davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1933-12-19
The First Airplape.

The olive branch rendered to Orville
Wright by the Smithsonian Institution
should be accepted. The original Wright
airplane should be brought back to
America and placed in the institution,
along with other American relics of the
development of the art of aviation.
Secretary Abbot of the Smithsonian
has made to the survivor of the part
nership of brothers, who thirty years
ago made the first successful fight in
heavier-than-air machine, a PROPOSE
ton that should close the breach which
led to the removal of the plane to the
British Museum, where it does not be-
long. There is nothing lacking in his
tender. The offending label placed
originally on the Langley plane has al
ready been so amended as to remove
of the institution, in a gracious spirit.
has offered to allow Mr.. Wright to edit
the label that will be placed upon the
first Wright plane if it is brought tc
washington. Going further toSard the
correction of whatever errors may have
been made in the past he has suggested
that, if obstacles still remain in the
way of an acceptance of the invitation,
an Intermediary committee of three
shall be selected, one to be named by
Mr.. Wright, another by the Smith
is indicated that in this event Col.
Charles Lindbergh will be one OF those
thus chosen, by the Smithsonian if not
by Mr.. Wright.
Surely there is no occasion for further
separation of this historic machine from
the proper place of its permanent in
Stallation, the institution which fostered
the first attempts to solve the problem
Of aerial navigation by other than flo-
tation devices. The Smithsonian is
already the custodian Of numerous
American planes that have made his
tory. Its collection, preserved for the
benefit of posterity and for the stimu-
lation of interest in the art that has
developed SO wonderfully during the
thirty years since the first flight of the
Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk, will not
be complete until that plane is included.
No whit of reluctance to give the
WrightS the fullest credit for their
achievement has been manifested. To
them indubitably belongs the honor of
having first nayigated the air with a
motored plane, and now that the Smith
sonian has, through its secretary. made
a tender of placement with descriptive
LABEL that does the fullest honor to the
Wrights, there should be no question
of the restoration of this priceless relic
to its home land and its permanent
establishment in place where it may
be viewed by the American people, now
and hereafter.
Evening star., 1933-12-19
Republican Prospects,

To attack or not to attack the Roose-
welt administration is the problem that
is vexing the Republicans in Congress
as the date of the opening of the ses-
sion rapidly approaches. While some OF
the C. o. P. stalwarts-that greatly
thinned army in both houses of Con-
gress-are anxious to force an active
campaign in Congress against the ad-
ministration and all its works, the
leadership is inclined to wait. In the
first place, the Republican leaders do
not know yet what the program OF the
administration for the coming session
of Congress is to be. They hope that
when this program has been developed
fully they may find proper subjects oil
attack, and one of them is likely to be
the huge expenditures made for the re-
Covery program, that eventually must
be met out of the taxes levied upon the
American people. Another line of at
tack, they believe, may be found in the
Increased taxes levied upon the people
If there be increased taxes-a11d an un-
balanced budget. In the second place,
the Republicans have no substitute plan
for the Roosevelt recovery program, at
least none up to date. In the third
place, the Republican leaders fear that
an attack upon the President and his
administration would be charged up by
the voters as merely partisan move.
What the Republicans would dearly
like to see is dissension In the ranks oi
the Democrats themselves. It is what
they hope will develop in the sessions
of the House and the Senate. Nothing
would please them more than to SEE
those Democrats who disagree, for ex'
ample, with the Presidents monetary
policy. turn loose and rip the admins
tTat.on wiIc op2l. They have strong
Evening star., 1933-12-19
Traffic Light Timing
Should Be Amended

To the Editor of The Star:
Congratulations on your editorial
Speeding Up Traffic" and particularly
your point concerning traffic light tim
ing and the unnecessary congestion
caused by lights at certain isolated
intersections in suburban Washington
City. 1t seems ridiculous to operate
some or all of the eight traffic lights
on Connecticut avenue from California
to Albemarle street until 1890, l, 2
or 3 am, when the ratio of side street
traffic to Connecticut avenue traffic is
about ! to so.
Such matters may seem trivial in the
sphere of world events, but the whole
is no greater than the sum of its parts
and your paper can do a service to
Washington motorists by lending your
aid to make driving in certain areas
more of a pleasure and less of con-
gested struggle.
LINWOOD K. BAILEY.
Evening star., 1933-12-19

