davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-02-17

Radng at Havana was postponed until Thursday because of heavy rain.
 Tha4Bank o1 England minimum rate of discount Is unchanged at per cent.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-02-17

The Weather:-Fair tonight and Thursday, colder tonight.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-02-17

for the privilege of belonging to the club
 Each member pays only the regular cash price of machine she chooses There extra charges of sort The club simply brings machine at regular c price on easy terms of payment.
 HowFand machines competent home machil They do their work quietly and we'll We guarar every one And their cost is $15 to $39 according chosen
 Will you inspect and test then9 It will pay.
 floor.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-02-17
HOWLA.ND'SN

trances Street Avenue and Cannon ete
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-15

that such an exceptionally equipped member of the medical profession and such public-spirited citizen had been induced to accept. Not only did he bring ripe experience and human sympathy into his new field of activ- ity, but his enthusiasm and initiative afforded inspiration for all his as sistants.
 Birmingham improved health con- ditions today result in very large degree from Dr. Cunningham's tire less work. As a health officer he was indeed nothing short of ideal. In the city's drastic retrenchment the changes proposed would so cripple his depart ment that he could not, he concluded, remain in office and do justice to him. self.
 For the good of Birmingham it is hoped the commission may yet find some way to modify their ,retrench- ment schedule in respect to the health department and be able to induce Dr. Cunningham to reconsidep his resig- nation.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-15
Efficient Railway Organization

The vacancy in the position of gen. eral superintendent of the Southern railway, caused by the resignation of C. L. Harris, has been filled by the promotion of Division Superintendent J. H. Stanfield, and it is a noteworthy fact that other promotions followed in rotation.
 The superintendent of Birmingham terminals becomes division superin- tendent. The trainmaster between Birmingham and Atlanta becomes superintendent of terminals. The trainmaster of the Northern Alabama becomes trainmaster of the Southern and the inspector of agencies becomes trainmaster of the Northern Alabama It has sometimes happened that men in the line of promotion were over looked when vacancies higher up oc- cur, but it was not so in this case. Every subordinate who was advanced had proved himself competent and faithful, all of which speaks well for the efficiency of the Southern's dis trict organization. In years gone by railroad officials, no matter what their grade, never felt secure in their positions. Anything like a merit sys- tenn was unknown. It was influence or "pull" that usually counted most.
 But times have changed for the better. Every well managed railroad company looks to all it's employees for good service and it encourages those who have been capable and con- scientious in the discharge of their duties by promoting them. The South ern is now noted for it's esprit de corps and that spirit is due largely to the fact that the executive officials never fail to show their appreciation of in dividual effort in all departments of the service.
 Mr. Harris, who leaves the South ], ern, is one of the most popular citi- zens of Birmingham, and his friends here will wish him well in any under taking in which he may engage. His successor, MT. Stanfield, having achieved signal success in operating the Birmingham division, can be de- pended upon to make good in his hroader field.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-15
See Huntingdon Ftrst

Upon my return from short vacation spent in Florida 1 find things here in my line looking exceedingly bright said P. C. Kidd, Birmingham manager for a life insurance company.
 Most of my time while in Florida was spent at Mayport, and my party enjoyed delightful outing. Fishing was very good. indeed The beach in that locality is one long stretch of hard sand which is all that could be desired for motoring. After a short time spent at the seashore, I returned to Birmingham last week feel ing in excellent form for work.
 'One of the first things I did upon re- turning home was to join the Birmingham Newspaper club. This is indeed a re- markable institution, and it's beauty and excellent appointments came as a happy surprise to me. Though I have been a years and had heard glowing accounts of this club. strange to say I had not taken advantage of an opportunity of vis- iting its quarters at the summit of the Jefferson County Bank building. I be- came member at the solicitation of a personal friend. without seeing the club and on Wednesday when I visited 1t and viewed the district for the first time from ths height the pleasure was so great that l feel like inaugurating a See-B Bir- mfngham-first' campaign for the benefit oi other unfortunates who have not visited the Newspaper club.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-15

