davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
HrGH-PRrcED OPERATORS

From the New York Times.
 Few people know what is, nevertheless, fact that there is threatening a new invasion of woman's lately discovered fields of work by what the suffragettes now teach her to regard as her immemorial economic rival, man. It has been dis covered that certain largs firms in big downtown offices have dispensed with the more or less ornamental and self-con- scious telephone girls of commerce In fla vor of a man, who, instead of the ordi- nary operators wages, receives salary higher than many of the clerks.
 With so much business of the first im- portance done by phone, 1t has developed, it appears, that the task of dealing dis creetly with the calls that come in so miscellaneously over the wire Is not a mere switchboard operators job. Rather It demands a confidential person with such experience, such clear judgment, and so much ready diplomacy as is rarely 10 be discovered in even the brightest of the tribe of high school bred young la- dies with trim figures, blond heads and nimble fingers.
 There are firms in the financial dis trict who pay their operators s2000 and s3Oo0 year, it is said, and find that It pays the firms handsomely. Some par ticularly eminent concerns whose opera tions are of peculiar significance and del- icacy pay even more, but the figures in such cases are naturally not available.
 In the offices of one of the firms which banished the telephone girl not long ago was a visitor in the same line of busi- ness-one who follows the old slipshod fashion of intrusting his switchboard to the casual office boy. The visitor was discussing a matter of great importance to both with the head of the firm, who happened to be a very well-known figure in New York affairs. Tn the midst of the discussion there was occasion to call up the visitors office to verify essential dates and figures. Many minutes were consumed in getting anybody at all to an- swer, and still more in having the boy who did answer get hold of the person who could supply the dates and figures. Meantime, the man whose valuable time was being wasted over these preliminaries fidgeted in his chair. Finally his patience wore thin.
 If you will pardon suggestion" he said q think you need a new operator in your office
 The other grinned amiably-he was an easy-going sort-"You are right, as usual he admitted. Nobody could possibly ap- preciate the. shortcomings of my switch board artists more deeply than l do, but If they are any good they don't stay"
 well" said the head of the firm, mine stays I pay him s24o0 a pear-and he is worth all of 1t. You pay yours--?"
 q pay mine s5 a week-he's the office boy--one of them. or any of them-and that's just five times more than he is worth"
 Precisely" said the man with the s2400 operator. That's the difference"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
IN HOTEL HOBBIES
Prominent Visitors From youppsto

Prominent Visitors From Younestevn A. H. Helander of Pittsburg, vice pres- l ident of the Mesta Machine company; c. l S Robinson, vice president and general manager of the Youngstown Sheet and fnne company. and William Rust, chief engineer of the same company, are reg istered at the Hotel Hilman MT. Robin son is brother of T. w Robinson of Chicago, vice president of the Illinois Steel. and both gentlemen have many friends in the Birmingham district. The company with which MT. Robinson of Youngstown Is connected is an independ- ent concern, and is said to. be the largest of the Independents manufacturing tubes. It makes, besides tubes and sheets, tin plate. Mir. Robinson and MT. Rust arc old friends of President George G. Craw- ford and F. H. Crockard of the Ten nessee company and the visitors spent part of yesterday in looking over the Ensley plants. They also saw the Ten nessee companys big dam which is now in course of construction.
 'I was in Birmingham in 1898 and this is my first visit since,' said MT. Robin son. The city has grown fast and has improved in every way within the past 12 years. It makes a fine appearance now and I would scarcely recognize it as the same city saw in 1898.
 T have been much interested in inspect ing the plants at Ensley. The Tennessee company has done splendid work there, and will continue to develoe it's properties along the most approved modern lines.
 "The dam now being built is a very large project and will supply about all the water that may be needed for manu- featuring purposes at Ensley in the years to come. The entrance of the United States Steel corporation into this district was a good thing for Birmingham, for it insured the development of natural re- sources on a scale of great magnitude"
 MT. Robinson said that his visit to Bir- mingham had no special significance; that he and MT Rust accompanied Mr. Helan- der here and were "just nosing around.' The party will remain in the city until tonight.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
uUCILAGE AND GUM

