davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1934-12-18
Rare Opportunity Neglected.

The Presidents executive order on
the Christmas holidays means that
the departments will open on the
Mondays preceding Christmas and
New Year day, closing at o'clock
If left to the employees, they might have
preferred full holiday on the Mon
day preceding Christmas and the full
working day on the Monday preced-
ing New Year to the arrangement
ordered. The full holiday on Monday
would have given them the rare op-
portunity to close their desks Satur-
day afternoon not to open them again
until Wednesday morning. As it is,
the Christmas and New Year hon-
days mean a short day on Saturday,
followed by q short day on Monday,
which will probably cost the Govern
ment more, in janitorial service and
heating, than the other arrangement.
Another plan which might have
proved more acceptable to the Gov
eminent employees would have been
to eliminate the regular half holi-
days on the next two Saturdays and
permitted the employees the full holi-
days on the next two Mondays and
Tuesdays.
No test Of sentiment was invited
in the Government departments, and
the executive order was doubtless the
result of routine decision rather than
careful weighing of all considera-
tions involved. If the interests of
the Government are as well served
under one plan as under another,
it would be relatively simple and far
more satisfactory to the employees
themselves to have an informal poll
conducted among the chief clerks,
for instance, to determine what ar
rangement would best suit the ma
jority of employees.
Evening star., 1934-12-18
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

II fishes are permitted to remain
In, the water depth should be at
least 80 inches, and even deeper is
better, for goldfishes do. not take
kindly to being frozen.
There Is legend, Of course, to the
effect that freezing does not harm
them, but only the other day we talked
! to gentleman whose fish were frozen
solid last Winter.
Every one of them died after thaw-
ing out.
A good treatment of the too shallow
pool Is said to be this:
After the water has frozen about 2
inches down, a small hole is bored in
the ice and siphon inserted.
Then enough water is drained away
to leave an air space about 4 to 6
inches between the bottom Of the ice
and the surface of the water.
This space acts as insulation, and
permits the remaining water to go
unfrozen. This, at least, is the theory.
and 1t sounds plausible.
It will not be necessary to do this,
however, If the pool is deep enough.
| A pool SO inches deep, for in
stance, is not very liable to freeze
solid in this climate.
4 II
Even the apartment house dweller
need not lack water decoration.
Those most ideal apartment house
pets, tropical fishes, offer every one
the opportunity to experience the
decorative possibilities Of water.
A nice aquarium, with green plants
and bright fishes, is beautiful addi-
| ton to the well decorated modern
home.
/ Notice that we say one aquarium.
The temptation is to have more
than one, and with this increase lies
danger to interior decoration. The
truth is that If several aquaria are
desired, they should be housed in a
room Of their own. The fish room Is
the thing, in such a case Care will
be easier, in every way, and their ap-
pearance better.
One aquarium, however, especially
Of moderate size, say 10 to 20 gallons.
will make a most charming addition
| to any living room.
1t will give the owner a true water
note, displaying In miniature some Of
the charms of the tropical streams
from which the fishes, or their an
| cestors, came.
| r r
Lacking this. one still may realize
something of the decorative possibili-
ties Of water by watching for them in
rain Ind snow.
One of the charms of the older
novels, now slightly out Of fashion,
lay in their descriptions of rainy days.
The French novelists often made
the rainy day. especially in Paris, a
sort of keynote for somber episodes.
A rainy day view Of the great city
over the rooftops is one of the high
points in Emile Zola's Page of Love- +"
The way pain glitters on tin roofs,
for instance. may be watched in
Washington as we'll as elsewhere. This
is a sport open to any one, and only
fair powers of imagination are neces-
sary.
1t Is better to be able to see the
beauty in a rainy day than to growl
about the weather.
A rainy day. or snowy day. is, in
truth, marvellous display Of Natures
beauty.
Every downspout then. however
| humble, is turned into a veritable cas-
cade, fountain, geyser. Every gut
ter becomes a little brother to the
mighty river, as it flows on to join
! the ocean, waters ultimate.
Evening star., 1934-12-18
"Craduation' the Only
Way to Check Drug Habit
70 the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
get an appreciated grin out Of ev-
cry news article I read having to do
with sending morphine addicts to a
certain narcotic farm" to be cured
Personally-the opinion based on &C.
tual experience with the drug-no
man who has tasted muchly of the
Chinese poppy can ever be totally
cured. He can be took of" of It.
and can "kick the habit" himself, for
a while, II he does it in a sane and
safe manner. But as for a perma-
nent cure-I doubt If there is any
such a thing.
Proof for the statement lies In the
fact that the Department Of Justice
records are full Of names Of mar
cotic repeaters" who, every so often
are picked up. convicted Of both sell
ing and using morphine, and sent
away to the Federal prison at Leaven-
worth, Kans.
The reason for this lies In the es-
tablished practice Of Federal doctors
giving narcotics" the iron BAR
treatment. In short, regardless OF
how long the convict has used dope
the moment he enters prison (unless
indeed he Is a bad heart case) his
dope stops. And unless a man has
cold -bloodedly kicked" o three-grain
morphine habit, till his dying day ht
will never know what it means to be
really sick.
Neither yet will he know real sick
ness If he graduates himself of OF
it," Graduating a man of Of NOR
phine, too, is the only sane way to
do it with any hope of him staying
off Of it for any undetermined length
of time. In strictest fact, the doctors
practice of the iron bar" treatment
infuriates the most of dope-heads, and
when they get turned loose they take
revenge by building up a real habit
again, sometimes as much as 20 grains
per "a hours.
BY graduating them. however. the
cure is easy, in that the patient doe:
not really know just when the med
icine" was stopped. To illuminate
Wen say that the patient takes three
grains per day, one grain per shot
Solutionize 1.80 grains of morphine
in bottle, measuring it at the rate
OF l5 drops of water per grain. This
Is a full 60-day treatment. Then
every time you give the patient a
shot. replace the quantity in the bot
tie with Is drops of sterilized water
thus. every shot reducing the amount
OF the narcotic day by day until all
he gets Is plain water for the last
few shots of his treatment, in which
he has never missed a meal, or a
nights sleep, and in many cases he Is
so satisfied with the "cure" that he
will maybe go years before he will
taste of the poppy again.
But break him by the iron bar
route" Qock him up), and in ninety
nine cases out of a hundred you've
just created a sure-enough dangerous
dope head out of what could have
been converted into an appreciative
man, had you used common sense and
kindness in his case.
WILLIAM MEYERS.
Evening star., 1934-12-18
Supreme Court Sculptures.

