davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1939-11-30
THIS AND THAT
BIZ Charles +. Trace1peH.

II you have fox sparrow at your
feeding station this winter, you are
more fortunate than most of us who
like the birds.
Usually this largest and handsomest
Of the sparrows comes only in spring.
Then it is easily distinguished, not
only by its size, but particularly by Its
habit Of scratching furiously in the
leaves.
It outscratches all other birds, in
cluding its relatives, the song sparrow
and the white-throated sparrow, both
inveterate scratchers.
This habit always amuses q human
onlooker.
The scratching reminds one for all the
world of busy old hen after food.
Scratch, scratch scratch goes the
sparrow, and the leaves fly.
He and his relatives make imperative
the leaving of plenty Of fallen leaves in
fence corners and along flower borders
Without the leaves he will not come,
either in spring OF winter.
Probably not two dozen of these birds
will be found at this time of year in
Washington and nearby Maryland and
Virginia, so the gardener who has one
may realize how fortunate he is.
What the bird is after, at any time of
year, when he digs so comically, is the
seed of wild flowers and weeds.
He is not so much a weed seed eater
as some others.
But he does valiant work with rag
weed seed, hence deserves the praise of
all hay fever sufferers
In the spring he specializes on mile
pedes, just then coming out of the
ground and crevices of bark where they
hide.
This sparrow is full 61a inches long,
making him one of the very largest.
In some ways he resembles a wood
thrush, due to his chestnut colorings
above, streaked with gray.
inexperienced observers may even mis-
take him for thrush, but he is, of
course, no way near as large, nor has
he any of the appearance of a thrush,
once the observer falls in love with that
beauty
All one must say of the fox sparrow is
that he is very handsome sparrow. a
great helper of mankind through his
destruction of weed seeds, and most
comicsl fellow in the leaves.
The fox sparrows song is rather
pretty, but of course not heard at this
time of year.
The bird is not afraid of people.
If disturbed. and not too badly
frightened, it simply flies to tree,
where it perches in full sight of the in
truder
Most members of the sparrow clan
either fly away completely or up into the
branches of shrubs, where they are more
or less hidden.
The fox sparrow does nothing of the
sort. He is less flighty, in both the
figurative and practical sense
Not for him the sudden scattering of
Evening star., 1939-11-30
ermites

Iermltes are charming little white
insects originating in Africa. and
every one but the exterminators
heartily wish that these African
blonds would return to home sweet
home. This view is strongly opposed
by the termites themselves, as they
have theory that wherever a ter
mite lives becomes automatically a
part OF the homeland. No one has
dlsproved it yet-least of all the
American householder on whom thew
have chiseled in.
Their universal unpopularity they
lay to the jealousy of less fortunate
mortals, and claim that all they want
is living space. They are quite
broad-minded and fair, and if any
one else is occupying such space, are
willing to wait reasonable length
OF time for him to move out.
The methods of the termite family
are said to be unlike those of any
other. Who else would send out
spies to spot good locations, and then
establish groups to bore surrep-
titiously from within? The encyclo-
pedia says that they also maintain
armies of thick-headed soldiers and
workers, are completely regimented,
order the mothers to produce as
many children as possible, and get
along on diet consisting mostly of
saWdust.
Because they never declare open
war, the householder is usually IN
aware of the danger until the in
vasion is fait accompli Frant!cally
he looks around for an ally in the
person of an exterminator. A block
ade is established, and the war is on.
A ruthless use of poison and quaran-
tine eventually starves out the enemy
and piles up whacking big war
debt. If the hostilities take place
in Europe, this is not so bad, as the
debt is written off, after an old Eu-
ropean custom. In America the re-
suits are much more serious. Along
with the termites, in an average case
some seven hundred dollars are to-
tally eXterminated.
Evening star., 1939-11-30