hope that this will occur. Such at
tacks could scarcely be classed as par
tisan political moves, and would not
only result in opening a breach in the
ranks of the democracy itself but would
serve to call attention to policies which
some of the Republicans regard as ex-
tremely harmful.
The Republican leadership in Con-
gress, too, could scarcely count upon a
united Republican front if it undertook
to launch a concerted attack upon the
administration. There are Republlcans
who will vote for additional appropria-
tionS for public works, for civil works
and for all kinds of relief. There are
Republicans who will support the Pres
ident in his monetary policy. There are
Republicans who will go along with the
administration in its N. R. A. program.
With the congressional elections set
for next year, the Republicans feel that
something must be done to stir up
issues But they believe that the issues
will be made by the Democrats them
selves rather than by the Republicans.
by what the Democratic administration
does and attempts to do. So, they fig
ure, they must wait and hope. II there
continues to be recovery in business and
employment, there really seems little
chance of political overturn either in
1884 or in 1886. But it may be possible,
the Republicans hold, to pick off many
congressional seats and some of the
Senate seats now held by the Demo-
Gratis, particularly if there be diSSension
among the Democrats themselves.
Evening star., 1933-12-19
Christmas Letters.

The Christmas card, it may be, largely
has replaced the Christmas letter as
symbol of love exchanged between
friends. But surely there must be at
least a few men and women who take
the trouble to observe the custom as it
was in the era before the engraved or
printed card was developed. And the
old way probably was best. Perhaps the
difference might be dramatized In this
manner: Imagine gray-haired mother
saying, Here's a card from John and
Mary" Would there not be more spirit
in her tone if she could announce in
stead, Here's long letter from John
with an equally lengthy postscript from
Mary, all about the children?
Certainly there may be more art in
the card. but that may not matter very
much The individuality of the letter
is more important-it is personal to
degree far surprising the formal, ste
reotyped greeting stamped out by the
million; it is original in a sense dis
tinctly unique.
Charles w. Eliot and President Wilson
did not have the commonplace, CUSTOM
made card in mind when they decided
upon the inscriptions to be placed on
the Washington City Post Office. 1t
was the authentic letter they meant
when they summarized the function Of
the postal system as:
Messenger of sympathy and love. ser
| want of parted friends, consoler of the
lonely, bond of the scattered family,
enlarger Of the common life.
But. of course. the ordinary Christ
mas card is useful invention. It is
convenient, and customarily not ex-
pensiye, Between casual acquaintance
its transmission is a polite courtesy,
| amply sufficient for the occasion. For
more intimate friends and for close
kin, however, 1t does not and cannot
suffice.
Washington. like every other city In
the country, is brimming with people
Evening star., 1933-12-19

homes where nothing, not even a chair,
has been moved in half a century?
There is slight odor of dust, perhaps
Of mating, old-fashioned, powerful,
there are old marbles, on pedestals,
with statues facing the way they have
faced for years.
The faithless hands which would
thoughtlessly turn any article of furni-
ture so much as As degrees would do
more than alter old pieces. They would
stab clear to the heart.
There is satisfaction about all this,
to the mind and heart constituted to
enjov them, happiness of stability
which those of different disposition
scarce can understand, let alone enjoy.
There is psychic process involved
here, one in which piece Of furniture
comes to stand for the eternal balance
which the heart would ask in world
of ceaseleSs fiux.
Eetween this static state of things
and the mad helter-skelter of ruthless
change there is a mean, as there
usually is. in which some changes may
| be wrought, from time to time, with
benefit to all concerned.
The happy thing, in household re-
arrangements, is that everything can
be changed back, if one does not like
| the new.
The old is not discarded.
The room IS the same, the wall space
| the same, the chairs and tables and the
like quite the same.
Maybe a new piece is introduced,
which becomes the start Of the whole
Encouragement.
It may be a new chair, or table, or
lamp.
New lamps, If they are good in them
selves have a way of Demanding new
| tables, and somehow or other. new
| tables seem to call for new chairs.
| X X
Before the householder knows 1t, ne
is involved in a revamping OF an entire
| room
/ = fine new rug, for instance. may
! seem to call for an entire roomful OF
new furniture. Such rugs need not be
expensive. Rug makers have developed
some amazingly beautiful creations al
modest prices. Old types Of rugs, once
| frowned upon by some, step to the front
in entirely modern dress.
The home and the Nation are bene-
fitted by such purchases, but II one can
not get an entire new room OF new
uieces OF furniture, what shall he DO!
Well. he may rearrange what he has
and the chances are he will find, or she
will find, or both of them will find
which is by far the best way. that one
or two really good features of the oio
room and old furniture were overlooked
X
It is surprising what a difference can
be made in the appearance of room
by doing what might be called un-
blocking the windows.
Often modern windows. especially
when in groups of two or three, are
blockaded by a large davenport, or q
table and too many chairs, or by some
other massing of furniture
A clean sweep of these, with the win
dows permitted to become, themselves
the show pieces, in all their clean
beauty of curtains and draperies-it is
amazing what a transformation such 6
step, or series Of steps, will make, ano
how new aspect and lghtness are
added to the entire room.
unlocking of sweeps, or vistas, is
one of the major achievements Of
changing the furniture around in liv.
ing rooms and dining rooms, especially
No harm can come from these expert.
ments, and maybe real change for tht
better will result.
Evening star., 1933-12-19
Another Answers BartOn's
Criticism of U. S. Clerks
tn the Editor of The Star:

