davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25
Roosevelt as Political Leader


 Theodore Roosevelt having been vindicated by the jury in William Barnes suit against him for libel is in the political ascendent once more. Since his bolt from the regular re- publican party and his defeat as the national progressive candidate for President in 1912 his power of leader ship waned.
 In the congressional elections of last year the progressive party was virtually wiped out of existence, while the republicans made such substantial gains as to hearten the rank and file and give them courage for 1916. For several weeks past republican leaders have been quietly at work on reorganization plans for nNXt years campaign. Several names Nave been mentioned for the nomination, includ- l ing that of Associate Justice Charles E. Hughes. While the progressives had been routed, it was felt that no republican candidate for the presi- dency would stand any chance of cleo tion if he were fought by Colonel Roosevelt and his faithful partisans. And that being so Roosevelt was to be reckoned with.
 In view of the situation as it was Hughes seemed to be the strongest man for standard bearer. He had never been an enemy of Roosevelt and it was beginning to be understood that if Hughes were nominated the great body of those who formed the progressive party in 1912 would sup port him.
 But today with Roosevelt in the role of hero again all the republican statesmen who have had up their lightning rods might as well take them down. Assuming that the colonel will return to the republican fold he will be nominated probably by exclamation. At any rate republicans are already talking of him as "our next standard bearer
 Political fortunes are often sur prising. They change swiftly; and if
 Roosevelt is the republican candidate in 1916 those prophets who said that the c. o. P. was as good as buried when it met crushing defeat at the polls in 1912, will have to go out of the business of prophesying. With Woodrow Wilson and Theo- dore Roosevelt as the opposing can didates the campaign will be the hot test in the history of this country.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25

comes mere surmse. which would hardly become even layman.
 We do not believe that Geenral Goe- thals uttered the words attributed to him. Nevertheless. Irresponsible talk is too common at this pregnant hour. This is time when facts should be minutely examined when they should be weighed with the greatest caution, when they should be candidly faced and frankly dis cussed. It Is a time when the rampant Jlngo, who daily usurps the eagles pre- rogative of screaming and the familiar American optimist, who pooh-poohs every warning and dwels in a perpetual day dream of peace, should put aside childish things and confront the problems of the day with calm temper and clear mind
 That we are not fully prepared for war, as war IS made today, is. an incontro- vertibie fact. It is fact which cannot be oblterated by delusivee phra seology, such as that credited to General Goe- thals. nor distorted into the shadow of impending disaster by the equally futile announcements of the alarmists. But no country in the world should at this time close it's eyes to the imperative need of readiness for events which year ago would have been regarded as beyond the possibilities of life.
 At this momentous hour Il nations are emproiled tn war, Germany, Austria, Turkey. Russia, England France Portu- gal, Servia, Montenegro, Japan and Bel gum, and Italy practically the twelfth. How easily the United States might be drawn into a conflict with foreign power no one needs to be told just now It will be the part of wisdom to think about what should be done in such a case and not to stand with ones back to the Atlantic ocean and cry trium- phantly that it is our stronghold sure
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25
LUKE M.LUkE SAYS

