davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
KNOWING TOO MUCH.
. New York " orld.

From the New York World.
 Since August young North Carolinian has been detained in Washington on sus- picion that he is a leper. Sympathizers are trying to get him to New York. Reputable physicians say he is not a leper and that any one with blotches on his face may be put in durance on some busybodys complaints especially In that nervous city Washington.
 People fear diseases too much, and fear makes them inhuman to the diseased. In the old days before the germ theories lepers went about seeking aims and were only required to wear distinguishing costume and to ring a bell or cry out 'Uncleanle by way of warning. Leprosy is not very contagious.
 Consumptives used to be taken as matter of course. The discovery that the disease is communicable led to the talk ing of proper precautions by sensible people and led others to drive people with bronchial coughs out of boarding houses and apartments A great railroad mil lionaire and undesirable citizen, to avoid having consumptives cured near his 40,00O- acre estate, got New York boss to put through his legislature a bill making it harder to open consumption hospitals anywhere in the state. Yet a consump- tion camp Is no menace.
 A few years ago a man with Welsh rabbit symptoms would often run to a surgeon and tearfully beg to have his appendix removed, merely because he had getting used to it. New Workers remem- Der when a ship from a cholera port was stopped outside the bay; how Cover nor Flower endeared himself by hearty human "damn;" how the state bought Fire Island in hurry; how people from 10 miles away gathered with pitchforks and old muskets to prevent the landing of the poor passengers even there-and how ashamed everybody was after the fuss was over. The shotgun quarantines that have inflicted such needless, incal- culable loss upon the south are due to the same hapless half-lack of healthful ig- norance. Infinitely more anguish has been caused by mad dog scares than ever resulted from hydrophobia.
 A little knowledge of diseases is dan gerous. Either person should know much about them or nothing, or have common sense-whch is best of all, but difficult.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20

the recent period of depression and most of those in Alabama are now very busy.
 aNorth Birmingham and East Bir- mingham are scenes of old time activi- ty At Ensley the Tennessee company's steel plant has started up again and I understand that every industry at Bessemer is in operation.
 "As for large building operations, I have never seen in the south anything like the number of splendid structures in course of erection at the same time as one finds here. On the whole. then, Birmingham is not only keeping up with the procession, but is making eX- ce1lent records in many directions. was here little more than a year ago and things certainly look 100 per cent better today than they did at that time, and Birmingham was no grave yard then.
 "I do not know what the next census will do for Birmingham, but it re- quires no prophet to see that by 1920 Birmingham will be the largest city in the south between New Orleans and Louisville"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
Banouets Wet and Dry.

'The Mobile committee in charge of ar engagements for entertaining the national convention of the Knights of Columbus, which meets in the Gulf City in August, will not be bothered with the matter of whether or not wine can be served at the luncheons, receptions and banquets," said a Birmingham knight. flor the or der in question has a strict law which provides that liquor shall not be served at any of it's festivities.
 "The Knights of Columbus as individ- uals take no total abstinence pledge, but when they feast in body they must be satisfied with lemonade. tea or coffee as beverages. I am glad 1t is so, and l am especially glad at this time for Mo- bile's sake, because as public sentiment in that city is opposed to prohibition, and does little or nothing, I am told, to have the prohibition law enforced, the hos pitable citizens would not hesitate to serve wine at the functions in honor of the visitors. And wine flowing like water. as flow it would were it to flow at all, would cause sharp criticism in some quar- ters.
 But speaking of banquets, l regret that the legislature was not liberal enough when it passed statewide prohi- biton to make an exception in favor of hotels which would allow them to serve liquor at table, and especially at banquets, when the banqueters desired it.
 Dry banquets are regarded by many persons as very boring. I am a strong advocate of obeying the law, and there fore would not approve a banquet with liquor at any of our hotels here in Bir- mingham; but the two that I have at tended since January 1, 1908, were char acterized by exceptionally dull speeches. No orator can do himself justice if he has been drinking freely, but glass of wine or a bottle of beer exhilarates without injury, and gives zest to ban quet. Now, since the prohibition law is with us, and is likely to remain for some years to come it is wrong to fret; but I do enter protest against the pharisaical talk that is sometimes heard at wineless feasts, that after all dry banquets are as enjoyable as the good old kind. Men should be honest with themselves and with their fellows"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
Defeat Of the Bond Issue