The new Supreme Court Building,
naturally enough, afforded an espe-
cially notable opportunity for sculp-
tors and it would seem that they have
made the most of it. Such Of the
carved ornamentation as has been
completed is so distinctively noble and
beautiful as to justify a verdict of
unreserved approval. And it is good
to think that for generations to come
the magnificent edifice will speak to
the people through these esthetic
fruits of contemporary genius. telling
the story of justice to all who have
eyes to see.
No one knows when or where or how
men first began to cultivate the plastic
arts. But it cannot be questioned that
the Creator implanted in the human
soul an instinct for imitation, in
vention and Interpretation which,
slowly, through long course of time,
was to develop power to make and
to appreciate loveliness and grace be-
yond the capacity of words to repro
duce. The miracle of it lies outside
analysis-it cannot be explained;
even the artists themselves cannot say
whence their inspiration and their
skill arise. Plainly evident, however,
Is the glorious fact that art links man.
kind with its providential origin.
And therein may be found the ex-
PLANTATION of the impulse which multi
tudes feel to construct, to decorate
and to enjoy more stately mansions" :"
The Athenian democracy and the Ro-
man oligarchy, it might be supposed,
could have done without the Parthe-
non and the Pantheon; France and
England, likewise, might have sur
vived without their cathedrals, and
Evening star., 1934-12-18
Large Navy Alone Not
An Adequate Defense

