davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-18

fed by colonization. Suddenly on Vic
toran England dawned the conviction
OF her imperial destiny, as though God
had made her the keeper of the world $
welfare and the Angel of the Apocalypse.
one foot on sea and one on land.
How far does this newly discovered
sense of empire explain the effloresf
cence of literature in Victorian Eng
land? Where would be its breadth, its
tolerance, its glorious passion for hu-
had not this idea dawned on
minds like Tennyson's, on such as
Thac<eray, Browning, Eliot? But I'M
perialism is the antithesis of democ-
racy.
(b) Another profound influence was
the birth and popularization of science.
particularly applied science, science in
the industrial arts. In the first place
this amounted to new renaissance.
surprising In a sense the revival OF
learning of long ago. 1t bore in it's
bosom new intellectualism an en-
larged vision. a new critical apparatus.
The old moon and stars, swimming
serenely in the azure of centuries, were
destined to bow to this new born god
OF the sun. Wordsworth felt It, Carlyle
breathed its perfume, Tennyson clothed
It with the apparel of dead saints and
heroes, Ruskin mediated IL to the work.
ing men. These and all others were
truly prophets of the new age because
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-18

was a great source of national prestige
and eomplacency. All the people We're
singing of how Britons never, never.
never. should be slaves. And it is a
curious fact that the great parliamentary
reform law, the first step towards mod
ern democracy, was made possible by the
Duke of Wellington's surrender to the
new movement. The conqueror of Napo-
leon introduced political democracy by his
final yielding to popular clamor.
To return: Literature in England owes
much to this serenity and sense of perma-
nence in the national life, and it is hard
TO identify this with the latent democracy
of the British mind. Rather it should be
identified with the surviving conviction
that God ordains three classes, the up
per, middle and lower, who should mako
it their daily prayer to be content and
dutiful in that station OF life whereto they
have been calledi
2. Did intellectual changes, contributing
to literature, spring from democratic
sources? Here also the answer is a mega
tive, a mild negative indeed, but still a.
negative.
(a) There was the slowly emerging idea
OF Empire-a great intellectual change to
the typical Briton. Certainly he did not
want imperial dimensions, any more than
the Alabamian democrat OF today wants
the Philippine Islands for this nation II
under Elizabeth the Spaniards were
fought; IL later, the Dutch and the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-18

French, England was merely checking
those nations lest they grow dangerous
to her own welfare. No Englishman de-
liberately went to work to build a
Greater Britain over seas. He did not
want India If he crippled France in
Canada 1t was by an almost bllndfold
destiny that he was led. thinking only
of the security OF tho few colonists 70
whose well being he was pledged.
The imperial idea came through chan
nels of trade, rather than from any Ne
poleonic or military ambition. 1t was
not to make England bigger, but to
make France or Spain less potent that
the British fleet grew and that the East
India company presently was superseded
by viceroy and council Lord Beacons-
field, whose genius was dramatically ex-
pressed by declaring Queen Victoria
Empress of India, was bitterly denounced
by half his countrymen. This was as
late as 1S77 The Manchester free traders
We're indignant. Their fear for demo-
cratic institutions loomed larger than
their interests in commercial expansion.
But Imperialism was already in the
heart OF English thought. long before
1877, and dates back, in manner. latent,
to the old wars of feudal times with
France. Certainly Elizabeth discouraged
it, but could not overcome it. Cromwell
made it the Monroe Doctrine of his day
that persecution for religion must cease
in Europe and that Ireland must be pael-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-18
DEMOCRACY VICTORIAN LITERATURE-By George Eaves

