The times., 1901-05-26

/ The First One in the City Called PeO-
pie to Prayers and Occasionally
Sounded Fire AIarms-Thc Chimes
at the metropolitan NJ. Il. Church.
The history of bells abounds with ro-
| mantle interest. They have, in all civ
| nized times, been intimately connected
with almost every important historical
| event, well as the religious and social
! rites with which they are commonly
identified. They early summoned the sol
der to arms, as well as the Christian to
! church. They sounded the alarm in fire
or tumult. and the rights of the buFghers
of old towns in their bells were jealousy
guarded. Thus the chief bell in the ca
| thedral often belonged to the town, not
! to the cathedral chapter. He who COM
manded the bell commanded the town;
| for at a moments notice he could rally
| and concentrate his adherents. Hence a
conqueror often acknowledged the i'm
! portance of bells by melting them down
! for ordnance, and the cannon of the con-
| quered was in turn melted up to supply
! the garrison with bells to be used in the
suppression of revolts. Many bloody
charter in history has been rung in and
ont by bells.
The first bell to sound it's tidings of
| of Washington was placed in All Souls
Unitarian Church (now the Police Court,
in June, 1929. 1t was cast at the foundry
| established near Boston, by the famous
Paul Revere, and purchased with sub
scriptions by John Quincy Adams, John
c. Calhoun, and other distinguished men.
The Unitarian Church bell was rung for
public purposes until 1861. but its use
was then discontinued. because it had, on
the death of John Brown, rung a requiem
for him.
This bell was used for many years for
various purposes. il sounded fire alarms
and, owing to the city's limited extent at
| that early period, and the fact that the
| location of the bell was then a central
one, it was tolerably efficient in this ca
pacity. In the days of the volunteer fire
department, when other bells came into
use and were employed in sounding
alarms of fire, a request was made that
the bell of the Unitarian Chapel be the
only one used for that purpose. This re-
| quest, urged generally by the tremen
| themselves, originated in the practice of
ringing false alarms from the various
bell stations,
There was then large number OF vol
uNteer fire fighting organizations in
Washington, and the confusion resulting
in calling them into requisition was such
as to practically set the whole city in
commotion, generally ending in faction
fight to determine which was the best
company This happy result it was the
ambition of that portion of the popula-
tion which Graves excitement to bring
about which they did by the simple
method of ringing any one of the numer-
Gus alarm bells that happened to be most
convenient at the time Thus il was that
the Unitarian bell was made the official
alarm bell Of the city, and an official
ringer was appointed by each fire com
pany, whose province 1t was 10 sound the
tocsiu.
There is at present but one fire bell in
the city. that over the Riggs Fire Insur-
ance Building, on Fourteenth Street. This
bell is rung automatically from Fire
Headquarters by the same electric cur
rent that conveys the alarm to the Yari-
Gus engine houses.
The bell of St Dominics Catholic
Church, and that Of st. Mary's, the
former the largest in the city, weighing
9145 pounds. were formerly used by the
Fire Department in sounding alarms, but
the practice was discontinued at the re-
quest of the pastors of the churches. They
found they said, that at religious ser
vice when the Dell SOUNDED IOT IRE Cpli-
siderable confusion followed.
The great bell of St Dominic's was in
stalled in April, 1865, and in clear weather
its deep tones may be heard in every part
of the city and Georgetown.
The next bell in point Of size in Wash
ington is that of the Immaculate Concep-
ton Catholic Church. This is the third
bell which has been placed in the tower
Of this church. and is but a few pounds
lighter than that Of St Dominic's. When
they both join simultaneously In the peal
ing of the Angelus, which is rung three
times daily-at o'clock, morning; Y,
noon, and o'clock evening-by the bells
of all Catholic churches ii is said that the
sound is distinctly audible to everyone in
the city and its immediate neighborhood.
The bell of st. Mary's German Church is
of an exceptionally sweet tone, and may
be heard at a considerable distance.
The bell of St. Johns Protestant Eplsco-
pal Church, en- the corner Of Sixteenth and
II Streets, was presented to the church by
| President Monroe. While the bell of the
old Unitarian Chapel was received here
earlier, st. Johns bell is rightly said 30 be
the first rung to call together a Christian
| congregation in this city, and it is now the
4, Oldest bell In use In Washington, having
been installed November 30, 1S22. 1t was.
like the Unitarian bell, cast at the foundry
in Boston established by Paul Revere. and
weighs ! 90 pounds. St Johns bell has
tolled at the funerals of many distin-
guished persons who have been buried
from the church or for whom memorial
services have been held. one of the most
tragic occasions which its tolling com
memOrated was the killing Of the Secre-
tary of War Mr.. Upshur, the Secretary of
the Navy, Mr.. Gilmer, and six others, on
board the warship Princeton. as the effect
of the bursting Of a gun. The funerals of
the White House, which is in the neigh
borhood of st. Johns Church.
Upon the breaking out of the civil war,
| when the fear Of Southern invasion was
rampant in the minds OF WashingtOnians
| the signal agreed upon to denote the ap-
| tolling Of st. Johns bell and the discharge
of the ordnance mounted In front Of Gen.
Winfield Scott's headquarters on Seven
tecnth Street, opposite the present State,
War, and Navy Department building
The funeral Of Colonel Ellsworth, the
keeper in Alexandria, for attempting to
pull down the Confederate flag, took place
from st. Johns Church
During the progress OF the services a
report was brought to General Scotts
headquarters that the Southern army
was approaching by way Of the Long
Bridge Immediately the guns thunder
ed forth the signal and the bell Of St.
Johns joined in. The large number of
troops which formed the funeral process
sion made their way to the Long Bridge,
leaving only an escort for the body.
Terroran CONSERVATION reigned in Wash
ington Men women. and children, hur-
or attempted to hide in barricaded
houses. IL is only on such occasions tflat