davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16

of the know-nothing party the ninth verse of the eighth chapter of the book of Job: For We are but of yesterday and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow
 At the unveiling of the bronze copy of Houdon's statue of Washington, at the Virginia Military institute, Governor Wise delivered the address-ones of the very finest l ever heard in that line Thus far, I had never met him personally; but in 1861, after receiving Mr. Jefferson Davis commission as a chaplain In the Confederate army, I requested the sec- retary of war, MT. l.. P. Walker, to as- sign me to the "'Wise Legion" and my request was promptly granted, This '1egion' was a mixed brigade, made up of infantry, cavalry and artillery, and was operating in the region which Is now West Virginia. Henry A. Wise and John B. Floyd-two political brgadier- generals-were rather precariously hold inG that region against a greatly superior force under Rosecranz. one of the ablest commanders on the northern side. The two brlgadiers had both distinguished themselves as democratic statesmen. but somehow they did not harmonize in the field. Floyd, who outranked Wise, fell back from a position which Wise wished to defend, and he ordered Wise to fol-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16

President and one President, though it has been saying since Jackson s time, "As goes Pennsylvania, so goes the union."
 And so, in a practical sence, Pennsyl- vania Is the best politician in the union. Republican Pennsylvania goes to the con vention to observe and consider. When she has settled on the winner she springs like tiger and holds on like bull dog, thopgh it is my recollection that her vote was cast for Blaine on the final ballot at Cincinnati in 1876, but there is nothing more certain than that Pennsylvania de- feated his nomination then by withhold ing her support until what is called the psychological moment was past.
 But Pennsylvania is going to the next republican national convention with candidate a favorite son, and no second choice. Philandey c. Knox is among the leading lawyersf of the American bar, and, like all great lawyers, he is neces- sarily a conservative, a term that is now become confounded with reactionary and mollycoddle. No man can be a great lawyer who does not reverence the law and here is all that law is-fdelity to obligation. This great government at Washington Is party to a contract ex- pressed in the constitution of the United States, and things never get out of joint in a political way except when the gov ernment defaults and repudiates its/cov- enant
 Philander c. Knox was born in Penn sylvania in 1853 and is only a few months older than the republican party that was the son of a substantial citizen, who gave his boy every advantage and started him in life at the age of nineteen with a classical education He became a stu dent in the office of leading lawyer of Pittsburg and came to the bar in I875 He was assistant United States district attorney in 1876, and subsequently, his general practice was extensive and re- munerative.
 There is a popular belief that Knox is "corporation lawyer" I do not suppose
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16

low him in the retreat Wise dlsoheyed the order. He called his men together; formed them into a square, and sitting on his horse, made them a stump speech, in which he said: T have determined that I will not obey the order to make the tail-end of another retreat; but to make a stand here, and fight until our cannon, our small arms. and our very lives are taken away from us" and the echoes of sewell mountain rang again with the exulting yells of the troops.
 We had 1890 fighting men, against Rose cranz's 5000 to 5000. But the stand was made, and held, until Gen. R. E. Lee came up with endorsements, when the federal general promptly retreated.
 It Is not my purpose here to go into any description of the campaign. That must be left to those who are supposed to be experts in matters of military critic
 ism. The man, Henry A. Wise. is indeed, more interesting to me than are all of his military achievements, and to the man I confne myself in this paper.
 He was certainly one of the best story tellers I ever heard. Here is one of his anecdotes, which he told me one day, when we were travelling together: A big camp meeting was about to open in Ten nessee. Committees were appointed to make arrangements, and brother Birch
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16
PHzLANDER c. KNOX

