davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04
A Costly Spark.

A person with q talent for statistical
analysis would have fascinating field
for research in the conduit explosions
that took place yesterday morning. just
before neen In Broadway, New York.
A leaky gas main filled a number of
ducts under the pavement with explo-
sive illuninant and by some unknown
means spark was applied and caused
series of detonations that ripped up
the street, blew manhole covers high
in the air. wrecked underground works
generally, broke electric cables and tele-
phone lines, stopped tra1ic and caused
paralysis of business over wide area
for about three hours. Just how much
that single spark cost the city would
be an interesting object of study. 1t
probably could never be determined with
any degree of exactness.
Some ten thousand telephones were
put out of commission for several hours
by this blast or series of blasts. The
Stock Exchange was affected, although
several miles distant from the scene of
the explosion. When uptown customers
were unable to communicate with their
brokers they were alarmed lest the
market was unfavorable and selling
orders we're sent by messenger in suf-
ticient volume to upset the quotations
materially for a while. Trade was
virtually at standstill along Broadway
for about half q mile in its busiest
ssction. Electric current was shut OF
from q number Of establishments and
oface work was affected seriously. Sur
face transportation was blocked for O
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04
Scventy-Year Provision
Should Be Repealed

TO the Editor Of The star:
The Dale-Lehlbach retirement bill
seems to suit q large number Of Gov
eminent workers, but there Is one PRO-
tere9t OF effaciency ana justice. refer
to the compulsory retirement Of work.
eEg ct the age OF 70 years.
It would be easy to provide system
OF physical and mental tests to de-
termtne the fitness of any worker for
further service. The number Of those
necessary to retire might be less than
was expected.
It seems hardly necessary to refer to
some of the great men of this and
other countries and times whose useful
birthday. How would 1t have worked
to have Thomas A. Edison, Secretary
Mellon, Mr.. Justice Holmes and the
90-yeaE banker, George p. Baker,
shelved by legislation The writer
knows Q clerk who will have to retire
this Summer II the bill stands as
written, and who, although several years
past 20, his term having been twice
extended, is still the most efficient
worker In his bureau. His more than
80 years Of service has given him
a mastery Of his special and difficult
work that no young clerk possibly could
have; he is constantly consulted about
delicate points CT the work by his con-
ferees, and Is more valuable to his de-
partment.now than he was five years ago.
A well spent life has equipped him for
several years more of eficient service, and
he Is naturally depressed at being con-
demned TO separation from duties in
which he is pre-eminently expert, and
to life of inactivity, for he could not
learn any other profession at his age
His department needs him and he needs
the work for hts comfort and support.
pidSt ever hear of Procrustes, a
tabled Greek robber who had bed that
all his captives were made to At? II
they were too tall their limbs were cut
down to the length of the bed, etc.
Procrustean tactics should not be ap-
piled TO our Civil Service.
Behold yon sycamore and the elm
trees that shade the White House
grounds. Suppose some smart expert
should say: Those trees are over
70 years old; they have outlived
their usefulness and must be cut down
they still make good shade and are fine
70 see, but they are too odd" And then
the same line Of reasoning might be
applied to yon stately old mansion that
has sheltered several generations, and
might serve many more; but wisdom
declares that the house Is over 10
years old. and must come down at once
TO make room for q newer, even If a
more flinsy structure.
II the congressional conferees on the
Dale-Lehlbach bill make up their minds
TO retain her 70-year clause as it
now stands, there is nothing to do but
| TO work for O later amendment to
remedy what now seems In conflict with
justice and efficiency, TO say nothing Of
| common sense.
LINDSAY o. PERKINS.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04
Discipline at Amherst
Faces Difficult Test

