davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06

Germany, ever patriotic to It's hearts S roots, is sending it's noblest and it's best to face cannon and rifle. The call of country is overmastering everywhere. The love of home and native land Is an at tribute saintly in it's concept. Paderewski, the worlds greatest pianist, has gone to Warsaw, the capital of Poland, annpunc- ing that he will join the colors should he be convinced that the Czar is sincere in the promise to give autonomy to his country. Ysaye, the famous yioNinist, s a soldier in the army of Belgium. Fritz Kreisler, considered by many the greatest violinist of modern times is Il captain in an Austrian regiment. Leopold Godowsky, the great piano virtuoso, is a member of the army of Franz Josef Caruso de- Italy is drawn into the maelstroin. It is grandly inspiring, and ineffably sad
 An imperial rescript Issued by the Car of Russia has changed the name of St Petersburg to Petrograd. By the latter designation the capital of all the Rus sias henceforth will be known The ac- tion of Nicholas seems absurd, doesn't il? Nevertheless, if you would wish to have clear idea of places important in the present conflict and places important in future understanding of history and geog- raphy, you had best at once begin to realize that the seat of Muscovite is situated at Petrograd, and not at St. Petersburg as you always have been taught to believe.
 Emperor Nicholas based his decree upon a desire to eliminate from the nomen- clature of his realm all that suggests the Teutonic. The names of other places in his dominions likewise will undergo amendment or total change. The power, reasonable or unreasonable. is vested in the Czar, and he proposes to exercise it. St. Petersburg has disappeared from the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06

be taken up with a little ethical in- struction." said the judge referring to the fact that the boy did not return the usual answer, 'I will go to h. when he was asked what would hap pen to him if he told lie.
 We nesdn't go with the judge quite ing. Nowadays many of us don't be- lieve, anyway in a hell.
 But that the young would be bene- fitted by more ethical teaching is un- questionable.
 If Benjamin Robinson (the name is fictitious) adheres to his present res- olution and remains of the same mind he is in now there Is hope for him, although he Is a convict and has Ii years Cess time off for good behaviour to serve in state prison.
 Robinson killed a man and pleaded guilty to the crime of manslaughter In the second degree. Before being taken to the penitentiary he wrote to the judge who presided at his trial: T had always felt during my rather mfsspent life that I have never been
  CT bitter toward society but last night, after you had sentenced me to Il years in state prison, my thoughts were of different nature.
 T sat pondering last night on the end of my evil ways and came to the conclusion that had myself to blame. It may have been different had had a mothers love to guide me. I am very grateful. therefore. for the light sentence you have imposed on me. I am convinced that you took every thing into consideration and hope I shall never give you cause to regret your action"
 The man who wrote that letter was evidently a person of some education. Possibly he has read about the latest theories of criminology, and. if he had been disposed. he might have blamed his downfall on heredity or environ ment or some other cause sanctioned by the researchers of the scientists.
 Perhaps he would have been right. But not he. He chose rather to say and to write and presumably to think, "I cam9 to the conclusion that I had myself to blame"
 Despite it's sorigin that Is a square. upstanding. manful acknowledgement of fault. There Is hope for the man who can see himself through such lenses. When he has expiated his crime-and it is to be hoped sincerely
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06

from danger and Hell Gate was no more. At the time the matter received unusual attention. as one of the scientific achieve ments of the age. but il came to be fol- lowed so rapidly by other featss and ac- complishments that 1t was soon lost sight of. The success attendant on this un- dertaking led to the preparation for re- moving all the remaining Instructions in the rivers round about New York. all of which was accomplished by 1885. when New York harbor and It's approaches be- came one of the safest in the world.
 When it is considered that the total cost for the removal of these varied obstruc- tious was not much beyond s500o.oo0 the work accomplished will be the more read fly appreciated.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06

peninsula have been current for months. It is to be expected that the smoldering fires of rebellion will break out when the army is no longer at hand to smother them.
 England has foreseen this and is pre- pared. Japan is ready to pour countless thousands of well armed we'll drilled. well fed fighting men into India should the inhabitants attempt to drive out the for eigners
 Japan has promised to take no part in Europe, but as Engands alley she will feel herself free to intervene in India should circumstances make it necessary. The rest of the world will have nothing to do with it.
 We read much these days of Pan Germanism'' and "Pan-Slavism,' and many writers would have us believe that the two are now locked in struggle which means death for one or the other. Frequently the dispatches relate that everywhere the German soldiers go they mark on the walls wilhelm II, Elm peror of Europe" and correspondents Teutonic in their sentiment pretend to believe that Czar Nicholas, should he and his allies be the victors in the present conflict, will insist on pushing his from tiers far to the west and far to the south. Wilhelm and Nicholas may dream such dreams, but it is unreasonable that either can conceive of the utter annihila- tion of his enemy in this war or in any that may closely follow it. The German empire is too strong and stable to be destroyed, while Russia has the faculty of turning reverses into triumphs in a manner that astonishes the historian
 In reading accounts of barbarities conn mitted by the contending armies upon
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06

