davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-17

fiated facts; the rhetoric is toy balloon.
These begin with the desire of certain
Virginians to place the statue of General
Lee In the National Hall of Fame. Two
letters by southern men are quoted, the
one extollifig Lee and the other disparag-
ing northern leaders in comparison. The
south is accused of cultivating hatred of
in the hearts of her school children, and
the speaker takes occasion to denounce
the authors of those school-histories as
enemies to all mankind" Mr. Darling
then proceeds to accuse the south of
Invoking another issue,' whatever that
may be, in response to the olive branch
lever extended" by northern valor. He
says that Virginia has violated the faith
by placing Lees statue beneath the dome
of the capitol and intensified that viola
ton by placing "the sword of treason"
in his hand. He goes on to assert that
80 long as treason is considered a crime
against constitutional law, the statue of
Robert E. Lee can have no abiding place
in that Pantheon" etc.
On the top of all this the orator
strangely quotes the words, and quotes
enormously: THE letter of the law
killeth but the spirit maketh alivel"
The letter of Colonel Lee, dated San
Antonio. Tex, January 49, 1861, and adj
dressed to Curtis Lee, at Arlington, Va,
is then quoted from the version printed
by Henry Alexander White, "a southern
historian" That letter, as is very well
known, deprecated secession in the
strongest possible terms. And then comes
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-17

you could honor yourselves in fighting
them"
To quote once more:
1.-The fact you sought to establish was
the unity of the nation. But he who goes
back to vilify a great southern hero. one
of Gods noblemen the hero who in the
hour of a heart-breaking problem chose
to suffer with his friends rather than
walk out alone. Whoever vilifies Lee has
missed all the meaning of the war, Is
undoing the thing done by the war and
by the years of subsequent peace That
man who cannot rise to a generous esti-
mate of Robert e. Lee does not know
true knighthood. All, but in spite of
him and all such creatures of the dust,
Gods loom of love Is weaving the life
of America out of all the varied fibers
and threads of the past. No pang, no
pain, no DEATH no mistake Is lost. No
deed of heroism is gone. No weary
march, no hungry bivouac, no boys
Inconsistencies, no mothers broken heart,
no burnt home, no prisoner-spy shot
down, no deserter dragged back to face
the muzzles of his brothers muskets-no,
not one or all these ten Thousand trag
edies of war, not one Is lost. In the long
last of God they are woven into the
America that ist
j have set down. practically verbatim,
the passage that provokes your indigna-
ton. so that you may ponder 1t still fur
Their, and, l hope even repent of your
criticism Beside 1t I set the somewhat
inflated rhetoric of Mr.. Jasper T. Darl-
ing-no, not the rhetoric but the In
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-17

the innate Pharisaism of the whole effu
sion, the judgment that Lees conscience
was not clear, his motives We're not pure
his deeds were not exalted
Further the story is told of General
Thomas denouncing Lee and referring
him to Gen. Scott; then is given the oath
OF loyalty to the republic which he had
PLANTATION of this huge scheme. What is
the explanation? 1t is a plot of southern
people to reinstate Lee as a national
hero. so that British bondholders may
collect the money loaned to the Con-
federacy, and the Confederate soldiers be
put on the national pension list. This is
a comic opera reason. incidentally the
loyalty of every southern cadet at West
Point is impugned. This is not comic
opera. The address closes with poetic
verses
Now. sir knowing that neither you nor
Mr.. Darling represents either the north
the administration or the Grand Army of
the Republic, I take the liberty of de-
nouncing all this as the veriest froth and
make-believe patriotism. Mr.. Jasper T.
Darling may be a handsome and excel
lent citizen of Illinois, but If he was a
fighter l trust his sword struck far
truer than his pen. I charge this grand
crime against all such orators: That
they are going back on the terms. of
Grants magnificent words: Let us have
peace" After half a century, the south
accepting the proffered magnanimity of
the north at the face value of it's elo-
quent professions, says: LET us put our
leader there, the man whom knowing
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-17

