davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
OLD RANCH HOUSES

From the Omaha World-Herald
 Some people do not like to see the old. historic ranch houses in southern Texas go. There is a pity in 1t. They are eloquent. even though many of tfem are in ruins. of romantic epoch in the history of the state. Many of these ranch homes were built during tho period of the Spanish control of Mexico and were of feudal type and on large land grants of feudal extent These buildings were succeeded by the less pretentious but spacious and com fortable ranch houses of the later ca<- tlemen. Every one of them was a cen ter of pioneer life. the stopping place of cattlemen and travellers passing through the country, and the hospitality of the occupants of them all is a tradi- ton.
 The great ranch regions are being broken up into smaller ranches and then into still smaller farms, and a new order of life, but makes them an in- cumbrance. But it is as vain to sigh
 
 of the oceans of prairie and the buffalo. The latter existence is tanner, but more pr ofitable The substitution of herds of cattle in the hands of many proprie- tors for the herds of buffalo and the blowing up of the wide prairie for the crops of the fixed settler represent an inestimable gain. The wild and the picturesque vanish before plain utility and industry, but more people are served and made happier in the same territory. Those old days will always be interesting to read about, but they were intermediary and had to pass away for the greater good of the greater number.
 Some of these ranch homes of the fToider and the later order are main tained in repair when their continued usefulness is desirable and practicable Some of the abandoned places go by accidental fire, some by the slow pro- cess of decay and some are removed for specific purposes. It is suggested that the memory of those that must dis appear be preserved in photograph and that notes of the stirring event. and life of which they were the center: 1 be taken for extension into annals. Thi. l is the best that can be done. The new cannot be grafted into the old and tn, oio must pass into history.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04

probably to the making of a facsimile ordered by President James Monroe, in 1923, than to age or handling, the e-doc ument is jealously guarded. Many of the names of the signers are no longer legible. Two pages of Jeffersons orig inal draft, with few interlineations by Adams and Franklin, are also pre- served al the department of state. The facsimile which was ordered by Presi dent Monroe was made for the purpose of giving a copy to each of the signers then living and their heirs. The copies are now of great value.
 A little while back one of our week lies with national circulation had a story in which the writer said Big money waits for letters written by those who put their names to the Dec laration of Independence one hundred and thirty-one years ago. Gwinnett is worth $750, while complete set in good condition brings more than s10.- 000 Here is a partiaf list, showing the increase in value of some of the auto graphs since the celebrated auction of [1S7S;
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
Rockies. Driver.

There are many automobile owners and driver in Birmingham who would rather take chance and risk their lives than to stand still few minutes until the way is clear" says Gaines Kelley.
 yesterday on Third avenue. near Eighth street an outbound street car stopped at the corner to take on some passengers. An automobile rolled up behind it. But instead of waiting for the street car~to start again so that he could pass by on the right-hand side. he turned his car and started around the rear end of the street car toward the left-hand side of the street.
 *At that moment an inbound street car was coming uptown on the opposite track. I yelled to the driver of the automobile, but he did not near. The minute he saw the oncoming street car he put on the brakes and only succeed ed in stopping just in time from a col lision with the car that might have been serious"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04

sincere affection for him, under stands his limitations and regards it. self as the negro's sponsor and pro-
 tector. It punishes only the indi-
 vidual negro; it never wars on the race. Many white men of the south
 have died at the hands of constabu-
 lary and militia defending negro rap-
 ists and murderers from mob law. The negro is nowhere on this earth safer, nor does he anywhere enjoy greater opportunity of advancement than here in Birmingham and in the Birmingham district.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
THE EEL

The eel is rather shy of friends. For reasons hard to say; He doesn't bite or bark at night Or crow at break O day. He's not a fierce, devouring thing, Nor a destructive pest; So meek and mild little child Might take him to her breast. And yet the cells unpopular, As everyone must know; And cen as food 'tis understood His ratings rather low. Perhaps certain sliminess
 Has blighted his career And has decreed that he must lead A life of little cheer. But after all is said and done It really seems a shame That he should be condemned when he Himself is not to blame. Dame Nature plays some cruel tricks, And here is one to hand: Why she should feel down on the eel do not understand.
 DENOTED
 Who is this distinguished looking personage?"
 "A former crowned head He was born to command. q see"
 But the whirligig of time reduced him to ranks" POLITICAL PARLANCE ssc.a,a+or CportSnortbu 1rac cIassed
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
MARRIAGE IS A LOTTERY

