davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
CONGRATULATIONS

From The Sheffield Standard
 We join in extending congratulations to The Age-Herald, Birmingham's only morning daily, on the twenty-third anni- versay of MT. E. w. Barrett's ownership of the paper During the period that he has owned and edited the paper its influ- ence has steadily grown and as a news paper it has steadily improved. To the old time newspaper men of the state The Age-Herald is not only reminder of the struggles of the city of Birmingham to throw off it's swaddling clothes. but calls back the hard work of keeping morning paper in the field. The old Iron Age, and the Herald. and possibly The Daily State. were finally forced to pass out, or consoli- date. Twenty-three years ago MT. Bar rett purchased the property. and from that time on The Age-Herald has been one of the best southern dailies. We are pleased to note the progress and pros perity of the paper. and trust that MT. Barrett's success in the future will be all that he desires.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
GERMAN SOLDIERS

4oo.oo men. They are armed with rifles and sabers and equipped with machine guns and ammunition
 Lastly is to be reckoned tho -Zeit- freiwillige." volunteers for . limited period. local contingents acting as aux -iliaries to tho '-Einwonerwehr-" They are all trained soldiers and under rnih- tary discipline. though subject to-c4yil authority.
 It is thus evident that Germany.-eRsn though technically complying with the demands of the allies. may maintain an impressive military establishment, surely sufficient to cope with fnternAl uprisings, and easy to amalgamate in4D a national force for immediate uSe tn case of international complications. Germany is not helpless With Trotz- ky's hordes already on the frontiers of East Prussia some of the strongest insisters on German compliance with the letter of the peace treaty may bs gratified to know that Germany can. if need arises interpose . powerful barrier to the westward sweeD Of ha1s sheyism.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
mite. and the crew of the cap tain's gig"

The English language has not swAl lowed the whole of any of the many tongues from which it has taken unto itself a good deal. But it has grown so fat from it's piracy as MT. Davis terms it; from its canniba1istic inroads upon other tongues. that an up-to-dats dictionary of the English language is appalling the Frenchman, the Spaniard. the Italian or any other Europena who takes up the study of English AS result of it's accretions English has be- come, above all other tongues, an arm of precision to the writer or the speak, CT who has command of it.
 The schoolgirl who has learned lit- tie French will tell you there are French words and phrases which can- not be translated into English exactly: that there are ideas which can be put in words only by employing so delicate an instrument as the French tongue. But between the covers of an un- abridged dictionary of the English lam guage lies a word to fit every thought. Included between the covers are words if not countless as the stars, at least as much beyond the scope of an aver age vocabulary as the number of the stars is beyond the computations of a man who lies in hammock on a nid- summers night and contemplates a star-lit sky.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
LIKE M,LUkE SAYS

Maybe the brides of 1920 wouldn't hold their noses so high in the air if they took a good look at some of the brides of 1910.
 What has become of the o. f. man who>used to rest one foot on the ral1 while he said: "FillemupagAin, GeorgeT
 It is a great comfort to a corn fed girl to know that no matter what the style may be, she isn't displaying any tL.ng that she need be ashamed of.
 Some of the brides have discovered by this time that married life isn't all feeling with battenburg doilies. A portion of it is, devoted to working with bed bug poyder.
 If you want people to take your ad- vice and use it, you should charge them a dollar word for it.
 What has become of the o. f. woman who used to put her hair up in news paper curlers before she went to bed
 A hypocrite would not think of sell ing himself to the devil. He merely rents himself out by the day.
 mans idea of a good doctor is one who will prescribe a pint of whisky for what ails him.
 The man who tells you that Me and the wife never have any trouble I do what want to do. and she does what she wants to do,' never fools anybody. We know that he is liar. but we love him.
 Why not change the old song and make it run this way: Everything is lovely and the skirt hangs high."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10

