davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-08

train was paid $344.s9, and would have been paid S293.74 under the new scale. Other instances cited by Col onel Bugg were: A negro fireman, $254.72; a passenger train conductor, $2S6.64; a negro fireman working in a yard, $222.36; machinist, $253.73; a negro train porter, who worked also as brakeman, $21s.25; a conductor on local freight train, $32S.27.
 An agent at a small station in South Georgia, with a population of 951, was paid $26.74 more than he collected for the road at that point.
 These figures require no comment. They speak for themselves, but they are of no little significance to white collar" men who have spent years qualifying themselves for a profes- sion in which they earn less than a negro fireman or brakeman employed by the Atlanta, Birmingham and At lantic railroad.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-08

From the Columbus Enquirer-Sun .G7fIHE enornity of the motion picture
 film export business of the United, r q States is a surprise to the aver age person, who has given little thought to what it is. According to statement by the National City bank of New Hork' during the year 1920 the United states exported 4700O miles of films-neariy enoungh to go twice around the globe. These figures illustrate the bigness and constant growth of the motion picture industry of the world and especially or the United States, which is. by far' the largest manufacturer of films and by lar the largest exporter of films, both ex- posed and unexposed. few figures, fur- nished by the statement of the National city bank. will be read with interest by all.
 The increase of exportation of ex- posed" films has been very great in very recent years, the total quantity Of e1- posed motion picture films exported rom the United States having grown rom a2. .ooo GOO feet in the year preceding the war-the calendar year 1s1s-to 7Suo'oV feet in 1915, 1s4, ,oO0 900 in 1916, 153,oooOoo in 1919, and 175,oo,oOo in 1920. This exporta- flor of unexposed films has dropped from 114 oooooo feet in 1914 and 126,0oo,o0 in 1915 to less than s5 ooo,ooo feet in 1920. This tremendous growth in exports of the .exrosed" hlms contrasted with the re- duction in the quantity of unexposed films exported suggests, at least, addds the bankers statement, that the industry or making film pictures for the world' pho toplays and others, is growing very rap ;d,v in the United States, and that ap-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-08
A STANDING ARMY or LABOR

From the Nations Business.
 Soviet Russia undertakes to make la- Dor compulsory on the theory that la Dor Is wealth and that all wealth be- longs to the community. It follows. then. that the community has the right to demand labor and direct it toward whatever production is deemed most necessary.
 Bulgaria has 2 compulsory labor law based on an entirely different theory. It recognises labor and the fruits of labor as an individual possession. but seeks to provide for the personal pay ment of a tax on labor for the benefit of the state.
 In brief. Bulgaria's law provides every Bulgarian lad who rsaches the age of 90 must give Asyear 6f service. and every girl of 1s. six months. Ex- cmpttcns are provided for those who arc physicall wand mentally incapable. pendent. Compulsory service 10 post- poned, but not remitted for those at- tending school
 : The military influence is strone h the provisions for enforcing the law. No Bulgarian may emigrate until nc has completed his compulsory labor service. Voluntary service or en1i6t- ment is permitted before reaching inc required age. The young men arc to be quartered in barracks. althoueh they are to work in. or as near n possible, to their homes. while young womon aro not te Do moved from their homeu-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-08
RLJJEBEARD OF VIRGIN ISLES

means of offense and defense Is a long tunnel (man-high) running from tho inside of the tower, through the hill and emerging in . secret opening at the harbor. By this, the pirates could escape to their boats in event of too strong landing party, but they could actually prevent that landing by swarming through the tunnel and with pistols and cutlasses annihilate one boat load after another before 2 landing could be accomplished.
 The tunnel is of the crudest excava- tion and bears the marks of having been the work of many hands and few tools. Some say 1t is the work of many wives. But 1t is hardly possible that even such a polygamist as Bluebeard could have possessed wives enough for the work. It is. however. improbable that they were ever attacked, because of their distance from the sear-nearly a mile-and also because of the ex- treme improbability of any vessel or body of men wishing to be anywhere near that corner of the earth If any other corner was available.
 An immense iron-b barred door opens at the base of the tower: and It's circu- lar summit some SO feet above holds a breastwork for . circle of it's de- fenders-similar to that feature of medieval European structure. While we have no means of knowing how many wives this ancient pirate pos- sessed, and still less possibility ot knowing how many he disposed ok we today have visible evidence of tue death of z2, whose graves are In the small inclosure of tho castle; and II of these are recorded on tee smaA slabt Of stone as from England.
 It seems that old Bluebeard was first class chrpnicler. and kept his records in perfect shape. Had he lived a. little longer. we might have been- left a complete record of his execs~ tions~-and so much fabled stun would not have had to be written to savs the names of the two Boards from ob- livion.
 Of the death of the brother Black beard we have no record. Of Blue beard some records say that he com- mitted suicide by poison. one legend Is that q particularly plucky wife 3f his. who had stood more than any mor- tai woman could stand from . mon- ster of his type, and who had no pos ability of 8 resourse to Reno, solved thu problem for herself and her sis- ters by plunging long knife into hts Paek as he sat at one of her Sunday dInners--probably the carving knife. ll that Is the case. she must have had pAngs of remorse afterwards: for q truly beautiful piece of work. in Che shape Of 2 small tower. a miniature Of the main tower. and about 25 feet high holds an old treasure chest, h which 1t Is said that his body was p1aeAd, and this tower buflt over him by hfs rS- maining wives. ~
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-08
MOVIES IN FOREIGN TRADE

