davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01
In the Business World

Henry Clews, in his Saturday review, says in part:
 AS to general conditions, the ten- dency is rather towards improvement than otherwise. Confidence has been steadily growing because the country has adjusted itself to the war basis, because the antagonsm to capital shows signs of abating, because our legis- lators are beginning to realize that at tacks upon business have been carried to an injurious degree and because the manifestation of more considerate spirit on part of the interstate com merce commission. Our continued large export movement and the resulting favorable balance of trade is likewise an important factor, inasmuch as it strengthens our ability to retain If not attract gold. At present the excess of exports over imports is phenomenal the only drawback being that dimin- ished imports are having a detrimental effect upon national revenue. It is much more desirable that we import merchant disc than securities in payment for our exports; because Europe is likely to resist gold movement in this direc- tion. and we do not wish an influx of American securities.
 "A more hopeful spirit prevails in trade circles. Abundant money promises to be a powerful stimulant to trade re covery. The iron industry is still very dull, but it's leaders preserve an opti- mistic front It cannot grow worse and must grow better in time The textile trades are more active. and better prices are being obtained for both cotton and
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01
-see----- AN ODE: BOADICEA

By William Cowper. When the British warrior queen, Bleeding from the Roman rods Sought, with an indignant men, Counsel of her country's gods Sage beneath the spreading oak Sat the Druid, hoary chief; Every burning word he spoke Full of rage, and full of grief 'Princessi If our aged eyes
 Weep upon thy matchless wrongs, 'Tis because resentment ties All the terror of our tongues Rome shall perish-write that word In the blood that she has split Perish, hopeless and abhorred, Deep in ruin as in guilt. Rome. for empire far renowned, Tramples on a thousand states; Soon her pride shall kiss the ground Hark! The Gaul is at her gates, "Other Romans shall arise,
 Heedless of a soldiers name: Sounds. not arms. shall win the prize. Harmony the path to fame. Then the progeny that springs
 
 Armed with thunder clad with wings, Shall wider world command. Regions Caesar never knew Thy posterity shall sway; Where his eagles never flew,
 None invincible as they" Such the bard's prophetic words, Pregnant with celestial fire, Bending as he swept the chords Of his sweet but awful tyre She, with all a monarch's pride. Felt them in her bosom) glow: Rushed to battle, fought, and died; Dying, hurled them at the foe. "Ruffians. pitiless as propd! Heaven awards the vengeance due; Empire is on us bestowed,
 Shame and ruin wait for you" ---
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01
JAPANESE UMBRELLA TRICK

Feats with an umbrella of the Jap anese kind, are very common, writes M. Gintaro in the February Strand. The juggler throws up ball, catches it on the top of an open umbrella, and. by twisting the handle rapidly, causes the ball to run around the edge of the um- brella. A similar feat is performed with curtain rings and with coins; the smaller and lighter coin the more difficult the feat
 All these feats were originated by street performer in Japan. One day, while passing under the walls of cas- tie, small audience collected on the top of the wall and playfully dropped some tangernes on to the comedian of the com pany of struggling jugglers. (No such company is complete without comed- ian) The next day the comedian was
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01
STICK TO SEED GRAFT
By BILL VINES

state in Washington. has nevertheless not been so engrossed but what he has found time to think of him. and to in close him this little package of seed, to- gether with his kind regards. as a token of his esteem.
 Someone has suggested that these seed serve no earthly purpose but it is simply another method of pulling the leg of that benevolent old gentleman, Uncle Sam, for 250,o00 bones per annum for the benefit of members of Congress. Perish the thought These little seed are scat Tered from Maine to California, and from the lakes to the gulf and while the sum total of their offspring may not add 10 per cent of their cost to the crop pro- duction of the country. they at least are productive of a kindly feeling from, tba recipients for the donors, which serves to perpetuate said donors in Conpress which certainly helps some If the dom DTS were not kept in Congress the peo- pie would be deprived of their services faithful public servants would be turned out on the pasture and public and leyis- lative efficiency would totter on it's throne whatever that is. Thus the people would be the losers in the long run If is het- ter, therefore, that the people should con tinue to pay for the seed that they are sending to themselves, although for a nickel they could probably buy some that suited them better, in order that the said seed might bring forth a harvest of gen. erons support for the members of Con gress under whose frank they are sent. hot h Irfl
 retaining his valuable services-and SO on adinfntum
 And let it be recorded that the moye- ment to cut out the annual allowance of seed was ignominiously defeated. The peoples money was again appropriated to send the people their seed by the peo- pie representatives-th gardn seed pro- gramme of converting the plain farmer 10 scientific agriculturist still prevails long may it wave.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01
POINTED PARAGRAPHS

