davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-29
The Automobile Title Law.

1t seems pity that controversy has
developed over the long-delayed auto
mobile titling law of the District. One
of the few sections of the country In
which motor owners have not been re-
quired to secure title to their cars, the
National Capital has struggled for years
to secure such law. And now, Just
when it seemed that the way was clear
to put the regulation into effect, Ger
tain dealers are protesting that it will
work an unnecessary hardship on the
manufacturers If the title must originate
at the factories. This protest, however,
is somewhat minimized by the action
Of the Washington Automotive Trade
Association in giving its approval to the
law as 1t now reads
The proposed regulation based upon
the enactment of Congress has been de-
signed to incorporate all of the best
features Of title laws in the various
States, and while, of course, nothing can
be perfect. it is probably as good job
as can be framed. Naturally, any
new regulation is bound to work hard
ships on some, but If it is for the well
fare Of the majority it should be put into
erect without further delay. The Dis
tr1ct has not gone into this matter with
haste. 1t has had the years Of ex-
perience of other communities on which
to build sensible, reasonable statute.
1t Is the earnest hope, therefore, of
many Washingtonians that the contro-
versy will subside.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-29
Debunking the Five Year Plan.

A good deal Of well meaning but IL
logical discussion Is rampant in the
United States and the world over the
possible consequences Of Soviet Russia,s
hve-year plan. Gen. William N. Has
keu, who represented Herbert Hoover
as chief Of the American Relief Admin
istration in Russia from 1921 to 1923,
performs useful service in pointing
out certain unfounded conclusions which
have been drawn from the Communists
attempt to convert nation of peasants
into land Of modern industrialism by
the end Of 1888.
Gen. Haskell recently returned from
his second prolonged sojourn in Russia
whittier he went this time as student
investigator. He IS setting down his OBJ
servations Of the Soviet's gigantic ex-
pertinent in a series of arresting ar
ticles contributed to the New York
Times. His latest study deals with
the five-year plan. Viewing Com
munism's semi-enslayed millions work.
ing at forced draught, Gen. Haskell
voices the belief that Russian exports
will decline when machinery imports
have ended and the newly created in
duStries begin to devote themselves to
home needs.
Russia" says this competent eye
witness, sis back in the market with
raw materials to stay, but will not con-
tinue at such artihcially high pace. Her
competition in manufactured articles
can be dismissed for two reasons-the
high producing costs and the low quail
ity Of her manufactured goods, on the
enc hand, and her constantly increasing
domestic demand, on the other"
Gen. Haskell reminds the world net to
forget that the population of Russia,
now some 16o,ooo,oo0 souls, is growing
each year by more than half the in
crease for the rest of Europe. There is
the further fact that "the teeming peas
ant population" having been educated
to new standards of living, primitive as
they may be compared to non-Russian
standards, Is steadily developing a po-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-29
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

What some people need is healthier
respect for prose.
Perhaps this would keep many from
trying to write poetry.
The average human being has no
right to attempt verse, but sometimes
it seems as If 1t Is the first medium of
expression he desires to use.
We read some rhymes the other day
out of which 1t was difficult to get any
meaning at all.
No doubt if the writer Of the afore-
said oversees" had stuck to prose he
might have made himself clear.
AS 1t was, q reader was in honest
doubt just what he did mean to say.
Now clarity must remain the first
virtue OF all writing, both prose and
verse.
Sometimes this fact becomes obscured
in the complicated rounds of everyday
life under civilization.
We, as readers, are aSsailed on all
sides by the claims of certain super
fetal cleverneSs, a very evident Sophis-
tication, until we are thrown off our
mental balances, and are inclined upon
occasion to believe that obscurity means
profundity.
A whole section of humanity, even,
tends to believe that what it cannot un-
derstand must, by that very fact, be
something very great.
It takes a reader of keen intelligence,
indeed, and of real intellectual honesty,
to say. after perusing something or
other, ''I cannot understand this, there
fore it is the bunk" If that Is the case
Yet such remark would stand q
hundred tiY1aaG tho PhanRa nf hatnn
right of the opposite belief, why, this
is too hard for me, therefore, 1t must be
good"
ObScurity, in writing, is sort Of de-
featiSm, both for the writer and reader
The other major graces of writing are
not possible until this grand quality Is
present.
Clarity Is fundamental.
Let no reader anywhere be bam-
boozled by those writers who, no mat
ter what their pretensions, insist on
throwing up such a cloud that it is diff
ficult to discover what they mean.
There is no more common form of
inferiority complex than that of the
honest reader who believes, Just be-
cause a writer has not made his thought
clear, that he. the reader. and not he,
the writer, is to blame.
X 4 X
No reader should render such a YER
dict against himself unless he is read
ing some extremely difficult technical
subject, in which it Is necessary for the
writer to use words and expressions
which make it difficult reading for
layman.
No matter how one writes, there
should be no doubt left in a readers
mind as to what is. meant by what is
said The reader OF course, must have
what is called average intelligence, and
must enter into the spirit Of the au-
thorS intent.
Above all, the reader must refrain
from the pernicious habit of seizing
upon one sentence, and pretending to
consider 1t apart from its context A
we'll reasoned bit OF writing is not a
matter of a few words, or even few
sentences, but of the entire thought or
train of thoughts, as it Is sometimes
called.
There is nothing more unfair in this
world than the practice of some readers
in demanding that every sentence tell
a complete story. That Is not the pur-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-29
Islands Discovery REEVES
Romantic Tale of Ancients

