davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1943-06-06

under his arm with no more than
ten minutes to spare.
THAT sourpuss shoemaker,
pants Socker, ripping the paper off
the package, keeps me waiting
while he hammers a sole on
DANES shoe. But it looks" he says
happily, like he does good job
for US
Dan takes his shoes. From above
they look like they always do. But
underneath-well, there just amt
nothing there! Dan slips them on.
The wire that holds the uppers to-
gether is thin and it doesn't hurt
him when he walks. Dan grins at
himself in the long mirror in the
washroom. Look at me!' he calls
to Socker. "I'm practically knee
high to grasshopper! Why. feel
like an overgrown midget
Across the room Socker laughs
back. In his new shoes he looms
up like giant. "Me. I'm Super
man. he calls back. "Oh, we will
fool that General, all right!' He
starts across the room. II bet l
am almost as tall as you! I bet -"
Right here he stops betting be-
cause he is fat on his face on the
floor. Dan picks him up and
brushes him off. Seekers teeth are
chattering, his face is pale and the
panic has him for sure. II can't do
it," he whispers. That sourpuss
shoemaker puts me on stills! And
besides. the heels amt event.!
Dan shakes him. TRY again!
You can get used to it!'
SoCKER grits his teeth. He throws
back his shoulders and wobbles
across the room. He doesn't lose
his balance until he tries an about
face. Then his arms go around in
the air like windmill, and when
he finally ends up sitting on the
floor there are tears in his eyes.
"Now it is the end" he means.
Outside, on the main floor of
the armory, the Sergeant is bawl-
ing at the Battalion to fall in. Dan
bends over and stands Socker up
Evening star., 1943-06-06

again. Would Sherlock Holmes
quit, pal?" he says.
Socker is trembling. But he
grins. "Okay, pal" he says hoarse-
ly. Let's gov'
He leans on Dams arm and Dan
gets him outside. The Battalion,
polished and scrubbed for inspec-
ton, is lining up in two rows. Dan
props the kid Seeker up in the
front line and pats his shoulder.
Stiff upper lip" he whispers.
Seekers eyes are glazed. "Stif
upper lip" he whispers back,
nodding and stripping his teeth in
a panicky grin.
And no more wobbles!
"No-mo1e-Wobblesr' repeats
Socker, swaying back and forth on
his high heels.
LIAM gives him a final pat and
runs to take his place in line be-
fore the Sergeant yells, "Atten-
shunw The General shows HIM
self at the door. Alongside of him
is Captain Morgan, and in back
are a flock of captains and lieuten-
ants. There isn't sound in the
big armory while the General lets
his steely blue eyes run along the
line. Then he gives a nod to Cap
tain Morgan, and the officers all
start forward to walk up and down
the lines.
Socker is up at the far end. Dan
can't turn his head to see him, but
out of the corner OF his eye he can
see the slowly moving group of
officers. He holds his breath. If
they stop, it means Socker has the
wobbles. But they keep coming.
In another minute the General is
passing Dan. And in another two
minutes he and his staff are back
by the door. The Sergeant barks,
AT easer and Dan has a chance
to look down the line at Socker.
The kid is now showing signs of
strain, and is rocking back and
forth like one of those toys with
weights at the base. But he's game.
Continued on opposite page
Evening star., 1943-05-31
Weather Conquered, Too
From the chanute Tribune.

FROM the Cnanute Tribune.
Modern war couldn't be fought without
the Navy and air forces, but for realistic
blood-and-thunder battle, the land fight
ers are adding powerful new chapters to
Gen. Sherman's thesis about armed
conflict
For every place the American infantry
has been fighting, there has been a force
almost as strong as the enemy to conquer.
That force, of course, is the weather.
From the hot beaches of Guadalcanal
to the desert lands of North Africa and
to the sheer cliffs of frigid Attu, this war
is more hell than the practical minded
Sherman could realize. Much has been
told already about Guadalcanal with
its bllstering heat, drenching rain and
vicious insects. Everybody knows about
the sandstorms, heat and rainy periods
of the desert. And everybody is entitled
to suspect that, for deathly weather con-
ditions, nothing can quite equal the
Aleutians.
Yet, weather did not stop the infantry
and marines on Guadalcanal, and the
Allies won a glorious triumph in North
Africa. The conclusion must be that the
Yankees will do another effective job on
Attu against indescribable weather con-
ditions and fighting a tenacious enemy
who already had established foothold
on that bleak island.
Evening star., 1943-05-31
Anxiety Chemical

