davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-06
Last Mondays Primary

On Monday last no convention of professional politicians met in Jeffer- son county, but between 13,00O and 14,000 qualified voters went to the polls to express in the ballot box their preferences for the various offices to be filled. Instead of a convention that would surely have been selfish and probably unrepresentative, there was direct action by 14,000 citizens.
 Which is better in the selection of public officials, direct action by 14,000 citizens or alleged representative ac tion by a hundred or so delegates?
 This question answers itself, and to- day the primary is a well established institution. No one desires to go back to the convention plan. No one desires to lessen direct action by the people.
 What has been accomplished in Alabama has not spread to all parts of the country. It is spreading rap idly, however. The boss ruled states in the effete east are yielding step by step, and perhaps by 1916 the pri mary system will be well established in all parts of the country
 It sprang up in far away Oregon and it has gone on conquering state after state until complete victory is now well assured.
 In no section of the country, how ever, is the primary system more needed than it is in the one-party states of the south, and it is here that it should have it's highest develop ment It is here that it's great useful ness can be made available, and when 14,000 citizens of Jefferson county went to the polls on Monday they went full of plans for the betterment of all concerned.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-06
Growth and Improvement

Everyone talks now of Birming- hams rapid growth. The casual ob- server remarks evidences of this city's increasing population and those who are in position to watch all of the favorable signs are beginning to real ize that population is increasing at much more rapid rate than was the case a year ago, or even three months ago. There is an eager demand for houses and office space. The hotels and restaurants are all busy and the shopping streets were never so crowded, perhaps even during the Christmas holidays, as they are now.
 Birmingham building operations are on more extensive scale than in any previous year, and every month will see an increase in building activity. A gentleman who took up his residence in Chicago just after the civil war and who lived there until a few years ago, said that Bir- mingham today reminded him in many respects of the lake metropolis in the latter part of the sixties. At the period referred to Chicago had popu- lation of about 175,000. People from all parts of the world were crowding into the young bustling city, Chi cago's growth has always sbeen phe- nomenal and Birmingham rapid de- velopment is one of the marvels of this country.
 Civic improvement should keep up with Birmingham's growth. We must have more and larger schools and many miles of new street paving. We must have an auditorium with a seating capacity of 10,000. Large and elegant hotels and apartment houses are to be built this year and in the wake of these new buildings it should be easy to organize an auditorium company and erect the needed audi torium or convention hall.
 Most prosperous cities do well when their population increases 40 to 50 per cent in ten years. But Birmingham will probably more than double it's population by 1920.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-06
The Iron Market

First the south had A great purchas- ing movement of pig iron and advanced prices," said Matthew Addy & Co.'S Cin- cinnati report. "Then about the middle of last month there came a wonderful buying of iron in the north and that section advanced prices. Now. while nothing spectacular has occurred, yet the regular and steady stream of orders pouring into the Tennessee and Alabama furnaces has forced them In self de- fense to again put up prices. so that s11 is now the usual asking price for No. foundry, f. O. ,b. cars Birmingham This is against s9 50 which prevailed in Mo- vember.
 During the week the developments have all been on the right side, par ticularly in the valleys, where some enor- nous transactions have occurred. The biggest consumers in the, country have purchased in wholesale quantities and the menace which has hung so long over the country in the shape of accumulated stocks in furnace yards is now a thing of the past. It is gratifying to note that the melters of iron are progress sively growing more busy"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-06
Corn and Cotton Planting in April

The present week has as rule been a favorable one for the carrying on of planting operations. It has been 'neith- CT cold nor warm, neither wet nor dry. The preparations for new crops have been pushed along, and no little planting has been accomplished.
 In Texas and Oklahoma and gen erally west of the Mississippi planting is well advanced. The western part of the cotton belt is well ahead of the other districts. The acreage in Texas and Oklahoma promises to be large. Thus far the western district has no cause for complaint.
 The crop in the east is, however, backward, perhaps to the extent of a month. Should the weather in the present month prove favorable the late start can be overcome, and req sonable acreage planted. A favorable month is much needed in the eastern end of the cotton belt-in all the country east of the big river.
 Corn is backward in all sections of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-06
IN A NEW YORK SUBWAY CAR

