davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1934-01-09
The President and the
Civil Service EMPLOYEES
To the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
The Federal employe awaited with
anxious heart the decision the Presi-
dent might render regarding the res
toration Of his salary, either in whole
or in part. 1t came to him as an un-
happy surprise to know that he should
be differentiated In so strange q man
ner from those in the Army, Navy and
Marine services. The reason given
that the latter groups are life serv-
ice" Is startling surprise.
The service Of the Federal employe
has always been considered a life
service" He is not commissioned. it
is true, but he takes the same oath to
support the Constitution that the life
service" man does. Congress has recog-
nized this type of service of the Fed
eral employe in the retirement act And
Congress made it life service" in
deed. The Federal employe cannot re-
tire before he Is 10 years of age un-
less he has had 80 years Of service,
and then only when he has attained
the age of SO years The maximum
retired pay of the Federal employe is
81 10000. The highly trained scientist,
the professional man, the executive,
each giving lifetime service of great
ability and loyalty, can receive no more
The life service" man Of the Army,
Navy and Marine Corps, on the con-
trary, retires at 64 or can voluntarily
retire after he has had 80 years serv-
Ice. He retires In either instance with
three-fourths Of his full pay. For this
retirement he does not contribute a
single penny. The Federal employe
must contribute 3ia per cent OF his
pay to tine retirement fund. 1t is pos
sible for the life service" man by VOL
unfairly retiring after 80 years service
to retire at the age of so and draw his
full retired pay ever afterwards.
Has not the depression fallen as
heavily. and perhaps even more so,
upon the Federal employe as upon
those in the Army, Navy and Marine
services?
They Of the Army, Navy and Marine
services have Communication OF quarters:
or they live in well kept, beautiful
houses, and on well kept grounds, with
out cent of cost to themselves or
families. They have medical care and
fine disqualification, and other perqui4
sites equally desirable. The Federal
employe has none of these. He must
struggle at great sacrifice to maintain
his home and raise his family that they
may live with degree Of decency and
we'll being.
The scientist, the professional man,
the trained worker, the executive. and
all those who have borne the brunt Of
toll and struggle whole-heartedly and
Loyalty have given to their country and
fellowmen as much. and often times
more than the life service" man.
Why this strange distinction? In a
republic there is no caste
FLORENCE GEEHR MILLER.
Evening star., 1934-01-09
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

He never admitted anything. espe-
cially to Sean. That begger was always
| SO sure about everything.
\ y
Might be straight" he said. thought
fully, not wishing to commit himself
too far. Sometimes Sean was right.
How could it?"
Might be Just what it says"
What does it say?"
O'Faolain cooked an inquisitive eye
at the sheet.
Purchaser Of black fish,, he began
slowly. with red eye kindly communi-
cate with Box AS Maybe some
body"
Lost a fish, no! no! ho!"
Sean roared with laughter.
An he hopes somebody came along
an picked it up for him! Haw! Haw!'
We'll" replied OFaolain, quietly
what you goin' to do about it?"
I'm goin' 10 give you a lesson in
police work, son. Wen just go over
to the Office and look into this"
1t was not long afterward that they
set out. At the paper the man In
charge seemed somewhat nonplused
Did he know about this "black fish
| with the red eye?" No, he didn't
Why didn't he? Because he had ex-
| cellent men under him who would
know Would they know about it. who
put it in? They would.
! n
Shortly the two officers we're on their
way to see Templeton Jones, president
of the Anti-SneeZe Society. Owing to
the cold weather, President Jones had
great deal Of work to do.
He was busy all the time now, day
and night. pointing out to the Ameri,
in the simple and mostly unregardeC
sneeze Just what effect his work hac
| he did not know, because people in
| street cars and busses and in theaters
and restaurants seemed to sneeze just
| as much as ever. Many Of them evil
| IDENTIFY took real pleasure in 1t.
Mr.. Jones was thinking over his next
plan of attack wnen Miss OMalley, his
secretary, came in. She was a trifle
pale. which rather became her.
Two officers to see you. sir" she
said.
"Officers?"
