davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30

From New York Commercial.
 EHHE insufferable Anti-Tnis and Anti-That are having larger q success than they deserve. Now the anti smoke fiend is putuns in some strong licks. We have been toio ir tha news columns ever since prohi- hition began to vaunt itself, because of successful legislation. that the next his crusade would be to prohibit to- bacco. So we have the Antl-Smokihs ruisance with us. Strange as it may seem. this newcomer has invaded the south. He has not vet been able to po the entire length of his journey but he has got fine foothoid rom which he will be in position to widen his mowers. The South Carolina sem ate has actually passed bill 10 pro bibit smoking in the dining rooms or hotels. restaurants and other puoi' rlaces.
 This is intolerance with vengeance nrohibition run mad. We couio nave regarded it with more complaisance' for it would have been at least aosuru' lif this legislature had told the peopie of south Carolina they must not smoke in their homes. or in other priVale n,aces. well. say because of danger or fire or because science had come to tba conclusion that smoking was pro dnctiye of some new. frightfui menace which rothing but the harshest meas ures could prevent from exterminauns the population of the land.
 Rut to be told that man may not eniov a smoke after his meal, Because forsooth. he is comuelled to- or chooses to dine in hotel CT restaurant. is to perpetuate that which we only re- centlv lifted from the shoulders of isoma of the European nations. It is useless to try to tell the people that delicate consideration prompted this thing: that the refinements of society have come to recognize deference superior to that which we have been exhibiting and to be exhibited here after toward the gentler sex. It won't work. The gentler sex doesn't want lthat kind of deference. The gentler
 sex is far more sensible on this sub-
 fleet than the South Carolina senators
 who voted for the snti-smoking Bill
 rave shown themselves to be. Most
 women like to see man enjoy his
 smoke If they have the slightest re-
 vuIsion to the practice in their i'm
 pressionistic days. the antiDathy quick
 1 ly passes away after the days of court
 ship have begun. and when the state
 of matrimony.s has been entered there
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30

just comprehensive enough to prove tantalizing. The moot question of the Martian canals, whether natural or artificial, and whether true canals or some phenomenon of nature, has never been solved to the satisfaction of everybody.
 Marconi does not commit himself, but he does not disillusion those who fancy that the curious disturbance of wireless telegraphy on the earth is due to signals coming through space from another planet. If it should ever come to pass that communica- tion is established between the earth and, we'll says, Mars, let us hope that we'll find the Martians polite and cultured people, if trifle queer as to form and feature.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
YATES IRONY.

Did you read in the papers about tha. eccentric man who made all the arrange ments for his funeral, having every del tall just the way he wanted it, and then attended the exercises with evident en- joyment?"
 Yes. read about that fellow. He thinks he's smart, no doubt, but some of these days he's going to die, and nig obituary will be printed in his home town paper, and it will be full of typo graphical and other mistakes that he will never be able to correct-'
 EXCEEDING THE SPEED LIMIT. Here's postcard from my friend Jagsby, who is in Cuba" remarked MrI Dubwaite. "Welf?"
 He writes, Wish you were here.'~ "Umphl l wonder how many thousands of tourists have written that sentence on postcard because they couldn't think of anything original to say"
 But Jagsby probably means it. He adds, parenthetically, to lend 8 hand In the wee sma' hours of the morning he1 probably needs somebody to lean on."
 PAUL COOK.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
# # * Bright Outlook for Highway Bond Issue

