davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
Rirminaham Real Estate.

T have been struck with the fact that Birmingham real estate values are not on as high a level as the values in Memphis and one or two oth- CT southern cities I visit" said John +. Morrison of St. Louis. 'I refer espe- cially to suburban realty here. l find desirable building lots offeSed in the outlying sections of Greater Birming- ham, and in Bessemer and Ensley aboua SO to 40 per cent lower than the same class of real estate in Memphis or Nashville sold for a year ago.
 And everybody knows that all property in the Birmingham district is worth intrinsically more than is realty in any other southern communi- ty. Memphis is growing steadily but Birmingham will grow faster between the next census and 1920 than any city in the south. The day will surely come when Birmingham will run a close race with New Orleans"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
DEsPoNpENcY AND SUICIDE.

From the Providence Journal.
 'It is presumed" says a dispatch from New London, Conn, reporting the kill ing of his wife and himself by citizen of that town yesterday that despon- dency was the cause of the act" The in- eident is notable because it follows sev- eral occurrences of the same general sort within the last few weeks. Dependency, usually because of loss of place or money, has been cited as the reason for these, though the trabedy at New London is peculiarly abhorrent because it involved the death of an innocent woman. Every period of "hard times'' brings a crop of such deeds. Every industrial depression is the direct cause of many mems self-de- struction. Worried by financial responsi- bilities, they brood over them until their minds are in an abnormal state, the world looks black and the best thing, the only thing to do seems to be to make way with themselves
 To put an end to ones existence under such conditions is not test of courage. If man is happy, if his affairs are pros porous, it may be proof of bravery to
 
 a sacrifice arises. But when troubles have sprung up on every side it is the part of cowardce or insanity to seek to escape them by a swift exit from the world. It is equivalent to giving up the fight when 1t is thickest, deserting at crucial mo- ment in the conflict. There are some men who are reused by misfortune to redoubled endeavors; they like the ardor and inspir- ation of contest; there are others who dislike a struggle of any sort, but grit their teeth and bend to it because they feel they should. These men are real men, the men that can be counted on in a crisis to do their best; but what shall be said of the weaker one who yields to the im- pulse to have done with opposition and worry once and for all?
 A better philosophy is that which l teaches the sure coming of dawn. It is always darkest just before the morning. 1 To thousands of discouraged men and women the old saying ought to appeal as one that has proved true from time inn l memorial.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
FOREIGN BRTVITITs.

From the Wall Street Journal,
 The amount of jade mined in India during 1906-07 was 2214h hundred weight, which was valued at $39,909.
 Germany takes the credit for having tine largest trade union in the world. It is composed of metal workers and bas a membership of SS5,Oo0, large proportion of which are women.
 Paper making in Japan has been very active for the last year or so. New com ranies have been formed, and old ones enlarged. Most Japanese mills use steam for motive power, and nearly all the machinery used is of American make
 "Bond". is the universal Brazilian name for a street car. The first tram way built in Rio was financed from the first instance of the kind. Cars drawn by mules are known as mule bonds"
 A large block of land in the new province of Alberta, and known as the Irrigation Block" containing in all ,O00, 900 acres, which is expected in time to support population of 20o,- coo people, is the big project of colon- ization now being carried out by the Canadian Pacific railway. The work in- cludes the irrigation of 100000 acres of land in the block, and will take son,e 10 years to finish.
 Since 1870 Berlin has grown relative ly and absolutely faster than Chicago. the Greater Berlin having today pop ulation of over 3,0O0,0o0. Thirty years ago Leipzig was less than 150,000 to- day it is more than 500.000. Hamburg then had almost precisely the sare population as Boston; today, although Boston's growth has been so great Hamburg. with more than S00,000 peo- pie, is larger than Boston; the growth Of it's commerce has been vastly greater
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
WHEN TO WIND A WATCH.

