davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1934-12-06
The Bird of Victory.

Ornithology, or the science of birds,
is not static. 1t is an expanding line
of research. observation and defini-
ton. Especially in the branch relat-
ing to the sturnus vulgaris, the fam
lily name Of the startling. Most of the
feathered creatures in their adapta-
ton to the ways and practices of man
keep closely to their natural habits,
but the startling has developed new
ways of conduct as it has contacted
with the unfeathered bipeds. Indeed,
it has evolved characteristics that are
quite manlike in some respects.
Take for an Illustration of the ad-
justment Of the starlings this bit Of
information about the species con-
tanned in the Encyclopaedia Brit
annica printed five years ago:
The startling is an omnivorous feed
er. but where numerous, as in Britain,
it must undoubtedly be numbered
among the injurious species. 1t gath
ers in enormous flocks in the Autumn
to roost in reed beds, and such flock
on the wing is a memorable sight,
their simultaneous turns in the air
being very remarkable. OF late years
it has taken to roosting in increasing
numbers on large buildings in London
and other towns. As the young grow
they become extremely noisy. The
startling was introduced into New York
City in 1890. 1t has spread rapidly
in New York and adjoining States.
A re-edition of this commentary on
the sturnus vulgaris should tell the
story Of its remarkable adaptation to
It's close association with man. It
Evening star., 1934-12-06
of current literature. Prodded by the

of current literature. Prodded by the
newsmen for an explanation, he de-
clared:
We're too dull. Our little lives are
unimportant. All esthetic ques-
tions are dead and boresome. Music.
art and the rest-they're not impor-
tant to us any more. I've been asso-
ciated with toney letters a long time.
and I'm sick of them. And II am,
the readers must be.
Such an attitude, Of course, Is not
new. Tolstoy reflected it forty years
ago and was popular for his pessimism.
1t is a perfectly natural reaction to
long-continued struggle, mostly vain.
1t is just what an overthoughtful man
momentarily might believe in an age
Of war, revolution. depression and
crime. Mr. Hergesheimer himself,
however, betrayed an emerging op-
timism when he added to his con-
demnation:
What We want is a new form
something vital, amusing and alive.
A thousand literary craftsmen have
uttered the same demand through
twice a thousand years. In point of
fact, it has been the universal cry Of
writer's, individually and as class,
ever since history began. The quest
is eternal. One who never wrote a
line summarized it in His appeal for
life more abundant" Mr.. Herges-
heimer, then, is but a member of the
great majority in his rejection Of
things that are dull" his longing for
things vital"
Ordinary people feel the same i'm
pulses. They, too, revolt against con-
ditions which tire them and render
them unhappy. And on occasion they
express their objection in terms Of
action. The result is the species
of movement called progress.
Evening star., 1934-12-06
Appraising Contemporary Letters.


Joseph Hergesheimer is one of the
writing men who ought to know some
thing about literary art. Departing for
a vacation in Bermuda the other day,
he was persuaded by reporters to give
an appraisal of certain aspects of con-
temporary letters; and his judgments
may be of interest to those of whom
he spoke as "our customers"
I've gotten to point where hate
novels" he said. They're dull I
can't read them" But novels which
are not dull, presumably, he did not
ban. Another, final effort from the
broken pen of John Galsworthy, might
have stirred his enthusiasm Thomas
Hardy, perhaps, might have sponsored
at least one more ironic romance which
he could have tolerated. And Dickens
and Thackeray-neither of those
giants was written out" when death
stopped their hands; either might
have done book powerful enough to
have engaged the attention of even
Mr.. Hergesheimer.
But their Pennsylvania successor, it
seems, really is in revolt against life
as he sees it; and that circumstance
may account for his harsh evaluation
Evening star., 1934-12-06
Terrorism in the Soviet.

