davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
Currency Relief and Taxation

It is estimated that at least $20,- 900 .000 in scrip" will be issued by December 1, and if the money strin- gency does not relax the amount of this emergency currency may become double the sum named.
 The internal revenue bureau may be called upon in case this emergency issue is not soon called in to apply the 10 per cent tax that fits all forms of scrip" issued by a corporation which requires no indorsement and which calls for an amount of currency. The question is by no means new one. Attorney General Olney met it soon after 1893, and so did Attorney General Judson Harmon, and the gov- ernment has uniformly held that scrip" is subject to the 10 per cent tax provided in the national banking law. But in the present stress and strain the officials charged with the collection of the tax will doubtless look the other way as long as they decently can.
 The chief trouble seems to be that the New York banks are unduly hoard ing currency. They seem to have in mind more the wants of the stock speculators than of the farmers who have corn, wheat, cotton or oats to sell. And they are doing this although the government has loaned them with out interest a vast sum.
 It is best to indulge in few criticisms in this crisis, but it does seem as if the New York national banks should issue more circulating notes, and that they should as rapidly as they consist ently can do their utmost in aiding the movement of crops. The farmers are inclined to blame them because currency relief comes slowly in the outlying districts, but still they should remember that 30 days have not yet | elapsed since the scramble for cash was begun.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
Skyscraper Limitations

One New York paper objects to the proposed limitation of skyscrapers in New York to 250 feet, because, it goes on to say, they serve to harmonize the incongruous diversity of roof tops be- meath them. They furnish towers and spires that to the eye are relief when a city is seen at distance, and espe cially from an elevation. The Singer tower, for example, Ifs a magic spire which lends symmetry to the ragged masses of masonry from the Battery to Grand street by drawing their hard lines upward to an aerial vanishing point of gracefulness." So says the New York World, and it therefore op- poses the proposed limitations of revised building code. It does not fear a skyline in which 50-story structures have place. It really does not care how far skyward future buildings may go. The Singer tower Is but 42 stories high, and no one believes that it is the limit in the race skyward, provided the building code stands unrevised.
 The skyline has not become prac- tical issue in Jones Valley, but as soon as the times mend little our modest race skyward will be maintained. We are to have a new skyline even if we have to wait upon good times to get 1t. Our streets, however, are wide, and there is no need of imposing limita- tion of 250 feet or any other number of feet upon our skyscrapers. New York may need restrictions, but there are some who think restrictions even there are uncalled for.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
So our leaders led, And we are Women's men.
 Antony and Cleopatra.
Taxation of Public Utilities

Birmingham imposes a license tax of $35,000 and property tax of $26,- 9S4 upon the Railway, Light and Power company-a total tax of $61,984 out of $151,474 paid by the company all told on 133 miles of track and on it's other properties in the county. This is a great increase from it's taxation in 1903, and President Ford appeals to the Board of Aldermen to reduce Its license tax. He appreciates the needs of more revenue on the city's part, but he thinks that when taxation of this company extends to per cent of it's gross receipts it becomes dis proportionate and burdensome. He does not mean that the Birmingham taxation of his company is per cent of gross receipts, but he does show that this city imposes a tax of nearly per cent on the total receipts, and those receipts are a declining quan- tity.
 President Ford intimates that a con tinuance of excessive taxation would render policy of extension on the part of his company impracticable- that it would have to cease to be developing factor in order to earn any returns on the capital invested.
 The questions raised by President Ford are broad and deep, and they deserve careful consideration on the part of the Board of Aldermen An overtaxed public utility is not apt to be an efficient public utility, and it is best to draw the line below the point of extortion and within the confines of justice and equity.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
cARUso NOT BARRED.

New York Cor. Pittsburg Dispatch.
 Enrlco Caruso will arrive in the United States on the White Star liner Oceanic Wednesday, and the word got around that Uncle Sam woul-- lift a stern finger and bar the great tenor's entrance. When Caruso loosened Up his vocal cords, fold ed up his tenor tones, and silently stole away from these shores after he had been found guilty of monkey nousing'' and his fine of s1U paid by direction of Herr Drektor Heinrich Conried, it was reported that the tenor was considered an undesirable citizen by Uncle Sam and would be barred out when he tried to re-enter the city of Central ark But mo- It is not so. Three Metropolitan Opera sleuths interviewed Immigration Commissioner Watchorn today They delivered the following report to the herr direlStor: 'The regrettable misunder- standing. the untoward episode, If I may say so, in which you. our herr drektor. and our transcendent tenor suffered so intensely, will not be considered a bar, sinister or otherwise by the authorities of these, our United States, against the re-entry of the Signor Enrico to these, our shores" Ten thousand cheers!
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
Tennessee-io-Gulf Canal

