davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
TEARS AND THE MOVIES

From the Cincinnati Times-Star.
 There was. time when human tears were thought so precious and so sacred that the pearly drops were caught in crystal bottles and buried in the family tomb. But that time has gone. Today the girl, or even the man, who possesses a lachrymal pump and self-starter in good order, may weep for the camera at so much per week and measure success not by usual artistic standards, but by the quart
 Poets and painters, sculptors and nov elists have had spasms of artistic ec- stacy when contemplating some damp Niobe of their imagination. But today we sit before a film and watch the big round tears course down her innocent nose in piteous chase without feeling any emo- ton stronger than curiosity as to how the hydraulic was performed.
 Yes, the movie has cheapened the tear. Once shed in silence and in secret, the emblem of a genuine woe, the salty sym bol of a counterfeit sorrow is now un- blushingly dripped from a square of can vas like an April shower The romance of it is over. Hereafter we may never see the reluctant oozing of the real thing without thinking of the time-clock de- luge from the orbs of a Blanche Sweet or a Marguerite Clark Ho, hum. An other of life's dear illusions gone
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
TO EDUCATE GoRILLAs

From the Philadelphia Inquirer.
 An expedition in which Philadelphians are prominent is to make descent upon the western coast of Africa with the avowed intention of capturing some young gorllas and chimpanzees and edu- eating them in the English language. They are to be taught the speech, man. ners and customs of America and are to be brought here as living expressions of the truth of the doctrine of evolution.
 Recently pr. Furness of this city trained chimpanzee to say few words and proved that chimpanzee could be trained to say a few words and nothing more. Even the most pronounced evolu- tionist would not suggest that in the case of a single specimen anything more could be accomplished. But the new ex- plorers think that much more may be demonstrated. Their idea is to catch a gorilla young and give him a college edu- cation, or what amounts to that.
 It may be that a gorilla may be brought to this country and kept for some years in captivity, although such a thing never yet has been accomplished. We do not know exactly what is to be proved by
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
THE DEVILS MARKET

From the New York World.
 There is no stock ticker in the White House." said Philander C. Knox, attorney general in the cabinet of President Roose- welt, in reply to Wall street protests against the northern securities suit on the ground that 1t had brought about a bear raid.
 That is the answer to the Wall street gentlemen who are denouncing President Wilson and Secretary Lansing for the stock market slump that followed the Presidents note and the Secretary's in terview.
 Wall street must skin its own skunks The policies of the United States gov ernment cannot be shaped with regard to their effect upon stock gamblers, whethet the gamblers be bulls or bears. r. If Wall street wishes to find a sub iect for really righteous indignation, we respectfully direct it's attention to the morals of stock market which has de- creed that war Is good business and peace is bad business. That is stock exchange revelation which is framed in shame and infamy
 A market that depends for it's strength upon the continuing slaughter of men, the continuing suffering of women and chill dren and the continuing destruction of civilization Is a. market that the devil himself might hesitate to call his own.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
SAILORS AT THE PLAY

pawn-brokers, money lenders. Such arc the sights you see on Bow
 Cree"
 It was fairly descriptive lyric of the musical burlesque stage, Many sailors were, and are, seen on the Bowery, and elsewhere, stipsy and spending all they have earned at sea. It might be argued that no sober sailor would seek amuse- ment in Brooklyn and buy box seats in a high-priced theatre. Nevertheless it all ways is hard for theatre to prove that refusal of seats-when the person rebuffed is sailor in uniform--was not based upon snobbish considerations purely, and was not 'an insult to the flag"
 In a theatre in an inland city four sailors in uniform would be part of the evenings entertainment to a majority of the playgoers. Sailors are more com monly seen in New York and less relished, if not less respected. but it does not seem at all probable that any theatre audience would object to four honest tars, or many of them, decorous in their behavior and guilty of nothing but sea clothes. If man. agers of theatres actually do exclude sailors who are not misconducting them selves they should be compelled to obey the law, and they should be despised by the public.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
ISLAND OF SANDS

