davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20

The steel manufacturers of the nation are united for patriotic work. Telegrams to the Baltimore Manufacturers Record indicate increased output. In this con- nection the pledge prepared by Judge B. G. Gary and signed by a great number of superintendents and foremen of varl- ous concerns is reproduced as follows:
 Believing that our republic and it's Ideals and it's opportunities must be per- petuated that it's present great responsi- bility to civilization, as well as it's great debt to it's heroic allies, must be fully met; and that every person whose lot it is to serve at home must back up the boys who go to make the supreme sacri- flee on the battlefields of France, to the very linlt of their strength and ability.
 '"I, as 100 per cent American, do here by pledge my constant loyal and maxi mum effort to my company Tn it's work and service to the United States govern ment and it's allies, to the end that max imum production may be secured and prompt shipment made of every order assigned to it.
 q also agree that every other interest and effort shall be subordinated to this pledge"
 James Bowron, president of the Gulf States Steel company, in communication to the Manufacturers Record, voices the experience of many operators in the BIr- mingham district. He says;
 T acknowledge your telegram, inquir- ing as to the ability of steel men to meet the requirements and any action that we will take looking toward increased out put.
 we are not in a position today 10 take any action toward an increased output We could furnish the money for it and the good will and the executive ability, and there our power ends.
 We need an adequate supply of raw materials and the conservation of our men. Raw material of every description is scarce in this district, and what is produced is to a large extent inferior in quality. Many miners, both in ore and coal mines, are openly indifferent as to
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20
Outstanding Facts About the Commercial Value Of
 Certain Southern Crops

at about 125,090 acres, this represent ! ing by far the greater part of the ! total acreage, although the cultivation of the crop had already spread into
 many other states. The total yield for ] last year is placed al approximately | 100000 bushels. About one-fourth of l the crop is raised for seed and the re- mainder for forage An average yield l of 20 bushels to the acre may be ex- l pected although 20 to 30 bushels per acre have been raised in North Caro- 1 lima after taking off a previous crop l of oats raised 50.0o0 bushels last year. i The price has shown steady advances 1 in recent years, rising from each fall quotation to that of the ensuing spring. | In the fall of 1915 the farm prices were 90 cents to $1 a bushel, going to ] $2 and $2.50 in the spring of 1916. The 1916 crop started off at s125 and went to $5 by the spring of 1917. The 1917 crop experienced nearly the same prog ress in prices. ranging from S3 in the fall to $3 to $5 in the spring
 There is no question that a greatly in- creased crop Of soy beans will be put in this year. The government experts are at loss where to put the limit Perhaps three times the acreage of last year represents a conservative estimate The bureau of plant industry has word from a farmer in Alabama that he in- tends to plant 50 acres to soy beans. al- though he has never undertaken to raise the crop before. Similar large under takings and extensions are promised else- where In Yazoo county, Missississippi 10,000 acres were devoted to the crop in 1917. whereas no more than 100 acres had been so utilized in the county pre- viously. This is fair illustration of
 developments in some other portions of
 the country, and more particularly in the south.
 The soy bean is particularly rich in oil
 and nutriment qualities as compared to
 the more familiar varieties of beans It contains IS per cent of fat and 3s
 per cent of protein, while the ordinary
 beans runs about per cent of fat and P per cent protein. As with peanuts, the SOY bean can be crashed in the cotton seed oil mills without any trouble, The great bulk of the soy bean oil for
 r.erly went into the manufacture of
 gap a,rl mucl, is still absorbed i'll that
 industry Last year more than 100000
 pounds of soy bean oil were imported
 for lard substitutes. Very large amounts
 of the American products go into the manufacture of butter substitutes. It is
 also used as a table oil, in combination
 with linseed oil in paints, and in some
 types of artists paints with scarcely any
 other oil combination. The soy bean it.
 self. however, is destined to much
 larger employment than heretofore
 human food.
 There is but little information obtain
 able from official government sources
 regarding the amount of copra crushed
 in the cotton seed oil mills in recent
 years, but it is known that it has had
 place in the history to some extent for
 sometime.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20
WILL LAUNCH BIG SHIPS