the English sparrows when frightened
at their feeding.
Il
It is curious fact that the bold Eng
lish species, which in the downtown
areas will remain on the sidewalk within
foot or two of passersby, in the sub
urban garden becomes one Of the most
easily frightened of all songbirds.
At a feeding station where every
thing is done for the birds. the English
sparrow guests become the most skittish
of all the feeders.
1t shows how circumstances make the
bird
In the downtown, where it must eat,
If at all, fairly under the feet of people,
1t overcomes its natural timidity, Just as
the pigeons have done, but In the less
frequented areas it responds to the
natural impulse to fly away when dis
turbed
The kind-hearted person who + lily
puts out seed for his feathered friends
will be somewhat nonplused at this lack
of trust in him.
At first he will resent it, but in time
he will come to see that it's the real
natural behavior, rather than the ap-
parent fearlessness. The latter is simply
the adaptation which enables the birds
to live under hostile conditions.
Ornithologists tell us that birds do
not always respond so we'll to changed
conditions. One species of sparrow, for
instance, goes right ahead using stiff
morse hairs in its neSt-When 1t can find
them-despite the fact that they often
entangle and kill the fedglings.
The newcomer to bird feeding should
get firmly in mind the three species of
sparroWs which come most frequently
to local feeding stations
These are the English sparrow, the
song sparrow and the White-throated
sparrow
The remainder of the total of 10
species seen at some time or other in
Washington and vicinity are simply
species to watch for, rather than to see
every day, or every week, or every month
Or every year
English sparroWs will outnumber the
other two species so to /, in the case of
the song sparrows, and 100 to in that
of the white throats.
The thing to remember is that one q
the other species may slip into the
crowd.
Always be on the watch for it.
Its detection is not easy Many watch
ers even fail to recognize song sparrows
white-throats, or the occasional fox
sparrow.
The feeling that some people seem to
have, that only rarity makes a good
bird, is wrong, we believe
One good person is quite as good as
hundred good people one may feel sure.
but, on the contrary. the hundred good
are quite as good-if they areas the
single righteous individual
When We translate this into birdland
We are willing to clear our minds and
hearts and eyes of prejudices of all kinds.
We ask nothing more of creature than
that it be what it is
Evening star., 1939-11-30
Praises Work Of
Charles w. Eliot.

To the Editor of The Star:
One of the best-educated men in this
country, former President Eliot of Har-
ward University, once made this very
significant statement: II recognize but
one mental acquisition as an essential
part of the education of a lady or a
gentleman-namely an accurate and re-
fined use of the mother tongue
Although it is sad commentary on
our national appreciation of true great
ness that the passing of this great edu-
Gator was practically unnoticed by the
press because it conceded with that OF
Rudolph Valentino, the idol of thousands
of lovelorn women who came in droves
from all parts of the country to kneel
and sob at the bier of this Adonis OF
the screen, the name of Charles William
Eliot stands for all that is finest and
best in the traditions of the English
language. In the last year OF his presi-
dency, challenged to make good his re-
mark that a man might acquire liberal
education by reading is minutes day
from books that could be contained on
a 5-foot shelf, he undertook the editing
of the Harvard Classics, which had a
wide circulation, and focused attention
on the question of adult self education.
This splendid work and the many self
teaching courses in practical English
that followed in quick succession, have
done much to overcome our national
tendency to shy away from such gram
matical forms as conjugation, declen-
sion, indicative, subjunctive, tense, voice,
etc. How often we have solemnly re-
solved to get to the bottom of these
mysterious symbols! But the average
textbooks always deferred us. Gtam1
matical forms were still shrouded in
mystery, just as they had been in our
textbooks at school.
It may we'll be that these highly prac-
tical aids to better understanding and
use of the mother tongue are merely an
extension and naturalization of the
empirical methods employed by Squeers,
the ignorant and miserly schoolmaster
immortalized by Dickens, but we are
none the less grateful for them.
ALMA ELIZABETH WARTHEN.
November Is.
Evening star., 1939-11-30
Again 1t Becomes
Army War College"

On the first page of the rotogravure
section of your paper last Sunday, No.
vember 26, appeared an aerial view of
the Army War College, under which was
stated 90 and on the right fore-
groun6 by the well-groomed grounds
of the Army War College-now known
by its new name of Fort Humphreys,
d. C. - For your information wish
. to advise that this post is now called
the Army War College; however, prior
to October /, this year, it was called Fort
Humphreys, D. Cts new name is the
Army War College
ROBERT A. MCCLURE,
Major, Infantry, Executive Officer,
November 49,
Evening star., 1939-11-30
Urges Humane Consideration
For Street Beggars.

