davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1923-05-12

Local Stocks.

SALES.
Washington Gas 5S, $1,000 9tA.
Washington Gas Light, 2@6OA'
2@50%.
Mergenthaler Linotype, 501Soh,
1O@15O, 1O@1491a, 10@149.
AFTER CALL.
Capital Traction, 6@98I.
Washington Gas SIS, $1.000@94.
UNLISTED DEPARTMENT.
Citizens Savings Bank, 5OV11%.
The Washington times., 1923-05-12
Oil Stocks.

FURNISHED by w. B. Hibbs 4 Coz
Closing prices: BID. ASK.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-18

commission is consumed with wran- whether some employe should or should not be discharged on accusa- tions involving alleged improper con- duct or inefficiency; what is theproper angle at which an auto should round corner, or the position, space and time regulating it's parking; whether this or that commissioner is co-operat- ing with the official body in some un- important detail as it affects a par ticular departments administration or the public good; whether young people on the public thoroughfares should be protected by the public authorities from hdnapers, jellybeans and other excrescences, or whether this duty in- wolves parental responsibility; whether public criticism arising from the dis couraging situation is well founded or the outgrowth of "pewee politics." ct cetera, ad infinitum.
 The people are not being deceived. They know where the responsibility and blame rest, and they are not in- terested in any new styles of buck passing or other attempts at evasion. They know that they are not getting enough in conveniences, comforts and protection from their taxes. The of- ficial body's function is to operate the municipal corporation so that its stockholders, who are the taxpayers, may get something for their money, and so that all the people may receive proper benefits from efficient munich pal administration. Time and energy fritteded away in unimportant discus sions are loss in terms of public Rervice
The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-18
 COMMISSIONS POOR POLICY

A tempest-in-a-teapot policy such as the city commission is pursuing in the consideration of things which the average citizen regards as of little or no importance in comparison with community needs as respects the pub lie convenience, the public health, the public safety and the public welfare, is not encouraging. Nearly thirty peo- pie have been killed by ax-wielders and other murderers in the past year or so. Holdups on the public streets, safe-blowing and burglaries are so frequent that they are taken as a matter of course from which many have ceased to hope for relief. Large areas of the city are in darkness. This situation. applies to part of the in- dustrial and commercial districts, as well as residential sections. Crime often escapes detection. The pub lie safety is seriously jeopardized. Auto speeders and other viola tors of traffic regulations con- tinue to disregard the laws. The public health is threatened by an obsolete and inadequate system, or lack of system, of garbage collection and disposal. Public school buildings are badly overcrowded. There are no parks or recreation provisions worthy of city half the size of Birmingham. Library facilities are inadequate. Street cleaning is little more than a farce. Proper police protection is con spicuous for its absence. The down. town sewerage system has long since become outgrown. In word, the taxpayer wants to know what he is getting for the money he contributes Go the public till-nearly four and a half millions of dollars year.
 Such in brief is one view of the picture. Take another. A large part of the time and energy of the city
The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-18
WAS IT HARD LUCK?
 By Wickes WamboIdt

