davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1928-12-27
The American Association.

Washington has representation Of
several hundred at what is expected to
prove the largest scientific gathering
ever held in the world--the annual
meeting of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, which
opens in New York today and continues
through the week. There is every indi-
cation that this gathering will be larger
and more representative than the meet
ing of the same society in this city four
years ago.
Approximately one hundred papers,
out Of the two thousand odd on the pro-
gram, have been contributed by scien-
tific workers connected with the De-
partment of Agriculture. Most of these
deal with complex subject in which
there is little popular interest, but
which is OF vital import to. mankind
This is the subject Of plant diseases
and it has very direct bearing on the
food supply Of the future. The plant
world Is as much subject to the ravages
of epidemics as the animal world. New
diseases continually are making theiI
appearance to trouble the farmer and
to threaten the stability Of the agricul-
ture OF the future. A small group oi
workers in the Department Of Agricul'
ture laboratories here, In the field sta
tons and in the State agricultural col.
leges are holding the front lines agains'
these ravages.
1t is difficult, however, to find much
Of public interest in blights and flung
which are striking at human welfare
through the plants. Although the plan
disease papers constitute the larges
single contribution to the American AS
sociation meetings made by Washing
tonians this year, they are by no mean
t1cRtsive. Washington - p -eeientiH
/ A
Evening star., 1928-12-27

capital. In few cities in the world "a
so large a proportion of the population
engaged in research. The Government
laboratories always have q large repre-
sentation at these annual congresses Of
American science.
Papers more calculated to stir the
public imagination will be contributed
by staff workers of the Naval Observa-
tory, the Coast and Geodetic Survey,
the Geological Survey, the Bureau Of
Mines, the Carnegie Institution and the
Smithsonian Institution.
The annual meetings Of the Ameri-
can Association are important events
in the history Of each year. The quality
Of the papers is greatly varied. But
there have been few such gatherings
which have not been notable for the
first announcement Of some conception
or discovery Of the first importance in
scientific progress.
Evening star., 1928-12-27
Tennessee Race Track
Gambling Declared Dead

From the Nashville Banner.
Race track gambling in Tennessee Is
dead and will remain dead. Its revival
Is beyond the power of any interest,
however fortified politically or finan-
cially. The mandate Of TennesseeanS
decreeing its outlawry was unmistak-
able and deliberate; it's wisdom has been
abundantly established. The verdict of
condemnation written in the statutes
stands unimpeached by any event rails
ing question of its justice or need; and
no intrigue or appeal directed to its
repeal or modification will merit, or
receive, any measure of popular ap-
proval. Public sentiment is clear on
this subject and the General Assembly
will not dare trif1e with 1t.
The report given a few days ago
in a Chicago racing journal that a
measure proposing pari-mutuel betting
in lieu of bookmaking of the olden days
would be presented to the incoming
Legislature and with the backing of a
group of accredited strong political in
f1uence in the affairs of the State was
the first open prophecy that gossip to
that effect in circulation for some time
would lead to positive action along
that line.
Whether the disclaimer of approval
which Gov Horton has made will oper-
ate as a deterrent to the prosecution of
the alleged plans of the parties in in
tereSt remains to be seen. However
that may be, the confident prediction is
ventured that Tennessee is not ready
to surrender law founded upon mani
fest need for the protection of society
and of its youth more especially from
an influence notoriously demoralizing
and debasing, to the manipulation and
destruction by any selfish interest,
however adroit and eminent.
The pari-mutuel Is even more Sc
ductive and dangerous than the auc-
tioneer; and the offer of tax to go
into the States revenues would be a
tender of collusion with crime, the ac-
ceptance of which would shame the
Commonwealth.
Should this reputed scheme have a
foundation in fact and serious pur-
pose, the offenders would quickly dis
cover that the State will meet their
challenge squarely and promptly and
administer rebuke beyond question
of its determined intent.
Evening star., 1928-12-27
Holds Evolution Explains
Moral Virtues i'm Animals
BYE. T.. FREE. PHI. d.


