davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
VAN BIpBER AND HIS INN

From the Columbia (Mo) Tribune.
 The central route of the proposed state highway has many old historic places around which finger much of romance and reminiseence. The route from St. Louis to New Franklin is practically the oid Boon's Lick road and from New Frankiii to Kansas City it merges into the santa Fe trail. There are some deviations from the two ancient highways, but they are inappreciable For instance. the old Boon's Lick did not pass through Colum- bia, but about seven miles north, run ming across Boone county near Brown station and then in line west to Howard county.
 Not the least interestinf features Of the Boon's Lick road were the old tav- erns or inns Here was the distributing point for information of all kinds and here the travellers and antebellum pollti- cians gathered in their cross-state trips on horseback or by stage. One of the most famous of these old inns was Van Bibber's, located at Mineola, Montgomery county. The proprietor, Van Bibber, was boniface that was known the length or both the Boon's Lick road and the Santa F'e trail and his hostelry was likewise fla mous One of mine hosts firmest con- victions. was that history repeated itself and that all events, historical and other wise reepated themselves under exactly the same circumstances and with the same dramatis personae. One day two prosperous young men, travellers of more than ordinary intelligence, stopped over night at Mineola and put up at the inn Van Bibber was quick to note their seem- ing prosperity and after supper began descanting on his favorite topic. why" he observed to the travellers over one of his famous brews and the pipes, "10,000 years from this very minute we three will be sitting here in this very tavern enact ing the parts we are now playing" The next morning the travellers were up be- times, ate an early breakfast, mounted their horses and were just waving a good by to Van Bibber without mentioning aught to pay for their entertainment. Van Bibber reminded them of their oversight.
 oh laughingly responded one of the travellers, well be along here again in 10000 years and we'll pay you then.''
 No, you don't said Van Bibber. You're the two scamps who passed here 10000 years ago and rode off without pay ing me-"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
Rusinens OufIook

"The crop situation Is of such an en- couraging nature as to stimulate general trade" said c. P. Creigbaum of St. Louis.
 "The early months of the year were dull from a business point of view, and there was decided reluctance on the part of capital to invest in any new en- terprise. But there has been such a marked improvement in industrial and mercantile lines that the outlook for fall trade is exceptionally bright. Had the crops been poor business would have been correspondngly poor, but In most states bumper harvests are expected. The south's cotton crop is in excellent shape, and the corn Drop In the south will be as large, I understand, as last year, If not larger. The fact that the south Is raising it's own foodstuffs means great deal for this section. It will add ma terially to the wealth of the cotton belt. Tn less than 20 years from now the south will be the richest section of the United States"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
MEALS AND MORALS

From the St. Louis Times
 A St. Louis police officer, on trial for misbehaving, has rendered 8 valuable service to humanity by declaring that he was driven to strong drink by not being fed properly.
 We cannot be quite sure that this was the true reason in this particular case, though we are inclined to believe that the officer has made clear case for him. self. At any rate, we are convinced that half the ills of the world are caused because people are not given enough to eat or are not given the right things to eat. or are not fed at the right time.
 The baby cries when mealtime ap- breaches; the man swears and gets on the downward path, when he is offered a re- past of crackers and store jelly when he has an appetite for spareribs and sauerkraut.
 There are women who believe that life Is succession of bewildering problems, and who are inclined to think that the world needs more fortune-tellers. yet who haven't the slightest conception of the importance of a cup of good coffee or a i,,icy steak. The whole race of mankind is in need of better and prompter meals, rather than of new thought and amiabe eycuseS
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Policemen Needed


 "The band concerts are very popular as evidenced by the large crowds that attend. but the city government should station a policeman in the park where the concert Is given to keep children quiet while the music is being played said a business man who was at East park Tuesday night.
 There were hundreds of children in the park, Most of them were girls. and they were the noisest children I ever saw They ranged in age from to 10 years. They did not listen to the music, but romped and made swings of the ropes around the musicians space.
 Several hundred men and women who had come to the open-air concert to enjoy the music got very little pleasure out of it because of the din made by the children. A policeman could prevent the noise nuisance complained of, and he could do it too ih quiet, gentle man. ner"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
THE HUMBLE POTATO

From the London Chronicle.
 When Charlotte Bronte said Please dont." to Thackeray, as he helped him. self to more potatoes, there was a human note in the cry, for Charlotte had beer cured of love of potatoes. as the girls in confectioners' shops are cured of g loce of sweets-by surfet. servant ot the Brontes told Mrs. Gaskell that the father who had grown to splendid bull on potatoes, thought the children shoul6 be brought up simply and hardily. Sc they had nothing but potatoes for din ner"
 There is disagreement about the potato as a staple food. William Cobbett finds the decadence of England in the potato patch. He is all for wheat. Potatoes mean laziness and poverty Cobbett never sees q, potato without despair. But Char otte Bronte had nine Irish uncles and longevity, one of them a giant, who came to London to bash a reviewer that hat not liked his niece. He was fed on DO. tatoes
 Thackeray and others grew to gian size on the love of potatoes, in spite o William Cobbett. Here is sentence written by Lord Chesterfield to his sor in 114s: "One part of your supper 9th, potatoes) is the constant diet of my olc friends and countrymen, the Irish, wht are the healthiest and strongest men know in Europe" So where are youl beefsteaks now?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
Dr. Wiley's Reply Suppressed

