davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
MaanoIia Park Project Safe.

'The improvements on Magnolia mark will go though" said Sid Jones yesterday. As Twill be remembered, some days ago. a petition was filed with the City Cyncil asking that the change of this park into an athletic playground be held up, but the outcry in the other direction seems to have been so large that the council did not touch the matter, or else it died in committee, for t did not appear in open meeting"
 Continuing, MT. Jones said: q have noticed with interest the accounts in your paper of the various activities of the Playground league in the United States. The spread of the movement is proof positive tbat it is great thing. and the support being given it by women, childie1 and business men of Birmingham t only a repetition of enthusiasm in mafy other cities
 It is a peculiar fact that MT. Jones was just preparing to spend an hours exercise on the Hast Park athletic playground. the fnly one in Birming- ham.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
PROGRESS IN EGYPT.

From the Washington Herald.
 E. A. Powell, United States consul to Alexandria, Egypt, who is stopping at the Raleigh. talked last night of Egypt and it's development in the past few years. MT. Powell is paying both.a per the first time in number of years.
 Ut is wonderful to view the amazing strides Western civilization is making in the Orient said Mir Powell. "Only re- gently the inaugural of the first electric railway in the Ottoman empire took place in Damascus
 Damascus, as you know, is the oldest city in the world. The cars run through the famous Biblical street, which is called strait
 q talked with the German engineer who had charge of the construction of the road. He told me it was estimated that at least 400 persons will be killed on the road during the first year.
 This will be due to the narrow streets of the city, many being unworthy the name thoroughfares. They are narrow and crooked The natives, unused to such vehicles as electric cars. will assist in rolling up the total of fatalities.
 With the advent of the electric line, electric apparatus is being installed in all parts of the country. I am sorry to see the American manufacturer is not holding his own in securing the trade in this new field. Germany France, and | other countries are taking advantage of the opportunities and are reaping the harvest.
 "The most remarkable railway of the century is being constructed in Hamidich- Hedjaz which means Sultan's Sacred Provence It is built by popular sub- scription, and will run from Damascus to Medina, and thence to Mecca, the sacred city.
 "The line has been constructed from Damascus to Medina. The second link to the sacred city will be completed within the year. It will save the six months journey across the desert, and will mean that the prilgrim can go from Damascus to Mecca in six or seven days. 'It is called the Holy Railway yet Il
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
Regarding Correct Usage.

"A writer on good English includes in a list of words and terms used incorrect ly Christmas Day and Easter Sunday, remarked professional man. "The writer in question points out that as Christmas is the feast of the nativity of Christ, fall- ing always on December 25, the addition of the word Day is unnecessary. and really makes the phrase bad English. The same idea, says the writer, applies to Easter As Easter always falls on Sunday it is not right to say Easter Sunday. But the writer on good Eng fish is wrong in respect to the terms quoted. These phrases are fixed by the church, and are in a certain sense tech nical Christmas Day is used in the for mulares of the church to distinguish the feast of the nativity from Christmas tide, which covers period of several days. And Easter Sunday is used by the church to distinguish the feast of the resurrection from ,Easter-tide. In the church formularies will be found Easter Sunday. Easter Monday, Easter Tues day, etc."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
Fight Against the House Fly

Mayor Ward, The Age-Herald is glad to state, is endeavoring to chase the housefy over the city line, and the re- gret is that he cannot keep the flies moving until they are forced out of the state, for it is these very pests that fill Alabama in the summer season with intestinal diseases, including typhoid fever.
 It would be well, indeed, if the city authorities would make known the best and most economical method of trap ping flies that have been matched in fllth-all flies, in other words, for all flies are bred in filth, and their visits to food supplies are occasional and in cidental It is safe to say that every fly goes well loaded with bacteria gath cred from filth.
 How best to end their careers is the trouble before us, and Health Officer Hardness or Mayor Ward would do a fy-infested people favor if they would make known an expeditions method of slaughtering the flth-bred insects. Screens are expensive, and it will be difficult to induce landlords to equip their houses with them. A less ex. pensive method is desired, and if Mayor Ward or any one else has such a method up his sleeve he should pro- duce it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
THE MYSTERY OF KURoKI.
Japan's General Is Said To Be Sir
 Hector Macdonald.
From London Tit Bits.

