davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
Hands Off the Civil Service

The National Civil Service Reform league recently wrote to the three presidential candidates asking for their views on the recent proposition of seven-year term for all federal employees in the departments at Wash ington, and all three sent answers op- posing it. President Taft expressed his disapproval in his recent veto mes sage. Colonel Roosevelt stands by his platform which calls for "continu- ous service during good behavior and efficiency Governor Wilson said in reply: q would say that l agree with your judgment that the proposal to fix a brief tenure of office for the civil servants of the government is a distinct step backward and that it would inevitably demoralize the ser vice. I am a hearty believer in the principles of civil service reform and shall take pleasure at all times in do- ing what I can to promote those prin- ciples in practice"
 It will thus be seen that whoever enters the White House will combat with a veto pen the seven-year term of service, or any other term for that matter. The plan will probably not be heard from again. It certainly will not if Governor Wilson becomes pres ident, and no one anticipates at the present time any other result of the election in November.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
Tennessee e-Alabama Good Roads

The organization of the Tennessee Alabama Good Roads association at Huntsville on a permanent basis should be able to assist materially in road building between the capital of Madison county and Nashville. The 200 Nashville motorists who visited Huntsville gave great impetus to the good roads movement.
 While much has been accomplished in good road building in the south within the past two or three years, much remains to be done. Automo- bile tourists find splendid roads be- tween Chicago and Louisville, and some very good stretches of macad- amized road south of Louisville, but there are also stretches of very bad roadway in Kentucky and Tennessee.
 It is hoped that the annual meeting of the Alabama Good Roads associa- tion to be held in Birmingham next month will be more largely attended than ever. There is no excuse what ever for the existence of rough or miry highways in any part of the south.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
British Politics Feverish

We are so absorbed in our own pol itics and issues at the present time, said a former Englishman yesterday, that the remarkable chapters of the home rule fight now being enacted are causing little comment in Alabama or in the United States.
 Nevertheless. world history Is being made by John Bull, for into the home rule fight has entered characteristics which have to do with woman's suf- frage, social conditions majority rule and English traditions and customs dating back hundreds of years How near she has, and what Is more, how much nearer, England may come to civil war over home rule Is really startling. The bitterness existing be- tween Bonar Law and Premier As quith and the two parties of which they are the leaders, the unionist and lfb- eral-nationalist, respectively, is more intense and deeper rooted than the average American realizes We in this country are apt to compare the pyro- technical speeches of these leaders. es- pecially MT. Law, with like utterances
 
 national politicians, but they are diff ferent
 "The vehemence of the speakers Is communicated to their constituents and the results are such actions as the throwing of the hatchet into MT. As quith's carriage at Dublin and the al- most successful attempt to burn the theatre in which he was speaking. Bonar Laws sensational speech at Blenheim was hailed with delight by home rule opponents as actual agita- tion for civil war and 1t Is these ut terances of the unionist leader that have created the threatening condi- tions in Ulster where 1t is now freely said that war will start if 1t starts at all and where at any rate.more blood may be split before the home rule is- sue is settled"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
Concerning Bonds

