davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1934-09-25
Busses Are Not Practical
Substitutes for Trolleys

To the Editor Of The Star:
Just a few lines in defense Of the
street cars" in Washington.
Do those people who are so much
against the operation OF street cars
stop TO think how busses are going to
make enough money to Supplant the
mass running of street cars IN the
District of Columbia? II they are
successful in selling the idea to the
Public Utilities Commission - that
buSSeS are the thing for this clty-the
writer can see the finish of the Capital
Transit Co. in very short space OF
time. Can any of the so-called cham
pions of bus service show ME whereby
they are the only means of trans
portation in any large city in this
country? II they can, well and good
Only. if that would come to pass you
would see far more traffic congestion
than you see at present and that
would be awful to contemplate, eSpec-
tally during the rush hours. and that
is what 1 am trying to impress on the
minds OF any clear-thinking indivi-
dual. that no large city can operate
a transportation company and pay
dividends or even make expenses by
busses alone. You have to have either
a subway system or elevated trains
in order for street cars to really take
care of the mass transportation of a
city of the size of Washington
In conclusion. instead of purchasing
more busses, get larger street cars,
have express and local service. cater
to the masses and really give the city
well-operated system. Let those
few patrons who would rather ride
the buSses pay what they should
which means much higher fare
because the bus cannot begin to be
operated as low as a street car.
FELIX A. URY,
Evening star., 1934-09-25
Says Capital Drivers Do
Not Know Regulations
tn the Editor of THE Star:

| To the Editor Of The Star:
In The Star for September l8 you
say editorially that the explanation
for the Washington traffic horror is
not that drivers do not know the reg
ulations. That is to say, of course,
that in your belief they do know them;
and with that conclusion I take
vigorous exception.
If you will send inquiring reporters
out to test your conviction, you will
learn, as 1 nave, that scores of drivers
have no conception whatever OF the
practical application Of the rules. In
not less than 200 tests I have found
only one driver who had ever heard
of the stop sign rule. whereby driver
at stop sign, having come to a
full stop, has the right of way after
traffic then in the intersection or ap-
preaching at that time SO closely
thereto as to constitute an immediate
hazard, has passed. I have repeatedly
asked traffic police whether my inter-
probation was correct. They have in
variably replied af1irmatively.
Last week eight men were at lunch
together, every one the owner Of car.
One owns three I had just showed
him, to his amazement, that the traf-
fic regulations, page 16, had protected
him against being held indefinitely
at stop signs. One after another he
asked these drivers what the rule
was. Not one of them knew.
1 predict you will find thousands of
drivers in Washington who never
heard of the rule. I have yet to find
even a taxicab driver who knew of
it. One of them called me a liar
when I told hlm calmly what the
rule is.
You will find that most drivers
know right turns are to be made from
the right la3s, and left turns from
Evening star., 1934-09-25
Federal Authority Within
The States Is Limited
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
In my discussion in The Star of the
goth instant in relation to constitu-
tional guarantees of life, liberty and
property l neglected to make clear a
very important point. However, limi-
tations of space would have made it
impracticable to do so in single
letter The point is that the Fed
eral Government has no juriSdic-
ton whatever in strike within a
State, except when it assumes propor-
tions beyond the powers of the State
to cope with, and the Federal authority
is invoked by the State authorities in
the manner provided for in the United
States Constitution.
The guarantees Of the Federal Con-
stitution respecting life, liberty and
property apply only when these rights
Of the individual as citizen of the
United States are involved under the
Evening star., 1934-09-25
What Is Liberty ?

