davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
WHERE BASEBALL ORIGINATED

lures, but stories of the games which
 appeared in the ancient prints carry more
 than hint of silk stockings. silver
 buckles and immaculate knee brooches,
 with hats beautifed with white cockades.
 It is probable that they did not stage
 much of the game of baseball compared
 with the sport as played today, for the
 curve and the slide. the mitt and the
 pad, the mask and the shin guard were
 unknown. It also can be stated without
 fear of contradiction that, being purely
 amateurs, with no thougt of breaking
 contracts, holding out for portions Of the Ipurhase price or hopes of sharing in the
 worlds series money, they played tne game like sportsmen and resorted to noth- ing corresponding to the unclean spit ball or the trickery behind the shine, emery, licorice or bean ball.
 It was in 1915 that the players of the Kfickerbockers first appreciated the de- sirability of effecting a formal organiza- tion. History indicates that the new fdea one of the originators of the club, and that after discussing it with some of his fellows he formally proposed the orgsl- ization scheme after a practice game played in the spring of that year. His suggestion met with instant approval
 and committee consisting of Mir. Cart wright, Duncan F Curry, E. R. Dupignat~ Jr., w. H. Tucker and W. R. Wheaton, 1 at once set about obtaining the signatures of those desirous of belonging to such an organization.
 | Thus it came about that MT. Cartwright was the father of organized baseball l Four years later he left New York Tor California. attracted by the gold hunt of that era, and after obtaining his share of
 the precious metal. sailed for Hawaii. 1 where he was leading citizen and busi- | ness man until he died in 1S9c. l Duncan F. Curry was chosen as the first president of the Knickerbocker Baseball Club of New York.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
THE MULE AT THE FRONT

French, allies loyal and zealous
 Naturally the Q. M. c. has partialaty for ''the powerful, upstanding, mealy- -1iosed product of the middle west" But the smaller and leaner mules of Spain and the French Pyrenees did yeoman work in hauling machine gun and ammu- milton carts. The mults wore very we'll. They understood that the last ounce was required of them, and they didn't finch.
 It was necessary to keep them on the move forty-eight. sixty and sometimes scventy-two hours with hardly more than a pause. Then it was possible only to feed small amount of grain and . few handfuls of hay Under this strain the mule went forward. giving his an un- complainingly.'
 Mules gave out but picked up amaz- ingly with rest at the rear. Sometimes, when at the last gasp. they quit, in the sense that the profanest man in the army Ito relate that at St. Michiel and in the Argonne they stuck it out, knowing what was at stake. In playful moments rhe mule was sometimes mischievous, paving the lid off a Dutch oven and making off with new batch of bread, or occasionally upsetting pot and purloining the bacon. But it was wartime-the hungry mule had to forage for himself. Again has this loved if derided hybrid made a rec ord in an American campaign. The regu- lars, who. from long experience. know the virtues as we'll as the vices of their friend would like to see the distinguished service medal awarded to at least one mule that had proved himself worthy of the honor under fire.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23

Edwin A. Goewey, in Leslie's.
 6TlaE much-debated question of where
 the real game of baseball origi-
 9 mated and who contrived the first practical scheme for playing the sport was settled for all time in 1907 by com mission consisting of A. G. Mills of EeW York. weil-known player before and during the civil war, and the third presi- dent of the Nationau League the late Arthur P German, one-time United Stares senator from Maryland; the Hon. Morgan c. Bulkeley. former governor of and later United States senator from Connecticut and the first president of the National League; George Wright of Boston and Al fred J Reach of Philadelphia, two of the most famous ball players of the old days; N. F. Young of Washington, vet eran player. first secretary and fourth president of the National League, and the late James F. Sullivan of New York, the most famous executive who ever headed the Amateur Athletic Union.
 These gentlemen, after examining all iDTCcuraDie data, QeCiuSu, ilISt, eiio He..'~ ball had it's origin in the United States and, second, that the first practical scheme for playing the game was devised by Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown, N Y, in 1889 Doubleday later Nwas gradu- ated from West Point, entered the regular army as a captain of artillery and sight ed the first gun fired on the Union side at Fort Sumter. Before the close of the war he was commissioned major gen eral
 Next in order comes the first regularly oi ganized baseball club, the famous ole Knickerbockers of New York, about whose accomplishments there was mucf Iof the. romantic, for they were gentle men players, not professionals, and iaic the cornerstone of present-day organ ized baseball. the greatest sport in the world.
 The uniforms of the Knickerbockers ol l1s42 have not been handed down in DIG
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23


