davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
JOHN MEISTERHANS
An Honest Cowboy Bootmaker.


 What higher tribute could any iran be accorded in this distrustful world? John Meisterhans made honest boots, which he sold at honest prices Be svre of that. But he was something ms-re than a cobbler. He was an artist. Any man who puts the best that he has into his task, who does work that will stand the testing, whose product is as near reliable as skill and strength and conscience may render it, is an artist. whether he is a bricklayer. a house builder, banker, a lawyer. an editor, a preacher or poet. How many such will deserve the tribute that is to be paid to John Mesterhans?
 Honesty in his case, if we under stand the nature of cowboys, meant efficient workmanship and punctilious square dealing. How much better the world could be made, how much finer and cleaner and happier if every man measured up to these requiremenfss And how much sooner would that con fidence which is Christliness make conquest of all hearts and lives?
 Surely, on starry nights, Diogenes will come from the shades to reread the cowboys tribute to old John Meis terhanS
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
Underwood Scores for
 Wilson Dam Project

@ ENATOR UNDERWOOD has se- 0 cured favorable report on the appropriation of $10,000,000 for the completion of the Wilson dam. The Senate committee voted for favor able report to 6.
 Two republican senators, Gronna of North Dakota, and Sherman of Illinois, voted with the democrats on the committee. That is especially en- couraging, because the fight on Muscle Shoals has been a decidedly partisan affair.
 Alabama owes the resuscitation of the Muscle Shoals appropriation to Senator Underwood. It was gone when he returned to Washington after the holidays and surveyed the situ- ation. It required the remarkable tact and statesmanship of this able leader to breast the storm of calumny raised against the appropriation and give it 1 life again.
 Senator Underwood realizes that it
 is a hard battle yet and warns his constituents that "it will be a strenu-
 ous fight, but I believe we will
 win it."
 The Muscle Shoals project will win i in the long run. The American peo-
 pie will not stand by and see great
 project like that snuffed out on what
 might be termed the eve of compile
 ton. The most bitter partisan will
 eventually yield to common sense and
 decide that this wonderfully beneficial
 plan shall not be thrown down. 1 If it does win, Alabamians will owe
 victory more to Senator Underwood
 than to many other influences com bined, because his is the genius and
 ability which come to the fore when l the situation is most desperate.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
LUKE .McLUKN SAYS

If each line begins with capital let ter most men won't read the printed offering. They will call 1t poetry, and let it go at that The clause in the income tax law admitting that a wife costs $1,000 q year was framed by a bachelor. \ married man would have given other ! married men at least $1o,000 exemp- ] tion.
 l Once in a while you will find 2 busi-
 ness that will run itself But it Is diff ferent with a newspaper. | This would be jolly world if other 1 people could laugh as much at joke as the man who is telling it. 1 Oar idea of real suffering is when a
 woman has such bad cold that she can't talk.
 l What has become of the o. f, man who always ordered ham and eggs
 when he went into g restaurant? Anyway, you never heard of a big
 business man being indicted for con- tempt of currency.
 1 Any oldAfashioned person can tell I you that too much attention is paid to both kinds Of fancy chickens. l There are so many hypocrites in this 1 country that if you could get the hypo- crite vote you would be elected Presi- dent.
 l The reason why a woman Is warmer than man on a cold day Is because
 she has plenty of clothing on her back
 and nothing on her chest. Every day you see the line: ''None, Back If You Want It." But how often did you ever get your money back? tCopyright. 1s3l.l
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
MURDERS AND INSURANCE

