davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1927-02-28
Rickenbacker Auto Co.
To Be Sold at Auction

DETROIT, Feb. 2S.--The assets OF
the Rickenbacker Motor Company
were ordered sold at public auction
today by Federal Judge Charles C.
Simons.
A date for the sale win be set
later.
The order Of sale was granted at
the request Of receivers for the
company. The receivership was
appointed recently on petition Of
the Columbia Axle Company.
Eddie Rickenbacker. famous avia-
tor. Is no longer connected with the
company.
The Washington times., 1927-02-28
CONTINUED from Page y

Songinued from rage II
Company was one of the low bid.
defs. This is the biggest group Of
traffic lights ever purchased by
the traffic department. The amount
involved is about $35O.000.
Hadley First Witness
Warren B. Hadley, superintendent
Of the Districts electrical depart
nient, was the first witness to be
called before the Gibson investi.
eating committee today.
On Saturday Mr.. Hadley testified
that he did not think he had seen
the District Commissioners order
designating him to supervise the
installation Of traffic signals on
Massachusetts Avenue and Six.
tenth Street.
Today he said that further inves.
tIgation inNhis office led him to be-
neve he had never gotten the order.
Under questioning from Repre-
sentative Gibson he admitted that
he did not supervise such installa-
ton.
Daniel n. Lockwood, junior engi.
The Washington times., 1927-02-28
To Marry In China

SELDR CHAPLIN. third secre.
tary Of the American Legation in
Picking. will marry Miss Mary
NOyes. New York society girl.
March 30. Chaplin Is the son Of
Mrs. Frederic l.. Chaplin, wash
ingtOn society matf0n, Of 1909 r
st. M. w.
The Washington times., 1927-02-28
QUITS
J.. S. POLITICS

Continued From Page u
the companies under my supervision,
] have to do II to be faithful to my
trust. II ! didn't / wouldn't be
here. have that responsibility and
/ must face 1t.
The Washington times., 1927-02-28
Sweet LII Girl

FED SOUR milk since she was
three weeks old. ON the advice Of
her mothers physician. little
Nancy Alice Mckinney now
weighs IS pounds, and Is about as
sweet 40 any baby In Cincinnati,
Ohio. her home.
The Washington times., 1927-02-28

iiser Of the distribution department
Of the Potomac Electric Power
Co., was the next witness.
He told the committee that the
electric company, as an accommo.
da4ion to the District government,
had permitted the traffic lights to
bee stored In the electric company's
warehouse at ThiEteenth.and-a.h half
ard B Streets Northwest.
District Property Unchecked
@Did you, or any one represent.
ilE your company, keep an inven.
The Washington times., 1927-02-28
EAGLES LAUGHS
AND SINGS

Nontinued From Page II
the q! Kid: they ought to give him
Il ought to get life, too" Eagles
added, or else the whole four of
US should have got the chair" II
one was guilty, we all was guilty"
Then he started TO sing.
Eagles Wit Bitter
In answer to the question.
Would you reform If you were
given the chance" Eagles replied,
"once a crook. always crook"
Moreno said he still suffered from
the wound received in the gun
battle in which Busch lost his life.
'You won't suffer long" Eagles
laughed, cheer up"
But Moreno don't cheer up. And
while he talked he was always
looking in the direction of the
door through which he knew his
mother would come, as today il
visiting day at the jail.
All three men today expressed
profanely their anger at the jury
for McCabe's acquital. Whenever
his name was mentioned they &C.
cused him Of being ''as guilty as
we are"
Eagles queer mental processes and
reaction to the verdict was shown
by his questioning OF Major Peak,
superintendent 6f the jail, as to
whether he would turn black when
he was electrocuted.
Laughs at Impending Fate
Laughing all the time, he seemed
to delight in reminding Proctor and
Moreno Of their fate. Then he would
try to cheer them up when they be.
came grim. His humor could not be
suppressed.
Once when the major came over to
talk with the condemned men,
Eagles, pretending to be serious,
asked permission Of the superin.
tendent to to take little walk,
Referring to q recently published
photograph Of girl sitting In the
new electric chair, all three boys
agreed that she looked much better
than they would look in the same
chair.
This even caused Proctor TO annile.
Today they are being visited by
relatives and friends. who are bring
ing them fruit and q word OF cheer.
All but Eagles, who reverses the
process and cheers up those who
would sympathize with him.
The Washington times., 1927-02-28
Sec. Kellogg Leaves
For Short Vacation