From the New Orleans Item,
 The Saturday Evening Post has a sad editorial entitled, Our Needless Wars. ' It heads the list with the Revolution, fol- lows with the war with Mexico, then with the civil war, and finally with the war with Spain.
 Why not head the editorial, "Oui Needless United States?"
 It is easy, in looking over history, to say thus and so was a tragic futility. II is calming to remark that nothing was ever gained with war that could not have been better gained without var
 That is true. So is it true that nothing was ever stolen that honest effort could not have duplicated No burglar evei broke wisely into a house, and no house holder ever killed an intruding miscreani without destroying life that might have been saved.
 When we accept the fruit of human eff. fort through the ages we must in con siderng the record. take the good and the evil, and the combat between the two.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-15
RICH woMEs,s HUSBANDS

From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
 St. Louis has recently grieved over the woes of a rich woman's husband as de- scrlbed by himself, but 1t has done 1t in helpless sort of way. There seemed to be no remedy. In this case the poor hus- band had been guilty of gross neglect, in that he had made no contract to protect himself He assumed all risks when the sky was cloudess and the future looked roseate. But case Is reported from New York different in kind. The ap- pellate court of that state has uphad the right of an ex-policeman to sue his rich wife for specific performance of con- tract to pay him s10.000 a year, the con- sideration being that he resign from the worlds finest and devote his entire time to acting as her handsome and at- tentive husband The suit was instituted sometime ago and the nisi prius judge took the unenlightened view that the alleged contract was invalidated by the ancient theory of law that it Is the hus- bands duty to support his wife. It Is happy sign of the progressive spirit of the appellate court of the Empire State that it has ignored this obsolete doc- trine It asserts the rights of the poor husband of rich woman, in the sweep ing statement that wife may lawfully contract to pay her husband a sum of money Ito induce him to refrain from a. course of conduct, or taking position, or following a calling of which she does not approve" When. the husband com plies with the terms, he can enforce the contract in court
 It is very gratifying to learn that the law protects innocent, trusting young men who are lured into matrimony by rich young women. When they learn new manners, abandon precious habits, sever old ties relax their efforts in their call ing or otherwise dlscommode themselves to gratify the whims of rich wives, they should be recompensed. But all should take the precaution of the New York policeman, who had been about the courts long enough to recognize the advantage Of having promises ''in black and white" He deprived himself of the advantages of seniority and prospect of a pension by retiring from the force. In measuring his damages, his personal humiliation at inn agining that folks point him out as that lex policeman and ex-husband of a rich wife should not be forgotten. The de- cision is a great triumph of equal rights and every justice of the appellate court is a Daniel.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-15
To Have a Great State Fair

We are going to pay special attention to the educational features of the state fair this fall" stated R. A. Brown presi- dent of the Alabama State Fair and Ex- hibit association, which will hold its an- nual exhibition this fall October T to 16, inclusive. MT. Brown and B. B. Burton,
 chairman of the executive committee os the fair association, will leave for Chi cago July 26 to make bookings for the
 various amusement features and attrac-
 tons of the 1915 fair.
 We are going to develop the educa-
 tional phase of the fair and we are going
 to give the best bill of clean sideshows
 free acts and amusements that has ever
 been seen anywhere added MT. Brown
 We propose to take special care to see
 that all sideshows and acts that are not
 strictly clean and fit for anybody to wit
 ness be barred from the midway.
 "On the other hand. if in the exhibits
 we can aid or show farmer, a merchant
 an industrial operator, a housewife. cattle
 breeder or any such person how to better conduct his or her affairs we feel that it Is something worth striving for, and that is to be our main aim. In the free acts, too, we intend to cater to those who wish not only to be entertained, but who will appreciate an actual moral lesson, such as an attractive athletic act which will Inspire every boy who sees it to de- velop himself physically, and so on. T am very optimistic over the outlook for the 1915 fair. The concessions are breaking all records and I cannot see now why we should not make 1t tremendous success"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-15
THE FLAG GOES BY

