davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
HOW CLYDE FITCH WORKED


 Clyde Fitch was an intensely energetic artist, dispatching an enormous quantity of work with ease, and writing even as he sat at the opera. His spontaneity of composition is revealed in a dozen notes quoted by the editors of the memorial Italy:
 Ietaly:
 T don't think the writing of them (the two plays on which he was at work) made me ill; I knew so well what I wanted to write-it was like copying something that one knows by heart"
 From London he wrote in 1902:
 T have also just finished today Act I of Mrs. Bloodgood's play Of course 1t seems as if I were doing an awful lot of work. And I suppose it would be better if I didn't do so much, but can't help it. l limit my writing to three hours day. However. the point about these plays is that I know them almost by heart. I've been planning the Mannering piece since year ago last winter l know it all; it only wanted td be written down, and the same with the Bloodgood piece. It isn't as if ] had. tc think up plot and situations. I've had them for a long tine."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
County Engineers Report

County Engineer George H. Clark s annual report to the board of reve- nue is published in full in today's Age Herald.
 It is his first report covering the operations of the engineering depart ment and setting forth the needs of Jefferson county in the matter of highway and bridge constructi~-, and other improvements of utilitarian benefit.
 MT. Clark has filled his present po- sition only little more than year and this report is the most comprehensive showing that has ever been made So far as the public knows. 1t is clear and business-like in the statement of facts and equally important is the engineers discussion of economies anc the practical suggestions he makes for the formulation of broad and def. mite policies for future operations.
 Tn other years the board of revenue managed to get along without an en gineering scheme reduced to writing The population was comparativel! small. The good roads movemen had not been started and there wa little work for an engineer to do.
 Conditions are very different now Jefferson county, with an area o 1154 square miles, has approximatel. 20O0 miles of highway, every mile o which requires attention. It has g steel bridges and innumerable woode bridges which will be replaced b
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

From the New York Times.
 Y HISTORIC garments took new lease
 of life and started out into the x x world to play new roles when the auction sale of the stage wardrobes oI B. H. Sothern and his wife and late CO., star. Julia Marlowe, was begun at the Fifth Avenue Auction rooms, Twenty fifth street and Fourth avenue. hetirihs into private life, MT. and Mrs. Sotherh are selling costumes they have worn in the plays in which they have appeared to- gether.
 Hamlet's large black cloak was knockeq down at the first stroke of the hammer for s19: his batiste shirt brought slo, a black cloth belt with oxidized and Jew eled mounts brought the same price, while two antique leather books in which he wrote his meditations upon Ophelia, brought higher prices, selling for $lo ana $17.
 Ophelia's light blue crepe gown with us adornments of silver and pearl went foi sa7. .5o. and the gray velvet, silver-trimmed prayer book with silvered chain ana buckle, brought s15, and beautiful rope girdle, said to be of solid silver sold TOT s17.5O.
 There was not large crowd at the sale altbough it included a number of the atrical costumes-and to them went the greater number of the articles-and few private bidders.
 MT. and Mrs. Sothern were not there It was almost tragedy, they said' hhe putting a part of themselves on the auc- ton block, and they could not see 1t done A number of the members of the Sothern' Marlowe company were present, and they too. felt that it was a tragedy. some of the women left the room when some o1 the costumes were put up-they were s' closely connected with their lives anu lns break that was made that they could no' keep back the tears.
 There were a few other stage people present. Daniel Frohman came Tn TOT time and Jack Barrymore was there Amone others were Rowland Blackstone sidney Mather. B. J. Radcliffe and Walter Connolly.
 A few people picked up costumes fol fancy dress occasions. Augustus Luxe man. the sculptor, bought one which nc will wear to the Beaux Arts ball. The different pieces, all told cost him no more than he would have been obliged to pay costumer to rent one. schooipoy al Exeter will outshine all his comrades 1T the costume of Captain Letterblair. whicf his mother bought for him yesterday There is a scarlet tunic with gold braie and medals, black broadcloth trousers with gold galoon stripes and a smar' bearskin busby for his head. Notable plays. costumes for which were sold. were 'Richard Lovelace," the ward robe of the hero; the Mary Tudor cos fumes in When Knighthood Was II Flower" those of Jacques and Rosalint lin "As You Like It. Macbeth and Lad, Macbeth in Macbeth" and the gowns ol Miss Marlowe as Rautendelein in "Th' Sunken Bell
 A cloth of gold robe worn by Macbeti brought $25, and beautiful piece of stag' | jewelry, crown, worn by Lady Macbeth of rhlnestones, pearls and opals brough only 50. The costumes were beautiful, O beautiful material, and had cost thousand'
 of dollars, but they brought only few
 hundred
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
Backward Mississippi

