davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1902-08-25
Zoo Keeper Objects.

One Of the first objectors TO the new
meat was the keeper of an ostrich at
the zoo. He said every kitchen in the
city would have to be enlarged in order
to handle the birds.
Every kitchen in the city would
The Washington times., 1902-08-25
LOAN COMPANIES.
PRIVATE LOANS
LOANS OF $40

AND UPWARD on FURNITURE AND
PIANOS, at lowest rates and on ;he day you
apply. We are loaniDe on the Building and
Loan Association plan which makes the cost
OF carrying loIus much les than you pay else
where and allows you TO pay II off in any
sized notes YOU desire. running from one TO
twelve months. II YOU have loan with some
ether company we will pay it off and advance
you more money if desired. Rates cheerfully
given. and no cost to you unless loan is made.
Call and get rats Front roon first floor.
NATIONAL MORTGAGE LOAN CO.,
C.J = =. y "
The Washington times., 1902-08-25
No Little Wonder in Street.

There is no little wouderment in Wall
Street Is to what change, there has
Leen in the affairs OF the Southern Rail
WAY Company within the last six months
to render necessary the continuation
OF the voting trust. Here again, how
ever, consideration brings up against
the railway situation in the Southern
States. wherein is undoubtedly con
tanned the explanation Ct the deferment
of action on the dividend on Southern
Railway preferred stock.
The Washington times., 1902-08-24

ordained manner about pole in the
center. The pole is the polar star;
some Of the sheep are planets. others
are stars, still others are asteroids; and
Photographic astronomy is the shep-
herd. Now, the shepherd is so well ac-
quainted with the movements of the
planet and star sheep that he always
knows in what part of the field to look
for them at any particular moment, but
the asteroid sheep are wanderers.
The shepherd. looking at the condition
of his charges in any given part of the
field. is likely to find among them a
new arrival, and the question must iln-
mediateIy be answered, Is this an ac-
tual addition to the flock or an old as
teroid sheep? If the armament wer.
really fiat field, instead of being space
itself. the asteroids would be constant
ly in danger of running into each other,
or into the other celestial bodies. Their
orbits constitute series OF rings so
interviewer by crossing each other that
i the rings were tangible aud one OF
The Washington times., 1902-08-24

and Alexandria Dragons, and the Le
gion OF Mounted Infantry. new organi-
zaton, took up the line OF march the
next day.
On June 90 the troops were at Noting
ham, and on the 21st they formed juno
lar troops which had come down from
Baltimore, under command OF Colonel
Wadsworth, and comprising a detach-
ment of artillery of eight guns and one
battalion of the Thirty-eighth United
States Infantry.
There was collision between the
British and Americans near Benedict on
Tuesday. June q. and District trooper.
Francis Wise, was killed. The British
were driven to their ships.
Then followed series of bloody en-
gagements in st. Leonard's creek he
tween Commodore Barney's 1otilla and
armed barges from Cockburns ships of
war, resulting in the withdrawal of the
enemy from the Patuxent river and the
return OF the District troops
President Madison called upon the
governors of the several States in the
month of July to furnish 5000 men. but
there was, it was charged. great delay
in transmitting the call to the States
executives and still greater delay in re-
spending TO the summons. Few If any
OF these soldiers arrived in Washington
before the battle OF Bladensburg. Presi-
The Washington times., 1902-08-24

dent Madison at this time created the
Tenth military district of the United
States, with headquarters in Washing
ton. and gave command OF the district
to General Winder, who had seen service
on the Canadian frontier.
On July II, 1914, the enemy was re-
ported al Leonardtown, about sixty-fve
miles down the Potomac. District vol
unteers and few State troops were
mobilizing at a place in Prince George
county called THE woodward" about
fifteen miles southeast of the city. On
August British fleet was reported off
the mouth of the St. Mary's River, a
British squadron was reported to be in
the Patuxent. and British ships filled
with soldiers were reported off Point
Lookout. Thus was Washington men
aced from two sides.
But on August IS the combined Brit
The Washington times., 1902-08-24

