davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-08
Mozart's Feat

From the London Mall.
 The following story k told of Mozar. when he was a pupil of Haydn:
 Haydn had challenged Mozart to com- pose piece of music which he could not play<at sight. Mozart accepted the ban- ter and a champagne supper was to be the forfeit Everything being arranged between the two composers. Mozart took his pen and sheet of paper. and in five minutes dashed off q piece of music. and. much to the surprise of Haydn. banded 1t to him. saying:
 There is a piece of music which you cannot play and I can; you are to xivs the first trial"
 Haydn smiled contemptuously at ths visionary presumption of his pupil, and placing the notes before him. struck the keys of the instrument. Surprised at its simplicity. he dashed away tlll he reachet the middle of the piece, when, stopping all at once. he exclaimed;
 'Iow's this Mazart? How this? Here my hands are stretched out 10 both ends of the piano, yet there is middle key to be touched Nobody can play such musc-not even the composer himself"
 Mozart smiled at the half-excited in- dignation and perplexlty of the great master and, taking the seat he had quit ted struck the instrument with such an air Of sef-assurance that Haydn began 10 believe himself duped. Running along the simple passages, Mozart came to that part which his teacher had pronouncel impossible to be played.
 Mozart was favored. or at least en- cowed, with an extremely long nose. Reaching the difficult passage he stretched both hands to the extreme long ends of the piano and, leaning for ward, bobbed his nose against the middle key which nobody could play. Haydn illrst into an irnnoderate fit of lauehte. nd, after acknowledging he was beaten, he declared that nature had endowed Mo- zart with capacity for music which ho lad never discovered
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-08

I F any young woman who has to earn
 her living thinks her lot is hard and J she has serious handcaps to over come will read the story of Margie Smith she may be heartened. Margie Smith has been a toiler for more than 2t years. For more than 10 years she seemed to make little progress. She worked early and she worked late, gave the best of her mind and strength. but all that time conditions seemed to be against her She could just make liv- ing, nothing more. And then, in the next II years, thero came change. She made a little money at first, and then lot once she turned the corner 1t was easy Probably she did not realize. but all that long time of trial, disappointment and small return was merely a period of ekeoolng, preparation and instruction th6 fitted her for the big role she was to play.
 Thousands and thousands of men and women in the dry goods business fin New York and throughout the United States know Margie Smith. She Is the head of the big house that does business under the style of the M. Nj. Smith Company. wenty odd years ago there came crisis in her life. Her father was in railroad accident and so badly injured that he has been incapacitated ever since
 
 one boy. Marguerite was the oldest. and she had to become the bread winner Of the household. She never had worked be- fore, but was handy with her needle, quick to learn and eager to do her ut- most to assist in the support of her fam fly.
 A Mrs. Wolfsbruk, sister of Justice Rlumenstiel. had dressmaking business fin New York and the girl got worK there She sewed for a while, and proved so adaptable and so smart that she made rapid headway. It was not long before she was designing garments. The work was congenial. the pay was fair and she was comparatively happy. But 1t takes a good deal of money to support an in valid father and a lot of growing chill dren. The item of rent is considerable in itself. Growing youngsters have sur rrising appetites. The butcher and the S: ocer bills of a large household are enough to appall a girl who works. The item of clothes for tribe of the size of the Smith family was staggering.
 No wonder, then. that Margie Smith, as her sisters came along, got employ ment for a few of them in Mrs. Wolfs- hruk's establishment Their earnings, added to her own, made the burden a httle lighter for her. but not much. Somehow the more the workers earned the more was needed at home. Illness. misfortune, or if some unexpected hap pening made a sudden demand. and no matter how hard the girls worked they just managed to get along, and not much more.
 Then one day. after Margie Smith had been at work in Mrs. Wolfsbruk's for some years. a calamitous thing happened. One of her sisters had difference with her employer. It was not a serious mat ter, and 1t might have been bridged over, but Margie Smith thought her sister had been unjustly treated and. foolishly. she and her sisters resigned then and there.
 It was not so easy to get us congenial employment again. But after a while | she got an engagement with Gus Lurie 1 q Co. She had a lot of confidence in her self and had all sorts of ideas which shs
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-08


