davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20
CROCKER LAND
rye B. Morewood.

BY George B. Morewood.
True vikings sons, they have started
forth
To find a land in the frozen north
A land that is fresh from the hand az
God,
Where never the foot of man has trod.
A land hemmed in by the ice and snow;
A land that the seal and walrus know;
The home of the Arctic fox and hare
The tfackless haunt OF the polar bear:
A land where the moon and the north
ern lights
Make brilliant as day the six-month
nights;
Which, lit by the rays of the midnight
sun,
Cleans white when the winter night IL
done.
A land of wonder! A land of dread!
By what are these hearty voyagers led7
Is it for fame. or is it for wealth
They're willing to barter life or health?
Are you forced on by their lust for gold
To brave the dangers this land must
hold?
Nay. they are seeking the Arctic shore
That the world may know just one thing
more
For man may live, or man may die,
But the tide of knowledge. rising high,
Must ever flow on, from age to age
And this is his greatest hsritageJ
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20
THE EXPLANATION OF w. j. BRYAN
by HUGH w. ROBERTS

address the people. For there is no
ghoulish canker of conceit preying on
his vitals.
But there is no question but that he
cannot but yield to that desire to move
the people to exert his marvellous
powers over the people. to excite or
awe them. to render them silent with
tear dimmed eyes, or boisterous with
staccatic shout He can no more re-
sist than the drunkard can pass the
grog shop by, or the drug fiend toss In
pile of junk, his hypodermic needle.
1t is his passion that he must of neces-
sity indulge. Were Bryan president, he
would still be Bryan, the lecturer. His
critics might harp, the paragrapher
might given vent to gentle sarcasm,
the jocular poetaster might lift his
voice in tauntfui song-but Bryan
would speak. And he will ever speak.
All of which tends to prove that
Bryan is human. There is in every man
nature. Alexander conquered the world,
but in that he wept because no more
territory could be found he proved his
kinship to man. The shedding of tears
of disappointment or regret was dis
tinctively human. And 1T is distinctive
ly human in Bryan that he must con-
/ Ill
a demi-god. though many, in the be-
gining, thought him either the one or
the other, and until last week, few
still thought. He is a man-simply
man-with many excellent attributes.
He Is one of the most powerful indi-
viduals of the world. His influence
has predominated the politics of Amer
lea for the last IL years.
Thrice he acquired without momentous
effort the presidential nomination CT his
party. He failed to achieve the office
of chief executive, but his ideas, or those
which were characterized by sanity, pre-
vailed. In the last convention, he was
the one unassailable power. He held the
vast throng of delegates in the hollow
of his hand They ran at his beck and
call. They wept when he told them to
weep. and cheered when he so instruct
| ed. They stood erect at his command
and humbly sat when he directed He
| caused them to despair of the future
| in this instance, and In the next, to
burst into glorious song over his
| word picture of the morrow. As a
| result he nominated Woodrow Will
son, and secured his election. He could
| never in the past be king. He will prob
ably never in the future be king. But
| there is none who will deny that he has
proved himself the maker of king.
| But Bryan is human. He was endowed
with the marvellous gift of speech. 1t
is necessary that he speak. He will
always speak until the end of time. Only
the power of death can check his flow
of language
Other men have Jared as Bryan, though
in spheres much more limited. In a
certain section of Alabama, 1t was once
believed that Richmond Pearson Hobson
| was other than mortal man. His fol-
lowers enthused in their belief that he
could do wrong. that none of his
logic was other than absolute. that his
every utterance was stamped with truth
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20
AIabama's Opportunity

