davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02

guide. Beatrice may be the symbol
OF Divine Wisdom, but she Is al.
ways the adored and blessed lady of
his affections. His gallery Of hui
man portraits Is rs various and real
as Shakespeare's. from Francesca da
Rimini and Ugolino in He'll, to Be.
lasqua and Pla In Purgatory and
Constanza and st. Francis in Heaven
INSPIRED ART AND MUSIC.
mo poet ever told his story so
briefly and 80 poigns.ntly. Like
Aaron with his staff he has but to
touch the rosk and the waters gush
forth. He needs no elaboration, no
establishment. The ineffable pathos
Of Francesca's brief tale clesves the
heart like n sudden arrow shot from
the hand Of grief itself.
mo tale 30 pitiful. SO terribly
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02

husks. It Graves the substance of
life and not its shadow.
In the second place, the modern
world turns to Dante because 1t
finds him exceedingly human.
Though depicting the other world.
he never loses sight OF this. Indeed.
his other world is only the consum.
nation Of this. So closely is the
natural interviewer with the super.
naturalthSt. whether in Hell or rurgo-
tory or Heaven. we always feel the
pulse OF the human heart and the
throb Of human passion,
The literal is never lost In the
abstract and reality never evapor.
ates In the symbol. Virgil may be
the symbol Of human reason. but
he II always the poet OF f1esh and
blood. Dante's beloved teacher and
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02
HOURS OF RECREATION
WITH TEACHERS.

peals to this modern day:
THE sixth centenary Of Dante's
death is of universal interest to the
modern world. The twentieth and
the thirteenth centuries are anti
theatrical in their spirit and In their
achievements. The world was never
more upset. restless, skeptical and
perplexed than it is in this our day.
The very foundations Of society are
challenged; peoples and nations are
as If they had strayed into a wilder
ness. into a rank jungle. and have
lost not only their way, but their
address.
THE thirteenth century was an
age solid. sure and substantial as
the foundations of its great Gothic
cathedrals. 1t grasped life in all
the fullness of its eternal conse.
quences. It's vision was complete
and clear. 1t saw life as a reality,
and not as a problem. Time was a
vestibule to eternity, and mundane
lllo was HlcdbuICu anu Wy
the eternal verities.
at knew the way with certainty
and was sure Of the goal beyond.
It built it's Gothic cathedral like an
exhalation Of earth to heaven from
it's cyclopean foundations to the
chorus of it's shimmering spires in
the empyrean, conjoining earth with
heaven. AS was its Gothic cathedral
in the order Of the art, so was its
scholastic science in the order OF
thought. 1t took the material OF
human speculation and builded 1t
up into a temple Of science whose
foundations were as deep and solid,
whose Embellishments were as har.
monious and delicate and whose
lofty turrets. like the flaming pima
cles Of the Gothic. pierced the
heavens. It created and builded
sublimely because It possessed a
sure faith untouched by any doubt
Of the meaning and purpose Of life.
CONTRASTS IN CENTURIES.
"All that was the thirteenth cen.
fury, the elimination of the Mid.
die Ages, Dante embodied in his
great poem, THE Divine Comedy"
the ripest fruit Of that creative
epoch, and all that was the thir-
tenth century IL the direct antithe-
sis Of our own age ~
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02

"Wh, then, is this twentieth cen
fury so widely and seemingly pro-
foundly interested in Dante, be-
tween whom and us lies the deep
abyss that divides unfaith from
faith. skepticism from certainty,
confusion from order, and darkness
Of doubt from clarity Of vision?
DESIGNATING the element OF fad.
ism, which always attaches itself
to any centenary movement. and
those human parasites who inevita.
bly, cling to the skirts of fame
in the notoriety amid the glare
of publicity, there must be some
substantial reason why this TWEEN.
tieth century of confusion and
bewilderment should so universally
seek to do homage to the greatness
of the supreme poet of serene and
absolute faith, the quintessence of
Medievalism.
There are two reasons: the first,
that the world in its bewildermcnt
after the shock Of the cataclysmic
war through which 1t has Just
passed, is cropping toward a firmer
and securer moral footing, some
sanction deeper and more endur.
ing than the crude materialisms
upon which It once complacently
rested and which. when put to
the test in the great conflict,
shriveled into dust and ashes. In
Dante II finds an absolute sanction
Of human living, a normal phil.
osophy which envisages time with
eternity. When doubt meets with
the test Of reality and Is broken
on the wheel, 1t cries out for
help. For stability. order, Ger.
tainty and the real zest Of life
the modern man must go back to
the verities of the medieval world.
HUMAN IN HIS WORKS.
Dante links the medieval world
with a breadth and depth, splendor
and intensity unequaled in litera-
ture. with sureness Of touch and
a vividness Of delineation that make
his world Of six hundred years ago
as alive to US as our own. The mod.
ern world turns to Dante and his
age because It Is in quest OF reality;
II is tired Of mere phenomena, Of
which It has had It's fiji, and now
nnds that II has been feeding upon
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02

