davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-26
SNOWBIRDS'-By Dr. w. E. Evans

side friends of .the 'snowbird When charged with having received drugs, the prisoner usually lays 1t upon an innocent guard who cannot be bought, and who had nothing to do with the traffic, He hopes to get rid of the guard who will not supply his demands. They will get it In spite of the devil. A pris- oners wife brings clean handkerchiefs to him. They look innocent enough. but they have been soaked in a solution which the prisoner extracts by chewing. One is brought a clean shirt. stiffened with much starch that has been charged with a drug. Like a fend the prisoner begins to chew the shirt mans sweetheart brings him an orange. What could be more harmless than an or ange? Yet. through tiny puneture the juice has been drawn out and hypo- dermically the orange has been charged with the drug that the prisoner craves. A friend comes to visit a prisoner. He Is superiicially searched Who would think of taking his fountain pen from him? When the guard is not looking, the fountain pen is handed to the pris- oner. He wants nothing more. for the barrel of the pen is packed with snow, that is, with cocaine. A saturate soiu- ton of morphine can be conveyed to a prisoner in a thousand ways, and their cunning always discovers the way
 Law for the regulation of the traf- fic? Yes, there are plenty laws. but they don't amount to anything. There are lots of doctors who have drugged themselves out of all practice who'll write a prescription for a dime And therere lots of druggists in the off streets that have no other trade but that of the deadly drug. They know they are safe, for the user of dope will
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-26

of preserving the throne of the Norman kings in the throes and tumults to which they were frequently subjected.
 As might be expected. the Jews throve under conditions like these. and in pro portion. the exchequer of the crown inn proved. When Henry II came to the throne. he enlarged the privileges Of the Jews, and correspondingIy increased his revenue. Richard punished heavily a massacre of the Jews a, York, while John suffered none to plunder them but his royal self. and not till Edward ascended the throne did the Hebrews suffer from serious junoture in their life in Eng land. This crisis arose from the pros perity of the Jews, for in spite of the royal levies imposed, the Jews came to be the most prosperous people of Eng land, and Gentle jealously and envy en- sued. Still the King was disposed to enlarge their privileges and rights, for no other reason than thst their property would conduoe to the swelling of the public treasury. The Jews sought in- vestment of their growing capital and the crown was disposed to invest them with complete citizenship, making them freeholders and landhoi-ers.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-26

IN a general way all are familiar with
 the well-worn expression, 'The per I secution of the Jews Through the long centuries, and in almost every land in which they have lived the Hebrew people have been victims of persecution. In no country have they been more re- lentlessly treated than in England, the prosecutions of which country are one of its darkest chapters.
 The occasion of the persecution of the Jews in England was nothing more nor less than that of raciai antipathy. Race problems always have their root in race hatred. which when once begun, shatred comes to feed on itself. and grows with the injury which we meet out to those thus despised. No fuller illustration of this is found than in rhe course of the English people, in the past, toward the children of Jacob.
 The Jews first settled in England soon after the Norman conquest. Their re- lation to the country was peculiar. their position in England, the most novel. Un- der William the Conaueror they were not allowed citizenship, nor were they per-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-26

visiting cards. Of course, nothing is said
 about it in the papers.
 There is sadder thing than this We are bringing up a generation of
 young drug fiends. Little boys and little
 girls at school are sought out by drug
 pedlers and induced to buy cocaine and
 heroin on the sly. These children who buy from the feeder of the birds sell
 to other children and In this way hun
 dreds are affected. There was the case of a boy who acknowledged that he
 was the center of one hundred boys to
 whom he supplied the dsmning drug. They were entirely at his mercy in little while and could not live without
 a certain amount of the drug which
 their natures required day by day This is only one case out of many. How do they get the money? We'll, I'd think
 you would know. When a boy is at the
 mercy of dope, stealing is not wrong,
 and so, he will steal from his parents
 and from everybody else. Many boys
 are brought in for stealing who began in this way. I see that you people of
 the south have trouble with drug fiends
 among your negroes. but your trouble is not greater than ours among the young people who are beginning life
 with demoralized moral natures. This
 being the case, what have we to eS-
 pect of their future? If something is
 Rot done of drastic nature the mad houses and the prisons will have to be multiplied ten-fold. You see, 1t be- comes a mania after a while to which l the whole nature contributes, and the | drug fiend will get his morphine, his | cocaine or other drug ih spite of hell and | all its fire.
 Does he get 1t In prison? Why, cer- | tainly he does. There are some guards l who will furnish it. being paid by out
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-26

