davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-05-01
Strophonger by Choice

It is difficult for me to I'M
derstand the thinking of one
official who recently suggested
that all Of the gross receipts
tax be shifted to Capital
Transit's streetcar operation.
It is such an obvious expression
of disrespect for street railway
operations that I can only
hope that he, being new in Of
fee, will soon "learn Of the
average riders wishes.
am sure that the avearge
rider prefers a streetcar to a
bus, no matter how modern
the bus.
I base this belief not only
on the fact that most people
know express this preference
but on a very resounding bit
Of information I ran across In
connection with San Francisco.
About a year ago, when a gen.
eral election was held there.
one Of the ballots was for a
measure converting two con-
ventional and WORKOUT street.
car lines to buses. The meas
ure was turned down by the
general voters with $1,000 to
$4,000 votes. These were not
cable-car lines. l.. @.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-05-01
A Viton1in Deficiency
BY REV. FREDERICK BROWN HARRIS
Minister Foundry Methodist Church:
Chaplain, United States Senate

is just barking or snarling ct
the moon.
Perhaps the greatest Of hui
man brains recently ceased to
function-that Of Einstein. All
that is left is just some tissue
in a laboratory. No. there is
more than that left. That
genius who made a prodigious
contribution to human knowl-
edge spent his last years wor-
rying as to what man is going
to do with the knowledge he
possesses. knowledge is power.
But the paramount question
about the man who has the
power is: What will he do with
it?
Let us lend our ears to a
voice which deserves to be
broadcast to the whole per-
picked and troubled world. It
is that of the master Of Corpus
Christi College, oxford. GAS
educators" he declares. I'VE
have been too absorbed in the
matter of life to think of it's
spirit. We must restore to it
a vitamin deficiency NV sp-
parent--a religion, a philos-
ophy Of living, a definite ideal
to guide, discipline and DOM
mate the lives of individuals
and, through them, the life Ct
the nation"
That vitamin cannot oe pro-
cured in any bottle or pillbox
at the corner drugstore. 1t is
not for sale in any container
duly inscribed with the promise
of magic power to restore lost
vision, vim and vigor which
have been dimmed by the alb
sence of some needed, life
giving element. But It is a
vitamin which may be found
on shelves where the saints of
all the ages have found it as
they testify: HE restoreth
my SOUL"
The missing vitamin in so
much of American life may be
an ample supply of R3. The
as old as the Book of Proverbs
as DR.. Moffatt translates 1T:
Reverence for the eternal is
the first thing in knowledge"
And here is the guarantee to
those who will faithfully avail
themselves of this ancient vita
min prescription: "They that
wait upon the Lord shall renew
their strength" Cd They
shall mount up on wings as
eagles. (2) They shall run and
not be weary. 90 They shall
walk and not faint" That
covers all life's testing chal-
lengeS.
There need be no vitamin
deficiency with this potent
formula available. There is
designated at R3. It's basis is
only price is: Ask. And 1t
shall be given unto you!
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-05-01
Plea for Animals

Humane Sunday and Be
Kind to Animals Week occur
May 1T. On Humane Sunday
spiritual leaders Of all faiths
should remind their followers
Of mans obligations of kind
ness toward Gods humber
animal creation. The week
emphasizes the more secular
ways to celebrate through
many national and local chan
nels.
This years specific objec-
tives. sponsored by such ma
tional organizations as the
American Humane Associa-
ton, the American Humane
Education Society and the
National Humane Society, are
chiefly: Cd Long-sought ma
tional legislation for more
humane handling and slaugh-
tering of millions Of food an
finals and poultry; (2) hui
man control Of the overpop-
ulation Of cats and dogs
(through humane education
and proper control of breed
ing), to prevent some 40 mil
lion without homes being put
to sleep by owners or animal
shelters or dumped by the
wayside: 90 protests against
inadequate housing Of re-
search laboratory animals and
lack of protection for ami
mails In public pounds.
Please support humane or
CARNATIONS and their loyal
workers In their program to
wipe out the blot Of cruelty
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-05-01
Jefferson Wronqed

