davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24
Rural Credits Investigation

The American commission for rural credits investigation which was as- sembled last year by the Southern Commercial congress has done good work. It has issued several voluminous documents entitled Agricultural Co., operation and Rural Credit in Flu rope" in which are set forth the in- formation and evidence secured by it's delegates while abroad relative to CO., operative agricultural finance, pro- duction, distribution and institutions devoting their attention to the better ment of rural conditions.
 The delegates of the commission made quite an extensive tour, visiting as far east as Alexandria, Egypt, and Moscow, Russia. They conducted an exhaustive research into existing rural conditions upon the continent. Ger many was the birthplace of rural credit and cooperative systems and the commission spent much time studying conditions in that country.
 Of more than usual interest was the information gained in Russia where credit associations have made great headway in the last seven years. In that country the interest rates are high, often running to II per cent, and never falling below per cent, but no security is required, the only requisites being that the applicant for pecuniary assistance shall possess
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24

many. Some of our own lordly stars and stage queens would not find the pay of German player sufficient to buy gasoline for their motor cars. But telling ambitious young people that the profession they have chosen is one in which they are apt to starve isn't going to discourage them in the least. Once bitten by the mania to write, or paint or act, youth scorns such ma terial considerations as clothes to wear and food to eat. Glory beckons, and that's enough.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24
Builders of birmingham

| The Traders National bank, in it's bio- 1 graphical series entitled, ''Builders of Bir- mingham,' has the following interesting
 sketch in connection with it's April cal endar:
 William Dorsey Jelks was born in Rus sell county, Alabama, on November T, 1S55. He attended Mercer university, and
 shortly after graduating became connect ed with the Eufaula Times. As editor of that journal, he exerted a wide influence in public matters in Barbour and' con- tiguous counties for 20 years. He was for several terms member of the state senate, and in 1901, being president of that body, succeeded to the gubernatorial chair upon the death of Governor Sam ford. As senator, he was chairman of the joint legislative committee which drew the bill providing for a constitu- tion, and as governor approved the bill, and, after the adoption of the new con stitution, set day for it to become ef- fective
 MT. Jelks was a candidate for gov ernor in the next primary / and received majority of the votes in 62 counties. During his administration his talents were devoted largely to placing the finances of the state on a sound basis and to bettering methods employed in the various state departments. He renewed $9,000.0O0 of bonds, practically the entire public debt, on a very favorable basis. saving $100,000 year in interest, and through the adjustment of contracts cov ering convict labor and economies prac- ticed in other directions, created a sub stantial surplus in the state treasury, after, retiring s30o,0oO of bonds.
 Tn 1907 Governor Jelks organized the Protective Life Insurance company of Birmingham, and became it's president. The company has prospered under his management, and his conservative and efficent methods have resulted in it's recognition as one of the first southern insurance companies to achieve success"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24
The I,ig Chorus

Birmingham will hear the larA nd best chorus, if l am any judge, at the festival concert at the Biiou Thursday night May 7 that it has yet heard and we have had some very fine chorus music, said member of the Arion society. .'I have been singing in ehoruses for b years. ATr. Guckenberger had an excel lent festival organization. He gave only music of high class. But his chorus was not as large by 50 voices as the one which Mir Rienzi Thomas is training in Paradise Lost for the forthcoming fes- tvaL Birmingham will be proud of it.
 T hope all people who appreciate the value of civic pride and the get-together spirit will help make the festival con- certs financially successful by purchasing tickets"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24
DAIRY CAR AT TUSCALOOSA

From the Tuscaloosa imes-Gazette
 The dairy car sent here by the South ern rAilway to instruct the farmers and others in the most improved methods of operating a dairy, proved to be the most interesting instruction that has ever been given on this subject in the city. The car was in change of Messrs W. w. Fitzpatrick, c. w. HumIhries. assistant dairy and poultry agents, nd MT. V. ". Lewis. who fs the local [. 2egent of the Alabama Great Southern. Aern ard Mobile and Ohio railroads a,,
 The lectures were given throughout day and showed that the men here kne, tLeir business. It was pointed ,y the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24
An Unusual Exposition

