The Birmingham age-herald. [volume], October 06, 1914, Page 4, Image 4

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IHEAGE-HERALI
B. \V. BARRETT.Editor
Lniercu a.i tn« binuiU8R^« Ala.
postoffice 88 second class mattfer unde]
•ct of Congress March 3, 1879.
Daily and Sunday Age-Herald . 88.01
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THE JtOK-HERALD,
Birmingham, Ala.
Washington bureau, 207 Hibba build
ing.
European bureau, 6 Henrietta street,
Covent Garden, London.
Eastern business office. Rooms 48 to
60, inclusive, Tribune building. New
York city; Western business office.
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eign advertising.
TELEPHONE
Bell (private exchange connecting all
departments), Main 4900.
Ill blows the wind that profits no
h»dy. VI
BF.OIYNIXG THE DAY—I thank
Thor, my Father, that the c.lm «■
way. romea after the .term, thnt
nnr mud be followed by pe.ee. th.t
the nlBbt mud give P'»*e to the
daw., that wroiia moat ultimately
BO down before rlltht. Help me.
then, to wait on Thee to brln« tt to
paaa. For Chiiat’a »«ke- Amen—
H. M. E.
A Hero With a Monocle
Occasionally the vigilant censors
permit a “human interest” story to
reach the newspapers from the strug
gle along the Aisne. No doubt hun
dreds of such stories might be told if
the correspondents were permitted to
keep in close touch with the armies
•tories of individual heroism that
would never die if they were known.
When the war is over there will
doubtless be a great many deeds of
heroism described by the survivors,
but at .present there is no place in
bare official reports for glowing ac
counts of bravery on the battlefield
According to a correspondent, a
soldier who took part in one of the
hottest engagements at Verdun tells
a unique story of a German officer’s
heroism. The Germans were devas
tated by a withering fire from the en
trenched troops of the French army,
but they kept advancing. The soldier
says: “Of one regiment only a single
company remained. It was led by a
tall lieutenant with a boy’s face. He
wore a monocle in his eye and car
ried a revolver in his hand. This com
pany stood to the last man and that
last man was the lieutenant. He re
fused to surrender and stood his
ground alone until the bayonets of the
zouaves brought him down.”
A brave fellow, truly, with his boy
ish face, his monocle that not even the
shock of battle could dislodge, and a
pistol in his hand, gallantly leading
a forlorn hope! No doubt, had we
passed that young lieutenant on the
street in Berlin, we would have smiled
at his youthful face and his monocle,
taking him for a military fop, which
he may have been. We Americans are
prone to consider wearing a monocle
affectation pure and simple. A single
eyeglass makes even a comparatively
strong face seem insipid, while the
effect it has on a weak face is in
describable. Still we shouldn’t make
the mistake of thinking a man is neces
sarily a fool or a weakling because
he wears a monocle. The young Ger
man lieutenant dignified his monocle
by dying a heroic death.
Wheat Crop in Alabama
Even before the cotton situation
was depressed as a result of the Euro
pean war many farmers in Alabama
had decided to sow a considerable per
centage of their farm acreage in
wheat.
The crop diversification idea has
been making a strong appeal through
out the south. Here in Alabama in
tensive farming and diversification
have played an important part in ag
riculture during the last three or four
years. Diversification has included
mainly corn, oats, hay, live stock and
truck crops. As a rule spring vege
tables are raised for the market only
by men engaged solely in the truck
ing industry, but winter vegetables
■uch as potatoes, onions and turnips
come under the head of agriculture
Howevdr, most farmers prefer to stick
to the heavy crops.
Wheat should certainly be cultivatec
in Alabama on a large scale. It was
an important crop in the years gone by
and was only excluded when the prict
of cotton rose high enough to makt
the southern staple so alluring as tc
relegate other branches of husbandry
to negligible quantities.
It is safe to assume that the cotter
acreage will be reduced next year;
how much reduced is merely gucs:
work. It may be that several millior
bales of the 1914 crop will be carrier
over for 1915 consumption. By ther
the European war will probably bi
(over and the demand for cotton wi
be as brisk if not brisker than evei
: With the cotton carried over a 12
000,000-bale crop will still be neede
next year. But when the farmers ca;
make money on com, wheat, oats
alfalfa and live stock why not devot
more attention than ever to thes
products ? North Alabama soil wi
produce almost if not quite as mue
wheat to the acre as the farm land
of Tennessee and Kentucky produce
Those farmers of Alabama wh
have been diversifying their crops cai
testify to the great advantage whicl
they will have only their neii^ibori
who have depended chiefly on cot
ton. But all in all, the cotton farmers
who hold their bales for a good pries
will come out ahead even on this year’s
labor; and looking ahead a year, Ala
bama as a crop producing state nevei
looked so bright. Every acre of
wheat sown will make the state look
that much brighter.
