davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1941-09-22
THIS AND THAT
BIZ Charles E. Trdce1DeH.

wilderness. And it is true that wildness
appeals to wildness. The untrammeled
wilds of early America-although it was
not "early' to the Indians, who had been
here for long time-appealed to per-
sons who were rough and ready.
The only thought such a man had,
when he saw a wild pigeon, the beauti-
full passenger pigeon, was to shoot it.
When these pigeons flew down by the
hundreds of thousands, their sole appeal
to boys and men was commercial
Instead OF looking upon these flights
as wonder of nature, the male element
in the pioneer population got out with
guns and clubs and torches and knocked
the pigeons off their perches by the
hundreds.
The slain birds were shipped to New
York and the other centers of popula-
tion in the East.
In about 20 years, it was estimated
100000 pigeons were slain 1t can be
imagined that no tribe of feathered folks
could stand such inroads. This hap
pened, at its worst period from about
1920 to 1840, but the passenger pigeons
were killed regularly up to and somewhat
beyond the Civil War
After that, the great mass flights,
which darkened the heavens for hours,
were thing of the past, but there were
still plenty of passenger pigeons. The
killings went right on until by 1900
there were only few pigeons left. In
1914 the last one died in the Cincinnati
Zoo.
Every now and then some one reports
the finding of a passenger pigeon" but
invariably such reports are false. Some
other species is mistaken for an extinct
bird, which resembled turtle dove. ex-
cept that its breast was roster, and it
was considerably larger.
If you want to begin to feed the birds
at this time, do so with mind at ease
and certain feeling of doing good in
your heart.
The birds won't mind and no one else
should
If feeding is commenced now, gradu-
ally the cardinals and song sparrows and
jays and titmice and nuthatches and
others will begin to come to the feeder
When migrating birds see them, they
will drop down, if for no more than to
satisfy their curiosity.
Moistened bread, placed on the lawn
will appeal to some of these migrators
But the main thing is to get the feeding
station going and insus In this way
the birds in the neighborhood will be-
come used to visiting it, so that when
cold weather really arrives, they will
know where to go to get something to
keep them warm.
Feeding the wildbirds at ones window
is really about the happiest- go-Iucky
sport in the world.
There are few rules, and no rivalry.
The birds have 1t! They accept with
relish what is put out for them, and
the only thing they ask is that the food
be put out regularly If you can't keep
up the feeding. never begin it. 1t is not
fair to get the songsters to expect food,
and then to withhold it from them.
Evening star., 1941-09-22
Farmers Duuohter

1t is almost impossible to find a
story about a farmers daughter that
can stand being printed, so when
such a one comes along, the most
should be made of it.
Near Prescott, Ark, was a farmer
with an attractive daughter, for
whose benefit he had built front
porch, on which she might entertain
her beaux-even several at a time if
the competition got that keen. But
he did not know that because of
Hitler millions of Americans would
be drafted and conduct maneuvers
in his vicinity, and that in the eve
ming his porch would be jammed
with soldiery bent on courting his
daughter. His porch, unequal to
the task of supporting most Of the
Second Army, collapsed.
Being unable to send the bill to
Cupid, who was really responsible for
it, the farmer has claimed damages
against the Army. There the matter
rests for the nonce. A court will
decide whether or not the Army can
be held responsible for romance On
~ veeAAAA.
Evening star., 1941-09-22
Red Cross Roll Call

