davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
SOME GANG WAYS

From the New York Press.
 Since the night several months ago when the Due de Montpensier, being piloted through the Tenderloin by detectives. stood in Seventh avenue and saw a mor- tally wounded man fall at his feet the citys pulse has been stimulated by a long succession of similar occurrences. Gang fghts-it was one such the French nobleman witnessed-generally are both dramatic and picturesque. They give the blase New Yorker the opportunity, in pointing out the attractions of the city to rural visitors, to remark nonchalant- ly, Here's where Chuck the Dockrat and his gang crooked Tin-Eye Kelley last week."
 Tourists on stunning expeditions shud- der deliciously at touches of this sort. So from the viewpoint of our transient population gangsters and their little va garies are as important a metropolitan feature as the Tenderloin itself. Per haps more New Workers could endure them if they only would keep to them selves. But when rival gangs pull off a pistol duel from automobiles in the heart of the West Side residence section; when youths armed with automatic re- volvers pump 20 or 30 shots into a crowd ed cafe a block off Broadway; when a gentleman called Pickles, newly released from Sing Sing, uses a child to shield himself from the bullets of one Biff Clark and thus wounds the youngster fatally when things like these happen, all with ri a few days, 1t might be well to do something about it.
 If the police dislike to disturb this mel odrama of the pavement, at least they might ask the actors in it to restrict their talents to the districts in which they are properly appreciated. We may feel certain pride in having shown to the folks from home our ''abysmal brutes," but we don't exactly want them hanging around our front stoop.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
LIFE ON A BATTLESHIP

J. w. Aide in Leslie's.
 To the "landlubber" one of the pe- culiar and ofttimes discomforting ele- ments of life on warship during target practice is the necessity for numerous baths. After each volley all the men on deck must take a bath. Sometimes there are four or five baths day. This becomes quite monotonous The Japan csc inaugurated this practice A bath is taken before and after shooting, to guard against possible infection of open scratches and cuts from the flying powder. When the big guns go off, the landsman on deck is thrown into con- sternation A horrible, sickening wrench makes one feel as If each limb was separately grasped and pulled in various directions. and it is a long time until he gets his "sea-legs" again. Life aboard ship Is not the ordeal that rumor has characterized 1t. The hardtack legend is erroneous. The sailors are well fed, with viands procurable, and their bread far from being hardtack, is as good as that which Is served in any -fiigh-class hotel or restaurant There Is spirit of good fellowship among the men below decks. Each man has his separate duties definitely designated and there are no petty Jealousies ey
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
IS THE CHORUS GIRL DooMEDs 2

From the Washington Post
 From the gay white way comes the report that musical plays henceforth will be written with a view to the elimination of the chorus girls, show girls, and pony pallets. In none of the four big musical sh of the New York season is there single chorus girl, and the leading managers say that the day of these Broadway queens is over.
 If this be true, the effect on metro- politan life will be little less than ap- palling. Back, back to the manicure table and the sh ops will they go. The procession will be long and imposing. What will become of all these fair
 maidens whose toes have twinkled. whose faces have wrinkled, and whose voices have rung out with careless lack of harmony from behind the footlights Nor does the question rest there. What will the divorce courts do now for fair correspondents? Where can plaintiffs in breach of promise suits be recruited? What will become of the lobster palaces? Will the falling off in busi- ness mean higher taxicab rates?
 The stage-door Johnny and the knights of the baldheaded row will find their occupation gone. College boys will have to hie themselves back to the nursery No more will the song ring out, My wife's gone to the country. Broadway will be like Hamlet" without the Prince oh Denmark, and the little old town wilf~never be what 1t was.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
\ DESERT SUNSET

