davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04
Fixing The Yardstick

Watching the various clements of the new deal take shape these days is little bit like peering into test tube in which chemist is attempting an entirely new, elaborately com plieated kind of SynthesS - with the added factor that at least a few of the chemists on on the outskirts are not dead sure that the whole mess won't presently blow up and wreck the laboratory. Some of us find one part of the experiment most interesting, and some of us find another; but certainly one of the most striking in its potentialites is that being conducted at Muscle Shoals.
 A great many reasons were advanced for the Muscle Shoals program while it was be- ing debated, and one of the chief ones was that it would serve as yardstick by which electricity rates could be measured and it is pretty evident now that the authorities are going to do everything they can to make the yardstiek a good one. It has been an- 'nouneed already that consumers of power from Muscle Shoals will be charged. on the average. two cents per kilowatt hour.
 The significance of this figure rests upon two facts: First. that this - according to power authorities at Washington - is just a little more than half the average power rate for the nation last year. Second. that the Muscle Shoals authorities are taking the ut- most care to make the return they will re- ceive from their sale of power equal to the rssurn a privately owned utility would have to rsceiw in order to meet fixed charges, taxes. interest and depreciation.
 '-rhese rates" says David E. LilienthaL
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04
Moscou, Letter
By EUGENE LYONS
nitcd Press Stan Correspondent

United Press Stan Correspondent
 Moscow (UP) -- The courtroom was an improvised one; the lecture hall of the House of Culture in Leningad. In the pisoner's dock sat 12 men, the administrators and technical directors of three of the largest factories in the city.
 One after another these accused men were called upon to explain why the clothes, shoes and furni. ture manufactured under their al. rection was so shoddy, ugly and undependable. The explanations, true or false, were highly tecn- nical and gave the judges some worry in fixing blame. But the "crime" itself was amply proved. No doubt remained that the goods produced in those factories are Of shamefully low quality,
 Press Followed Trial. {,
 The press of the entire Soviet Union followed this show triaP, day after day with the same in- tense interest that in other 'coun- tries is devoted to divorce or mur- der trials. In the same way sev- eral weeks earlier, it had reported demonstration trial against en- gineers who had sent defective combines to the farms.
 The scene is an indication of the desperate fight now under way here to raise the quality of production. The sentences distributed to the luckless defendants were small, in some instances amounting merely to public reprimands. It was not so much a trial in the European, or American, sense of the word. as an educational and propagandist exhibit. intended to impress other factory heads with the responsibil- ity resting on their shoulders.
 Startling Details.
 The details elicited at the trial were startling enough. In all the plants under consideration the out put is often so bad that more than half the goods cannot be released for sale. Even worse. immense quantities of clothes, shoes and furniture released to the long -suf- fering Soviet public are so inferior that they fall to pieces almost be- fore they are brought home for use.
 The authorities are deeply con- scious of the low quality level of most Of their production. Through every channel of propaganda they are hammering out their insist ence upon the need for improve ment. The Soviet system has al- ready proved that it can manu- fracture goods--scores Of items for meriy imported are now made domestically, It has still 10 prove that 1t can match foreign produce ton in terms of quality.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04

Senator Sehall. republican. of Minnesota, declares that only } of our 53l congress- men in Washington have really given their support to the NRA. If those figures are correct then President Roosevelt needs to shake big black stick over the heads of his party representatives and senator's And we don't doubt but what such naeton wolud also put plenty of republicans into line. Our congressman ought to be working actively for the NRA.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04
4 Book c Day by BRUCE CATION
Finds Danger of Revolt is Slight

