davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1936-04-10
Auto Deaths Show
432 Drop This Year
International News Service

The nationwide campaign for
highway safety Is producing re-
suits, the Commerce Department
disclosed today in figures showing
that 1872 less automobile deaths
were recorded during the IA weeks
Of the year compared with the
same period in 1885.
The Washington times., 1936-04-10

spread over the Pacific Coast
today with important revolving
groups forming organizations.
Under George Kighley, deposed
president Of the Los Angeles
Townsend Club, an independent
group Of 1000 opened a drive for
q $2O0-a-month pension similar to
the one sought by DR.. Townsend,
The Washington times., 1936-04-10
GENERAL RAPS
WPA POLICY
AS CRUEL
Waste and Stupidity
Charged BY Former
NRA Gar
(Continued From Page u

CONTINUED From Page u
warned that chaos prevailed
throughout the WPA organiza
ton.
fire nobody from relief rolls merel
for being a Communist. He added
though, that it would be "coV
ardice not to fire q proved OF
structionist or saboteur," and d.
clared sabotage was Every general
in the New York city WPA.
The Johnson report to Hopkin
said:
"At the request Of the Presi'
dent, yourself and the mayor Of
New York city, I undertook to
administer the WPA Of New York
city as Of July l.
HIS ORDER CITED
"My orders were: ReOrganiZe.
to exclude politics and shift all
unemplOyables.
"The project control board is
as necessary to this operation as
a flywheel to . prime mower.
Yet all of these safeguards are
utterly frustrated by this cava-
lier dealing at the source with
the funds available for COntinu-
alton and completion Of work
once started.
mo one can sit in Washington
in the seat Of control Of this COM
pick engineering administration
and indulge In this arbitrary
turning on and off Of the means
to continue this work.
"Sixty per cent Of this In
vented work Is . needEessly ex-
penSive and fatuOuS gesture.
PRIDE ARGUMENT REFUTED
''The only argument is that it
preserves pride against the hui
initiation Of home relief. Yet to
go on work relief, the rules re-
quire that . man first 90 On
home relief. To get there, he
must submiI to the equivalent Of
a pauper's oath and q most hu.
initiating inquisitiOn.
eff q man on home relief earns
a fugitive dollar in private EN-.
pl0yment, he risks Ostracism
from any kind of relief.
'Tt Is as cruel as it b stupid
because the area Of avaiIable re.
lief money nowhere near covers
the area Of restitution, and the
vast waste OccaSioned by this
ill-infOrmed dogma subjects the
whole Government to amply jus
titled ridicuIe and insistenCe on
it not only deprives tens Of
thousands Of people Of relief but
involves the Government In more
inconsistencies than loyal In.
genuity can excuse.
"The money should be dis
burSed as direct relief except
for worthwhile and necessary
work on a basis Of cost cOmpeti-
tive with contemporary public
construction.
HALF, PRODIGAL PRETENSE
"MOre than half Of all this
effort is prOdigal pretense justi-
fled by nothing.
1.-THE channels Of contact
with headquarters in Washing
ton have always been bewilder-
ing. We have never been in
formed where our responsibility
lay.
I'm addition, we were beset
with a variety Of emisSaries
having responsibility for one or
another special function.
In conclusion, johnson wrote:
During this entire period
and indeed during my whole
period of administration, I was
never able to get specific direC-
tons in writing as to how many
people to put to work although
/ was at first told verbally to
put 'aH emplOyables' to work.
"By actual count, 80 per cent
Of my letters asking various
authorities and rulings were un-
answered and I was consistently
unable to reach you on the
telephone unless / almost literal.
ly turned in q riot call"
The Washington times., 1936-04-10
Townsendites Quit,
Form New Groups

LOS ANGELES, April 10 G.N.S0.
Dissension in the ranks Of fol-
lowers of DR.. Francis e. Towns
end and his old-age pension plan
The Washington times., 1936-04-10
TREASURY CONDITION

