davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
Use of the Recall in Other countrie

Use of the Recall in Other Countries
 Americans are apt to think the re- call is a new American institution,
 whereas 1t has existed in England from time out of mind, and in France it has just upset the Monis ministry and installed a new premier and a new cabinet. Nearly all European countries have it, and so does Japan and so will China soon have it. The French cabinet went down because it was trying to apportion and elect dep uties in a new manner.
 The truth is, this country is slower and less responsive to public senti- nent than any other. From four to ten years are needed in this country in order to bring the President and both branches of Congress in line with public sentiment. It takes al- most lifetime to change the su- preme court, which has to some ex- tent been a legislative body ever since the days of John Marshall. The people in England and France act speedily, applying at every turn of public sentiment the recall, but this country is tied to a system that is first of all slow and obstructive. Our cities are, however, coming to see that the cumbersome American system does not fit them, and they are rapid y discarding it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
Esprit de Corps in Birmingham m

The Rev. Ramunde De Ovies says this city lacks properly trained and cultivated esprit de corps. It lacks that animating spirit which every community should have and must have in order to attain to it's greatest possibilities. Atlanta has it to an ab- normal degree. Montgomery pull sates with it and many a smaller town has due proportion of it.
 Some are inclined to say that the people of this city gathered from the four quarters of the globe should not be expected to have one controlling and animating spirit to an abnormal extent at any rate. Nor was it to be expected when the population was divided among about a dozen munich palities Nor when all or nearly all are gathered into one fold with three shepherd commissioners, and all have turned away from their old homes for good and all, there is no reason why
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
Key Vests Railway Fete

In January next the East Shore railroad in Florida that Mr. Rogers and his associates have been building from key to key is to be completed to Key West. It could not well go fur ither, for the mainland goes no furth- CT, and deep water surrounds Key West. The distance from Key West to Havana is but 90 miles, and Pull man cars may be placed on stout boats, so that the passenger from Winnipeg, for example, need not leave his seat or berth until he can put foot in Cuba.
 The opening of the railroad ta Key West will be no ordinary event, and 1t is not to be so regarded by the general government, by the President or by the people. MT. Taft has ac- cepted an invitation to be present when the railroad is opened in Janu- ary, and to some extent the event will be recognized by Congress and by other nations.
 The opening of a rail line to Key West is but another step in getting ready for the still greater opening at Panama three years later. Things are sagging southward because of the near coming of the canal, and when Key West is joined to the mainland ->by'a rail line the utmost has been ac- complished in that direction on our soil. The sea fills the gap. This gap is about 1000 miles long, and from Key West via the Yucatan channel the course is nearly straight. The Olympic could cover it in less than 48 hours.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30

From the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
 Reports from Tokyo concern curious lease that has been on trial there for some
 time, and 1t brings up thought of what
 may possibly be recognized In some fu- ture day It appears that there were
 twin brothers who had grown to maturity.
 Then one of them developed a case of
 cancer. The afflicted man begged his brother to kill him. and the healthy one, being in a friendly and accommodating frame of mind. compiled. Then he was arrested for murder. After hearing all the evidence the judge freed the accused under a suspended centenc.
 Now the question naturally arises. Did the healthier brother actually commit crime when he, at his deceased brothers urgent request, ended the mans suffering by killing him? In so far as committing a crime that Is a murder, backed by motive of sufficient strength to wish mans death, the healthier brother cer- tainly was not guilty. The sick man, 1t might be argued, theoretically at least,
 had the right to settle his own fate and
 shuffle of Tn the way best suited to his own fancy, so if he elected to do this by the hand of his brother, whose busi- ness was 1t?
 In many quarters especially those occu- piel by the progressive, the theory is advanced that, sooner or later, euthan- | asia, under the proper official and medi- cal supervision, will be generally recog- nized. An individual who Is suffering from some incurable malady, these folk | argue, will be dispatched In a painless and pleasant manner, that is as such an operation could be performed. | They even so farther and say that the more civilized races will eventually ac- cept the practice now prevalent among | the Zulus of dispatching malformed in- fants and children in whom has developed | some organic disease that will prevent | perfect physical development. They con- | tend that with general advancement along | other lines people will begin to rear chill | dren with a view to the future perfec- ton of the races, particularly as that re- lates to bodily strength. These ultra folk will indorse the action of the phleg- matic and fatalistic Jap judge, who dis- charged a man who at the request of an incurable invalid ended the sufferers | earthly torture.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
Husine.s Improvement

