davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1935-01-22
Parents Should Prefer
Teachers to Be Models

To the Editor Of The Star;
AS generally known, the Public
School Association of the District OF
Columbia made an appeal recently to
the Board of Education against the
habits of school teachers in the use
OF alcohol, tobacco and other mar
cotics.
Judging from a story which ap-
peared in your columns on December
13, 1884, it might readily be inferred
that, when this appeal came before
the board for consideration, on the
previous evening. a smart woman was
! on hand to fight the suggestion and
was quite successful in "vamping
this dignifed body. Looking in from
the outside, one wonders how the
board could find the time to hear this
unnecessary TRADE.
1t has always been the vogue in
some circles to hold up to ridicule any
person (or organization) with high
ideals and without fear in speaking
out for them. 1t would seem to be
most unfortunate that this absurd
practice or attitude should lately
creep into school circles.
Now, pointing an ideal does require
courage. This is specially true, per-
hapS, in these times of great moral
slump. Certainly. we do not expect
any person or any group in this world
to be perfect. Such person or group
would be entirely too lonely. How
ever, what real harm can come from
the suggestion that our school teach
ers ought to have exemplary habits? =?
Probably. every thoughtful parent
would prefer to have his children
under the tutelage of men and women
strong enough (and not too spine
leSSo to control their own lives as
to the unwise use of the narcotics in
question.
Most asSuredly, even the active pro-
ponentS of this revolutionary plan did
not expect it to be adopted. The
trend of the times in matters of
morals is toward laxity rather than
severity. However, if our educational
leaders are to take the line of least
resistance in their own personal con-
duct, if they insist on following the
crowd and being a sport" what will
ultimately become of the "bulwark of
this Republic? Truly, children now
adayS do need all the help they can
get from adults both at home and in
school, both by precept and by ex-
ample.
EVERETT M. ELLISON.
President the Citizens Service Asso-
citation for Law and Order.
Evening star., 1935-01-22
STARS, MEN AND ATOMS
Notebook of Science Progress in Field,
Laboratory and Study.

able A report recently published by
a French Army doctor, lately retired
from the colonial service, described
appalling slaughter in French equa-
torial Africa. This is carried on by
natives armed with modern rifles or
surrounding game with fire. Our in
formant recently had occasion to save
$50 elephants from being burned alive
in one of these fire rings. Such. no
doubt. explain the famous elephant
cemeteries. In addition, professional
white hunters add to the depletion of
Africa's game by selling the meat to
highway or railroad construction
gangs.
THE game situation in India is
badly in need of attention. The
Oriental market for rhino horn liter
ally makes this substance worth its
weight in gold and is directly reSpon-
sible for the existence of well-armed
gangs whose depredations largely are
responsible for the disappearance of
the great Indian rhino."
X X X
The Government was considering
seriously a semaphore line between
New York and Washington in 1888
the year Samuel F. B. Morse filed his
first patent application for the elec-
trio telegraph.
1t requested the Franklin Institute
OF Philadelphia to investigate the
practicability and cost of such an in
stallation. copy of the curious old
report has been found in the Franklin
Institute journals in the National Mu-
scum. The scientists reported back to
Washington that such a line could be
installed for an initial cost of about
100000 and maintained for about
$4,000 a year. They calculated that
1t would be possible, under efficient
operation, to transmit a message of
100 letters, or 100 semaphore signals.
from New York to Washington in a
little less than a half hour, provided
there was clear weather.
The proposal favored was for the
erection of 40 towers approximately
z miles apart, each provided with a
semaphore device and a telescope.
The sending instruments" were to be
vertical poles approximately 8 feet
high, each with two horizontal, moy-
able arms. At each station it would
be necessary to catch the signals by
means OF the telescope and retrans-
init them. The operators would be
kept continually on watch. While the
scientists did not commit themselves
to the feasibility of the scheme. thev
called attention to the fact that a
number of similar systems for trans
mitting messages over long distances
were in successful operation in Europe.
Evening star., 1935-01-22
A Big Bite.