he would be any the worse if 1t were true We have established standard of patriotism and of morals in this coun- try that reads out of respective political society any lawyer who ever held a brief in court of justice with corporation for a client Corporations are artificial persons created by the law They have rights as well as duties, and one of their rights is to employ legal counsel An honest corporation lawyer is public benefactor if he have capacity to see the law as it is and the courage to expound 1t as he sees 1t. Cheap, low and disgust ing demagogy has created popular prejudice against corporation lawyers and there is no easier way to kill off an as piring politician than to call him cor poration lawyer Unfortunately some cor poration lawyers have prostituted their learning and their skill to enable dis honest corporations to evade the law 10 shirk their duties and to oppress the pub lie; but it is as foolish to judge all corpo- ration lawyers by the conduct of these rascals as it would be to condemn all ministers of the gospel for the conduct of the wolves in sheeps clothes who get into the church.
 But MT. Knox is not corporation lawyer, though no doubt he is profoundly learned In corporation law, as is every other successful lawyer of this era. The truth Is that Mr. Knox made his way m the profession and gained his reputation at the bar through his learning and skill in the conduct of cases for individuals against corporations. The corporations of Pennsylvania has Watson of Pittsburg, and Johnson of Philadelphia on their staff, and they didn't need Knox and It was against these Knox contended, ire auently successfully contended, and the doc5ets of Pennsylvania courts, superior and inferior, evidence 1t. There Is not hot gospel orator in American politics who has done the corporations 1.-the of the injury Phiander c. Knox has nfeted out to them.
 Next to a capable and an honest editor
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16

The sea voyage practically ended at Perth, where a few passengers left, as from thence to Adelaide Melbourne and Sydney are only short trips During the forty-two days spent on that steamer between London and Sydney one of the most rema rkable things was the change that had occurred in the physical condi- ton of the passengers One young fel- low named Moore came on board at Plymouth accompanied by an old lady and doctor. He was a very handsome young fellow, about 9 years of age, but as delicate as @ baby. No girls voice was softer or sweeter and his cheeks were the strawberry and cream type. His parting from his mother at Plymouth was most affecting. as the old lady, act ing on the doctors advice, was trying a last chance to restore health and strength to her boy. When that young fellow arrived in Melbourne he wasn't ashore an hour until he had fought and whipped one of the toughest larrilSins in that city. Men who came aboard in Lon don exhausted and nervous, stepped down the gangway in Sydney twenty years younger in health and spirits. A sea voyage means either recovery or burial with this difference in It's favor, that if 1t means burial 1t means a con- siderable saving of worry and expense. A few yards of canvas and about fifty pounds of old iron constitutes the caskket which serves it's purpose just as well as
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16

fair, and is gotten up by the lady pas sengers who contribute all sorts of things on which they have been working dur ing the voyage. Smoking caps, hand painted pictures. pin cushions, anything at all will do, to put on the tables There are also various games of chance or skill with prizes for the winners. Another feature in the fair is the postoffice in which 1t costs a shilling to mail letter and the person to whom it is addressed must pay shilling to get the letter. The correspondence passing through this post office would put St. Valentine out in the shade. It was over a letter in this post office that poor Tank came to grief
 Among the first cabin passengers were two sisters, aged about 27 and 19 re- .spectively. Miss Fannie. the younger, was beautiful girl and was going home to Sydney after finishing her education in England. Everybody, from the cap tain to the cook, loved and admired Miss Fannie, but none more, nor half as much, as Tank, a second cabin passenger. Tank confided his secret to a first cabin stew ard named Fox, and Fox conided the secret to everyone on board. Tank sent messages to Miss Fannie by Fox, giving him liberal tips for his services, and Fox brought back answers written on perfumed note paper. But as Miss Fan nie was first cabin passenger she prom enaded on the poop deckk, while Yank
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16
POEMS YOU OUGHT 70 READ
WHEN ALL IS DONE.

