davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1941-08-14
Mr.. FIXIT
He Fixes Things

To receive attention IN tn. eoi-
umn letters must Eivs nam. and
address Of writer Only initials
vii b published rhsn requested.
Mr.. F1xit; was told BY =
teacher that the rays % the
moon could twist and turn your
face. Could this possibly he
true: IL has puzzled me very
much. l. =.
Are you sure a teacher told
you that II lies in the same
category as burying an old dish
rag 10 cure warts and couldn't
possibly be true. You might
grimace a bit II any bright
light should shine in your face
while you slept. but the GRIM
aces wouldn't stay there.
Mr.. FlxIt: WIN you please tel
me the date and the place where
the tests win he given 10 child
rem entering the first grade q
school this fall: MRS. n. X.
The pre-school tests will be
given any day during the last
week OF August at the Central
school. at So. sth and Tacoma
ave.
Mr.. F1xlt; DO you know Of
someone who weayes rag rugs
AS wide Ne three or four feet
I know Of someone who will
make the narrow ones but i'm
agine there are wider looms In
the city. INQUIRER.
You might get in touch with
Mrs. Pearl Britton Lees, at
Proctor o255. who can get you
a list Of most OF the persons In
Tacoma who have looms.
Mr.. Fixit; win You tell ma
through your column II there 10
. place in Tacoma where one
can get several old dolls re-
paired, Some friends Of mine
want some old keepsskes re-
paired and dressed before they
are transferred from Fort Lewis.
We have recently come here and
are not familiar with your city.
MRS. DAVE NJ.
You probably can get the serv-
ice you wish from the Doll Hos
pitsl. at 72sls st. Helens ave.
Mr.. F1xlt: Could you Civ. me
the name OF n bright star that
seems TO follow the moon some
way behind but seems To take
the same route: have seen
II around 10 TO IL o'clock for
quite = few evenings. o. &.
II undoubtedly il the planet
Mars you have been watching.
Mr.. Fixit: 1 would like to
know whore 1 could get my
birth certificate. I WAS born In
Troy. New York. D.B.
Write 10 the State Depart
ment Of Health, Division of Vital
Statistics. Albany.
Mr.. Fixit: Is II possible to
obtain my birth certificate III
WAS born In the city of Clinton,
Indiana, In Nermillion county In
the year 1892: II so, where
should l write TO get II: &c.
You might try the State
Health Commissioner. Indianap-
oils, but II is a little doubtful
that there is a record earlier
than 1907. The town clerk at
Clinton might have it.
The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1941-08-14

When Cops Wore Groesns
And pairoIled q Beet
The Speetessies Spesk
For Themselves
Congress Has q Way OF
IFS Own Also
A Few Old-Fsshioned Lines
From Henry Clay
ONCE upon a time, before We
" stresmlined the police de-
partment and discarded thick
soled brogans for rubber tires.
the cop on the beat was su-
preme in his own bsiliwick. He
represented the law. and TO pre-
serve its dignity was an obces-
sion. Whether IL was PADDY
Coreoran going home drunk,
fight growing out of the deci-
sions OF the umpire in a sand lot
ball game. Mrs. McGuire's COW
getting into the neighbours gar
den or brawl in a saloon, he
didn't wait for orders from head
quarters but waded in and set
tied the trouble.
II he was not too far from
the station he did not take the
trouble TO call the horse-drawn
patrol wagon but walked his
prisoner to the cslsboose.
He was not yersed In the
fine technicalities OF the law
but intultively recognized the
difference between right and
wrong. He was the friend Of
the oppressed. respected by
the law abiding and the terror
of law breakers.
AuNtslik dlltll W Ah' h'hN
speak-easy killings in Seattle
tells the story Of how far we
have gone from the days of the
duty-conscious cop on the
beat"
Just before drink crazed
robber began shooting in the
illicit basement barroom, two
prowl car officers had been in
the place at the request of the
proprietor to arrest a couple Of
patrons whom he accused of try
ing to short-change him. They
took the suspects out to their
car and were questioning them
when the "bouncer" ran out to
tell them that the place was
being held up.
Asked by member of the
coroner's jury why they didn't
close up the place when they
were called there the first time,
one of the officers replied that
he didn't know ii was a speak
sasy-he thought it might have
been a restaurant or a tavern.
To the next questio
Didn't you know that the
state law requires taverns to
close at midnight ?" he re-
piled:
I'm not sure that / Am
familiar with the state law
The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1941-08-14

