davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-03
Rusiness is Improving

"The insurance business is a splendid barometer of conditions" said William Vaughn, Jr., state agent of the Massachu- setts Mutual Life Insurance company yesterday. ''Within the past few months there has been remarkable increase in the insurance business and that augurs well for all lines of endeavor. When men have no money, they turn down all insurance men, but when they have some money ahead, it is not difficult for us to explain to them the need for life insurance. There has been a wonderful change in the attitude of most men on the subject of life insurance in the last few months and that to my mind seems to indicate that business conditions are rapidly improving. A man usually buys insurance out of his surplus money and when men have more money than they reed for the necessities of life conditions are certainly improving
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-03

a country of the size and resourcefulness of the United States. The regretful part of such struggle would be the really unnecessacry sacrifice of life among the youth of the country in a war that mo- body wants, war that excites no enthu- siasm except possibly from patriotic determination to vindicate the purposes of the United States and to give Mexico free and stable government.
 "If forbearance and generous considera- ton will prevent war and bring the un- ruly leaders of the Mexican people to their senses, a great gain will have been made There should be no abatement In our preparation for war. and an abund- ant force should be massed along the border to act upon unforeseen emergen- cies. Peace, however, will be for our own interest; not merely in preserving the friendship of Mexico, but also in main taining amicable relations with all South American republics, who are keenly jeal- ous of our activities in this direction"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-03
ENTERPRISING ORIENTAL

charged with the duty of describing itsl resources and needs. Commercial inter- ests are officially represented in the embassies of both nations. Our Ameri-. can colony at Petrograd is thoroughly alive to our trade interests in the im- mense field now covered by the Russo American Chamber of Commerce, an or ganization formed a little over a year ago. with branches all over the empire.
 Yet nobody thus far, either in the United States or in Great Britain, seems to have taken up this work with the en- ergy whichs is now being put forth in
 it by the Japanese. A Methuen busi- ness man, just returned from Russia, re- ports that during visits to 37 of it's cities he met numerous parties of Japanese business men who were studying the commercial needs of the counry and do- ing all in their power to promote trade relations with the Russians" The same witness made further interesting dis covery when, entering Russian school recently established at Moscow to teach Russian to foreigners, he found him self the only American there, and that fully half the pupils were Japanese" Here is a lesson in ways and means which our own business men might be willing to learn even from orientals.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-03
From the Boston Herald.

TAPAN is now to be counted on as
 a competitor for Russian trade after N\ the war, and her competition is de- veloping at a rate which will test the mettle of aspirants on both sides of the Atlantic. The British began their work in this field last year with a campaign in many ways u1lque. It rests on a Lon don organization known as the Russian Chamber of Commerce. affiliated with a Russo-British chamber of commerce in Petrograd. and gets advantage from the new interest in all things Russian which has been called into being by the war The literary enthusiasms aroused had their by-product in the desire for closer commercial relations; chairs for the teaching of Russian subjects have been founded in colleges and universities that never had them; today in Great Britain for the first time there is a veritable cult of the Russian language.
 Americans are meanwhile reaching out in new ways to the "empire of thou sand years" A number of our indus trial organizations and chambers of com merce have turned their attention to the possibilities of trade with Russia, and
 we have had visitors from that country
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-03
QUESTION OF DIALECT

hungry, didn't she counter question, 'Is you, honey?" And then didn't she say, 'Ise gwyne git you somp'n to eat dis instant minute?" If you said. Nanny. I have the toothache," didn't she coun- ter question, "Is you, honey?" And then didn't she add, "Ise got to git yo pa to pull dat toof?'
 Have you ever heard a genuine old time negro-any negro who spoke the dialect rather than college taught Eng lish-use "am" or "are'' or has or
 "have' or twas" or "were" or anything but 'fs" Try 1t again tomorrow and again the next day. Try it for a month"; or for a year. Convince yourself. OhI some of them-those who have gone a'- little way from the dialect-do use amy and "are," but they use them correctlyl When they use the wrong form of thA verb, it is "is." I
 Now, this is dangerous ground-nighty dangerous. First, it is not often safeN to take issue with Colonel Doak. The man who does 1t courts disaster-and nothing short of an almost fanaAScal, fondness for the negro dialect in itse purity and deep resentment of what wes have regarded as stage Yankee corrup3f tion of it would induce us to make anu issue with him. Second, he has popular opinion on his side. The spoken negrcs dialect is so common a thing with us-te| common as cornbread, common as ragis| weeds in a stubble field-that we havsN| paid 1t slight attention. And the Yan-I kees who didn't know it, but were smart- enough to capitalize 1t, have corrupted-| not only it but us. If we heard a ne1 gro say, "Ds am me-" we should be startled. Blunt we read 1t that way with out surprise and write it that way, iks we write at all. s
 Nearly all of our southern writers have fallen into the error. Brought up witbs negroes, they write the dialect as theye have read 1t. Even the greatest-oa- nearly the greatest-among them havGN not escaped. Thomas Nelson Page com- mitted the sin-but, so far as we can reI< call, only once. So far as memory servesn Joel Chandler Harris never fell. But als the rest of them have.
 We southerners ought to be carefuA of our negro dialect. It is a heritage worth preserving-and it isn't preserved- unless in its purity.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-03
CHAPMAN's CHOICE

