davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1941-06-20
Tahiti Is Free

Thousands of Americans who
never have sailed the South Seas,
yet regard themselves as being
acquainted with its mystery and
charm, will rejoice to hear that
Tahiti has been taken over" by
representatives of the Free French
movement in London. Acting under
the mandate of plebiscite con-
Quoted last September, Richard
Brunot, an agent of General Charles
de Gaulle, has seized power at
Papeete. Forty sympathizers with
the Vichy government are in Jail
awaiting a convincing change Of
mind Their arrest and imprison-
ment were accomplished without
violence and seem to have expressed
the sentiment of vast majority of
the Polynesian people.
News of any sort from the largest
and most important of the French
Pacific islands is a rare commodity
in modern times. Their romantic
past is much more real to the world
at large than any ordinary event of
the comparatively drab present origi-
mating in them is likely to be con-
sidered. Volcanic eruptions in remote
antiquity created the group. Their
pioneer inhabitants came from an
unknown land in the West and were
'lost" until 1907, when the Spanish
explorer Pedro Quiros discovered
Tahiti. The Englishman Wallis gave
the place the name of King George
III in 1857, but the French navigator
De Bougainville claimed it for his
sovereign lord and master, Louis XIV,
the following year. Captain James
Cook designated some neighboring
isles for the Royal Society which had
sponsored his expedition. He OBJ
served the transit of Venus from
Venus Point in 1859.
But these great persons are rela-
lively insignificant according to the
judgment of universal public
which, for reasons probably alto
gether adequate, prefers the villain
Gus figure of Lieutenant William
Bligh. 1t was Tahiti and the en-
gaging charm of the women thereof
that caused the mutiny Of the
Bounty. The rebel mariners re-
Evening star., 1941-06-20
Expected Retaliation

In ordering the closing of German
consulates in this country for in
dulging in irregular activities, State
Department officials frankly antici-
pated retaliatory measures by the
Axis. Now that the reprisals have
come, therefore, there is occasion
neither for surprise nor for chagrin.
AS matter of fact, the Axis con-
Sulate system here and the American
stats in Germany and Italy have
had little to do of late in the GUS
tomary field of trade relations. De-
spite this falling off in regular con-
sular work, there have been reports
of noticeable increase in personnel
at German and Italian consulates in
the past year or so.
Germany has responded with coun-
tercharges of similar nature against
our consular representatives in Ger
many or German-o occupied territory,
but the reported bill of particulars,
going back to the fall of 1889, is not
W 1ulpICSo OllC f1lIlCll SON-
ernment. The allegations included
Sketching railroads and making dis
approving observations about Ger
many and the German government"
1t is interesting to note that the
order for the expulsion of American
consuls from Norway, Holland, Bel
GUM, Luxembourg, occupied France,
Serbia and Greece came not from
the capitals of those unhappy ma
tions, but from Berlin This pro-
vides fresh evidence, if any were
needed, of the complete disappear
ance of self-government among the
subjugated peoples of Nazified Eu-
rope. 1t is also interesting to note
that Italy, playing the puppet as
usual, mimicked the Nazi action, de-
spite the fact that Italian consuls
in the United States have not yet
been ordered out of the country.
Evening star., 1941-06-20

