davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1915-05-03
PLACES BLAME
ON EMPLOYERS
Member of House of Commons Asserts
There Is Less Drinking in England
Than Before War and Says Chan
cellor Is Mistaken
By Associated Press.

London, May 8, 500 A. M.-Will
Crooks, labor leader in the House of
Commons, declares in a newspaper in
terview that there is less drinking in
England than before the war and that
Chancellor of the Exchequer Lloyd
George was mistaken in the statements
he made regarding the subject.
Crooks asserted that if less work is
being done at private shipyards some
cause other than drink must be sought
and that this accusation has been spread
broadcast by employers to cover up
their own shortcomings. In his inter.
view he says:
81 have not the slightest hesitation
in saying that the Wooiwich arsenal
could turn out third more work than
it is doing now The men have insuffi-
cient work to do because of lack of or
ganization. Moreover, although the war
has lasted nine months, no accommoda-
tions yet have been provided for the
men to get their meals.
The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1915-05-03

In mentioning Kerikli the correspond
ent probably refers to Gheyikli, four
teen miles south of Kun Kale.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14
Prosperity's Onward March

From all parts of the country come reports of improved business condi- tions. In some parts of the west busi- ness activity has prevailed for months past, and now in the industrial fields where depression has been most keen- ly felt there is rapid approach to normal. Many of the large plants which have recently increased their operations lack only very small per centage of normal production.
 The New York stock market which is usually forerunner of any epochal turn in business conditions indicates at this time a healthy boom. The spectacular advance of certain indus trial stocks and railroad stocks last Friday puzzled some observers of the business world. Those who were not in touch with Wall street expressed the opinion that it was merely squirt and that it had little or no significance outside of speculative interests. But the stock market continues strong and upward, and all financiers are now accepting the prediction made by men recognized as leaders that the boom which is setting in will be the most extensive in the history of this country.
 A great era of prosperity is now plainly in sight. The retail trade in eastern mercantile centers is still dull, but it takes little time for pay roll money and new capital invested in manufactures to get into circulation. That in due course the retail trade will receive mighty impetus from the new tide of prosperity there can be no reasonable doubt.
 In the Birmingham district the con- ing summer will, it is believed, wit ness some high records in industrial operations.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14
GERMANY AND PEACE

From the Louisville Courier Journal
 WHERE was never much credence for
 the reports that Germany had com
 A municated to the United States the terms upon which she would be willing to conclude peace; so that the denial of Sec- retary Bryan and Count von Bernstorff does not come in the nature of a sur- prise. At the same time it is impossible to ignore the manner in which the whole subject of peace proposals has changed complexion as the tide of victory has set more strongly with the allies. Six months ago we were treated to conjectures by one authority and another as to what eff feet on Europe a German victory might be supposed to have, based upon the Kaiser's problem claims as a dictator of terms. Thus it was discussed in a lively fashion whether he would annex Bel gium; it was set down with certainty that Alsace and Lorraine would be hence- forth German, and that in all probability an independent Polish state would be set up as a buffer between Germany and Russia. That was in the early days of the war; it is not possible to name at just what point the discussions of that sort gave way to conjectures as to what
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14
Bumper Crops Expected

Reports from the winter wheat belt continue favorable and all indications now point to bumper crops this year. The wheat yield last year made new high record and something like the same enormous production is expectdd this summer.
 In the cotton south, where the im- portance of crop diversification is be- ing stressed, more grain and forage will be raised in 1915, perhaps, than in any previous year, and as soon as cotton farmers can fully adjust them selves to the diversification move ment this section will loom prominent ly in live stock production as we'll as in cotton growing.
 The crop diversification idea has taken firm hold in Alabama, and good results will begin to be seen this year. It may be several years, however, be- fore this state will rank with some of those long noted for large herds of beef cattle and for immense grain crops. But it is only question of time. Alabama is favored in soil and climate and along with cotton it will soon be producing all the other crops on large commercial scale. Alabama's corn crop last year was not quite 53,0OO,OOO bushels. That yield was considerably larger than the average annual yield of the last decade; but the farmers will plant a greater acreage in corn this spring than ever before, and unless weather conditions should be unfavorable the crop will probably exceed 6O,OO0, ,OOO bushels. Two or three years hence Alabama should not be satisfied with a corn crop of less than 100000, ,00O bushels.
 In the northern counties of the state diversification has been the practice for several years, and as a conse- quence northern Alabama was well off last winter when the cotton belt coun- ties were depressed. Cotton will al ways be great money crop in Ala bama, but the time is fast passing when it will be depended upon as the only wealth producer.
 The crop diversification campaign which was started early in the year was well conducted. It was thorough in every respect and nothing has aroused so much enthusiasm among the farmers. And this enthusiasm should not be allowed to wane.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14
CONDITIONS IN MEXICO
From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat

