davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1935-02-19
Urges ID. C.. Officials Get
A 1'Taste'' of Traffic Ills
To the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
Public transportation in Washipg-
ton has been the subject Of criticism,
mockery and "offlcial'' study, but as
each day goes by the citizen Of mod
crate means finds himself squeezed,
trampled. insulted and what not,
somewhat more than the day or week
before.
No matter what an average citizen
may report, or what any Official
study" may disclose, there is very little
likelihood Of this situation being i'm
proved TO degree commensurate with
the actual need for even decent serv-
ice, let alone any thought to comfort
or health.
There is only one cure, and that is
q good taste" Of this condition by
our city officials who, it is worthy of
note, usually have their official cars,
with or without chauffeurs, or at
least have private parking spaces.
That may be said to be true of all
the renowned men of influence in
Washington, including Government
as well as private business officials.
Let these people get a good first
hand taste Of these conditions and
something will be done, not alone
quickly but thoroughly. Let these
influential people get on a packed
Fourteenth street car, say at Park
road, at 8:15 am, allowing As min
utes to reach the District Build
Ing, and let them Gas is the case
many mornings get stalled along
about K street or above the "circle," !"
and let them run from there to the
District Building to get there prob
ably after 8 o'clock, which is 'tardy"
for an ordinary employe.
Or let them try to get q Sixteenth
street bus about the same time, say
at Columbia road, and have to ride
in the open air on top Of a double
decker when the temperature is 10
or Is degrees above zero. Let them
get nice cold or case Of "fu" from
such a pleasant ride and something
will be done.
Or, better yet. let them "try" to
get home at night by public trans
portation between 4:30 and $50 pm.
and they will find conditions which
no "official" report can describe clearly
enough for them to understand with
out a good taste themselves.
II our officials would lower" them
selves to that extent and all agree
to put aside their limousines and
chautfeurs for just one full week,
Washington would be shaking with
thunder" soon after.
Only taste will curei
PHILLIP ODONNELL, JR.
Evening star., 1935-02-19
Aviation Report Appraised
AS Valuable Future Guide

tapping Of these activities 1t would be
confusion worse confounded to have
separate regulatory bodies to deal with
the railroads, shipping. freight and
passenger bus traffic and commercial
aviation. Here. if ever, is a growing
problem that calls for unified control"
"The President is right" the Day.
ton (Oh.o) Herald agrees, "in affirm
ing that the cause of transportation as
a whole may be served best by co-or-
dinated supervision"
1T is evident" concludes the Pasa-
dena (Calif) Star-News. that avia-
ton has progressed so far byond the
experimental stage, as a public serv-
ant, that it must expect permanent
regulation, therefore a definite status
in commercial affairs"
Evening star., 1935-02-19
A Barbaric Episode.

When the Germans shot Nurse
Edith Cavell in Belgium they shocked
the conscience of the whole world and
mobilized mankinds opinion against
themselves as did hardly any other
single incident of the entire war. Stra-
logically, psychologically and morally
it was one of the Berlin war lords
cardinal blunders. They never lived
it down. It may we'll be asked whether
the bloody affair on Monday within
the courtyard of Ploetzensee prison,
when they beheaded two young women
of aristocratic family for espionage
and treason, was not an equally
ghastly mistake of the Germans.
Perhaps the Nazi regime, which as
sumes responsibility for this episode,
has become so callous to its interna-
tional repute that it cares nothing for
what may be said about it abroad.
Possibly, the fact that in the Hitler
Reich womankind has officially been
relegated to an ignominiously inferior
status deadens the government to any
sense Of shame in sending women spies
to the block 1t may be that the
offense of which they were convicted
was so heinous and was proved to be
of so deadly peril to the state that
the authorities felt they had no alter
native but to impose upon the culprits
the extreme penalty of the law; and
in Germany capital punishment takes
the form not of hanging or electrocu-
ton, but of medieval decapitation by
a headsmanS AK.
Espionage is dangerous game.
Those who play it always take their
lives in their hands. and women are
no exceptions to the rule. Neverthe-
less the Berlin executions smack to
.noderns of Anglo-Saxon civilization
as a species of barbarism that out
RACES the senSibilities. After all, the
spying gang of which the two be-
headed women were tools was only
doing in Germany for Poland what
German agents simultaneously were
doing in Poland, for there was a
proposal to exchange Baron Won So
snowSki, a Pole, the women's en-
ployer, for German operatives" now
in Polish custody on espionage
charges.
From whatever standpoint viewed,
no matter what the legalistic justifi-
cation for the beheading Of the Ger
man women may be, their execution
cannot be stripped of its horrifying
brutality. It will remain a stigma
on the Nazi cult and take rank with
the unspeakable blood purge" Of last
Summer. Fuehrer Hitler would have
been well advised, if he places any
value on the opinion Of the world
beyond the Reich's borders, to be
chivalrous enough to mitigate his
woman spies punishment to life i'm
prisonment or to evolve some other
form of chastisement less barbaric
than the spectacle just enacted in
Berlin.
Evening star., 1935-02-19

