davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12

prises proposed but lie was willing
not alone to see hut to do. The ex-
pansive fields of ore constantly chai-
lenged his highest forces of enthus-
fasm and energy, and he ehafed under
his own limitations. as a man. to meet
the challenge forthwith. Dreaming in
the solid way already indicated, PLAN
ming by day and night, and mean
while always doing. Mr.. DeBardeleben
was prodigious factor of develop
ment in this marvellous district.
1t was the dawn of a great era in
the history of the Birmingham district,
when Henry Fairchild DeBardeleben
combined his immense energy and
equally immense fortune in its develop
ment. He took the refuent tide of
prosperity at its fountain and directing
II into new channels, rehabilitated the
district. and in the Transformation
made others forgetful of the preceding
gloom. Indifferent to fame he was in
tent on gratifying his unceasing en-
terprise and energy by seeing the
strides of development made.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12

m HE largest amount of personal
mail delivered to any one man in
i the United States is carried each
day to No 1899 Park Place, Brooklyn.
where, on the upper floor of two fam
lily house. lives one OF the most remark
able business men in America.
The street is a quiet one and the
neighborhood Is peopled with persons
In moderate circumstances, few If any
of whom know of the life or the work
of the man in 1899. None of the neigh
Abors ever sees him and he never sees
them except at distance. For Is years
he has been shutin. For six years he
was in a hospital and never in that
time saw tree, a house or a growing
flower.
He is doomed to be a shut-in for the
remainder of his days, yet he Keeps two
secretaries busy attending to his busi-
ness and he speaks to an audience of
millions of persons. All America has
sung his songs. Many hundreds of
thousands of persons read his maga-
zine articles. His book of poems has
been bought by thousands of persons
and he carries message OF cheer ana
gives aid and comfort to thousands
unfortunates who have not his courage
or his talent. He has created busi-
ness for himself. starting with moth
ing but a borrowed pencil and bor-
rowed sheet of paper while he was a
charity inmate of IL home for incurables
The man is Charles Noel Douglas
poet, playwright. song writer. editor
play-patcher and worker in words. He
is paralyzed. Since 1897 he has been
bed ridden. He never can hope even
to stand on his feet yet he helps more
people to stand on their feet than all
the millionaires in America combined.
The example he has given of what a
stricken man may do and what latent
power may be developed even by per-
son whose case seems utterly hopeless
in unique indeed
Douglas was an actor. Once he was
a matinee idol. lie was born in Eng
land and came to this country ip 1885
He played in most of the large cities
and had more than fair share Of sue
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12

wabbly and needed stiffening. There
was one time that nearly every light
attraction on the boards of New York
| had either some OF his songs or some
| of his patchwork in 1t.
But writing songs and patching plays
did not suit this mans desires. His long
| years of suffering had made his heart
| bleed with pity for those who were the
same as he IT was all very we'll to
write gay, frivolous, frothy nonsense.
| That was necessary for bread and but
ter There was something more seri .
| GUS in life. however. He wanted to do
some enduring work. and he wanted.
above all other things, to aid the great
army of shut-ins who were utterly un-
able to help themselves. To reach them
| he made a connection with a magazine
that has a circulation of more than a
million copies a month and he took
charge of department through which
he was able to address a tremendous
audience.
He wrote all sorts of stories, such as
| only would come into the mind OF a
man whose brain has been clarified by
wears of Illness and whose vision has
been strengthened by long-drawn- out
| study of the deepest problems OF life.
| The more he labored the more he
| seemed able to labor Before he had
| left the hospital he had written more
than 500 lyrics. After he left the hos
| pital he probably wrote more than 5000
| How many plays he patched 1t is hard
| to estimate. How many poems OF more
or less merit he has turned out he only
knows.
! He has written miles and miles of
stuff for the various publications. At
one time he had four persons in his
| establishment, and he kept them all
busy. II took one to attend to his mail
alone, two to look after his dictation,
| the fourth was his nurse. He has to be
very careful with his diet. lie has been
| 80 long I'm bed and has had SO little
exercise that his digestion Is ruined.
He cannot eat solids. He is a wreck
| physically. but he is a wonder mentally.
| He Is not getting any stronger; he
| knows Ito 1t makes no difference. He
labors on feverishl2. manfully. He has
not got the capacity he used to have.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12

