davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26

D FADING Of this former Governor of Idaho who
IN took money for indorsng a book about Lincoln
reminds of the time an author took book to the
White House and asked Mr.. Lincoln to read it and
give him a testimonial
Lincoln looked at the book, which weighed about
fifteen pounds, and told the author he couldn't read
t, but that he would give him testimonial.
And this is the testimonial he gave him: ITO any
body who wants this book this book is just like what
wants"
HERES funny item from England: Over in
London there are people whose distinguished pro-
fession is to wake up those who fortunate as not
to possess alarm clocks.
They would go around in the early morning with
pea shooters and shoot peas against the window Of
the slunlber brother.
There's much better way to do this and it's the
way we used to wake up each other when we were
kids and wanted to get up early and go down to the
railroad yards to see the circus unload
This is the way we did 1t. Each kid tied string
around his big toe and then threw it out of the win
dow-not the big toe, the string
Then the official string puler went around to the
homes of the other kids and pulled the strings until all
the kids arose.
HERES an article in city paper which ruf1es
ones plumage.
It's the story of how World war soldier borrowed
so per cent of his own money from the government
and then blew it in.
There have been so many articles along the same
line in the papers the last week that one suspects
that somebody has started the old propaganda mill
again.
And, If so, it's very contemplate
OF course, some ex-service men will blow their
money, not because they ex-servce men, but ka-
cause they Americans and the average American
lis blower from BlowvilIe
But to try to differentiate the folly Of the ex-
service men from the ordinary folly Of all Of US to
try to present the soldier the inventor Of wild life
in America, that's really wonderful!
World veterans are no better nor worse than
you and who stayed at home very willingly while
they waded through bloody days. and the press of
the country should stop this s0ddy stupid vlncaticn
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26
Surplus and Famine

Republican politicians are having a hard time
trying to explain away the federal farm board failure
advertised by the boards decision to stop specializing
in wheat. In fact. the explanation makes matters
worse
The farm board at least had the courage to reverse
its bankrupt policy and publish the fact. Now the
politicians explain that the 275OOOO bushels
Of surplus wheat bought by the board will not be
dumped on the market until that operation can he
undertaken without harm to the farmer.
All Of which is rather naive.
It is only the dumping Of that huge surplus on
the market which will drive down the price Of wheat
and ruin the farmer trying to sell his wheat The
very existence of that surplus, whether it is put on
the market or not depresses prices and will continue
70 do 90.
That surplus can not be laughed of. To hold it for
future dumping may be even worse than dumping it
now and having done with the painful operation.
The suggestion has been made that the surplus
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26
Too Good

TN a news dispatch from Albany
4 yesterday I find these para
graphs:
Chief Magistrate Joseph Corri-
gan may be elevated to the supreme
court of the First district, if Mayor
James j. Walker assures Governor
Franklin D. Roosevelt that the new
chief magistrate will be man of
high repute.
Roosevelt will insist, he indicated,
that the jurist who replaces Cor
rigan possesses the same qualifica-
tons. If Mayor Walker should ig-
more this demand, the executive is
said to be prepared to name another
man, leaving Corrigan in his present
place"
If this is an accurate picture of
the Governors intention, I think he
is making an error of Judgment.
Surely it seems unfair for a man to
be denied promotion because he
has done too well.
Not only is it unfair to the iurist
in question, but it hardly sets an
example by which others may be
encouraged.
Joseph E. Corrigan has remained
on the magistrates bench over a
long period of years. And in that
time dozens of other magistrates
have stepped up into higher judicial
Office.
And in almost every case he has
lost his chance because it was uni
versally recognized that he was do
ing a good job in a field where few
good jobs were being done.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26
SAYS

OR Administration of Justice
Is About as Vague and ca
PRECIOUS as a Roulette
Wheel.
COLUMBUS, O., March 26.-Like
~ many other states, Ohio faces
the problem Of prison congestion.
The necessity Of providing relief,
either through a costly program of
construction, or revision Of the penal
code, can not be sidestepped much
longer.
The state prison at Columbus
now contains 4,759 convicts. That
is only a few less than it contained
at the time of the great fire in
which 800 lost their lives.
But for that fire, the prisons
population would show an increase
Of 6 Or z per cent in the last eleven
months.
A policy of imposing longer SEN
fences for the same offense largely
accounts for this condition.
Some ten years ago, Ohio decided
to try severity as a crime cure.
The only result any one seems sure
Of is a greater number of convicts
for the taxpayers to house, feed,
and clothe.
If crime has diminished, the peo-
PIE have yet to be convinced of it.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26
Porto Rican Home Rule

