davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1961-05-02
The Squeokinq Wheel

The efficacy of the truckers lobby
has been demonstrated once again by
the delicate treatment that industry
has received at the hands Of the House
Ways and Means Committee. And this
is too bad For otherwise the committee
bill to finance the Federal interstate
highway system encompasses most Of the
commendable elements of the Kennedy
program in this field, the chief of which
Is the philosophy that highways should
be paid for by the people who use them
and not by higher general taxes.
Thus the committee wisely has
voted to extend the present 4-cents-a-
gallon motor fuel tax until 1872 rather
than permit it to drop to 3 cents in
June. This will bring in about two
thirds Of the 5000 million a year that is
needed to keep the massive road pro-
gram on schedule. The remaining $500
million, Mr.. Kennedy had proposed,
should come mainly from higher truck
taxes, imposed on the basis of studies
which show that trucks do not now pay
their full share of the costs of the roads
they use (and often miSuse) so widely
Rather than impinge on the truckers to
this reasonable degree, however, the
committee proposes to spread about
$3.50 million worth of new user taxes
among truckers and motorists generally,
and to divert the other $3.50 million
from the pool of general tax revenues
to the special highway trust fund.
AS Mr.. Kennedy logically argued,
not even one dollar should be diverted
for this purpose from the general tax
fund. In the first place, every dollar
so diverted adds to the Federal deficit
and further helps to unbalance the
budget: Secondly, it is proper that the
people who use highways pay for them;
most motorists we believe, would do so
willingly if they were assured of the
benefits.
Certainly the diversion Of $3.50
million Is not as serious as the $500
million or so that the truckers and the
big oil companies would have preferred
to divert from general taxation in order
to bring about reduction in fuel taxes.
But $3.50 million, when diversion is un-
necessary and unwarranted, is too
much. We hope, therefore, that the
House will consider either the full
truck taxes proposed by the President or,
if that Is too touchy an area, will add
another half-cent increase to the
gasoline and diesel fuel tax, an alterna-
tive which Mr.. Kennedy also has
Endorsed. .,,. ,...
Evening star., 1961-05-02
UntimeIy Death

It is good to see both the Com
misSioners and private business leaders
rallying to the defense of the District
Motor Vehicle Parking Agency in the
Senate. AS Frank Luchs, the presi-
dent of the Washington Real Estate
Board, pointed out to the Senate
District Committee, the death of this
agency, as so unwisely provided for in
House-pasSed bill, would deal severe
blows to reclamation efforts in central
Washington.
No genius is needed to recognize
that parking problems will loom ever
larger in the future, and that they will
be an active and frustrating element
in the solution of transportation prob
lens, the reconstruction Of slum areas
and, particularly, in the rejuvenation
Of the central business and shopping
area. One of the strengths of those
who are so bent on destroying the park
ing agency is the difficulty now in fore
seeing exactly what the ultimate park
ing solution will be and what functions,
therefore, the agency can serve. But
this is no reason why the public
authority and the public revenues of
the agency should be tossed down the
drain at this point. Actually, If the
threat of the, House action had been
foreseen, there are several areas of
usefulness, particularly in the Southwest
redevelopment project, where cases
Evening star., 1961-05-02
Money for Transit

There is strong consensus of agree
ment, one, in fact, which seems to be
growing all the time, that the explosive
transportation problems of the Wash
ington area will not be solved without
the construction Of an effective rapid
transit system here. 1t is disappoint-
ment, therefore, that the House has cut
by one third the initial budget request
Of the new National Capital Transporta-
ton Agency, which Congress has set up
to plan and build the system. We hope
the Senate Appropriations subcom-
mittee, headed by Senator Hayden of
Arizona, will take more sympathetic
look when it considers the request
tomorrow.
The total amount sought, $975, 900,
hardly seems excessive, in view of the
job ahead. BY November, 1862, the
agency must give Congress a complete
financing and organizational proposal
for the system, which necessarily will
have to be based on fairly well-defned
engineering planS-plans which require
money as well as considerable effort.
The agency, with only administrator
designate c. Darwin Stolzenbach and a
few top aides on the job, will have to be
organized from scratch. Unfortunately,
it can look for little help from other
agencies of Government, for in develop
ing this program it will be largely
plowing new ground. There will be
problems enough later; 1t will be I'M
fortunate indeed if these are intensified
by too weak an effort at the start.
Evening star., 1961-05-02
Ban on Witch Hunts

