davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-04-10

Baron Kaneko is quoted by the Sun Trade Journal of Toklo as giving this advice to his countrymen: At this juncture it Is of paramount importance to Japan to send scholars to Europe and America with view to creating a better understanding and doing away at the same time with any misconcep- tions arising out of the difference of races. These scaolars could appeal to history and the principle of science in order successfully to accomplish their objects. It is an urgent necessity in order to settle international troubles. Many misunderstanding arise out of racial prejudice"
The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-04-10

Tn railroad carriage, perched on a cliff overhanging the Severn, near Bridgnorth, England, lives Henry Hud- son, a man who has travelled extensive ly, published mere than one novel and written for scientific magazines He adopted his strange mode of life partly from a love of nature. He builds cor acles, which he sends to Norway, and has invented socks made from wood, which are being considered by the Brit ish military authorities.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-21
BRAND NEW CRAFT.

New York Cor. Pittsburg Dispatch.
 new kind of graft has been sprung. A wen-to-do man, who figured in a street car accident, was saved from serious in- Jury by a quick-witted bystander. After ward the rescuer called on the injured man and preferred a modest request. Tn the scrimmage,' he said, T lost a scarf pin that I value highly and a roll of money. I don't want you to think for 6 minute that I expect reward for a common act of humanity, but as you are a rich man I wouldn't refuse com pensation sufficient to cover the actual loss I sustained The man whose life had been spared was so glad to find himself still on earth that he paid what the other seemed to consider a fair recompense and asked no questions. LA- ter he learned from an authoritative source that his savior had never possess ed a scarfpin of that kind and possibly no roll of money Since then he has heard of several cases in which the vic- tims of street accidents have been mulcted in like manner.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-21

nopoly. or to over-capitaliation, but he has no specific remedy to offer ex- cept as to the last named.
 His indefnitness extends also to the tariff. He thinks it does promote the operations of the trusts, but he Is extremely vague and general both as to the time and to the extent of revision. He straddlesi the fence alike as to the trusts and the tariff, and he is straightforward concerning railroad regulation only The people will not accept a man who lacks firm and definite convictions as to the trusts or private monopoly and the Dingley bill, and it Is plain that MT. Taft has no well-settled convictions as to either, and the two are the twin great evils of the time-the twins from which hydra-headed monopoly has sprung, and Is centering in few hands the wealth of the country.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-21
An Appeal to Common Sense

The declaration of war by Attorney General Bonaparte has nothing Napo- leonic behind 1t. Nor is it necessary to study the rulings of the supreme court of the United States in the Florence bridge case, in which 1t was held that an inferior federal court has no right to interfere with the course of criminal law within the state. The cas Is reported in 172 United States, page 516. It is an Alabama case.
 There is no need, however, to read the unqualified decision of the great court handed down by Justice Harlan. It is not necessary to stop to ask what the rights of President Milton H. Smiths road in this emergency are. It is only necessary to ask: Is 1t best to seek those rights in the teeth of two millions of people, the most of them being patrons of President Smiths road? It is not always exped- tent to demand ones dues on the spot, and the situation In this state plainly calls for an application of horse sense. The Louisville and Nashville can well afford to accept the laws of a state that affords it protection and a great volume of business until it can test all the laws it objects to in the courts. It can we'll afford to do this, and if 1t will treat this question with common sense this Is exactly what 1t will do. To turn a hostile wave into an established antagonism would not be expedient-not a bit of 1t, and the sober second thought should lead the Louisville and Nashville and its vet eran president to pay proper respect to the laws of protecting sovereign state. It is not business sense to do otherwise We need not, therefore, turn to the pages in the United States re- ports containing the Florence bridge case. for this matter is one that should be settled by the rules of business and plain everyday common sense.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-21
President Roosevelt at Province town

President Roosevelt, speaking on Cape Cod. naturally paid high tribute to the Puritans. but as soon as the Puritans were disposed of he quickly took up what he calls national sov- ereignty" and states rights" State sovereignty is not treated at all
 Swollen fortunes is the chief subject of his speech, and he quickly takes the ground that state action concern ing them cannot produce wholesome effects. He wants national incorpor- ation law for corporations engaged in interstate business. And he wants to have this done, if necessary, under the post-road clause of the constitution. He desires to see the corporations as thoroughly supervised as the national banks long have been. He discusses
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-21
An Employe Speaks,

T will bet one months wages that Mil ton H. Smith will win tho fight for which he has entered In defense of the Louis ville and Nashville railroad, of which he Is president" said T, s. Pounds, a loco motive engineer on that road
 T have been up against that man on grievance committees of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and I never dis covered a yellow streak in his compost ton. He is man all over-vigorous, strong, determined and generally unyied- ing. Bet your bottom dollar he Is doing what he thinks right in this muddle.
 Milton II. Smith is the greatest rail- road magnate in the south He has done more for the material development of the country through which the Louisville and Nashville passes, and more for the growth and progress of the state of Ala bama, than any living man.
 And withal, he has all the backbone and brain necessary to carry out his pur- poses, and the greatest of these is for the material development of Alabama and other states through which his line runs.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-21
Labor Still Scarce.

