davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
Scarcity of Good Fruit

"There has been but very little good fruit of the new crop on the market as yet" said a dealer, "and the prospect Is not good for choice peaches.
 'The melons have been fairly good, bu, those received during the last 10 days are not of the best. Occasionally we find a few sweet, luscious watermelons, but the shipping melon, propagated for it's tough rind, does not fill the bill for those who want the best. The quality of cantaloupes has run from fairly good to poor. with only few choice ones now and then. A few very indifferent figs from South Alabama are offered, and also the first of the new crop of grapes, these last are acid enough to please any school girl California cherries and plumbs are plentiful.
 Peaches have thus far been very scarce and poor in quality. Only few of ever fair quality have come to market and they were sold at top prices"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
Business Activity in Summer

q can remember when summer was proverbially dull in the business world, but in the past 10 years recall summers when the reverse of this was true" said J. J. Henning of Buffalo, N. Y.
 Tt used to be the fashion for. all the big fnanciers and business leaders to go away for long vacations early in July, but now with the freer use of the tele- graph and long-distance telephone. large business operations can be carried on during their absence from New York and other great cities almost the same as If heads of concerns were at home. In other words, when prosperity Is in evidence in these modern days, summer witnesses just as much business as fall or winter We had a rather dull spring Business conditions were unsettled for several months but now everything is looking bright and in view of the enormous crops and other favoring features affecting the trade situation l look for a return of gen- uine prosperity in July and a brisk trade the balance of the year.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
WRAPS THEY WEAR IN PARIS

WRAPS THEY WEAR IN PARIS Jean Darlington, on Fashions, in the July
 Columbian.
 The most delightful little silk wraps, made of taffeta in old blues, pinks or Watteau gray tones, are being worn over thin frocks in the afternoon. One of these little wraps made of electric blue taffeta, was seen the other day over a frocl of French lowered organdie--a fab ric, by the way, that is back in prime favor in Paris. The wrap just covered the shoulders and arms and was caught in beneath the bust with rows of shir- ring over cords, five cords being placed close together in rows. All around the edge of the wrap went a quilting of half inch pleated taffeta matching the wrap in color This electric blue wrap was worn with a pink lowered organdie which had a skirt trimming of rows of puffngs, set In between cords of electric blue silk. The lining of the frock was pink. The wide -brimmed leghorn hat was trimmed with wreath of pink roses above which, on the crown, was band of electric blue velvet ribbon.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
Iocky Ford CantaIoupes

"It amuses me to have the truck men come by my house and offer me genuine Rocky Ford cantaloupes," said a man who has lived in the west. "I have spent a great deal of time at Rocky Ford, Col, and happen to know that the grow CTS of the famous melons there do not begin to market them until the middle of August
 These cantaloupes are famous all over the United States and as matter of fact I suppose we never see any of them in Birmingham. Seed from Rocky Ford are of course sent everywhere and Rocky Ford cantaloupes are now grown in practically every state in the union.
 'But I have never seen any of them which attain to the delicious flavor that the climate and irrigation system of Rocky Ford give them. It is a great sight to watch the shipments. All are sent by express and when the season is on express cars by the dozen are loaded and hurried to the Chicago and New York markets, to say nothing of the larger mid-western cities.
 You may think many times that you are eating genuine cantaloupes shipped from Rocky Ford, but I assure you that if you ever taste the really genuine ar ticle you will know the difference the next time a substitute is offered.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
CRIMINAL NATrJRE "