From Tlt BUS.
 At the monthly meeting of the British Watch and Clockmakers' guild the ques- ton whether it is better to wind watch at night or in the morning was discussed.
 Some members were of the opinion that it was better to wind it at night, as in the morning the handspring would be colder than it would be after being car- ried about in the pocket all day, and steel is more brittle when cold then when it is warm. ff
 Mir. Wright, the vice president, said that during the day the watch was carried about and subjected to all kinds of ir- regular conditions. and when 1t was fully wound it was able to withstand these ab- normal conditions better than when 1t re- quired winding. He thought it was de- cided advantage to wind it up in the morning.
 This view of the case was agreed to by the majority of the members of the trade who were present
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
NEW HAT IN CHINATOWN

a mirror and in a second, tribal instinct, racial training and the fear of the seven heavens. the seven hells. her liege lord left her. The hat was peach, and no doubt about it.
 It had several millions flowers anchored on top. A gash of green peppers hung on like grim death to the starboard side, while California peoples, Arizona holly hooks and Long Beach lilies clamored for help and yelled for breath.
 The hat was not a creation, it simply was a shriek. Mrs. Lew cared not. She paid for the Merry Widow Having broken one vow she cracked another. She selected the next biggest thing in the store and perched it on the head of the protesting and indignant Lew Lum.
 Then they walked out of the store and toward the Chinese settlement. They al- most created a riot before they got there.
 With the mincing steps she had seen the women of the white race affect, Mrs. Lew toddled down the street. From the rear it looked as if Paul de Longperes rose garden was toddling along.
 The pair reached the corner of Juan and Alablasa streets, where Mrs. Lew has luxurious apartments.
 It was with some difficulty that the woman and the hat got into the door. They approached the spot where sat the liege lord of the house. He had been hitting the pipe and was seeing things of a pleasant nature. Suddenly rude vision broke in upon his dreams. He sat up hurriedly and rubbed his eyes with the toe of his slipper. Then he jumped up.
 He had not been mistaken. This wom- an, wearing a thing on the top of her head like bird of ill omen, was his wife. He used language in large slices while the neighbors crowded the door.
 Mrs. Lew was firm. She still has the hat: Lew Lum also has hat. Other Chinese women are looking on with envy and a meeting of the United League for the Protection of Chinese Husbands has been called to debate the question.
 Six months ago the Chinese women at- tempted to put aside pantaloons and wear skirts. The husbands burned the skirts at the stake. They threaten to launch the fury of the hatchet men upon the Merry Widows.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
The Question of English

While all the university schools and colleges in the south have had dis tinctively high standing in general efficiency, not enough attention has been given to the teaching of English. This has been notably true of some Of our southern colleges. Competent in- structors have never been lacking, but two much has been taken for granted in the case of the young man who nem- prizes rules of grammar and passes creditable examinations on rhetoric and the history'of English literature. Many a boy has an especial aptitude for composition, but the majority of students have little natural facility for writing. This facility, however, can be acquired, and teachers are now turn ing their attention more to this i'm portant branch of education. No col lege senior should receive a degree | unless he shows high proficiency in | English composition. A knowledge of rules is by no means sufficient, for everybody knows that rules amount to nothing unless they can be put into
 practice. The graduate should not only
 be able to write English that would
 parse, but he should have acquired a
 good style that would enable him to
 express himself on paper with clear ness and present the subject he dis cusses with convincing force.
 Dr. c. C. Thach, president of the Alabama Polytechnic institute at Au- burn, is among our well known edu- cators who is taking up this matter earnestly. Not only does he appre- ciate fully the need of thorough Eng fish training, but he is requiring the ! students at Auburn to devote more | time to our language than formerly | and is writing and lecturing on Eng fish and the most approved method of | teaching it. He has complimented the Birmingham public schools on the mod ern system of English pedagogy in
 vogue there. And the proof of the ex- cellent worh being done in this city is | found in the fact that with few excep-
 tions pupils of the high school have | learned to write correctly and with
 ease before coming into their gradua-
 tion year.
 In these days of culture a young man ] who starts out in life without a solid 1 education is seriously handicapped. Allowance is always made for the boy who has had poor opportunities, but | there should be no excuse for the col l lege graduatae or the graduate of a l technological school who writes slov. enly or bungling English.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
Chorus Singers.