$4,000, TO be expended in putting the
city in a state of defense against the
enemy. All during the year 1878 there
were rumors that the British intended
attacking Washington. British ships
were active in the Chesapeake Bay and
the Patuxent and lower Potomac rivers.
The city was thrown into consterna- =
tion on July 10, 1913. by the report that
fourteen sail of the enemy's ships were
coming up the Potomac. The District
volunteers. with few regular SOL
diers, were dispatched TO Warburton
Heights, near Fort Washington. the
frigate Adams took up a position off the
city, battery was erected on Green
leaf Point, ANA Mayor Rapine ordered
that every citizen OF the District should
enroll himself in some one Of the vol
unteer companies.
There was a great mass meeting in he
The Washington times., 1902-08-24

burn and Ross added much to the re-
nown of British arms. Ross was killed
at the battle of North Point, near Bal
timore. few days after the destruc-
tion of Washington, and mis- memory
was honored by monument in West
minister Abbey. His descendants were
formally authorized to style themselves
Ross of Bladensburg."
The conduct of General Winder was
reviewed by a court of inquiry con-
vened at Washington in January, 1915,
and of which court Mai. Gen. Win
field Scott was president. General
Winder was acquitted of all censure
and was reappointed to the command of
the Tenth Military Division of the Unit
ed States, comprising the District of
Columbia and part of Maryland and Vir
ginia.
The Washington times., 1902-08-24
Today the Anniversary of the Battle of B1adens-
burg-American Forces, Green Troops, Al
though Outnumbering the Invaders, Forced to
Retreat - English Under General Ross Invest
Washington-Capitol Building and the White
House Pot to the Torch ~ " y

Americans. who explained that a large
force of British was about to move
against them.
The victors rema ped in possession of
Washington from s p. NJ. of August
"a till the afternoon of the next day,
when they withdrew over the route by
which they had entered the city.
The destruction of Washington by a
foreign foe is sore story. The un-
preparedness of the War Office and the
inertness of the administration of Pres
ident Madison may reflect little or no
credit on the Government of the United
States; the rout of body of hastily
mustered citis and raw militia by
column o. English veterans of the
Peninsula VA. may reflect no credit on
the American name, but there is ques-
tion whether the achievements of Cock
The Washington times., 1902-08-24

He declined reappointment and retired
to private life. engaging in the practice
OF law He was elected to The senate
of Maryland and sought election to the
national House of Representatives, but
was defeated by the narrow margin of
fourteen votes. When he died public
honors were paid his memory.
Criticism of the Secretary of War.
A good deal of obloquy was cast upon
Gen. John Armstrong. Secretary OF
War in the Cabinet of Mr.. Madison.
but the humiliation of the people of
Washington in particular, and of the
whole people in general, was succeeded
by popular rejoicing after the battle of
New Orleans. and the victorious con-
clusion of the second Anglo-American
war soothed the American conscience.
When Congress declared war against
England on June 1S 1872, the follow
ing volunteer troops were promptly or
ganized in the District of Columbia:
Union Light Infantry, Washington Troop
of Horse First Legion of the District
of Columbia. Columbian Dragons,
Washington Light Horse, Georgetown
Hussars. and Alexandria Dragons. The
militia of the District of Columbia was
reorganized in May. 1873. with John p.
Van Ness as major general and Robert
Young and Walter Smith as brigadier
generals.
On May 30. 1878 the corporation of
the city of Washington appropriated
The Washington times., 1902-08-24