Not long ago I came in con- | tact with family where the man | had been i'll for some time. There were several small children. The wife tried to earn a little money doing dressmaking and at the
 same time look after everybody.
 This family would have starved | had it not been for those kindly people who can usually be de- 1 pended upon to come to the rescue.
 The man lay on the bed and groaned and talked about his hard
 luck. And the woman's lip quiv-
 cred and her eyes filled as she 1 talked about the same thing.
 Was it hard luck that landed ] them where they were? Let us
 see. For a long time before his 1 illness this man had been making
 fifty dollars week. He had his car, wore silk shirts, the children
 went to the movies whenever they
 wanted to, the wife had whatever
 clothes she wanted, and ran the | house extravagantly. When she
 peeled potatoes or apples she took
 off a quarter of an inch with the l skin. If a small portion of some
 thing was left, she threw 1t into
 the stove. They thought nothing | of leaving the electric lights burn ing all night in the basement. | They wasted and blew in every
 dollar of the mans salary without l a thought of the consequences. | Then came the reverses and the
 mournful talk of hard luck. I
 really do not believe they ever
 thought of representing themselves
 for not laying aside part of the l fifty dollars a week against the
 day of difficulty which is almost
 sure to come into every life.
 There were certain tribes of i'm provident Indians in the West who gorged themselves on salmon when the fish were running, but dried not piece against the ice- bound time when fish and game
 were scarce. In the famine of win
 ter when they were gnawing roots and even the bones of their own
 kind to keep alive, they probably complained bitterly of their hard
 luck" If their language contained such an expression.
 ] do not believe in 8 mans saw ing to the extent of depriving his
 family of everything worth while in life. I think he should spend | every cent he makes if necessary to give his family needed com forts. After that saving should commence. There is no point to
 cutting all the joy out of life just to save money against a possible
 day of disaster. :. Because that | makes every day a day of disas- ter. But when a man Is making | more than enough to support his family in comfort and Is not pro- viding against a time of reverses,
 then he Is bidding for what he would probably term hard luck" After all. lack of foresight Is one very good name for hard luck.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-18
FOOTBALL FINANCE
fNew York World)

Tn attendance records and gate receipts the football season which ended Saturday was the most as- tonishing season in the history Of snort in this country. A survey made by the New York Heraia revealed the fact that approxl- mately $1O,O00,000 had been paid in admission fees at intercollegiate football contests from September 25 to December Ia period Tn which most of the teams played only eight games. It is estimated that 5,000,000 persons attended these games.
 When it is considered that prac- tically every high and prepara- tory school in the United States has a football team and that the attendance records at secondary school contests also attained new high marks the figures are swelled to almost unbelievable size. Crowds of 10000 at high school games became rather common this fall.
 In spite of the short season, and in spite of the fact that every team played not more than once a week, intercollegiate football this year attracted more spectators than did the championship con- tests of either of the major base ball leagues, the seasons of which extended from early April to early October. Intercollegiate football an amateur sport-also outdid professional baseball In financial records, for neither the National nor the American League saw its 1923 receipts hit the $10,000,000 mark.
 Tickets for the big games are harder and harder to get, and pre- miums demanded by ticket scal- pers grow higher each fall. It Is far cry from the attendance of 300 at the first Yale e-Princeton game at Hamilton Park in New Haven in 1873; a far cry from the receipts of $735 Yales football as sociation reported with intense pride at the close of the 1875 sea- son, which. saw the first Harvard Yale game. No wonder college faculties are disturbed. Soon our colleges will have to engage bank CTS to conduct their football finances for them.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-18
MORE TRUTH THAN POETRY

MORE TRUTH THAN POETRY T used," he said, "when Christmas time drew near, To have a problem that perplexed me much; Unless found gift for wife dear That she could show with pride, I'd be in Dutch; For weeks I used to have a troubled mind,
 My sleep and rest would be dis turbed at night, But I've thrown off all worries of that kind;
 I hail the Yuletide now with some
 delight. "My daughter used to have me guess ing, too;
 I had time in buying gifts for her; No matter what I chose, I always knew There would be something else that she'd prefer; But luckily need not have doubt When I select her Christmas pres ent now; I know exactly what I am about, No. beads of sweat bulge on my furrowed brow. ''This year I'll purchase for the wife a pair
 Of pretty knickies for the weekly hike; I'll do no weary hunting here or there, I know just where to get the kind she'll like; And, as for daughter, I'll not need to ask
 For guidance or hint of any sort; know she wants dainty silver flask
 One that will hold not less than half a quart. "A silver cigarette case, too, for each Will make my Christmas offering COmpleIe; In fancy I can hear them as they screech
 In unison that I'm dear, and sweet! l used to worry much at Christmas time,
 For fear they wouldn't like the gifts l bought; l ought to be happy man, for Pm Absolved from cares that bothered me lot" -S. B. Riser.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-18
HOW OUR REALTY ADVANCES

