davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1950-10-25
Falls Church Counsel

The young city of Falls Church has become
embroiled in one of those unfortunate contro-
versies in which a governmental question of
some Importance is in danger of being subordi-
mated to personality clash.
When the Falls Church voters go to the
polls next month they will decide whether the
City Council will continue to appoint the city
attorney or whether that official is to be elected
There is considerable sentiment in favor of the
change and it springs to- a large extent from
animosity toward the present holder of the Office
In The Stars opinion, this is not situation
which makes for good government The city
attorney is the servant of the Council. He should
be responsible to the Council, and the Council,
in turn, should be responsible to the voters for
the attorneys performance Of his duties If his
performance is not satisfactory to the community,
the best remedy lies in the control which the
voters can exercise over the Council through the
ballot box.
Evening star., 1950-10-25
Reqrets to Moscow

Our Government has acted correctly in con-
nection with the Kremlin's charge that two
American jet planes violated the Soviet frontier
on October and attacked Soviet airfeld. When
the complaint was first made directly to us, our
Ambassador in Moscow refused to receive it,
insisting that it was United Nations matter
because the planes were part of the u MS forces
engaged in repelling aggression in Korea. Now
still keeping the issue within the world organza-
ton, the United States has informed Secretary
General Trygve Lie that the Russian accusation
has been confirmed.
The confirmation has come from General
Macarthur, who has investigated the charge in
his capacity as chief of the United Nations
command in Korea According to his findings,
the attack-entirey unintentional-resulted from
navigation error and poor judgment, in that it
was made without positive Identification of the
target" BY way of amends in the theater of
U. N. operations, the commander of the air group
concerned has been relieved of duty and "steps
have been taken with view toward disciplinary
action against the two pilots involved" both of
whom had been specifically instructed to exercise
special care not to violate the Manchurian and
Soviet borders.
~- In addition, the United States has told Mr..
Evening star., 1950-10-25
This and That

Tales of ghost cats grow daily.
The latest has to do with Chessie,
a friend of the family. as all good cats
are.
Time came for Chessie to pass to the
land where catnip grows forever.
He was buried in the garden.
Then the screen door began to make
a noise it made when Chessie had
jumped up at it.
He had never been able to enter, but
could get it open a few inches.
One day the screen creaked again.
Somehow, those inside seemed to sense
an invisible spirit.
Quickly the door was held open
Come in, Chessie," was the call. "You
can stay, now"
And from that day to this, the screen
has never creaked again.
Another cat spirit was that of Smudgie
When he left the world he left behind
him sincere friends, who missed his face
and ways.
Friendship with animals is not new.
1t is as old as the human race.
1t is, as matter of fact, one of the
most honest and sincere traits of human
beings.
Evening star., 1950-10-25
Another Navy Duy?

AS October 81 approaches, it is heart
ening to notice in your pages the an
nouncement that the Navy League is
proposing the revival Of Navy Day
AS a private citizen, with no profess
sional interest in naval welfare, I have
watched with dismay the campaign of
viiiflcation to which this great service has
had to submit in recent years. I GER
tainly hope Navy Day will never again
be celebrated as it was last year, with
the summary dismissal of Admiral
Denfeld.
Unification is all well and good insofar
as it brings about economies in admins
tration and improved coordination on
the field of battle. 1t seems to me it will
fail utterly if it endeavors to rob the
various services of their specific charac-
ter. Each has a glamor of its own, and
this should be capitalized upon and ex-
plotted by intelligent recruitment pro-
grams. rather than destroyed.
1t was bad enough when the one an
nual occasion for paying honor to this
magnificent institution was taken away.
but the more recent plans for actually
changing the distinctive uniform of the
Navy, plans to which 93.9%o of the sailors
themselves have registered their opposi-
ton, really cap the climax. This is no
way to promote "unification." but the
surest way to destroy the service alto
gether.
Nautilophilus.
Evening star., 1950-10-25