To the Editor of The Star:
In reply to Henry p. Williams letter
to the Editor, published last Saturday.
I believe he is all wrong. Does he
re .lize that through no fault of their
o. n many who have known better
tt les are forced to beg? I myself have
fe men have seen searching in trash
bo ies for food. Also, why complain that
thy have newspapers for sale? 1t is
no compulsory to buy them, and
real panhandler will not even have
papers. Mr.. Williams wants them
made to wear arm bands identi-
flying them as beggars. Is there any
essential difference between this plan
and the one in force in Poland, where
unfortunate Jews must wear yellow
bands? S. M. SCHOENTHAL.
November 26.
Evening star., 1939-11-30

Not a few men, according to ply
sicianS, have swigged hard liquor to
break up heavy cold and later
found themselves under an oxygen
tent with pneumonia.
Evening star., 1939-11-30

4, The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to
the use for republication Of all news dispat ches
created 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 reserved
Evening star., 1939-11-30

George Bernard Shaw announces
that "the sooner we stop this war,
the better" Some people have felt
the same about George.
Evening star., 1939-11-30

Capone's brother declares that AL
holds no grudge against any one.
That is certainly most big hearted
Of "The Big Fellow"
Evening star., 1939-11-30
Rate by Mail-Payable in Advance.
All Other States and Canada
Member of the Associated Press

Entered as second-class matter post ONCE.
Washington D. c.
Evening star., 1939-11-30
Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor must
bear the name and address OF
the 1Uriter. although the use OF
a pseudonynl. for publication is
permissible. Please be brief!
Evening star., 1939-11-30

@. How many young men in the
United States are college presidents?-
T. j. H.
A. The biographical volume Americas
Young Men," includes the names of So
college presidents.
Evening star., 1939-11-30

physical sciences and of engineering arts
in the solution of biological problems
This is an enormous field, including not
only the study of man himself, both in
sickness and in health, but also the
study of animals, the development of the
process of food technology and the whole
realm of living matter and its products"
Eighteen branches of engineering have
come into existence in our lifetime, DR..
Compton said. In many. cases not only
has the art itself been development of
this generation, but even the concept
underlying the art was unknown a CEN
tury ago.
There are two factors" he said,
which account for the increasing rapid
ity in the development of new applica-
tions of science to human welfare One
of these is simply the fact that we are
learning continually by experience how
. to make these applications more quickly
and effectively. The second is that the
possibilities for accomplishing our pur-
pose increase somewhat as the square
of the amount of knowledge which we
possess. AS our horizon expands by
better communications and experiences
with all kinds of new developments, the
number of things which we can imagine
for our benefit increases very rapidly.
"The only limit which can see logic
ally in this picture is the limit imposed
by the capacities of our poor human
brains, for when the number of facts
becomes too great for us to marshal them
effectively in our thinking, then factor
is introduced which works against ac-
celebrated progress. Even here, however,
science and experience can find ways Of
progress"
Evening star., 1939-11-30

The Evening Star Newspaper Company.
Main once 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave-
New York once: ITO East 42nd st.
Chicago Office: 435 North Michigan Ave
Evening star., 1939-11-30

WASHING TON, D. C.
THURSDAY November 30, 1889
Evening star., 1939-11-30

Q. What is the difference between al
ternating and direct current?-J. P.B.
A. Alternating current is one which
reverses its direction of flow periodically
ard rapidly. A direct current is one
which flows in one direction only.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-02-06
RAISING A FAMILY
Some Old Folks Can't See
 That Conditions Change.
By Olive Roberts Ba iton

