davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
New Municipal F ad.

No American city is considered com plete that lacks a Colosseum. It may have trade and natural beauty, and even an opera house, but none or all of these fill the gaps as. a Colosseum does.
 l. is difficult to say where the dis ease first appeared, but wherever it did that place soon became a focus of infection, for one city after another is now attacked by the bad.
 A Colosseum is but building, but it differs from other buildings in the matter of size. The strife is to build one bigger almost than "all outdoors. ]" As a rule they are built by subscrip- ton, for no one expects a Colosseum to be a dividend earner There are not enough national conventions. horse fairs, bazaars and the like to fill them many nights in year. Some cities would, in fact, like to eclipse the orig inal Colosseum of Vespasian, which is still standing in the Eternal City. It is G2O feet long, 513 feet wide and 157 feet high. It had seats for 80000 spectators and standing room for 20,- 900 more. It is but ruin now, but it will not be easy for John Jones in America to outdo Vespasian in Rome. And besides combats of gladiators and wild beasts have gone out of. fashion except, possibly, in Spain and Nevada
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
About Work.

Tt Is a question: said Tom Shields last evening as he reclined in an easy chair at the Hillman, whether the av- craze American citizen works too little or too much Nova in reference to the proposition of working too little. here is an example Once upon a time, between two centers of commerce. there was sin gle railroad. Because there was no com petition, the employees of that road took things easy, the result being that there was not a general overflow of business Soon another road connected these two places and both systems got busy. The re- suit was that the first road is doing the biggest business in its history, and the new road Is doing exceedingly well.
 AS to the proposition of working too much. there Is just another story. In Birmingham there are numerous drug stores where a person can obtain any thing from match to prescription on Sundays. There is one drug company of importance in the city where person can obtain nothing but a prescription on the Sabbath. No newspapers are sold, no soda water is dispensed, and man seek ing to purchase block of chewing gum would go unsatisfied. The latter concern
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
No Lonuer Conservative.

Our recent state convention struck out the word conservative" and the democratic. conservative party" is now simply the democratic party" This is well. The word "conservative" had become a by-word and a reproach
 Under its wings trusts have been multiplied and protected until tax ation of the many by the few has become almost uncomfortable, and radi- cal action for their overthrow has become necessary if liberty is to en- dure in this country-if government of the people, by the people, for the people is to be real and substantial.
 The recent state convention acted up to public sentiment and the trend of the times when 1t struck out the word "conservative" from the party name, for no conservatism is needed in dealing with trusts and monopolies and the Dingley tariff, that arch scheme for the plundering of the many by the priviledged few Radicalism is now popular and really needful in order to overcome tie evils that have been ushered in and established in the name of conservatism.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
Prouress of China.

The awakening of China is the most astonishing movement of the period, for that vast country is experiencing with rapidity all the changes that Japan had. These changes are of western origin but China proposes to take none of them directly from the Occident Accurately speaking, she is being Japanized. All of her new edu- cation and preparations are to come through the people that licked big Russia out of its boots. The uninter- rupted stream of victories that Japan won is, in fact, what converted China to western ideas.
 She knows no halfway house now. She wants all. She is to have a con stitution; she has made western learn ing test of government employment; she has established in Chi Lii province 5000 primary and secondary schools in which to prepare candidates for gov ernment offices; she is increasing the number of newspapers and postoffices, and she has ordered women to stop binding their feet It is also reported tI.at the vice roy of Hupoh and Human provinces, containing 5S000,000 peo- pie, has ordered the schools of his provinces to study hereafter the New Testament. He does not rule out the Confucian classics. Both are to be taught, because he wants results from both. He seems to think, although he does not admit so much. that the su- periorty of the western nations may be due to the New Testament, and he hopes by securing to the young Chi, nese the teachings of Christianity and Confucius also to produce masterful race.
 The China of the twentieth century is to be far different from the China of the nineteenth century Hedged behind Japan and England the Chi nese propose to get into line and to fill, in the long run, an important place in this world.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
Postponed Dinner.

