davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16
"A Man, Not a God

In becoming Premier, Fidel Castro,
Cuba's 32-year-old revolutionary leader,
now has formally and directly taken
into his hands far-reaching political
powers and responsibilities Moreover,
although suggesting that he has no
interest in seeking higher office, he has
arranged to bring about a constitutional
change lowering the minimum age for
presidential candidates from 35 to 30
an amendment that will enable him, If
he so wishes, to run as such candidate
In the free elections he has promised to
stage some time next year.
Meanwhile-together with President
Manuel Urrutia-Premier Castro and his
provisional regime will continue to rule
by dictatorial decree Meanwhile, too,
control of his country'S armed forces will
remain quite tightly in the family, so
to speak. For he has named his young
brother Raul, o. to succeed him as
Cubas top military commander. This
Is an arrangement that seems obviously
designed to help insure against the pos
sibility-in a still volatile revolutionary
situatlon-that certain elements in the
army might be tempted in the coming
months to stage coup Of sorts against
the present rather murRy political Setup.
Premier Castro, who has described
himself as "a man, not a god," is faced
with a number Of extremely difficult
problems. The chief of these is the fact
that about 100000 Cubans-almoSt
fourth Of the country's entire labor force
ARE unemployed. And another serious
issue before him, wholly apart from
growing American doubts about the ma
ture of his economic and political out
look, is the diplomatic trouble he has
created for himself This he has done by
challenging the clear right of several
Latin American countries, including
Mexico, Argentina and Chile, to grant
asylum, in their embassies in Havana, to
followers of the ouSted Batista regime.
In situation of this sort, it can only
be hoped that Fidel Castro, now that he
has taken off his soldiers uniform and
donned the political toga of the premier
ship, will follow a course Of moderation
and common sense. AS to that, however,
judgment must be prayerfully reserved
at the moment. After all, he appears to
lean heavily on the advice of brother
Raul, mere youngster who has at
tended Communist schools in Romania
and Hungary. And he leans, also, on a
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16
Lovely to Look At

I watched with interest and
anticipation through the past
year while workmen made
the improvements at Chevy
Chase circle. Now we have a
lovely pond, complete with
paintings, benches and grass,
in this delightful spot. One
could look forward to spend
ing pleasant spring and sum-
mer nights around this beau
tiful circle but, alas, how is
one to safely cross through
the steady lines of cars which
must detour around this
pleasant obstruction?
The roadway around the
circle is wide, as it should be
to handle the ever-increasing
traffic, but it is this width
which makes even brave
adults thoughtfully weigh the
need for a look at the new
park. 1 have, with appre-
hension, also noted that the
small children from nearby
schools are in need of assist
ance when they wish to cross
the circle going to and from
school or when they are at
tracted to the pond.
l strongly urge that a we'll
designed system of traffic
lights be placed at this circle
to protect the adults and
children of our area.
Thomas l.. Auth. M. n.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16
Family Fight
Widow.

Fred Theroux, in The Star
of February 8, says that no
name for the war of 1861-65
is official. It is more i'm
portant that none should be
offensive,
1.-The War of the Rebellion"
proclaims one side of a polit-
ical theory and is a gratitui-
tous indignity to the men in
gray. My father and uncles
fought in that war, but I am
not fighting it still. Right or
wrong, men like Lee were
loyal to what they believed
to be their duty. I dare not
call them rebels.
1.-THE War Between the
States" is a face-saving ex-
preston. 1t belittleS men
whose faces did not need to
be saved. If the Confederacy
was a sovereign state, as this
term is intended to imply, it
was conquered by superior
force and was annexed to the
Union by the victor. Who
could expect IL foreign"
provinces to become States
Of the Union so quickly on
such generous terms?
THE Civil War" should
not offend delicate sensibili-
ties, whether blue or gray.
1t certainly was civil to
those States which had reg
iments on each side. Com
pare Missouri and Kentucky
with Tennessee and Arkan-
sas. No one sees any SIMS
ter implication in this name
until it is attacked by some
person who is concerned for
the reputation Of a departed
grandfather. 1t is under
stood. 1t avoids the ar
rogance of one Of the alter
natives and the turbulence of
the other.
The firing ceased long ago.
Let the gasconading do the
same.
Roy ]. Honeywell,
le Colonel, USAR, Ret.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16
VISTAS IN SCIENCE
Army Works on Fire-Retording Paint
BY THOMAS r. HENRY

