davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1958-07-09
D'AIesondro's Folly

A Maryland Judge now has struck
down Mayor D'AleSandro'S tax on adver-
tiSing on the ground that it violates "the
fundamental guarantees of freedom of
the press" This is welcome ruling,
even though it came after Mayor DALE
sandro, who wants to be Senator, had
repented his own folly.
Bills to eliminate the advertising
tax, along with other levies, were signed
by the Mayor last April. BY that time
he had discovered that his tax program
was hurting not only Baltimore news
papers but Baltimore business as
whole. And the Mayor is not man to
finch from swapping horses when the
stream turns out to be deeper and the
current more dangerous than he had
anticipated.
Despite this about-face, however,
the ruling by Judge Joseph L. Carter
serves a useful purpose. Judge Carter
pointed out that the complainantS, in
cluding newspapers, radio and television
stations and other business interests,
were not seeking any exemption from
ordinary taxation. What they did object
to was the Mayors move to impose
special and punitive tax. On this score
the court said: "The press, religion and
speech are constitutionally entitled to
freedom from control of the govern
mentS of the United States and the
States. They are, therefore, immune
from any form of regulation or taxation
which can be used, directly or indirectly,
as means of political control"
1t is we'll to have this on the record,
especially when the threat Of control
comes from the D'Alesandro brand of
politician.
Evening star., 1958-07-09
Adams Needed

In Dorothy Thompson's
article, July /, reference was
made to President Eisen-
hower'S statement that he
needs Mr.. Adams, his White
House aide. 1t was stated
that such a confession" by
President Eisenhower sis a
testimony of the Presidents
incapacity to bear the full
responsibility of his Office"
1t should be remembered
that when he said that he
needs Mr.. Adams, the Presi-
dent said at the same time
that he admires Mr.. Adams
abilities and respects him
because of his personal and
official integrity"
In view of the enormous
burdens constantly borne by
the President of the United
States it is easily understood
that he needs the assistance
of the man who has been his
trusted aide for years and
understands the intricate
business of his Office. Miss
Thompson's remark seems
unjust and shows lack of
consideration, understanding
and appreciation Of the Pres
ident, a man honored as a
great soldier and statesman
throughout the world. No
one could believe that he
would wish to retain in Office
a man in whom he did not
have confidence, regardless
of his own need.
MI. H.
Evening star., 1958-07-09
Help for De GouHe

In appointing Jacques Soustelle as
his Minister Of Information, Premier
Charles de Gaulle has enlisted the serv-
ices OF a man who can be Of great help
II he wants to be-in promoting peace
full and mutually satisfactory settlement
OF the bitter and wasting strife between
France and the rebels of Algeria.
This is so because Mr.. Soustelle, one
OF General de Gaulle'S closest and ablest
wartime associates, is hero of sorts to
all those Frenchmen of Algeria who re-
gard the territory as an integral part of
France and who condemn as treaSonouS
any talk about granting it independence.
Indeed, he has been the most eloquent
spokesman of these "colons," and he has
played major role in bringing about
De Gaulle'S return to power by con-
fronting the preceding Pflimlin govern
ment with the threat of civil war over
the issue of working out an Algerian
compromise.
Accordingly, since Premier de
Gaulle himself appears. to, be very much
in favor of such settlement ION the
basis of referendum in which the vot-
ing. rights of the Algerian MoslemS
would be equal to those of the French
Settlers), it seems significant that the
heretofore uncompromiSing Mr.. Sou
Stelle now has become key member of
the Paris government. 1t seems Signifi-
cant, too, that General Salan, despite
rumors of growing rift between him
and the mystic" in Paris, has Just been
at painS-aS Frances top military COM
mander in Algeria-to pledge his own
and his Subordinates' loyalty to De
Gaulle personally and to his regimes
objectiveS.
Certainly, if these developments
may be taken at face value, they suggest
that Premier de Gaulle has won the firm
support of major political and military
figures uniquely well equipped to help
him deal effectively with the enormously
difficult problems facing him at home
and aboard. This seems especially true
as regards Algeria and his effort to bring
about peace there. For if men like
Soustelle and Salan are really on his
side, if they are ready to back him up
with unwavering loyalty, then he
should have better-than-even chance
of triumphing over those extremists
who apparently scoff at reason and view
compromise as crime.
Under the best of circumstances, of
course, the De Gaulle government is
likely to find the going rough in coping
with the grave issues before it. Even so,
in view Of Mr.. SouStelles new role and
General Salan'S pledge, measure of
cautious optimism seems justified.
Evening star., 1958-07-09
THIS AND THAT.
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL

