davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1928-12-26

prosperous condition Of the fund Is due
almost entirely to the employees own
contributions.
AS a matter Of fact, the members OF
the House to man, as far as is known,
individually favor the passage Of the
Dale bill and will pass it with acclaim
as soon as they are given chance to
vote. The House leaders express their
friendliness toward this measure and
say it will get an early day in the
House. The fact remains, however, that
although a special rule was voted out
of the rules committee in the last ses-
sion to give it privileged opportunity
in the House, this opportunity never
came.
Since there is such general feeling
among the citizens and taxpayers for
this measure, since the members OF
the House are so strongly pledged to
it, and since it will not mean heavy
drain on the Federal Treasury, there
should be no further delay.
Let this bill be one of the first to
come up after the House gets back to
work. filed with the New Year spirit,
and thus make the New Year open up
the brighter for these veteran workers
and their families.
Evening star., 1928-12-26
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

change will take place in meal-time
customs at the White House after
March 4? There will be no more Grace
at table.
Spain and Bermuda don't hold cards
i'll the Pan-American Union, but Ma
drld and Hamilton are probably wonder
ing how much there really is in what
Hoover at Rio de Janeiro the other day
called the economic mutuality of ma
tions." About the time he was pro-
claiming that doctrine Of commercial
brotherly love, the United States Tariff
Commission and President Coolidge
were raising the import duties on onions
from Spain and Bermuda. Those
energetic bulbs" Gas George Eliot
dubbed them) are not to be kept out
of the U. S. A., but they'll now cost
so much that onion -fanciers are likely
to prefer the aroma Of the domestic
fruit.
The esthetic beauties of Washington
are about to be glorif1ed in a book bv
master hand-CharleS Moore. chair
man Of the National Commission of
Fine Arts. A DISTINGUISHED firm of New
York publishers, conscious of the grow
ing splendor of the Federal Capital. has
just persuaded Mr.. Moore to undertake
the work. For 80 years and more his
pen has dealt with kindred subjects.
Since the World War Mr.. Moore, in
addition to heading the Fine Arts
Commission, has been chief of the di-
vision of manuscripts in the Library Of
Congress.
(Copyright, 192s)
Evening star., 1928-12-26
The New York. Havana Run.

The United States Shipping Board
has acted promptly to aid the Ameri-
can ship lines operating between New
York and Havana, threatened by the
British, who have placed the Caronia
of the Cunard Line into that service
for the Winter trade. The President
Roosevelt, one of.the ships of the fleet
of the United States Lines operating be-
tween New York and Europe, has been
transferred by action Of the board TO
the Ward Line for the run between
New York and Havana to meet the
competition of the Caronia.
The Caronia is larger and has more
accommodations than the American
ships which operate the year round
between New York and Havana. The
Winter months see the height Of the
tourist trade between the United States
and Cuba. 1t is upon those months
that the regular lines rely to make UP
losses which they may sustain by their
regular passenger service during the
Summer. The introduction of the
British ship into this trade with Cuba
not unnaturally has aroused American
shipping men. Lines operating to Cuba
are contemplating the construction OF
new ships to place in the service. 1t
was obvious, however. that there would
be no time in which to complete new
vessels to meet the threat of the Ca
ronia. The Shipping Board very prop
erly has come to the aid of the Ameri-
can shipping lines between this country
,and Cuba. While the New York'Ha-
Evening star., 1928-12-26
Science Measures Suns
300 Light-Years Away

Two giant suns which were revolving
around each other 800 years ago like a
tumbling dumbbell, and which may be
revolving in this way still, although
that is something no one can discover
for another 800 years. were described
by DR.. Alfred H. Joy Of Mount Wilson
Observatory, California. in a recent
communication to the Astronomical So
ciety of the Pacific
The motions of these suns which he
has been studying occurred. DR.. Joy
points out. more than three centuries
before Columbus was born. The two
dumbbell suns arc so far away from the
earth that light needs that 800 years
to come from them to us. Everything
that has happened to the two suns in
the intervening centuries Is in cold
storage" in space, on its way to us to
be observed by astronomers of future
generations.
In spite of this enormous distance,
and the fact that the combined light
Of the two stars is too faint to make
them visible at all except through
powerful telescopes, modern astronomy
has been able. DIR. Joy reports, to
weigh and measure the two suns, to
determine how fast they revolve about
each other and to calculate how far
they are apart. One of them is over
five times the size of our sun, but Is
lighter, weighing not quite twice as
much. The other Is heavier; about
three times the suns size and nearly
six times its weight. The two suns are
only about 100000 miles apart. about
one-tenth of the distance between our
sun and the earth. and revolve about
each other at speeds of so miles Sec
ond or greater. so that complete revo-
luton happens in three days and nine
hours of our time.
Evening star., 1928-12-26