upon us to a greater extent for the fin- iShed and exposed film and utilizing less unexposed film for camera use in their own countries. At least it is fact that for example, in 1920, were in round terms 25, ,0oo.oo0 feet as against s,ooo00 in 1sly. and only little over 100000 in 1918. to the United Kingdom the quantity ex- ported in 1920 was moro than 3,000,00O feet as against less than 100000 in 1913, to Canada 100000 feet in the Il months ending with November 1920, as against 13. .ooo,ooo feet in the same months of the preceding year; to Argentine 100000 feet against 100000 in tho same months of 1919; to Brazil over So0o.ooo feet against 2,50o, 900 in the same months of 1918.
 Meantime tho importation of films from abroad has shown a very material in- crease in 1920. the total imported in the year standing at approximately 106.oo0,0oo feet, bringing the total length of films passing through our custom houses, both imports and exports. considerably above the 50,000 miles which would be required for film to wrap twice around the world at the equator.
 The value of motion picture films ex- ported from the United States since they became an article of international cons merce has aggregated about $6o, ,0oo1 having advanced in the statistical rec ords of the country to over 12.ooo,ooo in 1920 (including shipments to our islands,, while the aggregate in that period of films exported has been about s6o,o00O Ooo, and the aggregate imports are now run hing at the rate of about s4.ooO.OOo per annym
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-08
THE SHAKESPEARE MYTH

Henry watterson. in the New York
 Herald.
 The man who can believe that Will liam Shakespeare of Stratford on Avon wrote the dramas that stand in his name could believe that Benedict Ar hold wrote the Declaration of Inde- pendence and Herbert Spencer the nov els of Dickens.
 Of William Shakespeare we know that he came to London when IS or 1S years of age, held horses in the alley about the theatre, got into the man agement after while, prospered. and. when 40 years old or thereabouts, hav- ing acquired competency. returned to Stratford, where for 12 years longer he lived comfortably on the usufruct or usance of his money without writing a line.
 Five of his signatures have been dis covered. They show him to have been an illiterate. That Ben Johnson called him Sweet Will" merely attests that he was good fellow. popular among his associates.
 Who wrote the plays? It will never be surely known. The Baconian theory is preposterous. My guess is that Mar lowe may have written them. He stands the only writer for the stage of the period who rose to the so~called Shakespearean altitude. He was not killed in the tavern brawl. He escaped to the continent. There he wrote and thence sent the plays to his friend Shakespeare to be produced.
 This is merely surmise. but plausible surmise But he was play actor and the player folk swear by him. He was an EnglishmAn. and England stands by him. Henry JameA quoted by the New York Herald. was right But he had not the courage of his con viction.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-08
Time for Emergency
 Methods Has Passed

TN declining to interfere in matters U before the railroad labor board President Wilson made it clear that the time has arrived for having prob lems of the nation handled by the customary and established authori- ties. He indicates his conviction that Americans must put behind them the war and emergency methods and at tend to their affairs in the normal ways of peace.
 In declining interference the Presi- dent calls attention to the increased powers granted to the interstate com merce commission under the trans portation act of February 28, 1920 and to the clearly defined authority of the war labor board. In the two tribu- nals there is machinery sufficient for just settlement of any question be- tween the carriers and employees, for adjustment of freight and passenger rates and all problems affecting the roads, the employees and the public that may arise.
 The war labor board is especially framed for fair adjudication of the tripartite interests of the roads, the workers and the public. All the ele- ments involved are represented on that board.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-08
LUKE M'LUKn sAYs

