davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1950-11-27

present defensive complex is damaging to
our national character and threatens our
safety. 1t is conducive of purely de-
fensive thinking in our military minds,
and in our citizens it places the issue of
survival at the mercy Of the procrastin-
alton which is part of human nature.
II the danger is now, prepare now. If
the enemy has declared himself, strike
out at him now. Being exhausted with
waiting and perhaps crippled by blow
IN an unguarded moment is poor way
to enter a battle for survival Is it so
awful, in the moral sense, to lay hands
on ones enemy as he draws the sword?
Mankind's great hope for justice and
good will in the world lies in the estab-
liShment Of rule of law among nations.
We are sometimes told that we have
failed, which Is untrue, because we have
only begun. But we are about to fail,
and for an obvious reason. While we
have learned that to establish a law
means also to enforce it, we have not
recognized the fact that any rule of law
rests upon the sincere desire of all re-
sponsible groups to abide by it in letter
and spirit. Where any one group within
community has not that sincere desire,
only lawlessness will prevail. This is
the source of the heart-breaking trials
we undergo today.
Our purpose must be high, for in
volved here is not only a great hope,
but supreme challenge as well. Very
seldom in Christian history have Chris
tian men been challenged to preserve
the whole body of Christianity from the
announced purpose of a single threat.
Parts OF Christianity have before been
separately set upon, but not since the
Dark Ages has the whole institution of
Chrlsts Church, the foundation upon
which our Western civilization solidly
rests. been selected victim Of organized
Wlckedness. This Is q frightening
thought to all men of enlightenment,
and those who are not aroused by these
religious aspects must realize that the
fortunes Of our own Constitution, which
Is the most perfect translation of Chris
tlanlty into government are inseparably
linked with the fate Of the Christian
faith.
1t would. indeed. seem that the ag-
gregate evil Of the world has gravitated
together into a massive gathering of
malicious purposes for a final assault
upon all men of good will, who now
stand on the threshold of the era of
justice. It is time again for the Battle
Hymn Of the Republic" to sing in eyery
American heart, for in its great and
moving verses we fnd expression of
the courage. resolution and high purpose
which are our honored heritage and
sacred obligation.
Coto Jones.
Evening star., 1950-11-27
More on Interruciul Recreation

Colt Hendleys article OF November 81,
largely quoting from Superintendent
Christensen of the D. c. Recreation
Department., was uniformly fair ex-
position of problems incident to the
Cardozo interracial recreation expert
ment. However, in explaining the lack
of attendance by colored participants.
one factor was not mentioned except by
inference when Mr.. Christensen said
interracial recreation must be matter
Of evolution and adjustment"
Because Of 800 years of bondage.
segregation and social isolation, it will
take time for many Negroes to overcome
feelings of inferiority so as to feel ma
tural in association with those whom
many have thought Of as enemies.
AS we predicted, when the theaters
were opened to all lovers Of the legiti-
mate theater, there was no great rush
of Negro patrons. Some of the recrea-
tional opportunities at Cardozo likewise
will have limited appeal until more skills
and appreciations have been developed
for more people hitherto denied them.
OF course, many discreet groupings
always will prefer their social equals
and others of their same group for
recreation. The Jewish Community
Center members, the Catholic clubs and
the Masons will continue to recreate
in homogeneous gatherings. But public
recreation supported by all taxpayers
cannot under our laws and the Consti-
tuition of the United States provide
separate facilities based on such differ
entails as color of skin, or racial and
religious identity.
The sooner the Recreation Board de-
cides to operate all Of its public facilities,
the more efficient and economical will
be the operations. When the Recreation
Department gives in-service training
Evening star., 1950-11-27
For Reasonable Dispersal

