davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1943-07-07
Is the Cos Available?

Taken by itself, OPA's announce
ment that vacationists may use their
a cards for holiday trips, might be
sensible enough. The contention has
been made before that A card hold
ers should be permitted to use the
small amount of gasoline available
ko them for anything they choose to
do with it so long as there is enough
gasoline to go around. But, taken
with the other restrictions on pleas
ure driving, this new relaxation for
vacationing motorists Is completely
contradictory and fails to make any
sense.
After various experiments, OPA
finally decided that the shortage OF
gasoline required an absolute ban on
pleasure driving. Its agents have
sought, with only partial success, to
enforce this ban. Over the weekend
holiday here, some 600 drivers we're
stopped and questioned as to their
missions, and about 300 were cited
kOI p1edSuIt dllNlllS.
The announced relaxation for va
cation trips, therefore, is a reversal
of policy. For how can the OPA per-
NIT a vacationist to use his A card
gasoline assuming that he has
tnough-to transport his family to
and from the shore or the noun
tains, and at the same time appre-
bend motorist who spends his va
eation at home and uses his A card
gasoline for trips to the golf course,
or a cooling drive around Hams
Point? No such distinction can be
drawn If there is any hope for fair
and adequate enforcement of the
pleasure driving ban.
The real danger in this change of
policy, of course, is that weakening
of enforcement of the pleasure -driv-
ing ban, which is implicit in any re-
taxation, will begin another drain on
supplies that will force more onerous
conservation measures. 1t was only
a few days ago that there was talk
In some circles at OPA that A cards
might be banned entirely. And If
tfis Is done, the fault plainly will be
with the authorities who have not
been able to make up their minds
and stick to it.
Sometime ago Secretary Ickes re-
ouested that as petroleum admins
traitor he be given authority over
rationing of gasoline and oil, re-
quest which Donald Nelson denied.
But it becomes more evident now
that he should have that authority
Mr.. Ickes is hard boiled, but he is
also fair and not inclined to give way
In the face of pressure. He is critical
of the way fuel oil was rationed, and
70 are most of the people. He is
critical of the way gasoline is being
rationed, especially in the dispropor-
tionate ratio between gasoline cou-
pons and gasoline supply. 1t may be
taken for granted that whatever pol
Icy he adopted would be based
souarely on the facts regarding sup
ply, and we would not have the un-
certainty which already has added
10 the confused picture under OPA
S,rOcedlre
Evening star., 1943-07-07
Mr.. FIy's Statement

Had Chairman Fly of the Federal
Communications Commission chosen
to issue a factual statement protest.
ing against the designation of Rep
resentative Cox of Georgia to serve
as chairman of a House committee
investigating the FEC, there would
have been a very considerable body
of public opinion to support his po-
sition.
On the known facts of this case, it
seems clear that the selection of Mr..
Cox to head this investigating COM
mittee was an unfortunate one, since
Mr.. Cox is an avowed antagonist of
the commission and all it's works.
Some time ago the FEC filed COM
plant with the Department of JUS
tice, alleging that Mr.. Cox, in viola
tion of law. had accepted a fee for
representing a radio station before
the commission. Mr.. Cox denied
that there had been any law viola
ton, and the Department of Justice,
after an investigation, concluded
that there was insufficient evidence
to warrant prosecution.
In these circumstances, even
though the Justice Departments de-
cision be viewed as an exoneration,
it is regrettable that the investiga-
ton of the FEC should have been
turned over to a committee headed
by Mr.. Cox. At best, 1t will be diff
cult to keep this past difficulty be-
tween the chairman and the COM
Evening star., 1943-07-07
War Production Lao

