davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26

hills than in the plains. In Bengal, at do not think Darjeeling would be as popular as 1t is. When dealing with those
 files from which there is never any escape I have often wished that Dar- jeeling were near Calcutta So that might
 have got the information needed
 quickly. know that if I had been in. the plains could have done moro work.
 I know. too. that many of my friends.
 especially those who seem to me to work hardest. think the same thing, and I can-
 not see why we should not say so.
 The situation has undoubtedly hu-
 morous aspect, but the whole question
 goes much deeper than that. Absen-
 teeism amongst governing class has
 never been productive of anything but
 had results. In India, the annual exodus to the hills has the effect of throwing the chief officials out of that immediate touch with the progress of affairs which. especially in a country like India, is so necessary to good government. It pre- vents quick decisions. and imports into government that sense of being ham lpered, so clearly expressed by Lord Carr michael when he said that he wished that 'Darjeeling were nearer Calcutta.'' 1t lis by no means easy to say what the best solution of the problem would be; but such frank statement as that of Lord Carmichael cannot fail to direct attention l to the matter once again. This in iself lis useful. and may ultimately lead to . lmore satisfactory arrangement.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
cAmnzMM1AOu1iH
BALLAGH GAP

James B. Dollard, in Ireland. Ballagh Gap. and the spring sun shin
 ing
 On Leinster's valleys far down be-
 low; Ballagh Gap. and the hedges lining The roadways. blossomed like sifted snow! Iris there I'd be with Youths com rades playing, In gladness maying through sweet lost days, The gold-eyed primrose green banks arraying, And daisies spangled in faerie maze. Again I'd hear as the wind came sigh- ing Across Mount Leinster and brown Creev-roe,
 The plovers fluting when day was dy- ing 1 And all the west was magic glow. Iris there I'd be when the sun. new i Brought vales' Elysian to raptured And the spirit saw. from it's clayey 1 prison.
 Gods hand bedizen the seas and skies.
 Too soon, alas. from these fair scenes ! banished,
 The friends of boyhood all passed | away,
 And Youths fond hoping too quickly l vanished
 In grief and groping when skies 1 were gray.
 Yet I still have visions that flash and culver
 Dark gloom can never my soul en- wrap
 For I see Gods sunshine pour down
 forever
 A golden river OCT Ballagh Gap!
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
FAMOUS CHINESE COMEDIAN

, been quickly detected in their neglect or elimination by the audience There are thousand little conventions relating to
 women's "inferiority in the orient, that must be observed to the letter in such a play, or tho feelings of the audience would have been outraged. There are technical details in regard to the drap- ing, arrangement and hanging of cos-
 tunes that would never occur to the. western actress or audience. And in adR1 dition, there is a ''technique'' for everNa gesture of the arm or hand, ever step et posture,~ and for every tone of the voic@ Z This technique stands as the law of thtf Medes and Persians in the Chinese thea4 | tre. The actor who attempted to deviateI by hairs breadth from any of the con- ventional traditions would soon find him self in bad odor with the people who pay 1 to see him.
 | Most difficult of all, however, seemed
 the strange mincing gait of the lady
 with the golden lily rect" for no prin- cess of the period would have had large or natural feet. Those of Cha Pin Yung
 were in plain view of the audience, bound
 with golden bands and encased in golden slippers. I had the opportunity to ex-
 anime them closely on the stage after the performance and they appeared to be
 about two and one-half or three inches long,
 1 Julian Eltinge has been known to com- plain of the ''iron harness that circles hi It H,x& %t>
 discomfort of this must be nothing to
 the agony of the Chinese impersonator of
 women. Cha actually walked on the tips
 of three toes for period extending we'll
 over four hours. He pulls his heel back
 and up into a cylinder binding. permit
 the stage-and these are bound so tightly
 that circulation of the blood seems i'm,
 possible. Yet he shows no signs of pain
 and has acquired the grace of the "lily foot women," still admired by the Chi
 nese, who will not admit that binding of the feet Is barbarous custom.
 1 Cha Pin Yung chants his lines in an
 amazing falsetto voice that is laughab's
 to a western auditor, but quite in accord ance with the traditions" All the other
 men who enact women's roles do likewise.
 It would not be fin the picture" for them
 to wear female costumes, take tho parts
 of princess heroines and recite their lines 1 in a sepulchral basso. But Cha becomes l funnier still when he sings. Many fla nous singers have been compared ia
 nightingales, Similar comparison would bring Cha into competition with young pig of lusty lungs when it has not been
 fed for 24 hours.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26

