davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1927-05-16
for a contribution. Response was i'm.
mediate and generous.
n 4

for contribution. Response was i'm.
mediate and generous.
X X X "
Mr.. Coolidge is fond of citing
precedents established by Grover
Cleveland on major occasions. At
this moment some of the Presidents
supporters, who approve his unwill-
ingness to convene Congress In spe-
cial session for Mississippi flood re.
lief, are looking up an utterance by
Cleveland which is said to be strong
ly in line with the Coolidge attitude.
Along about 1887, it seems President
Cleveland had occasion to express the
opinion that the United States Gov
ernment cannot be, and should not
be, committed to a policy of philan.
thropy. In other words, it would
appear that If the great Democrat
who occupied the White House for
two terms were in Office today, he, too,
would hold that private charity, not
Federal aid, Is called upon to amelio-
rate the woe that has stricken the
lower Mississippi Valley.
X X X X
Louis Marshall, eminent New York
lawyer, sometimes called ''the Jew
ish Pope" because Of his active lead.
ership in Jewish affairs in the United
States, tells Of a diverting experience
that befell Milton j. Rosenau, the IA
nous Harvard professor of preventive
medicine and hygiene. DIR. Rosenau
was In Russia not long ago, studying
the Soviet system Of sanitation-a
field in which he enjoys international
distinction. At first the Moscow au-
thorities We're reluctant to extend him
desired facilities, as he modestly had
not detailed his identity. When he
finally did so, 1t developed that the
Soviet medical authorities had based
their sanitation scheme largely upon
the theories and works of Rosenau.
Whereupon all doors in Russia flew
wide open for him. DR.. Rosenau has
just been designated a member of the
American Zionist Commission, which
is shortly to make an exhaustive sur
vey of conditions in Palestine.
X X X X
Authorities at home and abroad,
with studious interest in disarmament
problems. are reading craftsmanship
of War" by Brig. Gen. John McAuley
Palmer. U. S. A. (retired), former as
in France. A striking introduction
to the book is contributed by former
Senator James w. Wadsworth, jr,
late chairman of the Senate commit.
tee on military affairs. Wadsworth
asserts that the national defense act
could hardly have been finally enacted
by Congress without the invaluable
information supplied to both House
and Senate by Gen. Palmer. First
he appeared before their military com.
mittees merely as witness at hear.
ings. But they found him so ex-
traordinarily well informed and stimu-
lating that the War Department was
asked to detach Palmer as the Sem
ate's military adviser. AS such he
served till the law was enacted. Pal
mer believes that an adaptation of
the Swiss military system would serve
Americas purposes without adoption
of compulsory training.
(Copyright. 1927
Evening star., 1927-05-16

log they can set these spikes firmly
into bark and fiber and some Of them
have made surprising journeys down
swift streams or even across broad
lakes. Usually they have in their
hands pike-pole or a peavey with
which they can help balance them
selves.
Days trip was not, perhaps, as
jaunty as those made by the bully
boys" of Maine, Minnesota or Prov
ince Of Quebec. but it was both dan.
gerous and much longer. He had no
food and no water and was in con.
stant danger of being knocked off his
precarious perch. He had been given
up for dead when. two days after the
accident, he rode safely into Rosedale,
Miss. He once was a "leatherneck"
and could announce "The Marines
have landed" although he could not
claim to have the situation we'll in
hand" Certainly his exploit sounds
worthy of incorporation among the
legends which cluster around the
lustrous name of Paul Bunyan and
none would be quicker to give him
due credit than the men who work
among the white water far to the
north and who invented Paul and all
his marvellous achievements. His skill
and patience netted him the same re.
ward that comes to them for similar
stunts--continuation Of life. Doubt
less he will rest on his laurels.
Evening star., 1927-05-16
SHOOTING STARS.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
"Sex Hazo

