davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22
HER RUINED STORY

'eThe main reason why fell victim to that hat" related the woman in green velvet, twas the fact that 1t was so amazingly light in weight. don't like to feel that I have ton of brick upon my coiffure, and things that slip over one ear and dangle l won't en- dure. This hat was simply perfect. It was small and chic and set down on my head as though it had been made for me. No hatpins were needed with 1t, the saleswonan told me alluringly, because I baked at the $20 price.
 "I couldn't in the least afford hat that cost so much, so I bought 1t. Some day some great economist is go- ing to write a whole book on the ability of women to purchase articles which they can't afford. It's won- der they haven't done it beforei They must have wives and, therefore. right before their eyes examples of womens s wizardry with money!
 Having got the hat, I yearned to wear 1t and on a bright, windy, sun ny day decided to go and call on 1s- abel, do, some marketing and attend a committee meeting of our club. l did my hair carefully, adjusted tiny nose veil over it, set the prize hat up- on my head. Gloating over my dis tinguished appearance, I burst upon the adniring world.
 T did not notice the admiration as being really violent until ! had walk ed five blocks to the street car line and was marketing at the corner store. The man who always waits on me is a saturnine individual, who glowers across my left shoulder as I talk and utterly scorns me. This day. he fixed his eyes upon me in a fascin- ated way, especially on my hat. I felt that I had misjudged him utterly and that after all he had a soul for the truly beautiful. It always is gratify ing to arouse aesthetic feelings in those lower in intelligence and I was so pleased that I ordered double the amount of butter I needed and fioated out.
 Waiting for the street car, watch ing the other women clutching at their Tapping hats, I again congratu- lated myself on my perfect turban, which had been absolutely no bother to me since I left home. I could see the envious glances they cast upon me, and, head in air, I entered the car. really attracted a great deal of at
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22
NoRwtcH's OPPORTUNITY.

No question of greater public im- portance is before the people of this city today, or ever has been, than the opportunity for add ing many thousand to it's popula- tion which is presented by the expan- sion of the Hopkins 6 Allen Arms company in the handling of the order for rifles for the Belgians and the much larger order of a similar nature which it is negotiating for. This means more for this city than all the ac- quired industries in the last quarter century. It is a chance for growth which should be received with enthu- siasm and be recognized by such demonstration on the part of the townspeople that there would be no possibility Of the business being taken elsewhere because of a threatened lack of housing facilities.
 If thi$ concern is going to bring one, two or three thousand employees here, and it has evidenced it's good in., tentions by the acquiring of the larg- est plant of the kind in the city and by subsequent purchase secured an- other as well as much adjoining prop erty on which to build additions which will more than double it's capacity, to say nothing of the other plants which have been leased there must be a place provided for the housing of these newcomers. With tenements existing and those under construction a certain number can be taken care Of but 1t will be only a small propor- tion at the most. Some are saying Let them come and we will take care of them," but houses cannot be built in a day and to wait until they get here will be too late. That isn't the way Bridgeport is doing and it isn't the way in which other cities which are experieicing a boom for just the same reason that this business here is being developed have done. The hous- ing proposition was one of the first things the people of Springfield and vicinity gave heed to when the West inghouse company acquired plants in that state.
 The houses which are now being erected for such help are to be leased from the moment they are completed by the company and it is probable that such an agreement would be made concerning all the others up to the number required. There may be an objection on the part of some to placing their money in the hands of a housing company, but there is noth- ing which stands in the way of indi- viduals handling their own funds in the provision of new buildings.
 Norwich has an opportunity such as never came its way before and the public spirit which is continually cry- ing for growth should rise to the sit uation, replacing words by deeds. It Is the public spirit that does something and gets results that counts. The time for 1t is now and the place for it is Norwich, first, last and all the time.
 It isn't a question now of some in dust1y being impressed with the local facilities but of Norwich being alive to it's opportunity.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

French comnunieatfon that our jour nals have reprinted Yes, our losses have been frightful-"
 And do you not believe that these costly cheeks and your costly victor ies as well will finsh by exhausting you?"
 The prisoner remained an instant looked out of the corner of his eye at the gendarne who had followed with an attentive ear our conversation, and said to me, in German. so as not to be understood by his guardian:
 "Yes, begin to believe that by the time we are victorious we will all be dead"
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22
What a German Prisoner Said.

