davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-05
CONFERENCE TODAY
 BETWEEN DIPLOMATS
Secretary Lansing Will Make Proposals to Six Latin-American Diplomats on the Mexican Civil War-AlsO Confers With
 Paul Fuller

Washington, August 4.--PInns for department on the Mexican prob lem were completed today after Secretary Lansing had tnIked to Press ident Wilson nj Cornish, N. IT,, over the telephone. Proposals to be made to the six Latin-American diplomats whose governments have authorized them to co-opera with the United states to end Mexico's civiI wnr were discussed, hut Secretary Lansing maintained silence as to the programme.
 MT. Lansing conferred with Paul Full Ter, of the Presidents confidential ad- visers on Mexican affairs. who will par ticipate in the conference Mir. Fuller recently talked personally with all of the faction leaders in Mexico.
 Unusual activity in the war and navy departments was evident today and an order from General Scott, chief of staff, directing a battery of the fifth field ar tillery to proceed from Fort Sill, Okla. to El Paso, Tex, aroused considerable surprise At the war department is was said the artillery was ordered at the re- quest of the state department. Officials there said the action was prompted by q desire to have the Mexican border well guarded in view of recent uprisngs.
 The ordering of fresh troops to the border generally was regarded as part of the administrations dstermin6 ton to
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-05

Paris. August 4-(9s4O D. m.)-An explanation of why so little progress is being made i'm the French and Hell gian war zones, so far as actual ground gaining Is concerned. Is af- fordIed In n statement from unques- IitionabIe authority in which the almost insurmo ountabIe difficulties of the pres ent struggle are set forth.
 During the last six months. says this authority, from the North sea to the Swiss mountains there has been veritable siege warfare along the length of the broken line of trenches. In this warfare all strategic maneuvers are absent be- cause maneuvers are impossible on ground where every square meter is marked and swept by artillery fire. The only alter native is a frontal attack. Such an at another against the formidable organza- tions of defense, in which all the re- sources of art and science have been em- ployed by the two adversaries.
 "In concrete subterranean works, ar- n,ored and casemated, flenkeo with rapid . firers and mortars and linked to one an- Pother by narvelously concealed communi- eating trenches. which are protected by the fire of heavy batteries dwell the in- fantry, abundantiy provided with rifles . and hand grenades. To take possession |>of one of these works, 1t Is first neces- isary to disnautls these trenches and de-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-05

De prepared for any eNeutuaiity ln irs determination to restore order. El Paso, 1t was asserted, had been without a bat tery of artillery for several months. and it was deemed wise to strengthen the forces.
 Although administration officials have given no hint of what is to follow tho conference, the army and navy have been preparing Tor any service they may be called on to render.
 The first step to be proposed tomorrow will be the issuance of d final appeal to Mexican leaders to join in peace con ference That the general plan includes scheme for selection of President for Mexico entitled to office by constI- tutional succession has ben suggested. Nasduez Tagle, minister of justice in Nadercs cabinet, Is the man most ire quently mentioned General Carranza. however, opposes Taylc, and it IS feared might decline to enter in to a conference that contemplated hls elevation to the presidency.
 Carranza's advisers here assert they have strong grounds for believing ths eide on recognition of the carranza gov- ernment
 Immediate action to relieve distress in Mexico City appears to be generally ac- cepted as one certain result of the Pres- ident's plans.
 Eighteen or twenty carloads of food for the city are held up at Orizaba. accord- ing to official dispatches. General Car ranza insists that this food soon wilt enter and that preference is to be given provision trains over all other traffic The telegraph line was reopened today and direct reports came from Mexico City.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-05
REVIEW OF BATTLES
 ON WESTERN FRONT
French Army Has Been Continuously Hammering at German Trenches Since the Battle of the Marne-DemOralizatio of German
 Army is Real Goal

