davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1919-12-07
Adventures--Classic
And Otherwise

Before adventure and peril and
reckless daring are ruthlessly ruled
out, let us give our children a taste
of adventurous voyages on the sea
of imagination" as Joseph Jacobs
puts it in his introduction to "The
Booh Of Wonder Voyages" put
nam), where we may thrill with
Jason's comrades in their quest for
the Golden Fleece, chasing harpies,
sowing dragons teeth, or set sail
with Eric and Thorkill, the Far
Travelled.
A book akin to this in theme
and one of the most delightful
children's books published during
the past year, is the "Chidrep's
Homer" (Macmillan), retold by Pad
raic Colum and illustrated by Willy
Pogany. In it the author has COM
bined the Odyssey and the Had and
yet has succeeded in giving a very
vivid and spirited and withal very
simple narrative that should prove
absorbingly interesting, not only to
children and to young people, but
to their elders as we'll. But, perhaps,
even more charming than the text
are the illustrations-eight color
plates exquisitely, fanciful in color
and composition and altogether in
harmony with the spirit of the tale;
and fifty pen and ink drawings
strongly reminiscent of the figures
on the ancient Greek urns and
vases.
1t wouldn't be fair to touch on
the ancient Greek and overlook
Hawthorne's "Tanglea0ood Tales"
(Scribner's), and "The Wonder
Books," of which there have been
many editions, not the least of
which is illustrated by Maxfcld
Parrish.
New-York tribune., 1919-12-07

(Stokes), known outside of Townie's
ken as Lieutenant Colonel Frank E.
Evans, went to the war and wrote
letters about it to his little son. It's
real news and real war, with much
color and noise and much whimsical
tenderness and understanding for
the child he writes to. The drawings
and their captions are quite delicious
in their crudity and shrewd char
acteriZation.
Under the present circumstances
Of social and national emergency a
book like "1'he Land of Fair Play,"
by Godfrey Parsons (Scribner's), is
more than welcome. It is book on
civics for boys and girls, and easily
meets that test, difficult for juvenile
books, of being interesting to older
people. 1t ought to be widely adopted
in school and home for the Amer
icanization not only Of young aliens
but Of our own growing generation.
1t is remarkably simple and direct
in method, with a clever utilization
of playground usage and language
to illustrate the theory and practice
of democratic government. In spite
Of the essential matter-of-f pres
entation of material the book ex-
presses stirringly throughout the
most enlightened patriotism. The
chapter on "The Making of the Con-
New-York tribune., 1919-12-07
Reflections for the Choosers
OF Children's Books

1t is. no doubt, an excellent thing
that many of these works have been
entombed in back-hall bookcases or
have been sold to the Salvation
Army as waste paper. There are
genuine advantages in living in
world from which the immoral
piety of Elsie Dinsmore has per-
ished. "The Wide, Wide World"
has, mercifully, been flung to per-
dition in company with Elsie. No
less demoralizing were books like
Grace Aguilar's ''Hcme Influence
and "a Mothers Recompense"-
grisly tales Of too good little girls
who told their mothers everything
until they had contracted, beyond
all hope Of cure, the vice of con-
fession.
These little pests grew up and
New-York tribune., 1919-12-07
From RackEaH1' "Nofher Goose
Century

married rich, handsome husbands.
Their wicked, independent sisters
eloped with roues and came to early,
tear-drenched, faded ends. This
style of juvenile reading deserved
extinction as thoroughly as the hoop
skirt OF tight kid stays of earlier
days.
1t is only natural and human,
this changing Of modes in children's
BOOKS. Women's sleeves, their fig
ures, mems boots, religion, laws, the
very morals of mankind change in
character and form with the passing
seasons. And whereas it is often
useful to be rid of outworn, stupid
traditions, it is a pity that
great and gracious ones perish with
them. For the maligned publisher
has done much that is noble. The
children's five-foot shelf hangs, gen.
orally speaking, unchanged upon the
wall. There are still within reach
the Holy Bible, Mother Goose, Hans
Andersen and Grlmm's collections
of folk and fairy tale, handed down
from time immemorial; CULVER,
Robinson Crusoe, Uncle Remus,
Esop, Mark Twain, Stevenson, Kip
ling and all the others, which may
be found In any i'll or we'll regulated
library.
1t comes down, then, to question
Of preserving, out Of the past, such
good and charming and simple things
as might to advantage take the place
Of much feeble, juvenile stuff that is
flung feverishly at public trying
10 get its Christmas shopping done
in time. Think of the poor child
who gets "The Angora Twinnies"
twaddle for Christmas present
when he might as we'll have Boutet
de Monvel or Howard Pyle's "Tavi-
light Land" or Dorothy and Nor
timer Menpes's gorgeous books of
pictures of children from foreign
lands, or "Swiss Family Robinson"
all books of bygone days.
New-York tribune., 1919-12-07

