davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13

New England would have seeded from the Union, and at that time there were great men, federalists in politics, who profoundly believed that it was the bullet from Aaron Burr's pistol on that July morn, at Weehawken, that saved the Union of these states.
 time did come when Virginia, in solemn council, recalled her delegated powers and asserted the pact she had made a condition of union; but some 3,0O0,000 men sprang to arms and whipped Virginia back into the Union, though it took more than four years for 2S men with $1O0 to lick six men with less than $5.
 There is a mistaken idea that Jeff ferson Davis got his conception of our governmental fabric from John c. Cal houn. John T. Morgan of Alabama was the truest of all the Calhounites of his generation. No man of his day was so deeply devoted to the Union as Cal houn who believed that its only safety was in the justice of it's policy, and that justice was dethroned whenever one state of the Union challenged the decree of the federal establishment hence his doctrine of notification. He never dreamed of secession. He ad- vocated a dual presidency, one chosen by the north and one by the south, with an absolute veto the prerogative Of each. Perhaps his mind was not quite so gigantic at Webster's-perhaps, mark you-but it was a more exquisite intellect and ballasted with purity
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13

were reverenced as an infallible guide by those who lived in the shadow. The contrast sometimes has power to breed foTgetfulness of self. It is well for us to be close to the sage as he passes by, but we should not endow him with the inn perial prerogatives which forever place him out of our reach. Rather should we see in him our own finished selves, con sidering the utility of his balanced thoughts and acts in bringing us to our own. Latitude or environ of birth count little in the production of self poise ex- cept as they afford the mighty contract of joy and sorrow. To have experienced lifes heights and depths of feeling are perhaps the only requisites to the finished human production. That he is the son of 8 tinker or son oS a lord, neither fact steads him when hes must presently do battle with the warning factions of his own soul. Nothing steads him save be- lief in himself and the clear inner voice.
 which assures that if he but keep faith with his better purposes nothing shall touch him to thwart his intents. Each new victory over some inner unwise sug-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13
HE UTILITY OF POSSIBLY A. B. Bealle

children are in the ascendancy. Though nature is to be praised for establishing the purely sexual and physical needs of the world, no protoplasmic miracle might be looked for in the event her wisest and sanest should be plotted out Not dozen or 20 generations perhaps would heal the wound to civilization, And so we must keep strong and unhampered within us the impulse which prompts to forward looking and the dawn Sooner or later (who knows?) the voices which appeal to us now for coercion of the jun gle moods shall have more willing hearers.
 Only may we hope to attract the bet ter foreign impulses when we learn self government, introductory to which regime if it is to typify the best and bravest of our natures we must encourage re- captivity. Not otherwise shall we be test ed and proven fit to confront the critical exigencies except We reckon every ex- perience as of some worth. No dilemma may be so involved that no best method of solution exists. In the days chances for doing the wise or the unwise thing there Is seldom need for keen percep- ton to discriminate; undue haste, over
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13

its abode in his clothing and that the abscesses caused by a dirty or septic needle are sores resulting from the bite or sting of the insect.
 Several years ago while visiting in Greenville, Miss. dope came into a drug store where the writer was chat ting with his friend the clerk. He came behind the prescription counter and or dered a supply of cocaine and morphine. While the druggist was filling the order, the fiend stepped to the rear of the store and letting down his trousers seemed to be searching for something on his hip. Having had years Of experience with such fellows, I recognized at a glance that he was a dope" and as I sat lazily watch ing him, he suddenly drew from his pock- ct knife which he quickly opened and viciously plunged three times in an angry looking abscess before I could get to him. As rule these fellows are very amenable to suggestion and I had no difficulty in inducing him to let me have his knife. He insisted that large hard shelled beetle, or as he called it, a June bug, had burrowed under the skin of his hip and that he had killed it with repeated jabs of the knife. l agreed with him in this and he readily submitted in allowing me to remove the imaginary dead body of the beetle and dress the abscess and cuts after which he paid for his dope and went on his way rejoicing in the fact that he had at last gotten rid of his tormenter.
 Another vice that is rapidly gaining in popularity in the south is opium smok ing. The method of preparing and using this drug has been so often described by other writers that 1t would be superfiuous to go into detail in this article. Bir- mingham has several such joints where a person may go and smoke his fill pro- vided he has the price.
 If the American, like the Chinaman, would be content with the pipe it would not be so bad, but the American soon learns that he can get the same effect with much less time, trouble and expense by taking hypodermic injections of nor phne which is one of the allkaloids of opium.
 From this he will go from bad to worse by adding cocaine to the morphine and by gradually increasing the amount of both drugs he rapidly drifts into the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13