Mary Alberta Beal in the Outlook.
 A fitting close to a day of songbirds and flowers is desert sunset! The Calico mountain to the north first an nounce the days decline. Late in the afternoon it's rents and gashes become masses of purple shadow, strikingly out lined by the exposed sunlit stretches which are gradually absorbed until the whole mountain is full and lifeless. When the sun is low, the rugged range to the southeast is tinged with a rosy glow varying from a dull pink to deep rose, into which a purple hue gradually blends till 1t subdues all the brightness and the purple, in turn, changes to blue. AS the sun sinks out of sight the light clouds in the east become softly pink, the color spreading around to the north, and finally centering in the west, where the clouds are masses of furnished gold, which merge into a brilliant rose color. Sometimes between the bright clouds and the horizon is a stretch of delicate green, with hint of yellow light shin ing through; and always, in living over a desert sunset, you will see the soft cir cling flight of the nighthawk skimming over the ground and hear the low call of the dove. When the brightness has faded and the blue has crept in and ban- ished the red you draw a deep breath and feel yourself a part of the peace and quiet of the sky. You begin to un- derstand the lure of the desert. You feel as If body and soul had always been crowded for room and had suddenly been set free in this immensity. When night falls and you lie down to sleep under the sky thickly studded with stars the clear wind-swept air caresses your cheek with touch as soft as velvet and you fall asleep thanking God for this country of vast spaces and rugger noun tains, the playground of mighty winds, and sleep under the stars Is sweet and refreshing.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
Checks and disasters Grow in the veins of actions highest reared. -Troilus and Cressidn.
Walter Wellman'S Brave Venture

Far out of his attempted course Wall ter Wellman and his five companions were picked up in distress off the North Carolina coast by a boat going from Ber- muda to New York. They were all safe and well, and full lof courage still, for they have already announced that they will again attempt to sail across the Att lantic next year in a dirigible.
 The conquest of the air will not be ac- complished under a gasbag. This was determined when the Wright brothers first flew in a heavier-than-air machine. But the brave efforts to cross the Atlan- tic in a dirigble will stimulate other workers in the art of aviation, and the result will be beneficial in this great achievement, or rather effort, of the present century.
 The vast size of the wellnan ship rem deTeQ IL an easy prey tO lHe "ihuS " was 22s feet long with a diameter of 52 feet. Such a vast body could not be controlled against the free winds of the open sea. even though it did not en- counter the hurricane from the gulf.
 The Wellman-Vaniman effort will long be an important incident in aviation, and when MT. wellman tells in detail the story of the flight over 800 miles of stormy seas all aviators will acquire ad- ditional knowledge of their art. No one is better fitted to tell the story than Mir wellman, and he will no doubt put the story of the three days he spent at sea in a book that will certainly become one of the best sellers.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES

one person who read this poem was re- minded by 1t of a character in Bleak House." the unfortunate lover of Lady Dedloek. who died in squalor and was buried beneath the griine and refuse of potters field in London. Afterward, as you. will remember, before the iron gate which barred passers by from this noisome spot, the proud Lady Dedlock, draggled and storm beaten, died of broken heart
 The poem is as follows: When at the last this weary heart re-
 poses,
 Choose for my grave no pleasant coun-
 try spot. Plant OCT me neither violets nor roses. For when I was alive ye brought them
 not.
 Seek out some city churchyard, fog-en-
 shrouded,
 Where, wrapped forever in the city's
 gloom, The unregretted dead lie closely crowded, Jostling each other even in the tomb. Grave mo no verse beseeching casual
 pity
 These lines alone in which my life
 stands whole Here lies a nameless one; the mighty
 city f5- ' Has now his body as 1t had his soul"
 Pail Mall Gazette.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
Tariff Revision In ibe Next Congress

The withdrawal of MT. Aldrich from the Senate and the defeat of MT. Bur rows makes Bois Penrose the ranking member of the finance committee of the Senate.
 Is the country ready to place even piecemeal revision in the hands of the especial friend of special interests the unchecked boss of Pennsylvania? The records show that he stood by Aldrich in everything, and then singly stood for more grants of privilege than even Aldrich had countenance to recommend to the Senate. This Is the man who Is slated by precedent to take charge of tariff bills in the Senate hereafter!
 The extent of his audacity as a sem ator of privilege is boundless. He even tried to impose duty on crude oil and he did induce 33 other senators to vote with him, not quite enough to put the Huty in the Aldrich tariff. He repre- eents not only the Standard, oil, but also the coal trust, the Pennsylvania railroad and the lead trust.
 The democrats and insurgents can prevent Senator Penrose from becoming ft,o fr, the Senate, but whether they will have the courage to buck precedent in this
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
SOMETHING FOR NOTHING

