish. No disputes or charges will arise at any stage of it. Direct voting does the work. because 1t gives the will of the people clear right of way.
 But in selecting a nominee for gov ernor the Tennessee democrats made the mistake of resorting to the repudi- ated convention system, and the air of our sister state is filled with charges and counter charges. All sorts of chicanery are resorted to-, and the convention promises to have before it a mass of frivolous and tech nical contests So far has the con testing business been carried that the Memphis Commereial-Appeal thinks there is danger that no delegate will be left uncontested, and there may therefore be none legally authorized to organize a convention.
 The two chief contestants are Gov ernor Cox, who was lieutenant gov ernor when Governor Frazer was pro- noted to the Senate, and Congress- man Patterson of Memphis. Judge Bond is a dark horse, who has a few l delegates. It is impossible to say how l Cox or Patterson stand as to each other for in the confusion of con tested delegations the following of neither can be distinguished at least by an outsider Both claim a control of the convention, but as about 200 delegates out of S53 remain to be chosen 1t is plain neither has any del egates to throw away.
 The situation causes the republicans to be hopeful, and Mf Evans of Chat tanooga Is preening his wings for a popular flight.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-04-16
WONDERFUL MARKSMAN
 WHO AMAZES EXPERTS

his fingers like a glove and held out his hand. Topperwein shot the shells off MT. Hawkins fingers hitting them on the small brass rim and taking one after the other with great quickness.
 A piece of tin about 12 by 24 inches was placed against a board. There was not d mark on the tin, but the shooter went gack 15 paces and rapidly began firing an automatic 22-ealiber rifle Bullet holes about a quarter of an inch apart appear ed rapidly In the tin, and faster and more accurately than most men on the ground could have drawn 1t with a pen ell, the head of an Indian was depicted, feather plumes and all Just as the DOT trait was finished the board fell, and some bystander said, "Darned if the Indian ain't aliyer The portrait was certainly a remarkable one. The picture will be exhibited in a Baltimore street window
 With pump shotgun the shooter eject ed a shell, and. before it could hit the ground. had another from the chamber into the gun barrel, and with it broke the elected shell before 1t reached the ground. He then used the gun as base ball bat. He batted potato into the outfeld and shot 1t to pieces
 He also threw an egg into the air, ran egg. Then he threw eggs In the air hard and rapidly scrambled them with rifle balls. At times he threw four eggs into the air at the same time, but none reached the ground intact
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-04-16
WONDERS OF FLORIDA.
Crops Grow So Fast It Keeps Horses
 Trottine to Reap Them.

Florida is a strange land, as big as all New England or nearly so. and with wealth untold It takes good farmer to know his business here, says the ln- dependent. but there is no lack of crops for gathering and for soil making, too.
 The velvet bean needs a sharp paced team to keep up with it's growth. It will make fifty feet of good hay. in single season and then leave plenty of fodder for the cows and cover crop for winter When you come to plough 1t under in the spring you have not only a big mass or humus but a large storage of nitrogen added to the soil.
 The beggar weed is anything but a beg gar, but Is a grass of superb quality yield ing an immense amount of hay and then forage and after that adding nearly as much to the soil as your velvet bean.
 This only begins the story of Florida farming It does not, however, under take to deny that many of the Florida farmers import their hay from the North.
 Do you know loquat when you see one? It has the shape of a pear but the flavor of a cherry. It is good for pies and buildings and marmalades and for pretty nearly everything else that that marvellous fruit the cherry, is used for. Our New England mothers would have gone wild over it.
 The kumquat is sort of compromise between an orange and stick of candy we do not mean in flavor. but In shape and size The tree when loaded with fruit is as beautiful as a rose bush.
 There is not much to create enthusiasm about a southern city They are all of them more or less tawdry and have a slackness in their ways of doing business. cabbage palm brought out of It's na- tive habitat with congenial companions and set in a dusty dooryard is about the meanest thing we ever saw. What can one say of guava bushes and camphor trees fenced in with wire?
 But the country in this state of flow ers-well named Florida-is about as rol- licking and utterly natural bit of the world as can be conceived. In the high lands of the central part of the state the palm and the pine meet together.
 It Is the north and the south in perfect harmony. It is the garden of the world,
 The new farmer is coming in 10 take possession The old orange growers were mostly city folk and nature did not hesi- tate to shoo them out of the state. Those who are now finding their way into these regions are bee keepers, truck growers and very practical sorts of people who go we'll under the name of home build CTS.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-04-16
NEW JERSEY MOSQUITOES.
Are a Nuisance to Three-Fourths of
 Population.