From the New York Times.
 When A Ienox avenue train stopped at the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth street station few days ago two women alight- ed. As one of'them arose from her seat she dropped a small roll, which uncurled and disclosed a sheet of about 20 trading stamps. Half the women in the car caught sight of the stamps at about the same time.
 Lady. you dropped something" called a man.
 The departing passenger did not hear, and the looks of some of the women sit ting near made the man uncomfortable. The 20 stamps seemed to have a fascina- tion for every woman in that end of the car. Stations passed and boarding passen- gers did not notice the stamps until they were seated. At one Hundred and Forty ninth street and Third avenue woman departing stopped as though to pick up the stamps.
 A sharp cough from woman in a brown dress so disconcerted her that she strengthened up and before she could stoop again she was carried toward the door by the movement of the train. A woman in a pony skin coat moved over to a seat near that vacated by the woman who lost the stamps. After a few min utes of studied indifference she quietly tried to work the stamps near her with her foot. The others glared at her so pointedly that she gave up the effort.
 By this time the train was running above ground and the woman who had cougfed could stand 1t no longer
 Come over here and see how this sioe of the Bronx is growing up,' she said to a friend and followed by the latter, she crossed the aisle and sat down in the seat the woman had left. She of the brown dress deliberately put her foot on the stamps AS the train pulled into Simp- son street she looked down and said in apparent surprise.
 Well wonder who dropped ths,' and she stopped and picked up the sheet of stamps. Without looking at the other woman in the car she got up quickly and left.
 Well" said woman in picture hat, what a nerve. And I just wanted them to fill my book
 The man had nothing to say.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-06
ESSAY ON HUSBANDS

Husbands are constructed in this man. her. They will rail at all those things in women which they most run after. He will say of you that your waist is too sihaii' your heels too high and your dress 100 low He will object to your vanity case. Even your puffs he will bid you cast into the fire.
 but do not heed him, for she who does these things will always hold him. even though he raves against them. And if you are a suffragette 1t will please him because he will have something to tease you about
 Do not be inveigled (fooled) into becom- ing what he calls a sensible woman. Nor when he has persuaded dnfuenced, vou to make yourself unattractive to all other men then he will go from his home to theatres ana restaurants where he may observe (gaze upon) those women who manage to have motors and the adnlira- tion of men, simply by being systemati- cally and consistently foolish.
 Should he stray from the straight nath. weep. not, nor pray, nor put ashes on your head, for he will return repentant. Husbands always come back.
 Do not seem to take him seriously, his goings or his coming or his staying away. When he returns from one of his ..trips,' look at him as though he were not there. Say to him, "Ah, this is my husband, believe?'
 Do not fuss over him. for he likes to be fused over, and If you argue (nagl 1t will give him chance to get back at you.
 But if you ignore him lightly, he will Feel that he is a brute and will begin to hate himself. And in short time he will become tame (gentle) and will be anxious to be made much of, as in the days be- fore you found him out.
 For every wife finds her husband out even though she may guard (hide) 1t as secret from him. Yet she will reason, Is she wise? Having obtained (caughD this specimen it behooves her to hold him. For when they become husbands, they are all alike and one is as good as another. Reason out these things then and let your reasonings cohere.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-06
FIDDLING BOB's BEST STORY

From the New York Times.
 He was President Tafts favorite story teller. Once the President wanted to get away from his official duties for few days, and that social soul invited half a dozen senators to go with him. One was Taylor He spun one yarn, "and after that" said one of the other senators who was on the trip, none Of us could get a word in with the President. He spent that entire trip listening to Bob, and he kept him talking the whole time. Laugh? I never knew a man to laugh so much
 in my life"
 His best known story has since been plagiarized and extended to geographical localities unknown to "Bob," but here is the story as it emerged in pristine beauty from Taylor's repertoire: A mountaineer who had never ridden on railroad decid- ed to take advantage of a S2 excursion rate to Memphis. and saw for the first time a large city. What chiefly interested him was the bars. He had never seen, bar nor hghbal; he had been used to drink ing 'liquor' out of a gourd. After he had visited a number of these marvellous places his enthusiasm overcame him, and he addressed the crowd thus: q can lick any man in the United States"
 The crowd laughed good naturedly. This infuriated the mountaneer. "I can lick any man in Shelby countyl' he yelled. This time the crowd sobered and looked at him with hostile eyes "I can lick any man in Memphis," he shouted. A short, thickset man emerged from the crowd and put him out of action with a right arm swing When he came to the mountaineer looked around feebly, and said, "I reckon that in that last proposition l kivered too mlirh grOInd ''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-06
China's New Constitution