Senator William E. Borah sees in
the newly organized American Liberty
League an instrument TO aid i'll the
preservation of liberty. Indeed, the
Idaho Senator declares that the league
is not in the field a moment too soon,
when, with lat least eighty per cent
of the human family, human rights
have entirely vanished" Mr.. Borah
has always been a stickler for human
rights. His only criticism of the new
league is that its platform makes no
mention of economic freedom. He
suggests that the league broaden the
scope Of its crusade. Notwithstanding
this criticism, he declares the for
nation Of the league to be an i'm
portant undertaking. with its move to
protect liberty in this country.
Apparently Mr.. Borah is not dis
turbed by the attacks of the New
Dealers on the American Liberty
League, who assume that the organ
ization is set up to hamstring their
efforts. But then Mr. Borah has not
hesitated himself to criticize important
elements OF the New Deal H has
denounced the n R. A. for fostering
monopoly and placing a blighting
hand on small businesses and small
business men and on the consumer
He has turned the voice Of scorn on
the A. A. A. and its efforts to control
the farmers Of the country. In none
of these things does Mr.. Borah see
the boasted freedom of Americans.
To the suggestion from the New
DealerS, including the President. that
Americans should not complain be-
cause they still have a free press and
trial by jury, Mr.. Borah says:
What is liberty in this twentieth
century? The power to fix the price
of the things 1 must have in order
. that l may live and not die is my
master, and the fact l may enjoy
: free speech and read a free press does
not a>Suage the cruelty of that fact
nor amellorate my SerVitude in any
degree whatever. The power which
closes the door of opportunity to me
i'll the business world leaves me cold
to all their panegyricS about liberty.
To have Mr.. Borah's full support,
dedicate itself to the fight against
price fixing. whether by monopoly or
by the Government. He says:
There is a power in this country.
and now operating under the sanction
OF government. which visits daily
every home in the land, presses down
upon the inmates and takes in the
way of arbitrary prices what it wills
10 take. The power to fix prices is
the power to destroy not only business
but human rights. Is the league in
tereSted in TINS problem?
Instead of the Governments inter-
1eflng III the interest of the small
business man and the small business,
Mr. Borah insists it merely consents
to the crime" His criticisms directed
against various agencies of the New
Deal and their activities will scarcely
be attributed to a desire on his part
to support big business, big corpora
tions and the millionaires. The new
dealers have sought to convey to the
country that the attacks made upon
their policies have been inspired solely
by the representatives of privilege
and special interests. When Mr.
think up some other answer.
Evening star., 1934-09-25
Offers Plan to Correct
Dupont Circle Traffic

To the Editor of The Star:
l agree with every word in Mr..
Thomas NJ. Roberts letter appearing
in The Star of the 11th instant. in re-
gard to the proposed abandonment of
the street car line between Dupont
Circle and Wisconsin avenue and the
substitution of busses. To do so would
be a calamity and work untold and
unnecessary inconvenience and hard
ship on patrons of that line residing
between those two points.
There is no comparison between the
commodious, rapid, smooth-runnlng
street cars and the cramped stuffy,
w-moving, jolting. jostling busses.
Why any one should prefer 10-cent
bus ride to a 7l2-cent street car ride
is beyond me. With the present week
ly-pass system, the free ingreSs and
egresS at either end Of the car, and no
bother about transfers, the difference
in the way of convenience and COM
fort between the two modes of travel
is altogether in favor of the street car.
In regard to the present traffic con-
fusion at Dupont Circle, 1 have sub
mitted the following plan to the Pub
lie Utilities Commission and the Capt.
tai Transit Co., viz:
Route northbound cars Of the Con-
necticut avenue line around the east
side of the circle. This would necessi-
tate building new tracks at that point.
Send southbound cars around the
west side of the circle. as at present.
Build new tracks from Connecticut
avenue west over N street to Twen-
tieth street. thence north to P street,
connecting with the present tracks at
that point. This would require the
building of new tracks for only about
four blocks and avoid running cars
against automobile traffic on the west
side of the circle. 1t would also ac-
commodate residents in P street be-
tween Dupont Circle and Wisconsin
avenue and utilize the new bridge
nearing completion on P street over
Rock Greek. JOHN p. HEAP.
Evening star., 1934-09-25

