davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29
Arlington Politics

The majority members of the Arlington
County Board contend with some plausibility
that their decision to strip the County Manager
OF some of his appointive powers is consistent
with Virginia law This may be correct For
while the board probably can delegate appointive
power to the County Manager, and has been
doing SO since 1887, there certainly is nothing
in the law which requires such delegation.
Localities aside, however, this looks very much
like move to strengthen the political power
OF the faction in Arlington which now controls
the county board. And it also looks like a
retreat from good government since it raises
the prospect of political interference with what
have been the functions of the County Manager.
There is, of course, nothing new in an at
tempt by political faction to reinforce its
power by putting public jobs on patronage
basis. This is device that is as old as politics.
There will be some lifting of eyebrows at this
development in Arlington, however for the So
called nonpartisans who are now in control
have missed no opportunity to decry the political
tactics of the county's Democratic machine"
1t all depends, apparently. on whose political
OK Is being gored
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29

Ear mites are another trouble afflict-
ing the pet cat.
Nature is queer, as most animals find
out, sooner or later.
One of it's oddities is inflicting one
form of life on another.
Or is that strange, after all?
The ear mite of the house cat lives
in the feline ear if left alone.
1t eats there. and breeds there, and
causes much misery to the host.
The first sign is the way the animal
holds its ears.
Instead of standing erect. as any we'll
bred cat ear ought to do, in the char
acteristic pose known the world around,
the ears tend to droop.
This puts them almost in a horizontal
position, giving the whole head a fiat
look.
Then the animal begins to scratch.
He digs at his ears, trying to put the
paw inside.
This action gives him little relief from
the itching but it stirs up the mites.
They scurry around faster and faster,
until they nearly set the poor cat wild.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29
Christmas Spirit

At Christmas time my husband and
sent two packages to a correspondent in
England. We do not know the family,
they are not relatives, and how we came
to contact them is not part of this story.
We sent one food package and another
of new toys-little things which children
delight in, picked up in the five and
ten. We cheerfully packed our boxes
with the toys and sent them with our
Christmas love no other reason on
earth, no appeasement, no politics.
Imagine our dismay to receive letter
from England. saying that our friends
had to pay a tax Of almost a pound.
which was perhaps as much as the box
cost in the first place. before they could
get it! This was a duty tax as well as
a purchase tax. Having little ready
money, they didn't know what to do,
but they paid it, and the children were
mad with joy" over the gifts and the
thought of receiving something from
America
OF course, we hastily sent them a
pound note to cover the full cost OF
our gift. We meanwhile have learned
that one can send only used goods"
to England duty free. But who would
think of sending used toys" as
Christmas gift. and why should one
have to?
M. ]. Hyde.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29
This and That .
By Charles E. TroceweII

The scratching, while ineffective as
relief, does scratch the inner ear.
Sometimes blood pours forth
The structure of the ear will be af-
fected, in time.
Extreme cases require surgical inter-
vention.f
The picture, altogether, is not happy
one.
The cat is intensely miserable. No
one thrives except the mites.
They love it.
It will be seen that here is no job for
the amateur
Only the cat doctor should handle
these cases. X.
He knows how to clean out the ear,
as well as the mites.
Amateur meddling with delicate ear
tissues may do irreparable damage
The sheer amount of plain dirt in
the ear may shock the pet owner 1t
is not his fault. nor the cats, but solely
natures, combined with a certain
amount Of indoor living.
Dust and soil get in, under the UNI
natural ways Of modern cat life.
The cat ear mite is a terrible looking
creature under microscope.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29

