davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-24
STORIES TOLD IN WASHINGTON

k~ E.NATOR STEPHEN B. ELKINS is
 a fortunate man. He has great
 " wealth, political power and prestige f--almost everything to make his lot en- viable. Just how fortunate he is was graphically described by one of the dem ,ocratic members of the West Virginia Legislature that reelected the senator the rother day, in a speech that has furnished Senator Eldns' Washington friends no' send of material for jests at his expense.
 This democratis solon of West Virginia, uaturally enough. could not display any great amount of enthusiasm over the re- election of Senator Elkins-he wanted to see a democrat don the senatorial toga. But he could see where Senator Elkins was to be congratulated, so he made d speech along that line. His eloquent per Doration, according to the Washington version, was something after the follow ing:
 Stephens B. Ellxins is fortunate man; he should be a happy man, and l doubt not that he is. He looks on the rugged hills and mountains of West Virginia, with all their hidden treasures, and on the un-kssed and fruitful valleys of this great state and a smile of ineffable con tentment illumines his face. And why shouldn't he smile? He owns them.
 "-Ie looks on the great railroads that span the state, with their freight trains laden with the products of the busy peo- ple, and again he smiles. And why shouldn't he smile? He owns them.
 He looks on this legislature. met here fo elect senator of the United States and once more he smiles And why shouldn't he smile? He owns it!"
 Senator Beveridge of Indiana, likes to make a speech when the spirit moves him and 1t is well known that he can make 2 good one on almost any occasion. Al a recent dinner in Washington the nost-prandiaI oratory took such turn that the spirit moved the lioosier states ran He wanted to make a speech, and Inc more he listened to the eloquence of rthers. the more intense grew his desire le~ contribute to the discussion
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-24
WHAT IS TALKED ABOUT IN PARIS

of the rooms of the Museum of Decora- tive Arts
 The committee of the Lace Society of France-which numbers among its mem- bers the Marquise de Canay. Princess de Polk. Countess Stanislas de Castellane, nee Terry, Waldeck- k-Rousseau, Countess Rene de Bearn, and many others-has organized an exhibition to be held in May for handmade lace.
 The competitors are to exhibit lace which will not cost more than two francs fif.y centimes per centimetre in height. The object of the industry is to encourage the industry of hapdmade lace in France. at a moderate price, which at the same time will still assure to the makers a reasona ble remuneration for their work.
 At the present time there are experi- enced lace makers in France who work eight hours a day, and who yet can scarcely earn fifty centimes day. This exhibition, therefore, Is an undertaking worthy of admiration for it will not only help to revive the fashion of wearing handmade lace, which has been cast into the sha dow of late years by the cheaper machine makes. but 1t will, at the same time. assure their daily bread to a whole population of poor workers.
 Paris Is continually following the ex ample set by New York Now, like New York and London, the French capital has started Jewish theatre. Needless to say. there are thousands of resident Jews in this city.
 The Israelite theatre which has just been founded, is situated in the hall of the Syndical chambers in the Rue de Lancry and its spectators are Jews who hold tc their Judaism It is hoped that if successful it may become permanent institution.
 The plays are. of course, performed in Yiddish, and most of the dramatists are of the Semitic persuasion Curiously enough among other pieces in the roper toire are two translations from Shake speare, in which King Lear is trans formed into a Jewish king, and Hamlet is not a melancholy Dane, but the son of an Israelite king.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-24

leaving the traces of it's having been there. and 1t is while he was thus en- gagged that he raised hundreds of checks and drafts and acquired proficiency in his work.
 MT. Morrow says he has at last made the discovery for which he has so long sought, and that he now has a paper and an ink that, if used, will effectually pro- tect banks and others against the doings of the ,checlx-raiser. He has applied for a patent on the process, and the appllca- tion is now pending before the patent de- partment at Washington.
 In his laboratory at his home MT. Mor- row has a vast array of bottles of chem icals lined up, all of which he has been using in his efforts to discover a nonerad-
 icable ink. q have made this matter a study for twenty-five years" he said and ] have here everything known to chemistry for the removal of ink from
 paper. I believe I know more about inks than any other man, and there Is no chemist who is better informed the
 chemistry of inks than I am. I have been able t9 remove from paper every ink that has been put on the market, but I am not able to remove the ink that I have just perfected after all these long years of research. Therefore I feel that if I cannot remove it no living man can, and that if this ink is used in a check or draft it affords absolute protection" The array of bottles contained these chemicals: Acetic acid. oXalic acid, all coho, ammonia, perchloride of soda, pyrophosphate of soda, hyposuphate of
 so.a, cream of tartar, chloroform ferro cyanide of potassium, peroxide of hydro
 gen chloride of tin, aqua regia, nitric acid tartarc acid and combinations of
 these agents. These, he said, are all the substances known to chemistry for the removal of inks. There are no others
 he says. And none of these will destroy
 the traces of the ink that he has just produced.
 If l had turned my knowledge of how
 to raise checks to dishonest purpose said Mir Morrow, "I have no doubt that I could have been the most dangerous man the banks of the country would have had to deal with. but my aim has been to produce an ink and a paper that would prevent banks from being swindled in that manner. During the years that have been at this work I have astonished many bankers with the ease with which I was able to change their checks that had been written with what they were pleased to call safety ink and on what was assumed to be safety paper
 Even right here in Indianapolis l have demonstrated this. One bank in partic- ular pays $5 a quart for ink that it uses in writing checks and drafts The cash fer felt secure and told me l could not take the ink from the paper. I did 1t inst the same and showed him how it was done and proved to him that his safety ink was of no value in the hands of one who knew what to do with it. Here is the check that l raised for him as an example of what could be done with his ink" and he held out check that, though it had been raised. bore not even the slightest evidence of the change.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-24

