davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-03-04

seem confused over the pattern of events, and all
express the wish that their children can soon re-
turn to classes.
Things have not been easy for the Negro lead
ers. The Rev. L. Francis Griffin, minister of the
First Baptist Church in Farmville and repre-
sentative Of the National Association for the Ad-
vancement of ColOred People, has been hOspi-
talized in recent weeks with stomach ulcer
brought on, associates say, by the strain of the
last few years. The Griffins have six children, the
youngest an infant and Mrs. Griffin is attempting
to teach them at home
Il do WISH" she says, that this could have
been handled without closing the schools"
Mrs. Dorothy CrOner, secretary of the Prince
Edward Christian Association, Negro group
fighting for racial equality, says the trouble in
Prince Edward started long before the public
schools closed.
She says Negro parents in the county petit
toned countless times for better school facilities
but to no avail She indicated that acceptance of
public schools for Negroes would have weakened
their stand for equal rights.
Prince Edward County is largely farming
area, with tobacco-dar fire-cured and light
f1ue-cured-the main money crop. In recent years,
dairying has been on the increase, and many
prosperous dairy farms are spotted throughout
the county
Continued page
SUNDAY. THE STAR MAGAZINE. WASHINGTON. D.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-03-04

Court barred State scholarship grants to county
residents, Mr.. PierSOn says, no child has been
turned away from private school.
Mr.. Pierson, who moved to Prince Edward
after his retirement as an oil company executive,
is a former chairman of the County School Board
He resigned from the board to serve as private
school administrator.
Most of the former teachers in the white pub
lie schools have remained with the private
schools. The high school, Prince Edward AGA
deny, is headed by r. c. Gilmer former assistant
principal and athletic coach at the Farmville
High School Elementary classes are taught in
churches in Farmville and other county COM
munities.
After nearly three years without public
schools, some Prince Edward residents are be-
ginning to wonder if the county moved too quickly
to close its schools In Farmvlle, and out through
the rural areas, some residents say the problem
might have been solved without closing the
schools. They are quick, however, to request
that their names not be used
And while residents with more moderate
views believe that the problem might have been
solved without the drastic action of closing the
schools, they are just emphatic in stating that
they will not tolerate indignation.
Even among some of the Negro residents
there is a slight indication that integratiOn
leaders have taken too positive stand Some
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-03
Welfare SIeuths

In view of the cases of ineligibility
already disclosed, the Commissioners
have done well to expand the crack
down against chiseling on relief rolls.
Perhaps some good will come from the
warnings to be sent the $4,000 recip-
tents of public welfare that violations
Twill be dealt with severely" especially
since this threat will be reinforced by
the referral of abuses to the District
Attorneys office for possible prosecution.
However, the major need is for
more investigators to conduct on-the-
spot checks which, on limited basis,
already have indicated that cheating
is widespread. The doubling Of the
five-man investigating team now en-
gagged in these checkups is step in
the right direction. But this is only
a stop-gap measure, for the newly
assigned men will deplete the Welfare
Department staff which routinely in
vestigateS complaints from social work.
ers. Under the circumstances, the need
for increasing the total number of in
vestigatorS appears obvious, and we
hope that the Commissioners request
funds for this purpose at the earliest
opportunity.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-03
Transit to Dulles