we love and trust and revere. Let US
bury the old debate in a genuine brother
illness. Let the Hall of Fame be a Hall
of Brotherly Love- But you and Mr..
Darling scream out in horror. Why?
Because your professions are hollow,
mere words, that cover pharisaical
heart and mind. You, my dear sir oc-
cupy position with Mr. Darling and the
doetinaire worshipers of theory, in
which the religion of love and mercy has
no part. You would humiliate but you
would not forgive. You would not have
peace. You today join In judging Robert
e. Lee, who met q crisis, and met 1t as
a Christian man. How dare you, weak
dogmatst, come in between that man
and the God to whom he prayed? How
dare you say he did wrong? 1t was a
crisis wherein the eternal justice was
trying his heart and veins, even as the
Scripture saith But you and Darling
have a cheap and contemplate reason
ready for his decision You indorse the
statement of Darling that 1t was prop
erty looming above patriotism" that de-
cided the day. And you do not know or
care whom you wound or whom you
wrong with your rancorous judgments.
Being as gods you know 1t seems so
very simple, so very evident that Lee
was even such an one as yourselves
Judge not. For with whatsoever judg
ment we Judge We shall be judged"
Now, sir, 1 do not know you personally
but l must record my hconviction that
such as you and Darling are the greatest
possible hindrances to the fulillment of
Lincoln's desire and Grants exhortation.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-17

to those who, on either side, went down
to the maelstrom of martyrdom in the
COS. But for your opinion indorsing alb ~
address of Mr.. Darling 1 entertain abso-
Lutte and unmitigated adherence, in the
name of the very cause for which you
fought.
The portion of my sermon which you
honor with your criticism referred to an
address by this same--Mr Darling, then
recently reported in the daily press. The
address you send me is apparently the
same in general purport as that which he
%. I ventured to say that there are
men, dead to all noble chivalry. One of
them, a northern man, alas, has just
been raking the dead ashes of sectional
hate, in hope of starting the old fires
burning. o, let Love rejoice against
TRUTH also said: WAR is hell on
earth. No one knows 1t better than you
who took part in those bloody battles of
the early CO.'S No one knows 1t better
than you who, after the war, came to
live as brothers in the desolated south.
No one knows it better than you, who for
40 years have tried to bury the last rem
nants of strife. only to find how quickly
they rise again, ragged, ugly CHASTITY
regiment of ghostly figures, brandishing
the old rusty bayonets! You never cared
to shatter the fair fame of Lee or any
other foe. The bigger. the better, the
more convinced, the more honest those
men were whom you fought the more
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-17

knocked him down, the wheels cutting
off his four legs. some of the bystanders
exclaimed, "Only a dog" But they were
mistaken. True, he was a dog; but not
''only dog That phrase carries with
1t the thought of depreciation or cor
tempt, such as is contained in the Ian
guage, Such a villain should be shot
down like a dog" Such a dog as is inn
piled in this sentence. Togo was not. He
was not cur, he was not a thief, nor
was he trespasser. He was high-mind-
ed. self-respecting. peaceable. and affec-
tomato
After the tragedy under the street car
wheels Togo was borne away on a plank
to his home. those holding the plank hav-
Ing genuine sympathy for the poor crea-
ture. Seeing that his injuries were neces-
sarily fatal, kind friends administered
chloroform to the quiet, patient sufferer,
and In a few minutes dear old Togo was
only a memory.
But when a dog dies does he cease to
be? Has he become merely a memory?
Is there nothing in the lower orders of
animals that shall outlive the bodies they
occupy for brief while here in this
world? One cannot speak definitely on
this subject, but speculation may not
be without profit.
The ancient Egyptians believed In the
Immortality of mere animals, and care
fully embalmed their bodies with the
same object in view that led them thus
to preserve the bodies Of men,
Many of the ethnc religions of the
Orient taught the future existence of
animals From the crude religions of the
early dawn of civilization the belief in
animism passed to more refined religions
and philosophy. and was accepted by the
more cultured peoples. Indeed, at this
point barbarism and civilization met In
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-17

