davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1915-05-23

find one among all the thousands with
out moments loss of time
The visitor gazed at what appeared to
be tangled mass Of claws in a wide
mouthed jar.
Spider crabs" explained the scien-
It's! tist as she pulled out clawy creature.
They are also called arrow crabs"
Here Is ono of the treasures the
Philippines have given u.s." and she
pointed to a large jar containing a
Misunderstanding sea creature with
round body and double row of very
gave the impression of an octopus. but
Miss Rathbun tenderly referred to him
as one Of her incest" specimens
Another formidable creature was a
huge spidery object spiked all over in
a most dangerous manner. 1t proved
to be one Of the crustaceans of the
Arctic and Antarctic regions.
They are very plentiful, and the peo-
pie eat them" she remarked.
We have lots of land crabs from
like to see this big fellow walking
into your house some day." and Miss
Rathbun handed out a fearsome crawl
er. That is one Of his habits at home.
called the cocoanut crab. because it
climbs the trees and eats the cocoa :
nuts.
There is a treasure I should like to
show you." and the scientist proceeded
to the corner whore stood a huge
earthen jar. Lifting the lid, she tried
Intellectually to take from it a huge
crab which must have weighed ten
or twelve pounds. This is the largest
crab in the world. and comes from
South Australia. For years I have been
trying to procure a specimen of this
family and only succeeded last year.
A splendid pair. male and female. were
sent to US.
habit. 1t is called the sponge crab.'
and Miss Rathbun lifted from the
liquid a large, hairy crustacean. do
you observe the two last walking feet
how very small they are? And note
the sharp little upturned claw on each.
This crab has the habit of concealing
himself beneath a sponge, a bit of
leaf, or a shell, holding this shield
with the sharp little claws on the hind
feet and waiting. under it's protection,
for his prey.
.aThe hermit crab is one of our most
curious curstacsans. Note the soft,
Evening star., 1915-05-23

other volume was THE Brachyura Col
lected by the United States Fish Com
mission Steamer Albatross on the Voy-
age from Norfolk. Va. to San Fran
cisco. Cal. 1s71-1sss": another was
"Brachyura and Macrura of the Ha-
waiian Islands," which means the
crabs. Holsters, shrimps, etc of that
section.
THE Stalk Eyed Crustacea of Peru
and the Adjacent Coast" was the fourth
title, and still another was "Decapod
Crustaceans of the Northwest Coast of
America" A volume in French bore
the title, Les Crabes d'Eau Douce"
This monograph on fresh water crabs
Miss Rathbun was requested to prepare
for the Museum of Natural History in
Paris. an unusual distinction. South
American Crustacea" was the seventh
title. When at this point Miss Rathbun
said that she believed she had written
from seventy-five to hundred treat
ises upon her subject her interviewer
gave up the task of copying thetnames
OF her works. and looked with amaze
ment at this slight. delicate looking
American woman who has done so
much for science. yet speaks Of her ac-
Evening star., 1915-05-23

flexible tail end. To protect this he
selects a dead shell, usually a spiral
shell, and gets into it. making it his
home until he outgrows it. When the
time comes for him to make a change
of abode he looks long and carefully
for A shell suitable for his purpose.
When he has found ii he cleans 1t
carefully and gets it ready, and then
variety. Sometimes the coral absorhs
his shell covering. Here is one SO i'm
INJURED in coral that only the tiniest
aperture is left for the crabs use
Here is another hermit with three sea
anemones SO completely appropriating
his outer covering that there is none
of the original shell visible.
Now here is another funny fellow,
crab. from the way the large claws
are pressed to his face. Only the eyes
remain above the claws. And this is
the fiddler crab. Can you guess why
he is so named? Yes, that Is right
He has one large and one small claw,
and he holds his claws in an attitude
which at once suggests the violin held
to the shoulder by one claw, while the
other wields the bow.
That odd creature is the locust lob
ster, found in the waters of Hawaii.
the West Indies and Florida. Note the
very short. fiat. shovellike antennae.
which is the popularity of this species.
Here is an edible crab from Panama.
1t has the fattened claw for swimmin &
and is not at all unlike our own edible
blue crab.
But 1 have shown you enough for
one days visit. and as many speci-
mems as you will readily remember.
and perhaps sufficient to enable you to
comprehend that the study of crus-
taceans, which seems so uninteresting
to the layman as the dryest of dusty
subjects. holds as strong fascination
for the student as the most romantic
research"
Miss Rathbun has always been an un-
usually Jealous student and worker.
From her earliest years in the bureau
of fisheries and the National Museum it
has been her frequent habit to con-
tinue her researches far into the night.
and many of her vacations have been
Evening star., 1915-05-23

