davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15
NEA Service Writer

Washington.-The real snag in the progress of the 30-hour work ing week through the paths of legis- lation and executive approval is the probability-or possibility, if you prefer-that 1t will result in re- duced income for the average wage earner.
 The employed still outnumber the unemployed and most of them have had their wages cut to the point that any further reductions would be nothing short of agoniz- ing.
 Can the hours of labor be cut to 30 hours a week - as is made compulsory in the Black bill passed by the senate-without 6 reduction of wages in proportion? |? If not, the purchasing power of the wage-earning millions is in no way enhanced-and increased purchasing power is one of the chief promises made by friends of the Black bill.
 Shift in Buying Power? It may be argued that millions of persons would acquire purchas- | ing power who now have no pur- chasing power at all, but would 1t be entirely at the expense of the purchasing power of those who now possess 1t? If 50, the sum total of purchasing power | would remain the same. Demands for unemployment relief might diminish, but the standard of liv- ing for wage earners would have to drop substantially.
 The American Federation of Labor, which has been preaching the short day and the short week for many years. has always in- | sisted that there be no corre- spending cut in wages.
 But those who scoff at the idea of a federal 30-hour law say that such 8 suggestion, under present conditions, is ridiculous. The A. F. of l.. says AZ hours was the average working week throughout industry in 1892 (though many workers put in 10 hours a day and some even as many as 16), Reduction of 12 hours in the av- craze working week would mean a wage reduction of more than 2s per cent in the case of any worker employed at an hourly wage ir case nothing was done to prevent him from taking that cut. If nc one suffered any wage loss, the employer would pay much more in wages.
 Forecasts Price Rise
 Senator David A. Reed of Penn. sylvania, one of the bitterest op. ponents of the 30-hour week measure, said it would raise the labor cost of all manufactured articles B per cent. (senators on the other side said they hoped 1t would.)
 If wages were to be reduced proportionately with hours under such 8 law the effect would bt
 merely that of compulsory yer. sion of the re-the-work" plar which was introduced with nc very great success during the lat. ter part of the Hoover admins
 tration. The work was almost in. variably shared at the expense o1
 the weekly pay check of tn,
 worker who was already em
 ployed.
 | Meanwhile, sweat shops sprant Iup in many states, employing des
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15
So They Say

I can't conceive of the old saloon being allowed to come back. However, even the old saloon was preferable to the modern speak easy.
 Mrs Charles R. Sabin, anti-pro- hibition leader.
 :
 I fear very much that the atti- tude of helplessness, the sense of being beaten, the loss of initiative, self-reliance and courage. 'has taken something out of the lives of our people which will not be re- stored in this generation. -Dr Thomas Parran, Jr, New York state commissioner Of health.
 Marriage is @ great adventure. but we all have different ways Of thinking of adventure. Lady Florence Barrett of Eng land.
 Our forest land in productive condition and the dependent pri- mary forest industries alone would furnish employment for two mii- lion men. |-R. e. Tugwell. assistant secre- tary of agriculture.
 
 It has been clear for many years that the obsolete forms of govern mental structure have resulted in gross inefiiciency and wasteful ex' GGovsrnor Lehman of New York.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15
Commercial Hunting

Bills providing for the creation of com mercial hunting preserves in this state seem- ed to evoke considerable support when they were argued before the legislative committee on fish and game last week. Of course there was change in the original form of the bill which would have allowed all kinds of game birds to have been hunted in these private areas maintained for the edifieaton of those who like to shoot them. The bill was changed to include merely pheasants and was thereupon unopposed by the state board of fisheries and game.
 At that we can hardly see the advantage of allowing private individuals to establish hunting areas to which admission would probably be charged or for which annual memberships sold. The proposal was strong ly supported by game breeders whom it
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15
Home Owners Relieved

It had been forecast that President Frank lin D. Roosevelt would eventually get around to the problem of the small home owner. He did that this week with d clear cut message to Congress that SO far has provoked little criticism. On the contrary 1t has seemed to meet with nothing but fav- orable comments The idea is nothing more nor less than bringing federal credit to the aid of any man or woman who owns house that falls within the Sl0,000 or less class. If your house is mortgaged for not more than 80 per cent of the value of the property you are eligible for aid from the Federal Home Owners Loan Corpora ton.
 Inasmuch as three -fourths of the homes in the United States are in this class it is pretty sure that there will be quick response to this government plan to ease the burdens of the taxpayers through chaotic period. Of course the home owner in the end will ultimately pay off his debt, both to the government and to his mortgage holder, but it will be done in more equitable fash ion than is possible now under existing con- ditions. The interest rate on the mortgage loans that Uncle Sam will make through his newest credit agency is to be 5 per cent. That probably will have the effect of caus- ing most banks now handling real estate mortgages. which have not already done so, to scale down their rates.
 There will be a two-fold effect from this spreading of a vast amount of credit through the nation. In the first place it will remove a burden from home owners who are fac cd with foreclosures. In the second it will relieve financial institutions now carrying too heavy a burden in the way of mort gages. Obviously, though, there will not be .indiscrminate issuance of the bonds with which the credit corporation intends to re- place mortgages. However where most home owners are concerned today there can be no doubt of the sincerity of their desire to save their homes from foreclosure If this can be done with government aid and it seems highly probable. so much the better
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15
A Book a Day by BRUCE CATION
The Era Of The Aztecs