 tip, but they are usually performed at the expense of somebody else.
 Editor scott's doughty paper is well edited and interesting to read. The second issue, now at hand, dis cusses anti-tipping legislation and contains such timely articles as Anti Bribery Efforts of the Eng fish," Concession System in Ma tional Parks" Tripping Uncle Sam S15, 1000, 900 for Sleeping and Dining Car Service" Experiences With Eu- ropean Tipping" Government h. yestigates Tipping Custom," Status of Tipping in the Capitol of the United States" what Europe thinks about tourists and numerous shorter contributions which throw light on the pernicious habit of giving gratui- ties.
 While Editor and Publisher Scott has his work cut out for him and his Review may suggest pygmy tack Hing giant with pea shooter, if just half the people who daily wax profane over the tipping nuisance would rally to his standard bearing the words, Millions for defense; not one cent for tribute," the Order of the Itching Palm would cease to exist
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
Save Money

The state could save a great deal of money in its good road construc- tion pregramme," says Clarence Ray "by putting the convicts to work in a cement factory. This factory could be established very eheaply in south Ala bama, and with convict labor run with practically no expense. A chemist to have charge of the plant and a labor boss would, very nearly constitute the entire force of the plant.
 T know from experience that ce- ment can be produced in Alabama for about one-half the price the state is forced to pay for it to use in con structing roads The state could use it's own production. eliminating the ne cessity for any overhead expense. On the face of it, this would be the means Of saving us many a dollar which goes to out-of-the-sta concerns"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
Music Lovers Not Tired
 Of the Old Oratorios.

lIN BIRMINGHAM was well known 1 ID as an oratorio city few years ago, but interest began to wane
 when the seating capacity of the
 festival hall was reduced and the
 auditorium transformed into the
 Bijou theatre.
 Now that we are to have a great modern auditorium with a vast ca
 pacity, the musical festival, with toratorios and symphony, must be re- lvived.
 l As an evidence that classic music of tkc sacred type has still. its
 votaries by the thousands in New York, Walter Damrosch closed a
 splendid festival of five days in the lbig armory.
 Mendelssohn's Elijah" was sung by la chorus of 1,500, with Frieda Hem
 
 Epel as the leading soprano, and
 Charles M. Schwab's famous Bach
 choir of 300 voices was brought by MT. Schwab from Bethlehem, Pa, to sing the Passion music, There were novelties of Russian music, but the classics seemed to be the best loved. The audiences were immense and the receipts met all expenses. This city's auditorium soon to be built will be dedicated by great festival chorus. It will be an af- fair of several days and will include series of symphony concerts, Later in the year will come week of grano , opera. i. Philadelphia citizens are trying to dc : lava, with dress suits except on strictly , formal occasions. some of those socially , superior Philadephians may recall ths , time when they wore overalls and danced
 in barn.
 II If Tom Watson is bigger man in Geor' 1 sia than Hoke smith. as the recent pri , mary would seem to indicate, the strength
 and prestige of the Hon. HolSe must have
 been considerably overrated # # * ,i The net result of the kapp revolution in Germany was that sweden got new , Iboarder,
 De valeras visit to Birmingham passed
 off without the expected casualties.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
A,aERT MISSED THE POINT

samuel C. Blythe. in the Saturday
 Evening Post.
 It was at the Grand Canyon of the Colorado last fall. I stood on the brink of that mighty chasm in easy converse with Albert, the king of the belgians.
 What a fine place this would have been to drive the German army into, I remarked. with that disregard for precise diction that comes in casual talk.
 The king looked appraisingly out over the vast cleft. and down into its dizzy depts. and with regal dignity that so becomes him, and those im- pressive pauses between his words that mark his speech in English. re- rlied gravely. after he had fully sur veyed the situation;
 But. my dear sir, that was quite impossible. There was no German army here. you know~
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
Germany's~ Plan For
 Army Is Rejected.
king Lear.