Battle Still in Progress
News of the battle of the Aisne
reaching the world during the last
ten days has indicated that the at
tempts of the allies to flank the Ger
man right wing is forcing the latter
to lengthen their lines northward tc
meet the attack.
Eventually this can have but one
result. A rubber band, if stretched
gradually will expand to a certain
point, but under further pressure
snaps. This is what is happening tc
the German line, according to military
experts. The turning movement ol
the allies is stretching the troops of
the Germans over more and more ter
ritory. At the crucial moment the
allied army will be launched against a
point in the center or left of the Ger
man position and the rubber band will
snap.
It is a question of men. The allies
have the most men and will continue
to have the most. The Germans are
attempting to take Antwerp, one ol
the strongest fortifications in Eu
rope; they are facing countless num
bers of Russians on the Prussiar
frontier where they must win to save
Berlin; while in France the pressure
of the allies is gradually but irre
sistably increasing.
To a disinterested observer, il
would seem that the Germans are
facing the famous problem repre
sented by the deep blue sea and the
ruler of the nether regions. To re
inforce one threatened point, troops
must be moved either from Belgium
East Prussia, or France, leaving i
place more susceptible to attack. Foi
a time the Germans may have enougl
troops to cover all these operations
but sooner or later the supply of mer
will give out, and when that tim<
comes, as has been said, the English
and French will be as the anvil tc
the Muscovite hammer.
At present the Russians have de
feated both the Germans and Aus
trians and the invasion of East Prus
sia will now begin in real earnest. Ir
the French theatre of war the allies
while by no means victors as yet, arc
in a much more favorable position
than the Germans.
Business Improvement Continues
The large financial interests of the
United States are now rapidly adjust
ing themselves to the situation forced
on this country by the European war.
It would be strange indeed if a coun
try’ as large, rich and resourceful as
ours could not overcome temporary
depression brought on by foreign
hostilities.
The President, the Secretary of the
Treasury and the federal reserve board
have been ready to co-operate with
bankers and other business men. The
marketless cotton situation is now the
most serious problem to be solved.
Other problems that seemed difficult
are being worked out and the cotton
situation will be gradually improved.
Great prosperity prevails in the
west. The farmers are getting good
prices for their grain, and it is be
lieved that by the end of this month
prosperity will abound in every sec
tion of the country.
Yesterday's Sunshine
Sunshine and optimism are closely
related. The rain of last week and
the absence of sunshine during five
days of the week made people here
abouts feel a bit depressed, but Sun
day was like an early autumn day;
and as for yesterday, it was all sun
shine, while the high temperature re
called the good old summer time,
Men and women reflected the bright
ness of the sky. A note of optimism
was dominant; needless to attempt a
psychological analysis. Everybody
felt the heartening effect of the beau
tiful weather.
In Birmingham the merchant, th(
manufacturer and the banker wen
buoyant. Trade was active and th<
despondent citizen of a week ago wai
no longer downcast. It was a day o
gladness.
The slight Irritation that existed botweo
England and Holland having been r«
moved and Austria having made du
apologies to Italy, there seems no immoc
late danger ut a situation being sti
fuither eomplleated that is already con
plicated enough.
\
] Eugene Turpin, the inventor of meli
nite, is the man who is responsible for
the new explosive railed “turpenite,”
j which the French are said to be using
In “gas” guns. In 1891 Turpin was ar
1 rested and' courtmartialed in France on
» the charge of selling the formula for mcli
* nite to the British government. The
; French government claimed the formula
1 as its own. Turpin denied his guilt. He
^ said the formula belonged to him and
, not to France. He claimed that he offered
1 to sell the formula to the French gov
ernment, which had refused to buy it,
and that he had opened negotiations
with a British firm only after France
1 had declined his offer. Despite his pro
testations of innocence, Turpin was sen
tenced to four years' imprisonment, to pay
a fine of $400 and to lose his civil rights
for five years. In 1893 he was pardoned
by President Carnot and was proclaimed
a hero because of rumors that he had
refused freedom and a heavy bribe for
keeping secret alleged corruption in the
French army. When set free Turpin im
mediately began work on new explosives.
