davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Gilpin observer., 1911-09-28
Legal PieasantIss.

The pompous lawyer assumed his
most imposing mein. Gentlemen Of
the Jury" he began. impressively. II
once sat upon the judges bench in the
state Of Maine. and"
Where was the judge?" interrupt,
Cd the opposing attorney.-The House
keeper.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06
Troubles Of Our Referees

Even referees, it appears, become jeal-
mine each other in all the ways that
politics furnishes. Just at nresent Mr..
Thompson is reticent while Major Barker
is aggressive. But the former may be
gumshoeng and there is no way to ascer-
tain when or where he will become active
again
Just at present the Mobile referee is
under a cloud because he tried to re-
move an -Confederates widow from the
postoffice at Fort Payne. He thought he
had procured her removal, but he had
not, for Senator Bankhead interviewed.
and he says the widow of the Confed-
crate soldier shall not be displaced If ne
can prevent it, and he thinks he can.
So long as we have no federal statute
providing that federal referees shall re-
main friendly just that long will dis
cord and strife arise between them. Ala
bama is a storm center today and tomor-
row some other state may be. Referees
are but human. There ID hot quite enough
power to go round, and so strife between
each pair of referees just naturally arises.
This cannot be avoided while we indulge
after 1912 all referees will begin to see
over. They will then perhaps agree in
their departing nests as do the little
birds.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06

white adult males. census of 1900, Ala
bama was sixth from the h5,,om. This
IS an era of enlightenment and ethical
aylift and Alabama simply cannot afford
10 be near the foot of any classified list
that relates to education o. good morals.
When the legislature passes the pend
ing bill alabama will receive an indirect
benefit outside of this state, and when
he people ratify the amendment pro-
viding for the right of local taxation,
which would mean something like ade~
auate revenues for the rural schools, the
good effect would be immediate, certainly
from an immigration point of view. 1t
would be four or five years before the
increased school revenue would be large
ly felt in the states educational statistics,
but when the people vote for the amend
ment Alabama will rise appreciably as
progressive state.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06
Local Taxation in Two Cities

Atlanta has troubles of its own. Its
| teachers deserve better pay; its enlarged
territory reaching into an adjoining coun-
ty calls for additional fire and police
protection, and the tax committee of
the city council is sorely pressed to find
money to meet all these demands. Says
correspondent, Atlanta is paying the
penalty of quick expansion. 1t was de-
termined to get ahead in the census of
1910. 1t dd so, and now it is finding it
san expensive luxury
Atlanta will pull through these trou-
more revenue but if the legislature passes
the bill to submit an amendment author
izing local taxation for public schools
the financial troubles of this city will
be readily overcome.
In progressive states it seems incredible
that any state forbids for moment any
school district from having Just as good
school as it is willing to pay for. That
is what Alabama is doing. If there ever
was any reason for adopting such a pol
icy that reason has passed away, and
so should the constitutional provision on
which it is based. The constitution is 10
Gate. The legislature can, however, bring
DDS, and it surely should do this before
the day of final adjournment arrives
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06
THE CAR PORTERCRATs

TOIn ItulIldu Lie.
If the news had come that the negro
porters who perform the sacred rite of
hitting people on the back with the butt
of whisk- broom, had secured control of
would have been manifested. But the
news that the Pullman porters have asked
for a raise in wages because they cannot
live on what they receive causes much
mental unrest. Every mean man who
has watched a porter's face light-up with
pleasure when he was handed a dollar,
and who watched that same face express
bewilderment, chagrin, disappointment
and anguish when its owner was asked
to give back 70 cents, has held the thought
that every porter was a ti-millonaire
in disguise and that he welded the brush
butt and inflicted an imitation shine be-
cause of eccentricity.
Booker T. Washington, asked his opin-
ion on tipping, gave an answer that would
have delighted the Delphic oracle. "If the
wages are too low, tipping should be
continued says this educator. But why
in the name of the nine gods and the
seven sacred hills of Rome the Pullman
company, after charging first-class hotel
rates for an ill-ventilated. Jerky, uncom-
Portable sleeping shelf, should first expect
the public to pay the tanned chamber
maid in addition-well. that is something
that seems to have been born without be-
ing fathere0 by reason.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06