10 the Edltor OF Tne star:
An evening or two ago, I heard a
prominent radio commentator upon
public affairs state that he had been
assured upon the highest authority
that the United States would proceed
to build Navy second to none and
one which would insure the safety Of
this Nation in the event of war.
A large Navy alone cannot insure
the safety of this or any other nation.
There Is one ether thing that is
equally as requisite as an efficient
Navy, and that is loyal and patriotic
people back of the Navy at home.
Japan. for example, will have both
the navy and the loyal and patriotic
people. If this Nation were to become
involved in war with major power.
the enemy that we would have to fear
would be the ones within our gates
rather than those outside.
In the event Of war, our Govern
ment would be hamstrung by the
sabotage and internal dissension that
would Immediately be melted and To-
mented by the numerous alien COM
munistic and disloyal groups within
our borders. There is not a nation
on earth that would tolerate what
this Government tolerates from peo-
pie of this sort. If an American citi-
zen were to 60 into Italy or Russia
and engage in any such reasonable
activities as these, he would be exc
cuted within "a hours.
And as to the pacifists in our COL
leges: I wonder whose country they
think this is going to be in another
20 years? 1t is going to be their
country. The older generation will
have passed on. They will be the
ones who will have to conduct it and
live in it, and If they constitute part
of a population so soft that they would
rather relinquish every right that they
possess than fight to defend those
rights, they will have no one to blame
and no one to look to but themselves
If they find themselves paying tribute
to some other nation, perhaps yellow
In color but not in character.
FRANK g. CAMPBELL.
Evening star., 1934-12-18
America conceivably might have fore

America conceivably might have fore
gone its monumental Capitol. Its
Washington Monument and Its Lin
coin Memorial. A nation, theoretically
at least, may live without art. But
something deep in its heart under
stands why it does not choose SO to
do, why, instead. 1t can be happier by
practicing spiritual aspiration.
Cass Gilbert did not survive to wit
ness the final Towering Of his dream,
but doubtless he died grateful for his
chance to frame its lines. AID the
men he called to his aid-particularly
Robert Aitken, Herman A. MacNeil,
James Earle Fraser, Adolph Alex
aRder Weinman, John Donnelly and
the Picciriln brothers - must be
abundantly conscious Of the honor
which they have had in sharing in the
labor. Plain and unpretending men
they may be, but it has been their
privilege to express q peoples char
acter.
Evening star., 1934-12-18
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

@. How soon viii the planes Of the
equator and the ecliptic coincide7-
II. z. M.
A. The angle of inclination at which
the eciiptic crosses the equator Is va
riable. AT present II il nearly 23h
degrees and Is diminishing at the rate
of about 4s seconds in a century. The
decrease, however, has q limit, the
obnquity oscillating between two def
mite bounds. It has been calculated
that 1t was at its greatest In 1000
B. c., and was then nearly % degrees
SO minutes. Since then 1t has been
decreasing, and will continue to do SO
until about the year 5000 A. D., when
1t will be at Its least and about %
degrees 81 minutes.
@. What Is coracle?-C. B.
A. A coracle Is boat made Of bas-
Network covered with leather, oilcloth
or other waterproof material.
@. What was the inscription which
Thomas Jefferson wrote for his own
tomb?-D. r.
A. Jefferson desired that on his
tomb should be recorded what he
considered as his greatest achieve
ments: Here was buried Thomas
Jefferson, author Of the Declaration
of American Independence and Of
the statute Of Virginia for religious
freedom, and father Of the University
Of Virginia"
@. When was the term, birth con-
troll" first used?-A. B.
A. The term was probably first
used by Mrs. Margaret Sanger In
THE Woman Rebel" April. 1914.
q. When was the Great Pyrami5
Of Egypt built?-J. p.
A. Cheops, or Khufu (c. 5000 B. CO.,
King Of Memphis In Egypt, belong
ing to the fourth dynasty, built the
largest of the existing pyramids.
@. To see anything does 1t have
to have color?-A. J. G.
A. Not necessarily, The National
Bureau of Standards says that in
order to see colorless object it must
present some contrast with the back
ground. This contrast may be pro-
duced by a difference in color. shad-
ovs, etc.
@. Who first introduced the base
ment bargain department into depart
ment stores?-J. s. w.
A. Edward A. Filene Of Boston is
credited with being the originator Of
this plan.
@. OF the ten best plays chosen by
Burns Mantle for the theatrical year
1884, how many were written and pro-
duced by Jews?-J. w.
A. OF the ten plays chosen by Mr..
Mantle, nine were produced by Jews,
three written by Jews and i've were
directed by Jews. Three Of them used
sets created by Jews and one Of them,
Men in White" was played by a
largely Jewish cast.
@. Is the Federal loan to the rail-
roads as large today as the loan 1t
made them following the World War?
F. C. A.
A. The loans In the present emer-
gency are only about one-third of the
total amount Of those made In the
period following the World War.
@. Does person weigh more or less
after a period Of exercise?-P. G.
A. The Public Health Service says
that a person loses weight during ex-
ercise. This Is brought about by the
passing OF Of water through the skin
in the form Of perspiration and also
by the general using up of energy in
the body tissues.
Evening star., 1934-12-18
Weather Forecasting
Over Sixty Years Ago