In 1894 he invented a high-power gun
which both France and Germany refused
to buy. He also experimented with a
‘‘tornado destroyer,” w’hlch does not seem
to have been a success. His most recent
discovery, “turpenite,” appears to have
been accepted with alacrity by the French
government. Incredible stories are told
of its deadly effect on every living ob
ject exposed to its fumes.
Not every distinguished man who
docs something worthy of newspaper
publication gets on the front page
these days, but Colonel Harvey's Sun
day afternoon conference with Presi
dent Wilson, W'hile a quiet affair, was
in liie nature of a sensation. The story
Y*t a good position on the first page
of all the big papers.
A recent picture of the German crown
prince shows a self-satisfied smile on his
face, but judging from recent dispatches
the Kaiser seems to think there is room
for improvement in the wray the crown
prince has managed hfs end of the fight
ing.
Those big guns the Germans are using
with such deadly effect are called “Busy
Berthas” in honor of the woman who
owns the Krupp factories. It’s a far cry
from Molly Pitcher to Bertha Krupp,
who, by the way, has a husband now.
There are more bullets fired for every
man killed In the present war than there
were In the Russo-Japanese war. This
doesn’t mean that the soldiers engaged
along the Alsne are good at dodging.
They are better protected.
English actors are coming over to this
country In search of audiences. There is
no reason why English people shouldn’t
go to the theatre as usual, unless they
are afraid of Zeppelins at night.
A German paper, In declaring that Mr.
Roosevelt was never gifted with modesty,
shows that its acute powrers of observa
tion have in nowise been impaired by
disturbances nearer home.
The Germans claim that what Patti
mistook for a machine gun was a camera.
Still, we have always thought that a
prima donna knew a camera when she
saw one.
Mr. Murphy, it appears, will stick. Sap
ient observers who said the Tammany
leader was down and out will have to
guess again.
That $1,000,000 Austria promises to pay
Italy for damage done by mines in the
Adriatic would buy a tremendous amount
of spaghetti.
Uncle Sam cleaned up Vera Cr5z. That
seems to be one of the most satlsfac- j
tory of his achievements up to date in
Mexico.
The methodical German gunners “knock
off” fqr lunch as punctually as if they
could hear the whistle blow.
■
What* alarmists used to call the “annual1
slaughter on the gridiron” will seem a
tame performance this year.
The proposition to tax automobiles
meets with the approval of the man
who has to dodge them.
How W'ill the valiant Caruso treat the j
suggestion that lie might take part in the'
war as a cook?
GERMAN HUMOR
London Telegraph dispatch from Petro- ;
grad.
The Polish peasants are extremely bit- ,
ter against the Germans, and this feel- j
ing has been increased by contact with j
German humor. As an instance, the Ger- I
mans everywhere pretended to pay for
supplies with documents written In Ger
man, which the peasants do not under
stand. When translated, the peasants
found that these papers had inscribed
thereon, “Whoever presents this at the
end of the war will be hanged.”
_i___
LI KE M’LIKE SAYS
From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Rockefeller and Carnegie may have a
few dollars. But the fellow who invent
ed a motor that will develop and distrib
ute the energy wasted by the girls who
chew gum will get all the loose change
in this country.
When a woman Is sick, the fear that,
her children may have a 'stepmother docs .
more to make her well than the medicine |
the doctor gives her. !
A woman may fall down on managing
a business. But she is there with bells
on when it comes to managing a busi- (
ness man.
Some princesses spend half the day!
wondering how they are going to spend (
the other half.
A man never realizes w hat a fool he i
can make of himself until he falls in love. ;
The old-fashioned girl who prepared;
for matrimony by helping her mother with j
the cooking for five years now has a
daughter who buys a can opener and
stands pat.
Men are not much different from dogs.
It doesn't take much to start them bark
: ing.
, It is easy to raise Cain. But you won’t
[ Bet much for the crop.
Anyway, the tramp never blames his
dirty shirt on Ills artistic temperafnent.
A girl’s .idea of a disaster is to have
a nice young man call at the house when
i her hair is drying on the clothes line
. in the back yard.
e Any man who has becii married for
20 years can assure you that a woman
- never loses her temper. She retains it
I as long as she lives.
