davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
Building Time

"In the spring time home building is most active, as it is natures time for nesting" said J. Mercer Barnett.
 At this particular spring time there is great demand for homes, caused by lack of home building during the war period There is a big scarcity of homes and the landlords have taken advantage of this situation to demand excessive rents, and for this reason a great number of people who have been wanting to build but have been de- tered on account of the high prices, are now finding that their dollar will buy 100 cents worth in both labor and material and are now availing them- selves of the opportunity of getting a home.
 Material, and especially lumber, is being sold in a great many instances below the actual cost of production, market is already beginning to strengthen, and 1 feel that any one building now will have the advantage over those who wait 60 days or more.
 The plumbers carpenters and other artisans have all reduced their wages, and with the articles necessary to building a house being sold at the present prices. it is certainly an oppor tune tune for those who are in need of a home to build and build now.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
LUKE M'LUlxE SAYS

The old fashioned girl who used to wish that she had naturally curly hair now has a daughter who would be sat- isfied if she only had natural hair.
 Considering how many people try to murder it every day, a popular song sure dies hard.
 Wives are good deal like children. They cry, either because they want something they don't get, or get some thing they don't want.
 As long as man has four hairs on his dome, he is optimisti. enough to be- lieve that he will never get bald. | What has become of the cld-f fash l toned woman who used to get the sul- phur and molasses ready about this time of year?
 The trouble with the easy going man 1 is that he is so blame hard to get l started.
 I Men are careless. Even those who do not know thing about houses or lots have real estate at their finger ends.
 We know a man who regards the use of tobacco as filthy habit and yet he is passionately fond of limburger and onions.
 After you roam around for while you will discover that most of the peo- 1 pie who like to sing can't. There are so many idots in the world that man never has any trouble in starting an argument
 Even railroad man, who ought to know better, forgets that red is dan | ger signal when he sees it on girl's cheek.
 That scientist who warns us that ex- cessive talking wastes vitality must be married man.
 Copyright, l92l.)
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
THE EAST WINDOW

uuon: when it comes into the mind II is hurriedIy thrust out again. But life is one long process of getting tired as, Samuel Butler said and midway of the process we cease to regard Death as the fantastical figure in the morality play and. come to think of him as grave and sweet companion, whose hand we shall not shrink from when it is laid upon our arm. And if 1t is spring when we go with others to 9 graveside, the birth In death that is all about us tempers the sadness of the hour. The green of the turf is deepen ing life is coursing through the stark limbs of the trees; if there come a flaw of rain, each drop means life to a seed that waits the moisture. It is kindly earth to which the loved friend is com mitted-the great mother woh was never far from George Meredith's thoughts
 And we go.
 And we drop like the fruits of the tree,
 Even we,
 Even so."
 In the evening I sat in another dark ened room; but in the next was light and music-music that breathed Of spring. window was partly open, and through it came the smell of wet earth. and warm rain splashed on the pane A vernal night, cool and fragrant, de- scended on daytimes dust and stress and heat
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
BLOND HAIR SAVED THE SHIP

Sodom and Gomorrah or of Judas ls- carioots suicide may have accepted the requirements of modern shipping, but when a vessel which sailed on one of these evil days goes down he Fnows the reason.
 That the ship was thirteen days at sea has nothing to do with the mat ter. Thirteen is a land superstition and sailors of the world are about equally divided in their belief in the i'll luck of odd numbers. The Ameri can naval man, says a writer in the National Marine, seems 10 lean to the belief of good fortune in oGd numbers; there are no even numbers he points out in naval salutes; there are in all thirteen salutes and the highest of them. twenty-one guns. loses it's hoodoo because it is the sum of the numerals in 1776 In these days .wom- en and preachers must go to sea- but in the mind of the old mariners they are still responsible for all the mis- fortunes from which the ship suffers. No sailor Kills an albatross- the birds carry the souls of lost seamen; all sailors fear craft which rats desert and which c-anot. Keep a cat, and ev- cry seaman ktows that a moon rising in storm will eat up the clouds. that a moon dog will bring trouble and that he will be lost if he sails with man who never pays his washer woman.
 From the importance which the sailor attaches to his superstitions, it can be readily understood why Capt Ole Bull as last resort in great extremity invoked the ancient Viking belief Let the landsman jeer. Is not the Bergensfjord safely and snagly berthed at her pier in Brooklyn and is not the pate of every man of the crew as hairless as a billiard ball?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
Interest in Exposition

