davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
A REAL ANARCHIST

From the Brooklyn Eagle.
 SNETER ALEXEIvITCH KROPOT-
 JH KIN Russian prince by birth. ono
 = of the worlds foremost geograph-
 CTS, long head of the so-called nihilists,
 suspected of planning the assassination
 of Alexander II. and expelled from
 Switzerland after the assassination, died
 in his native city of Moscow at the age of 7s In an age of loose definition 1t
 is well to note that he was a real an-
 archist, just as Lenine is an anarchist
 communist, far from the non-miiitapcy
 of Proudhon, farther from the mechanics of Karl Marx. with whose socialism up i to 1872 anarchy had been confounded. though socialism means pan-government and anarchy means no government at all. Michael Bakcunin, also of a princely Russian family but after his imprison- ment and his years in Siberia as unre- Ilenting hater of all established govern ment as even the Italian maiatesta. was ahead of Kropotkin in advocating direct action in pursuance of Proudhon's theory that property is theft" His mantle feii on Kropotkin. The prince himself form ulated the theorem. "All things belong to all," and Liberty is not the daughter but the mother of order" and s'We stand f. for morality without compulsion or au- thority, developing itself from social life and becoming habitual.'' No fair student If the subject is inclined to ignore tho anarchist point of view. It is familiar
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
WORDS FAIL From Harper's Magazine.

From AaFperS M4B21iuS.
 When the captain of the fire dspart-
 ment was about to resign his men banded together and purchased an slab-
 crate. embossed silver horn to present
 to him at a meeting in the town hall.
 The fireman who was chosen to mako
 the presentation practiced hts speech
 for days beforehand. The chief. who
 had been informed of what was to happen, also practiced his speech of ao-. ceptance. They rehearsed together and
 were letter perfect" when they mount ed the platform in the town hall. Ths throng which confronted them had. however, 2. disastrous effect Holding the horn at arms length. the firemapI stslked across the platform and with a ghastly expression on his face. said:! Well, BilI here's your hornr
 | The chief rose slowly to his feet and gahped: Hell! Is that it?' s
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
DO YOU BORROW BOOkss m the Cincinnati Enouirer.


 From the Cincinnati Enquirer. Do you borrow books? It is . com mendabls habit. though 1t is . more decent and . better practice to buy books. still, tho lover of books Is not averss to having them enjoyed by others. He seldom is niggardiy of his favors in. this direction until he has besn victimixed so often by the dis honesty of those he has favored that he is compelled to appear churlish rather than suffer cumulative loss.
 The man who borrows . book from a friend and refuses to return it may not be crook in the scientific defini- tion of that term. But in the opinion of the book lover he will stand as mighty near relative of the fellow who purloins. other things of value.
 Emerson says: "One may soon come to sec that he had better have broken his own bones than to have hidden In his neighbor's coach. and that the high est price he can pay for thing Is to ask for it.'
 So far as the dishonest or negligent book borrower Is concerned, let us hope the Concord sage is right. But 1t is to be doubted whether morals, metaphysi- cally or otherwise enjoined. arc much considered by these gentry.
 one regrets the loss of . good book |lt is not always nor perhaps often. the Intrinsic value of the book which counts for much. but every worth while book has ! sentimental value to its ownsr; 1t Is . friend. . prized com. panion. solace, comfort. an inspira. tions Often 1t ts impossible to re- place 1t. There must be general asreemen1 with Hmseson that The is base ana that is the only bass thing In the uni'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04

try, and if the American people were not proverbially careless about the use of public funds, howl would go up that would startle the Martians. As it is, we continue to view gov ernmental extravaganza with amused tolerance, under the mistaken impress sion apparently that somebody else's money is being wasted.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
FoILED