"YeS. sir"
Jones felt the shiver known only tc
the absolutely innocent in the presence
| Of the law.
OHOW tueu III. he SalQ ufmly.
y
Officers Sean and O'Faolain entered
even more firmly.
They were impressed by Jones, an6
his mahogany desk, his deep pile rug
and especially by Miss OMalley. bu,
neither was admitting anything of the
kind.
Did you put in this 'perSonal?'
asked Officer Sean
| Templeton Jones took the slip of pa
per with misgiving
Then he began to laugh, and he
laughed so loud that Officer Sean
thought Of calling the asylum.
Excuse me. gentlemen" Jones said
at last. Forgive me. Evidently you
| are not acquainted with the great
American hobby Of keeping aquarium
fishes in the home. You don't know
l guess. that thousands of your fellow
men at this time in the United States
are called fish fans That's a per-
fectly bona fide ad, simply let some
body else at the pet store walk off with
the fish 1 wished afterward 1 had
bought. ! tried an outside chance. as
you say, but whoever got that fish
| never read the ad, l guess"
Il told you so" said Officer O'Fao-
lain after they got out in the hall.
HIM, said Officer Sean.
Evening star., 1934-01-09
Gifts to the Library of Congress.

The most noteworthy significance of
the annual report Of Herbert Putnam,
Librarian of Congress, is that of the
evidence it affords of the growing ap-
preciation of the institution on the part
of the people. In theory, the library
belongs to the National Legislature, but
Congress is not an end in itself-it is
merely an assemblage of representatives
of the citizens of the Republic. There
fore, its property is public possession,
and both Congress and the people very
properly realize the fact. The time
may come when it will be thought wise
to change the name of the national
photographic depository. There is a
discernible trend in that direction.
In recent years scores of individuals
have been endowing the institution
The Library of Congress trust fund is
but one of several channels through
which gifts are flowing in. Created by
an act approved March 3, 1925, it al
ready has received a number OF bequests
and other presentations. During 1882
1888 Mrs. Benjamin Harrison, Mrs.
William Howard T e, the Hale and
Bayard families and long list of other
donors have contributed books and
manuscripts Of worth beyond price. A
large portion of Mr.. Putnam's report is
made up of acknowledgements for these
expressions of public regard.
Congress. OF course. is mindful Of its
responsibility in the circumstances. and
there il no just complaint about the
manner in which II has been doing its
part. But q limitation exists In the
belief that happens to be widely held
that now and again there Is o threat
bf political interference with the LII
brary's affairs. Not many months ago
there was danger that the institution
might be the objective Of patronage
raid. Fortunately, influential Sena-
tors and Representatives smashed the
xsiysk krore it got started. But mean
Evening star., 1934-01-09
Waste in the System
OF Veterans Relief

To the Editor of The Star:
A letter appearing recently in The
Star was the most stimulating strlc-
ture on veterans affairs that I have
ever read I agree that what caused
the movement for economy in veter-
ans expenditures was the astounding
sums spent. and l agree that most in
terested persons failed TO see that the
veterans did not get the money. I be-
lieve that when the full truth is real
lied the same people will be glad to
come to the defense of the veterans.
The only effect of the economy act
was to cut what the veterans got
which was small enough The real
problem of overhead and waste was
not touched I believe that all worthy
veterans could be generously treated
and still great savings made by cut
ting out the elaborate and wholly un-
necessary overhead.
In the press of December 20 I read
that % architects and engineers OF
the central Office Of the Veterans Ad-
ministration were in danger OF dismis-
sal because of lack of funds. 1 never
feel anything except regret in seeing
any person let out of job. but these
people should have never been hired
in the first place. What in the name
of all logic have architects and engi-
neers to do with giving deserved 1nan-
cial aid to worthy soldiers of our
country?
In this respect I ask those inter-
ested to study the Civil War pension
administration. With all the politics
Of those days and all the graft and cor
ruption, the system was much more
effective in really helping the largest
number of veterans and it was surpris-
ingly less expensive than our present
system.
