davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1926-05-21
Defends 1axicabs
In Street Accidents

10 The Editor of The Star.
For some years past the Police De
partment has collected statistics on
automobile accidents In the District in
tho belief that the accumulated data
could be used 10 correct some OF the
traffic problems. The director Of
traffic has now made q superficial
analysis of the accident figures and
has arrived at the conclusion that the
drivers Of taxicabs and commercial
vehicles commit more than their fair
share of the accidents. This would lie
q serious situation If true, for If eX-
perlcnCed drivers, constantly practlc-
ing their craft, are unable to avoid
accidents there Is little hope for the
Owncr-operator. Fortunately, no such
condition is indicated by Mr., Eldf1dgc's
figures. and, I'm fact, the evidence Is
quite the opposite.
Mr. f;ldridge finds that taxic;Lbs,
which number but . per cent Of the
registered vehicles, are involved in
per cent of the accidents, while prl-
Vatc cars. comprising some 80 per cent
of the registered vehicles. are in only
90 per cent Of the accidents. To the
inexperienced the case would seem
complete against the taXiS, but mo-
mentS thought VIII convince any one
that the basic premise is wrong.
The number of registered vehicles
is not the proper base from which TO
calculate accident correlationS for
variety of reasons. Perhaps the best
approximation would be given by TAX
ing into consideration the hours diff
ferent classes of vehicles are used, to-
gether with the miles Travelled.
Even such a base would fail to give
n true picture when taXicaOS are com
pared with private vehicles. since
every one knows that taXis are called
into service when street conditions are
at their worst, and also that for the
most part taXis are using the con
gested thoroughfares, while hundreds
Of registered private vehicles never
enter the conSeSted sections. Any
one seeing the thousands of private
cars parked from 9 10 $50 can appre-
| ciate that for that part of the DAY
| those cars can cause no accidents. but
| Mr.. Eldridge overlookS even such OBJ
| viouS evidence. There can he no
| question that in hours of street oc-
cupancy the taxis and commercial
| vehicles far exceed their 16 per cent
! proportion Of the total registration.
J. II. kEMPTON.
Evening star., 1926-05-21
Urges Better Stables
At Racing Parks
10 the Editor Of The star

10 the Editor OF The star.
Now that the racing season is on
again. / would like TO call attention
to the frame sheds at Arlington Park,
ana other tiretrap stables, where valu-
able horses are stabbed. ana beg Of the
owners Of these creatures that they
demand and see that fireprOof quar-
ters are given them.
Surely when you reason from q
standpoint of economy. leaving out
all humanitarian principles. it seems
natural that the owners of these
horses would have long ago made
some effort along these lines.
Year after year we read OF the de
struction of these beautiful. intelligent
creatures. most Of them being own
ed by people of wealth and prom
inence. and yet little is done
Only recently the sheds at Arlington
burned down and were Immediately
replaced by the same wooden sheds
whereas hollow tile would cost but
little more, he cooler for the horses
and also fireprOof.
MARY f.. CLARK.
Evening star., 1926-05-21

vention shall be necessary to consti-
tute a choice.
1t is to be noted that this refers
only to the vice presidency, for the
reason that the denomination OF An
drew jackson was a foregone conclu-
sion. That rule, applying to both the
presidential and vice presidential nom-
nations. has been adopted in every
subsequent Democratic convention, al
though on numerous occasions the
nominees have been chosen by virtual
acclamation. In 1914, when Martin
Van Buren, was candidate for his
third nomination against Il number of
other aspirants, the tWo-thtrds rule
was not adopted until after Il day
and half of contention. Polk was
eventually the nominee, as against
Van Buren, and Cass, who sRlit the
vote.
The two.thrds rule has kept several
aspirants out of the presidential NOM
ination. 1t prevented Martin Nan
Buren's choice in 1914, and that of
CaSS in 1852. 1t. in effect. prevented
the selection of Douglas at the Charles
ton convention in 1860. 1t kept Champ
Clark out of the nomination and prob
ably the presidency i'll 1912.
1t may be doubted very seriously
whether there will be any change,
however desirable it may be from the
point of view of those who seek an
easy road to a choice. The Southern
Democrats will not readily relinquish
their present veto power over the NOM
ination which the two-thirds rule
grants them.
Evening star., 1926-05-21
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

