davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22
ELOQUENT PETITION FOR
 PRIVILEGE OF REMARRYING

The most eloquent petition known to the annals of Jefferson county courts has been unearthed by Sam M. Blake, clerk and register of the city court, and is be- ins exhibited as a rhetorical gem of legal lore, which Is also of interest because of it's human appeal. It is a petition to Judge H. A. Sharpe of the city court ta grant the privilege of remarriage to an old negro, whose better half had tired of his company and had secured a di- vorce In the divorce decree, which was handed down back in 1891. Judge Sharpe granted the privilege of remarrage tc the complaining wife, but failed to dc the same for the unfortunate respondent The old negro. whose name was Samuel Rice, secured the services of Jabez B Parker of Mobile, then one of the most eminent lawyers in the state.
 Judge Parker, as solicitor for the peti- tioning darkey, drew up the paper which MT. Blake has recently brought to light In those days MT. Blake was deputy clerk in the office of the city court, and he forthwith secured 8 copy of the now famous petition. The paper has been  published In many of the legal journals of the country, and is we'll known to men of the profession.
 Following Is the petition:
 EEK parte, Samuel Rice.
 "To the Honorable H. A. Sharpe, judge of the city court of Birmingham, in equity:
 -Four petitioner, Samuel Rice of Mo bile, Ala, would deferentially represent that on the 10th day of January. in the year of grace 1891. your honor dissolved the connubial ties heretofore existing be- tween petitioner and his consort, Annie Rice, granting her divorce vfnculo mat. rimoni, with the beatific privilege thereto annexed of marrying again; a privilege 1t goes without saying. she availed herself of with an alacrity of spirit and a fas- tidious levity disdaining pursuit. On this vital point your honor extended to pe-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22
To Iools Ont for Children

Chief of Police George H. Bodeker has issued the following order to the police department: "If any of you know of any children on your respective beats whose parents are not able to buy them any thing for Christmas or any little ones who have no parents, get their names a.nd addresses and turn them in to me Friday morning (this only includes white children), so that I can turn their names in to the committee on Elks' Christmas .
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22

The material changes in the 99-year franchise ordinance for the Tidewater Development company, as adopted last night, are as follows:
 A through exclusive passenger line is established from East Lake, through Bir- mingham, to Ensley. with the express provision that no freight cars can be run over the line.
 A forfeit of s25,o0O and the loss of the franchise is provided in case the whole line Is not completed within two years.
 The freight line through North Bir- niingham and the northern section must be completed in three years.
 The city Is to have complete super
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22
CHANGES MADE IN THE
 TIDEWATER FRANCHISE

vision of all the work, reserves the right 10 use the tracks at any time, or to lease the use to other parties. provided an adequate compensation is agreed upon; is to regulate the schedules, and the fare to be charged a passenger from any one to any other point is not to exceed cents.
 Plans for the line must be submitted to the city engineer within 30 days from date, and when accepted the company must pay into the treasury s3O,OO0 for the franchise. Within 60 days after the ap- proval of the plans, work must begin, and within two years from the time of be- ginning actual construction. cars must be operated over the entire line for revenue.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22
COUNCIL HAS BUSY TIME AT MEETING
 HELD LAST NIGHT Tidewater, Viaducts and Budg- ct Were Among Important
 Matters Taken Up LIVELY DEBATE ON NEW STREET RAILWAY Improyement Ordinances Are Adopted After Long Delay-Letting of
 Sewer Contracts Had To
 Be Carried over

