davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1939-06-05
Recalls Sad Experience
OF Tiberius Graccus,

To the Editor of The Star:
Tiberius Graccus, becoming tribune
Of the people," induced them to aban-
don work and rely upon the government
to support them.
Under mandate of his own devising
he took from producers great portions
OF the fruits of their labor and distrib-
uted it gratis to those without property
or useful occupation, but capable of re-
turning him to off1ce-a class, thus en-
couraged, which continued to increase
while sound citizenry was forced into
inevitable decline
Either he was incapable of forecast
ing the result of his policies" or
was content to unchain the forces
which converted Rome from re-
public into an imperialism and the de-
scendants of free and competent men
into degenerated vassals of the state
that is to say of those ensconced in con-
troll of the machinery of government
and of all wealth, and beyond further
necessity of pretending to sustain popu-
lar government.
HARRISON TILGHMAN.
Easton, Md, May 26.
Evening star., 1939-06-05
GreenbeIt RELIGION

OF all the experiments undertaken
at Greenbelt, none is more interest
ing than the religious cooperative"
now in operation there. The Federal
housing settlement in nearby Mary
land already has its cooperative
stores, cooperative theater and CO.
operative school projects. 1t is only
natural, in community where mu-
tual interest is so stressed, that the
residents should show an interest in
each others religion.
The result has been the establish
ment OF a council known as the Per-
manent Conference on Religious Life
in Greenbelt. Made up of the min
listers of the various faiths in the
town, the councils purpose, accord
ing to its sponsors, is to fight re-
ligious prejudice and to foster inter-
faith understanding by giving the
joint congregations an opportunity
to "see the other fellows viewpoint"
The first symposium arranged by the
Conference will have Catholic, Prot
estant, Mormon and Jewish speakers.
1t is too early to predict what re-
suits may come from the religious
council. Sincerely religious people
will hope, however, that the enter
prise will prove even more than an
experiment, that it will justify its
ambitious name, Permanent Con-
ference" World conditions call for
religious development such as the
Conference seeks to promote. OF it.
self, the Greenbelt religious move
ment may be small and perhaps Of
little significance. Viewed in con-
junction with other current happen
ings, such as the reunion of the three
branches of Methodism, cooperative
movements among many local feder-
ations of churches, and other evi-
dences of spiritual fellowship, how
ever, it justifies the hope that man
may yet shape his destiny along the
paths of peace.
Evening star., 1939-06-05
THIS AND THAT
By Charles E. TracepeH.

Mans best friend, the dog, is not al
ways gentle toward young birds, as wit
ness the following letter from a resident
of Eleventh street NV.
Dear Sir" he writes, IT always read
your letter on wildlife and it is a pleas
ure to know so many people are inter-
ested in birds.
Il am writing to tell you story that
will not be read with much pleasure by
your correspondents but still it is well
for them to know the facts.
Sunday I was walking through a
small downtown park. noticed two dogs
running loose in the park and the owner
stood not far away.
"A young bird on the ground not yet
able to take care of itself was close by.
These dogs ran up to the bird several
times without attacking it. The owner
never even called to them to stop.
Il stood and watched to see what
would happen.
Finally one of the dogs threw both
feet on the bird and the man still never
called to them I quickly jumped over
the hedge taking the bird away from
the dog. 1t seemed to be dead. I rubbed
1t and finally it came to life.
II said to the man, Don't you know it
IS against the law to have dogs in the
park without a leash?'
He came over to me and asked if it
was any of my business
"I did not recoppize bic r,,d,,or. ,,,,
neither did 1 pay any attention to him
as 1T was not my desire to make any dis
turbance
L often see such things happen and
1t does seem terrible state of affairs.
Can we not see that more drastic laws
are put on our statute books to protect
the birds and squirrels?"
The laws are there, the trouble is In
finding some one who is willing to come
forward with the accusation and to see
the thing through.
What our correspondent should have
said, rather than talk about the dogs,
was to the effect that songbirds are
protected by the laws of the United
States
Uncle Sam, our dear old uncle, is the
protector OF all of us, in the last analysis,
and this includes, since early this CEN
tury, the young and old songbirds.
They are Uncle Sans wards, and Who
ever harms them or permits them to be
hurt is guilty in very real sense
But the person who knows this still
has to step forward and do more than
talk.
If one does not want to act, perhaps
the best thing is to say nothing, but trv
quietly to overcome the situation. If
our correspondent had picked up the
bird and held it when he saw the dogs
interested in it, perhaps they would have
gone away without molesting it.
X
There are many scenes in modern life
which are not to the liking of sensitive,
Evening star., 1939-06-05
Commends Settlement Of
Alexandria Picketing Case.
To the Editor of The Star:

10 the EollOr OF Inc star:
Five members of the Women's Trade
Union League were arrested for singing
while picketing the George Mason Hotel
on the evening of May %. They were
arrested under State statute which
makes it a serious offense to disturb a
religious gathering. Such meeting was
taking place in the hotel at the time but
the picketers were not there because of
the meeting and they did not know
that their singing could be heard by the
religious group.
When the case came up before Judge
Duncan last Thursday morning the
member of the religious gathering who
had signed the warrant for the arrest
requested that there be a continuance
of the case rather than an immediate
prosecution since he hoped for har-
monious settlement of the question
The disposition of the case by Judge
Duncan deserves recognition as an i'm
partial and just act performed in diff
cult circumstances and is a source of
great encouragement to Alexandria resi-
dents who have been lending their efforts
to an early settlement of the strike.
AS Alexandria members of the League
of Women Shoppers, we have familiar
lied ourselves with the circumstances
underlying the strike, and have sup
ported the picketing in the belief that
this is one of the means which must
be taken to represent to the public the
right of labor to living wage and to
bargain collectively.
We are particularly grateful for
Judge Duncan's public statement re-
garding the right to picket peacefully.
1t is sometimes necessary to reiterate
these fundamental truths in order to
clarity situations which have become
obscured by personal feelings.
We believe it is highly important that
these rights should be recognized, re-
gardless of the opinions which may be
privately held regarding the merits of
a particular strike.
PERSIS M. LANE,
Alexandria member, Washington League
of Women Shoppers.
June 2.
Evening star., 1939-06-05
Meritorious LEGISLATION

proposals now pending in the
House for modification of the social
security program compare we'll with
both the existing provisions and with
such alternative curatives as the
lately rejected Townsend bill.
In brief, the measure just reported
out by the Ways and Means Com
mittee is two-way proposition in
that it comprehends liberalization of
several classifications of benefits but
at the same time offers material tax
relief through freezing of the ex-
listing old age insurance tax at it's
present rate for three more years and
permits reduction of the unemploy-
ment compensation levies.
In round figures, the double -edged
proposition is calculated to avert the
draining of some s1,2S5, 100000 out
of circulation through taxes in the
next three years and at the same
time to put an additional $1,2OO,0OO,-
900 into circulation through in
creased benefits in the coming five
years.
Particularly significant and graft
flying in this proposition is the fact
that it apparently marks the death
Of the original intention to create a
tremendously unwieldy old age re-
serve account and the adoption in
stead of more practical modifica-
ton of the pay-as-you-go principle.
1t may be sincerely hoped, also,
that the contemplated liberalization
of benefits will not only have the
generally desired effect of providing
greater security to those dependent
upon public assistance but will also
have the effect of forestalling further
impractical proposals for turning our
whole economy into form of grab
bag.
In appraising the merit of the per-
missive notifications Of the unem-
ployment compensation tax it is ap-
propriate to observe that they should
be particularly welcome to employers
in the District. With employment
relatively stable here and the esti-
mated maximum compensation de-
mands never expected to approach
the annual yield under the present
tax schedule, the Districts reserve
account had threatened to go far
beyond any reasonable necessity.
Presumably, an adjustment in the
tax rate will be forthcoming here if
the pending legislation is enacted.
Evening star., 1939-06-05
Says America Should
Resist Closed Shop.