The city of New York is at present displaying a rather unusual feature in the shape of an exhibition of bad taste. The object of the display IS commendable one as, in addition to furnishing a source of amusement and entertainment, it is likewise designed to teach us to appreciate our errors and shortcomings and finally discard them or avoid their repetition.
 But New York city is by no means the originator of the idea, for the city of Stuttgart in Wurttemberg has had for sometime a permanent exposition of this character under the supervis- ion of Professor Pazaurek, who has devoted years to the collection of in ventions and fashionings that are de- cidedly offensive to good taste.
 The conglomeration of atrocious ar ticles to be seen presents hundreds of drinking cups representing human heads in which those of Bismarck and Von Moltke predominate. Equally numerous are knife handles in the shape of a human leg, while Majolica cats and dogs are encountered galore. In many instances the creations are absolutely instruments of torture, for
  no one can sit long upon a chair which presents to the base of the spine huge slump of carved grapes with which the sitter is compelled to wrestle in order to maintain his or her equilibrium.
 Probably the most outrageous breach of good taste to be found in the entire collection is a stove made to resemble the armor of medieval knight, design in which every sense of the appropriate is violated.
 A majority of such taste freaks are known as Swabia and have been pre- sented to the Stuttgart Museum of Fine Arts by donors who in all sin cerity deemed the gifts articles of virtue. However, they were all ac- cepted and their possession has been devoted to a purpose far different but much more useful than was the origi- nal intention.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24

view of the present disturbed eondl-
 tion in Mexico the trial of Emperor -A Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph, the Austrian, is of especial interest It was only a little more than half century ago that Mexico was the scene of very much the same character of revolution that exists in that country today.
 Maximilian accepted the throne of Mex leo in an evil hour. It was not his own wish that he should become the ruler Of a country with which he had no sympa- thy whatever, but his ambitious wife goaded him on. picturing to him the hon ors and riches that would come to them Instead what sad state. Maximilian' lost his life and Charlotte went mad,
 When the French army had virtually conquered Mexico the people agreed to adopt a monarchial form of government under Catholic prince, who should take the title of Emperor, and Napoleon of fered the Mexican crown to MaXimilian. His brother, the Emperor of Austria, was strongly opposed to his accepting the of- fer, but the influence of his wife was too strong to overcome the objections All
  out to them, but Charlotte scorned the counsel of the timid With characteristic self-confidence she was certain that she could direct her husband, placate his enc mics and establish his rule in Mexico.
 Maximillan felt reluctant to mount throne which sat over the crater of volcano. However, the new Emperor and his wife entered the capital on June F, 1864. No sooner was he seated on the throne than the clergy, a large and off, ficial body, maintained that he should re- store to them their immense properties which previous governments had confis- cated He found it impossible to comply, and the clergy used their power to weak en the rule of the sovereign.
 Finally. when things had become in a turbulent state, Napoleon sent a special messenger to Maximilian stating that he was no longer able to support him and advised him to return to Europe. Char lotte begged him not to sign the abdica- tion and she started for Europe to talk over the matter with Napoleon The scene with the Emperor was an exciting one, and her troubles preyed
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24
Christian Science Lecture

The progress of Christian Science is wonderful,' said man who keeps in touch with world movements and who is connected with the local branch. "The first Christian Science church was built in 1877, l think, and since that time Christian Scientists have belted the civilized world with their places of worship In the United States Chicago leads in the number of churches. Public interest in Christian Science is also quickening This will be evidenced, I by the large audience which will gather at the Jefferson theatre Fri day night to hear a lecture on Chris tian Science by Judge Clifford P. Smith, member of the board of lecture ship of the mother church. the First Church of Christ. Scientist, in Boston. The lecture, which Is given under the auspices of the local church. is free
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24
TANGO PHILOSOPHY

From the Washington Post.
 The triumph of the modern dance may be accepted as assured when 1t creeps into the realm of psychology and gives to that sedate science a series of bends and dips heretofore foreign to it's methods. That Hugo Munsterberg, professor of things in general, should have fallen vic tim to it's onslaughts marks the final con quest. And that he has succumbed seems patent enough in the face of his declara- tion that the present craze, pronounced impossible 10 years ago, is due to the sweeping away of the New England temper when opposed to sensuous enjoy ment.'
 It has been said of the most skillfui constructors of the most complicated the last chapter first. This. fashion of beginning at the back and working for ward seems to be not unknown to psy- chologists. True though it may be that the tango has been lurking just around the corner wa1ting for the subsistence of the New England conscience before getting in its fine work, the explanation hardly explains. Far more important would it be if the Harvard professor had routed out the combination of motives. the wholesale accumulation of arrayed forces, before which the placid and polar calm of Plymouth Rock lineage gave way, even though it refused to salute as it went.
 'Sensuous enjoyment" will appeal to the minimizing as a satisfactory reason for the tangos reign. But those who find in the abandon of pure physical mo- ton the complete expression of sensuous- ness have merely reached the nautch-girl stage of development, and know nothing of the subtler powers that rule in chiller atmosphere. and which have their own media of expression, even as the delicate edelweiss blooms best at the edge of the glacier. To the one who es- says to follow these finer lines, the works of Hawthorne present a narrow, golden thread, capable of leading either to the heights or carrying into remote and un- suspected corners of the forbidden. And in depicting both the heights and the depths. this gifted portrayer of the power of suppressed emotions, of the surge of chaste iniquity, found in the New Eng land conscience his excuse as we'll as his opportunity
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24
.coUNTING THE EMPHASIZES.