well to bear in mind that charges of atrocities were made against the soldiers of both the north and the south fin America's great civil war. Some of these charges had only too much foundation In fact, but as a whole they were wilful congregations. As the New York evening Post remarks This Is the time to take every charge of monstrous brutal ity on either side with a grain of salt. Did not our own Admiral Sampson ac- cuse the Spanish of mutilating the Amer iean dead in Cuba in 1898, and subsc- auently have to apologize and withdraw the charge as unfounded?p
 Here are a few facts showing to just what extent the present quarrel in Eu- rope is a family affair:
 l. King George V of Great Britain and Ireland. eyerybody's cousin.
 ?. Tsaritza of Russia. first cousin of King George and of Emperor William. g.. Emperor William of Germany. grandson of Queen Victoria
 l. Queen Maud of Norway sister of King George,
 .5.- Queen Sophia of Greece, sister of Emperor William.
 6. Queen Victoria of Spain. first cousin of Emperor William. of King George and of the Tsaritza of Russia.
 '. Nicholas Il, Tsar of Russia, first cousin of King George V.
 8. Queen Helena of Italy, daughter of King Nicholas of Montenegro.
 9. King Albert of Belgium, cousin of King George V of Great Britain and Ire land.
 10. Grown Princess Militza of Monte negro, cousin of King George.
 II. King Haakon of Norway, first cousin and brpther-in-law of King George and first cousin of the Tsar of Russia.
 F. Grown Princess Margaret of Swed- en, granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06

ritory, has decimated the civil p,rula-
 ton, massacred women and children. car-
 ried into captivity inoffensive peasants,
 put to death the wounded, destroyed un- defended towns, and burned churches,
 Historical monuments and the famous ii-
 brary of the University of Louvain. All
 these facts have been established by au- ! thenticated documents.'
 It may be that all these charges are true But what can the United States do about it? Is it the part of this country to protest against outrages committed by the Germans and have inothing to say regarding excesses on the part of the nations in arms against Germany and Austria Hungary? Take Servia and Montenegro for instance. Evidence is fresh and incontrovertible that in the last Balkan war they, with Greece and Bulgaria, committed acts that shocked civilization. Is 1t reason able to believe that Servia and Mont enegro suddenly have resolved to con- fine their killing only to those met on the battle front? And Russia--Russia was never known to wage war in namby pamby fashion. And France the war in Alsace-Lorraine. in the words of General Joffre himself, is one of vengeance.
 President Wilson has. chosen-and that choice is upheld by all patriotic Americans-that the position of the United States shall be one of neutral ity, actual as well as professed He has frowned severely upon the activ- ities of those overzealous German Americans who have sought to embroil this country with Japan. Japan has sedulously endeavored to convince Washington that it has nothing in mind which possibly could be detri- mental to the interests of this coun- try. But these asseverations have been inconclusive to a small per cent of our population with whom the success of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06

precipitation by peolble who would no
 listen to those who told them that ti
 couldn't be done"
 From time to time arise critics of the public school system of America whs attack the "godlessness" of the schools These folks want religion taught to tn, young. They assert that the percent age of crime would be- lessened if eacf succeeding generation were taught ir the schools the existence of God ant the necessity of obeying his divine or. dinances. e
 It cannot be denied that in very many cases and in the majority of our cities such teaching would be helpful and would react favorably on Ahe life. oi the nation.
 But
 These folks forget the tendency seemingly inevitable, of religious teach ing to degenerate into sectarianism. So many of us think that we possess the only true key to heaven and that the only way to the throne Is that laid out by our own spiritual leaders and guides
 Moreover, some are possessed of the ancient. spirit, which held that it is better to kill mans body. even by hideous torture. than to permit him to live in error.
 Probably the majority of Americans are convinced that 1t is better to con fine the teaching in the public schools to secular subjects. leaving the reli- gious training of the young to the parents and to such religious ministers as they may prefer. The dissociation of church and state, as the latter is represented by the schools to which all contribute directly and indirectly, has been Fundamental feature of Amer ican life
 Now comes judge to protest against the fact that belief Tn eternal tor ment is not taught in the public schools.
 This city magistrate had before him for examination an 11-year-old schoolboy who said he did not know what would happen to him if he told a lie and showed no great concern in the matter. The lad was witness in a case and the magistrate said he could not hold the prisoner because the sworn testimony of the boy might not be received.
 ~The time spent in scientific experi- mentation in the schools might wen
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06

make survey and report the feasibility of clearing this important channel. the result of all which was that the destruc- tion of these adamantine submarine ob- strnctUns was undertaken. The work ex- tended through years Beneath the water the vast bed of rock was drilled through here and there. in such way as to enable the employment of powerful ex- plosives. Galleries were formed by drill- ing and were brought into connection with main tunnels. so that about F feet beneath the surface of the wide river, this wide stretch of rock was penetrated by passages which crossed and recrossed at certain regular intervals, much like the arrangement of streets in a city.
 After the lapse of years, and the expendi- ture of millions of money, the vast do-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06