From the Washington Herald
"If water will run down hill, then the
reclamation of the Florida Everglades is
perfectly feasible said ]. o. Wright,
the Florida government drainage engi-
neer, who was seen recently at the New
Ebbtt The land commonly called the
Everglades is a treeless plain in the south
peninsula of Florida, from 60 to 80 miles
wide and 140 miles long. 1t is separated
from the Atlantic ocean by belt of tim
Der from three to 20 miles wide, and from
the Gulf of Mexico by wide expanse of
fiat pine woods and cypress sloughs. The
surface of the land at the north end is
% feet above sea level, and it slopes grad
ually toward the south The soil is
muck and peat, and is covered with a
dense growth of sawgrass from four to
70 feet high.
This whole plain is undertake with a
hard material consisting of clay, sand and
shells, and in many places particularly
toward the south end, rotten limestone
This underlying material Is practically
level, although its surface is not smooth.
1t is composed of a series of slight ridges
and shallow hollows which extend north
and south, with numerous pot holes
and depressons scattered promiscuously
throughout the entire area This arrange
ment gives the muck a depth that varies
from y to 20 feet in the northern part
and from two to four feet in the southern
end.
1.-THE drainage which is proposed pro-
vides for the construction of four large
canals, leading from the lake to the Gulf
of Mexico. of sufficient capacity to take
the overflow from the lake without food
ing the adjacent Lands. When these
main canals are constructed for the pur-
pose of taking the rainfall off the Ever
glades, this vast plain will become one of
the mostdesirable sections for agriculture
in the United States"
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06
He that is thy friend indeed,
He will help thee in thy need.
-Sundry Sonnets XXI.
Retail Merchants aUd The Parcels Post

1t is difficult to see why the retail mer-
chants of the south should meet at Nash
vile or any other place to oppose the
pending bill to establish parcel delivery
on rural free delivery routes only The
big mail order houses cannot take ad-
vantage of it, and the towns from which
rural carriers start certainly would not
use the proposed service beyond the needs
of those that can and do drive to town
nearly every week
Any injury to the retail merchants in
small towns is largely imaginary. 1t prob
express companies only. These companies
may be engaged in getting up in the sly
est possible manner the Nashville con.
vention., Be this as it may, no harm
will come to the retail merchants in small
towns from the operation of a parcels
post on rural free delivery routes In
many ways the merchants in small towns
would be convenienced, and fully half
of them would be gamers from the pro-
posed extension of the mail service. Let
us hope the merchants in the small towns
of Alabama will consider the matter in all
its bearings before they decide to attend
the convention at Nashville.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06
MARK TwAIN's READING

w. d. Howells, my Mark Twain
AS I remember, he did not care much
for fiction, and in that sort he had GER
tain distinct loathings. Gold
smith was one of these, but his prime
adherence was my dear and honored
prime favorite, Jane Austen. He once
said to me, l suppose after he had been
reading some of my unsparing praises
of her-I am always praising her, You
seem to think that woman could write, y
and he forebore whitening me with his
scorn, apparently because we had been
friends so long, and he more pitied than
hated me for my bad taste.
He seemed not to have any preferences
among novelists; or at least l never heard
him express any. He used to read the
modern novels I praised, in or out of
print; but / do not think he much liked
reading fiction.
AS for plays, he detested the theatre,
and said he would as lief do a sum as
follow a plot on the stage. He could
not or did not, give any reasons for his
literary abhorrences, and perhaps he
really had none.
Generally / fancy his pleasure in poetry
was not great, and | do not believe he
cared much for the conventonally ac-
cepted masterpieces of literature
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06
Segregating the Races in Birmingham

