davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
Improvement in Four Years

T was in Birmingham for the first time in the spring of 19OS,' said J. w. Walwerth of Chicago. The effects of the Wall street panic were still seen here. There were many idle smoke-stacks here abouts, and while Birmingham was evil dently a flourishing city. the outlook was net bright for the near future.
 T was here a second time in 1910 There were signs of thrift on every side then, but Birmingham's greatest progress has heen within the past two years. I have never seen as much big building in any city Of approximately Birminghan's size as I have seen here. Not only in the buiness. district is a great deal of build ing in progress, but all through the in dustrial fields of Greater Birmingham large sums of money are being expended on new construction.
 '1 understand there is great demand for labor throughout this part of the country. If Birmingham has a popula- ton of 15O,O00 to 160000 now, as I am told its school census indicates. 1t is safe To say that in the fedora. census of 1920. it will be far over the 100000 mark Capital and population will tur7 this way ;n a mighty tide within the next year or two. It is only a question of two or three decades before Birmingham will have a population close on to 10000 or even 1,000000"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
LOVE IS OF THE VALLEY

By Tennyson, The Princess" Come down. o maid, from wonder noun
 tain height; What pleasure lives in height (the
 shepherd sang) In height and cold, the splendor of the
 hills? But cease to move so near the Heavens,
 and cease To glide a sunbeam by the blasted pine, To sit star upon the sparkling spire; And come, for love is of the valley,
 come, For love is of the valley, come thou
 down And find him; by the happy threshold,
 he, Or hand in hand with plenty in the
 maize, Or red with spotted purple of the vats, Or foxlike in the vine nor cares to
 walk With death and morning on the silver
 horns, Nor wilt thou snare him in the white
 ravine. Nor find him dropt upon the firths of That huddling slant in furrow- -cloven
 falls To roll the torrent out of d1sky doors. But follow; let the torrent dance thee
 down To find him in the valley; let the wild Lean-headed eagles yelp alone. and
 leave The monstrous lodges there to slope,
 and spill Their thousand wreaths of dangling ~
 water smoke, That like broken purpose waste In
 air, So waste not thou; but come for all
 the wales Await thee; azure pillars of the hearth Arise to thee; the- children call ana Thy shepherd pipe and sweet is every
 sound, Sweeter thy voice. but every sound Is
 sweet; Myriads of rivulets hurrying thro' thes lawn The moan of doves in immemorial
 elms, And murmuring of innumerable oees
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
CITY THAT NEVER GROWS YOUNG

Quebec herself rather endures being quaint than enjoys 1t, for in this day of Canadian development she has dreamed of the. future after the fash ion of those insistent towns further to the west. ''It has not been pleas ant for her." says Edward Hungerford in Harpers Weekly, Ito drop from sec ond place in Canadian commercial i'm portance to fourth or fifth. She has had to sit back and see such cities as Winnipeg, for instance, increase from an Indian trading place to a metropol- itan center two or three times her size while her own wharves rot. It is a mat ter of keen humiliation to the town every time a big ocean liner goes sail ing up the river to Montreal-her river if you are to give ear to the protest: of her citizens whom you meet alons the Terrace of a late afternoon-with- out halting at her wharves, perhaps without even a respectful salute to in, town, which has been known these many years as the Gibraltar of Nortl America"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
Last Lap of the Baseball Race

This week will place the pennant pole and flag within reach of the home team, or else it will remit that team to the honorable position of runner up. No second honors would, how ever, be acceptable after the team had led the league nearly the entire sea son. i.
 True, there has been a slump in the work of the home team, but slumps may be short-lived, and margin of 50 points remains to us. Now is the time to boost the Birmingham club, to give it every possible encourage ment. Good hearty roofing will help in this crisis. Let every fan, male or female, show this week where he or she stands. The take-him-out howler should be howled down himself.
 The Barons have 20 games to play, and only six of these games are to be played away from Redwood field two in Montgomery, two in Mobile and two in New Orleans. The other IA will
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
SAPPHIRES
From the New York Times.