to American sovereignty, and Jefferson,
acting for the complete international So
ciety. stressed the duty" of a neutral
State to prohibit such "acts as would
iniure one of the warning powers" He
later pronounced that no assistance
ought to be allowed to any comoatant'
unless stipulated in treaty" IN men,
arms. or anything Immediately serving
for the war" and as result Congress
enacted a law prohibiting the equipplng
and arming of cruisers intended to be
employed in the service of foreign
combatant.
When our Nation was less than a de-
cade old, We negotiated treaty with
Prussia, in which the public fides Of the
United States was bound and by which
we guaranteed that America would not
donate, or lend, or lease any part OF
our naval or military forces to an enemy
of that nation, or assist or capacitate
such an enemy to act defensively or Of
fenSively.
AS late as the 18th century the pro-
visioning and levying of sea and land
forces, and the purchase arming and
lading of vessels of war in neutral lands
and ports were permitted. Thus Eng
land was allowed during the War of
Independence to levy troops in neutral
German States for service against
America.
Unless they be justified by existing
international law, i. e., by rules of justice
and right legitimately deduced from
that law, our departure from neutrality
will be stigmatized in history as law
lessness, emitting any injured nations
to indemnities Resort to the right Of
self defense legally is war, and to plead
that right to justify unilateral repudia-
ton of law and treaties is impermissible,
Justification can be found only in the
enuciation of a universal social doctrine
which asserts the duty of a power to
act to whatever degree is requisite to
assure respect for the law and stability
to the society of nations.
In the interest of law and against a
prospect of chaos, the legal justification
of Americas departure from neutrality
ought to be complete and immediate II
we are not to be estopped from making
the plea, which would constitute an
epochal contribution to law, in any fu-
ture court and in history.
In international law the correlative Of
a right is duty, and in contributing to
the defeat of Germany in this war we
are fulfilling the highest international
law and establishing an implied rule
which supersedes any lesser legal COM
mand by recognizing the supreme duty
of self-preservation of the complete So
ciety of nations. This the law of nations
sanctions. EDWARD CONN.
Evening star., 1941-06-20
School Appropriations

While short of the $l8000,000
budget they sent the Commissioners
last fall. school officials are by no
means displeased with the $13,514,-
988 estimates now awaiting Senate
consideration after approval by the
House.
In the first place, most of the
emergency building needs in the An
acostia Benning area due to the in
flux of a national defense popula-
ton are taken care of either in the
budget or in already approved de-
ficiency appropriations to the 1941
budget. They were able to- get much
needed additions to the Benning and
Van Ness Schools, in addition to
funds for plans and sites for several
others.
Second, the measure provides for
the location of the new Abbott Vo-
cational School on the Brentwood
tract. This represents signal vic
tory for the school officials, who have
never been able heretofore to get
this site approved by the House.
There has been considerable agita-
ton in the past for erection of the
building in the school center on the
UpShur street tract. Since Chairman
Overton of the Senate Appropriations
Subcommittee has himself visited
and approved the Brentwood tract,
it seems unlikely that any change
in site will be made by the Senate.
A third victory for the schools was
the elimination from the bill of the
troublesome rider" which limited
the average salaries of school libra
rianS to the average of salaries
earned by librarians in the Public
Library doing the same type of work.
This constituted hardship on school
librarians by keeping from some of
the lowest paid the annual increases
to which they are entitled under the
basic Teachers Salary Act. Public
librarians are paid on a scale estab-
liShed in the Classification Act of
1928, which does not provide annual
step-upS.
Language compelling payment OF
tuition by non-residents in the fu-
ture is also still in the bill, despite
determined opposition by the Mary
land congressional delegation. The
approximately 1900 non-residents
now in the schools, free of charge,
are estimated to cost the District
taxpayers some $258,OOO on the basis
of per pupil cost of the school SyS-
tenn.
1t should be pointed out that the
bill as it stands goes a long way
toward making up the deficiencies
in previous bills affecting the colored
divisions of the system. Appropria-
ton is made to start the new Sping-
arm senior high school at Twenty
fourth and Benning road; funds are
appropriated to complete the addi-
tion to the Syphax and for the Van
Ness addition; money is allocated for
plans and a site for a new junior
high school to relieve the load on
Browne Junior High School. All of
the major repair items named in the
bill are for colored schools.
Evening star., 1941-06-20
At q Time of World Peril

The Steeled barbarian hammers al
the gate!
As Rome 1UdS sacked, and NineUeh
and Tyre,
And KnoSSoS crumbled in a cracking
pyre,
And old Jerusalem fell in fame and
hate,
So once again the black triunUtrate
OF lash and spear and fGggot hurI
fire
From porch to pinnacle, from dome
to spire
That SeerS and artists traUailed to
create.
And once again the treasure halls Of
time,
Shaped BY the tears Of ages, are de-
faced
And battered By the conqueror's
blood red thrust
But shall 1Oe sigh for these, or man
tDhoSe climb
Through laboring epochS is so soon
erased,
And all his pearls and roses turned to
dust?
STANTON A. CoBLENrz.
Evening star., 1941-06-20
THIS AND THAT
BIZ Charles z. Trdcetoeu.

