davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-24

orders, Marines. Out in the roads. Out
in formation. Every one popped up,
Ready to go.
Here comes Neville in his battered
old machine.
"It's all over boys!" he calls. "You
don't have to go!"
More chocolate for the children. More
months for the Marines. Seven more
months.
Then-home
There had been something in Neville
which he could give to his men In
France. For he was an old campaigner.
After all, you know, he had not always
been a generals He had become one in
the midst Of the last Summer of the
war. And many Of his men knew old
stories of his earlier life.
There had been the Spanish War
when, as lieutenant under Comdr.
B. II. McCalla, commander of the Mar
hlehead, he had done his bit in the
landing at Guantanamo-a laboriouS
bit concerned with much carrying up
hill Of tents and cooking outfits, OF
, ammunition and intrenching tools. A
night of expecting attack was followed
by a day of its fulflllment And then
the tents had to be got out OF the way
SO that trenches could be dug under
fire.
! Steady days Of firing from far SUI
perior forces followed
Other officers remember that he was
in command of some men who got of
from the main body, remember that
every one thought his whole outfit was
going TO be scuppered, remember how he
held on. kept them together till they
were relieved
In June, 1900. now brevetted captain,
| he was ordered. along with the 4th
Battalion of Marines, to join the China
relief eXpedition"-in civilian language,
to fight in the Boxer rebellion.
That fighting had one element which
intrigues the imagination. Much of it
was done in the midst of fields of kind
of Chinese plant. which looks like corn
or sorghum, growing 10 to IL feet high.
You never could tell what was ahead
of you, or to either side of you.
They had called him kid" at the
Academy, he was so slight Long before
China they had begun to call him
Buck"
Six months after Picking he was sent
to the Philippines, and by June, 1901,
he was appointed military governor of
the Province of BaSilan. There he was
king.
The first thing had to do" he is
said to have told a friend. WAS to
marry every one in the district. The
first couple I married (for a dollar
Mex, were grandparents.
"One day a Philippine woman came
to me and asked for a divorce from her
Chinese husband. He had been sitting
with the child in one of those majuco
hammocks that spring up If you touch
them. He'd moved and the child had
bounced out on its head So she ac-
cused him of trying to murder it.
HNOW, of course, if there is one thing
a Chinese won't do, it Is kill his
own son. So it was ridiculous on the
face of 1t. I said to her:
1T is terrible thing for man to
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-24

dents study special textbook entitled
THE Gasoline Automobile"
All the boys and girls have to clean
the carbon and grind the engine valves
on at least one automobile. They also
clean spark plugs, adjust valve tappets,
assemble clutch bands. diSmantle and
reaSsemble various gears, strip down
and put together 4 selective gear oox-
take apart and reassemble rear axle
worm drive, semi-floating rear Ak and
a full floating rear axle.
Both front ana rear wheels on
standard motor car must be removed
and replaced as part OF this shop
work. Washington youths In work
toys also put on and remove skid
chains, drain and refill radiators, adjust
both external and internal brakes, adj
Just foot brakes, take apart and reas-
semble form and gear steering, dis
mantle and remount various types OF
carburetors, remove and replace drag
link. tie bar and steering knuckle and
then strip off and return to proper
position the pistons. rings and connect
ing rod bearings on a regulation auto
mobile. Other activities include hand
cranking and starting stalled automo-
bile, adjusting carburetor, replacement
menting with the overrunning clutch
and similar work.
The second semester Is devoted to
the study of electrified automotive
equipment, including starting. lighting
and ignition systems The program in
| cludes 16 practical experiments. such
as wiring all plugs and coils in the
| ignition system, shop work with the
vibrating coil type OF battery igni-
| ton, demonstrating all the wires in the
magnetic ignition of high tension type,
| tearing down and recharging a storage
battery. Studies are also made Of six
| volt-type generators, direct current and
alternating current horns, starters and
everything else electrical which Is to
be found on the modern motor car.
Central graduates who have taken
| this shopwork never have trouble in
obtaining profitable employment at
service stations, garages, and as auto
mobile statesmen. The boys are always
in demand during the Christmas shop
ping season, to drive extra mail trucks
for the Post ONCE Department and
delivery trucks for department stores.
| Several of the grads" are now en-
ployed regularly as the chauffeurs OF
public motor buses on various National
| Capital routes. Other boys have built
| their own automobiles.
| For example, Clarence Young bought
| an old chassis for $40. From a supply
house, he purchased essential parts so
that he could undressing the front axle
and the rear springs. He also pur-
chased a metal racing body and refitted
his car as a sport roadster When
completed, the homemade car repre-
sented cash outlay of $50. 1t can go
| 60 miles an hour on straightaway
and travels rs miles on one gallon Of
| gasoline.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-24

