davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03

His brother was sent for, and at first did not recognize the ragged, dirty, haggard man whom he had not seen for so many years. Then the other side of the pitiful story was learned.
 Jim Cunningham's brother, who was postmaster at the time of the theft, had discovered the shortage in cash, and in the light of the disap- pearance of Jim, had understood what it meant. He replaced the $500 out of his own money and told no one of the incident. Jim Cunningham's aged parents had grieved over the ab- sence of their boy, but they had been spared the knowledge of his crime.
 "You could have come back after the first week." the brother said. Now, you can stay here with me. We'll get job for you in Alexandria and you can start all over again."
 This man traded nineteen years of his life for such enjoyment as one month of riotous living can afford, and he will continue to pay, in les ser degree, so long as he lives. No man can sink himself to the depths, can skulk in the slums for that length of time, and not bear the scars for life. Never will he be able to attain to the heights to which he might have aspired had he kept to the path of rectitude.
 Of course, had he known it, his hiding was unnecessary, but even so, the fact is evident that man cannot break the civil and moral law without paying. Conscience, if nothing else, will sit in grim judgment.
 There is only one way in which lies happiness, and that is the way of hon. orable dealing-the way of right liv- ing.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03

Paul Proctor in Leslie's.
 As against 80 factories which in time of peace produced the cannon and the muni-
 tons for the French army. over 2O00 in
 dustrial establishments, constituting two-
 thirds of the available factory resources
 of the country, are now in operation.
 The civilian workers in these factories
 number 15,0O0 women and 175,000 men. In
 addition 5000 skilled artisans and engi-
 neers have already been recalled from the army. At the time of writing, then,
 comparison shows that France has in-
 creased her industrial munitions army
 something like tenfold since August 1, 1914 It should not be forgotten that she has done this in spite of war, invasion, and the loss of over 80 per cent of her peace time metallurgic assets. Yet she proposes to do even more. She intends to put into operation another 1000 factories and she will not be content until the 3O0t factories she will then possess shall be
 working day and nlght with total com plement of 30O.OO0 reasonably sl<illful mer and women.
 The next time France starts northward her cannon will not go hungry as they did at the battle of the Marne. FoI Frances industrial army is mobilized anC mobilizing. and the French tricolor today floats as proudly over the factories o1 I the republic as 1t does in the forefron, | of her battle array!
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03
LAID UP
.ba poston Advertiser.

From the Boston Advertiser.
 Three fine battleships of the new navy, the Wisconsin. the Ohio and the Missouri, are to be laid up idle, for the present at least. This is not because there IS no need to train their complement or men, but merely because there are not enough men to man the ships. Trained men are needed on our naval vessels. if they. are to be used with safety to the vessels; and there are not enough trained men in the navy today to keep the ships af1oat. The instance is common enough. It is happening from time to time right along. It is only another example of the fact that in any time of sudden emer- gency our navy, which is very impressive -on paper-would not be ready for the work which would be demanded of 1t. We have big guns, with hardly enough ann munition to keep them going for more than few days; big ships, with no men to man them; standing army, which cannot keep the Mexican raiders out of Texas. We also have ideas about wonder full torpedoes and airships that have not yet been invented and which some ex- perts say never will be invented. Still, the statesmen at Washington are inclined to believe that we have everything neces- sary to protect us from invasion-if the invading force will only be courteous enough to delay it's plans five or 10 years, to allow us to get ready.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03
Lives Saved by Wireless