"As the steel trade Is good business barometer. the increasing demand for steel products is highly encouraging, " said J. E. Apperson of Chicago.
 ''The first half of the year just closing has been marked by dullness in several branches of trade, but on the whole busi- ness has been better than was predicted in January. Conditions have been i'm proving steadily during the past three or four weeks. and we will start on the second half of the year with decidedly bright prospects.
 'The crop situation is satisfactory and big crops will certainly make early fall trade hum. The south Is raising bumper crops of cotton and corn and this sec tion will witness unusual prosperity. The south, by the way, has been attracting a great deal of attention In the past three years. The farmers have become pro- gressive and are making two blades grow where one grew before. Up north one now hears more about the south than any other part of the country. It is frequent ly spoken of as the new west"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
THE MATCH DROPPER

From the Washington Star.
 A merry party of young people were as- sembled last Saturday afternoon in a boathouse at Nantucket, which had been secured and prepared for a dinner and dance. One of the men. lighting a cigar cite, thoughtlessly threw the still burning match on the floor, which had been rubbed with gasoline to prepare it for the festivities. Instantly a flame arose, which spread so rapidly that in few minutes the place was a roaring furnace. Three lives were lost and two were burned so seriously that death seemed imminent. No one save himself knows who dropped the match on the floor, and he will probably never disclose the fact. He did only what he was in the habit of doing for years. It was. perhaps, the ten-thousandth time that cost.
 The match dropper is a constant men- ace to life and property. Now he let's the little brand fall into street grating to ignite trash In shop or factory cellar, for a latter conflagration costing vast sum- Again he losses it from window, to drop upon the hat of woman passing below causing her to be badly burned. Sometimes he sets fire to his own prem- ises by Tipping his fire into a waste basket or a pile of papers. He never looks to see where the spark falls, and never cares until later, when he realizes that his single act of carelessness has destroyed great values or taken human life. Every match dropper is a potential fire and should be treated as a danger ous person.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
KNEE-DEEP IN JUNE

By James Whitcomb Riley. Tell you what I like the best Long about knee-deep in June,
 Bout the time strawberries melts On the vine-some afternoon Like to jes' git out and rest,
 And not work at nothin' else Orchards where I'd ruther be- Needn't fence it in fer me!
 Jes' the whole sky overhead,
 And the whole airth underneath . Sorto's sos a man kin breathe Like he ort, and kind O has Elbow room to keerlessly Sprawl out len'thways on the grass
 Where the shadders thick and soft As the kivvers on the bed
 Mother fixes in the loft as Allus, when they's company! Lay out there and try to. see " les how lazy you kin be!ff
 Tumble round and souse your head In the clover-bloom, CT pull
 Yer straw hat acrost yer eyes.
 And peek through it at the skies, Thnkin' of old chums ats dead, Maybe smilin back at you In betwixt the beautiful
 Clouds O gold and white and bIuel Month a. man kin rally. love-
 June. yor know. fra talkin' of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
The Iron Market