conclusions. Dogs often reason from
premises. Their conclusions may frequent
ly the illogical; but this is only one of
the many points in which the dog Is
much like. his master.
dog, by following at a great distance,
lost sight of his master; he thereupon
quickened his speed and came up to a
point where three roads branched off. He
knew not which road his master had
taken. He carefully ''nosed" one road,
but found that his owner had not gone
that way; he then investigated the sec
end road with the same result; he then
suddenly turned and rapidly pursued the
third road without "nosing." There were
only three roads and the dog reasoned,
having tried the two, that his master
certainly must have taken the third road;
he therefore, flung the instinct of smell
ing to the winds and followed lls rea-
son which led him Alright.
A few days ago, one of my Aredale
terriers, daughter of Togo, saw a SER
want drowning several puppies of another
Airedae mother. The process Winnie OBJ
served with excited interest. She should
not have. been permitted to see it, and
the fact that the servant did not slS t
her up in the stable at the time, gave
me pain when I heard what occurred.
However. seeing the puppies drowning,
she went to the tub and tried to lSlll
them out, but was driven away. She tlsn
disappeared. In the stable she had four
beautiful puppies of her own. On the
next morning | made visit to Winnie $
puppies In the stable; but to my aston
ishment they were ell gone. I asked the
servant if he knew what had become of
them.
He told me that after the drowning
of the puppies the day before he saw
Winnie in the act Of carrying of her
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-17
TOGO-By DR.. w. E. Eua11s

a common belief. And while the Indian
believes that his dog shall bear him
company in the happy hunting grounds
beyond the stars, his more cultured
brother upon the death of a warrior for
merly cremated the warriors steed in
order that they might enter into the
world beyond together, the spirit of the
soldier riding the spirit of the horse. This
custom was practiced in Europe as late
as the year 1881.
From this old custom has grown the
practice of leading the horse of a dead
king or warrior in funeral procession
behind the hearse. A few weeks ago In
the funeral pageant of King Edward
VII not only was his horse present, but
his favorite dog, Caesar" occupied con-
spicious position, being led by solemn
looking Scotchman clothed in his High
land plaid
Without doing any violence to ST.
Paul's declaration in the eighth chapter
of the epistle to the Roman, l think one
might paraphrase and translate the lam
guage THIS: For the earnest expecta-
ton of the creature waiteth for the re-
vealing of the sons of God; for the crea-
ture was subjected to ignorance of the
purpose Of his creation; but the creature
shall be delivered from the bondage Of
corruption and admitted into the free
dom from corruption that shall be en-
joyed by the sons Of God: for all the
creature-world groaneth and travaileth In
pain with us until now" Here, say some
very wise men. are points of likeness and
difference. Man suffers here in this life;
mere animals do the same: there win
come a time when freedom from pain
shall be known by man and animal: that
time shall be- synchronous with the re-
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-17

was a low and useless habit, to say moth
ing of its sinfulness.'
"Well, how did he take your admoni-
tion?" l asked.
HE said not word; but he seemed
for the remainder of the afternoon to
take special pleasure in bringing IN oath
into everything that was said or done
and so very frequent were these ex-
pletives that I became convinced that
he meant to be offensive to me, know
ing that | could not escape ii on the
sail boat. And from that day to this,
l have held low estimate of the man."
Here l wish to relate story, written
of Dean Standhope. when he was a
young chaplain to a regiment he re-
claimed the officers, who were much
addicted to this vulgar practice (swear-
ing) by the following method of reproof
One evening, as they were all In COM
pany together, after they had been very
eloquent in this kind of rhetoric so nat
ural to the gentlemen of the army, the
worthy dean took occasion to tell a, story
In turn, In which he frequently repeated
the words bottle and glass instead of
the usual expletives of God, devil and
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-17

