davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-03-22
Sitter Gun Lows

In their earnest effort to outwit the
flourishing underworld, District officials
have turned to New York States Sullivan
Law as a pattern for Tightening the
control over firearms. With its licensing
and stiff penalty features, the Sullivan
Law was supposed to give police the
drop on criminals, but there are many
today who think the 40-year-old statute
has been demonstrable failure.
ANY law that win keep guns out Of
felonS' and murderers' hands is a good
law But so far none has been devised,
nor is there likely to be until that i'm
probable day when all are barred at the
manufacturers level. Any criminal will
always be ablS to get gun by hook or
crook.
This is not to say the authorities
should stop trying to make possession
Of weapons by the wrong people more
difficult. However, 1t is doubtful whether
the proposed law denying guns to any
minor, appealing though 1t may sound,
would cut much ice. Some young people
are competent to handle target pistol,
for example.
The Districts present gun law is
regarded as one Of the country's best.
What is needed is uniform law applic-
able to all metropolitan area juriSdic-
tions. At present guns may be purchased
in Montgomery and Prince Georges
Counties, as in Fairfax County and Falls
Church, without restriction. Police in
these communities should make pre-
purchase Investigations as they do of
gun buyers in the District, Alexandria
and Arlington.
But considerable doubt Is raised
about the feasibility of new District
proposals for licensing of guns kept in
homes and business places. The Ma
tional Rifle Association, for one, believes
licensing by police gives too much arbi-
trary control over the issuance Of guns
to law-abiding citizens. 1t feels strongly
about the constitutional right to keep
and bear arms.
In the final analysis, most enforce
ment officers believe laws as strong as
the Districts are about as far as it is
practicable to 60. Again 1t is the old
story Of lax prosecution of the available
laws. Sitter sentences for armed rob-
berries and other felonies are what is
really needed. There is not much point
in passing new laws which might keep
guns from people who obey the law, but
not from criminals who flout the law.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-03-22
Mr.. K. on Chips

g. 1t is interesting, II not earth-shak-
ing, that Premier Nikita s. Khrushchev
has Just recommended to the people of
the Soviet Union that they eat corn
flakes and potato chips, Just as Ameri-
cans do. He learned about them, as he
has explained, during his 1859 visit to
the United States, and he is all in favor
Of them, although nobody is yet making
them In the Marxist-Leninist paradise.
Take cornflakes, for instance. Mr..
*. thinks that they make a splendid
breakfast food-the sort Of thing that
builds champion-and he wants to see
them become part Of the USSR's way Of
life. AS for potato chips, he has great
respect for them, having found them to
be pleasantly crunchy, delightfully."- tasty
and altogether nourishing.
OF course, as the saying goes, one
mans meat Is another's poison, but
Nikita Khrushchev apparently does not
subscribe TO the idea that de gustibus
non est disputandum." On the con-
trary, at least as far as cornflakes and
potato chips are concerned, he seems
ready to argue about taste until the
cows come home.
But let's not, at this point, bring up
the subject OF cows or calves or bulls
or steers In the Soviet Union. They con-
stitute peculiarly sensitive subject for
Mr.. X. Anyhow, they are much more diff
ficult TO raise IN the USSR than things
like cornflakeS and potato chips.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-03-22
After-Hours Glasses