The came and fish bill, before the lower house of the Mississippi legls- lature for two days, was "done to death" by MT. Mann of Tishomlngo' who delivered an impassioned plea for the rabbit hunters of the state. The yeracious correspondent failed to rive MT. Mann's initials, nor did he inform us whether or not the gentle man is a "major' or a "colonel," but "Mr. Mann of Tishomingo" IS sui ficient to identify him for all time.
 While his fellow legislators were moved almost to tears, MT. Mann told of the days when he was farmer ward, and found his only recreation Tn rabbit hunting or 'possum hunting when his work was done. The picture he drew of boyhood days was an elo- ouent one and touched the hearts of all who heard him, but when he plead ed that his eighteen grandchildren be permitted to roam the hills and val leys of Tishonningo in quest of game without being forced to pay an oner- ous state license of $2 each, there was really nothing more to be said.
 However, the Mississippi legislators allowed sentiment to get the better of their judgment. Conservation of the :country's resources is work of tre- -mendous importance and the desira- ;bility of protecting game by adequate laws is now universally recognized. The proposed Mississippi law was framed by John H. Wallace, Jr., state game and fish commissioner of Ala bama, whose work in this state has been noteworthy. MT. Wallace made a speech before the Mississippi legisla- ture urging the passage or the plli' but the eloquence of MT. Mann's plea for the youthful rabbit hunter proved fatal to it.
 Mississippi should get in line and follow the example of Alabama, where MT. Wallace is supported by public sentiment in enforcing the states game laws.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

Like most of the other neutral coun- tries in Europe, Denmark has suffered economically as result of the war. The Danish debt at the beginning of the war, as summarized in the Pittsburg Dispatch, was: The national debt $110, ,0OO0 900; Dan ish stock held abroad, s150,O00,OO0; debt of Danish firms in current account with for eign firms, $40 GOO; total $500, 100000. In addition to this amount it is estimated that Danish firms and banks had bor- rowed about $25,OOO000 on long credit in other countries. Denmark held about Sl5,0OO, GOO in foreign stocks and had a bal ance in foreign banks of about SIP, ,000 Nevertheless, the position of Denmark at the outbreak of the war was better than it had been for several years. The Dan about sS,OOo,o00 and a reserve of about 5,0O0,O00, most of which was invested in foreign securities. During the first week of the war the little country moblized its troops and for this purpose appropriated $2,70O,000. The expenses resulting from the war amount to $2,50o,O00 a month. These problems had to be met and consid- cred despite the fact that there was a decrease in the national income, particu- larly in the amount of revenue derived from the state railways. By issuing notes and arranging loans Denmark has con- trived to weather the storm.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
PADEREWSKI-ORATOR

