Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-04
Written for The Evening Star.

Written for The Evening Star
zone of the most peculiar things in con-
nection with the departmental service"
remarked a dfsbursing officer to a Star
reporter, sis the almost entire absence OF
legislation regarding the question of when
payments are to be made. the whole mat
ter Of paying is left entirely with the head
of each department, subject to any rules
that he chooses to adopt, and this Is gov
erned by custom rather than by direct or
expressed law. Thus, in some OF the
branches of the Treasury Department there
are weekly pay days, notably in the re-
demptiol division, while in others there
are semi-monthly pay days. In most OF
the branches of the other departments
there are sem-monthly pay days, though to
the clerks of the headquarters of the army
it the War Department. who are paid by
an army paymdster, there is but one pay
day in each month Congress has been
appealed to time and time again to regu-
late pay days by legislation, but for some
unknown reason it has always refused.
in the navy yard there has been at times
4 semi-monthly pay day, though at other
times but one pay day IN each month. Some
years ago the clerks in the War Depart
mept were paid every eight days, they
are in the redemption division of the
Treasury Department. but the practice was
discontinued. for the reason that 1t gave
the Gisbursing officers too much trouble
The D0ckery commission started off to
regulate the question of payment of sal
aries. but they met with SO much oDpoS1-
ticn that they left the matter severely
alone. other than to have the law changed
so that the accounts. financial of each of
the departments should be audited and
passed upon monthly, instead of quarterly
which had until then been the practice
Though there are now, and always have
been, advocates of frequent pay days, it is
not sure that weekly pay days are the
best for department clerks. Getting their
money in four parts, one-fourth each week
seriously interferes with them, for
rule. all of one weeks money is expended
by the time the next week comes around
leaving nothing to pay off their boarding
house rent bills. which come due every
month. All through Europe department.
clerks paid but once in three months
and ii is said they manage to save more
money by that method than is saved by
those who receive their salary more fire.
quentiy.
"Bottie-raised babies may be just as good
as babies raised in the natural way" said
a wellknown dentist to a Star reporter
'but there is no doubt that they are de-
ficient in the stability of their teeth
don't know that the bottle foods injure
their teeth or prevent the teeth from be-
coming as harq as the teeth of more for
turate babies. The trouble appears to be
AAi III 4itISibS HUM liz TuDDer nipple. Inc
sulphur or other material used in harden
Ing the rubber Injuries the teeth in other
ways than by disc oloring them. 1t softens
tBein so that they decay and fall out at
least year OF year and a half earlier
than they should. / know it Is useless to
ceCry raising babies by bottle for there
are those who pay no attention to such
complaints. The dentist however has no
difficulty in distinguishing bottle-raisad
BABIES by the appearance and condition Of
1GT n fD..ra ,lNr
fute for the rubber nipple, and il seems
strange with all the improvements of mod
ern times that the rubber nipples of our
ereat-sIdndmothers days are still in user
= *
The rccollectons of an old citizen IN
The Star recently. of early theatricals, fur
nlshed Interesting reading" volunteered
another old citizen to Star reporter but
Were incomplete. j think, in that they did
not cover The ground completely, as far as
circus performances are concerned The
thiiu oi 'oday VINO witnesses a circus per
1ormance has to go to Some outlying and
distant field, and is tired out almost before
he or she gets there. for it is not practical
10 take them the entire distance by the
street cars. In the early days things were
managed differently, and the circus was al
lowed TO occupy places in the center of the
city. where it could be reached easily. Thus
IN,
performances were always held on the
south side of Pennsylvania avenue at tho
corner OF 9th street After that the COM
mon councils of the city granted tho usa
OF the city Hall Square to circuses and
many Is TIE performance that has taken
Place there- In the JOS there was a hip
potroine erected Immediately north of the
city hall, near the site of the present men
sion once, where a great circus season
was heid- The track was nearly one-fif.h
OF a mile in length The performance con
sisted almost entirely of horses and their
riders, winding up with a series of chariot
races ana fox hunt, which has never been
eluaIed mere since Then, for several sea
Suns, circus companies Were given the use
OF the Armory Square lot the entrance 10
the tent being from It'll street There was
d permanent circus for nearly a wear dur-
ne rs 'he var On what is now the public
nStck stand. at the corner of 7th street and
pennsylvania avenue. Dr. Thayer was the
proprietor. the big attraction being a troupe
oI performing mules Circus companies
some years afterward We're granted the ,Ise
OF louisiana avenue, near the corner Of
Ipth street, for their performances. one or
TWO circust-s were also located at the then
saSdh' lot on the southwest corner of l4th
street ana New York avenue northwest
From 1913 down to 1850 a lot AT the corner
OF 9TH street and New York avenue the
center OF the Northern Liberties of that
time. was a fayorite camping ground for
IraFelng circuses. Twenty-Five years ago
the Base Ball Park, 18th and streets
northwest. was the standard circus lot
ana al OF the big circuses Of that dav
showed there. Later on they went over to
nun street between X and S streets
coupe circus showed one or two sea-
sons In the neighborhood of 18th and 7
streets northwest. All of these locations go
10 SNOW mat the circus of the past was
inherent from that of the present the cir
Gus companies coming close to the cenfsr
OF the city. instead of. now at the ex-
IRENE outer edges i think on the whole
however the circus performances on the
City Han Square. now judiciary Square
were the best and most easily reached by
the larger number. Until the war the adj
mission 10 all circuses was - cents with
an extra - cents for reserved seats They
were one-rinS affairs. and the singing and
speeches OF the clowns, OF 'Shakespearean
testers as they were billed were regard
sd as the greatest attractions of the per-
IorHldnce. The three-ring abomnatjon is a
slctiy modern invention. and is not over
twenty years old"
< < x X
io'aeco smoke Is an important element
'hese Gays as destroyer of germs" VOL
unteered a gentleman of a scientific turp Of
mind 20 a Star reporter. and the house,
Keepers who were so averse to the smell of