davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07

From the Boston Herald.
 With the price of Holsters touching the highest mark ever known in Boston, it is lures as to the when and why of the lobsterless future that we are facing. IL shows as little knowledge of the situa- ton to blame the condition of the lobster market wholly on the winter storms as it does to charge that the greed of the lob ster fishermen for immediate gains, re- gardless of the laws, tells the whole story.
 A very important element in the case is the discrepancy between the Massa chrsetts and Maine laws regarding shorts" Any lobster more than nine inches in length is of legal size in this state. In Maine, where most of our Holsters come from, the length is 1O1a inches. It is. easy to see what that means Interruptions fishermen on the Maine coast find a safe and eager mar ket for their shorts in Massachusetts.
 In some localities, notably Monhegan, the lobster fishermen are banded well to- gether to keep within the law. They let the small Holsters grow to big ones. That course is sensible and far-sighted one for them. But the fishermen who break the Maine law, under the active encour- agement of the Massachusetts law, are doing much to hasten the lobsterless fu- ture. Uniform lobster laws, like uni form laws among the New England states on many other subjects, would go far to solve the problem.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07
Colonel Dcdd's Great Cavalry Feat

John NJ. McCourt of Scranton, Pa.,
 writing in the New York Sun rebukes certain flippant critic of the United States army's expeditionary force in
 Mexico, and especially his criticism of
 Col. George A. Dodd's great cavalry feat. MT. McCourt recalls the fact that only once in the four years of the civil war was Dodd's dash of fifty five miles day over rough deserts in "nauseating heat and sleep destroying cold" excelled, and that was in 1862, when Gen. J. E. B. Stewart extricated < his brigade from the clutch of Pleas anton by riding it seventy-five miles s in day"
 While the regular army is small, as the standing armies of the world go, { it is made up of superior material, both officers and rank and file. Mex ico is big country and it's mountains and it's deep reaches of thicket lend themselves we'll to the conduct of guerrilla warfare, such as Villa and his followers revel in, but with Major General Funston directing the general Splan of campaign from his headquar- { ters at Ell Paso, Tex, Brigadier Gen. eral Pershing commanding the expedi- ton in the field and Colonel Dodd lead-
 inr the cavalry, it is only question of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07

To be sure, a boy who pays $oooo wear rent and spends $12,000 year on his "household" fares infinitely hotter than the average occupant o1 hall bedroom. In his position in life annearances must be maintained, and ,.,b;la ba has no more use for a retl- me of servants than the proverplal n;g has for side pockets, they help to keep up the family prestige and pre- vent young MT. Thaw from being hu- initiated bv the unkind comments ot his set. who would be sure to gossip if his menage was skimped in any par ticular.
 Item of $500 year for school pur- noses is quite reasonable. It IS less than half the amount his automobile costs him and is doubtless looked on by MT. Thaw as bone to the peda- eogues, those foolish folk who contend that there is something more in life than having a good time and spending money earned by somebody else. Item of s1200 year for clothes is about Sl1OO more than the average boy ot IT pays for his wardrobe, but agaln it must be remembered that MT. Thaw ;s under the necessity of keeping up appearances. However, $120O year is a mere trifle compared to the sums spent by young women of gilded cir cles for clothes and gewgaws during 12 months. It might provide them with shoes, but hardly more.
 Any lad of IT should be able to worry along with $500 a year for spending money, especially since that is more than the average salaried man in the United States earns by twelve months of hard work, and besides there is S3OO0 left for "sundries," an . item in all expense accounts of great elasticity. Young MT. Thaw is pre- sumably tco young yet to have ac- quired the chorus girl habit to any great extent and presumably does not bet on the little ivory ball and other ! games of chance. When he really be- gins to Ego the gates" $1500 year for pin money would be ridiculous, but sof course he will have more then.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07