With ninety-two different and dis
tinct chemical elements as building
blocks, the number of possible chemi-
cal compounds is staggering. New
ones are discovered daily, and ordi-
narily the announcement of one is of
little interest to the layman. Yet this
does not seem true of the most re-
cent pronouncement of the clinical
research laboratory of the New York
Academy of Medicine, which has
come to bat with the anxiety chem
ical," whose existence in the blood
stream causes worry.
1t seems unfortunate, if these doc
tors had to discover something new,
that it could not have been the II
should worry" chemical, whose pres
ence in the blood makes life one
grand sweet song. 1t must exist, to
explain superoptimists who imagine
that taxes, rent and grocery bills will
~omehow be paid without budgeting
and preparation, and surely they
have enough to spare for ultrapes-
simists who foresee nothing but ruin
for the entire world. 1t may be some
time before both chemicals are iso-
lated and can be manufactured
synthetically. Meanwhile, the sug-
gestion is offered that extreme pes
simists and extreme optimists get
together and give each other mutual
transfusions.
Evening star., 1943-05-31
Still Active

From the Topeka Capital.
In light, airy, sunshiny room of Wal
ter Reed Hospital, Washington, D. c.,
sits Gen. John j. Pershing these days
eagerly scanning newspapers and listen
ing to the radio for latest reports on the
wars progress. With newspapers on his
desk are maps on which he can follow
the maneuvering of American forces
on all fronts. The famous leader of the
AEF in World War will soon be 83,
but his mind is still alert and active
His only son, Warren, is a captain in
the United States Army.
If BLACK Jack" had his way about it,
he undoubtedly would be lover there
right now to help plan the war strategy
and lend his valuable counsel gained
from World War I days. Many of his
buddies of that conflict are back in
action again and with the younger gen.
Grafton of American fighters are cover
ing themselves with glory just as did
the old AEF Of 1918 of which John j
Pershing was not only the commander
but inspirational leader.
Evening star., 1943-05-31
THIS AND THAT
By Charles +. Trace1pell.

Go slow on using poisons In your
Victory garden.
i You unwittingly may kill many birds.
Already word has come to this column
Of songsters being found dead without
marks upon them.
These include a yellow breasted chat,
and a Bobwhite
The harm IS not done by the birds
eating the poison sprays and powders
direct, but through consuming insects
and worms which have either eaten or
been covered with spray or powder.
Some Of these substances require some
time to work, and the insect is still mov-
ing when seized by the birds.
This is cruel irony, that these busy
helpers of every gardener should suffer
the death penalty at the hands of their
friends
Rushing into Victory garden, thou
sands of persons largely unacquainted
with vegetable growing are spraying with
all the remedies about which their friends
tell them.
The sad part of it is that much of
this is money and time wasted, at the
least.
That it also endangers the birds is
never thought OF by most of these people.
Trying to spray for each pest in a
small vegetable garden, with rows close
together, and many kinds OF pests, each
requiring different poison, is almost
loves labor lost
Sanitation nd lob
real remedies
The weather has been very much
against both of course
X X
A Rockville woman, who called up
about this matter declares that all the
spraying and dusting necessary may be
done with Stacked lime.
She says she has been gardening for
many years, and has used nothing else
The lime is put on dry, preferably from
cloth sack, busted over the plants.
Unless some thought is given this
whole matter, she said, thousands of
birds are going to be killed
Already she has found dead birds in
her grounds, and many others have been
reported to her
1t must be kept in mind that some of
the sprays and powders are deadly poi
sons. One is even the poison used by
the Amazon natives to tip their arrows!
Most of the deadly poisons used in spray
Ing and busting are not concentrated, as
used; if they were, everything would be
killed AS it is, they are strong enough,
even in dilution, to carry death to the
birds.
X
Use Of poisonous materials on vege-
tables offers some danger, too, to the
gardeners themselves.
All picked vegetables which have been
sprayed with any of the common mate
rials on the market should be washed
thoroughly-and we mean thoroughlv-
before eating or cooking.
This washing is particularly necessary
Evening star., 1943-05-31
when such things as radishes are to be