everything their way until a
man named Lister came
along.
Ever since they have been
on the run.
Fleming with his penicillin
delivered another body blow.
Temp Jones and others
with healthy respect for
germ life expect to do what
the mighty men Of science
have not been able % do.
A sterile world is unthink-
able, and probably would be
highly undesirable.
What they want is a world
less germy, that Is all.
If you can wash 80 million
germs off your hands before
lunch, you would be silly,
really, not to do so.
Through the miracle of
soap and water, this is just
what you can do.
Johnny, even If he can't
read, can, wash his hands.
Teach Johnny to keep clean
hands. and it will help him
through life.
The point is, we feel, that
critics of cleanliness hon
estly feel that to show an
interest in germ life is some
how to make one too inter-
ested.
Today's man or woman at
last has the knowledge to
avoid this.
In the gay '90s and be-
fore, people who became in
terested in health matters on
their own tended to become
too much interested.
They were called cranks.
and maybe they were. They
simply didn't have the know
ledge we all have now.
Today's people know a
thing or two. and just be-
cause they can call a germ
by its first name, and may
be by its last name, too,
doesn't mean that they will
run screaming down the
street at the sight Of the
little fellow.
No, today's smart ones
recognize a germ for what it
is worth, and it isn't worth
much, except that it can and
often does cause a lot Of
trouble.
Laugh not, then, my hear
ty, at the famous man who
shakes with the little finger.
Maybe that was why he was
smart enough to draw forty
thousand smackers salary.
Not bad. en-, with or without
germs?
Evening star., 1958-07-09
Critical Park Funds

Maryland officials request to the
Senate this week for transfer in funds
already authorized to buy critically
needed parklands in the National Capt.
tai area is a sensible move which de-
serves support.
The transfer involves the Capper-
Cramton Act of 1880, under which the
Federal Government agreed to share
with Maryland the costs of buying land
for the George Washington Memorial
parkway and for parks in the lovely
stream valleys surrounding Washington.
Congress authorized separate amounts
of loans and grants as the Federal share
of each programs cost. Today, however,
Evening star., 1958-07-09
Griffith's FoIIies

We see that Calvin Griffith
still blames the poor long
suffering fan for all his
troubles.
This is just a reminder that
in the early days Of this sea-
son when it appeared that
we might have a fighting ball
club the ''uninterested fan"
rallied round and there was
better attendance than we
have had for years. The only
thing ailing the Washington
baseball fans is that they get
tired of paying to see a club
that they practically know
before they leave home is
going to lose.
AS for me, I've been a fan
for 80 years and will con-
tinue to be, but it does make
me happy to win a game now
and then. Here's hoping that
Mr.. Griffith will try to bolster
his team instead Of blaming
the fans and trying to move
to another city.
Washington Fan.
Evening star., 1958-07-09
Howoii's Turn

