davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1935-03-30
Dangerously Confused Situation as to
Liquor Regulation in Montgomery Co.

having been filed, that territory is now
wholly under the dispensary system.
OF the balance Of the districts,
GAINESVILLE and Damascus remain dry,
for lack Of a 80 per cent petition to
the contrary. In the remaining dis
tricts Of Laytonsville, Poolesville.
Clarksburg, Colesville, Darnestown
Clney and Gaithersburg. an election
is to be had in each such district on
the fourth Tuesday in April, 1885.
Under the State law. as applied to
Montgomery County, with the excep-
ton of certain leading non-profit-
making clubs with athletic features, no
hard liquors are authorized to be dis
pensed in the county through any
agency except the dispensary. and
then in sealed packages. and it would
now require an act of the Legislature
to permit the holders of licenses to
sell beer or light wines, to indulge in
the commercialized business of SELL
ing liquors Of higher alcoholic con-
tent.
The experiences of the last two
years have resulted in the proposal,
through q bill introduced by Mr.. Ma
gruder of Montgomery County, to re-
quire closing of the places of sale Of
liquors on Sunday, and such bill has
passed the House, and its enactment
depends primarily upon the action Of
the State Senator from Montgomery
County.
On the other hand, there has been
introduced In, and passed by, the
State Senate and is now pending in
the House of Delegates a bill under
which tea houses, inns and restau-
rants Of a defined type may be per-.
mitted, under license, to include in
their commercialized business the
sale of hard liquors.
If such bill should pass there
would be a radical departure from
the basic theory of the dispensary
law. People from the City of Wash
ington would be induced to 60 far
out into the country, where police
protection is meager and intoxicated
drivers are dangerous. The higher
the license, the more necessary It
would be to populariZe these sellers
Of hard liquors, and the natural tend
ency would be to stimulate develop
ment of night clubs in the rural and
residential sections Of Montgomery
County.
Furthermore. to pass such a law
at this particular time, on the very
eve Of what should be q fair and un-
Influenced referendum election, in
some of these districts at least, the
commercial stakes would be so great
as to induce, or make possible, q con-
test In which the element of pro-
spective licenses to sell hard liquor
would be source Of confusion and
interference In an election which, at
worst, should be on its merits, un-
mixed with niercenary interests.
GEORGE Fl. LAMAR.
Evening star., 1935-03-30
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRAcEWELL.

Watch and fountain pen manufac-
turers. according To Templeton Jones,
are missing q chance.
Many men carry neither, he has
observed.
More men ere timeless and pen
less than otherwise, the astute Jones
believes.
He bases this on the fact that he
never can find out what the time Ia
from Q friend.
And he has found out that he is the
only one he knows who carries foun-
tain pen.
Everybody else wants to borrow It.
The things Jones never did, and the
things he never had, would I'LL large
book.
One Of these is q knife.
Templeton Jones honestly believes
that he IS the only person in the world
who never, positively never. at any
time in his life ever carried what Is
known commonly as q jackknife.
As for watches, he has one very
good one, and several very cheap ones
Still he carries none.
A watch, he believes. Is q matter OF
habit, as much as anything else.
Business has very little to do with
it, unless one happens to be In some
line wherein exact time is necessary.
Bus drivers, for instance, must carry
watches, but often enough big busi-
ness men never 90 so.
You never can tell.
Ask the average person you meet
what time it Is, the chance is that he
will look around for Q clock or guess
at 1t.
The fact that many do not carry
watches Is no structure against them,
but is due simply to the fact that
men already carry around too many
articles.
The small boy complex. which de-
manded a pocketful Of odds and ends,
has never been relinquished.
A search through Is pockets in the
average business suit would show a
variety of articles, ranging from
pocketbook to small comb.
In between there would be hand
kerchiefs. pencils, small change.
medicine, and so on.
Pockets are so filled that many a
man cannot find room for q watch.
Even the so-called watch pocket is
full.
Perhaps Q little suspected reason
for failure to carry ones own per-
sonal timepiece lies in the fact that
watches are 50 often dropped.
Often enough this means that the
teller of time is put out of commits
sion-and the owner fails to take it
to the repair man.
He puts it away, thinking that
some time he will go to the jewelers.
with it, but as time passes he fails
to do so.
One of the reasons for this is the
prevalence Of large clocks everywhere
1t Is impossible In a modern city
to 60 more than a block without
meeting o clock face to face.
1t is on the corner. or in a window,
or in a store. or some place along
the line.
Along every bus route, for instance,
there will be one or more clocks to
tell the craning passengers whether
they are on time or not.
Too often they are not. Why is 1t
that so many persons are able to get
to work at 9:02 O'Clock, who cannot
Evening star., 1935-03-30
To the Editor OF The Star:

