davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24
ET1auET IN A THEATRE
From the Pittsburg Sun.

From the RlLLSDurS 4Oun.
 Recently in Cleveland the woman plaintiff in an action against a firm of
 burlesque managers compromised for 5000 her suit for $15,000 damages claimed because an actor in the company during the action of the burlesque came to the
 box where she was sitting and kissed her. This serves to call attention to many Of
 the offensive actions of which actors laugh There was a time-and that not
 so very long ago-when some singing soubret in burlesque or musical comedy
 would step down to the footlight and be-
 gin to sing song that contained some
 sort of love appeal. Then the operator
 of the spotlight would throw beam on
 some indidividual and maliciously they
 would select someone who was accom-
 panied by a woman The singer would
 sing to the man and the effect could be
 imagined. Then the light would be
 shifted and she would make some other individual the target of her song. Lottie
 Faust's Sammy song in 'The Wizard
 of Oz' was a good example of such a
 
 fense. Her imitators were the offenders. Tn evictim of such a song is quite
 helpless and that facte seems to appeal to the humor of an audience, and the ac- tress will grow bolder and bolder in her efforts to provoke more laughter. Then again the comedian oftentimes a most doleful one, will pick out someone in the audience to 'skid' and in this way he will make a worthless piece of business or speciality pass because people laugh at the man in the audience and not at the one on the stage.
 It is remarkable that more managers have not been sued by patrons who were humiliated and embarrassed in this way. A person goes to theatre to be enter tained and the understanding is that in so far as he is concerned nothing will be
 done tending to insult or confuse him in the least. If the management permits it's actors to make fun of individuals in the audience it ought to be made to suffer. Happily there is less of this thing being done now than a few years ago, when the custom was by no means confined to burlesque theatres.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24
Increased pntronnre Al C.feter,a

One of the most interesting and use-
 ful features of the Birmingham Young
 Mems Christian association is the cafe-
 teria, or lunch room," remarked L. J.
 Farmer, "and those who frequent this
 cozy place are pleased, indeed, to note
 its rapid growth in popular favor and
 esteem. ''In fact this department of the
 central association apparently continues to grow in it's attraction. Young busi- ness men, as we'll as the elder ones, have expressed their approval in no uncer- tain terms, and many of the city s most prominent professional men are also among the regular patrons of the association's lunch room.
 within the past few months the mem
 bership of the Birmingham association has been almost, if not quite, doubled; and the proportion of patrons of tse cafe teria, I believe, has kept well abreast of the other departments of the institution.
 And in addition, there are often visitors who have not yet joined the association. Perhaps the most interesting fact in this connection, however, is that the service and capacity of the lunch room has been so reinforced and speeded up that adequate accommodation is afforded to all who choose to become guests of the Birmingham association at the
 breakfast, lunch and dinner hours.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24
Lawrence commends Krelsler

'In saying that I regard Fritz Kreisler, who will appear here Wednesday even- ing, March 1, under the auspices of the Music Study club, as the greatest violin ist, I am only expressing the opinion of all music lovers," said Robert Lawrence of the Southern School of Musical Art. ''Kreisler is a peerless artist and his ap- pearance in Birmingham will be a mo- mentous one I hope every pupil in our school will attend the Kreisler con- cert, for I do not think there is any better way to encourage and promote good music among students than by hearing it from the worlds great artists. Personally, I am looking forward with pleasure to hearing TSreisler, and espe- cially like the programme he will pre- sent, as 1t includes many of my favorite selections. It is comprehensive and broad. Birmingham has achieved, this season, what I have always predicted, and that is it's title to the Musical Gen. ter of the South Grand opera and the Minneapolis orchestra, besides the other fine musical attractions, have been duly appreciated and with the Kreisler con- cert as a climax nothing better could be desired"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24