Rogers Brown & Co.'S Cincinnati re- port says:
 "The market has shown limited re- vival in interest and this was the re- suit of inquiries from large consumers and somewhat increased number Of small orders There is nothing like general buying movement, as most Of the inquiries have been the result or extremely low prices ruling and much of the tonnage is still pending. The pipe manufacturers have bought pretty gen orally. The principal demands at the present time are for steel making irons in this territory.
 The improved situation in finished steel products is encouragaing and 1t is to be hoped that pig iron will very shortly follow suit.
 "The coke situation Is without change except a good inquiry for contracts covering six months and a year from July 1. At some points the amount of this tonnage Is larger than has been in evidence for some time. Prices are un-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
OLD DAYS ON THE RIVER

at the first break in the singing. he womb be back again with something like this: 'Who done killed de brave Ginral Jack
 son.
 Who done went and his spirit stole? Who done kill de brave Gin'ral Jackson7 fa-a-s, who done tux his precious soul? And after which would come an inter- mediate verse of
 Walked by de graveyard in de middle
 ob de night.
 somepin stahted out, all dressed in
 white Ths-k And let nah ankles rust? Humph, choked de ghost tdeath in de
 flying dust!
 Then back to the refrain Who done killed de brave Gin'ral Jack
 son,
 Who done went an his spirit stole. Oh. who"@ saa1tz zss.- s= fsas Then the rest would be lost in bllh above while the struggling line would grin sheepishly and try to stay quiet for time. But it was useless.
 That was in the past, in the past when was kid with curls that I hated and when or Uncle Jaspeh Wash nth used to tell how he fit in de wah" Uncle Jaspeh is gone now, gone like the songs, gone like the romance of not so many years ago. Today there isn't time for singing. Breaking cranes have taken the place of the heavy throated negroes-even the paddle is passing, and who has trav- eled on the river in childhood without watching the great wheel as it turned, trying to follow the eddies in the water, or trailing a bit of rope and believing he had caught a whale every time the swirling rifles jerked it under?
 E. M, c.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30

an esprit de crops should not be cul- tivated here.
 No doubt Mir. De Ovies is correct when he says we lack that spirit of devotion which calls for a spirit of cooperation in every general and helpful enterprise. The pull-together spirit has been lacking. We need it. It should be cultivated and promoted, for we must have it if our resources and advantages are to be fully de- veloped and made known. Publicity may be defined as the leading trait of this spirit of cooperation and boastful pride which goes far in the of a great city.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
First Local Option Election

The first election under the Smith Parks law is to take place tomorrow in Colbert county-a county that stretches from the Mississippi line along the south bank of the Tennessee river. It cast 1248 votes in 1908 at the presidential election, and a vote of 1000 today would be a pretty full expression, all things con- sidered.
 The two considerable towns in the country are Tuscumbia, the county seat, and Sheffield, which contains blast furnaces and a considerable in dustrial population. Neither town is, however, large, and the election will be decided by the farmers of a fine agricultural county.
 The Tuscumbia correspondent of The Age-Herald says decided apathy marks the situation in Colebrt. Little interest is apparently taken in the re- suit" This, too, goes to show that the farmers of Colbert will decide the issue, and all know how they are in clined to vote.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
BRITAIN AND ROME

From the New York World.
 The Empire of Rome, as we now look back upon 1t at the distance of 1000 years, in it's greatest extent may be said only to have embraced the fringes of the Mediterranean and the European shores Of the Atlantic. It is true that this is equivalent to saying the whole of the then known and civilized world. It Is owing to this fact that Rome occupies and has occupied for 1000 years the domi- nant place in history, a place due not only to her arms but to the mighty genius of her poets, statesmen, orators, architects and artists, and the laws and institutions which she developed and which still constitute the main fabric of the civilized world.
 In that sense there can never be another Rome. But so far as imperial sway over men and peoples of all climes and hemis- pheres Is concerned, the British empire of today bears much the same relation to Rome as the United States of today does to the United States of 100 years ago Reckoned in actual square miles of terri itIS III Ol poPuiutiohs thO British empire is not only the greatest in the world today but 1t Is the greatest of all time In point of population it is sur psssed only by the Chinese empire, if even by that, as no one can ascertain to- day within several millions the actual population of the largest though not actu- ally the greatest of Oriental empires, As to the facts and figures, they may be found in any book of statistics, but even they are not so impressive as that ming ling of the gorgeous east" the illmltabie west and the representatives of the island continent of Australia, of New Zealand and South Africa in the streets of London the past week
 That this greatest of all empires and the greatest republic of history are now preparing to draw closer in perpetual bonds of peace and amity Is, after all, the grandest fact In connection with the picturesque and storied events of corona tion week. Like the 25oO beacons which flashed from Lands End to John O Greats House, telling of the coronation of new King and Queen, the proposed Anglo-American peace pact is a beacon light which may yet light up the history of the world for centuries to come.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Milwaukee and Chicago