 Criminal naturen' As Thomas n Tynan, the young warden of the Colo. rado state penitentiary, propelled his sturdy bulk into the automobile bis merry Irish face lost its usual smile, and he fairly snarled the words: That's the kind of talk that makes me sick, l tell you, there isn't any, Come right down to it, and this thing they call criminal nature Is only human nature at it's worst, Look at these meni Take em one at a time. Honest to goodness. I've been on many camping trip with fellows that weren't half as fine and likable and square. # When theorists talk to me, tell them that the real criminal problem Is to get rid of these crlminologists that fill the people with lot of solemn dope about criminal eyes. criminal ears, criminal mouth, and that sort of stuff. It's all poppy-cock Why. shave that shock head of yours take off the collar and tie put yourself in ticking shirt, and the average crfminol- ogist would weep with joy at the sight Not long since man came in who had all the beauty of Christ picture. but after the barber and tailor got through with him. he looked the kind of a fellow we hate to meet on a dark night
 Ever hear that story" he continued, about the lawyer who took his wife to court? After she had looked around a minute she gave sudden shudder. My she whispered, what an awful creature the prisoner is!'
 "'Sh-h-h!'@ her husband hissed The prisoner hasn't come in yet. That's the judge. '"-Success Magazine
 TOO HOT.
 Alack, alas, my muse rebels
 We can not pull together:
 The reason why. whisper tells, Is this dodgasted weather
 PAUL COOK.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
THACKERAY,s DAUGHTER
From Chronicle and Comment in the Ju

Bookman.
 While so much Is being written about rhackery 1t seems that something should be said about the talented daughter who has contributed so much to later edi- tions of the novelists works. In the first volume of The BooSman there ap- peared an account of a visit to Mrs. Ritchie made by Constance Cary Harri- son some time in 1894 or 1895. At that time the visitor found her "a woman taller than the average of her sex, dig ni1ed in bearing, holding herself erect. of fresh complexion, clear eyed and wholesome, although she claims her share of the disabilities of delicate health; in manner genial, outspoken, and impulsive; soft of voice and choice of language; to children, her own and others, kind, playful, tender with the forbearing in- dulgence Thackeray showed in a thou sand ways toward the young. Dressed in high gown of black velvet with a bit of lace worn capwise upon her brown hair touched with grey. she seem- ed to me an ideal English gentlewoman. shrined in the sunshine of a happy Eng fish home.' It is a pretty picture, but the brown hair touched with grey must be white now, for beyond the allotted three-score and ten Is the elder of the daughters to whom Thackeray alluded in the closing lines of the White Squall:
 And when its force expended,
 The harmless storm was ended,
 And as the sunrise splendid
 Came blushing OCT the sea;
 l thought. as day was breaking,
 My little girls were waking,
 And smiling, and making
 prayer at home for me-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
TAP DAY AT YALE

From "The Courage of the Common
 place." by Mary R. s. Andrews. in
 the July Scribner.
 The three great senior societies of Yale, Skull and Bones, Scroll and Key, and wolfs Head, choose today fifteen mem- bers each from the junior class, the fif- teen members of the outgoing senior class making the choice. Each senior is allotted his man of the juniors, and must find him in the crowd at the tree and tap him on the shoulder and give him the order to go to his room. Fol- lowed by his sponsor he obeys and what happens at the room no one but the men of the society know. With shining face the lad comes back later and is slapped on the shoulder and told, good work. old man." cordially and whoeheartedly by every friend and acquaintance-by lads who have made" every honor pos- sible, by lads who have made" noth- ing, just as heartily. For that is the spirit of Yale:
 Only juniors room in Durfee Hall. On Tap Day an outsider is lucky who has a friend there, for a window is a pros cenium box for the play--the play which is tragedy to all but forty-five of the three hundred and odd juniors. The
 windows of every story of the gray stone
 facade are crowded with a deeply in-
 terested audience; grizzled heads of old graduates mix with fowery hats of wo- men; every one is watching every de- tail, every arrival. In front of the Hall is a drive, and room for perhaps dozen carriages next the fence-the fa-
 nous fence of Yale-which rails the campus round. Just inside it, at the northeast corner. rises the tree. People stand up in the carriages, women and men; the fence is loaded with people, often standing, too, to see that tree. All over the campus surges crowd; students of the other classes, seniors who Hast year stood in the compact gather ing at the tree and left 1t sore-hearted not having been "taken;' sophomores | who will stand there next year, who all ready are hoping for and dreading their Tap Day; little freshmen, each one sure | that he, at least will be of the elect | and again the iron-gray heads, the in- | terested faces of old Yale men, and the gay spring hats like bouquets of flowers It is. perhaps, the most critical singlt
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Regarding the Liouor Question