"HE term "d6pe fiend" may be ap-
 piled to persons who are habitual users of drugs.
 Throughout the maarial districts of the south the quinine "fiend" is frequently seen.
 Many people who live along the delta of the great Mississippi river take quinine as regularly as they do their meals
 Every drug has two distinct effects, the first or primary effect being exactly opposite to the last DOT secondary effect.
 The primary effect of alcohol on the .'whsky fiend" is exhilarating and excit- Ing.
 The person under it's primary influence will want to sing, dance or probably fight according to his disposition, but the secondary effect Is one of auto-fntoX- ication and when the secondery effect begins the person will be dull listless and sleeply and should enough of the whis- ky be taken, will sink into unconcious- ness or the drunk and down" condition. Nearly every one Is more or less familiar either by experience or obserya- tion of the effect the drug called whis- ky produces. Since the recent prohibit tion wave has swept over the land of Dixie, the habitual use of deadly drugs has made an alarming increase, not only among the blacks but the whites as well. While 1t is true the users of poisons are most frequently found among the demi-monde and people of the underworld as well as among the negroes, the drug habit is gaining ground in the
 o1a extent among the wealthy members of society.
 Shifting cocaine is the most popular vice among the negroes. Where they optaln their supplies of this drug is a mystery, as A recent act of the state legislature made it unlawful for any retail druggist to sell either cocaine or morphine With out phxsician's prescription and even then not more than five grains of either drug can be sold and they must be com pounded in a mixture. or in combination with other accomplishments drugs
 The writer was personally acquainted with "dope" who died recently, but while in the quick he made comforta- ble living by "bootlegging' (peddiing) morphine and cocaine. l am told that several people in the city have many cus- toners whom they supply with drugs
 The most popular method of taking CO.,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13

with visionaries and the vicious. but their doctrines are decidedly detrimental to the interests of society.
 Society is not all that 1t should be and might be. The causes for diseontent are numerous, the discrepancy between the very rich and the very poor is too great. The power of money is often mis- applied and instead of it's being used to crush the weak it should be employed to curb the strong. Sympathy is what the unfortunate ask for rather than assist ance, and a word of encouragement will do more good that flung dollar. It is a mistaken idea, although many hold to it, that the poor envy the rich or that the laborer hates his employer. There are undoubtedly those who make vulgar display of their riches and thereby arouse a feeling of antipathy against themselves rather than one of envy of their pos sessions; and there are also employers
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13

balanced men is surely not greater than one to one thousand of the population,
 counting as balanced him who in the varied exigencies of life leaps at no swift conclusions wherein may be affected his or another's well or ill-being. And to this rarity may be in part attributed the enlargement of soul one feels when in contact with the self-controlled man or woman In the midst of the days stress, in the beggarly babel of one ideaed men, that fortune which leads where the poised one stands may not be too eagerly embraced. Not as a pupil to a master, however, but as a novice in the beautiful laws might contemplate the gracious purposes of his own life exactly, or nearly exactly, expressed. Yet even in this fine privilege there is hazard.
 Hero worship, If carried to it's farthest limits, is well calculated to discount in some measure the native possibilities of the worshipper. When the chief office of the teacher is to lead the pupil into somewhat more intimate sense of it's un- tried powers, a healthier act is accomp- lished than if from its superior height it
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13
St. Louis Man Defies All Laws of Ma
 ture as Laid Down.