The act of Mrs. Maud Wilson OF
Kansas CITY in smashing a speakeasy
with her hatchet because the proprietor
persisted in selling liquor to her young
daughter and also to her husband nat
uraiIv reminded the country OF the late
Carrie Nation.
'"The wrath Of determined woman
uho has the law on her side Is dis
concerting thing" observes the Kansas
Citv Journal-Post which suggests that
"as dramatic revelation of conditions
here the incident must be very EN-
barrassing to law-enforcement otnclalS'
citv state and Federal" The Kansas
Citv star scores the buck passing OF
the various enforcement departments
of the CITY and states that the bettering
of conditions "is largely a matter Oh
active interest in law enforcement VS..
indifference. So far lndlnerence HAS
won," claims the Star. :.
AS to the militant lady herself. the
birmingham News asks: "Is Mrs. Carrie
Nation's militantly dry soul reappear-
ing to wage a deadlier Armageddon
with the fighting arms and hatchet OF
Mrs. Maud Wilson," The Montgomery
Advertiser points out that whereas the
women who took part in Carrie Ma
tior's crusade swung their hatchets IN
protest against saloons that were sell
inc whisky to husbands and sons, this
Kansas City woman swung hers IN pro-
test against bootleg establishment
that was selling liquor to her husband
and her daughter"
y X
The Chattanooga Times stresses the
seriousness Of such condition, saying:
In Carrie Nations day groggeries ana
drink shops would not sell stun to girls
and very few Of them would sell TO
minors. Today, however, neither ten
der years nor sex afford any protectlon
against the bootlegger or the 'oilna
pig"
The Cleveland News sees dilemma
In the situation. MRS. Wilson might
be credited with carrying on the hatch
eteering that Mrs. Nation started.
thinks the News, except that statutory
reform has now left hatchet reform
nothing to smash-nothing whose ex-
istence the law can consistently admit.
"This incident has its amusing fea-
lures. but it also points to a serious
situation in most Of our large cities and
many of our smaller ones" says the
Elkhart Truth. as it discusses the ex-
istence of "a widespread disreSpect Tor
law that is alarming. 1t Is alarming,
not only because the saloonkeepers do
not respect the law" adds the Truth,
"but because the police authorities have
no respect for 1t. For speakeasy sa-
looms could not exist without the con-
nivance and protection of the police"
The Baltimore Sun calls Kansas City
"a dumb town that insists on going
its own way. through what the prohi-
bition director calls the 'loopholes.'
And. according to his version" contin-
ues the Sun. there is loophole in the
dikes for every citizen and not nearly
enough Hans Drinkers to go around"
y X * X
Is this deed of the lady In Kansas
City a forerunner of similar acts else
Evening star., 1928-12-26

thought Sam Smiley must be speaking
to some other oaar brother. Lucky?
Lucky? John Doe didn't know what
the word meant. He looked solemnly
at Smiley.
"Didn't you hear?" asked the latter.
Hear what?" Doe felt puzzled.
"You won turkey"
"What?"
Your name was drawn out OF the
hat"
Il won a turkey?" John Doe snorted.
"ImpoSsible!"
nevertheless, you won turkey"
With all the aplomb OF man telling
news, Smiley went on to narrate the
historic affair.
Every one felt, evidently, that some
thing out of the ordinary had happened.
Men crowded around to congratulate
John Doe, turkey winner.
Everywhere he went, Doe was ac-
claimed.
Hear you won turkey" exclaimed
Horace Letmeatum, with a great smile
of approval.
You're lucky, all right" was the
opinion of j. Robert Stogy, which he ac-
companied with a smart rap on the
back.
John Doe basked in public approval.
X X u X
In few hours Doe began to realize
to the full the significance Of his feat.
BY George! he had won turkey!
Let other men make a fortune In the
stock market, let intrepid aviators fly to
players and pugiliStS make their mil
lions
He, John Doe, had won turkey!
He felt that he understood at last
the momentous words of Sidney Carton,
This is a far, far better thing than /
have ever done!"
Doe began to stick his thumbs in his
vest and to put on look of 1mpor-
tance when anybody came by. He
wondered If the newspapers would send
around men to interview him. He felt
like Webster's boy Who Made Good"
"Yes," he could hear himself telling
the boys. 'it takes quite a lot OF work
to be turkey winner"
Gee, Mr. Doe! so the spokesman
said-he could hear him-as he drew
forth pencil and paper. "How long did
you try to win turkey?"
"It was in 1903 that first thought I
might win turkey. But 1t was hard
Shedding for many, many years.
II watched all the other boys win,
but somehow I could not make the
grade. When came up, Lady Luck
looked the other way"
what would you care to say for the
benefit Of those who have not yet won
turkeys. Mr.. Doe?"
"A-hem, would urge them to keep
on trying! If you don't succeed the
first time, try, try again. Perseverance
is the life Of trade"
"1s it true, Mr.. Doe, as has been
stated in some quarters, that you from
time to time cast reflections upon the
methods of conducting the drawings,
and even went so far as to assert, to
a choice few, of course, that only the
particular friends of the board of gov
ernors had a chance?"
THAT is positively not true, my young
friend. / want to say here that I ap-
prove heartily of the methods used
They are absolutely fair in every re-
spect. Absolutely fair. Ask any turkey
winner"
Evening star., 1928-12-26