Oliver Chalifoux has returned from a
 northern trip, having attended the great
 saengerfesti at Milwaukee last week
 and spent two days fin Chicago, his old
 home.
 The Saengerfest was a grand affair and notwithstanding the excessively
 hot weather-104 in the shade-great
 crowds attended the concerts and ev-
 erybody seemed to enjoy the music.
 said MT. Chalifoux. What l especially
 enjoyed was Berlioz's Requiem Mas
 It is one of the grea test requiems ever written and it was splendidly rendered. This character of composition was 'se- lected as a fitting memorial of the late
 President of the saengerbund. Dr. Deiler. professor of German at Tulane university, New Orleans. For the mass
 there was a mixed local chorus of 600 voices. thoroughly trained, forming the central choir, and in addition to these
 500 voices were 3400 male voices made up of various maennerchors attending the fest. The orchestra numbered 120 pieces and there were four double brass quartets stationed a various points on the vast stage 100 feet distant from each other I had heard many great re- ligious performances In Paris under ex- ceptionally fine artistic conditions, but I recall no festival or requiem mass that so moved me as did this Berlioz mass. The shading of the voices was perfect and the intonation was remark ably good.
 There were several directors of the .,l,1 1f afc he- ing the principal orchestral leader All bert Kramer was the chorus director that I liked best. He directed the big choruses in which the Birmingham singers participated. I was delighted with Hess, the famous German tenor, and also with Madame de Pasquali and Madame Wakefield. Hess came over from Germany especially to sing at the Saengerfest. He has a beautiful voice and like all the great wagnerian artists delivers his songs in declamatory style. |
 "The Saengerfest closed with a deficit | of about s10,000, but 1t was big thing | for Milwaukee, and the guarantors doubtless paid up cheerfully. Milwau- kee is a clean and beautiful city. It's socialist mayor, Emil Seidel ad dressed the German American visitors and made a captivating speech. He impressed me as being a singunrly | man.
 "On my way home I stopped in Chi | cago where lived and taught music | for several years. It had been 15 years since I was last there. Chicago has grown so rapidly that I scarcely rec ognized it. I have been going east for | years past and have been, therefore, | quite familiar with New York. Chicago | seems to me to be a buster town than even Americas chief metropolis. I never saw such busy streets as those of Chi- | cago. It was with difficulty that one could push his way along through the shopping district. I predict that Chi cago will eventually outstrip New York, if not London"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
American Sculptors

"It is an interesting coincidence that of the few high-class sculptors which America has produced two of them are southern men and were born about the same time in the same city-Richmond. va.," said a man who has been in touch with the world of art Edward V. Val entine and Sir Moses Ezekiel are the two sculptors referred to.
 valentine was reared in Richmond, but spent seven years abroad In studying art. He was pupil of Kiss, the great German sculptor. He had studied draw
 ing in Paris with Couture, one of the greatest French crayon artists and paint CTS who ever lived. Returning to his native city, where he still lives, he mod eled a recumbent statue of Robert D., Lee, which is seen in marble at Lees tomb in Lexington, Va. It is considered an exceptionally beautiful specimen of plastic art. Valentine has done a great deal of fine work during the past 35 years. He had a personal acquaintance not only with General Lee, but he had met nearly all of the noted Confederate chieftains, and his portrait busts of the great south ern generals are said by those who know. to be strildngly life-llke. Valentines ideals are high, and his art feeling has always been along classic lines. He loves Greek art. His most ambitious work is Andromache, with little 'Astyanax' at her side. This is a life-slze group and is in the Valentine art museum in Rich mond.
 Ezekiel was born In 1s44 After serv- ing nthe Confederate army he grad uated at the Virginia Military institute. He studied sculpture at the Royal acad emy in Berlin, where his colossal bust of Washington gained his admission to the Society of Artists, and where he took the Michael Beer prize then first won by a foreigner. Ezekiel established a studio ct Rome, where he afterwards resided. Among his best known sculptures are Religious Liberty in Falrmount park, Philadelphia: Apollo and Mercury in Berlin Judith in the Cincinnati museum, and the Jefferson monument at Louisville notice from one of the Virginia pa- pers that Ezekiel is to model statute of the late Senator John w. Daniel to be erected in Lynchburg. The sculptor's title of Sir was conferred on him, I believe by the King of Italy'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
The Abuse of Liquor