Two hundred thousand dollars for site in the business district, forty feet front and fifty feet deep, as an ln' yestment emphasizes that Birmingham is growing. This property on Twen' tieth street, between Second and Third avenues, has for several decades en- hanced in value more than hundred per cent. per annum on its original value, Within the memory of active business men living here and watch ing the community development 1t was a corn-field which could have been purchased for less than it now takes to record the transfer deed. The i'm provements on it are worthless from development standpoint. It is the 10, cation that carries value.
 In this connection it is interesting to note that a piece of property on Third avenue and Twentieth street . which wss offered about twenty-eight years ago for eleven thousand dollars cannot be purchased now for three hundred thousand dollars. Within the ! same period corner lot fifty feet front and one hundred feet deep in the downtown district, which cost two hundred and fifty dollars, cannot be purchased now for five hundred thou sand dollars. The site of the Brown Marx building, which sold for few hundred dollars within the memory of active business men, is worth in the market today-well, let the specula- tor in real estate try to find out, and he will be impressed with valuations of central business property There are dozens of sites in the business distfict which have increased in value for thirty years or more considerably more than one hundred per cent. per annum on the original investment.
 These are facts which show the rapid and solid growth of Birmingham. They demonstrate the confidence of the people of this community, as well as that of outsiders who own no little property here, in the opportunities and possibilities of the city and district. They direct attention to the forces behind the resources of the district which are turning into practical ser- vice what nature put here, and they offer unanswerable sargument that within a few years Birmingham will be one of the greatest industrial cen ters on the American continent. Bir mingham dirt is literally gold mine.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-18
SOME SOVIET INFLUENCE

It took the Russian soviet leaders long time, but there is evidence that they are learning that the age-old principles of honorable conduct among men and nations are not to be dis carded without incurable injuries to ; the nation thus casting them off. A hint of this is seen in the latest Rus !, sian overtures to our government look { ing to an eventual resumption of dip lonatic relations. Foreign Minister ] Tchitcherin declares that his govern Sment desires to remove all misunder- standings and differences between the 7 two countries" There are no misun- ! derstandings. But there are differ ences. That the soviet understands what these differences are is shown by M. Tchitecherin's summing of them up.
 First, the negotiations proposed by l the soviet are to be based on the prin- ciple of mutual non-intervention in internal affairs" In other words, since we are not Intervening in Rus ssia's internal affairs, there remains only for the soviet to disavow and re- pudiate it's former policy of seeking to create dissensions in other organized governments, for the purpose of de- stroying them. There is considerable Iimpudence, however, in this statement i'|'The soviet government will continue fwholeheartedly to adhere to this prin- ciple, expecting the same attitude from lthe American government" Perhaps our state department will ask the soviet to explain the implication. it will not do to endure in silence any lundeser'ved imputation or clever at tempt to shift guilt from offending to lnnocent shoulders.
 Similar impotence is detected in the next sentence: GAS to the question of claims mentioned in your Cool idge's) message, the soviet government is fully prepared to negotiate with a view toward it's satisfactory settle ment on the assumption that the prin- ciple of reciprocity will be recognized all around" Before the Russians can expect cordial response from us, they must cease their insinuations and in- nuendoes seeking to impute to us the same dishonorable course and history that has been their own for six or seven years past. We have repudiated no debts and we have violated no cove nants.
 In spite of the high and lofty tone of the communication, it is apparent that the Russians recognize friendship with the United States as the first es- sential step in their program of re- mobilization as nation among nations. As long as we refrain on principle i from the recognition of the soviet gov
The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-18
VIGILANCE NEEDED
Savannah Newsl

