davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-24
New FORKS Crime War.

New York. aroused by repeated atroc-
titles committed by gangmen, is now
stirring itself to action to enforce the
laws and to suppress the racketeers and
professional killers. A vast meeting is
to be held tonight in Central Park, at
which speeches viii be made by leaders
OF public thought, officials and phi
lanthropists. Conferences are being con-
Quoted between representatives OF the
municipal and Federal governments,
looking to concerted action. Volunteer
services of civilian organizations are
under consideration as a means OF sup
plementing the police force OF the
metropolis.
Last night, while these activities were
pressing forward, a bunch OF gangsters
kidnapped three men at a dance hall
and bundling them into a motor car
drove them OF TO q secluded neighbor-
hood in Brooklyn and there, lining them
up against wall, turned a machine
gun on them and shot them down One
died Immediately and the other two are
dying, one Of the latter telling an I'M
Illuminating story Of their seizure This
was doubtless an {, intergang reprisal
crime As two Of the victims had GRIM
inal records.
Evidently the shooting OF these three
men was q gesture OF defiance by the
gangsters to the city government, in
answer to the police commissioner
orders that his force should wage re-
lentless war upon the lawless elements
II the purpose Of the slayers was merely
TO take these men for a ride" TO put
them out Of the way in punishment for
some violation of gang Law or betrayal
Of trust, or trespsss upon a prescribed
field, they would have been more dis
Greet in their operations. But realizing
that the advantage is on the side of
the gunman in almost all cases in
which motor car is used, they simply
took these poor wretches around the
corner, so to speak, and biazed away
at them IS token Of contempt for
police orders and public safety.
OF course. this sort of thing cannot
90 on indefinitely. 1t must come to a
climax, with reaction favorable TO
the. law and to public security. The
question is how many lives will be sac
rificed and how much it win cost to
end this reign OF terror now prevailing.
Chicago in its worst times never sur
fered more sorely from gangdom than
New York is just now. Perhaps the
forces that are now making wholesale
murder in New York are much the
same as those that ragged in the Illinois
metropolis. In any event, they are Of
the same breed, products OF the same
conditions. The Nations hops is that
New York will be more swift and GER
tain in their suppression than Chicago
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-24
SHOOTING STARS.
BY PHrLANDER JOHNSON.

Over and Over.
Over and over, the Summer, rover,
Draws near with song and sigh;
Her soft serensding too swiftly is fad
ing
As Autumns gray shadows draw nigh.
The storm rattles grimly; the sun shines
but dimly
Till the rainbow's sglow through the
Through every mood ranging, existence
keeps changing,
Over and over again.
Over and over, the bee in the clover
Collects OF the sweetness q store
And the grasshopper shiftless is doomed
with the thriftless
To taste OF life's pleasures no more.
Midst sorrow or singing the old world
goes swinging
With joys to efface every pain,
And with griefs still returning through
living and learning,
Over and over again.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-24
The Queen of womens Tennis.

Helen Wills Moody is again supreme
In the women's tennis world. Out OF
competition last year and thereby losing
her title to Betty Nuthall, the English
girl, Mrs. Moody by her performance in
this years national singles removed all
doubt that there is any woman In the
world today, save perhaps Suzanne
Lenglen, who can give her much COM
petition on the courts. In winning her
seventh title yesterday, Mrs Moody
thrust aside the challenges Of sixty
three women who set out to dispute her
claim, and her final matches, in which
she was victor over Mrs Whittingstsll
Of England by e., e-I, shows her
complete dominance in the realm OF
women's tennis.
No one but Mrs Molla Mallory can
point 20 a more impressive champion
ship record than Mrs Moody. and even
she has won only one more title Queen
Helen" is still young enough TO count
many tennis years ahead Of her and be-
fore she discards her racket she should
establish a new mark for tTiumphs
She is the Bobby Jones OF the courts
and unless she does as he has done and
withdraws from competition there sp-
pears TO, be little danger that any enc
can successfully dispute her supremacy.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-24
New Steamer Evidences
Quality of u. S. Work

