davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Initiative ImnuIsc

There was one peculiarly Significant
phrase in the account of the death of
the man who attempted to stop horse
in the Ascot cold cup race in England
last week" said close reader of the
daily papers. Referring to the man
this statement is made: According to
the Ascot police Hewitt was of nn-
sound mind and of a type peculiarly
liable TO be carried away by the im-
itative Impulse
"There are thousands of that kind
of people in the world and instances are
often shown of men and women being
carried away by the initiative impulse
| Perhaps the most striking recent ex-
| ample of this case was the death of the
Georgia banker. b. Sanders Walker,
who swallowed bicholride of mercury
tablets by mistake and died.
81 think l am safe in saying that
| such case had not been heard OF in
! years but Immediately after this oc-
| Cured the papers for almost a week
| daily carried an account of some un-
| fortunate who had swallowed bichloride
of mercury tablets.
| II is an axiom in newspaper OIL
| flee that one suicide is almost invaria-
| bly, followed by one or two more. Muir
! ders usually come in twos and threes.
| 1t may by a coincidence but ] have
noticed that big fires usually come in
/ series of three.
ITO my mind, this initiative impulse
Is one of the strongest arguments
against yellow journalism as sugges-
| tion is, beyond question, a powerful
factor in influencing crime and sui
| eide
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
ANOTHER EEAT VICTIM?

A MAN who jumped off a bridge the
~ other day. i75 feet above the water,
and lies to tell the tale,"' says he
did so because his i.knds had taunted him
with a lack of nerve in sailing to get mar
ried. We presume his idea was to convince
them that his courage was of very high
order and quite equal to any calls that
might be made upon it by what the old
fashioned editor styles the "holy bonds
of matrimony." The term originated back
in the halcyon times before divorce was
looked upon as a possible contingency,
even at the very hour when the wedding
bells are ringing. However, SO far as
the bridge jumper is concerned although
he may think that he has proved his cour-
age to all the world, he has overlooked
one important point. Jumping off a bridge
is matter tnat requires only brief in
terval of time and is soon done, but mar
riage is your true test that proves whether
a man is truly great or despicable, a cow
ard or a hero.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
The Currency Bill
the state

President Wilson's proposed cur
rency law is being received with
widely varying opinions, as is always
the case in currency legislation.
One of Chicago's most prominent
bankers goes SO far as to say that
if the bill, as now drafted, becomes a
law, it will force national bankers to
abandon their charters and do bust
ness as state institutions.
Chairman Glass of the House COM
mittee and Senator Owen of the Sen
ate finance committee, who are hand
ling the bill jointly, anticipate con-
siderable changes in the measure
when it comes up in the two houses
of Congress. What they want and
what President Wilson wants is some
thing that will give greater elasticity
to our currency. And in this effort
they have the support and approval
of the greatest financiers of the coun-
try. The difference of opinion arises
only from the method by which this
can be achieved.
Where there is such unanimity OF
sentiment on the need for relief there
should not be much difficulty in get
ting together on the means by which
to procure it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
Alabama, Congratulate Yourself

There is a place in society for the
dreamer. The dreamer who dreams
dreams which have a chance to come
true, is of certain value. But after all
the man who does things is the man
on whom the world must depend.
At the present time, the dreamer
telling of his dreams, is i'll Alabama.
There is also present the man who
excites the people in regard to his
plans, who declares himself possessed
of ideas which he will put into effect,
willy nilly, in case he is given an op-
portunity. But to the glory of Ala
bama, and to the lasting credit Of
Alabama, there is also present today
the man who is doing"
There are now in progress three
practical movements each of which is
pregnant with the probability of last
ing good. We behold on the on hand
an able engineer who is Travelled over
the state in an unselflish effort to
arouse the conscience of the people to
the necessity of good roads. On the
other, there is the man who is going
from town to town and county to
county telling the people that the
great object is not to cure disease but
to prevent disease. And again there is
the general discussion in regard to re-
formation in the procedure of the
courts of the state.
AS result of the practical efforts
of States Highway Engineer w. S.
Keller, there will eventually be good
roads in Alabama, constructed and
fostered by the state in conjunction
with the counties. AS result of the
practical efforts Of DR.. w. H. Sanders,
state health officer, who is at the
present time in jefferson county,
there will be decrease in the number
Of the sick and in the size of the doc
tors bills, and phenomenal increase
in the death rate of disease germs.
AS result of the practical effort of
the supreme court, the time will soon
come when murderer cannot escape
the gallows on account of some in
consequential error in the course of
his lower court trial.
There is certainly balm in Gilead.
Alabama should step around the cor
ner and shake hands with itself, and
at the same time swear eternally to
suppress the dreamer of dreadful
dreams and the man with plan, and
an ak to grind.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
JARGON

