davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
A CROOKS .DIsGUIsEs"
the Mashington Star,

TOT0 tne NdSHiBStoii otoA'
 Readers of old fashioned detective stories will be thrilled by the tale when comes by wire from Chicago telling of the arrest of crook who had an equipment of no less than six disguises, that Is to say, a combination of garments which en- abled him to present six different aspects to the eye of the casual observer Two detectives happened to see the man go behind a building and turn his coat in- side out and change the cap he was wearing for hat which he took from his pocket They arrested him as a suspicious character and on searching him found that he was we'll equipped to carry on prosperous sneak thief business without much risk of detection. His cap was re- versible, in two colors. His hat was also reversible His reversible coat added two more clements to his complete outfit, while he wore two pairs of trousers, one of which could be slipped off in hurry and cast aside in an emergency. Thus a man with a grap cap and dark coat and blue trousers might snatch handbag and nized if wearing brown fedora, a gray coat and gray trousers. People take more account of clothing in hurried encoun- ters than they do of faces, and 1t was upon this fact that the crook was work ing in his provision of disguises. It is to be regretted, for the sake of dramatic in- terest that the mans pockets were not found to be stuffed with wigs mustaches and boards of different hues. Then in deed he would have been the prototype of the lightning change artist who on the '.1o-2O-3V' circuit completely mystifies en- thralled audiences with his protean tall ents.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
Records Broken at Theatres

"It is probable that all attendance rec ords for Birmingham theatres, were broken Thanksgiving day, when more than 12,oo0 attended the Bijou. Orpheum and Majestic theaters," said Fred Monte barro, the well known amusement man. "At the Orpheum we had four per formances, and at every one of them the house was filled to the utmost capacity. The Majestic enjoyed the same patronage and that house was filled four times during the day, while the Bijou was filled twice, one at the matinee and once at night
 'I have been connected with the amusement business in Birmingham for years and I have never seen anything like it. At that, I believe we would have had thousand more people in the theaters if the telephone fir had not happened at theatre time Hundreds Of people stood and watched the fire until it was too late to go to the theatre, and they turned round and went home"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
POCKETS
From Life.

fiOih ifilcs
 Man is marsupial, and herein he is broadly distinguished from woman. Ma ture has provided man with pockets in his trousers, his waistcoat, and his coat The number Is not always the same, some men having, In the aggregate, twelve distinct pockets, great and small, while others have only eight or nine; but man totally without pockets would bs lusus naturae. It Is remarkable that pockets are not congenital. but are slowly developed during childhood and youth. The trousers pockets, which are earliest developed, seldom make their appearance before the fifth year, and one of these usually comes to maturity ten or twelve months before it's fellow. About the eighth year a male child develops two and sometimes three coat pockets, and two years later the lower waistcoat pockets appear. Nature then pauses in her work, and it is not until the four teenth year that the small fob pockets of the waistcoat and the watch pocket of the trousers are developed. The np- pearance of the pistol pocket and the two coat-tail pockets is usually synchronous Witn the cuttlnS or tne WlSuon lcetn. When these have reached maturity, the normal development of pockets ceases for the comparatively recent discovery of isolated specimens of men with pockets in the sleeves of their overcoats, ap- parently designed for slowing away fe- male hands, does not as yet warrant any change in the scientific classification ard description of human pockets.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
The American Tobacco Company

