davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13

works have from s00 to 1000 apiece. We have to provide houses for the men. and also heat. light and water although tAe cost of these are deducted from their wages
 The water for the nitrate works eolsies III pipes for a long distance oyc fhe desert and all kinds of food must be ini- ported Every company has is own store. and 1t pays it's wages in blanks in- stead or Tn money. Each blank Is the size of poker chip. It has it's y:lIue marked on it and it can be used # the company stores. It represents so much money and the workmep can cash il at any time The stores are run af n nrod. and the prices are high Flour brings more than s4 a hundred, eggs 1o cents apiece, all cuts of meat 70 cents bound and beans about s6 a bushel. Coal ell costs about 70 cents gallon and coal ovar cent ponnd. The coal is used oflu Cor cooking. The most of it comes fran, southern Chile. although some is saiprc,l in from England and Australia Tho larger officinas have schools for th4ir men and there are hosiptaIs and ,,bvs:. clans accessible
 The nitrate business supports a num- Der of towns along the coast. It is the backbone of Tquique, the founda- ton of Antofagasta, and it also feeds Taltal Majil1ones. Pisagua Chanaral and Tocopilla, which are towns of less size.
 Iquique depends entirely on nitrate Next to Valparaiso and Antofagasta it is the most thriving seaport of the country It lies on the edge of the sea under bare ragged hills. For 100 miles back of it and around 1t there is noth- ing but desert The country has not one blade of grass except that fed by the fresh water brought to Iquique in pipes, and the whole supply of the city comes through an iron tube which is more than 70 miles in length Never theless. the city has 50.000 inhabitants It has wide streets and an electric car line. It has its newspapers, a theatre, moving picture shows and good Eng fish club. It has good stores and mar kets and. although it prod'sces nothing put nitrate of soda apl everything must come from abroad, its people ssye almost as well as those of any otf er South American city N
 There is vast deal of money fr,- vested in the nitrate fields and enor- nous fortunes have been made out of them. You have all heard of Colonel North, the nitrate king, who cut q. splurge in England during the latter part of his life. I visited him once at his country place at Ertham, near Lon
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13

@ TRING the past two weeks
 have been travelling through
 2 .;;sss- one of the richest lands of the ssx2I world. q land that turns out iiiole nolla,s than the valleys of the Nile, the Euphrates or the Ganges, and one whose workable area makes the s200-an-acre corn fields of Illinois look like 80 cents This land Is as barren as the Sahara. IL has not a plant tree, a blade of grass. nor any green thing. Ii is land where one often has t- go 100 miles for a drink, and one upon which the rains never fall. Ii is land mafe up of rocks. stone and sand. and of salty particles that reflect the rays of the tropical sun infIaming the eyes. It is the great nitrate fielos that run through the desert and up and down the west coast from below Anto- fagasta to the Peruvian boundary
 For a generation and more these nitrate fields have made Chile richsr than any other South American caur- try. and today they bring to it's annual revenues an amount equal to S1o for every family in the republic Since 1880 the total revenue from nitrate ex- port duties has been over S10O .00O. 900 in gold, and if the present rate of production continues during the next 25 years the amount will be three-quar- ters of a million more. Today the ni- trate fields are paying from 50 to 80 per cent of all the government ex- penses. and, in addition, are yielding fortunes to those who exploit chem.
 Antofagasta, where this letter Is written, is one of the chief nitrate ports 1t is 2400 miles from the Panama canal, and it will soon have a procession of nitrate ships sailing northward to the United States and Europe. Today the vessels are still going around by the Strait of Magel- Ian, and the distance thus saved will be thousands of miles. The bulk of the nitrate exports are now controlled by an American syndicate, known as the Nitrate Agencies, Ltd. This company exports in the neighborhood of 1000
 0O0,000 pounds of nitrate a year and controls about one-fourth of the prod uct Its ships are always loading at the nitrate ports and starting out for the United States, Europe or far-off Japan. The syndicate has considerable British capital, but it is under Amer lean managers. and it's methods are en-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13
A VaIuahIe Assistant