described as right or left hand, going
down stream is assumed.
q. What did Shakespeare mean In
his allusion to u precious jewel found
in the head of the ugly and venom
Gus toad. l..
A. W. J. ROlfe in his notes on AS
You Like IT. says: Better natural
lists than Shakespeare believed in the
toad stone, the precious jewel OF
the text. FentOn. i'm his Secrete
Wonders of Nature. 1863, says tha;
there is founde in the heades of old
and great toadcs, stone which they
call borax or stelon; it is most com
monty founde in the head Of a hee
toad. Of power to- repulse poysons and
that it. is a most soveraigne medicine
for that stone. Auusions 10 il are
frequent in the literature Of that day.
Q. Who was the first King Of Ems
iand?-B. =. :.
A. Ecbert. who reicned from s27 to
S39. was the first King Of al England.
@ Is our export trade IN automo.
bileS increasingly. W.
a. Outstanding among the develop
ments Of the past year is the fact that
countries abroad bought more than
half million motor vehicles, a gain of
80 per cent over 1924.
@. What cities consume the great
est amount of poultry products?
A. l.. @.
A. During 1928 more than $500 900
cases Of 30-dozen eggs each were re
quired TO supply New York City, Chi
cdgo, Philadelphia, Boston and San
Francisco alone. During the same
/ period there We're shipped 70 these
cities over $40 900 900 pounds OF dress
/ ed poultry.
/ Z. What materials did the Indians
use for fish hooks?-J. a. G..
/ A. The materials used for hooks b
| the Indians We're wood, bone, shell
stone and copper.
! @ What damage was done by the
great Chicago fire.. W.
\. The great fire Of Chicago, o..
tober 1871. broke out III a barn =
NOT be controlled because they Were
famed by 1t gale. consequently the
| fire RACED for two days over an area
Of 2,100 acres. Seventeen thousand
four hundred and fifty buildings were
destroyed causing 200 deaths and
rendering more than 10000 homeless
| Property to the value Of $3.50, ,000.0 600
| was destroyed.
| q. How many books are there in
the largest library in the world "--
j. p. y.
A. The largest library in the wnT!t
f., IS the BibliotheQue Rationale III Paris
which contains over five million books
| Of all descriptions.
! Find out 1rhGtcJCr gOu 1rdnt t0
| knor. There is no room for j0no-
| rance IN this buSp lCorld. The person
! trho loses out is the one 1rhO gueSSeS
/ The person 1Cho gets on is ARRAYS The
/ one 7ch0 Gets upon reliable informo
| ton. This paper employs Frederic =
| HdSb'iH to conduct an information bH-
redu IN Washington for the free nSF
! Of the public. There is no charge or
| ccpt , cents in stamps for return
! postage. Write 10 him tOddp for an :
| facts yOu desire. address The Ere
niH0 Star Information Bureau. Fred
| eric i. HdskiH director. Washington
| D. c.
Evening star., 1926-05-21
Air Association
Thanks The Star

To the Editor of The Star.
/ beg through you to convey to The
Evening Star Publishing Co. the high
appreciation felt by the National
Aeronautic Association for the
generosity of The Evening star
Publishing Co. in giving four wrist
watches to the winners in the four
classes of competitors in the Curtiss
marine tropy race. which came off
SO successfully on Friday last. 1t Is
such gifts as this that foster and
increase the mindedneSs of the
American people and enable us TO keep
pace with the rest of the world in
air achievement.
We beg that you will publish this
letter. SO that the general public may
know that we are not unmindful OF
such encouragement TO the art and
industry which it is our business TO
promote. GODFREY l.. CABOT,
President, National Aeronautic
Association of the United States.
Evening star., 1926-05-21