over several questions raised by the re-
duction. Samples:
why are hospitals considered nom
essential to civil defense? And in any
event, why so drastic cut?"
why were private hospital construc-
tion funds halved when the Veterans
Administration medical program was
left virtually intact? And would large
veterans program plus Government-con-
trolled civil defense facilities lead to more
Federal control over the Nations
hospitals?"
The Budget Bureau answers that the
hospital funds reduction was simply one
item in an overall cut in new construc-
tion items. Until last year, the annual
Hill-Burton fund total was $75 million.
Then. in fiscal 1885, the amount was dou-
bled to $3.50 million. So we're just back
where We started.
Budget Director Frederick ]. Lawton
says $92 million is still available from
1850 funds. making total of $167 million
available this fiscal year, as compared to
$118 million in 1850.
FSA points out, on the other hand,
that most of the money still available"
Evening star., 1950-10-25
Letters to The Star

a Hitler, and others. The prepared"
nation generally wins the first several
rounds. but basic law of war-not well
recognized-is that any power that gets
too many guns gets too many enemies.
1t has consistently happened that a
coalition forms against the nation that
brandishes excessive military power
The most stupendous sophism of our
age is the doctrine that we can be so
powerful Gin military weapons) that no
enemy will dare to oppose us.
What then can we do that will not
result in our being wiped off the face
of the earth? There are two guiding
principles to follow in preparing a rea-
sonable and effective defense:
l. Build healthy nation, financially,
industrially, technologically. agricultur-
ally. and ideologically, so that a quick
adjustment can be made when it be-
comes apparent where, when, and how
trouble will occur.
2. Always choose the less provocative
means of defense. other things being
equal.
T. Milton Stamford
Evening star., 1950-10-25

Lie that 1t desires to express publicly its regret"
and that it is prepared to supply funds to the
United Nations for payment of any damages
inflicted on Soviet property, the damages to be
determined by U. N. commission or other
appropriate procedure. Presumably, all this will
be acceptable to the Russians. 1t is too bad that
they did not respond with similar frankness and
good faith when they shot down one of our
unarmed naval planes over the Baltic last April
If they had relations between our two countries
might be less strained today
Evening star., 1950-10-25
By Ted Mcdowell
RHUBARB is brewing over

A RHUBARB is brewing over the
n recent SO per cent reduction in
Government funds to aid private hos
pital construction.
This $75 million item was the largest
chunk whacked by the Budget Bureau
from the 1851 appropriations bills, under
orders from Congress to effect savings
of mot less than $3.50 million in funds
the administration considered non-es-
Sential for defense. And thereby hangs
the controversy.
On one side are the people concerned
with running hospitals. On the other
side is the Budget Bureau. The Fed
eral Security Agency, which allocates
the Federal money to the States and
the District, is in the middle.
eve had hoped there would be no re-
duction at ALL" says FSA Administrator
Oscar Ewing, land certainly not so
large cut"
Representative Skies, Democrat, of
Florida, is more outspoken He has in
troduced bill to restore the reduction.
Instead of designating the places
where the savings should be made" he
says. I'VE directed the administration
to make the savings where it saw fit
The absolute folly of this course is now
shown by the manner in which cuts
are being made by the agencies of the
Government. I question whether the
entrenched Government-as-usu spend
aS-usual agencies in Washington will
feel any real pinch of economy :"
Funds are authorized under the Hill
Burton Hospital Survey and Construc-
tion Act. Money is allocated to the
States and the District on the basis of
population and per capita income Then
it is up to the local communities to de-
eide which hospitals will receive how
much money. This is done by specially
designated groups-usually the health
departments in conjunction with private
advisory committees.
Every Federal dollar must be matched
with about two local dollars.
The American Hospital Association, at
its September meeting, indorsed the Hill
Burton program as providing better hos
pital care for the people with minimum
of Government control. But now the
hospital people are scratching their heads
Evening star., 1950-10-25
A New House Must Have Love

