davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-07
A "CHUGLEss, LOCOMOTIVE

From the Philadelphia Public Ledger.
 The seekers after noiselessness will owe much to Hiram P. Maxim if he is able to carry into effect his plan for "cnugless' locomotive. Future ages are likely to find our era uncivilized largely in this, that mans fitful uproar ming ling with his toil'' was the rule rather than the exception, and that we were as noisy as we were busy. At present a hideous racket seems to be inseparable from our notion of progress. In our in sistence upon high speed living and the conservation of time we demand night la bor, yet we conspire to give those who have to go to bed by day. no chance to sleep.
 The list of needless noises is long and varied, and as the strident clamors in- creases each new voice must raise itself above the already prevailing pandemo- nium in order to be heard. Since the wayfaring man no longer startles at an ordinary ''honk,'' the mosorLst must be able to fill the air with the shriek of a demon in agony. Every new building that storms the skies of modern Baby lon sets the steam riveters hammering like mighty woodpeckers, and the role of Macbeth, who murdered sleep, has a thousand mechanical impersonators every time building work on a grand scale is undertaken anywhere
 Nobody wants to see the hand of prog ress stayed, especially in this day when bloody carnival of demolition is in full swing, and millions of men are under or ders to tear down all that the ages have upreared. But surely the future years will see to it that this amazing turmoil we make is muted to a comparative whisper in order that the still small voice of the life of the spirit may gain hear ing
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-07

From the Providence Journal.
 The output of cigarettes in the United States last year was 17,500, 100000. Ten or Il years ago, the scattered demand was satisfied with four billion.
 The increase in consumption ln thls country, however, cannot be believed to correspond to this remarkable increase in production, for the tobacco industry has been foremost, in recent years, In expanding it's foreign trade. With American petroleum, agricultural inn plements and sewing machines, the American made cigarette is sold in re- mote parts of the earth. There can be no question, though, that domestic con- sumers are vastly more numerous than they were a decade or so ago, and un- doubtedly, too, form a larger propor- tion of the populations; if it cannot yet be said that Americans are nation of cigarette smokers, as Spaniards are. The figures for the current year may show that the pipe is materially dis placing the cigarette In many parts of the country there is visible and pronounced revival of this old fashion in tobacco smoking. An annual pro- duction of 17,50O, ,000,00 cigarettes may prove to be high water mark for some time to come.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-07
Terrorizing England

The detailed statement issued oy the English government in regard 'o 4ho recert aerial raid on the midland continues in which seven Zeppellns participated contains some very inter- esting reading It was issued Ill re- ,,lv to that from Berlin in which It was claimed that material damage had been done to munitions Works. The London statement denies this and ,,o;nts out the utter imposslblllty oI oanoino where the bombs are falling on night in which the fog was so thick that it was impossible to see zo feet. It was claimed that the Ger mans could tell only when they were over a town but could not, with any accuracy, place their bombs and could not even identify the cities which were bombarded as witnessed the claims of damage to cities not even visited.
 Perhaps the most appalling feature of the recent raid is the statement of casualties issued by the official bu- reau.- They follow: Killed-Men, 26; women, 28; children, 9; total, 63. Iniured-Men, 51; women, AS; chil- dren, 2; total, 101.
 This is sad commentary on the methods of the Germans, who, in thelr statement of accusation against the British in the Baralong case, pro- claimed that they were conducting the war in accord with the dictates of "international law and humanity" These women and children were non- combatants, harmless, asleep in their beds as were those slaughtered in the Paris raid.
 The Zeppelin is indeed an instru- ment of destruction, but of indis- criminate destruction, weapon lit for German hands. AS a serious fac tor in the development of the war 1t cannot yet be reckoned.
 An English vessel sighting Zep- pelin sinking in the North sea de- clined to go to her assistance and allowed the crew to drown which IS indicative of the state of English feel ing. The press is crying for retalia- tory measures and it may be that Ger many may yet get a larger measure of their own medicine than they re- ceived at Karlshrue.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-07
THE SILENT FIBER

By Touchstone, in London Daily Mail.
 GA Highland soldier lay in hospital. His hand was shattered. q would have given them my leg." he said. q would have given them both my legs, if they had only spared my hand so that I might play the pipes again.") Lad, I could blaw the pipes sac sweet
 Yed think twas Orpheus come again. For I could mak' men smile or greet, Sac blithe, sac sad, the liltin strain: Aye, and my pibroch's wild appeal
 Has played men on to do an dare; But thae auld tunes loved sac weel
 Shall wake beneath my hands nae
 mair.
 How mony a bonnie lad and lass
 Hae danced the goWden hours ava That aye too swiftly seemed to pass
 Wi gleefu' reels, strathspeys and a Weel, life and love must still gang on,
 But ither hands the pipes must ply. For a my pipin' days are done
 And a the joy of life forby. Fain had I crawled a crippled thing
 Until the end if might yet Max the auld pipes ance mair to sing
 And in that blithesome hour forget Aye, l had gladly giv'n my life
 Wi mony anither for my land Ere, in that burnin' hell O strife,
 They robbed the pipeS of his hand
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-07
Preparedness Sentiment Strong