From the Cincinnati Enquirer. Most men have one set of rules for the conduct of their wives and another set | for themselves.
 | A lot of the married men are indgna ting because of the proposal to omit the word
 obey" from the marriage ceremony. But | most of the married women didn't even know the word was in the marriage cere- mony.
 | Mother Is glad that she is not living in | the old days when the men wore tights l for pants. because she knows that father would scare all the horses to death every time he went out on the stSeet. And when he quits calling her Darling
 and begins calling her Say. you!' the honeymoon is as dead as the roses she carried on the happy day. l The girl who wants to appear mannis.i
 will wear a tailored skirt and coat and a mannish hat and waist. But the feminine | instinct compels her to wear somethina dainty and fluffy and baby ribboned where | you can't see 1t.
 Cleopatra wasn't the only woman whc
 soaked her pearls when she wanted to put up a blum.
 The old fashioned woman who used to kick because her husband smelled like d l brewery when he took glass of beer
 row has a married daughter who kicks 1 because her husband goes to the icebox and cops out the few bottles that she was
 saving for herself.
 | The women may be wrong a great deal
 of the time. But when they claim that
 the men couldn't get along without them,
 they are always right with great big capital R.
 l Consistency Is great stuff. The woman
 who denounces tobacco is often a Linn burger fiend And the dame who de- nounces booze often wakes up in the
 morning with headache from eating too much cake.
 When princess dresses to attract at-
 tention she should remember that there
 are other brands of attention besides the
 kind labeled favorable.
 The law says that a man is innocen,
 until he has been found guilty. But when Iyou absent-mindedly wander home with
 a strange pair of elbow length gloves in
 your pocket yon will discover that what
 your wife doesn't know about the law
 would fiil the Congressional library.
 Every man knows that he could make
 himself fan 3hous if he wasn't 30 blame
 busy working for . living.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25
WRONG KIND OF TALK
From the New York s,r

From the New York Sun
 WYE sincerely hope that Maj Gen. M George w. Goethals was mis- quoted in a dispatch from Bal timore published yesterday In it he was displayed to his fellow citizens as scorn- ing the thought that any of our ports could be endangered by an enemys fleet. The words printed were these:
 There is no naval fleet in the world today that can force strong and prop 1 erly constructed sea coast fortification. The Qualifications in the United States are all right. No fleet can enter the harbor of San Francisco, where, I un- derstand there are 149 long range guns These guns could reduce a fleet before 1 it got within striking distance. I do not know exactly the number of guns in New York harbor, but the same con- ditions exist there as in San Francisco. '' l We are loath to believe that General Goethals said any part of this. He must know as well as anyone else does that because he wears the uniform of a ma jor general his words carry great weight With the nonmilitary people of the coun- try He must further know that it is wholly indefensible for a man shoulder ing such tremendous responsibility to qualify a momentous assertion with such phrase T understand
 1 It is not conclusvely proved yet that naval fleet cannot pass fortfication. If General Goethals does not know be- ycnd question how many long range guns there are around San Francisco harbor, If he does not know the calibre and range Of every one of them and also the calibre and range of every big gun on every war ship of a possible enemy. his declaration that our guns could reduce fleet be- fore it was within striking distance be-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25
ORIGIN OF THE VIOLIN

From the Pittsburg Dispatch
 NN HE origin of the violin can be traced
 back to a stringed instrument called
 = the ravanastron, invented, it is be. lieved, 5000 B. C., by Ravana, King of Cey- lon. A similar instrument is heard of in more modern history when the fythel was introduced into Great Britain by the An-- glo-Saxons in the sixth century. It was a similar instrument to that invented by Ravana, although much improved and it is the source of the word fiddle" so often used to mean the violin.
 The violin in it's present form was not made until the fifteenth or sixteenth cen- tury. and its earliest maker was Gaspard d Salo of Lombardy, Italy. and the Ital- ian school of violin making was probably founded by him at -Brescia.
 The immediate ancestors of the violins were the viols, which were tho principal bowed instruments from the end of the fifteenth to the end of the seventeenth centuries. They were. however. grad ually replaced by the violins by the Bres- clan makers, at the head of which was al Salo, his immediate predecessors being Giovanni Paolo Maggini. Giovita Rodano and Zanetto Peregrino.
 Maggini was a pupil of di Salo, and he greatly improved his masters model.
 which was more or less clumsy. and his instruments show a steady advance. espe- cially after the rise of the opera and Mon- teverde's reform of the orchestra. It was the school of Cremona, however, which 50 perfected the violin that it be- came the most famous of all musical in struments. The masters of this school have produced the finest instruments $
 known. and modern makers have never been able to improve upon them and may be said to have hardly equaled them While di salo was making violins in Brescia. Andrea Amati independently se. up a shop at Cremona. and thus became the founder of Italys most famous l school. The greatest violin makers, how ever, was Antonio stradivari. although Stradivari is not known to have posse ssed technical knowledge of acoustics, yet hc attained results for which modern science has established the underlying principles. The period from 17OO to 172O is known as Stradivari's golden period.'' After his discontinuance of violin making the work was taken up by his pupils. most success. ful of whom were Carlo Bersonsi and the Guarneris. Lorenzo dagnini. a pupil of Stradivari. quickly rose to prominence through the excellent tone of his instru- ments. but his son. Giovanni. surpassed him in the beauty of the wood and var nish.
 Tho Crsmona school was followed hv.the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Business Active