when such things as radishes are to be
eaten raw.
IT possible, busting and spraying should
not be done Immediately before picking.
There Is no necessity for it, in the first
place, but newcomers to the gardening
art are usually enthusiastic, and this
enthusiasm carries into every phase of
their new adventure.
For the sake of the birds, they should
handle poisonous materials with a cau-
tious hand.
The truck gardener, especially he who
grows one crop, can select one spray or
dust, and use it thoroughly.
But the small home gardener often
trying to grow as many different vege-
tables as he can, finds himself with
verltable crazy quilt of dozen or more
plants, each one of which needs a
different dust.
1t is impractical to spray dozen diff
ferent kinds of poisons, so the gardener
looks around for an "all-purpose" spray,
as it is called, and usually finds one
which It's manufacturer claims will do the
work. To do it, it is made very strong;
hence, the increased danger to the birds,
Birds always have met death from
these poisonous materials.
The indiscriminate batting of rats with
typical rat poisons" has led to the
deaths Of many fine birds.
In conducting rafting campaigns
thought always should be given to the
possibility of injury or death to pet ami
mails and birds.
Small children are in the habit of pick
Ing up and tasting anything unusual.
Deadly poisons should be used, If at
all, only by experts, and every care
should be taken to put them in such
positions that they are found bv rats
only.
Often this may be done by using
long handled spoon and poking the bait
far back into the runs.
The use OF red squill as recommended
by the Department of Agriculture, offers
a minimum of danger, since animals
can vomit 1t up, but the rats, lacking the
vomit reflex, cannot do so, hence die.
The increased dangers to bird life
through increased vegetable gardening
Is a matter which has been given little
general thought
Once it is realized, we hope something
may be done about it,
Certainly it will be too too bad, if 50
practical and fine thing as gardening
helps in the destruction of our birds
The birds of America constitute one of
our finest and most valuable natural
resources. They are a national asset
especially at this time, when their in
sect-eatlng proclivities are more in de-
mand than ever.
We should see to it, through an aroused
public opinion, that nothing is done in
the name of gardening which will deprive
us OF these natural allies at the verv
time We need them most.
Evening star., 1943-05-31
A Federal Sales Tax

Chairman Doughton of the House
Ways and Means Committee has said
that Federal retail sales tax to help
finance the war may be necessary.
Mr.. Doughton added. however, that
it should be adopted only as "a last
resort"
Mr.. Doughton, like President
Roosevelt. has been adamant against
the imposition of a sales levy for
many years. Yet taxes, after all, are
for the purpose of raising needed
revenue for the Government, and a
tax that can really produce-like the
sales tax-is worth while. Retail
sales taxes have been imposed in
many States and in municipalities
with satisfactory results and with
no undue hardship on all classes.
The present administration, how
ever, taking its cue from the Chief
Executive, has turned its back on
this form of taxation.
President Roosevelt first threw his
weight against Federal sales tax
after he had been elected President
in the fall of 1882 and before he en-
tered the White House in 1888. The
Hoover administration was strug-
Cling at that time to increase rev.
enue to meet the relief problem. A
Democratic Ways and Means Com
mittee, headed by the late Repre-
sentative Crisp of Georgia, acting
chairman, reported to the House a
tax bill providing a manufacturers
sales tax in March, 1882, but it was
defeated. Mr.. Roosevelt said at the
time he was Mortified" at the sug-
gestion.
Time and again since then the
sales tax has been proposed by hard
pressed legislators in an effort to
find new source to tap for revenue.
The White House has always been
opposed, but now the administration
Evening star., 1943-05-31
Worth Keepinq

Retention of the Housekeeping
Aides program as municipal func-
tion, to be maintained by District
funds, has received the Endorsement
of so many people and agencies
familiar with its desirable accomp-
nshments that the Commissioners
are eminently correct in giving the
subject renewed consideration.
There has never been any doubt
IS to value of the work performed by
these housekeeping aides, whose
services to INDECENT families in pc
riods of illness or other emergencies
combine some of the responsibilities
of mother, nurse and general house.
keeper. The only question was
whether the expense of such services
should be borne by the community
or by some of its private welfare
agencies. AS the Housekeeping Aides
project was financed through public
funds during the life of WPA, how
ever, transfer of its budget to the
municipality violates no principle
and should be decided wholly on its
merits as public service.
The budget is relatively small
about $35 900 year-and while the
Commissioners are correct in seeing
that the service does not duplicate
work already furnished by other
agencies, there seems no good reason
why the District should not carry
on with an undertaking which has
so plainly established itself on its
own merits
Evening star., 1943-05-31
oxen
Memorial Ddu.)