Turning to his neighbor at the table, Scott c. Bone. the editor of the Washing ton Herald, Senator Beveridge exclaimed soto voce:
 Scott, If don't get to make a speech here tonight I'll die!'
 Mir Bone knew that the programme did not include a call on the Indiana senator.
 If it's as bad as that with you, AL bert" he replied, you'd better prepare to meet your Cod
 Official ethics forbids that anything the President of the United States may say during White House interviews should be published in quotation marks The Pres ident must never be quoted directly. How ever. like all other rules, this one is oc- caslonally broken For instance, Presi- dent Roosevelt in his efforts to settle the Japanese controversy, recent. held conference with the members of the Cal ifornia congressional delegation. In some of the published reports of the confer enee i, was stated that the President, in referring to Mayor Schmitz of San Fran cisco, who was the leader of an Orehes- tra before Abe" Reuf got him into poli- ties characterized the mayor "as that bassoon player who emits nothing but hot air"
 A week later the Japanese situation was such that the President summoned the mayor anu members of the school board of San Francisco to Washington for a series of. conferences. There was moment of embarrassment when Mayor Schmit2 was presented to Mir. Roosevelt as the head of the San Francisco delega- tion. for the "hassoon' story had been widely circulated But the President was equal to the emergency
 'I trust Mir. Mayor" he is reported to 4 l,g. f,v lAs, that you do not believe all the stories yo sec in the newspapers.
 q assure you that I do not" replied Mayor Schinitz, However, l would like to assure YOU that I play the violin, wlich is not wind instrument"
 The river and harbor appropriation bill. which has passed the House and is now pending in the Senate, carries appropria- tions aggregating considerably more than $s3OO0,000, marking it as the big gest pork barrer' Congress has ever
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-24

or Williams birthday was celebrated yesterday"
 Good heavens! Why didn't you remind me before?" said the Princess. And she left her guests then and there and pro- ceeded to send off very howery message to the Kaiser-for whom, by the way, she has no great regard.
 There Is an extraordinary falling off in the amount of wine now drunk at the big London clubs. Whisky and soda is the drink which has completely busted sherry, port and even champagne.
 The little port now drunk is wine from the wood, of a light character, and the Carlton is one of the few clubs where the old heavy bottle port, drunk so much f1f- teen or twenty years ago, is now con- sumed at all. A week ago the Naval and Military club, in going over it's stock of wine. found about twenty dozen bottles of port which had lain in the cellars since the year 1876.
 No one in the club cared for the wine or asked for it. The wine was priced as low as thirty-two shillings a dozen. The club committee decided that they had bet
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-24

on her breast as she held little Pearl to her heart in the braze of the market place, to the hypocrites who called them selves Christians.
 The state no longer pillories Hester Prynne in the market place-it simply delegates 1t to the task of the daily dope. which we so feveriShfy munch ere we can begin the business of the day
 This is the third paragraph I have re- gently written telling what l think of the daily paper. Only one paper in America has printed the warm stuff and replied to it without beginning and ending by tell ing what a bad man I am, and that was the Denver Post. This paper published my article and it's reply, and has since issued them together in pamphlet that can be secured for the postage. Dozens of other papers replied to me, however, and the way they did was by confining their argument closely to what they are pleased to call my personal history, call ing on their imaginations for their facts
 When you cannot answer your oppo- nents logic, do not be discouraged-you can still call him vile names.
 Possibly the best example in recent times of the mob spirit finding an accom- modating vent through the daily press was the case of Maxim Gorky.
 Gorky, a writer of much power, and an unselfsh and honest man, came to this country political exile rom ms natlNe land. His errand here was one of mercy he was pleading the cause of freedom.
 His route had been laid out across the continent and meetings were arranged where he was to state the case of men struggling in bonds.
 Suddenly a New York newspaper with lurid headlines fired a broadsde to the effect that the woman travelling with MT. Gorky was not his wife. And To. from Maine to Oregon and from the gulf of Mexico to Lake Superior the newspa- pers took up the cry. Gorkys work in America was paralyzed; the people he hoped to meet here he could not see; he was driven from this hotel and this in New York cty, where the words "hotef and "assignation house are synonymous and private charity only served to pro tect him from the storm
 Later it turned out that the woman travelling with MT. E<orky was his wife and was so recognized by the state and society in Russia.
 Now, coming back to the point of begin ming I ask, who is this Colonel w. D. Mann whom the blessed newspapers of the land used for q door-mat for whole week. or until Gorlly took his place in the stocks and in turn was pelted with rub bsh--who is Colonel Mann?
 As the newspapers didn't tell, I will, although right here I want to say do
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-24