A nelD house neVer seems to feel at home
On earth, until it has been loued sin
cerely
Through Uarious peathers: ,Dith
teathery foam,
OF sno,odritt IN its chimney. and as
dearly
Engulted il, thunderous storms, or dusty
gray
With summer drouth, as ,phen spring
sunlight blooms
In eUery shining tDindolD or the gay
Gold radiance OF October floods its
rooms.
For any house Nth no experience
In facing tempests, must haze loue,
to giUe
1t harmony 1Dith earth, and confidence
In sky: house assured of lone Uiu
liUe
Contentedly at home ,oith any Ueather,
And it and you piH be at home to-
gether.
.... JANE II. MERCHANT.
Evening star., 1950-10-25
Clarifying the Reserve Problem

Defense Secretary Marshall has opened the
way for much-needed clariication OF the
hitherto confused policies of the armed forces
with regard to reservists. The confusion was
inevitable in the manpowef emergency which
suddenly confronted the Defense Department
after the Korean outbreak. The Far Eastern
crisis caught the services wholly unprepared for
a quick buildup of strength AS the plight of
the few available regular troops in Korea grew
desperate, it became necessary to call up organ
lied reserve units and individual reservists on
short notice and with no understanding as to
length of service.
There has been no uniformity among the
defense branches as to recall policies Some re-
servists have been given only two weeks in which
to adjust their affairs and report for active duty,
while others have been given as much as
month All have been informed that they will
be on duty for IAN indefinite period" This in
definiteness has caused considerable uncertainty
not only on the part of families but OF employers.
The Defense Department has received complaints
that some business firms have refused to hire
reservistS in fear of losing them without adequate
notice and with no assurance of their return in
the foreseeable future
Secretary Marshalls order will help to bring
some order out of this chaotic situation. The
directive requires the armed services to estimate
their manpower requirements six months ahead.
With these estimates in hand it will be possible
to alert reservists four months in advance of
call to active duty. This will make 1t much easier
for the men to arrange their domestic and busi-
ness affairs for an extended tour of duty. In
addition the reservists who actually receive
active duty orders will have 80 days in which to
report.
Most important of all, reservistS who have
been involuntarily placed on the active list will
be assured of release as soon as they are thor-
oughly trained" provided enough draftees and
volunteer reservists available to replace them.
This means that as the draft continues and as
more volunteer reservists report, the number
of reservsts arbitrarily ordered into uniform will
decrease accordingly special board which
studied the reserve problem was unable to agree
on the length of time needed to give reservist
Thorough training but it was indicated that
not more than a year of active duty would be
required.
The prospect, then, is that as the mobiliza-
ton hits it's stride reservists will be able to give
families, employers and others much more
definite information as to probable date of re-
turn to civilian life This should materially i'm
prove the morale of the civilian components of
the Army Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force.
And if these services do good job of carrying
out Secretary Marshall's instructions to rid the
reserves of dead wood and fill their places with
fully qualified members, the whole reserve pro-
gram will be stronger than at any time in the
past-except in wartime.
Evening star., 1950-10-25
Too Many Arms
Nautilophilus.

Since the outbreak of hostilities in
Korea, lot of I-told-you-so's have been
said by the advocates of what is usually
called preparedness. The friends of
big military budget have shouted again
and again that this proves we were not
ready. The answer they propose is that
we spend more Con the cuff, I suppose)
so that if Korean episode happens in
some other quarter of the world we won't
need to retreat.
Could anything be more fantastic?
Suppose we had been spending $50 bill
lion year for arms. In the first place,
we would now be many billions Of dollars
nearer to bankruptcy. That is just what
Stain is working toward. In the second
place, we would have many billions in
money and dangerous portion of our
available materials tied up in such things
as jet planeS-Which, I understand,
proved to be surprisingly Ineffective in
Korea-and artillery pieces which would
not pierce the 11-inch armor plate. In
the third place, we would still be un-
prepared, even supposing we had selected
the best weapons.
Yes, even with the spending of $100
billion or 5000 billion a year we would
still be too weak. 1t would simply be
spread too thin, and of necessity it would
have to be. No continent is rich enough
in natural resources and men to produce
ornaments in such quantity that they
could be spread over the entire surface of
the earth, and not be matched at any
point by the weapons of any combina-
ton of powers.
History shows numerous cases of
relatively prepared" nation or group
of nations biting the dust in the long
run. There was once Spanish Armada.
then a man named Napoleon, Kaiser,
Evening star., 1950-10-25
Mixed School Issue
]. Milton Stanford.

