davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
Three Hundred Years Aue

Yesterday was the three hundrdth
 anniversary of the actual landing of The first permanent white settlers in this country. The expedition sailed from England in January. It reached Chesapeake bay on April 26, 1907, the day three hundred years later on which the exposition was opened. The newcomers planted a cross at Cape Henry on the 29th, and on the 30th they stopped at Old Point Comfort, and on May 1S they landed at Jamestown, where they started permanent col. ony. King James I was on the throne, and the new town was therefore called Jamestown. The capes on either side of the mouth of Chesapeake were Kiven the names of his sons, Cape Charles and Cape Henry. Elizabeth md Sir Walter Raleigh were in their
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
TAXES IN ALABAMA.
From the Elba Clipped.


 Ned Brace in the Birmingham Age Herald marvels at the fact that in Bir- mingham more than half of the city's income is obtained from indirect taxes If he will investigate little he will learn that most Alabama towns and cities have this same unfortunate condition of af- fairs. The municipalities seem to be con- tent to receive the bulk of their income from vice, aspiration and misfortune, a queer trio to support towns and cities The income from vice is obtained through taxes on liquor selling or dispensary profits. That from aspiration Is obtained by license taxes on people who have, as a rule, little property, but are striving to acquire something in an occupation which Is taxed and practically every occupa- tion in Alabama towns is licensed. Mis- fortune contributes it's quota from the thousands of Saturday trunks" that are raked in by the Alabama policemen and who pay for being so unfortunate as to have a depraved appetite within reach of the means of gratifying 1t; misfortune's quota is labeled fines and costs" Accum- ulation under the constitutional limita- tions and state assessment methods pays but small part of its fair quota toward the support of Alabama towns and cities.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
SONG BIRDS OCEAN TRIPS.

From the New York Morning Telegraph
 Mme Sembrich, who sailed for Europe the other day, occupied a suit on board the steamer for which the sum of s11OO was paid. Caruso's quarters came a lit tie lower-S9o0 being the sum expended in getting him back to his dear Italy for the summer. There may be those who swmpathize with the impresarios who agree when they engage artists to pay their expenses both ways. This sympa- thy with Herr Conried and Director Ham, merstein we consider misplaced, however. After all, they calculate in advance the cost of a singer. and it matters little whether they pay the money over direct or hold out part of it for the steam ship lines.
 The expense really falls upon the public the people who pay anywhere from s5 to sloo each for the privilege of hearing the Sembrichs and the Carusos sing
 And so long as the public is satisfied no kind of criticism is likely to change pres ent conditions.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
Iafferaon County Roads.

q wish Congressman Hobson would visit Birmingham and deliver lecture on the condition of some of our county roads," said farmer to a group of men assembled in the court house yes- terday. q travel the road between Iron dale and Leeds and I assure you 1t reflects anything but credit on the county.
 Last fall that road was left in pretty good shape and continued so for some time as we had very fine weather. It was a common thing to see automobiles com Ing out in that direction, and many peo- pie were favorably impressed with the surrounding country and contemplated purchasing sites for summer homes; but now all that has been abandoned on account of the ruts and bad places in the road, which would upset and break any sort of vehicle getting caught in them.
 What makes the matter worse for us is the thought that this condition could have been so easily prevented in the start If the ditches had been cleaned out which a man could do with a hoe, the waters would not overflow the road, but the ditches are allowed to fill up, the culverts to become choked with sand and the road Is reduced to puddle.
 People are talking about keeping the farmer on his land they make big talks about the pleasures of country life; but the man who makes his way to the city through mud and mire, jolted and bump ed over a bad road looks with envy on the macadam streets In Birmingham. h. stead of spending $5Oo,OoO on a new jail and court house 1t would be better for the people of Jefferson county If that money were spent on road repairing and bridge building. I haven't brought my wire or daughter to town in two months because they can't stand the shaking up they get between home and Birming- ham,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
SENATOR PLATES REGRETS.