For justice for both the veterans and
the taxpayers, we ought to overhaul our
whole system. Much of the present evil
could be removed by providing that the
Veterans Bureau could not reopen a
case except for fraud or illegality, and
that a case would never be closed to the
veteran so long as he had new evidence
or new arguments based on law or fact
The policy should be that of insuring
that no worthy case could possibly be
misjudged.
We need no elaborate machinery for
direct, simple methods. If We do not
get down to simple business methods,
we will go on cheating our soldiers of
their birthright or swindling our already
Oppressed taxpayers of their money.
Just now I have before me figures
showing that 1858 8,688,479 was spent
last year for veterans. But, as the gen.
tleman suggested in his article. only
S234,996,3 1928 actually went to veterans
The rest was eaten up by the costly
bureaucratic system. Consider, too. that
a good part of this money went to de-
pendents of veterans rather than to
living veterans. An economy move
against the real evils Of the system will
find the veterans in the first line
FERDINAND J. BUSHMAN.
Evening star., 1934-01-09
The Numbers" Racket.

Consolidation of the District Police
Departments gambling and liquor
squads into a single unit has been
ordered. with a personnel unknown to
the public. This is designed to lead
to greater effectiveness in the enforce
ment of the laws, particularly that
forbidding the maintenance Of games OF
chance, which take very heavy toll
of the public Reports have been lately
received that the so-called numbers
game is on the increase here, despite
determined efforts on the part OF the
police to combat it, and the total turnover
each week of money spent in this racket
is mounting to heavy figure. 1t Is
the hope of the superintendent OF
police that with the establishment o.
an under cover" squad headway can
be made against this pernicious practice.
During the first eleven months of the
passing year the special gambling squad
made 272 raids and 405 arrests. Yet
the game goes on, taking the pennies
of those who can least afford to lose
anything. aggregating an enormous sum.
Recent reports indicate that the indul-
gence in this form of gambling is on
the increase Notwithstanding the activ-
ity of the police, and the formation OF
the new squad, consolidated as to work
on both lines. is a consequence. That
it may gain ground against this evil
is the general hope.
The numbers game" Is a particu-
larly obnoxious form of gambling. The
stakes are small in most cases, but the
chances of winning are very low and
the rake-off of the promoters is enor-
NOUS Peddlers of these chances are
everywhere. They infest all places OF
public resort, restaurants in particular,
selling their slips openly. When big
winning occurs, SO report runs, the
operatives tip of the police and take
q moderate rap" In order to avoid pay
ing. So the game is never quite on the
square, a fact of which the credulous
patrons are seemingly unaware.
The person who plays this game is
as subject to the law as the promoter.
A few arrests and convictions would
perhaps demonstrate this fact sum-
Evening star., 1934-01-09
Praise for The Stars
Series of Calendars
To the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
want to add my word of apprecia-
ton to the many which must have
poured in already during the three
years that your human interest serial
story in picture form has been unfold
ing chapter by chapter at the begin
ming of each year as the newsboys
bring us our annual installments.
Unlike most calendar decorations,
these are not thrown away at the end
of the year, as evidenced by the many
that one meets in private homes and
public Offices, framed or in panel or
screen form, until that boy and pup
have become one of the best known
local business partnerships not yet
covered by the N, R. A.. and If the
District had vote. there is little doubt
as to the winner in that forthcoming
dog show.
1t is safe to say that your carriers
will have small difficulty in disposing
of their New Years greetings as long
as this pictorial epic continues, which
it is hoped will be for many year
yet This is one dogs tale" that We
don't want to have docked!
GERTRUDE E. MACKENZIE.
Evening star., 1934-01-09

ofncers Sean and o'Faolain were sit
ting comfortably in chairs. slightly
tilted back, waiting to go on duty.
Sean picked up a paper.
He loved to look at the personals. "
those bits of life fresh and warm out OF
the heart of a great city.
One found many curiosities there. 1t
was always worth anybody's time to
read the personals" Oflcer Sean
thought.
HIM" he said, at last, or sounds to
that effect.
Find anything?" asked Oficer OFao-
lain.
