davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-01

cents, and at the better restaurants the price of Scotch highball is half a dol lar I have paid 25 cents for a small glass of mineral water and 37 cents for 8 glass of lemonade.
 The rates at the Carlton Hotel, where I am stopping, are about the same as those of the best hotels in New York, and it seems to me that the face of Queen Victoria on the golden sovereign, the coin which is universally used here, turns pale whenever l look at it and order meal. I suppose the old lady knows she is going to leave me.
 Indeed the situation of these people makes me think of Tantalus, who was condemned to stand up to- his chin in water under a loaded fruit tree and see fruit and water retreating every time he sought to satisfy his hunger and thirst. or of the poor little boy whose face is pressed against the glass of the candy store windows as he hungrily eyes the sweetmeats within. Johannesburg is sur rounded by gold, bedded on gold, with gold extending 30 miles on each side of 1t. It is pouring out one hundred and twenty odd millions of gold dollars every twelve months, and for the past ten years it has been flooding the globe Nevertheless it's people are poor, and the most of the treasures they dig from their soil go to tho nabobs of England and the stock companies of Europe. It is somewhat like Ireland, country of absentee landlords, and it's people are the white and black slaves of these far-away millionaires. In addition to this the country is cursed by the cheap native and Chinese labor sup ply It would be far better off if it turned out less gold and diamonds at a high wage rate and the wages were spent at home.
 As d result of this boom and it's col lapse the South Africans are deeply in debt Both farms and business blocks are plastered with mortgages and interest rates are comparatively high. The peo- pie are optimistic, and they have all the push of the pioneers in a fast developing country. They overestimated everything at the time of the war and branched out upon credit During the fight with the Boers money flowed like water. England purse strings were opened and golden shower raned down upon the Transvaal. New institutions of all kinds were created. Expenses were enormously increased and everything was planned as though the war appropriations and the large war population were to continue forever. This was not confined to Johannesburg, but
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-01

practical purposes.
 To teach. we are told Is to disciple. or make disciples: and one of the sad dest facts in our current Christianity is that we have so many prea chers who seem to think that it is possible to dis cple people without teaching them any thing that 1t is worth while for a rational soul to know. Camp followers are not an army, and Caesars ''Calones" were not the Tenth Legion The apostles were instructed by the Master to teach before baptizng, and then to continue to teach those whom they had baptized. But it is becoming too fashionable nowadays to teach very little before baptlzing, and not at all after baptism
 Let us note for a moment, some of the most important questions that a human soul can ask; and then see how utterly dependent we are upon revelation for any satisfactory answers:
 How came I here?" or, in othee words "Who made me?" The 5-year-old child in the infant class can answer that ques- tion; but Cicero could not. With the Bible closed the greatest philosopher cannot make even an intelligent guess at the solution of this great problem.
 What is to become of me after death?" With the Bible closed all human sci ence is absolutely dumb on this ques- tion. The Blackfoot Indian knows as much as Aristotle; that is to say, noth- ing.
 How should I behave myself here?' Well, a being who knows nothing of his origin, and nothing of his destiny, cannot know much about his duty. If a traveller does not know whence he came, nor whither he is going, he can hardly know much about his road, nor much about his gait. If we take away from what is called ''the science of ethics" all that it borrows from the Bible, the remainder will be a system of more or less elab-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-01

somehow got hold Of it-probablv from hints in the Old Testament-and they held and defended 1t with the utmost tenacity. From the 24th verse of the 11th chapter of the Fourth Gospel we learn that Mar tha. the sister of Lazarus. devoutly be- lieved it even before her brother was raised from the dead.
 The history. the substance and the re- suits of this doctrine furnish abundant reasons for the patent fact that the apos- ties held it 10 be the cornerstone of Chris tianity as a practical scheme for regu- lating mans life upon this earth The resurrection is the only form of the doc Urine of mans immortality which has ever taken any practical hold upon large masses and long successions of men, and really regulated their manner of living. The problems which confronted and sore ly puzzled Job have not yet been satis- faotorily solved. Neither Edwards, Me Gosh nor Bledsoe has spoken the last word upon them. But we may fairly say that they are not now so dark as they were to Job when from the depths of
 
 emn question burst forth, 'If a man die. shall he live again?" If our faith is firmly fixed upon the Christian doctrine of a fu- ture life we may easily comfort ourselves with the belief that much that is wrong here will be righted there.
 One of the most striking of rhe re- suits of this doctrine upon the social life of our race is to be noted in the fact that historically and logically speaking, it has revolutionized the gov ernment of every enlightened nation in Christiandom, To the ancient philo phers, mans immortality was a specu lative and ftful dream-not a doctrine which moulded the life. Julius Cesar the ablest statesman and one of the first scholars of his day evidently held
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-01
JOHANNESBURG IN 1oo8-By Frank (

