davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
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Looking at the Night.

N T. POINCARE has suddenly broken his WI silence and has resumed his gloomy
 Sunday afternoon sermons on the ter rible future he sees for France and the world. He has heard that the interallied commission in Germany has stumbled upon a factory where gas masks were made. He is so exer- cised about the seriousness of this that he warns his countrymen that it becomes plain that Germany is shamming in her peaceful in tentions and in reality secretly prepares for a war of revenge" M. Poincare will see noth- ing but war and bloodshed. He cannot keep his mind off the subject and wholly overlooks the plentiful manifestations of German good will and desire for cooperation and concilia- ton. Could he but gain little of that lofty spirit of his countryman, Romain Roland, who believed that humanity as a whole would benefit if the two countries could draw closer together and impress upon each other their best qualities. He would then discover, like the hero of Hollands book, that 'the richer he was in German dreams, the more precious to him would become the clarity of the Latin mind" The mist of blood and hatred, which obscured the real France and the real Ger many during the terrible years of mass hysteria, has begun to clear away. new brightness is already tinging the dawn, but NJ. Poincare, alas, has his back turned to the coming day. He sees nothing but the night.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
PHYSICAL VALUE OF WALKING

Surgeon General Homer s. Cummings, head of the nations department of health, is alarmed over the growing use of the automobile and the consequent dis appearance of pedestrians. He fears that the automobile is playing havoc with health in that it is taking from the Amer ican people the exercise obtained in walk ing He has pointed out that brain workers especially need the exercise that comes with use of the legs to build up physical yigor.
 By reason of the exercise involved systematic walking diverts a largely in- creased volume of blood to the muscular system and particularly to the lower ex- Itremities," he said. "As a result, con- Igestion in the internal organs is relieved.
 Many who have forgotten the treasures
 of walking will be surprised when they Irehabilitate this form of exercise. They will notice a sensation of buoyancy and ,well-being that will offer ample reward
 for the time and energy expended"
 Surgeon-General Cummings is not an alarmist, but his warning should attract the attention of those who hold that the development. of man has been gradual and that his forefather was not the creature with brain and capacity of the
 man of today. He mentioned that scien- lists hold the theory that organs cease to function by disuse; that appendix and Itonsils are dispensed with now because man has reached the point where there lis no normal place for them. If such theory be correct, why should not legs cease to be; why should not their disuse cause their gradual disappearance? Gen. eral Cummings isn't pressing his theory. He is content with the warning that ill health can be caused by lack of exercise, and that walking is an excellent means of retaining health.
 But General Cummings doesn't expect the rank and file of the American people to accept his view. Walking has the disadvantage of being free," he says Americans want no form of exercise that doesn't cost something.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
Brief Nature Studies
INCHES of snow fell last night,
By J. OTIS SWIFT

1.-TWO INCHES of snow fell last night,
 and as I sit writing to you downy
 A woodpecker is getting his breakfast from the fresh pork fastened on the pear tree near my window" writes Henry Esmond Christman of Delanson, N. '. 'Further away chckadee and nuthatch eat from another piece of pork. Tree sparrows are numerous in the grass-seed in the white snow under the birds. feeding quarters.
 "Usually we have plenty of boarders dur ing the winter season here on the Bozenkill. Chickadees often sleep in the woodpeckers burrows brought from the woods and fas- tened to the veranda posts and neighboring trees. Hardly winter passes without our having a regular downy woodpecker roomer in the nest on the grape arbor. Chickadees enjoy the pork and grass-seed scattered for the tree sparrows and juncos. Woodpeckers, hairy and downy, daily call for their meals, Nuthatches are more numerous some winters than others, but we always have few.
 Some winters ago a song sparrow was with us all winter. Not day passed but he dined with the tree sparrows. During the right sea son we have fox sparrows and snowbirds.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
Watching The Parade
N HY OLD friend Hart Colfax had word
 IN u ,sLiah worth 1
By JOHN PILGRIM