From the New York Tribune
 New Jersey is famous all the world over for two things-its good roads and its bad mosquitoes' says the report of the conference committee on mosquito extermination. "Tt enjoys it's reputation for good roads because the state ex- tended financial aid in building them. About 50 per cent of the cost of the roads was borne by the state itself, and the balance by the municipality and the adjoining property owners. The whole people of the state have been benefited by these good roads, and the whole peo- pie of the state will In an equal degree be benefited by the elimination of the salt marsh mosquito"
 Out of an area of less than five million acres contained in the state of New Jer- sey, 1t Is estimated that more than two ifths are affected by the salt marsh mosquito nuisance, and these two million acres are inhabited by more than 80 per cent of the population of the state. With the salt marsh mosquito nuisance elim- mated, the committee estimates that the value of this land would surely increase to the amount of S5 an acre on the aver age; thus there would be an addition 10 the value of the lands In the state of SIG, 000 With a tax rate of 1 per cent, this would add to the taxes payable with in the state s1OO,00o every year thereafter. The entire cost of remedyng the condi- tions now existing is estimated at not to exceed $S5OOOO
 Three years ago, when pr. John B. Smith, the New Jersey state entomolo- gist. stated that the two distinctive and most abundant mosquitoes breeding on the salt marshes never breed in fresh water he was contradicted by several en- tomologists. At the present time, how ever, there Is a unanimity of opinion that with the exception of salt mosquitoes breeding in the hollow trunks of trees, those mosquitoes that breed most numer- ously in the salt marshes breed nowhere else. They have the migratory habit they travel long distances. they bite in the daytime but rarely enter houses. In contradiction to this it has been estab- lshed that nearly all of the mosquitoes that breed in fresh waters travel short distances; in fact, unless fresh water breeding places be of great extent, they are seldom troublesome more than half l Q mile from the place where they are bred. Most of these species, however. habitually enter houses, biting chiefly at night They may be classed as domestic mosquitoes. The malaria carried is the most dangerous of these. If there were 1 fewer n1osulitOPS saws the report there would be more inhabitants, and the com mttee has adopted a resolution urging the appropriation of such sums of money as will most quickly and most effectively remove the nuisance, which affects more than three-fourths of the whole states population.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-04-16
The Stock Market.

Henry Clews. in his Wall Street letter of Saturdays date, says: Railroad leg islation now attracts little attention on the Stock Exchange, since it is quite ap- parent that nothing radical or unjust to the railroads is likely to pass at this ses- sion In few weeks Congress will ad- journ and no further disturbance from political causes need be anticipated un- til the opening of the political campaign in the autumn. All outside conditions therefore, favor the stock market The only threatening feature comes from the money situation. The nations surplus savings are being taken at a rate which threatens serious congestion unless check ed. One authority estimates that S1. 476, ,OOO,- eco securities have been authorized in this country since the first of January, of which S,15S0G0,0OO have been, or will be, issued In the near future, s246.OoO 900 being for refunding purposes.
 "The March bond sales amounted to over $sa 000 900, being the largest of any March since 1892 Important additional issues of railroad shares are also about to be made. These conflicting conditions favor a good trading market, for while prosperity continues there Is little chance of a serious decline at present!
 "On the other hand, while money con tinues so scarce there is no opportunity for any excessive bull movement We may expect frequent rallies, based on encouraging outside conditions and the fact that large holders are interested in higher prices. Our advice. however, would be to take profit when the market Is strongest and reinvest only on the pronounced declines, which are likely to he more and more frequent as the sea son progresses. In all directions prices are exceedingly high, too high for per manency, and moderate recesisons in both commodities and securities would be de- sirable and wholesome.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-04-16
WALLACE ON BIRDS.
Inc Chattanooga News,

From the Chattanooga News.
 Hon. John II. Wallace, Jr,, of Hunts vile, has written a treatise upon birds and bird preservation that should be read with interest by every sportsman or nature lover in the south. Mir Wallace has been keen student of ornithology. and has devoted special study to Ala bama species. One of his strong points is a plea for better and more ample game laws. He suggested that a game warden might be maintained in every county from the fees accrulng from well enforced. game laws. For certain of the more commonly hunted birds, he makes a special plea. The treatise refers, at one place, to the fact that a microscopic ex- animation of recently killed doves stomach showed that it contained 5000 weed seeds Computing on this basis, he says that that dove was of more value as a weed destroyer, in one day than two negroes working at s150 per day with hoes would have been in two days,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-04-16
GENUINE CORREGGIO IS
 PROPERTY OF A GAMBLER