The farm movement committee of
the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce
as recently enlarged for the purpose
of assisting in arranging for the meet
ing of the land congress to be held here
in November is taking hold of this
matter with commendabIe zeal" said a
prominent citizen.
1t has recently been brought to light
that the exploiting of the irrigated
lands of the west has about reached the
limit and reaction has set in, while
Iowa is actually losing in population
to Canada and the opinion is expressed
In many quarters that now is Alabama,s s
opportunity to secure a desirable class
of farmers by going into this territory
and giving the facts as to Alabama
lands.
THE irrigated lands of the west have
been sold as high as $3.50 per acre with
water rights added. while the season of
cultivation is limited to three or four
months. and it is said that hundreds
and even thousands of those who have
been induced to go into that TERRITORY
could be easily brought into Alabama
If proper efforts were only made to OBJ
tain them.
The land congress recognizes these
racts and the meeting here in Novem-
Del is to take proper steps to go after
these classes. The presence of the pres
idents of leading railroads augurs much
Tor the success of this undertaking.
Tor 1t is the railroads that are taking
these classes into the west and Canada
and the same powerful agencies must
be enlisted if success is to be attained
in turning them to Alabama
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20
THE OPERA AND BALLET

From the New York Sun
TIME success of the Russian dancers
in Paris and London has not been
= diminished by the fact that they
are appearing there for the third season.
In spite of the failure of Debussy's bal
let the public of the French capital was
still loyal to them, to the disadvantage
of the dancers at the National Academy
of Music. These are of course, to take
has been for many years regarded as
the principal cause for the existence of
any ballet corps in an opera house. The
laws of operatic composition in Paris
are SO settled that there may be ballets
in operas of French origin for years to
come. 1t is true, however. that the
opera has practically disowned it's little
sister, the ballet; and the future of both
branches of art is not likely to be united.
There are operas of the older reper-
tory, such as the works of Meyerbeer
which are provided with ballets as much
as matter, of course, as they are with
a chorus. Verdi, who never found him.
self at his best In the composition of
its music, is less jealous in his devotion
to the ballet, which is a condition of ac-
ceptance for every opera submitted to
the National Academy of Music Wagner
wrote the first scene of the so-called
Paris version" of "Tannhaeuser." In or
der to make the success of the work
possible in Paris. But even this defer
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

his mother except upon order of the chan
Gerry court. In the event it was impos-
sible to detain him from visiting his
mother or she calling upon him, nurses,
doctors and a minister were to be pro-
vided to guard his spiritual and mental
welfare.
William Claghorn, an Englishman who
died in America, left what Is probably the
most remarkable document on record He
left 100000 and a pretty wife, OF the lat
ter, he was most jealous.
He left to her all his money, with the
stipulation she should forfeit $1,000 of the
estate every time she appeared in public
unveiled, and another $1,000 each time she
smiled at man. She also was to forfeit
the same amount every time she danced
with man, and in the event she per-
mitted any caress or term of endearment
she was to give up $4,000 of the estate.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20
MEANEsT WILL ON RECORD

From the New York Press.
IF there is any deep dyed meanness in
a man 1t comes out when his will is read"
is saying that has been truthful in more
than a passing measure. The spite of a
lifetime generally crops out in the final
document of life. 1t may vent the late
departed's anger on near relative, or it
may seek cunningly to controvert the let
ter of the law.
Some of the most acrid wills are treas
ured in the mental archives of veteran
lawyers today. Every day. almost, the
newspapers record a last testment of Pc
culiar tone and carrying amazing stipula-
tions.
Probably the meanest will on record was
that of a Pennsylvania man who upon
death left to his wife 81 and directed it
be mailed to her In an unsealed letter.
One of the most peculiar wills of record
is recorded at Liverpool, England. The
testator was woman and she bequeathed
more than 100000 to her sister, who was a
novitiate in a convent. BY the terms of
this document, the sister was to receive
the income of the estate so long as none
Of it be used to further the cause of her
religion. She was to obtain the estate
when she renounced her vows.
Another provided that son should in
herit his fathers vast estate SO long as
he remained out of the army or navy.
The son took the case to court and the
justice ruled that as the will struck at the
very life of the state 1t should be set
aside.
9pon condition he have nothing to do will
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20
Bryan and the Salary question

THE discussion anent Bryan and his
recent statement about the chautauqua
lecture business continues at lively
rate, said an ex-politician. The con-
sensus of opinion. as expressed through
the newspapers north and south is
against Mr. Bryan's course"
Il think that Mr.. Bryan's idea is
all absolutely wrong. In the first place,
the Secretary of State should be able
to live on his $4,000 salary But even
II he couldn't make both ends meet
on $1,000 month he is guilty of a
breach of propriety in having an out
side business. such as the chautauqua
lecture platform certainly is. l would
hate to think that Mr.. Bryan was sor-
did but in view of the fact that he has
accumulated large estate and that his
family Is small it does look as If he
were decidedly avaricious in continuing
In the chautauqua course for pay during
his incumbency of a high office"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20
HE EXPLAINED

