davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
DISAPPOINTED AGAIN .

America it's ideal of him unshattered, we arrive at this, which is worth pom dering over:
 My anxiety lest I should disappoint America sometimes starts R train Of thought which ends in my wondering whether America ever feels at all anxious as to whether 1t might disappoint me. If Americans knew anything about America, they would exclude all visitors until they had put their house in order. But I never yet met an American who hld any notion of the institutions of his native land beyond general and mostly erroneous idea that they are glorious"
 Here we have compliment fresh minted, gracious and earnest. That which Shaw will take the trouble to poke fun at must be important, indeed And if there are any inclined to view what he says with distaste, or to take him se- riously, he will be more than paid for whatever his little effort cost him. If it were not for the pleasure he has In shocking honest folk and sticking out his tongue in the face of their remonstrances life would be dull indeed for this sar- castle Irishman.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
Morris Ru.n mAt Hom.y

Apropos of the fact that Morris Bush has recently been away from Birming- ham so much some of his friends sug- gested the other day that he was as much of "gadabout as ex-President Taft, and that somebody ought to have big headline in The Age-Herald like the Washington Post had once about the President, reading: President Taft spends Sunday in Washington all of which means to say that MT. Bush spent Sunday In Birmingham and while he was here he told 8 mighty good story
 "A fond parent was showing his little boy an illustrated book of famous char acters from the Bible, and turning the leaves rapidly" said MT. Bush. He found page picture of St. Peter, adorned with very vivid halo that St. Peter always wears, as you know. The youngster, looking at the picture, turned to his father and said; Gee, dad amt St. Peter up-to-date? He always carries an extra tire" 4
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
IrrIIIzING RI1NNY

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
 Food and fuel are the leading topics of conversation in these tingling days of has grown in a measure, threadbare and outworn. The food problem, the problem that more than any other concerns mans existence, is uppermost, and every phase of 1t is vitally interesting.
 In one of the European war capitals, for instance, we are told that horse meat is being consumed in large quantities, and that it virtually has taken the place of the other edible meats. Ingenious food combinations have been devised for use in various sections of the war scourged territory. Feeding the men in the camps and the trenches has led to new culinary developments.
 It is quite possible that similar ingen- uity will be shown in our own country. Necessity may prove the mother of ac- ceptable substitutes.
 Here, for example, is an Illinois man, who, after declaring that the present food stress is due to national extravaganza and commercial unpreparedness, offers the domestic rabbit as one means of reliey- ing the food stringency. He has made study of the utility of the rabbit, and has many points to advance in It's favor. In France and Germany rabbits are being raised in great abundance for their meat, and the fur they produce is valued, &C., cording to the Illinois man, at millions Of dollars. Practically every family In Germany" he says, raises rabbits, feed ing them on vegetable refuse" Their meat is palatable and satisfying, their fur is. valuable. and their skins are in demand for shoe tops
 In Australia, where at one time they were considered an almost uncomfortable pest, various ways of utilizing them have been found, and the one-time pest ap- pears to have become valued produc- ton.
 There has been general disposition to overlook the economical merits of Br'er Rabbit, but after this strong presentation. backed by the culinary pressure of the hour, bunnys standing in the commit nifty should be largely advanced.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
NATIONAL PARKS
From the Rochester Democrat

From the Rochester Democrat and
 Chronicle
 If 1(NDER the auspices of the depart
 O ment of the interior. the first
 great national park conference ever held in this country recently opened in Washington. The purpose of the meet ing Is to awaken a deeper and more widespread interest in our great system of national parks. A number of promi- nent Americans were on hand to aid the movement by their influence and oratory.
 Probably few people appreciate the number and extent of our national parks. This is complete list of them:
 Yellowstone National park, in wyoming, Montana and Idaho. 2,142,720 acres; Yosemite National park. California, 71s,- 622 acres; Glacier National park. Mon tana, approximately 915.0OO acres; Mount Rainier National park, Washington, 207.- 360 acres; Sequoia National park, Cali fornia, 161,597 acres; General Grant Na- tional park. California, 2536 acres; Crater Lake National park. Oregon, 159,360 acres; Wind Cave National park, South Dakota, 10,522 acres; Platt National park, Okla
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
THEATRICAL TAKERS