From the New York Sun of April 2l.- The Commoner. out today, contains a signed article by it's proprietor, the Sec retary of State of the United States of America, ending with the three astound- ing paragraphs here subjoined: "If our nation desires to be measured by intellectual and ethical standards, how unworthy to brag of our strength and threaten to use that strength. We are ready to fight does not arouse the en- thusiasm that 1t did few centuries ago. Brute force Is not the level upon which this nation settles controversies today; the question is not what we can do, but what we ought to do.
 ''The path of history is strewn with the wreck of nations that boasted that they were all powerful; they went down under Jehovah's memorable law-and the God who ruled over Babylon is the God who is ruling yet This question must be decided on moral principles and not by the counting of our regiments and bat tleships.
 What shall it profit nation if it conquers the whole world and loses it's faith in the doctrine that righteousness exalteth a nation?'
 w. J. BRYAN"
 Think of it This mess of apocalyptic rhetoric and ecstatic exhortation was put forth unofficially from the department of state by the Secretary of State on the very day when the administration of which he, next to the President, is the principal figure was counting it's battle ships and making an unprecedented dem- onstration of naval strength and threat ening to use that strength; declaring that it is ready to fight" and actually ap- pealing to Congress for full war powers wherewith to settle an international con- trovery by brute force
 And Secretary Bryan indignantly de- nies that he thinks of resigning.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24
SWEETHEART
From the Indianapolis News.

From the Indianapolis News.
 What beautiful word is that fine old fashioned word, sweetheart" It comes to us through a long and loving line of grandfathers and grandmothers, whom we see in fancy, the bride with spreading nosegay in hand-not bouquet, heaven forbid.-and bride and bridegroom walk ing churchward beaming with happiness Sweetheart and nosegay-how fitting that they should go together, breathing the romance of an earlier and simpler time! Today to what a degraded use has the word sweetheart" been betrayed and di- verted. How often it is dragged, drab- bled and disgraced. through the muck of police court, in connection with u bur- glar. highwayman or a murderer.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24
Census Bureau Estimates

"The census bureau is about to issue la new bulletin. which will be of great interest to all persons who give at tention to population increase, and who among inhabitants of progressive cities does not?" said member of the com mittee on statistics and information of the Chamber of Commerce.
 "The forthcoming bulletin, I am told. will set forth the bureaus estimated population of all the states and of all the cities of 100000 and upwards Ala bama's census population in 1910 was 2, 13S,093. The bureau estimates it's popu- lation now at 2,269,945. Birmingham population in the census of 1910 was 132,6s5. The bureau estimate places it
 now. at 166,154. The census popula- ton of the city of New York, including all the boroughs, was 4,766,SS3 The es- timated population is 5,333,537. At lanta's census population Ga bit padded, believe) was 154.S39. It's estimated population is 179,292.
 l official estimates are based upon the theory that increase in population each year is sJeaual to the annual in crease from 1900 to 1910
 "In the case of Birmingham and some other especially fast-growing cities the usual arthmetical method of estimating population would not indicate the pres ent approximate size of the popula- l ton. The school census in Alabama. taken every two years, furnishes a re- liable basis for the total population Our last school census was taken in l 1912. It indicated total population for
 Birmingham of about 100000 In the mature of things Birminghams increa SC
 in population gains a greater momentum year by year, and when the school cen sus is taken this year it will be found
 that our population is fully 190,00O. The United States census bureau, of course, 1 is very conservative, should be so, and according to the arithmetcal rule
 which the bureau adopts, 166,154 for
 Birmingham will not look bad in the official report. At the same time it is
 well for our own boosters to know the
 probable figures that will be ascertained
 by the school enumeration"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24
Poorly Paid Actors

The stage in Germany is so over- crowded and members of the theatrical profession are so poorly paid that eff forts are being made to check the rush of young men and women to adopt stage career. Despite the dis couraging reports made of the situa- tion, there is no perceptible decrease in the number of aspirants for the atrical engagements. The Association of Actors and Actresses of the thea tres of Hamburg and it's suburb, AL tona, was organized solely to disillu- sion young people who are attracted by the false glitter of the stage.
 According to figures compiled and published by the Labor Gazette of the Empire, out of PIP members of the theatrical profession who answered in- quiries as to their salaries, two thirds received $50 month, or less. There were 107 who received only SIP a month; 215 who received $25, and 300 who received an average salary of $37 a month. Only 103 were paid $100 to $125 month; A got $125 to $50; 22 got $175 to $200, and three re- ceived a salary of S225 to $250 a month. Statistics show that the ma pority of German actors and actresses don't earn more than an average of $500 season. Singers get somewhat better pay, although they are paid much less than they receive in this country, the average salary of sing CTS of principal roles being $500 a season. The average pay of chorus girls for the season is S450.
 With such a scale of wages prevail ing and the stage already overcrowd- ed, there seems to be every reason for heading off stage aspirants in Ger
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24
ToMoRRow-TRIAL OF Frrz-JoHN PORTER

