davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15

''The sentiment in the West is more strongly on President Taft's side than 1t was few months ago when ex-President Roosevelt was planning to capture the republican nomination." said N. w. Hern- don of Chicago.
 T usually vote the republican ticket myself and if President Taft is nominated shall vote for him in November. Should MT. Roosevelt be the nominee I will either vote the democratic ticket or stay away from the polls. I never was an enthusi- astic partisan of the present incumbent of the White House, but think he has made us fairly good President and the party would not be treating him fairly If they failed to renominatc him. Denomination for a second term has come to be almost an unwritten law. This country will never elect a third term aspirant and I think 1t unfortunate for the party that Roosevelt has come into the race"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15
PUNISHMENT OF CRIMINALS

From the Joliet Qll.) Evening Herald.
 Crimnologists have been worrying good deal of late over the punishment of criminals. That is to say, there has been a good deal said in so-called scientific circles concerning the proper punishment of offenders, but so far nothing definite has been worked out Massachusetts is now discussing capital punishment sas never before. The people are going to vote upon the question, going to decide whether in the future persons convicted of murder will be put to death or con- fined in the prisons for life. Naturally a good deal is being said upon both sides of the question.
 It seems to be favorite argument with criminolosists, and with the Massachu- setts people who oppose capital punish- ment, that a'lfe sentence to the peniten- tiary is a greater punishment. in fact, than electrocution. But the question is so cas- lily disposed of, it would seem that it is almost unworthy of consideration. We ought to allow the criminals>to speak for themselves in this matter. and, in fact, they have already spoken repeatedly.
 In no case on record where a criminal has been given his choice between capital punishment and life term in prison, has he chosen the electric chaiE Indeed, there is hardly a week but somewhere in this country criminal pleads guilty for the sole purpose of saving his precious car cass from the undertaken and accepts a life term in the penitentiary in the nature of benefaction at the hands of the court Certainly these crim;nais are not selecting the greater of the punlshments in order to more thoroughly expiate their crimes.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15
PATTERSON ON WILSON

the footlights in an attractive manner. For while this was the plan of Woodrow Wilson's Literary bureau. It contented itself with blazing it in the newspapers and on the housetops that Wilson was first, ''the rest nowhere" To this. how ever, there came very little response that was not paid for. Hence the Ryan dodge was resorted to again. They tried 1t first on Underwood, but Bankhead, Under- woods friend, hit it lick and over it went, Grown at length reckless it now strikes out blindly, not only at Under wood, but at Clark, at Harmon and at all other democrats who have taken the field as aspirants for the democratic presden- tial nomination. They are, the Wilson agents tell us, engaged in conspiracy to beat Woodrow Wilson, the tin soldier of fortune, who but little while ago was teaching the young idea how to shoot, never dreaming of being governor of New Jersey or President of the United States. whilst they were bravely solving. the problems of government and nobly carry ing the standard of democracy, faithful alike in victory and defeat.
 Really it is spectacle for gods and ,1en. Here we have man of "book learning' chiefly; a theorizing experiment talist; as far as party service and knowl- edge of public affairs are concerned. a political adventurer who has thrown aside the convictions of a lifetime, ably ex- pounded, to follow Bryan and Roosevelt in the embrace of principles the very re- verse, claiming the democratic nomination for President by A schoolboy right of dis covery and by otherwise damning every competitor in sight
 What has Woodrow Wilson done in New Jersey besides sitting on George Harvey and crushing Jim Smith?p The robber Castle of Trustism on the Dela- ware stands still unscaled He does not even stay at home in Trenton and attend to the routine duties of the office to which he was elected. He seems dazed by the dazzling prize before him. He roams around from pillar to post pro- claiming his devotion to the new gospels he affects to have had revealed to him, whilst his agents, richly financed. circu- late tons of documentary falsehood. Who pays the freight? Where does he get i.? It will be observed that the republicans are all for Woodrow Wilson.
 These are serious questions They nre being asked by democrats everywhere. and that is why the woodrow Wilson boom Is on the down grade, and may even collapse before the peeting of the na- tional convention It was a mirage. It is delucion. It will be joke.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15
POWER OF A WORD