From the Louisville Courier-J JournaL. F1HE American ambassador, MT.
 Davis, hits the bulls eye when GS he terms the English language piratical tongue because appropri- ates any phrase, expression, word which promises to be valuable.
 MT. Davis pays reasonable tribute to the English language as practical. flexible, a masterful vehicle of expres- sion when he says he hopes 1t always will retain the spirit of adventure and that the people whom it serves may never lose the spirit of courageous progress which is symbolized in the structure and character of the Ian guage.
 The conference of American and British professors addressed by MT. Davis cheered the sentiment as well as the characterization of the language. So also will others.
 There once was '-an elderly naval man" as he was described in the poem celebrating his survival of shipwreck on barren island. who alone of the gallant company remained. The others had been by the casting of lots select ed one after another to be eaten by their shipmates. The last diner sent out across the rolling main brave song which ran in part as follows: .tI am the cook and the captain bold,
 and the mate of the Nancy brig, And the bosun tight and the midshlp-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
 N T Spa the Germans were com A\ pelled to agree to the reduc- S S ton of their army 10 100000 men. Probably the agreement will be carried out, as Germany is being care fully watched by French and British observers But with the reduction ef- fected will Germany cease to possess military power?
 The 'Reichswehr' is the army pro- vided for in the peace treaty. which Is limited to 100000 men. It is the na- tional army of the republic, and Is under the control of the federal gov ernment.
 Quite aside from this national army is the "Sicherheitzspolizei." or safety police." which is military gendar- merle composed of trained soldiers armed with rifles and grenadesl and supplied with mine throwers and canr non.
 In additiop there is the ~Einwohner- wehr," civil guards or local militia under local control and numbering
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
Allies Must Check
 Spread of Bolshevism

1.-THE allied nations face the prob
 O lem of saving western Europe from bolshevism Great Britain is war weary. France seems more bellig- erent, yet she suffered much and has not fully recovered. On these two nations, and partly on America, the responsibility rests.
 Bolshevism, born in the world war, has made amazing progress On the outcome of the Minsk conference be- tween bolshevik and Polish repre- sentatives may depend to large extent the fate of Europe. For ob- to wage war on Russia, except as last resort, but they want to con- vince the bolshevki that they are in earnest, as dispatch of yester- day expressed it, that they mean 
 business" If persuasion fails, they will have to blockade Russia and shat may quickly draw them into war.
 At present the allied plan contem- plates an economic blockade and help for Poland by giving munitions and technical advice, without troops. If the bolshevik leaders will adopt a reasonable course toward Poland, the crisis may pass. If they do not-and they have lately shown spirit of ar rogance reminiscent of German mili- tarism in it's flower-the allies will either have to abandon Poland, which would be unthinkable, or use force economic force at first, probably to be followed by actual war.
 Bolshevism must be kept out of western Europe, at all costs. It menaces the world and civilization.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
Cost of Living Is
 Beginning to Decline

~ OvERNMENT experts say the @1 wave of extravaganza in America has subsided. The ultimate may pluck up courage and .--1cok for a general reduction this au- Staamn in the retail prices of food and clothing. The labor department states that wholesale prices dropped little more than 1 per cent in the past thirty days.
 With meats, fish and vegetables [. .stored in greater quantities than were on hand one year ago; with bumper crops of wheat and other cereals in sight and a sharp falling off in the consumption of luxuries, every sign points to return of nor nal conditions in the United States. Luxury tax receipts are sure ba- rometer of extravaganza. They show that the sales of automobiles, dia- monds and expensive clothing have decreased, and when extravagant X buying stops, the profiteer will be done for.
 Diamond importations are more than 25 per cent smaller and strike
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
DOUBTS AS TO PI ALLEY

