davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-27
Superstition in Solomon Islands

One of the most extraordinary prac-
 tices among the natives of Gua>alcanar,
 in the Solomon Islands. is the use of
 what is known as the ''vele." which is
 supposed to have the power of causing
 death to the person against whom 1t is
 employed. says the Wide World Nigga
 zine. The "vele" has the appearance of
 a babys small wicker work rattle, and
 Is generally inclosed in a little bag, which
 Is again carefully placed in a bamboo
 box, zealously guarded by the owner
 When the latter wishes to cause the
 death of an enemy he takes the 'vele'
 between the little finger and the second
 finger of the left hand. and then searches
 for the object of his hate, looking care fully to right and left to make sure he is observed by no one.
 Having found his enemy he stands at
 full height, stretching out his arm and tho "vele'' toward him. at the same time turning his face from his. and hissing out
 various curses. The bewitched man then
 turns osee who has hissed. The "vele''
 man then turns away. holding the "vele'
 behind him, still pointing to his eaemy,
 who comes running toward him, appar- ent1y, unconsciousy, and staggers round him.
 The "vele" man then turns round, and with the 'vele" makes movement to- ward his enemy's right and left brtast, knees. toes the small of the back, shoul- der blades and temples. The "veie' man then calls to his enemy to 'slt up,'' go to the village. and say. T have 'veled' you ,'' at the same time naming the time when the ''vele' will begin to work.
 Such Is the belief in the power of the ! "vele'' that at the hour mentioned q man who has been ''veed'' Is convulsed fin a
 delirium. apparently of fright. enduring great pain in the parts indicated by the ''vele" man. Death very quickly ensues. and when the "vele" man hears the cries of mourning he returns to his own village. No one has ever been able to explain in what mysterious manner the ''vele'' acts as a death dealing instrument. but the key to the mystery seems to lie in the abnormal superstition of the Melanesian native
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-27

spot, each in it's own locality, aud should then dispatch the foodstuffs.
 It reminds farmers and all citizens everywhere that from their crops and their stores they can spare few bush els of something, or a hundredweight or two of something else. It points out that a powerful committee of women in the United States is successfully uniting all American women's organizations to the end of assisting the commission. And 1t recommends this example to other coun- tries. For, although the United States. from it's size, its wealth and it's tradi- tions, must be the main pillar of sup port, the commission counts on the eager aid of all countries, in the several de- grees of their power.
 The commission will finally succeed in the tremendous work which it has under taken, if one condition Is fulfilled. That condition Is that the charitable through out the civilized world shall personally and intimately realize in their own hearts the immensity and the urgentcy of Bel giums need, surpassing all the needs of history.
 The commission does not merely de- nn"d enormous help it demands enor- nous help all the time. In spite of all the marvels of goodness which have already been achieved. and for which Belgians are inexpressibly grateful. the commission still has to demand enor- nous help all the time.
 It cannot succeed unless an amending procession of great ships of food con tinues to cross the seas for mon1hs and months to come. The kind heart which leaps just once to a kind act, and then orgets, will do less than it's duty. The kind heart must brace itself to long winter of constant, indefatigable en- deavor. It must exist permanently in a state of active well doing; or failure will result
 For myself, have a profound faith in human nature, and I do not doubt that the benevolence of mankind will prove equal even to the terrific strain of this unique hour.
 The cause to be served cannot but con- solidate all creeds, parties, politics and sects. It is one cause today about which the whole human race must passion ately agree. 1t is a cause to stir the noble impulse of generosity in the mean est soul. For the Belgian people are innocent, and the Belgian people are suffering as none ever suffered before
 tne Commission for Relief
 in Belgium, 71 Broadway, N Y)
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-27