'"There is no doubt of the interest in ,the Own Your Own Home exposition of the chamber said Charles F. Yarn, assistant secretary. Tt Is the best kind of interest. a quiet and thought ful one. The visitors are thoroughly representative. They come fn0m all the suburbs and from the gilt-edged dis tricts as well, and they are awfully inquisitive about prices.
 There is no time of the day when one or more persons are not in the two lumber company booths looking over building plans, the various kinds of roofing material and the like.
 T often hear man say. I did not know they made this in Birmingham. This exhibit would be a good nucleus for permanent exhibit of Bfrming ham, made goods
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
Team Work

q am an old convention goer," says Frank N. Julian of Sheffield, and think I can speak with some degree of authority, and that is why I am so bold as to claim that the Rotary meet ing was one of the very best I have ever attended both as to the way the visitors were entertained and the pro- gramme which was given. ~
 The thing which pleased me most, however, was the way in which the Community, Civilians and Kiwanis clubs helped the Birmingham .sRotes' to put the convention over. ~
 Its fine thing to see such influ- ential organizations working together in such splendid cooperation and gen. uine fellowship"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
THE SAME YOUNG SPRING

By Samuel Minturn Peck. The same young spring is back again, The same fair leaves and flowers, As lovely in their grace as when They charmed my youthful hours; The birds are Hitting just as sweet As then their love they trolled,
 There's nothing changed.
 There's naught estranged-- only have grown old The vagrant breeze is murmuring The same dear,Ahappy tune, With fragrant whispers promising The coming joys of June. The happy bees and butterflies. Forgetting winters cold.
 Mid blossoms stray
 The livelong day
 l only have grown old. The lads and lasses pass me by They have not changed at all; Soft glances fly from eye to eye, Love still hath power fo thrall; An, hearts are won and cows are made That shall forever hold
 But listening II
 What makes me sighs l only have grown old. The realm of natures just the same. The same the skies above. The faithful stars as constant flame And brightness give to lores They. just as kind, are looking down, Their radiance Is not doledi
 Unfaded still On vale and hill
 only have grown old.
 Alack a-day. to human hearth What can their spring restore? Ah when its loveliness departs Iris gone forevermore Each year the curving rose renewa Unfolds it's petals swess.
 But man alone, Howe'ershs moan.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES

SEEKING THE SOURCE OF SUPPLY. T detest the slang phrase, How do you get that wayr " remarked the purist. So do I, ordinarily" replied Mir. Bib bles, but it is permissible nowadays when addressed to a person who has reached an advance stage of intoxica- ton"
 PROFICIENT SNEAKER NEEDED. What is the committee investigating? Tt doesn't seem to know"
 "But what do the witnesses say?" T heard one of them say. I wish General Dawes was here 5
 SCIENTIFIC INTEREST. Professor Diggs saw young woman dance the shimIny' the other night for the first time F~ "was he much impressed?" 'Yes, indeed. He went home and wrote a profound essay on The Mobility of the Human Shoulder.
 A DEssIcATED OBJECT. ..Now, if that mummy could talk" i"Weil?"
 What do you suppose it would say?" Probably, How dry am" l" 
 HID WE'LL. Ere long we'll rejoice with Paloma When she's granted her college diploma; We hope that she'll wed
 And learn to bake bread That emits a delicious aroma.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
Light Fifth Avenue

"The matter of lighting Fifth ave- nue. north, from the terminal station to the Tutwiler is one we'll worth con- sidering,' said John R. Hornady, city commissioned. The lighting of this street would give Birmingham a good selling point ins4 connection with the arrival of visitors to the city who come in at the terminal station.
 Now they are swallowed up In a tunnel of darkness. If this lighting idea was carried out. it would mean development of business district which would impress the visito' strongly. Let's put 1t over.''
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
An Appreciation

