davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1949-02-20

the government for other reasons,
and disappears. No one Is inter-
ested in getting the middle-aged
classicist back to England. The
British Embassy Is actively unin-
terested. Finally he pays the last
of his money to the underground
and surrenders himself. And then
but you'll want to find out for
yourself.
Mr.. Waugh could be trusted to
strain all the amusing incongrui-
ties out of these ingredients. He
might have made even more out of
q highly humorous, If not alto
gether original, situation. Yet it is
no part Of a reviewers duty to say
what a writer should have done,
but only to comment on what he
has written.
Evening star., 1949-02-20

Philip Bell announces that the
Bald Eagle Chess Club now meets
at the Bald Eagle Recreation Cen
ter, end of Nichols avenue at Joliet
street S.W., on the first and third
Thursday evenings of each month.
It has 20 members. unembarrassed
by dues or fees. who will first en-
gage in a general tournament and
later seek matches with other
groups. A chess club has been
organized at the Library Of Con-
gress, with checker players well
come to participate in its meet
ings, which take place at 6 pm.
every payday (the members do not
stake their pay envelopes). A gen.
Evening star., 1949-02-20
Documenting Boy
Gangs of New York
BY Hal Ellison. fScribners
$2.75.)

DUKE
BY Hal Ellison. fScribner's;;
$2.75)
This novel is what the movies
would call q documentary. Its
startling account Of boy gangs in
New York may sound exaggerated
to the reader who has lodged
such a sordid subject, but there
can be no doubt that every detail
has q factual basis. The emer-
gence of the boy criminal is
shocking condition that the news
papers Of any large city attest.
Mr.. Ellison knows what he's
writing about. For several years he
has worked with juvenile delin-
quents as a recreational therapist.
But there's no preaching in this
brief novel, not even an episode of
attempted reclamation. The
author has preferred to point to
the evil. leaving 1t to others to
draw the obvious conclusions and
to discuss remedies. Thus he has
projected himself into the tortured
mind of q marijuana- -dazed. fear
haunted, tough-acting colored boy
who is called Duke and is presi-
dent Of a gang known as the
Counts. Duke tells his own story.
Duke is only is. but he already
is adept at all the vicious deeds of
an adult criminal. He and his pals
smoke dynamite, drink liquor,
carry guns. rob, hold up stores,
levy on the earnings of prostitutes,
even murder on occasion. Their
fights with other gangs are affairs
of firearms rather than fists, and
boys are often taken to hospitals.
sometimes one goes to the morgue.
Duke also runs maruuana for a
dealer. He Is clever enough to
keep one step ahead of the law;
he usually has plenty Of money,
but he is not happy except briefly
when he's high" He lives in
fear.
There's nothing in 1.-THE Lost
Weekend or in any other recent
story Of disintegration SO starkly
sinister as Dukes description of
the Intangible terrors that reach
for him. &C. B. j.
Evening star., 1949-02-20
The Literary Guilds Million Is Given
A Chance to Taste Miss Bowen's Caviar
THE HEAT OF THE DAY
BY Elizabeth Bowen. (Altred A. Knopt; $3J


This strange, subtle novel Of love
and betrayal in wartime London
will introduce Elizabeth Bowen to
the widest American audience she
has ever had. Hitherto known,
like the pro-"Brideshead" Evelyn
Waugh, to an ardent few, the
distinguished Anglo-Irish novelist
will now be brought to the atten-
ton Of the million subscribers Of
the Literary Guild. How they will
respond to q writer whose un-
compromising artistry have made
her caviar. even to the not-so-
general. Is q subject for much
speculation.
1.-THE Heat Of the Day." despite
its wartime setting. is anything
but a war novel, although Miss
Bowen. who was herself an air
raid warden. has created the
heroic atmosphere of the be-
leaguered city with poetic In
tensity. It is rather. to borrow
one Of her own inclusive phrases,
IAN act Of dry celebration inside
windowless walls" The fathom-
lessly intricate relationships BE-
tween her three central characters
could only have fourished In q
climate of "makeshifts. shelvings
and deferrings," but the charac-
ters themselves. like the figures in
classic French drama, are rather
above the struggle" free behind
the blackout curtains, to discuss
with the most delicate qualifica-
tions and shadings every nuance
Of their dilemma.
The central situation Of "The
Heat Of the Day" Is as complex a.
the characters involved. Stella
Evening star., 1949-02-20
Reviewed by
MARY McGRORY,

