davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1931-05-20
General Robert Dunlap.

Obeying an instructive impulse Of
succor, General Robert Dunlap, gallant
ofiicer OF the American Marines, went
to his death yesterday In France in
an effort TO save q woman from peril.
There Was not an instant'S hesitation
on his part when he saw the danger
Of the gaping earth and the crumbling
wall Of an old structure weakened by
time and the Eubsidence OF the soil.
With him went the womSn's husband,
quick TO answer her cries for help. The
wall fell and all three were buried.
This morning the bodies CT the two
men were brought out and the woman
was found TO be living, though
desperately injured.
Washington is deeply grieYed at this
tragedy, for Robert Dunlap was a native
Of this city and intimately known here.
He had q brilliant career in the Marine
service and had won many honors. He
was rated as q splendid example OF the
American soldier. He was in France
for special study In the Language, and
1t Is an infinite pity that he should
have been taken by such . mlschance
Just when he was at the point Of his
greatest usefulness to his service.
Evening star., 1931-05-20

country. II has been announced by
the Farm Board that it does not intend
to make purchases Of the 1891 wheat
crop. A campaign OF education has
been started, seeking to inform the
farmers who grow wheat In regard to
the world situation and the need Of
curtailment Of the wheat acreage In
this country
But the problem Of wheat extends
throughout tho world. It cannot be
solved by the United States alone or by
Canada or Russia or Australia or the
Argentine. The conference now as
semhling in London has been summoned
to look at 1t from an international point
OF view. With a great overproduction
OF this commodity. the exporting nations
are faced with the need OF cooperative
action II there Is to,be a return to aby-
thing like the normal situation with re-
gard to wheat. Yet it is doubtful II any
agreement regarding curtailment of
wheat acreage and production can be
worked out. None OF the exporting
countries wishes to retire from the export
field. The sale OF their wheat is matter
OF vital Importance to their farmers
Because Of this situation, the difficulty
attending any plan for the allotment of
the export market to the nations seems
insurmountable. And yet, If nothing is
done, If the nations must continue to
engage in this wheat war, 1t is trnpos-
sible to measure the extent of the harm
which may result.
The wheat situation is attributable. in
large part, to the World War. In the
war period Russia and the wheat
producing countries OF Central Europe
ceased to export wheat. Other ma
tions, among them the United States,
Argentina, Canada and Australia, ex-
panded their production Of wheat
enormously. Importing countries also
turned to wheat production. But with
Russia back again as the biggest produc-
ing nation of all, and Central Europe
exporting more and more wheat, the
situation has become constantly more
serious. The sole answer seems to be
the production Of less wheat the world
over. But the big question Is, Where is
the curtailment to be made and how?
What nation Is willing to relinquish, in
part, its production? The American
wheat farmers, for example, regard ad-
vice to curtail their acreage as an effort
to interfere with their business. And,
furthermore, how Is the individual
farmer to be made to conform to any
plan for the reduction OF the acreage
Sown in wheat?
Efforts may properly be made TO in
crease the consumption Of wheat which
1t is reported has been more and more
restricted for one reason or another.
But a campaign of such q character
will not meet the situation completely.
With the United States producing
something like 2O0,0oo.O0o bushels of
wheat a year on the average in excess
Of domestic wants, and with the ex-
portable surplus Of Russia probably
$50 900 900 bushels or more this year,
and still other nations turning out vast
quantities for the world market. the
power to consume would have TO be
expanded beyond human limits TO take
care Of the surplus wheat.
Evening star., 1931-05-20
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