: The City Council last night: . Adopted the Tidewater franchise, : which Is approved by the Mayor, : and will beyond doubt become law. ' Received the agreement which ' had been drawn and signed by the
 s- representatives of the city and rail- >- roads to build viaducts on First
 ' avenue and on Twenty-eighth
 > street. This will be acted on at
 > the next meeting. = Adopted the budget for the re-
 . maining six months of the fiscal
 >- year, which shows that s190,00o <
 : has been cut from the expenses of : the city as expended during the ' past six months. ' Elected Joe Wieferich, Jr., alder
 . man from the Ninth ward. ' Instructed the legislative commit % tee, with Alderman Huddleston
 ~- added, to wait on the Birmingham
 > Railway, Light and Power com-
 ' pany and endeavor to have the
 . company put a 5-cent car fare on
 ' the Ensley and Pratt City lines. . Received and accepted the resig- . nation of Alderman John R. Cope ' land of the Fourth ward. . Adopted finally the improvement
 . ordinances which have been held . up by the controversy over ma . terials. . Adopted an ordinance requiring
 . all dairymen to install an inciner- . ator at their dairies before March 1. . Adopted a resolution requesting . that successful bidders for fm- . provements purchase home ma . terials. and favor home contrac- . tors, everything else being equal. ' Appropriated s1oO monthly to the . Anti-Tuberculosis association . Carried over the letting of con- . tracts for the construction of the
 . Northside storm sewers, due to the . fact that the bids were so numer- . ous that the city engineer was un- . able to get them all tabulated : yesterday . Wished itself merry Christmas . and a happy New Year.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22
ID SAVE S15.OOO IN
 FIRE DEP ARTMENT Put Whole Equipment on a
 Motor Basis BENNETT SUBMITS PLAN Mayor Exum Is Enthusiastic About It and Urges the Council To Take Im- mediate Action-Text of Let
 ters Submitted
BENNETT SUBMITS PLAN
A revolution in the fire departmenti

A revolution in the fire department
 Mayor Culpepper Exum and Chief A. V. Bennett last night recommended to the City Council that motor-driven apparatus be substituted for every horse-drawn hose and chemical wagon now owned by the city, which means the purchase of 15 motor wagons and placing the Birming- ham department on the most up-to-date plane that has been reached by any city of like size in the country.
 And the recommendation Is flor pur- poses of reducing expense" Chief Ben nett figures that he can save the city $25,OOO annually by the change. and at the same time greatly increase the effi- ciency of the department. He shows by actual experience with the motor wagon at Ensley that the total expense of that machine for the year has been less than $40. Birmingham now has five motor wagons.
 He claims that the city cannot only
 He claims that the city can not only apparatus out of the money saved, but will save s15,o0O additional. q will stake my reputation on this report" said MT. Bennett. "I have made a close study of the matter and cannot come to any other conclusion"
 Mayor Exum is enthusiastic and in his letter to the council urges immediate ac- tion. The question was referred to the fire and finance committees and will no doubt be acted on at the next meeting Here are the letters of Mayor Exum and Chief Bennett:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22
At second Presbyterian

The following programme will be car ried out in the Christmas entertainment at the Second Presbyterian church Fri day night in the Sunday school room at z o'clock: Hymn. school; prophecy, MT. Brooks; class song. boys Baraca class; Christmas story, Miss Hilty; song, junior recitation, MT. Douglas win go; song, intermediate class; recitation. Miss Ruth McNeill; bass solo, MT. 4i. J. Posner. --
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22
ATTENTION K. OF P.

MembefS 0I Pn0enlX I0dge No. 25, K. of F., are called to assemble at Maccabee's temple at il o'clock this (Thursday) morning to go to Pratt City to- attend funeral of our late brother, Stephen H. Strickland. Members of sister lodges in vited to come.
 ALLEN M. HOLT, c. c. I. w. HOLT, K. R. & s.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22
Recital Postponed

Owing to the illness of Miss Robson the recital to be given at Cable hall this evening at s:15 will have to be indefinitely postponed. The members of the Phila- thea class of St. Johns M. E. church de- sire to express their regret that the per formance cannot be rendered as expected.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22
Charged With Stealing Brass

Robert Paris and Tom Singleton, two negro men, were arrested yesterday morn ing bv Detectives Hartsfield and Cole, charged with stealing brass. A large amount of brass was recovered by the detectives and it is thought that more will be discovered today.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22
Mayor Exum,s Message
"To the Honorable. the City Council Birmingham:

''To the Honorable the City Council of
 Birmingham:
 "Gentlemen-I beg to submit herewith statement of Chief of the Fire Depart ment Bennett, in which he proposes changes in the fire department equip n1ent of the city. l regard this state ment of Chief Bennett as solving the problem of retrenchment in his depart ment and at the same time increasing it's efficiency.
 'You will note from the statement of Chief Bennett that for an expenditure of approximately maximum of se5,OOo hs proposes to save the city of Birmingham the sum of s25,0O0 annually.
 'I would suggest therefore, that the changes be made as recommended by Chief Bennett. The amount saved each year by his department would be more than double the amount necessary to take care of the annual payments on the equipment which it is proposed to in- stall. I regard it as not only good bus mess proposition In the saving of dol- lars and cents in the expenditures of the city, but the increased efficiency in the fire department will mean the saving in- directly of many times the cost of mak- ing the change.
 q attach also a communication from the. Seagrave company quoting prices on the kind of equipment Chief Bennett asks for am of the opinion that these prices could be materially reduced on a pur- chase of this magnitude. Yours very truly, c. EXUM, Mayor"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22
Chief Bennett's Letter