"Sex Hez."
IF you have done the best you
know"
Says Hezekiah Bings,
Some day the records bound to show
The heartaches and the stings.
The disappointments and the rief,
That unto e,.ch must come,
AS well as hours of glad relief
o make the general sum.
If you have tried to help the smile
And drive away the tears
While trudging many weary mile
Amid the hopes and fears,
You'll find happiness anew
In hours the twilight brings
II you just did the best you knew"
Says Hezekiah Bings.
Evening star., 1927-05-16
The White Bird

A white bird rose in daring
flight.
All Paris cheered the plane;
Around her great propellers
spun,
She thrust her beak into the
Her image filled the Seine!
Farewell! And Hail!" her en-
gines sang;
The white bird shall alight
Only when her brave pilots
bring
Her high heart here, on throb-
bing wing,
Across an oceans night!
What If, in air, or sea or land,
We never find them more?
Their spirits shall go winging
on,
Plaudits and honors safely won.
To a more distant shore!
Nungesser has not failed, he's
gained
A still more glorious goal,
America. Your homage send.
For only you may comprehend
The airman's dauntless soul!
EDITH MASON ARMSTRONG.
Evening star., 1927-05-16
Urges Close Survey
For Street Widening
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor of The Star:
Much has been said about the ruth
less destruction Of trees in the widen
ing of certain streets in the city, but
few persons know Of the real suffer-
ing which residents along the line OF
some streets. say Thirteenth street,
for instance, will suffer. A close sur
vey should be made by the city OFF,
cials before welding the ak on this
particular street. Property owners
are to be assessed not only for the
widening of the street, but they are
put to the additional expense of TAX
ing up their walks. removing fences,
and where they have steps leading
to their front entrances, removing and
replacing these. Contractors are get
ting busy on this job already. and in
some instances they have yet to de-
eide whether we shall enter by the
front door or basement. Unless some
plan is devised, persons having coal
vaults under their lawns may yet
have to buy their coal by the bushel-
and all for the benefit of the death.
dealing automobile.
It would seem that instead Of prop
erty owners paying for the repairs
made necessary by this work the Dis
trict should be held liable for damages
incident thereto.
MRS. M. NJ. JAEGER.
Evening star., 1927-05-16
Maxim Legacy One of Peace
AS Well as Force i'm Warfare

world"
The lost unexpected thing the
creator OF deadly war stuffs ever did,"
according to the Cincinnati Times.
Star, was to write a portly volume In
support of his claim that poetry is q
science rather than an art. In il he
undertook to show that much which
passes for poetry is not such because
1t Is literal statement. Wordswortfl,s
lines, She dwelt among the untrodden
ways beside the springs of Dove
would not have met this test. but
Maxim would have accepted Longfel.
lows line, 'Clamerous Labor knocks
with its hundred hands at the golden
gates of the morning Too far the
proponent stretches his theory that
only figurative statement is poetical,
YET Inere Is considerable truth in it."
He was interested In the subjects
to which he devoted his life's work !"
REALS the Jamestown Evening Jour.
nal, "and that interest made him one
or the foremost men Of his times. All
the laboratories and educational eoufr-
ment that money could provide could
not take the place of that spark of
genius that made him what he was
Modern facilities designed to make the
acquire tent Of an education easier
miG 1T have smoothed the hard road
over which he Travelled, but it is doubt.
ful ii his scientific achievements would
have been any greater"
X n y \
Maxim's business is one of those
which, like the hangman's, the world
would like to end, but doesn't know,
now according to the Dayton Daily
News. Few of us want to be the
nangman. Few Of us want even to be
the man who crushes with a sledee.
hammer the skull Of the OK, which
must ole that we may have steaks.
Alnerica mas been fortunate in having
Inventive genius willing to devote N.
self to mechanisms for the destruction
OF iire and property in the wars which
are stiil seemingly unavoidable. There.
Dy THIS country has held its own in
the race OF armaments. Into this
junction Mr.. Maxim fitted. To This
he gave his life."
Certainly Hudson Maxim never
wished to promote war, and we have
an idea he hoped to eliminate IL by
making 1t more terrible" saws the
ROCK Island Argus. and the Birming.
nam News declares that "he knew
and the world knew that his principal
service to the last generation law in
his contribution to the defense of this
country" The Memphis Comm. :cial
Appeal is impressed by the thought
that 1T may be that the possibilities
OF destructiveness in which his me-
chanical talents figure will in time
become constructive. 1t may be that
an irresistible force against war will
be created by the irresistibility Of war
Itself. The Commercial Appeal also
points out that the peace uses Of his
powder and explosives ''are generally
obscured by their war effectiveness.
That he was a pacifist In the best
sense OF the tenn, that he hated war
and was "a fir.-I believer In the settle
ment Of international disputes by arbi-
tration." Is affirmed by Il Kalamazoo
Gazette. while the Minneapolis Trib-
lne records that there were many
who regretted that the iuster OF his
senius could not have shed itself more
July on the problems pf constxuctiansn
Evening star., 1927-05-16
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES &. TRACEWELL.