Rodney and Robert Kelway.
friends of circumstance and
creatures Of history" are lovers
who had met at the height Of the
blitz, when it was said that
everybody in London was in
love-" Inside the ring Of war
they had found peace with each
other. When family repulsive
and sinister stranger named Har-
rison comes to Stella's fiat with
the suggestion that she become
his mistress in return for the de-
ferred arrest of Robert. who. Har-
rison tells her. is known traitor.
she is contemptuous and disbe-
lieving. And yet. in spite Of her
unquestioning love Of Robert she
Is vulnerable. too, for her whole
knowledge Of him had been
gained at . moment in time
when one knew people well
without knowing much about
them"
The desperate situation is dis
solved more than solved. for Miss
Bowen seems always more inter-
ested In questions rather than
answers.
Minor characters, several quite
wittily drawn, swirl about the
central three. OF these, . war
time widow and waif. Louie. Is the
least successful. being . trifie
coarse-grained for Miss Bowen's
special type Of fine verbal needle
work. As interesting for its
asides as its story. '"The Heat Of
the Day" Is . deeply wrought
work of art. requiring for the
reading the same kind Of rapt
intensity that must have gone
into it, writing. M. McG.
Evening star., 1949-02-20
Jerome Weidmon
Cooks Dish
THE PRICE IS RIGHT
BY Jerome Weidman. (Har
court, Brace; $3D
Reviewed Dy
w. G. ROGERS.
Reviewed by
IRVING F. LASH.

What a tongue-blistering cas-
serole this master chef stirs with
his stilleto. The recipe: Scrub a
large-size cement-mixer with acid
(any popular brand will do nicely,
provided it is rich and clear. Pour
in what's left for seasoning. Don't
measure it, or try to economic.
This is important. Toss in ham,
preferably whole one, shaped like
a syndicate editor who peddles
homespun columns and bawdy
comic strips to newspapers. Two
hams are better, 80 throw in the
editors wife, fresh, lean and
toughened by q diet Of leafy
greens (Treasury certified. Add
a lamb in the guise Of a gen.
tie farmland who does q Will
Roger-ish piece for q country
weekly. Cut up q chicken, in this
case the stringy barnyard mate Of
the lamb. She's not used to fine
feathers. and lives on corn-squeez-
ings which she puts up and down
in cute jelly jars. Top it off with
large chunk Of beef, the kind
that melts on the tongue like a
saddle. This last item comes
from an eager. young bull, a hand
some creature which tears madly
about the syndicate Office. goring
executives right and left. Only
women tame him.
This seems somewhat meaty. but
then Mr.. Weidman is no vege-
tartan. To go over the ingredients
again:
The ham is known formally as
Chester Vinnaver. pipe smoked,
tweed-wrapped president Of Vim
naver & Jaxon, New York. small
but prosperous syndicate climbing
to prominence on 28-inch shoe
string. Pride Of the VI stable is
Buzz Mapping. a moronic artist,
who draws Letta Lone, flimsily
clad beauty Of amazing physique,
whose libidinous antics make her
the Nations darling. Buzz quits
VI for an agency with a longer
shoestring.
Ham No. 2 Is Luise Vinnaver,
who thought chicken potpie,
Automat style. was the dish su-
preme until Chester waved a big
head of lettuce and she became
his happy homemaker. The lamb,
Wallace Pohl, is a wholesome ex-
CT, who runs wealthy mans
farm and spins out a letter every
week for the Dunniston Standard.
Wally's column Is widely quoted
by the wire services when it scores
a political SCOOP" Wally achieves
this by coming right out and ask
ing a politically chased admiral
(not to be confused with gen.
eraD whether he will run for Pres
ident. The admirars answer puts
Wally on the map as a clever kid
with words.
The chicken is Vivian Pohl.
transplanted Dixie belle, who
swims wildly in the flood of dollars
that breaks loose when "Pohl's
Apart" becomes a syndicated SEN
sation. Viv buys everything fashy
a mail order catalogue offers.
The tough cut Of beef is Henry
Cade, who starts as Office boy with
Evening star., 1949-02-20