T7HHE incorrigible Hun is up to his Ns old tricks again. That he is doing everything in his power to evade fulfilling the terms of the peace treaty is obvious, but now and then a. phase of his plotting is brought to light that justifies the vigilant attitud France.
 The instr rnnany chiefly depends or se she hash of France sams fh ire day is her army. 5he allles ghtly considered a quick denebaga on and measures to prevent tba nrelntenance of large army Germany necessary to the Eeacs q srope.
 Sits 5ly willing to obey the al-
 srmany tried to circumvent tAa oy a scheme for training hun aiels of thousands of soldiers. Ac-
 rding to the treaty, the German army shall consist of volunteers en- listed for twelve years, of which only 5 per cent may be replaced annually. Berlin offered counter proposal to discharge as many of her volunteer soldiers as she wished every six months and replace them with new men. The allied leaders promptly re- jected this suggestion.
 Had Germany succeeded in pulling the wool over the eyes of the allies, the counNy would have become a training camp, just as it was before the war, with every male citizen com pelled to undergo a period of mill tary service. In short time Ger many would have had another huge army at her disposal.
 When we study the duplicity of the German government, its now refrac- tory, now obsequious and whining at titude, the conviction grows thai France, who will be the first to fee the wrath of Germany and knows it is not suffering entirely iron ''nerves." France sees, something more substantial across the Rhin' than chimera.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23

From the New York Times.
 N TIER every war in which the
 NA United States has been engaged the z S time comes, but only when other articuIate actors have been honofaos mentioned for recognition of the sers- cas rendered by the army mule rms brave and patient hybrid never has q press agent, and nature did not proViue him with an organ to sing pleasahlis ''is own praises His ancestry does ho' IF snire respect, and his appearance eA cites aerision among the minimizing. II is impossible for most people to LOOK soberly at mule. Pictorialiy ne seems to have been made for the car.oon's'- In literature he has been scorneo' u'a' is to say. no one has written prose a'o kim Ii is true that sterne was iugu- briouslv pathetic concerning an ass ana stevenson wrote delightruuly of donkey' but no one ever dared to weep over a mule If the mule had a more conie's sa, If ears ana a tail with brush he wo,,ld have fared better. but, shaped as sa . and having More than fifty seven varieties of temperament the burden oi nroof is upon him to show that ne mas ,o.,. and deserves conmendation. It IS
 .n in war that the best in him
 o,,t and the worst is forgotten In o;v,, life he is only notorious as pe1hs tne cause of bl2sphemy In others. EN- ,,,a,;,,ss in all languages are the more
 aa,,. far the existence. of the mule, nut inc vocabulary of no language is aae- onate to his cussedness-
 Tn the great war the marines carry oaupht the eve of public favor, and' willie their deserts were great it must pc .d,,,,ttea that their historians went 'o n,sss first. In due course. after the va,or of the National Guard and the n. ,ional army was fittingly lauded, it was realized that the regulars had acquitted tpenselves well, as usual. There followed Q, coniuus upon the Y. M. C. A.. the Knssbts of Columbus and the Salvation Army: they had helped to win the war; too and the debt of the land forces to then could not be put strongly enough. rt seemed that everything had been said, hut all along the quartermaster genera, thought that what the mule had done in the war should not pass unnoticed. and he now reports, paying handsome compli- ments to the 45ooo mules that served over- seas. American, Spanish. British and
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
Baptists to Build Big
 Hospital in Alabama.

TIT HE Baptists are prepared to To- 4 cate a great hospital, in this state In the financial campaign for SIS, 100000 an apportionment of $25O,O0o has been set aside as a nucleus for their projected institu- tion
 Thus far Selma is the only city that has asked for it, but strong movement will be made to have it established in Birmingham. The Baptists are here in great numbers and include many of our most public spirited and enthusiastic citizens. The Birmingham district is well equipped with hospitals, both public and private. The Tennessee Conipany's hospital, recently complet- ed, is one of the largest and most completely appointed in the south, but ] in rapidly growing community like this there will always be room for more.
 While s250,o0o is now available as nucleus the fund will be added to until it reaches fully $2,O0o,000.
  Birmingham is centrally located and its railroad system makes 1t readily accessible to every section of the state. It is safe to assume that several cities will ask for the Ikospital,s but a concerted effort should be aad will be made in behalf of Birmingham.
 ] Let every Baptist in this city and district put his shoulder to the wheel to win the prize. Hundreds of citi- zens outside of the denomination will be glad to help. No time should be lost in getting the movement un- der way.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
OUR PEACEFUL UNITED srATEi

