davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28
THE MAKER OF LENSES
(Ncw York Tlmes)

On the 300 anniversary of hig birth Jew and Gentle alike do honor to Spinoza--the man who once drew fierce communication upon himself. He has an especial claim upon Americans. Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Indcpen- dcnce with his principles in mind. Royce. Lowell, Emerson. the whole New England school of philoso- phers drank from his Ethica. There Is not q school of thought to-day but owes something to the man who preferred to preserve his intellectual freedom by grinding lenses for q living than to stultify himself by accepting pensions and profcssorships.
 With him begins q long line of mathematical philosophers of whom Einstein is q type. He be- longs to a time when the physical method was winning it's first trl- umphs in the interpretation of na- ture. Likc ours his Interpretation was partly mathematical. partly mystical. Everything was reduced to mechanism--even the mind. One thing alone was Fundamental. and that was substance. God and sub stance were identical.
 A modern physicist may smile al this. To him atoms are immaterial .--mere collections of events that happen to electrons. The reason- ing Is a little crooked. Unable to treat the atom as piece of mech anism because he cannot predict what clcctrons will do from one moment to another. the psysiciat must deal with probabilities, like q life- Insurance actuary. Probabili- ties imply events. Hence atoms. arc collections of events. It Is hard for us to abandon Spinoza's no-. ton tiint the chairs on which we sit md the tissues of our bodies arc substantial in his sense. So we tnke heart when we see whnt has happened to one model of the atom after another In the last ten years. To- days atom, this wrath. will go the way of the rest. Indeed. t must TO, There Is no unity in ria- ture now, what with universe youngcr than its stars. and what with atoms that follow different laws from the wheeling planets There is something repugnant about the modern fine-spun equa- tions in which the universe turns itself inside out and in which time ir reversible. Mere mathematical moonshinc. Spinoza calls to us over tho dim reaches of the past that there is unity. Logic demands it. And gcience must find 1t again --pcrhaps with Spinoza's aid.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28
Kids Without School

More than three million boys and girls from to l7 years of age are out of school and two-thirds of them are gainfully em- ployed. With few exceptions they all ought to be in school. They are not old enough or strong enough to assume lifes responsibili- ties. Their education is far from complete. There are jobless adults who need the work some of the children are doing. The million boys and girls neither in school nor at work present still other problems in their idle ness. their lack of education and character training. and so on.
 It is hard to keep children in school when economic pressure closes the schools and drives children to support families whose normal wage earners cannot get work. Finding the way out of this maze is 3 job for parents and educators and all other in- ssuigsnt citizens.
 Is has been suggested that where school funds will not cover all normal school fune
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28
A Book a Day
by BRUCE CATION
Tells How Men Have Fought
 To Set Death Back

In Men Against Death" Paul de Kruif voices the perfectly human complaint that he doesn't want to die. He strolls along the windy shore of Lake Michigan, enjoying life so deeply that every breath he draws and every glance from his eyes bring him ecstasy---it can be like that, by the way, along Lakc Mfchigan--and he begins to won- der what promise medical science may have for him in his quest for a longer life.
 Men Against Death" is the book in which he studies medicines up- hill battle to afneliorate the inex- orable downward trend of the life line as statistlcians have plotted 1t.
 He finds good deal of encour- agement. He tells how devoted and heroic doctors triumphed in their war on pernicious anemia. on diabetes, on syphilis. He recounts the brave and unassumlng way in which officers of the U. $. Public Health Service went to fight spot ted fever and parrot fever--and, some of them, lost their lives doing 1t. He recalls the discoveries that have been made about the healing power of the sun itself.
 It isn't all sweetness and light. That curve in the life line still dips downward. But some fine brains and stout hearts are in the battle line, and the drama of their achievements Is inspiring and en- couraging. Mir de Kru.t has writ the an absorbing book in which tho human values of the long fight get their full dues.
 Published by Harcourt Brace and company. his book sells for S35O.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28
The .Weiehtiest Problem

