davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-21
ELIJAH POGRAM, M. c.

grams or eagles or elections or Fourth of July, but in this proud, free land all we have to do to raise an army of a million men is to ring the fire bell.
 The Hon. Program swells near to burst ing when anybody intimates in his pres ence that discipline is requisite of a1 amy, and that possibly the first thing th@ average American has to learn about sol ! diering is to obey authority. None of those soft phrases for Pogram. He will give you the right name for discipline, it is towering under the iron heel of mili- tarism," that's what discipline is, sir, and obeying authority is trucking and bow ing the neck like the ensaved ninions of European tyranny" that's what obeyins authority is, sir and no American will ever be forced to do it by his vote in Con- gress, sir, or while he has voice left to protest with sir
 Considerable Pograming may be looked for this winter, in Congress and out, and the country will hear all about how we licked England and bluffed Napoleon, how Old Hickory, by the E-tarnal, cleaned 'em up at New Orleans and how Dan'l Boone and Davy Crockett conquered an empire with nothing but squirrel rifles. Pogram- ing isn't a thing the country can be very proud of, but it is a thing that is bound to break out in a youthful democracy it's democracy's measles, indeed-and must be allowed to run it's course.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-21
MORE PROGRESS IN EuGENICs

From the New York World
 The eugenics theory advanced by a Pittsburg professor contains a new rule "one must not die-that is, prematurely- and this is very imporetant." It is so inn portant that surprise must be felt that other eugenists have overlooked it. Tc live is a fundamental requisite of all ra- cial improvement, and obviously man who fails to live is one of it's most insidi- ous foes; he is anti-social.
 Among the other essentials of eugenic living, the professor prescribes maria SC ing of an "adequate number of children ''One who has not three and seven-t -tenths children is failure as eugenic member of society, inasmuch as the best children are the fourth and ffth.''
 Perhaps it would have been simpler te fix the adequate number of children al four or five and let the fraction go, since curiosity may exist as to what disposition will be made of seven-tenths children But as Wall street arranges for the eX- change of fractional stock dividends into full shares, no doubt the eugenists will provide a means for assembling the frac- lions of humanity.
 But what should we do without precison in science? The wonder must be where all the sociological wisdom comes from. A brief generation ago the very name oi eugenics was hardly known to the gen. eral public; today what seat of the higher learning is without it's professor of the science? We shall now watch with rea interest the enactment of a eugenics law to forbid men from dying prematurely
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-21
ComstOck's Ghost Abroad

New York booksellers are much eX- ercised over a campaign started by John s. Sumner, acting secretary ot the Society for the Suppression of Vice. who seems to be following in the footsteps of his illustrious predeces- sor, Anthony Comstock, the man who helped to make September Morn" famous. The booksellers say that MT. Sumner has been waging vigorous war on Boccaccio's "Decameron." A number of arrests have been made and there is feeling that the spirit of the departed Comstock is abroad and bent on making life miserable for the men who deal in "classics" of a slightly tainted sort, but nevertheless classics. Even Mir. Sumner admits that the "Decameron" issa classic, al though he says copies have been con- fiscated and dealers have been ar rested for selling the book.
 It appears that when a book is cheaply bound it is more dangerous to public morals than when it is an expensive library edition. The cheap ly bound books are apt to fall into the hands of children and do great deal of harm, whereas the more expensive volumes will presumably be read by persons of mature minds who are ca pablo of enjoying classic without being contaminated.
 The only other books besides tht "Decameron" seized in the secretary's recent raids were the "Heptameron' and book by Paul de Rock, whose racy humor is known to the initiate The works of Guy de Maupassant arc viewed with disfavor by the society but it seems that convictions are diff ficult to obtain when good library additions of De Maupassant's works are sold.
 However, the "Decameron," which was sold openly in forty out of th' fifty bookstores in New York and Wal thought to be immune from seizure has received considerable backse and while the society's secretary de nies that he is making the book spe cial target, he admits that it has beer confiscated when stores were raideG on search warrants.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-21
From the St. Louis Post-Dispatoh.

