davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19
ENGLAND's USEFUL COUNTESS

From Tit Bits.
 One of England's most remarkable women is the Countess of Warwick. She is d socialist, anl has taught the poor how to take better care of their homes. how to cook, how to economze, and. thereby how to prosper She has helped them constructively and not destructive ly. She never gives to people who are In good health and able to help themselves; but she helps them to see the way to bet ter living. She founded the Essex Needle work guild and revived the art of fine needlework, opening a shop in Bond street. London, where the work of clever workers could be sold and the profits turned over to them. She appears at the shop at regular intervals and acts as a saleswoman herself.
 She also founded school for women farmers and gardeners, which has been of great value to many poor but worthy young women; for they leave the school we'll grounded in horticultural knowledge, and young women gardeners are begin ming to be in demand. This school was the first of it's kind in the world, and it has been wholesome and uplifting in its influence. The girls are taught how to make butter and cheese. jam, preserves, and are trained thoroughly in every branch of farm work.
 Lady Warwick is Poor Law guardian, and has organized in Warwickshire a complete system for the care of the poor and for nursing the sick. For two years the countess spoke constantly for the socialist cause and gave her money freely for it's support; but more recent ly her other activities have been occupy ing all her time. Lady Warwick owns 23,o00 acres in her own right, and is mis- tress of three beautiful homes-Warwick castle the most celebrated of them, is one of the historic palaces of England. It is exceedingly old. the towers of the castle having been built by Ethelfreda, the sister of Alfred the Great
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19
Tolls in the Panama Canal

Senator O'Gorman, who sepaks as a rule with caution from information in hand, said in the Senate on Wednes- day that the transcontinental railroads of Canada and of this country are the secret influence that impelled Eng land to protest against the passage of American ships through the canal free from tolls. Senator Lodge thinks the United States should rebate the tolls on American ships, very much as some European nations do on home ships passing through the Suez canal. Senator O'Gorman says, however, that while we are bound by the terms of the -Paunceforte treaty to treat all foreign nations alike we are at liberty to give free passage to Ameri- can ships.
 q do not think" said Senator O'Gorman, that British shipping is greatly interested. l believe the rail roads of Canada and the railroads of the United States have been enabled to secure the cooperation of the Brit ish office of foreign affairs to em- barrass this government in the at tempt we are making to secure legis- lation to keep railroad-controlled ships cut of the Panama canal"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19
 CALMLY FACED DEATH

From the Memphis Commercial-Appeal.
 On April 16, says the Scientific Ameri- can, submarine No. 6 of the Japanese navy was lost while maneuvering In Hiroshima bay and all on board perished.
 It was commanded by Lieut.. Takuma Faotomu. After the vessel was located and raised there was found in the con ming tower a letter written by the com mander as the last spark of life left his body and that of his crew.
 It is remarkable document Trans lated and published in full, it gives the world an idea of the determined courage of the Japanese. Calm, even in the teeth of death, his letter tells a story which will live in naval records for all times to come The submarine sank shortly be- fore 10 o'clock The last line of the let ter is terrible in its pathos.
 q respectfully request that none of the families of my subordinates shall suffer. The only thing I am anxious about Is this. The atmospheric pressure is increasing I feel as if my tympanum were breaking"
 At 12:30," he wrote, respiration is extraordinarily difficult I mean I am breathing gasoline. I am intoxicated with gasoline
 The last entry of the fatal letter is merely Ut is 12:So."
 Nothing more could be written. Noth- ing more is required. The last line was prophetic.
 It meant that inconsistencies re- lieved this brave officer of his suffering. True to his post to the last, resting in the slime of the oceans bed. Buried in the darkness of the water he ut tered prayer that his subordinates' famalies might not suffer. He did not think of himself. He thought only of others.
 The early part of the letter, which was written at intervals, told of the ef- forts to pump out the water, but 1t was useless; the hand pump was not sufficient. The electrical appliances were cut off by the water, which partly filled the engine room. The lights were extinguished and the gas and fumes of gasoline brought oblivion before death.
 That anyone under such circumstances should have the cool, calm courage to give In the mlnuteSt detalls the events that transpired is remarkable.
 True to his country. his first com ment is in regard to the mikado. His faith in the navy, his faith in his gov ernment, his faith in his fellow man, is shown throughout this remarkable let ter.
 one line speaks well of the courage of the race. T have always tried to train my men, when face to face with death, under such circumstances, to die gracefully
 They did as they were trained to do. They died gracefully.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19
NOT THE RIGHT NAME
Youths Companion.