"As nearly everyone knows" said Ed Crawford yesterday, false rumors were circulated last week to the effect that one or more wel-known men In Birnng- ham had been killed. One rumor spread throughout the city, and several inquiries were sent to police headquarters and the newspapers in Birmingham. But every one does not know that this rumor broke up a dinner party at the Country club. At this party there were several couples seated about the board when one of the young ladies mentioned the fact that she had heard of a shooting affray in Bir- mingham in which one of the well-known men of the city had been killed. and that the papers were preparing to issue ex- tras. Everyone got up from the table and agreed that the dinner should be post poned. Everyone came to town to get paper to read the particulars
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
SIGNS OF A HARD WINTER.

From the Tyrone (Penn) Herald.
 That the coming winter is going to be the hardest one for the past twenty years there is an abundance of signs to show, and among them 1t may be mentioned that:
 The corn husks are a foot and a half thick, and all the stalks lean to the west.
 The geese. ducks and chickens are grow ing coat of fur under their feathers, and are rubbing borax on their feet to harden them up.
 All the one-eyed owls are leaving the country a month earlier than usual and the bobtailed squirrels arc laying in sweet potatoes, as well as nuts, for winter pro- visions
 The farmer who has taken the trouble to investigate has. found that all the toadstoos on the old logs have wrinkles in them The last time that this happen ed we had winter weather that froze the handles of blows.
 Rabbits are sitting around with hump ed up look to them, and field mice have wrinkles in their tails. If this means anything, it means twenty degrees be- low zero from November through to May.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
Chorus Girls Hard Work.

Persons who fancy chorus girls do not have to work would be convinced to the contrary if they could spend an evening behind the scenes" said representative of George Ades comic opera, Sultan of Sulu," which comes to the Jefferson Fri day night. Take our show for example. In this play there are nineteen changes of costumes for the chorus alone. Of course not all the girls have to change nineteen times, for different ones appear in the various musical numbers. But all have to participate in several songs and dances and throughout the performance there is hasty scrambling to and from the stage and dressing rooms. The physi- cal labor of getting in and out of so many costumes is considerable"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
AUDIENCE WITH THE KHAN

portant-locking persons stride majestic ally about and go 1 hand out of little iron-bound doors. At last a great man In an immense sheepskln drum-major's head-dress came toward us, bearing a six foot silver rod solidly incrusted with small turquoses. He made obesance and said that the Khan would receive us. We fol- lowed him to an insignificant door, be- side which stood muscular official with barred arms and a silver adz. As l put my foot on the threshold, he raised the adz suddenly high over my head, at which I ineontinently ducked and dodged in.
 The other side of the door opened into small court, surrounded by elaborately carved, thin-waisted pillars. It was empty except for some prostrste forms in the corner, grouped about a figure seated on a low dais. As we approached. the kneeling group rose and walked away, and as they passed saw It was the crown prince and his gentlemen, talk ing their leave.
 The Khan-for the seated figure was he-sat on a rich carpet, in the ordinary Turcoman and Sart costume of pIum-col- ored gown and little white, embroidered skull cap, over which, as we came up, he hastily adjusted his high black chalpak Near him lay a porcelain tea bowl and jeweled scimitar in green velvet sheath, and crawling over his knees was lean tortoise-shell cat, with a tail like foxs brush He was a squat, toad-llke old man, with an evil face covered with a grizzled beard.
 When I<olchov and I approached the presence and saluted the Kahn held cut g. limp hand European fashion, first to me speak up trotted our interpreter and started talking excitedly to his Majesty in the Turco- Persian hybrid language of the educated Sarts Then, turning to me, he put the Khans question:
 Why did you come to Khiva?"
 "Merely to see the city" I replied.
 This being translated, the Khan bowed his head and said:
 "Yaehshi' C'very good')
 He then desired that be asked how liked it. to which replied, with more de- sire to please than strict truth:
 Tt is very beautiful"
 Again the Khan bowed and said, 'Yachshi."
 Next they demanded when I was to leaves, and said, Tomorrow morning."
 This time, with a bow and pleased smile, his majesty said, Cope yachshi' every good, indeed,") and extended the royal hand to signify that the audience was over.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
Many Visitors Expected.

