davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1924-05-25

A varied collection which includes
some of the most valuable birds and
animals ever received at the National
Geological Park has joined the Gagged
family there during the past week.
The most reasured OF these is a
Baird's tapir, q Central American
animal, which the. Zoo hitherto for
twenty-four years has made fruit
less efforts to obtain At that time
a very sickly baby tapir was OBJ
tained from an Army officer, but II
lived only a few days after it reach
ed Washington. The present animal
IS about eight months old and in
exceptionally healthy condition. 1t is
believed to be the only representative
of its species in the United States.
Secured in Honduras.
The creature was secured from a
Hondurean collector by DR.. William
Mann of the Department of Agri-
culture on recent exploring expedi-
tion into that country. DR.. Mann was
aware of the anxiety of the Zoo to
obtain such an animal and he placed
1t on ship board with careful instruc-
tions as to It's care and diet during
the ocean voyage. He then sent a
wireless to DR.. Ned Hollister, super
intendent of the. Zoo, who had an
animal expert meet the ship at New
York to insure the treasure against
rough treatment.
The tapir is confined strictly to the
swampy interior of Central America.
1t is larger than the South American
and Mexican tapirs, with blackish
brown coat. The animal at the Zoo is
Just shedding the handsome spotted
coat of his babyhood days. Contrary
to expectations he appears to be
standing confinement well. Dr. Hol-
lister will make special efforts to
much of his time walIowing in the
pool in his pen.
Four Baby Reindeer.
Next in Importance of the new ar
rivals are four baby reindeer born
this week to the herd imported from
Norway last fall. These have much
the appearance of white-tailed deer
fawns. They are thriving exception
ally we'll and may appear for the Sun
moss shipped from Maine. The par
ents are being weaned from this moss
to diet of crushed oats and hay but
an occasional meal of the moss. DR..
Hollister says, served them both as
medicine and candy.
The horns of the old deer. which
were cut off when they were placed
in crates for shipment, are growing
again. By Christmas Dr. Hollister
expects them to have traditional rein
deer horns.
Thrush from England.
The most important of the new
birds Is the mistle thrush. obtained d
from England. This is the prima
donna of the Zoo. Next to the night
ingale 1t is the most sweet voiced of
all birds. It's song has been a favor
lite subject for British poets. 1t Is an
unusually large thrush. brown with
spotted breast, and is common
among the hedges of central Europe
A companion European bird obtained
this week Is the yellow hammer, a
yellow sparrow closely related to the
household canary.
From South America were OBJ
tanned the red crested cardinal and
the saffron finch. The former is one
of the most elaborately decorated of
all birds, with a coat of shimmering
gray and blue and a flaming scarlet
head crest. The latter is closely re-
lated to the canary with yellow feath-
ers and a small black cap.
Evening star., 1924-05-25
Local Boy Wins Scholarship.

william A. Clementson, son of
Representative and Mrs. Clyde Kelly
of Pennsylvania, has been awarded
the Washington Harvard Cubs
scholarship to the Cambridge Institu-
tfon as the result of his high
scho.Stic record at Eastern High
school. He is sixteen years old, and
will graduate from Eastern next
month. Clementson is strictly a
product of the District public schools,
having received his elementary edu-
cation in the Force School before
entering Eastern. He has been
active in the Washington High
School cadet corps, and is captain of
Company B of Eastern.
Evening star., 1924-05-25
Files Bankruptcy Plea.

The Service Pole Company, a cor
poration Of 1859 Georgia avenue, filed
a petition in voluntary bankruptcy
yesterday. 1t lists its debts at
s21,679.10 and estimates it's assets at
s5,17S57.
Raymond p. Leizear president of
the company, who also describes him.
self as pole dealer and general con-
tractor. filed an individual petition to
be adjudged bankrupt. He says he
has no assets, but owes S14,38S1S
Attorneys Swingle and Swingle ap-
pear for both the company and its
president
Evening star., 1924-05-25