Last year a total of $4,000 res
idents of the Nations Capital en-
listed in the District of Columbia
Chapter of the American Red Cross.
The 1941 campaign, beginning today,
is designed to enroll at least 100000
local subscribers
So obvious is the need for the
service which the Red Cross renders,
it ought not to be necessary to urge
the duty and the privilege of joining
in. the work The wars now raging,
the vast destruction of human life
and of property occasioned by them,
the dislocation of industry and trade
which Is inevitable in any such crisis,
the social confusion which naturally
develops from the continuance Of
armed conflicts over long periods of
time - indeed, the whole dreadful
anarchy of the present "age of chaos"
constitutes an appeal for the mercy
which the people of Washington are
asked to show toward their suffering
contemporaries abroad.
But even If the strife in Europe and
In the Orient suddenly should termi-
nate, there still would be labor for the
Red Cross to perform within the
boundaries of the United States.
Scientists have called attention to
the dangers from epidemics arising
from the struggles in foreign lands.
To guard against those perils, to pay
the expenses of disaster relief, to
carry on imperative educational
campaigns, to maintain existing Or
ganizations of service built up during
a quarter century, the aid of all cit
izens of good will is required. Con-
tributions may be in any amount
from one dollar upward. The head
quarters of the annual Roll Call Is at
1870 E street Northwest.
Evening star., 1941-09-22
Army Task Forces

Slowly but surely, the General
Staff is piecing together the varied
elements that 60 to make up the
composite picture of a modernized
United States Army, as further evi-
denced last week by an announce
ment that the first air-borne infan-
try battalion is about to be formed at
Fort Benning, Ga, scene of many
experiments which officials say are
being kept under wraps"
Forerunners of this new unit are
the paratroopS, dive-bombing squad
rons and anti-tank battalions now
performing creditably in the East
Texas-Louisiana maneuvers.
Before the Army could start form
ing and training special task forces
similar to those in Europe, whose
exploits revealed to the world what
many enormously think are newly
invented techniques, it had serious
problems that called for first atten-
ton. These involved the matter of
reorganization, initial training and
the production of war materiel. The
first two are satisfactorily advanced;
the inadequacy of the latter still con-
Stitutes the most serious handicap.
During the first year of mobiliza-
tion the General Staff had to devote
its main effort to giving citizen SOL
diers that thorough basic training
and disciplining without which no
army can be termed serviceable
field force. Now that this critical
period Is passing and the service of
the men extended, it can concentrate
more and more on the formation
and highly specialized training of
those task forces with which the
American Army was the first to ex-
pertinent.
Back in the days of international
complacency, our Army gave Soviet
Russia the idea for developing para
chute troops when it demonstrated
repeatedly at Wright Field in 1928,
how feasible it was to drop machine
gun crew from a bomber. Again, In
Panama. 1t made the first test with
IN air-borne heavy Weapons oan-
Evening star., 1941-09-22

meet the test of youthful logic and
inquisitiveness. From textbooks and
extracurricular activities democracy
will emerge as something compre-
hensible and worth preserving.
School officials predict the enroll
ment this year will be some 3,4O0
over that of last year, largely due
to a population influx caused by the
national emergency. In some Sec
tions of the city this is apt to cause
croWding which it is hoped the Fed
eral Government will see fit to aid
generously in relieving, since the
community itself scarcely can be
held responsible for defense expan-
sion. Whatever the difficulties, Dis
trict public schools will discharge
their duty of turning out the kind
of citizens which the Nation needs.
Evening star., 1941-09-22
District Crime Law

The quarterly report on crime sta
tistics recently compiled by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
sheds some light on the problem of
the criminal repeater" and the
necessity for more restrictive laws to
deal with this phase of criminality.
This is particularly pertinent in view
of passage by House and Senate of
bills to tighten the District criminal
code.
Covering approximately 1000 cities
with a population in excess of 65,-
100000, the F. B. l. report includes the
record on 09,013 arrests in 1910, of
which 206,484, or nearly "a per cent,
were of persons who had been con-
victed previously of one or more
offenSeS. Further, a total OF so per
cent of these had been involved in
some form of criminality, but some,
as is evident from the figures, had
managed to escape penalty. This
is no isolated example; the problem
is one with which the F. B. I. con-
stantly is confronted because of the
inadequacy of sentencing procedures
over the country, and it supports the
arguments of District government
officials who have recommended the
proposed "recidivist" law as a step
toward more effective law enforce
ment despite opposition from some
quarters because of it's stringent pro-
visions
The measure which passed the
Senate is an improved version of the
House bill, in that it defines the
crimes of violence which require i'm
position of maximum sentences for
second offenses and increased penal
ties for subsequent convictions. BY
thus clearly setting forth it's scope,
the proposed law charts a plain
course for the courts to follow.
The Board of Parole has found
some fault with the measure, con-
tending that injustice will be worked
in worthy cases where it stands as
barrier to parole, and also in those
instances where extenuating factors
would warrant leniency to second
offenders. The board also is desirous
of retaining jurisdiction over second
offenders who have served their max
imum sentences and move is under
way to write this provision into the
bill. Where the legislation can be
improved without losing any of it's
force, that should be done. 1t goes
without saying, however, that sight
should not be lost of the main OBJ
jectives of the measure, which was
drafted to meet conditions disclosed
by the recent police inquiry. District
citizens are entitled to the protection
of law that will stand as stern
warning to the criminal element to
steer clear of this community.
Evening star., 1941-09-22

