davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-18

street car with seats running under them from one end of the car to the other and with double bench back to back running through the center of the car.
 l have spent much time in the third class cars. They are patronized almost exclusively by the Paraguayans, and as a rule the passengers are women rath CT than men. Nearly all the women are smoking. and l saw girls of from 6 10 16 with big cigars In their mouths. There are women smoking cigars at the stations, and cigar peddlers come to the windows and offer you punches of cigars at the rate of about 1 cent apiece. The tobacco smoke is often so thick in the cars you could cut it. ana the fair smokers would be very attrac- tive were 1t not for the big cigars in their mouths.
 Let me give you come of the pie lures I made from the car windows as I rode through the heart of this far away land. We shall start at Asun- cion, the capital of Paraguay. It is a city of 100000 people on the banks of the Paraguay river It is close to the river and a half hour or less takes us far into the country Here the scenes are much like those of the United States. Near the capital the country Is settled. There are grasslands with patches of woods scattered here and there through them. The cultivated fields are few. The country Is mostly made up of pastures upon which sheep and cattle are feeding.
 Here and there over the landscape you see the low one-storied houses of the rich farmers and the huts or shaclis of the poor. The larger houses al e painted red or white. Some have long verandas in front of them with cement columns upholding the roofs. Many have palm trees about them and now and then above the palms is seen the wheel of an American windmill flying around through the air The roofs are of red tiles which shine brightly under the sun. Sometimes one sees a roof of thatch which has velvety hue.
 In going onward you pass one or two cities. You ride through Paraguari and after some hours reach Villa Rica, 8 city of 30,00 or more. There are many villages. The little houses run along the sides of roads, which are unpaved and unsidewalked The soil of the roads Is red and they make strips ot brick dust running through the green fields Only the larger towns have buildings of cement or brick.
 The villages are largely of shacks roofed with thatch or red tiles. Some of the shacks are built like our log cabins, having a room at each end and an open space in the middle with a roof covering the whole. Often only one third of the house vii be closed in, the other two-thirds consisting only of roofs upheld by posts. The climate here is like that of southern Florida and no artificial heat is required
 As we ride through the country we see many huts that seem to have been
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-18

It must be noted however, that in all the cases quoted he has carried his point without any public opposition or without any wrangling in Parliament As mat ter of fact, he has only opened his mouth in the house once since the war began, and that was to pledge the whole re- sources of Ireland to the service of the empire and its cause. All that he has accomplished has been brought about by quiet and friendly negotiation, in which he was helped immensely, of course, by the knowledge, both by him and the other parties to the negotiations. that he had behind him the solid vote of the Irish party and also in case of need of very respectable muster of liberals and even tories who felt strongly on the curtailment of British liberties The only occasion on which a set speech has been made by one of the Irish lead CTS was few days ago wheil John Dill Ion warned the house of the danger of drifting into conscription in the middle of great war, and reminded 1t how splendidly the voluntary system has re- sponded to the country's needs
 <AphAS AoAA luo pdllldIneHldTy SlQe HeQ- mond has done splendid work for the empire. He has slenced the factionists and the little clique of pro-Germans in Ireland and his speeches in the country have been responsible for many thousands of recruits for the army, recruits of the stuff of which Sergeant Michael O'Leary the Irish Guards V. C., Is made. He is holding up the hands of the government in expressing the ridiculous anti-recruit. by the remnants of the physical force party in Ireland, and it was with his full approval that sheehy skeffington. a former M. F.. was prosecuted in Dublin the other day and sentenced to six months hard labor for making treason. able speeches. Moreover 1t Is just as vel to say that in this he has the suppor, of the whole party, and that is saying 6 great rdeal for men who have themselves suffered Imprisonment for 'disloyalty' il the past, and one at least of whom hal borne arms against the British govern ment.
 The net result of 1t all is that Johl Redmond has added to his reputation both in Ireland and in England as consummate statesman, and he has mad 1t even more certain than 1t was befor that the home rule act will go into op eration at the end of the war. He ha disarmed most of the remaining opposi ton in England by his manly work fo the empire and for his stand in defens of English and Irish liberties He is nov looked on in England. am told. mucl in the same light as the Prime MiniBte
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-18

