davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New Britain herald., 1924-03-12

investigate, that practically every bit of legislation favorable to children and laboring peoples has come by way of. the political instrumentality that is the democratic party
 2 ''Sye don't feel that we directly in- fiuenced the legislation of yesterday. We intend that our viewpoints shall Influence the legislation of tomorrow
 Many of you have mothered sev- eral children, several of you have mothered one. Me, well, I've step mothered thousands and love them. To all.women, I think children are the nations chiefest asset can think of no finer cause in which to wear oneself out than in cause which establishes health foundation for the little waifs of misery Of the land, can think of no medium more apt to give warm support to such q cause than the medium through which such legislation has always come, that's our party.
 Program to Help Children.
 You see. I'm not very warmly concerned in legislation affecting big business, little business. tariffs, taxes or even oils. I am genuinely and deeply interested in the legislation that means children. Women meet upon their only common level through them.
 Well ask health measures for them; bigger educational programs: much larger protective measures for laboring women and laboring chill dren: preventive measures that will care for defectiyes. for the abnormal tics; that will care for them sympa- Ihetically; that will give them a chance to know their limited spaces ] in the sun instead of permitting them l 70 run wild in unknowing vieiolsneSs | and crime.
 ''Is was and am diffused with a warm reverence for the idealism | which has been writ into the heart | md hope of the body polite: that dealsm should be translated through | he party Woodrow Wilson revitalized or all time.
 "T think it. is a privilege to help place that party in g place that we nay properly call upon for trans ation of that idealism. Your share is n New Britain and 1t means work We'll then, let's go."
 Following her talk. Miss Murray pas presented with bouquet of sweet eas and refreshments were served to hose present.
New Britain herald., 1924-03-12

Paris-A dramatically sealed bot tie, filled with what looks like mix ture of red sand and yellowish liquid and known to be at least 800 years old, is attracting the attention of French scientists and is reputed to be the only infallible weather prophet in existence.
 When it is going to rain the solid particles gather in round clusters. When snow is coming. white flakes appear. while If hail is on the way the whole mixture becomes yiscous.
New Britain herald., 1924-03-12

i pointed ont that the number of ar l rests in February, 353, was record
 for any one month in the history of
 the New Britain department. Tn an- 1 swer to question as 10 the reason, 1 the chief said that failure to clear the
 snow from sidewalks resulted in about l 1S0 people being called.to task by the ] police.
 l Walter W. Wagner of 131 Kensing- l ton avenue was elected to the super 1 numerary force after the board had considered his application and had
 him appear sbefore if. Tho appoint
 ment will be effective on the filing of
 a birth certificate by Wagner He Is the son of Frederick Wagner, vet eran member of the department. and who covers the Arch street beat dur ing the day. Wagner is at present
 employed as mechanic in the mu- nicipal garage.
 The board voted to reimburse Pat
 rick Meehan. one of the patrolmen
 who was in the rough and tumble af-
 fair that resulted from the attempt of police to arrest three young men ut the Presto Lunch several weeks ago, and during which Patrolman Mechan has his trousers and coat badly torn, to the extent of s45. which will cover the price of the trousers and one-half the price of inc coat.
 Wants Close Watch on smallpox.
 The question of the police guard that Is being maintained at two of the houses where smallpox cases nrc being treated was discussed. The chief said,that there were four men on duty at the houses and that none of the other houses are being watched by the police. Commissioner Jackson rec commended that the chief have con ference with the health authorities and either place guard at all of the houses or none. He said that it seemed foolish to him to maintain a guard at few houses and none at the others. Clerk McGrail of the board estimated that about sI 900 had been spent for police guard at the two houses under quarantine
 The bills for the month of Febru- | ary amounting to total of s554.7e were approved. Included in the bills | was an item. of s54.25 for the con | struction, of a shanty for the police !! at one of the houses under smallpox quarantine. The item of, slo5 for gasoline for the service car during the month brought forth the query as to that was not an unusually | large amount for gasoline for the ma chine. The chief explained that the service car is in use practically all the time in investigation work.
 Commissioner Edwin A. Parker was not present at the meeting.
New Britain herald., 1924-03-12

International money orders, pay able in almost any part of the world. may be obtained at all of the larger post offices and at many of the small Ter ones.
New Britain herald., 1924-03-12
TO BUY RIOT GUNS
 FOR USE BY POLICE
But Board DiSapproVeS Of Tear
 Bomb Equipment

