davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1959-12-14

block the sidewalk while try
ing to get into a crowded
parking garage or lot. Don't
barge out of an alley or
driveway without stopping at
the sidewalk line. Don't ever
blow your horn at a pedestri-
an unless he is violating the
law and endangering himself
or others. Some Of these Of
fenses do not endanger pc
deStrians, but all of them
are belittling, and as the pc
destrian encounters them
day after day, with seeming
ly little restraint by the po-
lice, he may well wonder
whether the rules he is called
upon to obey are intended as
much for his protection as to
keep him out Of the way of
vehicular traffic.
A frequent answer to COM
plants Of pedestrians against
these things is that this is
the motor age and pedestri-
ans must adapt themselves
to them. Actually they are no
essential part Of the motor
age. Chiseling on a yellow
light may save an individual
driver the time of one signal
cycle, but this is of no i'm
portance in the general
scheme of moving traffic.
Blocking a croSS-walk does
nothing for anybody or any
thing except to boost the ego
Of the driver who can thus
lord it over defenseleSs hu-
man beings on foot. The des-
perate efforts of the author
tiles to keep the traffic mov-
ing have helped exalt many
drivers to the point where
they think they own the
streets instead of merely hav-
ing a part interest with
others.
Let this pedestrian safety
campaign cover the entire
subject. Let it convince Pc
destrians that they should
obey the regulations not only
because jay-walking is un-
lawful. but because 1t will
protect their lives and their
dignity. To accomplish this
will require spelling out all
Of the duties Of drivers to-
wards pedestrians, and Wig
orous enforcement. If such
a campaign succeeds it will
not retard traffic; more likely
it will benefit traffic.
Charles w. Stark,
Secretary, 193O-55 Ma
tional Committee on
Uniform Traffic Laws
and Ordinances.
y y
In reply to Howard D.
Bergen's letter ranting about
murder-bent motorists, may
I remind him that a great
many of us motorists are also
pedestrians when we are not
behind the wheel? He as
sumes two mutually exclusive
groups. naturally at war,
which is as backward a view
as his reversed name. Let
all Of US observe the rules
more closely and pay a great
deal more attention to cour-
tesy. 1t is my observation that
motorists are more courteous
to people afoot than to each
other.
Bonnie c. Henderson.
Evening star., 1959-12-14
THIS AND THAT
By CHARLES E. TRACEWELL

They know all the tricks,
and especially the dangers.
Even then, there will al
ways be a chance of a mishap,
sometimes to those around,
sometimes to people at a dis
tance.
The lethal quality of a gun
ought to be talked about. the
distance of its carry, and the
chances Of mishaps.
This is being cautious for
good reason.
A boy or girl brought up
this way in relation to fire
arms will not be a danger to
himself or others.
He will. above all, build up
a lifetime habit of always
being careful, of always real
izing the potential killing
power of his rife, shotgun
or pistol.
- =
Temp Jones remembers,
when he was about IL years
old, he had a friend with an
old Flobert % caliber rifle.
This was a little gun that
cost about $5.
He and his buddy used it
for target practice in the back
yard of house not far from
18th and T streets.
They shot at tin cans, and
now and then sparrows.
AS he looks back on that
unSupervised shooting he
shudders at the memory, be-
cause neither boy had any
training. Certainly there
must be a good angel watch
ing out for some boys.
Four years later, at the age
of Is, Jones went target
shooting with a AS caliber
revolver behind some sand
dunes at Ocean City, Md. The
place was popular but small,
then, and there was not much
danger, perhaps.
Complete knowledge of a
gun, and how many cartridges
one has, and where they are
at any given moment.
These are a few Of the
things every person with a
gun ought to be taught, and
ought to know at all times.
Then, with ordinary eau
ton, and that good angel of
which we have spoken, there
should not be any accidental
killings.
Evening star., 1959-12-14
LETTERS TO THE STAR
It's Common Sense to Share the Street