New York, was routed in a prelimi-
nary skirmish over the amendment to
legalize beer and hard cider which
he has announced he will offer. To
pave the way for this proposal he Of
fered an amendment to define more
clearly the emergency requiring pas
sage of the legislation-a provision
which he contended would enable the
"a to 23.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-02-18

were netting above this amount.
Many landlords have seized upon
this decision to compel their tenants
to pay rentals at a rate of about
eleven per cent profit and often where
the property was heavily mortgaged,
at rates as high as 40 to 30 per cent.
The Federation of Tenants Asso-
citation of Greater New York pre-
scented data to the State Commission
showing that in seven cases on Wash
ington Heights the landlords were
garnering profits ranging anywhere
from 1923 to $40 per cent; in 40 cases
at about 100 per cent, and in 200
cases from to 20 per cent.
While the workers were being
robbed of their food and the oppor-
tunity to send their children to
school, in order to meet these rentals,
the government was allowing the
landlord class to continue to fleece the
tenants in this eold-blooded fashion,
The Courts-The Landlords Strong
hold.
In the housing crisis, like in all
other difficulties in which the work
ing men find themselves under CAPT
talism, the courts are invariably on
the side of the rich and against the
poor. According to the Emergency
Rent Relief Laws the tenant is al
lowed a trial by jury to determine
the reasonableness of the increase in
rent.
On Jan. 21st, 1924, Congressman
Fiorello H. LaGuardia wrote letter
to Mr.. Bernhard Shientag, chairman
Of the State Commission Of Housing
and Regional Planning, in which he
cited his experience with the high
handed conduct Of the courts "vitiat-
ing the very purpose Of the law"
The congressman pointed out that
in this case involving the protest of
twenty-six tenants in the Sixth Dis
trict Municipal Court, against an in
crease In rent, the Judge, at the end
OF the case, instead Of permitting
the jury TO decide whether the rent
was reasonable, or excessive, took
that question away from the jury and
submitted three questions for the jury
to decide, instructing them TO bring
in replies to the three specified ques.
tions. The questions given to the
jury were substantially as follows
1. What is the present income de-
rived from the property? 2. What
are the operating expenses Of the
property? 3. What is the valuation
Of the property?
"The case was the usual one Of the
typical landlord padding his bill of
particulars with excessive operating
costs and with the usual expert tes-
timony on the valuation Of the prop
orty. Tha jury brought In verdict
fixing the value Of the property at
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-02-18

the figure of the assessed valuation,
refusing to believe, of course, the
fiimsy, groundless figures of the ex-
perts on valuation and also cut the
operating expenses in accordance
with the facts as they believed them,
seeing right thru the padded list of
the landlord. The court not satisfied
with taking the fundamental ques-
tiOn away from the jury, then set
aside that portion of the jury's ver-
diet as to the operating expenses and
substituted other figures. With the
instructions as given the jury, and
the setting aside of the figures UNI
satisfactory to the landlord, the
Court assumed the province of the
jury and defeated the very purpose
Of the Emergency Rent Relief Law.
Thus the tenants were deprived in
every sense of the word trial by
jury"
We see that here as in every con-
test between the workers and their
exploiters the courts lined up on the
side Of the propertied interests. the
capitalists, against the appropriated
masses, the workers. The Court, in
this instance, did not instruct the
jury to find out how much the work.
ers were able to pay but propagan-
died the jury to fix a handsome
profit for the landlord.
Rent Laws No Remedy.
The Emergency Rent Relief Laws
were and are at best only half
hearted attempt to show an interest
on the part Of the government in the
deplorable housing conditions Of the
working class. Every one admits
and overwhelming evidence has been
presented to the State Housing Com
mission to show that since the enact
ment of these laws the rent situation
has grown worse. What is more, we
have seen that every supposed pur-
pose Of relief in these laws has been
frustrated by the landlords with the
tacit or with the open aid of the gov
eminent itself.
These laws were enacted, TO use
the words Of the Housing Commits
sion, ito avoid that which in tnen
absence would have been calamity"
The Wall Street Journal of Oct, Is,
1923, saw the full significance of this
point Of view in it's statement that,
"The situation extends a grave warn
ing 10 the whole class of New York
realty owners. Indirectly all owners
OF private property must be condemn
ed over a condition which makes for
discomfort, disrespect for existing So
cial institutions and a dozen varieties
Of political radicalism."
And Patrick j, Reville, superin-
tendent Of Buildings, Borough Of the
Bronx, made IL clear to the Housing
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-02-18