I was much concerned In
reading the news stories of the
celebration at the Jefferson
Memorial to see that occasion
used as a political sounding
board. 1t seems to me that a
man of Jefferson's greatness, a
President who, in death, be-
longs to all of the people, de-
serves better than this type
Of treatment. Not only are
such speeches in poor taste
but they tend to obscure the
real purposes Of the celebra-
ton, which are TO remind the
people Of the great public serv-
ice Of q great public figure. Let
us hope that in the future
there viii not be q repetition
Of this discourtesy to the mem
DRY Of our eminent dead.
william G. Hill.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-05-01
THE GAME OF POLITICS
National Waste q Serious Peril
BY FRANK R. KENT

constitute the pick Of the
country, men whose sole idea
is to reorganize the great gov
ernmental machine so that 1t
will function efiiciently and
economically.
Hoover Recommendations
The last session Of Congress
enacted o large number OF its
recommendations. At this ses-
sion, it already has submitted
recommendations on surplus
property, on paper conserva-
ton, on the purchase Of Fed
eral food and cloth and on
various other activities Of the
Government, including more
efficient management Of the
defense services. The total OF
these savings would run above
SIS billion and would in no way
diminish the security of the
Nation. On the contrary, it
would add to the security by
making the whole government
tai service stronger, healthier
and more efficient.
These recon m n dations
would balance the badly I'M
balanced budget. Also, they
would make possible a very
real reduction in taxes. Also,
they would enable the Gov
eminent to afford a number Of
things good enough in them
selves, but inexpedient because
of the expense. President
Eisenhower is behind the
Hoover Commissions recon-
mendations as was President
Truman. Most members Of
the House and Senate regard
them as desirable. Why, then.
should there be any doubt Of
their enactment? One reason
is politics. the other popular
apathy. The politics lies in
the pressure exerted upon in
dividual Senators and House
members against any reor-
ganization by Government
employees. who fear loss Of
their jobs. The apathy Is be-
cause this vital subject Of
economy and efficiency is
drab, dull and has no public
appeal.
Public Interest Needed
Yet these Hoover recon-
mendations are infinitely the
most important measures that
will come before this Con-
gress. If there is one thing
above all others important to
every man, woman and child
in the country, this is it. II
there is one thing above all
others about which the voters
should write to their repre-
sentatives, this is it. This is
the strongest, most intelligent.
best directed effort ever made
to pull this Nation out Of the
swamp into which unre-
strained spending has put it.
Some of these proposals will
go through. But if through
politics and public apathy the
big ones fail. 1t is unlikely
that we will have another
chance. Waste and confusion
will continue to pile up until
we break under the load.
There is no other end possible.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-05-01
No Simple Solution

The solution of the Districts fiscal
problems is not so simple as Representative
PasSman of Louisiana apparently believes.
He told citizens at a House Appropriations
subcommittee hearing that the way to
meet the revenue crisis is to raise District
taxes. He did not mention the Federal
Governments obligation in the current
dilemma, yet the obligation is continuing
and just one that cannot in good con-
science be ignored.
The Commissioners and the commu-
nifty at large are well aware Of the fact that
local taxes must be raised If an additional
$13 million in revenues to meet rising costs
of running and improving the city is to
be collected. But the Commissioners and
the people of Washington rightly feel that
the Federal Government must share the
responsibility and the burden of meeting
these extra costs. There are, as Represent
alive Passman indicated, some untapped
sources of tax revenue-yet several OF
these sources have been closed by Con-
greSs itself. Mr.. Passman said that mil
lions could be derived from small loan
firms which now thrive outside the cityS
fringes. But, as Ralph Cushman OF the
Federation of Citizens Associations
pointed out, Congress drove most Of these
Arms out of the District many years ago.
Although it is true that some real estate
assessments are 20 years old, the District
cannot bring these civilizations up to date
unless Congress grants the assessors Office
more personnel There are serious loop
holes in the District income tax laws that
should be closed. However, Congress has
been reluctant to tighten the laws because
to do so would hit constituents who work
here but live or claim residence elsewhere.
Complaining the fiscal plight Is an
exodus of local taxpayers to the suburbs.
The Board of Trade estimates that some
10000 persons moved into Maryland and
Virginia last year. The movement is con-
tinuing. Any substantial increase IN Dis
trict taxes is bound to accelerate this
alarming trend. It is plain from all OF this
background that there is no easy cure for
Washingtons financial troubles. Ger
tainly Congress should take care not to
inflict supposed remedy that will make
the patient even sicker. And Federal
shot in the arm is necessary part OF
any treatment.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-05-01
Queen of the May