The greatest achievement of wire less telegraphy is in saving lives at sea. Although it's commercial advant- ages, and the uses made of it in war, are far-reaching, these lack popular appeal to the imagination made by the fact that, no matter where vessel may be in the ocean, if overtaken by disaster, short of sinking in a few minutes, which rarely happens, radio calls for help bring rescue in few hours. Unless ship is torpedoed or sunk as the Titanic was by an iceberg, a traveller on the sea is as safe as he would be at home in his own bed.
 During the fiscal year of 1915, twenty-six cases of vessels leaving United States ports which met with disaster, requiring the use of wire- less telegraphy to summon help, were reported by the inspectors of the radio bureau at Washington. Four caught fire, twelve ran ashore, stranded or got into an ice jam; three suffered broken machinery, four collided with other ships, one was torpedoed, one became waterlogged after having been in a storm and one was disabled by it's cargo shifting. Leaving out the Lusitania, which was torpedoed, these accidents at sea resulted in the loss of only two lives, as the result of prompt assistance brought by the wireless s o S. How many lives would have been lost had these vessels ; had no wireless equipment can only be conjectured, but it would have been heavy
 Since the end of the fiscal year the Fabre liner Sant' Anna, bound from New York to Naples, with 1700 persons on board, caught fire in mid-ocean. All the passengers and the crew were saved, as newspaper readers will re- member. September 21 the Greek liner Athinai, bound from New York to Piraeus and Saloniki, with 47C passengers and crew, caught fire 65O miles east of Sandy Hook. The An chor liner Tuscania responded to the s O s call and took off 341 persons in lifeboats. The remainder were brought to New York on a freighter | No wonder the timorous voyager is reassured when he hears the snapping of the wireless apparatus above his head, as his ship steams away from port: All's well.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03
Fleeing From a Shadow

ASSAAS lOih q ohdNON
 ''The wicked flee when 10 man pur- sueth." Prov. 2S:1.
 What are nineteen years of mans life worth to him? Who would sell nearly score of years out of the prime of his life for the paltry sum of $500? Jim Cunningham of Alex andria, Ind, did this very thing.
 On Christmas eve, 1896, Cunning ham stole $500 from the postoffice in Alexandria and disappeared. He went to nearby city and spent the money in one month of riotous living. Then came remorse.
 Cunningham dared not communicate with his people-he feared constantly that he would be apprehended for his theft. He viewed all men with sus- picion. He hid himself in the slums sof a city. Soon he would become con vinced that detectives were on his trail, and in . panic of fear he would hasten to another big city, to mingle .with the dregs of society and hide again. Time and again was this re. peated. For nineteen long, weary years he was an outcast. Then he de cided to return to Alexandria and give himself up.
 This he did, only to find that there was no<charge against him-the of <icers had never heard of his crime
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03
MOBILE AND BIRMINGHAM

From the Mobile Item.
 Having come all the way to Mobile to visit the Gulf Coast fair and later spend few days in South Mobile county fishing and enjoying the balmy climate. former United States Senator Frank s. White, accompanied by Mrs.. White, ar rived in Mobile yesterday Senator White, as spokesman for the party, had nothing but praise for the splendid agricultural and horticultural exhibits displayed and his praise of the live stock was at least encouraging.
 But Senator White spoke last night before the Rotary club. Being a member of the Birmingham organization, his theme in the main, was the closer rela- tionship between the two cities. What the opening of the Warrior, he said. has already done, is merely a starter. The linking of the two cities was almost com pleted when Lock No. F was thrown open and the mighty rush of waters made it possible for packets to enter the very heart of the mineral fields. It brought the iron and steel mills and furnaces Mobile, he said. | when the JaChSOu dcllOTldl AuSuWdy is completed down from the Tennessee valley through the mineral district, and
 on to staid and dignified Montgomery, through Selma. which furnished states
 men, and Thomasville. and on to grand old Mobile the seaport of Alabama, said
 the statesman. the link that was missing
 will have been supplied. He predicted that the highway would come through Alabama because of the natural advan- 1 tages. Mir. White was in happy vein and
 predicted much for Mobile. His last word
 to the Rotarians was that they should
 have their congressman see to it that
 the river and harbor get more water, | in an aside saying some Mobilians how
 ever, were complaining of too much now.
 Out of politics. he said. the former sena- 1 tor felt 1t his duty to speak his feelings and these were always for the advance ment of Mobile and all Alabama.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03
ACID TEST APPLIED