JARGON
From the London Telegraph.
Prose which was not prose" was the
definition given of "Jargon" by Sir A.
Quiller-Couch. who chose this as the sub
ject of the lecture delivered recently at
Cambridge, in his capacity of King Ed
ward VII professor of English litera-
ture. There were, he said two main
vices of jargon. The first was that it
used circumlocution rather than short,
straight speech; and the second was that
it habitually chose cague, woolly, alb
stract nouns rather than concrete ones.
To illustrate the ravages effected by
jargon, the lecturer reconstructed the
celebrated soliloquy of Hamlet, 'To be
or not to be-" as follows:
ITO be, or the contrary? Whether the
former or the latter be preferable would
seem to admit of some difference of opin-
ion; the answer in the present case being
of an affirmative or of a negative char
acter according as to whether one elects
on the one hand mentally to suffer the
disfavor of fortune albeit in an extreme
degree, or on the other boldly to envisagc
duNeiSc coiuitiohS III tHe prospect OIL
eventually bringing them to a conclusion
The condition of sleep is similar to, if not
indistinguishable from, that of death,
and with the addition of finality the for
mer might be considered identical with
the latter, SO that in this connection It
might be argued with regard to sleep
that, could the addition be affected, a ter
mination would be put to the endurance
of multiplicity of inconveniences, not
to mention a number of downright evils,
incidental to our fellow humanity. and
thus a copsummation achieved of a most
gratifying nature"
That, said Sir Arthur, was jargon, and
to write jargon was to be perpetually
shuffling around in the fog and cotton
wool of abstract terms.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
MoRs EFT VITA
BY Richard Henry Stoddard.

BY Richard Henry Stoddard.
"under the roofs of the roses,
Down in the dark. rich mold,
The dust of my dear one reposes
Like spark which night incloses
When the ashes of day are cold"
'IJnder the awful wings
Which brood over land and sea,
And whose shadows nor lift nor flee
This is the order OF things,
And hath been from Of old;
First production,
And last destruction:
So the pendulum swings.
While cradles are rocked and bells an
toled."
Not under the roots of the roses,
But under the luminous wings
OF the King of kings
The soul of my love reposes,
With the light of morn in her eyes,
Where the vision of life discloses
Life that sleeps not nor dies"
Under or over the skies
What Is it that never dies?
Spirit-if such there be- 4.
Whom no one hath seen or heard.
We do not acknowledge thee;
For, spoken or written word,
Thou art but dream, breath;
Certain is nothing but DEATH
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
A SIGN AT GETTY SBURG
Edgar Allen Forbes in the America,
Magazine.

Edgar Allen Forbes in the American
Magazine.
July l, 1858. on Cemetery ridge, near
Gettysburg, Pa, was posted this sign:
All persons found using firearms in
these grounds will be prosecuted with
the utmost rigor of the law.
For the failure to enforce it you must
blame old John Burns, for he was the
constable of Gettysburg; but the majesty
of the law was himself blazing away
with borrowed gun.
And, as accessory before the fact, you
must indict the man who had the shoe
store; for he, and not Hooker, Meade. or
Lee brought on the Battle of Gettysburg.
A detachment of men in blue with holes
in their shoes came into town to clean
out the store, and at the same time came
a detachment in gray with no shoes at
all; and then the village ordinance against
the promiscuous Use or firearms began
to go to pieces.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

prising how much hotter a man gets after
he has eaten lot of meat. | have found
that it keeps one thin also.
Another thing that l find difficult DUR
ing the hot weather is sleeping. / have
also made This discovery-that man who
works in the day can get along with seven
hours sleep, but it takes nine and ten for
anyone who works at night. or course,
you can do on less, but it is not healthy
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
The Writing on the Wall