Despite the war situation in Europ, business in general continues quite ac 'iVe' said R. H. Felthaus of Phiiadel- phia-last night
 was giad to see that the New York s'ock market was bullish instead of bear ish today. That is good barometer; al any rate, steady stock market indicates Il good tone in the financial world.
 The crop reports are favorable, and oeheVe this summer will be marked by great deal of prosperity.v
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25
Cnne Growing in Alabama

At the present time Alabama produce Is quite plentiful on the Birmingham mar ket, remarked V. W. Wood
 The demand also holds up well. There has been very noticeable increase in the volume of poultry and eggs produced in this state during the present year, and It compares well with that produced by the Tennessee farmer.
 Tt is my opinion that the farmers of south Alabama are responding very readily to the crop diversifcation move ment. I received recently a 50O- gallon con signment of ribbon cane syrup from a south Alabama shipper, and it is reported that many farmers in that section have resolved to place a large acreage In sor- ghum and ribbon cane
 There is an excelant demand on the local market for home grown syrups. ana dispose of large quantities each month. There is a good margin of profit for the farmer, for from 100 to 200 gallons of syrup can be secured from the cane grown on an acre. and the producer ig usually able 10 get an average of 5q cents per gallon for his product This, believe, is much better than the averag ge return on cotton.
 The Birmingham consumer is a large purchaser of home grown syrups, and 1 feel sure that this is the case with people of other cities. Only about 10 per cent discount on the crop, I believe. is neces- sary for the grower to have his cane made into syrup. The quality of Ala bama syrup this year is especially good and other shipments will probably arrive soon.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25
The Cotton situation

A prominent New York cotton broker age house in its Saturday review says in part:
 'Notwithstandin the fact that the
 market presents a firm undertone there is littls~auestion but that in the event of serious foreign developments a sharp de-
 cline would eventuate. But outside of this 1t looks as if the other adverse fac
 tors in the situation had been equalized by the contraction in prices which has
 been witnessed. It is true that recent climatic conditions have been regarded as
 favorable. Good rains were reported in
 the eastern districts. thus facilitating
 germination which had been retarded.
 whereas in Texas and Oklahoma the
 weather was warm and dry and favorable for the cultivation and growth of the
 crop. Satisfactory growth was also re-
 ported in the southern districts east of the Mississippi where cultivation Is now in progress. These recent improved
 growing conditions will unQuestionably make for favorable government June report, but too much stress should not be laid upon the first condition report whether favorable or otherwise. A cot ton crop is never made or marred by the weather in May. be 1t good or bad. Cli: matic conditions never become a vital factor until the plant has reached fur
 ther development Acreage is the factor
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25
Suggestions to Traffic officers


 From time to time suggestions are made through the columns of The Age Herald on how to run the city govern ment and I will take advantage of this condition to make a suggestion said a citizen.
 I have noticed the traffic officers and their manner of performing their duties, and l think if each of these officers were supplied with a whistle and would use this whistle to direct traffic it would be far better than the present method of waving the hands,
 Let one shrill whistle mean that all traffic move north and south and two whistles mean that the traffic move east and west. This plan has been found to be very satisfactory in Chicago"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25

The per capita wealth of this country
 about 30 cents capital can extract any comfort from knowing this. he's welcome to It.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25

