davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
From the Washington Post.

From the Washington Post.
 That famous old Indian chief Tecum- sch seems to get into the newspapers a good deal, considering that he has been eead for 100 years, remarked Col Ar thur Burch of Kentucky at the Raleigh.
 "There was story in the Post some time ago telling how Tecumseh died a British subject and should not be hon. ored by Americans. I was speaking of the Post story to some friends out in Kentucky, and an old man, whose grand father was in the battle of the Thames, where Tecumseh was killed, volunteered the information that the American sol diers had fayed the body of Tecumseh and, tanning the skin, had distributed pieces of 1t as souvenirs.
 My Kentucky friend exclaimed, with some pride, that his grandfather had re- ceived piece of the Tecumseh cuticle, and that it was stil kept in the family as an interesting relic. The owner of the Tecumseh cuticle was offered good price for it, and a museum, hearing that he had it. wanted him to at least loan it for exhibition. However, he holds on to it.
 Now comes the story from a Kentucky paper that some vanda1 has broken off and carried away the head of General Johnsons bust in the Frankfort cemetery. General Johnson was reputed to be the soldier who killed Tecumseh. Later he was elected Vice President. His cam paign cry was:
 'Rumsey, dumsy Colonel Johnson killed Tecumseh.'
 Johnson was a big figure in politics, and hardly needed any campaign rhymes to put him on the ticket for Vice Presi- dent
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
AHAPPY LIFE AFLOAT

From the Kansas Clty Star
 A member of the crew of the battleship Mississippi writes to the Bluejacket a letter in which he says that he and his mates are just about the best and hap piest lot of tars in Uncle Sans service.
 'In five months time,' he says, there were 142 men over leave and liberty on this ship alone, nearly one man for each day. Considering the amount of leave and liberty that has been granted the men of this ship, the showing made has been far below what 1t was on other ships. For the average for the 16 battleships, Al is over three times the absentees from this ship, and the total, 1751, is a disgrace to the service.
 Another table shows that the Missis- less assertions than any of the other ships of the fleet, and including a number of large ships of the Aslatic and Pacific stations. When the helm Of this ship was taken in hand by Capt. William F. Fullam, our present commanding officer. you published in the Bluejac1xet the in- formation that he had established immedi- ately after assuming command the free gangway policy, just as he had success fully done at Newport, his previous place of command.
 ''The result of the step Is apparent now in the good work done by our men in races, drills, endurance tests and conduct, loyalty to the service and patriotism. Im- mediately after the result of the races became known Captain Fullam issued an order that every man on the ship would be placed on the first conduct list, and that there would be no blacklist in the future; also that men of the Mississippi will not be deprived of liberty as pun ishment in the future.
 "Our men are proud and so are our of- ficers, who have helped so much to make this the most contented ship in the navy. We won four cups out of nine, and came in a mighty close second for two other cups. The Pensacola cup involved three races-cutters, whaleboats and dinghys It is a sort of general excellence cup, and we won two of the three races for the cup and got third place in the other race"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
\ Bright Outlook

Business throughout the country has been very dull recently" said R. T. Worsham, associated with one of the prominent brokerage concerns of New York, but an improvement is in sight. The crop outlook was never better than now We are going to have bumper crops-grain and cotton. No matter how poor the industrial world may behave, big crops will make big business. In other words. we will have prosperity.
 The railroads are buying little or noth- ing now, but their fiscal year ends June 50, and then they will start up lively buying movement. About the coming boom. it will be solid prosperity. There will be nothing of the old-time imitation about it
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
DICKENS, THE DANDY

From Tit-Bits.
 "I thought he looked like one of our river gamblers Such is the description of Charles Dickens, given by Prenticeo in an account of his tour of the United States.
 A tendency for overdressing was al- ways one or Dickens characteristics. "A very spruce man. is the description given of the famouss novelist by another writer. "Ie brushed frequently changed his collars several times day, and .combed his hair 100 times a day"
 A photograph of Dickens. taken In 1852, shows him in a frock coat with a broad velvet collar, a waistcoat made of some furry stuff, and trousers of huge check.
 Percy Fitzgerald says the French paint er's remark that Dickens was 'moro like one of the old Dutch admrals w. see in the picture galleries than man of letters,' conveys an admirably >tru. idea to his friends.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
curr,NG OFF THE QUEUES