The DIS. ship which has been under construction at the yards of the Missis
 sippi Shipbuilding corporation on Back Bay is nearing completion and will soon be launched, according to information given out by officials of the company to- day. The vessel, which is now almost d.. completed as far as work at the local yards is concerned, is the finest ever built in this vicinity, as well as the largest. Men have been at work both night and day in rushing the ship to completion and nothing has been spared to make it one of the best to be placed into commission for the government. h. spectors have been at work on the vessel
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20

for crucible manufacture will be needed in 1918. If freight and market conditions and an improved labor situation favor the shipments of domestic graphite, about 5000 tons of flake of crucible grade, exclu- sive of dust, can be marketed in this country in 1918, an increase of more than 100 per cent over the production in 1917
 If the freight conditions that prevailed in the autumn of 1917 should recur, the domestic production of No. 1 and No. flake will hardly exceed 2500 tons. If the domestic production could be stimu- lated to it's maximum capacity, reason able assurance of a steady market given and encouragement offered to new plants, production as high as 12,000 tons might
 be reached. The situation is more favor able with respect to noncrucible graph ite. The requirements for 1918 will be between 5000 and 32,O00 tons, which may probably be supplied by domestic, arti-
 ficial and Mexican production"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20
Prosperous Conditions in Alabama
 Still in EUidence in a General Way
Failure Some the Operations Only HandicapNo Complaint in the Smaller Regarding New
 System of Road Building

Despite handicaps in large indus trial activities. such as disinclinatton of miners hereabouts to work anything like full time, the Birmingham district is humming, and in the city prosperity is reflected in the brisk demand for milling machinery and mining sup plies, to say nothing of the substan- tial business in the shopping section.
 Earnest appeals are being made to labor to make every day count. The wages of workmen are higher today than ever before in the history of this country. Common labor commands three times the wages it did few years ago, and skilled labor is being paid three or four times as much as formerly.
 The thrifty wage-earner is reapins a harvest. He works six days week,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20

One of the incentives to larger produc- ton of cotton seed oil, peanuts and soy beans in the south has been the dam age wrought by the boil weevil in cot ton, says the Washington correspondent
 of the Baltimore Manufacturers Record. Where the weevil Las been worst onc- siderable acreage was turned over to the peanut industry. with successful results,
 This has been more particularly the case in parts of Texas, Alabama and Georgia, although the same conditions have been observed, only on a smaller scale, in Louisiana and Mississippi. This prompt turning to a large cultivation of the crop has been of much benefit to some of the 800 cotton seed oil mills, as in a few districts they would have been compelled to go out of business through lack of cotton seed to crush, in spite of the fact that in their entirety they crush about 100000 tons of cotton seed yearly, yielding a total of more than 5000 GOO barrels of cotton seed oil.
 But apart from the enforced conditions mentioned. the project has proved pay ing one, so much so in fact, that it is estimated that the peanut crop for the coming harvest will be double that of last year, or yield total of more than lOO,- GOO O0O bushels. Farmers who had lo or 12 acres of peanuts in last year de- rived enough from their crop to buy a good automobile One farmer in Georgia had in 10 acres, from which he sold a crop that brought him $l400. The price at the mills is about $2.2o a bushe-, m hulls.
 The better grades of peanut oil are used as an acceptable substitute for ollva oil and other salad oils. The coarser grades find large uses in oleomargarlnd and as lubricants. About two gallons of the oil enter into the manufacture of oleomargarine to every gallon used for other purposes.
 Even more striking than With pea nuts has been the development Of the soy bean industry, not only in the south, but elsewhere, within the last few years. The soy bean is now the second leading crop of Manchuria, and is one of the leading crops of Japan. It's production in China has been traced back by investigators to many cen turies before the Christian era. only recently. however, has it been cultl- vated at all widely in the United States, although comparatively large areas have been under cultivation in eastern North Carolina for some years, with Elizabeth City, Washington and Wilmington, N. C.. and Norfolk, d. figuring as the chief commercial cen ters
 Prior to 1917 the total acreage was so insignificant as scarcely to warrant the gathering of statistics regarding soy beans in this country Fairly ac- curate estimates for last year place the total acreage in North Carolina
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20
Replica Of Century Old
 Patriotic Advertisement
 Calling For Ship 7imbers

New Orleans, May 19.-(SpeciaL )-Faded ] with age, curious old advertisement ot singular interest today, printed more than 100 years ago in the Salem, Mass, Gazette, has just been brought to light to remind us that one of our great war problems of the present time is almost identical with that confronting the country in 179S.
 America needed. wooden ships a cen tury past as she does now. At Salem, the witch town" there was building 2 frigate, or war vessel, "a noble structure to maintain our rights upon the seas. :" Enos Briggs. the contractor, found the work tagging because a sufficiency ot tlmbers Was not promptly forthcoming. So he inserted this advertisement in the Gazette, which appears to have been Sal advertisement, photographic enlarge ment Of which, framed, has just been hung on the wall in the office of Joha H. Kirby, lumber administrator of the south, here, is embellished by a crude illustration showing the outlines of what was then considered the most approved type of warship:
 THE SALEM FRIGATE,
 Take Notice!
 ''Ye sons of freedom! All true lovers of the liberty of your country, step forth and give your assistance in building the frigate.* Let every man in pos session of a white oak tree be ambitious to be foremost in hurrying down the timber to Salem, and fill the complement wanting, where the noble structure IS to be fabricated, to maintain your rights upon tine seas and make the name ot America respected among the nations of the world. Your largest and longest trees are wanted, and the arms of them for knees ana rising timber. Four trees
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20

