davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14
No Good for PoIe-Sittinq

Midsummer, especially in such
pleasant one as this, is not normally the
time for worrying about Santa Claus.
Presumably, he is safely boondoggling
at the North bookkeeping himself and
reindeer well fed while he Stuffs bags
full of the newest in toys and perhaps
fretting only slightly about whether he
can make it down all those chimneys
next December. The population explo-
sion, in fact, may be matter Of enough
concern for a man who has one really
busy night per year.
So it is with some possible diSmay
that Santa'S friends down this way read
that even the North Pole itself is not
standing still these days. Observers of
the International Latitude Service, who
have been spying on the pole from such
widely separated points as Pennsylvania
and an island near Sicily, report that it
has been sliding quietly and at a rate
of about six inches yearly closer to
Greenland. This may seem like a small
matter to those who seldom venture
north of Bethesda and Silver Spring.
But for those who would like to feel
there Is something somewhere fixed and
immovable it is disturbingly sympto-
matte of these days Of too much change.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14
Castro and the Church

Fidel Castro, who has represented
himself in the past as good Catholic,
now has begun to cut loose against the
church and faith he claims to believe in.
He has done so, moreover, in a shock
ingly violent and almost blaSphemous
manner, quite in keeping with the Com
muniSt technique. Indeed, he has come
close to equating himself with Christ,
and he has gone beyond that-with a
stridency that seems almost mentally
abnormal or unbalanced-to warn
CubaS priests and hierarchy against
disagreeing with him in any way what
ever If they do so, he has threatened,
they will suffer dire consequences. And
the mob listening to him has cheered
and cried out, ITO the wall! to the WALL"
which is another way of saying that
dissenters opposed to the Havana die
tator should be placed before firing
squad, whether they serve God or not
This is grim picture. What must be
hoped for in the circumstances is that
the great majority of the Cuban
people--devout Charlottesville yet be-
come the Castro regimes most formid-
able opposition and its ultimate undoing
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14
Secret WEAPON?

East German Communists never have
struck us as being very imaginative. But
some admiration should be expressed for
the seeing things under the-bed talent
Of one Horst Sindermann, described as
a candidate for the Communist Party's
central committee in East Berlin.
Herr Sindermann has identified our
ElviS Presley, swivel-hipped rock n
roller, as a sort of Svengali with side
burns who is spreading "a spirit of
inhumanity" among Western youth by
among other things-uSing language
no sensible person could understand,
such as calling pretty girl slick
chick" He is doing this, candidate Sim
dermann explains, as part of our pSy-
Geological warfare effort and in prepaS
ration for aggression against the peace
loving peoples of the Communist world.
Actually, the Sindermann explanation
gets little bit fuzzy as to how ElviS goes
about all although presumably it
was one of the sinister reasons the
United States Army had Elvis do hitch
with an armored division in Europe.
Elvis did become sergeant and he
earned a We'll done, soldier" when he
was mustered out last spring, but for our
part, at least, we had not realized he
was engaged in such devious form of
Subverslon.
Sindermann sounds just about smart
enough to be member Of Communist
Party central ommittee-nothing more.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14
Our Proqress in Space

