davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08
ON GOvERNMEN

Bolton Hall in Life.
 Plato, having laid a brick in the path stood aside to see what might befall The first man who stumbled over it said nothing but went his way. There" said the philosopher. 'is conservative cit izen, the backbone of our institutionsn
 The next one fell on hls face and railed upon the TetharcIh. but he also left the brick and went on his way. That is a good government man" said Plato. "He will one day found a Goo-Goo club.'
 The third also broke his shins, and having called upon Plato, removed the brick from the path.
 That man. said Plato, Ifs reformer; he believes in doing 'ye nexte thinge'" " Then Plato replaced the brick in the path.
 But certain man came along. and when he had stubbed his toe he took up the brick and hurled it at the philosopher That" said Plato. as he lodged the brick, Ifs an anarchist; he is dangerous to the government"
 (But he was not; he was only a ni- hilist)
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08
Secretary Roots Mission.

Secretary Root and his family have sailed away on the protected cruiser Charleston. which had by paint and some alterations been made accepta- ble to his use. New ventilating and ice machines were placed on board. and no doubt the secretary of state will enjoy his trip in southern waters.
 He goes to attend the PanAmerican congress at Rio Janeiro, where he ex, poets to be on July 25, and where he expects to stay until August 6. Imme- diately afterwards MT. Root will visit one South American port after an- other, and in each he will teach as best he can the need of closer conner cial relations between Uncle Sam and South America. He will intimate, no doubt, with all the skill and tact he can command, that the protection the South Americans gain from the Mon  roe doctrine should be returned in trade.
 MT. Root has been invited by nearly every South American republic to be- come its guest, and he has accepted the invitations, and in that way he will endeavor to work out his mission of more trade He will explain, no doubt, the Monroe doctrine, and he will also explain the desire on the part of this country for friendlier relations and ampler trade He will appeal to their imaginations, to their practicality and to their sense of fair play. He will
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08
Walter WelIman and Andree.

Walter Wellman and his co-workers have left, not only Trondhjem, where King Haakon was crowned, but also Tromsoe. which is the most northerly cable station, being but 1000 miles from the pole. He will soon arrive at Dane's Island, near Spitzbergen, and very near the spot from which Andree set out in an airship on June 15, 1896. Andree was never heard from, but his fatal attempt will not deter Walter Wellman and his packers in the Chi cago Record-Herald office from mal1- ing second attempt to reach the pole by means of an airship.
 The preparations for the new effort are on the grandest possible scale. No expense has been spared, and the aerial craft itself is one of the largest ever constructed. The balloon part of the ship is 164 feet long, and it's greatest diameter is 521a feet. Its surface is 21.09S square feet, capable of containing 224,225 cubic feet of gas, with lifting power of 16,000 pounds. The car attached to the balloon is con structed of steel tubing, and is 52 1-3 l feet long. It contains the engine room and cabin for the crew, while attached | to it will be the great basket carrying 1 the gasoline fuel for the motors. There are three of these: the first of seventy horse power, the second of twenty-five and the third of five. The large mo tors will drive the two propelling screws of the ship at speed ranging from ten to nineteen miles an hour.
 When the assembling and testing operations have been completed in the great shed at Spitzbergen the five men who are to make the perilous trip will step aboard and the ship will be pointed IOWdTu itS llHdi utotihdeiOh. These men are: Walter Wellman. Major Hersey, representing the na- tional government and the Geographic Society; Gaston Hervieu. a celebrated French aeronaut; M. J. Smith. wire less expert, and Paul Colardeau, in n. o.co oF tho nnpforc
 Mir Wellman hopes to sail away to the pole about August 18th, and he thinks the trip to it will consume 100 hours time. He hopes, in other words either by the wireless tele- graph system or by return to civ ilization, to tell a waiting world by the 1st of September all he has seen in the great frozen country which lies about the pole that so many had sought and none but him had reached.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08
Import Coffee Trade.