y H. H. Bennett. Hats off! Along the street there comes a blare of bugles. ruffle of drums. A flash of color beneath the sky: Hats of
 The flag is passing by! Blue and crimson and white it shines, Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines. Hats off
 The colors before us fly: But more than the flag is passing by. Sea fights and land fi,hts grim and
 great, Weary marches and sinking ships; Cheers of victory on dying lips; Days of plenty and years of peace; March of a strong lands swift in-
 crease; Equal justice. right and law, Stately honor and reverend awe; Sign of nation great and strong To ward her people from foreign
 wrong;
 Pride and glory and honor all Live in the colors to stand or fall. Hats off, Along the street there comes And loyal hearts are beating high: Hats off,
 The flag is passing by
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-15
UNCLE SAM'S "NOTES"

the company to get the massage to its
 destination in the most direct and speedy
 manner.
 Tn the case of the note of May IS the
 message went first to Rome There the apparently meaningless groups of figures were relayed to Vienna. From Vienna the message travelled to Berlin Italy was
 at that time still a neutral.
 Arriving in Berlin, German telegra-
 phers receive the arthmetical puzzle and
 turn it over to Ambassador Gerard. Now the task of decoding the document be-
 gins. The ambassador has expert assist
 ants for this purpose. just as in the case of the state department. He also has an identical set of code books and, fur thermore, knows the key. The experts get to work on the task of making sense
 out of a tumble of numerals Almost
 invariably this Is longer task than putt
 ting message into code. and it is often subject to delays caused by an error in
 the transmission of a single figure. "At last, however, the ambassador has
 the note before him in plain English. He
 may discover, as nthe case of the orig
 inal note on the Lusitania case, that he l Is instructed to carry it to the German foreign office and read 1t to the minister for foreign affairs. Thereupon he puts it
 in his pocket and goes straightway to the foreign office, where he secures an in- terview with von Jagow.
 "To Minister Won Jagow he reads the
 note. It is still in English Whether Von Jagow has a perfect understanding of that language Is not matter of rec ord here. At any rate, having read the
 note aloud, Ambassador Gerard takes his departure leaving the copy in English
 at the foreign office. von Jagow turns
 this over to his translators, who put the document into German. Then. at last, it Is ready for official consideration by the | ministry, the Kaiser or whatever part
 of the German government is handling such affairs at the present time.
 "The recent answer of Germany in the Lusitania case came to the United States by way of Copenhagen and London. It was delivered to Ambassador Gerard by the foreign office written in German.
 The ammbasshdor first had to turn it over to a translator. who put it in English. Then it went to the code experts at the embassy. who translated 1t into a series of arithmetical groups. It was then put i in the hands of q cable company.
 The cable company elected to transmit l the message to Copenhagen, Denmark From Copenhagen it was relayed to Lon- | don. Now, all ordinary cable commun. ications between Germany and the out side world is cut off England is bel- | ligerent and there is strict censorship over telegrams. But England recognizes of course. that the ambassador of a neu- | tral power has a perfect right to com
 municate with his government.
 An examination of the code message | by censors shows plainly the character | of 1t from the address and the sigma ture. It is a message from Gerard in Berlin to Bryan in Washington So Eng
 land promptly permits the message to go
 through. 1t reaches New York by cable. From New York 1t is telegraphe to the | state department in Washington, where
 experts reduce t from the code to plain
 English" :"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-15
DEMAND FOR QUICKSILVER