From the Louisville CourerJ Journal.
 TT is a familiar statement of sojourners
 in the Orient that when the bumptious A westerner goes somewhere east O suez." or west of San Francisco, mar boring the idea that his hemisphere IS the home of alertness, the east teacies him a. lesson he remembers as long as he lives, provided, of course, he IS cap able of being taught anything. That loea is borne out amusingly in an article III inc Worlds Outlook, in which a corre- spondent, Lewis R. Freeman, tells or hls effort to interview Yuan Shin kal.
 Mir. Freeman tells the story as follows;
 "yuan wanted to know what l and my American friends thought of the rallWays of China in general, and then or the re king-Kalgan, the Shanghai-Nanking, ana several others in particular. l dlscoursed fluentlv on railroads. Then he asked of our impressions of the industrial devel- opment of China-of the Hankow Steel works, the cotton mills and SILK fllatures of Shanghai, of the coal mines or Ions- shan, and again I launched into descrlp- ton and criticism. Education followed, then agriculture, then finance, and at the end of half an hour or more, rather dry in the throat but still trying to get Yuan questions all disposed of so as to have a clear deck for my own, I was just start ing to tell what I thought of the Chinese army.
 ""They are fine men, your excellency. especially here in the north and central provinces. Rather remind me of the Jap anese, who, understand, had something to do with training many of the officers
 Yuan caught the drift of it in an 1n- stant, and the anger of his glance burned like the Blast from a furnace door. The doctor switched off the vibrator ana stepped out of the way, and l seem 10 have some recollection of sliding my bench
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07
HoME-THoUGHTs. FROM ABROAD

By R. Browning. Oh, to be in England
 Now that April's there, And whoever wakes in England Sees, some morning, unaware, That the lowest boughs and the brush
 wood sheaf Round the elm tree bole are in tiny leaf, While the chaffinch sings on the orchard
 bough In England-now! And after April. when May follows, And the whitethrcat builds, and all the
 swallows; Hark. where my blossomd pear tree in
 the hedge Leans to the field. and scatters on the clover Blossoms and dewdrops--at the bent sprays edge That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over, Hest you should think he never could re- Is capture The first fine careless rapture. And though the fields look rough with hoary dew, 1 AA will be gay when noontide wakes Tha bpttercups, the little children 5 Adower. J Far Abrighter than this gaudy melon
 QoweH
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07
A KENTUCKY TROUBADOUR

a ringing cry for action produced in Frankfort and published in New York within a few days after the destruction of the Maine in Havana harbor, poem possessing the quality of prophecy as well as flaming with the fire of patriotism. revealed the authors power as a topical work, it was said at the time for a price which astonished him. But he did not avail himself of an obvious oppor- tunity to write what might be termed. depreca tingly, commercial verse. Re member the Maine' won instantaneous fame. It was set to music and became battle song when the fleet was ordered to Cuban waters at the outbreak of the war with Spain. Its author remained in Kentucky and made no effort, so far as r the public knew, to follow up his suc- cess as a popular poet
 A story which is told in Frankfort is illustrative:
 A crayon head of Christ by Wilson was so excellent that it was not credited as original when it was signed with the name of young and then unknown artist and hung in an exhibition in one of the tdSteIli clticS-E iiilduelpnla 1T memory IS not at fault. Instead of getting publicity and recognition from the blundering judges, Wilson withdrew from the exhibi- tion,s crestfallen. angry at the injustice of the suspicion of his integrity and for years declined to sell the-picture. Event ually when hard pressed, he sold it in Frankfort for a fraction of what it's value might have become had he exploit ed as many artists would have done, the incident in Philadelphia.
 A man of the highest character and delicate sensibilites. companioable, re- sponsive. popular. Robert Burns Wilson enjoyed greatly the compensations of life
 in Kentucky. He grsariy preferred tke pursuance of poetic fancy in tine pictur- esque wilds of the valley of song making Elkhorn' to the pursuit of fame or wealth in New Yorlxs granite canyons. His interment in Frankfort is, indubit- ably, obedient to his wishes. Despite the fact that he was not soldier it is in keeping with the spirit of the final stanza of the poem which gave fame to Theodore O'Hara. whose grave Is in the Frankfort cemetery.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07