pany under precisely the same meth
ods now employed with huge trans
port planes.
However, those and later years
were ones of abbreviated budgets.
Regretfully, the Army was forced to
file its unique military developments
marked "for future reference.
Though funds are plentiful now, the
lack of adequate equipment and spe-
cial weapons hamper rapid develop
ment of these necessary task forces.
But as production picks up, regiments
of these special mission troops soon
may be expected to take the place OF
battalions
Evening star., 1941-09-22
Long-Runge Planning

The recent controversy over loca-
tion of the new War Department
building served the useful purpose
of redirecting public attention to the
Importance of long-range planning
in the development of the National
Capital. In the rush and confusion
of an emergency, it is easy to lose
sight of the esthetic standards and
practical objectives to which the city
had dedicated itself in more normal
times. Mistakes committed now not
only are difficult and costly to
rectify later on, but may affect ad-
versely the whole course of the city'S
growth and the future welfare of its
citizens. Traffic congestion, safety
problems, health hazards and social
evils follow in the wake of haphazard
civic planning.
1t is in recognition of these axio-
matte but sometimes overlooked facts
that the National Capital Park and
Planning Commission has made pub
lie revised program of building and
highway development, with special
attention to Washington's serious
traffic problems. The program ad-
heres generally to the already ap-
proved plans for creation of a great
Northwest Rectangle, containing per-
manent buildings for the War and
Navy Departments, in the area west
of the White House; for govern
mental expansion in the Southwest
section, for development of the Mu-
nicipal Center and for improvement
of East Capitol street. The commits
sion believes that such a program
will relieve traffic congestion, since
it will provide for redistribution of
Federal employees and an adequate
system of approaches to Government
Offices.
Since most of Washington'S traffic
difficulties result from the concen-
tration of Federal activities in the
vicinity of the White House, the
commission proposes that Federal
office buildings capable of holding
$4,000 employees be erected in the
East Capitol street plaza. approx
mately midway between the Capitol
and Eastern High School. Constitu-
ton and independence avenues
would be extended east of the Capitol
toward the Armory and Stadium,
overlooking the Anacostia River
Sites for future office buildings would
be reserved in the Southwest, be
tween Virginia and independence
avenues. The redistribution of en-
ployes would have little effect on the
Federal Triangle, but there would be
1000 more Federal workers in the
Southwest area, in addition to the
large influx along East Capitol street.
While numerous reviSionS of this
basic scheme undoubtedly will be
dictated by unforeseen contingencies,
the commissions program is funda-
mentally sound. 1t constitutes
valuable pattern by which to shape
the city's growth. In these days of
feverish defense expansion, 1t be-
hooves those charged with emergency
planning and construction to make
every reasonable effort to see that
today's emergency requirements con-
form as closely as possible to the
long-view plans for orderly growth
of the Capital.
Evening star., 1941-09-22