To the Editor OF The Star:
No other secular newspaper has con-
tributed more to the present vantage
ground Of Montgomery County as a
residential section than The Star. It
is deemed appropriate, therefore, that
! should address you upon an unbal-
anced status fraught with immediate
danger to its present civilization,
which has been established here
through years of material develop
ment and character building. Mont
gomery County was one Of the first
in the Nation to adopt. by direct vote
Of its people, the local option system
with reference to the sale Of intoxi-
eating liquors. Prior to the enact
ment Of the eighteenth amendment,
this law had been perfected by re-
peated amendments in such manner
that its acceptability to the electorate
was practically universal, and it re-
manned in full force and effect dur
ing the period of the existence Of
the eighteenth amendment and the
Volstead act. Having been enacted
by direct vote, it was natural to as
sumo that it should not be repealed,
in part or in whole, without an op-
portunity for a direct vote Of the
political unit embracing the whole
county. At the extraordinary session
of the General Assembly of 1888,
however, while the State Senator was
Ill. q majority Of the delegates In
the House Of Delegates from Mont
gomery County concurred in the en-
actment Of two statutes ON the sub
ject.
One Of them was contained in the
Statewide law which undertook to
establish the dispensary system as the
means through which liquors might
be dispensed in any part Of Mont
gomery County. The other was local
law for Montgomery County, under
which the registered voters might
determine, through referendum vote
by districts in April, 1885, whether
or not the sale Of intoxicating liquors
might be legally had therein after
such referendum vote; but the same
was so framed that, upon the sale
of liquor becoming legal In any such
district, the same would come within
the jurisdiction Of the dispensary
system.
With the exception of the towns of
Kensington and Takoma Park, the
four other districts Of Rockville, Poto-
mac, Bethesda and Wheaton became
Immediately subject to the sale of
liquor under the dispensary system,
and the referendum law made Il
necessary that, In order to have an
opportunity to return to dry territory,
1t would be essential that 80 per cent
of the registered voters Of the Rock
vile, Potomac, Bethesda and Wheaton
districts, exclusive Of Takons and
Kensington. should petition for such
referendum election not later than
some time In 1884. No such petition
Evening star., 1935-03-30
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

A reader cax get the ansicer2 to
any question OF tact By tcTittn1
The Erening Star Information Bu-
reau, Frederic J. HGskin, Director,
Warrington, D. c. Please iHclose
stamp for reply.
q. How did the custom of having
hot cross buns on Good Friday
start?-M. 8.
A. The custom is very old. The
buns originally were supposedly made
Of . dough kneaded for tie Host and
accordingly marked with o cross. They
were said to keep for Ia months with
out being moldy, and were often hung
up In houses as charms against evil.
@. What was the native home Of
the dodo, kind Of nest and food?-E. B.
A. The dodo formerly inhabited the
Island Of Mauritius, on the east coast
Of Africa in the Indian Ocean. It
laid o single white egg on q mass Of
grass In the forests. The food is not
known, but presumably from Its type
and structure. it fed on grasses and
seeds.
@. When was the first tax put on
whisky in this country?-W. r.
A. The excise law was passed by
Congress In March, 179l. So great
was the objection to this tax law that
there was an outbreak which necessi-
tated President Washington's calling
out an army Of $1,000 to subdue 1t.
@. What salaries do the justices Of
the United States Supreme Court get?
Fl. B.
A. The Chief Justice Of the United
States Supreme Court receives 20,500
Q year, the associate justices $4,000.
q. Who said, "Where ignorance is
bliss, 'tis folly to be wise"?-S. c. M.
A. This sentiment Is very old and
has occurred before in literature. but
this adaptation Is from Gray's "On a
Distant Prospect Of Eton College"
@. Could all the people in the United
same time?-L. Z.
A. Since the country's motor car
registration Is about $4,000, 900, 1t
could be managed by averaging slightly
more than five persons to each car.
@. What buried the ancient cities
which have been uncovered from time
to time?-J. B. s.
A. In studying the history Of an
cient cities which have been excavated,
it is generally found that various fac
tors have contributed toward their
burial. as for instance, conquest, de-
struction by IRE, volcanoes or earth.
quakes. In many instances the in
habitants left the town, returning
after the disaster to rae what was
left of the town and rebuild on the
same site. Thus, excavations at Troy
have shown that there were some nine
cities on the same site ut different
periods. In some instances ancient
cities have been buried by sand
storms.
@. What was meant by the de-
mestic system Of England?-J. 6. r.
A. The name is applied to the sys-
tenn of household industry which pre-
ceded the factory system. There was
little factory work previous to the
early eighteenth century. Industrial
projects, particularly textiles, were
largely manufactured In the homes
under the personal supervision either
Of the merchant or his deputies. Due
to this hours were variable and wages
were unregulated. This resulted in O
system known as sweating, Of which
there is still much today in work done
at home.
@. How old is President Masaryk Of
Czecho6lovakia?-W. S.
A. The President of Czechoslovakia
was e5 years old on March z.
Evening star., 1935-03-30
"Integrating Principle" "