From the New York Globe.
 Andrew D. White, American ambassa- dor at Berlin during the Spanish-Ameri- can war, has once more exposed the base lessness of the statement that Germany laid an embargo on shipment of arms. At regular intervals during the last IS months Dr. White has been swatting this myth. But it keeps pobbing up in the literature of the hyphenates. Sen ator Kenyon. when presenting the pet1- ton for an embargo on arms, emphasized the misrepresentation.
 The foundation for the misstatement is a garbled version of a passage III Dr. Whites Autobiography" Dr. White tells that when the American consul tele- graphed that a Spanish vessel laden with arms was about to sail the Berlin foreign office, when appealed to by our ambassa dor, stopped the ship. The implication, of course, is that the ship remained stopped, whereas the fact is she went with her cargo after a brief detention.
 When Dr. White asked that the vessel be searched he had in mind, as he ex- plains, the ascertainment of whether she had been fitted up to be a commerce de- stroyer. If such was the case she had no right to go out under international law But when the search revealed merely munitions, with no indication that the vessel herself was to become a war vessel, she was allowed to proceed fc at Hamburg informed me later," says Dr. White, that during the entire war vessels freely carried ammunition from German ports both to Spain and to the United States" Neither beliigerent re- monstrated or thought of remonstrating
 A reason for the occupation of Vera Cruz by American troops in the spring of 1914 was the knowledge that large shipment of arms was coming from Ham burg for Huerta. American secret serv- ice men had discovered that Huerta $ agents had bought practically all the war supplies on the American market; that tc get the stuff into Mexico it had been shipped first to Odessa, then sent to Ham burg. and finally reshipped for Vera Cruz on the Ypiranga of the Hamburg-Amer- ican line. No one connected with oul government dreamed of challenging Ger many's right to engage in this com merce It was deemed necessary to seize Vera Cruz as the only practical way oi preventing Huerta from getting supplies that meant an indefinite proiongation ol the Mexican civil war
 Nevertheless. it is perhaps too much tC expect that the pro-German propagan dists will stop misrepresenting the facts The myth is given wings by prejudice and will not cease to circulate Where an ardent wish exists it usually fathers a thought.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24
Aerial DestrOyers

While the United States has done little to develop the aeroplane as part of it's military equipment, the dreadnaught of the air is reality in Europe, where giant fighting craft are almost daily engaged in thrilling battles which would be quite impos- sible for the light aeroplanes with which people in this country are famil- far. During the past year France, England, Russia and Germany have been developing their fighting aero planes with feverish energy and more proeress has been made in this branch of industry in the past 12 months than for many years previously. Aero planes heavily armored and carrying a crew of several men, who are ex- pert marksmen, wage aerial battles which are almost inconceivably thrill ing and with such disastrous results to the vanquished that many more such contests on an even larger scale will take place before the war is over.
 These craft are equipped with the type of gun best suited for fighting in the air and what was at first mere haphazard shooting by single avia- tor, who was seldom able to hit the mark, has become remarkably effect i've craftsmanship, so that armies without aeroplanes of this type to ward off hostile attacks labor under a great handicap. It is indeed far cry from these monsters of the air to the light machines exhibited to pat rons of county fairs, and in which American aviators have shown their daring by such exploits as looping the loop and the "spiral glide
 The war has done more to develop the efficiency of the aeroplane in a comparatively short time than would have been probable in peaceful times, because the necessity would not have been so great and so urgent. However, when the world regains it's sanity, the aeroplane will become an important factor in transportation It will be the ideal means of quick transit for mail and passengers.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24