The administrations $4,000 900, ,00C
work relief bill delegates to the
President huge powers. They are
demanded in the name of emergency
The theory is that in times of great
stress a Chief Executive must be
able to act swiftly in the public
interest and that his hands must be
free. No one will deny that an un-
employment emergency continues to
exist in this country, notwithstanding
the efforts which have been made
under the New Deal during the
greater part of two years. The ques-
ton arises whether the underlying
causes of the emergency are being
or can be met by continued dele
cations Of power to. the Executive
and the program which has been
undertaken.
The work relief bill is designed pri-
marily, as explained by the President,
to make it possible to take 3,5Oo,o
people of the dole and put them to
work. To accomplish this end the
President is to be handed this huge
sum Of money to be expended as he
sees fit on all kinds of public works
He may select any agency Of the Gov
ernment he desires to administer the
fund or any part of it. He may
create new agencies of government
he may transfer or wipe out other
governmental agencies or continue in
existence some already created that
might be on their way out under the
laws creating them for the "emer-
gency." All these powers are vested
Evening star., 1935-01-22

clause solely upon constitutional
grounds of the broadeSt character"
This is likewise the opinion Of the
San Jose (CalifD Mercury Herald and
the Milwaukee Journal, and the
Watertown IN. " Daily Times be-
lieves that "the natural instinct Of
patriotic Americans will be that Gov
ernment, corporation or individual
should carry out pledged obligations
to the letter, let the consequences
be what they may"
Whether or not the Nation ought
TO have been placed under the new
monetary orders now existing, any
attempt today to diSplace those orders
and drive the country suddenly back
to the old system, invites far-flung con-
fusion holds the Boston Transcript.
and the st. Paul Daily News, agree
ing, calls such decision "unthinka-
BILE" On the other hand. the Phila-
delphla Evening Bulletin calls thc
Governments action plain "repudia-
tion." The Paterson IN. j. News
makes the suggestion that "somc
means should be evolved whereby
legislation, of the constitutionality of
which there is any doubt, might be
placed before the court for a ruling
before it becomes effective"
The Rochester Times-Uni directs
attention to the fact that "in manv
perhaps in most, cases it would b
not only grossly unfair to expec
payment on the old gold basis, but
such payment would be simply and
sheerly impossible" This is also the
view Of the Syracuse Herald. while
the Lowell (MaSs) Courier Citizen
maintains that $50 long as currency
is not seriously deprecated, the gold
clause is of little Importance to anv
one, as a practical matter"
Evening star., 1935-01-22
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

/ even then: they prefer the great open
spaces, things being what they are.
The Office worker who has seat by
window-and there are thousands
such in Washington-Will have time,
now and then, to spend few moments
viewing the roofs of the city.
He will look In vain for cats on the
prowl.
Perhaps no city in the world has
fewer cats on view from Office windows.
This is something to think about.
Were the great Europeans wrong when
they wrote their novels and invariably
! placed domestic cats on roofs? Or
are our American tabbies more shy
and refined?
Even snow, beautiful snow, cannot
make roof scenes enticing.
Just different, but whether that is
merit or not in the situation is
something that must be left to each
observer.
To one spectator. at least, the snow
aloft fails miserably to aid the scene.
| 1t gives a contrast not favorable to
honest brick, stone, tin, bronze, slate.
Somehow the bleaknesS of the aver
age roof view is accentuated. Perhaps
the white makes fiat surfaces look
fiatter, scarcely desirable, since fiat is
enough. The building up of the ap-
parent thickness by several inches is
lost in view OF the fair spread of
snow, unmarried by tracks of any sort.
1t will be found that most of the
ground charm Of a snowfall is lost
aloft, despite the fact that it is not
sullied by grease, oil and the like.
No doubt this is due to the lack of
distinctive features. There are here
no shrubs to catch snow on their
branches; no boughs of trees, no
| garage roofs to lend an air of en-
chantment to the scene.
Chimneys scarcely form vantage
| places for snow, owing to their regu-
larity, and the plain fact that the fall
does not stick to them long.
X X +
Then there is the question Of arti-
| ficiality.
UnqueStionably snow goes best with
natural things, such as trees, shrubs,
plants Of all kinds in their dormant
state
There is nothing natural about a
building, chimney.
! Mans latest artifice, the airplane, Is
no more artificial than a building
probably not as much so, since it
emulateS the bird.
A building of any sort, large or
| small. is strictly mans interpreta-
ton of Nature.
That is why, We believe. the snow
does not seem to "flt" it as we'll as
on the ground places of earth, close
to the natural mother of all.
4 4 4 X
A small branch of a tree is a mar
vel of beauty when it is clothed with
a delicate soft layer of very wet snow
The slightest touch will break the
marvel to pieces, but if no wind
/ blows it will stay there for hours
without harm.
This delicate balance Of Nature
it is this which makes every old fence
and hedge a beautiful sight in a
snowstorm.
| And as long as our man-made
! things are close to the ground-the
garage, the car parked by the curb,
the fence post-they melt in with the
snow, and are made beautiful by its
| whiteness.
Up on the roofs it is a different
story. The shingles are too high from
the ground. Though snow starts high,
/ its natural place is the lowest it can
ind.
Evening star., 1935-01-22
Native Painters Should
Be Given Portrait Work