Congress will convene in short session next week. It is faced by the same problems that have been. hanging over it for some months now. But today they are magnified and demand more than the cursory attention that they have received in the past. In short they should be solved before the 72nd Congress passes out of existence To date its accomplishments are nothing to boast about. There remain only scant few months in which the body can redeem itself. Let us hope that it's mark will be made per- haps by the first of the year.
 Inasmueh as December IS marks an in- stallment date for payments by our foreign debtors it behooves Congress to spend it's first working hours on some solution or working plan whereby this nation may be- come something more than mere Shylock to those nations indebted to it. Foreign countries seem to think that the United States does not thoroughly understand the position in which they are. Perhaps we don't understand it well enough. but on one thing we are quite sure. namely, conditions in this nation resemble those in the world If our foreign debts must be erased with one clean sweep, what about our private debts. Why should any of us feel obligated for mere dollars, when debtor nations can cross million dollars debts off their ledgers with sweep of the penl
 And why should Uncle Sam sympathize with belligerent European nations whose onAo4uor suAn kty votiatlo uomo reports. is to increase armaments and naval forces to prevent an adjacent nation boosting larger ones7 We don't see how any nation could expect to pay off it's foreign debts if SO mach attention is going to be paid to pre- pairing for the next war, dismal as IS the thought of it. It will take some convincing evidence of sincerity upon the part of the European nations before Uncle Sam is ready to forget about the money owed to him. The hcmses of Congress cannot be expected to provide good working plan with regard to debt settlements. But President Hoover and his aides should certainly be qualified to do this. And if President-Eleet Roosevelt doesn't like it when he assumes office next March. 1t won't require much effort to unbuild 1t.
 In the order of their importance unem- ployment relief and prohibition repeal came next on the congressional calendar The two are more or less joined. in that the lat ter will certainly be contributory factor in speeding up employment and turning sur plus crops into useful products. Naturally farm relief is an adjunct of unemployment relief. One cannot be accomplished without the other being affected. We shall certainly J,,, ar the forces of depression in the nation. If the world looks to the United States to lead the way back to more comfortable living and job for every man. then don't let us disappoint the world.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28
Here, There And EDeryphere

ternoon newspaper that later be- came tho Times-Leadcr and. short ly before 1t ceascd publication, the New Haven Times
 For years he was present at sessions of the general assembly. reporting its work for his publi- cation, in which effort he was markedly successful. He was genial, especially kind to reporters who covering their first session and who at first were inclined to look upon tho halls of legislation as q madhouse. He became, before his crrecr was closed a tremendous source of information, not all of which he himself would publish. He was ardcntly devoted to his own newspaper. which deserved Il better fate that that which befeIi 't. end one feels that It's end caused him sorrow.
 We doubt if there aro any newspaper men now at Work who covered the first session at which he figured as editor and reporter of the Now Haven Leader, nor are there many who worked with him no longer ago that the session of 1901. He was in . sense 9last leaf.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28

The latest reports are placing Alfred E. Smith of New York in the Philippine Is- lands as governor general. We sincerely
 trust that President Elect Roosevelt won't send the democratic presidential candidate of 1928 10 far-off Manila. It's all right for President Hoover and other republican ehleftains to put Teddy Roosevelt. Jr
 in charge of affairs over there. He needs to acquire some such training before he quali- fies for the bigger things that his party may have in store for him in the nation. But not so Mir Smith. His record is too im- pressivc to need a few years in the Philip pines to give it'any color. What Mr Roose- welt does or feels about any such appoint ment is. of course. unknown as yet The governor isn't eonfiding. even to his most intimate friends just what course of action he will take after his inauguration next March. But if there is one thing of which most of us can be reasonably sure il is that he won't deprive himself of the counsel and aid of Mr Smish. At Washington MT Smith could be of invaluable service to the entire democratic party. He might also be of aid
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28

Rockport. Mass. is a pleasant town in which to live under normal conditions. But these are abnormal times. However resi- dents of Rockport can't quite believe that a depression should have caused the pigs of the vicinity to go wild. And that is just what has happened. One section of the town has become the hunting ground of band of wild porkers and the chief of police isn't giving anybody permission to go hunting them. Why not an organized pig hunt with the proceeds to go to the needy of the town. Fresh pork is relished by the best of men,
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28
a[EQ|ipsg g[|972

the debtors must now sell half as much again in commodities to come out even.
 Substantial increase In world prices would make payment that much easier for the debtors in the same way higher agricultural prices would aid our debt-ridden farmers.
 The process of payment be- comes a matter of transferring property rights in goods and ser- vices from debtor to creditor, which means that the debtor must buhd up an export surplus which the creditor nation will receive.
 But we do not want goods which would compete with our own in- dustries, so we have set up q high tariff wall against them. Other countries, have followed suit. Foreign trade of the debtor coun- tries has dropped 40 per cent since 1929, largely blocking that mode of payment.
 Debts must be paid in gold. Debtor countries, except France have almost no gold. So they must buy dollars with which to pay us. They can do that, but here again they are hard hit, for the currency with which they must buy dollars is depreclated-- the British pound. for instance. from $4.S6 to $3.30. representing an added debt burden of 25 per cent.
 Those are the main facts as to the "can't pay" story. Sad as the story Is. 1t dc"s not discourage the common Am e,fcan contention that the debtors ought to cut their huge expenditures for ornaments and that any revision must be worked out with primary consideration for provisions likely to aid general eco- homie revival and American trade in particular.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28
So They Say