stroy the material which they shelter, This is the artillery's task.
 ArtilIery's Task
 No one before the war could have imagined the vast amount of shells re- ouired. Several thousand shells fired dur ing a few hours on restricted space an- nounce an attack for which this prepara- tion is being made.
 "But no matter how numerous the heavy guns or how well directed their fire it often happens that the prepara- tion has been insufficient. One or two rapid flrers mow down the troops who climb from the trenches ready for the charge and after suffering heavy sac I .fices the attacking party arrive at the first line of the trenches of the enemy. The opposing artillery, with literal wall of fire effectively prevents any reinforce ments from advancing to their support,
 "They must fortify the captured trenches, being subjected the whole to much more accurate bombardment. as the enemy knows the exact range of their former positions.
 ..Such offensive movements could not be multiplied nor prolonged indefinitely as much on account of the moral and phy- sical effort which they demand of the n.en as on account of the losses which they involve. Neither can such ofensives be improvised. Before beginning an at- tack large quantities of material and projectiles much be gathered In one place previously appointed by the commander, advanced Qualifications dug and the ground minutely studied.
 .1f, despite these difficulties. the French army renews an offensive at the
 (Centinued on Page Twelval
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-05
By HIGH w. ROBERTS

Montgomery, August 4--(Special) )-Of it's gross receipts from business done in Birmingham, the city government may collect of a public utility corporation ? per cent per annum.
 This was the result of compromise effected in the house this afternoon. The license bill of the recess committee on 5firance and taxation provided that a mu- nicipality could collect only 1 per centum, and that that amount would be subject to division by every municipality served by the corporation.
 If Birmingham gains by the compro- mise, credit is due Representative Sha- Apiro. For he alone of the Jefferson coun- ty delegation raised his voice in vigorous protest against the plan of the commit tee And 1t is certain that had he re- mained as .sileric as other members, Bir- mingham Would have been denied the right to reap the partial harvest which as a result of the compromise it will reap.
 Tries to Repeal 36-F
 In the beginning of the fight, MT. Sha- pro OHereQ an aineuuIneHl lO lIe ue- bated section of the license bill which would have stricken from the code of 1911 the notorious 3s-F section, and re- stored the condition existing prior to the enactment of that section. In other words, MT. Shapiro was contending for the right of municipalities to assess with out restriction municipal licenses against corporations Tn this respect he was un successful although tonight he states that before the consideration of the bill is completed, he will. for reasons of safety, endeavor to destroy 36-F despite the fact that it is not incorporated in the new revenue or license bills.
 Davis Offers Per Cent
 No sooner had Mir Shapiro launched his fight against 36-F than MT. Davis of Walker offered as an amendment that '1 percentum'' be stricken from the section, and percentum substituted.
 MT. Shapiro objected to this section be- cause under the provisions of the bill, xthe amount derived through assess ment of percentum would be subjected to division by every municipality served by the corporations in question. Later MT John of Dallas offered an amend ment that "2 percentum be substituted Y (Continued on Page Two.D
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-05
Says Alabama Cannot Take Up Visionary Plans Be cause the State Needs the Money
SEES NO WRONG IN MAKING PROFIT OUT
 OF CONVICT LABOR
Intimates the Investigating
 Committee, Which FavOrs
 Change, Knows Little
 About Conditions
By l.. $. BETvry