I read with sympathetic
interest the letter entitled
Motorists Given Green Light
in Safety Driver" signed by
Negreb D. Drawoh CHoward
D. Bergen9 which appeared
in the December 8 Star. He
clearly states the plight of
the pedestrian in today's
traffic. of which we are
keenly aware.
The safety Of pedestrians
is the most important objec-
tive of the Districts traffic
safety program. For the past
25 years about three out Of
every four persons killed on
the Districts streets have
been pedestrians.
The Districts current pedes-
trian-protection campaign is
directed at those responsible.
And who are they? They are
both the motorists who fail
to yield the right-of-way to
pedestrians and the pedes-
trianS who walk themselves
to death in violation of pedes-
trian regulations.
Unfortunately. Mr.. Bergen
permitted his righteous in
dignation to sweep him to
several miSstatements: (a)
that the Districts safety pro-
gram is directed against
pedestrians, (b) that there is
no way for pedestrians to
cross intersections except at
the risk of their life" and
Co that "the safest and
best way for a pedestrian to
cross a District street is to
avoid the intersection cross
ing and cross in the middle
Of the block"
The fact is that pedestrians
crossing legally at the inter-
sections are protected d by
croSSwalks and traffic lights.
Pedestrians crossing between
intersections have no protec-
tion and are generally in vio-
lation of the law when struck
by automobiles. Most care
full drivers are on the look
out for pedestrians crossing
at intersections but there is
not much a motoriSt can do
when a pedestrian runs out
in mid-block from between
parked cars right in front Of
his car.
AS I have said, the pedes-
trian protection program is
aimed at those motorists who
still fail to understand that
a pedestrian crossing on a
green light in a crosswalk
has the legal right Of way
over the motorists. The cam
paign appeals to motorists
to be tolerant Of pedestrian
mistakes. The pedestrian has
his faults but they are not
crimes punishable by death.
We ask motorists to re-
member at all times the un-
equal odds in the encounter
between $50 pounds of flesh
and blood and two tons of
steel. Even when the pedes-
trian is flagrantly breaking
safety rules, the motorist has
no right to make him pay for
his carelessness with his life.
On the other hand, too
many walkers this year have
taken their responsibilities
lightly. as indicated in The
Star editors note that, in the
80 pedestrian deaths thus far
this year, 81 Of the drivers
Evening star., 1959-12-14

type handbag $50 popular a
few years ago. under the
coat, between the dress Cor
suit and the coat, carrying
in coat pocket small-change
purse containing transporta-
ton change and/or other
small money.
Leave important papers,
passports, cards, etc., at
home.
The use of charge plates
expedites shopping procedure
and eliminates the necessity
Of carrying large bills.
If a would-be robber has to
wait until his victim unbut-
tons her coat and removes it,
it is possible that by this time
people in the vicinity would
be alerted to what is going
on.
This precautionary measure
might indeed be worth a try!
Lee NJ. Hanneav.
Evening star., 1959-12-14
To DismontIe Terror

Thomas E. Murray, the distinguished
and knowledgeable former member of
the Atomic Energy Commission, has put
forward a rather spectacular proposal
for "dismantling the Era of Terror"
The proposal calls for nothing less than
the systematic destruction, under inter-
national supervision, of all Soviet and
American megaton bombs.
These are the hydrogen or thermo-
nuclear fusion weapons. In their mild
est" form, they each have a destructive
force equivalent to at least / million
tons of INT $50 times the power of the
A-bomb that wiped out HiroShima), and
other types of them have a deadliness
far greater than that. In Mr.. Murray's
opinion, as expressed in his recent ad-
dress to the Institute of World Affairs
at Pasadena, they are immoral and IRA
tional instruments of unlimited, indis-
eliminating violence, and they cannot
serve the purposes of sane national pol
icy either in the United States or the
USSR.
In any case, according to Mr.. MUIR
ray, 1t is primarily because of the exist
ence of American and Soviet stockpiles
OF these weapons that the past decade
has been an Era Of Terror" For the
stockpileS have created their own STRAIT
egy, which is that of war of annihila-
tion"-war of kind that would amount
to mutual suicide and be so horrendous
and cataclysmic that it could conceiv-
ably convert our earth into a virtually
dead planet Hence, to diSmantle the
terror, Mr. Murray would do the follow
ing: Q) Establish an international
agency on neutral territory; (2) en-
power this agency to destroy the mega
ton bombs Of the United States and the
USSR; (3) carry out the destruction on
a matching basis, with the Russians
giving up bomb of equal power for
every one we give up, and az turn over
TO the atomS-for- r-peace program the
highly enriched fashionable materials
contained in these instruments of mass
obliteration.
In support Of this proposal, Mr..
Murray has set forth a nine-point argu-
ment, some OF 1t persuasive and some
not. He has made clear, for example.
that he still favors (quite rightly in our
view certain types Of nuclear tests.
and he has declared that our country
must remain armed with discriminating
atomic weapons. TheSe>weapons, how
ever, while below the range of l million
tons OF TINT, are tremendous enough
to be vastly destructive, and so a con-
siderable measure Of terror would still
exist even II his plan were adopted.
Similarly, he has acknowledged that 1t
might be possible for the Soviet Union
to cheat on" an agreement to destroy
all megaton bombs.
Certainly, assuming our own fidelity
to such an agreement, any cheating by
the Russians could give them a terrible
advantage over us. Nevertheless, al
though thus open to challenge in a
number of important particulars, Mr..
Murrays idea is sufficiently interesting
and provoking to merit serious
attention. Something like it probably
will have to be tried If there is ever to
be effective disarmament.
Evening star., 1959-12-14
Why Not Now?

