davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1947-11-02


O. lot to be able to tune In on
the three and four nay hook
ups from the Executive Office
to points all ouer the World."
to assist Sherlock Holmes when I
retire." commented one of the op-
orators.
At the Union Station.
At the Union Station there is 9
different tempo. Spend a little
while with the girls at the pay sta
ton. The sailor, cap back on his
head, address book in hand, calling
one number after another, stops
suddenly in the middle of a call to
run after a red head who had given
him the glad eye as she passed.
A Marine, back from over there
somewhere, comes to the desk after
completing an out-of-town call, his
face strained and white. $50 that's
why we fought war-so fellows
who stayed home could marry our
girls!" AS he turns to 60, his sleeve
flaps loosely. But maybe there's a
happy sequel. The operators tell
me he went past the other night
on his way home. He was In civvies,
His right sleeve was in q coat
pocket, but his left arm was draped
around the shoulder Of a cuddly
brunette.
Probably the oldest Job done by
the girls there occurred on a recent
evening. A young couple, both of
them deaf and dumb, had decided
to get married. They wrote out a
request for one of the operators to
call the girls mother in Warren
ton. Va, and tell her about it. The
mother insisted they stay right
there" until she could drive in She
arrived about three hours later, and
the three of them waved good-by,
presumably to find a minister.
My excursion into the telephone
world was real adventure for me.
I'm going back some of these days
hoping they will let me sit for an
hour or 50 at Intercept" 1t was
a privilege to be with "Hackie," in
her active White House workshop;
to watch Miss Thomas preside over
her large group which helps to keep
Evening star., 1947-11-02
The Old Army Headquar

bridges over Gunpowder Greek be-
yond Baltimore have been burned!
I still replied: "Yes, General" He
added: They are closing their coils
around us, sir!" Still I replied In
the same tone: Yes, General.
Now" said the general, how long
can we hold out here?' I replied
Ten days, General, and within that
time the North will come down
to U.s."
How will they come? The route
through Baltimore Is cut off,"
They will come by all routes. They
will come between the capes of Vir-
ginia, up through Chesapeake Bay
and by the Potomac. They will
come, If necessary. from Pennsyl-
vania through Maryland directly
to us, and they will come through
Baltimore and Annapolis" And they
did come!
Red Cross Moved In.
The Depot Quartermaster's Ofice
later occupied the building, and SUBJ
sequently, from 1892 to 1897, it was
occupied by the American National
Red Cross, which was established by
Clara Barton in this city May 81
1881, and was at first known as the
Association of the Red Cross.
Apparently, the Government only
leased the old headquarters, for in
March, 1903, the building was Of
fered for sale" as the sign i'm
piled at that time. 1t was then
being used as a junk shop and
where upholstering was being car
ried 'on.
The most historic building still
standing on downtown Seventeenth
street. Is the old Winder Building
at the northwest corner of Seven
teenth and F streets, just opposite
the old Army headquarters. Dur
ing the Civil War here was the
headquarters OF the chief of en-
gineers, the chief Of ordnance, the
commissioner for the exchange OF
prisoners and the Bureau of Mill
tary Justice, where Judge Advocate
General Joseph Holt, who prose-
cuted the case. against the Lincoln
conspirators, had mis- offices.
This building. which was erected
in 1847 by Gen. w. M. Winder. who
| was made the goat in the iBladens-
purg debacle of 1914, was purchased
by the Government about 1854.
Evening star., 1947-11-02
By John CIoeett Proctor

