davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The chronicle., 1963-12-03
They Want To Know

At least three major !nvestiga-
tons are under way in the assassi-
nation Of President Kennedy and
the subsequent murder of the as
sassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.
One of these is by the State of
Texas, a second by the Senate Jul
dietary Committee and a third by
the Federal Bureau of Investiga-
ton. President Johnson, in or
dering Federal agencies to CO.
operate in a prompt and thorough
investigation Of all circumstances"
surrounding the killings, declared
that "The people Of the nation may
be sure that all of the facts will
be made public"
The necessity of the Federal
The chronicle., 1963-12-03

gram. Except for appropriations,
Congress can defer action on the
entire lot and the country will not
suffer. In fact, it probably will be
better off.
Since this pending legislation
will not die when the current seS-
sion ends and the new begins, it
won't have to be reintroduced it
will have the same status and same
place on the calendar.
The American people would be
we'll served if Congress put off all
action possible until the next ses-
sion. Some Senators and Represen-
tatives might be tempted to let
sentiment rather than realism
sway their votes at this time. After
all, there is no urgency on most of
the pending proposals. Too, with
the holidays almost at hand, atten-
dance at the remainder of the ses-
sion will not be the best.
And, there is the matter of the
new administration. While Presi-
dent Johnson's views on these pro-
posals may be known, there has
been a change in this particular
situation. His views before were as
Vice President. Now they r as
President. Probably these views
r the same but his respon-
Sibilities have changed and vastly
increased. Previously he didn't
have the duty of approval or veto
of this legislation-now he has. He
just might feel differently, at least
in degree. And SO might many
members of Congress.
The chronicle., 1963-12-03

government knowing for certain
whether something more sinister
than Oswald's sanity was involved
is Obvious. If he had associates the
fact should be established so that
the extent of conspiracy may be
determined. If there were inter
national implications, it is obvious
that such be documented.
It is assuring that President
Johnson has promised the Ameri-
can people that whatever facts are
developed will be made known to
the American people. They, like
their government, are concerned.
And, no less than the government,
they are puzzled by events and
circumstances.
The chronicle., 1963-12-03

written. but | find it very hard
to recall, without seeking promp-
ting from the printed page, just
what Roosevelt did to get the
Hepburn Rate bill passed, for
example, or whether he really
busted any significant trusts.
A thousand other memories,
however, leap unbidden from
the shadows. There is the me-
merry of T. r. saying to a
friend who had chided him on
TIE White House antics Of young
Alice Roosevelt: "Look, | can
either be President Of the Unit
ed States - or take care Of
Alice" There are memories Of
T. r. reading stirring ballads
to his sons, Of taking diplomats
for scrambles in Rock Creek
Park, and all the rest.
Kennedy was just such a So
cial animal, one in whom the
JOY Of life rose high. 1t is no
secret that ! think he should
The chronicle., 1963-12-03
Yes, Virginia, Zip

. The Post Office Department is
undertaking to popularize use of
the new zip code during the
Christmas season when mailings
r heavy. One phase of the eff
fort, however, doesn't seem very
practical. It is aimed at members
Of the small fry set who don't do
much business with the post office
on a y~ear-round basis.
From New York, comes word
via the post office that while
youngsters may write to Santa
Claus as usual it will be for naught
this time unless the address in
cludes the North Poles zip num-
ber-997O. We're glad it's the post
office saying that, not us.)
And, continues the story, if the
The chronicle., 1963-12-03
a Sound Proposal

Congress is being urged in sew
eral quarters to enact a minimum
of essential legislation, mainly ap-
preparations, and promptly adj
journ rather than continue meet
ing until Jan. 3 when the second
session automatically begins. This
makes good sense.
1t was already clear at the time
of President Kennedy's death last
week that Congress wasn't apt to
pass any of the pending major
legislation except that concerning
appropriations. The rest was so
controversial - even undesirable
- that most observers conceded
much Of the remaining time in the
session would be spent in bicker-
ing. Accordingly, there had been
agreement for recesseS from Nov.
27 to Nov. 90, then to Dec. 3 and
from Dec. 20 to Jan. 2, the final
whole day Of the current session.
In other words, about two weeks
of working time had been sched-
uled from Thanksgiving to the
time of the next session.
Aside from the appropriations
- which must be approved if the
governmental machinery is to con-
tinue functioning = major items
on the pending legislative list con-
siSt Of medicare, r redevelop-
ment, urban transportation, civil
rights, tax reduction, aid for sec
ondary schools, the Youth Conser-
walton Corps, the Domestic Peace
Corps, soil bank extension, wheat
control and the civil defense pro-
The chronicle., 1963-12-03