Police commissioners at their reg
 uiar monthly meeting last night voted 10 purchase considerable new euuip-
 ment for the department which was recommended by Chief of Police Will
 liam C. Hart. Included in the list are SIX riot guns for which the board vot- ed an expenditure of s250. Chief Hart told the board that riot guns are valuable necessary part of the proper equipment of the police de- partment to be used in emergencies. The board agreed with the chief. but could not agree with him on the sug- Seslon that 12 tear gas bombs be purchased.
 The question of the tear gas bombs aroused long discussion The objec- lions were that the opportunity to use tear gas bombs would probably never be presented to the police, and if there Was ever q need for them there would be ample time 10 go to Hart ford and borrow them from the Hart ford police. Ii was pointed out that it is very seldom that a man who harricades himself from the police is in the place of refuge alone and to use the tear gas bombs would be making innocent people suffer.
 The suggestion of buying white belts and puttees for the traffic off cers to he used after dark did not meet with the boards approval. The difficulty after dark ,is not seeing the traffic police, but in seeing their hands to catch their signals in the opinion of Commissioner Thomas F. Jackson. who said that the belts and puttees did not help.
New Britain herald., 1924-03-12
Will Have New Badges.

The chief was authorized to pur- chase four new electric sirens for the police patrol, service car and the two motorcycles. The board voted to au- thorize the. badge committee to select 8 distinctive design for the local po- lice department, to have a die made, and 15o new badges purchased.
 New equipment for headquarters which the chief was authorized 10 purchase included an adding machine, a new typewriter, desk and chair for the chiefs office, furniture for the main office and detective bureau. and a new flag and flag pole for the build- ing.
 Ammunition for target practice was authorized. and the price to be paid for 1t was set at sl1.ai per 500, the motion made by Commissioner Jack son containing the stipulation that lo- cal dealers be given the preference If they could meet the price.
 Record for Single Months Arrest.
 The chiefs report for the month was accepted by tho board. It was
New Britain herald., 1924-03-12

The chiefs report for the month was accepted by tho board. It was
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-30
THE AGE HERALD

Entered at the Birmingham. Ala. post
 of Congress, March 6, 1879.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-30
A SUGAR SURPLUS

Sugar has several times increased in price because of an alleged shortage which was later found not to exist. Now that an actual surplus for 1924 of more than four hundred thousand tons is in hand, it remains to see whether the price will decline. It has been the lamentable experience of the American people that everything that goes up must come down-except prices Where costs have not declined there is less req son to expect price decline, even in the face of a moderate surplus, because of modern facilities for storage. But there IS some evidence of arbitrary methods in fixing prices of certain commodities, es- pecialfy those controlled by trusts, or by price agreements, in which case the cost has very little or nothing to do with sell ing prices. It is feared that sugar, once sold on the very narrOwest of margins, Is beginning to learn the bad habits of other articles. Sugar is probably con sumed by the American people in in- furious quantities and perhaps exerts a total unfavorable influence greater than and not dissimilar to that of alcohol upon the human system. If sugar is too high, the American people can reduce their consumption of it with benefit rather than injury to their health. Per haps the same goes also for certain other commodities
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-30
MIR. REED. OF MISSOURJ

The announcement of Senator James A. Reed of Missouri as candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination was not unexpected. 1t is said that Senator Reed asks only the indorsement of his own state, that he may have basis on which to wage contest on the floor of the convention. Missouri recently re- elected him; Missouri may indorse him. That Mir. Reed could be nominated ma tlonally seems highly unlikely, and cer- tainly he could not be unless there is one of those peculiar turns which are not unprecedented in political conven- tIons But strange things have hap pened, however undesirable. Even if not nominated, Mir. Reed would be influen- tial to the extent of Missouri's vote. aft least in framing the platform.
 Mir. Reed stands for tariff reduction : for development of waterways as high ways of commerce ;'' adjustment of freight rates downward especially for farm products; reduction of income taxes in the lower brackets; the soldier bonus, and eradication and punishment of all graft and bribery" This is a good program, but there is still some doubt as to how it will appear when filtered through the Reed brain and put In formal language. Whether Mr. Reed receives general approval or not, he is a force to be reckoned with. and it may be well to consider his influence and to gauge his strength, in order that, if it becomes necessary specifically to con- Dat hlm, there may be no failure through under-eStimatiou.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-30
REGRETTINC
By Wickes Wamboldt