N HY OLD friend Hart Colfax had word MI to say this morning which seems worth AVA remembering. Old Man Colfax might he described as sure-thing gambler on Wall Street. except that there is no such thing as sure thing gambling on Wall street. But he has made a good living and laid away store of pelf by buying stocks when they are cheap and selling them when they are dear.
 Not on margin, mind you," said Old Man Colfax. Il tell you try to play sure-thlng game.'
 Some months ago Mir. Colfax went to Flu rope, Then things began to happen. He was taken i'll and the alien doctors explored him and found that he had things wrong with his inside and distressingly swollen bank ac- count and operated on him for both. He ex- perienced great relief. But he did not reach home until the great after-election swing Ill the stock market had been under way three weeks. and even then he was too weak and listless to fool with it. The doctors say he must go easy for while.
 "Too bad,' I said You missed great chance.'
 "You're fool' said MT. Colfax, regaining a flash of the temper for which he was famed before the relief noted. You're fool. There are always opportunities.
 The old gentleman, as I've said is sure thing player. He never takes a chance know ingly. He aims to make money in the most legitimate fashion, by buying stocks in the worlds greatest market and selling them at profit, and he has been doing that success fully for thirty years. But he never hurries.. If he misses today's market-well, there " Ill be a market next week, or even next month, and perhaps better one than that of today.
 Go easy," he says. "Try your bridge be- fore you put your weight on it. Don't worry if you don't get hurried action. Take life slow and cautions. It pays.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
|-hG4a3ONCE
 1 0Wx.~ OYER

Application Blank For Auto License Renewal (As it seems to the man who fills out one for his 1925 registration plates.) Ndme ....s'' .... .....- ....''''''' Color (before owning a carl ............ Color (after owning carl )............... Age (give in years, months, weeks, days and hours) ................... Residence Specify city, county and state) |. ................ ............... ....'...' Place of business (specify city. county and state) .................. ........ Where are you when not at either? Specify city, county or state) ).................... Telephone number ..................... Gable address .................... ......' Post office box ..................... State make of car ..................... State type of car, color, shape etc. When purchased ....................... State last owners reason for selling you, if secondhand car ..... State dealer's reason for selling you if new Give name of builder of car.............. Give name of wife of builder of car. Give name of aunt of wife of builder of car ............'. .'..... ..........'''''' What was the manufacturers year? Year for what? .................... Why! ................. ..'..... What is the motor number (express as
 
 What is the radiator number in square yards! .................... ............ What is the carburetor number?. ....... What is the exhaust pipe number?. What is the monkey wrench number? Gin calorles) ............ ''...' What is the number of oil-can? (avor- dupOlS) ................. ......... Give weight of car in stocking feet. Give weight of owner in silk hat. ........ State type of light used, and how. ......... Type of lenS!.. ............ (Note: A cash prize of $100,000 will be given by the state to any auto owner having the slightest idea of the correct answer to this question without calling up the agent) Type of windshield wiper. ........... Type of grease gun. ......... ............ Type of floor covering g.................. How long have you operated motor vehicle. Have you ever been intoxicated while driving! .''''' Do you feel there is any truth in the theory it makes you more careful coming home!. .. Sign name and address in full Specifying city, county and state) ...................
 A
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
Song For a Love

This tide that quivers through me In dark and secret flood Has taken on such magic
 That men miscall it blood. It is the singing spirit
 Of some uncaptive Bird, And when you kissed my eyelids It was its voice l heard; And when, to lyric wonder,
 You kissed my silent lips l felt it's wings small beating
 In breast and finger tips. If you should wound my worship With sword or dagger thrust l think no stain of scarlet
 Your falsity would rust; No blood would follow after
 To soil your hands or touch, A strange bird winging mOonward Would not disturb you much. Faith Baldwin in the New York Sun.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
THE CROSS WORD PUZZLES

Is the crossword puzzle an aid or a hindrance to education? Learned men are debating that question now. It all comes about by the appearance of the puzzles in newspapers throughout the nation and the great interest being shown in them. Somebody made a crossword puzzle solely to amuse others. It be- came popular overnight Others took it up. Now one is not among the elite if one has failed to try to solve a puzzle,
 Friends of the pastime appear to be winning their battle with it's opponents. There are few who still refuse to think
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
PRESIDENT THE BETTER GUIDE

The United States should abide by the Washington treaty in letter and spirit, of course. It should possess the full power per mitted by that treaty, so far as the treaty has undertaken to declare actual and relative power. But we have no need and no war rant to undertake a building program based on the presumption that all the world is our enemy, waiting opportunity to strike We are not directed by our traditions or our diplomatic situation, by the war prepared ness of other nations or the state of our na- tional defenses to start out again to get "the greatest navy in the world.' The president is better guide than his tickle naval secre- tary.-Syracuse Post Standard.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
Ray of Hone.

The London Times pays high tribute to General Leonard Wood, governor general of the Philippine Islands It says that through General Woods personal interest in the condi- tion of lepers, "astonishng curative work has been done. The Times says that Ameri- can science and systematic investigation have shown that "leprosy must no longer be re- garded as a hopeless and ineradicable dis ease." The paper devotes extensive space to a description of the methods employed in caring for the sufferers and gives cheering news by citing statistics of the number of lepers that have been discharged as completely cured. 1t is so often that the darker side of Amer
 ican occupation of the islands is stressed, that the tribute to humanitarian endeavor, coming from foreign sources, is doubly gratifying
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
Art Is Universal.