From the New York World.
 Millions may fall down and worship the name of the Little Father in the White House, other millions may rise up and call him blessed, but poor old Senator Platt in his infirmity has no keener re- gret than that he should be responsible for Theodore Roosevelt's promotion from Albany to Washington. It was the crown ing blunder of his life
 I've been sorry every time I thought of it." he says with a sigh "I never wanted Theodore Roosevelt to be Presi- dent. It was a mistake, as I see it now for me to make his vice president an6 give him chance to be President"
 Think of the only real original Roosc- velt man cursing his luckl Then think of all the politicians, big and little, of all parties, that are proud to catch the splashings from the Roosevelt triumphal car as 1t wheels past
 Wasn't 1t Platt, the New York boss who opposed the renomination of Cover nor Black in 1898 and picked out the
  We got along we'll enough in those days" Wasn't 1t Platt, the New York boss, who providentally opposed the re- nomination of Governor Roosevelt in 1900 and got rid of him by kicking him up stairs into the vice presidency? Ot course 1t was, and nobody knows the circumstances better than Senator Platt and President Roosevelt.
 If It had not been for Senator Platt we might never have had rate regulation meat inspection, the peace of Portsmouth the prosecution of the Standard oil, the Hartman row, and in fact all the works of Theodore the Gift of God. Senator Platt misprizes his services. Probably the future historian will remember him only as the man who made President Roosevelt possible.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
County Convicts and Fees

Louisiana and Mississippi" says the Mobile Register, have given up the barbaric practice of hiring convicts to contractors, and Alabama will have to follow suit to maintain the reputation of the state for progress. We may lose something in revenue, but we will sure lv gain much more in the conscious ness of having placed the unfortunates of the state out of the reach of avarice that begets cruelty"
 So far as state convicts are con cerned this state is rapidly regaining or retaining control of her convicts. The chief trouble arises from the gath ering under the fee system of an un- due number of county convicts, and the handing of them over to the tender mercies of contractors without super vision or safeguard of any sort. The situation could not well be worse. Dr. Bragg says the county convicts soon "pass from this earth" If they are not whipped to death, they soon develop tuberculosis or other disease, and Dr. Bragg thinks it would be more humane to kill them, directly instead of in- directly.
 The fee system is as barbarous as the contractors, and between the two the reputation of the state is suffering severely. The Register mentions two persons who were each fined one dollar and costs in Escambia county. Under the fee bill the costs in each case footed up $16.50, or s17.50 all told. They had no money, and each was sen fenced to sixty-six days at hard labor: The county collected from their labor s44.5O apiece, instead of $17.50 fine and costs. In one county Is negro woman working out sentence of 2S6 days be- cause of fee-bill costs amounting to s35!
 No wonder the state board of con vict inspectors says "the county con- vict system. if anything, is worse than ever before in its history" It will get worse year by year so long as the fee system and contract system are per mitted by the legislature to stand in this state. Charles Ford, who was committed for vagrancy, was whipped to death, and his case has become known, but the state board of convict inspectors say a large number are killed every year by barbarities and inhumanities, and no report is made, no attention of the authorities is given. Every convict in Alabama" say the state inspectors, whose sentence ex- oeeds six months should be sent to the penitentiary, and those under six months should be hired in the county of conviction"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
Cotton Goods Rates

