davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-20
'TOOTHP|CK FAMINE
HITS MEXICO CITY
Restaurant Proprietors Are
Offering Straws as
Substitutes

There is toothpick famine in the city
of Mexico. All the stores have exhausted
their supplies of these necessary little art
icles and 1t is now impossible to obtain
them anywhere in the federal district.
says Mexico City special TO the New York
Sun. There is only one store in the city
tfat has a few boxes left. As all its GUS
toners are daily asking for toothpicss
the owner is giving a few Of his remaining
stock to each of his patrons. lie refuses
to sell them, however. as he considers it
would be a discrimination to do so and
he limits the number given 10 each per-
son at 4 time TO six. He says his stock
win also be exhausted in few days and
he does not know where he can obtain
any more under present conditions.
With the exception of a s~.all quantity
of French quill toothpiclls which are
scarce and dear at all times and which
are now out of the Mexico city market.
and very limited supply C Japanese
toothpicks. which have very small sale
mere. and which have also now disap-
reared, the entire tocthpick supply of the
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-20


republic is furnished by the United States.
These tsothpicks come froa the factories
OF New England, through New York job
hers For years these 1oothpicks have
eo1ayed an undisputed commercial 81
pfenacy in Mexico. Every store sells
them and persons of all nationalities buy
them
Since last April none of these toothpicks
has been imported into the city Many
OF the stores here have stocks OF them at
the Vera Cruz custom house, but as they
are still unpaid for they hesitate to make
their remittances to the United States
while exchange rates are so high
When exchange on the United States
was two for one the toothpicks were sold
in the stores here at 80 cents for a box
containing 1900. This was at the rate of
90 for a cent. The very low price of
these American wooden toothpicks l..
Mexico is one eff the principal reasons
why they drove all the other toothpicks
out of the market as the others that were
sold here several years ago We're made
OF quills and much dearer. Even Japan
with her cheap labor has not been able
to compete successfully in Mexico with
the United States toothpick factories ow-
ing to the elaborate machinery of the
Americans. which enables them to turn
out millions of the toothpicks daily.
Every restaurant in the city had been
using tue American toothpicks. Straws
are being used as substitute for the
wooden toothpicks in a few restaurants,
but they are not a success and many COM
plants are being made to the proprietors
by patrons.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-20
GOOD VAUDEVILLE
CHRISTMAS WEEK
Johnny and Emma Ray, Corradini's
Menagery and Nonette, Violinist,
Among the Biggest Features

| Christmas week vaudeville will be
ushered in tomorrow afternoon and night
and it will be typical holiday offering
that Manager Semon has. Mirth, music,
song, laugh and beauty will be mingled in
combination that will be hard to re-
sist, and the week will come to a mag
nificent climax with wonderful Christ.
mas matinee and night performance Fri
day
Headliner No. will be Johnny and
Emma Ray. who for years have delighted
audiences In such big musical comedies
| as "A Hot Old Time" Down the Pike
and Casey Is the Janitor.". No man on
the stage, not even De Wolff Hopper,
has done as much to immortalize Ca
sey'' as has Johnny Ray. the quaint,
humorous Irishman. In vaudeville the
act is called ION the Rio Grande" and
presents incident in soldier life in
which plot and story are not enlisted
which Plot and Story are not enlisted;
Old Man Serious has been shot to death,
King Mirth is In full command and
Prince Song enters without a counter
sign. Tt Is a merry jumple of laughs
and music by JUNE McCree
Trained zebras, the hardest animals in
the world to train, are featured along
with a two-ton elephant. a horse and
StNcIdl ,uOSS III Hena2erle,
the second of the headline acts of the
week. 1t is said to be the finest animal
act in vaudeville, both because of the
rareness of Zebras on the stage and be-
cause of the unusually clever manner in
which all the animals are trained and
directed. They work singly or in groups
This is the first American tour of this
big European animal act and was a star
attraction at the palace in New York
recently.
Nonette, remembered here as the clev-
erts and best violinist that ever appeared
In vaudeville. is known as the violinst
who sings. She was the accompanist OF
Schumann-Heink and Nine. Nordica en-
| tour; was the youngest violinist that ever
appeared with the New York festival
orchestra, and was a student of the ia
| nous master, Ysaye. She is master of
the violin and at the same time has a
charming voice that captivates her audi
ence. She is the third big feature of
| the bill for Christmas.
Soretty and Antoinette will offer nov
| city eccentric act in which the former
appears in the role of an inebriated COM
edian, in which he performs some of the
hardest feats of tumbling and acrobatic
comedy that have been seen here.
genuine b1ackface comedy novelty is
| the Offering of Ardie Spiegel and Bill
Jones this week. On eappears as a Red
Cross nurse and the other a wounded
soldier, and out of this they extract an
| immense amount of new fun. Good sing
| ing voices enable them to render several
songs in a manner that the audiences
| like.
"The Bungalow Girl" in which. there
| is a charming girl and two clever men,
with special scenery and stage properties,
is said to be- very novel and delight
full singing act, which will Immediately
ottIi a,l l,,,v,1 r,:-
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-20
Toxic Bankers Expect No
Aid From Europe Until
Long After War
WRITES OF BASIC
PROBLEM INVOLVED
Solve the Japanese Food Situation and
Financial Matters viii Adjust
Themselves, Says viscount
Taiiri, Economic Expert