To nation with prolonged and success
full history. When a people has passed
tfiumphantly through revolutions aud
crises and can look back over centuries
of conflict that have ended in making the
nation more secure and more united than
ever, a certain confidence and serenity
is bred for facing all new crises. Per-
haps it may be said that in these days
there have been evidences rather of fear
and apprehension of an invasion by Ger
many, or of the entire separation and
hostility of Ireland under Home Rule all
of which looks little like native conf
dence and security.
But let 1t be observed that all this has
to do with foreign foes, not with internal
charge. The Englishman of today faces
the progressive dominance of the working
people with few qualms, but he abhors
the suggestion of interference or invasion
as the last word of woe. He can trust
his own people, but internal changes must
not be complicated by weakening the
national defenses. Social evolution he can
endure serenely, though he may fight for
delay. He is nervous only in the presence
of unknown, unmea sured dangers from
outside. If he is afraid of social change.
it's gravest peril in his mind is precisely
the danger of so weakening the imperial
defenses.
In the Victorian time the memory of
Napoleons collapse under British attack
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-18

N what sense did the great Victorian
writer's contribute to the growth of
n the democratic movement? In what
sense were they part of that move
ment?
/. To begin with, they were almost with
out exception the children of privilege,
heirs of institutions and of a racial en-
dowment gathered from most undemo-
cratic times. Though few of them were
in a real sense aristoerats, fewer had run
the streets with Dickens or failed of a
decent dinner at the proper time. They
generally had the privileges of birth or
wealth or both. And upon them all
brooded that spirit of thoroughness which
is very precious part of the national life,
1t is impossible to shake off the feeling
that these men had worked worked hard,
opened all DOORS and, as far as in them
lay, been honest in graphing with their
discovered facts. They were honest in the
use of words, and there was little exag
geration. little pretentousness, little os-
tentation, little affectation in them. With
all the egotism of the most sensitively
egotistical among them, there was a
serene confidence in the integrity and
transparency of his own soul. They had
something to say and nothing to hide.
no Interior motive but to speak the truth
they saw.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-18

papers, never having looked into the
| subject carefully have published state
ments that would take the laurel
wreath from the brow of Orren Ran
dolph Smith and place 1t on another
For this reason ! write this paper. The
generations to come should be in no
doubt of historic facts that men and
women of the present day can settle so
easily and no newspaper should lend its
columns to uncertainty or to incorrect
conclusions when the truth is so access
sible and may be had for the mere ask
ing.
| have said that there were about 100
designs sent to the congressional COM
mittee appointed to select flag for the
Confcderacy. Only a miracle could have
prevented q similarity among some of
these designs; and as all who sent de-
signs were inspired by the same patriotic
sentiment it was not at all remarkable
that some were very much alike. But a
close scrutiny of details showed that
While some bore a close resemblance,
there were no two absolutely identical.
The nearest approach to the design which
the committee accepted and which Or
rem Randolph Smith had sent was one
that had been submitted by Mr.. Nicola
Marschall of Marion, Ala. Mr.. Marsehall
was originally a Prussian, and painter
by vocation lie submitted three de-
signs to the flag committee. l have be-
fore me, as I write, pictures of the three
flags which he designed, and have also
In sight the picture of the flag that
was accepted. There is a fatal defect
in Mr.. Marschall's design, which is so
glaring when compared with the stars
and bars, that one recognizes 1t at once.
The design accepted by the committee
had, as they reported THE union blua
extending down through the white space
and stopping at the lower red space"
This was true of Orren Randolph Smiths
design, but Ii was not descriptive of the
design submitted by Mr.. Marschall. The
union blue stops midway between the red
stripes of Mr.. Marschalls design. form
ing on the white stripe, about one-third
from its staff-end. a sharp corner or
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-18