"In the east and middle west President Wilson's preparedness programme is quite generally approved, but I do not know how the people in the south and far west feel about it. said M. F. Healy of Phil adelphia
 q was in Ohio and Indiana recently and republicans as well as democrats talked as if they thought Congress should stand by the President in this matter of the national defense. But there seems to be a decided lack of harmony among the democrats in Congress. l usually vote the republican ticket, but voted for Wilson in 1912 But this preparedness question is nonpartisan, and it would be a shame if the administration had to LOOK to the republicans to put the national de- fense bills through. If experts are to pc believed, the country certainly needs strengthening of army and navy
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-07
WGuId Be Popular Act

was glad to read in the last issue of ta. Musical Courier that an effort was
 A4sng made to have the United States
 sa ernment honor Sousa by making him 2 lieutenant of marines on the retired lis, said H. w. Eggleston of the Dis
 ffic6 of Columbia.
 4 4Iere is the article referred to: I5aEe learn that quietly and without hare of trumpets several influential trends of John Philip Sousa are en-
 Seagoring to have the President honor
 ahe March King by appointing him to ee rank of lieutenant of marines on the
 aered list While MT Sousa was long
 Z aimaster of the United States Marine Aarl in Washington and served brilliant iV in that capacity through the terms or
 Four Presidents, he was never given commission. After he retired, his sue
 dessor through a special act of Con ersss, was given the rank of lieutenant Of narnes, and Mr. SoGsa' S supporters think that the bill should be antedated so that he could enjoy the same distinc- ton, in recognition of his years of service dedicated to the country. MT. Sousa has been uGCOTdlSu Dy liC INhi5 ol i@AsoioiANp and many European countries have hon. ored him during his worlds tours, but up to the present time his own country has not officially bestowed an honor up- on the popular composer and band master. Those who are interested in the project plan to have the bill presented to Congress during the present session. John Philip Sousa, by the trips with his band around tho entire world, has done more than any one musician to bring to the knowledge of strange lands the fact that there are composers in America-includ- ing J P. S. himself-who are unique and unsurpassaIle in their own particular style, and that America excels in at least one musical branch of execution viz, in playing of brass band. These messages are not unimportant ones and MT. Sousa is most distinctly the man who carried them to Garcia. We are confident that
 has shown himself to be will not refuse
 this small honor to the master band ! master.
 q think it would be fitting to make MT. Sousa a captain instead Of a lieutenant. On the retired list, if he had a grade or two higher than that of the present di- rector of the marine band, Lieutenant Sante,mann, there would be no conflict. But the promoters of the movement in 1 Sousas behalf are mistaken if they as- sume that the President has the author ! ity to appoint anyone an officer of ma rines, retired. Whatever is done in line with tre suggestion would have to be by 1 an act of Congress.
 If Congress can be induced to create such a position for MT. Sousa then it | would be for the President to send his | name to the Senate for confirmation. It would be a popular act.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-07
Children and Music

The eager interest that the school
 children are taking in music is dis tinctly encouraging to those who are endeavoring to create cultural at
 mosphere in Birmingham, and it means much for the future of the di- vinest of all the arts.
 In the public schools music has had place for many years past and in recent years the scope of musical in-
 struction in the high school has been broadened and the interest on the part
 of the pupils has increased.
 Within the past four or five years the larger children have been well represented in our symphony concert audiences and on one occasion young peoples matinee brought out crowd that filled the theatre to overflowing. The seat reservations for boys and girls for a forthcoming orchestral
 performance of unusual attractiveness indicates a new high record in attend ance.
 Time was when the word symphony had not found it's way into the vo-
 cabulary of the average child of ten or twelve years of age, and as for chil- dren turning out in considerable num- bers to hear concert orchestra ren- der the music of master composers,
 that was out of the question. It is different today. In Birmingham the chief topic among the school children just now is the symphony matinee to which they have been looking forward with keen delight.
 In view of this interest which the
 young folks are manifesting in high class music, would it not be an easy matter to organize a permanent chorus of 1000 children and make such chorus a feature of the annual spring festival?
 Children love to sing, especially with an orchestra. They readily learn cantatas written for juvenile voices. Some years ago Birmingham heard a children's chorus of 200 sing Unto the World" a short but very beautiful work by Benoit. with full orchestral accompaniment. And later about the same number of boys and girls sang the "Blue Danube" waltz and the march from "Tannhauser" under MT. Damrosch's baton. It it was possible to enlist and train 200 children for a festival programme in the years past, there would be no difficulty in form ing a chorus of 1000 now.
 Nothing is more refreshing and few things in art are more inspirational
 than a children's chorus in conjunction
 with grand orchestra. After the
 Minneapolis Symphony matinee next
 week the children will be more in love
 with music than ever. They will be
 in responsive frame of mind and
 be quick to embrace the opportunity
 of enrolling themselves in festival
 chorus. Let's give them the chance.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-07
Federal Picture Censorship

