davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1954-12-17
By Charles E. TroceweN

coats, we advise our correspondent to
place his feeder at back window fac
ing on the garden.
Here he can both see and hear, and
the hearing is by no means the least
effect.
Often in the cold days ahead he
will be rewarded by constant chirp-
ing. twittering. happy music.
He may not take the time to inves-
tigate it, may not. indeed. even realize
he Is hearing anything, but the back
ground music of the sparrows is Great
ing happiness for him. just the same.
The snobbery of some bird watchers
is very far away from this good reali-
zation.
It has nothing at all to do with half
baked ornithology. or boasting that
one has seen something that makes no
difference. really. whether one has seen
It or not.
What the common sparrows have is
the common touch. as Abraham Lin
coin had. Read Carl Sandburg's "The
Prairie Years" to know what Lincoln
had, and how he got It.
Listen TO the sparrow music In the
cold, and feel that the humanity which
recognizes common birds as well as
rare is the same humanity which gave
us Lincoln, and gives Us day by day the
true satisfactions Of life.
Evening star., 1954-12-17
ALEXANDRIA, Va.

A4lE<Af1INAksA1y va.
Dear Sir:
Il would like to know the best place
in the yard to put a bird feeding sta
ton.
II have tried it out at the edge, but
the birds don't seem to come.
II would like to know If close place
ment nearer the house would bring
them them in.
MY feeding station is Of my own
construction. with perches for them to
stand on, and hopper arrangement to
feed them seeds and grains.
II think it is very nice. but the birds
don't seem to think so.
Very truly. e. ]. n"
One of the greatest treats Of cold
weather is the sound of bird voices.
That is one of the two best reasons
for having feeding place close to the
house
The chirps and tweets of the COM
mon sparrows make the prettiest music
of all.
And when to their happy voices are
added the song Of the song sparrow
tmost appropriately called) and the
calls of the redbirds and the saucy Jay.
the listener has some very fine winter
music.
The beginning OF wisdom. perhaps.
Is to learn not to sneer ct others.
Evening star., 1954-12-17
This and That

And as good beginning can be
made with the English sparrows as
with anything else that lives.
Too many bird watchers" are con-
tent to perch on their big balconies
waiting for some rare species they can
brag about at some meeting. when all
the time the pageant Of bird life Is
right there outside their window.
Motion picture lectures, with color
and sound. are very fine, but the real
birds In ones own real garden are very
fine, too. even II the background birds,
as some one tguess who) has called
them, are composed mostly of common
sparrows.
Only those who keep q constant sup
ply of food out. at some expense and
trouble. can know just how much of
the background is made up of little
common birds.
Common they may be, but plentiful
they are, and as hungry as any.
Their feathers are soft gray and
brown, and their sounds are not ct all
the harsh chirp" which the older
books attribute to them, but musical
and pleasant to hear.
Their choral efforts might well blend
with q good rendition of some great
oratorio.
TO hear these pleasant singers at
their best. and see them In their fine
Evening star., 1954-12-17
On BIockodina Chino
ii. X. Saalbach.

Following Red China S admission that
she still held at least l3 Americans
whom she had pledged to release when
she signed the Korean armistice, our
President gave lengthy statement ex-
planning why he could not take the
advice of Senator Knowland and de-
clare naval blockade. The President
said that such blockades are regarded
as an act Of war.
A text on international law for naval
officers, by Soule and McCauley Naval
Institute, 1920, describes two kinds of
blockade, one sort being a pacific"
blockade, enumerated among eight pos
sible methods of redress short of war"
This text states that the United States
has never been party to a pacific
blockade but that European states have
resorted to it upon numerous occasions
The single example quoted is that of
pacific blockade of Venezuela in 1902
by Germany. Great Britain and Italy.
In pacific blockade, as rule. only
ships of the country blockaded are
seized. If we should follow this practice
in pacific blockade of Red China, I
suppose we would find very few Chinese
freighters to seize. On the other hand.
there must be plenty of Red Chinese
junks and fishing vessels. not to men
ton a. number Of small war vessels
which buzz around, making trouble for
Chang Kai-shek. And in these modern
times there must be some Chinese
planes flying outside the coastal limits
which could have our naval attention.
Why not show our disapproval of
crooked regimes by fewer words and
more actions?
Richard L. Feldman.
Evening star., 1954-12-17