AZ tAS 1AtbOA Va 4hC 0tcA.
am reading with interest the re-
publication in The Sunday Star of
Frank G. Carpenters articles Of Half
Century Ago"
notice in the last republished ar
ticle his statement that "it rained at
the second Inauguration of Grant"
This was a mistake on Carpenters
part, as the 4th of March, 1873, was
clear and very cold day with a
strong northwest wind or gale which
chilled the applauding crowds viewing
'ae inaugural procession.
At that time was one of the SOL
dier clerks who translated the weather
reports, received thrice daily by tele-
graph in cipher at the Army Signal
Once on G street, into symbols and
figures on the weather maps used by
the forecasters in making the weather
predictions, and on the 4th of March
map of 1873 I noted the Washington
morning temperature at four degrees
above zero. The gentlemen who wrote
the weather reports at that time and
with whom worked were Prof.
Cleveland Able and Prof. Thompson
B. Maury. Prof. Able wrote the
first weather predictions, beginning
with January l, 1871. These he
termed probabilities, and he was
referred to by some Of the newspaper
men as "Old Probabilities" as you
may recollect.
While the weather Office continued
under the Army Signal Service the
clerks and telegraphers in the weather
office, excepting the chief clerk and
chief telegrapher, we're all enlisted
men in the Army, and some had the
rank of observer sergeant" desig-
nation originated. I think, by Gen.
Albert j. Myer, then chief signal Off
Ger of the Army.
We had Regular Army pay, with
extra duty" pay and certain commu-
tations of quarters, rations and cloth
ing and had no military duties.
HENRY CALVER,
Formerly Sergeant Signal Service,
u. S. A,
Evening star., 1934-12-18
Inquisition Did Not
Persecute Calico
To the Editor Of The Star:

TO the Editor OF The Star:
I desire to call your attention to a
serious historical error which ap-
peared in a December IA editorial en-
titled Carnegie Institution Exhibi-
tion." In this editorial, praising the
exhibit, it was stated that "Galileo
also lacked popular support in the
days when he was being prosecuted
by the Inquisition for agreeing with
Copernicus In his doctrine Of the
revolution of the celestial orbs."
No. scholar today admits that
Calico was prosecuted by the Inuuisi-
ton. After his trial he resided either
in the homes Of friends or In his
OWE villa Of Arcetri. He not only
continued his studies, but received a
papal subsidy Of one hundred crowns.
I am sure the Carnegie Institution
would be the first to resent this tin-
scientific bungling Of the facts Of his
tory. JOHN j. O'CONNOR.
Evening star., 1934-12-18