From the Chicago Tribune.
 Representative Kahn of California, chairman of the House military affairs committee, is so cruel and unusual as to re mind Congress that in the 45 years since 1775 we have been engaged in some sort of warfare for 100 years, or 69 per cent
 of the time. MT Kahn insfnuates that we are not the meek and peave-loving peaple we consider ourselves. He is tam pering with one of our most prized il- llLsions, an expensive one, but clung to de- spite the harsh raps of the ferrule Of cx- lperience MT, Kahn should have dealt
 tenderly with our pet Illusions. He might have given our record somewhat as fol- lcws:
 i In the war of the revolution we were ldefending Great Britain from it's own tcommerciaI monarchal greed, It was not that we wished our independence, put
 rather that we were taking candy from /! a babv who was making itself iil In the 1 war with France we saw the danger Of l an exaggerated ego to great people and sought to restrict it for their own good.
 In the war with Tripoli we had to save l the pirates from their own folly. In the
 second war with Britain we fought only
 for the rights of ther maritime nations
 threatened by unrestricted sea power. In ithe war with .Algiers, Tunis and Morocco we were moved by pity for the souls Of l the Barbary coast. In the war with Mex 1 ico we battled to free a people long op- pressed. In the civil war we were moved only by the pathos of Uncle Tom s l Cabin" In the war with spain we had no thought of the Maine, but only of the Idowntrodden Cuban and Filipino. And so with the Nicaraguan expedition, the occupation of Vera Cruz, the Mexican punitive expedition. innumerable Indian wars. and other rough affairs. In the 1 recent war it is we'll remembered that We | fought to make the work safe for democ- racy.
 \ Uhiaiganwn luoirriinpjb, <-omSHDi-tl- Never has the United states fought te defend itself, it's rights or it's homes
 We are peace-loving nation, and the
 record of 145 years proves we need .avs no wars and so need make no preparation
 Like the whaler,s mate, all we want o
 the world is ''seevility and seevility of thu Id-est commonest kind
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
Publication to Fight The Tipping Evil.

IF LOUD cuteries heard here and U there in the land mean anything, the time is ripe for the establishment of such publication as the Commer- cial Briberye and Tipping Review, published and edited in Washington by William Rufus Scott. At it's mast head flies the immortal saying of a patriot, Millions for defense; not one cent for tribute a neat applica- tion of historic phrase.
 The Commercial Bribery and Tip ping Review fills a long-felt want. The American people need militant organ to make war on tipping, which has reached such extravagant pro- portion that 1t is AJw considerable factor in the high cost of living. The waiter, the barber, the shoeblack, the hat and cloak checker, the chauffeur, the porter, the bellhop and so on, ad infinitrnl, have exacted heavy toll and are increasing it as much as the traffic will bear.
 There arg signs that the worm is beginning to turn--by "worin" is meant the public, which has hitherto more CT less cheerfully submitted to being gouged, There are certain ex- tra services that perhaps justify a
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
There Are others

"we kick about high prices in Bir- m ingham," remarked R. DuPont Thompson. but there are other places where prices are still higher. I didn't believe shoes, clothing and foodstuffs could be sold anywhere at prices above those obtaining in Birmingham until l tried to buy few things in Chicago. I was there several days last week and the prices tackled onto things in the show windows startled me. r thought there must be some mistake and went inside to make in- quiries. To my surprise, I found the articles in the shelves and on the stands were higher than similar look ing articles in the windows. We are not getting off very cheaply in Bir- mingham, but at least we are not pay ing any more than other places and most things cost less here than in Chi cago."
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES
ExAcT1NG SPORT

Well. do you find golf all you ex- pected7t
 All and more, sir replied Mir. rubwaite, who recently took up the game.
 ''Yes?"
 T used to think had a pretty good flow of lurid language when I was changing an automobile tire or mend ing a puncture. but confronted by the necessities of golf. I'm as dumb as an oyster"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23