From the Memphis Commercial-Appe
 There is no commercial industry that has not felt the effect of the European war.
 American markets have not been so pressed with foreign orders before in re- cent years.
 European supplies are being exhausted. America must supply the European de- mand.
 In other respects the United States is the sufferer, for we have always depended upon Europe for many things.
 A notable instance of this is shown in the present price of quicksilver, which has doubled in the last six months
 The quicksilver mines of California, Ne vada and Texas cannot supply the Amer ican demand. Before Italy declared war against Austria the American market de- pended largely upon this country for quicksilver but since then Italy has with drawn from the market
 Few people are familiar with the quick silver industry in this country and have but a meager idea of the extent of the trade Fortunes are made in quicksilver
  According to H. D. McCaskey of the United States geological survey, we may yet confront a famine, unless European sources of supply are soon opened to American buyers. At the beginning of the war the price was $40 flask of I'd pounds. Today the market price has ad- vanced to s95 more than double what n was six months ago. Some quicksilver may be expected from the small surplus in Mexico, but that country is so riddled with revolution that the mines are no longer being operated. Domestic mines being practically without opposition can regulate the price to suit themselves. The man who has a quicksilver mine today has an independent road to fortune. The normal annual consumption, according to Mir McCaskey Is about 21,000 f1asks. The demand now is abnormal.
 So long as European countries, espe- cially Italy, which is one Of the greatest producers of quicksilver, were in the mar ket competition in this country was great, and 1t was because of this competition that prices were kept within reason. Now enjoying a practical monopoly. American producers are taking advantage of the situation and are forcing prices. The war will not last always, and when the skies have cleared the price will be restored but in the meantime the American in dustry will enjoy an unprecedented pros perity.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-15
British Women At Work

Whatever criticism may be made of Great Britain's manhood, no fault can be found with the women of the empire who have bravely shouldered unaccustomed burdens and are show ing qualities of patriotism that are highly admirable. A considerable percentage of Englishmen are not shirking military duty and their places in commercial and industrial life are being taken by women. There are women and girl workers in the hay fields. They run elevators in London and other cities, they act as porters at railway stations, as rail way clerks, ticket collectors, station masters, omnibus and street car con- ductors, grocers' assistants, railway carriage cleaners, packers, messen- gers, letter carriers, motor drivers, watchers, dispatch riders, butchers assistants and in many other capaci- ties. In ammunition factories they are performing work of greatest i'm portance of the empire.
 Not only are women appearing in all branches of industry, but they are proving remarkably efficient and when the war is over they will have assumed a position of such impor- tance in the nation that Englishmen can no longer refuse them the ballot Although Mrs. Pankhurst and her fol lowers are working with commend able fervor to ameliorate the horrors of war and help solve the economic problems of the government, they doubtless see ahead as well as any one else and it is likely that there will never again be any excuse for 2 suffrage riot in England.
 However, British women are noi alone in patriotic work. Their sisters of Germany and France are equall, heroic. Never before have womer played such an important part in { great struggle between nations and i is largely due to their success il adapting themselves to tasks fol which they were formerly thought un fitted.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-15
Cordovn,s Great Future

"Cordova, in my opinion, is destined to be one of the greatest cities in the south," said Lee Roy Smith manager of the Warrior River Development company. With the opening of Lock F. the War rior river was made navigabe up as far as six miles above Cordova. This cou- pied with the fact that 1t Is so easily &C., cesslble from Birmingham, augurs well for the future growth of the city.
 "Cordova is situated 33 miles from Bir- mingham. Four railroads have main lines through the city and IA passenger trains pass through each day, One of the best county roads in the south runs from Bir- mingham to Cordova direct. It Is only about two hours drive in an automo7 bile and is one of the prettiest drives around the Birmingham district Cordo- Va, because of it's several connections with Birmingham, will in time become one of the summer residential sections of the citizens of this city. One can get to the country and yet be in direct touch with the city all the time at Cordova.
 Improvements of large character are contemplated and many improvements al- ready are under way Cordova is the logi- cal gateway to the gulf and 1t is the head of navigation on the Warrior
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-15