From the Montgomery Advertiser.
 We set out to tread what promised to be an excellent human interest story in one of tho newspapers. The headline in dicated the story of a $5,0oo,0oO heiress of St. Louis who had turned her back on society and is working hard for a living" fer picture showed that she was pretty girl. The thought of girl worth S5.- 0oo,OOO being unwilling to loaf and dis charge tiresome social obligations inn pressed the reader as he scanned the words of the first paragraph. subcon- sciously, a complimentary editorial. giv- ing the girls name and address. was promised if the story banned out; but the story didn't pan out.
 It was press agent story. It told about the girls musical training in the higher conservatories of Europe and America, how she loved singing. and the names of the musical companies with which she had made public appearances. were given.
 The girl. very probably. is not worth
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09

hona, s4s.22 acres; Mesa Verde Ns.- tiona1 park, Colorado. 42376 acres; Sullys Hill park, North Dakota, 7S0 acres; Casa Grande Ruin, Arizona, 4So acres; Rocky Mountain National park, Colorado. ap- proximately 229.oOo acres; Hot Springs reservation, Arkansas. 911.63 acres.
 These great parks are unsurpasged in natural beauty. The immense stretches of the Yellowstone. the stately Seduoia trees, and the rugged grandeur of the Grand canyon are fairly well known. The less familiar parks are also we'll worth visiting. Each has attractions that draw travellers from all parts of the country.
 Since the war shut off tourists travel to Europe, many Americans have discov- cred, to their delight and amazement, that nature was in her most lavish and fantastic mood when she adorned the western part of the United States. But there are still many who have -done"s Europe, and who have never seen the west. The indefatigable energy of the European tourists agencies is no doubt partly responsible for the frequency with which Americans cross the ocean.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
HOTEL LOBBlEs
Dr. Clark Great Reader


 "Dr. S. H. Clark's appearance before league Tuesday afternoon and his public reading of Justice on Wednesday," said Mrs. Leonard T. Beecher yesterday, T regard as a great treat to this city. I first met Dr. Clark in Chicago, and I consider him one of the most attractive men l have ever met Expounding as he does the gospel of interpretative read Ing, which is my own life work, naturally have been greatly interested in him. He has done more toward placing the Drama league on substantial basis by his read ings and his interest in dramatic art than almost any other individual I know.
 T recall a little incident of his ap- pearance at Dominican convent up in Wisconsin, many of the nuns being friends of mine, all college women, and women of great intellectual as well as spiritual attributes. As you know Re treat with them is the most sacred and spiritual of all their devotons and re- member that many of them said after Dr. Clark's wonderful interpretative readings before them, that the only way they could express his influence over them was that it was exactly like re- treat That shows the intense spir- itual attitude of the man whom consider one of the most capable and delightful scholars I have ever known. His read ing of Justice on "Wednesday evening will be one of the real treats of the sea- son, and I should say that none can af- ford to miss it''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09

