davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
The Street Railway Iie.lln

Employees of the Birmingham Rail- way, Light and Power company. have a perfect right to organize themselves Into a union if they desire to do so. But if there are employees who do not care to ally themselves with the unicu, they should not be hooted at as scabs.
 The officers and managers of the street railway company have a perfect right to say whom they shall employ and to discharge men whom they be- lieve to be working against the inter- ests of the company.
 The public is greatly inconvenienced Gy the tie-up of the Birmingham street railway system. The officials of this system, however, promise that the tie up shall be only for a very limited time. And it is to be hoped that the officials are correct in this statement
 If the old men don't want to work outside of the union they have the right not to work, but they should not interfere with others who want to run the cars for the benefit of the public when the others are receiving all the salary that is asked by any employe whether it be old or new Let there be no resort to violence. The street railway people have the right to run their property as they see fit so long as the employees are satisfied with what they make. It Is simply ques- ton as to whether or not the company shall be unionized The officials say no. Many of the men say yes. Let them fight it out in conservative way, but let there be no resort to .vio- lence The city and county and state officials say there shall be none.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21

better man, for it was he who forced the passage of the Yalu river, and it was he who, by flanking movement, forced Kuropatkin to fall back to Mukden. Kurold won lAurels along side Nodzu, Nogi and Oku, all fighting under the veteran oyama He fought to the end of the war, and it is de- clared by military experts that his mistakes were few indeed Japan could not have sent more fitting rep resentative, and when he returns home vio San Francisco he can perhaps be induced to tarry while in this city.
 It would be an excellent result of Kurok's visit if the government would take at least one step towards trans fer of the Philippines, which we do not want, to Japan, reserving a small island for a naval station. We do not under stand the Malays, and the Japanese do. To hold them in servitude is con- trary to the federal constitution, and 1t is not good sense. Japan could pro- tect them, educate them and render them more contented than we can. This should be the fruits of the KuroN visit. It should be because it would be for the good of all concerned.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
Standard Oil Monopoly

The official reports made to Presi- dent Roosevelt by the commissioner or cornorations concerning the Standard Oil discloses nothing new, for every hodv has long known that an alliance between the railroads and the oil mo- nopoly had existed. The public has also<known that the oil concern re- fused to become common carrier, although it had built under public fran chises pipe lines. Rebates in the first place and a refusal to operate its pipe lines in a lawful manner in the second place enabled it to crush competition and to build up monopoly in articles in daily use in almost every household in the land.
 The government is prosecuting the Standard Oil and its almost countless subsidiary companies, and if it sue ceeds in bringing within reasonable bounds the most audacious conspiracy against freedom in trade that this or
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
Soda Font Tenders.

"One of most useful as we'll as honorable vacations is that of a soda font tender" said a citizen, and am glad to observe the tendency on the part of the boys and young men who are engaging in this work to elevate their calling. This they do by cultivating courteous manners as well as habits of industry and attention to business"
 "All 'enterprising soft drink vendors em- ploy only first-class young men to wait on their customers. But there is one nervous habit that should be stopped and that Is the boy tossing up a glass after clipped ice or a dab of ice cream has been put in 1t. The lad began this trick for the purpose of showing off. It grew into second nature, but nothing Is more irritating to the customer than to stand and wait for his dope or soda water while the boy is trying to be smart. All such habits should be cut out. The real expert soda tender avoids silly tricks
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
DOUBLES ON RICH ONES.
Grocer's Scheme for Making Price to
 Cramped Customers.
From the Brooklyn Eagle.