The telegraphic reports say that the administration which has it's ear to the ground nowadays is about to reprimand Dr. Wiley. Instead of calling for his resignation there may be a reprimand which is scarcely worth considering or reading.
 There are some things, however, about this case that need attention. The over-payments made to Dr.. Rusby of Columbia university were small indeed when compared with the payment by Attorney General Wick ersham of S83, 1920 to Lawyer Stimson who is now Secretary of War. Less than'$1O00 appears to have been paid to -Dr. Rusby, who stands higher In his profession than MT. Stimson did | in his. One got less than 5000 and the other S83,320. Wickersham, who handed over the latter sum to MT. Stimson, says Dr. Wiley should be asked to resign-what then should he, Wickersham, be asked to do in view of the Stimson payment?
 Nor is this all. Congress should secure and and give to the public pr. Wileys defense. The Wickersham technical charge has been telegraphed from one end of the country to the other, and fair play demands that equal publicity be given to Dr. Wiley's defense, and Secretary Will sons recommendation thereon. The suppression is too one-sided. Dr Wiley should be treated as well as Wickersham and Wilson have been The people have confidence in Dr Wiley, more than they have in either Wickersham or Wilson.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
CENTENNIAL OF AN GOLD CAR
 THUSItN"

From the New York World.
 The Thackeray centennial, which occurs on July 1S was celebrated in advance in England to agree with the tercentenary of the Charterhouse, his old school.
 It was at the Charterhouse that that other "od Carthusian," Colonel New come, was educated, and to it he returned In adversity to become one of the "poor brethren" It was in his mind when he answered "Adsum" to the last call. Thackerays life there does not appear to have been particularly happy and a broken nose remained an ever-present reminder of it. But his pen touched the old monastic institution with a sentiment that made it better knokn to American readers at least than the fact that Ad- dison, Steele Wesley and Grote were pupils there. Thackeray's Charterhouse, indeed, is only less famous to the world Of romance readers than James Hughes Rugby.
 Thackeray lived to be only 52, and 1t is almost time to commemorate the semi eeRtennial of his death. His fame en- dures through the years, and his mas terpiece, Vanity F'air,' written at the age of S5, is perhaps more read today than ever before. Becky Sharp appears periodically on the stage in new dramatic versions of the story and continues. to be the great female character of nine teenth-century fiction.
 Is 1t because of her very wickedness that this is so, and that Beatrix Esmond for similar reasons ranks next to her in popularity? In Colonel Newcome and Colonel Esmond, the story of whose life makes one of the greatest of historical novels, Thackeray painted masculine vir- tue with as skilful hand as he. was un- skilful in depicting feminine constancy in a manner to make the possessor of it at tractive. His gallery of portraits con- tains many good women, but it is the bad ones who live in popular memory
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
WHAT IS A FAIR WAGE:


 What constitutes a fair wage depends somewhat. upon the cost of living in any particular locality. Mrs. Raymond Rob ins. president of the Womens Trade Union league, gives sl2 week as the minimum wage upon which a working woman can possibly live in simple com fort" In some of the large cities, where rents and general cost of living are high, such a sum would hardly afford many luxuries, while in many small towns the same amount would give fair degree of the comforts of life. Twelve, dollars a week is $G24 year, and there are many cergymen with families to support and many school teachers who get much less than that. We wish that every woman who is compelled to work might receive at least SIP a week, and actually earn it.. But there are many things to consider. A general advance of wages would mean likewise a general compensatory upward movement of prices. There are instances where higher wages are paid than condi- tions warrant, just as there are others where an advance is called for. But who ever heard of any one being willing to accept reduction?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
Infantile Paralysis Under Control

Health Officer Nelson is in the saddle and he has decided to place a flag on every house that contains a case of infantile paralysis and to en- force quarantine against each case for a period of not less than three weeks. All cases are to be reported, and daily bulletins are to be issued from the health department stating the number of cases and their loca- 'tion.
 M Nothing can be more reassuring than the fullest possible publicity in this matter. The parents of small children will soon lose their fears if the daily bulletins state each day where every case in the city is flocated. Dr. Nelson can render all a great service by giving the daily bull .letins careful attention. Physicians should be reminded that every case of the disease should be promptly re- ported.
 Dr. Nelson says there are not over
 venty-five cases of the disease
 ong 25,0OO children under 8 years
 re in this city. He is therefore t when he says that the disease
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
Decline in Cotton Prices