''It was nearly four years ago that we had tho election in this county to de- eide whether the liquor traffic should re- main or be abolished and the prohibition ists won by decisive majority said a prominent member of the Chamber of | Commerce.
 T was very much opposedsto the way the saloon business was handled here by the board of aldermen. There were many dives, and dives are grossly offensive to all decent people. came very near voting the dry ticket, but when the time arrived cast my ballot on the side of liquor.
 Like great many men who presently will vote for a return of the saloon, l have never been much of a patron of the bar room, but after observing the situ- ation here for the past three years, will have no hesitation in voting wet. In the principal cities of Alabama the drastic prohibition laws have been enforced spasmodically The lid is supposed to be on tight here in Birmingham right now. I know the commissioners are honest in trying to enforce the law. Chief Bodeker, who gets his orders direct from the commission, Is. am sure. doing all he can to carry out their orders, and the men under the chief, I believe, are doing the best they can to keep down the blind tiger. Yet there is a great deal of | illicit liquor traffic in this city, and as | much drunkenness, I believe, as there was before we had prohibition.
 Tn order to keep the lid on absolutely tight our police force would have to be many times larger than it is. Really every other man would have to be policeman, and an honest one at that, to prevent blind tigers and bootleggers from operating. The whole business is disgusting as it is. What every city as large as Birmingham needs is few well regulated saloons. Before prohibition Birmingham had, as well as remember, nearly 130 saloons. That was twice too many, probably four times too many. Under the new local option laws the num- Der of saloons is limited and the license for saloons in Birmingham is fixed at S3000 a year. There will be no dives un- der this plan, and the men who want beer and other drinks can get them con- veniently and lawfully and help to keep millions of dollars from going outside of the state to pay for liquor shipped in. From all I hear there has been such a change in sentiment from prohibition to anti-prohibiton that this county will give as large a majority for saloons as 1t oavo aPainet tbara in 1n07
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

the putting of relatives into office, and the getting of city contracts by officials. It was drawn to drive graft out of the city's municipal govern ment.
 It is several steps in advance of Birmingham's charter, but the Bir- mingham voters possess the recall and, if they are alert and courageous, this city can be kept up with the At lanta procession, for although the in- itiative and referendum was denied to it the recall was not, and the latter can be worked to cover the entire ground.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
Secrets of the Maine

Gen. W. H. Bixby, chief of en- gineers in charge of the work of rais- ing the Maine, has returned from Ha- vana to say that the deterioration of thirteen years has been so great that the exposed wreck does not show plainly whether the explosion was be- gun from without or from within.
 General Bixby, however, makes two significant admissions, namely, no fragment of a torpedo has been found to show beyond all doubt that the ex- plosion was from without, and he also admits that the forward magazine on the ship had exploded. True, this might have been caused by an outside ex- plosion. No evidence of an outside explosion has, however, been found.
 As the case now stands the weight of evidence points to an inside ex- plosion. The old hulk was, however, 50 torn by the disaster which created 1t and by the destructive effects of years of submergence that no trust worthy evidence seems to be forth coming.
 Unless some fragment of torpedo Is found the general public will, how ever, be inclined to say that an inside explosion is by no means disproved. The chances are that the explosion will continue to be what it has been from the start, a mystery.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
Band Concerts

