davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
How 1t Happened

Accordingly, the right hand be-
came a ceremonial and sacred hand,
and we can trace the early contempt
for lefthanders by such words in
our language as sinister in its
meaning Of evil or i'll omened. Then.
also, there is the French "gauche'
for clumsiness and awkwardness.
In the old days very savage meth
ods were adopted to cure young left
handlers. Sometimes an anxious
mother would strap the lefthand to
the child's side, in order to make him
use the right. Under such rigorous
treatment it is no more than nat
ural that some southpaws recanted,
but many sturdy ones stuck to their
principles and would not be cured.
Although such treatment has been
rare in modern life, the lefthander
has been under distinct handicap.
He was practically barred from some
kandicrafts and from many Of the
arts. Who, for instance, ever heard
of lefthanded violin player or a
lefthanded conductor?
In his book, "Righthandedness
and Lefthandedness," DR.. Gould
writes at some length of the handicap
under which lefthanders suffer. But
now, after centuries Of derision, and
even torture, the southpaw is begin
ming to come into his own through
a new field of endeavor, which was
opened to him in the nineteenth CEN
tury. Babe Ruth, of the Yankees,
may be descended from some tribal
ancestor, who, through stupidity or
perversity, could not count with the
digits of his right hand. Neverthe-
less, Ruth will receive $4,000 for
his services next season, and he was
bought by the New York club at an
expense of $15O,O00.
Southpaws at First
The greatest baseball player in
the country to-day is Ty Cobb, of
the Tigers, a confirmed lefthander.
A few dispute his supremacy and
name George Sisler, but he also is
completely lefthanded, as is Iris
Speaker, another of the great
players Of the game.
Hal Chase, now somewhat past
his prime, was long considered the
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
S EARLY as May, 1918, the
Knights Of Columbus, then
: in the full swing of the war


work that earned them the
nickname Casey" figured that the
close Of the war would find tens of
thousands Of young men returning
homo jobless. So the Knights Gre
eted an employment system which
extended into every section Of the
Fountry through their more than two
thousand subordinate councils. They
have been able to find, roughly,
three hundred thousand jobs for ex-
service men. That Is one story.
But, in coming to the quite logical
conclusion that the former service
men would need jobs, the Knights Of
Columbus also considered this:
These young men had been separated
hom home and economic opportunity
for months, some Of them for years,
and they would obviously be handi-
capped on their return to civilian
life ESQ it has proved; therefore,
they should, in all fairness, be pro-
vided with some opportunity to over
come the handicap.
Not that the handicap was serious,
Tor, while they may have missed a
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
casey" Turns From War to School

good thing in the ordinary course Of
business or trade promotion that
would have been theirs had there
been no war, the men Of the army
and navy had gained something very
valuable during their term Of serv-
ice-a sense of discipline, a sense of
initiative. a spirit that called for ac-
complishment. This stimulated am
bition was the very thing the
Knights sought to provide with an
avenue of activity.
When the fighting came to an end
the Knights Of Columbus, like all
other relief organizations, found
themselves with funds for other
work than the distribution Of their
justly celebrated Creature COM
forts" They decided to devote this
fund to an immense educational
work that would act as a training
course for young service men and
women who wanted to make use Of
the Knights of Columbia employ
ment bureaus. So they invited prom
inent educators to recommend a sys-
tenn. James F. Byrne, of New York
Arthur Somers, the Rev. John j.
Wynne, William Devine, Of Detroit,
and many other we'll known men sat
on this committee.
While the system was being de-
bated the Knights had found their
work cut out for them by educating
man in the canna Thn,, orad1atad
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22

