davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
HOW THE TAXPAYERS PAY

The Age-Herald has stated several times that the administration of street paving and construction in this com- munity has cost the taxpayers much more than it should have cost for the re- suits obtained. As an illustration of this, attention is called to contracts re- gently let for Avenue B and for a DOT tion of First avenue. The specified tions for the Avenue paving and for a portion of the contracts recently let for First avenue were practically the same, namely, sheet-asphalt on six-inch ce- ment base of a 1-3-6 mixture. The con- tract for Avenue B is costing the prop erty-owners $2.50 a square yard. The l9w bid for First avenue of the same type of construction would have cost the tax payers $2.16 square yard. The asphaltic concrete on the lean six-inch base is cost ing $1.99 yard.
 This difference is all the more signifi- cant when it is taken into consideration that the preliminary work on First ave- nue, the cost of which is included in the contract price, will be more expensive than the similar work on Avenue B; and also the fact that the average haul for First avenue is much longer, and there fore more costly to the contractor, than 4OLi <ASSAuS ID" 1HSES HlUSL DG d ISdSOH for this difference, and the solution at once occurs that the reason is, there was competition in types on First avenue and no such competition on Avenue B. The city commission, on the advice of the city engineer, selected one specific type for Avenue B, thus eliminating all possi- bility of competition of the sort that held costs down on First avenue. The engineer incorrectly held that the type selected was the strongest feasible type, even though facts and engineering opinion are on the other side.
 Anyhow, the property-owners of Ave nue B, who made strong appeal for competitive type in this construction, may take what comfort they may from the fact that their paving is costing them aL least forty cents a square yard more than it would have cost had their inter ests been taken into consideration. They may also find subject for meditation in the fact that the concrete of the base }s of lean mix, although they earnestly sought richer mix. This sort of thing has made Birmingham's pavings both in- efficient and costly, even when the prop e1Sy-owners who must pay the cost make appeal to the city commissioners who were elected to protect the public from just such impositions.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
Questing The Petty
 Enrnrr,rr,.r r,rrro,u
By H. ADDINGTO

TITO personal friend am indebted for an
 epigrammatic phrasing of one of the
 chief causes of present-day social un- rest:
 -"Too many people want too much of too little"
 Of a certainty, questing the petty is wide spread phenomenon today. It is conspicuous in every community, and is not confined to any one stratum of society.
 Among the richest and the poorest alike are to be numerously found those who over value and eagerly strive for the essentially unimportant and at the same time foolishly ignore the really important goods of life.
 The mania for amusements, the mania for automobiles, the mania for fine clothes and personal adornment-it is said that the na- tional bill for cosmetics almost equals the national bill for education-testify appalling ly to the hold the petty has on the imaginR- tion of multitudes.
 And further proof is found in the prey. alent love of gossip, the limiting of conver- sation to the lightest kind of chit-chat, the ayidity with which sensational stories, whether of fact or of fiction, are devoured.
 Most impressive of all, though, is the proof deriYable from the straining to augment all manner of material possessions.
 To this end nations, as well as myriads of individuals, strenuously compete with one another Yet, throughout the centuries, ex- perience has shown that neither for nations nor for individuals can any enduring satisfac tion come through overzeal for the material.
 Bitterness comes rather, and there comes also conflict Nor can cessation either of bitterness or conflict be expected, whether in the case of nations or of individuals, un- til there is gained a clearer vision of life's purposes, with resultant recognition of the unimportance of the petty.
 In the mordant wording of one keen ob- server, men generally must be brought to see that the permanent and the profound mean more than the immediate and the superficial, that literature has greater quickening than baseball that religion is more serious and more constructive than political 'creeds and partisanship, and, in fact, that life is infinitely greater than living"
 Can men generally be brought to see such truths, and thus be led to abandon their quest of the petty, to their own great good and the good of the world?
 Obviously that depends on just one thing "a recasting of educational ideals and pro grams with view to making education more truly effective in the highest sense. Except through education there is no way of chang ing the current of a peoples thinking.
 If the petty still commands the devotion of the many, it is only too evident that re- forms in education are imperatively needed. Will they be made? And when?
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
La1Us And Cures
By JOHN CARLYLE