From the Philadelphis Inquirer.
 Ponzi's financial jusglery has given, fresh fame to one of the narrowest of Boston's many narrow thoroughfares. But it is "Pi Alley" not Pie Alley. which is thus celebrated. The official name is Williams Court. It is a mere passageway. opposite to what was once Newspaper Row, diving suddenly be- heath a building and issuing in a small square behind the city hall. Here was located the once famous Bell-in- Hand, where the best ale could be got in the days when ale was. Veal-and-ham pies were another staple of the quaint little public" which might have been transported from by-way of Dr.. Johnson's own Fleet street.
 But 1t was not the veal-and- pies. nor those sold to newsboys at certain neighboring holes in the wall. which gave the court it's popular name. True. an official report gives currency to this fable; but tradition is all the oth- CT way. As matter of fact, the news boys eat more doughnuts than pies. The association with printers is amply sufficient to account for the name Pi Alley. The only doubt on this point is ssurrested by the Boston Herald when it asks if this name antedates Newspaper Row. Was Fi Alley changed to Pi Alley because more printers than pies were found there?
 This is matter for Boston anti quaries to settle. Neither Dr. Green
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
BOOKS

 By Robert Southey. My days among ethe dead are passed Around me I behold
 Where'er these casual eyes are cast The mighty minds of old; My~never-failing friends are they With whom I converse night and day With them I take delight in veal And seek relief in woe. And while I understand and feel How much to them I owe, My cheeks have often been bedewed With tears of thoughtful gratitude My thoughts are with the dead. With
 them
 l live in long past years, Their virtues love. their faults con.
 demn,
 Partake their griefs and fears.> And from their sober lessons find Instructions with a humble mind. My hopes are with the dead. Anon Witfr them my pi.ce ~iiI b-, And with them shall travel on Through all futurity. Yet leaving hero name, trust
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
Americas Urban Census
 In Excess of Its Rural

M1 NOTWITHSTANDING the fact \ NJ that farm life is more at- tractive and agricultural pursuits are more profitable than in former years, the federal census shows a gain of urban population over rural.
 More men are needed in the fields today than ever, but the "back to the farm' cry meets with little re- sponse.
 There has been comparatively small foreign emigration in recent years. Foreigners have settled in the cities and large numbers of farmers sons and farm labor have exchanged rural life for urban life.
 Good roads, better schools, long distance telephones, and rural free delivery have added greatly to the desirability of the country home; and yet the city continues to increase in population at the expense of the rural district.
 The census work is far enough ad- vanced to form an estimate of the rural population of the United States. A Washington dispatch tc the Cincinnati Enquirer shows that one hundred and five million souls live in this country, and that of that total 51 per cent reside in urban dis tricts, or about fifty-three million five hundred and fifty thousand
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
# # # Europe of 1920 Not Like That of 1914

7H HERE are wars in Europe and r 0 rumblings of greater wars, but beneath the rugged aspect there are countervailing. conditions that render the situation quite different from the world wars setting.
 Due to agreements following the -promulgation of the fourteen princi ples in January, of 1918, and their enforcement through the treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations, three strategic positions fortify western Europe against the dangers of another 1874 catastrophe.
 The first of these consists of the line of allied troops stretched along the Rhine from Holland to the north ern boundaries of Belgium, France and Italy extending into German tel ritory. thus preventing surprises oy Gernla y there.
 The second IS embraced in the pos session of the kiel canal and the dis maptling of the Iieligoland fortifi- cations. This opens the way for all lied battlcships tu the Es ]tic, and the establishment If an ircrc]ad em- bargo on northern Russia and Ger many.
 The third is command of the Medi- terranean, the Dardanelles and the Bosphorous, allowing in turn the command of the Black sea in south .ern Russia and shutting off the Turk and the Bulgarian from serious con- nection with Germany or Russia in hostile combination. A complete em- bargo on southern Russia is feasible by allied warships.
 Russia may be bottled up. Ger many is bottled up. The Turk is cut off and il, process of disintcgration. The element of surprise is impossi- ble. By land and by sea the allies s.are in command of the strategic po- -sitions. The Polish Russian situation is formidable, but it is not beyond allied control
 The hand of Woodrow Wilson is seen in this. The fourteen principles are in action.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
Another View of
 the Solid South