Every now and then SomeD0dy quotes at us sententiously "Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the sad dest are these: 1t might have been ;'-"
 1 class that quotation among the other unnecessary things. There is nothing more foolish, more futile, more devastating than indulging in regrets. They take the glory out of the past, the pep out of the present and the hope out of the future. For tunate is the man whosis not given to regrets or who has cured himself of them.
 An acquaintance said to me: "I used to be continually in the frame of mind of bewailing something that had taken place. When 1 was fif- teen years oldi l fell in love with a girl named Gussie. She was twenty. When I was eighteen she married another fellow and the sun went out. When I was twenty-two loved and married Eleanor, but still re- gretted Gussie.
 ''One day, eight years later, busi- ness carried me to the town where Gussie and her husband lived. l called on them. Gussie opened the door herself. I recognized her inn mediately, although l don't know why. She was fat and she was frowsy-;; and she looked slaternly. She gave me hearty sisterly kiss. She had been eating raw onions. I thanked God for Elearnor at every jump as I turned my steps, home ward-my dainty, refined and beauti- full Eleanor. That taught me some thing of the delusion of regrets. From that moment 1 adopted a non regret policy.
 But it was a COW that put on the finishing touches and made that pol icy a part of me. Eleanor and 1 de- cided to to buy a bovine and to spend fifty dollars for it. A man came along with an attractive crea- ture. for which he wanted sixty-five dollars. Tempted by his recital of her virtues, I offered him sixty dol lars. He declined and another man bought her.
 "Eleanor was tremendously dis appointed. She thought had made mistake. In my heart I knew had; but would not admit it. No I declared stoutly, I regret nothing And then along came an- other man with peach of COW and sold it to me for fifty dollars. And the day after I found that the reason the owner of the first COW wanted to sell her was because she was dry three months out of every twelve, kicked like mule and ate like an elephant"
 No man has the mentality to an ticipate contingencies. No man can figure out with any degree of ac- curacy how different set of condi- tions would have worked out. If he had done the thing he regretted not doing it might have worked him into a position far less desirable.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-30
MORE TRUTH THAN POETRY

q am sick" she declared, "of conven-
 tions.
 After this I will kick them aside; I will cease to make silly pretensions. And candor I'll choose for my guide i; I will not permit others to measure The width of the pathway I tread; Hereafter my wish and my pleasure Shall govern my action," she said. My soul shall have fullest expression, I am through with the hampering
 rules That never permit a Aggression, That were fashioned for weddings
 and fools.
 I will go where I wish to be going. And I'll put my old fears on the shelf 1; I am ready, at last, to be showing That 1 can take care of myself. II am eager for light and for laughter, I want to be joyous and free; No silly conventions hereafter Shall be spelling existence for me; My life is my own; 1 will shatter Distractions that stand in the way; I will do what I want to, no matter What prudish old ladies may say" She was youthful and lovely; told her I'd help her to turn to life's charms, And then I attempted to hold her For moment or two in my arms. Don't! Some one might see," she said
 wildly,
 Her lips very close 10 my own: Then she added, little more mildly: Il shouldn't be with you alone"
 -S F. Riser.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-30
POLITICS WILL NOT HELP

The administration measure to pro- vide relief for the farmers of the North west takes the form of an appropriation of seventy-five million dollars to be used in loan extensions. There is no public recognition of the fact that the wheat farmer owes his present situation to Il condition which the Republican admins tration itself has created The Repub- licans have acted the role of a demented surgeon who would injure man with one hand i'll order that he might save his life with the other
 The price of wheat is a purely rela- tive matter. A dollar a bushel may be either d high price or low price, de- pending upon other factors. 1t is not the total gross price per bushel that tells the tale, but the percentage of that price the farmer must pay for making and marketing his crop. In the cost of making the crop are involved not only the labor and the cost of materials, but also the cost of living. In the cost of marketing there are involved the costs of transportation. The principal con tributing factors to the farmers over head costs are high rail rates and the effect of the protective tariff in ele- vating the price of everything the far mer has to buy.
 Loaning the farmer money in such an Extremity as the sole means of relief is merely to give the farmer the where.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-30
THE IMPORTANT THING

Recent proposals involving discontin- uance of considerable part of the Tide water service, which were made to the city commission by the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power management. as possible inducement to outside in. terests to purchase the Tidewater prop- critics along with those of the parent company, would, if adopted, leave the people of d large territory without street car service. That is the result which the city commission is in duty bound to guard against.
 However anxious the management of the B. R., l.. & F. may be to dispose of the company's properties and sell the Tidewater lines at the same time, and aside from any indirect advantages to the community that might arise from getting it's chief public utility out of d receivership, the larger consideration is adequate service for the community as
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-30

withal to pay his creditors the sum he owes them over and above what his crop brought him. If there is states manship or a sound economic basis for such a measure, then logic fails to de- tect it. There is only one thing that will help the farmer and that is the marketing of his product at a. price that will leave him margin of profit over and above the cost of producing and selling it. Inasmuch as congress will not do that for the farmer, and as all others who deal with him seem de- termined to keep him in economic bond age, the farmers only recourse is to organize and to stand together, just as in many sections they are already sue cessfully doing. If the price offered for wheat is not enough to pay them for raising it, then the, logical policy is to refuse to sell it, taking warehouse receipts for stored grain and borrowing against them for immediate needs. That will put the farmer on top, instead of
 underneath. for the products he raises
 are essential. Politics will not help the
 farmer. Only business methods.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-30
BENEFITS OF HOME BUILDING