TO the Editor Of The Star:
The reply of Gordon Cline in The
Star December s, to the statements of
Bruce Barton, in referring to the
Government employees, that if he had
cold and a temperature he would
send a note to the Office that l was
i'll and apply for 30-day furlough''.
also, men who are mere cogs In
bureaucratic machine" was most per-
tinent and to the point. Mr.. Barton,
in this writer's opinion, does not know
his subject First, one department, at
least, has no sick leave at all. Also,
what acquaintance has Mr.. Barton with
the rank and file of the Government
workers to be able to have f1rst-hand
information on that score? Having
many friends and acquaintances who
are of that body, the writer knows the
opposite to be true, Again, II he
really knew of the red tape" which
every employe seriously i'll, has to COM
ply with in notifying the bureau he is
connected with of his enforced absence,
Mr.. Barton would make no such state
ment and expect to prove 1t.
Furthermore. it may be asked why
there has been, since the depression,
so much criticism leveled at the Gov
ernment workers, the rank and file of
whom are the most efficient, loyal and
conscientious workers to be found in
any business, public or private. Long
before the depression these people came
to Washington from practically every
State in the Union, in many cases
leaving higher salaries, to take lower
salary in the Government for the pres
tige of working for Uncle Sam. for
steady employment. educational advan-
tages for their families. a beautiful
city to enjoy, hoSpitable people as
friends and acquaintance, attractive
annual leave and an opportunity to
acquire a small pension on retirement.
Any other citizen elsewhere could have
done the same, ability proven.
Then came the depression, and, as
employment became scarce and wages
dropped criticism began to be leveled
left and right at the Government
workers, in many cases from those who
had chosen to remain in other towns
and cities, either at higher salaries Or
for other reasons. Even now, with
wages going up in various industries,
the same workers with the same old
IS per cent cut and, until recently, and
it may be again, four unpaid furlouglls,
are still getting "hot shot"
Isn't it Just too bad that the bloated
bondholders of Government employees
should be having such swell time?
CHARLOTTE THOMAS.
Evening star., 1933-12-19
Disagrees With Lawyer
On the Evil of Lynching

To the Editor of The Star:
In answer to the letter of Alexander
Sidney Lanier, which appeared in your
columns on December /, 1888, I wish
to voice my opinion. TSe practitioners
of law take oath before God to support
the law as established whether We be
lieve in them or not, and even though
We have voiced objections to the law
in its present form. When a person
has fulfilled the conditions of becoming
a member of the legal profession, he
swears to uphold the law without res
ervation, and should refrain from ap
pearing to condone an action which d.
rectly defies it.
I cannot reconcile in his letter his
duty to his statement that there arise
in society at times conditions that may
Justify it," namely, lynching; and i'll
which he gives as his best reason for
the justification of such acts, that the
courts have wandered from the dis
charge of their lawful duties because OF
corruption, inefficiency and the activ-
tiles of shyster lawyers. My opinion
regarding such a statement is that our
worthy friend is grossly misinformec.
He also states that the courts are the
agents of the people and are derived
from the people, and, therefore, the
people may set them aside for such
abuses on provocation; and SO Justifies
the drastic. action Of vigilance COM
mittees. Permit me to say that attempt
to maintain society through any pre-
tense other than through lawful, legal
means is to disparage the Bill Of
Rights and the Constitution.
The writer is in full accord with tie
view that kidnapping is heinous an1
despicable offense, but the instrumeur
of justice, the law, was established b.
the people and must be upheld without
fear or favor. and no amount Of cor
ruption should deter the following Of
the laws until changed by them in the
as experienced in lynching Will be
paramount, and useless bloodshed de-
suucticn of personal property, wanton
taking Of life, will become the rule, and
the many laws and ideals that our fore
fathers and the makers of the Corsti-
tuition fought for would become use
less and ineffective.
To cite minor example, such as the
experience Of the Italian Malta in New
Orleans, is beside the point, and I am
as lawyer shocked that another
lawyer, with such an obviously high
degree of education and thought, should
have so little regard for personal and
private property, and the feelings OF
good citizens in the matter of govern
ment, and could consider this minor
incident a justification for the sffair in
San Jose, where the accused had cc1-
fessed and had every expectation Of an
carly demise. ALFRED l.. DORF.
Evening star., 1933-12-19
Recovery in Europe.