IF all the reformers alive today could be
 gathered into one audience, there is one lesson above all others which it would be worth their while to hear.
 If I might rise from this humble capacity to be appointed to make a speech to this tre- mendous gathering of reformers 1 should have just one speech to make. It would be brief
 I would try to teach that well-meaning class this, ,one thing
 A new law cannot be depended upon to re- move an old evil.
 Most reformers think that all that is nec- essary to put a reform into action is to pass q new law.
 They think that to make people behave the main thing is to agree on a piece of legisla- tion and get it passed.
 The remedy for evil is not law.
 Law at best is but an instrument in the hands of citizenship.
 If it is a good citizenship, the law is use full
 If it is bad citizenship the law is useless
 Sam Jones, famous Golden Rule Mayor" of Toledo, Ohio, many years ago, startled an audience by saying:
 Law is what the American people will stand for" He was right.
 Thousands who are concerned with the un- satisfactory enforcement of the Volstead law are impatient to have congress or the various states pass a new law. They want to catch those who are not living up to their duties as good citizens.
 They never get tired of the old cure. More law, more law, more law!
 All of us have sat gravely around along tables and voted resolutions which set forth the demands of good citizenship in our home towns.
 We resolve that it be the sense of this august body that such-and-such be the case. Then we go out on the street and forget all about it. No change has come over us. We feel no personal responsibility. We are all familiar with examples of this sort of thing.
 So it is with law. Law is no good until you and I are for it-and feel a sense of per sonal responsibility for it's enforcement
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
MOBILE VIOLATORs CONFESS

If any evidence were lacking to con- vince the people of Alabama that the
 charges and convictions of law-breaking in Mobile were based on adequate proof, the fact that the defendants are one by one, and sometimes by twos and threes, admitting their guilt and throwing them selves on the mercy of the court should tered on these trials in Mobile for many months, and first predictions in some quarters that no jury convictions could be obtained were not borne out. The sit uation was apparently just as bad as the accusers said it was. Whether Mobile will now be more law-abiding than before re- mains to be seen. Although the initial impulse towards cleaning up the organ ized violation of law had to come from outside, local public opinion promptly fell in behind the agencies of law and order,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
The Right Word
ANOTHER VERSION
By W. CURTIS NICHOLSON
(Find the Error in This ArticlS)

R. K. of Chicago submits another version of Mir. Carlson's sentence. He (R. FL writes as follows;
 "I noticed in your column sentence by c. A. Carlson of Chicago. I would suggest the following:
 "A Belgian hairdresser has woven, with human hair, a picture, that is thirty inches long and twenty inches wide, of a, (the) steamer with red tunnels and a black hull, and gray sea.
 Except for the arrangement of some phrases the sentence is the same, in wording, as Mir Carlson's."
 Further suggestions are invited by Mir. Carlson.
 Earns Ninety Cents John Graham, 12 years of age, of Dallas, Tex, wrote the following after his answers to the recent test
 "Please return this in the enclosed en- velope as my mother has promised me a nickle for each correct answer"
 Master Graham has eighteen of the twenty sentences correct and by this time has prob ably collected his ninety cents.
 A Good Showing
 Christ Karastoyanoff of Chicago intro duced his answers to the recent test as fol- lows
 Being a constant reader of your paper ever since I discovered the appearance of The Right Word which always read with much interest and pleasure, shall grab the opportunity of testing my knowledge of my three years old English"
 And the correspondent only had two of the twenty sentences wrong.
 Yesterdays Error
 Wrong The sentences which you were challenged to write correctly should read as follows. Right; The sentences that you were chal- lenged to write correctly should read as fol- lows.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27

conceded that the achievement in rid ding the section of mosquitoes is a most valuable economic asset, not to speak of the indirect benefit from reducing ma larfa. The interest of the citizens of Madison and the hearty cooperation given the state and federal health efforts emphasized the advisability of establish ing the proposed training station.
 Most valuable to Madison county was the local appreciation of the importance of effective anti-mosquito work The cost has been small as compared with the returns to the whvie community. A real ization of the cost of the mosquito to any industrial community, or to any other community, for that matter, is to pave the way for public demand for its elimination. When that realization is minted into action, the value is hard to overestimate
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
Watching The Parade
AsT night I took dinner at a little res.
By JOHN PILGRIM

