davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-05
POLLING THE BASEBALL RowDY

From the Youngstown Telegram.
 Paper containers to replace the ven- erable pop bottles of heavy glass is the latest safety first measure proposed. The suggestion does not come from medical men or other health and sanitation work CTS who are so consistently on the trail of the poor germ. Managers and own CTS of the Toledo baseball team have thought it out all by themselves since the game last Sunday when more than 50 spectators exercised their time honored prerogatives by hurling pop bottles at the umpire. Only one bottle reached les mark, a poor pitching average, but even one pop bottle properly directed calls for hospital ambulance
 Since it is unlawful to shoot down pop bottle hurlers the suggestion of substitut- ing paper for glass containers looks good. It does no good to kill an um. ~ . anyway because another always rises up to take his place and is subject to the same errors of judgment. If some way could now be devised for aboishing the baseball fan who is merely noisy and not wise to the game, the fan who spreads out over three seats and the fan whc | wears his wide br:rnmed straw hat on the back of his head. thereby shutting off view of the field from three or four other spectators, baseball would be a much more enjoyable sport.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-05
THE SAILOR BOY

By Alfred Tennyson. He rose at dawn, and fired with hope, Shot OCT the seething harbor bar. And reached the ship and caught the rope And whistled to the morning star. And while he whistled long and loud He heard fierce mermaiden cry, "Oh, boy, tho thou art young and proud see the place where thou wilt lie. "The sands and yeasty surges mix In caves about the dreary bay, And on thy ribs the limpet sticks,
 And in thy heart the scrawl shall play Fool" he answered, death is sure To those that stay and those that
 roam, But I will nevermore endure
 To sit with empty hands at home. My mother clings about my neck,
 My sister crying stay for shame My father raves of death and wreck They are all to blame, they are all to
 blame.
 God help me. save take my part Of danger on the roaring sea, A devil rises in my heart
 Far worse than any death to me-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-05
MOVIES AND THE CLASSICS

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
 Strange and varied are some of the uses to which the motion picture cam era is put these days. It remained for a Chicago mana ger, however, to use the screen as a means of conducting a big concert. The pictured baton led a big orchestra through all the difficult and intricate musical mazes of Mendelssohn S Spring Song and the finale to Rossini' S William Tell'' overture.
 Details of just how the film was made are lacking. Arthur Durham was ths conductor, however. Whether it was done as an experiment or whether the exigences of his profession were such as to prevent him from conducting in person on this particular occasion is not disclosed. Here is the way it worked out, though, and to everybody's satisfaction. Dunham was pictured in the course of conducting the two numbers, and when the concert in question was given his picture was thrown on a big screen where the players could follow every gesture, every move of his baton, every expression on his face, every one precisely as if the
 
 tre, of course, was a closeup"
 It may be argued that the vital urge of his personality was lacking in handling his layers, but nobody seemed to notice the difference between this sort of con- ducting and the usual one. Pictures con. vey much of mans personality, any, way, although not so much or so well as the man does in real flesh and blood Perhaps it is placing the work of pre-. senting musical masterpieces on hard mechanical basis. but it: seems to work, and what more can one ask than that?
 Anyway the movies are rapidly seal. ing their somewhat delayed utilization with the higher and finer arts, and that is good sign Nothing is so good or sacred in art that it can afford to be su. percilious in rejecting innovation.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-05
Why Not Raise Rhubarb.

"The south, with it's comparatively mild winters, is far behind in the cultivation of many money making specialties in the truck line, one of which is rhubarb," said John c. Moses.
 Being interested in this plant, re- gently communicated with J. B. Wag- ner. plant specialist, in Pasadena, Cal, and received some timely advice. MT. Wagner is a second Burbank, and his letter to me contained va1abue ad- vice. The climate in Pasadena is a1- most equal to ours and I expect to put in a good bed of this delicious plant
 Rhubarb is one of the first vegeta- bles we have from the ground in the spring. It has a host of friends who fully appreciate its merits, while those who have land and do not grow it are losing one of natures healthiest vege- tables. It is the easiest plant to grow of all the perennials. A bed once es- tablished will last for Is or 20 years. half dozen plants will supply a large family during the season.
 The plant has been bred up to per- lection so as to stand cold weather, and in a photo received from MT. Wag- ner he shows his largest variety, reaching his chin. The varieties wo have here are small and high, gener- ally three or four small stocks for a dime. The plant likes most all good soils, and it seems strange that with 300 or 400 truckmen in and around Birmingham, none have specialized in this delicious plant. In California from $500 to $200O is made off an acra of rhubarb. This looks good to me-"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-05
CLOWNS DON'T GROW OLD