South Atlantic ports have to
 keep their eyes open and fight with both fists and both feet if they are to get the share of ex- porting and importing business they ought to have. New York and the folks allied with New York may be expected to do what they can for their side-and the easiest team to whip is one that dosn't try to win; if the South Atlantic ports, as a team, do not play ball, play it hard and fast and keep on playing it, the score of trade and commerce is going to be one-sided forever. Eternal
 vigilance Is the price of prosper ity; nobody and no section is go- ing to hand prosperity to the sea
 gateway of this section; they have
 to go out and fight for it them selves.
 Port business is obtained just like private business; the merchant
 who sits down and expects some-
 body to bring business to him and
 make him prosperous, make him
 enlarge his store and hire more clerks, is going to wake up some
 fine morning and find it unneces-
 sary for him to have any clerks
 at all; the port that expects trade
 just to flow in great volume through, is going to wake up some fine morning and think the morn ing is not fine at all. Business
 worth having much be sought and
 the South Atlantic ports, with a
 community interest. must go after
 it; it is to be had; the artificial
 barriers that keep it away can be torn down-but they will not fall down of their own accord-they
 must be torn down. The time is d; hand to do some tearing,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-18
MAY BE LODGES WATERLOO

Senator Lodge surprised nobody when he announced his attitude on the world court as favoring the expan- sion of the court at The Hague rather than entering the league court. Less than half as many nations are sigma tories to the court at The Hague as are members of the league court. Manifestly the purpose of the two courts overlap, and there Is no need for two. Inasmuch as two of the sig 1natories to the court at The Hague are now out of it, that court has lost still more of it's claim to pre-eminence. Russia, by virtue of the fact that she has lost standing among the powers, and Germany, because of her direct repudiation of the conventions of The Hague, need no longer be included among the members of the original court.
 Lodges basic reason for his posi- ton is his prejudice. The cause loses no caste by his aloofness from it. On the contrary, Lodges opposi- ton will furnish others with good reasons why they should support the world court. The insurgents and the bitter-enders will fight it, but the more liberal Republicans and the bulk of the Democrats will favor it. If it comes to vote, undoubtedly the plan for us to enter the league court with reservations disclaiming allegiance to the League of Nations will receive a majority vote. The liberal Republi- cans can support it, because of the presidents recommendation. Tn e Democrats can support it, because it may be interpreted as step in the direction of a more active participa- ton in a world program to promote peace.
 Instead of leading the senate, Lodge may, by force of circumstances, find himself in the position of heading futile minority. That he has forfeited all moral right to leadership is per- ceived by all who remember his recent record of surrender to blind prejudice in dealing with international questions. Only the miracle of popular guber- material candidate running at the same time carried him back into the senate on his most recent exposure to popular judgment. Lodge as senator at this time may be regarded as political accident, however sincere may have been his previous majorities. The senate would do we'll to rid itself of the burden of accidental leadership. No better occasion presents itself than repudiation of Lodge on this ques- tion on which he appears to feel so deeply and on which he is so unmis- takably governed by prejudice and not reason.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-18
THE RICHEST GIRL
Memphis Commercial Appeal)


 Miss Gladys Hughes of Moor head, Miss, is the richest girl in the country, according to verdict returned at the International Live stock Exposition in Chicago. The judges made no inquiry as to the financial standing of the nomi- nees. No mention of money was made. But when they voted her the healthiest girl, they automati- cally voted her the wea1thiest girl, for health is wealth.
 We arc informed that Miss Hughes is fifteen years old, weighs 1211k pounds, Is auburn haired and freckled, and was pro- nounced one of the prettiest girls attending the congress. Doubtless those freckles are the result of exposure to the sun. as the young woman has charge of a poultry farm and plays tennis and volley ball. But you never heard of any body dying of freckles. They may hurt the vanity of some girls, but they never cause any physical pain. And there are compensations for freckles painted by the sun. Sun shine and fresh air kill disease germs, strengthen the lungs, tone up the system, make the heart light and the eyes bright.
 Doctors would have more time to spend with their families and play golf if more of our girls were interested in chickens and en- gagged in outdoor sports and had freckles. There would not be so many drug stores. Chemists who compound connections would de-. vote their attention to other lines.
 We should think that the girl who runs poultry farm and finds pleasure in other outdoor exer- cises dDuld plan good meal, turn a hoecake, supply fireside cheer and do other things that make a home out of a dwelling place.
 The young Mississippi girl pos- sesses that for which anaemic queens would gladly exchange the crown jewels and compared with which the riches of millionaires are but tinsel.
 The hsalthiest girl is the wealth. fest girl.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-18
PEOPLES FORUM
A Bonus Suggestion

