davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
, 1950-02-06
RITA LA FONTAINE
LUTHERAN PARISH HALL

a picture. 1t is up to the citi-
zens who frown upon this sort
of thing, and the law enforce
ment authorities present to ex-
tend a hand in seeing that or
der and discipline is maintain
ed. We boast of culture and
refinement, and no doubt a
segment Of the community can
make the claim ustifiably, but
we must remember that visit
ors from the outside, annoyed
and frustrated at the thought
of being deprived Of the en-
joyment for which they paid,
are not going to sit down to
determine which particular
segment of the community is
responsible. A chain is no
stronger than its weakest link,
It is for that reason that a
community must rise up in
protest when a few people, BY
their department, cast unfav-
orable reflection upon the
whole. And the time to express
resentment at this type Of
thing is NOWl
WE hope that those who
attend the theatre in the fu-
ture will realize that they are
there to enjoy a picture, and
that they owe it to themselves
and everybody else to main
tain the minimum standards
of behavior which will keep
US within the category Of cuI-
tured people.
, 1950-02-06
BEHAVIOR IN THE THEATRE
THE DEPORTMENT Of 4 small oro,n i ,

&5@#
DEPQRTMENT Of a small group in the Christian
sted Theatre reached the point last night where many who at.
tended began to wonder if control was entirely out Of hand,
and what next. Fortunately, or unfortunately we enjoy sound
pictures here, and that ordinarily calls for silence so that all
may hear and know what III happening. But to a small group
this IS all nonsense, for theya at times outta1k the characters
on the.screen, shouting and laughing to the point where even
the roof Of the building seems to shake, especially when the
most lewd OF the group carry out performances that cannot be
put IN print. AT this point, it is a sheer waste of time and eff
tort to even try to follow the picture, or what is happening,
Tor this group has by now taken complete possession. Unfor-
tunately, producers and directors of motion pictures throw in
love scenes, where people, sometimes mansand wfe) kiss and
caress. Well. this is usually the sign for some Of our locals to
start things rolling, and from their seats in the audience, chal-
lenge some suitor who is about to kiss his girl. And this goes
on and on.
IT HAS BEEN KNOWN that some smart character sit
ting in the audience will smoke a cigarette and flick the light
ed butt down through the audience, and it is Just too bad if
someone gets burned, or gets his or her clothing damaged.
Occasionally, peanuts will fly in all directions, and two fac
tons will carry on a mild warfare, tossing things back and
forth. And all of this while the picture is grinding itself away
on the screen up front.
THIS KIND OF department has been going on much
too long, and natives and others have called attention to it,
and expressed the hope that the day would come when our
people paying their hard earned money to see and hear a pic
ture. could use the theatre as a place of diversion and relaxa-
ton, where they may spend an hour or two in peace and quiet,
Years ago in a book, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands" Mrs.
Daisy Reck, commented on this same situation, expressing
amazement at the fact that anybody at all ever enjoyed a pic
ture.
H MANAGEMENT is not entirely to blame, for after
all we feel that they operate a business and should not have
to stand watch over hose who come in, supposedly to enjoy
Evening star., 1950-03-31
Yugosloy Election

The balloting that took place last Sunday
In Yugoslavia was not an election as we under
stand the word. The outcome was a foregone
conclusion because there was a single list of
candidates, no opposition candidates being per-
mitted to run against the Tito slate. The sole
alternative for dissatisfied voter was to deposit
his unmarked ballot in special box. And only
about per cent of the electors had the temerity
to make even that sterile gesture of dissent.
The balloting was for new parliament. But
here, again, we run into question of semantics
because in Yugoslavia as in other totalitarian
states the legislature serves merely to ratify
decisions already made by an an-powerful ruling
party. A totaltarian election Is thus essentially
a referendum or plebiscite to indicate popular
approval of and backing for the government and
its acts. This has been true of all forms OF totali-
tarianism, whether Communist, Fascist or Nazi.
In the Yugoslav election the paramount
issue was the Tito governments foreign policy,
especially its resistance to pressure from the
Moscow directed Cominform although opposi-
ton to alleged pressure from the bourgeois
West was likewise featured On the anti-Soviet
issue, the government probably has large meas
ure of popular backing. Even those elements not
yet reconciled to Tito's domestic program OF COM
plete socialization prefer their own brand OF
Evening star., 1950-03-31
The Skipper Is Responsible

