davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-18

IF you go to the trouble to figure it
 out on the railroad map you will find \ the Yellow Dog has 2SS1 miles of track. If you consult a financial manual you will discover It has a bonded debt that is a horror.
 There was time when the Yellow Dog did not have so opprobiious a name or so frightful a bonded indebtedness. but that was before Jay Gould got through with it. When MT. Gould got through with the road there was a receivership and later a reorganization. Then there was another receivership and another re- organization. As if that were not enough. there was still another reorganization. With each reorganization there was new crop of bonds for the road to pay in- terest on. Every group of Wall street men that got control seemed to be pos sessed by the same idea: to get as much out of the road as possible and then dump 1t on the bondholders. Studious men. who view railroad problems in cold, dispas- sionate light, have agreed for many years that only a radical surgical operation could save the Yellow Dog from another attack of bankruptcy. No railroad like 1t could succeed weighted so heavily with fixed charges. Its debt would have to be slashed. Bondholders would have to consent to a sealing down of the debt To stagger along year after year burdened as 1t was meant only only a worse dis aster for every attempt at economy was at the expense of the physical well-being of the property
 Many things can be viewed with equa- nimity by the bondholder, dedication by the treasurer. the death of the president, even the reduction of the rate of interest on preferred or common stock, but fal- ure to pay interest on bonds Is harrow ing, and a proposition to calmly wipe out one-fourth or one-half of such a sacred obligation as a bond is outrageous. Rather than consent to such a wicked proposalF bondhoders will trust to time and provi- dence to work out their salvation.
 There are some persons who de- nopnced the bondholders as a lot of selfish creatures and declared the manner in which the road was allowed to deteriorate was little short of crim- inal Everybody came to think badly and talk badly of the line. That is how it came to be the Yellow Dog of the railroad world.
 There was a time when 1t bid fair to be transcontinental line. There were plans to link 1t with one or another of the trans-Mississippi roads Few eastern trunk lines had greater nat ural advantages. Lrs main stem trav- -ersed onesad the most productive freight drsrrfcts. Branch lines spread out in various directions. tapping good terri tory. Al various points in the west and middle west it was in a position to get profitable traffic from many lines, but somehow the other roads never cared to give business to the Yellow Dog unless competing lines were unable to handle it. This may have been because the Yellow Dog had a bad name or because it's roadbed bridges and general equipment were supposed to be running down. It may have been, too, because in the com mnnity of interests which controlled |
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-18

up many millions, and then there are also the coddling moth, the plum cur culio, plant lice and the apple and peach borers, which fatten on the roots of the trees.
 Take the peach. We have east of the Rockies something like S1 40, 100000 such trees, and they are yielding a crop worth s15,000,000 a year. In some sea- sons the brown rot takes away fully half of the profits of the south and /Ee plum curculio often eats down our peach income to the amount of three or four million dollars By the recent dis coveries of Professors Scott and Quain- tance we are able to control certain peach pests, and this means an annual savings of millions. The material used IS self-hoiled lime and sulpher wash mixed with arsenate of lead. It is ap- piled several times during the season Our Big Peach Crop
 Now that the people are going crazy
 over the money in apples they seem to | have forgotten the profits which have been and are being made in peaches.
 1 am told that the peach Is one of the biggest gambles in the great lottery of i fruit raising It often fails, but a single good crop covers many past losses
 and two or three make the orchardst rich. Take the Miller Brothers of West l Virginia. They have an orchard which l has yielded dividends of $500 per acre and out of which they have been mak- ing from 40 to 60 per cent per annum l We have altogether more than 100 mill lion peach trees. There are eight mil lion in Michigan and almost an equal number in Georgia. Texas and Calif- ornia. Kansas is a great peach state, and so are Maryland and Delaware. Along the eastern shores of Lake Mich igan there is peach country, which runs from five to ten miles back from the lake, extending north at1 south for
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-18

ble tracl<men. A work that had been colorless before now became a thing that was vital.
 Next 1t was the conductor who was taken in hand. He, figuratively, if not actually, is master of the train. He may do much to make the service a success. The passenger conductor comes in direct touch with the public. The man who is alert, kindly, diplomatic, is of decided value. The one who is ever careful of the schedule, who knows that safety and reg ularity are two of the greatest assets of the passenger service. who Is watchful over the interests of both the passengers and the company, is a treasure. The Parson, keeping record of all his men, rewards those who made the best show ing within a given period by the gold stripe of good service. What the red circle is to the engineer, the gold stripe is to the conductor.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-18

