davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26

WHILE we're dabblng in ancient his
tory, and there's so much talk of war
let's ask grandpa what gang he belonged
to when those widely advertised ciga-
rettes were being smoked The Schuyl-
kill Rangers, for instance, held that sector
bounded by Spruce and South streets and
Twenty-third street and the river, with
the SINNERS, "A subclan, holding Twenty
third and Pine. The Strapholders CEN
tered at Twenty-fifth and Spruce, the
Pollywogs Twenty-fourth and Locust, the
Ramblers Twenty-fourtn and Walnut, the
Badgers on Market from Twentieth to
the bridge, tho Blue Pigs Twenty.first
and Vine and the Eagles in West Phila-
delphia. There was no No Mans Land
but stone fights were likely to bloom on
any street on slight provocation. Grand
pa was tough old guy!
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
ANTON LANG IN ];
THE TRENCHEs
He Was Found Working in obe,..
mergau Last Year After Munich R.'
ports of His Death in BATH. 4

TTNHE report that Anton LAM ~.
l. Christus of oberammergau, is frb,,s
in the German armies is again in c,r...,S
ton. 1t first appeared in 1918 49,
October of that year 1t was anno,
that he had been killed in batt,e 80
serving a machine gun. Some Ar,..,-".
newspapers printed graphic accopr,. b.
the action in which he was killed and "
transformation Of the kindly exnrs.-,
of his face into one of murdero,. -
for the French.
Early in 1916, d. Thomas Curtin -.
was in Germany to study war cora,.,'
made inquiries about the fate of rssS'|
In Berlin little was known of hin, ~
Munich he was told that there mich. q
a mistake in the report that Iara NJ
been killed. Curtin went on 70 oh.u.
mergau. AS he passed the village chr..s3
yard he went in to find the grave OF M
dead actor of the Passion Play" 4, 49,
chance it might be there He forns
stone with the names of Hans ana M,
ard Lang. He continued his WALL t,u ~.
reached the Pension Daheim, tho h.. =
of Lang. AS he entered the door ba s...
q man at work at his potter's wbee, !.
was the famous Anton. He had not ~
out of the village since the war bov.
Curtin lived in the house while bo -,
mained in the village and talked ,,,.L
Frau Lang. She showed him the Ar.s,
can papers containing the accounts ~ u
husbands fighting and his murdsro,,.
look as he attacked a Frencbman ,,,s
a knife two feet long.
American newspapers tell s,or,..
which are not all true, don't thev9p ~.
asked.
Curtin admitted that we had sensa,,oro,
newspapers which were not overnar,,,,.
lar about their statements. It transn,ras
during the conversation that Lang h,,~
self had read in. Munich paper tho u
port of his death in battle. The Am.r,.
can correspondents had evidently road !,
also and sent it to their papers. 4
AS matter of fact. Lang bas 49,.
had day of military training in his NJ.
lie is at present fifty-three years old ana
unless it has become necessary for A..
Government to call to the colors men "a,
beyond the customary military age be !,
no longer liable to service
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
Answers to Yesterdays Quiz

1. About $4,000 airplanes are provided for in
the new United States air fleet. =
Z. Van yollenhoyen. director Of the Neither.
commission which will come to America
70 represent Dutch interests in cOnnee-
tion with American exports.
3. Maurice Renaud q famous French operate
baritone. left the stage to serve in the
army, after having refused to do mil.
itary service when young man. ~
4. Quota" in the case Of the. military draft,
means half the number of men who Will
each district.
3. George Wharton Pepper. of Philadelphia, 4
chairman or the National COMMITTEES OF
Patriotic and Defense Societies.
@. "Timeo Danaos ct dona ferentes' means.
u fear the Greeks. even when they bring
Z. Ma ior General Thomas III. Barry. u. 8. A.,
is slated to succeed Major General Huga
L. Scott. u. $. A.. as Chief OF stan ek
the army upon the retirement OF tine
latter.
there is prediction Of a great war in
which England will be involved.
0. a "protean artist, is Q stage performef
who assumes various disguises during one
''act." The Origin Of the expression 70
In Homer. Pr0teus being mentioned as
creature able to assume many Shapes o.
animals.
10. The Russian national anthem forms the
musical basis Of 'Hail. Pennsyyania;
one of the University of Pennsylvana's
songs. f
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
"YOU SHALL NOT HOBBLE ME-"

