davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27

the Pittsburg district has accomplished in the past 25 years ?
 Regarding Prices
 ''The price for the best seats for this years music festival-May and + is lower than the maximum price last year." said well known music lover. Last May the best seats for the night performances sold for s2.50. This year the best seats will be only s2.
 "victor Herbert's orchestra was feature of last years festival and while Herbert himself is an exceptionally popular conductor, the Minneapolis Symphony orchestra engaged for this season ranks far higher than Herberts. No musician has had better eduea- tional advantages than Victor Herbert. Moreover, he is & genius in way. When he first came to this country he was violoncello virtuoso, and finish is essential to virtuosity, but as a con- ductor Herbert has never paid much attention to finish. His method Is to hit the high places and let 1t go at that. All of the successful symphony orchestras of Europe and America are distinguished for fine shading and thorough finish from beginning to end. Those who have heard the Minneapolis orchestra have remarked the magnetic personality of the conductor, MT. Ob- erhoffer, and the splendid ensemble work of his musicians. Mir oberhoffer IS virile, and his orchestra is virile, hut along with this virility are per- feet dynamics, perfect technique and poetic feeling,
 'In speaking of prices I have some times heard persons in the south coni- plain of shows and concert managers charging fancy prices en tour whom the same company. or band, performed in New York at cheap prices. But per- sons who talk in that fashion lack in- formation. In order to hear high-class music in New York one has to pay high prices. I have frequently paid $5 for seat in the Metropolitan opera house. and only few weeks ago $2 was the price paid in New York to hear the Minneapolis orchestra in a symphony concert"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27

From the Baltimore Sun.
 Pierre Marechal, son of the vice ad- miral of the French navy, one of those rescued from the Titanic. brought away deck of playing cards as souvenirs of the disaster. When Captain Smith gave the alarm MT. Marechal, with Lucien Smith, Paul Chevre, a French sculptor, and A. F. Ormont, a cotton broker, were in the Cafe Parislen playing bridge.
 The three Frenchmen in the party were saved and the American was lost.
 M Marechal gathered up the cards and put them in his pocket, expecting to re- sumo the game. Yesterday the survivors autographed them and sent them to their friends in France.
 NJ. Marechal also brought away a vol ume of "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes," which he had taken to read on board the liner. He also had the remark able experience of remaining in the water 40 minutes without having his monocle displaced. He was picked up by lifeboat No ', In which there were only 20 passen- gers. M. Marechal said that it could easily have taken on 50.
 In describing the scene that took place later he said:
 When three-quarters of mile away, we stopped. The spectacle before our eyes was in it's way magnificent. In a very calm sea, beneath a sky moonless, but sown with millions of stars, the enor- nous Titanic lay on the water illuminated from the water line to the boat deck. The bow was slowly sinking into the black water.
 "Resting there, we watched her disap- bearing foot by foot.
 By o'clock the stern alone was vis- ible. Suddenly every light went out.
 What was happening on her after deck at that moment must have been heart rending, for we heard for more than a half hour uneedsine cries which to de- scribe would pass the power of language. A cry still more terrible and long was heard, and the Titanic disappeared for ever.'
 M Marechal is an aviator who has come to this country to sign a contract to fly hydroplane. He is at the Hotel Bre- voort.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27
Agricultural Implements in the Lime
 light

The Perkins Roosevelt alliance stands explained in the correspond ence sent to the Senate at the request of Senator Johnston of Alabama. This correspondence relates to the hold-up in 1907 of all proceedings against the International Harvester company by order of the then President, Theodore Roosevelt. The $140,000,000 monopo- ly was protected by Roosevelt, and all steps taken against it were called off by him. President George w. Perkins of the harvester company had the ear of the President, and not step has been taken to this day to dissolve the great monopoly in the manufacture and sale of agricultural implements. This monopoly is a heavy tax on the farmers of the country, and they will be sure to ask next November who it was and why it was that the harvester
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27

company escaped all these years un- touched and unassailed. The colonel did it.
 It is now said that the Taft admin istration will file papers next week asking for a dissolution of the com pany. Mir. Perkins is still gumshoeing, however, and no one can forsee what will be done until papers are actually filed in court. The entire subject con stitutes one of the big scandals of the campaign, and it is reasonably certain that the harvester company's ex- emption will be ended provided the colonel be not given third term. The colonel and MT. Perkins seem to be a pair that pull and act together, both at Washington and in the New York primary campaign in which both went to defeat together.
 Senator Johnston's resolution brought out the papers where other resolutions had failed to produce them. This is said to be due to the fact that the Johnston resolution called for the correspondence with and over the harvester company in 1907 only, and not for all correspondence on the subject down to the present time. The correspondence in 1907 met the wishes of the administration to a dot, and in two hours time the correspondence was laid before the Senate.
 Colonel Roosevelt says he brought the subject of a prosecution of the harvester trust before his cabinet, and that MT. Taft who was then a mem Der of the cabinet concurred in the de- lay proposed at that time. He also says that five years have since elapsed and no papers asking for dissolution of the trust have been filed.
 The entire matter is a scandal strictly within the two wings of the republican party, and it is difficult to say which wing will be harmed the more by it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27
A CURIOUS LEGEND