1FHE twenty-five million dollar
 4 bond issue proposition for building trunk highways throughout Alabama will probably receive a large majority of the vote to be cast on February Is, but nothing should 2 be taken for granted.
 7 The progressive people of the state should not be satisfied with mere majority. It should be overwhelm- ing, and with a vigorous campaign such will be the result. The larger the vote, the more significant the effect. It will show to home-seek- CTS outside of Alabama that this state is alive to the value of model read system, and is, therefore, going forward in material development.
 As the bond money will come not from the taxpayers, but from the automobile license fund, it is incon- ceivable how any intelligent voter can oppose the proposition.
 Next in importance to the twenty five million dollar bond question, is the five million dollar issue for Jeff ferson county It should receive a substantial majority. A strong com mittee has been formed to canvass every precinct, and the drive should be of the whirlwind sort.
 The good roads movement begun in Alabama twenty years ago was worth great deal. It ushered in a new era; but after all, the improve nent of the highways undertaken at the start was of temporary charac- ter. The new roads were built on cheap scale, and with no provision for repairs. The result was they were soon washed away.
 The day of the motor truck high way has come and only hard-surfaced roads will serve the purpose. No matter what the first cost may be, it is economy in the end. All the money expended for roads in Alabama from now on will be for the best kind-of deep foundation and smooth. Cheap construction is thing of the past.
 Let's have February 16 an epoch making day in Alabama's forward march
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
Is Another World Trying
 To Signal Mother Earth?

@ CHEMISTS, Marconi among 0 them, are puzzled by mysteri- ous messages that have been received by wireless stations. The theory that they come from outer space from some other planet, perhaps cannot be proved, as yet, but it is one of the most fascinating subjects of the age.
 Writers of fiction, as well as hard headed men of science, have long speculated on the possibility of other worlds than ours being inhabited. Mars has been chosen as the most likely to have some form of life, since conditions there more closely approxi- mate those of the earth. On the oth- CT hand, it has been pointed out that these surmises presuppose race of beings more or less resembling earth dwellers, when, as matter of fact, our conception of life does not neces- sar;lv hold true for the entire uni verse. There may be creatures able to exist in more torrid worlds closer to the sun, Mercury and Venus, for instance, or in the bleak and more distant planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Ura- nus and Neptune.
 But these speculations are more or less idle. Our knowledge of Mars is
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
UP THE AMAZON

R. L. Bellem. in the Philadelphia BulIe- tin. Up the flowing Amazon the boundless, soundless Amazon Jungles wall the sides with verdura. parrots shriek and scream Fragrant. light and airy land, an ele-
 mentary fairy land Days pass by unnoticed in a misty,
 drowsy dream. Up the placid Amazon, the floody, muddy
 Amazon, crepers trail from tree to tree in wild
 exotic life; Now monkey chattering in accents far from flattering, Then looming savage drum that tells
 of stress and strife. Up the tranquil Amazon the o,den. gol-
 den Amazon. What stage has nature set for bqk
 adventures plays, Life is growing bia..k again and I wot~
 fain be back again, A-fioating up the Amazon engulfed tp
 tropic hazel
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
Veteran Cartoonist
 of New York Herald

1 NEWSPAPERS of the country are
 N still showing great interest in the purchase of the New York Herald by Frank A. Munsey and his an lnouncement that the Herald will be consolidated with the Sun. The dis Appearance of the Herald, for that is what consolidation amounts to in this case, is universally regretted. It had become a national institution and if Sir Oliver Lodge could establish com municatioa with the late James Cor don Bennett he might discover that gentleman in a terrible temper be- cause of these recent and cataclysmic developments.
 To many employees who have been connected with the Herald for years MT. Munsey's decision brings sorrow, J for it is unlikely that all of them can |
 be retained and associations will be broken up that cannot be left behind without a pang.
 Chief among the Herald workers who has lost his position because of the change in ownership is w. A. Rogers, the veteran cartoonist, whose drawings have appeared in that pa- per almost daily for about twenty years. Because his name and his work were familiar to newspaper readers everywhere, even those who did not know that there was such a man as James Gordon Bennett, the passing of MT. Rogers to other fields or perhaps to permanent retirement, means distinct loss. The Rogers cartoons constituted one of the Her. Iald's most popular features.
 MT. Munsey has pronounced ideas about newspapers. He is opposed to departments and believes in a policy of no cartoons. Hence the retirement of Mir. Rogers, who ranks among the leading cartoonists of America. Apart from the distinction MT. Rogers enjoys in his profession when he lost the use fhis right hand he set himself to draw with his left and if memory is not at fault-the fol- lowing day cartoon drawn by him with his left hand appeared in the Herald, but little inferior in execu- tion to his previous work. This is believed to be one of the most ex- traordinary exhibitions of will power on record.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
Interest in Politics