With It's approval of special late
afternoon classes for disruptive students,
the District Board of Education has
assumed commercially more realistic
attitude toward disciplinary problems in
the schools.
The 8-to-1 vote by which the board
sanctioned the program was especially
gratifying, for 1t yielded measure of
support to Superintendent Hansen, en-
this matter at least, which is fully
deserved. 1t appeared from their discus
sions, however, that some members who
concurred in the action still harbor
misgivings If so, we think their concerns
are misplaced. Before voting In favor
of the new proposal, for example, DR..
Mordecai w. Johnson spoke against it,
and said at one point: I'VE don't dare
come to the place where we say we have
group of people who are impossible"
Surely DR.. Johnson did not mean to
imply that the afterahours school plan In
any way abandons problem" students.
Indeed, far from giving up on them, this
unusual and different approach" as
Or. Hansen characterizes it, is distinct
effort to avoid throwing even the most
uncomfortable and recalcitrant students
entirely out of the school system
wherever that is possible. It's primary
purpose, of course, is to isolate the ex-
tremist troublemakers, in order to free
the great majority Of students from the
disruptive and often intolerable antics
of the few. But the intention is also
to give special help to the problem"
students, to offer them carefully de-
veloped and highly flexible courses of
instruction, and hopefully, to work
many Of them eventually back to nor
NAL classroomS.
Arrangements for the special classes
have not been completed. 1t appears,
however, that the instruction will last
from about 3 pm. to about pm. daily.
The classes are likely to be established
Mutually in single school building. II
the program appears promising, it can
easily be expanded, since most school
buildings are vacated by late afternoon.
The assignment Of problem" students
to the special classes will be primarily,
Of course, the responsibility of school
principals. DR.. Hansen intends to avoid
needless red tape and complicated rules
Of procedure. This, we think, is wise.
The School Board has approved the
late-hour program only until June 80, a
deadline which caused some initial
concern. That should provide sufficient
time, however, to assess its workability.
The important thing now is to begin as
soon as the program can be developed.
We trust that the Commissioners will
see to 1t that the school administration
receives whatever cooperation is needed
from other local agencies. ,.4.s.-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-03-22
Under Western Skies

The State Of Arizona has some mag
nificent charlottesville Grand Canyon,
the Painted Desert, the Petrified Forest
and a humidity-free climate that is
bathed in sunshine an estimated 80 per
cent Of the daylight hours each year. 1t
is, in many ways, fine State for retire
ment living, and no doubt will continue
to be popular in this regard. 81.
The State of Arizona also has large
areas of bleak and inhospitable land, a
mixture of mountain and desert, some
of It so lacking In rainfall as to be
parched and barren-not really suitable
for pool-side cookouts under star
studded Western skies, even II there are
highways by which TO reach it. ....
And so 1t is that buying retirement
homesites In Arizona-as we'll as In any
other State-calls for more, much more,
than innocent faith in the integrity Of
eloquent statesmen, brightly colored bro
chures, and terms so absurdly easy Isl
down and $40 monthly that they alone
should prompt suspicion. With one in
dictment already in, the Post Office and
Justice Departments report that approx
imately 1856 cases Of allegedly fraudulent
mail-order land sales - promoted on
grounds Of non-existent facilities and at
tractions-are still under investigation.
Attorney General Kennedy has
noted that there are honest, magma
tive and attractive land developments,
but he also has added that evidence thus
far turned up in some Of the mail-order
Western sales operations should stand
as a warning 10 all citizens to exercise
great caution In buying land by mail"
II was not so many years ago, OF course.
that parts Of underwater Florida were
being marketed In the same fashion
also 10 older folks understandable eager
10 find pleasant climate for retirement
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-03-22

Congress has furnished a striking
illustration of how national defense
thinking has changed in the nearly two
decades Of cold war. There are those
who recall an August day in 1941, with
war already raging in Europe, and Pearl
Harbor only four months away, when
the House by scant majority of one,
voted for an 18-month service extension
of the original one-year draft law.
Contrast this skin-tight 20S-202
verdict with what the House has done
in year Of relative peace" After a
routine debate, the Representatives
agreed overwhelmingly (387-S) to con-
tinue the military draft for another four
years. The three may" votes were not
opposed to compulsory training; the
members merely favored a two-year ex-
tension rather than four.
Chairman Vinson, of the Armed
Services Committee, strongly opposed
the shorter term, which he said would
astonish and confuse our allies by giving
the world the impression we were reduc-
ing our force. He also spoke against a
move to reduce the maximum draft age
from 26 to "a. But Of all Mr.. Wilson'S
arguments, the most persuasive was
drawn from recent history. Only once,
since 1910, has this Nation tried to re-
turn to the idyllic days of totally volun-
tary military service. In March, 1947,
the draft act expired, but IS months later
1t was restored because the voluntary
system did not fill the quotas.
BY their topheavy vote and by the
dispatch with which they acted, House
members have graphically demonstrated
the Importance they place on national
security today, compared with genera
ton ago. And the Senate has done the
same with its own overwhelming APP
prevail of the draft extension bill.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-03-22

