davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03

Another evidence of the imprudence of federal commanders and the humane dis position of General Forrest was given the following day. General Buford moved along the dirt road, parallel to the rail road, toward Pulaski, but Forrest turned somewhat eastward, with part of his command, to Elkton, Tenn. And it was between Elkton and Pulaski, on the Brown plantation, that he found sit uation refecting but little credit on the humanity or discretion of the enemy. For rest says At this place I found about 200 negroes, consisting mostly of old men. women and children, besides large amount of comnissary stores and medical supplies General Buford having com pleted the destruction of the blockhouses and bridge at Elk river, joined me at Browns plantation, where l issued to my entire command several days rations, distributing among the troops as much sugar and coffee as they needed. The ne- groes were all ragged and dirty, and many seemed in absolute want. 1 or dered them to remove their clothing and bed clothes from the miserable novels in which they lived and then burned up this den of wretchedness. Near 200 houses were consumed. Returning to their own CTS these impressed negroes resumed their routine life on the surrounding plantations, to earn and share a living with the struggling whites.
 Many interesting glimpses of war times may we gather from that memorable rald of Forrest. Finding the enemy too strong for him at Pulaski he turned to Tulla- noma, only to learn that fully 1b,00O troops of all sorts were in search of him. Then
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03

person pays in direct taxation, over which he complains so much, he pays s10O in in direct taxation without a murmur. Tur- got, the great financier of France. said that indirect taxation was the art of plucking geese without making them cry and this is the system generally adopted by nations at the present day.
 It costs money to run a government, and all good citizens want 10 see the gov ernment run successfully. In the United States there is national government. state government and municipal government, and the revenue for the support of each of these institutions come through diff aferent channels, although all from the same source-the pockets of the people. National. state and county government
 Is carried on by means of revenue which is collected on rates which are more or less fixed and certain: but municipal revenue is generally raised by means as variable as the winds and as fuctuating as the barometer. Municipal revenue is an annual problem and the process Of it's solution is an interesting subject for
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03

the consideration of the citizens, especi- ally of the man engaged in business.
 The difference in the price of an article between the amount which the producer receives and the consumer pays is the merchants expenses profits and the ln direct tax. The merchant pays directly to the city a certain sum for a license to do business, but the public repays tho merchant and thus indirectly pays the license to the city The indirect payment is small. but continual; 1t is the gentle art of plucking the geese, feather at a pluck, without making them cry. By the time the consumer has paid this frac- tional part of the tax upon every artcle he buys and every time he buys he has paid a far larger amount than he would have to pay had the tax been direct,
 The reluctance with what taxes are paid is not due to the fact that people desire to evade the legal obligations, but is the result of the belief that taxes are not equally and justly assessed. It has been stated that the assessed value of the per sonal property in the shape of jewelry
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03

shell into the fort After two hours bom- bardment the enemy's guns were silenced and he exhibited no show, of resistance. Forrest considered this an appropriate moment to demand a Surrender, and sent a flag of truce for that purpose to the fort. After short barley with Col. J. B. Meunes, the commanding officer, who had expressed desire for an interview with Forrest the fort surrendered. The enemy suffered severely in this assault, the colonel commanding was killed early in the fight, almost every house was per forated with shell, and the dead lay thick along the walls of the fort. The fruits Of this victory consisted besides the pris- oners, of TOO stands of small arms, two pieces of artillery, three ambulances. 10 wagons, 300 cavalry horses and equip ments and medical, quartermaster and commissary stores.
 To this brief account of General For rests report 1t may be added that the bravery of the Confederates in charging across the open plain to within 100 yards and less of the fort was only equaled by the foolhardiness of the federal command- CT, who persisted In a battle of unneces- sary length, with shocking loss Of lie. The Confederate guns situated on eieVa- tions above the fort, raked 1t on all sides, and as the victims of an obstinate commander were subjected to the wither- ing fire they could only fly from one side of the fort to the other, without finding adeouate protection, and leave one burn ing house only to have another take fire around them The Confederate officers severely condemned this reckless waste Of lifa
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03