After man has been married for | while he discovers that 1t only takes ono to make quarrei
 Maybe if men took as good care of their complexions as women do. nature might give the men better compilations to work on.
 When mans wife gets 50 that she doesn't give a hang when he goes out or what time he gets home, 1t is tims he was staying home and paying lit- tie attention to her.
 Some men spend so much time won- dering where other people get all their money that they never have any of their own. M
 Even when . man fails at everything else he can always become an efficiency expert and tell other men how things should be done X
 Even if you do not get many boosts. remember that ifs you didn't have. the other fellow worried he wouldn't be knocking you. sfs
 At that. compulsory bathing on Sat- urday night would dp moro good than compulsory church 4ttendancs on Sum day morning.
 < And woman doesn't have to hunt up . boctlegger and spend 20 bucks when she wants to get . headache. E There is iittis Of the rabbit in .every man and | little 6f tho tiger n every woman.
 Another strange thins is how proud 'a decent-looking woman can. be whom she introducesa q dish faced whisker in- |cubator as her hupband.
 woman can gst as many thrills ont Eof a pa6o Advertisement of . barrafn sale in department stofe no man can out Of . dotectfve ptoFy. 7, (copyrieht 1t3l.>
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-08

The practice of letting Sing Sing convicts go to the bedside of dying relatives has been temporarily aban- doned. A sorrowfufl convict who went away for that purpose with x guard hasn't returned yet
 # # #
 After listening to few heated re- marks from General Dawes. that con gressional committee had chastened feeling. Let US hope 1t did them lot of good.
 r Charles of Austria still retains his high-sounding titles. They mean about as little as ''coloner' when applied to an ld-fashioned southern gentleman who never saw military service.
 # # <
 The Nevada assembly has passed a law making it harder for outsiders to get divorce at Reno. A longer pe- riod of residence will be great help to the hotel proprietors.
 Before starting to dismember Ger many, France should consider the size of the job. and the probability that she might need help. that would not be forthcoming.
 < F a
 MT. Gompers' admiration for the new government of Mexico is not shared evidently by our state depart men..
 The New Jersey man who would rather spend a year in jail than return to his wife knows, where to find peace and quiet.
 America is making most of the worlds motion pictures. This explains the international reputation enjoyed by MT. eChaplin and MT. Arbuckle.
 is * x The Detroit spiritualist who killed himself to prove that the dead can talk to the living will be terribly dis appointed if he finds the line busy.
 # y *
 Now that we know practically ev- erything Mrs Harding bought in New York we can resume our study of the Harding cabinet.
 The French journalist who tricked Wilhelm into an interview with the aid of female relative will have to pin his medal on himself.
 * * z
 Raleigh, N. C.. has a boy, twelve years old, who can read dozen books day. We would recommend in his case plenty of exercise in the open air.
 * * #
 The housing shortage doesn't ac- count for the fact that so many peo- pie are practically living in their cars
 as x * War with Japan is declared "un- thinkable.' The World war was un- thinkable until after it started.
 x # *
 careless compiler includes state ment from Crown Prince Willie in his list of remarkable remarks"
 * * # It doesn't take much of an optimist to be glad he isn't living in Betrograd or Moscow.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-08
STEEL WALLS FOR DEN

From the Portland Oregon1an. | Two hours of hard work with crow bar and hammer on the part of police men in recent Chinatown raid failed to gain admittance to the steel room in which Ching Louie and party of seven other Chinese were said to be conduct ing game of fan tan.
 The alleged gamblers, when they had their fill of the sensation of being in the interior of boiler that was being riveted. opened the doors with diffi- culty. The heavy hammers had nearly made them prisoners by jamming the locks.
 At police Headquarters Ching Louie while counting bail from stack of hundred dollar bills. informed the po- lice that some one had spent sl0.0o0 in fitting up the room for gambling den. The place measured 70 feet square. The walls were of Quarter-inch steel. and the doors of the same material.
 Galleries had been, built around the walls in order that spectators might watch the game from that vantage point. In the center of the room a large table at times resembled q gar- den. there was 50 much long green" stacked on its surface.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-08
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT

 "You stin retain your faith in the League of Nations?" How could do otherwise?' replied Mir. Clipping. An organization that can go right ahead attending to busi- ness without paying any attention to the United States Senate not only in- spires confidence. but fills me with pro- found admiration
 LOOKING BACKWARD "Grandmother." 'Yes, dear" was grandfather ever a working man?"
 No. my dear.' But here's a picture of him wearing overalls."
 That was taken when he marched in an overall parade. It was the proud est moment of his life"
 SOUVENIR OF THE PAST q understand you are going to have a new club house In town" The corner stone will be laid next week with elaborate ceremonies" What will be placed in the corner stoner'
 "A bartender's guide"
 