Inc appeal Dy F0relgn
Father" in The Stars agony
columns for some kind
readers" to help ease his
teen-age daughters college,
entrance anxieties and des-
pair has aroused In me
NORMALLY not q kind reader)
an anguish as deep and fer
vent as his own.
The daughter looks for
ward to the dire possibility
that. because Of an excess Of
other applicants and the
capriciousness Of admission
deans consulting the oracles
or making out the individual
astrological charts or shak-
ing the dice, she may not be
admitted to even one Of the
colleges which she thinks Of
as 'the heavenly seven. and
may indeed. in q state Of
complete mental paralysis
and catatonic daze, fail to
pass her general college-en-
trance exams completely,
thus TO be condemned like
one Of the seven foolish vir-
gins never through all
eternity to enter the BRIDE
groom's door beyond which
is the music Of lutes and
the sounds Of Joy and laugh
ter and the riotous drinking
Of wine, but to wall and
gibber and gnash her teeth
in the outer darkness among
toads and ghoulies and the
unsheepskinned doomed.
As q Native Father Of
three daughters and two
sons. now aged from 81 TO
%. but all at one time In
their individual lives teen
ayers and even younger, let
me hasten 10 provide Foreign
Father with q trio Of maxims
which he may inscribe on
cards and tack above his an
guished daughters head
board:
One Is Robert Ingersoll's
immortal saying that Col
leges are a place where dia-
monds are dulled and peb-
bles are polished. A second
Is the remark Of the late
William Allen Nelson. one
time Milton and Chaucer
pundit at Harvard, TO the
effect that in most cases,
after 10 years, the distinc-
ton between the college-edu-
Gated and the non-college
non-educated has ceased TO
exist. since most college
graduates in q decade have
lost whatever superficial
knowledge they had been
forced 10 INCEST. whereas the
ablest and most eager OF
non-college individuals have
more than caught up. A third
Is the axiom that early as
ISOLATION with intellectual
parents or other guardians.
with all the concomitants Of
books In the home. discus
sions Of philosophical ques-
tons. and so on and on. Is
In itself worth at least as
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-03-22
PARIS

EAktkO
Despite outward appear
ances, British policy on nu-
clear matters is already NOV
ing significantly In the d.
rection Of reconciliation with
France.
True, outward appearances
are being emphasized in the
aftermath Of British Foreign
Secretary Lord Homes visit
to Paris.
The fact that the French
Foreign Minister did not see
fit to attend Lord Homes
presentation to the NATO
Council-the fact that the
foreign minister spoke Of the
dangers Of "autarchical and
introverted policies" in Eu-
rope-the fact that even that
there were no motorcycles at
lie Bourget to meet the Brit
ish visitors--are all taken as
evidence Of a continuing rift.
Lord Home, it is also true,
had q good deal to say about
the indivisibility Of Western
defense and the continuing
need for an American mill
tary presence In Europe. And
yet, the more one examines
the specific proposals for a
NATO nuclear force which he
laid before the council, the
more 1t seems that they have
been tailored for European
rather than American tastes.
Stripped Of its verbal
decoration, In fact, there is
nothing really incompatible
between French nucIear doc
trine and the British offer.
What Lord Home proposed
was national nuclear forces
committed to the defense Of
Europe and co-ordinated
with the overall Western de-
tense.
National DeelslOn
The important thing from
the French point of view is
that these should be national
forces nationally manned
with decision to use them or
not to use them remaining,
in the last analysis, with the
national governments.
Even the fact that this
European force might be
placed under NATO COM
mand would not compromise
this ultimate national con-
troll. Nor would the sugges-
ton that other European ma
tons would be invited to par
ticipate In the planning and
targeting Of the force in pro-
portion to their contribution
to 1t.
This question Of contribu-
tions-in addition to Ameri-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-03-22