adays, he'd be roosting around the
Waldorf-Astoria in high hat selling
mining stock to members of the Fish
Family and he'd be content to stay
there and spend the legitimate proceeds
while they went out to look for gold,
which is the best and the safest and
the most profitable way, as has been
proven by experience. But, living as
he did in the dark and ignorant Mid
die Ages, he went traipsing across =
country where the accommodations for
the transient guest were almost as
poor then as they are now, and he
Numbered into the Mississippi river by
accident and was buried in it.
And look what we came back to,
all of us. l returned from my last
voyage to the New Yorld all linked
up like the Prisoner of Chiffon
couldn't have had a more complete set
of cast iron jewelry on my wrists and
ankles If I'd been colored brother TAX
ing a st-graduate' course on Geor-
gia gang. Cortez and Pizarro and the
rest of them who were lucky enough
to get back didn't fare much better
than I did. They were generally re-
garded as persons who'd have done
much better staying at home and at
tending to their family duties than pi-
roofing around in strange countries
meeting dusky princesses without a
chaperon being present, and contract
ing malaria and loose ways of living.
of value that one of them had
annexed was turned over to his imperial
patron and he could take what was left
and put 1t in his eye. The sight
wouldn't be seriously affected, either.
Kings back in our day did their work
clean. After they got tn eir's out of tho
kitty, there'd be mighty few chips ly-
Ing around for the chambermaid when
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-17
,OFANE SWEARING-By J. 6. Hidden,

engagement ring and explaining her rea-
son for breaking her betrothment, say
ing she could never marry "a profane
swearer." That was the end. Her es-
TEEN and respect had died, and with 1t
her love.
Or ere the silver cord be loosed,
In days of youth ere evil come,
Or years draw nigh when thou shalt
say,
No pleasure cheers my dreary home
Ere sun, or light, or moon, or stars,
Sinking in darkness, mock thy pain,
Or ere the lately banished clouds
With rumbling thunders como again.
Ere wornout keepers of the house
Tremble beneath the lightest load;
Ere the strong men shall bow them
selves,
And grinders quit their old abode.
Ere those that from the windows look
Be darkened as the dreary mind;
The doors be shut within the streets
The aged grinders cease TO grind.
Ere warbling music from the birds
Shall make thee rise upon thy feet;
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-17

found Florida, but he wasn't looking
for Florida. He was looking for the
Fountain of Everlasting Youth If he had
known he was on his way to give the
first real estate boom to a section that
would subsequently pass into the hands
of the Standard Oil F'lagler and the allied
bookkeeping interests, I'm sure he
wouldn't have made the trip. Because,
say what you will about Ponce, he wasn't
the kind of a man that would have stood
sponsor for the prices that they charge
you at Palm Beach,. Piracy and free
booting were all very we'll in their day,
but asking 81 .25 for 15-cent entree with
summer resort trimmings would be too
much. And I'm sure of another thing,
too If Ponce De Leon We're alive to-
dway he wouldn't go shopping around
foreign parts looking for the Fountain
of Everlasting Youth. He'd write to Lii
lian Russell and ask her for the recipe.
When Ferdinand DeSoto found the
Mississippi river you don't think for a
minute, do you. that that's what he was
looking for. Nobody had told him that
a stable strip of moisture answering to
the name of Mississippi river was lost,
strayed or stolen and O suitable reward
would be paid for it's return to the right
full owner <On the other hand I have
had 1t ,on good authority that De Soto
was really quite piqued when he butted
into 1t. 1t wasn't his fault, of course
He couldn't miss 1t any more than you
could If you started west from Cleveland,
Ohio, tomorrow morning. You just keep
on going until you come to a hollow full
of water two miles wide and a thousand
miles long, lined on both banks with
government appropriations, and you know
you're there.
AS a matter of fact, Ferdinand was
seeking for new land of gold. Now
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-17

you returned home after a two days alb
sence and said you'd peen In Minkville,
Neb., a lot of people would doubt your
word unless you had the credentials in
the shape OF set of souvenir postcards
OF the new iron bridge over Mink creek
to back up your word But you can stay
away for year and say you've been al
most anywhere that you haven't been and
every body feels quite satisfied and will
BUY orchestra tickets at two a throw.
But the lecture part of it is only the
start. Consider what the perquistes must
be for the advertising testimonials alone
You remember, don't you, that for months
after Brother Peary got back last fall the
advertising sections of the magazines
where the best light fiction is usually
found, and the display cards in the street
cars, contained little else but his charac-
teristlc signed writings. Up till then 1,
as fellow discoverer, had the idea that
a pole hunter flew kind of light in the
matter of personal baggage l thought
he went charging across the CONCEALED
landscape with mighty little in the way
of luggage to impede him, only pausing
TO take off one of his boots and shake
loose toe or so out of it, or to size up his
faithful Dig team and decide whether he'd
have Towser or Pont for supper that
night
1T seems | was wrong-wrong by
about 5000 pounds of junk. 1t seems that
nothing was of so much aid to the daunt-
less leader and his heroic companions on
their dash to the pole as Splutterham's
Non Reliable Fountain Pen, of which
they carried along a full gross, except,
of course, the patent chicken feed and
collapsible typewriters, and automatic
cock-roach poison, and waterproof cuffs,
and deslcated prunes, and folding hung
allows, and three-dolar pants, and the
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-17