The North Dakota is one of the largest
 warships in the United States navy. Her dimensions are as follows: Length at
 water line, 510 facet; length over all SIS feet inches; beam, s5 feet inches; mean draft, 27 feet; normal displacement, 20,O00 tons; full load, 22,O6o tons. The Delaware is a sister ship to the North Dakota and has the same dimensions. The armament of these ships consists of 10 12-inch guns, IA 5-inch rapid fire guns and four 3-pound- ers. Each has two submerged 12-inch tor pedo tubes. The 12-inch guns are mount ed in pairs in five turrets two being for ward and three astern. All 10 guns can be used in broadsde. while the fire of the four forward guns can be concentrated on single target also that of four of the rear guns. The North Dakota has an armor belt amidships II inches thick and 8 feet wide, with six and three-quarters feet below the water. There Is a 10-inch upper belt seven and two-thirds feet wide. The ends and the decks are protected by armor three inches thick. The North Da- kota was built at the yards of the Fall River company. She was launched in 1908 and commissioned in 1910. Officers and crew number 937. Equipped with Cur tis turbine engines to develop 25,0o0 horse power, the North Dakota has a normal speed of 21 knots an hour.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-15
From the Brooklyn Eagle.

"7 HII1NG hote 10 Germany IS A/ one thing and sending 1t is an-
 W other.
 Diplomatic notes pass between one government and another through chan nels that are safeguarded from prying eyes, handled only by the most trusted employees, and are sent between various points in such a complicated code dis guise that even should they fall into i'm proper hands it would be practically im- possible to decipher a single word.
 The correspondence that has been passing between the United States and Germany is handled In manner typical of all such communica tions, with perhaps even more than the usual rigid care to prevent any leakage.
 "A note in diplomacy is by no means brief affair. It is always sent by tele- graph and in code. When a note goes out from the state department at Washing ton 1t has already passed through the hands of several men. In the first place, it has been prepared in rough form by the President himself, at least under this administration. In this form it has been read to the cabinet and discussed Then the President makes an exact draft.
 This is examined by the counselor of the state department, who may suggest someverbal changes in order obring it into strict conformity with diplomatic usage. If there are any changes, they are made with the approval of the Pres- dent. and the last revision is examined by him.
 Tt Is turned over to the chief clerk of the state department with instructions to transmit it. The code system most commonly employed by the government involves the use of numerals, so that when note Is finally in cipher form the message consists of series of figure
 The note now being arranged is in a series of numerical groups. It goes through another change. The figures in each group are transposed in accord ance with a certain key. This is an ad- ditional check against unauthorized translation. Should a state department note fall into the hands of person who had in some manner possessed himself of copy of the code, he would still be unable odecipher 1t for want of the key to the riddle.
 "The use of various keys Is understood by prearrangement between the depart ment and the ambassadors and ministers to whom such communications are sent. The code copies themselves are kept un- der lock and key at the department in the chief clerks safe.
 .sTh ecode message goes first to New York, where 1t is received in the office of cable company. From this time until | 1t reaches it's destination it is in private hands. Under ordinary circumstances there are well defined routes by which I messages are cabled from the United States to various parts of Eurors. Since the war. however. some of these routes have been interrupted and others ehAqsad The government leaves it C
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-15
The Rolling "R,

The individual who is fortunate enough not to have three in his telephone num- Der, said l.. R. Hanna yesterday, should render thanks The telephone opera tors, evidently to reduce the monotony of repeating numbers have introduced lit tie trick of trilling the number three, giv- ing it a distinctive roll While it is prob able that not all the operators are ad- dicted to this habit, its vogue Is quite general.
 While the fad is by no means dis agreeable. I suppose 1t has aroused quite bit of speculation as so just which op- orator introduced it. At first I thought that 1t was merely individual, but after questioning several of my friends about it I find that the practice Is quite com mon on the various lines.