With the small industries there is no complaint on any score. They are be- ing operated at full capacity. The work men put in full time
 While the government will discourage more than ever the starting of new con- struction except for military purposes, or such as are absolutely essential, much building will be in evidence in Alabama during the summer. The greatest activ- ity in some southern states will be in road building. North Carolina is now pushing ahead in motor truck highway development. Florida is also striding in the same direction.
 It should soon come Alabamas turn We need the up-to-date highway Mil- lions could be spent with economy with in the next 12 months on a new system of roads. Let's get at it without de- lay.
 All. in all, the year 1918 should be banner year in Alabama industrially.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20

is maintaining family in comfort and IS rolling up a large bank account.
 But all workmen are not thrifty. Some of them are content to make just enough to live on. If two or three days week will answer. thay idle away the rest of the time. This is bad enough from an economic point of view. It is far more serious from war time viewpoint.
 In the present crisis every man, no matter what his calling, is expected to do his utmost in backing up the gov ernment in it's prosecution of the war. The man who fails in his duty now is stacker. and whether he realizes it or not is aiding the enemy It is hoped and believed that this unpa- trlotic attitude manifested at some of the mines, will be changed and tbat too. right soon.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20

are wanted for the keel, which all to- gether will measure 146 feet in length, and hew IS inches square. Pleased to call on the subscriber, who wants 10 make contracts for large or small quan- titles as may suit best, and will pay the READY CASH.
 "ENoS BRIGGS.
 Salem, November 23 1798."
 History records that in response D this patriotic appeal the timbers needed were promptly obtained, and the Salem frigate was successfully completed, after ward performing valiant service on the high seas So, too, is our wooden fleet of today rapidly undertaking definite and important results While only few wooden slips were needed in 179S, nun dreds are today being built for the Elmer gency Fleet corporation. More than oU have been launched since the first ot the year, including the largest wooden steamer put in the water for the gov ernment during the present emergency, a 4700-ton vessel, which was constructed at a gulf coast yard. Contracts for q considerable number of new ships to De built of southern pine will shortly be awarded gulf and Atlantic yards. Ship building ill the south is declared by a government official to be proceeding with amazing" speed.
 It is interesting to note that, judging by the length of timbers wanted for the keel, the Salem frigate was little more than 150 feet in length. Wooden frelgnt carrying vessels now building are more than twice that size
 Announcement was made by John II. Kirby, lumber administrator of the south, on his return from Washington a few days ago, that the government has decided to increase to 150 the number Of wooden barges it will build along the Atlantic and gulf to increase coastwise transportation facilities. These barges will be of 2200 to $500 tons carrying ca pacity each. Southern pine mills will shortly be called on to furnish nearly 100, 000,000 feet of lumber and timbers 10 go into their construction. The larger size barges call for 100000 feet of such matrial each.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20

obtaining large amounts of certain grades and lenghths.
 Owners of cut-over timberlands of this territory are interested in an an- Eouncement from Baton Rouge La, that c. P. Williams, of the federal animal industry bureau, has been sta tioned there and will give particular attention to the sheep industry in Lou isiana. This year has seen a substa- tial increase in sheep raising on cut over lands, and the results will be watched with great interest, as they are likely to stimulate improvement of the sheep raising on these lands as well as on other lands in the state
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20
Where Cars Are Plentiful

Tremendous demand for all classes of lumber and timber, increasing prices exceedingly broken stocks at the mills, heavy government buying and shortage of labor describe the lumber market condition in Beaumont, says special to the American Lum- herman. In other words, there has been little or no change in the sit uation since the beginning of May Em- bargoes on eastern shipments are still loosening up and cars in this section are reported plentiful; in fact the
 mills are so handicapped by the scare ity of labor that their production IS held below the volume of material they are able to ship.
 The demand for yard stocks the last week came particularly from north and central Texas and points in Oklahoma Crop conditions in those sections are reported excellent; therefore, lumber buying from that quarter, it is pe- lieved. will continue to increase as fall approaches.
 The government placed some unus-
 ually large orders during the last week for building lumber, evidently to be
 used in the construction of bunk
 houses, storage HOuScS, anu OlnSf
 buildings at the various army camps
 Orders for shipbuildihg timbers also
 continue to come in rapidly and the
 mills are putting forth every efforr
 to turn out this class of material so
 as not to retard the governments ship
 building programme.
 Railroads are back in the market
 strong. buying all the car and bridge
 material they can haul
 A.
 According to Sir George Watt, the
 name 'tc1ove" denotes its resemblance to nail tclavus). There seems no doubt. he says, that the Chinese pro-
 cured the clove from it's island home for several centuries before it reached Europe. There are records that point to this traffic as early as 2G0 B. C. The I-clove was not regarded by the inhaoi- tants of the Spice Islands as of any value until the Chinese desired to be supplied with little sweet-smellilg nails"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20
Women in Politics

