davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03
Men that make
Condition Of the Treasury

Today the treasury has $236,0O0,ooo
deposited in national banks. After the
manic Of 1893 it had but $15,2OO,O00 in
the banks. Under the circumstances
It is. therefore, idle to say the govern
ment is "hard up" 1t has plenty OF
money on hand. and it can place bonds
almost without limit.
Secretary Cortelyou predicted sur
plus of $42 900 900 in the present fiscal
year, which will be ended June 30
next. Up to this time in the fiscal
year a deficit of $14,000,000 has been
scored, and a total deficit of $40 900, 900
in the fiscal year is now anticipated.
But what is a deficit of $20,OOO,Oo0 to
a country that has s2S6,OOo,oOO lying
idle in national banks?
Congressman Tawney endeavors to
scare Congress by declaring that de-
felt of $1OOO00,OOO will occur in the
next fiscal year unless appropriations
are cut down. But a deficit OF even
that amount would not take away a
working balance or drive the country
into the placing of bonds. After 1898
there was deficit in single fiscal
year of $69, 800, 900. The shrinkage in
imports was immense. The shrinkage
in imports at present is heavy, but it
is not probable that Congressman Taw-
ney will have to face a deficit Of $780,
10000 IN June, 1909, and even IL he
did the treasury would still have an
abundance of currency.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03

Punta Arenas is a halfway stopping
place on the strait. Navigation is not
difficult to Punta Arenas, but west
ward from the little port the shores
become holder, and islands, consisting
of great rocks, become numerous. The
tides are strong, and skillful pilots be-
come needful
Our battleships will be carefully
piloted to the open sea against the fast
currents Of the savage waterway.
After the ships enter the Pacific the
dangers of the long practice cruise are
pretty nearly overcome, and all can
then wait with patience to hear of
their arrival in March at Magdalena
Bay, port granted to the United
States by Mexico. It is in Lower Cali
fornia. After this voyage is ended our
officers and able-bodied seamen will
certainly be well Injured to the sea.
They will be seadogs of the peaceful
sort, and the hope is that they will
never have to fire hostile shot.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03
ReyoIutisnarIes In PORTUGAL

A tragedy in Lisbon had been an
ticipated nearly a year. The country
itself is in a backward condition, and
dictator had arisen in the person of
Premier Franco, who, supported by the
King, but not by the crown prince, did
not hesitate to dissolve parliament in
order that he might by DEGREES sup
press the liberty of the press and fin
ally to Danish on the drumhead plan
all whom he happened to dislike.
Strangely enough, under the circum-
stances, Senior Franco is alive and
we'll. He is as full of authority as he
was before the King and crown prince
were shot down. He is man of
strong will and unquestioned courage,
and the combat between what he rep
resents and the people will, it is
feared, go on. But at present the
masses are lamenting the terrible trag-
edy, and order will be restored, at
least temporarily.
England is an ally of Portugal, but
England cannot afford to champion the
acts Of Franco. The English people
would not stand for any such conduct
on the part of their government.
Nothing of that nature need be appre-
hended, for the liberals are in power
in England, and they will find some
excuse for not coming to the rescue
of the Russianized government of Pre-
mier Franco.
The bold assassination in the streets
of Lisbon should be a warning to the
Car and Premier Stolypin, who are
endeavoring to reinstate system not
unlike that in operation in Portugal.
The time has gone by when an au-
tocracy can dispense with the coop
Grafton of the people even in far away
Persia or China. Peace prevails when
the people are consulted-when the
people participate in the government.
Even Germany has had a touch of the
Portuguese trouble.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03
oUiDA AND SOME OTHERS.
I'M the Philadelphia INQUIRER.

rfoTl inc EultduclpIiid INQUIRER.
1t was because of the storm raised by
her early books, which now seem in
nocuous. that Ouida took dislike, to
the very reading public which made
her fortune. She was not satisfied
with the money; she wished readers
to admit that she told the truth in
good literary form. The public would
not go so far In the existing state of
social IDEAS 1t simply called her hard
names in public and privately read her
works. In this day Ouida's novels are
not widely read. This is due to many
causes. The craftsmanship of the nov
elist has greatly advanced since her
day, and SO far as themes based on re-
lations of the sexes are concerned.
Ouida IL back number. We have
gone so far beyond her that she seems
almost literary prude. She blazed
the way and others have outstripped
her in all directions. Nevertheless.
there never will come a time when
many persons wal not enjoy some of
her books. They hadNthe merit of in
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03
Great VioIinists.

