davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
The East Lake orphanare.

There will be Christmas collection in all the Catholic churches in the diocese of Alabama for the orphans. The collec- ton taken in the churches in the southern part of the state will go to the orphans in Mobile while the collection in north Alabama will be for the benefit of the East Lake orphanage or, as it is officially known. the Atheneum.
 Every Catholic is expected to con tribute something on Christmas day tc the support of the orphans" said a mem Der of St. Paul's congregation. The amount collected every Christmas day ill the Birmingham district is generous and as we have had prosperous year it is hoped the collection on the coming Christ mas will be larger than usual.
 ''rhe orphanage association cares for non-Catholc as well as Catholic children and non-Catholics have always been lib- eral in their assistance"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
Steamers Controlled By Railroads

The annual report of Commissioner of Corporations Conant is a document that relates to the welfare of every person, child or adult, in the United States, for it shows that the railroads have secured practical control of the internal waterways and also of the traffic on the great lakes and along both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts, including the gulf coast.
 MT. Conant says the chief destroy CTS of competition are the New Haven system, the Union Pacific, the South ern Pacific, the Pennsylvania, the New York Central, and the Central Railroad of Georgia. The entire south east has but one principal offender, and that one is our own Central Rail- road of Georgia.
 These and other railroad systems control tonnage sent in every direction whether by canal, or on the great lakes or along the coast lines. They cut down water transportation per haps to single line. The railroad control of water lines is in other words the cheap feature of modern transportation. Twenty railroads con trol, says Mir. Conant, steam vessels and barges of S10,O00 gross tonnage engaged in domestic trade. Steam boat lines on the Mississippi long ago succumbed to the railroads. The rail roads also control 90 per cent of the mileage of the canals still in opera ton. "On the Erie canal, the most inn portant artificial waterway in the country" says the commissioner, ''the westbound business has virtually passed under the control of railroads. while eastbound traffic has been large ly diverted from the canal by the re- peated reductions in rail rates, rate arrangements ana railroad c62trol of terminal facilities. These reductions in rail rates are, however, to consider able extent attributed to canal compe tition."
 The Central of Georgia controls steam vessels of over 10000 gross tons. This relates no doubt to it's ocean lines from Savannah to eastern points. This railroad is not considered a de- stroyer of competition at the gulf ports. The Atlantic, Gulf and West Indies Steamship line, according to Mir. Conant, attends to that branch of the business.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
COMIC OPERA MATERIAL

Franklin P. Adams in the January Metro
 politan.
 For many years" says the New York Times, "our writers of musical comedy have set their scenes in imaginary king doms. presumably providing for gro- tesquerie not possible in more sobered communities. But wherefore? Our daily experiences our light and flippant atti- tude toward serious things, seem to inei- cate that we. ourselves, provide the best of comic opera countries" True talk, surely. But ''our writers of musical com edy" are, for the most part. the Austrian, the French, the German and the English. The theatrical managers love to give out interviews telling how they encourage the time getting his work read by the man. ager. This American world is full of a number of things fairly yearning to be satrized on the stage, but those who are able to write them like George Ade and Bert Lesion Taylor, are unwilling to go through the agonizing humiliation of nav- ing them produced, while those who are called upon by the managers to write the musical comedies lack distinctive abil- ity and the high order of literary skill essential to the composition of a good libretto.
 As far as scene setting goes. however. where was "The Mikado,' the best of comic operas and a perfect satire on England, laid?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
"As High As Haman"

Ahasuerus was a king of Persia and Esther became his queen. Some of the encyclopedias say that Ahasuerus and Xerxes were one and the same. Be that as it may, the prime minister, so. to speak, was .Haman, and he be- came angry at and over Mordecai, a keeper of the kings gate. Mordecai's s offense was that he did not pay Haman proper respect when he wis ited the king. Haman planned to get rid of Mordecai and all other Jews in Persia by the simple but thorough process of extermination. He intended to hang Mordecai on the gibbet that he erected, but the plot miscarried.
 That gibbet was 50 cubits high, or 75 feet in our measures, and if Mod decai had been dropped from it he would not have lived to offend Ha- man again. A drop of 75 feet would sdo up" the hardest panic breeder er any one else for that matter. The
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24