Not long ago" says W V M. Rob ertson, Jr., my father had occasion to gather together papers from a number of the larger cities to look over a cer- tain article appearing in all of them. While going through them curiosity prompted him to compare them with our local paper, The Age Herald, which was one of the lot. The comparison made, I'll declare he said. The Bir- mingham Age Herald is the best writ ten. the most newsy and justgeneraliy the most readable paper of them all !"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
Heart of John Burroughs
 Beat in Tune With Nature
* * <

71 HERE is no room for evil in the
 J soul of the man who truly loves nature. Although John Burroughs met comparatively few people, he had many friends. His life was an inspiration. There was an air of sanctity about him, because he was so far removed from the sordidness of this everyday world of ours, where the pursuit of riches seems to be the chief end of existence.
 One of Mr. Burroughs most inti- mate friends, Henry Ford, says of him: T believe if you had offered John Burroughs million dollars in one hand and the sight of new bird in the other, he would have chosen a sight of the new bird" That is doubt less true and fittingly describes the man who was loved as no other American naturalist has ever been loved.
 It must have been a rare sight to see the three friends, Burroughs, Ford and Edison, camping together and enjoying themselves like boys. It was an association that presented these noted men in pleasing light The naturalist, the wizard of cleo tricity and the automobile manufac- turer won fame in divergent fields, but they found common interest in the great outdoors.
 Burroughs led a singularly happy life and the work he left behind him will keep his memory green long after those who knew him and loved him best have passed away.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
New Arm of Citizen
 Soldiery for Birmingham

6N HE Birmingham Sabers" is the
 U name adopted by the new cav airy troop that is being organized. Birmingham has heretofore had cav airy contingents and they gave a good account of themselves. A re- vival of this arm of the national guard here is noted with general sat isfaction.
 No part of the military machine has a better record than the national guardsmen of the various states. They have stood between lawlessness and the dignity of their states in peace times when disorderly elements undertook to override the law and, when actual war has come, they have been first to respond.
 A citizen soldiery IS the best, be- cause it touches both sides of society. When not on military duty, the guardsmen are engaged in the avoca- tions of civil life. They are behind counters, in the shops, in the profes- sions, operating the industries. When, therefore, they are called on to pro- tect their community they know what their community is and the value and necessity of the orderly course of life.
 Soldiers, who are soldiers all the time, acquire militaristic spirit. Being a soldier and nothing else makes man think of soldier affairs and very little of the civilian side of life. A well-balanced nation needs it's citizen solaiery quite as much as the other. The best soldiers of Rome were those of the early republic who were farmers when not on campaigns.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
Valley Magazine

We have made good start on the Birmingham number of the Mississippi Valley Magazine, said William Hay undertaking. We have secured sew eral full pages of display advertise ment from the railroads and the read ing matter is being prepared.
 We expect to issue the Birming ham number some time in June. The magazine Is the official organ of the Mississippi Valley association. which represents the waterway interests oi twenty-seven states"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
IN HOTEL HOBBIES
 AND ELSEWHERE
on Without a Difference

Distinction Without n Difference
 Tn one of his usually interesting columns which appear daily in The Age Herald any good friend, pr. Frank Willis Barnett drew a distinction with out a difference the other day day. said Frank V. Evans. "He wrote of the self made and the educated man.
 "The truth of the matter is that no man is wholly made by himself or by others until he is educated This edu- cation may be attained by the recep- tive and retaining mind in the school or college, by reading and studying under the midnight lamp at home or by absolute absorption of the thoughts expressed by association. Many man is educated who never saw the inner walls of college in fact possesses a store of knowledge far greater than many who have been awarded the proverbial sheep-skin recording him as an "A. R. and A. M. or perhaps a ID. D..
 "As an illustration: The late Joel Chandler Harris, scholar, poet author never attended school more than six months of his life. yet he at an early age had attained degree of scholar ship which was recognized and ho- nored by the world of letters. He could translate and speak several Ian guages and dying left one of the larg- aef Ua1 ro 1a r1ri wat Ia libraries in America No modern library today is complete that does not contain the works of Joel Chandler Harris-Har- ris. the 'self-made scholar, who, under nett. was not educated"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
Gadsden Takes Steps for
 improvement of Parks