vana route is not strictly an American
coastwise route and therefore, under the
maritime, laws Of the United States,
there is no legal reason why foreign
ships should not enter the trade, the
introduction of the Caronia aroused
much feeling.
The American lines running from
New York to Havana are established
lines. They have been operating some
of them for years. There is no ques-
ton here of building up new ship
ping business. 1t is question of
protecting those which the United
States already has. The action of the
Shipping Board in coming promptly to
the assistance of the private American
lines and turning over the President
Roosevelt for the Cuba trade is in line
with the purpose for which the board
was created. The United States needs
an adequate merchant marine. This
country found itself in most difficult
position after the World War broke out
in 1914, because it did not have the
ships in which to transport its goods
to the other countries of the world
and could not get the services of the
foreign vessels which had served it in
the past. This country would look with
concern. and disapproval upon the ef-
forts of the British to wrest any of
the New York-Havana trade from
American vessels, with the ultimate
prospect Of forcing American ships out
Of that trade.
Evening star., 1928-12-26
Revival of Hatchet Smashing
Recalls Days of Carrie Nation

where? This, the Memphis Commercial
Appeal suggests, is a possibility. Mrs.
Wilson ignored the ordinary procedure
of applying for injunction and then
going before the grand jury" says the
Commercial Appeal. "She adopted q
more direct procedure, with the result
that her example may be followed by
others"
One direct effect of Mrs. Wilson'S act
Is that the authorities announce that
they are going to clean up the city
where it was staged. The Fort Worth
Record Telegram on this point remarks:
"a most worthy enterprise surely. Just
why it didn't occur to them to antici-
pate the lady hatchet wielder Is not
clear. The question now Is" continues
this journal, "who will be the next
among the cities of the Nation to ac-
quire a dry-cleaning treatment? What
was that story about the notes and
beams?"
The Charleston Daily Mail notes that
"the Kansas Anti-Saloon League is Of
fering to supply axes to all women who
wish to go on smashing expeditions in
bootleg joints" and asks. rs this an
admission that the prohibition law is
a failure?"
Friends of prohibition might we'll
tremble If they read what suddenly Is
going on In Kansas City" suggests the
Salina Journal, noting that "the news
is all about liquor and booze rings and
joints and other aids of old John Bar
leycorn. What has happened all
at once? Have the people in
hordes and crowds suddenly forsaken
Or can it be that a mere
woman, welding a little hand ak.
the door and revealed almost
unbelievable conditions that have ex-
isted all the time?" queries this paper.
Defending Kansas City from the al
legations that the prohibition law is
a failure as far as it is concerned, the
Kansas City Times says. The truth is
that, lax as the enforcement has been,
and great as is the need to clean up
the city. conditions are far better than
they were in the old days of the sa-
LOOM"
Evening star., 1928-12-26
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