strengthen it it was necessary to con-
struct an inverted dome beneath it. The
building is of Graeco- Roman style Its
center has the form of semi-crcle and
there is wing at each end and pro-
jecting pavilion at each corner The
buildings contain the national halls of
the house and senate. the secretary's of
fees. the committee room and a library.
All Of its furnishings are magnificent. and
ii is like the state house of Pennsylvania
and the capitol at Albany in the extrava-
gance of its expenditure. Indeed, there
has been so much scandal connected with
it that it has been ncknamed the palace
of gold.
The original estimates for it were
100000 pesos. but it has already cost
over thirty millions. Something like
$14.000,00 was spent for cement alone.
and two millions. so the people say.
was paid out for work that was never
done Another two millions was squan-
dered on bronze capitals. three mil
lions on marble statues, and seven mil
lions more in mistakes on the dressing
and stucco of the fronts. over and
above this fabulous sums were spent
for decoration and furniture. and no
one knows where much of the money
went. Just at this time, when we are
looking into the pork barrels of our
Congress at home, the people here are
beginning to question the pork barrel
ends OF this capitol building. and, in
the hard times created by the war, to
Evening star., 1915-05-23
Interviews the President Of Argentina

Both are enterprising, the Herald be-
ing especially noted for its agricul-
tural and stock breeding news
During my stay here i have gone
through some of the newspaper Offices
That of La Prensa is famous all over
the world. 1t stands on the AventAA
de Mayo not far from Florida street,
and in the very heart of the city. The
building is of white stone. five stories
high. and golden bronze figure of
Fame rises eighteen feet above the top
of its tower. The interior of this news
paper Office is palatial. and some of its
rooms would not be out of place in the
home of a monarch. II has festival
hall. four halls for public gatherings.
and quarters for the entertainment of
distinguished visitors to Buenos Aires.
consisting of drawing room. dining
room. and smoking and billiard rooms,
with dressing rooms attached. The pa
per maintains free public library. and
il has a medical department. where
doctors and specialists treat without
charge all who will come There is also
a legal depa rtment. where any one who
wishes may have the advice of a repu-
table lawyer as to his business or prt-
vate rights. and a chemical laboratory
devoted TO experimental aEricul-
tural and Industrial uses. The Prensa
has its own observatory and issues
daily weather reports II has school
of music. where the best vocal and in
strumental instructors train without
...s"
l have said that the Prensa is one OF
the leading papers of Argentina. 1t is
without doubt one of the great papers
of the world. and Is at the head of its
class in all South America. Its circu-
lation often runs 70 100000 copies
day. and il is now using about thirty
five tons of white paper every twenty
four hours. Its machinery is run by
electricity, and it has its own electric
plant. although the presses may all he
coupled with the electric plant of the
city.
1 have been interested in the adver-
tisements of this paper. and in its
charges. which vary according to the
character and purse of the man adver-
tising. For instance. an employer ad
vertisins for a servant pays 30 cents
line. while the servant advertising for
a situation is charged only 10 cents a
line. A doctor who wants patients
must pay S. a line. while a poor girl
out of job gets the same for 10 cents.
The Journal is full of small advert ise-
ments. Each month IL contains about
so 900 of that nature; and every day II
has from sixteen to twenty pages OF
official. professional. auction ads and
other announcements. The paper alto
gether has about 300 employees. Its
telegraphic tolls are close to a thousand
dollars a day. and its fees to corre-
spondents run high into the thousands
of dollars a year.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.
Evening star., 1915-05-23