Archie Bell in the Theatre Magazine. NHA PHI YUNG is his name and ll( his salary is 5000 a month. In country where there are al-
 most daily reports that this or that movie actress has placed her name to a contract calling for that amount of money for
 about AS hours work, the amount may
 not seem to be so large. It may not mean
 to the casual reader that 1t is an amount
 almost unheard of for an actor. Nevertheless, this is the case in China. Where coolies work for or 10 cents a day, where artistic embroiders receive l2O cents for working from dawn to sunset, and where porcelain artists and wood carvers sometimes receive the munificent salary of 75 cents a day, 1t will be ob- l Served that by comparison Cha Pin Yung l is well paid.
 | Also, there is the fact that actors of all grades are looked upon with unpitying contempt in China. The Brethren of tha
 Pear Orchard" as they are called by po- l lite Chinese, are about on a social scale with barbers.
 Masculine and feminine parts are played 1 by men, as in the days of Shakespeare 1 in England
 I In such a country and under these cir cumstances, Cha Pin Yung receives $200C a month. I could not find any actor in China who receives anything like that
 amount of money, anyone who rose to a point anywhere near his importance in
 stageland in the Flowery republic. So I
 was particularly pleased one night to find
 his name on the bill of theatre that I
 attended at Shanghai. And the first sur
 prise came when I saw that he was a female impersonator. At least, I ex- pected that he would be cast for the
 extravagantly overplayed parts of the tri-
 umphing hero, which are so common in
 would be one of those gentlemen who
 strut around the stage and prance down
 the Flowery Way to the back of the audi
 torium with pompous strides that are supposed to indicate wealth, authority
 and dignity, according to celestial stage technique.
 1 Instead of that. I saw that he was a little fellow-after he had been identi-
 fled for me by my interpreter and guide Land that he was enacting the part of a princess, the heroine of the drama. 1 Judged by any standard, oriental or oc- cidental, it was a remarkable perform
 ance And in addition to whatever points
 of excellence I was able to observe and discern, there were countless details that passed my critical eye which would have
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
Doughty Cites Example

T think it was Ebert Hubbard who said that if you can build better mouse trap or write a better story than your neighbor the world will make a beaten track to your door," J. H. Doughty general agent of the Frisco lines, com mented "At any event, regardless of the verbiage of that statement, there is an example of this in Birmingham. Though Loveman, Joseph & Loeb do a tremendous business in Birmingham, wonder if it ever occurred to citizens gen. orally that there is no sign on the front of the building to designate even the name of the firm On some of the cur tains there are the initials in small let ters. L., J. & L. but otherwise there is nothing that would tell a stranger what store it was.
 ITO my mind that is a rather unique matter, and is rather pretty compli- ment to that firm
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
Third Mississippi
 Launched Yesterday

1.-THE third American warship to q bear the name of Mississippi was launched with appropriate cere- monies at Newport News yesterday. The name is fraught with significance to the American navy and is asso- ciated with some notable events in American history.
 As Secretary Daniels pointed out in his address, on board the first Mis- sissippi Commodore Perry crossed the Pacific to Japan, and in opening the commerce of that country to America and the world started the era of de- velopment which has made Japan one of the world powers. In a compara- lively brief time, Japan emerged from Asiatic mysticism and adopted many western ways. Its people are today the Yankees of the orient" Admiral Dewey, who died recently in Wash ington, also won his early fame on the first Mississippi, with Farragut at New Orleans.
 No memorable events involved the second Mississippi, which enjoyed a somewhat tranquil career, for bat tleship, and after about eleven years of service in the navy, was sold in 1914 to Greece.
 The new Mississippi is representa- tive of the great American navy which is now being built. Its displace- ment is ten times that of the first warship to bear the name, and its bat teries are, a thousand times more de- structive, 50 much have we pro- gressed in naval armament With twelve 14-inch breechloading rifles, twenty-two 5-inch breechloading rifles, four 3-inch anti-aircraft guns, four submerged torpedo tubes and a speed of twenty-one knots an hour, the new Mississippi is equal, if not superior, to any battleship afloat. It is an oi1-burner and has engines of 32,000 horse power.
 Although the principal address at the launching was delivered by cab inet officer who made the navy "dry" and is strong advocate of grape juice, and despite the fact that Mis- sissippi is a prohibition state, the new battleship was christened with cham pagne.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
Lively Marches
 Ir1sSead of Dirges