December 20, 1910. Hon. Culpepper Exum, Mayor, Bir-
 mingham, Ala:
 Dear Sir-Agreeab with your re- quest, please find herewith proposi- tion for reducing the operating ex- pense and cost of maintenance of the fire department in the sum of $25.000 per annum without impairing it's eff ciency.
 By substituting motor-driven com- bination for Is horse-drawn plain wagons would enable us to dispense with the services of 21 men at an aver age salary of $50 per month and B horses at an approximate cost of S16 per horse per month, totaling S26,304. thereby leaving s1304 for the mainten- ancs of the ordriven apparatus.
 My estimate of the cost of main- tenance of the motor driven wagons is based on the cost of upkeep of the motor driven combination wagon which mas been in service at Ensley since December 2S, 1909, and has answered to date 113 alarms at a total cost of S3S. 40-this cost includes several runs to Fairview and the breaking in of the motor at the time of delivery. "In addition to the financial saving accomplished by this change the effi- c'ency of the department is increased by enabling us to reach the scene Of the fire more promptly with the addi- tional advantage of having 40 gallons of chemicals immediately available on each wagon. Yours very truly
 "A V. BENNETT.
 Chief Fire Department
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22
BENNETT SUBMITS
 NOVEMBER REPORT
BEREAVEMENT BROKE RECORD FOR NUMBER OF FIRES AND FOR SMALL LOSs-NET LOSS FOR MONTH $171s.4O

The report of Chief A. V. Bennett of the fire department for the work done during the month of November was com nleted yesterday and shows that the de- partment broke the record for the mum Ter of fires and the smallness of the total loss During the entire month there were 155 fires in the city and net loss of only S171S.40 The value of the property at risk was $S67 ,619. The total loss, in sured and uninsured, was s25,142o4 The report shows that the department responded to 155 alarms and fires, ran 2oes blocks, laid out 26,2o0 feet of hose. rsed 67s gallons of chemicals and raised 2169 feet of ladders.
 The report in full is as follows:
 Honorable Culpepper Exum, Mayor, City. Dear Sir: Please find herewith my re- rort for the month ending November 30, 1910. The department responded to 1855 alarms and fires, ran 2O9S blocks, laid out 26,25O feet of hose, used s76 gallons of chemicals and raised 2169 feet of ladders. The Bristol recording water pressure gauge indicates an average daily pres sure of ST 5-ls pounds, and an average daily variation of Is pounds per square inch.
 Alarms. How Received-A. D. T. i. box 10. still Is, telephone 12S. Total, 165. Kind of Buildings-Brick 15, frame 112, reinforced concrete 1. stucco 2; other than buildings. 25. Total, 156.
 How Extinguished-Before arrival 16. chemicals e3, water 70. false and unneces- sary 6. Total, 155 Causes of Alarms-Ashes in wooden re- ceptacle 1, burning dust l. burning paper 2, carelessness 20. coal from grate l, con- municated II, defective fiues 5. false 4, gasoline explosion 5, grass burning 5, grease on stove ?, incendiary (suppose) 3. leaking gasoline 1, malicious handling o. lamp 1, overloaded kettle 1, overloaded stovepipe l. rekindled 1, soot burning in chimneys 5, soot burning in fues 2, sparks CO., spontaneous combustion 1, trash burn ine 8, unknown il. unnecessary ?. Total, 165.
 Value of contents at risk.......... S60, 590 .0O
 Total value at risk. .$SS7, 6ls .oo Insurance involved on buildings. .$s42, sos. B Insurance involved on contents. 174, 75O. %
 Total insurance involved. .s517. .26s. SS Insurance loss on buildings.....$ IF, 792. 42 Insurance loss on contents....... 106S1 p
 Total insurance loss ........... $2S, 42S 6i Uninsured loss on buildings......$ 1,O26 S J1ninsured loss on contents .. 691. IS
 Total uninsured loss. .t1, ,718. 40 Total loss. insured and uninsured .$25. 142. N
 Respectfully submitted,
 A. V. BENNETT,
 Chief Fire Department
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22

