davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-06

questions of religious lore and tradition sink into insignificance and pale into op- livion if anything designated as pale can be properly used in connection with the Missionary Baptist church, in compari- tating that body
 The prize contended for among the ar.s- tocratic predatory rich of the Missionary Baptist church aforementioned is the Presidents pew. The pastor and his ca1- inet-the board of deacons-found upon their hands a problem more vexing and a task of greater proportions than the raising of the funds to buy the property. Demands from the influential and promi- nent members of the Missionary Baptist church for the Presidents pew poured in on the church officials like applications for federal jobs from New Jersey. All suggestions of compromise were rejected with scorn by the applicants; the sug- gested split in the democratic party over free tolls takes on the appearance Of d harmony, get-to-gether convention beside the split in the Missionary Baptist church.. Even the republican party was divided into only two parts by the Crime at Chicago" but the Missionary Baptist church was threatened with the prospects of a blow up that would reduce it to in- fnitesimal fractions
 But the pastor of the Missionary Baptist church has demonstrated some ability and displayed some talents for diplomacy as well as establishing a perfectly good claim for a reputation as a financler by suggesting solution to the question, which gives promise of adoption.
 His plan is that the privilege of occupy ing the Presidents pew be divided into 26 annual periods of two weeks each These 26 periods to be auctioned off to the highest bidders. The successful btj- ders will for two Sundays have absolute control over the coveted pew, occupying it at both services on Sunday and at prayer meeting and other special occa- sions. This almost solves the problem; there is but one lone objection to this sus- gestion, which may be difficult of solu- tion. That is the annual revival. When this takes place the lucky individual drawing the two weeks of the revival will be plum saturated with importance, be- cause he can do all but sleep in that pew. If this single objection can be overcome, there is hope that the Missionary Baptist church, colored, may be restored to it's original state of perfect peace and har- mony without resorting to violence, or without rebellion. The outcome is being watched with great anxiety.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-06
More Voting Places Needed

T do not know how it Is in other cities. but Birmingham certainly needs more vot- ing precincts, said a business man.
 After every exciting primary loud com plaint is heard about the congested condi- tion of the voting precincts here in Bir- mingham; but no concerted effort has been made to obtain the necessary legisla- tion providing for additional precincts.
 T used to think that the Jefferson coun- ty board of revenue had the authority the attention of the board it was found that relief could be had only through the legislature. Owing to the great length of the ticket to be voted for at Monday s primary, it will be two or three days probably before the result in this county is definitely ascertained
 '1t is not only hard on the election of- ficers who have to work overtime, but it causes great inconvenience to the voter. A precinct or box should be limited to about 300 voters. There would then be no crowding and no long waiting in line. Moreover, the ballots could be canvassed in two or three hours at the most. It is hoped that MT H. L. Sims MT. Matt Murphy or some other wideawake lawyer represent Jefferson county will introduce a relief measure and keep behind it until it becomes law"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-06

was 1908, while Wyoming won the palm with just 392 bills. New York considered 3OS1, with Calimornia and Nebraska handling 1922 and 1946 bills respectively.
 The costliest legislature of the union was that of New York, and much of the expense is attributed by the league to politics. Two conclu- sions are to be arrived at by perus- ing the report, namely, that in every legislature more bills than are nee essary are introduced, either through mistaken judgment or personal vani- ty, and that majority of the law making bodies of the states waste money upon needless employees.
 These facts suggest the thought relative to the vast sums of money squandered and valuable time wasted in the passage of hastily prepared, ill-advised and unconstitutional en- actments that only await judicial consideration to declare them null and void. Upon this subject the report of the league is silent and the figures must be left to the imagination of the reader if indeed they can be arrived at with any degree of certainty and satisfaction.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-06

