davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1955-01-24

chants who mean what they say in
quoting q price. But most are willing
to knock OF at least 10 per cent and
all Of them expect and enjoy we'll
conducted haggle. Without bargaining,
you are told, you miss half the fun.
The trouble is that Americans, al
most by definition. are notoriously bad
bargainers. Not only the finer points
of the game, but too often even the
spirit Of the thing is quite beyond them.
II simply can't bring myself to do
It," they say, Its SO sort Of deceitful."
A better word might be Illogical. A
friend of ours once summed up the
essential spirit Of bargaining this way:
"This thing that you're trying to sell
me is terrible. It's really not worth
discussing. It's ugly and broken and
can find hundreds Of them down the
street at half the price. But want 1t"
1t takes time and experience to bar
gain with straight face. Expressions
must be patiently practiced to achieve
the look of stunned displeaSure re-
quired when price is quoted. The cor
rect verbal response long -drawn-out
"ppppfffftttt" through a stiff1y curled
lip-should never be attempted by
novice. Even after he has mastered
these preliminary essentials. the aver
age American is likely to come OF
badly in most transactions with Flea
Market salesmen who. after all. have
been doing this sort OF thing for years
and can spot tyro when they see one.
Evening star., 1955-01-24

Another attack on the eggheads:
Recently you had very interesting
article relative to reading.
81 come from q family OF great read
ers, but have learned too late that there
is such thing as spending too much
time In reading; of course, II one ex-
poets to be writer he must read. but
so many who read and read grow to
maturity with no knowledge Of practi-
cal things.
'sWhat we need today are people with
highly developed mechanical minds.
Are we not living in a mechanical
age?
"One has to be millionaire or q
mechanic nowadays to have the nice
things Of life.
II am In family that has difhculty
In putting on q typewriter ribbon
IF anything has to be mended,
always out goes D call to our mechani-
cally minded friends.
Just today 1t was the small matter
Of putting d needle in the pllonograph
so We could have music tonight to
dance to-
mo one knew howl
sBut We lxnok how 10 read and to
dance and to chatter and do the polite
but We can't Ak things ourselves.
r"If ] had my life to reiiye. !. would
Evening star., 1955-01-24
Supreme Court Too Powerful?

Recent public discussion has been
had concerning problems of the Federal
judiciary, and the fact that Congress
should be apprized of the same by the
Chief Justice in an address before both
houses. This is fine. but It may be well,
in conjunction with consideration Of
those problems. for Congress to inquire
into the unwarranted intrusion by these
courts into the legislative field, and
their usurpation thereof, as exemplified
by the recent Supreme Court school
segregation decisions, which demon
strate that the road to Marxism and
collectivism lies through these courts.
In short, in the event a Kremlin-
inspired or Marxist program is difficult
of achievement because of the resistance
of ''reactionaries, particularly those in
Congress, then the simple thing to do
is to work up some sort of case which
can then be presented to the Supreme
Court-the latter. If true to form, viii
then interpret" the Constitution. and
with a generous sprinkling Of magic
words such as Justice, liberty" due
process" equal protection" win reach
the desired result. Just as the devil can
Evening star., 1955-01-24
Howto eoBorgoinin OneEosyLesson
By Crosby S. Noyes
Foreign correspondsnt Of ne siar

PARISH we have put on writing
about the Paris Flea Market so far. it
isn't that we have anything against
the place. Far from it. It's just that
until nov we haven't felt sufficiently
qualified In the art of fieamarketing
to do the subject justice.
Now, however. having perfected and
tested our Theory on Multiple Bargain
ing Tactics, the situation is different.
The Flea Market. of course. is sort
Of glorified city dump on the northern
outskirts of town where, spread over
several acres of dilapidated sheds, one
.an find an endless assortment of second
hand clothing. false teeth. plumbing
parts, copper pots, Louis XIV furniture.
stuffed birds, gilded clocks, old masters,
new masters, outlets for downtown
antique stores ana Americans.
According to our guidebook, there
has been Flea Market in Paris since
medieval times It gradually got showed
farther away from the center of the
town, reaching its present site during
the I880s. Now 1t seems to be settled
down for good and turned relatively
respectable. What once used to be a
ragpickers' market and a place where
thieves came to dispose of hot objets
dart is now mecca for Cadillacs and
Rolls Royces during the three days a
week that the market is open to the
public.
According to tradition. you approach
the Flea Market in the spirit, of a
treasure hunt. Who knows what price,
less masterpieces may lie at the bottom
of that stack of mouldy canvasses?
Everyone knows the story Of the REM
brandt copy that turned out to be an
original. and of the signed Goya minia-
ture, sold for $40 by a dealer who
imagined that Goya might be the name
of some obscure French painter Or
the bronze-headed walking stick that
turned out to be solid gold. Every
week, they say. some lucky person
walks off with an undreamed-of bar
gain of some kind. And thousands of
others come away well satisfied with
their weekend shopping spree.
Above all, however, the spirit of the
Flea Market is bargaining. Under the
rules of the game, it is simply unheard
of to pay the marked price for any
thing-at least without first registering
plenty of protest. Experienced bar
gamers admit that occasionally this is
waste of time, and that there are mer-
Evening star., 1955-01-24
BY Charles E. Trocewen