From the Philadelphia Inquirer.
 The present so-called crime wave, in which murder plays so prominent part, has been confined apparently to a few localities and there is no Likelihood of it's affecting the records of the couh- try as a whole, according to tlgures furnished by the Metropolitan Life ln- surance company, which is authority for the statement that the year l9zo will go down in history as the most Ia vorable one on record in the matter of homicides among insured wage earners.
 These insurance figures, it is Said' nearly always reflect conditions in the total population of the United States and Canada, and 1t may therefore ba expected that one of the features in the good general mortality record of la2o will be a low homicide rate.
 Records in the industrial department of the insurance company show that the death rate for this cause for The period from January to December ls 1920. reached the comparatively low level of 5.5 per cent from the rate Tor 1919, which was 6.9.
 In the year 1920, only one month September shows mortality record from this cause of death--S.4 per leo, 0O0-which was equal to or in excess o1 that for the year 1919-6.9 per 10o.ooo
 Therefore the murder wave, at least say the insurance statisticians, wealo appear to have been confined to v9ry short period as well as few localities
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
An. Agricultural County

Marion county, at present in the limelight because it has been selected as the scene for the trial of nine state guardsmen, is almost entirely an agri- cultural county" said Victor White of Hamilton. There is but one coal mine in the county-the Brilliant mine, near Winfield-and this is about 20 miles from the county seat
 The county has a large body of productive lands, and it's citizenship is composed of men and women of pure Anglo-Saxon stock. There are but few negroes, only three negro families liv- ing at Hamilton. The foreign born population is very small indeed Marion's citizenship is of the old school, honest, fearless and God-fear- ing"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
State Championship

That the proposed Alabama High school basketball championship tourna- ment which is being planned for Bir- mingham, will be a success seems as- sured" said Clarence McEachin of the Birmingham Athletic club. Daily favorable replies to the queries sent out by the B. A. c. are coming in and from present indications there will be at least 25 or 30 high school teams hero the last week in February to compete for the state championship.
 Tt is a new thing for state high school basketball championship to be decided in this manner. Southern, na- tional and sectional cage titles have been decided in journeys, but for high schools to come together and play it out for the title seems to be a new thing in Dixie sports"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
Home Sites Available

There is one section of the city which so far seems to have been over looked by the army of home seekers" spot which have in mind is located in nice section of the city and I do not think the ground is owned by any one person who is holding 1t to get a good price out of it.
 T have in mind the Avenue F high way, the part of it hstween Elyton and West End. There are very few houses in the neighborhood, the land is, high and dry and the streets and sidewalks have all been paved It looks to me like an attractive site for home and cannot understand why it has not been taken up before this"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
DAMNING WITH oyERPRAIsE

Francis Hackett in the New Republic
 A few days ago one of my oldest and dearest friends fell to praising Arneld Bennett in my hearing, loudly, as her custom is, and at length, as is also her custom. She possesses in an unusual perfection the not unusual gift of praising book or landscape in a strain which makes people resolve, pri- vately, never to look down a valley again or to read printed page again as long as they live. I have heard her talk of Taormina in voice that con- vinced those present of the superior beauties of Waukegan. He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing-l have heard her quote those deathless words with fervor which convinced me, for almost half a year.~that the Book of Job was nothing to write home about.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
WISER THAN HE KNEW

zabert St. Clair. in the Cleveland
 Plain Deler.
 When Taft ran for President the first time George ,Ade invited him out
 to his farm near Brook, Ind, to . bar becue. Taft accepted. The day before Taft was due to ar r. g, Ade called in his farm foreman
 and told him to go to town and get some fancy Japanese fireworks to fire off when Taft drove up the lane. The foreman got the fireworks, and Ade, to make sure that the things were working. had one of the dozen rockets set off before Taft arrived. It worked, and that left Il rockets. When Taft drove up tho lane, the foreman let go the Il rockets and they were a shrieking success They rock eted all over the place so well that even Taft mentioned them. After the Taft party left and Ads was standing on the lawn knee deep in lemon rinds, one of his rural neigh
 hors, literary cuss like George him self, came up smiling broadly. Well, George he said, you cer- tainly put this thing over in grand | shape. The entertainment was grand. the food was food, the drinks (this
 was years ago). were plentiful and ev- erybody had fine time" 1 Well" George replied, T certainly
 am glad that you enjoyed yourself" l Enjoyed myself" went on the rural
 Poe. T did more than that. In fact,
 think I enjoyed myself more than
 anyone here, because, being widely
 read. understood the significance of that rocket salute" Yes" Ade replied. wondering what | his caller meant
 I You bet" the caller continued.
 I've read enough to know that eleven i guns Is the salute for the Secretary of
 War
 After the visitor had left George I called in his foreman and handed him
 a crisp. bill for getting the salute right 1 by firing all the rockets he had on
 hand.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
NECKTIE HALTED A ROMANCE