By Paul Lawrence Dunbar. When all is done, and my last word Is
 said, And ye who loved me murmur, He is
 dead" Let no one weep, for fear that I should
 know And sorrow, too. that ye should sorrow
 so. When all is done and in the oozing clay, Ye lay this cast-off hull of mine away, Pray not for me, for, after long despair, The quiet of the grave will be a prayer. For I have suffered loss and grievous
 pain, The hurts of hatred and the worlds dis
 dain, And wounds so deep that love, we'll
 tried and pure, Had not the power to save them or to
 cure. When all is done, say not my day is
 o'er, And that thro' the night I seek dim
 mer shore; Say rather that my morn has Just begun I gree the dawn and not setting sun. I greet the dawn and not setting sun.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16
"REMINISCENCES or GOVERNOR HENRY A. WISE

was the candidate of the know-nothings, who were extremely exultant, and boast ed that. at the opening of the campaign they had majority of the voters of the state actually registered on their lodge books. Wise, however, was un- daunted. As a stump speaker he has rare- ly been equalled, and he knew his power He took the stump against the know nothngs, and his oratory drove them out of their lodges by thousands.
 Tn the course of his campaign he came to Lexington, where I was then a cadet in the Virginia Military institute. As my father had been one of the conven- tion which had nominated Wise, I felt a special interest in hearing the speech of the democratic champion, and that speech was a revelation to me.
 Wise knew that, in the days of Jeffer- son and Adams, Lexington was decidedly with the federalists; that In the days of Polk and Clay the Lexingtonians were mostly whigs: and that now they were know-nothings by a great majority. Any thing to beat the democrats was the cry.
 The court house was crowded; and though the doctor had cauterized Wise s throat that morning, the speech was some four hours long, and held the audience
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16
THE SEA.

By Barry Cornwall (Bryan W. Procter)
 The sea! The seal The open seal
 The blue, the fresh, the ever freel
 Without a mark, without bound
 It runneth the earths wide regions bound;
 It plays with the clouds; it mocks the
 skies;
 Or like a cradled creature lies
 I'm on the seal I'm on the sea!
 I am where I would ever be;
 With the blue above, and the blue below,
 And silence wheresoeer I go; If storm should come and awake the deep, What matter? I shall ride and sleep. I never was on the dull, tame shore But loved the great sea more and more, And backward flew to her bilowy breast, Like a bird that seeketh it's mothers nest; And a mother she was, and is, to me; For I was born on the open sea! The waves were white. and red the morn In the noisy hour when I was born And the whale 1t whisted, the porpoise rolrd, And the dolphins barred their backs of gold; And never was heard such an outcry wild As welcomed to life the ocean child, , I've lived since then, in calm and strife. Full fifty summers a sailors life. With wealth to spend and power to range, But never have sought nor slghd for change; And Death, whenever he come to me. Shall come on the wild, unbounded seal
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16
PROFESSIONAL.

By Rudyard Kipling
 God of our fathers, known of old
 Lord of our far-nung battle line Beneath whose awful hand we hold
 Dominion over palm and pine Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet Lest we forget, lest we forgetl The tumult and the shouting dies,
 The captains and the kings depart; Still stands thine ancient sacrifice
 An humble and contrite heart. Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet. Lest we forget, lest we forget, Far-called, our navies melt away;
 On dune and headland sinks the frel Lo! all our pomp of yesterday
 Is one with Ninevah and Tyre! Judge of the Nations, spare us yet, Lest we forget lest we forgetl If drunk with sight of power. we loose
 Wild tongues that have not Thee ir
 awe,
 Such boosting as the Gentiles use
 Or lesser breeds without the law Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget. lest we forget! For heather heart that puts her trust
 In reeking tube and iron shard, All valiant dust that builds on dust.
 And guarding calls not Thee to guard For frantic boasts and foolish word. Thy mercy on Thy people Lord! Amenl
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16

TN ROM Colombo to Perth the distance
 is about $500 miles and the time of 4 the passage between those two places about twelve days. Immediately after leaving Colombo preparation are made to give a. grand reception to Nep- tune, who comes on board the day the vessel crosses the equator. As the lati- tude and longitude is posted daily, it is possible to follow the ships course on the voyage and many passengers keep diaries and track charts on which they mark the position of the vessel every day at F o'clock.
 One fine morning few days after leav- ing Colombo the sailors prepare a large tub full of father, made up of grease and tar and soot into which big paint brush is plunged. The oldest sailor is chosen to represent Neptune and he is dressed up in the long flowing robes and beard of the sea-god When eight bells are struck announcing 12 o'clock, Neptune appears on the scene escorted by crowd of sailors wearing masks for a disguise. In loud voice Neptune calls upon all those who have entered his doninions for the first time, that is, those who have never crossed the equator before, to come for ward and be shaved or else pay, heavy fine. As very few of the passengers have ever been across the equator and they
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16