Egyptian were fully verified, for short time after these happenings the tyrant was decoyed to Magnesia where he was seized by Persian satrap and cruelty crucified.
 Many of the most magnificent edifices of ancient Samos were built during Poly crates time. When he died the prestige of the island began to wane. It came successively under the dominion of the Athenian Creeks the Romans, Byzan- tines, Arabans, Venetians, Genoese and Turks In the Greek war of indepen- dence it took up arms against its Turkish masters After peace was declared 1t became an autonomous principality, pay ing tribute to Turkey, but being ruled by a prince of Samos, who was Greek nominated by the Sultan. In April of 1912 while the Tripolitan war was in progress, two Italian warships entered the harbor of Vathy and torpedoed the Turkish 'stationaire,' which had been kept there at the disposal of the prince. During the Balkan war the garrison of a. few hundred Turks was compelled by
 
 to the mainland, and at the close of the war the Samians declared themselves in union with Greece.
 'The little town of Tigani stands near the harbor of the ancient city of Samos, where the immense moles constructed by Polycrates have been rebuilt to some ex- tent The walls and the celebrated un-- derground aqueduct are the chief remains of the ancient capital. The former, which chamber over the ridge in rear of the city, look like a fragment of the wall of China. Thirty of it's towers still stand. Considering the age in which it was con structed, the aqueduct is a marvel of en- gineering skill.
 "The Temple of Hera, of which a soli- tary column alone remains standing was one of the most magnificent edifices of ancient times.
 'Even had Polycrates never ruled in Samos the island would have been fa- nous, for here was born the great Samiap Sage. Pythagoras. he who never smiled, and who always wore a white robe and golden crown. It is to Pythagoras, it is said, that we owe the word philosopher Being asked on one occasion of what branch of knowledge he was master he replied that he was simply a philosopher -a lover of wisdom. His doctrine of the transmigration of souls is supposed to have been the outgrowth of his early years spent in studying the mysteries of Egypt. It is to this Samian, also, that we are indebted for the idea of the music of the spheres for as corollary to his theory of the solar system, which, by the way. antedated Copernicus by 2OoO years, he imagined that the heavenly spheres, by their Swift motion through space produced musical notes which were too often beautiful to be heard by cal l lous human ears"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30

From the Louisville Courier-Journal. ITS it possible that any considerable pro- II portion of persons making up an au- S dience in a theatre would object to sailors from a. man of war attending the performance in their uniforms?
 For the hundredth time the question of the right of a theatre to refuse tickets to sailors in uniform is being discussed in New York A Brooklyn theatre has been charged with having refused to accept tickets for box seats presented at the door by four sailors. As always is the case, the sailors assert that the objection to their attendance was that they were sail- ors in uniform, and not that they were guilty of disorderly or unbecoming con- duct. The usual defense of theatres has been that there was no objection to the admission of sailors in uniform, but that cated persons who, incidentally. wore the uniform of the United States navy
 Jack ashore is, unfortunately, prone to spend as rapidly as possible. and some- times unwisely, the money he has drawn. There was a topical song 25 years ago in which the Bowery was described as fol- lows:
 drinkers, tailors, tipsy sailors.
 Spending all they've earned while out at
 sea,
 Barroom spielers, faro dealers, hackmen
 shouting on two-wheelers, Soldiers who have been out on spree, Dago vendors, Dutch bartenders, men ot every national-i-tee,
 Hebrews selling strong suspenders
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
W51 7 ASHINGTON, December 29
 wv (special.>-The Turkish gov

\W\W Especial. )-The Turkish gov ernment's warning to the bureau of navigation of the United States de- partment of commerce that neutral ships passing between the Turkish coast and
 the island of Samos may become targets for gunfire from Turkish military forces is important, as steamers call frequently
 at Vathy, the islands chief seaport, for cargoes of cigarettes extensively imported to America. Concerhing this historic
 Greek possession the National Geographic
 phy bulletin:
 "The strait which separates Samos from the promontory of the mainland of Asia
 Minor known in ancient times as My cale Is barely a mile wide. The island,
 which has an area about one and one
 half times as large as Martha's vine
 yard, lies about 40 miles southwest of
 smyrna and has exceptional natural re-
 sources with its forest clad mountains, it's valuable marble quarries and it's ex- tremely fertile valleys where raisins, oil, fruits, corn and wines are most profitably produced. The cigarettes Ol the iSiaHu are shipped to every country in the world while the wines are exported to Europe, where they are used for mixing pur- poses. The population of the island is between 50,o0O and 6o,o0o.
 "Samos was the seat of one of the first settlements of the Ionians in the Mediter- ranean and from it went out many of the colonies which dotted the coast of Asia
 Minor and the neighboring islands of the Aegean.
 During the second half of the sixth century before the Christian era Samos rose to a place of dominance in the Ionian union, thanks to the executive ability and judicial wisdom of the fla
 nous tryrant Polycrates. who prosecuted | many successful wars with the chiefs of adjacent colonies and who was at one 1 time in alliance with the powerful Egyp-
 tian King Amasis. "Herodotus is sponsor for the familiar story that Amasis, becoming alarmed at | the extraordinary course of good for | tune which attended all the enterprises
 of his ally, wrote to Polycrates urging 1 him to disarm the envy of the gods by | sacrificing his most treasured possession.
 The tyrant took his friends advice and threw into the sea a precious ring which he prized above all his other jewels. A l few days later fisherman brought fine
 fish to the palace as gift to the ruler,
 and when it was being prepared for Poiy- crates table the ring was found inside, and was thus restored to it's owner. It is said that when Amasis heard of this
 amazing incident he immediately broke his treaty with Polycrates. being con-
 vinced that the jealous gods would visit some terrible calamity on this too fortu-
 nate mortal. And the forebodings of the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
TO A BIRD AT DAWN