The American loDdcco S""Po"J
 No matter how much criticism there noav have been of the methods of some of the so-called trusts those corpora lions that have been disintegrated by decrees of United States courts have, in every instance, not only accepted the decree in good spirit but have becn prompt in carrying out the courts order.
 The American Tobacco company acted speedily upon the opinion of the supreme court handed down more than year ago and it has continued to nrosper. President Percival s. Hills statement on the disintegration pub lished in yesterdays Age-Herald was full of interest from several points of view.
 In the first place it bore the mark of frankness. Publicity is evidently to be the policy of the American Tobac- co interests presided over by MT. Hill. As MT. Hill points out "the position of tobacco manufacturers differs ma terially from that of any other large corporation, in that the success ot the tobacco manufacturer depends entire ly upon the attitude of the public to- wards his product"
 The American Tobacco company in catering to consumers always placed upon the market high quality of goods. Tobacco users who bought the so-called trust products did so because they suited their taste. Since the dis integration the goods manufactured by the same interests continue to be in great demand. President Hill shows that price cutting in the manufacture of tobacco is never desirable weapon to use against competitors and in ex- blaming says, quite correctly:
 "Tobacco, candy, perfumes ana otheV products which appeal to the sense or taste or smell, are purchased invaria- bly, because of the appeal of the spe- cifc article to the individuals taste.
 About the only effect of cutting the price of Q high priced perfume would be to suggest to the consumer that the perfume had been deteriorated in qual- ity. Likewise, if well known S0-cent candy was reduced to so cents pound, those who had been steady purchasers of the candy would likely believe that its quality, as well as its price, had been reduced and they would abandon if and search for another sO-cent candy.
 So 1t is with tobacco products. About the only effect of price cutting is to re- move a product from one class and put it into another. often with the result of destroying its value. Thus. persistent price cutting. even by retailers, on vari- ous well known 5-cent cigars have driven them out of the scent class, and into the 3-cent class. Just as soon as they reached the Scent class, the 5-cent smoker abandoned them, and they died"
 All in all President Hills statement is one of the most businesslike and convincing that has been issued re- gently by any practical man of af- fairs
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
WHY GIRLS WORK IN STORES

From the SuTNey
 The claim so often made that girls in de- partment stores do not require a living wage because they are living at home. has been punctured again by an interest ing research made by Montreal young women. An association of department store girls organized for semi-religious and semi-educational purposes, conducted an investigation for the child welfare ex- hibition now in progress in Montreal They secured responsible young women in each of the stores to make the rounds of their associations. The questionnaire was of the briefest possible kind, prepared by the director of the child welfare ex- hibition and adapted to amateurs. The result showed that out of the 2471 women employed in Il stores in the city:
 Seven per cent were aiding in the family support.
 Thirty per cent were living alone and supporting themselves.
 Three per cent worked only for pin money or clothing, making no contribu- tion to the finances of the home.
 The fact that a girl Is living at home may mean that she is protected in her recreations and social engagements, but these Montreal figures add to the cumula- tive evidence that it does not mean that she can depend upon others for her sup port. and thus work for less than living wage.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
CREATION OF NEW WORLDS

From Worlds Work for December.
 People ask, How was the universe created?"
 The fact is the universe was never created It is a process of perpetual creation. It is being made, destroyed, and remade. all the time The telescope and the spectroscope bring down to us pie lures of parts of it in all the stages of growth and decay. The most fascinat- ing problem of modern astronomers is the searching out of that great process; the discovery of the method of the world ma chine. It Is question not of what hap pened once ages ago, but of what is all the time happening.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Good Farm Lands

Now that the south is attracting so much attention as an inviting field for investment there will be a steady stream of truck farmers in this direc- tion." said "a man who was once en- gagged in agriculture.
 Many of the large tracts in this state will be divided into 40 and 80 acre farms and it is reasonable to think that within the next two or three years the number of truckers will more than double.
 Tn travelling through the north I used to hear southern agriculture, aside from cotton, referred to as a joke, but the time is fast coming when Alabama will no longer buy corn to feed to stock, but will be large seller of corn as we'll as of cotton. There is no better land anywhere for corn prb- duction than will be found right here in Alabama"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
Secretaries of State

"1 have not heard of many guesses re- gardlDg the position of secretary of state in the Wilson administration" said an old democrat. 'The important office has usually been ably filed Occasionally an untried man has been selected and in such cases the untried secretary has turned out to be exceptionally success ful. remember when President McKin- ley appointed Judge William R. Day of Ohio to succeed John Sherman. Little was known of Day; but he proved to be an admirable man for the state port folio. There is no one in the limelight at present who would especially fit the place. but the chances are that Mir. Will son will discover the very man"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
Trial of a Federal Judge