our materialiStic, secularized,
utilitarian philosophy. Preach
ers in our pulpits. statesmen in
our legislative halls, teachers
in our universities, business
men in the marts of trade. all
are saying as with one voice:
Something is wrong. In spite
of all our feverish schemes
for security, comfort and
pleasure, in spite of our gay
merry rounds set up in
Vanity Fair, something evil
IDENTIFY is wrong. Our mental
hospitals are overfilled and
more demanded. There seems
to be no insurance against de-
ranged minds. An appalling
army Of youth, many from our
best homes" are turning into
murderous desperadoes, until
even the policed and lighted
streets of our cities are no
longer safe.
In our glittering, modern way
of life, with space and time
almost abolished-with so
much that is fine and fair,
where is the blot? Shall we
venture an answer to that vital
question by saying that science,
with all that man has discov-
cred, is not responsible for it?
The lack is in man himself.
There is a vitamin deficiency.
By legislative magic we think
we can arrange the externals.
BY conferences and pactS we
seek to make the world good
without having to be good.
What has goodness to do with
it-or even God? What gets
things done is political action!
All, there's the trouble! The
chief ingredient Of peace is left
out. Anything that any COM
bination of nations can suggest
to extricate man from the
horrible dilemma in which he
finds himself is futile, and may
be dangerous. Without honor,
integrity and good will. con-
cord is impossible. Without
them any so-called conference
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-05-01
SPIRES OF THE SPIRIT

This glamorous age Of ours
has amassed golden stores Of
things. Clever gadgets DOM
mate our days. The watch
words seem to be security.
comfort and pleasure. If that
essential trio can be guaran-
teed, what more need anyone
ask? To be protected against
hazards, to be cushioned
against jars, to have the senses
Initiated by that which pleases
what more is there? The
answer to that is: Everything
that makes life worth while.
One can have security, COM
fort and pleasure and, at the
same time, be a kind of ridic-
ulous weathercock on a pivot
swinging round and round in
the whirl of ones own i'm
pulses. You can exist without
a design. a pattern or a direc-
ton, but you cannot really live
without it. A well-integrated
personality is impossible with
out a dominant purpose in life.
To have a life you've got to
take God into the picture. The
divine is so real and steady
that you can't do anything
against it ultimately but flut-
ter about on the ground like a
broken bird.
Across the centuries the sort
Of things which modern in
genuity is now piling to the
skies have proved their utter
inability to make life album
dant. Life with it's anxiety
minimized. it's misery can
celed, its dismay changed to
play, has proved but the sign
board to the path Of boredom.
Popular novels often hold up
to contemporary life revealing
mirrors. Reflected there are
disilluSioned moderns. rich in
things but poor in soul and
stripped Of all comforting il
lusions. Page a loQuacious
hero in one such modern mar
rative. Listen as he delivers
himself: II tell you, Walt,
I'm sort Of puzzled. Some
times almost kind of wonder
whether, with all the great
things we've got in this great
est nation on earth, with
more autos and radios and
television sets. and heating
and cooling devices, and miles
Of cement pavements and sky
scrapers and schools than the
rest of the world put together
with all these I wonder If we
don't lack something in Amer
lean life"
It" is that growing aware
ness of something lacking
which more and more haunts
life which is being woven by
those who are concerned at
the chaotic and patternless
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-05-01