From the Brooklyn Eagle.
 An uptown grocer, with a store on the dividing line between the houses of the wealthy and the homes of the poor, has two prices for nearly every article he sells. Mrs. Black of Waverly avenue gets her eggs at twenty cents a dozen while Mrs. White of Clinton avenue has to pay thirty cents dozen for eggs out of the same crate. He makes low prices to the poorer classes in order to compete with other grocers who have uniformly low prices.
 This grocer has two regular customers by the name of Jones' One Mrs. Jones lives in cheap flat in Myrtle avenue, the other has handsome home on an exclusive street two blocks away. The wealthy Mrs. Jones always has to pay at. least a third more for her groceries than her poorer namsake, but she never suspected it until last Saturday, when she drove by the store to leave an order she had forgotten to give earlier in the day. She asked the price of green peas. The young man in attendance was not exactly familiar with the sliding scale of prices, as manipulated by his worthy parent, so he called out to his father, who was behind a pyramid of canned goods.
 Pop, how much are the peas for Mrs. Jone?"
 Ten cents," answered Pop, who hast fly added. Which Mrs. Jones?''
 The son told him and the grocer who evidently thought 1t was a telephone or der, as usual, called out:
 "Oh that one. Tell her peas are twen- ty-five cents quart and hard to get at that"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
BARON KUROKPS ORIGIN

machine guns distributed along 20 miles of the other bank of the river Kurokl engaged their front and then planned movement against their left flank. He succeeded in turning it and the Russians were forced to retreat.
 In the battle of Liaoyand he again showed his mastery of military tactics. For five days he advanced through the mountains in an attempt to cut the rail- road lines, which offered Kuropatlxin the only avenue of retreat.
 In doing this he had to change his base of supply and was practically cut off from the other troops of the Japanese army, Kuropatkins masterly retreat kept Kurol1i from cutting the railroad lines and left him on 8 little rocky hill with the Russian army practically surrounding him. The fifth day of the battle found him still there. with the Russians heavily reinforced and his communications with the rest of the Japanese army cut.
 Kuroki pulled in his left division to re- nforce his front and then sent 1t on a forced march across the Taitse river to turn the Russians flank. The left divi- sion had to fight it's own way, and kurolSi knew nothing of its progress until, to- ward the end of the day, messenger came to him to say that the left division had been victorious and the battle was won. The move was a very bold one bbut 1t has been called the same sort of boldness that won battles for Napoleon
 Although over 60 years. KuroM has the agility and appearance of man of 3O The effects of his 40 years of fight ing show very little either on his face or his physical condition.
 At the great battle of Mukden, where Field Marshal Oyama's four armies were spread out before a Russian line extend ing in a semicircle more than 12o miles Kuroli's army was the Japanese right which developed an elaborate hanking operation against the Russian left. Nogi, on the Japanese left, forced the Russians back upon the Manchurian railway while Oku and Nodzu broke through the Rus sian center.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
l am mad as he, If sad and merry madness equal be. Twelfth Night.
Gov. Huuhes' Public Utilities Bill

The lower house of the New York legislature passed without dissenting vote the utilities bill introduced at the instance of Governor Hughes, and the upper house will probably pass it, al- though there are gathered in it a lot of ringsters and grafters, but those ringsters and grafters are at present cowed to the point of passivity.
 Upon the bill Governor Hughes will go to the country. It is drastic meas ure, full of details, covering seventy four closely printed pages. It not only regulates rates of railways, oil pipe lines, gas, electric, water and power companies, but it defines their book keeping processes, prohibits stock watering and mergers and provides for all possible publicity. No bill has been passed so drastic, or so thorough ly thought out. Governor Hughes untiring brain no doubt was freely spent over it's pages.
 It puts out of office the present state board of railway commissioners, and all the duties of the new bill are de- volved upon two new public service commissioners, one to have jurisdic- tion in New York city and the rest of Long Island, and the other in the re- mainder of the state. The rapid transit commission is also abolished, and it's duties are transferred to the new pub lie service commission for Greater New York Each commission will con- sist of five persons, who will draw pay at the rate of $10Q00 a year. These men are removable by the governor at any time, thus throwing upon Governor Hughes full responsibility for the con duct of all public service corporations in his state.
 Full powers of investigation are given to the two commissions, and rebatng and pass giving are to have particular attention. Provision is made Tor the posting of schedules of rates and fares, and no change in them can Ae made except after thirty days mo- lice to the commission. All discrim- nations or preferences are forbidden Passes are as limited as they are m interstate commerce. False billing is especially condemned. The two com missions have power to determine maximum rates and fares, and they are also empowered to name the prices If gas or electricity
 The bill is very drastic in fines and nenalties, and no public service cor poration would long disobey either the nronosed law or the orders of the two commissions. 1t applies alike to all transportation companies, and street railroads are swept in among the steam companies. J
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
Natural Gas.