lute to the flag. Take the invasio of Chihuahua which was not an invasion. Call them incongruous, amateur, hypo- critical, if you will, but to the extent that they have thrown the classical statesmen and diplomats into fit of horrors they are step nearer to our emancipation from the international etiquette which has been the curse of mankind Mr. Wilson has done things that are not done in our set. Your classical statesman and diplo- mat knows that if you engage in hostili- ties with the forces ofsanother country it is war. No" said Mr. Wilson. q do not want to go to war with he Mexican people and will not let myself be driven by etiquette to call it war" By all the armed force in a neighbours country is invasion. "No.'' said MT. Wilson, 'I have no intention of invading Mexico and this shall not be invasion in spite of the text books" By all the rules of the game. somebody should have saluted the flag which Mr. Wilson said had been insulted. "You and I know" said MT. Wilson, that I went to Vera Cruz, not to have the flag saluted, but to kick out Huerta for the good of Mexico and the United States. as I sincerely believe; and the flag will not remain besmirched because Huerta did not apologize" It is all ex- tremely inconsistent, but 1t is precisely MT. Wilson's merit that he has not fol- lowed the constituencies of the war ma
 kers. It is laughable diplomacy but that is because Mir. wilson does not believe in the old diplomacy. It may have failed; but that does not prove anything. The fact remains that MT. Wilson has de- clared against war and for the policy of self restraint in matters which the old decorum would have declared matter of national honor.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
From the Knickerbocker Press.

=
 ~ FORGE BERNARD SHAW, N S tamest of pirates. most impec-i
 cable of rascals and sincere of blarneyers, mourns with fictitious tears that he cannot visit the United States at this time Georges regrets. sent recently to the New York chapter of the Drama League of America, are in a characteris- tic vein. The history of other nations, he says, has been measured by minutes and seconds, days and weeks, but the history of the United States "has been measured by psychological moments for my arrival on their shores" Not the war nor even the presidential election has been able to displace MT. Shaw from the focus of American attention. Every year the papers announce in desperation that I am actually coming; and every citizen of the United States writes me cordial invitation to stay at his house."
 Passing over the distinguished moral ist's regrets that he did not come when he was young and beautiful, and skipping his conviction that he ought to leave
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
SONGS IN TOBACCO FACTORY

Julian Street, in Golfers Weekly.
 The singing of the negroes Is a great feature of the stemming department in a tobacco factory. Some of the singers become locally famous; also. I was told by the superintendent (of a Richmond, Va, factory, they become independent. and for that reason have frequently to be dismissed.
 The wonderful part of this singing. aside from the fascinating harmonies made by the sweet, untrained negro voices, is the utter lack of prearrange7 ment that there is about it. Now there will be silence in the loft; then there will come a strange, half-savage cry from some dark corner, musical, yet seemingly meaningless; presently faint humming will begin, and will be taken up by men and women all over the loft; the humming will swell into chant to which the workers rock as their black leaves; then, presently it will die away, and there will be silence until the work CTS are again moved to sing.
 From shadowy room to shadowy room. past great dark bins filled with the leaves. past big black steaming vats, oozing sweet smelling substances; past moist, fragrant barrels; always among the almost spectral forms of negroes, trading out leaves with bare feet work ing over great wicker baskets stained to tobacco color, piling up wooden frames, or operating the powerful hy- drauljc presses which convert the soft to- bacco into plugs of concrete hardness-so one goes on through the factory The browns and blacks of these interiors are the browns and blacks of etchings; the color of the leaves, the old dark timbers, the black faces and hands, and the rag ged clothing, combined with the hum ming Of negro voices, the tobacco fra- grance, and the golden dust upon the air, make ar indescribably complete harmony of shade, sound and scent.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
STOP. LOOK. LISTEN.
Daily Financial America.

From Daily Financial America.
 Observations made by railroads in California at 34 crossings have dis closed the fact that 17.000 drivers of motor vehicles, S9.5 per cent looked neither way before crossing the tracks, 2.7 per cent looked in one direction only, and but PTS per cent looked both ways. Three thousand three hundred drivers ran over the crossing at reckless rate of speed
 There is any amount of lip-support for the "safety-first" movement, but ac- tual and active application of the prin- ciple is astonishingly meagre. Not only are thousands of persons daily jeopar- dibing their safety and their lives, but also their pocketbooks; and it seems that, if the element of personal risk and the imperilling of ones most pre- cious possession fail to provide an eff feetive warning, the probability of dis aster to the pocketbook should exert a strong influence in these days when material wealth is on so high a psdes- tai. Stop, look and listen, even though 1t be merely your automobile which you desire to preserve from destruction.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
AN IRISH PEASANT SONG