Federal Constitution. What was said,
however, regarding these rights under
the Federal Constitution is equally
applicable to the same questions aris-
ing wholly within the jurisdiction of
the State, because the constitutions
of the several States contain the same
guarantees respecting the inalienable
rights of the individual as does the
Constitution of the United States, and
are entitled to the same protection
under the one as under the other. 1t,
therefore, follows that for the Federal
authorities to project themselves into
these strikes without being asked by
the State authorities is unauthorized
and an unconstitutional usurpation on
their part of the reserved rights of the
States, and is an unwarranted inter-
ference with the fundamental rights
of local self government.
ALEXANDER SIDNEY LANIER.
Evening star., 1934-09-25
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

four of the many species being in
any way the killers of birds which
| they are credited with being.
DR.. Roberts gives a thought which
was new to this reader, and maybe
will be to others. that the amateur
student OF birds will do well to learn
the tone of the birds song, rather
than make any particular attempt
to memorize the exact song itself
He explains this by saying that
bird songs are SO varied, and so
numerous, that only the trained
ornithologist can hope to remember
them all, and then even he may
make mistakes, whereas every sort
OF bird has its own particular tone
of voice, as 1t were, just as every
human being has his own tone.
| Everybody Is able to recognize q
| friends voice, just by the general
tone of 1t, although he may not be
able to distinguish single word
uttered.
1t is SO, he goes on, with the birds.
Each one of them has a voice OF
its own and once the observer
catches this sound as belonging pc
culiarly to that particular bird he
is always able to detect it thereafter.
| More birds are heard than seen
he declares, even by the experienced
bird watcher.
AS We turned over the plates in
this beautiful volume we were struck
| by the aSSlduous care with which
the artists had depicted the life they
had chosen.
This vast New World-what a
treasure house of Nature it must
have been to the discriminating and
| appreciative men and women who
brought with them from the Old
World the sane appreciation Of the
educated person for the beautiful
things 'of forest and fieldl
Not all who came, alas, were ap-
preciative.
The sad fate of the passenger
pigeons, which once darkened the
skies OF the new land in their tre-
mendous migrations, is an example.
This beautiful bird, with its gray
back and soft pink breast. looked
very much like a dove, but was much
/ larger.
If you have never seen a picture
of it. you VIII hnd a very excellent
one III Bird Portraits in Color"
Between 1870 and 1880 it was
I totally eXtermnated. being done to
death by companies organized to
/ market II commercially.
There are some few persons still
| living who recall the last great flight
Of the passenger pigeon over the
Middle West.
II is said that they literally dark
ened the heavens. Many believe
that they mySteriously disappeared
/ but the author OF this book indi-
Gates that man Was the culprit.
The amateur bird lover-and this
includes most OF uS-Wlll find much
entertainment and instruction in
books such as these. They show him
/ the immense amount OF work that
has been done by happy men who
/ have been able to devote their lives
: TO subject which appealed to them
/ When We think Of the millions of
/ human beings, the world around. who
/ perforce earn their living by doing
/ work which must be, at best. merely
tolerable to them, We congratulate the
bird men who have found in bird
! work their verita BILE life's work. First
of all. bird writers and bird artists
are bird lovers. 1t is impossible to
pick up their books without realizing
this. On the basis of interest in
these beautiful jewels of nature, the
householder is their friend, and they
are his.
Evening star., 1934-09-25
The Crime of Hauptmann and the
Breakdown of the Deportation Laws

To the Editor OF The Star:
The personal history of the reputed
Lindbergh kldnaper should be closely
studied by every American in connec-
ton with the immigration policy of
our Department of Labor. Here We
have a man born in Germany. there
convicted of a crime. entered the
United States in violation of our i'm
migration laws, married and became
the father of a child and committed
crime after coming here.
Under our present immigration laws
one who enters our country illegally
is subject to deportation, but at the
last session of Congress litter of five
anti-restriction bills, mothered by our
Labor Department. was introduced
in Congress, proposing. among other
things, to permit our Labor Depart
ment to deport or not deport unde-
sirable aliens as she might deem to
be in "the public interest Those
supporting these bills argued that it
would be inhuman to deport fathers
when it would result in "a separation
of their families. We now have an
example of an alien whose family
will be separated if the Lindbergh
kidnaper is deported or sent to prison.
OF course, those supporting these
anti-restriction bills would now argue
that if We confer discretion on our
Labor Department to deport or not
deport. as it may believe will be in
the public interest,"" it would depOrt
those fathers who committed a crime
after coming here and allow those
to remain who are guilty of only one
violation of law. committed in enter
ing the country This is a f1imsy
distinction to make. 1t is better that
an alien unlawfully entering shall
be deported before he commits
crime than after he commits it.
Moreover, we are not sure just how
our Labor Department would con-
Str,, tho DhraSe ain the Dublic in
Evening star., 1934-09-25

