davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
Rapid improvement

As reported in The Age-Herald's news columns, the financial situation, as viewed both in Washington and New York, not only shows marked improvement, but the indications are that the banking center of the coun- try is about to have plethora of money and that the banks in the south and west will be no longer handi- capped by having cash balances tied up there. At one time 1t looked as if the currency stringency might con tinue for many weeks, if not months, but signs now point to restoration of normal conditions before the holi- day season is well advanced.
 The banks have stood the strain well. They have proved, indeed, to be absolutely sound. Failures have been few and far between and the impregnable condition of southern banks especially is most gratifying to people in this section. It is believed that on the United States comptroller's next call, the national banks will be found with much larger cash reserves in their vaults than is usual at this time of the year.
 The crops will move more freely and with revival in the iron trade, ex- pected early in the new year, general business throughout the south will be- come very active again.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
Meetinu of Congress

At noon today the 60th Congress will he called to order. Speaker Can non will be reelected speaker, ana John Sharp Williams will resume the leadership of the minority. The re- publican majority in the house has been reduced about one-half, but working majority of about 30 is left to sustain Speaker Cannon's rule. To he exact. there are 390 members and 196 is majority, and the republi- cans have 226, or a majority of 50. In the senate the republicans lack but one of two-thrds, and this defiici- ency will make them a little more circumspect when they submit treaties to executive sessions.
 The new Congress will have many subjects to consider. all led by cur rency reform which is considered ur- gent. It is not urgent so much on ac- count of the situation as on account of the oncomng of presidential campaign. The republicans are anxi- ous to do all they can to overcome the Roosevelt panic.
 But apart from currency reforms there are other questions-the tariff, the rate law, the antitrust act, the publicity of campaign contributions, river improvement and at least a dozen other issues of breadth and inn portance. The long session will have it's hands full, and it can be trusted to do but one thing, namely, to keep it's glittering eyes sternly fixed on the esteemed ideas of November, 1908.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
FiIlinu the Bankhead Vacancy

George w. Taylor is serving his sixth term in Congress, being senior in that respect to both Congressmen Richardson and Burnett. He lives, too, at Demopolis which is nearly central in the state, while Congressman Rich ardson lives in a border county and Congressman Burnett lives less than 50 miles from that county. Geograph- ically speaking MT. Taylor is the better located
 But the fact that Congressman Fay Tor represents the sole harbor of the state and lives on the sole improved river of the state should be controlling if Alabama is to be represented in the rivers and harbors committe. And certainly the chief river state of the union should be represented in that important committee.
 The Alabama delegation should get together, and they would get together if Messrs. Richardson and Burnett would respect seniority and geograph- fcal considerations, and the wishes of the Mobile basin. Disagreements among the delegations may lead to the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
THE WINDOW GARDEN.

From The Outing Magazine for December.
 Don use much water at this season of the year. The plants will be at a stand still. for the most part, and these need only enough to keep the soil moist. It's the growing plant that requires a good deal of water.
 Use no fertilizers until your plants be- gin to grow again. A plant that is not growing is not in a condition to make use of strong food. The application of it will do harm, instead of good
 Turn your plants at least once a week, that all sides of them may have a chance at the sunshine. A plant that is allowed to stand facing the glass all the time only looks well from one position, and that is outside the window.
 Let cleanliness prevail at all times. Pick off every leaf that begins to turn yellow Keep the surface of the scil stirred. that air may get to the roots of the plants.
 Keep the thermometer down to 65 or 70 degrees if possible.
 Shower your plants two or three times q week tO WdSn liit uuSt Oll tielT 'iedNts, and prevent the ravages of the red spider. This pest fourishes in hot, dry atmos- phere. Keep it moist and he will not do much damage. A showering. bear in mind. doesn't mean a slight sprinklins. It means real shower. and the result of it IS that your plants are wet all over.
 There is only one thing better than thorough showering for house plants. and that is a dipbath. Fill large tub with water and souse your plants under, leav ing them submerged for two or three minutes. and you have the satisfaction of knowing that water has got to every part of them. No insect can possibly escape such a bath as that.
 If the red spider has begun to injure your plants before you were aware of his presence, heat the water in -your tub to 1a0 degrees. and immerse the infested plants in it, allowing them to remaian under about half minute. This will kill the spider without injurins very delicate plants.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
BIG CIRCUS TO QUIT.