WHERE is a spot four miles north Of
 Athens, Ala, associated with For
 X rests name, little stream, Mud creek, that crosses the Louisville and Nashville road, and in sight of the trestle over the creek, live two veterans of the Lost Cause" One was gunner OF Wards battery, who served in the last hot fight at Selma, and the other also served under the wizard of the Saddle" A few hours after the surrender of the fort at Athens, September "A, 1864, Forrest. on his way up the railroad, captured a block house established there by the Fed erals to protect the trestle, took the gar rison of 30 prisoners, and destroyed the trestle and block house. The two Confed- crate veterans toll at the blow through the successive seasons in sight of the spot where their services were required in arms, and as tho frosts of the recurring winters descend on their heads they bless the undying patriotism of the people of their state which annually bestows on them a modest and an inadequate pen sion. The.-day following the capture there at Sulphur trestle, 10 miles from Athens, Forests men were tried in veritable furnace of fire, as were also the Federals, and all regardless of section or race, passed fearlessly as the Hebrew children. The situation and the courage displayed make the fight at Sulphur trestle worthy of extended record, and the following is General Forests own account to his superiors.
 "on the morning of the 18th inst. he
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03

generatedn the human race-looked up- on the fall of man as a fgment, and classed it with old wives fables. But where is their glorious scheme of Ire generation now? It is where it was--on paper. It may be seriously doubted if it ever produced the least improvement in the practical life of any human being; but 1t has been disastrous to the lives of millions who never heard of J. J. Rousseau and his Social Contract
 Again: The function of punishment is not simply and solely to deter from crime. l am not much given to quoting Hegel as an authority, never in matters of speculative philosophy; for I count myself fortunate when 1 can read a page from him without becoming hopelessly and helplessly puzzled. But under the guidance of Scheoegler. who has done for Hegel some such service as Dumont did for Bentham-that is interpreted him-I now and then find something val uable in the German sphynx. Here is a specimen, not quoted, but adapted and interpreted to the vulgar: '"rhe re- lation of contract" is only the first step to the state." l. e., to civil govern ment. To limit the state to a contract "of all with all' degrades 1t into the same catagory with private rights and property. The individual does not de- eide whether he shall. or shall not live in the state. i. e., in society. He is born into society. Contract concerns private interest. In a contract the will of the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03

he came back by way of Spring Hill and 12 miles from Columbia. Immense dam age was inflicted there. Four blockhouses, three railroad bridges, a wood yard and a sawmill were committed to the flames. One blockhouse refused to surrender. Forrest, after consuming much of his ammunition in the sharp fighting al Athens Sulphur Trestle and Pulaski. and afte: dividing up his troops that he might in nict the more damage at different points, had not single piece of artillery with him, and could not force surrender ot the blockhouse. But at night Colonel Bell called for volunteers to burn the bridge, commanded by the bloclShouse, and 10 gallant men were marched forward In the face of murderous fire and applied the torch which burned the bridge to such a degree that 1t was of no more service. The night was dark, but the command marched until 10 o'clock by the light Of the burning ruins, which illumined the country for miles. After that, without more than half the men with which he had approached Pulaski. Forrest made his way by Mount Pleasant and Lawrence burg to Florence.
 On the third he encamped Il miles from wrenceburg; on the fourth he halted IS miles from Florence; and on the fifth reached Florence. There he found the river his troops had forded when he began his raid two weeks be- fore, swollen by recent rains. The enemy was reported advancing on the Athens road, and he ordered Col. F. M. Windes. of General Roddy's command, to Shoal creek, to hold him in check until his
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03

wrong. And as He knew the fall of man to be fact of history, and not a figment of theology He continued to address to fallen men substantially the same mo- tives, rewards and punishments which were urged by the old prophets and law givers before Him.
 Notwithstanding all that has been loose- ly and lavishly said and written about the originality of Christ's moral teach ings 1 venture the assertion that so far as concerns our practical conduct to- wards God and man, Jesus taught al most nothing that cannot be found in "the law and the prophets And there Is reason for this The coming of the Christ did not change mans nature; nor did 1t change mans relation to God. Man was and is a fallen being. In no state of society known to history has "ethieal eulture' ever produced anything like tolerably decent practical morality on the part of the average members of the com munity.
 And, be it understood that this ethical culture" scheme is no new departure that has not had time to show what it can do. It is older than Christianity. The doc trines of Socrates, Plato's Republic, Epicurianism, Stoicism were all schemes of "ethicaI culture;" and every one of those schemes denied or ignored the fallen nature of man. Who can wonder that Il doctor fails to cure the patient when he
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03

love of heaven and the fear of hell, the desire for happiness and the dread of punishment are used as motives to urge men to do right, and to deter them from doing wrong The Mills, father and son, regarded this as a serious blot upon the morality taught In the New Testa- ment Men, they thought, should be ap- pealed to on purely moral grounds, and urged to virtue for the pure love of what is in itself so lovely, and deterrcd from vice by the abhorrence of what is in itself so hideous.
 The New Testament, however was IT, tended to give us a scheme of morals that would work. and not a sublimated eth ics for philosophers. This scheme was meant for everyday men who jostle one another in secular business; for plain women, who do their own work and never have a servant; for rough boys. and uncultured girls, who "help father in driving the dray, and take a hand with mother" in starting the fire and keeping it up on washing day.
 It may be seriously doubted whether MT. John Stuart Mill ever saw the day when he was tempted to steal; and yet the Apostle Paul exhorts church mem- bers to quit stealing.
 It is perfectly true that what we call ''good mem are not much influenced in their conduct by the criminal law An honest man does not need a Flaw" to re-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03