From the Cincinnati Times-Star.
 When the war broke out Victor Chap man was student in Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. The son of wealthy parents, he was fitting himself to be an architect In his native New York. The future seemed a charming vista to him. Wealth, ability and social post tion were ready to assist young Chapman sue the even tenor of his way to achieve success in his chosen profession.
 On last Friday an aeroplane fell within the French lines at Verdun, carrying with it it's dead pilot, Victor Chapman. In running fight in the air between two flotillas Chapman had succeeded in bringing down three of the German planes before bullet killed him and his hand fell from the steering wheel. It was the end of a military career that had seen service in the machine gun sec ton of the French army and afterward in the aviation corps, in which Chapman had been promoted to corporal. During his services Chapman had several times been wounded.
 Chapman was in effect an adventurer and he paid the magnificent stake of life itself when he lost a wars game. But there is more than the gamble of a life in Chapman's career. What made him exchange the prospective comforts of a successful New Yorker for that bullet high in the air and that lifeles fall to earth? It was that ineffable quality, the energy magnificent which builds em- pires. It caused men to leave luxurious courts and penetrate the strange forests of the new world. It has caused men to leave their firesides for the glacial hos pitality of the far north Chapman merely took the adventure most closely at hand. He became a cavalier of the air. While the game lasted, his heart beat high with the glorious impulse of heroism. To him a few months of soar ing over hostile lines were better than a cycle amid the brick and mortar of New York,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-03
From the Nashville Tennessean.

From the Nashville Tennessean.
 "OL. H. M. DOAK, long time ed- X . itor, thrice illustrious past grand
 % master of persiflage many sided as a diamond from the hand of a mas ter lapidary, is under doctors orders at Cedarwnwold in Wilson county, paying the panalty, he says, of having lived life of moderation.
 Who has written that he might eat and made explosives at the necessity, re- turns ever after. the mood upon him, to the pen even as the book relates that certain omniverous suoid mammal re- turns to dangerous lying in luxurious loblolly. '.When the fool mood hits me" writes the colonel I've to unload on my young friends-I've outlived all the old ones."
 Iris no fool mood-one of those provis- ions of nature, rather, that urges every animal, man not least, to exercise what good talent the competitive struggle has developed in it. So an editor, in like case with a drop of water. may be frozen, trapped, frosted. steamed, steri- lized or distilled, but canot be destroyed For which young friends (young not otherwise than by cohtrasD-be they not self centered fools (and if they were, could not be friends)-always are grate- full
 When the last Gas he calls it) fool mood biffed him, Col. Doak wrote this:
 The newspaper joke column doesn't catch everything appertaining to current affairs Respect your startling extra on Mexican war, Ashantee elevator boy at Vauxhall asked me: Colonel Doak, am hit right dat dey's agwyne ter monopolize de troops!"
 A very good bit of humor. But the colonel does not quote Ashantee cor rectly ''Monopolize' he doubtless did say. But lam" he did not say-not then nor at any time since he was born. Am does not occur in the language of the colored American. He knows but one form of the verb ito be" and that is 'is"
 Think 1t over for yourself-and do not think of what you have read, not what you have heard from stages and plat forms, but what you have heard from the lips of the negroes you have known. When you told mammy that you were
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-03
FAMOUS STEAMBOAT RACE