MANY of the worlds famous
violinists have appeared in Birming
ham," remarked a musician, "but not in
recent years has one of Kubelik's won
derful vituosity been heard here. Ku-
belik was a prodigy in boyhood and
unlike most boy wonders, he has de-
veloped into a great artist. He has
been the musical sensation. in New
York this season and he viii be greeted
here by large audience when he gives
a recital on the 18th of this month.
''Wilhelmj, who died recently, was a
fine classic player with the exception
of Joachim the greatest classic violin
list the world has known. Ysaye as a
,vituoso and all round player is un-
excelled. Kubelik belongs to his class
and in brilliancy is said to be fully his
peer.
"Kubelik is to the violin what Pade-
rewski is to the piano. That perhaps
gives better idea of the young vio-
linist than all 1.-The analytical essays
that might be written"
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03
A Good Sign.

One of the best signs of returning
prosperity" said a business man last
night, lis the animated scenes in the
Hobbies of the hotels.
In December and the early part of
January the hotel registers showed a
falling off in the number of guests and
few people were seen in the hotel
cafes. 1t is different now All the
hotels were well filled Saturday aud
today and the lobbies presented ANNA
ted scenes. Commercial travellers, are
largely in evidence and they report
good business. and within the past
few days many prosperous lowing
northern men have registered at the
hotels. Some of them are evidently
here with a view of making invest
ments."
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03
Publicity of Campaign Funds

Secresy in anything presumtively
foreshadows hidden purpose. To this
day the great subscription lists Sc
cured by Mark Hanna and George B.
Cortelyou have not been made public.
They are kept a close secret, and this
means there is much in them that the
republican party cannot afford to dis
close. This means that from them
can be gathered public policies and
judicial appointments and judicial de-
cisions, and all the other acts of gov
eminent When a magnate subscribes
q vast sum ne asks for something in
return. He expects something in re-
turn. This is why the slush funds of
1896, 1900, and 1904, each and all of
immense proportion, have not been
made public.
The subject is before the house COM
mittee on election of President and
Vice President Mr.. Bryan recently
appeared before that committee, and
in the course of a speech he asked for
publicity of the immediate sort. He
opposed with emphasis the policy of
permitting few men to provide CAM
paign funds. He may have had the
Roosevelt Hartman fund in mind.
Mr.. Bryan and Mr.. Roosevelt have
both spoken plainly on this subject,
and the people should now watch the
outcome. The republican leaders are
to decide whether secrecy or publicity
be able-whether the few or
the many are to dictate the govern.
mental policies-wAether the plain
citizen is to stand on the same footing
with the man who contributes a big
sum to the campaign fund. 1t Is a
question that underlies the ballot box
itself, and the manner in which it Is
decided at this session of Congress will
show what the republican party stands
for, desires, and is prepared to main
tain even IL the republic goes to the
dogs as natural and logical result.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03
Banking Situation Improved.

Henry Clews in his weekly letter of
Saturdays date says:
On the Stock Exchange the recent
bank failures and troubles in financial
institutions had little effect. These
were simply the aftermath of the panic
and part of the general houseclean-
ing then undertaken. The local bank
ing situation has been immensely inn
proved and is now in very satisfactory
condition, despite the fact that some
of the difficulties created by the panic
are only now coming to the surface.
Should any more of these troubles be
exposed, they need now cause no loss
of confidence in the banking situation
in this city. Those in control are fully
determined to eliminate the weak fea-
lures and raise the standards of bank
ing conduct in New York. In future 1t
may be depended upon that bank man.
agement in this city will fall upon
men who as presidents and directors
stand high, not only s regards ability,
but whose reputation for integrity and
disinterestedness will be beyond >ques-
ton.
1.-THE panic will at least have had one
good effect in that it will immensely
raise the standards and ethics of bank
ing in this the second banking center
of the world"
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03
Straits of MAGELLAN