In four years the coffee imports of New Orleans had been increased 70 per cent, and when the figures were published underground influences were at once set at work, and in a weeks s time the chief steamship company op- erating ships between Rio and Santos in Brazil and United States ports cut the rate per sack to 35 cents when landed in New York, while the rate to New Orleans remains at 40 cents q sack. The Lambert & Holt company
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08

endeavor in short to place his mission in the era-opening class by laying the foundation of working agreement among the American republics, He will keep the Monroe doctrine te the front. and he will not forget to talk trade" at every good opportunity
 Secretary Roots mission Is an i'm portant one in view of the opening of the Panama canal, and 1t is to be hoped that the secretary of state will be able to remove all unfounded prej- udiees and to bind together in Amer lean good will and international com fly all the republics from the Horn to the Great Lakes and the British line.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08
PETTus IS EIeHTY-FIvE.
From the Savannah Press.

tTom the savannah Press.
 Gen. E. ". Pettus of Alabama, the old est member of the United States Senate, reached his Seth birthday today. He will
 be S7 years old when his present term ex- pires, but notwithstanding this fact he
 has announced his candidacy for another
 term. His colleague, Senator Morgan
 who is also past his S0th year, is like
 wise a candidate to succeed himself Am
 bilious politicians in Alabama are already laying plans to fill the shoes of the ven erable senators, but in the opinion of | many who know them the state will have hard time to find more able or loyal | representatives in the upper branch of Congress than the incumbents
 , General Pettus has had a career that would have furnished plenty of excuse | for retirement from active life many l years ago. He served as lieutenant in 1 the Mexican war. He made a journey l from Alabama to California on horseback | in 1S49. He returned in 1S55 and was 1 made a judge. He served through the civil war, fighting in many battles and finally becoming a brigadier general. He then went back and practiced law until l at the age of 75 he was elected to the | Senate He Is now serving his second l term
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08
Insane Hospital.

The presence in the waiting room of the union station last night of an insane man in charge of a guard brought on a discussion of the state insane hospital at Tuscaloosa. "It Is a fact not generally known said man from that place, but the Alabama Bryce Insane hospital is one of the largest and greatest institutions of its kind in the world. There are between 1900 and l5o0 white patients confined within it's walls. a number of whom are from prominent families. A small army of nurses and doctors is in charge of the patients. toward whom nothing but kind ness is ever shown. The hospital Is prac- tically self-supporting institution, op- erating large farm and an orchard-both worked by the patients themselves-from which all the vegetables and fruits con- stunned are taken. All the male patients except, of course, the maniacs and those physically unable to do so, are required to work in the fields for their health s sake. The hospital is under the supervision of Dr. J. T. Searcy. who has shown great executive ability in it's manage ment.
 People generally have preconceived Idea that the place is terrible and repui- sive, and that only those with a craving for the abnormal go to look within its forbidding walls On the contrary, every thing is clean and quiet and the patients. as a rule. are satisfied with the life they lead A visit to this colony of insane peo- pie is both interesting and instructive, and has nothing of the gruesome about it."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08
MT. Topping Here.

John A. Topping. president of the Re- public company, and chairman of the Tennessee company. arrived in Birming- ham yesterday morning and will remain here several days-perhaps a week or two. He was busy all day in his office in the Woodward building, but during this week he will visit Ensley and other towns in the district where the Tennessee-R Republic plants are in operation.
 MT. Topping said last night that the affairs of the companies he represented were in a very satisfactory condition and that the work of development now in pro- gress was going forward as fast as could be expected.
 Within the next two or three years the Tennessee Republic will spend many mil lions in the Birmingham district.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08
Candidate for Auditor.

Horace Hood, editor of the Montgomery Journal and candidate for state auditor, is in Birmingham but will leave on an early morning train- He Is making a quiet but effective canvass of the state and says he feels much encouraged over his political prospects.
 ''I have been cordially received in every county that I have visited, said MT. Hood, land many people are assuring me of their support. I intend to return to Birmingham little later on in the cam paign and spend some time in meeting the voters of this district"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08
WASHINGTON AN ATHLETE.
Probably Would Play Football lf llv
 Ing Now.

