davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1948-01-03
Lock Picking as an Art

Charles Courtney's peculiar talents
would have qualified him to be a master
burglar. Being an honest man, ne was
content to be a master locksmlth. his
pursuit of his profession brought him more
excitement and more reward than illegal
activities could possibly have afforded him.
In his fatal illness in New York City
hospital he could look back with proud
satisfaction on an amazing career OF use
fulness to society. To his own mind his
greatest achievement was not in perform
ing some outstanding lock-picking feat in
q sunken liner or burning building but
in pointing the way to better lockmaking
and greater security.
There can be no doubt as to the in
fiuence which Mr.. Courtney had on lock
design and manufacture. His ability In
picking burglar proof" locks was widely
publicized and brought demands for i'm
provement in lock and safe making. He
founded and was president OF the Inter
national Locksnfiths' Association, which
has campaigned for more secure locks and
for rigid licensing OF lockSmiths. To the
unreformed Jimmy Valentines of the un-
derworld, Mr.. Courtney and his association
were enemies of the worst sort.
A native of Marion, near Portsmouth,
Virginia, Mr.. Courtney first became inter
ested in lock picking when, as boy, he
succeeded in breaking into his mothers
jam pantry with a pairing knife and
chicken bone. At fourteen he was ap-
prenticed to a lockmaker and before long
&,,-~ ,elxfl
trade When World War broke out he
was called on by Government intelligence
agents to open locks on seized German
liners. His success in these assignments
naturally led to his collaboration with
Federal Investigators In counterespionage
work during the war. After the Var he
Evening star., 1948-01-03
TO the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor OF The Star:
MAN can adjust himself to the fact Of
death; he cannot adjust himself to life dis
organized and thWarted, and the root cause
Of pessimism and discomfort is to be found in
the social and economic conditions Of the time.
Il. C. Knight: Drama and Society in the
Age of Jonson."
The gravity and conplexity Of the European
crisis is the major repercussion Of the Second
World War upon American economy. and the
urgency of its solution bedeyils all discussion
Of public affairs today. Informed opinion
recognizes that the security Of the United
States is bound up with the successful liquida-
tion of this problem. As Representatives Jacob
j. Jayits of New York and James q. Fulton Of
Pennsylvania declared in Joint statement
against imitation and the high cost Of living in
the United States
Influential voices are beginning to be heard
questioning the efficacy Of the Marshall plan
to cope with the enormity Of this task. The
overtones are audible In Senator Arthur H.
Vandenberg's call for q nationwide debate Of
its merits by experts. For all his knowledge
of world affairs, the Michigan Senator deems
1t wise to suspend Judgment upon tho plans
value. In recent statement to the press, he
said that he would take no position on the
implementation Of the European Recovery
Program until all the forthcoming evidences
before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
had been sifted and assessed. The caution Of
Senator Robert A. Taft is no less evident from
his st. Louis address, in which he confessed
doubt whether the Marshall plan will really
do the good in Europe that is claimed for it.
Self-Interest in Principle.
In all this, be 1t noted, there is no hint Of
challenge regarding the good faith Of the
ERPs sponsors; Of their humanitarian intent
to restore the battered fabric Of the Old World
to going concern. Indeed, there Is q crafty
ing unanimity Of conviction that this rehabili-
tation offers the only alternative consonant
with enlightened self interest. However, wise
and unbiased critics hold that 1t admits Of
few Of those benencent certainties with which
plain men are won't to lull their anxieties.
Among other imponderables, they point to the
unpredictable trend Of events abroad, 4 trend
fraught with nameless social convulsions.
A prime objective Of the ERP Is to contain
the Kremlins offensive in the East. The Econ
onist Of London, November Is, 1947 quoting
the Hartman Report, observes that this stra-
tegy Is in accord with Americas position in
the world which has been based for over a
century on the existence In Europe OF num-
ber Of strong states committed by tradition
and inclination to the democratic concept"
Until now the wisdom Of this policy hand
somely has been vindicated Nevertheless, 1t
Is well to remember that traditions and con-
cepts are not immutable They blossom, -four
ish, and languish with the changing climate
Of economic life. Hitler and Stain are but
the brutal symbols Of this polarity. The late
Prof Alfred North Whitehead, In his "Ad-
Evening star., 1948-01-03
Controlling the Anucostio