By Richard Le Galliene. O bird that somewhere wonder sings. In the dim hour twixt dream and dawn, Lone in the hush of sleeping things, In some sky sanctuary withdrawn; Your perfect song is too like pain And will not let me sleep again. think you must be more than bird,
 little creature of soft wings, Not yours this deep and thrilling word, Some morning planet 'tis that sings; Surely from no small feathered throat Wells that august, eternal note, As some old language of the dead,
 In one resounding syllable. Says Rome and Greece and all is said
 A simple word child may spell; So in your liquid note impearled Sings the long epic of the world Unfathomed sweetness of your song,
 With ancient anguish at it's core, What womb of elemental wrong,
 With shudder unima gined, bore Peace so divine-what hell hath trod This voice that softly walks with God! All silence in one silver flower
 Of speech that speaks not save as
 speaks
 The moon in heaven, yet hath power
 
 And pack as in some wizards art, The whole within the finite art To you, sweet bird, one we'll might feign- With such authority you sing So clear, yet so profound. strain Into the simple ear of spring Some secret understanding given Of the hid purposes of heaven. And all my life until this day, And all my life until die, All joy and sorrow of the way Seem calling wonder in the sky; And there is something the song saith That makes me unafraid of death. Now the slow light fills the trees. The world. before so still and strange With days familiar presence, | Back to its common self must change And little gossip shapes of song The porches of the morning throng | Not yours with such as these to vie I That of the days small business sing, Voice of mans heart and of Gods sky But o you make so deep a thing Of joy, dare not think of pain Until l hear you sing again.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
Foolish Burglar Who
Drank While on Duty

 @ LAUDE HORNER-by no means
 the father of that justly cele- brated Jack Horner, who sat in ,rner-is a burglar by trade. He IS a,so a drinking man. Thereby hangs . tale.
 Having entered the home of cltl- len who lives in Aurora, H., Horner became sleepy. His drowsiness was the result of having indulged in alco- bolic stimulants. He rolled over on bed and fell asleep. Two young wom- en, daughters of the household, re- turned home and began to play and sing.
 The burglar was aroused from his slumbers, but was still too groggy to make catlike exit. Instead, he stum- bled about the room until he alarmed the young women downstairs. Horner managed to get away, but the alarm had been given and even the Aurora police had no difficulty in arresting him a few minutes later.
 All of which goes to show that bur glars, along with locomotive en- gineers, aviators, Mississippi steam boat pilots and other persons whose work calls for clear head, should never drink while on duty. Horner would have made a good haul and es capped had he kept his wits about him instead of consigning them to the un- certain care of John Barleycorn.
 While he languishes in jail his sor- " plight should be lesson to all am- bilious burglars who hope to get on in the world.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
CLIPPING. IS EASIER

From the Talladega Home
 Now that the election is over a large number of Alabama negroes who went north to work may be expected to return home, where the 'possum and the yam flourish-Birmingh Age-Herald. Howcome? when they are earning enough to buy chicken?.-St Louis Globe-Democrat.
 The Age-Herald is right The negro while he is proverbially fond of chicken, loves te 'possum flanked With yams, still better. and as to the negro remaining north merely because be can buy chickens-well, enough said about how much you know about negroes
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
Court Has Records

"The general public has no idea the work that is being accomplished by the juvenile court" said Judge Sam Murphy. Tn the first place, in addition to the ac- tual constructive work we do, the records we have are very valuable, These records are as complete as it is possible to get them, and whenever a case is brought be- fore us we can tell by reference to our files whether. we have ever had the case before, and if we have we know pretty much the conditions in the case. We have fewer children at the court now than we have had for sometime, but there is never a time when there are not some children here. We have handled many cases since our offices were opened in the present building about a year ago"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
East and West Highway

"A committee composed of Commission CTS Weatherly, Hornady and myself will meet with a committee from the board of revenue sometime this week and discuss ways and means of building the east and west and the north and south highways" said Commissioner Truss yesterday.
 No date has been set for the meeting as yet am very hopeful that we will be able to arrive at some definite means of carrying on this great work immediately The people throughout the county seem to have realized that nothing can add quite as much to the community as these great highways. The enthusiasm aroused over the project thus Tar has demon strated to me the fact the people want this improvement and intend having it."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
Road Champaign of
IPrInne Interest