T appreciate very highdly the honor of being selected as director of the band concerts to be given under the auspices of the Music Study club this summer, said Bandmaster Nappi.
 My band consists of 20 performers, ir addition to myself, and is made up of first class talent The first concert will be given next Sunday in Capitol park There will be six concerts week, not all of them, but majority, In Capitol park There will be a concert every Sunday aft crnoon, and there will be concert every night except Saturday. I have already had rehearsal, and will have another rehearsal during the present week. have a good deal of new music and the programmes will be at once popular and artistic"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
REFLECTIoNs OF BACHELOR

From the New York Press.
 It takes lot of faith to move you to practice little of 1t.
 A man expects much out of little effort, but is lucky to get little out of much.
 When tho average man isn't afraid of his wife It's sign he's a long way from home.
 Nothing makes a girl so furious with her sunhurn as not to have caught the man with whom she got it. :. A man down town with his friends can act as If he were millionaire and at home with his family pauper.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
MERCY

From shakespeare's Merchant, of ven- ice" The quality of mercy is not strained, It droppeth as the gentle rain from
 heaven
 Upon the place beneath. It is twice It blesses him that gives and him that
 takes.
 comes The throned monarch better than his
 crown; His scepter shows the force of temporal
 power,
 The attribute to awe and majesty, Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings; Y ,'.,a lttt. But mercy is above this sceptered sway, It is enthroned in the hearts of kings. It Is an attribute of God himself; And earthly power doth then show
 lilSest Gods ,..5 When mercy seasons 1ustioe.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
A PRUDENT HUSBAND.

A PRUDENT HUSBAND. He wore a look Of wisdom most pro-
 found. But by his wifey,s word was straitly
 bound. Don't think that thus he proved himself
 a fool That was the way he had of keep
 ing cool. Since well he knew, if once he disagreed, Or, haply, would not pay the proper
 heed, Forthwith a storm would break and
 there would be Conjugal strife, dolefu1 sight to see. Therefore he still would answer, "YesJ
 my dear" And thus so tranquillized the atmos-.
 phere, The world did wonder at such perfect
 love, Convinced his mate was like turtle
 dove
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
AT THE CONCERT.

A singer screeched-oh, fearful sounds!- ''I would I were a bird'' She weighed at least 200 pounds Our risibles were stirred
 Birmingham AEe-Herald. Then forthwith you, we have no doubt, To prolongate the fun, Began right lustily to shout; T would I had gunl
 Youngstown Telegram.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
The Cotton situot,ou

In their review of the cotton situation Henry Clews & Co. conclude as fol- lows:
 The statistical situation although ad- mittedly strong. has evidently lost its influence as an important market factor and although the near positions showed
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
WASTED ENERGY
From Browning Magazine.

From BrOWnlng MaGazIne.
 q give you my word.' said the milk toast philosopher, that when I discov- crod that the clock I had been careful to wind every night for ten years was an eight day clock. I was rather in clined to be petulant"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

St Louis and New Orleans are en- deavorlng to re-estabIish navigation. Steel barges and lines to South America are to be utilized.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

Senator Bourne wants at present the direct election of senators, direct pri- maries, popularly instructed delegates to national conventions, the initiative, refer endum and recall He is an up-to-date reformer.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
HELPS soMr

However deeply sunk In woe, Remember this: We're lucky, since we do not know One half we miss.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

The tariff beneflciares have been no tified by their organ to gather in Wash. 'ington at once. This means that there are to be hoid-ups in the Senate.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

Neither Argentina nor Africa has any corn this year for export and America E three-billion crop will be needed the world round.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
PLAYING A PART.

PLAYING A PART Good heavens. Look at the senator eating potatoes with his knife'' Not so loud. He is merely acting. Two of his constituents from back county are watching him from nearby table"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
LIST WONDERING.