The danger of a revolution In the United States is very slight. Hunger and want have been wide- ly spread, but the revolutionary groups have lacked leadership and have made very little headway. What Is much more probable that our existing capitalistic so- ciety will presently be welded into a fascist state.
 You have this on the. word of a Marxist critic, Mauritz A. Hall- gr9n, who has done careful job of surveying the American scene for signes of trouble and who pre- sents his findings in Seeds of Re- volt" :.
 MT Hallgren reviews the record of the depression year and shows that there has been good deal more violence than most of us realize. The list of shootings. beatings and riots is pretty long one. But 1t does not, in Mir Hall. gren's opinion. warrant the belief that revolution Is near. The Com munists, he says, have simply failed to talk the language of the American proletariat. ~ If they have made gains in c few places like Detroit and Chicago, they have Tn the main muffed a great opportun- ity.
 That the Rooseveltian thew deal" is a peaceful revolution this writer denies vehementiy. A revo. lution, he says, is the transfer of power from one class to another. He believes that under the new deal the capitalist class is simply entrenching Itself more firmly than ever, President Roosevelt, he predicts, will merely serve as a "bridge to fascisnn."
 You'il find a lot in this book that will make you want to sit down and write letter to the ed- itor; lot, tn other words. that you will disagree with violently. But you'll also find 1t pretty in- teresting.
 Published, by Knopf, the book sells for $2.50.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04
BUYING. A LIGHT PLANT
(New York Sun)

I
 The village of Frankfort in Her. kimer country made an arrange ment with a contractor to furnish to 1t an electric lighting plant cost- ing $63,000, payment to, be made from the revenues of the lighting system in sixty monthly tnstall- mcnts. By the terms of the ar- rangement the village was to main- tain the plant and collect the bills, but the debt was specifically de- clared to be no obligation of the village; 1t was a conditional sales contract under which the property remained in the ownership of the seller until the purchase price was paid.' The power Of the village authorities to enter into such an agreement was questioned in a tax payers suit. In holding that the vil- lage law permits such an agree- ment Chief Judge Pound wrote:
 "The Village Law gives the
 widest discretion to the village
 board to make contracts for
 the expenditure. of money for
 village purposes so long as It
 does not add to the burdens of
 LdAitlOH UT UOEEOW IhVhSy Vh obligations of the village, pro-
 vided always that money is
 otherwise vailable' to meet the
 obligations of the village. The
 board might have done more ',wisely. We have nothing to say
 as to that. In fact it seems to
 have repented by a belated
 change in the village board.
 The possible lack of wisdom is
 not the lack of authority. We
 cannot run the affairs of the.
 village for it. The village
 board is responsible to the
 electors for the exercise of
 powers granted"
 Judge Pound said the village law contained nothing inconsistent with the purchase of equipment on credit without recourse to taxa tion or borrowing: payment in this case was out of specific revenues.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04
Democrat Washington Correspon-
 dent


 Washington-The A. r. of l.. convention here will ratify the do- cline of e-President Matthew Woll.
 Woll has dominated federation policies most of the time since the death of Sam Gompers. His name has been anathema to liberals and progressives In the labor movc- ment. His power began to wane about the time that Secretary Of Labor Frances Perkinns failed to recommend him for the MIRA labor advisory board.
 Short, swarthy, marked by a great shock of black hair, Woll be. came one of the most forceful windiest, most persuasive, and re- actiary speakers that labor move ment ever produced. For years he was president of the Photo. .Engra- vers' union.
 He was Sam Gompers' righthand man, the "crown prince" expected to succeed to the A. +. of l.. pres idency on Gompers' death. But at the 1921 convention he had held marshaled for Gompers against the insurgent candidacy of President John l.. Lewis of the United Mine Workers. When Gompers died, two or three years later, Lewis was strong enough on the executive council to block him and elect Wil- liam Green, then the U. M. W. sec retary-treasurer.
 Woll soon became the power be- hind Green and their names usu- ally were bracketcd. Then came NRA and a relatively aggressive group was named to the labor ad. on n membership drive which is al- legged to have enrolled 100000 new U. M. w. members. He became the strongest single factor in the A. r. of L. and 1t was his turn to domi- nate Green. a,
 The first Lewis victory will be seen when the convention passes resolution to enlarge the executive council from II members to 2S. Thus, 1t is. expected, q new machine will be created. in which Woll VIII x.a.,n onlx, n yainar vote
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04
HOMESTEAD PLAN
Bridgeport Telegraph