Secretary of State Kellogg left
yesterday for q two weeks vacation
on plantation near Charleston.
s. G.. the State Department an.
nounced today.
Kellogg has been in poor health
recently.
The Washington times., 1927-02-28
Bans Washington Brand

A new electrically operated auto
matte device places coal IN q resi-
dence heater when needed, shakes
tn CRATE, removes the ashes and
adjusts the hampers.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21

his family Of five or six persons. The
market value of the average produce
picked annually from one of these
gardens is about $50. The citizen gar
deners capitalize their idle hours ad-
vantageously, as they thus extend the
purchasing power of the family
budget. while they benefit from the
healthy exercise gained in the fresh
air and sunshine. Furthermore. since
the dawn days of farming, gardeners
have gained unbankable assets from
close contact with the soil and from
the study Of the mysteries of plant
life.
One year recently careful account
was kept by $50 Washington garden
erS Of the cash value of the fresh
vegetables and the surplus stuff for
canning which they "toted" home
from the community garden plots.
The poorest producer in the lot re-
ported a return of $50 from his vege-
table garden, which overlooked the
Potomac. The champion planter and
picker, on the other extreme, produced
$3.50 worth of food on his small patch
Of fertile ground.
Each producer provides his seed. fer
tiizer and tools, as we'll as Il tool box
with lock, where he stores his hand
tools when not in use.
The gamut of seed planted runs the
range of practically all vegetable crops
which can be grown in this latitude. A
regular sequence of crops is produced,
all the land being kept busy from
mid-April until early October. Such
vegetables as onions. lettuce, radishes,
beets, carrots, cucumbers, squash,
pumpkins, tomatoes, sweet potatoes,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21

snapbeans, Irish potatoes, sweet corn,
Lima beans, peppers, kale, spinach
and turnipS are raised by Government
clerks and Washington business folk.
Such storable crops as onions, beets,
carrots, squash and pumpkins are
placed away in the easements OF the
gardeners for Winter use.
Any resident Of Washington can ap,
ply to the local gardening clubs for
membership. There are neither initial
ton fees nor annual dues The only
requirement is that the newcomer be
I vouched for personally by one or two
established members. The ambition
of each club is to keep its membership
free of shirkers, drifters or undeslr-
ables.
The gardeners come from all sec
tons of the District. On Saturday
afternoons or Sundays they bring
their families and picnic lunches along
and all enjoy a royal good time out in
the open under the canopy of the
smiling sky. Because of inability to
work their gardens during the week,
many of the growers utilize their Sun
day leisure in this way.
You would be amazed IL YOU could
take a census in the District to ma
the large number of backyard gar
dens at private homes and on rented
land, which are direct offspring Of the
| community gardens fathered by the
National Department Of Agriculture.
During the decade which has elapsed
since the sunrise of this city-Widc
gardening many of those who have
mastered the business of coaXing
shrivcled seed into fresh, tender vege-
tables have purchased or leased subur'
ban homes with backyards large
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21

and chnered him on, and the players
seemed not at all averse to his atten-
TONS
THE Manhattans, the East Washing
l. tons, the Il Streets the Falcons,
the Wavcrlies the GermantOWns ana
other amnt eur teams were keeping
alive in tho city an appreciation OF
the technique of the game ana con
stituted an alien element to the patent
medicine melancholy Of the day. The
principal sporting interests were CEN
tered in horse racing, boat racing,
rifle matches and cock fights. The
last mentioned used to draw large
crowds to various roadhouSeS be-
tween the Capital and Baltimore and
were staged as intercity contests. On
July 5. 1882. the Washington birds
owned by one Lum Fasting won five
out of seven matches against the red
gills and red horses of Baltimore. a
Washington rifle team went to Eng
land and came back with the inter
national championship. The National
regatta was held on the Potomac in
the Summer of 1881 and was given
columns of newspaper space.
Boat racing. in fact. had taken the
place or p1S1 Dlil az tnc SI)oll vi lilt
upper crust of the sporting element.
Men who had starred with bats
dropped them and took up oars. This
condition continued until we'll into the
next century when boat racing gave
way to golf as the sport of gentlemen
with moderate wealth and leisure.
Outside of Washington the game
was developing. Early in the Summer
Of 1883 Washington neWspa ners an.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21