' AST night took dinner at little res
 taurant. When I left reserved a table
 for four for tomorrow night. It is the perfect little restaurant. Food, service, lights cleanliness, courtesy, all batted par. Yet three weeks ago it was a miserable little restaurant l went in last night against my better judg- ment. Simply because I had been caught in the rain. f
 What's happened?" I asked the woman who owned it.
 We've got a boss now" she said, That's what's happened. The whips cracking"
 The woman who owns it is one of the finest women 1 have ever known. Her one fear is not that she may eyer be unjust to any one she knows that could never be-but that she might be less than generous. She is tender, sOft-voiced, mild-eyed, trustful to the point of credulity, persistent in believing that hu- man nature is as good in the raw as the much-brain writers say it is. So that the restaurant in which she had invested her small inheritance had gone to seed.
 T couldn't run it." she said. q saw that. So brought on my Aunt Marthy, from the country. Aunt MarthS could" 9f
 Aunt Marthy isn't cross, but she is author itative. She does not snap, but She com mands. She has no hesitation in firing a loafer, even if that loafer has nine indigent mothers. She will not permit impertinence and she always treats others with perfect courtesy. She works and she sees to it that others do.
 I'm boss,' said Aunt Marthy, tightening her lips.
 The funny part is that the force of workers has not been changed greatly. Those who re- main are happier Most of us, if we tell the truth, prefer to be bossed. Complete inde- pendence isn't good for us. Most of us-and this may seem odd-really like to work. But we will not work until we feel the prod.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
COniuring Up Whole AirfIeots

One of the mainstays of American advo- cates for big airfleet to be ready in case of war, is knocked to the ground by an edi- tOrial in the Japanese newspaper Nichi Nichi of Tokyo. That paper points out that the Japanese airfleet, described by certain Ameri- can writers as the acme of efficiency and strength, consists only on paper and in reality is most defective. We have neither the ma chimes, nor the necessary trained mechanics and expert flyers" it says. It lays the blame for this condition on the fact that Japan had no actual participation in the World War with the exception of some operations against German colonies in China.
 But the paper warns for the future. It pictures powerful fleets of giant planes sweeping down on the Japanese cities strew- ing death and destruction. It does not say where those fleets are coming from or who sends them-that's left to the imagination. Imagination is powerful medium. AIilitarists use it to conjure up alarms and nOn-existing dangers everywhere.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
It Rains
(JOhn Lee Higgins in The wanderer)

(John Lee Higgins in The Wanderer) As to his hole the rabbit bounds
 From hunting hoofs My refuge is the tapping sounds
 Of rain on roofs. Here in my room I st, not signing hear the rain Softly it comes in little dots of crying On the pane. hear the watery pebbles moan,
 How sweet they brood! I would be loved in this low tone,
 This quiet mood. o elemental slumber song
 o ancient rune Give to my listening ears for long
 This quiet boon Say to my love that turned away,
 When time grows late, /, 'Tis not so bitter in the rains of May To dream and wait. 21 bs
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
7 7kNAz FUN
 5H ~ %f1TN DEN0aH /z4XyQW H1NH4kk LUnEzL
His Record

XVTHATS been coming off, Gap ?" asked w an acquaintance, as Mir. Gap John-
 son, of Rumpus Ridge, limped into the cross roads store, and, with groan, sank down on a nail keg.
 Well, I'll just tell you Lafe," was the reply, T swapped for a mule yesterday, put bridle on him and hopepd onto his back, He jumped and throwed me off, and kicked me before hit the ground"
 Huh Every time one of my mules throws me off he kicks me twice before I strike the ground"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
The Worlds Wirldouv
What CIcmenceau Plans
By PIERRE VAN PAssEN