saw q man entering his own house
about am. with mysteriously cylin-
drical package under his arm. What S
in that?" asked the policeman. Some
sugar for my tea" was the reply.
Thereupon the cop cracked the house
holder over the Uranium and said,
Well, here's two Jumps for your coco!''
= -
Elmer Roberts, dean Of American
newspaper correspondents In Europe, Is
visitor to Washington. He was re-
Gently retired with full honors from the
service of the Associated Press, which he
represented successfully at London, Ber-
lin and Paris over period OF 80 years
No American alive has been more init
mately behind the scenes of Old World
affairs during that epochal span of in
ternational history. A native Of In
diana, like 50 many notable knights oi
the portable typewriter, Roberts now
makes his nome in Paris, his last "A. p
post, but is flirting with the idea of i'm
migrating 10 Washington. He is back in
this country to attend the forty-flfth re-
union OF his class at the De Pauw Uni
versity, whire he was clasSmate of the
late Albert J. Beyeridge. While in
Washington, Roberts paid visit OF
homage to the tomb OF his old chief
49, NNNAASJ A4A LAAC ANdIlOIldl "a
thedral.
Washington in mid-May IS at its SUI
preme loveliest. absence of cherry bios
SONS TO the contrary notwithstanding.
Ihe Capitals tree-bowered avenues
and circles, Rock Creek Park, the Po-
tomac Speedway and q score of other
points and parts are now ablaze with
Springtime beauty and challenge the
admiration OF all visitors For an In
comparable nighttime vista, this OBJ
server recommends q glimpse of the
shimmering dome of the Capitol
through the trees from the broad front
steps OF the Library Of Congress.
Representative Ruth BRYAN Owen.
Democrat, OF Florida Is looking for a
title for her recently completed book
on the art Of public speaking. Some
body whom she consulted for advice
on the subject recalled the experience
a budding authoress had with the late
William Dean Howells. Shed asked
that famous novelist to christen her
first masterpiece after reading $50
pages OF manuscript. THAT won't be
necessary" he said. "Just tell me If
there's anything In your book about
hteS and drums" Astounded, she re-
piled: Not a syllable" Whereupon
Howells rejoined: well, call it With
out Flies or Drums"
copyright, 1s3l)
Evening star., 1931-05-20
rheorizing Held Vain
In Solving Problems

To the Editor OF The Star:
In your editorial on More Theoriz-
ing" you doubt whether any beneficial
result could come from a conference
to discuss causes Of and how to avoid
depression and unemployment. All ex-
rect. Not q single analysis has yet
been submitted or q single feasible
plan proposed at any Of the numerous
conferences 90 far held. It II obvious
that none of the confereeS Is uualified
by education or experience to do that
particular Job, notwithstanding that
they are each marvelously efficient in
his own particular line. Henry Ford
is probably the most advanced, but
there Is one aspect on which he has
never touched-the most important Of
all-and it Is the aspect that he never
would see, even II he saw the general
adoption OF his ideas followed by Q
still worse depression and greater un-
employment, such as would certainly
come. These mems mental vision Is
so centered on what touches them indi-
yidually that they cannot see anything
outside Of that field. A mere practi-
tioner never discovers the new and
better that makes for progress. That
Is done by a totally different type Of
people. And every one Of these con-
ferees Is q mere practitioner.
Here Is how the problem may be
solved, and the only way In which It
can be solved:
Some unknown student finds the
prime cause. He tells 1t to others. And
so that fact becomes known to still
others. The average citizen, however.
cannot see the connection, although 1t
Is very simple. And so progress to-
ward solution is checked But another
student then realizes that, while the
ordinary mind cannot see the connec-
ton, 1t can be made to see how one
is injured by 1t. He points that out
to others. That spreads. Mr.. Average
Citizen then grows indignant; he be-
gins to blame certain others for his
troubles. Revolt Is imminent Then
another student points out that It Is not
others that are responsible, but the prime
cause. and that the prime cause must
be removed, and that that can only be
done by law, and that enough must
organize to compel the legislators to
enact the law that will remove the
prime cause. Then comes a race be-
tween revolt and reconstruction. Revolt
rapidly grows. in the form OF crime
increase. Stupidity tries to meet that
with more police and more 1ails. That,
Of course, fails.
The only conference that can help
in any way to solve the problem is one
in which all who choose may be heard
the foolish as well as the wise Tin
every conference so far all were fool
ish). to be given the widest publicity
in the press, and then the public will
have chance to decide which i: wise
and which Is foolish, and each may
be enlightened and come to feel his
or her own responsibility and vote. not
for a political party, but to elect a
candidate who would remove the prime
cause or defeat one who had failed to
try to remove the prime cause.
c. B. HEMINGWAY.
Evening star., 1931-05-20
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