Iokio. November 20s-(Correspond-
ence of the Associated Press. big
business interests of Japan, some of
which have opposed from the start
the participation of Japan in the war.
are wondering how Japan will be able
to borrow needed money from now on.
The war may be necessary for Japan
from a political and ethical stand
point" said a prominent banker to the
correspondent of the Associated Press.
but wonder If it win be a good thing,
for business. Moreover. I think il will
he impossible for Japan to borrow
money in Europe within the five or
seven years following the close of the
war"
Japan, he continued, desired to go
on with her work of commercial and
financial development The European
money market being closed, bankers
were asking themselves whether it
would be possible to secure loans in
the United States. The business inter-
ests were anxious to create closer and
more extensive business relations with
the United States and to make the Pa
cifc ocean a sphere not only of peace
but of greater commercial activity 1t
was evident, he said. that there ex-
listed in Japan today powerful current
of opinion in this direction which was
opposed to any consideration of local
politics or party strife interfering with
such a trade and commercial develop
ment.
Solve Food Problem First
Viscount Inajiro Tajirj. president of
the board of auditors. who studied
finance a "a nj tfp
sity, has written this month about the
fundamental solution of Japanese fl
nance which he considered the most
difficult problem that Japan has to
face. In Japan, it was. perhaps, more
difficult than in any other country in
the world and yet there was no coun-
try on earth where there was such
hope for the future, if all ,classes con-
tinued to cooperate toward the one
end of financial consolidation.
He wrote;
THE question that most yitally ar
fects national finance in til Is country
is that of food. 1t is in fact the great
fundamental problem of the nation.
Solve this problem and the problem of
finance is solved. At present our food
supply is deficient and renders us
debtor nation. Irhis is reflected in our
excess of imports over exports and our
unfavorable balance of trade generally.
The government is in debt and private
enterprise is in debt to the extent of
hundreds of millions. Many of our mu-
inequalities are in debt. too. More than
20O.OOo0OO yen ($100 00o000) OF our
business capital is foreign money.
TT is not too much to say that the
whole difficulty lies in our deficiency
In food supply chiefly In rice. the staff
of life in Japan"
DR.. Tajiri pointed out that the an
nua1 supply of rice was deficient and
was made more so by the annual con-
sumption of 10000, 900 bushels by the
breweries for making the native drink
called sake. In eating rice, much of
which she imported, Japan was eating
verify 'the money of the usurer" 1t
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-20