of newspaper, a capable and an honest lawyer Is the most valuable citizen ot an American community. Mir Knox was such a lawyer. He made his way at the bar by intellectual force, by industry, and by capacity He became the presi- dent of the Pennsylvania bar association, and that evidenced the esteem in which he was held by the bar of the state of Perennial s. Black, William Reed, and the great Judge Gibson. He was actively engaged in the practice when William Mckinley sought him out and brought him into the cabinet as attorney gen eral of the United States in 1901. He con- tjnued in that office under President Roosevelt until Pennsylvania sent him to the senate to fill the vacancy occa- stoned by the death of Matthew s. Quay.
 And, as Attorney General, Philander C. Knox gained the greatest triumph in the supreme court that ever came to any American lawyer. He busted the biggest trust ever organized to monopolize the business of transportation in the United States or elsewhere. He met and over came the strongest array of corporation lawyers ever brought together to plead d single cause The issue was more mo- mentous than that involved in the Dart mouth case, and like that, the Judgment long wavered In the balance. It was divided court, and the judgment was for the government by vote of five to four, and one of the majority, so report speak eth, intlmated that he could not be de- pended on to do it again. The day that judgment was renere in the supreme court dissolving the great merger Of the Northern Pacific and Great Northern rail- roads, Philander c. Knox became Presi- dential timber, and observing men have never left him out of the calculation when contemplatne the Presidential succession of 190S
 When John Sherman made the anti trust law he declared that 1t was all the constitution would stand. At that time most democrats thought 1t was more than
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16

tunity. Every "out" down south, will be a reactionary, and the "outs" down there out number the ''ins.' It Will be as easy as it is natural for Knox to fan heir to Fairbanks and to Cannon The greatest man In Iowa is George Perkins, of the Sioux City Journal. He will see to it that Cummins does not cast the solid vote of that state to suit himself. Taft may get the bulk of Ohio; but the sena- tors can be depended on to have several districts. There are reactionary districts in New York, and the Japanese business may defeat the Presidents calculations in California. We may be sure that seV- eral Wisconsin districts are for Spooner, and if the state were solid for him hi5 chances would be as good as any man s that could be named Everybody recog- nizes his splendid abilities and his lofty character and the day is not distant when the fact that a man Is great com stitutional lawyer will not render his ineligible to the office of President or the United States.
 It is easy to forecast the battle in the next republican national convention. The victory will incline to the side that Is the more skilfully led. Fairbanks may get Cannon may get it. These gentlemen are natural allies; but will they be, like Du- mas immortal four, "All for one, and one for all?"
 Pennsylvania has voted for more suc- cessful candidates for President than any other state. In 1796 she gave one vote for Adams and fourteen votes for Jefferson. Four years later she gave Jefferson eight votes and Adams sene. In 1924 she lost Jacksons who had g plurality in the elec- toral college. Fourteen times in success sion, 1S2S-1SS0, both inclusive, Pennsylvania picked the winner, If we shall so class Hayes. Since 1880 Pennsylvania has lost but twice out of a possible six times. And yet, powerful populous, and opu- lent as Pennsylvania is and has been. she has furnished the union but one
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16

spellbounud. The very first sentence hurled foul scorn at his opponents: Eel low citizens, come here today to discuss constitutional principles, and I ask the attention of every whig, democrat and know-nothing in this audience" Cold type are utterly inadequate to the expression of the mingled scorn, contempt and de- testation which the orator threw Into the ntteranee of that one word "know-noth- Ing"
 The know-nothings called themselves by the flash name of sam" and occa- sionally one of them would interrupt the speaker by yelling, 'Hurrah for Samw As this yell rang out from the lips of a know-nothing at my elbow, old Christie an Irish laborer turned upon him with the warning: And ye'd better Be quiet now. for he will be elected governor; and when ye get into the pententiary, he'll niver pardon ye out in the worruld.''
 Wise was elected by some ten thous- and majority. and that victory practical ly closed the career of the know-nothing party. True, in the next presidential cleo tion they nominated Willard Fillmore, but 1t amounted to nothing as he was no where in the race" After the election of M ise, some smart democratic editor pro- posed as text for the funeral sermon
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16
BY SAVOYARD.