developments at present unexpected in- formation may be secured by the de-
 tectives. They are resolved to wait pa
 tinently as it is the opinion that the
 guilty person will be caught by some
 slip made by himself. The officers are
 keeping a vigilant watch for this and
 have their eyes on the straws
 The entire affair Is regarded as one
 of the most mysterious and horrible
 crimes in the annals of the Birming- ham police department.
 The funeral services oveA inc body of Stephen H. Strickland will be held this afternoon at 12:3O o'clock from the First Methodist church at Pratt City.
 Interment will be in Elmwood cemetery
 at 2 o'clock.
 The body of Guy R. Coleman was sent to Hayneville for interment this
 morning at $50 by Lige Loy. Strickland keys Secured "The bunch of keys belonging to Guy R. Coleman, who died of poison
 ing Tuesday afternoon, were not mys- teriously secured by an unknown per
 son from the establishment of Lige I.oy," was the statement or MT. Ioy himself yesterday afternoon
 Tt was the keys of MT. Strickland
 that were given to his brother, MT.
 J E. Strickland, and not the keys of
 MT. Coleman that were in question" added MT. Loy.
 In the excitement of the evening fol . lowing the tragedy someone who did not exactly remember having delivered to another person the keys which MT. Loy himself handed over to the brother of MT. Strickland. became greatly eX- cited over the fact and started the re- port which put MT. Loy, who was re- sponsible for the keys, in bad light | from which he wishes to clear him. self.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22
THE WEATHER

Washington, December N.-Forecast for Alabama: Increasing cloudiness and warmer, followed by rain Thursday; Fri day rain, brisk southeast winds.
 Missjssippi: Warmer Thursday and rain Friday; brisk southeast and south winds Thursday.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22

Local office United States weather bu- reau, Birmingham. Report of the "A hours ended ( D. m. December 20, 1910:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22

CONTINUED ON FACE ILL.
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1910-06-29
CONSIDERABLE.
He Spared His Guest the .Unplea.-
! S.s.,A ant Little Dctnfl.o

He Spared. His Guest the .'Unplea.-
.S-s. ant Little Dctnil.'
Two friends one prosperous look.
ing business man and the other at
least we'll dressed, CHANGED to meet
not long ago, and the second gentle
man remembered that it was his turn
to buy the dinner" SO they were
soon repairing to fashionable res
taurant. Their orders were generous,
and they fingered long over the good
things, not forgetting cigars at the
end.
When they felt that they really had
to leave or else pay rent, the host
showed bit of fidgetiness and re-
quested that the other go outside and
wait for him; that there was an ..un-
pleasant little detail" he wished to
discuss with the proprietor and could
not think of embarrassing his friend
by having him overhear it. The
friend did as requested, stepping out
side and waiting at the nearest cor
ner.
He had been waiting only about
five minutes when of sudden tho
door of the restaurant flew open, and
his erstwhile host shot through it as
from catapult, followed by1 some
most uncomplimentary terms.
Whats wrong?" was the first In
qufry Of the waiting friend.
"Oh, nothing much" was the an.
'swer. except that the unpleasant lit.
tie detail I had to discuss with the
proprietor was that l had no money
to pay for the dinners -Pittsburg
Gazette-Tim
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1910-06-29
a FAMOUS GOOSE.
Peter, the Pet Of the English Cold

fctefS tine Pet OF the tCu9Il00 COloe
stream Guards.
Possibly the most remarkable crea.
ture ever attached to regiment was
Peter, the ever famous goose of the
Coldstream guards. This curious pet
was presented to, the Coldstreamers
when they were in Canada by the late
Hon. Adolphus Graves. and soon It
acquired fame which eclipsed that
OF all rivals In the way OF pets in the
army.
When the guard was mounted of a
morning Peter always marched OF
with them. 1t is recorded that one
night the goose saved a sentry's life
by flying in the face of a rebel who
was just going to fire at the soldier.
Peters timely aid disconnected the
rebel. who fired at random. The SEN
try Immediately responded by shoot
ing the rebel dead.
When the guards came home and
were quartered in LonApn one Of the
sights when the regiment marched
out was to see Peter strutting at the
head Of the battalion till they passed
the barrack gate, when the goose re.
turned. Unhappily Peters fate was
unheroic. His end was Ill In accord
with his martial career. for he was
run over and killed by cab, and that
mot even taxicab. 1t was poor
kind Of an end for a bird with such
q record.-London Telegraph.
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1910-06-29

