davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03

his own neighborhood. The mere
thought Of this filed his soul with a
stage fright that left him weak and
trembling. He thereupon approached
his father, whom he regarded as the
greatest orator In the world The elder
Riley must have been some speaker
to inspire such feelings even in the
breast of his own son. for this was in
Indiana, remember, the native home
Of orators as Of poets. playwrights and
novelists. Riley senior. who always in.
sisted on calling himself "fay-ther,"
much comforted the young man by
confessing that he never tried to crate
without being scared to death himself.
When he arose he placed his hand on
a table or chair so that he could kink
at least one leg and keep 1t from
trembling, and when he paused i'm
pressively before opening It was not
to let the audience become quiet, which
was still all the time, but to permit his
own interior anatomy to get into some
sort of calm. Like father. like son,
and the younger Riley testified to the
same sort Of stage fright throughout
his long career of readings before the
American public. The paternal con-
fession probably did him worlds of
good, but II he had but known It no
worth while speaker In human history
was probably ever free from the same
heart quakings. Napoleon once said
something to the effect that the brav-
est soldier L. he who. although in NOR
tai terror. goes on into the battle, and
in the same way It might be put that
the best speaker Is he who, though
scared stifr, goes on and speaks his
piece"
The native Jingles and sketches
took" with the home folks from the
start. and James whitcomb Riley was
beginning TO find himself. He soon
got a Job on the local paper, but 80
interspersed his items with verse that
he received many editorial admoni-
tons. What local editor wants fin
giles. even II they be OF the Riley or.
der, In place Of neighborhood gossip
and newsf But through the recita-
lions and the scribbling he began to
attract attention In the outside world
and finally landed Job on the Indian
apolis Journal. Here his contributions
under the name Of benjamin +.
johnson Of Boone attracted general
attention. which was extended into
national fame by the appearance Of
his first book. still ascribed to the
mythical johnson. entitled The OLD
swimmin' Hole and 'Leven More
Poems"
Before this sunburst Of fame there
were long period Of struggle and the
usual heartbreakins experience Of the
young author In having all his offer.
lngs rejected. Riley himself has said
somsthing about having his stun sent
back BY the magazines for twenty
vsars," magazines which. by the way.
would later have been, eager to buy
the vsry sams stun at q dollar per
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03

griefs and gladnesses, that we can
give him that highest title Of all, the
poet OF the common life. Such q hold
had he on the national heart that we
can picture Uncle Sam as being "jes'.
wrapped up In him" and as saying in
Tho last hour:
Well. goodby. Jim;
Take keer Of yourself
Riley was born In 1863 In Greenfield,
Ind, a village about twenty miles from
indianapolis. His father was a law
yer. and the lad tried to study law,
but he forgot as fast as he read and
found II worse than picking oakum in
oail." 30 he gave II up. In school he
s'didn't seem to At" could not learn
arithmetic. hung around In the pri-
mary classes until he felt In disgrace
and, while he read better than others,
had habit Of weeping over the touch
ing passages which more practical folk
did not seem to understand The fact
90 mortified him that he got to run
ming away from school to avoid the
pathetic things In the readers, with
the result that he met some real griefs
In the form Of whippings both at
school and at home. Small wonder
that he quit school altogether at the
age Of f1fteeli t,a
He did NOT seem to at any better at
sports and boyish games. He has told
how he would become tired out" aft
or playing a short time, how he could
not keep up at walking or running.
bow his hands would turn white and
his lips purple II he stayed in swim
ming az long a. other boys, how he
went hunting but once and then mar
" shot his father, with a resultant
thrashing. and how he never f1shed for
bass or brook trout, but always used
worms, on which he spat occasionally,
and angied for sunf1sh. Decidedly lit
de Jimmy Riley was not like other
boys. Was It because he was 30 I'M
like them that he sang Of them with
such sympathy and Understandings
Was II because he could not stand the
rigorous cold Of a summer brook that
be was able to immortalize THE Old
6wimmin' HoleT Genius Is ever q
thing Of paradoxes. With a spirit
strong enough to brave the world and
command the ages 1t is often housed
In bodies 90 fran and finely organized
that thsy cannot bear the brute impact
Of the physical world The humor Of
genius 10 sort Of forced courage that
Tests at its own pathos and suffering.
Even In his own Laughing account Of
It Rflsy's boyhood and early life was
Q tragedy. Born among good people
who yet did not understand. In au en-
vironmsnt mat was. to say the issst,
mortalixsd both. Perhaps be needed
such schooling. II 20 be repaid the
debt with compound interest.
OF couss aft9 b isk school and
eniisd 30 become q Awy~ b had b
ma somsthins b DO h wss drmsd
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03
.nEY's BrHrHPLAcn AT GREENFIELD. IND.