From the Worcester Evening Gazette
Disquieting news comes from the
Amherst campus. On Washingtons birth
day an underclass rush, in which sopho-
mores carried flaming torches and
sprayed the freshmen with kerosene, re-
suited In serious face and body burns
for five of the latter. The administra-
ton, mindful Of student government,
asked the senior honorary society to In
vestigate. The society investigated and
recommended that underclass conflicts
OF the rougher sort be abolished, u
recommended ALSO however, that no
punishment be inflicted upon the soph-
omore toych-bearers and kerosene
throwers.
Without possessing more Of the facts
than are available, one cannot pass
ommendation to inflict no punishment
At any rate. the faculty has rejected 1t
and has put the entire sophomore class
on probation and deprived IL Of all
"cutS" until June Cuts" are allowed
absences from college recitations. The
faculty holds that the of7ense was too
serious to be passed by without some
disciplinary action.
The sophomores have not taken
kindly TO the ruling. When President
Pease walked out Of the chapel after
announcing the faculty decision he was
Missed by the second-year men. The
three other classes are said to DO af-
9ectOd by the unrest. Trouble Is not
beyond the bounds Of possibility, though
II Is hardly likely that anything serious
will come Of IL.
The episode Is one more reminder of
what we are prone to forget-namely,
that college men really are college boys.
Perhaps It would be more accurate to
put 1t thus: The average college student
Is crazy combination of man and boy,
and 1t Is an art to know whether to
treat him % any given time as the one
CO as the other.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04
Twenty Navy Middies
Permitted to Resign

From the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
Acceptance Of the designations of 20
mlddies who will be graduated at the
United States Naval Academy in June
marks radical change in policy by the
Navy Department. Heretofore a refusal
70 accept the commission as ensign
which Is equivalent to a diploma, has
subjected the recalcitrant cadet to SCI
we're discipline. A minimum of twd
years service was exacted by the Fed !
eral Government as part return for thd
superior education, with free board
quarters and pay to cover cost of cloth
Ing and other incidental expenses
Public opinion sustained this ruling
and its relaxation Is significant.
Presumably, the Navy Department id
convinced that there is an oversuppllI
Of Junior officers, and that more can bd
spared from the June class of 4O9 thar
the IA per cent who seem likely to fail
IN physical or academic examinations.
For the view that the Nations business
will be benefited by the release intd
civil life OF score of vigorously trained
young men something may be said. Blu
the Naval Academy at Annapolis wa
created and has been maintained fo]
the SPECIFIC purpose Of supplying tn
needs Of the Navy, and the old rule tina
the beneflciaries Of its opportunity owed
something to the Government In way oil
service was sound and worthy.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

enterprise will be linked in this epoch
making transportation scheme. A few
months ago it would have looked like
a visionary venture. But when the
Graf Zeppelin accomplished trium.
phantly its historic voyage around the
world, the airworthiness of the dirigible
was indicated. If lighter-than-aiT
craft Of giant dimensions is capable Of
girdling the globe, its practicability for
negotiating a mere 1000 miles Of water
on one side of the globe can no longer
be seriously questioned.
AS soon as the travelling public be-
comes sufficiently air-Ininded to think
no more Of journeying In a plane or
a dirigible than starting out in train
or an automobile, then crossing the
ocean in Zeppelin will be popular and
probably will become common. That
unquestionably is looking far into the
future. There are still timorous souls
who hesitate to trust their luck and
their lives to steamships. Transatlantic
trips in big airships will forthwith
attract the adventurous. Their ex-
pensiveness-fares will be approximately
duoble steamer rates, DR.. Eckener's
associates state-will automatically keep
the average tourist afioat rather than
tempt him aloft. But, sooner or later,
globe trotters will take to the air as q
matter of course. Then, some day, the
heavens above the seas will be dotted
with dirigible argosies on their regular
errands of peace and usefulness.
Count Zeppelin did not live to see
this, his long cherished dream, realized.
The dream is coming true, as most
dreams do when practical experience is
harnessed to genius and inspiration.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

long period. Trafic lights were thrown
out Of order and great confusion pre-
vailed In the streets adjacent to the
zone Of disturbance.
Any arrangement Of the duct system
Of large city always causes costly con-
fusion and delay and even heavy business
loss. The community does not appreciate
the service that Is rendered by the wires
and tubes that lie below the pavements
until through accident they are put out
OF commission. When ten thousand
telephones go dead" suddenly and
simultaneously rs In New York yester-
day temporary stagnation prevails. 30
accustomed are the people TO the tele-
phone service. and so dependent upon
Ii are they. that any interruption is
paralyzing.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