INHERE are men who in their prayers
l. nightly thank God that the President
OF the United States can identify insin.
cerity when he looks it I'm the face and
seldom has difficulty in tearing the sham
from the craftsmanship which masque.
rades as patriotism, although in fact play.
ing petty politics.
Uncle Sam has n mans Job on his
hands. He needs free use Of the limbs
Providence has given him. He cannot
win this fight with his hands tied or his
feet hobbled Not without risking ruin
can he keep notebook and run to Papa
Congress whenever he wants to spend u
nickel. He cannot battle with confidence
II suspicion runs riot at home and no man
is to be trusted with the expenditure Of
coin until a congressional auditing COM
mittee has had its say. The Senate knows
this and so does the President. But the
Senate nevertheless proposes to run the
war on the decentralization theory. The
President, on the contrary, is responsible
for the conduct OF the war, i'm the last
analysis, and he does not intend to be
hogtied before he begins. So he speaks
right out and tells the truth. Section %
would, if enacted into law, render my
task Of conducting the war practically
impossible" And he cites the experience
of Lincoln to prove that he knows what
he is talking about.
The insistence Of the Senate on what
1t considers its tme-honored privileges
translates itself too often into a mere
meddling policy, certain to impair eff.
cheney and halt progress, and unlikely in
the extreme to be of any service to the
nation. The Upper Chamber would have
driven from Washington the business
men of talent who are giving their serv-
ices so freely and periodically to the
nation. 1t strives now to prevent food
instead of one.man control. 1t has a
mania for sdestepping and winding red
tape about every instrument of admins
tration. 1t seeks TO take part in execu.
tive functions and in muddling along
these lines spends weeks in passing legis-
days.
The nation Is virtually unanimous in
support of the President. 1t will stand
shoulder to shoulder with him in his de-
mand that he be left unhobbled in this
crisis. The House must put it's foot on
this particular formula and unequivocally
demand that the Senate recede from its
program to supervise war expenditures
through a congressional committee
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
THE MARKETS STABILIZED

A MERICAN markets experienced bull
"A and bear movements in rapid alter
nation for nearly three years. vague
report would arrive that England was
'badIy In need OF copper. and then copper
would Jump up. Then II would be
armed that England had enough copper
"a the price would drop again. And
y On through interminable ramifications.
: NJ this happy time for sharp young
ksrs who knew how to use 'rumors"
1ne. stocks that go up now have
q 50 up. and that reason has
( - With "psacs soon" or -pro-
~ no<jopG. America's entrance
s1es Z q :. st.el!Iss e y.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
hot AIR"

THERE are references in the press oc-
l. casionally TO "hot air" in the Senate.
The indictment Is general, but there are
specific instances which prove the accu-
racy of the situation complained of. We
quote from the Congressional Record the
leading humorous periodical Of the coun.
try If read in the right spirit:
Mr.. Stone: Mr. President in what I
have TO say have no thought OF saying
anything that will especially contribute
to the pleasure still less to the enlight-
eminent of the Senate, but what have to
say wish to say because 1 desire on my
own account to have 1t constitute a part
of the Record.
There are other Senators as competent
as Mr.. Stone to say nothing in the max
imum number of words. They prove II
repeatedly.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
THE ENIGMATIC ENGLIsuMAN

IS a DIT difficult for Americans 70 ~,
uerstand the characteristics of the pn,.,,ah IN
man VINO Is unwilling to talk about iish' snhsnsI
1n JI Whicn ne Is an expert, ACCORDING to Io
nay IN The Oppressed English" his w ,u,i'a IAN
Irisbman 'e study OF the Englishman. the
irishmah and the American. 'i'e
The American, like the Atbenian 80 "a
ne says is forever seeking for SOM ~ oiu,
ts uh,ns' And when he encounters that new new
.hihs, nothing can prevent him yatttr new
.he roots or 1t. Consequently. wha.s 70
american finds himself in the conona em an
man VINO Possesses certain special st,,,, OF
khowiedge' 1t seems right and nat,rai ii %, OF
nun 10 draw that man out upon his ior
subject But when dealing with an E s own
man ne usually draws blank Ha is ish. .
el.her ~ py a cold stare or a smilnn a,,a 20 met
Inc man may be a distinguished stata' sion'
or soldier, or writer; but to Judge fs,i'an fro ~.
responses-half awkward. half bumoron MS
70 your shrewdest and most searchins US
ries on the subject Of politics. or NE que-
letters, you will be left with the imr@ra. @ or
that you have been conversine wifi essoh @
pant and rather superficial amateur mp
american who is accustomed 10 a.. q an
prayers 70 the gods Of knowledge anS ~ ms
nciency, and who. to do. him iustIcs VI
wefs wiuina r. share Mowledre viz = y ~
@[4s HU/X DHmu11n 1rc1n .,lr ~ ~ XI<|e
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
KOSSUTH IN PHILADELPHIA

