davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-16
No Place for Politics

The proposal by Democratic Senators
Anderson and Kefauver that Congress
designate a lawyer to defend the Gov
eminent in the Dixon Yates suit amounts
to vote of no confidence in the Depart
ment Of Justice. We are left to wonder
what these politically minded Senators
will do If the Court of Claims should
decide the case in favor of Dixon Yates.
VIII they be demanding that Congress
set up court of its own, composed per-
haps Of Democratic Senators, to review
the decision?
This case is in the court and it Is
the duty of the Department Of Justice
to defend it. The Star believes that 1t
will be defended in good faith. Senators
Anderson and Kefauver may not have
read the opinion Of the General Counsel
10 the Atomic Energy Commission rec
ommending against payment OF the
Dixon-Y Yates claim. If they have read
1t, they have no Justification for suggest
ing that the Government is going to be
represented in this matter by dishonor-
able or untrustworthy men. II anything,
this opinion by the General Counsel may
60 too far in resolving doubts IN favor
Of the Government and against the claim
by Dixon-Yates.
This Dixon-Yate business is messy
affair, and it is understandable that the
Democrats should be anxious to cash in
politically on it. But there Is limit.
even with an election coming up, to
legitimate politicking. This case is In
the hands of the court, and the Demo-
Gratis ought to let the court decide 1t
free of the pressure tactics embedded In
the Anderson Kefauver proposal.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-16
French Default

The latest news from Paris is not
good. Primarily because OF the bitter
Radical Socialist split between the FAC
lions led by Premier Faure and former
Premier Mendes- France, the Communists
are likely to win a substantial number OF
additional seats in the new National As
sembly to be elected January 2. Back IN
1851, under the complicated French cleo
toral law, they suffered sharp losses be-
cause they had to run against solid
front Of non-Red partieS-from right, lett
and center-temporarily allied against
them. But they have no such front to
contend with now. Instead, their opposi-
ton is fragmented and at war with it
self, and they are expected to gain ac-
cordingly even though they may fail to
increase their strength in terms of the
popular vote.
ALI told, during the next three weeks,
there will be rd-breaking total OF
at least 5000 Frenchmen campaigning
against each other for the Assembly's 627
seats. AS candidates, they will be repre-
senting no fewer than 80 parties and
factions. Although most of these groups
will be In temporary alliance-some lined
I'D with Faure and some with Mendes-
France-there will be much more division
at the polls, much more augmentation,
than in the 1851 general elections, and
the Communists cannot help but profit
from It, OF course, when the voting is
over, a moderate 'right-center" or cleft
center" coalition cabinet probably will
be formed, but it will almost certainly be
as short lived as its predecessors,
The outlook, in brief, is for contin-
uing governmental instability in Paris.
And that instability will keep on plaguing
France, and the West as whole, as long
as the French decline to enact the basic
constitutional and political reforms
needed to put an end to this depressing
and dangerous display Of democracy
defaulting on itself.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-16

terrible. then, that the word
has also given us the mon
strous bombs that threaten to
exterminate all living things
on earth,
Only a belief In Gods will
can reconcile us to this, and
even then it is pretty difficult
to understand.
Easier for us, but still q vast
mystery. is the time sense.
We are bored only because
we understand, at least to q
little degree, the passage Of
time.
The child waiting for some
expected treat finds that the
minutes never pass. In old age.
they go by all too quickly.
Events and places mingle
with the mind Of man to make
what we call time, and to keep
1t the great mystery it Is and
always will be. But, just the
same, we have q firm sense Of
1t, at least to some degree, and
when we are some place we
cannot get away from-and do
not want to stay-we under.
stand that after q certain time
we win be free again.
The Gagged animal or bird
has no today. no tomorrow, no
past.
These concepts are impos-
sible with him. He looks out
into a world where nothing
takes place. as far as he Is
concerned. He looks, and sees,
but never says to himself,
Gee. I am tired Of this place.,
Having no words, he has no
feeling of being tired, or not
being tired; he just watches,
and the world rolls by.
Worrying-man at times may
think this would be q heavenly
state to be in, but since the
invention Of language, 1t has
been utterly beyond him. The
doors Of that paradise were
closed by the flaming sword Of
the word. He no longer is able
to watch the world 60 by with
the innocent stare of the good
animal. but must weigh and
balance in his own mind, and
hope and fear. This is his
glory. It is his mind that makes
him, and he must be true to
1t, even at the expense, If God
wills. Of blowing himself to
pieces. The mean thing is that
he will have to blow up the
little parakeets and dogs and
cats and other creatures with
him. And his own children.
What a fool is mani, said
Shakespeare. And he was
right.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-16
Aid for Schools