University. where he took degree
He thereafter made his way tc
Harlem where he now makes his
living writing and lecturing.
At the moment he is working on
the lyrics for a Broadway musical
comedy, and is awaiting the pro-
duction of an opera called 'Trou-
bled Island" for which he wrote
the libretto IL years ago.
He has always been. he said, "a
poet of protest" Ever since his
migratory childhood Che was borr
in Joplin, Mo- when his family
set out time and again for areas
they had been told were free OF
prejudice, he has bewailed the
plight of his race. But he has tried
he said. to point out "the absurdi-
ties of the situation" and 1.-THE
non Negro implications for democ.
racy."
II suppose I am considered a
spokesman for my people. although
I have never consciously tried to
be. I have written what has hap
pened to me. I don't like being
pushed around and humiliated and
being made to ride in freight ele-
vators. but I have only spoken fol
myself.
He feels that some white people
who fear that they have some
thing to lose by granting equal
rights need to be educated, need
to be written about and some
times sued"
His views, Mr.. Hughes said,
have resulted In his being called
q Communist, which, he hastened
to add, he is not now and never
has been. He has worked with
leftist groups, however, and will
continue to work with any that
are within the law. Still he feels
the Communists served the Negro
cause notably during the depres-
sion, when they organized the
share-croppers and helped the de-
PENDANTS of the Scottsboro case.
They were the first group to
bring the issue of civil rights into
the open. the first in many cases
to make the Negroes socially con-
scious. But I do not think their
influence today with the Negroes
Is any greater than on any other
racial group. since we are cross
section. right and left. like any
other Americans. Besides other
groups in both parties have COM
mitted themselves to fight for
civil rights. And I. for one, am
hopeful of the outcome.
Il 4 \ Il
In the offing: Chalmers M. Rob
erts Of The Star is at work pre-
pairing a history Of Washington
D. c., publication Of which will
coincide with the 1850 sesquicen'
tennial anniversary of the Capital
M. Meg.
Evening star., 1949-02-20

Mr.. and Mrs. James Lazard and
Mrs. Elizabeth Count-Mrs. Flor
ence Millspaugh. Monthly high
average awards for January fell
to Edward A. Hruby, first, and
Mrs. Hruby, second.
There are other master-point
contests galore this week. Ma
tionally awarded matches are
scheduled at the La Sale Studios,
1923 Connecticut avenue NV, to-
morrow night and at the Chess
Club in the Hotel Gordon Thurs
day evening. On Saturday the
Women's Auxiliary of the Wash
ington Bridge League holds its
bimonthly open master-point
matinee at 1855 Euclid street
NV, while at night the Walsh
Club contingent vies for February
awards.
Drs. Gorton and McHugh, Da-
vid Murray and Joe White jour-
neyed to Fort Monroe last week
end and almost brought home the
Virginia Peninsula team -of-four
title, losing the match by one
board. AS runnersup they will re-
ceive about five master points
each. Messrs. Murray and White
add to their master-p point collec-
ton by winning a section top In
the qualifying round.
OF interest to the hundreds Of
duplicate fans is the announce
ment by Washington League
Chairman Charles johnson that
the third annual City of Wash
ington mixed and open-pair
championships, originally sched-
uled for the last week end OF
March, have been advanced to
April 2 and 8. The change was
made in order to avoid conflict
with the yearly Women's Auxiliary
Bennett Cup match on March rs.
and the City Of Richmond events
always popular with our players
now reset for the same week
end. Shortage Of local hotel space
has necessitated moving the D. c.
tourney to the Hotel George Ma
son in Alexandria, but, judging by
the large attendance at the North
ern Virginia meet held there last
month, District residents will md
it no hardship to be present.
At the Stephan Studio February
II, Mrs. Mary Goodstein-Mrs.
Dora Schwartz led the Ms mas
ter-point contestants, while Col.
r. H. Skinner james G. Stone and
the Bernard Rossons with identi-
cal scores split the E-W awards.
Another tie for Kathleen McNutt-
Mrs. r. H. Skinner and Mrs. Mil
dred Linderman-Mrs. j. G. Sea-
bourne for second honors In the
stationary position; Sue CAN'T
and Frieda Kenyon trailing E-W.
Evening star., 1949-02-20