From the May Strand.
 A sculptured stone locally called the Martin or "Dragons Stane," is sup posed to mark the spot where in ancient days a fierce fight took place between young man named Martin and a dragon, the latter being killed in the struggle. The scene of the encounter is located about six miles north of Dundee. near to the base of the Sidaw Hill, and in the perish of Mains and Strathmartne. The legend is most interesting, and is as fols lows: A farmeH in the district who was blessed with nine lovely daughters, one day sent one of them to a neighborlng we'll to fetch him draught of water As she did not return, anothey was sent 10 learn the cause of the delay. Neither of them returning, daughter after daughter was sent, until the whole nine had been dispatched. The father. becoming alarmed at the non-return of his daughters, then set off himself to learn the cause of their delay. On arriving at the spot he was mortified at the spectacle which met his sage. His nine daughters lay dead at the well and large dragon was throwing it's slimy folds around them. The reptile. on seeing the father. hissed loudly. and would have made short work of him also had he rot saved himself by flight He however, aroused the whole neighbor hood and the people turned out in state of great fright. A young man, the sweet heart of one of the dead girls, boldly at- tackled the dragon, which took to flight, hotly pursued by the gallant youth. The dragon wriggled its way toward the hills. and was ultimately cvertaken by the youth in a field near the Sidlaws, where he killed it outright. It is said that dur Ing the pursuit Martin was followed ny a crowd of people. who in their excite ment shouted simultaneously to him to Strike, Martipe.' Man, strike.' The place where the incident occurred has been known ever since as Strickmartin. now converted Unto Strathmartine. The figures sculptured on the stone are said to represent Martin in the act of combat with the reptile,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27
EyE-sTRAIN
From ''The Battle to Relieve Eye Strain, in the May Metropolitan.

From ''The Battle to Relieve Eye Strain,
 in the May Metropolitan.
 Nc human organ, except possibly the heart, is called on for such hard and continuous activity Even the most mus ical ear is never taxed beyond the three or four hours of Wagnerian opera. and at the worst is rested by frequent inter missions. The brain, even in the case of professional men. Is called on for only SIX or eight hours of work day But we use our eyes In business all day, and then all evening in our amusements. In point of face the heart itself is less se- verely taxed.
 The eye has, to be sure, a most mar velous strength. As long as its mech arisn remains measurably correct it sell dom or never gives out. And its vi- tality is supreme. But when to the strain of near work in artificial light are added defects in it's own mechanism, even this wonderfully adaptable and hardy servant gives symptoms of strain.
 The brain is generally our first inform CT. It automatically supplies the energy
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27
Birm,nxbam in 1920

''If this city continues to grow at the rate it has been growing the last F months it will have a population of up- ward of 3oo.oOO in 1920" said A. E. Gallo way of Indianapolis. T was in Birming- ham about 14 years ago when the steel plant at Ensley was in course of con struction. There was considerable op- timistic feeling here then, but I never dreamed that Birmingham in my life time would be the city it Is today. There have been great improvements in the business district, and as for the residence sections improvements have been simply marvellous. I know of no city that has such beautiful residence section as Bir- mingham has in it's South Highlands.
 From 8 commercial point of view no city has such a combination of resources as Birmingham. We outsiders think of itSas a great industrial center, and so it has come to be, but in addition to the mineral resources that have built up Bir- mingham, agriculture is contributing a large share. The younger men here will live to see Birmingham with population of 500000 or more."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27
No Fire Protection in East Birming
 ham


 The destruction of 19 homes and the losses to 20 more in East Birmingham were plainly due to lack of fire pro- lection. The homes in question were far from fire station. There is not one within miles distance, and the water plugs are a quarter of mile apart. This is not fire protection in a civic sense. The people in East Bir- mingham pay city taxes, and little good comes from the payments. No one can justly blame the people In that section of the city when they de- mand their share of Improvements and betterments. They are at least entitled to fire protection.
 Metal shingles are indeed prefera- ble to those made from wood, but East Birmingham cannot be put on the metal basis while the remainder of the city nails on car loads of wood en shingles. The city is not rich. It is not, however, so poor that 1t must discriminate against wide section that is fast becoming full of people.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27
BRAM sToKER