From the Atlanta Constitution.
 Herr simon Bildsten, of St. Louis, Is a centenarian; also he is an iconoclast of 1Skarat dimensions,
 Understand, at the start, that we do not vouch for the story It comes from the St. Louis correspondent of the New York World, and We have not the honor of the gentleman's acquaintance.
 At any rate, the vivaclous Herr Bd- stein has been doing all his life, the very things upon which the austere specialist in longevity frowns most prodigiously
 At his |. advanced years he consumes about a pint of whisky every day; he smokes q formidable German pipe from o'clock in the morning until taps; and he eats anything and everything he wants. including minoe pie and lobster. when he can get hold of the latter delicacy.
 By all hygienic laws, he should have been these last 50 years in his grave
 On the contrary he is one of the liveli- est residents in the Missouri city. He does all the chores round the house, chops wood and carries hods of coal for daily exercise.
 Above all, he doesn't worry It is worry that ages, he says, not moderate in- culgence in stimulants and the other good things of life. Likewise, he abhors in- temperance.
 To the chilly scientists who believe long life is a reward of abstinence, and that regular indulgence in whisky and tobacco clips off years at rate indefinite, we refer the baffling case of this gentleman from Missouri, with more than an hundred summers and winters to his credit
 Likewise, his history may De of infinite solace to the gentry who consistently hold that the cup and the pipe are the first aids to smoothing the rugged pathway of daily existence.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13

speech there was a call for contribu- tions to the endowment fund of the col lege. A plain farmer arose and said: Brother Moderator. I am plain, uned- ucated man. I've heard great deal said about the great scholar who spoke a while ago. and I listened carefully to his speech, and he didn't say single word that I could not understand. Now, if ed- ucating a preacher makes him talk that way I want to help I'll give $50 to Rich mond college" That was one of the most effective speeches that I have ever heard in behalf of ministerial education.
 If the great business of the preacher is to expound the Scriptures, and to apply their inspired teachings to the current
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13
BIRMINGHAM "DOPE FIENDS"-By H. s. w., M D..

south get quite a quantity of arsenic in their systems by indulging in this habit.
 A solution of belladonna dropped into the eyes will cause the pupils to expand and make the eyes extremely brilliant and sparkling The use of this drug, however, will produce double vision," as the eyes into which 1t has been dropped will see two objects where only one exists.
 Morphine, cocaine and alcohol are three of the most valuable drugs in the entire pharmacopiae.
 I doubt very much if any physician could practice medicine with entire satis- faction not only to himself but to his patients as well, were he deprived of these three agents.
 Were it not for alcohol drug stores would have to go out of business as 1t is universally used by them as preser- vative. Morphine is god-send to suffer ing humanity when rightly used, and CO., caine is the surgeons best friend where he requires a local anaesthetic in per forming minor surgical operations.
 There is not a case on record where morphine fiend has quit the habit of his own accord. If put under restraint and properly treated they are easily cured. Our city officials have recognized the as- founding growth of the dope" evil in Birmingham and have rounded up the most of the worst cases and sent them to a place, or farm" where they are under the care of an experienced physi- clan and although deprived of their lib- erty they are well and slSillfully treated and gradually weaned from the habit that is slowly but surely sapping away their lives.
 If citizen is solicited for aims by a dope he may easily recognize him by his saffron colored skin, his emaciated condition and above all by his eyes. In all cases the pupil of the eye~i con- tracted to such an extent as to resemble pin heads or even pin points. If badly in need of shot the "fend'' as a rule will shake as if afflicted with palsy. The poor fellows are more to be pitied than blamed as they are the most abject slaves to the vice and can no more stop the use of the drug of their own accord than they can sprout wings and fly. The average druggist knows this and have known many of them to give a dope fiend'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13