1t has beak. and a sharp one, and
wiggly legs with claws at the end.
No wonder it causes the cat to dig
at its earl
There is very little chance of this
parasite being transferred to the hui
man ear. 1t is not at home there.
picture of the mite might have a
wholesome effect, however, on all little
boys who refuse to have their ears
washed.
Actually there is practically no dam
ger of human catching them.
In this case, it is only the pet that
suffers
4 Properly treated, with the right anti
septics, he will not suffer long. but will
stop scratching within "a to SO hours.
often within few hours.
The ears come upright again.
The whole animal benefits.
Any owner who sees those mites
squirming under the microscope knows
why.
So, if you see your cat scratching at
its head, and holding its ears constantly
on the level, don't just think he is act
ing queer.
He is in trouble, and 1t is up to you
to help him out,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29
By L. Edgor Primo

N OES Defense Department legislation
IL which would call up 18-year-olds
for 81 months military service mean
battle for survival for American colleges
and universities?
Despite recent scare statements from
a number of pessimiSts, the consensus
answer among educators and the officials
of the United States Office of Education
is firm mo" They warn, however
that our institutions of higher learning
face painful three years of debt
Likely to be hardest hit are the pri-
vate mems liberal arts colleges-and
among that group, those without Reserve
Officer Training Corps programs. There
may even be few shutdoWns, because
nearly three quarters of the receipts of
these colleges come from tuition and
fees.
Almost all schools will feel the pinch
Even women's colleges are vulnerable
o-educational institutions already are
campaigning to lure great numbers of
high school girls for naturalization next
fall
Transported State and city colleges
and heavily endowed schools undoubtedly
Will NC Ill lIle UeSI pOSlllOn 10 TlQc OUT
the storm.
The current expectation is that all
those men now in college and doing we'll
iii their studies will be allowed to finish.
Under the manpower bill before Con-
gress. therefore. colleges would be left
with three full classes in the 1872
school year. two in 1923 and only one
in 1884. In the latter year-assuming,
of course, that all-out war does not in
tervene-the fowback of men completing
their military service would begin. But
the real return would start in 1876.
So despite the fact the bill allows the
President to designate up to $4,000 of
the 18-year-old draftees to enter college
each year, there will be three slim years.
A lot of brainpower is busy tackling
the problem of finding ways for colleges
to brace for the coming financial shock.
The Office of Education and leading edu-
cational and research groups are knee
deep in surveys and studies.
John Dale Russell, director Of the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29
Unfair to Defense Employees

Congress should lose no time in repeating
its ill-consdered ban on accumulation of unused
leave by Federal employees. The ban was enacted
last year in an irregular way-through rider
on the omnibus appropriation bill There no
prior study of the leave problem by the proper
committees, those concerned with civil service
advice of the Civil Service Commission and the
Budget Bureau, That the ban has proved to be
inadvsable is not surprising.
Chief opponent of the ban quite understand
ably, Is the Defense Department. With the Ko-
rean war imposing heavy workloads on the
departments employees, the department has been
forced to disapprove leave applications in many
cases. Yet under the rider the employees must
take their leave during the current fiscal year or
lose it altogether. Meanwhile employees in non
rush, non-defense agencies are taking full ad-
vantage of the take-it-now- -lose-it policy on
leave laid down by Congress. This is manfestly
discriminatory and unfair Defense employees
who are prohibited from taking a vacation this
year should have the right to take it later if the
opportunity presents itself
Experience has shown that complicated
civil service problem such as leave both annual
and sick, requires careful study by committees
familiar with departmental personnel matters
That is why the Senate and House established
standing committees on civil service. Congress
should refer the whole question of future leave
Notwithstanding alleged abuses OF accumulated
leave privieges-to the Civil Service Committees
OF the two branches. But repeal of the leave rider
should come first.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29
Adolescence on q Rompooe