From the New 1ork Times.
 sapphires are rapidly becoming the fashionable gems, according to London jewellers. and this popularity is gained at the expense of the rubies, which were in great demand little while ago. A Hatton Garden jewel merchant said.
 "The falling off in the demand for rubies is largely due to the number of artificial rubies on the market. Peo- pie do not like to buy the genuine stones when so many false rubies are being worn Fine. big rubies, however, have not decreased in value. A good four karat stone should fetch $5,000, while smaller stones still sell from $50 to s200 karat. Small rubies are cer- tainly cheaper-about 25 per cent than they were a year ago, owing to the lack of buyers.''
 Taking a.wallet from his pocket the merchant distracted two tissue paper packets. and, opening them. shot out a handful of shimmering sky bllD sap phires. These stones are worth from s25 to $e0 karat" he said, casually picking them up like beads. "They are stones which can not be made arti- ficially so well as rubies."
 Inquiries at a large firm of jewellers in the west end of London elicited the information that for some eighteen months past the demand for rubies had been small. Both sapphires and emer- aids may be said to be having a vogue now" said salesman.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
Governor Plaisted's Campaign

Governor Plaisted of Maine, demo- zcrat. is a candidate for reelection. Because the bull moosers were not able to file a state ticket 40 days be- fore the day of election, September 9, there is no bull moose ticket for state officers in the field. It is practically a straightout fight between the demo- crats and republicans. Governor {. Plaisted was elected two years ago by plurality of S765. He received s7S,425 votes, while his republican op- ponent received 64,672. It is believed that about 10000 republicans voted for Plaisted. Taft had plurality four years ago of 31, ,5S4.
 Governor Plaisted has reduced the state debt more than a million of dol lars, whereas the last republican gov ernor increased the debt more than sS1 SOC, ,0O0.. He runs therefore on the record of business administration.
 In November there will be a bull moose ticket for six electors as well al a Taft ticket. In the state campaign that is ended September g, Governor Plaisted, who is on the stump, is en deavoring to smoke out all repub licans. He demands to know whether they propose to support Taft or Roose welt. It does not stand to reason tha the Taft and Roosevelt rank and fil' can stand together in September wher they intend to go for each others throat in November.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
On the Wrong Side

NO one should underrate the inn portance of statistics, but it often hap pens that the expert statistician of the business world, in his desire to be conA servative. drifts into the pessimistic habit" said successful financier.
 The fact is that some of the best known statistical experts in Wall street are confirmed pessimists. One statistician in particular, who has a large clientele, has made bears of many reputable business men throughout the country. Ishave friend who swears by the statistician In mind; has been swearing by him for several years past Not long ago my friend got to be all most calamity bowler. He went short on the common stock of one of the big railroads. He knew the stock was bound to go down because sta tistics pointed that way My friend stands to lose a snug little fortune. The stock is going up and will con tinue to go up. II will never touch the price he said it would until we have another panic, which, it Is safe to say, will be several years hence.
 Another friend who relies on the expert statistician set aside s10,O00 a few months ago with which to buy |. s. Steel common. He was going to load himself up with this stock at S35 and sell it later on at about s95 or S96. He is still waiting to load up and will wait a long time.
 About six or seven months ago a prominent man of tho iron trade said 1 to me that there would be no substan- tial improvement in business until the summer of 1918; said we would have , no s11 iron, Birmingham f. O. b., this year Well. Birmingham iron is firm at SIP. and business generally is pros porous. This iron master had been 'reading the same statistical reports that had influenced others and made pessimists of them at an inopportune time.
 This is the day of the optimist There is no room for the pessimist,
 but it is always interesting to watch
 the psychologist effect of the pessi-
 mist on the man of figures
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
President Taft's Special Message