Captain Brown, former skipper OF the
Battleship Missouri was acting in accordance
with tradition as old as the Navy itself when
he pleaded guilty to responsibility for the
grounding of his ship. He could not have pleaded
innocent without, in effect, shifting the burden
of blame to fellow officers. To have done SO
would have been to break with the hard but
respected doctrine Of the sea that the skipper
of ship always Is personally responsible for
its safety. In the. stress of earlier hearings
Captain Brown momentarily lapsed IN his
adherence to this doctrine but he has since
atoned for the slip His fortnight stand before
the naval court is a factor to be considered in
fixing penalty.
But the unlucky skipper's acceptance of
blame does not of course, exonerate the other
officers of the charges against them. AS subor-
dinate officers they had certain important
responsibilities of their own. It will be up to
other courts to determine how well or how poorly
they performed their particular duties at. a
critical moment In their careers and that Of the
Mighty Mo-"
Evening star., 1950-03-31
Wrong Way to Win Friends

The American Legion leadership deserved the
sharp rebuke which members of the House Ex-
penditures Committee administered to it during
hearings on the proposed coordination of Federal
hospital operations. Legion leaders were asking
for trouble when in truculently worded bulletin,
they urged Legion posts to use "brass knuckles"
In fighting the Hoover Commission plan for reor-
ganizat1on OF the Veterans Administration 1t
is all right for the Legion or any other veterans
group TO present its views on reorganization to
Congress in a proper way. But high-pressure
tactics of the sort recently employed by the Legion
In its mobilization" against the Hoover report
on the VA is the wrong way to win friends and
influence people
Evening star., 1950-03-31
By Alan Mooreheud

A s 1T stands now, Western Europe
is not in any condition to defend
itself, for the Russians are infinitely
more powerful than we are.
Unlike the Allies, the Russians never
ceased arming after the last war and
they never really demobilized. Instead,
with the help Of German scientists,
craftsmen and materials, they continued
steadily in the manufacture of arms and
the training of conscripts. Today, the
Red Army is stronger than all the land
forces of Western Europe and America
combined. Along the Luheck Trieste line
the Russians deploy something like Is
divisions. In a crisis they have the
capacity to increase this army to90 divi-
sions or even more, and at a rate which
we could never attempt.
In the air the Russians have an un-
disputed superiority. There are various
figures given and perhaps none of them
has any validity unless they are broken
down into the different categories of
aircraft; but it can be assumed that
the total is something more than $1,000
modern machines of all kinds, including
jet fighters and Van improved version
of the American B-29 Superfortress
which was in use at the end of the war.
The Russians have carried out much
research in polar flying. Air stations
Evening star., 1950-03-31
By Charles E. TroceweN

When we listen to q symphony. either In
the concert hall or at home, we live and
move with the music.
Incessant music, no matter whether
we foolishly provide it for ourselves, or
whether it is forced upon us, gets us
out of the habit Of listening.
We unconsciously tend to resist the
too-muchness of it, and when we have
done this, whether we realize it or not,
we have taken the first step away from
the music and the musician.
+
We therefore, would advise the per-.
turbed concert manager to do all he can
to end the foolish and reckless waste Of
sounds when and where they should not
be, and especially where they are build
ing up i'll will against the unthinking
purveyor. against those who embark on
the ventures with him, and especially
against the spirit Of music.
The concert manager makes money.
too, but he is on the side Of the angels.
He provides us with great artists and
great orchestras. but he does so only at
stated times He knows better than most
that too much of good thing is bad.
It may seem a far cry from the light
type of music used in commercial ven-
lures to the majestic measures Of q
symphony, but the listener has to use
the same ears, the same perception and
the same understanding.
He feels it is about time some one
rose up on his hind legs and said to tho
merchants:
Let music alone. Leave it to the
musicians and the real music lovers.
Mind your own business"
Evening star., 1950-03-31
FBI Expansion Funds

