davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1955-11-06
FOR BETTER PUBLIC HOUSING
A Report on q 20 Year
Study Of City Slums

ment's current program allows
US hardly more than to shadow
box with the slum evil.
The authors great adven-
ture in the housing field
started almost by accident. In
the very beginning, Mr..
Palmer disarmingly admits. he
thought Of slum clearance as
q means Of making a profit.
The National Industrial Re
covery Act had Just been
passed, and So billion was set
aside for public works, include
ing low-cost housing and slum
clearance.
Soon he was to become aware
of the larger issues. He be-
came so fully convinced slun1
removal and public housing
should be made a permanent
Government program that in
the early New Deal days he
doggedly pursued any Cow
ernment official he thought
could help, finally wangling q
dinner invitation to the White
House itself. There he had an
opportunity to talk to Presi-
dent Roosevelt on the subject
and show movies he had taken
OF slum- clearance programs in
Europe.
Landlords Eyes Opened
In the course Of his crusade,
Mr.. Palmer learned much
about the last-ditch lengths
to which some landlords were
willing to go in defense Of their
hitherto unquestioned privilege
to wiring high profits from
slum tenants. Gradually his
eyes were opened, and with it
came, almost rniraculously, q
new purpose in life.
Typifying the great change
in his thinking was the fact
that from the presidency Of
the National Association Of
Building Owners and Managers
he leaped to the presidency Of
the National Association Of
Housing Officials--the latter
chiefly q band Of public housers
having sharply different aims
than most landlords. Mr..
Palmer's service also included
a stint as Defense Housing Co
ordinator in Washington 40
World War II neared.
That all this has been true
adventure punctuated by valid
incidents Of derring-do is not
to be gainsaid by any one read
ing this book. There can be
little doubt, either, that his
enthusiasm. resourcefulness
and unwearying dedication
helped prepare the Nation lot
public housing in the early
days.
AS a record of"the exploits
and developing convictions Of
q conservative businessman,
"The Adventures Of q Slum
Fighter deserves to be read
closely by those concerned
with human and economic
values throughout the land.
and especially by Mr.. Palmer's
colleagues in the real estate
field.
ROBERT J. LEWIS.
Evening star., 1955-11-06
Gifted Young Authors Novel
Set in Present Doy Morocco

revolt against the French. The
author spent several years In
Arab sections Of Morocco,
studying the people and ac-
quiring their language. He
seems to know the Arabs and
the causes and methods Of
their rebellion very well.
The story is on two levels.
one concerns Amar. an hit
crate boy, son Of q Moslem
holy man; the other an Amer
lean author. his friend, an
Englishman, and an American
divorce with whom the
American falls IN love. Amar,s
gradual education In the ex-
plosiye events under way In
his city Of Fez is described. He
finds leaders of the rebel party
strangely Indifferent to the
Moslem laws and traditions
which he has been brought up
to revere. Afnar's path and
that Of the foreigners staying
at q hotel inevitably cross.
II Is indeed unfortunate
that q story SO knowledgeable
and so artiSticaily written
should move 50 slowly and
with such 4 surfeit Of detail
that it hardly sustains interest
through its lengthy course.
The Spiders House. lacks
the sinister. brooding quality
that made Mr.. Bowles last
novel. Let It Come Down.
. story Of the Arab quarter Of
Tangier, q haunting study in
disinteeration.
Evening star., 1955-11-06
DeGuuIIe's Prose

