davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-15
Damn the Chains

The years come and the years go,
but John L. Lewis, like OF Man
River, just seems to keep rolling along.
The climate Of the times may change,
but John L. Lewis remains John l.. Lewis.
Thus, at 70, conceding nothing to
heart attack and a bout with pneu-
inonia, he was the John L. Lewis Of old
IN his appearance this week before a
House committee He talked for an hour
without text. All so-called labor bills,
In bis judgment, are instruments Of the
rich with which to Cypress the poor.
Don't tamper with the liberties of the
workers, was his admonition. SDamn
the chains and those who advocate
them"
The Mcclellan committee, in the
Lewis view, sis a establishment of the
principle of the star chamber of the
Tudor and Stuart kings, with slight
touch of the Spanish Inquisition." He
sees the committee as vehicle for the
persecution" of James R. Hoffa, and
predicts, correctly no doubt, that Hoffa
will be enthusiastically reelected by the
Transfers because he brings home the
bacon" In word, the mantle of labor'S
elder statesman, which is indiSputably
his, cloakS the same John L. Lewis-the
man who did not hesitate to call his coal
miners out on strike in the midst of
desperate war, the man who easily
switched his support to Wendell Willkie
when he became diSenchanted with
Franklin Roosevelt despite the fact that
1t was the latter who really put the
unions in business, the man who will
never forget the bitter days in the coal
pits and who will never forgive "labor'S
enemies rather large company
which includes just about anyone who
has crossed him.
1t seems strange that John L. Lewis,
who runs clean union, occasional vio-
lence aside, should close his eyes to the
activities of the thieves and racketeerS
who have infested the Transfers. He
ought to be condemned for doing it.
But the boss of the Mine Workers made
one remark which gives pause. AS the
committee members were piling compli-
ments upon him, Mr.. Lewis commented:
eft wasn't ever thus" And indeed it
wasn't. Who can be sure that the rise
of John L. Lewis from villain to sage will
not. be duplicated in the case OF James
r. Hoffa?
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-15
EIoborotes

Some elaboration seems in
order on your May 5 news
story saying the District PTA
convention had been in
formed there are $50 incom-
petent teachers in the Dis
trict school system. This was
not the opinion Of an indi-
vidual parent, as some may
have gathered, nor the opin-
ion of a group of parents. 1t
was the opinion of school
principals as expressed in a
Sampling taken by the
School Education Committee
of the D. c. Congress of
Parents and Teachers, iden-
titled correctly as the PTA
School Education Committee
Report.
Parents carried out a fact
finding job, and the facts
gathered were from princi-
pals and other school officers.
AS to the definition of in
competence, the committee
report said: ut is only fair
to add here that parents and
students consider this per-
centage (of unsatisfactory
teachers) a very low esti-
mate. What parents might
term an incompetent teach
err is apparently often con-
sidered by principals as a
weak teacher What is
the nature Of the complaints
against these teachers? At
the top of the list is per-
sonality and temperament
Principals say and parents
confirm that that includes
doesn't like or understand
children sadistic, unfair
attitude is competitive
and belittling to students
=. explosive temper. Next
largest complaint is poor
control and poor teaching
techniques then over
aged and last but not
least for the student thinking
of his future, doesn't know
subject matter"
To quote again from the
report: Parents do not ask
to be given an official voice
in the formal process of
passing Judgment on indi-
vidual teachers. We do ask
for a general framework of
rules which, to echo De-
troit's Citizen Committee,
provide a fair, effective pro-
cedure for the release of any
administrative or teaching
personnel who are appraised
unsatisfactory"
Mrs. c. Rhodes Cox,
President, D. C. Congress
of Parents and Teachers.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-15

have much larger quarters.
With imagination, the pos
Sibility of creating effective,
near-natural exhibits is linn
itleSS.
Who enjoys looking at an
unhappy animal pacing back
and forth on concrete? What
pleasure can there be in see
ing a zebra or a Dali sheep
penned up on a muddy plot?
In the Zoo today, there is a
golden eagle, one of the most
widely ranging birds of North
America, confined to a 6-foot
by 6-foot cage. Can a thought
full person feel anything but
remorse at such a sight? Do
we feel no responsibility to-
ward these wonderful crea-
lures to make their conflne-
ment as endurable as pos
sible? Do we not realize that
to do so, not only benefits
the creatures. but also re-
suits in greater public en-
joyment?
What is the purpose of a
ZOO? Is it to bring together
as many different species in
the smallest possible space,
so that as many people as
possible can pass through it
in the shortest time?
I can think of no more
worthwhile endeavor than
to seek money to make the
National Zoo a model one-a
model as to visitor experience
and also humane treatment
of the animals. In the event
sufficient funds are not avail
able for this, then in our
opinion the Government
should get out of the zoo
business, rather than con-
tinue as at present.
Devereux Butcher.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-15
Move the Zoo? There'H Be Roors of DisopprovoI