terest" Many Americans believe 1t
would cOnStrue what was in the in
tereSt OF the Democratic party to be
in the public interest and that it
would allow an alien privately prom
lSing to vote the Democratic ticket
to remain
1t is the duty of Congress to enact
laws lin the public interest" and the
duty of the Labor Department to
enforce those laws. 1t is for the
legislative branch of our Government,
not the executive branch. to deter
mine what is in the public interest"
Our Government should remain what
1t heretofore has been, 'one of laws,
not of persons"
When President Grover Cleveland
was sheriff of a county in New York
it became his unpleasant task to
hang two men convicted of murder.
Sheriff Cleveland did not attempt
to shlrk his sworn duty by rushing
to the New York Legislature and ask
ing for a law which would permit
him to hang those men or not to
hang them as he should believe was
in the public interest" His duty
was to execute. not to legislate. 1t
is the duty of our Labor Depart
ment to execute, not to legislate
Instead of relaxing our immigra-
tion laws Congress should give con-
sideration to making them more
stringent. Aliens should be finger
printed and registered, SO that it
would be easy to detect those unlaw-
fully here. Our executive department
should not have the power. by execu-
tive order, to relax immigration re-
strictions SO as to admit those whom it
regards as political refugees, but who,
in the country of their origin. are re-
garded as criminals Especially is
this true when there are SO many here
who are out of employment and have
to be fed out of the public treasury.
G. w BUTT
Evening star., 1934-09-25

Board of Public Charities from 1900
to 1926 and finally as director OF the
Board of Public Welfare until his re-
tirement last May, he devoted himself
industriously, capably and effectively
to the problems of succor from want
and of social reconstruction. In these
several assignments to duty he dis
played an exceptional spirit of under
standing and practical assistance. Un-
firing, unsparing of himself, always
understanding and sympathetic, he
became a veritable institution of public
service. He won and held the esteem
of all who were associated with him
in these works. They relied implicitly
upon his Judgment and found in his
council an effective, trustworthy guide
to procedure. the philosophy of which
was that of constructive aid rather
than mere palliation of suffering. His
relations with the community were
always cordial. He avoided contro-
verSy, but without surrender of the
principles which were his guide in his
official service. 1t is impossible to
estimate the value to the community
Of that service, rendered in his several
positions ManV men and women owe
to him the betterment of their lives
in material and spiritual reckoning
Many families owe their preservation
to the manner in which he formulated
and conducted the relief works of the
Capital. This record of service spread
over more than a third of a century is
his monument, as enduring as a tribute
as any material token of affection and
appraisal that may be provided.
Evening star., 1934-09-25
franc. 1t Is under fire, M. Doumergue

franc. It Is under fire, M. Doumergue
charges, from Socialist and Commu-
mist quarters, which would lead the
franc to zero" and permit spectators
to bring about disaster" The veteran
who was called to the helm last Win
ter when the republic seemed on
the verge Of a revolutionary crisis
refuses to see salvation in devalua-
ton. He is not minded to see France
weather another such devastating ex-
perience as accompanied her previous
experiment in that direction. Deval-
uation now, the premier warns his
countrymen. would ruin all France, u
destroy the nations savings and sap
the foundations of its famed thrift.
NJ. Doumergue asks the people OF
France by an expression of their SOW
ereign Will to evince their determine
tion to preserve the country from the
evils of currency depreciation. A
deyalued franc in his judgment will
work irretrievable damage. you
cannot revive the dead" he observes,
in an impressive idiom.
The French Parliament will shortly
reassemble. M. Doumergue is taking
time by the forelock. and mobilizing
public opinion behind his government
What he seeks is some form of un-
mlstakably popular mandate that will
enable the cabinet over which he
preSides to carry on its work in a
t truly national. non-partisan spirit
freed OF the fear OF overnight minis
terial crises. On the outcome of hi.
altruiStic efforts depend issues Oi
consequence tar beyond the borders
OF the French republic. Financial
| chaos there could not be localized.
Evening star., 1934-09-25