g. Who suggested the plan Of putting
statues IN the Capitol Of prominent
men from each State?~-v. G.
A. Justin Smith Morrill, suggested
1t. The National Statuary Hall, semi
circular in shape and designed by
Of the most beautiful rooms of the
Capitol. On the north side 1t has a
colonnade OF Potomac marble with
white capitals, and q screen of similar
columns on the south side supports a
noble arch. The domed ceiling, deco
rated after that of the Roman|
Pantheon, springs 81 feet to cupola
by which the room is lighted. Above|
the door leading from the rotunda isl
Franzont's historical clock This room
was the Hall Of Representatives, and
was the forum of debates by Webster ),
Clay, Adams, Calhoun and others
whose names are indelibly associated
with the history of Congress. In 1854
at the suggestion of Senator Morrill,
OF Vermont (then a member Of the
National Statuary Hall, to which each
State might send the statues of two of
its distinguished citizens Rhode Is
land was the first to respond, choosing
Roger Williams and Nathaniel Greene.
g. Do most earthquakes happen near
VI.
A. Most earthquake regions lie near
the edges of the continental platforms
which are produced by the collapse of
large areas of the earth's crust. These
are the zones which are undergoing the
most rapid change of level At the pres
ent time. In many cases the deeps
have become filled with water, produc-
Ing seas and oceans.
@. When was installnent selling In
augurated?-R. p.
A. Installment selling is Of eonsid-
cradle antiquity. It was introduced into
the United States in 1907 by the Arm
Of Cowperthwait & Sons Of New York.
Q. Is a good luck chain letter mail
able?-E. ]. r.
A. The Post Once Department says
that such letter, If mailed in an
envelope under cover, is not unavailable
When written on q card it is unnatl-
able, since 1t contains q threat Of bad
luck If the chain is broken.
O. How long have the starlings been
In this country?-B. NJ.
A. The starlings now found in almost.
every part OF the United States are ell
believed TO be descendants Of SO pairs of.
Starlings that were released in Central
Park, New York City, in 1890 and 1891
@, Is there any cure for cobra bite?
&C. w. c.
A. There are anti-venins that may
be administered with certain degreeI
Of success to a person who has BEEN
bitten by a cobra. This medicine must
be given Immediately however, which isl
rarely possible. Several thousand per-
sons die annually from cobra bites irI
India.
@. When does water have its smallest
volume and maximum density?-L. B.
A. This condition prevails when the
temperature is 1872 F. ca c.. Water
expands when its temperature is raised
above seq r., and also when lowered
below.
@. Where is Miquelon?-H P. 8.
A. 1t is an island south of Newfound-|
land. It is divided into two parts
Grande Miquelon and Little Miquelon.
The island belongs to France.
@. When we're travellers checks FIRST
introduced?-S. A. NJ.
A. Travellers checks were FIRST placed
on sale in 1890, but were sold only to
the value of about $4,000 that year.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04
The Atlantic Air Ferry.

Arrangements perfected in Washing
ten this week seem to indicate that the
Atlantic air ferry is on the verge OF
establishment. From the United States
TO Europe in two days; from the Old
World to the New in three-that is the
thrilling prospect opened up by Or.
HUGO Eckener's plans to span the ocean
with bridge of zeppelins, operating
On = systematic passenger schedule in
competition with slow-going liners
which churn their way lazily across the
herring pond in four or i've days.
American and German capital and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

