davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18
Southern Financial Centers

Among the south's financial centers New Orleans ranks first, of course, from banking point of view and R8hmcnd next" said professional man. T do not include Louisvlle-only the cities in the states of the old Southern Confederacy.
 New Orleans is a candidate for a fed eral reserve bank, and if banking strength were toN determine the question, the Cres- cent City would win. but the resources and needs of regions or districts have to be first considered. Birmingham will probably be selected as one of the re- serve bank centers because it is a logical place geographically, to say nothing of other reasons.
 Speaking of bank resources, New Or leans has deposits totaling between $9o, 000,000 and $lO0000,000 and capital and un- divided profits of about $20,000,0O0.
 Richmond is next to New Orleans. It's banks have an aggregate of amounting to $50, GOO. Atlanta and Birmingham are practically on a footing in the matter Of deposits in round mbers-$2S. .000 D0o each. Nashville has about $2S 100000 in deposits and Memphis about $25,00O, 900.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18
RESERVE BANK AMBITIONS

From the New Orleans Picayune.
 As the time approaches for the special committee having the matter in charge to announce its selections of cities for federal reserve bank centers, many of our ambitious southern towns are in dulging in boastful predictions that they will be selected and their rivals ignored. It is rather amusing to note how each of these provincial towns is convinced that New Orleans at least will not be selected, although there is a pleasing absence of reason assigned why rhis burg-the only metropolitan city i'll the south, by the way--has no chance.
 No one denies that New Orleans has more banking capital and resources than any other southern commercial center, that she has a much larger population than any possible rival, that her foreign commerce is second only to that of New York, that she is the gateway to the great and rich Mis- sissippi valley and the nearest continen- tai port to the Panama canal, yet every body is convinced that no federal re- serve bank should be located here All this would be amusing enough did 1t not indicate that our southern com Imunities are becoming intensely pro-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18
SARAH BERNHARDTvs DEBTS

Paris Correspondence New York Times.
 Gil Bias tells the following story in regard to the theatrical debut of Sarah Bernhardt showing how she once seri- ously thought of giving up the dramatic profession and keeping a candy store:
 "On a certain January 15, when the artists reunited in the green room of the Theatre Francais in order to do honor to the anniversary of Molere, the young sister of Sarah stepped on the dress of Mme Nathalie, societaire, grande dame, and person greatly to be feared by in- genues.
 "The aged actress became very angry and reproved the girl, who replied in the same language. until Sarah intervened by skipping the face of the veteran so- cietaire of 1852.
 There was a terrible scandal, and Edouard Therry, command publicly to apologize to Mime, Nathalie before all the societaires who had witnessed the af- fair But Sarah, who had just left the consevatore without a very good char acter, preferred to quit the house of Mo- Here and even give up her career. Tn her despair she wished to go into business. and was tempted to purchase the good will of a candy store in the boulevards but the gloomy aspect of the shop when she examined it deterred her
 "Soon after with her savings almost gone, she found an engagement at the Gymnase de Montigny. where she made her first real success"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18
THROUGH THE CANAL.

From the Electric News Service.
 The canal and locks will accommodate the largest vessels. The fact that the control board is a king miniature of
 the lock which it opetates shows the op-
 orator the actual condition of gates. having the whole condition in miniature under his eye. he knows what to do next
 and when to do it; the operator receiving the information as to the movement of the vessel from a towing master. The engineers on locomotives which take the vessels through the locKs, as well as the towing master, can see the position of the gates, but the position of the fender chains are indicated by semaphore arms on thS lock walls
 Let us take a vessel through set of
 locks.
 It proceeds into a lock forebay either
 under it's own power or that of a tug, and comes to full stop. It will then proceed
 under the power and control of four cleo
 trio locomotives-two forward to take 1t along, one on each side and two others dStSiils ohc oil ceiSh Siucf to heNP tiiC 'SS- sel in the middle of tho waterway and to stop it when it has reached the proper
 point, and to prevent it from moving for ward too rapidly.
 After the vessel comes to a full stop
 in the forebay it's position is given by the towing master to the switchboard at tendant who, by moving a control switch lever, causes the lowering of the fender chain which is indicated by the minia- ture fender chain on the control board, after the lock gate is in the proper posi- ltion. The fender chain is stretched across the canal to prevent the vessel from
 striking the gates if for some reason it should get beyond control. In such an event the fender chain brings the vessel to full stop.
 Now the vessel advances, into the lock by means of the electric locomotives The fender chain is raised behind it and then the massive gates are shut behind, the miniature control board gates in the
 meantime indicating this movement When the water in the lock has been raised or lowered, as the case may be, as shown on the water level indicators on the control board these gates are opened and the boat is pulled into the next com partment and on.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18

