davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
UNDERWOOD GAINS STRENGTH
From the Boston Globe.

From the Boston GloDe.
 The prominence of Oscar W. Under- wood in the democratic presidential race appears now that Georgia and Florida have spoken in his favor and he has 62 or 6i votes from those states and from his home state of Alabama. He had a states his opponent was Woodrow Wilson. In one of the Florida districts there Is a possibility that Governor Wilson cap- tured two delegates, but elsewhere MT. Underwood was a winner. Speaker Clark and Governor Harmon kept out and what ever strength they were able to control went to Underwood.
 This is In accordance with tact agreement the workings of which have
 been made evident in other states. So far Governor Harmon has not been a
 beneficiary under this arrangement, while MT. Clark has largely profited. Now in
 his own part of the country MT. Under wood is assisted.
 MT. Underwood is fully as important a figure in the present Congress as Speaker Clark and his support in the south is genuine. His masterly leadership of the House democrats has given him a countrywide prominence and as chair man of the committee on rules he has displayed qualities of tact that mark him as an efficient executive. He is generally
 looked upon as a conservative. although he is committed to all of the progressive
 programme of his party.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
STORIES OF PLACES

From the Chicago News.
 At the corner of the Via Stabia and the Vicolo al Mercurio in Pompeii is 'The House of the Laocoon," which was com plete miller's and bakers establishment, containing grinding mills made of Vesu- vian laya stone and large oven for bak- ing. It was from this oven that the loaves of bread now shown in the Naples mu- scum were taken. By the side of the oven is a lead boiler in an excellent state of preservation. The boiler was heated with charcoal, the hot water being drawn off by means of a bronze tap. This points to the fact that the dough was kneaded with warm water. Charcoal was gen. erally used for heating and cooking pur- poses, though lately some excavations in Belgium prove that the use of coal was known to the Romans. The rooms were heated by means of brazier, exactly the same as the "braciere'' used by the Italians today.
 .'Washing day, or rather washing week, is so important period in the Balkan re- zion that all family and social oblga- tions retire to the background when il
 
 'T have known a cabinet minister's wife excuse herself from attendance at a court function because it collided with the ap- pointment made with her laundress This, too, in spite of the full quotient oi servants, yfootman. cook, housemaid ana old man. None of these was either priv | legged or efficient enough to meet th' i formidable laundress and satisfy her re quirements. Therefore, the lady stayed at home to fill the breach and a sym pathetic queen accepted the explanation with a readiness born of full understand | ing"
 Spanish lovers present their fiancee
 with fans on which they have written thu most impassioned poetry, embroidered garters with love mpttoes woven in silk and innumerable boxes of sweets. En gagement rings are not given. the bride
 elect receiving instead a gold medal
 which she wears suspended from a chail round her neck.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
The stronrest Cnndfdnte

"The strongest candidate for the demo- cratic presidential nomination is Oscar W. Underwood said an old-timer who spends much time in the east. q mean that Underwood has more inherent strength than any of the other aspirants. Other men have been in the race for year or more. They have spent great deal of money and have kept themselves well in the spotlight, but Underwood is uncom- monly well equipped for the presidency. lie has been student of economic ques- tons and especially the tariff, ever since he entered Congress, and I feel sure that ne VIII head the democratic ticket. What pieases me especially at this juncture is that every man one meets outside of the south says that the Alabama states man would make an ideal President. Peo- pie generally speak of Underwood as
 sate and sane The democracy will vote solidly for Underwood and thousef1ds or Independent republicans will edo like wise"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
Judicial Reform in Ohio