From the Washington Star.
 When General Miles was at the head of the army he used to be continually be- sieged by cranks with pneumatic firing guns, dirigible war balloons and other martial inventions. But the general would weed these cranks out with admirable speed. An inventor in his office one day tells of curious incident in this rela- tion
 A card was brought in and laid before tho general
 "Oh send him in, said Miles His busi ness won't take more than a minute or two."
 So in came a wild-eyed, long, haired man twisting his soft hat nervously in both hands.
 General" he said. T have here"- and he took out small parcel-"a bullet proof army coat. If the government would adopt this-''
 Put it on; put it on!'' said General Miles. And he rang the bell. The clerk appeared as the inventor was getting into the coat. Jones'" said the general. tell the cap tain of the guard to order one of his men to load his rifle. with ball and cartridge, and--' Excuse me. general, I forgot someth- ing" interrupted the inventor. And with hunted look he disappeared.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03
Railroad Earnings

Recalling the recent depression, who would have thought that any railroad would have been able to report new high record in earnings in this year of 1915? yet the Pennsylvania s earnings in September were greater by several mill lion dollars than was ever the case in any previous September since that great line began to operate" said J. S. Latham of Pittsburg.
 Ut was explained that the excessive traffic was due to the shipment of mu- nitions which Pennsylvania mills are turning out in huge volume. But it is known that traffic on the Pennsylvania, outside of the war orders. is now nor nal. Business recovery has been more rapid than, the most optimistic of us had hoped for. Prosperity is certainly widespread."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03
SPIDERS WORK FOR A LIVING

such a degree that the web would be useless. Human hair has been tried, but when magnifed it has the apparent dimensions of rough-hewn lamp-post. Moreover, human hair is transparent, ana cross hairs must be opaque.
 A spider lat york; dangles in the air by it's invisible thread. the upper end being attached to a metal wire frame whirled in the hands of girl The girl first places the spider on her hand until the protruding end of the thread has be- come attached. When the spider attempts to leap to the ground. this end Is quick ly attached to the center of the whirling frame, and as the spider pays out thread from its pouch, this line is wrapped around the frame. Several hundred feet of thread can be recoved from a spider at one time. It is difficult to estimate just how many thousand yards of web are used by this company in a year. They produce thousands of surveying lnstru- ments yearly, and between six inches and one foot of slider web go into each.
 Tho spiders are kept in a large room, under the supervision of three girls and forewoman. When not spinning, the little worlxmen are placed in large wooden cage Flies are the chief article of diet.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03
FEW DUM-DUM BULLETS USED

According to a writer in the Novem- Der Popular Science Monthly and Worlds Advance most of the reports concerning the use of dum-dum bullets in the world war have been unau- thentic He says: Tt Is now thought the the charges on each side that dum- dunn bullets were being used were caused by the peculiar effect of what has come to be known as 'ricochet' bullet This Is a bullet which has struck a very hard substance with such force that 1t burst its jacket and then re- bounded and hit . soldier The x-ray has revealed many such sricochet' bull lets They make . large wound, much lacerated and bruised
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03
The sewanee Victories

'It has been recently repeatedly pub lshed," said Paul Jones, a local attorney, who formerly played football at the Uni- versity of Alabama, that Sewanee, prior to this year, had defeated Alabama in football for IS consecutive seasons.
 q have looked up the records, and with the assistance of Dr. George H. Denny, president of the university, have found it to be true that in the last IS years Ala bama has met Sewanee only il times, and that of those Il games. Sewanee won only eight. importance, but there is no reason why we should not keep the records straight" !"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03
YAMMERING PROFESSORS

From the New York Sun.
 It is time for some of the professors to begin to see themselves as others see them. The profession of the professor Is naturally respectable, but a few of those who pursue 1t seem resolved to drag its fine ideals in the dirt. Pro- fessors have been laughed at. but tears fit the case better.
 A legislative Investigating committee, earnestly engaged in research. unearthed a Malthusian professor of economies, and was surprisingly surprised. The profess sor said. on income tax: Don't exempt the married man; penalize him. Earth is ovcrcrowded hence the war; the profess sor has three children. good for him! We try to control the increase of cats and dogs, but not of the lord of creation, Keep down the riffraff; regulate lem. Be- fore a man raises family let him prove to someone. convince some au- thority," that he can provide for it. Tommyrot. Twaddle. Education? There should be organized Protective Society for the Suppression of Professors of Nonsense.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03
HOTEL LOBRIES
Two nIore Rnrhrr.