to South America. Many have believed
that those sub-oceanic plateaus, with
their few projecting peaks, represent
continents and islands which once ex-
listed. but are no more. A savant,
expert in geology and seismology, as
serts that the islands which have ap-
peared near st. PaulS rocks suggest
the arising of an archipelago, to take
place within the next 100000 years.
No one will live long enough to test his
prophecy, which may be a good one.
The Hawaiian Islands are said to be
only 100000 years old. A thousand
years are as nothing in the story of the
movements of the crust Of the earth"
Navigation eventually denied the ex-
istence Of such legendary lands says
the New York Evening Post, but
science was not quite SO skeptical.
There are curious evidences in zoology
and ethnology of some prehistoric con-
nection by land between the continents
Of Europe and America. One strange
speculation presents the theory that all
the land on the surface of the earth Is
adrift on a subterranean sea of molten
matter, lying perhaps 30 miles down.
and that Europe and America were
once one, but have slowly separated
The contours of the two continents can
be fitted together in a fashion to make
this seem remotely possible. There
Is romantic possibility tnat the newly
discovered islands, believed to have been
pushed up from the depths by seismic
forces. do foretell the emergence of the
lost continent or some archipelago
vaguely remembered in racial tradition.
Meanwhile they have a practical i'm
portance which sends the cruisers of
several nations racing to find and claim
them. Any land in the South Atlantic
is potential base for aircraft, and may
be valuable. If the mountain tops Of
ancient Atlantis are actually appearing
again, civilization is likely to appro-
pirate them at once to the most modern
uses"
1T is an interesting speculation"
agrees the Boston Transcript. that the
floor of the Atlantic may be undergoing
a process of elevation and that eventu-
ally there may rise out of the water Off
the coast of South America a group of
great islands suitable for the home of
mighty empire like that of Japan in the
Eastern Hemisphere. And who can tell
but that the tabled Atlantis may once
again loom into sight. appearing to our
startled eyes much as the cities of the
unregenerate, bedaubed with weeds and
ooZe, appeared to Noah and his kin after
the deluge.'
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-29
"Around the World"

Wiley Post and Harold Gatty, Amer
lean aviators extraordinary. are now
engaged in a flight that is generally
described as around the world" Not
20 lessen the credit of their per-
1ormance, which thus far has been
remarkably successful, but in the inter-
est of accuracy, it should be pointed
out that they are not in fact flying
around the world, but are flying around
the northern sector with the North
Pole generally as focal point.
Some day somebody will perhaps fly
around the world" in the geographic
sense Of circling the globe at the point
Of greatest circumference. But that is
q long time ahead and the accomplish
nent will require great improvement In
planes and increase in fuel capacity.
Examination Of a map, or better still
of Q terrestrial globe, will illustrate this
difficulty. BY around the world" is
usually meant the passage from East to
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-29
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

