davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1941-08-07

establishing this arbitrary new order"
the fact that many night gas station
attendants will be thrown out of work
was given little if any consideration.
Would it be so extremely difficult TO
set up sensible and fair system of ra-
tioning gasoline through the various
State motor vehicle agencies? In such
case each pleasure car would be limited
to a certain number of gallons of gaso-
line within fixed period Of time, as
specified on simple ration card, which
card would be honored and checked off
by any gas station attendant This would
have the effect of permitting the car
owner to use his precious gasoline to
his own best advantage. permitting him
to Judge for himself what compromises
and adjustments he must make. And 1t
would be eminently fair. Another ad-
vantage, not to be overlooked, is that
the amount of gasoline saved could be
determined in advance with a fair de-
gree of accuracy and the system would
allow for future Tightening up if or when
it became necessary.
We all are willing to accept our share
OF inconvenience in the interests of de-
fense, but let's stop these silly attempts
to match wits with the motorists and put
the rationing of gasoline on a mature
basis. ANNE j. LATHROP.
Evening star., 1941-08-07
A Bum Arqument

Mechanics, farmers, housewives
and others are doing their bit for
national defense, and now comes the
news from Cleveland that the hobos
of America have climbed on the
bandwagon, too King JEFF Davis,
their beloved leader, says so, and he
ought to know. He has kept in
touch with the hobo world for count
less years, surviving impeachment,
abdication and other political ca
tastrophes, only to bounce back on
the throne again. His loyal sub
jects, he says, are in factories, on
farms and in the armed services, one
hundred thousand strong.
His majesty has only one complaint
to make, but he makes it loudly.
There are fifth columnists in his do
main, he insists-tramps and buns
disguised as hobos and falsely claim
ing citizenship. He wants the police
to arrest them on sight. That this
is not being done is no reflection on
the police, but rather on their train
ing schools. BY all means let these
schools add another course to their
curriculum, and let King JEFF lecture
on it, as qualified expert. He
already holds two college degrees,
professor of hobology and doctor Of
migration, and if any one can ex-
plain to the boys in blue how to tell
the difference between a hobo and q
tramp or bum, it is JEFF.
Evening star., 1941-08-07
THIS AND THAT
By Charles +. Trdce1DeH.

ravens, crows, magpies and blue Jays
belong to the same group of birds.
Many persons firmly believe that jays
do nothing else but steal and eat other
birds eggs, as well as rob nests of
f1edglings.
Yet many an observer will watch
for 10 years without once seeing any
example of this. On the other hand,
many will find no more colorful, in
teresting and amusing bird in the home
garden.
Closely watched, the jay is found to
be a wonderful mimic and real comic.
He is perhaps the most American of
all birds, in that he cannot do anything
without talking about 1t.
When he flies to the feeding station
at the dining room window, he seldom
flies straight in.
Not he.
He flies first to the roof, where he looks
around, fitting mis- head in all directions.
Then he suddenly bends his legs,
thrusts his neck out, and lets go with
the typical blue jay yell.
This he repeats several times. 1t is
pretty loud, but does not cause the lis
tener to shrink, even if he is as close as
two feet.
Yet this same jay yell can be heard
for blocks.
The jay never eats in the feeder,
but carries a sunfower seed to a branch
of the rhododendrons, where he holds
"a cecI dnurra tr1tL, r1our Ufni1o n q
cracks the outer coat with half a dozen
thrusts of that powerful neck and strong
bill.
The cav of the crow exerts a magic
something or other on some natures,
just as the whistle of a locomotive in
the night moves others.
The crow call is really a melody in
one note. Distance, of course, lends
enchantment to it.
1t is a slow, lazy song, reminding one
of the few notes of the turtle dove.
1t is said that crows often have sing
tests, which they hold in the deep woods.
Then they utter many other notes,
and even little fragments of melodies
with true song pattern, but when they
find they are observed, they fly away
with many indignant cries.
This proves, we think, that they are
not real musicians, for genuine musicians
are born showoffs.
X
One of the odd ones of the crow family
is Clarke's nutcracker (his picture is on
a Wildlife Conservation poster LABEL.
He is only about foot long, and is
called the meat bird, or camp robber.
He is very fond of meat and peanuts.
His body is white. His tail and wings
are black, except there is some white
on the lower part of the wings and the
outer feathers of the tail
The bill is quite round. This bird was
discovered near the site of Salmon City.
Idaho, by Capt. William Clarke on Au-
gust %, 1904.
But the nutcracker laughs at that.
He had been there a long time before,
he informs us.
Evening star., 1941-08-07
HAMILTON, Mo.

