davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-22
A POOR RECOMPENsE

In consequence of the investigations of the State Highway Commission, the federal en- gineers, OH November l, agreed with the highway commission that in view of the use of clay in the subbase of the Shelby county highway, the state was entitled to a credit of fOrty-s seven and half cents a yard, inas- much as the spalls represented a smaller first cost tlan clean crushed rock choke The engineers made much of the fact that the state was thus saved a sum estimated variOusly at from ten to sixteen thousand dollars. oblivious to the unmistakable fact that the highway design does not reflect too much credit upon the technical intelligence and training of the engineers party to it. As The Age-Herald said at the time, the credit of ten thousand dollars is a poor re- compense for the infinitely greater public cost represented in highway of inferior de- sign. If is noted also that the highway commission went on record as viewing the spalls as inferior material, and allowed the work to proceed only after receiving written indorsement of the spalls by Federal Engin- eers Wells and Loder. This indOrsement is an apologetic defense of an engineering mis- take rather than document likely to stand the test of unbiased and capable engineer ing scrutiny.
 Now it appears that. on November 30, and without the approval of the highway commits
 
 forty seven ana half to thirty cents n cubic yard and, it is understood, at the same time increased by five per cent. the clay content allowed. Last week Federal Engineer Wells was reported as saying that clean choke and base were to be used on the last four miles at the southern end of the project, instead of the spalls. on the ground that it would not he economical to use the spalS because of the haulage distance! The people of Ala bama thus have the spectacle of highway engineer defending change in road materials not on the basis of quality. but on the basis ot economy to the contractor. This should the Shelby county highway indicates the same engineering indifference to the quality and durability of the highway. There is no record of any dissent from this policy on the part oi the stAle highway engineer.
 The attorney general has ruled that the present commission has no jurisdiction over thls particular highway because it was in- augllrated at d time when the details com planned or by the commissioners were under 'he dlrect authority of the engineers 1t would be of greater service to the people of Alabama If the attorney general would diIi- gently search for some Iegul means whereby the public welfare rather than the technical right or the engineers. might be protected in any event, II appears that the state and federal engineers have not had the durability ol Ile highway and its public service as Of lIrst moment. There iS hope that the new federal engineer for this district may hold different view of hS duty
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-22
The Book Of Porto Rico"

To the Editor of The Age-Herald
 The Porto Rican delegation to the United States created by virtue of a joint resolu- tion of the insular legislature to demand a greater measure of self-government for the island now in Washington, begs to present to you a copy of the Book of Porto Rico" for the library of your publication, as a valuable and reliable reference work on any matter concerning Porto Rico that may be brought to your attention.
 This book is not an official publication. but every one of its contributors is a rec Ognized authority on his particular field of endeavor. We hope it will also prove to be true evidence of the high degrees of culture and advancement that Porto Rico has at tained, and which entities her to a larger measure of self-government a par with the other American commonwealths.
 We want to thank you most heartily in behalf Of the entire people of Porto Rico to whom we jointly represent, for the cor dial reception you have given Porto Rican affairs brought to your consideration in the past and sincerely hope that you will con tinue to do so in the future. With the com pliments .and best wishes of the delegation, we beg to remain,
 THE PORTO KICAN DELEGATION TO
 THE UNITED STATES,
 Antonio k. Barcelo, Chairman.
 Washington, D. C.. Feb. lG, 1924.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-22
The Table D'Hote
B1 nn. rRAHK CRANE

: Instead of there being no disputing about tastes, tastes are they very things that are worth disputing about. When you cease dimutinr about what you like to eat, for example. presently you fall into the way ot consuming every day that horror oi nor- TOTS. the table d'hote. How any living .entient soul can address itself regularly to- that monotonous gustatory route from soup in nuts is one of the mysteries of this mys- terious world I know there are some people who eat such dinners right along and say tbey like them. It may be true, but 1 don't believe it. You don't have to believe . thing just because 1t is true. Haven't men been believing in things they knew not to be true or untrue these many centuries and suffering and dying for them?
 One of the beauties of faith IS that you can believe thing that is not true in this free country, Hence I believe that no stom- ach ever rejoiced in table dhote dinner. If you are hungry you get satisfied Dy the third course. for you eat heartily. If you are not hungry you save yourself for the ire cream. The normal human taste is linn ited The attempt to prolong the pleasures of the table is futile. The most rationai eaters were the farmers back in Illinois, who put everything on the table at once, ate what they wanted and quit. The time to eat is when you are hungry The thing to eat is what you want. s
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-22
The Great Patriot
By JOHN CARLYLE