Tllr* man who writes history usually
considers himself a much smarter chap
than the dyb who creates It.
IN HOTEL LOBBIES
% _
Paper Make* Amend*
Sometime ago Mafcus Well, the re
nowned forecaster of future pqlitical
events, predicted that Harry Jones
would defeat James Weatherly by at
least 775 votes. When the result was
known, the Bessemer Weekly wrote an
editorial In which Mr. Well was re
ferred to as a humbug. Mr. Well, as
soon as his attention was called to the
editorial, replied. The Bessemer Week
ly, thereupon, made amends In the fol
lowing editorial:
"We had no intention to do Mr. Weil
any injustice by our comments, though
we will confess to being quite Jubilant
ct the rather egregious and startling
failure of his forecasts in the Birming
ham commissioner election.
“We have, like other citizens, been
almost mystified by the wonderful ac
curacy of Mr. Weil’s election forecasts
heretofore and when h© came out with
his oracular announcement that Harry
Jones would best James Weatherly by
7V5 votes, as a special friend and ad
mirer of the latter we felt perturbed.
“It would be the public’s loss for Mr.
Weil to abandon his prophetic line and
we rejoice that this failure will not
deter him from the continuance of his
appreciated service to the people.
“The disclosure of the source of Mr.
Well’s prophetic power as stated in his
letter will undoubtedly be a matter of
interest to the public.
“Like the shrewd and farsecing busi
ness man that Mr. Well is known to
be, it will be observed that he keeps
his eye upon the main chance and does
not propose that its renowned output
of Hart Schaffer & Marx shall ever
hufter by any obscuration of their light
if in Mr. Weil's power to make it
shine.”
Air*. Allller Appointed
“I was glad to note that Mayor Dou •
viile of Dadeville had recognized Mrs.
Nora Miller in making his appointment
of delegates to represent that city in
the convention of the Alabama Good
Roads association which will be called
to order in Montgomery October 21.”
This was a statement of Willis B.
Itoden of Dadeville, who visited Bir
mingham yesterday.
“Mrs. Miller is one of the best posted
citizens of the state in regard to good
roads, and is one of the greatest en
thusiasts. She will in all probability be
the only woman delegate in the conven
tion.
“Other Dadeville delegates will be J.
H. Lovelace, J. B. Rylance, a member of
tiie legislature; J. W. Strother, J. W.
McClellan, G. A. Veazey, J. H. Lynch,
W. D. O'Brien, Joe Johnston and J. L
Hicks.
“The best of the number will be Mrs.
Miller.”
St. Clnir lload Delegate*
Probate Judge James L. Herring of
St. Clair county, has furnished The
Age-Herald the following list of St.
Clair delegates to the convention of
the Alabama Good Roads association
uitii the request that they be printed in
this column:
Dr. W. A. Reason, Dr. W. B. Johnson,
Afjhvjlle; J. L Harden, W. A. O'Barr,
Odenville; Will Cates, A. Capshaw,
Elmer Reason, L>ave Allmon, Sprlng
ville; Frank Gaines, D. P. Carter,
Steele: Jasper Reason, Gallant; Robert
Ulaham, Bill Greene, Ashville; N. W.
Quillan, R. AT. Simmons, Ragland; Ed
Smith, Coal City; J. Y. Williamson, Sed
don, Journette Abbott, Easonville; W.
O. Merrill, Eden; Spurge Gambrell, Vin
cent, Dr. R. A. Martin, Pell City;
George Clines, Cook Springs; Wr. R.
Scott, Odenville: E. A. Thompson, C. A.
Aiverson, Pell City.
Sprott—Private Citizen
Yesterday S. H. Sprott completed his
term as president of the city commis
sion of Tuscalosa. His successor was
D. B. Robertson, a well known mer
chant. As soon as Mr. Sprott put aside
public duties he came to Birmingham.
“I served the city to the best of my
ability,” said Mr. Sprott, “but it is un
necessary to say that I rejoice that the
end of my term has come. I did not
ask for another term. Mr. Robertson
won handsomely over a large field, and
he will make Tuscaloosa a worthy pub
lic servant.
“I am going on a vacation, and the
vacation will not be marred by busi
ness, either public or personal. For I
have laid aside offioe, and have not
yet taken up again the practice of
law.