shown such rapid process of evolu. ton as agriculture, and men who ex celed therein a decade ago are back numbers if they have not kept apace with the growth and advance of the profession.
 To succeed upon the farm one needs add to his experience the advantage of the curriculum of agricultural colleges or he will lag in the race. Never has the dignity of labor been so exalted as upon the farm and the possibilities oi the field are as fascinating as they are remunerative. It takes a wide-awake, intelligent, studious man to succeed fully as a modern farmer.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18

Horace Short, an Englishman, has in vented a folding aeroplane which he thinks will greatly increase the useful ness of this craft in naval warfare He has perfected a device which permits the wings of an aeroplane to be folded back close to the body of the machine when not in use. so that a machine occupies only a seventh of the space or shipboard that Is required for it 1t present The inventor believes that his
 idea will result in radical changes m the design of aeroplanes, whether in. tended for use on land or sea. Aero planes will become d practical part of the equipment of every warship and as many can be carried as are needed The Fold ng wings will measure 10 feet across, inNead of 70 feet. The device is so simple that the wings can be folded or unfoIded in less than minute while the aeroplane is floating on tho surface of the water by the ship
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18
HE DRESSED WELL
Linnincott,s Magazlne,

From I1pplncott's Magazine.
 Amos Whitaker, a miserly millionaire, was approached by friend who used his most persuasive powers to have him dress more in accordance with his station in life.
 "I am surprised, Amos" said the friend that you should allow yourself to become so shabby"
 But I'm not shabby firmly inter- posed the millionaire miser.
 "Oh, but you are,\ returned his old friend "Remember your father. He was Ialways neatly, even elegantly dressed. His clothes were always finely tailored and of the best material. Why" shouted the mser triumphant- ly, these clothes I've got on were fathers"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18

From the Cincinnati Enquirer
 married man is never in doubt about anything as long as his wife is around.
 The reason girl likes to dance all night and pump a player piano all day is because her ankles are so weak that she can't stand up in front of the kitchen sink ane wash dishes.
 The reason why platonic friendships always end disastrously is because one of the friends wears skirts.
 We all love a good loser when he loses to us.
 The world owes you a living. But you'll have to peel off your coat and roll up your sleeves to collect it.
 Every man has pet enemy.
 The reason woman has so much patience is because she usually mar ries d man who hasn't any. A reformer is a man who always has d front seat at smutty show and then wants it stopped so obody else can see 1t. woman shouldn't go around brag- ging about how hapE she is with her husband when the walls of her flat are thin. The man who worries about what the other fellow is going to do always runs ,second.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18