From the Philadelphia Record.
 He was an athlete George Washing ton, we mean. If he were alive today he would in all probability be a college boy. and if he went to college there Is not a particle of doubt but he would scramble for a place on the baseball and football teams.
 He was fond of all athletic sports and games, and 1t was very easy for him to maintain his supremacy in them. His natural constitution was good, and regu- lar habits, supplemented by judicious training and exercising of his muscles. made him a foe with whom even the In- dians hesitated to contend in athletic matches.
 It Is claimed that he could throw a stone across the Potomac. standing on the river bank at Mount Vernon.
 His superiority in all out-of-door sports stood him often in good stead. and when he was surveying land for Lord Fairfax in Virginia, he won many friends among the redskins among whom he was then forced to live, by taking part in all of their games
 One night he reached a little settlement of white people in the midst of a jump ing match. Whoever jumped the farthest would win the hand of a wealthy farm CTS daughter. The girl herself was pres ent so was the minister all ready to marry the maiden and the successful com petitor. A young farmer named Jonathan had outdstanced the other young men who took part, and the girl seemed very we'll satisfied at the result At this point Washington asked if he, too, might be allowed to take part in the contest. Permission was given and he jumped three feet farther than any of the others had done.
 The girl, not being blessed with the power of divlnation, did not guess that the successful young stripling was the future Father of His Country" and her disappointment was plainly visible In her face Washington finally relieved the sit uation by resigning his claims in favor of Jonathan Then he stayed and par took of the wedding supper. One cannot but wonder if the girl lived to know of Washington's ultimate great ness, and, if so. if she looked back with regret upon the result of the jumping ma toh
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08
PacuIIar Tla.

There is a peculiar tie that binds news editor of the Dixie Manufacturer, last night. 'Of course l know Pm not telling you anything new" he went on, flor you have noticed 1t many times well as |. But l have had the fact brought striking ly before me during the last few days by noticing the number of newspapers that have come out for Henry B. Gray for lieutenant governor.
 T receive quite a number of the weekly papers of the state. and majority of those receive are for Gray. Some of the editors have even written to me about him. I attribute MT. Grays strength with the press to the fact that he Is a former newspaper man himself, having started life as a reporter in Atlanta. And there are not many places in Birmingham he has not visited with pad and pencil in the old days when he was chasing items for The Age-Herald. MT. Gray, too, is proud of the fact that he is an alumnus of the Fourth Estate,' and he is always glad to meet newspaper men and help them in any way he can. And the newspaper men are proud of MT. Gray and the success he has achieved in other fields Their friend ship for him was strongly illustrated at the banquet of the Birmingham Press cub in this city last winter. The news paper men had as their guests that night about 150 of the most prominent citizens of the state, distinguished lawyers, capi- talists, merchants, politicians and others. and the reception the press boys gave to Mr Gray at the end of his speech was probably the greatest demonstration of the evening.
 While many of the country editors may not know him personally. they know that he used to be one of the profesh, and that makes them friendly to him, for newspaper men are newspaper men. whether working on the big city dailies or editing, soliciting ads, setting type or pulling Washington hand press for their little weekly and when a country editor comes to Birmingham he Is just as much at home fin any of the three big offices here as he Is in his own shop. It is a bon homme spirit that is peculiar to the men of the press"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08
BETRoTHED ANEW.