“Tuscaloosa is withstanding the
period of business depression very
well, indeed. We are expecting the
war to l»e «nded in the near future,
and the beginning, immediately after
wards, of a boom season to last in
definitely.”
IIm» Heeu Burnt
E. E. felt. John of Cullman, democratic
nominee for the senate from the Third
senatorial district, composed of the
counties of Cullman, Blount and Win
ston, passed through this city yester
day. In the democratic primary Colonel
St. John defeated George Parker of
Cuilman by a small majority. Four
years ago Colonel St. John was the
democratic nominee of the Third dis
trict, but in the general election he was
defeated by the republican nominee, J.
B. Sloan of Oneonta.
“The situation looks very good to
me.” said Colonel St. John yesterday,
‘out I am taking nothing for granted.
I am making a very careful campaign
of the entire district.”
The Third district is the only dis
trict of the slate in which the repub
licans have a chance to elect a sen
ator. The democratic state campaign
committee is very anxious to win this
district, and will lend the nominee all
the aid possible.
About Person*
N. R. Baker, who resigned recently
at the request of the state superintend
ent of education, W. F. Feagin, the post
of supervisor of rural schools, is in
Birmingham. He will immediately take
up his new duties as assistant super
intendent of education of Jefferson
county.
A * * •
N. B. Wiliams. <\ P. Connor, W. W
Waldrop, James Woodward, A. K. Col
lins, J. W. Wood and It. G. Henley, cit
izens of Millport, and J. lv. Smith, Kir
by Al. Smith and Dr. T. M. Smith, well
known residents of Eutaw, were Bir
mingham visitors yesterday. ,
* * •
Other well known people in Birming
ham yesterday were Col. John MofTatt,
recording secretary to the governor of
Alabama; Col. John C. Lusk of Gun
tersvillo, state senator-elect, and A.
M. Tunstal! of Greesboro, state sen
ator fiom the district composed of Hale
tad Greene counties.
■
New York Sun: It Is not easy to un
derstand the psychology of the expres
sion, “I am sick of war news.” It seems
hardly possible that anyone should be
hj narrow in his interests, so lacking in
human sympathy as to become surfeited
with the details of one of the most por
tentous crises of humanity.
Not merely generations but centuries to
come will dwell upon the present clash
of nations. Libraries will be written upon
it, lives spent in its study. It will be
the source of inspiration to countless
millions, and thousands of the wise or
near wise will deduce conclusions from
it for the guidance of mankind. Imagina
tion and emotion will enrich themselves
from its slightest episodes. The effects
are incalculable. The physical aspects of
civilization now scarred and blackened
and presently to be beautified and
adorned on account of it only typify
the abasements and glorifications which
the soul of the world will undergo.
Yet there are people to whom destiny
has granted the supreme privilege of be
ing contemporary observers of the strug
gle, holders of front seats at the spectacle
of the ages, sharers of its-great emotions,
who still turn away from it, not from
agony or horror, but apparently from
sheer blase indifference. They are sick
of it. “I wish.” they say, “they’d give
us something else.” Truly, we have here
a curious frivolity, intolerance of the
higher call, of world realities, of stuff of
the spirit which is as strange and inex
plicable as war itself.
Of course the newspapers are blamed.
They are the natural scapegoats for
the aberrations of their readers. “Cut
out the army of words,” says a distin
guished national l^slator, “just give
us the information.” He does not realize
that there are not words enough to give
the information, that language is bank
rupted by the facts, that it is only by
heaping Ossa upon Pelion that some dim
picture of the reality can be thrown be
fore the eyes of such as will read with
imagination and feeling.
Philadelphia Public Ledger: Psychology
is playing a larger part in the battles
of this war than many realize. Observ
ers report some interesting mental phases
of the conflict that are vastly important,
not only in determining the result, but
as criterion?? of. our civilization. For one
thing, it is being noted that the city
dwellers—much dlspised hitherto as de
generate, enervated w’eaklir.gs—are prov
ing the better soldiers. They wear better
in battle than their sturdier brethren
of the country. They stand much better
the nervous strain of bombardment, of
all-day excitement and uncertainty. Their
city life, amid noise, movement and dan
ger, has trained them.
Yet even they are not proof against the
psychology of the German siege opera
tions. They wear dow'n mentally and
physically under a mental torture that
Professor Muensterburg himself might
have devised—the firing of the great siege
guns just so far apart as to give the
impression each time that the bombard
ment is at last over.
