The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-09-15

m ACK from the Mexican border
I'D comes a story that isn't new, al
though the eastern correspondent
who whipped it into shape" and sem
it to his paper in Cincinnati, evidently
thought it was.
A Mexican spy was condemned to
he shot, after a long and wearisome
hike, which was
Amusing Anecdote punctuated by
IN It's Travels the profane re-
marks of SOL
der. The discontinued soldier Is or
dered to bandage the prisoners eyes.
He is still complaining when the pris-
oner interrupts him to say, What 5
the matter with you ?"-this is prooa-
bly a translation-"Pm not saying
ANYTHING and Pm condemned to DE
shot.w Eyes" answered the soldier.
"That's where you've got the blessed
best of it. You don't have to walk
back"
It is an amusing, though somewhat
prim. anecdote, and almost anybody
can see the point. The first time 1t
want the rounds of the newspapers 1t
was credited, if memory is not at
fault. to a British Tommy" and was
addressed to a German spy, also con-
demned to death.
Give it little more time and that
identical story will be credited to
Frenchman, a Russian, an Italian, a
Rumanian, a Servian, Belgian and
skipping over to the other side-a
German, and Austrian, Bulgarian
and Turk. Events in the Balkans in
dictate that it may soon be credited to
a Greek.
IN ERSONS who observe with inter
4 1 est the relative size and growth
of great urban centers were not sur
prised when New York's local census,
taken year ago, placed the Ameri-
can metropolis ahead of London,
which had hith-
A. to the Largest erto held the SUI
City in the World premacy in popu-
lation. We all
felt prouder than ever of Gotham. But
Chicago boosters expect to see their
city outstrip New York in few more
decades. Atlanta optimists imagine
that the time will arrive when the
Georgia capital will catch up. with
Chicago; and coming closer to home
Bessemer, with phenomenal gam
since 1910, has dreams of SURPRISING
Birmingham some day.
But the public was hardly prepared
for the claim made for Los Angeles
that it was today the largest city In
the world. A contributor to Marion
Harland's popular Helping Hand" In
3 Yesterdays issue of The Accelerate
called attention to the fact that by a
recent election in Los Angeles two
districts were annexed, bringing the
total area of CALIFORNIA; attractive
resort community up to 1892 square
miles. New York has an area of only
814.92 square miles.
Census statisticians, however, dc
not reckon the size of cities by area
but by the number of inhabitants. Ac
cording to the World Almanac's --latest
tabulation of the Largest cities o.
he EARTH" New York ranked frs
with population of 5.253,S85; Lon
don second, 4,522,964; Paris third
1855, ITO; Chicago fourth, 2,393,325
Berlin fifth, 2,O71,257; Toxic sixth
2.03s, 321; Vienna seventh, 2,031, 49S
Petrograd eighth, 100000; Philadel
phia ninth, 1861, s1O, and so on. Som
81 the population figures were esti
mated, but they are accepted as ap
pfoximately correct.
In originating new standard TO
Y classifying cities as to bigness-th'
extent of ground covered-the persol
setting forth the facts about Los An
roles expansion and comparing it.
lie With New York's, wrote, o
X ~nurse. with humorous intent. Ais