professional aviatrix. She is deeply in
terested in the automotive courses, and
what she doesn't know about the mod
ern automotive engine-just isn't
known. She is one of the star repair
experts" among the high school stu
dents. The automobile engine has
barred its most battling secrets to this
young lady. who is training as spe-
cialist in modern mechanics.
Right here is an appropriate place
to mention that the shop work in the
charge of Prof Cornell is as practical
as motor-car manufacture. 1t includes
complete and comprehensive study
of the gas-propelled vehicle from the
bottom up and from the top down. The
idea and ideal of these scholastic studies
and shop work are not to develop pro-
fessional mechanics, but to add accu-
rate and practical knowledge about au-
tomobile maintenance to the general
cultural curriculum with which the
average student becomes intimate in
school.
More than 25.00o,OOo automobiles are
now used for pleasure purposes in these
United States. The average driver
knows next to nothing about the me-
chanical science involved in the manu-
facture and operation of his car.
Most of the students who have studied
or are studying automobile mechanics
at Central spent some of their spare
time in keeping mothers coupe" or
dads limousine" in the prime Of work.
ing order. They do anything and
everything from removing the carbon
and grinding the valves to repairing
and assembling differential gears. rem
edying kinks in the rear axle worm
drive and correcting errors in magnetic
ignition of the high-tension type.
WHEN this writer visited the Central
w shops recently one student was
repairing a small truck for his father
The lad was getting school credit for
the work. The Job consisted of grind
ing the valves, overhauling the motor
and taking up on the connecting rods
This young student was applying in
practice what he had learned in class
room and shop. He was particularly
concerned about performing excellent
work, as his father, who owned fleet
of trucks, had promised to pay the boy
regular fiat rates for the upkeep OF the
gasoline conveyances If he performed
efficient work.
Most any day you will find several
cars in the Central shops which belong
to the parents of certain students.
These youthful mechanics diagnose the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-24
Neville Top Kick of the Marine Corps Has Been Human
Hiding Humor Under Cloak Since the Day
He Received His First Commission

he is one of these still rarer men about
whom stories are told.
And that leads me to the story of the
sleeves.
It was Thiercourt. Mrs. Neville had
sent her husband fine new overcoat,
field green in color-almost exactly the
shade of the German uniform-with its
sleeves deliberately decorated with the
braidings of general. He hung 1t up
outside his door one day and sat down
to study his maps inside.
Along came a soldier, sometimes de-
scribed as a buck private and some
times described as mule skinner.
Observing what he took to be Ger
man uniform hanging defenselessly in
the breeze, the private proceeded to cut
off both beautifully embroidered coat
sleeves and to carry them Off.
Out came the general, to find his
desecrated overcoat and to raise hell
with his excellent vocabulary.
Now Gen. Neville was IN command
of the 4th Brigade Of Marines, while
Gen. Ely was in command of the In
fantry Herewith combined to make up
the I'd Division. The private was one
of Ely's men.
Word of Neville's wrath soon got to
Ely's ears and Ely sent for the private
His knees knocking together with fright
the buck" stood before the two gen.
erals. From under Ely's bushy eye
brows his piercing gaze glared upon the
trembling private, while Gen. Neville's
thin lips were drawn into line of con-
| trolled rage.
DO YOU know what we do to loot
ers?" Ely growled.
"Sh-sh-ho-o-t emil" the private whis-
pered.
What do you want me to do with
, this man?" said Ely to Neville.
"Court-martial him!" said Neville to
Ely.
So the private was led tottering OFF
70 Jail. When he had gone. Ely asked:
What do you want me to do?"
Nothing" said Neville. So next day
! the sleeves came back to Neville and
the mule skinner went back to his
mules.
Years passed The story went all over
the corps. Then one day, short time
ago, Neville heard that the private who
! had looted his overcoat was i'll in a
canitarium in Massachusetts. He wrote
! him a letter, inclcsing one of the
sleeves, hoping 1t will help you to get
/ we'll, and as a souvenir of an amusing
! experience"
He got letter back from that pri-
vate:
II thank you for remembering me-"
the letter said. 1T may have been
amusing to you generals, but it wasn't
fer ma
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-24