From the Philadelphia Ledger.
 Selbyville, Del.-Forty years ago John Emmons and Charity Timmens of Bishopville. Del, were 20 years old and sweethearts. With her own hands Miss Timmons made a necktie as a gift for her young gallant. The evening of the day he received it Emmons put 1t on. He didn't like the colors and replaced it.
 As usual, he visited Miss, Timmons that evening. It was nice summer night. The moon revealed that he was not wearing love's token and Miss Tim mons demanded the reason.
 Its too loud,' replied the youth.
 Do mean you will never wear it. Then you don't love me" sobbed the girl. and she went into the house.
 That apparently was the end of the domance. Emmons went to Portland, Ore, and prospered As the owner of big departmen tstore in the far north western city. he returned to Bishopville last Christmas for visit.
 It was inevitable that he should meet his former sweetheart in the village. Soon each learned that the old love would not die; that each had consid- cred the other the only mate. and that neither had married.
 Of course. Emmons proposed. Miss Timmons did not refuse him, but she bought tie as nearly like the one that started all the trouble as she could find. Then. when he wote it without flinching, shte coyiy murmursd. yes" And so they were married the other evening.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27

It is reported that in certain Ger man school the children are taught that Christopher Columbus was a German This has given rise to the counter claim that the first German to discover Amer ica was William Hohenzollern.
 # * < The comparatively few of the unem- ployed in Birmingham is due to the two strings to her bow; the one that shoots the shaft of domestic trade and the other that speeds that of export trade vixen there is a showdown at home.
 # * + Some men would like to have their creditors as far removed as the astron- omers say the new nebula Dreyer 5S4 is '1nconceivably distant
 # * # pr. Elliot says few Americans can hear straight or zee straight. The Helnes' however, discovered that the American could shoot straight.
 # * <
 Everything that is right comes about in the long run. Wilson dam will be completed. because it is right that 1t should be.
 < # 4
 The man who watches the marking down dial too closely issapt to miss the figures on the advancing dial
 < < x Bryan is apvut to recognize the demo cratic party. Nothing new about that He has been on the job 9 years.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27

cities will lose their waterway fic- tion rates and Birmingham will reap the benefit. Birmingham also has the water-borne rates of the Warrior.
 It is but fair. Birmingham asks for nothing to which it is not entitled.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
By oHCARssNi.DE

Sweat are, the summex meadowa.
 Blue is the summit sky And the swallows like flickering shad-
 ows 5 ! Over. the tall corn fly And the red rose flames on the thieket, And the redbreast stngs on the spray. And the drowsy hum of the cricket Comes from the new-mown hay. And the morning dewdrops glisteA.
 And the lark Is on tho wing; An, how can 700 stop and liston
 To what haye to stnG!
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
TwENrY-Two MILLION BUSINESS