the wood reaches the thermal
decomposition point-that is.
about 800 C. Something can
be accomplished by reflection.
using white or light tints
with pigments having high
reflective properties. In this
way. very little heat is alb
sorbed by the wood. A gray
paint has been developed
which is especially effective
in rejecting the invisible in
frared light, which carries
most Of the heat.
Dissipation of heat energy
can be accomplished by in
cooperating into the paint
film certain heat-conducting
metal pigments. Absorbed
heat energy is spread over a
wider area of the film. An
other type Of paint when ex-
posed to heat energy will
absorb much of this heat,
foam and form an insulating
barrier between the fire and
the underlying wood.
How Paint Can Help
Fire-retardant paints also
can assist in the control of
fires by reducing the proba-
bility Of the flammable vapors
catching on fire. This is &C
complished by heat decompo-
sition of certain pigments
and resins and liberation Of
inert gases such as carbon
dioxide or ammonia. These
cause the paint to form an
insulating layer that excludes
the air necessary for combus-
ton. BY addition Of certain
chemicals, such as salts Of
phoSphoric and sulfuric acids
the wood can be made to char
directly without the forma-
ton Of intermediate COM
bustible gases.
More than so paints, some
commercial types and some
especially devised at the
laboratory, have been tested
at Fort Belvoir. 1t was found
that the heat necessary for
charring Of wood coated with
certain of the flre-retardant
paints was nine times that
of implanted wood and more
than twice that Of wood COW
cred with ordinary paint.
The military significance Of
an effective flre-retardant
paint, the Belvoir Engineers
point out, is shown by the
fact 80 per cent Of the dam
age to cities subjected to air
attack in the last war was
due to fire and that incendi-
airy bombs were almost five
times as effective as high ex-
plosives. In Japan civilian
casualties in six months Of
f1re-bomb attacks were near
ly twice those suffered by
Army and Navy in As months
of war.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16
No One-Sided Issues

The Star is to be COM
mended rather than har-
assed for your continuing
policy of presenting both sides
of any public issue. Unfortu-
nately there is a decreasing
number of newspapers today
willing and unafraid to do
this.
On the integration issue.
you have been most fair in
presenting both sides. 1t is
only natural that the ex-
tremists on either side are
resentful Of the other. Some
of my moderate friends and
I have, however, become dis
turbed by apparent tenden-
cies of minority groups to
not allow discussion by any
one other than themselves.
With due regard to justice,
we feel that our present Gov
eminent is still representa-
tive Of majority rule.
E. II. Woodward.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16
Welcomes Probe

Doris Fleeson's column,
"Kefauver Bothers Drug
gists," gives the impression
that druggists oppose the
pending investigation OF high
prices in drugs and that the
druggists consider this an at
tack on the fair trade law.
She is doing a great in
justice to thousands of drug
gists. The truth is that the
investigation which Senator
Kefauver proposes is highly
desirable and is directed
against the industry, not
against druggists. AS most of
us are aligned with the con-
sumner. we favor the investi-
cation.
The retail price of any drug
or cosmetic product is based
upon the cost from the manu-
facturer or wholesaler. The
gross profit to the druggist,
percentagewise, is exactly the
same per unit, regardless of
the price of the product
charged him by the manu-
facturer or wholesaler. The
druggist never establishes his
own price for a product at
any time.
The fair trade law, if and
when enacted nationally, will
benefit all people. Any and
all merchants, including some
druggists who oppose this law,
are thriving on the gullibility
OF the. consumer, since it
would rem owe the loss
leader" the tool of misrepre-
sentation to the public and
used so often by tn S e
merchants. These merchants
usually pick nationally known
brands as ''loSS leaders. "
These items are offered for
sale below cost to lure Gus
toners with the belief that
every item is cheaper than
elsewhere. Actually other I'M
known products may carry a
MAKEUP as high as 200 per
cent. This is the crux of
the so-called "cut rate store. 4"
The legitimate druggist
abhors and condemns such
practice. He renders service
and sells the right item at the
right price with no hidden
Interior motives.
Herman Morton,
Pharmacist.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16
Speaker Celebrates