The text of the provisional constitu- tion of the republic of China has been made public. It is shorter than the organic law of the United States, but it plainly calls for considerable re- production of our system.
 All power is vested in the people who are placed on footing of equali- ty. It calls for executive, legislative and judicial functions. It is but a provisional constitution, and legisla- tive authority is for the present vested in the national assembly to consist of five delegates from each of the IS provinces and from Inner and Outer Mongolia and from Thibet
 President and vice president are to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the provincial electors, but each pro- vince is limited to a single vote. The president, who is made commander in chief of the army and navy, is to make appointments to office, subject to the approval of the national assembly, and in cooperation with the assembly is to declare war and peace and make treaties. He is to propose legislative emergencies to the national assembly and in an extraordinary emergency may proclaim laws, which the national assembly, however, must subsequent ly ratify. He is to have a veto, but it may be negatived by two-t thirds vote. If for any reason the president ceases to discharge his duties the vice president may temporarily take his place.
 The ministry is to consist of pre- mier and the heads of departments. Judges are to be appointed by the president and the minister of justice. There is to be no judicial recall.
 The appointment of a premier be- sides the heads of departments rather goes to show that the new republic is inclined to have ministry responsible to the national assembly. This part of the plan is not, however, clear and certain. Either the French plan of government or the United States plan, will be the outcome, and at present it cannot be foretold which way the re- public of the east will go.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-06
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
System nt Polling Places

aThere has been a great deal of trouble at certain polling places because of the heavy vote," said Albert Stratford. but it seems to me the remedy is very sim pie.
 When a bank or other institution gets more business thsn it can attend to 1t adds more clerks. It is a very simple matter. There is no limit to the num- Der of clerks that can be employed at an election place. It would be a very easy matter to arrange the voting Just as banks arrange their business. Let one set of clerks handle voters say from A to M and another set those from N to z. Or if necessary have three sets. It would be simply a question of systema- tizing the voters and requiring those whose names begin with letters from A to M to get into one line and those whose names begin with letters from N to 2 in another
 q think there is a decided advantage in having few voting places centrally located and instead of having the boxes spread all over the city, 1t would be much better to have few and nave them properly systematized.
 "The election officers should be com potent men and they should be made to feel their responsibility. I think the grand jury should indict the election officers who were late getting to work Monday, because 1t is an indictable offense and the willful inconveniencing of scores of men is too serious a matter to be al- lowed to go unnoticed."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-06
GREAT MoGUL DIAMOND

From the Journal des Debates.
 In his ''Feuilles d'Histoire''' M. Bioves publishes a mass of correspondence that had not hitherto seen the light relative to the history of the diamond of the Great Mogal. This correspondence con- sists of letters of Thomas Pitt, grand- father of the Earl of Chatham. In 1701 Pitt was governor of Madras, and at the same time he represented an Eng fish company. One day man came and offered to sell for sS9000 a diamond or an extraordinary size, evidently stolen from the mines of the Great Mogul.
 In his position of governor, Pitt should have denounced the theft; In his position of commercial agent he should have thought first of the interests of his com pany. He did neither, but used his au- thority to intimidate the man, and beat down his price, and eventually fhe pre- cious stone came into Pitts possession for the sum of G20,o00.
 He committed it to the care of his son Robert, ordering him to take 1t to Eng land and have it cut. When his son had started on his journey the father began to have oualms. He calculated the value of the diamond at eSOO,00o, and the very idea of such vast sum frightened him.
 His wife was already a great spend thrift and he feared his son would take after her. His fears were not groundless for Robert hastened to marry dower- less girl, and began housekeeping on a ruinous scale.
 Tho diamond when it came into the hands of the cutter. Cope by no means fulfilled al lthe expectations founded upon it's value. Impurities and assures necessitated a wholesale cutting down. and from 426 carats 1t fell finally to 12S
 To make matters worse, Thomas Pitt found himself in hot water His political enemies made things warm for him. and his company talked of bringing an action against him to recover the value of the diamond He judged 1t wise to return to Europe himself and get rid of the stone and wind up the whole affair.
 His patriotism would have like to see the diamond remain in England but Queen Anne's funds were always at low ebb, and were not equal to the strain of buying the Great Moguls stone. George l. admired the stone whole heart edly, but declined to buy it, on the ground that it was parliament's duty to make .him a present of it. So Pitt re- solved to offer the jewel to the regent of France, who decided to purchase it for the s,,,n of P1O0 000
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-06
Sousa's Pleasant Visit