That moral qualities. like sympathy
or affection or unselflShneSs, are not
only products of the same processes of
evolution that created mans body, but
are possessed in some degree by many
lower animals, was maintained by Prof.
j. Arthur Thomson, distinguished nat
uralist of the University of Aberdeen,
Scotland, in his recent Norman Lock-
yer lecture before the British Science
Guild in London.
For the doctrine of mans original
sin modern science proposes to Substi-
, tute, Prof. Thomson said, the doctrine
| of original Righteousness. for the be-
| ginningS of righteousness go far back
of man. ALI naturalists know, the lee
turer continued, that birds care for
| their young even more single-mindedly
| than the average human parent, that
many mammals sacrifice individual in
terests for the good Of the family OF
tribe. that many other social" virtues
are illustrated in animal life.
These virtues seem to have obtained
for their possessors first places in Ma
ture's lists; typif1ed by the birds and by
man. What biologists call survival
value" must reside, Prof. Thomson as
serted, in these virtues; begun in the
history of evolution millions of years
before any creature like man had been
developed and for which mans animal
ancestors deserve much of the credit
no less than for the human body.
Evening star., 1928-12-27
Publication Printed
. On Cornstalk Paper
From the Indianapolis Star.

From the Indianapolis Star.
The December number of the Prairie
Farmer is of special interest to agr1-
culturists in this part of the world be-
cause it is the first publication to be
printed on paper made from cornstalks.
The new industry has been established
in Danville, ILL.,, and seems to have
passed we'll beyond the experimental
stage. The company Is turning out
cornstalk pulp that is converted into
a quality of paper that promises much
for the future of the farmer in the
corn belt.
Scientists have been at work for
years experimenting with processes for
utilizing cornStalkS. They have pro-
gressed to the point where that article
of waste on the farms seems about
to become very valuable by-product of
crop raising. Not only can paper be
made from the cornstalks, but the rayon
industry and others using cellulose are
expected to become extensive pur-
chasers of product that has been a
waste and nuisance to the tiller OF the
soil in the corn belt.
The paper on which the Prairie
Farmer IS printed was made from corn
stalks grown in Vermillion County, ILL.,,
and Vermillion and Warren Counties,
Ind. 1t Is, of course, too soon to say
what cornstalks might be expected to
yield to the grower, but at present the
company using them is taking them in
return for the service of harvesting
the farmers corn crop. That means
saving of SO to $5 an acre, even IN
the primary stages of the industry's
development, which is like so much
found money. What the cornstalks
may mean eventually to the farmer
and to the users of paper remains for
the furture to disclose.
Evening star., 1928-12-27
A Misguided Movement.

Announcement is made that Wash
ington on January 8 is 70 be the scene
of a national conference Of protest
against the cruiser bill. Like all Gaul
the conference will be divided into three
parts. 1t will open with a forenoon OF
general discussion" continue with an
afternoon of personal buttonholing of
Senators and wind up with banquet
in the evening. at which Senators
heading the opposition to the cruiser
bill" will hold forth.
The citizens committee" which is
engineering the forthcoming cruiser
conference numbers among its members
several hundred we'll known and we'll
intentioned men and women. Church
leaders and spokeswomen Of the FEM
mist movement are conspicuous among
them. The roster includes many names
which have figured consistently in all
the cotemporary drives against pre-
paredness measures in Congress. There
is no reason to challenge the good in
tent Of these opponents of national de-
fense. But there is every reason to
question the wisdom of their procedure
and the soundness of their political
logic.
The group, which Is bent upon tor
pedoing the rational and reasonable ex-
pansion of the Navy recommended by
President Coolidge, Secretary Kellogg
and Secretary Wilbur, bases its hostil-
ity to the cruiser program on the alle-
cation that it "nullifes' the anti-war
treaty. In that connection it Is worth
while pointing out to them, lest in their
zeal they overlook it, that the multilat-
eral pact has one broad, underlying i'm
plication. That implication is the right
Of self-defense.
While renouncing war as an instru-
ment of national policy, no signatory
power abandons the right to defend
itself against aggression. The right of
self-defenSe is worthless without the
power to exercise 1t. Thus viewed, the
anti-war treaty and the cruiser bill, far
from multiplying" each other, supple
ment each other.
1t Is sincerely to-1be< hoped that the
anti-cruiser conference not adjourn
without giving heed to this aspect of
its commendable purpose to promote
the cause of international peace. The
choice presented to the American peo-
pie. put in the simplest possible terms,
is peace by preparedness, or inability
to defend themselves because Of under
nrenarednesS.
Evening star., 1928-12-27
Sentiment Versus Sense.