"As I was walking along the street the other day with friend who has been active in the anti-saloon league drunken man ran up against us and my friend said, There is an argument for prohibition remarked a prom inent citizen.
 "I do not agree with you said l.
 That man Is drunk on blind tiger whisky. If we had strictly regulated saloons the bartender could refuse to sell a man liquor who was known to drink to intoxication.' But granting that In saloon towns we frequently see men under the influence of liquor, believe there are more drunkards in prohibition towns. As long as whisky Is manufactured it will find it's way into dry communities as well as in communities that license the Iiauor | traffic. and in view of all the facts | there will certainly be better condi- ton, morally speaking, with high ] license and regulation.
 Tn the prohibition ranks are many men whose attitude to the liquor trade Is prompted or determined by the mo- ton that whisky is a curse. and noth- ing but a curse. They have some friend or relative who abuses liquor and without logic or reason vote when the opportunity presents. itself for a sump- tuary measure. Another element and a very large element 1t Is, in the pro- hibition ranks Is composed of men filled with pride of opinion. Even if obser- vatlon led them to believe that prohi-
 bition was a failure and was morally wrong they would still be prohibition 1 ists because they had once procla imed l themselves such. Pride of opinion has played a prominent part in religious
 disputation and it will always be found
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
ssO, O,oOO, ,ooo A YEAR!
From Munsey's Magazine.

Although no man can state the amount of the combined fortunes of the Roth- schilds, 1t is estimated that they are at least two billions of dollars. This is four times the probable wealth of the Rocke- .feller clan, and more than six times greater than the united Astor posses sions. which form our largest hereditary fortune Yet the founder of the Astor estate was a rich man before the first Rothschild was permitted to do business. At 4 per cent the yearly income from the present Rothschild fortune would be $so, 000,0 ,00O or more than the whole capital amassed by tue original Vanderbilt
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
Regarding Hotel Accommodation.

Tn my travels I have recently heard the question asked more than once, When will Birmingham have that s1.oooooo hotel that has been talked about?" said a member of the Travellers Protective asso- citation.
 "I have long been partial to Birming- ham, and when I meet men on trains who are disposed to knock I tell them that a skyscraper hotel will be built just as soon as Birmingham gets rid of prohibi- ton.
 T am told that plans were ready for erecting splendid hotel here four years ago, but that the project was abandoned when this county voted itself dry.
 'fThe best hotel town of its size in the United States is Richmond, Va. There are many handsome hotels there. and all of them are said to pay. An additional high class hostelry is In course of construc- tion in Richmond The Virginia capital is, it should be needless to say, saloon town, and the hotel bars are well patron ized"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES
THE SAG SEASON.

THE SAG SEASON. The songs the poets sing
 Are often sweet to hear, Especially when spring
 Fills all the world with cheer. Tn fall they strike a note Of pensive beauty's charm, As genially they float
 Ger fruitful field and farm. In winter there's the snow, The flrelights ruddy blaze, And while the loud winds blow They sing of happy days. But long in summer time Bards dolefully complain, And though perforce they rhyme, 'Tis much against the grain.