The modified dispersal plan for the Wash
ington area now being discussed by Federal
oInclalS is lot more sensible than the drastic
one presented to Congress last summer That one
covered SO much territory and involved so much
cost that strong opposition to it developed It is
not surprising that Congress failed to act on it
In the rush for adjournment.
The new program is in line with longtime
proposals of the National Capital Park and Plan
nlng Commission for expansion of the Federal
government into nearby Maryland and Virginia
areas The summary report on the master plan
OF the commission provides for gradual develop
ment OF Federal office centers at convenient loca-
lions around the District, primarily with view
to relieving congestion inside the city.
The plan which startled the legislators and
many other persons, however, went much farther
than the NCPPC program. It's 5O-mile scope
aroused concern in Baltimore where fears were
voiced that the Federal Government would take
over the planning and development of Baltimore
as well as Washington However ill-founded the
fears, the need for modification of the plan be-
came clear.
non-hySterical approach to the related
problems OF relieving urban congestion and dis
persing Offices as safeguard against atomic at
tack Is evident in the substitute plan disclosed bv
Jess Larson, General Services Administrator. The
ouCer prlmeter OF FEDERAL expansion would be
20 miles from downtown Washington, with some
building groups located on a 15-mile perimeter
There would be more centerS, each of smaller
size, so that the impact on local communities
would be less severe. Expensive atomic bomb
PROOF construction would be eliminated in favor
or more conventional structures.
Mr.. Larson said the various projects would
NJ IN readily with plans of the local communities
Tor future development To insure this however
the Government should take pains to consult
freely and continuously with local planning agen-
cies and other jurisdictional authorities Without
their cooperation the chances of obtaining con-
gressional approval for the program will be slim
indeed.
Evening star., 1950-11-27
Sportsmunship

In all my years OF observing football
games. have never witnessed anything
quite comparable to an incident which
took place at the Anacostia- Eastern
game on Tuesday afternoon.
An Anacostia player was knocked un-
conscious after hard tackle. From
Eastern stands some one with bugle
or some such musical instrument
sounded TAPS" If good craftsmanship
had prevailed. there would have been
only cheers for that boy.
1t is hoped that the person playing
the bugle did so in a spirit of good
sportsmanship for the fallen player. but
even so it was certainly in bad taste,
could not help wondering how this
lone musician would feel today If that
boy had been fatally injured.
Disguised.
Evening star., 1950-11-27
To the Editor of The Stor:

~ ttC IOttOt VI US StOI.
AM young American who has fought
L. in one World War and who is now
quite resigned to the necessity of fight
ing in another. AS deplorable as this
prospect appears, 1t is not half so de-
plorable as the present state of mind
OF too many of my countrymen. Popular
consciousness has given way to a sort of
numbness. and conscientiousness to apa-
thy. We need thoughts which go to the
root of the matter. Having waited these
many months for some one ADLER than
myself to speak such thoughts. I have
come to set them down for myself.
In the cast of leadership which we
have assumed, our actual purpose seems
more toward the preservation of peace
in world already half slave than toward
an active championing of the causes we
revere. There seems here a confusion
of values. Freedom and peace are not
inseparately linked, as we seem to be-
lieve. For the establishment or preserva-
ton of freedom, the peace has been
broken many times.
AS we undertake to preserve the peace,
at such great cost, we should consider
Do we really seek peace for itself? Do
we seek peace in dangerous restrictive
world, or peace in a safe and free world?
Is the nature of the peace as we find
1t now so desirable that we can bear
it for the remainder of our lives and.
with all Of its burdens, vexations and
worries, pass it on to become the pattern
by which our children shall live? No. I
say. Never! Mankind has come too far
at too great cost toward its hope of
seeing the law prevail among nations to
stop now, this close to the end.
By accepting a peace whose appall-
ing cost is distorting our society. are
we not paying very real tribute to the
powers of evil? Have they not intended
that we should? What peculiar psyche
logical arrangement there is here! We
submit to the enormous burdens of
peace contrived by an enemy who has
shown himself an affront to God and
man alike, peace whose only purpose
is our ruination. while our enemy, in all
his sneering contempt for our high
principles, slashes his way through the
world, rendering the peace far more
unstable and its cost to us even more
enormous. So persistently blind are we
to the real value at stake-which is our
own survival. not the peace of the
world-that as long as we ourselves or
one of our friendly associates in a speci-
fed part of the world is not overtly
assaulted we shall go on and on to our
deaths in the illusion that somehow these
troubles shall pass away.
And throughout the process of main
Evening star., 1950-11-27
Old Pohick Church, Virginia