vivid. 30 trenchantly horrible In all
literature as that of Ugolino della
Gherardesca. who in prison with his
two sons and two grandsons In the
Tower de- Gualandi was left to die
Of starvation. Then fasting got the
mastery of grief
1T Is a story told in the lowest
pit Of hell yet even there 1t is pas
sionately human. The lazy Beiacqua
and the pathetic Pia in the Purga.
torio. and even the beautiful souls
in the Paradise, sound the human
note so surely. so truly, and at times
so Indignantly, that as we journey
with the poet we constantly feel the
chords Of Adam Juggling and pulling
at our hearts. Notwithstanding the
exaltation and sublimity of his
theme. Dante is as human as Shake
speare and as profound in his hu.
manity. 1t is this that draws us
and holds us despite the fact that
his subject both in it's essence and
form so transcends and contravenes
our modernism" e..
John H. Raftery, also writing in
Columbia, says:
mo poet of any language or time
except Shakespeare so influenced
the kindred arts of music. painting
and sculpture as Dante influenced
them; for he came and lived and
wrote at a time when nearly all ar.
tistic conceptions were vague. ncbu.
lous and indefinite. No matter how
exalted or abysmal his theme. no
matter how imaginative or inspired
his conceptions Of things divine.
mortal, or diabolical, the writings
Of Dante are distinguished by "a der;
niteness, certainty of proportion
an almost mathematical majesty
which made immediate and lasting
appeal TO the composers of music
and to the artists Of brush and
chisel. ... a
ITO them he unveiled la words the
proportional symmetry which Is Of
the very essence OF music and the
plastic and pictorial arts; his visions
became not only visible to the point
ers and sculpJor's of his own and
later eras: but the motives, tropor.
tons and cadences of his verse b..
came at once aural and Inspirational
iu the oars Of the cornnoacra nj alt
Europe.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02
''Dante, a Christian Poet" "
Pope Benedict's Tribute

to the influence Of truth.
This is his chief praise, to be
a Christian poet; that is to say.
to have sung in Divine accents
those Christian ideals which he
passionately admired in all the
vigor Of their beauty, being pro.
foundly attached to them and
living in them. And those who
venture to deny such merit to
Dante and reduce all the re-
ligious substructure Of the 'Di-
vina Commedia" to a vague ide-
ology that has no foundation Of
truth, overlook In Dante what
is characteristic and the founda-
ton Of all his other merits.
God grant that this celebra-
ton may have the result that
wherever literary studies are
cultivated Dante may be held
due honor and may become him.
self the teacher OF Christian doc.
trine. he who professed that his
poem had no other object than
to lift up mortals from the state
of misery, that is, from sin and
to lead them to the state of
happiness, that is, of Divine
grace.
"BENEDICTUs p. p. XIV"
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02

self in terms of the utmost praise
of literary man.
Dante is sometimes portrayed as
an anti-clerical because of his stric.
lures on certain eccclesiastics Of
his time, but Pope Benedict him.
self undertook the task of explain
ing Dante's quarrels with contem-
porary churchmen as political rup-
lures, which had no relation Of
any kind to Dante's Christian be.
liefs and practises, as exemplified
In his works.
American literary critics have
pronounced the Pope's encyclicaI,
distributed by the k. Of c. as one
of the most effective pieces of lit.
erary appreciation ever written.
DANTE'S APPEAL TODAY.
Writing in Columbia, official organ
Of the Knights OF Columbus. Condo
b. Pallen explains why Dante ap.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02