The father of Arlie Barber. commissions CT, has not forgotten the unkind treat ment accorded his son during the recent campaign by one newspaper Yesterday he referred to one of the bitterest of the many bitter editorials.
 "In that editorial.'' he said, ''the ques- tion was asked, Shall we have two more Barbers?'
 Now, I thought then and think now that we will have two more Barbers if the people want them. I have two other sons. you know. and they would make faithful public officials.
 MT Barber declared the day on which his son took the oath of office to be the happiest of his life. He promises to be a frequent city hall visitor.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03

more effectively by one; in many of the colleges there is a most unbecom-
 ing craze for numbers, which has produced a weakening of the stand ards which should be required of cam didates for admission to these insti- tutions. These unfortunate and
 wasteful conditions cannot be cor rected by any scheme of quick re- adjustment, but the time is certainly at hand when we should begin to change some of the most glaring mis- takes in the methods. It is not pos sible to wipe out of existence the scores of unnecessary schools and col- leges, but if the public were more completely informed as to what the different institutions are accomplish ing, what their standards of schol- arship and what their real aims are, some of the abuses which are most deplorable would disappear.
 The pressing need is for g. strong centralized authority which will have the power to create adequate stand ards for testing the work of the va rious educational institutions; will have the authority to examine these schools and colleges and to make known to the public, without any reservation, just what they are &C., complaining. The greatest possible publicity, and some more tangible methods of estimating what is good and what is bad, would benefit every department of education. In whose hands should this authority be placed is a question that could be decided without great difficulty. It would be the obvious thing to expand the present bureau of education into an
 institution whose commands would have to be obeyed and whose judg- ments would be accepted as final.
 But it would be better still, Dr. Baker suggests, if the government had 3 secretary of education with the power of enforcing definite stand ards. If the National Education asso- ciation were to take up this matter and urge it upon Congress it would not be long before the pedagogic ac- tivities of the United States would be in direct touch with member of the cabinet. The effort to attain that end would at any rate be worth mak-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03
REALIZATION OF THE TIN GAN from. the Chicago Herald.

From the Chicago Herald.
 Humorous members of the Western
 Gamers association, now in conven-
 tion here. are suggesting that in token
 of Chicago's central importance in
 the industry they represent the scity,r
 motto might be changed from "I WHIP
 to T Can" These gentlemen are en-
 titled to their joke, even though 1t Eignores the fact that their suggested
 substitute Is less comprehensive. since resolution to do 1t somehow Is broader
 than mere assertion of ability. | However, the Incident calls attention Ito what may be termed the exalta- tion of the tin can during. say, the last two decades, or since the war with EEpain. Who has heard lately of any thing like "canned beef' scandal. and how seldom is "canned stuff" now used as a term of food condemnation re- quiring not even explanation
 There has been a vast improvement in canned goods, due party to the pres- sure of such enactments as the s'pure flood and drugs act" with the ''mis- Ebranding section" but mainly to an aouter perception on the part of can Iners that buyers who come back are more profitable than irregular sales. Tout of this perception have grown vast and effective advertising campaigns lfor standard goods" with, goods be- hind them that measured up to the standard set, and for 'known brands'' (which continuous use confirmed Tn ia lvorable opinion.
 Nor are the canners content with
 thss6 &rhtsxementk At their pseaent
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03
RAvAGEs OF WAR IN POLAND

