davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington herald., 1912-10-19
10 vIsIr PANAMA.

fresaasat Plaas % I.ssk Over Csa-
DlstsA Caaal.
Beverly. AsssL. Got. la-pfsaidsnt Taft
win make trip to Panaus 70 1ook ovsr
the great cAnal soon aftsr electipu. &C.
cord1ng TO psans now undsf eonadsra-
tion By the President
TAs trip Win lsst not Longer than two
wss1ss ms Presidsnt and Mn. TaA
win make IL trip b one % uASh
eam,s var vssssaA ana IT, pre616enx
wi1l - fon. the Atlantic - a. pne1nc
coast = - Canai xonA. -
The Washington herald., 1912-10-19
CHICAGO GRAIN.

Quotations furniatsd By W. B. Hfbhs Co., mem
ben Of the Chicaso Board Of Trsde. Hibhs Buildisg
WHEAT. Cpen Hin La. Cn.s
The Washington herald., 1912-10-19

Southern pig iron has advanced 50 csnts
ton. making present quotations ~ fur
mace. This IL n per ton higher than n
October.
The Washington herald., 1912-10-19

In some quarters Of the street the Corn
Products bullish operations are said to
be largely manipulation.
The Washington herald., 1912-10-19
MscE1LAHrous BoHDa

~ Yet. Cd. n.-c,o.ns quotation. q, ,l.,.i.
The Washington herald., 1912-10-19

Very good buying reported in Leathers,
but We think the reason for their back
wardness lies In the fact Of Q big bull
interest.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-21
Carpenter

it's agency some years before we began our work here.
 "The yellow fever mosquito was dis covered by our own army doctors i'll Cuba, and the means of suppressing both were developed at Havana. It was here, however. that the use of these discov- cries was first employed on a large scale and by that means forced upon the at- tention of the world. We have shown that by proper attention to vegetation and drainage, by the use of coal oil on stagnant water and by having living quarters properly screened almost any tropical region can be made a workable quantity.
 And then we have to some extent made improvements in machinery for use in great work like this. But in that respect We have not done quite so much as we might have done had the necessity for quick work not been so great. As it is we have had to fight for speedy re- suits and for that reason could not ex- pertinent with the many new inventions offered us. Indeed. where we have tried such inventions they have delayed rather than aided the work"
 The Opening of the Canal
 "Can you not tell me the time when the canal will be surely opened for the traffic of the world2"
 q cannot give you the exact date when the first ship will go through. The Pres dent has definitely fixed the formal open ing for January l, 1915, when he has in- vited the navies of the world to meet at Fortress Monroe, and leaving there. go in one grand procession through the canal. We must prepare for that time, and I feel sure that we will then have the canal in such shape that the mighty fleet can pass through without a hitch. To do that We shall complete the canal as soon as possible, and will send any kind of shipping through 1t until the formal opening comes, in order that the machin cry and operating force may be in perfect working order when the great time comes"
 With thls statement I close the first half of my interview with Colonel Goe- thals. Our talk about the canal lasted for several hours, and the remainder of 1t is even more interesting than that I have given. It relates to the Notifications of the canal, and as to how the zone should be controlled It deals with the tolls of our canal and those of Suez, and 1t questions how much American shipping should pay. It has to do with the per manent operating force, the traffic and with other subjects of the most vital in- l terest. That story I will give you next week. FRANK c. CARPENTER.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-21

the same trembling of the earth as oe- CUTS at such times in Washington city. and I have decided that it Is only when hear that the National Capitol has fallen that I shall need to have any great alarm about the canal No. the earth quakes are not frightening me at all
 But are you not in the earthquake beltg' .~
 we have never had any great dis turbance at Panama, although the belt seems very pronounced in Costa Riea, Just north of here. As an evidence of the stability of construction on the isthmus YOU must have seen the arch in the old church at Panama. It is the widest low est and nearest horizontal of any arch known to architecture. It Is, perhaps 10 feet long, and consists of one span with out any support except at the ends That arch is 200 years old and 1t is still firm, notwithstanding that most of the church is in ruins. I would say, however that the Panamans have a tradition that that arch fel ltwice during its construction, and that at last, in despair, the monk who was the architect got down on his knees and prayed to the Lord to help him. In his prayer he said that he would build the arch once more. and he begged the Lord to cause it to stand although the rest of the church might crumble to atoms Many of the natives believe that prayer Is the cause of the stability of the arch. Some of our Catholic friends are now erecting a church here on the zone, If that will make the earth more firm and strengthen Culebra 1 should be glad to have them cover the hills of tho cut with churches from one end to the other. Seriously speaking do not think there is any danger from earthquakes"
 The Great Dam and Lake Gatun
 ''But. colonel. are you sure as to the Gatun dam2 VIII it be strong enough to hold. back that 16t square miles of water which will be stored up in the lake?"
 There is no doubt about the dam" said Colonel Goethals. "It has been made according to the regulations which pro- vided that it should be barrier which would convince beyond doubt both legis- ators and laymen of its stability. I he- lieve we could have made a dam of less size for less money which would have satisfied the engineers. but the designers l considered this dam desirable and 1t has been constructed. The factor of safety in it is fay beyond the absolute necessity. i There has been great interest in the dam and it has been given more prom thence among the engineering features l of the work than is warranted by it's
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-21