r;.;t to Mt. Vernon does great oeei to make pain the real measure oh tne . sa rificine of George Washington when no ooos command of the patriot army. ,s... ssor;f;ca far greater than either scnooiDoys or vrown-ups realize until they come lnto nosseasion of some of the too little empna- sixed facts in the life of this man; l.
 We think of the cause of the colonies ,is m 1775 and before as a cause witn 2 sou front. backed by the unified ranks or .,l s eral millions of new Ameflcans' eas for of it as a glorious band-wagon parade IoI I;herty and a new nation. We assume that inc cause of the colonists magnetized .he rant and file. the rich and poor, the ianded and the dependent. Everybody rusneo 70 get on board, we think, before the na"seE of old England was cut away.
 The facts are different. The patriot army ;n the b.einning was courageous, but 2 faehle affair. Thousands of the members oh n,r esliest "best families" would have notn- ;no to do with it. Thousands of the well. to-do and the leaders in the colonies tnougnt that the cause was both hopeless ana a9' surd They were lately from England, naany of them, and their sympathies were moi easily to be divorced from the mother country. oh the fatal consequences of failure. ,,,.,
 In n situation like this it was not dffi, cult to raise an army Of those wno nau
  dom. however vaguely understood, quickly attracts those whose burdens are lightest.
 So the patriot cause, at first, was very far from being unanimously supported oy Americans This, does not mean that there were not many rich and able and self denying men in it, but it means that It lacked the help of a legion that stood alooi:
 Here is where the real greatness of George Washington shows its imposing bulk. For Washington was not only rich man--he was the richest man Tn the colonies. Washington had the most to Keep and the most to lose. Washingtons sym. pathies, one would think, must naturally have been with the mother country. lie was in touch with it. He knew the com' forts of the privileged classes. His mag nificent home at Mt. Vernon reveals today, as it did then, that here lived rich man. lived not only in comfort, but in magnifi- cence. To Washington war meant the ab- solute risk of wealth, position luxury and home itself. The logical step would have been for him to cast his lot with the Tories
 Knowing this and thinking of this, we get new light on the immense and glorious sacrifice which this great American made when he cast all into the balance and rode out upon his long, dark trail at the head of a brave, but ragged, army. ." .
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-22
Only One Cent c Year
By WICKEs WAMBOLDT

The business of crime is the most un- profitable imaginable. Not long ago a young woman was sentenced to five years in the penitentiary for stealing a pocket book with nickel in it. One cent a year for five years-pretty slim compensation And yet it is right in line with the way the devil compensates those who work for him. He is the poorest pay I know of, and he will double-cross his best friend.
 A misguided individual will stay up all night to steal chicken worth n dollar and a quarter and run the risk of getting his epidermis full of shot and going to the chain-gang for thirty days, where if he would put forth the same effort legitimately, he could earn enough in the same length of time to come by two three chickens hon estly. A man will steal an auto which he will sell for three or four hundred dollars and then break rock for the state several years for nothing. A shoplifter will pick up an article worth few dollars and go to the hoose-gow for thirty days An em- ploye will steal a few dollars and lose his job and his reputation.
 There is world of truth in the adage that says honesty is the best policy. Leav- ing morality entirely out of the question, honesty is course that pays.
 Where is the sense of sneak-thief's slipping into a house, stealing an article that can be pawned for three or four dollars and which may get him a year in jail? His time is worth at least six hundred dol lars year. So. the proposition up to him is this: You go in there and steal that umbrella. If you are successful in getting away with it, you can pawn it for three dollars. If you fail. you pay the state six hundred dollars. What sort of one-sided proposal is that? A man would be a fool to consider it.
 A peddler I knew of who had been SUD- plying family with vegetables for long time, was given a twO-sollar bill by mis- take instead of a one-dollar bill. He fan cled the error would be noticed after he had departed. so he never went near that house again. He sacrificed one of his best custom CTS from whom he made profit of at least dollar week in order that he might steal dollar. Thus he paid interest of fifty-teo dollars year on the dollar he stole. Poor business, wasn't it?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-22
THE D(NES