~ n this day eighty eight years
ago, a host of English invaders
" triumphed over an American
army at historic Bladensburg,
and the victors, sweeping on and
through Washington, left ruin in their
wake.
This is the eighty eighth anniversary
of the defeat of the army commanded
by Brig Gen. William H. Winder by the
combined forces of Admiral Cockburn
and General Ross and of the capture and
sack of this city. the then poor capital
of a poor Republic. Auust "a, 1914, was
the fateful day
The public buildings burned by the
English were the Capitol, White House,
State Department. Treasury, War Office,
Navy Office. and sundry structures at
the Arsenal. The navy yard was set on
fire by Commodore Tingey, the COM
mandant, acting under orders of the
President. The torch was applied to
powder trains at the moment of the en-
trance of the English to the city and
the frigate Columbia, building, and the
over to the red destroyer.
Monument to Heroes Defaced.
A monument erected at the navy yard
by officers and enlisted men of the navy
to the memory of American seamen who
fell in the war against Tripoli was
grossly defaced by the invaders, who
fiagration ragged, and in official reports
to the British admiralty claimed the
credit for having started the flames. At
the Capitol, the English kindled the
flames with books from the Library of
Congress, and which library then con-
tained only about one thousand volumes.
The value of the public property de-
stroyed is set down at s1.215,00O. This
is a small sum now; it was great sum
then.
The private buildings burned by
the invaders were a hotel on Capt.
tol Hill belonging to Daniel Car
roll of Duddington, the ropewalks
of Tench. Ringgold Heath & Co.,
and of John Chalmers and resi-
dences which local historians say were
owned by Mr. Frost and Mr.. Sewall"
The office of the National Intelli
gencer" was demolished under the per-
sonal orders of Admiral Cockburn, the
printing presses being smashed with
sledges and the types thrown into the
street. The explanation of this bit of
vandalism is that Mr.. Gales, part owner
with Mr. Seaton, of the "Intelligencer,"
was English born.
The great bridge across the Po
tomac, on the site occupied by the Long
Bridge, was set on fire at each end.
The English explained that they fired
the structure at the Washington end
because a large force of Americans was
about to cross. The bridge was fired
at the south end by a small guard of
The Washington times., 1902-08-24
AU PLANETS WHOSE MANIFOLD ECCNTRCTES BOTHER THE ASTRONOMERS

luton about them of other bodies; soma
celestial bodies vary probably because
they are darker on one side than the
other-as is the case. for example. with
one of Saturn's outer satellites.
But Eros is distinctly different from
any of these. and the whirling cigar or
spinning dinner plate theories are they
most plausible explanations of its con-N
dition that have been advanced Eros,
moreover. comes nearer the earth. once
every seven years, than any other known
pIanet. L. is then only 15,000-O0O miles
distant or less than one-third the dis
tance of the sun. At two other times
during the sevenyear period it ap-
proaches near enough to the earth TO bs
of great Importance in the mathematical
calculations with which astronomy
studies the distance of the other heav-
enlv bodies-so much so that about 80
observatories here and abroad make
special observations at that time
No Longer Given Names.
For long time the asteroids were
given names but in recent years the
practice has been largely given up, al
though nominally it is not yet aban-
doned. Scientifically they are known
by numbers, like the inmates of state
prison. Eros for example, being number
4S3.
The list of names has pretty we'll ex-
hausted the list of classical divinities.
heroes. magicians, and other charac-
ters all more or less familiar to the
general reader. Brunhilda, whom We
have met in Germon opera, is number
123. while 2O2 commentaries Penelope.
the faithful and Ito the famous suitors)
provokingly industrious wife OF wander
ing Ulysses.
Some are named after the places Of
their discovery-Chicago, for example.
Cleopatra Hypatia. Circe and ophelia
are among the family, and there are also
an Emma. an Alice and Bertha But
the fact that nobody knows them by
name or sees them without telescope
save in few cases-makes the Office Of
godparent not over-exciting
How the asteroids originated nobody
knows. nor has any theory been formu-
lated that is particularly convincing.
They existed doubtless millions of years
before discovery, and there remain
probably great many yet undiscovered.
many of them too faint for any modern
instrument to spy out. Their eccentrici-
ties, however. show that the celestial
universe presents problems as compli-
Gated as those of nature. as it is studied
on the earth, and make even the great
steps recently taken in astronomy only
an Indication of the untiring patience
with which that science must continue
its advance.
The Washington times., 1902-08-24

