davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1950-07-17
This and That
BY Charles E. TroceweY

Evening Star and was much interested
In one few days ago on the subject of
pokeberry bushes. ! have had several
growing in my yard for the past few
years and as they are full of berries in
late summer and fall it has been joy
to me to watch the birds feast on them.
by the time they are ripe other fruits
and insects are getting scarce, and before
the birds leave for the winter including
the robins, they all enjoy the poke berries
as long as one is left.
Last fall while walking around the
duck pond at the Zoo was surprised to
see several large bushes filled with ber-
rieS, seemingly being taken care of, and
on inquiry was told by one of the at
tendants that they were raised for the
birds.
"The plant requires no attention and
will come up year after year from the
same old root and will grow surprisingly
large If not cut back. think it would
be good If more people who like birds
would grow them, as the berries last
until frost and even after they are ap-
parently dry they are still good to eat
(if you are Bird.
81 should like 10 pass the above in
formation on to the one in your column
who didn't know what to do with the
bush which was growing in her yard.
Yours truly, M. M. L."
4 X
The Zoo is a fine place for pokeberries
and other wild things, since there is
nothing there to stain.
Around homes. especially white ones,
pokeberries have their drawbacks.
Evening star., 1950-07-17
BY Jones Y. Newton

WHY the rash of disputes and
W strikes in the railroad industry
these days?
Most of the troubles are unresolved
and will be popping UP from time to
time. The railroads now are operating
under sort of enforced truce. The
outbreak of fighting in Korea, and this
country'S immediate involvement in
same, put a crinp in the rail unions
latest drive for higher pay and improved
working conditions But before long
there undoubtedly will be showdown
OIL at least two phases of the rail con-
f1ict.
Current and recent troubles involve
four of the so-called operating brother
hoods. the ones whose members actually
run the trains, and all of the first class
railroads. The unions-the Firemen
and Enginemen, Switchmen, Conductors
and the Trainmen-last winter started
a three-pronged drive for economic
gains.
First the Firemen and Enginemen
struck. their chief objective being to
force management to station two rather
than one fireman on big Diesel locomo-
tiveS. That issue has gone to arbitra-
ton.
Then the rather tiny switchmen's
Union struck for reduction in work
week from 48 to 40 hours with no cut
IN pay. They rejected the findings of
an emergency board set up by President
Truman which suggested the 40-hour
week with an hourly wage increase of
18 cents to cover some of the loss in
take-home pay resulting from the shorter
hours. The suggested wage boost was
slightly more than half of that de-
manded by the union.
Mr.. Truman was forced to seize one
railroad-the Rock Island-to end that
strike, the seizure being supported by
a court anti-strike order. A hearing on
the injunction is being held in Buffalo,
N. Y. today.
The Conductors and the .Trainmen,
representing about 100000 workers, are
battling over virtually the same issues as
the Switchmen. Another presidential
board denied 125,000 over-the- en-
ployes any improvement in hours and
wages, and suggested the 40-hour week
and 18-cent hourly boost to $4,000 train
men and conductors who work in rail-
road yards. Like the Switchmen. the
two larger unions contend such a settle
mcnt is tantamount to wage cut.
Legally free to strike at any time after
last Saturday. the Conductors and Train
men agreed to hold of while and give
another try at settling things in bar
gaining with the carriers. It is question:
able whether the issues will be resolved
In this comparatively amicable fashion.
1t is interesting to note that in each
OF the three crises the unions rejected
the recommendations of White House
emergency boards, the final step in Rail-
Evening star., 1950-07-17
ALEXANDRIA, VA.

Dear Sir:
Il always enjoy your articles. I have
quite a few bird visitors in my back
yard, mostly sparrowS and starlings.
"The other afternoon noticed among
those which were making the bread dis
appear one different from the others,
though resembling the startling.
His coat was shiny black, and his
tail square cut, but his wings were a
beautiful red, with a tiny bit of white;
it looked like a design of some sort.
"Was he Fancy Dan of the startling
family?
'Very sincerely, E. c. McF."
The bird must be the red-winged
blackbird
The color is bright vermilion, pos
sessed by the male only, the female
being buff colored. In winter the male
loses his black, and also becomes buffy,
but keeps his red, and some yellow, and
some white.
The red-winged blackbird has many
common names, including swamp black
bird, red-winged startling, ed-shouldered
startling, red-shouldered blackbird, marsh
blackbird. red-winged oriole, and red
wing. 1t may be recalled that hit song
of years ago was called "Redwing."
Popular names are often misleading,
as in the above list. There we have the
bird called a starting, which it is not,
also an oriole, which it is not. although
it does belong to the same bird family.
X
NEVADA AVE.
Dear Sir:
T always read your column in The
Evening star., 1950-07-17
tuberculosis Fighter