'l had the biggest day in registra- tion yesterday of any day since I have E. Morris yesterday They were lined up even into the han awaiting their turn to register and the final count last night showed over 400 for the day.
 So far this week I have registered 1,415 voters, and there is an increase each day of registration. great num- Der of those registering are ex-soldiers and sailors. most of whom are young. men who have never voted before. l. cannot be denied that the interest th.s year in politics is greater than ever before"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
What They Went For

Expecting to see something out of the ordinary, I dropped into one of the local moving picture houses about noon yesterday said Arthur Jones. land I was rewarded for my trip. It had been advertised that a bevy of beauties would appear in person, in full bathing regalia. at. certain hour. I went into the show house when the picture was about half over Near the door were hundred or more men. As soon as the curtain dropped and the operator flashed notice Of the coming of the 'beauties.' every one of these men immediately got up and marched to the front rows. filling every seat in that part of the house. They had sat indifferently through the screen play but the minute the girls walked out onto the stage they were all atten- tion."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
LITTLE RAILROAD YARNS

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
 sharon. Pa.-Jumping the track on the Billiards branch of the Bessemer railroad. locomotive. pulling c freight train. travelled along the hs packed snow for a distance of feet and then, mounted to the rails again. 3
 An Erie freight locomotive eastbouuc] on the Bessemer railroad jumped the track in the Shennanga. Pa. yards, and after proceeding 200 feet again regained the rails
 And to prove their stories. railroad men will show the locomotives.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
HAs A Goop EFFECT.

Which one of Shakespeare's plays d you regard Ps his masterpiece?"
 Macbeth. replied the man wno slightly henpecked.
 Perhaps you are right, but scholar differ"
 "oh, I don't set myself up as schols or even good judge of plays. merel know that after. seeing performance ( Macbeth my wife says she feels littl and afraid and in need of protector. :"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
Likes New Street Cars

The new safety cars of the Birming- ham Railway. Light and Power Com pany which were put into operation on the Highland Avenue line have cer- tainly improved the service" said W. c. Hollingsworth. land if you miss one you do not have to wait long for an- other In my opinion. better service can be secured by operating cars at shorter intervals. even if the cars are only one-half as large as those for. merly used on these lines. Although people seemed to think the cars were too small to accommodate the residents in this section of the cirv at first. 1 have heard many speak of the im- proved service since the cars have been operated on this line"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30

From the New York Evening Sun.
 Hoboken John was a handy man,
 Mixing drinks for the sailor clan;
 Knew all the sailors from near and far Who dropped their hooks at the Eastern
 Bar. Ballad of the Barmen. l7TJHERE is no doubt about it. Hobo
 ken John was handy man when
 it came to mixing some of those things which are now on the blacklist and not to be mentioned except with bated and unquenched breath. Hobo ken" as he was known to thousands who cruised along the southern coasts Of the city, was the dean of Battery barkeeps, just as Bob Peach, the Clam Sage of South street was the dean of Battery boatmen.
 'Hoboken' shook wicked cocktail as the marine saying goes, and he had particular finesse in the preparation of an "old fashioned" which in the old days was not shaken, but mixed and drunk. Many skipper had his heart cheered at the Eastern bar by Hoboken John after coming ashore after many hours on a gale swept and icy bridge
 The long, rectangular bar or the Eastern hotel, at the corner of White hall and South streets, has entertained legions and fleets of sailormen in the forty odd years of its existence, and from all quarters of the globe they came hunting Hoboken John and finding him. But nowadays when they come up the bay and rolling down the street they will find no Eastern to cheer them. The famous old port of call was among those engulfed by the prohibition tide and incoming sailormen will try the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
Commissioner Wallace
 Should Be Reelected