. 5D) IRMINGHAM would not suffer ID from following the example of Gadsden, where mass meeting of citizens has been held to formulate 2 comprehensive plan of park im- provement. At the meeting commit tees were appointed from the Minisx ters' union, Women's Business club, Civic league, Kiwanis club, Chamber of Commerce and city council.
 : The first work undertaken will be the improvement of the beautiful park on the Coosa river by establishing recreation houses, swimming pool and a real playground for children. Prominent men and women evince a sincere and practical interest in the plans.
 Birmingham has been laggard in park development. There is some splendid acreage waiting only few touches of mans hand to be made of real service to happy thousands. In particular, there is the IdlewiId tract of more than a hundred acres which was purchased by the city under the George Ward administration but has not had one nickel spent on it since The Red Mountain acreage has also laid dormant while the people cry for the open air in the summer time. Gadsden has taken the right step by enlisting in the park improvement movement the various civic organi- zations of the city. In matters like this it is the part of such organiza- tions to act with the city authorities
 Birmingham ought to have more and better parks. A comparatively small expenditure of money will work wonders. What is needed is more interest in the matter by organiza- tions and men and women not in off cial life.
 Talk of disarmament has had no effect
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31

Washington. Such a request is q sheer piece of effrontery.
 O'Callaghan's presence in this country is in defiance of American laws. When he was adjudged "sea- man" by the department of labor, in itself lenient ruling, and given 20 days in which to make his departure from the United States, he ignoHed the order. He was quoted recently as saying that he had forgotten all about it. Naturally man who flouted our laws and was not promptly deported feels contempt for a government which has shown in his case such a spineless attitude.
 Regardless of whether one sympa- thizes with the Irish cause or not, O'Callaghan's status is that of an un- desirable alien. Nothing has done more to alienate sympathy from Ire land in her fight for independence than the tactics of misguided Irish men in America who are ostensibly Amrican citizens but have professed themselves willing to go to any length, even to causing a war be- tween the United States and Great Britain, to establish Sim Fein gov- ernment in Ireland.
 An American citizen of foreign birth, whether he is a German, a Scandinavian, an Irishman or an Italian, owes allegiance to the coun- try of his adoption.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
YELLOW VEST wRECKs HOME

From the Chicago News.
 .Its all this yellow vest" lamented Jack Harrell. when he was brought into the detective bureau today on nom support warrant. Everything was all right till bought it. But. say--ain't 1t some vest?"
 Surrounding detectives looked at the waistcoat and agreed that it was.
 You see" Harrell continued, I'm a song booster and writer. My wife plays the piano. She goes under the name of Babe Thompson. We'll, she always had an idea I ought to look sort of>quiet~ I'd always been what you'd call a snappy dresser, but stood 1t for a cou- pie of years. Say, had to. Every time I'd show up with something classy, like checked suit or pink shirt she'd start rumpus.
 Well, about 10 days ago was go- ling by clothes place and lamped this yellow vest. I knew there was going to be trouble, but I fell for it-hard. Ten smacks it set me back, but l couldn't help it. Just look it over. Some vest! Well, I got home. and the sweet woman gives it one look, and we'll. 1t was home or the vest-and I've still got the Sest..".
 Mrs. Harrell was told her husband had been arrested.
 Are you sure it's the right manr' she said. "Is he wearing yellow vest?"
 He Is" said the detective at the phone. And please rush the case, be7 cause the noise is disturbing the otha q prisoners"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31