Johannesburg has, in proportion, a larger colored population than Washing ton. It has 60,O00 or 10000 natives, made up of Kafirs, Basutos and other negroes of this part of the world. The blacks are not allowed to vote, and they have little to do except as workers for the whites. They have far less rights than our ne- groes, although they dress and look much the same. The Kafir here rides in a sep arate car, little open trailer which is at tached to the rear of the trains for his accommodation. In going along the streets the negroes must keep off the pavements and walk only on the edge of the roadway or in the middle of the streets. He has his own churches and schools, and the whites expect him to keep to them.
 About the only municipal positions that the blacks have are as assistant police- men. They are dressed in uniforms, and carry clubs, which are more like shilla- lahs than our police clubs at home. The Kafrs also act as jinriksha men. They have little victoria-like two-wheeled car riages, in which they pull one about for
 
 The jinriksha men are mostly Zulus, and they are among the queerest natives I have yet seen. They dress their hair in all sorts of ways, making it stand out from their heads in great rolls or horns. Not few of them have real COW horns so fastened to their heads that they seem to grow there, the roofs of the horns be- ing hidden in the wool. These men wear brooches which reach half way down the thigh, leaving the lower part of the legs and feet bare. They paint tho bare por- tions with whitewash.
 Of the 9O,0O0 whites in Johannesburg about 60,000 are males and the remainder females. In other words, there are about 10000 more men than women, and large part of the former are bachelors who have come here to seek their fortunes. Many of these drifted here at the time of the war and were soldiers in the Boer or English armies. When peace was de- clared the country was booming, and for a while they found plenty to do. At that time Johannesburg was growing like a green bay tree. Many new buildings were going up, real estate vaiues rose out of sight, and everything was planned on the basis of Johannesburg becoming a sec- ond Chicago. The money paid in indem- mites and for the repairs necessitated by the war brought thousands of pounds into circulation and the demand for labor far exceeded the supply. Mechanics were
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-01
OUR HARDWOOD FORESTS.
Only a Limited Area to Supply the
 Constantly Growing Demand.

From Arboriculture.
 It will be remembered that there are no hard woods on the Pacific coast. Ex- cept in a comparatively small area in southeastern Missouri and Arkansas the hardwoods are not known west of the Mississippi river, while in the states north of the Ohio where oak was form erly abundant, there is none remaining today In fact the principal source of supply for these woods is the very limited area in the higher mountains of western North Carolina. part of Virginia, West Virginia, eastern Tennessee and south- eastern Kentucky, while from 50 times this entire area in the remaining states of the union the demand is constantly increasing.
 Forest conditions in the Cumberland mountains are far better than in other portions of the United States. The rain- fall is ample to secure most rapid growths. The soil has not been eroded to such an extent as to make renewals difficult.
 An abundance of low growing shrub and herbiage keep the soil cool and moist and maintain soil fertility, while much of the region contains ine stand of the more valuable oaks, hickories, poplar, hemloclz and walnut The latter can be quickly secured by supplying the seed.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-01

Denver. Its streets generally cross each other a rht angles, and they run far out into le country. There are some thing like 300 miles of roadways, and the town altogether has municipal area of more than 80 square miles. There are town lots far out in the country and enough streets have been planned to &C., commodate the growth of the next 100 years.
 Denver has as good a street car system as any city of its size in the world. Its electric lines cover every part of the mu- nicpality and reach far into the country beyond Johannesburg has about the best car system of South Africa, and the lines belong to the municipality. I un- derstand that they pay well and leave a big profit every year in the city treasury. The street cars are all double-deckers. There is covered compartment on the roof. and for "ticket''-that is, pence you can go to any part of the city or it's suburbs.
 do not Know how many churches Dem yer has. The city is supposed to be wicked, but venture there is no denom- ination in the United States which has not at least one house of God there. The same Is true of this Baal-worshiping town of the Transvaal. It produces enough of the yellow metal to make @ big herd of golden calves every year, but neverthe- less it keeps the Sabbath and has no end of Protestant and Catholic churches. The English Church will hold HOO people and it cost over s2OO,0O0 to build. There Is also a large Jewish synagogue, about 30 freemasonry lodges and some other semi-religious organizations.
 As to amusements, these South African towns pay more attention to such things than we do in America. Johannesburg has athletic grounds which cover 30 acres, and goifing. There is lady's bicycle track and outside the city limits there is a race course, where races are periodical ly held throughout the year. At the sum- mer and winter handicaps the prizes amount to $12000 or more. and there is for three days. The town has turf club and social clubs of various kinds. It has a recreation and concert hall which will hold 2,50O. I think it's citizens pay more attention to fun than we do. There is no business done after noon Saturday, club grounds. The city has fairly good theatres. It has public library, uni versity and excellent schools
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-01
STEM OF INSTRUCTION-By J. C. F4iden

