davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
A MID- VICTORIAN WANDEREsR

From the Cincinnati Times-Star.
 XXX HE suppose we missed it in the
 WV avalanche of news of interna-
 tional importance with which the past few weeks have been filled. Until we encountered his photograph in an English weekly of January 27 we sup posed him still devoting his twilight years to reviving in charming way the mid-Victorian novel. The news came as something of a personal shock, for no one has ever read the better nov els of William de Morgan without regard ing him as a genial friend, a bit loqua- cious according to modern standards. but a teller of finely human tales in finely sympathetic way.
 William de Morgans was strange ca reer, one of arrested literary develop ment, you might say. He was the son of great mathematician, whose biog- raphy fills wour columns of the compactly printed Encyclopedia Britannica. Os a young man de Morgan won distinction by his experiments in imparting lustre to pottery. The de Morgan tiles later be- came famous and eventually caused the door of the Chelsea set"-Morris, Ros- setti, Brown and Burne-Jones-to be opened to him. But it was reserved to de
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
ONE oF LIFE,s oRpEALs
om the Cincinnati Times-star.

From the Cincinnati Times-Star.
 There are some things in this world that do not bear analysis. When we pause to consider why we perform this act or submit to that ordeal, the answer is a kind of mental silence or remon- strant. "Nevermore." And then we go ahead and perform the same act or sub init to the same ordeal.
 For instance, why was a photograph ever taken of banquet? Every such pho- tograph has looked about the same as all established when the second was taken. A crowd of men in dress suits, or gath ering of men and women in evening at taire sit looking up at the camera. The expression on their faces is about as ani- mated as the oysters that invariably He expectant of their fate before the diners. In fact, no simple-faced child ever searched as namely for "the little bird' as the photographed diner sits in awe of the lightning and thunder of the ca- mera-man's flash-bagR
 Of course. the f1ash-light photograph of formal dinner may have It's uses in the home. It should prove as enjoyable as a puzzle-picture to the young child who sets out to find "papa" among the ser ried monotony of up-turned faces and dress suits. If the prices of food go up any more. it may become pleasant re- hinder that once upon time we had a square meal. But it is silly ordeal for the diner, just the same However, we suppose that we shall continue to be pho- tographed as we dine on state occasions. and if anybody Is in the way we prob ably shall tilt our head bit so as to get into the picture.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
CATO'S SOILILOQUY

Here will I hold. If there's Power
 above us- And that there Is. all Nature cries aloud Through all her works-He must de-
 light in virtue: And that which He delights in must be
 happy. But when? or where? his world was made
 for Caesar. I'm weary of conjectures-this must end
 them all.
 Laying his hand on his sword) Thus am doubly armed. My death and
 life. My bane and antidote. are both before
 me. This In a moment brings me to an end: But this informs me shall never de. The soul, secure in her existence. smiles At the drawn dagger, and defiles its
 point. The stars shall fade away. the sun him
 self Grow dim with age and Nature sink in
 years; But thou shalt flourish in immortal
 youth Unhurt amid tho war of elements, The wreck of matter. and the crush of worlds.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
LUKE M'LUKE SAYS

It doesn't take a gabby man long to tell all he knows. That's why he starts in and repeats all he hears.
 Why is 1t that girl who can't get her own brother to walk across g. room for her can get some other girls brother to run a mile for her?
 Every married man is a hero-if you will let him tell it. Every married man Is also & hunk of cheese-if you will let his wife tell it. Everything is going up. Even the waist line in the new spring gowns will be higher.
 A man speculates because he believes that the other fellows will draw the | blanks.
 The reason why pretty girl knows 1 that you are in love with her Is because she knows of no reason why you | shouldn't be.
 Why couldn't nature have fixed things SO that homeliness would fade and SC that beauty would stay put? man will raise more Cain over one lost collar button than he will over a dozen lost opportunities. { Everything comes to him who waits-ii | he is willing to take the leavings that have been picked over and discarded by l the hustlerS.
 A Kansas prohibitionist announces tha,
 he would rather drink red ink than drink
 beer. So that's the stuff the blind tigeri
 sell in the 6unflower state. is it? What has become of tho oid-fashionet
 man who always slept in his underwear
 and who believed that any man wht wore a night shirt was dude:
 Just because her hips are that way i, no sign that a woman is broad-minded Mothers idea of being firm with tn, children is to bawl father out becaus, the children are mean.
 Some men remind you of mules. Al they care for is hard work, and the,
 haven't any uss for affection.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
A QUEEN IN CAPTIVITY