What is known as the Peck plan for the reform of the evils of delay in the courts is to be put into the Ohio con- stitution in the form of an amend ment. It is based on the idea of lone trial ,one review" A correspondent thus describes the Peck plan: "The new courts of appeal are to have original Jurisdiction in quo warranto, mandamus, habeas corpus and prohi- bition, and appellate jurisdiction over lower courts, the common pleas and probate courts and municipal courts. Only by unanimous decisions can courts of appeal reverse the common pleas courts upon weight of evidence. This provision gives much greater strength to jury verdicts. In view of the fact that another proposal adopted some weeks ago by the con- vention says that three-fourths of a jury in a civil case may give verdict, the Peck proposal in this respect be- comes very significant. If decision upon which court of appeal has agreed is in conflict with a decision in another circuit the judges are directed to certify the record to the supreme court for decision"
 Under the Peck scheme constitu- |fioual questions are to go before the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
It May Be Hughes

'I know that Associate Justice Hughes of the United States supreme bench is not candidate for the republican presi- that he will be nominated and forced to accept the honor" said an ex-officeholder.
 Roosevelt could not carry New York, and l doubt if President Taft could carry it. New York is essential to the election of any candidate. Justice Hughes could come nearer carrying New York than any other man.
 Colonel Roosevelt, in his whirlwind campaign for delegates, has appealed to the imagination of many persons, but should he receive the nomination he would be the worst beat man at the polls that this country has ever seen."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
TwIcKEMHAM FERRY

By Theophile Marzials. '.Ahoy! and O-ho. and it's who's for the ferry?" CThe brlar's in bud and the sun going down) And I'll row ye so quick and I'll row ye
 so steady And 'tis but penny to Twickenham Town" The ferryman's slim and the ferryman's young; 4f li | 'lMst With just soft tang in the turn of his tongue; And he's fresh as pippin and brown as And 'tis but penny to Twickenham "Ahoy. and o-hol and it's I'm for the
 ferry" cThe briar's in bud and the sun going
 down) And it's late as 1t is and haven't
 penny O. how can get me to Twickenham
 Town?" She'd rose in her bonnet, and O. she
 lookd sweet As the little pink flower that grows in
 the wheat With her cheeks like a rose and her lips
 like a cherry Its sure but you're welcome to Twick-
 enham Town" "Ahoyl and O-ho.'-you're too late for
 the ferry.
 The briar's in bud and the sun has gone
 down) And he's not rowing quick and he's not
 rowing steady; It seems quite journey to Twicken-
 ham Town. '.Ahoy! and o-hol" you may call as you
 will; The young moon is rising OCT Petersham
 hill; And with love like rose in the stern of the wherry, There's danger in crossing to Twicken-
 ham Town
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
The American Road Congress

what has been recognized generally as tho one weakness of the movement Tor better roads and system of national highways in the United States-a weak ness caused by associations committed to the same cause but working sep arately-has been removed by the an- nouncement that the four most i'm poHtant organizations working for the improvement of roads are to hold a great joint convention next September or October" said good roads booster yesterday.
 Neither the date nor the place for DIE meeting, known as the American Road congress, has been fixed. It has been definitely announced, however. that the American Association for High way Improvement, the American Road Builders association, the American Au- tomobile Association and the National Association of Road Material and Ma chinery manufacturers have joined forces for the purpose of making the American Road congress the biggest convention, outside those of political nature, ever held in the United States.
 All four of the associations pre- vfously have been holding individual conventions. Each has been. working Whole-heartedly for the improvement Of the roads of this country so that trans portation facilities may be increased, the cost of hauling crops reduced and conditions of life in the rural districts may be improved. At various meetings held in New York city the representa- lives of the four big associations de- ctdcd that by joining forces in great American Road congress a great im- petus would be given to the movement in every part of the United States. An executive committee has been appoint ed to have charge of the arrangements for the congress, the headquarters be- ing at the Belmont hotel, New York lefty.
 "A score of big cities have already put in bids for the convention. realizing that from the mere point of view of attendance the convention will be the try. Nearly all the automobilists who are members of the American Automo- bile association; all the state road of- liclals who are members of the Amer ican Road Builders; all the manufac- turers who are members of the National Association of Road Material and Ma chinery Manufacturers, and all the prominent citizens and officials who are members of the American Association for Highway Improvement will be pres ent to take part in the congress"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
In the Flooded Section