To the Editor of The Star:
In the past it seems to have been
the custom for national celebrities,
such as President Roosevelt Gen.
Pershing and many others, to let for
eign artists paint their portraits.
In this country we have many re-
nowned artists; quite capable of doing
ample justice to any one on canvas,
and at present there are many who
are actually hungry.
Take also the galleries and mu-
seums; if they would cater more to
our talented artists and not pay fabu-
lous sums for old masters, it would
mean that our talent would be recog-
ntzed to such an extent that not only
would the money be spent here, but
we would eventually become first
rankers in the world Of art. 1t would
also mean the development Of a taste
for paintings among the people in the
ordinary walks of life and an educa.
ton as to who are our best artists.
r. L. LAMB. =
Evening star., 1935-01-22

1t is not what the artist thinks OF
snow, nor what the Street Cleaning
Department thinks, or the traffic man.
ager, but what you think of it, that
makes it either good or bad.
In the whole realm of Nature there
is no phenomenon quite like this
with its magic way of making familiar
things look so different.
It Is a curious fact that the white
beauty of snow makes a city appear
upbelievably dirty in a very short
time.
This is not on the streets alone, but
on the roofs.
Traffic has more penalties than
danger. Destruction of this beauty
Is one.
On the roofs of the. city. though
we might hope for beauty's escape.
Alas, it is in vain.
Not smoke, so much, as contrast
with brick and stone, dulls whatever
beauty there may be to the snow from
that viewpoint.
4 X + y
Snow Is too white.
1t makes bricks look shabby, stone
out of place.
The tops of average buildings
whatever their pretensions from the
street, are never works of art, and
somehow the snow which covers them
from time to time makes them look
even worse
Surely this d-fashioned view of q
city is not as popular as once it was
in the days when most popular novel
lists used it to accent the moods OF
their characters.
Loneliness could be no better shown
then than by the picture of the hero
looking out deSolately over the roofs
of the city Usually his vantage point
was an attic window 1t is impossible
to know how some>of the elder novel
lists, especially of Europe. could have
got along at all without their poor
heroes in attic dwellings.
Loneliness was accentuated by the
blank eXpanse of roofs. unoccupied
save by some proWling cat in the dis
tance or a few sparrows somehow
picking up an equally sparse living in
the caves.
Emile Zola in his first days in Paris
is supposed to have caught birds out
his attic window and roasted them for
his supper When his traps failed to
catch anything, so the legend goes,
he went hungry.
Pen pictures of cats on high roofs
used to be feature of European lit
erature.
Perhaps the picture is no more au-
thentic than the equally popular i'm
preston that cats have nine lives. y
Nothing could be more erroneous.
The domestic cat has but one life.
and that a very poor one, according
to records. The average life of the
city cat is about 6 years, although
there are many exceptions.
Few OF them will be encountered on
Washington roofs. At first thought
one might think that so far the traffic
situation had not become bad enough
to drive them alOft. But if they used
housetops so consistently in Europe,
surely it was not the traffic situation
there. Probably their preference for
the roofs was brought about by their
possession by many families living in
apartments. Then their only outlet
to freedom was an open window.
Whatever the cats of Europe must
put up with, those of America have
free exit to the good earth. Being
nocturnal, they prefer night. Few of
them will be found on the streets
Evening star., 1935-01-22
Planetarium.

