davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
West Yireinia's Partisan Hold-Up

The beauty of partizanship simple If not pure is well illustrated in West vir- ginia. Governor Glasscock Is repub- lican. The senate Is equally divided be- tween the two parties. The democrats have a considerable majority in the house. The governor holds that a ma jority of the senate must appear be- fore it can be legally organized. and the nati awaiting Governor GIasscocks or ders. There can be under the Glasscock interpretation of the states constitution no legislation. and no election of United States senators while the republican sen- ators remain without the state.
 The democratic members of the senate committee on privileges and elections may not accept the Glasscock view. That view is revolutionary and disorganizing, and there is precedent in the United States Senate for disregarding any such usurpation. No attempt is made to ex- cuse the absence of the republican mem- bers of the state senate. It is matter of force-a blockade to prevent the elec- tion of two democratic senators. No one claims that the republicans have a ma jority on joint ballot The democratic majority on joint ballot stands unques- tioned.
 The legislature should meet and elect two senators. Governor Glasscock would refuse to sign their commissions, but that would not prevent the presentation of test case at Washington. If partizans can paralyze a state in this unexcusa- ble manner the sooner 1t is known the better for then a remedy could be found The West Virginia democrats should pre- sent a test case to be laid before the United States Senate and before the peo- pie of West Virginia. The absentees could then be fully dealt with.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
CRABBE, THE POET OF THE POOR

advice of Johnson. Tnurlow and Fox. Byron called him natures sternest painter, yet the best" Edward Fitz- gerald, generally a captlous critic, loved the Tales of the Hall." and Car- dinaf Newman. speaking of the same poem, said that 1t was, whether in con- ception or in execution, one of the most touching in our language" Scott, in his last illness, never wearied of hear ing Crabbe read to him, and Moore and Campbell were outspoken in their com mendation.
 Crabbe's outstanding feature is per- haps his realism. The pictures of rural life which had hitherto figured in pas- toral poetry he knew to be idealized to absurdity, and. having normal pre- disposition to pessimism he resolved to tear away the tawdry tinsel and to re- veal human nature and the events of human life in their uncompromising if occasionally revolting, nakedness The result is that he is now powerful, now pathetic, for out of the grim facts of existence pathos flow as from a never ending source. If he is gloomy, as is our own day Thomas Hardy Is gloomy. he Is yet not the prophet of despair, foR from the very force of his descriptions of passion. vice. or remorse there arfses a natural moral better than a hundred sermons and tending. in Aristole's fla nous phrase, by pity and terror to purge the heart
 Altogether notable figure in liter ary history is this surgeon clergyman. If his portrait hanging on the walls of the National Gallery will only serve it's purpose of directing renewed attention to his productions, the bequest of Miss Anna Maria Crabbe. will not have been in vain.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
From the Washington Post.

From the Washington Post.
 George Crabbe to the National
 4 Gallery in London by his grand daughter serves to recall to mind an eighteenth and nineteenth century celeb rity who had boundless popularity in his own day but who is now not nearly so we'll known as the excellence of his works deserves. It would be pity if such virile verse as that contained in "The Village" "The Parish Register" and Tales of the Hall'' should be all lowed to drop into oblivion, and yet they are threatened with that fate.
 The rural England that Crabbe so forcibly described was the England of corruption and decay that preceded the great poor law reform act of 1894, and hence many of the features which he emphasizes. either as a satarist or a mover of pathos, have disappeared. and the generations that have since arisen no longer recognize the truth of the pictures drawn, because it never was their lot to come up against the actuali- ty of his own day, which Crabbe so consistently obtrudes on our notice. This out t-of-dateness may explain, in part, the decline in popularity from which Crabbe has undoubtedly suffered; 1; but there is left so large residuum of truth to nature. and so much poetic philosophy of universal application, as should insure to the poet of the poor never falling power to please.
 Of enconiums from the great and from those who had the right and the ability to judge, Crabbe had enough and to spare. He owed his start in life to Burke, and had the advantage of the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
Brighter Business Outlook