RIEY's BIRTHPLAoR AT oRKxSFIKLD. IND.
baiyat of Doc sifers," 'The Book of
Joyous Children" IAN Old Sweetheart
Of Nine" "Out to Old Aunt Mary's,"
"a Defective Santa Claus" Home
Again With Me-" THE Boys Of the
Old Glee Club" while the Heart
Beats Young" Morning" "The Little
Orphant Annie Book" and "old School
day Romances."
AS Is the fate Of all new and really
great voices In literature, Riley was
followed by a world Of imitators. This,
II nothing else. testifes to the deep
impression he made on American lit
erature. II II not too much TO say
that he was the beginning Of q new
school He wss In practically at the
beginning Of what has come to be
known as newspaper and dialect verse.
In Riley's hands. however. dialect was
true to nature and was never over
done. In his Inter years he showed
that he could write with equal charm
In straight nnsiish
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03
ROADS FOR PREPAREDNESS.

The European war should teach =
} this country more lessons than =
one, but one Of the most obvious .
and the most needed Is the les .
} son Of good roads. y
We have no immense standing .
army. We have few forts. Our =
coast defenses are limited and =
would be practically impotent .
against a general and concerted =
attack. Our navy can be at but .
one place at time, and we have =
the longest coast line OF any ma y
ton in the world. some $4,000 =
miles Of salt water. But give us =
the means Of putting men In =
great numbers on either coast =
with facility. give us the lincoln .
highway completed. hard surfac- y
ed. connecting the metropolis OF =
our east coast with that of our .
western shores. and give US a .
system of roads such as Europe =
can boast and our boundaries are .
as safe as though they were .
bristling with forts and eighteen =
inch guns.-Philadelphia Record. .
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03
MILLIONS WASTED ON ROADS
Lack Of int.lIIssnt system Hss csussd
Bio Leakage.


sls Leakage
Millions Of dollars have been wasted
on road building because there has
been no continuity OF purpose. no co
ordination OF management, no central
ization OF control In the work. accord
ing TO the American Highway sssocia-
ton. The plan pursued, 80 far a.
there has been any plan. has been Of
the higgledy -piggledy. here q little.
there little order, and with generally
disappointing results. The national
government does not exercise any ad-
ministrative control over public roads
except those built on government res
ervations, and until recently the states
took no direct part In the construction
OF improved roads, which for nearly
half a century were controlled and
financed by the county or by subdivi-
sions Of the county. 90 that the public
road which should be operated for the
benefit OF all the people was In fact
nothing more or better than a purely
local utility"
Down to the present time about "a
900 miles OF improved highways have
been constructed under the Immediate
direction Of the several state highway
departments. In 1914 the states e.
pended In round numbers S50.00000o
for road purposes. aud In 1913 the ap-
propriations available for this work
amounted to about s55! 100000. In ad-
dition. the local expenditures aggreget-
ed about $200OO0.000 In 1914. In 1904
the total amount expended BY the
states, counties and townships for road
purposes In the United States amount
ed to about ssO.0O0O00. In the course
OF ten years the expenditures on this
account nearly trebled. That there is
not more to show for II Is due to the
lack Of intelligent and responsible sys-
tenn In the planning and building Of
the roads. In the states that have
adopted the policy Of centralized state
management the largest percentage Of
improved highways Is to be found.
Massac husetts heads the list with 6i.7
per cent OF improved highways. Ohio
follows with 33.s per cent. New Jersey
takes third place with 30.3 per cent.
New York II fourth In order with 40
per cent. and Connecticut IL nth with
28.2 per cent improved roads. All these
states have had state highway depart
ments for more than ten years.
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03
THE LATE JAMES WH|TCOMB RILEY
Unmarried, but the Poet
Of the Home; Childless,
but Beloved by Chill
dren-His Poe" Poem.

into him that he must be practical It
was then he turned his attention to
painting. First he aspired to por.
traits. Gradually he slid down to the
practical and became a sign painter
Before arriving at this unitarian goal,
however, he went with a patent medi-
cine man, painting signs along the
way. beating the bass drum, playing
a banjo and helping to entertain" the
street corner crowds. He remained
with the patent medicine outfit for one
summer and winter and then took up
sign painting more ambitiously.
At last the writing bug got the better
of him, and he conceived the notion Of
reciting his stun to little gatherings in
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03
SWIFT 10 rRT TENSIONS
Company Says Fund Of $4,000, 900 VIII
Benefit $4,000 Workers.