Of Dante's message to the twen-
tieth century, showing how the
great poets study OF human nature
and Its final destiny has provoked
an interest in this postwar times
that is one Of the best signs of
social reconstruction.
The Dante lectures will be dove.
tailed with the X. Of c. open forum
campaign against extremism, for
which work Peter w. Collins.
famous labor and industrial expert.
and David Goldstein. formerly emil
nent in the Socialist party, have
been selected. These two men
have addressed more than 10000, 900
persons on the evils of theoretic
Socialism, and appear annually in
more than a thousand cities and
towns under X. of c. auspices.
In addition to the Dante lectures
the Knights of Columbus, respond
Ing to demands by pupils enrolling
In their chain Of 1870 night schools
throughout the country, which are
free In every way to former service
men and women, will provide cul.
tural courses In Dante as a study
in poetics and philosophy.
POPE PRAISES POET.
Particularly among American ex.
service men who saw service in
Italy is the demand felt for com.
memorative study Of Dante. This
the Knights will supply.
The Papal encyclicai on Dante.
which forms the basis Of the X.
OF c. campaign, is one OF the most
remarkable documents ever issued
by the head Of the Catholic
Church, as It Is the first occasion
In modern times on which the gu.
prems Pontiff has expressed him.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02
~ EGINNING with October. the
n Knights Of Columbus will
launch fhA most ambitious

~ EGINNING with October. the
n Knights Of Columbus will
launch the most ambitious
program Of cultural and practical
educational forums ever under
taken by the organization since
fifteen years ago, the international
board Of directors engaged lectur-
ers to combat extremism at meet
ings held under the auspices of
subordinate councils throughout the
country.
Dante study Is one Of the fore.
most aims Of the X. Of c. lecture
movement this year. Maurice Fran
els Egan, former United States
minister to Denmark; DIR. James
J. Walsh and DR.. Condo b. Pallen-
a trio Of popular lecturers whose
knowledge of Dante IL unexcelled
by any publicists in the country
have been engaged to carry out the
cultural part Of the knights lee.
ture program.
The knights have initiated their
Dante movement by spreading mil.
lions Of copies Of Pope Benedict
xV's encyciical. which appeared in
full in Columbia, the new national
magazine published by the X. OF c.
NATIONWIDE LECTURES.
All phases OF the famous Floren.
tines life and work viii be treated
by the X. Of c. lecturers who, It is
estimated. viii address about 2oO.-
900 persons in public lectures and
an equal number in X. Of c. audi.
forums. A swing will be made OF
the Pacific coast and the principal
midwest and Eastern cities will
be covered, while the lectures will
be held South as far a. New
Orleans. 80
DR.. Paiisn WIN treat especially
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02

Mrs. Griffith was elated when
she got the appointment of super.
intendent of the reformatory be.
cause 1t would give her the op.
portunity she had long sought
that of making good girls out Of
hayward girls" -
And i can be. done" says Mrs
Griffith. ~ ....- - -. ....r.
There are seventy-three colored
and twenty-eight white girls at
the reformatory, which embraces
twenty-four acres. nineteen OF
which are in gardens and farm
lands. There are fourteen teachers
at the institution and several
guards. The District government
pays about s1.o1 per capita for
the maintenance of the girls.
Many Of the girls are extremely
emotional. They at first rebel at
confinement in a high walled insti-
tuition. Occasionally they will plot
to make a break for liberty. Some
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02
- OPE BENEDICT XIV, in an
encyclical, paid the follow.
ing tribute to Dante:

encyclical, paid the follow.
ing tribute to Dante:
"A special position has been
attained by Dante Alighieri, the
sixth centenary Of whose death
wis soon be celebrated. But
perhaps his singular greatness
has never been set forth In such
strong light as today, when not
only is Italy, which is justly
proud of having been his birth.
place. exerting herself to honor
his memory. but all civilized ma.
tons through fitting committees
of the learned are preparing to
celebrate his memory in order
that this exalted figure. the
pride and ornament of human.
ity, may be nonored by the
whole world.
Wonderful is the intellectual
enjoyment which the study of
this great poet affords: and not
less is the profit which the
studious derive from HIM. per.
fecting their artistic taste and
inflaming their zeal for virtue:
only let those who approach him
be free from prejudices and open
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02
STRIVES TO REFORM
THE MAYNARD.