From the Louisville Courier-Journal
 w~HE Courier-Journal some time ago
 called attention to the fact that
 -k the rosy predictions of cheap fuel,
 which attended the publicity campaign in behalf of the passage of bill in Con gress to remove from denatured alconol the taxes which make grain alcohoi costly. have not been fulfilled. While single source is dictating abnormally high prices for gasoline some agency, not revealed, is keeping denatured alcohol at a price which is prohibitive to those who would use it as fuel.
 The Country Gentleman makes the fo,- lowing announcement of a reward of fered.
 For information as to the where
 abouts of D. Natured Alcohol. Once
 popular issue in Congress, widely known as a topic lat farmers meetings, and in
 the press Represented as benefactor of all mankind The subject of attention
 by orators on the needs of the farmer
 Last seen in small bulletin published
 by the department of agriculture. The Country Gentleman recalls that there was once a good deal of talk about the ease with which the farmer could.
 make denatured alcohol from waste fruits and vegetables; finds that farm alcohol distilleries are not in evidence, and takes inc farmer to task for not making the
 cheap fuel which the law allows him to make.
 'Plenty of reasons why industrial alco- hol making has not been developed have been mentioned-cost of equipment, diff faculties of federal supervision
 but no one has told us why some of these
 obstacles were not discovered while the
 boom was on.'
 The "denaturing" process is not, ap- parently, expensive. The cost of grain alcohol fit for use in beverages is ex- plained as being a revenue tax cost due to the treatment of alcoholic beverages as commodities taxable upon the idea | that luxuries should pay revenue. If all | cohol is costly because it is taxed highly | and denatured alcohol is not highly | taxed, and if alcohol is made on large | scale it is not apparent that the mak- ! ing of denatured alcohol is an expensive process It is not in the market as a competitive fuel when gasoline is con- trolled by power which manpulates the
 price at will. Is the potentially compe- l titive commodity controlled by the con | troiler of petroleum products? If that is
 the reason why denatured alcohol sells at as much per quart as the price per gallon predicted 10 years ago when the
 bill concerning it was pending in Con gress 1t is not more surprising than that the dissolution of Standard oil has not brought down the price of petroleum products, and has not created competi- | tive market for their sale.
 l The increasing use of stationary engines
 and tractors upon American farms, and
 the rapidly increasing distribution of au-
 tomobiles. creates an enormous demand
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24
FRUITS OF THE CABARET
.hicago Herald


 A woman of 30 was brought into the municipal court last week on charges of disorderly conduct preferred by her hus- band She had acquired the cabaret habit" and the hapless husband had taken this way to separate her from the degrading associations she found there. Judge Caverly solved the problem tenn porarily by sentencing the unfortunate woman to a visit of six months with her mother in a little Illinois town where there are no cabarets
 On the same day a cabaret singer threw her baby in front of an automobile in Lincoln park and then ran toward the
 lake with the apparent intention of drowning herself. The driver of the car was fortunately able to stop just as the wheels touched the baby, and park policeman caught the mother. The man in the case" was the proprietor of the cabaret where the woman was a per former.
 On the same day the young daughter of city employe was before Judge Uhlir in the morals court She had been ar rested while entering a ''no-questions- asked" hotel with a young man whom she met in one of the dirtiest cabarets described in the Herald's articles. An
 other girl arraigned for immortality testi- fled that the clerk of a cabaret hotel shared the wages of her shame. | Such are the fruits of the cabaret as l they were depicted in single issue of the Herald. Yet some of this city's highest officials describe the foes of the cabaret as ffour-flushing reformers," as mere | "notoriety seekers and as animated by political bias" In the light of theii fruits. what are tire motives of the off
 cial connivers with these wide-open vice
 markets?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24
VISION

By Charles Hanson Towne. Sometimes in a crowded street l see The faces of those that love, and those
 that are loved: And in the rush of traffic, The laundering sound of the city. I
 pause, Wondering about their loves-which are their lives.
 know them by their eyes. and by their
 glances;
 know them in way I may not name. And I know those that have won and those that have lost In the eternal battle of the world, But they that have lost have not al- ways a sad countenance; Sometimes their lips smile. As if with an old comprehension: And one might be deceived. save for
 tragic eyes
 The smiling, yet unsmiling eyes above the mouth.
 Those eyes have read in the great Book of Love,
 And they are changed, they are changed
 forever,
 And those lips have kissed the pages of the book. And they, too, are changed forever. Only lips can lie-but eyes-can never de- ceive. And those that have won-not always do they smile, Often they seem to be secretly weeping. As if with q joy too terrible to bear Strange. strange are the countenances of those that love. know them all-brothers and sisters of Love; know them and they know me, too. can tell by their eyes Their eyes that follow me with knowl- edge,
 With pity. with solemn understanding.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24
Military Training for Young Men