T find that a great many of the singers who belonged to MT. Guckenberger fes- tivaI chorus of few years ago are eager to take part in the festival to be given here in May with the Innes orchestral band" said Philip Memoli.
 "I am to train the chorus and l hope to have 200 voices. There will not be much time between now and the festival dates but nearly all the music to be practiced is familiar to those who have sung on former occasions. And those sight readers who have not sung these choruses win have no difficulty in learn- ing the music. l have seen personally 50 or more singers who are members or church choirs and all of them will at tend the rehearsals."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
NEWSPAPERS AS MoNgY.MAkERs.

From Life.
 Col. George Harvey of Harper's Weekly gave this year the Bromley lectures at Yale on Journalism, and they were very interesting discourses and profitable to hear. Among other things, he expounded the sentiment that the possession of first class character is one of the essentials to being a first-rate newspaper man. He asserted, with almost indelicate insist ence, that a great editor must have some- thing inside of him that can tell right from wrong and must behave as though he listened to it. He said many excel lent things, and better to discuss his subject he invented and printed one is- sue of a model paper, which was near enough to what he thought a newspaper ought to be to serve as a text and illus tration for his commentaries. He thinks that the universities ought to do much more than they do now to give students who want it special training in journal ism. He thinks they could give it sue cessfuliy, if they chose, for he does not think that the actual newspaper office is the only place where the job can be learned.
 What he said was admirable, but if he cared to make a complete exposition or his subject another lecture could easily be filed with consideration of the draw backs of the job One great one is that at the present time so few newspapers make decent living. Considered as manufacturing business, newspaper max ing is enormously hazardous and absurd ly unremunerative. With other manu- featuring concerns the rule is that II they don't make profits they quit but that IS not the rule with newspapers. They al- ways have moral and political reasons for clinging to life long, long after there has ceased to be any pecuniary warrant for it. A newspaper in these days IS about as likely to declare a dividend as a church is. > Competition between pa pers is intense, the price of nearly all of them is too low, the cost Of wmte paper and manufacture too high, and they give a great deal too much for the one meagre cent that most of them now sell for. We hope our Great Regulator will make a law soon that no newspaper shall be more than four pages long on week days and six pages on Sunday, nor sell for less than cents.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
From the Los Angeles Times.

From the Los Angeles Times.
 N HINATOWN is in the throes of a V social war that bids fair to put O the recent tong disturbance far in the dim distance. Not since the time back in the '70s when indignant efti- zens hung number of the Chinese elite to telegraph poles has there been such a feeling of sudden death and desolation as now hangs like black pail over the yellow colony
 And 1t all happened because Mrs. Lew Chew, wife of Lew Moi. tried to "buck' the ancient and time-honored form of dress held sacred to the Chinese. In de- fiance of the laws of heaven and earth she tried the combination of Chinese pantaloons set off by a Merry Widow sailor that would have made any wom- an sit up and gasp.
 Throwing the caution of her race to the wind, Madame Chew marched down Apa- blasa street with creation of modern millinery wobbling about on her oily bangs and her tiny little shoes going clickety-click on the hard paving.
 The Chinese gamblers took one look and
 
 lord of little Lew Chew. said things.
 Mrs. Lew Chew broke into the fashion fever early yesterday morning. Her hus- band is liberal man and Mrs. Lew is a social leader. Yesterday, accompanied by her S-year-old daughter, Lew Lum, Mrs. Lew visited some of the downtown stores. Her daintily embroidered pantaloons Tapped lightly against her slender ankles. as she walked. Her hair was covered an inch deep with Chinese hair paste, and several hundred dollars worth of gold and jewels nestled in the heavy jet-blaclk coil at her neck.
 She entered department store and walked about in search of prey; wan dered into the millinery department and was lost. She leaned up against a coun- ter and gazed at some monstrous things flung about-gazed to wonder.
 A woman approached and seemed friendly. Mrs. Lew thought she could trust her. She pointed to magnificent specimen and said, falteringly, What him good foh?''
 The nice lady took down the enormous thing and placed it on the oily head of the little Celestial lady. Mrs. Lew shied and looked scared. Then she looked at
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
CHINESE GAMBLING DAYS.