Following in the footsteps of
Undersecretary of War Patterson and
General Somervell, War Production
Chief Donald Nelson has added his
voice to those warning the country
that there was a serious lag" in the
production of war materials during
May. Mr.. Nelson reported increases
In the output of aircraft and Navy
and Army vessels, but these gains
were more than offset by the drop in
scheduled production of ground
ordnance, merchant vessels and
miscellaneous munitions.
This, in general, follows the line of
earlier warnings from Mr.. Patterson
and General Somervell. But Mr..
Nelson, unlike his predecessors, re-
Trained from advancing any reasons
for the slump.
Mr.. Patterson and General Somer-
veil had given the rather unsatisfac-
tory explanation that the decline was
due to complacency and overconfi-
dence throughout the country. No
one, however, has undertaken to
explain the manner in which COM
placency actually is translated into
falling off of output on the assembly
lines, nor is there any explanation of
the reasons for the rise in aircraft
and combat shipping output in the
midst of psychological condition
which depresses other production.
The result of this is to cast doubt
on the suff1ciency of the complacency
and overconfldence theory, and to
encourage the belief that there must
be other reasons which either are not
known to war officials or which they
have preferred not to make public.
MIR. Nelson, to be sure, spoke of the
necessity of putting aside personal
and group interests" but since he did
not elaborate, this throws little ad-
Evening star., 1943-07-07
THIS AND'THAT
By Charles Z. TrdcetoeH.

1t Is not at all necessary to have car
dinals and chickadees, In order to get
great deal Of entertainment out Of bird
watching.
Everything even the most humble bird
does is worth noting, provided, OF course.
that you are interested in birds. If
you are not interested, or think you are
not interested, then no doubt you will
turn to the antics OF politicians. or to
those of men who suddenly refuse to do
their daily job, no matter how vital 1t Is
to the war effort.
Many persons who think they are not
in the least interested In birds come in
time to realize that they are, and that in
this study they have always at hand a
source Of real entertainment
Often this transformation or reforma-
ton comes with the removal from the
city to the suburbs. Many species in
the outskirts of the busiest cities reveal
onlooker. There are so many more birds,
and they nest close to the house
Still, there are scores of birds in the
downtown sections. A score or more OF
species come to the smallest backwards,
and at the least there are always
starlings, English sparrows and pigeons.
Pigeons, sparrows and starlings make
an interesting bird trio. They no doubt
have their drawbacks, just as most lv-
ing things have, and at times seem to
have more than their share, from the
critical human viewpoint, but rightly
watched they are able to afford real
sport to the mind interested in bird life
as a whole.
The roundness, the completeness Of
bird life Is one of its great aspects.
Here is not something limited or mar
row, but truly as wide as the world.
This small warbler, not more than an
ounce in weight, which one sees in a
suburban hedge, has come all the way
from Brazil.
And it Is on it's way to Alaska!
In the fall it will make the return trip
And we think how marvellous 1t is that
man. at last, in his airplanes, is able
to make a similar journey.
Well, it is marvellous.
But let us never forget that 1t Is
equally wonderful for the bird, and that
it is but one small facet OF their many
sidedness
Downtown birds do not fly to South
America; at least our sparrows and star
ings and pigeons do not.
What they do. however, Is still inter-
esting, and is able to entertain and in
struct any one who watches closely, and
who is convinced that this, too, is i'm
portant
One Of the better things war accom-
plishes is to give a wider horizon, and
to show that nothing is unimportant
The smallest detail, any one OF the
thousands OF rivets in a plane, may cause
its destruction II it is faulty.
Watch the birds when you can, and
see how nature rivets all life together
and makes even a humble sparrow and
an insect actors in q drama as intense
and often as bloody as anything man
can contrive.
Evening star., 1943-07-07
"CLITTON STREET.