youngsters expect a reply "a sign
that their wishes have been noted)
they will have to hunt up their
own zip codes to go with the re-
turn address.
Consider the conclusion of the
story as transmitted by UPI:
The clever officials who thought
up the strategem have made this
Christmas PROMISE: every boy and
girl who gets a letter in by Dec. Is
- with all the numbers right -
will receive a reply appropriate
ly decorated with a drawing of
Santa Claus and Mr.. Zip,' his new
helper"
Yes, Virginia, there's a Santa
Claus. There must be. How about
that zip number?
The chronicle., 1963-12-03

family lived. He returned to
Dallas more frustrated than
before and perhaps even more
desperate about his future. He
got an unimportant job in a
warehouse. But his mind was
the kind that wanted to express
itself. He was bitter about his
fate. The rifle which he purchas-
ed by mail may not have been
Immediately connected with a
plot to kill anyone. His service
in the Marine Corps undoubtedly
made him yearn for opportuni-
ties to practice his marksman-
ship.
At what moment the decision
came to commit murder will
never be known. His pent-up re-
sentiment against the Navy De-
partment because the Marine
Corps gave him a dishonorable
discharge may have made him
reSentful at Governor Connally,
a former secretary of the Navy,
and against the President, too,
as the head Of the government
that he felt had grievously in
jured him.
What is the moral which such
a record so familiar in psychia-
trio cases presents to us? Can
gull be transferred to a socie-
ty as a whole? Of what avail
is il to cry out that public con-
troversies with their bitterness
gave rise to this crime which
shocked the whole world? The
absence Of impassioned debates
on public questions could hard
ly have changed the long
history Of this mentally disturb
ed man.
Oswald, to be sure, read not
only the ~pro-communit literature
but also the books critical Of
communism. He was a confused
man, and neither American nor
foreign political issues pro-
duced that confusion in the first
place. He was the victim of an
unhappy life. He was a man
deserted and isolated. It's a ia
miliar story of what brings on
mental depression. Friends can
be helpful, as the medical books
tell us. But in our self-centered
The chronicle., 1963-12-03
John Chamberlain
Kennedy, Social Being

When the biographers 6 e t
busy with the life story Of John
F.. Kennedy, one of the great
boonS that will accrue to them
will derive from the late Presi-
dents life as a social being as
distinct from his career as a
political leader.
The parallel between the Ken
nedy era, short as it was, and
the Theodore Roosevelt era
springs Immediately to n d.
I think I have read all the inn
portant T. R. biographies and
memorabilia that were ever
The chronicle., 1963-12-03

lives, where time is so precious,
there is a tendency to pass by
the broken-down human beings
who need every day the warmth
of human love and understand
ing and finally. if all else fails,
the benefits of pSychiatric treat
ment and even hospital care.
The stories Of the tragic end
Of disordered minds have been
told many times. Similar Incl
dents are happening all around
us every day, even within fami-
lies as husbands or wives COM
init murder and sons or daugh-
tiers resort to the weapons of
death.
Maybe since the assassination
of President Kennedy has arous-
ed such worldwide sorrow, it
will also focus attention on the
case Of the mailman and bring
about intensive studies of these
crimes. In our otherwise busy
and preoccupied society, con-
structive help to prevent such
tragedies might be extended by
friends and neighbors as they
come to learn more about the
potential dangers in these cas-
es. Maybe a wider knowledge Of
such matters by people general
ly might have saved President
Kennedy's life and also the life
Of Oswald, whose wife and chill
drer now face a dismal future.
The chronicle., 1963-12-03
Go West, Young Man

The California State Depart
ment of Finance took a look at
CALIFORNIA; exploding population
situation the other day and figured
that by 1865 the estimated total
would be 17.9 million as against
17.3 million now. And within the
next Is years, it was added, the
number will reach 27.8 million.
Looking at 1880, the figure Jug
gler said there would be 14,209, 900
The chronicle., 1963-12-03

women and 13,671,000 men. The
women's ages will average 1913,
the mems 27.6.
With that evident surplus of
$4,000 more women than men,
the word is Go West, young man.
That matter of fractional years
seniority shouldn't interfere with
picking out a helpmeet whose eld-
erly" advice would be beneficial,
and more than likely there might
be a few wealthy widows around.
The chronicle., 1963-12-03
(From The Nashville Banner)