(MeULOTIuL DuyJ
Not ours alone this tribute brouoht
today;
These dead have kno,on the peeee
of tin,eless years.
The racking anguish born IN vor's
dark fray
Has mello1Ded Nth the deu Of
healing tears.
But other mothers, numb sotth scar
ing grief.
Whose stal,Dart sons lie tran.pled
in the field,
Haze not the comfort that the bud
and leaf,
The ripping flag, the sno,oy n,arbls
yield.
May our prayers somewhere sooths
the bitter pain,
Our gifts bring solace like ths
breath of God -.
Bright roses soon to fall like sprtnus
soft rain,
And stre,O their petaled fragrance
on the sod.
For 1Ddr-dead sons, Dhere Honors
cup lies broken,
We bring our rarest fo,pers IN
,otsttul token.
IVY L1NDsLEY.
Evening star., 1943-05-31

has asked for another $4,000, 900 900
in taxes and savings. This comes
pretty close to scraping the barrel.
The administration also has de-
clared its intention Of doing every
thing possible to prevent a dis
astrous imitation. A sales tax, i'm
posed on all but genuine necessities,
would play an important part in the
anti-inflation crusade.
The Federal Government already
has written into law many special
sales taxes, but it calls them by a
less obnoxious title-excise taxes.
The sales taxes on cigarettes and
other forms of tobacco, on liquor and
on many so-called luxuries, have
been boosted tremendously in recent
years. A Federal sales tax, there
fore, is not novelty.
Evening star., 1943-05-31
Great Writinq

Long after the Second World War
has been terminated by the triumph
of the United Nations over the Axis
powers the influence of certain as
poets OF the struggle will be felt most
particularly upon the cultural ex-
preston of the peoples.
It happens that the art OF Ian
guage has had notable demonstration
during recent months of strife and
struggle. Perhaps never before
since men first learned to manage
their utterance with conscious skill
has there been such proof of the
capacity of average individuals to tell
attractively what is in their hearts
and minds. The Prime Minister of
Great Britain probably came to his
high task equipped with much more
than ordinary talent for the use OF
English speech. Years before he as
pired to share in the administration
Of the affairs of his country, he had
developed an acknowledged compe-
tency as writer of persuasive prose.
The 1943 edition of Who's Who indi-
Gates that his first book was pub
lished in 1898. With at least four
and half decades of experience, he
now is veteran practitioner of
literature.
Such term, surely, must be ap-
blied to his declaration of May 13,
1910: II have nothing to offer but
blood, toll, tears and sweat" and to
his statement of purpose in the same
address: "You ask what is our aim?
I can answer in one word: Victory,
victory at all costs, victory in spite
Of all terror, victory however long
and hard the road may be; for with
out victory. there is no survival"
Mr. Churchill likewise achieved
great height Of utterance in the
broadcast including: "The whole
fury and might of the enemy must
very soon be turned on us. Hitler
knows that he will have to break us
in this island or lose the war. =
Let us therefore brace ourselves to
our duties. and so bear ourselves that,
if the British Empire and its Com
nlonwealth last for a thousand years,
men will still say, This was their
finest hour" The Prime Minister
certainly will be quoted for genera
tions for: "The gratitude of every
home in our island. in our empire,
and indeed throughout the world
-" goes out to the British airmen
who, undaunted by odds. unwearied
in their constant challenge and NOR
tai danger, are turning the tide OF the
world war by their prowess and by
their devotion. Never in the field of
human conflict was SO much owed by
so many to SO few"
Not less magnificent than these
expressions were the words with
which Mr.. Churchill concluded his
most recent address to the Congress
and the people of the United States,
May 19: by singleness of purpose,
by steadfastness of conduct, by
tenacity and endurance such as we
have so far displayed-by these and
only by these can we discharge our
duty to the future Of the world and
to the destiny of man."
But one need not be q professional
Evening star., 1943-05-31
OPA Offensive