from The Valley of Democracy-The | Middle West in Politics." by Meredith l Nicholson, in Scribner's.
 The rights and privileges of citizen
 ship long enjoyed by women of certa in western states ceased to be a vagary of | the untutored wilds when last year New | fork adopted a constitutional amend | ment granting women the ballot The light for federal amendment was won Tn the House last winter by narrow margin, but at this writing the matter ! IS still pending in the Senate Many of l the old arguments against the enfran-
 chisement of women have been pretty ef- l fectually disposed of in states that were | pioneers in general suffrage. I lived for | three years in Colorado without being | conscious of any of those disturbances 1 to domesticity that we used to be told would follow if women were projected
 into politics. I can testify that a male voter may register and cast his ballot
 without any feeling that the women he encounters as he performs these exalted
 duties have relinquished any of the an- clent prerogatives of their womanhood. There is nothing in the experience of suffrage states to justify a suspicion that
 women are friendler to radical move
 ments than men; but much to sustain the 1 assertion that they take their politics | SSiiouoiy anu dTt as lnteilSeuI III the
 exercise of the ballot as male voters. The old notion that the enfranchisement of
 women would double the vote without changing results is another fallacy: I am disposed to think them more independent
 than their male fellow citizens and less likely to submit meekly to party dicta- l tion.
 ! In practically every American court and state house and city hall there are women holding responsible clerical positions, and,
 if the keeping of important records may l be intrusted to women, the task of de-
 lending their exclusion from elective of i fees is one that confess to be beyond my powers. Nor is there anything shock 1 ing in the presence of woman on the
 floor of legislative body Montana sent
 a woman to the national Congress, and already her fellow members hear her
 voice without perturbation. Mrs. Agnes 1 Riddle, a member of the Colorado Senate, | is real contributor. shall not scruple to say. to the intelligence and wisdom of 1 that body. Mrs. Riddle, apart from be- ing stateswoman, manages a dairy to
 it's utmost details. and during the ses- sion answers roll-call after doing pret-
 ty full days work on her farm.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20

Twenty-f four out of 300 men recently
 tested for government service as air men possessed the necessary requirc- ments. The powers of maintaining
 equilibrium and sensing direction, as well as great nerve control are es- pecially necessary.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20
Looking 10 An Extension
 OF the Jackson HighWay
ALONG THE GULF FRONT

as the work progressed and it has passed an excellent inspection.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20

At one point of a road recently con- structed in Alaska. there is solid ice foundation. At the surface there is a two-foot layer of moss and tundra, but previous mining operations at this point proved that there is a 40-foot bed of clear ice, and six feet of gravel between the surface layer and bed rcn :. :
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20

ALONG THE GULF FRONT
 The sioning beach along the gulf front is now being grassed. process wnieh will save it from rain wind or sea storms in the future.
 The working of grassing began this week. and will be kept up until the wnole beach thus far built is covered with Ser muda, Bermuda. says engineer Gallo way, will hold the sand in position.
 Grass planting began at Thirty-second avenue and will progress at the rate Of 800 or 6o0 feet a day. According to MT. Galloway, there is enough grass in sight to cover the new beach all the way 70 Long Beach.
 When this beach front is green with Bermuda it will be a feature enjoyed oy no other coast section on the Atlantic.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20

The publishing house of Thomas Nell
 son & Sons of Edinburgh. Scotland, has
 an important project under way for
 manufacturing paper from bamboo in Trinidad. About 1000 acres of land near St. Joseph (seven miles from the capital at Port of Spain), have been planted in bamboo. and a concession has been obtained giving the firm the right to cut bamboo from the govern ment forests.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-20
DELAYINL NLAuNCHING BARGEs

Up 70 noon yesterday the barge recent ly completed by the Gulfport Snipbuild- ing company had not been launched, The barge was started on it's way to the water last Saturday, but the ways damned before the launching was com pleted and the difficulty of launching Nhas since been further accentuated by the rains which have since fallen. How ever. that veteran ship builder, who has the management of the Gulfport Ship building company's plant feels sanguine that the barge will be floated in day or two
 The barge is 200 feet long with A. foot beam, and has capacity of l4O0 tons of crude oil. She is one of three barges being built by the Gulfport com pany for the Caribbean Petroleum com pany of Philadelphia. The other two will be ready for launching sometime next week.
 Besides these three barges, the Gulfpoit Shipbuilding company is building two large, four-masted schooners for private interests cn which work is progressing satisfactorily, the company stating that it has a sufficiency of men and is abis to get material as needed.