volved, merited anything less than fair
trial Justice, ne held, cannot be compro-
missed. The notion Of expediency In court
was repugnant to him.
So Mr.. Hays fought for Communists,
religious sects, trade unions, chain-gang
fugitiveS and other non-conformists not
necessarily because they needed his services
personally but because society as a whole
needed them. The money for his cases
came largely out of his own pocket-the
profits of his business practice. Thus he
was true philanthropist in the sense of
zone who loves humanity and seeks to pro-
mote it's welfare" Washington knew him
as citizen to be admired as well as
respected.
The memorial MIR. Hays would want
would be that of young lawyers working in
the tradition to which he was devoted-to
the same 1ibertarian purpose.
Evening star., 1954-12-17
By THE HASKIN SERVICE

@. Where can parents obtain lists Of
books that provide good reading for
their children? H. D. W..
A. There are many sources, notably
the nearest public library. The United
States Children's Bureau has prepared
a pamphlet entitled For the Childrens
Bookshelf" It is for sale by the Super
intendent of Documents. Washington
Is. D. c., for rs cents (stamps not ac-
cepted). An annual list Of books cer-
titled by 80 reviewers is published by the
Child Study Association of America, 1872
E. 74th ST., New York 81, N. Y.
@. Please explain the term author
ity" as 1t Is used nowadays in connec-
ton with the operation of ports, toll
roads, and the like. @.
A. Basically, an authority is an or
ganization set up by States or cities.
separately or In combination, to per-
form certain important public functions
in an independent, semiprivate manner.
Authorities are run by appointed off,
cials. They make it possible to build
and operate projects on privately bor-
rowed money. which Is repaid out of
revenues from tolls and fees. The
largest and oldest of the successful au-
thorities is the 33-year-old Port of New
York Authority.
Evening star., 1954-12-17
Curb on Commitments

While the District Court ruling in
Juvenile Court Act case will limit Federal
commitments to the newly established
youth corrections" center, it will not affect
In any way administration of the Youth
Corrections Act That act gave Federal
courts the right to commit youthful crimi-
mails to special rehabilitation and training
establishments under the Federal Bureau of
Prisons Several District youths already are
undergoing this rehabilitation process,
which is designed primarily to assist first
offenders to make new start in life
The case in which Chief Judge Laws
ruled against such commitment involved
an 18-year-old boy who had come under
Jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court several
years ago. This boy, when only 15 had been
sent to the National Training School for
18 months and later released on probation.
He was rearrested last spring and indicted
for withholding knowledge of murder
which he had witnessed, Last October the
Attorney General ordered the youth trans
ferred from the District Jail to the Peters
burg, Virginia, reformatory. This move was
prevented by habeas corpus writ on the
grounds that the reformatory is penal
1QSGlLutlOH 1OT CIlIllIldlS dllu t1ldt V44C
defendant had not been convicted Of any
crime under Federal law Thereupon the
boys transfer to the Youth Corrections
Center at Ashland, Virginia, was ordered.
Judge Laws ruled against this, too, because
the inmates of the rehabilitation center are
convicted criminals. He pointed out that
the Juvenile Court Act is intended to avoid
the treating of juveniles as criminals
But it still will be possible to send young
prisoners (21 or under) to the several youth
corrections centers set up under the new
Federal rehabilitation program. The COM
mitments must be made, however, notunder
the Juvenile Court Act, but the Youth Cor
rections Act. Federal prison officials hope
that the special consideration given the
youthful offenders at the centers will enable
them to become good citizens. The program
has a great deal of promise.
Evening star., 1954-12-17