IEIUM 1HC 4NdSIVIIt dnHtI
There's a line on the ocean where
you lose a day when you cross il. There's
a line on the highway where you can
do even better" The above thought is
borrowed from the Daily Boomerang, a
newspaper of Laramie, Wyo. It's spoken
in fun, but it bears a SOLDERING warn
ing.
Relatively few, " in this Sly of
mass tourism afar, cross the Equator.
But day in and day out almost every
body crosses that other line, either at
The chronicle., 1963-12-03
Oswald: Portrait Of Confusion
David Lawrence

WASHINGTON - The search
continues in a distraught world
for clues to the terrible behavior
of Lee Harvey Oswald. e eff
fort to pin the blame on this
or that trend in modern life
befogs the truth. For this case
is like tens of thousands Of
others, and never would have
attracted worldwide attention if
the crime had not taken the
life of a President of the United
States.
Indeed the medical books are
full of histories of illnesses with
similar climaxes that have re-
suited in suicide or homicide af-
ter a life Of seeming helpless
ness and Illustration. To attri-
butte Oswald's act to the atmoS-
phere created by a fright wing"
or cleft wing" movement or to
a "hate" group or to some
foreign theology or country is
to fail to see the forest for the
trees. Too often there is a ten
dency to blame society as a
whole for the sins of omission
which characterize the lives of
individuals as opportunities to
help troubled and distressed per-
sons in the community are lost
by many Of us.
The evidence gathered thus
far shows that Oswald had an
unhappy life. Family unit was
broken before his birth with
the death of his father. The
young man seemed to lead a
purposeless existence. He enlist
ed in the Marine Corps. He was
guilty Of misdeeds and twice
court-martialed. He was finally
discharged in 1859 with dishon-
or.
All this left a tragic mark on
him. He started to read books
about communism. He went to
Russia, denounced his own
country and asked the Soviet
government for citizenship,
which was refused. He married
a Russian girl there and then
asked for money so he could get
passage back to America. In
pity, he was helped by the Am
erican embassy. But after this
he seems to have been aban-
doned. He tried to find a job.
He didn't seem to fit into any
thing. He was short in sta
ture, too, and probably had an
inferiority complex about this.
The books Oswald read when
he came back to America were
critical Of communism. But he
also read a book on the asSas-
Sination Of Governor Huey Long
in Louisiana. Oswald now was
living in New Orleans. H e
sought prominence. He wanted
to be conspicuous. He diStribut-
ed in public places some pro-
Castro literature. He imagined
he could start a "Fair Play
For Cuba" committee by him
self. All this was perhaps a man.
Hesitation of a feeling of inferi-
ority. Even as a prisoner in
Dallas as he was being moved
from one Jail to the other he
wanted his picture taken = to
be televised - and said so.
A confused mind certainly
must have led Oswald to try
to return to Russia. He went
to Mexico City a few weeks
ago to seek a passport via Gu
ba. But this was refused. Pos
sibly he wanted to isolate HIM
self in Russia, where his wife's
The chronicle., 1963-12-03
Sylvia Porter. /.
Money In Stocks

