davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
Care is no cure, but rather corrosive For things that are not to he remedleo'
 -I King Henry VI.
Street Railways In Birmingham

We mean Birmingham, England, where the street railways are owned by the city. These railways had long been productive o, damage suits-suits, that is to say' brought for personal injuries. To reduce the great expense the city decided to ofrer quarterly bonus of e1 sterling, or $0' to .sc1, motorman who did not kill or inJure i. human being in the quarter
 This plan has become famous. It IS known all over the civilized world as the Birmingham plan. In the first quarter Of it's operation s5 per cent of the motormen earned the bonus. The cost was consid- erable. but the plan it replaced was stiA more expansive.
 The Birmingham, England lines are ro,, practically free from negligence and accidents and the motormen are drawing ss rule s2o more a year. It is an eX- cel,ent plan, and there is really no req son why the American Birmingham s,or,d not trv the British Birminghams long-headed plan.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
Population Here and Elsewhere

The increase in Alabama's population in the decade ended last April was 16.a per cent. It is not satisfactory. It was exceeded in Georgia, in Arkansas, ia Florida. in Louisiana, in West Virginia, and in Texas. Georgia grew at the rate of IF per cent, and yet Alabama has Is blackbelt counties. the fertile Tennessee valley. and a rich mineral district Geor- gia has nothing to match these natural resources. Why, then, does Georgia grow faster than Alabama? This problem is simply unanswerable, unless we admit that Georgia has more energy, more pub lie spirit, more skill and more get-there determination. In the decade Georgia added ss2, ,7eo people to her population, while Alabama added but 9o9,Sss.
 While it may not be possible to explain fully Georgia,s greater growth, it is pos sible to explain why the southeast has not grown as rapidly as Massachusetts, New York. Pennsylvania, Connecticut and the far west. The reason is, the southeast has not secured it's share of immigration. The immigration of the last ten years foots up S,7s5,3SO. One forty-ffth of that sum would be 1s5,45e. and surely Ala bsma's fair share would be one forty fifth, when she is the eighteenth state in the Union.
 But she did not secure 195, 450 immi- grants. Possibly she may have secured in ten years 10000 of the newcomers. This explains why other states have outgrown the southeast without going any further. Those states simply got the immigrants that the southeast would gladly have well comed.
 Immigration is increasing. In the last ten years nearly as many arrived as came to this country in the previous 20 years The difference was about 14o,oo0. No doubt the tide of new arrivals will continue to rise in each successive decade, and if the southeast wishes to keep abreast of New York and Massachusetts and other indus trial states it must strive to secure it's share of immigration.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
0nenind of lhe Warrior

The House of Representatives has appropriates s1Oo.OOO in cash and au- thorizes the expenditure of s7o0,ooO for the improvement of the Warrior river. This will carry the work from the Alabama river to the head of Squaw Shoals abreast of this city. This work ent appropriation completes the gov- ernments plan at total expense of s7,391.716. To those who have stead lastly followed the long task it seems almost beyond belief that the final authorization has been voted in one branch of Congress and soon will be voted in the other. The great work will soon stand complete.
 Senator Bankhead expresses the sit- uation when he says there remains but this to do-"to get the engineers to hurry up the work and spend the money we have" Our senior senator proposes to cap his long task by hay ing a conference with the chief of engineers It Is possible to have un- broken slack water navigation in the Warrior by the end of next year.
 Lock 20 should, however, be put in, for that would carry navigation to the point where the two forks of the river come together.
 The pending bill also carries a good appropriation for increasing the chan
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
STAGE CHILDREN

