davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
WHY THE GERMANS LEAD

Hubert Evans, in Harpers Weekly.
 An American manufacturer who had wondered at the success of his German competitors was struck by certain big flaming. official looking posters on the billboards and around public buildings In Berlin. He might have seen similar pos ters in evxery town and city in Germany. Twice year these official posters sum mon the youth of the land to obligatory attendance at the trade and commercial schools Indirectly they tell why the American or the English manufacturer finds in the German such a dangerous competitor. They reveal the secret or Germany's wonderful commercial and in- dustrial prosperity and of her command ing position as a world power. To the phllosophically inclined they suggest in- teresting reflections on the transforma- tion of Germany from nation of ideal ists and dreamers into nation of ma terialists and doers.
 There is scarcely anything in all Ger many so new and modern as the contin- uation schools This whole movement has been matter of only few years, and in it's present form the continuation school is child of yesterday. These in stitutions receive from the nation more care and solicitude than is bestowed upon the children of the imperial family. They are still in a rapid process of change and development. Their very success has en- couraged further changes and more stringent legislation in their behalf. It is only few years ago that an imperial
 industrial law was passed giving com munties authority to establish and main tain obligatory continuation schools for youths, thus making good the failure of certain German state governments to pro- vide for such schools by state law. one of the last acts of the old Reichstag last December was to amend this law so as to make it apply to all girls employed in offices, stores, and factories, as well as to boys. The whole subject Is still so new and fresh that every day the German press has some interesting item of con tinuation school news-the opening of more domestic science schools for girls, the establishment of training colleges for continuation school teachers, the publi- cation of new laws and ministerial de- crees.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
Ethical and Business-like

The Associated Charities as an in stitution of Birmingham, is much more than it's name implies. Criticism was sometimes made that the expense of dispensing charity through this channel-assisting the needy-was out of all proportion to the real good accomplished; but critics who found fault were without adequate informa- tion.
 The board of directors of the Asso. ciated Charities is composed of rep. resentative citizens-men such as P c. Shook, president; John L. Raul J. D. Moore, Sydney J Bowie, George
 ordon Crawford, Hugh Martin, J. w Mcqueen, Oscar C. Turner, W. P G. Harding and others. It is knowr that the directors give serious thought to the plans and expendi- lures of the organization and when a strong appeal IS made TOT money the public may feel assured that such action has been carefully considered and cordially approved.
 The Associated Charities finance committee asks for larger total of cash contributions this year than last almost double as much. This does not mean that pauperism is on the increase; that the city is full of beg gars; not at all. The work of the As sociated Charities has broadened greatly and while many requests for aid from indigent families are re- ceived at headquarters in the Cham Der of Commerce, the organization concerns itself in a practical way with sociological conditions. It is at once ethical and business-like and when its work comes to be under stood it will be very widely appre- cated. A canvass for $15,000 is about to be made and a generous re- sponsc is expected.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
Science and Religion

The annual meeting of the British Science, held at Dundee early in the present month, was the occasion for a learned discussion on the origin of life. Prof. E. A. Schafer of the Ed inborough university, who had the distinction of being chairman of the Z association, read a paper in which he suggested that a time would come when the chemist, under certain con- ditions, would make" life.
 The British association is great institution. It is composed of savants notably men who have specialized in chemistry and biology. Professor Minchin described the subject which was under discussion-the origin of life-as the deepest problem which eonfronts us in nature. The demand for fits solution is an exhaustive knowledge such as scientific men have not yet attained to, of many sciences, both organic and inorganic" Profes- scr Wager, r. R. S., said that as regarded the solution of the problem science had advanced but little. Pro- lessor Macallum If Toronto admitted that it would be difficult to say what the final solution would be.
 Germany is generally said to be the best educated country in the world so far as science, and especially chem istry and the kindred branches of sci ence are concerned, but Great Britain is a close second. The English and the Scotch biologist is always in quest of truth, and is proverbially serious and sincere in his scientific researches But savants, like other men, have their limitations. For long years spe- cialists have been trying to ascertain the origin of life without consulting the Bible, but without avail.
 The nineteenth century was lumin- ous in its scholarship and noted for constructive work in all directions. Ii was a century of invention, and chemists on both sides of the Atlantic vied with each other in applying science to everything in life intended to promote mans comfort. About g year ago scientific men were greatly interested in the lectures of Professor Bergson on the evolution of the soul
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
. To Minimize Car Shortage