The plan suggested by Homer Judd of Bristol and enthusiasticai- ly sponsored by Game Commis- sioner Thomas Beck of Wilton, to put Connecticut's out-of-work men of 60 years or more on. homesteads created by the purchase of idle rural land near the cities. Is a iit- tie different from the ordinary fac- tory-and farm combination scheme which has become familiar in re- cent years.
 The Judd-Beck plan contem- plates a permanent settlement for men who. because of their ycrs, will pherhaps never return to in-
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04

dustry. The ordinary plan which has been advocated by a number of industrialists and which is be- ing tried in some communities, is based upon a combination of in- dustrial employment and home- gardening, each form of work sup plementing the other.
 Commissioner Beck would create groups of homesteads. 15 to a group, with about two acres around each house. He would sup ply the occupants with the equip ment for a garden. and with com. munity access to woodlots. etc. for fuel. The occupants of these homesteads would raise a good proportion of the food they needed. and supply many other living re- quirements by their own labor, thus reducing the present drain on the public purse.
 The difficulty in the plan. as we see 1t. Is to find men of 50. acc cvstomed wholly to industrial em- pIoyment, who are capable of rec adjustment themselves to change so radically different from their lifelong cccuuation.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04
So They Say

Russia Is almost the first coun- try where a man can wander free ly without lodging cameramen and reporters, a game that becomes an- moving after tho first few years.--- Col Chas A. Lindbergh, in Moscow interview.
 German nationalism to-day IS q pagan revolt against Christian civilization. -- Ludwig Lewisohn. novelist.
 The most effective prohibition of all is the prohibition that is foster ed by education, enlightenment and seif-controi. - Chairman Ed ward r. Mulrooney, New York New York State Liquor Board.
 =
 have always felt that religion was something to be lived, not dis cussed.-Mary Pickford, actress.
 There is no choice to American business between intelligently planned and controlled industrial operations and a return to the gold plated anarchy that masquer- aded as rugged individualism."- Donald Richberg, general counsel of MIRA.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04
Vieze,S of The Press
sCHMITTBERGER,s HAT
(Ncw York sun)

(NcW YOrk sum
 In the recent discussion of the best means for the protection of policemen's heads in summer no. body seems to have remembered that once upon a time patrolmen wore straw hats in season. The evidences of this is immortal. II can be found on page 5329, vol ume V, of the proceedings of the Lexow investigation. John W. Goff, counsel for the committee, was questioning Captain Max Schmittbergcr. on December 20, 1894, about we complaints that had been made against him as q patrolman-before he had been promoted to ,roundsman for finding Commissioner Wheelers dog:
 "Mr Goh-You were absent from post on August 26. 1874. and you. weye fined five days pay.
 "Captain schmittberger-The first case was when I was pa- trolman and when the police during hot weather wore Pana- ma hats, straw hats. before the helmets came in fashion, and 1t was an exteremely hot day. and
 about noon I put one foot in. side of a butchers shop and asked the butcher to give me a cabbage leaf to put in my hat, as the sun was Very. hot and boiling; and the roundsman came along and claimed was off post and gave me this com plaint. was fined two days on that; I made that explanation to the but was fined nevertheless"
 Nobody cared much that day about Schmittberger's Panama, for he went on from. this trivial incl
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04
To-day,S Selected Poem
TO A MINIATURIsT.

(Violet Alleyn Storey in The New York Times) 1t seems the feet of half a million fairies
 Trampled the colors from small flowers to be Your pigments while the stun to which you
 touch them
 Looks more like sun-caught air than ivory. And. as you brushes dwarf with sure perfection Some face or scene in jeweled fragity, think you catch not image there but spirit, Daring. past flesh and grass. eternity!
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04

from proper disposal of lighted matches to proper firing of fumaces and proper handling of electrical appliances. They include en- foreement of fire-p prevention ordinances in cities as we'll as common sense caution in private homes. Old and Young can share in the work and in the benefits it will achieve
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04
Personal Health Service
(By William Brady, M. D.