'9Ie Is one of those superior persons who says, T never get seaslck,' T never catch cold T never lose my head etc, etc., etc."
 "I wonder if he also never tells the truth"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

King George escaped an Austin coro- nation ode and he counts the occasion a success unmarred by anything unto ward.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
sELF-DEFENsE sUGGEsrDD
WANTS TO DIE

T don't understand Buffkins.s '''Why not?'
 Every time tell one of my stories he says, Pass the hemlock.'"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

The commissioners attack of new broomitis should not subside to norma until the grade crossing are, abolished.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

Some think three baseball umpires setting en banc are needed in order to get just decisions. But all men are falli- ble.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

The Boston Globe says a newspaper is a book in pajamas. This definition needs elucidation in the wild and woody west.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

Westminster abbey will look better when the disfiguring scaffolds within and without are taken down.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

Aunt Della declares that MT. Taft will be renominated and reelected. She is a better pie baker than political prophet
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

The New Orleans mint is to be closed on July 1. The coinage activity is be- coming less and the paper issues greater.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES

DOWN THE LINE. Snubbed by the Queen! | Gee whizi A jolt most keen That is. But Mrs. Koyne her thin lips bites And snubs her lesser satellites. Those danes in turn Snub theirs. Her blighting burn Each shares. Iney rush for solace to their hubs: The atmosphere is full of snubs.
 Louisville Courier-Journal. SELF-DEFENsE SUGGESTED. "Bluebeard must have had A mean disposition" Either that or his wives were all suffragettes." -4 a
 BUSY MAN.
 He interrupts
 His talk to cry
 Excuse me while
 swat a. f1yl"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

The average man uses 400 words in { days conservation.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
ON VACATION.

Now that you are here, how do you like the scenery?"
 First rate. Who is the girl in blue?"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

The standpatters are no longer end-seat hogs even In the Senate.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

Money placed in postal savings banks is secure from attachment by creditors Don't all go to Bessemer at once.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

The trusts are ready to say that the supreme court is a combination in re- straint of trade.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

After July 1 all seagoing vessels that carry passengers must carry also wire less equipment and an operator
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
ALMOST A FREAK.

"Gupperton is a very quiet person."
 Yes, indeed. Why he wouldn't even laugh out loud in a smoking car"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
PASSING OF ONE-RING CIRCUS

bankruptcy. Over In West Virginia his outfit is to go under the sheriff's ham, mer The incident excites the sympathy, not merely of Dan" Rice's friends but of all those to whom his kind of circus stands out as distinct type. Just asi Tom Hood remembered the trees whose| branches seemed close against the sky,''( so the children of a larger growth recall the one-ringed circus which was filled with greater wonders than any three ringed hippodrome that ever travelled on train of palace cars.
 In that age of leisure there was ample time to take in evry detail of the per- formance. There was not that uneasy sense, while one was watching the flying trapeze artist, that something far more thrilling was simultaneously taking place just outside the immediate field of vision. When the lone clown had cracked his last joke and the happy mass of humani- ty began pouring from the brown tent there was a satisfied feeling that one had had his moneys worth He had not sat at feast where he could never get beyond the entrees.
 Almost unconsciously one has felt that feverish age had crowded out all the old-time circuses. "Dan" Rice's exper- fence comes as a pathetic confirmation of the suspicion. We can do nothing but wait a fond farewell to the world in min iature represented by the one-ringed cir GUS of old and attempt to find in the em- barrassment of riches of the present-day spectacles. something of the zest which belonged to childhood and its simpler amusements
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

No hailstone has yet fallen, that called for the ice tongs and refrigerator.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

The foreigner not only does not pay the tax, but he also purchases products at re- duced prices.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

day of the four years course at the
 University. It shows to the world wheth-
 CT or no a boy, after three years of col-
 lege life, has in the eyes of the student body made good" It is crucial test.
 heart-rending test for boy of twenty years
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

The silyersmiths' trade was boomed by the silver wedding at the White House
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

An optimist may make money but a pessimist keeps it longer.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27

The coronation cocktail has appeared ir the wet states.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
A REBUFF.
ON ONE FOOT.

Listen to the voice of reason" ''It isn't coming from youi"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-27
MEMORIES

All have their woes, The saddest yet, Methinks, are those Who can't forget.