MARklAGE Is A lfJIIERI What became of that pretty waitress you had in here?''
 '1mogen. sir?"
 T believe that was her name"
 "she entered the holy bonds of mat rimony.9
 Then we'll see her smiling face no more
 That's true She's coming back to work next week, but she's changed woman.- sir, a changed woman / NOTHING TO OBTAIN HIM
 This town doesn't lsok the same sincel it went dry"
 MOP
 There used to be a saloon on every. corner''s
 Yes. and whereas a married man in those days required anywhere from an hour and a half to the rest of the night to reach home after leaving his office, he can now stop by delicatessen stora and still get home in about twenty minutes" PAUL COOK.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
Long. for Alabama Kings

"The watermelon crop is below the mark this year." says A. G. Clarke. About this time of the year we are usually getting the large red, ripe products of Alabama soil and sunshine, grown by the farmers of this district for home consumption. which are so much better than the ones that have to be picked green and shipped a long way.
 'The long rains in the early summer had bad effect on the early crop for crop. But there is hope yet that some of the old sweet Alabama Kings will be on the market before the year is over"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
 AND ELSEWHERE
0ufd1nrN

Birmingham is planning to cele- orate the Fourth of July tomorrow, says c. F. Satterwhite. "and practically everybody is planning to spend the day either in the woods or at some amusement park.
 The majority of industrial plants will be down for the day and all the men will be home on this occasion In order to make it real holiday, it lis necessary to take the family out for celebration. and a picnic is ons of the most delightful ways of spend ing the day. large crowd will go to West Lake. some to East Lake to Linger Longer Lodge. the Edgewood Club and every resort is sure to have record breaking crowds on this occa- sion"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
Takes Judgment

'We have to use various methods in working up case" says Detective w. L. Brannon. Tt depends for the most part on the character of the man you are dealing with. Sometimes we treat man like he is baby and then again we have to be firm and almost harsh with another. Some persons charged with an offense will strongly deny the act for days and then in an unguarded moment will tell all they known.
 ''It takes judge of human nature to make a good detective. A criminal must be sized up to find just what his weak points and his strong points are. One man will come clean if promise of leniency is offered, while another will not"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
Big Increase in the
 Wealth of Alabamians

M N increase in deposits of the z A state banks of Alabama of twenty millions of dollars in twelve months is a record that tells it's own story.
 The two hundred and fifty-one banks and their twenty-one branches embraced in the report represent the state of Alabama.f The increase in deposits means that much more money in possession of the patrons of the state banks than they had a year ago, because the money in the banks is the money of depositors.
 Deposits on June 10, 1920, were $105, ,695, ,000. On June 30, 1919, they were 1852 ,0Oo. The figures are eloquent of Alabama progress, but what is more pleasing is this state ment of State Banking Superintend- -ent Green:
 careful study of the state
 ments of the individual banks
 which go to make up the summary
 given herein, indicates that the
 banks of Alabama are in the most
 healthy condition that they have
 ever been in in the history of the
 state.
 Thanks to the wise banking laws that have been placed on the Ala ban1a statute books and to the com potency of the states banking off cials, Alabama state banks are on a sure footing and the peoples money is safe with them
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
MY GENEvIEvE

By Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Oft Tn my waking dreams do
 Live OCT again that happy hour, When midway on the mount lay, r.~- Beside the ruin'd tower. The moonshine, stealing OCT tho scena Had blended with the lights of eve: And she was there. my hope, my joy. My own dear Genevievei She leant against the aFned man The statue of the armed knight: She stood and listened to mk - s3
 Amid the lingering light n Few sorrows hath she of her own.
 My hope, my joy, my Genevieve! She loves me best, whene'er sing
 The songs that make her grievo. told her of the Knight that wore
 Upon his shield burning brand; And how for ten long years he wool
 The Lady of the Land. She listened with fitting blush,
 With downcast eyes and modest grace And she torgave me that gazed
 Too fondly on her face. All impulses of sonl and sense
 Aad thrilled my gulleleSS GenevtoVoe The music and the doleful tale,
 The rich and balmy eve. And hopes, and fears that kindle hopa.
 An undistinguishable throng, And gentle wishes long subdued,
 Subdued and cherished long! She wept with pity and delight.
 She blushed with love. with vhgiz
 shame,
 And like the muymur of dream, ] heard her breathe my name. Her bosom heaved-she stepped asida.
 As conscious of my look she stepped Then suddenly, with timorous eye, <
 She fled to me and wept. Twas partly Love and partly Fear
 And partly twas a bashfu1 art That I might rather feel than sea
 The swelling of her heart. calm'd her fears. and she was calm. And told her love with virgin pridA And so I won my Genevieve, My bright and beauteous bridA
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
FEELING THE CAFE