President Taft has muddled the Panama canal bill by a special mes sage in which he asks Congress to let any one aggrieved by the free toll provisions of the canal bill apply for redress to the courts of the United States. The President admits that the exemption of the coastwise vessels of the United States from tolls and imposition of tolls on vessels of all na- tions engaged in the foreign trade is not violation of the Hay-Pauncefote treaty. He is confident that it is not, and yet he asks Congress to refer the issue to the courts of the United States.
 All this is uncalled for but not un- expected. The Panama bill will prob ably stand unchanged, and the Presi- dent will be left to veto it if he so desires.
 No mention is made by the Presi- dent of the exclusion from the canal of railroad-owned and trust-owned Ships. This is the true nigger on the woodpile. The interests are lined up against this feature of the bill and a postponement of the entire subject to the December session is desired. The interests see that they are pow erless before the election and they hope for better luck next winter. They reckon wrongly, but still that is all the chance they have. Great cam paign subscriptions are no doubt in volved in this matter, and altogether what the public doesn't see far out runs no doubt what it does see.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
Mr. Taft's Weakness in the Campaign

Colonel Roosevelt did not discuss President Taft in his Massachusetts speeches of last week. q have nc time," he said, "to discuss dead issue" Colonel Roosevelt is by no means alone in this view of the cam paign. All reactionaries are lined up for Taft, but they are not numerous enough to carry many, if any, states. The special interests are somewhat divided, some supporting Roosevelt, but majority will support Taft no doubt Whatever money can do in this campaign will be done to procure votes for Taft.
 But in the betting in New York Wilson is not only favorite, but the betters are inclined to prefer Roose- welt to Taft. It is believed in other words that the Roosevelt popular vote will exceed that of Taft, and the cleo toral vote will perhaps follow the popular vote.
 The odds on Woodrow Wilson are long. They are inclined to rise to 4 to 1, and 3 to 1 is offered with few takers. Bets do not decide elections but they are pretty sure to show how the wind is blowing. The dismissal contemptuous dismissal-of Mr. Taft by Colonel Roosevelt shows that he appreciates the fact that his real op- ponent is Governor Wilson and that MT. Taft will be poor third in the race. He will almost rank with Chain and Debs among those "who also ran"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21

nity when Cleveland won. The gam bier always backs his judgment, and his judgment is always based on in sight and information
 /"Cleveland was elected in 1881 by the skin of his teeth. New York was lost by the republicans to the demo- crats by the Rev. pr. Burchard's in- felicitons speech-'Rum. Romanism and Rebellion The gambler. therefore, as a business proposition was right in betting that Blaine would be elected.
 The betting now indicates a big democratic victory. 1 imagine that a little later on there will be lively bet ting on the proposition as to who will get the larger number of electoral votes-Roosevelt or Taft"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
The Political outlook

T don't think any level headed sup porter of the bull moose thinks that Colonel Roosevelt will be elected Presi-
 dent in November but there is neverthe- less great deal of enthusiasm in the
 new party said democrat.
 For Roosevelt to get a majority of the electoral votes would be miracle, indeed, and this is not year for political miracles. Roosevelt will succeed in caus- ing Taft's defeat, but Woodrow Wilson will be the next President. and he will
 make most acceptable chief executive,
 no doubt. The White House has had
 many scholarly occupants, but Wilson will be the most scholarly President since the early days of the republic
 There have been many able Presidents in the last 40 years. Hayes made one of
 the best of Presidents. Garfield was
 man of large capacity, and Arthur, al- though not trained for high office was successful in serving out the greater part of the lamented Garfield's term. Grover Cleveland was a good lawyer and was
 one of the strongest statesmen who ever filled the executive chair Harrison was a man of uncommon capacity He was | a splendid lawyer and a delicious writer
 and speaker. The country has had few | more successful Presidents than McKin- ley. Roosevelt was the most literary man to occupy the White House. He was an
 author and as a chief magistrate was
 marvel of strenuosity. Taft is a well rounded lawyer, from all accounts. He is certainly @ well bred gentleman, but as a President he has not been a marked success. Wilson will certainly shine. "As to the leader of the new party, he may possibly be elected President in 1916,
 but l rather think some man will be chosen standard bearer of the national progressive organization, and will sue ceed Wilson in the White House. The
 modern democrats have way of keep. ing a President in office only one term at a time. The enthusiasm of the bull
 moosers, or bull meese, as some would say, is based on their confidence of party victory four years hence."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
RESTRICTIONS OF A BACHELOR