Secretary of Commerce Roper's an
nual report, disclosing the progress OF
economic recovery in the United States
SynchronizeS with a review just issued
by the League of Nations, revealing that
the backbone of the depression in
Europe is now definitely broken
Writing from Geneva in The Sunday
Star, Albin E. johnson states that as
1888 comes 10 an end. authoritative
reports from forty-nine Old World
countries show clearly that happy days
are here again."
Unemployment, which reached the
staggering total of more than thirty
million skilled workers in the industrial
nations last March, has dropped by at
least ten millions, and perhaps more.
That is about the relative proportion
in which unemployment has diminished
in the United States. indicating that
recovery here and "over there" is
marching at about the same tempo.
Mr.. johnson says that two 'irref-
utable yardsticks" permit reliable
measure of Europe's economic come
back-the production of iron and steel
and railway car loadings plus port
clearings. The figures prove in sll Of
these categories that the European
upturn which started in midsummer
was not merely seasonal. but permanent
and basic. Even the European farm
belt" that group of agricultural lands
which stretches from the Baltic to the
Black Sea-Finland to Rumania-has
experienced recovery, with correspond
ing benefits to a total population of a
hundred million souls.
Analyzing some Of the causes of the
favorable turn of the times in Europe,
Mr.. Johnson says that as distinguished
from the 'palliatives" to which recourse
has been had in this country to aCCel-
crate recovery. improvement on the
| other side of the Atlantic is mostly the
result Of functioning of normal eco
nomic laws, and as such can be ac-
cepted as enduring.
These developments seem all the more
impressive in view of the fact that Eu-
ropean countries continue to suffer
under all sorts of arbitrary trade bar
riers and restrictions, such as import
quotas, and from a monetary system
under which foreign exchanges f1uctuate
wildly almost from hour to hour. De-
spite all these handicaps, Europe is
| economically on the mend
The United States takes note Of these
conditions with qualification. The past
| four years of depression have amply
demonstrated the interlocking character
of international economics. No impor-
| tant section of the world nowadays can
undergo depression or enjoy prosperity
without the corresponding effect making
itself felt in other parts of the globe
! Recovery in Europe means a widened
purchase of American goods across the
Atlantic and means increased European
orders in our market. So the latest
! business news from the other side OF
! the herring pond is all to the good.
Evening star., 1933-12-19
District and Budget Bureau.

Inclusion of the District of Columbia
budget with the national budget, which
has resulted in an increasing amount OF
control over locally derived revenues by
the National Bureau of the Budget. has
become one of the important factors
complicating the fiscal relations issue
Commissioner Hazen correctly includes
the proposition of separating the local
budget from the national budget as
part of the efforts he proposes to make
in seeking an equitable. solution OF the
fiscal relations problem.
As long as the local estimates are
treated as part and parcel of the Fed
eral budget the local expenditures are,
Of course, subjected to the same strict
limitations as those which apply to
wholly national activities. When saw
ings are sought for the purpose of
national budget balancing, the elm
nation of proposed expenditure of local
gasoline tax, water tax or real estate
tax expenditures is construed as part
of national budget balancing. But
this local money thus saved" is not
available for national budget balanc-
ing, and the result is the creation of
unnecessary local surpluses which, in
turn, are sometimes enormously con-
strued as denoting an excess OF rev.
enues over needs. This, in turn, be-
comes a specious argument for reduc-
ton of the lump sum. The local sur
pluses of revenue do not represent the
existence of more local money than
the authorities know what to do with.
They merely represent the arbitrary
application of a rule fixing maximum
allowable expenditures bearing no di-
rect relationship to the Districts needs.
Commissioner Hazen points out the
handicaps to intelligent city planning
resulting from the lack of control over
their estimates by the Commissioners
and the uncertain fluctuations down
ward Of the Federal lump-Sum con-
tribution. There are notorious instances
of delays threatening failure of care
fully made plans for Capital improve
ment, resulting not so much from fall
IRE inteiligently to plan for the future as
failure to carry out plans already made
The confusion over the school building
and water extension programs and the
municipal center building are examples.
In more instances than one the plans
approved by Congress have been de-
layed or for the time being abandoned
by the arbitrary application of Budget
Bureau limitations, imposed without re-
gard to the revenues available to carry
out those plans.
Commissioner Hazen confesses a nat
ural lack of information regarding the
details of the next years estimates,
shortly to be forwarded to Congress
from the Bureau of the Budget. Neither
he nor Commissioner Allen took part
in their preparation. But long service
in the District government has ac-
quainted Commissioner Hazen with the
faults of the existing system, and the
deeper that he and Mr.. Allen go into
the situation represented by the pend
ing estimates for 1885 the more they
will be impressed with the necessity and
the responsibility confronting them as
Commissioners to seek an equitable set
tlement of the fiscal relations issue.
Washington looks to their effective
championship of the Districts cause in
this matter.