davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30

dition to the corn clubs the boys are to have pig clubs. The United States agricultural department will give prizes for hog raising as well as in corn club contests.
 The girls canning club movement in the south fostered jointly by the agri- cultural department and the general education board, was a great success this year. Alabama girls did well but it was a Mississippi girl who achieved greatest distinction. One girl in Ma con county, Mississippi, realized near ly $1O0 net profit on $50 cans of to- matoes. The canning clubs were start ed only few years ago. The first year 320 girls were registered; the second year 5000, and last year there were upwards of 30,000, dis tributed over IA states.
 This rapid development of the movement is encouraging indeed. All the vegetables and orchard fruit canned for commerce is like converting pig iron and lumber into the finished product. It adds to the wealth of the state or section.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30
ALABAMA PRESS

Annston Star: Was it because Herrick looked like a German that he had to spend that $4O0000 to "keep up appear ances as an American ambassador?''
 Montgomery Advertiser: contempo- rary is anxious to know if war lis be- coming more brutal We suggest that tho gentleman go to the front for few mcnths' experience and on returning com pare notes with some Confederate vet eran We are not so anxious to find out.
 Mobile Register: Neutrality is not re- garded with favor by our friends on the other side of the water. The Germans charge us with being in sympathy with Great Britain because Great Britain is our one big customer; and. at the same mcment we learn from British sources that we ought to make common cause with the British in defense of Belgium, but we do not do so because we "are after the almighty dollar.' One exaspe- rated Briton exclaims: '1s there noth- ing to live for but greed. greed?" So, we are damned if we do, and damned if we don't. The part of the innocent by stander is hard to play.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
B. Steiner in Birmingham

B. Steiner, formerly of Birmingham but now of New York, is here for a few months visit and is being greeted by his old and steadfast friends He and his good wife are the guests of MT and Mrs. Leo K. Steiner.
 Mrs. Steiner and I were at Ma.ien- bad Austria, when Austria Hungary declared war against Servia," said Mr. Steiner. "It was so sudden that people hardly realized what had been done. 'Warl Neverp But 1t was war and the hostilities have been the bloodiest in in getting money on my letter of credit After the war was in progress banking houses which formerly cashed my personal checks were slow in giv- ing up cash for the best exchange or on letters of credit. When I reached Hamburg, however, I had no diffi- culty in keeping myself in funds
 What troubled me most was not being able to hear from home. Through the courtesy of an American consul I got coblegram through to the state department at Washington which was transmitted to my office in New York but wife and I were terribly distressed over the long delay fin hearing from our sons. I-went abroad for my health, but the stress and strain of var af- 1ected by nervous system so that came back anything but we'll But I have fully recuperated and now, thank heaven. I feel in excellent health again."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30
The Right Man for the Place

In Thomas Worthington the board of revenue has selected an ideal man to make an investigation of the charges which have been brought against the board in connection with prices of chert and other material for road building.
 MT. Worthington has had wide eX- perience in this type of work and' above all, he is a man of ideal char acter and of the courage to find justly and to report accurately. If there has been graft or favoritism or unbusi- ness-like methods, MT. Worthington will make this fact known. He is man of caution, of character and of cour- age.
 If the board of revenue has done well he will so state. If it has erred he will make it known.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30
Why Soldiers go Insane

After describing fights in which men of the opposing sides hurled bombs at each other, which doubtless bore a ghastly resemblance to the battles with snowballs they fought in their boyhood, an eyewitness pictures a modern battle-ground. The stark horror of it, the infinite dreariness of such a scene that must be endured day after day, with only occasional firing to vary the monotony of it, is far worse than the old fashioned war fare, in which battles were soon de- cided It is no wonder that many Flu ropean soldiers break down under the strain and become either nervous wrecks or permanently insane.
 Some 500 yards from the brigade headquarters" writes the correspond ent, flies belt of country in which are hidden the supports and the ac- tual firing line. In this will be found battalion commanders, with dugouts, burrows, trenches and excavations of every kind. It is bounded on the front by a long, discontinuous irregular line of barbed wire, broken by saps wrig- gling still more to the front. This is the ultima thule. Beyond, of varying width, according to the nature of the fighting and the ground, is the neu- tral territory of no mans land be- tween the hostile forces. It is strewn with dead from both sides. Some are lying, and others are propped up against the sagging wire where they may have been for days. Still others are half buried in the craters or de- stroyed in the parapets.
 When darkness falls, with infinite caution an occasional patrol or soli- tary sniper may explore this grue- some area, crawling among the debris over dead bodies and the inequalities until some point of vantage is gained whence the enemy's position can. be examined or good shot obtained. On the other side of this zone of unburied dead bristles a similar fringe of wire and long succession of low mounds and naraDetS of tha apeny'S position"
 Where is the "glory of war" in such desolate scenes? !? The struggle of two beasts in the jungle is an inspiring spectacle compared to the kind of war fare waged in the trenches of Europe. The ingenuity of man has overreached itself. Modern artillery has made the infantryman a mole with the proclivi- ties of copperhead.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30
Americas Warning to England