well as some extremely dangerous ones.
There are little machines that can
do all sorts Of wonderful operations.
The poor reader Of books, who admits
his failings (Which is something very
few do) stands in awe before them.
II man can invent this gadget, he
asks himself, why did he have TO 60 on
to think up such creations rs the vari-
Gus bombs?
Then he takes q look at his type
writing machine and wonders anew.
The same old ribbon, always inky
and exasperating-
The same old silly gadgets at each
end, into which one must laboriously
thread the wiggiing thing
The old, same old cogs or whatever
you call 'en, which are supposed to
catch hold Of the ribbon but don't
You would think that In all these
years somebody would have rebelled,
and In self-defense, II for no other
reason, invented . nice. neat ribbon
and loading device. one-packaee job.
But no. here invention and the me-
chanical minds have stood stili, fallen
nat on their faces. come up with moth
ing at al to help US poor eggheadE.
Mechanical minds, where are yous
Maybe that manpower council was
right. after allx
Evening star., 1955-01-24
Israel as q Spiritual Adventure

Allow me to commend you for your
interesting and significant editorial en-
titled Israel as Spiritual Adventure"
This is history making and we appre-
ciate it very much. It was. indeed, a
contribution on your part.
Why not go further and recognize
this spiritual adventure" as probably
the most remarkable fulfillment of di-
vine prophecy, as recorded in the Scrip
lures. yet to occur, and also as but a
steppingstone to other similar prophe-
cies yet to be fulfilled, Here is another
striking demonstration of the surprising
accuracy of Holy Writ and the. truth
of the statement of our Lord, For truly
I say to you, till heaven and earth pass
away not an .iota, not dot, will pass
from the law until all is accomplished" :"
But we need not confine ourselves to
the New Testament. There are hun
dreds Of such predictions in the Old
Testament, as Amas, TX. IS. II will plant
them upon their land, and they shall
no more be pulled up out Of their land
which ] have given them, saith the
Lord their God" Other examples are
chapters "a, SO, and 81 of Ezekiel There
was day when men laughed at these
promises, but now we see them fulfilled.
AS another evidence. I have some
interesting color shots which we made
of the Israeli warships when they were
docked here in Washington harbor.
We were present at the Washington
gathering when the Israeli state was
proclaimed, fascinating and amazing
moment.
Yes, Israel is, indeed. spiritual
adventure" Would that men might
see it.
Herbert Eberhardt,
C,,~,H Hark,oI TYxzSov, NRiersa~a
Evening star., 1955-01-24
This and That

go to vocational schools and learn
everything possibly could.
'Of course, we should learn to read
and write. but how much time is wasted
In reading, reading. reading.
The National Manpower Council
has warned America that there are
serious shortcomings in the education,
guidance and training Of the Nations
skilled nnanpower.
ANY complacent attitude about the
superiority Of Americas technical
know-how Is shortsighted ard danger
Gus, the report said.
"Our school systems are slowly
changing too with this thought In mind.
"And why is 1t that the well-read
person who can't do much but read
always feels so superior?
Sincerely, L. A. c."
Well, now, lady
Please don't get excited because you
can't put on a typewriter ribbon.
Nobody cani
The fiends who invented the type
writer saw to that.
It was q blooming nuisance, away
back there when the thing mas In
vented. and It Is no better today.
The world Of invention has kept on
at positively dizzy pace, and come up
with some pretty nnarveiCus things. ss
Evening star., 1955-01-24
OAS and the Americas