Let's say you bought Ameri-
can Telephone shares Wednes-
day, Nov. 20, after the company
announced its triple treat of a
stock split, a dividend in
crease and an offering of adj
ditional stock to its share
holders. Let's say you dumped
those same shares Friday, Nov
q, after news Of President Ken
nedy's assassination had sent
the market into a tailSpin.
If you were among these
panicky in-and-outers = and
there were far too many of
them your personal invest
ment record for that historic
week is splattered with red ink.
You earned nothing in divi-
dends. You lost a chunk Of cash
on your sale. You got a real
licking as the once staid old
lady Of Wall Street bonced
around the ticker tape in a most
unladylike fashion.
But let's say you bought Moth
n Bells shares a few years
ago, when the stock was con-
sidered an appropriate invest
ment only for widows and or
phans, and you have held your
shares through stock splits,
dividend increases, major price
fluctuations up and down.
You have earned a comfortable
dividend year in and year out.
You have an impressive pro-
fit on paper. Even though hun
dredS of stocks have turned in
a far more spectacular perfor-
nance than Telephone you're
ahead.
You're ahead because you
followed two Of the most funda-
mental investment guides (1)
buv a sound stock: (2) hold
for the long pull.
These guides always have
seemed obvious. But not until
yesterday, when the Center for
Research in Security Prices is
sued the most comprehensive
report ever made on what you
can earn from investments in
common stocks over a long
period, have we had indiSpu-
table proof of how right the
guides are.
This initial study by the Cent
er - which is based at the Uni
verSity of Chicago'S Graduate
School Of Business and sponsor.
ed by Merrill Lynch, Pierce,
Fenner & Smith - answers for
the first time what an investor
might have gained or lost if he
had bought all common stocks
listed on the New York Stock
Exchange and held the porto
lilo for varying periods through
1860.
A first key finding is that you
can make much more from
long-term ownership Of a cross
section of stocks than is general
ly believed.
If an investor had bought a
portfolio Of all NYSE stocks in
1926 and held it through 1860, his
before-tax annual rate Of return,
compounded annually and with
reinvestment of dividends, would
have come to a surprisingly
9.01 per cent. This 35-year peri
cd covered depreSsionS and
boom, war and peace - and
yet if the investor had held on,
his dollar in stocks would have
The chronicle., 1963-12-03
Hold That Line

the wheel or IS a passenger. The vel
low line is put there to mark your
safety margin. Crossing it is to your
peril. 1t can cost your life. Hold That
Line.
The chronicle., 1963-12-03

increased 9 per cent each year.
A second key finding is that
you can earn considerably more
from a long-term investment in
stocks than from other popu-
lar investments.
A third key finding is that
during the postwar period of
195O-6O, annual rates Of return
on stocks have been substantial
ly higher than in most periods
prior to World War II.
1t surely dramatizes the fact
that the person who loses is
the in-and-outer - like the am
ateurs who have just been whip
sawed by kindly old Mother
Bell.
The chronicle., 1963-12-03
ToddY's Scripture

When my soul tainted within me I
remembered the Lord; and my prayer
came in unto thee, into thine Holy
Temple.-Jonah 81.
The chronicle., 1963-12-03

sawed by kindly old Mother
Bell.
have pursued a tougher lire
II foreign policy, that he should
have put spending cuts ahead
of tax cuts, and that he should
have tried to tap the University
OF Chicago, say, as well a
Harvard when seeking econom-
ic advice. But a President Is to
be rated on the total impact
Of his personality Zone recoils
from using the detestable WORD
"image') on a nation that de-
ponds on the White House for
its cues in all areas Of existence.
And, by any test, Kennedy'S
total impact was great.
JFK was not any such pomp-
GUS thing as a Renaissance
man." He hardly squared with
MIR. c. P. Shows ideal Of a
person who is equally adept In
the "two cultures" literary and
scientific. But, as a reader, an
athlete, a lover Of the sunlight,
and a traveller, Kennedy was
the very picture Of the gifted
and healthy amateur in all the
things that are necessary to
keep a nation from becoming
decadent.
The other night / happened
10 be seated at a New Haven,
Conn. Gridiron Club dinner
next to a football coach, John
Pont of Yale. He was immense
ly gratified that the Kennedy
family had given the signal for a
rescheduling Of the cancelled
game with John F. Kennedy'S
Harvard. Kennedy himself, a
lover Of football, might even
have preferred to have had the
game played on the date origi-
nplly set for it.
What was particularly inter.
esting about Coach Pont were
his thoughts about letting the
boys play their own game. I
had tried to compliment him on
turning Brian Rapp, an indif-
ferent quarterback in his junior
year, into a really good play
caller. Brian" said Pont, "op-
crates very well when he is
left on his own. In any normal
game he has about sixty plays
to call. / don't suppose we have
ever given him the word on
more than five plays from the
bench"
This exaltation Of true anna
teurism is one of the unSung di-
vidends Of the Kennedy accent
Oh physical fitness for the sake
Of something more important
than money, or reputation, or
Institutional ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
The movement in favor of
''player control" Of college
games which my friend Frede-
rick r. Rogers, a former school
superintendent, likes to prod me
about really started to take
OF after Kennedy launched his
physical fitness crusade with a
White House proclamation. Phil
lips Exeter Academy, SPRING
ilelc College, and other schools
and universities in New Eng
land, have all caught the ''let
the boys do it" pitch in greater
or less degree. The idea viii
spread.
The stress on the belief that
life has its greatest SAVIOR when
people are thinking and doing
as healthy amateurs, is, I sus-
pect, Kennedy'S most important
legacy to his country. The kid
who loved touch football and
sailing races and reading Stend-
halls "The Red and The Black"
on his Hyannisport porch could
have no time for cultivating
sterile hatredS. And, to general
ne from this example, a nation
of good sports in the Kennedy
manner would soon make an
end to discrimination and many
other unlovely things.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-11-04
JuniorViIIuqe
Funds Asked
By President