sect eaters, at first, but by the time
the weed seeds are ripe, in August, their
tastes turn, for the first time in their
lives, to the seeds.
The grosbeaks, the cardinals, the jun
cos, and all the sparrows belong to the
bird family Of f1nches.
The beautiful little song sparrow Is
a finch.
Hence it may be realized that in them
we have some Of our finest and most
helpful birds.
The cage canary, then, is really not
such sissy" as most people imagine
him.
Even his life in cage, fed and pam
pered, will not deprive him of the ability
to take. care of himself, as our corre-
spondent's experience proves.
Sometimes persons interested in the
wild birds wonder if feeding them in
the garden will deprive them of their
natural ability to find food ION their
own"
1t may be stated fatty that no amount
of hand feeding" as it were, will take
away from bird it's natural ability
along these lines.
There are too many centuries Of living
behind each specimen to permit it.
When thrown on its own, its instincts,
which have been held in allegiance, begin
to click.
Certain actions call for certain re-
actions.
The bird, finding no food handed it.,
seeks its own food. 1t picks up where its
parents left off. 1t hunts for food and
with normal fortune, finds it.
1t makes no difference to bird where
1t finds food If some one puts it out
for it, how does it know? 1t has very
little idea of where the food comes from,
and it would make no difference, If it
did; what it wants is something to eat,
and it eats it wherever it finds it.
The finding is partly bird action. and
partly mans or natures. But 1t also
Is bird reaction to certain stimuli.
In this column on several occasions
We have printed accounts of pet birds,
one sparrow, being permitted to get
out. and how they flew along for miles
and finally flew into friendly windows,
and were captured, none the worse for
their experience.
Members of the finch family tend to
fly along small streams, such as Rock
Creek, sticking to the bottoms and val
leys.
The islands mentioned are off Africa
SO that canary birds are warm climate
birds. But they also are fnches, and
these birds can stand some cold, as we'll
A lost canary bird need not be given
up as dead.
Hundreds of persons can report SINH
lar tales in which the small birds fly
around for time, then fly into some
friendly window.
There can be no question that canary
bird likes, even prefers, its cage. Zoo
keepers swear that their animals are
better off than wild creatures. and, when
escaped. really long to be back in their
safe and friendly cages.
Evening star., 1941-06-20
"VARNUM STREET.

"VARNUM STREET.
Dear Sir:
IT have an amazing tale about a
canary
Two years ago purchased a canary
for my mother who lives in the Shore
ham.
This bird had never been heard to
sing but had so much personality took
him over the salesman's protest
He has since developed into grand
singer and initiates the cardinal per-
fectly.
About a month ago my mother put
Ikey, as we call him, on her balcony
on the south side of the Shoreham. A
wind came up, the tall stand blew over,
the cage came apart, and of flew the
bird.
"A thorough search OF the grounds by
the hotel employees and myself failed
to locate him.
1T became very cold and windy that
night and we gave the little fellow up as
lost.
"On Tuesday noon lady at the West
chester called up to say she had seen
the 'ad' which we placed in The Star
and that she had canary which had
come to her screen where her bird was,
and had finally been enticed into her
apartment.
Il literally flew over with the cage.
and there, somewhat travel worn and
dirty, but clipper as you please, was
Ikey.
cheerful ike. Ike took good bath, and
went to eating his bird dainties. ap-
parently much pleased with himself and
his experiences as a travelling man.
Sincerely yours. D. E. W."
The canary is a member of the finch
family. native of the Canary Islands,
naturally enough, Madeira, and the
Azores.
They also are found in the Cape Verde
Islands.
Today we have another interest in
these islands, but they have been known
since the beginning of the 18th century
y
bird.
In its wild state the canary bird has
more olive in his feathers, tinged with
brown.
The bright yellow bird we know today
is the product of selective breeding.
There are great many kinds of canary
birds, however, most of them unknown
except to enthusiasts. These canary
bird fans" are distributed around the
world. with the greatest interest in Ger
tain Shires of England and in the Harz
Mountains in Germany.
The fnches are the largest family of
birds.
There are more than thousand spe-
cies. OF which 200 are in the United
States.
They eat seeds and insects. principally.
They are believed to save the farmers
millions of dollars each year by their
consumption of weed seeds.
Young sparrows, for instance are in
Evening star., 1941-06-20
Dissents From Objections
To Destruction of Parks for Parking.

