davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24

with the production of $850,000,000 worth of cotton and vast amounts of lumber, cotton seed oil, coke, corn,
 iron, steel, sugar-the whole accord ing to the Manufacturers Record be- ing a productivity that aggregates nearly $7,30O,0OO ,000 year." Who gets the net proceeds of these prod ucts of sixteen states?
 All the way from Maine to Califor- mia, inclusive, this money is drawn upon. The life and fire insurance companies get big slice. The stock holders of railroads and express com panies get another. The farmers of the middle west get even more. Tolls are paid to the middlemen that han dle the goods in big cities up north that are retailed in the south. Tolls are paid at every turn to millions up north. And yet the south is estab- fishing factories rapidly.
 The man who would take the pro- ductivity of the south and truthfully and accurately analyze it would do the south a great service. Publicity is always valuable and helpful. Why should not MT. Cameron himself un- dertake this task? His is facile pen and if he will master the facts of a years production in the south and tell where the money goes he will do more than any one has yet done. Large generaizations are valueless. Nothing short of detailed figures will prove convincing and awakening. He might begin by ascertaining from the insurance department of each state how much money is drawn away from the south over and above what comes back each year. This of itself would be startling, and it is an aggregate easily and accurately ascertained.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24
Filling Northern Golfers

M. B. Cameron of Eutaw, aston ished by recently published figures concerning the production of the mines, mills, farms and forests of the south, wants to know where all the net profits of the products of the south in the last 30 years have gone to. This is pertinent and important question. It is one every citizen should consider and, if possible, answer.
 Mir. Cameron says the farmers of the south have not got it, for 30 per cent more farmers have mortgaged their farms than did 30 years ago. The country merchant is not becom- ing well to do and independent-quite the reverse. The timber cutting com panies are not, as rule, making money. Mir. Cameron fears that in the cities many mortgages have been executed. "Yes," says MT. Cameron, "the south is making money, but it goes to fill the till of a distant" peo- ple-Mr. Cameron says foe"
 Here is a problem indeed. It begins
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24
THE TEARS OF A MAIDEN

By Peretz Hirschben. Free translation
 from the Yiddish by Herman Bernstein.
 Brother dear. brother fair! Why do you tremble so and why are you so pale?"
 Thus one ray asked another after they had been parted for day.
 The other ray replied:
 Last evening I got into the leaves of a red rose in a flower garden. I became intoxicated from the odor of the roses and lost my way Later, when the sun and you all left the garden, the rose closed up and locked me in It's heart.
 Suddenly the rose trembled and I heard something like a soft, uneasy beat ing I recognized the tender and un- easy beating of girls heart. I un- derstood that a young man had plucked the rose and put it upon the heart of girl.
 What happened after that do not re- member I fell asleep. But when I awoke I felt that I was within the heart of the girl. Through her heart I strayed to her eyes. Through her eyes I saw the wide world. But I was prisoner
 "The girl stood all night alone in her beloved, who had promised her, while giv- ing her the rose. that he would knock at her window at night. But he came only toward morning, when I saw you all soar ing over the earth. And when he saw her face, he exclaimed:
 oh, how your eyes shine in the morn ing n
 .She said nothing in answer. Fatigued with waiting, she leaned out of the win dow; she fell.on his neck end on his breast and began to cry.
 And through her tears came out into the wide world again.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24
A Garbage Can Referendum

If the National Civic Street Clean ing company appears to sign the con- tract awarded to it by the city con- missioners the city will be supplied with garbage cans bearing advertise ments of outside and wholly foreign concerns.
 At this point rises up direct ap- peal to the people. As the cans cost no money economy will not be the basis of the proposed referendum. It is difficult to define the basis of the latest uprising of the people. A thousand signatures are needed to bring affairs to a focus, but experi- ence shows that referendum is easi- ly called. Almost anybody will sign a petition regardless of its nature.
 A referendum over trash cans would indeed be a novelty. It will help, however, to educate the people on the proper disposition of paper and other trash. Let the Wal ter Moore campaign proceed, and it is pretty certain neither side is ready to say enough" It is a strange and inexplicable battle, but that is no reason why it should not be carried on to the limit.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24
The Music Festival