From the Louisville Courier-J ournal.
 IF an American Raynouard should com
 pile, a century from the present II time, "Choix des Poesies Originates des Troubadours'' commemorative or the work of southern writers he would lh- c,uaed in the volume verses, of Robert Burns Wilson whose death occurred Ill New York last week and whose burlal takes place in Frankfort this morning.
 That so gifted an artist-he was painter as well as a poet and banter of no mean complishments-did not ca pitaliZe his talents and lay up sur plus as well as provide amply Tor uaily naeds-inclines one to belief in the super stition of the ancients. who accounted for one mans success and another man failure by the theory of stars or oes- tiny. That he was industrious and pro- ductive with both pen and brush during the period of his life in which he should have made the most of his abilities as means of livelihood; that he lived nearly as poor as little Thomas Chatterton died, was not the fault of the period, the pup lie or even the publishers. It was due to an inherent and insuperable quality of temperament best described by the familiar term 'unbusiness-like."
 An artist discovered is an artist made, speaking generally. It was not so in the case of Robert Burns Wilson He did striking work. It became known. But while others less talented were conduct ing their work as an enterprise. and at tending to the business end of it by form ing valuable connections and alliances Tn the publishing centers or markets for DIG lures, Wilson was leading an idyllic and thoroughly improvident existence Ill Frankfort He absorbed his inspiration from surroundings no less inspiring than those which conjured the muse for the Gascon Cercamon or Bernart Of Venta- dour. But he was without the benefit or the patronage which called the literature of Provence into being by looking after the we'll being of it's opponents.
 Realization that Frankfort, however alluring. as ''congenial clime," was not the right base for a painter or a poet, came late in his career. It seems not to have been sufficiently profitable to com pensate him for having left the home of his adoption and the circle of his friends
 There are poets of high merit who get little or no money return upon their work. But they are writers who cannot, or will not adapt their abilities to the production of the sort of verse that com. mands popular audience and fair price. Wilson's Remember the Maine."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07
DOGGEREL IN HYMNS

From LeS.le S.
 Sing! Many of our modern church hymns are doggerel. "They would be just as good sung backwards said the Rev John Thompson, speaking at a Methodist camp meeting near Chicago. Many of them are full of theological untruths. If preacher preached the heresies sung in many of these hymns, he would be rushed to trial and theologically decapitated." !" The demand of the church for new hymns for prayer metings, Sunday school, young peoples meetings, for Christmas, Easter Children's Day and other special occa- sions has created large number of hymns and songs deserving all the criti- cisms expressed by Dr. Thompson. Great hymns, on the other hand, are a possess sion of the church universal. They do not embody sectarianism or narrow the ology, but voice the aspirations of great souls after God. Cardinal Newman gave us Lead, Kindly Light one of our finest modern hymns. Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee" admirably translated by Edward Caswall, comes from the gifted monk of the twelfth century, Bernard of Clairvaux. Jesus Lover of My Soul' was given to the church by Charles Wesley, an Armenian, Rock of Ages by Augus- tus M. Toplady, a Calvinist. These, and other grand old hymns, belong to the church universal, and may be sung by Protestants and Roman Catholics alike. In the past the church was deficient in hymns of brotherhood and social justice. hut that defect has been largely met in recent years. Many centuries ago St. Au- gustine, defining hymn. said: ."It is singing to the praise of God. If you praise God and do not sing, you utter no hymn. If you sing and praise not God you utter no hymn. What we need now is to weed out the doggerel from our hymns, leaving only hymns which are pure poetry, sound in doctrine, or which express the common aspirations of the soul of man in worship.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07
PESTIFEROUs PERSONS.

However fair the world may be-, You'll find some people in it Who naught but faults can ever see For longer than a minute; Whose bitter tongues slash left and right, Their stock of venom spilling Whene CT we get chance to smite, By love, we're more than willing!
 THE PRICE OF STUPIDITY. "Dubwaite is always making expensive presents to his wife" "He must think great deal of her." "No It's because she isn't mentally alert"
 'IIow is that?" eff Dubwaite were better strategist he wouldn't have to spend half as much as he does on peace offerings"
 UNHAPPY MEMORIES. This author reads from his works with great deal of feeling" q noticed that I don't suppose there IS a SlnSIo one OI lH0 pOSiIlo HS iSdo lO us that hasn't been turned down by edi- tors at least dozen times,
 QUITE THE CONTRARY. Young Reginald Twobble is said to own 2 suits of clothes.'' Whats the idea?" There isn't any. Do you suppose an idea is ever associated with the possessor of 27 suits of clothes?"
 pROBLEMATICAL. Where do you expect to go on your next motor trip?" T haven't decided yet" answered the speed fiend, but some of my friends pre- dict that it will be heaven or the other place."
 NOT TO BE DENIED.
 It costs bit,
 But what of that?
 She's bound to have
 An Easter hat.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07
AN ORIENTAL