Brought to this country at IL.
James Arthur Quigley enlisted
In the Union Navy during the
Civil War and voted AT every
general election from 1858 on.
The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1941-08-14
SO THEY SAY

Pretty soon you can buy a
good sirplane as cheap as you
can buy a good truck William
B. Stout, pioneer air designer.
We shall make mistakes. OF
course but the supreme mis-
take OF stamping out freedom
while we are struggling to pre-
serve il that mistake we will
not Donald NJ. Nelson
purchaser, OPM.
The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1941-08-14

they will not be entirely respon-
sive to any particular admins
tration at Washington.
He has provided that the sec
rotary of the treasury, rather
than the controller general IA
presidential appointed, shall
have supervision Of all financial
audits. Except that the federal
government owns the generating
and main transmission facilities
land they will be gradually paid
off Mr.. Bone has cut the north
western power system loose
from bureaucratic hands.
The dispute represents
growing and prophetic revolt
against further Capitalization of
authority at the capital. 1t has
been precipitated, in part at
least, by the rise of DICTATOR
ship abroad and traces of total
itarianism in this country. II is
significant because in the past
the senate liberals have support
81 the Roosevelt-Ickes program.
Now they fear its longtime i'm
plications.
This same prejudice against
the administrations appetite for
power lies behind the senates
amazing three TO one vote
against the presidents veto of
national defense roads bill. Cd
ly enough, Secretary Ickes and
Madame Perkins, Harold's cabi-
net playmate. figured in this
controversy. Here is the inside
story:
When Roads Committee Chair
man Hayden OF Arizona dis
cussed highway construction
with FDR soon after the latter
entered the White House. Mr..
Roosevelt suggested that he con-
fer with the late War Secretary
Dern OF Utah, Secretary Of Ag
riculture Wallace. Mr.. lckes and
Miss Perkins.
AS officials closely connected
with bodybuilding problems. the
first two favored the traditional
plan Of sllocsting federal money
to the state highway commits
sion, letting them handle road
planning and construction.
Mr.. lckes Of Chicago and Miss
Perkins Of New York City ar
gued that the federal govern
ment should manage the job
from start 10 finish. They want
ed the major share Of the money
spent in the large cities. "a As
10 relieve unemployment in those
areas.
As former New York COVER
nor. Mr.. Roosevelt originally IA
vored the Hayden scheme. and
praised il TO the Arizona sem
ator. That" explained the roads
chairman. was when he was
fresh from the gOyernorship.
That was when ne still had the
states point Of view. That vas
before the bureaucrats in Wash
ington had had time 10 influence
his thinking Note: The anti
veto vote was 81 70 10.
The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1941-08-14

Government is a trust,
and the officers Of the gop-
ernm ent are the trustees;
and both the trust and the
trustees are created for the
benefit of the people.
Henry Clay.
The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1941-08-14
NO-CITIZEN VOTER

O. =, = r =. u. -, sss. :s.. y, IN
The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1941-08-14
An Inside Picture of Finon-
LII IL i ciol and Political America
By RAY TICKER

WASHINGTON Tokyos complaint that the western
powers and their Asatic allies encircng her socaed
sphere of interest extremely well founded 1t is doubt
full if the islands mperiaiss realize how well prepared her
prospective enemies for explosion in the far eastern
indp hoy
The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1941-08-14