By Louise Imogen Quincy. I knead and I spin, but my life is low
 the while, Oh long to be alone, and walk abroad
 a mile. Yet if I walk alone. and think of nought
 at all, Why. from me that's young should the
 wild tears fall? The shower stricken earth. the earth
 colored streams, They breathe on me awake, and moan
 to me in dreams, And wonder ivy fondling the broken
 castle wall, It pulls upon my heart till the wild tears fall. The cabin door looks down a furze-
 lighted hill, And far as Leighlin Cross the fields are
 green and still; But once hear the blackbird in Leigh
 lin's hedges call, The foolishness Is on me, and the wild
 tears fall!
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
WILSON'S MEXICAN POLICY

Simeon Strunsky in the January Yale Re-
 view. x.
 6T7O Woodrow Wilson in his policy
 toward Mexico, the future, I feel ], = sure, will assign role among the foremost of those who have labored to free the world from the automatic formu- las upon which the war habit has thrived. MT. Wilson has not measured up to the standards of the idealist advocates of world peace. In his preparedness policy he has made terms with the hereditary enemy. But in his Mexican policy he has stepped forward boldly along the road which I have described as the prolonga- ton of peace. The phrase "too proud to fight" which partisan malice or sheer stupidity has distorted into an applica- tion that was plainly not intended, does embody the spirit of revolt against the evil traditions of international conduct Hitherto it has been accepted that the national honor is as open to injury by the weak as by the strong. But MT. Wilson has asserted, what many know in their hearts to be true. that Mexico cannot do injury to our national honor. Mexico may mean well or may mean i'll. Mexico may be the incorrigible little boy or only the bad little boy who is out of sorts after Ia meal of green apples. In either case it is not in Mexico's power to offer insult to a nation 50 times the stronger. Con- cede all the inconsistencies and errors in Mr. wilson's treatment of Mexico The fact remains that he has laid down the principle that with a weaker nation we may go to court about anything. The na- tional honor is not involved. This is solid gain.
 Precisely those acts of MT. Wilson's Mexican policy which have< elicited the loudest derision and hostility, contain in themselves an abandonment of the estab- llished formulas for war. His declaration that American capitalists go into Mexico at their own risk subject only to the ele- mentary rights of protection. is step to- ward the removal of one great cause of lwar Better still are his violations of the lproprieties of diplomacy, his disregard of the ancient texts. Take the expedition to lvera Cruz and the war that was not | war. Take the demand for salute to
 the flas. which wss satisfed without sa sa'-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
A REALISTIC MOVIE
verybody's Magazine.

From Everybody's Magazine.
 It was at the movies. An old couple sat together through a picture that i'm cluded many views of the wild west In one of these a cattle "round-up' ap- peared, in which the dust rose in clouds from the parched ground.
 The old lady began to cough. and finally, when the neighbors began to fidget, her husband nudged her with his elbow:
 Don't cough, Annie; can't you see you're disturbing the other folks?"
 His wife looked at him apologetically over her handkerchief, smothering a spasm. T can't help it, EphEaim. The dust tickles by throat"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
MIpw1NrER IN DIXIE

The skies are blue and the sun is shining As brightly as ever 1t did in June, And the urban dweller's thoughts are
 inclining To the garden he'll be starting soon. The softest breeze from the south is
 blowing, From tropic lands where blossoms
 throng, And glints of green on the hills are
 showing Ard 7he valleys dream of the first bird
 song.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES
BUsYBoDIEs