 From the Pittsburg dispatch.
 The police in large cities have many things to give an account of, but have an indulgent public to deal with, which explains how and why they get away with so much so easily. But when rude. even crude, western coppers interfere with the developmnt of art and the evo- lution of queens of the movies they are going a step too far. That Is what the police have done in St. Louis. They are holding in detention a movie queen, aged H. en route from point in farthest Oklahoma to New York, where she ex- pected to make the big electric lights flicker in amazement when she landed. This budding queen of the movies has four times broken away from Oklahoma in two months. and four times has she been led back, captive, but not defeated.
 When a girl who is Il years old is de- scribed by experienced reporters as look Ing like girl of and talking like one of 20 the St. Louis police seem to have interfered with one of those stupendous developments in art which makes the giddy old world sway and feel seasick. Putting routine police power to use as a check upon an artistic phenomenon Is an interpretation of that authority which gives it harder strain than 1t has had in ages Ruth I1ewis--the infant artise's name-has two good reasons. unanswer- able reasons to her. why she couldn't fail as a queen of the movies. First, she is girl. and Mary Pickford succeeded as a girl. If Mary Pickford could suc- ceed as girl why can't Ruth Lewis of Hugo, Okla? The second reason is that movie queens need to sing. dance and act, and she can act. sing and dance. Ruth frankly admitted that there was no lover in her case. and no poor home to flee from-just a craving for the movie throne. Her home is fine and her mother
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
COARSE WORK IN WALL STREET

From the New York World.
 The Chicago brokers who paid 8 Wash ington correspondent the muniffcent sum of $25 a month to reveal governmental secrets also complain bitterly of a leak. When they received the tip on the Pres ident's peace note they communicated Ii at once in confidence to Wall street firm which 1t was thought would appre- ciate the favor. With unexampled gene rosity the New Workers immediately re- peated the message to many private wire houses. to the chagrin of the Chicago brethren.
 T send confidential message and you put it on the wire." hotly telegraphed ono of them: ''who is responsible for this kind of work?" Then. little later, the electricity carried to Wall street these pregnant words:
 I can't understand how anyone could violate confidential messages. Simply precludes my sending anything In future and kills the source of information. We have man in Washington who gets the news. It is up to you to sift this thing down, as we will never get any more dope from him, fear.
 Coarse work, indeed. Chicago re- proach New York for leaking leak and letting everybody in on a sure thing Chicago, buying leaks at $25 a month stands aghast at the depravity of New York, which has no respect for sacred condolences.
 The leak that leaked between Chicago and New York seems to be the explana- ton of the peace note leak and of many other leaks that probably preceded 1t.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
ALABAMA oNE-cRoP coUNTR,

ALABAMA ONE-CROP COUNTRY
 It was, until Mrs. Mathis took hold of the farmers. Now there is another story to be told. In the February American Magazine a writer says:
 Tn sizing up the situation Mrs. Mathis soon uncovered one thing that was radi- cally wrong with Alabama. It was a
 one-crop' country. Everybody seemed to think it would he sacrilege to raise any crop other than cotton. So straight way she became an evangelist of agri- cultural diffusion.
 "This one-crop idea is all nonsense she preached at public meetings-for she had become, by this time representa- tive both of the state department of ag- riculture and tho State Bankers associa- ton. We can raise anything on the face of the earth that will grow in the tenn perate zone. Here we send to Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City for our meat, for which we pay from 12 to 30 cents a pound. and we can raise the same meats at home for from to 5 cents pound. Then we send out west and buy hay at s15 to s0s q ton. when we can raise that hay ourselves for $.6o ton. Why, we Alabama folks can do more fool stunts to
 the square inch than any people in Amer Iica, We work ourselves to death to keen from growing hay. We kill the
 grass to grow the cotton to buy the uras and thus we ride round Poverty Post on a merry -go-round To think oi | our buying corn, when right here ir 1 Alabama we have set the worlds record for growing corn.-2s21z bushels to ths ] acrel Why, if you folks don't wake up
 you'll sleep yourselves to deatn
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
uDeer Stufrv