The moving picture men of the country are trying hard to arouse public sentiment against the pro- posed federal picture censorship, and the arguments they advance are hay ing considerable weight. To be sure they are acting strictly for their own interests, but from a common sense point of view they are right in op- posing any such measure. Since mov- ing pictures have been accepted as a form of art, any attempt made by the national government to regulate them by means of commission is bound to prove abortive.
 These are the days when reformers are abroad in the land, bent on "regu. lating' everybody and everything which does not measure up to theil exacting requirements. A fedora motion picture commission which would be expected to condemn or ap prove every film before it was ex hibited in public, would not only em barrass legitimate business whicl provides amusement that is for tn, most part wholesome, but would b'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-07

next akin to a censorship of books, magazines, music and what not. Aside from economic considerations, the needless expense that would be in cured by the government and the if nancial difficulties that would result to the moving picture man, the mat ter of regulating motion pictures can safely be left to public sentiment and local laws.
 Censors have incurred so much ridicule and have gone about their work in way so incomprehensible sometimes to the average person that they are considered a joke. In certain states there are motion picture cen sors whose choice of subject matter to be cut out of films has made them the laughing stock of the country. | They are the sort of persons who strain at gnat and swallow camel. There is no reason to believe that the motion picture makers are trying to "debauch the public morals" On the
 contrary, they are constantly develop
 ing and improving their productions,
 with the result that the greatest plays and the most successful actors now appear on the screen. On rare occa-
 sions when film has offended it has
 been promptly suppressed by local au- thorities. Federal aid was not needed. I A federal motion picture commls- sion would be an irksome and un- necessary piece of legislation.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-07
In the Rusiness World

Henry Clews in his Saturday review says in part:
 '"The stock market is still laboring under series of highly conflicting con- ditions, the war of course affecting every movement. Peace and prosperity at home rYle quotations at one mo- ment at another war and ruin abroad control. Between the two sets of in- fluences @S settled foundation can be found, no reliable plans made; the only course left being to take things as they are day by day.
 Home affairs are eminently satis- factory; politics and international rela- tions. Were there no restraints this country would probably be in the midst of a boom never equaled in extent or intensity. Undoubtedly it is good for us that some restraints do exist be- cause they will save us from the re- action that otherwise would be inevit-
 able. We may therefore view the fu-
 ture with relative confidence, assured of business activity and prosperity, until the somewhat distant period of read justment arrives which must come after the war.
 Since peace, and the momentous
 changes which will follow, are not yet | in sight. we must still be largely af-
 fected by conditions at home. which aa
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-07

FAMOUS SEA RAIDERS

merce. In the early months of the civil | war the Confectionery had no sea-going | ship of it's own at1oat save the Sumter This was a sailing craft, heavily spared and commanded by Raphael Semmes, who | has been called "the most expert sailor
 and daring fighter among all the men who I had resigned from the Federal navy to enter the Confederate service.' I It is true that the first vessel commits stoned by the Confederate government was the Savannah, a pilot boat with crew of 30 men, but her career was so bref-she made but one capture and l then was captured herself-that she de- 1 serves little attention. There were minor raiders that did considerable mischief along the coast. All were captured or destroyed.
 | The Sumter was a small and frail | coaster lying at New Orleans when the | war broke out. Raphael Semmes made | her seaworthy. On April 3, 1861, she went l into commission. She ran out in deop water on June 30 and made her first cap | ture off the coast of Cuba. In four days Semmes had seven prizes. He took six of | the captured vessels into a Cuban port l out was not permitted to sell them as he had hoped to do.
 1 In six months Semmes captured IS ships Finally, the Sumter was blockaded in Gibraltar and there laid up and sold I She was lost in the North sea not long after her change of ownership.
 l Another Confederate raider of note was the Florida. She was a daring blockade
 runner and is credited with 37 prizes |
 Lairds, known as No. 2s0 she was per- l mitted by the British government to leave an English port in defiance of Fed eral protests. She was long and lean, 29O 1 feet over all, 32 feet wide and drew but 15 feet of water. She had steam power ] that would drive her 10 knots an hour and she carried eight guns.
 ! On Sunday. August 24, 1862, she was ! christened at sea the Alabama.
 l For nearly two years Semmes, com
 manding the Alabama, swept over the l seas, gathering a wonderful harvest of prizes, until finally the end came off | Cherbourg harbor, when the Federal war l ship Kearsarge, on Sunday, June 19, 1864, ] fought and sunk the daring craft after an hours conflict.
 | The total number of prizes made by 1 the Alabama was 69. Of these 53 were destroyed. These are totals, which, com l bined with the record of her daring es- capades, appear to make the Alabama the | most noted of all the sea raiders of mod 1 ern naval history.
 1 For permitting her construction and | departure and for tolerating certain of | her destructive escapades the Alabama 1 claims commission later assessed upon
 Great Britain penalty of $15,0O0,O0O.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-07
sssssssesssssssss
W. R. Rose, in the Cleveland Pla