 Thomas" said Mrs. Jabwind, severely. keep your eyes on me at the Clipping dinner tonight"
 What for7"
 When I lay down my knife and fork,<it will be sign that you are talking too much"
 All right my dear. I'll do most of my talking during the soup course"
 GOOD NAME LOST
 What's become of the honest black smith who used to run the village smithy?"
 He's in the automobile repair bust ness now" "Ah! And getting rich, no doubt?" Yes, but the adjective honest is no longer applied to him."
 TIMELY SUGGESTION I've been at liberty for six months" Sdiu lno veteran dcLOr. IL LOOKS ike the bread line for me-"
 Haven't you played buffers parts in society dramasT "Thousands of times" Why don't you try that role in real life?" COULDN'T oBLIGE That's plucky pedestrian, al.-- how" What did he do?" Dared the man who ran over him to try it again" Did the metorist accer- the chal- lenger' NO. He said it nearly broke his heart to pass up chance like that. but he was on his way to meet a train.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04

to us in the work of Tolstoy, who was . Proudhonist profoundly affected by the religious idea of the Fatherhood of God. For religion as such. Kropotkin had no respect.
 We do not think that there was snougn of warmth, of human spirit, of the milk of human kindness in Kropotldn to mako him leader of red-blooded men. Thers was power enough in his brain and in his pen to make him a leader of thougAt. of the thought that produced Lenmism and Lenine.
 And this was the man who, approach- ing 30 years. virtually starved to death in Moscow under the nearest approxima- tion to the social system he had favored that mankind proved to be capable of! If Kropotkin felt he had made mistake. he never showed it to the world. He died stoically. He was victim of the Lenins experiment. which in essence was his own experiment
 The reflection is interesting to All 0 - I. we were built like angels. .'' all things would be possible. We arc not To keep civilization going s per cent of us must do manual labor. faithfully. and for long hours every week day. And for the vast majority the whip and spur of necessity \ is an indispensable motive. We may
 guess that other motives. higher ana better. are possible. that they VII cams in time: but to assume that they are al, eady hero and already operative is fatal error
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
THE aEvEN SEAS
From the Chicago Tribune. ;

Either Mr. Kipling has revised his notion of the Seven Seas {{wh.cA .s un-. likely). or the classification recently ascribed to him was incorrect; for in 1914 he advised one of our renders that the Seven are the North and South Att lAntic, tho North and South Pacific the Mediterranean. Indian and Channel seas,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
IN ETRElaIs

By Clinton ScolIard. The room seems strange. and holds !
 haunted air.
 With no familiar footstsp on tho floor; No gust of laughter leaping up th&
 stair, No smile of greeting st the opening
 door. No sound within, end no sound from
 without ss 7 ss < ,s ! save tnc blown rain that devn tke'
 casementAstreams: am as one pehf< tf some last lredopht Who in the idneliness 4till 1eas1e "
 dreamp.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04

Au6 ACSS AkAOhCJt AC4oAC AN"O~ ~-~-- and locomotives and are laying off men. The grower of radishes and beans for early markets is planting smaller acreage because he fears the high freight rates will shut him out of the customary markets.
 This is the problem which railroad officials, railroad employees and the government have to solve. The statement that MT. Wilson is the only literary man in the world who would refuse s15o,oO0 is probably cor rect. At any rate, it would take long time to find another. # # # The Cincinnati Enquirer thinks the person who borrows book from friend and fails to return it Is little better than a thief. Worse than that, he's a. 100 per cent ingrate. # * * The enterprising automobile dealer in Birmingham who hauled jitney patrons free of charge to advertise his cars brought no cheers from the jitney ! bus operators.
 There is nothing sadder in life than the sight of an old gentleman with white goatee and walking stick talk ing a soft drink at soda fountain for his mornings morning" If some of the stories told about the size and prowess of fish in Florida waters are true, we'd prefer to angle for them from the deck of liner, so they couldn't over turn the boat. Henry Ford says he is not worrying about his finandal affairs. He is the person you would naturally expect to do the worrying if there were any thing to worry about. x x ]. Instead ,of profiting by the lesson of our unpreparedness during the war, we are slipping back into the old way of waiting for something to turn up # # *: Nobody will blame MT. Harding for
  preferring to hear the kind of fishing yanns told in Florida to the whining voice of the office seeker. l * * a: 1 Ever and anon somebody wishes | Carrie Nation were alive to observe modern conditions. There is no lack of excitement without her. l a a * King Constantine is trying to make l friends in Greece, but the Venizellists continue to stand aloof and look | gloomy.
 l There was a time when Lloyd George was the spokesman of the common people. Alas, the common people nc longer rise up and call him blessed. 1 + x F l The old fashioned reformer who used to be shocked by tights on the | stage would never survive the cuticls l display in a modern girl show. | & R l A newspaper writer says puginsts have become powder puffs." It is 1 just as well that John L. Sullivan ia I at rest
 The campaign to make Switzerland dry will be watched with interest by the unreconstructed "wets" of Scot. 1 land.
 Monte Carlo is gay, says an English correspondent, which probably means
 that the suicides are as numerous al
 ever.
 Dempsey and Willard may fight oi
 Labor day, but neither of them could
 be called a working man.
 * E z
 If Germany persists in her refusal t
 pay an indemnity it may be necessar!
 to get prescription from pr. Foch. FILLING A LONG-FELT WANT From the Montgomery Advertiser.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
sADDENED SING SING

