davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
Crowds at the Speedway

Large crowds attended the new motor speedway on Saturday and Sunday" said Allen J. Krebs, Jr., "and all were enthu- siastic over the rapid progress being made in the construction of this monster automobile race track.
 AS soon as completed the greatest automobile drivers in the world will be brought to Birmingham. Completion of the speedway is anticipated by October, which means in the fall of this year a carnival of races that will bring thou sands of visitors to Birmingham from all over the south. There will be races in the spring and fall of every year and the crowds that will be attracted to the city are expected to spend in the neighbor- hood of $1,oo0,000 with the local merchants. Watch the progress of the motor speed way, as it means much to Birming- ham,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
AN sO-YEAR FIRE

From the Kansas City Star.
 A story is going the rounds of th| newspapers in Missouri of a fire that hal burned for 80 years upon the hearthston| of loghouse in Livingston county anI has never once gone out in all that timd In 1886 R. D. Duckworth started with hi Lride from his fathers home in Ken lucky to settle in the new country q Missouri. There were no matches il those days. Fires were kindled witt sparks from flint and steel upon drj punk. In travelling. it was often difficu1 to get dry finder, so Duokworth tool with him bed of live coals from hi fathers fireplace. He carried the coals il an iron pot slung to the wagon axle. anI kept the fire alive until he reached Spring Hill township in Livingston county where he built a loghouse and trans, ferred the coals to it's hearth
 Thereafter the fire upon the DuckwortI hearth was never allowed to go out summer nor winter. Children came an| it lighted the pages of their school book as they lay prone before it. It shonI upon happy lovers, and it lighted the la 5 steps of the aged. In time all had dieI in that home but one, a bachelor soi| and to him the fire became a sacre| thing, symbol of all the joys and so rows of all the lives that had beeI warmed and fed by it. To him the if ] was as holy a thing as was the eve burning fire in the Temple of vesta il Rome to the virgins who worshippe there. He kept the fire alive and, the r< ports say 1t is burning yet.
 It was a pretty sentiment that lay b , hind the preservation of the fire-the ser timent that holds the fireplace the cente of the family life. No home ought to built without one.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
MUSIC A LA CABARET

From the Louisville Courier-Journal.
 Light music and light refreshments again commingled at the Academy of Music last night. when the Philadelphia orchestra gave the second of it's series of pop concers A not very large but sim cerely interested audience sat at tables and slipped soft drinks and assimilated sandwiches, ice cream and more substan- tial viands, while drinking in popular music of the better grade. The light haze of cigar and cigarette smoke which hung over head added to the Bohemian atmos- phere which the transformation of the academy into a Parisan cafe has given the pop concerts. s.'-Philadelphia Star.
 The Philadelphia orchestra may learn in a school of hard experience that in asmuch as a cabaret is barroom prl- marily a place for eating secondarily and a place of music incidentally, it cannot be met and conquered by serving "cafe parfait' and strawberry sandwiches while the cabarets continue to serve strong and fearfully and wonderfully mixed drinks.
 A/majority of cabaret patrons 60 not seek music la mode so. much as booze and vituals a la carte. Turning a pop" concert into a imitation of a popular cabaret is likely to be failure unless there is sincere effort to make the imitation exact. If that should be done the result would be the somewhat uned- flying spectacle of the Philadelphia or chestra playing second fiddle to Shenus. The fears of Euterpe and Clio will mingle and the satyrs will dance celebratory can,can when music sinks to the level of the "perfesser" who pounds the piano in
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