There has been marked improvement in the business situation since the be- ginning of the year, and the outlook in all sections of the country becomes brighter every day. Quiet conditions are always expected in the early part of January, but some pessmists have been predicting in the recent months that busi- ness would be depressed for some time to come.
 Financiers and industrial developers alike are now taking cheerful view, and an upward movement in the iron market and a brisk spring trade in all mercantile lines seem reasonably assured Consumers of pig iron have scarcely any stocks on hand and as result of the large reduction in output pig metal will be in better demand in the near future than it has been for six months.
 While business conditions are sound in all parts of the country, the south is exceptionally well off The farmers have been prosperous and have been getting ahead steadily. The year 1910 was a ban ner year in Alabama. Cotton is bringing fancy prices. The corn crop for 1910 was nearly double that of the year before. More live stock is being raised. The orchard industry is fast becoming an important commercial factor, and hor-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
Adams County 0utdone in Illinois

Veriniliion county, Illinois, the home of Speaker Cannon, is confessedly a second Adams county in vote trafficking, but < is not certain that the vile business h the Illinois county can be uncovered md punished as 1t has been in the Ohio county. The grand jury is in session at Danville and witnesses have been sum noned who can testify to facts that will lad to a general cleaning up, but whether or no they will tell the whole ruth remains to be seen. Judge Kim brough of the trial court considers the present "as good as any to clean up the political atmosphere in which the county had lived" The politicians of the county Ire. however, we'll organized and are ut erly rotten, and they may resist the notoriety that would come to them if !heir county becomes a second Adams county.
 It does not follow that Speaker Can son will be connected with the dirty business, but it is simply impossible that b acute a politician did not know what he voting conditions in his county were. He certainly did, and his guilt consists h not taking steps to change those con- litions. Speaker Cannon is, however, a politician first and always, and politicians are very poor reformers as a rule.
 If current reports be trustworthy the enormity of conditions in MT. cannon's s home town staggers belief. In a voting population of 750O Danvlle has, it is re- ported purchaseable vote of 25o0, and one politician says the price of votes ls so high In Danville that all officials and candidates would like to see the traffic stopped" The torpor in the coun- ty at present is astonishing. They seem to be corrupt and content. There is no public anger, no public enthusiasm for reform, springing up. Conditions are as corrupt outside of Danville as in it, and yet there is no general feeling in favor of cleaning up of the county. The trouble is the practice has existed twenty years, and generation has been edu- cated to consider the traffic as neither vile nor undesirable.
 The system of vote buying in Danyilie . peculiar. When purchased voter
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24

From the Louisville CourierJournal.
 Recently a ship steamed out of New York harbor on a rather singular errand and to open a novel chapter in trade. She was described as the "trinket ship bound for unfrequented ports on the western coast of Africa and due to be gone for three months-the first of a series of such voyages. The object of the Carl Woermann, of the Hamburg American line. is to exchange the trink- cts of German and American make for the products of the African tribes on the coast hitherto neglected in trade. More than 100 such ports are to be visited, one of which has a regular medium of exchange. The heart of Broadway is to reveal itself at length to the savage breast Knives, mirrors, beads, soap, paints, pipes and similar articles are to be bartered for ivory, ebony, nuts, gums, ginger, palm kernels and ,resinous oils. The captain is familiar with the vanity of the savage and has provided himself with an ample supply of kid gloves and silk hats Such voyages recall the slave trade of other days-with a difference.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
TOP-SPINNERS OF LIBERIA