Judge William II. Moore. at one. of the horse show dinners in New York, com pared the London and the American horse shows. Both are admirable" he said. "There are differences. of course. But these differences reflect neither on one show nor the other. went. Into station er's shop in London one day and said to the shop assistant: Do you keep much Iage? No, sir the young woman an- swered. We try to take in all the papers, but there are so many new ones coming out. Still I can order Mucilage for you. sir. Which number did you want?' I learned afterwards that I should have asked for gum. They don't have the word 'mucilage' over there in England.
 But an Englishman travelling on one of our railways stopped a trainboy and said Have you got any gum?' No, don't use 1t, boss, the boy replied in friendls fashion; but I can let you have chaw off this here plug {"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
ORIGIN OF MIR. "PICKWICK"

H. G. Bohn in "Seymours Humorous
 Sketches"
 IN the autumn of 1895 Mr Seymour con
 ceived the idea of publishing, in shill- \ ing numbers, series of humorous sketches of sporting life, blended into a connected story by assuming the different individuals to be members of Cock ney club. Having consulted two or three publishing friends, and shown them some half dozen sketches which he had pre- pared, they so cordially approved his scheme that he determined to proceed with it as soon as practicable.
 The next object was to find a comic writer of adequate powers to furnish the letter press, and Messrs. Chapman first applied to MT. Clark, solicitor, who had acquired some literary reputation by con- tributng the letter press to George Cruikshank's Three Courses and Des- sert." But MT. Seymour had quarreled with Clark, and would not, therefore, hear of him.
 MT. Chapman thereupon suggested Mir. Charles Dickens, who had already distin- guished himself in humorous writings under the pseudonym of Boz" Seymour, we are told by his widow, in her printed statement, took home the volumes for her critical opinion as to whether Boz" "a poor struggling author-to use her words-whose works had been unsuccess-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
SUCH IS LIFE

Terrell Love Holiday in February Smart
 Set.
 Life is what enables the baby to kick his feet about in infancy, and what he kicks most about during his adult days.
 Generally life begins with a squall, and it often continues squally to the end.
 There are four modes of life: bachelor, a fast life; spinsterhood, slow life; matrimonial life, which is suspended ami nation; and the Reno electric life, spicy variety composed of alternating currents of the married and single kinds.
 The butterfly life is the gay one, but it is too short the tortoise life is longer, but is too slow; and if you try to strike safe and sane gait in the middle of the road, you get run over by some joy rider going the pace thta kils-such as you. Life is the most necessary thing in the world-you simply cannot live without it. It is as uncertain and difficult to control as dynamite or a woman. Too little in a coffin.
 High life is dangerous, as ones aero plane may have 'brainstorm' at any minute or altitude, and there is no longer much enjoyment in low life on account of the settlement workers and stunning parties. Apparently the only escape from bourgeois dullness Is to marry as often as possible; and there is always danger of falling in love with your wife and settling down to duckpond placidity.
 If you are lacking in life you are termed o,,A< tad xr,;tt and ginger you are dubbed too fresh." Verify, life is a picture puzzle, and there are always too many pieces or not quite enough.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
Southern Climate

'I have lived in two different southern cities in Atlantic coast states-one of them in Virginia and one Florida-hut am prepared to believe that Birmingham S climatic conditions are well nigh ideal" said M. F. Rathbone of Philadelphia. 'I lived in Norfolk two years and liked the summer temperature and the cooling breezes, but I did not enjoy the two win ters I spent there.
 "In Florida the summers are too long for me. But from what have seen of Birmingham on the visits I have made here at different seasons during the past ten years, and what have learned by talking to old residents conclude that the winters here are usually pleasant and that the springs, summers, and autumns are really delightful
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
I'll be as patient as a gentle stream, And make a pastime of each weary step.
 Two Gentlemen of Verona.
Food Prices to Tumble