In letter to The Star headed Mixed
School Issue, 1882-1950," Virginia Nc
Guire states that segregation of white
and colored students is "a travesty on
our educational institutions" and quotes
her father, DR.. George Richardson, as
saying that "the system of separate
schools is curse upon the people of our
country" What kind of twisted reason
ing is this?
Today, in the North, East and West,
the failure to segregate white and
colored children is becoming the source
of acute interracial tension, because the
white children are. understandable pro-
testing against the presence of colored
children in their schools. AS the Negro
population has migrated from the South
to other parts of our country, more and
more white people of those sections are
realizing the mistake they have made in
permitting co-racial education. Many of
us have read of the militant and uncon-
trollable situations in New York, Chicago
and Gary, Ind, where white children
are forced to attend mixed schools. Let
us hope and pray that Washington will
not follow suit.
Money spent on the maintenance OF
dual school system is money spent wisely.
Frugal penny -pinching by city and
school officials may sometimes be justi-
fed, but not at the price of racial ANAL
gamation.
Al Smith.
Evening star., 1950-10-25
BY THE HAsKIN SERVICE.

@. What is the name Of the snake
that whips people to death?-H McN.
A. No such snake is known, although
this superstition is attached to the
coach-whip snake in some parts of the
South. It is slender and swift moving,
and its habit of raising the fore part of
the body when travelling probably
strengthened this belief
@. How is the family name of George
Wythe pronounced? Was he a famous
American.-R. V. A.
A. This surname is pronounced as If
spelled with" Ut has the same sound
as the proposition, with the voiceless
'th'D. George Wythe was Chancellor Of
Virginia a great professor of law, a
statesman of unusual ability, and a
signer of the Declaration of Independ-
ence.
@. What is the origin of four-in-
hand as applied to a mans necktie?-
NJ R. D.
A. This word is probably taken from
the type of neckwear worn by those
who rode to sporting events in vehicles
drawn by four horses-the driver hav-
ing fourth hand"
Evening star., 1950-10-25
Stunton Park

Stunton rurk
George Kennedys excellent series of
articles on Washington's many neighbor-
hoods must be commanding q great deal
OF interest, not only from those following
the city's current development, but to
lovers Of her old architecture, as we'll.
1t is curious. though, that Mondays
article on Stanton Park and the Belmont
House made no mention of the tie-in
between the latter and His Lordship's
Kindness" also in the news recently
when it was acquired by DR.. Royd r.
Sayers from Ambassador David K. E.
Bruce.
For some reason the Historic Amer
ican Buildings Survey Catalog" ignores
the Belmont House, although it seems
generally agreed that the Louisiana Pur-
chase was formally effected in it's draw
ing room. The building date is open to
question-1772, as Mr.. Kennedy states,
or as late as 1899 as more writer's main
ta1n-but in any event. it is one of
Washington's few remaining 18th CEN
tury heritages and one of it's best-pre-
served. Most authorities concede it to
have been built as town house for
Robert Sewall, of "His Lordships Kind
ness whose daughter married Henry
Daingerfield of Alexandria Their daugh-
ter, Susan Sewall Daingerfield, married
Senator John Barbour of Virginia and
both are buried in the family plot at
His Lordships Kindness
Another daughter of Robert Sewall
married Philip Barton Key cousin of
Francis Scott Key and these, too, are
buried beside the Darnalls, Daingerfelds.
SeWalls and Barbours Mr.. John Clagett
Proctor's fine article on the tragic Key
family recently did not mention the
latter fact, although it might interest
some readers in connection with the pub
lieity given the sale of the fabulous old
mansion at woodward
James C. Wilfrong, Jr.
want to tell you how much I enjoyed
Mr.. Kennedy's recent story on the
Stanton Park section of Washington. It
took me back to my youth, having been
born in 1879 in the square now covered
by the United States Supreme Court. I
am sure Mr.. Kennedy will permit a
slight correction. Gen. Greene, the Rev.
olutionary hero, on his bronze horse. is
Hot waving MS nat; ne is pointing to the
Capitol. I might add this is one of the
best equestrian statues in the city. They
tell OF the general that on a surprise
attack he was hard put to find his wig.
much to the amusement of his fellow
officers
Senator Spooner of Wisconsin and
Justice Stephen j. Fired of the Supreme
Court lived in our square. Senator Nc
kenna OF West Virginia lived on B street
But these august gentlemen took second
place IN my boyish imagination to Nc
Laughlin's Livery and George Ovenstein's
blacksmith shop. The horses and the
grooms and the hoary rats and the fancy
buggy whips with their handles of
silver or ivory) fascinated me in the
livery; the men fitting hot iron rim
to a wagon wheel at the forge were tops
in skillful workmanship.
s. j. III.
Evening star., 1950-10-25
lnflution and Suvinos
AL Smith.