going, and at 12 years of age young Hale was cutting corn for his neighbors at 9. few cents day.
 II was one day during the noon re- cess, when he was tired of handling corn stalks, that he sat down under a seeding peach tree and munched the fruit, while he wondered whether he should ever be able to pay off the debt and make a man of himself As he did so he looked up al the peaches and thought how fine it would be to have a few thousand such trees and make a for tune in fruit The thought grew upon him, and he decided to try. In one way and another he scraped and saved until he had $100 in cash. He earned more during the winter, and in the spring was able to buy 5000 peach trees and plant them out on the home farm. They grew, and through his excellent care soon surpassed all the trees of the neighborhood. He raised crops between the rows, and finally brought the or chard into bearing.
 Before the fruit became ripe, how ever, the mortgage came due, and the elders of the church which held it mo- tihed him he must come in and pay He put them off for a few weeks and rushed his fruit to the markets. ham, ding it so that he got the highest prices. He advertised in the Hartford papers, and hired storerooms there for the display of his peaches. His profits were such that he soon had more than enough money in the bank to pay off Inc mortgages and leave him a big sum for the future
 A Ten n-ThOusand- Dollar Crop
 "Hale's first peach harvest, in short, netted him about $10,000. This was not known to the churchmen until he came in and said:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-18

Well, gentlemen, have come to ar range about that note.'
 "'But, young man, we don't know that we can extend it. said one of the deacons. You boys have been very ex- travagant In selling your peaches, and we can't afford to lose this money
 "'But,' said young Hale, you don't need to lose the money. have come in to pay the note.'
 "'Oh" returned the elders, if you have the money to pay we would just as lief let 1t run. We will have to put tte money elsewhere. You had better keep it. All we want is our interest
 {" No, indeed replied Hale. T have the money and I am going to get rid of that nor tgage.' And he thereupon paid the note.
 The next year" continued this man. Hale set out more peaches He culti- vated and fertilized his orchard and he proved that fruit could be made profit able in Connecticut. In 1889 he made S24,o00 out of one crop from 35 acres and he gave such a stimulus to peach growing in New England that there are now something like 3,000,000 trees ilt NOllneCtlcul, Wll11e lneTo are IndHy III the adjoining states of Massa chusetts and Rhode Island.
 "A little later on MT. Hale got the idea that Georgia would raise peaches. He travelled all over that state and picked out his present locality. Since then he has raised enormous crops, and has shown what could be done by care ful cultivation, intelligent marketing, modern machinery and good business mana aeIDent He isi always on inc 1oo1x . out for frosts and pests of one kind and another, and his foresight has several times saved him his crop, when those of his neighbors were ruined"
 A Word of Warning
 As I write this, one of the many stories of the successes which are now being made in farming, the thought comes to mo of the multitude who are rushing into such enterprises and investments without consideration. As Professor Waite said to me today, the machinery of fruit gnow- ing and farming is more wonderful than that Of the largest gun factory or cleo trlcal industry. It's success requires the most careful selection of soil. a lknowl- edge of the crops one is attempting to raise, a study of fertilizers and diseases, and also the being Johnny on the spot throughout all or a greater part of the year. Notwithstanding this men who would not buy a lot without the most careful searching of title or go into any business without having thoroughly in vestigated the markets, the machinery and the past profits and losses, will risk the savings of lifetime in a gold mine of which they personally know nothing. or in an orchard scheme the information concerning which is presented only on paper.
 Take for instance, the case of sa gov ernment employe who called the other day to ask the advice of the fruit men as to an investment in a new orange region which is being exploited in various parts of the south. This orange is of a Japa- nese variety which will grow mucn farther north than the sweet oranges Of Florida or California. The locality pro posed was somewhere in Alabama. The scheme is managed by a syndicate which is selling its lands at $300 per acre. with the understanding that the trees are to be planted at once. and are to be cared for
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-18

a distance of 150 miles. Georgia has a number of orchardists who are cultivat- ing more than 100000 trees and there Is a druggist in that state who owns 160,- 900 trees. The peach trees of the south have been recently greatly injured by rot and other diseases, but the new spray solutions of the department have proved the salvation of the crop and there promises to be big money in it.
 How One Boy Made Good
 In connection with peach growing, it is interesting to tell how one boy made q fortune in peaches, and by his own exertions and study lifted not only his own family but many others to afflu- ence. I refer to Hale, the Peach King Of Georgia, the man who is now at the head of a syndicate which owns or chards capitalized at s1,0o0,OOo or more and which has shown profits of s50,000 and upward a year. I don't know how many hundred thousand peach trees MT. Hale owns, but he has built up a great peach growing Industry in south western Georgia, and his fruit is sent in refrigerator cars all over the north. He sometimes harvests 100000 peaches a day, each peach being handled three times in sorting, picking and packing, and he has the most improved methods of cultiyating his trees and marketing the crop
 I have just talked with a man who knows Hale very well. Said he:
 Hale was born near little town in Connecticut. His father lived on a farm upon which nothing could be raised, not even mortgage. His father was in debt and he died leaving the farm in . cumbered to the amount of $2000 with only two little boys, Hale and his brother to meet the interest and sup port the family. They found they had to hire themselves out to keep the farm
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-18
Starting the Stopped

