davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-09-10
Expert Sees Big Advance
In Home Design, Value

Isign in today's new subdivision
projects. For example, curvilin-
lear, streets are eliminating the
lmonotonous effects Of straight
and parallel streets.
Cross-type intersections are re-
placing ct" intersections which
provide a positive means of slow.
ing traffic at intersections. Ths
result is safer neighborhoodS.
From q general design stand.
point of the house itself, there
has been much Improvement II
II he general organization Of
space. Traffic circulation is more
carefully considered, so thai
rooms and entrances are more
conveniently arranged.
i Rooms and combinations Of
rooms are open planned" fol-
more spacious living and space
effect. An aid to open planning
lis an increased use Of truss roof;
which offer more flexibility ir
interior planning.
Space Is Organized
The organization Of storage
space Is handled much better
and waste space is being elimi.
mated. The closet with inacces.
sible corners is slowly disappear.
ling, and walk-in type closets OF
those with doors which oper
across the full front are now be.
ling used. Careful planning anC
location of shelves and custom.
tailored pieces proportioned K
meet individual room design.
and needs are saving home buy.
ers the expense of bulky and un.
Iwieldly pieces Of furniture which
cannot always utilize 1loor-to.
ceiling areas as efficiently as
tbuilt-in accommodations.
research has resulted In
many scientific advances, and
the appearance Of many new
materials which are contribut-
ling directly or indirectly to the
betterment Of today's new home
Plastics, for example-unheard
of a few years ago-now drama.
ltically illustrate the new and
more durable finish materials be-
ing used. Flexible vinyl floor
Coverings plastic product
are resistant to grease. alkalies
and spotting. Washable wal
covering materials. available In
q variety Of colors and textures
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-09-10

ARE also new plastic materials.
Other contributions Of the
|plastics industry do not show but
help produce q better house for
Ia lower price. Polyethylene.
known to the housewife as the
material Of which refrigerator
food bags are made. is now be-
ing used as a vapor stop behind
interior walls or under the con-
crete slab. Styrofoam. familiar
to most people in its white
Isponge-like Christmas decora-
ton form is an excellent insulat-
ing material.
Sound Is Absorbed
Sound absorbing materials are
helping achieve more home COM
fort by controlling distracting
and Irritating noises. Acoustical
tiles of assured. perforated.
striated squares for ceilings and
walls absorb unwelcome noises
and insulate rooms as well as
being decorative.
The availability Of better
heating equipment and the
benefits of experiment. permit
better results in heating houses
today. Systems that were es-
Isentially unknown five to seven
years ago are now commonplace.
Perimeter warm air heating, an
experiment in 1913. is one ex-
ample.
An increasing number Of mod
lern heating systems are easily
adaptable to refrigerated air
conditioning as well as warm air
circulation. Heat is now dis
Itributed evenly so that feet don't
freeze while upper portions of
the body swelter-as occurred
many times with unregulated
heating.
Today's home is better illu-
minated through more carefully
located window areas, and safer
and more practical lighting sys-
TENS.
Outlets for electrical appli-
Iances and lights are more gen.
erously distributed throughout
the house, and are placed for
disability. instead Of the con-
Iventional middle Of the CELL
ing" light fixture and a limited
number Of convenience outlets.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-09-10
By RICHARD J. CARAVAN
A..,s.sa.. Dl5s q esss. i..'.

Assistant Director. CONSTRUCTION
Department and Research Institute.
The Fall Festival of Homes.
sponsored by The Evening Star,
lis a program designed to show
the Washington-area public the
values of project-built houses
available locally.
AS q member Of the committee
which selected the exhibit houses,
lit was interesting to contrast the
houses selected this wear with
those of a few years ago.
Home buyers today get q much
better value for their housing
dollar than buyers did a few
years ago. So gradual and con-
lsistent has been the evolution in
home improvement and construc-
Ition that its constant progress
many times is not apparent. Ac-
tually, many dramatic events
mark the transition period.
One impression was the sub
stantial increase in space. The
typical house today has three
bedrooms-one more than its
l1948 counterpart, when the
standard called for two.
More houses today have either
four bedrooms or three bedrooms
and a recreation room than have
two bedrooms. Many present
houses also provide the convent
ence of an extra full bath or half
bath.
Logically, along with the larger
house, a more spacious lot is pro-
vided. Land-planning has been
developed to greater perfection,
and permits more practical ar
Irangement Of houses on plots.
improvements Made
In addition to an enlarged
house and lot. many improve
ments have been made in design,
construction, use of materials
and in the building materials
themselves. Construction tech
Iniques have been simplified SO
that a house generally is more
Imaintenance-free. Color is being
used more tastefully and intel
ligently-and with very good
effect.
Much has been learned about
neighborhood planning and de-
Evening star., 1955-01-10
This and That

