davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1934-06-01
,cended and paid the man off.

scended and paid the man off.
He went up wide stairs to the top
floor and let himself into his lodgings
with his key, swinging the door to be-
hind him after switching on the light.
His rooms were in the rear Of the
building, looking out across a court
in which pair of scraggly trees put
up forlorn fight for existence. The
courtyard was empty. Niles took off
his coat and vest, hung them an a
chair in the bedroom and returned
to his sitting room with n frown of
concentration on his forehead. If
anything were to be made out Of the
mystery he would have to do it. He
had always preferred the lone game
and he wanted to dig up the facts for
himself before presenting them to
Headquarters.
On the center table under a small
reading lamp he laid the ace of spades
that had almost brought death to him
and compared it with a similar card
from the pack he had bought at the
drugstore. They were IDENTICAL
cards from an ordinary deck that was
sold by thousands all over the coun-
try.
Nothing here" he told himself.
"Now why the devil did anybody want
to shoot me over thing like that ?"
Then he lifted his head and looked
at the door. The stiff spring latch
had not closed when he had swung
it behind him and the door was a
couple of inches ajar. From far away
faint and distinct, in the lower reg
ions of the house he had caught the
sound of a footstep. A board on the
stairs creaked. Someone was COM
ing up, very cautiously.
Il might have guessed it," he NUT
Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1934-06-01
tered. "Still on the trail-what?
And that means trouble"

tered. "Still on the trail-what?
And that means trouble"
For moment he sat there, his
brain working at top speed. 1t was
only step or two to the door but he
did not close and lock it. Instead he
showed it almost shut and was back
at the table, his eyes rowing here and
there. Danger was creeping up the
dark stairway and he had to work
fast. His hands went out and picked
up his light Bangkok straw, decorated
with a broad, folded band of ribbon.
He was thrusting the ace of spades
in under the band which hid it COM
petely. A moment later he was sit
ting in the dark in the bedroom, look
ing out, with the hat on his head.
In the living room the desk lamp
still burned, throwing a circle of light
onto the table where there lay an
other ace Of spades, the duplicate
from the drug store pack he had been
examining. Niles fingers closed a
bit tighter on the butt of the auto
matte that rested across his knee, and
there was a dryness in his throat.
"The traps set" he thought. Nov
we'll see who falls into it
The minutes passed and still he sat
there in black gloom, waiting. Per-
haps he had only imagined the foot
fall on the stairs. His nerves had
been considerably on edge most Of the
evening. Yet he did not dare move
Long ago he had learned the value OF
patience in the detectives calling
Suddenly he Stiffened. He had heard
no movement but he knew that the
door to his flat had opened and that q
person had come in and WAS standing
out of sight in the living room. Ii
was like sitting and waiting for i
phantom to appear-a phantom that
was a real and terrible menace. Slow.
ly he lifted his automatic until it GOV.
cred the ring of light on the table
where the ace of spades showed.
So swiftly and silently that he was
almost taken unawares an arm-white
and slender-crept into the light ano
reached toward the card. He saw
long, slim fingers touch the paste
board and pick it up, drawing back
and ready to vanish. He reached out
Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1934-06-01

opposite wall. In the pane of the
window that looked out upon the
courtyard was a little star-shaped hole
through which sudden death had leap
ed without warning. Instinctively
Niles crossed the room in bound and
turned off the lights.
Down." he raped to the girl.
Stay on the floor! Keep out of line
with that Window"
He himself slid up the wall until he
could look out through the nearest
fold of the curtains. The girl had
said that the mob with whom she
worked would strike at him tomor-
row. They were striking tonight, at
this very minute. Below lay the en-
PITY courtyard, but it was not there
that Niles was looking. He saw
shadow move in the gap of window
in the back of the opposite building.
Yonder crouched the gunman who had
fired with a silencer on his weapon
from the top floor hall across the way.
His unknown assailant had seen the
tableau in Niles living room. He
knew that the girl had been trapped.
Il thought you said you came alone"
Il did" answered the girls voice
in the darkness. "But can't you see
they are taking no chances? I've
been followed They have Won now"
"Have they?" Niles stepped back.
He had picked up the decoy ace from
the table the moment lead splintered
the lamp and it was in his pocket.
"How many of them will there be?"
1t was strange, he felt, but he trusted
the girl Anita in this moment of peril.
Il don't know. But enough of
them"
Niles passed to the door, unattached
it and put his head out, listening in
Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1934-06-01