E ROM the time of the settlement of the region of New York by the Dutch, there were encountered by sea-faring vessels the most serious and dangerous obstructions in East river, be- tween Long Island and Manhattan Island, and between Long Island and Ward Island. In the primitive days when boats were light and not adequately construct ed there were swirling pools formed in the region named, and eddies that were dangerous to sea-faring folk.
 The rocks which filled the channel at certain points and for some distance up and down the stream were the more dan gerous because they were invisible, and with hidden rock and treacherous pools of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06
<<fTN HE cost of living Is terrible"
 says the pessimist.
 But it's worth the price,"

says the pesslmist.
 But it's worth the price," says the optimist.
 So runs a current joke. It's a modern version of popes "To be is better far than not to be-"
 The optimist, an American, pays the price of living without haggling or doubt and enjoys his stay on earth.
 The pessimst is an oriental, who thinks that a price is made only to be beaten down, and in the process of chaffering and dickering he spends his whole fife, neither coming out openly and refusing to pay and withdrawing from life and it's concerns nor paying down willingly. He spends his time quarreling with the terms on which he shall accept existence on this earth. Before he has decided wheth- CT he shall accept it or reject it the day is done. the market place is closed and the sun sets.
 Thank God for life; life is not sweet al-
 ways;
 Hands may be heavy laden, hearts care
 full;
 UnWelcOme nights IOlloW unWelcoln9
 days.
 And dreams divine end in wakenings
 dull,
 Still it is life, and life is cause for praise. What price for life?
 Is 1t to be accepted as gift. to be spent as quickly and easily and lightly as possible in the confident hope of further supply when the original Is gone. or is it to be purchase to be weighed and measured and carefully considered and paid for with price?
 The price is proper living, interest in life, effort to return something for what life gives us Mere living Is not enough to discharge the debt The birds of the air and the beasts of the field pay that much. Of man more is required and ce- manded.
 He gets more; therefore he must give moro in retusn.
 He must pay in attempts. to make life easier for others as we'll as for himself. He must pay by taking an intelligent interest. in so far as the linn itations of his intellectual and physical powerA win allow, in the lives of his fellow men and women.
 ony by helping others can he make Nfe better for himself and for those who come after, for the life of all af- focts tho life of each. and as the man
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06

map. In it's place is Petrograd, confin- ing the name and the renown of it's founder, but suggesting nothing of the German tongue. The ulSase is not trivial, it is not ineonsequential. It is based the Teuton. It is a visible, clamorous in- dication of the antipathy, stark and bit- ter, that Russia feels for Germany Wrapped therein is portent of what may happen to German towns that fall under the might of the Romanoff legions. Ill., concealed may be seen the fate of Ser lin should 1t become the prize of Mus covite myiiads.
 Did England run the risk of losing Amerlca's friendship just to permit Ja- of it's "eventual'' return to China? We'll, hardly. England, as usual, looked be- yond the immediate. In this instance, as usual. it's diplomacy was astute and comprehensive
 Premier Asquith and Minister Grey were we'll aware that Japans entry Into war would prove source of irritation to America. but they relied upon the sedu- lous earnestness of Tokio's explanations to allay that feeling here. Those explan- ations have proven effective. Few who are absolutely sincere in the hope that America will favor none of the belligerents over another believes that Japan is aim ing blow at our prestige in the Pacific. But it has now become clear that Japan may go a step farther than it originally proposed.
 The English government has announced that 1t intends to use the native troops of India on European battlefelds. Before long the intrepid Sikhs may be charging shoulder to shoulder" with Frances ter rible Turcos. Under ordinary circum- stances it might not have been safe for England to divest India of it's loyal na- tive regiments. Rumors of unrest in the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06