From the National Monthly.
 One day an old farmer borrowed a mule from his neighbor; after he had finished his work he sent his 14-year-old boy to take it home. The boy had gone about half mile when the mule stopped and positively refused to go any farther. After the boy had almost pulled his arm off, trying to get him to go, an old doctor came along, and asked: Why, my son, what is the matter with your mule?"
 Why, sir, can't you see, he has ballSed,'' cried the boy.
 "Well.' said the old man, opening his case and tagging out bottle labelled "Carbolic Acid" we'll see what we can do for him." and he poured some of the acid on the mules back, and in much. less time than it takes to write 1t the mule was gallopng down the road at q rate he had never gone before.
 The boy looked up in surprise, and said: Doctor, have you got any more of that stuff?'
 Yes answered the man.
 Well, doctor. are you sure you have got whole lot more of it?' he asked.
 "G think I have plenty. What did you want to know for?' he asked with . smile
 Well, l wish you would pour soms on me. doctor. for I've got to catch that mule,' answered the boy.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-18

tie homes over the branches, and can be carried on the feet of birds to the other trees of the orchard or to other orchards, which may be many miles off. It may also be blown by the wind a short dis tance.
 The insect has so spread that there is scarcely a locality in the United States which is free from it. and the only sal vation Of an orchard is regular spraying from year to year. The scientists tell me the spraying should begin as soon as the trees are planted, for the scale may exist on the nursery stock, and a single family which may start with space as big as the finger nail of a baby will soon popu- late not only your orchard. but also those of your neighbors. The insects live on the trees of the posts, so that the only safe method is a wholesale slaughter each year.
 Other Parasites I spent some time with Professor Waite who is now studying the prevention of the rot which develops in oranges, ap- pies, peaches and other fruits on their
 
 his laboratories, where a number of mi- croscopists and other scientists were working, and where there were long ta- bles filled with glass jars. These were so covered as to prevent the invasion of bacteria, and they contained oranges which had been inoculated with fungus and given the right conditions for it's de- Velopment. I saw large number of tIt1a f1,a plugged with cotton. Each tube contained a species of fungus, which, by the way is one of the lower forms of vegetable life. Fungus is sort of plant which feeds on other plants. It is a plant cannibaI or parasite, as~ it were. 1t is so small that you have to have a mscroscope to examine it, but it develops so rapidly that it soon eats up and destroys any fruit to which it attaches itself. I was shown q glass cage. something like a tel ephone booth. which was made by Mir. Waite that it might be bacteria proof. This is in order that the men may work safely within it and that the fungus they are studying may not be affected by the other little pests flying around. This booth has a draft which forms the ai. in through shoots of cotton wool so wad- ded together that the bacteria cannot go through them It is this air that is breahed by the operator at work In the booth.
 In other places they were working on forms of fungus which affect the leaves and in others upon those which eat at the bark and heart of the tree. It was, in fact, a great medical laboratory devoted to tree diseases and their prevention
 I found some similar things In the lab oratories of Professor Quaintance, who is fighting all sorts of insects and worms which attack our orchards. and also in the rooms of Professor Scott. who Is one of the most famous of our scientific doc tors, as to the treatment of fungus dis eases.
 Insects Which Eat Millions
 It is impossible to estimate the dam age done to our orchads by bugs and rot. There are from 15 to 20 insect pests which cost this country from sixty to seventy-five million dollars year. The control of the San Jose scale foots
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-18

for five years, at which time they. will come into bearing. The prospectus has figures which show that tract of five acres so treated will give a man profita- ble income. Said the pomologist who told me this story:
 That man who called was a proof reader who has to do with government printing. His work is such that the mis- placing of a comma might cost Uncle Sam millions, and a mistake would lose him his job. This, he told me. had so worn upon his nerves that he felt he must arrange for his leaving the service at some time in the near future. He said he thought this would be good place to invest his savings, and that he would eventually retire to his orchard. He said he intended to put in all he had and to pay the balance on miscellaneous of s15 a month. I asked him if he had gone down to Alabama to see tho land and investigate the proposition. He re- piled that he had not but that the pros- pectus gave all the figures and showed just what the profits would be. I asked if he knew the managers. He said he did not. l thereupon strongly advised him to make no such investment with out further knowledge. He said. how ever, that he thought he would risk it. and so went away. His mind was made up before he came in, and my advice was worth nothing"
 The Agricultural Department has many such schemes brought daily before 1t. Some of them are good and will pan out all right, but great number are ques- tionable, to say the least. and those who invest should make the most careful in- quries into locations, markets and the individuals who are managing before they rick that which has cost them years of privation to save
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-18