Montgomery, August 4.-.To make any radical change in our manner of handling convicts will entail upon the state a great expense and with n deficit of two and half million dollars we are not in n position to consider addf- tionaI obligations of the magnitude that would necessarily he incurred by proposed changes."
 This statement was made by Governor Henderson in a message which he sent to the senate and house this afternoon dealing with the convict question The governor declared that while the uues- tion of handling "our annual number of convicts is a complex ons." yet we cannot pay heed 10 impracticable or vis- ionary plans.
 The governor dealt at length with the convict question, and indicated in strong terms that he is opposed to any radical changes in the convict system at this time. He said the agitation to take convicts from gainful employment, lis based upon a misconception of conditions at the convict camp
 Net Revenue Over $3O0,00O
 According to the executive. the net revenue to the state last year from con- vict hire was $316,5S3 43: the cost of main- tenance has been increasing from year to year. showing the increasing care for the convicts, and to decrease this cost would mean either to lessen the number of guards and wardens, or to lessen the rtefr f<. 1nf. ,I f...
 'I do not believe 1t wrong to use the convicts in such a manner that they will return profit to the state. If due re- gard Is given to tue welfare of the con victs, said the governor.
 The governor discussed both of the proposed changes-the working of the eonvicts on the road. and the use of them in cultivating state farms. He de- clared that past experience had inva- riably proven that the expense of their upkeep, when employed on farms ex- ceeded the revenues derived from their Ia abor
 Placed Only g Convicts
 Regarding the second suggestion. that they be put to work on the roads. the governor said that five months ago he offered the various probate judges of the roads at prices to cover the cost of maintenance, but that he had only suc- ceeded in placing 20 convicts
 The governor quoted in his message a letter from President Rogers of the con- viet board giving an estimate of the cost to the state in bringing about any ab rupt changes in the system. MT. Rogers placed the cost of buildings. clothes and additional guards at about S300,000
 An ideal convict system worthy to strive for would be one that makes every provision for the physical welfare of the unfortunate convict" said the governor in conclusion.
 Text of Message
 The governors message further reads In part as follows:
 "The propaganda has been spread that the state is exploiting its con- victs for the purposes of profit and from the same sources statements are given out that the state is receiving no profit in the manner of handling
 (COntinued Page TweIve)
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-05
KNOWN DEAD IN ERIE STORM LISTED AT q; BIC PROPERTY LOSS
Workers Busy Clearing Away Wreckage-Prop- erty Loss Placed at
 $3,00O,O00

Erie, Pa, August 4.-Erie had listed 27 dead tonight in the miIe-Iong wreck age-strewn path through the heart of the city swept by last nights flood. Hut little impression was made on the vast amount of wrcckase, piled in pInces 100 feet high and believed by the coroner and others to conceal as many more victims. Recovery work will over the debris.
 Early estimates of property loss put at s. COG, 0OO were not changed today by Fire Chief McMahon after he had received re- ports from big manufacturing plants in tho flood zone. He said that 300 houses and 5e store buildings were demolished by the waters of Mill creek, sent out of it's banks by cloudburst and the bursting of the Gleenwood dam.
 Tonight there was a semblance of nor mai conditions in the city. The Lake Shore railroad resumed its through passenger service between New York and Chicago, 35 trains stalled on the outskirts of this city since early last night getting away. Light and power plants resumed operations, but telephone and telegraph communication was still subject to much delay
 Morgues Besieged
 Three morgues were besieged by thou- sands throughout the day Men. women and children watched the searchers. and when they saw body uncovered would rush to the morgue to which 1t was taken to learn if 1t was that of missing one
 The city went into mourning when it avoke to full realization of the extent of the disaster. All the department storeA and business houses on State street were closed and the people opened hearts and purses to sufferers. Relief funds were started. charitable societies sent food and the city authorities opened houses for those who had lost their homes.
 Great throngs crowded the banks of the ravine throughout the day These ex- tended from Twenty street. near State street. where the flood started, down to the bay. a mile below, where it spent it's fury. They saw many freaks of the flood. Automobiles perched in tree tops apparently undamaged; one house was found cast on the hillside with a wall of the dining room missing and the table undisturbed.
 The local company of the Sixteenth in- infantry was brought to the scene today to help. police and firemen working in the debris, assisted by civilian volunteer corps. Twenty arrests were made in the flood area tonight, two for footing and the others for disorderly conduct To guard against fires the gas supply has been turned off and health officials are working to prevent an outbreak of dis ease a
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-05
FRENCH COURTEOUS
 STEAMER DACIA WAS IA FAIR PRIZE OF WAR
Announcement Confirms the Forfeiture of Dacia-State Department Preparing
 to Protest Decision