up. In France the scouts began to
help Immediately the war was de-
clared, and when schooltime came
these youngsters put up some rather
unanswerable arguments to justify
their not going back to their books.
Boys and girls to-day will be keen
about hearing what Camp Fire Girls
can do in war time.
"Camp Fire Girls IN War and
Peace" by Basel Hornibrook Ua-
throp, Lee & Shepard) brings in
characters young readers already
know, and so no time is lost in get
ting acquainted.
What mother Of family has not
come home sometimes to find the liv-
ing-room sofa, all the chairs and
two Of the best sheets rugged up to
make an airplane?
If your boy leases you for "some-
thing to do," give him "The Boy's
Airplone Book" by A. Frederic Col
lins (Stokes). He will "get a sheet
of tin, inch wide and 5 inches long;
mark out the shape of a propeller on
it as shown by the broken lines at A
in Figure 21, and cut it out with
pair of shears or timers ships"
This and many other brief, clear di-
rectlons and suggestions will keep
him busy. Only, buy the timers
ships for him and hide your work
basket.
Daddy Pat Of the Marines"
New-York tribune., 1919-12-07
Nothing But
Fairy Tales

One wonders how Mr.. Andrew
Lang, with his prediction for fairy
tales of all lands, happened to over
look the possibilities. of the Spanish
fairy world when one sees the
wealth Of color and materials dear
to all fairy lovers in "The Spanish
FAIRY Book" by Gertrude Segovia
|Stokes). The tales are long and
somewhat involved in plot, and are
therefore best suited to the child of
eight to twelve years or more. They
New-York tribune., 1919-12-07
From Rackh4n's "f.o.isr Goose
(Ccufnssj

snakes past, the ostrici's appetite
and in many other ways iortlhes
one for the inevitable question bom-
bardment. She makes of Morning
side Park a place with a thrilling
history and of Grants Tomb some
thing far nobler than a place where
the bus stops. Even parents living
outside of New York may, with
profit, take the outings with Doodle
and Nora and Jack and enjoy Miss
Singleton's abbreviated Baedeker in
novel form.
New-York tribune., 1919-12-07
Wonder Tales
OF All Sorts

If you don't mind flying away to
the Never-near land, where anything
may happen, sit down before your
fire some snowy night when the wind
is bowling and take a look at Arthur
Rackham's "Book Of Pictures" (Cen-
tury Company. That there is no
text accompanying the pictures WON'T
trouble you = bit. We tried the
New-York tribune., 1919-12-07

stitution' is, in particular, an inspir-
ing one, and would make excellent
reading for quite grown-up parlor
Solsheviki and other pale Reds-if
not, indeed, for those of deeper-dyed
ignorance.
New-York tribune., 1919-12-07

| think of any real old favorite, which
it does not include, and "Johm Mar
tins Big Books for Little Folk"
(Houghton Mifflin Company. A
middle-sized book of this sort is
"Emglish Fairy Tales" retold by
Flora Annie Steel and illustrated
by Arthur Rackham (Macmillan).
No wise parent can possibly afford
to overlook Gelett Burgess's Scoops"
(Stokes). In fact, all the several
books about them are of such moral
force that no household, with or
without children, should fail to in
clude them. The scope is limitless,
for they touch on almost every vir-
tue and sin Of the human race.
The idea of falling through a tel
escope, big end first, and landing in
reduced proportions on the garden
lawn, so that the insect world sud-
denly becomes yours to deal with on
an equal footing, is so wholly re-
freshing that one is rather disap-
pointed to find in "a Journey to the
Garden, Gatc," by Ralph M. Town
send (Houghton Mifflin Company,
unconscious hints of the inimit-
able "Alice IN Wonderland" How
ever, it is very sympathetic in it's
view Of the underbug, and the illus
trations in color, by Milo Winter,
are full of humor and detailed OBJ
servation of nature.
New-York tribune., 1919-12-07

