Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-05-30
ALEXANDRIA.
rHE crrY SINKING FUND

Thk CHI siNkINo FUND.
The early adventures Of Alexandria In works
OF internal improvement were always coupled
with sinking fund designed to pay OF grad
ually the debt incurred in making the invest
ment. These sinking funds usually consisted
OF the canal or railroad stock which had been
subscribed for. This stock was then expected
to pay or 10 per cent, and it was thought that
these dividends would pay off the bonds In
from ten to twenty years. This proved .
mistake. Except the gas works and SIC, 900
subscribed to the stock Of the Alexandria Water
Company no investment made by Alexandria
utter financial failure, and the sink
ing funds were all but one useless
and had but nominal existence.
The exception was the s10O, 900 subscription Of
1S49 to the stock Of the Alexandria and Orange
(now Midland) Railroad Company, which, al
though never paving dividend was sold to the
b. and .. r. r. Co. soon after the market fire
for 5000, and this sum, with the proceeds Of
the insurance of the old market, was used to
build the new market house; and the market
revenues were by an act Of council placed in
charge OF the mayor, auditor, treasurer and
the presidents Of the two city council boards to
use to buy up corporation stock. These COM
missions have since 1872 bought up nearly
S1OO. 900 worth of corporation stock and will
the evidences of this stock to the city council
and cease to draw the e2,700 per annum inter
est from the city treasury which has been paid
to them for some years past.
DECORATION DAY.
The Observance Of Decoration Day In Alex
andria did not comprehend holiday from bus
mess and all the stores and shops were open;
but the public schools were closed. The ma
tional offices kept the day as Sunday, and as
there are a very great number of Alexandrians
whose daily work il in Washington all these
were released from business, and this tended to
give the town something of q holiday aspect
Davis Post, @. A. R., under the lead of Com
mander r. I. Lucas, led the way, shortly be-
fore noon, to the Soldiers cemetery. and there
after the exercise Of the program reported to
The STAR Saturday the graves were decorated
AFTER THE ATwELL MURDERER.
On Saturday afternoon last as Officer Sher-
wood was on his way home he noticed a we'll
dressed colored man whose feet seemed dusty
with travel and who carrieda small satchel in
quiring the way to the Norfolk boat. The officer
kept the incident in mind, and while at supper
his wife read The STAR aloud to him. When she
read of the escape of the Atwell murderer he
leaped up and cried out, ''That was him." and,
carrying with him half his supper and leaving
the other half on the table uneaten, the officer
started on q run for the Norfolk boat wharf
The boat had gone when he arrived, and he re-
turned to the station house, where Lieut. Smith
telephoned the information to police headquar-
tiers, Washington.
Mr. J. B. Watkins has bought from the Nc
knight estate for $4,000 handsome dwelling
and lot on Columbus street q few rods north Of
the court house.
A charter for the Washington Spring and
Park Company, with N. NJ. Ambrose as presi-
dent, has been granted here.
Mr.. Frank Baldwin has bought for $500
cash three acres Of land near Rosslyn In Alex
andria county.
book for signatures to a petition to Con-
gress for the Washington and Arlington bridge
is now open at Arlington and will soon be
signed by people from every state Of the Union.
An Alexandria choir consisting Of Misses K.
Nugent, NJ. German. NJ. Mccarthy and Miss NJ
Brengle, with Miss Mamie McDevett presiding
as director and organist, rendered La Huche Q
mass at st. James Chapel Falls Church, yes
terday. Rev. Father Cutler Of this city cele-
brated the high mass.
The steamer Excelsior, which has been ct the
Pioneer mills wharf for eighteen months ex-
cept for the week she lay aground at the mouth
of Four-mile run after the cyclone, left for Bal
timore last evening in tow Of the tug John I.
Brady, which had been sent from, Baltimore for
her. She will be thoroughly overhauIed and re-
ceive new bottom.
A shooting affair occurred in the open court
in the rear Of the Smoot and Delagniel resi-
dences on Prince street Saturday night. John
McNemo, who had been away for some time,
came back to his home and was shot at by some
person unknown, who fred into the alley from
Columbus street. No one was injured