History holds few more fascinat- ing tales than the story of the civ ilization which the Indians erected in Mexico just before the Spanish conquest.
 Here, true1y, was one of the most bizarre and romantic human so- cieties ever put together-a cruel and bloody era which built tow ering temples and lowered cities, a people whose developments seem- ed to be taking @ course unlike any other ever attempted. For some of us, at least, the story of pre-con- quest Mexico is one of the most 1n- teresting tales there is.
 "Mexico Before Cortez", by J. Eric Thompson, gives 8 very good description of the details of life in the old Aztec empire.
 MT Thompson provides the an- | swers to a lot of those questions which so many archaeologists ig- J nore. He tells us, for instance, what the peoples homes were like, | what they had to eat and wear, how they worked and played, what kind of holidays they celebrated and what sort of life they had gen. orally. He includes in his book a wealth of photographs to illustrate the points he makes, and describes the astoundingly bloody Aztec re- i ligion, with its frightful list of hu- man sacrifices, so that it actually becomes understandable.
 He gives, in sort, a most excel lent summary of the whole Aztec civilizations; and it becomes, not something romantic and unreal out of an old book of marvels, but a comprehensible society formed by real human beings.
 Mexico Before Cortez" is pub
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15
Kill the Bill Promptly

We don't see how any republican can eonscientiously support the bill providing for local control of beer and wine when it comes before the House next Tuesday a; noon. Yet Majority Leader Raymond Bald win declares that he is going to make an earnest effort to have the House pass the bill. Under normal circumstances he might succeed in putting through this form of control, of which he IS part creator. but in view of the fact that few of his fellow par tymen in the House are showing any liking for this system of beer control it is going to De hard job for the Majority leader to keep party lines intact.
 z There is little to recommend the bill under contemplation to the state. In the first place it is merely temporary expedient governing the sale of beer and wine. If this state and thirty five others should repeal the 18th amendment an entirely different liquor control system would have to be inaugu- rated. Therefore it is highly imperative that the laws by which we govern beer and wine sales be of such nature that they can be incorporated into the more inclusive ones to follow at later date. This is hypothet- ical to be sure. but based on good assump- ton.
 l Local control promises no better condi- tions in this state than the county eommis- sioner plan. Why should we experiment with either when it is SO apparent that the sentiment of the people is for state control. If we can't place confidence and faith in a commission of three named by the gover- nor. then we certainly can't hope that l69 town officials or twenty.four county officers will be any less susceptible. The trouble with good many of our legislators is tha: they simply can't see anybody setting up system of liquor control in which they won't have pretty much the whole say.
 It should not be taken from all the hulla- baloo of the last few days that control of liquor in the old days was deplorable. Ex- c,llent jurisdiction was displayed by prob ably nine out of every ten county commis- sioners. But the system is not one to which we now can subscribe having thrown it overboard thirteen years ago. We have progressed in liquor control from the old methods to prohibition. Having watched this fzzle out a complete failure we turn to more advanced methods, namely state control. Let us hope that we get it.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15
In To-day's Mail What think Send all letters your opinions Editor Waterbury Democrat
Koscusko Iustrious, Whether We Regard Him of Polish
 Or Lithuanian Origin

and the Polish Question" states that "he was g. native of Lithuania, anian parents in 1746;" Bain, in "The Last King of Poland" refers to "the popular Polish hero, Kos ciusko"; Roman Dyboski, in "Out- lines of Polish History" points out that he was 8 native of Lithuania, like many distinguished Poles;" Nevin o. Winter, in 'The New Po- land," refers to the impression able Polish youth who imbibed the liberal republican ideas which in- fiuenced his later life." Surely, there is no confusion of facts con- tained in the works of these his- torians. What your correspondent failed to do was to explain the adoption of customs, language, and supremacy of Poland follow ing the marriage of Prince Ladis- las Jagello to the young Queen Hedwiga in 1886, and the subse- quent permanent political union in 1869 at the Congress of Lublin.
 On such complementary process es of Polonization and colonization, which accounted for the existence of eminent Polish families in the country district and towns, your correspondent could claim, not only Kosciusko, but Michiewicz, Pilsudski, and even Paderewski. And yet. who would say that Pad erewski is not @ Pole by "breed- ing and inclination"
 I. cannot but feel that this la mentable attempt to inform the public on a fact that is contained and recorded in histories without number has been prompted by a spirit of animosity which would discountenance an unbiased ver- sion of the true facts. If I recall accurately, the first of this series of mild protests" followed re- cent historical celebration in which the participating Polish people of the city honored Kosciusko and Pulaski. Why has no one but the Polish honored him thusly? can not recall. in my limited experi- ence, 0 Lithuanian celebration for this hero. Kosciusko was a Polish patriot, a Polish hero, justifiably employing the adjective Polish" 1" Let us not think of him. we of America, as Lithuanian, nor as
 Polish, but rather as Q man who pursued an ideal and assisted us in | the realization of ours.
 Very respectfully yours.
 PAT KELLEY.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15
Editor, Waterbury Democrat, T@a- Cts..