! sons, but few Of them have been any
good. The psychology Of the AcouStical
Society definition is acute, Noise Is
any uncesired sound"
| The mind of the listener has as much
to do with 1t. then, as his ears. II not
more so. Those who do not happen to
be sensitive to the particular noise put
on looks Of loftinesS and declare, You
should use will power"
Will power has little, II anything, to
do with it. The mind of the listener,
having gathered in the sound, or noise
insists on keeping it.
What the critic does not realize il
that the mind will build this noise up
for itself, II the noise insists on abating.
Nothing less than complete extinction
will satisfy the human mind, In the case
Of noises. or undesirable sounds.
The ticking of a clock may be an
undesirable sound. Go get an electric
one, then.
Herbert Spencer the English philos-
opher, got so wrought up by extraneous
noises that he invented for himself q
pair Of ear muffS. which it is said he
even wore to the theRter, that he might
sleep in peace there.
1t may be said definitely OF the man
who Is annoyed by noises that his pow
ers of concentration are not what they
ought TO be, perhaps, and that he does
not possess the instant sleeping powers
of a farm hand.
The man who boasts that "he car
/ sleep anywhere" should thank Nature
/ for an excellent constitution. The joke
| is that year from now he may be COM
planning about something or other. You
never can be sure; that Is why 1t pays
! to be fair and square with others, and
above all, decent in the matter oi
noises.
! II Fritz Kreisler should move into
your neighborhood and insist on prac-
| ticing from IL pm. to or am, we
are afraid that the sounds from his
glorious violin would become noise te
| you, sooner or later.
Particularly later
| The famous bandsman who learned
! his chief instrument by blowing the
same note for four hours a day, day
after day, through every note in every
scale, no doubt brought cries Of muf'
fed anguish to scores Of neighbors.
SO we see that we have come Ions
way from the French word noise,
meaning . quarrel or brawL
Whats that noise?" one says TO one.
self. waking in the night.
Even the bravest soul is glad at times
for noise. for without it there would bt
no warning.
Under primitive conditions noises are
either friendly or unfriendly. The ami
mails, for all they live among us, still
! live under those conditions.
They will start at every noise anc
prick up their ears, but win lie dowr
again If the noise Is an accustomed
sound.
If it is friendly, it will mean nothing
to them.
Man, under civilization, tends tc
bring in his own personality, until the
/ Acoustical Society boldly and honestly
gives the world the definition, Noise
/ Is any undesired sound"
| Noise, in other words, Is q sound you
don't like, don't want to hear. 1t Is ar
intruder in your symphony of life.
/ Every man his own photographer
! Such Is the precedent set by the Acous-
! tical Society of America. 1t is a SteI
forward up the ladder called the rights
of man.
Evening star., 1931-05-20