Our form of government is
undoubtedly the best yet de-
vised. Nevertheless, no one
win deny that it is full Of flaws.
some Of them serious. Stu
dents of government ascribe
various causes for this state Of
affairs. Decade after decade
cost and confusion increase
and with no real effort to check
them. It is an almost unbe-
lievable situation. One reason
given for it is that the country
is too big to be eficiently gov
erned entirely from one place.
Another is that so great a part
Of the population does not vote
at all, and so many Of those
who do vote have no real I'M
Outstanding Of either issues or
men. A third is that what
intensely interests one section
leaves other sections perfectly
cold. "A fourth is that despite
newspapers, radio and televt-
sion no known method of COM
munication is able to arouse
the whole voting population at
the same time over the same
thing. There is some truth in
all these reasons.
Yet there is one thing about
which people in all sections
seem united (unless you except
the incurable New Dealers who
still believe in the old Roose-
welt Hopkins formula Of tax.
tax, tax; spend, spend, spend;
elect, elect. elect"). And that
is waste. Aside from the huge
expenditures for the national
defense, there exists vast
idiotic and absurd waste that
cannot be defended. There,
of course, always has been
waste in so great q business as
the United States Government;
waste and perhaps some COR
ruption are inevitable ac-
compartments of so gigantic q
concern.
Spending Created Problems
But waste, in the sense we
have it now. did not really
start until 1894, when the New
Deal fully lowered and we en-
barked on a spending spree
that lasted Is years. There is
no space here to document the
awful waste Of those years ex-
cept to say that the national
debt rose to mountainous
heights and the size Of the
Federal payroll, plus the
spending agencies. multiplied
with undreamed-of speed. The
Treasury spigots were wide
open in those days despite the
efforts Of a few realistic Sena-
tors like Byrd, Of Virginia.
Time and again it has been
pointed out that continued
deficit financing can have but
one result-a bankrupt Ma
ton, which would be q calam-
ity for everybody. The strong
est and most effective effort to
forestall this has come, OF
course. from the Hoover Com
mission, created under Mr.
Truman and continued with
additional powers by Mr.. Eli
senhower. The members of this
commission serve without pay
and without publicity. They
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-05-01
A Good Prospect, but

Of the Paris accordS, the Dutch Senate has
completed the 15-nation ratification proc
ess through which free Germany dec
ade after the unconditional Nazi surrender
now has become an equal and sovereign
member of the Western European Union
and the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza-
ton. The potential Importance Of the
event can hardly be exaggerated; in effect,
wholly apart from its promising political
economic and social implications, it paves
the way for a great peace-promoting i'm
provement in the military balance OF power
between our. world and the world Of the
Soviet Union.
It would be a mistake, however, to
take this prospect for granted. Actually,
a vast amount Of work remains to be done
in both the military and nonmilitary
fields-before West Germany can be built
up into genuinely powerful ally partici-
pating effectively in the common endeav-
ors, including particularly the common
defense, of the WEU and NATO. Thus
the arming phase Of the task-the hardest
part, which has not yet really begun-will
require strenuous effort extending over
a period of from three to four years That
is to say, the Atlantic community must
wait until 1858 or 1859 to be able to count
on its side, as full operating reality, the
Bonn Republics projected armed strength
"a 50,000-man navy, an 86,0OO-man air
force and 500,000-man army Of IL di-
visions.
When this additional strength is in
being, the WEU and NATO allies will be
capable of maintaining truly impressive
forward strategy" Of defense against the
threat Of Soviet aggression in Europe
defense of kind well calculated to make
the men of the Kremlin more hesitant than
ever about attacking westward. In that
sense, certainly, the vote Of the Dutch
Senate, like that of all the other parlia-
mentary bodies involved, may rightly be
described as a vote designed to promote
much safer balance Of power than has
existed heretofore between the Atlantic
community and the Red empire. Such
balance, which in its own way serves the
cause of peace, could not possibly be
achieved if free Germany were to continue
as vacuum, lacking political sovereignty,
disarmed, and thoroughly unequipped to
contribute anything to the mutual security
of our world. ..
But let us not count our chickens be-
fore they are Matched. Although there Is
every reason to believe that West Germany
will be major political and armed factor
in the Atlantic alliance, we must reckon
with Soviet maneuvers aimed at delaying
or wrecking effectuation of the Paris &C
cords. To that end, the Kremlin may seek
to stir up lot of "neutralist" sentiment
among the free Germans by offering them
a treaty similar to Austria's if only they
will abandon NATO. Phony as it is, this
line of propaganda appeals strongly to
many citizens of the Bonn Republic, and
we must be ready to cope with it lest it
succeed in way that could be disastrous.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-05-01