may still hold on to some moral sense, for he still knows right from wrong. But drug fiend loses all consciousness of away, and he will lie, steal, and do the worst things in life and think that he has done no wrong. If you try to show him wherein his wrong lies. his stupid mind and debauched morals cannot pene- trate your reasoning.
 Opium smoking used to give us more trouble than anything else. The Chinese had countless opium dens in Chinatown at one time. By frequent raids and ar rests we have destroyed, not all of them, but nearly all We have at least made it dangerous for an American woman or man to frequent places where they can hit the pipe As for chinamen, the sooner they kill themselves the better. Opium dens don't bother us much now, we have something worse. Users of opium, heroin fiends, snowbirds, and others addicted to the drug habit give us more trouble than any other class of arrests
 ''The number of addictions to drugs is so appalling that men in my position call the drug habit the national curse Many women who move in the finest circles of social life are drug fiends. Their lives lead them to sexcesses that affect their health, and they begin with drugs to set them up,' to make them feel well, or to make their weary eyes shine as if they enjoyed good health and in this way be attractive. They begin in this way, but they soon find that they cannot give it up; and the amount of drug that was sufficient at first is no good now, and the doses are increased. My men of ten take them to their homes from tho streets, or call a cab and send them
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-26

WONDER if the reader knows what
 a snowbird is. "Of course, I do, says A the reader; Its a small bird of the finch variety having slate colored feath- CTS, except on the belly and tail, where the feathers are white. Well, this is correct as Tar as 1t goes. But now transport yourself to New York city. A crowd of people have gath cred around a policeman who clutches a pale young man by the collar, and holds him until the coming of the "Black Mariah.' Into this official wagon the young man is thrust in no gentle manner. A few words pass between the officers who have just driven up and the police man who committed the young man, the wagon whisks off down Madison avenue. the crowd disperses, and the policeman turns away as if nothing had happened. Being of a sympathetic temperament, you approach the policeman and ask, Please tell me, what was that young mans of- fense?" The officer answers, 'T caught him feeding a snowbird, the other one flew" Well, should think 1t commend able to feed poor bird" you venture. f''Say, where're you from?" asks the po- hceman. From the south," you reply. ''Well, don't you know what a snowbird is?' T thought I did until now, but pos sbly I do not" you answer. Don't you know of a certain stuff that looks like snow and that is sending more people to hell than anything else--' "Oh, you mean cocaine, don't your" "Of course. D "A cocaine user you call 'snowbird, and when one sells cocaine to one who has the cocaine habit you call it feeding
  long!'
 As you wander through Union square you form the resolution to interview some of the city officials of the great metrop-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-26

merchants were beaten and driven from ono place to another. They were humili- ated in every possible way. so as to make life as intolerahle to be borne as pos- sible. They were compelled to wear each one. a tablet of wool on each breast, to designate their race. were not allowed to build synagogues. could not eat with Gentiles. nor could they engage the services of Gentle phs sicians.
 Yet the Jews prospered, and yet more grew the opposition against them. Ed ward faced dilemma. He must get rid of the Jew, or else expose himself to a popular outbreak. Conditions reached the pitch of submitting to the Jewish popula- tion the alternative of renouneing their re- ligion or of being subjected 10 exile. To tho renunciation of the religion of their fathers. the Jews would not listen, and exile followed. They were driven like beasts on board ships, to be deported to the coast of France. Even here, they were not free of the harsh hand Of per secution. Many of the vessels that bore them were purposely wrecked, the Hebrews were drowned. others were rob bed of their portable possessions, and themselves thrown overheard. Others were landed on desolate sand banks and
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-26

For the protection afforded by the royal arms. for William exempted their quar- ters from taxation. they were to pay toll into Williams treasury. While not pay ing taxation directly, they did practically, while acting under the protection Of the royal aegis It was sort of hide-and-go- seek procedure on the part both Of William and the children of Abraham
 The Jews did not care, so long as they were protected in the exercise of their rights and in the priviiage of commerce.
 Nor did William care, so long as the gold came as toll or protection. Will Ham would have the shrewd Hebrews be- lieVe him amazingly kind while he ex- empted them from taxation, and vainly imagined that he was duping these people or acute perception. On the other hand
 the Jews We're willing for him to believe anything he might, so they got that which they wanted. A; heart. William cared not fig for the Jew. nor did the Jews have any confidence in the King sincerity, but they played the make 5,- lleVe as effectively as did the sovereign
 The Jews wanted protection; William wanted gold. As a matter of fact, the gold Of the Jew became the chief means
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-26