that mans death ended his exist ence. Now. when this was the general belief. we cannot wonder that the In- dividual man should be regarded as existing solely for the state-that he was reared. trained, educated for the state. It is not to be looked upon as an accident that Hobbes. who wrote The Leyiathan." was an infdel. If he had believed in mans immortality, as brought to light through the gospel. he could never have advocated so braz- enly the despotic and despicable doc trines which are so cooly set forth In that abominable treatise on govern ment.
 When the great body of citizens be- lieve themselves to be immortal, and when they further believeatha this im- mortality has been authoritatively re- vealed to them by God himself, then the stern. inevitable logic of the case will soon lead them to the conclusion that the government was made for man, and not man for the government. And this view is absolutely fatal to despotism Tn human governments. This was ths weapon wielded by the champions of human rights in the England of the 17th century, and the doctrine of ''the divine right of kings" went down be- fore it. A being whose existence and interests are limited to the narrow sphere of this present life may sub init to despotic control by "his betters." but when his thoughts are fixed upon an eternal destiny beyond the skies. his ambition" will "be made of stern CT stuff" and the king who attempts to shackle his thoughts or to chain his limbs will probably have an opportun- ity of learning the salutary lesson that it would have been better for that king if he had never been born. Tho doctrine of mans immortality is tho soundest basis of human liberty.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-01

mired, just what he wanted, and now having accomplished his hearts desire was finding fault with his bargain.
 It is possible there are others.
 Young husband-or old. for that mat ter-did it ever occur to you that possi- bly, you are asking or expecting from your wife more than you ought? Are you demanding more from her than in reason you should receive?
 Now, it is quite possible should you cease to expect too much and quit find ing fault with your wife and give her an honest chance to do what you want her to do and become what you want her to be-if you would give her ia square deap' she might come more closely to your ex- pectations.
 Most women have good hearts and are quick to respond to encouragement and fair treatment.
 Instead of finding fault with your wife, try to help her. Be her teacher in prac- tical things if she is deficient there. Be her monitor-patient, sympathetic, con siderate. She will respond.
 Do not expect too much of your wife.
 Give her a chance. Sne Will meet you half way or more. But if not don't whine.
 Keep still and take your medicine. /
 When trouble is brewing and you can't help it, do the only thing you can do, the only thing that may help, the thing that is appropriate and sensible
 Keep still.
 When Slander gets on his legs and ped des his fool wares; when Gossip med desome dame, goes on her rounds from door to door, all you can do, the best you can do, is to-
 Keep still.
 When your feelings are hurt be slow to show your wounds. You are excited and have lost your poise Wait. Wait, You may say or do something you will be sorry for later on.
 Keep still.
 When harsh words come uppermost, put them down bottommost and hold them there by the ponderous weight of deliberate silence. When anger tightens your muscles to strike, wait. Wait until you can speak calmly. And when you
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-01

The clothes must be rent, the head bare. He shall put covering over his upper lip and cry: 'UncleanI Uncleanr And ha shall dwell alone. Without the camp shall his habitation be-"
 And it is so today in the orient But In America, across the Potomac river, beyond the green marsh lands and under the great sycamore trees, in his dog tent" dwells alone John Early, Ameri- can citizen. 1eper. And across his fore head spreads the signet of the worlds oldest, most horrible disease.
 And his case is only one of PTS known cases of leprosy in this country.
 John Early was for nine years a sol- dier of the United States army. When leprosy attacked him he wore the uniform of the Salvation Army-a soldier of the common good.
 Now he is a legal outcast
 Day following day he 'dwells without the camp" He does not cry "Uncleanl' because none will approach his solitary place. His eyes turn across the sedgy marshes and the slow moving river, where dwells, in the Capital City, his wife and child, whom he may see at distance. but whom he may never touch.
 John Early is brave. He is strong in his faith that prayer and new drug will cure the plague. He says he wants to show that faith and his medicine will cure the leprosy and give other lepers hope. But
 What are his fellow men distinguished as humane, what is society, doing for this man?
 Here is a good American citizen, strielS- en in awful trnalady, thrust brutally out in the wilderness to die. Any humane so- ciety would do more for wounded dog! ,
 And John Earlys case is similar to that of the other 277 American lepers.
 Somebody gave Early a dog tent. Other miserable creatures live in waste places in shacks and novels. some of them slow ly starving to death. Society does not care if they live or die.
 Proof of this indictment? Congress has tried to set aside a leper colony Every time location is named the people of the community object, and the bill is defeated. And this is the year of our Lord 19OSi
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-01

