davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
Special privileges seem to have no prediction friends.
DIR. HILLS FIRST SPEECH.

From the Boston Advertiser.
 The honeyed, hands across-the sea words of Ambassador Hill at the July 4 picnic at Grunau-on-the-Spfe should salve over any wound left by the ampu- tation of Charlemagne Tower from the Berlin American colony and the imperial Hohenzollern court. Dr. Hill steps into the front rank of diplomacy at one bound The cables tells us that he gave public and semi-official thanks that so many American citizens are welded to German wlves' and that there are American women who have been trans planted to German soil' Glorious thought! And diplomatic, too This will, indeed, "create a network across the sea which will always help to bind our two nations fiji closer fellowship" Obviously, if half of our native American husbands had German wives and if half our native American wives had German husbands, there could be no talk of grim war We cannot nationally achieve this peaceful end, but we can approach 1t, here and there. That we have ever done so is indeed an epochal fact of history as Dr. Hill notes at Grunau-on-the-S Spree. The ambassador begins well to build up the personal entente cordiale.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
Chattanooqa's Growth.

Chattanooga is growing at a more rapid rate this year than ever before In it's history, and in 1910 will show a gain of more than 100 per cent in it's popula- ton over the census figures of 190O," said R. J. Crofton of Cincinnati. Tn the last census Knoxville and Chattanooga were about the same size, but according to now 5o per cent larger than Knoxville. In 1900 Chattanooga's population was only S0,0O0 The estimated population on the 1st of last January was 60000 It is estimated that the population is not less than 65,OOo now. By 1910 it will probably have 75,000.
 Knoxville is holding it's own, but it shows no signs of growth beyond na- tural increase Chattanooga, on the other hand, is booming. Many people are dis posed to attribute all its recent growth to the liquor trade. While 1t Is true that money for whiskey and beer is pouring into Chattanooga from Georgia and Ala bama, 1t is a substantial city and would go ahead regardless of any special req sons growing out of prohibition in other sections. But, speaking of the liquor bus mess, Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashville, and Memphis have many customers in Birmingham, Atlanta and other southern cities; but Chattanooga. am inclined to believe, has the. largest trade in wet goods in this territory"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
From Birmingham to Jasper

The Walker County News suggests that two rich counties join hands in building a boulevard between the capi- tals of the two-between Jasper and Birmingham. The Jefferson county end of the 4O-mile road would pass through a populous mining district, and the Walker county end would traverse good agricultural lands underlaid per haps with coal seams. Each county would have about 20 miles to build.
 This Jasper project may have to wait until Jones and Shades valleys are connected by tunnels, but this waiting need not be long. A good hard road between Jasper and Bir- mingham is certainly desirable, and estimates of it's cost and of the con struction of a bridge over the Warrior would lead to a consideration of it by the public. The Walker County News, edited by Frank " Evans, thinks the proposed road would lead to "an en- hancement of land values double the cost of the highway" It thinks the road would be an excellent starter in A. good roads movement throughout the state.
 The Denver platform contains good roads plank. This may have been inspired by Senator Bankhead, who stands ready to urge the people of the state and the federal government to take hold of the subject. Every road is nowadays a rural mail route, and this renders some pretty poor dirt roads national highways. The im- provement of these dirt roads is big problem, and the Age-Herald Is glad to see that Senator Bankhead, State Sen ator Overton and many other good cit izens stand ready to push it on.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
BRER RABBITS DIRGE.