NK GEORGES CLEMENCEAU, writing MI his book on "The History of Philos-
 ophy" and getting up at o'clock each morning, had nothing to say on the outcome of the London conference. He was watering his flowers when reporters hurried from Paris on the quest of getting the old tigers" views Does it really mean the end of the war, NJ Clemenceau?" they asked him. Do you know fuchsias are not supposed to be in bloom at this time of the year." was the answer. "M Clemenceau do you agree with the announce ment that the, Ruhr is to be evacuated?" came the persistent query "Ah, should have been a painter. missed my career. That bunch of chrysanthemums is a superb sub ject for water colors, don't you think?"
 The journalists could get nothing out of him. I've turned philosopher and gardener" he announced. But when your book is fin- ished, what are your plans?"
 When my book is finished am going to visit the United States again, go to the Fol lies, pick me out handsome young lady, get married and settle down." replied the youth full octogenaFian.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
BalIade of MaidenIy Popularity

She's such a demure little wren,
 You don't notice the twink in her eye But when she's around with the men,
 There's no one who passes her by. The reason it's plain to decry; . If you ever come under her fist, You'll notice-as frequently as r.
 She closes her eyes when she's kissed. You ask how this comes to my ken7
 Observation amends my reply; For when men are together, and when
 She ightsomely trips her way by, Her glance at the party is sly,
 And before you can bid them desist, In chorus the fellows all cry:
 "She closes her eyes when she's kissed 1"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
"yYhen the DOgs Bark-'

Herr Marx, chancellor of the German re- public, is assailed from all sides upon his re- The left accuses him of having placed the chains of slavery around the necks of Ger manys workers and the nationalists call the Dawes plan, to which he has agreed, nothing but an extension of the Versailles treaty. Still he is confident that the agreement of London will be ratified by the reichstag, where he will have the support of the middle class democrats and liberals. As to the vitupera- tion heaped from his head by junkers and communists alike, the chancellor probably finds solace in the words of his immortal countryman, the poet Goethe, who replied to some of his vitriolic critics "When the dogs bark, I know that I am travelling"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
RecOgnitiOns pOOm BoIshevism

According to Mir. Winston Churchill, bol- shevism is doomed and the cause of its dis appearance is the ban of isolation placed upon it by different countries. This at time when France is about to open negotiations for a resumption of diplomatic and trade relations with the soviets after the example of Eng land, the Scandinavian countries, Germany, Japan and China. We agree readily that bol- shevism is doomed, but the very resumption of relations with other countries sounds its death knell. It flOurished while isolated. Mir. Churchill has miscalculated and diagnosed wrongly before. He was the advocate of the Antwerp expedition which miscarried and also of the GaIlipOli expedition which cost Australia 160,0O0 of her sons and had to be abandoned The desire on Russias part to come back shows that the leaders there are convinced their program has failed, and though they call it a new phase of the eco homie retreat, they are always further de- parting from their initial plans Recognitions are pushing bolshevism into the past.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
As A HEALTH MEAsURE

There can be no argument that the public health improves under a system of govern ment control of the liquor traffic. In British Columbia in a single year the number of liquor prescriptions issued by physicians de- creasIi from 1S1,0O0 to ,5O0.-Toronto Mail and Empire.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27

Every now and then a discussion is raised as to the possibilities of a new war. It will depend largely on whether Europeans are willing to work to liqui- date their war debts rather than stir up another contest with the hope that their obligations may be lost in the shuffle.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27

Brazil is reported to have another rev olution, this time in the rubber district. But it requires a stretch of the imagina- tion to figure that it will amount to any thing after the way in which the other one was put down.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
Without tho Family

Dudley: T think you were foolish, old man, to cut your vacation short and hurry back to the hot city"
 Byron: Perhaps I was, but I needed a rest. Mrs. William J. Rounds.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
CAMPAIGN NOTE

The endurance test of the campaign will be to keep on headpiece long enough to hear an entire LaFollette speech.-AIilwaukee Journal.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27

the choice were left to me, whether to nave Tree press or Q free government, I
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27