By John CIdgett Proctor
when previously writing to Gen
Halleck, on May II, 1854, that Gen
Grant coined that immortal phrase
Il propose to fight 1t out on
this line if it takes all summer"
Old Flagstaff.
When Gen. Grant died, July %,
1885, The Star referred to this build
ing, saying:
"Chief Engineer Snyder, the super
intendent of the State, War and
Navy Department. borrowed a flag
from the War Department and had
Bigger Crowley place in position
some halyards for the old flagstaff
on the little building on the south
west corner of Seventeenth and F
streets, which was at one time Gen.
Grants headquarters, now used by
the clerks of the second auditors
Office. In a few minutes a flag
floated at half mast from the for
mer headquarters Of the great
chieftain."
But In some respects, this old
building means even more than the
headquarters of the Army in WASH
ington. for 1t was here. at one of
the most crucial periods OF our his
tory that plans were arranged be-
tween Gen. Scott and Col. Charles
P. Scott to save the Capital of the
Nation for the Union and from the
Confederacy.
Indeed, shortly thereafter a bill
had been prepared under the direc-
ton of the retiring Secretary of War
abolishing all existing laws regu-
lating the District of Columbia
militia and volunteers and providing
for a new organization, so that to
quote Gen. Charles P. Stone, who
became, at the request of Gen
Scott, inspector general Of the Dis
trict of Columbia, On January q
1851:
The only Regular troops near the
Capital of the country were 800 or
400 Marines at the Marine Barracks
and perhaps a hundred enlisted men
of ordnance at Washington Arsenal
The old militia system had been
abandoned without being. legally
abolished), and Congress had passed
no law establishing a new one. The
only armed volunteer organizations
in the District Of Columbia were
One company of riflemen at George
town (the Potomac Light Infantry
one company of riflemen in Wash
ington Cthe National Rifles a skele-
ton battalion of infantry Cthe Wash
ington Light Infantry of about 160
men and another small organization
called the National Guard Bat
talon.
District Volunteers.
Col. Stone at once set to work to
organize volunteers for. the preser-
vation of order in the District, and
in six weeks, or by the middle of
February, was able to report that
"33 companies of infantry and rife
men and 2 troops of cavalry were
on the lists of the District volunteer
force; and all had been uniformed
equipped and put under frequent
drill"
However, conditions of affairs
soon became alarming, as Is shown
by the following conversation which
took place between Gen. Scott and
Col. Stone, early in 1851:
Gen. Scott said: "Gosport Navy
Yard has been burned" I re.
piled, quietly: Yes, General" He
continued: "Harpers Ferry Bridge
has been burnedp Again I replied:
"Yes, General" Again he spoke
1.-The bridge at Point of Rocks was
burned some days since!" I replied
"Yes, General" He continued: "The
Evening star., 1947-11-02
Special Operator
BY Mary Louise Acton

White House switchboard, at the
FBI or the Russian EmbaSsy-that
is, If We had our own interpreters.
Call National 1414 and you get
the White House. Prior to the
advent of President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt its switchboard had been
operated by men. When Miss Louise
Hackmeister, brought In by r. D. R.,
took over, the board had need and
facilities for but two operators and
had eight official extensions. Today,
there are five operators, with more
than 200 official extensions and 20
outside trunk connections. "Hackie"
and her girls handle more than
1000 calls a day. q number which
shrinks considerably when Con-
gress is not in session! She tells
the girls, mo matter what you see
or hear in the White House, forget
it when you leave the board"
White House facilities for "con-
ference connections" are mechsni-
cal marvels. Enemy agents would
give their lives to be able to tune ip
on the three-and-four-way hookupS
from the Executive ONCE to points
all over the world.
During the war, the War Depart
ment's private branch exchange in
the Pentagon Building was the
largest the world has ever known,
with $4,000 connections and 125 po-
sitions, stated by 125 operators. Its
calls ran close to one million .
month. Today they are around six
hundred thousand. With the excep-
ton of the Veterans Administration
and the Capitol, all Government de-
partments and agencies now have
fewer calls.
In the Capitol exchange, on the
basement floor of the New House
Office Building, 60 women handle
10000 calls daily. Miss Nena Thonl-
as, in charge,
Questions About Congress.
In school months, children not
only seek information in connection
with their studies but they deluge
the Capitol operators with questions
that are far removed from the
realm of any school. Who is the
oldest and youngest member OF
Congress? Is Congresswoman So
and-So a blond? Is she pretty9
Operators are especially happy
when called ON for assistance by
members of Congress and their
staffs. A Senator was seeking q
man who had been in his Office two
or three years back, and who could
not be found at his former address.
No one knew where he had gone.
After a week of calling Miss Thom-
as and her girls located him. 1t
meant a lot to them to learn they
had helped to unite this man with
his brother who had been given up
for lost overseas. I'll be qualified
Evening star., 1947-11-02

Tuesday Lecture
Community Education Studio, si4
Twentieth street NV, will present
a lecture by Pietro Lazzari at S:45
pm. Tuesday.
Evening star., 1947-11-02

-HE removal of the old Army
headquarters at the soath-
west corner of Seventeenth
and r street NV. which
Evening star., 1947-11-02
Art.
and.