ceedings was told to the commission
by Captain Ely in citing the follow
ing typical case: A working woman
went to the court. She had mailed
a check to the landlord. While she
was at work she was notified over
the telephone that her things were
on the sidewalk. She came back and
found part of her possessions there.
The neighbors had taken in her cloth
ing and told her that her things were
moved out and a paddock placed on
the door of her apartment. The
woman sought entry thru the window
on the fire escape. She then broke
the paddock and moved her things
back into the house. She told the
marshal that check for the land
lord was left on the chiffonier.
Thereupon the marshal phoned the
landlord who ordered her dispossess-
ed at once. She then proceeded to
sent registered letter with a check
to the landlord and told the Judge
about 1t. The letter was returned
opened with the check not accepted.
Yet, the judge Immediately ordered
the working woman dispossessed
Municipal Court Judge Aaron j..
Levy summarized the extent of these
eviction proceedings in the last four
years as follows: Sin 1919, in the
five boroughs constituting the City
of New York we had instituted
96,623 landlord and tenant proceed
ings. In 1920, which, | believe, was
the year in which the rent laws were
passed, they went to 1920, in spite
of the rent laws, and in the succeed
ing year of 1921, after the rent laws
were in effect for almost a year, they
jumped TO 1856. So the gentle
ment owning real estate in New York
were not respectors of the rent laws"
In 1922 there were S5,926 eviction
proceedings. In the first half Of 1923
there were $4,000 cases of this sort
on the calendar. In one district
court, the Seventh District Court Of
Judge Grain, these attempts Of the
landlords TO ovict their tenants rose
from 0,779 in 1919 before the rent
laws were enacted TO 1924 in 1920,
after the rent laws were passed.
Government Saves Profiteers.
While the government was helping
the landlords in their cruel practice
Of summarily evicting the poor ten
ants, II was, at the Aame time doing
its best to guarantee the property
owners minimum ample profits and
to aid and abet many landlords In
forcing the most exorbitant rents
on the workers.
In case before Judge Spiegelberg
the latter ruled on the basis Of an
Appellate Division decision that eight
per cent was not too high in view Of
the fact that investments Mt the time
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-02-18
FINANCIERS MEET
TO SAVE SKINS OF
BUSTED BANKERS
Fear Growing Revolt of
Bankrupt Farmers

committees OF HnanclerS, railroad
presidents and business men with
the American government represent
cd by Herbert Hoover met here to
save the bankers of the Northwest
from bankruptcy and to keep the
exploited farmers on the Coolidge
bandwagon until the next election is
over.
The assembled plutes announced
that 100000 were available for
the relief of their fellow bankers.
No time was wasted discussing the
dire straits in which the farmers
found themselve in; their troubles
were of interest only because they
had direct connection with busted
banks and bankrupt bankers.
They Form Pool.
Herbert Hoover, secretary of com
merce, and Eugene Meyer, head of
the War Finance Corporation, were
present at the meeting and pledged
the support of the government in the
administration of tie pool. If this
pool is administered in the same
highly efficient manner that the
money appropriated for the disabled
war veterans was handled by the
republican administration, some of
the farmers may come to the con-
clusion that it is not pool but a
bottomless pit.
1t was announced at the meeting
that $l0,000,000 were Immediately
available for relief. The war finance
oO,.roro 4iov is GOOD FOR fa, fiYnae
this amount.
How strange that relief is so hard
to secure when the workers or farm
ers are in need of assistance but, let
banker send up a signal of dis
tress and the government immedi-
ately places the United States treas
ury at his disposal.
Railroad Boss Farm SaviOurl
c. T. Jaffray, Minneapolis, presi-
dent of the $780, railroad, was cleo
ted chairman of the board of direc-
tors of the financing corporation
which will start actual relief work
within two or three weeks, it was
announced. Jaffray win establish
headquarters for the organization in
MlHnedpOliS.
The amounts pledged by districts
are: New York and. the eastern
states, $5,0O0,000; Chicago, s2,000,-
900; the Twin Cities, 10000 De-
troit and Cleveland, 100000 each,
and Pittsburgh, 100000.
Members of the executive COM
mittee of the corporation are: John
McHugh, New York; G. H. Prince,
St. Paul; E. w. Decker, C. G. Web
Der, and P. J. Leeman, Minneapolis;
Ralph Van Vechten, Chicago; J. R.
Howard, former presidents Of the
American Farm Bureau Federation;
Ralph Budd, president of the Great
Northern Railroad, and Charles Dom
nelly, president of the Northern Pac-
ifc.
Get unity thru the Labor Party!
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-02-18
WILMINGTON, DEL,
is SCENE OF The
LATEST SCARE
Police Surely Had This
Meeting Covered