Alderman Huddleston desires to apply
to Birmingham the plan of segregating
the races that Baltimore first devised and
has since found feasible and useful 1t
is not unconstitutional because it for
blocks as we'll as it forbids negroes from
moving into white blocks. AS servants
and employees are excepted there seems
to be no objection to proposition that
simply aims to minimize friction between
the races.
Birmingham is increasing rapidly and
it is none too soon to apply to it methods
that will remove as far as can be done
race friction Atlanta has, suffered from
race riots, but Birmingham never has
and it is to be hoped it never will AL
derman Huddleston's ordinance looks to
such result. The Baltimore ordinance
seemed well suited to local application
although parts of it were declared void.
The general object of the measure Is
good. 1T aims to serve both races by
removing all grounds of complaint so far
as habitations within the city are con-
cerned. Wisely applied, it would prove
no doubt an ordinance and a policy that
would never be- repealed
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06
DANA'S DAY IN JOURNALISM
From the american Newspaper b,
Will Irwin in Golfers.

From the american Newspaper" by
Will Irwin in Golfers.
A S art is less than life, so Char
"a les A. Dana's was lesser in
a fiuence than that of Greeley
or Bennett: and it has always been
better understood within the profess
sion of journalism than without
Though news had become the approx
ed product of journalism, workmanship
fingered behind. He was the best re-
porter. as 1 have said who found the
greatest amount of exclusive news,
rushed 1t most rapidly into print. Edi-
tors, in the craze for news. did not con-
slider that slight story well told may
attract more attention than great one
mumbled. Writers of force and vigor
we had always here and there; but they
were mainly accidents. Later daring
editors and reporters tried to get some
writing into the press. The star re-
porteds who did this work initiated the
novelists. and produced a form of writ
ing as grotesquely unsuited>to its needs
as dress suit to a hunting expedition
The best newspapers of the '70s include
a mass of affected. stilted writing with
which we have no patience today There
fingers in my memory a report of the
Crittendon murder in San Francisco,
written in the '70s by one of the high
priced American stars. This was a
crime as sensational in its community
and time as the late Thaw murder in
New York. Mr.. Crittendon, leader of the
California bar, was embracing his wife.
just returned from Europe, when a
woman shot him from behind. The re-
port begins:
THE old adage. Hell hath no fury
like woman scorned was amply ex-
emplified yesterday on the Oakland
ferry when an attorney, type of the
profession sworn to support the COM
monwealth," etc.-half way down the
column through this mass of verbiage
before the reader learned that some one
had been murdered, three quarters of
the way before he learned who had been
murdered next column >before it
dawned who committed the murder.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06
The Country Schools
birds.

The bill for submission to the qualified
electors of Alabama at the next general
election, which will be held in November,
1912, a proposed amendment to the con-
stitution authorizing special school tax
levies in counties and public school dis
trict will doubtless be enacted. The Ala
bama education committee is taking a
lively interest in the measure and not a
few men prominent in public life are
urging its passage.
Following the enactment of the bill a
campaign of education would be in order
for the adoption of the proposed amend
ment in 1872 Ten years ago the right of
local taxation would have stood poor
chance of winning, but the situation is
very different now. In the government
census school statistics of 1900 the en-
tire south made bad showing; and Ala
bama made a particularly backward ex-
hibit. In the statistics of 1907-0S Alabama
was third from the bottom of all The
states in ''the amount expended for pub
lie schools on each 500 of true valu-
alton of all real and personal property
Nevada and New Mexico ranked below
This state. In the leverage number oil
days attendance for every child of school
age' in 19O7-OS Alabama stood at the
very bottom of the list In the table OF
illiterates unable to write) among native
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06