The concluding recommendation of
President Eisenhower's budget message
to Congress last January 13 was that the
lawmakers complete action on ap-
propriate legislation admitting Hawaii
and Alaska into the Union as States" At
this point, Congress has done half of the
Job. Alaskan statehood has been ap-
proved and the President this week
signed legislation authorizing the North
Star" territory to complete fornalities
for full partnership in the Union.
But while expressing happiness at
the action on Alaska, Mr.. Eisenhower
declared himself extremely disturbed"
at reports that Hawaii may not receive
like consideration during the life of the
85th Congress. II personally believe"
the President said, that Hawaii is
qualified for statehood equally with
Alaska point of view that is amply
supported by the political and economic
development of the island territory and
which has been argued forcefully by
spokeSmen for a majority of Hawaii's.
inhabitants.
As practical matter, the Hawaiian
case is facing some serious obstacles on
Capitol Hill. The first is that of time
with Congress hoping to clear up still
heavy docket Of high priority legislation
and adjourn by mid-AuguSt at the
latest. Hawaiian statehood legislation is
awaiting consideration on both sides of
the Capitol, but the Senate leadership
currently is taking the position that
initial action must come from the
House. In that branch, the Hawaiian
bill is in the Interior Committee and is
being blocked for the time being at least
by committee deadlock over the con-
troversial Frying Pan River reclamation
legislation. Hurting Hawaii's chances,
too, on both sides of the Hill are charges
of strong Communist influence in the
islands and the fact that the population
includes high percentage of people Of
Oriental races.
With all this, however, the case for
Hawaiian statehood has been made con-
vincingly in the past. In justice to the
islands, the question should be cleared
for consideration of the full Congress at
this session and the supporting pledges
of both major political parties should be
honored.
Evening star., 1958-07-09

Temp Jones was reading
about the man who was said
to be so afraid of germs that
he shook hands only with
his little finger. Jones
doesn't shake hands at all,
if he can possibly get out
of it,
The man never carried
anything except brand-new
bills. No change for him.
Jones carries any old kind
Of bills he can get. and
accepts change readily)
The man often lectured,
but insisted on the lectern
being covered with sterile
towels. Jones never makes
speeches.
Temp has always approved
the habit of American women
Of keeping their gloves on
when paying for lunch and
getting their change.
AS for the handshaking
business. he has always in
sisted that it, like kissing,
is very much overdone.
To hook little fingers,
Temp Jones says, would be
to give millions of germs a
bridge from one habitat to
another.
So one might as we'll be
bold about it, even if germ
fearing. and shake hands
like a man.
What irks Jones the most
is that he always has to shake
hands right after he has
washed them for lunch.
Then. of course. being
Jones. he has to go back and
wash them all over again.
People who laugh at those
who fear germs commonly
overlook the way the latter
feel about the matter.
The mockers believe that
the others think they can
escape germs.
Nothing of the sortl
All the careful people be-
lieve is that they can escape
some Of the germs.
There is a big difference.
+
Germs seem so omnipres-
ent, in such astronomical
numbers, that nobody but
nobody. as some insist on say
ing, can outwit them.
One might as well try to
get away from atoms.
Germs we're here before
man was, and they very much
mean to stay.
Germs probably were the
original Communists.
Bees and wasps merely
tagged along a few million
years late.
The germs practically had
Evening star., 1958-07-09
Latin Students

Miss Betty Beale. in her
column, Exclusively Yours.
which appeared in The Sun
day Star, referring to the
forthcoming visit of DR.. Mil
ton Eisenhower to Central
America, says this:
The Presidents brother
and niece will return to Johns
Hopkins campus on the 10th,
five days before setting out
on the Latin American trip
that was postponed a month
to give anti-American college
students the time to disperse
homeward for vacation.
1t was the students who gave
the most trouble to the Nix
ons. j.. Despite possibility of
trouble. Ruth Eisenhower is
scheduled to accompany her
dad"
Many Americans do not
understand why the students
of the Latin American uni
versities are so bitter against
the United States, because
nobody has attempted to ex-
plain to them the origin of
their exceptionally strong
anti-American sentiment.
In 1941, the United States
blackliSted more than TO-
900 firms and individ-
ualS Of every nation of
Latin America, alleging that
they were doing business with
the enemy" Germany, Italy
and Japan. This was done
before the United States was
at war and while the United
States was doing business
with those nations. They be-
came the targets of the eco
nomic war. This arbitrary ac-
ton brought ruin and tragedy
to the business and the homes
Of all those who were black
listed. Most of the actual
students of the Latin Ameri-
can universities are the sons
or grandSons of those who
were blacklisted in I941.
They do not forget nor for
give the sufferings that they
had to experience due to this
arbitrary action of the United
States. This is the origin of
the exceptionally strong anti
American sentiment now ex-
iSting in all the universities
Of Latin America. And when
Mr.. Nixon went to Latin
America the students found
an opportunity to express
publicly their feelings.
No visit of an American
official to Latin America is
going to change the anti
American sentiment of the
students. They look to the
United States as the nation
which brought ruin and trag-
edy to their homes.
ReynaldO Gubhins.
Evening star., 1958-07-09