This mother did not stop with longing.
| however. She tried to defeat nature and
time. She did not teach her little ones to
tall. or walk. She continued feeding them
baby food. She took them from the house
only after dark.
She admitted no one to their pres
enee. She wanted them all for her very
own.
1t was by accident that the authorities
discovered the sad plight of the little
ones. There were three of them-2. and
years old.
Tho 4-year-oId stil crept about the floor
and cooed In baby fashion. Such an in
fluonce had the mothers mind and meth
ods upon him that they had stunted his
physical growth. He was not larger than
a normal child of D Yet all three chill
dren were bright and without natural de-
feet. With proper care and training they
would have been as others.
The result was that the mother was ar
rested and the children sent. to an insttu-
ticn.
Her selfish love defeated itself BY
seeking to keep her little ones forever
babies she was not permitted to keep
them at all.
Selfish love is always cruel. 1t does not
look to the happiness and we'll being OF
the object.
The only true love sacrifices self for
the good of others.
True love gives up.
It's happiness is found In whatever Is
best for the one beloved.
II Is never tyrannical.
1t does not interfere except Cor the good
of the other.
The greatest kindness we can do for our
dear ones Is to let them live their own
lives in their own way.
We should not impose our wills on them
unless very surelt is necessary for their
own welfare--to help or save them.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12
HEART TO HEART TALKS-By James A. Edgerton

There is the case of Emile Dealon of
New Orleans.
While a mere boy he and a playmate
set fire to a church. The other lad
turned states evidence, and Dealon under
another name was sent to prison.
He managed to dig his way out, wan
dered about the world for a time and, IS
years ago, returned to New Orleans, mar.
ried and settled down.
Three children were born to him. He
had a happy home and was considered a
model citizen.
He was arrested for the boyish prank
OF 80 years before.
His wife was Frustrated by the blow
and was sent to the hospital. The three
innocent children will have a shadow
over them to the end of their lives.
TO the credit of the citizens OF New Or
leans, be it said that a petition was at
once circulated and largely signed for
reaon's pardon.
Possibly by the time this reaches the
reader he will be- a free man. Let us
hope so.
Incendiarsm, especially of a church, Is
a crime and merits punishment; but is not
a life of rectitude sufficient atonement
for youthful fault-a fault probably due
more to thoughtlessness and a spirit of
mischief than to viciousness?
Such cases are not rare. In various
forms they crop up in many communities.
Individuals are taught to forgive. Should
not society also forgive? Should not the
man who reforms, who overcomes an evil
trait or deed, who strives honestly and
mnnfully to live down the past, be hon
ored rather than blamed?
There is a pathetic story from Cleve-
lard of a mother who wanted to keep
her children forever babies.
Most parents especially mothers, have
had similar yearnings.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12

| a difficult situation, but 1t goes quite as
far There are people who observe these
trifles and remember them either for or
against their author
Keep a civil tongue In your head"
| The essence of courtesy Is thoughtful
mes. for others. 1t is the golden rule in
practice.
Learn to put yourself in the place of
others and to regulate your words and
deeds accordingly.
| Being amiable and considerate will fin
ally become a habit.
| Every salesman is schooled in speaking
civilly. He has OF be. The soft answer
that turneth away wrath is with him not
alone an ethical precept but business
requirement.
| The man who never raises his voice in
anger is now counted the ideal business
man.
! There are those of exceptional attain
ments who win even with bad tempers,
but they succeed despite this fault not
because of it.
! Let your temper be expended IN the
energy with which you do things, not in
| hasty words.
Keep a civil tongue in your head"
| The other day a wireless operator out IN
the Pacific ocean heard voices $50 miles
! away. The explanation was offered that
he had picked sup scraps of conversation
| In distant wireless telephone test.
The same day came news that an avia-
tor had flown across the Mediterranean
sea from Tunis, Africa, to Sicily, dis
tance of 160 miles.
A few months earlier II was reported
| from Paris that by combination of the
monograph and moving pictures the aud
iencc not only saw, but heard, the actors
on the screen. At about the same time it
was cabled from London that moving pic
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12