BEGINNING THE DAY--O God. help me to tell my friend whnt lie means to me. Tomorrow he may he gone. And today he may stand |" sore need of my single word. For Thou knOwest how my life has often been dry and barren and then has bIossomed under the chance confess sion of my friend. Amen.-H. NJ. E.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25
GOSSIP IN LONDON

From the Philadelphia Evening Tele-
 graph.
 In the London Scottish Gazette for May is a popular song in the Scottish trenches. and one can imagine the joy with which the men sing it. Don't go to the front, daddy, Don't risk your life, Don't go to the front, daddy, Think of your children and wife, Don't go to the front, daddy Promise me, dearie, you won't.
 As l took off my bonnet and putties
 | said:
 "Tll take jolly good care that don't"
 Typical of the splendid spirit which has called over 12,00o Jews in England to the colors is a letter, mentioned in the cur rent issue of the Jewish World, which a boy has sent to well known member of the community who has apparently been endeavoring to interfere with his military ambitions.
 T don't want you to mix in where am going" says the lad emphaticaly.
 nave NOiuHtccICu lOi tnc IiOnt, dHu am going. Never you mind about me being too young. I can do a mans share in the war easy"
 After further protestations. accompan- jed by threats of what the boy would do if the other person mixed in"-the lad proceeds to philisophize thus:
 Tt won't hurt you if I get killed, it will b,,r ,o,, ''and, besides, would rather die for my country than die as a coward. and you must die once, so let it be for my country
 Those who reckon that England is decadent nation have made the costliest mistake of their lives" said the lord chief justice, speaking last night at a Jewish recruiting meeting at Shoreditch town hall. Victory for us." he declared. 'is indomitable''
 Speaking at a meeting of the New Empress club in London on the subject of Girls War Time Clubs" in military centers, Lady Jellicoe said she was most
 
 taught plain sewing, and she advocated an inter-club competition. She had been present recently at a drilling competition in which IS clubs took part. and the en- thusiasm was great. She thought the same enthusiasm would be manifested in a sewing competition.
 Lady Frances Balfour said there was a large number of women who had been disturbed in their ordinary life by the forma tion of great camps in the vicin- ty of their households. It was recog- nized that women at this time in par ticular needed social relaxation and somewhere they could gather together specially and be taught sewing and other things.
 If these recreation rooms had been open earlier for the soldier to take in his girl friend or sister for recreation, much trou- ble would have been avoided. The clubs had done much to raise the moral tone of the country and she was anxious to increase their number.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25
JUST so

From the Pittsburg Post. T don't see why the bicycle is so much ! more popular than the tricycle.. should
 think it would be much steader and safer.' There's such a thing as having an
 excess of material. Like. for instance trying to walk on three legs"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25

Now Lord Kitchener is being torpedoed by certain London newspapers. But it will take something more than editorial disapproval to put him up in the air
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25
THE BIRCH TREE AT LosCHwITs

By Amy Levy
 At Loschwitx above the city
 The air Is sunny and chill; The birch trees and the pine trees
 Grow thick upon the hill. Lone and tall. with silver stem.
 A birch tree stands apart; The passionate wind of springtime
 Stirs in it's leafy heart. l lean against the birch tree. My arms around 1t twine; It pulses. and leaps. and quivers, Like . human heart to mine. \ One moment stand. then sudden Let loose mine arms that cling: o God! the lonely hillside, 2. The pssetonnte wind of pftngl ..,.. ].
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25

Switzerland has decided to remind the Kaiser that Swiss lives were lost when the Lusitania sank. Quite the proper thing to do.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25

England has started an 'ironclad'' blockade of commerce The former block ade was presumably of less resistant m teria1
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25

With seven nations of Europe pounding on three, the contest should be decided soon. The odds just now are in favor of the seven.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25
ADRIFT WITH TIL TfMFs'
LONG SUFFERING.