Birmingham will have the pleasure of entertaining many visitors within the next few weeks" said Mayor Ward yes terday afternoon.
 '1rhe convention of the American Asso- citation of Municipal Improvement begins Tuesday, and will result in attracting several hundred out of town visitors. Following on the heels of the conven- ton, is the big golf tournament that occurs at the Country club. This will bring another hundred visitors or more. Next comes the big State Fair and this attraction will completely fill the city It is believed. In addition, two large cir cuses are scheduled. Walaces show oc CUTS this week and Barnum & Balleys circus occurs on the 27th. Birmingham will be a popular gathering place for many people, it is seen, within the next two weeks.
 For that reason and others, we are endeavoring to get the city thoroughly cleaned. It is hoped that all citizens will take hand in this work and give their aid"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
Lovely mince pie weather.
ACQUITTED. OF coURE.

From the Kansas City Times.
 "He that is wothout sin among you, let him cast the first stone
 Rush l.. Fisette, a Rosedale lawyer read this from a Bible In Justice Cooke's court yesterday He was defending Roy Jackson, Earl Pollock, George White, and Thomas Collins 16-year-old boys, on trial for stealing watermelons.
 Now" said the attorney, closing the Bible with a snap, If there is man on this jury who never stole watermelon when he was a boy, let him vote for the conviction of these boys. Vote to give them the limit of the lava jail sen- tence."
 The jury was out five minutes. The boys were acquitted. Thomas l.. Izard had them arrested. He has farm one mile south of Rosedale.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
{ al, ii The Cultivate |.

The Charleston News and Courier is fin the line of truth when it puts the call of the cultivated above the call of the wild. The south needs whi e men. It nee S them more than it does sentiment or any nonsense about for ests and mountain sd s. Scarcely a plant in the south is full-handed, and on thousands of farms more ahorers are needed
 This deficiency Is a matter that will right itself if we but do our part. In the first place, the lack of laborers in the south will operate to put offers for additional men up to the offers ten dered in other states and other sec tions. The south must expect to pay in cash $1.50 a day for able-bodied men. It must do this in order to meet competition from elsewhere.
 Nor is this all, for the advantages of landing must in some way be secured to the south. The landing of all i'm migrants at New York must be broken into. A fair share of them must be landed at southern ports. When they are, we must stand ready to offer them cheap lands, or $1.50 a day, payable weekly in cash.
 It is best to know the true situa- ton. We have stated it. Wages are too low in the south. Immigrants are landed thousand miles away. We should welcome Italians who are not full of color prejudice, and who are accustomed to a sun that shines as hot as 1t does in Alabama. These
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
TRAITS OF LATE "AL" ADAMS

and for the first time in his life Adams found himself paying instead of receiving He lost his gambling spirit and stopped The bucket shops went out of business. and with them went the money of thou sands of persons who could i'll afford the loss. The investigation into that Is not yet concluded.
 Whatever he may have been outside, Adams in his home life was all that could be asked. He had the greatest love for his wife and daughters and sons. The only way in which his disgrace ever af- fected him was on their account.
 When his eldest daughter became Mrs. Armit he called up newspaper and begged the editor if he was going to print an account of the wedding not to add that the bride was the daughter of Al Adams, the policy king"
 Give 1t to me all you want" he sald but spare her"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Theatrical Mans Yarn.