The cold storage trusts have accumu- lated eggs, poultry, butter and various other articles of food beyond all possi bility of immediate consumption. and in crder to reduce stocks before a new buy ing season comes on they are throwing immense quantities of cold storage prod ucts on the greater markets of the coun- try. "A firm controlling S2 cold storage warehouses admits" says the Chicago Record-Herald, that it has 44.OOOOo pounds of butter that must be got rid of before May l at the latest.' The but ter market is more demoralized than any other, and the egg, cheese and poultry markets are not much better off. Oleo- margarine has affected the butter market and when eggs scared to high prices peo- pie quit eating them.
 The putting of artificial prices on but ter, eggs, cheese, fowls and everything else that could be kept in cold storage is at the bottom of the present drop in prices. The combined storage capacity was crowded with products, and the un- loading process is at hand and if con- sumers will bring the truth home to re- fit of all concerned. The retailers may, fcial prices. We give below some whole
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR

ffOHl tut INe@ 1OTk fTebS
 Money can give man a reputation for brains when nothing else can.
 A girl will even fool herself so as to keep h practice at doing 1t to men.
 Good judgment is no more sure all the time than good legs are on slippery ice
 The course of true love doesn't run smooth before marriage, and it grows rougher afterward
 It's great comfort to a woman who has lost her ideal in marriage to think how many she had when she was en- gagged.
 It looks as if the devil never took q vacation
 A man with cold feels heroic, girl disgraced.
 The high cost of living doesn't reconcile many people to the low cost of dying
 A man who thinks his work Is worth dollars minute will spend an hour look. ing for dime he dropped in a room
 There's nothing that gives a woman such sense of triumph as to keep hel husband in bed on account of feeling i'll though she knows there is nothing the matter with him.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
Nov Strength of the South

The crop of cotton grown last year with 1t brought into the south we'll nigh a billion dollars. The farmer as rule obtained a good price for his entire crop
 for prices started high last September, and they have never since the opening Of the cotton year fallen to low level.
 The south not only received vast sum for it's great crop, but 1t is spending less for corn and probably less for meats. The south is ascertaining rapidly that
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

ful, would answer the purpose to write the Pickwick Papers," and she, though declaring that the sketches "created no amusement in her. consented with an apparent feeling of compassion, to se- lect him. observing that fifteen pounds month, poor fellow. will be little for tune to him. After this all the parties concerned met, and the first number of "The Piekwick Papers," containing four etchings by Seymour, appeared in due course. It's reception by the public, though not so unanimous as 1t became after the introduction of Sam Weller in the fourth number, was unequivocal. Mrs. Seymour thinks all the success was due to her husbands sketches, and that MT. Dickens would have been nowhere without them, or to quote her exact words consigned to obscurity for the remainder of his days. unless MT. Seymour had per- mitted him to edit the Pickwick Papers"
 Everybody else will be apt to think that MT. Dickens writing had a good deal to do with 1t; but we must make large allowance for conjugal affection.
 Whatever was the cause of MT. Sey- mour's melancholy end, whether the old vexations of Figaro, the new ones of Pickwick, profitless lawsuit, the con- stant pressure on his brain for fresh in- vention, it would be frutless to inquire He died by his own hand on the 20th of April, 1886.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
concernins Population Statistic.

"I am always interested in the es- inmates of population when the fig
 ures seem at all reasonable," said D.
 M. Crowley of Oklahoma City, but hot
 air or exaggerated figures are often
 misleading or provoking and should never be printed in statistical tables. Everybody knows that Oklahoma City has grown rapidly. It had a popula- : tion of only a few thousand in 1900, but the census bureau places the num-
 Der of inhabitants in 1910 at 64,205. The rate of increase in 10 years was 539.7 per cent. In the World Almanac, under the head of statistics of cities, the Oklahoma metropolis appears with an estimated population of 65,96S. and these figures are certainly reasonable. have only called Oklahoma City my home since last fall. but have been thcre long enough to see its phenom- enal rate of growth Among the cities above the 100000 class estimated con- servatively for the new almanac in Birmingham with 10000. I under stand that Birmingham had, according to the basis furnished by the school cen gus about 100000 when the government enumerators~counted the population. If that is true the claim of 150.000 for Birmingham's population now Is not
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
Question of Punctuation

