davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10

ing King and Parliament in the face In
asmuch as King and Parliament were, in
other words, the court and the country
gentlemen, what more natural than that
they should have watched the finger on
the dial to see how their interests might
be affected? The population was increas-
Ing, and it seemed necessary. for in
stance, to devote national or common"
lands to the growing of wheat to feed
these additional mouths. What more
natural than that the peasants should
lose more than they gained in the deal?
It was the other fellows who held The
land, drew the rentals and controlled the
price of wheat. Now they took this land
also.
But the villager was hit by another
bolt. His village industry was being fast
suspended by the large centralized plants.
AS If this were not enough to ruin him.
the terrific taxes growing out of the wars
or centuries were laid unfairly upon him.
And so the English peasant BECAME a
''landless hireling," dependent for the
merest pittance of wages upon the tenant
farmers, who themselves began to as
sumo the manners of the aristocrats. If
the peasant migrated to the city he was
absolutely at the mercy of manufacture
ers, and if he starved he was commonly
reckoned an illustration of 1.-The discip-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10
} HUNGER-By George Eaves D. D.

line of nature" on those who breed too
fast. It was pitiless doctrine in the
months of those who knew nothing of
free trade the only condition under which
nature can be held responsible for the re-
suits.
The wars against the French, which
ended with the defeat of Napoleon in 1916,
had forced up and kept up the price Of
wheat for 20 years. Napoleon was
great servant of the British landowner,
esd when he ceased to harry the incom-
ing fleets the landowners discovered a
method of keeping out those grain bear
ing fleets without French aid. The new
method was the corn law of 1915. For
3 years before the French revolution
wheat IN England was sold for prices
varying from "a to 81 shillings a quarter;
say an average of 3 shillings ($l25)
bushel After 1904 the price never fell
below 70 shillings a quarter, which is ap-
proximately $40 a bushel The extra
had gone wholly into the pockets
of the landowners and farmers, while the
rest of the people had paid for more than
their share of the expenses and provided
far more than their share of the men who
fought and died in Difference to aristo-
cratic diplomacy For those were the
years of the war.
But the landlords took care to raise the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10
JOHN BRIGHT-No 2-OLlGARCHY AND HUI

weather. merchants and manufacturers
sons of non-conformists, themselves
steadily drifted through whiggery to tory
ISM And when the reform bill came in
1882 it was but a hesitating and grudglng
concession, which did not greatly improve
the representation of the nineteen -twen-
tieths though indeed great changes in
the distribution OF seats resulted
1t is worth while asking once more the
question made immortal by Carlyles ia
nous phrase: What was the condition of
England, as to her people, her nineteen
twentieths not in any way related to, or
suborned by. the classes? Granted that
in the eighteenth century the arlstocraey
was "the diligent and successful patron of
art, letters and intellect" and that so
long as England was almost wholly agri-
cultural and so long as economic condi-
tions were permanent, the English gen.
tlemen were the finest in Europe, why
cannot idyllic conditions endure? Alas,
four years before the repeal of the corn
law one-tenth of the population were
paupers.
A change, fifty called the Industrial rev.
olution, was sweeping away many an
cient landmarks. No one could stem the
flood. The last remnants of feudalism
were about to be engulfed and the prob
lem, How reorganize society?" left star
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10

"clemming" folk one eminent aristoerat
offered the advice that ''turnps, swedes
and mangel wurzels,' grown for cattle
and sheep, we're cheap. Another. a
bishop. recommended hot water with a
pinch OF curry powder" for a hungry
stomach. How thoughtfull Yet when tho
proposed corn law of 1915 was noised
abroad there were riots. Middle and low
er classes united in protesting. Bakers
shops were pillaged and members on their
way to the '1Iouse" were nobbed. But
the measure was adopted by majority
of more than three to one. and became
the bulwarl1 of privilege for 80 years.
Bright was not years old when the corn
law was approved by King. lords and
commons. Ho was not when, In the
nearby city of Manchester IN ST. Peter 5
fields and on the site now occupied by
the famous Free Trade hall, throng
of ragged workmen met, bearing ban
ner with the device, mo Corn Laws
They were shot down, and a Rochdale
wears voice was heard crying, Onward,
Onwardl" to the yeomanry that charged
them. To such a pass had the class leg
islators brought "Merrie England The
people satrically named the event Peter
loo,' and carried home II dead and 500
wounded"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10