The weather, like the poor. Is always
with us. If any reader of The Star can
recall finer spell of pre-Christmas
and Christmas weather than that OBJ
tanning in 1928 he Is at liberty to write
the date and description thereof and
deposit it in the nearest trash recep-
tacle. Bright, clear, cold, but not too
cold: no snow or rain, sleet or even
fog, the past seven or eight days and
nights would seem to have been utterly
perfect. Even the moon was just right.
SentimentaliSts are won't to deplore
the lack of a white Christmas" such
as is featured in ones recollections, es-
pecially those Of q good many years
gone by. These are exceedingly pretty
on Christmas card, or even in actu-
ality, for, those who have nothing bet
ter to do than bundle up and trudge
around in the snow and ice, admiring
the appealing effect Of lights glimmer-
ing over the whiteness. Such are also
very nice for the youthful coaster,
skater, ski devotee and snowballer, but
the good aspects Of such climatic
favor as Washington has Just enjoyed
far outweigh the adverse, or any tenn
porary, deprivations.
The yuletide season, with all Its
bustling and even nerve-racking pre-
liminaries, has become too vast, too eco
nomically important for any sensible
person to wish it hampered by sloppy
conditions underfoot, and snow in this
latitude usually means just that. Fol
every pretty fir tree loaded with white
crystals some poor horse Is down OF
keeping his feet with difficulty, some
car is skidding, some tired postman
driver or delivery clerk is working
longer overtime. The modern Christ
mas needs.every aid that meteorological
chance can give it. Time was when
this Capital was a very leisurely place
Most of its residents lived near the
center of things and their celebrations
were of a more modest sort A white
Christmas then proved often rather q
pleasant feature.
Those who thoroughly enjoy theil
dash of snow and ice will undoubtedly
get it later. In the meantime the COM
munity as whole Is very much ahead
of the game because of the kindly skies
of the week or more just past. To pine
for a white Christmas is a pretty
enough sentiment. Looked at logically
however, one might as consistently
pray for a very hot Fourth Of July.
Evening star., 1928-12-27
u. S. Watches Whalen
In Role of Guardian
From the Manchester union.

From the Manchester Union.
In one way or another the country
has been led to take a good deal of in
terest in Grover Whalen's acceptance of
the New York police commissionership
To begin with, the gentleman has been
extensively advertised. His curious role
Of official "greeter," charged with the
duty of extending formal welcome to
distinguished visitors to the metropolis,
has brought him frequently into the
]imelight. Habitual patrons of the
movies have come to recognize him at
sight and to think of him as going
through life achieving the difficult task
Of looking at home in garments of
ceremony. So it is not to be wondered
at that a large part of the population
Of the hinterlandS has put him down as
a social butterfly, highly decorative but
not otherwise important. Yet the fact
is that Mr.. Whalen Is successful buSi-
ness man, man of affairs, who gives
UP the managership of a great mercan-
tile establishment to take over the task
of heading the New York police force.
Incidentally, he accepts big cut in
income. In most cases that sort OF
thing is accepted as evidence of genuine
public spirit.
In several aspects the police job Is
not alluring. Things have been going
badly in the department. There has
been bitter complaint of lasSitude in
clearing up sensational crime mysteries.
Commissioner Whalen starts in by max
ing lot of changes. Probably he will
find cause to make more. Unless the
New York press is singularly misin-
formed, there is plenty of reason for a
general shake-up.
There will be deal Of curiosity to
see how Mr.. Whalen gets along in his
new role. In large part. though, it will
be concerned with his success in carry
ing businesslike efficiency from a big
store to the biggest of the country's
police departments. The official recep-
ton phase Of his experience will not be
so much in mind after little.
Evening star., 1928-12-27