FTlET1G lEGGGTGSG
 TTHE announcement that W. s. Kel-
 H Ter, state highway engineer, will begin good roads campaign next spring can but give satisfaction to people in every part of Alabama. It is to be a statewide canvass, and as MT. Keller is not only an expert in road-planning but convincing writer and speaker on his profession, large results are sure to follow.
 It will certainly be a campaign of prime interest. MT. Keller expects to visit every county. Those which have been backward in road improvement will be urged to wake up and join the progressive procession, while counties that have made fair records within he past two or three years will be
 ,ked to do even better during 1917.
 The economic importance of good roads is so obvious as not to need ex- plantation or argument. Every farmer knows that the building of modern highway within sight of his home en- hances the value of his land. Still many citizens have an idea that it is not always expedient or not easy to raise the money to pay for improving . road other than popular and much travelled highway. But every county can sell road bonds and most issues bring an appreciable premium. There is always demand for such securi- ties even if the bond market happens < to be dull. There is no excuse, there fore, for any county in Alabama to allow miry roads to continue.
 Engineer Keller will be assisted in his campaign no doubt by every civic and road association in Alabama With an earnest movement for road building, starting soon after the new year, this state should within the next five years be the best highway state in the south and among the best in the United States. In that period the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
BOTH EXHIBITED

When girl gets set of furs for 8 putting them on and going out to let peo- pie see how they look"
 And in the case of silk stockings?"
 ''Um-well, judging from what I have observed on the streets, the same re- mark applies to silk stockings"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
Civic Sentiment

There seems to be a lot of civic senti- ment in Birmignham,'' said E. A. Hix of Evansville, Ind. Every person I have met since have been here has been bub- bling over with the public spirit. I am not surprised that you have such great idenced on every hand. That's what it takes to make a city truly great, and that's what you have in Birmingham. have seldom seen a buster looking city. This is unusual for this time of the year. Usually, right after Christmas there is a lull in business circles, but such does not seem to be the case here''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
FoUNp-oNE oPTIMIsT

Happy man!'
 "Why so?'
 "Ies already planning a fishing trip for next summer
 T thought there must be a few per sons in this world who were not wor- rying about the high cost of living or the war in Europe"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
Meehodists North
 and South Uraitirag

m HE joint committee of the Meth
 H odist Episcopal church and the Methodist Episcopal church, south, appointed for the purpose of formu- lating plans for the unification of the two bodies, is now in session in Balti- more and harmonious issue is ex- pected. Steps were taken sometime
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
A DOGS LIFE

The temp ramental singer
 Leads managers a dance: She flies into fury
 When given half chance And withers hapless stagehands With a consuming glance. Whene'er we read of songbirds Who resolutely bawl And sorely vex the persons
 On whom their passions fall, Those danes unhappy husbands We envy not at all.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30
Inauguration and
 Veterans Reumi0m


 Ml{TITH two events of popular in-
 w terest set for Washington within three months of each other President Wilson's second inaugural ton Monday, March 5, and the an- nual reunion of the United Confeder- ate Veterans June to S-the national capital, always attractive to tourists, will set a new gala record.
 The size of the crowd gathering in Washington on inauguration day will depend somewhat on the weather bu- reau's week-ahead forecast. March is often blizzardy month in the Dis trict of Columbia, and many who at tended Wilson's first induction into office may not care to attend the sec- ond.
 But there will be sentimental side to this affair which will have it's ap- peal. Wilson will be the first demo- cratic President to succeed himself in the executive office since Andrew Jackson's day.
 Next March will mark the passing of the eighty-fourth year since Old Hickory took the oath as his own successor. Others coming after Jack son have sought reelection only to be defeated. Even Cleveland had to Jet a republican come in between him and second term, which goes to prove that Wilson was born under a lucky star. Visiting Washington city therefore, to swell the chorus of shout ing democracy on such an suspicious occasion as that referred to will be worth while.
 As for the reunion, there will be no question about the success of that event from any point of view. June lis Washington's most beautiful month and the old "vets" and the Sons anc Daughters should speak for theil reservations well in advance.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-30

BEGINNING THE DAY-In the morning, 0 my God, I turn to Thee for I am beginning the day. Every thing awaits and I am strong need Thy guiding and cOntroIlnG hand. In the evening I seek Thy face, for the day is done. What will Thou tell me about its Where have ' failed. Where done wells Amen' H. NJ. E.