By G. N. Collins in the February
 Strand.
 TNHAT primitive man often excels his
 more civilized brethren in feats of
 x skill is we'll exemplified by the re- markable dexterity shown by the Golah top-spinners of Liberia. Certain individ- uals of this primitive tribe of West African negroes are able to manipulate a top-lilse toy which they keep spinning any length of time in mid-air by merely striking 1t with a small whip.
 For the botanical Identification of the fruit from which these tops are made the writer is indebted to Mir. w. T. swingle of the United States department of agriculture, who points out that these hard-shelled, spherical fruits belong to the genus Balsamocitrus. very near relative of the ball fruits of India, and a more distant relative of the common orange.
 These fruits, which may well be de- scribed as hard-shelled oranges, are from three to five inches in diameter. The shell is very hard and from quarter 10 half an inch in thickness.
 The top is formed of one of the fruits from which the interior has been re- moved, together with round stick about half an inch in diameter and eight inches in length. The stick passes through the center of the fruit, projecting only on one side. hole is also cut in the side of the. fruit so that the top produces a musical sound when spinning rapidly
 The whip by means of which the top is kept in. the air consists of stalk about one foot in length to which string about IS inches long. made from tho fiber of the wine palm. is tied as lash.
 The method of starting the top is as follows: The lash of the whip Is wound around the body of the top, making a little more than one turn. The top Is then placed on the ground with the stem to one side. The whip Is given quick upward motion. throwing the top into the air, at the same time imparting to it spinning notion As the top drops within reach. but before 1t touchee tho
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
THE "COMET 1"

The Comet" Is a magazine issued ev- cry two months by the students of tho Selma High school It is very credita- ble publication, well edited and filled with interesting matter that covers a wide variety of subjects. The typographical work is also good and that makes The Comet pleasing to the eye. Harry Brad ley is editor-in-chief, assisted by Mary Parker and Lucy Belle Railey as literary editors; Ellen Alison, local editor; Louise The board of managers includes Moritz Frohlich as chief, assisted by Gladys Holzman, Blevins Dunklin, Marion Smith and Pressly Cleveland
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
Extensively Advertised

T find the people in various parts of the country still talking about Birming- ham and it's large growth, as shown in last years census report" said Nicholas M. Richardson of Chicago.
 q was in Omaha last fall when I read of Birmingham's population of 132, 6S5, an increase of 245.4 per cent as compared with 1soo Since then I have been to the Pacific coast and back across the conti- nent to New York. I heard people in San Francisco. Denver and other cities of the west comment most favorably upon the south and its future, and Birming- ham seemed to be regarded as the coming great industrial city of the country. In the east I have found people who are talking pretty much the same way about Birmingham. If this city doesn't double its population in the next 20 years I am TO prophet
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24

religious training of the student The morning chapel service, without doubt, would be an important factor in the moral suggestion for each day, if these services were made to appeal more deeply to the spiritual nature of the student. and these exercises can be made beauti- full.
 More than a Y. c. A. we need school of fine arts wherein could be in- culcated into the life of the student that element of beauty with usefulness. There is no moral uplift so great as that which is found in teaching through beauty how great k the dignity of labor"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
Amateur Horticulturists

q was much interested in reading the proceedings of the Alabama Horticultural
 association, which met here last week." said a business man.
 While this association is not numeri- cally strong. having less than 100 mem bers, those who do belong and take part in its discussions are persons of educa- tion and are successful in some branch of horticulture. And l must not omit espe-
 cial mention of the female members of the association. Several ladies attended the sessions and contributed no little by their part in the discussions to the suc- cess of the meeting.
 q understand that amateur gardeners and florists are eligible to membership in the Alabama Horticultural association, and it would be we'll If they were to ap- ply for enrolment at the next meeting. Most of the amateurs are bright, enthusi- | astic persons, and their love of nature is
 the impelling motive to the outdoor habit of tllling the soil. Many of the best flor ists in Birmingham are amateurs. They not only cultivate flowers, but know the botany of all the plants that are likely | to be seen hereabouts. The men of fiori- cultural experience referred to are busy | citizens, who are found in their offices | from a. n until D. m. except on Sat l urdays, when they have half holiday. They do their gardening in the spring and summer, in the early morning and the
 late afternoon. They love the scent of
 the new-turned soil as well as the per
 fume of flowers. For a man who is under
 nervous strain in his counting room or
 his mill, nothing, perhaps, is so sure to
 keep away brain-fag as working an hour or two day with spade, hoe, and shears.
 Golf is a fine thing for diversion, but a little work in the garden Is even better"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
MAINE AND PROHIBITION