The interstate commerce commls- lsion has decided in a case arising In lGeorgia that. the New England mills are entitled to lower railroad rates to sthe Pacific coast than the southern k,,,ills The decision was written by Commissioner Lane, who says
 ..The fact that such rates from the southeastern states are higher than those Aobtaining from the New England states sloes not in and of itself estaphsh the ainreasonabIeness of the higher rates as nhe conditions existing at the two locali- Niles are dissimllar. The New England mills which suffer by the competition or 4be more favorably situated southern mills from the standpoint of the produc- Aion are entitled to such adVantase III rates as they have from being sltuateu at points closer to ports where cheap Nvater competition has been estaplsheo 'o She Pacific coast points of consumption. Srha existence of a lower rate in the Aon,euhat mast does not necessarily prove anything of value in ascertainlng the TeaSOnaDleneSS or Il ihto N
 This simply means that the NC" England mills are to enjoy lower rates on shipments of cotton goods to China' and there is no help for it until the Panama canal is opened. when south- ern cotton goods will be sent to the Far East without going to any railroad terminals on our Pacific coast. They will be shipped direct without break inf bulk to terminals on the Chlnese coast.
 Tn the meanwhile the south VIII have to deal with the Pacific under some disadvantages unless it can send cotton goods along with raw cotton at all-water rates. New England gets the advantage of water rates without using them, while the south must ship by -water in order to get water rates. This is the purport of the decision, and the New England mills have won point at the expense of their southern rivals.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
LYNCHING IN ALABAMA.

From the Washington Post.
 Judge Thomas G. Jones of Alabama, has rendered a startling judgment in which he holds that lynching in the states is a crime against the United States. If that be sound law 1t necessar- fly follows that any otter crime perpe- trated in the states is an offense against the United States and may be dealt with by federal court
 There has sprung up in this country a school of political and judicial philoso- phy that teaches that the best and the most effectual way to reform evil Is to violate the constitution of the United States. Here Is an example: Lynching in Alabama is an evil; the state of Ala bama has not cured it. What is to be done? Nothing simpler. The federal es- tablishment must do 1t. What will fol- low? Merely this: Stealing in Alabama is an evil; the state of Alabama has not suppressed It. What shall we do? Put the United States after the rogues.
 If this Is to be the policy, what sort of useful purpose does the state or Ala bama, or any other state, serve? What reason is there for its continued exist ence? Suppose the governor of Alabama should pardon a fellow charged with lynching. Would Judge Jones indlct him, try him, convict him, sentence him, and execute him?
 The thing is insideous because the best citizenship has a horror of the crime of lynching, and hence Judge Jones Is ap- plauded by people who ought to reflect that a conviction by a court without ju- risdiction of the offense is itself lynch ing more dangerous to the body polite than lynching by the mob. England sui fered a great deal more from the convic- ton of Alice Lisle at the Bloody As size," held by Judge Jeffreys, than she did from Buckingham's murder of Shrewsbury, or Mohuns murder of Ham ilton. If we are pound to have lynch ings in this country, by all means let it be by the mobs rather than by the courts.
 Public opinion Is the proper cure for lynchings. Public opinion civilized the Highlands of Scotland in the eighteenth century and eradicated assassination there The courts had tried it for gen. erations and failed. So lynchings and all other methods of murder should be dealt with in this country-cured by public opin- ion Governments, like individuals, should learn that the best way in the world to avoid trouble is to leave other folks business alone.
 And again, very effectual way to pre-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
A FOOT OF SIZE.
7rom the New York Press.

From the New York Press.
 A young man wrote to a New York deal CT in sporting goods for pair of steel shanked, ball-bearing roller skates. men tionlng that the length of his foot was thirteen inches. This appeared to be so extra ordinary that 1t provoked comment among the employees in the store. and there was general measuring of feet. The longest was 11A inches. And the tallest man in the crowd was feet 1o1s inches. Some scientists have said that to be in perfect proportion the length of mans foot should be exactly 15 per cent of his full stature. Let's see: Take . 6-foot man-that means 72 inches; ac- cording to this formula his foot should be 1O.S inches long. Our young friend proved to be feet 2 inches tall, or H inches. Fifteen per cent of this would give him a foot It, inches long.
 Give me the man of the big foot and big ear. An undersized foot indicates a finical disposition. An undersized ear is a positive sign of selfishness Generous men of broad intellect and liberality have more than 15 per cent of foot and ears.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
Indicated Winter Wheat Crop