The defeat of the bond issue pro- posed by the Board of Revenue was due in part no doubt to the dislike of tle rural voter to a large addition in the interest-bearing debt of the eoun- ty. and in part to lack of knowledge of the county's needs. The problem room will now devolve upon the Board of providing temporary jail and court of Revenue, and prompt action on it's part will become necessary in order to ward off summary action by the state inspector of jails, whose author ity over insanitary, overcrowded iails is almost unbounded.
 The defeat of the bond issue lies primarily, however, at the doors Of the voters of Birmingham. They did not give the proposition large ma iority, and the vote of the outside pre- cincts became therefore controlling.
 After all there were so many inn portant issues before the voters of the county that many voters became confused. Were the fee system once eliminated there would probably be no difficulty in securing popular rati- fication of a reasonable bond issue for a skyscraper jail and courthouse. The fec system became distracting if not dominating. When that is taken away, as in the course of progress it will be, tie reop1e will see what the county sorely needs in the respect of jail and court accommodations.
 The campaign of education should go on. Two years hence the Board of Revenue should submit new propo- sition. On its merits, without com plication of any sort, it can secure the approval of the qualified electors of the county. It is postponed rather than defeated, and a skyscraper court house and jail in this city will yet become the pride of the entire state.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20

below the lock, however, coming up from the opposite direction, was third steamer, and it was this third vessel which was not yet in the lock at all, that caused the havoc. The engineer misunderstood a signal and responded with full speed ahead" thus driving the ship straight into the lower gate of the lock, destroying it ut terly and instantly transforming the lock chamber into a swirling rapids.
 Despite electric control and double gates a 20,00O-ton battleship could bat ter down gates at Gatun or anywhere else. Risks go with locks, and all that can be done at Panama is to take the utmost possible precautions against stupidity on board a ship. It is not possible to obliterate altogether the ac- cident hazard.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
HOW CHINESE LIKE E.3GS.

From the Revue d'Hygiene.
 Dr. Malegnon, who has dwelt long in China, gives some curious details of the food of the Chinese. This is what he says of the sons of heaven" and the way they eat eggs:
 'The Chinese are great eaters of eggs, which they take hard boiled One finds them in all the roadside places for re- treatments The Celestials have an ex- pression, Eggs of 100 years The eggs are not always century old, but you are able to get them of many years standing.
 ''The Ceestials have a preference for the egg of the duck or goose. They are placed with aromatic herbs in slaked lime for a period more or less long, the minimum time of treatment being five or six weeks. Under the influence of time the yolk liquefies and takes dark green color. The white coagulates and be- comes green.
 "The product of the eggs, which has a strong odor, from which a stranger be- takes himself quickly. the Chinese eat as hors d'oeuvre, and it is said to have the taste of lobster.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
Rammilg Canal Locks

A big freighter tore out the lock gates of the Canadian canal at the Soo, and the entire canal will be out of service all summer, or at least for three months. The Soo accident was similar to previous accidents in the Manchester and the Welland canals, and a fear arises that 1t may fore shadow an even greater disaster at Panama.
 However, at Panama no ship will be allowed to enter lock under her own steam. She is to be controlled in the locks by powerful electric towing ma chinery and the ships officers will have no control over it. Between cleo tric control and guard gates the danger of destroying the lock gates by ram ming will be reduced almost to the vanishing point.
 So the engineers have planned, but all planning cannot overcome the mis- takes of a ship. The story of the recent accident at the Soo shows what stupidity is capable of. This is the story in brief: One steamer was i'll the lock chamber and another was 1ust sentering it, both, craft moving =, s. I.lxa cunorNor Tho unnor gates, of course. were vopen and the iovey ones were closed. \Tn the stream
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
Inf Treasures on tbe Free List