From Judge.
The girl was willing, but the baseball
player was diffident. She had to resort tc
strategy.
''Jim,'' she said. there are several
points of the game that l wish you would
explain
Where shall I begin?' he asked. de-
lighted.
Il should like to-er''-she hesitated,
blushing-"k more about the squeeze
play"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20
In the Financial world

while the New York stock market
is not always a barometer of the busi-
ness world, when 1t slumps In panicly
fashion 1t has depressing effect gem
orally and when it takes an upward
turn 1t has a wonderfully cheering ef-
feet" said a local real estate man.
Business in Birmingham has been
in a healthy condition all summer
There has been great deal of activ-
ity in the Industrial field and I do
not know of any merchants who are
NOT prospering. But in New York money
has been very tight for some time and
that has naturally had its effect on
different parts of the country But
when the stocks began to rally and
move upward a few days ago there was
a better feeling not only in the east
but everywhere else. Big crops are now
in sight and there will be an uncom-
monty active fall trade"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

inviolable. that none of his dreams we're
incapable of realization. Had it been
charged that he was politician. a poll
tlcian' after all, murder would have been
oone In the land. And yet Hobson was
merely mortal, and is merely mortal.
mortal subject to the influences which
move the ordinary man, influences the
chief of which is ambition.
That truth was firmly established last
fall. Hobson had announced for the
serate. 1t was considered probable thai
Ex-Governor B. B. Conner would he !,
candidate for the same position. Walter
d. Seed was considered one of the most
formidable of the gubernatorial aspir
ant. Hobson. the politician or the
political diplomat, conceived the Utopian
idea OF dispensing JOY unalloyed through
out the list of the ambitious. He sus
gested to Conner that he acquire the gov
ernorsilip, to Seed, that he walk un-
hindered to the halls of congress, and to
them both, that he. himself, be unop-
posed in his plan to achieve the senate.
That plan was not unusual. Similar
tactics have been employed. No moral
turpitude was involved. 1t was nothing
to the lasting shame of Hobson that he
hao attempted to parcel out the Juicy
plums of the state. But the signifi
canoe reposed in the fact that Hobson
proved himself to be as other men. other
politicians willing to attempt every por-
tai consistent with honor and honesty,
TO the rear of which might be found on
portunity for his own advancement and
personal aggrandizement. Until the facts
were published. none of the followers of
the present Sixth district congressman
could have been convinced that he would
have attempted the tricks of the ordinarv
pol'tician-of the ordinary human.
And Mr.. Bryan has committed no fell
ony. He purposes to do nothing disgrace
ful. He is, indeed, breaking conven-
tional rule, setting a precedent In stray
Ing from the beaten path But he Is
Following the human instinct He is
searching for amusement, in the only
available channel in which his amuse-
ment lies. He is as the schoolbov. who
following the announcement of recess.
rushes TO the baseball lot or the SWIM
ming hole. Men are merely grown-up
boys. Mr.. Cleveland shot ducks. Mr..
Roosevelt spent his idle moments adding
members to his Ananas club. Mr.. Taft
played golf. Mr.. Parker became known
as the didapper of the Hudson. Mr.. Will
son mingles with legislators on the floors
of Congress. And why should Mr.. Bryan
be denied the prerogative of indulging in
his hobby, his amusement, his sport?
But for that unfortunate explanation,
which revives pictures OF the gaunt wolf
of poverty. no attempt would have been
made to stop him. He would have been
considered in the light of the kingly beast
which retires from a fatted carcass to
joyous dreams of feeding deer. cautious
approaches, sudden springs, tearing flesh
with spoutng blood. and overwhelming
madness in the kill
Mr.. Bryan explained and talked too
much Otherwise his enemies would have
been as that ship without a rudder, fioun-
dering In the ruthless waves, finally to
be dashed wreck upon the shore
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20
WILLIAM JENNINGS