over the Queens face and split a cup of tea over Her Majesty's dress, but noth- ing could induce the Queen to give up the baby until the nurse arrived and claimed her charge.
 The Duke of Portland is becoming more and more anxious as the time for the trial of the Druce case comes on. That G. IL. Druces claim to the dukedom and it's vast estates has some solid grounds is evidenced by the fact that a company has been formed and the "Druce Shares" as they are known, have been well taken up by members of the Stock Exchange.
 Mrs Druee, the former claimant, who declared that her son was the Duke of Portland, is now considered to have no chance whatever, as the cousins-the pres ent claimants-have far better documen- tary evidence.
 The late Duke of Portland's grave is being watched constantly by detectives, for the whole of the Druce claim lies in that grave. Should it ever be opened and found to be empty, it would prove that the late Duke of Portland and Mr.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-24

speak, severer tortures are applied, such as tearing out the finger and toe nails, piercing the veins farms and legs, and tearing. out the hair.
 There is yet another degree of torture used to exort a confession if this is un. successful. With red-hot pincers pieces of flesh are torn from the victims body, his teeth are knocked out, and he is mutilated in unmentionable ways
 Suffering makes many of the prisoners confess anything and duplicate anybody, Often they confess to crimes they hava not committed, and accuse their com rades or acquaintances falsely in order to gain a respite from torture. A few, however, are staunch in their silence un- der the most horrible torture.
 The rules of the OShrana do not allow a man who has been tortured to live long. He is either shot by order of a court-martial or disappears mysteriously. One or two, however. have escaped by irregular means. band of armed revo- lutionists once released six prisoners, one of whom, Carlson, had been tortured, and is now in a hospital outside Rus sia. He has a fractured skull and spine injuries received in the torture cham Der as Riga.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-24
OUer tbe HIX Fi0m khe Poor H0uSe

But when this neighbor he wrote to me- Your mothers in the poorhouse," says
 he
 l had resurrection straightway, An started for her that very day. And when arrived where I was grown, l took good care that l shouldn't be
 known; But bought the old cottage, through and
 through, Of someone Charley had sold 1t to- And held back neither work nor gold To fix it up as it was of old The same big fireplace, wide and high, Flung up it's cinders toward the sky; An if everything wasn't just the same, Neither l nor money was to blame:
 Then-over the hill to the poorhouse. One blowing, blusterin' winters day, With a team and a cutter I started away; My fiery nags were as black as coal; CThey somewhat resembled the horse I
 stole0
 I hitehed an entered the poorhouse A poor old woman who scrubbing the
 floor;
 She rose to her feet in great surprise, And looked quite startled into my eyes: saw the whole of her troubles trace In the lines that marred her dear old
 face;
 Mother" I shouted, your sorrow Is You're adopted along O your horse thief
 Come over the hill from the poor
 houser'
 She didn't faint, she knelt by my side, An thanked the Lord. till fairly cried, An maybe our ride wasn't pleasant an gay,
 An maybe she wasn't wrapped up that day;
 An maybe our cottage wasn't warm and bright,
 An maybe it wasn't a pretty sight, To see her a-gettin' the evenins tea, An frequently stoppin' an ldssin' me; An maybe we didn't live happy for years. In spite of my brothers and sisters sneers; | Who often said, as I have heard, That they wouldn't own a prison-bird, | (Though they're gettin over that, I guess. For all of 'em owe me. more or less0 | But I've learned one thing; an 1t cheers a man | In always a-doin' the best he can, | That whether on the big book, a blot | Gets over a fellows name or not, | Whenever he does a deed that's white, It's credited to him fair and right. An when you hear the great bugle's notes, | An the Lord divides his sheep and goats | However they may settle my case, l Wherever they may fix my place, My good old Christian mother you'll see, Will be sure to stand right up for me. | With over the hill from the poorhouse!
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-24