four years of clever enemy organization
think what it must have been to be
able to get laugh when in the single
action starting october and ending
the 9th and 10th, near Blanc Mont
Ridge (for only one example) single
company lost of 9 officers and 160 of
1872 men!
The story of the Cd Division of the
4th Brigade of Marines (as the story
Of how many othersD Is one to make
the check blanch and the heart beat
faster. In years to come we shall re-
member it. And through it all one sees
the figure of this gallant offlcer-juSt
one of the Marines.
ment when he could be out among the
men he carried his brusque encourage
ment to them. Only once was he sent
to a hospital-and then not for long.
Neville extracts considerable humor
out of the fact that one of those neatly
leather covered bottles they made into
bombs caught HMM the heel.
The last night of the war. A pom
toon bridge thrown across the Mouse
by the engineers. A bridge barely 3
feet wide. A bridge of boats, Slippery.
Men must feel their way through foot
of icy water. must slip off into the
EiNeT, uluSI Ieet tUelr way CLOSELY lOG 10
lose contact in a thick, congealing
mist. Men must die upon that bridge.
die at the bridgehead, Gle on the bank.
die in the marshes of the other side.
They are Marines. The living fall like
dead, reform under fire, magnificent in
habitual discipline, icy wet, exhausted.
A man comes running with paper in
his hand. The armistice. No cheers
here. Only sleep. Sleep-and fires.
Fires that spring up. dancing symbols
of life and blessed purveyorS of warmth;
men who at last can sleep.
Up now and march again. March
80 miles. 80 miles in day, onward
across Belgium, where little girls press
flowers into embarrassed Marine hands
and old folk kiss embarrassed Marine
cheeks.
March again. onward into Germany.
March in stout English shoes. new shoes
at Peuilly stiff with enwness. Footsore
and the war Is over.
Neville rides up and down the lines
in his automobile, battered and bullet
marked. kidding the boys" on their
sore feet, getting laugh
Coblenz, center of a circle 20 miles
across. Chocolate for the children.
White bread for the folks. mo fra
ternizing with the enemy" Chocolate
for the children.
WHATS happening in Paris? Why
won't the Germans sign the
treatyS n equipment Marching
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-24

her captain was on duty. in charge Of
the Decentralization of his troops. And
she had waited so long. Even a Marine
officers wife can be forgiven if the tears
begin to come into her eyes.
Just then Gen. Neville happened
along. He saw her standing there. He
asked her what was the matter. She
told him.
You wait minute" he said, and
was off.
And barely was that minute over
when her captain appeared, fastening
to her. The general had taken the
captains place, attended to the details
Of the captains work, SO that they
might have those few first moments
together.
tell the story badly. But it is easy
to feel the gratitude in that woman s
heart and easy to guess the kind of
general that this was.
have often asked our most success
full military men what in their opinion,
was the quality most necessary in an
officer. Not one of them has ever an
swered las civilian might eXpecD
with the single word courage" Cour-
age they take for granted. They always
say:
ITO think Of the men first"
ANGNAAlC IL Vic va bAlCSC.
Up and down the lines he would GO
during the mud-wearying marches, into
dugouts and trenches, everywhere, and
! always noting with quick glance the
man who was getting low in his mind
singing him out for rough word that
brought smile like a new draught of
energy.
Behind a mask of grufness, or what
the men call sarcasm" he would tight
! en- them up.
What d'you think you're doing here
anyway? Loafing?"
But no one SO quick to catch the
! twinkle In his eye as the Marine, who
loved him for it.
iOVER the routine OF peace life, a:
~ over the grimness of war time
/ Neville throws veil of humor.
He was showing me his beautiful col
| lection of brass work, brought home
from China and the Philippines-and
| incidentally, showing me his apprecia.
Chinese culture and of Moro ancient
history.
! 1 picked up one Of those bits of bras:
familiar to every one as a Chinese
stirrup.
"A Chinese boxing glove" he re.
| marked
! And 1 could forcsee for him. as We
| chatted that afternoon at Quantico
that the hostesses of Washington viii
| perhaps be able to do to him what al
the Spanish and Moro and Chinese anc
Mexican and German bullets had beer
unable to do--bring on his death
For once he has moved from GUAM.
tico to the Marine Barracks in Wash.
ngton and the news of his personality
gets bruited about, I can foresee those
washington hostesses descending upcr
| him en- masse to kill him with the in
digestible kindnesses Of their dinner
| tables.
For not only is Neville one Of those
rare men who are inescapably, persist
emily witty in their own conversation
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-24