General Charles deGaulle
Is another controversial fis-
ure. But now that the first
volume Of his memoirs,
"CaII to Honour has appear
ed there has been 4 real clos
ing Of the ranks behind him
as e writer. The General COM
mands q prose that some re-
viewers find bordering on the
sublime.
Maybe it's the times, but
nowadays you find many more
brilliant first writers among
those working with the facts
rather than the writers Of
fiction. It's been q long. cold
day since q really fine first
novelist has flashed acress the
sky. As q matter OF fact.
the best first book we read
this year was q biography,
Laurette.n the story Of Lau-
rette Taylor, BY her daughter,
Marguerite Courtney. 1t was
incandescent, and q positive
feat Of objectivity. considering
that Laurette, faultless as she
was on the stage. was q parent
Of great fraility.
Evening star., 1955-11-06

she kept people away from
him when he wanted to work.
She babied him and looked
after him.
Always Happy
They were devoted from the
time. in his youth. they met
at q mountain resort In their
native Virginia. and she was
q comely young widow with no
less than five children. There
never was q time. he con-
cludes. that their marriage
was not happy. And he put
her. somewhat disguised, in q
number OF his best romances.
His praise Of this kind and
yaIorous, brown-h haired wom-
an. for all its light, family
ironic touch and recapture Of
her honey Virginia ways and
her odd turns Of speech, is one
of the loyeliest I ever read.
The later chapters deal with
some Of Mr.. Cabell's literary
adventures. Most Of these
took part In the '20s. during
what he called the Mencken
era. The novelist attributes
his fame to the temporary
suppression Of "Jurgen." which
led to an instant demand not
only for that book. but for his
others. "Jurgen" later was
vindicated by q Federal Judge,
who held it to be q work Of
literary art. not the porno-
graphic treatise described By
an antivice society. Mr.. Ca
bell points out that for 10.
years before this novel was
published he turned out books
without much success. His
conclusion. however. seems
orermodest and an oversim-
plification Of q deserved re-
nown.
He thinks little of the real-
istic novelists who have -four
ished in the '40s and sos. A
realist's credo he sums up as
God. but isn't life awful.
He hasn't found life like
that. He has found 1t highly
agreeable. He stilI does as the
years accumulate. Nor has
one Of the most distinctive
stylists Of our times lost his
skin with words.
Evening star., 1955-11-06
ST. AMP AND COIN
CLUB MEETINGS
MONDAY

woodbridge Stamp Club, Q
pm, woodbridge Public Lii
brary. 2206 Rhode Island ave-
nue. NV. Election Of ofIicers.
Washington Numismatic So
ciety, 7:30 pm, National Mu-
scum. Tenth street and Consti-
tuition avenue NV. Auction
and trading session.
WEDNESDAY
washington Philatelic Soci-
ETY., 8 pm, Arts Club, 2Oi7
/ street NV. Auction and
bourse.
Post office Department
Stamp Club, $50 pm, Con-
ference Room t6O4lJ, Post
Once Department Building.
Slides on manufacturing Of
postage stamps to be shown.
THURSDAY
American Topical Asocia-
tion, Potomac Chapter. 7:30
pm, Cleveland Park Branch
Library, Connecticut avenue
and Macomb street N. w.
Silver Spring PhlIatelic CO.
ciety, 8 pm, Dispensary
Building. $500 Colesville road,
Silver Spring. Junior night.
Greater Wheaton stamp
Club, $3.50 PM, Bill Small
mans home on Kemps Mil
road near Glenmont. For de-
tailed directions, call Frank
Hayes, 10. 5-337O.
Notes on club programs
should reach The star bg
Wednesday for publication
the Sunday before the meet
ing.
Evening star., 1955-11-06
ADVENTURES OF A sLUM

ADVENTURES OF A SLUM
FIGHTER. BY Charles j.
Palmer. (Tupper g. Lowe.
Inc, Atlanta; 81
The writer Of these refresh
ing recollections is that rare
bird, the real estate man who
is, at the same time. an inde-
fatigable crusader for public
housing.
Mr.. Palmer's consuming In
terest for more than 20 years
has been a desire to convince
his fellow real estate men. and
the country at large, that siums
are pernicious and wasteful.
and that the only way most
low-income families can get
decent housing is for the Gov
ernment to subsidize it.
In the period since he or
ganized and directed the Ma
tion's first slum- clearance
project in Atlanta back in 1888.
Mr.. Palmer has seen an inn
mense broadening Of thought
and opinion on this contro-
versial subjects More and more
real estate men swung over to
his side as the years went by.
The organized real estate in
dustry today inveighs just as
loudly against the social and
economic burden that siums
represent as did the most yo-
ciferous public houser Of a gem
Grafton ago. The Republican
Party itself. under the leader
ship Of President Eisenhower.
is committed unequivocaliy to
a public housing program.
inadequate Support
Viewed in the light of the
bitterness generated in the
early SOS by this New Deal
innovation, a great change in
sentiment has obviously taken
place. Yet opposition to public
housing is still powerful, we'll
entrenched, and devious. For
all his essentially conservative
views as q businessman. Mr..
Palmer does not attempt to
minimize 1t. Instead, he makes
plain he believes the Govern
Evening star., 1955-11-06