From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
 IRECTLY contrary to reports coming from Fl Paso about
 two months ago, showing conditions which were said to justify expectations of large returns from crops in that part of Mexico dominated by Villa, is the report now coming out of the City of Mexico by courier to El Paso, stating the condition of the harvest in all of the Mexican states.
 This report reveals that the now Widespread conditions of anarchy and lawlessness, which began before and continued during the season of Mex ican planting, nave brought about a shortage of supply that threatens early destitution of much more than half of the population of the country This information. because it is based more on natural conditions than the other is the more to be credited. It reports Cnly an approximation of normal crops in the states of Oaxaca, Morelos and Chiapas. all of which are states in the south of Mexico and, as yet, with the single exception of Morelos. unaffected by the revolutionary wars
 These, and perhaps one or two mol c
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14

Great interest naturally attaches to the offer which the Rockefeller foun- dation has made to Maj. Gen. William (. Gorsas, head of the medical depart ment of the United States, 10 become permanent member of it's staff as general adviser. Should he decide to accept he would probably have to re- sign from the army. Retired officers are free to engage in any business or accept any salaried position. Retired pay goes on just the same With an officer on the active list it is differ ent General Gorgas Is yet three years under the statutory retirement age His pay is $S000, and his retired pay would be D per cent of that amount. Washington special to the New York Sun says: ''The offer affords to General Gorgas an opportunity to put to a test a theory which he has long held and which if demonstrated will be of untold benefit to mankind General Gorgas believes that yellow fever can be wiped off the face of the earth and if he accepts the Rockefeller offer this will be one of the tasks to which he will devote himself" In view of General Gorgas' extraordi- nary achievements, for the good of hu- manity and of the good that he could accomplish as a member of the Rocke- feller foundation, it might be that Con- gress next winter would, by special act, retire him at his own request. He would then have all the honors at- taching his rank, and at the same time extend his activities as a disease elimi- nator.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14
ALABAMA PRESS

Randolph Star: Don't get excited over the present price of cotton and over plant. The price can go down in hurry. That fact has been demonstrated.
 Anniston Evening Star: Birmingham s running debt has now been arrested and is out on bond
 Tuscaloosa News: A contemporary re- marks that one phase of the smoke problem was settled recently at Havana.
 Talladega Daily Home: A Birmingham matron has achieved local fame by mar keting ham biscuit Wonder if they are as good as the potato biscuit. piping hot and we'll buttered. that we knew in our boyhood?
 Garsden Evening Journal: The plum tree has been shaken little at Montgom- cry and some of the officeseekers found only green persimmons
 Opclika Daily News: Don't fail to lay aside plenty of seed peas to SOW on lands now growing oats and wheat.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14
HOW LONG?

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer
 A MAN has only one life to live The "A one life he holds he usually does . not desire to give away. Self pres- ervation is natures first law And self preservation, the instinct which governs every form of life, applies primarily to personal safety. Patriotism is the in- stinct of self preservation applied to a mass of human beings. It is the result of gregarious life. The primitive instinct applies only to the individual, and the primitive instinct is still the strongest motive.
 There may even be patriotism compat- ible with self preservation. The volunteer who, swayed by enthusiasm, marches away to die is admirable, for he is SD un- selfish that he has. at least for the time being, subordinated the primal instinct. But the man who declines to die,l who thinks that there is still usefulness in life, that he may work well not only for himself, but for his fellows, is also pa- triot. His patriotism may even take the form of unyielding opposition to the mur- derous business of war.
 Month after month, thousands and thou- sands of men, whose misfortune fl is to be at the prime of manhood in the years 1914 and 1915, are being sent to ghastly death Had they lived in their fathers time they would have been permitted to enjoy their span of years, to do their al- lotted work for the general good. Their children, too, will have the simple privi- leges of existence It is merely a fright ful misohance of birth that today deprives the men of Europe of their first natural right, the right to live
 How long will the men of F,ilrone sta nd
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14
LIKE M,LuKE SAYS