yUyITH considerable trepldation,
M aroused by the Nemesis which
w follows with poetic justice the
accuser of his scribbling brothers. after
dropping him at that very moment of his
diabolical chuckle into an error more
than ordinarily egregtous, I do never
theless allow myself the privilege today
of marking a few snapshots of Homer in
the act of nodding.
l. In the Literary Digest" there is
usually a page two devoted to finance
and investments. The editor of that
section may be supposed to claim sort
of authority in these matters, or he would
not be selected for the purpose. Yet L
caught him the other day discoursing on
the price of British "Consuls.' That u
was not a case of careless proof reading
was shown by the repetition of the word
"Consuls," meaning. of course "consols."
This is an abbreviated form of the word
consolidated" title given to govern-
ment securities on which annuities were
paid, the full term of the securities be-
ing, consolidated annuities.' 1t is al
most inconceivable that writers in
vestments should not know the story of
the National Debt of Great Britain, of
which "consols" are the backbone.
CONSUL may trace his origin back to
the Roman republic, when the kings
were expelled IN the year 500 B. c., and
may consider himself as 'consultant'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12

or stepping, those of "sedeo" imply tax
ing position. Thus "reeede" means 10
step or fall back and concede to get to-
gether by yielding something, which ia
called concession. But supercede does
not mean to step forward in front OF
another but to he stationed there: and
In the causatve of that sense to place
someone or something ahead of another.
and so to supplant. Yet l find even the
legal Latin supersedeas spelt super
cedeas," which gives distress to the stu
dent of words.
And, by the way, let me commend a die
tionary to all busy men who want to
write correct English but have horror
of unabpdiged o. voluminous compila-
tions / have used it for over year in
office and on study table, and am willing
to heartily praise the editors. It is
called The Concise oxford Dictionary
of Current English and Is adapted
from the great oxford dictionary by II.
w. and f. G. Fowler. authors of 9Th
Kings English" and 1t is published by
the Clarendon Press, at Oxford, which
| is to say Henry Frowde. bearing the
date 1911. 1t IS small and handy, with
1041 pages, and a thin binding. Better
! than that, It Is logical. easily read. with
the essentials things emphasl sized by .he
type. AS the Oil hymn says in another
connections.
! 20 hasten sinner to be wise
| And stay not till tomorrow's SUM-"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12

HNo stand on a mountain top 1t is nee
essary to climb. This has been
i said before, which only proves its
I truth The higher the peak the harder the
climb!
Fame is a mountain top.
The climb to it is not alone, or chiefly,
physical. but is none the less arduous.
Despite the bricks thrown at the United
States Senate-on account of the charac-
ter or affiliations of some of Its mem-
bers-it is perhaps the greatest legisla-
tive body on earth.
Membership in it is a station that any
normal man would wish to hold.
The other day made up a list of pres
ent United States senators. tabulating
their educational advantages, early pub
lie positions and other like facts.
Most of them were poor boys. While
more than half had a college education,
mnay of these had to pay their own way.
Forty per cent have been members OF
state legislatures.
Now, membership in a state legislature
is not considered particularly lofty sta
ton. Some jokesmiths compare going to
the legislature with going to jail.
Yet, with the right sort of man, serv-
ice in a Legislature may not only be
worthy service. but may be stepping
stone to something higher.
pespise not the day of small beginnings.
One of these senators states in his Of
fetal biography that he has been lumber
jack, cowboy. clerk and cashier In a
store, newspaper reporter, hodcarrier and
lawyer"
This recalls similar statement by the
present speaker of the national House
of Representatives, who says that he
worked as a hired farm hand, c1erlled
IN a country store, edited country news
paper and practiced law"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12

