davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1934-02-19

gressive series of steps taken In the
name of economy. But the Budget
Bureaus economy program-which Is
the Presidents only in the sense that
the Bureau of the Budget possesses
certain delegated executive powers
contemplates nothing beyond proc
esS of standing still while unmet local
needs accumulate, without reference
or relation to the amount of revenues
available to meet the needs.
An old age pension system for the
District will, of course, cost money. It
would probably be erroneous to con-
ceive old age pensions as substitute
for institutional care of the aged. But
it represents long step away from
dependence on institutions for the
proper care Of the aged, and the time
is approaching in the District when
existing institutions must be en-
larged or the supplementing old age
pension system adopted. Sentiment
favors old age pensions, and the
adoption of such a system here would
be in line with advanced social
thought throughout the country.
The merits of the old age pension
system, however, and the merits of
other local projects are not weighed
by the Bureau of the Budget. That
agency's responsibility is to fix maxi
mum limits on expenditures. Ana
that is one reason why it is extremely
unfortunate and damaging to the local
for the affairs of a grow
ing municipality to be placed SO
completely under the Jurisdiction of
a Federal agency which is concerned
mainly with limiting national expendi-
lures. and nothing else.
Evening star., 1934-02-19
Bellwether's Bell Tinkles.
From the chattanoosa Times

From the Chattanoosa Times.
THE steel NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. of
American business-tonight ordered
its engineers to crowd on more
steam," says an Associated Press dis
patch sent out from Cleveland, Ohio,
last Saturday night.
This is not the first time since
the beginning Of the depression that
the bell of "the bellwether of Ameri-
can business" has tinkled. But its
tinkle is q little more distinct this
time than 1t has been heretofore
Not only is the steel industry being
favorably affected by growing auto
mobile business and the public works
program, which is at last beginning
to hit its stride; it Is also receiving
large orders from the railroads.
1t really looks as if the steel In.
dustry were in for a genuine revival
at last. And it is an cid saying that
as steel goes, so goes business GEN
orally. May the. present tinklins of
the bell Of better times IN the steel
mills not be false alarm this time
Millions of people who have no steel
STOCKS which are being held for q
rise are sincerely interested In see
ing the bellwether Of American buS-
ness take the high road to pros
perttV.
Evening star., 1934-02-19

The Supreme Courts unanimous
decision freeing untried violators Of
the Volstead act and those with ap-
peals pending met with the approval
Of newspaper observers. 1t was gen.
| orally urged. however. that in pursu-
ing the policy of clemency toward Of
tenders now serving jail sentences,
which many believed would be the
logical sequence of the courts ruling.
habitual criminals and gangsters
should be denied p,dons.
The Schenectady Gazette regards
"the position taken by the Supreme
Court in the matter" as "unassist-
able" and the Danbury News-Tmes
points out that sit would be against
principles OF justice to punish men
under law which does not exist at
the moment when the penalty is in
f1icted." Says the Fort Worth Star
Telegram: "If law cannot be made
today Furnishing an act committed
yesterday, 1t seems the most elemental
Of logic that q person cannot be
tried tomorrow for crime committed
yesterday against a law repealed to-
day" The Lowell Evening Leader
likewise considers the ruling a logical
one, because of the fact that until
they are found guilty, the defendants
are assumed to be innocent" and "vir-
tually that status is clinched for them
by the repeal of the prohibition
amendment"
Indeed. it appears to the Richmond
Times-Dispatch that "to continue
prosecution, either under the Federal
or State laws, would be a pure waste
Of time" considering the fact that
ut would be almost as difficult to get
jury to convict q bootlegger whose
offense Immediately preceded repeal
as it would be to convict a draft
dodger at this late date"
-
''The public generally will approve
Of the courts ruling as regards the
ordinary run of prohibition violation" !"
declares the Scranton Times. but,
favorable opinion will not be so
unanimous with respect to cases
where conspiracy, including the brib-
cry Of public officials, has been shown
or alleged"
The Boston Transcript calls atten-
ton to the fact that, "the decision
applies to all untried cases and to
cases pending on appeal. but II does
not operate automatically to release
all offenders convicted prior to De-
cember and now serving sentence,
as the layman might naturally sup
pose," but the Allentown Morning
Call Is convinced that there is like
lihood that with this amnesty for
those on trial or out of jail upon bail
pending appeal. there will be greater
generosity in the granting of pardons
to those already In jail, upon conviC.
tions or pleas of guilty" The Cleve-
land News asks whether it is Justice
to hold violators in Jail for disobey-
ing statute which the people of the
Nation, through repeal, declared was
unjust and should be eliminated"
On the other hand. the jamestown
IN. " Post is convinced that while,
under the circumstances as por-
trayed, the Supreme Court could have
taken no other ground, yet the fact
remains that those now In prison had
shown their contempt for the law"
Evening star., 1934-02-19
Austria's Independence.