The Senate agrees with the House that pictures and other works of art that are more than 40 years old shall be admitted free of duty. Ostensibly this was done in the interest of art promotion in this country, but it really was brought about through the in- fuenee of about a dozen of picture loving capitalists.
 All collections Illustrating the arts in general, if more than Loo years old, would also under the Aldrieh bill come in free This would enable J. P. Mor- gan and other collectors to bring here many treasures that are at present de- tained in London.
 The Senate paragraphs as they stand propose to tax paintings and sculptures less than 20 years old 15 per cent. This will doubtless stand until the tariff is again revised when it too will probably disappear, and all art will be free.
 The free importation of art objects leads to the filling of public galleries with instructive works of art, and this was the ground taken by the advocates of the free art propositions in the Sen ate The differences between the House and the Senate are trivial, and no doubt the Senate provision will be- come law
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
SMALL FEES THAT COST.

From the New York World.
 Great enemies are met and vanquished Small foes thrive while the ways and means for their banishmenu are sought in vain. As case in point there comes an official statement from Washington that the Norway rat is costing the country 1O00O0.oO0 year.
 Similarly. the cost of enduring the cot ton boil weevl threatens to reach a far greater sum each year; there are q score of fiends of the beetle family chewing up s200. .000.0W of forest trees annually; the chinch bug genus has been equal to the destruction of about $330, 900, 900 in cereals in a decade, and its capacity increases yearly. Besides which, the codling moth in the apple trees, the borer among the peaches, the hessian fly, the brown-tail and gypsy moths and many other swarm ing pests help to pile up a total annual insect cost of hundreds of millions.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
SENSIBLE FATHER sPREckELs.

From the Chicago Evening Post
 When he finds the girl he wants it's up to him. He's making his future-not mine. Object to the marriage? Now. what would you give for young man ytho would marry or not as somebody else advised him? If my boy hadn't the spunk to get married when he had picked out the girl he wanted, why, Td-Td-Say did you ask any one but your wife when you wanted to get married? I didn't.
 Thus MT. John b. Spreckels of San Francisco and Honolulu in a new ver- sion, an anticipatory version, of the fond father of a marriageable son. It is, of course in entire violation of all back stair traditions as to how the upper class act in affairs of this sort. In fact, it has a sort of Honolulu ring. palmetto beach-and- moonlight recognition of True Love as an instution towering above even such sacred things as ancerstral worship and the family fortune. It should prove immensely popular. Your sugar Is sweet, Papa Spreckels. and so are you
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
A Great City,

Atlanta will make splendid showing in the census of 191O' said a Birming- ham man who once lived in the Georgia metropolis. Tt may not have a popu- lation of 150,OOO, but it will not miss it much. The fact that Atlanta is spread ing over two counties-it takes in prac- tieally all of Fulton and has reached out into DeKalb-man cause some ineonven- fence to certain taxpayers, but eventual ly the Atlanta side of DeKalb will be an nexed to Fulton.
 Virginia has a good law which sepa- rates cities from counties. Every com munity of 5000 in Virginia is eligible to apply to the legislature for a city char ter and once city it is removed from the county of which it was geographical ly part. Georgia and other states might do well to adopt the same kind of sys- tenn.
 But reverting to the subject of At lanta, the people of that progressive city and it's environs are one in sympathy and purpose and that being so they pull together and not as some of our Bir- mingham district people do, pull contrari- wise. Atlanta is safe model for any southern city. It gets there and wins the admiration of the country
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20