n N recent years quickstep music has 4 gradually taken the place of the dirge for military funeral parades. From time immemorial the escort pre- ceding the corpse has moved in meas ured tread to the time of slow and mournful tunes.
 In olden days, before bands of brass and reed had been brought to stage of perfection, many curious instru- ments-most of them piercing employed to express grief. But in mod ern times "The Dead March" from Handel's Saul" Chopin's "Marche Funebre" and two or three other familiar funeral classics have been hoard whenever great statesman or war hero was being borne to the tomb.
 A remnant of hhe old funeral music is retained, but that's all. In the inn posing cortege which left the capitol 1t Washington last Saturday to ac- company the remains of Admiral Dewey to Arlington cemetery, the simple but majestic strains of Saul, 2 hy the Marine band, thrilled the mourners and the marchers,. but as soon as the column was ready to move along Pennsylvania avenue the mu-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
LUKE M.LrJKE SAYS

Maybe you have noticed that the man who is bitter against capitalism is a fellow who has no capital
 Any girl who is still single at 30 can tell you that girl who marries under that age is being robbed of her girlhood.
 The scientists can keep on arguing that there are microbes in kisses. But the girls are all from Missouri and like to investigate for themselves. The family that has too many babies often envies the family that has no babies at all. And vice versa.
 It is easy for single man to be satisfied with himself. But married man is always being reminded that everything he does is wrong. A gentleman will always lie by about 1 20 years when a woman asks him to guess her age. We like to josh the women about their vanity. But when a man wants te see his ideal of masculine perfection he looks into mirror. One reason why we are not permit. ted to get a peek into the future is because there would be mighty few marriages if we could.
 You always have matches when som, other man needs them. But when yo, are out of matches other men are ou of them, too.
 l Every time we hear a man brag ging that he is self-made, we wonder what would have happened to him i it handn't been for the Woman's aux Hilary.
 l It doesn't pay to talk behind an. mans back. Remember that even you worst enemies have their friends.
 It is mean thing to say. But 1t il true that marriage makes drunkar, of man oftener than it makes mai of 8 drunkard.
 1 What has become of the old fash toned man who could prove anything by the Bible?
 man never realizes how dear girl is to him until he marries her an, has to buy her clothes. | Men are like women in one respect You can argue with them. but you can convince them.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
Arrmor Plate Plant
 and Its Location

|NF the various cities and districts " asking for the governments s $11 ,000,000 armor plate plant, soon to be built under an act of Congress, only a few of them will be long con- sidered, that is to say, if the question of location is to be decided upon its merits rather than according to the arts or tricks of politics. It is a tech nical question and the state or dis trict that can show the highest qual- ity of steel produced at reasonably low cost, other conditions being full filled, should secure the plant. If such rules are followed Alabama, with three communities or industrial divi- sions competing, will easily win.
 Technical men representing the navy department will visit Birming- ham, Gadsden and Tuscaloosa next week to look over the situation anc hear testimony as to metallurgica values and transportation economies
 Cities in neighboring states that have announced their candidacy for the new industry may try to disparage tht 
 Birmingham district, but they cannor truthfully say anything calculated
 to injure Alabama's claims. We hay, the raw material in closer proximity
 than any state in the union, and 1T
 larger quantities than any othel southern state.
 It is said that the members of thu
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
New Orleans Wide open