The battleship feet is now at the
little Chilean port of Punta Arenas, on
Magellan Strait, where it will remain
five days, taking on coal and other
supplies. Chilli owns the west side OF
Patagonia, while all the rest of the
large and nearly valueless territory be-
longs to Argentina. The long Andean
chain divides the two parts.
Let no one think Magellan Strait is
a short or narrow strip Of water. 1t is
$40 miles long, and its width varies
from two miles up to thirty miles. 1t
is guarded by mountains generally
snowclad, and its depth is very great
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03
BOOMERS PROTECT SKIRTS.
Girl Invents Plan For Saving Clothes.
Device None Would Suspect.

From che Baltimore American.
At last some one has solved the prob
lem of protecting good skirts on rainy
days. The girl puts on her blooners over
her skirts, wraps herself in a big, long
coat and is ready to face blizzard.
But these boomers of hers are very
particular proper, rain, slush, dust and
wind-proof kind of boomers. They con-
sist of full bloomers, reaching to the shoe
tops, and a short, plain founce just COW
ering them. The protector is put on over
dress skirt and petticoats, and held in
place by straps reaching to a belt at the
waist. In black it is, perhaps, the best
though the garment may easily be
cleaned, and is quite inconspicuous under
the dark coat, looking like an ordinary
black skirt. All the skirts are gathered
up clear of the ground, and the bloom
ers are roomy enough to hold them with-
out crushing. An elastic holds them in at
the shoe tops. The one-size protector will
fit any one, as the garment is adjusted
to the height of the wearer by means of
buttons and buttonholes in the side straps.
The protector is not designed solely to
piOlcCl CNCihllS 6VHHS VI saw eau DiiiS-
Not by any means. 1t is to be worn when
ever woman wants to keep her clothes
trim and avoid holding up her skirt while
walking, and whenever she wants to keep
warm without cumbersome laprobes in
her carriage or>auto.
81 was down town one day and got
soaking wet, so I just decided to make
something that would save me another
time" the inventor explained, simply.
Nov / couldn't do without it. You can
walk SO nicely after bit or practice. 1t
saves the health and the pocket and the
clothes. and the shoes. Look at NINE"
stretching out a small foot incased in. a
black kid boot, with Its polish unmarre6
II went down town this morning in all the
snow, and If l had gotten my skirts wet
they would have spoiled my shoes. And
nc one notices it anywhere l go. l cover
up with this long, black coat and you
can't see it. When l do let people see
it they want sone, too. You do not even
have to take off the coat to get out CT
it. Sect
And she thrust one hand in between the
buttons of her coat to loosen the fasten-
ings gave a couple of wggles and there
was the protector in a erumpled heap
on the floor, slipped off like a PAIR of
rubbers.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03

courts; from man-idolatry. They had SAID
to the King: Get behind me- Satan
They were undoubtedly republicans, and,
although Washington's charaetfr and
services had of them the fullest recognl-
ton and frankest acceptance, they shrank
from what might carry with it the idea
6f kingship with respect to his person
Unlike our fore5ears, we have resersed
the good old plan and take to hero
worship as if servility were born in US
We make our heroes, too, on small prov
ocation and out of very common clay. 1t
is perhaps that we are as rule so observed
by the professional politicians that when
we come upon an average man having
some sense of accountability and desire
to regard office rather as a public trust
than Il prvateSsnap, he looms-4arge by
the side of the crawling things with their
hands in the till and their ears to the
ground Or, may be- it is that the mass
and body of men are so busy that they
must delegate to some one their rather
attenuated voice; and that, when leader
appears having even limited power of ex-
preston and a certain resonance, the gift
tongue or pen, or BOTH he is elevated for
the time being into a tin divinity or
wooden Jess, made rather to be adver-
tised and magnified than to be loved or
feared.
Anyhow, the last quarter of a century,
we have had a deal of vaporing about the
peerless this an9 the matchless that of
the popular credulity and ignorance, upon
very small performances in arts and arms,
with no great progress in craftsmanship,
or intellectual development among our
public men; the same old hurrah over the
same old gags of the hastings; the same
blatant party promises made to be brok-
en-; the wastefulness of government in
creasing on every hand, the multipica-
tion of places for tho workers, the increas-
ing of the pay rolls the deserving,
the money system unimproved, the tax
system at a standstill and the robber tariff
playing the. Identical tricks with the pro-
ducing classes, making the rich richer,
but not mending the living of the poor,
that it did ten, twenty, thirty years ago,
spite equally of Mr.. Cleveland and Mr..
Roosevelt, whose glittering generalities
have only exploited their own fortunes,
reducing the tariff duties never penny,
whilst leaving all the trust breeding feat
ures of the revenue system untouched and
intact
The greatest of the heroes will hardly
bear very close inspection. We usually
see them before, not behind, the curtain.
If we are to measure men by their foibles
few even of the favorites of history or
fortune would hold their own. No man,
says the French adage, can be hero to
his valet. Caesar was a trit1er equally
with worden and verses. Napoleon never
forgot the spectacular Washington
stands alone as man without an affec-
tation, like the monument on the banks
of the Potomac which commentaries his
grandeur-Doric simple, like himself
massive, and towering to the skies.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03
THE STRANGER ON THE SILL.

