davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18
POINTED PARAGRAPHS

From the Chicago News.
 Often a full purse goes with an empty head.
 Only foolish man will kick himself when he is down.
 The best way to get out of a tight place is to sober up.
 If a man marries a widow it's be- cause she originated the thought.
 lovers quarrel and a small boys trousers are soon patched up.
 We would have more ideal cities but for the scarcity of ideal citizens.
 self-made man is as proud of the outcome as he is of his income tax
 If the silly actions of a man are not due to his being in love- they are prob ably natural.
 What lovely collection of pessimists we would be if we could see ourseleves as others see us. woman doesn't object to a mans past as much as she does to his pres ent-to some other female. And many a mans so called digni- fled silence is due to the lamentable fact that he doesn't know what to say. Jonah was the author of the original fish story, but 1t is estimated that some 9,p67, ,958, ,724,018 other men have in- frlnged on his copyright.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18
Deaths of Physicians

During the year 1914 2205 physi- clans died in the United States and Canada, says the Journal of the American Medical association. Esti- mating the total number of physicians at 5000, this would indicate an an- nual death rate of 14.41 per thousand. The average death rate for physicians from 1902 to 1914, inclusive, was 15.7l per thousand.
 Senility was the chief cause of death, followed in order by heart dis ease, cerebral hemorrhage, pneumonia, accident and nephritis. The average age of those who died was 60 years, II months and days. Figures also show that the average doctor practices about B years. Considering the hard ships of the medical profession, the exposure to inclement weather and the danger of infection, B years is long time to practice. The fact that most doctors reach an age of 60 years, which is very nearly mans allotted span of life, is also an evidence of their staying power.
 It is interesting to note that of the doctors who died last year one had been member of Congress, one an ambassador, seven members of state senates, 39 members of the house of representatives, 39 had been may OTIS, 25 aldermen, 39 had served in various civil positions, IA had been postmasters, 20 were editors of lay or medical journals, II had been clergymen, of whom two were foreign missionaries, and six had been attor- neys.
 If the doctors who died in only one year have filled so many varied posi- tions, many of them entirely distinct from their profession, some idea can | be gained of the large number of physicians who combine with knowl- edge of medicine ability in other ways. With the exception of lawyers, who take naturally to politics, perhaps no other profession is so well and so ably represented in public life as that of medicine. Alabama has many phy- sicians who take keen interest in public affairs and have proved highly efficient in various official capacities.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18

The possibilities of the parcel post were
 strikingly demonstrated by genera storekeeper in West Virginia, who is also a postmaster. He sold customer 32 sacks of flour, sold himself 169 worth oi stamps, put the money in his pocket saved transportation charges and delayed a passenger train 10 minutes while the sacks were being unloaded at their des- tination. The customer had ordered four barrels of flour and the shrewd merchant postmaster immediately hit on plan to send it by parcel post The stamps he cancelled represented his pay as post master. As the flour was mail, the rail- road was of course not permitted by law to carry it as freight. Also, the flour had to be carried on a regular mail and pas- senger train. The government lost noth- ing, although the carrier was mulcted Furthermore, it is pointed out that there are 50,o00 fourth-class postmasters in this country who can send flour by parcel post if they want to-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18
New Constitutional Convention