Vincial and narrow minded Wherein
 has New Orleans offended that her neighbors should be so unkind? It is
 and we would not be so uncharitable as to believe them conceited
 one of the most confident of the as pirants for reserve bank honors is the thriving little city of Birmingham. Ala. That center of iron and coal seems ab- solutely convinced that the regional bank to be allotted to the south will go
 to Birmingham and nowhere else. voic-
 ing this idea, The AgeHerah says:
 As the time approaches for the or
 ganization committee to make it's aWaros II seems more probable than i ever chat Birmingham will have one of
 the federal reserve banks. This is .ne center of the region proposed by Mr
 Harding. It will fill all the require ments. Ut is a railroad center and a financial center, and has a greater fu- ture than any other southern city. un
 less New Orleans be excepted. Louis i Vile bankers had proposed the same
 identical district foiAthis section. Rep
 sesentative Louisville fnanciers have made IL plain that if they could not get federal reserve bank Birmingham
 was their second choice. They womb
 be satisfied with having branch bank known a5 the Branch of the Birmine ham Reserve Bank New Orleans would
 have branch. Atlanta would be on.
 titled to such branch. but being within few hours ride to Birmingham the
 bankers of Georgia who would have
 business with the federal reserve insti
 tuition would doubtless prefer coming
 here than to have a branch"
 So New Orleans may, after all. h., permitted 10 have Q branch of the Bir mingham reserve bank. That is kind indeed. although it does look very much like the tail wagging the dog. We would advise our neighbors to possess their souls in patience and wait quietly until the special committee announces
 its selections. It will then be in order for the winners to boast and the losers l to eat humble pie.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18
TANGO AND TIGHT SKIRTS

From the Washington Post.
 There is something typically French Tn
 the protest of the Patriotic League of French Women in Paris against the present outrageous tendency of the fash
 ion in gowns" Insouciant, and embody- 1 ing the spirit of youth and of spring Paris nevertheless, is stickler for con ventions The world may regard Paris as naughty, but Paris regards itself as the pink of propriety.
 Americans have come to view the French from two different angles. There is the Paris which we have in musical comedies-gay. fiirtatious and unrestrained and the Paris of the drama, where.the young girls are guarded preciously, where family ties are very strong, and Where parental authority is absolute. French children are guarded so carefully that 1t would seem there must be some merit in the contention of Partisan editors that all the visible wickedness of Paris is caused by transients or aliens. The Patriotic League of French Wom- cn transfers the responsibility for the pre- vailing feminine fashions to the shoulders of the modistes. French women them selves, the league asserts, are utterly dis gusted with the slit skirt, the hobble, ha- rem and trouserette styles. They want no more of these. But when one of the eaiing modistes was asked to give her opinion of this campaign, she said:
 ''These ladies are like gendarmes who always come on the scene too late. We had already understood the situatien We are going to close the skirt but in order that the legs may remain free we are giving the necessary fullness to the gar ment'
 There is a vein of cynicism in the com ment of the modiste which seems to deny that the motive of the French league is modesty The tango, apparently, is given credit for the revulsion of feeling. Be- cause women have found it difficult to dance gracefully in tight skirts, they are now demanding more freedom
 The law of compensation is a wonder ful thing. Thousands of prudes raised their voices against the tight skirts, but it was left for the tango, which has also been condemned, to effect the reform. All of which goes to show that it is useless to try to regulate the caprices of women. The inconsistency of the sex provides an automatic escape from any threatened Iii ga ster
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18
The English Submarine Tunnel

The Associated Press announces that ehe question of uniting Great Britain with France by means of tunnel un der the Dover straits is soon to be discussed by Parliament and that the prospects of it's becoming a reality are brighter than ever.
 This is by no means a new question and the project would have assumed shape many years ago had not the foolish apprehension of a French in vasion by such a route acted as de terrent. As a matter of fact mile of this tunnel was actually excavated in 1875 but the alarmists with their vivid picturing of Jean Bonhomme rushing stealthily through the subterranean that the enterprise was abandoned.
 The idea that such a tunnel would or could be instrumental in facilitating an invasion is quite absurd. Holland is defended from invasion by the fact that the mere opening of the dykes would sabmerge the invaders, but the difficulty taefe would be that the in habitants would likewise be drowned ; not so, however, with the British tun- nel It could be so constructed that the mere touching of a button would blow the subway and those in it to destruc- ton without injury to solitary Brit Isher: hence the absurdity of the pre- iiction that it's construction invites in vasion.
 Engineers have growns almost elo- uuent in discussing the feasibility of the undertaking, The substratum rock IS as soft as the composition of the chalk cliffs of Dover and will yield readily to the boring process and ex- cavating apparatus The work could be completed in very few years and the cost is estimated at not over $80,000,- 900. The shortest distance between England and the continent is just 21 miles, so that the tunnel would be a trifle over twice the distance of the famous St. Gothard tunnel under the Alps, passage through which is made with comparatively little discomfort.
 Premier Asquith has been invited by a delegation of parliamentary members to prosecute the project and he lent a willing ear to their suggestion. The sea passage from Dover to France is the toughest known to water travel and in addition to doing away with the ills that it entails the commercial impor- tance of a submarine tunnel will be one of incalculable value.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18