6-cent Roosevelt stamp to be
released In New York Noyem-
ber Is. The envelope features
q picture of Roosevelt. his New
York birthplace. and the asso-
ciatior's seal. Orders for the
covers, at IS cents each or 1--WE
for 81. may be addressed to
First Day Covers. Theodore
Roosevelt Association, % East
Twentieth street, New York,
N. Y. Proceeds will be used
for the maintenance Of the
Roosevelt birthplace.
Auction Notes
Much Of the colorful history
Of the winning Of the West is
reflected In the notable west
ern Franks" collection of L. H.
Barknausen, which win be sold
tomorrow and Tuesday at the
New York auction galleries OF
n. r. Harmer. Inc. Beginning
with the handstamps Of the
Adams a. Co. Express, the
collection includes examples Of
almost all the one-man aex-
presses" and q wide variety OF
Wells, Fargo 81 Co. covers.
Evening star., 1955-11-06
READING AND WRITING
Tockline the Difficult
Biography Of Ezra Pound

tisrn. In Italy. where even nom
poets are granted poetic IL
cense. he found everything ex-
planned by the fact Of Pounds
being n poeta." Pound lived
happily In RappalIo for 81
years, during which time he
lent voice in praise Of the
Mussolini regime. a circurn-
stance that led to hts being
detained by the United States
Army Ia i945 It was his treat-
ment in a military prison. his
friends claim. that led to the
impairment OF Pounds mental
faculties.
Mr.. Edwards. who is a yet-
eran Of the OSS and now an
assistant professor Of English
at the University Of California.
says his book win not be an
authorized" biography, nor q
defense Of the poet. But he
says that the facts he has un-
covered In his laborious re-
searches have led him to be-
Leye that there is q reason
for everything that Pound
did"
The Pound Newsletters
One Of his research tools
has been d quarterly Pound
newsletter. These are fascl-
mating reading. with opinions
Of and tributes to Pound from
all over the world. The nature
Of the fierce partisanship he
provokes can be judged from
one entry from Ireland. from
the distinguished poet Valen-
tine Iremonger.
Mr.. Iremonger. writing In
an Irish newspaper suggests
that no better use could be
made Of Q Yeats Memorial
Fund than to turn it over to
Ezra Pound so that he could
live his last years IN any place
Of his choosing and In the
comfort he has earned.
Evening star., 1955-11-06
Bob Benchiey's Boy
Writes the Story
|of His Dud's Life
ROBERT BENCHLEY. A piog-
raphy by Nathaniel Benchley.
(McGraw-HilI: s3.95.)