Leslie’s Weekly: Isolated battles, -such
as Chancellorsville, Antietam, Fredericks
burg and Gettysburg, Sedan and Grave
lotte, while of heavy import in them
selves, and often decisive, are not to be
compared with those of this war. In those
days armies sought each other out and
fought; then came a long wait, sometimes
months, while both repaired their shat
teied columns, and along came another
battle. Simultaneously, perhaps,, came
another action in a remote part of the
general fighting ground. But in between
the two locations stretched sometimes
hundreds of miles of smiling country un
torn by shot and shell. The distant battle
might be a part of the same scheme of
campaign as the one near at hand, but
there was no physical connection between
them—no chance to the lending of aid
by the one commander to his fellow.
How different it all is today! A con
tinuous battle line of league upon league
si. rging, sweating masses of combatants
over the w’hole length—swaying now’ this
way, now that, as charge and. counter
charge force sullen retirement over a por
tion of the field. It’s all one vast strife
along an entire nation’s boundary, with
rapidly changing alinement, advances, re
pulses, yet all the while keeping unbroken
lines against the assailant. Then, when
forced back upon a new row of intrench*
ments, fresh troops come up from the
rear, replacing those w ho have borne the
heat of the day, to be again replaced
when, on the morrow, another savage
assault has been checked, or has again
forced the lines. No breathing spells here,
no chance to patch up broken regiments,
no getting out of touch, once the great
battle has really begun. It’s just crash
and roar and turmoil, morning, noon and
night, and often all through the night, un
til, after a week of constant conflict,
sheer exhaustion forces a day’s respite.
The shrieking shells and bursting shrap
nel then no longer drown the screams
from mortal bodies horribly torn, long
trainloads of broken men j*end their
way far from the field of carnage, and
the trains come back with fresh "fodder
for cannon.”
Providence Journal: No morj touching
appeal has been made during the present
war than that which comes in behalf of
the Belgian noncombatants. The appeal,
as those who make it say almost superflu
ously, is in no sense political. They ex
press no opinions as to the merits of the
controversy. They merely call attention
to the needs of those who have been
stricken by the awful wave of war and
desolation that has swept over neutral
Belgium.
Put in the tersest language, Belgium's
fate is fearful to contemplate. “Pros
perous Beligan cities have been practi
cally destroyed, Belgian industries have
been paralyzed, hundreds if not thou
sands of her wage earners have been
killed, many thousand homes have been
obliterated, and unnumbered wives and
children have been made utterly desti
tute.” Such a catastrophe seems well
nigh incredible in the twentieth centruy.
Here was a peaceful country intent only
on keeping out of trouble. Suddenly a
warlike neighbor trampled upon its ripen
ing crops, burned its border towns, laid
homes, municipal buildings and churches
waste. In the wake of the invader are
now’ springing up war’s worst sufferings.
The wife of the minister of state says:
“Seven out of the nine provinces that
go to make the kingdom of Belgium have
been devastated by the most dreadful
war know’ll to history. The peaceful
countryside is strewn with the dead and
dying. Thousands and thousands of peo
ple have nothing in the world left, not a
roof over their heads, no money, no
clothes, and no chance of earning a living
of any sort.”
The committee having the relief move
ment in charge is acting with the Belgian
consul at New York city, tjie minister
from Belgium and other Belgians resident
ADRIFT WITH THE TIMES
ONLY THEN.
With charges flying thick anil fast,
'TIs hard to say who is to blame;
I'erhap* we’ll know the truth at last
About this war that's Europe's shame.
But when we do, what guarantee
That blood will never more be shed
For "glory’s cause.” the land and sea
A shambles made with human dead?
Alas, we fear the dream of peace
Is destined still to be a dream,
Until the warlike nations cease
Against their foes to plot and scheme.
When every frowning fort is razed.
And every gun cast In the sea,
And those who will not fight are praised,
Then love may rule humanity.
worth Knowing.
"It Is said that there are thousands of
Greek boys held in bondage throughout
this country by the proprietors of shoe
shining parlors.”
"Well! Well!”
“They work for meagre wages and have
to turn over all the tipa they get to their
employers.”
"I’m glad you told me that. Hereafter
I will be able to withhold a tip without
feeling the least bit stingy.”
NOTHING AT ALL.
“I don’t see why you called on Dils
worthy to toast the ladiea. He's a con
firmed misogynist.”
"Wliat's a man's politics got to do with
his opinion of the fair sex?”