Said an old taxpayer who Is known also as an expert bookkeeper and a close ob- server of the money market:
 .In declining the bid of 10024 for the s100,O00 issue of hospital bonds. running for 50 years and bearing Az per cent in terest, the board of revenue on Monday declined the equivalent of bid of no for per cent bond running for the same length of time. Several years ago an issue of $500 900 of county sewer bonds was authorized. These bonds were duly advertised for sale, but no bids at par were received. It being important for tho sewer commission to begin operations at once, pressure was brought to bear on two local banks, who each bought S5o.00O of the bonds at par in order that the commission could begin operations. The remaining S4O000O of the issue was unsold for two or three years, when they were finally bought by the First National bank of this city at par, in default of any other bids. This was at time when the bond market was much stronger than it is today.
 "The city of Birmingham several years ago sold an issue of 5 per cant bonds for l05, but last year an issue of sl,ooo,ooo or per cent bonds were sold at about 1o11a. Previous issues of county bonds can be
 bought in the open market on basis of 4ia per cent interest, and 1t Is difficult to see, interest rate considered, how the board of revenue could have expected bid of more than that AS matter O. fact, the bid declined rate of interest considered, was the highest bid ever made in Birmingham for county. municipal or corporate bond. It is possible, how ever that the board of revenue may see its way clear to finance the county hos pital without avaling itself of the priyi- lege of issuing bonds, and If so their ac- ton in declining to sell is entirely coE-
 mendable. If, on the other hand it is their intention to readvertse the bonds
 later on, it is possible that they might not
 be able to do quite so well next time.
 Tn July, 1a06 s7,1s7ooo of the state of Alabama 1 per cent bonds became due. Early in the spring of 1995 at time when general business conditions were favor
 able to the bond market, the governor of Alabama invited proposals for an issue of 5o-year renewal bonds to bear Sia per cent interest Responsible pds were re- ceived for the entire amount. sI.l37ooo. Tt approximately ior4 The governor decided that this figure was too low, and rejected
 all bids. Proposals were invited a year | later and this time the state was un-
 able to sell an issue of 3ia pes cent bonds at par, and had to content itself with ac-
 cepting a bid for per cent bond at about lOiis, being one-eighth less than IL
 had been offered year previous for q
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
CARING FOR INEBRIATES

From the Fargo (N. D. Forum and Re-
 publican.
 North Dakota Is a prohibition state It never had a legalized saloon since state hood. Under these circumstances 1t seems strange to a visitor in Fargo to find there are three local institutions for curing the liquor habit. It causes even more surprise when they find there are many people who advocate state institution Tor the treatment of inebriates and persons ad- dicted to the use of narcotics.
 On the latter proposition there is a marked change in public sentiment. Formerly 1t was the custom to treat ine- briates as if they were criminals. A com mon drunk and chicken thief received the same courtesles from the average municipal judge. Conditions are now somewhat different.
 While many scout at the idea or the influence of heredty in ebriacy-there are many people firmly convinced that it's a factor in developing the weakness. Tu- berculosis may not be directly inherited, but a tendency In that direction is un- doubtedly transmitted from parent to child While tuberculosis may not be present in the child the conditions are favorable to its development. The same conditions prevail among drunkards, how ever many of the worst of them are de- scended from parents who were absolute teetotallers. Continued addiction to the habit develops inebriacy into a disease.
 It is both these classes that require treatment. Most people are convinced that a change is necessary. They have discovered that throwing a drunken man into a foul-smelling, illy-ventilated cell won't cure him.
 Some people have reached that stage of belief where they may ask the com ing legislature to establish an institution for the care and treatment of men who are addicted to either drink or narcotics.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
MILLIONS IN INVENTIONS

From Leslie's.
 The value of American manufactures, attributable directly or indirectly to pat ented inventions, is stupendous In l90s it amounted to nearly S21, eco, 900, ,000-one-
 fifth of all the wealth of the United States, six times the total money in cir cuation, 20 times as much as would be required to pay the national debt. and 216 times the value of all the gold pro- duced in the United States. The amount of wages which these industries paid out in 1910 amounted to nearly $5,0O0, 900, ,000- more than half as much as the total wealth of the United States in 1850, and T times the total amount of money coined in 1910. To invention, more than to any other cause, is due the 10 fold in- crease of wealth in the United States, from s. 135 O00 GOO in 1850 to $107 104 GOO 900 in 1909. Human comprehension is inadequate tn grasp such figures.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
TAKING A CHANGE

against the beef trust on a small salary.
 Sometimes it pays to take a chance. Dora had forgotten to tell Frank thai she had a relative loaded down with bank accounts who was due to shuttle off this mortal coil. One morning the postman brought the full returns, and then things happened. Frank now owns half shars in Boost X Co.,, goes across the big pond twice a year, and looks like an ad fol I-Took-Two-B o-Bottles-and-Am-N We'll Man. The scoffers are still scoffing away in the office. As for Dora--well, hand some is her middle name, and those fash fen hints from Paris and London look like has beens alongside of her.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
Secretary Knox in Japan