There are several interesting wrin-
kles in the proposal advanced by o. Roy
Chalk for high-speed, elevated, rail-
transit line between Georgetown and
Dulles Airport. And not the least of
them is Mr. Chalk's insistence that the
bulk of its tremendous construction
cost could be arranged for privately by
his company.
This, if true, is no insignificant
point, for of all the varied problems
inherent in the development of an eff
fective regional rapid-transit system,
financing is certainly among the fore
most.
But financing is by no means the
only question that needs to be answered.
Equally important is whether the line
Mr.. Chalk proposes would provide the
best service between the terminal areas.
Would this goal be attained by trains
running along the Maryland shore of
the Potomac to Glen Echo, and thence
across the river, rather than by con-
tinuous line through the congested
areas of Fairfax and Arlington? Is an
elevated system as desirable and as
feasible as one at grade? And what
happens when the inbound trains reach
Georgetown? Obviously, to be fully eff
fective, such line needs to be extended
downtown.
These are matters on which Mr..
Chalk touches only briefly. Unfortu-
nately, there has been a total lack of
communication between Mr. Chalk and
the National Capital Transportation
Agency, which Congress has endowed
with responsibility for drafting a re-
gional transit plan. It is quite obvious
from what little is known of the Meta
plans, however, that its thinking has
not been along parallel lines with the
Chalk plan. 1t will be Impossible to
make any meaningful judgment of the
new proposal, therefore, until these
differences are analysed and explained.
Moreover, Mr.. Chalk's proposal appar-
emily is contingent upon its sponsorship
by the new regional transit regulatory
body - the Washington Metropolitan
Area Transit CommiSsion-and upon the
availability of substantial Federal as
sistance to pay for at least part Of the
system. Neither of these conditions is
settled.
Nevertheless, it would be mistake
for anyone to dismiss the D. C. Transit
scheme prematurely The Meta is ex-
pected to consider such proposals not
only fully, but effectively and fairly,
There is room in the rapid-transl.
picture for ideas originating from
va riatv 0f sources in and ont of Uov-
eminent.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-03
Man and the Heavens

All too often we read or
hear of a space-try failure.
OF course, for each failure
we've also had successful
launchings. Good!
But cliches like: mis-
taxes will happen" ito err
is human" mo one is per-
feet" everybody makes mis-
takes" or even a shrug Of
the Shoulders-all these have
no place in the space age and
eventually will be considered
"sick rationalizations."
How many of us have had
inculcated in our subcon-
scious minds the threat that
to tamper with the stars is
blasphemous and leads only
to eternal damnation?"
What if a technician, sci
enlist, designer, engineer,
clerical worker within our
space program were one of
these?
Could it be possible then
that any given subconscious
mind might cause a mis-
take" when faced with the
decision of choosing between
the beautiful struggle" with
in itself or reaching the stars
and eternal damnation" d?
Ray Tridente.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-03
Help Needed

There was nothing phony about the
note OF desperation which marked the
Citizens Crime Commissions discussion
OF the Juvenile Court crisis. The crisis
arising from the huge and growing
backlog OF delinquency cases is real and
exceedingly serious AS Oliver Gasch,
former United States attorney, we'll
put 1t, the courts lone Judge, Orm
ketcham, needs help and needs it
desperately"
Mr.. Gasch pointed to the absurdity
OF expecting one-judge court, con-
s1dered adequate to the needs of 1906,
to cope with the thousands of cases
which come before the court every year
In 'today's vastly expanded city. He
deplored the impasse which has devel-
oped between Senate and House over
a Senate-passed bill for two additional
judges and House bill to transfer the
Juvenile Court to the Municipal Court
and add one Judge to it.
Meanwhile a logjam of 1000 cases
has piled up before Judge Ketcham,
with more than score of new cases
being filed each day. Cutting down on
this pile Is a hopeless task for one
judge and would be difficult one for
three. AS result, Deputy Police Chief
John E. Winters told the commission,
delays Of from four months to a year
occur in trying important juvenile cases.
Such delays, he stressed, encourage
further delinquency. How long will
Congress tolerate the continuance of
such dangerous situation? Both Mr..
Gasch and Deputy Chief, Winters urged
prompt passage of the Senate Measure,
calling for three-judge Juvenile Court,
completely independent. We agree that
this is the best solution for the shame
full plight in which the court, through
no fault of its own, finds itself.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-03
We Are Still Ahead

