davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Impressed With Birmingbap

T am very much impressed with Bir- mingham and the evident future of the city, said R. V. Connerat of the Buick company, who is here to assist in the opening of the local branch of that com pany.
 Birmingham has advanced so very re- markedly fast in the past few years that any record she might make in the coming ten years would not surprise me. Our people are very much i'm pressed with Birmingham and I voice the sentiments of the managers of the Buick factory when I say that no city in which they have interests is so care fully looked after as Birmingham will be from this time on. They feel as if Birmingham was a city of destiny and they hope to assist in the material prog ress of this community. Our branch office and show room are being put in shape fast and it is our hope to get af- fairs strengthened out without any delays. Cur cars which will be shown here will be shipped very soon, and the workmen, who have been trained in our factories, will be here immediately following the arrival of the equipment. We will carry may be required on short notice by local owners so as to adequately protect them in this city,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07
Prizes For Corn Gr0WarS

Commissioner of Agriculture Kolb will who makes an acre of Alabama soil grow this year the most corn s275; to the next best man $50, and to the third man, s1OO. In addition to these prizes s25 will be paid in each county by Commissioner Kolb to the farmer, man or boy, who furnishes the best yield in his county. Contestants have until May 15 to declare themselves as such to Commissioner Kolb.
 These prizes are pretty liberal, but in order to outdo the record of 1910 much larger county prizes are needed, and every board of county commissioners and ev- cry board of trade or other commercial organization should add to them. It is a method that cannot be carried too far. The shallow blowing and slovenly culti- vation and deficient fertilization of past years must be ended if Alabama is to be-
 @ come independent and prosperous, and the prize plan and the demonstration farms seems to be the best way to bring Ala bama climate and soil up to their ca pacity.
 Every contestant this year should pro- cure through his member of the legisla- ture copy of the bulletin of the state department of agriculture showing just how the prize winners did the feat. The entire story of each winner is told in that bulletin-just what seed and what fer tilizers he used, how he cultivated the crop and how he plowe1 the land to be- gin with. The results in each case are given both in bushels and net dollars
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07
Men Who MlSrepreSent the Many

The old guard in Congress, particularly in the Senate. does not surrender and it does not learn anything concernng pub lie sentiment. Departing senators, such as MT Hale, are not expected to learn any thing. They have served privilege so long it has become fixed habit, and no one should expect such men to change. Nor will men from staees utterly tied to special interests change Such men are the same errand boys of the few who put up big campaign subscriptions that they ever have been.
 The really patriotic and intelligent sena- tors are, however. reading public senti- ment correctly and they are conforming to 1t. Senator Root of New York is an example of this class. These men are as a rule in favor of an income tax, and in favor of the election of senators by the direct vote of the people. Any sena- tor who is not absolutely blind can see that drect action by the people is to be carried to a maximum, but the old guard are utterly blind to the trend of public sentiment. After a while there will be no old guard, except what Pennsylvania sends up, and then people will wonder why 1t was that senators so long stood in the way of popular sentiment. Long serv- Ice of special interests has blinded them until they are no longer responsible as representatives of the great army of plain Amercans.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07
Changes fin Four Years

q was in Birmingham four years ago and have not been here since until now" said James Reardon of Chicago "There have been many changes and wonderful improvements in these few years. When I was here last the splendid passenger station had been started, but the work was not then far advanced It is one of the most beautiful specimens of architec- ture in the country, and I think 1t is far ahead of anything in the south, in the shape of a railroad building There were few frame office buildings four, years ago, but there seems to be double as many now. The entire business district presents most metropolitan aspect, and as for the fashionable residence section if surpasses in beauty anything have seen in any American city.
 Birmingham is growing so fast that it is safe to say it will be in the 5O0,C0O population class by the census of 193O.
 ''The whole south seems H be waking up to the importance of good roads. It is far behind the north in this respect but I understand that a good deal of money will be spent in the Birmingham district on highways in the near future. No pub lie expenditure would do more to enhance values"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07