 Congressman McKellar's bill, re- ported favorably yesterday from the military committee of the House, pro- viding for a military training school in each state, is good measure and shouldb be adopted It calls for an annual enrolment of 4S00 young men 100 in each state-on the condition that the graduates respond promptly when ordered into the service of the United States in the event of war.
 Congressman McKellar, in submit ting the report of the committee, said that a large standing army was not needed, but that large body of young men, we'll educated and trained in military science, was needed at all times.
 With 4800 graduated each year, in few years ""such would be the mili- tary spirit created in all parts of the country" the report points out, "that a call for volunteers in time of trouble would bring forth 1,00O,000 men,"
 The pacifists who oppose all forms of national preparedness will protest especially against the suggestion of a military spirit" They affect hor- TOT of everything tending to develop military atmosphere. They dislike wholesome, virile patriotism.
 But fortunately for this country the majority of it's thoughtful and orderly citizens, lovers of peace though they be, realize the necessity of preparation for defense against possible invasion by powerful for eign foe.
 No right thinking American will ever be in favor of inviting war. The people earnestly desire to be at peace with all the world; but no true American is for peace at any price.
 The military spirit which the pro- posed training schools will create is just what this country needs. The United States will always be an industrial and commercial nation It's progress in the arts of peace ant in philanthropy will accentuate its ideals along altruistic lines. But without patriotism and without na tional defense consciousness, the Uni ted States would soon decline. The commercial spirit is good 1T it's way; the spirit of unselfish serv- ice is better, but something of the military sentiment will always bt needed to act as a leaven against l Philistinism.
 | Military preparedness is now the paramount issue before Congress ant MT. McKellar's bill is an important step in that direction.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24
THE POOR LITTLE RICH MAN

THE POOR LITTLE RICH MAN From the New York Globe.
 The payment of s5,oOOOoO a year in bonuses, says Charles M. schwab, is not merely a gracious but an exceedingly profitable policy. One of his assistants has received as much as s10OO.OOO in one year over and above his salary. To the vice president of the company he once gave little pourboire of s6O0,OOO
 One cannot help observing that the men who received these gratuities were men who needed them least. MT. Schwab did not mention what their salaries are probably anywhere from $25,OOO to $1OO,O GOO year. He did remark casually that the "worl1men supposedly meaning the ar tisans and laborers-also shared in the profits they helped to make. But we somehow do not hear such glittering boasts of the bonuses accorded to the $S, s or S1O day men.
 MT. Schwab talks in pyrotechnic figures But no doubt the vice president was sadly in need of the $60O,0OO to pay his grocer's bill Perhaps the $1,000,OO0 tip came just in time to prevent his assist ant from being evicted by a strict land lord. The number of hard luck stories one hears just now from indigent lads who are struggling along on pittance of $25000 a year is really heartrending And the families who are hard up on $50,000 a year would almost draw hot tears from a marker. Only callous wretch would refuse them sympathy or begrude them their little half million dollar doucurs.
 At the same time it would sound more impressive-it would strike a more re- sponsive chord in the hearts of the people at large if MT. Schwab could announce that he had raised the wages of say 5000 of his more poorly paid employees by $200 a year each. That would cost him s, ,0O0,- 900 out of his S5,OOOoO0, and it would still leave him trifling matter of $4,000000 to scatter as largesse among vice presidents and things. And it would not be surpris- ing if bread thus cast upon the waters of equity would return to him quite as many fold as bestowing s1.OoO,OoO upon one man who already receives what may be con- serVauVely oescrlpeu as d redsoAapio sai- ary.
 MT. Shonts' tips affect us more nearly Of course, his stingy little eighth of a million looks like jitney gift beside the handouts received by the lads who work for MT. Schwab Nevertheless each time we cling to one of MT. Hedleys patent straps at time of day when there Is no excusa for croWding we cannot help thinking of that $125,000.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24
THE WEST AFRICAN COCKTAIL