From the Kansas City Star.
 China recently had a queue cutting. IL meant a great deal to China, for In the operation was the destruction of the su- perstitions of centuries. One of the per sons who witnessed this was Eugene E. Barnett of the international staff of the V M c. A.. and he wrote of what he saw in A letter to the New York Eyen- ing Post:
 "The public queue cutting to which l refer took place in large tea house, he said
 "Between 15oo and 2Ooo spectators were packed and damned on the floor and Tn the galleries. Every pair of eyes was focused on a platform which occupied one end of the building. About this plat form were gathered the elect. those who had already been separated from their queues.
 "One glance ,sufficed to show that most of them were young men and young women from the better classes, the chler seat of the short hair revival has been the colleges, both missionary and gov ernment of the land. One by one the men would screw up their courage and make their way to the platform, where one specially appointed man was ready to hold the queue while a second man with a huge pair of shears stood ready 10 perform the amputation. As one wouid go forward. a wave of applause would sweep over the tense crowd, and then be followed by an interval of silence as every head bent forward so that nothing might be missed
 sIn each case a dramatic scene ensued. The queue would be strung out at full length with a vicious jerk by. it's posses sor or lifted gingerly up by him with comioaI grimace of contempt, and then handed over to the waiting committee mentioned above. A few snips, and or would come tho long. heavy braid. The applause would break forth again and hubbub of voices fill the room. Usually speech followed, sometimes cool ana measured. more often impassioned, and almost savage as the new convert waved the despised object before the face or his audience, but always dramatic Tn the extreme, as the Chinese, down to the humblest coolie, is born actor.
 while this was going on in the main hall of the tea house, 90 barbers were busy in other parts of the building, giv- ing their services free of charge. All several hundred men, according to the native newspapers. went from Chang Su Hos garden to their homes that night with their queues in their hands instead of down their backs, where they had hung and rubbed and Tapped frnn1 their ga rlieSt days"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
AN EDIToR,s FoRETHouGHT

AN EDITORS FORETHOUGHT.
 The people of Texas have been wrest- ling with the liquor problem very much as the people of Alabama have been doing and the astute editor of the Alkali Eye has followed every move of the prohibition ists with close attention However, his thirst and his enthusiasm continue un- abated. as the following will show:
 Tn way we hev ben carryin on of late has exceeded tn expectations of even tn prohibitioners. We hey not only painted tn town as high up as tn caves but we hey splashed tn paint In some instances highern the roofs. This amt ter be taken as a fear on our part tfiet we air goin ter have our booze cut off by tn fthcom- in election. But even believin' as we do thet our forum is safe don't do away with tn fact thet tn comin' election Is daisy excuse fer fine drinkin' duck like us ter is, just because there is a bare possibility thet tn fine drinlxin' men might be sleep in off a hangover on that day an fergit ter vote. So in orderment ter git ahead of any sich contretemps-wh that is we air pursooin our usual course O tryn' ter make tn brownies work nights We met up with a duck tn other day an asted him eff he was a statewider an he said no he wasn't till he met up with us, an then he lit out In tn genrul direction O Oklahoma, but we he'd landed on him twice before he got his second wind, an we don't think he will be back ter vote.
 we don't think he will be back ter vote.- Alkali Eye PAUL COOK
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
Use of the Warrior River