The Star Of February 10
: reported that I suggested to
the Mount Pleasant Citizens
Association that some of the
money spent on District and
Federal highway projects
should be redirected to re-
place the decreasing number
of trees before the spring
planting season."
I am not so unaware of the
political and financial prob
lens involved in such a real
location of funds as to sup
pose that anything of the
sort could be effected in so
short a time, if at all. The
suggestions that I actually
made fell under two heads:
First, that an effort be made
on the neighborhood level to
have missing trees replaced
durin 6 the coming spring
planting season; second, that
steps be taken at longer
range. perhaps through the
District Federation of Citi-
zens Associations. to call to
the attention of the respon-
sible authorities the urgent
need to do more than is being
done to save the street trees
that certainly constitute
Washington's chief claim to
being called a beautiful city.
1t was in this latter con-
nection that I hazarded the
estimate that some small pro-
portion of the funds now
being used to tear superhigh-
ways through the city for the
convenience of motorists from
the suburbs (Which it is gen.
orally agreed in informed
quarters will only further
congest an already congested
downtown section, where ade-
quate parking facilities can
not in any case be provided
without still further deface-
ment) m g hit be used to
maintain the amenity of the
city's streets and avenues for
the sake Of those Of us who
still must, or perhaps even
want to, live here-not to
mention the numerous visi-
tors for whom the beauty of
this city is one of its chief
attractions.
In this. connection I would
like to say that in the deal
ings that I have had over
many years with officials oil
the tree division of the Dis
trict government regarding
the care and replacement OF
trees along the block in which
I live. I have found them in
variably courteous and CO.
perative; I have always come
away with the impression
that they are doing all that
they can do with the means
at hand. What I have pro-
posed is simply that they be
given the support, financial
and otherwise, to help them
accomplish what must be
task of herculean proportions
George ]. Siefert,
Assistant Professor. Greek
and Latin Department,
Catholic University of
America.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16
Parkway View

George Washington had
some good advice on what to
do in a situation where people
seek to change a public plan
for private purposes as on the
Prince Georges section Of the
George Washington Memorial
Parkway.
When it was proposed to
change the L'Enfant plan on
which purchasers had relied,
he said: after the original
plan with some alterations)
had been adopted, ordered
to be engraved and publish
ed for the purpose Of
inviting purchasers, it would
be deceptiouS to lay of lots
for private purposes. where
none had appeared in a plan
which was intended to in
form, advise and direct the
Judgment of foreigners, and
others ="
Undoubtedly, many have
bought land near the pro-
posed parkway on the
strength of the published
plan. 1t would be most unfair
to them to give up the whole
project because others have
wilfully built on the site of
the parkway and who had
notice Of it, with the excep-
ton of the two houses on
Broad Greek Bay which
would be taken since it has
been found impracticable to
make a land Ill across the
bay as first planned because
Of poor bottom condition.
The interlopers on I
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16

long established parkway
plan should not be allowed
to profit from their own dis
regard of the plan, selfishly
exclude the general public
from a scenic parkway it has
a right to enjoy. and entirely
defeat the purpose of the
Capper-Cramton Act in this
area. Alfred S. Trask.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16
Kind Words for Dulles

1t is heartwarming to
read columnists' articles and
editorials in local and inter-
national newspapers in ref
erence to the wonderful
work that Secretary Dulles
is doing. The praise seems
to be coming all of a sudden
in recognition of many
months Of diligent and I'M
selfish contribution on his
part.
I believe that the present
recognition of his efforts
will do more to contribute to
his recovery from his pres
ent illness than any other
one thing.
Nick COkinos
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16
THIS AND THAT
By CHARLES E. TRACEWELL