A tune had been hunming in Tenn
pieton Jones ears for weeks.
1t was good tune, and bit Of barrel
house piano between choruses was
terrific.
Il think I will 60 up to the music
store and get It," he said. one day,
succumbing at last. as million Of his
fellow Americans had done previously.
AS he came up to the counter. he
noted the two young Music Lovers be-
hind It,
One was tall, the other short. In the
old days Of vaudeville, they would have
made perfect team.
Templeton Jones stood hesitatingly
before the Music Lovers. but they did
not see him
They were discussing Bruckner.
Now, Anton Bruckner was almost an
unknown name and man TO American
music enthusiasts Is years ago.
The Austrian symphony composer
and organist was first introduced TO
phonograph record enthusiasts at that
time, and then came Werner Wolfe to
this country. to give his favorite COM
poser boost.
Bruckner. the peasant composer. had
dined at his fathers house in the old
country.
Prof. Wolfe loved the masters pelo-
Evening star., 1955-01-10

dentally, they wonder how Bufo man
ages to live normal. useful life with
all that constructing stuff in his glands.
This is not Bufo's first attempt to
improve toad-man relationships. In
1900 he almost was used in the manu-
facture of substance similar to
digitalis. Bufo lost out when science
picked the foxglove plant for this pur-
pose, and he disappointedly headed
back to his native haunts.
But he's here again-though not
without some difficulty.
When scientists at Bethesda decided
to look again into Bufo's venom. they
consulted with DR.. William Mann.
director of the Zoo. The scientists did
not know how to contact Bufo. DR..
Mann supplied the names of few
institutions which might have Bufo on
hand.
DR.. Sidney Udenfriend, scientist
interested in serotonin, corresponded
with number of toad collectors. Even
tually. the Institute of. Jamaica in
Jamaica agreed to ship Bufo to NH for
q reasonable price per Bufo.
The bottom almost dropped out of
the research study when no more Bufos
arrived from the institute. It deyel-
oped that Swiss scientists were just as
interested in Bufo-so much so they
were willing to pay much more per
Bufo
Evening star., 1955-01-10

tax form Is not now the shock to the budget
and nervous system that it once was. But
it is bad enough, and now that one knows
it is actually coming, the sooner the better.
The Internal Revenue Service points
out that the blanks were mailed little later
this year, but adds that the taxpayer has
more time to I'LL them out and get them
back to the Government, Congress last
year magnanimously extended the execu-
ton date to April Is. When one remembers
the extension of the deadline, the delay in
mailing does not seem serious. But the time
between March Is and April is viii be the
shortest month of the year.
Evening star., 1955-01-10
Science Is Wonderful and So Is 'Bufo'
By John McKelwoy