and though I am delighted to see them.
and ever eager to grasp the hand OF a
friend. few people seem to realize the
fact that a visit of several hours dura-
ton is terrible physical strain on a
sick man. Then another third of the
time | am almost completely down and
out and unable to see any one or do
anything except have the newspapers IN
my mail read to me. The harrassipg
thought that mail needs attention and
that work is getting behind makes days
OF Illness the more unbearable and ter
rible.
II know that the instant I am well
enough to attend to things my secretary
and l must go at breakneck spced to
make up for lost time. Thus ii often
happens all day Sunday and far into
the night the typewriter is clicking and
body and brain are being pushed 10 the
limit to make up for lost time. or resr
and recreation | know nothing. I have
not had days vacation i'm 16 wears and,
except the Bible, have been unable to
read q book through since 1897. I can
only glance at and digest passages in
works on economics and sociology that
the faithful. studious secretary has
marked for my pursual. 1t Is hus-
tle speed and drive 365 day in
the year. Everything has to bs
done on schedule time or the time
iost niuSt pe maui up sOiheuoW. ttuf
surrounded with everything that makes
the invalid life bearable. but there are
those more helpless than I who look TO
me for support and have worries, cares.
responsibilities and burdens to carry that
would crush dozen we'll men.
II dream of rest and peace and free
dom from the grind OF everyday toll and
rest is the only thing that would give
me bodily ease. but If had the kind OF
life I now crave, In two days I would
be longing to be back in harness again.
and 1 have to be in harness and must
wear out and not rust out for when
can no longer keep up the fight. I must.
in common with all others situated as
[ am, go down in the struggle. But when
the end comes you will find me still IN
armor"
(Copyright, 1918. by the Mcclure News
paper SyndicatA)
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12

most of them were accepted. His stories
were SO good that most of them were
taken by newspapers to whom they
were submitted lie did not get much
for his poems, for the market for poe
try is limited BIT he created new
business. He became patcher OF
plays.
AS he began to make money he was
moved from the hospital and went to an
apartment of his own. He had to have
nurse night and day, for he was
helpless. Necessarily he not only had
TO earn enough to support himself, but
to pay for his nurse. He had to pay,
too. for the secretary to transcribe his
notes, or take his 6ictation. But moth
ing daunted him. The stage people
were delighted with his songs. They
commanded good prices. He sold a
song to Francis Wilson. and within As
hours he got a substantial check and
letter that he treasures-above all
things. He has It framed on the wall
close to his bed. With it is a picture
of Francis Wilson on which is written
TO the bravest man in the world from
his admiring friend, Francis Wilson" "
There hardly is singing star in
America who has not sung or is not
singing the songs of Charles Noel Doug
las. Nearly everything that Eva Tan
quay sings he writes. 1t is SO. too
with Digby Bell, Blanche Ring. James
I. Powers, Lou Dockstadter Hattie
Williams, Otis Harlan. Katie Barrett
and Lillian Russell. II is queer thing,
but some of the tolliest and most roll
licking, as we'll as the most sentimental
and absurd, songs that the American
public has laughed over or gushed over
have come from the pen of this man
who Is a prisoner within his room, and
who never is to SEQ the outside.
Naturally, his songs brought other
work to him. Actors and managers
would call him up on the phone. for
he has a telephone right at his bedside
and ask him for suggestions for songs
and acts. His knowledge of the stage
his familiarity with the technical end
of the layout and his fertile mind made
him OF great assistance to them. He
drifted into writing vaudeville sketches
and to patching Up plays that were
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12

bills must be promptly met to the day.
IN addition still, there must be no loung-
ing orslolling during working hours, FOR
idleness was akin to crimlnaiity In the
mind of Daniel Pratt, and things must
move while they were working.
Easily susceptible, the young man
grasped these as cardinal principles of
life, and they became to him abiding
oraeles for which he cherished the high
est regard. Becoming the son-in-law of
Mr.. Pratt, marrying his only daughter,
and, indeed, his only child, Mr.. DeBarde-
leben necessarily became the more lnti-
mate with the proprietor and father-in-
law.
One of the first interests enlistins the
attention of Mr.. DeBardeleben was that
of a central system of railway through
the heart of Alabama. railroad from
the gulf reached the base of the noun
tains of north Alabama, but there it
stopped. From the opposite direction an
other descended from Nashville Into Ala
bama, and likewise stopped on the op-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12