Cotton dealers in Liverpool, New York and New Orleans have each and all become bears, and all bull move ments have been cancelled. The weather clerk did it. Rains have fallen and are still falling in the American cotton belt, and a large crop is foreseen. Not only is a large crop anticipated but so also is an early crop. The fall in August contracts must be ascribed in part at least to the belief that much new cot ton will be marketed next month.
 The decline of Tuesday was well night $250 bale so far as contracts are concerned, and yet the price re- mains at or about 13 cents. Buyers in other words are saying that they are willing to pay about 13 cents for cotton even if the crop is bumper one-that is to say, one exceeding 4,000,000 bales. When a farmer is pretty sure to receive 12 to 13 cents for his cotton he need not be dis turbed. He would still secure a pocket full of net money. The farmer now has the assurance that the estimate of a big crop opening in the most favorable weather cannot readily drive prices below 12 cents, and this is comforting to say the least. Any fall below 12 cents would be resisted by the farmers and a very consider able number of them are in condition to resist an undue depression of prices a long time.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20

has not in this city assumed serious or alarming proportions.
 The daily bulletins will soon drive away all the unfounded apprehensions of parents. Dr. Nelson has given his word that bulletins will be issued daily, and the public may rest as- sured that those bulletins will con- tain the fullest possible information concerning the local appearance of the new affliction among children.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
A KANSAS CHIGGER CURE

From the Kansas City Star.
 If chiggers annoy you, take hyposul-
 phite bath. If you are going some place
 where chiggers are likely to be take a hyposulphite bath. Such a bath is both
 preventive and cure for the pest.
 Several years ago pr. S. J. Crumbine secretary of the Kansas board of health, dug up a recipe for swatting the chig- ger and reams of praise have been print
 ed about him. Dr. Crumbine learned of the chigger swatter from man in Tex, as. but Dr. Crumbne made it a public
 matter. But the chiggers have not been so pestiferous as this year. Extremely dry weather seems to be especially con- i ducive to the activities of the chigger Owing to the gerat prevalence of chig- gers in Kansas this most inexpensive remedy was of sufficient importance for Dr. Crumbine to publish two pages about 1t in the monthly bulletin of the state | board of health. The directions for it's use follow: l The hyposulphite may be purchased at l any drug store at or 10 cents a pound. l Dissolve in water, making saturated solution, and moisten or bathe the spots where ch1ggerS have burrowed. The pests are evidently killed when the solution | reaches them through their burrows in
 the skin, and the irritation ceases perma-
 nently, though sometimes two or more
 applications may be required for obstinate | or deep set cases. No harmful nor ldis- agreeable effect has attended the liberal
 use of a strong solution of the compound, | a a io,f artip ho cly in | should be sore from scratching. 1t acts as cure and preventive combined. In | order to ward off chiggers, the solution | should be applied as needed to as much | of the body becomes necessary to meet the extent of exposure. To get full benefit, allow the solution to dry on the | skin without wiping. An application made early In the morning has proved sufficient to last a day or more, and person may traverse the worst infested | thickets with immunity.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
An me! how weak n thing
 The heart of woman is! ! --Julius Caesar.
Bull Run Answers Hepburn

Senator Hepburn of Idaho is not fighting the war over again, for he did not fight in the war of the six tiess He is simply grandstanding and his efforts from time to time are given more notice than they deserve. If he were ignored he would soon subside.
 The present condition of public sen timent is better shown in the joint celebration by Union and Confederate soldiers of the First Battle of Bull Run. This battle was fought fifty years ago, however, and the Union soldiers were whipped out of their boots. This fact makes no differ ence with President Taft or with the soldiers who wore the blue who were later victorious in the great struggle. The manner in which the first great battle of the war is to be celebrated this week is an answer to all that Hepburn says on every possible occa- sion. The two sections are reunited and both are alike parts of the per manent Union. At the Bull Run bat tlefield each will respect and esteem the other. The country is reunited at Bull Run and elsewhere, and the only exception is Hepburn, now of Idaho, but formerly native of the state of Penrose. It would be best to let the exception spout unanswered and even unheard. That treatment is the best cure of demagogues, and Hepburn needs big dose of it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
BOYS WILL BE BOYS

From the New York Mail
 When new family moves in next door the old boy and the new boy climb up on the fence to get acquainted, and it is done as follows
 What's your name?"
 ''None of your business-what's yours ?'' None of your business You are sassy
 ''So are you.'
 Don't talk back to mel"
 And don't you to mel
 I'm an awful fighter when I'm madn' And I'm awfuller than you are." 'I've got dog And I've got a goat"
 And five minutes later they are good friends.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
GENIFRED