of the restored earlier pad
docks down the valley. Men
with trucks and shovels will
then be seen cleaning up the
mess.
1t is difficult to understand
why the Zoo officials have not
benefited from the expe-
riences of the past, or how
they can have so little COM
prehension of the action of
soil and runoff. The money
for all these Improvements"
could have been spent more
wisely.
Assuming that the Federal
Government is in the zoo
business to stay (actually, Zoo
expenses are financed from
District taxes, would it not
be worth while to abandon
this site, and move to a level
expanse somewhere in the
beautiful countryside of
Maryland or Virginia? Some
one will exclaim, What
about all those buildings!"
But it would be better to
begin again and do it right.
instead of wasting more
money trying to patch up an
impossible situation.
Zoo officials, acquiring suf,
flcient land, could plan for
paddockS of at least five acres
for deer, antelope. bison and
the other large hoofed man.
mails. Roaming grassy mead
ows, among trees and shrubs,
the creatures could be seen
to greater advantage, and
with more pleasure to visitors.
Foxes, coyotes and wolves
could have large pens on
natural ground, instead Of
on small concrete slabs. All
species able to remain out
doors all year, in fact, could
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-15

Since 1910, we have been
visiting the Zoo frequently,
for we live close by. From the
beginning, we have realized
that the site is almost hope
lessly inadequate for the pur-
pose-too small, and with
hardly a level spot, most of it
steeply sloping.
The slopes used for pad
docks have been eroding for
years, creating unsightly and
unnatural settings for the
mammals. The paddocks
formerly used by fallow and
red deer and bison have been
among the worst. A few weeks
ago, we observed that the
fallow and red deer had been
moved, and the fences around
their paddocks torn down.
We were naive enough to be-
lieve the officials had at last
decided to abandon these
locations, and were going to
restore them to the beauty of
natural, soil-holding vegeta-
ton. More recently, new soil
has been placed there, and
the former valley of the red
deer has been filled to many
feet deep, apparently in an
effort to make the site more
suitable-for what, we did
not know.
Fences then began to ap-
pear around these former
paddock sites; and fences,
too, have been built on the
heretofore unused sleeper
slopes, now in natural forest
vegetation, above the sea lion
pool. When the work is COM
plete, the cost will not end.
for it will be but a matter of
time until a SUMMER cloud
burst will wash the new soil
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-15
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL

raise their young in an oak
tree in view of our windows.
"We have seen as high as
six squirrels venturing from
the hole in the oak and play
ing like kittens.
"They look as if they were
on roller skates, they glide
around so smoothly.
I'VE also have some chip
hunks, rabbits, opoSsums
and Skunks.
1T is truly marvellous how
they exist, so many dogs
prowl the woods"
Animals in nature have
their own ways of outwitting
marauders.
They know nothing else, Of
course, so such an existence
cannot be irksome to them.
They all have keen ears
and eyes, and, with few ex-
ceptions. such as the opos-
sum, can run swiftly.
Their sleep is in what we
call catnaps, and they are
always, day and night, ready
to run at a seconds notice.
Our poor little Mindy. the
tigercat, who was caught by
a marauding dog on her own
porch, could not have been
so abused if it were not for
the eight years of civilization
behind her.
She had lost, to some ex-
tent, the ready ear and eye,
the keen sense of fear.
The wild creatures never
lose these traits, hence man.
age, in many instances, to
live their natural lives out
as well as if they were in
captivity in ZOOS, for in
stance.
The wildbirds often give
the alarm for the four footed
ones. Jays are often seen and
heard, as they squawk of APP
preaching danger.
We do not say that the
jays deliberately try to help
the rabbits and others, but
it amounts to the same thing
in the end.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-15
Book Censorship