Noise is any undesired sound" says
| the Acoustical Society Of America. de-
fning the word scientifically for the
| first time.
webster may not be quite SO scien-
tiflc, but 1t has some pretty good defini-
| tions:
/. Loud, confused, or senseless
uproar Of persons.
2. General. or common, talk or dis
cusSion: rumor; report.
g. Sound or sound Of any sort
whether loud or harsh, or low, pleas
ant or melodiouS; also, noises collec-
| lively: as, the city and its noise.
The concise oxford says: Noise
loud outcry, clamor, shouting, din OF
voices and movements: any sound, espe-
cially loud or harsh one.
The definition OF the Acoustical So
ciety shifts the meaning by putting
the definition. in reality, in the hands
of the listener.
The greatest symphony orchestra sin
the world might become a noise, under
| this definition, to a man who was try
ing to sleep in a building next door.
A student studying for the bar might
easily enough construe the words OF
| great orator as a noise, pure and
simple.
II undesired by him. it would be q
noise, according to this definition.
| X 4
! Now this is what every one has sus-
pected for himself. and the Acoustical
| Society OF America is doing no more
than upholding the general opinion
after all.
Cities the world over are full oi
noise. American cities, especially In
the crowded areas, are good places fol
all to find undesirable noises.
| Every man makes his own definition
| to suit himself, as, indeed. every person
| hauer, the German philosopher, year;
ago wrote an essay Against the Crack
ing of Whips"
Whips no longer bother mankind
but modern cities have radios, which
| perhaps, are a great deal worse. What
| is one mans music Is another mans
/ noise.
Schopenhauer, who was generally &C
| counted q queer cuSs. could see no rea.
spend so much time and energy crack.
ing their long whips.
! Uncounted thousands Of person;
throughout America today can see nc
| earthly reason why so many other un-
| counted thousands should nun theil
radios night and day, rs loud as they
can make them blast.
A noise is mostly the way you fee
| about it.
Even the man in a small row com.
munity, who is madly trying to go u
sleep, realizes that the Sapleighs acros,
the alley are having a good time al
their so-called wild party"
He admits TO himself, between curses
that he might find aspects of enjoy.
ment in the affair himself, II he were
there in person. as the radio announc.
| ers insist on saying (although why
not even the announcers themselves
! know.
Surely he would find Matte, who i,
half-soused, and insists on telling tho
world she is at least once every min.
ute, diverting creature.
1t Is fun to Matte, but something
! else to the listener, and, If he Is q
| wise man, he moves away to q better
bred neighborhood.
| ~
Inventors have attempted to devise
ear muf1iers" for noise-sensitiye per-
Evening star., 1931-05-20
NAYS Crime Record to Date.

The month of May Is making q sin
lister record in Washington. Crime fol-
lows crime in q sequence so persistent
that the thought is induced that per-
haps the Chicago racketeers and gang
sters have shifted operations to this
city. Some Of the happenings are
strongly suggestive Of Capone methods.
OF course, it may be that the gunmen
and hold-up performers who are keep
ing the police cars on the hop in this
city are only borrowing the technique
and adopting the methods of the West
ern metropolis. However that may be,
there Is certainly an undue amount OF
misbehavior, with tragic results. in
Washington just at present.
Early in the month two men robbed
the branch post office at Sixth street
and Pennsylvania avenue and got away
with $500, without inf1icting physical
injuries; they have not been identified
or caught, to date A few days later
two men were caught while attempting
TO rob q Wisconsin avenue fllling sta
ton; they were suspected Of having
been engaged in other depredationS. but
without definite proof. A lone bandit
tried to rob a telegraph branch ONCE
and a suspect was captured. Thieves
invaded the premises Of foreign lega-
ton and got away with quantity CT
diplomatic" liquor and inflicted serious
injuries upon the person OF the charge
d'affaires. Two men were caught while
engaged In attempting to open safe at
an automobile supply shop. -Four were
arrested in consequence Of a melee
which police believe to have been
caused by q quarrel between rival beer
eangsters. A man was mortally wounded
in fight in a speakeasy. presumably
in consequence OF a dispute over
gambling losses, the victim dying soon
afterward. A motion picture theater
manager and his aide were held up in
the ONCE by one man and cash was
taken. A man who has had some
connection with the underworld was
put on the spot" in an alley near his
residence, in the downtown section OF
the city, and was mortally wounded.
Such have been the principal events
in Washington in what may be only a
sporadic outbreak Of hold-up crime
and racketeering. In addition there
was a shocking triple shooting at a
popular resort in the heart of town,
the result being dead policeman, a
possibly fatally wounded resort man
ager and q dead pistol user, who took
his own life. This tragedy had no
relationship to the series CT other
crimes, but gave . sinister accompani-
ment to them, to stir the community
deeply.
Washington is now equipped with a
system Of radio motor patrols, permit
ting speedy response to calls for help
and reports Of crime. The police force
Is probably at its most eficient in
point of rapidity Of action. In some
OF the cases already cited as forming
the May record to date this swift sery-
ice has perhaps worked 10 the point
Of catching the lAw-breakers in the
act or in attempting escape. In point
OF public losses the record is . light
one. Only q few hundred dollars OF
money and q small consignment OF
liquor have been stolen. II the Cap
ital has been selected as q field Of
operations by ganssters q experience
other cases will undoubtedly occur. with
heavier losses, and perhaps greater
casualties.
Evening star., 1931-05-20
Concerning Building Inspectors.