President Kennedy transmit
ted to Congress today requests
for additions 10 the 1854 Dis
trict Of Columbia hudrget to-
falling sSOs.0o0.
The additional funds are re-
auested for q center for the de-
tention and treatment Of ju-
yeniIe offenders and a new chill
dren's cottage ct Junior VIZ
lage.
The sum Of $4,000 was re-
ouested for preliminary plan
ming and sketches Of the deten.
ton and treatment center.
The White House announce
ment pointed out that the Fed
eral Bureau Of Prisons plans to
move the National Training
School for Boys from here Il
MorgantoWn, w. Va, In 1851
because the schools facilities
are outmoded. The announce
ment said the District win need
to provide quarters for its ju-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-11-04
THE FEDERAL SPOTLIGHT
Drive for Poy Raises LikeIyto Shunt
HopesforAny fringe Benefit Bills

Still another bill that might be
lost In the shuttle this year is
the dual compensation bill ap-
proved by the House Civil
Service Committee.
The House committees main
provision would prevent retired
military personnel from being
appointed to q civilian job in
the Defense Department for at
least six months after leaving
the armed forces. The restric-
ton would not apply to retirees
with less than 20 years service
or those disabled in combat or
disabled by an fundamentally
Of war.
In addition, the bill requires
that before q military retire.
can be hired for a job in any
Federal agency. the Civil Serv-
iceC Commission must first give
public notice that q vacancy
exists and must fill the job
from a list If eligible persons
who qualified on an exam
In the case Of the six-month
job restriction, the only excep-
tons could be in cases specifi-
cally approved by the Secre-
taries Of Army. Navy or Air
Force and agreed to by the CT
vii Service Commission.
The bill also would for the
first time permit retired regu-
lar officers to take civil service
jobs and draw full civilian pay
plus the first $4,000 OF their
retired pay and one half of
anything over $4,000. The bill
would not affect the rights of
retired reservists and enlisted
men. They can draw full civili-
an pay plus full military retire.
ment pay.
Under the bill, retired mill
tary personnel with more than
20 years Of service would not
have veterans preferce for re-
duvtions-in-force purposes un-
less they were retired for diSa-
bility incurred in war.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-11-04
BY JOSEPH YOUNG
star staff Writer

Fringe benefits legislation for
Federal employee is likely to be
shunted aside this year because
Of the intensity Of the pay raise
drive before Congress.
With about six weeks re-
naming until Congress quits
for the Christmas recess before
returning in January, Govern
t1lent and postal employe lead
efs are ready to spend their en-
tire effort and time in securing
enactment of the pay raise leg
iSlation.
There will be little time for
other employe bills. Also, in the
heat Of the battle over pay
raises, Congress would not be
much in the mood to enact
other Government employe
benefits.
Ironically, it is not at all GER
tain that pay raises viii be
enacted tits year, although the
chances still are regarded as
pretty good.
Among the other bills affect
ed by. the pay raise effort are
those to permit optional retire
ment of Government employees
on full annuities at age SIS after
80 years service, increasing
life insurance benefits, guaran-
teed back pay and other ret
roactive benefits when unjust
~ fired, liberalized health in
surance benefits and others.
Progress made on these bills
thus far would not necessarily
be lost. since next years ses-
sion Of Congress can take up
legislation at the point where II
progressed this year.
Employe lie a ders have not
given UP hope completely re-
gardng these fringe b enefit
bills.
Some hope is stiIl held for
such non-controversial bills as