600 to $62S. 600. and in resources of national banks from s17LooO,ooO to s1,S71,- 0oO, GOO, are among other items treated in the Blue Book of Southern Progress by states and in comparison with the rest of the country"
 A new feature of this years Blue Book is the live stock department. A great deal of attention is\ given to the raising of live stock in Alabama. From the great success the farmers are mak- ing in producing corn and hay 1t is req sonable to predict that in five years from now this state will be ready to ship corn and later on cattle, too.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07
EDgland'S Love of Pageantry

In no nation of the old World has democracy made such steady progress as it has in Great Britain. Not even in republics do the masses enjoy great CT freedom than the people of Eng land. and yet British subjects seem never to tire of royalty or the middle age pomp and ceremony observed on occasions of state when king and queen ride in the gilded coach through the streets of London from Buckingham palace to Westminster. where sit the lords
 King George formally opened par lament yesterday by reading his speech from the throne. It was a gala day in London, second only to some such rare occasion as a coronation. The pageant from Buckingham to parlia- ment house was rich in medieval color Troops were stationed along the line of the procession, not because there was any fear of disorder. much less of bomb throwing; but the soldiers were on duty in accordance with GUS tom and to add brilliance to the scene.
 Some persons seem to think that gorgeous pageanty is peculiar to Latin countries but it is an historic fact that from the earliest times England was second not even to France. Italy or Spain in church and court ceremonial. In this twentieth century radicalism is making sharp inroads into some of England's conservative institutions, but the throne is apparently as secure now as it was in the centuries past. Those British cousins of ours are plain enough folk on ordinary days, but when royalty is on parade they turn out en masse and cheer themselves 
 hoarse They believe in it.
 The Kings speech, unlike a message by the president of the United States, is always brief and always colorless usually conta lining not over 400 words It is prepared by the prime minister or under his direction and while the uncrowned leader may have great deal in his mind he does not vouchsafe his thoughts. to the public through the medium of the throne. The speech at yesterdays opening of par lament was therefore perfunctory, but London had a grand show, and a great nation continues happy in rtinging to the impressive forms and customs of the past.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07
The Humane Society

'The recent report of the Humane so- ciety of Birmingham gives evidence of the fact that the organization is a live one and doing a good york; said a man well known for his love of the anil mai world.
 There is no better field for this great work than in the Birmingham district for with the many construction camps in and around the city hundreds of mules and horses are employed that are often left in charge of irresponsible negroes and more or less neglected. I am not one who believes that the owners are necessarily cruel, but from my observa- tion they are as a rule indifferent to the welfare of the stock used at these places The officers of the Humane so- ciety are to be congratulated on the progress they have made, and, judging from the results so far, the society is destined to become a factor in the bet terment of conditions in this section of the country"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07
HOW AUTHORS DRESS

From the Portland Oregonian.
 London--Are' British authors of today
 as well dressed as some of their famous
 predecessors? Members of literary clubs are divided in their opinion. Some
 call attention to the conventionally smart appearance of Maurice Hewlett Jerome K. Jones and Anthony Hope. Their glossy silk hats and smartly tai lored overcoat differ in respect from the clothes of prosperous bank man. agers. Although they have arrived at fortunes goal. they do hot, like some
 other eminent writers, show an aston ishing contempt for appearance.
 In the dining room of the Authors Club the other day was Charles Gar vice, known to American readers as author of several clever sensational novels. He wore an ordinary tweed suit and there were no creases in his trousers, although he makes about s25,00O year out of his books. Close by, Horace Wyndham. popular historian, struggled with beefsteak, near to w. H. Koebel, the authority on the Argen- tine Republic. and neither of these cap- able writers would have been mistaken for Bond street Beau Brummel.
 Strange to say, writers with the least regulations, effect the smartest clothes and exact the profoundest salutations from the commissoinaire stationed at the curb door. The easy lounge suit is' on the whole most popular with emi-
 nent British authors. To see Hall Caine in the Strand. for instance, it Is to be faced by the up-to-date edition of Shakespeare in a cloth cap and tweed suit, while Thomas Hardy walks about
 the streets of Dorchester far less smart in appearance than a dry goods sales
 man out on Sunday prominade. ~ But there are exceptions to the rule that seem to doom distinguished au-
 thors to go in negligee attire. Henry
 James. Maarten Martens, Egerton Cas- tie and Sir Sidney Colvin are always the pink of propriety where appear-
 ance is concerned, and W. D. Howells.
 when he was in London. would have
 passed any day for a prosperous Brit ish merchant.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07
Peaches and Cotton This Year