He sought Raisouli somewhere out fr the sands, introduced himself and begaa negotiations to get the picture. Raisoun gave 1t to him finally, for a sum un- named and didn't lSidnap sheedy to get the picture back again after he got Sheedy's money.
 Sheedy says that he has Raisoulis as- surance that it's a genuine, and it isn't often that one art connoisseur deeeives another
 sheedy hasn't related the history Of tho painting. but he probably will on his re- turn. as he Is delightful raconteur. par ticularly when it comes to paintings he has met. He may also start on hunt for the monastery from which it was stolen.
 Murillo's painting. "The Magdalen." which Sheedy got from Adam Worth as a legacy, he was reported recently to have sold to John Condon of Chicago for H5,OO0. Sheedy came Into possession of that picture in a strange way too.
 Worth was very grateful to Sheedy for the neat way he helped him to get rid of the Gainsborough after it had lain on his hands for twenty-five years, and after that incident was closed Worth mentioned to sheedy thathe had another pricture even more valuable, which he meant to give him some day Up to the time of the re- turn of the Gainsborough Sheedy hadn't been particularly interested in art. except that displayed in the workmanship of the round pieces of ivory with which he was more or less familiar. But the Gains borough had given him an art appetite. so he told Worth that he'd love to have that Murillo.
 One day after Worth died in 1902, a man came into sheedys hotel and hauled out the painting
 'It's from the old man. He wanted me to see that you got it." said this man-one of Worth's old gang-to Sheedy.
 The story was that this picture was part of the loot taken from a South American monastery. sheedy brought the picture here and a few months later sailed for South America trying to find the owner of his painting, but without success He kept the picture In his room at the Sturtevant house for while, and then came the report that he had sold it to Condon.
 Sheedy is reported to be in London now waiting for his latest find to be retouohed
 Its a great find, and l expect to land it in some American museum, probably in New York" he was quoted as saving in an interview over there
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-04-16
Opening the New Season.

The sixth season of the big league of the south is now fairly opened, and from this time on until the last ball has been flung in September schedules and percentages will be closely studied by all lovers of the national game.
 Say what we will about other out door sports-about polo and tennis and boating and the races, not one of them presents an amount of human interest equal to that of base ball. Man is pitted against man, team against team, in that game and com munity soon regards its team as It's own. even though not a member of it was born within thousand miles. The word borne on the breast of the contending athlete drives away all uncalled for thoughts. It gives the needed local color.
 There is something. too, in the en- semble that Is democratic and Ameri can. Every one is free to express his views on every point of the game in the most public manner. He may shout his convictions In the vernacu lar. if he be so minded, and no one will object. All enjoy, in fact, the opinions expressed on the spot.
 Then, too, the game Is plain, open, easily understood and fully and com prehensively regulated There is no real room for rowdyism or serious dis agreement. A snappy game is full of obJectors, but all objectors must ob- serve the rules, and the rules do not admit of anything that a full, free American would consider beyond pro priety or reason. Long live then the national game, for 1t stands for out door enjoyment, and outdoor enjoy ment is the only kind that fits our good old summer weather.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-04-16
Advocates County Police.

There Is nothing that this community needs more than a well organized and efficient county police force for the pro- lection of the thlckly populated districts around Birmingham that are outside of the corporate limits of the city" said a prominent business man yesterday.
 The necessity for a service was strik- ngly Illustrated in the case of the Bur ton tragedy last week. Neighbors of the Burtons insist that if they could have gotten police assistance when they called for 1t the tragedy could have been prevented. and yet the fact that the house where the killing took place was about a hundred yards beyond the -eity limits relieved the city police department from any legal obligation to respond to the call.
 Fulton county, Georgia, In which Att lanta is located, has a well equipped coun- ty police force, under the direction of a chief just as the city department Is, that regularly patrols the suburban sections of the city and makes several trips week 10 all parts of the county. This department is technically called guards of roads and bridges but Is in fact a first class police force almost as large as the Birmingham force. Atlanta also has a much larger comparative city police force than Birmingham.
 This" continued the citizen, ''ls mat ter that ought to be given consideration without delay"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-04-16
BAD SEASON FOR SONG WRITERS.
Fewer Big Successes This Year. Says
 the Music Publisher.
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
 'The present season has been excep- tionally barren of song hits" said a music publisher the other night. "Of course there are plenty of popular songs been big successes. The cause, perhaps is the fact that the public's taste for musical shows seems to be on the decline While this sort of entertainment was on the top wave composers had plenty of opportunity to introduce their works. Now, however, they must depend in a measure, on vaudeville artists to sing their songs. The vaudeville performers, realizing this, demand certain sum as pay. Only in extreme cases do the pub fishers or composers give up. Some pub fishers, rather than pay performers, have devised singing acts of their own. In this way they are sure to have their songs heard at the same time drawing a revenue from the act.
 Simple rustic ballads are in demand just now. but the melody and lyrics must be exceptionally good to attract atten- ton. Irish march songs are popular. The fashion in such songs began with Be della. Indian songs are dead, yet we've got to publish them to meet the wishes of some vaudeville artist who may de- sire to introduce one m ms turn. T fdlhNi songs received an inning with the ad- vent of Everybody Works But Father The song is said to be a new variation of an old English comic song with the same title. Although the ditty was ex- tremely popular 1t did not sell as well as some ballads of which the public hears less,
 Descriptive ballads have gone out and are not likely to come into popularity again unless some enterprising publisher or performer can devise an idea to pop ularize them. When the moving slides or Illustrated song scheme was in fashion these songs had a show. Light, airy waltz songs such as If Girl Like You Loved a Boy Like Me, originally intro duced by Lillian Russell, are popular. Songs of sentiment are always salabie. especially if the title is attractive and the music catchy. It's hard to predict anything about coon songs. There IS one writer who has been able to make such songs pay. He turns out one each season. and makes them popular. Other writers have failed with similar mate fo1