Editor, Waterbury Democrat,
 Dear Sir:
 It is not my intention to enter upon, nor is 1t my intention to pro- long, @ controversy concerning a question which has received so much unwarranted space in your paper in recent weeks, namely, the nationality of Thaddeus Kosciusko. I would like very much to have it definitely understood that this discourse is not be to construed as an attempt to refute the claims advanced by Rev John Kripas of St Joseph's church stating emphat- ically and irrevocably that Kos ciusko was Lithuanian.
 Rather, it is my intention to call attention to the obvious fallacies in your recent editorial on this subject and to substantiate, in part, the Polish claim to one of the noblest characters in history.
 In order that you may be assur- ed of an unbiased and non-par- tisan viewpoint, shall state at the outset that I am American born, of Irish parents. The. question, it. self, does not vitally concern me other than to arouse a feeling of resentment toward your policies reflected in your assertion that we should recognize him (Koscuis- ko) as a Lithuanian as he de- serves to be-
 Proceeding on the hypothesis that I, or anyone who has imbibed the culture and advantages of an American breeding, should, by H. lustrious feats of valor for Amer ica. acquit myself so nobly as to merit national honor and recog- hilton for services, would I not be American first? Would I not be honored as an American national figure? Could Ireland have a legiti- mate claim on me as a national figure because of my forebears? Analogously. such is the account of Koscuisko's political and na- tional life and on this has he been acclaimed the 'illustrious Polish general" It is this affiliation with the Polish standard that serves as the foundation for Poland's claim on him.
 It is an accepted philosophical principle that the common consent or mankind is @ source of certain
 knowledge. Undoubtedly, the ac- ceptance of Kosciusko's affiliatior
 Is a fact that has persisted
 throughout history.
 do not contend that there is no foundation for the claim that Koscuisko was 0 Lithuanian. de
 contend, however. that there Il Justification for the Polish claim I and challenge your assertion
 that his acceptance as Pole wal
 the result of a confusion of facts
 I have sedulously endeavored ts
 substantiate your assertion but
 find no historian who has no
 credited him with Lithuanian par entage, Ninian Hall. in "Poians
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15
Our Daily Washington Letter
 Threat of Wage Cut Real Snag in 3O=fiour Bill
BY RODNEY BUTCHER

perate wage earners for long hours and pitifully low salaries. Obviously, manufacturers, who want to give their employees a decent break have great difficulty meeting that sort of competition and many feel they can't help lowering their standards in the face of it.
 Some solons would rather leg islate for 8 36-hour week than 8 ,30-hour week on the belief that the wage drop would not then be so sharp.
 Advocates See No Cuts
 The friends of the 30-hour week measure, however, insist that the force of public opinion, the power of organized labor and the fact that the 30-hour week would put all industrial employers on the same basis would com bine to prevent any especial loss to labor now employed.
 Senator Hugo Black of Ala bama admits that if his bill were to result in wage reductions it would not be accomplishing its purpose. But he is sure that there would be little incentive for proportionate wage cuts if all manufacturers were put on the same work hour basis.
 "There would be hostility throughout the nation to wage reductions corresponding to hour reductions" he says confidently. Tt is my belief that if industry did attempt to follow such a method, the power of congress would be broadened and ampli- fled to meet new conditions"
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15

'Id like to talk to Dr Weber," .. voice on the other end of telephone call to the Olney, Illinois, hospital. Which Dr Weber," inquiries sweet voice on the op- poste end. It's this way at Olney's 75- bed hospital. There are eight Dr Webers on the staff. Six of them are brothers. The other two are sons of two of the brothers. And to make matters more con- fusing there are two Miss Webers. sisters of the six brothers, on the nursing staff. What family! Certainly they reflect great credit upon their parents. German im- migrants of long years ago. Dedication of a family to the cause of the sick and suf- fering is noble thing.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15
A Billion Saved

