davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
Anonymous Letter
 Writers

From the San Francisco Chronicle.
 Only towards write anonymous let ters. Self-respecting men and wom- en lind they have nothing to write unless they can sign 1t and back it up personally One would think that if they were capable of reflection refrain from degrading themselves by so obvious confession of their pusiI- lanimity
 The anonymous letter writer is the pest of every newspaper and of every public man. Do these rabbit soulel persons imagine that their opinions get notice? Do they accept contempt in the hope that ther writings may have an effect? If so they deceive themselves woefully. Newspapers and public men are eager for the widest possible view of opinion. It Is most important to them to know what people think. But on the face of it the anonymous communication Is worthless. It is patently the opinion of cowardly or a twisted brain. It makes no difference to anything except the wastebasket.
 No self-respecting person has any reason to conceal identity when writ ing to public man or to a news paper. It is the invariable rule of newspapers not to publish the name of a letter writer who asks that the signature be withheld. Useful infor- nation Is often thus received, but in- formation or opinion is not useful unless the writer's signature guaran- tees it's good faith. Public men also, If they are worthy of the position they hold, respect confidential com as do the self-respect- ing persons everywhere. But they, too, have only contempt for the anonymous letter writer as a coward or crank.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09

Horrible" details of these forbidden matters? The outcome would be that the present publishers, who, tn
 the main, play up" news of the better" kind consistently and fairly, would lose ground to the newcomers who might not be nearly so consci- entious. The churches could have little hope of gain in such "a course of events.
 It may be true that the Carpentier- Dempsey battle received an undue share of newspaper attention from the standpoint of it's actual import ance. But the public interest in it was tremendous, and the business of a newspaper Is to keep tab on the public pulse If the newspaper read CTS. who comprise virtually all the population, have not yet reached plane of thought that, in the opinion of men like the bishop, is the right plane of thought, that is unfortunate. but the newspapers could never drive them to that rlane by withholding what they want to read.
 However. it is just possible that our critical friends are about as bi- ased on the one side as the low brows'' are on the other. If the gen eral public took a great, but tenn porary interest in the Jersey City fight, and if the newspapers printed a great deal about it, that will not send us to perdition. It was, after all, merely a psychological day If" for the world, and the world pro- ceeded to enjoy it before getting back to the routine. serious things of life
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
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RILEY cor $5oo A WORD

From the New Orleans States.
 Heirs of the late James Whitcomb Riley, the Indiana poet. find that Ee got $500 a a,word royalties on his love poem, An old Sweetheart of Mine.''
 This is said to be the most profit able piece of writing per word on record.
 Stevenson sold Treasure Island' to newspaper for s3 per column Paradise Lost" brought Milton on.y s25. Times have changed. thanks to the printing press and business sys tenn which genius used to hold in contempt.
 As late as half century ago a. lists starved. Business has made tho arts profitable. Cylde Fitch in .S years received sl,5OV.000 in royalties from his plays
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
Birmingham Weather

T have noticed that the northern newspapers, which I have seen, carry the weather data of Mobile and Mont gomery, but do not carry that of Bir- mingham," said Charles F. Yarn. The omission of Birmingham in the temperature tables works an injustice to this city because, as a rule, it is much cooler here than In Mobile and Montgomery. In the absence of weather data about central and north . ern Alabama northerners are apt to conclude that Alabama climate is the same in the hills as near and on the coast.
 "The Chamber of Commerce has begun looking into this matter and will take the steps that may be re- ouired to get Birmingham on the weather map used In the north and east"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
FAIR WEATHER SIGNALS