the 1852 campaign promises" You
mention misgivings prompted by Treas
ury Secretary Humphreys announce
ment that the Federal Government is
facing another deficit budget for fiscal
1856, that. is for the remainder of the
present administrations term.
Except for whatever political capital
can be made of it, there should be no
misgivings because of budget deficits,
since the existence of deficit does
not mean that there is anything fiScally
wrong, nor the existence of surplus
that everything is fiscally right. 1t is
high time that this standard of judg-
ment is forever buried. President Roose-
velt promised balanced budget in
1882 because he didn't know any bet
ter; President Eisenhower did the same
in 1852, when he should have known
better, but he is learning fast. Accord
ing to Senator Sparkman, the Repub-
licans "have learned the facts of life
since that roseate campaign pledge they
made in 1852. That was political
clackety- -clack" The 1854 campaign
found Secretary Humphrey still resort
ing to this "clackety- -clack." Some of
his testimony before the Flanders Sub
committee on Economic Sterilization
provides hope that in due course. but
let us hope soon, he too will learn his
lesson.
He told the Investment Bankers AS
ISOLATION on October 81 that they had
found an economy going stale" ane'
then in the next breath congratulated
us for "the worlds most successful ano
beneficial economy" The only "prin-
cipal goal" of the administration which
he mentioned was "halting imitation
although he added, perhaps as an aft
er5hought, that "it had not hesitated,
either. to ease or restrict the basis of
credit when the need was indicated"
The administration would have none
of the huge deficits that were passing
the heavy burden of our excesses on
for our children and grandchildren to
bear" But think that Mr.. Humphrey
should learn to sleep easy, realizing
that his recent announcement that
the budget still cannot be balanced is
not going to make the lot Of "our chill
dren and grandchildren" more difficult
to bear.
The notion is widespread that debt
Evening star., 1954-12-17
Americas Best Asset

When Senator Sparkman said the
Republicans were the best asset the
Democrats had. he was, as so often
during his vice presidential campaign.
partly correct but far short OF the COM
plete truth.
The Republicans are not only the
best asset the Democrats have. Un-
der Ike's sensible. middle-of -the-road
course toward a united. productive and
high-vitality Nation. they are the best
asset the whole country has.
Senator Sparkman really should bet
ter evaluate his peoples intelligence
and their titanic potentials.
Earl (Scoop) Shutz.
Evening star., 1954-12-17
Durhom Case

In discussing the Durham case, Mar
garet j. Rioch, Ph.D., states that there
are some insane" persons who do un-
derstand the difference between right
and wrong, yet who commit crimes
when not driven by an irresistible i'm
pulse.
If this Is true at all, it is true because
the person is insane with respect to- a
part of his personality relating to the
motivation for the crime and is not
insane with respect to another portion
of his personality relating to his judg-
ments of moral value. Then. If there
is no irresistible impulse, it cannot be
said that the insane portion of the
personality overcame the sane judg-
ment of what is right and wrong.
Compare this situation with the case
of normal person who commits a
malum in Sc crime, such as rape or
premeditated killing. He is, with respect
to the motivation GuSt as the insane
person. abnormal. for the pleasure or
advantage of such crime is simply
not worth the trouble or risk to q bal
anced person. Out of the wealth of a
lifetime of judging human character
the layman frequently says, "He must
have been crazy to do it." Should not
such lay judgments be valued? Yet we
are all agreed that this type of Crazy
ness should not be basis for defense
or acquittal.
If the right-wrong test is proper for
judging sane person (whose motiva-
ton Is ignored as not constituting an
excuse for the crime), then the same
test is proper with respect to those
insane who can tell right from wrong.
The fact that the insane person may
be, in addition, abnormal in other areas
not related to the motivation for the
crime ought not to constitute an ex-
cuse. as it is not germane to the mott
vation, and therefore not germane to
the crime.
III. *, Saalbach.
Evening star., 1954-12-17
Arthur Garfield Hays