T have read with a great deal of in terest the reports from the flooded sec tions of Mississippi and Louisiana" said Mississippian yesterday, and aside from the tragic side of the flood I think the refusal of the negroes to work on the levee after the government gave them free rations.
 NOW, l am a believer in the ultimate goodness of the negro race but the atti- tude of these negroes is certainly typical of a large class of negroes. As long as a negro can be sure of his eatin's' he doesn't care for anything else. The ne- gro is essentially a lazy being, and most of them work only because they have to-. When those negroes got the idea that they would be fed whether they worked or not they immediately abandoned all thought of danger and lA the white folks do the worrying. I am glad to see that the army officer in charge of the commissary department had the good sense and understanding of the negro nature to issue the edict of no work no rations. If he sticks to that the work CTS VIII nave no IuIiucI Niti the negroes. I understand that several breaks in the levees were caused by the inability of the engineers to get la borers.
 'There is one class of workers that de- serves credit. Misfortune is a great lev eler as witnessed by the Titanic disaster, and it Is being proved again in the flooded regions. At Baton Rouge several hundred state convicts worked side by side with 300 cadets from the University of Louisiana and the elite of the city. There must have been many chances of escape for the convicts but as yet have not heard of so much as an attempt to get away"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
HOW MIME. POMPADOUR RULED
 FRANCE

From Francis Parkman's Montosim and
 wolfe.'
 The manifold ills of France were summed up in King Louis KY. He did not want understanding, still less the grace of person. In his youth the peo- pie called him "Ehe Well Beloved" but by the middle of the century they so detested him that he dared not pass through Paris, lest the mob should exc crate him. He had not the vigor of the true tyrant; but his languor. his hatred of all effort his profound selfishness, his listless disregard of public duty, and his effeminate libertinism, mixed with super stitious devotion made him no less na- tional curse. Louis XIII was equaily unfit to govern, but he gave the reins to the great Cardinal Richelieu. Lou" KY abandoned them to frivolous nis- tress, contented that she should rule on condition of amusing him. It was hard task, yet Mime. de Pompadour ac- complished it by methods infamous 10 him and her. She gained and long kept the power she coveted: filled the Bastile with her enemies; made and unmade minister's: appointed and removed gen erals. Great questions of policy were at the mercy of her caprices. Through her frivolous vanity, her personal likes and dislilxes, all the great departments of government changed from hand to hand incessantly; and this at a time of crisis, when the Kingdom needed the steadiest and the surest guidance. The King stlnt- cd her in nothing. First and last. she cost him 90 millions of francs-answer- ing now to more than as many million dollars.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
Arrangements and Religion

q can remember when members of the Methodist Episcopal church--South and North alilSe-avoided all worldly
 amusements,'' said an old citizens, who ir his younger days attended Methodist services frequently. But a great deal of wealth is now found among the Metho- dists, and wealth invariably causes re- taxation of Wesleyian rules. Theatre going. card playing and dancing used to be contrary to Methodist ideas. but 2
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
MRS. GREENS DESK RENOVATED
 New York Telegram to the Pittsburg Dis