From the Houston Chronicle.
Ships from all over the seven seas
come into the harbor OF New York, but
none was welcomed with more enthusi-
asm than the President Hoover, $4,000
ton liner Just completed for the Dollar
Line and soon bound for the Orient by
way of the Panama Canal and Hawai-.
Since the passage of the Jones' White
act by Congress in 1928 the United
States has witnessed a renaissance in
shipping. Not only has the American
flag been carried at the masthead OF
more vessels. The ships themselves
are being constructed in American
shipyards rather than at Belfast or
Glasgow. The SO 900 900 liner Presi-
dent Hoover is the largest ever built
In an American yard and is the last
word in luxurious appointments. meet
ing the standards of the most exacting
Its owners are Americans and IL Will
tour the world carrying Americans to
the far corners of the earth.
In constructing the new Dollar
steamship American shipbuilders have
demonstrated the fact that their work
Is inferior to none The Job OF build
ing the latest greyhound OF the sea
was one which many shared. The steel
came from American mills: the work.
men who shaped that steel into the
huge hull Of the President Hoover were
Americans, earning good wages.
These are troublous days on the
ocean. with the many shipping firms on
both the Atlantic and Pacific cutting
rates to the bone in an effort to at
tract freight and passengers. At the
present time the so-called luxury
trade with European ports is almost
non-existent and the steamship COM
panies which have hitherto catered TO
the class OF free spenders who ordina-
rily Summer on the continent are find
ing the strain Of competition rather
severe.
Americas biggest liner was not built
for the transatlantic trips Of the rich,
but for the round-the-w cruises
which the Dollar Line has been spon-
sorlng at more moderate rates. II is
to be hoped that more will be built and
that the American companies will find
Americans patronizing their vessels.
They deserve the support Of the Amer
lean people.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-24

the active director of the organization
work and with his hand at the throttle.
All that Is changed now. Mr.. Mutt is
the financial man, Mr. Lucas the organ
ization man, and the hand at the
throttle the Presidents own.
-
The storm that ragged about the head
OF Director Lucas last Spring. when his
surreptitious aid to Senator Norris
enemies In Nebraska was brought to
ileht by the Nye Committee, has sub
siceo. TOO. II looked for a while as II
Lucas would have to go the way of
Clauoius Huston. But Lucas took the
gan manfully, stood by his guns. ex-
changed shot for shot with his assail-
ants and retained the Presidents sup
port and confidence. Today it appears
that Mr.. Lucas IL safely anchored to
MS post until the votes are counted in
November year hence.
James Francis Burke of Pittsburgh
general counsel OF the Republican Ma
tional Committee, and In the inner
circle in the 1928 campaign has not
been heard from recently. his inpor-
lance In organization affairs ever de-
pendent on White House grace
Whether he viii blossom forth again in
oH t4AS SEOAy 10 dIlyDOQY y guess. Inc
mystery man OF the moment is Raw r
Benjamin of San Francisco, longtime
Hoover lieutenant. who has forSaken his
West Coast law practice to become an
unoncial adviser at Republican Ma
tlonal headquarters, Hoover Ambassa-
DOR without portfolio. He has had lots
OF press mention as likely Hoover
choice TO succeed Chairman Tess. The
best informed quarters put little stock
in that rumor at present. Postmaster
General Brown is regularly touted as
the National chairman in the next cam
psign. but has a mans size Job already,
that Is wholly to his liking. The friends
OF Secretary of War Patrick Hurley
figure him for second place on the
Hoover ticket, II Charlie Curtis quits.
and II Curtis stays, are ready to boom
Hurley for the National chairmanship.
The idea seems to have much plau-
sibiltty. Hurley has the air and the fair
to grace the role.
Copyright. 1917
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-24
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