Many readers send In questions signed
only with initials, asking that the
answers appear In the newspaper. The
space Is limited and would not accom-
modate a fraction Of such requests
The answers published are ones that
may interest many readers, rather than
the one who asks the question only
All questions should be accompanied by
the writer's name and address and
cents in coin or stamps for reply. Send
your question to The Evening Star In
formation Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin,
director, Washington, D. c.
Q. From what side of the plate does
Frank Frisch Of the Cardinals bat?-
D. w.
A. He Is q switch-hitter and bats
from both right and left side of the
plate.
Q; When was capital punishment
abolished in Australia. K.
"A. Capital punishment was legally
abolished in Austria a few months after
the revolution of 1918 and now forms
no part of the civil administration of
Justice. 1t may, however, be inflicted
during times Of national danger by spe-
clal tribunals set up by martial law
Q. What did it cost to rebuild the
Lincoln Memorial at Springfield, Ill?
A. The cost is estimated at SITS, ooo
9. What was the last show in which
Bert Williams, the Negro comedian.
appeared?-M. r.
A. He collapsed on the stage In De-
troit February 81, 1922, while playing in
under the Bamboo Tree" He was
taken TO New York, where he died on
March IL OF pneumonia.
O. What famous men have been left
handed?-W. r. P.
A. Among the famous men who were
known to be left-handed may be men
toned Tiberius, Sebastian del Piombo.
Michelangelo, Fletcher, Nigra, Buhl,
Raphael OF Montelupo, Bertillon and
James A. Garfield. Leonardo da Vinci
sketched rapidly with his left hand.
@. Are beet leaves edible?-C. E.
A. Beet leaves are more valuable food
than beet roots. Care should be taken
in selecting only leaves which have no
diseased or dead-looking spots.
O. What is scumbling?-A. s. B.
A. In art 1t Is the process Of soften
ing the colors of a picture by blending
them with neutral tint, applying this
nearly dry brush.
@. Where Is Thomas Hardy buried?-
A. H.
A. The English novelist was buried
in Westminster Abbey.
@. How is fog made in the movies2-
r. B.
A. Vaporized mineral oil, blown
through the air by large propellers, is
used.
Q. Who was called the Prince of
Skeptics?-G. s.
A. Voltaire.
@. How large is the crystal ball in
the National Museum in Washington,
D. c., and what is its value?-M. c.
A. The ball is 1925 inches in d.
ameter and weighs nearly lot pounds.
It is valued at $250,000 The block Of
rock crystal from which the ball was
formed was found in Burma. 1t Is said
to have weighed more than half a ton
in the rough.
@. Please describe the tablet which
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-29

has been erected to Walt Whitman in
Brooklyn.-E. Q.
a. It was erected by the Authors
Club at the corner of Fulton and Gran
berry streets, Brooklyn, where the first
edition Of Leaves Of Grass" was pub
iished In 1855. Its central figure is an
| localized head of the poet, with flowing
hair and beard. Surrounding it are
symbolic representations Of four of
Wh1tman's poems, "Old Ireland" 20
Captain, My Captain, Passage to In
| dia" and Democracy
@. How should large quantity of
| cellophane be kept?-H. c. S.
A. It should be stored In the blue
wrapper in which it is shipped and In a
room temperature of approximately 10
low humidity.
Q. What IS indium and how valuable
is IT'D. j.
A. Indiun is an extremely rare
metal recovered from zinc. It is about
10 times as valuable as platinum. Sew
eral carloads of zinc ore are required
to produce one pound Of the metal
Q. Why was William F. Cody called
Buffalo Bill"?-E. M
A. 1t is said that the name was ap-
Piled to him in consequence Of his sue
cess In supplying immense quantities
OF buffalo meat to the construction
gangs when the Union Pacific was
being built
tional Fruit and Vegetable Exchange.
Inc. PA. r. M.
A. 1t has been organized by Cooper
alive commodity marketing associations
throughout the country to centralize
the national merchandising Of fruits
and vegetables controlled by Cooper
atlves. It's chief object is to form a
national marketing outlet for grower
owned marketing associations handling
fresh. fruits and vegetables. Member
associations will also be given as
s1stance in standardizing cultural and
packag1ng procedure.
Q. What proportion of the pop,1la-
ton of the District of Columbia u
Negro?-H. j.
"A. There are 353,e14 whites, 1921
Negroes, 1877 other colored races. About
~ per cent Of the total population of
4e6,869 is Negro.
Q. What is the highest soldiers bonus
or compensation paid?-J. McC.
A. The Veterans Bureau saws that
the maximum amount of a veterans
bonus certificate was 1882. The $50
paid when the veteran was discharged
was deducted from the face value of the
certificate. This certificate was dated
from April 6, 1917, to July l, 1919.
@. Why is the climate Of California
so different from the rest Of the United
States?-A. K.
A. There are four main factors in
f1uencing the climate peculiar to Cali
fornia. According to Dr. Meade, they
are as follows: The movements of the
great continental and oceanic pressure
areas, the So-cailed permanent highs
and lows: the prevailing drift of the at
mosphere in the temperate ATTITUDES
from west to east; the proximity of the
Pacific Ocean. and the exceedingly di-
versifled topography of the country for
about 200 miles inland from the coast
Q. What percentage of opium does
lettuce contain?-H. E. @.
A. Contrary to popular belief, lettuce
contains no opium.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-29