From the New Orleans Times-Democrat.
 Some of our prohibitionist friends have lately objected to what The Times-Dem- ocrat said of the last Maine election. and insist that the prohibition laws of little figure in determining the result. The democratic success, they claimed, was largely due to the same causes which brought New York and Ohio into the democratic column.
 This, however, is not the view taken of the result in Maine, where the demo- crats declare that the election was an emphatic utterance of the voters against the prohibition laws of the state, after 50 years trial of them. Governor Plaisted. the newly-elected democratic governor of Maine, declares as follows In his inaugural addEess:
 "The democratic party promised to sub- init to popular vote the question of con- stitutional prohibition. The time has ar rived wheri plain words should be spoken. For more than half century we have had on our statute books, and for quar- ter of a century in the constitution of our state, prohibition of the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors; and, looking back over these years. no fair minded man can refrain from feelings of disgust. Not only has the purpose failed of accomplishment, but hypocrisy, cor ruption and disrespect for law have been begotten.''
 This Is pretty plain speaking. It unques- tionably represents the democratic sen- timent of the state as expressed at the polls, and a very important element of the republican vote thinks the same way. Before Governor Plaisted had been in office two hours the senate suspended the rules and repealed the obnoxious Stur- gis law-the enactment by a republican legislature under which a state commis- city, town or county and make efforts to enforce the prohibitory law over the heads of the sheriff, police, constables and so forth. The law has proved expensive in some counties, and even total-abstainer taxpayers are kicking" about 1t; and
 it has not perceptibly decreased the sale of liquors The house will unquestionably pass the senate bill and thus one vicious feature of Maine prohibition that doesn't prohibit will disappear. And then will follow the passage of point resolution submitting to the people the proposal to take prohibition out of the constitu- ton. It will seem strange indeed to see Maine, the oldest prohibition state in the union, the only one that has remained faithful to that cause, plunging again into liquor election and voting at this late day to determine whether 1t has been right or wrong for the last half cen tury in trying to enforce prohibition on communities that do not want it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
SPRING MUSIC.

When bluebrds wing their way again And poets lit throbbing strain;
 When sunbeams dance upon the hill And laughter leaps from every Till;
 When blossoms wave meath skies of blue And vernal tints the woods imbue;
 When buoyant breezes wait along And troops of sweetest fancies throng, Then shall we learn how maiden Spring Can teach the saddest heart to sing.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
NOT A DUMB ANIMAL

From the Boston Traveller.
 This would be funny whether 1t was true or not. But 1t Is.
 The Band of Mercy is Boston or ganization As we understand It, the Band of Mercy Is juvenile section of the Humane society. At any rate, the kn1s belonging to it are pledged to be kind to animals. No cans on dogs tails, no fiypaper on cats feet, no rocks thrown at English sparrows. Be good to the beasts. It's mighty good stunt at that.
 Be that as it may, there is a certain small boy in Newton who belongs to the band. He explained the aims and activities of the society to visitor the other day.
 "We got to be kind to dumb brutes, that's all.' he said. "So I'm kind to all the dumb animals I run across. But I certainly do raise hell with the par roti"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
PRO AND CON.