Walt Blackmans clever cartoon in Mondays Age-Herald depicting the fu- tile efforts of a fish to salvage a can of meat in wreck at the bottom of the sea somehow got me to thinking about the numerous treasures that the dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear.'" remarked o. D. Wilson, a well known Birmingham man.
 At the rate large liners and mer- chant vessels are now being sunk or scuttled during these days of unre- stricted submarine warfare, the bottom of the sea along steamer routes will be fairly filtered with hulks in a com instances there should be rich salvage.
 But little work of this nature can hardly be accomplished until after the close of hostilities. for with submarine and other hostile craft in proximity wrecking outfits and crews cannot work with any assurance of being un- disturbed for any length of time. Great numbers of large vessels will have gone to the bottom in water altogether too deep for salvage work of any kind but no doubt many of them can be reached with improved submarines and diving devices.
 "The shade of Jules Verne would certainly have an interesting voyage about this time If he should attempt to enact the voyage chronicled in that marvellous and realistic work of fic- tion entitled, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea-"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13

The German Hymn of Hate" wal played by the band of the coldstrean Guards in London while large crowt of Britons stood around and chuckled Evidently the Britons are bearing uI well, despite the horrors of war. A
 If the birth control advocates knew how quickly their campaign literature wa: consigned to the waste basket by south ern editors they probably wouldn't send SO much of 1t to this part of the country. A Rumanian general has been sentenced to five years penal servitude and degra- dation because he lost battle. However, he is not the only Rumanian general who has lost battle in the present war.
 q
 The former cook on the Housatonic en- listed in the United States navy with fire in his eye. If he ever gets a chance to hurl cooking utensil at German he's going to do it.
 It really doesn't matter whether the Germans like President Wilson or not. The people of the United States are be- hind him and "hyphenism' is thing of the past.
 1, r+r sg soI. raging in Europe ever since the more sanguinary struggle began, the English and French artists seem to have come off victorious.
 The champion heavyweight pugilist of the Isthmus of Panama has won another victory. The champions fame and pres tige are confined to somewhat narrow limits.
 A current magazine tells how to make a diving helmet out of kitchen boiler. Work like that calls for the services of 8 new type of kitchen mechanic"
 
 The new Austrian ambassador is still wondering whether he will continue to dwell within view of the Washington or hasten back home.
 
 Ambassador Gerard has no criticism to make of the newspaper correspondents in Europe. but he n't'taking any chance of being misquoted.
 In case it becomes impossible to feed the Belgian babies, there are any num- Der of ''baby farms' in Chicago that need attention.
 The Crown Prince has failed to crack the verdun nut" He may yet win fame by going to sea in a submarine. Ambassador Gerard Is being boomed for mayor of New York. You can't keep a good man down.
 x
 It begins to look as if the Deutschland's arrival has been postponed for a year or two, at last
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
HE SAID MUCH

New York Correspondence Pittsburg Dis-
 patch.
 Two colored porters stopped on the via- duct at One Hundred and Thirty-fifth street yesterday afternoon looking down at the four German steamships tied up at the piers below. Well" said one there they be. Why the United States don't sink them ships don't know. Oh, boy, but our navy Is weak!' Sam said his companion. soberiy. you said a whole mouthful."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
QUITE LIKELY
chaffield Standard

From the Sheffield Standard,
 An Arizona man cleaned his trousers with gasoline, put them back on and struck a match on his leg. He is sadder and wiser now. also badly burned.-Age- Herald. And. no doubt, taking his meals from the mantle board.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
THE INFORMING MOVIES.