The AnacOStia River will once more be-
come an asset to Bladensburg instead of a
liability, If Army engineers plans for deep
ening and controlling the wayward stream
are carried out. There was a time when
this neandering arm of the Potomac River
was the mainstay of the old towns COM
merce Bladensburg was thriving port,
with ocean-going vessels loading tobacco
and other products of the Maryland soil or
unloading textiles, ,crockery and other
bartered goods. It was at her wharves that
a British "fieet" unloaded men and guns
for their 1914 raid ,on washington.
In those days the Anacostia was fairly
well behaved. The channel was deep
enough to carry off most Of the excess
water of springtime rains. In later years.
however, the channel filled with silt and
the level Of the stream rose, so that In
f1oodtime Bladensburg has come to expect
O regular visitation OF muddy waters from
overfiowing banks. The floods have way
Of interrupting traffic over the Washing
ton Baltimore pike until the waters re-
cede.
Under the engineers plans, the Federal
(1OtGIlulclG, Will dlO VI 1OCcl dutAAOAAtAVCt
will undertake to restore the river to its
historic status as navigable waterway
and at the same time, do away with the
perennial menace of floods. The main
problem still to be worked out is the
financing of the project The tentative
plans calls for the Federal Government to
put up $4,531 200 of the approximately
$8000,000. Much OF the local share would
be in the form of grants and easements of
land needed for food-control works. How
much cash would be required of the State
and local communities is yet to be de-
termined. The project will cost money,
but the investment should pay dividends
over many years in freedom from flood
damage and annoyance, and in revival of
Bladensburg as port for commercial and
sport craft.
Evening star., 1948-01-03
The Union Should QuoIify Itself

The United Cafeteria and Restaurant
Workers Local All, in threatening to 60
on strike in forty-two cafeterias operated
by Government Services, Inc, charges that
GSIs raising of the nti-Communist am
dayit issue Is q smoke screen to cover the
corporations dislike Of collective bargain
ing. It begins to look however, as thougn
the only real smoke screen in the contro-
yersy is the one which union leaders are
manufacturing to cover their dislike OF the
Taft-Hartley law-especially the provi-
sions requiring unions to file hnanclal
statements and disavow communism.
Local All is following the line laid down
by its parent, the United Public workers
of America (C1O), which has brought Dis
credit on itself in the past by following
the line of the Communist Party. UPWA
is unwilling or unable to certify that its
officers are not Communist Party mem
hers or Communist sympathizers. When
the question of q new contract for GSl
workers came up last fall, GSI refused TO
negotiate with the union until it had quail
ned under the Taft-Hartley Act as a
National Labor Relations Board-recog-
nized bargaining agent for the Gs1 en-
ployes.
The Star believes that GSI trustees are
on sound ground in insisting on sucn
qualification. The fact that the law does
not forbid bargaining by an employer with
a union failing to file n-Communnt
affidayits does not relieve GSI OF certain
obligations inherent in its peculiar status
as a ouasigovernmental body. GSI Is
controlled by Federal officials 1t serves
Federal employees on Federal property:
II would certainly be. inviting criticism
from Congress-and at time wnen IL Is
still under investigation by Senate SUD
committee-if it joined even mdirectly
in any move by a union to circumvent the
obvious intent Of Congress to rid unlons
of communistic influences. 81,
How could the Government omclals
composing the board of trustees OF Gol
reconcile a failure to insist on nom
Communist affidavits with their RESPONSE
bilities under the Presidents loyalty pro,
eram, Just getting under way? AS General
Grant, president of GSI, said in q state5
ment yesterday announcing 6ha-cent-
an-hour raise for cafeteria workers VINO
stav on the Job, 1t would be somewhat
inconeruous for the Government to cheek
the loyalty of Federal employees and, win
al, open its restaurant and snack bars 70
members of q union which refuses to dis
avow communism.
The wage offer by GsI disposes Of earlier
charges by the union that the real issue"
ia wages and that "the company does not
want to give one red cent" The public
is not likely to be deceived as to the real
issue emerging from the smoke clouds, viz,
the question of union compliance with the
non Communist affidavit provision OF the
Taft-Hartley law. A strike over this ques-
ton would be wholly untustified ana
wholly against the public interest.
Evening star., 1948-01-03
Schedule for Sunday Morning

Smooth my pilloto and plump my bed
Halt the ioorld Is unblanketed.
Suds and sho1Der and choose my dress
Halt the World Is tpretchedness.
Cream my butter to ice my cake- -.
Halt the trorld keeps an empty ache.
Salt and pepper and snt1 my roast-
Halt the tDorld ona,Os bone at most.
Glope my fingers and brush my coat
Halt the tcorId has storm at sts fhrods.
Lock mr. artndoscs and start my car
Half the tr0rld needs Ud0On ara sL05;
Snu the Bentltndes.s ring rom nsy OCc@-
TSont ~ fN1 World Aas . skro1bke0 SooM
Evening star., 1948-01-03
BY THE HAsKIN SERVICE.