back a foot or two myself. Then the storm passed as quickly as it had come, and Yuan with clearing face, rose ponder ously to his feet and came over and patted me propitiatingly on the shoulder.
 .' His excellency is not angry at you,' explained the doctor, but you see that he does not like the Japanese But 1 think now your interview had best be over
 My interviewi
 But was the interview a failure? Tho chief value of an interview is not that it contains views expressed by notable, but that the notable by expressing himself reveals himself. If the reader of the interview gets no mental picture of the ''victim," other than the impressionstlc one the correspondent is able to paint by few strokes of the pen, he is likely to have but the merest superficial knowl- edge of the parsonage about whom he is reading.
 definite impression of Yuan Shih Kai is gained from MT. Freeman's account of his efforts. It is surprising one, no doubt, to many westerners whose typical Chinaman is a figure from comic opera, the laundryman who sprinkles the clothes iE a peculiar fashion or the pipe hitter of the Chinese quarter of an American city, who may be posing, on salary, as one of the sights to be seen by buyers of tickets upon yap wagons.
 If Yuan succeeded by his own methods in avoiding statements the degree of his success constituted the meat of a de- cidedly successful interview. MT. Free man is to be congratulated upon having turned to good account material for 'copy'' which a second-rate interviewer or a cub reporter would have viewed as amounting to failure.
 The east and the west, in their separate ways, came out of the encounter with credit.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07
Wiping out Illiteracy

Rapid strides are being made in the campaign to wipe out illteracy in Ala bama," said Miss Esther Foster, field agent of the state illiteracy commission, who is attending the educational meet ing. We have already conducted the campaign with much success in a num- Der of tn ecounties and we have concluded arrangements to have the iiliteracy but tons sold in this city at an early date. We hope that it will not be long until every adult in the state can read and write.
 'One of the most pleasing features in connection with this work is the splendid cooperation we are receiving from every cne The newspapers have been of won derful assistance, and it is to them that we are largely due the fact that the pulp lie has been aroused to the importance of the work"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07
Common Counsel Club

'The Common Counsel club is to com IT nemorate the one hundred and. seventy third anniversary of the birth of Thoma s Jefferson with a banquet to be given on the evening of Thursday, April 13, at the New Willard hotel Washington, and I regret that I cannot attend" said Gov. w. D. Jelks. '"rhe chairmen of the 4S democratic state central committees are to be the guests of honor; the memb CTS of the national committee and other dem- ocrats of national prominence are also to be invited.
 ''The President of the United States, Hcn Thomas J. Walsh United States senator from Montana; Hon. Henry F. Hollis, United States senator from New Hampshire, and Hon. Carter Glass; mem- Der of Congress from Virginia, will de- llver speeches on the policies and achieve ments of the administration.
 Hon. Roland S. Morris, chairman of the democratic state central committee of Pennsylvania, is arranging an infor- nal conference of the state chairmen for the morning of April IS, at the New Willard, at which it is proposed to dis cuss plans for the approaching presi- dential and congressional campaign
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07

BREAKING INTO PRINT. At last his name In print appears! He cut his eorns With rusty shears
 -Yonzers Statesman. I saw his name In type quite bold; He took quack dope To cure a cold.
 Sharon Herald. At last his name In print is seen; He lit the fire With gasoline,
 Warren Tribune. At last his name In print we see. He got him an Affinitee.
 Houston Post. He's broken in- To print at last, They say he has A shady past" Memphis Commercial-Appeai. A shady past? We think it right That sort of past Should have some light.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07