To the Editor of The Herald.
 The following Is my views upon the soldiers bonus and I trust you will publish it for consideration of the readers of your paper.
 I do not think the soldiers of the World War have received from the government the treatment they had right to expect. The bonus would be simply scant payment of debt to them. Thousands of them sacrificed their business and left good positions and their serv- ic@ besides a risk of their lives, was actual financial sacrifice and yloss@ When serving in the army they were called upon to pay, out of their soldier pay, for liberty bonds.
 When they came home thousands of them not only were unable to obtain employment, but were com pelled to dispose of their bonds, purchased at a great sacrifice, at about 75 cents to S5 cents on the dollar Now it is objected that they ought to be satisfied with glory of patriotic duty we'll per- formed. But glory will not feed and clothe or make up the actual loss they sustained. Those, who made the greatest profits out of the war, are the greatest objec- tors. They persistently contend that the soldiers bonus would add too great tax burden upon the people. On the contrary, if con- gress had the courage to do it's duty, we could give the soldiers 0.000,000 bonus without add ing another dollar to the taxes of the people.
 All congress would have to do would be to pass an act making all United States bonds legal ten der, with provision for using the taxes, collected to pay interest for the next five years, as bonus to the soldiers. and after then to re- tire the money. This would give the soldiers bonus of $1.0O0, ,000,- 900 a year for five years, and in about twenty seven years the en- tire debt of the United States would be retired with what we now pay as interest alone.
 If legal tender money, instead of bonds, had been used at first, we would have saved enough already, that has been paid as interest, to have given the soldiers a S4,000,- 000,00o bonus. This would be fair to all parties concerned; as the bondholders would receive dollar for dollar for their bonds and the debt and taxes of the people would not be increased a single dollar.
 Besides the general circulation by the soldiers and the infusion of sufficient circulating medium, the life-blood of industry, would result in undreamed industrial develop ment and prosperity of the whole people, w. c. IRBY.
 Birmingham, Ala, Dec. Is, 1923.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-18

ernment, the other powers are going to be very chary about extending recogni- ton. England tried out policy of cooperation with Russia and was de- ceived at every turn. That warning and our example are strong arguments against trusting the soviet. But, if M. Tchitcherin wants to deal with us, he must first be frank and honest in his communications. So far, he has not been frank and honest.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-18
Men Who Look Ahead
(Andalusia Star)

NAHualuSla starr
 The men who are giving the very strongest backing to the movement for Andalusia's first cotton mill are all men who have accumulated sufficient wealth that they could live in comfort without further expansion of their busi- ness connections. But these men have desire to build for the fu- ture and lay here foundation for prosperity which will be a bless ing for their own kith and kin and to others who live in this city and section. It is the far sighted men of means who push any community forward. They set the pace and others follow. They have worked hard, made sacrifices. kept long hours. and now when the time has arrived to render a public service, they are the men who place their cash and\ their credit and influence behind the movement to start this city on the road to her wonted industrial development. It is a blessing to any communitS,that men of means will line up in front and take the lead as they are doing hero In An dalusia.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-18
Outside Votes Needed

(Alexander City Outlook)
 We are fully convinced that Sem ator Underwood is popular in Ala bama, but we want to know more about his popularity in other places. He will have to get votes away from home as we'll as at home if he ever hopes to get the Democratic nomination,