By Edmund Clarence Stedman. The sunlight fills the trembling air.
 And balmy days their guerdons bring; The Earth again is young and fair,
 And amorous with musky Spring. The golden nurslings of the May
 In splendor strew the spangled green, And hues of tender beauty play,
 Entangled where the willows lean.. Mark how the rippled currents flow;
 What ldstres on the meadows lie? And hark! the songsters come and go
 And trill between the earth and sky. Who told us that the years had fled,
 Or borne afar our blissful youth? Such oys are all about us spread;
 We know the whisper was not truth. The birds that break from grass and
 grove
 Sing every carol that they sung When first our veins were rich with love. And May her mantle round us flung. O fresh-lit dawn Immortal life!
 Earth's betrotNal, sweet and true. With whose delights our souls are rife, And aye their vernal vows renew Then, darling, walk with me this morn; Let your brown tresses drink its sheen: These vioets, within them worn,
 Of floral fays shall make you queen. What though there comes time of pain When autumn winds forbode decay? The days of love are born again;
 That fabled time is far away. And never seemed the land so fair
 As now, nor birds such notes to sing, Since first within your shining hair
 I wove the blossoms of the spring.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08
ALABAMA PRESS

scottsboro Citizeni Oklahoma will prove the llveliest youngster ever admitted ts the galaxy of states.
 Gurley Herald: Some of our preparations seem to contain almost everything ex- eept food. Give us pure food,
 Headland Posti The professional dress maker ls about the only woman in the world who Is good at figures.
 Attana Mirror; Some of the trusts are now wondering if they could have fared much worse had they let Bryan be elected.
 Moulton Advertiseri We have a great country, and if we could only stock 1t with good officers. what a glorious future would be before us.
 Dothan Eagle: Birmingham is taekllng the culture question mildly. It wants to move the Jail from under its nose, and We suppose it will have to go
 Livingston Southern Home: It is under stood that Senator Jeff Davis will be searched for chair legs before being ad mitted to seat in that august body.
 Florence Times: Lauderdale now has five. candidates for the legislature. All this talent, to say nothing of the other as pirants for office. should bring out full vote.
 conecuh Record: The girl who follows the Presidents advice and keeps her eyes on the stars will be likely to stumble, unless she has a firm hold on some young mans arm.
 Florence Herald: An American who was driven out of Nicaragua declares he will make complaint to the United States gov- ernment. Some men don't know when they're lucky.
 Taladega Reporter: Most of us are not worrying so much about whether our beef has been properly tagged by the govern ment inspector as we are about the amount on the tag we have to pay the butcher.
 Sheffield Standard: This talk of a home coming of Alabamians sounds well, but we are of the opinion that there are a number of Alabamians who will refuse to 
 return unless accompanied by a sheriff with acquisition papers.
 St Clair Herald: Good roads and river transportation will do more to give us a fair freight rate than all the laws we can make. If our people would look at this matter in its true light and demand some legislation on the road and river question it would do us all more permanent good than all this freight rate agitation.
 Montgomery Journal: Senator LaFollette of Wisconsin says that Roosevelt is the only republican who can beat Bryan, and the senator Is for Roosevelt. This shows plainly how little sincere reform there is among republicans. This senator poses as a great reformer, yet he puts party loy- alty above reform-sticks to republican ism-and lets reform take care of itself.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08
You are not worth another word else I'd call you knave.
 -Al's We'll That Ends We'll.
New Rate Law.