tain of youth. Making laughter seems
 to drive cares away, yet meet a clown
 when he is not working and he is about as sad looking and as serious faced as
 Methodist minister who has been re.
 moved from a church in the city to congregation in the backwoods at the behest of a rotund bishop.
 l Nine times and half out of ten the clown is born into his profession Few youths start out in life with the direct purpose in view of becoming a sue. cessful clown and they don't encourage such ambitions with a course on clown. ing in the correspondence schools. The men who have emulated Humpty Dumpty falling off wall can usually point back to long life of clowns as their ancestors. Can you imagine Al Miaco or any Miaco having been any. thing else but a clown. And Al now ap. preaching the three score year and ten mark is still clowning. He can fall down a flight of steps with agility of a small boy and get up smiling, only to be hit on top of the head with per. cussion cap loaded club And is there
 
 Tell Jules Turnour that he is getting old and he will run you off the lot Spader Johnson may get fatter, but he will never be a day older and he will always be his 1ovable self. Harry Le Pearl will let you call him kid" and mean it, and he is one at that. George Hartzell has the mien and bearing and gray locks of chairman of board of directors of a subsidiary to the steel trust, but don't you tell him he's getting old. You might as well try to con- vince any of them on this point IS to tell the citizens of Crawfordsville thai Lew Graham doesn't look like all tho Ringling Brothers blown into one.
 Was there ever a more eternal boy than Slivers? Could you ever imagine him passing across the line that means the doublet and the slippered panta. loon of old age? Even now as you feel a pang over his sad death you see him as a clown and I who knew and loved him often think of what must have transpired in his confused mind that moment when standing on the brink he looked back and saw in smiling array the millions he had made laugh. And I wonder, too when he saw their smil- ing, happy faces, if the thought did not come to him, as it comes to all oi us who knew him, did one in that count less rhrong he had made laLg gh drop a tear when he was gone?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-05
THE THRILL OF seDIxIE,'

From the Atlanta Constitution.
 | The Houston Post tells of the Texas bands playing The Star-Spangled Ban- ner, "The Battle Hymn of the Repub-
 lic," and Columbia, the Gem of the | Ocean," for the boys of the border, but it says, to a northern contemporary, the Schenectady Union-Star, that your soul thrill would have come with Dixie !"
 And the Union-Star replies:
 Sure it would. Those who have nevef had the joy of listening to a southern audience rise to Dixie have several
 thrills left to experience. There is noth- ing like it and it's worth travelling many
 miles to hear.'
 This is on the line of recent discussion as to making Dixie" the national song; and the Schenectady paper gives it's vote for Dixie It says:
 'The band plays Dixie and for the first time there's a little real enthusi-
 asm. No, we don't emulate you people 1 to the extent of emitting some of those
 ear-spltting yells that rattle the shingles
 on the roof, but bring out the goose pim- pies along your spine at the same time.
 We're far too reserved for that. But we
 do clap our hands in nice, genteel way and wish to goodness the nation would
 follow Lincoln's advice and adopt Dixie for our national hymn. America we stole bodily from England, and no man
 who ever lived, and mighty few women, were ever able to sing The Star-Span- gled Banner When they come to the rockets red glare either the voice trails off into a shrill falsetto or else everyone stops singing till we reach the final line-and that is somewhat discon- certing.'
 So it is that Dixie wins out with the people, notwithstanding all criticism as to it's lack of dignity" The fact that Dixie" leads in popularity whenever a new national air is proposed, is proof that it is closer to the hearts of the peo- pie than all the others, and since the people generally get what they want per haps they will succeed in bringing the critics round to their way of thinking that Dixie is really the national an- them, because they have so willed it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-05
Wells Hawks, in the Billboard.