school selling pies and cakes9 1t would put aii extra penny in your pocket, and dear knows you need it."
 AuntIe Is Persistent
 we tried that, too. But the bak- CTS fused and said we would have to take out Q license. They make the fee very high here, so people can't undermine the store trade"
 "Humph," said Aunt Name. Let me see. "He could shovel of pave- ments. He IS strong and he's four teen."
 "He tried that. too. Some men who have contracts with customers gave him q shove one day and told him to scram. He was underbiddinR them. People won't pay Q boy what they pay Q full grown man. He had to give it up."
 Tn the spring he could help 6 farmer"
 T suppose so, without pay. oui labor laws are pretty strict here I guess I'll just have to wait unti Jimmy is sixteen or SO before ht can help me-"
 Aunt Name said, Here's 6 check for twenty-five dollars. I'm glad Tn seventy. This country was a goot place once"
 (Copyright, 1889, NEA Service, Inc
The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-02-06
GARDEN FoRETHoUGHTs

yt's not too early for the garden lover, experienced or amateur, to start planning his i930 masterpiece, Tn his minds eye, or perhaps with rought pencil sketches, he blocks it out well in advance of actual plant ing. He analyses the soil, plans to furnish the clements lacking: shops around for new watering or irrigat- ing methods; figures out probable exposures, sunlit and shaded areas and which plants grow best here and there; what tools will do from last year, which need replacing and what new gadgets can be added. Newest ideas on pruning and sprays come in for their rightful attention, too. All this before the pleasure of actual selection of seeds and plants and shrubs begins.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-02-06
Gloritwng Yourself
By Alicia Hart
BY ALICIA HART NEA Service Stafe Writer

 Some days your skin seems to bo slightly yellowish. On others, It's faintly gray Instead of being per- fectly clear, as you want It. You notice few enlarged pores and here and there on extra fine line near your eyes. Your hair Is slight" iy dingy, your nails inclined to split.
 la other words, you just aren't as pleased with your appearanc0 as you were last fall, Nothing terr ribly serious Is wrong, of course, but you find yourself wondering whether or not your new spring clothes won't, serve to make even minor defects stand out glaringly instead of concealing them some- what.
 This then is the time to plan routines to eliminate the defects. Get rid of each and every one be- fore you even try on an Easter ensemble.
 Step number one In the right di- rection is to decide to do vigorous setting.up exercises for fifteen min- utes each morning and to walk at least one mile Q day. Undoubtedly your circulation is sluggish. The best way ia the world to make gray- ish or sallow skin tones fade away Is to stimulate 1t. Also, experts agree that large pores often are the re- suit of poor circulation.
 Do your morning exercises aa though you enjoyed them--rapidly and good-naturedly. If you really. detest them, try skipping rope in- stead. If you need to lose on inch or two here and there, do special reducing routine instead of plain stretching and limbering setting-up types.
 Wash your face and throat with soap and water every night and rinse them with very cold water until cheeks are pink, skin tingling Use night cream every single night, or, If yor skin Is exceedingly oily. apply q preparation designed to cor- rect that condition. Once . week, apply q special mask designed to correct large pores.
 Brush your hair every single night. U bS Uy, Fup llob oHNe oh HltO the scalp the night before you in- tend to shampoo, then massage 1t in with flingertips, Wrap a light cotton towel around your head and leave the oil on oil night. Next day shampoo in the usual manner. How ever, If your hair is excessively oily, use Q special tonic instead of lot olive oil. Massage 1t In just as care- fully and leave it on all night.
 Have or give yourself, gentle manicures No scraping at the base of the nail, no cutting of cuticle or other harmful measures. Have the cutlcle softened with cuticle remov- er then pushed back with an ore ange stick. Callouses ought to be soaked in warm, soapy water or warm olive oil, then rubbed gently with Q piece of pumice.
 Scrub your hands with a small brush at least once Q day. Mas sage hand lotion into them each time after they have been in wa- ter. And don't forget to drink plenty of calcium-rich milk and orange juice. Lack of calcium often causes nails to split, hair to be stringy and dull.
The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-02-06
The Germ -Killlng obsesslon