Sean never answered anybody at
once, unless the chief. You had
to answer the chief. you didn't have
to answer anybody else, especially
O'Faolain
O'Faolain was a good enough scout,
but he was always casting cold water.
Of1cer Sean read his find over again,
to make sure.
He read strictly to himself. and this
Is what he read:
Purchaser of black fish with red
eye kindly communicate with Box AS. u
That was all. but it was enough.
X y 4
Newspaper men know what it is to
get the first inkling of good story.
An electric something or other seems
to be touched, somewhere in their
being, there is no other feeling any
thing like 1t in the matter-of-fact
world
Policemen get the same sort of
mental thrill out of a suspicion, as If
some one, somewhere, had pushed a
bell which tinkled warning loudly In
the brain.
Watch out! Watch out! Watch outr'
sang the bell in Officer Scans head
away back somewhere. He had heard
its music before, sometimes loudly
sometimes softly. A few times it had
fooled him. That was when Officer
OFaolain had grunted out. afterward,
Il told you So" and Sean hated 1t.
X 4 y
What you fouEd?" asked OFaolain
now.
Officer Sean studied the line or two
before he handed it over to his COM
rade
There couldn't be any doubt Of it at
all-who ever heard of a black fish
with red eye? 1t must be code, or
something.
He raked his brain, quickly. to make
head or tail out of it, but he couldn't
for the life Of him.
The things fshy" he murmured
tossing the paper to OFaolain.
~
Officer O'Faolain put on his best ju-
dicial air, as he iead the bit black pen
ciled there.
It's f1shy. all right" he said after
few moments. What do you make
of it?"
Since Sean had hoped to gain the
others opinion first. he was in no hurry
to answer. He knew OFao!ain's tend
ency to disagree Of old. Whatever he
thought OFaola;n would think some
thing else
ofhcer Sean merely whistled, then
said, enigma.ically:
Black fish-my eye!"
Red eye shot back O'Faolain. 1T
says So"
Sean chose to ignore the pleasantly
He was thinking of codes. and slang,
and putting two and two together. as
they say, and trying TO determine what
black fish" could mean. Red eye'
was easy enough
Looks funny to me-" he said at last
1t looked funny to O'Faolain, too, but
he wasn't admitting il.
Evening star., 1934-01-09

voirs that can only be tapped with Gov
ernment bonds. The big majority of
business firms are not sufficiently good
credit risk for the banks to loan them
money With legislation in prospect or
actually pending to permit political sub
divisions to avail themselves Of a form
of bankruptcy, and with railroads and
public utilities the foot balls of politics
and isnls, there is nothing left for the
conservative banker to invest his money
in except Government bonds.
And with the present governmental
spending program as set forth in our
Presidents message to Congress chart
ing the way to further expenditures in
excess of any possible income, the bank
credits must be used only for financing
Of Government loans.
D. N. BURNHAN.
Evening star., 1934-01-09
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

Take advantage Of this free service.
II you are one of the thousands who
have patronized the bureau, write US
again. II you have never used the
service, begin now. 1t Is maintained
for your benefit. Be sure to send your
name and address with your question
and inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps
for return postage. Do not use post
cards. Address The Evening Star In
Director, Washington, D. c.
@. Has the adoption Of basic stand
ards in the automobile industry made
cars any oheaper?-B. @.
A. 1t is estimated that II there were
no Standardization the fair cost OF a
good light Car would be about $4,000.
O. What State has the greatest
grapefruit acreage?-H. j.
A. Texas now leads in this respect.
Florida, however. leads in grapefruit
production. Many Of the trees In Texas
are young and Will not come into full
bearing for few years.
O. When will the holy year now
being observed In Italy come to a
close ?-L. T.
A. The Central Holy Year Commit
tee has stated officially that the holy
year will close April 2, 1894.
@. Did any cities In the United States
reach their goals in raising Community
Chest money this Fall?-N B.
A. During the Fall about $40. 900 900
was raised for welfare activities not
covered by Federal, State and local
governments. The cities which ex-
ceeded the goals they had set were
st. Paul, MINI: Hartford. Conn;
Houston. Tex, and Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
@. How many sailing vessels are there
in the United States merchant ma
rine?-D. c.