Washington, August 4.-Announce- nent from Paris today that French prize court had confirmed the seizure of the American steamer Dacia as a fair prize found the state department preparing to protest the decision, which carries with 1t forfeiture of the vessel. It is planned to make this a test case of the right of a neutral to grant registry to belligerent owned merchant ship.
 The Dacias cotton cargo is not in volved. The British government before the Dacia sailed from Galveston last spring for Rotterdam. announced that the cargo, consigned to Bremen, would not be detained, the announcement be- ing binding upon France. The French government purchased the cotton through a special appropriation.
 The issue In the Dacia case is the right of the United States to permit registry under its flag of vessel for nerly owned by a German corporation, but declared sold to an American rit- i1en. Great Britain has sanctioned such transfers in war time and could not consistently seize the Dacia. France has always held that the transfer of merchant ship to neutral power must have been effected at least 30 days before the outbreak of hostil- ities ..
 At the beginning or the war the Uni ted States served notice on the bellig- erents that as they had not consented to observe the unratified declarations of London as a whole, this government would not be bound by them. but would stand on the general principles of in- ternational law in dealing with ques- tions of neutral rights. The protest against condemnation of the Dacia will rest on these principles.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-05
TODAY'S AGE-HERALD

.1-Henderson talks of money in opposing
 convicts on roads.
 Compromise on revenue bill Germany refuses to admit wrong. Harding on the cotton situation. Russians in orderly retreat. 2EHef1in on issues to be met by cotton
 farmers. 3-All interested In quick restoration of
 German trade. 4-Editorial comment 5-City to be divided into districts for
 garbage collection.
 Express business growing abnormally Crow declines to recuse himself in
 Etter case
 Collins succeeds McIver as Q. & c.
 agent. 6-Women's page. I-Sports. 11>Markets. l2-BiIl regulates race of teachers in pub
 lie schools.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-05
Jim Cudper Canned

Little Rock. August 4-(SpeciaI.) Manager Dobbs of New Orleans tonight announced the sale of Pitcher Gudger to the Galveston club of the Texas league. Gudger left Little Rock for his new club at once. The sale was made to make room for Catcher Callan from the defunct Tucson, Arlx.. club. who caught his first game today.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-05
RUSSIAN ARMIES ARE CONDUCTING ORDERLY RETREAT Attack on Outer FOrtresses of Warsaw Begins by
 TeutOnic Allies DECISIVE BATTLE FOR WARSAW BEGINS Russians Have Lost Few Prisoners and Little Artillery-Have In-
 flicted Heavy Losses on
 the Germans

London, August 4.-UO10 D. m.) After trying for three weeks to force the Russians to evscuste Warsaw by encircling movements from the north and pressure from the west, the Aus tro- Germans have commenced attacks on the fortresses of the capital and those of l.omxa and Ostrolenka, to the northeast, and Ivangorod. to the south- east.
 Berlin claims tonight that the Rus sians have been driven back to Lomza' s advanced defenses; that the Narew has been crossed near Ostrolenka; that driven out of their Blonie positions, the Russians have fallen back into the outer lines of Warsaw. which the Ba- varians are attacking, and that the Austrians have captured the western part of the fortress of Ivangorod. Thus. what should prove a decisive battle for the Polish capital, has begun in earnest.
 Warsaw Battle Begins In the meantime Field Marshal Won Mackenzen is advancing from the southeast between the Vistula and the Bug in an effort to cut of the Rus sian armies, which apparently are mak- Ing a leisurely exit from Warsaw and the western lines, while General Won Buelow. In his wider encircling move ment through Courland, has reached Kupischki, 50 miles west of DvinslS, on the Vilna-P -Petrograd railway.
 Although the operations of Won Mackenzen and Won Buelow appear to offer the most dangerous threats to the retiring Russian armies, the Rus sian general staff is paying more at- tsntion to von Hindenburg. who has been trying, with more or less suc- cess to force the line of the Narew. Here the Russians are offering the most stubborn resistance and accord ing to Petrograd, in two battles of three days each. checked the Germans and inflicted heavy losses. The Rus sians also admit severe casualties. A third battle was In progress. Berlin claims that in this battle the Germans have forced crossing of the Narew near OstrolenkR.
 On the whole, the Russians, official reports indicate, are making an ex- tremely orderly retirement They are losing comparatively few prisoners and, except for s2 guns abandoned west of Ivangorod,. the Germans claim nc captures of heavy artillery.
 Quiet rules in the west except in the Argonne and the VosEes. where Ger man attempts to recapture lost ground or take new trenches have failed. ac- cording to the French communication New moves of the greatest import (CsnHnued ea Page Twelvsa
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-05
ONLY 1 PER CENT PROVIDED FOR IN
 NEW REVENUE BILL
Shapiro Criticizes Lawyers Who in 1911 Represented
 Corporations in Legisla-
 ture Rather Than People"
IS VICTORY DoUBTFULs