During his time in office, Dwight
Eisenhower manfully endured the SlingS
and arrows of eXtravagant criticism
when things went wrong. The U-2 ex-
perience is case in point. On that
unhappy occasion the then President
was failed numerically by his political
critics, who accused him of everything
from destroying American prestige to
endangering the peace of the world.
Now that the shoe is on the Demo-
cratic foot, Mr.. Eisenhower is setting an
example Of responsible behavior for his
Incorporate critics. Although he might
be tempted to point the accusing finger,
there will be no witch hunt as far as
he is concerned. The mismanagement
Of the Cuban affair will not serve him
as a text for partisan sermon. Instead,
he calls for closing ranks behind the
President, and this, for Mr.. Kennedy, is
not small asset. There are, perhaps,
two reasons for the Eisenhower attitude.
One is that he has been there himself,
he is familiar with the enormous diff
cultieS which attend momentouS preSi-
Dental decisions, and he understands
the danger to the United States of
small-minded partiSanShip. The second
is that it is not in his nature to seek
some petty advantage in the mistakes
Of others. 1t is this quality which in
Spired the confidence reposed in him by
the American people, despite the father
image complaints of few. And this
same quality endows him today with a
stature which, despite the political de-
feat Of his party, enables him to exercise
a constructive influence that serves the
national interest well in time of need.
Evening star., 1961-05-02
Degrading the Court

I desire to commend and
to congratulate the writer of
the editorial headed "Degrad-
ing The Court" and dealing
with the comment Of Chief
Justice Warren concerning
Justice Frankfurter's dissent
ing opinion in the Willie Lee
Stewart case in which it was
stated that the courts ruling
was "indefensible."
1t seems to me that the Su-
preme Court has been very
successful in degrading" it
self. 1t has arrogated to itself
the function Of legislation,
which function belongs only
to the Congress of the United
States. as provided by the
Constitution; and it has GER
tainly not "upgraded" itself
IN the opinion OF the Amerl-
can people. I am sure, by be-
ing soft" on Communists
and other criminals.
My parents taught me that
there was something sacred
about the Supreme Court of
the United States. and that
it should always be respected.
But it was worthy Of respect
in those days. 1t is simply one
of the three co-equa !
branches Of the Government.
No one hesitates to criticize
the executive branch or the
legislative branch. so why
should we hesitate to criticize
the judicial branch If we
deem the circumstances war
rant such criticism?
J. Chester WilfOng.
Evening star., 1961-05-02

might have been made for the early
use of the agency.
From the Commissioners point of
view, the only possible value in the
destruction of the agency is that its
$3.4-million fund would become avail
able to the city highway department.
But this is one-shot temptation which
should be resisted. Whatever the
motives of those who backed this move
in the House, their action was a
mistake. The Senate should kill the
House rider, and make certain that it
remains buried.
Evening star., 1961-05-02
Low Spread Thin

On April 26, I read in your
newspaper Of Police Chief
Murray's testimony before
Senate Subcommitteemen
regarding the possibility of
enforced parking meter reg
ulations. Chief Murray stated
that he felt police of the Dis
trict Of Columbia could en-
force parking meter regula-
tions without interfering
with more serious duty"
This proviso putting uni
formed policemen back to
enforcing parking meter reg
ulations and eliminating
meter aides was attached by
the House to a recently
passed sales tax bill.
I can't, for the life Of me,
see how the Metropolitan
Police force can handle the
task Of enforcing parking
meter regulations when they
already suffer an acute short
age Of policemen now. This
also is evident in the increase
Evening star., 1961-05-02