 You'll hear from your constituents sir if you don't vote for this bill, . said visitor from Congressman Twobbles district.
 T have no doubt of it" said Con gressman Twobble. sadly Sometimes when I'm showed under by an avalanche of telegrams, calling me everything from yellow dog to Benedict Arnold, I wonder why S. F. B. Morse ever in vented the telegraph
 TEMPTED Lately the lure of an indolent life Is increasingly hard to resist; Visions of trees and a sun-flecked sward Pierce through the workaday mist.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
CLOSE QUARTERS

But this flat isn't large enough to turn around in"
 You must judge of that" said the agent, ioftily. However, if you haven't yet learned how to head into and back out of flat, it's time you were learn ing"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04

I am not much on legal holidays, and think they are much overworked, but the last one want cut out is Independ- ence Day, which is much better known as the Fourth of July, for it is our one distinctive, universal, national holiday. So here is to the Glorious Fourth and .all for which it has stood. stands now Nand will forever stand
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
Shipbuilding Industry
 Shows Quick Growth

i1 LAUNCHING of the eighth af the ie five thousand-ton steel freight ! CTS built in Mobile by the Mobile Shipbuilding Company of steel fab ricated in Birmingham is an event of quite as much interest here as in the Gulf City.
 l In short period Mobile has be- come great steel shipbuilding point. Ground for the Chickasaw yards was broken in the fall of 1917, less than three years ago. Since that time four 9,e00-ton steel freighters have been launched by that concern, steel barges have been turned out by an- fother and eight 5,000-ton steel lfreighters by a third. Ten more of the 9,6O0-ton vessels are to be built.
 To have become steel shipbuild- ing center of importance in three years, building all this from the ground up, is an achievement of (which any city might feel proud.
 And the best of it is that a sister city shared in the creation, the nur- ture and the development of this industry.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
THE NEW FIzz-GINGER ALE


 THE NEW FIZZ--GINGER ALE From the Baltimore American.
 The other day. at one of the Della :, Ware river yards, big steel ocean going ship slid down the ways into inc foaming waters and the charming ladv who stood at bow and did inc chris tenins act broke bottle of-ginge ale! An ancient mariner who had vov aged all the Seven Seas in every kind of ship from the six-mast windiammer tc the gasoline burning turbine. took the clay pipe from his mouth as he saw tde gasseated ginger juice flood the prow of the noble ship and made a few of those ominous remarks which an. clent mariners are accustomed to de- liver when frivolous landlubber world turns away from an ancient and cherished tradition of the men who sail tbe ships.
 A painted ship upon a painted ocean IS all right enough in it's right place and the ship of state may sail through moonshine seas without going on tht reefs And ship christened with, sea water might be in good favor witt Neptune and Davy Jones, but all the mermaids must be weeping over this new-fangled scheme of christanius ships with ginger ale, sarsapariua- rooa beer, promo seltzer. the milk of thi cocoanut or any other old beveeax< that can be procured in this era. Q. kickless fluids
 Ancient poetic ideals are up asatns. this new idea of controlling all hxmar habits. or of trying to control them. b, legislative enactments and amendment, U the Constitution. Christening tn, ship is now very much a go-as-you. Please affair-go as you please as tt the juice to be sprinkled. The ribbon. around the christening bottle arc reall, the imporfapf thine
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04

among the dark horses hear" "Yes. It must have been case of nature faking."
 .'why so?'
 He's telling his friends confidentialll that he was made the goat"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
ADRIF'T WITH THE TIMES

And there is call from far-away hills And the Hit of a mountain stream, And the scent of wild bloom borne on
 the breeze From a sonnolent land of dream.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
A GOOD GAIN