Being polite and hosptable people, the Porto
3ioans did not embarrass President Hoover with
demonstrations of "Give liberty give us death"
character Therefore, some of the Presidents party
made the mistake of assuming that the islanders are
satisfied with their political status
1t is true that the sentiment toward the United
states has improved since the Porto Rican legisa-
ture gave the Patrick Henry message to Lindbergh
to carry to President Coolidge For that improved re-
ationship the enlightened policy of President
Hoover and Governor Roosevelt is largely responsible
But the Porto Ricans would be less than human if
they suddenly had ceased to want self-government
That they still want it was told to Hoover the moment
he set foot on the island by the mayor of Ponce who
welcomed him.
self-government to them does not mean absolute
independence They want to remain American citi-
1ens. But they want statehood, the power to elect
their own governor and all the other privileges that
90 with home rule.
That desire is not unreasonable. Nor is 1t i'm
practicable.
In his speeches, the President quite properly
stressed the economic rather than the political prob
ems of the island. The economic issues are more i'm
portant to the well-being of the people.
But 1t would be poor craftsmanship to overlook the
psychological factors inherent in the political issue
Because Of the basic problem of over-populaton,
Porto Rico probably will attain high level OF
material prosperity. Therefore. the problem Of
morale always will be crucial.
Considered as a matter of morale, the question is
whether the demanded free-state status would be
a more efficient method of government technically
than the present method, but whether the Porto
Ricans would be happier with more freedom and re-
sponsiblity.
90 long as the morale of the Porto Ricans remains
low at present. their political institutions
not be evaluated solely or even chiefly by mechan
ical efficiency
Certainly American argue logically against
the inaienable right of the Porto Ricans to home rule
if they want it. And why should any American want
to deny them that right? Should we not rather want
them to share much as possible in the attempted
solution of their own problemsP
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26
Wrong Way of Reform

WTHAT can society hope to gain
w by keeping a man in prison
ten years and then letting him out?
Where is the justice of locking up
a petty thief and making it i'm
possible for him to work, when
justice could be satisfied by the
restoration Of what he stole?
A hopelessly insane murderer OBJ
viously is a greater menace than the
normal man who kills because of
some overpowering emotion.
Also, there is no possibility that
he ever will be any good to him
self, or society.
Capital punishment, however. is
reserved for the normal killer, never
for the hopelessly insane.
The conclusion is unacceptable that
we are for inficting death onlv
when it hurts, only when the victim
realizes what it means, but can't
bear the thought of inficting it to
relieve suffering.
We admit that environment PLAYS
a big part in holding character
yet we throw youthful offenders
among a lot of hard criminals, with
the idea that they can be reformed
by it.
The time for reform is before we
have scared their souls with the
branding iron Of social contempt.
The time to find out whether they
can be made useful citizens is before
we have made the task harder both
for them and ourselves.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26

If somewhere in the ancestry, a
pure blue-eyed person married a
brown-eyed person, and four chill
dren resulted from the marriage,
one would be blue-eyed, one brown
eyed, and two might be blue-eyed
with traces of brown.
Thus, brown-eyed parents produce
brown-eyed children, but also blue
eyed children.
Short people have tall children
and tall people have short children.
But a family in which most of the
members have been tall for long
periods Of time will produce far
more tall children than short ones.
The operation Of heredity there
fore results on the whole in a GER
tain degree Of likeness Or correla-
ton between the characteristics of
the parents and the children, but
the results are averages which have
to be applied on a large scale and
which have to be interpreted with
intelligence.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26
%>ZZZfNNSS
97d6AEF Is TTt7E
ANNlQGR$ARYI
RUNIFORD'S BIRTH
March rs

ON March 26, 1853, Benjamin
~ Thompson Rumford, British
American scientist, philanthropist
and administrator, was born at
Woburn, Mass.
He began the study Of medicine
at IS and later taught school. Ac-
cepting an appointment in the
militia from the English COVER
nor, he innocently incurred the
distrust Of the colonists.
Although acquitted of all charges
of disloyalty, he left America in
1776 for England, where he rose to
high position in the British for
eign Office.
In 17S5 Rumford entered the
service of the elector Of Bavaria
at Munich, where he inaugurated
important reforms and reorgan-
lied the army. For these services
he was made minister of war and
count of the Holy Roman empires.
On returning to England in
1875, Rumford made notable ex-
perimentS on heat, which he was
the first to recognize as a mode of
motion.
He later established the Runford
professorship at Harvard. He died
IN 1914.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26
Call Your Shots