From the Shanghai Times.
 The new year holidays are the chief time for China's ecreation-gambling. There are tens of thousands of busy work men, shopSeepers and farmers who during $50 days of the year resist the gambling demon-"Shua Chien kuei''-but succumb to him during these b idle days.
 It is a great testing time, and all but the stalwart fall. Take our honest friend Chang San as an example He is not gambler, but time hangs heavily on his hands, for he is in the novel position of having nothing to do All his friends are playing cards or dice or dominoes or tempting fortune at roulette or fantan. What can he do? He is but human, so taking his hard earned bits of silver or strings of cash, he joins group of friends at cards, or worse still wends his way to a Pao-chu-gambling den.
 Piece by piece the silver disappears. string by string the cash vanishes. But the gambling flend has him in its grasp, so off comes his new cloth jacket, then his wadded or fur-lined gown, then his , high satin boots, and toward daybreak he sinks shivering homeward in his vest and pants.
 Where there are so many losers there must be some gathers. Yet one never hears of them. Perhaps it is as the Chi nese proverb says, Chang tu shen hsien shu" u"-"At constant gambling even the gods lose.''. Be that as it may, we ccr- tainly never hear of the successful gam bier increasing his business or enlarg- ing his estate.
 Gambling is forbidden by the govern- ment, censured by poralists, condemned by public opinion and mathematical by religion-yet it f1ourishes exceedingly. It is common pastime among all classes and much money changes hands daily. Gambling dens are numerous and their victims are legion.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
GAMBLING IN HAVANA.

From the Nashville Tennessean.
 Havana at one time was one Of tho greatest gambling cities in the world," said B. c. Williams of Pensacola, Fla, at the Tulane While the fight between the Cuban and Spanish armies was on gamblers were reaping a rich harvest in the islands metropolis. Gambling tables were lined along the streets. and men, women and young girls were in the games.
 Havana is another city now, however, to what it was five years ago. It has re- formed wonderfully. It is still wide open town, but there is not much crookedness going on as in the old days. There are more Americans in Havana than ever before, and all are prospecting. Financial conditions over there are ex- ceptionally good. The large banking firms of the city seem to be in most prosperous condition, while individuals are working and making a comfortable liVinRp
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
Family as Social Club.

With a few brief sentences at the First Methodist church mass meeting yesterday afternoon Governor Conner touched a number of subjects. It had teen suggested by a previous speaker that the right kind of social clubs should be promoted, to meet the needs of men of all classes, but the governor disagreed.
 T believe the family is social club enough. If you had been with me down in the sticks where the good people grow these past few weeks you would have seen what a social club ought to be and would have seen my solution of the immigration problem.
 Down in Choctaw county found one family with 32 children, and up on Sand mountain was the happiest club in the state, family with Is children all under 21 years of age, and one lit- tie woman the mother of every one.
 They don't need any clubs down there and if they keep up that record the state will have to put up the bars against immigration.
 Several weeks ago, while sitting in my office, mother, holding her chi'd in her arms came to see me. She had seen better days, but was all broken down. She said Give me nay husband. i asked what was the matter with him, and she said he was in the penitentiary. He killed my father, she said. in self defense
 f,,un feaf tad N6 hot hnf1 had been drunk. Almost weekly these petitions come. I tell you, you may talk about the rights of men, but I say, for Gods sake, what about the rights of the women"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
Governor ide In Alabama.