Labor is terribly scarce all over the country" said railroad contractor, and the proposition has grown to be quite se- rious. Contractors who have made bids to finish certain work at a certain price, to be completed at a certain time, are los Ing money
 There are several causes of this con- dition. The shortage of common labor in the constructing camps is attributable to the fact that there is such a general and stirring demand for muscle in the factory and on the farm and that there is such a vast amount of construction in all depart ments going on all over the United States.
 Wages are higher than was ever be- fore known in this country. Really the lot of the wage worker, who earns his bread by the sweat of his brow literally who Is unskilled and untrained in me- chanlcs-was never SO fat and luxurious as now"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-21
Government by lniunction.

Government by injunction seems to be order of the day" said citizen of the town of Elyton last night.
 Alderman Walter Moore, acting Mayor this week, In the absence of Mayor Ward, today filed a bill of injunction against our town on the garbage proposition, and we are up against it., Big Birmingham has been and Is today emptying filth within the corporate limits of our long sleeping town, which is much older than Birmingham, quite as large, but just now not so largely populated We don't like to be dumping ground. We aspire to greater things, and something Is going to be done. The idea of municipality applying the injunction law!
 We behold, with great displeasure that the acting Mayor of Birmingham has caught the infection, spread abroad in the state by one of the railroads, and applies the injunction law. This simply means that we cannot arrest the garbage men, for yea a while, who insist upon making part of Elyton a garbage dumping ground"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-21
Governor Smith Measures Defeated

At 4 o'clock on Sunday morning the Georgia legislature adjourned, and there can be no more legislation in our sister state until the summer of 1909. It's record is the subject of much bitter comment. Governor Smith did secure the passage of a bill that prac- tically deprives negroes of the ballot, and also bill strengthening the state railroad commission, increasing the number of its members to five.
 But this is just about all that Gov ernor Smith secured. The platform adopted at Macon was ignored be- yond the two measures mentioned, and Governor Smith will perforce de- mand another term and another legis- lature in order to carry into effect his reform programme.
 The prohibition bill was not an ad- ministration or platform measure, but the bill directed against lobbying was, and so was the bin against the is- suance of passes by railroads. Both failed because the house and senate could not agree. Lobbying will there fore go on unchecked In Georgia, and passes can be and will be issued to Tom, Dick and Harry, including the judges on the bench and the legisla- tors in the capitol. Governor Smith also desired to lay an income tax of one cent on the gross receipts of railroads, but the bill was not passed The legislature was not obedient; 1t had a will of its own, and Georgia is today full of charges and counter charges, and Governor Smith is seem- ingly full of indignation, and no doubt he will stand for reelection and the selection of an obedient legislature.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-21
RESTORE VICTIM OF MELANcHoLIA
From the Brooklyn Eagle.

loHl lHe bIOohiyn Eagle.
 Ristori was an old woman when I first saw her, but the memory of her "Adrienne Lecouvreur' never will pass away. Students of psychology ought to take much interest in the confession she makes in her memoirs that, when at the zenith of her fame, she became afflicted with a strange type of mel anch olia, the only relief from which was attained by strolling through cemeteries and sh edding bitter but sweet tears over the graves of young women who had been torn, prematurely. from the loving arms of husbands or the companionship of children" An other fancy of that curious epoch was wild infatuation for insane hospitals. She would pass hours in the wards of asylums, talking. familiarly with de- mented women. listening with all the of injustice, generally mythical These sensations wrought her up for the nights performance.
 Alienists of the present day would tell us that these are the unerring symptoms of madness. But Ristori made capital of her melancholia After time she was able to cultivate the very sort of unhappiness she needed on the stage. Therefore,. misery be- came normal to her mind and her "act- ing" had the spontaneity of nature, joined to high imagination.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-21
Restoration of Confidence