Decorative powers Of water are seen
In public In such fountain as graces
Chevy Chase Circle.
Turning on the water for the Winter
season leaves something lacking, but
1t is partly made up for by snow. which
Is water In another form, Of course.
This idea easily leads on to the
possibilities Of rain as decorative mate
rial.
Rightly viewed, a rain in any In
tensity is beautiful.
1t adds something to the landscape.
It softens earth to the eye by dark
ening it, transforms the glare Of con-
crete to black, gives the same note to
houses, sidewalks, trees, shrubs.
The difference between a rain and
q fountain Is simply the difference
between the natural thing and the
planned thing.
The nearest Nature comes to foun-
tain is the waterfall or geyser. A good
fountain more nearly approaches a
continuous geyser; perhaps that is
why it adds such charming note to
city, wherever found.
y = y
It will seem to the water enthusiast
that perhaps not enough use has been
made Of its decorative possibilities In
Washington.
Aside from the fountain over by
Union Station, and the rejecting pool
at the Monument, and one or two 9TH
er instances, the city somewhat lacks
vr,ofav- xryf,tnH xIHinhf t,a oddoS
easily enough throughout the city.
There is a field here for future in
vestigation. 1t is true that water deco
ration is trihe expensive, but when
its possibilities are rightly considered
1t does not seem so much so.
We would like to see, for instance,
more use made Of small pools in the
city squares and circles. For a COM
paratively limited expenditure a
shining little tract of water could be
incorporated in spots not much used
at present.
These places then would become
centers of interest. Planted with lilies
in season, and stocked with few gold
fishes, in time they would become
things of beauty. adding a true note
Of water beauty to our often too drab-
appearing parks.
The one danger Of such pools, OF
course. would be that Of small chill
dren falling into them. and this Is
always a danger and must be guarded
against, as even the shallowest pool
offers a hazard to the littlest children.
The Potomac offers Washington a
water possibility which it has not yet
used. Some day, without a doubt, a
more complete use will be made of its
great decorative possibilities. One
has but to view the water front TO see
that this has not been done to date.
It may require some governmental
action.
The private individual who owns
even the smallest plot of ground has
an opportunity to build a small pool,
and thus have something of these
decorative possibilities for his own.
Many residents have found out in
the past few years how easily a pool
may be constructed by any handy
man, and how shortly it becomes the
keynote to the entire garden.
The incorporation of a waterfall,
and a small fractional horsepower
pump to keep the water flowing, has
given q few local gardens something
out of the ordinary.
The best pool is the one deep
enough.
This permits 1t to remain full all
Winter so that the seasonal changes
may be observed.
Evening star., 1934-12-18
Two Types of Drivers
Make Streets Unsafe
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor OF The Star:
While the speed maniacs are being
classified I wish to nominate as KinR
Kong Of them all the individual who,
becoming impatient Of the speed of
the machine in front of him In the
roadway, detours and dashes between
the car-loading platforms. His OBJ
ject is to beat the light. I believe
most motorists hate the lights and
their constant endeavor Is to get by
before they change. Another public
enemy is the driver who dashes
around corners close to the curb.
do not look for any improve
ment in our deplorable traffic situa-
ton, as all Of our officials charged
with its regulation drive cars and are
motor minded" A. 3. DRISCOLL.
Evening star., 1934-12-18
Pedestrians and
The Traffic Lights
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor of The Star:
Your editorial last Sunday in which
you noted the confusing effect of traf-
fic lights on pedestrians was great
source of satisfaction to me. You also
made the statement that the purpose
of traffic signals was ostensibly to ia
cilitate the movement of traffic and
utterly disregarded the safety Of the
pedestrian.
I wish to thank you for your candor
at a time when the director Of traffic
is accusing pedestrians for being re-
sponsible for very high percentage
of automobile accidents.
HENRY LEBACH.
Evening star., 1934-12-18
War Debts and
Foreign Liquors
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor OF The Star:
For the fifth time France defaults
to the United States on her World
War debt, and, like England, France
replies to our Secretary Of State: sit
uation unchanged" American tax
payers are now taxed and paying the
interest on England's and Frances
contracted World War debts to the
United States. Unpatriotic Americans
import Scotch whisky and French
wines and drink them, as well as Eng
lish brandy. passing up excellent Cali
fornia wines and brandy and even un-
blended fine Kentucky whiskies.
"What fools ye (American moneyed)
mortals bel" w. z. RYAN.