From the Chicago Herald.
 The appearance of Ignace Paderewslxi at the Auditorium Sunday afternoon
 was notable event.
 For the great musician stood out the
 master of a new field. It was not the golden -haired pianist of the epoch which ended in August. 1914, It was not merely the exuberant artist, the man of incomparable music, whose very personality filled the theatre, whose aesthetic emotions overpowered and charmed his company. Paderewski was all of that on Sunday, but he reached heights more altitudinous and more in spring.
 The orator, the patriot, the man who loved his country above all things, dominated the artist. The exuberance of personality was there, the prodiga1i- ty of feeling, the richness of emotional life which long ago brought pre-emi- great gifts sought fresh expression. At one moment the audience was aware of a performer for the utterance of whose spirit the piano seemed a poor, inadequate thing. Upon occasion the audience wished for some greater in- strument, filter for the interpretation of a mood so potent. Again he was the
 musician of surpassing ease, unfolding exquisitely the poetry of Chopin mazurka
 Then music was forgotten. The poet and the magician were lost in the patriot. Poland's historic sufferings, her mistakes, her triumphs, her present ex- l tremity, spoke through Paderewski as he had expressed himself in music. The orator embodied his country's plea he was its plea, its message to the outer world. Four thousand people felt as never before the dignity of the artist because through him they came into kinship with great race; they became aware of the terrible urgencies of an entire people.
 Paderewski, the greatest pianist of l his time, has thus brought a new ma jesty to his art. He has shown that at the ultimate art means an endow- ment and an equipment transcending the pettiness which too short while ago prated of "art for arts sake" Pianist, orator and patriot, in Pad erewski nobler art has became the means of serving majestic race, of expressing the soul of millions of peo- nle
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
THE DENTIST AS MARTYR


 A dentist writing to the Voice of the People complains that of all the pro- fessions for the relief of pain dentistry is not only one of the most important but one of the most abused. Although the dentist relieves us of disabled and aching teeth and many malignant germs, he is made the butt of the pro- fessional humorist. He is a martyr te our good health.
 Unfortunately for the dentists, aver sion to the dentists chair seems innate in every breast. For the dentist makes us wonder why civilization was ever SC laboriously built In teeth apparently we have not advanced an inch. We still have them. In that tense moment when the buzzing drill touches 8 nerve we are not nerved to suffer as we are in the case of major operation. We know that the process is not final. It is not do or die. Next year will come an other visit and another nerve. We can not have tooth out as we remove a troublesome appendix. We have to chew
 It is the conviction of recurrence that makes the dentists job so frightful. The grip we have and we get over. It does not stay with us. But teeth do and we know that they grow progressively worse. But in that yearly visit to the dentist we have no sense of heroism All the petty defects of nature seen to obtrude themselves into our con sciousness. The dentists job is to re- mind us that we have teeth. He does not deal with life and death as the doctor does. He deals in comfort ant discomfort. Nature aids the doctor. Wt grow together after being cut. Bu the dentist reminds us forceably tha man must return to dust. and that ths filings are often more permanent than the teeth themselves.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
Tourist Crowds in the South

Notwithstanding the fact that the north has had mild winter, the tour ist crowds in the south are larger than usual" said L. J. Raines of Chicago.
 q spent week before last in Florida and every resort hotel in that state was filed and on a short visit to New Or leans this week I found that city ex- ceptional1y gay, and the hotels crowd ed. I was told by citizens that never in the history of New Orleans had there been so many tourist visitors as this season. The hotels have been taxed to their capacity ever since early in No vember.
 Every line of business in New Or leans is humming."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
Gunster's Opinion of operntic Novelty


 Personally I am very much pleased with the proposed presentation oi T. LAmore dei tre Re instead of 'Pag- liacci by the Boston Grand opera, said Frederick Gunster yesterday whose knowledge of music and musi- clans Is worldwide. First, because il is musical novelty and a fine expo nent of the new Italian method of com positionfi and also because Zenatello will have such a magnificent opportun ity as Avito. Zenatello studied with my master in Naples, Carlo Sebastiani, and that also enlists my interest to tre- mendous degree.
 "When I recall the season of opera in Atlanta last year. the most vivid recollection I have of the operas heard is L'Amore dei tre Re- Amato Adamo Didur, and Luca Botta, did the three important parts while Lucrezia Bori was the Flora
 Of course our interest in the per- formance here centers also about Luisa Villani, for whom the part of Flora is said to have been written, and who created the role at La Scala, Milan I believe that Zenatello will make more of the role of Avito than Botta. The orchestration of the opera is superb. Ii is the musical novelty of the day, re- ceiving the most beautiful notices from layman and critic alike"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