Jane Adams In the Survey.
 In the recent discussion concerning the appearance of children upon the stage there has evidently arisen a confusion between the educational value of dramatic training and stage life as a money earn ing occupation for children. AS Fran cis Wilson in recent article has quoted the appearance of children in the Hull House theatre in such wise as to increase this confusion. the following statement may be of value.
 For many years at Hull House children have given plays varying from "Alice in Wonderland" and Fuss in Boots' by the little children. to the heroic plays of Wat Tyler and William Tell given by the olders lads. Care has always been taken to relate the subjects to the nat ural interests of the children, and the plays are selected with reference to their imaginative, artistic and historic con- tent.
 We consider this dramatic training of great educational value, and the plays, which represent weeks of careful prepara- tion, are given on exactly the same basis db are tlle IeClldlS OI tHo HUH f1Oube Music school, or the exhibitions of the Hull House gymnasium.
 No child is allowed to appear in more than two plays a year, and if during the rehearsal of the first play his school work has suffered, or if he neglects his other appointments at Hull House, he is not allowed to appear in the second play During this training the child lives al home and is regular in his school at | tendance. He merely has the added edu- cation and stimulation of dramatic train 1 ing as other Hull House children have lessons in music, painting and the plastic arts. His experience is not for momeni to be compared to the vicissitudes anl irregularities of professional stage life.
 Our own experience In all of the ar schools connected with Hull House lead. | us to the conclusion that laws protect ing children need to apply to 'art' quit' as much as to factory labor. It is quit | impossible to estimate the loss to societ. of artistic ability of all sorts, because VI have failed to realize that talent mus be zealously guarded and educated, ant because we have permitted gifted chil dren to be prematurely exploited to dis cover their unusual abilities.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
British Political Parties

''Nothing is more highly amusing to me than to hear the expressions of the av- craze man upon the political situation in Great Britain" said a native of that country. q hear men discussing the sub ject and delivering their opinions very dogmatically who do not know either the names or policies of the political parties. To these men and such others as care to know l will attempt to explain.
 "Unionists, conservative and tory are only different names for the same party. They are unionists because they are op- posed to granting Ireland separate par liament; they are conservatives because they are opposed to all change tending towards progress; and they are tories be- cause they think themselves higher and better race of mortals than the sweaty and grimy masses. They call themselves | the classes
 'The liberals are the masses, or as II | is said, the common people. They are for progress and reform and the exten- sion of the rights of men instead of the | rights of property. There are still great | numbers of the people who vote the con servative ticket because their employers I or masters expect them to do so. It has been said that Englishmen love lord and many of them do.
 | The labortes are generally the rep resentatves of trades unions, and are sometimes called the radicals, because they hold more advanced views than the liberals. They have obtained considerable benefcient legislation for the workers In mines and factories
 "The nationalists are the Irish home rulers. They are an independent part, and have only one purpose in view, whicf is to obtain home rule for Ireland. Al the present they are acting in conjunc tion with the liberals and laborites ant are counted among the coalitionists.
 By keeping these party distinctions in mind man can better understand thu trend of political affairs in Great Britain at present and during the next session O parliament"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
Finances of the Greater Clty

The finance committee of the City Council certainly has big task on hand when it tries to make ends meet in the enlarged eity-a city whose income is but $1 1,21O, ,55O while it's expenses are going on at the rate of s1.5s7, ,4s7 year. This means a deficit at the end of the fiscal year of $376,917 unless the council can cut down expenses. The big items of expenses are these: interest, s27O,ooo; po- lice. S210.0o0; health, sanitation and gar bage, $101.oOo; education, s232,oOo, and fire department, s271,e00. These five items total sl,OS4,oo0, and not one of these five items Is absolutely controlled by the City Council.
 But the council does hold the purse, and it should relentlessly demand reduc- lions that will bring together receipts and expenditures. Any other policy would be the height of unwisdom. It will be dif- fcult to do this, and obstacles will arise at every step, but if council will be- come resolute and determined it can pre- vent an embarrassing deficit in the first year of the greater city. The people will stand by the council in whatever steps it may take to bring expenditures down to the level of receipts.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
IN HOTEL LoBBIES
Prohibition in the south