moved upon that place, said to be the strongest on the road. The enemys pickets were driven in with little diff culty, and the place soon invested. His de- lenses consisted of two block houses and a large force situated upon an eminence, but fortunately for us, surrounded by hills still more elevated. He ordered the artillery to be placed at once in position One section of Hudsons battery, com manded by Lieut.. E. s. Walton, was placed on southwest, one se.tion of Fer relrs, commanded by Lieut.. w. H. Os- borne on the southwest; one section Of Mortons on the east, commanded by Lieut.. J. w. Brown; the other section on the north commanded by Lieut.. J. w. Mayson, and all were under direction or Capt. John W. Morton. The necessary dis position of troops being made general advance was ordered toward the fort. Or. Joe A. Pettus of Athens, Ala, captain in the Eleventh Alabama cavalry, and father of the popular story writer, Miss Mai Pettus, says the order. the seyerest given was "adyance within 50 yards of the fort, stand, and fire.'D Gen. eral Bufords s division moved with alacrity and great promptitude. Col D. c. Kelley dashed across the field, followed by his brigade and after reaching his desired position the enemy dared not raise his head above his own works. Col. W. A. Johnston's Alabama troops on this occa- sion acted with conspicuous gallantry in marching up and asaulting the enemy's works
 Meanwhile the eight pieces of Confeder- ate artillery, from four different points, poured a concentrated storm of shot and
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03

appears to most people. but that appear ance loses much of it's terrors when 1t re- mains unchanged for a long time. AL though tax may never produce the rev olution in the human breast which the poet says vice Is capable of doing, yet it's aspect may become less formidable if It preserves the same form and figure. The enforced contribution may be in the shape of duty on imports, when it IS called a tariff or it may be a duty fm- posed upon certain homemade articles, such as tobacco or wine. and 1t is then known as excise or it may be charge levied upon the pursuit of certain avoea- tions, 1t then becomes license; but call it by what name you will, it is taxa- ton. a dlsagreeable or burdensome duty or charge.
 Taxation is of two classes, direct and Indirect. Only very small amount of taxation is direct, due to the fact of it's difficulty of collection. Poll tax and street tax are examples of direct taxation, and everyone knows how oppressive they are considered, but for the $1 the average
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03

strain him from stealing. But the av- craze man does need the restraints of law; and the bad man has little else to restrain him, and as the average men and the bad men make up the mass Of the community. it is easy to see the im- portance of criminal jurisprudence.
 Now the New Testament scheme Of morals does work. It is today forming the characters and directing and control ling the conduct of millions who have never so much as heard whether there be any ''Ethics.'
 If Christianity were system of ''ethi- cal culture" intended for the working out and the preservation of ideals for men like John Stuart Mill and Felix Ad- Ter then the objection under considera- ton would have some weight. But Jesus distinctly disclaims and repeatedly repudiates any such purpose. Indeed, if he had entertained any such design, he could hardly have done better than to anticipate R. W. Emerson, and advise every man to make his own Bible.
 Jesus, however, had in His hands body of scripture already made, and He treated the Old Testament with the pro- foundest reverence, calling it the word of God He saw, too, that the scriptures were addressed to man, in his fallen state; that they were intended to supply motives for doing right, and that to men who were grievously tempted to do
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03