Company Says Fund Of $4,000, 900 win
Benefit $4,000 Workers.
Chicago, Aug. 1.-swift 4 Co. an
nounoed that II had established pen
sion fund for its employees with a
foundation OF 100000. The fund.
the accumulation OF six years. will
benefit employees OF the company
throughout the country. II is declared
that more than $4,000 men and women
are eligible to come under It's pro
visions.
One OF its features is that employees
do not contribute to II. the company
supplying all the money necessary to
pay pensions. In this connection. the
company says II expects to be called
on to pay 100000 a year. in addition
to the income from the fund. In order
to meet the demands. Pensions are
limited to a minimum Of s240 and a
maximum Of $1,000 a year.
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03
DO your

w NSoE
~ o you put your arms around him
as you used to do of old.
Do you give him little kissss
IL without having to be told.
Do you ask him n he's weary. do
you wonder at his trials
Do you wait for him 20 welcome him with
tenderness and smilesf
Do you show him you appreciate the little
things he brings.
The thoughtfulness he shows you as witn-
In the gate he swings
Do you take him 20 your bosom. lay your
hand upon his head.
Az you used to do when living In the ro-
nance of the wedf
Do you cling TO him IN trouble and do all
you can with song
And sunshine and with cheering to help
matters Jog aiongf
Do you care TO make him happy. do you
show It. II you do.
Do you tell him that you love him. a. you
want Il told to your
Baltimore sun
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03
Now AutomobiIs Highway

The construction Of an automobile
highway from Wichita Falls to Fosh
Worth. Tex. a distance Of about II
miles. viii be started soon. according
to plans now being made by those In
Serested.
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03
Road Roller Made Of Q Boiler.

One OF the old style boilers without
an attached FIRE box or an upright one
makes a fine road roller. In building
roads In a southern state one OF these
boilers was used. A hole was drilled
through the center OF each head and q
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03
Interesting Career OF q
Poet Who Had Won the
Admiration and Affec-
ton OF Millions.


"NO most people. and especially to
most children, tidings Of the
death Of James whitcomb
Riley brought q sense Of per.
sonal bereavement He had so long
sung to us of honey things that we
had come to regard him as an intimate
who could enter into our every mood
and who knew ~ better than we
knew ourselves. without chick or
child Of his own he Jet was the poet
Of childhood Though unmarried. he
was the poet Of the home. He knew
Ins 80 well, our boyish escapades. our
Aove affairs, our delight in nature, our
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03
Tn. Worst Thing For Good Resds.

The Worst Thing For Coed Roads.
Perhaps the worst thing which could
happen to the cause Of good roads
would be the building Of all those now
needed with no provision for keeping
them up after their completion. says
the Farm and Fireside. No '.perma-
nent" road Is permanent In the sense OF
not needing repairs and upkeep.
Some charge for maintenance there
surely win be on every permanent
road When issues OF bonds for better
roads are voted on this matter Of main
tenance should be provided for.
In many cases the permanent road
will be far easier TO maintain by the
ordinary tax levy than were the old
unimproved highways. In such cases
the new road instead OF adding TO the
local burden win tighten It.
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03
THE CLOSE or DAY.

The CLOSE OF DAY.
THE day In dying.
Behind the western hills the sun Ia
sinking low.
The earth 10 signing
And bids farewell TO light and life and
golden glow.
Tho stars are peeping
Out from behind the quiet skies OF deep
est blue.
The birds are sleeping.
And you and clasp hands and vows OF
love renew.
-Oswald c. Ludwig.
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03

shaft run through them. the ends BE-
ing used for hauling It over the road
way by means Of n special built frame
and tongue for a team OF horses. Tue
weight Of the boiler was sufficient to
pack very loose soil to make q solid
oadbed.-Popular Mechanics.
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03
BUT He DID THE JOB.