"A few days ago read in news
 paper that a great temperance or 1 ganization had taken action by whicn
 Alabama was recognized as the best prohibition state in this country; that is to say, the state where prohibi- ton laws were best observed" said Marion L. Werner of Chicago.
 "I have never taken much interest in the prohibition question because l have never had occasion to vote on a wet or dry proposition, but dn trav- cling through the south and west dur ing the past two years l have not been favorably impressed with the way statewide prohibition operates in Alabama. judging from facts notori- ously in evidence in the principal cities.
 T would say from casual observa- ton that Mississippi was the model prohibition state. Of course the anti liquor laws are not perfectly enforced there. Violations of the prohibition statutes will be numerous in every dry state, just as all other laws are broken, but have been saying that Mississippi public sentiment must be behind pro- hibition laws, for prohibition does seem to be success in that state. But in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama prohibition appears to be farce, so far as the large incorporated towns go. In Tennessee statewide prohibition has been a joke from the start; and the same may be said of Georgia. In the latter state the lawmakers provided big loophole when an exception was made in favor of near-beer. Atlanta Is conspicuous example of beer town. In other respects the liquor traffic there has been reduced to minimum. If Alabama's high standing in prohibition circles Is based on the severity of its sumtuary laws, then this state would take the palm, but in that respect only, for blind tigers and what, I believe, are called bootleggers, are apparently reaping a harvest in Mo- bile, Montgomery and Birmingham. It is reasonable to say that the new legis- lature will change the existing laws with view of bringing about a more wholesome moral condition. No com- munity can be reformed by drastic leg islation."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
Publicity of All County Fees

"Abolish." says the Montgomery Times, 'the fee system for the pay mont of county officers. It is nothing short of robbery of the taxpayers. None of these officers earn anything near r,,o+ tbev are paid: some of them re- ceive six times what their services are north This is a vital issue. It should be vigorously pushed before the meet ing of the legislature, and a great pub lie sentiment should be crystalized to conpel the passage of bill establish ing a salary basis for the payment of these men,
 All true, all excellent advice. But it is trial of strength rather than of logic Heretofore the various court house rings have proven stronger than the people, and it is known that the sheriffs' ring Is already getting down to business, and presumably the otner rings of statewide scope are doing likewise. The question again presents itself-are these rings more potent in the legislature than the people them. selves?
 If the fee brigade be the strong CT. cannot at least a law be passed requiring all fees under severe penal ties to be paid into the county treas ury. there to be held and footed up and made public before they are hand cd over to the officials that have tue people by the throat? Publicity is de- manded in almost everything else, and 1t should be fitted to fees. It can be without involving constitutional amendment.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
A LASTING IMPULSE

From the Atchison Globe.
 When a boy breaks a window his first impulse Is to run. And he has the same impulse when he is grown.
 THE AUTUMN DAY t From the Pail Mall Gazette. How delicately steps the autumn day In azure cloak and gown of ashen gray Over the level country that I love. With glittering wells of light about her
 head, And skirts of wide horizons round her
 spread, White as the white wing feathers of a
 dove.
 Her feet, flash of silver on the sea t. Chase silver sails that fly untiringly Toward the enchanted islands of the
 west.
 Beautiful islands, garden of delights. That flower at dawn with roses red and
 white st+$ er54 lr And flame at sunset gold and ame-
 thyst .s How delicately steps the autumn day In azure cloak and gown of ashen gray Over tile level country that love < And how my heart that all sweet things
 beguile Goes laughing with her for a little while And then turns homeward like weary
 dove.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
LADY BYRON

Harness: Literary Life"
 Miss Milbank was not without cer- tain amount of prettiness or cleverness, but her manner was stiff and formal, and gave one the idea of being self willed and opinionated. She was almost the only young, pretty, well dressed girl we ever saw who carried no cheerfulness along with her. I seem to see her now, moving slowly along her mothers draw ing room, talking to scientific men and literary women, without trace of emo- ton in her voice, or the faintest glimpse of a smile upon her countenance. A lady who had been on intimate terms with her from their mutual childhood once said to me: 'If Lady Byron has a heart it is deeper seated and harder to get at than anybody elses heart have ever known
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
A GOOD SIGN