The 21-nation Organization of Ameri-
can States can take proper pride in the fact
that it has succeeded with wise and speedy
action In putting checkrein on explosive,
war-breeding developments between Costa
Rica and Nicaragua. Gratifying as that Is.
however, the situation still seems unsettled
enough to be potentially dangerous.
This is so, for one thing, because up
wards Of 800 Costa Rican rebels" = who
evidently have enjoyed Nicaraguan co-op-
eration-apparently continue to be threat
fully active in the neutral buffer zone
agreed upon by the two countries in keeping
with recommendations made by the GAS
Council Further, nothing has happened
to diminish the bitter personal feud existing
between President Jose Figueres of Costa
Rica and President Anastasio Somoza of
Nicaragua, whose government, unlike Costa
Rica's, tends to be military dictatorship
rather than civilian controlled democracy
Indeed, because of the events of the past
few weeks, these two men (and Mr.. FiguereS
seems in some ways to be as much at fault
as General Somoza) probably feel more hos
tile toward each other than ever before.
1t is obvious in these circumstances that
the potentials of serious trouble between
Costa Rica and Nicaragua continue to exist,
even though the two countries and their
leaders are anti Communist and good
friends of the United States and the inter-
American community as a whole. Accord
ingly, the GAS has every reason to remain
vigilant and ready to act as long as there is
danger of armed conflict. At the same time,
because of the tension resulting from Pres
ident Remon's assassination in Panama and
in view of the uneasiness that prevails in
Guatemala, this all : inclusive hemisphere
organization must be on the alert to cope
with the fact that the entire region Of Cen
trail America is suffering from stresses and
strains that could lead to major explosion
Happily, of course, like Costa Rica and
Nicaragua, all our neighbors to the south
appear to be genuinely committed to the
idea of solving inter-American problems by
peaceful means. But the commitment is not
necessarily an absolute guarantee, and that
is why the GAS must exercise the greatest
vigilance in seeing to it that things like the
Figueres-Somoza feud are not allowed to
get but of hand.
Evening star., 1955-01-24

The solution is multiple bargaining.
Having experimental with this system
in the course Of a number Of expedi-
tions to the Flea Market We can rec
ommend it without hesitation as
guaranteed way of securing spectacu-
lar bargains.
The beauty of the system Is its
simplicity. Say you are walking along
and spot something that you want
a small coffee pot for instance. You
enter the store and look around dis
dainfully. When the proprietor comes
over. you ask the price of pair Of
andirons, an antique birdbath and q
World War ! German helmet. Each
time, you say ''ppppfffftttt" and wait,
until the proprietor comes up with o
price for the three Of them together.
Then you say "ppppfffftttt" a final
time and suggest that he should throw
in this wretched old coffee pot. He
almost always will.
In this way. we have collected q
number Of rare objects at prices that
amaze our friends. We have also in
creased our popularity notably among
the proprietors of the Flea Market who
have natural respect and affection for
the astute bargainer. In fact the only
criticism Of our system has come from
our wife who keeps muttering some
thing about birdbaths and suggests
that instead of going to the Flea Mar
ket. we might better be out looking for
bigger apartment.
Evening star., 1955-01-24
A More Valuable Dollar

Statistics seldom make exciting reading
but the country'S wage earners should find
some pleasure in looking over the latest
figures in the Nationwide consumer price
index. For the year 1854 showed the first
12-month drop in that well-known cost of
living measurement since 1949, and only
the index for last mid-December stood at
the lowest point since May of 1858.
Using 1947-49 average for the base
figure of 100, the index for last mid-Decem-
Der stood at 114.3 as compared to 1149 a
year earlier and a low of ia in May of 1883
A high point of 1852 was reached last
January. The Bureau of Labor Statistics
attributed the drop mostly to dip in food
prices although transportation and apparel
as well as several miscellaneous goods and
services also tapered of slightly. Fuel, resi-
Dental rent and medical costs were slightly
higher.
While all of these trends were slight in
terms Of percentages, it is the relative sta
bility that Is most encouraging. President
Eisenhower was not speaking in terms of
narrow political partisanship when he said
in his recent budget message that 'preserv-
ing the value OF the dollar Is matter Of
vital concern to each Of us" The measure
nnent of dollar value that applies most
directly to the largest number Of citizens
is that for the normal costs Of living. 1t Is
quite likely that cost Of living figures never
win retreat to the levels Of the ls30s but IL
they can be maintained on relatively even
plateau the threat Of damaging imitation
viii be- checked. A
Evening star., 1955-01-24
An Elder Optimist