International News Service
Treasury balance as Of April
B, $2.758,161,708. internal reve'
nue.. $4,962,417,12: customs 70
eeipts, $9,O77, 94722.
Evening star., 1936-06-20

Washington. 1t was the transit COM
pany's own proposal. The question arises
whether it has been found Improbable.
It has undoubtedly added to the volume
of travel. There has been no corre-
spending increase In the service. There
fore it does not appear to have been a
cause of increased cost of operation.
1t is announced that the companyS
application will be subjected to long
and careful study, after which public
hearings will be held by the commission
before action is taken. 1t is thus as
sured that the petition of the company
for advances in fares, for the abolition
of the passes and for such other changes
in the present Set-up as may be Incl
dental to the proposed revision of rates
and conditions will not be granted with
out the most thorough inquiry and con-
sideration. This will give the riding
public a chance to present its case, an
opportunity which will doubtless be
seized.
Evening star., 1936-06-20
BOrah and Gold.

Senator Borah of Idaho is rather
anxious" to run again for the Senate
provided he can run without committing
himself to a return to the gold standard.
He is, in other words, perfectly willing
to stand on the currency plank of the
on the personal platform enunciated by
Governor Alfred M. Landon of Kansas
just before he was nominated for Presi-
dent by the Republicans at Cleveland.
The Republican platform declared for
a sound currency" Mr.. Borah MAIN
tains that this does not necessarily
imply a return to the gold standard.
Governor Landon, on the other hand,
in his telegram to the Republican Ma
tional Convention said that he con-
ceived the pledge for sound currency as
meaning an eventual return to gold
The Idaho Senator does not believe in
the gold standard for this country at
this time. He may be opposed to it at
any time. Governor Landon meets
BorahS views at least to the extent of
being opposed to a return to the gold
standard while such action would injure
American farmers and other producers
OF raw materials. Who is going to
decide, however. whether the farmers
would be injured by return to the gold
standard? That is a point that Mr.
Borah probably would like to have de-
termined Will the farmers determine
1t, or will the fnanciers Of New York?
Back in 1896, when William Jennings
Bryan and his free silver" demands
were resounding across the country, Mr..
Borah campaigned for the reelection
of Fred Dubois, then Senator from
Idaho. as silver Republican" Dubois
was defeated. But four years later
Dubois was again elected to the Senate,
running as silver Republican" In
1907 Dubois retired from the Senate and
Borah took his place, elected as Re-
publican. Since that time Borah has
been constantly a member of the Senate.
The Idaho Senator has made his
record. 1t is known to his own party
and to the country. He has been one
of the great Senators of the United
States and so recognized at home and
abroad. 1t would be unfortunate if at
this time the Republicans in Idaho
should not agree that Borah is the man
to nominate and re-elect to the Senate.
The country needs men of his caliber in
the upper house. It needs men who
will stand four-square for the ConStitu-
ton of the United States and for the
Supreme Court. There are other ques-
tions of vital interest to the American
people at this time beyond the question
of return to the gold standard. 1t would
be a mistake on the part of the Repub-
licans, either in Idaho or nationally, to
turn aside from BOrah because his in
depreciation of the currency plank in the
partys platform differs in some respects
from that of Governor Landon.
Evening star., 1936-06-20

Federation of Labor, the farmers, the
TownsenditeS and various and sundry
organizations of high and lofty purpose,
would have to submit to registration,
together with filing all sorts of tnforma-
ton about members and dues.
So the. House killed the famous bill
that was to stop the nefarious business
of lobbying. 1t did more than that. 1t
demonstrated, clearly and succinctly,
the obvious fact that there is no power
on earth to stop vicious lobbying except
the honor and integrity of the indi-
vidual members Of Congress. Once you
try to substitute a law for the safety
that lies in honor and integrity you
get into all sorts of hot water. Here
after members of Congress will have to
judge for themselves as to the legitimacy
of expressions of public sentiment, in
kilograms and barrages of inspired let
terS, something that they have always
had to do in the past.
Evening star., 1936-06-20
Death of the Lobby Bill.