One of the best features. of the natural gas industry at Huntsville is the absence of anything like an effort to boom the stock of the company on the part of the maangement,' said a Birmingham man who owns a few shares of the stock. Nearly everybody I know has invested a little money In the stock, and from the way things look this stock will be a dividend payer before a great while; but no official of the company, so far as I can learn, has ever made any strong representation about it.
 The gasers' near Huntsville are un- questionably rich and the product has been piped into the city and is being gen. erally used there. still there has been no excitement. Had these gas wells been discovered and utilized in Atlanta or Birmingham there would have been no end of booming"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
THE CRY OF THE DREAM FIR.

By John Boyle Q fteilly I am tired of planning and toiling
 In the crowded hives of men: Heart weary of building and spelling,
 And spelling and building again, And I long for the dear old river,
 Where I dreamed my youth away; For dreamer lives forever,
 And a toiler dies in a day. I am sick of the showy seeming
 Of a life that is half a lie; Of the faces lined with scheming
 In the throng that hurries by. From the sleepless thoughts endeavor,
 l would go where the children play; For dreamer lives forever. And thinker dies in a day. I can feel no pride, but pity
 For the burdens the rich endure; There is nothing sweet in the city
 But the patient lives of the poor. Oh, the little hands too skilful,
 And the child-mind choked with weeds The daughters heart grown wiful,
 And the fathers heart that bleeds. No, no, from the streets- rude hustle,
 From the trophies of mart and stage, I would fly to the woods low rustic
 And the meadows kindly page Let me dream as of old by the river.
 And be loved for the dream 4alway; For dreamer lives forever,
 And toiler dies in day.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
REcoLLEcTloNs OF MAcLAREN.

sIn addition to being preacher, thlnKcr, and writer, Ian Maclaren was capital raconteur, says P. T. O. He had fund of anecdote relating to his lecture tours in America One man he met there had just come back from Jerusalem, alsap- pointed, dislllusioned. sir, that Holy Clty is a back number" he lamented. would you believe it, there isn't a single trolley car or daily newspaper in the whole placei' Another star-spangled gentleman followed him to Liverpool. tracked him to his house, sent up his card, and lmme- diately followed 1t into the authors study. My name Is Elijah K. Higgins, he breathlessly exclaimed, and am busy man you also are busy man, and have no time to fool away. Four days are all I can give to your United Kingdom, and I wished to shake hands with you. Good-by; I'm off to Drumtochty'-and he vanished. Drumtochty, it should be added. is the locale of, many of Ian Maclaren novels.
 One of his Scotch stories was of coun- sel who had fruitlessly defended a mur- derer What can I do for you?' asked the man of the law, when interviewing the convicted prisoner in his cell. Well, sir. if you could get my Sabbath clothes I should be muckle opieeged,' said the Scotchman. But what do you want them for?" uueried the counsel Well. sir to wear them on the occasion just to show my respect for the deceased was the reply On the subject of humor. Ian Mac laren's views were whimsical. Speaking at Burnley last year, he declared his pro- found conviction that a sense of humor was a hindrance to practical success in life Young men could congratulate them selves if they lacked this dangerous qual- .ity. he said; but if they had it they should hide it behind a sustained and i'm penetrable solemnity until they had achieved a competence, and keep 1t as a luxury for foolish old age.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
From the New York Evening Sun.

