davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-01
Marked Business ActiUity Now
 PreUaiLs Throughout the South
Progress Thrift Abounds the Agricultural Secon-The Iron Market
 Shows ength-Coke Continues in Active Demand.

of the furnaces have resumed operations recently, spot ircn is harder to find than ever. The foundries are simply rushed to death, many of them working night shifts and they are finding it practica. and profitable to take out their present supply of the standard grades by picking up lots of iron somewhat above the GUS tomary sulphur limit
 Coke continues in active demand on a firm market with an upward tendency, although the situation at present IS some- what easier Due to the steel strike and the curtailment of furnace coke ship ment. it has been possible to give mon attention to the foundry trade, and with an improved car situation in the Con nellsville field at least. shipments have been going forward more regularly. Just how long this will last, however, will de- pend upon the settlement of the coal strike. the settlement of the steel strike the winter weather and other acts oi providence. Foundrymen continue con tracting eagerly for their first half re- ouirements and furnace men are evincine keen interest in their fuel fo. the same period. but have not been so successful in covering.
 While the ferro alloy market has beer calmed by the steel strike, there continues to be a good deal of dckering and prices have been advanced substantially durins the week on ferro-nanganese.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-01
tuscaloosa and Its Big
 Derricks and What # Mean

tuscaloosa, November 5o.-(SpeciaL)-A
 at many people are attracted to the
 nicipal wharf these pretty afternoons
 the purpose of seeing the great der
 lifting the steel plates rom the cars to the barge, to be carried
 m the Warrior for constructing ships
 carry Alabama coal, timber and az -i lltural products to the marts of the
 Id.
 enry T. DeBardeleben, manager of A Warrior section of the inland water
 IS system, is here in person. stand
 out on the cars directing the men sssr to put the hooks under the great ell plates, SO as to lift them on the
 ge without damage to either the cars
 the barge. Two of the cars have all iy been run along the river, where
 derrick can reach them for unload n., the plates on the barge.
 The great barge, some hundred and fifty feet long, lies moored to the wharf, and when a steel plate. weighing 5cVo pounds, is let down into the bottom or the barge, there is not so much as a ripple made on the surface of the Warner, so massive is the big barge receiving the steel plates. These plates are 40 rect .ong. some 4 feet wide, and each one weighs 5000 pounds. Fourteen of the plates make load for flat car' ana hey are unloaded very rapidly when the cooks to the derrick cable are fastened under them.
 The initial shipment consists of six cars If 300 tons, and this will be nothing like an adequate load for the barge to take .o Mobile so Mir DeBardeleben says as soon as the steel plates are put Tn the bottom of the barge he will run 1t up 10 the Henderson sawmill, few mics
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-01

iron situation are known. it does not take a DO. phet nor a son of a prophet to real ize why there is so much interest being shown at this time by consumers in their requirements for the first half of 1920. The great difficulty is to find furnaces in position to take care of them For five consecutive months, sales and shipments Of merchant pig iron have exceeded pro- duction. Stocks on the furnace yards are rapidly being depleted. even the off-sul- phur grades being disposed of.
 Prices are advancing. Many furnaces continue to lose money because of shut downs and other expenses which always accompany strikes. No one has been so bold as to prophecy a reduction in blast furnace costs for the first half.
 '"The demand for iron is extremely ur- gent and many inquiries remain uncov- cred Due to the curtaiment in produc- ton since September. most furnace men will have to suSp.y the iron made during the first half of next year on contracts <vh hich naturally, would have been full filled before January 1. This means that they will not be able to take on anything like their customary first half bushes.
 Ut was thought by some that possibly the strike would ease up the foundry sit uation somewhat that furnaces which had been producing steel making grades would turn over to foundry. and that spot iron would be easier. The theory possibly is correct, but although a few
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-01