All of us have reason to take pride
in our country's latest achievements in
space. They represent progress of great
Importance, and they should serve to
diSabuSe the outside world of the notion
"a thoroughly mistaken one-that our
science and technology lag far behind
the Soviet Unions in this field
Actually, wholly apart from the re-
markable new altitude record established
for manned flight by our Kills rocket
plane, the United StateS-in the two
spectacular and highly significant ex-
perimentS just carried out within hours
Of each other-has demonstrated Spatial
versatility and sophistication of kind
that the USSR has not yet matched
Indeed, even though they have lead
on us at present in terms of their ability
to send up heavier payloads, there is
ample reason to believe that we are quite
a bit ahead of the Russians in inStru-
mentation and the capacity to do more
than shoot a lot of mere lightweight into
the high heavens.
1t seems clear, in any case, that our
country has scored two highly signif1-
cant "firSts" with DiScoverer XIII and
Echo I. According to General Schrie-
yer, chief of our Air Forces research
and development, the DiScoverer feat
Lucky 13"-conStituteS "a real mile
stone historic event" that the
Soviet Union has not yet equalled. IN
volving the recovery of an orbiting
satellite from outer space, 1t brings
nearer the day when man will be able
to travel toward the stars and return
safely to mother earth. Such a trip is
scheduled to be undertaken by our
Mercury AStronautS next year, and the
experts are confident that it will be
successful. The Russians undoubtedly
are striving to carry out the same sort
of venture as quickly as possible, but
there are signs that they are less pre-
pared for it than we are.
AS for Echo I, the DRIFTING Of this
giant balloon equivalent in height to
a l0-Story building) represents an ex-
ceedingly promising advance in world
wide communications, via both radio
and televiSion. The instrument has
already demonstrated its great poten-
tialities by transmitting President Ell
SenhoWer'S words from coast to coast,
and there can be little doubt that future
ref1nementS of it-as "a passive reflec-
tor of all sorts of electronic signals
will make it vital factor in the de-
velopment of intercontinental TV and
allied operations, altogether apart from
its possibilities as a system that could
have major military significance.
Quite obviously, despite the Cassan-
dras and other pessimists at home and
abroad who have been too quick to sell
America short our country's advances
in space should inspire hope and conf
dence. If we keep on doing what needs
to be done, we could we'll be first in
the race
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14
Social Security

At the time of its passage by Con-
greSS in 1885, the Social Security Act
was described as 1.-The most comprehen-
sive single piece of social legislation ever
enacted by the legislature of any
country" 1t was not an exaggerated
description and the foundation laid by
the basic act of quarter of a century
ago may be considered the welfare
hallmark of the New Deal period Of the
late President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Perhaps not even it's most ardent
advocates of that period realized how
far and how fast this program of Federal
economic protection to the individual
would be expanded. Although universal
coverage was contemplated in the orig
inal consideration, only Is million
workers were affected by the statute as
passed. Since then, the law has been
amended six timeS-to extend coverage,
increase benefits or both-until 81 mil
lion persons are covered and more than
ID million currently are receiving bene-
fits.
From the beginning, there have been
critics of social security on grounds
ranging from charges of actuarial I'M
soundness to those of undermining indi-
vidual responsibility and self-reliance.
These voices of protest, however, have
hardly the loudness of a whisper COM
pared to those from the millions who
have found through participation in this
cooperative system modest protection
against individual economic crisis 1t is
safe to say that, on its 25th birthday"
social security is irrevocably a part Of
the American way of life-not anti
thetical to it.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14
The Foundation Is Laid

The great opportunity of the future,
rather than the university as it is to-
day, persuaded DR.. Thomas Carroll to
accept the presidency of the George
Washington University, thus ending the
18-month search by the university trus-
tees for successor to Dr. Cloyd Heck
Marvin, who retired last year to become
president emeritus.
DR.. Carroll spoke of this opportunity
in reference to the univerSity'S location
IN Washington and the role it is capable
of performing, through education, in de-
veloping greater mutual understanding
between Government, business and the
professions. He further alluded to the
firm foundation" that has been built
to support efforts to reach the univer-
sity's full potential And in congratu-
latlng DR.. Carroll and the university, we
think it is appropriate to remember this
foundation.
When DR.. Marvin came to Washing
ton as president of the university in
1927, he was cautioned by some of his
colleagues in the world of education
against tying up with that G street
high school" He consulted one of the
university trustees, who said: They're
right. You can't afford to think of the
university as it is today. You've got to
think of what it can become" That
became DR.. Marvin's guide When he
retired he still was thinking, not of the
university he left, but of the university
that it can become.
The university that DR.. Marvin left,
and the one that DR.. Carroll will find, is
much stronger, in its plant, its faculty,
its student body, its endowment and its
resources than it was 33 years ago.
A sound foundation has been laid. If
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14

The Union warship San ia
cinto stopped the Trent at
Havana. Mason and Slidell
were seized and taken off the
Trent. They were held pris-
oners at Boston until jan
uary. 1861. when President
Lincoln conceded the act had
been a violation of interna-
tional law and ordered their
release. The affair created
quite a stir, and while it did
not arouse the British to the
shooting stage, it helped
create in England an atmos-
phere favorable to the Con-
federacv
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14
FROM THE STAR FILES.
Bat Masterson and Jim Cor
hett