When DR.. Alfred Meyer first became cru
sader against tuberculosis, it was one of the
major plaques of mankind. Statistics for the
nineteenth century are not overly reliable, but
there is no question about the deathrate in 1900.
1t was 202 per 100000 on an average for all ages.
Today the figure is less than 49, This progress
is result OF science It represents the applica-
tlon OF organized common sense" to a great,
inclusive human problem. The final solution even
now Is not achieved but the gains that have been
made, especially in the past four decades, have
been phenomenal.
Some of the credit is due particularly to the
famous tuberculosis campaigner who quietly died
In his sleep at Ogunquit, Maine, last Friday
morning. DR.. Meyer was a native of Greenwich
village, born in New Yorks Bohemian Quarter SO
years ago. Nature made him physically small
In MS prime he stood only five feet two inches
TALL Yet he did not pass unnoticed in any COM
pany. There was vitality a sparkle in him
which demanded attention Even as youth in
the Columbia school of medicine he impressed
people as somebody" His gifts were many He
played the piano with SKILL was brilliant and
spirited conversationalist, and developed consid-
cradle talent in the line of invention One of the
"gadgets" he devised was machine supplement-
ing his senses of hearing and touch which he
carried around with him on his professional visits
to patients and used In his study of their all
mentS.
Such unorthodox proceedings brought Dr.
Meyer his full share of critics, but none of his
contemporaries in the healing arts ever doubted
his devotion to his work He looked upon tuber-
culosis almost as a personal enemy, foe to be
vanquished and destroyed. Washington specialists
in the field in which he won national celebrity
remember him as "a bantam but a wonderful
fighter" He leaves bright example for future
emulation.
Evening star., 1950-07-17
CoIIoquy

CMan speaks to the sea-
"Oh. gray-eyed sea. how oatly to the
shore
You bring your trtnkets. pebble. fin
and shell,
Turn from the sand and ripple out once
more
To rock the buoy and ring the hGrbor
bell.
Your morning trolic done, HON stil
you lie,
White gold OF sunlight sparkling on
your breast,
Your dreamy gaze upturnisg totDdrd
the blue
Serenity and mystery OF sky
No tDi1,d to mar your loneliness at rest,
No future and no past to trouble
yOu."
(The sea arswers)
II an, the sea, the 1geIeSS and apart,
My childhood buried in nnnpensureG
time;
My todys are alien to the human hecrt,
My lGi0s trsScrutGbIe. your foolish
rhyme,
Your pleadinos. tears and pain apos-
trophe,
Your arms outstretched to me, your
That falls upon me like fake of
Sno1U,
EDen your dead that you commit to me
With tDide, u1theeding ,DGpes ! pass
them by;
Indifferent on my lonely tpdy ! co."
INEz BARCLAY KIRBY.
Evening star., 1950-07-17
Where Are They?