$4,000. with s1o.5oO for official ex-
penses. and each Of the eight cabinet
There are property qualifications for
all congressman. and senator must
have an income of at least $500 year
All money appropriations must orig
mate in the house OF deputies. and only
the deputies have voice in fixing tax
alton.
In addition to the national govern
ment the republic has state govern
ments and state legislatures such as
we have. Each of the fourteen provinces
elects it's own governor, parliament
and judges. and each has its own con-
and its own laws for legal proceed
ings. but it can only make such laws
as do not affect the national laws. On
paper. the rights of the people are
about the same as those of the United
States. and the country is quite as free
and democratic as ours. In reality,
however. it is like every Latin Ameri
can republic. an oligarchy. The gov
ernment is run by a few wealthy fami-
lies. the aristocratic Argentinos domi-
mating the whole. The great leaders
have their official henchmen. and 1 am
told there is vast deal of graft
Argentina is much as the United States
was In the days of Boss Tweed. l do not
mean to say that there Is no patriotism
or honesty. Many of the better class
Argentinos love their country. and are
doing all they can to fight down the
official corruption and to put their ma
tion in the front rank among the re-
publics.
In many ways this republic is better
off than ours. AS far as individual
rights are concerned, there is liberty
and equality. and before the law the
foreigner has the same rights as citi-
zen. There are no titles of nobility.
Property is inviolable, and the state
sees that the father provides for his
children. In our country man can
make a will giving his possessions to
Whnmsnever or whafsneyer he nlea es
Evening star., 1915-05-23

ture speaking of the immigration from
Europe nd the possibility that the
country might be Italianized thereby.
Mr.. Nictoriano de la Plaza replied:
1.-The Argentine of the future will be
much the same as the Argentine of today.
No matter what the nationality Of the i'm
migrant we find that we soon assimilate
him and he becomes an Argentine and
patriot We are making Argentinos OF
our immigrants just as in the past you
have made good Americans Of the mixed
elements you have brought in from the
various countries of Europe. We have the
same advantage that you have had, in
that We can put the immigrants out on
the farms and in that each man can have
his own land and own home and grow up
with the country. This makes him bet
ter citizen than if he were herded with
others of his own kind in such congested
districts as the cities and mines, is
now the case with much Of your immigra-
ton. We have SO much land that I be-
lieve we can assimilate our immigrants
for long time to come
-.
Leaving the Pink House I took a taxi
cab and for about So cents of our money.
rode through the wide Avenida de Mayo,
the Pennsylvania avenue OF Buenos Aires.
to the new capitol, where congress meets
This building is still in course of construc-
ton, but it is already one of the most
imposing structures of the world. 1t
stands in front of magnificent plaza.
which was carved out of the business part
of the city. To make it four solid blocks
of buildings were torn down and the
ground was built up and covered with
grass, trees and shrubs. Fine statues
were erected. fountains were instituted
and other decorations made at a cost of
$5,00O,0O0. In order to have the park
ready for the centennial display of 1910
the work was all done in ninety days
The capitol faces this plaza. 1t re-
minds one little OF our capitol at WASH
ington 1t is a marble building of four
stories, from whose center rises a great
dome which weighs 10000 tons. The
dome rests upon pillars of white granite
and it's weight is such that in order to
Evening star., 1915-05-23

complishment with as little self-as-
sumption as though 1t were an every
day matter and the work of an every
day woman.
Perhaps you would like to take q
look at the specimens and Miss Rath-
bun rose and led the way from her
private sanctum through an outer
room across a hallway and into the
f1reproof chamber containing the larg-
est. most complete and most perfectly
arranged collection of crustaceans the
world possesses. 1t occupies an entire
section in the basement of the west
wing of the New National Museum
building. The mere tyro feels limp
and helpless amid this great array of
scientific material. but Miss Rathbun
is a helpful guide and very soon her
visitor began to take a keen interest
in the thousands of crustaceans of
every size, kind and description, each
beautifully preserved in glass jars of
clearest alcohol and all distinctly la
beled with their Latin names
You see how well they are all ar
ranged here" said their custodian.
The steel shelving is like library
stacking, and the specimens are SO ar
Evening star., 1915-05-23