OHN H. WALLACE, Commis- " sioner of Conservation, has an- nounced his candidacy for reelection MT. Wallace's success in building up Ia department of game and fish and his work in conserving the states natural resources are familiar to the people of Alabama. He should be continued in this important office as long as he is willing to serve.
 Few state officials have shown more zeal and enthusiasm in the per- formance of their duties than MT. Wallace. He is a lover of nature, and has not only done great deal in having passed and in helping to en- force laws for the protection of game and fish, but has added much to the |public's knowledge of these subjects. His department IS most prompt in supplying any information desired; its publications are both artistic and educational.
 The voters of Alabama would be indeed ungrateful if they declined to Ire-elect man who has served them |so faithfully and so. well.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
Farmer. for Bond Issue


 "All the farmers ask is that our city cousins pull their part of the load in the coming election for good roads. and the bond issue will win by large majority" said o. P. Ford. secretary treasurer of the Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union. The farmers will do their part.
 Having been over good part of the state during the present campaign. l am prepared to say that our organ ization is heartily in favor of the bond issue to be voted on February 16 and that our members. generally. will vote for it. as will many farmers who are not yet affiliated with the farmers union.
 Our organization has been on rec ord for better roads. better rural schools. better paid teachers and CO., operative telephone systems in the country and has given its indorsement to these things at national state and county meetings for the mast 15 years. Organizers and lecturers for the farm4 CTS union in the present membership campaign have been requested to stress these facts wherever they go until the day of the special election, February l6"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES

WE GET THEM MENDED NOW. The lowly shoemaker once toiled at his
 bench,
 Unceasing from morning to night; His earnings were small and to poverty
 pinch
 He often succunfbed in alright But now the shoemaker's a prosperous
 man, His services many require; His prices are high-on the latter-day
 plan And, sooth, he may shortly retire, To live on the riches so easily earned. Undreamed of by cobblers of yore, Ere, forced to economize, multitudes
 turned
 For repairs to the shoemaker's door.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30

20 years of public life he was where he couldn't be pestered by telegrams, letters and visits from his constituents"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
* x S How Influenza Reduced Insurance Dividends.

THE epidemic of influenza last 4 year took larger death toll than was realized by the public, and while many cases were mild, the fatal attacks were startling to the health authorities.
 By reason of the influenza's rav- ages the life insurance companies lhave been forced to reduce their divi- |dends this year. The epidemic cost Ithe Prudential the enormous sum of nineteen million dollars.
 All the large companies were af- 'fected by the influenza, of course, al- though in some instances, the losses lwere comparatively light. The return of the disease in sev-
 eral cities is causing the medical of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30

GOT A LITTLE REST.
 "I know a member of Congress who still thinks fondly of the time he spent in Europe Investigating the war; Did he enjoy himself so much?" "Yes, but not because of what he saw and did over there. For the first time in
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
H1GH-BRows.

"scribson's books are sold by the train- load" I'm glad you told me. I won't invite Scribson to a dinner I am planning to
 give in honor of some literary people" "why not?' ''It might be unpleasant for him. All
 the other guests will be authors the sale of whose books rarely exceeds 2o0o or 900 copies each. and they are inordinately proud of that fact"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
SIMPLE METHOD.

'I understand bank burglars are the aristocrats of the criminal world"
 They used to be-"
 What brought about the changer"
 "Ir the old days it required brains and ingenuity. as well as experience, to rob bank, but nowadays so many rank amateurs chug up to bank in an auto- mobile. take what cash they need and merrily roll away, the profession has been cheapened."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30

Our fostcr-nurse of nature is repose.
 king Lear.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
 AND ELSEWHERE
Dave Contribute. Hls Dit