patch.
 The ancient roll top desk at which Mrs. Hetty Green has sat to conduct her finan- cial operations ever since she became the most important woman in Wall street is all furnished up. The old piece of furni- ture has been given a new coat of var uish, and now stands in Mrs. Greens new offices at 1o1 Wall street. Mrs. Green has opened an individual office for the first time in her financial career.
 For years the richest woman in the world had her desk in one of the various banks with which she was associated
 7- x '. N 3---s'-----~-----
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
 NNE of the most famous and suc- cessful of American cartoonists, O MT. Davenport had an unusually picturesque career. He was born at Sil- verton, Ore, March 8, 1867. His early years were spent on a farm. Always fond of horses, he became jockey for a short time, then went to work as a railroad fireman, and for time was a clown in circus. From his boyhood he had re- markable talent in caricature, although he never attended an art school or took a lesson in drawing He developed his skill by constant practice and close ob- servation After working on the Port land Oregonian he went to San Francisco in 1892. He attracted the attention of William R. Hearst, who gave him a job on the Examiner. Three years later MT. Hearst brought him to this city and he began to draw the cartoons for the Jour- nal that made him famous.
 His cartoons on the trusts are perhaps the best known samples of his work. MT. Davenport drew the trusts as giants, fig
 ures with swollen bodies, distended stom- achs and heavily muscled legs and arms, enormous creatures dwarfing their sur roundings At the time of William Me-
 Kinleys first campaign for the presiden- cy, in 1S96 MT. Davenport's ready pencil
 was often set to making grotesque pie
 lures of Mark Hanna, MT. McKinleys s campaign manager. He caricatured MT.
 Hanna in clothes covered with the 5
 mark. Largely because of such carica- lures, an attempt was made to put through the New York legislature of 1897 an anti-cartoon bill, but the movement came to nothing.
 He travelled widely and interviewed or made pictures of many famous men, in- cluding William E. Gladstone. He went to Paris for the Dreyfus trial and wrote and drew pictures from the courtroom. Many of his experiences he used as ma terial for lectures. In one of these he said that shortly after Admiral Dewey presented to Mrs. Dewey the home in Washington which was purchased by pop ular subscription he was impeled to draw
 cartoon reminding people that the crit icism provoked by the admirars gift to Mrs. Dewey was unjust when Dewey's great service in Manila bay was recalled. Some time afterward in Washington he made the acquaintance of the Deweys, who thanked him for the cartoon.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
IN HOTEL LoBBIEs
In New Orleans

While the flood in the Mississippi val ley is depressing business conditions In New Orleans are not affected in any ap- preciable degree" said J. R. Ryan, sales manager of the Corona Coal and Iron company, who returned from the Crescent City q day or two aEB.
 Business in New Orleans seems really to be a little better than usual There has been very brisk spring trade.''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
| am today r the vein of chivairy.
 -Troilus and Cressida.
More Steel Than Pig Iron

The Iron Trade Review calls at tention to the fact that in the year 1911 the production of steel exceeded in this country the production of pig iron. The figures below present the record of recent years in gross tons;
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
REFLECTIONS OF BACHELOR
1om the New York Press,

From the New York Press.
 The man who thinks he would like to be a farmer never had to be.
 The more a girl knows the more a man who doesn't know anything at all things he can teach her.
 A woman with handsome furs is ter riblyl afraid of catching. cold on a day too warm to wear them.
 When girl is going to give dance it's sign she will do all the planning and her mother all the work.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
BAD EFFECTS OF EDUCATION From the Twice-a- Month Popular Maga-

From the Twice-a-Month Popular Nigga
 zine.
 When Allen Chandler was making a fight for the governorship of Georgia. the race question was one of the big issues. and all the candidates were delivering speeches on the advantages or disadvan- tases of the higher education for the coll ored people.
 One day he ended his argument against the proposition by getting off this out burst:
 "I don't believe in the higher education for colored men, because, as soon as you teach them how to say 'hic-hace-hoc, they forget how to yell 'gee-haw-Buck.' .
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

The Paris fashions call for corsets for men, but men refuse to be reshaPed in this way.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
CAREER OF DAVENPORT