The Mobile Register says it "would be glad to see the commercial organi- zations of Mobile and Birmingham actively engaged in efforts to make sure that the bringing of cheap coal to the gulf by way of the rivers will take place; to hasten the completion of the river improvement; and to in- terest capitalists in the new route; so that by the time the Panama canal is opened-or before-the barging will actually be demonstrated a success. We may expect that, in a couple of years at most, the outer bar of Mobile will be deepened to 35 feet, thus ad- hitting to the bay and safe harber the largest vessels that will be able to pass through the Panama canal. Mo- bile should become a great coaling port in consequence, as well as a great coal exporting port. Let us begin to help ourselves in this matter. If we get together and all work hard, we can do wonders"
 That is the right sort of talk. Mo- bile and Birmingham should get to- gether, working hard for results of mutual benefit. Mobile should en- deavor to have the contractors of the two unfinished locks in the Tombig- bee hasten their tasks. The govern ment officer in charge of the two de- layed locks lives in Mobile, and the progress of the two locks should be watched and reported. The contrac- tors have been slow and slack and this delays the opening of the river even to Tuscaloosa. The contractors above Tuscaloosa seem to be getting on very we'll and it may be that the en- gineer officer in charge of the Tom bigbee locks can be induced to prod the contractors, who have already spent two years on those locks with out much to show in the way of ac- tual accomplishment.
 Here in Birmingham operative coal owners and big iron and steel men should begin to consider the value of an open river They might go step further by getting ready to use it when it is opened. Business men prefer, however, as rule to cross a bridge when they come to it, and perhaps they will invest no money until they know that the river is actually opened. It would certain ly hurt none of them to make a pre- paratory study of the river and of it's advantages. If the river cannot be utilized then it is idle to consider com petition with West Virginia coal at Colon or elsewhere. But when gov ernment engineers say river is navi- gable all may be very sure that they know what they are talking about. The government is spending $8,0O0,- 900 to open the Warrior, and when the work is completed the river will have slack water navigation six feet deep the year round for towboats and barges.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
PIG THAT WORE BABY CLOTHES

From the New York Times.
 IF it hadn't been for stifled squeal and very piglike wriggle. the taxicab driver would never have known that one of his fares wasn't human. In fact the chauffeur rubbed his eyes several times before it finally dawned on him that Mrs. Marie Watson's travelling com panion was pig, instead of baby.
 The chauffeur wasn't to blame for be- ing deceived, for several conductors had made the same mistake. They don't know even now that the bundle Mrs. Watson carried as tenderly in her arms was not a baby at all, in spite of it's baby cap and fluffy little coat and the milk bottle which Mrs. Watson produced every now and then on her ride from Newark
 Mrs Watson, as almost every vaudeville performer knows, is the wife of Sam Watson, who have a barnyard circus One of the star performers was a wee pig, but 1t got so fat that Mrs. Watson decided that another pig would have to Join the show, one that she could hold in her arms without straining her muscles.
 After some correspondence she found what she wanted in the pig line on farm just outside of Newark. The pigs owner agreed to sell free on board at Newark, but not Manhattan.
 Mrs Watson and her husband went into conference to decide how co get the pig here.
 Leave 1t to me- said Mrs. Watson. "IIl just bring the pig over on the train. " Her husband suggested that pigs were not allowed on passenger trains. But Mrs. Watson knew what she was talking about.
 Leave it to me-" she repeated, and MT. Watson did so.
 Mrs. watson made the trip to Newark Friday and met the farmer and his pig. Mrs watson whispered few words of pig language in the little fellows ear and proceeded to dress him up in baby attire. The cap was a cute affair of muslin and hahv chiffon, with al near-blue ribbon at the tip. The baby coat was also blue as was a blanket, which Mrs. Watson had provided. When the dressing was finish ed the farmer departed chucklng over the transformation.
 With the pig in her arms, Mrs. Watson proceeded to the Newark station of the Pennsylvania railroad and boarded a train for Jersey City. The pig wasn't making a sound. Perhaps it was because of those flew whispered words of pig language of which Mrs. Watson says she has a smat- tering Perhaps it was a bottle of milk which the pig tippled now and then. Anyhow, no one on the train imagined that it was anything else than a very quiet and well-behaved baby thek Mrs. Watson was carrying in her arms At Jersey City Mrs. Watson and her
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21