With Britain and France taking similar
action, the United States has once again-but
this time with more emphatic language-called
upon the Soviet Union to give full accounting of
what has happened to German prisoners of war
in Russian territory.
On last May S, through Tass, its official news
agency the Kremlin announced that it had COM
pleted the repatriation of every such prisoner
with the exception of 1886, of whom 9,717 were
described as major war criminals, 1915 as being
under investigation for war crimes, and IA as ILL.,
All told, according to TaSs, some 100000 had
been returned to Germany.
But as pointed out at that time by Chancellor
Adenauer of Western Germany, Tass in 1945 had
officially reported that 3500,OO0 Germans were
war prisoners in Russia. Hence, despite the
Kremlin'S May announcement declaring that
only 1885 were still held, a total of about
100000 remains to be accounted for, or at the
very least several hundred misunderstanding
that the Soviet count five years ago was mistaken
on the exaggerated side.
In any case, as our new note to the Kremlin
has emphasized, the May Soviet figure is so
completely at variance with our own factual
information as to be beyond belief. without men
tioning any specific statistics, the note has left
little room for doubt that the United States and
the other Western Powers have incontrovertible
evidence that the Russian dictatorship brazen
violation of the 1929 Geneva Convention and
two solemn commitments made in 1947 and 1949-
has deliberately refused to explain the fate of
several hundred thousand German war prisoners
Accordingly, besides asking for full details
about the 1856 individuals whom the Kremlin
itself declares have not been repatriated, our
note has challenged the Soviet dictatorship to
take these two steps, Cd To live up to its obliga-
tions under the Geneva Convention by supplying
complete information on all German prisoners
who have died in Russian captivity, and (2) to
permit an impartial international group to enter
Russia to determine the real facts of the
situation.
1t is virtual certainty, of course, that the
kremlin-which has also failed to account for
about $4,000 japanese prisoners of war-will
refuse to take up this challenge Instead, it can
be counted upon to intensity its vilification of
us for having dared to call the matter to its
attention for the nth time-a course of action
that tends to complicate things for Soviet
propagandists in Germany
Whatever the Russian reaction however. our
note serves as bleak reminder of what we are
up against. Whether the missing prisoners have
been destroyed or organized into subversve fight
ing units, the grim mystery of their status is
good measure of the Kremlin's ess-than civilized
character.
Evening star., 1950-07-17

"Shipwreck of the Brothers de Laborde" among
others. Coincidentally 1t has directed attention
TO canvases readily available within the District
OF Columbia, including Charles Bird Kings
portraits of Indian braves, lent by the Smith
sonian Institution
The sponsors of the American Professional
deserve congratulation They have assembled
Sl1 pictures of outstanding artistic merit as well
as historical value The result of their labor is
show which everybody can understand without
being lectured and which consequently everybody
should be delighted to see
Evening star., 1950-07-17

worth, Benning and merges again with
the main line at Virginia and Delaware
avenues in Southwest Washington.
Aside from passengers alighting at
various stops before reaching Union Sta
ton, passengers working at Government
Printing Office, City Post Office, and
General Accounting Office would find
Union Station convenient terminus
For Government employees of the Fed
eral Triangle, Bureau of Federal Supply,
Civil Service Commission, Bureau of En-
craving and Printing, Pentagon and so
on. trains continuing from Union Sta
ton over the Southern route could dis
charge passengers at points along Vir-
ginia avenue S.W.. where the tunnel
emergeS, and beyond.
A little digging, and the installation
OF steps at various spots, would enable
passengers to reach the street and be
within short ride or healthful walk to
their offices. do not necessarily intend
that the mode Of transportation be the
Baltimore and Ohio or Pennsylvania
trains. I suppose Capital Transit could
buy or revise present vehicles to proper
rail gauge and and rent the right-of-
way. which could be beneficial to the
public in the event of free transfer privi-
lege to surface transportation.
Such set-up seems to be Washing
toms Junior subway for the taking. II
this plan or any large part of it could
be instituted, there is possibility that
going. to work in the morning could be
turned into pleasure trip, and I am
certain that the railroads would be
pleased to participate in the additional
revenue realized.
Ernest N. McWilliamson,
Greenbelt, Maryland.
Evening star., 1950-07-17
Answer to Communists

In answer to the letter Of July by two
District of Columbia Reds, the chairman
and secretary of the local Communist
Party. have suggestion to all true
Americans.
Let's all write our Congressman at once
to push the necessary legislation to out
law communism in the United States.
with death penalties to offenders. This
is the best and only way we can stop
these traitors from endangering our free
dom and. what's more important, our
chlldren'S lives. Ex-Marine.
Evening star., 1950-07-17
American Professional Show