speakers that the reason why the farm CTS do not get more for their butter is because they do not put it up in way that it will keep, and that for the general market it Is practically of no use. One farmer in this county, who was peddling his butter for g cents per pound, was shown the method of put ting up his butter that is being urged by the gentlemen here yesterday, and it was stated that he svon had an order from a Birmingham firm for 60 pounds Ter week al B 1-3 cents per pound
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24

tiveness which exists on this subject not only would the average young woman re- treat in alarm from any sort of suspici- ous behavior but also 50 passengers would interest themselves on the spot. and mos likely the would-be inveigler of innocence would be arrested.
 In the immediate case in point the bona fides of the story is rendered very doubt full through the detail that by means of the telephone number which she gave the address of the guilty woman was lo- cated on Fifty eighth street. If it was, why was she not investigated and ar rested? Why was not a countertrap set for her? The story seems to belong to the same class of fiction as that of the lady kidnapped on train under the pre- text that she was insane. which has been in circulation for 100 years in every known country. but which can never be traced up to first hand authority.
 The misfortune is that a number of excellent people lend credenee to these stories without rational inquiry or re- Election as to their probability. They repeat them as they hear them. and they are told again and again until, to the public greedy of sensations, the perils or young women seem to be myriad and the whole city full of snares for them, into which they sillily stumble contrary to all rhyme or reason. One result of this sen sationalism is a sort of reign of terror in which girls go about looking for dragons on every hand and expecting to find them, while every man not protected by female guardian is eyed askance as a possible minotaur.
 There is altogether too much exaggefa- tion both wilful and unwilling, about this sort of thing. New Yorlk's busy streets are pretty safe for men, women and chil- dren who keep to themselves and mind their own affairs. As for the subway well, it would be difficult to imagine more unlikely place for melodrama. Let us try to overcome hysteria; we suner from it far too much these days.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24
MAINE BOBCATS MISTAKE

From the Portland (Me.) Telegram
 For some weeks hunters in the vicinity of Otis have been on the trail Of fero- cious bobcat, which has been ravaglng the swamps and creating havoc with all kinds of small game. besides killing deer.
 Erastus Underwood. trapper, came in from long tramp and brought news that the bobcat will probably be heard of no more. He followed the tracks of the cat for some distance, and found where the cat had attacked porcupine and partly eaten it. Then the tracks indicated that the cat was in much trouble, and finally led of into thick part of the swamp
 MT. Underwood said the cat no doubt had filled his nose and throat with por- cupine' quills which would cause his death in short time
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-24
GREAT TRIALS OF HISTORY
TRIAL OF MAMMALIAN

so upon her mind that she became in- sane
 News of the madness of Charlotte came as a crushing blow to her affectionate husband, who, harrassed on all sides, ill and Respondent, decided to leave the. scene of his troubles. When the French army had withdrawn in March, 1867, the Emperor issued manifesto, and rallyins 5000 men around him, placed himself at their head and prepared to fight the re- publican army.
 On the night of May IA he was betrayed by one of his generals, Miguel Lopez, who admitted the republicans into the city ot Queretaro. Opportunities were given him to escape. but he refused, preferring to surrender his sword with dignity. Two of his generals, Miramon and Mejia, were also taken prisoners. His majesty was lodged in the tower cell of the convent of San Teresito. He had an opportunity to escape while in prison but refused.
 A day later the plot to smuggle Max imilian away was discovered and it's prin- cipal promoter, Prince Salm- -Safm, was threatened with being shot. The trial of the Emperor by courtmartia took place on June 13 in the Iturbide theatre, at Vueretaro, which was decorated with flags as if for festival. The judges were six young captains, several of whom could neither read nor write, presided over by Lieut.. Col. Plato Sanchez. Know ing that the trial would be mockery of justice the Emperor refused to be pres ent, and while it was preceding passed the time alone in his cell in reading thss history of Charles l of England.
 Three of his judges voted for the ban ishment of Maximilian, and three for his execution, the casting vote, which led to the execution, being given by the presid- ing officer, who later on was shot by his own men. Neither the Emperor nor his friends, with one or two exceptions be- lieved that the sentence would be carried out.
 But the Mexcans of the sixties were as y-bloodthirsty-andn nothing wodld satisfy them but the death of the Elm peror, who was shot on June Is, 1867. What a sad ending of the hopes and am bitions of Charlotte, who, 1t was or- dained, should spend the rest of her life in madhouse, never realizing what had become of the husband she had inc fiuenzed to such terrible fate.