up the river, and finish loading the barge with timber to be exported through the port of Mobile. In this way the big hafge Will have a full load when it turns it's prov toward the gulf on the first trip that barge ever made down the War rior laden with plates for the building of vessels at the great Chickasaw ship. building plant.
 Mir DeBardeleben was accompanied to Tuscaloosa by Charles Nj. Wood engi- neer for the Port of Birmingham, who came along to see how the unloading of the first steel plates was handled He went home convinced that the big derrick out atsthe municipal wharf could handle the plates with ease. Mir. DeBardeiepen says he has been promised POO tons of freight for shipment down the Warrior from Tuscaloosa's municipal wharf by the steel company. When he made this statement some one asked him if the derrick could handle that much freight a month, not dreaming what his answer would be- Quick as flash, Mir. De- Bardeleben said: "Yes, forty times, fifty times, hundred times that much freight month. and do it with ease" This was quiet feather in the cap of Tusca- loosa's municipal wharf. coming from an authority like Mir. DeBardeleben.
 While he knows the derrick can handle
 
 shipped down the river, he would like to see the expense of handling tn big sooo- pound plates reduced to the lowest amount, and with that in view he had plans made in Birmingham and brought them with him to Tuscaloosa for the purpose of submitting them to City En- gineer w. H. Nicoi, which, if adopted will reduce the cost of handling iron to the minimum. He proposes to have magnet attached to the end of the der rick cable, which, when let down on the big steel plates. will pick them up with the ease that a child's magnet DICKS up a tiny piece of metal He says thls can be done by turning a current of cleo tricity into the magnet and it will do the work of loading and unloading all metal that can be attracted by magnet In tenth of the time it takes to load and unload with the old system of running the iron cables under the plates and hit- ing them in that manner.
 MT. DeBardeleben says this can be done at an expense of s2000, and that would enable the city to GO away with the as' sistance of several hands, when 1t came to handling the steeH that will be sent here for shipment by barge down the Warrior. City Engineer Nicol has the plans under advisement. and will prooaois take the matter up with the city cosn- sioners
 MT. DeBardeleben was asked what he thought of the plan rnat had been sup
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-01
Hoods SarsapariIIa

Take this good old family medicine For SeroFuIa, catarrh, Rheumatism,
 Kidney Complaint, Dyspepsia.
 Having superlative merit 1t has given entire satisfaction to three generations. Fine. purifier and tonic.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-01
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS TO CONDUCT A FREE
 NIGHT SCHOOL HERE
Courses Free to Ex-Service Men, In- cluding Books and Supplies-Ap-
 plication Books Now Open

A free night school for ex-service men, to be conducted by the Knights of Columbus. will be opened in Bir- mingham on January 1, according to an announcement made last night.
 Bulletins giving the course offered fin the school are being distributed to all the ex-service men This school will be entirely free. and all books supplies and equipment are furnished
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-01
Dr. DOrten Excluded
 From the Rhineland
By Associated Prsss

London November s0.-The Amer ican authorities have refused to per- init pr. H. A. Dorten of Bonn. so-called president of the Rhine republic and leader of the movement for the inde- pendenee of the Rhineland. to reside in the occupted zone. an Exchange Tele- graph dispatch says.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-01
Governors to Cooperate
By Associated Press

By Associated Press
 Atlanta, Ga, November S0.-Co-oper- ation of state governors in bringing to the attention of the public generally the sharp curtailment of fuel decided upon yesterday to husband the rapidly diminishing supplies of the nations coal, was asked today by the regional coal committee
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-01
THE HUM OF INDUSTRY IN THE SOUTH
Express Messenger Arrested

Chattanooga, Tenn. November 3o.- With the arrest here of Frank Skillen e Hixson, Tenn. an express mes senger running between Chattanooga and Bristol. in connection with five others taken in charge at Bristol Sat urdaS. officers of the American Rail- way Express company believe they have uncovered an organized conspir- acy to loot interstate shipments of soodh
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-01

to the prospective student without cost.
 All applicants for the courses can register at the Knights of Columbus hall. 2l21 Third avenue. from i p. m to g D. m. daily.
 The courses follow: Complete bust ness course, including Spanish; prac- tical education course; high sehooi motor transport (electricaD. engineer ing course (mechanicaD. and radio and telegraphy.
 The hours of.the school will be from 30 o'clock until 9;So D. m. each night except Saturday and Sunday
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-01