the descending wrist in his own and
gripped it, bending it back. The
blackjack fell, and he shifted his grip
to his assailant's throat. Breast to
Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1934-06-01

breast they strained for a moment
and then he had his man. The gang
ster's body became slack and sagged
To BE Continued
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10
NEW EDUCATION

NOTHING is much more interesting than
IN q bold experiment in education; and one
of the boldeSt seems to be the one which
will be tried next year at Oliyet college, in
Michigan, where they are going to try to get
along without classes.
Students at OIvet will be entirely 'on their
own" as far as getting an education is con-
cerned. The mornings will be devoted to
private study. afternoons to athletics, and eve
nings to discussions, debates. and meetings Of
students and, professors for informal chats.
At the end of the year, comprehensive
examinations. both oral and written, will be
given to see just how the students have de-
veloped under this plan.
A college without classrooms is something
new under the sun, and a more drastic depar-
ture from ordinary educational routine would
be hard to imagine.
But the experiment sounds extremely in
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10
WIRE REGULATION

DR. W. M. w. sPLAWN's report to con-
gress on communications companies gives
ample reason for strict regulation of tele-
phone, telegraph, cable and radio companies
More, when he finds that one of these
great companies, the largest in the field, is
more skilled than any state government with
which it has to deal, then is the time for the
federal government to step in and investigate
the whole field to determine the scope OF the
necessary regulation.
The American people, the Splawn report
says, are entitled to know whether they are
being overcharged for communications Serv-
ice, whatever satisfaction they may have with
the quality of that service.
None other than the federal government,
operating through a senate committee or
through the new proposed communications
commission, can give the public the informa-
ton that is its due.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10
GETTING DOWN TO FACTS

THE congressional request that the Federal
Power Commission make an elaborate
survey of electricity rates throughout the
country-to ascertain, among other things,
exactly how rates charged by publicly owned
plants compare with those charged by pri-
vate concerns-Sounds like an exceedingly
sensible move.
For many years we have been hearing a
good deal about the difference between these
rates. On the one hand we have been told
that the publicly owned plant offers consum-
ers a vast saving; on the other, that such
plants are wasteful, extravagant, and inef-
flcient, and that their rates are really no
lower than those of private companies when
all factors are properly considered.
This survey ought to enable us to settle
definitely just which arguments are correct.
We can tackle the entire power question lot
more sensibly after this survey has been
completed.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10
THEN AND NOW