Montgomery, August 4.-tSpeciaL) Birmingham partisans are specu- lating tonight as to whether they achieved as notable a victory this afternoon as at first appeared. MT. Davis of Walker Is of the opinion that Birmingham did not gain as much as it would have gained had his amendment giving the city percentum of gross re- ceipts of corporations subject to division by suburbs been adopted.
 Mir. Shapiro states that the situa- ton is being investigated by an expert in Birmingham. and that if further efforts are necessary they will be made at once.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-05
In Latest Note the German Foreign Office Is Firm in Justifying Her Right to Sink American Ships
ENTIRE DISPUTE REVOLVES ABOUT
 OLD TREATY OF 1928
Willing to Pay Damages for Vessels, But Not for AL legged Violations of Ameri- can Rights

Washington, August 4.-Ger- many is unyielding in her re fusal to concede that the sink ing of the American ship, Will liam P. Frye, by the auxiliary cruiser Prinz Eitel Friedrich. in the south Atlantic last Janu- ary, was a violation of Ameri can rights under the Prussian- American treaty or interna tional law.
 In reply to the last American represen- tauons' the German foreign office in a note made public here today, reiterates previous justification of Germany,s course, reiterates her willingness to nay for the ship and accepts proposal first advanced by the United States-that the amount of damages be fixed bv two ex- perts, one to be selected by each country.
 Such sum the German government pledges Itself to pay promptly. with inc stipulation, however, that the payment shall not be viewed as a satisfaction ro, violation of American rights. Should th,s method be unsatisfactory. Germany n vites the United States to arbitration al The Hague
 Official View The official view here is that reparation by committee of experts probably will be satisfactory to the United States. with the express provision. however. thai fl is not waiver of treaty rights for which inc United States contends, but applies only to the matter of damages.
 It is virtually certain that if the lrnitod States allows the dispute to go to The Hague for interpretation of the treaiv provision or continues the academic dis cussion of principles through the chan mel of diplomacy, it will insist thar meanwhile, Germany refrain from viola ton of what the United States contends are It's rights
 The entire dispute revolves nbout th. treaty of 1928, which the United States
 
 liam P. Frye from being sunk aIthoneb It did not protect a contraband careo Germany takes an opposite view, holding that the article only oblgates her to nav oamages Furthermore. Germany replies that as the Frye's cargo was contraband the ship was liable to oonhscation ani that as an attempt 10 take the prize into a German port would have imperlled her captor the destruction of the Frye was according to general principles of inter- national law
 Right to Sink Ships
 The right of sinking" says the Cor man note, lis not mentioned in the treatv and Is therefore neither expressly permit ted nor expressly prohibited. so that on this point the treaty stipulations must ha supplemented by the general rules of in ternational law. It is not disputed by the American government that according to
 tContinued on Page Two)
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-05
Garrison to Finish Report

Washington, August 4.-Secretary of War Garrison left for his home at seagrt. N. J., tonight to finish his report on the countrys milita1,v situation. recently re- quested by Preeihent Wilson. MT. Garri- son took stenographers with him and probably will have the report ready next week.