Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-05-23

s.oi.es WHICH nave constituted the prln-
cipal OBSTACLE in the way of acquiring the
means Wherewith to pay the rent; and for
tne same reason it is more than probable
that had the house now occupied by me,
ana Tor which the rent is mainly due, been
vacated on the 1st of April last, with the
adjacent one, it would, like that, have re-
NAMED unoccupied; SO that my occupancy
cannot have been productive of any act
ual loss to the United States.
Il much regret my present inability to
cancel this debt, yet hope that the day is
not distant when l shall have it in my
power to do So when it will give me much
pleasure
In conclusion, sir, let me hope that the
appeal In behalf Of the helpless and the
orphan may avert from them the conse-
quences Of the course intimated in Mr..
granted me to pay the amount due with
out the sacrifice of the little unstable
furniture l have"
The Postmaster General, after reading
lhls letter, Endorsed on the back of 1t the
following instructions to his chief clerk:
Say to this good lady for me that if this
were my own debt she would not be trCu-
bled, but l am acting for the government
ana cannot justify failure to secure the
debt; that if she will give security to pay
the debt in one and two years | will in
dulge here and take the responsibility"
The preservation of the bond shows that
she furnished the necessary security, and
was able to remain in the house, and that
the rent was eventually paid
Telegraph Office.
When Robt. Mills, the architect of public
buildings, recommended, in 1912, the pur-
chaseeof the additional ground for future
extension he suggested that some of the
old buildings on the lots might be put to
immediate use for the city post office, and
when the purchase was made this idea was
carried out. There was a row of three
brick houses, painted yellow, facing ON 18th
street, and but few feet from the COM
pleted front of the department building.
The city post office occupied two of these
houses until the extension was begun.
When Congress appropriated 100000 TO
defray the cost of experimenting with
MOrSe'S telegraph, the expenditure was
made under the care of the Secretary of
the Treasury, and the first line established
was from an upper room III one OF IN sc
houses to the Mount Clare station, in Bal
timore. When the electric telegraph was
shown to Toe a success, Congress rejected
Prof. Nc rises offer to sell to the govern
ment for 100000. but on March ), 1915, APP
propriated 5000 for the maintenance of
the magnetic telegraph between Baltimore
and Washington, and placed expenditure
CT the money under the charge of the
Postmaster General
This official at once issued department
order fixing the salary Of Prof Mors" AMI
his assistants, regulating the rates for
messages, and directing that the Wash
il gton office should remain whore it was,
in the city post office, and that the Balt-
more office should be moved to the post
office of that city, at the same time pro-
viding for the expense of extending the
magnetic wire from the former Baltimore
experimental Office at Mount Clare station.
Lines We're established to New York, Buffi-
10 and Philadelphia.
Government Control Advocated.
After March, 1917, as Congress took no
further action in the matter, the control of
g ba bHn of
private individuals. Cave johnson, the
Postmaster General, however, in two of his
annual reports, recommended the purchase
and control of this new system of rapid
communication between distant cities.
He furnished figures showing its practi-
cability and many arguments in favor CT
the proposition, and closed with these
words: In my last communication
l then expressed the opinion that an in
strnment SO powerful for good or for evil
could not with safety to the citizen be per-
mitted to remain in the hands of individu-
ais uncontrolled by law. Another years
experience gives additional weight to the
opinion then expressed.
The maintenance of limited postal tele-
graph by the Post Office Department is not
a new idea by any means and the many
Postmasters General who have reported in
favor of the scheme are but following the
lead Of the cabinet officer who was in
charge of the department at the time the
electric telegraph was first made known
and under whose direction and control it
was operated for nearly two years.
During the Mexican war the news from
the south came up by rail to Aqua creek
and from there by boat to Washington.
The boat was always delayed at Alexan-
dria and made slow progress to this city,
and in those times of great anxiety for
war news some of the newspapers en-
ployed mounted men to receive at Alex
andria the packages from their war cor
faCr and ri. 7ipp la T
bridge, hurry them to the telegraph Of
flee over the city post office. Every after
noon an excited little crowd would gather
18th street ard wait to see the hying
norSemen appear
Postmaster w. H. Hall in 1861 made re-
port to Congress showing the need of the
department for more room and a the same
time called on RObt. Mills, the architect Of
public buildings. who planned and built the
south front, and who recommended the
purchase of the rest OF the square, to fur
nish plan for the new portion of the build
ing. Mr.. Mills at once sent a ground plan
and this plan with but few changes was
adopted when the extension was made.
Senator j. A. Bayard of Delaware, who
was succeeded in the Senate by his son,
Thos F. Bayard cur present amba
to England, reported from the committee
On public huildir gs four years later a bill
to enlarge the Post Office Department
building for the use of its employees and to
accommodate the city pest office
This extension was made under the di-
rectton of the late General NJ. c. Meigs,
then captain Of United States engineers.
When tn building was near completion
the work was in charge of Capt. w. B.
Franklin tfen of the tCpogra phical en-
gineers L. s. A, now president of the
board Of n anagers of the National Home
for Volunteer Soldiers.
The well-lighted and ventilated halls and
rooms of the Post Office Department, In
which respect it surpasses all the other
department buildings in the city, make it
very cheerful and wholesome building.
The Old and the New.
The ceilings in the old portion are arched
in a style that is effective, and the door
and window frames are Of sandstone, while
in the new portion the ceilings are fiat and
the door and window frames are of iron
In the halls running north and south pilas-
tiers and arches mark the division of the
old building from the new. The simplicity
and harmony of the design, representing,
as it does, the Cornthan style of archi-
lecture, has always been commended by
the most artistic critics.
Before the English sparrow made his
Norman conquest" of this city, the pur-
pie martins or swallows used to build their
nests by hundreds in the architectural
hooks and crannies of this building, and
the deafening noise they made as they
wheeled and circled in the air with their
sharp cries. or hung chattering on the