borrowed a pencil and some paper and
got a fellow patient to write while he
dictated The words this paralytic die
tated were the words of song. Douglas
might have written the words himself,
but 1t was so many years since he had
held pen or pencil in his hand that
he had almost forgotten how to write
The song that Douglas dictated was
sent to May Irwin, whom Douglas had
known in better days.
Douglas was in fever OF delight
over the effort he had made in the die
tation of that song. That night an
other idea for a song came into his
mind, and again the Dencil and paper
were borrowed, and again thc7fellow
patient took down the words the
paralytic dictated. Weber and Fields at
that time We're at the height of their
fame. Douglas sent the song to them
1t was three days before Douglas heard
| from either lyric. Those were three
days of torture and anguish to the
stricken man. He was between the
heights of hope and the depths Of des-
pair. But on the third day there came
letter and with the letter there came
check. 1t was from May Irwin.
| And then there came another letter
and another check. The letter and the
check were from Weber and Fields.
The Two checks asBresdteu nearly $oO
and there was no need just then Of GO
| ing to the poorhouse. That little sue
cess turned the whole current OF the
invalid's life. He began then one OF
the most remarkable business careers
| in America. One half Of the time he
was so racked by pain that he was
utterly unable to do anything. But in
the hours that he was free from suffer-
ing he worked and he planned every
minife of the time. He set himself
seriously out to write songs, write
plays, write stories and write poems
He had to get quick action, for he
needed money. Necessarily he wrote
short stuff. Melodies came to his mind
even while his face was contorted with
agony. He wrote until his hand got
tired. He had TO get assistance. That
is how he came to employ secre-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12

narrow shoulders abodt the width OF
little childs. really no trunk to speak Of.
legs fraii and tremby. This Is one pic
ture of the last man.
Will much use of the brain and disuse
of the body bring us to this point OF inn
potency? Really, l put the question to
you in the solemnest manner thar I can
summon In the mere failure OF that
street car crowd TO finish the journey by
leg-travel / find Flammarion's prophesy
almost authenticated. We can sense the
tendency here al least of the passing of
strong men. Brain will serve US up to
certain point. The laws we make viii
protect us for some time to come from
the vandal and the lawless. But suppose
a physical contest for the ownership of
the world were to be launched tomorrow
Suppose a few vicious fighting men from
the Bulgarian army had come sweeping
down On that crippled car where ~ men
were powerless to get away There would
have been no possible chance TO escape.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12

bilities, not visionary vacuites. He had
poetry in his being. hut it was the poetry
that was practical He was a great poet
and a great business prince combined.
He was not unmindful of the forbldable-
ness of difficulty, but it inspired rather
than deferred him. Underneath the ardor
of the man was a solid substratum of
calculation, and a calculation that took
ifto account herculean effort. His pene-
tration was sharp, quick and decisive.
In this sweeping delineation the fact
is not overlooked that Mr.. DeBardele-
ben was forced TO succumb TO the in
evitable when Birmingham fell a vic
tim to the cholera scourge. and equally
to the prostration oecasioned by the
memorable Black Friday in Wall street
the effects of which event fell with
crashing weight on every interest
throughout the union. Furnaces grew
cold, the pick in the mine lay idle
eager laborers sat holding their hands
in idleness. and nightmare fell on
the nation throughout TO have known
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-12

Birmingham in those days would have
been to known a ferlorn town, strag-
Cling and gloomy, while the environ
ing districts were silent and smoke
less.
But the darkness gradually wore
back to light. With the return of
dawn, men were open-eyed for advan-
tage in the great mineral domains of
Alabama Mr.. DeBardeleben returned
to Birmingham in 1877, with an inn
mense fortune at his command, for he
was the successor of Daniel Pratt.
Now he became united with Colonel
Sloss and Mr.. T. II. Aldrich, names for
ever inseparable from the history of
the mineral development of North Ala
bama, and an invincible trio it was.
In the immense enterprises now en-
tered on by the three, there was
sufficient in the colossal proportions
of the undertakings for the adjustment
and adaptation OF the peculiar gifts OF
all Mr. DeBardeleben was the chief
planner and sagacious seer of the group
and daring he was in all the enter