It is believed that the legislature
 now in session will act favorably upon
 new constitutional convention meas ure It used to be that state constitu- tions would satisfy the needs of the people for quarter of century or
 more, but in this age of rapid develop
 ment conditions affecting the body
 polite change faster than in the old days, and in many eommonwealths a constitution becomes anticipated, so to speak, in ten or fifteen years.
 Alabama's constitution of 1901 has so many things in it which should be changed that public men and the peo- pie in general now appreciate the need of a new instrument. Among the mis- takes that were made in the last con- stitutional convention were those re- lating to the poll tax and taxation for public schools. According to the or ganic law which we have at the pres ent time the poll tax is cumulative. It is seen that that provision has greatly reduced the electorate.
 If poll tax is to be paid at all, it should be only paid when the citizen otherwise qualified to vote elects to ex- ercise the privilege He should not be required to pay an accumulation ot taxes. The present provision was ob iected to by many members of the con- vention of 1901, but the majority be- lieved in it and consequently voted for it. Public sentiment is unquestionably against it now. no matter what was thought of it in 1901. When the cum ulative poll tax is no longer operative Alabama will have much fuller ex- pression from her white voters and a full expression of the will of the peo- ple is what every commonwealth should desire. It makes for better gov ernment
 As for the rural schools, they will never be what they should be until the people in every school district have the right to tax themselves for school purposes. Just as soon as this change is accomplished Alabama will have fewer illiterates. The statistics of il- literacy are very much against us now, but with a constitutional provision al lowing the special school tax by dis tricts this state will take it's place among the foremost Other matters are pressing for constitutional reform. By all means, let us have the consti- tutional convention.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18
TAXES IN WASHINGTON
Dy BILL VINES

Representative Ben Johnson of Ken tee is about as popular in WashingtoI
 as colored K. of P. convention is witH Senator Vardaman, and all because Mn Johnson believes and has taken numerou| occasions to say so, that the citizens ol Washington ought to bear their part o the burden, and the government to beal the remainder, whatever it might be, o the administration of the city.
 The "half and half plan" appeals might lily to Washington The half and hall plan is that the city pay one-half an} the government the other of the expense| of running the district. Under this plal the government pays annually about s7
 oo0oO0 toward the expenses of the dis triet, aside from other government strictly ment-improvements ant other undertakings This amounts to cents per capita of all the people in th|
 United States; it amounts to about s15o od for the state of Alabama in indirect taxaI tion. Of course this is perfectly proper1 it is the capital of the nation and it il proper that the government support it.
 But there ought to be no reasonable obI lection on the part of the citizens oI
 Washington to paying in equal propo1l tion, taxes as such as paid by the peopl| of Birmingham. The charge is that the do not, and whenever anything is saiI about 1t, then said fits begin to occur. anI lot of Washington real estate dealer begin to froth at the mouth, and gloom fly predict that if the sacred half anJ half plan is destroyed all is lost.
 Washington is beautiful city-it shout be. Congress is no more than doing iii duty to further add to the attractions an beauty of the national capital-it shouI compare with the beautiful cities of K, rope, and it will be necessary for Con gress to constantly make improvement But those who are fortunate enough H live in the city all the time. anI enjoy it's beauties should not be denie| the high privilege of donating a uttl| something toward its upkeep. The peepu or course, take great pride in Wash ington and swell up every time they ge slant at the capital, but they are nc hoggish about it. They are willing fo the folks who live here to gloat A Tiff as well as themselves. One redeemin feature about the peepul is they are nc selfish when 1t comes to taxes: they a always willing that the other fellow pa his share.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18

as an international credit and money market Many of the transactions now taking place here are of course the i'm mediate consequence of the disturb ance in foreign credit. and when the war is over these factors will disappear. not without, however, leaving New York in a position of advantage con siderably greater than existed before the European confiagration.
 By far the most encouraging element in the present situation is our foreign trade. Our exports are progressing by leaps and bounds, due to liberal for eign orders for war materials, to heavy exports of wheat at high prices and to practical resumption of cotton ship ments. The outward movement on these accounts is by no means at an end, and the orders for war materials promise to run to even much larger amounts"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18
Religion and the schools