would be long time before Japan be-
came a creditor nation, and in addi-
ton to adopting the remedies Of re-
organization of commerce and industry
and more extensive colonial ton. Japan
must readjust her cultivated land so
as to insure an annual increase in the
rice crops of at least $4,000, 900 bush
els. He declared:
Imports Must Decrease
II we go on importing the most
necessary articles of food and export
only Injuries and ornaments we can
not bring about the desired change"
Much also could be done. he thinks. by
discriminating injurious insects which
destroy 15,o00,000 bushels of rice every
year Improved methods would in
crease crops in Hokkaido, Corea and
Formosa. In the south two crops a year
could easily be raised.
What Japan has to do is 10 make
agriculture the main vocation of the
people. Let her become as successful
commercial and Industrial people as
she may, yet she should never forget
that without agriculture there is no
hope for her as a nation. Agricultural
reforms constitute the best policy for
promoting national economy. 1t is the
III considered notion that Industry
rather than agriculture should be the
foundation of national economy that
lead so many young men OF Japan to
forsake the land and wander to the
cities where they come to nothing.
another necessary reform relates to
foreign trade. Instead of importing
necessities and exporting luxuries Ia
pans goal should be to export the
necessities. She should learn to grow
her own cotton, as she is now attempt
ing to do in Corea."
In conclusion, Viscount Tajiri warns
his fellow countrymen thus:
Japan needs to be careful to guard
against the western tendency to run
after ornament and to be reckless of
the more practical things of life Our
people should think more about the
substance and meaning of life. The
foundation of national economy de-
Ponds much upon the economy of indi-
viduals. If we began by reforms in the
supply and consumption of food and
then went on to improve commerce and
industry, we would be taking the right
and natural course"
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-20
COHEN COMEDY TO
BE HERE THIS WEEK
Seven Keys to Baldpate" Will Be
Presented at Jefferson Theatre
Christmas Week

Seven Keys to Baldpate.' farce in
two acts by George NJ Cohan, based on
a novel by Earl Derr Biggers, present.
ed by the original New York and Chi
eago company, will be disclosed ut the
Jefferson theatre Christmas matinee
and night and the following day mat
inee and night
George M. Cohans steadily advancing
stagecraft is very markedly illustrated
in this play of laughter and mystery,
which kept New York and Chicago the
atregoers laughing for a long time.
The play is a very cleverly construct
ed farce picturing with agreeable satire
the possibilities of 'best seller" writ
ing. The piece is ON lines quite at var
lance with previous Conan plays, being
in many respects the most legitimat &c
contribution to the stage from our
farce.
Mr.. Conan has taken the original
Earl Biggers plot and adapted it quite
as cleVerly to his theatrical uses as
he did the even more diffuse "Waning-
ford yarns. Baldpate Inn is that lone
lest of spots, a mountain summer no.
tel in the dead of winter Here comes
. ~ e'iS' VIM iiiS JhSt4 WdBtIed u
friend that he can turn out 4 story
of 10000 words in "a hours mot so con-
siderable a feat, however, as it seems
many newspaper man has turned
out that much copy in less time at a
pinch.) The writer apparently, believes
that he has the only key to the hotel
and that he will be able to work un-
interruptedly to a successful concIu-
sion of his wager.
The gentleman of the second part in
the wager is the owner of the inn. lie
commends the novelist to the kind Of
fees of the carekeeper and his wife
and arrangements are made for the
writer's comfort Hardly has he begun
to write when the curtain rises on an
other scene A man arrives, also the
possessor of a key and deposits o roll
of bills in the inn safe and telephones
for a confederate to come after the
money in the morning. The nervous
novelist creeps feebly to the balcony
above the lobby and hears all this, then
trembling comes down and demands
of the stranger what he is doing In the
hotel The other man bluntly asks tbs
same question, nipping the situation
with gunwale eloquence. But the nov
elist wooes the harsh visitor to his
room and then slams and locks the
door.
No sooner is this done than the inn
door is unlocked again and young
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-20
Star-Gazers