When Congress assembled in December, 1005 the President insisted on a chase of the railroad octopus, and the rate Dill was fetched Into the house of represent atives and damned through that body without anybody knowing or caring what 1t was. The Senate took 1t up and the country was In hot water for weeks. Then 1t was that the republicans sep arated into progressives and mollycoddles. The democrats, under the lead of Bailey and Tillman, went to the rescue of the President Indeed, Tlllman was In charge of the chase. There was a great debate, the greatest the Senate had heard in years. Perhaps Baileys speech has not been equaled as a constitutional argu- ment since Calhoun and Webster. Spoon- CT was q foeman worthy his steel and Foraker put the country In mind of the Senates of our golden age of forensic eloquence and Daniel did as well.
 After months of debate 1t became ap- parent that no bill could pass that Sen ator Aldrich found fault with. Now t was that Knox tock the floor and made a speoh that was e5ly cumulative test- money of his great capacity as constitu- tional lawyer: but he tud more. He saved the bill and rendered incaluculable service to the republican party.
 Knox was the real author of the Ali DUH pdPcl tHdt piouBHt ltOoseVell Oul Ol the democratic camp and put him at the head of the republican chasers. Bailey and Tillman were enraged. One would have thought that red-hot, jumping crit ters, dlamond-back rattlesnakes, brass head snapping turtles. and siich had been turned loose on the democratic side. while chapter of the Knights of Ana nias was hastily convoked at the White House and a bunch of new candidates in- vested with the badge of that order all because the republicans got their President back again.
 The bill passed. Every republican voted for 1t but Foraker, and every dem ocrat but Morgan and Pettus. The octo- pus chase was concluded. Senator Ald- rich went to Europe, the President to Oyster Bay. Mr. Bryan came home, sug- gested governmental ownership, and the country responded with a republican ma jority in Congress. But that Is history
 Copyrighted by F. w. Newman)
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16

~ oMETHING more than ten years
 ago the democrats were separat- k0 ed into goldbugs and silver cranks and in 1907 the republicans are become separated into progressive and reaction aries. President Roosevelt is chief of the former and the greatest politicians of his generation; but a single battle brought to naught Hahnibals hundred victories, and if a reactionary shall be nominated for President by the republican national convention of 1908, failure will be writ against the name of Theodore e Roosevelt in the book of political des- tiny. Hence, we may ask: Will he take it himself rather than go down in de- feat before the cohorts of reaction? And 1t is quite likely that it will come to bhat.
 Never was there such a string of can didates, avowed and receptive. These are Fairbanks, Cannon, Foraker, Shaw, Cum- mns, La Toilette, Spooner, Cortelyou Root, Hughes, Crane, Scott, Taft and Knox. There are others. In the con- vention progress and reaction will be face to face At present MT. Taft Is the favor lte of the progressive and strongly backed by the President. He may have to give place to Hughes, who may have to sur render the thngs~to the President him. self to beat the mollycoddles.
 Knox Is mighty dangerous man. For - the first time in the history of the repub- lican party Pennsylvania will have a real favorite in republican national conven- ton, in which there is a real contest, when progressive and reactionaries shall be lined up in opposing columns in 1908. Pennsylvania will have sixty eight votes. New England is a reactionary, and New England will have eighty-two votes New Jersey is another reactionary, with twen- ty-four votes in convention. And there are others. The unit rule does not pre- vail in republican conventions, and that affords political genius a grand oppor-