poet and playwright, Mr.. Hughes
has edited THE Poetry of the
Negro" an anthology of poems by
Negro writer's In this country
from the time of the Revolution to
the present. They range from
Phillis Wheatley, who was born in
Africa in 1853, to Bette Darcie
Latimer, who was born In Roch-
ester in 1927.
Sterling Brown and Owen Dod-
son of the Howard University
faculty are represented by ex-
cellent pieces and Beatrice M.
Murphy. q stenographer for the
Veterans Administration. has q
nice. breath-catching little poem
from a group called Love Is a
Terrible Thing"
A section called Tributary
Poems by Non-Negroes" contains
work Of several poets, in the mod
ern, or non-Joel Chandler Harris
tradition, who have written on
Negro themes.
Evening star., 1949-02-20

Vinnaver g. Jaxon and works up
to stockholder by signing Colum-
mist Pohl. This pulls VI up by
the shoestring after they lose
Wapping's stripped strip. and en-
ables the firm to stay in business,
which, of course, is too bad. Cade
butts Vinnaver all around the lot,
merely because he knew Luise be-
fore she married, and he wants
her back.
Evening star., 1949-02-20

offered without bitterness or in
dignation, 1t Is successful.
Since "Scott-King's Modern
Europe" is q brief novel, no more
than SO pages. and satirical tn
spirit, as so much of Mr.. Waugh's
past work has been. 1t is sure to
be compared with last years
novelette,. 1.-THE Loved One" Be-
side that savage portrait of pre-
tense and bad taste. the new book
seems slight and pallid. and yet
more people probably will enjoy it.
The large public that bought ''The
Loved One" no doubt swayed for
the most part between horror and
laughter as they read a realistic
satire on Hollywood's funeral
racket. There is nothing in Scott
Kings adventure to keep any one
from settling back for q couple Of
hours agreeable diversion.
The Poet Bellorious.
Soothing Is an obscure clas-
sical scholar who teaches at
Granchester, an English public
school, and decides to translate
the work of the poet Bellorius.
The only extant work by Bellorius
is a long poem in Latin. and
Soothing translates it into
Spencerian stanzas. But he can't
find a publisher. He does publish
in a learned journal an essay on
the subject. Then comes the most
startling event Of his Il years OF
teaching-an invitation to attend
the Bellorius Tercentenary Cele-
bration in Neutralia Gan imaginary
totalitarian state) as guest Of its
government. The 18th century
poet was native.
Whisked by plane to the capital
of the strange state. Soothing
finds himself In company Of sew
eral other delegates to the celebra-
ton. none Of whom has ever heard
of Bellorius. Indeed. only q few
Neutralians know of the poet.
The opening banquet is hilari-
Gus chapter. Soothing and q
fellow British pedagogue. who
haven't tasted wine in years owing
to England's postwar abstemious-
ness, quaff too much, and there
are complications.
When 1t comes time to unveil
q statue of BelloriuS in the uni
versity town, the other foreign
guests, in a huff because they
were tricked into honoring a
shrine to the country's dictator
ship, have quit the celebration
after denouncing the faithful
Soothing as q Fascist beast"
and q bourgeois escapist." The
teacher remains and delivers the
speech. The statue turns out to
be not o likeness Of Bellorius-
there Is none known-but mot
even unambiguously male: 1t was
scarcely human; 1t represented
perhaps one of the virtues" After
ward Scott-King's host. . man
from a ministry, iS kicked out Of
Evening star., 1949-02-20
Bridge Players
By Margaret l. Fisher