The $10,000 guarantee fund being raised for the Birmingham Music fes- tival announced for May 3 and is larger than any previous festival fund. The first of the series of fes- tivals held under the dictatorship of Benjamin Guckenberger was a cred table affair, but the guarantee fund amounted to little less than S3000. Recent festivals held under the auspices 6f the Birmingham Music Festival association, of which J. H. Holcombe is president, have been guaranteed for sums varying from $6Oo0 to $S000. The festival last year was the most pretentious in some re- spects ever given in the south. It cost three times as much as the first of the Guc.lenberger festivals, but Bir- mingham has grown at a rapid rate; it is more than three times as large and much more musical in proportion than it was twelve or thirteen years ago. The forthcoming festival based on a $1O,O0o guarantee promises to combine such musical qualities and popular features as will make it dis tinctly notable among southern festi- vals. 4~
 As rule guarantors pledge them selves each for S100 to be paid pro rata in such amount as may be neces-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24

From Ideal Power.
 Don't worry: don't overbuy: don't go security.
 Keep high vitality; keep insured; keep sober; keep cool. Stick to chosen pursuits, but not to chosen methods. Be content with small beginnings and develop them.
 Be wary of dealings of unsuccessful men. Be cautious, but when bargain is made stick to it.
 Keep down expenses, but don't be stingy.
 Make friends, but not favorites.
 Don't take new risks to retrieve old losses.
 Stop a bad account at once.
 Make plans ahead, but don't make then in cast iron.
 Don't tell what you are going to do unti you have done it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24

sary to meet any possible deficit Some festivals have been so success ful financially as not to need any part of the guarantee fund, and in nc case has any considerable amount beer assessed against the guarantor. Pres ident Holcombe is now recognized as an expert in the management of fes- tivals and it is safe to say that the one to be held next May will be very decided financial success.
 It is encouraging to know that of the letters which the president of the festival association mailed few days ago to last years guarantors-10 ot them-in which the same individual guarantee was requested more than 50 had responded up to last night. This indicates that the remainder will respond in the next day or two. It is further fact of noteworthy interest that only five of last years guarantors have declined to renew their subscription; all which reveals a most commenda- ble public spirit on the part of the people of Birmingham.
 Musical festivals afford the refin- ing diversion that every large com munity needs in the spring of the year. These festivals are educative, too, and as Birmingham grows the more the educational value of artistic music is appreciated. It is to be re- gretted that Birmingham has no audi torium of vast seating capacity. The rext festival will be held in the lief ferson theatre and every performance will draw an overflowing crowd; but it is hoped and believed that by the spring of 1913 an auditorium with a seating capacity of eight or ten thous- and will be provided. Then an opera festival as well as festival of artis- tic concerts will be in order here.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24
"suN,s. NEW PROPRIETOR
From "Memoire of Today in the Marc
 Matropolitan.

From "Memoire of Today in the March
 Metropolitan.
 William c. Reick, the new owner of the New York Sun, whose personality as such is exciting interest all over the United States just at present, was born and bred In Philadelphia. although no one would ever believe it upon catch ing glimpse of the quick, jerky way in which he moves about. He is here, there and everywhere; at one time dis cussing Marconigrams with King Victor Emmanuel at the Quirienal, at another in some box of the parterre row at the very often, I am sorry to say, at church-he Is an Episcopalian- and oc- casionally toward dusk taking hand in game of cards at the Metropolitan club. No owner of a New York news paper, actively engaged in its editor ship and management, Is in closer touch with society, in the smartest sense of the word; and while one aft ernoon he will be calling on Mrs. Og- den Mills, on the next he will be en- tertaining Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt and Mrs. M Orme Wilson and party of women and men of light and leading at Sherry's to meet some foreigner of note, such as the Antarctic explorer, Sir Err nest Shackleton. He Is equally in touch with Wall street, and counts many of the so-called captains of finance and industry among his warm est friends.
 There is no truth, however, in the stories so widely circulated to the ef- feet that in his purchase of the Sun he has merely acted as the representive of Clarence Mackay, of James Stillman, or of the Standard oil syndicate, who are alleged to be the real proprietors of the newspaper. I happen to know of a certainty that Reick, who by means of judicious investments has amassed a fortune amounting to nearly two mill lions of dollars, has purchased the Sun as it's sole proprietor, investing the greater portion of his property in the venture,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24
steady Progress in School.