 thought were worth exploiting, and wheu she put these to MT. Lurie he thought very well of them. She inaugurated a white dress business for him on lines | which were absolutely new in his estab- | lishment It proved quite successful and she was delighted. So was her employer. But there were other persons around the shop who were not. They were the de- signers who had been with the firm for considerable time. They resented her intrusion and the preference that was being shown to the goods she was fash ioning. Probably they felt she was in- vadng their territory and would curtali 1 u cir earnings. They made vigorous ob secticn to some things she did, and when little attention was paid to them they became angry Then they got together and planned united action.
 They went to one of the members of the firm and served notice on him that if Miss Smith was not dismissed they would leave in body. The gentleman hesitated for only a short period. It would be a serious thing. indeed, If the designers de- serted in a body. It would not be so se- rious to lose Miss Smith, although she was proving herself quite valuable. He decided to let her go, so she got her walking papers.
 IL WdS u DItlly IOusl utdl lOl U EHi lD get, and it cut Miss Smith to the heart She thought there was no justice in the firms decision. Probably she did not realize that she innocently had placed Gus Lurie & Co.,, at the mercy of the designers. for the trouble occurred al q season of the year when break with the designers would have been very cost ly to the firm. Miss Smith went homs to Bavonne half sick. very sad. almost crushed
 She thought over her condition all through the night, and the more she thought the more she determined that no man ever would have the opportunity to discharge her again. She decided from that day forward she would be her own loss. and she has stuck to her decision from that day to this
 When she came to this determination all the money she had in the world was s70 To help sustain the family her mother was running a boarding house. Tfere was a young woman boarding with the Smiths who at one time had worlxe for the great house of H. B. Claflin & Co. Iris young woman sympathized deeply with Margie Smith. and when Miss Smith outlined to her some ideas she had for work, the young woman had a lot of advice to give her.
 Miss Smiths notion was that she could design dresses for children and vounr girls. and set up a business of her own that would be successful if she could manage to obtain the necessary capital to carry 1t on. She knew what 1t cost to make the dresses and the profit to be made out of the sale to the retailer. She had the fullest faith fin her ability as a designer. The great trouble was to get the material with which to make the dresses and then to sell the dresses after u ev were made.
 The young woman boarder thought H B. Clafin & Co. would extend credit to Miss Smith--in fact. she had no doubt of it. First. however. Miss Smith must dem onstrate she had n market for her prod- Icts. Miss Smith had a machine in her home. so she went to work. Out of her S7v she purchased some dress material
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-08

(Ccpyright, 1912. by Frank G. Carpenter.) . Changuinoia, Panama
 II AM writing this in the center of one
 of the biggest banana plantations on A earth. The hill on which I am sit ting is 300 feet high and it commands a view of more than l5.c00 acres of the greenest of green. The green is all made up or bananas and the fields stretch as Tar as l can see to the west. Beyond them Is another plantation of 20,ooo acres more. The two plantations belong to the banana trust, known as the United Fruit company, and they are only part of the mighty estate which this company owns in Central and South America and in the islands of the Caribbean sea. It has taken up about the best banana lands Of these sections and 1t annually ships bananas by the hundreds of millions. From its farms come something like tsree-fourths of all the bananas we use and 1t is due to it's good business methods that we are able to buy this fruit much cheaper than the apples we raise in our cwn back yards. Bananas from Panama are sold in New York, Washington and Chicago at from 15 to 20 cents a dozen, whereas apples of equal excellence from Oregon. New York Virginia bring 2 cents and upward apiece.
 "A Sea of Bananas
 But as to the extent of the banana bus ine<s and the part that this fruit has .sn the American stomach, l shall write later Let me give you a view of the great banana sea as it is spread out be- low me At my right the noun tains the upper end of the Andes, which at this point are about high as the Blue Ridge and of much the same color. They slope down to the green and bound Nhat, as I look, seems vast sea of green bushes
 Now turn and look to the left The sea of green extends for 15 miles in that di- rection without break. and it is the same at the front and the back. Almost as far as you can see there is green ev- anywhere, except here and there where one of the high trees of the jungle was too big for cutting. ' Now take your glass and look more closely at the plantations below you. The | green is not solid. You can see that it is divided up into great fields or farms. each | of which contains about a thousand acres | and that there are narrow lines of rail- | reads running through it, with wagon | reads here and there Those roads were | built to get out the bananas. There are | ITO miles of railways on this banana plan | like the veins of ones body, reaching ali parts. The roads are about three feet | wide. With glass you can see the steel of the roads are cars loaded with green crosses the estate are piles of bananas | corded up for the trains.
 Now take a look at that train which |
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-08