This is q special department devoted
solely to the handling Of queries. This
paper puts at your disposal the Serv-
ices of an extensive organization in
washington to serve you in euy ca
pacity that relates to information. This
service is free. Failure to make use OF
it deprives you of benefits to which you
are entitled. Your obligation Is only
2 cents in coin or stamps, incloSed with
your inquiry for direct reply. Address
The Evening Star Information Bureau,
Frederic j. Haskin, director, Washing
ton, d. G.
@. What was the first picture In
which Mary Pickford appeared
A. Her first screen appearance was In
"The Violin Maker Of Cremona," filmed
by the Biograph Co., and directed by
D. w. Griffith.
@. When will the next postal congress
be held?-G. w. H.
A. Such congresses are held every
five or six years, and the next one Will
be in London In 1929. The purpose Is
to regulate international postal matters.
@. Does feeding a cat meat make 1t
have fits? Is milk better diet?-
r. F.
A. Milk Is not the best food for
grown cats. 1t takes grea. quantlCy
to nourish them, and this distendS the
stomach, causes various SickueSses, ana
is wholly unnatural. The diet OF mnK,
fed cat should not be instantly cnangeo
to a meat diet A sudden change OF TINS
sort may cause fits, because cat 1ed
on milk, cruel and vegetables probably
has worms, and these rebel at meat
diet. A change of diet should be grad
nal and follow a thorough treatment
for worms. It is not the meat tnat
causes fits, but worms.
O. What is the literal meaning OF
"filet mignon"?-A. H.
A. 1t means little slice"
@. What is the value Of our exports
Of ginseng?-B. P.
A. The average value OF the exports
of ginseng from the United states lor
the last 10 years was more tnan
So, 100000.
@. Is there an all-white eagle?-E: D.
A. There is no species of eagle that
is white. There are probably alblno
eagles.
a. WhaL European COuh1Iy Aou OAA0
lowest birth rate in 1927?-S. w.
A. Sweden had the lowest. Great
Britain was next The fall in birth
rate is said to be partly due to birth
control, but largely TO the wars toll
of marriageable young men and 1he
still greater toll of the after-war cpl
demic of influenza.
O. How many kinds Of living crea-
lures are THERETO. A. S.
A. There are approximately 100000
species of animal life which have been
described up to the present time.
@. How is the name "Gabrilowitsch"
accented?-A. B. D.
A. 1t is accented on the next to the
last syllable, which consists OF the
letter Co."
O What was the total of fines as
sessed and collected for prohibition
violations last year?-D. G. B.
A. The total amount OF fines In
criminal cases in connection with pro-
hibition was $7,303, 3,563.28 during the
fiscal year ended June 80. 1928. The
total amount realized from such fines
Evening star., 1928-12-26

was $4,4s7. 1882. Only . part Of the
amount remaining unpaid has been re-
mitted because of the convicts having
taken a pauper's oath. In most cases
the fines are still hanging over the con-
victS and may be collected IL they be-
come possessed Of money or property.
@. Are the people who come here
from Syria called "Syrians" or "Assyri-
anS"?-H. H. G.
A. They are Syrians Assyrians were
the inhabitants Of the ancient empire
OF AsSyria.
Q. Did a greater percentage Of the
potential voters of the country 60 to
the polls in November than usual?-
r. c.
A. While the actual number Of voters
was larger than ever before. the per-
centage Of the potential voter was only
a little larger, not much over so per
cent.
@. II the Philippines should become
a state or territory, would 1t raise the
cost of Government to them?-B. @.
A. An authority on the Philippine
question states that If the Philippines
were to become a state or territory It
would subject the Philippine Islands to
higher and more diverse Federal taxa
ton. to the eighteenth Amendment and
to the Volstead act, the coastwise laws,
the Seamen's act, and other Federal
laws which, on account Of the geo.
graphical location and the state OF
social and economic development OF the
country, would prove a great burden.
@. What is blasphemy?-W. D.
A. Generally speaking, it is the ex-
preston of defiant impiety and tr-
reverence against God or things held
sacred. In United States law. 1t is an
indictable offense, which consists OF
wantonly and maliciously reviling God
and the Christian religion.
@. Did some Indians actually hatten
the heads of their children?-T. S.
A. The Chinookan Indians indulged
in this practice. A board attached to
the cradle board of the infant brought
pressure to bear upon the forehead
which soon flattened it.
@. When was the first issue of the
Constitution published?-C. E. s.
A. In a regular issue of Dunlap &
Clavpoole's Pennsylvania Pocket and
Daily Advertiser appeared, on Septem-
Der 19, 1887. the first official printing
of the Constitution.
@. Should the word "diction" be used
in reference to written words, or Is 1t
applied only to spoken words?-W. I.
A. It may be used in reference to
literature 1t deals with the choice and
arrangement of words. In speech 1t IN
cludes articulation. pronunciation, m
tonation, defamation and punctuation.
@. Where Is West Griqualand?-F. w.
A. It is a division of Cape Of Good
Hope Province in South Africa. KIM
berley. noted for its diamond mines, is
it's principal town.
@. What kind of a college IS the
Yeshiva College in New York City?-
H.W.
A. 1t is the intellectual center Of
orthodox Jews. The conservative group
has the Jewish Theological Seminary Of
America and the liberal group the He
brew Union College. The Yeslliva Col
lege is very ambitious undertaking.
The first building, which has just been
dedicated, cost S2,5O0,000. The total
cost of buildings which are scheduled to
! be finished in five years is $20000,0o0.
Evening star., 1928-12-26
Hoover Comes Straight Home.

