davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-10
Construction During
November rs p. C..
Ahead of Last Year

, amounted to $685.. sl2. 900. which Il
somewhat greater than the averag
eleven-month total for the preceding
five years.
Contemplated new work reported
for this section in November amount
ed to $49,022 900, which was five mil
lion dollars more than was reported
| in October.
Pittsburgh District.
Contracts awarded during No
vember In Western Pennsylvania
West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and
Tennessee amount to $S4,b86,OO0, an
GUS month and 80 per cent over the
corresponding month last year.
Included in the November total
were: S13.291 900, or 38 per cent. for
residential buildings; $6.251 600, or IL
per cent, for industrial buildings: 30,
372. 900, or '16 per cent. for educa'
tional buildings; $3,s48, 900, or II per
cent, for public works and utilities
and $685. 900. or 10 per cent, for ousi'
ness buildings. .
The total volume Of contracts let
from January ! to December j
amounted to 1898 $4,000, which Is
considerably above the average ngure
for the first eleven months In the
al :
Contemplated new work reported
for this district In November
amounted to- 39.122,000.
The Central West.
November building contracts In
the Central West (comprising III
nois. Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Wis
consin. Missouri and portions of
Eastern Kansas and Nebraska
amounted to $45.462,000. This was
IL per cent less than the figures for
the preceding month and per cent
less than the figure for the cor
responding month last year.
Included in the October total were
$16,232, 900, or 26 per cent for resi-.
dental buildings; $10,s9s,000. or "a
per cent for public works and utili.
ties; IS, $50 900. or 12 per cent for
business buildings; $4,S01 900, or III
per cent for educational buildings
and $3,745,0 900. or 8 per cent for in.
dustrial buildings.
During the first eleven months OF
this year the total amount of build
ing contracts has been $599,119, 900,
which Is per cent less than the av.
erage eleven-month figure for the
preceding five years.
Contemplated new work reported
in this district during November
amounted to 50,700,0 900. which was
more than three times the amount of
contracts awarded during the month.
The Northwest.
Contracts awarded during N0vem.
Der in Minnesota and the Dakotas
amounted to $4,701 900. This figure
is IS per cent greater than that of
the corresponding month last year
and. 80 per cent less than that of DC.
tober, 1921.
The November, 1921, total included
81, 006. 900, or 43 per cent, for residen.
tial buildings; $1,091 900, or 90 per
cent for business buildings; $S23, 900,
or II per cent for public works and
utilities.
The total amount Of building con.
tracts recorded during the first eleven
months Of 1921 has amounted to
$76,S19 900. an increase OF 20 per cent
over the average eleven-month
figure for the preceding five years.
Contemplated new work reported
in November amounted to 44.276. 900,
more than three times the amount re.
ported In October.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-10

rected. Benns pointed out that next
to New York. Washington had the
lowest basic rate used In determining
standard rates and. that this was due
to the fact that Washington had
many favorable conditions such as
wide streets, lack OF overhead wires
and an efficient fire department.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24
How To Increase Employment

Not only does the railroad bust
ness wait anxiously for final action
on the railroad bill, which has been
passed by the House by a vote Of
PA to 1913, but practically all the
business of the country.
If the railroads are able to make
improvements which must be made
if rates are to come down, a great
army now idle will get work. Not
only this, but the demand for
goods thus created will bring con-
fidence where now there is doubt.
If half billion is spent on railway
betterments it means employment
for a half million men for six
months. The effect of the prospect
of this would be immediate. When
other labor demands are light IS
a good time to carry on works Of
permanent improvement.
Until the railroad bill is disposed
Of the Senate does not seem justi-
fed in considering a recess. If
there is to be La Toilette filibuster
the interests Of the country require
that the labor Of breaking it down
be begun at once.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24
Junkerisrn