1AFFY was n plumber.
l. Taffy's price was steep:
Taffy came TO our house.
And he went fast asleep:
l went TO TafYy's house
And paid him thirty bones
For soldering n pipe Joint
In a house my landlord owla
~. w. Tslsy.
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03
Always vIsipio.

Henn-Did you ever witness your
wife's Win Peck-Yes; / witness II
every day Of my life.-New York Times.
The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1916-08-03

word or any other price ne might have
named. II Is possible that the "twsn-
" years. can be taken In a ngurativs
SENSE. Perhaps the time seemed thus
long to Riley. He himself evolved a
theory. which has also been held BY
q few others before and since, that Il
was the absence Of a well known
name attached TO his verses which
made them drug on the literary mar
ket. To bear lout his contention he
originated the famous hoax Of having
discovered a lost poem of Poe. This
was supposed to have been written In
the fiyleaf Of a book left with some
people near Richmond by q young man
who showed signs Of q dissipated life
and signed the electrifying initials
&c. A. p" These people. knowing
nothing Of the value Of their treasure.
had allowed the book to lie about tho
house until by the migrations Of their
descendants II had come to Indiana.
The find" was as follows:
The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1916-03-09
Oklahoma Bank Wrecked.

Tulsa, Okla, March -4.-Bank
robbers blew open the safe and
wrecked the bank at Mounds,
Okla, early today and escaped
with between 81 900 and $4,000 in
currency. Twelve explosions
were resorted to in forcing the
safe, according to statements Of
people awakened by the noise.
One of these was sufficient to
stop the clock in the bank, and
the explosion which finally
opened the money chamber
burned the currency until it is
thought that it will be identified
with ease wherever the robbers
attempt to pass it. Three men
took the handcar belonging to the
section foreman of the st. Louis
& San Francisco railroad and es-
capped in the direction Of Kiefer
Immediately after the robbery.
They have not been located.
The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1916-03-09

Emma Bright to j. w. Ander.
son lots 8, 10 and II block 81
Rockville 100000.
W. D. Howard to M. L. Poin,
dexter 125 acres sections II and
% Spruce $4,000.
H. T. Epler to Elmer N. Martin
ct al lots ii and IL block II Lit.
ties addition to Hume $4,000.
j. l. Traver to NJ. Simon 40
acres section % Mt. Pleasant
"a, 10000.
T. W. Silvers to F. NJ. Camp.
bell, part lot 2 block 7 Couch 3
addition to Butler 100000.
III. B. Robinson to B. T. Lehr 100
acres section IA Usage 100000 90.
A. w. Fischer ct al to j. j.
Fischer 10 acres section 5 Rock
vile $4,000.
Lewis S. Radford to Norfleet &
Ream part block 9 Butler 5000.
C. ]. Browning to o. D. Brown
ing 10 acres section 9 Charlotte
R,5O0.O0.
Geo. II. Adams ct al to s. G.
Adams 40 acres section 10 Char
lotte $1.O0.
Lousie Fischer ct al to A. w.
Fischer tract section %, IA and
a Pleasant Gap I'll, 10000.
The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1916-03-09
Six Perish When Match is Tossed
Into Gasoline.

Ell Paso, Tex, March 6.-Sis
persons were burned to death and
probably 40 others seriously in.
jured, several fatally, in a fire
late today at the city Jail bath.
house.
The blaze started from a flash
Of flame from a large tub of gas
oline and kerosene solution used
to destroy germ-carrying lice. In
their first report officials attrib-
uted the origin to the deliberate
action of one of the prisoners in
throwing a lighted match in one
of the containers.
More than a score of prisoners
who were thoroughly saturated
with the solution, were enveloped
in flames. Jail attendants i'm
mediately opened two exits, al
lowing a number of the prisoners
in the bathroom to escape, al
though seriously burned.
H. M. Cross, an American, who
died Of injuries, was named as
the man who struck the match
that caused the fire, in a state
ment made by H. G. Bagby, one of
the TRUSTEES on guard. Cross was
under arrest as vagrant. His
home is said to have been in Dav-
export, Ia. -.
On fire from head to foot the
nude victims dashed into the
streets and alleys surrounding the
prison. Several, evidently mad
dened by the pain, outdistanced
all pursuers and disappeared.
Only one of these had been found
several hours after the disaster.
The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1916-03-09
Separators or Crooks?