From the New York Times.
 As the fidus Achates of Henry Irving, and later as his Boswell, Bram Stoker, ternational fame. He had no special vo- cation for theatrical management, and until he becme Irving's business man. ager and personal representative" in 1878, he had had little if any theatrical training. He was tall, blonde Irish man, who had been well educated in Du- blin, and had filled small positions in the civil service But he had theatrical incli- nations, and had once applied to Mr. and Mrs. Kendall for employment as business manager. They felt afterward that they had reason to regret their refusal to em- ploy him.
 Yet he might never have had the suc- cess in that field with another employer than Irving. The great actor and his asso- ciate had long been friends. Irving placed implicit confidence in Stoker's judgment and business sense while Stoker looked upon Irving as the only supremely great man in the world. Their relationship lasted from the beginning of Irving's ca reer as manager of the London Lyceum until his death. Stoker relieved Irving of every possible care, was the active host at the famous supper parties, stood be- tween Irving and the crowd of theatrical aspirants and would-be playwrights. He paid the bills and arranged all the details of transportation. He was never tired, and never depressed. He remembered tho faces and names of all he ever met, or, If he did not, he had the skill to make others believe he did. Undoubtedly much of Irving's success was due to him.
 For the rest, he wrote fiuently and was eagerly interested in all the affairs of the world. Deep down in his nature there was touch of Celtic mysticism. It sought expression in literary form, but his stories, though they were queer. were not of memorable quality. His Life Of Irving,' however, is a noteworthy book. He had plenty of friends and enough ell emies to indicate that his friendship was worth having. The embodiment of health and strength and geniality, it seems he died too young. He was only 64 years of age. Almost every one who knew him will say that he should have lived to be so and kept young heart in his old age.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27
HUNGER

From the Journal of the American Med
 ical Association.
 Hunger is not due to emptiness of the stomach, or to hydrochloric acid secreted into the empty organs, or to congestion of the gastric glands Cannon attributes 1t to contractions of the stomach's mus cular walls. By an ingenious experiment he was able to register simultaneously the movements of the stomach wall and the subjects impression of hunger sensa- ton. The contractions and sensation all ways occurred in unison. Both are abol- ished when food which satisfies the bodily need is taken into the stomach. The sequence of events may best be de- scribed in the authors words: Hunger is normally the signal that the stomach is contracted for action; the unpleasant- ness of hunger leads to eating; eating starts gastric secretion, distends the con tracted organ, initiates the movements of gastric digestion and abolishes the sensa- tion !"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27
Music and Dancing

A great musical and social event will be the concert by the University Glee club at the Country club Monday night. The concert will be followed by dance, and as the price of admission is only sl for both musical and terpschorian fea- lures the young set will be fully repre- sented. The entertainment Is given for the benefit of the open air music fund.
 .The band concerts will be given this summer under the auspices of the Music Study club as usual, and good start on the fund has been made" said member of the concert committee. I've hope to realize several hundred dollars by the concert and dance at the Country club Tn order to have concerts daily for 10 or Il weeks several thousand dollars will be needed. We have already a little more than 5000. If we can raise a fund of 5000 we will have much larger band than last year''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27

IN Harpers magazine for May, Albert
 Bigelow Paine, the authorized biog-
 \ rapher of Mark Twain, tells how the great humorist first met Olivia Lang don. who afterward became his wife. They met in New York. Young Charles Lang don. who had been on the voyage of the yInnocents," brought them together.
 "At the old St. Nicholas hotel, which stood d, the west side of Broadway be- tween Spring and Broome streets, there were stopping at this time Jervis Lang don. a. wealthy coal dealer and mine own CT of Elmira, his son Charles, and his daughter Olivia, whose pictured face sam
 uel Clemens had first seen. in the Bay of smyrna, one September day. Young Langdon had been especially anxious to bring his distinguished Quaker City friend and his own people together, and two days
 before Christmas Samuel Clemens was
 invited to dine at the hotel. He went
 very willingly The loveIy girl of the
 miniature which he had first seen in her brothers stateroom, had been often part of has waking dreams. For the first time, now, he looked upon it's reality. Long aft erward he said:
 " Tt is 40 years ago. From that day to this she has never been out of my mind. His was not an unrnffled courtship. when at last he reached the point of pro- posing for the daughter of the house, neither the daughter nor the household offered any noticeable encouragement to his suit.
 There was only provisional engage ment at first. Jervis Langdon suggested and Samuel Clemens agreed with him, that 1t was proper to know something of his past as well as of his present before the official parental sanction should be given. When MT. Langdon inquired.as to the names of persons of standing to whom he
 might write for credentials, Clemens pretty confidently gave him the name of the Rev. Stebbings and others of San Francisco, adding that he might write also to Joe Goodman if he wanted to, but that he had lied for Goodman 100 times, and that Goodman would lie for him if neces-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27
LITTLE BILLEE AND TRILBY