Figaro does not like it bit that the cit izens of Strassburg have decided to have Schiller's Don Carlos" produced at the opera house in that city. Blame for the selection is laid to the socialists, though there seems no substantiation for the charge. Figaro is probably of the opinion that Strassuburg, now being a French city, ought to ban such bar barism as German plays. Fortunately the citizens of the Alsatan capital have better sense. They realize that in the realms of art there are boundaries and that no nation has a monopoly to culture. They feel that music and sculpture and drama are world possessionS. France had no quarrel with German art in 1914 and Germany even went far as to celebrate the third centenary of Shakespeare right in the middle of the great war Because Italy was in nSdeath grips with Austria the Cathedral of FVienna did not omit that sublime Dies Irae, dies illa," from the solemn program at the death of Francis Joseph, though that hymn was com posed by Thomas Acquinas, an Italian. Some times, it is true, bitterness and hatred are carried so far that the sense of artistic ap- precation even become obscurred. An Eng fish chaplain in France told his nearer that in the music of Bach and Wagner there was taint of pan-Teuton propaganda. And that the initiated could plainly hear the 'yearn- ings of the blonde beast' in the works of these masters. That the curate himself did not belong sto the initiated became manifest, when, at the end of his homly, he asked ''the troops to sing a song from the English hymn book the tune of which corresponds to 'Deutschland Ueber Alles.'
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
SAFE FROM pRODIGALITY

Our esteemed contemporary, the Columbus Dispatch, expresses the gravest doubt that President Coolidge will ever even try to throw a silver dollar across the Potomac and, even if he should, we suppose he can swim.-Ohic State Journal n
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
A Dying Request.

And must l die then, doctor?' "Yes," murmured the physician, gently. 'The pallor of the end has already crept over your face 1 fear that there is no hope for you"
 Then promise me one thing, doctor" cried the poor woman.
 Yes, yes," promised the kind doctor. What is itr"
 Why, if my face is so very pale, will you rouge my cheeks when the end comes?"
 Mrs. J. w. Bracken. lCopyrght 1924 Reproduc.ion Forblddenl
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26

Apparently the French dressmakers and manufacturers who appealed to Premier Herriot to suppress fashion pirates" have great confidence in his diplomatic talents.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
A Crisis?

Having completed his book "1917," only a few months ago, in which he criticizes the ''stagnant regime of Stalinin and Kameneff, " Leon Trotsky is preparing a new volume to be entitled My Mistakes" The Russians are given to amazing degrees of self-criticism and Leon apparently is no exception. The report from the former war commissar is ill, Is now confirmed from Odessa. But other news has also filtered out of Russia. Bucharest hears that the red army has lodged a protest with the presidium of the bolshevik army against Trotskys dismissal as comma ade. in chief If that is true, and the red army actually supports Trotsky, the days of his opponents may be numbered, for it is we'll known that between Leon and the others there exists a bitter hatred. Against the red army the polit- ical leaders would be helpless and would have to capitulate, even as the Roman senate al ways capituated and sanctioned the actions of the Pretorian guard. The history of the Roman empire abounds with instances where the legions decided upon the man who should stand at the helm of affairs, and subsequent ratification by the senate There may be another case of historcial repetition, if Trotsky does not get too sick.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26

In the old days Il novel cost one buck and textbook on psychology two. Now you get both in the same volume for $25O-De- lrnit News
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
ANOTHER ARGuMENT

There's a new argument against war. It might interfere with the radio programs Boston Transcript.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
ENVY OF THE PRIVILEGED

All this talk about strap-hangers makes some of us envious. We can't get near a strap.-New York World
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26

The greater part of the family gov ernment in this country appears to b administered by the children.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26

The big railroad system which had a Christmas tree on every passenger train on Christmas Eve was making some speed in sentiment.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26

Just think of the hordes of children who are fooling their parents about thi' Santa Claus business.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26

If the choice left to mo. whether to lave srsc press a free government. wouio ehoose A free rrcsa-Thomas Jefferson
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26

It were we'll for lots If people to re- member that the fore caster does not guarantee the weather: he simply agrees to make the best predictions he can.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26

Not always does the fellow who gets the best start win the race for success sometimes long lead encourages loafing a while on the job.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26

That kind of honesty which is founde, on the best policy is usually expensive
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
A FOLLOWER OF PRIDE

Never try to show off your radio before company. Pride goeth before static-San Francisco Chronicle.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26

There are few self respecting men who can be "cussed' into doing things.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
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 U61At tHzAXS0N TQNz4LL JLDEZL
Her Smiling TOrmentOr.