From the Cincinnati Enquirer. Did you ever stop to think that maybe
 the other fellows faults that are so ap-
 parent to you may only be reflections of
 your own faults? The fellow who used to sit around and
 blame his hard luck on the tariff is now sitting around and blaming his hard luck
 on the fact that the tariff has been re-
 moved. Cheer up. If 1t wasn't for the bills on
 the road the journey would be mighty MonotOnOus. If you want to discover a mans weak points, let him do all the talking while you are doing all the listening. Some people won't be happy in heaven unless they can get to go south in win ter and north in summer. Before marriage man imagines two can live as cheaply as one. But it doesn't take long for the grocery bill to tie can to his imagination. When a man announces that all he wants Is square deal he means that he wants to be the judge of the squareness of the deal. seldom lost. wife sizes up friend husband and won- ders what she was smoking when she inn agined that he was an ideal man. There are a whole lot of fools who have no money from which to be parted. | What has become of the ld-fashioned yelled woman who used to horsewhip a
 well known citizen on the Main street of | the town? This would be a great country if mer could get up steam as easily as they gen crate hot air. The man who knows it all is usually about as helpful as the hole in the dough. nut.
 The old-fashioned man who used to hide his light under a bushel now has sor
 who gives q pyrotechnical display every night.
 I It is hard to make people understADt l! that kind word and pat on the bacl l is appreciated more by live man than q lot of flowers arc appreciated by dead man.
 ] Lots of good lockers are not nearly q
 good as they look.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14
cornse. some of them ex-

face of the corpse, some of them ex- claimed:
 "Oh, what a pityl" Others wondered why one so amply blessed in financial way should fail to find worldly happiness. Still others merely remarked, "How natural she looks," and passed nonchalantly on their way
 But they all attended the funeral and listened intently while the vil- lage parson explained in fearful ser mon that now 'In the midst of life we are in death" It is not of record, however, that the pastor cited his hearers to that wisdom found in Proverbs 1S:S, as follows:
 "The words of a talebearer are as wounds," or that found in Matthew 12:36 which says:
 But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment"
 In that day of judgment, in whose place would you prefer to stand-in that of the woman, or that of the gos- sipers who, by their malicious tongues, bounded her to death?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14
Opening Day at Redwood

This is the day of the national pas. time in Birmingham and all patriotic citizens will betake themselves to Redwood Field somewhere near 3:15 o'clock when Birmingham will have it's first chance to see the Barons in action in real struggle.
 It has become customary for the president of the Southern league each year to offer cup to the club having the largest attendance and President Baugh this year is offering the usual trophy. New Orleans, Mobile, Nash vile and Memphis had their openings yesterday afternoon; today Birming- ham, Atlanta, Chattanooga and Little Rock will play at home.
 All records of the Southern league will be broken by the attendance at Redwood this afternoon. For weeks a committee composed of representa- tives of the various civic organiza- tions has been at work with the result that half holiday has been declared by the city commission and the greater part of the stores will be closed.
 It will be necessary for Birmingham to extend herself to capture the trophy won So handily last year. The at tendance at New Orleans was an nounced yesterday afternoon as 1O,- 610. Last year at Birmingham it was 12,200. Atlanta is also making strenuous efforts to grab the cup and to win it will be necessary tc carry out the slogan of the campaign "Twenty thousand of bust"
 And besides, no one believes that the Gulls can do this afternoon what the Pels did yesterday.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14
Renewed Interest in Y. VI. c.

Renewed interest is now being mani- fested in Birmingham's Young Mems Christian association" said H. R. Howell. "The recent membership campaign, as is generally known, more than doubled the
 number of members of the association,
 and the newly initiated men and boys are flocking to the central building to partici-
 pate in it's various activities. Not only
 that, but the people who have been mem-
 bers of the association for a long time
 have awakened more fully to the advan-
 tages to be enjoyed in connection with
 their institution.
 "1he central association building and grounds now present a scene of great
 animation. The tennis courts are being
 worked over and will present most in search of healthful exercise. The pool and baths are becoming exceedingly popular, and the patronage of the cafeteria is in creasing at such a rapid rate that it has been found necessary to tear down a par ttion in order to enlarge the space. This will be done shortly. Indeed the cooking
 and service of this eating place is most attractive to the business men of the city who come in especially large numbers
 at the lunch hour.
 Tn fact, plans have been decided upon which will mean that practically the en- tire building will be renovated and become even more attractive than ever.''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14

states, are the only ones in Mexico which have, within the past year. been left unharrassed to an extent sufficient to leave their people free to follow their one pursuit of agriculture. Even ir these states the crop will be short and the rest of the country, including such central Mexican states as Zacate- cas, San Luis, Tamaulipas. Potosi, Sin alba and Durango, which in the last previous crop year were making ex- cellent returns, is now not only threat ened with famine but sure of sufferins. from it's worst effects. The orderly government which had enabled the people to prosecute their one indus- try has failed and anarchy has fol- lowed
 It is possible that the form of in- tervention we will have to make in Mexico will be that of relief measures to save the starving. Our misguided and wrong-headed Mexican policy has gone onto the point where, before long we will hear cries of distress from the innocent victims of this useless and in- eXcusable war The people will know what to do. But what will the gov ernment do?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14