The effort of Tennessee to borrow
money with which ''to save the credit
and honor of the state," and the noto-
riety which has followed that effort,
is but an illustration of what invaria-
bly, must happen when politicians
"play the game" for themselves and
not for the commonwealth.
Tennessee politics, during recent
years, has held the attention of the
nation. The governor is republican
and the house is divided against itself,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
THE TRIPPER.

What though the sun be blazing hot
And weary mortals steam?
There's something cools his feyered brow
A glad vacation dream;
And soon, he thinks, he'll fish all day
Beside a woodland stream.
What though his neighbors yawn ant
stretch
And own their laZiness?
He's toiling On, day after day,
And hopes ere long to press
The cool green sod with languid form,
But where We may not guess.
Fair rural lanes invite his soul,
He hears the song of birds,
AT twilight sees the rustic hind
Bring back the homing herds.
And dreaming of these tranquil scenes,
Is just too full for words.
Alas, poor wight, he'll come to grief,
His rosy plans will fade
He'll find but little joy, we fear,
And very little shade.
And ere week of country life,
VIII wish at home he'd stayed.
ODD.
It's odd. when all is said and done
That secret sprees will tell on one.
Louisville Herald.
It's odd, too, that ones past may be
Spicy, and yet unsavory
Boston Transcript.
lis odd the rouge for which they pay
Most always proves a giveaway.
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
lis odd the skirts some girlies wear
Drive skinny damsels to despair.
A FESTAL OCCASION.
"Jagbtters is lit up again.
Yes. That man is a positive geniu.
when it comes to finding excuses for get
ting pickled.''
What excuse does he offer this timer
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
FAvORITE FICTION
From the Chicago Tribune.

From the Chicago Tribune.
geological Gardens"
"All well, and All send love-"
Passengers Will Please Keep Their
Feet Off the Seats.''
Il don't Care Particularly Which Team
Wins; All Want Is to See a Good
Came
If l Am Wrong About This I Shall
Be Glad, of Course, to Be Corrected. .
Il Shall Think of You Every Minute
While I Am Away
"Killing Time"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
RURAL FOR SURE
From July Lippincott's.

s.
A party of Nashville motorists turned
sharp curve in the Cumberland noun
tains and paused for look at the scenery
just below them. on jutting rock, a
mountain boy of about 10 was looking de-
jectedly up and down the road, evidently
III search of something.
say lady' he asked one of the party
as the car started, lis you seen anything
OF COW down the road named Crump?"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
WHAT SHE COULD Do
From July Lippincott's.

From July LippincottS.
Arthur was spending a day with mis-
aunt.
II am going to do something to please
you on your birthday" she said to the
little boy, but first l want to ask the
teacher how you behave in school"
IF you really want to do something to
please me, auntie." said the boy, don't
ask the teacher"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

FRIENDS.
Let us now enjoy little music. sings
the Cincinnati Enquirer:
II had friend:
/ loaned him ten;
l haven't seen
My friend since then"
script pipes us;
II had one, too,
I went his bail,
/ wish he now
Was back in JAIL"
Whereupon the New York Tribune be-
comes reminiscent and adds:
"A friend had we
But Joined the strife
Against the trump
Who's now his wife,"
Without wishing to complain we may
say that:
We had friend;
He made a pile;
We've been estranged
For quite while.
Chicago Record Herald.
Not that we are complaining or register
ing any kind of n kick against getting
what we pay for, even when 1t is experv
ienoe, permit us to observe:
We had friend,
Indorsed his draft:
We got the harpoon
To the haft,
Houston Post.
The above stanzas show why this world
Is called vale of tears. It was a draft
that Judd felt. Well, one more:
I had a friend,
Indorsed his note;
And that was how
He got my goat.
A TEDIOUS JOB.
Mr.. Pilkin. you are an hour late this
morning." said the head of the firm. se.
verely.
Il know 1t, SIR" answered Pilkin. IT
tried to get all the pins out of new shirt
before putting it on
Hum! You did, eh? Well, that's about
as good an excuse as any know"
A GUTTER.
Success he'll never win,
That's what we say;
Finds chiefest pleasure in
Hitting the hay.
Rather be snoring than
Hustling 10 work.
Never forms any plan
'Cept one 20 shirk.
PAUL COOK
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
HOW ELECTRICITY is TRANSMITTED
Norman Read in June Aera.