The steadily increasing demands OF
VirginianS for more public services and
facilities can be met only If ways and
means are found to bolster the States
treasury. The demands will become
louder and more inSistent when the
General Assembly meets next month in
biennial session. And the cost Of gov
eminent at the present criticized levels
has risen substantially since the Legis-
lature last met It is inevitable that
the State must bring more tax revenues
into its Golfers. Governor Almond is
being realistic, therefore, when he pro-
poses adoption of politically touchy
sales tax. Touchy or not, a sales tax
eventually will have to be imposed if
the State Is to supply the needs Of
its citizens. Why not face the issue
boldly now-without regard to political
considerations?
The Governor has suggested 8 per
cent sales tax, one-third of which would
be returned directly to the counties for
their particular needs. The legislators,
In the past extremely reluctant to dis
cusS sales taxes, may be expected to balk
at the size of the tax, even If majority
of them can be won over to the necessity
for such levy. Certainly they will
agree with Governor Almond that some
reduction in the State income tax should
be made to compensate, in part at least,
for the new tax. And most taxpayers
would welcome aboliShment of the in
equitable and administratively imprac-
ticable personal property tax.
In any event, If sales tax is voted,
the Legislature should see to it that
the revenues are apportioned more equi-
tably than has been the case with other
revenues. Northern Virginia, for exam
pie, has been short-changed for years
because the allotments are based on
the 1850 population fgureS-long ago
outStripped by rapid growth of the
Washington Metropolitan Area. Cover
nor Almond has indicated that the 1860
census figures should govern the apP0r-
tionment. That would bring the alloca-
ton formula up to date, of course-but
within few years the 1860 totals also
would be outmoded by the continued
Evening star., 1959-12-14
Person to Person

Although Robert K. Hay
craft in his letter of Deem
Der 9 refers to me as one
of the angry men," I am
not so angry as to character
ize his remarks, his argument,
or the extent of his under
standing of the teachings of
those whom he cites.
Nor do I know or care
what Ralph McGill repre-
Evening star., 1959-12-14

were held blameless; four
were found guilty; three
cases are still pending, and
one inquest was dismissed
because Of diplomatic i'm
munity.
The record shows that
pedestrian traffic victims are
often persons who have never
driven a car. AS q result,
they have less understanding
Of distance. speed. lighting.
stopping ability-the limita-
tons of the man behind the
wheel. More than one-half Of
the pedestrians killed this
year were over SO years Of
age and half Of these were
over 65 years Of age. These
older pedestrians generally
are slower in their reaction
and often their traffic be-
havior patterns were estab-
lished in days when traffic
conditions permitted more
leisurely use of the street.
Another l8 per cent Of the
pedestrians killed this year
were children who were killed
running across District
streets. Here we sense an ap-
parent failure of parents to
impress safety habits on
children by setting good ex-
amples themselves, crossing
only at intersections, waiting
for the signal light, and look
ing both ways for turning
traffic.
In our current pedestrian
protection campaign. we are
attempting to teach both the
pedestrian and the motorist
the common sense Of sharing
the street. The horn-honking
and f1st-shaking conflict one
observes on every street cor
ner is SenSelesS.
G. A. England,
Director of Motor Vehicles.
"Negreb D. Drawoh" hit
the nail on the head when
he said the proposed pedes-
trian safety campaign should
be directed in large part to
drivers. Your brief editorial
note cites the oft-repeated
statistics that in a large per-
centage Of pedestrian fatal
tiles the drivers were fault
less. I question the reliabil-
ity of these statistics. A dead
person cannot testify in his
behalf. Even If they are ac-
curate, however, a far larger
number Of pedestrians save
their own lives by constant
vigilance and yielding Of
their lawful right-of-way.
Pedestrians need two rules
only. Don't jay walk. If there
are traffic lights, cross only
with green light or the walk
light" Drivers need to have
pointed out in plain Ian
guage, and pointed out re-
peatedly. a number Of rules
relative to pedestrian rights
mostly things that many
are violating h a abitually.
Don't cheat on the yellow
light and endanger the lives
Of pedestrians on the far
croSs-walk. Don't try to in
timidate pedestrians to hold
back while you are making
a turn. Show your turn sig
nails. Don't block the cross
walk, or any part Of it, at a
red light or stop sign. Don't
Evening star., 1959-12-14