Your editorial of March Tribute
to the FBI'-deserves to be widely read.
but there is one statement that I wish
you would explain or amplify. You say:
"The committee. without quibble. ap-
proved Mr.. Hoovers request for $4.8 mil
lion in additional funds with which to
hire 700 more employees, including 325
new agents." Surely these new employees
are not going to be paid at an average
yearly rate of nearly $1,000, are they?
Interested.
Editors Note: The additional funds
are to cover general expenses involved
in expanding the Bureaus work. as
well as salaries.)
Evening star., 1950-03-31
Our Farm Surplus and ECA

In your recent editorial on farm sur
plus and the ECA, you state that ION
closer inspection, enough bugs may be
found in the Vorys amendment to per-
suade Congress to reject it as a
device likely to have little or no practical
effect on either the Federal deficit or
the problem Of farm surpluses." Such is
surely the case. AS write. the House
has not yet acted, but ECA will undoubt-
edly provide 81 billion or more in
farm products for the participating ma
tions during the coming year. Under
the law. these purchases will be made
through the ordinary channels of trade
and will take 81 billion worth of prod
ucts off the market.
Under the Vorys amendment. the
products would be furnished directly
through the Commodity Credit Corpora
tion, and that corporation would un-
questionably have to take another
Evening star., 1950-03-31
!! ! J I
IL 1hannd mayl.


have been established in the Far North,
and there is no doubt that Soviet air
craft would be capable Of reaching the
Canadian and American cities by the
northern route. For the purpose OF
warfare closer at hand in Europe. there
has been steady experimentation also
in rockets, self guided missiles, and such
weapons as the proximity exploded fuse.
Their tank production is reported to
have passed 1900 year.
The Russians have more than 200
submarines, and that is much more than
any other nation possesses. These have
been built with the assistance of the
Germans and they are equipped with
a device for recharging their batteries
under water.
Finally, the Russians have begun to
build their stockpile of atomic bombs
at the estimated rate Of Is year. It
ought to be assumed that they have
mastered the theory, if not the manu-
facture, of the hydrogen bomb.
The situation then. from purely Eu-
ropean point of view, is alarming. There
can be no question but that the Russians
could advance very quickly to the Allan
tic and Channel ports-some people
think within 80 days. others give
much shorter time. The attack, no
doubt, would be presaged by parachute
troops and screen of bombers coming
on ahead; and once on the coast the
Russians would lose no time in directing
rockets upon England and launching
their submarines into the Atlantic.
At this moment no adequate Allied
forces exist in Europe. The Americans
maintain about 10000 troops in Ger
many, Austria. and Trieste, and our
selves (the British) about the same
number. They are garrison forces, and
Evening star., 1950-03-31

81 billion worth of products off the
market under the present support pro-
gram. The net result would be that
the amount of goods sold through pri-
vate channels would be reduced by
81 billion. The amount flowing through
the Commodity Credit Corporation
would be increased by 81 billion.
and the accounting procedure would
indicate that the ECA had spent 81
billion less money on European aid than
actually was spent. while the farmers
would be charged with 81 billion worth
of more support money than actually was
used for farm support. It is hard to
figure any good flowing from such
procedure.
On the other hand, the effect in
Europe would be serious indeed. America
has said to the participating nations
that if they will present program
approved by the United States, designed
to re-establish them in the most expe-
ditious manner, we will finance that
program by grants and loans. When we
begin to hedge and change the terms OF
our agreement we open the way for
them to present excuses for any posi-
bility Of failure to complete performance
Of their part Of the bargain.
Still worse, however, we give the Com
munists material which they will quote
as proof of their charges that America
is not interested in the rehabilitation of
the participating nations but rather is
pursuing a program of dumping our sur
plus commodities in order to keep our
capitalistic system afloat. 1t is hard to
conceive of any action that would con-
tribute more toward the campaign they
are waging throughout Europe, trying to
undermine our motives.
A. S. GOss, Master,
The National Grange.
Evening star., 1950-03-31
This and That