most of the big trunk lines the Yellow Dog cut a small figures. At any rate the Yellow Dog was the last of the railroads to feel the effects of good times and the first to be affected by bad. There is little charity among rail- roads, and It's rivals never seemed to sorrow if the sidetracks of the Yellow Dog were crowded with empties and the roundhouses were packed full of dead engines.
 God or bad management reflects It. self throughout a railroad. The Yel- low Dog, poorly nurtured, scoffed at, ri6iculed and staggering under its
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-18


 ~ ONE with me to the agricultural
 department and see how Uncle O Sam is waging war on the flies, bugs and bacteria which are njuring the farmer. He is finding them by the mill lions and he has scores of scientists who are rearing them, studying their habits and practieing how to destroy them. went today through a number of labora- tories where these little beings are culti- vated. Some are so small that billor or so can be crowded into a thimble, and they breed so rapidly that a single fam fly will produce more than sixteen hun dred million children and grandchildren In a season, many generations being crowded into that time.
 Take. for instance, the San Jose scale which has cost our fruit growers some- thing like s200, 900 and for which they are now spending millions to fight. I looked at it through the microscope in the pomological bureau today. The one I examined was among those on a peach limb which covered it as closely almost as the pores of your skin. Each scale is a waxlike body not as big as the head of a pin, and the Insect itself lies under this, using 1t as a shield while it sucks the lifeblood of the tree
 The little being is male and female and the sexes are married and have children not unlike human beings The single fe- male, however, will have 400 young in a season, and the young reach maturity so quickly that one little wife may pro- duce 400 babies a year, while the off, spring of one parent during a single sea- son has been estimated at more than sixteen hundred million females When it is remembered that there are colonies of this insect scattered throughout every orchard region of the United States from northern Michigan to the Everglades of Florida and from Los Angeles to Della ware, you may appreciate what a job 1t is to control them.
 A Chinese Invasion
 Talk about the Yellow Perill This little animal came from across the Pacific. It was brought in on some peach stock inn ported from China and was ruining the orchards of southern California when one of the farmers of that region gave his trees a wash of sheep dip. The dip was composed of a lime, salt and sul- phur solution, which had come from Aus tralia. He was surprised to find that this liquid wiped out the scale. The fact was reported to the agricultural department, and then as result of it's experiments, began the wholesale spraying which now goes on all over the country. Every winter or spring the commercial orchards of the United States are spraying with this mixture. The concentrated spray Is too strong to use after the leaves have come out, but if does not inture the trees while vegetation is dormant, and if ap- piled to every bit of the bark above ground 1t wipes out the scale.
 Moreover, the San Jose scale has no wings to fly from tree to tree, although the young can climb al1>h fn>in their It.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-18

weight of debt, offered little inspira-
 ion to it's employees. They knew other and competing roads spent more on maintenance of roadbed on engines, on cars and in every department of rail roading. They knew the Yellow Dog had been robbed by Wall street pirates and that all the sins the robbers had been visited on it. So. gradually, they got 10 look upon their work as just covering so many miles of road or ill- ing so many hours time a day.
 When a great body of men lose the powerful impulse of pride and keen in terest in their work a heavy loss has
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-18

So 1t went throughout the division. Every branch had its reward or recog- hilton for excellence of duty. The fire man dreams of the day when he will have d locomotive and win membership to the order of the Red Spot, for the honor engineers have club of their own. The section hand looks forward to the time when he will be a foreman and earn the approval of the Parson. The conductor who has two or three stripes of gold knows he wears the badge of distinction. The station men, knowing the appearance and condition of the stations are being considered, are taking pride in what their places look like.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-18

Copyright, 1911, by Frank G. Car
 penter).
 Washington, D. c. ''The larger feas have smaller neas From their backs to bite 'em; And those small fleas have other heas, And so ad infinitum."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-18

Insects Which Eat Millions
 It is impossible to estimate the dam age done to our orchads by bugs and rot. There are from 15 to 20 insect pests which cost this country from sixty to seventy-five million dollars a year The control of the San Jose scale foots