BY THE HAsKIN SERVICE.
q. Is the name chow chow Chinese?, What
Is the origin?-L. E. Y.
A. The name chow chow, like the term chop
suey, is not genuine Chinese. 1t Is Pidgin
English for any article brought from China
during the second half of the 18th century
by the China clippers. Chow chow was used to
describe bric-a-brac such as porcelain and
ivory curios and Is still used today for mixed
pickles. 1t was easier for the master to write
chow chow" than to list minutely the various
items In his cargo
@. Where did the practice of registering
births originate?-V. w. s.
A. The original object OF birth registration
was to prevent disputes over inheritances. The
practice is very old and was performed by the
clergy In England as early as 1888.
@. Is there any truth to the statement that
the healing Of a wound depends on age'-
]. r. v.
A. It is said by authorities that the wound Of
q man 20 years old heals only half as quickly
as that Of man Of 20. A child Of 10 has .
healing rate five times that Of . man Of so.
This mechanism functions with the certainty
Of q natural law.
O. What animals are included in the term
"game"?-S H.
A. Game refers to all Wild animals that are
killed by hunters for food, fur or the sport of
hunting It includes variety Of creatures
ranging from tigers and bears to game birds
and small animals such rabbits and squirrels.
q. Has the new Rainbow Bridge at Niagars
Falls been completed?-R. w. L.
A. The construction Of this bridge was
stopped during the war and completed after
ward. The Department Of Public Works Of
New York has reports indicating that the
bridge has been operating since 1s45. The
structure is privately owned and operated by
the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission.
Evening star., 1948-01-03

Designation of new comet streaking
across the heavens is 1947-N." Con-
gratulations to the quick-witted astron-
omers concerned, for catching the license
number
Evening star., 1948-01-03
Plight of Career Employees

Plight of Career Employees
To the Editor Of The Star:
Representative Rees' statement concerning
the inefaciency Of the Civil Service Comnis-
sion In reassigning career employees to posi-
tions, as noted In Sundays Star, brought to
light again the humiliation many career EN-
ployes have endured during the past six or
eight months.
There is no doubt that the second attempt
of the commission will be no more effective
than the first. 1t must be apparent to those
in the commission who cook up such schemes
that they will not work, for surely they have
been advised by the many victims just what
is transpiring.
As career employe searching for job, I
have been told by various personnel people
that cannot qualify for any job they might
have under the quota that the commission has
given them to fill. I have been told that there
is no intention of cooperating with the COM
mission and that the quota is joke. have
been told that certain agencies expect to fill
the quota by picking from the list Of career
employees the lowest rated, thereby staying
within their budget and not having to disturb
the war-service employees. know 1t to be q
fact that agencies have transferred to other
jobs war-service employees who otherwise might
be bumped" ! know 1t to be a fact that cer-
tain employees have been laid OF and placed
on the career employe list and then used to fill
the quota when they were taken back on the
payroll know from experience that the va
rious agencies can circumvent any regulations
which the commission has made, because the
agencies know that there are no teeth in any
program for reassisnment Of career employees
that the commission has projected thus far
It Is distressing that faithful former en-
ployes Of our Government should be buffeted
about rs victims Of the confusion which exists
within the commission. HAP LESS.
Evening star., 1948-01-03
Letters TOR publication must bedr'
the signature and address OF the
1Driter, although 1t is permissible for a
,Drtter knoUn to The Star to use a
non, de plume. Please be- brtef.

things to different people g.s,a.ss.s.vs 4.a.,
Democracy <nrst and last, Is government Of
all the people, for all the people, by all the
people, not government Of the people by politi-
clans, for cartels and other pressure groups.
In other words, the essential authority of
democratic government is in the people and not
in the President, nor the Congress. Otherwise
democracy is just vague word without mean
ing anything at all HARRY DANIELS.
Evening star., 1948-01-03
Questions and Answers

A reader can get the to any question
If fact BY writing The Evening Star Information
Bureau. 316 l. street NE washington =. q. g.
Please inclose cents for return postage.
Evening star., 1948-01-03

Disappointed With Sports Writers
70 the Editor Of The Star:
On the basis q the records, how could the
sports writers vote Di Maggie ahead Of Ted
williams as the most valuable player7 Are the
sports writer's 20 biased that the country should
ignore them7 Let's set fatrer vstem aof
diving this honor
Evening star., 1948-01-03
Nonresistance Acclaimed