a little is devoted to stock raising. I saw thousands of cattle and was told that if the grasses were improved the land might support three or four times what 1t does now. In my interview with the president his excellency said that Paraguay could feed 40 or 50 million head of stock. If the country back of the rail- road Is as good as that lying near it he Is probably right. In some places the grass is as high as your knees and in some as the cattle feed, they stand in grass to their bellies. Much of the herd ing is done by cowboys, or gauchos on stations. They all ride in their bare feet with great steel spurs strapped to the heels. The saddles are heavy, with sheep skins on top.
 I am frequently asked as to the cost of land in Paraguay. There Is plenty for sale, but it is increasing in value. Land in the territories of the Argentine adjoining Paraguay is now selling at s20.000 and upward per Argentine square league. or at about $3.50 per acre. There are good lands in Paraguay which sell as low as $1 an acre, and in the Chaco the prices are lower. The climate Of the country is delightful, and it seems to me a paradise of the future.
 As it is now the cattle in Paraguay are poor. They are of mongrel breed, that looks much like the long, horned stock we had in Texas 8 generation or so ago. The animals are undersized. They will not weigh within four or five dG nf ct tnnl of the Argentine. This condition will be rapidly changed. The government is encouraging the importation of blooded stock, and there is no reason why Short horns and Herefords may not be raised l understand that some of the bumped Indian cattle are being brought in. As to sheep I have seen none here worth the raising. The animals are weak looking. They are stunted and their wool is coarse.
 All of the stock of Paraguay feed out in the open, and much of it with out visible care. There are no barns nor sheds. There are no haystaclzs The grass is green all the year round. There is but little herding although on some of the farms I have seen the cowboys rounding up the cattle and branding them. The cattle are lassoed and thrown to the ground and the branding is done with red-hot irons. Upon rising, the animals are wild and revengeful. They will attack the cow boys if they can catch, them on foot.
 In riding over Paraguay you pass tens of thousands of ant hills. These are great round mounds which in some places rise to a height of from 15 to 20 feet They look like monuments scattered over the fields. In some places there are hundreds of them standing together, making you think they are some strange crop. The hills differ in size. Here they are not as big around as a sugar loaf there one Is as tall a haycock. and further on are some that make you think of a hay stack The hills are red or brown, ac- cording to the soil of which they are made. They are found not only in the pasture fields. but even in the cultivat- ed lands. Sometimes they are only a few feet apart, and sometimes h or 20 or more.
 These hills are made by the white
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-18

tyrant, Lopez. It was originally intended to run from the capital to Villa Rica. That city Is the second town of the coun- try and in the most thickly populated part of Paraguay. The distance to it from Asuncion Is about 100 miles. The road had been completed about half that far when the war with Brazil broke out. This stopped the construction, and 1t was not resumed until almost 90 years. The first road belonged to the government, but In 1887 this was sold on the condition that the purchaser should extend 1t. the gov ernment giving certain guarantees as to the income thereon. The new company built the road on to Villa Rica; and later 1t was extended as far south as Pirapo, about 75 miles from Encarnacion. rnere 1t stopepd until it was taken up by the present company and completed.
 The road is now to a certain extent an American system. It Is under the control of the Farquhar Syndicate. the manager of which is Percival Farquhar of York, Pa. and Wall street. New York. It is this syndicate which is making the ex- tension to the falls and the connection with the Brazilian railways, in which 1t has very large interests. The capital of the Paraguay Central, including stocks and bonds, is in the neighborhood of 15 million dollars. The road is already ship ping timber, tobacco and fruit to Buenos Aires, and of late it has begun to put or cattle trains. The passenger traffic is increasing, and eventually it will com mand most of the travel to and from Paraguay. As it is now, there are sleep ing and dining cars throughout the whole distance. The price of a ticket from Asuncion to Buenos Aires Is about S30 and the sleeping car arrangements cost about $7. The trains are electric lighted and the sleepers are good
 Most of the trains have second and third-class cars. Those of the first class are like ours, and the second
 about the same The third class coaches have windows like those of a
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-18

done over an open fire in shed and stoves are not common.
 The chief meals outside the cities or. breakfast at Il o'clock and dinner at clock' With cup of mate in the morning on rising. The food is chiefly pucnero, soup of boiled beef and vegetables, including mandioca, potato like root that is driea-end ground into flour The soup Is eaten first and the boiled beef and vegetables form the sec end course. Every one drinks and every one smokes. You are offered glass Of tfandy as soon as you enter a house and it is considered strange if you do frt accept cigar Nearly every village mas It's brandy distillery. and it Is esti- mated that the average Paraguayan drinks something like two gallons of that liquor.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-18