Great Britain, France and Italy
have issued joint declaration en-
phasizing their common view" as
to the necessity of maintaining the
independence of Austria. 1t consti-
tutes a plain warning to Nazi Ger
many to keep hands off the internal
affairs of the remnant that is left of
the defunct Hapsburg empire. The
London, Paris and Rome governments
Joined in their manifesto after Chan
cellor Dollfuss inquired as to their
respective attitudes toward German
interference In Austria.
The British, French and Italians
are careful not to pledge themselves
to an outright guarantee of Aus
tria's independence. There is no in
dication that they are prepared for
the present, at least, to resort to
armed Intervention to prevent Ger
man absorption Of Austria or anything
tantamount thereto Instead the
Evening star., 1934-02-19
Nation Proclaims Justice
In Freeing Rum Defendant

and that II has since been repealed
does not IN fact diminish their guilt"
The Roanoke Times feels that "mere-
ly because Federal prohibition Is a
thing of the past the Government has
no intention Of turning loose an army
of thugs and criminals to prey on the
public, but thinks that 1.-The little
fellow who more or less drifted into
bootlegging' may be released shortly"
At any rate. remarks the New Orleans
T1meS-Picayune: They formed a drab
and not too heroic crew. these oppor-
tunists Of public hysteria and public
disgust, who will be remembered
chiefly for the poor quality of the
stuff they sold U.S." The South Bend
News Times advocates "clemency 10
prohibition law offenders, prisoners
and accused alike" but thinks il
would be well for our Government to
use a certain discrimination that
would serve the ends of Justice
The disposal of over 10000 case
by virtue of this blanket ruling" is
the phase which appeals most to the
Raleigh Times. Its effect" saws this
fAF~4' NAAA bC NC1N 10 CledT
the atmosphere of Federal courts in
general, whose high function has of
late years been compromised by the
necessity OF dealing with all manner
OF misdemeanants caught in the tolls
by reason of the Constitution and its
enforcement act relating to the 'ex-
pertinent noble in motive now rener-
ally repented as an egregious mistake
This sentiment Is seconded BY the
st. Louis Post-Dispatch. which states:
We are told that. to clean the Ausean
stables, Hercules turned into them the
rivers Alpheus and Peneus. The Nth
that had accumulated for 80 years
went out in a day. We have turned
the purifying streams of dignity and
rationalism into the Federal courts
1t will take more than q day to re-
move the impurities that have ac-
cumulated through 13 years, and so
restore them to their former estate
but in so honoring them we shall
honor ourselves"
Evening star., 1934-02-19
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