He came into the restaurant in
a condition which some term IN
ebriated."
Give me $40 worth of scrambled
eggs" he said, with calm utterly
at variance with both his present
state and his extraordinary order.
mo man can eat that many Scram-
bled eggs, Mister" soothed the coun-
terman.
Don't want to eat 'em-don't want
to eat 'em. I just want to see what
they look like"
Although this announcement slight
ly altered the case, removing 1t from
digestive to an optical status, the
counterman did not fill the order, 1t
hardly need be said,
1t was just another of the curious
happenings of the all night rcstau-
rants. small places in the dow WntuWh
streets of a great city, where trhfiic
never ceases. just slows down from
/ to 4 am.
The number Of night workers in
any big city is large. despite the best
efforts of society TO keep such labor
down to a minimum. Various utli-
tiles, public and otherwise, demaud
attention while the rest of the city
sleeps.
Those who do this night work must
eat, usually from II pm. on into
what are called the small hours of
the night" Hence the restaurant
that remains open has Il peculiar
clientele.
The small hours of the night. Just
why they should be called small Is
rather hard to understand, since any
one who bias ever worked from MD
night on knows such hours are any
thing but little.
Il y < x
Surely the longest hour in the whole
| "a is the first, midnight to | ain. It
stretches it's tiresome length over
three fun hours. in the ordinary reck-
| oning, making the worker long to en-
| ulate Job and curse the hour.
| We speak not here of those who,
| through stimulants OF various kinds
| manage to while away the hours
rather agreeably, but solely of fhe
| worker tied to his post by various So
cial conditions.
Every second of that zero hour
seems a minute and every half hour
an hour, so that by / o'clock the
waiter is either killed or cured. If he
! can manage to stay awake until ]
| O'Clock. the rest of the night is easy.
The luncheon period of all such Ia
| borers is the one agreeable event
! in an otherwise uneXcitinS night
| Whether one should call it luncheon
| or lunch" or breakfast" is not an
! important matter.
The big question is what 10 eat and
where.
Usually one has a favorite place,
some hole -in-the wall dairy lunch
| where men that are men" Congregate
| to satisfy the demands OF hearty di'
gestive tracts and at the same time III
| dulge in that social gathering which
| is the life of civilization.
Usually there is Il crowded period IN
| most such places, when business Is
brisk but before and after this inter
| val the diners drift III and out by ones
and twos and sometimes as trioS. at
| tending strictly to the business III
hand.
If the mother Of many a wandering
| boy could see what he eats tonight,
she would no doubt be quite upset
| about il. Certainly crab salad at :
am. is not recommended in any work
| on detetics, nor will one find the med
| ical profession united in support OF
| sausage and hot cakes taken freely an
| hour later.
| We have witnessed strong men eat
| ing sauerkraut with utter noncha-
lance at midnight who would have
/ shrunk from the encounter at noon
Evening star., 1926-05-21
A Deserved Tribute.
From tie Houston Chronicle


Nineteen years ago the Chronicle
called editorial attention TO tribute
paid the lawyers of the United States
by the great law book publishing
house of Bancroft, Whitney & co. and
there has been received from that
company the same tribute printed in
form suitable for framing.
That was done because of the many
calls for it. 1t is entitled "A Grateful
Acknowledgment to an Honorable
Profession
When the earthquake and fire oc-
Cured in San Francisco on April is.
1906, the legal fraternity owed the
publishing house over 100000.
It's books and accounts were utterly
destroyed. 1t had no memoranda OF
anv kind whereby it could locate or
identify any lawyer who was it's debtor
It was obliged to trust entirely 10 the
honor of those who owed 1t.
OF the $4,000 about $4,000 was
owed by lawyers in San Francisco.
They having lost all their libraries.
the creditor company released them
entirely from their obligations.
That left owing by lawyers else
where about $4,000. Having no list
of it's debtors, the company sent let-
ters TO LAWYERS whose names appeared
i'm a widely used legal directory, ap-
prisIng them of the condition In which
the. fire had left the publishers, and
inouiring whether they owed any bills
for books
In, response to the letters the firm
speedilv received over Sl5O,OOO, and
when the acknowledgements, now re
published, was first made public, in
January, 1907, letters were still COM
ing from debtors asking for state
ments. Some of the San FRANCISCO at
tornevs declined to accept the cam
Collation. of their Indebtedness, and
paid in full.
The card of acknowledgment con
cludes with these words: Let 1t be
known that the legal profession Is
made up of men of the highest
honor"
Most assuredly the facts justify that
statement. The tribute is richly de
served and the grateful creditors
most graciously paid it.
Evening star., 1926-05-21