From the Survey.
 John ONeiIl and another man went to work in New York brewery vanishing the inside of vats. Three days later dawned to find John o'Neill dead and his companion totally blind.
 The terrible swiftness with which this calamity made it's appearance was due, according to the Bulletin of the New York department of labor. to the use of wood instead of the expensive grain alco- - hol in it's yarnish and to the lack of ven- tilation in the enclosed vats where it was being applied. The Bulletin states:
 "rhese vats were of wood, like great casks. eight or ten feet high, with no openings except a small one at the tor a few inches in diameter for the entrance of pipes and an oval opening in the side at the bottom slightly larger than a mans body, through which a workman could enter by crawling prone. On the first day the men worked from ' a. m. to D. m. Thirty minutes were required to varnsh a vat, after which the workers had an interval of 20 minutes in the open air. The usual time allowed between working periods was % minutes, but in this in stance only 20 minutes were allowed" On the second and third days the men worked only from 10 a. m. to D. m. with the same rest periods as before.
 Suit was brought against the brewing company in both cases, and each has been settled out of court for "a very substan- tial sum-"
 A simple way of avoiding such risk is to use vats lined with enamel or glass. Vanishing then becomes unnecessary; the interior can pc washed out from time to time with a hose and both the work men and the public are protected. The more progressive brewers are now using these sanitary vats.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
Philanthropy In 1912

The gifts for educational and phil Anthropic purposes in the present year total $372 ,000 all told. This is an increase over like gifts of 1911 of $152,000,000. The largest giver of the year is J. Pierpont Morgan. The value of the art treasures hand ed over by him to the Metropolitan Museum of New York is set down at S51, 100000. Andrew Carnegie comes next with $10,OO0,000 and the Bell Telephone company with a simi- lar amount. Nine others gave more than million, and the total of the benefactions accru- ing from amounts of $10,000 up ap- proximates 2,OOO,000, leaving but $25, 100000 to the credit of small givers.
 The English benefactions this year will not exceed $20,000,0O0, and this alone shows how much larger Ameri- can gifts have become. No other ma tion approaches this country in gifts for the good of the people.
 The gifts of Andrew Carnegie, i'm mense in their totals, have now beer nearly wound up, he having handed over to the Carnegie corporation oi New York all of his property except a reserve fund of $25, 5,000,000. Johr D. Rockefeller's gifts have been lighi this year, but no change in his gen, eral philanthropic plans has been an nounced.
 It is safe to set down 1912 as tn, banner year in benefactions, and this record may not soon be equalled Three of the richest men in the coun try contributed to the grand total Morgan, Carnegie and Rockefeller leaving only James J. Hill unheart from.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
SOME LITERARY LIGHTS

crude as I want to find it. We don't tray el over the Atlantic for the mere fun of seeing washed-out copy of Europe
 Of Andrew Lang. Mir Gosse takes a novel view. Contrary to the usual no- ton, he was not versatile, for "versatile'' means "changeable, fickle," and Lang never changed his point of view. He was always picking out of literature and of life the plums of romance" Moreover. While he was in a sense encyclouaedic the vast dictionary of his knowledge had blank pages, or pages pasted down. on which he would not, or could not. read What experience had printed" He had an Irritating trick of declaring that he lad never heard" of things that every body else was very we'll aware of. T remember" writes MT. Gosse, meeting in the street famous professor, who ad- vanced with upiifted hands, and greeted me with What do you think Lang saws now? That he has never heard of Pas cal' This merely signifed that Lang was not interested, at least for the mo- ment. in either Pascal or the profesosr. Lsngs' wit ''had something disconcertine in its fmpishness,'' ana often a depress- ing effect, ''against which ones mind presently revolcd." Upon one occasion, Gosse was so i'll advised as to show him tEe famous epigram called Brahma. Even Emerson was no proof against this 'impishness," as is sufriclently evidenced by the parody which Lang immediately improvised:
 If the wild bowler thinks he bowls.
 Or if the batsman thinks he's bowTed. They know not, poor misguided souls,
 They too, shall perish unconsoled. am the batsnan and the bat,
 l am the bowler and the ball.
 The umpire, the pavilion eat,
 The roller pitch, and stumps, and all
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
THE MoUNTAINEEus ROPE