1 might aod That 70 the
males Of this species, the
most desirable quality in a
woman Is her ability to type
their term papers. These
people never know what life
in the world is like, and this
Is the key to the academic
maelstrom In which America
Is caught.
The college capers are q
symbol of q mass insecurity
which Is fed, like the serpent
eating its own tail, by an
endless series Of false sue
cesses. People pile up degree
after degree, thinking that
they have achieved some
thing. whereas they never
really escape dear old ivy
covered Uncomfortable u.
This creates false hopes,
false self-worth and false ex-
pectations which are respon-
sible for the low Illustration
level we see all around US.
When these people are con-
fronted with real problems
and real challenges, they fall
apart and start chewing
thorazal and adding to the
statistics on mental illness.
They are drop outs from
reality.
When I taught high school,
I saw college-prep students
verging on nervous break
downs. Generally, they were
the dullest. most colorless,
grade-conscious unromantic
boobs ever. One boy had his
life planned out like q time
table. and he would tick off
the year In which he expected
to get his BIS. his MS, etc.
He was completely devoid Of
personality and humor and
was what my poker-playing
grandmother would have
called an educated fool. IN
fortunately. he was typical Of
the type Of person ] saw
during five years Of higher
education among the elite.
This college craze has
created a vast group Of
people In our society with
decisions of grandeur. When
they find. as most do. that
the key TO the good life is
not contained In the chicken
scratches on their slide rules,
we will have q situation
made 10 order for social up
heaval. Unrealized dreams Of
glory and superiority made
the German people. after q
winter Of discomfort, follow
the equally unsuccessful and
frustrated Hitler into Nag
ism, did II not7 To answer
the popular question. what
is wrong with America" we
have only 10 look at an ad
! saw recently In the bus. Il
showed Uncle Sam saying.
college is Americas best
friend" The grand old man
had removed his tri-color top
hat and substituted a black
mortar board.
FlJrencc King
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-03-22
of Nice and Men

Adult Americans are being
exposed to a fairy tale atmos-
pheric bombardment by Gov
eminent officials who either
do not know. better or are
confident the people viii be
led away from fiscal and eco
nomic sanity as the Pied Piper
led the rats from a mythical
city.
Secretary Dillon has said
repeatedly that a tax cut
without q cut In expenditures
and q balanced budget will
make jobs more secure and
boost the economy.
This ignores our Govern
ment's record Of rs deficits
in the last 80 years which
proves that deficit spending
has not created jobs and has
not booste d the economy.
Present unemployment and
economic problems prove the
point.
Our Government has piled
up q sos billion debt which
eats up $40 billion a year in
interest. In 171a years at
compound interest principal
doubles itself. Think Of this
ominous burden we are build
ing for our children to carry!
Surely. we who are so cons
cious and considerable Of our
children's welfare today, must
concern ourselves with the
kind Of life they will have to
endure In later years when the
debt we are piling up viii de-
mand to be paid.
We should turn to and pay
our debts. This viii bring
more jobs and greater secu-
rity to all ofsus because 1t Is
morally and economically
sound and proven so.
G.-nIaa~. m.--.hsHr
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-03-22
Lessons of History

The recent incident involv-
ing the Russian trawler off
the coast Of Virginia brings
to the surface again the con-
slant coast line espionage
being conducted by the So
Wet Union. Most Of these So
called fishing" vessels are
loaded with complex cleo
tronic scanning and survey
ing gear. This operation has
been going on for years, and
will continue indefinitely;
and we, because of out-dated
international laws, are SEEM
ingly powerless to stop 1t.
These fishing" vessels are
performing an important
function for nuclear as
sault forces Of the Soviet
Union. In World War II,
navigational experts discov-
cred that existing maps and
charts were inaccurate; cor
rected fixes" disclosed that
certain islands and even cit
les were actually miles dis
tant from their supposed
geographical location. The
Importance Of this In the
nuclear age is obvious; abso-
lutte accuracy is essential,
target guidance perfection
would mean the difference
between victory and defeat
in a nuclear exchange.
Coastal espionage, the in
tensive, accelerated produc-
ton of ICBM's by Russia,
the belief that recent Soviet
tests have upgraded their
nuclear explosive yield-to-
weight ratio 1000 per cent;
the very definite possibility
that they have perfected,
and are indeed installing, ad-
vanced anti-missile missiles:
the fact that the Soviets have
a stockpile Of close to 1000
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-03-22
WATCHING THE WORLD
A British Reconciliation Trend
BY CROSBY S. MOVES
Foreign Correspondent Of The Stor