the first law class ever graduated
from military camp, at Kelly
Field, Tex, in the early winter of
1918. Then they instituted schools
in all the camps, having more than
two hundred thousand men and of
ficers attending their courses.
Also they set up series of
scholarships for ex-service men in
famous universities and colleges.
Offering 100 scholarships at first,
they raised the number so that it
eventually became 500, as the
demand fnr higher education was
found . b. great among the service
men.
While this fine idea was being exc
cuted-it originated with Daniel J.
Callahan, business man of Wash
ington, who achieved the nations
record as director Of war stamps
sales-the committee of educators
made it's recommendation to the K,
Of c. educational committee, which
comprised James A. Flaherty, of
Philadelphia, Supreme Knight
Joseph C. Pelletier, of Boston, Su-
preme Advocate, and William j Nc
Ginley, Of New York, Supreme Sec
retary.
The Knights knew that there were
night schools galore, and free night
schools at that; they also knew that
it was common lament on the part
of boards of education that the peo-
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22

would have the tenerity to score
from second on an inheld out, as Ty
Cobb has done a number of times.
And yet the superior intelligence
Of the lefthander is, perhaps, a con-
tentious subject. BY some his whim-
sicality is set down as mere stu
pidity. Unfortunately, "Who's Who"
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22

her out and showed her the way in
which our elevators worked.
THE complexity Of our buildings,
the proportions to which they have
grown, have developed a new bust
ness, that of building manager"
Mr.. Cochran continued Really,
believe that this work should be re-
garded as a profession. 1t has
field all its own.
There is no training to-day that
peculiarly fits a man for the work
except as he studies it as science
and has practical experience. hope
the day will come when course in
building management will be put
into the colleges. 1t is worthy a
school of it's own, just as law and
medicine are. 1t belongs to the
business field, but it should be a
profession.
"The only work offered in col
leges at present which prepares
man for building management is en-
gineering. But engineering is field
more limited than that covered by
the job of building management.
The engineer sees everything, nat
urally, from the mechanical stand
point. He is inclined to be slightly
restricted in his opinions, to incline
too far to the side in which he has
specialized and is consequently
most interested.
From the Woolworth Building I
went on up Broadway to the
Metropolitan Life Insurance Build
ing. The story had SAID Arthur
Plnchbeck was "head janitor' there.
Before going into his present line
Of work Mr.. Pinchbeck was a build
ing contractor. He built the Metro
pol'tan Tower and afterward stayed
with the company to manage the
upkeep of the building. Discussing
his work, he said:
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
Standing of All Lefthanders
Has Been Raised by Baseball

has never asked the various men
whose biographies it sets down which
hand they prefer, so any theory that
lefthanders contribute more than
their fair share Of original thinkers
is difficult to prove, however true it
may be.
However, there are certain def
mite physical advantages which the
lefthander has over his rivals in
baseball. The man who bats left
handed has such a decided advan-
tage that a number Of righthand-
ers have taken on lefthanded COM
plexion for this one function at
least
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22

tribal customs Of trading and war
fare and worked out a different
system Of his own. Just so, Ty
Cobb confounds the opposition by
the very fact that he does not play
the old army game, but is always
doing the unconventional and the
Only lefthander
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22

this offers less difficulty. The south
paw pitcher, on the contrary, is the
natural enemy of the lefthander.
Seemingly, there is little community
feeling among southpaws, and the
pitchers Of this persuasion have no
compunction against cutting the out
side corner with wide, sharp curves
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
Some Advantages

The lefthanded batter is nearer
first base and his swing throws him
into his stride as the righthander's
swing does not. AS first baseman
he can cover ground between him
and the bag more expertly than a
highlander, and he can make force
plays to third base that are difficult
for a more conventionally handed
man.
AS pitcher his great usefulness
is due to the fact that lefthanded
batting is an advantage. Though
some writer's speak carelessly Of an
in-curve, there is no such thing,
strictly speaking. At most, it is
shoot Of only a few inches. The
righthanded pitcher is, therefore,
under the disadvantage Of being un-
able to curve the ball away from a
lefthanded batter. He can only
throw a ball which breaks in, and
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
By Haywood Broun
LTHOUGH the att.,