- OIL WILLIAM JENNINGS
Z BRYAN has proved beyond the
point of controversy that even
the man who talks exceedingly well is
not immune from the danger of talking
too much.
It was unnecessary that he explain.
He might have appeared on platform
after rlatform-during the sweet and
piping days of peace-and escaped with
nothing more or less serious than side
remark from the gallery of his enemies,
or a disdainful smile from those who
are with him now for the sake of ex-
pediency.
But when he indulged in that ex-
planation concerning his poverty. when
he shook his ponderous head in en-
phasizing the urgent need that he lay
up a penny for the darksome days of
the winter of life. he gave his critics
an excellent opportunity-of which, OF
course, they did not hesitate to take
advantage-of indulging to the de-
light of their hearts in sarcasm and
artful gesticulation. And he furnished
them with the excuse for which they
the contents of the strong box of the
Bryan family
AS a result, 1t is conclusively estab-
lished that unless Mr.. Bryan is obsessed
by an extraordinary love for money. it
is not for the sake of more spoils that
he will continue to lecture. For
throughout period of II years, he has
laid aside $4,000 At the present
time. he is Secretary of State and re-
ceives from the government the tidy
little sum of $1,000 per month. All in
all, If estimates may be depended upon,
Mr.. Bryan. without having been re-
duced to the necessity of actually en-
gaging in toll has amassed a jocund
fortune of practically half a million of
dollars
There is little danger of the grim
and gaunt wolf of poverty ever digging
its horrid fangs into the auivering flesh
of the commoner's throat. Then, why
is 1t, you may ask, that Bryan will
lecture-during the vacation period, OF
course-wherein there is little doubt
but that his intention of so doing is
more or less an embarrassment to the
administration? Does Mr.. Bryan gloat
with Midas delight when his pile grows
larger and larger. or when he hears
with well pricked ear the click of silver
coin on coin? Or does he feel i'm
PEELED to deliver his message into the
heart and soul OF the great American
people, the great American audience
which cries out in the Silly night for
more food for thought and masterful
instruction? Or is Mr.. Bryan unable
to forego that pleasure which is his
when in this instance, he thrills and
stills his hearers and in the next lifts
them from their seats. and tosses
them into aisles, a mass of wildly
cheering human-life, unstrung, un-
nerved, incapable of thought?
There, we have it.
Mr.. Bryan has been charged with an
inordinate love of money. But he is of
such mental poise that he knows he has
on oil l. ,,
believes it absolutely essential that he
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
BunInesa Activity

Business in Birmingham is excep-
tionally brisk. said J. E. Shelby. pres
ident of the eable-Shelby-B Burton Piano
company.
1T is probably the hottest summer on
record but Notwithstanding the heat
business-retail and wholesale-as far
as I can learn, is going right ahead.
The people of my concern have been
working hard this summer and have
enjoyed the work because we have had
satisfactory results. 1 myself never en-
loved q summer more"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

The democratic tariff bill is so dis
pleasing to Governor Foss of Massa- :
chusetts that he threatens to remove
one of his manufacturing plants to Can
ada. For the benefit of the working
men, no doubt.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20
CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL HAzING
From the ChicaRn Inter Ocean

The young man walked down Dear
born street with one shoe off and his
coat turned inside out. A policeman
stopped him.
whats the idea?" he demanded
We'll, you see. it's this way" re-
piled the young man. I'm taking a
course at a correspondence school and
yesterday those darn sophomores wrote
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

Inez Milholland says she will con-
tinue her suffragist activities despite
her marriage. But Inez at the present
time is hardly in a state of mind to
forecast her future with any degree of
accuracy
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

Russia has sent a commission to this
to study public school methods.
1t could get some interesting informa-
tion from those Georgia teachers who
are SO anxiously waiting for their back
pay
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

is largely a superstition anyway. Other
public servants have got rid of it; the
soldier has his khaki. a smarter uni
form, by the way, than the blue ever
was, while the postman goes about
coatless and more or less comfortable.
No good end Is gained by swathing an
officer in wfappings of wool; it is un-
reasonable to expect that he will be
as alert as II he were comfortably
clothed. Logic is against it--lighter
clothing should mean higher efficiency.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