When an electric current flows through
a conductor, it is not sent or pushed
through like a fluid in a pipe, but is
rather handed on from particle to par
ticle. In other words, it is a transfer OF
electrical energy which can be illustrated
by setting up a row of rubber balls tan
gent to each other.
Now. if we strike these balls at one
end the energy will be transferred from
ball to ball and can be utilized at the
other. Here we had no actual flow, and
yet the energy was transferred from one
end to the other.
The basic units which we use are the
unit of the rate Of flow, or ampere, the
unit of electrical pressure, or VOLT and the
unit Of resistance to flow, or the ohm.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26


: Cubans 1t would be we'll to watch out
for the Porto Rico picked nine and the
giants of the Guam coaling station.
There is no limit to the universal ball
field.
AS Stefansson stepped ashore in the up-
per Greenland country he was met by a
delegation of natives who looked him
over in a disappointed fashion, then
turned away sourly.
| Here said Stefansson to the inter-
prefer, give these beads and jaclSknives
and gumdrops to the boys with my COM
pliments. Call em back"
It's no use.' said the interpreter I've
talked to the headman. They're awful
sore. They expected you to bring EN-
mox of basebals. dozen bats a5sd
| catchers mask Because you neglected
to do this the game between the Blends
| and Brunets will have to be called Off"
And straightway the mournful wall OF
the blubber fed thrilled across the whit
ened wastes.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
ONE VIEW OF THE MODERN MAN

From the Washington Star.
1.-THE late Emerson Taylor, our consul
at Port of Spain,' said Washington Of
fetal, "hailed from Dry Run and he had
a fund of happy Dry Run humor.
Taylor once compared a disgruntle,l
brother consul to a Dry Run housewife.
This woman. he said, often took a
queer. disgruntled view of things. Thus
she said one day:
81 don't think the prodigal son was
so bad, after ALL.
He want good to his family
said her husband.
THAT'S fact said the Dry Run
woman, but when he got home all the
same, he knowed enough to keep his
mouth shet. If he'd been Axe the Twer-
tieth century man the first thing ned
done would "a been to find fault with
the way the fatted calf was cooked
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

A New Jercey man, unhappily married,
sought work in powder mill, hoping 1t
would blow up. He showed very little
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

Mrs. Marshall made As calls in 80 min
utes. If all women made calls like that
Dame Gossip wouldn't have a chance to
draw her breath.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
GETTING UNIVERSAL

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
The University of Hawaii baseball team
| is winning notable victories in this coun-
try. So did the Japanese team and the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

At the expiration of three years the
British war office will not accept horses
with docked tails. Who says war is not
becoming more humane?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
KINGS AND KINGLETS
From the Louisville courier-Journal.

from the Louisville Courier-Journal
A LONG the cables that bring the
- large and small news of Europe to
4 large audiences IN America comes
an engaging story about the King of Wur-
temburg, who is spending his vacation
walking about the realm accompanied by
his dog.
Nowadays there are a few small kings
wEo manage to have very good time
indeed. Although The institution of mon
archy is somewhat less widely popular in
the twentieth century than it was 20 CEN
turtles ago, small kings hold their thrones
more firmly than they formerly did. and
their heads are safer than they used to be-
The Car of the Russias is a prisoner
IN many palaces who does not enjoy the
immunity from attack and annoyance that
is the portion of the man who has been
convicted of killing his neighbor instea i
of being charged with the crime of rul-
ing him. Even the Kaiser of Germany and
the King of England are closely guarded
from attack, and poor, fragile, coura geous
Alfonso of Spain is regularly a target for
murderous missiles.
The little kings OF little states have an
easier time. The politics of greater DOW
ers hedge their Kingdoms and prevent
other little ldnglets from shooting over
the hedge. The German states are peace
ful subsidiaries of empire that has
managed for some time to get along with
out war abroad ard guarantees freedom
from internal disturbances There are dy-
nasties in India that are aging comfor-
tably upon little thrones in countries that
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

