davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17
MEANING OF THE CRISIS

From the New Republic
 T HE loss of over 100 America n
 and over 1000 British lives on
 the Lusitania throws into cIaar relief one fact of overwhelming inn portance. It emphasizes above all the existing commercial and political de- pendence of the United States on Great Britain.
 If the German submarine campaign should be successful and British sea power be rendered ineffective for the protection of trade routes, the disaster which threatened the British empire would be in large measure shared by the United States. The existing depend. ence o fthis country on British mari time supremacy for it's prosperity and even it's safety is complete and under the present critical conditions. ap- palling. American exports and imports are carried almost entirely in British bottoms. American citizens are obliged to reach Europe ships flying the British flag
 The Monroe doctrine has been al- lowed to flourish under the benevolent fi0'eS'ioh ol oFitish sea power. Int British fleet affords the oAly real guarantee for the security of the Pan- anna canal which means that Great Britain could. take it when she pleased We have drifted into this situation without realizing Its risks and it's con sequences.
 One great object of the German sub marine campaign has been to force American public opinion to realize the implications of American dependence on British maritime supremacy. Ger
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17
GOSSIP IN LONDON
From the Philadelphia Evening Tele.

From the Philadelphia Evening Tele- graph.
 According to "The Hangar Herald, which is one of the cheeriest of those ma gazines printed and published at the front. the following is an extract from a censored letter:
 My Darling Wife: I sends in this let ter half a crown.
 "P. S.-There's a censor bloke wot opens our letters, so I sends no half crown" The name of Royal Oak station on the Great Western railway is now called out by women who in order to release men for army service are doing the work of porters and ticket collectors.
 They call out the name of the station on the arrival of trains, close carriage doors see to the prompt dispatch of trains, answer passengers queries, keep the platform tidy and collect tickets.
 For this the women receive the same pay as men beginners on the Great Vest ern railway. The porters are paid a commencing wage of 16s and the ticket collectors f1, and they are encouraged with the prospect of increases and pro- motion if they prove efficient workers.
 One of the women porters is young widow who lost her husband at the front in the early days of the war. She came to London from Leeds to become a rail- way porter
 really touching piece of kindness on the part of London omnibus conductor was seen recently. A Scottish soldier home from the front on leave entered the omnibus and took his seat with the air of man who settles down for long journey. When the conductor came around for fares the warrior asked: Flow much to -" "Fourpence," was the answer. I've only threepence, said the soldier, handing over three cop pers, "I'l go as far as I can" But the conductor punched him a fourpenny ticket-ready to bear the loss himself.
 Eyewitness" in the article on the sys- tenn for the feeding of tie British expe- ditionary force, pays a warm tribute to the excellent work of the army service corps, and gives the daily menu of the British soldier on active service. He says:
 Tt is universally admitted that no British army yet placed in the field has been so well fed as is ours today.
 The excellence of the performance of the supply columns during the present campaign is shown by the fact that ex- cept during the retirement not a single day has passed upon which food has not reached our men.
 Sometimes biscuit has been issued in lieu of bread, the small oblong or round biscuits being preferred to the old large square pattern, which require exception ally good teeth to tackle
 "The soldier has
 Bacon for breakfast
 Bread and cheese for luncheon
 "A hot meal of meat, vegetables and bread for dinner.
 Bread and jam with his tea.
 Since the commencement of the can- paign several additions have been made to the scale of food ordinarily allowed Pea soup is provided twice 8. week for the troops in the trenches, as well as ex- tra tea and sugar
 This is the first campaign in the his- tory of the army in which there has been no grumbling as to the quantity or quality of the food. Indeed. the most se- rious complaint that has ever been made is that plum jam has been issued too frequently"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17

many doubtless wants to induce the United States to issue a new deelara-
 ton of independence, to build a mer-
 it's foreign commerce and a fleet large
 enough to protect its merchant marine and the Panama canal. Such plans may eventually succeed. but they are more likely to fail They present Amer fcan public opinion not with a cate sorical imperative but with mo- mentous issue. On the one hand the united States can make itself inde pendent not only of Great Britain but or Great Britain's enemies by build ing vessels of commerce and war in competition with the mistress of tho seas
 On the other 1t can reach some kind of an understanding with Great Brit ain which would enable us to avoid the economic and moral expense of com peting with that country. Such an un- derstanding would not mean a mere regularizing of the existing condition of dependence. It would mean an aI- tempt to convert a precarious depend ence into a more substantial interde- pendence-one that would bring with 1t an effective and equitable distribu- tion of mutual rights and responsibiI- ities, and one that ought to constitute a first step in the direction of the ultimate internatienaizing sea power Such is the real issue raised by the fatal explosion off the south coast of Ireland, which has united Englishmen and Americans in a common. grief and a common indignation, and conceivably a common destiny.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17
Ridder Redeems Himself