Have we had the pleasure of serving
you through our washington Informa.
ton Bureaup Can't we be Of some help
to you in your problems? Our business
is to furnish you with authoritative
information and we invite you to ask
are interested, Send your inquiry to
The Evening Star Information Bureau,
Frederic ]. Haskin, director, Washing
ton, D. G. Inclose q cents In coin or
stamps for return postage.
q. Please give some information
about Nina Mckinney, the young col
ored girl who has gone into the movies.
a. Nina May Mckinney is II years
old. She went on the stage at the
She is not dark, but a coppery color
Her mother Is her maid in Hollywood.
She Is about 81 years old; has light
skin also and claims to be part Spanish.
Nina Mays father runs a cafe In Har-
lem, New York. AS child Nina was
a maid to o wealthy North Carolina
family. While she was singing in
Black Birds" in Harlem, King vidor
saw her and put her under contract
for picture.
q. What is the correct pronuncia-
ton of Edna Ferber's novel, "Cimar-
rom? What does it meAn?-W. 8. w.
A. The title Of Miss Ferber's book
is pronounced Cim-a-roon, with the &C
cent on the last syllable. In Spanish
Cimarron means wild or unruly.
@. What Is the technical name for
q tree which sheds Its bark7 For one
which sheds its leayes?-B. 8.
A. A tree which sheds its bark dur
ing certain intervals Of the year Is called
q decorticating tree. One which sheds
its leaves 10 called deciduous.
@. Is 1t better for any one to sleep
In a narrow or wide bed?-A. L.
A. In q book entitled Sleep: Why
We Need 1t and How We Get It." by
Donald Laird and Charles @. Muller,
the statement is made that beds should
be at least so inches wide. This book
Ia q report of the researches conducted
by DR.. Laird and his assistants at the
psychologists! laboratory Of Colgate Uni
versity.
q. What Is the climate Of Panama.
"A. .. s.
A. Most of Panama Is tropical, hAv-
ing warm days and cooler nights. The
temperature Of Colon ranges from SO TO
95o Fahrenheit. Similar temperatures
prevail in Panama City. The wet sea-
son is from April 70 December, when
the rainfall is from IS to 155 inches
yearly.
q. What Is the ofacial name for the
game called eontract?-F. E. H.
A. Contract bridge is the ofhcial name.
Q. Is glass ever found In natural
formation?-D e. H.
A. Glass Ia Q man-made product.
@. Did Moliere die while enacting
the role Of q sick man in one Of his
own plays?-A. o.
A. Moliere's last play was lie Malade
Imaginaire" and the story of that play
is the history of his death. While
critically i'll, he wrote this, one Of his
best comedies, around the figure Of q
man who was sick only in imagination.
When 1t was produced he played the
part Of the man with the feigned ILL
ness. The night of its fourth produe-
ton found Moliere much worse. He re-
fused to disappoint his audience and
went on. During the performance q
CONFUSION seized him which he covered
with laugh. At the end Of the eve
ming he died.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

the catechism diScloses that other farm
products will be designated" later on.
Eugene Meyer, former director Of
the War Finance Corporation, divides
his residential allegiance between
Washington and Mount Kisco, N. Y,
where he dirt farms" on a MAGNIFICENT
Westchester County estate. He has
Just presented the new Westminster
County Community Center at White
Plains with one Of the finest and larg-
est concert symphony organs in the
world. Eighteen trucks were necessary
TO land its various component parts at
the point OF installation. Some of the
pipes are feet in diameter. The
organ Is of the "tour-manual" type,
with q floating fanfare" division and
12s stops. The WeStchester Center
will be dedicated at a great music fes-
tiyal on May ~, when the Meyer organ
wiz be played publicly for the first time.
Washington's growing galaxy of for
eign newspaper correspondents has lust
had distinguished addition in the per-
son Of Herr Paul Scheffer of the Ber-
liner Tageblatt. He succeeds Or. Max
Jordan, who for the past four years has
been q popular figure in the Capitol
press gallery, and Is now on a voyage
OF Journalistic exploration around the
world. Herr Sche18er until last Sep
tember was stationed at Moscow. He
spent six or seven years in Russia, but
became persona non grata to the Soviet
autocrats because of his too-faithfuI
reporting OF bolshevist life and times.
y y X n
Colombia's PreSident-elect, DR.. En-
riqus Olaya, Is on his way to Wash
ington TO present his letter Of recall as
Colombian Minister to the United States.
He is tarrytng week in Panama, main
~ Tor treatment of his threat, which
underwent a strain during AIS recent
and triumphal campaign. DR.. Olaya
VIII complete next month q sojourn Of
eight consecutive years at Washington.
He presented his credentials to Presi-
dent Harding en- May 23, 1922, A
square deal for foreign capital In CO.
iombia Is to be the keynote of Presi-
dent Olayas administration. Many mil
lions OF American dollars are invested
IN Colombian oil fields, which are said
70 be the richest untapped deposits now
extant.
DIR. wilhelm KiesSelbach, the German
member of the GeRman-Arnerican Mix
cd Claims Commission, has lust re-
turned to his duties In Washington after
Q holiday at home. He arrived aboard
the new Lloyd flyer. 8. s. Europa-his
twenty-seventh crossing of the Atlantic
since his judicial duties set in here five
or six years ago. In the meantime, DR..
Kiesselbach, one Of Europe's most dis
t1nguished jurists, has been elevated 70
the chief justiceship Of the Supreme
Court of the Free Cities Of Hamburg,
Bremen and Lubbock.
(Copyright, 1897
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

