davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-10
Our County Convict system.

tSlrHlnkndH ABC-IlCldAos
 It Is not often that an American state secures of late the services of a man so frank, courageous and clear sighted as pr. Shirley Brsgg. presi- dent of the State Board of Convict In spectors. He has been so frank, cour- ageous and clear sighted that he Is not to be reappointed, and that in ltselr IS a compliment to him. to Governor Jelks. should be read and re-read by the legislature. He quesss tions to bgin with the moral rights or depths of the earth six days in the week Miners work but two or three but convicts do not see sunshine ana
 daylight six days in the week. pr; Bragg has, however. made the best or the Situation, and the death rate among the convicts has been materially re- duced that arouses every drop of blood in pr Bragg's honest heart. Founded as that system is on fees and fines 1t Is hope lessly' bad from top to bottom. As Tor humanity and civilization would be best served at them by applying the torch to every one of them. There is not one exception. pr. Bragg aoas; better to stake the prisoner out with a ring around his neck like wild anl- nal, than to confine him in places that and disease, and alive with vermin of all n,d kinds aSs They a5s disease not 0plf 6at they o are Heath unqgTTstiona0l Ts see nnr man strong and healthy go to jail in Ala bama and in a few months come out physical and mental wreck. with death staring him in the face. is not an overdrawn picture, and one seen more often than the general puollc would believe. The State approprlates 30 cents day for the feeding Of prls- oners, and yet we receive prisoners from these same jails who are on the verge of collapse for the want of nour- ishment. Surely there must be some way of reaching those in authority There should be a jail inspector, per haps two. with the power and authofl- ty to see that these places are Kept in proper condition and that prison CTS are properly fed. These inspee- tors should be- men who know somSI thing about sanitation. and above all who would be fearless in the pertof- nance of their duties.
 T tell no secrets when l say that In many jails of the State men and Won'- en remain for months without means of washing their faces or hands
 Every member of the Legislature knows that pr. Bragg but states the truth in his official report. and It VIII be strange indeed if Reform with Dis R Is not instituted in our county con vict system by our new reform legls- Ia atlra
The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-10
TODAY M HISTORY

Name Day: Paurs Imp. Sun rises at
 1765.~stamp act, passed the British parliament.
 vention dissolved itself and assumed legislative powers, chose twelve couh- selors as an executive branch, and delegates to Congress, who were rec ogniZed.
 79l.-vermont, the last of the thirteen original States which com posed the Union, adopted the constltu- tion and took her place in the Confed-
 GSS6.-rhe tailors of New oYrk city formed the first organization Tn that city having the character or traoe union c.,
 lSI5.-The British under General Lambert. having abandoned the enter prise of New Orleans, began to re,em- bark their artillery ana munitiohs' preparatory to a general retreat
 lSI6.-The schooner Eliza cast away near Newport; the captain and crew saved by Commodore Perry, who with part of the crew Of the Irlgats Java went i've miles in boat to their re-
 ISso.-The Baltimore and Ohio Rail road completed almost to Ellicott Clty, Md, and pleasure parties made the 'fiS 9Ss55 &Great number of unemployed workmen in New York were meeting every day. marching through the streets, carrying DdhhtIS ph "AASA were such notices as: we want Worh' we must have it. .,-.-
 is56.-Thomas H. Perkins, wealthy and liberal Boston merchant, died aged S9. His was the first American firm engaged in the China trade.
 1861 Florida convention adopted an ordinance of secession by 8. vote of sixty-two to seven. Florida seized Me
 1Ss2.-Colonel Garfield defeated the Southerners under Humphrey Marshall at Petersburg, Ky
 1s6S.-Secretary Seward announced to Tthe House that twenty-one States ratified the fourteenth article of the
 IST5.-For three hours In the early afternoon at Chicago the mercury
 1903 Sixteen car loads of coal con- fscated by a party composed of 800 of inc leading citizens of Arcola, Ill, as protest against high price.
 1905. General Fitzhugh Lee and others appear before House commit ices in behalf of appropriation for Jamestown Exposition.
 Service by American Press-News, Washington, D. CD
The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-10
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Higher Education In Alabama. Ta1narx, e tQnT
or of The Advertiser.