elevation Of the spirit of the masses
from which Mr.. Mellon came and
through the labor and travail Of
which much of his wealth was &C.
quired.
A personal word, however, should be
said. The former Secretary OF the
Treasury has been misunderstood. For
partisan purposes it has been con-
venient to represent him as a per-
sonification of avarice and greed. How
grotesque the caricature was, those
who have known the man have real
ized. But the public, possibly, has
been led aStray. And now the occa-
sion is ripe for a plain statement OF
the truth. ---he fact Is that few of his
contemporaries among those well
endowed with material means have
been anything like so generous. Mr..
Mellon is the anonymous benefactor
of scores Of different projects in Wash
ington, in Pittsburgh and elsewhere
But he has deplored any advertising
of his kindness, and only those di.
rectly concerned ever have been aware
Of the extent of his gifts.
It seems only yesterday that he
came to the Capital for the first time
"a stranger, and none could have
guessed how deeply his name was
destined to be woven into the city's
history. A century hence the accident
will be better comprehended. An
other generation will have more ade-
quate appreciation Of the love. the
loyalty and the service enduringly as
sociated with Mr.. Melons name.
Evening star., 1935-02-19
Cheapening War.

The House Committee on Military
Affairs has submitted a report recon-
mending that legislation be enacted
to clip the wings of war prof1teers.
1t proposes that a one hundred per
cent "excess profits" tax be levied,
where prices are found in excess Of
those charged Oh a particular date
before the war began. At the same
time, 1t plans higher taxes on every
one in the event of war. Under such
a program, the committee contends,
it should be possible to finance a
war on a "pay-as-you-fight" plan and
so not impose staggering debt on the
survivors of the war and on genera
tions to come.
Taking the profit out of war has
been urged in many quarters as a
most important step toward lessening
the probability of war. In fact, it
has been popular to assert that if
men of wealth and the governing
classes in a nation were prohibited
from making money profit out Of war
there would be no wars. That argu-
ment implies that the profit instinct
in man is the sole instinct which
leads him to conflict. Man is not
quite as simple as all that. There
are other quirks In the human being
that lead him to conflict, quirks that
cannot be. controlled perhaps so
easily as the instinct for profit. How
ever, it seems quite clear that If war
is not to be profitable, it will not be
as popular with the potential prof.
iteerS.
The House committee is quite right
In its demand that profit be taken out
of war. There is nothing more repul-
sive than the idea that money shall
be wrung from the bodies Of men who
20 TO the front In war and from the
Evening star., 1935-02-19