"A T the end of the reconstruction 6A period the term solid south came to mean that all the states where slavery had existed belonged in the democratic column. There were sixteen such states. When Okla homa was admitted to the Union the number of southern states was in- creased to seventeen. But the border states, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia and Missouri, began to slip away from the column when MT. Bryan dominated the democratic party. F
 In 1912 MT. Wilson carried the solid south as it had been known, but in 1916 Delaware returned to the re- publican fold.
 There is a confident feeling in democratic circles that the whole south will go for Cox. It may re- quire energetic work to get little Delaware back into line and to keep West Virginia "solid."
 The republicans have always opened their barrel in West Virginia, but Cox is full of snap and it is all but certain that he will carry every border state as we'll as the ever-de- rcndable southern states.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
BuRLEsoN NOT A BALL FAN

From the ArgOnaut
 Postmaster General Burleson has long boasted of the fact that he has never attended professional game of base ball and does not propose to attend one. To see hundreds of men gathered in front of bulletin board getting base ball returns throws the Postmaster General into a mild rage. Those loaf CTS" he always observes on such occa- sion, ought to be at work down on my farm" Which is doubly rough on the baseball fans. For Burleson's farm of 500 acres is rented to the state of Texas. and is cultivated by penitentiary prisoners.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
In Carolina Mountain.

'Just back from North Carolina mountains" said N. P. Messer. Tt is certainly fine up there for resting and recreating purposes. I slept every night under sheet, blanket and a counterpane and reached out the win dow. in the crisp early mornings and shook hands with passing clouds.
 What a wonderful thing it is to have such a splendid climate right here in Birmingham and such superb re- treat for the tired nerves now and then so close to us. One need not get out of the south for any of the good things which the Lord has provided man with"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
THE LAST RESORT
From the London Post.

In old England the following story admirably illustrates the industrial sit uation: Two miners were discussing the minimum wage:
 Say. Bill" said the first. whats this ere minimum wage"
 Bill spat ''The minimum wage? l? That's what we gets for goln' down, an if we wants ter make any more brass. we goes and does some work for it."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10

must be competent authorities st1n to call upon. MT. Herkimer Johnson might leave Blossom Court-or is ha now at thorough Investigation. Meanwhile. Pi Alley has the floor
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10

hundred and fifty thousand in rural sections.
 While the tabulation is not com= plete, with the population of about one-third of the cities and towns, including practically all the larger cities and about one-third of the counties announced, the bureau sta tisticians express themselves as con- fident that the rural population will be less than the urban.
 The increase in the proportion of the urban population has been steady and rapid since 1880. But in that time the improved conditions of farming and rural life have been marked. The steady progress of sci entific agriculture within the last ten years should have the effect of check- 1 ing the drift of farm folk to the city in the coming decade. x" x # < | Homer Cummings may be partially eclipsed. but he is still able to express an unfavorable opinion of the repub- lican party about as forcibly as any | living democrat.
 ] Since prohibition went into effect a few little country jails have been closed for lack of patronage, but +he city jails are doing more business | than ever before. The public will never know what was the mysterious insert which Cox planned to put into his, acceptance 1 speech at the last moment. but the bosses know. Jay House says if man has nick" out. But the worst manifestation is a nick in a s7ooo car.
 # # <
 The stuff that will make a man climb a telegraph pole was imbibed by a New Jersey citizen who was found asleep on the wires.
 # # x
 Lenine and Trotzky nave reluctantly concluded that they will have to be po- lite to the Russian peasant, who is the man behind the food situation.
 # # # Although the tumult and the shout ing dies in Dayton. the captains and the kings continue to hang around and advise the nominee.
 Prudent heads of families are laying in their winter coal supply and making overtures to their landlords
 army to check the bolsheviki should not be lost on Brother Bryan.
 # < #
 Senator Harding wears gag about as gracefully as any man who ever ran for President. s'N At any rate, the campaign bands this year will not have to play "Ovel There about forty times day.
 f x #
 The great T. R sleepeth, but the name Roosevelt is still figuring ir headlines on the front page. x < x T
 Merico is now quiet it may soon begin to view the chaotic situation ir Europe with righteous indignation.
 # x
 So far as Ponzi is concerned. "P Alley" in Boston should be spelled Pie"
 The elimination of Senator Gore looks like another victory. though a minor one, for the League of Nations. | N Hs F T
 The fuel situation is either good 5oI bad according to the angle from which one views it. E |
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
THE MOTOR AGE