North America justifies the establish
ment, in protective reply, of defense
zones by the United States, from which
the Reichs vessels will be barred by
force.
Our Government in this instance, is
acting as the mandatory of civilization in
guarding the maritime rights of any ma
ton whose craft may visit the redeemed
waters, the resolution being to vindicate,
not to violate, the recognized law.
No presumption is asserted of right
to nullify the law, and the act is not in
conflict with the Supreme Courts dictum
that no single nation can create univer-
sal rules Flowing from our naval action,
however, may be a drastic revision of
sea law, which evolved in considerable
measure. pal ticularly in respect of block
ade and contraband, from and since the
Napoleonic wars and found original eX-
preston and sanction in the decisions
zone proclaimed by Germany is ultra
wires, i. e., contravenes the law, and the
employment of any degree of violence to
exterminate the menace would be legal.
The German pretension and America S
response emphasize the fact, of which
the earth is increasingly aware, that the
Reich is a government of paramount
force, the military representative of an
insurrection against the society of ma
tions and must be suppressed if that
community, whose ideal is the eternal
law of social justice and of peoples in
dependence, is to endure
EDWARD CONN.
Evening star., 1941-09-22
Public Schools

With the opening today of District
public schools, another army will be-
gin double -barreled defense of
America.
In the shops Of the vocational
and technical schools will be trained
some Of the future craftsmen in the
vital industries of the Nation. In
classrooms alien isms" will fail to
Evening star., 1941-09-22
Wants Unity
For nA--~-

Wants Unity
For Democracy.
To the Editor of The Star:
II we are to 60 on with the Nations
defense program, we will have to disre-
gard more and more the daily entreaties
OF the Lindberghs, Wheelers, Nyes and
other isolationists opposing the Presi-
dents policies.
The first real step in national defense
is to marshal all red-blooded Ameri-
cans. Let's put an end to partisan poll
tics and keep America safe for democ-
racy. If We sidestep now We may goose
step Ataf. CHARLES A. 1NAoHEE.
0a0tA oh1A
Evening star., 1941-09-22
Col. Key-Smith Proposes New Memorial
For Andrew Jackson in Washington.
To the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor of The Star:
Permit me these additional lines in
behalf of my suggestion for the inter-
change of Gen. Washington's and Gen.
Jacksons statues, that the former may
be the central figure of Washington's
compatriots of the Revolution in Lafay-
cite Square:
The environS Of that square have been
the residence Of our greatest statesmen
those whose lives have been intimately
connected with American history; and
SO the location has been given a national
character unidentified with any particu-
lar era of our history. The conception
of a Pan-American Union was formu-
lated there, and the Union had its home
there for many years.
Facing the square also have been the
homes of w. w. Corcoran, the city's
greatest philanthropist and benefactor,
who gave it the Corcoran Art Gallery
and the Louise Home among many other
similar gifts and who regarded his
earned fortune as a trust for the benefit
OF all. Across the square lived Commo-
dore Stephen Decatur, who rid the Med
iterranean of the pirates who there
preyed upon American commerce Like
wise, here lived John Hay, private sec
retary to President Lincoln and. Secre-
tary of State in President Theodore
Roosevelt's cabinet. Upon the square is
situated st. Johns Church, the house of
worship of so many American Presi-
dents and prominent officials, and in the
garden of the house once used as the
British Legation Owen Meredith wrote
Lucille" No less, today, is the national
character of the square preserved with
the homes of the United States Cham
ber of Commerce, the Cosmos Club, the
BrookingS Institution, the Carnegie En-
dowment for International Peace and
the American Peace Society.
So, associated with our national his
tory only the statues of those patriots
connected with the founding of this
nationality and American independence
are appropriate. This seems to have
been recognized in the choice of all of
the statues to be erected in the square
excepting that of Gen. Jackson. situ-
ated in its center. That site is only
appropriately occupied by the statue of
the most outstanding of all American
patriots and heroes-Gen. Washington.
A correspondent to The Star, writing
in opposition to my proposal for the in
terchange of Gen. Washingtons and
Gen. Jackson's statues, accurately OBJ
serves, however, that the memories of
President Washington, President Jeffer-
son and President Lincoln have been
perpetuated in beautiful memorials and
that the statue of Gen. Jackson, in the
center of Lafayette Square, is his sole
memorial in the National Capital.
The fact undoubtedly justifes cor
rection and I now urge the American
people to right the injustice to the
memory of Gen. Jackson by taking i'm
mediate steps for the early erection OF
q suitable memorial to him, the hero of
the War Of 1872, great statesman and
the third of the outstanding American
Presidents, viz, Washington, jefferson,
Jackson and Lincoln.
F. S. KEY-SMITH.
Approves American Resistance
To "Insurrection" Against Civilization.
To the Editor Of The Star:
Tbs tndhputabls tlssaNty Of Ger
- a.
Evening star., 1941-09-22
Huskin's Answers
To Questions
By Frederic J. HdSkt1t.