The other officer was equally
a. vague, After going down
dark stairway and through
door With peep holes and suto-
matte locks. and seeing the beer
glasses and bottles on the bar,
he didn't have the least notion
that it Was a speak II he
had. he continued, he wouldn't
have don. anything about IT,
because he was = prowl car
officer and not supposed 10 make
arrests for offenses Of that char
setsr. The best h. could have
done would have been a report
Of his suspicious, If he had any,
10 headquarters, and the officers
at headquarters, If they were so
inclined, could investigate.
Equally as dumb as the ex-
euses Of the two police officers.
both of whose lives were threat
sned by the shooting, WAS the
testimony Of the assistant chief
of police.
we don't want prowl car
officers monkeying around
with this kind Of stuff" he
said. There's plenty Of men
on the beat for that"
The joke Of that is that there
were no men on the beat.
Then this officer began to
make excuses for the prevalence
OF several hundred illegal liquor
resorts or blind pigs in Seattle
and said the law couldn't he en-
forced. In substance he said
that the only way to suppress
such places as the resort where
the killings took place would be
TO have legal bars all over town
and let them sell till two ocock
in the morning.
II these officers were talk
ing sense, the conclusion Of
the average citizen would he
that II IL a waste Of money to
maintain a police department
at all. But by the record We
know what they said does not
make sense.
Unfortunately, Seattle police
officers. excusing themselves for
not enforcing the law, is not the
only example Of how far we have
gone from the day when the
cop on the beat" inspired re-
spect for law. The doings Of the
senators and representatives to
whom are entrusted the des-
TIMES of the nation, as revealed
in the Congressional Record, are
not inclined to strengthen the
belief in the soundness of repre-
sentative government.
Instead Of directing their
energies to providing defense
for the two ocean coastline Of
the United States, they are
wasting time lsmbasting their
political opponents, sniping at
the president and placing per-
sonal trivalities above national
welfare. As 1t appears on the
record, a good deal Of political
claptrap Is being palmed off
| for patriotism.
| II you don't believe ii, note
the debate on the bill and the
vote by which the house APP
proved the longer army service.
Government is a trust,
and the officers of the gou-
ernm ent are the trustees;
aud both the trust and the
trustees are created for the
benefit of the people.
Henry Clay.
The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1941-08-14
ToDAY's COMMON ERROR

Shall is used in the third per
son to express prophecy, as
And it shall come to pass"
In direct statements shall Is
used in the first person to de
note future time, as II hope I
shall mot Will be able to come. :"
Evening star., 1941-01-07

Just as we we're trying to think what
to write about today, the cat Penny
came and rubbed her head against our
hand.
She leaped up lightly onto the type
writer table, wound gracefully around
the machine, poked her head through
the curtains, chartered at the squirrels
at the bird feeding station down in the
yard
Penny was determined to be helpful.
AS the typewriter began to clack, she
began to stick her paw into the rods
which propel the keys.
A rather good rap decided her against
this sport. But she was in a playful
mood. Nothing daunted she then made
a wide, wild leap from the table to the
floor, then pretended that she was
after mouse.
What started her on this spree was not
catnip. but simply the wholesale rear
ranging of furniture which had taken
place in the living room the day before
Christmas.
Womenfolk say it is good thing to
change the furniture around every now
and then.
1t makes old things look, if not new
(Which is impossible), then strange, odd,
unusual.
To see the old lumpy davenport 20
years to the making of its lumpiness)
standing at right angles to the fireplace,
when it had done duty in front of the
three windows for so long, was to get
an entirely new conception of the use
fulness of old davenports
This Encouragement the most drastic
of the day, struck the cat Penny as al
together unnecessary.
Had she not used the davenport for
ready observation post?
- +
There she had peered into the street
to watch the altogether fascinating array
of dogs, squirrels, automobiles and per-
sons which and who went by
The squirrels were the most inter-
esting.
Iney deserved TO be caught, Penny told
the world with switching tail.
All squirrels, her level mouth and
staring eyes indicated, deserved the one
fate which nature holds in store for
such animals.
That is, they deserved to be caught,
along with mice and other small deer,
as Shakespeare SAID.
Penny and Shakespeare agreed on this.
ttx
Persons who have housecats know
where the expression, The female of
the species is more deadly than the
male" came from. A tomcat may be
lazy, wnen it comes to catching mice.
Many of them even refuse to catch
birds.
But not the female cat.
1t is her business, ancestrally. to catch
a supply of food for her young, and
nothing ever makes her forget.
Penny chatters away Indignantly at
squirrels and birds. especially pigeons.
Evening star., 1941-01-07
Member of the Associated Press.
Still q Bad Record