"The conditions of the public schools of the county are first class now" said Snow Rodgers of Morris. one of the county school board.
 "The schoolhouses have been stead fly improved and modern furniture has been installed. The class of teachers as to capabilities has been improved until the county now has in it's hund- reds of schools trained, corps of first class teachers. Steadily more money is being given to schools and the attend ance and standing of pupils shows that much progress is being made. Then, too, the parents of children are taking moro interest in the work of the schools"
 MT. Rodgers Is merchant, farmer and sawmi1l man and is a candidate for the board of revenue.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24
IN THOSE OLD FREEMAN DAYS

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
 A young disciple of Socrates went to him and said, Master, I have a desire to enter politics.
 The philosopher slowly nodded. 'It is an honorable profession" 4hs Isaid. #
 The younger man hesitated.
 Do you question my ability?' he asked.
 No" replied the master
 Do you doubt my zeal, my energy, my powers of persuasion?'' t
 No" the master again replied.
 Then what is it that causes you to withhold your full approval?' ns
 The master slowly responded.
 Tt is the way you brush up your hair. son. he replied. "Pompadours and poli- tics don't mix,'' And the young man went away grieving sorely. 5- tR
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24

ton went into effect Georgia is a great beer state. Under the name of near beer all standard beers are sold in Georgia on the payment of a small license or tax
 "If the prohibitionists can have their anti-shipping measure passed hypocrisy in Tennessee and Georgia will be defeated and those states will become as dry as good old sober Mississippi.
 Notwithstanding the fact that prohi- bition lobbyists in Washington speak hopefully, I doubt whether the measure of the advocate will come to vote in the Sixty-second Congress. I hope it will for wish to see prohibition tried out good and hard"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24
THE FIRST BLUEBIRD

By James Whitcomb Riley Jest rain and snow, and rain again!
 And dribble. drip and blow! Then snowi and thaw; and slush and
 then
 Some more rain and snow' This morning I was most afeard
 To wake up--when I jing! seen the sun shine out and heerd
 The first bluebird of spring! Mother she'd raised the winder some And in acrost the. orchard come. |s Soft as an angels wing, A breezy. treezy, beesy hum. Too sweet for anything! The winters shroud was rent apart
 The sun burst forth in glee, And when that bfuebird sung. my heart Topped out O bed with me!
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24
UNDERWOOD

UNDEHWOOD
 Writing in the March Metropolitan on Oscar Underwood Carl Hovey says:
 "His work in the House and his suc- cess in the difficult position of chairman of the ways and means committee. com- bned with a real lack of oratorical abil- ity. have steadily and surely brought him forward; these things, pernaps noth- ing else. An eloquent speech, whether the eloouence is real or only an imitation, probably dlsgusts 20 hearers where it fills one with decided joy.
 MT. Underwood talks plainly and sim ply to the House as one business man talks to another. Thisfis great virtue, under the circumstances. especially as he seemsrto talk very frankly and freely. He is not a mere favorlte son. as ex- plained Another peculiarity of the un- derwood boom is much more important and significant, for it makes the immense difference between him and Harmon and Wilson and Bryan. especially the last two. He never originated an expression like Guilt is personal,' he never invented, or used any sort of slogan or battle cry, and he isn't in the least a militant, an accusing, a prosecuting kind of per son. He is fighter, yes. indeed! In the debate on bill. or in the committee, he is a perfectly determined and un- yielding individual, capable of proloneins his opposition until the situation at last falls into his hand-his course in the free wool controversy showed this-pu' there are political opinions of the last h years that have crystallized into creeds as everyone knows, and have created widespread demand for aggressiveness ol another order from his. It is difficult lhour for a public man not wishing te be classed with Champ Clark or Bailey certainly not deserving to>be. who is neither an uninteiligent local politician 1 at heart like Clark nor a pretentiou' statesman like Bailey, to hold some ol
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24
As to Care of Lawns