I have always wanted to write poetry and I was 45 before I had time for 1t.
 W. J. Funk, member of publish
 ing firm of Funk < Wagnalls.
 sas
 The old brass band of the small town was a great institution. Most people got their first thirst for music from 1t.
 Edwin Franko Goldman, band
 master.
 would compel every solvent merchant and supply man to buy one-third more goods this year than last, if had the power to do 50.
 --Atiee Pomcrene, chairman. Re- construction Finance Corpora
 ton.
 Mink coats and period furniture are not always possible, but at least we can have omlets that are soft and melting, and soups that are savory and even beans that are succulent and satisfying. ---sheila Hibben, cook book com-
 piier.
 The chief danger inhering in un- iversity clrc.es Is that they will become so intellectualizcd and standardized that their pIinbility and usefulncss as educational in- stitution will be minimized. if not destroyed.
 ---Dr Lotus Delta Coffman, presi-
 dent, University of Minnesota.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28
Cheap Electric Lamps

About year ago Japan began flooding this country with cheap electric light bulbs, sold mainly in chain stores and retailing for 10 cents. Six months ago the General Electric Company. which was bearing the brunt of this competition. brought out ten-cent bulb SO much better than the for eign article that it is driving the latter out of the market.
 The Japanese manufacturers meanwhile seem to have captured the American market for miniature bulbs such as are used in flash lights. automobiles and on Christmas trees. Probably more than 50,000,000 of these will be imported duripg the present year. They are laid down in our market at about one cent each and can be bought three for a nickel, whereas the cheapest miniature bulb the American makers can produce will not sell for less than five cents.
 This invasion, though by no means big industrial disaster. is serious as far as it goes; it deprives American workmen of jobs which mean wages of perhaps $2.300.000 year. Tariff rates offer no remedy against such cheap goods. Nothing short of abso- 1ute prohibition would keep them out.
 There is better way with these tiny lamps, as there was with the others. The Jap bulbs are so poorly made, say electrical ex- perts that they have cost American pur- chasers $8.000.000 more in their electric current bills than the more expensive Amer ican bulbs cost. Make the consumers un- derstand this. and they will do the rest. Similar campaigns of enlightenment would solve many foreign competition problem
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28
THE CANT PAY" CRY FROM MEANS "yyT: SHOULDN'T HAVE
 Tn fbN AT,n RAEVlv

MEANS "yyTs SHOULDN'T HAVE
 TO ON OLD BASIS"
 Wnshington-~W When anyone says that the allies "can't pay" their debts he means that payment is q lot harder than 1t used to be.
 They still have the capacity to pay, but that capacity to pay, long ago taken as Il yardstick by this country in negotiating the war debt agreements, has altered materially and is under q far greater strain.
 If the original settlements were altogether fair all around, some revision would now be necessary to readjust the debt burden back to it's relative weight in the pre- depression period.
 The position of the allied debt DTS in demanding revision closely resembles that of American farm. CTS who demand some form of re- lief from debts which. because of very low farm prices, are driving so many of them into bankruptcy and foreclosure.
 Whereas the farmer frequently has no means whatever of paying, foreign governments theoretically can raise any amount of money by taxing their people. But taxes in Europe already are sky-high and must be used in greatly in- creased proportion for debt pay ments if payments are to be made on the existing schedule under present conditions.
 This article merely discusses the "can't pay" phase of the vastly complicated problem. as to which the most Important concrete facts are the following:
 Tho $2,628, 900. 900 already paid to ,is by the allies has come. in effect, from German reparations which have come, in effect, from German borrowings in the United States. Credits to Germany vlr- tually ceased at about the time our depression began.
 The allies recently vitually cancelled reparations by scaling them down to STA. .000, 900. on nI agreement technically contingent upon debt revision.
 It is well to remember that thls was done not for the fun of it, but because continued insistence on regular Germhn payments might have led to financial and economic collapse and political disturbances In Europc--the thing Hoover acted to avert in his fam ous rnortorium. Preparations seem permanently cut off as q source of revenue.
 Original settlements were based on continued improvement of Eu- rope'g economic condition. with no contemplation of or provision for the great worldwide depression.
 Huge obligations such as the war debts ultimately have to be paid In goods and services. Wholesale prices over the world have de- caned more than third since the debts were funded, 1t is pointed out by the committee of economists on interg0yernmental debts. which means that the burden of payments has increased 50 per cent because
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28