An article signed by Herman Rid der, was recently published in the Staats- -Zeitung, which is worth re- printing in full. It said:
 "The German Americans must suf- fer in any conflict between the United States and Germany the pains of which their fellow citizens can never know anything It is rather time for showing them the greatest degree of consideration.
 "They have fought to uphold the flag in the past and will do so again against any emergency whatever. They deserve the fruits of past loyalty until they forfeit the rights to claim them. There has never been but one flag under which the Commandment can has fought. There can never be but one flag under which he will ever fight And that flag is the stars and stripes"
 In this statement Mr. Ridder clears himself of any misconception of his patriotism which may have been caused by his previous efforts to de- fend the fatherland. No one expects a German-American citizen to cease lov- ing the land of his birth, point made by President Wilson in his memorable Philadelphia address. It is an admir- able thing for citizens of foreign birth to hold this affection for their mother country, regardless of the fact that they have become citizens of another country. It is natural instinct born in all people and fair-minded Ameri- cans can scarcely censure German Americans for trying to stem the tide of feeling that has turned against the fathsrland. With . few exceptions
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17

sicians does not rest upon his creations for the stage.
 He is the foremost of French compos- CTS of orchestral music, and is one of the greatest of living masters in this de- partment. His symphonies and symphonic poems led the way for French musicians to the opulent fields of modern represen- tative composition. As pianist and as organist of the Madeline Saint-Saens earned TO small amount of fame, and when he last visited this country he showed that his fingers had not lost their cunning As composer of piano music he stands high: but when his work comes to final summing up there can be no doubt that he will be remembered as the composer of the symphonic poems "Phaeton," "Le Rouet d'Omphale,' "Danse Macabre," La Jeunesse d'Her- cule' and perhaps some of the sym phonies.
 A great traveller and a student of liter ature, a man of facile and energetic mind, a writer of elegant and philosophic criti- cism, untroubled today by the thought of yesterday. unafraid of that inconsistency which Emerson called .'the hobeoblin of little minds" Saint-Saens is one of the conspicuous figures in that eoterie of men of genius which has kept for Paris her fame as the domicile of the urban learn ing and polite thought.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17
Although Klng aeorre of EngIand Is


 Although King George of England Is
 setting the nation an example of tee
 totalism. he nevertheless has a large wine
 cellar. It Is in charge, of an official
 known as the gentleman of the cellars :"
 It is his duty to attend all the principal
 sales of liquor and buy lots, the fact cret so prices won't be run up The King s
 own wine is sent to private houses when
 he accepts an invitation to dinner. ex- cept In places where he is a frequent visitor and it is known that his tates
 will be catered to. Most of the Kings
 wines are stored in great cellars beneath St. James palace, although small sup plies are kept at Windsor castle and at
 Buckingham palace. When state ban quets are given, or royal guests enter tained, additional wines are obtained from the St. James stores. At one time the royal wine cellars contained miles of bar rels and casks and bottles. On ascend ing the throne King George ordered thorough overhauing of the wine stores, with the result that many old bottles of wine were brought to light, some of un- known origin. the gifts of foreign rulers The principal wine now used in the King s household is champagne, although he himself has always been very abstemious. A large staff of cellarmen and bottlers ire employed at St. James palace, un- fer control of a chief clerk and chief ,ellarman, whose duty is to check all bottles received and supply the desired quantities to the royal table. The wages ,f these men are paid out of the King private purse.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17
SONNET

Robert Loveman in Nautilus. Great themes and deeds surge OCT me.
 stand alone s On Piegah gazing to the promised lana. Or on the banisht. bleak, Helena strand, Looking to seaward with Napoleon. The airs of Egypt wait my galleon a Where Cleopatra lies by hour is famed, Or at a statues base I stand And find the mighty Caesar. bleeding,
 prone. < A vast procession of immortal men And georgeous women come within my
 ken; o Life. cry. what art thou. where dost
 lead? Where are these restless souls and where
 shall
 Quitting the hilltop and the pleasing mead,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17
The Stock Market