.. Are the shells used in the ar
tillery timed? If SO, will they explode
upon hitting an object before the
timer works?-W. Il.
A. Shrapnel explodes in the air
and is regulated by a time fuse. A
shell explodes upon impact. How
ever, If the shrapnel hits the object
before the time fuse has exploded. it
will explode upon impact.
@. Who is at the head of the
American Red Cross?--R. Il.
A. The president of the American
Red Cross is Calvin Coolidge. The
vice presidents are Robert w DE
Forest and William Howard Taft.
The chairman is John Barton Payne.
@. What is meant by an eye SPAN
II. II.
A. The movements of the eye whci
reading arc interrupted by distinct
pauses or fixatiOns. The amount which
can he read in a sweep is called al
eye full or an eye span. Tine number
of eye fxations determines the speed
of reading. Slow reading is character
lied by many pauses or fiXatiOr
points.
@. What constitutes national So
rority?-M. n
A The Inter-Sorority Conference ol
1905 defined a national sorority as
one having at least five chapters. al
Of them at institutions of collegiate
rank.
Q. How long have the lepers il
Hawaii been segregated?-J. NJ. A.
A. There has been rigid segregation
for more than 80 years
q. / am told that there were only
"a letters in the alphabet until abou
so years ago. Is this true"-I. 9. =
A. About 1900 B.C.. the Semitic
people adopted Egyptian symbols
Cadmus. of Egyptian descent, intro
duced into Greece from PhoeniCia al
alphabet of 1G letters. Additions wer
made TO these later by the Greeks
until in about 400 Be they had .
letters The other two were added il
the thirteenth century.
@. How did Charles Goodyear dis
cover the process of Vulca Min;
rubber?--B. A. T..
A. He expended all his means il
experiments with various mixture!
and processes which should remed,
the fatal defects of India rubber in IL
natural state, since it is brittle in cole
weather and sticky in warm weather
The great secret Of vulca nizing. Il proc
esS in which the two substances, sub
mitted to u high temperature. are con
verted into elastic, enduring. heat an(
cold defying material. now III use, wa!
an accidental discovery made by Good
year while standing by q. stove an,
idly subjecting II mixture of rubbe'
and sulphur 10 its hear.
@ Was it Washington who sale
that there never was such a thing a:
q good war or "A bad peace?-G. A. NJ
A. In letter to Josiah Quincy
Benjamin Franklin used the expires
sion There never was Il good war ol
bad peace" However. Samuel But
Ter is also credited with q similar say
ing. 1T hath been said that an unjust
peace is Ia be preferred before JUS
war"
q. Which is the right hand or left
hand side OF IL rjver?-C. NJ. :.
A. When the shores Of a stream ar
Evening star., 1926-05-21
Getting Together.

Announcement that Secretary An
drew w. Mellon of the Treasury De-
partment and Senator David A. Reed
will support Representative William s.
Ware, the Republican nominee for the
Senate. in the coming election, viii!
fall with Il sickening thud on Demo
cratic hopes that their candidate, for
mer Secretary Wilson of the Depart
ment OF Labor, might squeeze through
because of dissenSions in Republican
ranks. Senator Pepper. defeated can,
didate for the senatorial nomination,
the regular nominee of the party dur
ing the campaign. 1t is evident that
after their hair-raising and vivid cam
paign. factions in the Republican
get together.
II the latest reports from Pennsyl-
vania are correct. John s. Fisher, the
Mellon candidate for governor. will
receive the nomination of the Republi-
can party over Edward Z. Beidleman,
Wares running mate. In view of the
prompt assurance given by Mr.. Mellon
and Senator Reed that they will so to
the support of Mr.. Ware in the sena-
torial election next fall. is il not to be
expected that Mr.. Ware and his Phila-
delphia cohorts will fall in line behind
Mr. Fisher if it is finally determined
that Fisher has won the nomination?
What could be more satisfying, from Il
Republican point of view, than this
lying down together of the MELONS
and Ware, of the dry candidate for
governor and the wet candidate for
the Senate?
There has been more than a suspi-
cion that Gov. Pinchot. the militant
dry candidate for the Republican sena-
torial nomination. would announce
himself candidate on an Independent
ticket in the event of the nomination
of Ware at the primaries. If he should
make such a race it would be i'll the
hope of arousing the entire dry senti-
ment of the State against Ware and
also those voters who are opposed to
the machine brand of politics in Phila-
delphia, the anti-gang sentiment OF
PENNSYLVANIA But the alignment of
the Melons in the west and Ware in
the east makes such gesture on the
part of the governor rather futile.
The truth of the matter is that the
Republicans do not intend to give the
Democrats a chance of picking up a
Senate seat in the keystone State
any more than they intend Gov.
Pinchot, who has been an enemy of
both Mellon and Ware, a chance to
occupy again the seats Of the
mighty
A strange picture, from the dry
point of view, will be Secretary Mel
lon. charged with the enforcement of
the prohibition laws, supporting a wet
candidate for the Senate. But no less
strange from the point of view of the
vets would be the support of Fisher,
dry candidate for governor, by Ware,
whose wetness made possible his nomi-
nation in the three -cornered race just
concluded.
The prompt decision Of the leaders
10 get together in Pennsylvania and
the support accorded Ware by Secre-
tary Mellon, one Of President Cool
tdge's chief advisers, is calculated to
set at rest the talk that the admins
tration sustained severe defeat at
the Republican primaries in that
State. Does any one seriously believe
that Mr.. Ware will oppose the admins
tration policies when he enters the
Senate
Evening star., 1926-05-21
Public Willing to Accept
Usefulness of Rotor Ship