The Knoxville Sentinel recently issued an edition of GA pages devoted to Knox vile and the Appalachian region. The Sentinel reflects the prosperity of an ex- ceptionally favored district and in this special edition furnishes information about it's commercial and manufacturing advantages of great value to prospective investors.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
HOTEL LOBBIES
The Confederate Reunion

With the Confederate reunion only little more than three months off, the in terest in the event is now keen through Information received from various south ern states indicate that we will have great crowd. The reunion held here IT 1908 was such a grand affair that BIT mingham will naturally be expected te put forth efforts to equal its record oi eight years ago.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES
RECKLESS BRAVERY.
,sssssssssssssssssssss

RECKLESS BRAVERY. Have you ever stopped to think how many deadly germs there are on dollar bill?' "Oh, yes," replied MT. Jobson, signing deeply, "but whenever see a man with
 a big roll of bills in his hand I long to share his peril"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
NOSTALGIA.

"On your expeditions into foreign coun- tries, did you ever sigh for the comforts of home professor"
 "Yes, indeed. Once when thought was going to be the piece de resistance of a cannibal feast had vision of the old family kitchen back in New England that brought tears to my eyes,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

Having worked at one time in a New York saloon, John Masefield might be able to contribute some poetry to the prohibi- tion cause, which stands sadly in need of a major league singer.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

That little story of a German airman dropping a note into the British lines which brought forth a British airman with pair of trousers for a fellow avia- tor in distress shows that war still has some regard for propriety.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

A visitor says Chicago is having an un- usually mild winter. However, the re- publicans and progressives promise tc make the month of June one of the hot test Chicago has had in a long time.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

It is reported that the future in East Africa looks darker than ever to the Ger mans since General Shuts has assumed command of the British forces.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
DECIDED.

I do not own a motor car
 And probbly never will, But if I did I'd have the kind
 That lightly takes hilp With all the bird-like speed and ease Of which the sales1nen talk, For rather than lead the "flivver" life, I'll spare my pride and walk.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

The opponents of Brandeis might seize on the phrase lately made famous by the president of the University of Ala bama and charge him with being "tem- peramentally unfit
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

BEGINNING THE DAY-A prayer for an uubeIieyer. o God, if there be God, give me faith, if there he my such thing: Faith in God' m Christ, in humanity, in duty, m frtendship, in love; faith tnas flows and rushes and climbs anu .plashes up against the gates O, heayen-a faith that shnts anu rIeams and glows and satisfies ana rests forever and forever. Amen'- H. M. ID.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
A HIGH BROW.

A HIGH BROW
 Thinks well of himself, doesn't he?'' q don't consider him bumptious." "Oh, his conceit isn't the aggressive kind, but notice he quotes Plato much more often than he does MT. Dooley. D
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

What makes the job of Birmingham s liquor inspector easier is the fact that he won't have to pass on the quality of a packages contents.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

The situation in the flood districts is reported more encourag ging. From which
 one naturally infers that anxious citizens
 are climbing down from their house. tops.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

A contemporary pleads for the use of certain old words that have become ob- solete. The war has created so many new words there isn't room for the old ones.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

R.' the way, what has become of the mysterious army of Japs who were ru- mLred to be quietly moblizing in Mexico for an invasion of the United States?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

J. Ham Lewis chance to become vice president may have gone glmmering, but J. Hams sartoriaI perfection is in no wise impaired.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
A CHOICE CURRICULUM.