BY Thomas Buchanan Read.
Between broad fields of wheat and corn
Is the lowly home where 1 was born
The peach tree leans against the wall
And the woodbine wanders over all;
There is the shaded doorway still.
But strangers foot has crossed the
sill.
There is the barnard as of yore,
I can smell the hay from the open door
And see the busy swallows throng
And hear the peewee's mournful song;
But the stranger comes--Oh! painful
proof
His sheaves are piled to- the heated
roof.
There is the orchard-the very trees
Where my childhood knew long hours,
of ease,
And watched the shadowy moments
Till my life imbibed more shade than
SUM
The swing from the bough still sweeps
the air,
But the strangers children are swing
Ing there.
There bubbles the steady spring below,
With it's bulrush brook, where the
hazels grow;
Twas there found the calamus root
And watched the minnows poise and
shoot
And heard the robin lave his wing
But the strangers bucket is at the
Nspring.
Oh, We who daily cross the SILL
Step lightly, for love it still;
And when you crowd the old barn
caves
Then think what countless harvest
sh caves
Have passed within the scented door
To gladden. eyes that are no more.
Deal kindly with these orchard trees
And when your children crowd your
knees
Their sweetest fruit they shall impart,
AS If old memories stirred their heart:
To youthful spirits still leave the swing
And in sweet reverence hold tho spring,
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03
A BLAST FROM MARsE HENRY.

From the Louisville Courier Journal.
Whenever an American girl marries a
titled foreigner we hear a great deal
about the snobbishness of the new rich.
and their preference for European aris-
tocracy over plain, wholesome. home
grown men and women. But who are
the real toades in this country, let
us take a glimpse of the behavior of
the American citizen at the Vanderbilt
Szechenyi wedding.
Says a New York Dispatch
"A crowd of fully $4,000 persons,
mostly women, and many of them
smartly dressed thronged the plaza and
the surrounding streets in an effort to
catch glimpses of the guests and the
bride and bridegroom as they arrived.
hundred policemen kept the sight
seers in check
After the ceremony the young couple
escaped the crowd" by getting into an
automobile after the attention OF the
spectators had been centered upon a
smart coach prominently displayed as a
ruse to give them an opportunity. to
slip quietly away.
What is a titled aristocrat?" shouts
gentleman from Illionis upon the
floor Of Congress, and :. every, good
American answers that he is nothing
whatever, and cheers right Justify as
the orator belabors the American girl
who goes title hunting In Europe, or
who is captured by a hunter of heir
esses ID American. And yet mob of
$4,000 persons. in the largest city in
America, dispute ground with an army
of policemen with clubs in an effort
to see real live nobleman. The
crowd is not composed of the plainest
of the common people. Greater inter-
est is not displayed in pyince of the
blood in any European capital than
the populace in Anew York manifests
in the obscure possessor of an unim-
portant title in a fourth-rate European
country.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03
ABOUT CRIMINAL ANIMALS