Admiral George w. Anderson, IT.,
Chief of Naval Operations, has cited
to the Senate Armed Services Com
which the United States retains a de-
cisive lead over the Russians. This is
in the field of nuclear-headed missiles
capable of being fired from beneath
the sea at distant targets. The Soviet
navy so far has only Short-range mis-
SileS for submarine use, he said, and
they are believed to be inferior in
number of respects to Americas we'll
known PolariS. Furthermore, according
to the best intelligence available, none
of the Soviet submarine missiles can
be launched from submerged station.
And surfaced submarine exposes it
self to the risks of detection and attack.
Admiral Anderson testified that to-
days Soviet missiles for submarine use
have range of only $50 miles, as
compared with the latest Polaris range
of more than $500 miles. However, he
said he did not doubt that the Rus
slams before long would have missiles
of much longer range than their pres
ent weapon. Nor does the Navy doubt
that Soviet scientists and engineers
are working feveriShly to produce
submarine missile that, like the Po-
lariS, can be launched from deep be-
meath the ocean.
Meanwhile, there is a measure of
comfort for the West in the knowl-
edge that we now have five Polaris-
equipped submersibles at strategic 10
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-03
The City's Wards

An article by Grace Bas-
sett on relief abuses made
the implication that the
Welfare Department and
local officials are ignorant of
the problem and cannot yet
answer why parents have
cheated for welfare grants"
To penalize one child
whose needs must be met in
order to "recapture a sense
of values" to penalize women
who were raised in an
atmosphere of social depriva-
ton and who society also
ignored as children, to
criticize destructively merely
perpetuates the problem. To
list these human tragedies as
cases one to seventeen has a
condemning quality which
pegs the real issues involved.
You cannot flog a bankrupt
mother and create a healthy
home. Money is not the issue
no matter what a congress-
man says from on high or a
taxpayer expresses because
he feels moral indignation.
The cultural and personal
problems involved require a
more vigorous and tolerant
approach which rectifies the
difficulties they create. In
fact, more money needs to be
spent in order to solve these
problems and rehabilitate or
habiltate these families
through a constructive, ag-
gressive program which sup
ports these families with
more than money.
Sidney Berman, MD.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-03
Stroightens UsOut

This letter concerns an ar
t1cle in The Star of Jan. 20
about the popular music con-
cert and dance held at Alice
Deal Junior High School.
The title of the article
Twist Interrupts Glasses"
implies that academic time
was used for the program.
No student missed class nor
was any class interrupted.
The concert was held during
assembly period, and the
dance was held after school.
Our program was an ex-
pertinent offering students
criteria for discrimination in
popular music. There were
many facets to the expert
ment which we hope to de-
velop further in subsequent
presentations.
Frank M. TOperZer.
Instrumental Music Teacher,
Alice Deal Junior High.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-03
VISTAS IN SCIENCE
Wonderful World of Animal Life
By THOMAS r. HENRY

spend their entire lifetimes
within a spherical field Of
electricity, generated by their
own low voltage batteries,
have just been reported to the
National Academy of Sciences.
They are the so-called
knife fishes" of South Amer
lean rivers. The report is by
DR.. Theodore Bullock and his
associates Of the University
of Los Angeles.
"The knife fish," says the
report. surrounds itself with
an electrical field, The current
is too weak to shock living
organisms in the way that the
stiff jolt generated by an
electric eel does. 1t apparently,
however, serves as an early
warning line which tells the
fish Of the approach of a po-
tential enemy. It also may
assist him in locating food,
as well as signalling the pres
ence of rocks and holes"
SensOry Mechanism
1t is not, says the report,
like radar or sonar which
bounce waves off an object.
The mechanism depends on
changes in the pattern of the
electrical field as it is dis
torted by an object. Thus it
appears to be another sensory
mechanism like eyes or ears
which helps the fish better to
perceive its environment.
The investigators have
studied the mechanism by i'm
planting tiny electrodes in a
single nerve fiber of the SEN
sorry nerve that detects dis
tortions in this field. With this
highly sensitive electronic
equipment they have recorded
the steady but extremely
small discharge of electricity.
They also have recorded
the ch .nges in the electrical
pate i brought about by the
approaching objects.
This electrical outer shirt
Of the knife fishes, they re-
port. apparently is unique in
nature and must have been
developed to meet special, but
at present unknown, condi-
tions.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-03