To the Editor OF The STAR
Ask the objectors to the use of the
Washington Monument lawn-tennis
courts space for parking purposes
whether they prefer the grass to be
rutted by auto wheels or filled with
craters by airplane bombs.
At the present, transportation and
parking conditions are onerous for the
War and Navy Building employees, who
must come down before breakfast time
in the morning to find parking space
and have not the transit service that
is available to the Interior Department.
as many cars are short-routed on q
street. The traffic laws are too loosely
enforced to make it safe to walk TO
work. For the time being, defense Is
more necessary than play, or even
viStas.
I have been against encroachment
on the parks for parking purposes, on
the working persons time for recrea-
ton and on the taxpayers principal
for exravagances of the Government,
but necessity must take precedence over
pleasure and it seems to me that 1t Is
important and to the interest OF all
of us that the Government defense
workers have livable conditions In trans
port and working quarters.
Both the polo grounds and the Monu-
ment lawns could very we'll be turned
over for parking space during the emer-
gency and repaired afterwards by the
authorities who were foolish enough to
Jam the whole of the executive depart
ments into one neighborhood, in the
interest of economical bombing in the
event of war and of traffic engineers
in the time of peace. w. E. ALLEN.
Evening star., 1941-06-20
Efficiency Reviews

The procedure devised by the Civil
Service Commission for establishing
and operating the efficiency rating
review boards authorized by the
Ramspeck Act is calculated to give
Government employees all the pro-
lection that the law contemplates,
when appealing from unsatisfactory
efficiency marks.
First, by having an opportunity
to submit evidence of unfairneSS or
prejudice when justified, the work
ers get what amounts to veto power
in respect to appointments for the
employe election committees which
will supervise the selection Of en-
representative on the review
boards in each agency.
Next, in the nominating and cleo
ton process, entire freedom OF choice
is assured. Candidates for any
board may qualify for place on the
ballot only by obtaining the in
dorsement of a sufficient number
of those to be affected by the boards
decisions The election itself is by
secret ballot, a guarantee against
interference with the rights of par
ticipantS. Each board will have
three members, the agencies and
employees each naming one, and the
third, to serve as chairman, being
appointed from the Civil Service
Commission. Decisions will be by
a majority vote, and the commits
sion wisely has directed that the
boards be reconstructed annually, to
permit the infusion of new blood if
desired.
In outlining the operation scheme,
the commission took occasion to urge
that resort be had to the appellate
procedure only after efforts had been
made to adjust disputes at the
source, and warned further against
introduction of extraneouS matter
when cases are under consideration.
Evening star., 1941-06-20

Employees should take this admoni-
ton to heart, for at the outset. GER
tainly, the appeals principle will be
on trial. Confined, generally speak
ing, to meritorious cases, the new
system unquestionably will prove its
worth. Used principally as sound
ing board for the disgruntled, how
ever, and burdened down with COM
plants that lack substance, it will
fall of its own weight, and at the
same time serve as deterrent to
the presently contemplated plan for
extending the scope of the appeals
machinery.
Evening star., 1941-06-20
Member of the Associated Press.
The Closed Shop