The Nations Capital should have a
planetarium. Chicago, Philadelphia
and Los Angeles already are so ad-
Vantaged; New York soon will have
the Charles Hayden establishment,
made possible in large part through a
Federal loan, and Washington, the
natural cultural center of the United
States, has claims equal, if not su-
perior, to any of these other cities.
Those who have seen planetariums
operated know their value. They
demonstrate the orbital paths of the
planets and their satellites; they
dramatize the celestial pageant. An
audience of hundreds may sit in a
darkened circular auditorium and
witness in an hour the whole parade
of the armament, the while COM
petent lecturer explains the science
of the spectacle Inventive genius has
perfected the original conception of
George Graham, first patronized by
the Earl of Orrery and called by his
name, so that by mechanical means it
is feasible to reproduce on dome
equivalent to Heavens ebon vault"
the business of "stars unutterably
bright" Children, particularly, are
entranced by the display, but adults,
also, are fascinated by the exhibi-
ton.
A planetarium in Washington, it
would seem, should be administered
by the Smithsonian Institution. 1t
might be built with Public Works Ad-
ministration funds or by direct appro-
priation of Congress. The investment
could be returned within a few years
Evening star., 1935-01-22
Work Is to Be Had by
Those Willing to Work
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor of The Star:
Everybody hears continued COM
planning that there Is no work to
be had. I had a lady rent a room
from me this last week. She told
me she came to Washington to get
work as housekeeper or general house
work, as you call it. This last Sun
day, the twentieth, she put small
ad in your paper stating that she
would like work as such. On Sunday
she had "a callers and 2 kilograms,
and Monday morning she got 8 more
letters and several more callers. In
all I think she got about from 80
to "a answers to her ad. I inter-
viewed some Of these myself. They
all had the same sad story; that it
was almost impossible to get woman
for housework. All I talked with
would pay. anywhere from 81 week
Evening star., 1935-01-22
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

AAAONAAAp As'
Another bad measles season may be
just ahead.
Last Winter was one Of the worst
the country has known and the dis
tribution was rather general. Judging
by the experience of the past, the
country could expect about three
year respite from a widespread
epidemic.
But reports coming to the Public
Health Service show an even greater
incidence than at this time a year
ago. Last week II 900 cases were re-
ported, with definite increases in
Massachusetts,, Pennsylvania, Indiana
Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas
Maryland, West Virginia, North Caro-
lima and Colorado. The District of
Columbia showed no increase. Ordi-
narily this common disease of child
hood. dreaded because of the severe
illness it causes and its occasional
serious after-effects, runs in waves
with sharp creStS every three years. II
has been difficult to predict, however,
because the time curve differed for
different areas-sometimes quite lin
tied. Last years epidemic was the
most general and the largest up to
date. A peak continuing over two
years will break precedents
A measles epidemic usually starts
about this time and reaches its high
est point in late February or early
March.
Up to date this has been a hot, dry
Winter, according to the records of
Herbert Lyman Of the Weather Bu-
reau. The first two weeks of January
piled up a heat reserve of 103 degrees
above the normal for the District of
Columbia. 1t was about degrees
warmer every day than the mean for
the past so years. Almost day by day
the temperature has paralleled that
of the first two weeks Of January last
year.
The Winter of 1884, as everybody
remembers, was record breaker for
cold, but January was actually about
7 degrees above the normal until the
last three days. Then there was a
sudden drop, which continued through
February, with a daily average of 10.7
below normal. The similarity to date
cannot be interpreted as meaning that
it will continue through another abb
normally cold February. The chances
of such a remarkable parallelism are
very remote.
The first two weeks have produced
only about a third of the rainfall nor
NAL for the season. Ordinarily jan
uary is dry month here. The mean
precipitation is 185 inches. This year
there has been only "a Of an inch.
Il X X X
Some of the worlds largest and
most picturesque animals are being
pushed to extinction, according to a
report just received from the Amer
ican Committee for International
Wild Life Protection.
There is still a great deal to be
done, and quickly" says this report,
"if we are to save certain species from
sharing the fate of the passenger
pigeon, the European wisent, the
South African blue buck and the
ouagga. AS a tsetse f1y-control measure
of questionable value, nearly 10000
animals have been destroyed in
Southern Rhodesia in four years.
This entailed the slaughter of 1000
head of big game in a year. The
Zwasiland government tried cutting
down the number of wildebeeste In
that territory by using poisoned water.
THE black rhino is disappearing
all over Africa as a result of a trade
demand which makes poaching profit
Evening star., 1935-01-22