I have read with astonish-
ment Of the seizure by the
postal authorities of a copy
of the unexpurgated edition
of d. H. Lawrence's Lady
Chatterley's Lover" in an at
tempt to make a test case of
this books frankfurt indeed
no longer startling-treat-
ment Of adult love. The ex-
ecutive committee of the
American Center, PEN, an
international organization of
writer's dedicated to defend,
among other things, the free
dom Of literature, wishes to
protest at this new move to-
ward literary censorship on
the American scene.
A substantial precedent was
established by the courts as
long ago as 1888, when they
recognized that Joyce's
ulysses" could in no manner
corrupt the morals of the
young. Since ulysses" and
since Lady Chatterley," first
published in 1923, we have
had such works as by Love
Possessed" the novels of
O'Hara and Caldwell and
Mailer-not to mention "Pey-
ton Place." Lolita" and also
such widely disseminated
nonfictional documents as the
Kinsey Report - which far
surpaSs in realism the frank
ness of D. H. Lawrence. 1 do
not for a moment advocate
action against these books: I
am opposed to all book-ban-
ming. But I mention them to
suggest that our civil servants
seem to be rather considera-
bly, behind in their reading,
and are compromising an
ambiguity rather than Clarity
ing an issue. The truth is
that literary criticism can
never be a function of gov
eminent; that we cannot en-
trust to any department of
government, however enlight-
ened. the judgment of what
is and what is not good read
ing for young and old alike.
The American P. E. N. was
among the first to protest
against RusSia's attempted
suppression of Boris FASTER
nak's Doctor Zhivago." This
summer we are sending dele
gates to the P. E. N. Congress
in West Germany, and there
we will congratulate the Ger
man writers on their emer-
gence into freedom from the
book-burnings of the Nazis.
But any remarks that we may
make will come with ill grace
from us if it is known that a
novel such as Lady Chatter
ley's Lover" which the world
recognizes as literature, is
being treated in the United
States as if it we're mere
pornography. Leon Edel,
President, American Center,
P. E. N.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-15
Tokens for Shoppers?

1t has been proposed that
stores sell tokens in order to
facilitate the use of public
transit. Considering that they
give away stickers enabling
a purchaser to park free, why
not similarly encourage the
purchaser to use public trans
it by paying his fare home.
as is done in some other
cities? A token would cost
the store less than a Accent
Park and Shop sticker and
would reduce traffic conges-
ton. In San Antonio, for
example. an inbound shop
per asks for a shoppers
ticket, which on being
stamped by the store is good
for a ride home. Alterna-
lively, a token could be given.
While a bus or streetcar i'm
peded by long lines of autos
and stopped by traffic lights
is not the competitor of the
auto that a rapid transit
system would be. anything
that reduces the number of
vehicles on the streets would
be a boon to the shopper as
well as to the merchant, and
would help to ward off the
creeping paralysis which
threatens the l-being of
our downtown establishments.
Also, tearing down business
buildings and conversion to
parking lots reduces the tax
base available for city rev.
enue.
The present discrimination
by our stores against public
transit by actively encourag-
ing the use of the space
consuming private auto
should be eliminated by Of
fering a similar inducement
for a shopper to ride the bus.
Alfred g. TraSk.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-15

@. Was there an American
furniture maker named Bel
ter? j. P.
A. Yes. John H. Better, an
American cabinetmaker, had
a shop in New York after
1910. He made fine Victo-
rian-type furniture in rose
wood, walnut and oak. His
work was distinguished by
highly carved framework and
decoration, and was uphol-
stored in brocades and dam
ask. Much of his work sur
wives.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-15

What I would like to
know" writes A. N. L., sis
the name of the bird that
calls 'goodie, goodie, goodie,'
and the mate answers Julie,
Julie, Julie This is noticed
most in the fall of the year
and occasionally during the
winter"
Well. this bird is the card
inal, or redbird.
Every listener hears the
bird say something different,
according to the way it
strikes him.
When spring comes, the
redbirdS redouble their calls.
It is here as with all bird
calls and songs. the listener
puts himself into it, and
thinks of the sounds as, he
hears them.
The wood thrush, to some,
says Mary Lee, Mary Lee,
Mary Lee"
To others, entirely different
words.
Actually, songbirds SAY"
nothing human. Their calls
and songs are entirely from
birdland.
If we seem to hear them
say certain human Syllables,
we may be sure that nine
tenths is in our own minds.
4 4 4 x
How could it be otherwise?
The birds do not know
English, nor yet German.
They have no training in
Russian, either.
Their syllables and notes
are part of life as they live
it.
The birds have not been
to grammar school, much
less high school and college.
They live and sing free,
agents not of themselves. ex-
actly, but of the Almighty.
Hence for a human listener
to attribute words and even
sentences to them is some
what absurd, but a pleasant
absurdity, it must be ad-
mitted.
No two persons ever hear a
bird SAY" the same thing.
That is the tip-off.
If they really used English,
we could all hear the same
thing.
+ + 4
Our correspondent con-
tinues:
your column is enjoyed
immensely by all lovers Of
nature.
"Just wish to say we have
about every type of bird
known in these parts at our
feeding station and bird bath.
I'VE are about Is miles
from the city in a sparsely
wooded area. Quail are
plentiful.
I'VE have both gray and
red squirrels. We have a pair
of red squirrels that spend
the winter in our attic and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-15
LETTERS TO THE STAR