By Mrs. E. c. Bundy. The Little Boy sits on the cabin step With the tear stains round his eyes, And out in the grass where he's "done
 crep''
 Brer Rabbit means and cries. "Oh, whats de use fer de sun ter shine, An whats de use fer ter stay In dis ole worp whar de creeturs pine Uncle Remus is gone away. 'De want no fren' lack dat ole man, Hit pears lack he des bon Ter tell erbout de things dat we never
 can
 An now he's tuck an gone. Miss Wren she stop CT fedin' her young, An de crickets holer is daid; De mockin' bird leave his song unsung, An des kiver up his haid. De creeturs alls get es sttH es da can 'Cept now an den CT whine To show how da miss dat good ole man, An how da's CT gwine ter pine. "Oh hit ain't no use fer ter play no
 tricks,
 Ner yit no use fer ter plan Ter wiggle an ter dodge outen no tight
 fix
 Nobody won't un nerstan'." "The Little Boy starts his weeping again Till the tears roll down his cheeks. And he sobs and he sobs with the ereaf
 big pain,
 But not word he speaks
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14

to developments of this nature, for all tunnel plans include room for trol. ley track. and once the trolley is in Shades valley it's extension becomes but a matter of development.
 Jones and Shades valleys should be joined together by roads of easy grades, and the completion of the Eighteenth street tunnel will prove no doubt the precursor of other tunnels until the two valleys become, for resi- dence purposes, one. This has long been foreseen, but until the present time no step had been taken to secure the needful subterranean connecting links.
 The board of revenue is now taking hold of the matter in earnest, and the prospect is good that a car line to Shades valley will soon become natural and proper part of popular transportation in this city. The hold CTS of property in Shades valley will do the rest. A tunnel, or perhaps two tunnels. and Gate City loop line would open up the entire extent of the beautiful valley that lies just behind Red mountain.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
British Naval ManeuYerS
panies.

The assemblage of British ships in the North Sea has been underrated. The mobilization actually includes 29 battleships and "A armored cruisers; 36 protected cruisers; 10 torpedo gun boats; destroyers' parent ships; 13O destroyers; 30 submarines and subma- rines' parent ships; mine layers and 40 torpedo boats-a total of 311 war ships, big and little. The armored cruisers are really first-class battle ships, so that there are gathered in the North Sea 53 ships prepared to fight any modern ship.
 The great fleet has been gathered for practice purposes without materi- ally reducing the fleets in the Mediter- ranean, where there are today 10 bat tleships and IT other vessels, and all the other fleets are left in an efficient condition, and some of them reach to Australia. When country can gather S11 war vessels for maneuver purposes and yet maintain it's numerous fleets in all parts of the world we see at once how strong she is on the seas.
 The 311 ships are not in the North Sea filled with scratch crews. They are fully manned by good seamen England is, in short, stronger on the sea than she ever has been-relatively stronger, we mean. She continues to build ships on the two-powers basis, and she continues to keep every ship up to It's highest possible efficiency She stands secure while she does this, and her immense colonial system will remain no doubt intact while she is strong on the seas.
 The North Sea assemblage is more Impressive than our battleship fleet, and that is a memorable event in nau- tical affairs.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
Taken for Bryan.

Judge Samuel l.. Weaver who has been attending the Denver convention, has been taken by many western dele gates for MT. Bryan" said a man -n public life.
 ''I am in receipt of a letter from a friend on the ground who tells me that the judge was cordially greeted by the delegates on his own account. He was made an alternate delegate on the Colorado delegation through the in fiuence of Judge Banks and others. He took an active part in the work of the convention.
 Alabama seems to have been well to the forefront at Denver. Jack Curran, as one of the doorkeepers, filled very important position and one that was very trying, considering the great crowd in attendance"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
Jacobs Praises padexlIIe.

Ben M. Jacobs, past grand master of the Alabama Masons, returned few days ago from Dadeville, where he met in conference with the Masonic officers of Tallapoosa county.
 Speaking of his trip, he said; T don't know when I enjoyed anything so much as I did my trip to Dadeville last week. The people over there treated us royalty and nothing that they could do was left undone. I went to attend a Masonic conference of the officers of the lodges of Tallapoosa county. The morning that the meeting began we enjoyed several addresses from such men as H. s. D. Mallory, grand master, and George A. Beauchamp, grand secretary. At the noon hour we adjourned for dinner and repaired to an adjoining hall, where we found a table ready for us, loaded with the best the land affords. Standing out conspicuously were fried spring chicken, good country ham, and delicious water melons. Everything good to eat that one could wish was presented in great abundance, and no one left the table without saying that 1t was one of the finest meals he had ever partaken of.
 Tn the afternoon session we listened to several more speeches and then in- stalled the officers of the blue lodge. Several degrees were also conferred. Du- ring our entire stay we were elegantly entertained, and if were to go into de- tail I could only say the same thing over: that nothing seemed too good for us that they could do I repeat that if any one wishes to have an excellent time he can find no better place to go than to Dadeville.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Crops Look Promising.