"HE trial of Col. Nicholas Bayard of New York city was one of the A earliest trials held in this country for high treason against the crowned head of the mother country. For many years subsequent to the accession of Will liam and Mary in England. the province of New York was agitated by strife
 between the rival political parties so bitter that the rights of the defeated were grossly violated and they were not always safe in their liberty and their lives.
 In 1898 Lord Bellomont was sent to this country as governor of the province and he favored the party that had been opposed to James II. This support kept the~two parties evenly drawn and thus both were protected, but when Belomont died in 1701, the ancient animosity of the rival factions were revived with the ut most zeal and fury. Information being received that Lord Cornbury was to suc- ceed the Earl of Bellomont, the aristo- cratic party, now in the minority took
 measures to secure the new governor to their own interests. Nicholas Bayard, a
 
 soandalous charges of bribery, of public plunder and oppression against the lieu tenant governor the chief justice and the assembly, and reflections were liberaily cast upon the memory of Lord Bellomont himself.
 When this came to the knowledge of Nanfan, the lieutenant governor, he copl-
 mitted Bayard to prison as traitor. Thus was the leader of the aristocratic party in the power of his enemies. The party in power, as if conscious that their
 authority and influence would soon be impaired, determined to bring the pris- oner to immediate trial before the ar rival of the governor, so that he should
 not be saved by that functionary. | Although Broughton, the attorney gen. | eral, gave a written opinion that nc actual crime had been committed, a | special court of Oyer. and Terminer, con | sisting of three justices, was immediately 1 erected for the trial of Bayard and one
 of his adherents. Five days was the ut
 most delay he could obtain, and on the 18th day of February, TOP, the court as- sembled to decide his fate.
 /, Broughton, the attorney general, re-
 fused to prosecute, and the prosecution was accordingly conducted by Weaver
 the solicitor general. The prisoner was
 defended by Messrs. Emot and Nicholl When the grand jury were called the l prisoners counsel objected to some of l them, declaring that if Bayard's neck | was made of gold he should be hanged. , 1 A part of the jury insisted that they
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18
The Possibilities of the Field

The New York Tribune raises a most salient point when it criticizes the proposition of the governor of that state to ship the army of unemployed Ap the rural districts and put them to work upon the farm.
 The objection to such a scheme, philanthropic as it may be, is that few If any of the idle men would be able to do farm work after the approved methods now employed by the agricul- turist.
 The day when the farmer was con. kemptuously spoken Of as clod-hopper ls gone. The time when an individual too dense for anything else was rele- gated to farm work has passed. Agri culture has become profession, a science and a study demanding intel lfgent thought and intellectual manip ulation.
 Farming of this era is not numdrum work: it is a question of obtaining the best results and it is thoroughly al economic proposition. In tie last two decades the land through scientific methods and improved processes has been made to yield treble and more its old time production and yield al improved quality as well. h fact it is doubtful If there is a vocation that has
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18
AIDA WEARS BLUE WIG

From the New York American.
 Frances Aida, the vivacious wife of M. Satti-Casazza, caused quite a stir last night at the Metropolitan opera house in the second act of Les Contes d'Hoffman.' She appeared as Giulietta. the Venetian courtesan, wearing a blue wig.
 The wig was of the twentieth cen tury pattern. The blue was of a pallid turquoise tint. Mt till the Interpreters of the Venetian act were called before the curtain did the audience realize the audacity of Madame Alda's head gear. Nor, when it did. were all the gasps in approval.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Fireproof and Elegant

''The Hotel Motion will be completed and ready for opening in May-not later than May 15," said Col T. H. Motion.
 Tt is a modern building in every re- spect, and there is no cheap work in it. It is absolutely freproof from bottom to top I have not leased the hotel and will not attempt to do so until it is practically finished. There will be a drug store and a soft drink stand in the corner. Light lunches will be served especially for the convenience of the guests of the hotel. There will be no cafe. After the Tut wiler is finished many of the roomers in my hotel will take meals across the street.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18
BAD ACTING
e New Orleans States.