mitted to Birmingham to make the Tus- caloosa wharf the port of entry of Bir- ningham, allowing the name of the wharf to be changed to that of Birmingham wharf T do not think the people of Birmingham would take very kindly to the suggestion, replied MT. DeBarde- leben. while appreciating fully the friendly spirit that prompted such an of- fer What Birmingham wants is to be free from all trunk line railroads We do not know what is going to happen when the railroad lines are turned hack to their owners on January l, and the big city of Birmingham wants that in- dependent line to the Warrior, so as to free them from the evils they suffered at the hands of railroads in the past. The Fairfield company will soon build the line and then Birmingham will have its own port and will be as free as Tusca- loosa from the domination of rates that might be placed on her"
 Mir DeBardeleben is an exceedingly en- tertaining tall1er. and all the time he was giving the reporter the information want ed. he was standing on the edge of the big flat car directing the unloading of the steel plates.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-01

In spite of labor unrest, there is sIeae business activity in every part of the south. In the agricultoral sections pros perity ahounds.
 The small towns are booming and many of the cities are thriving as never before.
 The building trades are active and new factories are forging ahead.
 In the Muscle Shoals district prosperity is the rule. The forthcoming visit of Gen eral Pershing on tour of inspection will be an event of unusual inspection. It will be but another step of the government S purpose to operate the nitrate plant on a large scale.
 With regard to the pig iron market. Rogers. Brown & Co in their weekly market say:
 When the facts Ahehind the present pig
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-03-29

was fooled out of its New Year ceie-
brations and gaieties. 1t must be al
lowed some mock celebration instead.
So. in France, the First of April was
celebrated as the Feast of Fools and
on that day fun and riot filled the
streets of Paris. A king of the Fools
was chosen and crowned, and for one
day in the year at least the people for
got their troubles and went about pok.
ing fun at their neighbors and endeav-
oring to have a jolly good time. But
there are still more reasons given for
observing April Fools Day. The
Hlndoo festival of Hull is celebrated
every year on the 31st of March in
much the same way as that in which
we observe April First. on that day
the joker can joke to his hearts con-
tent without fearing the stern grip
of the law. 1t is thought that per
haps the Crusaders in the Dark Ages
learned something of the gaiety of this
Hindoo holiday and introduced it into
Europe, and that we celebrate the fes-
tival of Hull one day after our Hindoo
cousins"
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-03-29

suspecting victims of the pranks were
sent were not SO simple nor harmless.
In Scotland the unfortunate subject of
the trick was called a 'gowk'-which
means 'fooP-and the trick played was
called hunting a gowk' In France
the victim of the joke is called an
April Fish and here in this country
we tauntingly cry April Fool to the
person who falls for our fun. Many
learned persons have tried TO trace the
jolly customs of this day to their
source, but no satisfactory theory has
been found. One story has it that the
day was first set aside by Noah when
he sent the Dove from the Ark on a
fools errand'-to find a green leaf be-
fore the waters of the flood had gone
down. Once upon a time the first of
April was New Years Day, and great
honor was then accorded to the dav
but in the year 1864, the New Year
was changed to January first, and the
poor first of April was left with but a
pretense or a burlesque of its former
festivities. Some persons think. there
fore. that because the first Of April
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-03-29

thump the ground quick and hard,
using our hind feet for drum sticks.
Sometimes when one of these little
scary, pet dogs runs after one of our
people, the rabbit will stop right quick.
and thump the ground as hard as he
can. mad-Iike, you know, and then the
poor little dog will turn about, tuck
his tail between his legs and just fly.
Then the rabbit has to hold his sides
tight to keep from laughing right out
And sometimes we have great sport
in fooIing some big. laundering human
who thinks he knows so much more
than we do. For instance, suppose !
am sitting all drawn-up away back
under a sumac bush, half asleep, when
I hear him coming crashing through
the bushes right down my way. Well,
I sit still until it looks as he was
going to step right on me. when 1
jump from under his feet, almost, and
go tearing through the tall grass, and
under the bushes. He Is so astonished
that he almost falls over backwards.
but by that time I'm gone, and every
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-03-29