SOLID STUFF.
”1 see where a man wants a divorce
from his wife because she gives him noth
ing but frankfurters for breakfast.”
”1 don't blame him. The frankfurter
satisfies hunger, but as a palate tickler
it's a dismal failure.”
BUSY TO THE LAST.
The summer girls
Are back In town,
With wind-blown curls
And faces brown.
Eacn one's campaign
Was stoutly waged—
Some at the train
Shed got engaged.
SUCH 18 UFS.
I hey swore that nothing should
part them.”
“And the sequel?”
‘‘A legacy for *200 did it."
A SINKING SENSATION.
"How did you feel when Miss Gadilei
refused you?”
"For a few moments I felt exactly as
I were volplaning."
TO BE EXPECTED.
'How was the man dressed who swir
died you?”
"He wore a light gray derby, a flash
checked suit, a red tie with ^ a dlamon
horseshoe pin stuck In It, a tan velvet ves
and-”
"That’s enough. If you tried to chans
a hundred dollar bill for a chap dresse
like that you deserved to be swindled."
DROOPING SPIRITS.
Sad Is the wight with overcoat
That’s still securely held in pawn,
'V1,?’ forc<*: to rise betimes, doth note
"he chill that comes with early dawn.
IDEE OPINIONS.
There are a great many kindly fronte
people in the world who frequently don'
have a dollar they can call their own, bt
they are rich just the same.
All newly wedded couples vow to te
each other the truth and there are case
on record where they have kept thel
promises for as long as six months.
Even the smallest town contains plent
oi people who have never paid a whole}
hearted compliment in their lives. The*"
always stick in "but’’ or "if." |
Some married couples are so considerat
of each other in public that they creat
the impression of playing parts that havi
been carefully rehearsed.
The silk hat and the Prince Albert coa
will never go out of use so long as threi
out of five men will parade on the slight
est provocation. PAUE COOK.
IN ALABAMA SANCTUMS |
Lookout for Hobson
From the Selma Times.
Captain Hobson says he hasn't got
time to come to Alabama to make any
speeches. The captain is evidently plot
ting to unlimber either on the enemies
of nation-wide prohibition or the Japa
nese.
How About Tusenloosn?
From the Times-Gazette.
A few weeks ago a man named Sharpe
assassinated a couple of police officers
| over in the city of Anniston. The man
Sharpe has been tried and the jury, after
being out 30 minutes, has brought in a
verdict of guilty of murder in the first
degree and unless the upper courts re
verse the decision of the lower court this
assassin will have to pay the penalty
of his terrible crime. Five police offi
cers have been killed in Anniston within
the past two years and the people fiver
there are tired of the killing and propose
to apply the remedy to stop it—the rope.
Tlie Great Triumvirate
From the Tuskegee News.
It has been suggested by some warped
and twisted genius that the President
appoint a commission of eminent Ameri
j can statesmen t osubmit proposals of
[ peaec to the warring kings of Europe.
that commission to be composed of
j Theodore Roosevelt, William Jennings
Bryan and William Howard Taft.
It is a trejnendous array of intellect,
representing the three extremes of po
litical faith, but we fear such a composite
seelction would be surcharged with so
much dynamite that the inevitable ex
plosion would scatter the dear kings to
the four winds.
Alabama to the Front
From the Anniston Star.
Alabama was a little late in receiving
recognition by the Wilson administra
tion, but this state certainly has no com
in this country. It asks for contributions,
to be applied to the noncombatant suf
ferers particularly the stricken women
and children; and it reminds us that "he
gives twice who gives quickly.”
Cheques may be made payable and for
warded to J. P. Morgan & Co., 23 Wall
street, New York. The cause needs no
commendation, it carries its own in
dorsement. •
! Cleveland Plain Dealer: Great forbear
ance has marked the French and British
official reports of the battle of the Aisne.
The allies seem to be determined to arouse
no false ropes which may later give place
to bitter national disappointment. This
alone seems to account for the failure of
the officials news bureau to claim a vic
tory.
The right wing of the German army has
been steadily forced back till its extrem
ity is now almost on the Belgian border.
In the face of the most determined and
courageous resistance the allies have,
\yithout one break in their own align
ment, compelled the abandonment of the
German line which was drawn after the
retreat from the Marne. There has been
no rout, there has not even been a gen
eral retreat, but the success of the Fran
co-British array has already been suf
ficient to warrant a claim of victory.