zeal, reckless consideration of proportion, the moments spur-not criminal tenden- 'cies-are the fckle citizens which keep the inner realms in knavish rebellion to the good laws.
 Finally though in our experience with men we may see little to encourage us in hope for any immediate characterization to natures promptings of violence surely there shall be dawn after the night. Great intellectual reforms come only as men are prepared for their reception and the selfish impatience of you and me at their slow unfolding hastens not all the mighty forces which seem never in a hurry. As toleration for scientific postulates came only after long tme-only after a few superior men wrought calmly and well toward exact enunciation of universal law-so today 6 few poised men unknow- ingly perhaps, are doing as noble work in their own way. Ameltoration from prejudice and venomols natural gestures is certainly as prsisew orthy labor as the tedious efforts which were essential in guiding men out of the shadow of stu- pi1ity.
 Birmingham, Ala.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13
SOCIALISM AND SOCIOLOGY-By F. l. Monks

none but the vulgar, and reduced to it's primary elements, socialism simply means d general and equal division of property among mankind, by which is meant men, women and children. The means by which this grand division is to be made are not disclosed in so many words, but suggestions are not wanting to con- vey the impression that it will be better to surrender than to resist. It is plainly evident that socialism is directed against property and property rights and as such is sure to meet with a welcome recep- tion from those who, having neither one nor the other, are anxious to acquire both with the least possible effort. Such a prospect is sure to gladden. the hearts of millions who will gladly enlist under the red flag and follow any leader who promises wealth without work.
 Sociology, an alluring and attractive subject, is the same old serpent in a new role. Under the guise of seeking the bet
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13

who regard their employees as just so many machines to be used until useless and then cast aside. Such vulgar and callous men are not the rule, neverthe- less they sometimes bring down upon the heads of others the odium and cen sure strictly their own.
 Against the socialist and his doctrines the world can protect itself even if by so doing it has to yield to some his demands. but against the sociologlst 1t is difficult 10 contend. The suffragette is a socolo- gist. passing his claim on a denial of sex difference being any disqualification to exercise the right to vote. It is not altogether a question of right or ability to vote that enters into that matter but the possible innovations consequent thereon which might seriously and sud denly unsett1e existing conditions. To the socologist Is due the eternal presenta- ton of the question of sex until, in-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13

may happen to be in the spoon, thus keeping the needle clear. know several "hypo fiends" in the city and I will ven ture to say that upon their entire bodies from their wrists to their necks and from their necks to their ankles there is not a space an inch square-with the exception of the shoulder blades which they cannot reach-that does not show a needle mark
 'Hypo fiends' in a short time become absolutely immune to the poision, and as far as morphine alone is concerned it would be absolutely impossible to inject enough of the drug into their blood to kill them. The use of either of these drugs to excess will utteraly destroy the morals of anyone. If suddenly deprived of the drugs they are very apt to die or, at least. will suffer the tortures of the damned
 They rapidly lose all sense of responsi- blity and when their habit overcomes them they will lie, steal or in fact com init any crime in order to glut themselves with their favorite vice. The average ''hypo fend" .- soon becomes moody, loses all interest in the ordinary pursuits of life, pays little or no attention to his person ana DecOFneS ldZy, uirty anu III a great majority of cases lousey. He dis- plays not a particle of energy, that is, if he has a good supply of "dope" on hand, but let him run short of drugs and he immediately becomes the most vivacious, energetic creature immagina- ble.
 The most depraved "dope fiends" are, as a rule, the most accomplished beggars or in slang parlance ''pan handlers" The pitiful stories these poor creatures tell would induce piece of cold marble to contribute something.
 The "hypo fiend' in his eagerness to get "shot' into himself is very apt to use a dirty needle and the result is a. case of local septicimia, or blood poisoning, which causes a horrible puss discharging abscess.
 About six months ago in one Of the city's cheap lodging houses l saw a typical "hypo fiend' stripped to the skin. His body was covered with masses of foul smelling, running sores and his un- derclothing, through which he was dili- gently searching for a spider, was stain ed and soiled by blood and puss. A per son who uses cocaine to excess will al- ways have the hallucination that a
 poisonous stinging insect has taken up
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13