From London Tit Bits.
 The statements in the Druee case with regard to the alleged trick burial of the fifth Duke of Portland are not without parallel, and there are several mysteries of the kind which have never been cleared up.
 At the time of the Japanese successes in the late war it was verify believed by the natives of our eastern empire that General Kuroki, that marvellous Japanese commander was no other than Sir Hec- tor Macdonald.
 Certainly there are a large number of people alive who have never believed that the gallant general really is dead. In fact there appeared in the Times a reward of s50O0 offred to anybody who had seen the dead body. There is also the fact that the general was once invited to go to Japan to train the Japanese army He actually mentioned the offer to Lord Rob- erts.
 On the other hand, there is assuredly vast deal of mystery concerning the per sonality of Kuroki. The Japanese have acknowledged that there is much foreign blood Tn him. while an American war cor respondent stated that he was a Dutch- man.
 Still in the eastern bazars 1t was gen. erally credited that he was "E'ighting Mac has been seen alive in Paris and that his coffin really contained nothing but stones The generals widow. how ever, has emphatically denied the ale gation and has referred to many well known persons who knew her husband and saw his body.
 The Westminster coroner has stated that many mysterious burials take place and that doctors certificates have often been granted on grounds which certainly were not justifiable.
 According to present methods there is no supervision over the certificates is- sued by medical men, and there are many instances in which pressure has been brought to bear on a doctor by the wealthy and influential to suppress the truth.
 There are also many instances in which crime has occurred when certificates of death have been given without any form of independent inquiry. It is notorious that there are many ways which cannot be specified here by which a body can be buried without registering the death at all and without any medical certificate being given.
 All the statements just given are based upon the coroner's experiences and he has stated that in one case a doctor wanted to certify that a patient had died of heart disease. When an examination of the body was made it revealed the woman with dagger through the heart-a rather peculiar form of the complaint.
 The fact to be noted is that where wealthy and influential families are con- cerned there are sometimes ways and means of suppressing facts with regard to evidence of death
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
WHEN A FELLOWS DOWN.

New York corresP PonSient Cincinnati Times
 Star. 57
 It doesn't do tqhbe too cadgy when you happen to be 1u$ II. The girl who posed to Stanford WHte for the statue of Diana which t< bs the Madison Square garden tower ad nittedly one of the most beautiful things In the realm of American sculpture, is now scrubbing floors at the Hotel Plaza, andl glad to get the job. The man who was once a topnotch broker in the street. now carries the banner through that thoroughfare. An actress who set the world afame not so many years ago has been living on the charity of friends on a New England farm for some time, and there isn't the faintest chance that she will ever come back. One of the famous editorial writers of New York is a porter in Bowery saloon. One of the pioneers in the advertising agency business subslsts on the grudging charity of old acquaintances as he meets them on the streets, The woman who was
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

the unquestioned queen of the white light district here not so long ago died in a dingy back room in Chinatown last week. She who was once millionaire's wife whose name led the list in every social column, now shares a four-room flat look ing on an alley with her present husband, a stable groom. The young man who was the best little spender of them all when he was in his heyday. is the hard working employe of a downtown whole sale house. His story is the most en- eouraging of them all. His friends have forgotten him. even as he has forgotten his friends, and he's making good. An other, of almost equal rank as a spend thrift. hides in little Jersey town on the few dollars a month his mother all lows him from her depleted fortune. The light might be extended indefinitely, and the moral attached to every one.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
BIG HATS CAUSE A NEW AIl-MENT.

From the Chicago News
 The .'battleship sailor.'' the raging mode in mammoth millinery, is the inno- cent reason why Chicago women are get ting it in the neck To be explicit, it is causing a widespread affliction termed the pay -you-enter crick."
 This woeful state of affairs was un- yelled today, close on the heels of the report from Kansas City, Mo, that the Rev Anton Kuhls, priest of St. Mary's Roman Catholic church in Kansas City, has placed a ban on acre-broad hats among the women in his parish. He re- gently announced that any one coming to church with such hat will be re- quested to leave it with the sexton"
 The "pay-as-you-enter erick' is crick in the neck resulting from maneuvering ones hat through the narrow doors of those new cars on the southside It is an ailment that supplants the "automo- bile ogle" the "bridge whist rheumatic" and the golf links squint'' for people of fashion Several collapsble ideas have been forwarded by inventive minds to allow free entrance.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

readily find the demagogues to hunt up a pretext.
 Instead of building battleships we should build eolliers and other auxil- iary vessels. The fleet at San Diego is accompanied by 2S ships flying for eign flags. and the time has come when We should no longer depend upon yes sels of other nations in time of war or peace Chairman Tawney made all this plain in Wednesdays debate in the House.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
From an Exchange.