A reader can get the unsWer to any
question OF fact By iDrittng The EUe-
nina Star Information Bureau, Fred
eric J. Hdskin, director, Washington,
. D. c. Please t1close stamp tor reply.
@. Where is the desk used by President
Woodrow Wilson during the World Wara
&c. B. C.
A. 1t is one of the priced exhibits Of
the Roosevelt Library at Hyde Park,
N. Y.
@. What is the pledge to the Christian
fiag2-E. K. B.
A. 1t is as follows: 81 pledge allegiance
to my flag and to the Saviour for whose
Kingdom it stands one brotherhood,
uniting all mankind in service and love"
@. At the present rate of increase, how
many persons will be employed in de-
fense industries by 1944?-G. L. c.
A. The National Resources Planning
Board has estimated that by 1914 there
will be $4,000 900 persons at work in war
industries.
@. Are soybeans used in making rayon?
Il. B. H.
A. In Japan the stems of the soybean
are made into rayon yarn.
@. Is Leningrad built on islands?-
@. T. H.
A. The city is built on 19 islands.
@. Who used the slogan "Out of the
trenches by Christmas "?-C. J.
A. This was the slogan of the Ford
peace ship.
@. Why is court plaster so called?-
NJ. H. w.
A. The word is derived from the old
custom of court ladies, who wore specks
Of black plaster on the face to set of the
delicacy of the complexion.
@. What is the origin of the expression
caviar to the general"?-E. P. A.
A. 1t is from Hamlet"
Evening star., 1941-09-22
Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor must
bear the name and address of
the lUriter, although the use of
q pseudonynl for publication is
permissible. The Star reserves
the right to edit all letters 1Uith
a Diel0 to condensation.
Evening star., 1941-09-22
Calls for Protest"
Against Being Led Into War"

Against Being LED into war;.
To the Editor of The Star:
I always have resented any statement
to the effect that the American people
are soft" However, events in the past
several months have caused me to wonder
If there were not some truth in the
allegation.
Are we so easy-going that we can
watch our country being led into war
and not raise our voices in protest? Polls
show that the American people do not
wish to enter shooting war" and yet
we placidly permit our entire economic
life to be geared for total war and our
leaders to commit one act of aggression
after another and appear too Indifferent
or too self-centered to protest.
President Roosevelt tells us that he
does not desire to lead us into war, yet
his foreign policy incites to war There
isn't the slightest justification for our
conveying materials to the so-called de-
mocracies. The Axis powers have been
unable to invade and conquer England
to date. 1t is absurd to think that they
could set foot in this country.
What would we gain by going into this
holocaust of blood, misery and starva-
ton?
I believe that we should bend our
efforts to keeping our own country the
finest, most cultured and enlightened in
the world today, with the highest stand
ard of living ever achieved for the larg-
est number Of people. If we enter the
war we would lose here the things we
would be fighting for "over there"
CITIZEN.
Evening star., 1941-09-22
Presidents and Their Wives-A

Presidents and Their Wives-A
48-page booklet giving the essential
historical facts concerning every
President from washington to
Franklin D. Roosevelt, and every
White House hostess; also a con-
densed political history of the
United States. An indispensable
reference booklet for home and
school. To secure your copy of
this publication inclose 10 cents in
coin, wrapped in this clipping, and
mail to The Star Information
Bureau.
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