School Superintendent Corning has
taken the logical step of seeking the in
clusion of the District public school sys-
tenn in any legislation to provide Federal
aid for schools. The move was prompted
by the last-minute action of the recent
White House Conference on Education in
amending Federal-aid report so as to
cover the District of Columbia as well as
the States. School officials would be wise
not to count too heavily on the amount Of
Federal assistance that may become
available, however.
Clint Pace, director of the conference,
has warned that some published reports
on the meeting have given an exaggerated
idea of what the conference had in mind
in recommending Federal aid to schools.
He pointed out that there was a big "if"
to the Federal-aid plan Endorsed by the
conference. The conference, by two
to-one majority, agreed that all States
and Territories and the District Of Co
lumbia should be eligible for Federal
funds, but that they should be granted
only on the basis Of demonstrated needs"
An earlier report had said: mo State
represented Eat the conference) has a
demonstrated financial incapacity to
build the schools 1t will need during the
next five years"
If the Government adopts Federal
aid-to-schools program as urged in many
quarters, then Washington, Of course,
should have the privilege of taking ad-
vantage of it. Meanwhile, regardless Of
what is done about new aid legislation,
the District ought to be included in the
present program of Federal grants to
communities whose schools have felt the
impact of rapid Federal expansion. There
is no good reason for discriminating
against District schools, when those In
other parts Of the Metropolitan Area
receive such help.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-16
'Nyet' as Usual

BY the resounding vote of So to S (the
Soviet bloc alone dissenting), the General
Assembly's Political Committee has now
approved disarmament resolution Civ
ing priority to President Eisenhowers
"open sky" proposal. In effect, this means
that the overwhelming majority Of the
United Nations Is in favor Of our countrys
effort to make the effectuation of that
proposal the essential first step toward
agreement on a comprehensive plan OF
arms limitation and control. That Is to
say, the majority indorses the idea that
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-16

fore there were plants ana
animals.
They have been able, how
ever. to make Q temporary
hypothesis as to what hap
pens In the living organism.
There must be q physiological
superchemist somewhere be-
hind the scenes. It picks and
chooses just what 1t wants
with extreme precision. One
experiment showed, for ex-
ample, that the proline incor-
poration went on in the same
amount and in the same time
when 1t was mixed with Is
other amino acids, each In 100
fold greater amounts. Presum-
ably the same would be true Of
all the others. Just the right
amount needed for the partic-
ular protein being formed
would be taken out Of the mix
ture.
Tentative Model
AS q tentative model for
protein synthesis on the basis
Of these experiments the team
Of scientists advance the fol-
lowing:
THE specificity Of the alb
sorption implies that q large
molecule Is involved. Further
more the amino acid does not
leave the absorption site be-
fore being bound into protein.
Accordingly 1t appears that
the absorbing molecule acts as
the template (mould) for pre-
TEN synthesis and the speci-
ficity provides the mechanism
for ordering the peptide chain.
"a peptide Is one or more
amino acids strung together
which appears to be an inter-
mediate step in protein forma-
tion). Therefore 1t appears
that all the amino acids must
be absorbed and in place on
the template before the pep
tide chain begins to form. The
formation Of the linkages
might well proceed like q fall
ing row Of dominoes, with the
formation Of one peptide link
age initiating the formation
OF the next linkage along the
chain"
The nature Of the all-impor-
tant template itself is still
unknown. The Carnegie bio
physicists speculate, however.
that it may be the large mole
cule Of ribosenucleic acid
which is found in every cell Of
the body. There is plenty Of
1t to serve the purpose and it
long has been suspected of
some role in protein formation.
They are carrying out SINH
lar studies with q yeastlike Or
ganism in which there may be
a slightly different method Of
building up giant protein mole
cules. Special studies are being
made Of the distribution of
carbon and phosphorus, vital
elements. among the chemical
fractions of the living cell.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-16

The White House has re-
jected a proposal to give Fed
eral employees an extra holiday
before Christmas and New
Years Day. The reason given
by an administration spokes-
man is that Federal employees
viii have o three-day holiday
anyway, since Christmas falls
on Sunday and the following
Monday Is o holiday by law
How magnanimous, since
Saturday and Sunday are nom
work days anyway. Many Fed
eral employees are in Washing
ton because Of good recruit
ment In the hinterland, and
those whose homes and loved
ones are far away have looked
forward to the one visit q year
back home. The extra few
hours would have hurt no one
and would have provided time
for travel. Instead 1t means
less time at home. or no visit
this year.
What next? Perhaps correc-
tive legislation to do away with
Monday holidays. when the &C.
tual holiday is on a Sunday.
Economist.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-16
NATO in the Cold War