From the Chicago News.
 However there are many fair singers who are not blondes.
 Ready money is seldom ready when you want to borrow some.
 Money you get on the mare doesn't al ways put her under the wire first.
 Nothing is gained by abusing those whose opinions differ from your own
 A man may boast of his ancestors be- cause he has nothing to look forward to.
 It is far easier to acquire reputa- ton for greatness than 1t is to make good.
 Many a woman who doesn't know her own mind gives her husband pieces of it.
 Who ever saw a free show that didn' have some kind of string attached to it?
 If man didn't make an occasional mis- take his friends would have no kicks coming.
 When a woman Is able to make some other woman jealous she realizes that she has not lived in vain.
 Before congratulating yourself when you come out on top, bear in mind that the froth on a glass of beer does the same.
 Some men find it so difficult to save a little money when single that they don't evan think i. worth while to try after marrying.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01

were placed, with 300,OOO tons addi- tional pending.
 The railroads are showing good increase in traffic. In December there was a heavy shrinkage in net earn ings, but the January gross earnings showed a large increase compared with January of last year.
 The increasing movement of cotton IS being appreciably felt by the south ern lines, and southern railroad stocks are much stronger on the New York exchange in consequence of the gen. eral improvement in the cotton situa- ton.
 The indications for February point to considerable increase in most lines of business.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01

IVY ASHINGTON, January 31.-fSpe-
 w cial.)-Some misguided person,
 who in an unguarded moment, "inle no one was looking. broke into eongress-suffering under a delusion that something ought to be done which smacked of economy-rose LID in the House the other day and mildly suggested that the a.250.oO0 annually spent for the olstflpution of seed by members of Con- gress might be dispensed with
 Ihereupon large and exceedingly peeved and indignant majority of the membership of said House went right up in the air and began to gnaw the hard wood furnishings of the historic chamber Tn frenzy of protest. For years it has been the high privilege and pleasure of each member of Congress to mail to each of his beloved constituents-who possesses the requisite qualifications en- titling him to muss up an Australian bal lot. about 1e cents worth of seed, ranging in variety from the low-neck dyspeptie squash to the dwarfed goose berry. That any sane person could the monumental and colossal nerve to offer objection to Congress con ferring this great boon upon the plain people stands out prominently as one of the mysteries of the age It is nconceiv- able how any one could be so lost to sentiment, and one thing and another, that they would seek to deprive the hon. est farmer or artisan of the joy of re- ceiving his little package of seed from his congressman in Washington.
 Think of the unalloyed joy of planting an early variety of sho-fy geranium in A carefully prepared bed in the spring tra- la, and after a few weeks of anxious waiting find that you have developed an oleander, or new species of eggplant
 Not only does this bring joy to the heart of the constituent, but moreover the very fact that he gets the seed is conclusive proof that his congressman. though highly involved with affairs of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01

wooden fabrics. The high price of wheat is exceedingly satisfactory to growers values may be raised to dangerous height, not to speak of the probability of stimulating undesirable agitation. The higher prices for cotton have also imparted better feeling in the south; and the tendency of opinion in all sec tons of the United States is toward hopefulness and against the extreme pessimism which has so long destroyed initiative. In about month Congress will adjourn, and the whole country will feel a sense of relief after so much agi- tation appertaining to business affairs"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01
SWEEPING THE SEA FOR MINES

James II. Hare in Leslie S.
 Most of the crews of the sweepers are hardy seamen from these coasts. Yes terday fishing boats brought 10 men ashore four of whom were injured, W ho had been a part of the crew of the former Grimsby trawler, the Sweeper Four of her crew were lost when she went down, after Jumping into a mine, and another one died of his injufies after landing here. The sinking of this vessel was witnessed by three fisher men from a distance of 100 yards. 1ir mediately after a terrific explosion the vessel started to go down by the DOW and in 10 minutes she was at the bot tom Two boats were launched and ali the crew who were not killed by the explosion got off. Various other trawl = CTS have been reported to have struck mines and been destroyed.
 Floating mines can be seen from the deck of a boat and are frequently de- stroyed by rifle fire. Submerged mines are a different proposition. They are from eight to ? feet below the surface, and attached to an anchor by cable They have to be located by traWling or sweeping, that is dragging cables through the water at the proper depth to engage the fastenings that connect the mines with the anchors. Alter a mine is located in this way 1t has to be handled with care or it may explode prematurely.
 Sweeping for mines is cold, hard work at this season of the year. It calls for good seamenship and plenty of endur- ance, in addition to the courage to face apnihilation at any moment. The fish ermen of the east coast are the men who respond to this call from their country.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01
Prosperity in the Northwest