From Farm Life.
 The Secretary of Agriculture figurea the crops of the year 1920 at SIS, soo, ,OoO. .OoO. and the animal products at $S.75 .O00. .voo this is grand total of more than ys2,- ooo,oOooco. He estimates that the prlce slump has caused a loss in value ot about $S,o0o,oO0,000 in the crops. and s2oo.oOoooo in the animal products. as compared with last year-or shrinkaga of about l5 per. cent. It must seem to tina man with live stock or grain to sell that the shrinkage is much greater than tha..
 though it should be taken Into consld- eration that tine production of l920 wiss much larger than that of 1919. in volume. and that therefore the real shinkaee in value is greater than l5 per cent. Taken lat its wors:, however. the 322s0oo ooo. .v0o
 worth of farm stuff for the year repre- isents almost boundless wealth In the az gregate. No matter how much resent ment we feel at falling prices and loss 'of profits. o',r business of farming sttll remains the country's main buslness. And how much better 1t is to have our national granaries full of cheap prod- |ucts than 1t would to have them nearly empty, no matter how high tho price
 might bel M s :,SS
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
Healthy State of
 Banking Conditions

Banking OonOItlonS
 ,N0T HEN one considers the amount WV of money tied up in cotton alone, it is quite remarkable that at the close of 1920 deposits in the state banks of Alabama should be only $3,75S,000 less than they were at the close of 1919. Viewed in net results, it is a better showing than that of 1919, because in 1919 prices were high, everything that man had could be sold at a high price and high trade levels were made.
 The small decrease in deposits is indisputable proof of the fact that the people of Alabama came to the slowing down period with a healthy reserve and that they have not eaten into their reserve. The decrease in total of bank deposits merely repre- sents failure to market certain prod ucts still held by the farmer and the reduced volume of business. It re- mains that a people who are able to pass through slowing down period without drawing on their re- serves are in strong financial posi- tion.
 The superintendent of banks re- ports that the banks are conserva- tive; that they are conforming strict$ ly to banking rules and caring for the money which the people have en- trusted to their care. At the same time they are extending aid with as much liberahty as is compatible with good banking rules. The people of Alabama would not have them dc otherwise.
 Banks do not operate on private capital. They are founded by pri- vate capital, but they conduct busi- ness on other mems money. They are trustees for the money of other men and they have no right to endanger it
 The excellent reports of Alabama banks recently reRdered attest their good management and the underlying soundness of Alabama conditions. Related Justice Seems
 Coming to Birmingham
 @ L. BUNN, general manager o1 0o the Chamber of Commerce anc Traffic Bureau, has returned from { weeks sitting with special commis sioner of the interstate commerce. commission and representatives of 5t trunk lines at Nashville with a horo scope most pleasing to Birmingham shippers.
 The Nashville hearing, presumabl, for the sole purpose of weighing ar guments for and against increase il class rates from Birmingham ant other southeastern points to Ohio ans Mississippi functions, developed int a discussion of the entire rate system on northbound and southbound freigh in this territory.
 The upshot of the effort of rail roads to realign rates so as to con form to the long and short clause rul ing of the commission is the pros pective elimination of all the rate based on the waterway fiction. Ac cording to MT. Bum, the tendenc, z is to wipe out the water rate fife tions entirely and base railroa' freight rates without regard to tn waterways. Where a city has waterway and is using it, rates ar to bs. made for water-borne traffic snd they are to be protected iron rate- cutting by the railroads.
 Birninghhm has suffered all thes years from discriminations in favo of Nsshville, Chattanooga and othe citiesy Even Atlanta has been accord sd rstss based on the port at ss .vsnnnh. In the realignment thes
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
Drilling for Oil

Indications are that test will be made in sthe very near future to de- termine whether oil exists in paying quantities in Morgan county" said Judge John c. Eyster. "The derrick is now practically in place., and the actual drilling will begin in the next few days, l am advised. The site se- lected is about two miles from Albany, and if the venture is successful big boom for the section is anticipated.
 Many geologistsi have hazarded the opinion that oil exists in paying Quan- titles in Morgan county. and at various times attempts have been made to sink wells there. This time 1t is thought that drilling will continue until oil is found or until its absence Is thoroughly established"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
Birmingham Makes Good
 Showing of Unemployed