The Germ Killing 0bsesslon
 Every d. f. knows that 1t Is nec- ossary to kill the germs in order to light a "cold" or prevent or cure sore throat. What germs, where they are, how to get at them and whether they can be destroyed with out seriously damaging the tissues in tho vicinity or brenking down the natural local dafenses against invasion of the system are trifiing technical questions which do not worry the q. f.
 Every M. D. knows or should know that 1t is practically impos- sible to kill or even to check the growth or multiplication of germs in any tissue of tho body after the germs have invaded tho tissue to establish what Is generally reeog- nized as an infection, such as acute sore throat or acute corysa or any form of eri,
 Every 30 often the medical pro- fession falls, and the bigger they are tho harder they fall, for some brand new synthetic which purports to single out and destroy disease germs in the tissues without doing serious harm to the tissues. From "606' down to sulfanilamide none of these germ-killers has survived long. The latest, sulfanilamide, has caused some rather serious by-
The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-02-06

help the employees develop apprecia- ton and new interests, and give tho students e chance to share what they have learned.
 So far--so good. But why does the scheme stop there9 Why not let the college students take classes conducted by the "hired help"p A young woman from we'll to-do family might get more real value out of learning from c chambermaid how to make c bed so that the cover stays on and how to clean room systematical- ly than from oil the history the college profs could teach her.
 She will If she marries q poor young man and finds that she has to do chambermaid service along with everything else.
 Any one of the girls would find 1t handy to know the ins and outs of table servIce-a thing c waitress ought to be able to teach them in c few lessons. They may have to train their own maids some day.
 As for what the college cook could teach them-well, along with showing them how to whip up an omelet and roast 0 leg Of lamb the girls could learn some of the problems of feeding an assortment of students, oil with their own personal peculiaritieS and sectional notions about how food should be cooked.
 Learning what the other half knows Is c swell idea, but both halves ought to be given Q crack at it.
 Copyright, 1889, NEA Service, Incl
The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-02-06

Iodhy btie chIIlc
 in, shook the snow of and let Ems ma take of her galoshes. A cup Of hot ten thawed her nicely, but Em- ma noticed with misgiving that the frozen lines about her mouth were still fixed. There was something on Aunt Names mind. without doubt.
 T was thinking" she said at last, that Jimmy is big enough to help you now. Emma. Brother Jake was exactly his age when he started his paper route. Jake got Up at Ave every morning, rain or shine. and worked for hours before breakfast As he grew older he was taken into the office as printers devil. And from then on, he rose to the top He became one of the biggest pub fishers in the country"
 But, don't you know, they took of all the boys under sixteen in this statep Jimmy couldn't sell papers if he tried. Indeed he did try"
 Nonsense. That's silly. Well, fl that's the case, why doesn't he get a job as errand boy? The grocer might be able to give him job"
 He tried that, too. You see all deliveries are by truck now. And boys his age are not allowed to drive. He helped to fix stock on Friday and Saturday nights, but one of the older men complained. He had been laid off. and he said boys had no business working at jobs that belonged to men"
 He could sell something. And you are handy at baking. Why can't he drum up trade after
The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-02-06
YOUNGSTER STYLES
PATTERN 050

If you have e little Dimple-Knees in your family be sure to make her THIS, q model five-pieee wardrobe for Easter holidays and school days tool It's q Claire Tilden crea- tion-wouldn't you guess the fact by the easy making and the very stylish details of each gafment2 First Of all there's q pretty, unlined cape, tsehoolgirls will adore it be- cause they can don 1t in jiffy, and be home before the others in their claSS) The matching cap shows off wind-blown curls 50 sweetlyl Then there's Q cunning jumper and blouse 10 wear dny after day, and a one-pieee dress nice in voile for semi.best, and in percale for romp- ings. The Jumper alone will serve as a sundressl You'll enjoy working with the step-by -step Sewing Guide included with the pattern.
 Pattern 660 is cut in children's sizes {, c, 8, 10 and i2. Size 6, cape, hat and dress, requires 2 3-4 yards 90 inch fabric.
 Send FIFTEEN CENTS (i5c) in coins for this pattern. WRITE CLEARLY SIZE, NAME, ADDRESS AND STYLE NUMBER.
 Send orders to the Waterbury Democrat Pattern Department.
 Tuesday: Daytime Dress.