From the New York Morning Telegraph
 The big Forepaugh- circus now in winter quarters, will in few days be a thing of the past. The Ringing Brothers, who are in control of the circus situa- tion, have decided to maintain on tour only the show taking their own name ard the Barnum & Bailey circus, which recently fell into their possession. They w,. divide the equipment of the Fore paugh-Sells circus between the two sur viving organizations.
 When the Ringlings purchased the ma jor interest in the Barnum & Bailey cir GUS the general suppostion was that the Forepaugh- enterprise would be continued. both on account of it's money making qualities and as a further men ace to possible opposition. With three organizations on tap the Ringlings would be in a position to completely cover the n, ost profitable territory. Evidently they believe that two shows will su...ce for that purpose.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
1893 and 1907

The Iron Age calls attention to the differences between the panic of 1893. and the semi-panic of today. In the iron trade in 1893 all profits disap- peared to all engaged in the industry, from the mining of ore to the final re- fnements of the mills. Today, says The Iron Age, no such condition ex ists, and no such condition is prob able. This feature of 1893 dragged on into the years following, and was not really and fully terminated until five years later
 The Concentration of iron and steel production in few hands has done away with destructive competition. There is cooperation now where there was competition of the most drastic sort in 1893.
 Tn the steel trade" adds The Iron Age, "the situation of 1907 has already brought the heads of important com panies together in conference. Such a thing would scarcely have been considered a possibility in 1893. Then any price to get the order became the slogan of the largest interest, and tonnage was insistently demanded of every member of the selling organi- ration. In sharp contrast Is the spirit of 1907 that would adjust operations to the actual requirements of the country, expecting every producer to make some sacrifice for the general good. It need not be pointed out which method of meeting a critical situation is the more scientific or more condu- cive to quick recovery"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
OLD ENGLISH INNS.
From the London Spectator.

From the London Spectator.
 It Is rash to set up general social laws. but we fancy we should not be far wrong in saying, first, that the domestic capacity of a woman might be measured by the degree of her dislike of hotels; and, sec- ondly, that if ever our English hotels and inns become places of residence instead of places of passage they will lose the flavor and character which have so long been their tradition.
 In his famous chapter on the state of England in 1885 Macaulay points out how the renown of English inns dates back to the pilgrims of the fourteenth century. In the reign of Elizabeth, Will liam Harrison described the plenty and comfort of the great hostelries. The Con- tinent of Europe could show nothing like them. There were some in which two or three hundred people, with their horses, could without difficulty be lodged and fed The bedding, the tapestry, above all the abundance of clean and fine linen. were matter of wonder. All through the seventeenth century the tradition com tinued.
 Small villages often had such inns az Walton described, where the brick floor was swept clean, where the walls were stuck round with ballads, where the sheets smelt with lavender, and where blazing fire. a cup of good ale. and dish of trout fresh from the neighboring brook were to be procured at small charge. English innkeepers. it was said, too. were not like others. On the Conti- nent the landlord was the tyrant of those who crossed the threshold. In England he was a servant
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
THE PRACTICE CRUISEo

From Harper's Weekly.
 r INSTEAD of any tactical benefits ac-
 crung from this practice" cruise, \ the navy as a whole generally re- gards it as one that will involve a con siderable loss of effcency-that is, the fleet will have lost the opportunities which 1t otherwise could have turned to good account if it were permitted to con- tinue in home waters the invaluable work that was begun three years ago. The Pacific cruise will cause a suspen- sion of this work. and will check the wonderful improvement which the fleet has commenced to show.
 No reminder is needed that England proud mistress of the seas, and whose march is on the ocean wave,' never voyages as this. If we know more about the management of modern battleship fleets than she does, I don't know where we learned it. So far from dispatching her fleets on such long voyages, Great Britain sedulously keeps hers at home. And with them 1t is drill, drill. drill but always with home anchorages close aboard. and where, after the days or the weeks work is done, the admirals, vice aumirals. captains and commanders may assemble and discuss the work accom- plished, interchange views and opinions, point out defects in organization or equip ment that this or that maneuver has de-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02

veloped, and always with a nearby dock yard, where any such defect might be quickly remedied. In this way that tre- mendous weapon the British navy is al ways kept on keenest edge, and. as one writer has said of it, ..as up to date as tomorrow's news kept close to it's dock yards and repair shops and in instant readiness to move against an enemy, and to move against him with every latest improvement installed and ships and per sonnel tuned to the highest degree of efficiency
 That was exactly what we were doing with our own fleet when the practice" cruise came to interrupt. As this cruise will give no practice that could not bet ter be acquired in home waters as the three or four months of steady straight away steaming means, besides the loss of valuable time. the inevitable deprecia- tion of the vessels through the rack and strain of the long journey, the inevitable breakdown in this engine room and that, the accumulation of barnacles on bot toms. consequent loss of speed. and lack of docking facilities where these may be removed or repairs expedtiously eff fected moreover, as all of these disad- vantages are generally recognized and appreciated by those who are to take the ships around, one must seek some reason other than the officially an- nounced one-must needs search for some explanation that will be more satisfying.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
Seekinh NoterletY

Congressman ]. Warren Keller of Ohio, who was speaker of the house in the eighties, is trying to get him self in the limelight again by press ing a measure for cutting down south ern representation, the ground being the so-called Acknowledgement of the negro vote. This is an old republican bluff. It was a pet measure of Crum- packer, but that south-hating republi- can has agreed to let Keller try 1t this time.
 The ex-speaker says the bill that he will introduce providing for a reduc- tion in southern representation will make an issue on which the republi- cans can win in 1908. If his party has nothing stronger upon which to go before the country, it might as well keep out of next years contest.
 Representation in Congress is based on population as ascertained by the federal census bureau-not on votes. No measure-such as Keller prop oses-can, even if adopted. stand the constitutional test But his bill will never be passed.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
The Santa Claus Myth.