From St. Nicholas.
 "Cobwebs in the gross pronhesv fine weather" How many times vs have heard that, and. hoping for a pleasant day after a storm, have looked eagerly in the morning for spiders webs in the wet grass! If they are there. we may feel confi- dent that the day will be fair, for the spider is an excellent weather prophet.
 Henri Faber, the wonderful old man who found out so many of she secrets of insects and their kin, .-lls us that the threads of the spiders web used for catching it's prey Ire made useless by too much dampness. lhese threads, so tiny a to be almost lnvisIble, arc really hollow tubes iilied with sticky fluid Which. ooses through the walls and holds what ever touches the thread. This flu.L readily absorbs the moisture from tie air and wouldSsoon lose it's sticky nature in the rain or fog
 So the wise spider. lot to waste precious material. waits until the wet weather is virtually over before weaving the ensnaring threaGs. How if knows what the weather is to bA is still one of the mysteries
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
ECONOMICS AND THE DRAMA

From the New York Times.
 IN arguing for the local stock com
 pany and the visiting star, MT. George Arliss is so persuasive that it takes an effort to disagree with him. But in his praise of the past he ignores the determining fac tor in the theatre of today There is an economic basis also for the drama. In the day of the old stock company, our cities were small and were not yet closely linked up by railways. Box office receipts were relatively high. Playwrights were few, and as yet there was no inter- national copyright All these condf- tions favored the local stock com pany, which prepared the way for the travelling star; now each of them has been transformed.
 New York has become so populous and is so frequented by transient vis- itors that. where a run of 100 nights used to be phenomenal, popular plays now run an entire year, even two and three years. Up to the war traveling expenses steadily declined, and 'stands' on the road multiplied Alter the Broadway run. plays fre- Cuently travelled two seasons.
 The American playwright, once aI- most unknown, crowded out the for eign drama, and the success of a sim gle piece meant fortune. A stand ard of luxury in productions became possible which had once been unim- aginable. In the decade that saw the the passing of the stock company levers of the drama visited their wrath upon the syndicate" the sins of which were indeed considerable But the protagonist in that change was an impersonal force. the work ing of economic law.
 Augustin Daly could have told. if he would. how hrs actors were lured away by the higher salaries made possible through the nation wide or Sanl1ation or the raIla-nnc has only to mention May Irwin, Otis Skinner Blanche Bates. John Drew and how. even at that, the pay roll of his stock company ate always more dangerously into his receipts. Travel he did, not only to the leading Amer ican cisies' but to London.and Paris; but here also he was handicapped by competition with single-play com panies with their smaller personnel and @fShter baggage. Ultimately he lost Command ofsthe play market As against the lure os the long run. a ,ll-amatist weighed lightly the advan- taees of stock production. A con- dition in which the old order seems
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
 Underworld Is Asked to Help Find Jewels

1T AMES CURRAN, alias Jimmy cU the Trusty," alias "The Hawk" former confidence man, wants to prove that there is honor among thieves. Recently jewels valued at $35,000 were stolen from stateroom on New York, New Haven and Hartford train, occupied by Mrs, W. H. Donaldson, whose husband is publisher of the Bill board.
 MT. Donaldson has made a prac- tice of helping former convicts to rehabilitate themselves after their release from prison. An ex-convict now in his employ appealed to Cur ran, so the story goes, to locate the missing jewels. As a result, Curran issued an announcement say ing he wanted the members of the underworld to cooperate with him in the search. A reward of $4,0O0 has been offered for the return of the jewels, and immunity from ar rest.
 Curran says he wants to prove his theories concerning criminals. He believes that many men and women who commit a crime without think ing of its consequences would will ingly make amends if they could do so without fear of arrest, and in the case of theft would restore the property they have stolen. Such people, he declares, can be reached through sentiment when the law would fail.
 It is an interesting experiment. If the jewels are recovered by the ex-confidence man, through the un- derworld's gratitude for what MT. Donaldson has done for men who have served prison terms, it may surprise cynical detectives, but it will not surprise humanitarians who know that there is great deal of good in the worst of us. The crook, whose sense of loyalty to his pals makes him despise "squealer" and "stool pigeon" does not live up to the code of the underworld if he wrongs a bene- factor.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
THE FIRE TAX"