Youth believes in magic; maturity
puts more faith in common sense.
| The case of the irrepressible and
enthusiastic Freddy and his pipes is
an illustration in point.
| Freddy has flair for expensive
briars. Ten dollars is his standard
price for nobby bowl and bit.
The smoking quality, according to
| him, is far in advance of that of any
| pipe on the market of lesser price,
and, as far as appearance goes, there
is simply no comparison.
Look at the way that stem fits"
he will say with reverence in his tone,
as he holds the precious briar to the
light, sighting along it as If defying
the world to detect a flaw.
The workmanship, of course. is
without fault. The process by which
the old briar root has been fashioned
into pipe is a mysterious process
(the catalogue says sol which profane
outsiders can have little conception Of.
So Freddy allows no pipe of lesser
make to pass his lips. Tobacco
must come to him through one of
these hallowed stems or forever stay
without.
pure pine" he sneers, when some
friend shows him pipe of another
brand.
He is so sincerely and beautifully
sure in his opinion that he has swayed
others to somewhat similar belief
that there is but one pipe and Blah-
Blah is its maker.
Now let it be stated that nothing
said here is to be construed into a
reflection upon the pipe in question.
That must be left to the statesmen of
rival makes.
We possess a pipe Of this sublime
brand, and believe it to be very
fine pipe, indeed.
But we are not so sold on it as
Freddy is!
Some way or other--maybe it is old
age creeping on--we feel that there
are other pipes on the market fit for
an honest man to smoke.
Where youth gets crush on some
thing, years of discretion understand
that there is no monopoly in any
thing.
Great books have been written, but
great volumes yet remain to be
penned.
The lilac is sweet, but so Is the
rose.
IS liOWcT 1dCC VI SOtIlc SWGGJ
would seem to be beyond compare un.
til another comes along in the vast
procession of the years.
The friends we leave behind-ah,
shall we ever find their equal?
Yes" whispers experience, "you
will find them in the next town."
X X X y
Freddy. with his wonderful en-
thusiasm, based upon loyalty, swears
fealty to his expensive briars.
We. who have seen nations over
turned, and who do believe in Santa
Claus, are willing to risk our i'm.
mortal soul smoking a dollar pipe.
The common sense Of smoking tells
one that some gifted manufacturer
may be able to turn out pipe for
81 that is almost, If not quite, the
equal of the $40 pipe.
Our own expensive pipe, we admit.
is dandy.
Yet we are not sure that the exact
imitation we purchased, the other day
Evening star., 1927-05-16
A Paraphrase on the Capt.
tal's Streets and Trees

To the Editor Of The Star:
In view of the fact that the Dis
trict Commissioners have ordered
many of the 50-year.old shade trees of
our National Capital cut down in order
to facilitate motor traffic and as re.
suit make Washington like New York.
the city God forgot. should like to
paraphrase Joyce Kilner's exquisite
poem, 1.-THE Tree" as applicable to
the present situation:
I know that shall never see
A street as lovely as a tree
A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed
Against the Earth's sweet flowing
breast:
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair,
Upon whose bosom snow has lain
And intimately lives with rain.
Streets are made by fools like thee,
But only God can make tree.
CAROLINE THOMPSON.
Evening star., 1927-05-16
UNITED STATES
in WORLD WAR
Ten Years Ago Today