"On recent trip through the west ern part of Florida and southern and central Alabama I found crop condi- tlons very satisfactory" said J. A. Schmidt, travelling freight agent of the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific. At Pensacola and at Apalachicola business seemed to be quite brisk. To- bacco is an important crop in Florida and the growing plant is looking we'll Florida ships large fruit tonnage and pears form a considerable percentage of the orchard products.
 ''In Alabama the cotton crop Is large, and while it is somewhat backward it is very promising. General trade is improving and merchants generally are in good spirits"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14

1908. 1907. Corn, bu ......... 2,7260 600o 600 2,592, ,320 coo Spring wheat, bu... 276,276000 PA, 1000 Winter wheat, bu.. 46.514,0o0 4O9, 442000 Total wheat, bu.... 692, 790 600 634, OS7, ,cS0 Oats, bu. ............ 1,1o2, 100000 704, AS 0O9
 Besides these, the hay crop is known to be exceptionally large, and the cot ton crop as it stands is full of promise. The fruit yield is also abundant
 Good crops are especially desirable this year. for when the pockets of the farmers are filled general business will necessarily feel a big impulse. Big crops, too, will operate to reduce the cost of living, which is exceptionally high, although other countries are ready to take at good prices any crop surplus we may have.
 The farm products of 1907 were worth six billion dollars. The in creased acreage and the high condi- tion of the growing crops induces the chief statistician of the department of agriculture to put an estimated value of seven billion dollars on the crops of the present year. The aggregate value is too large to be grasped by the mind, but the mind can at least see that when the country becomes richer by seven billions of dollars there will be- yond reasonable doubt be something more doing. The hay harvest is large ly completed and the winter wheat harvest will perhaps be rounded up crops will come along rapidly in the next 30 days.
 At this writing not a single one of the country's five big crops promises an outturn below normal, while bum- per crops of hay, corn and oats are pretty we'll assured. The wheat crop will be abundant, and the farmers of the south are looking forward to a good-sized cotton crop. The farmers of the country will be prosperous at any rate, and unless they become mi sers on the spot general business will get from the farms a quickening that will go far towards restoring good times.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
MRS. BRYAN. sTENoeRAPHER.

From the New York Press.
 Mrs William Jennings Bryan is the only woman on record who has invented a stenographic system, and there is noth- ing impractical about the method, for she has proved its value in acting as secre- tary to her husband. Of course, in tho event of Mrs. Bryan becoming the mis- tress of the White House, she will resign the work to a staff of secretaries of the Loeb order, but 1t Is safe to predict that not man will be found to give the same satisfaction to the Great Commoner Mrs. Bryan's system is the growth of dozen years, or since the stirring day in 1896, when her husband won his first presiden- tial nomination by his Gross of Gold" speech At that time the Bryan purse was so lean 1t denied the luxury of a paid secretary. and Mrs. Bryan elected herself to the post. At first the work was slow and discouraglng, but gradu- ally Mrs. Bryan invented a stenographc code, until now she easily follows her husband in his swiftest moments. Bryan is one of the quickest takers before the public and his wifes success seems al- most impossible to expert users of the Putnam and other standard systems. Only one professional stenographer has been found equal to the task of reporting &C., curately all of Bryan's words on the platform. and this man is put to a hard CT strain than Mrs. Bryan. Every morning after breakfast Mrs. Bryan takes dictation from her husband, then when he busies himself with other du- ties she runs a typewriter with nimble fingers It has been said that Mrs. Bryan has refused large amount in cash for complete chart of her system, the chief merit of which lies in its simplicity.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
ALSO CAMPAIGN TREASURER.