A curious point Of view is re-
vealed in the suggestion that the ar
bitration award in the matter of
the Panama boundary was the hasty
decision Of busy jurist on va
cation, and for that reason should
be lightly thrust aside.
To say that an arbitration award
which both parties to the dispute
had agreed in advance to accept
need not be binding upon the party
which loses by the decision is to
make mockery of arbitration and
to foster the deliberate breaking of
formal promises. Of what use is
arbitration if the award be not
accepted? And what good is the
award if it be not enforced?
The morality that condones the
rejection of an arbitration award
differs little from the German
Junker morality which believed in
scraps of paper only as long as it
was convenient.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24

fore him in person. Our State De-
partment not only does not object
to delegation sccepting his invita-
ton, but even goes so far as to wish
1T godspeed.
All of this promises we'll. There
has been delay in recognizing Obre-
gon, but it is only fair to say that
the main reason therefor has been
the difficulty Of the Mexicans in
agreeing on various issues. In so
far as the visit of the oil men to
Mexico City may do away with mis-
understanding it is to be welcomed.
The very fact that they have been
invited holds the promise that the
outcome will be satisfactory and that
recognition may come soon.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24
An Unprobed Secret

Mr.. Z. ". Robischen, of Caldwell,
N. j., has apparently risen above
enc of the most fundamental urges
of human nature, the combination of
curiosity and cupidity. Confronted
with the probability of hidden treas
ure on his premises, he scorns to
probe the secret. He would rather
read Stevenson's Treasure Island
than have been one of the actors in
that realistic adventure. He believes
in another secret, perhaps more rare
than the secret Of buried treasure,
the secret Of minding ones own bust
ness. And besides, of [ should find
it, he says, II should have to give
so per cent to the state government"
Considering the political condition of
New Jersey, there may be something
to that.
Mr.. Robischen appears to be one
half right, which, as the world goes,
is high percentage. He is right in
not caring for the material reward
for the hidden gold-but he is
wrong in his overcontrol of curl
osity. With Mr.. Robischen in charge
there would have been few dis
ccveries. Marco Polo and Robert
Peary would have stayed at home
grubbing. Benjamin Franklin and
Nine. Curie would not have been
known. Alexander would not have
spread the Hellenic culture over the
known world. Columbus would not
have discovered the New World; and
it is extremely doubtful if Adam
would have fallen:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24
Moral Astigmatisrn

The young man on a salary of
$50 week who stole 100000
from his employers gave as an cx-
cuse that he did it not for himself,
but for his wife and child The
pressure was no doubt great. But
it would not have mattered His
disease would have got him sooner
or later, unless cure had been APP
piled in time.
His disease is moral astigmatism
the inability to see things
straight The object Immediately in
front Of one is so distorted that it
shuts out the objects beyond it.
And curious thing about the dis
case is that its victims appear to
learn nothing from experience.
After Il short period Of rcmorse the
next object appears just as dis
torted as the last. And it is quite
a part Of the business that there is
commonly an illusion that this time
the game can be beaten.
The cure? 1t lies in the slow
process of building up the charac-
ter and acquiring spiritual and
moral vision in the home. 1t must
be applied to human beings when
they are very young. The chief
cause Of moral astigmatism is lack
of early home training.
The disease seems promoted BY
the vogue Of two trends of modern
life. One is the habit Of laying on
socicty responsibility for individual
lapscs. The other is the psyche
logical movement that in one guisc
or another teaches the supremacy
Of instinct-~that it is somehow
wicked to interfere with eager
wishes, Parents are tcrrorizcd and
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24
Hazardous Street Crossing

To the EDITOR of The Tribune.
Sir: Traffic regulations, according t.
my experience and observation, have
no consideration for the pedestrian Il
he tries to cross the street between cor
ners he is liable to arrest, and # he
endeavors to cross at corners he IS.
more than elsewhere, menaced By &C
cident or death. The only safe place
to cross is in the middle of the block,
where it is necessary to look in ors
direction only, while at the corners
one must get on guard against every
point, as there is no cessation Of traffic
from one street to another.
Ny Office is on Fifty-ninth Street and
my residence on 10th Street. hence
know Of what ! write have had many
narrow escapes and have Witnessed
many others. When yehicular traffic
changes direction there should be no
turning of corners. Broadway at 1l0th
Street is particularly dangerous
point; travel is heavy and great speed
permitted, while the intervening park
way greatly complexities the situation.
l.. F. ".
New York. Aug. %, 1921.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24
Reassuring France