From the Kansas City Star
 A single word was often sufficient for Talleyrand to make his keenest retort. When hypochondriac. who had notori- ously led prof1igate life. complained to the diplomatist that he was enduring the tortures of hell, Talleyrand simply an- swersa. Already"
 To woman who had lost her husband Talleyrand once addressed letter of con dolence in two words:
 70. madame"
 In less than a year the woman had married again, and then his letter of con gratulations was:
 ''.Ah, madame!'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15
NAPOLEON WAS A DRESSER From the London Magazine.

Napoleon had a passion for clothes. Leger, his tailor, however, held a poor opinion of his clients taste T consist ently ignored Napoleons suggestions con corning clothes. He wished the skirts of his tunic to be turned back like those of Frederick the Great. T should not think of allowing such thing, sire I told him. The eyes of the whole world are upon you. I would not make you such tunic If you offered me the whole of your empire. The emperor laughed heartily, and gave way. - He re- stocked his wardrobe in 1910. Up to that year he had been so parsimonious that his whole outfit, exclusive of lace and trim mings, was not worth eS0. I then ob- tained standing order for six gray greatcoats in the winter and like num- Der of green uniforms in the summer. He also had a new pair of trousers and white Kerseymere waistcoat once a fortnight. These, were his chief ex- penses'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15
Hardly Recognized BIrmingham

Francis Wright of the educational department of Harper & Brothers, New York, is in Birmingham. He is a na- tive of old England but has been for many years in this country. and while only middle aged gentleman. he has seen years of active service in the publishing business. He is widely travelled and on his present trip he has taken a large swing around the west and south.
 My last visit to Birmingham was about 20 years ago. said Mir. Wright yesterday. Great strides have been made here. The fact is I did not recognize this city. While Birming- ham was quite we'll known city when | I was first here, it was thought of as one of the smaller towns of the coun- try. It Is a large and handsome city today.
 q was in Atlanta recently and was impressed with the growth and hustle of that city. It is the Yankee town of the south. I met some good old ante bellum people in the Georgia me- tropolis, but the community as whole
 suggests in a striking way the new south. While Birmingham is eXcep- tionally progressive it is quite south
 ern; at least it so impresses me-
 'I have been recently in Texas and have been glad to see evidences of wonderful thrift, but recently there has been a good deal of complaint in
 the cotton belt owing to the low prices which farmers receive for their sta pie. The south, taken all in all, how
 ever. is in fine condition and has a 
 splendid future"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15
Justice Harlan's Successor

Mahlon Pitney, once chancellor of New Jersey, is now Justice Pitney of the United States supreme court. The debate over his confirmation was prolonged and bitter, and whatever he may have done in a glass blowers strike case, it is plain he is no Har- lan--no adequate successor of the lamented jurist from Kentucky.
 The full vote is not at hand. The totals were 50 to 26. The chances are that the progressives of the Sen ate voted mo" while the standpatters of both parties voted ives" Senator Johnston voted mo-" Senator Bank. head may have been absent anc paired.
 No one really expected MT. Taft to find another Harlan. They are not numerous. It is safe to say that the new justice will not do his whole duty to the people," to use a phrase of Chief Justice White. He will not go out of his way to do that. He is essentially man of the Taft mould and make up.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
At Temple Emanu-EI Tonight

Judge Lean Sanders of one of the superior courts of. New York will de- liver an address on immigration tonight at Temple Emanu-E1. It will be in lieu of Rabbi Newfield's regular Friday night lecture.
 Judge Sanders is one of the leading men of New York. He is at the head of the Hebrew Shelter and Aid so- ciety and is grand master of the well known order styled B'Nai Abraham. The services at ths temple begin at o'clock and the public is invited. Judge Sanders address will be full of interest and a large audience may be expected.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15
UNDERWOOD DRAWS THE FIRE