The spirit of the holiday season
should lead every friend Of animals to
think of stray dogs and cats and to
actively make some provision for them.
There Is scarcely a neighborhood in
which there will not be some roamer on
four feet, uncared for except when such
friend takes thought for him.
Especially is this true of cats.
This domestic animal is used to Shift
ing for itself. Perhaps it was left to
do SO last Summer when its family"
went away without bothering its COM
posite head about what was to become
of Tom. Some people are like that.
Tom got along pretty well, thank you,
what with the garbage cans and the
grub handed him out by kind neighbors.
It IS true that he got a bad case of
gastritis when hunger forced him to
eat some refuse which otherwise he
would not have touched
Nature managed to bring him around
however so that he Is alive today. with
q rather husky meow and big appetite.
He is dirty, but how can a fellow be
very clean who never gets chance TO
take a bath?
It is too cold outdoors for cat to
do much licking of himself. His saliva
would freeze on his fur. And the in
centive is lacking, too. Who on earth
would feel like taking bath with the
thermometer 20 degrees above zero?
So Tom huddles on your back porch
in the morning, hoping against hope TO
be let into the house for time, SO
that he may thaw himself out bit
and enter into the ancient heritage OF
his tribe-a home.
One would not wax eloquent over
the miseries of homeless animals when
there are so many homeless people
in the world. Their miSeries, however,
are acute to those who particularly
care for them.
In respect to animals, human beings
are divided into two classes, In the
main-those who are indifferent to
them and those who really like them.
In the first class must come also those
who treat them with cruelty.
The second class, being much smaller
than the first, must make up for their
lack of numbers by their overwhelming
interest in mankinds pets. This they
may do in many ways, but at this sea-
son Of the year in one way particu-
larly.
BY putting out food for the strays,
the waits of street and alley, one does
good deed without ostentation. While
the furry creatures will be grateful, in
their own style, the fact remains that
they scarcely associate the gift with
the giver.
Thus ones right hand does, indeed,
know not what the left hand doeth.
This gesture is lost on the air Of the
world, except in so far as it helps
some living thing, and pleases the mind
and heart of him who makes 1t.
X X X
A glance at the "lost" ads every
night will show that between half
dozen and a full dozen dogs roam
away from their homes daily.
1t is probably true that the dog is
more likely to get lost in great city
than a cat. Cats do, indeed, come
back. They have powers probably su-
perior to those of the dog in the
Evening star., 1928-12-27
A Home for the Supreme Court.

Plans for building for the Supreme
Court of the United States are finally
to be drawn. Both the House and
Senate have passed a bill providing for
commission to secure preliminary
plans and estimates "for a suitable
building for the accommodation and
sexcluSive use" of the Supreme Court.
AAlready site, the square just north
,of that on which the Library of Con-
greSs stands, has been procured, and
IAN appropriation Of two hundred and
seixty-eight thousand dollars is to be
carried in the next deficiency bill to
complete the purchase, for which five
hundred thousand dollars was originally
provided.
The need of building for the Su-
.preme Court has been apparent for
years. The court has been housed in
the Capitol Building It's quarters have
sbeen narrow, without proper court
room or chambers for the justices of
the court. While the Government has
lars rearing Federal buildings in every
part of the country, it has neglected
the highest court in the land. This
bneglect provides in itself commentary
on the manner in which the public
moneys are allocated. Where there are
votes and where there are powerful
representatives in Congress there the
money goes.
At present the Supreme Court sits in
the old Senate chamber, discarded when
the Senate moved in 1859 to the then
new north wing Of the Capitol The
court is crowded in between the Senate
chamber and the rotunda of the Capt.
tol. These quarters are neither ade-
quate to meet the requirements of this
great court nor do they become the
dignity of the highest tribunal In the
land. The Government has three major
divisions, the legislative, the executive
and the judicial branches. The Capitol
is the home of the legislative branch,
where the laws are made The White
House is the domicile OF the Chief
Executive Of the country. But the
Supreme Court, which is at the top
of the judicial branch of the Govern
Tnent, has no home of its own, no dis
tinctive building to which the people
may go when they wish to see the third
great branch of Government at its
work, which is the Interpretation of the
laws themselves.
The new Supreme Court building
should be great monument to justice.
It should be an architectural MASTER
piece that can rightly be compared to
the Capitol and the White House. The
bill which has just passed provides for
a commission to obtain preliminary
plans and estimates. Chief Justice Taft
and another member of the court will
be members. Representatives Of the
Senate and House and the architect of
the Capitol make up the remainder of
the commission. The greatest artists
in the country, it is to be hoped, will
be willing to undertake the task of
making these plans. Certainly, when it
comes to cost, the Congress should
deal literally with the judicial branch
of the Government.
Evening star., 1928-12-27
Studying the Left Turn.