Harvey Day, the business manager of the Sergeant Kitty company. which comes to the Jefferson theatre Saturday matinee an night, is responsible for the following yarn:
 q was walking down the main street of a smali town where 1 Lad spent sev- eral summers sail Mr. Day, "and saw and old character about town repairing a front fence. l r,~.ced that he was look ing particularly bright, and asked him why he was looking so happy.
 Wall drawled he, You see I've been gitting married this morning.
 Married? You?" 1 exclaimed, what on Sarth have you done that for? You car hardly support yourself as 1t is.'
 Wall said Silas. You see it's this way. I ken purity near support myself, an l think it's a great pity if she can't help some"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
SOUTHERN MULE.
l the Baltimore News.

From the Baltimore News
 Our public-spirited contemporary, Har- per's Weekly, notes the fact that the northern states are Il prejudiced against that noble creature. the mule; that, while the mule is by overwhelming numbers the domestic animal of the south, every where north of the Potomac and Ohio the horse has undisputed sway. We also have ob- served this incident with pain and aston ishment, the more especially as it was the Father of His Country who introduced the mule into the land which he had made free with his sword, using them on his Mount Vernon farm and thereby set- ting an example which all patriotic Amer jeans might well have followed. General Washington imported from Spain num- Der of jacks, and tradition has 1t, though we do not vouch for the truth thereof, that one of them, a gigantic, snow-white beast, was so beloved by his Castilan owner that he insisted in putting in the bill of sale a condition that he should be allowed to send along a troubadour to play the guitar for the jack in his melan- choly moments.
 The mule is the glory of the south. He. well as the race horse, Is the pride of Kentucky. A pair of Kentucky mules'' frequently brings as much as five hum dred dollars 'in gold" Many rich planters of the south drive a spanking team of figh-bred mules in preference to horses. Before the day of the steam blow the tough but enormously productive lands of Mississippi, Louisiana and lower Texas would have been hardly tillable except for the prodigous strength of these draft animals. In the Boer war and in the Spanish war Texas and Missouri furnished the mules that pulled the heavy army wagons through the almost impassabe jungles. Many of them pershed in the wilderness or fell ingloriously in battle. In Tokio the Japanese have recently dedl- eated a costly monument to the horses that were killed in the war with Russia. Many memorials have been erected to horses. But alasl the meek and lowly but intrepid mule dies at the cannons mouth unweDt. unhonored and unsung
 In cherishing the mule the south has shown it's patriotism by following the path blazed out bv the immortal Wash ington. It has also exhibited it's genius for business. as the mule is, by odds, the most economical of farm animals. In time. we may indulge the hope that the north will overcome it's opposition to this distinguishing feature of southern civilization. and that even in conserva- tive and hide-bound New England tho mule may he accorded that recognition which he has so justly won in every part of Dixie.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
RIrminaham Crowded.

Never before has there been such d demand eor hotel accommodations as Is the State Fair" said a clerk of one of the local hotels yesterday
 Every room we have has been engaged in advance and 1 understand that this is true of the other hotels in town.
 "The indications are now that Birming ham will be crowded with visitors during the fair. The Home Coming Week idea seems to be a popular one and will bring hundreds of former citizens back for a visit to the old home and the old state.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
The Currency Question.