From the New York Evening Sun.
 N ARON KUROKI is one of the in- 10 teresting ahd leading figures in N the last few years of the history of Japan, and he has taken great part in the events which have changed Japan from a little island principally noted for its romance, to the imperial mistress of affairs in the far east. In the first place, Kurok is not originally the generals real name His father, who was Polish gentleman. bore the name of Kurowsld, but Kurowsk was too difficult a name for the Japanese to pronounce and for convenience it was shortened to Kuroki. s The generals father was a Pole, who fled from Russia after the revolution in 1881. After fighting in Turkey and in Borneo, he went to Japan and married a Japanese woman. He died there, and on his death bed, 1t is said, he expressed be able to avenge on the Russians some of the trouble which they had brought into his life. If this wish was ever made it was granted for General Kuroki was one of the most prominent figures in the war which the customers waged against the Russian empire.
 Perhaps 1t was his Polish blood which made Kurok take the side of the mikado against his own noble class of the Sa- mural when the Emperor went to war in 1868 for resoration. Ten years later, when another insurrecton broke loose, he was again on the side of the Emperor, and he took active part In the Chino-Japanese war and the Boxer uprising fin 1900, where he commanded the efficient Japanese troops which effected the rescue of the legations at Picking with Americans and other forces
 When the Russo Japanese war broke out Kuroki almost immediately sprang into chief place in popular view. It was at the battle of the Yalu river that he won his first victory. He and his troops made a 2OO-mlle march with speed with compared favorably with that of 8 detachment of cavalry only to find the Russians 10000 strong with field guns and
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
AESOP REVISED.

From the Chicago News
 The hare and tortoise were about to start on their celebrated race.
 Come on MT. Owl" said Bookmaker Fox, "and place a bet on your favorite. v
 Not on your. fur coat, Brother Fox, . laughed MT. Owl from his perch on the grandstand .'-
 What? Not going to bet? Why, I thought the Owl family had the reputa- ton of being wise.
 Just so, old chap: the truly wise neveg bet on races of any kind" . Later on when the race was over the packers of the Hare thought of MT. Owl and sighed
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
REFLECTIONS OF, A BACHELOR.

From the New York Press.
 What a girl likes about being girl Is that she isn't a man.
 It would be easier to understand why men like to smoke if it was against the law.
 If there was any way to make men practice what they preach they'd stop preaching.
 When a woman misses train she feels maybe it's providence because It might be wrecked.
 A man could have a lot more fun play ing solitaire at home than signing checks in club, but he's afraid his Friends wouldn't think so
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
GLOOMY GUS.
From the Baltimore Sun.

From the Baltimore Sun.
 Sratch man who cars nothing for base ball, whose pulse does not leap when the home team wins, whose brow does not grow cold and clammy when it faces a shutout and you will find a man who puts lead quarters into the collection plate and wishes that he were as rich and as sinful as E. H. Hartman. It would do such a man a lot of good If he could be forced to attend. say. twenty-five games It would reform and civilize him and make him walk in the path of truth and fairness. It would give him taste of the joy of honest victory and @ taste of the wholesome discipline of honest defeat. Baseball is the one perfect game. It is honest American and manly. It is an in- vigorating as six fingers of the best old rye and as pure as a bottle of Pasteurized milk.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
Blrminoham's Rails.

Since closing it's contract for the de- livery of nearly 16o,0oo tons of steel rails to the Hartman lines in 1908 the Ten nessee company has received pressing in quiries for 1909 rails, but has declined to make contracts so far ahead.
 The Tennessee company's big sale has naturally given new impetus to Ems ley said J. F. Lee of the Steel City. T met a New York friends the other day who is well informed. on the iron and steel trade and he told me that the contract which the Tennessee's sales manager made with the Hartman syndicate is the chief topic in business circles in the east. Prophets of Ensley had said for some time past that our town would ultimately become a great center of the steel rail in dustry but our position in that respect is now absolutely assured. The Tennessee company's plant as Ensley is already as- suming large proportions, but 1t is in it's infancy, compared with what it will be in two or three years from now"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES

OFF DAYS. Sometimes all the color dies out of our dreams And the hope in our hearts swings low, No joy-intuned measure our sadness re- deems. No pleasures attend as we go. Sometimes all the world seems but dark ling with gloom, And living is scarce worth the while But the color, the hope and the joy and the bloom Will return if you'll learn how to smile! ITS ALWAYS ON THE GO. And this is no idle jest" remarked the mmorist as he penned another motaer-in-law joke. Magazine editors go out and have pie nics with no fear Of being ambushed by poet whose stuff was rejected.
 THE RISKS WE RUN. Taking chances
 As we go,
 Trusting men we
 Scarcely know.
 Eating, drinking
 stuff that may
 Put us in
 'Hearse some day.
 Dodging autos
 On the street,
 Sliding under
 Horses feet.
 Germs of fell dis
 Eases rife.
 Microbes are a
 Part of life.
 Strange indeed, we
 Manage to
 Hump along and
 Hurry through
 So much that is
 Planned to make
 Undertakers
 Undertake! Reports from Ohio state that the dove of peace hasn't single tail feather left. "The cashier has returned" says a headline. In a case of that kind he is usually accompanied by detective. Sound the loud timbre,n sang immor- tai Tom Moore. Everybody'is doing that nowadays. No doubt the people are a hustling lot in the little town of Getup, Ala.
 GROWING.
 Open cars,
 Cheap cigars.
 Boston Globe End seat hog,
 Sits like log.
 Cleveland Plain Dealer. .Peekaboo,
 Lovely view. The New York Mail felicitously styles
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21

any other country has ever known, 1t will indeed have accomplished a task that preceding administrations did not dare to tackle.
 The courage and independence or the Roosevelt administration have rem dered it strong, and in the future the country will be sure to demand more like it in those respects.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
DOWNFALL OF PETE.
the Washington Herald.

From the Washington Herald.
 Pete Roosevelt has been thrashed within an inch of his life by a homely looking cur,'' says the Birmingham Age Herald Alas, poor Peter we know him well. Once he was a hero, now he is a has-been. Every dog has his day; and "Pete's' is in the past.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
IN HOTEL LoBBIES
Soft Drinks.

One class of business has profited by the street railway tie-up; I refer to the trade in soft drinks" said a man about town last night. 'sThe soda water trade is always fairly brisk in warm weather but the closing of the saloons and the large crowds on the streets combined to give 1t an unusual rush. At every soda water counter men were lined up all through the afternoon and evening. The volume Of business must have been at least double that of ordinary days"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
GlIreath as Trustee.

"The trustees for the distribution of the income of one million dollars which Miss Jeannes of Philadelphia has given for the common school education of negro chil- dren in the rural districts of the south include many distinguished men, said J. R. Ryan, but not one will give the matter wiser consideration or more earn est attention that MT. Belton Gilreath of Birmingham. Mir. Taft of President Roosevelt's cabinet, and Walter Page, ed- itor of Worlds Work, a native of North Carolina, and true southerner, are among Mir Gllnaths associates on the board of trustees. Each of these gentle men has had experience in educational matters, but MT. Gireath, being not only large employer of negro labor but a man who has been deeply interested in movements looking to the substantial ad- vancement of the negro race along right lines, is exceptionally fitted for the task imposed by Miss Jeannes.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-21
ALABAMA PRESS

Pine Belt News: The prosperity that simply ignores what is called panic must be the real thing
 Sheffield Standard: With wheat at the dollar mark and the corn crop already doomed, some of us may yet be com pelled to admit that q half loaf is better than no bread.
 Mobile Herald: On the astral plane the furniture is light and unbreakable' ana moving is not at all dreaded. You just wish that you and your belongings were where you want to go and you are there!
 Abbevllle Times: It has always been a mystery to us that young lady should make some poor fellow believe that she is interested in his welfare when as matter of fact she is interested only in his farewell
 Centreville Press: To a casual reader between the lines Congressman Hooson is not going to have as cordial greeting from his Alabama colleagues as one would naturally suppose he should have hut he is going to get there just the same.