to SO per week with room and board.
This lady, of course, selected the
place she thought best.
Now what I want to know is why
don't the relief authorities place a
lot OF these women on some jobs
doing houSework? Nearly all talked
with blamed the relief, because the
relief pays them from $3.50 to SO
per week without ever doing a thing.
So why work? I am told some people
have been on straight relief for over
two years. In fact, know of one
case personally that has been on two
years. I think it is right to help
where it is needed, but it seems to me
there are lots of jobs for housework
for some that care to work.
n MRS. F. o. STEINSON.
Evening star., 1935-01-22

Q. Who invented Monel metal2-
A. R.
A. Ambrose Mcneil is the inventor.
Q. How many pupils attend high
schools in the United States?-E. r.
A. The number of pupils in public
high schools is 5,140,O21; the number
in private high schools, 403,4l5. max
ing total of 5,543, 436 pupils in sec
ondary schools.
O. How much thread will q pound
Of wool make?-G R.
A. A pound Of the finest wool yields
nearly 100 miles of thread.
! @. Is tight curl in Persian lamb
an indication of good quality2-D. r.
A. The pelts vary considerably in
/ quality and are graded according to the
closeness and character of the curl and
luster OF the fur. The coarser grades
are sometimes classed as astrakhan.
@. When was the Chesapeake e.
Ohio Canal built?-G. w. w.
A. 1t was begun in 1928; 30 miles
was completed by 1880 and the whole
canal was completed by 1850. The
cost of building the canal was Sill
OIL, ,176.2l.
@. How does John Masefeld rat
the Liverpool Cathedral?-W. H.
A. The Poet Laureate speaks Of it as
''the greatest Of modern cathedrals.
@. To whom does the Mississipy
River belong?-B. NJ.
| A. The Mississippi River is under Il;
! Jurisdiction of the States which bordi
it, the boundary line being in the mi
die Of the river. For purposes Of int
state commerce and navigation t
Federal navigation laws apply sir
this is a naNgable stream. T
| United States, however, does not ol
| either bank.
@. How far out was the Great Ea'
ern when the first ocean cable broke:
F. w.
A. Twelve hundred miles. Thirte
months later the cable was recoyerC
! @. How much has Negro illiterfr
/ decreased in the past 65 years?-S.
A. Negro illiteracy has been :
duced from 95 per cent in 1865 to le
than 20 per cent in 1890
@. Who invented the Bowie knife
C. T.
A. James Black, a blacksmith q
| Washington, Ark. James Bowie II
| 1900 ordered Black to make him
knife according to a pattern Bowie
submitted Black made it, but also
| made another on a somewhat altered
pattern. When Bowie called for his
knife Black offered him a choice Of
the two. He selected Blacks pattern.
Bowie became famous as a knife fight
er and his weapon gained fame, ad-
venturers coming from distant places
! to buy Bowie knives from Black
| When Bowie fell at the Alamo, sur
rounded by dead Mexicans, the knit
Black had made him was still grasped
in his hand.
@. What is meant by Nobel prizes,
H. B. S.
A. They are series of five annu;
prizes provided tor by the will of Afr,
B. Nobel. Swedish scientist. mai
tained for the research of individua
who work for the benefit Of manki.
in the domains Of physics. chemist
medicine, literature and peace.
@. How many pairs of stockir
does the average young working won.
an buy in years.. D.
A. The average is set at twenty
five pairs year.
O. Is it true that The Evening ST
owns the Washington Shopping New.
%. N H.
A. The business manager Of II
Evening Star says that newspaper has
no financial interest or other conneC
ton with the publication named.