The arrival of Philander c. Knox in Japan is of more than ordinary in terest. The fact that the President of the United States sends his Secretary of State as a special ambassador to the funeral of the late Emperor Nut suhito is of international importance. Special envoys have been sent from this country from time to time, but MT. Knox is the first Secretary of State to go abroad as a special diplo- matic representative of the President.
 In the early days of the republic, Americans were needed to conduct diplomatic negotiations with foreign countries, and although our states men and men of affairs had not been trained in diplomacy as science, they knew international law, and those who were sent abroad on diplomatic missions never failed to make satis- factory terms for the United States. No foreign power ever got the best of an American diplomatist when any large question of far-reaching impor- tance was under consideration. Vari- ous. high offices in this country have been filled by men of mediocre ab.n.y, but with very few exceptions the state department has had at it's head men of fine equipment and singular fitness
 Thomas Jefferson was the first Sec retary of State, and although many brilliant men have occupied that posi- tion, no one has surpassed him in in tellectual force or diplomatic skill Among the great secretaries of early days were James Madison, James Monroe, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun and Edward Everett The last named was Secretary of State under President Fillmore, and retired from office eight years before the cival war. Of the notably dis tinguished Secretaries of State since the war James G. Blaine was charac- terized by the greatest dash. He had been so long in public life that more was expected of him than would have been expected of any other man of his day perhaps, and he rose to the stan dard set for him. Thomas F. Bayard and Richard Olney were exceptionally able Secretaries of State. John Sher- man, who was Secretary of State un- der President Mckinley, would have shone luminously no doubt but for his failing health.
 Of the more recent secretaries, Elihu Root probably accomplished more in the athletics of diplomacy than any of the others. Root was Roosevelt's premier" and great many of the large achievements that the President got credit for were real ly the achievements of Root. Mir.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

General Booth died unreconciled with his Absalom son, Ballington Booth, who salvation army of his own. During the old mans illness no word of interest was received from lis son, who lives in New York. This is said to have been the dying grief of the old man. The foundation principle of the life work both followed is universal good will, mind free of hatred or resentment How could these two 1.-Two so divided without the violation on the part of one or the other of this founda- ton faith? Ballnston Booth is still alive. Perhaps he can and will explain.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA

l am dying, Egypt, dying,
 Ebbs the crimson lise-tide fast And the dark Plutonan shadows
 Gather on the evening blast; Let thine arms, o Queen, enfold me,
 Hush thy sobs and bow thine ear; Listen to the great heart-secrets,
 Thou, and thou alone, must hear. Though my scarr'd and veteran leglons Bear their eagles high no more. And my wreck d and scatter'd galleys.
 Strew dark Actium's fatal shore, Though no glittering guards surround mo, Prompt to do their masters will, I must perish like a Roman,
 Die the gerat Triumvir still. Let not Caesars servile minions
 Mock the lion thus laid low; Twas no foeman's arm that fell'd him Twas his own that struck the blow; His who, pillowed on thy bosom,
 Turn'd aside from glory's ray, His who, drunk with thy caresses,
 Madly threw world away. Should the base plebeian rabble
 Dare assail my name at Rome, Where my noble spouse, Octavia,
 Weeps within her widow'd home, Seek her: say the gods bear witness
 Altars, augurs. circling wings That her blood. with mine commingleG,
 Yet shall mount the throne of kings. AS for thee, star-eyed Egyptian,
 Glorious sorceress of the Nile, Light the path to Stygian horrors
 With the splendors of thy smile. Give the Caesar crowns and arches,
 Let his brow the laurel twine; I can scorn the Senate's triumphs,
 Triumphing in love like mine. I am dying, Egypt. dying;
 Hark the insulting foeman's cry, They are coming: Quick, my falchion,
 Let me front them ere die. An. no more amid the battle
 Shall my heart exulting swell; Isis and Osiris guard theel tf
 Cleopatra, Rome, farewelli
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
TRAGEDIES TOLD IN HEADLINES