9 tween two homogeneous peoples
 inhabiting the same country, liv- ing under the same government, in order to test constitutional question concern ing states rights, made potent and vital, however by another issue, namely, the institution of negro slavery. That was 4 years ago.
 The constitutional question was settled against the south's interpretation of it and the negro was made free. Thereafter there would have been no cause, for difference between the north and the south on the question of states rights, but for the enfranchisement of the negro which made it still necessary for each southern state to contend for the right to settle it's own racial problem in its own way without national or outside interference.
 Now, after 40 years of persistent strug gle the south has at last succeeded in converting the adverse public sentiment of the civilized world to its own way of thinking about its peculiar rights and it's problems. It has practically won this fight by intelligence, courage, it's tra- ditional instinct for political government, as well as through the practical demon- stration of the truth of It's contention by the hard and memorable logic of events.
 In It's fight for the twin fetiches of state sovereignty and human slavery the south lost. It won it's fight for lacol self government with reference to the negro.
 Meanwhile the entire country has grown in population from about 99,000,000 in 1870 to perhaps 9OO00,0o0 In 1910, while the south has grown during the same period from about 13. 100000 to perhaps something less than 3o,0OO,OoO.
 Meanwhile also the south is growing to be a manufacturing people, manufac-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
MT. Talt and the Consumer

A more glaring repudiation of cam paign promises and pledges cannot be found than the Taft-Aldrich scheme to defeat an income tax and to pass tariff bill that is revision up instead of down. All through last years cam paign promises were made by repub- lican papers and speakers of reduc- tions in tariff rates-instead we are confronted with rates that protect and promote the robbery of the many by the few and increase the cost of liv- ing.
 The fact about the Taftial part of the scheme is, however, in black and white. Here is what MT. Taft said in a speech at Columbus, O., on Au- gust 19, 1907:
 "In times of great national need, how ever, an income tax would be of great assistance in furnishing means to carry on the government, and it is not free from doubt how the supreme court, with changed membership, would view a new income tax law under such conditions. The court was nearly evenly divided in the last case, and during the civil war great sums were collected by an income tax without judicial interference, and it was then supposed within the federal power"
 Tn his acceptance speech at Cincin- natl, July 2S, he went even further when he said:
 'tThe democratic platform demands two constitutional amendments-one providing for an income tax and the other for the election of senators by the people. In my judgment an amendment to the eonstitu- tion for an income tax is not necessary. I believe that an income tax, when the protective system of customs and the internal revenue tax shall not furnish income enough for governmental needs can and should be devised which under the decisions of the supreme court will con form to the constitution
 But once entrenched in office he goes over to the Aldrich-Cannor scheme for defeating an income taz proposition and for passing the most oppressive and iniquitous tariff ever devised-a tariff that will empty the treasury but that will enable the privi legged few to exploit S0,000,000 of peo pie without conscience or remorse.
 MT. Taft is the official leader of the 1 republican party, and 1t Is he who vii be held responsible for the tariff tha the reactionaries are matching out ant especially for the refusal to pass a this time an income tax amendment VII be visited on the head of William Howard Taft because he has repudi ated his campaign pledges in order tt lift the reactionaries out of the holt into which the income tax issue hal flung them.
 In this connection The Age-Heralt cannot do better than to quote iron the Mobile Register, paper that il conservative always and under all cir cumstances Some method" says tn, Register, "of making the very rich pa, their share for the maintenance of tn republic should bA found, else tn
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR.

woman can stand living in most any kind of house by calling 1t an estate.
 The greatest disappointment about own- ing your own house is you haven't any janitor to cuss over.
 If there was any other way to be so sentimentally foolish not nearly so many girls would get engaged.
 The steam heat that you can't find in the fiat during the winter discovers itself in the ice chest in the summer.
 The reason the baby picks out the mid- dle of the night to yell is its proud father wouldn't believe it if 1t was in the day. time when he was at the office.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
SONG.
Ry ZangWill.