TT IS NOT often one finds toad like
i Bufo Marinus. toadis toad. dedi-
Gated worker. AS toads go. Bufo sQuats
heads and shoulders above the rest. !
He gives much of himself every day
toward improving the relationship be-
tween toads and that higher animal.
the human.
The relationship, at least in the past.
has been somewhat strained. Toads
have found that stigma about warts
particularly hard to shed. In general.
the frog receives better treatment. at
least from humans.
But in time, through Bufo's efforts.
it seems likely toads VIII be In line for
some Of the kindness and affection
handed out by man to dogs, cats,
canaries and an occasional kinkaJou.
Bufo resembles slain gangster. He
appears quite bored. grows to about
foot and weighs about q pound. He Is
a direct descendant Of the clan "Bufo
Marinus," q type Of toad that picked
the tropical Americas to settle in. From
a distance he could be mistaken for q
dead leaf. Up close he looks like the
large toad he is.
About three years ago. Bufo picked
the medical sciences to do his public
relations work in. The manner In
which he "puts out" Is quite striking.
Bufo moved up here from Puerto
Rico. At present he has quarters in
the National Institutes Of Health IN
Bethesda. He sleeps and takes his
meals there.
Just about every day. Bufo is gin
gerly picked up by scientist and car
ried to a laboratory There, the scien-
tist suueezes Bufo on the side OF his
head and interesting things happen.
Bufo-with help from the scientist
scuirts out a portion Of the material
he has in his glands The material is
then collected on glass plate and
Bufo is returned to his quarters 10
plop down for a horsemeat meal.
Scientists are particularly fond OF
Bufo. He seems. they say. quite co-opera-
tive about the squeezing business. The
material Bufo yields is a venom, prob.
ably poisonous to humans II taken in
heavy doses. It contains a substance
called "serotonin" which has been found
to have a constructing effect on blood
vessels. The same substance Is found
in the blood platelets of the human and
probably aids the mechanism which
halts bleeding when released. But more
important, serotonin has some relation
ship with nigh blood pressure-caused
by, in some cases. tightening or
construction Of blood vessels.
Scientists are studying serotonin in
an attempt to find just where It is
manufactured. in the body, how 1t is
used UP by the body-just what
function it serves.
They need Bufo to do it. And. Incl
Evening star., 1955-01-10
BY Charles E. Trocewen

"Yes?" queried the tall one. as he
broke away from the delightful discus
sion Of the master.
Young man." began Jones again
"It's q game" breathed the short
one to the tall one.
Templeton Jones buckled down TO
it ct last.
II would like q copy he said, "of
Miss Clooney's record about house
falling down"
The tall one looked at his mate, as
II saying, Il told you so"
Then he hraced himself.
did you say house falling down."
he snickered.
Eyes = greeted Jones. getting slightly
riled. Something about very ancient
domicile rapidly disintegrating."
The long one looked at the short one.
and then the light broke.
"Oh, you mean Rosemary Clooney's
This Old House I take 1t.
You're getting bright" snapped
TempIeton Jones. but III take 1t, Il
you please"
As he left the shop. with his burden
Of song tightly clutched TO his coat. he
heard q soft chuckling behind him,
but he didn't look round.
After all. Miss Clooney 10 lot Of
fun. wherevez you find her.
Evening star., 1955-01-10

dies. and wrote a book about him, after
he came over here.
Templeton Jones bought the book.
He did more. he bought all the rec
ords Of Bruckner's music he could find.
He is too long" said the tall
naughty one. referring. fortunately, TO
Bruckner, not to Temp Jones.
He Is not too long for me-" replied
the short one.
There is no sense in making SYM
phony last an hour and half" replied
the other.
All this time. Templeton Jones was
fiddling at the counter. standing first
on one foot, and then on the other.
Should he break into this temple Of
dedicated souls. and ask these votaries
Of pure highbrow music for Miss Rose
mary Clooney's famous record?
The worst part Of it was. Jones
couldn't for the life Of him remember
the exact titlei
Maybe the young Music Lovers had
scared It out Of him.
He hesitated. and they say that he
who hesitates Is lost. but they didn't
know Templeton Jones.
That baby is never lost. he may
scramble around, but he always comes
UP kicking.
Young man.. said Jones. In his best
professional manner -
Evening star., 1955-01-10

Fortunately for medicine, for re-
search on high blood pressure and for
Bufo, there lives in the town Of Aguada,
Puerto Rico, school teacher by the
name OF Gloria E. Baez-R Ramirez.
At the present time. it is Miss Baez-
Ramirez who stands between the Ma
tional Institutes Of Health and Bufo.
For 1t is Miss Baez-Ramirez who sup
plies the Bufos for research. She has
never asked one cent for her trouble
and refuses to bill the scientists. She
just keeps sending toads.
Probably a science teacher. Miss
Baez-Ramirez sends her class out on
toad hunts when the supply dwindles
at NH. With great care. she packs
up Bufos in boxes lined with grass and
mails them of to Bethesda.
Scientists only know her through
occasional correspondence.
What role. If any. Bufo will play in
the betterment of mankind no one
knows. But. though he's toad. Bufo
seems to be contributing more toward
that end than most humans. Certainly,
with, some recognition of what he's
doing. what he gives Of himself every
day, people will feel better about toads.
OF course, in all fairness. and Bufo
no doubt would be the first to admit
this, 1t took Miss Baez-R Ramirez to get
Bufo where he is today.
Evening star., 1955-01-10
Pets in Apartments

