The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03
ANCIENT HISTORY
CAUSES DISPUTES
Careless Readers Get Fresh
News from Old Source
FAIL TO NOTE THE DATES
Amusing Mistakes Result From Hasty
Reading of Age-Herald's This
Day in History of Brming-
ham" Column.

Through drummers simply ganeing
at a newspaper and not getting fully ad-
vised as TO what he was reading, the re-
port spread around Birmingham yesterday
that Capt. Frank P. O'Brlen had with
drawn from the mayoralty race. The re-
port was false, as Captain OBren has
no intention at this time of dropping his
eolors.
This drummer was so dead sure he was
right that he placed a small bet that Cap
tain O'Brien had withdrawn, claiming
that he had read it in The Age-Herald
He, of course, lost, and had the fact
proven to him that he could not read an
Gent history even when placed in plain
print
This drummer went into the lobby of
the Florence hotel and there stated to
some of his friends his regret at learn
ing Captain o. Brien had decided to quit.
The friends denied it, and the drummer
said he knew it was SO because he had
read it in The Age-Herald. The argu-
ment grew fierce and quite a crowd COL
lected, the report soon spreading from
group to group of men in the different
cigar stands and drug stores.
The telephone wires to The Age Herald
and to Captain O'Brien's residence were
kept hot by anxious inquirers, and the
puzzle was shortly solved. In the column
under the headline. This Day in the His
tory of Birmingham,p was found the fol-
lowing little squib which despite its date
line of February 1, 1903. the drummer had
read as being for the present time:
February l, 19o3
Suffering from severe attack of grip,
Capt Frank P. O'Brien is advised by his
physicians to retire from the race for
Mayor of birmingham, which he does.''
The careless reading of this history COL
umn, which is run daily by The Age
Herald has caused several humorous sit
nations. One lady in Ensey read that IL
inches of snow had fallen in Birmingham
on a certain day several years ago She
likewise failed to notice the date line
which was sthere plain as daylight and
became very anxious to know why it had
showed in Birmingham and failed to snow
in Ensley
One old gentlemen crept into The Age
Herald business office a week or two ago
and wanted to know IL The Age-H Herald
building was the one the government had
purchased with the intention of tearing
it down and putting up the new postoffice
here. He was told no, and replied that ne
certainly had read in The Age-Herald
that morning that the government had
bOIIpbf all n tho
nue. from The Age-Herald building to
Eighteenth street for this purpose. 1t
then developed that he had been reading
this column and forgot the date line, ana
that it was a history column. This squib
referred to the purchase of the land on
which the present postoffiee stands, The
Age-Herald in its younger days occupying
part Of that property.
A man approached Fergus McCarty and
began talking about the appointment of
Don H. Bacon as chairman of the Ten
nessee company. Mr.. McCarty couldn t
believe it, and demanded to know where
the gentleman had heard it. The reply
was that he had read 1t in The Age-Her-
aid. An investigation followed and proved
that the gentleman had been reading the
ancient history column and had forgotten
what it was. He also failed to see the
date line Of 1901 just above the paragraph
reciting the appointment. Mr.. Bacon
served that appointment and severed his
connection with the Tennessee company
some two years ago.
Perhaps the one, however, which gave
the greatest shock to the cub reporter
who took the inquiry came over the tele-
phone late yesterday afternoon. This iu-
qury was How about that exclusive
story of the Dick Halves tragedy your
paper was going to have this morning?'
The cub scratched his head but could
think of no answer, and later accidentally
stumbled over the following answer:
February l. 1889:
1.-The Age-Herald announces that it will
scoop the world with an exclusive story
of the Dick Halves tragedy merit Sunday
mounting