Harry Thaw killed a man.
 He was saved from the electric chair by his plea of insanity and the expendi- ture of s7O0,0OO in high priced lawyers, experts, etc. He was finally declared in- sane.
 During his stay in jail he had special accommodations and enjoyed many lux uries refused to the ordinary jail pris- oner In the lunatic asylum where he was sent he was given comparative free- dom and was served with many dainties. sane asylum by writ of habeas corpus.
 He was taken to jail, where the priv ileges granted him became a constantly increasing scandal.
 Thaw had an entire floor of the jail to himself, with 13 cells for his bedrooms, the hall for a smoking room. His meals were served by private caterer; he had flowers, books and magazines in pro- fusion.
 Besides
 This degenerate Pittsburger with sybar- itic tastes enjoyed frequent automobile rides-ostensibly on business-gay ex- cursions to the referees office, court hearings at White Plains, etc.
 And all this was done under the legal fiction that he was "a dangerous lunatic with homicidal tendencies" but really
 Because Thaw had plenty of money.
 No poor man could have had such priv ileges and attentions. For the ordinary prisoner-the narrow cell, the iron cot, the coarse food, the gruff orders
 Now, such discrimination is not only subversive of justice and wrong; it is im- polite and dangerous.
 It tends not merely to break down
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-01

himself with making them feel good has not the essential spirit of the gospel which he professes to preach.
 Even if we ignore the very important truth that, in our reading age, a large proportion of adult hearers are still de- pendent upon preaching for their instruc- tion. Yet. if we are to hold fast by the general spirit of the prophetic preaching on the Old Testament, and of the apos- tolic preaching in the New, then the sub stance of our preaching must be the teach ing of those things which have been re- vealed. Ingenious" preaching is seldom good preaching. There may be some lit- tie room for ingenuity in illustrating sthe Biblical doctrines and narratives; but, as a general rule, ingenuity in the pulpit is out of pleace, and is apt to be misleading to preacher and hearers.
 Some modern Biblical critics have found fault with the gospel because of what they are pleased to call it's narrow range. But the gospel deals with what has been, what is, and what is to be- It summons the past to aid the present in preparing for the future It is home ly, practical, direct. It is written mostly in the indicative and imperative moods. Philosophy. on the other hand. rejoices in the potential and subjunctive. It deals with what may, can, must, might, could, would and should be. But great range is not always effective range ten inch Columbiad has a tremendous range, but it seldom hits anybody, and never kills any game. A hunter, armed with one of those immense guns, must change his weapon or starve. The mountain rifle has limited range; but, within that range, it hits the mark; and many a man has made a living with 1t. We need a weapon with which to make living through all eternity; and weapon that does execution on three worIds-heaven, earth and hell-has range enough for all
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-01

Copyright, 1908, by Frank G. Carpentero
 Johannesburg. WRITE this in the golden capital Of
 South Africa Johannesburg rests on reef out of which has been taken sqoo. o.OOO.OO0 worth of the precious hie'a' and which is supposed to nave lWo oi three billions left There is more goia aho,It it than about any other city ol the world, and more is coming from II than from any other gold region. Johannes burg is the Denver of Africa, and' hks our Denver it is about mile apoVe the sea Indeed. it is even higher than the oraat mining city on the edge of the Rockies. It is close to 5000 feet, and if you could stretch wire about the eartn at it's altitude, it would almost cut the top of Mount Washington.
 Denver and Johannesburg have many things in common They are both on high plains and not far from bleak, semi deserts. They are both in the hearts Of tbe continents to which they belong. Denver is about half way across the United States. It is q little bit over the edge, perhaps, veering toward the west. which, after all, is the best part of our big country. Johannesburg is about half way between the Atlantic and h. dian oceans, and it is farther north of the Cape of Good Hope than Sandy Hook isrelst of Chicago. Its nearest port is 9 sbay on the Indian ocean, which
 100 miles distant, and it can also
 ned by rail from Durban, which is
 more than so miles farther
 h cities are based upon gold and
 fed by the mines. The territories
 fch support Denver lie in the Rocky 6untains at it's back, extending long istance to the north and south Those (which support Johannesburg are right under the city, and they run in a great narrow strip east and west. They con sst of several veins. covering a distance of 4sO miles. The best part of the whole has only a length of 60 miles, and it IS right in the center of this that Johannes burg is situated Some of the houses are built over gold mines, and the streets run over land which has been honey combed with tunnels and filled up again, after the gold has been taken .out, for fear that the buildings might fall in. When one climbs to the roofs of the houses of this city he can see the smoke stacks of the mines extending east and west almost as far as the eye can reach. There are little white mountains of tail ings standing out upon. the landscape in sither direction, and these mountains