To be added to the oddities of the
session or congress now coming to
close is the House vote reversing itself
on the famous anti-lobbying bill, Wig
orouSly thrusting that measure so far
back on the shelf that it will not be
heard from again for many long day.
The Black bill requiring registration
of lobbyists, with other information per-
tanning to their supporting organizations,
was passed with whoop by the Senate
as indication of the resentment felt in
that august body over attempts of the
utility magnates to influence the holy
processes of holding company legisla-
ton. The House, some time afterward,
passed less stringent bill by Represent
ative Smith of Virginia. The vote in
the House on Wednesday was on ap-
proving the conference report, which
the House turned down, two hundred
and sixty-four to seventy-seven. After
doing that the House laid the report on
the table, killing it deader than a door,
nail.
What is the explanation? In the first
place, the critics of the bill contended
that a closer examination of its provi-
sions revealed that while the naughty
lobbyists, representing the various "in-
terests" and the money barons, would be
able to escape registration, the noble
lobbyists, representing the American
Evening star., 1936-06-20
Lawrence Asked to Clarity
Minimum Wage Law Article

To the Editor Of The Star:
The comment on the New York
minimum wage law case in Mr.. Law
rence's column in The Star for June
2 appeared unjuStified to me at that
time. I felt that the statute, far from
being clumsy" as Mr.. Lawrence termed
it, was clearly and accurately drafted
to meet the requirements OF the Adkins
case, and that the changes in the statute
that he suggested, such as including both
men and women and changing the stand
ard from the value of services to a
standard based on health, would be
impossible, in view of prior Supreme
Court decisions. Indeed, the standard
of health" set up in the District of
Columbia statute was the very basis of
the decision in the Adkins case, and
the Supreme Court in the Tipaldo case
interpreted the New York courts deci-
sion as holding that the New York statute
included this defect. Mr.. Lawrence's
comment was, no doubt. the result Of
not having sufficient time to give the
case the necessary consideration.
Tuesday morning read in the United
States Law Week of which Mr.. Law
renee is the president, a clear and con-
else statement of the case, which con-
flrmed my previous views, i. e., that the
majority of the Supreme Court simply
refused to reconsider the Adkins case
and, upon the. basis of that case and
the New York courts Interpretation of
the New York statute, held the law
within the rule of the Adkins case. The
article in the Law Week states that "a
reconsideration of the principles of that
decision (AdkinS caSe) in a case in which
the principles are directly involved may
result in decision upholding minimum
wage legislation" The article does not
indicate that the New York law was
a clumsy" one or suggest that an
identical law might not be upheld. In
view of Mr.. LaWrence'S apparent change
of opinion, would it not be proper for
him to state this in his daily column,
so that his many readers may have the
benefit of his views as expressed in the
Law Week? JAMES H ROWE, JR.
Evening star., 1936-06-20
More Than Money at
Stake i'm the War Debts

From the Indianapolis Star.
Mussolini is entitled to credit for not
keeping Uncle Sam in suspense. We
sent him a polite please remit" note
some time ago, just as we did to others
in Europe who owe us. He was informed
that on June IS he would be due to hand
us S63, ,494,976 on account. Our Govern
ment has just received a formal reply
from the Fascist dictator'S treasury de-
partment conveying the not so very
surprising information that the money
will not be paid.
The Italian note, along with the atti-
tude of other debtors, shows to what
extent civilization is dependent on the
faith men and nations have in one
another Before the World War nations
trusted in treaties. It was unthinkable
that any ruler would consider his solemn
promise as "a scrap of paper" Treaties
have meant nothing in the Orient in
recent years, and almost less than moth
ing in Europe.
A man or a nation that signed on
the dotted line promise to pay should
not have to be dunned He should
pay as a matter of honor and honesty.
A citizen who defaults can be hailed into
court Nations that fail to keep their
pledges and then say, What are you
going to do about it?" are worse than
deadbeats. They are defaulting not only
financially, but declaring themselves
bankrupt of the self-respect and honor
on which international relations should
be based.
Evening star., 1936-06-20
''Grass Roots" a Factor
In Presidential Campaign