Beautiful and strange, there Is chill
Not OF the season here, nor of these days;
A place OF n1emories-dim-din these
Gisles
Where once, tDith reperent step, men
came to praise
Whose names today
Are famous on the lips OF all the ,Dorld.
Did they perhaps bring to these hallo,Ded
aDdlls
Dreams? Trials? Hungry, burdened hearts
for ease?
And did they feel, as I haze felt. today
Peace dropping through the bending,
tin1eless trees
Within this dooryard, close upon the
throng
OF busy highways teeming pulse and
sUell;:
Here within the church, one louely
.Dindo1D
Sends its light to pe,Ds they knep 50 auel.
Far the 1Dorld that lies across the SILL:
The highways roar and haste haze
ceased to be.
"Old Pohick Church" serene. above con-
fusion,
WithdrntDs apart IN quiet dignity.
MRS. JULIA COLLINS ARDAY1B.
Evening star., 1950-11-27
The Return of the 81st

The battle-Scarred 81st Congress returns to
Washington today for its lame duck session, and
there is no reason to suppose that it will accom-
plish great deal.
II that Democratic landslide predicted by
the President had materalized on November q,
the returning Congress might have done credit
able amount of work in the three of four weeks
that it will be in session. But the landslide went
the other way, and Mr.. Truman will have to
work through Senate leadership that has been
repudlated by the voters and party organiza-
ton that has been rather thoroughly demoralized
by the unexpected Republican gains. In this sit
uatlon 1t Is idle to suppose that any controversial
measures will receive final approval
The outlook is good for favorable action on
emergency appropriations for defense There has
not as yet been any announcement as to the
size or character of the additional appropriations
wanted by the Defense Department, and when
the requests are put forward the country may
get preview of what is in the minds of the ere
examinists" There is little likelihood, how
ever, that politics will be permitted to stand in
the way OF providing what is needed for defense
purposes. It is also thought that the lame-duck
session may agree upon a brief extension of the
law which ends Federal rent controls on Decem-
Der 81 except in communities which act to con-
tlnue rent ceilings for another six months The
prospects for this are not bright, however.
Even less bright is the outlook for final action
on an excess profits tax. Before the recess
when the members were speaking with an eye on
the voters-there was much brave talk to the
effect that an excess profits tax would be passed
when the legislators re-assembled. But the elec-
ton is thing of the past now, and the problem
OF deviSing an excess profits tax that is both
reasonably equitable and non-inflationary is be-
ginning to be seen in its true complexity The
chances are that there will be no new tax legisla-
tlon until the 82nd Congress convenes
The important proposal to appropriate S75
million for the Yugoslavs also is in Jeopardy.
This project may not encounter serious opposi-
tlon on its merits but it will have to run the
gauntlet OF those who think that aid for Tito
should be linked with help for Spain and Chang
Kai-shek. If Tito is to be helped, however time
Is OF first Importance, and Congress, while pro-
v1ding billions for Defense should not stub its toe
on this chance to prop up significant anti
Russian force at a bargain price
Among the other main items on the agenda
are the statehood bills for Hawaii and Alaska.
and the confirmation of Seth Richardson as
chairman OF the Subversive Activities Control
Board set up under the McCarren Act. In both
cases, favorable action is very doubtful.
A few days ago Senator Taft was asked what
ne thought the lame-duck session should do
HIS reply was: Adjourn" And that, except for
the defense items, may just about tell the story,
The real tests will come in the new Congress
when the Republicans will be in better position
to try out their newly-won spurs.
Evening star., 1950-11-27
Is 1t So Awful, in the Moral Sense?

tanning the status quo we are powerless
to prevent the fall of our friends into
the enemy's camp, either by weakness
or choice, except through the expendi-
ture OF even greater amounts of our own
strength. Has America really come to
this, that she must buy her way through
the world?
We have stressed too often for own
good our intention of fighting only to
repulse an act of overt aggression. This
is policy of timidity and softness. It
is a declaration that we have only one
instinct remaining, that of self-preser-
vation. Strong, honorable men are mo-
tfvated by convictions as well as instincts.
Evening star., 1950-11-27
Union View of Strike Comment