Great prosperity prevails in the Da- kotas and in the grain growing section generally" said Charles H. Ungerman, president of the Birmingham Packing company, who has just returned from a states.
 T was in Chicago, and that city looks very busy. but manufacturers are still complaining of dullness. The prosperity of the west, however, should soon be felt by all lines of business in Chicago The receipts of hogs there last week were immense-the largest, perhaps, ever known
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01
SCIENTIFIC BARBARISM"

From the Louisville Courier-Journal.
 T isn't in the least remarkable that
 Professor Bergson, addressing the French Academy of Moral and Po- ltical Science, should make the asser- ton that Prussianized Germany repre- sents the new barbarsm'' based upon the mastery of the various branches of science without the mastery of the soul which spiritualzes man and makes real civilization. His descriptive phrases, such as scientific barbarism' and systematic barbarism," fall happily of course, upon the ears of the special audience to whom they are primarily addressed. But it is significant that what he says in the terms of a philosopher is about what is being said populary and to popular au- diences.
 Professor Bergson pictures the his torian of 2015 looking backward and viewing the war that is now in progress.
 He will say that the notable idea of the nineteenth century to employ science for the satisfaction of our material needs had given the mechanical arts an unex- pected range and procured for man in iNSo litH ov years llOIe lOOlS lHdn ne had made in the thousands of years he had hitherto passed on earth. Each new machine was a. new organ for man-an artificial organ to prolong the term of his natural organs. In consequence his body became suddenly and prodigiously enlarged, and his soul could not diate rapidly enough entirely to contain this new body. Out of the disproportion rose moral social and international problems, which the majority of peoples sought to solve by removing discrepancies, by working toward greater liberty, greater fraternity, and greater justice than the world had ever before known. Then while humanity was engaged in this great work of civilization, inferior powers-I had almost said fnfernal-were trying the inverse experiment.
 What would happen if the mechanical forces which had been brought to the point where they could be put at the ser vice of man should master him and con- vert him into their materiality? What would become of the world if this mech- anism should take possession of all hu- manity. and if the races, instead of lift ing themselves freely to a diversity richer and more harmonious, as persons.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01
Garden Spot of Alabama

"The garden spot of Alabama is the Tennessee valley" said c. M Cook, who is native of Madison county. That rich and fertile section, level as a billiard table in many places produces abundant crops of cotton, corn and haly.
 q have visited recently along what was once known as the Memphis and Charleston railway, through several counties and the difference between that section, it's homes and it's citizens, and it's prosperity, is marked in comparison with other sections.
 "On last Saturday l rode over miles of that beautiful section lying between Courtland and Decatur, and over a part of the 2oOOo acres still owned by the heirs of General Wheeler, and it seemed another country, as compared to the black belt; there are more pretty homes and signs of thrift and progress, particularly in the towns.
 AS I went to SC bird dogs of a field trial class, I was not surprised to see in two training kennels some 35 dogs-point- CTS and setters-of blue blood, and some world-famed. Maior White has some 10 prospects, and among them some stars He owns the amateur derby winner at Rogers Springs-Jaek Davis. Jr.-who, by the way, is entered in the subscription to be run at Oneonta February 6.
 ''W. D. Gilchrst, who developed and won with the two great Birmingham dogs, Lewis Morris and Jack Love-, has 26 splendid types of the setter and pointer in training for owners all over the United States, you might say. MT. Grant, his trainer, takes great pride in the dogs directly under his care, and their condi- ton well shows it"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01
Propaganda for Cattle and sheep

Tt is to be hoped that while the crop diversifeation propaganda is being car ried on, some attention will be given to inducing owners of cut-over lands in Alabama to give attention to cattle graz ing and sheep raising said a man who takes much interest in the states growth and development.
 There are thousands upon thousands of acres of 'sawmill lands from which all the lumber-size timber has been cut, and some that even the charcoal material and growth has been taken from, which would yield handsome returns in grazing cattle and sheep pastures. Three strands of wire for the cattle, with sheds and feeding troughs for rough weather, would be all that would be required; for the sheep, folds, with dog-proof wire, and shepperds would be required. I saw a fine flock of graded-up Southdowns in north Alabama a few days ago, and it reminded me of the Spanish proverb, Where the sheep tread the land turns to gold
 Alabama could make her own beef and mutton, with surplus to sell, on her now uncultivated lands. some of them "a part of large farm holdings, others the cut-over-now wholly unproductive- lands"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01
Improvement In the Business Situation