I. F. Ferris in Leslie's.
 One publishing house in New York at one time advertised a flat offer of mission bookcase, and you signed a neat little coupon signifying your desire to accept the bookcase. In this instance you received canvasser instead of the bookcase, and this was just a scheme to secure interviews with probable pur- chasers. If you did not buy the work they were offering at the Introductory price," you never received your book case The postoffice puts It's foot down hard on this scheme, though, and it was soon abandoned. All these schemes are based on the principle of appeal to a mans vanity and self-conceit. He Is asked to commend and told that his in dorsement will be of value. and the weak est part of human nature is thus utilized The names to be circularized are obtain ed from directories
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
PLAYING FOR HIGH STAKES

From Thackeray's "The Four Georges"
 Arthurs, Almacks, Bootle's and Whites were the chief clubs of the young men of fashion. There was play at all, and delayed noblemen and brok- en down senators fleeced the unwary there Charles Fox, dreadful gam bier, was cheated in very late times lost 100000. pounds at play. Gibbon tells of his playing p hours at sitting, and losing 800 pounds an hour. That in- domitable punster said that the greatest pleasure in life, after winning was losing. What hours, what nights. what health did he waste over the devils books. I was going to say what peace of mind, but he took his losses very philosophically. After an awful nights play, he was found on a sofa tranquilly reading an Eclogue of Virgil.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
West Indian Hurricane

Hurricanes from the Caribbean sea are land. They seem to have an instinct that makes them shun the land unless 1t be a narrow peninsula, and even in Flori- da there are no reports of damage from interior towns. After curving and re- curving in the Gulf of Mexico the pres ent hurricane sought at last the Atlantic shore, and at this writing 1t had reached Savannah, where the wind was blowing at the rate of 75 miles an hour and rain was falling in torrents. How long 1t will hug the shore before losing itself in the sea remains to be seen.
 Up here in the foothills of the Blue Ridge, at it's tail end as 1t were, we know neither dangerous winds nor torrents of rain. The sun shines, and the pickers are gathering daily wealth of the fieecy staple. to say nothing of the great yields of the Boys Corn clubs.
 The interior has its storms, but they are never tidal or disastrous They are more apt to be beneficial than damaging, and it is difficult to appreciate amid the hills of the interior the damage done in the provinces of Cuba by the hurricane that is now sweeping northward
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
THE BOOK HABIT

From the Boston Herald.
 A Bostonion who has been moving from a house into a flat writes to us: q have my bookcases in and am learn ing by the laborious process of unpack- ing my half forgotten volumes that am heartily sick of them. I shall begin as soon as possible to sell or give away the lot and be free again."
 Ten to one he will keep them all and constantly add to the collection. Few that have the book habit also have the courage to sell, give away, or throw away. It is true that books are the worst of all impediments, and many men are thus hampered until death puts an end to reading or even looking at the backs of volumes. And there are some that dread death chiefly from un- willingness to part with their clogs and hindrances Guenaud, after a consulta- tion of physicians, bluntly told Cardinal Mazarin that he had scarcely two months to live. The cardinal then be- gan to think seriously of his end. Brienne pictures him going about his palace dragging painfully his slippered feet, stopping in front of a famous tapestry which represented Scipio, after designs of Romano, and sighing:7 T must leave all this!" And seeing some thing else of value: What trouble l had In getting these things. Can l leave them without regret? I shall not see them where I go." And Brienne at last supporting him, led him before some fine paintings by Italian masters. The cardinal named them lovingly and then said again, T must leave all this;' and he added Farewell, dear pictures have loved so much-and which have cost me so much money" This led Sainte- -Beuve to remark that if Maya rin's first speech was that of an artist his last reflection was that of a miser.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
Talented Young Actress