Templeton Jones continued his men
tai adventures.
In this one he imagined he felt
like Columbus when the latter dis
covered how to stand an egg on END.
Jones had wondered why so many
men fail to act like gentlemen.
He noticed the propensity OF some
to indulge in so-called witicisnas, in
stead of. contenting themselves with
an honest GOOD morning"
Offices are full of such wights, and
Jones often had wondered why.
One morning, as he came up in the
elevator. he solved the problem OF
why so many fail even to try to act
like gentlemen.
The reason they didn't, was be-
cause they weren't!
It was as simple as that, Jones
thought.
They were like the famous sheep in
the poem; they knew no better.
Every generation has to catch up
with all that has ever been acquired
before. in the history Of the world,
and the pace is too fast for some.
evidently.
The background isn't there, either.
The value of everyday courtesy Is
unknown to many.
They are not to blame, because
they do not know any better.
We are all students of the same
world, and some acquire one thing,
some another.
There's a homely old proverb, you
can't make silk purse out Of a Sow'S
ear.
Jones saw that his fundamental
mistake was in expecting too much OF
some persons.
That was because he was OF an op-
timistic, generous nature, he thought.
Knowing that all things lay exposed
to all persons, If only they would
look in history for them, he naiVely
believed that all persons ought to be
able to find all things.
Hence. since courtesy Is an almost
fundamental outgrowth OF reaction
to diScourtesy, and especially valuable
where human beings are packed in
cities, the worth of it should be ap-
parent to all.
kF*
This reasoning was good, but it had
a flaw in it.
Most so-called reasoning has.
There is a flaw in reasoning as well
as in apples.
The flaw, in this case, lies In the
assumption that all good things, even
when universally admitted, are equally
desired.
Surely they are not.
And the world hasn't gone ahead
in such matters as much as the world
would like to think, either.
He who does an ill deed today, and
then laughs about it, is not much ad-
vanced over those who threw the
Christians to the lions.
Courtesy, which is kind Of gloss
over human nature, is at bottom kind
ness in action.
Jones had to admit that many dis
courteous souls we're kind.
Even in their discourtesy they aimed
at kindness.
All the more sad was it, that they
missed it so wide.
Where they failed was in not con-
Evening star., 1935-02-19
Wants No Bonus, but
Would Welcome 1t Now

To the Editor OF The Star:
never have considered that the
Government owed me bonus for the
% months I spent in the Regular
Army between November l, 1917, and
october l. 1919. Nobody told me tc
enlist. Nobody threatened to draft
me. When I walked into the recruit
ing station, two months before my
nineteenth birthday, the invitation
was entirely my own. I didn't ever
have a pal enlisting with me-
chose to join the Cavalry because
as far as I was concerned, the ro-
nance and glamor Of war was con-
centrated in the mounted service.
was nuts about horses then, just a;
/ have been ever since. Anybody with
casual knowledge of the A. E F. knows
that it did not contain much Cavalry
-four regiments, to be exact.
I did my soldering on the Mexican
border, near Douglas, Ariz., and I hao
good time There isn't any two
year period in my life that look
back on with fonder memories-or
greater nostalgia.
Why should the United States pay
me a bonus for enjoying myself? ]
never have lifted up my voice to de-
mand one. Last Spring, in the C. C.
c., refused to sign the silly bonus
petitions that were circulated in camp
I was pleased when the bonus bill
failed.
But-the situation is changed now
I have no money, no job, no prospects
The c. C. c., which I left in Sep
tember, won't take me back and the
Army won't even look in my direction
Since october everything I've done
everything that has happened to me
has been wrong: My personal history
for the past four months is so full oi
setbacks that it's ludicrous.
Now I hope that the bonus boys
will win their battle, and if they dc
I'll be right in the front rank of cash
collectors. My fingers itch for the fee
of that money-but the United States
does not owe 1t to me. If it comes IL
will be gift, pure and simple. Isn't
it awful to own such collapsible prin-
ciples?
WILBUR THoRP BENTLEY.
Evening star., 1935-02-19

physical behavior of any such system,
from q pin point to q star, Is basically
determined by the behavior Of the
atoms which compose it. Here Lie the
possible practical implications Of the
principle of uncertainty.
But up to date its most far-reaching
effects have been In philosophical out
look. It demonstrates that one Of the
most basic phenomena of creation
follows not laws of precision, but laws
Of chance. 1t represents far cry
from the dawn of the twentieth CEN
tury, with its naive faith that all things
were perfectly ordered and that all
events could be predicted precisely
enough If one only knew enough about
their behavior. Let science continue to
accumulate facts and some day man
would know enough.
Now comes the demonstrated "prin-
ciple Of uncertainty" with its implica-
ton that the old naive faith Of science
In perfectly ordered cosmos was "all
bunk"
Evening star., 1935-02-19