Dear Sir:
Early one morning recently while
sitting on a bench in Dupont circle.
q midair battle took place between a
large bug that resembled q beetle. and
female sparrow, that attracted my
attention.
"The bug came looming along at the
rate Of about 10 miles an hour. seemingly
very happy and altogether oblivious OF
the enemy lurking nearby, when suddenly
like bolt of lightning out Of clear
sky the bug was confronted by sparrow
that gave him such scare he almost
lost his equilibrium.
"As the sparrow suspended herself in
midair with wings fluttering inces-
sanity, she closely resembled a humming-
bird. The bug was bewildered by the
nearness of the sparrow to the extent
that for a moment he seemed almost
helpless; but he soon realized his pre-
carious position, and manfully tried to
evade the severe attack Of the bird by
darting upward, then downward, and to
both sides of the bird.
The little sparrow was too quick and
too clever to be outwitted by the bug
and she made every peck count, finally
crippling the wings of the bug After
a moment OF severe combat in the air,
both Mrs. Sparrow and Mr.. Bug fell to
the sidewalk.
'The bug, although crippled, twisted
and squirmed and put up a strong re-
sistance and for a few seconds it seemed
as If he might escape from the clutches
Of the sparrow.
TT was very interesting to watch the
sparrow as she hoped in high derision
around the body of the bug. She seemed
determined to get her portion Of meat
rationing that day, and not one bite of
meat from that bug was wasted.
She plucked the antennae, legs and
head from the body of the bug, but still
the body was far too big for the sparrow
to swallow; so she stripped the body into
fragments and after eating the most of it.
she took the remains into her bill and
few up into a tree.
yours very truly, L. w. w."
That Is the way you get your break
fast in nature.
That is the way you fight your battles,
when you revert from Christianity to
nature.
Pick on somebody smaller than you are.
and then jump suddenly, before he has
time to get ready.
We have had some illustrious examples
of all this, but our correspondents tale
of the sparrow and the insect sums it
all up.
1t also shows what interest one may
find in park, If willing to see what
one looks at. Most persons. We believe,
would say, "Oh, look at the sparrow
after that bug!" Then would turn to
something else. Or, perhaps, eight out
of ten persons would not see the battle
at ALL
English sparrows afford infinite amuse-
ment to the inquiring mind.
Evening star., 1943-07-07
Casualties
From the London Daily Express.

From the London Daily Express
Set against the immense results
achieved, the casualties of the 1st and
9th Armies in Tunisia have been light.
They are dwarfed by the enormous total
Of German prisoners, which brings to
mind Wavell's achievements in the early
days in Libya. But let us remember that
while for our armies as a whole losses
have been mercifully small, for some of
their units losses have been heavy. Tank
squadrons have been wiped out. Bat
talions have come down to company
strength, companies to platoons. In
our thankfulness for the preservation of
our armies for new tasks we will greatly
honor these units which bore the chief
losses in the fighting. They have done
again the work Of the soldier in history
who gathered the spears of the enemy
into his own breast so that his comrades
could strike for him.
Evening star., 1943-07-07