YOUTH and beauty, as well as
" their gray-haired dads" are
solving the secrets OF the
motor car in the automotive
shops at Central High School.
Some 80 scholastic athletes, students
and fiappers CARRIED as mechanics, turn
experimental automobiles inside out and
outside in, under the supervision OF an
astute instructor who knows his motor
mechanics and is qualified to tmpart
this practical and scientific knowledge
TO others in interesting form.
There are four regular classes IN
motor mechanics seven of the students
being comely high school girls who are
mastering the A, B, C'S OF the Industry
amidst the grease and CRIME OF the
school shops.
The motor class for adults has an en-
rollment of 35 and meets for two hours
every Wednesday evening. 1t is COM
munity project, open to any resident OF
the District who is DESTROYS of learning
how to maintain, adjust and repair his
automobile A small charge is collected
from all who take this course, the money
being used in paying a portion OF the
expenses of the night school operation
Here is a rare chance for Washington
motorists to eliminate hurry calls for
the trouble wagon" from their daily
calendars of important events. In
classroom and shop they can now
shake hands with all the riddles Of
what to do forthwith when something
happens to their cars.
The average motorist is face to face
with a battling dilemma when his ma
chine balks or stalls. He usually makes
a few feeble attempts to ascertain what
is wrong and then flags" the first pass
ing automobile for help or else trudges
to the nearest service station for aid.
Prof. E. M. Cornell, in charge OF the
automotive classes at Central High
School, is grounding his adult pupils
In the what to do and how to do it"
principles of motor-car operation main
tenance and repair. In the lecture
room. the professor uses large diagram
drawing of modern automobile to IL
lustrate the fundamentals of automo-
tive mechanics about which he talks.
Subsequently, when his gray-haired and
bald students adjourn to the shops"
he assigns special repair jobs on actual
automobiles They put into practice
Prof. Cornell's preachmentS, and in the |
doing gain intimate acquaintance with
the intricacieS and complexities Of the
improved horseless carriage.
X X *
MANY of the adult students are the
4'A owners of new motor cars or else
are planning the prospective purchase
of such machines. They seek basic in
formation concerning the care, opera
ton and upkeep of the automobile. And
that is exactly the type of instruction
which Mr.. Cornell is giving them. If
every owner of an automobile in the
District took similar course of prac-
tical instruction in "automobology"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-24

vacuum systems and allied accessories
is kept as display and historical mate
rial for practice experiments.
X X X x
THE first half years work in the shop
features SO practical exercises or
experiments which each student must
perform. During these experiments the
students gain familiarity with all the
working parts of the automobile. The
shop work is supplemented by lectures
and recitations once week. The stu
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-24
New Chief of the Devil Dogs Command After 4 Years