N7HAT has become of the books
w of past childhoods? Do
little boys nowadays ever
read the Rollo books? And do little
girls read "Mr. Thimble- Finger"
'Dottie Dimple" or the Susie books?
New-York tribune., 1919-12-07
For the Older
Children

When we come to books for elder
children Technically known as adol-
escents) we find that there the war
has welded great influence, and
good influence. Parents who have
struggled with the question of ex-
planning the great war and Of tell
ing the story Of it to their children
will find, in the battle of the
Nations,' by Frederic Arnold Kun
mer Century,, a more than ade-
New-York tribune., 1919-12-07

abundant, but in placing an
abridgmcnt of this character be-
fore the public the publishers (Mac-
millan) are filling a real need.
New-York tribune., 1919-12-07

ignorance.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-13

ture of progress. Americas social and economic, possibly even her political, in
 dependence is not safe unless the indus.
 tries dependent upon the development ol American genius and energy. We have to confess, I think, that Germany has been ahead of America in the commercial ap- plication of this science. The great dye stuff, pharmaceutical and chemical bust ness which Germany built up gave her a practical monopoly of the American mar kets, either because she controlled sub
 sidiary corporations here which were permitted to use some of her patents, or
 because as in most cases she effectually shut off American effort by preventing
 the development of chemistry and its use in America by her patents of pro
 cesses and products. Recognizing th-4t the chemical industry is the great key which opens the door to the manufa cture Of explosives, before we entered the war
 Germany had made the industry almost state institution. The German pro- oucers in chemical lines were combined Tn two cartels, representing an aggregate capitalization of S10,000, ,O0O 900, and thsl American industry was thus put in com petition, not with the individual Germa producer, but with the German empireI ltsei1. It's system was to confine al chemical research and important produc ton work to Germany itself, while itsI arms reached into every other country TOT purposes of distribution.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-13

Cant raise the other one" the house. holder replies.
 Whats the matteS with it?''
 Rheumatism in the shoulder"
 "Inflammatory?"
 Was. The inflammation has gone down."
 Scuse me, but it just socked me one, too"
 How long have you had it?"
 -Four years"
 Ever try rattlesnake oil?'
 Gallons. If all the snakes I've used the oil of was strung out in row, they reach eight times as far as Saturn, and the rattles could be heard at Valparaiso, Indiana, and back"
 So the burglar helps the householder in to his clothes, and the pair go out to- gether to a neighboring refreshment em porium and the burglar stands treat which makes an uproariously comicai conclusion to the story and at the same time shows what gallant, brave sou: o. Henry was. He had known burglars in prison Having had apothecarys train ing when a stripling, he had doctored many a rheumatic in prison. Only fel- low of fine, courageous spirit like o. Henry's could have given thought thereafter to human ailments or human sins and made merry over either. In stead Of SOurlng D. Henry, ms unjust imprisonment seemed to mellow him.
 A TEXAS PARAGRAPHER
 He had been a great joker, always Clever at drawing, he might have become a brilliant cartoonist. and he early caught the knack of writing For a time, he ran funny paper called 'The Rolling Stone" but it gathered moss," so he said, and he dropped it to take posi- tion as humorous paragrapher on the Houston (Texas) Daily Post where he produced, among other masterpieces, this gorgeous little gem:
 "A young lady in Houston became en- gagged last summer to one of the famous shortstops of the Texas baseball league. Last week he broke his enga cement, and this is the reason why:
 He had birthday last Tuesday and she sent him beautiful bound and il. frustrated edition of Coleridge's famous poem, The Ancient Mariner The hero of the diamond opened the book with puzzled look
 "'Whats dis bloomn' stuff about, any ways?" he said.
 "He read the first two lines:
 Tt is the Ancient Mariner And he stoppeth one of three
 ''The famous shortstop threw the bool. out of the window, stuck out his chin,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-13
CAPE TOCA|ROA|
 ROUTE IS MAPPED
Regular Aerial Mail Service Expected to Be Inaugu-
 rated Soon
By Associated Pres,