From the Springfield (Il) State journal
Cynical political observers who be-
Titled the grass roots" convention held
in Springfield in 1885, now admit that it
was gathering OF great Importance to
the Republican party. Its effects were
noted in the primary campaign and they
have been emphasized in Cleveland.
1t can be truthfully said that the Lam
don campaign had its real beginning at
the Illinois State fair grounds. When
the KanSans came to Springfield it was
with the idea that men responsible forj
the calling of the convention had in
mind the Endorsement Of some particular
candidate, and they were prepared for
a Landon drive. Their decision not to
make it was the initiation of a campaign
policy which, carefully adhered to, made
possible their success at Cleveland.
Restraint shown by the Landon back
ers at Springfield did much to convince
the delegates from other States that
the Kansas executive was level-headed
man; that he was not trying to push
himself to the front as a self-appointed
Moses The impression was good one,
and it affected a most substantial, repre-
sentative body of votes. Delegates to the
grass roots" convention went home
thinking pretty well of the Kansans and
their candidate.
With the favorable feeling thus created,
the building up" of Gov. Landon as a
presidential candidate became easier.
Eastern leaders who had made up their
minds that the candidate must come
from the West or the Middle West
wanted to know more of the prairie
State Governor" What followed is his
tory, and when the story of the 1886
campaign is written it will emphasize the
influence of the grass roots" convention
of 1885.
Evening star., 1936-06-20
American People Will Not
Sanction Loans to Debtors
To the Editor OF The Star:

To the Editor OF The Star:
The Star, in large black lettering, front
page of its noon edition on June 18:
France Refuses Aid U. S. Envoy Asks"
Subcaption: "Straus Appeals for Police
Action Against Strikers at U. S. Hospital
Request of Ambassador StrauS Refused"
France wants large money loan now
from the United States, notwithstanding
her World War and after Indebtedness
and defaulted interest thereon up to and
including June IS, 1886, and the John
son law, which forbids money loans.
bond floating, etc, in the United States
to or for European indebted and inter-
eSt-defaulting nations land France. after
England, the largest. England and
France especially want the United States
to stabilize the dollar in or with their
monies Why? So the United States
$40 407 100000 of gold may be distributed
to them. Is the United States fool
enough, financially, to do these things
for $12 1000, 100000 Indebtedness, plus mil
lions of dollars defaulted interest up to
and including June IS, 1886? The 125,-
100000 plus America first, American
taxpayers protest. More, they won't
stand for it. w. E. RYAN.
Evening star., 1936-06-20
Veto of Separate Items
Of Appropriation Bills

From the Shreveport journal.
There are two estimates regarding the
virtue of consistency. One of these pre-
Sents consistency as a Jewel; the other
calls it "the hobgoblin o. little minds"
A wise man changes his mind; fool
never, etc. Senator Vandenberg of
Michigan evidently trails with the Emer-
son school, scorning consistency when
it stands in the path of some new prof.
ect of his senatorial mind. The gentle
man from Michigan has in recent
months been one of the most ardent and
vocal critics heard against the delega-
ton of more and more power to the
President of these United States, yet we
find him sponsoring a proposal to so
amend the Constitution as to give the
Chief Executive authority to veto sep
arate items in any appropriation bill.
Such power, as matter of course, would
enable the President to control absolutely
the expenditure of the public funds
not only emergency funds, as at present,
but in all cases and at all times. ut
would amount to a major change in
our form of government" the Detroit
News points out, enabling the President
mot merely to propose the budget, but
to force the budgets acceptance by Con-
greSs.' There is no necessity for any
such amendment. now or at any time;
the Chief Executive already has all the
authority he needs, delegated to him
by Congress from time to time as oc-
casion demands; to place this additional
responsibility upon him, it occurs to us,
would be extremely unwise. Any man
who becomes President of the United
States, it has been said by medical
authorities, shortens his life by 10 years
at a minimum. The man who is given
the proposed additional burden would
be treated most unfairly. Perhaps Sen
ator Vandenberg, who has ambitions to
some day occupy the White House,
would enjoy this added authority and
responsibility, but we do not believe
Franklin D. Roosevelt cares for it.
Evening star., 1936-06-20
Shooting Stars.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Men Who Count.