THE INFORMING MOVIES.
 Are there any educational films at the picture theatres today?'' asked the stu dious looking person.
 Depends on how you want to be edu- cated," replied the movie fan. we have films on exhibition at the local photopIay house showing how blackmailers take ad- vantage of the Mann act the way 'vam- pires break up happy homes, the cor rupting influence of cabarets and the req sons why police captains in large cities are able to retire after few years of service with large fortunes"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
cA1ulEznMd@an1fI
UNUSUAL CASE

From the Enterprise Peoples Ledger.
 The Birmingham Age-Herald goes on to say that certain vampire movie star experiences her greatest daredevil in- spirauons while submerged in a bathtub. This is new one. We have often known of cases where liquid libation brought a dare-deviltry to the surface.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13

Morgan to win greater fame in another field. When he was 66 years old Joseph Vance" appeared The reviewers did not know at first how to take it. The London Times regarded 1t as "too long, but not wearisome." But it did not take the pub lie long to penetrate the veil of modified appreciation. It adopted Joseph Vance" as its own. It followed the labyrinthine story, with its Victorian sentiment and it's Victorian asides, with an enthusiasm that must have shocked novelists who were carrying forward the banners of the realist and naturalist schools. '.Alice for Short" equally charming, followed. In his later novels, however, it seemed even to de Morgan's admirers that he was spinning his story too finely, that the manner with which he had charmed was becoming a bit too discursive.
 If one were to choose two English novels of the first decade of the century which should be given a place in the ai- cove of permanent fiction, perhaps he would accord the honor to Joseph Vance" and "Old Wives Tale" It seems remarkable that half of the contribution should be the experimental novel of one who had reached the age when most men are pondering a past career instead of venturing forth upon new one.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
A MILD CRITICISM.

Come, sing a song of gasoline
 And hear the engine hum breath of air, a change of scene Keep one from feenns i.ia.f. What though a puncture now and then May harass and annoy? The motor cars a boon to men . That brings exceeding joy. And yet. if people walked lot. Instead of using "flivvers," We rather think that they would not Be cursed with sluggish flyers.
 NO OFFERS ''Daubson's studio walls are covered with priceless paintings. all done by him. self"
 Surely, they are not priceless?" Well. nobody has ever put price on them yet''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13

BEGINNING THE DAY--I read that God bIots out my sin, so that the record is lost. | read that RIG puts away mine iniquities, that ne makes them as If they had not been. He forgfves and destroys the tnine that made forgiveness necessary. my God, I come to Thee In giadness past words for Thou makest me clean, Amen.-H. M. E.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
Californian IEnverats
 Ome-Mara Submarine

RAT MTON J. TRUMBLE of Los GV4 Angeles, Cal, has invented a one-nan submarine. The craft weighs two tons, is twenty-five feet long, seven feet six inches deep and twenty eight inches wide at it's widest point. The ends are needle-pointed. A motor of no horse power drives the vessel tbrough the water at speed of thirtv-five miles an hour. It will carry two torpedoes.
 The submarine may be submerged bv displacement, but in ordinary cir cumstances the operator may send It beneath the surface by three-blade propeller, connected with the keel. It is claimed that the vessel is as easy to manage as motorboat. This state- ment will not, however, impress fa- vorably people who have had some ex- perience with cranky motorboats.
 The inventor of the one-man sub-- marine is negotiating with the United States government to take over his patent. Naval men are said to be in- terested in the tests of the new device, but the disadvantages of one-man submarine are so obvious that it will hardly become useful in naval war fare. In coast defense it might con- ceivably be of some service, in lim- tied way, but the tendency nowadays is toward larger and more powerful submarines.
 If Germany had not built subma- rines able to make long trips and stay away from their base for days and even weeks, if necessary, she could not have been so successful in sink ing allied ships. The sea-going sub marine has proved it's worth in the present war, in sharp contrast to Zep- pelins, which have been a failure.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
Railroads in War

"The movement of troops and muni- tions Is one of the greatest problems that confronts the directors Of armies in the war;" said Frank L. Jenkins' division passenger agent of the South- ern railway in Birmingham. Despite this fact, 1t is somewhat unusual that the military academy at West Point devotes virtually no time to training the men in this matter.
 "of course, they are given some un- derstanding of how to lay rails, but this is largely an engineering Ques- ton. It would be wise move. be- lieve, if the future generals were taught more about railroading."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
HOTEL. LOBBIES
rhoae .F1irrer,, snbmnrinen