HoUISSSSHCe OF q Rampage
When we returned to Washington after
an extended period abroad and began to
look around for house, we discovered
that modern housing of the kind suited
to our means lacked any room where
one might cultivate the mind No modern
house included room that might be
used as library. Instead, one invariably
was shown, with pride by the owner,
sound-proofed room in the basement,
provided with miniature bar, called the
"rumpus room" We soon were to learn
that the modern generation that has
been building homes in Washington
since the beginning of the 30s no
longer takes its drinks in the drawing
room. 1t retreats to the sound -proofed
'rumpus room" or recreation room"
tucked away in the basement, where it
can drink and raise domestic Cain with
out disturbing the neighbors. We even
found stores catering to this form of
family entertainment. where one could
purchase exaggerated copies of equip
ment derived from the saloon environ
ment Of a bygone age.
We then discovered that members Of
the generation in question did not want
to grow up. They seemed determined
to preserve a kind of adolescence or
infantilism. At the teller's window of a
prominent Washington bank heard an
adult feminine voice behind me say,
when we are through we girls will
meet the boys at the corner and go to
the movies" I looked around to find
that the voice was that of woman
obviously in her sos talking to an
other equally mature woman
There are no men and women any
more. They want to remain boys and
girls to the end of the chapter, prepared
to romp irresponsibly through life in
''rumpus room" and at a public cocktail
bar or hot spot" The movies direct
their product to 12-year old mind, and
I am told by the church that the clergy
are trained to preach to a 12-year- old
mind
This unwillingness to grow up, this
determination to continue to be ado
lescents, seems to have produced kind
OF responsibilities unwillingness to
face facts-that is characteristic of ado
lescence. 1t reveals itself in seeking for
anonymity through the use of first names
I have participated in serious confer
ence in the course of which my own
AS4CA1G1Sy 1Ido UCCu lOSG because
those with whom have conferred, men
and women I never had seen before,
called me by my first name Nobody in
the room seemed to know or care any,
thing about the family names of the
rest. Family names were unknown. 1t
was just Tom, Dick and Harry. First
names. and even names that were OBJ
viously baby nicknames, were used in
reference to persons not present. whose
identity was completely unknown to me-
Now the names Tom, Dick and Harry
have always stood for mediocrity, ire
sponsibility and anonymity. It is the
Smiths and the Browns that achieve
continuity of effort and not the Toms
and the Harrys.
1t seems to me that one of the chief
difficulties of our time is to be found
in this unwillingness of Americans to
lay aside the ways Of childhood.
Home From Abroad.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29
Mr.. Trumun and the Troops

Senator Taft says President Truman
cannot send American troops to Europe
without the consent of Congress. The
President says he can. Which Is right?
Well, the correct answer is: Neither
the President or the Senator. Any citi-
zen can find the answer himself. Turn
ing to the Constitution of the United
States, the source of all governmental
powers in Article One, Section Eight. We
find: THE Congress shall have the power
to u. declare war i. to provide for
the calling forth the militia to execute
the laws of the Union, suppress insurrec-
ton. and repel invasions . reserving
to the States respectively. the appoint
ment Of the officers 49,"
Troops are of two kinds and two kinds
only, the standing army Cor regulars)
and the militia. Everything that is not
In the regular forces Is militia. And
there is no constitutional authority for
a National Guard, reserves or militia Of
the United States except in the Federal
Territories, such as Alaska or Hawaii,
where only Federal Government exists.
If we want to know what the founding
fathers meant, we turn to "The Fed
eralist," composed of a series Of letters
of certain members of the Constitutional
Convention explaining to the electorate
the motives behind the Constitution. In
the Henry Cabot Lodge edition of 1.-THE
Federalist" at page 1853. Essay No. 20,
Alexander Hamilton explains the mean
ing of Article One Section Eight, and
among other things we find that the
militia belongs exclusively to the States
and was intended, incidentally, to be
check on the standing army and its
possible unlawful use: and as an addi-
tional safeguard the officers Of the
militia were to be commissioned by the
Governors of the States.
If we want still more enlightenment
we turn to the opinions of the Attorneys
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29
Keep Trucks OFT Shirley Highway