Tt is told of one of the wise. men of
ancient times that while walking the
Athenian streets and looking up at the
stars he fell suddenly into a mud pud-
die, saws the Memphis CommerciaI-Ap-
peal HIS irate wife, extricating him and
wiping the mud from his clothes, testify
babe him keep his eyes off the stars
while his feet We're on the ground
From matter-of-fact housewife, with
an eye to the washtub. this was reason
able and natural advice. But suppose
that the world at large had taken the
Injunction to heart and followed to the
letter. Where would be the art, the
science, the glory of the present CEN
fury?
1t is the star-gazers, the men with the
upl1fted eye, who have seen ON the hori-
zon the dawn of progress and have caught
at the zenith overhead the flying splendor
of the years.
What If Calico had kept his eyes ever
on the path ahead, nor swept the heav-
ems with his revealing telescope? What
II Columbus had thought more of an
ocean grave than of the message of the
beclSoning stars? What if Edison intern
on keeping clear of the mud, had never
seen the starry hosts above and been
moved to set his mimic consultations
in our cities?
In art, If PraXiteles had thought of the
marble only as a stone 10 pe passed bv
in his walks, there would have been no
golden age of sculpture. Raphael looked
down to see the children blowing in tho
street. but he looked up to find the cloud
against which they We're to lean as
cherubs. Nereshtchagin heard in fancy.
above the bloodsoaked battlefield the
cries of the Vall1yrias, bearing the chosen
slain to the calm Valhalla; and. looking
up to the far stars. he read in their
stetadfast peace the inspiration to teach
with his brush the horrors of war.
The engineer. with his hand on the
throttle, watches the track ahead, but in
fancy he has often ridden the racing wind
far un in the sky.
The weaver keeps his eyes upon the
loom, but the man who laid the patterns
often communed with the heavens.
The wireless operator gazes contin.
uously at the recording instrument, bu,
Marconi had read for him the wonder.
process among the stars.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-20

woman enters. And so until seven keys
have been employed to admit various
more or less eccentric characters. AT
the end you know the visitors are
actors from a not distant theatre stock
company and there are thrills without
numberfi the author dryly remarking
from time to time that the situations
are very like those in his stories. An
epilogue reveals the author hurriedly
finishing his story in time to win the
wagon
1t is, as Mr.. Conan has termed it, a
mystery farce At the end the cpl
logue reveals the fact that the audience
has been seeing the story that is run
ming off the novelist's mind. The author
darfngiy tricks his audience and theu
finishes with a whimsical turn which
gives mystery another turn 1t is all
clever writing, with bit of satire not
only on the writer's of best Sellers
but on audiences as well.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-20
What Are Dumdum Bullets?

The origin of the name and tbo
cause which led to the invention Of
dumdum bullets form q story which
seems to be little known, but which Is
OF peculiar interest in view of the fact
that the Germans are accusing the al
i,es OF using them In contravention of
the articles of warfare laid down by
me Hague convention, which pro-
hlo1ts the use of soft-nosed or explo-
siVe bullets, says Tit Bits. To quote.
tie actual words of the rule relating
10 dumdum bullets, "The powers agree
ID abstain from the use of bullets with
hard envelope which does not en-
tlreiy cover the core. or is pierced with
inoisions."
Ii was the British troops in India that
nfst brought into use the dumdum bull.
iets In the petty wars on the north
west frontier of India our soldiers
were often exposed to night attacks
IN camp by fanatic. swordsmen known
as Ghazis. or fighting deryishes. and
It was found that the rush of men of
thls sort at close quarters was not to
ne stopped by the needle-li prick OF
the modern rifle bullet, and that it was
absolutely necessary to make the bullet
more effective in these special circum-
stances. This was done by removing
from the nose of the bullet a small
portion of the nickel mantle that covers
II. The effect of this was to make the
lead spread out from a diameter of a
lead pencil to that of the old fashioned
n'usket ball. and had a sufficiently
stopping effect The British troops
however, never used the bullets any
where except in the circumstances re-
lated.
The name dumdum was derived from
the town of Dumdum four and one
half miles from Calcutta, where th,.
bullets We're first manufactured Dunn
dun, which has been described as the
Woolwich of India. and was for a long
time the Headquarters of the Bengal
Artillery, was, 1t is interesting to note.
the center of the first open maaifes
tatlon against creased cartridges in the
Sepoy mutiny of 1857
1t is pointed out, however, by Mr.. F..
c. Se1ous. the famous big-game hunter.
whose knowledge of rifles and shooting
as probably unequaled, that the new
pointed bullet, itself German invention
and now for the first time employ
ed in warfare in western Europe, in
flicts at short ranges more grevious
wounds than any form of soft-nosed
expanding bullet a
These pointed bullets 1t seems. are
ant to turn sideways on striking a man
or an animal at short range, with the
result that although the hole caused by
the entry of the bullet is small, round
and cleancut, the skin is often torn
open where they pass out on the other
side. Mr.. Selous relates how on sew
erel occasions he has found one of these
long id-pointed bullets. absolutely
unimpaired in shape lying broadside
under the skin of an animal, through
whose body 1t had torn a large LAGER
ated wound. At short range. however.
when the velocity of the bullet has
slowed down, they do not cause such
serious wounds.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-20