Bat Masterson and Jim Cor
bett :"
A popular sign of the times
in 1910 was "Reedbirds on
Toast" and The Star of
August II of that year
reported restaurant keepers
were busting off these plac-
ards as the hunting season
approached. "Sportsmen are
making guns and ammunition
ready to begin the slaughter
or reedbirds. ortolan and
blackbirds." the paper re-
ported. The marshes are in
splendid condition this year.
Wild oats will be ripe by the
time the season opens.
The District law permits the
killing of marsh birds north
of the Anacostia Bridge and
east Of the Aqueduct Bridge.
prohibiting shooting from be-
ing done west of the former
bridge because of the danger"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14
100 Years AGO

cries Tor Qeath OF the
Union were heard a century
ago in the same State-Vir-
ginia-where not too long
before the founding fathers
had lovingly nurtured the
newborn republic. One aris-
tocratic voice advocating the
South's enforcement from the
once happy family of States
belonged to Virginian James
Murray Mason. This gentle
man, a United States Sena-
tor. was the grandson of
George Mason, of Revolu-
tionary fame. Senator Mason
was present when Virginia
Dem ocrats assembled at
Charlottesville on August is,
1860, to receive reports from
delegates to the Baltimore
and Charleston conventions
Of the Democratic Party. The
Stars telegraphed account
from Charlottesville read:
The electoral ticket was re-
vised. purged of Douglas men.
Electors were instructed to
vote as a unit so as to pre-
vent the election of Lincoln,
If Breckenridge cannot be
elected. Senator Mason ad-
dressed the convention for an
hour and a half. He clearly
portrayed the evils of the
hour and distinctly and bold
ly led the mind to the in
evitable conclusion that dis
union was the only remedy.
He was loudly applauded.
Delegates appeared dispirited
as to the prospects of success
and showed increased bitter
ness toward the Douglas
party. :" Senator Mason
was intimately associated
with the most prominent
Southern Rights Democrats.
He drafted the famous fugi-
tive slave law of 1850. His
close friends on Capitol Hill
included John Calhoun, with
whom he often dined, and
Jefferson Davis. He felt that
compromise with the North
was impossible; that the
South must go its own way
or be submerged and ex-
plotted. After the Union was
dismembered, Mason was
named by jeff Davis to serve
as Confederate diplomatic
commissioner to England. He
was considered we'll qualified
for the job, having a cultured
background and having been
chairman of the Senate For
eign Relations Committee for
10 years. His London assign
ment led to the Trent
Affair" an incident that
ne arly precipitated a war
between England and the
United States. Mason was
crossing the Atlantic on the
British mail ship Trent. With
him was John Slidell. Con-
federate envoy to France.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14

cut down his tree, strip it,
and fashion it into a beam,
and carry it as his individual
contribution to the erection
Of a new and an enlarged
house.
Now the lovely part Of this
story is that Elisha met this
rather startling proposition
by the delegation of youth
not by nostalgia arguments
that they remain in the we'll
known and we'll loved build
ing, but with a ready acquies-
cence that the adventurous
plan be accepted. And then,
to the utter surprise Of the
innovators. the prophet as
sured them that he would go
with them. That meant that
they were to take with them
Sagacity and experience. And
so the prophet and the sons
Of the prophets moved to-
gether to a new frontier of
service.
In our own day a distin-
guished American spiritual
leader, well beyond 10. who
had never lost his youthful
spirit of venture and adven-
ture, was asked how he &C
counted for his optimism and
bubbling enthusiasm. He
responded that the secret was
keeping in step with the
youth Of my generation"
All this means that the
past must learn that the uni
verse will not cramp itself to
meet anyone's tiny dimen-
sions. All nature is a conspir-
acy to urge us to the new. In
the forward march to which
it is compelled. humanity
finds no way backwards.
But Elisha's going along
with the young innovators
reminds us that always youth
needs the caution and dis
cipline which only the rich
deposits of the past can con-
tribute. A startling illustra-
ton of that fact has been
recently flashed across our
national sky, when a mob of
uninformed. so-called stu
dents in an American city
demonstrated against the
showing of a film depicting
the attempts of information
al communism to inflltrate
the American Republic. The
protests Of these youngsters
against this pictorial record
Of a daring diabolical con-
spiracy to destroy the very
liberties the young people
were allowed to exercise we're
but a sorry exhibition that
they had zeal without knowl-
edge. The antics of these
young students remind one
of what Shakespeare said so
long ago about salad days,
when one is green in judg-
ment."
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14
so Years Ago