The United States government de- at once all interference with American commerce.
 On Monday President Wilson di- rected that note be cabled to Great Britain setting forth the fact that much feeling had been aroused in this country against England, and that public criticism was general over un- warranted interference with the legit- innate foreign trade of this country.
 The Washington administration had been very patient, it was set forth, and had made allowance for the confus- ion and international hitches and em- barrassments with neutral powers growing out of the European war. But "clearing of the air" did not come. American shippers had acted upon various suggestions from the British government such as shipping cargoes to definitely named consignees in neu- tral countries and the taking out of certificates from consuls in the United States. With these suggestions acted upon the allies fleets were to cease detention of the cargoes. But after all these concessions, the situation has not improved.
 The representations of the Wash ington government were made in friendly spirit, but at the same time the note was as firm as it was frank.
 The Washington protest caused, as can readily be imagined, great sen sation in London. Not since President Cleveland's Venezuelan message have the English people been so stirred over an American incident. Only for the terrible war in which Great Britain is now engaged, the friction arising from the American note would be consid- cred grave, but under the circum- stances it will be soon smoothed down. Sir Edward Grey, secretary of state for foreign affairs, was away from London on his holiday, and conse- quently no statement has been issued from the foreign office. When Sir
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30
A STORY OF PUBLIC SERVICE

on both gas and electricity. Why in the world should we spend money to adyer- tise when we have ,em both coming and going?"
 If ever a case existed where advertis- ing solely for competitive purposes would have been absolutely futile, this was it. The company certainly had the city both coming and going. But the answer was, We are not going to spend money in advertising. We. are going to invest money in, advertising
 Half pages began to appear in the newspapers. In the course of year the gas and electric company used more space than any of the department stores. which, of course, had been up to that time the heaviest advertisers in the city.
 Cooking schools to show women the merits of the gas range were installed and advertised Men who had never thought of the saving of labor and ex- pense possible by using small electric motors in their shops found out-through advertising. Local merchants were shown the increased trade that they could get by having their stores better lighted. Electric signs were popularized.
 The first year the advertising sold seven carloads of gas stoves. It sold coke at fair price, instead of at a loss before. It sold gas heaters, irons fixtures and novelties. It put in 124 new electric motors for small power users. It put up electric signs and ornamental lighting effects.
 In these ways, as well as through the stimulation of ordinary consumption, it very greatly increased the use of gas and electric current.
 At the end of the year the total divi- dends, which estimates had said were going down to $40O0, were s44,0O0. At the end of the second year of the same policy the aggregate dividends were s76,000. And this with all bills for advertising paid. And with the public buying its gas and electricity far cheaper than it ever had before.
 But, apart from better dividends and lower price to the consumer, what did the advertising do for that city?
 It gave the city better lighted stores and streets. It put labor saving devices into hundreds of homes. It cut the cost of operation for scores of small, strug-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30
From the New York Sun

From the New York Sun.
 TEEN VICTORIA" picked up
 O hsr imaginary as :, 'rs,"' ,ss ,s.,.ss'' sDesa and glided with him along the waxed floor of the big reception hall at the Hudson county insane asylum at Snake Hill yes- terday afternoon. Most of their fellow inmates were then resting from their unwonted exercise of the Christmas dance. but they appreciated the deference due to monarchs and graciously and gen. erously applauded the movements of the royal pair.
 A moment later the nut orchestra of the asylum Chats what the attendants call it), consisting of a violiniht, whose instrument was also "craclSed;' hutist a cornetist and Beethoven" himself at the piano, started jig and fully one-half the lunatics ran out on the floor where they kept step to the cratic music, gig gling laughing and shouting for the sheer joy of the thing.
 You'd almost think they weren't crazy at all, wouldn't you?" said an old " keep his eyes pn a group of dangerous lunatics-"bad ones," he termed them who had been taken from their rooms to enjoy the fun. .They certainly don't look or act like lunatics now, do they? And that's morn'n you could say of some other folks know who are dancin' at regular Christmas parties today.
 bo, Christmas doin's we have here at Snake Hill.'' the old keeper continued musingly- perhaps it's the smell of the green things we've stuck up around the hall that awakens something in their cracked brains and takes them back for the time being to the times before their minds got twisted. Then again it may be the turkey dinner, or perhaps it's true what the poet said about music having charms to soothe the savage beast, or breast. I've forgotten which. Anyhow, they're having bully time. and job in this asylum today is a blame sight easier n having a class in kindergarten"
 Eight hundred and two inmates of the asylum took part in yesterdays Christ mas party. arranged by committee of the board of freeholders, of which Jim Meehan of Jersey City is chairman, as- sisted by Warden Patrick Fitzpatrick, Dr. Harry " Smith, the medical director. and his assistant. Dr. Robert Schlemm. It started about o'clock with a dinner consisting of turkey, cranberry sauce, mince pie and ice cream. with apples, oranges and candy that could be tucked into pockets and skirts to be eaten later when there was more room.
 The choir from St. Michaers Monastery. with Walter Nugent as leader. strolled from one county institution to another like minstrels of old and drifted into the merry party at the asylum late in the afternoon. It sang Christmas carols and
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30
The Hoard of Revenue