| One of the most interesting and in- structive articles in the current number of the Atlantic Monthly is by Dr. Wash ington Gladden., one of the oldest, ablest
 and most esteemed ministers of the Con gregational church." said a professional man.
 'The perplexing problems that have been discussed for many years touching the lack of religious training in the schools are stated by Dr. Gladden., and he
 confesses frankly that he has no ready
 made solution of the difficulties He says:
 " But one thing is undenable-knowl- edge of the Bible is far less general now than it was in the days of my childhood That amazing familiarity with the sacred book with which John Richard Green
 credits the people of England in the days of the commonwealth, had persisted until my boyhood among the sons of the Puri-
 tans and the Scotch Irish in New Eng land and in New York state. It was not | universal but it was general. The kind of tests by which college students and students in secondary schools are fre- quently in these days, made to display an ignorance of the Bible which is astounding, could have been passed with credit by the majority of country boys
 and girls 60 or 70 years ago. But this thorough acquaintance of earlier genera tions with the Bible was not due, to any considerable extent. to the public schools. All that we learned about the Bible in school would have added very little to our store of religious knowledge It was in our churches and our Sunday schools, but chiefly in our homes, that most of us learned what we knew about the Bible.
 The great majority of us went to
 church twice every Sunday, and the
 preaching was largely biblical and ex-
 pository. Sunday school gathered all the
 children together between the morning
 and afternoon services; and the Sunday school class exercise was occupied almost
 wholly with the recitation of verses from
 the Bible. committed to memory by the
 pupils. "
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18
REFORMED BROADWAY

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
 New York protests and pretends that 1t las reformed in the theatrical way-that it has got away from the objectionable sex stuff."
 Now that the seasons output is fairly spread before you, open a New York newspaper and cast your eye over the titles of advertised attractions.
 Maternity" by the author of Dam aged Goods;' "Polygamy." Irwin Beds. Sinners" Experience" ''Tonight's the Night ''Outcast"-either Broadway ia running to the same old thing or these are merely suggestive and misleading ti- ties. It the titles are misleading, then what curiohs way to trick public that really demands pure plays? On second thought. does theatregoina New York really want anything better than Broadway purveysS
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18
MOONLIGHT SCHOOLS IN KENTUCKY

MOONLIGHT SCHOOLS IN KENTUCKY In the About People, department of the February Womans Home Compan- ion appear a picture and sketch of Mrs. Cora w. Stewart, who has succeeded in abolshing illiteracy in hill county in Kentucky. Her system has been adopted by 25 other counties in Kentucky and at least two in Tennessee. Her unique method of work is described in part as follows:
 While riding through the mountains on her errands as school superintend- ent and unofficial general adviser of Rowan county, Mrs. stewart saw that the real obstacle to education among an ca ger minded people was lack of oppor- tunity. In 1911 she managed to have the schools throughout the county opened for night sessions during the two weeks in September when moon- light made mountain travel easier. Whole families f1ocked to these sessions. Mrs Stewart then obtained authority to open the schools for the first four lights every week during the school year. The hard-worked teachers volun- teered their services for the additional writing, arithmetic and spelling were taught to about 1200 persons of all ages up to S6."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18
IVY ASHINGToN, January 17.-(Spe- w cial)-Annually the residents of
 W the District of Csol,r,rio rice. a

IVY ASHINGToN, January 17.-tSpe- ~ cial)-Annually the residents of the District of Columbia rise as gations of leading citizens get busy as bird dogs and parade up to the captol and md a nice clean spot and proceed to throw fit thereon. This always happens on the occasion by Congress of the dis trict appropriation bill. It amounts, in a mild form, to the same seething and fermented term oD excitement attendant upon the first meeting of the new town council, pledged to reform. in Jayville, Kan. Congress is the board of mayor and aldermen for the district, and to ticket-and gets it. In spite of the fact they always get it, the same series of spasms are gone through with, accom-, panied with a brand ne wissue of contor- tions and bursts of indignation, etc., from the local papers, each year.
 On said occasions Congress is franticaly assured that Washington is the capital of the nation, and therefore belongs to the peepul moreover it is pointed out with
 