From the New York World.
 George Ramsey Sheldon, to give him his full name, is a member of William E. Sheldon & Co.,, bankers, Wall street and a member of the New York stock treasurer
 He is a director of the American Lo- comotive Automobile company.
 Director of the American Locomotive company.
 Director of the Bethlehem Steel con- pany.
 Director of the Cincinnati Northern Railway company.
 Treasurer and director of the Detroit Edison company
 President and director of the Electri- cal Securities corporation.
 Director of the Laclede Gas Light com- pany.
 Director of the Locomotive and Ma chine company of Montreal, limited.
 Director of the Locomotive Security company.
 Director of the Metropolitan Trust con- pany of New York.
 Treasurer and director of Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light company. Director of the National Copper bank. Director of the New Jersey Terminal. Dock and Improvement company.
 Treasurer and director of the North American company.
 Director of the Republic Iron and Steel company of New Jersey.
 Director of the Rogers Locomotive works.
 Director of the St. Louis Transit con- pany.
 Director of the Union Bag and Paper company of New Jersey.
 Director of the Union Electric Light and Power company.
 Director of the Union Electric Light and Power company of St. Louis.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
THE DARWIN HALF CENTURY,

From the New York World.
 On July 1, 1858, joint essay by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace was read before the Linnean Society of Lon- don "On the Tendency of Speeches to Form Varieties, and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Speeches by Natural Means of Selection" From that meet ing date the new shibboleths natural selection and survival of the Attest" which were to divide opinion into hostile factions and to serve as the watchwords of a revolution of science The essay em- bodied conclusions which had been ar- rived at independently by the two na- turalsts. It was the basis of Darwins Origin of Species," published in the following year, and the prelude to his Descent of Man." which appeared in 1871 The anniversary has been made the occasion of a Darwin jubilee by the Linnean society.
 The Origin of Species" was bomb in the camp of the conservatives. Dr. Ed ward Clodd has recalled with what ami mostly the theory was combated-by Sir Richard Owen in the Edinburgh Review; by Bishop Wilberforce, who declared in the Quarterly that natural selection was incompatible with the word of God''; by Cardinal Manning, who denounced it as a brutal philosophy; by Carlyle. Sir John Herschel called it the Flaw of hg- gledy-piggledy." The book was not al- lowed on the shelves of Trinity college library.
 Darwin's offense was that for the the ory of creation by divine mandate he substituted the hypothesis of evolution by natural law through a process of se- lection, the representatives of species specially fitted to survive propagating harder kind, and these in turn trans hitting their superiority to their progeny with the result of an improvement of species through successive generations. His views have borne the brunt of en- frightened criticism, but remain stum- bling block to orthodox belief.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
Over In Shades Valley

Shades valley is an attractive sec tion of Jefferson county, and the far ther one goes up that valley the finer 1t appears to be. The time will come when the Cat City trolley line will be carried over the railroads in Red Gap to run down Shades valley to the proposed tunnel at the head of Eigh- tecnth street. An immense district would thus be added to the city,
 The building of the tunnel wN lead
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
Total fin six months. 6oO,.


 The weekly capacity of 1s stacks in operation July was 25,172 tons, and on this basis the production of the last six months of the year would be about 65O,OOO. The years production in this district will, therefore, surely exceed 1,30g,O tons. It will be about 20 per cent less than that of 1907. While the production in the entire country will be decreased nearly 50 per cent, the production in this district will not be reduced more than 20 per cent. For the favorable showing this district is making it is largely indebted to the pluck and energy of our furnace com panieS
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES
THE MILL.

THE MILL. Hustle, hustle hustle Run this way and that, Tumble in the morning From your little fiat, Chase around the corner, Catch a trolley car, Rushing on to crowded marts Where the dollars are. Hustle, hustle, hustle, Morning, noon and night That's the programme offered To a modern wight. Not till we are buried Will the struggle end. That's the reason, when we're tired, Death seems like a friend.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
WILL YOU?