Technically, the word to describe Arthur
Garfield Hays is "libertarian" He met the
Oxford Dictionary requirement as "one who
approves of or advocates liberty"
Mr.. Hays came to the defense of all
manner of people who had fallen afoul OF
arbitrary authority. He was counsel of the
American Civil Liberties Union for many
years and took part in a long list of classic
battles in the courts in which the basic
issue was human freedom. Not all Of those
he represented were innocent. Some OF
them certainly were guilty But none of
them, as he saw the elements OF law in
Evening star., 1954-12-17
'christmus Lives Forever

wish you would reprint this little
essay. written by Ted Berndt for the
Mullins Press, Warren, Ohio. believe
others win enjoy 1t, this time Of year:
christmas is lot OF things It's
bigger than Santa Claus and it's
brighter than q million lighted trees.
It reaches beyond the mailing Of
Christmas cards and the exchanging
of gifts. It's warmer than hot mince
pie and more inspiring than the aroma
of golden brown turkey and sage dress
ing.
The spirit of Christmas encirles this
confused and tired world Of ours every
year and neither war nor personal
tragedy can dull its luster.
"It begins before December Is and
lasts as long as you have the spirit OF
Christmas in your heart.
1T begins along about the time small
children with amazing intuition ask,
'When'S Christmas, mommy? And
the day you take the bedraggled Christ
mas tree down against their fearful
protests doesn't really mark the end.
christmas thrives wherever men
are free, for its roots are buried deep in
human dignity. No dictator can ever
entirely destroy Christmas, because it
it impossible to put barbed wire around
a mans soul.
Christmas is magic thing. It
makes family out of relatives. turns
acquaintances into friends. It changes
houses into homes, makes bright lights
brighter. makes snow more beautiful.
Christmas even turns the music Of
children's laughter into a symphony
of JOY and praise. Christmas leaves on
everything touch of greatness and
peace.
Christmas is indestructible and
everlasting because 1t is state of
mind-a way of thinking-a manner Of
looking at things belief in people
and an abiding faith in Christ the
Lord"
Reader
Evening star., 1954-12-17
Shotgun Tragedy

It is unfortunate that The Star
labeled the shotgun death of Miss Sally
Wood "freak accident" This implies
that it could not have been prevented.
OF course 1t would never have hap
pened If Miss Wood had been aware of
the most elementary rules of safety In
handling guns. The first rule Is: Never
leave a loaded gun lying around the
house. This has been publicized for
years by the sporting arms manufac-
turers and the National Rifle Associa-
ton.
The real tragedy of the accidental"
death of this unfortunate girl is that
she paid with her life for ignoring a
few lines of printed words, or few
words spoken by salesman or friend.
Oddly, we all think it obvious that
small children should not be allowed
around stove, that people ignorant
of driving should not try to drive a
car, and that you shouldn't light a
match in gas-filled room. Cars and
cook stoves are more dangerous than
guns, and their safe use requires some
training. Yet many of us feel that
ignorance is some sort of protection
when there Is gun around. It is
utterly paradoxical
Lawrence Fleming.
Evening star., 1954-12-17
hink?