Some figures, recently published in The Age-Herald, bearing on the credit able building record in Alabama, and remarkably in Birmingham during the past year, are interesting and encourag- ing when considered in the light of the high costs of building. Not only the volume of building within the state, rep resenting an investment of about fifty million dollars, gives cause for optimism, but the percentage of the whole that represents home-building is source of qualification, because the more homes, the better citizenship, as rule, and the more permanent the industries
 In the state at large about twenty seven per cent. of the total building costs was for homes. This is considered healthy proportion. Birmingham's per centage of home building was much higher, being fifty-nine per cent of the whole. During last year Birmingham invested more in new homes than the total for the rest of the state. This is one of the indications of Birmingham's rapid growth. But it also shows the faith which the people of Birmingham have in their city. It likewise gives promise of advance in the standard of citizenship. A home-owner is a tax payer. He feels a practical interest in clean and efficient government, and is directly desirous of businesslike and eco homie administration of the municipal affairs. He is personally and peculiarly affected directly according as theamuni- acipal affairs are handled in an eff cient or an inefficient manner.
 Thus the home owner finds it to his ad- vantage to become a strong advocate of good government, and a careful student of the qualifications of municipal of ficials and the merits of measures pro- posed for public improvements. That Birmingham is becoming more and more home-owning city is a source of prom ise for more efficient administration of the municipal affairs, and reason to hope for a higher standard of business capacity in those who are chosen for this important duty.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-30
PUBLIC SAFETY COMES FIRST

There has been suggestion that rout- ing street-cars over the Twenty first street viaduct might help to relieve the downtown traffic congestion, and there by reduce the dangers at the Twentieth street and other grade-crossing death traps. When the Twenty-first street viaduct was constructed the question of running street-cars over it was discussed, but public sentiment was strongly and properly against the proposition because the viaduct was the only safe and un- congestedG link between the North and South sides.
 That condition still prevails. When there are viaducts and underpasses from Twenty-fourth street west, with the opening of Nineteenth street to change this situation from one of con stant menace to reasonable safety, it might be practicable to route street-cars over the Twenty-first street viaduct. For the present, however, and until the pro- posed program is carried out, it would increase the confusion and dangers in downtown traffic to route street-cars over the Twenty-first street viaduct The people are opposed to any doubtful temporary eXpedients whereby the rail roads, the traction company or any other interests may be relieved of their public responsibilities.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-30
ABOUT THINKING
By Bruno Lessing

A number of men got together re- gently to urge the public to preserve America's forests and streams against the encroachment of power schemes so that we may always have camp sites" for people that can get away from cities. People in cities" said one of the speakers, "cannot think. They have to go to the country to think. In the country they are able to throw off all restraint, to observe the workings of nature, and, if I may use homely illustrationo, to watch the COW ruminating upon her cud amid the joys of contempla- tive thought"
 It is an excellent idea to preserve our forests for the benefit and pleas ure of the great masses of dwellers in cities. It would be even a more excellent idea to find out some way for factory workers,i department store employees, bookkeepers, stenographers and shop girls to get to these forests once in a while and enjoy their beauties. If this cannot be done, and if the "camp sites" must remain the joy of the well-to-do minority, it might be worth while to inquire whether the various power grabs" might not give cheaper light and to the crowd that have to stay in cities. Because the welfare of the majority, you know, is supposed to be |our highest law.
 But is it true that people think bettere in the country than in cities? The COW is a magnificent animal and worthy of great admiration, but has any person ever. achieved that intellectual progress which comes from real thinking by watching her? There are hundreds of thousands of farm workers who watch a COW every day. Does it improve their mind?
 It is a difficult matter to decide. It might be interesting to ascertain how many of the great thoughts were conceived in the quietude of country life or amid the crowd, the hum, the shock of life.' It is great fun to leave the bustling city and permit body and mind to relax amid quiet, woodland surroundings. But thinking is really hard work, and the mind that relaxes does no think ing.
 Besides which, person who knows how to think can think in a boiler. factory, while one who does not know how to think can gaze upon COW or a tree or a mountain for century and have no thoughts.
 Some people believe that if they lie on their back under the shelter of a glorious tree and review in their minds what they are going to do when they get back to town, they are actually thinking Whatever you choose to call this form of men tai activity, you will find that it can be accomplished just as well in boarding house.