GA Legend of Lynton, North Devon.) From the Pail Mall Gazette Between the moorland and the, westernI
 sea, t The colored signing sea. tle Severn sea, 4 In whose wide wastes the tired sun sinksl
 to rest tf Drawn down in whisp'rlng waters silently. There were the woodlands and the wat
 CTS meet,
 And feathery ferns drip down the deep
 messed stone, Came Genifred. though dusk-wan prim-
 roses. Sweet Genifred, forsaken and alone. For in another April primrose She came with one whose presence made each day A deep'ning glory, and the winged hours Truants from heaven storn to earth ' $7 away.
 one. who now far away, had all forgot. Mid pomp of courts, the golden Devon
 spring, r And her who walked with him the flow
 cry ways.
 In that sweet land of so4g and blossom
 ing. A
 Yet in the, April twilight she would seek The old gray tower that dreams above
 the wave; I Till with the setting sun her weary heart In those dim rose-steep4d waters found
 It's grave. n s3Js ts ft Still in the west they tell her simple tale, Call by her name the Eood-wrapt, sea-
 swept hill,
 Tell how along it's ferh-deep glooms ct
  Tire echo or hcf sihsins fingers still.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
Electricity Versus Natural Gas

The report of Engineer Lide is a long document in which he seeks to show that a reorganized light and power plant in North Birmingham would effect an annual saving of $31,174. By the construction, says MT. Lide, "of modern and economi- Il power plant on the North Bir- ngham site, and by the judicious
 e of industrial power therefrom, city may not only be able to sup
 it's own power free, but may as
 in the industrial development of
 district by offering reasonable
 yer rates to present and prospec- 5e industrial plants"
 This roseate programme is subject, 1wever, to the introduction of na- tural gas, so far at least as power is concerned. Electricity has accom- plished wonderful things, but as a power in industrial plants it cannot cope with natural gas. Nothing can. Electricity is supreme in illumination, but as a power in industries it stands second to natural gas.
 The probable introduction of nat ural gas in this city in the immediate future should be considered, and nc doubt will be considered by the com mission before it concludes to spend large sum in the rehabilitation of the North Birmingham plant.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
REPUBLICANS FOR BRYAN
the Washington Post.

From the Washington Post.
 Tt may seem strange that republicans should favor William Jennings Bryan. But that is what has come to pass in the state of Nebraska said T. D. Cornell of Lincoln, Neb., at the Ebbitt house. At the present time Mr. Bryan is not state. He introduced prohibition in the state campaign, and damaged himself considerably thereby. He broke the dem ocratic party in two, but a lot of repub- licans were for prohibition, and now these republicans are for MT. Bryan"
 MT. Cornell is an official of the Mis- souri Pacific railroad. He declared that polticien-and his views of politics in Nebraska are only those of the layman who is interested in state control only in SO far as it affects state industrial con ditions.
 "The average man among the every day citizens of Nebraska thinks more of Mr. Bryan than ever," MT. Cornell said. we believe he has grown mentally and has increased immensely in caliber but we don't think he ever will be President of the United States. Until he injected prohibition into local politics we were inclined to ignore him as politiciap but to accept him cheerfully as our big gest citizen.
 "Champ Clark and Woodrow Wilson are the most talked of men for the democratic nomination for President in 1912, witl
  Clark But-and there is big but in the question-if any one thinks William Jen- nings Bryan is dead one,' watch him He will be the map, after all to say who shall be the democratic nominee"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20

compared with Boston. New York and Chicago said an old citizen.
 1T have not been away from home re- gently, but keep close tab on the wealth CT reports, and I am satisfied that Bir- mingham has less oppressive heat than the north. Even when the temperature IS very high here we usually have grate- ful breezes every evening. I do not recall a single night this summer that was too hot for sleep. July Is fast slipping away and I think it is safe to say that August will be delightfully."- cool"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
SAVINGS OF FAMOUS MEN

From the Chicago Tribune.
 Leonidas-Goin to give me the double cross, are you Xerxes?
 Henry James-Mr. Postmaster, I can't say it all in g one-minute speech.
 Thackeray-Wel for the rest of my life my eyes are going to wink at each other across my nose.
 Joe Jefferson-Yes, l know I'm regu- lar old Rip, but that's what the people want. l William the Conqueror-We have come to stay Dr. Livingstone-All right, Stanley; you're on. Webster Flanagan-Well, darn it. ain't | it so?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-20
"PUT TT IN THE SERMON.

From the Pittsburg Gazette-Times.
 "Dr. J. II. Jowett believes it is the min the church doesn't go
 The speaker, a member of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian church in New York, smiled and continued:
 "Dr. Jowett once told me that he sided with an old lady who always went to sleep. during the sermon time,
 Why don't you take snuff during the sermon?" the minister said to her That will keep you awake
 Why don't you put the snuff in your sermon, sir? retorted the old lady,