A. As of June 80. 1893. there were
1927. OF these 1107 were on the At
lantic and Gulf Coasts. Sc on the Pa
cific Coast and "a on the Northern
lakes.
@. Is Boris Karloff who played in
THE Monster" Russian?-A. L. T.
A He was born in England and came
TO America in 1909 His real name is
William Henry Pratt.
@. Will the plane in which Col. and
Mrs. Lindbergh made their recent trip
be on exhibition?-W. E. r.
A. After January / the plane will
be the central exhibit in the new hall
of ocean life of the American Museum
of Natural History, New York City.
All of the equipment used BY the Lind
berghs on their exploratory flight will
also be displayed there. The plane,
Lockhead Sirius. is the same one in
which the couple made the flight to
the Orient two years ago.
@ From 1885 20 1881. inclusive, how
many lynchingI have taken place in
the United States?-J. B. D.
A. The total was 4,31l, of which l.
05l we're whites and $3.50 we're Negroes.
@ Please tell something of the Or
phsnage for boys established by Milton
S. Hershey. G. T.
A. In 1909 Milton Snavely Hershey
and his wife set up a trust fund for
the Hershey Industrial School for Or
phan boys at Hershey, Pa. At present
the school has $50 orphan boys (boys
who have lost either or both parents)
in its care. The students range in age
from 4 to l8 years. The smaller boys
live in brick cottages. each presided
over by house mother. The older
boys live in .arm houses, which are
managed by farmers and their wives.
Ten months is spent in school and two
months in working on the farms. After
attending school until the age of IA
the boys decide on a commercial aca-
demic or industrial course. Courses in
Evening star., 1934-01-09
More War in South America.

Once more the League OF Nations
has demonstrated its futility as peace
making agency. This time the scene
of its inadequacy is South America.
1t has found 1t impossible to stop the
war between Paraguay and Bolivia,
even though an 18-day armistice was
declared for the purpose of mediation
and conciliation. The opposing armies
are now poised to renew the age-old
conflict over the Gran Chaco and re-
vive hoStilities which have cost both
countries during the past year tens OF
thousands of lives and drained their
material resources to the dregs.
1t is not quite fair to blame the Para
guayan- Bolivian peace fiasco altogether
on the League of Nations. Resumption
of the Chaco strife is no less a victory
of the machinery for war over the
Western Hcmispheres elaborate ma
chinery for peace. Despite all its other
successes, the recent American
Conference failed grievously in its
widely proclaimed goal to preserve
peace in the Americas. The conference
sternly demanded that Paraguay and
Bolivia cease fighting and making
travesty of Pan American solidarity
Thereupon the belligerents on Decem-
ber 10 agreed to an armistice, during
which they would seek a peace for
mula. Then, suddenly, for reasons
which never became clear, the confer
ence washed its hands of the Chaco
conflict and handed it over to the
League of Nations for settlement.
Despite the truce. the contending
armies we're far more concerned in
consolidating their military positions
than in discovering basis for peace.
The Paraguayans. who had won sweep
ing victories in December. were bent on
pushing them to an irrevocable deci-
sion The Bolivians, smarting under
defeat by a smaller country which they
had once scorned as unworthy Of their
steel, were determined upon revenge.
Under such circumstances, the League
commission found that peace negotla-
tions were doomed to get nowhere and
they have now been abandoned.
Before leaving Buenos Aires the
other day, at the start Of his home
ward trip. Secretary of State Hull de-
clared that the Chaco War is the
gravest Pan-American problem. He ex-
pected to discuss 1t with the govern
ments of Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colom-
bia and Panama on his way back to
Washington this month.
The failure of the League of Nations
in this purely American quarrel should
sharpen the determination of the
members of the Pan-American Union
to bring it to an end. The League
should be shown that the sister Amer
icas have both the will and the ability
to enforce peace on this side of the
Atlantic. II they demonstrate their
inability to do so, they will by that
token invite the Europe dominated
Geneva organization to intrude again
on some future occasion in field OF
political activity which belongs ex-
clusively to the nations Of the New
World.