Signed letters pertaining to personal health and hygiene, not disease diagnosis or treatment, will be answered by pr Brady. Address him. care of the Democrat, sending stamp and addressed envelope.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04

A town that found it couldn't widen narrow highway without cutting lot of fine old trees solved the problem neatly by mak- ing double roadway with the trees in the middle.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04

It rains alike on the just and unjust, but the just are little more likely to have a rancoat.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04

All vehicles must be lighted not later than 6:02 O clock tonight.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04

dent to a voluntary revelation of po- lice corruption that shook the town. But the future author of "Uni- forms of American Police" should make a note about the hat.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-04
Daily Washington Letter Woll's Power on Wane in Labor Federation-Even
 Poi and Scamozzo Will Have Their Codes
EVEN POI HAS CODE

In addition to the code for the decalomania and transparency in. dustry, which seems to have some. thing to do with dyes, there arc codes proposed for the scamozzc and poi industries. Scamozzo is a kind of cheese. Poi, made from taro roots, is used extensively as e substitute for bread in the Hawa. iian islands.
 Nine poi manufacturers--led by Lee Duck, See Wo and KwanR Sung Lee--are willing to pay a $14-a-week minimum wage, bu, want a 70-honr work week, be. cause poi fefments readily and spells quickly if not given con. stant attention. I.t CUSTER MAY BE FOUGHT
 If Federal Trade Commissioner William E. Humphrey makes q court fight against his likely re. moval by President Roosevelt. the government will base It's defense on Roosevelt's right more on the precedent in the case of Shurtlefi vs U. s. than on the one involving the Oregon postmaster, who unsTc. SSooA oAy SVhSSStSA SVOAtbS D As6 h' to fire him.
 Shurtlen was on the customs ap- prisal board and the suctoms act like that creating the federal trade commission, said that appointees might be removed by tho presi. dent for "inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in ofhce."
 When President Mckinley, re- moved shurtlef without giving cause. the iatter.s lawyer contend cd that specification of those three causes by congress impliedly ex- cluded and denied the right to re- move for any other cause.
 The supreme court ruled in 1903 that the presidents power of ap- pointment and removal could not be taken away by mere inference or implicat!on,v in the absence of plain language specifically taking 1t away.
 Copyright 1898, NEA Service Incl
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-10-13

The federal reserve banks are oper-
ating now on what is known as an
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-10-13
Few Slang Terms Live Long
Majority of Catchy Words and Phrases Have Brief
Period of Popularity and Pass Quietly Into
Oblivion; Some Stay to Enrich Language.

changes that have been run on the
word 'tipsy'-'soused.' .spiffed.' pie
eyed ETC., new one every year.
but most disappear utterly, like
the 'skedaddle' of the Civil war and
that inimitable word dude gone with
the tight trousers and high collars
"'Where is the slang of yester-
dayT might be the refrain of good
villonesque ballade. What does the
present generation know of daisy
and tony and 'spooningT Wallace
Irwin once wrote the Love Son.
nets of a Hoodlum,' but it would
need a lexicon now TO translate it. ]
doubt if ten years from now sweet
sixteen will even understand what
a 'bootlegger' was.
"The choice of letters has a great
deal TO do with the coming of strik-
ing wo-fls. Comparatively little-used
letters give novelty to any such in
ventions. Note such words as ink.
'kibitzer.' 'kaboodle,' 'vamp' and
nix"
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-10-13
coLD-PREcIous coLDi

Here are some figures about this
fascinating yellow metal, compiled
by professors at Columbia univer-
sity. Since Columbus discovered
America there have been produced
in the world 1,100,O00.O00 troy ounces
of pure gold, worth In United
States dollars approximately $685.
000O00,O00. In all the world there
is about $4,000, 600, 600 In gold coins
or bullion. OF this sum the United
States has about s4.045, 100000. About
$3.OOO.OO0.0O0 in gold. it is estimat-
ed, Is boarded In the Orient. Prob
ably all the gold set In teeth. made
into jewelry. etc, represents $780,
100000. The balance. about S4.500,-
100000. probably has been lost.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-10-13
Mvsterv of the Skies

The birth of a new world is one
of the greatest mysteries in astron-
omy. And the worst of it is thar
probably the most significant par:
of the life of a new star is the very
short time spent in getting brighter.
1t is during those few hours that
most of the enigma lies.
As with so many of the striking
celestial phenomena, the earliest re-
corded observations of new stars, or
.'novae" as the astronomers call
them, date back to the Chinese Un-
fortunately, their descriptions are
often very vague. Translated in the
language of the modern constella-
tons such Chinese observations might
read: Three days after the first
full moon after the harvest star
as bright as Venus was seen near
the left eye of the Scorpion" etc.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-10-13
tFrom the Literary Digest.