The President and Congress, doing good team work on a virtually nonpartisan basis, and supported by an overwhelming public opinion, have accomplished miracle. The government apparently, is going to save dollar year in current expenses. This cut of 25 per cent or more will balance the budget. feat which hardly anyone thought possible two months ago. In this accom- plishment the four most powerful Hobbies at Washington have been routed. There has arisen an unorganized Peoples Lobby more powerful than the veterans. the civil job holders, the Army and Navy and the Old Guard of prohibiton.s
 A few big items make the bulk of the saving There are about S450,000.000 squeezed from the bilion-dol veterans service, S200,000.O0O from the Army and Navy, $100,000,000 from the Postoffiee Department, little more than this from other departments through pay cuts and re- organization, and the whole supplemented by the new beer income. With the budget thus balanced. the governments house will be in order. This is bas:c requisite of government solvency With this proof that the government is able to control its spending and meet current expense with current income, even in this time of un- paralleled business prostraton. the founda- ton is laid to rebuild American business under government direction. The govern ment can borrow cheaply, on long-term bond issues whatever funds it needs for re- lief and reinforcement of private enterprise.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15

Proof that Fairfield county is still as actively interested in the immediate con- struction of the Merritt Highway was given the other night in the course of remarks made before the Westport Chamber of Commerce by Frank Brennan of that town. He declared emphatieally that the new highway was needed to put Fairfield coun- ty back on it's feet. We never thought that the county was as bad off as this state ment might imply. However. it will be in- ereasingly difficult for the state to divert even highway funds for this immense pro- jeet in the next few years unless there is decided change in conditions. Governor Cross has even suggested a moratorium in all road building, so that the state can recoup it's losses. Such sentiments will find support among the taxpayers. There are
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15

any number of people who regard the many economics made in our government today as merely scratch on the surface. There could be many more radical ones made. Whether they will be made remains to be seen. But one thing is certain. actual con- struetion of the Merritt Highway is bound to be delayed. since all other capital outlays are suffering the same way.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15
Personal Health SerUice (By William Brady, M. D.

Signed letters pertaining to personal health and hygiene, not disease diagnosis or treatment, will be answered by Dr Brady. Address him, care of the Democrat sending stamp md addressed envelope.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15

Here's chance for an inventor. To date no clock has been discovered that can withstand the rigors of northern Canadian winters. That is, clock that is intended for outside use. Several Tow temperature" clocks have been tried but most of them failed at l4 degrees below zero. Here's your chance, Mir Inventor. Go to it and win fame and fortune.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15
THE EXCEPTION

"IIe married Sylvia because she is different from all the other wo- men he knows" - Different! Howl"
 "She's the only one who would have him."-Vart Hem.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15

While beer is balancing the budget in some states horse racing is going to rout the depression.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15

Secret service men raided . shack in Manila, P. l.. recently. arr rested Alfonso Abdon, and seized 2.OOO counterfeit bills.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15

All vehicles must be lighted not later than 7:O1 o'clock tonight.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-15
-In- MezV York
Rr PAUL HARRISON

New York.-The return of beer means millions to Benjamin Grif- enhagen. Millions of bottles, that is. because Mir Grifenhagen hap pens to be the biggest collector and seller of empty bottles in the world. He has a big warehouse on Tenth avenue, with five floors and the basement packed to the cell ings with boxes and barrels full or efnpties. And the other day he rented another huge storeroom
 near by, which is where the beer
 bottles will be stored.
 Mir Grifenhagen's father made a
 modest start in the bottle business
 53 years ago, making the rounds
 himself with @ horse and wagon,
 buying bottles and reselling them to the factories. To-day the con-
 cern has three five-ton trucks, and contracts with practically all
 of the city's hotels, restaurants and night clubs. And staff of 24 men cellect, sort and pack some thing like 5S,000,000 bottles a
 year. The various kinds are stored
 until they may be shipped away in
 carload lots.
 The bottle-man always has been amused by the idea of prohibition.
 "In the old days" he said, about 20 per cent of the bottles we col lected were liquor containers; and now about 30 per cent of them are.
 Mostly they're rye and scotch pins, with gin bottles next. And, Of course, there have bene few mil
 lion bere bottles in with the lot" The firm wouldn't think of deal ing directly with bootleggers, Grif- enhagen said. The bottles are sold to jobbers instead. Thus the containers, freshly filled and la- beled, get back into circulation. Bulk of the business, though, is in ginger ale and mineral water bot> ties. Nearly every club and hotel has two or three hundred of these
 for sale every morning.
 The Grifenhagen family also
 owns-and has for about 80 years the biggest champagne winery in the United States. This is the
 Monopole Vineyards, near Ham, mandsport, N. Y. They're not go- ing to try to make 3.2 wine or champagne, though, but expect to have plenty of the "real stuff" ready when and if prohibition is repealed. Down in the basement of the warehouse, too, are thou sands upon hundreds of thousands of fat champagne bottles that have been hopefully accumulated for years.