tllarrA Kemp in the Literary Review | bon the sand the slant rain falls in vain. The multltudes of the arrows of the rain The long gray slopes sprout cruelty. and
 the sand
 Nreeps on, forever marching against the land That would be fertile and fat with ordered
 peace :.a If these invasionS from the sea "A would pon the sand inc slant rain fnll~ in vain Futile are the invasiomS of the rain. ... There lies no bound nor terminus to the
 sand
 Slopihg its million spears against the land Or innumerahly streaming in charges blind And terrible on the little horses of the And. though each bent ha;e see1,s to tlwart their cu,llse It only shlits tine pattern of their force: lnnumerably they begin again. Grain on enlisted, diamond-helmettcd grain Overwhelming the armies o' the rain. Only btter. black marsh here and there. With snake motted flower savage-fnir. Or speargrass. naked in the sky's caress. Pricks in universal emptiness.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-22
As To Mir. Underwood

To the Editor of The AgeIIerald:
 The tactics of Mr. UnderwoOd's friends seem to some of Us to be erroneous. A man offering for a great place should be willing to submit his candidacy and choice of dele gates to the sovereign will of the electorate Why has Mir. tnderwood so much opposi- ton in the state as to necesstate unfair tactics? First, Mir. Underwood stood to the last ditch with the whisky crowd and fought HObson s constitutional amendment with all the force he could command, and when the Underwood tariff law was being enacted Mir. Underwood for Il long period skipped steel in which it was then said he had his money, and Bryan called attention to it either In an interview or in his paper. l don't recall which. and Mir. Underwood de n0unced Bryan bitterly the floor of con gresS. Mir. nderwOod is suspected by many of us of having Wall Street leanings. Now. if Wall Street can get Mir Underwood nomi- mated it will make no difference to the money power whether a Democrat or Ee- publican is elected, because in either case they will have friend at court
 Mir. CEderwoods conversion to prohibit ton is too recent. We can only tell tree by it's fruit There will be an effort 10 allow the sale of wine and beer, which will open the flood gates, and as president Mir. In derwood could easily east an nachur to wind ward. DR. k. R. WYATT
 Mir. Underwood and two opponents sub init their candidaces to the people on March II. Perhaps D: WyHtts other facts are equally inaccurate. Mir. Underwo0ds atti- tude aS lo the prohibition statute is not recent. as Dr. Wyatt ayers. Mr. Under wood has all his life consistently stood for enforcement of all statutes The integrity of Mir. UnderwOod's public service is sufficient answer to charges of the reverse.y-Ed. Age Herald
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-22
Heredity and Disease
By H. ApDINGToN BRUCE

There still exists as my own correspond ence makes very evident to me, widespread heredity as a factor in causing disease. Be cause of this misunderstanding thousands of people are needlessly tormented by fear,
 Knowing their parents and grandparents have adied from this or that malady, they torture themselves with the thought that the same malady will eventually make them it's victims some day. In many cases their dread of their inherited fate" becomes so intense that they can no longer endure 1t, and resort to suicide as their only available means of relief.
 Yet the fact that there is almost no~direct inheritance of disease. And the diseases that may be directly inherited are of con- spicuously rare occurrence.
 Thus it is known that certain malig- nant disease of the eyes may through inheri- tance affIict certain families. But the fam lilies which it actually does afflict are btoh absolutely and relatively few in number.
 So with hemophilia. the diseased condi- tion in which a person tends to bleed ex- cessively from even a scratch. This not only is a rare disease, but in it's heredity it is strangely limited according to sex Only males inherit hemophilia.
 In the case of the common diseases-tu- berculosis, diabetes, nervous orders. the va rious, insanities, etc.-in which heredity is popularly supposed to play dominant part. it really is secondary to something else. @'s 5 asfs 8 2as#s ess
 Tuberculosis, for example is distinctly and only result of infection by a specific disease-causing germ. These germs are not transmitted by heredity from parent to child. They invade from outside and at some time after birth.
 All that hereditys can do. so far as tu- berculosis is concerned, is to transmit a lung weakness predisposing to tuberculosis if the tuberculosis germ does, get into the organ ism. Besides which, this predisposition may be offset by the taking of special care to guard against infection. and, still more, by hygienic measures to raise the organic re- sistivity to the germ of tuberculosis So that 1t is nonsense to talk of 'the fatal in heritance of tuberculosis.
 Likewise in the case of the supposedly in herited nervous and mental disorders
 predisposition to these may indeed be inherited. But again this predisposition may be offset by training to strengthen the ner- vous system and by avoidance of the known exciting causes of nervous and mental dis ease-worEy, alcoholism, and so forth. Consequently in the case of all who have family history of tuberculosis, insanity, or any other condition of disease, the sen- sible thing is not to surrender to feelings of panic. but to learn what special precaution- ary measures should be taken, and then to take them. To surrender to panic and to take no special precautions for safety is to promote developments which may indeed give seeming proof of the directness with which the disease in question may be in herited.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-22