olis in order that you might receive fur ther instruction on the subject of the ''snowbird" pay station is at hand, and the phone answers that you may see de chief now, if you come at oncst" You take the subway, and soon are in the august presence of the chief. You state your business. You want to talk with him about the drug habit as he has seen its effects in the great city. "Oh, you want information about the birds, the snowbirds, and Yes, the snowbirds and all of that class" you answer, inter rupting him. You sit back in revolving chair, having offered the chief one of your cigars which he scrutinizes as con noisseur before lighting it. and then as you both smoke the fragrant weeds he talks and you listen. He tells you the following facts, which I give here without your sentences of interruption or inter- rogation.
 "Gentlemen of your cloth are apt to think that liquor is the curse of this country, but you are mistaken, as the heads of any police department in any large city can inform you. And you think that the liquor habit leads up to or down to the drug habit. In a few cases, l suppose 1t does, but 1t Is only in rare instances Drug fiends, as @ rule, have never cared for liquor, and they didn't begin at that end. They began with drugs to ease pain, and most of them began with a doctors prescription in their pockets Liquor would be detected easily enough, but only an eye scientif- oally trained can discover that man or woman has taken a drug. We have so many cases to deal with that we can detect drug in a man at once, and we know the effect that each particular poison will disclose. My experience in this office shows me that the drug habit is far worse than the drink habit. A man
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-26

not give them away. They charge about 800 per cent profit on their sales and the poor fools hobble off with their purchases. It's the price of blood. sure but the druggist Is apt to be a slave of the drug that he sells and sees no wrong in what he Is dong
 "A great deal of harm has come from the sale of what are called patent med icines. large per cent of these nos trums contain morphine or like drugs The cocaine habit grew out of the use of catarrh cures. Not that the patient was supposed to use much of it at Il dose, but Ii Is the constant small dosage that creates the craving for more of it. and thus makes the shifting snow bird.' About 15 years ago heron was presented to the world as a non habit forming drug; and now 1t presents to lem, for heroin is derived from nor phine. You know if you take morphine your nose will begin to itch; and if you take many doses of beroin yon'll find your nose itching to beat the band It's about the same thing, only milder
 "As you're from the south. maybe you have not seen the papers and don't know what Is proposed by our law makers. Wait a minute-here it Is. Take 1t with you. You see, it Is found that the present laws amount 10 nothing in the way of restricting the sale of forming drugs, and 1t is purposed to begin a campaign for national law that shall amount to something Charles B. Towns is at the head of posed bill-but let me see the paper a minute-so. he names in his bill as to be inhibited opium, morphia, coca
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-26
..........................

leaves, alpha and beta cocaine. their salts, deriyaties and preparations. This classification includes automatically many substances which 1t does not name specifically but which have re- gently attracted much attention because of their common use among drug hab- itues. Among these is heroin. But heroln Is a derivative of morphine. which Is the active principle of opium and Is three times as strong as the par ent drug. It is not mentioned in the bill recause the word heroin' is the mere trade name and a law prohibit ing its sale under the trade name would not prohibit the sale of the same sub stance under any one of the new trade names which manufacturers would have no trouble in colning.' Now, 1t Is pro posed that the laws shall be as drastic as possible, covering the sale and the use of all this dope, and that sim liar bill be proposed in the legislaturs of every state in the union. In this way the opinions of the best men Of the country can be learned and no loophole be left for the dope seller in any city in any state
 Further on in the bill you will see that MT, Towns proposes certain re- striction for the manufacture of patent medicines that contain dope This is necessary If such a law is passed throughout the country the future will he saved. You will see fewer men out of work. for dope takes all ambition from man; and you'll see fewer young girls on the streets homeless and friendless, a prey to devils in the forms of men.
 Don't hurry! I'm glad you came in, and I'll be glad to see you any time you come to New York"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-26