On his latest overseas trip-this time
to PariS-Secretary Of State Dulles Is
taking part in the regular December
meeting of the ministerial council of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. But
the meeting, whose participants are made
up of the foreign, defense and finance
ministers of the Is NATO nations, is con-
siderably less routine than last years.
This is so because of the fact, as solemnly
emphasized by Mr.. Dulles, that the Krem-
lin, despite its display Of smiles and
geniality at the Geneva summit" con-
ference in July, now is well embarked on
vigorous new offensive In the cold war.
AS far as free Europe is concerned,
this offensive, which has opened dam
gerous new fronts in Asia and the Middle
East, is designed to undermine the At
lantic alliance by impeding or thwarting
West Germany's role as NATO's newest
member. The offensive probably will not
require an upward revision In the military
needs to be estimated by the ministerial
council in Paris. At the same time, how
ever, it should certainly serve as warn
ing signal against any temptation to
reduce the scale or slacken the pace OF
the common defensive effort, and Mr..
Dulles, whose views are fully supported
by all the interallied commanders, can
be counted upon to be Arm on that point
In the unlikely event that some Of the
councils other members argue to the
contrary.
At any rate, although he believes that
TT,.a4 hos ntAo
violent phase of the cold war, Mr., Dulles
Is convinced with the complete
concurrence OF NATO's high command
that the violence viii return II ever the
Atlantic alliance lets down It's guard and
neglects to maintain as much armed
strength as the situation calls for. But
he has made clear, too, that our Govern
ment is aware that more than mere
military effort is required to cope with
the Kremlin's new offensive. Although
strong in many respects, the ties that
bind the NATO allies are not yet nearly
strong enough in either political or
economic sense, and in certain instances
notably as regards Greece, Turkey and
Britain in the Cyprus dispute-they are
sorely in need of repair.
Further than that, as Mr.. Dulles has
put it, there is need for unity ION more
intimate basis" among NATO's West
European members. These members are
France, free Germany, Italy. Belgium, the
Netherlands and Luxembourg. They have
already begun to create common institu-
tions with such organizations as the Coal
and Steel Community, but what they
must strive to do now Is speed up their
political and economic indignation on an
increasing scale. If they do that,
they will be mutually enriching them
selves, strengthening the Atlantic ALI
ance, and creating pressures that may
eventually persuade the Kremlin to relax
its grip on the satellite lands. Mr.. Dulles
challenging views on that score well
deserve full airing at the current min
isterial meeting.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-16
Sad Refrain
Economist.

It is a sad but interesting
commentary on American cul-
ture that the Russians, in
spite of their lack Of morals
and sense of decency. have
shown taste and cultivation
superior to ours In the realm
of music. / refer to their
recent suggestion to send Rus
sian artists to perform in this
country and vice versa.
To our American offer to
send jazz orchestras, the Rus
SLAMS expressed preference for
the best we can produce of
the classical variety. naming
three OF our greatest musi-
clans,
While we have undoubtedly
forged ahead in scientific
knowledge and achievement.
we must still take a back seat
to most Europeans-who deal
in anything but the primitive
when 1t comes to art and
music.
Much of the vitiated taste
here and elsewhere can be
accounted for when one listens
to the tawdry. often asinine.
music poured out over the air
ways by mercenary interests.
I hold no brief for Russians,
but the devil must have his
due"
Elizabeth Winston.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-16
Kill Santa Claus?

1t Is true that Americans
enjoy freedom and privileges
unknown TO other inhabitants
Of this earth, but do we enjoy
the freedom that we should?
At this time Of the year, as
the Christmas holiday draws
near, we should take note Of
the shackles Of custom we are
wearing.
For centuries man has grad.
ually built q purely fictitious
mental crutch for himself and
his children In the image Of
Santa Claus. During the last
few years our increased tempo
Of material living and high
pressure advertising has bar
relied the commercial idea Of
a super being providing all ma
terial things to good little chill
dren to such a pitch Of au-
thenticity 1t is a dangerous
threat TO the future mental
health Of our children.
Who would dare destroy the
myth Of Santa Claus for the
children to ease the pocket
books Of the parents and re-
store the original spiritual
value Of the holiday? Is there
anyone who would be brave
enough to dispense with the
Santa Claus crutch Of our
children and teach them to
rely upon their own inner re-
sources apart from the ma
terial aspects Of Christmas?
Parents and guardians should
pause long enough in this sea-
son to evaluate the right or
wrong Of perpetrating the loss
Of freedom to future genera
tons by teaching them to rely
on q myth, thus denying their
creative instincts and forcing
them into a mental bondage
from which the only road to
freedom Is through the newt
able emotional abyss Of disillu-
sion.
Mrs. ID. l.. Mcintosh.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-16
.VISTAS IN SCIENCE
a Study of Life-GNing Amino Acids
By THOMASR. HENRI