THE w fESI AbhlCAN COCAIAIL From the New York Sun.
 Out of intentional and cruel obscurity the origin of the clover leaf cocktail is revealed as it were, a by-product of the war. False claim for it's invention had made Philadelphia famous. Its pink body, white capped, had enthralled thou sands. Not to Philadelphia goes the No- bel prize for it's discovery.
 Captain" said Lieutenant tBerg to Captain Harrison, don't you think it time for cocktail?
 Time for a cocktail. Well, rather, after having seen preparations to blow the Ap- pam to splinters unless he remained do- cile.
 Tt was,' says Captain Harrison. T think I rather got it on him there. made him West African" ,"
 Now for the delightful secret wrunS from him by the sSillful reporters; the West African is a measure of gin, d measure of sweet liquor, the juice of a lime. the white of an egg, all mixed to- gether with swiggle stick.
 A clover leaf, we are informed, as ever wasi
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24
The Public Library

Some day Birmingham will have a
 central library buildings library
 and art museum combined. In the
 meantime our public library is com
 fortably ensconced in the city. hall
 and it's branches are suitably housed. During the past few years the |library has been well stocked with good books. Its reference department has been especially remarked, for in Inc library in southern city are ref efence books selected with greater |care. The library service has been |cxcellent in every respect.
 In many cities of approximately |Birmingham's size the appropriations made by the municipal government flor library maintenance total double land often more than double the |amount that our public library has l been receiving.
 Until the city commission found it. |self forced to retrench an annual ap- |propriation of $15,000 was made for |the library. With that comparatively small sum the service was notably eff |ficient. But since the appropriation |has been cut to 5000 library hours, Iboth at the city hall and in Ensley and bother outlying sections, have been re-
 duced.
 The central library used to be kept |open until g p. m. It now closes at
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24
Many veternnn COminr

When I was in Nashville last week ] heard much talk of the Confederate re- union to be held in Birmingham next May, and from all accounts Tennessee will be well represented" said W. W Baynes of Louisville.
 "A son of veteran told me that he attended the last reunion held here in 1908, and that it was a grand affair. He said he had attended three since then, but that neither one of them came up to the Birmingham reunion. The fine inn pression made here in 1908 will have the effect of bringing big crowd again this year"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24
THE ALCOHOL MYSTERY

creased use of illuminants other than coal oil points to an ultimate national les sening of the domestic demand for that petroleum derivative The producers of coal oil have glimpsed the future and set about acquiring control of city light ing and heating plants and franchises Possibly they intend also to keep a close grip upon all substitutes for gasoline. as we'll as upon gasoline, so that they can dictate the price that everyone must pay for motor fuel
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24
The National Gunrh

The liberalization of the National Guard will give great satisfaction tc guardsmen," said H. R. Hearns Of Pitts burg, retired lieutenant.
 "As the military committee of the House of Representatives is strongly in favor of liberalization the bill embody- ing this feature is almost sure to pass believe the National Guard, when il becomes Q part of the regular estab- lishment, will be recruited up to 25O, coo within F months''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24

7 p. m. The two hours lost are the very hours when wage-workers were most in the habit of frequenting the library
 The city commission should strain point and restore the old appropria- tiOn
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24
HOTEL LOBBIES
Timber Lands In pemand

There is a very active demand for timber lands in Alabama" said Charles Fl. Scott, who has several important negotiations pending.
 "The Horseshoe Lumber company, op- erating in Covington county, recently bought the Upchurch and Blue tract of 2zOOO acres at s22 an acre. which was at the rate of $5 per 1000 feet of lumber l expect to close out some good deals in the near future"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-24

said, reduced the profits of the book pub fishers, but since great many writers now have limousines who used to walk, they are not in sympathy with the book publishers.