Recent sad stories of hunt
ers shooting themselves and
others. instead of the game
they are after, point up the
necessity of knowing how to
handle firearms.
Evidently this is not just
for teen-agers, either, since
many of the persons involved
had handled guns for years.
The point is, one may feel,
they fired at the very moment
they shouldn't.
Here, as in so many other
departments, you can be
right SO per cent Of the time
and somehow fail at the fatal
moment.
1t is the fatal moment that
counts.
No doubt thousands of per-
sons pass through this crisis
without knowing it, especially
in the handling of guns.
1t is not only necessary to
know the theory. but the
very practical side of the
minute-by-minute operation.
The first big point, espe-
cially for young people to
learn, in the handling of guns
under proper supervision, is
that a gun, any gun, is a
lethal instrument.
A gun is not a plaything.
1t was invented, in the first
place, as a killer.
1t has no other use in the
world except to kill.
y 4
If this basic idea is really
taken into the mind and
heart, there would be an end
to most of this SenSeleSS
thing of mot knowing the
gun was loaded"
There would be no more
hunters popping up right in
front of somebody else'S gun.
There would be no more
carrying a gun so that if one
stumbles it will go off right
into ones stomach.
These are just a few of
the mishaps that can be
avoided, or at least largely
avoided, by getting the basic
idea of what a gun is for
into ones head.
1t is to kill, and it will kill,
sometimes unnecessarily.
y
Handling a gun properly
is best learned from men
who know how, themselves.
Evening star., 1959-12-14

expansion in nearby Virginia, especially
in Fairfax County.
The only fair solution is to adopt
flexible formula, revised annually in
accordance with latest census estimates
for the growing areas. To adopt sales
tax without providing for a fair return
of the revenues to the nearby counties
would be to compound an injustice.
Evening star., 1959-12-14
VISTAS IN SCIENCE
Present Era May Be Golden Age
By THOMAS r. HENRY

Evolution Of life, from
protozoan to man, has been
a progressive, internally di-
rected process.
The idea that the upward
progress from the simplest
organisms to foremost human
"geniuses" can have been by
pure random chance, regard
less of the millenniums in
volved, now can be radically
revised, says DR.. Caryl P.
Haskins, president Of the
Carnegie Institution Of
Washington, in his annual
report presented to the trus-
tees today.
Evolution Of organisms, DR..
Haskins says, now can be
seen in a quite different light
from evolution in the nom
living world. The old idea, he
stresses, has perplexed some
Of the best minds of the
century since Charles Dsr-
win.
How" he asks, could a
microcosm, by mutation and
selection alone, have envolved
into a Shakespeare? Many
fine scientists of another
generation would have an
swered: Regardless of how
many generations one con-
ceivably has to work with,
of how rigid the selection has
been, Of how many races
of organisms have been ex-
tinguished in the advance
and of the conceivable time
span involved, it still is not
possible to imagine how, by
a succession of random
changes and episode selec-
ton alone, such as. develop
ment could have occurred"
This has been a major
argument advanced by OPP
ponents Of evolution during
the century. But. says DR..
Haskins, "the time may be
coming when this will not ap-
pear a meaningful approach.
Rather. one may reason, at
no stage need 1t be supposed
that the process was wholly
random in a conventional
sense. Each evolutionary
event within, as well as with
out. the organism must have
biased the significance of the
next event, and these con-
sequences in turn must have
been built into a complex,
forward-moving chain.
Our Problem More Complex
Concepts Of this nature
and the research involving
conditional probabilities that
underlieS them are some
what crude and tentative at
present, yet they are surely
we'll past the point of uni
versal skepticiSm. Considera-
tions of this kind are directed
at a very large segment Of the
world we know. The dy-
manic. goal-directed, self-or-
ganlzlng systems to which
they may apply include the
viruseS and the single cells.
They include the world of
many-celled plants and ami
mails and the body and brain
OF man. They also include
populations and societies of
living things"
The present, DR.. HaSkins
says, may well be one of
hiStorys golden ages" COM
parable to the early days of
the Roman Republic, the
Renaissance. or Elizabethan
England. But, he stresses,
it involves problems far more
complex than those which
faced these earlier great
spurtS in human progress.
All these periods" he says,
had certain features in COM
mon. All inherited a back
ground of unusual technical
accomplishment upon the
power of which, together with
power economically and So
cially derived, much of their
great opportunity for achieve
ment rests. In each an I'M
usual degree Of political and
Evening star., 1959-12-14
Different Challenge