PRO AND CON. Good people don't You envy me? I've never lived In Kankakee.
 Birmingham Age-Herald. Good people, see A lucky man I've never lived Tn Birmingham.
 St. Louis Times. Ones life is sad In old St. Lou; That's why. poor lad, We pity you.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
ticulture is adding appreciably to the
 wealth of the state.

i ticulture is adding appreciably to the wealth of the state
 The Birmingham district was wonder fully prosperous last year. and prosper ity promises to be in more evidence even this year. In addition to the millions of dollars being spent on new construction in relation to the steel industry and in the development of the districts nat ural resources In general. the agricul- tural progress of Alabama is being felt in this city more advantageously than it was in previous years.
 Birmingham Is Alabamas financial and commercial center. and as such reaps large beneht from the growth of the farming districts In former years de- pression in the iron trade meant hard times in the Birmingham district, but this city is no longer dependent upon one industry. When the iron market is active and all other industrial branches of trade are prospering. prosperity here is far above par, but If the iron and coal companies were to operate to an extent only within 40 or 50 per cent normal. Bir- mingham would be a busy town provided the farmers were thriving. With the present outlook so good, therefore, mer- chants and others will feel a new im- pulse for enthusiasm.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
LOGGED HIS MEMORY

From the San Francisco Argonaut.
 colored preacher was vehemently denouncing the sins of his congrega- tion. ''Breddern an sistern. An warns yo against de heinous sin O shootin' craps! An charges yo' against de brack 'rascality O .liftin' bullets! But, above all else, breddern and sistern. An de- monishes yo' all dishyer season agains' de crime O melon stealin'"
 A brother in back seat made an odd sound with his lips, rose and snapped his fingers. Then he sat down again with an abashed look.
 -Whuffo, nah frien," said the preacher sternly, 'does yo' r'ar up an snap yo fingahs when An speak O melon stealth ?''
 "Yo' jes' remins me. pahson," the man in the back seat answered meekly, "wher An lief nah knife"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
SOCIAL NOTES.

John Weddie and family spent Sunda, with R. W. McHughs. Ernest Eye re- ports delightful time while visiting in Kansas City during the holidays. vestal Bunday has quit the Midway school and is attending the Savonburg school Pete Woodruff is learning the barber trade at Stark under MT. Swisher. Good luck to you, Pete. Erie Sentinel.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
WHY BILLS so POPULAR

WHY BILLS so POPULAR.
 Bill Smith threatens to sue us for ali- mony for saying he had money In two banks and hadn't got married yet, etc., which was copied by the Courier Journal and given such wide publicity that he Is receiving stacks of proposals from all over the country. Bill says he may have
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
SENSIBLE GIRL.

The count in truth, was very poor And something of clown; Although he whispered, "Je t adore" Miss Money turned him down.
 Birmingham Age-Herald. Refusing to become the wife Of Count De Soandso Miss Money said mot on your life; You only want my dough-"
 Youngstown Telegram.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
BURGLAR's PECULIAR ACTIONS

From the Brooklyn Life.
 A burglar went home one night re- gently, fumbled noiselessly at the key hole and let himself In without making a sound. He was about to creep softly upstairs, when his wife appeared on the upper landing.
 Mike" said she, "wot makes ye come in so quiet?"N
 Blame it' beloved the burglar, T thought I wos in another house!'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24

China is nothing if not progressive The liament are to be established, and some think a bald-headed chinaman will yet be seen.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24

Under the Aldrich monetary plan the President will control all the money and the banks, and another Diaz becomes possible.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR From the New York Press.

Nobody wants to be as good as he thinks everybody else ought to be.
 Temptation always gets an introduce ton to you under some other name
 The way to catch liar is to pretend to believe him. so he will go on till hc traps himself.
 The man who knows most about a thing Is usually the willingest to hear other opinions on it.
 When anybody begs you to tell him his faultsstt's'a sign that if you do you are going to make an enemy.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24
QUITE IN KEEPING.

"A Kentuckian named Lightburn has been arrested for peddling whisky"
 I'm not surprised to hear that a man with name like his should be more or less concerned with a well known illum- inant." PAUL COOK.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-24

Senator Aldrich wants. not central bank, but a reserve association with Q capital of 8, 900. He sees that the pre3-