There are so many good reasons for keeping
interstate truck traffic off Shirley Highway that
1t is hard to understand why the Virginia High
way Commission is persisting in it's plans to
degrade the memorial boulevard into just an
other truck-corgested stretch of U. S. Route l.
AS a result of rising public opposition to such
degradation the commission is said to be con-
sdering a compromise plan that would bar
interstate trucks from the road during morning
and evening rush hours But what excuse is
there for opening this scenic highway to
through trucking at any time, as long as U. S.
Route l, with its service stations, eating places
and other facilities needed by truck traffic, is
available nearby?
Shirley Highway already has become
heavily travelled passenger-car link between
Washington and the Richmond highway, which
it intersects at Woodbridge. It's construction
was hurried during World War II because of
Its military value, for it provides shortcut
between the Pentagon network and Fort Bel
voir and the Quantico Marine Base. It's
military Importance again is increasing as
result of the rearmament program-a fact
which Defense Department officials have en-
phasized in opposing any move to clutter up
the road with trailer trucks and other heavy
traffic. Furthermore, there are indications that
Shirley Highway figures in the planning for
new National Airport in nearby Virginia-an-
other reason for keeping it clear of unnecessary
traffic.
To open the highway to interstate trucks
would be to invite pressure for letting down
the bars against further commercialization of
the road. Once through trucks begin using the
17-nnile garage-free hot-dog -stand-free stretch,
demands for service facilities are sure to fol-
low. 1t will be hard to resist these demands if
the highway is thrown open to north-south
trucking. The safe and sensible way to save this
fine boulevard from becoming another congested
u. S. l is to keep permanently the present
restrictions against interstate truck traffic.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29
AvoIonches

Avalanches in Switzerland Austria and Italy
In the past two weeks have taken perhaps as
many as $50 lives The reports of the slides are
reminiscent of those received about go years ago
from the western parts of the United States.
Burke, Idaho, was almost completely wiped out
by falling snow and ice in 1891. Java, Montana,
killed in a fall of snow and debris in the Rockies
In 1894. Similar tragedies were announced
again and again up to 1905, since which date
there have been only few in this country.
Switzerland generally, seems to lead the
world in such disasters The reasons are obvious,
tracing back inevitably to the fact that the
Swiss republic is inhabited by men and women
whose daily routines of life take them con-
stantly into danger on the mountain slopes and
in the deep valleys of their country. Every
flake of snow that falls upon the Alps eventu-
level. The process may require centuries, but
the time involved is a mere detail. Most ava
lanches are caused by the simple accumulation
of weight until it no longer can be supported
on the base upon which it rests. Balance is
upset by so slight a factor as a single clap of
thunder or even human voice raised to
shout. The guides around DavoS and Zermatt
frequently warn the parties in their charge to
keep silent when passing over terrain where
masses of snow are known to be poised above.
Exactly what has brought about the present
rash of avalanches is not yet certain. Heavy
precipitation may be only one aspect of the ex-
PLANTATION. Possibly the volcanic disturbances re-
Gently reported from Sicily have had something
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29
Advice to a Debutonte

Unaffected grace to learn,
Heed this rhythmic s,puyino fern:
Mark the neadotD-or grasses moving,
And the gliding cloud discern;
on the tDings OF loping silence, !.
To her nest. the birds return.
Listen to the thrush's tone
That is tenderer than your o,cn;
Harken to the hid streams scdrblinS.
To her fairy bugles bloton::
Hear the harping from the piaepood
When the moon Is on her throne.
Natures beauty, has no pose.
No theatric art she KNOBS. ...
For there's no pretentious violet.
No desiontul lily glo1Ds;
There's no ostentations orchid.
And no ceremontous rose.
Archibald kutisdss
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29

division of higher learning in u S. o. E..
said the outlook wasn't as grim as at
first supposed. He drew the following
hopeful picture:
While the Defense Department legis-
lation sets $4,000 maximum for youths
who may be permitted to enter college,
Congress may vote higher limit There
has been pressure for this from many
educators.
Along with the $4,000, which is about
one-third the normal male freshman
population, there will be some who have
been rejected by the Army for physica.
reasons. Then, too, the Army and Air
Force may be able to adopt some form
of the Nays so-called Holloway Plan"
whereby outstanding high school seniors
are selected, and their college educa-
ton financed, in return for a pledge to
serve two years active duty upon grad
uation.
Taken together. these possibilities
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29
The Reds in France