 great pride in Washington, though they may seem little backward and re- served about expressing it, and that the peepul would be peeved and hurt beyond expression if Congress failed to show the proper appreciation of the districts needs All this is said in all seriousness and with out the slightest hint at humor. It being statement absolutely true-it serves wonderfully we'll to take the attention of many members off the real issue.
 There have never been and are not now many members of Congress who do not believe that Washington ought to be city of which the American peepul could be proud, and who are perfectly willing to go as far as possible in making it so. However. there are those in Congress and the number is growing, who believe that the peepul living within the district ought to pay, on the average, as much toward the support of the city, in the way of taxes. as the peepul living in other cities of the country have to pay for the sup port of their municipalities. Rude and unappreciative members of Congress have taken the occasion to rise up and refer sarcastically to the earnest workers of the ''city beautiful of Washington who make such altruistic efforts annually to induce Congress to kick in, as tax "dodg- CTS"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18
JAPAN IN THE WAR

Martin Marshall in Leslie's.
 In France there Is a-strong demand that Japan be requested to send her veteran troops to help the allies. While this de- mand ia by no means universal. it is growing in intensity. Great Britain is silent on the subject. Undoubtedly her government does not wish Japan to par ticipated further in the wars except in a case of absolute necessity. Japan has 5OO.0o0 highly trained troops which are probably. man for man. the equal of any soldiers in the world. and these would be a great help to the allies in their desper- ate struggle to drive the Germans out of France and Belgium. But If Japan lent this assistance. which she is undoubtedly willing-and even eager-to do. she would have a much more important voice in tho
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18

Agnes Repplier in the Atlantic Monthly.
 Italy, for example. Is the treasure house Of the world. She is the guardian of ths beauty she created, and to her shrine goes all mankind in pilgrimage. How long would her cathedrals, her palaces, her galleries, survive assault? What would be left of Venice after a week s bombardment? What of Florence or of Rome? Nor can Italy dare to hope for protection in neutrality-that neutrality which is in itself an offense. Attacked, she must either make craven terms for peace. or see the destruction of all that she and the world hold dear. And is there one of us who would not be part ner in her loss?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18
In the Financial Wor,d


 Henry Clews, in his Saturday review says in part:
 Despite the war conditions here af. fecting American securities are improv. Ing in a most encouraging fashion. Thero Is a better feeling in both banking and financial circles having its foundation in positive changes for the better. The credit situation has much improved Money is redundant and promises to continue easy for sometime to come The new federal reserve system, though not In full running order, is working we'll and has already provided much assurance and relief. Clearing house certificates have entirely disappeared and the Aldrich- -Vreeland emergency currency is being steadily retired. There Is no lack of funds to good borrowers the accumulation being due to dull trade, to the return of crop money, tc the lowering of reserve requirement. from 25 per cent to IS per cent, and to the fact that we are in position to draw gold from abroad. Today we are loanina money to Russia, Canada, Argentina France. Sweden and elsewhere ".The war in Europe and our owr strong financial position have caused striking shifts in the currents of finance and trade. which will greatly strength. on the prestige and power of New Yorl
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18
THE ABORIGINAL MIR. BRYAN from the Cincinnati Times-8tar.