Henry Clay Ide, a former governor of the Philippines, and prominent citizen of Maine, is paying quiet visit to Ala bama. He is one of the figures in the re- cent history of the colonies, as also a man of fine appearance and wealth.
 MT. Ide is visiting relatives in Jack sonville, among them being George P. Ide the head of extensive cotton and oil mills in the Calhoun city. It is not known whether he will come to Birming- ham or not.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
FLEA A. DANGEROUS ENEMY.
n the New York Tribune.

From the New YOrK Irlbune.
 The principal indictment against the flea Is that 1t is the partner of the rat in the propa gation of the bubonic plague, and is, indeed, the more guilty of the two It is perfectly well estab- fish ed that the bacillus of the plague exists in rats of a certain breed. These rats are infested with feas which by their biting transfer the disease germs to other rats. When the rats die the fleas desert their bodies for other rats CT for human beings. So the fleas are the essential factors in conveying the plague virus to men, and it is possible that they convey it from one man to another, from plague patient to a healthy man, without the cooperation of rats at all.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR.
From the New York Press.

When a man likes to go to church he thinks he fools the children about it.
 A wonderful thing about so many poo- pie is how they can change their mind without having any.
 There's hardly anything makes a man think he's smarter than for somebody to speak to him of his rich relative.
 A woman is willing to take her hus- bands judgment so she can say she told him so when it doesn't come out that way.
 A girls idea of the fun of dancing is how tired it would make her to move around a quarter as much helping her mother.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
Ed Wilcox In City.

The familiar face of E. T. Wilcox of the Frisco system was welcome in Birming- ham again yesterday. MT. Wilcox left for Memphis several months ago. He was one of the most popular young railroad men in the city.
 Birmingham may be on the road to yesterday where they put men in stocks for offering a friend highball, but it isn't considered a fiendish crime in Mem phs. The streets are almost running with it up there, and a man is more apt to get locked up if he refuses his friend a drink.
 Memphis is enjoying rare prosperity. Money is pouring in, and it might be mo- ticed that the gurgling sound around the outskirts is Memphis liquor pouring into Birmingham.
 "I am glad to see everything so bright and prospects so happy in the Magic City. I have talked with a number of the citi- zens and all seem in good spir.tsf
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
FIFTH AVENUE HOTEL

lack of anything required to suit the varied tastes of travellers.
 Safety, responsibility and comfort" have been called the three hotel Eraces and American hotels of the type of the Fifth Avenue provide them.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06
DOMESTIC COMFORT.
om the April Bohemian.

From the April Bohemian
 Excuse me for not stopping, ex- claimed Little ''Fm in a hurry to get home''
 That's rather unusual said Large What's the trouble?"
 My wife has cold" exclaimed Lit tie. "and she can't speak above whis- per-"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06

Practice games are we'll enough in their place, but they are not the real thing. The campaign of the season will be opened on Wednesday week.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06

If the racing motors do not com p.ete the trip the gasoline cached along the route will doubtless be consumed in Eskimo cocktails.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06

Senator Crane is also a gumshoer, but he has not been able to gumshoe Massachusetts into sending an unin- structed delegation to Chicago.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06

Only ex-comptrollers of the currency become bank presidents nowadays.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06

Easter hats are as big as barrel head, and those who wear them will need no parasols.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06

Kentucky has 5000 school trustees who cannot read and write, and the Louisville Courier-Journal seems to think they are better fitted to drive oxen than to steer school teachers.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06

Easter hats are so large they are eomical almost as much so as the conical hats of the Coreans.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06

The President has discussed nearly every subject except the Metchnikoff sour-milk idea.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06

Senator Jeff Davis and his hill-billies are so dazed by the primary returns that they scarcely know where they are at
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06

David B. Hill daily demonstrates that man can keep out of politics if he really tries to do it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06

The multi-millionaires will no longer absorb the ambassadorships. They have been called down.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-06

Papa Shonts is having a good deal of pecuniary trouble with his particu- lar duke and his tailor's bills.