, From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
 NR KARL MUCK, Boston Sym phony orchestra director, says in - the Craftsman that America is to develop the music of democracy, the dis tinctive music that shall be an express sion of freedom for all the people. This idea is now found in the very quail ity of the land We live in, he. says--ip its yastness, it's titanic grandeur, its un- occupied beautiful spaces. But the music that is to speak to us of Niagara, the Grand Canon at sunset or in the moon light, the nmitless plains yelled in rose and violet, other commandments for the liberation of the spirit to be read in the face of nature, is not yet written.
 And making known to us frankly the state of his mind, the good doctor does not see any signs indicating that it IS livery soon to be written. Proper effort with our children is eur only hope, he thinks. No nation ever developed art through it's grown-up people," Great choruses must be established in the schools; also orchestras. Music must be endowed. Only the best music must be furnished. All other is not worth while. As to popular music,'' there is no such thing as good popular music. Rag time is an abomination. This is what Dr.
 l Muck says about it:
 T think what you call here your rag
 time is a poison. It poisons the very
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-21
THE CONQUEROR WORM
By Edgar Allan Poe. Loi 'Tis a gala night

By Edgar Allan Poe.
 Lo! Iris gala night
 Within the lonesome latter years: An angel throng. bewinged bedight
 In veils, and drowned in tears Sit in a theatre to see
 A'play of hopes and fears, While the orchestra breathes fitfully
 The music of the spheres. Mines, in the form of God on high,
 Mutter and humble low, And hither and thither fly;
 Mere puppets they, who come and go At bidding of vast formless things
 That shift the scenery to and fro Tapping from out their condor wings
 Invisible Woe.
 That motley drama-Oh be sure
 It shall not be forgot!
 With it's phantom chased forevermore By crowd that seize it not, Through circle that ever returneth in To the self-same spot; And much of Madness and more of Sin, And Horror the soul of the plot. But see amid the mimic rout A crawling shape intrude;
 A blood-red thing that writhes from out The scenic solitude! It writhes--it writhes!-with mortal pang The mines become it's food, And seraphs sob at vernin fangs In human gore imbrued. Out-out are the lights out all! And over each quivering form, The curtain, funeral pail. Come down with the rush of a storm While the angels, all pallid and wan, Uprising, unveiling, affirm That the play is the tragedy. Man." And it's hero. tke ConQueror Worm.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-21
FANCY PRICE FOR RAGTIME

source of your musical growth, for it poisons the taste of the young. You cans not poison the spring of art and hope for a fresh, clear stream to flow out and enrich life.''
 Interesting for their contrast as well as their optimism are the views of H. K. Moderwell who defends ragtime in the manner of one writing with authority in the New Republic:
 If any musician does not feel in his heart the rhythmic complexities of rag time I shall not trust him to feel the Thy ythmic complexities of Brahms. I cam not understand how a trained musician can overlook it's purely technical features of interest. It has carried the. complexi- ties of the rhythmic subdivision of the measure to a point never before reached in the history of music"
 Is it or is it not a credit to us to have carried the complexities of the rhythmic subdivision of the measure' to such per- harmonize views on so much in confiict3 win respect when it had won material prosperity. Perhaps it is the same with the music his race originated Of Lewis have been sold. Irving Berlin made s20.- Band" Spontaneity with so much appeal is not to be damned
 We are spending $5,000,000 a year ol ra gtime. When we are spending $l0, CO.,. eco, can even symphony conductees fail for the opinions of so much of the worldl q
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-21
From the Kansas City Star.