d727-1773), who, in 1857, at the COM
mand Of King Louis XIV Of France
accompanied de Bougainville on Q
voyage around the world.
Q. Are correspondence courses as
good as the lectures given TO college
classes?-P. c.
A. American Universities and Col-
leges says: I'm 1891 when DR.. William
Ralney Harper became president Of
the University Of Chicago he included
] In his plan for the new institution a
division which should offer courses ex-
actly the same in content as those Of
| fered in residence, courses conducted
by regular members Of the university
faculty who themselves organized the
lessons, read the papers prepared by
students, set the examinations, and
assigned credit for the work done.
To a limited extent such work was
| accepted in satisfaction Of require
ments for baccalaureate degrees; but
no degree was conferred for work done
by correspondence only. Conservative
| ly administered by reputable UNIVERSE
ties, the correspondence study system
has grown, especially in connection
with the extension work of the land
grant colleges"
@. Did Lord Lytton or J. L. Nc
Creery write There is No Death?"-
w. E. G.
A. 1t has been attributed To Bulwer
Lytton in some collections of poetry,
but it was written by J. L. McCreery.
@. How can a Government tea
faster drink so much tea and retain
his sense of taste?-C. D.
A. He seldom swallows the mouthful
Of tea he takes. He inhales its bouquet
and usually takes a spoonful Of the
tea in his mouth, but does not drink it.
O. Why is a monument to be erected
to Mrs. Jane Todd Crawford by the
Kentucky State Medical Association
J. T. McC.
A. She is called the pioneer heroine
/ Of surgery. In 1909 she submitted to
an experimental operation performed
by DR.. Ephraim Mcdowell without an
anaesthetic- 1t was this operation
which started the development Of the
safe, sane surgery Of today. She re-
covered from the operation and lived
over 80 years thereafter.
@. What is meant by a revolving or
circulating fund in regard to some Of
the Government loans?-F. M. M.
A. 1t refers to an appropriation made
for a certain purpose for which the
money is distributed on loan at a rate
OF interest. When it is repaid it is
again loaned and returned, the idea
being that eventually the money. hav-
ing served its purpose, will return to
the Treasury.
@. In the Westminster Kennels Dog
Show what are the clasSes?-B. D.
A. There are sporting dogs, sport
ing dogs (hounds), terriers. working
dogs, toy dogs and transporting dogs.
@. Who were some Of the people
who founded the settlement which is
now the city of Alexandria, Va.?-
A. @. C.
A. The formal founding Of Alex
andria was preceded by a settlement
known as Belhaven. The most prom
inent in establishing that little COM
munity were William Ramsay, John
Carlysle and John Pagan, who settled
there between 1882 and 174O. Others
who came TO live in the community
were Simon Pearson, the Alexanders,
ChapmanS. Vests. WaShingtonS, Fitz-
hughs and Terretts.
@. What TWO saints were the first
to set the example of retirement from
| the world?--A. D. S.
| A. st. Paul the Hermit and st.
| Anthony.
Evening star., 1935-02-19
SHOOTING STARS.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.

A Mistaken Identity.
There was man they called the
boss" His manner was exceed
ing cross. They felt completely
at a loss.
When menials met his glare.
The boy who whistled light and gay,
the sweet Stenog, the clerk so
gray, would all curl up and fade
away
Beneath his stony stare.
The great man never felt surprise;
his personality so wise he found
would quickly hypnotic
Wher'er his glances dropped.
The lesser men observed his style and
laughed with glee for quite a
while when he vouchsafed a
passing smile,
And when he scowled, they stopped.
44C NAA 44OO u W l410Cl G1lC dWC
displayed on every hand to his
most trivial command.
He took things as they came.
But this much he could surely see;
the thoughless one whose man
ner free might give offense was
sure to be
A loser at the game.
He never thought that in his face the
Winter wolf they seemed to
trace with threats Of danger to
the place
Than all the world more dear
The difference was not to him, but to
the shadow strange and grim
that makes the light of life
grow dim
When sorrow hovers near.
Evening star., 1935-02-19
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