Three representatives Of the Amer.
ican Association of University Pro-
fessors recently joined in the opinion
that the city Of Pittsburgh is lacking
any "integrating principle" other
than the sign Of the dollar. But the
pedagogs, with equal justice, might
have expressed similar Judgment In
the case of almost any other COM
munity in the United States. The
dollar mark is a universal symbol
throughout the country and properly
might be conceived to stand for
towns far less famous than the great
industrial center of Western Penn.
sylvania.
New York, for example. is a metro
politan market which prides itself
upor its frankly commercial charac-
ter. Boston, again, Is not exactly
bashful in the assertion Of its claims
as . hub for active industry. Phila-
delphia and Baltimore advertise their
business aspects as well as their
schools. their museums and other cul-
tural institutions. Chicago boasts Of
its wealth Of material advantages,
and would be indignant were any one
to have the hardfhood to question
the prc-eminence Of its status as the
money vortex of the Great Lakes
area. Even Hollywood is not exempt
from temptation to view the dollar
sign with respect.
But what of it? There is nothing
essentially sinful in the emblem Of
the standard monetary unit of the
Nation. Granted that 1t may be but
q token Of an accepted legend, as
some insist, there are few sane persons
who would be willing to foreso
acquaintance with quantities Of It.
It's power to do good surely Is equal
to its power to do evil. The very
halls In which the university pro.
fessors teach have been built by
capital, and every individual who has
had the advantages of university
training stands in some debt to per-
sonal endowment Of means enough
to pay his way from matriculation
to graduation. Where. It may be
asked. would America have, obtained
its libraries and laboratories. its con-
cert halls and art galleries, Its mag.
nincent churches fnd hosrisals had
Evening star., 1935-03-30
Choice of Alternatives.

The special House committee inves-
hgating crime and law enforcement
In the District has heard some rather
blind and pointless criticism of the
District Parole Board and even Of the
principle of parole. But the testi-
mony yesterday Of Chief Justice
Wheat Of the District Supreme Court
does not fall within that class, even
though he advocates doing away with
the District Parole Board entirely and
transferring its job back to the Fed
eral Parole Board.
For service on a parole board should
not be a part-time, volunteer. service
by unpaid citizens. The RESPONSE
bility to the community is too great.
1t calls for a great deal OF time and
experienced effort. It calls for an
organization of full-time. salaried
workers.
The effort 70 create the District
Parole Board and to inaugurate the
local system of parole was based on
the highest motives. 1t was probably
conceived in the beginning as eventu-
ally leading TO a full-time board Of
experts. specializing in the delicate
nature Of the work before them. But
instead of progressing in such direc-
ton, the board has stood still. 1t has
been denied the funds necessary to
carry out a well-rounded program of
parole work. Chief Justice Wheats
views are similar to those expressed
by DR.. Loren B. johnson, former
chairman of the District Parole Board,
when he resigned because of his con-
clusion, after careful observation. that
the board as constituted by law was
capable Of doing more harm than
good.
The alternatives seem clear enough.
Either the District Parole Board
should be placed on an entirely new
footing by amendatory legislation,
which would supply it with paid OFF,
GERS and adequate personnel, or else
it should be done away with and the
work transferred to the Federal Pa
role Board. 1t seems useless to ex-
pect the board to function, no matter
how we'll intentioned may be the
work Of public spirited citizens who
have volunteered their services, until
the board is equipped with the ma
chinery necessary to make it function.
Chief Justice Wheat also adds his
own criticism to that which has been
previously voiced in condemnation Of
the indeterminate sentence law, which
takes away from the trial Judge the
discretion which he properly should
possess in determining punishment.
This law has found few supporters.
The House committee, in the program
Of remedial legislation which it will
doubtless recommend on the basis
of its investigations, should advocate
its repeal.
Evening star., 1935-03-30