Namiquipa, where General Pershing is a small village near the border of the state of Sonora and in the foothills of the Sierra Madres. It is about SO miles west of Agua Nueva. the nearest sta ton on the main line of the railroad connecting Fl Paso and Chihuahua. It Is about 1s0 miles south of Fl Paso and about 200 miles northwest of Parral, the point reached by Colonel Dodd's cavalry. During the spring months the nights at Namiqupa are cool and the mornings frosty. The town has an unusually fine climate which conduces to longevity. There are about 25,O0o Tarahumare In- dians in this region many of whom live to be 100 or more years of age These Indians are among the hardest people on the American continent and have magnifi- endure almost incredible hardshps. The cetadilla, or sneeze wort plant, which grows in this part of Mexico, it is be- lieved by the natives, to be an antidote for the venom of rattlesnakes. The na- tives say, that rattler which has been irritated until induced to strike at the leaves of this plant will die of convul- slons. The chaparral cock is also an inn portant factor in reducing the number of rattlesnakes
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
Cigarette Sales

According to the Wall Street Jour nal. sales of cigarettes manufactured in the United States increased l,4o4'- 900 .O00 in the first quarter ot l9lo' compared with the first three months of last year. The percentage of ln- crease was 41.08 per cent and repre- sents the largest gross business Tor any corresponding three months ever recorded in this country. About 18,- 900, 900, ,0O0 cigarettes were produced last year and manufacturers would be well satisfied, it is said, with total output of 1000, 100000 in 1916.
 These figures give some idea of the cigarettes popularity in the United States. Despite the efforts of reform CTS. consumption has increased by leaps and bounds. The little white destroyer" has a grip on the nations smokers which all of MT. Ford's mil lions will not be able to break, and since the insane asylums are not crowded with victims, one must con clude that the evils of cigarette smoking has been considerably exag- gerated.
 It is conceded that the cigarette is the cleanest form in which a person can use tobacco, and this may have something to do with its remarkable popularity, but perhaps the real req son why sales have reached stagger- ing proportions and are swelling the profits of manufacturers enormously is the nationwide campaign of ad- vertising which tobacco firms have been conducting for the past few years.
 There is no escape from cigarette advertisements these days. They are everywhere and some of the ideas en- ployed are quite unique. The astonish- ing increase in sales but illustrates anew the truth of the old adage that it pays to advertise. Cigarette manufac- turers know the value of publicity and they are using it as never before.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
THE MENACE OF FILMS

uitting crimes" If in the latter end o1 fine film. policemen are represented lr the act of seizing those persons, IS thq whole production likely to be subverslV7 of public morality? A licensee mgh| argue to the licensing authority-anq might honestly thinK-that the nm amounted to a serious warning agains1 committing crime. In the meantime tn7 film would have been displayed, and score of ernulous small boys might hav1 proceeded tc do their best to reproduc1 the acts of burglary, larceny, incendiar1 ism, Kidnapping, damage to property, o1 what not, which had been unrolled oefor1 their fascinated eyes.
 For 1t is the fact-whether we regard it as a healthy symptom in the Juvenii1 mind or otherwise-that the ultimat1 landing of the film offender in thi clutches of the law does little or nothI ing to deprive his wrongdoing of Its ad| venturous glamour. When, in the del parted days of penny numbers. he use1 to model himself upon Dick Turpin, Il was of no use pointing out to him thai his hero was finally caught and hanged
 And if we turn from the ubiquitou| crime film, what is to be said of thosI scenes mentioned as typical by Alderma Gilbert-"a woman going mad; a woma in drunken madness killing her owl child mad woman in padded room; person being chloroformed?" The ques| tion Is not whether such scenes ar likely to be subversive of public moral ltx,n but whether they are good for chill dren to see.
 There cannot be two opinions. TheI ought not to be presented, upon any con ditions, during those hours at whicI children visit the picture palaces. ThI whole matter is one upon which tbI holder of picture show licenses shoul I take associated action If they are un| able to institute among themselves a cen sorship in the special interest of thI child, and satisfactory in it's workinI from that point of view, we believe thaI public authorities will not long delay Il repairing their omission for them.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
From the London Telegraph.