A French soldier at the front writes:
 The other morning a French patrol crossed the Aisne and succeeded in capturing two German sentinels.
 On the route I had occasion to ex- change some words with one of the prisoners, a Prussian non-commiS- stoned officer, who, under guard, went on foot to general army headquarters.
 'I am delighted" said he to me, ito see France again, where I formerly lived for nearly six years. I have fought since the beginning of the war on your front. I was before Arras at the time of the furious attacks whish failed to bring you any definite success. I was at Soudan in Septem Der. 1914. My regiment experienced there fearful losses, and I was decor ated with the Iron Cross. rather for having miraculously escaped your bullets and shells than for any special acts of bravery"
 Tt is then true,'' I said that your losses have been enormous?"
 Perfectly. My regiment has been five times recruited. In my company we had but four left-four out 260 All the others had been killed or wounded. Your artillery has fright fully decimated us. It is greatly su- perior to what you had at the begin ming of the war. Your army is the only one that can measure up with ours"
 Are you satisfied with the results of the operations?"
 "Oh. we'll" said he, you cannot deny our success in Russia What we have done there is without precedent On your front we have done nothing great, but we hold. Our officers de- clare themselves satisfied. It is true the officers always think like the gov ernment. From letters I have re- ceived, it seems that the civil popula- ton has less patience. Some demon strations against the cost of living, in which thousands of women took part have occurred in many of the largest German cities. The women have be- sieged the mayors offices calling for aid, bread, peace and beyond every thing else, their husbands"
 Do you know the enormous losses in men and in material of all sorts experienced by you in Champagne a few days ago?"
 "Oh, sure. I know all that. In the trenches we receive the papers with as much regularity as at home in i times of peace. I have read some
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
School Work and Supplies.

Mir. Editor: I am told that for sev- eral sessions the town school board has been discussing whether or not a member of the board has a legal right to furnish supplies or labor to the schools of the town unless he be the lowest bider after open competition.
 Now, this question has been much discussed in the past few years. and the action of some members of the board f1as been much criticized.
 The state statutes, chapter S9, sec ton 136, says: Every person who, being a trustee or officer, of any insti- tuition receiving aid from the state, shah furnish supplies, or be interested in furnishing supplies to such insti- tutions. unless he be the lowest bidder for such supplies, or such contract, after open competition. shall be fined fifty dollars"
 Our schools are an institution re- ceiving aid from the state. ALBERT BOARDMAN.
 Norwich, Ct, Dec. q, 1915.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

the republican campaign if he uses his influence to support another candi-
 date cannot be. questioned but the pro- motion of his personal interests is bound to receive even greater resent
 ment than 1t did three years ago. For that reason the outcome of the Gary dinner will. be awaited with interest and promotes not little speculation.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

tention there also. It all went to show. I thought. how effective the combination of the right thing on the right woman was.
 Two women across from me seemed especially impressed and, pumping their heads together, frequently whis- pered concerning me. I knew exactly what they were saying-that my hat looked its value and they would give $1,000 to know where I bought it. 1 felt so benevolent that came near telling them. Nothing else does make one feel so generous and friendly as knowing that she looks better than everybody in sight. Even the motor man when I alighted favored me with a glance.
 T thought Isabel was especially ani- mated when I reached her house. All the while she was talking she would glance at me and then away, and once or twice I got the impression she was on the point of saying something she thought better of. Finally she burst and asked me if I did not have a new method of doing my hair. When I told her no, that it was the same old way, she hastened to add that it was most becoming anyhow, and maybe it looked new to her because she had not seen me for some time. l knew the reason she mentioned any hair instead friend of mine she Is awfully jealous of my clothes!
 "At the committee meeting every one stopped talking when I came in. I was gratified at this. It showed the high opinion they held of me. They listened rapt to my remarks and from their gaze I knew that my lit tie hat had made a hit. I was almost bland and smiling and lovely to ev- cry one.
 T walked home with a happy smile upon my lips, lowing graciously to of my coat and then reached up to lift of my precious hat. My fingers waved wildly around in thin air! There wasn't a sign of a hat upon my head! The miserable thing must have blown off when I first started out and somebody else is today en- toying a perfectly good $2O hat, be- cause I never saw it again. had been going around a half day in a my head and nothing elsei
 "The worst of 1t is that James is so satisfied about 1t! He knows that shall never again dare to refer to his bright act a short while ago that has stood me in good stead as dinner ta- ble brillance ever since. Just as we started for the theater one night sent him back upstairs to get my little pink silk shawl hanging over a chair next my dresser. I am sensitive to drafts upon my shoulders.
 When I called for the shawl during a brightly lighted intermission James pulled from his pocket a piece of Ital- ian silk lingerie instead of the shawli I think l miss telling that story more than I do the hat after alli"-Chicago News.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