Already the Georgia peach crop and the Texas cotton crop have been in print se- rously damaged, the one by unusually warm weather and the other by want of moisture as the blowing and seeding season comes on. It is true, Texas has been dry, but no living man can say it will remain so even a week longer Con- tinued dry weather in February is, of course, hurtful, especially in southern Texas, but 1t Is far too soon to assume that February will be a dry. month
 The peach crop is indeed in some degree of danger for the trees are in full bloom as far north as Macon, and buds on the trees are developing rapidly even in and about Atlanta and Rome The month of January Oas warm and open and Feb ruary is thus far maintaining the pace get by January. Another week of warm sunny weather will certainly put Georgia $ great crop and Alabama's lesser crop in a condition that unfits them to meet any sudden change in the \weather. But no enc knows that winter billed to return
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07
The Cotton Situation

From the speculative vewpoint of the cotton market Henry Clews' Saturday review gives a good idea of the situation. Among other things Clews says:
 There have been plenty of develop ments .n the cotton market this week, but at the expense of values The mem hers of the bull clique for a long time pdst have been carrying a big load and have endeavored to sustain prices by fresh under review contracts were offered in suah large volume there was naturally a disinclnation on their part to further commit themselves on the long side. The public has held aloof for a long time past feeling that prices had been arti- ficially upl.fted and that sooner or later there was bound to be a drop from the high level.
 AS pointed out frequently in these ad- vices, the leaders of the market have found it more difficult week bS week to keep quotations above the 15-cent level. Ordinarily, after a break of nearly 100 points it could be safely stated that the situation had been greatly benefited, and this is true of the present status of af- fairs-to the extent at least of the de- cline which has taken place; neverthe- less with all the bear factors now in evil dence it is safe to assume that the end is not yet. Great stress has been laid by the bulls the high temperatures existing in Texas which they claim will t0l l r,, toI tn however a little early to emphasize weather conditions as affecting acreage for there is still plenty of time for a rainfall sufficient to meet planters needs. Rather than being discouraged by un- favorable climatic conditions, the heavy sales of fertilizers would indicate very extensive preparations for the new crop, and certainly cotton farmers have never before had such a stimulus to plant and raise a big crop as that given by the prevailing price for upland mddling. It is evidently not generally understood that year in Texas is light, but nevertheless this is the case, in view of which a lack of moisture in the soil during ths,' present month need not be looked upon as a matter of any great concern. Notwith- standing all that has been said regarding the dry weather in the extreme southern portion of the belt the fact remains that one good soaking rain any time within he next six weeks or two months would rut the ground in a normal condition for crop raising purposes"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07
OLD FASHIONED SLEIGH RIDE


 next, drifting idlers In canoes and mo- tor boats, or speeding revelers in motor cars, will add to their repertoire of pop ular airs. -
 What would tuneful youth do without My Bonnie" and Jingle Bells" "A Spanish Cavalier and Aunt Dinah's Quilting Party" without "Clementine" and Solomon Levy to say nothinng of Sweet and Low and There is Music in the Air" and, naturally, Good Night, Ladies' to bid farewell to each departing couple as the accommodating driver made. the rounds? z
 So the night was full of song till voices grey harsh in the cold ait and high notes wavered and broke Then weariness or the charm of the night itself brought heavenly quiet, broken only by the tuneful, treble harmony of the bells, the occasional snort of tired horse and the scrunch scrunsh of run. ners on the snow.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07
yOITTH WHO WAS SHANGHAIED