the crustaceans on the east side were
identical with those of the West In
dian Islands. On the west they are
similar to those found in Peru and Cen,
tral America. We seldom have found
the same kind on both sides.
'The government has had extensive
research work done in the new canal
cuttings of Panama and gained a great
crustacean life In that region. Exten-
siye Investigations have also been
made Of late by the geological survey
along the south Atlantic and gulf
states. gathering very s,sas Large coles. Lee
living and fossil specimens of crusta-
cea are sent to Washington for identi-
fcation. as It saves time. trouble and
mistakes to have them handled by one
person. You can see that my hands are
as full as they can be at all times.
Classifying and asserting specimens.
fossil and living, for various branches
of the service"
"How many species OF crustaceans
have come under your observation"
Miss Rathbun laughed and shook her
head Thousands upon thousands. I
could not possibly estimate them
give an ,dea q, o. shs nn
sters and shrimps we can find in our
own latitude?'
There are several varieties Of each.
but our main standby in this section Is
and the everyday lobster of commerce
is simply known as the American lob
ster. while the shrimp of our salads is
in plain parlance tho common shrimp"
How many varieties OF crustaceans
have you discovered?'
Il have never counted them. but there
are several hundreds"
May l ask of how many publications
you are the author"
4
Miss Rathbun smiled and looked
vaguely at her revolving bookcase. Her
callers gaze followed hers. and a cas-
ual glance took in at least a dozen vol
umes with the name of Mary J. Rath-
bun as author. One at hand was a large
octave upon Marine Brachyura." pub
Iished as one of the transactions of
the Linnean Society of London" The
special collection to which Miss Rath-
buns treatise referred was procured on
the Percy Sladen trust expedition to
the Indian ocean in 1905. under the
leadership of J. Stanley Gardiner. An
Evening star., 1915-05-23

so many years has become what it is
mainly through her efforts. BY the
one of the ablest administrators and
executives they have ever had.
That she might devote herself exclu-
sively to the scientific side of her work.
Miss Rathbuu last January resigned
her position as curator and now under
the title of associate in zoology. she is
kept busy identifying, classifying and
recording new specimens as they ar
rive.
so many specimens are coming in
a this time. explained Miss Rath bun.
that | find II takes every hour at my
disposal for work upon them. AS you
know. the Smithsonian and its of
spring, the National Museum. are the
recipients Of all the available matter
that may he gathered for them by the
bureau of fisheries. army. navy, geo
logical survey and other outgoing
branches of the national service. In
this way there is constant and valuable
accretion of material to my section
The steamer Albatross of the bureau of
fisheries is of great service in this con-
nection and of course we obtain much
of our foreign material by exchange,
and we purchase some"
The casual visitor to the National
Museum will not find Miss Rathbun as
he makes his tour of inspection of the
building. She has the true scientists 8
love of seclusion and has hidden herself
as cOrnpletely away from tne slRnt-see-
ing throng as does one of her own her
nit crabs, who hides himself from all
intruders by slipping into a shell which
entirely conceals him.
81 have been very busy Of late" said
Miss Rathbun, "on the crustacea of the
waters OF the Atlantic and Pacific on
either side of the Panama canal. Crabs,
Holsters and shrimps on either side
were fully identified before the canal
was opened, to note the effect of the
joining of the oceans upon the fauna of
each. Before the opening of the canal
Evening star., 1915-05-23