An all-time attendance record
in local duplicate club annals was
reached Wednesday. when "a men
and 80 women members Of the
Washington Bridge League gath
cred at the Roosevelt to begin
competition for the annual mems
and women's pair championships.
Director P. E. Golden's initial
computation of scores at halfway
mark puts Mrs. Howard G. Camp
bell and Kathleen McNutt. with
215 match points, far ahead for
women. Laura Hunter and Mrs.
E. A. st. John stood second with
1873 points, Mrs. Marianne Bos-
chan-Mrs. J. r. McGhee and Mrs.
Mildred Linderman-Mrs. j. G.
Seabourne tied for third at 1879.
Sam Cohn and Jerry Machlin
lead the men with 1874 match
points. Runnersup Victor Dunn
and Mark Lake trail by two points,
while Charles c. Johnson-Dr. A. j.
Steinberg with 191 and DR.. w. H.
Gorton-Dr. Neil j. McHugh at 1873
follow closely.
It's still anybody's guess as to
who will be the new champions
after the final session February
%. Average score in both fields
is 1856 match points per session,
and. as is the case in any two
session tournament, a beloW-aver-
age pair in the initial round could
produce a sufficiently large game
in the finals to rise to the top.
This Is particularly true Of the
mems contest.
Even though George Washing
ton couldn't tell a lie, favorite
partners may "psych' on his
birthday during the Federal
Leagues open-pair title contest.
The third annual two-session
championship match will be held
in the Hotel Roosevelt ballroom
February %. initial rounds sched-
uled at / pm. and Z pm.
Winning 1872 boards out OF "a,
last seasons champion foursome,
the Cascades" George Dicker-
man.. Miller Roberts, the r. H.
SINNERS, James G.. Stone) took
the lead in the February IA ses-
sion of the Federal's new team
series.
Another club championship
high lights this weeks calendar
when teams Of four compete for
the Arlington Farms annual title.
Col. H. A. Walker, director, re-
quests that participants register
with him before game time, 8 pm,
February Is. Ten teams have now
registered. Participation is linn
tied to those who play there regu-
larly. Final session starts at $50
pm, February 26, all teams to
play through both sessions.
Mitchell rating point winners In
the February IL Farms game were
Evening star., 1949-02-20

"One-Way Ticket" is Mr.. Hughes
first collection of verse on Negro
themes In several years. 1t Is
made up of laments and blues in a
style which he has popularized.
The content is, If anything, sadder
than before.
There Is perhaps trace more Of
bitterness and a shade less Of the
bittersweet. The style has been
pared almost to the point Of OBJ
scurity. There is none Of that full
and convincing articulateness in
song that distinguished Mr..
Hughes lyrics for Kurt WELLS
brilliant opera, Street Scene" On
the credit side there are flashes
of wit. as in this quatrain:
When you turn the corner
And you run into yourself,
Then. you k1.oD that you haze
turned
All the corners that are left.
With Arna BontempS, also a
Evening star., 1949-02-20
Chess Notes
By DonoId H. Mugridgs

eral tournament began last We'd
nesday. Julius Allen Is chairman
and Henry Dubester, vice chair
man.
Fast chess at the Washington
Chess Divan: On Feb. 8 q s.
minute game tourney was won IN
impressive fashion by a newcomer.
Hermann Haar, with a score
of I'll. Carl A. Hesse was close
behind with 61a-1h. while Comdr.
Charles D. Mott and Nathan
Robins tied at 5-3 each. On Feb
ruary IL another 5-minute affair
resulted as follows: D. H. Mu-
gridge and N. Robins. 6-1; c. A.
Hesse, So; r. S. Cantwell and
E. M. Knapp. 4-3: w. j. Nucker.
2-5; M. Kurtz, 1-6; w. Crowel,
OF.
The key-move of the 3-movs
problem by Vincent L. Eaton.
given last week Is NxQP.
Black has two cross-checks: II
PxN Mach; 2 N-N5, and II
PxN (Q4)ch; 2 NOS. There are
cross-checks on blacks I'd move
in other variations, as B-N2; 2
NxKP, PxNch; 8 N-B5 mate or
PRS; 2 N-N3, PxNch; 3 N-B5
mate. Eaton's problems are mar
vels of intricate complexity under
perfect control, hardly to bs
solved unless one penetrates to the
thematic idea which inspires them.
Evening star., 1949-02-20
Why the Atom Bomb
Is Not q Guarantee
OF Victory for Us