On page A-12 of today's Star there
Is spread the ugly record of traffic
deaths in 1910. Study it. The fact
that there were five fewer deaths in
1910 than in 1889 provides minimum
of comfort. For eighty traffic deaths
on the streets of Washington during
a single year is still terrific penalty
to pay for the luxury of automobiles.
The Star presents the factual
analysis of the years traffic toll with
one purpose in mind. If readers will
study it, many of them will discover
the chief cause of death on the citys
streets and, discovering it, will avoid
the danger thus established.
The chief cause of death this year
remains the same 1t Is to cross a
street at some point other than the
intersection. If that hazardous un-
dertaking had been avoided in the
year just ended, traffic deaths would
have been reduced from eighty to
ffty-five. twenty-five persons who
are mourned today would be alive.
And if that hazardous undertaking
could be avoided in 1941, many would
be alive next January who otherwise
are now condemned to die.
Pedestrian regulation is a subject
of lessened but continuing contro-
versy. A great many people rebel
against it, heaping the blame on the
automobile and refusing to surrender
a right to cross street when, where
and as it pleases them.
They may be right, and die in
defense of this right. The point is,
however, that if they prefer to stay
alive, the safest thing to do in
modern city traffic is to cultivate this
habit and stick to it: Cross the street
at a cross walk. .
Evening star., 1941-01-07

nelghbors gun with which to kill the
other would be unworthy of notice. so
completely does it fail to appeal to
reason.
But unfortunately, some Americans
are inoculated with pacifism, or other
more dangerous poison, which incapac-
itateS them for reasoning on such a
question as the proper extent of Ameri-
can aid to those nations which, in a
world threatened by ruthless dictators,
remain in active defense of the demo-
cratic way of life.
And, unless challenged squarely,
Senator Wheelers anti-lending utter
ances may be accepted by numerous folk
who let others do their thinking for
them. feel sure that editorial comment
will acquaint the Senator with his
error, but think the incident justifies
expressions from private citizens, too.
Senator Wheeler recognizes the pro-
priety of lending a neighbor hose with
which to eXtinguish fire, but blinded
by prejudices TO any true understanding
of the world scene omits. in opposing
the lending of a gun, the important
detail that the neighbor to whom it is
proposed to lend it is the last major
survivor of a posse that has sought to
apprehend the kidnaper of several little
fellows and sorely needs the gun to con-
tinue his courageous fight against the
kidnaper and his gang
Uncle Sam, by lending his good neigh
Dor the gun, would first of all serve
justice, and then, by keeping the fight
off his premises, at least postpone the
unpleasant task of shouldering a gun
himself. MILLER HAGEMAN.
Evening star., 1941-01-07

at Fort Wayne and elsewhere, can be
reconciled through arbitration or
conciliatiOn.
AS the President pointed out in
his address on Sunday, the Nation
expects and insists" that our fac
tories continue to produce war sup
plies, free from strikes and lockouts.
With vastly increased output urgent
ly needed, if this country is to render
its full potential assistance to Britain
in her battle for survival, strikes
have no place in our war industries
today. National unity, so essential in
the present emergency, requires team
work and spirit of give and-take by
both labor and management.
Evening star., 1941-01-07
THIS AND THAT
By Charles E. Trdce1UeH.