Mexico's architecture, landscape
and people afford picturesque
panorama in the exhibition Of pho
tographs by Mary Saint Adams at
the Pan American Union through
November II. The show was on view
earlier this year at the Brooklyn
Museum, sponsored by President
Miguel Aleman of Mexico.
The remarkable survivals Of
Mayan temples in Chichen liza,
Yucatan, and the magnificent
churches of the Spanish colonial
period are the most interesting from
the esthetic standpoint. Telling
captures Of Mexican types arrest
ones attention, notably three little
boys, Looking Over the Tourists"
who must have seemed most pecu-
liar, to judge from their young faces.
Particularly interesting to those
with a knowledge Of Mexican mod
ern painting is study Of DR.. All
in q zarape. This almost legendary
pioneer revolutionary painter is
using 30 Of her photographs to
illustrate his new book. As well
as anything in the show, / like the
view of Acapulco seen through Ash
nets.
Mary Saint Albans, a native Of
Seattle, was formerly editor of
Modern Mexico. She has spent
the past decade below the border
making Photographic records Of
Mexican life In its many phases,
aided by Mexican government ofn-
cials in thousands of miles of travel.
She also had the hardihood to visit,
by burro and on foot, many almost
inaccessible beauty spots in the
country. All this time and labor
have resulted in nearly 10000 prints.
German and French Shows
Two new exhibitions will open
this afternoon at Watkins Gallery
on American University campus:
Drawings and paintings by Rudolf
Won Huhns and a collection Of
modern French prints on loan
from the Buchholz Gallery, New
York City. They will remain only
through November 20.
Rudolf Won HUM. born in San
Francisco, was educated in Ger
many, graduating as a mechanical
engineer, and followed that pro-
fession for some years after his re-
turn to the United States. During
World War I he became interested
in statistical methodology and
graphic presentation, inspired by
his association with the late Dr..
Raymond Pearl of Johns Hopkins
University. During his transition
period from engineering to the
statistical sciences, he developed a
strong interest in abstract photog-
raphy and creative art. The draw
ings to be exhibited bear witness
to his engineering and mathemati-
cal training.
Tuesday Lecture
Community Education Studio, si4
Twentieth street NV, will present
lecture by Pietro Lazzari at S:45
pm. Tuesday.
Evening star., 1947-11-02

.HE clumsy dialing Of q pan
icky lad of 8 got him "Spe-
cial Operator"
Evening star., 1947-11-02

the legislative wheels of Govern
ment turning, to get the feel of one
of the most active public exchanges
from Miss Lillian M. Stark at
Union Station. It was grand. But
I'm going back, hoping to hear the
Frenchwoman who insists eight
is "weet,' the man who is looking
for the blond who gave him the
wrong number, the girl whose
sweetheart's phone has been dis
connected and she has no other
way to find him, and to say, This
is special operator. What number
are you calltng?"
The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1947-03-27

White Church and the Great
White Way"
The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1947-03-27
Couple Feted By
Local Auxiliary

Mr.. and Mrs. David Burkett
were honored at surprise party
last Wednesday by members of
the jefferson Presbyterian Aux
iliary.
Special entertainment was fur
nished by Mrs. L. B. Tyson and
Mrs. Jim Coward and the honor
ees were presented a lovely cof-
fee table as gift from the aux
iliary. Winners in the game con-
tests were Rev. Cecil Calls and
Miss Frances Tucker Gifts were,
presented the winners.
Among those to attend were,
in addition to the honorees, Mr..
and Mrs. L. B. Tyson, Mr.. and
Mrs. j. R. Coward, c. S. Neal,
Rev. and Mrs. Cecil Calls, Mrs.
Glen Neal, Miss Frances Tucker,
Mrs. J. c. Brown, Mrs. E. F.
Scott and Mrs. A. r. Vail
During the social hour, deli
cious refreshments were served
by the auxiliary.
The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1947-03-27
The Everyday
Counselor
Rev. Herbert Spaugh, d. D.

Why learn everything the hard
way, when there is an easier one.
Many say that the school of hard
knocks is the best, but it is GER
1ainly the most expensive. The
earlier a man learns that the bet
ter. The sooner he learns that
this world and his personal af-
fairs are governed by divine
law. the fewer hard knocks he
IS going to have.
The rising rate of juvenile de-
lnquency is an indication of the
Increasing ignorance among our
young people of those fundamen-
tai laws of God which must be
recognized. The law of cause and
affect is just as certain as the
law of gravity. The Bible puts
It, Whatsoever a man SoWeth,
that shall he also reap" There
Is the law Of right and wrong,
1t is summed up in the Ten Com
mandmentS. Men do not Success
fully break the Ten Command
ments: instead they are broken
by them. There is a law of pro-
perty right included in the Ten
Commandments law against
theft. adultery, murder. When
we take that which belongs to
sthers. we inevitably suffer.
Fortunate is the boy or girl
who learns early in life how to
find Gods will for his daily life
through prayer God has a plan
for his life, just as He has a
plan by which the earth rotates
on its axis, producing day and
night. The boy or girl who starts
out in life trying to follow his
own desires without regarding
the law of God and the rights of
others, soon finds himself in
trouble. sometimes serious trou-
bic.
We can't live SUCCESSFULLY with
out God. God has made it pos
sible for US to learn His plan for
Iiving-and His plan for dying.
He gave us the Bible and the
Church to teach us. Yet an in
The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1947-03-27