Ireland again was directly anected, for she is the principal breeding ground of race and cavalry horses, and the total prohibition of racing would have been severe blow to her farmers. Recognizing the difficulties of the situation Redmond proposed the compromise that was finally accepted despite much protest by the op- ponents of racing. This was that racing should be permitted in Ireland, where it is followed as a pure sport, and at one course in England. Newmarket, which Is sufficiently far from London to prevent the assemblage of the great crowds which have constituted such a scandal and which incidentally might have afforded fair mark for Zeppelins.
 Perhaps the biggest thing of all that John Redmond has done nas been the prevention of the introduction of con- scription in the continental form in the United Kingdom. There is no doubt, of course, that some form of compulsion will be introduced to deal with slack work men, but the voluntary system for the army will now be maintained at least un- til the war is over, and the country has tune to take stock of the situation in cold blood. Here again Ireland would have been particularly hit by conscription. It has been said that recruiting in Ireland has not been good, but that is islander. Considering Irish conditions 1t has been as good and in many districts better than in England, though perhaps not quite so good as in Scotland Recruiting Tn the Irish towns has been quite up to the English standard but in the country it has been lower for the reason that most of the Irish farmers are peasant pro- prietors who cannot leave their hold ings as easily as a hired laborer or town workman can throw up his job to take the Kings shilling. It is just men of this class who would have. been hit hard. and in thousands of cases ruined, by the sudden introduction OF compul- sory military service and in saving them John Redmond has also saved thousands of men in a similar position in England. who are duly grateful to him. He has also earned the gratitude of these hun dreds of thousands of Englishmen who hate the idea of compulsion for national service and believe that the country can get all the willing men 1t needs.
 One other example may be quoted of Redmond's power. That is1 his kill ing of the disgraceful Campbell Job
 by, which. when the coalition govern ment was formed it was prposed to make James Campbell. K. C., an Ulster politician, lord chancellor of Ireland. This involved the enforced retirement on pension for life of $20.000 year. of the present Lord Chancellor Igna- titus O'Brien. The scandal is all the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-18
Test Blood Up 5000 Feet
the New York World

From the New York World.
 Three thousand feet above the earth. travelling at 60 to 80 miles an hour. Mrs. J. Hungerford Millbank will go through the unique experience of having her blood pressure tested.
 Mrs- Millbank. whose home is in Free port l.. l.. Is a member of the Colum- bians. an international order of military women." of which her husband is com manding officer. Dr. Prendergast of Phil- adelphia will make the flight with her in an aeroplane He will test her blood pressure at 1000. POGO and 5000 feet alti- tudes. she said yesterday. The Colum- bians believe the data thus gained will be of scientific value.
 The Columbians' motto is: ITO gain from military training and activity that clearness of mental vision, balance of forces, training of faculties and mastery of the emotions which have been the foundation of mans success: without which woman wastes her strength and Is marked inefficient"
 The night was scheduled for yesterday, but m accident to tho aeroplane forced . pootponomont.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-18

ants. Each hill is an ant village, a sort of a catacomb populated by thousands of these insects. There are as many working ants below the surface as above it, and one of the serious prob lems of the farmer is to get rid of the ants The only way to do this is to dig out the hills and burn them. This must te done before the ground can be plowed.
 These ants are to be found in the villages. They make their way up through the brick floors, and start their little hills there A housewife may go to bed at night with her floor as clean as . Dutch kitchen and awake the next morning to find it covered with great cones of sand in which there are thousands of ants. The ants eat wood, and they honeycomb the rafters ahd posts of the buildings and also the fur niture. They will eat the inside out Of the chair legs, leaving thin skin of wood covered with varnish. You sit Gown unsuspecting, and 10! the chair goes to the floor.
 I like the Paraguay people. They are polite and you are hospitably treated wherever you travel throughout the coun- try. You find that the clothes of the poor are exceedingly scanty. All the W omen go bare-footed and all go bare headed. The babies go naked, and you may see boys and girls of F or 13 who have on no clothes to speak of. The woman's ordinary costume is a skirt and jacket or low-cut chemise which reaches from the neck to the feet. Most of the women wear shawls that look like sheets and. indeed, some are used for this pur- pose at night. so that a woman takes part of her clothes from her bed when she goes out to walk.
 The people have but few wants. The country is warm, and fruit is plentiful. The huts you see out in the country have but little furniture. A hammock or so or one or two cot beds, made of canvas and stretchers, table and a couple of chairs form a good house. keeping outfit. The cooking is often
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-18
IRISH LEADER AS DICTATOR OF BRITAIN