Mother: What's the matter-don't you like your dentist?' Daughter: No, he gets on my nerves
 Gertrude Martain.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
THE AGE-HERALD
Entered at Birmingham Ala. post office as sec snd-class matter. act of Congress. March 6. 1s7S



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The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
WORLDS GREATEST NEED

Call it World court, League of Nations, or what you like, mankind's greatest need is CO., operation of all peoples for worldwide order and goodwill-Boston Herald.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
Princess Patty!

Patty, age three, hearing her mother com plain that she was unable to sew on account of the cloudy weather, said: Keep still a minute Ise goin' to call up God'-which she proceeded to do Cover toy telephOne) and, on receiving d make-believe answer, she said, in her sweetest voice; Will you please tell God, if He's home to turn on the lights so it will be sunshiny down here"
 Very soon afterward the sun emerged from behind a cloud, flooding the room with bright ness, upon seeing which Patty exclaimed Well, you see God did turn on the lights Now l guess I'll ask Him for some candy"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
A BLAST OF WIND FROM DIR. BALD
 PATE

We are indebted to Grant c. Knight for his sending to us one of the heretofore un- published adventures of Dr. George A. Bald pate.
 You've heard about windstorms," the Doctor is reported to have said, but for the real, simon-pure article you've got to hand it to the state of Kansas
 One summer when was working my way across the country, I hired out for week with farmer near Topeka. He had a big field of popcorn just about ready to pick. One of those Kansas cyclones came up and blew all the corn off the ears. Fortunately, or perhaps I should say unfortunately, the kernels were blown directly toward the barn.
 Through every knot hole in the barn the corn was forced by the wind at such speed that sthe friction developed an intense heat and the hay in the barn caught fire. This caused the pop corn to pop and to fly high in the air.
 ''The cattle in the yard thought it was showing, and promptly lay down and froze to death."
 Really, until now we had no idea the wind could blow so!
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26

Strangely enough, the stork wasn't nearly as popular as Santa Claus.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
Had No Chance.

Clarence (ardently) live never told any other girls that I loved them" Winnie (dryly): "Why-wouldn't they listen?
 HI. F. Conroy.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
Change of Heart.

Esham and Isham were two colored persons who were very successful at capturing chickens.
 They were sworn partners in the craft for many years. Then Esham, remaining Tn the old tracks and tricks. was bereft of his sharer in spells, for Isham moved to distant com munity. There Isham became pastor of flock and a very successful and honored leader.
 It was the opening of the yearly Distracted Meetin."
 Isham rose in the pulpit to give out the text of his sermon when his eye fell on Esham seated on the back bench of the old log Meeting House." It was moment fraught with fear and peril, but Isham had ever been quick -witted, and quick to escape threatened dangers.
 After a pause in itself thrilling to his con gregation he spoke thus: My text for dis evenin' I had done chose from de Book ot Rivilations All de churches shall know But I misdoubt me is dis congregation vet fur enough advance for de meat of Rlvl- llations Wharfo and tharfo l changes my text to dis: Him what sees me and knows me. and says nothin, him shall see later and him shall 1 reward
 Martha Young. 7, Twas the night after Christmas and, all through the house, nobody was sleeping. They all had indigestion. Bitter Lesson. Judge: You have been found guilty of murdering postman. Miserable wretch Have you anything to say before pass sen tence?"
 Prisoner: "Your Honor if my act will teach other postmen the folly of bringing IC. o. D. packages the day before pay day my crime will not have been ill vain.' -Paul & Powers
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26
TWO IN ONE

Copyright. 1924. Reproduction Forbidden.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26

EXCLUSIVE MEMBER. OF NORTH AMERi' GAN NEWSPAPER ALLIANCE IN ALABAMA
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26

Ali, of Third Party Promoters.-Man- ifestly, the Third party promoters count on building up on the ruins of Republican i'm surgency The personnel of the coming con- yention at Chicago will indicate the measure of hope it's leaders might expect to entertain. Our concern is that the Democratic leaders may have deliverance from being mixed up with it-Selma Times-J Journal.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26

Telephone tprivate branch exchange connect. tns all departments). Main <soo
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26

Twas the night after Christmas and, a through the house, nobody was sleeping. They all had indigestion.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-26

One of the PrOofs.-One of the chief argu- ments against the abandonment of the sys- tenn, which is condemned by all persons who believe convicts are something more than a states chattel, has been that convicts must be employed in gainful operations, that they should not be made a burden on the tax payers The operation of Kilby prison is proof that the lease system can be abandoned without the imposition of financial burden on any x-payers--Montgomery Journal.