'Instruetions have been issued to all freight solicitors and agents of the Penn sylvania railroad to urge shippers to move their traffic as early as possible, with a view of precluding the possibility of car
 shortage or congestion later in the fall. said a local official.
 In a statement which emanated official ly from the Pennsylvania 1t was said that the tonnage being offered for shipment at
 present was enormous, and it was pre-
 dicted that the fall traffic would tax the country's railroad facilities to the utmost
 Shippers are being asked to assist the
 railroads by loading and unloading cars
 promptly, and by loading cars to theiI capacity.
 That there was little likelihood of a car shortage on the Pennsylvania railroad if shippers would assist the road to get the greatest service out of each car
 was the import of the notice Issued re-
 gently by the management of the road
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
WHEN CERTAIN DISEASES OCCUR


 Government statisticians say that the months when the leading diseases most prevail and those during which they are least prevalent. with the maximum and and the minimum number of deaths in territory covered during 1910, and embracing nearly three fifths of the entire population of the country, are as follows: Typhoid fever, Septem- Der G197 deaths) and May t57s deaths). measles. March (110D and october (79); scarlet fever, March (76O) and September (2fD; whooping cough. August (T20) and october (353) dipth- theria and croup, November U343) and July (640); tuberculosis of the lungs. March (7700) and September (548s): pneumonia. March t7606) and August 1554; broncho- pneumonia, March (3299) and August (946); diarrhoea and enteritis (under tow years of age), July and August 12.5S5 and 12,565, respec- tively) and February Q33T. The pe- riods of most of these diseases are known to laymen, and in the family care may be taken, after a knowledge of the times of their greatest preya- lence, that might prevent some of them.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
Real Estate Market

Not only are we having great deal of prosperity in the Birmingham district at the present time. but everything points to good long period of busi- ness activity" said w. G. Oliver of the Oliver Levert Realty company.
 The real estate market had been quiet for some time but it is now, like other branches of business, feeling the effects of the general industrial and commercial boom. There is not foot of real estate in Birmingham that will not have a higher market value few years hence than the selling price to- Iday.
 Everybody can see that Birmingham lis growing at rapid rate. The Ten nessee company. the Woodward com pany and other corporations are plan ming for important development work Great things are expected of the stee corporation in the very near future. and in my opinion we are going to have unprecedented prosperity between now and the end of the year."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
THE FUTURE OF JAPAN

ably poiced. In the towns thorough
 house-cleaning is enforced, under police
 inspection, twice a year-1 have seen it in
 progress in several places, the constables,
 in their spotless uniform and white gloves,
 experimenting everything The houses, as
 I have said moro than once, strike the
 European at first sight as paper-walled
 novels. but a hovel is preferable to &
 mansion if 1t is apt to any moment to
 come tumbling about your ears. I was
 treated to five earthquakes in as many
 weeks-one of them quite alarming. And
 in all but the very poorest houses there is generally some room which, with it's
 matted floor and it's neat woodwork, is far more attractive in the "parlour'' of
 the British lower middle class home, and.
 to Japanese nations, quite as comfortable
 Their railway train and tramcar manners
 are not precisely refined, but again one
 could point to worse offenses in Europe.
 The street children are rude and naughty;
 but where are they not so?
 Not without difficulty does one resist
 the temptation to add little" to the
 string of epithets. As yet, unquestionably, the Japanese are a little people. I am strongly under the impression that their average height is increasing. The tall
 men whom one occasionally sees are al-
 most always young men, some Japanese
 authorities believe that the habit of sitting
 at school, in place of squatting, is pro- noting growth. But will the race grow in intellectual as well as physical statue?
 One sees no reason; on the contrary, save that not even by exception have they done anything great in the past. Here and there in the walls of their ancient meats and fortresses one sees some fine cyclo- pean building; but, so far as the handi- work of man is concerned, that is the only big thing-except one or two giant idols-that I have discovered in Japan. It is treasure house of small perfec. tions. in painting, in carving, in lacquer, in porcelain, and q believe) in literature 1 Its poems in thrty-one syllables are said to be gems
 l sometimes wonder whether it's way to greatness may not lie through freedom. It is not and has never been free. It's par liamentary government is a sham. N io run by an oligarchy, for which strong monarch could easily substitute autocracy. It is weighed down by officials and mili- tarism; both, perhaps, necessary in its present stage of development, but neither conducive to great art or great thought Politically, artistically, intellectually, Japan has still to get a good deal of China out of her system.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
WHILE SUMMER SLEEPS.