Editor of The Advertiser.
 From time to time during the last three or four months we have been told In the public press by those aon- and It's Alumni that. unless that insti- tuition shall secure a decided expan- sion in buildings and equipment. hun dreas of youths Wiii De rs forced dnes tG go tion. or to seek them at greater cost in other more progressive states"
 have not the slightest desire desire. ,sn syep the progres of the University of Ala bama. As a citizen of the State would be glad of it's development; as q tax payer I am perfectly willing to ns in sympathy with all movements, for the education and development of
 But when. more than once, the state ment is boldly made that in the Uni versity of Alabam alone higher edu- cation in Alabama is found. and thai from the State larger support, young men can not secure wider intellectual development, unless they go to other states. I am constrained to take issue through ignorance or some other req son unknown to me, practically de- clare that there are no other tnstitu- tions of higher learning In our state.
 These gentlemen mays mot be aware of the fact, but to speak especially concerning an institution with whose history and activities & l am somewHads anostsd in the years of its existence men who have held positions quite as important as the alumni of the University or ton as great in every department CT work as have the students of that 1n- stitution. To consult the roster ot alumni of Howard College hert IS 10 nnom ail intellectual development, the graduates of this college, both in Alabama and m other states, such as Massachusetts, Virginia and Kentucky, as well as ,n Japan, have stood and are standing m the front rank of men who bring things to pass and who win, as they deserve. the e1eominmf iT,ifvs,tn or tnouhni os nis. bama, and trust that all citizens eI our State arc its friends, would do we'll to remember that there are some their institution and not its alumni. who also know the meaning of higher education and who would regard as ab- if The fSat dd ths not at Tus caloosa is the only real college m this State. Our great institution at Auburn is doing 8 work which places 1t in the America; while it's graduates are re- flectIng honor, not only upon their noble Alma Mater. but also upon the CT Ignorance on the one hand nor seen- Ing arrogance on the other can inter feTe with the progress of denomIna- tional colleges like Howard. Greens boro and Owenton.
 These institutions, standing not only for the broadest culture, but for High spiritual development as we'll are making for the cause Of the worth fest citizenship and of genuine schol- arship contributions which are of the utmost value to our State and to our entire country.
 A. F. Montague.
The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-10


 years. lsss to 1900. footed up slas,7il. up sSr aas,sa ths six years lsol-os they footed The difference in the last six years to the benefit of the State was s1,1s2,667 The Governor has no words of com rnendation for the county convict sys- tenn.
 Earnings from convicts and whis- key licenses, the Governor thinks, should be turned into the school fund lock- ing particularly to the support of re- formatory institutions. On this line. he says.
 1 should say. are made so either direct ly or indirectly by the luse of ardent spirits. The convict camps are large ly camps for whlskey graduates Why fortunates and the income from H. eenses to reform the boy, or strength en him through a proper educatioh, against future temptation. This Wouid be great departure from the State financial system. and ought to be pro vided for with due reference to future possible treasury balances. In this connection the Municipal Code which minimum license for the sale of whis- key. which should be higher than known in the average city of this State before. take it that you will pass a local option law, but not less impor- tant is higher minimum, license, de- pendent upon population.
 He thinks bucket shops should be taxed out of existence.
 On the question of the surplus, the Governor has some interesting re- marks. He says:
 If the State might be considered firm or corporation and had gone out of business on December 1st, the bal ance of, certainly as much as $915, ,304.- 40, would have been distributed to its stockholders. It would have been free of any obligation which could have touched any part of 1t. The stockhold- CTS in that case would have been en- titled to 1t as dividend.
 The net balance for the last year s business amounted to S396,954.9s. Thas Is to say this amount was received above the disbursements and may be called the years profit.
 We call special attention of our readers, everywhere, to the remarks of the Governor, under the head "A final word" It is an inspiring re- sume that he makes and ought to make every Alabamian feel proud.
The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-10
only .BnI.y in This Club,

Excelsior Springs (Mo.) Dispatch to
 San Francisco Chronicle.
 One hundred men and three women attended the third annual diner of the Bill Club, No. l. of the World, here last night. Bill Bryan of Nebraska, who was counted on as one of the big attractions, was not able to be present, nor were several of the honorary mem. Stone, Bill Nelson Bill Wallace, Bill Lynch. Bill Heart and a score of other Bills. N7 ~
 Judge Bill Fowler acted as toast instrumertaI music. and the Bill Quar- tet, composed of Bill Brownell, Bill De- haven, Bill Wallace and Bill Courtney, sang songs glorifying the Bills. ena, Wilma, or willamette is eligible to membership in the club.
The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-10
THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 1907.
A GOOD SPEECH.

It is at all times pleasant to get a whiff of genuine States Rights doc Urine from the far Northwest, as we get 1t in the speech of Senator Gearin of Oregon. It is true that the Senator is q Democrat, and that his sentiments should be the sentiments of all Demo- erats. but he was born and brought up in Oregon, and many Democrats in the great Nordland are somewhat weak on one of the cardinal and basic principles of sound Democracy. Possibly it is not always good politics to advocate the doctrine up there.
 california" said MT. Gearin in the course of his speech, "is under no obligations to the Federal government to have public schools or any kind of schools at all. And if she does have them it is her province and not that of the Federal government to say how they shall be maintained. and how con- ducteds and under what conditions" All of which is we'll said and to the point. The speaker took very positive ground in opposition to the Presidents 8 contention regarding the effect of the treaty with Japan, and all through his speech showed thorough knowledge of the Limitations Of the Federal gov ernment and of the relative powers. rights and privileges of the general and State governments. He denied most emphatically that there was any thing in the Japanese treaty or any authority in the government under the Constitution to force mixed schools on the people of California or any other State. The speech of MT. Gearin and the doctrines enunciated by him are to be commended.
The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-10
SIDEWALK PENClLINCS
Are Not in poIitics.