John Reed in the November Metropoli-
 tan.
 Now we were entering a new land. Though the peasants still dressed in white linen, their head-dress changed; some wore tall round caps of black fur, others high, be11-crowned hats such as Welsh women used to wear. The Slavonic crosses gave way to tall Cath ollie crucifixes, decked with all the in- struments of the Passion-the spear. the sponge, the gloves, the hammer. We met people who spoke no Rouman- ian-Polish began to replace it. Oranges where whole patriarcha1 families had lived stood along the road-immense houses containing living rooms, stables, barns, all under one roof, with a road running through the middle of the building from front to back It was a blasted country, scared with battle and with the triple passing of two great armies. The trampled grain was sickly yellow in the fields; whole villages in ruins gaped empty except for the sol dters of Russian detachment guar tered in the houses; few men were to po 5teL cNCepb tic dSeu anu CilPPiSN
 only women and children with furtive eyes and faces sunken with misery. In the fields among the growing crops old trenches crumbled in, and rusty barb edwire entanglements struggled through the wheat everywhere. For miles along the left side of the road gigantic new trenches and artillery po- sitions were building in frantic haste. Thousands of soldiers swarmed over the landscape, the afternoon sun flash ing on their lifted spades. Wagons loaded with tools and barbedwire 1m- peded the road. Near Zastevna we saw peasant women and children digging under the superintendence of noncom- missioned officers, long file of them carrying out the dirt in head-baskets. Why this feverish activity here, 70 miles behind the positions occupied by the Russians only g. month before?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03
WORTH WHILE.

A CCORDING to the November Pop
 "A ular Science Monthly and Worlds q \ Advance, there is colony of 200 spiders in Hoboken, N. J., which start work and stop work when the whisrfe blows. They are probably the most indis- pensable workmen in one of the largest surveying instrument factories in tnfs country It is their duty to spin the dil- icate threads which is used for the cross hairs to mark the exact center of the object lens in the surveyors telescope.
 The spiders produce only during Au- gust and September. In that time they spin thousands of yards of web which is wound upon metal frames, and stored away until needed. A few weeks ago the entire colony, for no apparent reason. went on strike. Everybody was worried
 until the "forewoman' of the spiders, after patient coaxing, finally induced them to begin spinning again.
 Spider web is the only suitable ma terial yet discovered for the cross hairs of surveying instruments. Almost invis- ible as this fiber is to the naked eye, it Is brought up in the powerful lenses of the telescope to the size of a mans thumb, so that all defects, if there hap pened to be any, would be magnifed vo
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03

convention they are planning flank as we'll as frontal attack on the high cost of living, by saving of can nery waste b, it's conversion into cat tie feed. and ss into roasts. steaks and chops.
 These is asforsotten romance writ ten some 40 yeArs ago in which the principal characters live for about IS years out of tin cans. It made its way in its day by other merits than those of prophecy. Yet the achieve ments of the canner 1t assumed are entirely possible today. And in tho of civilization is marked by the til can.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03
s4MY AIN WIFE.

By Alexander L.aing 17S7-185D. wadna gie my ain wife
 For ony wife see; I wadna gle my ain wife ] For ony wife see: A bonnier yet I've never seen,
 A better canna be- wadna gi'e my ain wife For ony wife seel O couthie is my ingla-cheek
 An cheerie is my Jean; never sec her angry look, z
 Nor hear her word on ane. She's gude wi a the neebors roun'
 An aye Gude wi me- 5 wadna gre my ain wife
 For ony wife see. An Q her looks sac kindlie,
 They melt my heart outright, When o,er the baby at her breAst <
 She hangs wi fond delight: She loek1 iAtill stts bonnie faca <
 An Syneslo0lxs to me- < wadna gi'e my ain wifo
 For Qpx SyifesT le1 < 2. .s .s.. ..sS
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03

Warfare at night looks like a gigantic fireworks display, says a correspondent But the old-fashioned cannon cracker and rocket are absurdly cheap, compared to the kind of fireworks favored by Mars.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03

A handsome lodger was thrown out of a Newark rooming house because the land lady's husband became jealous. Still, we think the husband knew, what he was about.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03
HONESTY SOMETIMES PAYS

From the Pittsburg Sun.
 girl starving and alone found dia- mond bracelet worth $4ooo and took it to q police station. Now she has a (ob, 2 nice little wad of money and is happy. Hon. esty is not so dreadfully rare, even in New York or Chicago or Napoleon. Q.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-03

It is announced that a singer whose voice is ruined has gone into the silent drama" Her latest picture indicates that she still retains her shape.