sides this insane lust for innocent blood,
the Gagged creatures are often the vic
Tins of mad jealousy of a cage mate or
deep hatred based on no obvious cause.
The murderer oftentimes conceals his
hatred with as much fiendish and cum
ming wisdom as does his human counter
part, but when at last the opportunity
comes he strikes with the precision and
certainty of a public executioner. DR..
Hornaday gives number of instances
of such assassinations that have come
under his notice 4serhaps the most tragic
of them relates to the deliberate murder
OF a female polar bear by its mate
at the Bronx Park Gardens. The new
bear had been purchased as a companion
for the one then in the gardens be-
cause he. seemed lonesome. The two were
kept in adjoining cages for some time,
and apparently became great friends.
At last, after three full weeks of close
acquaintance, it was argued that there
was nothing to be gained by longer de-
lay in admitting the female to the large
den. She had not the slightest
fear or premonition of danger. Forcing
the door back she dropped the inter-
vening IS inches to the floor of the den
and was free. The next second the male
flung his great weight upon her and the
tragedy was on. / would not for hum
dreds of dollars see such a thing again.
hundred times in the awful half hour
that followed bitterly regretted my
folly in acting contrary to my own care
fully drawn conclusions. He never left
her for 10 seconds save when, at five
or six different times, we beat him off by
literally ramming him away. But
the rescue came too late. 1t the last
moment on the ice the canine teeth of
the big bear had severed the Jugular
vein of the female, and in five minutes
after her rescue she was dead.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03
A GLOBE TRoTTER.

From the Houston Post
AS a globe trotter, Paul Meyer of
Barcelona, Spain, who was a guest at
the Hotel Brazos yesterday, holds the
record against all corners. Mr.. Meyer.
who is still a young man, has made 16
trips around the world. and is now on
his 18th circle of the globe. He has been
in almost every nook and corner of the
universe and, Alexander-like, is signing
for more worlds to conquer. Mr. meyer
is the junior member of the largest man.
ufacturers of corks in the world, and his
journeys to various cllmes have been for
the purpose of finding new markets and
increasing sales in those already estab-
lished. Mr.. Meyer is of German extrac-
ton, and the other members of the
firm came from the kaiser's realm. The
firm was established many years ago, and
does an extensive business in THE United
States, mostly with brewers
Mr.. Meyer takes his time In making his
trips, usually taking about six months to
complete the circle, although he generally
makes a mileage more than twice the 25.-
600 miles, circumference of the world. He
SNPSNeS ehls tiiiie " go TO MEXICO, thence
to San Francisco, whence he will sail
for China. After a trip through the
Celestial empire he will proceed north
and will then Journey across Siberia on
his way back to Barcelona. . This will
be Mr.. Meyers fourth trip across ST.
beria.l
A. Koenig of Milwaukee is accompany
ing Mr.. Myer on his trip in the United
States and Mexico. They had apart
ments yesterday at the Hotel Brazos.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03

the cigarette goes to and from her lips.
Skilfully executed, the movement is ex-
quisite But many women, alasi have
not been lowered with delicate fingers,
and manyA again. wear the most exeerable
and obvious rings. There are few more
boring sights than the perpetual glitter
of a marquise ring that is exactly like
200 other marqufse rings. The ornaments
on woman's fingers should be as per-
sonal to her as the arrangement of her
hair. 1t is, therefore, futile to smoke
simply with view of proving that you
possess no scintilla of an Individuality
And if you have beautiful fingers adorned
with mysterious and interesting rings. it
does not surely pass the art of woman to
devise a method of showing these won
derful charms other than with the cult of
tobacco.
Carmen is delightful with her cigar
cites; is she less fascinating as she toys
with rose? The tobacco plant is the
emblem of man. Flowers are the emblem
of women.
The proof of my contention lies in this
fact; smoking is going out. We believe it
TO be feminine nabit, whereas 1t is
only a feminine fashion, like stunning
or speculation in copper. Society is es-
sentially Athenian 1t longs for some
new thing" When that new thing"
whatever it may be, has spread from
Belgravia to Bayswater, from Mayfair
to Mazda Vale, then that new thing" is
old-older than the hills-and society must
1a 1Ad ole
an found that her maid pilfered her cigar
cites to smoke in the servants hall the
fashion received mortal wound Today
1t is slowing dying-dying of popularity.
Popularity is fatal to fashion.