~ A IL things are yours" said the
the apostle, and he struck
= noble note, both of catholic
toleration and of democracy. But in the
England that followed the victory at
Waterloo it would have been a most rev.
stationary and dangerous thing to preach
rom that text to all those whom the
priests equally made children of God"
by baptism at the church font. All things
were not theirs, but We're the monopo-
lized possession of the sons of lords tenn
poral and spiritual owners of entailed
acres, gatherers of tithes and taxes, or
sons who served in the army or navy, or
sons who Represented about one-twen-
tieth of the population in Parliament, be-
ea1se that one-twentieth was between the
finger and thumb of the aforesaid lords,
while the other Observation-Disclosures were
quite unrepresented, and therefore negli-
gibble? Those dear "od families!" How
they did enjoy the reputation of being
Gods Englishmeni And how, since the
fatal year of 1862, they had become a
close corporation. carrying the church in
one pocket and the whole domestic and
foreign policy of government in the
otherl If some were called wings and
some tories, the difference had grown too
slight to be discovered. Even the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10

Among such conditions the science Of
political economy was born and intro
ducee IN England. But It lacked human
qualities. What was needed was con-
struetive leadership Of the people. The
chartists raved and denounced. but made
no Roadway. The political economists
wrote and debated and made headway
among honest polticia as like Sir Pobert
Peel, who indeed put many things on tie
free list before he wrecked his party and
his career. but immortalzed his name by
putting food there, Golden and Bright
taught all the people the facts N the
case. And tho bitter class tUl fonlsn
grew ard blazed. Corn law -s{er ifn
ard corn law rhymes did the woes
What forced Peels hand in 'R1 NH tae
pressure of an educated pu i4 al 1jen
For seven years. hVe of them Till4
satlon. the Corn Law leagi h
spreading knowledge and ecsf
anger and directing political action
throughout all the land. Even the farm
ers were converted. And The Corn Law
league was Richard Golden. eXpositor:
John Bright, orator, and the Manchester
Chamber of Commerce, with growing
host behind them. so that i'm 1874 we read
the Duke of Westminster sent 500 pounds
to the league funds" The nation was
beginning to be one again.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10

side, apparently dead, was a strange man.
l held the lantern over the unconscious
form, and in a few minutes Kunos and
We're carrying and dragging the man to
the house. Kunos started a fire in the
hall, and l hastened to bring brandy. In
about half hour the man became con-
scious. I found that he was no thief at
all, but a pedlar who had hidden his
wares ON the side of the main road be-
fore he had taken the lane to Eastwood
at the entrance of which he had been
overcome by the terrible storm. Zach,
Gott in Himmel dot vas one night" ex-
claimed the poor man when he was re-
vived. By the afternoon the rain had
ceased. and the pedlar was on his way
l reproached Kunos for coming into my
room without knocking, and for handling
my rifle, which 1 always kept loaded; but
the boy did not think that he had done
anything to excite my impatience. When
at the breakfast table told all the facts.
why, he might have shot you," was the
exclamation. Yes" I said, "he might
have killed me- but If he had done so it
would have been accidental, for there is
no viciousness in him" Towards those
whom he likes, that's true: but the boy
is not to be trusted" was the reply.
thought that the happiness of my home
would be greater if I dismissed Kunos,
and determined to do So l told him of
my purpose. AS he turned away 1 heard
him sullenly murmur, Hits all that
cooks doin's, an I'll git even with her,
fore she gifts shed o. me-
In the afternoon of the day that told
Kunos should dismiss him, he came to
my room In great distress with tears
streaming and blurted my mumma dun
called me, an can't find her nowheres."
That's absurd; you know your mother is
five miles from here" said |. Nav, sir,
she aint. Hit 'peared to me she was in
that big chist in the trunk room" said
he, and away he went to his room, loud
ly crying, "Mumma-Mumma," as if his
heart were breaking. His grief appealed
to me, and went to his room and found
him in bed sobbing. placed my hand on
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10