If "Pussyfoor" Johnson thinks Great Britain is dryer now than 1t was before he started his crusade, we fear he was struck on the head as well as in the eye when mobbed by those London students.
 * <
 Are we to Understand that Sir Auck- land Geddes favors letting the Irish fight it out among themselves, regardless of the eountry's somewhat limited hospital facilities?
 Fair secretaries in Washington appeared in overalls, but sightseeing Daughters of the American Revolution hit the nail on the head when they said, Its horrible spectacle.{
 A former New York cartoonist is now Ia motion picture star. but he's not one of the drawing persons who lost his job when MT. Munsey took over the New York Herald.
 # < <
 A Newark, N. J., store is reported to be advertising overalls with rhinestone buckles at s43.5o. The s1oO suit of over alls is not as far off as some people think. !, The city council of San Remo has changed the name of it's drive along the sea from Corso Wilson to Corso Plume A little thing to do, but significant. Speaking of profiteers, secondhand army overalls bought for Is cents a pair were sold in New York for ss. As Leslie's remarks, Let the people ruler
 # # < The New York Times discusses liar mony at saa Remo." The "close har- irony" of Great Britain and Italy bodes no good to France. l If wooden, shoes come into favor 1t may revive the custom of drinking out of a air lady's slipper-but the beverage will be water.
 The man who has just had his onion bed washed away can't see the humor of re- ferring to a downpour as slight pre- cipitation"
 The wife of a bishop is trying to es- tablish silent teas for women in England Save the mark! What is tea without tattle?
 Tarzan had the right idea about how to i've on a white collar" income with out having to suffer the torment of wear ing one
 The presence of 100000 allied troops should convince the Turk that the su- preme council is not making mere ges- tpre.
 l When Shakespeare created Ariel, he lit- tie dreamed that tourists would ever fly through the air to visit his birthplace.
 * * #
 Regardless of what candidate receives the nomination at San Francisco, "Hf Johnson is going to be heard from.
 * # %
 Mir. Bryan sways the multitudes away from home, but Senator Hitchcock is a mighty man in Nebraska.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
RUNNING LOW

%Blithersby made curious remark this morning"
 What was it?"
 "He said he expected his popu- iarity to cease about the middle of next month"
 T can explain that. Blithersby es- inmates by that time there won't be quart left in his cellar.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
CONVERSION

From the Bookman. Oh, have felt a ships deck
 Heave under me end so know what gods and poets
 And sailormen must know: Why shirtless folk go seeking
 What thrifty folk despise; How broken men and cruel
 Haye beauty in their eyes. Since have seen new planets
 Pricked in deeper blue, I know what Drake and Frobishsr And old Magellan knew. And no snug folk in harboF
 Needs ever question mo Why men who hate her thgn11nm
 Go hack again to sea.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
THRIFTY IDEA

Henry. we must adopt dear little puppy"
 why not be practical. my dear?" What do you mean?"
 Lets adopt little lamb. Later On it may provide us with pound or so of wool and few mutton chops. 2.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
CONFUSING

You don't believe clothes make the man. do your"
 No" replied the Mustered citizen. q don't But since this overall craze started it's hard to tell~a mere dilet- tante from an honest working man who's in position to demand s1o or SIP a day for his services"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-23
Dc It's Part

T am glad to note that the Ala anna State Fair Association will do it's part to make the Christmas cele- bration of the Birmingham Elks sue cess this year" says Bart Harris
 "The automobile races to be held at tke fair grounds May l will be for the benefit of the Elks Christmas tree and efforts are under way to insure |, large attendance. As nearly every aody in Birmingham knows, the local lodge. No. 79. makes practice of hav- ing several hundred poor children for its guests every Christmas. Anyone who has ever seen the faces of un- fortunate children frightened by gifts they would not have received except fer the generosity of the Elks can realize what the annual Christmas celebration means.
 Tt is proposed next Christmas not only to provide toys and good things lo eat for the poor children of Bir- flingham, but warm clothing as we'll. The Elks are planning to care for a large number of children-perhap a thousand, if they can find that many in Birmingham who need charity. They feel confident that the people of this city will do all they can to insure the success of this laudahle undertaking.