and even this proportion is likely 10 De improved under development.
 In conducting the mass tests, as they are called, the physicians first made sure that the inoculation should not injure a person. Doses of different amounts were used in thousands of cases and the results compared to show which succeeded best.
 The most striking test was one made on nearly 12,000 natives. Every day the natives who arrived at the mines to go to work were lined up for the doe tors Then every other man was told to step forward so that half were in the front line and half were in the back line. Every native in the front line was then inoculated with the proper number of millions of carefully prepared pneumonia germs. The men in the back line were not inoculated, and thus they served as controls by which to judge the effect on the front line men.
 A record was then made of every man, an6 every time native was taken with pneumonia thereafter the records were looked up to determine whether or not he had been inoculated. Nearly 5000 natives were thus available for a study of the effect of the inoculation, and the same number for the noninoculatton statistics.
 Practically all the difference to be noted came in the first two months, when twice as many noninoculated na- tives developed pneumonia. After two months the difference was slight be- tween the two classes; but actually the number of cases of the disease was greatly reduced in both classes after that lapse of time. This indicated that If native did not develop pneumonia in the first two months of his work in the mines he was not apt to later, for his system had become more or less equipped to fight off the disease by that time. The inoculation, therefore, gave tine natives twice as much chance of getting safely through the danger ous first two months.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-06
CAPITAL DARKTOWN AGOG
Fly BILL VINES

XVIA AsHINGToN. April 5.-(speciaL) M Darktown in Washington is all W agog. It Is comparatively an easy matter to get darktown all agog-in Washington. Senator yardaman in a few well chosen words can start a riot in darktown almost any time But this sit uation has nothing to do with politics: has nothing to do with Jim Crow laws, nor segregation, subjects which periodi- { cally raise a rumpus in "cuFd sassiety' in this village.
 It has to do with only a limited part | of the ultra fashionable "darktown" pop ! uation. But that limited number has been stirred into a seething, fermenting and agitated mass of saffron-hued, furny humanity
 It all came about through the President of the United States. The Central Pres byterian church and the board of control I thereof decided sometime ago that they would sell their church property at the corner of Third and I streets and move into more fashionable uptown neighbor- | hood The President of the United States worships at the Central Presbyterian
 
 for minor at least there is one regu- | larly reserved for the Chief Executive. The Central Presbyterian church prop erty at the corner of Third and Eye streets was thrown on the market, and during the course of events became the property of the Missionary Baptist church, colored, which is the colored high "sassiety' religious organization of this city.
 In acquiring the property of the Central Presbyterian church aforementioned, the Missionary Baptist church, of the second part, also acquired one frst-class bone of contention and wild state of unsurpassed excitement which for while threatened to disrupt that hitherto strictly har- monious organization all the way from the humblest lay member to the pastor | thereof, including the board of deacops. The impending disruption of the Mis- l sionary Baptist church is no question of l theological or Biblical import, nor does 1 1t concern in any sense the allegorical problem of whether Jonah swallowed the whale or the whale swallowed Jonah. Ii has nothing to do with the proposition of whether a triumphant entry into the gol- | den precincts of the New Jerusalem must l be predicated by head and ears immer- l sion into the placid waters of the Poto-
 mac, or merely the sprinklng of few drops of pure water; in short, all the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-06
GREAT TRIALS OF HISTORY
TRIAL OF CROWN MURDERERS