The American Professional exhibition at the
Corcoran Gallery is not only American history
at its best. Quite as definitely it is American
art worth seeing, worth appreciating. There is
nothing exclusive, nothing experimental about 1t.
Some of the pictures are rude and crude. The men
who made them were trying to hold the mirror
up to nature as nature was not as they egotisti-
caIy imagined she ought to be. If their achieve
ment was imperfect, it was because they lacked
skill and training and experience, not because
they deliberately wanted to tease or puzzle or
bewilder anybody.
Some of the canvaSes displayed are richly
beautiful. People who have seen black -and-wEite
reproductions of them in school textbooks will
be surprised and gratified to discover how colorful
the originals of Benjamin Vests "Penn's Treaty
With the Indians" and Death of Wolfe" really
are. He was great master of drawing, and his
influence is traceable in the endeavors of other
artists for century after his time. The Amer
lean Professional also proves how true genius
Thomas Hovenden was. His Last Moments of
John Brown" may be inaccurate as document
but there can be no question about the power
of his Interpretation of Brown and the sgnifi-
canoe of his dramatization OF the movement
against chattel slavery.
Many of the works shown are new to Wash
lngtonians. Samuel SCOTS Defeat of Montcalm
by Saunders" lent by the Royal Ontario Museum
of Archaeology, is case in point. The exhibition
has had the constructive effect of bringing out
of undeserved hiding such treasures as Matthew
Pratt's American School," long immured in the
cellar of the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
1t also has served to revive interest in American
pictures owned abroad, uis-Philippe Crepin's
Evening star., 1950-07-17
More Praise for Dr.. Horris

On account Of the holiday this past
week, I had not done justice to my Sun
day Star of July 2. and today was giving
it final "once over" before discarding
it. It was then that I noticed the letter
captioned Harris Critic Answered" !"
signed j. A. G.
My letter is in commendation of that
letter, which expresses my sentiments
perfectly. Certainly DR.. Frederick Brown
Harris, the author of Spires of the
Spirit" needs no defending. am no
member Of DR.. Harris church or of his
Evening star., 1950-07-17
Censorship at the Front

Military censorship of press dispatches from
the active theaterS of war can be imposed with
out denying to the people at home the intelll-
gence they are entitled to receive, If by CEN
sorship we mean control of information that
protects the security of our troops. 1t is prob
ably inevitable that such censorship will become
necessary in Korea.
But in moving toward such step, General
Macarthur has been wise, in The Stars opinion,
to wash out the charges and penalties directed
by his Subordinates against two war correspond
ents of the Associated Press and United Press.
Their error, If they were in the wrong, was
certainly shared by their editors. The corre-
spondents were reporting what they saw and
heard, and there was no complaint that they
were not reporting the truth. II some of their
adjectiveS and phrases and quotations from the
GIs gave laid and comfort to the enemy" such
aid was relatively slight in comparison with the
far more significant content of official commu-
niques and statements made on the floor of
Congress here at home.
General Macarthur was quoted yesterday,
in his amiable conversation with the correspond
ents, as saying that while he was reluctant to
impose any censorship, he seemed to be oppos-
ing the sentiment among the newspapermen
themselves If there is such sentiment it is
readily understood. The correspondents do not
want censorship, but they do want guidance in
preventing the revelation of information which
competent military authorities consider breach
of security. The point at which legitimate re-
porting of information becomes involved with
military security is hazy and difficult to define.
Too often it becomes matter of personal opin-
ion In the war theaters somebody must
be given authority to exercise arbitrary judg-
ment, supported by written regulations, as to
when dispatch crosses into frobidden territory.
AS the fighting continues in Korea it will
become necessary to draw up and to administer
security regulations designed to withhold infor-
nation that would be of actual value to the
enemy, without impairing the flow of news to
which our people are entitled. It will not be
easy to do that. It never is. 1t is choice be-
tween evils If censorship at the front is ad-
ministered in the spirit of General MacArthur's
own views on the subject, however. it will re-
ceive loyal support from the correspondents
Evening star., 1950-07-17
Commuter Troins

Because of the high cost, wasted
hours and crowded conditions endured
by many Washington area residents
during their daily travel to their employ
ment, would like to make suggestion
with view to affording relief in some
measure.
According to my National Geographic
map, there are three railroad lines lead
ing into the city from approximately
North, as follows: The Baltimore and
Ohio which runs past Rockville, Garrett
Park, Kensington, Woodside, Silver
Spring, Takoma, Chillum, Brookland,
ETC.. on into Union Station; the
Baltimore and Ohio running past Laurel,
Muirkirk, Greenbelt (not quite. but we
can certainly wish, Berwyn, College
Park. Riverdale. Hyattsville. Brentwood
Mt. Rainier, Cottage City, ETC., to Union
Station; the Pennsylvania running past
Bowie. Glenn Dale, Seabrook, Lanham.
Radiant Valley. CheverIy. Tuxedo, etc..
to Union Station-and an auxiliary line
near Tuxedo which runs past Kenil-
Evening star., 1950-07-17
Labor Ills Plague the Railroad Industry