The role of ex-President and elder
statesman is one that becomes Harry S.
Truman. For despite his lifelong zest for
political combat. there always has been a
homely quality about Mr.. Truman which
attested to his sincerity and his modesty
His pride, and his faith, In America were
unquestioned.
1t is not surprising, therefore, to read
: that Mr. Truman, in press conference
marking the second anniversary of his
leaving the White House, told reporters:
Politically, may quarrel sometimes with
the people who are running the Government
:. But I'm an optimist. believe this
country will always keep going up, just as
1t always has in the past, no matter who
runs it." Nor was it surprising that he
declined to indulge in petty criticism of
President Eisenhower, but rather that he
expressed sympathetic understanding for
whoever is sup there" in the White House,
facing the problems of the presidency.
1t is, of course, little bit disappointing
to WaShingtonians that Mr.. Truman said
he was not very fond of Washington any
way and does not miss living among u.s. For
while 1t was generally accepted that "Bess"
(Mrs. Truman) was glad to give up the off,
cial responsibilities of being the First Lady,
there was always feeling that the Tru-
mans were happy members and good neigh
bors in the community. Washingtonians still
ike to believe that was so, even while
accepting the former Presidents opinion
that there is no place Gin the world today
better than independence, Missouri.
Evening star., 1955-01-24
Cooperative Co-existence

It is time that we quit talking about
"co-existence." more especially peace
full co-existence,' unless we plan to do
something about it. Co-existence has
existed ever since the Garden of Eden
and means just about nothing. Peace
full co-existence Is Of q more recent
coinage, although it also has existed
since the beginning of history. Whoever
coined the phrase either thought he
had the world by the tail or had some
evil designs.
Peaceful Is not enough. Human CO.
existence should be inteliigently CO.
operative in order to be beneficial to
everybody. BY the same token. there
must be some basis Of peace to make
Cooperation feasible.
Therefore. propose a ten-year period
of world peace. Absurd? Let us look at
It: Already all countries are on record
as advocates of peace, including some
who are not practicing what they
preach. Therefore, any nation refusing
TO sign world peace treaty, would be
on the spot at once. Conceding that a
lot of treaties are scraps of paper, more
or less, any aggressive nation would
hesitate to defy the rest of the world.
The treaty propose naturally would
call for status quo. If we wait until
every country has grabbed all it wants,
we will never get anywhere. Some ma
ton might insist on minor adjustments
before affixing its signature. Such ad-
justments could be made by peaceful
trading. For instance. there is For
n1osa. hot potato right now, yet no
Solomon is needed to effect settlement.
When Chang Kai-shek was forced to
leave the Chinese mainland. he elected
to become a Formosan, the same as
millions Of foreigners have become
Americans by immigrating into this
country. So let us make Formosa an
independency leaving 1t to the Formo-
sans to elect their own government.
Mainland China should not offer too
violent opposition. After all, China
ceded Formosa to Japan In 1895. Be-
sides. their main objective is to get
Chang Kai-shek.
As an added attraction to Communis-
tic China. serious consideration should
be given to admitting her to the u. N.
What? Well, it is going to happen even-
tually, why not now? Who is there to
say that it would be better to fight a
war about it, to lose another million
or SO Of our best men for the sake Of
Formosa? Someone may call the
above adjustment an appeasement,
buying peace at any price. It is neither.
It is simply using good common sense.
Also. let us forget about blockades
and other repressive measures that tend
to fan a smoldering fire into hell
Of fury.
May we see the birth of cooperative
co-existence before many months have
passed. 1t win take us q long step
towards the ful1llment of that age-old
promise: Peace on earth, good will to
men," G. G. Van ScheIyen.
Evening star., 1955-01-24
Hope for ItoIy's Jobiess