ppnmenh

in the afternoon was crowded with
men and boys. There were at least
! 900 people present at the game.
Some women were on the grounds.
but not many. Very few Of the bald
heads were absent. The crowd
formed dense ring around the dia-
mond only a few feet from the bases.
rhey did not keep quiet by any means
but commented very freely on the
game and on the players. The lat
ter did not seem to care much. but
acted as if they had got used to IT.
The game started shortly after
o'clock. Women on both sides wore
suits of the same cut. the only dllfer-
ence being the color. one side in RED.
the other in blue The dress consisted
of n blouse extended little below the
knees. gathered at the waist by a
belt, stockings. baseball shoes and
high CAPS The efforts of the pitchers
were simply eXCruciatinC. The catch
erS couldn't catch and the battorS
either made a feeble punch at the BAH
or struck downward at it. When the
ball was touched no matter now
lightly, the batter was sure OF run.
Not Il player could pick up ball I'M
til she had made six or seven hysteri-
cal grabs. and when it was picked up
because to throw it over few yards
or~anywhere near the spot desired was
a physical imposSihility. The run
ming was another amusing feature.
The players all waddled-some Waddled
more, some Waddled less, but all
Wadded In catching. they placed
their wrists together and opened up
the hands like an alligator does its
mouth. Some fingers were injured.
and once the whole field went over
to console with the catcher OF the
blue nine who caught n ball in the
side.
Only one of the players wore
short hair. The others had theirs
done up in high caps on the top of the
head. Frequently the cap would
come off and the hair fall down. II
was soon fixed again by a hairpin
and one or two indescribable rolls of
the finger. The captains yelled AT
their mines and sometimes pretended
to kick at the umpire. None of the
players were pretty, some were
homely, and most were somewhat
accd.
"Thcr> was one man on the grounds
who attracted about as much atten-
ton as the players. He was dressed
in grey and stood back of the bench
where the nine at bat reclined-that
is. ha stood back sometimes. but more
frequently hn was right among the
players, laughing and talking. The
umpire drove him away repeatedly,
but he came back as often. Finally
policeman was detailed to keep him
back. The umpire was the only one
who objected To the man enjoying
himself The crowd seemed to like it
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21

claimed land known as the Barnum
Barrier near Lake Kingan and the
Benning Bridge. Its members will
consume some 5000 worth Of home
raised green food this year.
The United States Government,
through the office Of buildings and
grounds Of Col. l.. S. Grants en-
gineering department. allots to the
Department Of Agriculture the neces-
sary acreage for gardening activities
Uncle Sam. scientific farmer, in turn,
, reapportions these tracts among the
members of the various gardening
clubs.
| The United States Engineers Office
reports that the municipal gardens
| save the Government many thousands
of dollars in preparing infertile, rough
! land for it's eventual carpeting of
verdant, velvety greedsWard The
! gardeners, in battling the weeds, fer
| tilizing the soil and cultivating the
| land, prepare the salvaged soils ideal
| ly for grass growing. The sites of
the gardens are shifted every once in
J so often, when the Government needs
! new tracts Of land for park purposes.
| The Government passes the re-
| claimed tracts along to the garden
! clubs for use las is" This means
! that the fields have TO he leveled,
plowed dragged narrowed and pre-
pared for planting by tractors and the
use Of modern machinery. The gar
f! den clubs prOrate the cost OF such
work among their members in the
/, form of special annual assessment.
| The yearly tax on the AnacoStia
! Flats gardeners, each Of whom tillS
| One-tenth of an acre as a garden, Is
$3.50. The Potomac Garden Club col
| lects s. apiece from its members an
nually, as their gardens average one
eighth of an acre in size. This organ
| ization also provides more service for
its individual gardeners.
Special committees in each club are
appointed to contract for the work, to
measure the land and to divide it into
equal plots, properly staked and identi
fed Walks and paths are left be-
tween the individual garden plots
The garden clubs hold two annua
meetings each year, one during the
late Winter, when committees ale ap
pointed and the plan OF work for the
Spring is formulated, and the other &
roundup or post harvest meeting II
, the Autumn, when Jack Frost has
shunted food farming from the Dis
trict picture until robin singing time
returns.
. Uncle Sam issues special lease Il
each gardener for the term OF the
i. crop season. One outstanding pro
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21
essi0na Base Ball Made Waverng Lines in Progress Here
RY THOMAS X. HENRY.