To the Editor of The Star:
The closed shop, which John l.. Lewis
and his associates are trying to impose
upon the business interests of the Ma
ton by sit-down strikes, and other acts
OF violence and lawlessness, is one of the
most serious questions confronting the
country. In furtherance of that object
the c. I. o. has kept millions of workers
idle in the United States, not because of
any Justifiable dissatisfaction on their
part with their wages and working condi-
tions, but primarily to force the closed
shop upon the industries of the Nation.
and to make of John L. Lewis the arbiter
and dictator of the country's business.
The American people should awaken
to the dangers to our institutions and
liberties involved in the closed shop. and
denounce and fight it to the death. 1t
Is utterly un-American. Contracts for it
are illegal because they violate the con-
stltutional rights of citizens, and are con-
trary to public policy, both State and
national.
The basic principle of our govern
ment Is equality of right and oppor-
tunlty, as well as equality of liability.
The Federal and State constitutions
guarantee to every citizen the right to
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi-
ness, which means the right to freedom
OF contract, and to employment with or
without belonging to labor union and
paying dues for the privilege of emplov-
ment, and to support John L. Lewis in
luxury. In harmony with this constitu-
tlonal principle are the public policies of
the State and Nation that condemn as
invalid and illegal any contract that
negatives these constitutional rights
May 81. ALEXANDER S. LANIER
Evening star., 1939-06-05
Submits Complete"
Figures on Hawaii.

To the Editor of The Star:
The May Is issue of The Star printed
column entitled Denies Hawaii Taxes
Imported Commodities" by Mr.. John
Smell OF Honolulu, the purpose being to
refute a previous letter in which the
writer stated that taxes levied in the
Territory of Hawaii were discriminatory
against people connected with the Gov
ernment comprising nearly 80 per cent
OF the Islands white population Mr..
SHELLS figures are not complete, there
fore misleading.
First, in the matter of automobile driv-
ers' licenses. Everyone desiring to drive
an automobile, truck, etc. is required to
get drivers permit costing, until re-
Gently, IS. This includes not only those
of the Is, 900 soldiers and sailors who may
own or wish to rent automobiles. but
members of their families. Also there
are thousands of civilian employees and
their families. Obviously Mr. Smell has
never seen Government transport come
into port, or he would not be under the
impression that the Government sends
only bachelors to the islands. These
people stay on the average of less than
three years, yet are forced to buy life
time driving permits. What can be more
discriminatory?
AS to ordering merchandise from
mainland mail-order houses Mr.. Smell
only mentions one of the taxes imposed
upon its entry into the islands. If these
taxes are not an import duty in name,
they are in effect.
Third, the Territory has always ex-
ported more than was imported, not
OF an enormous Government pay roll and
money tourists bring in. This money
doesn't pile up in the islands. Where
does the money go which comes in year
after year? Mr.. Smell admits around a
quarter Of million per year goes back
to Japan via postal money orders, but
he fails to mention the other means of
transferring money back to the empire
OF the rising sun-a sun which Incl
dentally, is rising higher and higher in
China, thanks partly to this foreign
exchange so conveniently furnished by
the loyal sons of Nippon in Hawaii
In the Territory of Hawaii the taxes
have been worked out to nicely in
order to stick the service people and the
Federal employees. A Territory which
thinks so little of its whites and so much
of Japan doesn't deserve statehood.
Because of the incompleteness and
therefore misleading figures given by
Mr.. Snell it is requested that in fairness
The Star give equal publicity to the
remaining facts of the case.
May 30. ]. CANON.
Evening star., 1939-06-05
These Transient Dovs

Today is but today; 1t cannot give
More than one day can hold of sun or
showers,
OF joy or pain; and If so fugitive
Why seek in vain to hold its f1eetine
hours?
For note the years that come; how one
by one
They break themselves against the wall
of Time
Like waves. their constant sweeping
race foredone,
TO scatter when at last they reach
their prime.
And Time itself may be an atom small
In that great scheme with its unknown
design;
Let go the petty days, for they are all
But as a path for Footsteps more
divine.
MARION n. ADDNGTON.
Evening star., 1939-06-05

passed by any other city? I do not.
Mrs. John Boyle, jr., does.
The Washington consumer wants a
milk and cream supply that is second to
none, at fair price. At a price that
Will enable the producer to make and
the distributor to deliver an article that
is an honor and pleasure to be asso-
ciated with.
The lowering Of milk regula tions will
not benefit the consumers. The only
ones who will benefit are those who try
to evade these regulations and foist upon
the public an inferior article under the
guise of the real Mccoy"
Whom does Mrs. John Boyle, jr., rep
resent? MORRIS GIJREVICH
Travilah, Md.
May "a.
Evening star., 1939-06-05