against many Of our defense
less, humble friends and help
ers. Humaneness begins at
home. Trust surplus pets and
strays only to authorized ami
NAL shelters. For information.
call Lockwood 4-6801. Remem-
Der the Biblical Injunction,
BE We therefore merciful, as
your Father also is merciful."
Virginia w. Sargent,
Animal Protective Association
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-05-01

When I am asked to pay is
cents per pound for ordinary
white Irish potatoes 1t makes
me feel the farmer should be
jailed instead Of being subsi-
died by the Government with
taxpayers money.
Nish Showers.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-05-01
FIFTY YEARS AGO IN THE STAR

button Of the income Of the
fund" Mr.. Carnegie himself
commented: II hope this fund
may do much for the cause Of
higher education and to re-
move a source of deep and
constant anxiety to the poor
est paid and yet one of the
highest of all professions"
Automobile Advertisements
The National Automobile Co.,
I'LL Fourteenth street NV.
advertised in The Star of April
20, 1905, the latest model Buick
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OPP
posed motor. double side en-
trance, five passengers, % hip.
guaranteed, weight l.740
pounds"-as "the sensation of
the year." then tactfully added:
In speed, hill-climbing abil-
ity, ease of running, simplicity
of operation and economy of
maintenance, it is the peer Of
all cars of its class" Price was
1925, complete with full
equipment" Another adver-
tisement sponsored by the
Colombia Automobile Co., 1920
Eighteenth Street NV, sang
the praises of six 1905 models
of Franklin machines. manu-
featured at Syracuse, N. Y,
and still another. placed by the
Pope Manufacturing Co. WASH
ington Branch, 817 Fourteenth
street NV, recited the virtues
of the Pope Hartford single
cylinder Speed Wagon No. SO.
which easily attained" 10 or
10 miles an hour. All the
models were roofless, wide open
to the weather.
Gen. Fitzhugh Lee Dead
Announcing the death Of
Gen. Fitzhugh Lee in its news
columns. The Star of April 20,
1905. then eulogized him edi-
torially as having served with
distinction both in civil and in
military life. He was an ex-
cellent all-round man. As
Governor Of Virginia he gave
the State a good administra-
ton. He missed the United
States Senate by a narrow
margin. At Havana he gave to
the Office of consul general an
international Importance, and
at the time Of his death he was
managing with many promises
OF success the affairs of the
jamestown Exposition. His
people will grieve for him, and
the country at large will sim
cerely deplore the disappear
ance OF so attractive a figure"
Gen. Lee was a son of Comdr.
Sydney Smith Lee. U. s. NJ, a
brother OF Gen. Robert Z. Lee.
c. s. A., and was born at Clere-
mont, Fairfax County. Va,
November 10. 1885. Graduated
at West Point In the class OF
1856. he was in the I'd Cavalry
on the Western plains under
Col. Albert Sidney Johnston
and, during the Civil War, COM
manded q division Of cavalry
under Gen. ]. z. B. Stuart.
His wife was Ellen Bernard
Fowle. and she survived him
with two sons and three
daughters.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-05-01
LETTERS TO THE. STAR

Pen names may be used II
letters carry Driters' correct
names and addresses. All
letters are subject to con-
denSdtion.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-05-01
Carnegie Gives Again

A telegram from New York
to The Star for April 81, 1905.
said: "A gift Of $40 million by
Andrew Carnegie to provide
annuitieS for college professors
who are not able to continue
in active service was an
nounced today by Frank A.
VANDERBILT. vice president OF
the National City Bank Of New
York. Professors in the United
States, Canada and Newfound-
land will share In the distri-