second line and created confusion there.
The British left, under command Of
Colonel Thornton, moved along the
Washington pike till it encountered the
American inner line. when Thornton be-
gan the execution of a flank movement
against Barneys men and Beall's regi-
ment. Here it was that the fighting
became quite severe. Brooke was en-
gaging the troops of Barney's left and
was driving them back. This made
the American position on the south side
of the pike untensble. and General VIM
der ordered retreat to the elevated
ground vest of the old turnpike gate,
near Maryland Avenue and Fifteenth
Street. Here the Americans reformed
and were re-enforced by Virginia regi-
ment, which had just come UP.
The Americans could not withstand
the assault OF the English veterans, and
General Winder orGered retreat to the
plain at the east front of the Capitol.
where 1t was understood a last stand
was to be made But arriving there.
Winder ordered a retreat to the heights
above Georgetown, near Tenleytown.
The British entered the city at p.
m without opposition. and bivouacked
on what was then vast common at
The east front of the Capitol.
Capitol Set on Fire.
The Capitol building was then COM
posed of the two small wings in which
the Supreme Court and Statuary Hall
are. These wings were united by .
wooden passageway across the site now
occupied by the central building beneath
the dome. The structure was set on FIRE.
the torch being first applied to the
House wing (statuary HalD. The in
terror woodwork and the roof of the
structure were destroyed but the char
red walls stood. Detachments of the
English marched along Pennsylvania
Avenue and applied the torch to other
public buildings.
President Madison and his Cabinet,
when the Americans retreHted through
Washington to Georgetown. fed to Little
Falls of the Potomac and thence into
Virginia Late in the day of August %,
the British withdrew to Bladensburg.
thence TO Old Fields. to Marlboro. to
Nottingham and Benedict.
The strength of the American army
was S.O4s and that of the British. ac-
cording to English authorities, $500.
The American loss was ten killed and
thirty wounded, and the English loss,
according to reports made by General
Ross. was 81 killed and 1s5 wounded.
This includes IL killed and 30 wounded
at the Arsenal by an explosion OF pow
der. The Americans, when they aban-
doned the arsenal. slowed large NUM-
ber of kegs of powder IN dry well,
hoping that it would not be discovered
by the invaders. One OF the enemy
dropped into this well lighted port
fire, with destructive results.
The Washington times., 1902-08-24

would weigh less than five ounces on the
surface of the asteroid. The COW that
thoughtlessly jumped fence would leap
so high in the air that she would not
get back to the pasture in less than
half an hour
Such speculations, however. are not
the primary object of astronomy. al
though NJ Flammarion, the French as
tronomer, holds the opinion that these
little worlds are very likely peopled
with little inhabitants.
Eccentricities of Eros.
The best known astercid is Eros, dis
covered at Heidelberg. Agust 13. 1898.
1t differs from every other member Of
its family. and from every other known
celestial body. No other celestial body,
with the exception of Saturn and his
rings. has such a distinct individuality.
for Eros is not sphere. but is probably
either shaped like huge cigar that
turns over and over in space or like TN
enormous dinner plate that spins on an
The Washington times., 1902-08-24
Of Mathematical Value.

The asteroids have proved of consid-
cradle value in measuring the distance
from the earth to the SUM-, but, as one
astronomer has said. two or three as
teroids of just the right kind would be
worth more than the whole 500. Their
peculiarities prove. indeed. that the
laws of the celestial universe are quite
as complicated as those of terrestrial
nature, but the knowledge is, as yet.
more interesting than practically val
liable to astronomical study.
Meantime they greatly complicate the
routine business OF such an observa-
tory as that at Harvard, which is de-
The Washington times., 1902-08-24

axis, first one side up and then the
other
The asteroid is constantly changing in
brightness. the change being so rapid
that it can be noticed in different parts
of the same photograph. Other stars
change in brilliancy because of the revo-
The Washington times., 1902-08-24

voted 10 the task of keeping a photo
graphic record year by year of all the
stars known to astronomy. If it were
not for the German observatory that
takes special care of them they would
often prove an actual nuisance.
Sheep and Shepherd.
Suppose, for example, we imagine the
armament to be vast field containing
countless sheep moving in a regularly
The Washington times., 1902-08-24