From the Youths Companion.
 In some of the country districts of Ire land it is not an uncommon thing to see carts with the owners names ehalked on to save the expense of painting. Prae- tical jokers delight in rubbing out these signs to annoy the owners.
 A constabulary sergeant one day ac- costed the countryman whose name had been thus wiped out unknown to him.
 'Is this your cart, my good man?''.
 "Of coorse it isl" was the reply. "Do you see anything the matter with it?''
 q observe,' said the pompous police man, that your name is o-bitherated."
 '.Then we're wrong" quoth the country nan, who had never come across the long word before. flor me names O'Flaherty, and I don't care who knows it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19
VALUE OF A "pIpE TOOTH

From the London Express
 Messrs. Rogers & Davis, dentists, of Edgewood road. were ordered at the Marylebone county court yesterday to pay G2 2s damages to John Morrell for ex- tracing his pipe tooth against Iris will.
 A decayed stump, which the dentists produced in court, was said to be the tooth in question, but Mir. MorreIl de- cared that it was not his.
 T know the tooth very well,'' he said. 'It was the only one I corld hold my pipe by"
 He produced his pipe and said there was a mark on it which the tooth had made, and he handed both the pipe and the tooth to the judge for inspection.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19

CTS, good street car service, churches, libraries and excellent schools. varied in nocent attractions for diversion" said an old citizen.
 T remember when little attention was paid to public pleasure grounds, open air concerts or fine driveways. Now these things are absolutely essential. All pro- gresslye, growing cities cannot have too much of the beautiful. Industrial cities like Birmingham must be attractive to wageworkers as well as to the rich.
 "The speeches Wednesday night con taned many practical ideas. One of the best three minute talks was made by Hugh Martin, who called attention to the fact that many of the large cities are now spending vast sums of money in cor recting the mistakes they had made Ill former years by not giving attention to those things that go to make up the city beautiful. He warned this young city to act now and plan for a civic center ana for the development of a great park sys- tenn"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19

Spain has already agreed to re- imburse Spanish ships for the tolls spent in going through the canal, and Great Britain can and may do like wise. And yet at the suggestion of the transcontinental railroads Eng land says we have no right to pass our ships free through a canal that has cost this nation $400,000,0 ,000 to build. The country expects the Sen ate to do it's duty regardless of the transcontinental railroads.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19
IN THE SUMMER NOVEL
From Life.

From Life.
 She stood. calm and majestic, awaiting his arrival. As he entered the room she threw him a. sharp glance. A little en- barrassed, he scattered his eyesight. whereupon she flung him a bitter taunt. Goadcd beyond endurance. he hurled ln- vectives, and she burst into tears. Then his voice broke; she cast down her eyee. her face fell, and she dropped her hands at her side.
 He lost his head, his temples were over turned and his courage oozed out at his finger ends. He was beside himself, and stood rooted to the spot. She crushed him with look, and he was all broken up.
 She, too, was terribly upset and went all to pieces.
 By chance the parlor maid entered.
 Seeing the debris. she swept the room with glance and immediately dusted.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19
THE NATIONAL AIR