T was sorry the Impression went out from the State Convention of the Southern Cotton Association here the other day. that the Association Is in 1i any ties" said an enthusiastic member Of the organization yesterday. We want to clear our skirts of anything that smacks of politics, and our con. stitution specially provides that we shall not dabble in politics in any manner. shape or form.
 i Tt is true we appointed legislative committee to lock after and guard the ent Legislature, but that should not be construed as an entry into politics. The various. colleges of the State are making strong plea for larger appro- priations, and they are bent upon look ing after their interests, but no one will admit that an institution of learn ing enters into politics. They have no special axe to grind or personal bills something that Is of general benefit to SThe attitude of the farmers is much the same. If we should suggest certain beneficial to the farming interests, it would be what the thousands of farm CTS in Alabama want and need. It could not be counted that we are after political pie or pet legislation. What we do is for the good of all of us, and 1 can't discern the harm in having our representatives urge the legisla- tors to do something for the agricul- tural interests"
 1910 Movement Begins.
 'The first real step to the realiza- tion the 1910 mvemcnt. was taken tday." commented one of Montgomery's business men who is taking an active part in the work for the success of the movement. Tn the erection of the ten foot fence around the Court Square and Commerce street side of the Moses building preparatory to tearing away the old building on that site, which is to be modern and up-to-date in every "The fence is built fifty feet from the building, and is designed for the protection of the public. It is espe- ciaily gratifying to the promoters of the movement for progression in Mont gomery that the work on this build Ing is to be started at once" green, was in Montgomery yesterday.
 Ss Se @
 MT. Nat Barker, of Birmingham, was in the city last night.
 5e A $
 Mir. J. D. Henderson, of Sanford, was in Montgomery last night.
 $ % $
 MT. J. w. Cunningham, of Birming- ham, is in the city.
 & x &
 MT. M. M Kuffner, of Birmingham. Is in Montgomery.
 SS % %
 MT. John Sanford. of Huntsville, is visiting the city
The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-10
War,n Huge Haryest.

Tn the so-called glorious victories of Caesar 1.00O, 900 men perished on the field of battle. Napoleon, in the short space of nine years. was authorized to devote to the glory of France" 2,1o3,- 900 of her sons. Tn the ten years fol- lowing the attack on Fort Sumter the world destroyed in war 1,4o0,00O lives and $6, 900, 100000 worth of property {, Two thirds of the combined budgets of the various States of Europe are devot- ed to the maintenance of armed forces and to theNservice of a debt practically the whole of which was incurred by wars. War expenses in Europe absorb one-half of all the wealth created by productive labor. In the comparatively insignificant war of England with the Boers, England lost 22,450 men and and fifty thousand men were with drawn by her from productive induatry to engage in the destruction of war. Military expenditures in the United States during the last eight years have absorbed $1, 500, ,000,00.
The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-10
A Crime Against Society.
"The Moral Aspects of Suicide" b
 Cardinal Gibbons in the Januar

"The Moral Aspects of Suicide, by
 Cardinal Gibbons in the January
 Century.
 Voluntary self-murder is not only violation of the divine law, but is also a crime against society. We are so- cial beings We owe a duty to the commonwealth as well as to ourselves. We mutually depend on one another, like the members of our physical body. For none of us liveth unto himself; and no man dieth to himself" Human society may be compared to a grand army, every member of which has a special place and mission assigned to him by his Sovereign Commander. To abandon the post of duty intrusted to a sentinel is regarded by the military code as a most cowardly act, which IS punished with extreme rlgor. What less does the suicide do than basely abandon the situation assigned to him in the warfare of life? And there Is no vice more contagious than cowardly desertion. It is often followed by a general mutiny. The same is true of suicide When few deeds of self murder are widely circulated by the press they are not infrequently fol- lowed by numerous voluntary slaugh- ters. A suicidal wave rolls over the land
The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-10
PRESIDENT WAS INaUIsITIvE.
Tried to Solve the Vital Yam Question
 In the Canal Zone.