A commercial traveller told Of a man
who was riding on a train and pre-
tended to become i'll after eating a
sandwich. The min opened his grip
and took out a bit water bag. "He
got a sympathetic porter" the CONNER
cial man continues, ito filf the water
bag with boiling water. and then he
opened up his lunch basket, took out
a piece Of fried steak and warmed 1t
up on The water bag. You talk about
your light housekeeping! Then after
he had warmed the steak he cut 1t all
up with, pair OF scissors and fed It
to himself with a pair Of sugar tongs.
because he would not take a chance
with a fork going around curve. But
his finish was limit. After he had
eaten the steak he unscrewed the stop.
per Of the water bag and poured him.
self out cup Of hot coffee. He had
the grounds in the bag all the time"
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1910-06-29
MAJoR-oENERAL BELL.

eating the air except in the heaviest
storms" said Gen. Bell. II have no
doubt that aeroplanes will be perfected
SO that they may be relied on to carry
three to five persons and certain
amount of explosives.
by the time this comes about ord
nance for the purpose of destroying
air craft will unquestionably, have
been developed. and ballistic tables de,
signed TO control the Trajectory Of
such ordnance.
Owing to the speed at which air
craft can travel the problem of accu-
rate firing at them will be difficult Of
solution.
"Aeroplanes will unquestionably be
of very great assistance In making
hasty reconnaissance Of the enemy,
but observations therefrom, imagine,
would not be very valuable In topo-
graphical surveys. rs
without doubt there will be spe.
cial lenses and accessories, designed
for Photographic work at high speed,
SO that accurate pictures may be made
of the enemy's mobilization and dis
tribution."
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1910-06-29
TrLEanApH1c aa1V1rrra

Reuben 8. Groin. former public ;atl-
ministrator at Kansas City, shot him
self when confronted with exposure OF
his alleged thefts Of $50, 900 from tho
estate Of Adolph Huntemann. Of which
he was administrator. He died.
An increase in wages ranging on a
graduatedi scale Of from tos3 cents
per hour was granted TO the employees
of the Cincinnati Traction Company.
operating the street car lines in that
city. More than 1000 men will be at
fected. 4,
The cost to English employers OF, In
surfing their workmen against accidents
in 1908 amounted to $1O,0oo,0O0. Under
the compensation acts the employers
do not Themselves pay out the money
to their men In case of accident That
is done by accident insurance COM
panies that bond the employers.
With fresh funds, said to have come
from former President Zelaya. now in
exile, President Madriz of Nicaragua
returned to the attack on Estrada at
Bluefields. He also had some fresh
troops sent to him by President Devil
10 Of Honduras. but still could not
break through the defenses of Estrada
Since neither Peru nor Ecuador act
ed on the suggestion contained in the
tripartite offer of mediation to with
draw armed forces from respective
frontiers, Secretary Knox has now
caused the mediating powers to sug-
gest definitely date. June IA. on
which both countries are urged to call
home their armies.
+ The Minister of Lands of Perth.
Australia, reports that last year 1,776,-
TAO acres of agricultural land were
surveyed for selection. while during
the last ten months no less than $780,
900 acres have been surveyed, showing
how the demand for land has increas-
ed.
Negotiations which have been pend
ing for several months have resulted
in the formation at Hamilton, Ont, of
the Canadian Steel Company, capital
lied at s25,000.000. 1t is recognized as
the first move in a mammoth merger
which will eventually control every
steel manufacturing plant in the do.
minion.
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1910-06-29
me Fateful Questioa.

She saw that he was going to put
The question long expected.
She tapped the carpet with her foot
/, ( And tried to look collected.
And as she waited for the man
To ask that fateful question,
Across her aging features ran
Sanguineous congestion.
The rose her cheek incardined
Was followed by the lily. B
So great was her distress Of mind
She really felt quite silly.
At length he stammered out the word.
i The word SO long awaited,
That made the maiden. when she
heard,
30 deeply agltated.
And then he said: BEG pardon,
Miss
His voice was quite unsteady-
II simply had to ask you this"
She had her answer ready.
why should you not, sfr?" she began;
Tim glad to give my answer.
IT'S eighteen years. kind Census man
Since first my life began, SIR"
Catholic Standard and Times.