Your editorial on the telephone strike
in The Sunday Star. while being COM
pletely unrealistic, makes one wonder
which company press release was used
as source material.
The Senate Labor b-committee in
vestigating labor-management relations
In the Bell System, as well as other in
vestigating bodies, have exploded the
myth that Western Electric Company
is separate company from the other
units of the Bell System. Your belief
that the dispute between Western Elec-
trio and its employees is not our concern
is not true. On the contrary, we were
definitely concerned.
Nine general wage increases have been
granted in the Bell System in the past
ten years. all following negotiations con-
centrated on one unit Of the Bell System.
Because Of their nationwide character,
Western Electric and the Long Lines
divisions usually are chosen as points for
concentrated negotiations All Bell Sys-
tenn employees lend their support to these
divisions during their negotiations, know
ing their successful conclusion will set
the pattern for the entire system. This
is one reason why Long Lines employees
in Washington refused to agree to cross
Western Electric picket lines and were
laid off as result.
Another more basic reason why West
ern Electric lines were held inviolate is
the very character Of organized labor A
union member does not cross q picket
line. It's as simple as that. This has al
ways been basic principle. Recent
NLRB decisions have underscored that
principle by interpreting even the Taft
Hartley Act to guarantee this right Of
labor. To refuse to cross another units
picket line is not violation Of contract,
has never been held to be such and Is
perfectly legal.
Thus your final point-that local union
officers were irresponsible for injecting
such phony issues into labor dispute"
lis poorly taken. Forcing an employe to
cross picket line as an additional con-
dition of employment is illegal. You
will notice that Bell System manage
ment made only one demand in signing
the contract settling the dispute-with-
draw the many NLRB cases filed against
1t, charging illegal intimidation. The
cases must have hit too close to home.
The Stars suggestion that injunctions
be sought locally to test the unions
tactics may make good reading, but is
q monumental error. What possible
good could come from the exercise Of
this one sided power of Injunction? Why
not suggest that the power of Injunction
be used to test the legality Of the lock-
out itself?
John r. Shipley, jr.,
Chief Steward. Communications Work.
ers Of America. C1O.
Evening star., 1950-11-27
U. N. Post Office


The AP dispatch from New York,
printed by you under the heading "U NJ
Votes to Set Up Own Postal Service" !"
provokes some interesting questions.
The dispatch says: "The United States
Post ONCE has contracted to operate
the United Nations post office, but the
stamps will be issued by the U. N. and
are expected to show heavy yearly
profit for the world body"
However. the dispatch further says:
"The service will be provided by the
United States Post Office at the prevail
ing postal rates. Mail to an addressee
inside the United States, for instance.
would go at the same rates charged for
United States mail. A letter sent to
London would cost the same as letter
sent there by United States mail"
How is the United States Post Office
to be compensated, If the U. N. sets up
its post Office and issues its own stamps,
which are used in lieu of United States
postage, but carried by United States
mail?
It appears that our $500 million postal
deficit is to be increased by an additional
huge sum from carrying and delivering
what amounts to an increased volume of
"franked" mail matter, not presently
authorized by Congress. It appears some
what difficult to understand why such q
concession should be made to one in
ternational organization.
Nathan Boone Williams.
Editors Note: The fact, which the
dispatch did not make clear, is that
Inauguration of the U. N. post Office
will cost the United States nothing.
The United States Post Office will be
fully reimbursed for all U. NJ mail
carried. The "heavy profit" anticipated
by the u. N. is from the sale Of U. N.
stamps to collectors.)
Evening star., 1950-11-27
Watch Can Be Checked
To 600th of q Second
New Instrument Reported
BY Bureau of Standards
BY Thomos R. Henry