From the Worlds Work.
 | The so-called fire tax" in the
 United States is greater than in any
 other country. For the last year be-
 fore the war the average fire loss
 for each man, woman and child in
 France was 49 cents; in Germany, 2s cents; In Italy 25 cents; in Hol-
 land, II cents-while in the United States for the same year the loss was $2.10. Since then, the progress In
 protective legislation, fireproof con
 struction and better fire-fighting ap-
 paratus has been steady, but 1t has
 not kept up with greater rate of
 destruction each year. The national
 board of fire underwriters has pub
 lished a detailed statement of fire
 losses in the United States for the
 last five years, which shows the
 enormous total of s1,416,S75,S45, most
 of which is preventable. The total
 tribute which fire exacts is vastly
 greater. For example, the wool
 which is sheared from the sheep's
 back is insured. The wool fabric
 which comes from the mills Is in- sured. As clothing on the merchants shelf, 1t is insured. The total of all these insurances is added to the bill of the consumer. Almost everything we own has the cost of the fire tax added to 1t. Of course, the danger of fire cannot be eliminated alto gether. but if the average fire loss was half as great the average prem ium would be approximately half as large.
 The statistics of the fire under writers show that electricity causes more fires than any other single cause, and, Of that, electric irons produce 57 per cent The second most prolific source is matches and smoking; the third Is defective chim- neys, and So on. Gasoline must an- swer for a large share of the increase O. fires in recent years. There gre many housewives who use gasoline for cleaning purposes, and who let the open can of it stand near the hearth or the kitchen stove. Those people would not let dynamite lie around in such places. yet it takes s3 pounds of dynamite to equal the explosive power of a single gallon of gasoline! When the fire is not is the time for learning the use of fire extinguisher, and in planning a course of action-the first five minutes at a fire is worth more than the next five hours.
 There is an average of 1,500 fires l day in this country. But those to- morrow and thereafter have not yet occurred. In order that some of lhem ray never occur and that this im- bending loss may be reduced, every ,ody should be posted on the causes ,f the first five minutes of fire and | low to behave at that time
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
Mobile Jury Wants
 Austin's Men Removed

A MOBILE grand jury has asked A for the removal of officers of the state law enforcement depart ment from Mobile county. The jury's report charges that the off Gers employed in Mobile county "are grossly unfit to discharge the duties of officers of the law" and says their acts have been "ins some in- stances criminal"
 It appears that in Mobile coun- ty, IS in other parts of the state, the law enforcement officers have been searching the houses of citi- xens who were suspected of having liquor on their premises and com Rplaint is made that they have not complied with the law in obtaining search warrants.
 Birmingham and Montgomery have both experienced the excessive zeal of Austin's squad. Opinion in these two cities is divided as to whether or not the department is m asset or a liability to the state. Its activities in Birmingham have not been, as a whole, creditable. Where there are efficient police depart ments and county law enforcement agencies its services are, not needed and it is an unnecessary burden on the tax payers.
 ' dispatch from Montgomery
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
Golden Egg Geese

T went out to the Birmingham Packing company, at North Birming- ham, Friday morning to call on my friend, Capt. Jack Phillips" says Frank I. Derby, and while down in the yards saw a carload of cattle unloaded, which made me realize that cattle prices are to be higher within the next six months, as [ saw good breeders, good steers and good calves that ought to have been kept on grass going to slaughter.
 'The same thing applies at all stock yards in the country. People are selling stuff that ought not to be rushed to market, and there is bound 10 re scarcity later on. The man who knows the cattle game has the chancs of lifetime to get into it now"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
People Who Won War
 Can Make Prosperity