American bankers. philanthropists and business men have sent out an appeal to 12ooOO persons of prominence in the United States in behalf of thousands ot French. Belgian and British soldiers blinded in the war. These unfortunate men are no longer able to work at their former trades and cannot support their families. It is proposed to teach them new trades which they can follow and be- come self-supportng in spite of their blindness. Crushed by the apparent hope lessness of their condition, it is said that many are daily passing through a living death. It is declared that six months training, for which the cost In the case of each individual will be com blind to be self-sustaining. c. Arthur Pearson, the blind English newspaper proprietor, whose name is familiar to readers on both sides of the Atlantic, is already carrying on philanthropic work of this character at St. Dunstan's, in England. MT. Pearson is now living with 130 blinded soldiers and sailors and is devoting his life to their rehabilitation. The Friends of Blind Soldiers" in France and the Franco-American committee for the blind are also giving aid to these war victims Richard Harding Davis re- gently paid a visit to MT. Pearsons home and wrote an interesting account of the work being done there. His article was published in The Age-Herald. It is esti- mated that there were 2,500,OO0 blind peo- pie in the world at the outbreak of the war This number will be greatly in- creased, but it is thought that the work being done for war victims will also bene- fit the blind in all parts of the world.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07
NEW GOWNS ON OLD PORTRAIT

New York Correspondence Pttsburg Dis
 patch.
 A New York artist has an annual in come of $500 Once a year he puts a new gown on figure in family portrait just to keep the painting in style. His patron is a widow of wealth. About ten years ago she sent for the artist and com manded him to put an up-to-date gown on the portrait of her mother. T cannot bear to look at that od-fashcn ned gown, :" she explained as she pointed to the skirt On the canvas. Ma always thought lot about style, and I have been thinking how she would have felt to be seen in clothes so ridiculous. I want you to paint new dress on ma. I have been studying the latest fashions and I know just what I want" The artist said it would be van dals work to toucn the portrait. "If you do not carry out my wishes. said the widow, 'T can find some one who will In week ma appeared as all up-to-date lady who patronized the best modistes. And every season. or when there is any noticeable change m style, the portrait is made to look up to date.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07
HOTEL LOBBIES
Big Poultry and Egg Business


 Sherrill Produce company of Hartselle, of which l am manager" said s. L. Sher- Till, "has>purchased for shipment in the last eight weeks from the towns of Gull man. HartseIle, Falkville, Decatur and Athens:
 10000 cases eggs, averaging more
 than $5 per case ....................$5 .$52, 200 142,00 lbs. hens, averaging more
 than 14c per ID. ...................... 19.SSO
 Total for eggs and poultry alone. .S72,0S0
 This does. not include the, shipments made by competitors, which was of con- siderable quantity, nor does it include the hides, furs, wool butter, etc., of which we have shipped a quantity.
 We are loading cars of poultry this week, CuIlman Wednesday and Thurs day, Hartselle Friday, Decatur Saturday. If anyone wishes to see this sight, let them bring some hens and enjoy the day."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07

BEGINNING THE DAY-My chfeh coueeru this day must be with pco- uje. | may he a merchant or tarih- CT or a banker. but my business shall be mainly with men. must .nprccsate their point Of view. must know their weaknesses, | must study the powers which sleep HI them, unknown even to themseises must genuinely love men H would make this an ideni "as' Amen.-H. M. E.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07
Moods of a Gilded Youth

According to budget submitted py
 his guardian, Lawrence Copley lhaw' 1T years old, requires slightly more than s25,ooo a year for his proper ,,,e;ntenance. The various expendi- t,,res for the young gentleman's com fort and pleasure are listed as foi-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07
" WHEN GREEK MEETS GREEK

From the New Orleans States.
 Hon. Tom Taggart is recognized ex- pert at the game, but it is safe to predict that if he ever sits in with Uncle Joe Cannon he win be greatly astonished by the old gentleman's ability to draw to three kings and all acc.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07

Birmingham is just now in the throes of d great mystery which, strange to say. is not connected with the city com mission. The problem to be solved is When is a train robber not train rob ho,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07

The odds are decidedly in favor of Colonel Dodd's retiring as a brigadier- general.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07

It is estimated by conservative persons that Dixie will be played not less than 800 times during the Confederate Vet erans' reunion