oaine is by sniffing the drug up the nos trils. This is accomplished by using stiff piece of paper, two or three inches in length and about one inch wide. The paper is folded in the center and the fold creased with the thumb nail, thus forming a kind of trough. Into this paper quantity of cocaine is sprnkled one end of the paper applied to the orifice of the nostril, the head thrown back, the paper tilted upward and with quick in- take of air through the nostril the drug is distributed along the entire surface of the mucous membranous lining of the nasal tract Here the poision Is rapidly absorbed and in about ten minutes the poor victim is happy. Many people who are afflicted with catarrh contract this habit, as tiny pinch of the drug, sniffed up the nose as a person Would use snuff will have the magic effect of immediate ly clearing the nostril, thus enabling the sufferer to breathe easily. This drug Is often given by physicians in a mixture to be used in an atomizer for a nasal spray. The constant sniffing of cocaine, will, in time, eat away the entire nasal cartalidge and in extreme cases the muscular tis- sues as we'll
 Another popular method of slow self poisoning is the hypodemic use of cocaine and morphine in combination.
 The second class restaurant men of Birmingham are beginning to recognize a "dope" when they enter their places, and when a fend gives an order they instruct their walters to see that they do not ap- propriate a spoon, which article is abso- lutely necessary to hypodemic 'hend' A confirmed "dope" will use an average or a drachm of morphine eco grains) and about 15 grains of cocaine every "A hours, enough to kill about 20 normal people. From three to five grains of cocaine morphine sulphate are placed in an or dinary teaspoon and hypodemic syringe full of clear water Is added to the drugs. A lighted match is held under the spoon, the heat thus generated causing the drugs to dissolve rapidly. Asmall piece of cot ton is put into the spoon and through this cotton the mixture is drawn into the bar rel of the gun" and while still warm Is infected under the slxin The liquid being about 9S degree F. or blood heat, causes 1t to be rapidly absorbed so in very short time the victim feels the effect. The cotton,is used to take up any trash thai
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13
THE COMING MNSTRY PREPARATION-By C. Fden D. D.

needs of men. as spiritual beings; to mould human character and direct hu- man conduct, to throttle sin and foster holiness in human hearts and human lives; how dare he neglect anything that will help to fit him for his arduous work? And that the coming generation will have great need of the best and sound est thinking that the most highly eulti- vated preacher can do, Is almost a tru- ism. Novel and taking forms of so- phistry are succeeding one another, and erowding one upon another with head long speed. Quoting Bishop Butler against Tom Paine would even now re- mind one unpleasantly of shooting ten inch Columbiad at a blue bottle fly, or of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-13

F it were proposed to analyze the
 natural traits of mankind-to discuss 4 the bequeathed gestures of the aver age individual-very likely self boise would receive scant consideration. But if it were planned to discuss the traits, acquisitions of which has necessitated unwaverng coercion of Natures primal lessons and the farthest departure from her tickle speech, not humility, nor gratitude, nor courage would deserve earliest analysis. Self poise seems to be an everlasting contradiction to nearly every expression of nature-an eternal no' said from a superior height to the shallow, emotional, fierce, vengeful sensu- ous selves of us who dwell in the valleys of consciousness.
 It seems to me that the calm, beautiful attribute is the kingly parent to all sane action-the fount from which outpours that which serves for the fertilization and culture of the purest and best im- pulses men know-and is seldomest found in the days chances.
 The proportion of what we may call