Are there any schools for diplomats?' ?'' asked the inquisitive person.
 q don't think so," answered the troubled newspaper reader. ''At least l have never heard of schools specializing in circumlocution, ambiguity and the fine art of deception"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

Having nothing more to lose, Belgium can we'll afford to stick to the allies until the war is ended.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

If reports are true, John Bull lost no time in bouncing on the German raider that captured the Appam.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

The French may express their contempt for the Germans by shrugging their shoulders, but it takes something more than that to keep the "bosche" out of Paris.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

New styles for men have been an- nounced, but the old-fashioned states tie
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
ALABAMA PRESS

Annston Star: Two quarts month .c l insufficient to counteract the effects of tar sticking to mans heels in the Tar l heel state.
 l Gadsden Journal: Fortunately, there is only one President and onfy one Secretary
 of State. But we have many would-be | officials who are telling us how the in l ternational problems should be solved. | Huntsville Mercury A Washington cor respondent says Borden Burr and two or ! three other legal lights in Birmingham l had teegraphed Senators Bankhead and | Underwood protesting against the conf1r- nation of Louis D. Brandeis, saying the President had blundered in making the ap- pointment. Probably the name is too sug- | MT. Burr.
 i Mobile Register: The Dutch have a
 case against the German submarine pol l icy, tank steamer having been torpe- doed and sunk in the North sea. The papers call at once for the punishment of the commander and for complete pecuni-
 ary and political satisfaction. Sometime l next year, probably, the German foreign office may get down to the subject. The Dutch will be given a lesson in waiting. l Talladega Home: The President has not only stirred up the middle west by his preparedness speeches, but has aroused Congress as well.-Birmingham Age-Her- aid Some of the "old soaks'' needed to be aroused, and we suspect that ''the peo- pie back home' will do some more of the l arousing act. At this time it is well to 1 remember that no man is greater than
 the people and that no fellow has a life time contract to remain on one job. Rota- ton in office and diversification in crops.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
A PROMISE KEPT.

A PROMISE KEPT. office you would soon be able to point to great improvement"
 Exactly replied the sleek looking cit izen. Look at me. I'm better groomed than I ever was before in my life"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

Gadsden is making a valiant effort not to stand on it's ear, so to speak, while the Alabama suffragists are in session.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

The chances are that MT. Morgan is a 2ueh more desirable visitor abroad than Colonel House.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

, No communication will ee published
 seithout its authors Dame Rejected mauusciipt will not be returned un- less stamps are enclosed for that pur- pose.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11

1. Miss Bessie Shaw and w. D. Brum- {. beloe are the only authorized travel . ing representatives of The Age-Her- ' ala in its circulation department, The t Age-Herald is not responsible for 1money paid to out of town carriers or
 dealers.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
The English Horn

Every concert-goer who has had the chestras loves the English horn, and Bir- mingham will hear it at it's best next Wednesday afternoon and night in the splendid Minneapolis orchestra said John Wiegand, leader of the music at the Tut wiler. Tt has fine solo part-most plain tive-in the Largo from Dvorak's New World symphony on the matinee pro- gramme.
 Here is an interesting account of the English horn from recent programme book of the Minneapolis orchestra: Tt will be well to begin a description of this instrument by explaining that 1t is not English" and that it Is not ''horn." A member of the oboe family-an alto oboe, in fact-the earliest history of the English horn had much more to do with France than with England While the first appearance of the instrument seems to have been at the Imperial theatre in 1F62, it was French composers who made the English horn a regular constituent of the orchestra. It is curious that the dreamy, pathetic tone of the instrument should have appealed SC little to the great German masters; for Haydn used it only in two works, and Mozart only in four. Beethoven, Schubert. Deber and Mendelssohn never employed it at all, and Schumann merely once. The English horn differs from the oboe in having a tube that is wider and longer, and a 'bell' that is globuar in form. The system of keys and their lingering is prac- tically the same as in the oboe, but the pitch of the instrument Is a fifth lower. '"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
PRACTICALLY PUT.

"This orator says the government safe guards pigs better than it does children. y Well, why not?" asked the man with ferret eyes.
 That's monstrous."
 "Oh, I don't know. Pigs are an asset. Children are a liability"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-11
HARD WORK

HARD WORK. In days of old, When knights were bold, ts They bravely fought and did not finch, But modern war ,4r < Is worse by far
 You grab a spade and dig a trench.