The Kansas City Star publishes a well written editorial about Mir. Wells magic ink pot. The average authors idea of a magic ink pot is one that enables him to get sl a word.
 Paris finds the "shimmy'' too exotic. There is yet hope for Paris although some of the plays now being presented there were never dreamed of in rural America.
 It seems only yesterday that Gen eral' Coxey was marching on Washing ten, with Jack London and lot of other hoboes in his army" but it was 27 years ago.
 To see the number of American citi- zens riding around in automobiles you wouldn't think they were grooming under the burdens of taxation.
 Gadsden reports glutted "moonshine' market-just another illustration of the fact that almost anything is liable to happen nowadays. Judging from the public prints. nothing worth relating has happened to Cal Coolidge since he attended the first cab met meeting.
 Nicholas Carter on the screen ought to be 100 per cent more thrilling than he ever was between the covers of dime novel"
 Germany has lodged another protest with the League of Nations, probably be- cause there is nowhere else to lodge one.
 # # #
 It wasn't homesickness so much as crownsickness that prompted former Elm peror Charles to return to Austria < < # If Lenine has reached the point where he is willing to compromise his finish may not be so far off, after all
 x % $
 Does MT. Harding realize how he har- rows the feelings of Lucy Page Gaston every time he lights a cigarette? t # 4
 An exhibition game is a total loss to the spectators when Hon. Babe" Ruth fails to hit home run. < 4 < If Germany staged" those bolshevik riots. MT. Griffith himself could not have done it better.
 4 F #
 A great many Americans are not hair as much interested in Tap as they are in Bimini.
 x # *
 In the realm of free verse there IS ap- parently no such word as fail.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
Lord Mayor of Cork
 Should Be Deported

o{F5HE appeal of lawyers represent
 ! ing Donald J. O'Callaghan, lord mayor of Cork, that he be givsn asylum in the United States, will be denied by the American state depart mont. according to dispatch from
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31

THE .oLD-TIME EXPORTER. The old-time exhorter
 Affrighted my soul; He preached fire and birthstone Where molten seas roll And spoke of the devil,
 The ruler of hell, As if he had met him
 And knew him quite well.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
he New York Herald.

From the New York Herald
 RN F HEN the Bergensfjord just ar wv rived from christiania after a
 V rough 13 days voyage, was in the middle Atlantic, she was struck by the hardest storm that any or the sailormen from captain to galley boy ever knew. For 36 hours she lay at the mercy of wind and waves and, as w. Clark Russell would put it, all, all seemed lost. But Captain Ole Bull Of honored Norwegian name, bethought himself of Viking superstition which his father used to tell him, that when storms refuse to yield to man II with their blond shaggy clocks" He ordered the ships barber to bring tout his scissors. When the last mans hair was clipped, the wind calmed and the shin sailed over a sea smooth as q ballroom floor.
 To the landlubber this has the sound of fish story. His eyes are so full of dust and his mind of earthly ma terialism that he could not understand the deep sea if he tried. If there is one thing in which there is universali- ty, it is salt water superstitions. They began when man first ventured on the sea; they live in forecastle and cabin, in navy and merchant marine. varied and modified to suit different peoples of the world.
 Greek and Phoenician, the greatest sailors of ancient times, believed in Calypsos and other sirens of the Aegean; the modern sailor sees them in every port. The Malayan pirate may have had difficulty in finding the blond hair demanded by the Viking legend but he could always cut off a black shocked head to appease the storm furies. The old sea captain who would never sail on Friday or on the annivl rsary of the destruction of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-31
EFFICACY OF LIGHTNING RODS Frorn Farm Life,

From Farm blIe
 More farm fires, according to insur- ance experts, are started from lightning than from any other cause-and a fire resulting from lightning is perhaps more difficult to cope with than one from any other source.
 Iii the installation of lightning rods an expert should be employed He will see that the equipment is properly placed and that the rods or cables are grounded in a proper manner. If new or additional silos are erected at a later time it will be we'll to have them also rodded
 Farmers should make certain that their insurance policies contain the lightning clause. Otherwise, loss re- sulting from fire caused by lightning is not covered by the contract All fire companies have a hesitation against risks on farm property as is evidenced by the higher rates charged and smaller amounts of insurance issued as com pared to city risks. Many of them re- fuse entirely to write risks on farm property where lightning rods are not installed t4