Pen names may be used u
letters carry iDriter's correct
names and addresses. All
letters are subject to conden-
sation.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-15

Titanic invisible clouds III
space.
They are luminescent. but
only IN ultraviolet light 20
which the human eye Is In
sensitive and most OF which
Is blocked from reaching the
surface Of the earth by the
upper levels Of the atmos-
phere.
The earth has an ultra
violet halo extending thou
sands OF miles, covering the
whole night sky, whose m
visible glow Is brighter than
all visible starlight.
These are some OF the find-
ings OF the new rocket as
tronomy with observations
made on automatically re-
cording instruments carried
10 great heights. They are
bringing revolutionary new
concepts OF the content of
space. both inside the solar
system and in the reaches
of the hundred illion-star
Milky Way galaxy. Findings
to date, largely with now out
NODDED rockets, have just
been reported TO the Ma
tional Academy Of Sciences
by DR.. Herbert Friedman.
chief Of the astrophysics divi-
sion of the Naval Research
Laboratory where most Of
the work has been conducted.
Due TO Rocket Astronomy
Rocket astronomy" DR..
Friedman reports, "has given
us a strange picture Of the
celestial sphere in this in
visible ultraviolet light. The
most brilliant stars visible
from the earth's surface are
missing. Instead the sky is
diffused with a bright glow
Of ultraviolet radiation and
splotched with great ultra
violet luminescent clouds or
nebuloSities."
The invisible light, he ex-
plains. is such as would be
emitted by hydrogen atoms
under intense radiation of
some sort. In visible light,
DR.. Friedman points out, the
panorama of stars in the
night sky encompasses an
enormous range of brilliance
and color. The sun is only
average size among the hun
bred billion stars and is clas-
sifled as a yellow dwarf.
Largest of the known celes-
tial objects is the giant
Betelgeuse in the constella-
ton of Orion. Its diameter
is 200 times that of the sun.
But this giant almost COM
pletely disappears in an I'LL
traviolet picture. This is be-
cause it is a cool red star
which emits very little ultra
violet.
AS a star gets hotter its
color changes progressively
to orange, yellow, yellow
white, blue-white and blue.
One of the hottest of all stars
is Spica with a surface tenn
perature over four times as
great and a light emission
2.400 times that of tlH, sun
although its mass is only 16
times as great. AS a result of
the great amount of ultra
violet in its radiation it be-
comes one of the most con-
Spicuous objects in the sky to
ultraviolet apparatus carried
on a rocket.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-15

fore he died, Of seeing some Of the
''tempos" removed and others definitely
marked for destruction. His services
contributed substantially 10 the devel-
opment Of a more attractive National
Capital.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-15
VISTAS IN SCIENCE
BY THOMAS R. HENRY VI
Rocker Astronomy ANS SKY Probers