A hereditary race OF min
iature MICE" about half
the size Of normal animals
when full grown, has been
produced.
1t is described by DR..
Dorothea Bennett of Colum-
bias Department of Zoology,
in a report to the Journal
of Heredity, organ of the
American Genetics AsSocia-
ton.
At birth members of this
new line are about three
fourths normal size. At first
the two, dwarfs and normals,
grow at about the same rate,
relatively, but the dwarfs
soon lag behind the normals
and this is more and more
the case until full growth is
reached.
All the time, however, the
body proportions remain
normal. Hair and tooth de-
velopment occur at the nor
NAL times. Just before death,
however, the dwarfs suffer a
great loss of weight. The new
line appeared accidentally in
the Columbia stock of ex-
perimental mice.
Survival Doubtful
There is little prospect, DR..
Bennett points out, that the
new race long will survive.
Left to itself it would prob
ably have no chance at all.
The death rate is heavy at
all times, compared with that
among normal mice, and
especially in the period just
after birth. Of those born
alive, she reports, 81 percent
were dead by the end of the
first week, 10 percent by the
end Of the first month, and
SO percent after two months.
A few survived as long as
four months.
Deaths apparently were
from all sorts of causes but,
it is believed, underlying the
high rate is some fundamen-
tai defect which has not
been located.
The new mice prove in
fertile when mated with nor
NAL animals.
4 y 4
Small tropical fish that
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-03
Marks of Recovery

Labor Secretary Goldberg had good
news on one front and reasonably
cautious encouragement on another of
comparable Importance in his testi-
mony before the Joint Congressional
Economic Committee
The good news was the fact that
the unemployment rate in January
dropped to So per cent-the first time
since September, 1860, that it had
fallen below 6 per cent. The encour-
agement came in his expression of
hopefulness that steel strike will not
be touched off by expiration at mid
year Of the industry-labor contracts
now in force.
AS usual, the job statistics have
their dark hues as well as their brighter
ones. Long-term Unemployment, en-
bracing joblessness for four months or
more, remained at about 125 million
within the total of 46 million listed
as out of work last month. There has
been no significant change in this
long-term jobless figure during the past
year, and it is in this area that the
administration is most anxious for leg
iSlation which would authorize greater
Federal help through a manpower re-
training program and expanded cover
age by the unemployment compensa-
ton system. Still, there is cheer in
the fact that the civilian labor force
at work last month reached January
record high of slightly more than IS
million, better than 100000 above the
corresponding figure one year ago.
Not only the job figures, but other
bits of evidence in recent weeks, ap-
pear to justify Mr.. Goldbergs state
ment that 1--WE are in the midst of
vigorous economic recovery, with pro-
duction and employment reaching new
highs" In the customary January flow
of annual statements on corporation
earnings and order backlogS, for ex-
ample, it has become noticeable that
an increasing number of fourth quar-
ter reports are showing marked i'm
provement over earlier parts of the
year.
Quite logically, the Secretary re-
lated this trend to his hopes that there
WOu1u NC 1lO upoCGGI1IS oCcc1 oCIlhc. uc-
marking that we cannot afford a repe-
tition of the 1859 strike, which lasted
for 116 days, Mr.. Goldberg told the
committee that he is planning an ap-
peal to both management and labor for
a non-strike settlement. While formal
contract bargaining has not yet begun,
there have been reports that the Labor
Secretary already has had some CONVEX
sation with both sides and even that
management and labor have had some
preliminary contact.
Whatever the exact situation of
the moment, it is clear that either
long strike or an inflationary settle
ment would be damaging to the ma
tional economic interests While there
may be grounds for caution toward
Government intervention in collective
bargaining, the Secretary of Labor can
exercise useful influence in this case.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-03
Justice Blind?