with their days work and were sitting on their doorsteps.
 If I could only get acquainted with them," she said. they would not be afraid of me. They would see that I am not different from them except through the opportunities that have been given me. They would know that l, in myself. am not superior to them"
 As she passed a row of mill houses one evening shortly after she began taking these walks, a little girl stopped her and told her of 8, very sick baby brother. Miss Mcconnell went in with her at once. to find a place faced sick child lying in dirty cradle The family was at loss to know what to do for him, and so he lay there suffering. Miss Mcconnell helped give him a bath, made him more comfortable in his cradle and gave him some simple remedy The next afternoon when she went down to see him she found him much better
 She found, too, that the opportunity she wanted was opening to her. Why did the little girl speak to her, in the first place, and ask this stranger to go see her sick baby brother? And once she went in, why did the family have con fidence in her and not feel gulf be- tween them and her? Somebody said 1t was because she was perfectly sincere and natural In all that she did, and somebody else said it was because she was doing it neither because she owed a debt to her conscience and was try ing to pay it nor because she thought she must help save this big, awkward, beautiful world-but that she simply had a joyous nature that oyerfowed with love and made all the rough | places smooth for every one about her. However 1t was. that visit to the sick child was the open sesame for what she i wanted to do. Soon she knew every l girl In the village, and she found them eagerly watching for her. They liked
 to see her, to be with her. to hear her talk, and to talk with her. She was the only person outside of their own cir
 cle that was interested in them. She ! knew the wonderful art of being
 friends, and that was what drew them | to her
 As they were talking one afternoon, one of the girls expressed wish for
 0 club. It was exactly what Miss Me- | Connel1 wanted them to have, an or ganization to get them together and to
 be starting point for what she planned | for them. She wouldn't be an officer, 1 and she managed to have it their club
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-27
By FLORA MILNEa HARRISON

not her club for them. She is just one of the members
 One of the ministers in Commerce, hearing of the club, asked Miss McCon- nell about it. In telling him of it, she said that they were very much in need of place to meet. Fortunately this minister had Jurisdiction over a mission church in the mill village. and he gave this to them for their own. They met and cleaned it up, decorated the walls and soon had an attractive place of their own from the hitherto unused church.
 It was then midsummer, and regular meetings were inaugurated at once.
 They are held every Tuesday after
 noon. and the girls have talks on
 health. exercise, employment of leisure
 time, and other topics of self-improve-
 ment. There Is no formality and not
 even a suggestion of professionalism
 about it. The most of 1t, and the best
 of it, is the girls association with
 Ethel Mcconnell, this young college
 woman who Is finding her greatest hap piness in helping them, who is look
 ing upon what she is doing, not as "a
 work" but as her play, as the thing she enjoys doing.
 One evening, as she was going down to the village, she saw one of the clut girls walking up the railroad track to meet her It was Lily, or ZuZu as the girls call her. She is 15 years old. and works in the cotton mill, as do all the girls of the club, but she is still light hearted as child. She Is an attractive lovable child. When she met Miss Me Connell on the railroad track she turned and the two girls, putting theii arms around each other, schaal gir fashion, walked on toward the village Lily said. Miss Ethel l done said ain't goin' to keep nothin from you, an, ain't. I painted my face once, ane | up till three weeks ago I dipped snuiI but ain't never goin' to do 1t no more. Lily's teeth were very bad, and almos | spoiled her looks. beside affecting hel | health, so when Miss Mcconnell wen | to Athens she took her with her and ha' | her teeth put in order. Lily was de | lighted when the work was done but sh was not willing to accept 1t as gift, an' | so Miss Mcconnell told her she mlgh l ooncider it loan to be repaid when sh | was able to make more money.
 | The past summer was the happiest tn | girls had spent, and they were plannin | for the winter when they could not b | out Of doors and when the club roor | would mean even more to them than had In the summer. They would put u
 stove and have a night school, cook ing class and housekeepers' club for tn | mothers and Miss Mcconnell found her 1 self wishing that she knew everything She went to the local school board fo advice and assistance about the nigh
 school, and prospects for the winte
 seemed bright when an epidemic of ty phoid fever broke out in the mill village.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-27
FIGHTING MAKES
 SOLDIERS HUNGRY Servian Soldier Writes on His Appetite and How It
 Is Satisfied

London, December 1S.-(Correspondenc
 makes soldiers hungry and they also
 eat in excess when food is at hand.
 through fear that they may not get any
 more for sometime, a Servian solVier writes a fellow countryman here. If I wanted half as much to eat at
 home as I do when campaigning, my It, tie farm wouldn't support me-" the let ter said in part. We all feel the same that we must lay up at each meal being so uncertain.
 When we were in the trenches a hundred yards or so from our opponents
 likewise in trenches, we wanted some , thing to eat besides maize and a few
 men risked their skins to go foraging to the nearest villages They came back ] next day with three roast lambs, and in the joy of the feast, we forgot pre- cautions. Hitherto we never popped up our heads except to fire, but now we could not resist calling, Hey Swabos See what we've got for breakfast! and
 we showed them the roast meat, know ing 1t would make them wild. They fired
 a volley at 1t. breaking 1t into fragments " Thanks for carving it! We had nc
 knives and forks. so in return for your | services we will share with you shout ed our corporal. Then we lay in oui trenches and ate our fill, throwing the bones to the Swabos and laughing al their shots. which all went astray, they were so angry.
 Next day we saw boots suspended on
 sticks outside the Austrian trenches. and voice called in broken Servian. See, you rats, how we are shod. while you
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-27