A quiet week Is succeeding one Of heavy depreciations in the prices Of securities and no little general alarm. The present week promises to bring back reasonable degree of confi- dence. and the calmness that flows out of satisfactory crops and generally favorable trade conditions. The gross receipts of railroads continue to in- crease. The July receipts were heav- fer than were those of July, 1906. There is an abundance of tonnage, and there must therefore be an abund- ance of general business.
 Those who would have us believe that the railroad regulation laws Of the general government and of thirty five states have shaken and under mined public confidence in the future, should first explain why the railroad gross receipts continue to increase. So with the deposits of savings banks, the cIearngs of other banks, the pos tai receipts and all other measures of the extent of business done.
 No doubt there is to be some slow Ing down. No doubt some decrease in the volume of business is desir- able. The lack of credit will stay some enterprises, and 1t is perhaps best that we get to sound and nor nal condition, instead of one of con stant expansion We are slowing down in safe and healthy manner, and we will be all the more secure for 1t. Exponsion has it's limits, especially on the railroads, and we will for a year to come no doubt pro- ceed to get to normality and security.
 The iron and steel business is hold ing it's own. Nearly all plants are sold far ahead and no apprehensions are felt in any branch of the great in dustry. There is a lack of money for business purposes in all parts of the world, and doubtless some slowing down will yet take place in the iron and steel industry, but it will be neither drastic nor panicky. It will come gradually and it will perhaps be as acceptable to the overworked plants as to waiting consumers.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-21
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Democratic onnortunIty.


 Speaking of politics" said an obserV- ant man in the lobby, had you noticed that the republicans are recklessiy' shamelessly and palpably airing worth less promise to revise the tariff after the next presidential election. as a sop to the people2
 eThey are doing so and thus attempt ing to steal democratic thunder and am intuition. They are trying once more to fool the people. It's an old trick of the republicans.
 My judgment is that if the democratic party was organized, well ofhcered and harmonious. it would win the next cleo ton, for surely 1t could ask no more pro- pitious conditions under which to fight for supremacy once more than those which now exist. l believe victory could be easily won.
 "A vigorous fight under the banner of immediate revision of an iniquitous tariff would mean the regeneration of democra- cy and a sweeping triumph. The party B opportunity seems to be here.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-21

wealth and rich trust magnates, and he explains the difficulties encoun- tered before the average American Jury. Our aim," he says, Ifs to try to do something effective; our purpose is to stamp out the evil we shall seek to find the most effective device for that purpose; and we shall then see whether the device can be found in ex- isting law or must be supplied by leg islation. Moreover, when we take &C., ton against the wealth which works inequity we are acting in the interest of every man of property who acts de- gently and fairly by his fellows; and we are strengthening the hands of those who purpose fearlessly to defend property against all unjust attacks. No individual, no corporation obeying the law has anything to fear from this administration.
 This Is the scope of the speech and the President does not present many details, although he does say he would be glad to see an inheritor of a great fortune made to pay an income or in- heritance tax. The speech at Prov incetown is full of generalities that in- cline chiefly towards a better distri- button of the burdens of government and better chance for every citizen to rise In this country. It is distinctly Rooseveltian, and there are no signs of recession from the Rooseveltian programme at any point.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-21
CASE OF ALABAMA.

From the Philadelphia Public Ledger.
 The State of Alabama has recently come into sharp notice by reason of its drastic anti-ralroad and anti-corporation laws and the stringent and aggressive methods employed by the governor to ex- ecute those laws. even when he ran coun- ter to the usual processes of the federal courts and the authority of the United States The tension became so great that if Governor Conner and hls unregulated hotheads should take action in the dreo- ton of their promises and threats, it would be necessary to use troops. Hap oily that stage was passed, but the state of mind" which creates disorder and law breaking is still with Alabama because the same men are in control
 The lieutenant governor, H. B. Gray. Is in thorough accord with Coxey army methods The Alabama sheriffs have lately been moving against the Louisville and Nashville railroad system breathing vengeance In the name of all people who hate railroads. The sherffs proposed to arrest railroad men and close down the wretched railroad business If the railroad company did not off-hand accept all the state laws, whether unconstitutional or not. Judge JonesA of the federal court. who had been appealed to- evidently be- lieved that the United States was still in some authority and the usual processes of law still effective, and he issued an in- junction against the snerifrs until such time as the laws could be tested in the usual civilized way. The lieutenant gov ernor, Hf B. Gray, thus discusses the crimes of the abandoned judge:
 AS to what Governor Conner will do have no idea. but I do not believe he can be bullied or bulldozed into doing a thing he does not believe to be right. Alabama Is Southern State and though bound fos the moment in letters of Jurisprudence. she will reassert herself and, like truth crushed to earth, will rise again, resplen- dent in his strength and beauty, and throw off the despotic heel of this second Busteed"
 It is not extravagant to say that Ala bama is in a sad plight. When the exec utive officers of great commonwealth gravely begnn to denounce the laws and the 'fetters of jurisprudence" just be- cause they are not permitted to break the laws and override the courts, they are talking exactly the same doctrine which. when preached by Debs and Berkmann, is roundly denounced by the name of anarchy If the dlatribes issu- ing from Governor Conner and his lieu tenant governor represent the attitude of the people of Alabama, 1t is to be feared that 1t will be necessary to take steps for bringing them into the Union again. But 1t is not seemly to judge them harshly; they have had In recent times the support of most Nustrious example in Washington of denunciation of federal courts because the judges did not inter- pret the law and decide cases in accord ance with presidential views.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-21
THE TASTE FOR READING