1t is not surprising that France
asks to know beforehand who in
America can bind the country in an
agreement. Having wrongly esti-
mated the situation once, and having
traded material guarantees of safety
for the tripartite treaty whose ratif-
cation Mr.. Wilson apparently had no
intention Of urging, the French,
naturally, seek assurances, and
would ascertain beforehand whether
the coming conference will be con-
Quoted in the spirit of 1919.
The answer is clear to any Ameri-
can. Mr.. Hughes is to head the
American delegation, and Mr..
Hughes has abundantly proved his
great ability, his integrity and his
appreciation Of practical considera-
tons. Mr.. Lodge, one of the few
Americans who has thorough
knowledge Of European politics and
understanding Of diplomacy, is the
first representative to be named
from the Senate. Although he lost
the fight to have the Versailles
Treaty ratified, his stand represent
ed the sanely national point of view.
In choosing the other delegates the
President will be guided by his we'll
known desire to preserve harmony.
The lesson of the failure Of Mr.. Will
son has not been lost on Mr.. Har-
ding. Few Americans appreciate
more keenly than he does the need Of
international cooperation. Few real
ize as we'll the dangers of autocratic
willfulness. But will partisan mi
nority, playing the part Of deg in
the manger, defeat the ratification Of
any fair agreement reached? 1t will
not so dare.
There is little need to fear a repe-
tition Of the fiasco Of 1919. The
agreement in essence will be between
the American people and the French
people--not merely between govern
ments-and the American people
have a way of keeping their word.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24
New York, Aug. %, 1921.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: VIII those who have been ex-
pressing their belief in the ascension Of
the souls of dogs and some other be
loved animals take note Of Ecclesiastcs,
iii, 2l: "Who knoweth the spirit Of
man that gceth upward, and the spirit
of the beast that goeth downward to
the earth ,"
The beast is spoken of as possessing a
spirit, but this may be interpreted as
intellect and feeling, while the spirit
OF man we know must be interpreted
as soul.
If beloved animals have souls and ga
to heaven. why not all FISH. flesh and
fowl souis--and even snakes and IN
sects? DO not mean this for levity.
Why should one animal so to heaven
and not all ANNA \ A. LAW.
Pittston, Pa, Aug 10. 1924. :.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24
Not by the Whim of Men

In The Tribune's judgment the
United States Senate is sustained by
an overwhelming public opinion in
its stand on the Stanley search and
seizure amendments public opinion
which will not be satisfied with the
House modification--a public opinion
which will subscribe to no less than
government of laws as ordained
and guaranteed by the Constitution.
The Stanley amendment squares
with the rights which the founders
of the Republic reserved in the
Fourth and Fifth amendments Of
the Constitution. These amend
ments, as part of the original ten,
were intended to be and are specific
limitations upon the power Of Con-
gress to nullify or abrogate in any
degree any Of the rights therein set
forth.
Says the Fourth Amendment, and
A''C a ADUi'C dUoltS IL again lOT Jnc
benefit Of all orderly inclined and
law-abiding persons:
"The right of the people to be
secure in their persons, houses,
papers and effects against unreason-
able searches and seizures shall not
be violated, and no warrants shall
issue but upon probable cause, sup
ported by oath or affirmation and
particularly describing the place to
be searched and the persons or
things to be seized"
Mark the clause, "The right to be
secure in their persons, houses,
papers and effects Mark,
too, that warrant shall be in a
form particularly describing the
place to be searched and the persons
or things to be seized
In the Fifth Amendment it is
written:
mo person shall be de-
prived Of life, liberty or propcrty
without due process Of Law"
The Stanley amendment makes
those guarantees Of personal liberty
end safety living forces. Their in
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24