Wise men Of the sports
world predicted so years ago
that professional baseball
had reach ID its peak of
popularity and would soon
wane. The Star Of August
S. 1910, quoted I. E. San
born, baseball editor of the
Chicago Tribune, and Charles
Dryden, who held the same
job on the Chicago Ameri-
can, as expressing those
views, adding: 1T is the
opinion of the best writer's
of the game that it has been
overwritten, overexploited
and overadvertised; that peo-
pie are being talked into
going to games when they
really don't want to OF
course. professional baseball
will not die, but that it will
continue to return the i'm
mense dividends 1t has paid
in the last five years is highly
improbable :"
Having given and taken
some of the hardest Jumps
life has to offer, legendary
John l.. Sullivan prepared for
a quiet retirement so years
ago. The Star of August 7,
1910. said: The Boston Strong
Boy has made a fortune tour
ing the country in vaudeville
and is retiring from public
life. He will settle down on a
small farm near Milwaukee.
Sullivan stopped drink / g
several years ago and has
made up with many persons
with whom he was at odds.
A reconciliation was brought
about at the Jeffries-Johnson
fight between Sullivan and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14
SPIRES OF THE SPIRIT
Bridging the Years
BY DIR. FREDERICK BROWN HARRIS
Chaplain Of tn. United States Senate

Blessed Is the man for his
own day helps to build a
bridge between youth and
age-that is, between impetu-
GUS experiment and mellow
maturity. Every age desper-
ately needs a working part
nership and cooperation be-
tween those who, away from
the dawn, are marching to-
ward the center of the stage
and those who from the CEN
ter face the setting sun. To
hand the world over to youth
alone Is to risk the results of
dangerous innovations II to
entrust it solely to the hands
of age is to invite stagnation.
That across the years those
at life's beginning and those
at or past life's meridian
have glared at each other
with disdain and distrust
over a wall of misunder-
standing history attests.
That wisest Of all books,
the Bible. takes frequent cog
nizance of this tug of war
in the struggle which separ-
ates the generations. In the
last book of the Old Testa-
ment the writer so realizes
possible havoc of this peren-
NAL antagonism that he
foretells the coming of an
irenic prophet who will turn
the hearts of the fathers to
the children and the hearts
of the children to their faith
erS.
What happens when hos
tilities cease and across the
gulf is thrown the bridge
of Cancellation and co-opera-
ton is wildly suggested in
another significant entry in
the Old Testament: And the
sons of the prophets said I'M
to Elisha, behold now the
place where we dwell with
thee is too strait for us. Let
us go, we pray thee. unto
Jordan and take thence every
man a beam, and let us make
us a place there where we
may dwell" And the prophet
answered, Go ye!" Now
what is the frame for this
picture of the old patriarch
and the young men agreeing
to move on to new and more
spacious quarters? AS we read
between the lines it is evil
dent that there had been
drawn together a group of
young men who are here
called "the sons Of the pro-
phets". While they revered
their old teachers, neverthe-
less in their ears, as always
is heard by youth, was the
call of a future expansion.
This young mans club with
vision and zeal in their hearts
felt that under the conditions
which prevailed in this house
of the past they were too
confined. They were living
and working in rooms that
were too restricted and mar
row. They did not repudiate
the traditions in which they
had been reared: but they
felt that it was time to boldly
greet the future and to
lengthen the tent ropes of
their endeavor. 1t was not a
revolt. 1t was a plea to the
older prophet to understand
their convictions. They said
frankly, Behold now the
place where we dwell with
thee is too strait for U.S."
Their proposition was that
all agree to move to the Jor-
dan, when every man was to
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14
Operation Crossroads