On the same mass scale that char
acterizes its monumental economic
plans. the Soviet Union has made
short and terrible shrift of elements
charged with fomenting "terroriStic
action" against the Communist govern
ment. Yesterday at Leningrad thirty
seven of these alleged enemies Of the
state were Summarily tried by mill
tary branch of the Supreme Court,
convicted, sentenced to death al
forthwith executed. At Moscow twen-
ty-nine persons. similarly accused,
met the same fate. Two others at
Leningrad and three at Moscow are
being held for further investigation.
While the Soviet authorities Off
cially announce this condign ven-
geance against the forces that would
undermine the Bolshevist regime, the
precise nature of the crimes they
expiated is not divulged. They were
tried amid hermetical secrecy, denied
counsel, and rushed to their doom
under the new no quarter" DEGREES
just proclaimed with a view to sup
pressing political opposition. Exactly
in what manner the accused were
dispatched, and where, is another de-
tail withheld from public knowledge
The authorities merely proclaim that
the executions have taken place and
name those who paid the penalty
The list contains the name of none
recognized either as leader of the
White" armies that provoked civil
warfare after the Bolshevist revolu-
ton, or as having figured prominently
in subsequent national events.
Following SO closely on the heels
of last weeks assassination of Sergei
Kirof, high official of the Stain gov
erning group, the conclusion is in
escapable that these sixty-six execu-
tions are the result of sudden dis
covery that the murder was part and
parcel OF far-fung conspiracy
against the Soviet. The general
charge is that the sixty-six men
executed were preparing and organ
izing terroristic acts against Soviet
officials" Most of them are said to
have come into the country through
Latvia, Finland or Poland and bear
Russian names. The property of each
will be conf1scated. Nikolieff, who
killed M Kiroff, still awaits punish
ment as Moscow prepares to bury the
Communist leader with ceremonial
pomp.
The Kremlin censorship doubtless
will contrive, for the time being at
least, to suppress the facts. which led
up to Wednesdays swift and frightful
blood purge" as not dissimilar events
in Germany last Summer were called.
All the circumstances connected with
it suggest that beneath the Soviet
surface there is ferment of revolt
Of an intensity hitherto unsuspected
by the outside world Stain and his
associates, at any rate, have signaled
to all concerned that the iron hand
Of repression is ready to do its work
ruthlessly and with merciless
thoroughneSs.
Evening star., 1934-12-06
Mexico's Six-Year Plan.

FIOm tnc OclTOlI NcWB
Last Spring leaders Of Mexico's Rev.
olutionary party gave final approval
to an instrument which reaSserted the
essential aims Of the revolution. inter-
preted them in the light of prolonged
study and experiment and added de-
tails of social and economic policy.
This instrument, having the double
nature of a party platform and legis-
lative program. was designated as the
"six-year plan"
The six-year period was not arbi-
trarily fixed as result of a nice cal
culation as to how much time would
be required to bring about a new era
of opportunity In Mexico. 1t was
fitted to the conditions of the Mexican
presidential term, which is six years
without reelection.
Final success of the plan Is thus
made the obligation Of a single ad-
ministration and of one President.
That executives time will be taken up
with . study Of enabling acts rather
than in determining matters Of ma
ti0nal policy. On every conceivable
issue. ranging down to whether the
government should encourage lecturers,
the cost Of trees from the national
hothouses and how many schools
should be built in 1899, his position is
already made clear to him. What Is
possibly more important, it has been
printed in pamphlet form and broad
cast through Mexico.
It is under these unprecedented con-
ditions that Gen. LaZaro Cardenas
took ofiice on December / as Presi-
dent of Mexico. No Mexican President
since 1920 has attempted q more am
bilious program, and it Is doubtful If
one has come to the presidency at .
time when at least . partial showing
Of success was more vital to the con-
tinuation of orderly government.
In the last six years the land-distri-
button program and other basic ideals
of the revolution have either begged
down entirely or been temporarily
sidetracked. The six-year plan Is. In
essence, o covenant wherein President
Cardenas Is pledged to the restoration
Of those ideals and to the revitalizing
Of the revolution.
Evening star., 1934-12-06