 THE Hon. Elijah Program, who at the
 time of Martin Chuzzlewit's visit to 4 America, was "a member of the Congress of our common country and al ways ac-Tive in his trust,' also was against preparedness He believed the JTnited States could lick all creation at minutes notice. He was the author of the Program Defiance That great ut terance delivered in the best style of American oratory and franked through the mails to his constituents was the one that rose so much contest and preJu- dice in Europe and made the name or Pogranl a household word at home
 While there is not now so much political capital to be got out of twisting the lion s tail as there was in the '40s, the race of Pograms is not by any means run out. There are still a few of them left in Con- gress and a good many in the country They are all patriots, of course. They are for the flag, sir, and the eagle of lib- erty. sir. and this is the greatest coun- try the sun ever shone upon, sir, and we are 10o,00O,OO free men who would rise as one against foreign foe, sir. Don't talk to the Hon. Program about the necessity of training American citizens to make soldiers of them. He knows better. That sort of thing may be necessary in down. trodden Europe, where they have no Po-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-21
sOTHERN AND HIS FATHER
From My Remembrances," by Edwar

From My Remembrances, by Edward H. Sothern, in the January Schribner. It is on the very first page of my re- membrance that I see myself held up in my nurses arms to look into pair of gray eyes which twinkle like the sun There is blaze of light and great many people about Some are in beautiful clothes and some are rough people in shirt
 sleeves l am on the stage of the Hay market theatre in London in 1862. The eyes that twinkle are those of my father He is made up for his part of Lord Dundreary," and is there before the be- ginning of the play to take final look at the scene, and my brother and sister and have been brought behind the footlights that he may say good night to ''the Blesseds."
 It was as a child of three years or SC that I began first to be aware of my father. My mother used to drive him frequently to the theatre from our house in Kensington Sometimes my brother Lytton and I would be taken with her recall well the refreshment bar in front of the house, with sponge cake under
 glass cases and all sorts of exciting things tied up in paper and gay ribbons. Held | in my nurses arms, I would help myself 1 to these delicacies aided and ahetted by the beautiful barmaid; later we would proceed through mysterious passages tt
 greet ''Lord Dundreary.''
 | I remember perfectly my curiosity al the long, black whiskers. Indeed. my
 recollection of my father begins with hi: countenance thus disguised Git is at {
 much later date that he dawns upon m' 1 in his proper person)-whiskers, eye-glass l black haii' parted in the middle, and witt one eyebrow curiously higher than th, 1 other.
 l When we were old enough to witness thu play, it was his great delight to introduc,
 remarks during the performance whicl alluded to us but which the audienc, would think part of the comedy. Espe cially would he mention our names as 's wonder what Eddy would say to that?'
 This invariably sent me down to the floor
 to hide in trepidation and strange glee and up again, half an inch at a time. t
 see if any one were looking at me
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-21
THE CHRISTMAS BOOKS

From the Boston Herald.
 That compilation of inane essays with elaborate illustrations bound up in padded leather which once did duty on the old fashioned center table as a gift book" is hopelessly out of date. The publish CTS are aware of the fact. They are ad- herring more and more strictly to the motto adopted some years ago by the standard houses of better books for more intelligent public" It is token of the times that people no longer buy merely showy volumes, often with shoddy contents and inflct them upon their friends as tokens of their regard.
 Never have there been, opportunities for wider range of choice in the giving of books than today. The classics may all be had in an almost endless variety of editions, some very cheap and some very expensive, and in the production of new books good taste rules more and more and they represent high average level of literary quality and permanent value. In no department is the change which has been wrought in the last score of years more conspicuous than in that of juveniles. Authors realize these days that it is vast mistake to undertake to write down" to the supposed level of the child's intelligence No story, or juvenile of any character is really good unless it is solid enough in matter, real enough in it's delineation of life, and ar tistic enough in it's style of presentation to be interesting also to the mature per- son. And if the child is called upon to gird up his mind trife in order to grapple with book, so much the better. As Gail Hamilton said of the Shorter Catechism, It's rather tough, but it s mighty good for the teeth' When in doubt about the Christmas present. give book" is excellent advice. But do not suppose that giving a book liberates you from all the labor of choosing. No other gift affords a greater opportunity for the expression of personality than does a book, be it large or small.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-21
Heard Debate in Senate