1 that his term may be shortened by the authorlties-he will turn his hand to useful work. Indeed, his very im- prisonment may be made an instru- ment to help to that end. for it may be doubted that in the "misspent life" of which he speaks he has had a chance to learn a trade. The state prison will teach him one. and then perhaps, when he emerges from the shadow the prison society will help him to get work.
 It Is not often that a convicted pris- oner thanks a judge for leniency.. Too often the convict leaves the courtroom with a burning sense of injustice. with the feeling that the "old man has been too hard on him.
 It may be true, for, as England had her Hanging judges" in the olden days, so we have in some of our cities today judges who have earned the repute of being "bad men to go up against
 Their justice is not tempered with mercy.
 From the Breeders Gazette we get the following:
 Tn New England lives a ann who trains young oxen to draw heavy loads. Ultimately he enters them in pulling contests at county fairs and usually his oxen win. It is reputed that this man
 "I take them when they are calves his plan:
 "' Itake them when they are calves and hitch them to light sleds that they can easily draw. As they become older they are allowed to draw heavier sleds When they are coming two years old and feeling their strength put them into training. It is very simple. They work every day and draw loads of moderate weight. Once Q day hitch them to stone in the barnyard and let them turn 1t over or move 1t a. few feet. Week by week use a bigger stone. I am always kind to them. They do not know that they can be hitched to thing too heavy for them to move. They expect to move whatever their weight comes against and they do move it. They are never overloaded, but many times they do about all that they can do''
 As the old farmer said about Plato. That fellow has some good ideas" If he were a pedagogue and could put into practice on human beings his methods of training he would take his place in educational history with Horace Mann and Mark Hopkins and other famous ed- ucators.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06

ing. and there was now nothing left but the explosion. An announcement was ae- cordlngly made of the exact hour when the stupendous explosion would take place. so that the population in the ad- joining regions might take such precau- tions as they might deem wise. which an- nouncement was accompanied by assur- anees that there was occasion for but slight apprehension. though the vibration might shatter some sash or shiver some fra giie wares.
 The hour of o'clock on the afternoon of September 24. 1878. was named as the time when the explosion would occur. A wire ran from it's connection with the ex- plosives at Hell Gate to the headquarters of General Newton in New York city. and when the hour arrived he went quietly
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06

whirling, waters. the early sailors of this region felt that they could not do full jus tiee to their sentiments and equal jus tice to the locality short of clubbing it Hell Gate. For centuries it remained a menace to navigation.
 So early as 1s4S government survey was made of this part of East river with a view of clearing it. if possible. of it's Instructions, but as the science of sub marine blasting was then unknown little or nothing was done. The. ra Did growth and expansion of New York, and the inn portance Of the river as a channel of navigation. led to subsequent surveys. but up to iae opening of the civil war noth- Ing Of consequence was done
 In 1866 Gen. John Newton of the United States corps of engineers was ordered to
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06

1 or woman elsewhere suffers or is Tp lifted so are our lives made worse ol better
 The interactions of human life are cter
 nal and immutable. No one lives by
 himself alone.
 | Here's the ungrammatical but forcefu ful motto of the Commercial club of Cim. | arron, Kan:
 '"rhe blamed fool didn't know it couldn't be done, so he went ahead and done 1t. ' The. motto or slogan would have been none the less strong of the word 'blamed'' with its profane connotations, had been omitted and If the incorrect "done" had been recast into its proper form 'did.' But it's a good saying. anyway. It helps to prove that the American spirit which threw the railroads across the Rockies is not dead in other hearts than those of the builders of the Panama canal "It can't be done" they told the projectors of the railroads "The h. dians will wipe out your construction crews before they can spike down a rail Tt can't be done," the engineers were informed when they talked about cutting through the Isthmus of Panama. "The earthquakes will shake your canal to pieces before you are halfway through
 The railroads carry one from coast to coast in four days now, and the first commercial vessels have passed through the canal.
 It could be done.
 There has been a great deal of cant written aboat that word cant" In spite of the moralizers and the philosophers and the theorists there are some things beyond the capacity of individual man. He is wise who recognizes that cer- tain piece of work Is beyond his strength and does not waste himself in beating against rock, but leaves it to be con- quered by others.
 3ut not before he has essayed his towers. Like the "~aor' in the Cimarron clubs slogan, he d es not take the word of others for it. He makes the attempt He goes at it. Perhaps it can be &C., complished. He will have a try, any way.
 And often the thing Is done.
 About everything which the world calls great has been done in that way. after endless experimentation and trial and failure. Very few of the wonderful in- ventions of the present age. for exam pie, are the result of sudden inspira- tfon.
 Rather are they the effects of constant
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-06

main of rock had been bored through man times. east west. north and south. The combustibles were cautiously and scientifically laid along the passages The total quantity of combustibles and ex- plosives amounted to 52,20S pounds. or more than 25 tons. All the passages and tunnels were connected by about l00oQ0 feet of wire. The difficulty of placing these destructive materials in such way as to be efficacious was great. and the task most delicate one General New ton gave 1t the closest oversight that there might be no error in the stupendous arrangement
 The work had been completed. The last oI the drilling was done, the explosives were placed, the electric connections were made, after long years of toilsome drill