Tried to Solve the Vital Yam Question
 In the Canal Zone.
 Golfers Weekly.
 The President of the United States questioning black West Indian labor CT was as polite as he was to dlvision engineer, but equally as tnsistent Witni (There are some men on the isthmus. l think, who will hear this expression in their dreams). To the problem or yams he turned with the same coneen- between Russia and Japan. or the taxa ton of great fortunes. And yams are really a great problem. Even as ps dint of oatmeal the Scotch cultiyatsd mus labor builds tracks and umps the cars and digs locomotives out Of the mud It is the rice of the Jamaican.s Orient, the black bread or ms Russia' the potato of his Ireland.
 When one of the negroes that gath. cred around the President complained that he could not get good yams from the commissary, the man from Cook Gone of them representing the commits sary) explained that when they were bad the purchaser need not take them. The negro insisted that the clerk at the oonmissary who threw them at him
 We will go to the commissary and see the yams," said the President.
 Those in stock had some spots spots HSt pus when opened the meat was good. Ine Jamaican clerk insisted that yams found bad might be returned
 Have you ever tried to return the bad ones?" the President asked the negro.
 why notr' the President pursued.
 T would not stoop to do such a thing" was the florid and dignified ul-
 Everybody laughed except the Pres ident. This foolish response did not finish the subject for him. He went into 1t again the next day at the com missary at Colon: Now he had ;n sua the cient in quantity and the commissary charged a higher price than the Chi- nations, and still he stuck to his point that what he wanted to know was why the United States could not sell yams as cheap as the Chinese dealers. There were observers of the Presidential method of questioning who remarked that the head of a nation who would go so thoroughly into the problem Of yams might sift any other subject to the bottom. So all government em- ployes please make note.
The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-10

year by men who have not mastered the trade which they claim to under stand. Az soon as . young man can distinguish the difference between a handsaw and jackplane he is a car penter. If he can tell mortar from pancake batter he is q piasterer. If he can pick paint brush out of a pile where half of the bunch are whisk brooms he hangs up his sign as a painter. If he can screw the lid on a fruit jar so 1t won't leak he is plumb- CT. Lawyers and doctors are obliged to pass examinations in their profess sion before they are permitted to en- gage in their work. but the public is imposed upon by men who but in' iu a trade a business or a profesf lon which they do not understand and have not fitted themselves for.
The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-10
noynl Nevrpaper Writers.

In the course of the recent sotourn or King George of Greece. in Paris long article was published in q newspaper of that city, dealing with the condi- tions in the land of Crete. The article bore the signature of one of the editors. but it has been learned since that the signature was fictitious and that It's true author was the King. King George is not the first monarch to avail himself of an opportunity to pub fish his views on pending question or the day. Emperor William or Ger many, who as early as 1e48 realized the ever growing importance of the press. published in The Preussisehe Wehr- Zeitung several articles on military topics. Napoleon III, whenever out
 voted in his council of ministers and compelled to consent to some measure he opposed, would go over to the oppo- sition of his own Government. He supported in Brussels a newspaper, or which no notice would have been taken
 had 1t not been an open secret that it was fed from the Tuileries. After the publication of the Emperor's decision, this Brussels paper would print an edi- torial attacking it violently. and this editorial was written by the Emperor himself. After Napoleon'e fall there were found among his papers the out- lines of a serial novel, to be published in the newspapers of the provinces. that was to depict the rule of the Bo- napartes in the most brilliant colors. King oscar of Sweden has contributed many articles to Swedish newspapers.
The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-10
Settling It.
Columbia State.

Columbia State.
 Says The Montgomery Advertiser: "The Norfolk Landmark winds up the old year by asking what is the plural of grapefruit, apd we may expect the question to be batted around until worn out. By the way, why Is there any necessity for plural in the case? Who wants more than one of the thingsT' Advertiser, we should say that 1t is more necessary to have plenty of them than 1t is to know the correct plural The grapefruit Is pretty near to being about the best of all fruit. The ques- ton about the plural reminds one of Bill Yves query about the plural of 'Johnny jump up"-whether we should pluralize Johnny Or jump or up. The words alternately. until 1t gets a form to suit its taste. If 1t doesn't like either, or both. 1t might experiment with shaddocks or pomelos.
The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-10
Pauer Garments.

Sufficient attention has been directed toward the warmth generated in the body by paper vests to demonstrate the fact that thereN is reason for serious of paper garment manu- fracture. There have been for some time past vests made of paper, also cuffs. collars, shirt bosoms. etc, but it has remained for a firm in Saxony to into finished fabrics of common use. paper and cotton and paper and wool are so combined that servieeable out ing suits jackets, skirts and many oth. CT articles of dress wear are now being produced. The new textile, if so It may be called, is cream colored, and may be washed repeatedly without in- turing the surface, and is marketed for h ridiculously small price. Sufficient xylolin. as it is called. to produce a complete suit costs but two or three dollars. Doubtless means will soon be found by which the liner fabrics may be reproduced through the use ot paper, to which end numerous invent ors are now at work.