FOLLOWING up the same theme
Il about combined rewards and
punishments, it is obvious that even
the most violent campaigner against
present conditions should not al
low himself to be put in the posi-
ton Of being opposed to every sin
gle individual in the present ad-
miristration. There ought to be
some selectiyity in the matter OF
hates.
One Of Tammany' favorite lodges
is to turn moist-eyed whenever po-
lice corruption Is mentioned and to
cry out that critics are insulting the
entire force.
Nobody. to the best Of my knowI-
edge, has really done that. Tam
many's severest critics have taken
occasion to mention the extraordi-
nary bravery Of hundreds of police
men in tough spots.
Indeed, I think it Is only fair to
say that under the system which
prevails the police force is far bet
ter than anybody has right to ex-
pect.
But i is less than accurate,
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26

.OHIO'S prison situation is typi-
~ cal of that prevailing through
out the country.
Where the average prison SEN
tence in England is four months,
the average here is five years.
Other things being equal, that
one item alone would produce a
prison population for the United
States fifteen times as great as for
England, in proportion to their
size.
That one item alone is sufficient
to explain why England finds it
possible to scrap three of her once
important prisons, while we face
the necessity of expanding ours
faster than architects can draw
plans.
The general effect on crime, how
ever, shows that that one item
doesn't amount to very much.
England has been able to do far
more than we have in discourag-
ing crime Of all descriptions, though
exerting only one-fifteenth as much
prison pressure.
The difference is that England
catches the majority of her Offend
ers, while we are rough on few.
AS every peace officer, or prison
guard, will tell you, the wouId-be
criminal is much more likely to be
deferred by the certainty of punish
ment than by its uncertain severity.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26

entire commotion has been raised
over the sins of six men out of
thousands.
In every case where strong tes-
timony has been brought against a
policeman, he has been able to sum-
mon to his side other members of
the force, who have tried to get him
out of the jam by Offering testi-
nony in his behalf.
An efficient force must have a
certain sense of team play and SOL
idarity, but I would like to hear a
little more free expression upon the
part of men in the police force who
feel indignant at things which have
been done to smirch the honor of
the department..
The police force, from top to bot
tom, should be more sensitive. Pa
trolmen are average citizens like the
rest OF us. And I know perfectly
well that in the hearts of many of
them there must be an indignation
and loathing against the trainers
and the grafters.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26
Atomic ThA0rv

ITO grasp the picture of the in
\ terror Of the star given by Ed
dington, we must remember that.
according to modern theory, matter
is composed of minute particles
called atoms.
Atoms in their turn are composed
Of still smaller particles, called cleo
irons.
1t is assumed that an atom has
a nucleus composed of both posi-
tive and negative electrons. The
positive electrons usually are called
protons, while the word electron is
used to mean the negative ones.
More negative electrons revolve
around the nucleus.
The electrons which reyolve
around the nucleus are not attached
permanently to it. Under various
conditions an atom can lose or gain
one or more eIectrons.
Temperature is measure OF
atomic vibration. To say that the
interior Of star has a temperature
of millions Of degrees means that
the atoms are vibrating and NOV
ing about at q tremendous rate Of
speed.
The pressure at the center Of a
star is so immense that II It were
the only force at work, the star
would be a solid more rigid than
steel.
But this grayitational pressure is
balanced by radiation pressure, the
outward rush Of the energy Within
the star, the great wind Of etheR
waves Of which Adams speaks.
This energy is supposed to exisS
in the interior Of the star as waves
much shorter than the gamma rayn
Of radium.
Frequent collisions between tho
quanta or bullets" Of energy With
the atoms causes them to split I'D
into quanta or bits Of energy OF
smaller content and therefore
higher Taye length.
Thus, in time, the energy attains
the length Of X-rays, and by the
time it reaches the outer surface
Of the star, it is in the form OF
ultra violet, visible light and heat
waves.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26
Wild Confusion
DR. ADAMS furnishes a gra