Judge Robert w. Archibald of the United States commerce court was impeached by the House last summer, but the attorneys of the accused asked for delay, and so the Senate set the trial for December 8. The delay was sought because the judge thought he could not secure justice in the heat and fury of a presidential campaign. Party expediency was really consid- cred first and the good of the judi ciary comes along as belated second.
 The coming trial will relate to specuiations of Judge Archibald in coal or "culm" dumps and coal lands, to the payment of his expenses to Flu rope on a vacation trip, to certain correspondence between him and a railroad attorney, and to attempts to have some of the judges notes dis counted by some people doing busi- ness in his court.
 It is a sad mixture of railroads and Judicial proceedings. The Erie railroad seems to be implicated in the pro- ceedings. It owned the culm dump that was transferred to Judge Arch bald and friend of his. The Lacka- wanna railroad is also involved in the proceedings, and a large number of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03

speare) was born in 15e4. He is now deau. Mark Twain put droll phrase ike tnaI into a guides mouth, who was descaht-
 ing upon Christopher Columbus-he ne Is now dead.
 "Nicoll speaks of Mark Twains proianl- ty as habtual and disgusting lie saiu' however that his swearing was not tne worst of 1t. He was continually denounc- ing Christianity in all it's forms. when his literary work was practically oons he spent such time as he did not give 10 billiards in writing tirades against re- ligion. He was a man absolutely destitute of culture, and incapable of consecutive thought.
 'I do not agree with the Britisher when he says that Mark Twain was incapable of consecutive. thought, nor do pe- lieve that Mark Twain was as un-Chris- tian as he sometimes appeared. His beau tiful story entitled, The Death Disc.' which appeared a few years ago in liar per's was distinctly Christian in expres- sion and feeling. There was no hunfor in it. There was only room for pathos. In my opinion 1t came nearer being a classic than anything that Mark Twain ever wrote"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
Work Well Done

"The improvements that the Birming- ham Railway, Light and Power company are making in the city business section now are of the very highest class of work. and will last for years to come, . said a business man. 'I notice that the street railway tracks are being laid in solid concrete, and it will take years of hard travel and grind to loosen them at all The ends of the rails are being electric welded. and the finest creosoted ties are being laid. We won't have to tear up the railway tracks for a long time to come.
 "The same class of permanent work is being done for the steam heat the gas and the electric departments. The wires are being placed underground, and l don't believe I have ever seen any bet ter work done at any time than the com pany is doing with its underground conduts,"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
BEST SELLING BOOKS

From the Bookman.
 According to the foregoing lists, the six books (fiction) which have sold best in the order of demand during the month are:
 Points. 1. Their Yesterdays" Wright. (Book Supply). F.D ..........................-2 2. 'The Hollow of Her Hand" Mo- Cutcheon. (Dodd. Mead.) $1.9o. .21S 3. "The Net Beech. (Harper) s1.30. .210 4. "A Romance of Billy Goat Hill.'' Rice. Century Co.) $125.............1 .142 5. "The Arm Chair at the Inn. Smith. (Scribner.) $1.30 .......................1 100 g. Between Two Thieves" Dehan. (stokes). $1.4O .........-...............
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
ANDERSEN AND CRITICISM