In deciding upon a close study of the
present peculiar left-hand-turn rule in
Washington, Co: missioner Dougherty
Is making me nat will be crafty
ing to the great of motorists. Ever
since the outside J.. lrn arrangement
was extended to int cGio1s controlled
by policemen, the wall of protest from
those who drive has grown in volume.
1t has now reached the point that
the Commissioner In charge Of police
has wisely taken cognizance and has
determined to reconsider the subject
in all its phases.
The Washington outside turn Ia prac'
ticed In only Q few other cities IN thu
country. IT violates -one OF the Pun
Evening star., 1928-12-27
Wright Anniversary Triumph
ArOuses Pride of COuntrymen

The recent triumphant celebration OF
the anniversary of the first successful
airplane fight graphically reminded the
Nation that it has been slow in giving
full recognition to the epochal achieve
ment of the Wright brothers in the
sand hills Of Kitty Hawk, N. c., rs
years ago.
Although the wrights' experiments
were quietly conducted, with slight pub
lie attention, the Raleigh News and
Observer recalls that ''in few days
after the successful flight quarter OF
significance of the conquest of the air
= The WrightS went to Wash
ington with their little craft" con-
tinues the North Carolina paper. "They
flew at Fort Myer and the Congress
adjourned to see the flight They flew
over the Capitol, and the necks of law
makers were craned to see the achieve
ment. That was Is years ago. The
story Of Byrds flying to the North Pole,
of Lindbergh'S trip across the Atlantic
and wonderful conquests by other dis
tinguiShed aviatorS, as well as the grid
ling of the globe, tells the progress since
that day, forever memorable, at Kitty
Hawk"
y "
Mans ambition to conquer the skies
was unrealized for centuries" says the
San Francisco Bulletin. History and
mythology tell us of men who watched
birds soar into the sky, smoke rise up
and fade away in the haze, and they
longed to shake off the ShackleS OF
gravity and fly. 1t was because man
was long chained to the ground that
An0nrinoY1 naFito1 clnnY fr hnn a
challengers of the sky. 1t is only in
the last five years that industry and
capital have regarded the airplane with
anything but skeptical eyes. Other pio-
neerS who joined the ranks of the
Wrights fought the obstacles of ground
born and ground-bound SkepticS. And
today We have huge passenger planes,
carrying capitalists, business or pleasure
bent; tnduStrialists and their commodi-
ties, mail and perishableS-we have
commercial airplanes making an aver
age daily record of more than IS 900
miles"
Reviewing some of the stories told Of
the early experiences OF the Wrights
when they selected q remote strip of
the North Carolina coast, the Spring.
field Republican explains: "It is often
overlooked that the development of the
airplane was preceded by valuable, If
dangerous, experimentation with gliders,
and that considerable knowledge about
the construction and use of aircraft was
obtained from those earlier machines.
When the Wrights first went to Kitty
Hawk, in 1900, their primary object was
to obtain experience In the air by means
of gliding flights. and the bleak sand
hills of Kitty Hawk were chosen because
steady winds, favorable to gliding, we're
to be found there"
"A historic fifth of a minute" is de-
scribed by the New York Evening Post
"'Orville Wright, lying on his stomach
in the worlds first airplane, flew for
IL seconds" says the Evening Post.
appropriately registered by a Coast
Guardsman, who, having witnessed the
flight. ran toward the post ONCE as
fast as his legs and lungs would Let