From the Clnclnnall lNnes-otdI. MT. Bryan is not statesman of origi- nality. He has proved it by deciding not to give the customary diplomatic break fast this winter. He has lost thereby an opportunity to create a hush of neutrality over the warning embassies of Washing ton.
 Of course, MT. Bryan, if his diplomatic breakfast were to be effective. would have to abandon a menu of broiled doves of peace and grape juice. There would have to be food more in sympathy with the patriotic sentiments represented at the table and liquids that would meet more adequately the demands of his hot blooded guests.
 We would suggest quite tentatively the following menu:
 Rouillon, BelgiQue Oysters. Ostende
 Roast Beef rare Ale. nut brown
 Frogs Legs Champagne Pigs Knuckles and sauerkraut
 Beer. Muenchener Goulash. Hungarian Water. Carlsbad
 Charlotte Russo Vodka
 Cigarettes. Turkish.
 Meanwhile the marine band could be discoursing Rule Britannia" the Mar seillaise'' (rearranged by Irving Berlin). Deutschland Ueber Alles," the "Beauti- full Blue Danube" and little Tschaikow- sky.
 Of course, the breakfast never would be finished. But until the belligerent pow CTS had replaced their wounded and miss ing ambassadors, MT. Bryan could con- tinue his chautauquan invasion undis- turhed.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18
THE MAN WHO STARTED TT
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
 AST July Count Leopold Berchtold Baron Won und gu .Ungarschutz, - sent an ultimatum to Servia. He knew that no nation, however small, could consent to accept the humiliation which his demands entailed. He knew, therefore, that there would be war. Now Berchtold retires from his posi- tion as Austro- H ungarian minister of foreign affairs and practical ruler of the dual empire. Another statesman will
 reap where Berchtold has sown. It is not likely that Berchtold ex- pected to precipitate a general war. In
 deliberately setting about to force a war on Servia he hoped that the rest of Europe would keep hands off, and permit Austria to wreak her will on the little Slav state He had reason for such hope.
 similar Austrian policy had won notable successes In 1908 Berchtold' s
 predecessor. Count Aehrenthal, had an-
 nexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, arbi-
 trarily ignoring the protests of Tur-
 key, which was nominal owner of the
 provinces; the demands of Servia, whose
 people are next of kin to the Bosnians,
 and the amazed expositions of the great
 powers of Europe. At the close of the
 Balkan wars Austria had demanded the creation of Albania, and had carved out
 the ridiculous nation" to suit her own desires. When the Montenegrins de- clined to relinquish Scutar and when the other powers showed themselves reluctant to coerce the brave little Kingdom, Austria announced that she would proceed alone against Montene- gro if her demands were not met King Nicholas was compelled to yield.
 So great had been the dread of any disturbance of the trembling balance of power that Austria's mailed fist
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18
Orders For Railroad Equipment

The railroads continue to place orders for new equipment. Some of the orders for steel rails last week were small, but they aggregated an ap- preciable tonnage.
 Pending the decision of the inter- state commerce commission on the freight rate advance it was believed that if the petition of the carriers were granted purchases for betterments would begin at once, which would mean orders for road materials, cars and locomotives. The promise of the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18
"rHE USUAL cRIMEr-vARIATIo

From the New York World.
 Booker Washingtons statistics of lyncl ings in the United States in 1914 are CT couraging as showing their reduction the smallest number since records | mob murders were kept. Altogether persons were lynched, of whom 49 wei colored. Twenty-four, or nearly 50 pt cent, of these were put to death in Loui jana and Mississippi.
 Unfortunately the showing is not { favorable for .'the usual crime" For u protection of womanhood only seven pei sons were made tbe victims of male vel geance. of whom five were colored. the other hand, there was Ian increasiu tendency to lynch for any cause, how ever trivial'-for stealing shoes. stealing mule, setting fire to a barn, assisting man to escape, being found under house. And, saddest fact of all. thr( women were lynched.
 Lynching for rape and murder is shoc1 ing enough. But 1t is small comfort know that lynching is decreasing when is also extending it's scope to include pu1 ishment by death for police court offensel
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18
IN HOTEL HOBBIES
Memphis Visitors

MT and Mrs. W. A. Turner of Mem phis, who had been the guests of MT. and Mrs. J. J. Gilmore for Q day or two returned home last night. Mir. Turner is general freight agent of the South ern railway and is one of the best known and most popular traffic men in the south.
 There is an appreciable improve ment in the freight business in my ter ritory," said MT. Turner. While the in- provement was slow in coming, now that more traffic is moving I believe there will be a good increase from this time on
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-18

agricultural products total S400,000,- 900 or $500,000,000 instead of $200, ,000, ,000, which will be reasonable to expect within year or two, Bir- mingham, Montgomery and Mobile will find their commerce doubling or more than doubling.