once ,1pon time a woman who did not
~ marry might as we'll have carried
square white sign with black letters which an
nounced to all the world that she was stain
less being an unsuccessful creature called an
old maid. She had failed at womans chief
duty. She had not won a man. The fact that
there may have been row of rejected suitors
in her drawing room or that she merely didn't
want to marry didn't matter. Husbands had
been given out and she had not been on the
receiving list.
Sometimes she loved man and wouldn't
marry because he had vices and she waited
for him to reform That was the case with
Lily Miller, the old maid in "Ah, Wilderness"
portrayed by Eda Heinmann. She didn't stop
loving her man. She wouldn't marry the man
but for eighteen years she kept on waiting.
1t wasn't because she was a colorless in
individual or a weakling who was afraid to
take a chance either. She had sympathy,
understanding, a sense of huror and a gra-
ciouSness that made life amusing. But she
couldn't forget that once upon a time, when
the man on whom she centered her bottled
up affections had been young, he had stepped
had been penitent, sorry.
Fortunately today, in the new economic
set-up, there are so many new men constantly
walking along any woman's street that she
can't sit and place unseen carnations on the
grave of any lost romance. Still more for
tunately, she doesn't want to! For love,
fortunately does not last forever unless it has
some nourishment Maybe unhealthy
memory does. If the owner of it examined it,
she would find that it couldn't stand the SUM-
ight-iust dark corners for foolish hearts.
Oh, yes, We agree that the thing that
Romeo felt for Juliet was beautiful and the
night that Leander swan a river to keep his
date with Hero he died doing a noble thing.
But if Romeo had died and Juliet hadn't, the
chances are ten to one that she would have
married some other young noble and referred
to the hero of the balcony act as an old beau.
Hero, today would not have chosen a man
who lived on her side of the river
For that is life. Nothing is real in it but
change. 1t is fortunate, for no one could live
with an old pain or blighted hope. Not
very romantic, you say. But true!
Lily Miller would have made an under
Stanolng VIE. Sne would nave Deen napier
than she was and so would Sid Davis, who
couldn't hold a job or stop drinking. We
won't venture to say that Sid would have re-
reformed. People may perform that act for
reasons of religion or economy, but never for
love. But anyway Lily would have been hap
pier. SO would Sid.
However, if it had been today she could
have used that surplus devotion in other
channels. No life has to be stifed now. The
world is large. Still, even at that we are will
ing to bet Sid did have rival Maybe-just
maybe-sometimes love is a perennial plant
that grows without watering.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10
THE HOME SHOW

INDIANAPOLIS has the opportunity this
week of viewing one of the greatest home
shows in history.
The indianapolis Home Show has become
an institution and should be supported to the
fullest extent by the residents of indianapolis
and Indiana.
Each year this exposition offers every visitor
an opportunity to view and obtain information
on the latest methods of home construction
and to inspect the most modern advance
ments in home Quitting
The show. which is being staged in the
Manufacturers building at the Indiana state
Playground, has been damned this week with
persons interested in Americas greatest need
Of today-permanent homes.
The exposition, without doubt, is one of
the outstanding public services presented to
indianapolis citizens by its business leaders.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10
-APRIE1o, 1884

substitute assigned to the run to
work it. This mail on this route
should have been ready to leave the
office at about 7:45 a. m. After an
hour and some minutes of confu-
sion, caused by too many men try
| ing to do one mans work. they had
| to call on this substitute to save
the department from an embarras-
sing position.
This substitute. trained for such
| emergencies, managed by hard
work to do the inefficient efforts
of the unwilling regulars who are
forced to help the government starve
the substitutes. His thanks for this
| deed resulted in two hours work
and the magnificent sum of $1.06 for
his trouble in getting out of bed at
4:3O and coming more than six
miles to the postoffice to report for
work.
But there also were more than
twenty substitutes who braved the
driving wind and slick streets to try
to make days pay who did not get
to work at all.
Our only hope and salvation is
the public, which always has a good
word for the mail carrier. We must
depend on you Mr. and Mrs. Public.
to demand the service that you are
paying for. Any person who de-
sires any further information about
this deplorable condition is urged to
write to me, or any other of our
slxty-five substitutes who get up at
4:3O, rain or shine, only to be re-
bufted by grins and jeers from
Uncle Sam.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10
HERE'S ANOTHER READER
WHO FAVORS OUSTINGS

BY Mrs. X. r. b.
I see where w. E. r., a taxpayer
wants fellow citizens to get on their
toes and help get our police chief
and Paul v. McNutt out Of office
I am for you. But am afraid poor
devils like us haven't a chance.
don't think Dillinger is a bit
worse than the bankers. In fact
1 don't think he is as bad. He did
take a chance on his life when he
robbed a bank, but the banker Just
sits back now and takes life easy
1 am 100 per cent for Dillinger. l
don't think Dillinger is an enemy
Of any one but the bankers. They
should be the ones to look out.
w. E. R.. as for the good auto
mobiles and the driving, you said
a mouthful. If they keep on they
will have us taxed for each and
every step we take.
Editor of the Message Center, if
you have room in your paper you
can print this in favor of w. E. R.,
taxpayer.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10
PARKING SITUATION AT
MARKET HOUSE AIRED
By a Times Rea der.