From the London Telegraph.
 THOSE who regard with misgiving-
 and by this time their .1na mum n
 bers must be very great the effect upon the / child mlno of the moving picture show in US present stage of development will not derive much comfort from the latest official treatment of the subject. Ihe report of the theatres and music hails committee of the London county council dealing with this question, sets out wlth eAactitude the nature of the accusa.ion made against the picture palace as an influence in the life of childhood.
 Mr. Smallwcod referred to the n- crease in juvenile crime, attributable ln a large measure to the influence or sus- gestive films at picture palace ana lhe absence of parental control"
 MT. St. John Morrow reminded the council that Sir Robert Wallace in pass ing sentence on two youths convicted or felony, had spoken thus:
 Your downfall Is to be attributed all most entirely to the pernicious Influence of picture shows, which are the curse of Iondun life today. In many of these places per sons are represented in the act of committing crimes suggesting to the youthful mind how crime may be com mitted.'
 Sir Robert, we may remark, spoke out of an experience which is probably shared by every magistrate and official in the Kingdom who is brought into con tact with juvenile or youthful offenders.
 What, then, is the outcomef The theatres and music hall committee re- port that after careful consideration, they do not see their way to prevent directly the display of the kind of films to which objection is taken. It would be difficult to draft a condition which would do what Is desired, without apply ing at the same time to other films to which no serious objection can be made.
 Take the case of film in which per sons are represented in the act of com
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

Florence Times: in many counties in Alabama the fight over the cattle tick is hot and heavy, and in every county there is opposition to the movement to free the cattle of the pest. Everywhere and at all times there is certain class of peo- pie who see through a glass darkly. Lauderdale, always at the front, has al- ready passed from under quarantine, and it has been worth thousands of dollars to our people.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

dollars to the cattle growers; and cat tie husbandry is yet in it's infancy in Alabama.
 With it's varied agricultural re- sources this state is destined to be- come one of the richest farming states in the union. But the greater the di- versification the quicker it will fulfill the promises now made for it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
Birmingham Fine Host

Looks like, Birmingham Is going to see to 1t that all the veterans have a good tune, son. said G. c. Wallace of Jack sonville, Fla, who Is In Birmingham for the reunion.
 Everything is decorated beautifully, and the people all seem glad to have us veterans here. l believe we are going to enjoy 1t.
 nave nos had an opportunity to at tend all the reunions, but could not af- ford to miss this one. I was in attend ance at the Jacksonville reunion, of course"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

BEGINNING THE DAY-GtVe me eyes. o Lord, that l may see Ineo going Thy way among men, Inon art writing Thy name upon tner faces, and behold, l See not. Inou .rt showing Thy face in the way they toiI and sing and suffer; Tnou art declaring Thyself in their sim- ole deeds and words and tno"S ns' and. behold, ann blind. Give me eyes, O Lord, give me eyes, Ae"' H. M. E.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
ONE GREATEST NEWSPAPER

From the Montevallo Advertiser.
 We rejoice to believe there is one great newspaper in Alabama which is not car ried away by the passions of it's editor The Birmingham Age-Herald. There are other excellent journals, but there are none which impress us with a calmer, fairer view of things
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
HOPELESS.

You should try to cultivate a spirit of optimism" said the moralizer.
 Its no use," replied the pessimistic person. livery time I work myself into a cheerful frame of mind by ignoring the high cost of living, some asinine individual comes along and asks me if I think it's hot enough"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
HOTEL LOBBIES
Welcome to Law Library

"rhe Birmingham Bar association wishes to extend an invitation to the vet erans and other visitors to visit it's law library on the top floor of the First National Bank building said Charles F. White, the secretary. We have comfort able chairs, telephone and fine view of the city, besides cool breezes through out the day. All are welcome"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
SHAKESPEARE AND THE WAR