Discussion Of control Of the muni-
tions industry was given new impetus
by the letter OF Lammot l. du Pont to
the Senate Investigating Committee
in which he went on record as favor
ing the limitation Of private profits
in time of war.
mo cool-headed observer can with
hold a considerable respect for the
proposal Of the president Of E. I. du
Pont de Nemours Co.. that all excess
sive wartime earnings of business and
and individuals should be curbed rig
orously," says the Rochester Times
Union. The Kalamazoo Gazette
thinks that coming from the presi-
dent Of one of the worlds greatest
and most famous munitions -manufac-
turing concerns, statement like this
must indeed be regarded as a major
development In the campaign to curb
reckless dealing and profiteering in
the inStrumentalitieS Of slaughter. 1t
may also be interpreted, adds this pa
per, las evidence that the campaign
is making definite progress. so far as
public opinion is concerned"
There should be no profit In
war" declared the Sioux Falls Daily
Argus-Leader. and the Burlington
Hawkeye- Gazette agrees, maintain
ing. however, that in safeguarding
against this We must be careful not
to go so far as seriously to cripple
our defense provisions" The Buffalo
Times directs attention to the fact
that "the Senate committee brought
out testimony that, during the World
War, the Du Pont company received
s1,245 .000, 900 in orders and paid d.
vidends totaling 458 per cent OF the
par value of the original stock"
But while Mr.. du Pont Is willing
to check profits and shipments"
points out the Miami Herald, "he op-
poses government monopoly of arms
manufacturing and the Indianapolis
Star takes the position that there
can be no question Of the necessity
of continuing the private manufac-
ture of armament" In this con-
nection, the Lexington (Ky) Leader
states that the Du Pont Company
devotes but per cent OF its ca
pacity to the making of munitions but
is ready instantly to expand produc-
ton, almost without limit, In crisis.
The Chicago Daily News objects to
the Du Pont proposal for a Federal
licensing system for the export OF
arms on the ground that "it either
would be q mere formality, without
meaning, or it would be powerful
diplomatic weapon, the use OF which
might decide the outcome Of foreign
wars, and which in any case would
tend to involve US promptly and deeply
in foreign quarrels, on the mere say
SO of a Federal commission" Speak
ing Of such objections, however. the
Topeka Daily Capital says: There
has been no proposal Of any kind
for control Of munitions, no proposal
Of reduced armament. no proposal Of
peace measures which has not in
stantly aroused opposition. with
plausible arguments tending to dem
onstrate that anything proposed Of
whatever character Is impracticable
on one ground or another"
1.-THE chief significance Of the Du
Pont memorandum. in the eyes Of
the Manchester IN. HI Union, Is
''in the fact that the munitions in
dustry itself has recognized the need
of submitting that problem to the
most thorough study. with a view to
eliminating its most dangerous as
pects," while the Chester (Pa) Times
thinks that leaders Of the industry
Evening star., 1934-12-06
SHOOTING STARS.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.

A Hard Winter.
We're goin' to have Winter that will
put us to the test.
That's clearly understood.
But If it teaches each to be more
helpful to the rest,
It's going to do us good.
We're going to get together. Each
must try to understand
His present neighborhood.
If in this New Deal each will try to
play a helping hand,
It's going to do us good.
Evening star., 1934-12-06
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

A reader can get the dnsper to
any question OF fact by tDriting The
Washington Euening Star Information
Bureau, Frederic J. Hdskin, Director.
Washington, D. c. Please inclose
stamp for reply.
@. How long had Princeton been
undefeated when Yale won on No.
vember 17?-A. K.
A. The last game which Princeton
lost was the Michigan game in the
1882 season.
@. Is there any estimate Of the
amount of time saved motorists by
the Holland Tunnel?-B s. M.
A. 1t is estimated that in seven
years the Holland Tunnel has saved
the travelling public $4,000. 900 motor
hours.
@. Was the racing yacht Weetamoe
designed and built with sleeping quar-
subsequently to comply with require
ments of the Racing Committee?-
E. B. C.
A. When the class J yacht Weeta-
moe was built, as a defender for the
Americas Cup, she had no interior
accommodations for sleeping quar-
tiers. She was bought the following
year. 1881, by Frederic H. Prince, at
which time she was altered to con-
form with the new rules governing
class J yachts, and full living accom-
modations were built into her. She
now complies with all of the require
ments governing class boats in the
Americas Cup match.
@. How much money was spent
for newspaper advertising last year
in the United States?-S. r. P.
A. American Newspaper Publishers
Association estimates the total amount
spent for national newspaper ad-
vertising at $l45, 100000, and for local,
including classified, at $325,000 900.
@. How many calories does yeast
cake contain?-R. S.
A. There are approximately 70
calories in the usual foil-covered cake
of yeast.
@. Why are some parts Of Maine
losing their vegetation?-A. F. w.
A. At the end Of the Ice Age South
ern Maine was covered by sea which
deposited a mantle of clay over the
submerged region. AS the sea re-
treated the clay was covered by a
layer OF sand deposited by streams
and locally worked over by wind. In
most places this sand is held in place
by the vegetation. At Freeport, how
ever. the wind has had chance TO
attack this layer of sand and Is now
blowing it in an easterly direction.
The cause Of the destruction of vege-
tation which gave the wind its op-
portunity is said to be overgrazing
by sheep. The Freeport desert is only
one of several similar places in
Maine. This one in Leeds is much
larger, but has not received the pub
licity the Freeport area has. In
Benton there is a rapidly developing
desert, which started about IS years
ago by wind getting at sandpit and
blowing the deposit eastward. One
farm has already been destroyed.
Q. Who was the first in this coun-
try to develop a successful method
for treating tuberculosis?-M. w.
A. DR.. Edward Livingston Trudeau.
He founded the Trudeau Sanatorium
so years ago in the Adirondacks.
@. How long have meerschaum
pipes been used?-L. J. K.
A. They are referred to in English
literature as early as 1899, when Cole
ridge spoke Of them in letter dated
the 14th Of January.
@. What are the banana repub-
lics?-E. D.
A. They are Nicaragua, Honduras,
Costa Rica and Guatemala, from
which the greater part of our supply
of bananas is imported.
Evening star., 1934-12-06