Day after day, hour after hour.
she and her associates, a corps of
women who also have given their
lives to the reformation of way
ward girls, attempt to shape the
minds Of these irretractable young
women to be soul.fearing, to I'M
derstand themselves and to have
hope and to aim to go out into
the Wild educated and morally
sound.
Mrs. Griffith's interest in the
welfare Of girls has been Of long
standing. A woman Of artistic, as
well as motherly instinct, she re-
allies that the girl must have a
chance to make good. She is par
ticularly sensitive about her Chill
dren," whom she has endeared to
her. They have wept on her
shoulders. asking forgiveness for
some infractions Of the rules of
the institution. But she has al
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02
LIFE OF DANTE TO BE URGED THROUGHOUT THE NATION

Beginning This MONTH, Lectures ON 1.-The linn
mortal Poet'' Will BE Given All Over the
Country i'm knights of Columbus Drive as Part
of Big Educational MOVe-Suggested by the
POpe'S Remarkable Tribute to the Genius of
the italian Poet.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02
EACH GIRL HAS
HER OWN ROOM.

Each girl has a room to herself
at the institution. The white girls
have the opportunity during the
warm months to sleep in a tent in
the recreation yard. The colore6
girls are separated from the white.
Each girl has her daily task. When
supper 1t over, the girls are per
mitted to romp about the recreation
yard for several hours-until dark.
ness. They then enter the school
rooms. are taught to sing and their
songs make them light hearted and
joyous.
AS each girl enters the institution.
she Is carefully examined by
physician and dentist. She is
taught social hygiene from the be-
ginning. Moving pictures are shown
almost nightly. When a visitor en-
ters the institution and gazes upon
these happy girls, he is impressed
with the good work THAI Mrss0
Griffith is doing
And, it's hard work." said Mira
Griffith. When some girls come
to the institution they, are IN
corrigible. Bet under the kindly
treatment Of the teachers and other
employees, the girl soon becomes re
conciled and in a few weeks the
work Of reformation has started.
The girls then live in the hope
Of the day they will be paroled to
return to their parents or others
who wish to adopt or care for them
Few paroled girls are returned.
Under our educational system
and watchful eye, the girls are mad,
over. 1t takes more than a year, in
some instances. to make a girl over.
OF course, some girls can never be
made over. But this is not the
rule"
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02
S~eZ Iyrz1Zz3. z4Hlye H1H

times these plots succeed. Most Of
those who have escaped have been
caught and returned. sorrowfully to
the institution.
II am sorry. Mrs. Griffith" they
usually say, as tears well in their
eyes and they are gathered in, the
motherly arms OF the superintend-i
ent. ~ "a ..s, 2
Mrs. Griffith is never cross with
them. However, she speaks very
plainly when there Is need for plain
speaking. Most of the girls, really
ing Mrs. Griffith's personal interest
in them, quickly reconcile them
selves to punishment and confine.
ment in the institution.
HOURS OF RECREATION
WITH TEACHERS.
1t is not all work and no play for
the girls at the institution. They
have their hours Of recreation, arc
permitted, accompanied by teachers,
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02