From Mountaineering Mishaps' in the
 January Wide World Magazine.
 Before the Alpine club took the matter in hand, mank valuable lives were sacri- gced through the inferior rubbish sold to
 the mountaineer as rope. It was the
 scandal concerning the fate of the Abbe Chiffet and his two guides which Iirst 1 set ablaze the storm of indignation
 They were climbing the eastern slopes 1 of Les Courtes, when four of the party | slipped The others held their ground stoutly enough. and would probably have drawn their companions to safety At this crucial moment the rope began to creak ominously. It started first above the leading guide, who was supporting the three below with his rope. He made q desperate struggle for his life. His fingers were many inches below the edge Of cliff; his salvation lay in grasping this In spite of the weight of his friends be- | low, he made a superhuman effort to | touch this ledge, and at length, after q few terrible moments, he succeeded in grasping 1t. Below him, however, were SOunuS or the rope StIdlllH5 dho S.Soh | ing. At this juncture practically the combined weight of the other three men was resting on his fingers.
 Flesh and blood could at length endure it no longer With a moan of agony he relaxed his hold. Once more the rope grew taut. Once more it cracked and strained. Those above waited with bated breath for the end to come. Their pa tience was not put to severe trial, for very short time after the rope snapped beneath the leading guide, and in m in- stant the unfortunate Abbe and his com panions were dashing to destruction down the cliffside. In their long bounds to the bottom of the rope snapped once more The body of the Abbe was discovered many feet from his companions. From this calamity it will be seen that the quality of the climbers life line is of first consideration. Whatever guarantees the Swiss shopkeepers may offer you in the purchase of rope, the only safe plan is to insist on having that known as
 'Buckinghams Alpine rope" It is that i adopted by the Alpine club, and is recos- nizable by a crimson thread woven be- tween its strands.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
The PuIItzer penefactlon.

Notwithstanding the fact that New York is the largest city in this country, and that 1t has the oldest concert orches- tra-the Philharmonic--it has been out stripped by other cities in endowed sym phony bands" said a member of the musical set But the Philharmonic is at last to be amply endowed.
 "The late Joseph Pulitzer bequeathed $50o,0OO as ar endowment conditioned on the Philharmonic society membership reaching 1900. The membership has just rounded the 1000 mark, and it is announced that on certain other conditions the Pulit- ger benefaction will be increased to $l,- 0O0.ooO With so large an endowment, yielding an annual income of about $50,O0O, the orchestra will be able to have daily rehearsals and the players will be paid for their entire time. It Is the expecta- ton that the Philharmonic will before a great while rank with the Boston Sym phony-the finest orchestra in the world .
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Helping n Good Gauge.

'The sale of Christmas seals has been large but it should be still larger said local philanthropist. "Of all the worthy causes which the Birmingham public is called upon to aid I know of none that should appeal more strongly to men and women than the anti-tuberculosls york. this work.
 "rhe sum of s10,oO0 is needed for equip ment in the tuberculosis camp on Red mountain. Before Christmas week ends the full amount should be in hand. It will be if the corporations buy seals on a large scale.''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
THE coNauERER OF THE TURK