From the New Ofk w NOrlu.
 Earl Vincent Pierce, the so-called "shanshaied boy of the ship s. D. Carle- ten from Frisco. drew s44 pay for his IA days at sea from United states Ship ping Commissioner Philip Fitting He said he lad been the butt of the ship.
 Earrs voyage was due primarily to the fact that he went 10 see the Jeffries- Johnson fight at Rome, Nev. He says he is the son of Richard Pierce of Pierce 6 woodruff, distillers in Savannah, Ga Earl whom the word boy hardly fits, for he is 19 years old, told his story in a frank way.
 "I've always lived by the seaside, but it never crossed my mind to go to sea, said he. T always liked the wilderness. I've hunted in Florida, Louisiana and Texas.
 | Father and I left Savannah June 27, and got in Reno July ?. With thousands we slept under the trees. Father bet S25oo on Jeffries. After the fight he had only s1o0 left and his fare back to Sa- vannah. He gave me the s1oO and told me to go visit my uncle, Ralph Wood ruff, in Oakland, Cal. I-spent the $1oo | and telephoned father to send me my | f.re back home He replied that my ',ncle would advance me the money. But uncle and had row, and l left | him. A man known. am told, in every nort as Shanghai Brown spoke to me in | the street He'd overheard me say I wanted to get back cast. You can go on a sailing vessel said he. You won't have to do any work
 Tn San Francisco I signed some pa rers. I found afterward I'd given a months wages to Brown.
 That skys'l yard scared me. It was | aNo feet from the deck. l asked Paddy German, the second mate. not to send me I'D. Go up aloft he yelled, or I'll build a fire under youv
 Tight? I was fighting all the time, and
 I always got the worst of it. Ben Mar | tell, who'd been to sea 42 years, thougDt 1 he could make me clean out the galley. | refused. We put on the~ gloves and
 was knocked out after three rounds. But [ didn't clean out the galley Just the
 same. But the worst was when the old
 rnan and the mates called me Agnes
 and Lizzie.'
 I've telegraphed my mother that I'll
 see New York with my $44 and then work my way home to Savannah on a steaml | ship" N
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07

to Us. We had wintry weather in October. November and December, and January and February may restore the balance leaving the temperature of the season simply normal.
 Let the scribes who are prematurely killing the peach crop and damaging the cotton crop become more cheerful. Let them await further returns from the groundhos and the weather clerk before they decide how many carloads of peaches Georgia will ship this year, or what the outturn of the Texas cotton crop will be.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07
Strides of the South
the past

Statistics may seem dry to some peo- ple, but Editor Richard H. Edmonds of the Manufacturers Record, of Balti- more has the art of presenting facts and figures about the south's resources and it's progress in such attractive style that the statistical matter which he com piles is sure to have a wide reading. The Manufacturers Records Annual Blue Book of Southern Progress" for 1911 is of exceptional interest. Its GA pages glow with figures which at once encourage the upbuilder and the large capitalist who has invested his money in the south, and serve to invite the at tention of the outside world to the splen- did possibilities of the south. The mar vicious strides which this section has made within the past 20 years is elo- ouently set forth in the Annual Blue Book" In a carefully prepared epitome of the publication. these wonderfully stim- ulating facts are shown:
 "Forty-one cities in the south, each having a population of more than 25,oo0, have in the past 30 years increased their aggregate population from 1,5069l5 to 3,57e, TO, or by nearly 137 per cent an index to the growth of industries in the south, that of 9OOO,GOO estimated horse power in southern streams only about 1 1, COG, ,00o- horse power has been developed and that the value of the cotton crop of the south in ten years has exceeded by more than $1,76l,OO0,OOO the value of the gold and silver produced by all the mines of the world in the same period while the value of exports of ray cot ton has exceeded the value of all the gold mined in the same time The cot ton crop with it's seed, now approaches $1, ,OCo, ,o00,O0o in value a year. and yet thai amount is less than 40 per cent of the total value of all agricultural products of the south. s73o, ,Oo0, for instance being the value of 1,1O4, ,000O0O bushels o1 cereals harvested in 1910. Comparison ol | -r7s the progress of the south and that ol the country marks the industrial ad
 vancement of the south, shown in nor, active cotton spindles in the south nov than were in the whole country in 1880 in a greater cut of lumber in the soutl by more than 5.ooo,OoooOo feet, in pig iror production and in petroleum outpu nearly equal the country's 90 years ago and in the greater amount by 3O,OOO.0 tons of coal mined. Increase in 30 year | in railroad mileage from 20,612 to 1.so miles, in the value of exports from $265,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07
THREE THOUSAND YEARS AGO