The plain, ordinary news mechanic
went to the other extreme. The news
was the thing; tell 1t in stereotyped
phrases if you would. but tell it abso-
lutely badly; and look to nothing for
effect and interest but plain statement
of the facts themselves From this
arose the rule. still hammered into cub
reporters: Tell your story in the
head; tell 1t again In the first sentence,
again in the first paragraph, and again
in the body of the story This plain
perversion of the manner in which the
human mind had been accustomed to
tell and grasp stories since the race be-
gan presupposes that the one big fact
of the news-that some one has been
killed, has eloped, been enriched or
married---is the only thing which can
possibly interest the reader.
Dana saw no reason why journalism,
the little sister of literature, should
not herself dress with art. Perceiving
that the news reports in the daily pa
pers must henceforth be the chief In
tellectual food for three quarters of our
people, he came to believe that the
clever, subtle, and sound narrative OF
these reports was a task worthy of all
the taste. the culture. and the soul
force that there is In any man. He
perceived that this art, must be limit
ed, that any striving for extraordinary
combinations of words was beyond the
scope of the reporter. AS he worked 1t
out the art of reporting is the art of
the plain tale, beginning at the begin
ming and proceeding to the end, and
decked mainly with those details which
the trained eye of the good reporter
comes to perceive. So appeared the
Sun style-easy, often witty, full of
detail and incident. but always clear.
The public will never know all the in
fiuence which Dana had upon news
paper men. Sun writing became the
standard and criterion; the old, stilted
highfalutin style retrea ted to the coun-
try and the frontiers and every good
writing reporter became debtor 10 Dana
He put premium upon that same writ
ing reporter the pure news getter was
never supreme again after Dana en-
tered the field.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06
Confidence Rising

Henry Clews, in his Saturday review
of the financial world, says in part:
Confidence on the Stock Exchange ap-
pears to be rising and further improve
ment in values has taken place during
the week just closed. Easy money and
powerful banking support have been the
two chief influences. The latter has been
very noticeable and is easily explained
If not Justified by existing conditions. At
current rates for money many stocks have
recently looked attractive for either In
vestment or speculative purchases, and
although there has been fair rise since
the last decline values are still upon a
conservative basis. considering the divi.
dend situation. We have now had, six
months or more of contraction, and there
is no prospect of dividend reductions; the
effect of any unfavorable action which
the interstate commerce commission may
take having been fully discounted. The
best Judgment of the street is that the
commissions decision will he in the ma
ture of compromise, reducing rates
where they have been inordinately high
and permitting railroads to4recoup them
selves for increased expenses by granting
slight increases where rates are unques-
tionably low. There Is no longer any
serious apprehension of injurious or
biased action on the part of the interstate
commerce commission. This is favor
able factor of importance in the mar
ket. although not generally recognized.
AS to the Supreme court decisions, fear
Of these has been largely modified. No
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06
in HOTEL LOBBIES
Our Public institutions

II understand that joint committee
from the house and senate is to meet
In birmingham today for the purpose oil
investigating the condition of the Boys
Industrial school, the Mercy Home, and
other institutions who are asking the
legislators for an increased appropria-
tion,' said citizen who has taken an
active interest in these institutions. Il
feel sure they will see the necessity OF
the financial aid asked, for a visit TO
these places cannot fail to impress one
with the great work they are doing.
1.-THE Boys school at East Lake is
credit to the state and many hayward
boy has been reclaimed by the methods
employed by those in charge. who other
wise might have drifted into life Of
sin and crime. The same can be sad
of the other institutions The Mercy Home
and the Home for the Friendless are all
the names imply, and many helpless little
ones have been tenderly cared for as
well as help extended to those who nave
been overtaken by misfortune. l am glad
the committee is making a personal IN
vestigation of these places for they can
learn more by SUCH visit than could
ever be told either by word of mouth
or, written communication, and feel sure
the financial aid asked for Will be
granted"
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06
Likes Birmingham