From the Chicago Tribune.
 Accidentally Drops Lighted Cigar on His Wedding Trousers.
 "Comanche Pete, at Request of Pious Aunt, Tries to Ask a Blessing at Dinnet Table.
 "Scavenger Falls Heir to Fortune; His Usefulness as Citizen Entiey De- stroyed"
 Excited Fan, in Moment of Frenzy Throws His False Teeth at Umpire"
 Sells Automobile, Buys Motor Boat, and Is Now in Lunatic Asylum"
 ''Interferes in Family Quarrel; Hospital Surgeons Think He Will Be Out Again in Six Weeks"
 Uses Typewriter in Proposing to His Girl; Is Trying to Sell It.
 Gets Up to Put Out the Cat; Cat Proves to Be Athletic Burglar
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR

From the New York Press.
 It takes ink, not ideas. to fill love letters.
 The way bad people fool you is how careful they can be to pick good com pany.
 Girls laugh so much of the time so as to have a much better time when they cry.
 A man can get excited enough over the soup being cold to forget all about politics running business.
 It is in church that woman can do her hardest guessing on how much all the other hats must have cost.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

Baltimore policemen will not be allowed to play dominoes on Sunday. It is also hoped that they will not be allowed to play dominoes when somebody is being murdered down the street.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
FORGOTTEN, PROBABLY.

 There was a man in our town Who filled himself with booze; And when he went to bed that night He still had on his shoes.
 Birmingham Age-Herald. There was a man in our town, Who filled himself with booze; He got an awful shine on, till The shine was on his shoes.
 Milwaukee Sentinel. NOT LONG TO WORRY. Cheer up, cheer up And do not sigh, Fen though the cost Of living's high! To those who growl We this retort: Remember, friends, Our life is shortl"
 PAUL COOK.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
thing of fight. Let the committee get busy without further delay.

thing of light. Let the committee get busy without further delay.
 In order to have an exposition of national scope, large hotel accommo- dations will be required. Birming- ham will soon have more and better hotel accommodations than any city in the south, and by 1919 several more hotels than those in sight will be built. The city's population will have grown from 5,000-the estimated popula- tion of today-to 250,000 or more Just as soon as the committee ap- pointed by the governor has formally elected Birmingham as the exposition city plans will be developed and pushed
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

With the party of Penrose on the one hand and the party of Finn on the other. 1t is no wonder that the citizens of Penn sylvania of republican faith are in a dark brown study over choice.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

Very few fat men whistle in the summer time. Autumn will soon be here, and then the fat men will whistle along with the autumn winds
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

The man who adulterates drugs and the man who sells dope to dope fends ought to be sewed up in the same sack and sunk in the same river.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

When a man begins to have a great grievance against the privileged classes, 1t is sign that he is about to run for po- itical office.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

s19 per cent bond, involving loss to the people of Alabama of s35,0oo year for 50 years or s1.75Oooo. The decline in the bond market between the two periods Is ao- counted for by the fact that there was great revival in business in the fall Of 1905. and boom conditions prevailed until 1907. During that time there was no dis position to invest in high grade securities bearing low rate of interest, consequent ly there was a marked decline in price. ;"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES

Flagg picture the fair heroine of "best seller" with a Pittsburg stogy stuck in her mouth
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
TO MISS OHIO sUFFRAGETTE.

the theatrical business.
 TO MISS OHIO sUFFRAGETTE There, little girl, don't cry, You have broken your toy, know, And you won't get to vote In your new petticoat, But you'll find that it's better so. There, little girl, don't cry, The mean men have broken your doll, But with stockings to mend And with children to tend You will not miss your vote at all. There, little girl, don't cry, You've lost by a couple of miles, But an old growing hen Makes no hit with us men, So stay home and study the styles.
 Cincinnati Enquirer.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

Becker has not attended religious exer- cses since he has been a prisoner in the Tombs If he isn't disposed to play the hypocrite that's a point in his favor.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

Debs says T. R. is Svengali. There may be a difference of opinion as to that, but all agree that he is a conspicuous ex- ample of self hypnosis
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

It Is said that 17S,0o0,000 gallons of whisky are stored away in grand old Ken lucky. We recommend the Ohio river as a chaser.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
OUR HOPE.