vasion or violation by public officers
or others acting in the guisc of pub
lie officers IN the enforcement Of any
or all la1cs is made 4 crime subject
to appropriate fine and imprison-
ment or both.
Under the House modification the
enforcement Of the Eighteenth
Amendment is treated as something
apart from all laws With the ex-
ception of restraining prohibition en-
forcement agents from searching a
mans home without a proper war
rant, it leaves these officers and all
others engaged in law enforcement
OF any description to go on making
byword Of the Constitution.
Senator Reed, Of Missouri, states
the case exactly:
"The issue now before the Con-
gress is not prohibition or anti-pro-
hibition. The question is whether
the Fourth Amendment to the Con-
stitution shall be nulihed by statute
in so far as a statute can work that
outrageous end. The principle is as
old as Magma Charta. 1t has been re-
peatedly referred to by the greatest
judges as guaranteeing one Of the
most important rights secured to 8
free people. 1t is idle to claim the
prohibitory law cannot be enforced
without destroying the Constitution
Law enforcement must be by law
and the processes prescribed by the
Constitution. 1t cannot be left to
the whim Of men,
The Senate is right. Let it stick
to its guns, to the end that there
shall be a revival Of popular respect
for law and restoration of consti-
tutional rule.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24
'Lightnin S =" Appeal
Wholesome Appreciation of Human
Nature as 1t Is"
To the Editor Of The Tribune.


Sir: l have read with interest your
editorial on "Lightnin" and the com
ment of Adolph Edwards in to-days
issue.
Whatever may be the psychological
reason for the success Of this play,
"it cannot be-" as Mr.. Edwards as
serts, "thas people are fond of drunk
ards or sympathize with this form o.
Weakness" Few chara cters have will
power for more than one heroic trait,
and this, alas, is often offset by weak
nesses which are not so amusing as
those of "Lightnin.'"
Lightnin' Bill had many failings, but
he had the strength of character to
refuse to sign the deed for the trans-
fer Of his wife's property, in spite OF
the pressure brought 10 bear uDcn him
and the urdoubted suffering which his
refusal caused him.
1t was the totally of this character,
with its weakness and its strength, its
humor and its pathos, revealed by the
inimitable acting of Mr.. Bacon against
supremacy American background.
that made such an irresistible appeal.
And the public, which seems to be
alarmingly infested with refQrmers
nowadays, responded to that appeal
because, thank GOD, it still retains
wholesome appreciation of human
nature as it is. lone DE VANY.
New York, Aug. %, 1921.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24


To the Editor of The Tribune:
Sir: In letter just received from
DR. Wilfred 7. Grenfell, st. Anthony,
Labrador, expressing appreciation of
the service being rendered the children
and parents of the Labrador coast by
the Educational Health Panels con-
tributed by the Child Welfare Asso-
citation, he adds:
1--WE need clothing very badly this
year with approximate war prices still
here-four is $3.50 barrel and fish
way down. Clothing has almost van
ished in this sub-Arctc climate
For the sake of these little Labrador
children and their fathers and mothers,
who are in such desperate need, the
National Child Welfare Association is
appealing to the readers of The Trh-
une for clothing to pass on to them.
Warm clothing of any kind will be
welcome-shoes, rubbers and boys
clothing especially. Any sized bundle
big or little-will be gladly received
at the association Headquarters. 70
Fifth Avenue. whence it will be for
warded directly to DR. Grenfell in La
brador. CHARLES +. POWLIOSN.
General Secretary.
New York. Aug 80. 1921.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: A number of American citizens
have arrived recently in France with
out having their passports viscd by a
French consul abroad, believing prob
ably that the visa was no longer ncccs-
sary, since the presentation of pass
ports is not requested from them by
the United States authorities at the
port Of embarkation.
think, in order to avoid further
mlsundorst landing in this respect, that
it would be in the interest of the
American public were you to inform
your readers that American citizens
going to France or her colonies must
still have passport and that this
passport must be viscd by a French
Consul previous to their Departure
For the Consul General,
R. DROUIN, Deputy Consul.
New York, Aug %, 1921.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24
To the Editor of The Tribune.