DECENT demonstrations at Independents 4
1GHall followed precedents that 60 far
back into Philadelphia's past. The recep.
ton of Louis Kossuth centered about the
old State House In the last days OF De-.
cember, 1851. The building was decorated
with the flags of Hungary, Turkey ana
the United States 1t is odd that turkey
should ever have been praised at the Shrine
of Liberty, and 1t was indeed only super
ficialy that the Porte had aided the great
Hungarian patriot. When he fled from
Hungary after his revolution of 1s4S he
took refuge in Turkey. The Sultan was
at one time on the point of delivering up
Kossuth to the Vienna authorities and only
the influence Of England and France saved
him from this fate.
Kossuth arrived In Philadelphia on the
day before Christmas. He was escorted
from his lodgings by the City Troop to lnde-
pendence Hall. He was in a barouchs
drawn by six horses. The military pro.
cession was remarkably large. So great
an impression had the liberty-loving Hun
garan's career made that all parts OF tno
State sent delegates. There were twenty
companies from nearby counties. any
twenty-six companies of the First DIVISION
under Major General Patterson-quite a.
army, which the patriot reviewed In.I
existence of so many military organizauons
is explained by the fact that this W.,
shortly after the Mexican War, before "a
martial spirit had died out.
Mayor Gilpin addressed the visitor at "
State House and then Kossuth spoke frot'
platform In Independence Square. eus'
rious phase of the reception. Of particuinI
interest at this time, was the participatios
of many Germans-radicals who had ~
from their Fatherland after the revolutlo3
of 1848. They were denouncing the Pru-'
sian tyranny at Berlin as we'll as the Haps
burg tyranny at Vienna, and they sang w
Star Spangled Banner" in German In hono.
of Kossuth and Nth the hope OF IT,
Germany and free Hungary In the'.
hearts. On the night of the 26th there W.
a great banquet in honor of Kossuth =
Musical Fund Hall. Guests leaving ~
building heard an alarm of fire and saw. "
sky lit up over Independence Hall. Tns<
thought tho building was on fire and II p
a narrow escape indeed. The fire was
the northeast corner Of Sixth and Chestn
streets and was a big one, but luckily
wind was not from the northwest.
That FIRE may have been an omsn
superstitlous folk. Not without so<no
pay!ns for y vas 3meTiee e
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
ALEXANDRA VOICES

The shirer of ledUeS on Alhdmbrd: faint
music that fails
Through the fountains the pale moon Is
haunting; night cynl 1lS and calls
Unto r1llying ghosts dolUn the tlCihght of
gardens and halls.
ont along the steep rampdrts there Is
fire upon cactus and thorn
As the sun Ike some red tam mbourine the
mad autumn has borne
Seems Sndtched from reUelry ended lrith
gesture of Scorn.
And tdtter Of sarcenet and samite In
the thornS on the breeze
Sho'o 'oherc sultan and caliph lcent forth
unto fortunes DEGREES,
with their shields and their banners and
Wters, The pageant of these,
Whilst behind the blood-tinSelcd horizon
the conQWstddors.
with plumdge and pearls In high galleys
Of cloud, unto tcors
And to farther ddrentre 90 forth upon
lOnclier shores.
Bells! Bells OF the nighttaH responding
from hospicc and spirc
OF clOiStcrs of Carmel, of cnnons en-
Hroned IN their choir
tut the stones Of Alhambra are stirred
as the strings of lyre!
Then hush on the plain; the trystino n,
acind and Of star
Through the midnight of hearcn or tho
song Of some l0per dtar-
The shrtH Woe is met" and the strum OF
gipsy guitdri
THOM1& W1ISH
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26