and jury. and any one who will, even to the Jackets and poorest of the laborers who handle the picks or wade the mud, may come and present his complaint. The chairman investigates the trouble. and the judgment Is usually such that the man goes away satisfied
 The Working Ruler
 Colonel Goethals is a working dictator He knows every bit of the canal construc- tion by close contact with the men and the machinery. He goes over some part of the work every day. He starts out at I o'clock in the morning and walks to those places where he is most needed, talking with the men and directing the foremen. He knows each branch or the engineering construction as well IS the division engineer In charge, and has, in short a complete grasp or this mighty job as a whole and in detail.
 I might fill this letter with stories about him which illustrates his charac- teristics. I might tell you how he looks. a gray haired giant of 50, with eyes as blue as the Panama sky and muscles as strong as the steam shovels which are lifting mountains in the cut far below me. I might speak of the nerve and de- termination to get things done, and of his motto, which seems to be, Results at all costs" and that everything and GNClybOdS ilunl Us puSHGQ to hurry the job. I might speak also of his use of modern scientific management of his rigid economy and his watching the leaks and of his appreciation that every one Of Uncle Sans dollars contains just 100 cents and that every cent spent must do Its share of the work. I might do all this and more, but this story is not a character sketch It is an interview, or rather a running chat, gotten especially for you, about the greatest job upon earth, with the man who, more than any other, is the handspring and dynamic ruler.
 A Sea Level Canal Impossible
 Our conversation covered a wide range. Colonel Goethals knows the canal so we'll that he could talk most interestingly for an hour or more about any of it's fea- lures. I have room here for only part of our chat We had been discussing the mighty locks at each end of the water way which will lift the ships to the level of the great cut which lay there below us. and k asked whether, after all, it would not have been better to have made the cut deeper and have created a sea- level canal.
 Colonel Goethals replied: No, the lock canal is by far the better, and it will prove to be the more permanent and the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-21

their niekels and dimes. Tie shoe man MT Daniels, and he has continued since Daniels death to give the work to Mrs Daniels. No one ever has been able to win his trade away from the woman who sticks to the old fashioned way of re- pairing shoes.
 If the men who sehemed to get the contracts of the companies away from Mrs Daniels thought they were getting rid of Ia competitor when they succeeded in getting the contract trade they were mistaken-very much so They were happy for time, but not for long. They had lots of complaints lodged against them. The shoe companies, too, had a good deal of trouble. Mrs Daniels didn't know anything about this. She was bending all her energies to building up private trade that would fill little of the hole made in the volume of business she had lost It's a hard and a slow process to develop private business in her line, but il is enduring once it is ob- tained
 She met every customer, looked after every plece or WoIhi hrpl eNeiy prohiise and never allowed a faulty job to leave her shop. She studied shoes and she studied how people walked. She used her brains She worked early and late and slowly but surely she made progress She had to, be very economical at this time Every dollar had to be watched. but when she was on secure ground at last she gave evidence of the fact that her vision was broadening. She saw op- portunties for development and she pro- ceeded to take advantage of them.
 There are lot of athletic clubs in New York and vicinity. There are a great number Of gymnasiams. Gentlemen who go in for physical culture and who have
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-21


 and fashionable establishment in Fifth or Madison avenue. She brides herself not only on being the only woman in her line in America, but of doing the biggest business of any one in that field. She has her offices and her shop on the fourth floor of a big skyscraper in Fulton street. Each year shows a larger and larger business done by her. She gets a mod crate amount of trade from the biz shoe companies but She is so secure in her private trade and in the business of deal CTS outside of the big companies that now she is serene. She repairs from 25.00o to 50,000 shoes a year. The number of punching bags. travelling bags, baseballs, baseball shoes. baseball gloves, golf shoes bowling shoes and the like that she makes over in the course of year would fill a warehouse. She is at home in the office or in the shop. She knows leather and she knows shoes She has a lot of workmen and she treats them well. She is prosperous and fairly independ- ent. She is a thoroughgolng business woman today. but she has become one from necessity and not from choice.
 As she looks back now, Mrs. Daniels realizes that in clinging to the standard that was old fashioned and honest, she did the wisest thing of her business career It meant years of struggle, times of doubt days of worry. almost of de- spair, but it was the right and the only way. Had she been weak enough to try | to meet competition by installing ma | chimes and doing machine work she | probably never would have had the meas ure of success that has come to her in | clng.ng to the better method. She has won respect and confidence and has made herself secure.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-21