The wintry blast won't tell us where Pale Summer lies intombed. With leaves of cypress in her hair.
 Whose beauty once illumed A happy world of blossoms sweet
 And gladdened all the day; For answer icy raindrops beat,
 And all the skies arc gray. We may not know her resting place, But haply where she dreams There Is the sound of winds a-race, The sylvan voice of streams, And visions rare of splendid June
 Subdue all thoughts of pain For one who slumbers soft and soon VIII wake to smile again,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
WHEN TWAIN READ BROWNING

 Albert Bigelow Paine, in Harper's Maga-
 zine for October.
 Just what kinded Mark Twins interest in the poetry of Robert Browning is not rembembered, but very likely his earlier associations with the poet had something to do with it. Whatever the beginning, we find him, during the winters of 1886 and 1887, studiously, even violently, in- terested in Browning's verses, entertain ing sort of club or class who gathered to hear his rich sympathetic, and lumi- nous reading of the "Parleyings' "Bernard de Vaudeville" Daniel Bar toli." or christopher Smart" Members of the Saturday Morning club were among his listeners, and others-friends of the family. They were rather remark able gatherings, and no one of that group but always vividly remembered the mar velously clear insight which Mark Twain s vocal personality gave to those somewhat obscure measures They did not all of them realize that before reading a poem he studied it line by line, even word by WOfu. aug out us ltSt Syiidpic ol iiicdi- ing, so far as lay within human possi- bility, and indicated with pencil every shade of emphasis which would help to reveal the poets purpose. Once, at a class-meeting, after finishing Easter Day. he made a remark which the class requested him to write down. It is recorded on the fly-leaf of "Dramatis Per copo av falioxre-
 "One's glmpses and confusions, as one reads Browning, remind me of looking through telescope the small sort which you must move with your hand, not clock work.) You toll across dark spaces which are do your lens) empty; but ever now and then a splendor of stars and suns bursts upon you and fills the whole field with me-February 23. 1sS7.'
 In another note he.speaks of the vague, flash of splendid humming-birds through a fog" Whatever mental treasures he may or may not have laid up from Browning, there was assuredly Q deep qualification in the discovery of those splendors of stars and suns' and the flashing ''humming-birds.' as there must have been in pointing out those wonders in the little circle of devout listeners. II all seemed so worth while.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

on Monday their little voices will boost all the other days in the week. A chorus of children means more in the boosting way than some people imagine. Then again, if Monday, the seventh, should prove to be rainy too rainy for children to turn out there would be the following Friday to fall back on. President J. H. Hol- combe of the State Fair association is to be congratulated on bringing about the change.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
OH. IANEl

OH, JANE! A real hard-headed girl is Jane, For she will let you know That she hates a castle in old Spain And wants a bungalow.
 Cincinnati Enquirer. Yes, Jane of wisdom has no dearth. In her staid point of view She wants home down here on earth, And not where dreams come true.
 Milwaukee Sentinel You should not censure Jane for that, For she's a girl worth while And knows that even a city flat Beats castles in Spain a mile.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
A STRONG CHARACTER.
Twobble is a very superlcs

Mrs Twobble is very superlce woman.''
 q know she has great personal charm. but why do you say she is superior?"
 Because she is the only woman in our neighborhood who didn't get excited over Mrs. Vanderbilts latest blowout at New. port"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
THE DIFFERENCE.

Nearly everybody laughs when some wag applies feminine name to man, but there doesn't seem to be anything especially humorous in addressing a woman as if she were man."
 That isn't hard to explain. The efcein- mate man is comparatively harmless, but the mannish woman Is a serious propogi. tion."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
THE FULL HOUSES.

Rather scanty costumes those chorus girls are wearing"
 Yes. The man who staged this show must have had an idea that beauty In. adorned is adorned the most"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
THIRSTY CREATURES.

The ponies of the ballet Don't care for oats and corn, But willingly they'll sip champagne Until the early morn.
 --Birmin gham Age-Herald. The chickens of the ballet Are full of fancy hops. But not from drinking lager beer, Oh, no, they call that slops.
 -Springf1eld Union.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

men will cease to be chivalrous when the vote is accorded to woman, do not pick out one who has just been hanging to a street car strap for an hour. She is like iy to be peevish.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
DOING GOOD WORK.