outside the window, and we could
watch him for several minutes, during
which time he made no motion at ali.
except when he stood on one leg, when
he broke into sort of shivering.
The thrushes, gone for several weeks,
are among the most missed of our
birds. But the other evening, Just at
dusk, we spotted one walking sedately
among the Shrubbery, as thrushes do.
and, sure enough, that was what it
was.
It was a baby thrush, now grown
large. and finally it few to the limb
of a tree. and sat there, silhouetted
against the sky and was still there
when dark came on.
y
Quincy yellow nemsis OF blue laws.
at last had his revenge.
All Summer the beautiful birds had
Knocked at him, ragged at him, caused
him to scurry up trees, In vain effort
to get at them.
The cat was helpless, out on limb.
while the blue and gray birds dove at
him. pecked at him.
His amber eyes looked cat daeeers at
them, but never once did he come
within three feet of catching one.
Then, one morning, he appeared with
a huge Jay IN his mouth. His tribe
noted for cunning. had won over the
defiance of the saucy birds
1t was the first and we hope the last
time, we ever see blue jay in the laws
Of cat. Many persons affect to dis
like the jays, but to us they are as
beautiful interesting birds as any.
Indeed. few birds, with the exception
Of the cardinal, are any more beautiful
in appearance than the big jays. One
of the most interesting sights of this
bird Summer, TO us, was a blue law
sitting in the early morning at the end
Of rain gutter along a porch roof. and
there emitting his piercing squawk. or
rather scream.
We have the privilege of announcing
an early Fall and severe Winter.
This prediction is made on the base
Of the cats appetite.
As friends of the house cat know,
this canny animal loses much of its
flesh and fur in Summer
Nature, knowing its need for cooler
covering during hot weather, normally
causes the domestic cat to drop several
ounces of meat and many hairs
Ordinarily the fat begins to return in
September, and the fur along with it.
so that by the time cold weather sets in
Tom Is well equipped to meet it.
This time the cats are getting their
old-time Winter appetites back fully
two to three weeks earlier than usual.
Quincy and his pals began to pick up
In their eating as much as a week ago.
Their appetites have been enormous
since.
Those who have heard of the cats
whisker have now heard Of the cats
appetite. and we rest our case firmly
upon Nature
II others can predict by goose bones
and the like, why is not the cats ap-
petite as faithful a guide?
Time will tell. Common sense. which
tells us that Nature goes by extremes
also points TO an early Fall and cold
Winter, and probably a wet one, as It
has begun. In Nature, when it is dry
1t is dry, and when 1t is wet it Is
very wet.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-24

watershed. In its worst hours Of public
suffering the United States has never
known such a horror.
The worst OF this situation Is that so
little can be done to relieve 1t. The peo-
pie have no resources. They have no
defensee. There Is virtually no organiza-
ton for their succor. Food supplies are
short ut best, engineering works Of pre-
vention are almost unknown. Funds are
not available for extensive operations
either in cure of the conditions or In
succor of the people when nature RACES.
It is physically impossible to reach some
Of these flooded sections with supplies in
time to save the lives Of the victims.
When the waters subside the survivors
60 back to their sodden fields and begin
again. pitifully. to reconstruct their little
planting enterprises, and as the streams
fall the bodies of the thousands upon
thousands who have been drowned or
who have starved and been tossed aside
are brought to view, the hideous PEN
atty for the sins Of past generations of
Chinese, deVastators of the land, de-
stroyers of forests. exploiters Of the soil
and the people.
There is new China" now in the
making, China of some Semblsnce of
orderly government, with an intelligent
comprehension Of the needs of the land.
1t is having q hard time IN develop
ment, what with civil war and foreign
complication and domestic distress. The
succor that can be given by others is
but little. The rescue of China from It's
own disasters must be effected by China
itself.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-24
The Cost of Crime. {"

The Wickersham Commission esti-
mates the cost of crime In this country
at billion dollars a year. The figure
is admittedly meaningless except as an
expression Of mere magnitude. An item
Of $4,000, 000--.p possible losses to COM
munity Of productive labor by impris-
oned criminals OF more value as
figure OF speech than as a statistical
estimate and the sall 900 set down as
the annual cost OF bullet-proof glass
should of course have a companion
estimate based on the cost of doors,
locks and window latcles in American
homes and ONCE buildings But a bill
lion dollars. representing the cost OF
protection against crime rather than
the cost OF crime itself, is as good =
ngure as any. Nobody is going to guar.
rel about It.
The real ''costaof crime in the United
states is impossible to estimate In dol
lars and cents. The Intangible cost Ia
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-24
The owl Is q lugubrious bird.