WILMINGTON, Del, Feb. IT,
Italian workers, who want to hold
meetings for the Sacco-Vanzetti De-
Tense committee, are told to go to
Massachusetts to hold them, by local
police. That organizations like the
the Sons of Italy are willing to CO.
operate with the radical Italians
makes no difference to the police.
"Reds can't hold no meetings in
this town." the police say.
The fear the police have of radical
meetings goes rather far here. A
Catholic priest, Rev. John S. Glucy,
phoned the police recently that a
meeting of reds would take place
in a certain hall. Superintendent Of
police Black ordered more than a
score of police to report to him in
plain clothes. When they reported
he ordered them to 60 to the hall
where the meeting was to TAXI place
and scatter themselves in the audi
ence.
The police were to arrest every
body in sight at signal from the
officer in charge.
The brave police went to the hall.
They scattered. They tried to look
desperate. They waited for the sig
nal. The meeting opened.
The Rev. George Allison, pastor Of
the Second Baptist church, spoke and
number of children from his Sun
day school sang,
"This is slick work on the part
of the bloody reds" whispered the
police. eve will give it to them
when they show their colors."
Then the Rev. Mr.. Allison gave
a talk on "Italy, It's People, and
Their Customs"
"The dirty buns" sighed the
police. ''They are the slick ones.
They think we will leave and then
they will overthrow the government
of the country. Leave? Not US.
We stay here and project the gov
eminent. We stay if it is all night"
There were more songs by the Sun
day school children and then the
meeting closed.
Feared There Was Mistake.
The policeman in charge of the de-
tail at the meeting thought there
might be some mistake. For all he
knew the government was being over
thrown in another hall. Maybe the
police were in the wrong place. He
spoke to the Rev. Mr.. Allison.
Allison cleared the whole thing
up. The meeting was being held for
the benefit of Polish Baptist church
and apparently the Catholic priest
who had called the police hoped to
break up the meeting and SO protect
his flock from the ravages of hard
shelled Baptism.
After sending out general alarm
to all police stations to look out for
red meetings and instructing them
to protect and uphold the govern
ment of city, state and nation the
police went back to headquarters to
await developments.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-02-18

are paying higher rates than some
states and cities are paying for their
borrowing. Your own bank, the
Mellon National of Pittsburgh, holds
nearly forty millions on which it
pays no taxes whatsoever. The Chase
National of New York is reported to
hold nearly eighty million. You
know that individuals holding these
securities would have to pay income
taxes. Why do you not recommend
a remedy for this discrimination
Your policy has made it more diff
cult for industry to get money at
reasonable rates than all the state
and municipal bonds in existence.
Banks do not hold many state and
municipal bonds because they are not
liquid enough but your issuing short
time securities makes a very splen-
did investment for these financial in
stitutions and manufacturers who
keep their reserve in them.n
Dealing with MELONS claim that
reduction in the rich mans tax bur-
den will reduce the cost of living,
Couzens cites the unanimous opinion
" SohSCA NdtANS cCuIluWlSlS 10 the
effect that surfaces on high incomes
and the excess profits tax are the
hardest taxes to pass along. Ac-
cording to Prof. T. S. Adams of
Yale: Takes were responsible only
in minor degree for the high cost
of living. The cost of living went
up before tax rates were increased,
it stayed up when tax rates were
reduced, and it will come down in
the future whether tax rates be in
ceased or reduced"
During the seven years 1916 to
1922, Couzens shows, corporations
averaged nearly $3,00O,000 900 year
available for dividends and surplus,
or more than IL per cent on all
common and preferred stock out
standing in 1922. What l desire, he
says, is that the government should
obtain its share of these enormous
profits. Why lose all this revenue
from those well able to pay? And
why, if no one is payiHg these sur
taxes is there such a tremendous
campaign of propaganda to secure
their reduction?
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-02-18