Although it may have number Of
serious bugs" in it, the proposed plan to
create full employment in Italy has the
virtue at least of seeking to do something
concrete, and on large scale, about that
country's biggest and most pressing problem
"a problem that the Communists continue
to exploit with great and ominous success.
The root OF this problem rests in the
fact that Italy, whose emigration outlets
are very limited, is an overpopulated land
that is poor in both food resources and the
raw materials needed for thriving indus
trial economy. AS result, about million
Of its adult citizens are wholly unemployed
and another million just barely manage to
subsist on incomes derived from low-paying,
part-tirne jobs.
Clearly enough, even though Italy's
living standards today are much better
than at any time in the past two decades
or more, such an unemployment situation
is bound to be breeder of,widespread dis
content, particularly because it tends to
worsen as the country's population of 48
million keeps on growing. And the Com
munists, together with the fellow-traveling,
left-wing Socialists, unquestionably are as
ctIUuB do are over GIleIe--U0G SJIOIlS6SU
Red party in free Europe primarily be-
cause they have skillfully capitalized on
the fact that Rome's postwar governments
have thus far achieved little in coping with
the problem.
Accordingly. the new full-employment
proposal, whatever its shortcomings, de-
serves the most serious attention. AS
drafted by Senator Ezio Vanoni, Italys
Budget Minister, 1t contemplates a total
outlay of So billion ON l0-year program Of
governmental and private investment de-
signed to expand or bring into being pro-
ductive enterprises on scale that would
create and sustain million additional jobs.
The program would be concerned, among
other things with increasing the countrys
exports and lifting the predominantly
agricultural south to a level Of economic
activity comparable to that of the industrial
north.
As for financing. the vanoni plan en-
visions not only a big outlay Of public and
private italian capital, but also a number
OF substantial foreign loans and marked
increase in overseas free-enterprise invest
ments Especially American) in Italy's In
dustries. But this aspect OF the project
Is rather vague, and what remaiHS to be
Evening star., 1955-01-24
Dr.. Albert Schweitzer
Plays the Piuno

There Is music By the riDer
Where the UGY drums used to pound;
And the Jungle Is a-QntueY
With the beauty Of the sound. d
And the people stop to Hsten
TO the bright cascade of notes;
And the eves OF children 0listeH
From the tHrobbtn0 IN their throGts.
There Il music bp the riDer
In the sitting tropic night,
When the fte1D moons like q sltver
From bah Of silCer light.
And the people lie and ponder
As the distant playing starts.
For the Biortng fingers vonder
Haze the akin TO heal their hearts.
George [. Kfsss
Evening star., 1955-01-24
Grave School Problem

survey by The Star has brought to
public attention a truly shocking situation
in the District public schools-the gross
inadequacy of facilities for handling more
than 5000 retarded and 'maladjusted"
children. The gravity of the problem was
revealed in special article in yesterdays
Star by James G. Deane, The Stars school
reporter. And, to make matters worse, the
Commissioners have just disallowed school
budget request for $225,155 to provide the
additional atypical classes needed to meet
the crisis.
In a publicized Juvenile Court case,
Judge Cockrill had said she intended to
find out why school officials had "excluded's
boy from regular classes at Eastern Junior
High School. School officials explained that
the boy chronic truant, was disturbing
influence" in his regular classes. He was
assigned special work in the greenhouse to
avoid classroom disturbances. survey by
The Star has disclosed that this was not an
isolated case by any means. The elemen-
tary and high schools generally are strug-
Cling with hundreds of cases not only of
socially maladjusted" students, but of
mentally backward or physically handi-
capped children. About / 300 mentally re-
tarded children are excluded" from regular
clasSes-for their own good and the good
of normal pupils. There are 65 atypical
classes for this group.
But the sorry fact is that some 1,700
other backward students ought to be in
special classes but cannot be placed there
because of lack of teachers and facilities.
School authorities had asked for sufficient
additional money to hire 18 more teachers
for special classes to which at least some
of the 1,700 could be assigned. Actually,
about 98 such special instructors could be
used to advantage To eliminate this vital
item from the school budget is to continue
the inclusion in regular classes throughout
the system of a vast variety of disturbing
influences" thus disrupting normal educa-
ton as well as depriying subnormal and
other problem" children of the special
attention they deserve. Congress ought to
see to it that the funds required to meet
this serious threat to orderly education in
Washington are forthcoming.