Suppose that you purchased United
States Saving $25 "E" Bond in 1910 for
$18.75. In 1850 the Government has a
solemn obligation to redeem your bond
and pay you $25. But they don't, because
due to imitation, Government spending,
taxes, waste, ETC., your dollar has shrunk
in those 10 years from 81 to So cents.
Instead of making $625 on your bond in
1850, you lose $l4.50 of your nest egg for
rainy day.
To raise taxes, and not reduse waste,
is immoral.
Albert F. Bigelow.
Boston, Mass.
Evening star., 1950-10-25
Al JoIson

On October 9, 1927 The Star reported: "There
nave been strange goings on in the Warner
Brothers studio in Hollywood This imposing
edifice-once devoted to the art of the silent
drama-has been very noisy of late. From it's
interior come sounds as of someone shouting
Mammy Nanny! Ma-ha-ha-meep and You
Amt Seen Nothin' Yet That someone is no
less than AL Jolson, who is about to appear on
the screen in film called The Jazz Singer
1t is terribly important picture in view of the
fact that it represents the first attempt in manv
years to achieve talking movies on large scale"
few weeks later the photoplay destined
to open new era in show business was being
shown in theaters from coast to coast Thou
sands of people remember the thrill with which
they heard the Pickering image on the screen
begin to sing. The man honored with the oppor-
tunity to introduce the sound picture was an
artist who had earned the right the hard wav
washington was the Springboard of his career
He might nave been cantor or rabbi in a
southwest synagogue in succession to his father
and in line with the family tradition dating back
at least six generations But, in the language of
Henry Thoreau, he "heard different drummer"
His feet moved to the rhythm of what mysteri-
ously is called "ragtime"-three steps to four
beats. From Pennsylvania avenue, in common
with Bojangles Robinson, AL Jolson danced and
qupped and laughed the miles to Broadway.
He was ballyhoo hand with the circus and
vaudevlllian en- route. The going was rugged
Occasionally the rabbits son came home to the
rabbi to recoup. But he could not stay In
month or he would be off again, trying his
luck again. He knew he was good. Otherwise
why would the Winter Garden pay him real
money and people blister their mits applauding?
He belonged behind footlghts and kleig lights
When radio and television were invented he
was waiting for them. Meanwhile, each year he
chalked up something to remember. His auto
biographical movies were nearer the truth than
certain skeptics supposed.
The historians will classify him among the
clowns. AL Jolson was one of the great COMICS
He vowed 'em" simply by standing up and
moving his mouth and his eyes around But let
there be no mistake about it: He was true
artist. man does not win universal popularity
in show business by accident. He has to have
what it takes-and it takes real talent and
genuine personality "The Jazz Singer made
a swell exit. He leaves the whole world talking
about hirn-with affection and gratitude.
Curiosity at its most morbid is wondering if
things would be much improved if those who
never vote got out for once and voted while the
rest stayed at home