People ask where slang comes
from.
Perhaps the best authority Is Gelett
Burgess, who has invented a few.
such as COUP" bromide" .blurb"
and warm"
He credits VIII Irwin with "high-
brow; the opposite must have fol-
lowed naturally.
Many vaudeville performers invent
new slang In cold blood, he SAYS.
Hot cha-cha" is associated with
Jimmie Durante "A sedate college
professor could read Variety all
through and not understand half its
merry talk" he writes in the New
York American.
He distinguishes two kinds:
"One sort is metaphorical, and
merely twists a well-known word
like flop or an old phrase like up
against IL into new meaning. It
may even defy syntax like 4 should
worry or amt we got fun? The
other sort of slang is neologistic: it
concocts absolutely new words to en-
rich the language"
Then Mr.. Burgess sweeps around
a wide circle:
1.-THE EliZabethan dramatists rev.
eled in such creations. What could
be more expressive of sneaky rogue
than the word 'scroyr or 'dabchick'
what we call a 'fiapperr
1.-The most famous of modern word
coiners was Lewis Carroll. But, de-
spite the immortal popularity of his
.jabberwocky' poem and the felicity
of 'frabjous' and 'slithy' and .mimsy,'
of all the words he made up only
'galumph' and 'chortle' have really
survived.
That's the queer thing about
slang. Every Paris dressmaker, you
know, presents, every season, some
dozen or so new gowns. But of them
all only one or two models ever
achieve a vogue. It's the same way
with slang. Some few words catch
on and gain permanent place in
the language, like the good old chest
nut which has never been replaced,
and 'tightwad.' Some are permitted.
like peach TO 'pippin.' or goat to
nanny and the many synonymous
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-10-13

NOW YOU CAN READ THE BEST MAG
AZINES! Csc magazines for only sc. SC
magazines for only 1c. For list write
Mccormick Agency Palos Park. Ill.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-10-13

The lengths to which imitation can
90 was well illustrated in German
bank note which Secretary Woodin
showed me the other day. 1t was
note of the denomination OF five bill
lion marks. and was issued dur
ing the orgy of imitation in which
Germany INDUCED eight or ten
years ago. Secretary Woodin, who
keeps the note as a curio. computed
its present-day value at about two
cents of United States money.
"Just think how you would feel"
he said. If you went to buy a news
paper from the boy on the corner and
gave him five billion mark note Id
payment"
O 1898. Western Newspaper Unioa-
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-10-13

Notwithstanding the failure of the
program to buy pigs and sows, the
The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1933-08-11
RENovlsE THE UNITED STATES

Eighty-fiye percent of Americans are
cent live in hand-me-down quarters bare
of modern comforts and conveniences.
Where III annual building expenditure
in 1928 was S6,50O,oO0,OOO, it was only
2 billion last year.
These facts appear in an editorial in
the st. Clairsville, Ohio, Chronicle. And,
as the editorial further points out, there
are sound indications that major building
revival is on its way. Every American de-
sires better living conditions; millions of
Americans have been prevented from
achieving them the past few years either
because of financial stress or fear of the
future. That fear is row being allayed-
recovery has started, and it can be seen
in all parts of the country. Men are going
back to work, factory chimneys are smok-
ing-and dollars are finding their way into
pockets from where they will go to buy the
necessities of life. A good part of those
dollars will either be used to build new
homes, or rebuild and modernize old ones.
It's time for national campaign to
"Renovize the United States" That would
speed recovery and be the most potent in
fluence that could be brought to play in
stabilizing price levels and providing EN-
ployment. ~ J.
Remember that employment aid in
vestment are better and cheaper than char
ity. Remember, too, that in few months,
when the building boom gets underway,
prices are going up and are going to stay
up. Get in on the building bargains
while they are still being offered.