LTHOUGH the attention Of
the American public has
q -. been called from time to
&sae to the fact that there
arc large numbers Of communists,
syndicalists, anarchists, single tax
ers and I. w. WIS in this country
everybody seems to have forgotten
tho existence Of another large
group Of non-conformists. Writing
twelve years ago. DR.. George M.
Gould made the startling assertion
that there we're about six million
lefthanders in the United States.
Seemingly, nobody has taken the
trouble to make any investigation
Nince that time.
It may be that during the war,
aphen everybody was asked to act
and to think as one, some improve
ment took place, but this is only
supposition, since the normal rate
IF righthandedness is "a per cent
and lefthandedness remains steadily
9t 6 per cent. 1t may be that the in
crease in population has brought
with it as natural consequence
more lefthanders. The southpaw
has always been set down in the
popular estimation as queer and
eccentric person, and curiously
enough there is some scientific foun-
dation for believing that lefthand-
edness may show in the character.
At any rate, in days gone by the
lefthander was distinctly marked as
a man who did not conform to i'm
portant tribal customs. The use of
the right hand arose, DR.. Gould
AYERS, from the custom Of indicating
numbers with digits Of the right
hand while bargaining and keeping
the shield over the heart with the
left.
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
Hall Bedroom
Girls

NEW YORK has more than one
hundred thousand hall bedroom
girls. A city-wide movement to
provide these girls with comfortable
lodgings and to improve the city's
housing conditions is in progress un-
der the direction of the Association
to Promote Proper Housing for
Girls.
The association and it's allied or
ganization, the Bureau Of Boarding
Houses for Girls, is acting as clear
ing house for the landladies Of the
city and the young women who live
in lodgings. New York has taken
no official heed of the boarding
house situation.
Philadelphia has for several
years had license law for boarding
and rooming houses. Massachusetts
in 1918 passed a measure for the
licensing, inspection and regulation
Of such houses, but New York, with
its thousands upon thousands Of
wage earning girls and women, to
say nothing Of the unmarried male
workers, has paid little or no atten-
tion to the way in which this
boarding population lives.
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
Demand for Workers

There are not, perhaps, so many
room seekers as during the war,
when a survey by the association of
the district around Fifty-ninth
Street revealed the fact that it was
crammed without regard to stand
ards" The apartments in that
neighborhood were filled with girls
who were working at war industries
in Long Island City, in all, 10000.
The "help wanted" columns of the
daily papers show that shops and fac
tories are to-day seeking more and
moro women workers, and these
women workers have to live some
where. The shortage of houses and
apartments which is forcing many
families to take refuge in hotels or
to spend the winter in the country
lessons the number of rooms for rent.
Boarding houses promise in time
to become extinct. They are being
slowly forced out of business by the
high cost of coal and food and the
difficulty of getting servants. Of
course, this is in part balanced by
the fact that families that never be-
fore took roomers are taking them
now to help meet the soaring rents.
Some have even gone so far as to
offer half a bed for rent.
The bureau, however anxious it
is to find accommodations for girls
struggling along on small wages, re-
fuses to register half-beds. It
feels that this is carrying congestion
a bit too far.
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22

are also managed by the building
manager. Constant care and repair
is going on and some seemingly
small details may involve matters of
great moment.
"A small crack in one of the walls
may be related to some intricate en-
gineering problem says Mr.. Coch-
ran. experts are put upon the job
at once"
The personnel Of Mr.. Cochran's
staff is hired by the foremen of the
departments. Only matters of policy
come before this chief of the iani-
torial force.
"Most of the persons employed
about the building have been here
for five years at least" he said.
1--WE have no labor troubles and I
believe that is chiefly due to the fact
that we anticipate the demands that
our employees are likely to make.
Their salaries are good and we have
a bonus system. They are not per-
mitted to take tips and are dis
charged if we find that they do.'
The elevator system comes under
Mr.. Cochran's jurisdiction. One
phase connected with this has to do
with people that have complaints.
Accidents and alleged injuries are
claimed by many persons, and Mr..
Cochran personally handles these
complaints to decide which are true
and which false.
Fake Injuries
"1mpostors are continually max
ing complaints" he said, "and most
of these impostors are women. I
have had so many pretend injury
that l can usually tell the moment
a visitor comes into my office
whether he or she is an impostor.
Many persons stumble out of the
elevators or fall getting in and out.
The first thing I notice about
woman's dress is whether her heels
are run down or not. Run down
heels may pe, g. cause of an accident
Recently woman came in to
make the complaint that the eleva-
tor operator had started the car as
she was ssep?ns into it. | told her
that this was impossible because cur
elevators cannot be started until the
doors are closed. The closing of the
doors makes the connection for the
current. She stuck to her story and
would not be convinced until | took
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
Managing Big Skyscraper
Is a Profession, Not Job