When I was a small boy, children up to the age of eight or nine still thought that Santa Claus came down the chim- ney," said. citizen, and they were all the happier in their innocence. In this day of childish precosity and widespread information, many children at five begin to grow skeptical regarding Santa. and by the time they are six have found out all about the way the stockings and the Christmas trees are filled.
 .The old way of keeping up the decep- ton as 4ong as possible was the best The myth not only gives the child unspeak- able pleasure. but it stirs the childish i'm agination and adds to the poetry of life. TO make the little boy or girl wise when 1t is having joy in writing to Santa Claus is simply cruel"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
American Ship Building.

Tt may interest the public to know that the great steamships which have been making the fast passages from Iiv- erpool to New York are practically owned by the British government, al- though they sail under the Cunard com pany's flag" said n citizen.
 England had held the championship of the ocean both in naval and merchant marine until Germany wrested the latter from her with the Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse. This was more than the Brit ish could stand, so the Cunard company undertook to build two steamships, the Lusitania and the Mauretania, and to the construction of these vessels the government contributed sl3000, 900, which is more than half their cost.
 "The statistics of shipbullding in the United States. published recently, show that in the year preceding last June there was less shipbuilding done than in the year 1855, and it is further shown that the class of vessels built was for coastal and lake service. America is still away behind in her merchant ma rne and depends almost altogether on foreign nations to carry her exports. Even now the steamers that are engaged to carry coal for the fleet on it's voyage to the Pacific are English and German.
 '"This matter is sure to give rise to considerable discussion in the next Con gress, as 1t Is against the laws of the United States to employ foreign vessels for government purposes. If it has the result of turning the attention Of the nation to the necessity of initiating the British government by assisting to build merchant vessels or allowing the pur- chase of foreign built ships it will De greatly to the advantage of this coun- fry
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
JUST A "DERELlcT."
pm the New York World.

From the New York World
 Your honor, I am a human derelict; l guess I am better off in jail than outside of 1t. So I just take another plea of guilty"
 This is what John Kehoe alias Kelly, seven-times convicted burglar, said to Judge Rosasky in general sessions the other day. T am afraid burglaring doesn't pay" he added collectively as they were taking him to his cell
 In Sparta slave was sometimes piled with wine so that the youth of the land enness. Kehoe seems to have voluntarily taken it upon himself to furnish an ob- jeet-lesson of the inevitable destiny of the criminal. But what is society to do with such Ishmaelites as Kehoe, habitual or perhaps fastinctive criminal as he is? Re- form may not be impossible; there are Jean Naljeans in real life; but the possi- bility Is remote. Jerry McAuley, drunk ard and vagrant, was saved as Mrs. Booth is saving others, but the hopelessness of the task is well-night overwhelming.
 some crlmlnologistS have endeayored to cut the Gordian knot with a suggestion that recidivists be put to death, thus rem dering these enemies to society incapable of further harm and eliminating all ex- pense necessitated by their detention. While theoretically. at least, the com munity is Justified in adopting any meas ures necessary to it's safety, such ,l.,. Al. = the only solution is Imprisonment at labor the proceeds of which will reimburse the state. Here the indetermnate sentence comes into play. Th absurdity of sen tencng lunatic to incarceration in any asylum for a definite time Is manifest, and yet We are constantly fixing definite periods to the detention of the morally deranged
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
Regarding Music.

Tt is an interesting fact that so- called popular music fails to draw in Chicago, while the classic programmes presented by the symphony orchestra in Orchestra hall attract crowds that test the full capacity of the Mouse" said music lover.
 The orchestra mana cement, listen- ing to the old talk that many people wanted to hear music but not of the severe sort, announced a series of popular concerts as a special conces- sion to supposed popular clamor. These pops were outside of the Friday night course. Four of these popular con eerts have been given and the empty seats outnumbered those that were oc- cupied. On the other hand at every classic concert this season scores of people have been turned away, un- able to secure even standing room.
 Because the orchestra, in playing Q programme of light but artistic music, didn't have a lot of mediocre stuff or rubbish mixed in, the mases' failed to respond. The fact is all
 
 classic or very light, delights real music lovers, and the number of such is limited in every community. The reason the attendance at the pops in Chicago was small as compared with the crowds at the regular Friday con eerts was probably accounted for by the fact that the majority of season ticket-h olders had spent their music allowance and did not strain point to patronize the additional concerts in lighter vein.
 The Chicago orchestra, by the way, is said to be as fine now as it was un- der the baton of the late Theodore Thomas. who brought it up to vir- tuoso standard. The present conductor is MT. Stock, formerly sub conductor. MT. Stock Is well remembered in Bir- ming ghama when he conducted the or chestra through one or two numbers, in accompanying soloists."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
MARTHA wAsAINeToN's ROSES.