 Henry Ford Is in the limelight again, said Walton Ford, who incidentally IS not related to the famous Detroit citizen. "The inventor of the wonderful little hucking runabouts Is known to every per son in the United States, for before he embarked into the peace project he was a national figure as a business man. But perhaps Henry thought that he was no longer in the public eye.
 "The other day he. discussing the dreaded submarines, stated that he could build 1000 boats day at his plants after the parts of the subsea boats were stand ardized
 While this put Henry on the front pages of the papers, 1t has caused con siderable discussion among the naval ex- perts, who state that such would be ut terly impossible. But, granting his an- nouncement to be true, the naval expert press the query where would they ever get crews to man them.
 At present, 1t requires two years 10 train submarine crew. And inasmucn as MT. Ford has refused to state whether his submarines will be as easy to run as an automobile, it is assumed that man. ming the submarines would be some little task"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13

bakes the incest cakes and huckleberry blood of queen of the movies in her veins can't keep her soul tied down to good home. fine cakes and unbeatable huckleberry pies, can she? Ruth candidly says she wants to get somewhere, and cant so long as she's shackled to Hugo. Okla. What do police know about art?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
QUICK WORK.

"A fat gentleman of my acquaintance had his pockets picked yesterday and lost large roll of bills"
 How did that happen?'
 "A shifty stranger pretended that he was trying to get around him and as
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
lPlaciag Gums On
 Annericam Ships

kAA1uS>A AS>ssA1 eSAaAlfS
 NNTHILE the United States govern WV ment will not officially sanc- tion the placing of guns on American liners, nor will it furnish them with such means of defense, the owners of ships may arm their vessels at their discretion.
 Since guns are worse than useless without trained men to operate them, and it is doubtful whether or not the government could furnish gunners if it desired to do so, the steamship companies are still in a quandary. Several freight steamers have cleared from New York without any arma- ment and will try to dodge the Ger man submarines.
 Experience has shown that one or more guns mounted on the deck of a steamer give ample protection from submarine attacks, provided careful watch is kept and the gunners under stand their business. A submarine is no match for ship armed with sim gle gun. In fact, it is so vulnerable to attack that the captain of sub mersible is chary of poking the nose of his craft above water. Even the telltale ripples caused by his peri scope may prove his speedy undoing. It requires but one shot well directed to send . submarine to the bottom.
 The gunner on a steamer has far better chance to hit his mark than one aboard submarine, even though they \ may be equally good shots. A subma- rine rolls so muclf that it is difficult to aim gun, while the comparatively stable deck of steamer, and it's ad- 6ltioual height above the surface of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
Must Adiust After War

"At the present time there Is very little new development in coal in Ala bama," said c. H. Nesbitt. chief state mine inspector. "The materials that are involved in development work can- not be obtained at moderate prices and quick delivery cannot be guaranteed.
 "However, if the coal operators were guaranteed a steady market at the present prices. I believe that there would be great activity among the men owning coal properties in Ala bama. To my mind, the greatest prob- lem that will confront America in an economic sense will be the adjustment that must follow the close of the Eu- ropean war"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-13
Crackers Sure Winners

''The University of Georgia has, in my opinion, cinched the southern basketball championship by it's string Of victories on the last trip" said Coach E. A. Pritcn- ard of Central High school. 'The Geor- gia five has already defeated the AL lanta Athletic club five once, and they have won twice over the Birmingham Athletic club quintet.
 "On Friday night, Georglans easily de- feated Vanderbilt university. On Sat urday night they were victorious over the Nashville Ramblers by the score or 2s to 2. Even should they meet defeat at the hands of Atlanta in the return engagement, their claims would be suf- ficient to get the title.
 Georgia has a wonderful individuai team and is a hard one for the opposition to trounce. Coach Cunningham and his boys are a fine bunch of fellows. and I'm glad to see them cop the scuth's highest honors.'