We'll. well. it's happened after all these years. Uncle Toms Cabin" has gone modern. It happened in Troy. N. Y.. last week where just 80 years afEr the first pres entation of the famous Harriet Beeeher Stowe epic. it was repeated. There was no ascension of Little Eva to Heaven via the wire hook. That would be too crude for us modeFns. Nor were the ice cakes of pleas ant memories there Even the bloodhounds were missing And what was Uncle Toms Cabin" without the bloodhounds. We can't ever recall the show visiting Waterbury that the populaee wasn't treated to street parade in which the bloodhounds played . conspicuous part. They weren't really bloodhounds but mastffs of some descrip- ton. The play may have gone modern af- ter 80 years, but it won't be as popular as the good old presentation with its trappings and trimmings.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28
YOU CAN'T MAKE HIM PAY
(Meriden Journal)

Waterbury started tho year with It's tax rate at 34 mills which would cover the budget If tho people could pay 1t. Of course, they couldn't pay any such taxes; most 2 fthem would probably be glad lf they could pay half Of 34 mills. The result Is what might have been expected: Comptroller Daniel J. Leary finds tax receipts off $1,250,- 900 and, fears he will not be nble to meet payroll requirements for the balance of the year.
 You can tax property holder but you can't make him pay when he hasn't got the whercwlthal. And 1t won't avail city much to ac- quire lot of property by fore- closure for taxes. Take slant at conditions in Chicago where over q taxpayers protest the court has en- tered an order Of judgment and sale against ,000 parcels of prop erty on which s22.o0o, 900 are duo
 These arc 1880 taxes and tho situation in tho collection of 1881 and 1892 taxes threatens to Dc appalling. Just picture the plight of the thousands of people who must lose their property through bad municipal management com bined with tho depression. And perhaps you will wonder who will buy all this property and when 1t will take it's respectable place on tho tax llBt again.
 Distressed cities can blame sQ good part of their trouble to tho bIundcring public officials who could not guago the paying capa- city of the people. They thought that all they had to do was to plan the spending and tho income would take care of itscif. 1t has fallen far below expectations in many cities and in others the crisis will Do reached this year.
 T4afss nwUanfa an Aarlx, fysAraaea
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28

ilona lhl unavoidable cuts Dt made in lhi lower gr,iss School opportunities for the older children should be maintained at as high standard as possible. 70 prepare thfm better for the battle with life which lies just ahead of them. and 10 prevent throw ing a food of cheap child labor on the market. It is complex problem. but one worthy of the best intelligence and courage sthe nation possesses.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28
COLONEL PICKETT
fIInrtford Courant)

Newspaper mon and former members Of tho general assembly revived mapy memories when they read of tho death in New Haven on Thursday Of Colonel Charles ". Pickett. He was for 10 odd years in Slcwspnper work in New Haven and for much of that time was editor of what was known Ut first as the New Haven Leader, an af-
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28
QUITE A LITTLE MAN.

small in Egype. A .year-oid youth arrived in Cairo recently to report for military duty with the other men of the village of Beni Hodeir. This youth measured the astounding height of 24 inches in his stocking feet, and weighed proud because he had been called for military duty.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28

Yes. sir. it really has happened. All the Vox Peppers in one town have come to- gether and broken bread. It happened in this fashion. The Richmond, Va, Times-Dis- patch sponsored banquet for all the con tributors to its public forum department. And what bandying of words there was then. No problem was too weighty or com plex for those wielders of the pen. What letters this event will now produce.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28
Roosevelt Is wet, Hoover is dry, Beer you may get lli the sweet bye-and-bye.
THE REASON WHY
They found out why sfsc mnrrit A him.

They found out why shc married
 him
 He's not at all good IOoking-- It was because the dear boy does The dishes and the cooking.
 o>-O--o
 A member of the New York Stock Exchange bought $25, 900 brick Of gold bullion as n souvenir the other day In Alaska. That sounds reasonable. considering some of the prices people paid for gold bricks in Wall street q couple Of years ago.
 o--O--o
 Several years ago, if we remcm- Der correctly. q Detroit paragraph CT said that what this country needs is suit Of clothes composed Of three pairs of pants and two coats. This year that might be extended to include aD overcont.
 o---O---o
 Tine name of the winner of the Nobel prize is Sir chrand- rasekhnra Venlsata Haman and 1t seems to tm that some school pupils should get some kind of award for pronounclng fl .J 4
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28
Personal Health Seruice
 (By William Brady, M. D.

Signed letters uertaining to personal health and hygicuc. not disease diagnosis or treatment, wlli bc answered by Dr Brady Address hiin. care Of the Democrat 1ending stamp and addressed envelope.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-28

We always knew public ownership and operation of utilities wouldn't work; and since Insults debaee we're mot any too sure of private ownership.