the Sullivans, Coughlin, Martin Burke,
 Frank Woodruff and John Kuntz.
 The impaneling of a jury in the Cronin
 case was begun on August 1. Owing to
 the court being engaged in other impor-
 tant cases and the great number of chal-
 lenges the jury was not completed until
 October 22. The case was begun or De- tober 24, when Judge Longenecker pre-
 scented a masterly outline of the crime
 and several witnesses were called to tes- tify to the identity of the body found as
 that of Dr. Cronn.
 The trial thus begun was continued all through November and part of Decem- Der, without interruption. After charge by Judge Mcconnell not unfavorable to the five Cronin suspects, their case was given to the jury on the afternoon of December 14 They did not report their finding until Monday afternoon, Decem-
 Der +, when they brought in the fol-
 lowing verdict that John Kunze was guilty of manslaughter, and that Daniel Coughlin, Patrick O'Sullivan and Martin
 Burke were guilty of murder in the
 manner and form as charged in the in- dictment and fixed the penalty at impris-
 onment in the penitentiary for the term of their natural lives.
 Juror John Culver saved the necks of O'Sullivan, Coughin and Burke. His. op- position to the death penalty was insur-
 mountable. When the verdict was read
 motions for new trial were instantly made by Lawyer Forrest in behalf of the four prisoners.
 It was brought out conclusively at the trial that Patrick O'Sullivan had contract ed for the services of Dr. Cronn presum- ably to entrap him into the snare into which he fell on the night of May 4. Martin Burke had rented the cottage in which Cronin was killed. Daniel Cough lin, the detective. was charged with ar ranging for "a friend' to hire the horse and buggy that carSied Cronin to the house where<he was butchered. John F. Beggs was shown to be the man who was appointed to be a committee of one to report Cronin's murder to his lodge No evidence was brought out to impicate Kunze as deeply in the conspiracy as the others. However, he was present at the meeting of Camp 20. when Cronin was l sentenced for trial, and presumably, to death.
 The other individuals involved in the plot were allowed to go free. Woodruff. in spite of his injecting himself into the case, was proved to be ignorant of the
 conspiracy and the ghastly contents of the trunk he had hauled in spite of his many confessions. Coughlin succeeded in se curing rehearing of his case and was acquitted on March S. 1894. It was one of the longest criminal trials ever held in Chicago. as well as one of the most Interesting.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-06
New Orleans DisappOintcd

q was in New Orleans Saturday and found that the business men of that city were very sore because the organization committee did not locate a federal bank there" said Charles l.. Hutton of Chi cago.
 'The federal reserve board is yet to be constituted. Secretary of the Treasury McAdoo and Comptroller of the Currency Williams are to be members ex-officio. and the others are to be appointed by the President. There is some talk of New Orleans bankers preparing to join in a the organization committee work so far as the Crecent City is concerned. If New Orleans cannot get federal reserve bank by appealing to the board 1t will try to have itself detached from the Atlanta l district and be made a part of the St,
 Louis district. 1 would not be surprised to see Congress take a hand in the fight. Tt may be that Congress will increas SC the number of reserve banks to 13 or IA. If there were IA, New Orleans would be almost certain to get one, but not with out a change in the boundary lines of district No. G.
 T had heard that Birmingham was quite a strong candidate for a federal ! reserve bank, but understand that there is no disposition here to make trouble by trying to have the work of the or ganzation committee undone."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-06

is not willing to behold the glory of his nation established upon the degra- dation of his people, and he has called halt. Badly as money is needed for the reorganization of the army and the equipment of the navy the Czar is determined that it shall not be ob- tained in great volume at the expense of the moral and physical welfare of his subjects, and has announced that if Russia must rebuild at such cost, Russia will remain as she is, for he will tolerate no device which has tendency to convert the land into nation of vodka drunkards.
 This is in striking contrast to that of most sovereigns, past or present, who have displayed little squeamish- ness as to the manner employed in furthering the power, prestige and position of the governments over which they rule.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-06
INCOMES OF WRITER'S