The French Communists, like their Krenlin-
serving comrades elsewhere in Western Europe,
are finding it more and more difficult these days
to stage riotous demonstrations Their latest eff
fort-aimed against General Eisenhower in de-
hance of an official ban-ended in complete
failure. The Soviet-directed Cominform, which
Is said to have given them strict instructions to
create disorder on a violent and massive scale in
Paris and every other key city of the country,
must be sorely disappointed in them. But they
tried hard. They did their reasonable best to
make good on major challenge to the authority
of the government. The government however,
f1rmness against them, and they simply could not
work their will. The police and security forces
were too much for them.
Little more than two years ago, the situation
was quite different. The Communists of France,
together with those of Italy, constituted very
powerful and menacing fifth column in western
Europe-a subversive army capable of stirring
up crisis conditions with relative ease. But they
have lost lot of ground since them The Mar
shall Plan and other developments have hit
them hard. Above all, governmental authority
has been alerting itself against them with i'm
proved machinery for the maintenance of law
and order and internal security AS result their
ability to make serious trouble with riots and
mass demonstrations has been reduced Their
palmy days in that sense seem largely thing
of the past Though still dangerous, they are not
effective they once were-Which is the
Kremlins loss and the free worlds gain.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29
Letters to The Star

General Of the United states. and we
advised President Theodore Roosevelt
that he could not call out the militia and
send them to Cuba to put down an in
surrection there. The trouble in Cuba
was not an instruction within our own
Government nor was it an invasion of
our territory. The President then, by the
authority of that vague and nebulous
phrase, his inherent powers as Com
mander in Chief of the Military and
Naval Forces of the United States"
assembled the standing Army. Navy and
Marines and sent them to Cuba as "the
Army of Cuban Pacification." But he
sent no militia. BY virtue of that same
authority President Wilson sent the
regular Army. Navy and Marines to Vera
Cruz Mexico, In 1914, but no militia. On
that same authority he sent the regular
Navy and Marines to Haiti in 1916, or
Whereabouts. but no militia. In fact the
regular Navy and Marines. have been
used by Presidents all over the world on
that same authority. But what about
Korea? Are those troops regulars or
militia?
If We want still more enlightenment.
we can turn to the decisions of the
Supreme Court of the United States, and
revel in a wealth of material to our
hearts content. But we will find that
the key to the whole problem is: What
kind of troops are they talking about,
regulars or militia? If it is regulars. the
President can do about as he pleases.
If it is militia he cannot. lawfully. 1t
is the Congress that provides for calling
forth the militia-in theory-and it must
be Ito repel invasion" and even the
Congress cannot summon them for any
other purpose lawfully.
B. Van Moss.
I would like to take issue with The
Star on it's blunt assumption that the
President has unlimited powers over the
armed forces.
Our Government is built good deal
on faith-faith in implied restrictions
or else any President. as commander
in chief, could declare himself dictator.
The Star certainly couldn't back such
a move yet it implies that 1t would.
It is true that Presidents have taken
too much power at times, but these were
all during unusual circumstances. No
precedent has been set; only few
exceptions have been allowed. With The
Stars logic, the legal right to kill in
war would allow one to kill anything,
any time, anywhere, regardless of law.
The Star is still my favorite paper
let's keep it that way.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-01-29
Discriminating Against Spain

I am one among many who cannot
understand by what right membership
in the United Nations organization can
be withheld from the Spanish nation.
Russia and Russia's satellites have been
permitted to hold seats in the U. N. and
to spread their false propaganda about
the non-Communist nations. Spain thus
is deprived of legitimate right to defend
itself against such attacks
In the meantime, our Nation looks
vainly in the U. N. for strong allies
against Soviet Russia.
Eugene M. TOmmey.