mean so much to the world? We have
done wrong. God help us to right that
wrong by doing our utmost for other
countries as well as for ourselves. There
must be force to back our efforts Would
1t not be wiser for some Of our sons to
fly in an international air squadron
than for all our grandsons to meet their
enemies In battling fleets? Are we to
prove that Hitler is right when he speaks
OF the weakness and degeneracy Of de-
mocracy? Surely We can overcome our
own squabbling and at the same time
cease criticizing our Allies. What right
have We to meddle in the Hindu ques-
ton while we and the world remember
what we did to the American Indians?
There can never be world peace unless
the United States and England can work
together. Are we sane enough to do this
and at the same time bring China and
Russia into unity with us?
AS preparation for this greater en-
deavor, can we not be wise enough to
call truce on petty politics? OF all
the superfluous causes OF irritation, Just
now to the fore. I think the Marcan-
tonic bill is the worst. II there are States
in the South or elsewhere that require
the payment of poll tax before voting,
does not the rule apply to whites as we'll
as to blacks? To say that State shall
not make its own voting laws is abso-
lutely facist. Such meddlesome inter-
ference with States rights is certainly
not conducive to the establishment Of a
world organization. In union Of States
throughout the world, each country nee
essarily would have to give up certain
rights; but If the great exemplar Of
union should reduce the right Of her
states to an absurdity. why should any
country wish to Join in . world feder-
alton?
META FOLdER TOWNSEND.
Lenoir, N. c.
Evening star., 1943-07-07
World Unity. Patriotism
And State Rights Discussed.
To the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
Is my country preparing to follow
again the shameful road of isolationism?
Will other Borahs and Lodges and Reeds
rise up to confuse or stultify our people?
Will personal spites and political hatreds
conspire to overcome the finer impulses
of our Nation and force us away from
our Allies into path which can only
lead to other wars, other periods of self
destruction? Twenty-four years ago
would have given an indignant mo" to
these questions. believed then that
God was leading us toward brotherhood
of man dreamed of by poets and hoped
for by philosophers. But we were not
equal to this high duty, this glorious
undertaking. We rejected the League Of
Nations; We turned our backs on hu-
manity.
There was time after Pearl Harbor
when I believed that isolationism was
dead. The country seemed united in a
passion of patriotism Never again, I
thought, would We be torn by bitter
prejudice; never again would We fail
lluilidIllOy. AT ldSJ we lldu DccH uIlNon
to deep recognition of the fact that
no country can stand alone in this con-
centric world. But that happy period
OF union Is passing, and with 1t goes
much of my hope for the future.
Will the United States never realize
what we did to the world when we de-
stroyed the League of Nations? So long
as we refuse to recognize our fault there
will be little chance Of betterment in our
conduct. I hear one prominent Senator
speaking lightly Of our share in the
League of Nations as If the organization
could never have worked anyway. What
right does he have to say this? If we
had made our bravest effort toward the
success of the League could the world
have been in a worse condition than it
is today?
Because OF our attitude since the First
World War, what country can trust us?
To me it is infinitely tragic that the
countries of the United Nations and all
the broken states of Europe should look
toward us with hope and yet an under
current Of doubt. We are fighting with
them and for them, but will we continue
to work with them when the guns are
silent?
Men OF America, congressman, Demo-
Gratis. Republicans, are you willing to
fail the world again? Some OF you
scoffed at Woodrow Wilson's idealism.
You followed the practical politicians.
What did it gain you? You did not
want us to accept a mandate for poor
little Armenia. You wanted no boy of
yours to help police the world. Where
are your boys now? For all of you, Japan
might have the mandate for every is
land in the Pacific. What was it to us?
You would not grant a penny with which
to fortify Guam. And now you are
quibbling over countless things by which
you may hamper your President. Some
Of you are more interested in the next
election than you are in the salvation
of the world. Can you not see the limit
less chasm before us? Do you not have
a vision of duty strong enough to close
ranks and fight this thing through until
peace shall cover the earth? Are we not
brave enough and wise enough to pledge
ourselves to the high privilege Of helping
to bear the burdens of the future2 Why
not pass the Senate bill which would
Evening star., 1943-07-07

mission out Of the picture, and the
bad feeling which has been engen-
dered will not serve to heighten
public confidence in any findings
adverse to the FEC which may be
made by the House committee.
But Chairman Fly was not content
to rest his protest on this sound basis.
Instead, he released an astonishing
statement filled with the most Sc
rious attacks on the full committee,
its counsel, the radio industry and
the military" OF the committee,
he said: There it stands in it's stark
reality announcing to the public
through it's Wall Street mouthpiece
the fifty vicious conclusions it is 60
ing to arrive at come hell or high
water ." At another point,
evidently having in mind the dis
closure that General Marshall and
Admiral Leahy had asked that the
FEC be divested of its radio military
intelligence work, Mr.. Fly said: "The
House then voted Cox'S resolution to
investigate the commission, particu-
larly it's chairman. Cox Immediately
joined forces with the radio monop-
oily and Wall Street interests on the
one hand and the military on the
other, all moving in for the kill"
This is perhaps the first time that
a responsible official has ever pre-
ferred such extreme charges against
a committee of Congress and the Ma
tion's ranking military leaders. In
the absence of ample supporting evil
dence, which has not yet been forth
coming, it is difficult to avoid the
conclusion that Mr.. Fly, in this at
tack on the committee and what he
calls the military, has done as much
to prejudice his case as any evidence
likely to be turned up by Representa-
tive Cox.
Evening star., 1943-07-07
Betruyol