Commission that 1.-THE rent laws were
as much an advantage to the investor
as they were to the tenant. 1t would
have been absolutely impossible to
collect the rents if they insisted go
ing along in the rampant way they
were of raising rents, property
changing hands from week to week,
getting in the hands of new opera
tors and spectators. 1t would have
created condition that your Police
Department and even your military
could not take care of, because your
laws were affecting your working
Glass;
Mr.. Charles Brady, the Superin-
tendent of Buildings in the Borough
OF Manhattan, went SO far as to tell
the Housing Commission that il it
were not for the rent laws 1--WE won't
have enough marshals in the City Of
New York to put the tenants out"
Or. Frank j. Monaghan, Health
Commissioner, proved that the rent
laws were not to the disadvantage of
the landlords by citing the small
number of foreclosures of tenements
since their enactment by the legisla-
ture.
Speaking for the extension of these
laws in order to keep the lid on the
protests Of the workers suffering
from these incalculable troubles,
Lille Grant of the Mayors Commit
tee, said: IF these laws are not ex-
tended we are going TO see bloodshed
right in New York City, and <iot."
Landlords Well Organized.
The government is simply carry
ing out the dictates Of the capitalists
and serving the landlords. A power
full lobby is maintained by these In
terests to see that the legislators
should not go wrong on housing
matters.
Thus Captain Ely, Of the Tenants
Federation, informed the state ipves-
tigators that he twas told by one
of the members of the real estate
trust that the slush fund which has
been raised by real estate men In be
used at Albany Is NO large that they
are ashamed 10 look AT IT, The land
lords, thru the Real Estate Board,
are also making an effort TO put all
rent cases into the hands OF special
commission which will be entirely re-
moved from popular influence and be
appointed by the governor.
The facts Of capitalist control of
the governmental agencies in the
housing crisis are rs legion as in al
other instances where the workers
are subject to employing class domi-
nation.
The government is doing nothing
for the working class in the acute
housing crisis. The government has
surrended lock, stock and barrel 10
the landlords.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-02-18
Government Aids Landlords Fight Tenants War Over Home

ment has always been ready to guar
antee a certain rate of interest or
profit to the capitalists, it has not
done thing in this case to compel
the landlords to pay interest to the
tenants on these securities.
Allows Iron Clad Leases.
Under the very eyes of government
officials the United Real Estate Own
ers of New York City, an organiza-
ton composed of about 1900 real
estate owners, has been violating
every principle of contracts, the sane
tity of which has always been preach
ed by our capitalist defenders Of the
constitution and for the enforcement
Of which the workers have often had
TO pay with their jobs, their homes
and their very lives.
Despite the enactment of the emer-
gency rent laws the government has
blinked at the fact that the provi-
sions Of the eleventh clause of the
"Iron-Clad Lease" is a complete alb
rogation of the tenants rights. Ac-
cording to this clause "a court deci-
sion fixing the amount of rental to
be charged for the apartment is to
be disregarded, providing the amount
of rent fixed by the court is less than
the amount reserved in the lease or
the rent last paid if it exceeds that
amount Other burdensome require
ments include new penalties in the
form of threatened rental increase
If the tenant accepts a lodger, or il
the tenant remains as a hold-over I'M
der the rent laws and the landlord
obtains an offer Of higher rent for
the apartment.
The State Housing Commission has
frankly declared that "such terms
are obviously intended to subvert the
purpose for which the rent laws were
enacted and must be accepted as eyi.
dence Of the disposition of the land
lord 10 utilize the present emergency
for the purpose Of exacting the most
oppressive and burdensome lease
hold" Since this conclusion Of the
State investigators was made public
not single landlord has been COM
PEELED to stop breaking the laws Of
the State.
Evictions Menace Thousands.
One Of the worst hardships from
which the working men are suffering
today is the power Of summary ovic-
tons by the courts. These summary
proceedings have permitted landlords
TO throw people into the streets. This
has set up the landlord class as a
most favored group even amongst
the capitalists, for the butcher, the
grocer, or the shoemaker does not
have this right to interfere with the
personal security Of the debtor.
How harsh the courts have been
TO the working men under these pro-