From Hans Christian Andersen and Ills
 Tales by Georg Brandes in the Decem-
 Der Bookman.
 Even after his triumph, he remained very sensitive to everything that was written about him. A Norwegian friend happened to be with him one day In restaurant. Suddenly he saw Andersens fact express anxiety and pain. Following the direction of his eyes, he discovered that he was reading worth less paper, in which some wretched scrib- bier had made disparaging comments upon his personal appearance.
 What. With your fame, you care for what such a man may say of you in such publication!'
 "Yes, do care about it very little, Andersen replied. And tears rolled down his cheeks.
 He had an inordinate desire to be dis tinguished from the crowd, but this de- sire was of very peculiar character He did not aspire to power. All t at he wanted was to have praise lavished upon him. He himself wrote with surprisingly simple frankness: My soul is happy only when receiving general admiration. If any one does not bestow it, no matter now he may be, it makes me sad" He even rejoiced over the compliments of the most stupid people; he was grieved by the jeers of even the most ignorant. He would salaam profoundly to the most man if he knew or expected him to be able to have a laudatory article n,,bltSba ad ii, soroe newsnaner
 From this source also sprung his ad- miration for the great. his impatience to be received at the different courts. All these things increased his renown; it was the wealth he was amassing. Toward the end of his life he persuaded himself that his renown constituted national treas ure. One day he hastily crossed the str eet, calling to me, Do you know what has been written about me in Portugal? And he volubly related what had just been translated to him from laudatory articles. Then he vanished.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
BE A HELPER,

BE A HELPER,
 When your neighbor treats you coolly smile upon him happily and if he is not 8 fool. he ought to laugh another day, Lend him anything he asks for-money, tools or clothes or food-and assist him in his tasks and volunteer to saw his wood If woman has a figure like a bunch of celery, compliment her on her rig or make yourself a devotee.
 Give your time to every drummer agest, idler, fool or bore; drink with drihker. mumm with hummer, and dc everybody's chore.
 Treat each person you encounter just as though 1t was a joy to advise. give some amount or any labor to employ. Help
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
holiday trade should easily break all

holiday trade should easily break all former records.
 The price of iron has held up we'll. The market is firm at $14 to $15 and early in the new year a new buying movement is almost sure to be in evil dence, which will carry the price of iron still higher.
 We have had a great Thanksgiving and all may expect happy Christmas.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
witnesses have been subpoenaed to ap-

witnesses have been subpoenaed to ap- pear before the Senate this week.
 The case will prove very interest ing to Pennsylvania people at any rate, and it really presents features that concern all in this country no matter where they live. The independ- ence and integrity of the commerce court will be questioned in the com ing trial.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR

From the New York Press.
 Anybody's private opinion ought to be public law.
 Long after it quits realizing love can keep on imagining
 There's no place a girl hates worse to be thin than where he can't talk about 1t.
 The reason mother can understand all the words the baby says is the baby never says them.
 A man can carry on worse about littie cough than woman could about typhoid pneumonia.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03

Dwelling houses are to disappear from Fifth avenue to make room for commer- cial skyscrapers. All see what is coming The Vanderbilts may retain a house in the street and a few others, but practical ly speaking the street will be surrend- cred to trade.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
In Di.parasement of Mark Twain

T have just been reading what Sir Robert Nicoll of London, editor of the
 Bookman and the British Weekly, says in disparagement of Mark Twain" re- marked a professional man.
 T have greatly enjoyed much that Mark Twain has written; have regard ed him as one of the foremost of Amer ican authors. But I have not thought him entitled to as high place in 1it- erature as have those ardent persons of the Mark Twain cult. Clemens was certainly a great humorist but in his early works, especially in Innocents Abroad he was sometimes sacrilegious and I was always displeased with his strained travesties of sacred things.
 'He was intolerant of shams and so have been all right minded men. Rus kin had consuming antipathy to shams and accomplished more than any modern writer, perhaps, in bringing people to love the true and the beau titul and to hate cant: yet Ruskin never indulged in any tirade against shams or cant at the expense of good breeding. But those who are disposed to exaggerate Mark Twain's greatness make him almost Shakespeare never had any patience with such.
 The Literary Digest in introducing some extracts from Nicolls comments, says: So much has been written in praise of Mark Twain that little blame could do him no serious harm, and an honest opinion honestly ex-
 pressed, even in disparagemept often | helps us to see him clearer
 "Nicoll In his literary column in the
 British Weekly begins by telling of a day he spent with MT. Clemens when
 the latter was visiting England during the South African war. He was then
 in his most bilious dejected and quar-
 relsome mood, raging against the in | iquity of the war, and assailing the
 English people with all lawful and
 unlawful terms of abuse says Nicol. | There were circumstances in his own personal history which partly account
 ed for this evil mood. But never, either
 then or on other occasions, did hear | him speak as one in a contented or
 genial mood. Notwithstanding the
 praises and the entertainment that
 were lavished upon him, he remained |
 renowned as an after-dinner speaker, but there were several Englishmen
 who easily surpassed him in this way.
 As a humorist he must be left to pos
 terity. You cannot explain jokes and you cannot persuade a man to smile | or laugh when he is not amused. You
 may think angrily that he ought to be
 amused, but if he is not there is no
 more to say. We shall all admit that
 he was very funny on certain occasions.
 As to the number of these occasions
 tastes will differ. In the end of his life
 he was universally recognized in Amer lea, and out of 1t, as a great literary personality. But there were those
 good American critics among them I who openly preferred Artemas Ward, and as Artemas Ward Is forgotten, so Mark Twain may be forgotten
 Speaking of Artemus Ward, he is my favorte of all the American humorists. So far as I know he was the great orig lnal Mark Twain was not a plagiarist but he got an idea from an original say ing of Artemus Ward and made much of lit Artemus Ward. in his lecture on The
 Tomb of Shakespeare. said; He (shake-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03