 1 Henry Clews in his Saturday review said in part:
 Though unsettled on Friday. the stock market continued strong throughout the l first portion of the week, presumably upon the hope that this country would not be, involved to the extent of actual hostilities with Germany. President Will sons calm but firm policy had an assur- ing effect, and the country, though deeply stirred refused to become excited Never theless, there is no concealing the fact that the country is facing a grave crisis. and no one can tell the outcome of the ment, it is to be hoped, will be reached and it is devoutly wished that it will The effect of war upon the United States will be less serious than upon any other nation. We can at present probably do but little harm to Germany and she can certainly do still less to us. some far ther derangement of international trade and finance may follow, but nothing like the blow which fell so unexpectedly last ceedingly well prepared to meet any such shock, and no serious disturbance need be anticipated. besides, at this writing it is premature to indulge such fears, and better to hope for a peaceful out come
 "The following are my views thereon; (heiPresidents action). The people of this country must stand by our President. President Wilson's note to the German government Is worthy of commendation from every citizen of the United States. Its tone is courteous, but at the same time firm and dignified. It's language ad- mts of no misconstruction. He appeals to the high ideals of the German race and compliments them on their previous record on the side of justice and human ity. He frankly states his demand for full reparation for the several acts where our rights Lave been invaded, and the fact that he indulges in no bombastic ut- terances adds strength and dignity to his words. He has written neither too much nor too little, and his note will fill n large page in history. Let us hope and pray that the German government will recognize the justice of his pronounce ment and thereby cement the friendship which has hitherto existed between our respective nations"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17
CAMILLE sAINT-sAENs

TOIH t1e 1NGW T Sun
 The presence in this country of the dis tinguished French composer Camille Saint-saens should add much to the interest of the musical programme at the exr osition in San Francisco. While he is here care should be taken to praise him for what he has accomplished and to lay no stress on that which does not es- pecially distinguish him., Every French composer writes operas for the stage ip the surest road to public affection. Saint Saens has written operas. of which one, Samson ct Dalila." is known here; but his eminence among contemporaneous mH-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17
From the London Times.

From the London Times.
 IVY HEN one reads the novels of
 w Dostoievsky one is aware at
 once of a difference between them and the ordinary English novel, however good it may be. The English novelist divides his characters into sheep and goats; Dostoevsky does not. The English division may not be in terms of conventional morality, but it exists all the same. There are some characters that the novelist approves of and some that he does not. But Dostoievsky, though he has no moral standard of his own does not approve or disapprove of his characters. You can hardly tell which he likes or dislikes, for he has the same searching interest in all of them and his aim is to tell you what they are, not to pass judgments upon them. But the Eng fish novelists, good and bad alike, do not attempt this impartiality. Dickens, for instance is always telling us which of his characters he thinks good and which bad. It Is only when he forgets judg- ment in humor that he can see a char actcr quite dsinterestedly, that he an create one which does not represent or oppose some attitude of his own; and that is why his humorous characters de- light us most. For those attitudes of novelists belong to their own time and their own place: their moral judgments become trite or perverse; but the men and women whom they have drawn with an impartial interest never grow stale. They are the people most like those whom we meet in real life.
 Of course, in real life, we have to pass judgment upon men for practical pur- poses. We have to determine whom we will trust and whom we will not. But these judgments of ours should remain strictly practical; they should not in- volve complete condemnation of those whom we do not trust; and we should always be aware that they may be wrong, though for practical purposes we have to act on them. But novels are not written for practical purposes that the reader may trust certain characters and distrust others; and the greater the nov elist the more he delights in his escape from the necessity to pass judgment upon people for practical purposes. He takes a holiday from such judgments, and gives he likes a character or sees one humor
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17
Romeo Is beloved nnd loves again, Alike bewitched by the charm of looks
 -ROmeo and Juliet.
BEGINNING THE DAY-O God.

BEGINNING THE DAY-O God. help me to he honest today; honest with men, myself and Thee. If have planned dishonest dealing stop me now. If during the day temptation takes me suddenly. give me strength. Rebuke me for false attitudes, fash ionnbIe insinceritles, poor make-be- Iieves, silly poses. Make me true, great God. ,n Christ's name. Amen. H. NJ. F..
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17

Birmingham. I found him a very charm as well as musicianship. He is a com poser of high merit. He has not had the time to turn out many works. but this chamber music and orchestral compost tions are played in Berlin well as this country and are much appreciated.
 Had the periodical containing the Stock sketch used the word concertmaster only once l might have thought it slip Of the pen. but as 1t was used twice l was amazed at the blunder"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17
Demand for AI.bnmo produce