From an Exchange.
 N ONSUE R. E. MANSFIELD Of tV Lucerne states that as the gen. O eral and widespread agitation for greater restriction of the liquor traffic at this time renders the question of the control of that branch of business in other countries of special interest to the people of the United States, he gives the following facts of it's conduct in the Swiss republic.
 In Switzerland the laws governing the sale of intoxicants are cantonal, each canton legislating on the subject in way that is considered best for the locality. The general plan is to limit the number of saloons or bars in proportion to the population. The average is one saloon for about 800 inhabitants, although in some towns and cities the proportion is one for each 200, while in the rural dis tricts the basis is not infrequently as nigh as one per thousand.
 In the canton of Lucerne the rate for license is comparatively high. Saloons are classified, the privilege of operating a bar in a first-class hotel costing much
 
 hall Here the minimum price for license to sell intoxicants at retail is 200 francs. equal to about $40 year, and the maxi mum for large first-class hotels 5000 francs, equivalent to about $1200 per year.
 Each municipality or community de- cides the number of saloons to be licensed, based upon the number of inhabitants, and when the number prescribed has been reached no influence, political or financial, can secure an additional privilege.
 The hour for closing is generally 12 o'clock at night, and as rule 1t Is strict ly observed any violation of the law resulting in a forfeit of tho license. Any special privileges desired by the holder of a liquor license must be applied for to the proper authorities, and if granted,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
MOZART.

New Yorh.-The poet laureate of Eng land, Alfred Austin, has written the fol- lowing poem on Mozarts grave for the New York Independent, which is about to appear The poem has not appeared in England and is thus given its first pulp lication in America: Where lies Mozart? Tradition shows A likely spot: So much, no more; No words of his own time disclose Where crossed he to the further shodA Though later ages reused to shame On tardy tomb have carved his name The sexton asked: "What may this befs "A Kapelmeister." 'Hand it in. This common grave to all Is free, And for one more is room within.
 It fills the fosse. Now tread it down, With pauper, lunatic and clown" Yet had he wizarded with sound Electors. cardinals and kings, While there weled forth from source pro-
 found
 The flow. of silvery-sounding springs. Music of tenderness and mirth,
 One with his very soul at birth. And they, where are they now? The bust, The elaborately carved tomb Whose scrolls begrimed by age and dust None care to stoop and scan for whom, Are all remaining to express
 Their monumental nothingness.
 ~.. Miter and coronet and crown Gaze into space that heed them not Unmeaning pomp of dead renown, Medley of monarchs long forgot
 Who from the nations ghastly strife Won immortality-for life. Once. on Niles bank an artist raised A temple at the kings command, Y And on it name august emblazed; But when flood submerged the land The name was washed away, and To- The artists was inscribed below. Thus vanish ostentatious lives; But through all time, beloved Mozart, Your magic memory survives, Part of the universal heart
 In joy sympathetic strain,
 In sorrow soother of our pain.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
As a copvention City.

''It is hoped the business men or Bh- mingham will respond to the appeal Tor subscriptions to the Firemen's state tour nament fund.- baid member Of the Commercial club 'sThe firemens annual meet this month will bring large croWo to Birmingham. but up to this time the fund is far short of the requirement.
 Birmingham has the reputation of be- ing the best convention city in the south, and this year will give us a new high rec ord in the number and importance Of meetings held here. Our public-spirited citizens cannot fail to appreciate the good results that come from such gatherings.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
Remove Tuition First.

"The idea to establish evening schools in Birmingham" said Dr. E. r. Hogan, member of the Board of Edu- cation, lis very good one, but in my opinion it iaHld follow the removal of the tuit from the High school.
 ''In othel words, I think we should revome al1 rnpediments in the way of the pool kh id to attend day school before we eegin to provide for the night choof
 "Undoubtelly, Birmingham needs an evening school. The young people who have to work should be given every opportunity tdimprove themselves ana the young foHIgners should have the chance to learl the English language.
 "Birminghan kwhen her financial sit- nation improT1 should, I think, first remove the tuit on, and then look into the matter of providing evening in struction."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
eood Friday.

Good Friday being legal holiday in Alabama all the banks will be closed to- day. The postoffice observes holiday hours, and while business in general IS not suspended litfle is done in the larger lines of eommeree. In accordance with his esta blished custom Jake Wells, pro- prietor of the Bijou theatre here and of theatres in man other cities, closes all his houses today
 In England Ga Friday is very strictly observed. All usness is suspended there The samd Is true of the continent, even in Prussia, Iwhere Lutherans as well as Catholics holt the day sacred
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR

From the New Iorh TieSs'
 man is pretty sure to think ne mas genus if he can't do anything with It.
 Philosophy is something you can read with great profit but go all to pieces on If you try to act 1t.
 The way a woman guesses 1t isn't going to rain is when her faimly and the weather bureau say it is. Where a man is foolish to have spat wih his wife is what the present Will coss him to make it up with her.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

ments. especially of cotton, gold will doubtless go instead. Produce ship ments have been heavy, but in March and thus far in April they have been light No one, therefore, need be troubled if some part of the post-panic $100,000000 is returned.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

Abner Doubleday back in 1889 orig mated the national game of baseball, and yet no monument has been erected to his memory He may have to wait for one as long as George Washington did
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