Recruiting for the Navy passes the
100 900 mark. United States
Ambassador, returning to this coun.
try, characterizes Germany's conduct
of war as fiendish and barbarous.
Senate attacks administra-
ton behind closed doors, assailing the
President, cabinet and defense coun.
Gil for alleged usurpation Of power.
House adopts an amendment
to the Army draft bill doubling pay
of enlisted men, with an additional 20
per cent il they are sent overseas.
Secretary Daniels announces
that a squadron of American destroy
ers, after a safe voyage across the
Atlantic, has Joined the British naval
patrol and has been active since May
4, Loan of $45,000,000
made to Belgium, 500, 100000 to
Russia, making a. total of $670. .000. 900
loaned Allies in three weeks time
Marshal Joffre presented
with 100000 franes in New York City
for support of his pet war charities,
and unnamed Donor sends 100000
check to Balfour to invest for British
war widows and Qrphanss --
Evening star., 1927-05-16

American comments on the death
OF Hudson Maxim, scientist and In.
ventor in the field OF high explosives,
reveal general recognition Of his
place as a genuine pacifist, notwith.
standing his service in the develop
ment of the arts Of war. He is called
typical American in that he achieved
success in the face of hardships, and
his interest in literary matters Is ac-
cepted as an outstanding feature of
a versatile mind and an attractive
personality.
Conceding that ''most Of his abil.
ity was turned to making war more
destructive, thereby alternating a
large group of admirers" the Rich.
mond Times Dispatch feels that "all
Americans see in Hudson Maxim the
figure of the typical American, the
man who rises against great odds
to the position of world leader in his
chosen profession" The Louisville
Times says that "his self-education, a
thorough education, recalls Lincoln's, -
and while that paper assumes that
such persons, born in log cabins
hardened by field work and forest
work, will figure less often in Amer
lean annals in the future than in the
past" it predicts that "the same type,
fundamentally. will be developed in
different surroundings.
~ X X
"He was "a years of age," states
the Jersey City Journal, "but he COM
bated grim disease with the same reso
luton and pluck that had character
lied his other conflicts. Maxim, like
%I~ hok ~ r. ic
generally went straight to the mark.
He was a man of plain and blunt
speech. There was never any doubt
about just where he stood when he
had anything to say. He aimed well
and could shoot straight" The Salt
Lake Tribune emphasizes his position
as naturalist and offers the tribute:
He loved that which nature gave.
On his vast New Jersey estate he
maintained a great bird sanctuary.
But with his love of and for peace he
clung to the theory of preparedness
as the best guarantee OF that peace"
'One of the most picturesque ca
reers in the Nations history" is the
verdict of the Kansas City Journal
Post, which remarks that probably
no American scientist ever compassed
such a varied range of scientific
achievement. Certainly none rose
from such humble beginnings through
heroic persistency to such scientific
heights" The New London Day de-
scribes him as "a kindly man with a
kind face and a kind heart, in whose
mind 'adoxically enough. were
nodded ideas that led to the destruc-
tion of mankind. 1t is the way OF
science. Science has done as much to
destroy as it has to build and create"
concludes that paper.
II X X \
"An American patriot Of the first
order" Is recognized by the Tulsa
World, which adds: Life is full OF
cross purposes and contradictions.
Thus we find that while his waking
and sleeping hours were devoted to
the purposes Of warfare. Maxim found
time and possessed the disposition to
write D thes& on The SclNnce of
Poetry and the Philosophy a Lam
guage. which commanded am still
Evening star., 1927-05-16
Wanton Injury to
Trees in BrOOkland
To the Editor OF The Star:


The Star has always stood for a
beautiful washington, and I am, for
this reason, appealing to The star
in the hope that 1t may aid in remedy
ing a monstrous evil, the wanton de-
str11ction Of beautiful, old trees, not
onlv within the city limits, but In the
suburbs as well.
The south side of jackson street
northeast, in the suburb called BROOK
land. Is beautified by row or stately
old oaks-I do not know how old, put
they are vigorous. lovely trees.
On Wednesday, employees or the
Potomac Electric and Power Company,
acting under orders and doubtless
equipped with the proper authority,
planted a row of thick wooden poles
along that side of the street, cutting
into the roots of the trees and IN
fiicting injuries that doubtless Will
contribute to their early decay. Ap-
peals and protests were in vain.
These trees, If destroyed, cannot be
replaced within our day and genera
ton, nor, perhaps, within less than
50~years at least.
We had no advance notice that this
was to be done; no chance whatever
to take preventive action, and after
it has been done, we are Informed,
nothing can be done to remedy the
evil.
We appeal against the ruthless de-
struction of the dogwood and put
up little signs, Keep Off the Grass;
but here we find magnificent trees, a
half century or more old, being sac
rificed for a few electric light wires
that ought, like the telephone wires,
to be placed underground. This, too,
in a suburb which is taxed as high
as the heart Of the city, but which,
in my experience, has to fight for
perfunctory civic service of every
kind and be satisfied with the least
in every respect. Now they ruth
lessly rob us, without notice. of the
chief joy that has recompensed us
for living there. Is there no relief?
w. II. LANDVOIGT.
Evening star., 1927-05-16
Reversed River Currents.

A phenomenon has occurred in the
southern Mississippi Valley flood that
illustrates the primary difficulty Of
the problem Of river control in that
region. With the Mississippi itself
full to overhowing in the lower
reaches, the swollen tributaries are
pouring their contents over broken
levees to the southwest. One of these
breaches, fifty-five miles in length at
the latest reports, has caused a veri-
table back current. The flood has been
in effect reversed, as the waters go
roaring into the lower lands behind
the levee. Within a few hours after
the break occurred the water was ac-
tually flowing out Of the Mississippi
itself into the Old River, which con-
meets the Red with the Mississippi,
and the water stage in the main
stream, at Angola, opposite the mouth
of the Old. had fallen six inches. while
even as far south as Baton Rouge,
where further rise had been expect
ed. the level fell by nearly two inches.
These back currents, in reversal of
the usual flow Of the streams, are due
to the fact that a great area south
Of the tributaries is below, the stream
level. A part Of the territory, in fact.
is lower than the rivers before they
have received freshet currents.
1t has been suggested in the past,
and is now being urged more strongly
as the floods take increasing toll of
property in the lower Mississippi Val
ley, that the solution of the problem
lies in part at least in the dredging of
the main and tributary streams and
the deposit of the alluvium upon the
lands behind the levees. It is of course
inpracticable to raise the general level
above flood stage throughout the re-
gion. But 1t would be possible by a
great dredging operation to put
enough Of the river-bottom material
upon the land surface to lessen the
danger of a general inundation.
Such an operation, il undertaken,
Great batteries Of suction dredges
would be required. The work could
not be done within single season;
perhaps it would require Ave or even
ten seasons. Some of the work would
have to be done twice, as new freshets
occurred.
After every flood a certain amount
of alluvium is deposited upon the soil
of the inundated country. greatly en-.
riching it, just as the Nile floods have
for centuries been the source of fer
eility in that area Of Egypt. The Mis-
sissippi and its tributaries, however,
flow when In flood in such strong cur.
rents that upon breaking the levees
they scour the back lands and remove
much of the soil from them, pouring
enormous quantities Of precious ma
terial into the Gulf of Mexico. 1t
would seem to be desirable to save
these areas from such securing.
The United States Government has
conducted a successful dredging enter
prise In Panama, cutting canal be-
tween the oceans. The task of deep
ening the channels of the Mississippi
and it's tributaries would doubtless be
a greater one. in point Of extent of
territory covered, perhaps in cost.
But it would be an investment in both
security and fertility that, in view of
the recurrent peril to hundreds Of
thousands of people and countless val
ues in property, would be worth a.
least consideration, If not early execu.
! ton.