borers and mechanics. Does not this seem natural? The former work mainly with their heads; when their daily duties are over. the brain is often exhausted, and of their leisure time much must be devoted to air and exercise. The laborer and me chanic, on the contrary. besides working often for much shorter hours, have in their time taken sutncient bodily exercise and can, therefore give any leisure they may have to reading and study.
 If says Sir John Herschel T were to pray for a taste which should stand me in stead under every variety of cir cumstances, and be a source of happiness and cheerfulness to me through life, and a shield against its ills however things might go amiss and the world frown upon me, 1t would be a taste for reading. 1 speak of 1t, of course, only as a worldly advantage, and not in the slightest de- gree as superseding or derogating from the higher office and surer and stronger panoply of religious prtnciples-but as a taste, an instrume ent and mode of pleas urable qualification. Give a man this taste. and the means of gratifying 1t, and you can hardly fail of making a happy man."
 Comfort and consolation, refreshment and happiness may indeed be found in his library by anyone who shall bring the golden key that unlocks it's silent door" A library is a true fairyland a very palace of delight. a haven of repose from the storms and troubles of the world. Rich and poor can enjoy it equal ly for here at least wealth gives no ad- vantage. We may make a library If we do but rightly use 1t. a true paradise on earth. a garden of Eden without it's one drawback; for all Is open to us, including and especially, the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, for which we are told that our first mother sacrificed all the pleas ures of paradise. -
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-21
hr Taf's Platform

NLt. Taft .sstopped over" at Co., lumbus. Ohio. long enough to put be- fore the people the platform that he proposes to stand upon in 1908. He is headed for Manila, where he goes to open the frs Filipino assembly, and he will not return from our Oriental provinces to the mainland until De- cember. For this reason he deemed If best to define his views before sail ing away on the broad Pacific for prolonged stay.
 It must be conceded that he keeps step with the revolution in railroad control. He wants the interstate com merce commission to have the power to classify freight as well as to name rates. and he wants no future stock watering that is not first approved by the interstate commission. No rail- road. he thinks, should be permitted to own stock in competing line, nor should the officers of the one be the officers of the other. This Is in line with the reform movement, but the provision about ownership by one railroad by another will prove ineff1- cient unless all purchases of other rail road stocks be prohibited.
 After an assault on Mir. Bryan's ten tative proposal In the dim and distant future of government ownership of railroads, MT. Taft passes to the sub ject of trusts, all of which have grown to dangerous proportions under repub- lican administrations. He handles the trusts rather tenderly. Many of them are campaign contributors. He attempts to satisfy the demands of public sentiment without, however, bringing forward any specific reme- dies for the cure of private monopoly. He meets the situation in an indefinite on-thefence manner, with an eye, it is plain to the campaign fund. He does, it is true, say that swollen fortunes Dre largely due to rebates, to mo
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-21
A FAMINE IN PENCILS.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer
 The forest service of the agricultural department has sent out bulletin that is rather disquieting. 1t seems that in this country we are manufacturing about 3l5, 900 pencils year and the wood is almost entirely red cedar and particularly the heart of the tree It Is estimated that in twelve years the supply will be- gin to decline so that unless some sub stitute Is found many mills will have to go out of business. Every year about S8,- 100000 feet, board measure, of cedar Is used, and the supply is running short in the most available places, so that re- course Is made to forests distant from railways and thecost Is increasing.
 The department thinks that farmers should be encouraged to set out small cedar groves on such portions of the farm as are not good for much else. The the coming generations can have cedar groves which can be kept in constant bearing and produce a large revenue It Is recognized that the American farmer Is little concerned with tn distant future, that he would rather engage in enter qriseswith immediate prospect of gain but the department thinks that there Is enough wild land available to produce an immense amount of cedar timber if there be first the willing mind
 Probably the farmers will not take to the plan with alacrity. The chances are that nothing will be done until the sup ply has run so short that a substte must be found. We already have pen cils without cedar holders and shall doubtless have more. The one thing that Is in the way of using paper substitutes seems to be that the supply of pulp wood Is growing so short that we are already drawing heavily on Canada. It seems likely that in time we shall have more metal holders for pencils with leads to be inserted at will and that the ordinary ce- dar pencils will become SO expensive that 1t will not be as carelessly used as now It Is estimated that more than one half of the potential value of the pencil is now wasted. either by loss or reckless sharpening.