fish, which was floating on the ton of tho water. apparently as large in sia- meter as dishpan, lying flat and look ing. according to Wilson, like fresh egg broken over the water.
 No sooner had he swum Into tho floating body of the fish than it com menced to sting him. The man felt a pain like that of nettles striking his bare arms. neck and chest. He strucx desperately at the fish and it seemed to break in two and dissolve.
 Wilson was able to swim back to tho beach, and on reaching his companions told of his experience. He complain ed of an itching feeling and his skin was broken out with rash from tho effects of tho stings.
 The pain grew worse and yesterday. unable to endure the pain further, he sent for his physician. The doctor had the young man removed to the Cottage hospital.
 On reaching there Wilson was nearly delirious from the pain of the stings. He had a hypodermic injection of nor phine to quiet him and medicated prep arations for burns and stings were ap. piled to the wounded parts of his body The mans hands were tied down, as tho pain made him desire to scratch con. tinually at his arms and neck.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-27

 all these and besides them she had her new horse to drive. She took long rides along shaded woods roads over the red hills of Georgia. She enjoyed every moment of the time. She loved every view. every curve in the road, every bit of the beauty that she saw all about her. She loved to live. She liked to stop her horse and jump down to gath CT wild flowers or to pick blackberries fresh from the vines
 Sometimes her way led out south ward from her home, down along the railroad tracks and through a mill vii- lage at the edge of town. She had read of child labor and mill children, and one of her themes at college had been on the Georgia child labor question but it was now no longer in the ab- stract that she thought of it. On these drives she saw it. She saw child work CTS and thin. pale girls She noted their too old faces and she saw them look ing at her wistfully as she passed She wished that she might know them, really know them. She wanted to talk with them, to become acquainted with them, and to see what they were get ting out of life.
 Perhaps they didn't enjoy it as she did. Perhaps they didn't feel the thrill
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-27

youngsters, infants, grandmothers and women momentarily expecting babies. And yet they prefer this life to life h Belgium, and they are sure that those who have adventured back to Belgium will return. If they can. to the lesser horrors of the Dutch camp.
 If I thus raise ever so little the cur tain behind which is proceeding the in effable, unparalleled. and hardly con- ceivable tragedy that in its complete ness and its dread overtops all pre- vious national tragedies. my aim is not merely to harrow the feelings and excite the urgent pity of readers, but to assist them to realize the vastness of the task which now confronts the worlds charity.
 Every home in Belgium wants help. million and a half persons in Bel gium live from day to day on the mercy of soup Kitchens. Unless men, women and children are to die of starvation, over SO.000 tons of food must be brought into Belgium every month. and even this will only give to each in- dividual half the quantity of food that is given to a soldier. It will be the barest subsistence. It's cost will amount to about $5.00o.0o0 a month.
 That these quantities are not sentiment IdllY lnIiaLeQ l6 bnOWn Dy Lit6 Onc SlIhpit fact that before the war Belgium regular ly imported 230000 tons of cereals alone every month. Three thousand tons of salt are required monthly. Some places had no salt whatever for two months The transport of the food. quite apart from it's prime cost. absorbs about sl,Oo0,- GOO a month. Happily the finance of the transport has already been arranged for come months to come.) Such figures speak a language which would render eloquence contemptible.
 Now there is one channel, and only one channel by which relief can reach the Belgians in their own country. It Is the Commission for relief in Belgium, and 1t comprises the American, Spanish, and Belgian commissions. Its chief offices are at 3, London Wall buildings, London England; and 71 Broadway. New York This commission has due and full author ity from all the governments concerned, including the German government. It has taken over the marvellous organization created in Q few weeks by small group of Americans: and It's chief energy is still, of course, American. Its functions are the reception, transportation and dis tribution of foodstuffs. All its workers are voluntary It's huge shipping business Is managed free of charge by prominent and generous firms of shippers. It CO., operates with all organizations in Amer iCa and elsewhere.
 It does not ask for money, though 1t does not refuse money. It asks for food stuffs It delivers every pound of food from no matter where, without cost to the contributors. What 1t wants Is cereals, V heats, flour, shelled corn. beans, peas bacon, ham; and 1t specially wants these articles because they, and no others travel we'll
 It suggests, as the most practical and economical method of help. that all local associatioms everywhere should spend their funds in buying foodstuffs on the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-27