more economical in it's operation If the government had decided upon a sea-level canal that great gorge below us would have had to be cut S5 feet deeper than 1t is now. Besides. Iio not believe that the people of the rnited States would have stood for the additional time and cost which would have been necessary to make it. and that is supposing it were at all possible to have made it. When came here I had pretty well fixed idea that the sea-level canal might be the better, but my experience has changed that opinion, for do not believe that We could have constructed it on account of the immensely greater slides which we would have had if we had deepened the cut. As 1t Is now we shall be able to con- trol the slides. and I do not apprehend that they will cause any great damage to the completed canal"
 The Slides of the Future
 ''Tell me something about these slides. colonel. What makes you think they will disappear when the canal is completed?"
 We know because we have studied the geological structure of this part of the mountains. We have studied the pressure of the earth and how the land moves We have eXperimented and know that when we have given the sides of the canal prism a natural slope that the earth VIII Dt dS lllil dS lHtl Ol lncH# HlllS all about us. Such slides are caused by the great weight of earth above and back of the excavation which forces these bodies of earth down into the cut and at the same time presses 1t upward from the bottom of the canal. By the right slope this great pressure will be removed and when that is done there seems to be no reason why the ground should not be firm for all time to comes Besides slides of this kind move very slowly and the probability is that any that may occur can easily be handled by the dredges so as to keep the canal clear would say also that we are strengthening the walls by earth binders In the shape of various grasses and plants They will soon be covered with jungle and this will further lessen the danger.
 No Fear of Earthquakes
 But how about earthquakes?" I asked.
 ''We have also considered that possibil- ity," replied Colonel Goethals. we have seismographs here by which we keep rec ords of the earths tremors and we also have reports of such machines the world over, We have records of the earthquake at San Francisco, and of the shakes which occurred then at St Louis and other l where's. We find that we have here about
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-21

|(Copyright, 1912, by Frank G. Carpenter.1 Culebra, Canal Zone, Panama. |@ ITTING here on the hills of Cule- bra, high over the mighty gash |k< which Uncle Sam has cut through |this lowest pass of the Andes. and look |ing down upon the now Sunday quiet of what for six days of the week is the busiest and noisiest place upon earth, I have had a chat with Col George W. |Goethals as to our mighty canal and it's future.
 There is no man who can speak more |intelligently and more authoritatively |about the canal than Colonel Goethals. lie Is the supreme manager of all things lon the isthmus His title is chairman of |the canal commission and chief engineer. |but he is far more than that. Under the bowers granted him by the President, he lis the dictator. the administrator, the ex- |ecutive, and in short the ultimate author |ity to whom all others must bow. His iron fist may be clad in a glove of velvet and the thousands he rules may not ap- preciate it's existence, but if they dis obey, it strikes and crushes the offenders. Such authority has been found abso- Iutely necessary to the canal construc- tion The lack of it was to great ex-
 tent the causes of the resignations of
 Chief Engineers Wallace and Stevens. It tied their arms and those of their sub ordinates with the governmental red tape Of caprice and custom, and swathed this
 mighty industrial entity. the whole canal
 force, with bands stronger than those
 with which the Lilliputians bound the
 giant Gulliver. When Colonel Goethals first came he found himself in network
 like Gulliver's. and it was only by pre- senting the matter to President Roose-s
 welt who had watched the vain and chaotic struggles of the past, that he was
 able to get the power which has enabled him to accomplish the mighty work which
 every one now recognizes as his.
 The Square Deal at Panama
 More than this, Colonel Goethals has
 used his authority so that his thousands
 of employees are glad to obey. He has brought harmony out of discord among
 the American employees and has done the
 same with the thirty odd thousand Gen.
 fral Americans, Jamaicans and other
 West Indians. He has not only preached
 the square deal, but he has given the
 square deal to every one and with the
 exception of a few constitutional kiclxers, |sll are satisfied. Every Sunday morning the chairman holds little supreme court
 of appeals here in his office in the ad-
 ministration building. He is both judge
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-21
CROCODILES IN BORNEO
Superstitious Natives Kill the Crea-
 lures Only in Spirit of Revenge