behave so badly so that. Of course. you
cannot go OH living with him. and she
was all wreathed with smiles and the
man looked as If he would like to
murder me.
But I went on. the father is the
support Of the family. so. Of course, he
will have &c keep the child
"WhereupCN she wanted to murder
me and he was all wreathed in smiles.
And then / said:
What do you mean, coming around
here and asking me to divorce you? I
won't do It! Go on home and behave
yourselves
Every now and then, when I'd ride
by their house after that they'd be out
in front bowling and scraping, and every
Sunday morning I'd find fine bunch
of pineapples or bananas on my steps"
But military life, for Gen. Neville was
not always picturesque. 1t was routlned
duty illuminated by high spots. In
1904 he had his duty at Narragansett.
in the course of which he became a
major And then he went on to be-
coming fleet Marine officer for the
whole North Atlantic feet.
For. after all. We have to remember
once in a while, that the Marine is
Marine. He does so much land fight
ing that 1t is easy to forget 1t.
But in no time at all (being Marine)
he was back into the trouble zone again.
This time, it was the second expedition
went in" just long enough to come
out"-when the Army arrived.
Like other Marines, Neville did bit
in Nicaragua and in the Canal Zone.
That tour of duty ended in April Of
1910. and he perched for a moment in
Washington before flying off to Homo
lulu. good deal of routine duty fol-
lowed and a great deal Of transferring
from one post to another.
lie was at Pensacola In 1918, and
there was made a lieutenant
colonel and told to take command Of the
I'd Regiment and go to Vera Cruz.
He came out Of that imbroglio with q
commendatory letter from the Secretary
of the Navy and the medal that went
with that fighting. And stories would
have begun to accumulate about that,
too, If our eyes had not been turned
overseas and our cars tuned to the big
noise on the other side, into which
Neville shortly was to mingle so
thoroughly.
They had hardly got started before
Neville was agin off to China, eating
his Navy medal Of honor while on the
high seas.
More routine duty in China, and then
still more in his homeland. Then on
December 28, 1917. he landed at 5t.
Nazaire. France. to command the Fight
ing 5th in the Aisne-Marne defensive
and in that battle Of Belleau Wood
which changed its name to "Bois de Ia
Brigade DIES Marines"
Followed his elevation to the rank OF
brigadier general and his command of
the 4th Brigade. Followed one glorious
name after NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS., st. Mi
hiel Meuse- Argonne, Argonne.
Followed more citations. more medals,
more public military honors.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-24
BY ANNE HARD.

"RIM, Soldierly, Mediumly tall.
Blond hair scarcely grayed.
Blue eyes keen. Thin lips firm.
i Striped bars of many decora-
ton - striped bars with tiny
stars for conspicuouSly meritorious
achievements, nudging the edge of his
Sam Brown belt.
Incredibly young looking and fit after
43 years of Service-of Marine service
Gen. w. c. Neville, new chief of Devil
Dogs, long loved of the Leathernecks,
enters, as commandant of the Marine
Corps, his next tour of duty.
Mutely those narrow stripes of color
remind us Of the whole military history
of the United States during those AZ
years that lie behind him. And mutely
they suggest the personal courage and
competence that placed among them the
red and white stripes of the Marine
brevet medal, or the White-starred blue
of the congressional medal of honor, or
the stars upon the pin-striped red of
the ribbon Of the Croix de Cuerre.
For to know Gen. NeVille'S biography
stripped of every human story and told
in the cold words of military reports
and of military citations, is to know the
story Of our Marines in action. And
they have been in action hundred Of
In service 43 of his SO years.
1t is on their fighting record that the
Marines have won their sobriquet of
Devil Dogs" It is on his record that
Neville has won his advancement to the
highest post in his service. He got it
on military merit. His record speaks for
itself. He is not political soldier
And then you observe, too, a certain
qualification Of stern, military terms
that must be made for Neville as for
his fellow Marines. Devil Dogs
though they are in battle, the moment
the battle lifts-in Vera Cruz you see
the Marines the center of the crowds
of laughing Mexicans gathered about to
look at the motion pictures; in Ger
many the center of crowds of children
TO whom they are feeding chocolates.
And Neville you see bringing laugh
to the lips of his tired fellow officers
bracing the morale of his men, by a
kind CT humor which is all his own.
From top to bottom of the corps
among those who lived from the be-
ginning through the war to come back
home and tell about it-they pay tribute
TO the heart which beats behind a man.
ner of assumed grufIncss, to thc
thoughtfulness which never overlook.
an opportunity to be kind.
THERE on the dock, when the Ma
rines came back in the Summer
of 10, stood a young woman waiting
for her husband, a captain. Miracu-
lousy he had survived. though bullets
had gone through his sleeve more thar
once, through his helmet. through his
musette, though he had been knocked
down by a piece of shell.
She knew he was safe But she had
not seen him since that day when she
with scores of other officers wives, ha6
waved farewell to the first troops to &c
overseas.
One by one the others disembarked
and found their waiting friends. But