rapny py Natnanlel Benchley.
tMcGraw-HilI: $685.
This biography Of one of
the incest humorists who ever
lived has q friendly tone, and
q degree Of objectivity scarcely
ever achieved by a son writ
ing about his father. Nathan
lei Benchley has not attempt-
ed to judge his father either
as q writer or as a man. He
has simply set down the facts.
many Of them as recorded by
Robert in his copious journals.
The story Of his life is pleas
ant to read because It is about
what you would have expect
ed. The young Robert,
growing up In Worcester,
Mass, was dominated by
women: his mother and his
dead brothers fiancee, Lillian
Duryea. He did not chafe un-
der the yoke. He went to Har-
yard, Of which he was always
9 loyal son. He had q thin
time at the beginning finding
his way as q writer.
In due time, his life, partic-
ularlg as ! member Of the
storied Algonquin Round Ia
ble, became more fabulous.
Success Is an actor kept him
from ever doing the really
serious writing his New Eng
land conscience told him he
should do. But he left behind
him Q record Of bonhomie, Of
gentle humor that Is peerless
In this generation.
Nathaniel's biography Is 90
lght-handed and as easy-go-
ing IS his father would prob
ably have liked. The picture
Of q gentle soul. = pacifist but
. brave liberal. continually at
. loss when dealing with the
intricate machinery Of daily
life in q world Of technocratic
rnarvels comes through. The
only complaint Is that the son
might have been Q little more
generous with excerpts from
his fathers wonderfully un-
derstated and unfailingly true-
pitched writing.
M. McG.
Evening star., 1955-11-06
Useful Guidebook
For Businessmen
SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP
In BUSINESS. By Charles

SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP
In BUSINESS. BY Charles
A. Cerami. prentice Hall,
Inc: $4.95.)
Although this book is pri-
marily of interest to the boss
and the supervisors, it is for
leaders in the rough who want
to win the cooperation and
respect Of fellow employees. It
is generalized but meaningfui
enough to be selected by the
Business Leaders Book Club
and the Executive Book Club
for their members. MIR. Ce-l
rami was graduated from the
Georgetown School Of Foreign
Service and spends about half.
his time here: in fact. he Is q
third generation Washingto-
nian. -H. A. L.
Evening star., 1955-11-06
Women in War
THE FIRST ENLISTED

THE FIRST ENLISTED
WOMEN: 1917-i9ls, by Eunice
c. Dessez Dorrance; $2.50),
reminds US that women didn't
start serving In the armed
forces in World War II, with
its influx OF WACS and
WAVES. Miss Dessez. who was
q chief yeoman in the Navy in
World War !, describes the re-
cruiting Of the FIRST women.
their training and the irnpor-
tant service they gave. The
author. who lives in Washing
ton, has been prominent in the
American Legion here.
&C. B. J.
Evening star., 1955-11-06
CHESTER BOWLEs
OFFERS MORE
or THE SANE
THE NEW DIMENSIONS or
PEACE. BY Chester Bowles.
(FTarner. G4.6l).

1IAE NEW DtNAENCAVNC OE
PEACE. BY Chester BowIes.
tHarper; $4.50.l
Mr.. Bowies has written q
good book. but not 50 good as
he leads us to believe. He has
d solid central theme, that
ideas are more important, or at
least as important. as military
strength in international rela-
ti0ns today. and that America
Is falling down In the idea de-
partment.
After 3 long buildup, Mr..
Howles leads the reader to ex-
pect q flood Of new, ingenious
ideas TO regain and sustain the
initiative for the West. Un-
fortunately all he has to offer
Is more Of the same things we
have been doing.
Mr.. Bowies Is militariiy
naive. When he deplores Sec
retary OF State John Foster
Dulles massive retaliation
policy as 1t was first enunci-
ated, he beats q dead horse.
Massive retaliation Is no longer
looked upon as the answer to
brushflre wars. Mr.. BOwles
never even mentions the TAG
tical Air Command. or the
strategic reserve, which are the
tools now well on the way to
development TO meet local ag-
gressions.
Az an analyst Of world po-
litical history In the past 10
years. Mr.. Bowles Is much more
convincing. He has q keen
insight into our successes and
failures.
But his opening remark
that this Is q nonpolitical
book Is quickly forgotten.
Democrats aet most Of the
credit. Republicans most Of
the blame. President Eisen-
hower's at0ms-for-peace pro-
gram goes wholly unnoticed
In Mr.. Howles' discussion Of
dynamic new ideas.
-EAF2L II. VOSg.
Evening star., 1955-11-06