many men and women OF high relig-
ious and social distinction who attest
the facts here cited, The lady whom
Major Smith chose to assist him in
making the flag after he had designed
it. whose maiden name was Miss Mur-
ply, now Mrs. Winborne, says: Early
in 1861. the second week in February,
my old friend Orren Randolph Smith,
brought me some material and asked
me to make him a flag. he would tell
me how to do II, for the Confederacy
had decided that new flag was to
be used and he was going to
send In this little flag as a model. The
design was composed of a blue field
and three stripes. one white, and two
red, and on the field OF blue sewed
seven white stars in a circle. star for
each state that up to that time had Sc
ceded. The small flag was about foot
long. The design was made by Orren
Randolph Smith, m Louisburg, North
Carolina, and the flag was made by me
under his direction, packed and sent
to Montgomery. Alabama. and was
accepted"
Abundant evidence. direct and col
lateral has been gathered to establish
beyond all question that the facts as
above given are historic actualities. 1t
seems to this writer. having read the
sworn testimony adduced, that there
can be no possible ground for question
or debate. To my mind the case has
no standing in the court of public ad-
judication. 1t is closed. The indis-
putable facts of history fasten upon
Orren Randolph Smith the responsible
ity and the honor of having made, con-
ceived and planned, the flag that the
Congressional committee of the Con-
federate government reported favorably
upon their selection for the first
flag of the Confederacy, which COM
mittee's favorable recommendation
was adopted by the Senate and the Con-
gress of the new government.
Notwithstanding the positive facts
above related, to which solemn affi-
davits have been made before legally
constituted authority. one or two news
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-18

Perhaps this is that sturdy English
characteristic which had come to them
from the latent democratic spirit native to
the nation. Perhaps it is closely allied
with the magnificent independence which
is better than pride. At any rate, it had
much Sto do. with the nature of these
minds whose work was the marvellous ef-
florescence of the Victorian Epoch
1t supplied a basis of sanity on which
to build the dreams that prophets and
seers had bodied forth. 1t had been cul-
tivated under anything but democratic
conditions Kings and priests and arsto
Gratis had shaped that spirit, and had
sought to stamp England with it. Most of
all, the traditions of the universities had
made such sincerity imperative, glorious
thoroughness, and had cut in sunder and
appointed his portion with the hypocrites
the jaunty cha rlatan. The great Victorian
writer's, even those who had least of the
worlds wealth, owed everything to the
fact that they were English men and
women breathing an atmosphere pursed
FOR them by the ages of English life. feed
ing their souls with the meat of sincerity,
sturdy devotion to the thing that was
to them true and just and square.
And with all the aristocratic tendencies
OF public school and university, such an
atmosphere and such diet were actually
provided there. 1t may be traced in part
to the sense of permanence which belongs
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-18
2Y-THE CROSS ROADS GROCERY-By B. F. Rile

1t was by this means that bullles were
produced in those days. Sometimes bully
would come from some other region where
he had swept tho field. In order TO test
his prowess with local bully. Bets would
be made in advance, and the announce
ment through the region a week or so in
advance would serve to draw an unusual
crowd to the scene OF pugilistic contest
A ring was drawn in the sand, and while
the contest would begin In a boxing exer-
else, there came time when it grew into
a battle royal with the fists. The cham
pions of different neighborhoods each felt
that not only was his own reputation at
stake. but that of his community. Bulls
on the pastures would not fight with
greater fierceness than would these rough
rowdies. When one or the other would
give up" then would come general
disagreement among the boozy betters,
and the entire crowd would become in
volved in general melee.
Saturday night usually brought fresh
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-18