T iohl lnc " lOH f1eTdlu.
 No rosebush in the country has it's own particular last rose of summer so care fully guarded as the famous Mary Wash ington bush at Mount Vernon. This years final cluster has just fallen, after clingng we'll into November. Even when the roses are gone and the leaves, too, the graveled paths of Martha. Washing tons garden are worn by the feet of pill planted and named after his mother seems to draw their steps more than any other plant shrub, not even the Nellie Custls rose excepted. Traditions differ as to just why the latter received it's name. Some say that Major Lewis proposed to Miss Custis beside this bush. Others say that Washington planted it as near as possible to the spot where that tender episode took place, and named it after the step-granddaughter who had been the light of his house for so long. As a mat ter of fact, it was probably planted at the same time as the bush he named after his mother, for both are the same variety, a Noisette. The blossoms come In clusters. the individual flowers being small. from an inch to two inches in di- ameter. They are white, with the outer petals tinged with pink. The bushes ere. strictly speaking, clumps of single stems. They must be about 10 feet high at this season. The darkies of the neighborhood say that the Nellie Custis rose has magic power; that If any lovesick maiden, or would-be lovescl one, will take a blos- som or spray of leaves from this bush, place it under her pillow and sleep on 1t a proposal will be hers before the bush blooms again.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
CARNEGIE PLAYS SANTA CLAUS.
And Went for Week Afterward With
 His Hand Bandaued.

Ihe Carnegies always come home from their castle in Scotland in time to celebrate Christmas in New York says Mabel Potter DaReett in inc De- cember Delineator. When Santa Claus arrives, he knows a little girl lives here by the red swing that hangs in one corner of the Italian garden among the marbles and rare shrubbery. Mar garet is what seems along Fifth ave- nue very intimate with her father and mother. On Christmas eve the laird of Skibo' and his wife hang their stock lngs along with hers in the nursery. And l can imagine his little daughter hustling Andrew Carnegie out in the early morning in bathrobe and slippers to see what Santa has left. Once he brought the most beautiful brush and comb you ever saw, in a toilet set of gold that cost 5000 On the afternoon of Christmas Day there is a tree in the great drawing room. The family enter, preceded by a Scotch musician playing Scotch airs on real Scotch bag pipes. Santa Claus himself presently is there. But it is Q curious fact that just before he arrives, Andrew Carnegie has an engagement outside. Two years ago, Santa Claus with his red coat sprinkled with cotton to look like snow, caught fire from some of the decorations. The nurses and the governesses hurried Margaret away so that she should not see the catastrophe. There was quite a time putting out the fire. And it was a strange coincidence, but for a week or more afterward, MT. Carnegie went around with his hand done up in a bandage"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
IN F
 BEES.
Elections Too Often.

Thomas Jefferson was right when ne favored presidential term of seven years and re-eligibility provision in the constitution" said an old citizen. Tt is not easy to amend the constitu- tion and I suppose the four-year term VIII continue indefinitely. But how much better 1t would be if the coun- try could rest from presidential cam paigns for seven or eight years on a stretch. Four years roll round very fast. While preldential contest does not paralyze business, it sometimes has the effect of making people bit herv- ous
 T predict that 1908 will be good year in spite of the fact that it will be a presidential year. Conditions will concur 10 make 1909 a year of ex- ceptional prosperity. As the Panama canal hears completion the south will enter upon a new era of progress. All the booms of the past will seem small when we live to enjoy the solid pros perfty of the next ten years"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02

appointment of other applicants, and The Age-Herald appeals to the nine members of the delegation to get to- gether-to concentrate their energies in favor of the appointment of George W. Taylor to the vacancy created by the election of MT. Bankhead to the senate.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-02
Swearing of Plans.

"The time to think of the resolutions we are going to make on the first of the year has rolled around" said a repent ant man last night. T already have a number down in my note book and am beginning to ease of little on those par ticular things so that the change won't be so great. I have determined to quit smoking and drinking on that day-the last because drink has been ordered out. and I want to be with the winning crowd, and the first because l won't smoke if I can't drink. I have dropped from dozen cigars B day week ago to eight day