love the memory Of the Poet of De-
mocracy. Reverent hands have
gathered there a rich and valuable
display of books and manuscripts
which proves, as perhaps nothing else
could, the hold which he maintains
upon the affections of thousands.
OF course, Whitman was peculiar.
He did not understand himself, de-
spite lifetime of introspection. His
contemporaries, then, may be for
given for falling to comprehend all
that he wrote and all that he did the
while his pilgrimage upon this
strange and bewildering earth con-
tinued. Later generations, however,
may glimpse the reality, the essen
tial spirit, of the person who was
Walt. 1t now is plain that he was
sincere and deeply earnest. His de-
votion to people was not a pose or a
pretense. He truly worshiped the
multitude. 1t was a JOY to him to
associate with the masses, with
crowds, with limitless throngs of hu-
man beings not different from each
other, yet individuals of whom he
could be proud. He was entirely
serious when he boasted:
Il celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as
good belongs to you"
1t was because OF his alteration of
his kind, doubtless, that he cared so
much about liberty. He wanted free
dom for everybody, and he was not
agnostic about what use might be
made of it. His faith and his trust
were compelling. 1t probably never
occurred to him to question the
democratic principle. He practiced
government and desired it un-
spoiled. The trait was American in
the Nineteenth Century; providen-
TALLY, it still is. Hence, the mag
netism of Whitman, born a hundred
and twenty years ago, dead since
1892, but, as Mrs. Sprague has DEM
onstrated, actively immortal.
Evening star., 1939-06-05
Small Business Looms

The plight of the little business
man has become one of the worries
of Congress as its members eye a
prospective mid-July adjournment
date. The voice of business in the
lower brackets may be small, but it
is anything but still. There is a
persistent cry for governmental aid
Of one sort or another for that great
and important section of American
business composed of merchants,
smaller manufacturers and other
minor businesses-a group to which
economists like to refer as the back
bone Of American industry. How to
stiffen this sagging spine 50 that the
whole framework of business may be
correspondingly strengthened is the
problem Immediately confronting
Congress and the administration.
Current attention is being given
this problem by the Senate Banking
and Currency Committee, which has
opened hearings on Senator Mead's
bill for 80 per cent insurance of
bank loans to small industries, with
the Reconstruction Finance Corpora
ton serving as guarantor. This is
one of several plans before Congress
seeking to quicken the pulse of little
business by stimulating the flow of
money into that somewhat neglected
field. That there has been O. harden
ing of the financial arteries supply
ing the needed stimulus of loans and
credits to many firms is beyond dis
pute, but the reason for the restricted
circulation and the remedy for it are
still subjects of debate.
Despite periodic liberalization of R.
F. c. lending policies, the flow OF
money into the smaller businesses
Evening star., 1939-06-05

decen. people, but unless these same
sd. people are willing to go into battle,
legal and otherwise there is not much
they can do about them.
Those who are not strong and vigorous,
able to walk up to big guy and make
him afraid, will not be able to do all
they might in such world as this.
This is the basis of the dictatorship
philosophy, and the real reason for the
hold that such governments seem to
have on their people, one may imagine.
Mussolini put it squarely when he threw
out the following words one recent
morning, via radio, arriving in this
country about 80 am:
THE lesson of all history is Woe to
the weak!'"
This woe is not just physical, as the
result of battle, but often a shame and
heartsickness at not being able to right
wrongs at the time they arise.
Who is there, of lesser physique, who
has not felt this at some time or other?
Woe to the weak, indeed! For to them
shall be given to taste of humble pie,
when what they would like to do is sock
the jaw of the offender
Modern life augments this physical
weakness by certain psychological fac
tors which tend to minding ones own
business, which usually means fear to
interfere with what any one else decides
Is his own business. Modern civilization
plays into the hands of the aggressor
, and wrong -doer.
X X
Those who wish to protect the birds
must act, and act quickly. This is an
other of the instances in which, if a
thing is to be done, it is best done at
once
No waiting.
Those who desire to protect bird life
have the law on their side, and the back
ing of all persons interested in conser-
vation.
Who was it who said that discretion is
often the better part of valor?
He said mouthful, as the expression
has it, didn't he?
X X
Woe to the weak"
Young birds, perhaps, know this Just
little better than most small creatures.
Kittens find their enemies greeted by
splitting, yowling mother, ready to give
her life for them, but the baby robin on
the ground is beyond much help from
its parents. They flutter, make sharp
cries of alarm, fail to do much to drive
they enemy away. They cannot even
get the young back into the nest.
Dogs must be reckoned with as enc
mics of young songsters. Perhaps it is
expecting too much for a mettlesome
dog not to worry and harass something
futtering on the ground before it. One
stoke of a dogs paw probably would
break the wing of almost any bird. And
a young bird with a broken wing is
about as helpless as a baby bluebird
which was run over on Connecticut ave-
nue. not long ago.
Evening star., 1939-06-05
Inventors CONGRESS