@UT of a total reduction of 3,473,- NV 476 in the number of unem- ployed men in the United States, the south, including Kentucky, has con- tributed only about 100000 to the idle list The south, being still largely ag- ricultural, does not go through the drastic experiences of the teeming east when industry slows down. It naturally would have been pre- tsumed that Birmingham, the south's Heading industrial center, would rank among northern industrial centers in the number of unemployed, but it is not so. The department of labor gives Birmingham only 6,O00 additions to !, the unemployed. More remarkable still, Chattanooga is credited with 1 7,500 additional idle men; Atlanta with 7,400, and Jacksonville with 6,528. These cities do not compare with Birmingham as an industrial center, yet they have more men idle. l The answer is twofold. First, we have the mills of the Steel Corpora tion which have been operating at normal continuously since the slow down set in. This we'll conducted con- cern came to the showdown period with orders booked at such reasonable prices that it has had no trouble at the delivery and acceptance end.
 Second, the export trade has kept Birmingham mills busy at a period when there was little in the domestic trade. Not only have the Steel Cor poration mills done large export ] Business, but machine shops, struc- tural steel workers, pipe plants and !coke producers have also shipped products extensively and are still shipping to South America, Cuba and Mexico and as far away as the Philippines.
 I Birmingham is never hit as hard as other industrial centers, because her situation and the character of her trade make business whenever any is going on anywhere.
 Chattanooga, Atlanta, Meridian and Aberdeen have discovered the Warrior. the self-propellers/ the ports of Bir- mingham and of Cordova and the 20 per cent freight differentials on mer- chandise freight from New Orleans Birmingham assuredly is notsgoing to pay second fiddle in her own game.
 E 2 x
 A Paris doctor observed that all ths women that came to his hospital af. flicted with tuberculosis wore silk stock ings. He was about to draw conclusions when further investigation showed hin that all the women who came to thu hospital. no matter what their ailment also wore Ssilk stockings.
 ,l g z
 Multiplying the 500 anarchists de. : ported from the country in the past X months by the thousands whose mind:
 they were capable of poisoning will af- fora some idea of the far-reachins benefit of getting rid of these noxiou' germs.
 Score one for the grape Prohibition
 has raised the price from sss to sls' per ton.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
Unquiet meals make ill digcstions. -Comedy of Errors. * x %

A MORNING PRAYER
 If thou, Lord, hast denied me the companionship and love that other men knOSv--iet me not fnlter. It Is thy call, Lord, to conquer single handed, and I can--and will with Thee. Amen.-M. :. B.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-27
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
 AND ELSEWHERE
wnnt Teacher. to Pay


 T certainly hope every teacher tn poll tax" said Mrs. c. L. Moss, county chairman of the school improvement association.
 There are only few days left in which this may be done and teachers have a live interest in this matter, not only because it is the duty of citizens to vote, but also because the poll taxes are devoted entirely to the cause of education. On the other hand, we are requesting the teachers to urge all patrons who are eligible to pay their enfranchisement tax and thus be able to participate in all elections"
 Stimulate Dairyfng
 q am glad to see the Chamber of Commerce, through the secretary of the agricultural committee, has de- cided to stimulate an interest in the dairying industry in Jefferson county" said j. D. Moore.
 T have had eny share in the efforts put forth by the body to create an interest in agriculture, and it's good thing and should be kept up, but here is Something definite which can show results in a short time. I am sure that Alabama is destined to be a great dairying state, and it seems that Chair man Brown is the right man to begin the good work here in this district
 
 See America First The See America First idea is be- coming more popular in the United States every day" said D. s. Spencer, general passenger agent of the Union Pacific railroad, who is visiting Bir- mingham.
 {, T have heard from every source that Americans are gradually awakening to the fact that they have in this coun- l try the most beautiful scenery in the world, and I do not bar the Alps. l T have talked with people who have seen both, and especially an English man, who was neutral in his ideas and he has said that America is filled with a wealth of natural beauty not excelled."