From the washington Post.
 Napoleon the Great was a man who stood alone with no fellow since the Julius Caesar of IS centuries earlier, ana in a burst of frankness the Corsican de- clared:
 "Friendship is only word; love mo- body; no, not even my brothers. Perhaps Joseph a little, but even then it's a mat ter of habit, because he is my elder. Du- roc? An, yes, love him; but whyf HIS character attracts me; he Is cool ory' severe, and Duroc never sheds tears. As for me. you don't suppose care; I know perfectly well I have no real friends. As long as I remain what am, shall nave
 as many as need so far as the appear ance goes. Let the women whimper, that's their business. but for me, give me no sentiment. A man must be firm, have
 a stout heart. or else leaY alone war and government"
 Rut the world has advanced since Bon anarte-perhaps because of his meteoric
 career-and only last Monday, when our Congress convened, there were scenes of | fraternity between American statesmen ; of diametrically opposing principles that
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
DRUG USERS IN THE COLLEGES

From the Cincinnati Times-Star.
 A Philadelphia coroner, who investi- gated the death of a University or Pennsylvania student and found that 1t was due to a hypodermic injection or morphine and a dose of acetanilid, makes the somewhat remarkable state- ment that nearly three-quarters of the students in the college are drug users
 Except to say that strychnine Is the favorite drug of the students during examination time, the coroner makes no qualification of his sweeping assertion and evidently intends the inference that the students use drugs, not for the pur- pose of curing ills and ailments, but merely for the stimulative effects that they produce-in other words, that they are more or less dope fiends."
 This charge seems too sweeping to be true. Had this observant public of- fieer said, however, that a large pro- portion of the students used medicine compounded from drugs of which they knew little or nothing and which they had no business to use without medical advice, his statement would have been worth while. Not merely college stu dents, but many other presons, particu- larly brain workers, are too prone to experiment with various nostrums. many of which have actual and un- doubted medicinal value if used with discretion and at the right time.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
MozARTs UNTIMELY END

RoWbotham: Private Life Of Great Com
 rosers."
 Late hours, unwearied vigils, ever lasting labor, the effects of chills, damp and exposure, in the hard life he led a life alternating between brilliant messages and the most loathsome drudg- cry, between rosy anticpations of for tune and inevitable and eternal disap- pointments-had their effects on the viz orous constitution of Mozart. His lamp of life burnt out untimey; while still a. voung man-only 35 years old-he fell into i'll health, the symptoms of which were q fitful, restless nervousness, craving TOT inordinate excitement, and rapid decay of the physical stamina of his constitu- ton.
 Unfortunately for him, in the absence of any strong influence at home which might keep him in the path of duty, he was tempted to seek recreation abroad, and fell into the company of dissi- pated set of men, haunters Of the thea- ters and taverns of vienna, the chier s,irt of whom was one Schikaneder, low. coarse man of neither refinement nor talent. In company with this crew r, glorious genius, whose critical state of health demanded the utmost care and attention from loving hands. fitted night after night from tavern to tavern in Vienna, deluding himself with vice under the idea that he was gathering the secret spirit of freemasonary for use in his opera, .'The Magic Flute, on which he at that time was engaged.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
ANTIQUITY OF CHRISTMAS DAY

From an Oid ocTap hbooh.
 The earliest mention of the 18th of December as Christmas day Is found in an ancient catalog of church festivals about 354 A. D. And it is surprising to see with what alacrity the date was received and the nativity celebrated through out christendom. It seems as if the world had been waiting for this fes- tival of divine and human childhood, and was ready to welcome 1t at once with songs of joy. In the year 360 it was already celebrated in Rome by vast multitudes thronging the churches. twenty years later Antioch had taken it up with great popular enthusiasm. And in little more than 50 years from its earliest suggestion. the observance of December 25th as the day of the nativity had become the universal prac- tice of Christians.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13

nel depths in Mobile harbor to 27 feet, the work to be completedIn four years. Congressman Taylor is proving an ef- fcient member of the rivers and har- bors committee. He is taking good care of Alabama, the greatest river state in the union
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
To Declare Usual Dividend