By Times Reader.
Garlic Cart Parking Only"
An ordinance some months ago
stopped the unhealthy practice Of
having market stands on the side
walk around the market house and
1t has made the building a decent
place to pass and TO see.
Now stand owners are complain
ing about cars being parked over the
time limit. Is it impossible for
these business people to realize their
business comes from the autoists?
No, they make a complaint direct to
the city hall and a police officers
passes out stickers with two little
holes IN them which means no fix"
If this keeps up a week or so the
Shareholders will have plenty of
room to park their garlic carts, and
wonder If the depression has dou-
bied
Election time is not far away and
the Democrats have cut a number
OF nOtches on their wooden gun
around the market house.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10
About EUeN, He Says

BY Morris David.
In your Message Center last
week you published a letter from
a long time subscriber who also is
a dissatisfied precinct committee
man, in which he INDUCES in
wild and vociferous attack upon
he candidacy of Walter Pritch-
ard for the Republican. nominal
ton for mayor.
He raves and rants about a
Coffin Pritchard- Armitage Sum-
ner setup which he denounces in
no uncertain terms. Granting that
what he accuses this combination
of is true, what sort of relief does
he suggest to the long suffering
citizenry for whom he weeps SO
copiously? Would he recommend
the so-called anti-faction known
as the Republican Union?
What does he see in this group
that differs in any respect from
those who he condemns? Brother
Precinct Committeeman, open
your eyes and look around and
strain real hard and see if you
can see any difference between
the group you criticize and the
group to which you evidently be-
long. This faction is composed in
the main of disappointed and dis
gruntled cogS in the old machine.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10
ROOSEVELT MAY RUSH
SELF FROM PRESIDENCY

BY Charles Hooper.
The present administration seems
to desire to get by" and get away
with it," like a Sinking student who
Grams to pass his examinations. Mr..
Roosevelt is taking the easy way, the
path of least resistance. He seems
to think that covering dirt removes
it, and that allaying pain cures the
disease that causes pain. By rec
ognizing goddess Russia he strength
ened Communism, witness the Aus
trian riots. He now proposes to drop
the Philippine bone, which waiting
and watching Japan will seize
promptly-and what will happen
then?
England governs a large part o.
the world, but we can't handle one
group of islands.
My mother, woman of rare judg-
ment, says that Mr.. Roosevelt is
rushing his ideas so fast that he
may rush himself out of the White
House. She is usually right.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10

Give each of them what they were
refused or denied and they at once
become regular.
Call the roll of these reformers
and whom do you find? There
Omer Hawkins, erStwhile bosSiSm
sheriff county chairman and
whatnot. and Martin Hugg. who
was county chairman in 1880 by
virtue of his selection for the po-
sition by the big boss" himself.
Let's not forget that the
"anti's" standard bearer was cleo
ton commissioner and could not
have been so selected without the
o. k. of the man who he says is
the head of a corrupt political
machine. This machine was the
identical machine which Denny
served in 1880. Among the lesser
lights are Earl Garrett, depoSed
market master under Duvall, and
Todd Young, who has just been
refused a nomination by the old
crowd with whom he hobnobbed
for years.
1t appears to me that it is six
Of one kind and half dozen of
another, and it sounds like the pot
calling the kettle black. So, I
must ask you, friend, longtime
subscriber and precinct commit
teeman, Where do we go from
here?"
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10
DEFENDS FAMILY OF
ESCAPING PRISONER