We need the man of mighty mind
To help the world along;
We need the folk who are inclined
To laughter and to song
And be the talents great or small
With which you may be bleSt,
You're only needed, after all,
AS one who does his best.
Although the duty may be slight
That falls upon your lot,
If you fulfill the task Alright
You will not be forgot.
Though fierce ambitions shun repose
Resplendent mid unrest,
The men who really count are those
Who simply do their best.
Evening star., 1936-06-20
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Does the wren drive away the thrush?
This is the question in one suburban
garden, where, for the first time in six
years, the wood thrush is conspicuous by
his absence.
This also is the first year in that
time the yard has been graced by a
family of house wrens.
The owners are wondering, therefore,
if Jenny Wren is responsible.
In past years the daily walks Of the
thruSheS in the yard were one OF the real
delights of the Summer.
The beautiful song is by no means
the only charm of the thrush seen and
heard so often in the suburban districts.
It's beauty, demeanor and gentle, con-
fiding actions are always welcome, along
with its air Of genuine culture.
The gardeners in this case have no
doubt in their minds that the English
sparrows, which joined the scores Of
other birds at feeding stations all Win
ter, drove away the pair of bluebirds
which inspected the fine bluebird house
that last week of March.
All one cold day the beautiful birds
looked into. the house, sat outside and
debated its possibilities.
The feeding stations still were in
operation at that time.
When the SparroWS saw the bluebirds
they made flights from the feeders to
the bluebird house, to which hitherto
they had not paid the slightest atten-
ton; they flew up into the branches of
the tree to which it was affixed, they
fluttered around the door, they even
fLoir in
The bluebirdS decided to look else
where.
After that the English sparrows paid
no more attention to the bird house!
When Johnny Wren flew up from the
South early in May, and busted himself
looking over the various houses in the
yard, the gardeners felt themselves well
repaid, after all.
A wren, no doubt, was acceptable, if
the bluebirds simply would not grace
the house intended for them.
When Jenny Wren appeared a few
days later she looked over the various
offerings carefully, then decided upon
the commodious and handsome bluebird
house.
Its door. of course. was half an inch
larger than a wren prefers, but its sit
uation amid a cascade Of bittersweet,
10 feet high on the side of great
tree. decided her.
I'VE will take this one" she must
have told Johnny, for they did.
The work of collecting the materials
for the nest went along steadily. AS
May went by, and June came along, the
bieersweet vines grew leafier and
leafier. or more leafy and more leafy.
just as any one prefers.
The little wrens came along, too and
one could hear them cheeping for their
perpetual dinner.
Johnny and Jenny flew themselves
into a veritable frazzle, trying to fill
those hungry mouths.
All this time that loveliest of birds
the wood thrush, was staying away
from the yard.
No more those excursions along the
ground especially beneath the rhodo-
dendrons by the back of the house,
This always had been a favorite re-
treat Of the thruSheS.
In years past as many as four Of them
could be seen there at one time, hopping
gently along, bright eyes peering in
tently.
The hour they preferred for this was
between and o'clock in the evening.
Usually there would be two or three