made him a forgotten author
who lives on. But anyone at all
interested in American writing
of the goth century viii want
to read AS I REMEMBER IT,
by James Branch Cabell tMc-
Bride; $3.75).
Mr.. Cabell subtitles this book
Some Epilogues in Recollec-
tion." II is no more q formal
autobiography than were two
previous volumes of biographi-
cal comment, .'Let Me Lie"
and sQuiet, Please" And yet
there is much in "As I Re-
member IT. that illuminates
his life and work. especially
for those Of us who greatly adj
mire Beyond Life. " The High
Place. eThe Cream Of the
Jest" and many another Of his
subtly ironic romances Of
mythical land not SO mythical
-PoicteSme.
Tribute to His Wife
The new book is for many
pages q tribute to his first wife.
He was married to Priscilla
Bradley Cabell for 81 years.
Their marriage ended with her
death. Some part Of him went
with her. he feels. True, . few
years later he married again.
and Is entirely happy with his
second wife. and vet in no whit
reveres less the memory of his
first wife.
There are no sentimental
cliches IN his appreciation Of
Priscilla. They had diverse
interests. He doubted that.
she ever read through one Of
his books, though she would
tackle each dutifully after its
publication. He always had a
strong suspicion, though she
never limited it, that she wor-
dered why an able-bodied man
would devote his life to writing
books when he might have
been doing something con-
structive, as did her first hus-
band. who was q successful
lumbernnarl. She was active
Ia clubs. patriotic and historic
cal societies, which he cared
nothing about. She was gre-
garicus; he was retiring. But
she saw that he always had q
secluded place to write, and
8 III 7s5.
Evening star., 1955-11-06

THE SPIDERS HOUSE, BY
Paul Bowles Random House;
1886 is . new novel from one
Of the most gifted Of our
younger writers, who also Is
3 composer Of distinction.
"The Spiders House, Mr..
Bowies' third novel, concerns
Morocco and the current Arab
Evening star., 1955-11-06
tour Of this continent.
By MARY McGRORY

Ezra Pound remains the
most controversial literary fig-
ure Of our day. both as q poet
and q political personality.
Many common readers md
his poetry obscure and his poll
tics ~ he Is pro-Fascist and
anti-Semitic- -indefensihle. Mr..
Pound, who is under indict-
ment for treason for his Ital-
ian broadcasts during the war,
Is now q patient at st. Eliza
beths Hospital. having been
committed there In l945 by q
Judge acting on the advice Of
q board Of psychiatrists who
found him to be eccentric,
querulous and egocentric."
Paradoxically, there Is per-
haps no poet who arouses
greater reverence In his peers.
T. s. Eliot and others make the
pilgrimage TO his hospital bed
as a matter Of routine when-
ever they come to Washington.
BoIlingen Award
And In le47, IN an action
that reused q storm Of protest.
the Fellows In American Let
ters, 9 now lapsed congress Of
poets that was an approxima-
ton Of q national academy,
voted 10 give him the Bollin-
gen Award, the only govern
Inent literary prize, which was
discontinued as Q result Of the
storm. Supposedly. the poets.
over whose heads congress
sionai wrath was poured. we're.
making Official their indebted
ness to = bard whom Eliot has
called athe best poet Of our
times"
Allen Tate. one Of the fell
lows. perhaps summed up their
point Of view when he said:
-As . result Of observing
Pounds use Of language In the
last 80 years. ! had become
convinced that he had done
more than any other living
man to regenerate the LAM
euage and widen the iinagin-
ative forms Of English verse.
/ had to face the disagreeahle
fact that he had done this
even In passages Of verse In
which the opinions expressed
ranged from the childish to the
detestable. :
Now the difacult task Of
writing 3 biography of this
unique and curious figure has
been assayed by q young Eng
iish professor CT uncommon In.
dustry and ingenuity. He IS
John Edwards, who came re-
Gently to Washington on the
last lap Of D trail ii pursuit Of
Pound that has taken him
from coast to coast and over
to Europe.
Following His Trail
Mr.. Edwards, having found
that through his reading
Found was incontestably the
greatest germinai force In
modern poetry, began In 1850
q study Of Pound himself. He
set out talking to people who
knew Pound during his youth
In Pennsylvania, followed his
tracks TO London. Paris, and
finally to Italy. He talked to
q hundred people in Europe.
found unanimity about
Pounds generosity and gaety,
but varying degrees Of toler-
ance OF his demanding ego-
III Il
Evening star., 1955-11-06
"A thing Of Moods, Coy
Laughing or SotiricoI