President J. c. Maben of the Sloss- Sheffield Steel and Iron company is in New York to attend a meeting of the directors called for tomorrow for the pur- pose of declaring the usual dividend on the preferred stock. This dividend will be payable January 2. As has been often remarked, Sloss-Sheffield preferred has paid dividends so long and so regularly that the stock ranks almost like first mortgage bond.
 MT Maben is expected to return Thurs day or Friday.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
EIFFEJ TOWER.

Charles Merrill in the Los Angeles Her.
 aid.
 Wherever you are in Paris or It's su- bdrbs, you are dominted by the Eiffel tower It Is presence that never leaves you. You may see it from Foun- t1inebleu, 40 miles distant, and from the summit of the tower itself you can see towns and villages 50 miles away. It has been built 20 years and yet no tower In the world approaches it's height by 400 feet.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
CHARITIES OF QUEEN MARY
From the December North American Re-

From the December North American Re- | view.
 IN the cause of charity Queen Mary | is most generous. She is ever think
 A ing how she can best render help to the poor and to the needy. But large as
 her heart is, she does not waste her ener- | BY or give way to mere sentiment. No letter asking for assistance in any form
 is ever allowed to be torn up without full consideration being given to the object,
 and in every instance reply is sent.
 Each case is thoroughly investigated and
 none but the deserving are ever assisted. In the task of sitting her majesty always
 helps, and long acquaintance with work of this kind enables her quickly to detect | the true from the counterfeit The yearly reports of charitable societies with which
 the queens name is in any way associ-
 ated are examined by her personally be- fore being placed away for future refer once, and she often asks pertinent ques- tions about the management.
 l A charity in which the Queen takes
 much personal interest is the Holiday Home for Governesses, founded by her | self and which bears her name. Her majesty frequently motors down into Sur rey, where the home is situated. and spends an hour or so talking with the governesses and inquiring into the ar engagements made for their comfort.
 Another charity which owes its origin
 to the Queen is the Home of Rest for
 working women of London, founded as
 national memorial to her mother.
 Herself an industrious worker. the Queen
 is ever anxious to see proper attention
 is given to sewing in our schools and in
 many and varied ways she has assited in promoting and encouraging the art or
 needlework. As Duchess of York she
 provided the means for building room at the Village Home for Little Girls ct | Addlestone, where the rescued children
 as they grow up are taught to make their
 own outfits for service. In the progress
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13

shows we in our fair land are all akin. How we have progressed Benton
 thought Calhoun traitor who deserved impeachment, and Calhoun regarded Ben
 ton ruffian, whose place was the pill
 lory. Jackson swore that so soon as he
 had shed the robes of state he would call
 Clay to face him on 'the field of honor"
 Burr had killed Hamilton, Randolph had spared Clay, Graves put Cilley to death. In that elder day politics was war.
 How different nowl Champ Clark, vic tor, is as thick with Joe Cannon, defeat- cd, as "Brindle with Cherry" John Dal-
 zell and Owsley Stanley hobnob, and Liv-
 ingston and Keller are chums. Under
 wood and Tawney are hail-fellow. Ollie
 James and the entire republican side arc socially clannish.
 Nowhere else, not even in the British parliament. does social amenity engulf l political asperity as was seen in our Con gress last Monday.
 | It is a good sign.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-13
Correct Weight. and Measure.

"The man who introduces and has passed bill to make and enforce a law of correct weights and measures In Alabama" said citizen of Gads- den, will win the lasting gratitude of thousands of people of Alabama. Such a law should carry severe pen alty for infractions and it is necessary for the proper protection of our cit- izens.
 Scales and measures touch every family in the state in some way or other and 1t is absolutely necessary that these scales and measures should be correct. As 1t is now the consumer has no real redress"