The election of Thomas Worthing- ton by the board of revenue to in- vestgate the conditions of the Newell contract regarding which there has been some criticism" said Judge " P. McCrossin, empowering him to go into the contract thoroughly and report his findings to the board. should meet the approval of all fair-minded citizens. There is not a man in Birmingham who doubts the honesty or integrity of Tom Warrington or his ability as an en- gineer or his experience as con. tractor.
 '"The board by it's resolution has given him free hand to make the in- vestigation down to it's minutest de- tail. All the members of the board have declared their willingness for this in- vestigation, or rather they have in- sisted on it. The majority have se- lected a man who is above reproach: even the minority did not vote against him. He fills the requirements of the resolution authorizing the investiga- tion in every particular.
 His report will be watched with great interest by all parties intererted in the controversy and even though he so desired he could not afford to make other than a fair and impartial report No man or set of men should be con- demned until investigation of their acts is made and in the interest of fair hess no obstacle should be placed in thu way of MT. Worthington entering on his duties with free hand. I be. . lieve his report will be satisfactory to all so far as it's truth and impartlality are concerned"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30

gllng manufacturers. It showed people how to get and use things that made their lives cleaner and easier It made, in short, more comfortable. more alert and prosperous community.
 What local advertising did in that city. national advertising is doing all the time for the nation. We pick up a number of the Saturday Evening Post and. sec ing the advertising of r makers of mems clothing, we think, Here are all these manufacturers just advertising against one another" We forget that advertis- ing of ready-made clothing has made this a better dressed nation, that it has showed hundreds of thousands of men the way to cheaper and better fitting clothes, that it is always effectively preaching the gospel of the importance of looking we'll
 Advertising is like the railroad, the trolley, the telephone. the newspaper, the school-a creator of human activity. Like all of these. it is force for the wider and quicker dissemination of information It brings within our ken things that we never knew existed, or never thought we
 
 little beyond our grasp and to work a little harder in order to get them. It is like the rifle that the modern Tom Saw yer saw in the window. He had intended to loaf all summer. but he wanted that rife In order to get it he had to have money. To get money he went out and painted fences and ran errands and moved lawns. The knowledge that there was a rife that he could have if he worked for it made him producer in- stead of a dependent.
 If we believe in a constantly advancing civilization, If we believe that people ought to keep on trying to live a little better and have a little more comfort. little more convenience and a little more ambition--if our philosophy includes these tenets, then we must believe that whatever shows people the way and rouses their ambition to possess-and to produce in order to possess-is a public service. It is upon that basis that we declare advertising to be, not primarily a weapon of competition, but primarily a means of constructive public service.- The Curtis Publishing Company. Inde- pendence Square, Philadelphia.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30
CHRISTMAS IN ASYLUM

up to date songs and the inmates clapped their hands and whistled through their fir gers, but their greatest delight was in their own dancing.
 A group of women, all over 60, refused all invitations to dance with men, but in- sisted on having one corner of the hall to themselves. There Martha Washing ton," Mrs. Lincoln and other ,Amefican digntaries of the past elevated their noses whenever "Queen Victoria swept by and contented themselves with round dances. even though the nut orchestra played something that was cross be- tween a one step and waltz.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30
Small Grain Increases Quail

The cultivation of small grain will greatly increase the number of quail in Alabama" said sportsman. Not that the matter of feeding is all important, but a suitable nesting place is one inn portant question bearing upon the hatching of clutches.
 "The rabbit dog, particularly the half hound, who works day in and day out to make living-has to-prowls into briar thickets, brush cover, broom sedge and every other conceivable piece Of cover, except grain fields. Then varmints rarely seek the quairs nest in the close covert of wheat and oats. The only ene- my of the mother quail in grain is the harvester who finds her clutch of Is to 25 eggs, and proceeds to gather them. Perhaps they are worthless. but the nest is destroyed.
 Tt is fact that the hen usually lays two full clutches; when the first is off and has become large enough to make living the male bird takes the brood in charge.
 q wonder if many persons know how quail frequently go to roost They will guard against being trailed by var hints by resing together for short flight, and will pour into spot as big as mans hat, like shot through a funnel; this often after dusk or quite late. They alight all in position, their tails to the center in compact formation, ring shaped, and there sit until daylight, at which time all move, by easy stages, feeding as they go.''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30
"LET DOWN YOUR BUCKET>