Struma VaIIey-"Warfare is a com monplace in the crag-framed valley of the Struma River. down whose course the Bulgarians are struggling against the French and English; for the river flows through the heart of the dis trict, in which the Bulgarians. Ser vians, and Greek propagandists fought for ten bitter years among themselves before uniting in the purpose of driv- ing the Turk from here in 1912" be- gins a statement just issued by the National Geographic Society.
 The Struma valley has been more or less of continuous battlefield since the beginning of the twentieth century, when the idea gained cer- tainty that the Turk must soon lose his Macedonian provinces and all of the Balkan nations began a wrestling for inheritance: Schools, churches. politicians and brigand bands strove with one another in Macedonia for the conversion of the natives to their cause: for the development of Bull garians, Greeks and Serbs in the Turkish state; and the tactics of the jects for conversion.
 Tt is peculiarly wild and deso- late segement of the Balkan peninsula that borders the Struma's course. It's W1ldness is that of Nature piled with mountains, scared with broken rocks,
 
 Its desolation is the fruit of ten years of propaganda strife, heightened by the efforts of the Ottoman as a tax collector through 500 years and by his methods of punishing the people as means fer the suppression of the foreign bands.
 Bulgarian, Greek and Servian am- bitions met and clashed along the muddy Struma- Down it's course it | rises just below the Bulgarian capi- | tai, Sofia-the Bulgarian bands pour ed into Macedonia, while the Greeks came from Salonilxi in the west, and | followed it's course northward. The paths that follow the river are rough I and often dizzy going, narrow roads along mountain and hillside lodges and now and then falling sharply tc l lowland nearer the river. Wayside 1 guard stations, survivals of the days 1 of Turkish administration, are perch l ed on the heights beside the stream I while the roads that cross here are mostly lords. The ancient bridges 1 that crossed Byzantium's Struma feI into decay under Ottoman rule and vanished to the last vestige. Alto- gether, this persistent theatre of wal I is as an unlikely field for military op- erations as would be remote and saw l age Albania should the Alliance an6 Entente Powers carry their trouble ! there".
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22
THE WAR PRIMER By National Geographic Society

"The country between Bagdad and
 Basra on the TiSris, in which stretch of MesopOtamia the British expedi- tionaries and the Turks have carried on varying campaign for months, is as cheerless as any that could be plains and vast, dossolate swamps," ac- cording to a statement on war geog- raphy just given out by the National Geographic Society. The Tigris pur- sues lazy course through these te- dious loWlands. To the right and left stretch barren plains of baked clay as far as the eye can reach, offering no advantages for defense. The reed choked swamps lie between, while the dull brown Arab villages struggle
 through plain and swamp alike with indifferent impartiality as to the dis
 advantages of both.
 "World-wearied focks and oeca- slonal Arabs constitute the solo like of the lower Tigris plain. The chim- l mering heat frets the clay soil with | deep cracks in every direction, and makes the thick yellow river appear 1 like stream of molten metal This is the southern end of Mesopotania down to the junction of the Tigris and the Euphrates at Shat-el-Arab, whence
 mile after mile of dreary marsh takes Throughout the marsh-country, com
 munication between villages is car
 ried on by means of rush boats. In the springtime of Mesopotamia's his tory. it was all a garden land, a coun- l try compelling the strangers admira- | ton for it's fruitfulness and beauty. | "Kut- well down the river
 was, at least for this region, a thriv-
 ing port before the war; and large shipments of grain were sent from here. This surplus grain was grown
 in abundance somewhere on the ap-
 parantly arid plains, which, if irri- | gated once more as in ancient times, | might be an agricultural supply spot 1 for the leading markets of the world. The old canals, which carried water
 to the plains, have failed into decay | and, in most cases. their markings | have been leveled by time beyond all l recognition. Basra lies about five | hours by boat below the junction of
 the two rivers, and it has been the | principal port of lower Mesopotamia
 for centuries. Today, this city forms | the base of the British expedition. the
 Calais or Saloniki of fighting in the l south"
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

From the uncomfortable position which Rumania and Greece have oc- cupied on the fence few nations are likely to desire a change much more than they, though Switzerland would appreciate a relief on its finances
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

Of course Henry Ford is to be al- lowed to change the date when the soldiers will be brought out of the trenches from Christmas to next spring since such changes in dates are only what the war lords indulge in fre- quent1y.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

The man on the corner says: The only thing which prevents a lot of warm hearted people frem spending millions at this season is that they don't happen to possess them.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

The announcement is made that the sale of Christmas trees in the Adiron- dack region will amount to s1.Oo0 900 this year. Another chance for the demoncratic administration to point to what it has done for prosperity.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

Those who take 1t against their will are likely to rejoice over the embargo which Newfoundland has placed on cod liver oil.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

Even those parents who think that the spending of money for toys is a waste of resources usually get their share of enjoyment out of them.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

While drives are being prepared by the nations at war the real big one this week promises to be made by Santa
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

Tn the Arabian desert the sirocco, or sandstorm. often digs pits 200 feet deep. scattering the sand for miles around.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

From the questions which are being asked over in Berlin there is no indi- cation of mortgage burning right away.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22
EDITORIAL NOTES

Greece is apparently as much un- decided as ever as to whether it is going to become a battlefield.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