''rhe democrats in Congress have no apologies to make for the Underwood tariff bill," said M. T. Ormond of Tus- caloosa, circuit solicitor of the Sixth cir cult, who is just back from Washington. MT Ormond was registered at the Flor ence Sunday night, stopping over here on his way home.
 q was in the Senate gallery last week, v said he when the debate over the administration bill to renew the war rev enue taxes for another year was on, and I was highly gratified at the manner in which the democratic leaders disposed of their opponents.
 '"rhe old stock arguments of the re- publicans that democratic tariff bill causes hard times was knocked into a cooked hat by the senators on the demo- cratic side. While I did not reach the Senate until just after Senator Under wood had spoken, I was informed that he made a most masterly argument in favor of the bill and the administration policies and effectually downed Senator Penrose, who is recognized as the leader of the standpat republicans in the Senate. The press reports in the east were especially complimentary to the Alabama senator.
 Another leading democrat in the Sen ate who ably routed the republicans was Senator Gore, from Oklahoma. His ad- dress was a masterpiece and after he finished the republicans who had been criticizing the administration of the dem- ocrats were at a loss for something to say. In fact, it was generally agreed around the capitol that the democrats dis posed of the arguments which the repub- licans had prepared as the keynote for the coming campaign"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-21
CORN HARVESTING DAYS

From the Topeka Capital
 A crispy, cold early morning in Novem- Der. The stars are beginning to fade out of the Sky. Two horses attached to farm wagon, the box equipped with slde- boards and throw board headed, in the half darkness, in the direction of the field. Long rows of corn dried out by the heat of the sun and shredded by the wind standing spook-like on the horizon, each ear rimed with the hoar frost of autumn. A sleepy boy with tired joints descends from the wagon to the ground. His hands are sore and cracked in hun dred places. Where the skin has held to- gether it is almost worn through. Ills nails are broken and jagged, few or the wider and deeper cracks staunched with shoemalSers wax melted in before an open fire the night before.
 "He takes hold of the first ear re- luctantly, and his sore and stiffened fin gers almost refuse to do his bidding. The touch of the coarse, sharp edged husks sends cold shivers up and down his spine He notices, as he yanks the first ear from it's jacket, that he has left drop of blood on the husk. On the next husk there are two or three drops of blood. In ten minutes his tortured hands are numb and stiff with cold. But pres ertly he warns up and forgets his maimed hands in the thought that he must husk and crib his 50 or 60 bushels by night. The sun comes up and in an hour or two he is working more easily and with much greater speed. His hands have stopped bleeding, but for every ear he losses into the wagon box he pays toll in physical suffering.
 And that another: Dusk in the same field. He is finishing his second load. The end of the field is ten rods away. The corn is piling up against the throw" board. He husks the last ear in the row, and climbing upon the wagon drives to the crib half mile away. AS soon as he scoops the load into the crib, un- hitches waters, unharnesses and feeds his team, nilks the cows and feeds the hogs, he is through for the day, and goes gaily in to supper, conscious that he has nothing more to do until 4 o'clock the next morning.
 It's great life and most any humorist can get a lot of fun out of it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-21
WHERE PEACE WINS
he Youngstown Telegram.

TTUnl CIlC lUUIlSStOWIT IT ItI6sI dIII'
 According to the Ohio state industrial commission report peace is more profita- ble than war. Of 1S,OOO workmen who were granted wage increases last year, the re- port says. 15,000 earned the advance through sensible methods of conference, while 5000 won the higher rate of striking. Thus five men were benefited by adopt ing peaceful methods for each man bene- fited by resorting to compulsion This is a most desirable state of affairs, for strikes breed hatred and violence and leave a scar even when adjusted. And if workman and employer can reach set clement by arbitration why cannot na- tions? There's usually a great deal of right and a great deal of misunderstand- ing on both sides, whether in a labor dis pute or a war.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-21
The State Bond Issue Amendment