From tho CleVelAnO Fldlu DedAcr.
 Clearly the New York superinten- dent of prisons is not member of the |uplift brotherhood. Persona Non Grata may as we'll be his middle name so far as the Society for the Alleviation of Downtrodden Convicts is concerned. He has the curiously medieval notion that when . person has been sen- fenced to prison for crime some real punishment should follow. Being cod died for brief term and then pardoned does not appeal to the superintendent as hardened criminals full debt to society.
 So tho superintendent lays down cor l tain rules for tho conduct of convicts which any full-fledged penal reformer will brand at once as reacticnary and
 reprehensible. Convicts will not be permitted td
 wear silk shirts. fancy ties, silk hosi- cry or jewelry. They must not write love letters. nor have women visitors
 except women of their own families They must live on prison food, no mat i ter what delicatessen appetites they
 may possess.
 What is prison life coming to? I!
 all our gentlemen murderers. burglars
 and piuguglies temporarily in captivits
 are to have their personal liberties
 curtailed in this fashion. what's to be.
 come of our parlor theorists welded 1 to the thought of society's debt to is
 would-be destroyers! And what's tn.
 fun of being convict if pretty, senti-
 mental ladies cannot shower one with
 flowers. or if the convict himself can.
 not court some misguided miss b,
 means of bogus love missives by way
 of willing away his timer It's a sad
 sad day at Sing Sing. But glad. slat
 day for those who fall to. recognizt
 heroism in mere sordid crime.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
FILLING A LONG-FELT WANT

From the Montgomery Advertiser
 Edison is projecting with an appara- tus designed to find out something definite about departed spirits. ct is not an anti-prohibition gesture) Edi- son is modest about it, making no claims whatever; besides he hasn't fin- ished the thing. But he will pardon the observation that here is something which. if successful. should outsell McCormick's reaper.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
Congressional Committee
 Told a Few Plain Truths

Congressional Committee
 Told a Few Plain Truths ~ HARLES G. DAWES, the Chica- N go banker who was chief pur- chasing agent for General Pershing during the war, did not mince words when he appeared before congress sional subcommittee Investigating expenditures made abroad for the American expeditionary forces.
 Vigorous and profane, Mir. Dawes voiced the sentiments of consid- erable part of the American people who are convinced that, all in all, we made good job of the war and mis- takes were discounted by the sum total of our achievements. Every thing done during the war was done under pressure, with the one object. to get results. That we got results is evident. The present plight of Germany bears eloquent testimony to that fact. .
 A nation unprepared for the great est war in history, we got ready in record-breaking time. This could not have been accomplished without spending enormous sums of money, No well-informed person will deny that great deal of money was spent that might have been saved, but when the world was afire there was no time to quibble. Suppose we had been more thrifty and had lost the war :? That would have been a fatal policy.
 There were grafters in and out of the service, there were profiteers at home and in France; blunders were made by the government and blunders were made in Europe, but the record of our army speaks for itself and it 'is unjust to attempt to besmirch the reputation of millions of soldiers and civilians who served their country wcll because of conditions that can in no way reflect on their honesty, courage and patriotism.
 Fancy Knicklnacks for
 Members of Congress
 lE YE-BROW tweezers, puff boxes, 'lCd manicure sets, cards, calendars and alarm clocks are some of the articles bought with the money of the plain people for our pampered ,ecngressmen. Hugh w. Roberts, The Age-Hcrald's Washington cor. lrespondent, found an interesting list Iof purchases in the report of the |Heuse clerk
 Just why . wrist watch, baby ring. . locket and similar trifles should be paid for with public funds It not apparent unless ws stoically accept the conclusion that it is all . part of the high cost of legislation There should be no objection. to the |purchase of $S5o collins when mem lber dies and expensive funeral par. ,ties in his honor, as there are times when . dead statesman is more use. iful to his constituents than a live ono, but these expenditures and many Iothers that are not understood by the average citizen show the easy methods by which this great govern. ! mout of ours is run.
 It is small wonder that it now costs *hillions to administer the nations af. 4oirs where i. once cost millions. W. hnye travelled ! considerable distance fxon the 6implicity that marked thu days of our fathers, both in public m private life. The idea that any thing goes is generally accepted b. .our cheerful office holders ans @sehar6e it to the government" is 1 ropulax slogan that is lived up to I1ith the result that millions of dol Hi are squandered.
 M America were not a rich coun
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
STANDING ARMIES