limitations are those that are self-im- posed?
 You want to win, let us say, in the race for wealth or fame. You enter with at least an average chance of success. This you must believe, else you are foredoomed to failure For every deficiency in your self which you may plead afterward as an excuse for failure can point out another and a greater possessed by some one who has won his or her way upyard.
 Well. you put your own handicaps on yourself. You are too lazy or too pleas ure loving or too pessimistic to succeed. All of these qualities come from within, not from without. They are the out growth of qualities in the soul which must be fought and overcome if success is to be achieved.
 Fight them as you would actual, physi- cal enemies, and win your way to your goal.
 There was. not long ago. rich mans son who was unspoiled. He was a youth of great promise. He was only 21 when | illness took him off.
 To keep alive his memory his father, a man of national fame, decided to erect in one of the biggest of American cities a hotel for down and out men. At the funeral of the young man the officiating | clergyman read a tribute from the | broken-hearted father to his son. IT part 1t goes thus;
 'I have noticed that one of the charac' | teristics of the thoroughbred ts the re- fusal to accept or recognize . handicap which he always regards as a self-confes' sion of inferiority. The man who accepts handicap is beaten before the race com mences. In any matter to which my sor set himself seriously he saw no possible measure of his full abilities or efforts ex oept in leading the contestants. He rec ognized no victory in second or thire prize. The natural leader in life. while he keeps his head. keeps his eyes only or the runners in front and not on the mul titudes behind"
 If you have what you consider . handi cap in life ignore it. Could there bs [ greater affliction than blindness? Ye Helen Keller is among the worlds lead | CTS of thought today, and a blind maI was a great postmaster general of Grea
 of the United States.
 Have you poverty to contend with? S' had some of the women and men who arr shining gloriously among the stars. D' you deplore your lack of education? Som of the world best have bssa unlsttsrsd
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-26

The boy who is downhearted has little chance to regain lost ground, whereas by plodding along and doing his best there is no knowing what may happen to turn the tide.-Francis Ouimet, Young Gold Champion, in St. Nicholas.
 This is an extract from an interesting article by the young man who amazed the gold world last year by beating the best two golfers (professionals) whom great Britain could send to the United States. Oumet will try this year for honors abroad.
 Tn the magazine article he tells boys desirous of becoming golfers how they may improve their game, as he did his.
 Any expert in any line of sport will tell you the same thing-that when the loses. In baseball the pitcher who falters because there are men on the bases is sure to find these same men scoring against his team. In running the man who fears his opponent is "beaten from the jump In swimming no man can get into his proper stroke if he fears that his racing adversary is too much for him.
 Much of Ouimets advice may be ap- piled to that larger game which is played on the links of life. Not boys alone, but grown men and women, may profit by it. At the battle of Crecy Prince Edward of England, then only 16 years of age, was placed in command of part of the English army by his father. King Ed ward III. ''The French knighthood fell hotly on the prince's nne." says Greens History of the English People" "For an instant his small force seemed lost and he called his father to support him But Edward refused to send him aid. 'Is he dead or unhorsed or so wounded that he cannot help himself? he asked the envoy. No, sir" was the reply, but he is in hard passage of arms and sorely needs your help Return to those that | sent you" said the King, and bid them not to send to me again so long as my son lives. Let the boy win his spurs. for if God 70 order 1t, will that the da,
 may be his and that the honor may bs
 with him and them to whom have giver l it in charge!"
 And it was as the King had said, fol that day Prince Edward won for England one of the greatest victories the Englisf
 ever achieved.
 i The spirit was the same as Ouimet's- | flight onv'
 It is true. is 1t not. that most person! l handicap themselvas moro than they ayt Handicapped by others; that the 1reates
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-26
BIG LOSS ON BROKEN EGGS
New York City Gets More Than 1l6,-
 900 of Them Annually

Nearly ' per cent of all eggs packed in crates and shipped arrive at their desti- nation in bad order, according 10 figures just obtained by the food research labo- ratory of the department of agriculture. says Washington special to the New York Sun. This means that on an aver age 2i96 eggs out of every 30 dozen packed and shipped arrive at the market either as cracks" dents" 'leakers" or mash CTS"
 These figures were obtaied by an lndi- vidual examination of 5000 dozen eggs be- fore and after shipment and a further general study of the condition of 11 car loads, or more than 500.000 dozen eggs shipped from 3e packing houses in the corn belt to 10 different markets on the eastern coast.
 These figures mean that in New York city alone 1i6,eSS,a ,a67 eggs annually arrive at the railroad and other terminals in bad condition. To determine whether the breakage was due principally to the par ring of the eggs received In railroad cars or to carelessness on the part of tho packers the departments investigators unpacked at the packing house more than 200 cases containing 6OOo dozen.
 As a result of this examination of packed cases egg by egg. it was found that 922 eggs care. or an average of 5.3t per cent, had cracked shells before they were put on the railroad cars. These eggs were then repacked and shipped to distant points and again examined egg by egg on their arrival It was found that during the transfer to the car, stow ing, hauling. railroad trip and unloading there was an additional breakage of B.7s eggs a care on an average. which made total of Ase eggs in bad order out of every D dozen that arrived.
 Practically every '1eaker'' ana every mashed egg in case lowers the value of several eggs around or below 1t. be- cause each leaking egg soils . number ol other eggs and reduces their market value. Further, it does not include any deterioration or spoilage of whole egRa on account of heat or faulty refrigeration.