 London June 18.-Despite enormous diff ficultles being met with in establishing l the long air route, it is expected that the Cape to Cairo aerial mail service will he operation before the year is out The first flight, it is said, probably will he made in October or November. Partial reports of the African survey parties now in the field detail some of the obstacles that have had to be sur- mounted. Between Malakal and Condo koro, about 400 miles, the Nile so in1n- dates the country that no suitable land ing place for an airplane could be found It is therefore proposed to use a flying boat for that stage of the journey.
 A month after the signing of the arnis tice with Turkey the first survey party was ready to start Two years previously the route from Sollum to Cairo had been used by Major MacLaren on his flight from England to Egypt and aerodromes had been built at Sollum, Mersa Mar ruh and at Amria, near Alexandria. while intermediate landing grounds had been cleared for emergency use. An aero drome had been constructed also at Khar tum, in 1915.
 For the purpose of the survey Africa was divided into three sections. One party was assigned to Egypt, the Soudan and as far south as Victoria. The second cov- cred the central stretch from Victoria Nyanzu Nyanza through a part of what vas German East Africa to Kituta at the southern end of Lake Tanganyika A third party inspected the line from Kit uta to Capetown.
 A Dute via Egypt and the Arabian coast to India is being developed from Atbara to Trinkitat on the Red sea, and thence via the Farsan and Kamaran islands to Perrin and Aden It is said that this probably will be more used for military than civil purposes
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-13
ENGLAND REFUSES
 LEVY ON CAPITAL
Proposal Had Been Made as Means of Liquidating the
 Enormous War Debt
By Associated Press

London, June 2.-The House of Com mons has rejected by vote of 317 to 2. proposal made by the liberal party and indorsed by the labor party for a levy on capital as means of discharging part of England's enormous war debt
 Sir Donald Mclean, one of the liberal leaders, in the debate preceding the vote deprecated making the question one of party, as a capital levy, he said, twas an emergency proposal to meet an emer- gency situation" The government, he said, had to choose between levy on capital or continuance of the present heavy income taxation from 30 to 50 years.
 Austen Chamberlain, chancellor of the exchequer refused to consider the idea of such a levy. He said he would not even consent to a committee of investi- gation into the subject because its ap- curity, and would disturb the minds of people to whom we must look for help in order to bring the finances of the coun- try back into order"
 portion of the London press has been dealing at considerable length recently with the question of a capital levy. One of it's principal proponents is C.. F. G. Masterman, a prominent liberal.
 we have concluded the war;" he ar gues, with deadweight debt burden of some eight thousand millions of pounds (s4O, COG, 900 ,000) Interest and sink ing fund on this debt will amount to some four hundred million pounds year. Either that debt must be reduced by some heroic effort to redeem the capital, of that interest must be raised as a first charge on industry for indefinite pe- riod of time, or the nation must repudi- ate it's obligations" No other course, he asserts, is possible.
 The advocates of the capital levy, he explains, propose that a substantial DOT tion of the country's debt shall be liqui-. dated by graduated contribution from all who own more than limited amount of the national wealth.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-13

when he wrote those bubbling, sparkling letters to little Margaret, and now you begin to appreciate their full splendor It takes courage to be jolly in prison, es-
 pecially when you are doing time for an offense you never committed. It is he roic.
 In Paris, once, I met a Dutchman who observed, "Humor is the laughter that has fled from the heart to the head,'-
 and when Jean Pinot got a score of Flu ropean humorists to define humor for his magazine, La Revue, several put it
 that way. In their opinion, humorists
 were poor, luckless. melancholy fellows.
 who took it out on fate by grimly crack ing jokes. It sounds plausible, at least /, to the extent of seeming to explain why humorists generally look as if they had 1 lost their last friend, their last copper,
 and their hope of heaven. But there was
 never anything grim about O. Henry. He 1 had by far too sweet nature, and was 1 too plucky. He could crack sunshiny ! jokes in prison After his release, he could put to hilarious use the material
 he had picked up there. Don't you re-
 call that lovely scene. for example. Ill
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-13
By RoLLIN LYNpE HAITI