From the Nashville Banner.
 America" declares The Birmingham Ase-Herald does not need large standing army" Neither, for that mat ter. does any other nation. It means waste and murder. Yet until all in good faith agree to cut down standing
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES
THRIFT THOUGHT

THRlFT THOUGhI Surely these
 Are perfect days, Fit to win A
 A poets praise. Bright the sun A And blue the skies, In a dream
 The landscape lies. Days like these
 Delight my soul; What is more,
 I'm saving coal. /
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04

verse-to receive fAvors eand rsnder none."
 But frankly and brutally. to borrow . book and keep 1t essentially is as immoral as if 1t had been stolen.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
The Perfect Gentleman

Henry Hiden was the perfect gem tleman," said Col. E. T. Taliaferro. He
 and were born in Orange county, Va-' in almost the same neighborhood, and
 knew him from boyhood Right strange that circumstances brought both Of us to Birmingham to live hero 50 long. No man entertained in more beautf- ful style at his home. It was treat of the first water to take . meal with
 MT. and Mrs. HiAen, such perfect hosts, both of them. MT. Hiden had won- derful stock of cheeriness that made his presence always pleasure to others. He was never out of sorts
 mentally, no matter how i'll he might be physically.
 "A gentleman of the old school? Yes, to the very letter of it. No wonder he was so beloved by all who knew him"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
Cannot Afford to Scrap
 A. B. and A. Railroad

7T7HE Atlanta, Birmingham and At
 ll lantic railroad earned net op- erating income of $622,15O in 1916 less than that in 1917. In 1918 there was an operating deficit of $335, ,000, one of $953,Ooo in 1919 and $1,296, ,OO0 in 1920.
 This has caused President D. l.. Bugg in an appeal to the people served by the line to declare: "Un- less we cut wages, I see nothing for the owners of the property to do but get what they can out of scrapping the whole thing. If we offered it for sale, I doubt if we could get bid Eder." President Bugg proposes as a measure of relief that wages be re- duced by one-half of the increases made since December, 1917. Other economies will also have to be insti- tuted, says MT. Bugg, if the re- mainder of the deficit is to be made up.
 It is very serious matter. It in wolves 600 miles of transportation service, 2,O00 workers and more than million people served exclusively by this line. Scrapping utility that serves and employs so many people is not to be considered. Its preser- vation must be accomplished by fair division of whatever retrenchment is found necessary for it's preservation The people of Georgia and Ala bama do not wish the A., B. and A to go bankrupt or be scrapped. They prefer settlement as fair-minded- ness shall dictate.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
x Higher Rates, But Produce Less Revenue