"Coolidge's Cook Reveals Presidents Likes and Dislikes. ."-So, the Coolidges keep a cook.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
L-Envoi

Though she's most undeniably shy
 In view of this damaging list, Don't you think there's good reason why
 She closes her eyes when she's kissed? William A. Brewer, Jr.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27

Maybe these are called "dog-days" be- cause they create such general howl.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27

To save time it might be advisable to admit that it is hot enough for all of us.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27

Telephone (private branch exchange connect Ing, all departments). Main 4soO.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27

EXCLUSIVE MEMBER OF NORTH AMERI- CAN NEWSPAPER ALLIANCE IN ALABAMA
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
Looked Suspicious

@NOSeASS "Cullod chile," said Tobe Brown, didn't An tell yo' t keep outen dat white mans watermelon patch? Dey ain't no chile ob mine goin' ter deceibe me dat way. Didn't An tell yo' dat aint hones' t visit his watermelon patch?"
 "Yessah, pap," said little Washington, "Ah guess yo' did"
 Well, yesdddy went over to dat water. melon patch,'' continued Tobe,, flor t git a melon, and day ain't none dere-how yo' gwine t splain dat?'-Paul S. Powers. Dizzy Walking 4s Blake: Hear about Jennings accident? ? No? Well, he broke a leg"
 Drake "How did it happen?" 54a1 Blake: Well, you know that he walks in his sleep2 We'll, he had to make a trip last week, and he took an upper berth. h."-Henry Jansen.
 eta Slight Changes
 Teacher: Willie, what were the chief changes of the animals of the Jurrasaic and Triassic periods?" Willie: Their tails were different" Teacher: Wrong"
 Willie: But, teacher, the other day you said that the changes were mostly details. ."- S. and B. t%
 Short and Sweet 'I know that I am not good enough for you" he told her.
 T don't intend to give you a chance to prove il" she replied-K. A. Bisbee. In the Land of Nod?
 Marshall: You are the first girl 1 ever loved.
 Maxine: "Where have you been all this time ?"-Hortense Green.
 Hint to MOrtOrists
 Be careful of dangerous curves. Many a driver has had smashup because he had an arm around one. ,-
 Copyright. 1924. Reproduction forbIddenJ
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
Room to Spare

Old Gentleman twho hasn't been to. dance in years) "Er-isn't this dance floor rather small, my dear?'
 His Flapper Niece: Nonsense, Uncle Just wait until you see some of our latest steps."-Mrs. Peter Rigney.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27

MEMBER OF ASSOCIATED PREss-rhe Az eociated Press is exclusively entitled to the use Tor publication of all news dispatches credited to it' or not otherwise credited in this paper and also local news published therein. All rights oI republication of special dispatches also
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27
THE AGE-HER AID

Entered at Birmingham. Ala, post office as sscond-class matter, act of Congress. March G.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27

SUBSCRIPTION RATBs-By .naiI payable Ia adyance, In United States and Canada: Daily ana sunday one year. $500; six months, $4.0O; tnree months $2.25; one month. S6c Daily only: one year, S6.6O; six months S325; three months, $175; month. 75c. Sunday only: one year. s2.5o; six months, S1.50; three months T5cS one ruonthh, 26c.
 By carrier. where carrier delivery is main tained; 2oc per week. $50 per month.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27

NEWS BUREAUs-washinston 500 Davidson Building; State Capital Montgomery Journal Building; Tennessee Valley, Decatur Daily 6uilding; Tuscaloosa, News Buiiding; Jasper, MouL in Eagle Building; Admission, Star Build ing; Gadsden. Journal Building; Muscle Shoals Tri-Ctties Daily Building
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27

0H -.-.#...s .s-4s..ts .aa.a s-,s 4 "a. --i - s
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27

FREDERICK THOMPSON. PRESIDENT
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-27

Are All Big CorpOrations.-It seems hal for some of us to realize that our city goverl ment, our county government, our state ar federal government, are all big corporation in which property owners are stockholder and that our officers are merely men ar women we have employed to look after ol business Every stockholder in any busine should be interested in the success of thu business, and should work to make i success -Oneonta Southern Democrat.