The pleasnnt'st angling Is to see the
fish
Cut with her golden oars the silver
stream,
And greedily devOur the trencherous
bait.
Much Ado About Nothing.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

The present crop of aspirants for the
heavyweight championship make us long
for the good old days when the peerless
John L. was fighting all comers, not ex-
cepting John Barleycorn.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

1t does no good to remind English suf-
frasettes of the good example set by the
the suffragettes of this country. They
won't pay any attention.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

There are said to be more than 100000
motorboats In this country and the way
some of them misbehave is a caution,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

You can get a very good idea of what
the Garden of Eden was like by reading
the advertisements of summer resorts.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

Most legislatures, we believe die hard
That's probably because most legislatures
are hard cases.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

A man may forget to brag about his
wife, but he will always brag about his
watch.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

why not speak of the Irnperator oc-
casionally as giant liner?'' asks a con-
temporary. Or a "big boat?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

The modern barefoot dancer gets a biz
salary because it is not her feet alon
that are bare.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

Il want free OATS cried Mr.. MARITIME,
and a rude paragrapher offered him hay.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

Underwriting big revival looks like
gambling in futures.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

We're cockpits until Great Britain estab-
nshed the 'pax Britannica" guaranteed
| the repose Of existing royal families mr.
| bade petty wars between petty power.
and bade the rajahs govern better than
they formerly governed or expect the dis
aster of irresistible foreign interpositlon
Upon sundry South Sea islands there are
10Y monarehs upon tinsel thrones who are
held securely in place by the majesty of
hags from beyond the sunlit seas. and The
might of antipodal armies and navies. A
Malay sultan whose independence sur
vived that of many of his fellows who
followed war as trade when piracy was
dull and took up piracy when the pros
! poets for remunerative war were dull, is
the absolute ruler of dominions as large
as Jefferson county and enjoys the boon
of continuous peace underwritten in Lon
don. He has revenues large enough to adj
NIT of his maintaining palace in his vii
| lage capital and another in the country. in
addition to string of thoroughbreds to
| contest for cash and cups in Calcutta,
Rangoon, Batavia. Singapore, Bombay,
and Bangkok. His is a happier life than
that of the mighty monarchs of European
countries. II war upon large scala
should overtake Christendom a change in
the color of the flag protecting him would
be about the only probable change In tie
status of his state
| In the days of 1amerlane, of Ghengis
Khan of Alexander, little kings occupied
preearious positions. but nowadays thew
have rather the best of it insofar as the
pleasure of living is concerned.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

Stefaansson will revisit the wilds of
Greeland. If he'll start right now we'll
go with him.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
ADRIFT WITH THE TINES

He says he is celebrating Uncle Sans
victory over John Bull In the polo tour
nament."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

The st. Louis telephone strike has made
Manager Hiss famous.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26

1t seems that the kodak trust fears a
quick exposure.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-26
Cut Down Meat Diet

This hot weather certainly has me 60
ing,' said man tnat works at night yes
terday. Il followed with considerable in
terest the discussion in The Age-Herald
as what one should eat in hot weather.
All who spoke said that one should eat
little meat in summer time.
II heartily indorse that idea, because
believe and have proven it by experience
in my case that the less meat man eats
the better off he is. While some people
who do work of manual character would
not carry it SO far, my wife and have
found that meat every other day at the
evening meal is entirely sufficient.
"On the non-mcat days we have vege-
tables, fruit. and iced drinks. It is sur