From the Tuscaloosa News.
 Birmingham is just a little chesty be- cause her percentage of growth is great CT than that of Atlanta. Can't blame her. A gain of over 45.000 in ten years is something to feel proud of.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
Independence Day, the
 Nations Greatest Holiday

q VERY American rejoices in the ~ Fourth of July or Indepen- dence Day.
 The first Congress of 1774 as- sumed neither executive nor legisla- tive authority, From that time until the declaration was finally adopted there were many heated debates.
 Thomas Paine's Common Sense," urging independence as inevitable and "the sooner the better," appeared January 6, TITS. Various changes in the plan were proposed and it was not until July that the declaration was agreed to. The motion that these united colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved" was carried by a vote of twelve yeas and no negative vote.
 On the Sd of July, 1776, the declaration was taken up and as amended was passed on the evening of the 4th. The anniversary of the fact is the 2d and that of the adoption of the specific document in which it was proclaimed to the world is the 4th, as celebrated.
 It is one of the most momentous and eloquent state papers ever writ ten and has served as a model for many peoples seeking to be free.
 No anniversary of a patriotic character is so widely observed as the Fourth of July. It is gala day in every state of the union.
 In many communities there are military parades and gatherings in which the declaration is read aloud to attentive listeners. But no matter what be the programme, it is joy ous day. It is so deeply impressed on all sincere Americans that it can never be obliterated from the patri- otic mind
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
A FEW OVERLOOKED the Sheffield Standard.

Birmingham shows up with 17S00 popu- lation. Evidently the enumcrators over- looked everybody except the prominent
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
Boy Scents

'The training Boy Scouts receive is splendid for them" says George Bum- gardner. and helps them to become real men. One of the first things which the boys are taught to do is>>to be of service to others, and if they are presented an opportunity to save persons life at the risk of their own they usually perform their duty, for getful of self. This is real character building and a boy taught these things will be a better man
 "On the other hand. they are taught to love the woods and enjoy hike and camp-out as much as anyone. They know how to do everything nec- essary while in camp and are taught all first aia' methods Recently while on d street car a number of Boy Scouts were on their way to the river and I particularly noticed that if the Scout saw lady ready to board the car he was up immediately so she could have his seat. The Boy Scouts deserve much praise for their splendid efforts for the good of the community and should have the cooperation and assistance of every citizen"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
Member of inc Associated Press

Such a deal of wonder is broken out within this hour that the ballad makers cannot he able to express it.
 Winters Tale.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
ANGLO-AMERICAN FEELING 7

about have learned to know and like the American people. For the sake of the future or the world and all the hopes of humanity we must get to the heart Of each other, and establish a lasting and unbreakable friendship. It is only folly that will prevent us.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04

A party of American tourists who told a reporter of the Havana Post they came to Cuba to get drink had their names published on the front page of that newspaper. Truth crushed
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04


 England, France, Italy, all those countries which were in the war are facing even worse conditions than we are. The rise in the cost of living has grown out of natural causes and con- ditions resulting from the war. There is no other way to view this matter
 And every individual must share tho burden.
 Until there Is greater production of necessities and lesser consumption of liiAuries we cannot hope to reduce the cost of living"
 An explanatory footnote appended adds: This advertisement is published at the expense of The Age-Herald in fairness and justice to the merchants of Birmingham and vicinity"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
Losing Time

"A friend of mine said that he stood at Bromberg's corner the other day and watched the people as they stopped to compare their watches with the chronometer in the window" said Paul Barnett "and nine out of every ten were either fast or slow as could be seen by their changing the hands on their timepieces. It's mighty hard to get watch. unless it's mighty good one, which will run true. The aver age man. however. does not pay much attention to 1t if his watch varies a few minutes. but. of course, railroa men have to have their watches regu- lated to the second. All along the trip you can detect the engineer and the conductor comparing their watches to see If they are running together.s
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04

A parrot with head of a donkey, donkey with the feet of a cat and cross between a donkey and camel are some of the nature fakes perpe- trated by cartoonists in campaign year.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04

contemporary discusses How to Make Gold" One of the quickest and most certain methods is to learn the rudiments of plumbing.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04

Senator snortsworthy was classed
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04

Passports have gone up from s2 to s1o. This means nothing in particular to the citizen who can't even get away to whiff the breezes blowing over the nearest mountain top.
 The constitution of the United States and the democratic platform are two grand old documents. if it is permissi- ble to call platform old that has been in existence about two days.
 as # q
 The reluctance of Birmingham's s prominent citizens to serve on the rent board is probably due to an unwilling ness to hurt the feelings of other prom inent citizens who own houses.
 The smaller cities of Alabama are not at all jealous of Birmingham s growth. Just to show her appreciation of that friendly spirit Birmingham will @<@ ff,,1t tA cry
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04

Remittances can be made at current rs te of exchange. The Age-Herald will not be responsible for money sens through the mails. Address
 THE AGE-HERALD,
 Birmingham, Ala.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04

f Being parchment which shows de- strncttva signs of cracking. due more