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer
 Although poets are popularly sup posed to be prophets, nothing but the widest strentch of the imagination could conceive the possibility tbat Shakespeare predicted the battle of Verdun. And of course he didn't do 1t. But 1t is nevertheless interesting to note-now that the tercentenary of the bard is being celebrated-that he &C., tually mentioned the place. It is in the first part of King Henry VI" Act 4. Scene ', that we run across this passage:
 Where is the great Alcides of the
 field,
 Valiant Lord Talbot, Earl of shrews-
 bury?
 Created for his rare success in arms Great Earl of Washford, Waterford
 and Valence;
 Lord Talbot of Goodrig and Urchin-
 field,
 Lord Strange of Blackmere, Lord Yer
 dun of Alton"
 Shakespeare mentions seven more titles for this noble lord, but we stop at the last mentioned As Joan of Arc answers to this dreary catalog: Here is 8 silly, stately style indeed! The Turk, that two and fifty kingdoms hath, prites not so tedious style as this!'
 But the fact that the Earl ofaShrews- bury had been created Lord Verdun for his rare success in arms must give the present day reader pause. The town in the department of the Mouse is very ancient-its Roman name was Vero- dunum-and many wars have ragged around 1t since its founding. If Talbot got 8 title thence, 1t must have been a place striven for by both French and English in the days of Henry VI What Caesar did there, centuries before, is a thing for the curious historian to find out. And there is another thing for the antiquarian to contemplate-the ancient name of the place.
 verdun signifies "a long, narrow sword" The Latins said "who shortens his sword enlarges his boundries," and the thick, heavy stabbers of the Roman legions added emphasis to the saying. But how of the long, narrow sword the rapier of Verdun that has defended it's boundaries for so many struggling weeks?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

An engineer who had been suspended four times for running past signals has recently been convicted of manslaughter for causing wreck by the same sort of oarelessness. The question is, why did railroad continue to employ man like that?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
A DRAWBACK

From the Kansas City Star.
 Modern utilities have disadvantages. "The one drawback to motorized fire department" confesses Chief Pitts of In dependence, lis that we can't boast Of fire horse that chews tobacco
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
OF COURSE NOT.

'FIe was born in a log cabin, and now he's a millionaire"
 Well, you can't expect every man who is born in a log cabin to become President"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
Praise for Boy Scouts

q am greatly impressed with the work of the Boy Scouts in the reunion activities" said Frank Hammond yes- terday. "Everywhere one sees a vet eran on the street a Boy Scout is sure to be trailing him, carrying baggage. and, if the veteran is very old the young fellows hand will be on the veterans arm, to better guide him safely through the crowds.
 Tt is an inspiring sight to see these little fellows acting as guides to the battle scared veterans of civil strife land the two streams pouring into the general headauarters on Twentieth street are being cared for in splendid fashion through the efforts of the Boy Scouts.
 T believe that this reunion will dem onstrate to the people of Birmingham that they invested wisely when they donated to the Boy Scout movement ir this city last fall. The scouts are show
 ing what there is in them"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
NO FETCHING DONE.

"How was the Jimpson- Juniper wed ding?"
 "It passed off with out a hitch. "Everything ran smoothly, eh?" "No. The bridegroom failed to show
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

The Englishman who was said to have been the original of Mir. Squeers in 'Nicholas Nickleby" died recently in Mis- souri. That's the dubious sort of fame the average person would not go out of his way to acquire
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

Birmingham welcomes the veterans with open arms and would gladly extend the same courtesy to the fair sponsors-if they would stand for it.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
MORE NATURE TAKING

From the Savannah Morning News.
 The Germans and French are de- Jared to be dcadlocked at Verdun. The Russian bear may turn out to be a dark horse.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

The attempt to prove that Jesuits wrote Shakespeare's plays will invite the hos tlity of the Baconians. who are always ready for a fight.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

Queen Alexandra of England is using half sheets of note paper to economize. Royalty has to do something to show it is thinking about the war.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

An Illinois bachelor, 7S years old and wealthy, recently wore a pair of shoe. for the first time and the chances are that he will soon be in the market for a corn cure.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

A Columbia professor says psychology is the best cure for war There is some- thing in knowing the psychological mos mont to quit.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
ADRIF'T WITH THE TIMES
THE BENEFICIARY.