Home raised produce is now taking prominent place on the Birmingha ham market remarked T. B. Tanner, the Fourth avenue dealer.
 While Florida and Louisiana ship pers continue to send us quantities of tomatoes, corn, new potatoes cucum- Ders and bell peppers. the truckers of Aiaoama and especially of Jefferson county have been for sometime placing aoequate supplies of spinach, turnips. lettuce, rawberries, eggs, poultry and tuner products on the local market. ! ne Alabama strawberry season is now at It's height and the quality of the nome grown berry this season IS excellent. The truckers of this ana adjoining counties are working with great industry this year and in short while all of the products now oeins shipped to Birmingham will be aoequately supplied from within the state.
 Tn fact, the Alabama crop diversf- ncation campaign which was recently inaugurated In this city by the Cham Ger of Commerce accomplished much toward bringing the farmers and truckers of Jefferson county and of the whole state to realization of the practical possibilities of their land and can readily see that these men are now on the right track
 T have highly cultivated farm of several hundred acres near Mt. Pin son within about 10 miles of Birmins ham and for several years past have been making a speciality of growing all kinds of vegetables and other farm products in order to be able to fur nish the consumer of this city with fresh and wholesome commodities the year round. l have been greatly en- couraged along this line by the local retail demand. My farm is conducted cn strictly business-lke lines and has become self-supporting; and l firmly believe that now undreamed of wealth can be created in the agricultural sec tons by developing farm lands so that the state will become altogether self sustaining"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
Coal Mining More Active

mere Is decidedly better tone in the coal market than was the case few weeks ago, and in fact operations have increased with most of the companies as Tar as am informed said w. D. Leake oi Jasper. general manager of the Gale donia Coal company.
 believe the coal business will con tinue to improve and from the present ou'iook It Is safe to say that there will De d great deal of activity during the summer"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17

The German embassy warned Americans through newspapers not to take passage on English ships, but left the American department of state, automatically speak ing, in the dark.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17

Prattville Progress: The cattle tick is a great prey upon the wealth of the south. And there is no need to stand for it. Let's abolish this nuisance.
 Alexander City Outlook Many cotton mills in the south are running day and night to fill their orders. Nothing that looks like hard times in that.
 Carroilton West Alabamian: Some of the prettiest patches of clover to be found in Pickens are to be seen in and around Carrollton. While these experimental patches are small. they prove conclusively that this valuable adjunct to farming op- erations can be successfully raised here- abouts.
 Collinsville Courier: CollinsviHe is right now one of the cleanest, most tidy towns of her size in the state if not in the en- tire south. The shade trees along South Valley street are beautiful and makes a fellow feel lazy to look at them on a hot day.
 Talladega Daily Home wise philos- opher says that the blindest man on earth is the fellow who robs himself, who de- stroys his own community, who seeks to cover our fair countrysides with the cobwebs of commercial. stagnation. How is your sight, fellow citizen?
 Marion Times: Buyers report that cattle are hard to find in Perry county now. The. number of cows in the county is greatef than ever before, but almost every farmer is trying to build up a herd of his own, and it is almost impossible to buy cows and heifers at any price.
 Russell Register: It is all right to talk about planting and working your own garden in the early spring when the5 weather is pleasant, but when it gets as hot as it has been the past week you are not altogether as enthusiastic as you were earlier in the year Yes we areT giving our own experience-and youiu, too. no doubt
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17

Commercial travellers will not be per- mitted to visit the Orkney Islands after May 2. However, the opportunities are much greater in South America.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17

King George has had the Kaisers name the Garter. Still, the sinking of the Co., Hath was probably compensation enough for the Kaiser.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17

Just at present Woodrow Wilson IS earning salary of not less than slo,- 0oo,O 900 year,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17

Women's clothes for next fall and win ter will be somber in hue because of a scarcity of wool dyes. Another blow to the dry cleaners.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17

It is interesting to speculate what the American navy would be doing now II T. R. were in the White House.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17

After this country acquires a fleet of sea going submarines large percentage of the population will breathe easier.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17

Upton Sinclair expressed his disappro- ba of German submarines in mediocre verse In calmer moments he would have stuck to prose.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17

The "drys, won't make any friends among the derelicts by waging war on free lunch.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17

''To proud to fight may have been an unfortunate phrase, but it does not neces- sarily imply that a nation cannot be compelled to fight
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17

It is rather discoura ging to be base ball star at time like this when the public is no longer able to give him its undivided attention.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-17

Militarism still lacks great deal of be- ing in it's death throes, but may De con sidered on its last legs.