TN the midst of period of busi- U ness depression, when many feel inclined to falter, Richard H. Edmonds, editor of the Manu- lecturers Records, has issued clar- ion call that should bring a re- sponse from every brave heart.
 In the course of an editorial breathing that spirit of confidence which should permeate every real American, he says:
 Men still go abou. their busI-
 ness, still eat, still sleep, still
 walk, still play, still love, still
 fight, still desire, still have am-
 bition, still labor. still spend.
 There Is nothing that can hold
 them back. Peoples that con-
 quered the Hindenburg line and
 smiled through years of he'll will
 not succumb and lie them down
 to die because depression In trade
 has swept like poison gas over
 the land. They who won the war
 can win the peace; they can
 and they will make prosperity.
 These words are essentially true. The war was not won without ef- fort; peace cannot be won with out the same spirit that broke the Hindenburg line. The people who broke that line being the same in peace as in war, will achieve the blessings of the one as assuredly as they were victorious in the other. The lesson of economy that has followed the extravaganza, waste and the destruction of the war is painful, but salutary.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
J. Kirkman Jackson
 Much Beloved Alabamian

ID ROBABLY TO man in Alabama H ever had more of the good will of his fellow men than the late J. Kirkman Jackson, vice president of the American Trust and Savings bank. This kindly feeling as well as genuine admiration had been well earned.
 MT. Jackson was a man of marked ability and much more than ordi- nary urbanity; good business man, an affectionate friend and an optimistic civic quantity that bet tered the communities in which he resided.
 MT. Jackson was private secre- tary of M. H. Smith, late president of the Louisville and Nashville railroad, secretary of the state rail- road commission, private secretary to Governor Seay, and Governor Jones. served Alabama as secretary of state during two terms and then became private secretary to Gov ernor Jelks. With this ripe experi- ence of men and affairs he became vice president of the Exchange Ma tional bank in Montgomery, and four years ago was called from that
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
A BISHOP ON NEWSPAPERS
From the Baltimore American.

From the Baltimore American.
 1N ISHOP LUTHER B. WILSON
 ION took occasion Sunday to at
 tack newspapers for the whole-heartedness with which they displayed the news of the Dempsey Carpenter fight. Such attacks by consecrated and perfectly sincere churchmen like the bishop come peri odically and the newspapers have learned to take them philosophically, although, of courseHt Is nicer to have the appreciation, rather than the dis approval of men like the bishop.
 But there are certain things about the business of publishing news- paper which some of the newspaper critics find it difficult to understand, and one of these things is that it is the newspapers mission to print the news regardless of who likes it and who doesn't. That is an old story. It has been told many times, and with effect, but certain of the stric- turists either refuse to or do not wish to believe it.
 Suppose, just for the sake of sup posing, that the publishers of Ameri- ca agreed to withhold all news from their publications which a committee of churchmen thought improper? The freedom of the press would de- part this life instantaneously, of course, but, for the sake of argu- ment, we will assume that would be a good thing. However, how long does the most optimistic among the newspaper critics think it would be before other newspapers would ap-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09

once more possible has been Drought about by wartime imitation of salaries and railway rates; but long before a general system of stock companies could be established the condition VIII have become normal again.
 Mr. Arliss is courteous to the mod, ern tendency to .'cast to type" and taetful in suggesting the superiority or company trained to assume ya- rious characters at will, from a French farce to the English classics. But more than sweet reasonableness IS needed to make the old stock com pany, with it's glorious range and va riety of offering, once more possi- bility. We shall have to have a com munity that appreciates the drama, as an element in educa ton and lead ing citizens willing to subyention it as such.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
VOTING FRAUDS IN CHICAGO

From the Chicago Tribune.
 At a recent election in Chicago, 2a.- 900 votes were illegally cast ana counted, according to statement by Col. John V. Clinnin. who has had ac. cess to all the evidence and informa tion available in the city on the sub- ject of election frauds. At the las. election. he adds. 5o.00o illegal votes were counted.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
To Bring Style Committee

am going to use my best office to bring the style committee of the National Shoe Retailers5 association to Birmingham for it's September meeting" said Dave Rich. q leave for Boston today to attend the an- nual meeting of the National Shoe Retailers and the style show that Is a feature of the meeting.
 The style committee will meet in September and I believe they wouli like to come to Birmingham for their Tally meeting, so I am going to ex. tend the invitation"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
LULLABY
,. Adams, in Harper's Mag