In recommending that the Bethle-
hem Steel Company grant a closed
shop at its San Francisco shipyardS,
the National Defense Mediation
Board moves for the first time into a
field that may be productive of much
controversy in the future.
The boards recommendation is a
notable concession to several hun
dred striking machinists, both A. F.
of L. and CLIO, who have conducted
themselves in highly irresponsible
manner. Despite the fact that their
"outlaw" strike has interfered with
work on S500,000 900 in defense con-
tracts in eleven Shipyards, they have
refused to heed appeals from the
President and from their own ma
tional officers that they return to
their Jobs, and there is no present
indication that they have any in
tention of going back to work.
These factors undoubtedly were re-
sponsible in part at least for the
careful wording of the boards rec
ommendation, which seems to imply
that the action taken in this case
is not to serve as a precedent in
future closed-shop disputes. DR..
Clarence A. DykStra, chairman OF
the board, pointed out that thirty
eight of the thirty-nine West Coast
ship building plantS-Bethlehem be-
ing the sole eXception-haVe signed
master agreement which calls for
a closed shop, and that this now
covers $4,000 of the 10000 employees
in all plants. 1t was in the light
of what the board called these Spe-
cial circumstances" that Bethlehem
was asked to sign the agreement.
If it be granted that the recon-
mendation has merit in this instance,
however, there should also be recog-
milton of the fact that a very serious
question of policy would arise if it
should be permitted to serve as a
precedent. In the first place, de-
fense strikes where the closed shop
is the sole or even the main issue
cannot be defended on any reason
able ground. They are attempts to
strengthen union positions, and nor
mally are not related to wages or
working conditions. And in the case
of strikes such as that at San Fran
cisco, where a total absence of dis
cipline and responsibility has been
demonstrated, any action which tends
to entrench such unions and compel
all employees to join them would
seem to be unwise and unjuStified
unless there are in fact special cir
cumstanceS which warrant an eX-
ception in a given case.
1t is interesting, incidentally, to
recall that the machinists as well
as Bethlehem have refused to ratify
the master agreement involved in
this dispute. Since the boards rec
ommendation rules out the higher
wages which the machinists have
been demanding, and since it does
not appear that the recommended
ton was directed to them, curious
situation would arise if Bethlehem
were to sign on the dotted line only
to have the strike 60 on.
Evening star., 1941-06-20

@. Where was Lillian Leitzel, the trap
eze artist, performing when she was
fatally injured?-B. B. R.
A. Miss Leitzel fell while performin-
at height of As feet without a net 7t
the Valencia Amusement Park in Copen-
hagen.
@. Please give some information about
the Holland Tunnel.-A. S.
A. The Holland Tunnel which con-
meets Jersey City and New York City
is composed of twin tubes. 1t is $3.50
feet in length. Each tube is of % feet
inches external diameter, with interior
roadway width of 20 feet and clearance
height of 13 feet inches. Each tube
has traffic in one direction only.
@. What did the 193O-l934 depression
cost the world?-E. S. A.
A. An International Labor Office STUDY
estimates that the world depression cot
at least s149 900, ,0OO0 900.
@. Please describe the Short Stirling,
British bomber.-E. P. H.
A. 1t is a long range bomber powered
with four Bristol Hercules, 1,360-horse-
power air-cooled engines. Believed to be
larger than our Flying Fortress type. it is
said to have greater speed and bomb
load. 1t has power operated turretS.
@. Is the pyrethrum used in insecticides
grown in this country?-A. K. B.
A. Practically all of the pyrethrum
used in the United States is imported.
During 1910, 12591,21O pounds were i'm
ported into this country. The develop
ment of new pyrethrum harvester by
the Department of Agriculture now
makes possible the successful cultiva-
ton of this crop in the United States.
@. Please give the source of the line
Two souls with but single thought. -
M. G..
A. Two souls with but a single
thought, two hearts that beat as one" IS
from "Ingomar the Barbarian by Won
Munich Bellinghausen.
@. What is the inscription on the
tomb of Douglas Fairbanks in Hollywood
Memorial Park?-E. K. B.
A. The tomb bears the following quo
tation from Hamlet Good night, sweet
prince, and flights Of angels sing thee to
thy rest"
@. From what State was the first
woman Senator in Congress?-J. H. E.
A. Rebecca Latimer FELTON, of Georgia
was appointed by Gov. Thomas w. Hard
wick as Democrat to the United States
Senate on October 3, 1922, to fill the
vacancy caused by the death of Senator
Thomas E Watson