these things. It is as fragile as an
insects gossamer wing, as feeting as a
baby'S smile, as holy as love.
Have we any right to expect the trac-
ton man to understand these things?
Or the bank manager? Or the airplane
superintendent?
Their object is money. If somebody
convinces them that by adding incessant
music to what they have to sell they will
Immediately make more money, who can
blame them for trying it?
But it is an awful blow they strike
against the spirit of music.
The incessant music they force on
listeners puts q sort of haze over their
musical perceptions. They become sur
feited with sound. They therefore set up
sort Of mental road block for sounds.
Our good concert manager. therefore,
should not wonder when some Of these
people go so far as to stay away from
his concerts.
Only the musically great can tolerate
q great deal Of music, and with them it
is a necessity
The average lover of music should not
De StuIIeQ WITH IL. IL is ike QuItuls lilA
on an unrelieved diet of cream puffS.
Cream puffs are good in their way but
they are not to be taken at every hour.
Though music is no cream puff, it Is
too fine to be sprayed over all and
sundry
Music issalive. It is not the printed
score, which is dead until the musicians
make 1t come to life, but 1t is the glow
ing, moving, colorful thing we hear.
Evening star., 1950-03-31
Further Study Advisable

The doubts which General Eisenhower has
raised in the public mind as to the adequacy OF
the pending economy budget" for national
defense are sufficient to warrant further study
of the problem by the appropriate congressional
committees The defense items which the war
time European commander chiefly questions are
major ones, about which it is better to be on the
safe side than to run unnecessary risks. The
principal danger spots in the proposed program,
he believes, are in such vital areas as airpower,
anti-submarine warfare and our Alaskan outpost
against invasion.
It is evident that General Eisenhower was
stating to a Senate subcommittee not only his
own deep-seated convictions but the views of
the services which will be affected by proposed
cuts 1t is no secret that the Air Force considers
it's budget allotment too low, that the Navy is
acutely worried about reductions in the face OF
the Russian submarine threat and that the Army
and Air Force both are agreed that Alaskan
defenses are dangerously weak This diSquiet
among the military men does not seem to have
been allayed by Defense Secretary Johnson's
reiterated assertion that our defenses are suftci-
ent unto the needs OF the moment"
General Eisenhower has given Congress
much-needed Qualification of his part in the
preparation of the current $13 billion budget,
which Mr.. Johnson calls "Ike III" The General
made it plain that he was acting under orders
from higher up when he transformed like II"
a SIS billion budget on which he had labored
for six months, into "Ike Ill" In making that
conversion, he testified, he was only "the car
penter,' carrying out plans of "the architect"
It had previously been brought out that President
Truman ordered the SIS billion budget reduced.
1t now appears that in trimming ike II" to
fit the Presidents specifications General Elsen-
hover was forced to make-and the services to
accept-reductions which, as General Eisenhower
expressed it in New York speech, have brought
some phases of defense below what he considers
a safe level. The problem of striking proper
balance between minimum peacetime arms and
our ability to pay for them is at the root of the
whole budgetary difficulty. The President and
the Secretary of Defense would be derelict in
their duties to the Nation if they were not as
concerned with the size of the defense budget
in this era of enormous deficits as with the
sufficency of our military strength We could
lose war-cold or hot variety-as surely by
economic collapse as by defeat in combat. Cen
eral Eisenhower emphasized that he is fully
aware of the two types of danger His opinion
that the pending budget should be increased by
perhaps half billion dollars is deserving, there
fore, of the most careful consideration by
Congress.
Evening star., 1950-03-31

Communist dictatorship to one directed from
Moscow and functioning to exploit Yugoslavia
for the benefit of the Soviet Union Despite their
internal differences, the Yugoslavs have fierce
sense of independence, won recently at great
cost after battling for centuries to emancipate
themselves from various forms of alien rule.
There, Tito is on solid ground. And it is upon
this patriotic basis that he hopes more easily
and rapidly to convert his people wholeheartedly
to his program, which is essentially national
communism as distinguished from what he
stigmatizes as "Stalinism"-a betrayal of Com
munist principles for Moscow's benefit.
Evening star., 1950-03-31
BY THE HAsKIN SERVICE.