Wells Hawks, in the Billboard.
 N o clowns ever grow old? Do the comics of the sawdust ring ever - attain a respectable old age and | live happily ever afterward? What be- comes of clowns anyway?
 i It is altogether out of reason to inn agine a clown retiring from the busi- ness of falling down stairs or joyfu1ly taking a slap stick beating twice a day and then give it all up and seek some l other occupation. In a wild fancy we can hardly picture a son of Momus going to look for a job in a commercial
 Then there. are no clowns old mems homes and no one has yet originated a pension for the aged, infirm, wounded and injured heroes, who, in the bat ties of the circus ring, have become disa bled from continued seltzer squirt ing in the left eye, the persistent pad ding of the slap stick or worn out
 from years of vigilance in guarding off the stage or ring restrained kick or in capacitated from many blown bladder batterings under the stretched dome of canvas.
 I do recall one very successful busi- ness man who retired from clowning.
 This was the late Frank Eline, who for many years was in the stage lighting and electrical novelty business in Balti- more. But he always had the joyful mood of the clown at work and even when business made you think that On the slightest provocation he might jump through a paper hoop. Marceline has become a business man and he has often
 told me that it was his ambition to
 go back to his native Spain, have a nice little farm and raise pigs. But l
 will bet my souvenir slap stick that he
 wouldn't have the pigs four months before he'd have them trained to tell
 the time of day, picking out poker hands and telling the colors of a varie- gated bunch of ribbons. Now Marceline is keeping a table d'hote dining place. but I never go into it without expecting momentarily to hear him falling down the stairs with eight dollars worth of cracked crockery and rushing into the dining room rubbing his antiquated silk hat and smiling a broad hippo drome grin.
 As a matter of fact you can't just get over it. No matter how their years may accumulate and birthdays come and go clowns do not grow old. In their fun and their mimicry they seem to ever finger around the edge of the foun-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-05
TO THE SOUTHERN

From the Charlotte Observer
 A Travelling Man." who failed to sign his name, writes the Observer in praise , of the excellent record made by the Southern Railway company in restoring traffic over the Catawba bridge at Bel
 mont. The writer thought the company displayed more than ordinary foresight in looking after, the interests of the passen- gers and cites the building of the boa ard
 walks from track to ferryboat on either
 side the stream, the supplying of automo-
 bile passenger service and messenger
 boys to carry baggage, the calling in of all the passenger solicitors and placing
 them at the service of the travellers at
 the scene of the trouble and of the per
 sonal supervision by the division passen- ger agent of all things looking to the comfort of the patrons of the line
 All that this travelling man has to say is deserved and he could have said much more and still not have said too much.
 The plain fact is that the Southern rail- way has made record at the Belmont
 bridge that has been seldom eoualed in the history of railroad trouble manage
 ment in this country. The break covered
 very wide stretch of river and flats and the level of the bridge was far above the stream, making the matter of the transfer one of peculiar difficulties and
 involving an expense that under ordinary circumstances would have been regarded as serious. But the transfer advancement was handled in way that entailed the minimum of inconvenience upon the peo- pie, while in the meantime there was prosecuted day and night, without cessa-
 tion, and mostly through storm and rain,
 the reconstruction of the trestle by which | through service could be resumed. This work was accomplished Monday, two weeks to the day from the destruction of
 the original bridge Those fami liar with conditions at this bridge had set three weeks IS the earliest date upon which a trestle could be completed, so that the Southern construction force forestalled ex- | pectations by just week. It must be re- membered, also, that during this time the Southern had not only this one trou- ble on its hands, but was transferring passengers and reconstructing trestles at two other points on the Catawba but a few miles apart and did not work under the advantage 1t might have had in the concentration or its forces at one point.
 The travelling public has found occa-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-05
From the Baltimore Sun.

From the Baltimore Sun.
 vKY7E receive with the humility be- W fitting the journalistic repre- sentative of comparatively small town the sarcastic rebuke of the Jovian genius who presides over the Tropics of the Times" in the New York newspaper of that name, and whose pre- rogative it is every day to teach the planets in what orbs to run, reform old time and regulate the sum-" It is readable column of authoritative and in fallible utterances on varied themes, and we peruse it with instruction and pleas ure, not less when it disposes of small fry like Baltimore and the Sun than when it decides the proper conduct of na- tions. We admit that Baltimore belongs to the vast "hinterland' of unimportant America, which is so unfortunate as to have been placed by destiny outside of New York; but for that very reason, we submit, we should not be expected to measure up to the high moral or intel lectual standards of the metropolis.
 This will account for >and we trust, mitigate the crime of our alleged failure to appreciate the Times mans joke" about the Deutschland having put Bal timore on the map. In our stupidity we had supposed, of course, that the re- mark was intended seriously; and as we look to the Times for all our inspiration, the editorial in which we elulogized the advertising possibilities of the Deutsch- land was, equally of course, the result of our misconception. We must plead. however, in extenuation of our fault that
 Times jokes are usually, like the ways of Providence, so mysterious and in scrutable as to be past finding out. In
 the future, if we are to avoid making
 such terrible break as we are accused
 of making in the case of the Deutsch-
 land, we implore our New York oracle
 to be more explicit, and when he is 'jok-
 ing" to get his art department to fur
 nish him with a journalistic wink in the
 shape of two fingers facetiously crossed. It is a matter of qualification. never theless. to know that Baltimore had been
 heard of, even in New York, before the Deutschland came to port That would seem to indicate that we had done some previous advertising. in one way or an-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-05
BALTIMORE APOLOGIES