From the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
 Milton sold Paradise Lost" for f20, $100 in American money. Poor Chatter ton, one of the brightest minds of his day. committed suicide by jumping from London bridge into the River Thames. It was either this or starvation, and he selected the former. His verses were a drug on the market.
 Literature was poor breadwinner in those days, and the man or woman who depends upon literature today, unless success has crowned their efforts, stands a precarious chance of making a fortune.
 It Is pleasant to call attention to certain facts recently brought to light.
 In the recent divorce trial, in which the wife of George II. Broadhurst sought separation and alimony, it was proven to the court that Broadhurst' s income is s125,00o. This is from the royalties on his plays alone.
 Clyde Fitch, who began life under very impoverished circumstances left a fortune of $250.00 and his plays are each year turning in a steady income to his estate.
 Walter Brown, who wrote ."Every- woman," knew what it was to starve.
 It is related that five months be- fore "Everywoman' was produced he wandered into Browns chop house, in New York, and met "a party of friends. "If I only could raise $50," he sighed. What for?" was asked. q would get a divorce" he replied
 He did not have $50, did not get a di- vorce, died on the night of the first per formance of "Everywoman," and his widow received s165, 900 the first year in royalties from his play. Last fall crop of manuscript nov els was swelled by the statement that a s10,000 prize for a novel had been won by Lona Dalrymple, young girl in Passaic.
 There is a fortune in the pen if the right hand directs it and the right mind is behind it.
 Literature is an uncertain field, but it is one rich with opportunity, a field which does not discriminate against sex. Fortunes have been made and fortunes will continue to be made by the fortunate writer of plays, poetry, or ordinary fiction.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-06
The Price of Peace

It may appear paradoxical, yet the vast war appropriations that yearly enter into the budgets of the great nowers of the world are in reality the price that the nations are paying for peace.
 It may be that the navies of the respective governments are more sus- ceptible of improvement or it may be that the factors of warfare are shift ing from the land to the sea, but cer- tain it is that more money IS oeing expended upon ships than upon the army and the amounts devoted there to are simply enormous.
 The British budget for the current year carriers $275,O00,000 for new war ships, and while Germany's war levy last year reached $25O,Ooo,ooo' the government is asking for an ex- tra draft of $125, ,OO0,OOO.
 Even Russia, in order to pacify her unsatisfactory situation, is proposing an additional appropriation of $6o,- 900 Oo0, while even little Greece has decided to spend several millions upon battleships. Turkey, animated by a similar sentiment, is about to proceed upon the same lines, and Austria is competing with Italy in the provisioning of armament sufficient to keep pace with the larger powers.
 No nations are more eager for neace than those of South America and for its consummation they are cxhausting every resource looking to the purchase of guns and armor plate. Bellicose as this may appear upon the surface, it is but reflex of an universal desire for peace and augurs the approach of an international paci- fication.
 Powder mills and gun factories may not be expected to shut down in an instant, for the opportune time has not yet arrived. The Mexican revolu- tion is running at high tide, trouble is. still brewing in the Balkans and the internal situation of China is by no means satisfactory, but the dark est hour is always just before dawn, and when the present war clouds have been brushed away one may expect to see the blessed rays of the sun of peace illumining the universe; rays that have been fostered and focused by extensive preparations for war.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-06
PNEUMONIA VACCINE TESTED

From the Saturday Evening Post.
 Vaccination--or more properly inocu- lation-against pneumonia has recently been proved to be successful by some tests that are remarkable in many ways--not the least being the fact that tens of thousands of persons were in oculated at time to give the test fair trial. The inoculation is not a cure for pneumonia, but a preventive like smallpox vaccination.
 Its effect unfortunately does not seem to last for more than a month or two; but even this limited period is of great value in the battle against pneumonia among the native laborers of the South African mines, and will be of great value generally.
 Many conditions are recognized by physicians as likely to bring on pneu- monia, so that persons who are to be subjected to. such conditions will now be able to escape much of the dan ger by first taking the inoculation treatment. The record of thousands of natives at the South African mines shows that those who have been in- oculated are only half as likely to die
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-06
Nicholas Not a Weakling