Dear Sir:
"You ask in The Washington Star
what has become of the wrens.
"Wrens must be in North Missouri,
as they are plentiful here.
"They come about the 1st of May
and for years a pair nested in gourd
on my back porch.
Their song may not be beautiful, but
it is loud and would be missed by me
and my neighbors who have wren houses.
Sincerely, P. B. c."
We are glad to find out where our
wrens are.
Mrs. c. has put her finger squarely on
the charm of these little birds.
That big loud voice surely has a re-
markably CHEEKY quality about it.
But when it comes to loud-voiced
birds, our favorite is the crow We
wish there were more crows in Chevy
Chase, Md.
No doubt the farmers in other parts
of Montgomery County would be glad
If all the crows came to Chevy Chase.
BY the way is there a State in the
Union without a Montgomery County?
Missouri has one Hamilton, however,
is in Caldwell County,.
Many persons find the cav of the
crow the sweetest possible bird music.
We Like 1t much better than the too
earnest bubble of the wren.
The crow is classed as a songbird
at least scientifically, because it has a
certain number of vocal chords. This
puts 1t in the songbird classification, no
matter how some listeners regard its
song.
1t is always possible to start an argu-
ment in crowd by calmly calling the
crow a songbird.
Although the big fellow certainly does
not come within, the average persons
conception of the term, it really belongs
to the group.
Most persons know that crows can
elementary fashion, by Sitting their
tongue.
In the old days, when pet crows were
more common than today, it was quite
the thing to teach a pet crow a few
words, which it would thereafter utter
at all times and places.
The word damn" was favorite, and
it was no unusual thing to hear this
syllable hurled through the air at the
most unlikely places and times.
The crow is a big bird, about 20 inches
long.
He is great flyer. an incompatible
Soarer.
His sins of diet are held against him
everywhere, but in recent years 1t has
come to be thought that in many ways
he is not as bad as he has been painted.
His nest-robbing habits are not be-
lieved to be as universal as some would
have us think The same may be said
for the blue jay, which belongs to his
family. 1t is interesting to know that
Evening star., 1941-08-07

States or the other factors which
enter into ordinary apportionment."
Senator Vandenberg, Republican, of
Michigan, who does not often share
Mr.. Roosevelt's views, supported the
veto with this succinct statement of
the case: Underneath all this wordy
devotion to the principle of appor-
tionment there lies one simple fact
the President says he can do for
$25,000,000 without apportionment
what this bill would do for $125,000,-
000." Yet only thirteen Democrats
and six Republicans voted to Sus-
tain the veto. AS Leon Henderson
said the other day, the Nation is on
the brink of imitation It is the
repetition of spendthrift tendencies,
as exhibited in the road bill, that will
push it over.
Evening star., 1941-08-07
New Police Chief