the right Of the center of the street.
If the regulation is worth anything
at all it means that cars in the right
lane must either make a right turn
or 60 through; and that cars in the
left lane should make left turn and
nothing else. To permit any other
procedure allows drivers to hog the
road and prevent others maneuver-
ing for a left turn. l discovered in
Chicago, after several sad experiences
when cops forced me to make left
turns off Michigan avenue. that the
left lane in cities where they have
any semblance whatever of traffic reg
ulation is solely for left turns The
truth is that only few drivers know
the rules. and many of them, in
Guiding the police themselves, make
no effort whatever to observe the reg
ulations strictly. w. E. DALEY.
Evening star., 1934-09-25

Some one was saying that not many
new bird books had been published
during the past year.
The truth seems to be that it has
| been a very fine season for popular
books about the bird life of America.
The strictly amateur observer of
birds has had some very fine scientists
working for his benefit. The writer
here has placed in his library since
last Christmas three very interesting
books along this line.
The first of them was Travelling
With the Birds" a study of bird mi
| grafton, by Rudyerd Boulton, assistant
curator, the Field Museum OF Nat
ural History. This book was pub
| lished by M. A. DOnahue e. Co
The second is Songs of Wild Birds. u
by Albert r. Brand, associate in ornl-
| thology. American Museum of Nat
ural History, published by Thomas
| Nelson & Sons. This book is ac-
companied by two small photograph
records, containing the songs OF a
| number of birds taken in their native
| haunts.
The third is Bird Portraits in Col
or" by Thomas Sadler Roberts, pro-
fessor of ornithology and director oi
! the museum of natural history, Uni
versity of Minnesota. This book l.
published by the university.
Bird Portraits in Color" contains
90 plates, showing hundreds of Amerl-
can birds. from eagles and owls tC
thrushes and Sparrows.
These plates are taken from the
monumental two-volume Birds Of
Minnesota" published by the uni
verSity several years ago.
! The paintings are by such we'll
known bird artists AS Maj. Allan
Brooks, Walter Alois Weber and
others. The plates are beautifully
executed and reproduced, with soft
brilliancy which would do credit to
any process.
1t should be pointed out that these
volumes are moderate in price, yet
bring to the owner some very fine
work. Every one who loves the birds
| has longed to have a complete set
of the great paintings by Audubon
and Wilson. but these are prohibi-
tive and beyond the means Of most
of us.
Bird paintings are the next best
thing to the real creatures them
selves in some ways they are even
better. because a live bird Will not
stay still long enough for the strictly
amateur observer to see him.
x x x
Then there is another point which
makes observation OF the flying bird
difficult, and that is the fact of
different dresses for different ages,
sexes and times OF the year.
This latter point is brought out
strlkingly in the Minnesota book.
The plates show, in many cases, the
| birds as to male. female, adult,
breeding and youngster.
The student Of bird life will see
in these plates the vastly different
feathered colorations the same bird
will wear at different stages in his
life's history.
Many of these changes are SO
drastic that the strict amateur OBJ
server cannot be blamed for thinking
he is seeing two entirely different
species of birds, if by chance he
sees them in the field.
|
DR.. Roberts-who. by the way. prac-
| ticed medicine for many years-gives
succinct notes to explain the plates.
He tells the reader that owls, con-
trary to popular impression, can see
very well in daylight.
Owls, he says, deserve protection
rather than destruction. only about
Evening star., 1934-09-25
SHOOTING STARS.
BY PHnANDER JOHNSON.
CamDaiynerS Old and New

Campaigners Old and New.
The candidate once met you
With most engaging smile.
He'd say. I'll never fret you
When I hold the job in style.
I shall be grateful truly.
In behavior you shall see
I will never prove unruly
II you'll only vote for me-"
But the candidate is shifting
Methods that he once employed;
A mailed fist he is uplifting.
Pleasures that you once enjoyed
Will be slated for surrender.
A foreclosure there will be
On your means, already slender,
If you do not vote for me-"