can Polaris submarines and
British V-bomhers is, In fact,
one Of the most mysterious
features Of the British plan.
What non-nuclear nations Of
Europe might contribute to
the force except possibly
money Is most unclear. Vague
British talk about delivery
systems" Is not very convinc-
ing.
Quite clearly. the only
NATO country other than
Britain and the United States
which will soon be in q posi-
ton to make q solid contri-
button to o European deter
rent would be France itself.
Quite pointedly, Lord Home
emphasized that any country
which has nuclear capacity
now or hopes to have one can
Join the force Of national
elements.
Delay for u. Q. Plan
The Foreign Secretary, to
be sure. expressed his APP
prevail Of the American plan
for NATO force Of surface
vessels armed with Polaris
missiles and manned by
mixed crews. He pointed out.
however, that setting UP such
a force would take some time.
Indeed, given the complica-
tons Of this proposal, the
reservations Of several ma
tons and the adamant re-
fusal Of the French to take
part in It. one has the Inn
preston that its realization
Is likely to become more re.
mote as time goes by.
In the meantime. the Brit
ish plan seems likely to take
on an increasingly European
flavor. For several weeks
now, British official state
ments on defense matters
have had q curiously Gaullist
ring to them. Quite emphat-
ically Lord Home pledged his
government to commit no
act or adopt no policy in
compatible with European
unity"
European unity without
France Is an inpoSsibility. In
his appeal to NATO Lord
Home seemed to be cautiously
removing the barriers to ac-
tive collaboration between
Britain and France on nu-
clear development. And per-
haps eventually to the estab-
liShment Of Q real European
deterrent co-ordinated with
american power but free
from any suggestion Of an
American veto.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-03-22
A BOOK FOR TO-DAY
Writings of a Significant Thinker
BY DONALD MINTZ

POWER, POLITICS AND
PEOPLE: The Collected
Essays Of C. Wright Mills.
Edited and with an intro
duction by Irving Louis
Horowitz. 657 PIP. oxford
University Press: $500
During his lifetime, C.
Wright Mills was something
less than popular with his
fellow sociologists. For he was
capable Of using words like
"malarkey" in scholarly pa
pers (Which is very bad form
and he had established q con-
siderable reputation as a pop
ular writer (Which, If any
thing. is still worse.)
But that is not the half of
it. Though Mills could apply
the rules Of statistics to raw
data with the best Of them,
he felt that data ought In the
end to be interpreted so as to
have social meaning. And he
never thought that who buys
what brand Of toothpaste
was social meaning"
At the same time he was
against sociological theorizing
that was not firmly based on
data well collected and well
analyzed.
And because Mills was pas
sionate-or committed" as
one says today-he said what
he had to say in language
that was not designed to be
inoffensive.
BUT HIS POPULAR repu-
tation has declined too in
the months since his death In
1862. Mills was opposed to
what he considered North
American exploitation OF
Latin America: he therefore
supported the Cuban revo-
luton. No one who has read
three consecutive sentences
BY him could suppose that he
would now be a friend Of Cas-
tro. But so far as the general
public knows. he departed
this earth holding an opinion
that is now not merely un-
popular (Which would not
have bothered him) but which
in many ways was objective
ly incorrect. His characters
tic, intense honesty would
undoubtedly have led him TO
change his views-and 10
change them loudly-but he
never had the opportunity.
In Power. Politics and
People," Irving Louis Horo-
witz. who teaches at Hobart
and William Smith Colleges,
offers a collection Of Mills
most significant essays. Some
are highly technical; others
are popular. The sources
range from learned journals
TO q distinctly unlearned
journal. the New York Jour-
nal American.
The three nouns Of the title
are the three rubics under
which Prof. Horowitz has or
ganized the essays. That Is
TO say that he has chosen q
somewhat vague serviceable
subject classification In ref
erence 10 an orderly but
meaningless chronological ar
rangement.
Obviously. some Of the es-
says are better than others.
Many readers win find one or
two OF them simply bad. But
this Is not the point.
When the reader opens the
cover Of Power. Politics and
People" he enters the world
Of one Of the genuinely great
minds, one OF the truly sig
nificant thinkers OF our coun-