He did not resent and dislike his
own characters, as so many other
writer's do.
Criticism, as such, was not SO
rampant then.
Of the nasty, petty form of criticism
which refuses to man credit for
what he has done, by asking him why
he did not do something else.
There was less disposition then,
both in public and private life, to
ignore the good in people and concen-
trate solely on the bad.
There was less of tendency to be-
lieve that just because one did not
like something or other ones self,
therefore nobody else could possibly
like it.
In other words, there was less
conceit.
The swell-head hadn't yet come
into its own.
Dickens liked his characters, good
or Ill. that is one of the basic reasons
his readers like them, too.
Such things are contagious.
The good humor which he found in
life-outside Of his personal affairs
he transmitted to his readers.
He does it as well today as ever he
did. II the reader will give him a
chance.
One really must give a writer a
chance, you know.
You've got to read him.
II you are one Of those readers who
must be filliped with something YOU
don't know every time you start read
ing. right off the bat, like that
II you have got to have a strange
name. or pun, or "wisecrack." or
something or other which somehow
lmpresses you as having required mus
cularlty in its getting, rather than
clear honest thinking
II you really believe that to look in
In this life, is not as good as to lool.
out, that the microscope is a far in
ferior instrument to the telescope. that
the bray Of a jackass is sweeter music
than the still small voice of con-
science
Then you are one Of the readers
who say. "As rule I don't like Dick
ems, but I enjoyed "A Tale Of Two
Cities fairly we'll"
Cursed be "A Tale Of Two Cities I"
II Tor no other reason than that it
stands for Charles Dickens to all too
many readers.
1t Is not the great Charles at his
best. nor at his worst, despite the
unending attempts of the schools to
make young readers think that it was
the former.
Children seldom are fooled however
by such scholastic propaganda.
Most Of them know that the novel
dealing with the French revolution is
not entirely TO their taste, although
mostly they conceal this verdict from
teacher for fear of shocking the old
dear.
In later years they pick up Pick
WICK" for themselves, then go on to
the discovery of the real world of
Dickens. the roaring, coach rumblinp
eating and drinking world that never
had counterpart before, and never
has had once since.
There have been great writer's.
there are great writer's, there will
De great writers-unless humanity
through sheer cussedness insists on
providing times and conditions In
which artists cannot workout the
like OF Charles Dickens and his world
Will never be seen again. It is all
laid away in,morocco. buckram and
cloth for any reader who dares to like
what he likes. 1t takes nerve today
to like what you like.
Evening star., 1934-02-19

western powers reafirm existing treaty
obligations providing for Austria's "in-
dependence" and Integrity" The
treaty Of Versailles binds Germany to
acknowledge" and respect" Austrian
independence, and the treaty Of ST.
Germain requires Austria to refrain
from any action that could result in
union with Germany. That is the
pact under which Anschluss Is spe-
cifically "verboten."
Evidently, Great Britain, France
and Italy have decided that their
public declaration offers more effec-
tive protection to Austria than action
through the League of Nations. &C.
neva doubtless welcomes the alterna-
tive because it still toys with the hope
Of regaining Germany's membership.
Meantime, 1t is matter of gravest
doubt whether Berlin will be impressed
by the three-power move, aimed in its
direction. The Nazis have insisted
that the Hitlerite campaign in Aus
tria Is strictly an internal Austrian
affair, for which the German brown
shirts are in no wise responsible. This
contention is on all fours with Sta
Inns consistent reply to complaints Of
Russian Communist propaganda In
other countries-that he cannot con-
troll the activities of the Third Inter-
rationale. Herr Hitler can say that
he cannot be blamed for what Austrian
Nazis choose to do in Austria. 1t Is a
position which the western powers
will have difficulty in challenging, un-
less they can produce concrete evi-
dence OF interference directly and Of
ficially sponsored from Berlin.
The Nazi movement is strong and
widely intrenched in Austria. Chan
cellor Dollfuss' political bodyguard,
Prince Starhemberg's Heimwehr, is
thoroughly saturated with pro- -Nazi
sentiment and supporters. Fear Is
now current that thousands of the
Socialist workers, embittered by last
weeks sanguinary civil war, are
ready, as an act Of revenge against
the government, to 60 over to the
Nazi ranks.
Herr Hitler's obvious purpose is to
let matters take their normal course
In Austria. He believes they are ir-
resistibly drifting in the Nazi direc-
tlon. The reluctance of all three
western powers to embark upon any
course that could precipitate war is
factor, in the Reichs opinion,
that is working in the Nazis' favor.
Germany will watch her step, as far
as the commission of any Official overt
act against Austria is concerned.
Of that nature, Berlin Is now
warned, would be a treaty violation
OF which London, Paris and Berlin
could hardly fail to take notice, but
If Austria decides to go Nazi on its
own account, that will be a tougher
nut for Western Europe to crack.
All in all, Austria and her menaced
Independence remain a problem OF the
utmost gravity and one of immeas-
urable possibilities.
Evening star., 1934-02-19
SHOOTING STARS.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.