economy, and have autho-
rized, or condoned, many
smaller strikes and work
stoppages which were wholly
unwarranted and which have
added tremendously to the
cost of completing essential
Government contracts as well
as delaying programs Of ut
most Importance.
The whole structure of the
Federal Government, ad-
miniStrative, legislative, and
judicial, has failed to meet
its proper responsibilities to
a point where we are now in
danger of destruction as a
democratic nation, of becom-
ing the victim of a false
theology pressed upon us by
powerful and unScrupulous
enemies. or Of conquest by
the peoples who have adopted
this theology. We have been
almost craven in the face of
open aggression by our en-
emies. We have continually
blundered in our dealings
with other nations and
peoples. And we have made
worthless the skillS and Ia
bors of thousands of loyal
citizens because the Federal
Government has failed to
make prompt, intelligent, and
clear-cut decisions, to take
decisive action consistent
with its proper authority and
responsibility, when condi-
tions made such decision
and action imperative.
1 realize that I am only
a voice in the wilderness, but
perhaps this letter may serve
to start some sort of chain
reaction which could be help
full. It is almost too late.
E. r. Ballinger.
Evening star., 1961-05-02
WHdIfe Control

AS a fellow bird-lover, I
would like to correct a few
misinterpretations your read
ers might have gotten from
the letter Spare the Doves"
First Of all, mourning
doves are not nearly extinct,
at least in this area. They
can be found in many parts
Of the District of Columbia
and its suburbs. including
even the park areas of Cap
itol Hill. I see them there
very frequently. 1t is almost
impossible not to see doves
along the C&O canal and
elsewhere nearby.
Secondly. the need Of these
birds for protection: I GER
tainly agree that the mourn
ing dove should not be hunted
while nesting, but I think
that there is a very good
reason why they should be
hunted during the fall. Most
Of them will die anyway from
disease, winter cold, and
starvation. Natural predators
have been too thoroughly
controlled" to keep this
species under control. Only
hunting can offer these birds
a quick and humane death
under present conditions. In
spite Of the fact that there
are only one or two eggs in
each clutch. the mourning
dove reproduces itself rap
idly: it nests two or three
times in a season.
One thing far too few peo-
pie interested in birds seem to
fully realize is the place Of
the intelligent, law-abiding
hunter in wildlife protection.
Not only does he act as a
control, but most of the
money used by States for
wildlife conservation comes
from license fees and duck
stamps bought by him.
John w. Gardner,
Audubon Naturalist
Society.
Evening star., 1961-05-02
Answers to Questions
BY THE HASKINS SERVICE

@. How old must a horse
be before it can race in the
United States?-C. E.
A. Horses are not allowed
to race until they are Off
cially two years old. A horses
official age is reckoned from
January l of the year in
which he was born. There
fore, a thoroughbred foaled
anytime during 1859 became
one year old, officially, on
January /, 1860 and two
years old on January l, 1861
and thereby eligible for
racing.
Evening star., 1961-05-02

urge that we follow, have
brought them nothing but
disaster. All the while we have
been losing our fight for the
free world, and our leadership
thereof. The great majority
Of the members Of Congress,
If judged by their actions are
much more interested in fur
thering their own selfish am
bitions than they are in the
welfare of their country and
the preservation and extern
sion Of democratic forms of
government throughout the
world. They have plunged the
Nation hopelessly into debt
and are daily pushing fur
ther toward financial ruin.
They ask the executive de-
partments to economic and
to spend wisely, yet the House
of Representatives blithely
and quickly. without ade-
quate debate and by voice
vote, passes a bill increasing
by thousands of dollars the
office expense allowance of
each member, most of whom
already have allowances far,
far in excess Of their actual
needs for any official purpose.
BY what is almost confis-
catory taxation and question:
able antitrust legislation,
the enforcement of which is
also highly questionable, they
belabor the business man un-
til most of them are afraid
to invest risk capital" one
of the few ways by which we
can advance our economy.
Yet they do nothing to con-
troll belligerent and unscru-
pulous labor unions, a ma
tion-wide strike by only one
Of which could, in certain
cases, paralyze our entire
Evening star., 1961-05-02
Costro's Prize