all kinds of accidents. Sometimes dis- ease will wipe out a plantation, and again a storm blows up and We lose the whole crop Just a few months ago we had a hurricane here which desti oyed lSO0o) lunches of bananas in the space or hVe minutes. That happens every now ana then, and if the property was that Of a small farmer it would mean total ruin. A big concern like this can stand It on account of the profit it receives from it's other plantations, but they sell their bananas to us. We pay them 2S cents bunch. and at that they can do very we'll Nevertheless the total product Of such men about here Is only 2Oo0 punches week. which is a hagatelle in comparf- son with the 100000 punches we ship dur ing that time As to a rival trust, that might succeed, but 1t needs good lands and n fleet of ships, and also good mar keting facilities ia the United States"
 Our Big Banana Business
 One hundred thousand punches week. Tho men utter these words as though they meant nothing. Nevertheless, they were astounding to me Have you any idea what 10000 punches a week means? It means 5,20O,oO0 punches of bananas year, for the banana business goes on all the year through. X single bunch contains 1Jo bananas. and from this place alone they sending forth something like
 TtnuU,DD per anNuin- N Q nave ipVP,VW people in the United States, including Alaska and the Philippine Islands. These plantations could give every one ot us seven bananas and have 50.0O0.0o0 to spare.
 If could give 30 to every family.
 But this Is only one of the estates of the United Fruit company The banana trust has scores of others. and 1t ships from Costa Rica almost double as many
 bananas as from here.
 II ships a vast deal from Cartagenta, and 1t is building ID in Guatemala bls plantations. which I hope to visit within the next few months The business is in- creasng and the demand for bananas is 1 Increasing as well.
 The United States Is now using 60,000 600 punches of bananas every F months. or about 90o,o0.o00 fingers per annum. You can now get a good hAnana for a cent or two almost anywhere in our country, and the business has to be big in order to
 pay.
 I am told that 1t pays well IL pays not ! only the capitalists who handle it. but | slso the countries where the bananas are
 grown. It Is one of the chief sources of
 revenue of the treasaries of Panama l Costa Rica. Honduras and Guatemala. | and it is giving the working men of the 1 V est India Islands wages beyond what | they can obtain anywhere else Indeed, 1 much of the development which is now
 going on In this part of the world comes | from the banana and the future of these | countries is bright through the increase | of the consumption of bananas abroad. | Their use is growing by leaps and bounds in the United States, and they are now making their way into the thick ! ly populated countries of Europe as well. FRANK G. CARPENTER.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-08

the Mississippi valley and the lands far ther west. The United Fruit company aims to supply our whole country. It has 1t divided into sections and there is d port for each section. l am told that the bananas from Port Iimon. Costa Rica, which Hes GO miles away up the coast ali go to New York and Boston, and that those of Jamaica are shipped largely tn Europe.
 The European business Is extending and the fruit company is trying to educate the people there to eating bananas. They have done this in the United States and have built up an immense market. For some time they have had to send fruit to Europe at loss, but the business Is now beginning 10 pay, and fl win event. tally he of great value
 In the Banana Plantations
 But let Us go down and take ride through this vast banana plantation. We have special ears and can stop where we please. We pass for miles through noth ing-but bananas. The trees sprout from the ground and rise to the height of d two-story house. Each Is composed oi broad ribbonlike leaves eight or nine inches wide The leaves sprout from the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-08

and blacksmith shops, stores and offices wero erected
 Altogether 1t takes about 6a0o men to work these plantations and the commu- nity has to be housed, cared for and ruled.
 How the Labor Is Handled
 The most of the men who work on this banana estate are Jamaica negroes, who were brought here for the purpose, They live in little shacks scattered here and tfere along the railroad and they go out from them to their labor The officials and foremen are whites ani the re- sponsible parts of the work are done by Americans sent here from the United Stateg. These men are the best of theI Find and they receive excellent wages The negroes are paid about the same that the Jamaieans receive on the Panama canal, and their labor is about as eff cient
 A great deal of the work is done by the piece, and the man gets so much for clearing. so much for planting and clean ing and so much for picking the fruit. As 1t Is now it costs about s2o per acre to
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-08

had a pretty good reward for his kind- ness and his confidence. He has had n reason to regret leaving Claflin & Co. He looks after the office affairs of the M M. Smith Company. and his salary and hln dividends bring handsome return to him. Not only that. but he gets s15.000 q year from the county of New York. for he is the present county clerk
 Occasionally Miss Smith, on her way tc or from her office, passes the estab- lishment of Gus Lurie Co.,, which Is one block away from her business place. It is a far different Margie Smith who passes the doors of Gus I.urie & Co. to- day, who left there ten years ago-dis- ct ctarged-because the other designers de- manded her dismissal. She has reason to feel deeply grateful for what she then thought disaster. Had she not been dis charged ten years ago she probably nevcr would have been heard of as the head Of business concern. The door of op. portunity sometimes opens with what seems to be a misfortune.
 Copyright, 1912, by Richard Spillans1
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-08

clear the land. and tho managers can tell you just how much every plant costs. They have cost sheets like those of a great factory and can tell to the tenth of a cent the outlay spent on each bunch of bananas and where every cent goes, It is only by such methods that bananas can be sold at the prices they bring in the states and still give q profit The whole business is one of petty economies, which In the aggregate means saving of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
 Nof Whittling Business
 AS l walked through the fields and watched the great green punches being cut by tho hundtels and carried off to the cars 1 asked one of the foremen IF there would not be big money for an American to come here and start a rival fruit trust, and whether a man with q small amount of money could not en- gage in the business at a profit. He re- piled
 Tt might seem so if you did not know the facts. The truth is this is no whit ting business. Ton have got to have a hIy capital, and enough to take care ot
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-08