Why do you want divorce from thi, woman?"
 Your honor. shortly after we were mar. ried she mapped out course of reading for me- to overcome the pernicious effects of newspapers"
 "Go on''
 Then she persuaded me to join half a dozen highbrow societies composed of peo- pie who seemed to think I was a Hot tentot or Fiji islander"
 "Ahem.'
 T was still in love and made no protest, but when she wanted me to attend after noon lectures on new thought Instead of baseball games I ran amuck."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25

Now that the agitation over war babies has subsided, it is learned that the problem was more hysteria than fact
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25

A war correspondent says trenches are not the most comfortable things in the world Which is true even In times of peace.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25

With the ending of the Barnes Roose- welt suit, Syracuse may be expected to resume the even tenor of It's way
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25
HE KNOWS BETTER.

iN1NO"T bEI T EH A popular saying Is to the effect that you can't keep a good man down. It must tickle the lights out of old John Barleycorn every time he hears it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25

"Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight has been done in moving pictures. Still, that poem seems able to stand a lot of pun isfhnent.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25

The college youth who is elected the handsomest man in his class will have a hard time living 1t down.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25

The one lone juror who stood out for Barnes seems to have been unmoved by the Roosevelt personality
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25

Torpedo boats now dispute the right of way with gondolas in the canals oi Venice.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25

There is no use for a standard bearer in modern war. The colors might as well be left at home
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25
ALABAMA PRESS

never settle anything. She is eminently right. They only leave a legacy of fu-
 ture auarrels. the germs of future wars.
 Each war propagates its evil brood Most of the wars that have cursed the earth
 have found their origin in other wars which gave birth to still others, and so on to the end
 Anniston Evening Star: The visiting
 baseball players have taken very nearly every trench we ever captured | Talladega Daily Home Governor Hen- derson has issued an order that all con vlcts working personal servants for wardens, guards and other employees of
 the convict department must be returned to prison. Governor Henderson believes
 that public office should not be a private
 snap.
 1 Sylacauga Advance: While the business taking their day off each week this summer for an outing, why not ask
 them to Sylacauga? We have an ideal 1 park and the fairgrounds could be
 thrcwn open to them for amusement Anniston Evening Star: In the language
 of ''the girls in every town,r U c. T. | means, "U cute thing" Gadsden Times-News: Our fighting forces have been mobilized at Lake Mo-
 honk and we thought 1t was to be a peace conference.
 At any rate, this country has fewer pacifimaniacs now than 1t had a few weeks ago.
 Enterprise Peoples Ledger: War with Germany is not probability, and Uncle Sam knows that. The Germans are no,
 anxious to get mixed up with the United States
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25

At any rate, Italy gets the credit for striking while the iron Is hot
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25
NO EASY MATTER.

See here, said the policeman to the intoxicated person, 'this Is the third time you've fallen down. If you can't get home by yourself I'll have to take you to the station house.
 Gimme time. frien', gimme time," said the wavering one. Tt took me five hours to 'quire thish jag an it's goin to take me that long to carry 1t home"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-25
Iron Market Conditions

The local ~iron market is said to be firm at the recent advance, but trading , quiet, Another large buying movement is expected soon, however. Matthew Addv X Co. in their Cincinnati report of May p says among other things
 Too much attention in our opinion has been given to the export trade in iron anc steel and too little attention to the much larger domestic tonnage. The latter has been increasing steadily. The former is spectacular. but its proportion to the whole is small. As matter of fact. -vx- port business is being done with fearful handicaps. Freight rates are excessive and vessel room Is scarce. Every ship that leaves for the north of Europe ex- poets to be torpedoed, and sailngs have been much restricted. Not half the freight that offers finds ships to take 1t.
 So. while it is well as a matter of na- tional vanity to make a great hullabaloo about our exports in iron and steel. they do not amount to much as compared to the home trade Yet all America Is hu- initiated to know. as it has never known before. that the developments of our ex. port trade is not in our hands, but that we are at the mercy of foreign ship own- CTS. If the war forces us to build mer- chant marine and control our own over seas commerce. we shall in the long run be the gathers"