Lack of punctuation in telegrams has caused me no end of trouble and has placed me in several predicaments in the last few months that were exceedingly embarrassing from more than one point of view" said man yesterday wose daily work includes the sending and re- ceiving of many messages by wire.
 This punctuation, or rather non- punctuation, is really a serious matter. I have received messages from the tele- graph companies which did not have single capital letter or punctuation mark iii them that was correct or written ip the right place. Punctuation is as import ant in many such cases as any one of the words of the messages, for many times the meaning of the telegram is left a mystery, and the only thing to do is guess at it.
 ''In modern times and modern ways of doing business the less guessing a man does the better he is off, and for this reason this punctuation matter is a seri- ous business. I have received many mes sages whose meaning could have been taken two distinct different ways, and both would have been probable from facts I already knew of the case. There was either no punctuation, or if there was any it wasn't correct and the only thing to do was choose the meaning that seemed to suit best. hope the telegraph companies and their large patrons will take this matter up seriously and See if the matter complained of cannot be inn proved"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
THE CONCRETE RAILWAY TIE

From the Louisville Courier-Journal.
 Now that the scarcity of timber is get ting to be a serious matter in some parts of the country, a western genius has come to the front with concrete railway tie which promises to revolutionize present methods of railroad construction.
 A recent article in a New York paper told an interesting story of how one George Gates, "a struggling inventor,' of San Jose, Cal will enter the multi millionaire class through the sale of his patent rights to Il great railway sys- tems of the United States. The price Is reported is $17,5O0.0O0 This is concrete evidence that the concrete tie is good thing and will speedily come into general use. single machine will turn out Sooo ties a day, or more than could be ac- complished by an army of woodsmen un- der the present slow and crude method of hewing ties out of timber This means unuuestionably the passing the wooden tie. for 1t Is patent that the concrete af- fair can be made more cheaply and will last longer.
 If is claimed for the California mans invention that it is as durable as the con crete used in the construction of city skyscrapers. It is re-enforced with wire in such a way as to give it resiliency It makes a smooth and firmer roadbed; it is not affected by hot or cold weather or rain or snow 1t is impervious to the at- ia cks of insects which are so destruc,. ye of wooden ties. and 1t does not crack, peel or split as does the wooden tie. In fact. for all practical purposes it is in- destructible and it would seem to be pos- sible by it's use greatly to reduce the cost of railroad construction and mainten- ance.
 Metal railway ties long have been in
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
WELLINGTON NEVER SAW BONA.
 PARTE

Rogers: Conversations with Wellington"
 Bonaparte I never saw; though during the Battle of Waterloo we were once, I understood, within a quarter of mile of each other l regret 1t very much for he was most extraordinary man. To me he seems to have been at his acme at the peace of Tilsit. and gradually to have declined afterward
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
THE CHARMS OF POKER

The late Senator Pettus of Alabama was q devotee of draw poker. He did not care whether he won or lost. All he wanted to do was to sit at table, draw cards. and bet his money
 Well, I'm going to play. anyway said
 One evening he arrived at Tate Spring, ir east Tennessee, and began his hunt for a game. At last he located one, and con fided to friend that he was going to spend the night in the game. .A&
 But" objected the friend, that's a crooked game. Those fellows will rob youk
 Well, I'm going to play, an yway,' said Iettus What else can I do? It's the only game in town"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

excessive. for the city is going ahead at rapid strides. But Memphis, in claim ing 175,0o0 in view of the close check ing up of the census is unduly opti- mistic; and 160,000 for Atlanta would seem a bit exaggerated Those towns should be modest like Oklahoma City and Birmingham"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
A PROPHECY

A PROPHECY. Let me now a roundel sing That will make you gay. Soon we'll welcome in the spring, Summers on the way. Twon't be long before we'll sit By a hermit stream, Where the woodland shadows fit, Idle as dream, With a buoyant bob afioat On the rippled deep; Soothed by some glad warblers note I'll we fall asleep
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
Extra creamery (freshl butter

These prices are falling and perhaps to- day every one of them should be marked down. But this list will enable the con- sumner to judge about what he should pay for the articles named.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
FAvoRIrE FICTION
From the Chicago Tribune.