heaven. It was heresy for anyone to
tamper with an emergency boards sug-
gestion-even in wartime They took
their case to the White House. Three
unions threatened to shutdown the en-
tire rail system. President Roosevelt
was forced to seize the carriers. But In
the end the President gave the unions
an even larger pay hike than the boards
had suggested in the first place.
Ever since that time, the brotherhoods
have looked to the White House for help
when their wage drives were thwarted
elsewhere. In 1916 and again in 1948,
this policy paid dividends This time,
however, President Truman apparently
has put his foot down and refused to help
them out.
There are many other factors con-
tributing to the breakdown of rail labor
peace machinery.
Since the war, the brotherhoods have
noticed that unions outside the trans
portation field, not fettered by such slow
moving processes as provided by the
Railway Labor Act. have been able to
make the more spectacular short-term
wage gains This is particularly true Of
John L. Lewis miners and the big CIO
unions Rail workers, once the highest
paid OF any industry. now find they are
trailing the miners and Others That has
tended to cause them to brush aside the
cumbersome but peaceful processes, and
TO use economic force to get what they
want. as does Mr.. Lewis.
Overall, labor union leadership in
recent years has been on the radical"
side so far as pressing for economic
gains is concerned Rank-and-file rail
union members, seeing mine strike pay
of for Mr.. Lewis, want to know why
they can't operate the same way. The
comparatively conservative" rail labor
leadership has been on the spot.
Then there is tendency for collective
bargaining to become farce when there
Is court or board beyond the bargain
ing table to which either side can ap-
peal. Under such formalized set up.
either management or union is likely
to feel that 1t is foolish to assume re-
Sponsibility for compromising demands.
When by creating an emergency the
blame for any concessions can be put on
a board
All Of this has caused emergency
boards to spring up like dandelions in
April. In the early years of the Railway
Act the necessity for such boards was
rare. They were used only once or twice
year. Now the President is forced to
appoint score or more year.
1t was the original intent of Congress
for the emergency board to be Just
what the name implies something to
be used only as a last resort in a real
emergency. Now, every little dispute is
built up as an emergency. Boards have
become so commonplace that the unions
and their members have sort of lost
respect for them.
Evening star., 1950-07-17
Milk Containers

While all this controversy is going on
about the milk being so pure coming in
to District dairies, why aren't they more
particular how the milk is delivered after
leaving the dairies?
For instance. milk is delivered at my
house in glass bottles, double sealed. Yet,
where I work, which is the Pentagon
Building, milk is sold in paper cartons
Quite often milk has leaked out as much
as an inch, and it certainly seems to me
that where milk can leak out. germs can
get in.
Just something to think about.
A. p. Levister, Sr.
Evening star., 1950-07-17
Letters to The Star
A pseudonyn, IS permissible only
1Dbe1a letter carries correct name
and address of 1Oriter. Please be brief.

denomination, but wish to congratulate
The Star on carrying his column in its
Sunday edition. A pity it cannot be
carried in every newspaper in this land
of ours! However, be 1t known that that
column is read, clipped and mailed to
the farthest corners Of the earth, and
it's worth is beyond measure.
Thank you, DR.. Harris: thank you,
j. A. G.. and my sincerest thanks to the
editors Of The Star. ,u
Evening star., 1950-07-17
ARLINGTON, VA.

ARLINGTON, VA.
Dear Sir:
II now own six pigeons and I do not
know what kind Of breed they are. Two
of the six are lightish brown all over and
the tops Of their heads are white. The
other four are glossy black, also with
the top part of their heads white.
'These pigeons are about the same
size as the regular street pigeons but
are about an inch shorter and on the
whole are very poor flyers. Most of the
pigeons are very friendly toward me but
are always quarreling at each other.
1.-THE man that gave them to me said
they were from India and were quite
rare OF course do not know if this
is true but I would appreciate it very
much If you could tell me what breed
of pigeons these are.
Very truly yours, r. S."
Probably mookees, not too rare in this
country; and according to an expert,
worth about dollar apiece.
Evening star., 1950-07-17

II used, they are best planted at the
rear OF yard. where they offer, as our
correspondent says. fine food for the
birds.
There are many other berry bushes
that give bird food all fall and part of
the winter.
They, too, are best planted back from
the house, although few of the cleaner
ones. such as the coralberry, can be put
into the foundation planting with good
effect.