of the self sacrificing heroism of Cur tius. when he leaped into the yawning gulf that opened in the Roman forum. When I behold him sadly contemplat- ing his majestic features in one of those gorgeous and costly mirrors. which are furnished him at public ex- pense, my heart goes out to him III sympathy When I see him seated, sorrowfully, at a miserable repast or sea turtle and champagne, my very bowels yearn for him. And when l see him perform, perhaps, the only duty for which he is fully competent-sign- ing the receipt for his monthly pay am so overwhelmed with pity for h1s miserable condition that Wlsn "ei" in his place."
 Pat Donan was a brilliant man, who had served gallantly in the Confederate army. After the war there was pup lication in New York called the Metro politan Record It would nave been sup pressed any time between 1861 and lS6o for treason. Pat Donan was its favorlte contributor over the name "R. D. Bell = for rebel-and he counseled trying 1t over again: but no one of his writings in that publication was of the slightest akin to the Duluth speech, and if Pat Dona4l wrote the Duluth speech he also wrote the Pennsylvania avenue speech. MT. Curtis is wrong in saying that Knott never made denial of Donan's speech. Not great while before he died, Donan was in Kentucky, and the question of the authorship arose, and Knott delivered himself of some language for publication that showed he could be as emphatic as he ever was humorous. After that nobody ever pretended to put in any claim for Donan, so far as I know. until MT. Dexter Marshall and MT. w. E. Cur tis dug it up.
 The Duluth speech was the child of &C., cident One morning, the winter of 1871, Knott was sitting alone and not very cheerful in a committee room of the House of Representatives. He had been beaten for the nomination. for Congress the summer before because he had not mastered the provident and thrifty art of handshahfng and because his successful competitor was as tall as General Scott and had voice like Stenton-beaten by diminutive fraction of a vote. He was out of Congress two terms-Forty-secon and Forty third. Sitting in his room chewing the cud of fancy, he was ap- preached by a Mulberry Sellers with d map of the Bayfield, and St. Croix rail road. The fellow opened on Knott with an exuberance of talk and prediction of the future opulence of Duluth that the Kentuckian soon got interested and saw tine opportunity for an ocean of harmless satire. He kept the map. and 1t played a big part in making the speech success When Knott Is most humorous he is most solemn, and as he held that map up and pointed out places of industraL financial and commercial strategy on fl, his very demeanor was provocative Of laughter No wonder when the hammer feli'' one enthusiastic member exclaimed "Oh, d-n 1t, stop the clock,"
 I have always regarded the following as the finest thing in the Duluth speech;
 Sir. the great conflict now raging In the Old World has presented q phenomenon in military science unprecedented in the annals of mankind. phenomenon that
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03

fails to recognize the existence of the disease?
 It is evident that a noticeable propor- ton of the moral warnings of Paul were warnings against gross indeeeneies, from which respectable people among us are now almost entirely free. But why? Largely because Christian morality has become the morality of all decent people; and the very fact that Paul warned the Corinthian Christians against gross inde- cencies of which no respectable person is now in danger, is one of the highest tributes that can be paid to the moral power of Christianity to elevate and pur- fly social life.
 Many people are so fond of emphasizing the antithesis between the law and ''the gospel'' that they are in danger of losing sight of the revealed truth, that the gospel is itself a law. Paul says: "The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.' And, indeed. if Chris tianity is to be scheme of government, and if this government is to operate upon the minds, the hearts. the lives of fallen men, we may well ask: What sort of a government would 1t be that appealed neither to the hopes nor to the fears of the governed? That utterly discarded re- wards and punishments?
 The French philosophers of the 18th century-the men who so splendidly Ire
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03
BY J. c. HIDDEN, D. D.

individual might. and often would. an- tagonize the general will, and the gen. eral good-hence wrong. delinquency, fraud, crime. Society. if 1t is to be- permanent, must protect itself against these, and this 1t can do only by penal ties. Theories that found penalty on purposes "to prevent, deter intimidate. or correct" mistake the nature of pen-i atty Prevention intimidation, etc., are mere means. and uncertain means. But an act of justice cannot he degraded into a mere means; justice Is not exercised in order to realize anything but itself. The fultlment aof justice is an abso- lute end an end unto it's own self" The penalty suffered by q criminal is his right his reason, his law under which 1t is just that he he punished Hegel de- very sensibly holds that their repeal evry sensibly holds that their repeal would be 'untimely sentimentality." Let ns abolish capital punishment" said some sentimentalist to a smart Frenchman- By all means' said tho Frenchman. "only let messieurs. the murderers set us the example"
 HegeFs view of the function of gov ernment was essentially Calhoun s. gov ernment is needed in order to restrain the excess of Individuality. Here is sensible, practical, philosophical ground for government. but it assumes the neces- sity of punishment A "government'' without penalties would be a Bureau of Advice.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-03

owned by the residents of the city Of Birmingham is not tithe of that worn at the theatre on the occasion of any special performance. The assessment Of real estate in the city shows wonderful difference between that and the selling price, and the worst feature in this mat ter is that these assessments of real and personal property are made by those best able to pay. To remedy this condition. which evidently existed in other places than here. certain cities have adopted the plan of publishing in the newspapers q complete list of the assessments of per sonal and real property, and it has re- suited in general reduction of the rate of taxation with an increase in the amount of taxes collected.
 Two things are mainy essential in the levying of taxes-equality and fixity. es- pecially the latter. The advantage that old cities has over new ones Is the se- curity which merchants feel that their taxes or business licenses will not be raised or lowered. The business man practically cares very little whether