Reformatory activities in Atlantic
City are soon forgotten as interest again
centers on the question of who is to
win the boardwalk beauty prize. The
contest goes on although it becomes
clear that there are no longer enough
musical speetacles to provide glorifica-
ton for all the winners.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

Canada hesitates about q ban on
beverage export until the United States
agrees TO cease sending FIRE water across
the boundary. Canada Is possibly jus-
tilted In a contention that under present
conditions it is exchanging good liquor
for bad.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

German craftsmanship finds itself
compelled to give attention to the
Reichslandsbund, which may be defined
in free translation as an association for
farm relief. The same economic prob
lens are asserting themselves in all
languages.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

Owners Of millions Of acres are among
the most earnest advocates Of farm re-
lief. What the plain farmer naturally
desires is some arrangement that will
protect him from the possibility Of a
landed aristocracy.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

Oklahoma has distinguished prohibit
tion advocates. Blazing gas and oil
areas also call for restraints which Will
call on visitors to carry no matches
and to wear felt soled shoes that can
cause no sparks.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

A perverse element of patronage is
pretty sure TO assert itself in refusal
10 regard what Mr.. Will Hays would
consider q good movie in the moral
sense as good entertainment according
To current standards.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

veracity of CASTOR Means has been
50 often challenged that no matter what
he prints in a book many persons will
not believe 1t.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

When Fighting Was Fighting.
From the Helena tMOntana) Record-Herald.
A boxer at "a expects to get a Job
teaching fighters to fight. He was once
welter champion of England. That was
when prizeflghting was real fighting.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04
SHOOTING STARS.
BY PH1LANDER JOHNSON.

Cooking School.
Coin to have a cookin' school .
At Mudville on the Branch.
Girls will try to. learn the rule
To run the kitchen ranch.
They'll turn a waffie out complete
AS soeE as it is due.
II it does not prove good to eat,
It may half-sole shoe.
OF course, the lessons will require
Some relaxation fair
Among the students who admire
Each others silverware.
They must not practice on home brew
Nor drift into the dumps.
When social thought revives anew,
BY asking, What is trunps?"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

From the indianapolis star.
One Of the chief difficulties confront
ing the restaurateur these days is the
ability to manage side line Of drugs.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

Plans to eliminate lame ducks" do
not show great consideration as yet for
the idea of selecting an Inauguration
date that will eliminate the pneumonia
germ.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

There are many angles to the Lon
don Conference. A hve-powsr pact can
be hoped for only as the result Of a
pentagonal argument.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

Trade conditions vary and tariff de-
bate can hope at best for truce to
debate with but little permanently
settled.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04

From the Louisville Times.
Next TO o kitchen faucet, nothing
can possibly leak as much as too much
mustard ia Q hot dog sandwich.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04
The Rising Generation.

From the Utica Observer Dispatch.
When the rising generation hears
Beetl1oven's moonlight sonata, he Is
likely to exclairn, "Ah, that's the pink
aoap piecep
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04
Relief Map Defined.

From the Fort Wayne News-sentinsl.
Relief map: The face Of o man who
discovers that he didn't make a nais-
take on his recent income tax return.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04
What Are Diamonds?

From the Charleston, w. Va. Daily Mail
The reputed monopoly in the dia-
mond market Is not arousing any great
protest from ths masses.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04
Liars Not That Scarce.

From the Little Rock Arkansas Democrat.
A professor says the chance Of having
Is cards OF one suit is about one IN Q
billion. Yep, but liars are not tnaf
scarce.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04
Riyeted to His Job.

From the Miami Daily News.
That Belfast man who has worked 90
years az Q shipyards riveter seems TO
be Yiveted TO his job.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-04
ANY Hospital Will Do.

From the Terre Haute Star.
The Chicago gangsters can use any
old hospital room for one OF their
emergency operations.