From the Pail Mall Gazette. was shepherd of Tempe,
 You were maid of Tyre What ship could it be brought oversea You and your eyes of fire? You and your blue and purple,
 Your hair in twisted spire, Your soft little form, so light and
 warm, tN The heavn of my hearts desire. I carried you off to Tempe,
 Out of the white sea town, For strong was I of arm and thigh, A wrestler of renown; You and your dusky tresses, @# You and your brows of brown, To my sheepskin tent, the way we went, And there'fI set you down. And love was the lord of Tempe Love like monday glow: When I heard you and kiss'd insthe purple
 mist, -.r sa .,5.k It was all that a man need know And the smoke of our hearth stole up- And the bells of our fiocks rang law. As clasp'd you tight in the smoldering
 light,
 Three thousand years ago.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07
FAMINE IN CHINA

From the Christian Herald.
 Chinas famine is spreading. The lat est cable advices from Pekin state that 1000 people are dying daily of starvation and famine fever in the three cfflicted provinces There is every likelihood that conditions will become worse during the ment. although doing it's best to help the sufferers, finds itself, as in the last fam inc. unable to halt the migrating multi tudes in the flooded sections from which they are focking to the cities, leaving lines of dead strewn along the high ways. Relief committees. at Shanghai and Chinkiang are doing good work. but with very limited means.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07
FEW DfyORCEs IN MISSISSIPPI

From the Washington Post.
 If the people of other states were like those of Mississippi, there would be very little marital infelicity in the nation, ac- cordng to J. J. White of Jackson, reg ister of the United States land office, who is at the Raleigh.
 There are fewer divorces in Mississip- p, believe, than in any other state in the union. said MT. Jackson, 'I do not recall six separations in Jackson since went there many years ago, and the rest If the cities, which know about as we'll as I do Jackson, haven't any larger per- oentage of divorces. When a man and woman get hitched down in that country they live together contented and happy. It's too bad other states are not like Mississippi.
 "The state has another claim to fame, I think" added MT. White. .It is the most healthful section of the country. Few persons get sick there, and many who go there sick get well. I went to Mississippi 21 years ago from Pennsyl- vania with one lung. and weighing IA pounds. Now my weight is over 200. and haven't had a sick day in years. My old doctor up in Pennsylvania, whom have just seen, cannot understand 1t.
 ''In 20 years Mississippi and her neigh boring state, Louisiana, will be the great est of agricultural states. Since the boil veevil drove the. cotton out of the state ihe farmers have turned their attention to other crops. We have practically taken away from Georgia the fame of that state for its production of peanuts. Why, one farmer In the vicinity of Jack. son last year raised s5000 worth of pea nuts on co acres of land--a value of near ly s10O an acre. What about that for in- serest on investment? It is closs to 100 per cent. You see the white men in the south used to depend upon the negroes for their laassr. Now they work them selves and they are producing, in some cases, five crops a year."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-07

able side when a lot of bright comedians happen to be in the neighborhood. Ray mond Hitchcock and his company, trav- cling in a special over the Frisco Sunday, came upon the scene of the derailed pas senger train and did the rescue act grace fully and as graciously as possible un- der the circumstances.