Miss Isa Richards, who was seen at the Jefferson theatre last night In Otis Skin ner's company in Your Humble Servant" has a number of personal friends among the representative society women of Bir- mingham, who were pleased to show her socal attention. She had a delightful automobile ride in the afternoon and spoke enthusiastically of Birmingham S landscape effects.
 Miss Richards has the part of Mrs. Knowingsworth Bream' In the playa frivolous society woman-and makes a hit with it. Being young, talented and ann bilious, this lady has a promising future and her friends will watch her career with especial interest.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
IN THE KINGDOM OF NOCOTIA

anger of anti-tobacconists; laughter from smokers).
 Tennyson's passion for long clay is
 we'll known. He smoked Milos and after
 wards Dublin clays; mild bird's-eye was his favorite tobacco. The story that he
 never smoked the same pipe twice is ab-
 surd. for, like all smokers. he detested
 new pipes. He entertained the liveliest
 hatred of Florence, because he could not get any decent tobacco there. and on this account promptly returned home. Car lyle. describing Tennyson. said: 'smokes
 infinite tobacco" His devotion to the herb became so intense that literally he could not exist without it. On one oc- casion, at soiree of the Royal society,
 he declared he must have pipe. A friend
 said he should smoke up the chimney of the library or on the roof. Tennyson | chose the latter, and with his body thrust half way through the skylight,
 puffed away in peace. descending in a
 quarter of an hour greatly refreshed.
 Wherever he went he must be allowed to
 smoke. Accepting an invitation to visit
 MT. Gladstone in 1876, he wrote: "As you
 are good enough to say you will manage
 anything rather than lose my visit, will you manage that can have my pipe in
 my room whenever I like?"
 No one has ever disputed the right of Mynheer Van Klaes, who fiourished
 about forty years ago. to the title of the
 "king of smokers" His den was a-mu- scum of nicotian relics, containing speci-
 mems fevery kind of tobacco smoked in the world and every kind of pipe through which the nations draw inspiration Here he smoked constantly. incesantly-his life | consumption was estimated at four tons
 of tobacco, or ten pounds every week of his 60 smoking years. He died at Si, devoting his whole life to the burning of incense. to Nicotia. N
 His funeral was in harmony with his life. By his express directions his cof- fin was lined with the wood of old cigar boxes. At his, feet were placed a bladder of the finest Dutch golden leaf and a
 packet of Caporal; by his sides were laid his china bowled pipe and box Of
 matches, and steel, flint and finder. In accordance with his will all the smokers of Rotterdam were invited to the funer- al, and, instead of the old-fashioned mourning rings. each was presented with ten pounds of good tobacco and two pipes bearing Van Klaes arms. All the mourners smoked during the funeral ser vice, and at the words, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust" shook the ashes out of their pipes on the coffin lid.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
SEEMS INCREDIBLE
From Scraps.

dp5.
 It was at ball game between Chicago and Pittsburg The score was tied, two men were out, runner was on third and Hans Wagner was at bat! The crowd was too excited to be noisy, says Lippin- cott's Magazine. A sporting editor had taken his neighbor to the game. The nelghbor was not fan, but he had suc- cumbed to the delights of ''traveling on pass" and was having real, garru- lous, good time. At the moment when there wasn't heart beating on the bleachers, and the grandstanders were na1seated with suspense. the sporting editors neighbor emitted this: Look; Jake! Look at that coke train! Did you ever see one engine pulling 50 many cars? I'm gonna count 'em!"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
KenfucIxians and Irishmen