FEAR, WAR AND THE BOMB:
MILITARY AND POLITICAL
CONSEQUENCES OF ATOMIC
ENERGY
BY P. M. s. Blackett. (Whtttle-
sey House; $780,
Reviewed by
w. @. ROGERS.
Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima
have been only too well remem-
bered; but they have not been un-
derstood." This statement of
Blackett's summarizes a major
part of his challenging book. for
these words may be interpreted
to mean that a surprise attack
does not alone win a war, and that
we do not understand, though
Russia does, that even atomic
bombs do not guarantee victory.
The English author mistrusts us.
And though his government re-
buked him for it, his distinguished
work in nuclear physics and cosmic
rays. which won him a Royal
Academy medal, the American
Medal of Merit and Sweden's
Nobel prize, entities him to serious
attention.
The bomb. in his opinion, is no
world beater, and he reminds us
that Germany once was dead sure
submarines would win a war. and
that Douhet bet on airplanes.
Hiroshima, as Blackett sees it, was
our first move in the cold war, and
the Baruch plan, which we had
regarded proudly as noble and
generous, is just more cold war
dressed up in pretty language.
Granting a terrific power to the
bomb, he denies 1t absolute power;
it is not so dangerous, he says,
that we were justified in offering
Russia nothing but the Baruch
plan; on the other hand, Soviet
armies aren't so invincible that
Russia couldn't have done better
than the Gromyko proposals.
Temperate though it is, this is a
most severe indictment Of Amer
ican policy. Maybe we've been less
successful than we supposed in
making friends and influencing
people abroad.
BY the Asseeiotsd Press
Evening star., 1949-02-20
Robin Moughom
Does oHorror Tale
Readable as Gossip
THE SERVANT
THE SERVANT
BY Robin Vaughan. (Harcourt,
Brace & Co.; $780,
Reviewed by
I. w. HILL.

In 81 pages. here you have an
unpleasant psychological horror
novel that is as readable as gossip.
The British author. a nephew of
W. Somerset Vaughan. turns
from writing reportage Come to
Dust and Nomad to narrate q
fast-moving story In stripped,
get-on-with-it style.
Unfortunately, the subject mat
ter Is abnormal and of less appeal
than the manner Of writing.
The story Is the step-by-step
moral degradation Of a young
Britisher under the baleful inf1u-
ence of his wheedling man-serv-
ant.
Evening star., 1949-02-20

Star, and it was
wired all over
the coun try.
The pic ur e
VIII ic h accom-
p a n 1 e d 1t
showed him In
the bu s b oy
uniform which
he wore at his
] OBJ a t the
w a r d m q n
Park Hotel.
Mr.. H u g h e S
r e t urn d to
Washington last
Evening star., 1949-02-20

to grip your
interest. what
ever you may
think Of the
pc ople W h o
wander through
1t.
The author
Of THE Huck-
sterS" has writ
ten an entire
0OOk d 7 o u n q
the effort Of q
man on the
sunny side OF
middle age to
Evening star., 1949-02-20
Reading and Writing
Reading and Writing
Longston Hughes Recalls Story in Star
That Started Him on His Road to Fame

Twenty five years ago, Langston
Hughes woke up in Washington
to find himself fairly famous. A
story about him appeared in The
Evening star., 1949-02-20
Frederic Wokenon's S
Tour-de-Force
THE WASTREI

BY Frederic Wakeman. (Rine-
hart; $2.75.)
Mr.. Wakeman's new novel is
something of a tour -de-force.
Since it is written at a fast pace,
with tight suspense, it is likely
Evening star., 1949-02-20
Who butMr. Waugh CouIdHove
Turned uTuIe Like This?
MODERN EUROPE
By Evelyn Waugh. (Ltttle, BrotDn; $2J

Reviewed by CARTER BROOKE JONES.
Who Waugh could have made something distinctive
and irony Of ubani and OF
built around theme Of startling import or deep
significance? -
publishers hint that Mr. Waugh regarded this light
tale nothing against It, subtle satire