From Du Maurier's "Trilby.''
 Little Billee would look up from his work, as she was sitting to Taffy or the Laird, and find her gray eyes fixed on him with an all enfolding gaze, so pierc- ingly, penetratingly, unutterably sweet and kind and tender. such breeding, dove like look of soft and warm solicit trde. that he would feel flutter at his heart, and his hand would shake so that he coud not paint; and in waking dream he would remember that his mother had often looked at him like that when he was a small boy, and she a beautiful young woman untouched by care or sor- TOW; and the tear that always lay in readiness so close to. the corner of Little Biliee's eye would find it very difficult to keep itself in it's proper plase- unshcd. '
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27

that fiogs the lens muscle to its ceaseless task. and it is in the closest possible sym pathy with the retina, the sensitive plate on which all vision is recorded. The brain declares its exhaustion in headache and vertigo. The masterful eye, so to speak, shunts off it's suffering upon the nearest neighbor. Yet in many cases even the brain gives no direct symptom. It Is the central organ. the highly vital and com- piex master of the entire system, and 1t also has superior way of passing on the kick Just how it does this, oculists do not profess to know. The rule seems to be that eye strain declares itself first in the organ which is nearest and weak est. The stomach, the liver, the intes- tines, the kidney. the heart or the mem- branes of nose and throat may develop symptoms while the eye and the brain seem normal.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27
RErLEcTIoNs OF A BACHELOR

From the New York Press.
 A girl knows a lot more than she does, and her mother lot less.
 when man wins his spurs he digs them into people who haven't won tlieirs
 The reascn man likes to dance Is, 1T he says he does with his wife, he's the biggest liar of all.
 Loy begins by falling in love with his school teacher, so it won't be any warning to him for the future.
 It seems as if a woman could wear slip pers and openwork stockings with com fort iu an ice cream freezer.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27
It was they led.
A DISTRESSING CASE.

A DISTRESSING CASE There was man in our town Who made the best of what befell But driven by his wifes hard frown. At last he jumped into a we'll And when an effort soon was made To draw him from the depths below, In gurgling tones he thus forbade, Hands off! l wish to drown my woe." Forthwith did sink A doleful end And one that much deserves our tears. So many Eights do elsewhere wend And drown their grief in countless beers.
 REPLIES. Think vernal thoughts, don't sing them all day long. It interrupts our medita- tions.
 One reason why some men don't get along better is that they hate to move. A girl in the arms is worth two in the tonneau.
 A philosophic attitude is hard to assume when you feel yourself slipping. If all the talk could be capitalized, the world would be full of mililonaires. People who are hard to please are usu- ally hard at pleasing Another good quality of our good friend the good book. It never says, "Pshaw! Just one more won't hurt you.' It wouldn't be so harmful for a woman to smoke cigarettes. if smoking cigar cites didn't nearly always call for French novels The quickest way to get around man is to use kindness.
 There Is great deal of pretense in the world, but most of it isn't hard to see through.
 DISTRACTED.
 Who oft doth out
 The window look,
 Is not much wrapped
 Up in his book. PAUL COOK.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Thi. Ia Ing Day

On account of the rain last Saturday Tag day was postponed until today. The sale of tags is for the benefit of the Boys club. one of the worthiest of Bir- mingham's many philanthropie institu- tions.
 The ladies who manage the club make an earnest appeal to the good people Of this town to be liberal in the purchase of tags. The sum of $5O0o Is needed, and in city the size of Birmingham 1t should be easy to raise that amount.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27
ADRIFT WITH
A GENIAL SORT.

A GENIAL SORT. With hopeful mien
 He fought life's battles, But, sooth, acquired Few goods and chattels. However, that
 Caused little sorrow; He had true friends, From whom to borrow, And still was not
 A common grafter- He paid them back
 In gales of laughter.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27
REALISM.

What is this?'
 "The picture of an automobile going at high speed"
 T don't see anything but a cloud of dust'
 "The automobiles inside the cloud of dust"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27

An inventor has produced an apparatus for broiling 700 steaks in six minutes. It is, however. useless unless one can dyn- amite a bank safe.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27

Congress continues to muddle up the question of the direct election of senators. It is easy to pick the sheep from the goats in this matter.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27

F. Hopkinson Smith is growing old. He says he eats sparingly, exercises mighty little, and in other respects does just what he pleases.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-27

Col George Harvey has come out for President Taft. He took several months to recuperate in, and now he almost claims to be the original Taft supporter.