From the National Monthly.
 A small son of clergyman, who was noted for his tiresome sermons. over,Ae heard two friends of his father saying ! how dry they were. and how hard it was to keep awake during them Thss follow ing Sunday while the minister WIS preaching. he was astounled to see us son throwing pebbles at the congregation from the gallery. The clergymau drowned angrily at him. when the boy piped out in clear treble voics:
 Its all right. pop. Yol SO on prtach- ing. Pm keeping them awake.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13

the methods of working are just about the same. The average ofticina is A col lection of great buildings with tall smoke stacks rising above them. It has thou sands of dollars worth of costly machin- cry, vast tanks for boiling the nitrate lock and crushers like those of smaller that break the rock to pieces. It has set ting vats, in which the liquor contain ing the pure nitrate soda is left, until it has dropped it's burden of valuable salts, and also arrangements for bagging the salts and shipping them down to the seacoast over the railroad.
 Some of the largest plants of this kind cost millions of pesos and some of them employ hundreds of men. Some have an output of half million pounds of nitrate per day, and there is one which markets in a good season as much as 200. .000, 900 pounds per annum.
 The work of the big nitrate factory is scientifically done. The rock is crushed just so fine and boiled just so much and no more. The boiling tanks are usually situated in a building nigh above the ground. Each is big enough to form a bathtub for an elephant. It is equipped with coils of steam pipe that keep the temperature of the fluid within at just the desired point. The caliche, or nitrate ore, is carried up an inclined railway and dumped into the tank. Then the water containing certain portion of nitrate of soda in solution Is allowed to flow from tank to tank, so as to act to the best ad- vantage on the salts within. Experiments have shown just how much water and how much salts should be used, and everything is done by the rules that ex- perience and sicence have proved best for the reduction. It takes three or four hours of boiling to make the ,quid of the re- quired density, and when it is run ofs it looks for all the world ike pale ma pie molasses or thick lemon sirup. It now goes into the crystallizing tanks. where it lies for 10 or b days. Dur ing this time the soda all drops to the bottom and the tank is half full of what
 looks like pure white sugar or salt. The mother liquor, which floats on top, is now drawn off and returned to the boiling tank to be used over again, and the salt is shoveled out upon drying floors, where it remains until the moisture has all disap- pea, cd 1t is now fitted for export ard is bagged up and taken on the cars down to the seacoast.
 In my talks with the nitrate experts of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13
Bismarck Victor in His Fall

As the previous phase of this history of modern Europe might pc called the ''era of Metternich.' the present might be called the 'era of Bismarck so com pletely did the iron chancellor of Prussia dominate the period. Otto von Bismarck Schonhausen may be said to have per fected the system of the Austrian dipio- mat, both to internal affairs and for eign relations. but he carried the Met ternich ideas to d far higher point and he was in reality far mors successful, al- though he, too, in the end had his down. fall. Bismarck, however, though he fell, did so as victor, and his policies were not reversed; it was only that the young Kaiser, more imperious than his grand father. broolSed no dictation, even from the forge master who had welded together the German empire with blood and iron.
 Spain during the nineteenth century was for the most part unfortunate in its rulers. It languished under Ferdinand VII When his end approached he at tempted to rescind th- Salic law. This was opposed by Don Carlos, his brother and heir. and the King changed his mind He was persuaded, however, 10 destroy the revocation, and on his death his g. yearsold daughter Isabelle was proclaimed Queen, her mother acting Gs regent fot seven years.
 H Don Carlos and his followers fomented a revolution which went en intermittently for generation. Ths people obtained
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13