and cut off his daughter or son with a
nickel. In Argentina the laws provide
that a father must leave his children
four-fifths of his fortune, and hus-
band. if he has no children. has to
leave half of his property to his Wife
An unmarried son is compelled to leave
his parents two-thirds of his property.
and only unmarried persons without
parents descendants can make Wills
disposing of their possessions as they
see fit.
Religion is free in Argentina. Almost
all of the people are Catholics and the
state gives some support to the Catho-
nc Church, but all other creeds are
tolerated. and any one may worship
any god in any way he pleases.
Urinary education is free and com
pulsory for all children of from six to
fourteen years of age. The govern
ment has a national council of educa
ton; and at present about two-thrds
of the children of school age are in at
tendance. The republic has in the
neighborhood of $1,000 teachers and
100000 pupils in the primary schools
1t has thousand teachers in the sec
ondary schools, and there are thirty
national colleges, with about 5000 stu
dents. There are sixty-seven normal
schools and thirtyfour schools for spe-
.cial instruction. There are national
universities at Cordoba, Buenos Aires
and La Plata, and the university at
Cordoba is one of the oldest in the new
world. 1t was founded in 1913. ante
dating Harvard by twenty-three wears
and the first charter of William aud
Mary by eighty years There are also
schools and colleges for women. and a
large number of the teachers are
women.
Intelligence in Argentina Is of high
order There are big libraries at Bue-
nos Aires. and among them the Ma
tional Library. which has 2o0,O0o vol
umes The country altogether has
about 500 newspapers. of which more
than 100 are in the Spanish language
There are sixteen newspapers pub
lished in Italian, ten in English, seven
in German and others in Scandinavian
French and Russian
Buenos Aires has a live up-to-date
press. 1t has it's humorous papers.
with striking cartoons. and illustrated
journals that compare favorably with
those of the United States. 1t has also
great dailies, which have kilograms
from all parts of the world. and which
today have their war news quite as
fully the journals of New York.
This is so of La Prensa and La Nacion.
Both papers have been published regu-
larly for the last forty-five years. and
have always held high rank for their
independent criticisms and their eN-
cellent news service. Buenos Aires
has two English dailies. One is the
Standard, founded in 1861 by the Null
halls, the well known statisticians. and
the other is the Buenos Aires Herald.
now managed by Mr.. Reginald Lloyd.
Evening star., 1915-05-23

Between His the
White ouseA View Congress and Its
Govmed-A Building Scandal Which Involved Mil
lons-Agente W-Chctes Libraries and
Doctors Lawyers and Teachers
President Was Arranged
Evening star., 1915-05-23

of
Among
Charge
ReseaRn Unusual
Co[ectonh Edible
andSh
Evening star., 1915-05-23
Copyright. 1915. by Frank G. Carpenter,

Oppyrtght. 1919. hy Ffdhk ',- tRrrentcr'
BUENOS AIRES.
q HAVE just returned from an inter-
view with the president of the Ar
Eentine Republic. My audience
q was arranged through our embas-
sy. and his excellency received me in
the great government palace. facing the
water front at the lower end of the
Plaza de Mayo, This palace covers
more than two acres. 1t is four hun
dred feet long and two hundred ana
fifty feet wide. being one of the larg-
est buildings on the South American
continent. 1t is made of brick covered
with stucco. and its old rose color re-
minds one fthe great Winter Palace
at ST. Petersburg. on the banks OF the
Neva. On account of the color II ls
known as the Pink House, and IN TINS
respect il is in striking contrast to our
White House. on the banks of the Poto-
mac. The Pink House is several times
the size of the White House 1t has
three stories and its surroundings. in
Guiding the many officials in livery, are
grander than those about President
Wilson. / entered it from the Plaza de
Mayo, being led through the building
by Capt. Lynch. the military attache of
the president. We first passed through
the wide vestibule. ascended marble
stairs to the second story, and there
met Senior Atilio Basilari, The intro
ducer of foreigners. After chatting
with him a while | was taken into the
audience room and presented to the
president.
The president of Argentina is DIR.
victorino de la Plaza. He is. | judge.
about fifty years of age. He has had
long public career having been secre
tary of foreign affairs and held other
high Offices. He was elected vice presi
dent of the republic in 1910. at the time
that DR.. Rogue Saenz Pena was elected
president, and upon the death of the
latter last fall he became by law the
chief executive of the nation. The pres
idents here are elected for six years.
and there are no second terms. The
doctors term will expire in 1916.
President Nictoriano de la Plaza
rose as entered the room and
offered his hand. He is short,
f1eshy with round. rosy.
full face and bright eyes that look out
through narrow Sits. The cartoonists
have caricatured Kim in the press as
Chinese, and in some respects his fea-
lures are almost Celestial. He is a
man of education and culture. He has
a bright mind and his opinions are
positive. He spoke freely. but rather
automatically. about the relations of
the United States and the Argentine.
saying that he was glad our relations
were growing closer and closer and