~ AsE BALL in WASHINGTON w9b-
Is s.. . s" 'R''' S'''"s '"' EARLY
These we're yellow years in
the National Capital. The Govern
ment clerks who had fought the civil
War in their early twenties were be
ginning to notice tWinces OF rheuma-
tism in their Joints and We're SATISFIED
with no more violent exercise than
hoeing their gardens of evenings
They got drowsy early and many OF
them were taking big doses of cheap
whisky. disguised as patent medicine
which was guara nteed by famous
physicians and gallant generals to
cure all the increasing pangs OF fad
in@ youth.
The succeeding Younger generation
WAS a hit late in arriving. War mao
disturbed the cadence of the waves
of nopulation. There were plenty of
bows and girls in short pants am
dresses. but no great number in tn"
Years Of budding maturity which pro
vide the greatest enthusiasm for
sports of all sorts.
There was a certain morhility in til"
ten1ner Of the times which was ie-
fected in the current newspapers.
HancinCs. han~ingS, hanSinGs-col-
umn after column of haNgings. Re-
porters flocked with their notebooks
wherever a CalloVS was erected any
where in the United States. EXecu-
tons constituted the most popular
sport of the time. Not detail vas
omitted. The hungry public was told,
item for item. what he condemned ate
for his last breakfa>,; what he said
to his spiritual adviser: how his knees
~ I.>-,- ~
his fear-parched throat as the oiled
moose was adjusted with the knot just
behind the right ear: how long and
how violently he struggled at the end
of the rope; the undertaker's report on
the condition of his cadaVer: inter-
views with his relatives and the rela-
tives of his victims. and sruesome &C
counts of the crime which had brought
him 10 the hands of the hangman.
The explorer out Of today who VEN
lures back into the shadows of that
transition period feels the need of
good tough prize fight. with plenty of
smuggling, to get the prevailing lilac
odor out of the atmospheric say
nothing of close big-league contest
and some pugnacious college foot ball
games Everybody reveled in eXecu-
tons, from the boarding school maid
to the retired colonel. There was too
little Of the healthy meat of outdoor
sports in the life of the time to offset
this morbidity. Base ball needs sun
shine to flourish. 1t had difficulty
keeping a foothold in the shady, chilly
valleys Of those years.
Great throngs attended the Metho-
dist and Christian camp meeting at
Washington Grove in Montgomery
County and Jackson's Farm in Anne
Arundel County. The consumptive
poems Of Henry Kirke White, cor
rectly melancholy. formed an excel
lent birthday gift for talented young
ladies'. The chostly, sickly-sweet
blossoms of death intruded like rag
weed among the cultivated crops of
life
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21

vision in this lease is that the garden
tracts are to be used only for the pro-
duction of vegetables for family use.
Stipulation is made prohibiting the
raising Of vegetables for sale on the
Government property. The Govern
ment requires that they keep their
gardens in good state Of cultivation
and that they be orderly in their field
work and respect the rights of their
neighbors. These Washington gar
dens are breeding grounds of thrift
and efficient economy.
1t is really remarkable, the spirit Of
comradeship which is fostered among
WashingtOn's amateur growers. They
aid one another with their work, and
If ever a gardener is taken sick or
goes away on a Summer vacation, his
associates look after his "Lilliputian
farm during his absence.
X
THE average adult gardener pro.
= duces enough fresh vegetables and
storable surplus for Winter to feed
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21

tions and the pale-browed maidens
were primping for a better day. using
a marvellous beauty medicant.
X
TN 1879 a Washington team was rep
resented in the National Associa-
ton of Professional Ball Players. In
fact, it won the championship that
year but this caused very little inter
est in the Capital. Other teams were
Albany, Holyoke, Worcester. New
Bedford. Springfield. NJ II C h e 3 t e +,
Rochester, Utica. The championship
team was as follows: TrOtt. c.: Lyman.
p: Meyerle, 1b.: Booth, 2b.; Flick, 3b:
Mcclellan, ss.: Holly IT,; Baker. CT:
Derby. RI. The interest was so slight
that when Rochester came to Wash
ington less than $50 persons turned
out for the game. The visitors re-
fused to play for the half share Of the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21