AT higher temperatures"
Dr. Friedman says. "A great
portion OF a stars radiation
falls In the far ultraviolet.
A hot star. therefore. appears
very dim through a telescope
on the earth not because Il
Is emitting less energy but
because It's peak emission u
undesirable through the
atmospheric curtain. Above
the atmosphere the blue stars
should be the brightest fea-
lures OF the sky.
Fortunately II has been
possible 10 invent counters
which are capable OF de-
tecting every bit Of ultra
violet light which strikes
them. In our FIRST rocket
astronomy experiments only
a small portion OF the celestial
sphere was viewed. The
brightest emission came from
the region Of the constella-
ton Orion. Next in bright
ness was an extended region
around Spica.
THE diffuse glow Of ultra
violet which covers the en-
tire night sky exceeds the
intensity Of all visible STAR
light. II appears that the
origin of this radiation Is
solar ultraviolet reflected
back from space by neutral
hydrogen atoms. How this
rejecting hydrogen is distrib-
uted in space is not entirely
clear"
49,
The suns corona. the
crown Of opalescent light
seen around the blackened
disk during a total eclipse,
must have a temperature Of
between 3 and 4 million de-
grees.
This finding. based on
chemical studies of the
coronas makeup, was re-
ported to the American
Geophysical Union by DR..
Walter o. Roberts, director
Of the high altitude observa-
tory Of the University Of
Colorado.
Far Hotter Than Sun
The temperature OF this
mysterious formation has
previously been estimated at
about a million degrees above
absolute zero, the point at
which all molecular motion
stops, or about-459 F. But,
DR.. Roberts said, such a tenn
perature cannot explain the
condition of its atoms. I: is
composed chiefly of iron.
calcium and nickel gases. The
calcium atoms, however, have
lost IA and the iron atoms l3
OF their outer electrons. They
are the most highly "ionized"
atoms, Spectroscope studies
show, known in nature. This
condition could not possibly
exist. the astronomer said, at
temperatures less than about
3 million.
This is far hotter than
the surface of the sun itself.
There has been recent specu-
lation that the corona ex-
tends, becoming more and
more tenuous, nearly to the
limits of the solar system and
that the earth may be in
side it. In other words, said
DR.. Roberts. it well may be
that this world is sitting in a
bath of super-hot gas"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-15
Answers to Questions
By THE HASKINS 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 enclose return post
age or self-addressed. stamped
The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1959-11-06
New Canton News
attend Annual Harvest Dnv
At Virginia Baptist Home

DR.. and Mrs j. R. johnson, of
Lynchburg, picked up his two sis
tiers, Mesdames Bessie and Lilly
Deane. Friday and they all spent
the day at the Virginia Baptist
Home in Culpeper county
This was the annual Harvest Day.
more than a thousand visitors were
present Plans are being made to
add another wing, which is badly
needed They visited Miss Maud
Case and Miss Gay Carter. ladies
from this section.
u M Phillips. Mrs. E. B. Mahon,
Mrs. Mary v. Adams and daugh-
ter, Dianne. of Richmond. spent
Friday night and Saturday here. l..
NJ. Phillips with the j. R. Phil
lipses and the others at the Mahon
home Saturday. they visited Mrs.
Bickford, Mrs. Mary Davis, Mrs.
Virgie Anderson, Mr.. and Mrs. w.
T. Putney and the j. R. Phillips
family.
The Rev j. R. Hodges preached
his second sermon Sunday in his
series of sermons on the charac-
teristics of our Lord His topic was
The Radiance of Jesus based on
Matthew SLIP
Mrs. Lester Jones is spending a
while with her daughter. Mrs. Ann
The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1959-11-06

vile.
Mr.. and Mrs. Frank Gordon and
children. Robin and Barrye, Of Bed
ford, were Sunday and Monday
guests Of the Joe A. Hazlegrove
family, Of Portland j. A. Addle-
man, of Cumberland, was also
recent guest in the same home.
The young people home from the
week end were Edmund Garrett,
III. Of VPI, Miss Lucille Fergu-
son, Of Lynchburg, and Clarence
Ferguson, Of the University OF North
Carolina
Welcomes Granddaughter
Congratulations are extended to
the Rev and Mrs. P. Cary Adams,
on the birth of granddaughter
in Alexandria on Oct. %.
Mrs. Wyndham B. Blanton, of
Richmond, was at west Hill Fri
dav for short visit.
MI. and Mrs Charles Womack,
Jr., visited Mrs. a. j. Smith, Sun
day at Charlottesville hospital
where she underwent surgery last
week
Miss Dorothy Matthews. of Rich
nond, was home Oct Is for the
celebration of her birthday Mr. and
Mrs. Andrew Stanley, of Richmond
were also Sunday guests. Guests in
the afternoon were the Carl Thomp-
son family
Joe A. Hazlegrove attended the
funeral Of F. D. McCraw, Wednes-
day in F'armville
Sincere sympathy is extended to
the family Of E. A. Carter, whose
death occurred at the Southside
Hospital. on Sunday.
Mr. Walker Home
1 w. B. Walker. who underwent
surgery at the Southside Hospital,
Oct IS. came home Sunday