By ZanBWlIl.
 Forgive me if when lilies blow
 And lanes are all a-trill with song, And hedges gleam with scented snow,
 And visions fair on mortals throng- Forgive me, of thy gentle grace,
 If I can find md scenes so choice No fairer vision than thy face,
 No dearer music than thy voice. Forgive me if when bleak rain drips And must obscure the wintry skies, I find June's roses on thy lips,
 June's heaven in thy radiant eyes. So craving skies forever blue,
 And roses ever at my door, Forgive me if I ask for you,
 For I love much--and more and mor
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20

It is part of Beverly known as Prides Crossing, and built on tremendous foun- dation of stone masonary, it overlooks the ocean for miles and commands a view of an undulating tree and grass-grown country from Salem to Gloucester. The building Is of red brick and has a red roof and can thus, from its commanding position, be seen from a great distance. The establishment is on a scale so mag. nificent that a special electric light plant owned by MT. Prick, has been installed in the grounds, for the purpose Of furnishing the various buildings with light. There is also large greenhouse. But, per- haps, most of all the mind of the man who leads the simple life is most im- pressed by the magnifcence of the stable, which lies in the inland side of Hale street just opposite the manor hall It is said that people have gazed upon this building in frank and sincere admiration not unmixed with envy in the belief it, was In truth. the Prick mansion about which they had heard so much. Near the road Is a smaller building, which is MT. Tricks pool and billiard house. MT. Prick is evidently an exception to the rule laid down by James J. Hill in his speech at the opening of the Alaska Yukon exposition, in which he said. ''The life of those who do the work of the world, whether in the high places or the low, is usually simple thing.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
BOOSTING BLACkMAN.
rom the Samson Ledger,

FTOm the bamSOn Ledger.
 Not since Mast drew his pencil across the pages of Harper's have any cartoons appeared with so much character express sion, so much reality of imagination as the work of Blackman on the Birming- ham Age-Herald. In the consonance of nature in Uncle Remus and the Crea- tures' their Illustrator is lacking in the vitality of touch" to be found in BlacA- mans Mandy & Co., Here's to you, young man.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
Small Farminu.

'There are no figures obtainable on the extent of the trucking industry or the poultry industry in Alabama, but 1t is obvious that both of these profitable interests are increasing from year to year" said commission merchant.
 within the past ten years truck farm ing has made large gains and 1t will make still larger gains in the future. Very few business enterprises offer as fine opportunities for investment as truck ing or poultry raising"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
THE REAL CLASS.

From the Baltimore American. Who are the most persistent rooter. you know?'
 Baseball fiends. Do you know any more persistent"
 Yes"
 "Who are they?' Gardeners.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20
TRICKS SUMMER HOME.
, the snringAe,d Republican.

From the Springfield Republican,
 Probably the limit of magnifcence in the way of summer residences along the north shore of Massachusetts bay has been reached by that of Henry c. Prick
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20

The Wright brothers have two other brothers but neither of the other two lives in Dayton or is engaged in de- yising flying machines. The other two brothers are Loren and Reuchlin.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20

The President is a lawyer or else he would not say tax on corporation incomes is an excise tax, while tax on all incomes is a direct tax. Only a lawyer from Ohio would draw the line in that manner
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20

It is the curious who desire to fly, but flying will yet have it's useful and commercial side. What seems im- practicable now can be rendered prac- ticable and valuable.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20

The driver of an ice wagon on a hot day is always envied.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20

clamorl against wealth will surely in. crease until laws to confscate and abolish wealth will be demanded. The propaganda of socialism finds it's best support in the cry against unjust bur cens upon the poor, and the great privileges of the rich. If, however, the rich pay in proportion to their riches and help adequately to support the government there will be no great feeling among the masses that injus- tlce is done the common people by the way the burdens are distributed. Our men Of great wealth should be the first to see this and to propose to take fair share of the burden. They have but to study history to be con vinced that this would be good policy
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-20

Castles are out of place in America, and the troubles in the Gould castle were certainly un-American.