was ready to enter into any combina- ton against Germany
 The presidency of Thiers in France was succeeded by that of Marshal Mac Mahon, but dispute arose as to the form of government under which the country actually existed, and there was some danger of return to a mon archy. However, this passed, and by 1875 the republic was firmly estab- lished. MacMahon, totally without statesmanship, reactionary and obsti- nate, became involved over the retire ment of several generals, and resigned. Jules Grevy was elected in his stead in 1879. A strong foreign policy was adopted, and France launched out as a colonizer in Africa and China to off, set similar ambitions on the part of her rivals. The ship of state had com paratively smooth sailing, although it approached a crisis in 1SSS-S9 when the popular deputy, General Boulanger. who had been minister of war, made a dramatic play, backed by monarch ists, at leading the nation against Ger many. He aspired to dictatorship, but the movement came to nothing.
 When Emperor William died in 1881 his successor, the Crown Prince Frederick, was already fatally stricken with disease and lived but about three months after the coronation. This brought to the throne the present ruler, his son, William II. His character is now so well known that it need scarcely be said that it was but a short time before he and the iron chancellor disagreed. It was not so much a question of differing policies as one of temperament William II had como to the throne to rule and not to be ruled. Before two years had passed he demanded Bismarcks resignation.
 William I had made Bismarck, but the chancellor had united Germany and put his master firmly on the throne of an empire. Germany was now the dominat- ing military power of the continent and was making vast strides in commerce and manufactures. All this was due di- rectly to Bismarck. He was an old man now. He. had not lost his cunning, but times had changed and so Lad masters. This new Kaiser had as much determi- nation as the chancellor himself. The divine right had in him an ardent cham pion He was a thorough believer In militarism He could be trusted to go far So the old man resigned and retired to private life.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13

In despair, Spain reverted to the Bour- bons and Isabellas son, Alfonso, there upon became King. The country received a liberal constitution which carried with it Parliament of two houses. Alfonso reigned 10 years, and on his death in 1885 there was another regency by his Queen for their child (Alfonso XIII. This condition existed for 16 years, when the King became of age
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13

There have been but few changes in the methods of nitrate reduction since |
 visited this region, now more than b years ago. There are many more off cinas as the nitrate factories are called and the output has been qtadrupled; but
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13

In my talks with the nitrate experts of Chile have learned much as to the pres ent extent of the fields and their future. The Antofagasta manager of the Nitrate Agencies, Limited, estimates that there is enough salt in sight to run the world for
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13

TRING the past two weeka have been travelling through one of the richest lands of the world, q land that turns out
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13

Revolutions in Portugal
 The sister kingdom, Portugal suffered also from bad or incompetent kings ant from revolutions. King John VI had fec from Napoleon to Brazil. The soldiers
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13

Copyright. 1s14. by F G. Carpenter
 ANTOFAGASTA Chile.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13

Gro Be Continued.
The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-05-09
CLUBBING THE RAILROADS

The Ocala Star, some time ago,
accused the Independent of being
partial to the railroads because this
paper said the railroad was entitled
to a fair deal and was more easily
led than driven. The Star had the
idea that the railroad must be club
bed into submission. This paper
suggested that the railroad would do
what was right if approached in the
right way with reasonable request.
st. Petersburg Independent.
The Independent in the foregoing
makes itself ridiculous. 1t praises
the railroads for a schedule that is
convenient for its town, and yet is
announcement for other towns along
the line, thus showing that its idea
of the common good is measured by
its local environment. AS matter
of fact, the railroad made it's sched-
ule to fit its connections in Jackson
vile, and with very little reference
to anything else on the line
AS the Star remembers, the orig
1nal controversy between it and the
Independent was called forth by the
announcement that the Coast Line
had put on a number of fine new
cars for it's trains north of Jackson
vile, and was sending the second
hand cars to Florida
Ocala has suffered from the Coast
Line every indignity from studied
inattention to downright lying, bully
ing and attempts to corrupt our city
government. The whole state suf-
fers from its unequal freight rates.
Has the editor of the Independent
ever noticed the filthy cars on Nos.
80 and 40? Has he ever kicked about
them? Has he ever known the Coast
Line or and other railroad to reduce
rates, or make any other concession
to the people unless it was compell-
ed to do so? Approach them right,
indeed If it wasn't for the club that
Congress, the legislatures and indie
pendent city governments have been
swinging for the last twenty years,
the railroads would have reduced the
people of the United States to peon-
age by this time.
The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-05-09