hope this letter will be the begin
ming of crusade that will bring ABOUT
a changed attitude on the part OF
owners and managers of rental property
toward well-behaved pets and their
owners.
This is no brief for any one who
owns a pet and allows 1t to run Tree
and become a nuisance. Nor IS IL IN
behalf of any pet owner who is too
lazy to train his pet to be good
neighbor. Such people deserve no more
consideration than do those parents
who do not control their children ana
allow them to become neighborhoco
disruptive force.
Most people who live alone prefer
to have q pet, either for company. or.
in the case of those with defective
sight and hard Of hearing. for protec-
ton. These people are mature and
usually with incomes to rent In the
most desirable apartment buildings
They seldom find apartment managers
who are willing to make any distinction
between a well-behaved pet. that never
had complaint lodged against 1t, and
undesirable pets. In all my years IN
Washington, never heard OF person
who moved out of place because OF
a ne,ghbor's pet; but those who move
out because of their neighborS' uncon-
trolled children, or because OF their
neighbors' constant fights among them
selves. are legion.
There is plenty of Tbuck passing"
on the policy of mo pets" The mana
ger will tell you it is. the owner who
sets the policy. II the owner is con-
tacted, he will say 1t is the manager
to whom he gives complete management
of his property; and one suspects that
this is the case and that the managers
are too lazy to have sensible policy
on pets. that they prefer to ban all pets
rather than try to get rid Of the very
few who abuse the privilege Of having
them.
Recently big apartment develop
ment in the District. which had allowed
pets for more than 10 years, decided to
ban all pets, and gave tenants notice.
Pets were too important part Of the
family life of some tenants, and too
necessary for others to give them up;
so most pet owners moved. That same
project has a very serious teen-age
problem, although its tenants are sup
posed to be in the upper middle
brackets. There have been instances
Of trouble. and in one instance dog
Is credited with probably saving the
life of woman attacked by q prowler.
Evening star., 1955-01-10
The Outlook Is Good

In MS SJaLe-OI-Gne-OnlOu WeSSdSSs
President Eisenhower asserted without quail
if1cation that "the economic outlook Is good"
and he cited many factors to support that
view Among them were rising production,
high employment, record levels OF average
weekly wages and personal income after
taxes, and new peaks in consumer spending
Many of the recommendations which he has
promised to spell out in greater detail IN
later messages should add further impetus
to the upward trend in the economy Multi
billion dollar programs for highway con-
struction and public works of various types
the sort that spread money and employ
ment through many basic industries
included. Pay increases for Federal en-
ployes and higher minimum wages for
private industry were other proposals that
could stimulate the economy.
Actually, the new year brought from
all sorts of authoritative quarters flood OF
optimistic predictions about business activ-
ity in 1855 and the signs on which these
cheerful estimates were based were easy
enough to see. Steel operations automobile
production, freight-car loadings and a flock
of other significant indices all began early
last fall to pull out of what was more than
q summer slump. It was, in fact, a "reces-
sion" which furnished a full share Of am
munition for political controversy but which
never did develop into more than minor
setback to the national economy. And when
the tide began to turn 1t swept along SO
strongly that projections into 1855 lead
some to believe the records of 1858 are due
to be broken.
Very wisely, however, the President also
has warned that the many promising factors
do not guarantee sustained economic ex-
pansion, although they establish strong
position from which to carry forward such
growth The course of business activity
sometimes runs contrary to expectations.
Early 1855 reports should compare favorably
with those for early 1854 but the ascending
curve Of the graphs may level of later in
the year. Confidence and optimism should
not be lacking reasonable measure OF cau-
tion when used to forecast the economic
year.
Evening star., 1955-01-10
Shortening the Stretch