nR. ADAMS furnishes a graphic
- picture of what the interior OF
a star at a temperature of 10000. 0O0
degrees must be like.
The interior Of a star is a mix
ture of atoms, electrons, and ether
waves in the widest state of con-
fusion" he says. 1.-The ether waves
pour out toward the surface of the
star like a great wind.
"On their way they encounters
the mutilated atoms and electrons of
the closely packed gases which tend
to obstruct their progress.
"They finally emerge, perhaps
after thousands Of millions Of years.
transformed at the lower tempera-
ture Of the outside Of the star into
the light and heat waves which the
astronomer observes"
Eddington also has given pics
ture of what goes on with g star.
He writes:
"Disheveled atoms tear along at
100 miles a second, their normal ar
ray Of electrons being torn from
them in the scrimmage. The lost
electrons are speeding 100 times
faster to find new resting places,
Let us follow the progress Of one
Of them.
"There almost is a collision as
an electron approaches an atomic
nucleus, but putting on speed, it
sweeps around in a sharp curve.
Sometimes there is a Side-slip at
the curve, but the electron goes on
with increased or reduced energy.
After a thousand narrow shaves, all
happening within a thousand mill
lionth of a second, the hectic career
Is ended by worse side-slip than
usual.
"The electron is caught fairly and
attached to an atom. But scarcely
has it taken up its place when an
X-ray bursts into the atom.
Sucking up the energy of the ray.
the electron darts off again on its
next adventure"
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26
IT SEEMS TO ME BY H Ezg4S

PRACTICALLY everything that
L has been said and written so far
about the effort to fumigate New
York has been along the basis of
punishment which ought to be Wis
tied upon the corrupt and the in
efficient.
This is a very necessary part of
any cleansing process. But there
is a corollary which, of late, has
been neglected.
1t is a trite observation, and,
even so, most of us have forgotten
that there also is the very ueful
work of .applauding and reward
ing men who have done well.
Naturally, I have a specific in
stance in mind. I am thinking of
man who seems to be in some
danger of missing a well-deserved
promotion because he is fit and
capable.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26
SCIENCE
RY DAVID DIETZ


Majority Of Stars Haze a
Temperature at Their Gem
ter Of Forty Million De-
greeS.
TIE nearest star is twenty-five
Il trillion miles away. so far away
that its light takes 4 Is years ia
reach us. But in spite of that fact.
astronomer now carry on discus
sions about the interior states OF
stars and paint pictures Of whas
those fiery infernos must be like.
Studies Of stellar interiors are i'm
portant because modern theories OF
the evolution of stars rest upon
them. Astronomers arrive at their
notions of the insides Of stars from
considerations OF the size, mass.
and temperature of stars and the
nature of the radiation emitted by
them.
In the modern view, a star is
great furnace or machine engaged
in production Of heat and light.
DR.. Walter S. Adams, director OF
Mt. Wilson observatory, describes
the stars as huge laboratories Of
the sky"
Surface temperatures Of stars
range from about 1900 degrees
centigrade for red stars to about
10000 degrees for blue-white ones.
1t is thought, however, on the
basis Of calculations by Sir Arthur
Eddington, that the great majority
of stars have a temperature at the
center Of 100000 degrees.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26

Ideals and opinions expressed
in this column are those OF
one of Americas most inter-
esting writer's and are pre-
sented without regard to their
agreement or disagreement
with the editorial attitude of
this Daper.-The Editor.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26

Editor. Journal Of the American Medical
Association and of Hygeia, the Health
Magazine.
TASES in the courts sometimes
~ cause unusual interest in scien-
tific subjects. At present. there is
muCi discussion of the case involv-
in inheritance of the color Of the
eyes.
1t has been well established that
the color Of the eyes is inherited,
according to the Mendelian law.
MendeI established the fact that
the chromosomes, which are struc-
lures within the cell from which the
species develop, carry with them
certain definite characteristics.
Eye color is one of the character
istics carried in this way. 1t can be
shown that the environment in
which a person lives, his diet, and
other factors may modify to some
extent the structure of his body.
No method is known Of altering
eye color through environmental
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-03-26
The New Air ExnrnSC

Good news is the announcement that STRAIGHT
through day and night, coast-to-coast air pas
senger service will be started April by National Air
Transport and Boeng Air Transport
Passengers then can fly, with stops only for fuel
from San Francisco to New York, via Chicago. in
twentyeight hours, and in the opposite direction in
thirty-one hours.
Heretofore, transcontinental air passengers either
have taken train at night, or stopped over at a
hotel On the new service they will spend the night
in reclining chairs high in the air The next step must
be the Pullman plane.
There are two reasons why people at present do
not ride Pullman planes. First there aren't any;
second, people are afraid to. Soon travellers will
learn that if an airliner is going to crash, which is
unlikely it won't hurt the passenger any more living
down than sitting up.
Night is the logical time for business men to fly,
because they waste valuable business time The
new through service will be real service to them
Within year, the other two transcontnenta routes
will be doing the same.
Now provide besides safety, more speed "a twenty
four-hour crossing, say and Pullman planes.