Did I understand you to say that Dubwaite has a pleasing wit?"
 "Yes."
 why, his feeble attempts at humor make me tired"
 Same here. But Dubwaite's wit pleases him immensely"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

The office girl in England is inclined to take things easy. The female conductor has to hustle more or less.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

Demopolis Times: Alabama is inforniif& tine outside world that she is tired of making cotton below the cost of produc- ton.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

The republicans are getting busy in Chi cago, but they are not making any moves that the sage of Oyster Bay doesn't know about
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

John Burroughs writes so appealing,y of walking that one Is tempted to ignore the jitney bus
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

The President of France doesn't talk like man who expected to be chased out of Paris by the Teuts.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

Hard luck for General Pershing, who will probably have to spend the summer in Mexico.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
THE RETURN.

The bush league pitcher dreams of
 fame,
 But fails to win a single game And soon he climbs on board a train Which takes him to the wilds again. Men talk of blighted hopes-he knows Just what that means and clearly
 shows
 His heart is grieved, the future dark. He felt so sure he'd make his mark And be a second Mathewson, A whirlwind, a phenomenon. But that is past. The train draws near His native town, those scenes appear Which he has known since childhood
 days.
 And then his mournful mem'ry strays To that fair morn when at the station, His bosom filled with proud elation, He told admiring friends farewell, Fen smiled on by the village belle. To come back thus! He dreads to face The crowd in such ignoble case And when the speedy train slows down A mile or two outside of town, He makes a flying leap and lands Ungracefully on knees and hands, Then rising, by devious way, Seeks the parental roof. There may Be greater tragedies than this; If so thy're sad indeed, I wis.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

Premier Asquith has again proved his mettle by pacifying Ireland about as much as Erin can be pacified.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

The day is coming when Alabama will point with pride to her literacy record, hre E.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

few of the defeated candidates are exhibiting sore toes, but most of them accepted defeat gracefully.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

The war has added large number of new ruins to a justly famous collec- ton of old ones,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
"God's own Country"

q am mighty glad to get back in Bir- mingham for reunion,' said J. S. Rut- ledge, a member of the Second Missouri infantry in the disagreement of the COS, but now a resident of the lower Pan- handle in Texas. This is a fine town and I know we are going to enjoy it here.
 'I have missed only one reunion since they started, and that was the one at Richmond last year. The boys had fine time up there, and I am sorry I could not be present Birmingham showed a fine spirit in 1908 and I know all of us are glad to be here again.
 By the way. we raise better crops on the lower Panhadle than you fellows in Alabama ever raised. The climate there is extremely salubrious, the summers mild and the winters never too cold for comfort Of course, we sometimes have 'northers.' but they last not more than a couple of days at the outside and do not cause any damage. You ought to come out to the Panhandle sometime. It's Gods own country.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
A Great Planter

Major John Cox Webb of Demopois is one of the prominent veterans attending the reunion. He is the guest of his young kinsman Al c. Garber, at the Ridgely apartments. MT. Webb came from North Carolina to Alabama soon after the war and settled in Marengo county, where for many years he has been an extensive planter, cultivating thousands of acres of wonderfully rich land.
 T believe in corp diversifcation and have practiced it for many years, but I also believe in raising lots of cotton" said Major Webb.
 T always raise enough foorstuff to SUD- ply my farms but plant large fields in cotton. Notwithstanding the damage done by the boil weevil last year, am putting 200O acres or more in cotton again this season. I have on my farms about 500 negroes and 200 of them are kept at work on cotton acreage.
 "As far as can learn, the cotton plant ing in Alabama will average about the same as in 1915 It may possibly be a little less"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

Town Creek Booster: We admire the nerve of the lone voter of Decatur, who voted for w. J. Bryan for President, but we cannot commend his judgment.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
NOT HoPELEssLY BATrLED.

NOA lhOl l1A'I1AoS'HA D4A u
 Was your heart in your mouth when you proposed?"
 "Oh, yes, but still had sense enough left to tell the girl it was in her keeping"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16

Henry James left an estate of s4,ooo Henry never perpetrated a best seller"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-16
DEFINED.

'Pa, what is meant by a sentiment alist?"
 "A sentimentalist, my son, Is man who sheds tears over the house he was born in but never makes any attempt to lift the mortgage on it."