WILL YOU? Will you win? Will you climb the steep Of worlds desire And rank among the men Who mastered weakling fears, With uncorrupted hearts, Till fortune yielded them the crown And blessed them where they stood? Will you stumble with the rabble, Oblivion's silent and uneounted host, Or break away and do the best that in
 you lies, Hope locked in your breast and glory
 in your eyes?
 FIRST STEP IN JOURNALISM. 'I hear you are planning to establish a new paper"
 That's true"
 How are you getting a1ong?" "Fine. We have the patent medicine eds cinched. Everything else will fol- low as matter of course"
 IN THE VALLEY. Polling along, toiling along, In spite of the heartache and pain, And the golden dreams and the vanished
 gleams
 That will never come back again. Toiling along, toiling along. Forspent on a wearisome quest. Beyond the vale and the lonesome trail Is the promise of sleep and rest.
 HARD TIMES. For two cents I'd lick verb faF1 oarfc lot rof-fif
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR

From the New York Press.
 A man is mighty good husband when he doesn't think his wife talks too much. The first qualification for being a poet is not to have to support yourself that way.
 Every man has vanity enough to think that people envy him the way he can make friends.
 It seems odd that the easiest lob. as well as the one with the most fun in it. should have gone to the devil
 Men have commercial ratings based on their financial credit; women social rat ings based on their wash-day clothes lines.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14

down cast the mayor called him back. How old is your dog?" he asked. When the negro replied that he was just two years old. the answer was: "Too bad. if he was just past 50 he would be exempt" and with that all hope faded.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
The Dog Story.

"I want to see about de dog" said a lanky negro boy in the mayors office yesterday
 Well. what about the dog" asked Mayor Ward.
 ''Dey caught him yesterday. I lives outside of town, and this is de fust time he's come ter Birmingham. I ain't got no s2. Can't you get him off this timer"
 The mayor thought a while. "No, mo-" he finally said, decisvely. Any dog that comes to Birmingham will have to pay the tax. The town dogs would resent any such discrimination In fact, they would raise big howl if it should be parked abroad that one dog got away free while others had to pay the tax. appreciate your position, but can't do anything for you
 But as the negro went out of the door
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
What This District Is Doing

A fall in pig iron making from 25,- 7S1, 1,361 tons in 1907 to an estimated production of 13,25O, ,O0O tons in 1908 is certainly precipitous enough. But this district will do better proportion- ately than the country of which it is a part. One-half of the calendar year has elapsed, and the record of this district to July 1 is as follows:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14

Mrs. Nicholas Longworth and Mrs. Ruth Bryan Leavitt met for the first time at the Denver convention, and their greetings were cordial Both were equally well dressed.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14

The venerable two-thirds rule is to be retained four years longer in demo- cratic national conventions.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14

The al fresco bed is popular in the cities that do not possess Birming- hams summer resort weather.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14

Colonel Guffey was picturesque and aggressive while he lasted. He was soon snuffed out, however.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
ONE OF MANY

Alas, we often heard him say, In a calm, close-lipped, determined way, I'll save my money-yes I will"
 But he went to his grave resolving still
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14

It is said one delegate to the Denver convention cheered so loud he lost his false teeth, and consequently his stren- uous voice.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14

Nick and Mrs. Longworth both went to Denver but 1t stands to reason that they did not go with minds open to conviction.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14

This rule in building convention halls is a good one-first get your acoustics and then build hall around them.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14

Colonel McCarren will go back con vinced that Coney Island can beat Den yer any time in weather or politics.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14
WHILE AWAY FROM HOME.

Birmingham people who are leaving home for the summer should have The Age-HeraId follow them, and thus keep Informed about what Is taking place in the city and state during their absence. The Age-Herald will be sent to them at any address at the regular price, and the address will be changed as often as desired. The man that hath not music in him.
 self,
 Nor Is not moved with concord of
 sweet sounds, Is fit for treason, strategems, and spells.
 Merchant of Venice.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14

The hot weather is reducing the number of nickelodeons.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-14

This week some unfortunate will have to accept the prohibition nomina- tion for vice president.