that the Lebanon affair will
make or break" the U. N.
I am sure that the u. N.
team sent to Lebanon and
Secretary-G eneral Ham
marSkjold, who has Just re-
turned from observations in
the troubled nation, will make
adequate reports to the or
ganization and suggest a
course of action. / am con-
vinced that the U. N. will
take action, too.
I have had faith in the
United Nations since its crea-
ton and ] see no reason to
doubt its ability now. / am
convinced that just as the
U. N. acted in Egypt that it
win act elsewhere. I am
hoping, like Mr.. Brown, how
ever, that the U. N. win mani
fest some direct action to
aid Lebanon very soon.
Leonard s. Brown
Evening star., 1958-07-09
.Fodinq Summit

Your editorial, Fading
Summit" states, "There is
reason to doubt that our own
Government really wants to
discontinue nuclear testing
at this time or in the near
future" Substantial agree
ment was reached with the
Soviet Union in July, 1857,
to stop atomic and hydrogen
bomb testing forthwith, and
with inspection adequate to
detect any possible viola
tions of the agreement.
This has been repeatedly
asserted by the Soviet gov
ernment. Mr.. Khrushchev
personally informed this
writer of the Soviet Unions
willingness to sign such an
agreement last July and the
American Government has
never denied it. The reason,
I am informed, for Mr.. Dulles
unwillingneSS to sign any
agreement for the cessation
of bomb testing, with or with
out inspection, or for the
placement of any reStric-
tionS whatever on the use of
nuclear weapons is his fear
that our "allies" might con-
clude that the United States
Government has grown soft
on their use in massive" re-
taliation and Limited" war
fare.
The correctness of this
view is further buttressed by
Mr.. Dulles recent testimony
before Congress (NeW York
Times. June 81, 1859 when
he repeatedly stated. II think
we would win a hot war, and
I do not know if we will win
this cold war or not" He
continued, But as far as the
defense Of the principles and
ideals for which this country
has stood from the begin
ming -. (they) are, I think,
in greater jeopardy from a
cold war than from a hot
one" This makes it rather
easy to understand why he
should oppose the cessation
of bomb testing. the reduc-
ton in arms or the establish
ment of normal relations
with the Soviet Union.
Hugh b. Hester,
Brig. Gen. USA (Ret.)
Evening star., 1958-07-09
VISTAS IN SCIENCE
Robots Are Great but Lack Heart
By THOMAS R. HENRY

lish faster than he can say
1t in Japanese. and could
operate q thousand times
faster If he could talk q
thousand times faster.
1t could describe, either in
spoken words or writing, any
landscape which it scanned
say the landscape Of Mars.
1t could distinguish without
prompting minutely different
species Of animals.
II can see where there is no
light and hear where there
is no sound.
Some Of these things. the
psychologist said, might be
done even with one of the
now hopelessly old-fashioned
electronic brains. But it
would have to be twice as big.
perhaps, as the Empire State
Building. The PERCEPTION. as
projected, will be no bigger
than a piano.
All this, Of course, doesn't
make common sense. But, it
has been said, the only con-
sistent thing about common
sense is that it is always
wrong.
DR.. Rosenblatt doesn't
claim that his machine dupli-
Gates precisely either the
structure or mechanisns Of
the human brain which con-
sistS of approximately 10 bill
lion tiny units, the brain cells.
These receive electrical i'm
pulses from the environment.
external and internal. They
in some way coordinate these
impulses, and send out other
impulses which result in
things seen. things heard,
things felt, etc.
The PERCEPTION doesn't
precisely duplicate brain
mechanisms, DR.. Rosenblatt
said, but it certainly doesn't
violate any known principle
of brain action-as all the
other electronic brains do.
The road ahead is to dupli-
cate more and more precisely
the purely, coldly intellectual.
Blow to Human COnceit
1t constitutes. assuming all
claims are valid, the biggest
blow to human conceit and
pride in race ever dreamed of.
One hardly can deny that,
having started on this road,
eventually in the field of the
purely and coldly intellectual
the machine certainly may,
say in ten years or a thousand
years, far surpass man.
But-to return to Brown
ing-"One word more" And
Where the heart lies there
the brain lies also" Through
out history there probably has
been no purely and coldly
intellectual human accom-
plishment. This has been
only the tool for anything
any man ever has. done.
Can DR.. Rosenblatt build
into his piano-sized rnacI1fi1e
despair and suffering, loan
and despair and ambition ana
wildly illogical exhilaratIon
over the tumbling red towers
OF sunset or the bird chorus
OF a spring morning? Can
the perceptron weep? Can
the PERCEPTION pray?
Man may have lost his ex-
elusive proprietorship of in
telligence. He retainS per-
haps for only a little wlH6lel
yet. exclusive proprietorship
of heart.
Evening star., 1958-07-09
zone word more