WE HAD an argument with another
graybeard the other day over the color
of the one.horse Tor bobtaiD car which
used to run west on Spring Garden street
to Twenty-third when General Grants last
illness at Mount McGregor was the big
news in the papers. The other old codger
declares the car was painted yellow all
over, while we contend that 1t was red
with plaid dasher. We have particular
reason to remember that dasher 1t was
our delight after depositng our four
cents in the box 1--WE were always small
for our age) to retire to the black plat.
form and squat on the wooden rail atop
of the dasher. One day something
scared the horse and we lost our balance
but only partially. We clung with
hands and knees hooked over the rail
and with the bosom Of our seersucker
trousers violently renewing acquaintance
with the dasher at each jump of the
startled horse. We never took things
seriously In those days, and we laughed
so hard as we hung there that we couldn't
right ourself and finally dropped off into
the street. The dashcr, we repeat, was
plaid of a purplish cast.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
A SOCIALIST WHO BELIEVES IN
AMERICANISM

To the Editor OF the Epening Ledger.
Sir-No riots attended the day of regis
tration, and Americans. by appearing an
proved the plan. They are also satisfied
by the way in which their numbers were
drawn.
Servitude means bondage, and eyerv
American feels he Is in bondage by choice
to the American principles of government
and that he must maintain these princinlas
through the world. 1t is the same kind of
bondage man feels toward the wife he
Like liberty, It has been defined In as manv
ways as there are different speaking tongues
throughout the world It's confusing, 81
! prefer the word Americanisn. Under.
standing the American temperament, nm.
derstand the temperament OF washington.
1orGkood hv. any k1norfGnh sI9ors = -, - 4
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
HOW AMERICA
HONORS HEROES
There Never Was Much Fuss"
Made About Our Medals, but
There Is Now Quite an
Array of Them

LNRoM the times OF the Crusades,
l. emblems in honor of personal bravery
have been the rewards of fighting men.
And customs, 80 changeable In most
matters, change little In this regard. Tho
soldier urged on to victory by the blazing
eyes of the Lion Heart slew his Saracen
and gained his cross. The modern Brlton
slays his Boche, and, perhaps, gets his
Victoria cross. The modern Teuton sinks
liner--and, almost certainly, gets his
iron cross
Not so much fuss is made about mill
tary decorations in the United States.
Yet we have quite an array of them, COW
ering many branches of the service. In
the not distant future these medals will
need scanning. If we are to know how our
brothers, fathers, sons are being honored
for their work In France.
The historical vista in this connection
Is as interesting as most historical facts
that are tinged with the romantic fire of
the early days OF nation and with the
"pathos of distance" that great men take
on after they are dead. So II Is worth
recording that the first medal of honor
issued by the United States Government
for military service was to George Wash.
ington. In session Monday, March &c,
1776, Congress passed a resolution of
thanks to the Commander-ln.C Chief, stimuli.
taneously prov Iding an honor medal. The
device and inscription for the gold SYM
Dol were as follows:
"On one side, head of Generals: Legend.
Gergio Washington Supreme Duci Exer-
cituum adserton Llbertatis conictla
Americana-on the reverse. taking pos.
session of Boston. The American Army
advances in good order toward the town,
which Is seen at a distance while the
British Army flies with precipitation
toward the shore to embark on board the
In front of the American Army appears
the General on horseback in a group of
officers whom he seems TO make observe
the flight of the enemy-Legend-II
bus Primo Fugatis
MISUNDERSTANDING Recaperatumo
"Du XVII MARTII MDCCLXXVI"
The quaint phraseology depicts In few
words the cause for the bestowal of the
medal, which was described as high.grade
art. Possibly because OF the cost of It
and possibly because the members felt
that no such honor ought to be cheap
ened by too frequent usage, Congress
held back on awarding others to Revolu
tionary Army men. Less than half a
dozen were voted.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
Tom Daly's Column
YESTERDAY IN CAMDEN

A day Of cheers and tooman's tears and
phcn tho sun wcnt dotcn
The consciousness Of right TO bless the
homes In Camden toicn.
OH Gotham lovcs her Sirty-ninth and
Philiy IoUes her First,
And mann another gallant corps her
peaceful breast has nurscd;
And cast and wcst triiI fovo tho best the
lads that each bcoot.
Aud pruy tho Lord to stay tho s,oord
that H may harm them not.
Ochonoi ochonei each speeds Us o,on IN
ITS peculiar aody,
But there aodsn't an cyc IN Camden dry
1phen the Battery tcont array.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
Proficiency in Arms