From the New Orleans States
 Prof. Brander Matthews, the noted stu dent of the drama. was talking in New York about a bad play.
 ''The actors, too, were bad he said. 'T'hey were in fact so very bad that they remind me of certain bal masque. --"One East Slider said to another:
 How did the bal masque come of? Very poor was the reply.
 "'You don't say so! And how was Mary Lannigan as the Goddess of Lib erty?'
 Rotten
 " Rotten? Didn't she act the part well?'
 No She got locked up'"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18
GREAT TRIALS OF HISTORY
TRIAL OF COLONEL BAYARD

had a right to delibe;.tc a 3ne. wnere- upon the solicitor General took down
 their names and threatened that he
 would cause them to be trounced," and
 the jury broke up in confusion without
 acting.
 The indictment set forth that the
 falsely, maliciously, etc, used divers
 indirect practices and endeavors to pro-
 cure mutiny and desertion among the
 soldiers in the fort, and drew numbers
 of them to sign false and scandalous
 libels against his majestys government" This prisoner, upon his arraignment. pleaded not guilty, and desired that he
 might be allowed two clerks to take the
 minutes of the trial. The request was denied. The prisoner then sent petition
 to the court in which he set forth the in
 justice and the irregularity of the pro-
 oeedings against him. Of course the petit
 on had no effect
 The solicitor general then made an
 introductory harangue to the jury, in which he acclaimed against the English
 and French inhabitants of the colony. including the principal Dutch He charged
 d faction, malignant party. He accused
 Bayard being at the head of a party of pirates, betrayers of the prince and his laws, a parcel of banditti
 Testimony against Bayard was given
 by Samuel Clows, Peter odyre, W. Richardson, John Bashford and others, and at it's conclusion the counsel for the
 prisoner addressed the court and jury in his behalf followed by Esnuot, his other counsel Several witnesses were then called in behalf of the prisoner ..mong them the minister of Trinity church, who
 testified to his exemplary character, and his attachment to the cause of the King. The chief justice then charged the jury. and they retired and for several days they could not come to a decision. but finally
 rendered verdict of guilty. The chief l justice then pronounced the sentepue of death, but this was hot carried into ex- ecution. Applying for reprieve until
 the pleasure of the king might be known, it was granted to him, and on the rival of the new governor, Lord Cornbury he was released from prison. All sas theE reversed for Cornbury announced him. self the friend of the aristocracy. At wood, the chief justice, and Weaver. the | solicitor general fled to England
 l Bayard was reinstated in all honor
 and estate by public command, "as if no
 such trial had been. Lord Cornbury
 destroyed the factions of New York by expressing them both until they united
 inv resistance to himself, and the contest 1 soon began which resulted in the estab- ] ilshment or free and independent nation.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18

One hates to see the mighty fallen Who can read the life of Napoleon and on Elba? When a capitalist is swept away, or q great baseball pitcher is forced to retire one has the same feel ing of regret. The waning of fortunes star is not pleasant to contemplate and 1t is sad to see a once proud name dragged .n the dust
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-18
MEMORY

'y Mary Greenway McClellan,i. Out of my dooryard maple
 A gilded leaflet fell, Twinkling down on a sunbeam Like music from a bell. Nor hand nor foot disturbe1dtA And frolicsome gusts of ain Whirling the wayside atoms Danced on, and left it there. Slowly away 1t wasted
 Tfll only film remained x A skeleton leaf, a shadow,
 Lost wholly when it rained. Yet To, on the stained footway. Etched where the gold had lain A delicate shape-a spirit Xarried in wind and rain.