A review of last weeks transactions in the business world shows on the whole substantial improvement. The cotton export movement was very large and brought the total for the month up to approximately 1,260,000 bales, the largest for any month thus far in the present season, and it is believed that very large shipments will be made during February.
 In the steel trade contracts for building material were light, but there was an encouraging increase in the release of orders for rails. In Jan uary orders for 325,000 tons of rails
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01

put up a paper umbrella to shield him. self The shower of tangerines broke through the umbrella. Then the leading juggler of the company saw his oppor- tunity. He took the umbrella, twisted it quickly and, by making it revolve, caused the tangerines to fly off it. While he was doing this he was helped by a lucky accident. One of the tangerines rolled around the umbrella once before dropping on the ground. The juggler picked up the tangerne and caught it once more on his revolving umbrella, and thus the feat was invented The hardest feat of all with the umbrella is done with a Japanese coin which is lighter than an American cent.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01

BEGINNING THE DAY-Help me, cipIcs of my cildhhood teaching. May I not slip away! Bind me to inc great bonesties and the great loves tn- sfiIled in me when I was young. Save me from dishonOring my parents and my teachers and those who loved me and prayed for me. Amen.-H. M. E.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01

Corra Harris in the Saturday Evening Post: One must entertain the highest admiration for the German women. In a sense, they are no less the victims of the Kaiser's army than the women of Belgium.
 They impressed me as the greatest women of Europe when 1 was in Ger many, and the most pathetic in their bondage to the men. They were by far the most thoughtful, the most capable and the most helpless. They had the mournful sense of sibyls in regard to their conditions. They were not hope full: they were only patient. They had the brains of scholars and philosophers, the seer spirits of poets. And they seemed to be moving dumbly through the life of the nation. They were the slaves of the order of things there.
 Only certain employments were open to them. They could become servants, field hands, factory workers, shopgirls, teachers, actresses medical doctors, and wives--or prostitutes. There was small school just begun at Potsdam for the purpose of teaching stenography and typewriting to the girls of impov verished gentle families, only with the hope that those women might be placed in small clerical positions in the government of fees
 l have remembered something thought then-that only a terrific na- tional catastrophe could deliver these unfortunate women from their cond- tion.
 At last they have the catastrophe: this war is the great opportunity for the women of Germany. And they have met it with courage. Germany is being bled to the last drop of her manhood So the women are filling mems places in every walk of life. They are no longer at the bottom, but at the top They are taking the places of the male students in the schools and universities. They are in the banks, they are conducting great businesses. They are attending to the sanitary conditions of the towns and cities. The whole of Berlin is supplied with milk from the farms just outside the city. This enormous enterprise has always been managed by men; but when they were called out to join their regi- ments the women went in and filled the places of the men, and Berlin was not without her milk supply for a single daV
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01
WAR ECHOES

1 New York Tribune: The driblets of information from the last sea engage ment now show it to have been one If the most important of the war. The stirring pursuit of the German battle cruisers, with the overhauling and sink | ing of at least one of the slower units of the fleet, while submarines and ai.- craft stood about, makes a striking pie l ture. However prosaic war on land may have become, sea fighting holds it's own as one of the most magnificent and ter rible of human efforts
 The result fell in with those of the Speed of vessel and range of big guns again prevailed. Such factors as weight of metal in a broadsde or protective armor seem to have had no bearing on the result. Given slight superiority in speed and a slight superiority in range of the largest guns. fleet cannot only win but can win at slight cost. When two fleets exactly matched in these re- spects engage one another we shall per haps know to what extent other factors have influence
 
 have played considerable part in fleet manoeuvres. The German submarines apparently accomplished nothing on the offence, which is not remarkable when we recall that the British ships fought while travelling at a speed of something like 29 knots an hour. It was as a de- fensive aid, in connection with mines, that the under water craft served to halt the British fleet and save the Ger man cruisers from further damage.
 The whole engagement gives new i'm. portance to the battle cruiser, a craft equipped with the heaviest of long range guns, yet possessing maximum of speed. Our own navy is lacking in vessels of this type. and the lesson of the North Sea battle deserves our care full study.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01

With 1S,O0O mouth organs provided for their entertainment, British soldiers should find life in the trenches a grand, sweet song.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01

An Indiana judge says jealousy is a proof of love. By the same token slay- ing one's affinity is the very last word in devotion.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-01

A young millionaire sued for divorce by his wife is very anxious to protect the good name of the other woman" Quite chivalrous, is he not?