The idea of later presidential nominate
ing conventions and shorter election cam
paigns has a lot of merit Indeed, it is q
fair guess that most of those directly In
volved in the operation Of politics and cer-
tainly the voting public at large will well
come such change And 1856 appears to
be a good year to start.
For their part, the Democrats already
have decided, through National Chairman
Paul Butler and the party's Executive Com
mittee, that their big show will not begin
until August o.. It will be the latest date
since 1864 for Democratic convention. In
turn, Republican Chairman Leonard Hall
and other party leaders. while not yet max
ing firm or final commitment. have indi-
Gated that the G. O. p. may wait even later
until September-for their 1856 kickoh.
Both conventions were held in July in 1852,
and either June or July has-been the favored
month through most Of the long history
of the convention system.
AS practical matter, developments in
transport and communications have served
to cut down the period needed for party to
display its presidential candidate to the en-
tire Nation. Air travel and television, par
ticularly, have telescoped distance and time.
Recent presidential campaigns. in fact, have
been delayed deliberately until after Labor
Day, even though the convention choices
were made nearly two months earlier. And,
while this interim period may have been
useful to those responsible for organizing
the later campaign activities, there has been
an inevitable letdown in public interest and
some feeling that the campaign itself is
anticlimactic.
1t is generally believed now that PreSi-
dent Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson will
be running again in 1856, as in 1882 Both
already are well known to the American
people. A long campaign by either would
be unnecessary-and perhaps worse as far
as the public patience is concerned. But
short, hard hitting drive following late
convention and occupying only about six
weeks before the election date would per-
NIT them to discuss current issues and make
their cases to the voters. Even a dark
horse" candidate might find the continuing
momentum of the convention enthusiasm
helpful If 1t could be brought to bear imme-
diately on last-minute campaign.
In any event, the whole idea is worth a
try, and the effects will be watched with
hopeful interest
Evening star., 1955-01-10
A Sorry Performance

II it does nothing else, the Armys
10O00-word report Of its handling Of the
Peress case reveals classic example Of not
letting the right hand know what the left
hand is doing
Assuming that this report tells the
whole story, there was nothing sinister in
the promotion OF Peress from captain to
major It was Just that one branch of
the Army concerned itself only with his
professional qualifications, while another
branch was spending some IA months in
vestigating evidence which made it i'm
mediately apparent that he was not fit
to be an officer of any rank.
It may also be said that this report
does two other things. One Is to put Gen.
eral Ralph Zwicker,s target of Senator Nc
Carthy's abuse, completely in the clear. 1t
was no fault of General Zwicker's that
Peress hung on as long as he did The other
is to introduce certain element Of extenu-
ating circumstance into Senator McCarthy's
attitude in this matter.
This chronological account discloses
that the decision to speed the Peress de-
parture from the Army via the honorable
discharge route was made by Army Counsel
John Adams and 1t. Gen. w. L. Weible
after the Mccarthy committee had started
its investigation and in the face Of writ
ten demand from the Senator that Peress
be retained in the service for court-martial.
Perhaps the decision to let him out with an
honorable discharge can be defended But
Senator Mccarthy can hardly be blamed
If he thought that the controlling motive
was to get Peress out Of uniform before he
could look more closely at the handling Of
the case.
Evening star., 1955-01-10
Welcome Delay

The Internal Revenue Service and the
Post ONCE Department have cleared up a
matter about which one had not been overly
concerned--the delay in the arrival of the
1854 income tax blanks. One had enter
tanned the faint but now obviously false
hope that perhaps somewhere a wheel OF
government had slipped and that the forms
were going to be overlooked this year. But
the Post once has dashed that hope once
and for all, saying that the forms will be
in ones nailbox by the middle Of the month.
1t is Just as well. This will be about the
time ones mailbox bulges anyway with the
flnal bills of Christmas. and one may as wen
have all the bad news at once Thanks to
4eardsleg Ruml, the arrival OF the income
Evening star., 1955-01-10
New Dimension

Here Is strong meat to feed the city
bred,
Nearottc. gGdCet-n1t1ded and eDete,
Here t0Jtere Mt. EDerest redrs It's totD-
ertrD head
Abope lonely worid Of saow ana
sleet.
HoD fran men seem against these
elements
Pttttn0 their strength against this
giant mass.
Hnddifn0 for shelter In their i0tld-
lGslEed tents,
CraWltng across the treacIterous
cTeU1sse.
This stretches the Dimensions Of the
mind,
This titan strugOle for no Odtftul END,
This reaching for a thing they had 70
md,
As-brothers IN endurance---ttey
ascend
TO stand triumphant on eGrths
highest place
Close to the sun. ssDept bp the iOtnds ot
Christine Rsinssofd .