1t. We have a national anthem. "The Star Spangled Banner" which is the rec ognized national song. but the women are keen for the other. The war is on. There is need for strong crusade against this insldious invasion.
 There is some sense in the assertion that The Star Spangled Banner is not easy to sing. but at least there are ar arrangements that are quite simple and af ford no difficulty even to the unskilled vo- calist.
 America" is not nearly so inspiring as 'The Star Spangled Banner" and never SUITS up patriotic emotion as does the latter Moreover. having been formally adopted by the army and navy as we'll as accepted by all loyal Americans, "The Star Spangled Banner is in no immediate danger of being replaced, but it is a pity. nevertheless, that the women, and some few men champions of their cause, should feel impeled to take up arms in defense of foreign importation which is em- blematic of that against which we fought and for the elimination of which our fore fathers died.
 God Save the King does not coincide with American ideas; "The Star Spangled Banner does. Let the women ponder over this, and let there be no more strife. America" is not and never can be our national anthem. Why then fight for 1t? It is lost cause and unworthy of the efforts expended upon it.
 So, dear ladies, have a care for the fu- ture welfare of your country and know that patriotism Is not exalted or furthered through any efforts to promote foreign tunes or titles.
 We have a musical composition before us, the words of which were written by a woman, entitled "The National Air of the U. s. A Sounds Sweetest of All to Me-" very catchy title but the error made by this lady lies in the line If you want something grand you just hear sousas band play My Country Iris of Thee"
 That is doggerel and unpatriotic nom sense. It is more. It is false Besides. it instills into the minds of the Ignorant an untrutn. All such efforts are un- American, unpatriotic and unwarranted. It is about time Congress took action in re- gard to this very important matter.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19
The Civic Center Movement

Birmingham should lose no time in planning for a comprehensive system
 of pleasure drives and a civic center.
 The city beautiful idea has been de-
 veloped on broad lines in many urban communities; and in this day of quick ened civic spirit and cultural progress
 business-like attention to parks and boulevards and civic improvements generally is in evidence everywhere The city that can combine in it's arch itecture, in any considerable degree, the utilitarian and the esthetic is a widely and favorably advertised city, and can be truthfully classed as community of contented and thrifty people.
 The civic center movement received strong impetus at the Chamber of Commerce dinner Wednesday night when Col. Robert Galloway, the head of the park commission of Memphis, was the principal speaker. Any person who visited Memphis five or six years ago, and who remembers it as it ap- peared then, would hardly recognize it today. Its wide stretching parks and it's beautiful vistas is trans forming it into new and elegant city. The fine park system was the basis for the city beautiful movement. Later on Memphis will be noted for it's esthetic grouping of public and semi-public edifices. The courthouse in Memphis, costing $1,500,000, re- gently completed, is one of the most structures in this country. By the way, courthouse such as now adorns the Tennessee city would look well in Birmingham.
 Colonel Galloway's address was at once instructive and animating. It was interspersed with wit and com mon sense philosophy. According to the Memphis gentleman's account conditions for esthetic development in his city were singularly poor when he first took up the matter.
 What Memphis has done any city can do. Birmingham has the ad- vantage of natures bounty, for it's topography lends itself readily to the finest landscape treatment. The city commissioners and representatives of the Board of Revenue of Jefferson county who attended the Chamber of Commerce affair, spoke strongly in favor of the civic center movement. The commissioners said it was practi- cally agreed that the city would ap- propriate the money to pay for civic plan drawn by competent land scape architect; and members of the Board of Revenue made it plain that in both the matter of location and the design of the proposed new courthouse in Birmingham they were open minded.
 The Chamber of Commerce dinner was largely attended and the senti- ment was most pronounced, judging from the general applause, that Bir- civic center work should be started and pushed without delay.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19
FROM ALTAR TO MAD HOUSE