brothers. From Cairo on we were prac3
 tically in charge of the Lees reputation
 as a racer. We felt the responsibility
 of that, and when twilight came on and
 the fog dropped down the river like d
 across at me from the other side of tho
 wheel and said:
 "'We'll keep on going, Jess?'
 "'To be sure,' nodded. "Of course, we supposed the Matched
 would tackle the fog, too-we nevel dreamed they'd tie up. So we went ahead just the same as if the other boat wal
 nosing along right behind us. The rive1 from Cairo to St. Louis was about 2Nl
 miles of the toughest piloting betweei St. Louis and New Orleans. "The fog dropped on us as we wery sweeping past Devils Island and spenI the night with us. I was a pretty youna| chap then, but soon after I had gray hairs in my head. There were timed when we went under slow speed and had to trust to the leadsmen in the forecast tie to feel ahead of us. If we had had a searchlight it would have been easy sailing, but we had to grope our way| ahead in the dark, for electricity hadn'} come into it's own at that time. "The captain and other officers stood about peering into the gloom and seeing l nothing. Added to the tension was the constant dread that the Natchez would. shoot by us while we were groping oui way like blind men. But we neved stopped. The big wheels kept churning3 and after a night of thousand hourA daylight broke faintly over the cottonI woods on the Illinois bank and we looked | ahead No Natchez in sight! There wer( two guesses as to what that meant-sh( had either tied up for the fog or had slipped by us in the gloom.
 We sang out for the engineer to crowd
 on all the steam he had and they kep| courses, so as to sdestep the current. | which was against us.
 ''The Lees tiller would obey a whis perl never handled a boat that steered so well. As we approached St. Louiy we met tremendous fleet of excursioj
 boats that had come down to see us When we got among them they begad firing up, trying to keep up with us. bu | it was no trick at all to beat them When we tied up the biggest part of St Louis was down to the levee to meet us | It was little before noon, but I wen| right to bed and slept "A hours'
 | The Lee had made the trip in thre | days, IS hours and IA minutes-th. worlds record. Captain Cannon wa given a banquet by the business men (. | St. Louis and was the lion of the hou]
 The Natchez had refused to brave tn | fog at Cairo and had tied up for tn | night.
 The delay, of course, was fatal an
 the race was practically finished there although the crew of the Lee didn't knoyl
 it. It was admitted. however, that th| Natchez would have been pretty clos
 behind if it had persisted. many person.
 contending that in a pure test of spec | it was the faster boat. Subsequent test | of speed over shorter courses nevelI theless, showed that the Robert E. Le was the faster. Steamboating began decline after the, famous race and tn
 Lee went to a tragic doom near Vicks
 burg, Miss. in 1882, when it burned wit
 loss of 2 lives.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-03
GEORGES ARE PEEvED

New York Correspondence Pittsburg Dis
 patch.
 Those who bear the famous name of George are peeved at the persistency with which the complacent travelling public addresses the Pullman servitor by that cognomen. They declare this thing must end.' So they have formed the S. P. c. s. P. G. club-whch means the Society for the Prevention of Calling Sleeping Car Porters 'George.'" George Ade and George Conan are the principal propagandists. Already they have en- listed large membership of Georges. If George Riley, big and little George McCandless, George Alderice, George Hosack. George Metcalfe and the other Pittsburg Georges" have the same grievance and desire to join the society. a membership card will be sent them. This card reads: This is to certify that Mr. George --- is a member in good standing of the Society for the Proven ton of Calling Sleeping Car Porters 'George.'' It's very easy to join this club-merely have a member fill in a membership card and swear your all egiance to the sole object of the so- ciety. Also, it's much easier to retain membership, for thure's no initiation fee or annual dues.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-03
MEXICAN CLIMATE

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
 Even if the guardsmen who are on their way to the Mexican frontier never pass the international boundary they will experienced a marked variety of climatic conditions. Between Brownsville and Fl Paso, both on the border there is difference of nearly six degrees of latitude. Brownsville on the coast, may be classed as subtropical; Fl Paso, far in the interior and 400 miles further north enjoys temperate climatic condi- tions. Texas in midsummer is hot at the best, but the dry heat and reason ably cool nights of the Fl Paso region are not unbearable.
 The northward trend of the interna- tional boundary from Brownsville to El Paso is not comprehensible without study of the map. The great Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora lie wholly north of the latitude of the Texas town of Brownsville. Pershings men, far in the interior of Chihuahua, are yet not nearly as far south as southernmost Texas. They are, moreover, on a high plateau, where the air is dry and salu-
  Sierra Madre they will find the tempera- ture comfortable if not actually too cold. There Is nothing climatically hor- rible about a campaign in Chihuahua.
 But if general war becomes unavoid- able southern and central Mexico must be occupied by American soldiers. Even as far south as the capital the Mexican interior is fairly salubrious. But the coastal regions, both along the gulf and along the Pacific, are hot and moist. That the American force which occupied Vera Cruz during the summer of 1914 did not suffer high mortality is due solely to the admirable arrangements of modern scientific sanitation. The sum- mer temperature of Vera Cruz is fre- quently over 100 degrees in the shade, and it is a humid and extremely oppres- sive heat The militiamen who are on their way to the Brownsville station will immediately receive taste of what is the worst of Mexico's climate.
 Mexico is too vast a region to permit of ever, be safely said that the hostile cli mate unless it is reinforced by lax sani- tation and improper food supplies, will claim very few victims. There will, un- questionably, be discomfort, but only those who are sent to the coastal strip will know the real wretchedness of trop- ical campaigning
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-03
Eyes of World on Kitchener's Army