the New London Day. which calls at
tention to the facts that The rotor
ship is almost altogether lacking IN
machinery: permits j much greater
stowage capacity than is possible IN
any power-driven ship, and thai
crews are reduced TO minimum
necessary for navigation. The
Raleigh News and Observer considers
the combination Of rotOrs and gas
engines, such as the Baden-Baden car
ries MUTUALLY beneficial. for when
the wind blows it will aid in moving
the ship instead of delaying. as with
motor power alone. and often the two
can work in conjunction To the
Buffalo Evening News the question
to be determined is whether the as
sistance given by the rotors. with
resultant economy OF fuel. will jus
tifv the cost of installation and the
sacrifice of deck and hold space me-
essary to contain them.
~ =
Lover of the beautiful and majestic
sailing vessel the Waterbury Repuh
lican SAYS: 1T may he treason to
the age to hope that Anton F1ettner'S
strange ship will not prove its ecV
nomic worth, but its ugliness car
hardly fail to inspire the wish that
the rotorship is more interesting than
practical" while the Dallas Journal
remarks: 1T isn't likely that the
rotor ship will soon displace the type
of vessel to which the world has be
come accustomed, but it is interesting
as a possibility of the future. never
theless." In the opinion of the DuE-
ham Sun. the achievement in the
success of the rotorship is Greater
than the world Yet realizes, and the
Akron Beacon journal is interested III
the claim of the inventor that his
device is going to revoluuOnize the
application of wind power on land
as we'll as on sea. If this primitive
force can be restored to the service
of humanity. all hail the inventor
who does not lack skill and resourc"
to know how to do it," exclaims this
paper.
Evening star., 1926-05-21
M. Berenger's Farewell.

4 notable contribution to interna
tional good will was the speech de
livered last night by NJ. Henry Ber.
enger, French Ambassador to the
United States, at dinner rendered
him in New York ON the eve of his
departure for Paris. After a stay OF
four months in this country, during
which brief period he accomplished
the seemingly hopeless task of agree
ing on terms for funding the French
debt owed the American Government.
Ambassador Berenger now is going
home To help to obtain ratification of
the settlement by the French Parlia-
ment.
In his dinner speech the AmbasSa-
dor discussed the debt question frankly
aud wholesomely. stripping the prob
lem of much Of the misrepreSen entation
hE which its true nature has been
miscolored OH both sides of the At
lantic France. he admitted honestly
owes the money and has SO attested
by her signature. And France, he
proudly proclaimed. has never failed
10 honor her signature.
The Ambassador told his hearers
that he goes back to France with the
knowledge that he has accomplished
his duty Duty. TO him. means some
thing more than the winning of popu-
lar favor Statesmen all over the
world would do well to ponder and TO
take to heart these words of the
French Ambassadors: Il knew upon
coming here that the mission Of set
Ting debt is not Il popular one. |
knew also that patriotism is not to
seek what pleases the people, but TO
accomplish what is good for the peo-
pie"
Ambassador Berenger is confident
that settlement Of the debt upon the
terms arrived at is good for the peo-
pie, both of America and Of France.
MISUNDERSTANDING about money" he
said, are not the deepest. but they
may become the most dangerous. They
corrupt the most solid friendships.
They awaken suspicion in some and
envy in others. The creditor comes
10 see III his debtor d repudiator who
is making sport of him. The debtor
comes to see III his creditor miser
who SEEKS to deSpoil him.
Not only will settlement of the debt
help to preserve the traditional friend
ship between France and the United
states. but the Ambassador believes
it will make possible revaluation of
the franc and tend to assure future
French prosperity. When France
has settled her external debt with
Great Britain as we'll as with the
United States he said. when the
equilibrium of her budget. so bravely
voted by the two chambers, shall have
been realized. then France will be able
to stabilize her money according to
the gold standard. and she will be on
the way to put an end to the Difficult
ties inherited from the war.
NJ. Berenger is confident the debt
settlement will be ratified promptly
bv the French Parliament. With the
knowledge that he is going to Paris
to repeat the arguments he made hast
night in New York. the American
Deople will share that confidence. And
it is to be hoped that when the pro
posal comes before the American Con
gress for ratification there will be a
display of the same broad and tolerant
spirit which the French Ambassador
has exhibited.
Evening star., 1926-05-21

Investigation of campaign funds
seems liable to proceed to an extent
which will leave many a man blessed
with comparatively recent wealth in
doubt as to how he is going to enjoy
his money.