1t can hardly be denied that Prime
Minister Fidel Castro of Cuba richly
deserves the Lenin peace Prize" that
has just been bestowed on him by the
Kremlin. After all, the award is for
rendering good and faithful service to
the cause sof Red totalitarianism, and
he has certainly earned it on that basis.
He has done so by converting his
country into a virtual Communist
beachhead in the Western Hemisphere.
The Lenin prize, of course, has
nothing whatever to do with promoting
peace. On the contrary, it is given only
to those who play conspicuous role in
helping the men Of the Kremlin carry
out their war on freedom and their drive
for global domination. In that respect,
the award is altogether becoming to the
young Cuban dictator, for no one has
done more than he-up to now, at any
rate-to pave the way for very real
and potentially very dangerous program
or Soviet SubverSion and aggression in
the Americas.
Let us take note of only a few of
Doctor" CaStro'S qualifications for this
Soviet honor" First, just as in George
Orwell'S 1884," and just as in the never
ending inventions of MoScow's propa-
gandistS, he and his sinister cocoon
spiratorS keep on turning the truth
upside down and converting reality
into the opposite of itself. More than
that, while thus using the weapon Of
the Big Lie with wild abandon, the
Havana tyranny continues to do every
thing poSSible-in the most virulent and
1ncend1ary manner-to build up hatred
against our country, to sow discord
throughout the hemisphere and to
wreck the cooperative democratic proc
esses Of the inter American system.
And finally, with growing police state
terrorism, Fidel has been Systematically
fastening on his people a dictator
ship Of the proletariat" we'll calculated
to make Cuba an abject and completely
enslaved satellite of international COM
munism.
Small wonder, therefore, that Castro
has been chosen for one of this years
Lenin peace" prizes by Soviet Premier
khruShchev, who is being hailed In the
controlled Cuban press as 'loved and
respected leader" worthy of everybody's
affectionate trust. BY way Of contrast,
President Kennedy is burned in effigy
down there by the dictator-controlled
mobS, and our country is libeled and
reviled in way that is perfectly shock
ing, as If Cuba has lost its mind.
But Cuba has not really lost its
mind. Instead, what it has lost, or
rather what it has been robbed Of, is
its freedom. It's people, with whom our
country has had close ties for genera
tionS, are tragically caught up in some
thing that is not of their own doing,
and great numbers of them-the think
ing ones-muSt surely be sickened by
the spectacle Of Dictator Castro receiv-
ing honors from Moscow for betraying
them to communism.
Evening star., 1961-05-02
VISTAS IN SCIENCE
Craft to Cruise Ocean Bed Desiqned
BY THOMAS R. HENRY

A boat" that can cruise
in the greatest depths of the
Sea-a little over seven miles
for a minimum distance of
100 miles at speeds of from
three to six miles an hour,
now exists in Navy blueprints.
1t has not actually been
built but, it is claimed, build
ing would be only a matter of
time and money. The theory
seems without flaw.
This has just been reported
through the Office of Naval
Research by DR.. F. A. Pierce
of the Naval Ordnance Test
Station at China Lake, Calf.
The new boat, admittedly,
is an adaptation of the
bathyscape of the great
French inventor and under
sea explorer, M. Picard. He
has been in frequent consul
tation in drawing up the
plans. M. Picard could go to
the greatest known depths.
Once there, however, he could
only come up again. His
bathyscape barely could turn
around, at the best. 1t could
move only a fraction of a mile
an hour. Actually, it never
moved at all.
1t was only necessary, DR..
Pierce says, to equip the
bathyscape with a propeller
and electric motor. This, how
ever, has involved excep-
tional technical difficulties.
Strictly for Science
1t should be emphasized,
he says, that the new bottom
of-the-sea craft has no mill
tary significance. 1t will be
a long time before battles are
fought on the sea bottom, if
ever.
The only idea, he empha-
sizes, has been a vehicle for
scientific exploration of the
depths and for observing
very deep sea life and bot
tom contours over consider
able distances.
The boat probably will be
built only when there is a
definite call for it.
Everything and everybody
is getting all queued up all
the time.
At the end of World War l
many a CT made a solemn
VOW never to stand in line
for anything on earth again
but it was a more comfort
able earth then with a lot
fewer people in it. Only the
most dedicated have kept
their VOWS.
Evening star., 1961-05-02
u. S. Failing to Meet Communist Threat Head On