rivalry to see who can catch the most
fish," at the same time everyone must
watch out for baited hooks himself.
And although all this happened a great
long time ago April fishing was very
popular even then.
"Alas!" sighed the Duke to his lady.
TT is indeed a day for fools. Let us
hope our journey be not sleeveless
Grand" By which he meant "a wild
goose chase"
The Duke, poor fellow. always got
very blue and down-in-the-mouth
when things went wrong.
They soon reached the city gates
but already the dawn had deepened
in the east and it was almost day.
Keep thy head turned away" said
the Duke to his companion. ELSE
thy fair face will give US away"
At the city gate stood two guards
looking rather sleepy after their long
vigil. Would they suspect the shabby
pair hurrying out at that early hour?
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-03-29

nibble today or caught you shall bel"
The shabby couple made no reply
but shuffled on in their clumsy wooden
shoes.
Horses await US in yon wood"
murmured the Duke. "Oh that we
were therei"
The wood seemed far away indeed
to the anxious eyes turned toward It,.
The Duchess. unused to walking, or to
any exercise, for that matter, especial
ly while carrying a basket of rubbish
on her head, could scarcely shuttle
along in her great heavy shoes. She
sighed and set her lips In a firm line.
Just then they met a peasant wom-
an and child on the road. AS the
little one looked up the Duchess smiled
at him. Was there ever a peasant
woman with such a smilei The child
stared a moment then he pointed and
cried:
"Oh, see the pretty lady!'
His mother gave the Duchess a
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-03-29

Ha. ha, ha! April fish. April fish!
Nay. thou canst not hope to catch such
an old fish as me-"
But mol" cried the peasant. This
Is no idle tale, and I advise thee to
begone fast upon their track"
Ayr" scoffed the guard. wiping his
eyes, for he had laughed himself al
most into crying fit. Then 1 am an
April f1sh!'
II never would have dreamt that
a silly creature like this could be so
witty!" roared the other guard. his
sides shaking with mirth." 1t is the
best joke 1 have heard in many a
day"
Good enough Cor the Governors
ears" the first guard chuckled.
Finding it of no avail to protest.
the peasant woman shrugged her
shoulders and clanked off in her wood
en- shoes, remarking to her child: "1,he
last laughs the best laugh"
Finally the story did get to the
Governors ears, but his ears being
dignifed, titled ears, were far removed
from plain guardsmen and it was wen
after noon when the news reached
| them. The Governor laughed at fret
then he grew very red in the face and
thoughtful, then he called his fayorite
goaler and executioner.
ITO be on the safe side, mavbap
t'would be well to look in on his Grace
and the Duchess"
The executioner went and looked In
No Duke, no Duchess did he see. The
noble couple were well on their wav
home by that time. What the angry
Governor did to the poor sentries II is
quite beyond me to say but 1 do hone
it wasn't anything as bad as having
their heads chopped off. That would
have been carrying the joke too far
and a sorry ending indeed for a couple
| of well-meaning April fish.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-03-29

is also necessary to remove some stock
for the picture and glass. About the
best way to do this, considering the
size of the stock we have to work
with, will be to lay out the part to be
removed with a sharp marking gauge
Cut this out with a good sharp chisel.
This isn't as hard as it may appear to
be and no trouble should be expert
enced in getting a good job.
About making :he joint. Some try
squares have a As degree angle on it.,
but If you haven't one, it is easy to lay
out the joint by following the detail
shown on the drawing.
When all the parts are fitted to your
satisfaction. sand well and assemble.
Glue uprights into the bottom, being
careful to see that they are at right
angles to 1t. Fasten the frame to-
gether with glue and brads. This lat
ter operation will test your skill and
perhaps your patience.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-03-29
BIZ ERnNK I. SOLRR

mortised into the bottom. Lay out
and cut the mortises very accurately.
Inasmuch as the mortises will not
show If they extend through the piece,
they are shown cut clear through
This will enable you to lay out and
cut from both sides of the piece, which
Will insure greater accuracy.
Next lay out and cut the lemons on
the uprights. Unless they are cut TO
make an exact fit with the mortises,
your work will not be a success. The
fit should not be one that will make it
necessary TO drive the tenon into the
mortise with mallet or other tool,
but it should fit snugly-without any
play. When you are satisfied with this
part of the work, lay out and bore
holes for the screws.
The making of the frame will be
the hardest part. The Joint at the
corners is a mitre joint, the two pieces
meeting at an angle of as degrees. 1t
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-03-29