The face may hide an secret thoughts
That feed upon the soxrs dssp core,
And song may stffs sobs that beat
Like fists against the hsdrt's barred
door.
And laughter, spiIling lightly, seems
TO bubble from hidden spring.
The eyes may be as bright as stars
While tears are near enough to
sting. 81
Yet though the face repeals no sfou
OF bitterness or ioounded pride,
The hands, as candid as a brook.
Betray all things tho face poAld
hide! ~. ~.
Life marks them NTH nncertuintuS+
They clutch, they Uaver or erot
tense; !
The face resorts to artifce !
But angutshed hands haze NJ
defense. ... rs-esss
NEZ CLARK THORsO1I.ss
ss.s,s ,asss
Evening star., 1943-07-07
ditional light on the real causes Of

ditional light on the real causes Of
the slump.
1t would seem, however, that this
Is not time for official reticence.
AS Mr.. Nelson puts it, I'VE are on the
verge OF one of the greatest trials in
our national history" and every ef-
fort should be made to root out and
expose any and all factors contribut-
ing to decline in war production at
such critical period. without
knowing all of the causes of the lag,
it is difficult to rectify this adverse
state of affairs.
Evening star., 1943-07-07
Visit and Symbol
From the Montreal Star.

From the Montreal Star.
The appearance Of his majesty the
King in North Africa was dramatic. But
when he stepped from the cruiser Aurora
to the soil of Malta, more than wartime
drama was enacted. The King, by his
action, symbolized our complete control
of the Mediterranean at the same time
as he honored an island whose conduct
under intensive and prolonged bombing
has been an example to the world of
fortitude and dogged determination to
fight through to tho end.
Evening star., 1943-07-07
Denies Waste Of Paper
BY Government Departments.
To the Editor OF The Star.
Lenoir, N. c.


To the Editor Of The Star:
NJ G. Eaton, whose letter was published
in The Star of July 5. should investigate
his facts more closely.
The paper mills always have made
and are still making paper In sizes from
which sheets size by 10h cut without
any waste.
Paper is shipped to the Government
Printing Once in sizes 21 by 81 and
80 by A.. These are standard mill sizes.
Paper by 10h cuts eight out Of
sheet II by 80 and 16 out Of 81 by a,
without waste.
The Public Printer advocates and many
departments now order letterheads size
by 5K, for short correspondence; and
that size sheet also cuts from the above
mill sizes without waste.
High content rag bond has virtually
disappeared. In large percentage, sui
phite bonds and ground wood paper is
now used, although some IS per cent rag
content bond is used for papers Of .
temperament nature.
E. WHEELER HOUSTON.
Evening star., 1943-07-07
Huskin's Answers
To. Questions
BY frederic J. Hdsktn.

reader can get the ans,cer to dny
question OF fact BY ,nrtttng The Epe-
ming Star Information Bureau, Fred
eric J. Hdsktn. director. Wdshinqton,
D. c. Please tnclose stamp for return
postage. s-
@. Can q torpedo be seen before It
strikes a ship?-P. L. s.
A. Torpedoes always travel under
water on the way to the target. A tor
pedo cannot be seen with the naked eye
but the wake Is visible.
@. Do birds refuse to return 10 their
nests after their eggs have been dis
turbed?-E. L. H. -
A. Birds vary in sensitiveness in re-
gard to disturbance Of their nests. Any
disarrangement will cause some birds,
particularly pheasants, to desert them.
Frequently, however, its is the constant
visits by human beings rather than dis :
turbance that causes the birds to leave.