The Real Test.
George w. chopped the cherry tree
His frankness we extol.
It did 1t. father. dear" said he.
II need a fishing pole"
His father played a generous part.
Said he: by what you've done
I'm grieved-and yet I am at heart
A fisherman, my son.
your great veracity I prize
Far more than flower or fruit.
Your course so candid and so wise
With pleasure I salute.
But when unto your fellow men
OF fish you talk with glee-
Oh, will you be as truthful then
As you have been with me?"
Evening star., 1934-02-19
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE

States into the League of Nations
Fifteen organizations interested in
world peace are ardently circulating
petitions urging that the United
States join the League on terms of its
own. AS soon as 100000 signatures
have been obtained, the petition will
be presented to President Roosevelt.
Raymond 3. Fosdick, president of the
United States League of Nations As
ISOLATION, says the League cause is
more vital now than ever before and
that while Uncle Sam is considering
membership, he should be officially
represented at Geneva.
+ 4
Hitherto silver's cause In Congress
has been boosted almost exclusively
from the Senate side of the Capitol.
House silverites are now organizing,
with a view to forcing joint action on
Senator Wheeler's 16-to-1 proposal
during the present session. There is
overwhelming silver sentiment in the
lower branch Ohio Is a non-silver-
producing State, but member of her
delegation, Representative William L.
Fiesinger, Democrat, Of Sandusky, is
the leader Of the House silver bloc.
Nothing in Mr.. Fiesinger's record sug-
gests his silver passions. He is a ma
tive Ohioan and lawyer by profession
and was county judge when elected
to Congress four years ago.
Capitol Hill observers who saw those
two other famed senatorial investi-
gators, Tom Walsh of Montana and
Jim Reed of Missouri, perform, re-
spectively, in the Teapot Dome and
campaign funds probes, pay Senator
Hugo L. Black Of Alabama the tribute
Of saying that he has proved him
self. in the conduct of the airmail in
vestigation, the peer of either of his
distinguished predecessors as q quiz
master. Black pursues the suave
methods of Walsh rather than the
bulldog tactics of Reed. The Ala
baman Is no novice in the role he has
so successfully enacted at Washing
ton this Winter. Before coming to
the Senate in 1927, he was a police
judge in Birmingham and later prose-
cutting attorney of his home county
In his recent broadcast on the airmail
contracts. Senator Black in a terse
paragraph summarized the Govern
ment's plans for rebuilding aviation
in this country-"a reorganized in
dustry. with honest stock capitaliza-
ton, fair profits, contracts that are
just, and controlled by operators in
stead of spectators.
Mrs. Michael MacWhite, wife of the
Irish Minister at Washington, Is ac-
quiring laurels in New York with the
exhibit of landscapes and still-1ife
paintings produced during her spare
hours in the last eight years. The
exhibition, at a Riverside drive mu-
scum, is being held under the auspices
of patrons and patronesses who in
clude Secretary of Labor Perkins,
Postmaster General Farley and Sen
ators Wagner and Copeland. Mrs.
MacWhite, a Dane by birth, was an
art student during the peace confer
ence in 1919, when she met her hus-
band, then secretary Of the Irish Re-
publican delegation which vainly
sought recognition at Paris. She will
spend the coming Summer in WASH
ington at work with her brush and
easel.
If Uncle Sam saves a lot of money
by having the Army carry the airmail,
people are already wondering how
long it will be before the old scent
airmail letter rate Is restored.
(Copyright, 1034.1
Evening star., 1934-02-19
United States Senate.

United States Senate.
"Dear Sir: Permit me to thank you
most sincerely for the pleasure de-
rived from reading, this evening, your
This and That column.
Il have been a lifelong devotee OF
Charles Dickens. As child I heard
him read aloud by my parents: as
lad I read Dickens. and since then
scarcely a year goes by that I do not
read aloud some of my favorites.
"At one time ! believed that If any
one would name any character In any
of Dickens novels I could at once
give the title of the novel and de-
scribe the character named and tell
what part he took in the story. I
probably could not do that now, but
I would like to try.
II have but recently come to Wash
ington and so have not 'had the
pleasure of reading your comment on
Dickens for exactly 10 long years,
but shall certainly watch for your
column from day to day, not only in
the hope Of finding more about my
favorite novelist, but also because
am greatly pleased with all of it.
Yours truly, ID. D. o."
That's the difference between Dick
ems and all too many of the facile
writer's of today.
Dickens holds his friends, over the
years and. seemingly, over the CEN
turies.
Once you like Dickens, you never
go back on him.
He has, for you, something beyond
what the mere words say.
The world Of Dickens has been
made all the more appealing by the
vast changes which have been wrought
since his time, many of them with his
aid.
for his readers in its imperishable
glory-in which fact and fancy were
blended like the juice of a lime and
glass Of water, to make concoction
not as sour as the one nor as fiat as
the other.
Superb distortion" some one has
called his novels, but that was only in
way OF speaking The characters of
any novelist must be the ground work
OF his success, and Dickens gave us
real men and women and children,
despite their peculiarities, or maybe
because of them.
Why, we saw Little Nell the other
day on a downtown corner, and you
would have recognized her, and so
would you. had you read your Curl
oSlty Shop" to good purpose.
There she was. there wasn't any
doubt Of her at all, with her slight
faded look, that intangible, but none
the less powerful. pathetic appeal Of
young persons who in past ages were
plainly marked for an early demise.
Perchance happily this shall not
be the fate Of the child we saw, for
our beautiful city Of today Is far. far
different from the smoky. foggy
metropolis across the sea in a day
when sanitation and preventive medi-
cine were in their infancy.
Characters, human beings, these
are everything. in Dickens, in Gals
worthy, in Walpole, in Proust.
What would The Forsythe Saga"
and "A Modern Comedy" be without
Soames?
Living people, who make mistakes
and have their moments Of triumph.
and make mistakes again, are the
crown Of any fiction writer.
There have been stories without
heroes, and narratives without hero
ines, but none without people!
The great distinguishing fact about
the Dickens people is that they are
all there by right Of sheer existence.
That is, Dickens accepted them, and
appreciated them.
Evening star., 1934-02-19
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