Postmaster General Farley's figures
are challenged. When Rip Van VIM
kle took a drink he would say I'VE
won't count this one" 1t is not pos
sible, however, to eliminate items to
the extent of establishing a Rip Van
Wrinkle system of accounting.
Evening star., 1934-12-06

In his book on money Norman An
CELL mentions curious foundations for
currency, such as sea shells and to-
bacco Now that every one insists on
riding, motor cars may possibly assert
themselves as a basis for values in
traffic relating TO collateral or direct
barter.
Evening star., 1934-12-06

The statement that Huey Long IS
boy minded" may be scientifically
true. Yet there is a limit to the num-
Der of birthdays through which an in
FAINT prodigy can expect to hold his
title
Evening star., 1934-12-06

@. Is it not correct to use capital
letters when writing names Of seasons.
months and days Of the week.
j. H. T.
A. The Government Style Manual
says that the names Of the months
and the days Of the week should be
capitalized, but not the names Of the
seasons.
@. Who wor the 1894 Nobel Prize
in chemistry?-K. F. S.
A. Prof. Harold Urey of Columbia
University, discoverer Of heavy water,
Is the winner.
Q. When were Indian head pennies
coined?-R. L. j.
A. Indian head 1-cent pieces were
coined from 1889 to 1909. Minor
changes were made in 1860 and 1854.
Q. Please give a list Of some OF
the worlds best novels-W. K.
A. DR.. William Lyon Phelps, dis
tinguished literary critic, has listed
the following as the worlds finest
novels: Robinson Crusoe," "Gulh-
ver's Travels" "Clarissa," The His
tory of Tom Jones'" Eugene Gran
det." The Three Musketeers," David
Copperfeld," The Scarlet Letter"
Henry Esmond," Madame Bovary,"
Fathers and Children" Les Miser-
ables," Anna Karenina," The Broth
ers Karamazov" and "Huckleberry
Finn"
@. Who wrote the inscription on
the tablet on Casa Guidi? 1t honors
Mrs. Browning.-M. B.
A. The tablet was voted by the
municipality Of Florence. The inscrip-
ton was written by Tommaseo.
Q. In 1914 were men wearing wigs?
L. C. B.
A. BY 1914 only those men who
clung to the customs Of an early day
wore wigs.
@. What is the name Of the author
who writes on palmistry under the
name Cheiro?-E. v. S.
A. Louis Hamon.
Q. OF what kind Of stone is the
Hotel Ponce de Leon in st. Angus
tlIle DullL .-r. w. ~.
A. Coquina was used. Thousands
Of carloads Of this native rock were
brought to the spot, crushed and
mixed with cement, forming an inde-
structible composite. To be exact.
this hotel was not built, bat rather
cast, for there is not joint in the
building. The material was made as
needed, poured in while soft and
rammed down inches at time. 1t
Is therefore a huge monolith.
@. What is an earthquake?0J. H.
A. 1t is a shaking or trembling
of the earth's surface, due chiefly to
the faulting Of the rocks, but also to
volcanic explosions, and perhaps to
other subterranean disturbances.
@. Who invented the cash register?
ID. G.
A. 1t is probably the most antique
and yet. in its improved form, the
most modern device known to COM
merce. More than 5000 years ago
| the ancients used a registering device
| known as the abacus, for the purpose
Of showing visibly to the buyer and
seller the amount purchased. The
modern cash register was invented by
Jacob Ritty Of Dayton, Ohio, patented
in 1879. 1t being suggested to him by
the dial on steamship which re-
corded the number of revolutions OF
| the propeller.
! O. How much is the new Federal
| Building in New York City to cost?
S. B.
A. The United States Treasury
Department says that an allotment
of $6200,000 has been made for the
new Federal Building. The Procure
ment Division Of the Treasury has
this project under supervision.
Evening star., 1934-12-06
Recovery.