From the Chambers Journal.
 It Is a. common sight in Borneo to see d large crocodile summing himself on the muddy bank of river He takes no mo- tice of the natives even though they pass quite near him. So common indeed is the sight that the Dyaks themselves pay no heed to these dangerous reptiles. and yet it is no unusual thing in Borneo to hear of some human life being taken by d crocodile.
 For months perhaps the crocodiles in river live at peace with mankind and then suddenly one of these creatures will carry off some lad bathing in the river or even attack someone paddling along In his boat I know of a Dyak girl who. when sitting and padding at the stern of a canoe. was knocked over into the water and carried away by a crocodile and her companions could do nothing to save her.
 There seems to be no reason why the crocodile should suddenly show a man eating propensity in this way. The Dyaks account for it by curious superstitions. They say that if food is offered to a per son and he refuses it and goes away without at least touching it some mis- | fortune is sure to befall him and he will most probably be attacked by croSodile. | Also it is said that one of the ways the | gods punish crime by sending croco- die to attack the culprlt and have of- l ten heard it said by Dyaks of some one who has been killed by a crocodile that probably he has dspeased the gods l either by paying no heed to the warnings sent him in dreams or by means of omen birds or by committing some hidden crime
 | The Dyaks of Borneo will not kill croc- odile except in revenge. If the animal will
 live at peace with him the Dyak has no
 wish to start quarrel; if, however. the crocodile breaks the truce and kills some one then he feels justified in retaliating
 Under these circumstances the Dvaks set
 to work to find the culprt and go on catching and killing crocodiles until they | succeed in doing so. The Dyaks generally | wear brass ornaments and by cutting
 open dead crocodile they can easily
 find out if he is the creature they wish | to punish.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-21

bidders they would take their work from her
 In a business way this ultimatum forced upon Mrs. Daniels the most desperate situation she ever had to encounter. By giving up hand work and putting in ma. chimes she could cut the price to her coni- petitors' level. but she would lower the grade of her work. If she persisted in sewing by hand she would lose the con- tracts and the bulk of her business and probably would be forced to the wall She is mild of voice and not strong phy- sically. but she has a lot of courage. She stuck to her standard. She let the contracts go.
 lt was mighty hard and uphill work for a long time after that. Possibly there were times when she thought it would have been better if she had sub mitted. It Is better to have to discharge men who have worked for you for years. It is difficult sometimes to meet the pay rolls when there is the greatest need of showing a good front. Not all the shoe companies deserted her, however and some or those that abrogated their con tracts sent q little work to her. There. were a lot of old customers, too. These were men who had given their trade to her husband before she had ever been in the office. They wanted their shoes re- paired in tho old fashioned way which had been the custom of the house since it's establishment. Best of all, however, there was dealer down in the Wall street district who makes shoes for bank CTS and brokers, millionaires and men of much money. You cannot get pair of shoes in his place for less than s. t's- ually the price is nearer sl0. You wouldn't suppose so. but those bankers and brol- CTS have their shoes repaired just as reg uiarly as do the men who have to count
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-21

ideas on the line of what they call the manly art of self-defense are fond of swatting a punching bag now and then. A punching bag win stand just about so much of i'll treatment and then 1t will protest by bursting seam or ripping itself open Mrs. Daniels let all the ath letic clubs managers, all the gymna- sium instructors, and all the other people interested in punching bags, know that she could doctor a sick punching bag un til 1t was fit for q bout with Jim Jeffries, of the correctness of her statement she has stitched thousands of punching bags back to usefulness.
 Travelling bags have habit of getting cut or bruised or burst. She entered the field of repairing travelling bags.
 There are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of baseballs used in the United States each year. Some of them get ripped or torn before they have been used an hour. She makes a speciality of re- storing baseball covers to their original condition.
 It was natural perhaps. that other branches of the sporting business should come to her. She has one department now for the repair of baseball shoes, golf shoes. rowing shoes, bowling shoes, running shoes. She probably does more work of this character than any dozen other persons. Catchcrs' gloves, fielders gloves, footballs and anything or every thing in the leather line in sporting games she repairs. She has taken up, too, repair work in rubber footwear, but mostly. so far, in rubber soes and rub Der heels.
 Mrs. Daniels Is as proud of her busi- ness us if she was the head of . great
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-21
The Air in Subways

From the Boston Traveller
 The thing which forcibly impressed most persons who use the New Cambridge subway, especially those who have gasped for brShth in the subways of New York. is the extraordinary fresh- ness and purity of the air. In the New York system, and more especially in the subway section. the air is at times all most stifiing. Certainly in this partic- ular. and in many others connected with the work, Mir Nawn and his asso- ciates have achieved a wonderful suc- cess.