One WofQ more
This quotation Of the title
Of perhaps the most beauti-
full and profound Of Robert
Browning's poems. a dedica-
tion to his wife. is more than
a chance selection to head q
column about a scientific
demonstration I witnessed the
day before yesterday,
Where the heart lies there
the brain lies also"
This further quotation from
the same poem has a perth
nent application to the theme,
as may appear later.
The demonstration by DR.,
Frank Rosenblatt of the Cor
nell Aeronautical Laboratory
was quite preliminary and in
complete. Even so. it may
have marked one Of the great
turning points Of the history
Of man on earth. 1t was the
demonstration Of an "elec-
tronic intelligence"-of a ma
chine which can evolve origi-
nal ideas, Of an intelligence
which can function outside
the prison walls of inherent
preconceptions and narrowly
limited vision and hearing
within which the ''intelli-
gence" of any human being
whatsoever Is hopelessly and
helplessly inclosed.
The machine as projected
it hasn't done them yet and
some at the demonstration
expressed doubts that it ever
will-presumably will do a lot
of marvellous things a year
from now. 1t will do things a
man couldn't do or probably
think of doing. The ines
capable limitation of all the
electronic brains of the past
has been that none of them
could do anything a man
couldn't do, given time
enough.
Its Real Significance
But this, of course, isn't
its real significance. Anything
it can do may be only an
insignificant detail. Its real
significance is that it seems
to shatter forever anthropo-
centric reality from which
the mere human mind never
can entirely escape and
which probably is only a
vague shadow of any actual
reality.
In this respect it seems as
important-perhaps far more
So-as the Shattering of
the common-sense, earth
centered universe by the OBJ
Servation of Calico.
In the demonstration here,
at which DIR. Rosenblatt used
only a very incomplete i'm
proviSation Of the actual ap-
paratus as it will be, the ma
chine only did something
very simple and, per Sc, of no
consequence. 1t struck some
as a kindergarten child
stumbling over the alphabet.
One was unavoidably i'm
pressed, however, by what the
enthusiastic young pSychol-
ogist said were certainties
within year, and even more
so by the potentialitieS he
said were inherent in the
mechanism.
A Japanese scientist, let us
say, lectures in japanese be-
fore an English-speaking au-
dience on the laws of rel
ativity. The machine is
turned on. 1t translates what
the Japanese says into Eng
Evening star., 1958-07-09
Faith in u. N.

I seldom find myself in dis
agreement with the astute
viewpoints of Constantine
Brown.
However, I do not agree
with Mr.. Browns extreme
pessimism with regard to the
United Nations and the Le-
banon crisis.
Mr.. Brown says "If it
tU. Nd cannot answer the call
of Lebanon to help
maintain its freedom
there is no doubt that it will
have outlived its usefulness
and viii 60 the way of its
predecessor. the League Of
Nations"
/ am not ready to agree