Strictly Fresh English Walnuts" Best 6-Cent Cigar in the Market" 'Dr. Poole M. Eezy, Painless Dentist" By E. Will Borus, Author of The Soulful Slob, and Other Well Knokn Books
 Yes: I've Heard That the Papers Are Roasting me. but Haven't Read Them "I Don't Care for an Automobile Myself But My Wife Insists on Having One" "Our Terms Are Strictly Cash.''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
NO uEsITATION uERE.

According to- the Washington Herald, John Sharp Williams tells the following story: N
 cone of the negroes on my place did me quite a valuable service once, and wished to show my appreciation. After paying him, l asked:
 '' Now, uncle, which shall I give you, d ton of coal or big bottle of whisky?' ''' Fo' de Lawd, Massa John, he re- piled, you shorely knows An on'y buhns wood "
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

Senator LaFollette's enemies spent s104,- 219 in their efforts to defeat him and he got majority of 102,000. If they had spent more his majority might have been larger.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

The Spokane hotel that requires it's telephone girls to give bonds not to mar ry within six months is clearly a con- spiracy in restraint of trade, and the at tention of the government has been called to the case.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
CHERRY-RIPE

By Richard Allison
 There is a garden in her face,
 Where roses and white lilies blow: A heavenly paradise is that place
 Wherein all pleasant fruits do grow There cherries grow that none may buy, Till cherry-ripe themselves do cry. Those cherries fairly do inclose
 Of Orient pearl a double row, Which when her lovely laughter shows
 They look like rosebuds filld with snow, Yet them no peer nor prince may buy, Till cherry-ripe themselves do cry. Her eyes like angels watch them still;
 Her brows like pended bows do stand Threatning with piercing Nfowns to kill
 All that approach with eye or hand These sacred cherries to come nigh, Till cherTy-rlpe themselves do cry,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

He lays his fortune at her feet, Whose hauteur is intense; Of caviar she fain would eat, His pile is thirty cents.s
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

Governor Foss of Massachusetts, and Gov.-elect Woodrow Wilson of New Jer- sey are taking hands in a strlckly polit- ical function. They propose to see that their respective state is worthily repre- sented in the United States Senate.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

The S3 new democratic members of the House of Representatives decline to be considered mavericks without horns.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

The commission form of government, once adopted, is apt to finger indefinitely. Only one city. Sacramento, that had adopted the plan gave it up.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

The surgeons say that the 3-year-old Philippine Siamese twins cannot be sep arated, and they are probably doomed to spend their lives on the vaudeville cir cult.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

It is no longer Uncle Joe. After he came back he became temporarily 'Jo- seph Gurney Cannon"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

Harvard has a student population of 6279. This is a big number, but it is % below last years enrolment.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

use to limited extent, but they are pershable and are effected by heat and cold In addition they are costly. The invention of MT. Gates of San Jose, if 1t is all that is claimed for it. will fill q long-felt want for the American rail- roads
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

Washington is posing as a dark horse in case New Orleans and San Francisco become tied in the official exposition race.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

The presidential campaign is but one
 year away. Some of 1t is already here.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

Now and then good thing comes up in Congress that Senator Bailey supports
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19
A WISH GRATIFIED.

"Jiggs used to tell me that the dream of his life was to live some day in a big house on a hill."
 Poor fellow! And now he Is in the state penitentiary."
 True, but that is big house and it happens to be on a hilla
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

No aviator takes out a license for long period. All understand the uncer- tainties of the art.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-19

The Canadian potash deposits are now a factor in the case. Germany does not own the earth.