creasing number treat religion as
a kind of optional luxury. They
are ''too busy" to do any Bible
study, too tired to go to church
and take their children to Sun
day School. Yet the day newt
ably comes when they will need
those things which the Bible and
the Church teach. They will run
afoul of the police. They will
need character reference for en-
ployment or a character witness
in court. Then they call on the
Church and the minister whose
services they have treated so
carelessly in the past. l have seen
it happen time after time.
Why wait until you get into
a jam to call on God? Why wait
until you have to be driven to
your knees? Why take the hard
knocks when you don't have to?
The Bible pleads, "Remember
now thy creator in the days of
thy youth"
The most important event in
the life of a boy or girl is when
he learns to know his Lord.
The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1947-03-27
VIVA Meets With
Mrs. Couch Brown

The VIVA of the West Jeffer-
son Baptist church met on Fri
day night at the home of Mrs.
Couch Brown. One visitor, Miss
Vivian Johnson, was present.
Mrs. Roscoe Black was in
charge Of the program in the alb,
sence of Miss Flossie Hare. Miss
Dorothy Dean Campbell led the
devotionals. The topic of the pro-
gram was Mailing Down Rus
sian Religion" and a quiz was
held on Russia.
Miss Elizabeth Oliver was in
charge of the business session.
During the social hour, the
hostess, assisted by Miss Vivian
Johnson, served delicious refresh
ments to the group.
The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1947-03-27
jefferson Girl
Weds F. A. BOwles

Announcement has been made
here this week of the marriage
of Miss Mildred May to Mr.
Fredericks Alexander Bowles in
a ceremony at York, South Caro-
lima on Sunday, March Is.
Miss May, the daughter of Mrs
Grace Ragan May, of Jefferson
has been employed in Charlotte
for the past two years.
The groom, who served for
five years in the Armed Forces
is the son of Mrs. Hettie A. Bow
les, of Charlotte.
The couple plan to make their
home in Charlotte where the
groom is connected with the
Shaw Distributing company.
The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1947-03-27
BIRTH ANNOUNCED

Mr.. and Mrs. Talmadge Hodg-
son announce the birth Of a
daughter, Tamara Keta, on Thurs
day morning at $50 o'clock at
the Ashe Memorial hospital. At
birth the baby weighed six
pounds and IL ounces.
Both mother and daughter are
reported to be doing nicely. Mrs.
HodgSon is the former Miss
Juanita Weaver.
The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1947-03-27
Bauguess Shows
Slides To Group


Rev. Cecil Calls, pastor of the
Jefferson Presbyterian church,
was in charge of the installation
of twelve members of the Wom-
ans Auxiliary at the meeting
last week.
Following the installation,
Grant Bauguess showed to the
group his collection of colored
slides on scenes in Japan taken
while he was stationed in the
army there. Snow scenes showing
parts of Japan were quite SINH
lar to recent Ashe county, it was
pointed out.
The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1947-03-27
KEYS MAKES DEANS
LIST IN MED. SCHOOL

Carson M. Keys, of Nathan's
Creek, was one of the three jun
Tors in the school of pharmacy
in Medical College of Virginia,
to make the deans list for the
term just ending.
Nine seniors made the list,
three .sophomores and three
freshmen. Students must make
honor grades to make the deans
list,
The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1947-03-27
DIR, PIERCE HARRIS
WILL SPEAK SUNDAY

DR.. Pierce Harris, minister of
the First Methodist church of At
lanta, Ga, will be the guest
speaker on The Methodist Hour
Sunday morning at $50 o'clock
over stations WING, WSJS,
WPTF and WSOC.
His topic will be The Little
The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1947-03-27
BleVins-Shunate

Mr.. and Mrs. Edgar Blevins,
of West jefferson, announce the
marriage of their daughter, Ed
ma, to Garland Shumate, son of
Mr.. and Mrs. Manley Shumate,
also of West jefferson, on Sat
urday, March Is at the home of
the brides parents. Rev. E. w.
Powers, pastor of the West JEFF
ferson Baptist church, officiated.
Those to attend the wedding
included the brides parents, Mrs.
Manley Shumate, Mr.. and Mrs.
James Barker and Miss Laura
Jane Speaks
The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1947-03-27
; ASHE STUDENTS
MAKE DEANS LIST