The owl Is a lugubrious bird.
Flying as II does by night, it Is some
times heard but never seen.
Hence most peoples acquaintance
with 1t is confined solely to its cry.
And what q cry it Is
Surely there Is nothing I'm Nature
more mournful, perhaps that is why a
sinister superstition has attached to the
hoot of the owl.
In the silence Of night. waking from
Sleep one is depressed, made resentful,
even.
Why should bird made such a noise,
Just because IL flies at night?
The notes are loud, clear. all the
louder because there Is scarcely any
other sound, except the monotonous
saving Of the hot bugs"
But, as II these calls we're not enough
there comes another. a mockery of the
Perhaps it is the answer OF the female
owl to its mate. The listener. however,
refuses to credit the beasts with such
sense, and continues to regard the more
peculiar gurgle as a variation Of the
first.
Stuffed owls are more satisfactory
companions.
The vogue for them has disappeared.
but no doubt win be revived again, as
such things are.
Few things look better on top Of a
bookcase, for instance, than a small owl
The art of making glass eyes long ago
reached such a pitch that the eyes of
a stuffed owl appeared almost as men
acing as those of real one in tree.
The expression. wise old owl" comes
down through the centuries. The God
dess Pallas Athena was accompanied
by an owl. 1t divided honors with the
serpent, when it came to q reputation
for wisdom.
This reputation, as among men,
seems to have been badly placed. There
is not whit of evidence to show that
an owl or a serpent Is any wiser than
any other creature.
Serpents, in fact, are cold and slug
gish and cannot contain the divine fire
which flowers in knowledge and wisdom.
M
An owl would be a wiser bird. to some
of u.s. If he refrained from that out
landish cry in the night.
What call has he. indeed. to set up
for wisdom on our books, when he cam
not manage more civilized boot?
The owl which has aroused our re-
sentiment does not boot. as a matter
Of fact.
His Is cry, q wall, an offense in the
ears Of man.
Perhaps he Is not an owl. after all,
but some other creature. The loon has
a peculiar cry. but looms are not found
in these parts
No. the disturber is an owl. and we
are glad he has not come back since.
Hearing him once Is enough, too much,
there was something so eerie. so dis
tressing, in his absurd syllables.
How happy. by contrast, seem the re-
mainder of the birds!
Even now. when most of them have
left for other chimes. there are still
enough of them TO give the garden q
CHEEKY aspect
The fat robins look for worms as
usual, while in tree young one sits
fat, solemn, motionless. He was Just
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-24

the load that has the American people
crawling in circles, seeking the relief
that is not in sight. How can one
estimate the loss in self-respect, in
prestige, in futile ballyhoo that New
York City must pay for the death OF
four children In the last nineteen
months and the wounding of more than
fifty innocent bystanders from the bull
let's of criminals shooting in the streets?
How Is one to express the real price of
widespread disrespect for law, resulting
from the failure of law enforcement, or
Ak the penalty that accompanies graft
and corruption among law enforcement
officers and municipal and State gov
ernmental officials? What is the liabil-
ity assumed by crime ridden Nation
which points to an annually increasing
number of convictions, jail sentences
and jail populations as evidence that
the laws are being enforced?
The Wickersham report on the cost
of crime will take its due place among
the other interesting papers prepared
by this hard working body of men
and women. 1t, as are the others, is
full of valuable data for the astonished
historian Of the future who sets about
recording an amazing epoch in the
struggles of humanity to attain civiliza-
ton 1t falls wide of the mark as an
instrument that might help to stem
the rising tide of criminality and law
lessness. A few innocent bystanders
have been felled by gangster bullets
in New York. There are upward Of
hundred and twenty million innocent
bystanders in this country waiting for
an inspired leadership that will lift
their burden Of crime. Commissions OF
experts can pile their statistics noun
tain high, and nothing will come of 1t.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-24