Is your watch of time by as much
as 600th Of second per minute?
Physicists of the United States Bureau
OF Standards can check a timepiece to
this accuracy by means Of q new in
strument..
The frequency Of the watch or clock is
checked automatically against the vi
bration rate of quartz crystal by a
special type Of hook-up. and a continuous
record OF the difference between the two
is kept with moving stylus.
In this way the drift of a watch from
absolute accuracy. judged by the un-
varying vibration rate of the crystal, is
determined. Over period Of q second
or minute the watch or clock may be
quite accurate, but there may be consid-
erable variation in the length of the
oscillations or vibrations individually.
The quartz crystal rate comes very close
to absolute uniformity.
In actual practice with the new instru-
ment the frequency of the oscillator is
varied to conform to the frequency of
the mechanical timepiece. The accuracy
attained. 1t is pointed out in the Stand
ards Bureau report. is much greater than
ever would be required for practical pur-
poses. The instrument was designed to
measure specifically the drift in watches
clocks and marine chronometers.
1t can, however, be modified to deter
mine accuracy to ten parts In a second,
and frequencies as low as one cycle in
80 seconds have been determined.
West Texas has been alternately sea
bottom and desert.
1t was as dry 100 million years ago as
at present. but in the interval since then
there have been several periods Of lush
vegetation.
This was reported 10 the Geological
Society OF America meeting here recently
by DR.. c. c. Albritton of Southern Meth
odist University as the result of mapping
the low Finlay Mountains on the Mexi-
can border.
In these mountains a layer Of fossil
soil was found sandwiched between two
formations of limestone and shale. The
limestone below the layer contains beau
tlfully preserved shell fish. These iden.
tify it as the compacted mud of an
ancient sea. The limestone above con-
tains coral and other forms of sea life.
The soil layer, however, is of a type
formed only where rainfall amounts to
only few inches year. At the top of
the layer rocks contain abundant stone
logs. miniature petrified forest. These
indicate that there was a heavily wooded
period before the second inroad of the
sea.
The great dry period came when dino
saurs still were plentiful About this
time. DR.. Albritton and his associate, DR..
j. F. Smith. reported, the Rocky Noun.
tains were being uplifted in California.
They shut off moisture-laden winds from
the West. Several million years were re-
quired for streams and erosion to wear
down these mountains. so that the wet
winds from the Pacific could get through.
Still later the Sierra Nevada and ccast
ranges were pushed up out of the sea
and again the Southwest became a
desert.
There is every reason to believe, it
was emphasized, that these cycles VIII be
repeated and that once again the South
west will become a wet, densely fores ed
region. This must wait, however. until
the mountains again have worn down.
Evening star., 1950-11-27
BY THE HAsKIN SERVICE.

@. What was the actual size of Wash.
ington when the Federal Government
was first located in the District Of CO.
lumbia?-T. M.
A. The new capital had only 100 brick
buildings and 263 of wood, some Of
which were little more than sheds. The
population consisted of 3,210 persons.
623 OF whom were slaves. The first ex-
ecutive department to be opened was
the post Office with q staff Of nine
persons.
@. Have earwigs any wings?-M. e.
A. Not all earwigs are winged. Some
apparently have four wings but the first
pair are horny and small. The second
pair are curiously folded and when ex-
panded almost circular in shape. Ear.
wigs are seldom seen flying.
@. Is 1t possible to shatter O diamond
with hammer?-K. S.
A. Although the diamond is the hard
est substance known, 1t is possible to
smash 1t with an ordinary hammer, pro-
viding it is hit at the proper cleavage
with a great amount Of force.
O. Are physicists of the opinion that
absolute zero will be obtained one day?
j. G..
A. Absolute zero, degrees K, will
probably always remain a goal, one
never to be quite reached. It is defined
as -273 degrees C. or -459 degrees r.
@. What mammals produce the largest
Gtters?-D. o. B.
A. The rat with II, the sow with IT,
and the opposum with Is are the man.
mails producing the largest litters.
@. What country was the first TO
establish minimum wages?-R. McN.
A. The leader in legislation to estab-
ish minimum wages was New Zealand in
1894.
Evening star., 1950-11-27

made to endure, as it can be-is a thing of
immense world Importance. For it has laid
the groundwork for stable and democratic
Japan-a Japan that can play tremendously
constructive role in maintaining the peace and
promoting the independence and economic
progress of all of Asia.
Evening star., 1950-11-27
Would Boycott the BORDERS

Now it seems the BARRIERS are con-
templating voting themselves an increase.
think it Is about time to call halt.
If something is not done we soon will
be paying So for haircut. If this in
crease is attempted, suggest that we
cease our visits to the barber shops until
we force them to return to present prices.
1t can be done. Let's join the Forty
miners.
Elmer g. Helm.
Evening star., 1950-11-27
Questions and Answers,

The Stars readers can get the answer 70
any question Of fact by either writing The
NV. Washington g. D. c., and inciosine cents
return postage. or BY telephoning ST. 5000.