The proposed amendment to the constitution authorizing an issuance of 1,500,000 short time bonds should be ratified by an overwhelming ma iority at the election called for Jan uary IS.
 Governor Henderson's address to the people in which the states finan- cial condition is set forth has been published in pamphlet form and wide | ly distributed. It should be read by every voter, and as the reasons for {, the bond issue are clear and convinc- ing it is hard to understand how any citizen mindful of the welfare of Ala bama could vote in the negative. The states deficit on September 30 was $2,236, ,S87.34. With the bond issue of $1,500,000 there would still be a floating debt of between $700,- 900 and $SOO,O0O, but as Governor Henderson says this can be absorbed or liquidated out of the current reve- nues.
 Those persons who oppose the bond issue advance no argument that ap- peals to thoughtful men. Every recog- nized financier in Alabama has in dorsed the bond proposition, and prominent farmers and prominent business men are, as rule, strongly committed to this measure.
 Governor Henderson himself is a prudent and successful business man, and the qualified electors would be safe in following his lead in this matter. But they will be following also the lead of thousands of other good business men.
 "In the first place." says the gov ernor in his published appeal, q wish to impress upon you that the issu- ance of these bonds will not be the creation of new debt or obligation of the state. If it were so, would oppose it myself. But it is for the pur- pose of arranging present indebted ness, already contracted before the beginning of this administration, in such way and manner as to relieve the state from embarrassment in paying the expenses of the public schools, the old soldiers, the feeding of prisoners and the maintenance of the eleemosy- Inary and other institutions depend ent upon the state treasury for theil support This is in no sense partisan question, nor should the personal ele- Iment of any man in public life enter into it. It is debt which the state owes, and our good name as we'll as our financial standing requires us te meet it in the most business-like
 way"
 In governmental financing many complexities often have to be dealt with. But there are no complexities ir this case. Any man of ordinary intel Iligence can comprehend the situation and once giivng the subject his atten- ton he cannot fail to see that the best solution-and the only solution ap- proved by good business sense-is the
 bond issue.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-21
The Better-Farming Spirit

The discussions at the recent con ference of cotton state bankers held in New Orleans were at once earnest and animating and practical good is sure to result.
 The prime object of the conference was to stress the necessity of safe or better farming" in the south /; farming that would produce ample food supplies for the family table and for all the live stock; and as to cot ton, the warehousing of the staple at initial points and the gradual mar keting of the crop.
 Various interests, including educa- tional, mercantile, agricultural and journalistic, were represented at the meeting. The Arkansas Gazette of last week devotes nearly all of its editorial page to the work of the con ference and without reporting the routine proceedings presents in at tractive and informative style the gist of what Mir. Harding and other well known men who combine both an ex- pert knowledge of banking and a thorough knowledge of farm condi- tions had to say. It is very iilu- minating page and is being generously distributed by the bankers associa- tion as an educational factor in the "safe-farming" propaganda.
 This excerpt from the GazetteNgives
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-21
Wholesale Trade Active

''The wholesale grocery business has been active for several months past, and expect to see 8 continuance of brisk trade,'' said Lee Bivings.
 "The high price of cotton has caused great business revival in agricultural sections and the big pay rolls in the Birmingham district have made business hum here. The last half of this year will be remembered as d period of pros- perity, and it looks as if 1916 would be one of the best of years.''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-21
Entertaining the Passengers

Railroads certainly make every pro- vision for the comfort of passengers nowadays" saidNCrawford Johnson, pres- ident of the Chamber of Commerce.
 "Sometimes others do things that may detract from this comfort, in individual cases, however. For instance l came down from Chicago on the Illinois Gen. tral yesterday, and when I got into my Pullman I found a handbill printed in vivid red, which said, Just married! MT. and Mrs. L. c. Guernsey, occupying section 10, car 45, this train, will appreci- ate congratulations On the observation platform was a large placard reading These seats reserved for the newly weds
 "Now, while this information may have contributed to the amusement of general travellers, how would you have liked to be that bride and groom?"