One side of the tolls repeal con-
troversy alleges that its opponents
favor the railroad trust; the other
side declares that its opponents favor
the steamship trust. It's impossible
to favor any measure in this country
without helping or hurting some
trust, so we might as well decide
the tolls repeal question on its true
merit-the plighted word of the ma
ton. Other things are of far less
moment. As for the trusts, its more
democratic to favor the railroad men
than any other class, because there
are more of them, they are more of
the people and their money goes to
the people about as fast as they re-
ceive it. We might get along with
out steamships, but We couldn't do
without the railroads.
The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-05-09
FRIEND OF FLORIDA

The following letter will be inter-
esting reading to all, and particular
ly to those who remember our for
mer fellow-townsman, R. R. Snow
den, who tho now a citizen of Cali
fornia never wearies of good work
for Florida Mr. Snowden, some
months ago, requested that num-
Der of Marion County Booklets be
sent him, and on receiving them put
them where he thought they would
do the most good. His letter follows:
u am writing to advise you that I
have distributed all the booklets sent
me, placing them where I thought
they would do the most good; to-wit:
in the hands of former Floridians,
with request to hand them to people
who are thinking of emigrating
The booklets are fine. Send me
some more
Seeing the fine Berkshire hogs re-
minds me that possibly the writer
was the first to import thorough
bred Berkshire hogs into the county.
Some time about 1885, 1 bought a
boar in Kentucky, which was shipped
by express, but the box was too
small, so that when the animal lay
down its head pressed against the
box end and it died enroute. The
loss was equalized by my paying $40
express charges and the shipper los
ing the hog. So 1 then ordered a trio
shipped by freight, from which a
number of pigs were sold.
Hoping / may be able to help my
old home county and city a little at
least, and wishing you much success,
am, Very truly yours,
r. r. Snowden.
The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-05-09

whole train. Its mighty piston-rods
moved with the deliberation OF con-
scious power. and it pulled with the
regularity OF a man OF war salute
Grinding along behind it came car
after car Ia len with ties, drowning
all the noise in their vicinity with
the steady roar OF their wheels The
train was nearly by before the by
ISLANDERS became conscious OF an
other noise. and then suddenly at
the rear, hidden behind the caboose,
there burst upon sight and hearing
the sturdy yard engine. IL wasn't
in the least deliberate-its stack was
banging like a gatling gun and its
drivers were spinning for all they
were worth. Il didn't look impos-
ing, but it was doing the work. The
giant in front would have stuck half
way up the hill if il hadn't been for
the sturdy little helper in the rear.
The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-05-09
HIT A LITTLE HARDER

If the A. c. L. will now require
all employees to give courteous treat
ment to the travelling public, whether
on trains or in the city or depot tick
ct offices, ST. Petersburg will have
no cause to complain of the service
furnished by the A. C. L-St. Peters
burg Independent.
In another place, the Independent
makes an effort to rebuke the Star
for favoring the use of a club on the
railroads, but it seems by the fore
going that it is making a feeble eff
fort to swing club itself. Anyone
would suppose by this that Coast
Line men in ST. Petersburg and on
the trains out of that city were dis
courteous to travellers.
The Star is chummy with local
Coast Line men, and has been travel
ing up and down the road ever since
it annexed the Plant System, and
with the exception of one punkin-
completed parlor car porter, it has
never known any man on this divis-
ion to be discOurteous. If it knew
any such man, and caught him with
the goods, it will bet the Independ-
ent the price of a picture show tick
ct it could have him fired. The In
dependent owes it to it's town that it
should brush the dust off its club.
The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-05-09
Some of the Stars friends, W

Some of the Stars friends, who
are also Mr.. Stockton's friends,
jump on the Star because, they say,
it criticises Mr.. Stockton too severe
1y. Dearly beloved, you should have
the editors opportunity to scan the
other Florida papers and see how
some of the supporters of Mr.. Stock
ton revile Senator Fletcher. The
Star has criticised Mr.. Stockton only
In reply to his criticisms and those
of his friends on Senator Fletcher
And the Star has never forgotten
that Mr.. Stockton was a gentleman
a good citizen and entitled to re-
spect. Some of his friends have
spoken of Senator Fletcher with an
abusiveness that even politics doesn't
excuse.
The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-05-09
OCALA HAS NOT SO
MANY AUTO ACCIDENTS