| open shop at the jefferson in January
| when A. II. Woods presents, direct from
Its second year in New York city the
most famous play of the century. Pot
ash and Perlmutter' was acclaimed
with joy by the New York critics and
the amusement public when Mr. Woods
| first produced it at the George M
Conan theatre in that city.
Marion Sunshine, one of the import
ant principals who will be seen In Raw
mond Hitchcock's supporting cast pre-
sentlng The Beauty Shop" will be re-
called as the tiny Coincidence of the
team Tempest and Sunshine" and a
favorite in vaudeville these several sea
sons She scored a sensational success
at Me Aston theatre, New York. during
the long run of the new Hitchcock
play on Broadway.
The New Years week vaudeville bill
at the Lyric contains some dislinc Of
features that will make it an excellent
holiday offering, such as Eddie Leon
ard, the minstrel, assisted by Mable
Russell, and as this is the first an
pearance here of Eddie Leonard with
out the "blackface' of the minstrel
man his many friends will watch him
with interest. He headlines the bin.
"On the School Fairgrounds" will be a
big Kid days act with 10 clever Ell
tertatners; Ed Vinton and his Justly
FAMOUS dog Buster, the mimic and
comedian, will be pleasantly reraem-
bered by thousands, as will the trans
atlantic trio, which was one of thu
best musical and comedy acts that ever
appeared here. Gordon and RIGA IN a
novelty cycling act; Kramer and Nor
ton, blackface comedians known as
Two Black Dots, ''and Eddie Howard,
m anil 90;
of all tumbling clowns, will complete
the bill.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-20
Litigation

From the Livingston Lance
Lawyer-"So you want to make a
case of it?"
Farmer-"Yes. by jingl l offered TO
settle by fair means, an he wouldn't
SO | decided I'd hire a lawyer an have
him took into court"
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-20
THEATRICAL NOTES

George Primrose, "the man who has
made a million dollars with his edu-
Gated feet" and George waltz Me
Again" Wilson, will bring their all
star company Of so vocalists, dancers,
comedians and instrumentalists to the
Jefferson after Christmas.
The firm of Potash and Perlmutter
Aakers of cloaks. suits and laughs. will
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-20
Naturally

From the Pennsylvania Punch Bowl.
Boarding House Mistress-"What
Freshman-"S0me Of the meat
please
Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1914-09-10
CHAPTER w.
Curran Casts the Net.

That evening, after supper, Cur
ran and Lorimer were smoking their
pipes on the little porch facing the
river. They had drawn a couple
of homemade chairs from the liv-
ing room and were discussing an
important matter. The voyageurs
were scattered about their tents or
sat around bright fire of birch logs,
talking volubly. Woful sounds were
being teased out of an old fiddle, but
the audience rather liked the music,
having little inclination to be un-
kind and critical.
"The instructions from headquar-
ters are plain enough" said Curran.
"They told me that one of us should
take canoe, or couple of 'em If
we thought it necessary, and take a
good look at the country east of the
Ushuk.
"The idea is that they think
there's a bunch of heathen Nescau-
pees up there who don't do much
trapping and just live on the coun-
try. You know few of 'em get
down to the Labrador coast with
pelts. If the Ushuk trip isn't too
hard, some Of 'em might be induced
to come down here or, if fur seems
plenty, a post could be established
up there.
eff the traveling's good, Of course
Between you and me and the nearest
lamp-post, that must be six hundred
miles off. don't think much of the
idea, but it's case of go, look, see,
and report to headquarters.
He was talking in an offhand, de-
qlIltOrv fashion vet his eues con0bt
to penetrate his assistant through
the semidarkness. He watched Lor-
inner catlike.
Lorimer did not answer at once.
Under former conditions he would
have been only too delighted to
spend a couple Of months exploring
the country, but the prospect OF
leaving Ameou was exceedingly dis
tasteful to him just then.
There was no reason to prevent