Recovery.
A hurricane will sometimes blow
And clouds will hover,
But Just the same we always know
That we'll recover.
The man whose wealth proves in
secure
The saddened lover
We know their sorrows can't endure.
They'll all recover.
Evening star., 1934-12-06

The prophecies Of the nut-hoarding
squirrel and the goosebone are not so
convincing in predictions Of a hard
Winter as the experts who are figuring
on a tax increase.
Evening star., 1934-12-06

The war on crime has made progress
in establishing the fact that gangsters
have lost the political influence" on
which they once ventured to rely.
Evening star., 1934-12-06

Among the initials now 50 frequently
employed the Greek letter societies are
not mentioned in full recognition OF
the influence they probably exert.
Evening star., 1934-12-06

The fate Of a Russian assassin Is
cherries, from any viewpoint, the
idea being to save his life long enough
to put him through the third degree.
Evening star., 1934-12-06

Sam insult has heard some good
music in his day, but none that pleased
his ear so much as those two words
mot guilty"
Evening star., 1934-12-06
Keeping in Step.

Prom the Atlanta Constitution.
Many men who tried to keep In step
with their neighbors are now doing
the ock-step.
Evening star., 1934-12-06
Overlooked a Chance.

From the Ashland CKy) Independent.
With q little imagination the II
accused In the insult prosecution could
have organized dummy holding de-
fendant to stand trial for the lot.
Evening star., 1934-12-06

A housing shortage bring an op-
portunity for the realtors to show
ingenuity in providing plain, un-
adorned shelter.
Evening star., 1934-12-06
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Those who have not been in q
bowling alley for the past 10 years
have a great surprise coming to them.
What would they think of the
brilliant scene unrolled before them
so alleys straightaway. lights, talking
and laughing. swish Of balls on floor.
clatter Of falling duckpins?
It is all duckpins nowadays, Of
course.
The fine old game Of tenpins. dear
to oldsters. is played no more, at least
in this terrain.
The boys and girls leave that to Rip
Van Winkle and his friends. the
gnomes.
Today the universal game is that
OF duckpins, with 5-inch balls, each
weighing exactly S pounds.
The pins are made OF maple. but
not the balls. These are fashioned by
scientific chemistry out Of synthetic
material.
The interest in this game is tre-
mendous.
Unless one gets to the alleys by 7
pm, at the latest, and some places by
6 o'clock, there Is little chance to get
q straightaway.
You will have to wait two or three
hours for opportunity to play.
In the meantime you can watch the
panorama before you, and brush away
some OF your old-fashioned ideas about
q strictly modern game
Perhaps you have heard talk about
what fine exercise this is, especially
for a fat stomach, due to the bending
over.
Maybe you rolled 'em once your
self, and did bend clear over to the
ground, permitting the ball to begin
its forward journey right on the
alley.
Well, they no longer roll 'em down
that way.
The bend is slight, but still enough
to be good exercise for accumulated
fat. Still 1t is far from the old-fash-
ioned way of fairly lowering the ball
to the alley.
The latter style once was fashion,
able for duckpins, and still goes for
tenpins owing to their great weight.
but Is "out" for the small pins and
balls.
In this game the ball leaves the
hand comparatively high. with the
emphasis placed on speed. Any one
who goes into this modern arena with
the idea Of smoothing 'em down will
find himself the center OF curiosity,
Just like a lady in a hat 20 years old.
It's a good enough hat, Of course,
The idea today seems to be to stand
high, stay high. and get all the speed
possible in that ball.
This is let go easily, so that 1t will
not thump on the alley. but strike 1t
some 8 to 10 feet in front OF the
extended hand.
The speed swishes the ball along
without a thud as it strikes, and then
races it down to the pins.
Practically every bowler puts Eng
lish" on the ball, but so controlled
that it does not begin to function until
the pins are struck.
This English" is the same thing
the billiard player tries to make a
ball do. that Is, to curve it, SO that
it strikes spinning, or goes straight
for a certain length Of the table. then
starts its inner spin, or outward spin
1t is the same thing, in essence, as
the curve of the base ball pitcher.
Ten years ago, and longer. the
duckpin ball was slid down the alley
from the ground, as it were. and
slower, so that the English" on it had
time to operate all along the way.
There was a marvellous long, slow
Evening star., 1934-12-06
No Surprise to Leonidas.

II was surprised to hear your wife
make such an emphatic and convinc-
ing speech"
Il wasn't" answered Mr.. Meekton.
II have always known that Henrietta
could do just that"
II am sorry" said Hi Ho, the sage OF
Chinatown, that my neighbor Hi
Hat avoids speaking to me. 1t shows
that he has no intention Of paying
the bill he owes me-"