Ocala has had another automobile
tragedy. Reckless driving about
Ocala must be more pronounced than
it is in other towns. It's bad enough
everywhere. and Ocala's experiences
should serve an awful example OF its
ccnsequences.-O Sentinel.
Now, this is very unjust to Ocala.
This city has had several auto acct
dents recently, but before that it had
not had any for long time, and it
may not have any for another long
time. The last accident was not due
to reckless driving of a car, but to
lack of practice of bicycle rider who
ran into a slowly moving and care
fully driven car. The same thing
would have probably happened to
him if he had ran into a wagon. The
accident before that happened to men
in a car from another town, and all
Ocala had to do with it was that it
happened on a road near the city
The Star requests the Sentinel to
make the correction, and advises it
and it's other contemporaries not to
hold Ocala up as a horrible example.
Something is likely to happen in
their own towns any day. The
death of the county attorney of Or
ange from an auto accident near Or
lando has not yet passed peoples
memory
The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-05-09

companied by Mrs. Stroller, spent
several hours in Orlando last even
ing. Mr.. Stroller was here in the in
terests of the candidacy of Congress
man Claude L'Engle. The gentleman
from west Orange is vigorous cam
paigner, a good mixer, and the man
who goes up against him on the plat
form has a foeman worthy of his
steel.-Orlando Sentinel.
The Star is glad to see one of its
oldest friends at work in SO good a
cause.
The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-05-09

Miss Ellie Tremere, the Stars
correspondent at Belleview, has been
paid merited compliment by a
wholesale house and big trade
journal. One of the high men in
the big house of Chase & Sanborn
of Boston, saw her story of the Bos-
ton Jeopardy in the Star and showed
it to the editor OF the New England
Grocer, who was so we'll pleased with
it that he reproduced it in full in his
paper. Miss Tremere has the gift
of interesting authorship, and would
make good on almost any paper
The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-05-09
O'GORNIAN IN OPPOSITION
To Repeal Of Canal Tolls Made
Strong Talk

Washington, May 9.-Senator o.
German, chairman of the interocean-
ic canals committee, and leader OF
the forces opposed to the repeal OF
the tolls exemption clause of the
Panama canal act, gave to the senate
yesterday the legal, economic and
political reasons for his opposition.
In three-hour speech the Senator
discussed exhaustively every phase
of the subject. He discovered no
grounds in international law which
would forbid exemption of American
coastwise ships from toll payment
saw behind the repeal movement the
hand OF the railroads and declared
that a failure to impose a tax could
not be called a subsidy.
The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-05-09

Mr.. Wilbur Mccoy, of the Allan
tic Coast Line, sends to the Marion
County Board of Trade a letter from
Ark. This gentleman, who had re-
ceived from Mr.. Mccoy copy of
Facts and Photos" the Marion
County Booklet, says: Having re-
ceived literature from several parties,
L have about decided to go down into
Marion, county, FLORIDA, as 1 think
that part suits me best
The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-05-09

A Star reporter, standing at the
Fort King crossing the other after
noon saw two engines give mighty
good example of the way most big
business and public affairs are car
ried on. There came by long,
heavy train, going south, and as
usual having a hard pull to come up
the grade from the Seaboard cross
ing. First there came a big copper
head" engine, stalking along with
majestic tread, evidently pulling the
The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-05-09

Among the cities that tried to Sc
cure the next Confederate reunion
was Denver, Colo. And it is safe to
say that if Denver had secured the re-
union, the old soldiers would have
had a wide western welcome.
The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-05-09

The story that Huerta's man Ruiz
has complained to the mediators that
the United States has broken the
armistice by occupying Vera Cruz,
and that the mediators will present
the complaint to President Wilson
may be true. It's about what we
would expect Ruiz to do, and about
what we would expect the mediators
to do