as were real shoes. we're worn only on
special occasions. It was a custom lons
after the original settlement Of Alabsma,
for many to take their shoes under their
arms. in going to church. and just be-
fore reaching the place of worship, to
put them on. Shoes that creaked were
specially priced, as they would attract at
tention.
Small water mills came TO be erected,
and it was not unusual for one to take
his corn on his back the distance of %
miles IN order to have it ground. This
meant an absence from home OF three or
four days at a time From the earliest
years of the century just gone, these con-
ditions continued in parts of the interior
of Alabama till 1916. The battle of New
Orleans meant much for what was then
known as the southwest. of which Ala
bama was a part Not a few of the fu-
ture distinguished families in the history
of the state emerged from conditions
such as here have been described. From
straits of poverty they came to be among
the most wealthy of the state
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10

rents so that the farmers should not have
too much prosperity And what became
of the peasant?
He was still sheep for the shearer
and the shambles. The corn law of 1915
absolutely prohibited the importation of
foreign grain until wheat stood at so shi-
lings a quarter! Rents had doubled.
while the people starved and the leglsla-
tors of 1915 were the men to whom the
rents had been paid. Why not keep
wheat at $3.50 bushel2 In one year.
good for them. it had actually reached
$685. Why not feed the heroes of Water
loo, their families and friends, on IS
wheat?
A peasants wages had sunk to G shil-
lings g week, whole dollar, and 80 cents
overt cotton operative could make 16
shilings, or 81. Between these two lay
the pay of stocking weavers and all of
the comparatively unslSilled or easily
trained labor. The result was "clem-
ming, word 7 suppose unknown In Amer
lea, though the fact occurs. To go UNDER
fed. gaunt, weakened for need of nour-
ishment is to Glenn And working class
England praetieed the art, while the
French raised barricades and hung their
mobiles to lamp posts and erected the
guillotine to cut feudalism in pieces. The
English are a patient people. To these
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10
HARDSHIPS-By B F. Riley,

scarce, utensils and tools hardly to be
had, shoes and clothing seant, meth
DDS of conveyance rude, and thus to
the utmost extremity were these orig
inal founders OF Alabama reduced. The
dependence for transportation was
few horses and oxen which were en-
ployed in common by body of hardy
colonists. On the horses were placed
the women and children, on the oxen
the scanty household effects the stock
was grouped in common herd. cattle.
swine and sheep, to be driven on foot
by the men and boys. each of whom
was supplied with gun or an imple-
ment, and thus would they begin their
march to region of which they knew
nothing, save that it was without pop
ulation densely wooded and with no
other denizens than Indians and fero-
cious beasts
Even where roads and bridges were
encountered on the way, they were crude,
and west of the confines of Georgia, the
wilderness was untraversed save by the
Wild savage, whose slender paths wound
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10

The method most common was to select
trees as corners of the dwelling, and then
waffle saplings among those intervening
from corner to corner, while the roof
was made of bark and the skins of wild
animals The cooking was done without,
in one or two small utensils. The grounds
about were cleared of the underbrush suf-
ficiently to be planted, which was COM
monty done with wedge-shaped rods being
thrust stroke by stroke into the rich
soil, the seed dropped and covered with
the foot. As for meat. there was slight
difficulty, as fear. turkeys and squirrels
were abundant. Shoes and clothing would
soon become matters of grave concern.
but the deficiency would be met by the
appropriation of the hides of animals,
from which grotesque garments would be
made, while the feet would be wrapped
about with strips of just sufficient size
to cover them, the fur being turned in
ward, and held by strings tied about each
foot, The fortunate possesser Of a pair
of good shoes was an object of neighbor-
hood envy. Objects so valued and priced
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10