A reader can get the dnsUer to
any question OF fact by tDriting The
Washington Euening Star Information
Bureau, Frederic J. Hdskin, Director
Washington, D. c. Please trcIose
stamp for reply.
@. How long has backgammon beer
played?-S. @.
A. Backgammon Is said to have
been invented about the tenth cen
tury. A similar game was known Y
the Romans, and Plato aliuoes to
game in which dice were thrown anc
men were placed after due considera'
ton. The etymology Of the word
backgammon, is disputed; 1t is prob
ably Saxon-baec, back, gamen, game
that is, a game in which the player!
are liable to be sent back. The French
name for backgammon Is trictrac
initiative Of the rattle of the dice.
@. How large will the lake at Boul'
der Dam be?-M. M. C.
A. Engineers estimate that by the
time there is depth OF $50 feet al
the dam, 30,500,0 acre-feet Of water
will be held back in the lake. 1t will
stretch for lis miles along the Colo.
RADIO River behind Boulder Dam.
@. How many Senators voted fol
and against the World Court? What
per cent Of voters is represented by
each Side?-F. w.
A. Fifty-two Senators voted ir
favor of the World Court. On the
basis of 1882 election figures, they
represent 60.8 per cent Of the voters
Thirty-six Senators voted against the
World Court, representing 1872 pei
cent of the 1882 popular vote.
@. Is horse meat canned for human
consumption in this country?-H. M
A. 1t is canned largely for export
to Central Europe. The lower classes
Of Europeans have no objection tc
eating horse meat and, in fact, relish
it. 1t Is packed under Federal in
spection and the products are marked
by official meat inspectors. Some oi
it is sold for consumption in thi;
country.
@. How many different issues oi
United States postage stamps have
there been?-G. K. L.
A. Since the issue Of the frs
stamps in 1847 there have been II
regular issues of ordinary stamps anc
81 commemorative issues Of stamps
@. Was there an increase in 193'
over 1888 of fatal motor accident.
which were caused by drinking?-
3. J.
A. Drivers In fatal accidents re-
ported as had been drinking in.
creased 29 per cent in 1884. In bott
years there were many unreportec
cases.
@. Was Gen. Custer a West Point
graduate?-C. r.
A. He graduated from West Poin
in 1861, served with distinction
through the Civil War and then tool
part in the Indian campaigns. HI
was killed in the Battle of the Little
Big Horn in 1876 when only 36 years
old.
Q. Why is wool warmer than cotton
r. j. B.
A. Because 1t is non-conductor O
heat.
@. Who was the first English SOW
ereign not buried at night and BY
torchlight?-A S.
A. Queen Victoria.
@. By whom was the bougainvilles
ramed?-C. E w.
A. 1t was named for Louis Antoine
de Bougainville, French geographel
and diScoverer Q729-181D, by Phih-
bert Commerson, French botanisi
Evening star., 1935-02-19

Gold is international money. Plain
market basket trading has always
held pretty close to simple barter, with
foreign exchange well in the back
ground.
Evening star., 1935-02-19

The United States Government can
not be sued without it's own consent.
There is a limit even to the extent to
which it can be attacked by soap box
orators and pamphleteers.
Evening star., 1935-02-19

Charles Evans Hughes was never a
man to seek an easy job. No public
expression for any man in years has
eoualed in care and responsibility the
opinion he has just delivered.
Evening star., 1935-02-19

In the vocabulary of jurisprudence
there must be somewhere a way Of
pointing the distinction between the
criminal lawyer and the lawyer GRIM
inal.
Evening star., 1935-02-19

1t was not necessary to close the
stock market and deprive numerous
investors of the Joy Of swimming a
little way out OF the red ink.
Evening star., 1935-02-19

Prices have been going higher.
More active markets are expected to
produce an increase of dividends and
wages to keep up with the price tags.
Evening star., 1935-02-19

1t would be hard to believe that any
subtle strategem has forced so much
wealth on Al Smith as to make him
look like plain cash register puncher.
Evening star., 1935-02-19
His Position.

What is your position on this great
question:"
my position" replied Senator Sor-
ghum, "is somewhat like that of a
tight-rope walker. I don't want to
stop to argue or show off. What I
want to do is to get across to solid
ground"
'T have noticed" said Miss Cayenne,
'that a man who says he enjoys work
Is usually on a vacation when he
says it."
Evening star., 1935-02-19
NUNS the Word.

From the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
Internal revenue authorities rule
that for income tax purposes there
can be only one head of a family.
But better not brag about 1t to your
wife.
Evening star., 1935-02-19

"Life. liberty and the pursuit Of
happiness" relate to the war on
crime as we'll as to broader theories
of government.
Evening star., 1935-02-19

No propagandiSt has been able to
create the kind Of literature that
schoolboys enjoy reciting before the
class.
Evening star., 1935-02-19
Obvious Fallacy.

OUNHOuo
II there were q silver lining
To each cloud that drifts on high,
Folks in airships would be mining
Every corner of the sky.
Evening star., 1935-02-19
Sufficient.

Sufficient.
From the Toledo Blade.
It isn't necessary to fool all OF the
people. A majority will do
Evening star., 1935-02-19

''If it took man as long to git
into debt" said Uncle Eben, cas- it
does to git out, dar wouldn't be nigh
so much financial worriment."