taken to deal stringently with the prob
lem of overproduction of crude oil, shut
ting down the wells until prices for the
product go up. If the Governors of
States in the wheat and cotton belts
could act as drastically in the matter
Of overproduction of wheat and cotton,
the Federal Farm Board might realize
its dreams of curtailed wheat and cot
ton crops, giving the farmers of those
crops eventually better price for them
Gov. Long of Louisiana is urging legis-'
lation to prohibit the planting of cotton
in next year. Incidentally Alfalfa
Bill" Murray, Governor OF Oklahoma,
who has dealt so drastically with the
oil situation, is mentioned now as a
member of the Democratic Who's Who
for President Club" Alfalfa Bill" is
no stranger to Washington. which re-
members his dropping mustache when
he was member of the House years
ago from Oklahoma. He is one OF the
picturesque figures of politics. When
he retKIrned 70 Oklahoma about 2 years
ago from an unsuccessful colonizing
prDject in Latin America, he entered
tie fight for Goverf5nr on q shoe
string" His victory wak all the more
remarkable. However, itis a consider
able distance from the 9dnernor's chair
IN Oklahoma to the Win House,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-24

Q. Did Patrick Henry ever serve a.
United States Senator?-H. r.
| A. Patrick Henry declined the follow
| ing ofaces: United States Senator, Sec
Rotary Of State in Washington's cabi-
net. Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court, Governor of Virginia. and envoy
to France. He had served several times
IN the Virginia Legislative body and
as Governor.
@. What is the yellow substance in
| the crab?-B w.
A. The yellow substance which is
found IN . crab is mostly fat. Some
portions Of IL may be the eggs.
O. How Is the distance from the
earth 70 the stars measured in miles?
| A, The adopted unit of stellar dis
lance Is the distance Travelled by a
light wave IN year. This unit is
called the light years. The distance
in light years automatically is then
translated into miles, using as a basis
the fact sthat the velocity of light l.
lS6,300 miles per second, and 1t travels
from the sun to the earth in 400
seconds.
G. How long has cricket been played
in England?-L. D.
A. Cricket seems to have evolved
slowly from an older game 1t is prob
ably q specialized form of club ball
1t was certainly being played under the
name OF cricket by boys of the free
school of Guildford as early as 1850.
@. While travelling in India I OBJ
served that the HtnduS carry small
brass bowls. Why is this?-G K.
A. Every Hindu, even a child, car
ries his individual drinking bowl. The
bowl is generally filed with water. The
custom arises from the fact that no
Hindu may drink water which has been
Drawn BY person Of the wrong caste,
nor may he drink water upon which a
low-caste person has looked.
g. Who was the last of the Caesars2
IS. OBJ.
A. Nero was the last of the imperial
family, but thereafter Caesar became
title OF dignity. From the name were
derived the German kaiser and Rus
sian tsar.
@. Is there extant an exact descrip-
| ton OF the personal appearance of DR..
Samuel johnson and his wifee-O. L.
A. Thomas Campbell. in a diary, de-
scribed the eminent English lexicog-
rapher and man OF letters, with whom
ne was personally acquainted In the
following terms: He has the aspect OF
an idiot, without the faintest ray Of
sense cleaning from any one feature
with the most awkward garb and pow
oered gray wig, on one side of his
head; he Is forever dancing the devils
jig "a reference to q nervous ailment.
and sometimes he makes the most
dwelling effort to whistle some thought
In his absent .paroxysms David Gar
rick, the great English actor who at
one time lived with the Johnsons, de-
scribed Mrs. johnson as very fat, with
bosom of more than ordinary pro-
tuberance, with swelled cheeks of q
fiorid red, produced by thick painting
and increased by the liberal use Of corr
dials; faring and fantastic In her dress
and affected both in her speech and
general behavior
@. What is the total amount OF
money spent in the United States in
year?-E S.
A. In 1929 approximately $40 900.
OOO,0 600 was spent IN the United States.
q. How many bodies Of water are
there in the Yosemite National Parkp
ID. r
A Yosemite covers an area of nearly
200 square miles and has about 25A
lakes and streams.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-24

A poetess has been discovered who
is described as writing better sonnets
than Shakespeare or Mrs. Browning.
1t would be necessary to give renewed
study to both these authors in order
to form an opinion comparing their
work with that of the new one. In a
time of so much need Of thoughtful
attention to affairs of government and
finance, responsible intelligence may
hesitate about devoting its efforts to
the task Of reaching positive decision
in so momentous a task Of discrimina-
ton.