It seems somewhat ironical that
Thomas j. Watson, ST., author of the famous
THINK slogan, has felt moved to advise
young people not to stop using their heads
lust because companies like his have de-
veloped mechanical brains that function
better, in many respects, than the human
mind
Mr.. Watson, of course, has been leader
in producing such gadgets. But now, AS II
afraid that the work of his international
Business Machines Corporation might en-
courage mental lazinesS in the younger gen
Grafton, he has warned an audience at the
City College of New York that the gadgets
ought never to be regarded as substitute
for natural, mechanical thinking. AS
he has put it, they are simply tools which
man has devised to relieve him of tedious,
repetitious drudgery and free his mind for
creative work"
Actually, despite what his company has
done to ease the burdens of human coglta-
ton, Mr. Watson has lost none of his en-
thusiasm for his celebrated belief in the
virtue of old-fashioned thinking. Indeed,
in his opinion, "all the problems OF the
only willing to think" Yet lot of us feel
inferior 10 WHICH, ~ COAIiCo
to trying to figure out things and arrive at
correct answers to all our multitudinous
difficulties, which seem never to end but
always to increase.
AS matter Of fact, there are some
among us who feel that human brains are
woefully ill-equipped to cope with the prob
lens of the atomic age and that therefore
all thinking-for want of anything better
among humans-should be done by me-
chanical brains. Then, too, there are those
who would Scoff at Mr.. Watson'S contention
that mans thought can solve the global
mess: in their view. Samuel Butler makes
a lot more sense, in "Erewhon," when he
advocates special educational efforts to
make everybody unlearn everything, and
think about nothing, in order to enjoy the
bliss of ignorance.
Mr.. Watson, quite obviously, is not in
agreement with old Samuel Butler. The
theses of the two men-one optimistic, the
other very hostile to the results of human
thinking-are irreconcilable Which Is
right? Perhaps the brain Of an IBM ma
chine should be put to work to find the true
answer.
Evening star., 1954-12-17
| letters to The Stor !. !.

as such is evil, and it Is easy to throw
scare into people by pointing TO the
mere size of the debt and to the un-
balanced budgets giving rise to 1t. It
is associated with ''living beyond our
means" The puzzle remains to be
explained how it is that we have been
able to live beyond our means, while
getting richer and richer. not to speak
of our financing of huge war efforts
and the help we have given TO nations
that were really living beyond their
means.
Those who claim that it is future
generations which viii pay for our
extravaganza have not shown how this
is possible. For the most part, each
generation is forced to pay its own
bills, although it bequeaths It's mis-
takes. Not least of these is our waste
of natural resources, but this has Moth
ing to do with the Federal debt. as
can be seen by the fact that such waste
was most virulent when there was
hardly any public debt at all. Indeed
to prevent such waste Of natural re-
sources the Government may have to
go further into debt.
The results of 20 years of almost
continuous deficits talthough the Tru-
man budget taken as whole showed
a surplus) were record levels of per-
sonal income, employment. accounts
receivable tthe reverse side Of consumer
debit. planned investment and the
earnings of industry. and more people
employed. more things made, more
families living better than before" Gas
Life magazine rhapsodized in the first
week Of 1889. Tell this to the prophets
of doom who say that the economy is
not sound when the Federal budget
is unbalanced. and they reply that it
is "false prosperity" snare and a
delusion. To these prophets land Lord
help us If they get the upper hand) it
is sacrilege to put fact above dogma.
Sidney Koretz.
Evening star., 1954-12-17

One might get the impression from
listening to Associate Editor Harrison Smith
of the Saturday Review that department
of thought control has been set up in the
Library of Congress. But this really isn't
the case.
Mr.. Smith had been invited on Novem-
ber / to take part in a recorded discussion
of Sinclair Lewis. He accepted, but hit the
ceiling in New York this week when he
received tentative script prepared by
some one in the Library.
This looked like censorship in advance"
to Mr.. Smith. He wondered What kind Of
thinking goes on down there in Washing
ton?" He suggested with angry tongue in
inf1amed cheek, that they might have some
kind of mechanical brain in the Library
which turns out "slickly written sympo-
sium" upon the punching of button. And
in conclusion, Mr. Smith let it be known
that his pleasure at receiving the invitation
had given way to "amazement and anger
Mr. Smith must have slow-burning
fuse. He should have known six weeks ago
that tentative script would be prepared
for him. This was stated in the original
letter of invitation, which he answered, and
repeated in substance in second letter on
November II, which he did not answer. So
why all the uproar when the proposed
script, which was subject to revision, amend
ment or rejection by him, finally arrived?
The people at the Library say the
preparation of script material is the usual
procedure, the idea being to assist busy
people to whom they appeal Perhaps. as
a general thing it is not very good idea,
and certainly it was not good in Mr. Smiths
case But, after all, 1t does not mean, as Mr..
Smith suggested, that the Library of Con-
gress has ceased to be "one of our strongest
bastions of free thinking and speaking