From the Atlanta Constitution.
 | Confirming squarely the Constitu- | tion's contention that whenever the
 country thought of democratic tariff
 revision 1t you'd in the same breath think of Oscar Underwood, comes the Associated Press report which relates that the representatives of the sugar industry of Louisiana, protesting against the placing of sugar on the free list, also denounced Oscar Under-
 wood as responsible for that policy. The Louisiana incident sheds pro-
 phetic light upon each phase of dhe situation as t touches the tariff in the presidential campaign, again corrob-
 orating the Constitution upon the proposition that Underwood is pre- emnently the logical democrat to de- fend and propound the paramount issues of the party that will bear the stamp of his name. It remains only to be seen if the people of his own section will lift the embargo of sec | tionalism already discarded wholesale | by other portions of the country. When the free sugar bill was first reported out of the committee, ac- claimed by the country and accredited | by common consent to Underwood as a beneficial achievement, what happened? Washington correspondents inimical to Underwood at once exhausted every device of language to prove that credit should go. not to Underwood, but to other parties. But when the indus
 tries directly affected by the bill, and
 with no interest save in placing re- sponsibility for it. seek to express their resentment, 1t is upon Underwood that
 the blow falls That Is what will hap pen, also, with every other interest
 and among the republican high protec- | tionists generally, upon every revised | schedule that emerges from the House. once battle Is Joined in the fall. in-
 cidentaly, the Louisiana democrats ap- | tariff reform for every interest save their own. Underwood has made 1t plain that if that policy prevails there
 will be no tariff reform at all. It must be revision all along the line. and with statesmanlike courage he started the ball rolling by making a 50 per cent
 slash in the leading industry of his home section.
 The unanimous action of the teach
 CTS of Henry county, Georgia, might
 well point lesson to the country and to the revision for the other fellow democrats. In their recent session they passed a resolution '1ndorsing the can didacy of Hon. Oscar Underwood o1 Alabama for President of the United States, since the democratic party fs
 doomed to defeat or is to be crowned
 with victory through his policies
 The issue could not be stated more
 epigramma tically If the party Is
 crowned with victory, 1t will be be-
 cause of the Underwood policies. If il
 goes down to defeat, the Underwood
 policies will be called upon to stand
 the responsibility Is the man who
 stands in this 6per-important rela-
 tion to the party to be prejudiced as g presidential candidate because his owr
 people are hypno tized by the bogie oi | sectionalism which the north has dis | missed? Or is the man who must | stand the fire to be given also the partys indorsement for the laurels, ir- | respective of the section from which l he comes?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15
The Iron Market

Rogers Brown & Co.'S Cincinnati cir cular just received says:
 Greater activity is evidenced in the pig iron market, both locally and in the east. The bulk of the business in this territory has been made up Of small lots. but now inquiries are for a good tonnage, and the outlook is promising. There has been active basic contracting and the tone of the market is stronger throughout
 Tt Is reported that furnace stocks almost universally are being gradually depleted, which has given a much bet ter undertone to the market. and as far as steel making irons go higher prices are being registered.
 All lines of finished steel products report activity and some companies are reporting from two to three times as much business last week as during the preceding week or since the first of the year.
 "The supply and movement of ferro- manganese is being greatly interfered with on account of foreign complica- tions as result of the universal coal strike in Great Britain and prices are  moving upward.
 "The Steel corporation for the first time in considerable period has come into the market for pig iron, in spite of its own large production. Other large manufacturers are buying on the out side and it is figured that this is bu' the forecast of renewed buying move ment generally.
 "Coke is extremely active and prices of both furnace and foundry grades are advancing almost daily. The move ment on existing contracts Is seriously handicapped by inadequate railroad fa- cilities and buying fo, immediate ship mcnt is large. There is also general effort being made to stock coke ir anticipation of possible labor troubles. all of which has made for an extremely
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15
BOTH WRONG