In cold figures Taft has 199 dele gates; Fairbanks. 30; Cannon, 50; Knox, 64 Hughes. 34; LaFollette, 25; uninstructed, 4S: contested, 3S Total elected to date, 4SS. To be elected, 492
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
SWISS DRINK REGULATION

they must be paid for in addition to ths regular annual fee. All license fees in Switzerland must be paid one year in advance, and any neglect on the part of the holder to comply with this requirement results in a forfeit of the privilege.
 There are no technicalities of the law governing the traffic whereby the holder of license can avoid a strict compliance with it's requirements. The limited num- Der of licenses issued also encourages the strict observance of the law, as bar privilege Is considered valuable because of the fact that when the maximum number allotted to @ community has been issued, it is impossible to secure an additional privilege until one is surrendered or for feited.
 All the revenues received for liquor license are expended upon public schools and the improvement of roads in the canton where the privilege is granted. Three-fourths of the money thus collect ed is apportioned for educational purposes and the remainder for public highways.
 The drinking of alcoholic beverages is general, but not excessive, among Swiss men, though not common among the women There is little drunkenness in the country, especially In German Switzer- land, where the beverages most commonly consumed are beer light wines and cider. One rarely sees an intoxicated person(' on the stfets of Lucerne, and never al bosterously drunk one, unless 1t be ini the tourist season, and then the bibulouS individual invariably proves to be for eigner.
 The net result of the liquor traffic in Switzerland would seem to be that it is regulated so as to secure large revenue. which is applied to a maintenance of pub lie schools, and at the same time so re- stricted as to prevent any abuse of tic privileges granted with 8 license to en- gage in the business.
  1 is in reality strategic and military un- dertaking.
 "The Arabs are always revolting. By means of this railway, built by popular subscription, the Sultan will always con trol Mecca, which is necessary for his holding of the Ottoman empire intact"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

Pennsylvania republicans have voted to give Penrose another term. A state that is rotten and content is capable of almost any decadent step.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

We have the noiseless gun, but not the fundless campaign-not if the re- publican leaders know themselves, and they think they do.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

Prince Helie may be using the wire less in his wooing, but he is not using it to send back kind words to the Gould family or to America.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
A GOOD FIELD.

From the Baltimore American.
 ''Did you read where some scientists in France are raising the dead to life?'
 q guess they're going to bring them on to Annap polls to work on the local option bill"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

About a dozen United States Sen ators have been elected delegates to Chicago, and about a dozen more ex- pect to be.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

This country ought to be happy, for Mime. Gould and De Sagan have sailed away.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

The scientists of San Francisco who are studying the bubonic plague pro- pose to dye captive rats various colors before turning them loose. The topers should be notified.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

Mir Bryan is making no lecture dates for next year. He has other business in prospect to attend to.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

J. P Phipps, a Pittsburg millionaire, recently arrived in New York from Europe bringing along 16O pieces of baggage He carried his brains under one hat however, without difficulty.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
THE NATURE OF THE BEAST.

From the Baltimore American.
 "Dd the bulls have it all their own way in the market today"
 ''Well. for a time it looked like toss-up."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

The entire Pacific coast is decorat- lively magnificent in honor of the fleet.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

Guam is said to be the most lone some place in all the territory of the big republic.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

Congressman Hobson views, it IS plain, Japan with too much Alarm.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

Anna and Prince Helie are not lost to us while the wireless stays in work ing condition.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
AN OFF DAY.

AN OFF DAY. When he sits and stares, In the midst of cares, And he cant think up a line Bout the gentle spring, Or the birds awing, Or the warmth of the glad sunshine; When his head is thick And his soul Is sick, And his thoughts have flown away, Tis then that the bard Finds his work is hard And he surely earns his pay!
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

In Who's Who" can be found nearly all the names of recent alleged CO., respondents.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

The Aldrich bill has no friends, and yet it is vastly better bill than the Vreeland campaign device.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

Alfred Vanderbilt wants freedom from matrimonial bonds, and the trouble is to set the price.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

New York city should get ready to fumigate, for De Sagan has actually gone.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

The battleship fleet is now reaping a well-deserved frolic in its own coun- try.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

The rains of this week point to a fair Easter day and grand display of big hats.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
ELIMINATING THE ACTOR,

The Brooklyn bridge is 25 years old and it improves with age.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
THE LAST RESORT.

He tried his hand at many trades.
 But never did succeed In keeping, by uneeasing toll,
 His family from need. Misfortune seemed to dog his steps,
 No matter where he'd go, And fate hundred times, l guess,
 Contrived to drag him low. At length. his patience reached an end, He murmured "Fiddlesticllsi And bidding work a long goodbye,
 He entered politics
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17
LOOKING BACKWARD.

Don't you think that is funny jolSe?' T can remember the time when I thought it was funny"