Railway officials, especially railway lawyers, are studying the rate bill carefully, and the impression gains ground that the railroads will not be harmed by 1t. Instead of destroying or even impairing their mighty busI- ness, just and even-handed enforce ment of the law may fortify them against groundless suspicious and crit icism.
 Much depends upon the personnel of the new commission, which is to be Increased to seven members, each of whom will receive more pay than a cabinet officer, each too, will practi- cally serve for life. There will scarce ly be a branch of the federal service of greater power and weight.
 Contrary to the general impression the new rate law is today in force. There are but two exceptions. The provisions relating to passes does not become effective until January 1, 1907, and railroad is free to transport ar ticles mined or produced by it until May 1, 1908. In all other respects the law is in full force today. The pro- posed delay of sixty days was not in- corporated in it.
 No one will know just what this epochal law means until the courts have been called upon to interpret its various provisions. In substance it says rates shall be just and reasona- ible, and in no case shall they be dis criminative. But how this gigantic re- suit is to pc gained Is more complex Years will be spent before the entire law is brought into full operation. Many legal battles will be fought be- fore the meaning of disputed clauses and sections are determined
 ! The chief change, after all, is found In the power granted to the commlS- sion to, not only condemn unjust rates, but to prescribe in their stead maxi mum rates. Under the law of 1887 it did not have the later power. This change, together with the provisions Intended to prevent discriminations of any sort whatsoever, constitute the essence and bulk of the law.
 <, It is safe to say that the railroad which is fair, reasonable and just in its rate sheets and that maintains its rates without concessions of any sort will not feel the new law at all In every paragraph of the new bill can be seen the desire for just rates ap piled without discrimination. It was the unjust rate and the discriminative rate that led on to the passage of the law of 1906, which looks to uniform railroad bookkeeping, and publicity and fair play in general.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
stronn Candidate.

''I am glad to know that Nathan l.. Mil- Ter is to be a candidate for the nomination for state senator from Jefferson county said a prominent democrat last night. While Mir Miller has been an active party man ever since he was old enough to vote, and has rendered important ser vice to the democracy he has never be- fore been candidate for public office. Ills friends feel. therefore, that 1t Is as little as they could do 10 support him now in his first race in political con test Few men are so widely known in Jefferson county as Mir Miller, and none stand higher for integrity. He ls man of large experience in affairs and lawyer of marked capacity. He will undoubtedly prove a very strong oandldate."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08
RAILROADS IN ENGLAND
 AND THE UNITED STATES

gradients are far sleeper, so the through speeds were nothing to those of our north. ern expresses. The Pennsylvania trair average forty-nine miles and the other forty-seven miles an hour; but between Harrisburg and Altoona the former reach. ed speed of ninety-fiye mile an hour. and between Syracuse and Albany the Central f1ier travelled at eighty miles,
 The result of the 1902 racing in the states was 1920 collisions. S9S trans deraa- ed, SIS people killed. 995s injured and claims against various companies aggre- gating four millions sterling
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR

From the New York Press.
 A man Is always vain enough to believe he isn't.
 What the surgeons make on the Fourth of July the insurance companies lose.
 A trip abroad is a nice thing to brag about but the real enjoyment sof it is getting home to good things to eat.
 There is hardly any surer way to live to be very old than to be rich and have lot of poor relatives waiting for you to die.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08

New government buildings at Besse- mer. Florence, Tuscaloosa, Dothan and Gadsden show that Alabama repre- sentatives were at hand when the pork barrel was opened.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08

In Arizona the honest voters will op- pose admission, but the gamblers, liquor sellers. Mormons and Spanish speaking voters will favor admission. The result is not clear or certain.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08

President Kayanaugh puts Birming- ham at the top of the box-office list, and Manager Vaughn will attempt to put 1t at the top of pole in Septem- Der
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08

The policeman's lot in Warsaw, Po- land, is not happy one unless he can find enjoyment in being a target of anarchists.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08

Baseballs are unknown in Spain, and so Spanish hailstones were reported the size of oranges, and child was killed by one of them.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08

The scientists and commercial men of Chicago say potted chicken is all right even when made in accordance with The Jungle recipe.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08

Chickens are considered worth while in Columbus, where two white men were sentenced to six months hard labor for stealing fowls from widow
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08

On the Fourth of July the rain soaked the President, and he soaked the trusts.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08

, After all, the presentation of Mrs. Warrens Profession" did not violate the penal code, although 1t violated the laws of decency.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08

Speed the coming of the Illinois Gen. tral, one of the biggest and best rail roads in the country.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08

It didn't take London long to fall out with our beef, but she refuses to be- l.eve that our cigarettes are unsani- tary
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08

While MT. Bryan swings around the world, MT. Root, more modest, will swing around South America.