@. What proportion of the boys in
G. G. c. camps deserted?-B. j. N.
A. The War Department says that
for the first six months of the c. C. c.
administration the best available fig
ures indicated that the percentage Of
desertions from reconditioning camps
wss approximately is per cent, and
the percentage Of desertions from work
camps was approximately IT per
cent.
@. Was there more money in circu-
lation in this country at the beginning
Of this year than there was a year
ago?-V. v.
A. According to the circulation
statement Of the Department Of the
Treasury, there was in actual circu-
lation December 81, 1882, s5,674,941,-
484. The figure for December 81,
1888, was $5,sO5, ,604,2Tz
@. How long did Mayor Cermak live
after he was wounded by an assassin
at Miami, Fla?-D. j.
a. The assassin fired six shots into
a dense crowd on February IS. 1882.
Mayor Cermak Of Chicago was the
only person fatally wounded He died
on March 6. Zangara was executed
on March zoe
Q. What proportion Of q heavy
thundercloud is actually water?-L. F.
A The densest clouds are probably
not more than one part water to 80
900 parts air.
Q. How can nail polish stains be re-
moved from materiaIs?-E. C.
A. Nail polish can be removed from
cotton and silk materials by sponging
with mixture of equal parts of the
following: Denatured alcohol, banana
oil (amyl acetate), benzol and acetone
On some fabrics, acetone alone Is ef-
1ectlVe. Acetone, or any mixture
containing acetone, should not be
used on cellulose acetate fibers. as it
VIII destroy them completely.
@. Are there more Jewish syna-
gogues or Roman Catholic churches
in New York City?-R. e. B.
A. There are 1,044 synagogues and
43O Roman Catholic churches. The
synagogues have 1,765 900 members.
while the Roman Catholic churches
have l,733,954 members.
Q. Do the same people use your
information bureau repeatedly
]. r. K.
A. While thousands Of people are
new users OF the bureau each year.
some correspondents have been using
u since the year that 1t came into
existence. Queries from old and new
friends are equally welcome. Address
your letter to this newspapers Infor-
nation Bureau, Frederic ]. Haskin
Director, Washington, D. c.
Q. What is a periodic sentence7-
L. H.
A. 1t Is q sentence in which. for
rhetorical effect, the several clauses
are so arranged as to suspend the in
terest until the very last word.
@. Is Ellis Island larger now than
1t was originally?-P. T.
A. Its present area Is 2l acres
while originally it was but 3.3. Two
Islands were built to the southwest
and tied to it by causeways. Later,
made ground was added Foreign
ships were permitted to dump their
ballast there. SO to some extent this
island for the reception of imm;-
grants Is made Of foreign soil.
Q. How many railway trains we're
derailed last year through collision
with automobiles?-E. L.
A. There were Is derailments OF
trains as result of collision between
trains and automobiles These derai!-
ments caused the death of l8 persons
and the injury Of 20.
@. When was Mrs Libby Holman
Reynolds baby born?-C. H.
A. A son was born on January 10.