In picking Inspector Edward J.
Kelly to succeed Major Ernest w.
Brown as superintendent Of police
when the latter retires this fall, the
District Commissioners have followed
Major Browns suggestion that his
successor be chosen from the ranks
of the department. That is sound
policy and one that tends to
strengthen morale of the force by
holding out the prospect of adequate
reward for meritorious service. In
spector Kelly we'll deserves the recog-
milton which has come to him as the
climax of thirty-five years of faithful
and efficient service in the cause of
local law enforcement. He will
assume a post which he well knows
has an extraordinary share of head
aches and heartaches, as well as
extraordinary opportunities for ad-
vancement of the public welfare.
Inspector Kelly has had his own
troubles as police officer during his
colorful career as patrolman, detec-
tive and precinct commander, but he
has emerged from them unscathed
and answering in his determination
to do his best to make Washington
a safer, more orderly place in which
to live.
The new police chief will step into
Office at a critical period, when the
responsibilities of office will require
more than ordinary attention to
administrative duty. The city has
been aroused as seldom before as a
result of a series of criminal out
RACES, several of which remain
unsolved. A top bottom shake
up of the Police Department has
been demanded from many quar-
ters, with special House subcom-
mittee recommending particularly a
complete reorganization of the De-
tective Bureau-a unit which should
be the strongest in the department
but which has shown itself to be
deplorably weak. Inspector Kelly Is
especially well qualified to under
take the reorganization and en-
largement which this bureau so
urgently needs. For many years he
was among its outstanding investi-
gators. And he is one OF a number
of lace" detectives who found it
necessary to leave the bureau In
order to obtain promotion. 1t Is
expected that one of his first moves
as superintendent will be to arrange
for the return to the bureau, at no
loss of pay or rank, of several officers
who, although better fitted for de-
tective duty, sought precinct service
so as to obtain advancement. The
appointment of Inspector Kelly as
major and superintendent of Metro
politan Police should be a popular
one, not only among the men under
his command, but with the public
generally
Evening star., 1941-08-07

binding on either side, but they are
calculated to carry the weight OF
public opinion, and for at least
thirty days after they are promul-
gated the country is assured OF un-
interrupted transportation. Within
that period, the law contemplates a
settlement that will avert strike.
The unions are defending their
program on the ground Of improved
rail earnings, higher living costs, the
upward tendency of wages generally
and increased productivity Of labor,
but these arguments are not COM
pelling in the light of the record of
the industry for the past few years.
Twice within less than decade the
railroads have plumbed the financial
depths, and the recovery now under
way is due to no natural growth but
to the traffic created by the defense
program, admittedly an unstable
prop on which to lean. A large part
of the mileage of the country con-
tinues in receivership, and less than
a third Of the major systems make
any return whatever to their stock
holders. Further, as Mr.. Gurley
points out, the railroads, in common
with business generally, face new
burdens in taxes and other operating
expenses as the result of the defense
program.
Under these conditions, ordinary
prudence dictates that the industry
take advantage of the present era of
prosperity to provide against the day
of reverses. This policy would serve
the employees best, and it is the
principle by which they well might
measure their wage demands.
Evening star., 1941-08-07
Advocates War "If Necessary"
To Reorganize the World.
To the Editor Of The Star:

Can any one who has enjoyed the
manifold blessings of the United States
truthfully say he is not concerned with
the suffering Of the rest of the world?
If this Nation were in no danger of be-
ing harmed, would we be content to
see the other peoples 60 on endlessly
killing and causing devastation? Could
we endure having innocent and help
less men, women and children unceas-
ingly become the victims of fiends? II
the answer is 'yes," we had better
check up on our hearts and souls be-
fore selfishness has eaten them all away.
We know there can be no peace until
Hitler is broken. Does not our task lie
clearly before us? We still may pray
that it will not require the. lives OF our
youth to break him, but our slogan must
be Peace and justice for the world with
out war II possible, with war II neces-
sary." Then we must all feel the re-
sponsibility and obligation Of tnsuring
that peace forever by active particspa-
ton in the reorganization of the world
and in feeding and healing our hungry
and wounded brothers in all parts Of
the world. FRANCES RAY.
NAlston, Wash.
Evening star., 1941-08-07
Three Things Not Missed:
Music, a Child, the Flag.
To the Editor OF The Star:


I am in general q very unobserving
person. I can visit friends home and
never notice the gorgeous new grapes
that hang at the windows. I would not
see a lovely new piece of furniture or
an ornament. Yet there are three things
which I never miss. One is sound, espe-
cially music. I am particularly sensi-
tive to any musical note, near or dis
tant.
The second is child. Any child within
my range of vision attracts my atten-
ton. He may be blocks away, but I
will see him and feel warmth around
my heart-particularly if he is a small
child. II can pass him will remem-
ber the color Of his eyes and hair and
the expression on his face. Children,
I never fail to see. No doubt the tragedy
of a child lost exaggerates this feeling.
The third is a very conscious thrill I
always feel at the sight of the American
nag. 1t is feeling comparable to moth
ing else I know-a reverence with a
tightening of the throat, an excitement
with a halo around it. if you will.
I listened to Water Gate concert re-
Gently and as the light was turned on
the American flag which waved gently
in the breeze, tears sprang into my eyes.
For a moment I felt self-conscious, for
no one else could see as I did the pic
ture in my memory of gate through
the wall Of small inland China viii
lage where overhead. above the gate,
waved a Chinese flag and as near an
imitation of an American nag as women
who had never seen one could make.
They had been directed by Chinaman
who had once seen our nag and re-
membered the general idea of its pat
tern. This done In honor of me, an
American, the only foreigner ever to
have visited them. No one could know
what that means to one working and
living long years in a foreign country
The same feeling grips me every time
I see its red, white and blue beauty,
and always in my heart ring the words:
Long may it wave"-and the prayer:
Make me worthy to be an Americana
10l.
Evening star., 1941-08-07
Deplores Injury
To Capitals Beauty
Editorial Urges Another Site
For Proposed New Building
For War Department
From the New York Herald Tribune.

From the New York Herald Tribune.
The Commission of Fine Arts, which
was established by Congress 80 years ago
and which exercises advisory supervision
over the esthetic aspects Of the planning
of buildings and parks in the District of
Columbia, has just filed protest against
the proposal of the War Department to
erect what has been described as "the
largest Office building in the world" at
the entrance to Arlington Cemetery, Just
across the Potomac River from the Dis
trict.
The Commission of Fine Arts does not
question the need of more ofice space
for the War Department. 1t does not
hold any brief against locating Federal
office buildings outside of the District
of Columbia But it contends that the
erection of the proposed building, which
would cover an area of 35 acres on
ground which had only recently been
redeemed from use by the Department
of Agriculture and which years ago was
earmarked to form part of the general
plan of the National Cemetery at Ar
lington, would be doubly unfortunate
Not only would it mean diverting to
office purposes land intended as part of
the park system of the Capital, but it
would inject into the general picture of
the city building-or series of build
ings-which would jar with the general
design.
AS long ago as 1919 the Commission
of Fine Arts pointed out that Arlington
prospectively is portion Of the great
central composition of Washington, ex-
tending from the Capitol through the
Mall to the Monument and on to the
Lincoln Memorial, whence the Memorial
Bridge already authorized by Congress
will cross the Potomac to the newly
created park area adjoining the Arling-
ton estate. This linking of Arlington
to the park system Of Washington
imposes on the plan for the development
Of Arlington certain restrictions in the
location of grave areas, so as to preserve
a sufficient number of parklike drives
through the cemetery"
An idea OF the effect of the proposed
Army ONCE building may be visualized
by realizing that, looking out toward
the Arlington mansion from the Lincoln
Memorial, the 35 acres of roofs of this
monster Office building would stand out
in the middle ground. Viewed closer,
they would obstruct the entrance to
the National Cemetery. No wonder the
members of the Commission OF Fine
Arts describe this proposal as an out
rage" and a blot on the landscape"
Surely there are other locations with
the same practical advantages, and
without the great disadvantage OF ruin
ing conspicuous part of the design of
Washington. The members OF the Com
mission of Fine Arts hope that their
protest will result in new scheme to
be developed elsewhere. based upon the
decentralization Of the department.
Certainly all who have seen and enjoyed
the beauties of Washington will join
the commission in demanding that
another site be chosen for the new
War Department Building.
Evening star., 1941-08-07
Reports on Pillar Saints
OF Damascus and Baltimore.
To the Editor Of The Star:

Damascus fallsl Palmyra falls! Fa-
nous names that 1oomed large in old
time history. Two editorials in The Star
lately have dealt with them.
In addition, we might note that,
about 500 AID, the cult of the pillar
saints f1ourished in the Damascus (Syria)
neighborhood Foremost among these
was Simeon Stylites. For 80 years, rain
or shine, he stood on top Of an 80-foot
column, hands appraised to Heaven. His
pious performance brought strangers
from far places, who wished to do honor
to the holy man.
As it happened, that ancient form of
practicing asceticism was revived some
10 years ago in Washington's suburb, the
Free City of Baltimore. the home of
many strange doctrines There arose
a prophet. variously named "the vener-
able Henry" "the Hermit of Kollins
Castle" or simply "the Oracle" While
reclining in an easy chair he thundered
against the soft living of the time. He
urged a return to the simple life, the
hardy virtues of the pioneers, the stern
qualities of the fathers.
His preachments caused regular
"children's crusade" The younger gen.
Grafton became enthused. The kids. to
prove their mettle, became pole sitters."
They climbed hagstaffs, they Skinned up
rainspouts, they roasted In trees.
The thing, though, finally got to be
such q nuisance that the health author
tiles put stop to 1t.
As for Syria and the whole of the Near
East, to the average reader all these
localities are simply parts Of the ancient
Bible country. There the, apostle Paul
preached. and Adam delved and Eve
span." That was a long time ago. But
even 30: Should auld acquaintance be
forgot''7 FRED vETTER.
Evening star., 1941-08-07
Politics and Defense

BY it's action in voting, fifty-seven
to nineteen, to override President
Roosevelt's fortnight veto of the
S320,000 900 road program, the SEN
ate has re-emphaSized the policy in
dicated previously in joining with the
House in voting into the roads bill
O. $100000,000 item having fragrant
pork barrel implications. 1t was
largely due to this item that the
President decided to send the bill
back to the Capitol with an ex-
preston of stern disapproval. He
had asked for an appropriation OF
S25,000,000 to construct certain
strategic highways deemed essen
tial to national security. He de-
sired authority to spend this money
where it was urgently needed, with
out regard to apportionment pro-
cedures based on population and
other provincial or political factors.
But Congress, in the face of warn
ings that the Nation faces imitation
and possibly complete economic dis
aster unless non-defense spending is
curbed quickly and drastically, pro-
ceeded to increase the appropriation
to $125,000, 900 and to insist that this
highway plum be divided according
to the purely political formula of
apportionment.
Mr.. Roosevelt justifiably returned
the bill with the terse comment that
the critical deficiencies in high
ways and bridges that may require
prompt correction in the interest Of
our national defense cannot be rea-
sonably related to the population Of
Evening star., 1941-08-07
Rail Wuqe Issue

The railroad wage negotiations
have taken their expected course,
with the carriers rejecting the de-
mands of the brotherhoods and the
latter countering with a strike vote.
The unions are asking for an in
crease estimated at $900,O00,000 an
nually. This is about the figure the
class one lines will show this year
for net operating income-that is,
after the payment of operating ex-
penses and taxes, but before interest.
rentals and other fixed charges are
met. 1t is evident therefore that the
carriers faced an impossible situa-
ton, for as F. G. Gurley, their
spokesman, comments, no industry
can pay out more than it takes in.
Earlier in the negotiations the
unions rejected proposal for
changes in operating rules to elm
mate the so-called "featherbedding"
under which it is contended the car
riers are forced to pay out huge sums
as wages for time that is not worked.
Savings in this direction would have
served to some extent as an Offset to
possible wage advances, but the
brotherhoods were adamant. This
phase of the dispute has been certi-
fled to the National Mediation Board,
and the pay issue now will find Its
way there also. II the ordinary
mediatory processes fail to bring
about an agreement, the whole ques-
ton will be laid before the President
for ultimate submission to an emer-
gency board for study and recon-
mendations. Such findings are not