She evidently sees no excuse for being
for them.
Her main concern over the removal OF
the sofa, however, was with 1t as a
secure hiding place against the trash
man.
1t was not so much that worthy, in
himself, as his vehicle.
1t needed new brakes.
Whenever his car drove up, there was
long wailing shrek.
1t could be heard a block away, and
Penny never missed.
She had never seen the freshman.
He had made no movement in her direc-
ton.
But she did not like that shrek.
Every time she heard it, she made
dive for the davenport, to point in
the rear wnere the webbing had sagged,
along with the cushions.
Into this opening she went, to hide
in the sofa interior until all danger
of the trash wagon was over.
Sometimes she remained in this hide
OuJ 4OI ali llOuI.
At other times, for perfectly good
cat reasons, she came out inside of
10 or Is minutes.
Nobody knows why she fears the big
wagon and its noise.
She does, that is all, and the couch to
her is safety.
The first time she popped into it.
no one in the house could explain the
mysterious disappearance of the small
cat
She was gone that was all That
she could G, inside the davenport was
an unknown fact. But like so many
mysterious things the disappearance
was easily explained, once you saw her
emerge.
Call kitty kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty"
etc, as long as you pleased, there was
no kitty.
Then, turning. there she was.
The first visit of the freshman after
the rearrangement was awaited with in
terest
Would Penny seek her old place of
concealment in the springs?
1t is needless to say that she did, but
this time she came out in short order
She wanted TO play her new game
This is 10 run through the dining
room at top speed, then to leap to the
end Of the sofa without stopping except
to dig in her claws and make a wild
turn to the left.
This maneuver is exactly on the order
of the automobile racers at the In
dianapoIis track
They call it banking.
Penny doesn't know it is called that.
but she does it. Just the same Instead
of four wheels, she is on four legs, and
instead of rubber tires she has padded
paws with claws.
1t is these claws which enable her to
bank so gracefully In another wild
leap she is over by the front door.
Yes, on the whole she approves highly
of the change.
Evening star., 1941-01-07
Business Outlook

Forecasts on CQe national business
outlook for 1941 are highly optimistic.
Many of the predictions are based in
part on recent sharp gains in impor-
tant economic indices, advances
which are expected to continue far
into the year.
Domestic and foreign armament
building will move forward at SEN
Sational pace in 1941. Rising pay
rolls will lift buying power to new
heights, which in turn should mean
an upswing in retail trade above the
high marks already set last year.
Economists point to recent upturns
in national business barometers as
indications of improving conditions.
Industrial production is climbing
steadily. Motorcar output, railroad
freight traffic, steel activity and coal
and electric power production, except
for seasonal changes, are shown to
be on the upgrade.
In several respects these levels of
OuoiliCoo oAlCouy lifoi WIG liASAiCog
peaks on record, but experts foresee
no serious halt in the upward move
ment for many months, possibly for
two years. Immense Government
contracts let, or to be awarded soon,
are considered the forerunners of
national industrial boom. Tax prob
1orns houever make difficult opv
definite predictions as to profits.
Such factors as halting of the war
and exorbitant labor demands
might affect the business picture.
But at the moment, regardless of un-
certain foundations, this country
faces prospects of prosperity in ls4l,
a prosperity in which Washington
will share to a high degree.
Evening star., 1941-01-07
No Strikes at Panama

The assurances given by William
c. flushing, chairman of the National
Legislative Committee of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor, on his re-
turn from Panama this week, that
labor troubles will not halt defense
activities in the Canal Zone, is heart
ening news. When strikes were
threatened on several projects, Presi-
dent Green sent Mr.. flushing to
Panama. Promising that their COM
plants will be ironed out in Washing
ton, he told the workers that they
must stay on the job. President
Green and Mr. flushing are to be
commended on their efforts to pre-
vent any interruption in the program
to strengthen the defenses of this
vital seaway.
Other labor leaders could follow
profitably their example when dis
putes arise, and insist that defense
industries continue operation, with
out a stoppage of work. This should
have been done, irrespective of the
merits of the controversy, at the In
ternational Harvester CompanyS
truck works at Fort Wayne, Ind,
which manufactures parts for Navy
vehicles. The Automobile Workers of
America, C. I. O., called a strike there
on Tuesday. In defense plants, the
interests of the Nation clearly tran
scend those of either management or
labor. Adequate machinery is at
hand through which the differences
between workers and employers, both