From the New York Times.
 Sometimes you can tell whats in a woman's boots. but never in her mind.
 The easier it is for a girl to get wis dom the harder 1t is for her to get beauN.
 It's no more waste of energy and effort to try to kill flies with clubs than the way most people try to do business
 P The time a man finds he isn't nat ural born inventor is when he tries to get the key into the lock of his door a. 2 o'clock in the morning.
 All the money in the world. if man had il, couldn't keep. him from getting nervous about some of 1t when poor relation wanted to sec him.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
WEAKNESS OF AMERICAN FIcrIo,

John Richmond in the September Met
 ropolitan.
 Remembering the sturdy enjoyment found by my grandfather's grandfather in emptying his flintlock at the fright ened back of British red coats, I feel free to utter the truth concerning the deep superiority of present-day English fiction over ours. Surely the old gentle man proved the absence of Anglomania in the family Not that living English novelists are so great; MT. Hardy be- longs to the past, and with Him at ono side they have no creative genius to compare with Anatole France. nor any one even to match against the coarser Sudermann. Ideas and artistry are easi- ly found among the English fiction three are necessary to the making of great literature. American gets along, however, without any one of the three qualities. American fiction is truly ! manifestation of profound ineptitude on the part of the authors, both as writers and as men. The predominant, the distinguishing quality of our sue cessful fiction is an absurd glorifica- ton of cheap externals, mannerisms, habits of speech, dress, thought, feel
 ing. action. The hodge-podge is hitehed to a plot, concerning which the best that can usually be said is that 1t IS clean in~ intention and shows good heart The effect, the grand result. is pitiful It's quality is that of harsh photography. uninspired by spiritual feelings or discoveries; and I am no. forgetting the conventional radicalisn which serves as kind of novelist E soup stock for ready use in place ol the same.
 All this over emphasis of the un- meaning surface is due to confuFor of newspaper and literary standards ends. aims. The word 'literary' has come to suggest an absence of rec blood. spinners and knitters in the sun the s5 per cent ma agazine crowd; this is nonsenseal, of course. In it's elemental meaning literature is at least as stsgk job as Journalism, albeit the inten' Ftion and function of the latter Is mere lily to present things that happen, ol the former to volatilize such materfa into lowering and potent meanings, te strike the rock and raise a spirit Una is life.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
T. R. AND SOCIALISM

italsm allow. This is not stealing our thunder. It simply relieves us of the main responsibility for such measures Ghough we shall continue to give them our suppor). It takes away from our ranks the mere reformers, who were de- luding themselves into the belief that they were socialists because they believed in the abolition of capitalist rule and the establishment of a noneapitalist govern ment as "an ultimate ideal"
 May the progressive party not only de- feat the republicans and democrats, but absorb all the nonsocialist radicals who have been voting the socialist ticket
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
THE MRoNG ONE

From the San Francisco Call.
 Jones was. just putting on his over coat when he casually remarked to Mrs Jones that he would be working overtime that night.
 Don't walt for me, dear" he re- mark ed.N q may be rather later than usual. But. there, it cannot be helped
 Mary. dear" remarked Jones pres ently, there is something the matter with the clock. l wound it up las' night, too"
 ooh, no. you didn'tr' said Mrs. Jone: icily. What you did wind up was Teddy's music box, and when you came to bed at 3 o'clock this morning 1t was playing Home, Sweet Home."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
MATING