1 As editor of -Ainslie's, he came to know o. Henry. and says, Whenever we en- tered a restaurant or public place to- gether he would glance quickly around as if expecting an attack thought that he had perhaps Killed some one in a ranch fight. for he told me he had lived on ranch in Texas. This inference was strengthened by finding that he was a of bowling alleys"
 Not long after the nice boys frutless quest. O. Henry brought out a bandit story, and it was so real that l exclaimed T see through it all now. Nobody could write like that without having held up few dozen wild and woolly stage coaches himsef!'
 A NOVEL BANK
 We were wrong. Hall the nice boy, anu l-yet not by any means crazily wrong. 0. Henry, whose real name was William Sydney Porter, had served a term in prison, and this is how it came about Porter was working in a small town bank in the south when the insti- tuition went on the rocks, distinction to- ward which it had been hastening for a quite considerable time He ought never to have courted job in that bank. As Prof. Alfonso Smith remarks in his ex- eellent 70 Henry Biography, tits pa irons, following an old custom, used to go behind the counter, take out $1O0 or $20O, and say, week later, Porter l took out $200 last week. See if I left a memo randum of it. I meant to. Long before the crash came he had protested to his friends that it was impossible to make the books balance"
 O. Henry cut for South America It vas foolish, looked like guilt, whereas rot one cent of the misappropriated funds had ever gone into O. Henry's pocket Hearing of his wifes illness he hurried home, faced trial for embezzlement and was convicted by jury that afterward re- pented in sackcloth and ashes. So now you begin to guess where O. Henry was
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-13
German Chemistry Industry

From "Crushing the German Advance in
 American Industry by Attorney Gen
 eral A. Mitchell Palmer, in the Scribner
 It is impossible even yet to measure the full strength of the weapon which was employed in the war when the German owned patents, were taken over and sold to Americans, The situation in single industry is sufficient to indicate the inn portance of this step. Chemistry, more than any other science, is the very foun- dation of a far-flung line of industry. One has but to. look about him, for ex- ample, at the essential part which colors play in all the necessities, comforts, and luxuries of life, to realize the grip which the control of the dyestuff industry has upon the people. Its by-products touch alike the health, well being, the very life of the people. In peace, and even more in war, chemistry paints the whole pie
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-13

LILO, Margaret v
 says a playful mis- sive o. Henry once
 wrote to his little girl. Don't you re- member me? My name is Aldiberonti- phostiphornikopoho : kus. If you see a star shoot and say
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-13
Sea Scout Chanty

lanes A. Wilder, in Boys Life. A ship is wood and metal Is metal rigging and sail She's but an iron kettle, When hearts aboard her fail!
 Hauling Chorus. To my way ay and yea, yea, We're bound away for many a day, A Seascout is good Scout, So give us our seaway.
 II The heart of ships is red blood, ed-blood-never a doubt! And wood and iron useless Without the heart of a Scout. (Chorus) Our ship is what we make her. Make her-saucy and smart, No clustering wind shall break her, While we are all of heart. (Chorus)
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-13

my name F times before it goes out you will find a diamond ring i'll the track of the first blue cows foot you see go down the road in a snowstorm while the red rcses are blooming on the tomato vines. Good-hy, I've got to take a ride on a srasshopper.
 In another of his frolicsome notes to Margaret, he said. q hope your watch runs all right. When you write again be sure and look at it and tell me what tune it is, so I won't have to get up and look at the clock but I enjoy still more his advice to the little creature: Be careful when you are on the street not to feed shucks to strange dogs, or pat snakes on the head, or shake hands with cats you haven't been introduced to, or stroke the noses of electric car horses
 Now, in order to appreciate the full splendor of these joyous epistles you must look close at them and discover that, no matter how close you look in all four corners, there is absolutely nothing to indicate where o. Henry was when he penned them. An eloquent omission, this. T. speaks volumes. For there was a mys- tery about the man all through his illus trious days.
 One morning in Boston, years ago. a nice boy invaded my sanctum and said I'm going over to New York. Do you suppose I might pick up an article?" answered, "IVe just been reading The Fourth in Salvador by a blazing funny rev paragon named o. Henry. Smoke him out Pump him. Pen-sketch him. You can have two columns-three, if you like. Really I think he's worth S0.'
 week later the nice boy returned, and when I asked, Where are your berries, child?" replied, There's something creepy. I dogged the fellow all over New York for days, but he never let me get near enough to hear the squeak of his boots. I guess he must have done something"
 That was Gilman Halls suspicion, too.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-13

The Rome supreme army command has announced the total losses the Italian army suffered on all fronts during the war was 46o,0O0 killed, including 16362 of- ficers, and 947,0O0 wounded, including 33347
 a"s. On fronts other than Italian the losses were 1884 killed and 15,ls6 wounded.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-13
PERSONAL

Robert Clark, display manager for J. Blach & Sons. left yesterday for Chi cago, where he will attend the annual convention of the International Associa- tion of Display Men, which will be in session July H. 15. 16.
 pr. R. c. Morefield, who has been crit ically i'll with pneumonia at the Norwood infirmary for the past 10 days, is slight ly improved.