BUSYBODIES You meet with people high and low. Whose helpful disposition" Exasperates their neighbors 50
 It drives them to perdition.
 CIRCULATING A SMOKY Have a cigarT'
 Thanks. Is it mild?" q don't know. To tell you the truth, I've never smoked cigar like this" "All right. I'll do as you did when it was handed to you. I'll pass it along"
 A FOOLISH QUESTION ''I see where an experienced elephant trainer wants Job," remarked Gadsby. Training elephants?" asked Dubson. "oh, certainly not" answered Gadsby. in sarcastic tone. "He hopes to be employed by the owner of a flea circus'
 FLExING HIS MUSCLES This doctor says people who lead sedentary lives should take some form of exercise"
 "I have a clerk who must have con suited that doctor" 'eYesr'
 "He stretches and yawns the whole day through
 CHOICE Let savants study monkey talk As long as e'er they please; I'd rather take a little walk
 With Maud or Eloise PAUL COOK.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
HE COINS A WORD
rm the Now York Telegram.

Booth Tarkington Is said to be the author of new "Nipskillion" which Is being used in the present prohibition agitation throughout the country. He defines this as "a man who has had all the liquor he ever wants. and, because he doesn't drink any moro himself, won't let anybody else have
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
There's nothing to be got now-"-aass' unless thou canst fish fort.
 -PericIes, Prince of Tyre'

BEGINNING THE DAY-May all that Thou sendest us bring us '" Thee, that, knowing Thy perAec ness. we may he sure in every uis appojrtment that Thou art SUI. loving IFS, in every darkness tnat Thou art still enlightening us, iH every enforced fdIeness that ino" art still using us-yea, in every death that Thou art giving us iie' Phillips Brooks.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
A TRYING EXPERIENCE

 Mrs. Dubwaite has left town for sew eral weeks"
 "A pleasure trip?"
 Not exactly. It's more of displeas- ure trip. Mrs Twobble, who lives next door. got a motor car for Christmas present, so Mrs. Dubwaite went away to recover her equanimity."
 ELIGIBLE What have you there?' .The bylaws of the Society of Men Who Have Discarded the Rear Collar Button. Would you like to join?" Hum. I might as well. I lost mine this morning.
 HEARD IN A DRY TOWN "Is Jagsby the sort of man who can be depended on in an emergency" What kind of emergency? He always has a corkscrew about his person, if that's what you mean"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09

was terrific and three men were killed it did comparatively little damage outside of the lavatory and smoking compartment. A wooden coach would probably have been shattered to bits and set on fire.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
Praises Age-Herald Story

"On all sides I have heard the most complimentary things said of young Reu- ben A. Lewis, Jr., who wrote the story of the terrible disaster on Saturday even ing in Sundays Age-Herald," said J. L.
 Drennen. His word painting of the horrors of the scene, his graphic descrip- passengers on the train was as fine a piece of newspaper work as I've ever seen-as good as you'd find in any New York journal. Young Lewis has talent and grit, and his story of the South ern railway disaster showed him to be a capable and valuable newspaper man.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-09
Railroad Tragedy
 That is Uniqlue

M7O doubt all the facts concerning IN the remarkable Walton tragedy en the Birmingham Special as it was coming into Birmingham late Satur- day afternoon have already been brought out. The complete details of this astounding suicide, accident or whatever it was, will never be known.
 That man, believed to be in his right senses, although he had been under a great mental strain for some time, would deliberately choose the lavatory of crowded passenger coach in which to blow himself to atoms seems inconceivable, yet that is the theory credited by Walton's most in- timate friends and the public at large, although his family thinks otherwise.
 The usual methods of committing suicide have become so commonplace that there is usually no trouble ex- perienced in establishing motive and showing how the unfortunate person took his or her life. According to the police, the Walton case is unique. Desperate men have blown themselves to pieces often enough in the past, but tho attendant circumstances in this tragedy are, to say the least, ex- traordinary and so puzzling that they will probably never be solved.
 Incidentally, the steel passenger col1Eh again figures as life saver. " hough tho force of the explosion