angle, exceedingly unpleasant to the eye,
and very inartistic. The likeness of MIR.
Marschall's design to that of Major
Smiths is very striking: but careful
comparison of the two will instantly dis
close which Is the real stars and bars |
think this likeness deceived the eyes of
the lady, who. upon seeing the flag that
had been agreed upon by the Congress
of the Confederacy, reported to Mr.. Mar
schall that his design had been accepted.
But she was incorrect. His design had
been turned down. and another, In some
respects similar but artisticaly more
beautiful Chough it's designer was not an
artsD had been accepted.
1t was not generally known that
that there was any difference of opin-
ION as TO who designed the Stars and
Bars until about 1904; then an article
appeared in the Lost Cause making
claim for Mr. Marschali as its designer.
An investigation was made. Mr.. Mar
schall was written to and was asked
for particulars. dates. and so forth. He
replied. II have nothing TO add to the
article In the Lost Cause. as that
states all | know and the dates have
Investigating person to three differ
ent people for information. When these
persons were written to. they several
ly answered that they had no personal
knowledge of Mr.. Marschalls having
designed the Stars and Bars. About
two and n half years ago the Mont
gomery Advertiser printed an article
on Mr.. Marschall's having designed
the Stars and Bars. and gave a pic
ture of the Marschall design. The
picture is true to Mr.. Marschalls de-
sign, / have no doubt; but IL Is not
picture of the Stars and Bars. 1t
pictures the discarded design. And IN
saying this, l do no discredit to Mr..
Marschall. His design was the reuslt
of n loving interest in the home of his
adoption, and as only one flag was
needed. his only met the fate of scores
of others. But 1t is unworthy for any
one with the facts before him to say
that Mr.. Marschall's design was ac-
cepted and that he created the Stars
and Bars. Fiat justitia, ruat coleum.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-18

they dared to look science and criticism
in the face and wrestle for the souls
of the people with the dread horde OF
demons that seemed to accompany its
progress. But in itself science is neith-
en- democratic nor aristooratic. 1t cares
for nothing but Tact, and so 1t creates
or intensifies the love of truth, the
spirit of the witness and the martyr.
by no means lacking I'm the intellect
ual history OF modern England.
(cl But when science is allied with the
business of productive industry 1t Gre
ates as its daughter political economy.
Victorian literature here passes its Rubi-
con. 1t was the evolution of the CONNER
cial and manufacturing life of England,
through modern machinery, that linked
the literature of the country indissolu-
bly, with its democratic tendency and
doom.
Here for the present we must halt. 1t
Is enough to observe how Inevitably the
vast forces of the prior days contributed
to make not only a busy, thriving. money
making England. and not only an Eng
land enjoying intellectual and artistic ex-
cellence, but especially an England of
sincere humanism, where even handed
justice should be secure, and where nti-
mately the last man should be guaran-
teed equality with the foremost. But IS
1t matter of wonder that such q portent
should find only n hating expression In
Victorian authors?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-18

At the Confederate reunion In Norfolk,
Va, September of 1910 Gen. Julian S.
Carr, commander-in-chief of the Confed-
crate Veterans, introduced Maj. Orren
Randolph Smith to the enthusiastic
proceeded to give a history of his crea-
ton of the stars and bars. He said, ."The
idea of my flag 1 took from the Trim
ity, Three in One.' The three bars were
for the church, the state and the press.
Red represented the state legislative, ju-
dietary and executive; white for the
church, Father, Son and Holy Ghost;
red for press. freedom of speech, free
dom of conscience and liberty of press,
all bound together by a field of blue (tne
heavens over alb, bearing a star for each
state in the Confederation. The seven
white stars, all the same size, were placed
in a circle, showing that each state had
equal rights and privileges irrespective
of size or population The circle, hav-
ing neither head nor foot. stood for eter-
nifty, and signified You defend me and
I'll protect you.' 1 had the flag all corr
plete in my mind before the Confed-
Ciobc OOhS tSo dtiNtillStu LOT fnOueiS.
and when the advertisement appeared
went to my friend, Miss Rebecca Murphy
(she is now Mrs. w. b, Winborne of
Wilson, N. CO and asked her If she would
make me little flag. I'd tell her how.
II tore the bars and cut the stars and
she sewed the stitches, and when
the little flag was sent to
with the suggestion that
a star be added for each state that
Joined the Confederacy. The flag COM
mittee, as you all know, accepted the
flag and named 1t The Stars and Bars
They also adopted the suggestion. and
1t was not long before the flag bore
IL stars for the IL Confederate states
that voted for Jefferson Davis to be
President"
That is the simple story of the origin
of the Stars and Bars. as told by the
heroic Confederate veteran, whose uni
form of gray was crowned with his sill
Yer gray hair. There are still living
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-18