eral tables, was rveted for moment on the two girls. He vanished as suddenly as he appeared, and the girls finished their dinner in peace. Returning to the drawing room car, they were assigned to other chairs than those first occupied, and scarcely had they settled themselves comfortably for the remainder of the journey to Poughkeepsie than the same elderly gentleman approached and said; I beg your pardon, but may ask if you are the sisters of the young men whom you saw in conversation with me few minutes before the train started?'
 "'why, we never saw him in our lives before,' replied both girls.
 ''Then,' replied the elderly gentleman, impressvely, that young man is a thief. He told me that he had driven with you, his sisters, to the station in an automo- bile, and had forgotten, in handing you out of the car, to bring his overcoat, which was lying on the seat. In the coat were his railway tickets and pocketbook, and he was left without dollar to pay your fares and his own to Albany. He was in terrible plight. He asked if I would advance the money to pay the fares, and I suggested that he. give me his card. He told me his cards were in the forgotten pocketbook, but that, per haps, one of his sisters might have one. Thereupon he went over to where you were sitting, and I saw this young woman shake her head in response to his ques- tion. The alleged relationship with you seemed to me genuine.
 ".You don't mean to say that you gave him the money, cried the girls In one breath The elderly gentleman laid the index finger of his right hand impressive ly on his lips Hush, he murmured, the less we say about that the better.'' '
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21

charge proceeded to the Hudson tunnel station. While waiting for a tunnel train an elderly man suggested to Mrs. Watson that she had better stand well back from the edge of the platform.
 You know, these drafts are very bad for babies" said the elderly gentleman Mrs Watson sSniled and thanked the so- licitous old man. Never once during the trip to Manhattan did the pig betray himself.
 At Tnirty-third street Mrs. Watson hailed a taxcab, and in this the last lap of the journey was made At the theatre Mrs. Watson alighted and paid her fare. The movement of getting into her purse must have disturbed the pig, for there was sudden squeal and a very vigorous wriggle. The baby cap slipped back, dis playing a very pigIike face. It was then that the chauffeur began rubbing his ,fyes and pinching himself.
 Tn few days the little pig will take the place os the elderly porlser in the barn yard scene. He Is now undergoing the necessary preliminary tralning.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
The Iron Market

'The market is irregular regards business in various territories says Rogers, Brown & Go. of Cincinnati. At some points a fair amount is being done. Others, among them the local territory, are very quiet
 Furnace stocks of pig Iron throughout the central west are reported as being unchanged from the first of the month, and it is believed there will be a reduc- ton in output during April as a number of merchant and non-merchant furnaces are being shut down.
 "Just now there seems to be a dropping off in the demand for finished goods, which is having its influence. In spite of the low prices being made on all classes of pig iron there is little effort manifest on the part of buyers to take advantage of these figures, except they be made to cover a long delivery or to apply for the fourth quarter of this year, which ar rangement is opposed by the manufac- turers.
 ''The coke market is quiet, with ship ments keeping up well, and at some points, notably in the east, good buying movement on contracts, most of them re- newed for six and 12 months. It is esti- mated that the output generally is with out marked change, although less than last week in the Connellsville district Prices are still at rock bottom and every inducement is offered buyers"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
pr. Aked and San Francisco

The religious world-at any rate, the Protestant church worlds eagerly awaiting the Rev. Dr. Aked's arrival in San Francisco" said man who formerly lived in New York.
 "Dr. Aked is a very attractive speaker. l heard him frequently in New York and always felt better for his discourse. regarded him as a singularly magnetic speaker. He recalled to my mind Hugh Price Hughes, the great English Method ist preacher. Hughes was most fasci- mating speaker He was a bunch of nerves and his fine nervous style of dic- tion was one of his great assets.
 ''Dr. Aked has good nervous eloquence, good nervous dicton. I believe he will, make great hit in San Francisco Cyni- cal people say he will be failure, but just wait and see.
 san Francisco seems to be a goddess town. Out of a population of 50O,000 only 1c00O or 12.00o persons are connected with Protestant churches. The Catholic ele- ment is quite potential in San Francisco, but it looks as if there should be fully 5000 Protestant church members in a city of 500.O0o. About 20 years ago when San Francisco had a population of 250,000 the Protestant membership was 10000.
 "Dr. Aked has a great work before him, and I think he will prove to be the very man that San Francisco needs"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
The Music Festival