greater as Campbell's only claim to the appointment was that he was bitter Ulster partisan, who had been useful to Sir Edward Carson. the attorney general in the new British cabinet It was also distinctly bad appointment because 1t placed all the immense Irish legal patronage. including the appoint ment of judges, in the hands of a bit ter partisan who was opposed to the aspirations of four-fifths of the Irish people
 I have no hesitation in saying that in defeating this job. Redmond nearly brought down the new coalition cabi- net but he persevered and he sue ceeded. and be again I believe 1t was who suggested the compromise which saved the cabinet. When 1t became known that the Irish party would not have Campbell's appointment, Asquith the prime minister. was quite ready to withdraw 1t, but CampbelPs packers would not consent. They were, of course, Sir Edward Carson and Sir E. office in the new government. They held Asquith to his promise to ap- point Campbell and threatened to re- sign if 1t were not carried out Asquith in his turn. declared that he would keep his word, but that he would re- sign if he had to do so. The compro- mise finally arrived at after several days of very anxious negotiations was that place of equal financial import ance should be found for Campbell ir England. and with this the Ulster pol iticians had to be satisfied.
 Perhaps the wisdom of John Red. mond's decision not to enter the coali. tion cabinet will not be appreciated He has been able to do all these things simply because he was independent Had he been in the cabinet, he would have been committed to everything approved by the majority of his col. leagues, and his only course woult have been to approve or resign. He 1. now in the position of watchful-ant entirely friendly-leader of the opposi tion and indeed his party is the only Independent opposition in Parliamen today. He does not. however. accep the maxim laid down some years agt by MT. Balfour-once leader of the op position and now first lord of the ad miralty in the coalition-that the dut, of an opposition is to oppose. Red mond's principle is that 1t Is his dut, to help when he believes that the gov ernment is doing the right thing. t say nothing when he thinks that wha 1t is doing is at least not dangeroul or injurious to the country. and to op pose with all his might whom he l, convinced that 1t Is wrong.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-18

and repeat them on the first suitable occasion.
 Again, children are not quick to dis the other kind. You may think that if you tell story in cooks vernacular to your friends when the children are present that they will properly be deaf to your conversation, or at least that they will realize that you are only im- itating cook; but the question Is, "Wlll they?" It is not probable to say the least of it. and the experiment had bet ter not be tried.
 There is nothing that so arrests the attention of the student of child nature as the child's inherent love of imita- ton. It Is tho starting point for most things, and if we once grasp the extent of the child's ability to copy we shall be careful not only of the words we utter but also of the actions we per form-almost. one might add, of the thoughts that we permit to enter our minds.
 Are children thought readers7 Per- baps some may object that they are not, but on the other hand there are many signs that would lead an observ- ant person to decide that a child of average intelligence can certainly read what is> passing in the mind of person whom he knows fairly we'll For one thing, the child is naturally observant, hence his ability to copy Our smallest actions are noticed by our children, and though we often think that the little ones wont notice." we find that wo ere mistaken.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-18
How It Happened
From the Dallas News.

From the Dallas News.
 Robert Rudd Whiting in -Four Hundred Good Stories" seems to think that the following story shows that colored people have tough heads.
 Dinah, crying bitterly, was coming down the street with her feet bandaged.
 Why, what on earth is the matter? How did you hurt your feet Dinah?"
 Dat good fer muffin nigger (sniffle) done hit me on de haid wifi club while I was stand'n' on de hand stone pave ment."
 Impetus to American Willow From the New York World.
 Washington.-The European war has given a great impetus to willow tree cul- ture in the United States. Two million willow cuttings have been distributed free by the forest service to state experiment stations forest schools and individual growers to meet the demand.
 Because the European supply of will low rods has been largely cut off several American manufacturers of willow furni- ture and baskets have asked the depart ment of agriculture for the addresses of persons in this country who have taken up willow growing" says a forest service specialist. ''The usual imports of willows come chiefly from England. Belgium, Hol- land. France and Germany, but these sources have been practically closed for several months.
 "One manufacturer reports that Jap anese osiers are taking the market for merly supplied by Germany at a slightly higher price. Finished willow baskets from Japan have come in where split bamboo was the only Japanese basket ware on sale before the war. As con- sequence of the shortage of imported osiers, it is said the price of American willows has increased. and growers here are meeting with a heavy demand for their product.
 'The value of willow culture as a prof itab,e means of utilizing overflow lands not suitable for other crops has been demonstrated The department of agri- culture maintains small willow holt on the government farm at Arlington Va, for further tests and for the free. distribution. A bulletin on basket willow culture, recently published by the de- partment, discusses the varieties and the methods which have proved satisfactory in this country"