To the Editor Of The Star
Your correspondent, Querulous, asks the
question: Whether, In the event OF q choice
between war and subjugation on the part OF
any people, it would be wrong to choose war?"
pretty strong answer to this question is
the fact that the founder Of one Of the worlds
most highly regarded moral codes, Jesus Of
Nazareth, clearly evidenced, BY both word and
practice, that He thought it was wrong to re-
sort. to war, even In the face not merely of
subjugation but Of certain death.
Querulous indirectly takes the attitude that
war is the only way to overcome subjugation.
And yet, If what we have been told Is true,
India finally has overcome subjugation by other
means than war.
Moreover, II the allegiance we have shown
to England during the past as or 80 years may
be accepted as evidence, then 1t appears tina;
our forefathers were wrong in nghting the
Revolutionary War. J. J. SPERRY.
Evening star., 1948-10-10
William Grieb Dies
In Arlington at 81

William Ernest Grieb, 81, Wash
ington area resident since he came
from Germany as a boy. died yes
terday at his home, 207 North
Irving street, Arlington.
Mr.. Grieb retired from banking
business 20 years ago. He had lived
in Washington until 1888, when he
moved to Arlington.
He is survived by his widow, Mrs.
Anna E. Grieb and five children:
Mrs. E. M. Baker Of the Irving
street address; Mrs. r. S. Ettenger,
1909 Van Ness street NV; Mrs.
William Jameson, 374 North Glebe
road, Arlington; Mrs. Walter Hof-
fritz of Philadelphia, and William
Edward Grieb, 452l Verplanck place
INV. A sister, Miss Emma D.
Schutrumpf, lives at 3720 Warren
street NV, and two brothers live
in New Jersey and Nebraska.
Services will be held at II am.
tomorrow at the Ives funeral home,
l2847 Wilson boulevard, Arlington.
Burial will be in Columbia Gardens
Cemetery.
Evening star., 1948-10-10
Mrs. Margaret Barrows
Dies After Iona Illness

Mrs. Margaret Louella Barrows
80, Washington resident for Al
years, died at her home yesterday
after an illness Of several years. She
lived at GOT Massachusetts, avenue
NE.
A native of Lebanon, Mo, Mrs
Barrows was the widow of William
j. Barrows. chief clerk in the Office
of the third assistant Postmaster
General. He died in 1922.
She was prominent in early Par
ent-Teacher Association activities
here and in Red Cross work She
was a member of Bethlehem Chap
ter. Order of the Eastern Star.
Surviving are six children: Mrs
H. A. Nelson, Mrs. F. B. Seebode,
and Miss Robert Barrows all OF
the Massachusetts, avenue address
Mrs. r. L. Duncan and L. A. Davis
of Fresno, Calf. and Mrs. H. r.
Armstrong of Baltimore. Seven
grandchildren and eight great
grandchildren also survive.
Funeral services will be at 2 pm
tomorrow in the Deal funeral home,
1912 Geirgia avenue NV. Private
burial will be in Glenwood Cemetery
Evening star., 1948-10-10
Bethesda Rites Set
For Wilbur Gantz,
Motor Firm Head

Funeral rites for Wilbur w. Gantz
56, president of the Suburban Motor
Co., Silver Spring, will be held at
10 am. tomorrow in the Warner
E. Pumphrey Funeral Home, Be-
thesda, with private burial in Har-
risburg, Ohio.
Mr.. Gantz died of a cerebral hem
orrhage Friday at his home, 1914
Stratford road, Bethesda.
A native of Harrisburg, Mr.. Gantz
came to Washington 20 years age
as an employe of the Goodyear Tire
and Rubber Co. Previously he had
been with the company in Akron
Ohio. For three years he was the
rubber companys representative in
New Zealand, returning in 1892.
Just before World War II he be-
came partner in the automobile
firm but left during the war to join
the India Supply Office of the Brit
ish Purchasing Commission. He re-
turned to his motor business at the
end of the war.
Mr.. Gantz was treasurer of the
Kiwanis Club of Silver Spring and
member of the Kenwood Golf and
Country Club.
He is survived by his widow, Mrs.
Juliet Gibsons Gantz; a daughter
Miss Betty Ann Gantz, who lives
at her parents home: two sisters
Mrs. Larry Brown, East Liverpool,
Ohio. and Mrs. Perry Ross, Cleve-
land; and two brothers, Ray and
Pearle Ganttz of Columbus. Ohio
Evening star., 1948-10-10
Jacob Levin, Founder
OF B mai Jacob, Dead