"In view of the vast sums to be ex- pended in making navigation possible between Chicago and New orleans" says the Mobile Register, "and in giy- ing nine feet of water in the Ohio from Pittsburg, it is not too much to ask that the government will take up the Tennessee to the Warrior project, considering that the benefits to com merce will be divided over as large an area as those accruing from the Ohio river improvement The immense gain to the Birmingham district alone, second only to Pittsburg in the iron and steel industry, would repay the cost of the contemplated water route to the gulf"
 It is very plain large section of three states will not rest content until the water supply on the fiye-mile strip that separates the headwaters of the Bright Star creek which flows into the Tennessee and the headwaters of Lo- cust Fork is investigated. No survey has had in mind lock canal, and the possibility of gathering and storing sufficient water on Sand mountain for use in such canal has not been off cially aseertained. The Coosa-Tennes- see survey of many years ago does not determine the question now before the people. The need of a survey will be generally appreciated, and there is no need of committal by anypody or any convention to a project until it's feas- bility has been officially established. The convention of next Tuesday should confine its canal action to a recommendation that looks to sur , yey of the route of the proposed canal. This it can do without abating in the least its views as to the desirability of a canal between the two rivers. Feasibility and desirability do not al ways go together.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
IN HOTEL LOBBIES.
About Steel Plants

While l am not acquainted with any of the officials of the Republic Iron and Steel company, and know nothing of the eompany's prospects, l think it is safe to predict that a steel plant will be built at Thomas in the not distant future,' , said an old citizen.
 Tt will be the logical thing for the company to do. know Alexis Thompson we'll and while he was president of the Republic Iron and Steel company he had the site selected and plans made by Julian Kennedy for the erection of steel works. I have heard men prominent in the industrial world say that a steel plant at Thomas would pay from the start Steel plant builders there are to- day who guarantee that the mill they construct will work successfully from the start The open hearth furnaces at Ems ley are commercially successful now, but the Tennessee's steel making en- terprise was only an experiment for several years; in fact, up to very recent time. But the experimental pe- riod in the Birmingham district is past and the Republic, the Sloss- Sheffield or any other company that has the raw material could succeed at steel making without losing any money in experiment. ing.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16

Hepburn, president of the Chase Ma tional bank, will undoubtedly become chairman of the new commission. Ma tional banks are outside the pale of investigation, but that is no reason why national bank officers should not assist in solving the problem on hand in New York.
 The present financial troubles were precipitated in the Mercantile Ma tional bank, which was controlled by Heinze, Morse and Thomas, but the trouble quickly spread to the New York trust companies, which seem to have sprung up to become a law unto themselves. There is widespread feeling, especially in New York, that they should be closely regulated. and no doubt much of the work of the new commission will relate to the supervi- sion and government of such corpora tions. Governor Hughes really desires to have the state banks and trust com- panies as closely regulated and super vised as the national banks are, and the new commission will doubtless pro- ceed with that end in view. They will also endeayor to complete their task by or before the meeting of the legislature in January. If Governor Hughes sue ceeds in reforming the banking legis- lation of his state, he will set an ex- ample that may be followed in the other states, and the Hepburn com mission would in that way, perhaps, serve all the states.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
THE PANIC DEFINED.

From the Nashville Tennessean.
 In Poes story, ''rhe Fall of the House of Usher," there is in the character of Usher, remarkable study of psycho- logical alteration, which takes the form of perpetual struggle with "the grim phantasm Fear" This fear. not of any one thing, but the fear of fear, was the subtle and unseen horror of weird and fantastic story, but just now in the actual situation in this country, this fear of fear is a very reasonable and logical feeling. for the grim phantasm' is the real peril of the present financial out look It is shadow that must be lifted, a force that mus ! ], fought, power that must be annuled by the sober judg- ment and firm determination of the American people.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
STRAIGHT RAILWAY TRACK.

From the London Times.
 In spite of the apparently mathemat- ical straight lines which many of the western railways appear to follow on the map, it has been stated that the record in this respect will be beaten by the new. national transcontinental railway, otherwise known as the Grand Trunk Pacific, seventy miles of which will be constructed without a curve. Five years ago, however, length of seventy-one miles of perfectly straight railway trach was constructed on the extension of the Rhodesa railways from Bulawayo in the direction of the Victoria falls. So far. therefore, as the length of straight line Is concerned the record is held by the portion of the Rhodesia railways above referred to.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
Bryan the Only Man.