Dinner was over and Dave Holt sat at his table. absently turning glass of ice water between his fingers. His
 mind seemed to be far away. Coming Tout of his reverie. he spoke. and speak ing. saida
 Tt was back in the early 'sos. We
 were in little country hotel. It was 1 bitterly cold. All were crowded about
 the stove. A countryman spoke:
 Evs'y time I sets by the stove I eeches.' he said.
 You don't like that one? Well, see
 if you can print this;
 T was diotating to the new stenog-
 rapher the other day, short letteE and, as I remember it. here is how she
 had taken dow none paragraph: "We are urging you comma despite what may be said to the contrary comma to do all you can for this good roads movement period The benefits to be derived from great inter hyphen there communicating system of high.
 ways comma to say nothing of l Well, how is this? A travelling man I was going around with called on a grocer, who. with several customers, was playing marbles on the sidewalk.
 and some of them had gray bears-the people, not the marbles. The grocer looked up at my commercial friend a
 moment and spoke:
 CT don't want none of your flour. and I don't want none of your coffee. | Shoot. Zeke.'"
 And, having contributed his bit to | the daily press, Dave was left in peace.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30

An official of the treasury department says. "The public refuses to buy low priced articles" AS previously, if not ex- clusively, predicted in this column. the public is going to wake from it's trance some day.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30

As we came out of the Tutwiler I said T will hail a taxicab." How far is it?" he asked. "Oh, several blocks to be told. Whats the use? Let's walk. :. And so we did. I had brought him down from the second floor of the Tutwiler and fearing he might stumble on the winding marble stairway. caught hold of his arm. hut he brushed me aside. and said "Oh that's tot necessary: I can make it myself" I later tried to catch his arm to guide him across the street but he was i'm patient at being helped though 1t was not for lack of courtesy. but merely an asserting of the fact that he was an old man. He did thank me at the church when. after the lecture. he was struggling to get into his overcoat. I assisted him.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30

Officers of Boston shoe company were fined sl0o0 each for profiteering, a total of 5000 As the company has probably made millions, it must be terribly de- pressed over having to pay out 5000 in lines.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30

The report that King George is backing Herbert Hoover for President of the United States should not be recklessly banded about. It may cause George to acquire an exaggerated notion of his own importance.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30

The thing which stuck out in my personal contact with him and in his lecture. was the fact that he was a self-reliant man without any pretense whatever. He was perfectly natural, and quite human in his abuse of what he called the rotten service which
 permitted his bag to be left behind. As we were coming out of his room I was amused to hear him say. "Oh. how hate big hotels. Why is it you Americans shun the coEv little onesr'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30

Then came the test of pride of an- cestry. I spoke of having stated tha. one authority gave it that his family generations back had coma from Ger many. but that another began with one of the name serving under Peter the Great I learned that it did not stir his interest. and why should if. for is he not the son of the man who next to the great Russian ruler has im- pressed himself more fully on his country than anlyone elsee
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30

The wife of a New York bootblack who is suing him for divorce. says he makes, s225 week. Most of the large incomes nowadays go to persons who work with their hands.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30


 Harold Bell Wright of England. In other words. Mir. Garvice is not one of your authors who live in garret
 # * x The late Admiral Pillsbury was called the Darwin of the Deep" He knew far mere about what goes on in the ocean than Annette Kellerman.
 * < * William Butler Yeats sees no hope for the pacification of Ireland Maybe he hasn't heard President" Devalera speak on that subject. Appropriations to fight the flu run all the way from a dimes worth of pills to hundreds of thousands of dollars. x * # Sir Oliver Lodge is addressing large crowds of people who are anxious to know what's the news across the Styx. Whoever is elected President of Cuba will be able to celebrate his victory with an old-fashioned banquet. * * x "Pusyfoot" Johnson went over to France, not for crusading purposes. but to rest and recuperate. * x * The aftermath of prohibition offers no
  sadder scene than the farewell of re- tiring bartender. a * The south has many flourishing indus tries. but harvesting ice is not one of them
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-30

TELEPHONE Bell (private exchange connecting all departmental Main 40OO.s