Yet there must have been a slight
persistent interest in the game
among Washingtonian during those
years. Not even the ASA ssination of
Garfield could drive it out Of the
newspapers altogether. 1t continued
to claim few lines OF space when
Lieut.. Greedy and his five companions
came back from the Arctic and that
cruesome scandal of cannahaliSm, so
delightful 10 such generation of
readers. was accorded its columns of
closely printed reading matter.
Out Of the South came the miasmic
stencil of yellow fever. Hundreds Of
Washinetonian bought tickets in the
kentucky lottery and a local clergy
man won the grand prize of $4,000,
Whereupon he was somewhat trou-
hed of conscience until he was as
sured. in vision. that it was the
will of the Lord that he accept. as
reward for his sanctity, even if
popular prejudice forced him to give
up his pulpit. These, indeed. were
yellow years--the pale moon shining
over graveyards, the October winds
piping requiems--.
Yet under the surface, at least.
there was a good, strong flow of
rad blood. Not everybody was melan-
healthy days of Roosevelt were just
around the corner. On July ), 1882.
John l.. sullivan knocked out James
Elliott in New York City and the
defeated puSilist remained uncon-
sCiouS for 20 minutes, after which his
generous Conqueror gave him so and
sent him home. Two weeks later this
same John L.--he is like Il gust OF
fresh air from the Sunlit fields in
the newspaper columns of the day
knocked out Tug Wilson on Long
Island in the third round.
But base ball in Washington, all
this time, was totterinG about with
undeveloped bones and sinewS. There
We're freak contests which found a
place in the papers-hetween teams
of one-armed men, between married
and single men at picnics. between.
so shocking to the cultivated people
Of the day, teams of girls. All this
time the healthy young amateurs of
the sandlots were pounding the ball
and developing big-league material,
but they were unable to attract any
very enthusia site attention from their
elders.
THE Evening Stars account OF a
= ball game between two teams of
women who played here on July 10,
1879. is a classic in its way. and
serves to illustrate the prevailing tenn
per Of the times: 1t reads as follows:
"The first land it is to he hoped) the
last game of ball played by women
in this city was that yesterday after
noon at Eagle Park. The two mines
were called the Red Stockings Of New
York and the Blue Stockings OF Phila-
delnhia. Every car going to the park
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21

nounced that Hornung, short stop Of
the Boston team, has. it was under
stood, several thousand dollars in the
bank. every cent of which he has
gathered by his good work on the ball
field" In the same Summer Whitney.
the Boston pitcher, struck out 70 men
in nine championship games. lnclud-
ing "a in three games with Detroit.
Perhaps the red blood of Washing
ton was furthest under the surface in
1881. when there was a comet in the
ankle of Andromeda and great forest
fires in the West" SO that for week
the sky was Clrtained with dull yell
low mist through which the sun shone
feebly, transmitting the melancholy
color to the walls of buildings and the
faces OF the crowds on the street. But
even then the boys were restless for
something more palatable than eXecu-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21

~ ASE BALL in Washington wob-
- hled through an anemic ado
N lescence during the EARLY
Il SOS.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21
Landless City Cliff Dwellers Become Gardeners

enough for vegetable gardens. These
suburba have applied their scien-
tific skill to the Worthwhile work of
food growing as theoretically as they
did formerly on the Government land
Many Of them sell the surplus vege-
tables which they produce to neigh
bors who do not maintain gardens.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21
BY GEORGE III. DACY.

w YASHINGTON'S modern cliff
a dwellers." who live in large
wv apartment houses of brick:
concrete and steel and
who own no land. are en-
Nogales international., 1927-08-12
Cats Alike Fond of
Travelling and Home

The glare Of limelight that re-
Gently beat upon Fluffy, the Lon
don Victoria station cat who
boards the 10:45 train to Dover
every morning, lunches upon nice
creamy milk at the buffet there,
and returns to town by the after
noon train, is a reminder Of GU.
rious fact about cats; they are at
once the greatest travellers and the
greatest "home bodies Of all do
mesticated animals.
Other cats In England, and, In
deed, In most countries, regularly
journey long distances on trains,
usually In the restaurant car, but
sometimes with the train crew. AS
for seafaring cats, there must be
hundreds of thousands of them,
from North cape to the Horn,
Southampton water to Nagasaki
bay. Most liners carry quite a
number; there are White Star ves-
sells with five and-twenty aboard.
There was an amusing incident not
long ago. when one of the Adri-
atic's cats, that had failed to turn
up when the ship sailed, reap
peared for the next voyage with
Its tail proudly waving In the
breeze and five little kittens trot-
ting along behind.-Manchester
Guardian.