she cleaned up next morning.
But suppose, on the other hand l
we're here on the earth now, doing my
discovering In this country instead of
five hundred years ago. l wouldn't
actually need to discover anything,
either. Merely goipg away for a few
months or few years and then com
ing back and saying l had would suf-
flee. amply. Think of the reception
committee that would come down
the bay from New York to meet me?
You have had some acquaintance with
those New York reception committees,
haven't your
AS a whilom sojourner in the metro
polls, l could truthfully say to him
that / had. l know the formula for
making a professional reception COM
mtteeman. You pour ono pint head
into two-quart hat, then you encase
the whole in frock coat and sit In a
cool, dark place until 1t has jelled, the
you will have typical New York
reception committeeman, ready for any
emergency The only drawbacks are
that chronic cases want to wear the
regalia all the time and get so they
aren't good for anything besides re-
ception committee work, except sitting
on the platform and acting as honorary
vice presidents at mass meetings call
ed for uplift and reform purposes. SO |
told Columbus that knew and he pro.
ceeded.
Just think" he said, "of the reception
committeeman coming down the bay to
meet me on chartered tug and hanging
white wreaths around my neck like floral
designs on the grave of Truth! And think
of nobody troubling me to produce the
proofs until after I'd cleaned up on the
lecture tour and the book rights. That's
the beauty about the present system. If
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-17

1000 other invaluable and indispensable
manufactured articles and proprietary
goods that they took with them all the
way there and back.
IF good Queen Isabella and 1 had only
enjoyed such advantages when we were
framing up the first of my little person
ally conducted outings, she wouldn't have
had to pawn her crown Jewels, and |
wouldn't have made the trip across In a
collection of crippled gravy boats and con-
demned soap dishes like the Nina and the
Pinta and the blessed old Santa Maria.
We could have got all the backing we
needed from the advertising agencies and
the factories, and we'd have needed a ship
the size of the Mauretania just to carry
our line of samples.
And then, when I'd got back and had
all the lecture dates all fixed up l could
spend several Very pleasant and con-
genial weeks writing testimonials such as
this:
g 'Messrs. Collick & Payne, Leather
vile, Pa. Gents-During my dash to the
late Pole, l lived exclusively, for four
long weeks. on melted snow and your
justly celebrated brand of kiln dried ap-
pies At first these nourishing articles of
food manifested tendency to swell up
on being eaten, but as soon as they found
out they were inside of Polar ex-
plorer they must have realized they had
nothing to feel swelled up for, and quit.
would advise all persons contemplating
Pole dash to lay In a sufficient sup
ply of this nutritious and satisfying
delicacy They also make good overcoat
buttons and can be pinned to the side
of the head as a substitute for an ear
that has been frosted Off without detee-
ton. Yours truly, c. COLUMBUS
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-17

there is a Nathan for every David some
time or other.
How different was 1t when the shoe
was on the other foot. No other Pres
ident but Roosevelt wanted a secret SER
vice with a Fouche at its head, and
honor Jim Tawney for his stand against
that insidious despotism. The common
tale here is that Teddy put his seuths
upon the track of thar grand old man,
search was long and diligent, ceaseless
and pertinaceous. The very minutia of
his life-his outgoings and his mornings
were scrutinized. His splendid charact-
er bore it as my walk would not, l am
certain, and as yours would not, per-
haps. He was the gold tried in the
fire. His raiment was spotless.
1t was the greatest tribute that Amer
lea ever got. Teddy Roosevelts secret
police could not find a single flaw in the
career of John r. Morgan. But let me
pursue this thing a little way further
The secret service rogues were put
after another honest man, Ben Tillman.