most of the original settlers of Ala
bama came lay a fact which largely in
tuenced their removal The new re-
public was still in course of eonstruc-
tion. The revolution had left a chaotic
condition in the older colonies and
men of sturdiness conceived the idea
of going far westward, where they
could create new conditions and build
for the future. They were not unpre-
pared for the privation that was to be
encountered. nor altogether unap-
praised of it, but in the face of these
suspended difficulties they were nerved
by genuine Caucasian grit number
of solid and substantial folk would get
together and agree to removing to the
west with common understanding of
general sharers in a common interest,
thereby procuring a sense of sympa-
thetic protection, traverse the wide dis
tance, occupy a given community in a
fresh territory and rear their fortunes
together.
The most ordinary conveniences were
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10
ONE FISH PROVIDES
MEAL FOR 1000 PEOPLE

Very seldom indeed is the sturgeon, the
nnny monster which Edward II made a
royal fish, and which, when caught in
the Thames, becomes the property of the
crown. captured in English waters now
adays
For this reason not little interest was
aroused a few days ago when it was an
nounced that a sturgeon nino feet in
length, weighing 439 pounds. had been
caught in the River DELPHI at Welney
Washes, near Littleport. Norfolk. says
Tit-Bits
This fish, which according to the esti-
mate of a salesman at SpitalneIds. who
ultimately sold it for &c. would provide
a meal for nearly 1000 people, had been
noticed In the river. and attempts had
been made to shoot it. But the cartridges
used were loaded with shot too small to
have any effect on the surgeons hard
skin. A large net therefore, was drawn
boat was rowed alongside the fish, when
escaping down the river after which a
boat was rowed alongised the fish, when
one of the men succeeded in forcing d
large and powerful hook attached to p
strong pole into his throat. This enabled
him to keep his head out OF the water
just long enough for the fish to be killed
Win u gun
Some idea of its size and weight may
be gathered from the fact that five men
were required to land it. This however
Is by no means the largest sturgeon that
has been caught in English waters The
record was FISH weighing 460 pounds,
while in the North Sea fish weighing as
much as 5G2 pounds and 735 pounds have
been captured by trawlers.
1t is pointed out that one of the most
remarkable facts about the fish netted
in the North Sea is that they are similar
to the American species, whence It would
seem that the specimens caught from
time to time in our waters must have
made the voyage across the Atlantic
since the fish appears to have died out
as regular inhabitant of British wa
ters.
Surgeons pass the greater part of the
year in the sea, but periodically ascend
large rivers, and it was due to this char
acteristic that the specimen was caught
recently In the River DELPHI.
Not only do they attain great size and
weight. but. according to the estimates
of some experts. they sometimes live as
| long as 200 years. Apropos of the fact
that Edward II made the sturgeon a
| royal fish. il is interesting to note that
its flesh, quite apart from the fact that
caviare is made from the roe is always
held In great estimation. and In olden
days was always reserved for the tabIs
of the King.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10