The agricultural department esti- mated the condition of winter wheat on May three points below the ten year average, and the price of wheat was at once pushed up 6 cents bushel in Chicago, and flour in Birmingham and elsewhere in the south was ad- vanced about 20 cents barrel.
 These advances are based on the de- partment's percentage. This percent ages calls for crop of winter wheat amounting to 4O5, ,1o1 ,00o bushels, as against crop of 492,888,Oo4 bushels grown in 1906.
 But after all the crop scare may be overdone. A loss of 88,000,000 bushels would, it Is true, be felt, but the har- vesting of the crop will not be begun in less than thirty days, and a marvel ous improvement in last. years crop took place in the last thirty of It's growing days.
 There are, too, 6,664, 900 bushels of winter wheat in farmers hands as against 15S,403,OOO bushels on May 1, 1906, and so 1t Is possible that between the wheat on hand and an improve ment in the growing crop to start even with the great product of 1906.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
Hay Raising In Alabama.

'I think some of the Alabama farmers are letting a rich opportunity pass up to the west in not raising more hay" said a wholesale feedstuffs dealer yesterday.
 "Thousands of acres of land in this state should yield a rich profit in hay, where the planter is just about coming out square on 1o-cent cotton. Take, for example, a hundred-acre field planted to hay. The production should easily be 300 tons In the market today the prod uct would bring a minimum of 5000. out of 5000 there should be a profit of $SOO or 5000. There is certainly money in that. And then, too, grass enriches the soil every year; cotton saps the fertility
 "The labor question does not figure so materially in hay raising as in cotton cul- ture, either.
 Johnson grass is coarse, staple nay but is generally unpopular because when once planted 1t is there for all time, and the land Is not available for other crops. Johnson grass hay is selling on the local retail market at SIS per ton, however. Of course, there are numerous other nay crops that will produce bountifully In l this Alabama soil. I can see big, easy | money in an Alabama hay ranch
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
THE PILOT" LIGHT.
rom the Boston Herald.


 The London Chronicles "Office Win dow says few people outside the actors profession know what is meant by the pilot" light. When the performance is over, and the cabs and carriages are rapidly carrying the play-goers to their homes. the theatre lights are turned out, and what was a scene of brilliant illum- ination, alive with the sound of merry voices. peopled with men and women, boys and girls. is an empty cavery, shrouded in silence and Vmost total darkness. At first the darkness seems everywhere But after few minutes the eye of the solitary loiterer is directed to a single bright spot that glimmers at him far away up in the roof of the the atre. This is the pilot" light. which is never extinguished, which burns night and day from the time London theatre is opened throughout the whole of it's ex- istence.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
Holland, in the Philadelphia Press.


 ~IoHN W. GATES. speaking for (On publication a day or two ago, - mentioned the independence of what is still called ''the west" with re- spect to money or loanable capital. MT. Gates spoke with enthusiasm of the mag nifcent deposits reported by the banks of Chicago, approximating, as he said, the deposits of the New York city banks. These deposits are very large and they are relatively matched by the splendid gains in deposits reported by banks of other cities of the west. The illustration would have been better made perhaps had MT. Gates spoken with more detail, so that it would be known whether he re- ferred to the gross deposits as reported by the Chicago banks, making comparison by the Associated Banks of New York city Here the reports made to the clear ing house each week tell only of net de- posits. The understanding is that the Chicago banks report gross deposits. Some or our banks would be able to re- port many millions more than the clearing house sheets show if the figures told of gross instead of net deposits. It prob- ably would make difference in the fig ures of the City bank alone of some s3o.- 00o,0OO or $4O,0O0,OOO
 However, there is better way of prov ing the accuracy of Mir. Gates statement Until within a year or two there always began in the west in the spring months a current, so rapidly increasing that 1t becomes majestic in volue, that bore to the banks of New York city great funds that had been accumulated by the west ern banks. That current was suddenly checked, turned upon itself by the be- glning of August. It told the story of the splendid ebb and flow of funds, reflect ing agricultural and commercial and mar ket conditions throughout the United States. It served to swell greatly the re- ports made by the New York banks of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
A GARDEN SONG.