"The Kentuckian and the Irishman are the two people of the world who hang to their native lands closer than brother ever stuck to another" said Normal Peel. who is the advance manager of Tn Old Kentucky the everlasting racing play which is coming to the Bijou next week.
 T have been connected with this Ken lucky play for years and naturally have had cause to study the Kentucky char acter,l since I have seen it portrayed by various actors and in many different ways. I have found that the fundamental characteristic of the Kentuckian is love of native state-and the whole world knows that that is the Irishman's chief characteristic. I have even spent my summers in Kentucky, visiting a friend of mine who owne one of the great stock farms near Lexington. and who Is a typical Kentuckian after the character that has figured so prominently in history. He loves his mint julep, his race horse, admires the beauty in women and above all is loyal to his friend, and his state. He wears the great black soft felt hat of the typical Kentuckian and has a drawl in his voice.
 Bent G. Clark, who plays the part of the colonel in old Kentucky has spent months in the blue grass sections studying the characters from which his part was drawn. It is funny fact about him. This is the eighteenth year that he has been playing in one or the other of the road companies presenting this play. He played in the original and he Is still playing in it, and he is like Joseph Jefferson in Rip Van Wrinkle he gets better the longer he plays the part that he now essays. Bert Clark has absorbed that Kentucky spirit to such an extent that he is ready to fight about Kentucky at any time. There is some peculiar hold that the blue grass coun- try has on men and it has it's hold of both MT. Clark and myself
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
IN HOTEL HOBBIES
Enjoy Trip to Tuscaloosa

Having a little business in Tuscaloosa I visited that city Tuesday. making the trip in my automobile" said Leo K. Steiner of Steiner Brothers. bankers. "I took my wife along and we greatly en- toyed the outing.
 T am pleased to say that the road between here and Tuscaloosa is in prime condition. It is indeed a very fine road all the way. Leaving Birmingham after an early breakfast, we reached Tusca- lcosa about 10:30 o'clock and after spend- ing several hours there, returned home, arriving here in time for late dinner. In the round trip we travelled 124 miles.
 "Our route lay through Bessemer, Ad- ger, Johns, Seares and Brookwood. The caloosa.
 ''It is most gratifying to see the prog ress that is being made in roadbuilding. Such a trip as we took in an auto car would have been impossible few years ago. Even on horseback there might good roads movement got well started. But now, no matter what may be justly said in the way of complaint about some of the long stretches of country road in other sections of Alabama, I can speak only words of praise for the county board of both Jefferson and Tuscaloosa for giv- ing us the excellent highway in ques- ton. That road is certainly splendid model for the entire state of Alabama" :"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
Cold Weather and Cotton

Many of our merchants and others are hoping for cold weather" said J. O. Thompson, one of the most extensive planters in the state, yesterday, but l hope the threatened cold wave may be averted for time yet. A frost or freeze just now would have very bad effect on the cotton. which would be felt by our merchants laterson.
 "A heavy frost now would prevent the unmatured bolls from opening and would cut off the top crop which will probably be 15 per. cent of the total.
 'The cotton crop in Alabama this year will be better than last year, but will be nothing like an average crop. I look for prices to soar to the skies later on."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20

matter remains to be seen. The Senate names its own committees. It has no Joe Cannon, and it has the power and heavy blow when it Is called on next year to name a chairman of the finance committed
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
yisitor,s Impressions

Dr. J. A. Bortz, prominent physician of Nauvoo, Ill.,, spent yesterday in Bir- mingham as the guest of Dr. Arnold Masberg. Dr. Bortz grew enthusiastic in speaking of the beauty of this city.
 Few things impress stranger so fav- orably as the dazzling glare of electric lights" said he. Birmingham is hand some by day and wonderfully brilliant by night. The fact is that the electric light effects make it look like a dream of fairyland.''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20

many ways, the public should show it's appreciation by liberally patronizing the box office on this occasion. The reserved scat sale begins Saturday, I believe, and the demand should be so brisk as to keep the ticket seller busy until every seat in the theatre is sold. The total receipts will have to be about $500 to enable the club to come out even"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-20
A DIvoRcEE's TROUBLES.

The following story illustrates the trials and tribulations of progressive matri- mony: xs4
 "A handsome woman who had been so unfortunate as to find occasion to divorce not one, but several, husbands was re- turning from Nevada. In Chicago she happened to meet her first husband, for whom. by the way. she always has en- tertained a real affection. Upon my soul, if it isn't Charlie. exclaimed the ex-wife, cordially shaking hands with the gentle man whose name she formerly had borne. I'm awfully glad to see you, Charlie Then after a wistful expression of regret had come to and been banished from her countenance. she added: Old chap, I've often wondered where you were and what you were doing. It was too bad we didn't get on better together. I hope your experience hasn't been as unpleas- ant as mine. I'm just sick and tired, of marrying strangers!