THE OPEN HEART, BY Ed
ward Weeks tLittle. Brown:
$500 Is q collection Of brief
essays BY the editor Of the
Atlantic Monthly. Mr.. Weeks
tells how he became an editor
and some Of the experiences
he had and personalities he
encountered on the many
trips his position required.
Referring to q form which has
largely faded. Mr.. Weeks says:
Evening star., 1955-11-06

"The essay Is as unpredictable
Is it Is endearing. It IS . thing
Of moods gay. laughing. sa-
tirical: it can be as highly
serious as T. s. Eliot. Is didac-
tic as Machiayelii. as cool as
Francis Bacon. It can be .
confession Of self: or Q swift
elucidation In biography: or
Virginia Woolf contemplating
q moth. :" An entertaining
book.
Evening star., 1955-11-06
A condid World

Oren Stephens. deputy AS
sistant director in charge Of
policy and programs at the
United States information Ad-
ministration. has written q
book about his work. He took
the title, Facts to . Candid
World. from the Declaration
Of Independence. He got the.
idea for 1t during q year spent
1t the War College. where the
frequent questions Of his fell
low students about our psy-
Geological policy convinced
him of the need for q primer"
about our propaganda efforts.
Mr.. Stephens. . former news
papernan and an alumnis Of
the state Department. served
with the owl during the war.
Evening star., 1955-11-06
James Brunch CobeII
Does Some RecoIlinq
By cARTER BROOKE JONES

1t is doubtful II great many people read James
Branch Cabe though "Jurgen" st given place most
American literary picks His position among the novests
early Of this century the less venture
conclude and it Is believe change in the
style novels than lack Of merit in his best work that has
Evening star., 1955-11-06
FALSE FACE. BY Seldom Truss.
Doubleday ~ Co.; S2.75.)
Crime Club.

A love affair between q titled
lady and q fading matinee
idol seems to have some ten-
uous connection with an alley
murder AT least Mr.. Horace.
intrepid reporter Of the Lon
don Daily Snapshot. finds one.
Then there's the usual silly
damsel who simply won't con-
fide In the police but invariably
arrives prematurely 1t murder
scenes. Complicated but di-
verting. IN. o.
Evening star., 1955-11-06

Theodore Roosevelt Covers
The Theodore Roosevelt AS
ISOLATION Is sponsoring an en-
graved first day cover for the
Evening star., 1955-11-06
Heivstia society
Confederate Currency

One OF the largest Of Con-
federate currency collections.
over $500 different varieties
assembled by B. II. Collins Of
Washington soon after the
Civil War. and later the prop
erty Of Charles M. Williams Of
Cincinnati. is to be sold At
auction Tuesday by A. KosoR
Of Encino. Calf.
Evening star., 1955-11-08
|Loudoun Refuses Funds
To Help Evocuote D. c.

He explained that evacuees
must pass through Prince VIII
liam and Loudonn counties into
the deeper counties Of Virginia.
~ did not consider 1t proper
for Loudoun County to put up
the funds TO train wardens and
traffic directors to handle this
evacuation, Mr.. Cowart told
the board.
He further explained no
funds are now in the county's
civil defense budget for such
training purposes and said he
doubted that the board would
wish to appropriate additional
funds for this purpose.
The civil defense director said
he considered 1t only fair that
the District provide funds nee
essary in adjoining counties for
the evacuation Of District res
idents. He said he could see no
reason why Virginia counties
should be forced to pay for
bringing washington residents
through their boundaries.
The board passed q resolution
supporting Mr.. Cowart,s stand.