Radioactivity Of less than q
30-millionth Of an ounce Of
matters is being used by
Carnegie Institution Of WASH
ington scientists to probe one
Of the basic problems of the
structure Of life.
They are trying to find out
how amino acids-the mole
cules which are the building
stones Of the animal body
are combined into the far more
complex molecules, proteins,
q change necessary before they
can be utilized In growth. Life
probably started with amino
acids. It recently has been
demonstrated elsewhere that
some of them can be created
by radiation with extremely
short-wave ultraviolet light Of
o mixture Of the gases which
presumably constituted the
primeval atmosphere Of the
earth.
But tbs. it Is admitted, goes
only a little way towards ex-
planning how life actually
started a billion or more years
ago. There is an enormous gap
between amino acids and
proteins. Perhaps the gap will
be still greater between pro-
teins and simplest Of living
organisms.
An effort to bridge part Of
the gap-to find out how liv-
ing things themselves manu-
facture the complex molecules
from the simpler ones--is be-
ing made at the institutions
Department Of Terrestrial
Magnetism by a team COM
posed Of Drs. r. B. Roberts.
e. T. Bolton. r. j. Britten
and D. B. Cowie. For this work
they have devised q chemical
microscope" Of almost incredi-
BILE sensitivity.
Marvel at Measuring
First amino acids, chiefly
proline. are prepared con-
tanning Is per cent Of carbon
IA, the radioactive form which
Is created by cosmic ray
bombardment of nitrogen In
the high atmosphere. It is pos
sible to prepare them. says
their report. with such high
specific radioactivity that "a
thousandth Of q microgram can
be measured with ease" A
microgram is q millionth of a
gram. There are about 500
grams In q pound. The proline
Is added to q culture contain
ing about four milligrams
(thousandths Of q gram of
growing bacteria. The chemical
microscope shows them that all
the proline is absorbed by the
living cells and Incorporated
into proteins In less, than a
minute. A difficulty is to take
samples rapidly enough to OBJ
serve the course Of events. This
throws no light, Of course, on
how proteins were formed be-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-16
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRAcEWELL

Another good way to catch
a wandering parakeet is to put
out q cage for it.
These small friends Of man
land woman have now gone
through many generations as
cage birds.
They bolster the dictum of
biologists that Gagged animals
In time come to love their re-
strictions-and good food and
care-and are miserable with
out them.
L. M. s. of College Park,
Nd. writes:
"All summer there was q
parakeet in our neighborhood,
who travelled with the SPAR
rows, but he preferred to eat
weed seeds.
HE would fly down with the
sparrows and eat until they
chased him away.
I'VE watched him for some
time.
Then my neighbor decided
to put q cage out In the yard
with seed, water and sand in
1t.
HE new into 1t, but few
away when she approached.
Her little girl then put some
seeds in her hand and held 1t
up to him. and he few down to
eat and she caught him.
my neighbor had him for
a week or so. then decided she
would let him 60 Just to see
If he would come back.
HE was gone for three
days. then returned to the tree
outside the kitchen window
and scolded her until she went
out.
HE flew to her shoulder,
and when she went back in
the house. he flew over to his
cage. and has been perfectly
happy ever since.
II have heard Of several
people catching runaway para
keets by putting out a cage.
1--WE have also had a white
squirrel in our neighborhood
all summer"
Most persons who have
watched Gagged birds feel that
they do not mind incarcera-
ton so much.
We recall. in q limited ex-
perience with Gagged flyers,
that two robins rescued from
dying as babies were happy in
a cage.
When the second one was
added. the first worked up a
quickie friendship with it, and
the two balanced and swayed
on their perches. talking to
each other.
These were as wild as they
come, but managed to be at
ease in confinement. Probably
they would have continued to
be so, If we had not taken
them down to the ZOO and
turned them loose.
\ 4 y
We believe that Gagged ami
mails and birds are able to be
philosophers In fur and feath-
ers because they have no time
sense.
That is. they lack what man
has. an intellectual under
standing Of what time means.
This understanding is i'm
possible. one may feel. with
out words and language.
It Is the word that gives US
all we are as humans. How
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-16

@. Does the United Nations
operate q regular broadcasting
service?--M. M.
A. UN Radio. including tele-
vision, has furnished pro-
grams for rebroadcasting since
1916. Having no transmitters
Of its own, UN Radio leases its
broadcasting power and for "a
hours a day In SO languages
aims to tell the world what Is
going on at its headquarters.
Fifty-two member nations and
IS non -member states and ter
ritories hear these programs.