ours is an age in which
the stimulus, the demand
and the opportunities for in
novation have reached un-
precedented heights. In GER
tain ways our challenge diff
fers from that confronting
earlier periods so greatly in
degree as perhaps to be of
another kind"
The great periods Of the
past, he stresses, have been
concerned especially with
purely technical advances
better machines, better
homes and clothing, more to
eat, advancement of living
conditions Of the masses.
Perhaps to most people, he
says, these are the major OBJ
jectives today. and the last
few generations have brought
changes hitherto unimagi-
nable.
But" says DR.. Haskins.
precisely because the quest
has been so successful we
may perhaps expect that in
the future other aspects Of
our conquest Of nature, con-
cerned more pointedly with
understanding and control,
will assume a more conspicu-
GUS role in our technology,
as is happening even now.
Such aspects demand a some
what different practical ap-
proach to the natural world,
posing a challenge on every
front to greater subtlety and
penetration. In the future
they must emphasize further
and give a more keen incen-
tive to a broader comprehen-
sion Of nature as a practical
requirement Of living. There
will be other incentives too
more profound and ultimate
ly more imperative and last
ing.
In a world which now, for
better or worse. is basically
technical in character and in
which chronological power,
as never before. is essential
for survival itself the very
phrase Science and technol-
ogy' carries with it the danger
of confusing application with
creation, the danger that
the scientific process may be
thought Of primarily as an
expanding fount Of technical
products"
Evening star., 1959-12-14
Cautions Shoppers

With many purse snatch
ingS occurring, especially dur
ing the Christmas shopping
season, it seems to me it
might be wise for women to
carry the over-the-shoulder
Evening star., 1959-12-14

social stability had been at
tanned, at least briefly, at
home. Yet the threat Of vio-
lence and social disorganiza-
ton never can have been far
away.
Men knew that they lived
in uncertainty and danger.
They also realized the enor-
nous challenge of their days.
and one can sense in them
a prescient eagernesS and a
new audacity. A flavor Of
the immense significance Of
individual effort and individ-
ual achievement carries to
our own day. A certain dy-
manic fluidity-a special abil-
ity or perhaps a special eager
ness to embrace the condi-
ton Of change for its own
sake regardless of its spe-
ciflc content-colors each
history.
"All seem to have attached
a higher value to the dy-
manic process Of living in
their society than to the ma
terial consequences, the prod
ucts of skill and industry Of
that society. Clearly new
ideas were valued and excit-
ing and their communica-
ton was as important Of
their genesis.
1T is not surprising that
we should find such paral-
lels with other ages which.
in the perspective Of years,
we count brilliantly success
full. In a general sense both
the opportunities and haz-
ards were the same as those
we face today.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-03-01

member Of the Executive
Board Of the National SYM
phony Orchestral, mo. I
think women are better be-
cause / think women are
basically interested IN any
thing for their children's fu-
ture-they get emotionally
involved. Causes have more
Of an emotional appeal for
women than men. A woman
has her heart In the drive
for which she Is soliciting.
We want to keep music alive
for our children Just as we
want to keep q dread disease
away from them"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-03-01
YES

MRS. JEAN LABAT, Eyes.
I think they are. Women are
much better ct house-to-
house canvassing because
they are more persistent. but
men are better ct getting
large amounts because they
are dealing with their own
associates. However. we
(fund raisers for the Ma
tional Symphony Orchestral
have o woman as chairman
Of the Special Gifts Commit
tee"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-03-01
NO

MRS. JOHN r. LILLARD,
Jr.. tvice president of the
Women's Committee and q