Jacob Levin, 63, founder of B'nai
Jacob Temple in Southeast Wash
ington, died yesterday at Providence
Hospital after a seven-month ILL
ness. His home was at 280l Thirty
third street Sc.
Mr.. Levin was born in Russia and
came to the United States Al years
ago. He lived in New York before
coming to Washington 40 years ago
He was in the clothing business and
the used car business and later
turned the used car enterprise into
parts and scrap business at 1900
Eleventh street Sc. He retired about
five years ago.
Mr.. Levin founded the B'nai Jacob
Temple, 2504 Naylor road Sc, three
years ago. He was honorary presi-
dent of the temple.
Survivors are his widow, Mrs.
Sadie levin; four sons, George, Louis
and Sidney, all of Washington, and
Hyman, of La Plata, Md; five
daughters, Mrs. Zelda Gallun, Mrs.
Frieda Cohen. Mrs. Dora Fox and
Mrs. Rose Margolius, all OF Wash
ington; Mrs. Leah Herman, of En-
cino, Calf, and Is grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at
l o'clock today at Danzansky's fun
eral home, 350l Fourteenth street
NV, with burial in B'nai Israel
Cemetery.
Evening star., 1948-10-10
Glenn Simmon Services
Held in Muskeqon, Mich.

Private funeral services were held
in Muskegon, Mich, yesterday for
Glenn Simmon, At, tax counsel of
the District Government for seven
years, who died in Chicago last
week.
Mr.. Simmon came to Washing
ton from his native Muskegon to
study law at George Washington
University and entered practice
here. He joined the staff of the Dis
trict corporation counsel in 1886
and was given charge of tax litiga-
ton.
In 1943 Mr.. Simmon went to Chi
cago as tax attorney for Swift 2s Co.,
meat packers. Stricken with pollen
cephalitis a year ago, he went, un-
der nursing care, to Florida, re-
signed from Swift & Co., and wrote
friends he planned to return here.
He suffered a relapse a month ago
and returned to Chicago for treat
ment.
A bachelor, he is survived by two
brothers, John H. Simmon, Tampa,
Fla, and E. v. Simmon OF Mus
kegon.
Evening star., 1948-10-10
Hugh HemsIey Rites
At II AM. Tomorrow

Funeral services for Hugh Ham
bleton Hemsley. 81, retired teller
OF the Liberty National Bank. will
be held at II am. tomorrow at the
Hines Funeral Home, 290l Four
teenth street NV. Burial will be
in Loudon Park Cemetery, Balti-
more.
Mr.. Hemsley died Friday at the
Washington Home for Incurables
after an illness of several years. His
home was at 5340 Forty-first street
NV.
He was born in Easton, Nd, and
was employed by a Baltimore bank
prior to joining the Liberty National
Bank in 1919. He retired 10 years
ago.
He is survived by his widow, Mrs.
Corinne Mathiot Hemsley, and a
son. Hugh Hambleton Hemsley, jr.,
who lives in Fairlington.
Evening star., 1948-10-10
Rites Planned Tomorrow
For Mrs. Martha Pile

Funeral services will be held at
II am. tomorrow for Mrs. Martha
McDade Pile, 78, lifelong Wash
lngton resident, who died Friday at
her home, 360S Veazey street NV,
after a weeks illness.
The rites will be held at the
Hines funeral home, 2901 Fourteenth
street NV. Burial will be in Fort
Lincoln Cemetery.
Mrs. Pile was the wife of Robert
Lee Pile. retired Bureau of En-
craving and Printing employe. The
couple had first met in the bureau,
where Mrs. Pile also had been
employed. She resigned when she
married Mr.. Pile Al years ago.
Mrs. Pile was a member of the
Rhode Island Avenue Methodist
Church.
Besides her husband, she Is sur
vived by two daughters. Mrs. Vir-
ginia Cross and Miss Elizabeth C.
Pile, both of the veazey street
address.
Evening star., 1948-10-10
Ashes Of Copt. Kidder
To Rest in ARLINGTON

The ashes of Capt. Edmund j
Kidder, U. S. N, retired, So, who
died September 20 at the Naval
Hospital, Long Beach, Calf, will
be inferred at 2 pm. tomorrow ir
Arlington Cemetery.
Capt. Kidder was graduated from
the Naval Academy in 1918 and
served aboard the destroyer Jen-
kins and the cruiser Des Moines in
World War I. He was commanding
officer of the destroyers Bainbridge
and MacDonough prior to World
War II when he became inspector
of Naval Material in New York. He
was aide and flag secretary to the
commander of the Eastern Sea
Frontier in 1943 and the following
year commanded transport division
81 in the Pacific. He retired due to
i'll health in 1916.
Survivors are his widow, Phyllis
of Houlton, Maine, where he was
born, and two daughters, the Misses
Jane and Mary Kidder.