Sir The letter of Francis B. Purdie,
printed in The Tribune Of the 10th inst
emphasizes the vast amount of misin-
formation current respecting our trade
with the Latin American countries.
Mr.. Purdie says, There never has
been such a volume of imports from
the ten re1Nblics of South America
that falling off of 43 per cent repre-
sented total of S374,92l 1916"
Mr.. Purdie has not consulted the ste
tistical reports of the United States
Bureau Of Foreign and Domestic Com
merce. The United States imports from
these ten republics for the fiscal year
ended June 80, 1920, were 1857, 1858 ,O63
and for the year ended June 80, 1921,
$482,314, 1877. This is a falling off of
more than 43 per cent-viz 43.61S plus
per cent. AS used in my letter to The
Tribune, the figures were obtained by
countries by my assistant directly from
the statistical division of the Bureau
of Foreign and Domestic Commerce,
prior to publication in The Monthly
Summary Tor June, 1921. The additions
are ours. The June Monthly is now out
or will be in a few days. However, if
Mr.. Purd.e had consulted the May
Summary he would have found that
the eleven months imports showed
falling off Of nearly 1912, 100000, or
over 40 per cent.
The difficulty of meeting the con-
stantly recurring statements that our
export trade to Latin America is being
lost to Germany or England or to some
| other country is largely in the fact
that the statements are usually made
as of the immediate present, while the
facts to controvert are not available
except for periods from four to eight
months back The comparisons by
countries, as will be understood, are
obtainable only from the statistics of
the Latn-American countries them
selves.
In other words man makes state
ment the truth of which neither he nor
any one Csc knows or can know at
the particular time. Later. when the
figures arc available and he is shown to
be wrong, he pulls up his pegs and sets
them forward again. The old cry that
our trade is being lost is not some
thing of the summer of 1921. 1t goes
back two years or more Perhaps Mr..
Purdie himself was saying it in the
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24
A FINAL WARNING
The redwinged blackbirds like my

The red-winged blackbirds like my
swamp:
And that / should not mind,
If there they were content to stay,
But I do hate to find
My sweet corn shoots torn, blade and
BY pirates of their kind.
The redwinged blackbirds like my
swamp
like to see them there,
A-swnging on spear of rush
AS if they swung on air.
Why were they born to love green corn
Upon their bill of fare?
fancy Mr.. Blackbirds coat,
Faced with it's scarlet patches;
| bless him for ali the army worms
And weevils that he catches
Yet these and seeds don't meet his
needs:
He plucks my corn in patches.
Close by the pond, but yesterday,
found nesting small;
Crouched in alarm amid the grass,
He gave a rueful call.
said, III guess one blackbird less
Will migrate South this fall"
lt squatted on my Upen palm
And winked solemn eye;
From somewhere near its mother gave
A sharp, distressful cry;
Then in ths shade the chick I laid
Ana put resentment by.
The red winged b1ackbirds like NV
swamp
Beneath the pasture hill;
l"~s like too we'll my sprouting corn,
And eat their greedy fill.
Just one raid more, and my old twelve
bore
Will speak, swear it will!
G. g. b
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24
Whooping Cough Worry

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Tho children of my neighbor
living below US have whooping cough.
Ny own boy Will be back home from
the country the end of the month. I
am worried, thinking of his contracting
the sickness from the others, although
he has never been sick.
About year ago doctor in a let
ter to you made the statement that
whooping cough was stomach disease
ana could be cured by sort of starva-
ton IN a very short time. Is that a
fact? | am thinking seriously of let
ting my hey stay in the country till
the children are well again.
TRAVELLING SALESMAN.
New York, Aug. %, 1921.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-24
4 Mexican Change of Heart

Inc Under Secretary of State, Mr..
Fletcher, was formerly Ambassador
TO Mexico and to Chile. He knows
Latin America, and the Latin Amer
'cans have confidence in his in
tegrity.
for this reason good may be ex-
pec'ed Of the recent interview which
ne gave to FL Universal, one of the
'eaolng newspapers in Mexico. He
explained informally the position of
the United States in the matter of
recognition. He pointed out that
america had no desire to dictate
conditions. The United States. in
'ace' would welcome proposals from
the Mexican government. And as
tor the talk that the oil men were
cictating the departments pol;cv
THIS, ne SAID, was entirely false The
United states would support oil men
or any other American citizens
abroad If they we're in the right
Sus no group or groups dictated
Americas policy.
Coming from an official whose
friendship for Mexico is 50 well
known in that country, and whose
sympathetic understanding Of the
l.afin-fmerican point Of view is ap-
Drceiated, these 1ords have not been
IN vain. Mexican obduracy has
oeen little softcned Suspcnding
nis private war against the oil men,
Prcsidcnt Obrc9on has seen fit to
invite them to lay their cases be-