"It Is mistake to burn off dead grass on lawns said a man who knows the business of grass culture.
 The better thing to do is to top dress them with we'll rotted stable or COW pen manure and sprinkle well slacked lime over this dressing; if the manure is not available then routed leaves and loam from the low places in woodland, top dressed with slack lime. will give splendid results. Beware of sawdust and Johnson grass manure from livery stables"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24
NOT LIKELY

From the Jacskson Clarion-Ledger.
 Champ Clark" says tine Birmingham Age-Herald, ''has the strongest face among the presidential aspirants." But will any aspirant be permitted to run on his, face?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24
MANS SPHERE

From Tit-Bits.
 "Where," asked the female suffrage ora tor, would man be today were it not for woman?''
 She paused moment and looked around the hall.
 T repeat" she said. where would man be today if not for woman?"
 He'd be in the Garden of Eden eating strawberries" answered voice from the gallery.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24
WOMAN WON BATTLE

she most needed messenger. Hastily writing in cipher her all important dis patch, order issued for Mcdowell to move on Manassas tonight she gave if to Donelan, who was taken by her agents in buggy, with relays of horses. down the eastern shore of the Potomac to a ferry near .Dumfries, where he was fer ried across. Cavalry couriers delivered the dispatch into General Beauregard's hands that night, July 1G a
 And the source of Mrs. Greenhow's in- formation? She has made the statement that she received a copy of the order to McDowell.' Allan Pinkerton was not wrong when he said that she had not used her powers in vain among the officers of the army
 At midnight of the 17th there came Colonel Jordan's reply:
 -" Yours was received at s o'clock at night. Let them come; we are ready for them. We rely upon you for precise in- formation. Be particular as to descrip- tion and destination of forces, quantity of artillery, etc
 "She was ready with fresh information. and the messenger was sent back with the news that the Federals intended to cut the Manasses Gap railroad to prevent Johnson, at Winchester from reinforcing Beauregard. After that there was noth- ing to be done but await the result of the inevitable battle. She had done her best What that best was worth she learned when she received from Colonel Jordan the treasured message:
 |" Our President and our general direct me to thank you. We rely upon you for further information. The Confectionery owes you debt
 When the details of the battle became known, and she learned how the last of Johnsons $500 men (marched to General Beauregards aid because of her dis patches) had arrived at 3 o'clock on the day of the battle and had turned the way ering Federal army into a mob of panic strickenSfugitives. she felt that the Con federacy owed her a debt indeed
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR

From the New York Press.
 Lie, and the world lies with you.
 Smile. and get half one back; growl, and get back 100.
 Wine wit Is chiefly funny to others who are hitting the same bottle.
 It's easy enough to teach an old dog new tricks if they're bad ones.
 A great relief about when the time comes for some men to talk politics is they can drop the weather.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24