Now that Marconi has been made a senator in Italy the idea seems to prevail that prejudice prevented him from pulling any wires
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

The Christmas spirit is again abroad in the land if the parcel ladened in dividuals furnish any evidence.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

There may be lots of credit to be gained from a successful retreat, but 1t fails to measure up to the accom- plishments of a drive forward,
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

Bridgeporters are long suffering in regard to trolley service, but theirs Is not the fault because someone in the past has loaded the trolley lines with debt for which adequate return may not have been made Outsiders, trav- cling men, theatrical people and others who visit many cities, complain of the trolley service here. They do not know the conditions as do those who reside here and they wonder why Bridgeport countenanees such service. Bridgeport hopes, and has hoped for some time, that some day the trolley company would adequately care for it's patronage. Present indications are that efforts are being made to rectify the errors of the past and that within a reasonable time the city will have a service that will compare favorably with services of other cities of its size. Certainly the company will be encouraged and given every opportun- ity to make good. It has not been un- duly hampered and will not be. But it must deliver the goods" before many years, or others, more enterprising, may endeavor to start opposition. At present such competition woud not
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22
The War a Year Ago Today
Dec. 22, 1914.

Dec. 22, 1874.
 Germans claimed to have stopped Allies in west.
 Germans accused of smelling hospital in Epres.
 Russian army threatened rail- way to Thorn and Germans re- formed to protect it.
 Won Hindenburs's left threat ened by new invasion of Germany. Germans crossed branches of Bzura and Rawka rivers.
 Austrians defeated in the Car pathians.
 Arabs nnenaced Christians in Hodeida and French consul was eeized.
 Allied fleets bombarded German positions on Belgian coast.
 French destroyer shelled Turks. Allied fleets sheiled Kilid Bahr. Many Austrian soldiers killed in troop train accident.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22
announcement

meet much encouragement The way to prevent occasional growls from crystalizing into active opposi- tion is to eliminate cause for com Standard
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

courtesy. When finally it did au- thorize such an undertaking it did so without providing the funds neces- sary to It's success but the undaunted promoters of the plan have found a way to make a start without them It Is the belief of the doctors and others who have favored the opening of such an institution that it will prove well worth while, that it will be source of joy and pleasure to many people who in future years will be filled with gratitude that the state gave chem the opportunity to redeem them selves and win back from the world the respect and the opportunities which they had forfeited by oyerin- dulgence in Hquor.-IWaterbury Re- publican.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

Willy or nAlly. the nation.s merchant marine seems to be jumping to the fore again. From the different ship building points around the country reports indicate that there is a great revival of shipbuilding under way. With shipyards loaded up with orders for from eighteen months to two years ahead and more than 590, GOO tonnage unde construction, Uncle Sam's flag ought to win back some of it's ancient prestige on the lanes of commerce the world over in the near future. Inci- dentally, this condition suggests that the program for improving the navy is none to early and probably none too comprehensive. - Waterbury Republi- can.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22
OTHER VIEW POINTS

There is disagreement as to wheth- CT 1t is the Democratic administra- titled to credit for the prevailing prosperity, but there Is no question as to which Is cutting deeply into 1t with increased taxes.--Meriden Jour- nal
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

workers. into dragging along the strike waiting for-the fairy "choo1choo cars' bringing that s27,000 per week from Dreamland? The thing for the men and women who want to go back to work is to go. Hot air isn't go- ing to get them anything more than they have already received. The public's patience, as we'll as the pub- lies purse Is exhausted so far as further acquiescence in the "hoId-up'' mas present that Meriden has received in years would be the return of the workers to their places in the factories next Monday morning.-Meriden Rec ord
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

What to do with habitual drunl1ards has been one of the big questions be- fore the state authorities and particu.. larly the courts of the state for long time, Connecticut was not ever a notably progressive commonwealth in the matter of experimenting along social service lines, and it happened that every effort made to get the state to authorize such an undertaking as the farm for inebriates which has recently been started in the north eastern section of the state, 1t felt too poor to give heed and showed the pe- titioners for such an experiment scant
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

service on 364 days of the year: are sometimes hit by an emergency that cripples them on the 365th- But the policy has been to develop for average conditions. and get out of emergencies, somehow. as needs must. Already, way for the meeting of emergencies. Those public services which depend upon electrical communication are burying their wires, out of harms way, instead of leaving them forever in their present exposed position over head. The work. being expensive. is necessarily slow. and is an example of the pains being taken to meet emerg- ency conditions while the system is al- ready working we'll under ordinary circumstances.-Bridgeport Telegram.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

Norwich, "Wednesday, Dec. 22, 1915.
Norwich bulletin., 1915-12-22

ALbENI bOAhDMAN. Norwich, Ct, Dec. 21, 1915.