If President Wilson keeps up his av-
fill diplomatic positions abroad, this
country is sure to suffer from scarcity
of educators
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

Kaiser Wilhelm Saves Day." reads
headline in the Rochester Herald
Sounds like the good old days meath
the shadows of Mount Stag, eh?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

his masterpiece, Paris was at that time
accustomed to the most artificial intro
duction of the dancers. Bizet in Car
men" and Verdi in "Falstaff" employed
the ballet as legitimately as it might be
used in a spoken drama. How Gluck
contrived even in his day to make the
dances seem a more essential part of the
opera than Meyerbeer and his contem-
poraries were able to do the recent re-
vivals of 'Orfeo" and "Armde" proved
to the audiences at the Metropolitan
opera house. Possibly just in the de-
gree that the dramatic interest was re-
mote from life did the ballet for other
reasons than its own sake seem excus-
able. But the disappearance or the bal
let from opera was inevitable from the
day that Richard Wagner darkened the
operate horizon of the civilized world
Yet there has been SO marked decline
in the appreciation of the dance since
that time. Some of the most skilful eX-
ponents of the art of the ballet have but
ern Europe. They came from Russia
where the ballet is as an independent art
cherished and revered. Now that the bal
let must everywhere stand alone as an
art its development will probably be as
carefully safeguarded as it was in the
days that heard no Complaints of its de-
cline; for undoubtedly its future will be
as an independent art and not as an
accompaniment to opera.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

Now the mud splattered by Mulhall
threatens to stain the supposedly spot
less toga of Beveridge of Indiana. And
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

A Colorado man is dead from eating
pie. He was democrat and had been
denied the pleasure for many years of
republican misrule.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

Mr.. Bryan's complaint that his salary
is not large enough leads some to sus-
pect that he wants $4,000 a year with
travelling expenses.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

A Berlin scientist says kissing is safe
and healthful pastime. In free for
all race, he would win the Nobel prize
hands down.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20
SENSIBLE UNIFORMS FOR POLICE

From the Chicago Record Herald.
A humane reader in a letter to the
editor makes an appeal for more SEN
sible hot weather uniforms for the po-
lice, and the appeal should not go un-
needed. The present heavy blue uniform
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

And Just to think that for all these
years Ananias has been regarded as the
king of liarsi
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

An Oklahoma millionaire has adopted
300 children. Which might be desig-
mated some philanthropy.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

Believing there should oe a limit to
fashions the city council of Richmond,
Ind, has placed it at knee high.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

The standpat press is kept busy pick
ing up the pieces of the precedents
smashed at Washington
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

You never can tell how 1t is going
to turn out. The N. A. NJ. blacklist
has developed into a roll of honor.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20

The Bulgarian war Is about as hard
on the proofreaders as 1t is on the par
ticipants.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-20
Builders of birmingham

In the Traders National bank series of
biographical sketches under the title,
Builders of Birmingham" issued in
connection with its July calendar. is
James William Mcqueen. Familiarity
known to the public as Will Mcqueen.
The Traders National biographer says:
Through successful handling of the
matters in his charge, James William
Mcqueen, vice president of the Sloss-
Sheffield Steel and Iron company, has
been largely instrumental in the rise of
that company to it's present position. He
was born in Society Hill, s. c., on April
10. 1866, and was reared in Alabama, where
he received a grammar school education
When l5 years of age he commenced his
business career as a telegraph operator
for the Alabama Great Southern rail-
road. In 1890 he was promoted to the su-
perintendent's office at Birmingham as
train dispatcher, and In 1891 he became
connected with the Sloss company. His
energy, ability and sound Judgment
brought rapid promotion. and in 1902. he
became vice president, having served as
manager of the transportation depart
ment auditor and secretary and treas
urer.
Mr.. Mcqueen has operated In the real
estate field with great success and his
holdings are extensive. He is a director
of the American Trust and Savings bank
and vice president of the Birmingham
Title and Guaranty company.
Mr.. Mcqueen was recently elected chief
of the MacQueen Clan of America, a
quite appropriate selection, as he is a
descendant of Robert Bruce, King of Scot
land, as well as of General Andrew Pick
ems. of Revolutionary fame"