is approaching the hill. See, it has stopped and is taking on fruit. The gang of Ja- maica negroes is transferring the piles 10 the cars. They randle the fruit very carefully. The cars have been lined with leaves to prevent bruising the bananas as the train goes over the rails. Each bunch is lifted up Into the air and passed from hand to hand to the men on the train. There is no throwing or dropping the punches. Each is raised as tenderly as though it were q baby and Is laid softly down on the car. The punches are packed just SO and the men know just how many will fit into a car and how many carloads 1t will take for the steam or which is to carry them to the United States.
 I am told that 100 carloads will be shipped off today. The trains will carry them down to the port and the bananas will go from the cars on endless belts Of canvas right into the steamers. They are put into cold storage and remain there until they begin to fly out on similar car riers into the cold storage cars at New Orleans or New York. These bananas will go to New Orleans or Mobile. from where they will fly to the chief cities of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-08

The question with her then was not cnly to get the material to make up the goods. but to get machines with which to make the dresses. and to get operatives to do the work. The young woman who had suggested the possibility of Clahin & Co. felt sure there would be no trouble about the line of credit The next morn- ing Miss Smith and this young woman. ardent, if not enthusiastic. presented themselves at the headquarters of Clafin G Co.,, the biggest dry goods concern la the world
 The young woman introduced Miss Smith to William F. Schneider, the as- sistant office manager. He listened to her story and then took the two women to the credit man. Enthusiasm is all right ir it's place, but credit men have to view matters in cold. calm spirit. The credit man asked a few pointed questions. and when, they were answered he said he
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-08

at retail, and from this material she fashioned. from her own designs, dozen samples of childrens and misses dresses When these were finished she came to New York with them. This was 10 years ago.
 From department store to department store she went with her samples, seeking an audience with the buyers. If was more difficult in those days for a girl without influence or introduction to gain access to the buyers of the big establish ments than 1t is today. She had many Gisappointments. many rebuffs, for the 'tIiyers were busy and she was not fnown. But she kept at it day after day &Ed managed at last to interest one man so that he gave an order to her for s35o worth of goods. When he gave the or der to her he said he wanted the stuff delivered in 10 days. Miss Smith thanked him, and went out.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-08
The Crux

From Judge. when he is in love?"
 He-"yes: and he doesn't know any, thing else"
The Springdale news., 1912-09-27
SONORA Last week.

Ellis Harp came in from California Sunday.
 Miss Ruth Catt returned to Spring dale last week
 Floy Homesley is the proud own CT of new buggy.
 Steve Homesley delivered cattle and hogs at Springdale Saturday.
 Mrs. Sam Johnsonss condition has been critical for several days. Miss Minnie Davis is quite i'll re- quiring the services of physciian. visited over Sunday with home folks.
 Dallas Head and sherman Sullins attended the baptising at Goshen Sunday.
 Charlie Bass and wife of cassville. Mo, came down on a business trip last week
 The stork visited the home of Martin Bathrick last week, leaving a little son.
 Miss Ethel Nanzant was in Spring dale the first of last week having dental work done.
 Jonas and Joe Crawley of near Habberton visited at the W A. Harp home Sunday.
 Dock Homesley and Walker Van zandt made a business trip to Spring Valley last Thursday.
 Joe Fink and wife are the proud parents of a baby girl that made it's advent last Saturday.
 J. J. Vanzandt left for Texas the first of the week to look after his land he traded his farm for some time ago.
 Mrs. Mary Piper and three child ren of Montana arrived last week to visit with her sister, Mrs. Het- tie Cleer and family.
 Charlie Stone returned Thursday from visit with relatives in Okla homa He was accompanied home by his cousin. Ghas Williams.
 Mrs. Mary Piper was taken ser iously i'll Monday morning and was in a critical condition that day and night but is better at this writ ing.
 Walker Yinsay and sister Nettie of Spring Valley came over Satur- day afternoon and visited with their cousin, Mrs Walker Nanzandt. and aunt, Mrs Steve Homesley.
 Curtis Gibson of Oklahoma pleas antly surprised his sister, Mrs. Mar ion Gleer, last week by paying her and family a visit. The brother and sister had not met in tWenty-two years,
 Mrs. Gentry Lowe and children. after three weeks visit with her husbands father and sister. Ed. Lowe and Mrs Hettie Cloer, de parted Friday for their home at Meridan Mississippi