all about. and from the humans that
can't walk through the woods without
making more noise than tree falling
down, but they all are very much mis-
taken. Why, we have lots of fun, and
lots of spare time, and we have regu-
lar Fairgrounds in open places in the
woods, where we gather on moonlight
nights and froIic and play. like so
many children. We play leap frog. we
run races, and play hide-and-seek.
back where it is dark under the
bushes. Then we have a funny kind
of dance, when we jump up as high
as we can, and as we come down we
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-03-29
3ArfRR0YCUS TON

mother coming into the room, what
is all this confusion?''
''Nothin' tall" said Tom. IT just
April Fooled her, that's all"
Who ever started April Pooling.
anyhow, mother?" asked Betty, "all
things must have a beginning; what
was the beginning of All Fools Day."
There is really no very good ex-
PLANTATION for the origin of this merry
CUSTOM" began mother seating herself
near the children, but the day has
long been observed in all countries
The first idea of April Fool was to
send some unsuspecting person upon
fruitless errand or meaningless quest"
Just as Tom sent me calling Lizzie
Bear" laughed Betty beginning to en-
joy the joke on herself.
"Exa city" agreed mother. only
some of the errands on which the I'M
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-03-29

through the bushes as if he expected
to find me squatting somewhere near
by. That shows how little he knows
about rabbit ways! Why, bless your
heart, as soon as 1 am out of sight,
l begin making turn, for no rabbit
ever runs in a straight line, you know.
so very carefully crossing his path in
front, 1 come right back on the other
side, crawl in a patch of brown grass.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-03-29
cyAaeineWG iverI

0NOUR GRACE. quick! The way
" is T S1ssF p,,.. :, Terrain. ,.r.ns
AY from his couch and looked wild
iy about, for he had been awakene ed
out OF a heavy sleep fraught with dis
turbing dreams. His eyes fell on the
figure of Henri, his faithful follower.
standing in the gloom. 1t was he that
had spoken.
Here is the disguise, your Grace"
whispered Henri. 1.-THE Duchess is
ready and awaits your grace. Hasten.
hasten, beg!''
The Duke did hasten. as well he
might, for just then Nantes was a
very unhealthy spot-as far as he was
concerned-and a chance to escape
might not come again. In fact, the
Duke had been dabbling In politics
a very unwise thing for duke to do
and here he was in a pretty mess. with
the French King down on him and
himself a captive in the town of
Nantes.
II will carry your Grace's clogs"
whispered the clever follower. Gomez"
1t was a good thing that the Duke
of Lorraine had follower whose wits
did not leave him in crisis, for what
with his hands trembling and his fin
gers fumbling and his not knowing
just how to put on his disguise, the
poor Duke never could have escaped
without help. Henri was cool and
steady though and soon the, Duke dis
guished in peasants attire crept noise
lessly out of the castle in his stocking
feet. Hiding in the courtyard was the
Duchess.
They slipped on their wooden shoes,
the Duke shouldered a hod which
Henri handed him, while the Duchess
balanced a basket of rubbish on her
proud head.
Dawn was painting the sky with
faint tints as the Misunderstanding pair
hurried through the streets of Nantes.
Pray sir!" called shrill, little
voice. Thou hast dropped some
thing"'
Tho Duke of Lorraine turned his
head itnxiously and his eyes fell upon
4 grinnIng youngstcr.
Tia. hal" cried the boy Thou art
the first April fish caught this first
day Of April in nv net! la ha ha.
April fish, April fish,"
In France they have April fish. in
stead of April fools. and there is great
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-03-29
CottontaiI

and sit and watch the poor human
trying to find me. He acts SO foolish
that sometimes have to stuff some
grass in my mouth to keep from snick-
ering out, and giving him another
scare. We have great times early in
the mornings, when the wild clover
IN the fence corners is bathed in dew,
just begging to be nibbled. So, you
see. with all our troubles. for every
one has some trouble. we rabbits man.
age to squeeze in quite lot of happi-
ness and fun. Our motto is, Have
all the harmless fun you can. and you
will live longer"