An article in The Star of
January 81, reporting the re-
suits of four cases tried in
District courts, displayed the
obstacles faced by the Metro
politan Police Department. It
seems to me that even when
the department supplies the
necessary evidence to con-
vict, either by judge or jury,
the district attorneys office,
through lack of ability or
lack of interest, accepts a
lesser plea, or the sentence
after conviction is so lenient
that it does not dissuade
crime, but makes it a very
lucrative. self-satisfying way
of life for many.
This, or course, is a won-
derful situation for the mi
nority that believes in this
way of life, but our fore
fathers planned our judicial
branch of the Government
according to the long accept
ed belief that crime does not
pay.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-03
Ban on 'Tropic'

We heartily commend Fair
fax Commonwealth Attorney
Robert G. Fitzgerald for the
action taken to ban the OBJ
scene novel, 1.-THE Tropic of
Cancer" We are grateful,
too, for such action taken in
Alexandria and in Mont
gomery County. America
sorely needs men of convic-
ton who will fight against
the demoralizing influences
that abound in this so-called
Christian nation.
The many evils rampant in
our land paint a black
picture. Topographic litera-
ture is made readily Access
sible to our youth; crime,
violence and sex are exalted
on TV and movie screen;
drunkenness and debauchery
are commonplace; rape, MUIR
der and theft make the
streets of our Nations
Capital unsafe; divorce and
juvenile delinquency are on
the increase, etc. Yet there
are those who oppose the
ban on such filth as. "Tropic"
as an infringement of our
liberties. There are others
who advocate the Danish
ment of God and the Bible
from our public schools. Have
we gone completely mad?
Christ said, "Ye shall know
the truth, and the truth
shall make you free" Can
we, a Christian nation, sac
rifice truth for error, light
for darkness?
Kathryn T. BOwSher
y \ y u
A letter to The Star from
the Minister of the Fairfax
Unitarian Church protests
"the current vilifying attacks
on this classic" (referring to
the proposed ban in Fairfax
OF the filthy book "Tropic of
Cancer.")
Is it possible to soil any,
thing which is already filthy
beyond belief? How then
anyone can vilify something
already villainous is beyond
understanding. And as to the
book being a "classic"-it is
so only in the sense that it
is a masterpiece of licen-
tlousness. obscenity and por-
biography. If the unprintable
passages were removed from
1t, there would be nothing
to 1t. It has no plot, teaches
no moral, and without the
dirt for dirt'S sake, there
would be complete lack of
anything Of interest. To de-
serve the description "clas-
sic" a book must tell a story
which grips the reader from
the beginning to end, as with
Dumas Count of Monte
Cristo," or teach the human
race a needed lesson, as with
CervanteS' Don Quixote."
The only lesson we can
learn from "Tropic of Can
Ger" is that it is possible to
write a story about dirty peo-
pie living in depravity, and
become rich from selling it to
curious teen-agers who may
be tempted from the reading
thereof to embrace licen-
tiousneSs, if not outright
crime, as a way of life. This
Is the grave danger our
young people face in these
days of lax morality and at
tacks on our laws by people
who set up the cry censor
ship"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-03
Everett 4. Clark, Jr.
Conservative Type

The loud, shrill, and dis
cordant shrieks of protest
coming from the never, never,
neither land of the far left
wing liberal is a comforting
sound. For 80 years they
have been in control with
little opposition and look at
their results. Now their rau-
couS voices indicate they are
in serious danger of being
replaced by conservative SAN
ity. Let us pray they are
removed. Another 80 years
like the ! - three decades
and George Orwell's big
Brother" will no longer be
fiction.
w. d. LangstOn.