/ saw that It was useless to express an
opinion about the boy, for the mother
most EVIDENTLY did not think he had done
anything wrong. | handed her the little
money that l owed Kunos, and placed In
her hard brown hand the $500 which the
men at the court house had given him,
and feeling a sense of relief at being done
with these people forever, I wheeled my
horse around to go. As l did this the
woman drew near the fence. Tears were
in her eyes, and her voice was subdued as
she faltered, "Lemme keep you a minnit.
jis' a minnit." 1 dismounted and threw
the bride rein over a fence post She be-
gan in broken sentences, with now and
then a gulp of her emotions. I pitied her
from my soul as she proceeded with her
sorrowful story.
"Docter, I hope you won give up Kunos
to the constabuls fur wot he dun. He
couldn't help it, an Gawd in heaven, eff
he's thar, knows he couldn't. Look al
me, an look at my chil'. knows wot we
air. I'm the mos ungodly sight fur a
woman in the worl', | reclSin. An look
at Kunos. l know wot he looks like, but
no blame lays at his doo' / aint got no
frien's on earth, an nobody never Gums
here: but l aint 'sponsibul fur it. | WIS
wonst likely gal. eff 1 do say it myself,
an now jis' look at me, an me a young
oman. Look at my chill. He aint never
had no chil'en to play with him; they WIZ
alwus afeared of him; an he aint never
had no words o. kin'ness all his born
days 'cept from me. When he
wuz a baby he never had nobody to sing
pretty pieces to him, fur all my slngin'
wuz tored way from me, an he never had
no pretty face to look up at. Hit WIZ
alwuz me before his eyes, an my Gawd,
wot a sight fur baby to look at Many S
the time when I was a holdin' of him in
my lap I said, Wot is this | done got fur
a. baby. Then I'd cry an pray to Gawd
that he mought die. Hit 'peared to me
he never laffed like a baby / thought
eff his teeth would only cum, he would
look more like human, but when they
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10

the forests through. So far as these path
ways We're available, they We're used, but
oftener than otherwise these pluclSy
pioneersmen would have to hack their
way through the forests. opening paths
as they slowly went. Regarded from this
point of time, there was righteousness
in these primity shifts, but men and
women were never more serious than
were these old-fashioned mothers and
fathers. They were the rough germs
from which sprang civilization unsur-
passed in It's elements, in history. Wives,
mothers and daughters bare-headed or
wearing the old fly bonnet, were mount
ed on poor horses. with children ON their
laps or efnging on from behind while
dangling on either side of the burdered
beast We're packages which contained the.
most of that which they possessed in
this world. In advance, men with axes
would rapidly hew away the underbush
for bare passage, while the bleating
herd would follow. drievn mostly by the
larger heys. The smaller streams were
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10
lMPRESSION-No. BY Dr. W. E. Evans

ing with some one. I heard him say, "You
needn't look at me like that; you und'stan'
me, you jis know wot l say Pears like
you and me knowed each other frum the
time we fust seen each other" loud
blast of wind prevented my hearing any
reply. Kunos went on: 'My mumma lows
to you, an you all bin mean nuf to her,
Gawd knows" Just then / quietly
opened the door about a quarter of an
inch, without making the slightest sound
Kunos was sitting on the side of the bed
with his back to me- and in front of him,
with one shaggy paw on the knee of the
boy, sat GeclSo, soaking wet; and with his
big brown eyes he was looking into the
face of the boy. 1 understood it ALL Out
of simple kindness he had brought the
dog out of the storm into his room for the
night. quietly closed the door, and as
turned to leave 1 heard Kunos saying,
You kin lay down an go to sleep-heres S
my pants to lay on; you an me is friens
an l aint had marry other one, ceptin'
mumma."
| law awake that night for a long time
and not until after the tall old clock in
the living room had struck one did / fall
asleep. How long l slept 1 do not know,
but 1t seemed a short while. 1 was sud
denly awakened by a light flashing into
my face, and sprsng from the bed to face
Kunos. He held the lantern in one hand.
and in the other he gripped my rifle. de-
manded what he meant by coming into
my room. He answered meekly, 'T aint
meant no harm, doctor; 1 cum to tell you
a strange mans on the place, an 1 speclx
he's thief" Where did you see him?''
I amt seed him. l went to the tank fur
water. when the wind walked me, an
smelt him." was the reply 'Is he a white
man or a negro?' I asked. white" re-
sponded the boy. I dressed sufficiently,
and said, Lead me to him" We went up
the lane towards the main road, walking
slowly and cautiously. There's no one
here,' / said. Yes, sir there is-that's
him. Sure enough. living on the road