"A number of men from Birmingham have visited New Orleans and have been surprised al the crowded conditions of the hotels there,' said S. l.. Yerkes of F. A. Grider & Co. The town has been taken by the followers of the races, and they are the toughest looking gang that ever saw, and I have been interested in racing for years.
 The hotels are literally damned with the race track people, and one must pay $5 or s6 for a room at nearly any rffodern hostelry. New Orleans is now expe- still plenty of room for improvement.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
ADIRIFT WITH THE TIMES
A FINE IN STORE

This fellow in police court says he had just received a piece of good news and was so happy he didn't know how fast his car was going when he was arrested by a motorcycle policeman
 Do you suppose there is any truth in that story?"
 It's hard to say, but I judge from the frown on his honor's face that some body is about to receive a piece of bad news"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26

| reports Slmply as technlclanS, ana that President Wilson will make the final award. As it is hardly conceiv- able that the President would push metallurgical science and business economies aside for the sake of lit tie politics, Alabama's prospects look bright. Glancing over the published list of candidate cities Birmingham ranks first, and close seconds are Tus- caloosa and Gadsden. In order to have fair play let's all pull for Alabama; pull now and pull hard. Maybe one reason why the correspond ence of the allies is more readable than that of the central powers is because the allies are not forever and eternally boast ing about how invincible they are and then, as an after thought, giving God credit for it.  The suspicion that Carranza was dun derhead has been verified by his seizure of the metallic bank reserve in Mexico. If he hadn't done that he might have been able to borrow some money in New York
 *
 
 Stone ought to know what is meant by melancholy waste of time" The way Congress wastes time on occasion is enc of the saddest sights imaginable. It seems as if the prohibitionists are not satisfied with ordinary 'dry" territory. They are going after "bone-dry'' terri tory. wherein liquor is almost as scarce and as expensive as radium A negro preacher says "soul discon- tent" is causing his people to leave the south. That's probably news to the col ored brother who went "norf' and now wants to come "souf''
 ;;
 The temper of Wall street may be ruff fled just now, but that is as nothing compared to the way the average lamb feels immediately after he has been sheared
 The Austrians are said to be fighting Oh skis Now, skis are equally good for ad- vancing or retreating, but the progress made depends great deal on the terrain.
 
 A Georgia paper says Buffalo Bill' is going with the Barnum and Bailey circus. Maybe it thinks the report of Buffalo Bill's' death was greatly exaggerated.
 :; ;; :.
 The Asiatic crew of a Japanese steamer at Baltimore mutnied, but as soon as a squad of Baltimore policemen got into. action the mutiny was ended. It might be well to correct mistaken impression in the minds of people who don't read the war news closely. There IS still Rumanian front.
 
 A naval battle in the North sea was fought in the dark. Yet, Berlin and Lon don are both positive that they know ex- actly what happened.
 
 Uncle Sam will help unemployed guardsmen to get positions. However most of them don't care for job in the army.
 * *
 New potatoes are selling for s6 bushel in Illinois Presumably the people there abouts use them as ornaments
 
 Whether peace is in sight or not, the movements of Ambassador Gerard are being closely watched.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
LID SLAMMED DOWN

From the Mobile Register.
 Despite the efforts of reformers, New cities in America where 8 thirst can be assuaged with neatness and dispatch on Sunday.-Birmingha Age-Herald Not last Sunday
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
vAsTNEss OF WARS MECHANISM


 vASTNESS OF WARS MECHANISM From American Review of Reviews.
 So titanic has the struggle become in its plans for the immediate future, that all the participating nations bid fair to destroy themselves. England is try ing to overthrow Germany by starving millions of women and children through the operation of a so-called ''blockadev that defies the rules and principles of international law, and by restrictions upon the commerce of neutrals that are equally without color of legality. Ger many, driven from the surface of the sea, has in retaliation invented a kind of submarine warfare that, if persisted in, must soon grow too serious for sneers and cavils For a good while it was de- | clared in England that the percentage of merchant shipping sunk by submarines was too small to make any appreciable difference in the number of ships en- tering and clearing from British ports and in the volume of trade. But the ac- tual percentage of loss of British ma rine tonnage through submarine cruiser warfare is no measure of the effect ot that method upon conditions of life in the great island Kingdom. Perhaps more new tonnage has been built and launched than the amount that has been destroyed It is one thing. however. to have lived somehow through the past two years, but i very different thing to look forward te an indefinite continuance of the war with the certainty that hundreds of mer- chant ships are yet to be sunk. with the possibility of a real food crisis in Great Britain not later than next year
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
HOTEL LOBBIEs
pr. stuart Eniorsa Aahrss.