manager and illustrator. Happen.
ings in the various departments are
reported and printed In a forty-page
pamphlet, each article being run off
on a typewriter by the reporters
and editors.
Much merit IL shown In these ar.
ticles and editorials. Here is one on
Possibilities"
Days pass and sometimes months
and often years slip by without one
realizing and making use OF the pos.
sibiiities of life.
Everybody has the possibility OF
making good in the world and being
a real success. Few people in this
late day realize success. Many
dream Of 1t and have not the ambi-
ton and power with which to
achieve It.
This is 1921. How many men
and women can say the year so far
has been a most successful one to
them7 You say, very few. You
are correct. There are few.
women have the same possibility
Of being successful in this present
century az the men have. Why not
be successful? Success is within
every ones grasp.
ITO be a real success and live a
life Of happiness one must be Of real
service to some one else. Love thy
neighbor as thyself,' is one of the
first commandments and Is one OF
the most important. Service for
others 10 one Of the greatest things
in life"
There il q possibility OF each
person becoming a true Christian
and living up to the rules Of their
church. There is not such a thing
as being half-hearted Christian, for
II one Is half.hearted about religion
they are most emphatically not a
Christian.
What would this world be with
out God or the Spirit OF God with
US always? Every one would be a
total failure II they had no hope for
the great unknown hereafter.
Hope Is the essence Of life. We
live in the hope Of better things
KEYNOTE OF
INSTITUTION.
This is just what Mrs. Griffith
aims to instill into the minds Of her
children" 1t 10 the hope in better
things. The above article was writ
ten by one Of the inmates Of the
institution. Who would believe a
girl, seventeen. sent to a reforma-
tory could sit down and write about
hope as this young woman has?
Another girl wrote the following
for the last issue of the Journal:
Always wear smile when you
are troubled.
Don't trouble trouble, till trouble
troubles you.
IF you have lost, 1t Is enough.
Don't try to tell the victor why.
IF you once succeed don't let it
go to your head or it may prevent
you from succeeding again.
Always think before you speak
and II necessary count ten and
sometimes it will not pay to be too
rapid a counter.
mo matter how young or how
old one may be 1t Is generally best
to be seen and not heard.
Never waste time in boarding up
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02
GARDEN AND
FARM WORK.

But the more she delved into the
social service work. the more she
realized that the warped mind Of
a girl could only be developed I'M
der careful and experienced train
ing in just such an institution as
the National Training School for
Girls.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02

to take strolls and to camp out in
the nearby country and play base
ball and tennis and other outdoor
diversions.
Hope is the watchword at the in
stitution. Hope for a happy future
is the keynote Of Mrs. Griffith's
teachings. The stubborn girl is soon
made to feel happy. The girls work
on the farms, in the kitchen, are
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02

money. II you do you will not have
any time to spend it."
Scarcely day passes that Mrs.
Griffith does not find In her mail
a letter from one or more Of her
former Children" who have been
paroled. Several weeks ago. a num-
Der OF girls broke out OF the recre-
alton yard. A few days later, Mrs.
Griffith received the following letter
from one Of her paroled girls who
has since married:
My dear Mrs. Griffith:
This Is the third time that have
started to write this letter to tell
you how sorry we are to read about
the girls running away. Have they
not learned anything? Does the
Sunday School lessons teach them
anything? Mrs. Griffith would
like to know why they do such
things. You give them more
privileges that they ought to have"
Mrs. Griffith I have prayed and
thanked God that l was under your
care and at the school. What would
have been II had not been sent
TO the school? am going to climb
higher to the place that was meant
for RE. -
II will do my best down here to
find some Of the girls who escaped.
God bless you and give you
strength. Closing with love, / am
one Of your devoted girls, Stella
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02

But with few exceptions the
girls at the National Training
School for Girls are happy.
Why?
They have a foster mother, who
is a whole-souled, gentle woman
whose heart throbs twenty-four
hours each day in the interest Of
her children, girls once way.
. ward and incorrigible and commit.
ted by the courts to the institu-
ton.
This foster mother is Mrs. Jennie
A. Griffith. the superintendent.
Mrs. Griffith has made this hu.
manitarian work her avocation.
True, her little city for incorrig.
ibles behind walls has it's turmoils,
its disturbances, breaks for liberty
by emotional girls. But; Mrs.
Griffith expects such things to
happen.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-10-02
KINDNESS BUILDS UP
CHARACTER I'm THIS
HUMAN REPAIR SHOP

Retaining Maynard Young Women by Lowing
Care Keynote of System That Gives Each I'm
mate Separate Room and Provides for Their
Parole for One Year of Good Behavior.
Girls, out the Conduit road near the District line
any afternoon this week you will find number of young
women harvesting grain and
And if perchance you stay around WHILE you will hear
joyous, roicking groups of girls rompng in the play
grounds and singing to their hearts content.
Strange you may think that these young women con-
fined in this institution for the correction of their morals
and rretractabe temperaments should be ghthearted
and