West or in the reverse direction, and
not the North-South route. At the
Equator, which Of course is the greatest
distance around the earth, some 24,902
miles, there is q maximum Of sea and
minimum of land. Roughly, not
counting occasional islets, the Equator
over the Pacific, the Atlantic and
Indian Oceans, spans 1880 miles, or
about seventy-three per cent Of the
entire circuit Of the globe at that point.
Wiley and Post are flying over route
that is measured at approximately
10000 miles. The greater part Of this
is over land, they having already ira
versed the longest sea span. Their en-
tire route, therefore, is less than the sea
line of the circuit at the Equator. Their
route Is the most practical one at the
point farthest north giving them assur-
cd refueling points and maximum Of
safety In respect to accidents of flight
and landing.
The flight of the Graf Zeppelin
around the North Pole was called by
some a passage around the EARTH" It
was, of course, nothing of the kind. It
was, at the Pole, roughly circular
flight, Just such as might have been
made over Central Europe, or the Mid
die States Of this country. The fact
that the flight was centered upon the
Pole did not make 1t circumnaviga-
ton of the globe in any sense. That of
Post and Gatty is more nearly cir
cumnavigation, though it still falls
short of 1t by good many thousand
miles. It is nevertheless an heroic ven
ture, call it what you will.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-29
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

name is Scherbatskoy and she Is the
widow OF a one-time Russian imperial
diplomat. During the years before the
war M. Scherbatskoy was counselor of
the Cars embassy in Washington and
later he was Russian Ambassador to
Brazil. Nine. Scherbatskoy is now as
ISOLATED with a New York hotel and
bers Of her late husbands profession
in its attractions as a place Of abode
in Manhattan.
" ~
"Old Mac" or Daniel H. Mcdowell
aS one of the worlds kindliest Negroes
who has just passed away, was formally
called, was the hero of a National Press
Club story which Sir Bill Lewis, cor
respondent of the London Times, likes
to tell. Before "Old Mac" was promoted
from waiter to doorman at the club
he used to serve Lewis regularly. One
day the Times man had his freshly ar
rived copy Of the Thunderer propped
up in front of him at table. Mac, "
he said, IT guess I'm reading a paper
you never saw before, even though you
have worked in the Press Club SO
years" Mcdowell looked at the Times
Mr.. Lewis, I am sure enough sorry,
he said, "but you are mistaken. I saw
that paper almost before you were born
ana l saw II III LONDON. Then "Old
Mac" explained that he was a steward
on Samuel j. Tilden's private yacht
which anchored in the Thames one
Summer while the Governor stayed at
q hotel in London Mac" said that one
of his jobs was to go to Piccadilly early
every morning and bring Tilden a copy
of the Times.
y X
Last weeks convention of the Quota
International, "women's Rotary" wound
up with a bathing suit revue in a big
Washington indoor pool The revue
consisted of parade of Quotarian bath
ing beauties in surf costumes of the
periods between 1900 and today, with
Miss 1856" as the star performer. I'M
personated by the shapely Miss Beatrice
Jones, a junior executive of the Equita-
BILE Life Assurance Society in New York
Miss 1856" appeared in what, at first
looked like a trio of fig leaves. On
close inspection, she turned out to be
wearing a hesh-tinted, one-piece suit OF
filmy lace fish-net. At the banquet
which brought the Quotarian Conven-
ton to finish Miss 1856" was surprised
by being presented with prize-winning
cup. IT am covered with confusion, -
said Miss Jones in response, land that
is more than I had on this afternoon"
Copyright, 1917
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-29
Spain Goes Republican.