By Austin Dobson.
 Here, in this sequestered close Bloom the hyancinth and rose; Here beside the modest stock Flaunts the fiaring hollyhock; Here, without pang, one sees Ranks, conditions, and degrees. All the seasons run their race In this quiet resting-place; Peach, and apricot, and fig Here will ripen, and grow big: Here is store and overplus- More had not Alcinous! Here, in alleys cool and green, Far ahead the thrush is seen; Here along the southern wall Keeps the bee his festival; All is quiet else-afair
 Sounds of toll and turmoil are. Here be shadows large and long; Here be spaces meet for song; Grant. O garden-God, that I. Now that none profane is nigh Now that mood and moment please Find the fair Pierides!
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
library Movement.

The library spirit is increasing in Bir- mingham. Dr. Thomas D. Parke, one Of the most enthusiastic advocates of the literary project, said yesterday:
 I've must popularize the library move- mcat The people must be interested and be given something definite to do in aid ing the library movement so that all the work shall not be put upon the exec utive commltteee.
 "fhe main object now in view by the library association is to increase the mem bership and increase the interest in the proposed institution. The general public must help shape the policy of the as- sociation and general cooperation Is necessary.
 ''1 nere is plenty of wealth in Birming haih and plenty of public spirited men who are able to contribute handsomely to the fund and who, l am sEe, will heartily favor structure erected en- tirely by local subscriptions. We have several costly club houses here, built by a small number of people for definite purpose, and magnificent collection of pubic school buildings costing over one and a half million dollars. Then why should not the comparatively small sum needed for a public library be readily secured when the benefits of such an in- stitution shall apply to all alike?
 Let the people who want books and who buy them for themselves turn their attention to the desire of others for books but who cannot get them and apply their energies to this project.
 No definite plans for raising the nec- essafy funds have been made, but these matters will be worked out by the time the next public meeting is to be held, three weeks from next Thursday"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Powell Avenue Crossing.

'I have several times called attention to the neglect of the Powell avenue cross ing at Twentieth street, the one that the Southern railway is supposed to main taln," said South Highlander last night. But the company seems to ignore that crossing completely It is so bad that street car can hardly get over it with safety, and then only after the passen- gers have received a severe pumping.
 "The matter was taken up by Vice President and General Manager c. H. Ackert and new tracks were ordered. This was a month or so ago, mad even before that time lesser officials of the Southern had had the matter up. think that the convenience and safety of the public demands that the Southern repair that crossing. Thousands of people pass over it daily and everyone that pases over 1t comments on it's roughness'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
Iron Production

I If iron is still an unfailing barometer Inf general business, the outlook Of trade is certainly promising, for all ac' counts agree that the demand for the great commercial metal is unchecked Not only is it unchecked, but it shows no signs of abatement this year or even next year.
 And yet production goes on at abso- .sxitely unprecedented figures. The fol lowing table gives the actual produc- ltion in the first four months of each of the last four years:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14

The actual production in 1906 was 25.3O7 ,191 tons, and experts do not hesitate to predict total output this year of 27 ,5OO ,OOO tons of all classes of pig iron. The daily average last month was 73,SS5 tons, which was at the rate of nearly twenty-seven million tons a year, and charcoal iron is not in- cluded.
 But great as the production is, 1t is all absorbed by the rolling mills and steel plants and melters of this coun- try, and the utmost our stacks can ac- romplish seems to be to stop importa- tions of pig iron. That is all we can 70 in this great tide of industrial activ- lty and general development.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-14
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR.
,m the New York Press

From the New I OrK Press.
 Even a man with sidepurns can have sense about something.
 A woman likes you for admiring her new dress, especially if it isn't.
 Fishing was invented to make man appreciate how different going to church is.
 A man can never tell by the year he was born in how much younger his older sister is than he.
 Either a woman Is proud because her husband dresses correctly or respects him because he won't give any thought of 1t.