IN Harper's for March, William Gill
 more Beymer tells the true story of Mrs. Greenhow, a Washington wom- an of gentle birth, who acted as spy for the Confederacy and gave the informa- tion which resulted in the Confederate victory at Bull Run.
 "Washington lay rinsed about With camps of new formed regiments, drilling feverishly Already the press and public had raised the cry, On to Richmond When would they start? Where would they first strike? It was on those two points that the Confederate plan of cam paign hinged. It was Mrs. Greenhow who gave the information. To General Beauregard at Manassas, where he anx- iously awaited tidings of the Federal ad- vance. there came about July 10 the first message from Mrs. Greenhow. The mes sage told of the intended advance of the enemy across the Potomac and on to Ma passes via Fairfax Courthouse and Gen. trevlle. It was brought into the Con federate lines by young lady of Wash ington, Miss Duval, who, disguised as a market girl, carried the message to a house near Fairfax Courthouse, occupied by the wife and daughters (southern born) of an officer in the Federal army. Gen. eral Beauregard at once commenced his preparations for receiving the attack, and sent one of his aides to President Davis to communicate the information and to urge the immediate concentration of the scattered Confederate forces.
 
 But still the Federal start was delayed. and the precise date was as indefinite as ever It was during this period of un- certainty that G. Donellan, who, before joining the Confederates, had been a clerk in the department of the interior. volun- teered to return to Washington for infor- nation. He was armed with the two words Trust Bearer in Colonel Jordan 5 cipher, and was sent across the Potomac with instructions to report to Mrs. Green how. He arrived at the very moment that
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24

Twenty-six co-eds of the Northwestern university are quarantined in a house having only one telephone. This is the heighth of official cruelty.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24

Brandt, the New York valet who was sentenced for 90 years for stealing two pins and a shoehorn, Is creating great tangle in seeking release from prison after serving five years.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24
sURE THING

"It takes a guy whose purse is fat to Foccupy a city fiat"-Age-Herald It takes bunch of cash and gall to live
 these trust-ing times at all
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24

Stephenson's vindication was low in grade, but Lorlmer would be glad to ac- cept one even lower. Anything to hold a senatorial seat.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24
ExILEs FROM ARCADIA.

XII or always does tragedy or com
 M edy preponderate in ones life,
 according to his or her point of view There are some brave and hearty souls who can laugh in the face
 of despair and meet trouble with un- blenching lips, but even they sometimes
 jest to keep from signing. And there are
 other people on whom the sun of fortune shines with such infrequency that they dwell In a sort of twilight zone,' from
 which even the dreams of happier days are banished. They are caught fast in the grip of untoward circumstance and no matter how hard they struggle, there l is not one chance in thousand that they will ever escape from a sordid, heart breaking thraldom which stifles their finer l natures and gives the death blow to their l ideals. Such people, doomed to exist in
 an environment that is abhorrent to them, destined to end their days without ever having witnessed the fructuation of their hopes and not quite strong enough in
 their natures to arrive at philosophic 'Nirvana'' which renders them indiffer- ent to outward circumstance. are truly
 to be pitied. These are exiles from Area dia. They were born to be creatures of brightness, endowed with quick and live- ly imagination. a heart disposed to hope,
 love of the beautiful desire for all that is best and sweetest in life, they are cast on the barren shores of diversity and relentless years do the rest. They are the butterflies that fall in the gutter, the half-starved blossoms that blacken by a factory wall. They are to be met with everywhere. They toll In great office buildings, in department stores, behind the wickets of cashiers windows. in city sweat shops and along the crowded high
 ways of life, where each day is merely
 another cycle in the struggle for exist
 ence They are the people who would like to be something better, something high CT; they are the people who would soar above the littleness around them, but have no wings. Given a chance. they might become great, or what is more to the purpose they might be happy. but fate decrees otherwise. They die as | uncounted millions have died be- fore them and are forgotten. Usually | their dreams fade away in the presence of gaunt realities. long before death ends | their misadventures, but this earth is I ''ruffled OCT with cells of death," in which such dreams are buried. 1 $79 REALIZED.
 ball it was for charity
 In truth, a worthy cause;
 Fine clothes were there no rarity, l The jewels gave one pause.
 |
 | ANTI-NOISE RUSE. "The Perkfords don't speak to MT. Groucher any more.
 "What's the troub1e?"
 MT Groucher gave little Tommy tin I horn.'
 Well, that should have pleased the boy and his parents both"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-24

The slushy streets of Washington have nothing on many of the speeches fired off under the big dome.