other, and that it pays to advertise. We were base enough, we confess. to suggest turning penny for Baltimore through the universal interest excited by the visit Of this fifth cousin of the wicked war submarine. We had noted how New York had made a pretty profit by lending money to the allies, how Wall street was constantly advertising itself for sale tc the highest bidder, how the fine old Knickerbocker town was constantly keep ing itself in the public eye by its Tam. many machine and it's financial plunder' bund by it's crimes and it's epidemics by it's corporation scandals and its DO. lice graft. We had even imagined that the Times had an inclination to adver. tise its love and admiration for war brides" with rich American business spouses, and was anxious to be known as more fiercely and uncompromisingly Brit. ish than dear old John Bull himself. Anything good, bad or indifferent. it seemed to us, would do for New York in the way of advertising, and in the fool ishness of our heart we thought we could do a little advertising stunt with the Deutschland.
 But we know better now. It is verboten by the American mouthpece of the Brit ish government. Baltimore must get down on it's knees and beg pardon for ''the warmth and heartiness with which a seeming majority of its residents, un. hyphenated as well as hyphenated, wei. comed a captain and crew and craft that for most of us woke anew such bit ter memories And it would be sacrilege to derive community advantage from such an abominable occurrence.
 We have learned our duty and we shall do it. We warn the Deutschland not to return to this port or to any American port, on pain of the displeasure of the New York Times Topicer. He has 5s- clared a quarantine against her andl against the use of her name a s a tradaI label. If she is to be received with any. thing but scorn and hate, she must cOmsI back as the King George, the Britau. mia, or that pleasing and porty persoa John Bull. All of which is written witN the solemn and impenetrable arousnl ss that characterizes the profouad yoEostlyI of the Times. s.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-05
HOTEL LOBBIES
Excellent Business

That business conditions in the Birming. ham district had shown much improve. ment in the past year was the opinion expressed yesterday by w. J. Yielding, a well-known merchant.
 cannot understand this constant grumoling against present business con. ditions'' said MT. Yielding, "as the fig ures show that the sales this season are much better than in the past two or three years.
 throughout the country business con ditions have improved, and especially in the Birmingham district, which has inn- proved to such an extent that I am sure criticism is very much uncalled for"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-05
Negroes and Negroes

There is a difference between a country negro and a city negro" said Judge H. B. Abernethy, who Is some- what of an authority on the negro question. The other day I had a ne- gro woman up for bouncing a rock off the head of another negro woman. There were number of witnesses and after examining some of them. I told them that they could go until 2 o'clock. The accused negro was sit- ting in the cage, having been brought up from jail. After few minutes missed her and asked Jack Greener, court bailiff, where she was. I don't know, judge, guess she went out with the other negroes You'd better get her back, then. Shucks,' said Jack, that is country negro and she will be right back here at ? o'clock Sure enough, she was ack before 2 o'clock and went into the cage and took a seat.
 "Honesty always pays," said Judge "Ab,' and turned her loose, princi- pally on the strength of her honesty. feeling that if a negro was honest enough to return to her trial when out of jail and not under bond her judge ment was sufficient to tell when it was right to bounce a rock on the head of an enemy"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-05

sion to say much to the credit of the Southern in it's methods of meeting the most serious situation that it has ever encountered and it is one occasion on which the public will be agreed that praise is well placed. In all of its recon struction work the Southern has depended on it's own men and it's own crews, on its own brains and it's own skill.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-05
Fair Prospects Brirh+

The catalogue of the Alabama State Far has gone to the printer and we nope to be mailing them out within the next 10 days" said s. H. Fowlkes, sec- retary of the Alabama State Fair asso- citation, yesterday. The prospects for the fair this year are very bright, and we believe that the floods will not cause a lessening in the number of county exhibits.
 'Chilton county was the hardest hit Of all the counties in the state and we received a few days ago word from the county exhibitor there that the ex- hibit this year would be forthcoming IS usual. The same spirit prevails throughout the state, and the people 'are determined not to let a little water interfere with their showing in crops and farm products.
 There is an unusual interest in live stock this year and the exhibit will be worth seeing. Fine bred cattle will be on display and Alabama farmers will learn how to make real money raising cattle"