chances for punishmeent That is largely the cause of the outrages. Crime flour ishes in proportion to the uncertainty of punishment The criminal element appear to realize that with small and inefficient police force, and with large part of the time and effort of the law enforcement ma chinery consumed in apprehending crap shooters and bootleggers under the stimu- lus of special fees. it is comparatively easy for those who plan and execute shocking crimes to carry on. Hence the existing con ditiOn which is doing much injury to this community. ;. Prompt and proper punish ment for a few of the big criminals would not only go far towards suppressing the activities of those who are connected with big crimes, but would exercise a wholesome influence on the less serious criminal ele- ment, and would reduce all kinds of law lessness.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-22

Doubtless the average person would be surprised to know the percentage of com municable diseases which are spread from improper and unsantary handling of food products. While accurate estimates may be difficult because of the various processes of manufacture, delivery and handling before the consumer is reached it is well known that much sickness results from failure by many food dealers-manufacturers wholesale and retail distributors. not to speak of hotels and restaurants-to observe ordinances regu- lating the handling of food, and from failure by public authorities to see that the public health regulations are respected.
 casual visit to the average food store in Birmingham demonstrates that compara- lively little attention is given the regulations providing for proper handling of food which were adopted some time ago on recommenda- tion of the health department, and about which much was said at the time. The reg ulations provided, among other things, that food shall be screened and protected in the handling. This is being done in few cases Inspection of a number of food stores and restaurants revealed that not only are fruits and vegetables exposed to dust and dirt in side and outside the entrances, but that meats, fish, salads and many other articles of food are exposed to flies and other sources of contamination, while bread, cakes, pies and pastries are allowed to stand in the open with attempts to screen them. It IS com mon to see delivery employees handle un- wrapped and unprotected bread and pastries, which sometimes come in contact with their clothes with no regard for the ordinances.
 The health department reported that ef- forts are being made to get food dealers to remove their products inside from the side walks, and to use screens, after which pro- lection in delivery and serving of cooked food would be undertaken. Little headway has been made in either reform. The pro- gram, as reported, seems to be case of put ting the cart before the horse. Fruits and vegetables are expected to be washed or cooked before eaten. Bread and other food ready to serve frequently accumulate dirt and germs from improper handling, and are therefore a source of greater danger from infection. It would seem that the delivery of bread in sanitary packages could be en- forced without all the delay that is now permitted. Some dealers are observing this precaution All should be made to do so.
 Many grocers, butchers and other food dealers expressed their approval of the food regulations and willingness to cooper ate. That spirit is commendable. The pub lie authorities would do well to capitalize it by enforcing the ordinance before it becomes The ordinance has produced little improve ment months after it's adoption. Excuses and explanations on the ground of lack of sufficient inspectors will not prevent the spread of diseases arising from failure to protect food from contamination, especially in the absence of arrests and penalties.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-22
THE BEssEMER. FAIRFIELD ROAD

Completion of the new Fairfield Bessemer road. with the early opening of traffic over the route. aud also the loop road from Bes >emer to the Montgomery highway. will not only facilitate communication between two important and fast-grOwing industrial com munities, but will open ur | considerable trade that will be mutually beneficial.
 The effects of these roads will soon he felt in the two cities as well ns throughout d considerable adjacent region. Trade will he stimulated. time saved and economies in many ways made possible Means of easy communication of this kind in see ton thickly populated and active indus
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-22
AN INVALUABLE MAN
Wall Street JournaD

NdI SVTeet JUurHHIJ
 His son was graduate of financial school in the Middle West, he was in New York on other business and he dropped into bucket shop few months ago to see about getting the young man position.
 Il think he could write those market let ters that you mail me" said the father, after explaining the scope of the young mans accomplishments fes:' inquired the office manager hope fully.
 Further encouraged. the father contin- ued: I'm sure he could There's just one thing you'd have to watch him for. He's likely to change his mind every few minutes.
 Every few miniites" exclaimed the of flee manager. An invaluable man! Tell him to call on me,''