From I1t-bltS.
 A ludicrous story. is told of an Edin- burgh bailie, whose studies in natural history seem to have been limited. The following case came before him one day:
 A man who kept a ferret having to go into the country, left the cage with the ferret in charge of neighbor till he should return. The neighbor incautiously opened the cage door. and the ferret escaped. The owner was very angry, and brought claim against him for dam ages.
 The following was the decision of the learned bailie: Nae doot," he said to the neighbor; nae doot yet was wrang to open the cage door, but" he added, turning to the owner. 'ye was wrang, too. What for did ye no clip the brute's wings?"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15
A LITTLE WHILE

By Dante Gabriel Rossetti. A little while a little love
 The hour yet bears for thee and me,
 Who have not drawn the veil to see If still our heaven be lit above. Thou merely, at the days last sigh, Hast felt my soul prolong the tone; And have felt the night wind cry
 And deemed It's speech mine own. A little while a little love
 May yet be ours who have not said The word 1t makes our eyes afraid To know that each is thinking of. Not yet the end: be our lips dumb In. smiles little season yet; I'll tell thee, when the end is come.
 How wsfmay best forget. s
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15
Effect of Census Figures

In the census returns of 1910, Bir- mingham attracted unusual attention not only by the extent of it's popula- tion, but by the percentage of ap- parent increase over the census popu- lation of 1900-245.4. It is attracting even more attention now by reason of the census report just published show ing the combined population of the city and the civil divisions close by.
 The census bureaus figures for this real Greater Birmingham are 211 ,961, which puts it above Greater Atlanta by 3977 and makes it the second city of the south, New Orleans, of course, ranking first.
 While Louisville is in general way reckoned as a southern city and has distinctly southern atmosphere, the ex- Confederate states co-extensive with the cotton belt are understood by the world at large as constituting the south. St. Louis, like Louisville, is good deal of a southern city, but geographically it is usually considered western. Louisville, although greatly disappointed in the census figures an- nounced in 1910, which showed it with a population of 223,928, gets good exhibit in the census consolida- tion report-city and adjacent terri tory, 317,743.
 In the matter of area of cities the government states it in acres. Greater New Orleans, city and adjacent terri tory, has an area of 373,145 acres. Birmingham and adjacent territory embrace 455,334 acres. Atlanta and adjacent territory cover 364, ,723 acres. Greater Atlanta, Greater Memphis and Greater Nashville each has about the same number of acres. Richmond is the only city of the class ranging from 100000 to 100000 inhabitants that has in an urban center a larger area than Birmingham. That city with it's environs embraces 475,942 acres, being 2O,608 acres more than Birming- ham and it's environs.. As important as was the publication of the census fig ures in 1910, the exhibit of the popu- lation of the surrounding territory is yet more important. If this urban center had in round numbers 212,0O0 two years ago it has fully 250,OO0 to- day. The growth of Jefferson county has been rapid during the past twelve months.
 Thirty or forty years ago census population had far less commercial value than it has today. Statistical science has advanced and is applied practically in every branch of human endeavor. A careful investor will naturally analyze statistics and an- alyze social and material conditions before placing large capital in com munities that show apparent phe- nomenal growth. But the bare state ment of census population figures in tabulated form in which comparisons with other cities can be made at a glance, first attracts the attention of capitalists and home seekers. An alysis follows. Thus the commercial importance of census population fig ures can be readily appreciated. l
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15

high cost of living in this country de- spite our vast production of food sup plies.
 The Presidents message will serve at any rate to recall his approval of the Payne bill and his veto of the wool bill. Mere words cannot ex- plain either away.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15
The Board of Revenue

T see that number of citizens are offering for the board of revenue in this county" said a visitor yesterday from Mobile. That position is very important one and should receive a great deal of thought and attention from the citizens of this county.
 Tn Mobile we have fund of s5o0,- 00e to expend on our roads and we are actually afraid to turn 1t loose on account of the inexperience of some Of the members of our county commission. All men that offer are doubtless good substantial citizens but when it comes to spending a vast amount of money each year the thoughtful people or any community ought certainly 10 watch carefully and get the best men that can be secured. Jefferson county voters will do well to let other things suffer if necessary if by doing so they get a first class board of revenue
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15
MT. Taft on the Cost of Living