From Publishers Notes.
 The world has not yet recovered fro,, it's astonishment at the collapse of inc Ottoman power in Europe. Why natio, that once terrorized central Europe shouId crumble before the onslaught of another that, on the map, appears only as a con- paratively insignificant patch of color may we'll awaken conjecture. The st,,aa,. of sociology will point an accusing finger at Turkish oppression and ascribe toa fury of the Bulgar attack to the accumu. lated hatred of the years. Military ex- perts will find the cause of The Turxjsb downfall in the preparedness and su- perior generalship of the invading army or in the triumph of the French system of training over the German. Neither of these interpreters of facts, nor a dozen other theorists, representing different angles of vision, will have put their finger on the true cause. for the only satisfac- tory explanation of the Bulgarian supre- macy is that which gives the palm of vic- tory to the Bulgarian bacillus, that in- valuable ingredient of the sour milk diet of this people. that insures longevity and strength of limb. The protective armor of the Bulgarians turns out, therefore, to have been not without but within.
 In a recently published book, "The Bacillus of Long Life" (Putnam), Loudon NJ. Douglas F. R. S. E., alludes to the connection between sour milk and long life. making the following comment:
 'ln Bulgaria it is stated that the ma jority of the natives live to an age con siderably in excess of what is recognized as the term of life amongst western na- tions, and inquiry has shown that in the eastern part of southern Europe. amongst population of about 3000.000. there were more than 5000 centenarians found per forming duties which could not be as- signed to a man of 65 years of age else- where. It Is quite common to find amongst the peasants who live to such large extent upon soured milk individuals of 110 and 120 years of age.''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24

The perfect woman has been found. She is Miss Elsie schiel of Brooklyn. a sI eeial student of the school of agricul- tLre at Cornell university. She is tile strongest of the 400 co-eds at Cornell. says pr. Esther Parker medical exami- ner of women. Some of her measure ments are: Weight 174 pounds; heighth, , feet inches; normal chest, 346 inches; waist S03 inches; hips, 4O.4 inches. Her hobby is motoring and her favorite game is basketball Her favorite food is beef steak. She does not like candy. She cats never has tasted tea or coffee. She eats three meals in two days and as rule goes without breakfast. Miss schiel never has been H. She is an ardent suf- fragist.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
KICKING WITH THE TIDE
nm tha ph;1adalnbia press

From the Philadelphia Press.
 Percy Haughton, the football coach. was talking about queer football games.
 There was a Thanksgiving Day game in Philadelphia" he said. that was played in a dcluge of snow and rain. with Franklin field foot deep in cold, gray slush.
 "The Cornell man. who won the toss. said rather bitterly before the game began:
 DO we have to play in this fiuid?'
 Yes, of course you do, was the inn patient reply. Come. come, you've won the toss. which end do you take?'
 Well, said the Cornell man. shak- ing his head at the gray waste of waters spread before him, well. l guess we'll kick with the tide.''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
SELLING YOURSELF AN AUTO

James Montgomery F'lagg in the Ameri- can Magazine.
 You and Polly are given demonstra- ton.
 "The psychology of the trade starts psyching at the moment you take your seat in the car. The instant the wheels turn you are a goner!
 ''You are now the best salesman they havel You sell yourself the carl You root for that car as if it were something you had invented yourself.
 An awful clattering underneath your would clearly indicate frazzled bearings. you are now eager to have explained away as nothing but the sweet purr of perfect mechanism.
 You sit on the edge of the seat, nerves taut, inwardly challenging these men to say anything nasty about their own goods. Their own? Yours!
 You clutch the leather arm rests with the fierce joy of ownership, and cry, Gee, some boat
 We could a-done that hill just as easy on highp grins the wicked demon strator as he looks around for your ap- proval.
 When can have it?' you hiss, hardly recognizing your own voice.
 By the way says the salesman, doubtfully. to the wicked demonstrator. this car isn't sold, is it?'
 Oh my God.'
  of that 1911 runabout of Johnson's-no, it's all right.'
 Oh.
 You nearly swallowed your Adams apple.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
Tlee Great Christmas Hymn.