Picture q man in a cell without
door or windows, with walls Of solid
granite feet thick
Would it be possible for him to dash
headfirst against one of the walls and.
instead of cracking his skull, 60 right
through 70 freedom?
Contrary to the answer OF common
sense, the prisoner might succeed II
he tried it often enough-say 1000
times . day for q billion decillion
years. And. of course, he might go
through the very first time he tried it.
His chances of success can be cal
culated by a very precise formula
perhaps the most fundamental mathe-
matical statement evolved by the new
physics to explain some of the myste-
ries of sub-atomic phenomena. But
one factor IN this formula Is one
octrillionth, a fraction represented by
the figure one over / followed by 27
ciphers.
It was by making use OF this
formula that DR.. George Gamow,
visiting professor of physics at George
washington University, has been able
to explain the puzzle Of the radio
activity of elements. When Prof.
Gamov first n:esented his theory in
London, Lord Rutherford, the man
who first was able to bring about
artificial transmutation of elements.
accepted 1t with the remark that at
last had been solved the old mystery
of the detective story-eScape from
the room without doors or windows.
Prof. Gamow himself uses differ
ent analogy.
Take, for example, an obstruction
q centimeter thick.
Fire at it a bullet weighing one
gram with a force only half that
necessary for it to 90 through-say at
a speed of q kilometer o second.
Would it be possible for the bullet
to go all the way through the OBJ
struction?
Yes, says DR.. Gamow-once in ap-
proximately l,000, ,000, ,000, ,000, ,000, ,000,.
000, ,0oo. .0oo, ,o0o, 900 times.
Take the population Of the earth,
in round numbers, as approximately
1900, ,O00, 900.
Supposing everybody on earth hred
day of their lives.
It would require 1000, ,000, ,000. .000,-
00o, ,o00, 900 years, on the average, for
the miracle to happen.
The earth itself cannot be much
more than 2,0oo, ,000. 600 years old.
Consequently the bullet could be ex-
pected to 60 through the obstruction
only once In period 500, ,000, ,000. 600
times that of all terrestrial history.
The chances of the event happening
are decillion to one for any particu-
lar trial. But. on the other hand. the
very first trial might be successful.
4 y y n
Not only do such things happen,
says DR.. Gamow, but they are ordi-
nary events. Their occurrence Is re-
sponsible for some Of the most i'm
portant phenomena in the universe.
If they didn't happen this earth would
be very different place.
But they happen, not in the visible
world of sights and sounds, but in the
invisible world of which the visible
is but . sensory approximation-the
world Of the atom. There, Of course,
energies and dimensions are vastly
different and hence the chances are
vastly increased.
That is the way Prof. Gamow ex-
plains radio activity The alpha par
ticle gets out Of the nucleus OF the
atom almost Hecisely Is . man would
get out Of Q closed room by walking
through the wall. The chances are
so great that one of them can walk
through the wan" Of Q uranium atom
! once IN fp1ruztmatelz svsz hho1
Evening star., 1935-03-30
SHOOTING STARS.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
The Friendship Flower.

The Friendship Flower.
Forth shall I fare to plant the seed
A good friend sends with care
And shield it from the envious weed
Which may be lurking there.
And when that seed q bloom shall bring
For all the world to see
It will become a cherished thing
OF loveliness to me.
The Haunting weed shall not deceive
My careless, rowing eye,
And in its ruthless struggle leave
My friendship bloom to die.
Evening star., 1935-03-30