II believe Birmingham has the atmos-
phere of Pittshurg and the hustle and
hustle of New York" said L. F. Hat
field who has recently come to Birining-
ham from New York to be associated
with one of the. large tailoring firms oil
the city. "And there is another thing
notice about Birmingham. The men are
extremely well dressed and the women
also. / would venture the suggestion that
there is not a city in the south that has
as many we'll tailored men as Birming-
ham, and where the styles are as well
worn as they are here.
81 was in Pittsburg, Philadelphia and
New York, and see that many of the
men here have the well set up appear
ance that distinguishes the New Yorker
and the Pittsburg man. 1t must be due
to the fact that the large corporations
are bringing a number of young college
men to Birmingham to An positions.
This doesn't seem like a southern town.
People here don't take nap after din
mes or lunch like they do in some other
southern cities. Birmingham has the ap-
pearance of rush and hurry, and the
devil catch the hindmost I like the city
immensely and especially the residence
sections along the South Highlands. l
don't believe | have ever seen any resi-
dence section that gave as much promise
as does this Highland avenue part of
Birmingham.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06

Some morning-soon, l believe-Bir-
mingham is going to wake up to the real
ization that another great resource has
been added to her almost limitless adj
vantages," said prominent man. and
at the same time hundreds of men are
going to kick themselves for overlooking
an opportunity to become wealthy. I re-
fer to the gas and oil prospects.
"There are a score or more drills in
the Fayette fields, each one chugging
away toward gas or oil, and I feel con-
fident that 1t will be matter of only a
short time before the welcome announce
ment comes that there is oil in big guam
titles at or near Fayette; or that the gas
fields have been proven and that pipe
line will be built Immediately to Bir-
nlingham.
~ have quietly gone about and absorbed
a little stock in several of these gas COM
panes and I feel confident that If they
find oil 1t will be one of my companies,
and | will be a rich man. When they do
strike oil the stock of all the companies
will jump skyward in a hurry and then
men will be scramblng over themselves
to buy it at big figures
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06
THEIR OTHER WIVES

"Only in the ranks of the 400 is 1t
possible to find anything like the num-
Der of divorced people that there is on
the stage writes Louis Baury in Hu-
man Life for February. And on behalf
of the actors and actresses be it said that
they at least have far more excuse than
the folk of fashion.
1.-THE actor does not have a home, in
any true sense of the word. Unless he
happens to be in the same company with
his wife he can see but little of her, and
so possibly the estrangement growing
out of enforced separation for long pc
RODS is not so much his fault as 1t might
at first appear.
They are strange fok-these people
of the stage, and none may really know
them unless she is truly of them, and then
he won't tell. So let us merely stick to
the facts and. draw what lessons and in
ferences we may from them-but keep
those lessons strictly to ourselves. The
facts are sufficiently startling without
the aid of any establishment or marginal
notes. They prove that there is scarcely
a popular actor on the American stage
who has not another wife.
"Wife No. / divorces him and then he
and she race with each other to see who
can get another mate first. Wife No. /
and Wife No. frown darllly and gather
their skirts chastely about them when
they meet for awhile. Then wife No. 2
gets divorce and wife No. l says, I
told you So my dear and they're the
best friends imaginable. Repeat this ad
lib. and you have theatrical romance in
a nutshell. These are facts in general.
Let us take some facts in particular and
look over a few of their other wives
and the way they got them-or rather lost
them, that being far more interesting
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1911-02-06
NAPOLEON AND TOBACCO
McCann. "Tobacco Leaves.n

J. r. Mccain, Tobacco Leaves"
Napoleon tried to smoke once. Some
one gave him a box of Turkish cigar
cites, and it nearly did for him what Eu-
rope had been trying to do to him for
years-kiled him. He is the only Illus
trious man whom I have ever met who
gave up trying TO learn to smoke after
enc trial.
have met who did the same thing.
He told me that he once tackled cigar,
and the cigar then tackled him. The rest
is silence.