great New York skyscrapers
got salaries Of $4,000 year.
wanted to meet one Of these super
janitors, but 1 was a bit hesitant
about it. An interviewer becomes
accustomed to dealing with bishops
and Congressman and visiting dig
nitaries and the like, but just how
to 20 about interviewing a $4,000
year janitor?
The name of Mr.. Edwin Cochran,
of the Woolworth Building, was in
cluded in the list I had seen, and
I made my first call upon him. No,
l hadn't really expected to find him
with a mop in one hand and a cap
on his head. Which was fortunate
for me, for what I did find was a
large, congenial person, obviously of
the executive type, with quarters in
a large suite of offices from which
he directs the work of more than
four hundred subordinates.
~ saw that item myself" said
Mr.. Cochran with smile. "There
were only two things really wrong
with tiny salary isn't quite $685.
900 a year, and I'm not exactly a
janitor, although I know a lot about
the janitoring business. I'd like to
say it's a mighty respectable and
important line of work, too
Building Manager
Mr.. Cochran's real title is that of
building manager. He does have
charge of the janitorial force, just
as he has charge of the mechanics,
electricians, watchmen and other
employees. AS a sideline of his
position he acts as host to most of
the distinguished visitors, such as
the Prince of Wales and the King
of Belgium, who come to New York
and go to the top of the Woolworth
tower as a matter of course.
"Ten years ago." said Mr.. Coch-
ran, "the only conception of build
ing superintendent, or head janitor,
if you please, was that of man in
brass buttons with a feather duster
under his arm, jumping at the call
of this or that tenant and giving
service only to those who tipped him
most literally. He was poorly paid,
just as is waiter or barber,
on the theory that he would get his
pay largely in tips.
"But the job, along with many
others in this day of specialization,
has undergone an evolution. The
building manager of a great build
ing like this is like the captain of
a ship. He has his leutenants and
subordinates working under him
who attend to all details. He alone
is responsible for the way the ship
is managed and the condition in
which it is returned to it's owners
"No tipping is allowed in the
Woolworth Building. If tenant
wants some especial job done by one
of the porters, say the packing Of
box or the moving Of some furni-
ture, he gives an order for it through
the superintendent. A charge is
made for the work and the porter
who does the job receives that
amount in his pay envelope in addi-
ton to his salary"
Handles Complaints
Among all these tenants it is
natural that there should be some
complainers. Mr.. Cochran says
that he often handles as many as
forty or fifty complaints in day.
He takes care Of these personally
and makes it his business to check
up their justification and to remedy
dissatisfaction.
This requires knowledge Of human
nature and the ability to handle
people. A job which is even more
delicate is that of keeping up the
standard in regard to the kinds of
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
Stream of Applicants

The association to promote proper
housing has headquarters at II West
Thirty seventh Street, the secretary
lassoing rooms with the telephone
wire all day long for the applicants
who stream in and out.
Back in 1910, when the last CEN
sus was taken, there were in the
Borough Of Manhattan 68,O52 self
supporting women and girls who
lived in lodgings. The established
md organized boarding houses for
girls at that time could care for
only 3,710. Those who have studied
the housing situation in New York
declare that since that time the num-
ber Of girls who seek lodgings and
boarding houses has doubled.
Fancy one of the girl wage earn
ers just arrived in New York from
some country town confronted with
the necessity of getting an abiding
place at once to be paid for out of
an income of, say, SO or SIS or $40
a week. One must have gone out
ones self seeking a room that is
pleasant and inexpensive in order to
appreciate the situation this girl
confronts. Unprotected, she runs
the danger of stumbling into house
of ill repute. Under the guidance
of the Bureau Of Boarding Houses
for Girls she can be sure that the
place to which she is directed has
passed the scrutiny of an investi-
gator who has her welfare at heart.
New-York tribune., 1920-02-22
Handles Complaints