William Jennings Bryan is undoubt- edly the only man for the democratic nominee, in my opinion" said Judge A. o. Lane last night. "f believe he will De nominated and I just as firmly believe that he will be elected President. Times nave come to such pass that we must or necessity have change in the presi- dental chair, and no man is more fit Tor the place than the great Nebfaszan. Bryan has shown himself to be a fear less champion for the peoples rights, and his principles are sound and dem- ocratic all the way through. His strength is greater now than 1t ever was and just how strong it is will be illustra ted next November when the people of the United States will place him in the high est seat in the land"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
BONES OF PONCE DE LEON.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer.
 The legislature of Florida has passed a resolution and an appropriation asking Porto Rico to deliver over to a commits sion appointed for the purpose the bones of Ponce de Leon for reburial in the state which he discovered and named. A reply has not yet been received, and it is not likely that there will be any com pliance with the'requeet. It would amount almost to sacrilege to exhume the corpse and remove it to the mainland for the purpose of mere display. There is mighty little sentiment in Florida on any sub ject, and we doubt if there is any at taching to De Leon ocner than that his bones would be an added feature of in- terest for winter colonists.
 De Leon stands in history as a con- spicuous failure. He belonged to an age that was full of romance and credulity and mysticism. He heard that somewhere in an island to the northwest of Cuba there was a famous spring the waters of which would restore the aged to youth. He set out to discover the spring and landed on the peninsula on Palm Sum- day, wherefore he called the place Flor ida. His search was in vain, and after a most disappointing series of adventures he returned to die of disappointment His bones rest in San Juan and there they should remain. In the eyes of the Spanish he is a sort of romantic hero, and whatever historical importance he holds in history is connected with the islands from which he sailed forth on his bootless expedition of discovery.
 When Spain gave up Cuba it was made a condition precedent that the bones of Columbus should be returned to the motherland, and this was proper enough, but there is no reason to shift the re- mains of De Leon from one place to another It is on a par with the pious but mistaken proposal of some Philadei- phians to bring the bones of William Penn to his city.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
State Banks and Trust Companies

Governor Hughes of New York has asked A. B. Hepburn. Edwin s. Marston, Edward w. Sheldon, Algernon s. Fris- sell, Stephen Baker and Andrew Mills to act as commission to make recom- mendations concerning the banks and trust companies of that state. The proposed investigation is voluntary, the legislature not being in session. It will not meet until January, but in the meanwhile Governor Hughes pro- poses to gather facts and recommenda- tions which are to be laid before the lawmakers when they meet.
 The commission named is made up of bankers, and all of them have ac- cepted the trust imposed on them, al though no pay goes with the task. MT.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
THE NATuRE CALL.

Get close to the great worlds heart If you'd learn the great worlds ways The beat of the plain and the mart, The music of changing days. The glory that goes with the sun And follows it down the west, When the labor for bread is done And the toilers sink to rest. Get close to the great worlds heart The blooms, the birds, the trees And the mountain streams that start To the wide. shore-lapping seas. Be one with the oak and the pine, The valley, the cliff and the rock; Laugh long at the winds that whine And joy in the tempest's shock As stated before. we refuse to enthuse over the size of the prune crop Mr. Bryan evidently assumes that what he has been getting are love licks A young man whose name shall not be mentioned here would like to find a boarding house where there would be some chance for him to make a hit with the landlady.
 THE MODERN TREND. Conservatism fades away, the world re- marks change, Unrest has swept the land, from shore to shore. We've shaken off restrictions from the palace and the mango There isn't any limit any more. Where'er you go. ts still the same-a hot desire to break The records that were made the day before. There's nothing wild or foolish that the world won't undertake There isn't any limit any more. While it may be true that we are drift ing backward the experience is much more pleasant than falling backward.
 THREE SHORT ONES.
 The world Is full
 Of people who
 Are looking for
 Some one to do.
 II.
 Of all the bills
 That make me i'll,
 Not one can beat
 The laundry bill
 This life is just
 game of bumps.
 'Twon't help you if
 You get the dumps. ''No strap hangers there" announces a contemporary Must be talking about heaven.
 The waste paper basket is the grave yard of literary dreams. A ballet dancer 4S years old fell dead in California from exhaustion. This an-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
EsTiLL AND JUNGLE REMUs.u