On the 18th anniversary
Of dropping the atom bomb
on Hiroshima, by our military
forces, it seems to me well
for every American to reflect
on the act, and to ask God
what we can do to expiate it.
The development of the bomb
and preparation for its use
were referred to as an under
taking with the name Gross
roads," and truly the name
was we'll chosen, for 1t is my
opinion. that as a result Of
the decision Of those in
authority to use the bomb,
our beloved country lost its
way. Had we ever in our his
tory stood for the policy of
determination of civilian pop
ulations in warfare? Certainly
not. When the Japanese were
attacking Chinese civilians
from the air, we were shocked,
and our government asked
our manufacturers to deSist
from selling aircraft and air
craft parts to any country
engaged in such activity.
What has resulted from the
use of the atom bomb against
Hiroshima and later Maya
saki: a tense world situation,
in which the development Of
atomic weapons has contin-
used. experiments have taken
place in their use and rivalry
has existed between great
powers in acquiring the
newest and most deadly in
struments Of destruction that
science can produce. A world
in fact. living on the brink
Of a dreadful abyss. into
which all civilization could be
pushed by the possibility of
all countries becoming in
volved in World War III-a
world in which fear and inse-
curity prevail because of this
cataclysmic possibility. What
to do in such a situation, and
how to find our way back to
normal self respect, is some
thing all of us should ponder.
To me there are several steps
we should take. First of all.
admit we are wrong, then ask
God to forgive US as a nation
for those two acts. and last
of all to show us the way.
Perhaps, in due time. August
9Th will become a day Of
national repentance for such
an act of colossal destruction.
Margaret Hall.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14
Monoruil for D. G.

NCedIu 1IlB GIlc pIUUlSL1 OI
transportation in the Metro
politan Area of Washington,
I read an article in The Star
that discussed the need of a
subway system for the area.
1t is amazing to me that
little thought has been given
to the monorail. The German
suspension railway was con-
ceived by Eugene Langen and
put in operation in 1901. It
has been in constant opera
ton since that time with no
material change in design. It
has been expanded and its
efficiency increased by adopt
ing later inventions in motor
design. etc. to its use.
1t has literally moved mil
lions Of passengers millions
Of miles with high speed,
comfort and safety. In all
these years there has been
only one fatality and that
was due to the careleSsness Of
a passenger.
Such a system could be
built to serve many times
more residents than a subway
system and maintained and
operated at far less cost. The
initial cost of building and
equipping the monorail sys-
tenn would be only a fraction
Of that Of the subway.
1t might not f1atter the
aristocratic tastes of the sew
eral commissions" concerned
with the city's appearance,
but 1t would move more peo-
pie in and out. faster and
with less cost to the public,
both taxpayer and passen-
ger. T. N. Hendricks.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-08-14
Is Years Ago

America was saddened Is
years ago by the death of
the lovable humorist, Will
Rogers. The Star OF August
16. 1885, reported from Sc
attic, Wash, that the cowboy
philosopher and the one-eyed
flying veteran, Wiley Post.
had lost their lives when
Posts red monoplane crashed
on take-off near Point Bar
row, Alaska. Rogers had &C
companied Post to Alaska
and planned to visit there
while the flyer flew on to
Russia. Senator Pat Harrison
recalled he had warned Rog-
ers of the dangers of flying.
He merely told me-" the
Senator recalled. that Id
probably be killed some time
trying to hit a golf ball"
Rogers expressed the hope a
few years before that his
gravestone would bear this
epitaph: Il joked about every
prominent man of my time.
but I never met a man I
didn't like"
The League Of Nations
future was dark Is years ago
as Mussolini seemed deter
mined to turn his Italia n
forces loose on ETHIOPIA. The
Star Of August 10, 1885. said:
Europe faces a crisis like
that of 1914, a high French
official says. The three-power
StreSsa front-Great Britain,
Italy and Francis broken
and France must resign her
self to losing 1taly's friend
ship. The League of Nations
might as we'll face the situa-
ton. 1t did nothing when
Japan and Germany defied
the League, and now it must
stand or fall on the issue. -"