~would you like to live in house by the side of the road and be friend to man. as the, poet expressed itT'
 No. said Mir. Gribble, T wouldn's care for that kind of life -The auto horns, the dust and the fumes of gas oline would be unbearable. Besides. wouldn't have chance to get acs quainted with anybody who passed my door, unless his car broke down or ran into a ditch and he wanted to borrow a rope, a monkey wrench. or some thing.s PAUL COOK.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
shows the Way

T was greatly interested in Ned Braces story about his country place on Shades mountain, m and on his ex- perience with horses, cows and hogs said D. J. Ponceler, "for he made no effort to show that he was any great success as an amateur farmer when measured in dollars and cents' but reading between the lines it was easy to see that he had received much pleasure if not much pecuniary profit in tackling the job of raising some thing to eat, a thing which many will have to do or go hungry unless there is a decided change in farming condi tions. Foodstuffs are high and l see little chance of their coming down un- less, more is raised, and how can more be produced when the people from the country are Hooking to the cities
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
ADRIF7'T WITH THE TIMES
MODERN ENLIGHTENMENT

MODERN ENLIGHTENMENT The old oaken bucket that hung in the
 well Is famous in story and song; In fancy 'tis pleasant upon it to dwell When childhood's glad memories The water it brought up was sparkling
 and cold.
 It sank with musical "plunk" From it's brim. that was blackened and battered and old No sweeter draft ever was drunk. But science. which bears rather hard
 on our dreams.
 And deals in mysterious terms, Declares dread pollution is abroad in
 our streams
 And well may be teeming With
 germs. The old oaken bucket, as likely as not, At which sanitarians scoff, May have caused a disease when the
 weather was hot
 That carried great multitudes off,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10

AGGRIEvED
 Do you mind if I smoker asked the male politician, politely.
 Not at all," replied the suffragette- I'm not in politics for my health" 'But. my dear, madam. my cigar is not as bad as that"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
M1sDIREcTED EFFORTS

MIsDIRECTED EFFORTS
 "A bigamist may be a criminal, but you'll have to give him credit for also being enterprising." remarked Mir. Gadspur.
 'Umph!" said MT. Twobble. 50 is a burglar, but he isn't regarded as an ornament to society,""
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
Life on the ocean Wave

People are certainly travelling east this summer" said Miss Mary Haun, who has just returned from a trip to New York, Washington, Detroit, Chi cago. Buffalo and Toronto and other Canadian points. We made the trip from Savannah to Baltimore by boat. and it was just wonderful.
 The only disadvantage of this trip was the fact that practically everyone on board was seasiek. Howevers some were only sick for few hours. All trains were crowded and everyone seemed to be going somewhere. It was wonderful trip, and even with the seasickness I would like to take it again tomorrow"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
THE wnsoN1AN ATTITUDE

That couple over there on park 7 bench don't seem to care how many people see them spoonifig." "They evidently believe in open
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
Took a Long Shot

 The long shot won for me once that know off said Morris Bush. "l was at Gadsden one day when a local newspaper there under big headlines announced tentatively the location of large cement works by the Lehlgh Company. Returning home that head line kept burning into my subcon- sciousness until. on the spur or the moment, l dictated long telegram to the president of the company setting forth the advantages of Birmingham T heard nothing in reply for sew eral weeks, when one day gentleman stepped into my office and said he-rep- resented the Lehigh company. Tne outcome is a s3.000, 900 plant for Tar rant City near our by-product, works The long shot made the apple fall that time."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-10
HER TURN

"A wife should be helpmeet," re- marked the philosopher.
 That's my view, exactly" replied MT. Clipping. Only the other day I re- minded Mrs. Clipping that I washed our flivver the last time, but she didn't take the hint"