The Maryland Legislature is engaged
in solving several problems at once:
among them the rights of groundlings
and aviators and the propriety Of
sales tax. Incidentally it has Endorsed
Maryland, My Maryland" as the State
song. If it can settle both moot ques-
tons with definite lucidity, the whole
country will join in the chorus.
Evening star., 1935-03-30

q. How does the road mileage NJ
the United States compare with that
Of all Of Europe?-M. M.
A. The United States has about q.
0oS,O65 miles Of roads, while Europe
has 3.340.616 miles.
@. What kind Of glass is used in
cameras?-W. H. z.
A. 1t Is specially ground optical
glass.
@. How many Bibles are owned in
the United States?-O. L. s.
A. It is quite impossible TO say how
many Bibles are in existence In the
United States. The American Bible
Society alone has issued In the los
years Of its existence 141, ,729, $40 VOL
umes Of Scriptures, of which $780,
600 were complete Bibles.
@. Who is the pianist who has won
distinction in playing compositions
with his left hand only? His right
arm was amputated.-H. 3.
A. The musician is Wittgenstein,
who returned last Fall to appear with
orchestras, in joint recitals and in
chamber music concerts.
q. What caused the death of Ma
poleon's Son?-K. B.
A. Napoleon Francis Joseph Charles,
Duke Of Reichstadt, although very
frail, INDUCED in physical exercise
far beyond his powers. This aggra-
waited natural weakness of the chest
and he died on July ~, 1882.
O. Which is larger, China or the
United States?-B. o.
A. China is q little larger. The con-
tinent Of the United States has an
area OF 3,026, ,789 square miles. China,
not including Manchoukuo, has an
area Of 3,853,560 square miles.
@. How much money Is spent on
the game by bridge devotees?-H. J.K.
A. Last year bridge players spent
approximately $4,000, 1000 for $500 900
books on bridge. Four million dollars
was the outlay for 100000 decks of
ca1ds. while bridge accessories
amounted to $4,000. Bridge teachers
received 100000 for lessons during
the year.
@. Is there to be a Federal exhibit
at the California Pacific International
Exposition at San Diego this Summer?
IT. N. L.
A. Participation was authorized by
Congress. March Z, 1885. Joseph w.
Hiscox will be the Federal commits
sioner in charge of Federal exhibits
@. Is the tuberculosis rate extremely
high among Indians?-J. T.
A. There are seven times as many
deaths per thousand from tuberculosis
among Indians as for the rest of the
United States population.
@. Is there such a thing as carrot
mamalade?-K. L.
A. There is. Crate q dozen raw
carrots. add a cupful of sugar for
each cupful of grated carrot, and allow
the mixture to stand over night. In
the morning add the strained juice of
three lemons, teaspoonful of powered
cinnamon, a teaspoonful Of powdered
cloves and a teaspoonful of sllSpice.
Cook the mixture slowly for an hour.
Seal the marmalade in glass Jars.
@. How many veterans of all United
States wars are dying daily?-F. C.
A. About 78 World War veterans,
II Spanish-American War veterans
and IS Civil War veterans die per day.
@. How can it be said that Ellis
Island is foreign soil?-T. r.
A. This refers to the fact that in
enlarging the island land was made
by permitting foreign ships to dump
their ballast there.
Evening star., 1935-03-30

A crash into a high-tension wire at
Boiling Field needs no eloquence to
enforce its significance as an argu-
ment for better flying rules strictly
enforced. The cost Of putting high
tension wires underground would not
be too great price to pay for safe
guarding valuable lives.
Evening star., 1935-03-30
Supervision.

"Some Of your demands in connec-
ton with this big appropriation seem
extraordinary" remarked the adviser.
II am trying new system" an
swered Senator Sorghum. II want to
provide for expert accountants before
we start instead of letting their work
pile up by degrees"
Evening star., 1935-03-30

Oliver Wendell Holmes gave q
large share Of his small fortune back
to the Government. As a good jurist,
he did what he could to discourage
possible litigation.
Evening star., 1935-03-30

It is asserted that the next presi-
Dental campaign is already on. The
man who is first to the microphone
is not necessarily first in the hearts
of his countrymen.
Evening star., 1935-03-30

A "snub' is not easy to define. It
is usually an assertion of rugged in
dividualism at q time when mass
psychology is the main consideration.
Evening star., 1935-03-30

Radio announcers are demonstrating
the usefulness of the ad writer as
cheering influence even when the
world news Is not so good.
Evening star., 1935-03-30

Pedagogues and demagogues may
move admirers of Wagnerian opera
to wish for parody referring to the
twilight of the gogues.
Evening star., 1935-03-30
The Profane Trend.

From the Milwaukee Sentinel.
Profanity Is said to be increasing.
Bringing to mind the publisher who
wanted to edit damn" out Of the
story OF pirate and have him say
darn It,.