Mr.. Hoover Is heading for Washing
ton, not Florida. The President-elect is
evidently an apostle Of a nationally ad-
vertised theory reading Eventually,
why not now?"
According to original plans, he was
TO intrench against the ofice-seeking
foe on Belle Isle, off Miami, where
distance lending mercirul enchantment
to his view-he would have been rela-
lively immune from the opportunities
Of deserving members Of the G. o. P.
But the source from which all pat
ronage blessings will presently flow has
decided to beard the political lions in
their den. Mr.. Roover Is coming
straight to the National Capital from
his triumphant swing through Latin
America. After a week of beleaguer-
ment in washington the President-elect
will establish his pre-inaugural base in
Florida. Then will set in the January
and February of his discomfort.
Herbert Hoover has always ranked as
q man of little patience with, and less
liking for, politics, politicians and po-
iitical artifices. The ten or twelve years
Of public ONCE which he has expert
enced In Washington have probably
softened these inhibitions. They have
taught the President-elect that there
are certain imponderables inseparable
from a Government like ours, which is
imposed upon the party system. The
party system means politics. Politics
call for politicians. Politicians call for
organizations. Organizations call for
patronage, and call pretty insistently,
a. Mr.. Hoover will presently discover,
af he has not indeed already been in
itdated into the vicisSitudes of that
branch Of his early semi-presidential
career.
Devotee of uncompromising efficiency
as he Is, Herbert Hoover is not likely
to forget that he Is also the Official
leader of a great political party. The
Hoover administration is sure to be dis
tinguished by outstanding appointments,
beginning with the cabinet which takes
once March 4. But the Californian, 1t
may be foreshadowed with equal assur-
ance, viii not be unmindful of his dis
tinctly party obligations. How he will
Balance them with his well known pref
erences for sheer merit conjures up as
interesting a prospect as accompanied
any Chief Executive into Office in our
time.
washington. on its part, will be proud
70 welcome the President-elect on his
forthcoming unofficial arrival. Palo
Alto Is their voting residence, but
their longtime neighbors in the Dis
trict of Columbia like to feel that Mr..
and Mrs. Hoover are really coming
home.
Evening star., 1928-12-26
AstronomerSaysM Martians
Are Irrigating Planet
BY E. E. FREE, PHI. d.

Indications that Mars is inhabited,
not merely by life but by living crea-
lures of high intelligence, are seen by
Prof. william H. Pickering, diStin-
guished American astronomer now liv-
ing in Vaudeville, Jamaica, in remark
able changes on that planet recently
detected in his private observatory at
Vaudeville and reported by him to the
American Astronomical Society.
The calm air Of Jamaica Is especially
favorable, Prof. Pickering has found,
on the planets. In addition, he has
devised a way of using an electric fan
to keep the air inside his telescope
tube at uniform temperature, thus
still further increasing the perfection
with which small objects on Mars can
be seen.
Observations of the planet made on
November showed, he reports, that
one of the we'll known dark areas or
Seas" the one called by earthly as
tronomers the Lake of the Sum-" has
changed its position widely since the
last comparable observations two years
ago. These "seas" are now known not
to consist of water, for no large bodies
of water exist on Mars.
Most astronomers agree with Prof.
Pickering in regarding them as areas
of some kind of vegetation; perhaps of
natural origin. perhaps created by ir-
rigation under the direction of intel
ligent beings. The changes In the po-
sition and area of the Lake of the Sun
imply. Prof. Pickering believes, the lat
ter alternative.
While accidental natural causes
might have broken up the area of veg
citation or scattered It,. they could
swung it into the other direction which
it now shows, especially when one con-
siders that the vegetation-covered area
is large enough to stretch from New
York we'll west of Chicago. II see no
reason" Prof. Pickering concludes, Ito
regard the Martians as only lower
forms of life"