Franklin P. Adams, in Harpers Mag azine for July.
 If. my dear, you seek to xlumber. Count of stars an infinite number: If you still continue wakeful. Count the drops that make a lakefui: Then, if vigilsncc yet above you Hover, count the times l love you; And if sNimber still rebel you, Count the times do net tell xou
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
WHEN FRIENDSHIP CEASES

WHEN FRIENDSHIP CEASES
 There isn't the same attachment between a farmer and his tractor that there is between a farmer and his mule," remarked the city boarder.
 Maybe not" said MT. Cobbles. "but on the other hand, a tractor never lays it's ears back and makes a. man wonder if the devil doesn't sometimes take possession of dumb brutes just to create more profanity in the world"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
Just went there to gIoat.
RELATIVE REWARDS

Do you know" said the earnest person, that there are men re- nowned in literature, art and science enough to give them the ordinary comforts of 1ife%
 T don't doubt it," said Mr. Gawker, but If nature gave them sound bodies to start with and they've en- joyed reasonably good health, it seems to me that it's their own fault If they haven't gone In for athlet- les and acquired proficiency with pair of eight-ounce gloves"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09

MODEL MEN A man to praise
 Is Henry Groner; lie never says,
 T pulled boner." Birmingham Age-Herald. A man to praise Is William GroSt; He never tries
 To rock the boat.
 Cincinnati Enquirer. The man to praise Is Billy Bo; He never says,
 T told you so!' Hastings (Neb.) Tribune.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
ADRIF'T WITH THE TIMES
LUXURY ALoFT

LUXURY ALoFT When it's sultry and hot And I'm cursing my lot And weary of traffic and crowds, I would like to obtain A dependent plane Ana slither all day through the For it's cool in the sky And it's pleasant to fly when the weather's insuffrably
 warm. Though plane isn't cheap And IS costly to keep, would rather own one than
 farm.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09

REMARKABLE TRANSFORMATION
 "Mr. Peckton is different man when Mrs. Peckton goes away for few weeks in the summer"
 Yes. He not only throws his shoulders back and keeps his chin up. but his voice changes to a deep bass"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
kIPLING's "DREvITIEs.

F. A. Warehouse, in the July Yale
 Review.
 It is quite true, as Mrs. Gerould says, that Mir. kiplir.,s fame rests upon significant brevities." but what she and critics of similar com plexion cannot see. is that these '''brevities" are significant" in a sense diametrically opposed to her interpretation of the world. She means. of course, to be compliment tary to intimate that MT. Kipling is brief from choice; whereas the exact reverse is the truth, and. far from be- ing brief from choice, Mir. kipling is brief from necessity. Mrs. Gerould would intimate that Mir. Kipling pre- ters the short story. whereas, in point of fact. MT. Kipiings gifts restric. himi to the short story.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
A GREAT MOMENT.

Riches are already beginning to pail on the Newscads"
 "Indeed?"
 Yes Mrs Newscads will never again get as great a thrill out of life as she did the first time she sailed out of her home In full view of all the neighbors and stepped into a s1o,o0o limousine"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
HoNoRs EVEN.

"Is the anti tobacco crusade mak- ing any progress in your town?" Tt seems to be case of nip and tuck. The crusaders found man s9 years old who has never used tobacco in any form. but the other side came back with centenarian who has smoked and chewed ever since he was 12 years old"
 PATTI. COOK
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
NOT NEEDED THERn

From the JhIcasO NcWs.
 s'"There are natives in Central Africa who can jump five feet Into air from a standing rosition," oh. serves a contemporary Of what use then would universities be in tAo dark continent?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-09
BirmIngham Fishermeu

Birmingham fishermen are giving Q good account of themselves at Co., den, according to reports from that place. The following is from the Mo- bile Register:
 According to John E. Rolston of the Rolston hotel at Coden, who was in the city yesterday, Jack R. Con ners and L. s. Sweat of Birmingham are making fine catches of king mackerel and red fish in Mississippi sound"
 MT. Rolston said that several hun dred persons, including numbers from Birmingham. spent the last weekend at Coden.