M. Bark, the Russian minister of finance, has recently received an inn perial advice that his department must no longer depend upon the liquor traffic for the major portion of it's revenues, and in the issuing of such an edict the Czar has demonstrated that he is not the weakling which the world has long accredited him with being.
 The position of Nicholas is a rad ical departure from an administrative policy which has obtained since for mer minister Witte inaugurated it in 1901. It was Witte's dream to fashion his country into the most formidable power of the orld, and while up to his regime the nation had supervised the sale of vodka and oth- CT strong liquors, the minister placed their traffic under direct government control. This policy was indorsed and followed by the present cabinet until the monoply has been So manipulated as to yield an annual revenue of $300,000,000 for the state.
 Most of this enormous revenue was designed to be applied to the rehabil- itation of the navy and had the design been carried to execution Russia would have become the foremost naval power of the globe; but. vodka is the bane of the masses and Nicholas
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-06
N May p, 1889, Dr. P. H. Cronin,
 an Irish agitator of Chicago, who had disappeared from his home

IN hdy lccv, i1ls I iis SiNiiiii, an Irish agitator of Chicago, who O had disappeared from his home in that city more than two weeks pre- viously, was found dead in sewer on Evanston avenue, with a bloody towel wrapped around his head indicating that he had been murdered. The Catholic em- blem called the "Agnus Dei,' which the doctor always wore around his neck, was untouched. On May 4, Dr. Cronin, who had been suspected of treachery and had been expelled from membership and con- demned to death by the members of the Clana-Gael had mysteriously disap- peared.
 On the head of the doctor when the body was discovered were six wounds. An attempt was at once started to dis- cover the murderers The house where the crime had been committed was shortly located. It was a frame building at ls'S Ashland avenue. This house had been rented as recently as March 20 to man named Martin Burke. Having se- cured a den into which Cronin could be lured they waited developments. When the murder was discovered detectives took possession of the building.
 The murder, it was evident from the amount of blood stains found, had taken place in the parlor. but there was also blood in the sitting room and the hall- way, The body had been packed in trunk and was carried out of the cottage to a wagon and taken from the scene of the crime.
 The first arrest was that of Detective Coughlin He was arraigned before the mayor, Attorney Hynes and corporation counsel He was finally placed in cell in the county jail. The following day there were two more arrests, Patrick o. Sullivan and Frank J. Black, alias Wood- ruff They were indicted. The following day Woodruff confessed that he had been hired to drive the wagon containing the trunk with Cronin's body inside. He also stated that the man known as Will Hams was the leader in the murder a
 The coroner's inquest, which was con tinued for almost week in hearing evil dence, resulted in the arrest on June of Alexander Sullivan, charged with the lmurder of Patrick Cronin. The jury also recommended that besides Alexander Sul- livan. others to be held to the grand jury without bail were P. O. Sullivan, Detec- tive Coughlin and Frank Woodruff.
 Sullivan was later released on S2O,W0 bail. There were a number of other ar rests of prominent Irish leaders. not only in Chicago, but in New York and Philadelphia. Finally Woodruff made a complete and exhaustive confession. The examination of witnesses and suspects dragged on well through the summer. and finally true bills were found against
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-06
Of Historic Interest

''The first part of a sketch entitled, Get tysburg, by Percy Clark, appeared in the last issue of The Anglo-Saxon, and l am looking forward eagerly to the second installment, which take it will be printed in the next number" said the son of a Confederate veteran, who never tires of reading about the grand leaders and the brave men who participated in the his- toric battles of the civil war.
 MT. Clark has been a close student of our war history, and especially of the battles leading up to Gettysburg. He has evidently done much painstaking work in the preparation of this sketch. It will prove of high educational value, and as it is written in brilliant style, it should have a wide reading"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-06
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Even If He lind to Walk

My voting place Is at Blocton, and l am going there to cast my ballot for MT. Underwood" said the Rev. Father Downs, formerly pastor of the Catholic church fin that fiourishing mining town. but at present stationed in Birmingham.
 So great is my admiration for the Ala bama statesman that would go to Bloc ton Monday even if I had to walk. MT. Underwood Is not only statesman. but he is one of the most courteous gentle men have ever known. I hope to see him elected United States senator by an over whelming majority"