In honor of that untrammeled gen.
ius Of machine design, Rube Gold
berg, the annual congress of in
ventors at Chicago this year has an
unusually large number of strange
and weird exhibits. An answer is
provided for every imaginable human
want. A typical example is the bottle
smasher, in which the operator, A,
places bottle, B, inside demolition box,
c, and drops down lid, D, stepping
out of the way, PDQ. Hammers ], v,
x, and z then get busy on bottle, B,
and destroy it completely all the way
from label, L, to the refund, &c.
One of the neatest things shown at
the convention is an electrical gadget
for putting out mice. 1t consists of a
long tube, to be plugged into one of
Mr.. Edison's outlets and loaded with
cheese to lure the mouse off base.
Attempting to steal, the unwary ami
NAL takes too big lead, and before
he knows it, gets nipped with power
house delivery, the cheese getting
credit for an assist. The inventor
claims that this device will work on
all specimens of the rodent or gnaw-
ing species, and is now working on
the preparation of larger model for
use on house guests who make mid
night raids on the ice box.
In the hall are many other such de-
vices, too numerous to mention. 1t
is said, however, that someone did
mention them, over the telephone, to
the superintendents of two asylums
not too far distant, causing them to
experience a sinking sensation at the
pit of the stomach. One super, ac-
compan;ed by the usual Swede Or
derly, made hasty checkup for pos
sible escapes. The other one was
afraid to look.
Evening star., 1939-06-05
Wagner-ROgers Bill
Held Un-American.
TO the Editor of The Star

To the Editor of The Star:
This mornings paper carried picture
OF that inimitable "face-maker," Joe E.
Brown, pleading for the illegal entry of
10000 foreign children into the United
States. Tonight's paper carried a letter
from Washington woman pleading for
a discarded icebox in which to keep her
one bottle of milk, which is all she can
afford to buy, for her seven children,
herself and an invalid husband. It doesn't
just make sense that these actor propa-
gandists can concoct sort of golden rule
formula that applies to foreign refugees
but not to the underfed and under
nourished American children.
May Is. ]. WELLINGTON SMITH.
Evening star., 1939-06-05
Whitman Exhibition

Washington surely is the proper
place for a public exhibition of the
Walt Whitman collection of Mrs.
Frank J. Sprague. The southwest
pavilion of the Library of Congress
should be place of pilgrimage dur
Ing the next few weeks for all who
Evening star., 1939-06-05
Puqe the "Giftie"

From the Richmond News Leader.
If the authorities want to discourage
nudists, why don't they place full-length
mirrors at strategic points in the nudists'
reservations?
Evening star., 1939-06-05

A.. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to
the use for republication of all news dispatches
credited to it or not otherwise credited in this
paper and also the local news published herein
All rights of publication of Special dispatches
herein also are reserved
Evening star., 1939-06-05
Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor must
bear the name and address of
the ,1riter, although the use OF
a pseudonyna for publication is
permissible. Please be brief!
Evening star., 1939-06-05
Member of the Associated Press

Entered as second class matter post office.
Washington. D c.
Evening star., 1939-06-05

All Other States and Canada
Evening star., 1939-06-05

1he Evening Star Newspaper Company
Main once .l1th st. and Pennsylvania Ave.
New York once: ITO East 42nd St.
Chicago once: 435 North Michigan Ave
Evening star., 1939-06-05

A reader can get the ansUer to nnv
question OF fact by Uriting The Eue-
ming Star Information Bureau, Fred
er1c j. Hasktn. director, Washington.
ID. c. Please inclose stahRp for reply.
Evening star., 1939-06-05
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