it? How long will they consenr tc le herded like sheep and driven forth to tn
 butchery? It is a question well worth considering. Already it is being dumbly asked in thousands of homes in EuropA
 It is being asked in the number homes of
 Britain, where the nations cry is for vol
 untary human sacrifices to the Moloch of
 War; 1t is being asked in the humber homes of Germany, where the sacrinces
 are compulsory. Some German socialists,
 who are brave men and patriots. are en- oeavoring to begin a general international movement to stop the unholy carnage:
 British working men, who also have their organization, are beginning to ask why
 they and their brothers should be con- demned to death. What boots it to the dead German socialist or the dead British laborite that German or British supre-
 macy is established? What matters it to the nameless private who rots in an un- marked grave in the mud of Flanders? This man might have done his stint of
 useful work; might have had sturdy pro-
 geny The men of Berlin and London are
 beginning to ponder on the useiessness and hideousness of the struggle
 It is possible though not probable, that this pondering will have it's appreciable effect on the war. It is not probable, be- cause mankind has not yet outgrown the militaristic idea, because the glamour or
 the bloody field still has it's appeal, be-
 cause the flock is yet willing to move
 dumbly at the command of the master. Only if the war goes too far, if it goes on till all the enthusiasts are dead or 6is- abled, will the stolid questioners have their day. And it will be bad day for the tin deties of militarism.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14
Gossip

Here is little tragedy which proves two things-that wealth does not insure happiness and that gossip is as insidious as serpent.
 In Missouri village noted for it's religious zeal, a widow reputed to be worth $150,000 committed suicide a few days ago. She left note say ing:
 My neighbors have talked about me; l am unhappy and I don't wish to live longer. "A good name is to be chosen above great riches I have al- ways tried to live an honorable life but my neighbors have blasted my good name"
 A coroner's investigation developed the fact that the widow had been the subject of an undercurrent of un- complimentary gossip, but nowhere did there appear any tangible record of wrongdoing on her part. Crystal lized into actual fact, it appears that the dead woman's worst crime con- sisted in receiving letters at the vil- lage postoffice twice a week, and these letters were always addressed in the same handwriting and this handwriting was evidently that of a man. Additional to this she was known to have made periodical trips away from the village, visiting in a nearby city week or two at time.
 These incidents formed the basis of speculative gossip.
 It subsequently, developed that the letters received by the widow were from respectable business man whom she was engaged to marry, and her visits to the city simply meant that she had gone to see sister of her deceased husband. \ Nothing so very wrong about either of these things, is there? Yet the gos- sipers gossiped and the sensitive woman brooded over this gossip until her mind and heart came to the break. ing point.
 Then she ended it all with dose of poison.
 When these gossiping neighbors looked upon the pallid, upturned
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14
Damro.ch,s Southern Tour

Walter Damrosch. with his splendi, New York symphony orchestra, started on southern tour few days ago, and the greater part of this week he will be in Spartanburg. conducting the an. nual festival in that musical town" saic cal organizations.
 "Damrosch will conclude his Spartan burg engagement Friday night and wil give a concert Saturday night in Atlanta under the auspices of the Alkahest ly. oeum. It will be the first time that g symphony orchestra has been heard II Atlanta since an annual grand opera season was established there several year, ago.
 Grand opera is great factor in tn, musical world, of course, especially wher presented by the New York Metropolitaf company. but Atlanta has made it tn, one musical feature of the year, ant all other music has been ignored or side tracked. The opera is a great show in stitnion, and, half the people that attend are there chiefly for show. Atlanta uset to pc d Ncis iiuSicti Sits. ->oW IL IS tH' least musical city in the south. Sucl great artists as Paderewski, Ysaye, tn, Flonzaleys and many others who hay, appeared in Birmingham within the pas few years went from here to Georgia but not to Atlanta for the simple reason that there was no opening for them there it may be that Atlanta is now waking ,,p to the importance of patronizing con cert music. I have no doubt Damroscl will draw large crowd there.
 ")amrosch will reach Birmingham Sun Cay night and his orchestra will be heart at the Jefferson theatre in two festiva concerts Monday The orchestra zoe from here to Montgomery for concer Tuesday night
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14
The Birmingham Opener

Birmingham has its hat in the ring for the attendance record at the opening game" said Oscar c. Turner.
 ''The city broke all attendance records last season at the opening, winning the trophy, as every one knows: and the team by the way, proved pennant win ner The Atlanta fans this season are also exceedingly enthusiastic and are making a united effort to outstrip all pre- vious records. But Birminghams slogan, 10000 or bust is proving most effective. Tho business men of the city are getting into the game in earnest, and employees are enthusiastic over the prospect of at tending the opening game. Tickets are in demand. In fact, the Birmingham people seem now thoroughly inoculated with the spirit of fandom. Let no one hesitate | in regard to attending Wednesdays open | CT; and let it stand 10000 or bust"