'eThe hymn 'Adeste Fideles' is sung in all the liturgical churches on Christmas day and throughout the Christmas-tide, D said a layman Tt is the great Christ mas hymn of Christendom.
 "Every Protestant denomination in Eng lish-speaking countries knows the 'Adeste Fideles as o, Come All Ye Faithful It has been translated into many languages and is found in the vernacular in all hymnals.
 The Latin poem is very old. In it's devotional use it comes down to us from time immemorial, its authorship being in doubt. It was set to music by John Reading, a clergyman of the Church of England who was born in 1888. At first the tune was supposed to have originated in Portugal because Londoners first heard 1t sung in the Portuguese legation. One might have though 1t would have had it's first hearing in the Church of Eng land but it is a well authenticated fact that for some time it went by the name of the Portuguese hymn. An ecclesiastical writer says
 "'It is in many respects unique in Christian hymnology More than any other song it blends prophecy. history, prayer exultation and praise. If it were printed side by side with the Nicene creed 1t would be found an astonishing versification of that august prose- Every line of the "Adeste" is casket of faith and love. Upon its cadences many hours must have been spent for the crystalli- zation of sublime truth into crisp and dazzling syllables. "Adeste' approach;
 "fdeles," ye faithful; 'laeti,'' joyful; "triumphantes.' victorious 'venits, come; 'doremus" let us adore; "Domin- ! um," the Lord.''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
Phenomenal Growth.

Birmingham is growing and building up faster than any city of approximately it's size in this country" said l.. r. Dix of St. Louis. My first visit here was in the early spring of 1908, and this is my second visit.
 Birmingham felt the effects of the Wall street panic five years ago. The industrial life of this district was de- pressed; but phenomenal strides have been made since then. The city made a splen- did showing in the last census, and am told that the population today is close to 175,Ooo. Birmingham is evidently head ed for 300,000 in the census of 1920'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
American Ambassadors.

"The remark is sometimes made that only a rich man can fill the position of ambassador to London or Berlin, but this is a mistake, said an ex-federal official who formerly lived in Washington "Of course, It takes wealth and great deal of it to live as Whitelaw Reid lived in London. The Dorchester house which he occupied belonged to the Duke of Devon shite estate, and as it covered an entire block, commanded rental price equal to about half the salary of the ambassador.
 MT. Reid entertained on lavish scale. Although England contains many million aires, no one outside of royalty main tained the style that he did.
 "Charlemagne Tower who was ambas- sador to St. Petersburg and afterward Berlin, was wealthy and he lived in good | style but it is safe to say that he did not spend one-fourth the money in main- taining his position that MT. Reid spent.
 "The salary paid ambassadors is s17.5oo. There is contingent fund. but it does not go very far. Now, while s17,5o0 is not con sidered a princely sum, an American am- bassador can live in ample style in Lon don or ill any of the European capitals and not draw on his private means.
 l "Mr. Bayard as ambassador near the court of St. James during MT Cleveland s second administration is known to have 1 lived within his salary. MT. Phelps. who was envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary during Mr. Cleveland 8 first administration Ghe rank had not then been raised to ambassador, lived quietly and made a very successful diplo- matte representative, I believe.
 q know MT. Bayard was regarded as an exceptionally brilliant ambassador. He was personally popular with the royal family and with all the high officials of the government. No matter how rich an ambassador may be l believe 1t is well for him to live on the salary which the government pays"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-24
GETTING THE GAS TURNED ON

Arnold Bennett in the January Metro
 politan.
 France Is at once the paradise and tho inferno of bureaucracy. For example I wanted the gas to be turned on ir my flat. A simple affair." Drop post card to the company telling the company to come and turn it on. Not at all It was told that it would be better to cal upon the company. So I called.
 What do you desire, monsieur7' 'I am the new tenant of a fiat, and want the gas turned on.' "Ahl You are the new tenant of 2 fiat and you want the gas turned on Monsieur Chose. here is the new tenant of & flat and he wants the gas turned on. Where should he be led to?" About a quarter of an hour of this and then at last am led by municipa sion to far-distant room of the higher employe appointed by the city of Pari. to deal with such as me. This room is furnished somewhat like that of g solicitors managing clerk Good morning, sir"
 Good morning, sir" "It appears, sir-Monsieur Bennay fourth floor number 4, Rue de Calais sixth arrondissement, is it not?-that you want the gas turned on. Will yot put yourself to the trouble of sitting down, Monster Bennay?' l sit down. He sits down.
 'Ahl So you want the gas turned on, Let us see, let us see Hundreds of such applications must be made every day. But the attitude oi this ceremonious official might be put into words thus: "A strange and in- tereting application of yours, to have the gas turned on, Very remarkable Tt attracts me. The case must be exam ined with the care and the respect which it deserves"