~
that he often handles as many as
forty or fifty complaints in a day.
He takes care Of these personally
and makes it his business to check
up their justification and to remedy
dissatisfaction.
This requires knowledge Of human
nature and the ability to handle
people. A job which is even more
delicate is that of keeping up the
standard in regard to the kinds of
business done in the building. AS
part Of his force Mr.. Cochran has
the detective and watchmen. The
inspection force is in close touch
with the kinds of business done in
the offices. The detectives and the
watchmen know something Of the
kinds of clients each business draws
and the peculiarities of each office
force. The art of finding out
whether a business is "crooked"
without offending any one depends
upon the building manager. The
building is open all night. The ten
ants keys are numbered and the
"atchmen on at night pass the hold
ers Of the keys.
upkeep on building such as the
"oolworth is a big piece of work.
ALTERATIONS and work for the tenants
Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1920-04-02
SMALL HOUSES BEST
FOR CHICKEN FLOCK
Size of Building Should Be Gov
erned by Number of Hens.
Smaller Breeds Being More Active and
Restless Require About as Much
Space as Larger Ones Make
Structure Square.

The size of the hen house should be
governed by the size of the flock. From
40 to 80 seems to be about as many
birds as are safe to keep together.
With fiocks of this size from four to
five square feet of floor space should
be allowed to each bird. This will
suffice in most cases where careful at
tention is given to cleanliness and ven
tilation. If the fowls are kept in
smaller flocks more floor space to a
bird will be needed.
In sections where the climate is so
mild that it is unnecessary to keep
fowls confined, except for a few days
ar time, less space to bird should
be sufficient. The smaller breeds, being
more active and restless, require about
as much room as the larger breeds.
For the greater amount of floor
space for the least cost a building
should be square. Other things being
equal, the nearer square a house is
the less lumber 1t will take according
to poultry specialists Of the United
States department Of agriculture. How
ever, it is sometimes out Of the ques-
ton to build large house square. A
building should not be so wide that
the sun cannot reach the back Of the
house, otherwise it will be damp.
Fourteen feet is convenient width.
Build the house as low as possible
without danger of attendants humping
their heads against the ceiling, for the
low house Is more easily warmed than
| a high one.
Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1920-04-02
A Crown That Is Eternal

Blessed is the man who can say,
"Thou, o Lord, art my glory" We all
fall short Of the glory we had hoped
for. Circumstances defeat our pur-
poses. We flee before the enemies
of our souls which attack us on every
side. The only glory of any account
is that which God gives. The light
of his countenance eclipses all the
dazzling tinsel of worldly fame. HUI
man glory is uncertain at the best.
The crown that man can give, man
can take away. The crown which
God gives is an eternal one. There
was no outward evidence Of glory
about st. Paul when he was a pris-
oner in Rome, but he knew that God
had laid up for him "a crown of
righteousness"
Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1920-04-02
|sPoHN MEDICAL COMPANY. GOSHEN, IND.
MEANT FORM OF CRITICISM TREASON IN LOWER ANIMALS
That They Eossess More Than Mere
Instinct Seems to Have Been
AbundantIy Proved.

In the woods when male deer get
to fighting, the rattle of their clashing
antlers may be heard long way off.
and sometimes other males hearing
the sound make toward it and lure
away the female over which the other
two are fighting.
Hunters frequently employ this
knowledge of deer habits to decoy
bucks into range of their rifles by rat
Ting together a couple of sets Of old
antlers.
Take it all in all, it is hardly fair
to the animals to say they merely pos
sess instinct, when we have so many
instances of their reasoning powers.
If monkeys were able to preserve the
best thoughts of each generation Of
their species as humans do with the
printing press-well, anyway. it is too
bad that Garner didn't live to estab-
lish on the Florida coast his monkey
colony. Had he done this. who knows
what startling discoveries he might
have made concerning their intellect?
Exchange.