 7THE truck growers around Green ll vile are planting their radishes and other vegetables for the early markets. There is fly in the oint- ment. A news item from Greenville referring to the truck business says
 "The truck growers have decreased their acreage this year due to high freight rates and unsettled condi- tions."
 The unsettled conditions"> are known to all. That is part and parcel of the prevailing uncertainty at the tag end of business readjustment The matter of freight rates is new, but is much more formidable. Alfalfa hay from New Mexico is a prime article. Before the war i, came to Birmingham on a freight rate of $10 per ton. In June, 1919 the freight advanced to $14 ton Last August it was increased to SIS per ton. No more of this hay comes to this market. The cost of trans. l portation has shut it out. Kansas City, Chicago and St. Louis complain that New York ships good. by boat to the Pacific coast at rates under rail rates from the former points. Middle western jobbers ars losing lot of Pacific coast bushes. formerly controlled by them. E The high freight and passenger rates coming into vogue last Augus1 have been accompanied by less trave and reduced freight tonnage. Dis. tributing points have been restricted in territory. The railroads are mak
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
Good for Birmingham

Charles Jones, assistant manager of the freight traffic bureau, takes an op- timistic view of the benefits expected to follow the proposed realignment of rates from Ohio and Mississippi river crossings.
 "The proposed realignments," said Mr. Jones, twill remove the discrimi- nations in favor of Nashville and other Birmingham competitors. and place this city on an even base with them. That is all Birmingham asks.
 Tt is the importance of this matter that induced tho general manager, MT. Bum. to first attend the hearings be- fore the interstate commerce examiner at Nashville. and has caused him to go to Washington to attend the further hearing. I fully agree with MT. Bunn's recent statement in The Age-Herald with regard to the benefit to Birming- ham if the realiGnment is made"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
ExpeIlatiHx Justice

'sThe expediting of justice has come to be as much of great machine of efficiency as anything in the world" said L. L. Ford of the United States department of justice.
 Z We are getting quick results in this state now because of the way we have our machine arranged, and the work of apprehending vialators of tho law out lined.
 "The prohibition enforcement office iss certainly worthy of great commend- ment, and the secret service has per- formed more than creditably, for the good of the state. Our own work Is pushing ahead from day to day. and it all means that the man who Is charged with law violation is held in Jess sns- pense now than some time ago. when an old system necessitated the wheels of justice turning slowly"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
A sword employed is pcrilOus.
 -Troiius and Cressids. # # #
, MORNING PRAYER

A MORNING PRAYER If thou dost call me to difficult tasks, 0 Lord, give me to labor in confidence that nothing is impossi- ble which needs to be done. Amen. M. s. H.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
The Impressio.

"Birmin gham's Hoover dinner 10 raise funds for the starving children of Europe, should make a profound i'm : pression on every person who saw the bare tables and plain fare, and then reflected that that kind of meal IS gladly hailed by thousands in European countries" said Miss Lena M. Phillips of New York.
 "One who has already given, after having witnessed that scene, cannot help but feel so deeply touched that he or she gives just little bit more to- ward the cause"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
 AND ELSEWHERE
But He Got It

T was amused at an account which a friend of mine had at the hands of a guest of his from a middle western city" says R. c. Redus. The Birming- ham man asked the westerner if It was hard to get drink In his home town and was told that while it was not diff ficult. yet 1t was expensive, and had to be done under a subterfuge through a druggist whom, 1t seems is permit ted to fill prescription calling Tor whisky at stated intervals, by keeping a record of the name and the disease of the customer.
 He laughingly admitted his ailmens was simply cold, but that he had been such a chronic sufferer from It his druggist tipped him off that it was about time for his having diphtheria, or the officers might get suspicious. He was willing to even have pneumonia rather than to have his supply cut off
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04
ABSORBING TOPIC

ABSORBING TOPIC You and Mir. Wappins are gettins to be very friendly" remarked Mrs. Twobble. He comes in to see you two or three times a week" He comes to report progress" said MT. Twobble.
 Progress on whatr' His home brew"
 INFORMATION WANTED John" said Mrs. Gadspur, "our club has decided to clean up the city" ''Goodr'
 But you must help.~ "How?"
 By directing us to a cesspooI of sin"
 UNIQUE DISTINCTION Don't you ever think of giving up your farm and moving to town?" "No." said MT. Cobblea sI don't. If people keep on going to the cities to live, the way they arc ,oine now, the man who stays in the country will some day become sort of celebrity.
 FOCH KNOWS Says Germany, Y will not pay,- Plague take her! But France, methinks, could find a way To make her. PAUL. COOK.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-04

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