Progress thus FAR In the inquest lnlo
the death of a workman on the Stuart
Junior High School construction serves
again to raise the question OF the
duties and responsibilities OF the Dis
tricts building inspectors and what
course Is left for the building inspector
whose instructions are not obeyed. The
same question, with the attendant con-
fusion In the public mind as to the
ability Of the Districts ofncials to
make sure that all specifications are
vigorously fulfilled by contractors and
subcontractorS, Is at the bottom OF the
demand for a congressional investiga-
ton of school construction work which
Senator Capper has taken under ad-
visement.
Ths District Code, section 173, states
that. The inspector Of buildings Of
ths District shall have authority and
control over and supervision Of the
construction and repairs Of all school
buildings II the Commissioners deem
best to delegate the same TO him." and
this power the Commissioners have
deemed best to delegate. Section All
of the Code provides that II ANY build
ing or part Of building. staging, or
other structure, or anything attached
70 or connected with any building or
any other structure" be reported un-
safe, the building inspector can cause
the same to be made safe. The time
In which the repairs must be made Is
limited 10 IL o'clock noon Of the day
following the inspectors warning.
Under certain conditions, the inspector
Of buildings, with his own crew, can
make the repairs and charge the bill
30 the owner.
Testimony before the coroner's jury
a 70 the effect that on the Thursday
preceding the accident on the high
school Job the superintendent Of the
work was warned by the inspector on
the premises Of an alleged weakness
IN q scAHold, which, It Is stated caused
the accident The warning was re-
peated twice on Friday morning. The
accident occurred about noon.
II this reported sequence Of events
bo trie, was the Districts inspector
waiting until the fatal hour Of noon
On Friday before taking final steps to
zee that his order TO repair the weak
neu was complied with? II the struc-
tlre was unsafe on Thursday, was there
any sense in permitting its use until
Friday? Did the building inspector,
with two recent cases Of construction
accidents IN mind, notify his superior
that his orders we're not being COM
piled with? In other words. what under
the sun Is an inspector supposed TO do?
The liability Of the employer in con-
struction work Is matter between the
employer and the employees and the
courts. But when steelwork crumples
in q windstorm. concrete molds col
lapse and workmen plunge through
Allegedly faulty scaffolding on three
separate public school jobs within q
relatively short time, all Of them IN
the course Of erection under the super
vision Of District inspectors, the pub
lie H justified in demanding to know
what opportunities exist for slipshoc
work that, except for accidents. would
not be Immediately revealed. And this
the District authorities % far have
unfortunately failed TO make known.
Evening star., 1931-05-20
SHOOTING STARS.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.

The Interruption.
When you're tryin' to be cheerful;
When you're doin' of your best
To avoid all topics fearful
An to give your nerves a rest
When you seek to ease your labor
With q joyouSnesS refined
You are sure to meet the neighbor
Who has something on his mind.
"Oh, the tariff Is = terroE!"
And the banks will get in wrongl'
Taxing incomes Is an error!"
And "our commerce isn't strongl"
When your mood grows gently mellow
And to mirth you are inclined,
Oh, why must you meet the fellow
Who has something on his mind2
Evening star., 1931-05-20

herself Of armed strength, Mr. Hender-
sons place on the Geneva rostrum In
1892 win have special significance.
Yesterday. in the League Council. the
British statesman identified himself
wholeheartedly with President Hoovers
recent plea for disarmament. But he
took occasion to remark, undoubtedly
also with this country in mind. that,
when all is said and done, excessively
high tariffs. rather than ornaments, are
the root OF the world economic crisis,
and, until revised, will continue to re-
tard international trade recovery.