nice coconut cake, a slice Of
this will be welcomed.
The raisins are the best bet,
all around, but Should be re-
served until one has had a
sight Of a robin.
Half a cut apple may be
tried, but this speedily grows
ugly in the cold. And mock
ingbirdS and starlings like
this, too.
One can only do the best
one can, Of course. To put
out food is one thing, to have
it taken by the right" birds
is another.
There are so many things
to worry about nowadays, let
no one worry about such a
minor problem as this. The
thing to do is to put out the
food, and hope for the best.
and expect the worst, as the
old gambler said.
x 4
Drinking and bathing water
for the songbirds in winter
is a special delight.
Most of our feathered
friends love to battle, and
they must drink, now and
then. Often they take small
bits of snow and swallow
them. The cold and winter
winds dry up the small pud-
dies birds love.
The best thing the house,
holder can do is to put out
a shallow pan of water every
afternoon. The water may be
slightly warmed but not hot.
Bird baths are best filled
at this time, too, even If the
warmed water has to be
poured on ice. It helps to
melt it, and the claws Of the
bathing birds further help
the disintegration.
Starlings do seem to have
the most fun in winter bath
ing. They are big and hearty
birds, and will flop a bird
bath dry in no time.
So, the watcher at the
window must stop watching
for a time, and go out and
I'LL 1t up again. This is q
small joyful duty in a world
Of large ugly duties.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16

@. How many Americans
visit their dentist every year?
It. I.
A. According to the Rub
lie Health Services national
health survey, only SO per
cent of the United States
population visited a dentist
in 1857. Furthermore, AZ
per cent had not been to a
dentist for three years or
more prior to the time of
the survey. The PHS says
perhaps these findings are
related to the fact that more
than Il million Americans,
or Is per cent Of the popu-
lation, have lost all their
teeth.
@. What percentage Of the
alcoholics in this country are
women?-R. G.
A. About Is per cent. Ac-
cording to the Yale Center
Of Alcohol Studies, there are
approximately 5.015,000 alco-
holics in the United States.
and about 10000 Of these
are women.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16

shadowy Argentine adventurer named
Ernesto Guevara, an "anti-Yanqui"
whose theology seems to be much more
Red than anything else. In such circum-
stances, our inter-American community
has reason to keep its fingers crossed.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16

FORT BELVOIR. Va
Wood, per Sc. doesn't actu-
ally burn" in a strictly
technical sense.
Exposed to intense heat 1t
undergoes thermal decom-
position" chemically a quite
different phenomenon. In
the course Of this decomposi-
ton various gases and tars
are released.
These are what burn, often
with extreme intensity. En-
gineers at the Army Engineer
Research and Development
Center here now are working
on fire retardant paints which
will not burn themselves and
whose major function is to
keep these exudants from
contact with flame. Up to
now they have had consider
able success although there
are many problems ahead. If
successful, in the light Of last
war history. they may provide
the country with one Of its
best passive defense weapons.
Roughly the chemistry Of
wood fire. as outlined by an
engineer symposium. is as
follows:
Wood and other cellulosic
construction materials are
solid materials with no ap-
preciable vapor pressure. AS
such they will not burn. When
the surface Of this material
is raised above 300 c. by ex-
posture to an open flame or
other source of thermal en-
ergy, thermal decomposition
takes place.
Evolution Of Wood Fire
At low energy levels low
molecular weight volatile
compounds are formed. At
higher levels, that is greater
heat, various tars are formed.
Largely water vapors are given
of below 200 c. From 200 to
$50 c. carbon dioxide, water
and acetic acid are exuded.
From $50 to 500 C. wood
will begin to char and will
give of hydrogen, carbon
monoxide and dioxide, me-
thane and tars. Above 500 C.
the char will gassify and
liberate hydrogen and car
bon monoxide. Vapors are
largely nonflammable until
the temperature reaches 800
c. Once the burning starts,
however, the process becomes
sustaining because the fam
ing gases give out heat which
in turn causes further ther-
NAL decomposition of the
wood surface, with the forma-
ton Of more combustible
gases.
The purpose Of the fire re-
sistant paints being developed
here is to slow down as much
as possible the rate at which
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16
LETTERS TO THE STAR

Pen names may be used n
letteAS carry ioriters' correct
names and addresses. All
letters are subject to conden-
Sdtion.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16