Mrs. Abraham Lincoln asked the speak CT of the House to ask 1t to grant -her a pension This was in 1869, and in 1870 year. This sum was increased to s5ooo in 1eoo
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03

The fifth conference of the governors of mond These conferences are admirable in theory but deficient in accomplish ments
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03

Elephants are coming down in price, even those dead as the grand old ele- phant, because India has limited cold storage facilities.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03

The viaduct in Norwood is practically sioner weatherly should be put in charge of all viaducts-he knows how to get them
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03

The Society for the Prevention of Use- less Giving draws the line at advice which may be given or exchanged at will.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
FRoM HEARsAY.

SPEAKING FROM HEARsAY.
 Who is that man arguing so warmly in favor of autonomy for Albania?"
 That's snitzel. He has a strong nind- ed wife and three grown daughters. who take after their mother. He doesn't know what autonomy means, himself
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES

them all-in every station-just do every thing you can. You will get a reputation. and you'll be a busy man.. A waldror. in Judge.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03
\ CHILD's SONG OF THE WINTER

<@ SA.@.SA' cV-~1 OAf AAAAs W IN hN
 SEA By Algernon Charles Swinburne. Outside the garden The wet skies harden. The gates are barred on
 The summer side: Shut out the nower-time, Make way for our time,
 The winter tide. In fierce March weather White waves break tether. And whirled together
 At either hand, Like weeds upliftsd The tree trunks rifted In spars are drifted
 Like foam or sand Past swamp and sallow, And reed beds callow. Through pool and shallow,
 To wind and lea, Till no more tongue tied Full flood and young tide
 Roar down the rapids and storm the seq. O strong sea sailor! Whose cheek turns paler For wind, hail. or
 For fear of thsef O far sea farer! o thunder bearer. Thy songs are rarer
 Than soft songs be-, O fleet foot stranger. O north sea ranger! Through days of danger
 And ways of fear, Blow the horn here for us, Blow the sky clear for us;
 Send us the song of the sea to heari O stout north easter, Sea king. land waster For all thy haste. or
 Thy stormy skill, Yet hadst, thou never Strength to discover
 Or strength to spill. Save of His giving Who gave our living. Whose hands are weaving
 What ours fulfil. Whose feet tread under The storms and thunder:
 Who made our wonder to work His will His years and hours His worlds blind pow His stars and flowers
 His nights and days Sea tide and river And waves that shivt Praise God. the giver
 Of tongues to praise Winds fin their blowif And fruits in growing Time in it's going.
 While time shah be, Tn death and living. With one ThanksgiviffH
 Praise Him whose haa4 Y s1in etfaaks,
 of the sea!
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-03

Andrew Carnegie asks the world to con- slider that he died poor, although he had a reserve fund of s25,000,OOo on hand at the time.