Misses Roberta Austin, Clairene
Oliver and Daphne Eller, in adj
dition to Miss Myrtle Dean Gray
beal, made honor grades during
the first semester at the Woman's
College of the University of North
Carolina and were placed on the
Deans list. according to an an
nouncement made by the college.
Miss Evelyn Dare Vannoy, also
a student at the Woman's College,
and Miss GRAPHICAL, were on the
honor roll for the semester.
The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1947-03-27
w. J. Defeated
In Tournament

Granite Quarry Highs cagers,
upset victors over top-Seeded Pr
lot Mountain earlier last week,
fought from behind in the final
period to defeat a strong West
jefferson quint last Thursday af-
ternoon, 80 to 33.
West jefferson took an early
lead, but Granite Quarry moved
back to tie the score at half time,
17-17. The Ashe quint came back
to lead 1925 at the end of the
third period.
G. w. Roseman, Granite Quar-
ry center, hit foul and two field
goals to put the Rowan five
ahead. With three and half
minutes to play the teams were
tied at 31-31. c. Holshouser then
fired an action shot to put Gran
ite Quarry ahead to stay.
Tinollpc and summarizes.
The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1947-03-27

National All Club Camp will
be held at the site of the old
Arlington farms, across the river
from Washington, D. c., June
11-l8.
Evening star., 1947-07-13

nNE sweltering afternoon in April, crowd
~ of French reporters sat around the only
bar in Konakry, French West Africa, and
complained about having been assigned to
cover President Vincent Auriols airborne
junket through this primitive part of the
world.
Il wired my paper couldn't write in this
heat" said one, slipping his warm beer. 'I'm
just not in the mood"
Such easy nonchalance is typical, of the
postwar French press. American reporters,
trained to be accurate and Unconditional
whether they're battling heat wave or
hangover, vince at the zany confusion of a
Partisan front page But they envy the free
and-easy habits of their French colleagues,
who long ago made their county's press
synonymous with polished writing, editorial
vitality, and disregard for conventional edi-
torial rules.
Two years after the war, France still suf-
fers from a newsprint shortage. All papers
are limited to four pages, and total cir
culation of Paris papers is down to $780,
600 - millions less than in 1889. Serials
run alongside sports; funeral notices nudge
cartoons. There are no editorial pages as such,
but an editor doesn't hesitate to write his opin-
ion into news story. or even shout it in
headlines on Page One.
Evening star., 1947-07-13

The old French tradition of press venahty
is as dead as the Third Republic Today
neither politicians nor playwrights can ''pur-
chase" favorable Stories True, some news
papers are frankly subsidized by political
parties, but there's nothing crooked about
their operations. No longer do powerful in
dustrial tycoons control this country's news
papers.
Editors Are Bitter
FRANCES honest - if screwbaH press was
born on the day in August, 1914, when the
people of Paris liberated their city from the
Germans just before the Allies marched in.
Names like Liberation" Franc -Tireur,"
and Combat" suddenly blossomed on news
stands instead of being smuggled inside loaves
of bread. The old Paris newspaper names,
which had continued to appear on mastheads
of Nazi-licensed papers, vanished.
With 1,5O0 collaborationist newspapermen
behind bars, dead, or banished, the new free
Evening star., 1947-07-13

columns today - almost three years later
But though they're reformers, the newcom-
ers still find room on their front pages for
juicy Crimes meat scandals and spreads on
American bobby Recently UN was
pushed off Paris Page Ones by a big expose of
cheating in the local college board exams
Hungry Readers
A FAvoRITE type of journalistic splurge is
called an "enquete" or Inquest" "a series
of pieces by star reporters on almost any sub
ject from the history of French policy in the
Middle East to whether dogs commit suicide
and why. Naturally. the most popular topic
for an enquete these days is the black market.
Every newspaper sooner or later pro-
claims that it has solved the mystery of
frances food shortage. This always helps
sell papers to hungry readers.
But for all its high jinks, Frances press re-
mains free. Indeed, the very fact that French
newspapers are sometimes irresponsible is
sure sign that they are untrammeled.
If French techniques sound crazy to Ameri
cans it's because it's part of the French char
acter to shun assembly-line products - news
included French and American styles of news
presentation have always differed. When
General Charles de Gaulle made an important
Continued on page II