From the l<noXYllle sentinel
 With the death of Col. J. H. Estill, of the Savannah Morning News, passes away another landmark in southern journalism. For 40 years he had been connected with this influential paper. The News was founded in 1850 by w. T. Thompson, author of Major Jones Courtship,' whose humorous work Is ranked along with that of A. B. Longstreet, of "Geor- gia Scenes 1me.
 While the name of Joel Chandler liar ris is linked indssolubly with the Atlanta Constitution, 1t was the Savannah Morn ing News, under the joint control of Thompson and Estill, that discovered the ability and raciness of Harris as an edi- torial paragrapher. Harris had had ex- perience in country newspaper office and with a short-lived monthly magazine. the Crescent Monthly, in New Orleans; but his first serious efforts upon live daily newspaper were associated with the Savannah News.
 At the time this arrangement was made. Harris was printer, business mana ger, and editor of the Forsyth Advertiser. The brightness and aptness of his para graphs attracted attention in the Savan- nah office. Not many months elapsed before the gifted young writer was called to a higher and more respectable post.
 Here Harris continued to work with great success until a yellow fever epidemic in the latter seventies drove him and his family out of the city, His going to Atlanta, therefore, was merely fortuitous humorous incident is told of >his so- journ in the Atlanta hotel where he registered "J. c. Harris, wife, two chil- dren and one bilious nurse" The presence of the last-named as described excited some consternation in the hostelry. but instantly Uncle Remus' brought his hu- nor into play. and kept it up to the enlivenment of all about him. After three days, when he came to settle his bill the proprietor said to him: You do not owe me cent. but we are in debt to you.'' For several days. by his cheerful ness and humorous sayings, he had kept the distressed guests in rollicking humor and caused them to forget any impend- ing troubles. That brought about liar ris connection with the Atlanta Constitu- ton and ended the relationship with Thompson and Estill in Savannah.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
Where Are the Singers.

Whats the matter with the negro laborers that they don't sing any more while they work?" asked man yester- day who was raised In the south, but who has spent the last seven years in the north. Ut used to be that you couldn't find gang of negroes work ing but what they were filling the. air with melody. l liked to stop and listen to them, but since my return to the south two or three weeks ago I have not been able to find gang that was singing. and those 1 saw didn't appear to be doing half as much work as the old singing kind. It doesn't seem natural. Whats the trouble?"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
A LOVE SONG.

By Dante Gabriel Rossetti When do l see thee most, beloved one? When in the light the spirits of mine
 eyes
 Before thy face. their altar, solemnize The worship of that love through thee
 made known Or when in the dusk hours (we two
 alone),
 kissed and eloquent of still replies Thy twilight-hidden glimmering visage
 lies, And my soul only sees thy soul it's own? o love. my love, If I no more should
 see Thyself, nor on the earth the shadow
 of thee,
 Nor image of thine eyes in any spring How, then, should sound upon flies
 darkening slope The ground whirl of the perish'd leaves
 of hope,
 The wind of Deaths imperishabie
 WlnS
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
-ceIe Linton Can Get AIono.

T may not be able to sell my cotton for a decent price now, but I don't have to sell it unless I want to-" said cele Linton of Blount county. q am no rich man, but if there don't happen to be any money travelling around l won't starve to death, because I raised something besides cotton. I will have enough fodder and stuff to feed my stock all the winter, and I've got enough fat hogs to keep me in meat for a mighty long while. Lord knows how many chickens I've got, then I've got gun l can go hunting with, and I've got the best 'possum dogs in Ala bama. Guess I'll get along all right"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
Wants a "lauuh-Day."

The strange construction of the English language often puzzles grown persons and 1t is no wonder that chill dfen become confused" remarked West End matron yesterday. My little G. year-old son had school holiday a few days ago, which was gloriously enjoyed by him and his 4-year- old broth CT. The youngest one came to me the next day when feeling lonesome and said: Mamma, when are they go- ing to have laugh day? I asked him to explain what he meant, and he re- piled, Why, they had hollow day yes terday. Now, when are they going to have laugh day.? I wish some one would tell me how to explain it to him."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
HOST OF MUSICAL STARS

state of affairs. To him the operas the thing, and the artists mere means to an end. He will have charge, in particular, Of the Mozart and Wagner operas, and he may do things greatly to astonish this town. It has been said of him that, while his Mozart is like a Watteau or miniature of the most exquisite color ing, he is a towering giant in Wagner. Under him, rehearsals will come into vogue again; and shall we venture a rash prediction? We should not be sur- prised if the most popular opera of the season should prove to be, not one of the caruso favorites, but Mozart's Don Gio- yannf''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR,

From the New York Press.
 Man never Is but always is to begin saving.
 Wmoen would eat health food if 1t was labeled beauty restorer.
 A girl can't help looking coquettsh even at a mans picture in a news paper.
 When a fat woman gains weight she subtracts it: when thin woman loses she adds 1t.
 It's wonder babies don't learn to swear before they can speak as a reac- ton against the kind of language that is talked to than.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-16
SLIGHT ALTERATION.
From the Chicago News.

From the Chicago News.
 Gunner-Poetry Is dying out For n- stance. 1t is doubtful if the author of "I Stood on the Bridge at Midnight" could have sold the poem these days.
 Guyer-Oh, he could have sold 1t if he had changed it to "I Sit Down at Bridge Till Midnight and Watch the Dollars Roll By"