By One Who Knows the Family.
I suppose there are a lot of peo-
pie who are thinking about this
same thing. Why all the write up
about this boy, John Allen Lay?
There are hundreds of men in this
town who have done worse than he
has. Why can't you think of his
family? His mother works hard
every day. Maybe the one who put
the cartoon in your paper has chill
dren.
Show me one boy of 10 years who
wouldn't take a chance to get away.
Handouts seem hard thing to
wiggle out of. But the question
seems to be, was he hapdcuffed?
Why not give the boys family a
rest? Surely they can't help what
he has done.
But of course these editorials and
pictures seem to make things bet
ter for some.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10

teresting; indeed, one OF the encouraging
things about education today is its growing
willingness to make drastic ard far-reaching
experiments.
1t is hardly going too far to say that our
colleges and universities have fallen little
short of our expectations in the last decade
or so.
We have been living in a time Of unprec-
edented change. New developments in SCI
art of making and distributing the necessi-
ties and luxuries of life have changed the
basis on which we live and work together
Yet our institutions of higher learning
have not been giving us thoughtful, ques-
tioning and Intellectually alert leadership to
help us meet this change.
Instead-well, to a big percentage of the
population, college is place where they play
football. To an almost equally large per-
centage, it is sort of glorifed country club
where young man can put in four pleasant
years getting his rough edges planed down
and fitting himself for movement in polite
society.
1t is a great training school for bond sales
men and brisk young business men.
That is why these collegiate experiments
are SO welcome. Not all of them may work
That doesn't matter
The point is that some sort of change is
needed if our colleges are to fill the place
they should fill in our national life.
Persistent experimentation will help them
find it,
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10

silencing protest from the workers?
The gag is apparently just as GER
tain as if a defendant in criminal
case let the prosecutor plead his case
fCr him. The smart worker in such
a union" is both dumb and deaf
very often blind, if he wants to stay
on the pay roll. The guardian boss
doesn't want any more grievances
aired than did the slave master
Shackles are not all made of iron!
Good will, fair play, respect for the
rights Of labor; not paternalism, or
the overload attitude, are necessary
for the equal rights the Constitution
guarantees.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10
SORRY PLIGHT FACES
SUBSTITUTE MAIL CARRIERS
By william z. Whale

By William T.. Whaley
Once more the President and his
poStmaster-general have found a
way to cut into the substitute postal
employees chance to make a living.
BY a local order, all subs were
taken off delivery routes. Any car
rier in the future who is off for any
reason is not to be replaced by sub
stitutes, but his work must be per-
formed by men working adjoining
and nearby routes.
Mail is thus delayed in delivery
from two TO six hours, and that is
only one delivery day in residen-
tial districts.
The use Of substitutes on these
routes would enable everybody to
receive the same number of deliv-
cries and also TO receive the service
that the postofffice brags about
In our local office, a business
carrier was off because of illness
The foreman would not allow the
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10
THERE'S A REVOLUTION
COMING, READER SAYS

BY a Reader
The newspapers stated that the
CWA workers were to come under
the FERA and the pay would be 30
cents an hour for three six-hour
days. That would be $40 a week
The writer of Liberal Viewpoint
states that it takes $434 to house
a prisoner one year. I would like
to know how a family of nine can
live on $40 a week.
More power to NcNutt, Hoke, and
the Chamber of Commerce and to
the rest of the nickel scavengerS.
On with the revolution-the sooner
the better.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10
ANOTHER FOLLOWER OF
DILLINGER SPEAKS

By Mrs. T. VI. J.
Others are giving their opinion on
the Dillinger case so hope you will
print mine. I think Dillinger is a
real man and woman ought to
feel honored to receive attention
from him. Why doesn't the law
give him a chance to live right?
Dillinger has as much right to
that money as the bankers who took
it from the poor people. I extend
my. sympathy to his father, and if
it would interest any one to know
I have a photo of Dillinger framed
on my radio.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10

whom I know, and myself, often
have suffered violent headaches and
nausea from riding in this atmos-
phere. The condition is not new,
but has existed several years.
I am especially familiar with the
BUSES Of the East New York street
line. This seems to be a case for
the board of health.
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-04-10
HERE'S A QUESTION FOR
YOU, MIR. HAYMAKER

By r. B. s.
AS a reader Of your paper and an
adnlirer of your beliefs on freedom
of speech in The Message Center I
am asking you to answer this:
Has Ira P. Haymaker, the Marion
county recorder, and a candidate
for denomination in coming primary
election, ever reimbursed the county
school fund for the $4,000 which
was borrowed on the Rainbow Ridge
addition?