- VAAC 4CSSA1V VI AASC
Administrator Prentiss Brown be
taken at face value, it is going to
be interesting to follow the activities
of OPA during the next few months.
Mr.. Browns statement was issued
primarily to deny the claim that
OPA is coming apart at the seams" )"
That, said Mr.. Brown, is nonsense.
The OPA, he added, is doing more
effective job than it has ever done
In Its history, and, to prove this
point, he cited figures to show that
the rise in living costs in this country
compares favorably with the advance
in England and Canada. At the
same time, however, he asserted that
the cost of living "has gotten away
from us" since the Sterilization Act
was passed last October 2, and PROM
ised that OPA was going on the
offensive to retake the price ground
we have lost and to roll back the
cost of living to the level at which
we were directed to hold It,"
This, to say the least, is a some
what anomalous state of affairs.
OPA, while doing the most effective
job in its history, has lost control OF
prices. To recapture the lost ground,
it is proposed to roll back prices to
the level of October 2, presumably
through the use of subsidies. But
this is an approach which overlooks
two factors. The first is the appar-
ent opposition of Congress to the
subsidy plan. The second is the fact
that, during the same period of time,
wages have risen faster than prices,
and are still going up.
The War Labor Board, in granting
wage increases under the little steel
formula, attempts to bring workers
at least abreast of the rise in living
costs since January /, 1941. But the
records of the Bureau of Labor Sta
tistics show a cost-of- living increase
between January l, 1941, and March
l, 1943, of only 21.4 per cent, while
industrial wages during the same
period have increased by an average
of ST. per cent. Some union spokes-
men are demanding that the ST per
cent increase in living costs since
May, 1912, be rolled back" Yet
average hourly earning in that pc
riod have risen 89 per cent, while
weekly earnings, which include over
time pay, have gone up 1875 per cent.
There is, of course, no proposal
from OPA or any other branch of
Government to roll back wage in
creases along with price increases.
Yet If prices are to be rolled back
while wage increases are left alone,
and even permitted to go higher, the
net effect would be to increase the
total volume of purchasing power
through disguised wage increase
at time when every realistic con-
sideration demands reduction in
purchasing power as an essential
part of the battle against imitation.
This is not the way to any kind of
stabilization. And a bad situation
would only be made worse by using
Government subsidies to producers
to support wage increase masquer-
aiding as price reduction. Mr..
Browns proposal would serve only
to widen the "inflationary gap at
time when we should be making
eVerV effort tn close IT.
Evening star., 1943-05-31
Huskin's Answers
To Questions
Bu Frederic J. Hdskin.

By Frederic J. HasA1n.
A reader can get the ans,ner 10 exy
question OF fact by tDrtttn1 The Ipe-
ming Star Information Bureau, Fred.
eric J. Hdskin, director, Washington,
DC. Please inclose stamp for return
postage.
Q. Which countries have the most ex-
tensive forests?-R. B. w.
A. The Soviet Union, Brazil and
than one-third OF Canada 5 total area IL
forested.
Q. How effective were conveys ln saas
First World War?-E. M. E.
A. Conveys brought 990s per sent e
16,539 ships safely into port.
@. Who is the new Speaker o6 ths
British House of Commons?-H. N. D.
A. The Right Hon. Douglas Clifton
Brown. He was elected to succeed Ed
ward Algernon FitzRoy, who died ~
Gently after having served continuously
from 1900 except for four-year break.
@. Can rats drag objects from place
to place by means Of their tails3-
H. Med.
A. Rats are able to wind their tails
around such articles as eggs and oranges
for the purpose OF carrying them away.
@. When was the hammer and sickle
first used as the Soviet emblem?-L. w,
A. The device was created by the
Soviet Union after the revolution of 1918.
The hammer is symbolic Of the laboring
man; the sickle of the peasant. The
combination represents the welding of
worker and peasant.
Evening star., 1943-05-31

author in order to express noble
thoughts and grand emotions in the
prevailing crisis. Some of the noblest
pages In the chronicle of these tragic
times have been penned by amateurs
unframed in what commonly is called
formal writing,
Evening star., 1943-05-31

The phrase "a couple of guys
named Joe" has heretofore had
either a comic connotation or a
rather slurring one Just recently a
couple of guys named Joe met in
Moscow on a letter exchanging date
which may prove of vast Importance
to the world.
Evening star., 1943-05-31

II our entire country were as
thickly populated as is Rhode Is
land-668 to the square mile-the
population of the United States
would be as great as that of the
whole world at present. What a new
world that would be for the tax col
lector to conquerl
Evening star., 1943-05-31

Word comes from Philadelphia
that score of British sailors, sta
toned there temporarily, have kindly
volunteered to work on farms in that
vicinity. What an education it will
be to them to be planting something
beside cabbage and vegetable mar
row"