served several times at the bar. they
were ready for the fun, which usually
began with a wrestling or boxing bout.
in which some one who was unsuccessful
would change the scene into one of an
out-and-out fray. When temper became
ascendant, which was not difficult under
the condition of free imbibing, violent
blow would invite another. when the
crowd would form a ring around the bel
ligerents, and cries of stand back" and
Fair Play" would be heard on all hands.
If one interfered in behalf OF a kinsman
or friend, he was pounced on by another,
and not infrequently as many as a dozen
men would be embroiled in a fsticuff bat
tie. Nothing was tolerated but the fist.
Not even stick could be used, though
when one was down under his antagonist
1t was accounted lawful TO use the teeth,
or even to fill the eyes of an opponent
With sand, in order to make him squall.
When the shrek OF defeat was sounded
the successful antagonist was pulled off,
and some one treated him on the spot.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-18

the archives that pertain to the Confed-
eracy, in the war department.
Among many other designs received
for the Confederate States of Ameri-
ca,' there was one, and only one, which
measured up to the description given
by the committee when its report was
made to Congress on March 4, 1851,
which report described the flag chosen.
The report was as follows: 'That the
flag of the Confederate States of Amer
lea shall consist of a red field with a
white space extending horizontally
through the center, and equal in width
to one-third of the width of the flag.
The red spaces above and below to be
of the same width as the white. The
union blue extending down through the
white space and stopping at. the lower
red space. In the center of the union
circle of white stars, corresponding in
number with the states of the confed-
eracy." Note-The union is square: the
stars are five-pointed The length Of
the flag one-and- -a-half times the width.
The committee had thus accepted one
of the designs, without making a single
change in it's proportions or arrangement
of the union or the stripes. And in thus
deciding what the national flag of the
newborn Confederaey should be, they
immortalized the name of a gallant son
of North Carolina, Maj. Orren Randolph
Smith, who contrived his beautiful de-
sign in Louisburg, town in his native
state.
Major Smith had confronted grim viz
aged war In Mexico, and had served with
Albert Sidney Johnston, in the far west;
and when he heard the mutterings of
civil conflict and saw the clouds of WAR
lowering above his beloved country, he
foresaw the sundering of the nation into
two great parts, each fighting under its
own flag. So, that, before the congress
sional COMMITTEES sounded its call for de-
signs. he already had contrived in his
mind one, which, for dignity, significance
and beauty, he considered not unworthy
the cause whose fortunes and misfortunes
would be followed by the flower of the
south.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-18
Insurance Against Twins

OF all the varied insurances in the
world of business without doubt Lloyds
possess the most curious. They insure
everything, says Tit Bits
Thousands of people insure them
selves against tho risk of having to
undergo an operation for appendicitis.
Young ladies insure themselves against
the disappointments of spinsterhood.
and there are anxious fathers insured
in the event Of their spouses presenting
them with twins.
They, Will insure the throne of King
or the benefit of a music hall clown
up to any amount for which he Is will
ling to pay.
Again, owing to many estate owners
being timorous on account of earth
quakes, Lloyds do quite comfortable
business In insuring against damage
caused by violent shocks. In North
Wales an estate was assured against
this risk for 100000.
Paderewski insures his right arm for
$4,000, and Rubelik his for much
larger sum, while singers insure their
voices.
Authors take out policies in respect
wrights in respect OF their plays, COM
posers their songs. and artists the ac-
ceptance OF their pictures by salon or
academy.
There Is practically no limit to the
ina gination of Lloyds. Not many
months ago an undertaken in London
even inquired what price they would
relieve him of any liability for shocks
caused to private individuals by his
coffins being taken TO the wrong house
at night.