| From the News Scimitar.
 Recent statistics, carefully gathered.
 go to show that while a great many
 men and women are anxious to mate and marry, the fair sex does not think
 much of the farmer They pass by young and prosperous agriculturalists,
 who own good farms and good homes, and are in comfortable circumstances,
 and they prefer to marry city boys,
 who work for small salaries and are in
 cramped and straitened circumstances
 There Is reason for this, in spite of all that has been said about the beau | ties of country life. Only those who
 are temperamentally adapted to it, and
 who can feel at home in 1t, can toler- ate 1t or be happy in 1t. To many
 women country home brings with 1t a
 sense of narrowness and a eollapsing environment that is suffocating. While
 the novelty lasts and everything is new and strange it is all right but when | once settled down to the humdrum of every day life 1t becomes exceedingly monotonous. When a top is set to spinning it usually describes circle, but this circle grows less and less untA at last the top finds itself whirling around in the same spot This is the condition in which many women find 1 themselves who are out of harmony with country life. The farmer Is a good man and makes a good husband, and like all normal men he is a phil ogynist. He loves a good woman, but some of them are backward, and seem to lack the moral courage to marry. Others are too selfish and penurious, and the woman who can earn her own living is much better situated and hap pier than when tied to such q man. The city reared girl, unless in excep- tional instances, feels lost In the .coun- try. No matter how kind and consid- crate her husband may be he is differ ent from what she has been accustomed to. Her ideas are different and her ambitions oyerleap her surroundings when enyironed by the realities of country life. No woman is satisfied with subterman, or with a man; what she wants is a superman, and she is seldom happy unless she can convince herself that she has succeeded in get ting one She does not want a man who Is unfinished and incomplete. Medi- ocrity will not suffice. She prefers man of force. even when this force is at times misdirected into delinquencies. She is not averse to finding in the man of her choice what overnice people are disposed to term animality She re- alizes that the force required to do wrong can also do right, when prop erly directed, and that the greatest of virtues are not infrequently linked to the greatest of vices Julius Caesar may have been, as some maintain, the worlds greatest man, judged as man. yet he did not hesitate to assassinate Vercingetorix, the proud and noble Gaul, who became his victim in battle. Neither did he hesitate to starve the Numidian king, Jugurtha, when in his power, and whom he left to famish In prison. Country boys are too goody- goody for city bred girls, who want an occasional dash of color fin their lives. And the wise country young man will seek a mate among his own kind Of people.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
necidedlx ExhIIarating

No matter If these be dog days Bir- iningham is booming" said George B. Ward. ''We have had no busier times since 1907. Everybody is talking prosper fly and acting accordingly. This district is going ahead with great rusch right now. The very atmosphere, ill spite of summer heat, is exhilarating Birming- ham looks, indeed. as if 1t had just had a good cocktail, and that is about the best way I can express this city,s buoy ant appearance.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21

be played at home. Mobile is still optimistic. It proposes to buy pen nant pole, but 1t will have no use for it at the end of the present season. The Barons will fly the flag by a margin of not less than 30 points.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
AND sTILL THEY WAITED.

At a funeral of a saloonkeeper a few days ago the minister, instead of mak- ing the usual announcement that ''an op portunity will now be given to view the remains, thought to make change in the announcement and said: An oppor- tunity will now be given to pass around Inc bier And quite a number of old fellows in the back of the room wiped the sympathetic tears from their eyes, removed quids of tobacco, spat out thes window and awaited results.-Lancaster (Mo.( Excelsior.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
Betting on Election

Having been a voter since 1872, l recall several campaigns in which large sums of money were bet on the re- sults,'' said a clubman.
 The professional gamblers of New York and Wall street spectators usually bet big money on the presi- dential elections and they nearly all ways win.
 "In 1884 the gamblers were all on Blaine's side and millions of dollars were lost among the gambling frater-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
The Birmingham Blue Hook

'fhe society writers have had much to say about Birmingham's Blue Book soon to Le published" said David B. Grace.
 Its appearance is looked forward to with much interest. Some women are more anxious to have their names in this society Blue Book than among the elect In the book os the recording angel"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-21
DESPITE ALL CARES.

However weary life may be,
 However filled with endless woe, More hopeful eyes the light will see.
 Transpiereing gloom, where'er they go; And dauntless hearts will bravely beat, Though frowDing trouble follow fast still finding much in life that's sweet, Till golden dreams come true at last