By Sam Walter FOss.
 "Oh, ship ahcy!'' rang out the cry; ''Oh, give us water or we dier' A voice came CT the waters far, Just drop your bucket where you are. \ And then they dipped and drank their Of water fresh from mead and hill; And then they knew they sailed upon The broad mouth of the Amazon. O. CT tossing wastes we sail and cry, "Oh, give us water, or we die!' On high, relentless waves we roll Through arid climates for the soul; Meath parching skies we pant for br Smit with the thirst that drags to And fail while faint for fountains To drop our buckets where we are Oh, ship ahoyl You're sailing on The broad mouth of the Amazon, Whose mighty current flows and Of mountain streams and inland Of night-kissed mornings dewy
 Of heaven-dropt evenings twilieh Of natures peace in earth and Just drop your bucket where you Seek not for fresher founts afar, Just drop your bucket where you are; And while the ship right onward leaps Uplift 1t from exhaustless deeps.
 Dull not your life with dry despair; The stream of hope flows everywhere
 So, under every sky and star.
 Just drop your bucket where you arel
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30

New York Letter to the Pittsburg Dis
 patch.
 There isn't any more 'baldheaded row in the New York theatres" said the- atrical manager from the west. 'I re- member years ago, there was real bald headed row The genuine billiard-ball head stood out in bold relief in every theatre, but now I the first few rows are given almost exclusively to women
 'I asked one of my friends in the theatrical business the other day if he had noticed it and he said he had. He said the first few rows are always sold out either to women or college students. l can understand why the college students want the first row, but I cannot account for women in the ba1dheaded row. unless 1t is that women are getting nearsighted. It is fact that women get lots of their ideas for dress from the stage. and it is possible they get close to the footlights to catch all the new wrinkles in hair dressing and goWns.''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30

Commenting on the temporary suspen- sion of grand opera in Chicago, because of small attendance, the Philadelphia Public Ledger calls attention to the fact that one man in Boston assures the ex- istence of an orchestra and one man is chiefly responsible for grand opera in Philadelphia The Chicago venture will be tried again, and when reorganized the Century Opera company will doubtless be- come profitable. The American people even in the larger cities, have not yet reached the point where they will sup port grand opera with the enthusiasm they show for musical comedy and on the burden of financing undertakings that belong to higher art. Nevertheless. the public is exacting and insists on grand opera on the most expensive and elabor- ste scale before condescending to patron ize it. This may be taken as a favorable index of an advance in culture, lut un- fortunately it appears to be more a de- sire to be visually impressed by costly scenic investiture, large choruses, a nu- merically strong orchestra and principals with famous names. The strictly artistic side of the performance may be lost on such people, but if they are apparently getting their moneys worth they are sat isfied
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30

 desired to avert hostilities that he simp. ly would not listen to any war talk. But when President Mckinley succeeded to the presidency it was foregone con clusion, a lover of peace though he was, that war would not be long delayed. It may be that President Wilson can continue to maintain his present policy with regard to Mexico, but it would not surprise me to see Mexico a pro tectorate to the United States. as Cuba virtually Is, before the end of this decade. Some people would like to see Mexico annexed. l am not one of them, but I do think intervention probable. Dr. John A. Wyeth has written elo- quetly and with great spirit in favor of annexation. His brief but forceful pamphlet entitled The Great Republic is sure to arouse widespread interest. Accompanying the pamphlet is a card reading thus:
 "Mexico has been weighed in the balance of civilization and found want ing The Creature House of the World the Land of Opportunity" has become the home of continuous revolution, an- archy and bloodshed. The rights of property and the sacredness of life are without respect. Believing that the ar- titude of the present administration to- ward this country is mistaken and is not in accord with the sentiment of a brave and generous nation, that it is but prolonging the reign of terror for ar unfortunate and helpless people, and be- s..,. of this vexatious problem is the per manent establishment of law and ord~ by the immediate annexation of Mexi- co by the United States, I make this appeal to my countrymen.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-30
Success of the Canning Clubs

Among southern states Alabama has been leader in the boys corn clubs. More prizes have been won by Alabama boys for high record pro duction in corn than by the boys of other commonwealths. The year 1913 was a great year for the corn boys and 1914 was about up to it. Next year should be far better. And in ad-