The Duchess, by the way, had rather a scare the other day. owing to beam in her bedroom catching fire during her illness
 There is every probability that the Prince and Princess. of Wales will pay their long postpo. visit to Floors Castle late in July.
 The musical and social world of Lon don is already making preparations to celebrate the jubilee of MT. Charles Stantley's first appearance as a singer. Mir Stanley is recognized as England's greatest baritone The veteran, who still appears in oratorio and always meets with an ovation, Is making as much money as ever by giving singing lessons to approved pupils. He charges ten dol lars for twenty minutes and could be oc- cupied, if he wished it, every minute of the day.
 The celebration of the jubilee will take the form of a public testimonial and a mammoth concert at the Albert Hall. MT. Stantley's first wife was one of the fa- nous Kembles, a grand-niece of Mrs.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-24

the Kaiser and the French president.
 It would seem as if great disasters bring people closer together, and the opinion is expressed that the Gourrieres and Saarbruek disasters have brought France and Germany nearer together than they have been for many years past.
 Telegrams of sympathy and coincidence were received by the Kaiser from all quarters of the globe, and it Is stated that he is deeply touched by the express sion of. so much kind sympathy.
 Tortures as horrible as any devised by the Spanish 1nquisition are praetised to- day upon Russian political prisoners.
 A German newspaper correspondent gives a detailed description of the meth ods of the torture chamber at Riga from information supplied him by men who have witnessed them in their official ca paeity.
 The object of the torture is to force the prisoner to make some statement either of confession or of betrayal, the latter being most useful in the inquisi- ton. as 1t places more victims in their hands Before torture is applied the pris- oner is promised that if he gives impor-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-24

Druee were one and the same person. The case. which is expected to come on about three weeks hence, may last for three weeks.
 In addition to the countless improve ments whica the Goelet millions have eff fected at Floors Castle, the Duchess of Roxburgh is now turning her attention to the gardens She has made a wonder full sub-tropical garden, which she has flied with rare trees and shrubs. Strangely enough this sub-tropical veg citation thrives better in the far north of Scotland than in the south of England.
 In this garden the Duchess has started a ''zoo.n She has built great aviarY and is buying rare birds, and her latest purchase is a collection of antelopes. A keeper has been specially engaged to look after the antelopes and the zoo will be enlarged by degrees.
 The Duke is gradually being trained by his masterful wife to spend more and more time at Floors Castle, and his friends declare that he will not even ob- ject to lions and tigers in the grounds little later on.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-24

Special to the Age-Herald by Paul Lam
 beth.
 Copyright, 1907, by W. R. Hearst) ' ONDON. February 23.-Queen Alex
 andra's greatest weakness is for - babies. On her return from Parls Her Majesty paid a visit to the aged Lord Leicester. the grand old man of the peerage, who lives not far from sandring- ham and who has great flock of chil- dren by his three marriages. There Her Majesty was formally introduced to LaGy Mildred Follett. one of Lord Leicester 8 children, who is the proud mother of a very small infant.
 The Queen. instead of making herself agreeable to all the anxious relatives, sent for the baby and for two solid hours she nursed the infant on her knees Her Majesty, who is becoming increasingly deaf, asked lnnumerable questions about the baby, all of which she answered her 1elf.
 The baby poked it's chubby fingers all
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-24

ter sell the lot and called in an expert 10 taste the wine. The expert promptly bought the lot at seventy five shillings dozen and sold it to a South African magnate at ninety shillings.
 MT. Clubbin, medical specialist as present staying at No. 113 a Piccadilly and hailing from Cincinnati, claims to have discovered a new method of bone setting. It is 'bloodless surgery" of the new type.
 He insists that all the dislocated limbs, if the injury be of a serious character, should be fixed in cast, which is made of an entirely new preparation invented by himself.
 He has succeeded in one very intricate case, the daughter of a school teacher named Letts, and this child, who is nine years of age walked with a limp. He operated, placed the limb in a cast, and then permitted the child to attend school, and when the cast was removed the dis location was entirely gone. He is to re- turn to America shortly. but preferred to begin operations here, holding that the states are only for men with big reputa- tions.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-24

D ERLIN, February 2S-If any one H thinks that the socialists had all A( the fight knocked out of them at the recent elections he is very much mis- taken. There is plenty of fight left In them and they are proving it in a way most gratifying 10 the Kaiser and his government. by fighting furiously among themselves. thereby displaying much dirty linen.
 Some one, of course. has 10 shoulder the blame for the recent defeat and the leaders are exceedingly busy aceus- ing each other. while the rank and file Of the party are obviously disgusted and tired and 1t really looks as if the once so formidable party Is going to pieces altogether.
 That the government intends to make the most of it's victory is certain and 1t speaks well for the Kaiser's good sense that while he so far has said nothing concerning the ministry and naval programme he hopes to see car ried out, he has come out strongly in favor of measures which will greatly