The President sends a special mes sage to Congress in connection with a number of consular reports, all relat- ing to the high cost of living. These reports and the Presidents special message are intended to tell the American people that the high cost of living is worldwide. The President desires to have all accept his state >rnent as to that. He also wants an in- ternational commission to look into cause of the high prices of food arti- clcs. The consular reports largely re- late to the work of the cooperative soeieties across the water.
 Any communication relating to the high cost of living comes with a bad grace from the President, who signed the Payne tariff, pronouncing it "the bost ever devised;" who vetoed the Underwood wool bill which would con feSsedly have decreased the cost of uzrm clothing; who today threatens fto veto other bills to reduce the duties of. the Payne tariff. The Presidents $ record on the prices of the necessa- rie6 of life is not an enviable one. He openly advocates protection for prof it's. He does this even progressively and noisely, and yet he must know that the Payne tariff which was de- vised by manufacturers for manufac- t,scrs is today the chief cause of the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15
-----ses----- SUCH A DIFFERENCE!

From the Louisville Courier-Journal.
 When Amundsen reached the south pole it was in company with all his band. who had shared his expedition and who assist ed him in raising the flag to mark their triumph. What contrast with the self related pettinesssof the surly Peary, who refused to allow any of his companions to attain with him the goal of their eff forts!
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15

AN ACTIVE CITIZEN. party of interested American tourists were Joking across the border into Mex ico A group of insurrectos not far from the international line lounged about on the warm grass. Their guns were leaning against the trees in a clump that afford ed the party little shade.
 HWho IS the small man with the bushy side whiskers?' one of the young women asked the lounging native who had con- stituted himself the courier of the party. Small man. he repeated "Ah, yes. Eet ees Capnaine Luis Tortila. Yer fine man. Yer good fighter. In spring he fight ze mosqueet. in summer he fight ze bull, in winter he fight ze government. He yer first class citizen, Capitaine Luis Tortilla. ."-Cleveland Plain Dealer.
 WOE FOR FAT MEN. Sawed-off, slim-waisted coats
 Will be much worn this year: Those chaps whose girth one notes Won't be in style, we fear.
 PAUL COOK.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15
She never told her love,

Hut let conceaimcnt, like a worm the
 bud, Feed on her damask'd cheekj she
 pin'd in thought; And, with n green and yellow melan-
 choly, She sat, like Patience on n monument, 7miling at grief. Twelfth Night.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15

The New York Herald shows that Taft will be nominated on the first ballot, but it does not try to show that he will be as easily elected.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15

When Congress starts an investigation of the alleged baseball trust the Con- gressional Record should issue daily a sporting extra.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15

Amundsen used no gum drops and yet he got to the southpole. There was no one but waIruses to feed gum drops to in the Antarctic.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15

The bar association hestates to oust Attorney General Wickershams assist and because the Attorney General threat ems to resign
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15

The colonel fires such shots as these at the Taft forces: Patronage mongers,' ''spoils politicians and the like. The campaign is warming up.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15

Forget Greater Birmingham, which had but 2.6S5 people. It is Greatest Blr- mingham now, with a population official ly declared of 2l1.96l.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15

Amundsen was not quite up to date, for he used Siberian dogs instead of houn' dawgs.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15

One million miners in England and struck and England begins to think it can get along better without coal than without trousers.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15

The silence of Memphis, Nashville and Atlanta over the latest census figures of their populations is becoming dense and oppressive.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15

The Taft-Roosevelt contest is no Al phonse and Gaston affair, not for a sin gle minute.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-15

The colonel eablcd hiss congratulations to Amundsen, but he cannot get the Norwegian home vote.