When Senior Don Salvador de Ma
dariaga, the new Ambassador of Spain,
arrived in this country last week at the
outset Of his career in Washington, that
cultured scholar and statesman pre-
dicted that yesterdays Spanish cleo
tons would safeguard the future Of the
republic which was proclaimed two and
half months ago. He spoke with the
voice Of prophetic vision.
Although complete returns are lack
ing, the Republican-Socialists, who
form the substance Of the new govern
ment, appear to be firmly in the saddle.
A constitution which definitely breaks
with the monarchial system is now
assured Of adoption by the newly
elected Constituent Assembly. The
election Of q President Of the repub-
lie will ensue In due course. 1t may
be Senior zamora, father Of the April
revolution, or Alexandra LerrouX, his
friend and the foreign minister in the
provisional government at Madrid. In
any event. the Republican cause is safe,
and the reign Of the Bourbons belongs
to the ages.
Apart from that overshadowing result
probably the vote in Catalonia deserves
the greatest interest in Spain and
abroad. Under the leadership of Senior
Macia, the separatist chief at BARGE
Iona tho Cotnlop nc vofad Gov efo+o ;cdo
pendence within federal Spanish re-
public. Catalonia, in other words, will
occupy within the national framework
the same status as sovereign New York
or Virginia occupies within the Union
composed Of the United States of Amer
lea. Senior Macia states that Madrid"
sent candidates into the field against
the Independence party, but that cir
cumStance does not seem to affect the
states willingness to remain part and
parcel Of the national republic SO long
as Galatians local autonomy is assured
Neither the clerical nor the mo-
narchial party was able to achieve any
Roadway against the score or more of
rival groups bound by the one common
tie Of fealty to the republic. The Com
munists, too, made an insignificant
showing, although election day was
marked by fatalities provoked by red
and other anti-republican elements.
Women do not vote in Spain, yet it is
notable that two members of that sex
were elected to seats In the new Parlia-
ment-Victoria Kent, director Of state
prisons, and Clara Campoamor, q
Madrid lawyer.
Senior Madariaga, who becomes
welcome addition to the galaxy of dis
tinguished foreign ENJOYS stationed on
the Potomac, will present his creden-
tials at washington almost simulta-
neous with SPANS vote of confidence in
the republic. He doubtless will look
upon the coincidence as a happy omen
for his career in the United States
whose government and people wish the
newest member of the family of repub-
lican states an abundance of pros
perity and tranquility.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-29
Promotion of Health by
Radio.
from the Chicago Daily News.

From the Chicago Daily News.
DR.. E. Starr Judd of the Mayo Clinic
in his presidential address and other
speakers at the Philadelphia meeting Ut
the American Medical Association d.
rected the attention of their profession
and of the Nation generally to the i'm
portant part played and to be played by
radio in the promotion of public health.
Talks on various aspects of preventive
medicine are exceedingly popular. The
medical profession, in conjunction with
the public health services, enjoys OPP
portunitieS undreamed OF in the past
for the dissemination of useful informa-
ton concerning modern means of pre-
serving physical and mental well-being
The several seasons have their re-
spective health problems. What to eat.
how to dress, how to treat common
colds, how to detect the first faint
symptoms of disease and how to beware
of Quack noStrumS are among the sub
jects welcomed by millions of persons
possessing radio sets. Especially valu-
able Is information on health to the
residents of sparsely settled sections of
the country where doctors are few.
Radio has many severe critics among
the intellectuals, and broadcasterS have
much to learn from candid and Just
critics. It is but fair, however. to give
credit to radio for the excellent work
it is doing and will do in ever-increasing
measure for the welfare of the public.