The present situation in
Cuba is more solid evidence
Of the failure of this country
to deal adequately with the
problem of communism, and
unwarranted tolerance Of
those who seek to injure us,
individually and collectively,
both inside and outside the
United States.
When one knows that q
mad dog is loose in the street
only a fool waits to be bitten
before doing something about
it. Yet we, as a nation, re-
peatedly have permitted our
selves and our friends to be
bitten until we, and they,
have become infected with
the mad virus of Red COM
munism. And we have done
nothing effectively to stop
further infection. Also we,
and our so-called allies, have
stood by Intellectually while
nations, and millions of peo-
pie, who would have been our
friends have been conquered
and enslaved by the ruthless
power of communism as ex-
emplified by Soviet Russia
and Red China, nations that
have no morals or ethics as
we understand the meanings
Of these words, but who are
completely dedicated to the
conquest of the world.
The present administration,
and those of the recent past,
have temporized when they
should have taken decisive
and effective action; they
have attempted to COM
promise, to conciliate, and to
propitiate, and have followed
too often the counsel of allied
nations whose own policies,
which they press upon us and
Evening star., 1961-05-02
Virqinio Schools

Unquestionably, the ace
card to be played by the
Justice Department in its
move to bar State funds from
all public schools in Virginia
until public schools are re-
opened in Prince Edward
County on an integrated
basis, will be Section 129 of
the Virginia Constitution
which requires that the Cen
eral Assembly shall establish
and maintain an efficient
system of public free schools
throughout the State.
Those Virginians who are
convinced that forced in
tegration will destroy the
public school system favored
the repeal of Section 129.
Gov. Almond, however, op-
posed this step and proposed
a more liberal program of
freedom of choice" which
was adopted. It is now ap-
parent that the Kennedy
administration is determined
that there shall be no free
dom Of choice for the people
Of Virginia.
Harvey H. Hewitt.
Never, in my lifetime, did
I think I would see deliberate,
studied violation Of the basic
principles embodied in the
Constitution of the United
States by an Attorney Gen
eral who has taken an oath
to uphold it.
The brazen and uncon-
stitutional attempt by the
Justice Department to inter-
pose the authority Of the
Federal Government in the
Prince Edward County.
Virginia, school issue reeks
with the stencil. of the sup
posedly vanished "reconstruc-
ton" era. In the norm a !
sequence Of events, the next
logical step is the disinter-
ment and reactivation of the
late, unlamented Freedmen's
Bureau.
I submit that the presently
constituted Federal Govern
ment is no longer content
with the destruction Of the
once sovereign States. Bobby
Kennedy, and others Of his
persuasion, now insist that
our county governments be
managed in detail by the
Washington. D. c., henchmen
of the NAACP and the ADA.
The issue is no longer limited
to segregation or desegrega-
ton. We are faced with the
carefully planned destruc-
ton Of all local government
at every level.
Like most Americans, I be-
lieve in obeying the law.
There comes q time, however,
when the only course left
open to honorable men is to
resist tyranny with any avail
able means. That time is fast
approaching.
James A. Mitchell
Evening star., 1961-05-02

Now the Navy, itself al
ways a bad offender, is try
ing to ameliorate the sit
uation with some higher
mathematics of line stand
ing. Present efforts were de-
scribed before a Navy science
conference at the United
States Naval Academy by
DR.. T. L. Saaty of the Office
Of Naval Research. "Queu-
ing theory" he pointed out,
apparently is quite a COM
plex branch of math, ex-
tending beyond theater
lines in super-marketS to
subtler forms such as stack
ing of airplanes in altitude
while waiting to land and
crowding of items waiting
inspection on an assembly
line.
Queues Part of Life
Increased activity in the
field of queues, DR.. Saaty
told the conference, has
produced a large number of
important ramificationS of
the simple idea of a waiting
line. A broad structure has
emerged from the many
theoretical and applied con-
tributionS, and is helpful in
making decisions regarding
congestion. Such measures
may involve waiting times,
numbers waiting or the busy
period of the service facility.
With rapid increase in
population and the ever
increasing demand ON facil-
tiles it is essential to under
stand queues in order to be
better able to cope with them.
Maximization or miniature
zation occur in queues mostly
for economic reaSons-lower-
ing the cost of total opera
ton or loss of customers be-
cause of inadequate service"
Evening star., 1961-05-02

Pen names may be used u
letters carry 1Driters' correct
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terS are subject to condenSG-
ton. Those not used tpin be
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