That was fine address that Judge William H. Wadhams delivered Thursday at the 'Hillman at the luncheon given in his honor" said Dr. George R. Stuart.
 The subject Is a big one and requires much thought and ability to cope with" Judge Wadhams demonstrated clearly in his fine mastery of the subject that he had given much study to it. have all ways been greatly interested In prison re- form work and I have always believed in the scientific treatment of prisoners. Most of them are mentally delinquent; some thing vital is wrong with them; all crime comes from a tortured mentality and the segregation of prisoners is to my mind one of the most important steps of prison reform work. Judge Wadhams' visit to Birmingham was distinctive and he made fine impression"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
GOING TOO FAR

From the Philadelphia Inquirer.
 Berlin Faces Beer Famine."-H cad line.
 war is, indeed, in sight. Those Ger mans may forget their hunger in their love for the Fatherland," but it is en- tirely too much to ask them to forget their thirst, too.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
Thinks Rotogravure section Fine

Tn my opinion the Rotogravure sec
 tion of The Age-Herald is one of the fiji. est departments of the paper, and it meant to young lady to have her picture appear in it." said C. w. Waldo
 "One of the prettiest of the girls at Love- man, Joseph & Loeb's was pictured in the Rotogravure last Sunday, and since then she has had several proposals One young man sent her word that he was very much smitten with her picture and would like to meet her. At this rate, if many of our girls were pictured in the Rotogravure they'd all get married and leave us without anybody"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26

Thou art in my thought the wings of the mother bird. Thou coverest me in the dark from a thousand harms. I walk unseeing by pitfalls. and Thou holdest my feet. Thou stayest the arrows of the enemy. Thou biddest the storms lie down snd the floods go back.--H. M. E.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
I.ED AsrRAY

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Some of those captured ships show the evil effects of getting into bad company. They are now raiders them
 selves.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
A QUESTION

Esthetic souls are often met. Who're heard expressing deep regret Because men think of sordd things And snicker when poet sings They'd have this old world sweet and fair, With culture ruling everywhere; On lofty things they'd concentrate Achieve a high ecstatic state; The crass and crude, the commonplace Would banish and forthwith erase From vulgar minds the thought that art In daily duties has no part. A noble aim-the prospect thrills, But who would sweat to pay the bills?
 LEARNING TO FIGHT
 I'll say this much for Mrs. Dibble."
 "Wen?"
 "She used to be a timid little creature, but she has acquired a great deal of self reliance since she joined the housewives boycott
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
DIDN'T TAKE MUCH

DIDN'T TAKE MUCH The federal government put out of business certain manufacturer of sooth- ing syrup on the ground that it was poisonous. Why, was brought up on that stuff"
 Indeed? And you lived to tell the taleT'
 "Yes, but I'll have to acknowledge that about half the original bottle is still in the family medicine chest"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
DEMANDS sTRATEGY

"You have had some experience with prohibition in this town?'
 "oh, yes," answered MT. Jagsby.
 What is your opinion of prohibition?" Tt makes a fellow think"
 How is that?"
 whereas in the old days a man dropped into a saloon automatically. nowadays when he wants drink he has to lay his plans well in advance and exercise con siderable ingenuity
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
USEFUL ANIMAL

USEFUL ANIMAL We should not chide the Iowly skunk, Who creates quite a stir; For when his pelt is duly shrunk It makes expensive fur.
 Birmingham Age-Herald. We would not chide the lowiy skunk At any time or season; From such a task we've always shrunk Because we have a reason.
 Youngstown Telegram.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-26
A TRIFLH PREVIOUS

Y had an idea I'd grow up and own this business some day." said the dis charged office boy.
 That's just why you were fred" said the boss. "Ever since you started to work here you've been acting as if you already owned the business.
 PAUL COOK.