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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
Dec 18, 1929
Page
4
The text calls for locating industry, building a stadium and a city auditorium for all citizens, creating city parks, and establishing an agricultural market to serve the Tennessee Valley. It ends with a seasonal note about Christmas shopping and Santa’s costs.
State traffic officers patrolling the Bee Line highway report fewer accidents recently. The Christmas season looks set to be Decatur's prettiest yet, with Garden Club efforts contributing to unusually fine decorations.
Scientists report a method to isolate the flu germ, a step toward a cure. If they also find a way to kill it, science would confer a major blessing on mankind.
A Boston woman claims her husband slapped her face as she slept, a comment cited by the Fort Payne Journal suggesting that such acts occur during sleep. The remark prompts concerns over domestic behavior and safety considerations.
A cold spell in North Alabama prompted complaints about the weather and sparked chatter that Christmas business will not be right until colder conditions return. The public questions how the weather man can satisfy everyone.
President A Lawrence Lowell of Harvard recently declared that the country needs religious fervor without religious rancor, religious sympathy, not religious antagonism, stressing harmony in faith as a path forward.
The city of Gadsden recently put in a contemporary fire alarm system. Some residents, especially youths, mistake it for a Christmas toy, leading to multiple false alarms to the fire department.
The state should regulate vehicle size on highways as oversized buses and trucks resemble Santa Claus vehicles delivering presents to all the children, prompting concern over safety and traffic impact.
A Selma man’s car was taken by a hitchhiker who used a pistol to enforce the demand. The warning urges travelers to avoid hitchhikers and keep a wide berth on the road today.
Reports suggest tensions rise at Auburn Prison with mutinies possible after minor provocations. The piece argues harsh discipline, proposing that ring leaders be tried for murder and given a first class hanging to deter further rioting.
A woman waiting at the terminal station in Birmingham was asleep when a thief stole her hat and shoes. The unusual incident involves an Atlanta resident listed in records, prompting speculation about potential motives and sleeper habits in Atlanta.
Reading through the Shoals situation, The Daily notes signs Congress will decide this session. J S Arnold of Birmingham cites his Hilda Hotel purchase as evidence of belief in North Alabama when Muscle Shoals outlets may be disposed of and nitrate plants and power dams come into full operation.
Alabama faces a heated 1930 election as residents who fail to pay poll tax lose voting rights. Heflin and Judge Locke plan independent runs after being barred from the Democratic primary. The state party urges a strong primary turnout, hoping history repeats from Virginia where large primaries aided Democrats in the general election.
In Alabama readers urged to weigh convict danger when judging prison conduct. The Daily supports investigation but warns of dangerous inmates and the need for appropriate measures. It recalls past abuse cases and argues some penalties may deter repeat offenses.
John Temple Graves argues for original music at the University of Alabama arguing that standup songs should be unique to the school. He cites Yea Alabama and Fight Alabama, notes other schools use Cayuga's Waters, and urges canary wine to spark a truly local melody amid criticism. The Daily supports Graves, prefers Alabama musters pep without borrowing from others.
A wry line quips that anyone can learn to dance but the easiest lesson comes from volunteering to install a kitchen shelf and hammer a thumb, a comic aside attributed to an instructor in the Humorist.
In 1918 a young army clerk named William H Beck becomes Paris secretary to Henry White. Beck then serves as special assistant to secretary Lansing, later secretary Hughes, Kellogg and Stimson. He runs a busy office at the State Department, directing visitors and easing the secretary’s burdens.
Beck’s ability to recall first names impresses many yet once caused friction. At the Paris peace conference he greeted a veteran sergeant as Percy, who warned him to stick to Pete and not to use the nickname Percy again.
A prominent literary couple faces strain as the husband shirks work while the wife maintains their joint reputation. He lounges in bars and cafes, while she pursues writing and markets. She moves uptown to work independently, perhaps to coax him back, not due to discord but to salvage their partnership.
In the first 24 hours of shore to ship service, 13 calls connected between New York and the European-bound Leviathan. Nine calls originated on shore while four came from the shipboard phone. Some were routine introductory courtesy calls marking the inauguration of the new communication link.
Hollywood profile traces Robert Montgomery's rapid rise and fan mail boom. Son of a business executive he rejected college for a restless ascent through magazines and books, taking gritty jobs such as ore refining and tanker work while chasing a writing career that stalled with no stories sold.
After a year and a half away, he returns to New York and wins a theater role through a friend. He advances on stage until offered the lead in Wilma Banky's This Is Heaven, learns it is a silent film, and secures release. He nearly signs with the New York Theater Guild before MGM offers a lead in So This Is College, prompting a West Coast move.
Hollywood discourse centers on D W Griffiths choice for Lincoln in a projected talkie while Charles Brabin the former screen Lincoln remains active as a director and actor. Brabin who married Theda Bara first portrayed Lincoln about twenty five years ago in a one reelers era and later shifted to directing.
The Leviathan's first voyage featured a rudimentary shipboard telephone system. Passengers made calls at high rates with limited room service while long distance connections routed through New York or London. The ship boasted a switchboard in each room, though calls still went to a central operator for paging.
An health feature by M D Copeland urges good diet and outdoor activity to strengthen eyes, notes farsightedness rising and eye strain in children, links eye weakness to rickets and malnutrition, recommends proper glasses, fresh air, sunlight, and vacation. Includes reader Q A on hay fever, complexion, arm reduction, and rickets with brief expert guidance.
Mr and Mrs H H May depart for St Louis to spend the holidays. Mr and Mrs James Alton Brittain arrive from Mobile to visit Mr and Mrs Geo Jackson over Christmas. Mrs Roy Horton heads to Marysville Ohio after visiting Col and Mrs W B Edmundson. 1926 football squad members will attend an annual banquet at Central High Cafeteria tonight.
Decatur stresses its miles of paved streets as a standout feature, claiming top ranking among small U.S. cities for infrastructure quality and road network.
Miss Mildred Ryan has been confined at home for several days with illness. Her condition is reported as somewhat improved.
River levels climbed as gauge readings showed rising water along the Tennessee River causing concern for local communities and prompting cautions for residents and travelers nearby.
The weather bureau recorded rainfall of .80 inch by seven o'clock this morning.
Mrs. John Bagsdall has been summoned to Birmingham to be with her mother Mrs. T. T. Jones, who is reported in a serious condition.
A collage of humorous lines and proverbs about giving and kindness blends Christmas cheer with social satire. It contrasts generous deeds with quips about shopping, health seals, and everyday life, ending with a quip about banks and interest.
A glossary entry defines curator as a guardian of galleries and libraries while coda refers to an added concluding passage in a musical movement. Plangent describes a loud reverberating wave.
The gospel recalls Jesus passing by a man blind from birth. The disciples ask whether sin caused the blindness. Jesus says neither the man nor his parents sinned, but that God’s works may be shown. He makes clay, anoints the man’s eyes, and he goes, washes, and sees.
The weather bureau records a maximum of 63 and a minimum of 55 for the 24 hour period ending at 7 o clock.
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