OUR HOPE.
 Of course, if woman wants to smoke a cigar, she's going to do it. anyhow, but we hope 1t will be long. long time before the successors to Harrison Fisher, Charles Dana Gibson and James Montgomery
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

We have had a pleasant summer here in Jones valley. but by the time 1t is over there will probably be no deficiency of heat
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

It is hardly reasonable to suppose that all the police in New York are bad, but the bad ones are most in the limelight just now.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

According to the Milwaukee Sentinel, three fingers of Jack Rose Rye" will make a man squeal on his best friend.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

A New York man recently died of old age at 26. It takes money to die of old age so early in life.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

A chauffeur who killed man was cen sured' by a coroner's Jury. A slap on the wrist probably seemed too severe.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

The actress who played the leading role in "Is Marriage a Failure?" is suing for a divorce. She knows now
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

Chairman Hiles is the optmist of the administration. He is greatly pleased with the results in Vermont and Maine.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

From the New York Telegram
 Notice that Governor Wilson has gained seven pounds since his nomination at Baltimore and now weighs TT pounds.
 Now, by St. Paul! The work goes bravely on.
 Seven is one of the lucky numbers of antiquity composed of two good numbers, four and three.
 There were seven days of creation, seven days of respite before the flood, seven years of famine and seven of plenty; every seventh day was Sabbath, the feasts of uneavened bread and tabernacles were observed seven days, seven priests with seven trumpets encompassed Jericho and Jacob served seven years for his wives. Again. there were seven churches, seven candlesticks, seven spirits, seven trum- pets, seven seals, seven stars, seven thun- ders, seven vias, seven plaques and a seven headed monster But don't be in a hurry. Seven, as mystic number has been indorsed by Pythagoras. Hippocrates, Shakespeare, the Chaldeans. the Egyptians and the an- cient Peruvians.
 Furthermore. there were seven sleepers of Ephesus, Barbarossa in his magic sleep changed his position every seven years. Olger Redbeard, in Sweden, lifts his eye lids only once in seven years, and Tann- haeuser spent seven years of magic en- chanment.
 Oh, yes, and it was in 1907 the third termer brought on the panic. Why go further?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

A female adherent of T. R. has been dubbed a COW moose. We trust pert par agraphers will go no further
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
CAN ANYBODY QUALIFY?

For not to desire or admire; if man could learn it, were more Than to walk all day like the sultan of yore in a garden of spice.
 -Tennyson.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
THE GAY LIFE.

DO you know how pickled peaches are made?" "Yes. Usually by filling them up with champagne"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
IT'S UP TO BALLINGTON

A man may be a weather prophet and still pay his debts.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

The delectabe bathing suit will soon be shelved. A lively sale of cold cream is anticipated
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11

You have heard that cry, Back to the mines,' In Ohio it's Back to the kitchen!"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
EASILY AFFECTED.

"I understand Jigson Is very susceptible to intoxicating drinks"
 "Yes, indeed Sometimes mere whiff out of a bottle will make his entire sys- tenn rejoice"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
A GREAT NUMBER.

How many men go to the bad, Alas. alack! Spend every cent they've ever had And don't come backi
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
A Restaurant City

Birmingham is good restaurant city" said travelling man. Richmond is famous for its hotels, and Atlanta enjoys a fine reputation for high class hostelries, but neither Richmond nor Atlanta is in the Birmingham class when 1t comes to cafes
 "I heard one of the prominent shoe manufacturers of Lynchburg say the other day that he had been stopping at the Florence and that he found It's cafe far ahead of any eating place In the south. And he had visited most Of the southern cities.
 There are several strictly high class restaurants here and many good mod crate priced restaurants"