''You don't know what you did for us when you drew that. I suppose?" said Mrs. Dewey.
 The admiral then explained that because of the criticism they had prepared to leave the country, but after Davenport's cartoon appeared there was a great de- crease in the number of abusive letters and the admiral gave up his intended de- parture.
 Another of Davenport's celebrated car toons was the picture he made in 1904 when Theodore Roosevelt was running 1 for President. It represented Uncle Sam with his hand on MT. Roosevelts shoul- der and saying, He's good enough for me-"
 For years before he realized his wish, MT. Davenport wanted to bring to this country number of genuine Arabian horses. He bought several that had been exhibited at the Chicago Worlds fair, but all but one of the mares died. He decided to go to Arabia himself and secure the stock he wanted In 1906 after having met and sketched the Sultan of Turkey. he received permission from that monarch to purchase Arabians and withdraw them. He brought P stallions and mares from the desert of Arabia.
 When the horses arrived here they were taken to Mir. Davenport's farm at Morris Plains. He continued to be an advocate of Arabian horses as army mounts and for polo playing, and he bred with con siderable success. At his request Presi- dent Roosevelt assigned a cavalryman to test the endurance of one of his finest horses, Nedjran. The soldier rode the stallion from Portland, Ore, to Morris Plains and the experiment was success full.
 MT. Davenport was fond of drawing pic- lures of horses, especially of work horses, and of writing little essays to go with the pictures which appealed to the drivers to treat their animals kindly and to be espe- cially considerate in winter He delivered lectures on the general subject of sensi- ble and humane treatment of dumb ami mals and was an outspoken enemy of persons who treated their horses cruelty or carelessly.
 Recently MT. Davenport, who had left the employment of MT. Hearst to draw cartoons for the Mail returned to the Hearst papers. His health had not been good for several years. In January, 1910, he suffered nervous breakdown which nearly ended his life.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

Some will oppose the proposition to make the Presidents term six years be- cause they do not want the excitement of electing a President reduced one-third.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

The Allen trial in Virginia is being carried on without the aid of a sob squad.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

Colorado is going to send the Sister of Speaker Clark to the Baltimore conven- tion to cast the vote of the state.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

bank, and a short time ago she moved to the National Park bank. But now she has decided to retire into privacy Ill pursuance of this decision Mrs. Green left the home of her son in this city to return to the Hoboken fiat which she occupied for years. The financieress-if there is any such worlds a domestic soul, and the palatial home of her son in Nine teenth street was too rich for her. So she has returned to the quiet of Hoboken. where the tender strains of the hurdy- gurdy can comfort her after the cares of the day in Wall street.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

An aviator waved his hand
 To Nends who stood below; A gust of wind o'ertook him, and
 I'm sure the rest you know.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

China wants to borrow sSOO, ,OOO,oOO This is pretty large sum and investors are proverbially cautious.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

A woman aged 104, in California, has registered and she hopes to cast Ter first ballot in November.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
MIR. CROTCH

What are you scowling about now?"
 T was just thinking that every time these darned motorists take the air, we poor pedestrians take the dust"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

A politician does not become a states Even Elihu Root has long time to wait
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

The politicians who have been riding in the Taft bandwagon are hurrying to get into the lifeboats.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

President Taft is good natured but when he is attacked he fights back.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

Champ Clark's sister will be delegate to Baltimore and she has been sternly instructed to vote for her brother. K
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

If the Standard oil should be dissolved once more John D. would not be able tt die poor.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

The standpatters in the Senate are scheming to put the Lorimer case over to the next session.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

New York's death rate has been halved
 since 1866. The people who live there are becoming more hardened.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

There is still good sleighins in Yellow stone Park
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

In North Carolina the Colonel repre- scented Jackson, but in Illinois he pretends he is treading in Lincolns shoes.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

The insurance companies lost so,4o0ooo when the Titanic went down. The speed mania is expensive.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
GLOOMY

The wight who's subject to the "blues," Ne'er pictures life in gorgeous hues. Instead O that, with doleful sighs
 He contemplates the cloudless skies.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES
ANOTHER VICTIM.

That's so. It's the sudden .honk be hind that gives us all the shivers'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

MT. Penrose's days are numbered. A progressive will fill his seat in 1915.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-07

New Jersey is killing mosquitoes and giving small attention to the presidential campaign.