We are receiving orders for season tickets for the music festival' said Pres ident J. H. Holcombe, ''and it looks as if all the seats in the Orpheum would be sold within a few days after the box office opened. I have been interested in many festivals, but the advance interest was never so great as now
 T account for this in two ways. Bir- mingham is much larger city now than it was a few years ago when I was boosting festival seat sales; and the peo- pie who are here are more musical than they used to be. Birmingham, in my opinion, is, relatively speaking, the most musical city in the entire south"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
Income Tax Ratification Movement

In the case of the fourteenth amendment both the administration and Congress held that state having once ratified constitutional amend ment could not reverse such action. This view has never been seriously questioned. The question involved has not, however, been passed upon by the supreme court. It simply stands as the accepted law in the absence of supreme court decision upon the point involved.
 A state cannot switch from the af- firmative to the negative column in the opinion of lawyers, but can it op- pose ratification and later vote the other way? Here is a question that has not been determined. Many ex- cellent lawyers contend that ratifica- tion is ratification whenever it comes and unless this view is accepted it will be found exceedingly difficult to change the constitution at any time. It is difficult at the best, and the chances are that state that has acted negatively on a constitutional proposition can reverse itself.
 This matter has been discussed in connection with the income tax. Thir- ty-one states had ratified and four more must ratify it to make it part of the federal constitution. Since the count of states Arkansas has ratified
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
nnEIrcTIONs OF A BACHELOR

From the New York Press.
 When a girl says she'll asker her mother she already has.
 An awful lot of enthusiasm, is wasted hating people who don't care whether you do or not
 Hardly anything can make such a fool of a man as side whiskers for him to pe proud of.
 The man who has been married 90 yeaf s is willing to let his wife do the boastins about it.
 No matter how much money man is gladsto inherit from those ahead of him he is never willing to have 1t inherited from him by those behind him.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
A CLEVER CARTOON

From the Huntsville Democrat
 The cartoonist of the Birmingham Age Herald is giving the readers of that ex- cellent paper some clever cartoons on locs questions. One of the best was that, showing the new city commissioners as tiger hunters armed with guns in the lairs of wild beasts, with a skulking tiger emerging stealthily from it's den, carry ing in it's mouth scroll on which Is written. "Twenty-eight in one day. all luding to the cutting off of that many of- ficials recently.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES
A FRANK AYOWAL.

Because the skies are blue above,
 Because the sun is shining bright, I fain would sing a song of love And every tender mood requite Alas, the daily rhyming bard
 Must oft bewail his hapless lot; To write jingle isn't hard
 When ones poetic fervors hot. And when the muse doth lend her aid To fashion forth a Hitting strain. But oh, I'm very much afraid
 This morn she heartless leave hath
 taen.
 And left me all forlorn to grind.
 As wells I may the daily grist If fate continues so unkind. I'll soon become a pessimist
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-21
Sir, as I have soul, she is sn angel.
 king Henry VIII.
Women and Baseball

By the death of her husband Mrs. Helen Hathaway Britton of Cleveland was left the control of a National league baseball team having it's home grounds in St. Louis, and she has not the slightest intention of selling it. She intends to own the team and to conduct it in accordance with her own plans.
 One feature of her aggressive management consists in developing the woman fan The woman fan lacks the strident voice of her broth CTS. She cannot be noisy, but still she can be demonstrative, and she is sensitive to every crisis and almost every point in a game. The time has gone by when it could be truthfully said that women fans do not under stand the game. They do know what is going on and they are highly ap- preciative, The woman fan is de- ficient only when it becomes neces- sary to roast. She is not a born roaster, and perhaps that is one req son why Mrs. Britton proposes to cultivate and develop the woman fan. Her work in the St. Louis team will be watched with interest, for she has many plans that will, if successful, promote the game, giving it ad- ditional attractions to the people of i. all grades and classes.