John Philip Sousa, the distinguished band master who has been attending the Birmingham rifle shoot this week. has met a number of old friends here and made many new ones. MT. Sousa has long had q worldwide reputation in the musical field and is as popular in Europe as he is In the United States. He Is the only American who has been honored with the much prized English decoration, the Vie toria Order" It was conferred upon him by the late King Edward at SandrlnghaaB and the badge was placed upon his breast by the present King, who was then Prince of Wales. Sousa and his band gave a concert at Sandringham by royal command and the victoria Order' was bestowed as a token of King Edward s appreciation of the excellence of Sousa' S musicianship and the matchless quality of his organization.
 In view of the fact that Sousas last tour abroad covered thousands of miles and was particularly arduous the band will not begin this years concert season until late in August.
 While MT. Sousa will always be best known as a composer and conductor, he has won reputation in literature His novel, "The Fifth String" has been one of the "best sellers.' His "Pipetown Sandy" is reminiscent of Washington Tn Sousas boyhood days. It is a charming book and will always be of special interest to those who have sojourned in the nati- onal capital. "Pipetown" was the fa- mliar name of that part of Washington beyond the capital 30 or 40 years ago.
 When T~work l work and when l play l play said MT. Sousa at the Hotel Hill- man yesterday. My principal diversions are shooting and horseback riding. l have enjoyed my outing in Birmingham very much, indeed.
 When I am with the band r never get outside of my routine. Only once, l | believe did I ever attend a rife contest while I was on a concert tour That was in Australia. I did not like the sport there, for live birds instead of clay pigeons were shot. It was slaughter and not sportsmanshp. The true sportsman goes into the field in the proper season to kill a few birds. to watch the dogs work and to revel in the landscape. But shooting birds in a rife match is wantor and should never be indulged in. Every state should have strict game laws. l un' derstand that Alabama's laws are quite strict enough. l think it would be well | in addition to the state laws, to have 2 | federal game law"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-06
HIS ABUSIVE EYES

From Lippincott's.
 Aunt Caroline and the partner of her woes evidently found connubial bliss misnomer, for the sounds of war were often heard down in the little cabin in the hollow. Finally the pair were haled into court and the duslSy lady entered a charge of abusive language against her spouse The judge, who had known them both all his life. endeavored to pour oil on the troubled waters.
 What did he say to you, Caroline?" he asked.
 Why. jedge. I jes' cain't tell you all dat man do say to me-"
 Does he ever use hard language?"
 Docs yo mean cussin'?, Yassuh, not wifi his mouf, but he's always sivin' me dem cussory glances.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-06
Rising Waters in the Great Rivers

The largest rivers of the country flow to the gulf, and these rivers drain the mighty Mississippi valley. Just at present these rivers are filled with almost unexampled floods of water. The winter is breaking up even to the Canadian border, and this alone fills the rivers with rising wa ter. There is 54 feet of water at Gin cinnati, nearly A feet at Memphis, and about 53 feet at Cairo. These great floods involve great losses to property, and doubtless many lives will be sacrificed.
 Levees cannot well be built that will stand against exceptional floods. The floods of the present spring season are clearly exceptional. When spring suns and rains came they fell on great accumulations of snow, and helpless refugees are watching the great rivers as they flow toward the sea.
 Doubtless appeals will be sent out in behalf of the flood sufferers. A large number are homeless, and the total damage will be reckoned in mil lions of dollars. Crops VII be de- layed, and altogether the flood dam age will become factor in the mak- ing of a new crop.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-06
By Kate Masterson, in Life.


 To select and win (catch) husband is a simple task compared with that
 | of keeping him in leash afterwerd. You will have to decide early if he is the sort that may be kept soggy and good natured with well cooked food or if he is the nervous, temperamental kind that must be impressed with the faults that he is constantly committing. Get him in the habit of apologizing For | something at least once day, preferably (by choice) before breakfast. This will start the day on the right basis It IS well with the nervous husband to adopt the manner of one who has made seri- ous mistake in marrying tyrant.
 This only if he be like to MT. Pipp. But if he be domineering and masterful, treat him like child and praise his good dis hot-like flame.
 And do not argue (nag) with him, or he will be quick to make it an excuse for staying out late. When he returns, be sleeping deeply, without noticing him, For he will expect to find you weeping. Weep only at such times as 1t is wise to weep, or he will seek one who smiles. And again neither weep nor smile, but let him alone. Encourage him to go fish ing or to his club. Loosen all nets (strings) about him, that he may feel that he is free and you do not care.
 He will wonder (guess) much and will tire of freedom. for man underwriters what he has and wishes always for what he has not.
 His dinner choose with care that they may appease his hunger with much sweets and all foods which are not good for hirn. For these are the things he will always prefer.
 Seek not to correct his ways or make him over, but take him as he is, praising him over much and looking up at him under your eye lashes, even when you have been married many years.
 Do not look to him for sentimental ways after marriage. Nor for pet names or flowers or remembrances. Do not look for (expecD them and it may occur to him to give them.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-06
Then and Now

.when l was a boy" said a young man yesterday, "I thought that a school teach CT was the least desirable thing in the entire category of wants. In fact I thought that they were the most undesir- able of all things else, for I didn't like school.
 But now am the other way of think ing l like school teachers and like them all the better when have a few leisure moments that I can spend in conversation with one of them Of course, I like to chat with the professors. for most of them are quite learned, thanks to our school laws; and am never happier than when taty-taying' with sweet little profess soress.'
 T found this out quite forcibly during the past dag or two when there have been so many beautiful young Alabama girls in the city. I understand that most of the young strangers here are teachers. too. Say do you know where they are going to hold their next meeting?"