Capitol Square. night patrols were or
ganized, re-enforcements were sent to
Warburton Heights and District soldiers
held the roads along the Maryland bank
of the Potomac from Port Tobacco. in
Charles county, TO Piscataway, in Prince
George county.
The British Land.
On June Il, 1914, news reached Wash
ington that the British had landed at
Benedict, little village on the Patux-
ent. about forty miles southeast OF The
Capital. and that they had burned the
town. The District troops were called to
arms, and on Sunday, June 10, under
command of Major George Peter, began
the march toward Benedict. The column
was composed of the Georgetown Artil
lery. Georgetown Rifles. Georget Iwn
Dragons, Washington Troop of Horse,
The Washington times., 1902-08-24

them could be lifted up the whole bunch
would follow. But each asteroid moves
in a different plane from any other ce-
lestial body. and for that reason there
are no collisions.
The discovery of the asteroid family
was one of the most curious events in
astronomical history II followed the
first celestial discovery made by look.
ing for given object in the place where
astronomical science declared such an
object ought TO be. although there was
no visible sign of it. Previous to the
seventeenth century astronomy, still in
medieval darkness. so far as concerned
telescopes driven by electrical attach
mentr was contented with six planets,
one satellite and some very general the
ories about the stars.
In 1910 Gallileo saw the first satellite
OF Jupiter, and a certain Tuscan astron-
omer wrote as follows: Those satel-
lites are invisible to The naked eye, and
therefore can exercise no influence on
the earth, and therefore would be use
less. and therefore do not exist. Be
sides. the Jews and other ancient ma
tions, as well as modern Europeans.
have adopted the division OF the week
into seven days. and have named them
from the seven planets; now if We in
crease the number of planets the whole
system falls 10 the ground" This sa-
pient decision neither discredited Gal
lileo' 's~newly invented telescope nor
stopped the discoveries of the later cen
turtles.
The Washington times., 1902-08-24

ression. There was no further discoV-
ery until ls45. when one asteroid was
added 10 the list In 1S47 three more
were discovered.
Since nat time the use of photography
and the Individual efforts OF certain
number of "asteroid hunters" have
brought the number to over 500. Seven
have been found on a single photograph
plate taken by the Harvard Observatory.
Work of the Camera.
The camera. however, and the regular
astronomical observer differ from the
"asteroid hunter in that they study
the heavens without any desire to find
another OF these little planets. The
hunter takes his telescope and devotes
himself 20 careful examination OF a
given portion OF the sky with the hope Of
finding an asteroid not already known to
other astronomers. If he succeeds the
new planet is eventually given 4 num-
Der in the "Berliner Jahrbuch" and
everything about it recorded for the
benefit OF other observers.
Until recently it cost 5000 a year TO
take care OF each asteroid that is to
say,N the time and labor necessary to
keep track OF them amounted to that in
good dollars. Despite this care several
have been lost. and Photographic as
tronomy is now trying to pick them up
again, but the majority OF asteroids are
so faint that it seems likely that some
that are lost have disappeared alto
gether.
Every new asteroid, as has been said,
has therefore. to be identified as new
member of the family and not as an OLD
one turned up again-a matter of COM
plicated astronomical mathematics.
Vesta, the Largest Asteroid.
Vesta. the largest of the first group
OF asteroids, has been estimated by Prof.
Pickering. of the Harvard Observatory.
TO be about 3l9 miles in diameter; the
other three are perhaps two-thirds as
large. The smallest OF the legion dis
covered later is probably less than zen
miles in diameter and a good sized
Western farm would contains as much
territory as its entire surface area.
Since the surface attraction, or as
we call it famiiiarly, the force of grav-
ity, on two planets of the same density
is in proportion to their dameters. the
imagination may picture the distant as
teroid as such a farm and indulge an al
most unlimited number of amusing de-
ductions. Imagine, for instance, an
American family TO have emigrated to
this smallest of asteroids. The farmers
wife. if she weighed 200 pounds in Texas.