Badges for proficiency in small arms
practice, while possessing interest for
their possessors, are hardly as pictur-
esque as the other forms of metallic
tribute. The army and marine corps
have a similar set of distinguishing
badges. The navy issues but one such
medal, the sharpshooters.
BY gazing back over the list of special
legends one can almost trace the vital
moments in North American history In
deed, this part of the system of personal
decoration is the most vividly reminis-
cent and picturesque of the lot Each
division is connected in the common mind
with great events or small that have con-
tributed some interesting chapter to
American action and thought.
There is, for example, the Philippine
congressional medal issued TO volunteer
officers and men who served beyond their
enlistment with the army in the Phil.
ippines. 1t has ribbon, with a broad
band of blue and a narrow white stripe
separating it from narrow stripes of red,
white and blue on either edge. The
medal displays marching soldiers.
The Civil war campaign badge has a
ribbon in which the national colors are
used, suspending a medallion of Lincoln.
The Indian wars campaign badge dis
closes a redman on his steed Contrast
ing shades Of red compose the ribbon.
The Spanish,American war campaign
badge portrays what seems to be the
entrance to a fortress-perhaps Morro
Castle?-with the legend "War With
Spain" Yellow, red and blue are the
ribbons tints. A decoration for service
at the same period is given the navy and
marine corps. 1t is similar. but more
delicate in design, and has red and
yellow ribbon.
Other decorations of various periods
include, the Philippine insurrection cam
paign. the China relief expedition, the
Dewey congressional the West Indies
campaign. the Philippine campaikn and
| The Cuba pacincation badues ana naa61Ir
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
RigOrs of War

The young daughter Of the man at the
next desk returned home from Red Cross
headquarters on Tuesday night and re-
ported: Great time doing Red Cross
work tonight. June bug crawled down
Catherine Wilson's back and some of
the chairs were newly vanished and
when the girls in them tried to get up
they stuck to them and couldn't"
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
Strict Rules Relaxed

In the War OF 1912, however, the Gov.
ernment abated its stricter rules and paid
more ample tribute to the Country's de.
tenders. The navy came out on top. 1t
is a commentary on the attitude of the
Civil War no medals or honors of such
n character We're voted to men In the
ranks. Then came the Sons of the Revo.
luton to remedy that evil of forgetful.
ness of the mute but glorious nameless
ones.
The present.day system of medals in
this country without poasting of any
violent elaboration of character, is still
fairly comprehensive and calculated to
serve for time in the present conflict.
The medal of honor for the army Is
made in silver, heavily electroplated in
gold. Its form is a five.pointed star in
the center appearing the head Of
Minerva, goddess of wisdom. Surround.
ing this central feature, arranged in cir
cular FORM are the words United States
of America" representing nationality.
The medal is suspended by a light blue
watered silk ribbon spangled with thir-
'SSii "'i'S 'N"'iS' 'SpiNSSii'ihS t'V VI
inal States, and is attached to an eagle
clasp supported on horizontal bar, upon
which is the word ''Valor"
The elaborateness of this design is
somewhat modified in the medal of honor
for the navy. Made available by act of
Congress, approved December 2l 1861,
this decoration is bestowed upon petty
officers seamen, landsmen and marines
who distinguish themselves by gallantry
in action or other seamanlke qualities
during warfare.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
More Than 200 Americans Trained

1t is and was at Avord that 222 young
Americans We're and are being entrained
members of the Lafayette Flying Corps
of the French and now the American army.
Twenty of these young men are members
of the Lafayette escadrle flying the
Stars and Stripes on the western front. Six
are in French escadrilles and two in
Allied Army escadrilles. They rank from
captain. the title in the French army held
by Bert Hall, of Kentucky, to simple pilot.
Seventeen have received the CroiX de
Guerre, and four the Military Medal, truly
the proudest distinction of the French
army. Three are aces having brought
down five or more enemy planes. Nine
have given their lives for the cause and
one Is n prisoner in Germany. One hun
dred and six are now at Avord and eight
at other schools in France. OF the Avord
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
Dead Ones? Not Much

Looking over the Jersey news in a
morn contemp," says r. C. r., and know
ing most of the lively lads in question,
this news rather hit me in the midriff:
PlTMAN-The Masonic Club. COM
prised mainly of members of many diff.
ferent lodges of the order who spend
tneir summers in the grave, has nearly
zoo members enrolled this season,
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26
AFTER THE HIKE

Too army shoes lay resting,
Propped up by blanket rolls;
Their tongues hung out aud aoearilu
They vie,oed ttoo Jagged holes.
"These are the times" the RIGHT one said
"The times that try mems soIes."
HORACE HOOK.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-26

THE ROBIN is no clock-watcher! Keep
an eye open for him these evenings and
youli see him hopping about in the grass
n the late dusk. long after the other
rexs turned n. H doesz7 duit