 HEADED FOR TROUBLE What's the excitementr' "A motorist is trying to convince traffic policeman that he didn't break a traffic law "Is he making any progress?' .Yes. He's getting closer to the po- lice court every minute"
 PAUI. COOK
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-08
Jury Could Not Agree
 in the Lancaster Case

m the Lancaster OaSe
 A MISTRIAL in the case of Sergt. IA Robert, J. Lancaster of the state militia, who. was charged with having participated in the lynching of William Baird, union miner, caused no surprise. After the jury had been in session for many hours without being able to agree on verdict, pre- dictions were freely made that a mis- trial would result.
 Judging from the evidence pre- sented and the manner of conduct ing the trial, the state failed to make out a strong case against the de- fendant. This is no reflection on the prosecuting attorneys, who are some of the ablest lawyers in Alabama. They had particularly difficult sit uation to deal with and the defense was entrusted to the best legal talent that could be obtained. The fact that Lancaster is soldier, that there is bitter strike going on in the coal fields, where Lancaster and his com panions were on duty to maintain or der, and public sentiment has been greatly aroused for and against the accused soldiers, made the trial one of the most important, and one of the most complicated, ever held in Alabama.
 The fact that six jurors voted for conviction has been widely com mented on. Probably no other case in the history of Alabama has been watched with more interest in this and other states. When Baird was lynchsd the legal and military au- thorities acted with great prompt ness. The laws delay certainly did not figure in this trial. The indict- ment of nine members of Company M of Tuscaloosa created an even greater sensation than the commis- sion of the crime of which they stand accused.
 It is not the province of a news paper to predict what the action of .a court will be, but expressions heard in Birmingham indicated belief that 1t will be hard to convict any of the defendants as result of the jury's Inability to agree in the Lancaster case, which was test of the prose- cution's strength.
 E **
 Why Railroad Employee Are
 Envied by College Professors .1ORESIDENT B. L. BUGG, of the 'l Atlanta, Birmingham and At slantic railroad, who recently stated .that this important road would have :to suspend operations unless expenses were reduced, gives some interesting |xigufes to show the wages paid his employer. When Colonel Bugg an- '1oaneed that reduction in pay was Imperative, if the Atlanta, Birming- Inn and Atlantic were to continue it's eorvice to the public, he met with |1txong opposition. There was the ncual protest from the men who, as ' clan, rank among the highest paid '~orkers in America.
 ' According to Colonel Bugg's state- Aont, In . dispatch from Atlanta, the |a3 ron for December, 1920, showed
 Ia< ' negro porter on a passenger
 m running out of Fitzgerald, Ca.
 1 paid $la7.l3 and under the scale
 ol " the railroad he would have Y il6 4feo .2s. A negro coaa heav-
 11 paid &1ls.ol and would have
 iite1 $l0o25. These men were
 as the lowest paid employees, with
 exesption of agents at small sta
 LII. \ passenger engineer received
 ae, md the new scale called for. l71.l1. An engineer on fast freight
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-08
TRUE GROWTH

By Ben Jonson
 It is not growing like q tree,
 In bulk. doth make man bett3r 6o; Or standing long an oak. three htndrjd
 year. t To fall 2 log at.last. dry. bald and ssfS: A lily of day Is faircr far in May. Although 1t fall and die that niekf-~ It was the plant and flowor of liHht. n small proportious wa jubt beauty
 sec!
 Ana le short msssurss -liss ~ v,s
 feet ba. x. q
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-08
Grape Rises Supreme
 Above All Assaults

A MONG the first products of the AA soil to be cultivated and the theme of more song through the ages than all other fruits, the grape has withstood every assault made on it and come forth triumphant.
 At the meeting of the National Grape Growers association held in New York the past week, the grape growers of Erie county, Pa., reported that, although they had lost the sour wine trade, "there has been such an insistent demand for grapes for the making of homemade wine by the foreign element, who are wine drink CTS, that the price of grapes is higher than ever."
 Other reports are to the effect that last season grape prices reached top mark, about $20O per ton; in 1919 they were $50 ton, and in 1918 they were $35 a ton.
 What is true of grapes is true of raisins. They have risen several hun dred per cent. Before the grape growers of California had their first attack of pessimism incident to pro- hibition, the industry flourished in response to the demand for seed from the war-torn countries where an ef- fort was being made to restore de- vastated vineyards.
 * *
 Power Development Checked
 by Government Delay 11f7HE waterpower commission has U before it already 152 applica- tions for development of the water power of the country's streams. These projects involve more than 15,000, ,000 hydro-electric horsepower suscepti- ble of operating thousands of man. moth industrial plants scattered throughout the states.
 The waterpower bill was passed a year ago. The commission was cre- ated automatically with the laws adoption. Nothing has been done be- yond receiving applications for proj- ects. All work hangs fire. Some preliminary work was stopped, wait ing on word from the commission.
 Meanwhile the commission has no funds with which to operate. It has no money to make surveys, to collect data, to do those things necessary to determine the merit of the applica- tions that have been filed. The na- tion needs the power. It's governing authorities sit by with folded hands.
 It is not only the delay in adjust- ing disputes between individuals and in meting out justice to those accused of crime that creates more or less contempt for law in America, but it is also red tape that holds back si- 'gantic enterprises in what Dickens called the "circumlocution office" { A magazine writer calls New York q sdisease:" worss still there IL no cure.