Henry Clews In his Wall street letter of Saturdays date. says:
 "Unfortunately, it is good politics to ignore Wall street and to refuse It's re- quests regardless of their merit, sound ness or necessity; until nothing but sheer good luck has saved the country from the destructive consequences of legislative neglect. When our practical men of busl ness make themselves really felt at Wash ington, Congress may be whipped into ac- tion. It is absolutely certain that con tinued refusal to adopt sane currency measures will lead us to drift into one of the greatest financial crisis that the coun- try has ever seen. Of course, we shall have panics with or without currency re- form; but disaster will be immeasurably aggravated by clingng to a clumsy and antiquated currency system; or cores pondingly amelorated by adopting a sys- tenn that is scientific elastic, automatic, and suitable to American necessities.
 American monetary markets are the most cratic In the world. In Europe and even in Canada, where systems of varying eldSllclty eXlSI, rates usually average between and per cent, very rarely going more than one or two points outside of these figures. What would London, Paris or Berlin think of rates ranging from 10 to 125 per cent, such as have been paid here, not in panic but during prosperity No civilized country in the world maintains a system so ill- suited to its wants as the United States That we are so far astern in this respect is sore reflection upon our national in, telligence. Even Canada, which works under conditions closely resembling our own, is far in advance of us in this re- spect. Across the border the same to and fro movement of funds for crop moving purposes takes place every au- tumn as here. But who ever hears of such spasms of stringency in Canada as occur on this side of the border The Canadian banks issue currency to the par of their capital as needed When inter- est rates advance. the supply of currency increases; when interest rates decline contraction takes place smoothly and naturally, by means of proper redemptive facilities. Thus the equilibrium is auto matically maintained. This system has worked satisfactorily and without fric- ton for over thirty years, not a dollar having been lost on any Canadian bank note during that period"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
From the Century.
From the Century. EN LITTLE before o'clock our 1 PV horses were brought round mine
 deeked out in his silver bridle


 A LITTLE before o'clock our '\PV horses were brought round, mine
 decked out in his silver bridle set with carnelians. Then six sillx-clad jiggits appeared in the courtyard, and dis mounting, ashamed before the door. Mounting we followed them through the city and out of the west gate at q stately amble. Beyond the walls we met a stream of rich merchants and prominent cti- zens" coming from the palace. all on beau tiful horses the trappings of which were so much more gorgeous than my brdle that I felt insignificant. Many of these men dsmounted as we came up and stroked their boards, salaaming respect fully. These l saluted in military style rather at a loss to know how to acknowl- edge their courtesy with proper dignity. ,
 Three miles outside the city we came to the walls of the summer palace, which had been pointed out to me from the minaret After slxirtng them for mile, our guard of honor turned In at a big gateway, and we followed. to find our selves in an outer court facing a high portal. with towers of glazed tiles of red and blue The courtyard was a seethng mass of squealing stallons held by grave jggits, lodging servants scores of maimed beggars, airing their wounds and sores, and catching dexterously the cop pers thrown them by the servants of some naughty noble who rode recklessly at the crowd. Here too, l saw a pair of wandering holy men, one with a polished wooden begging bowl Their costumes consisted of waist-eoat-like up- per garments and baggy drawers and came from, thinking that perhaps they were up from India; but Saman said that they came from the east over the "Ulu kum," the Great Sands
 Here, in the outer courtyard, Kolchov and I left our horses with jiggits, and with some parade turned over my re. volver to Saman to keep wearing the empty cloth-of-gold holster, hoping that 1t might add a touch of elegance to my otherwise simple costume. Our guides then bowed us to a little door beside the great tiled wall that faced us. and we went through to another square.
 The inner court that we entered was, perhaps, 100 feet square, one side being made up of a high blank wall of blue tiles, which, from It's lack of doors and windows, I knew must be the royal harem. Two gentlSmen in plum -colored gowns showed us to small, carpeted dais of brick in one corner, and here we sat for ten minutes or so watching inn
The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-08
 THE WAY TO SHADOWTOWN.

By Eugene Field.
 Sway to and fro in the twilight gray,
 This is the ferry for Shadowtown, It sails away at the end of the day,
 Just as the darkness closes round. Rest, little hand, on my snoulder-so;
 sleepy kiss is the only fare Drifting away from the world we go,
 Baby and I in the rocking chair. See. where the firelogs glow and spark, Glitter the lights of Shadowland, The raining drops on the window-harki Are ripples tapping upon it's strand.- There where the mirror is glancng dim lake lies shimmerng. cool and still; Blossoms are wavering OCT its brinl- Those over there on the window sill Rock slow, more slow, in the dusky light Silently lower the anchor down, Dear little passenger, say Good nght!' We've reached the harbor of Shadow
 town,