The guarded announcements of the two
allied nations, while evidently worded iii
such a way as to leave open a verbal
escape in case of unexpected reverses,
may also be interpreted as paving the
way lor a final triumphal declaration.
From day to day they have grown more
optimistic though no less moderate.
What is now awaited ana expected is a
general retirement of the immense Ger
man army.
There can be little doubt that the allies1
successes have been won through the con
stant access of reinforcements. Germany
lias done what she could, but there weri
comparatively few fresh men to send tc
the relief of the army in France. The
allies, whose work has been wholly in th<
French field, have continually strength
ened their forces, and have given their
more war-worn fighters an opportunity tc
rest. It is now definitely announced that
70,000 British Indian soldiers have been in
the fighting for the past two days. Thil
is but one indication of the superior ad
vantages of the allies in the way of re
plaint to make today of failure to receivt
that credit to which it is entitled by ret.
son of its rank among the galaxy o;
American commonwealths.
As a matter of fact, Alabama tcdaj
takes first rank in national affairs. Fol
several years Oscar W. Underwood ha|
been one of the most useful men in
Washington, reflecting honor upon this
state through his services in the halls of
Congress; and more recently W. P. G,
Harding has assumed a position in finan
cial affairs equal to that of Mr. Under
wood in legislation.
Alabama has won still wider recogni
tion by reason of the appointment ol
Mr. Wellborn of Anniston and Mr. Kct
tlff of Birmingham to federal reserve
board positions, and Judge Richard W.
Walker of Huntsville to the jsutiec ol
the fifth judicial circuit of the United
States court of appeals. ,
Incidentally, Annlstonians will be
pleased to note that Judge John Pelham
of this city will take rank as senior
judge on the Alabama court of appeals
when Judge Walker resigns. This, to
gether with Hon. T. E. Kilby as lieuten
ant governor and S. P. Kennedy, who is
slated for the next president of the Ala
bama railroad commission, will give An
niston three men in the state capitol. *
Time for Laughter
From the Gadsden Journal.
You cannot please some people. Dur
ing the senatorial campaign, politicians
and jyess were attacking Representotlvs
Hobson because he was not "on the Job.’’
Now they attack him because he has de
cided to stay "on the job."
’’Been Weighed”
From the Montgomery Advertiser.
The regulars of Tennessee are now call
ing Goyernor Hooper "Been Weighed”
Hooper. And having been found want
ing—another office—the same will not be
given him this year, if indications mean
anything.
■*************•••*••••••••••
serve supplies of human units.
Unless the German commanders execute
some remarkable coup it seems likely that
within a comparatively few hours the
tide of battle, which has been setting
against them, will overwhelm the in*
vaders. If such shall be the result it may
mark the end of the German invasion,
and the war may enter a new phase.
POWER OP THE PENNY '
From the Philadelphia Press
Experts have said that the increase in
freight rates asked by the thousalds of
men and women who have their savings
invested in securities of the eastern rail
roads might add a cent in the cost of a
pair of shoes. And who would notice
a penny in the price of a pair of shoes?
And again who would notce a single d*op
or' water falling upon the hand. Yet that
drop Infinitely multiplied forms the bene
ficent rain that refreshes the earth and
brings forth Us fruits. So it is with the
unconsidered penny. Multiplied and gath
ered, it brings prosperity tu ihe vast rail
load Industry, and In turn to hundreds
of other industries. Much talk s going
on about a merchant marine, and ol' in
creased trade with South America and
with China. Good things they would be
if we could get them. But for the pres
ent nothing could do so much, for pros
perity on our own continent, for revival
of business among our 90,0o0,«0o of peo
ple. equal to putting the railroads in
funds.
_.__ ~9
OCTOBER
The Bentstown Bard, in the Baltimore
Sun.
A poem in tlie wind,
A song in the sea;
A dream in the sun,
A hymn on the lea;
A bird in the Bky,
A laugh in the morn;
A heaven nearby
And the gold in the corn.
A wine. In the blood,
A Are in the heart;
A will in the soul
To bn doing one's part;
A place in Die world
For the effort and seal
That ring With the joy
Of the rlghteoue and real.
A dawn In the Tale.
A flame oil the sleep;
A fire in the maple,
A mist on the dee.;
A lilt and a lyric.
A shout and a word;
A streak of red wine
On the breast of a bir*