Ali the world watches with breahless anxiety the outcome of the great British offensive progress in France
 gain of mile the front is equal many miles the eastern front and it not unlikely that the present drive of the British will have much do with the ultimate of the great
 England waited until she ready and now with 2OO0oO behind the line and ammunition enough hand to be able to fire 100000 shells day for nearly week before making the grand rush, she is apparently confident of being able to hit the German line hard that opening will be made for driv ing wedge toward Belgium
 The most striking feature of the offensive that the allies working entire harmony General headquarters of all the allies connected by wireless that every each front timed be of greatest assistance to the others
 With the English and French driving east Italy hammerng norhward and Russia hurng her millions westward these indeed strenuous days for the central empires The fate of Europe hangs the balance and the results of the present months fighting will probably determine which side is to be the final victor.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-03
From the Kansas City Times.

From the Kansas City Times.
 A BRIEF item in the Star few
 "A days ago told of the death in
 A Covington, Ky, of James T. Pell. who piloted the steamer Robert E. Lee to victory in it's race with the Natchez
 on the Mississippi river in June, 1870
 That race. almost forgotten now, was
 the greatest race ever run by steam
 boats in the world. More than $1000,0OO changed hands on the result. News of
 the progress of the boats as they passed
 towns along the river was flashed by
 telegraph all over the United States and
 was cabled to Europe, even. The whole country was excited over the event as a
 sporting proposition and thousands lined
 the banks of the river at Memphis, Cairo,
 Hickman, and other' cities as the two
 mighty vessels plowed their way up-
 stream against the current with smoke
 black as tar pouring from their fun
 nels.
 In those days steamboat racing on the
 Mississippi had become such a craze that
 the owners frequently lost sight of prof it's and spent their money with lavish
 hand to set a new record. Before the
 great race the Natchez held the record. It had covered the 1278 miles from New
 Orleans to St. Louis in three days. 21 hours and 5S minutes Capt. T. P. Leath- CTS commanding. There always had been great rivalry between the boats. anc when the Natchez made it's record. Capt. John w. Cannon determined to beat it. He stripped the Lee for the race, re- moved all parts of the upper works that were calculated to catch the wind, took down all rigging and outfit that could be dispersed with. engaged the steamer Frank Paragould to precede it 100 miles up the river to arrange for supply of coal. The fuel was loaded on flat boats at given points in the middle of the river and taken in tow until the coal could be transferred to the Lees bunkers. Then the barges were cut adrift and allowed
 to float back. Everything was arranged so the steamer would not loose mo- ment of time
 He refused all passengers and would receive no business of any kind, being determined to beat the Natchez if the power to do so was in the boilers of the Robert E. Lee or in the hearts of 
 his crew.
 The contest had been heralded in the press of the whole United States, and when the Lee backed out from the levee, | in New Orleans on the afternoon of June i 30, 1870. to be followed five minutes later | by the Natchez, cheer went up from 1 the thousands on the old New Orleans | docks, such as had never been heard be- i fore in the whole vicinity.
 | Jesse Jamison, one of the men who l piloted the Lee. is still alive and recently | told something of the race
 1 He and another pilot boarded the boat from a coal barge at Cairo as no stor was made to take them aboard. | At that time," he said. i've could sec
 the smoke of the Natchez downstream pouring out of her tall feathered stacks
 as black as pitch. We went up into the 1 pilot house, and the other steersmen ! Wes Conner and Jim Pell were as glat
 to see us as if we had been long los
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-03
Enforce City Ordinance

"In connection with the so-called epi- demic of typhoid fever it is interesting to note that an ordinance having to do with the suppression of flies and the pre- vention of spread of disease by this means is not being enforced by the city, :" said F. R. Boone. There is at the pres ent time an ordinance which requires that all fruit or groceries offered for sale shall be protected by screens. At no fruit stand that have noticed is this being done. True it is small thing, but it is one of the precautionary measures and should be enforced. especially under the present conditions"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-03
Avoid War If Possible

Events of the week suggest a more favorable trend,' says Henry Clews. in
 his weekly financial review This was particularly true of the Me&ican situa- tion after Carranza had released his American prisoners. The way is now open for mediation in order to prevent war, against which the United States is practically a unit in opposition. Every effort should be made to prevent this threatened conflict; although relatively speaking, it's effect industrially and fnan- cially should not be very important for