Winter robin or maybe
first robin?
v. r. A. Of Colesville road
writes: ass
IT have been an interested
reader of This and That
for many years and I thought
you would be interested to
know that I had a robin at
my bird bath recently.
II hurried out to put some
water in the bath before I
left for work because I
thought it would be warm
enough so it would not
freeze.
when I had returned to
the back steps I noticed this
bird drinking as If he had
not had any water since last
fall.
"A closer look showed me
it was not a startling (Which,
unlike so many people, I
like but I would not believe
my eyes that 1t had a red
breast.
Just then 1t few away
and passed directly over me,
and, sure enough, 1t was q
robin.
Gould you please tell us
in your column what can
be put out for them?
I'VE will surely have more
snow and bad weather and
I do want to put out some
kind of food that will help
them.
II have found that water
seems to be a greater attrac-
ton for birds in winter than
food. The starlings will all
but drown themselves on the
coolest day.
About a month ago I had
the joy Of seeing a pair OF
cardinals battle. The male
tried it first; he sat on the
rim and then hoped into the
water and f1uttered his wings
just once before he hoped
out on the opposite side.
Then he turned around
and reversed the procedure
He did this 4 or 5 times
fluttering the water over him.
self Just once each time.
when he few away, the
female went in the same way
but she only hoped in the
water once"
~ \ 4
Raisins are the best fooc
for wintering robins.
There are probably NJ
more than 10 real robins ir
the Metropolitan Area dur
ing the winter months. We
have never seen a winter
robin in Chevy Chase in 81
years.
So any one who sees ont
can count himself fortunate
The seedless raisins are thu
best sort for bird feeding
This seasons crop seems hare
and dry, but the birds ca
them just. the same.
Mockingbirds love them, o
course, and so do starlings.
So the trouble in usin
them as robin lures is tina
there is every chance tina
winter resident Knockers wi
find them first.
The starlings, Of course
come in numbers, and wi
devour a whole red box o
raisins in two seconds fiat.
Slices of moistened bread
another starting favorite-
will be eaten by robins, too
and II the householder has
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16
Questions and Answers
BY THE HASKIN SERVICE

A reader can get an answer. by
mail, to any question Of fact by
writing The Star Information Bu-
reau 635 = street NV, Washington
4, D. c. Please inclose return post
age or self-addressed. stamped
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-16

Slices of moistened bread
another starting favorite-
will be eaten by robins, too;
and II the householder has 9
Evening star., 1959-12-22
Stocks Mixed,
Stee|s, Autos.
Post Gains
NEW YORK. Dec. % (AP)

NEW YORK, Dec. % (AP)
-Steels, motors and electronics
made gains in a mixed stock
market early this afternoon.
Trading was moderate.
Key stocks showed changes
of fractions to about a point.
A scattering of selected
stocks, particularly among the
electronics, did better, scoring
gains of 2 or 3 points.
The business background was
good and 1860 forecasts by in
dustrial leaders were optimistic.
Most of the coppers moved a
bit higher on news of a price
increase for the red metal by a
big Belgian producer. Oils, rails,
electrical equipments and most
chemicals drifted off.
Hope of a steel strike settle
ment perked up again with the
agreement by steel management
to company-by-company nego-
tiations.
Corporate bonds declined.
Government bonds declined to
new lows.
Evening star., 1959-12-22
CHICAGO GRAIN

CHICAGO, Dec. % CAP) Trading
in grain futures opened slowly today
at mostly steady prices. Wheat was
slightly lower and Soybeans firm.
The market lacked any new sig
nificant influences and dealers said
the meager transactions appeared to
be toward consolidating new positions
since expiration of trading in the De-
cember contract yesterday.
Commercial business was virtually
absent and expected to continue so
throughout the holiday weeks.
After about an hour wheat was a
to - cent a buShel lower, March
S2.OO7s; corn Ia to 9s lower March
Sl.12ls; oats unchanged to ss lower,
March 14Ss; rye "a higher to "a lower.
March 81 2612 soybeans unchanged to
"a higher, January S2.O9.
The market showed little or nc
reaction to the Government report on
winter wheat paintings and outlook
nor is it likely to show much effect
of the still later report on the volume
of grains placed in Government loans
A number of dealers said the amount
of all grains committed to the loan
during November were surprisingly
small, particularly corn and wheat.
The - million bushels of Soybeans
which went into the price support pro-
gram through last month compared
with 81 million at the same time a
year ago. However, 1t was noted that
the yield this year was down about 35
million bushes and that during a good
part of November the price Of the
commodity was strong.