w. R. Rose in the Cleveland Plain
 Dealer.
 THE story of the German raider now
 preying upon Britains commercial
 A fleets, illustrates the amount of damage a single armed craft can do if left to roam unhindered.
 This latest commerce raider, the Moewe. is responsible for the destruc- ton of at least seven British merchant men, and the list by this time may have received many additions. Besides this she has captured a passenger liner, the Appam, which, manned by prize crew, was safely piloted into Hampton Roads, where it at once becomes subject for serious diplomatic consideration.
 In the earlier day the Moewe would have been considered a plain privateer. Now she is called a raider. In the day of John Paul Jones her captain would have been threatened with a running moose and the yardarm. Today he would be treated, if captured, like any other prisoner of war.
 The first of all raider commanders in the naval history of the United States was John Paul Jones. He was the bright particular star of the Continental navy, at times a detached star, but all the brighter for that reason.
 On October 13, 1775, Congress authorized the fitting out of two armed vessels, one of 10 and the other of If guns, to cruise three months to the eastward for the pur- pose of ntercepting the enemy trans
 O. on of similar dimensions were ordered-and here was the beginning of the American navy These four vessels, purchased in November, 1775, were the Alfred, Colum- bus Cabot and Andrew Doria. On Mo- vember 5 Esek Hopkins lwas made com mander-in-chief of the little fleet. On December Lieut.. John Paul Jones hoist ed the Continental flag on board the All fred, Commander Hopkins flagship. Jones, who is described in the reports as Ian energetic and capable young man, 2S years old," had received his commission on December [, 1775. During the next three years the fiery young Scotsman had raided the British coast, striking terror to English hearts by his amazing audacity, had captured and burned many merchantmen, had defed the entire Brit ish fleet that strove to effect his cap ture, had boldly entered two English har- bors, and beaten and sunk British man. of-war of superior tonnage. It was the most daring and successful naval raid of which history bears record.
 Three Confederate raiders of the civil war were for many months a persistent cause of annoyance to the north. They were ably handled, the;r officers were skilled as well as daring, and they in flicted great damage upon American com
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-07
ONE BOYS HANDICAP
n tbe Pi+tshurp Dispatcb

From the Pittsburg Dispatch.
 Out of all the depravity and dirt which the Mohr murder trial has dis closed stands feature pitiful alike In it's actualities and it's possibilities, in the presence on the witness stand of 10-year- old Charlie Mohr to give testi- mony in aid of his' accused mother and against the character of his slain father. The boys appearance was the dramatic climax of the trial. It is reported that as he told his story men and women wept and that some members of the jury were among those moved. Senti- mentally, there is no doubt that his the unsentimental viewpoint of the prosecutiin is another matter. There is still a third viewpoint, that of the lad himself, the influence such an inci- dent in his boyhood, crowning the other incidents that led up to it and some of which specially prepared him for IL, IHu uSL lI6N1ldply nave Oll HIS ldlGI life
 It is reported that he made an un- usual witness; that he told his story freely and we'll that the solemnity of the occasion bothered him not at all; that his precociousness was a marked characteristic. He declared that, by di- rection of his mother, he prayed every night for his father, and at the same time, he said, at his mothers direction he spied upon his father and Miss Bur ger, the maid who was riding with the doctor at the time the doctor was shot. He testified that he loved his father dearly, and he also testified that, at his mothers request, he filched from his fathers desk the little red book" which has been so much discussed in the proceedings and took it to his him, but on his visits to his parent when so much was done for him, he never overlooked chance to gather in- formation about the doctor and the maid. He was wise beyond his years to the part his father played. In this appearance on the stand he showed plainly that he realized his own impor- tance in the prelude to the tragedy and, in fact, rather enjoyed the promi- hence the whole sordid affair gave him.
 It may be that his mothers jealousy justified her to herself in having her son do what he did before the shooting of her husband just as it may be that her counsel felt justified in putting him on the stand in the effort to save her. but just the same, it is comforting to know that not many boys start life with Charlie Mohr's handicap.