The Municipal Fly Catcher" of Red- lands. Cal. slew approximately s,750,60o flies in less than a month. We don't know what his salary is, but no matter how large, be earns it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

From the Chicago Record Herald
 Now, in order to subtract" the teacher explained things have always to be of the same denomination. For instance. we couldn't take three apples from four pears. nor six horses from nine dogs"
 "Teacher.'' shouted a small boy. cant you take four quarts of milk from three cows?'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

Count Esterhazy, while quite nude, was thrown through glass door by a gypsy following an encounter in a bathhouse Sacre bleul The social rank of the two men makes duel impossible.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

It takes all kinds of people to make a world, but there are not many like the Chicago man with S5,0Oo,OOo who has de- cided to be a missionary.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
LOVES PRAYER

Jdfilts VHitcuinD 1lley- Dear Lord. kind Lord! Gracious Lord, I pray Thou wilt look on all I love- Tenderly today! Weed their hearts of weariness Scatter every care. Down a wake of angel wings Winnowing the airs Bring unto the sorrowIng Alf release from pain; Let the lips of laughter Overflow again; And with all the needy o divide. HFax This vast trea4ure of content That Is mind today1
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
ANOTHER BoBs UP.

An "observant foreigner says Ameri. can women must stop gossiping to be beautiful It seems to us that observant foreigners are always saying something foolish about this country.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

Mayor Gaynor is now being accused oi having temperament Some hard things have been said lately about that man.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

Among those who are not taking an ac- tive interest in the presidential campaign this year may be mentioned Lefty Louie" and "Gyp the Blood"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
Looking After Visitors

T trust that there will be some ar- engagements made by the fair manage formation bureau in town. or better. at both railroad stations to aid In finding
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

A Missouri man 60 years of age is saie to be studying Latin. Probably over. looked it in his early days.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

A local judge fined a short weight pro- duce sales man s25 Saturday morning. you.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

A Mexican revolutionist who is not al least colonel would be some curiosity for the Alabama State fair.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

The cold winter blasts and the urgent need of a new Cvercoat is a painful re- hinder Of schedule k.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

The fly swatting season is about over We suggest medals for the more promi nent swatters.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

An enterprising magazine publishes the picture sof some notorious New York gunmen. Their looks don't belle their deeds.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

A German says electricity will cure in- somnia. If aplied suddenly it will also cure ennui.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

No statesman finds it easy to dodge the tariff issue or the trust issue.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

The goose bone prophet speaks of g late fall. but a rough winter.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

big circus and a state fair the same week will bring many country cousin to town.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

The early crop of musical shows dowl south is not half bad.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

The woman who marries a poet is tn. original answer for an optimist.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

The south listens to Teddy, but isn't wasting any time learning the bull moose below,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES
INCLUDING BOTH KINDS.

Every time I put a new ribbon on my typewriter l get my fingers stained with ink
 "Oh, well, I'd rather get my fingers stained with ink than be jabbed with hatpin.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

The unusual noises you are hearing just now is only the ringing of the esteemed welkin.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

As we live. Carrie Chapman Cat is back in the pert paragraphs again.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
ANOTHER NEW YORK INDUSTRY.

ANOIHER NEW YORK INDUSTRY. Shady Customer: You rent chauffered autos fir all purposes, don't youg' Proprietor: Sure. Joy or commercial7" Shady Customer: Neither" Proprietor: "Kidnappin' or hold-upf Shady Customer: "Hold-up." Proprietor: ''Hi, tlfere, McGoozle, gent here wants your car. Been in, halt dozen jobs Absolutely dependable. Fifty an hour-in advance"
 Cleveland Plain Dealer. THE LURE OF MELODRAMA. Sometimes, when to my foolish heart steal fond emotions rife, longing all my being overpowers To hear the heroine relate the story of her life,
 While the orchestra is playing Hearts and Flowers"
 PAUL COOK.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
WHY NOTY

The summer girls coat of tan is getting whiter every day.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
INFLUENCE.

 Is she rich2' Heavens, yesl A specialist gets slOoo1 year for doctoring her poodle.' DISAPPOINTMENT. The postman rings
 Oh. what a jar To find he brings
 A circular
 A PERTINENT QUESTION. Does the Swiss sculptor who wants to make a statue of liberty for Manila Bay contemplate seulping a wink into one of the lady's eyes?
 Louisville Courier-Journal. YOUR C-R-S-M-S S-O-P-NG. For fear the thought Might make you surly, We won't say what, But do 1t early
 A CERTAIN MAID. She had that potry of motion Whose fame Is ne'er forgot, And seldom took notion To do the turkey trot.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

z. E. Morgan and ". G. Wharton AEe the only authorized travelling reprefen' tatives of The Age-Heralc In ts ciicu- tstion department
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29

No communication will be publisnea without its authors name. Rejected manuscript will not be returned uniass stamps are enclosed for that purposc.