@. What is the name Of the march
the Army Band played to get the cadets
off the field at the Army-Navy game in
Philadelphia, 1949?-F. E. R..
A. Pack Train" was the march the
Army Band played when the United
States Corps OF Cadets marched off the
field at the Army-Navy game in Phila-
delphia in 1949.
@. How is horseradish prepared for
the table?-R. w. N.
A. Horseradish is prepared for table
use first by peeling or scraping the roots
and removing all defects, then grating
the root directly into white-wine or dis
titled vinegar Of ~ to per cent
strength. Cider vinegar should not be
used, as it causes the grated horseradish
to turn dark within comparatively
short time. The horseradish should be
bottled as soon as possible after grating
and tightly corked, and in this way 1t
will keep for few weeks. However. it
does not lend itself to storage for any
length Of time.
Q. Please give the history Of postal
savings.-E. E.
A. The postal savings system was in
augurated in the United States by act
of Congress of June 25. 1910, during
the administration OF William Howard
Taft and was started under Postmaster
General Frank H. Hitchcock in 1911.
The system is made UP of more than
1000 post Offices which accept savings
deposits in all the States as well as in
Alaska. Hawaii. Puerto Rico. and the
Virgin Islands. q
Evening star., 1950-03-31
In Lieu of RedeteIopment

Slum-clearance plans may come and go, but
WaShingtonS slums seem to go on existing as
in the dim and distant past. 1t was way back
in 1914 that Congress passed a law to close all
alley dwellings by 1928. The deadline subse-
quently, of necessity, was advanced to 1855. 1t
will probably be moved forward again when
that closing date arrives. For there are human
itarian and other practical factors to be con-
sidered in clearing suns. The latest evidence
OF this inescapable fact is the impasse over the
Marshall Heights redevelopment plan. Any
sweeping slum clearance program that involves
eviction of people in times Of housing shortage
Is faced with serious difficulties.
Against this gum background the appear
ance of sum Improvement scheme that offers
hope of relieving, although admittedly not
curing, the disgraceful conditions which have
been so widely publicized, year after year, is
welcome, to say the least. General Youngs
interesting plan for expanding the Districts
present limited anti-slum activities Is not, OF
course, substitute for slum clearance and re-
development of the sort authorized by the 1946
Redevelopment Act. That law called for whole
sale razing and reconstruction Of dwellings,
along the lines of the ill-fated Marshall Heights
program. The Young program may provide the
basis however, for less drastic approach to
the amelioration of the plight of some alley and
other slum dweers.
Elements of the so-called Baltimore slum
Improvement plan are included in General
Young's comprehensive proposal. But, as the
Engineer Commissioner points out in his memo
randum Baltmore's slum problem is quite dlf-
ferent from Washington's. The Baltimore plan
calls for renovation of slums whole block at
q time, through cooperation OF public and
private interests. But Washington's worst hous-
Ing Is not concentrated in one area. 1t is scat
tered throughout the city. piecemeal
approach is necessary here. Such an approach
has been made in the past through the Board
for the Condemnation OF Insanitary Dwellings.
Painfully slow progress has been made, however
General Young says that much greater progress
could be made if the members of this board
were able to give more time to the problem.
The board consists of an assistant engineer
commissioner, deputy health officer and
deputy director of inspection, all of whom have
other important jobs to do.
There is merit, therefore, in General Young's
suggestion that study be given to assigning
full-tme administrator to this work, with funds
and staff to do more extensive job than is
possible now The present board has demon
strated in a small way that substandard houses
can be made safer and more sanitary by firm
enforcement of existing condemnation and sanl~
tation laws There is no doubt that far greater
progress could be achieved if the undertaking
were properly organized and stated. Such
plan would not of course, rid the Capital OF its
sl1ms Only comprehensive clearance and
rehousing program could do that. But until such
a sweeping attack on the problem becomes
feasible it behooves the District to do the best
it can to clean up existing areas that mar the
landscape