From the Portland Oregonian.
 Five white women who married Japan csc have found their way from Los Angeles to the insane asylum within the mast year. The record is shocking, but not surprising. That the number of such tragedies is not greater can be due alone to the limited number of these unnatural intermarriages. That any of the women escape provides the one cause for sur prise.
 In every essential husband and wife must differ fin such union. They are products of widely divergent civilizations. In their ancestry there have been no points of similarity of training and habits. The husband comes of a race that looks down upon woman. while the wife is of a people who have deep regard for the gentler sex. Religion. social customs, temperament, racial characteristics all af- ford points of the widest difference. The lack of sympathy between the two is physiological, psychological and sociologi- cal in it's trend.
 Both races are wont to recognize these facts And their recognition takes the form of deep contempt for the contract ing parties. No matter where they make their home the wife is destined to social ostracsm. She becomes little better than an exile and the necessity of human sym pathy is denied her. Even hybrid cnii- dren cannot make up the hiatus.
 Removed from normal or even whole some environment, denied sympathy anu harmonious domestic relations, the stress of life must sooner or later warp the woman's mind. Even if she does not De- come a raving maniac, as in the latest Los Angeles case, her mentality IS all but certain of becoming clouded and her nature warped and scared by the mockery of life and love that are her portion.
 If must be taken in consideration, too, that a. woman entering such an alliance e not sound. She lacks pride and shame and must have other defects of character ,,b,ch are assets of the normal human be- ing Such being the case, normal en- vironment and happy life are more neces- sarv to her than to the average woman. She is poorly equipped to stand up under the stress and strain that must come to her out of such a marriage.
 The husband. of course does not lose his mind His Is sterner nature, that is in no way dependent upon the niceties
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19
Regarding Cotton Futures Legislation

T have taken much interest in the cot ton futures legislation before Congress"
 said Percy Clark, "and I note that the
 House bill prohibiting. the transmission
 of cotton speculation news by wire or mail has passed that body and has been sent to the Senate.
 T think the cotton futures business as conducted in New York has been the greatest curse to the south since recon struction days but the remedy proposed is not in line with modern business de- mands. It is true that the battle-door and shuttle-cock game of the New York gamblers is wrong in its operations. but there are some restrictions which could be put into operation which, in my judg ment. would bring a check on the present day flim-ham game of the New York cotton spectators.
 ''The great manufacturing and export ing interests need the machinery of cot ton future markets, such as in New Or leans-that is with certain conditions put into operation in the latter place. In New Orleans the purchaser of cotton on future contracts may demand and re- ceive the run of the market' that is, straight warehouse cotton, such as is of fering in the general market. Not so in New York where the whole scheme of the cotton gamblers Is to discourage the taking of actual cotton on matured fu- ture contracts. This was accomplished for many years by the rendering of all sorts of nondescript, and sometimes un- spinnable cotton; that is, cotton that could not be used to make loom fabrics This has been corrected to a small de- gree only. As it is, the purchaser of cotton on future contracts can in no wise anticipate what grade of cotton he is to take on tender day If he is an ex- porter or a mill man, he may require an average middling say. and yet get any grade, or all one grade, say good ordinary, wholly unfitted for his uses. If man buys corn, wheat or oats on the future grain markets. he can tell what grade he is to get-No. 1. No. ?, and so on. Not so with cotton futures.
 My suggestion Is that the Congress enact legislation placing tax of say. 19 cents per bale, on all cotton future con tracts, ana require IHdl on ueIldDu dt the time of sale, the purchaser may name an average of any full grade of cotton which he Is to receive; say, average good ordinary, middling or good middling. The season may affect this question as cotton runs to fine grades in fair seasons. This would probably put a premium on cer- tain grades which the purchaser could afford to pay
 "When the cotton has been actually delivered on such contracts, the seller is to be related 10 cents by the purchaser. AN the tax arising from this manner of doing the cotton future business to be paid into the agricultural department for use by agricultural schools in cotton states, on the basis of the states per centage of production of any given cotton year.
 "Ill warrant that this will check the marketing of millions and millions of bales by cotton gamblers who toll not, neither do they spin, but who are ar rayed in fine linen and live in mansions, while the real cotton producers foot the bills.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19
No Compromise on Electors