The farmer who uses a cream
separator obtains as much milk
from four cows as is obtained
FROM FIVE cows where cream is
raised in a pan," says G. H. Eek
les of the Missouri College of Ag-
riculture. The separator method
gets Is per cent more cream from
milk and this will pay for a separ-
ator in a year in a dairy herd of
ten or more cows: As the cream
is separated while fresh and
sweet ripening can be controlled
and butter of much better grade
can be secured than if the cream
is raised by gravity. The use Of
a separator lightens the work for.
the housewife. The machine is
kept in a small room adjoining
the barn and only the separator
parts are brought from the house.
These instead of numerous pans
and crooks are returned to the
kitchen for washing after the
fresh skim milk has been fed to
the calves and pigs.
A well made separator will last
for years, in spite of the fact that
it is put into service twice a day.
The separator should run for from
four to six years without repairs,
if reasonable care is used.
The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1916-03-09

Killed ~ szsl !! - !. ~. Il,
Lawton, Ok, MARCH resti-
mony tending to show that Daniel
Okane, q farmer, killed aeyen
members Of his family and them
took his own life, was intro ueed
before : Coroner's jury; which ne
today held an inquest at the
Okane home, near here WHARF i
negro farm hand this morning
found the bodies Of seven 81 the
murdered persons with 0kane,
fatally shot, lying beside them.
Okane died in a hospital in this
city this evening. III
Witnesses testified that Okane
frequently had quarreled with his
aged father, James Okane, and
gave their belief that the strained
relations existing between son
and father caused Daniel Okane
to become temporarily insane,
The dead: Mrs. Daniel Okane,
the five Okane children Lewis,
10; Daniel, s; Margaret q; Lillian,
5; baby, Robert-Jas. Okane, IS,
and Daniel Okane, about 48.
The children's heads had been
with a hammer and the
threats of the fur older children
had been cut with a razor. Mrs.
Okane's head had been crushed
with a hammer and she also had I
been shot. The elder Okane and /
Daniel Okane and the baby. Rob
ert, also had bullet wounds
through their heads. A bloody
hammer and a razor were found
IN the house. .
The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1916-03-09

fhg Progressive party Of B1f0
county held their mass convention
in Butler Saturday and rensstet
their allegiance to the 1912 Bull
Moose platform.
The resolutions committee, com
posed Of M. M. Carroll, G. z
Wyatt and John Seelinger report
ed the following resolutions
which were adopted by the com.
mittee:
LIST. Resolved by the Progress.
sives in mass convention Assem-
bled, that we renew our allegiance
to the platform as adopted BY the
Progressive party at Chicago in
1912 and Endorsed by 4,700,0
voters Of this nation.
End. Resolved, that to man,
we believe that the great states
man and soldier is the only man
big enough and broad enough to
guide the old ship Of state clear
Of the breakers that present them
selves to our nation at the present
time.
3rd. Resolved further that we
form a union of forces at Chica-
60 on June the 7th.
A motion prevailed endorsing
Clark Wix as a delegate from the
Sixth Congressional District to the
National Progressive Convention
at Chicago June 7th. 1916.
Delegates to the State Progress
sive convention at Kansas City
April 3rd were selected as fol-
lows: Clark Wix, G. P. Wyatt, ].
M. McGovern, NJ. M. Carroll, Clay
Hyatt, John Seelinger, DR.. E. G.
ley. The following alternates
were chosen: w. M. Seelinger, j.
A. Borland, w. P. Largent, E. E.
Morilla, Chas. Cullison, T. S. Har-
per, j. r. Baum.
The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1916-03-09
German Plan for D. 8. Invasion
Told.

London. March Am article
which s.win startle America Is
to be published in the Sunday
Pictoriala Major Stuart Steph-
ens will it is said, reveal 1 Ger:
man plot for invasion Of the
United States.
All German plans are, II i
stated, laid and worked ont.
when they will land, how
many men viii land there how
they win Relate America from
her munition factories how they
WI snash the American nav.y
a. eees pointe md many morS
AaNe. eel snitaly desided "a,
~ writer ealsxee,