One of the club girls was very. very sick, and her sister was i'll tn the same room. Miss McConnells friends in Com lnerce sent all that was needed for them. but 1t was only Miss Mcconnell herself who reached the heart of things. who helped the doctor. the girls anxious mother. and the girls themselves. and who had real Thanksgiving when they were we'll out of danger.
 The girl who has been so very i'll is 70 years old. and has spent all her girl hood in the cotton mill. She is a girl who has never had a chance. When she was convalescent 1t was proposed that she should not go back to the mill, but that she be sent to a certain school, whose chief purpose is to give such girls their chance. It lay with Miss Mcconnell to say whether she should be sent to school should be given her chance. That hope less feeling that Is an almost certain
 effect of the deadening work she has
 been doing has alTeady overtaken the girl, and Miss Mcconnell was not sure
 that she had enough ambition to make the plan succeed. She knew. too, that 1t
 sometimes fails It would be pity to give such a great oportunity. and one
 Ior which so many girls are hungry. to
 one who could not use 1t to the best ad- vantage.
 hlle Miss Mcdonnell was trying to de- eide, she went down to see the gIris. Nell q dn't know that her future would be ue- cided that afternoon, and Miss Mcconnell
 didn't know when she went what the decision would be. But when she saw
 Nell and talked with her she decided; for Nell did want to go. She had just
 never dreamed that there was any use in
 her trying to get out of the treadmih she was in. Since her going to school was mentioned, she has thought of nothing
 else. 1t seems to mean everything to her. Miss Mcconnell says when she thinks of her own six wonderful years at Agnes l Scott her heart aches for Nell, and that | she must have this chance. She goes Jan
 uary |. The one term will give her an in- 1 sight into what she may do. She said tc 1 Miss McConnell:
 ! Miss Ethel, I don't want nobody tc l give me anything. and am to pay foi i everything I get, someday. They passed l @ rule down at the school that the girls 1 can't write to nobody but their mothers but Miss Ethel, I'll just have to writ, I to you
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-27
Loud-Speaking Telephone

From the SclentlIlc American.
 The telephone has been displacing the telegraph on a number of roads for train dispatching, but one of the drawbacks of this method of communications has been the fact that the operator has had to wear head telephones which are par ticularly annoying when there are thun- derstorms in the vicinity. Recently l.. B. Foley, superintendent of telegraphs of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroad, has installed loud-speaking tel ephones on the train-dispatching lines. The receiver. which is more sensitive than that ordinarily employed, is fur ished with a horn, something like a photograph horn, and is mounted on the dispatcher's desk at any convenient point, so that he can receive a message without putting his ear to the receiver. The transmitter is also fitted with a horn. into which the operator can speak No amplifiers are used. With this outfit a message may be heard in all of the loud-speaking receivers on the line. with ln 15 feet of any one of them.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-27
WHAT ONE COLLEGE GRADUATE HAS DONE SINCE LAST MAY

On the 26th of last May Miss Ethel Mcconnell took her bachelor Of arts degree at Agnes Scott college. From college she went to a house party and from these to her home.
 It is a beautiful country place at Commerce, Ga, a big house set in among the trees. just the place to spend a. long delightful summer after those happy college days.
 Awaiting her home coming were her graduating presents from her parents. They were beautiful writing desk and handsome horse and buggy. all her own. and she was free to rest and en- Joy herself as she pleased. Other girls in the little Georgia town were home from college, the boys were back from the university at Athens; and there were card parties, camping trips and house parties.
 Miss Mcconnell was in demand fol
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-27

of existence as she did. Life was so good to her. It had always been good. With her fine. strong, joyous nature she had always been happy; and she had gained much that she longed to share with those who were less for tunate. How could she do it? Could it be done at all? Would it be possible to help them, really to help? Could she go deep down to fundamental priu- ciples and help? She thought of all this as she drove through the mill village and saw these girls, and she thought of it at home and compared their life with her own. She made it her problem and she put her clear, steady brain and her generous heart and her love of life into solving 1t.
 To begin with she spoke to every girl and woman she passed as she drove along the mill village road. But she seemed so far away from them. She de- cided to leave her horse and buggy al home and to walk down in the late aft ernoons when the girls were through