Eight candidates for electors in Kansas, and the candidates for that office in South Dakota, Maryland and Pennsylvania stand in open rebellion to William Howard Taft. They de- clare that they will, if elected, cast their votes for Theodore Roosevelt.
 This raises a great moral issue and also creates a political muddle, for MT. Taft straightway declares that he will fight for every elector who runs on a republican ticket under his name. The legal fighting has already been begun in Kansas, where a district state judge has granted an injunction at the instance of the Taft national committeeman restraining every coun- ty clerk in Kansas from printing on the official primary ballot the names of those candidates for presidential electors who have openly declared that they will, if elected, vote for Theodore Roosevelt. The case is to be heard on July 22 and the temporary injunc- ton may be made permanent.
 Eight district electors in Kansas named before the Chicago convention met have declared they will not sup port MT. Taft if they are elected. This is a pretty how-to-do all around. The ridiculous electoral system is about to take a big tumble, and the war in the g. o. D. goes merrily on.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19
UMBRELLAS WITH WINDOWS

From Harpers Weekly.
 Parisians now carry umbrellas with windows of tinsel or mica: the latter are either arranged to be inserted into the ordinary umbrella or may constitute d part of the article itself. These windows permit one to see clearly when carrying ones umbrella in front of one. It is prophesied that the next rstep will be to- ward transparent umbrellas-that is, um- prellas through which the pedestrian can see without being himself recognized.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19
A LITTLE BOOK

By Frank l.. Stanton. < A little book with here and there leaf Turned at some tender passage; how 1t seems To speak to me-to fill my soul with dreams, Sweet as first love and beautiful. though brief Here was her glory; and on this page her grief { For tears have stained it; here the suu-. light streams. And there the stars withheld from her their beams And sorrow sought the white soul like . thief And here her name, and as I breathe the sweet Soft syllables, presence in the room Sheds a rare radiance; but I may not look; 4N The yellowed leaves are nuttering at my feet; The gloom is gone, and I-lost in th.z gloom, weep like woman OCT this littlf
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19

of conduct that belong to a finer spun civ- iizaton. Nothing his wife does can both. CT him very much To him she is only an accessory, a convenience. The occi- dental solicitude for womankind is largely missing in his oriental nature.
 Out of humane regard for the welfare of frail creatures we have provided a law to protect them from such tragedies Can ada. where these hapless unions are still countenanced, would do we'll to follow our cOurse
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19
The Regulation of the Liquor Traffic

AS one who voted for high license ana regulation, in other words, for saloons rather than dispensaries in Jefferson county, I would urge that saloonkeepers refuse to sell liquor to those who abuse the tippling habit" said a citizen.
 In every large city there are many beer drinkers and not @ few whisky drlnk- CTS. The majority of these drinking men enjoy an exhilarating beverage without drinking to intoxieation, but recently l have seen number of boozy men on the street. This should not be. The police should arrest every man who walks the street in a groggy condition; and as for inebriates, there should be rigid law which should make it next to impossible for them to buy a drink of intoxicating liquor"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES
NOR FAME, NOR RICHES.

NOR FAME, NOR RICHES. Who follows the path of wandering
 star. Der hill and dale. to a land afar, Where all of our long lost dreams abide And the mouldering columns of earthly
 pride. Mayhap, shall learn lire's lesson there How vain the pomp and the trumpet s blare Ana the tribute drawn from a gilded
 mart AS recomrense for an empty heart.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-19
Cities Must De Attractive

"Those who attended the Chamber of Commerce dinner at the Turn-Verein Wednesday night and heard the Illuminate ing address of co 7s9ill' waX of Mem- phs, and the sh lslal s. could not fail to be . r'.tn Inc fact that cities of all sffssfsiof snst have, in addition to g<s1 eafen. sAnistry sew