Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-21
FIFTY YEARS AGO
IN THE STAR


and Snow. sex continued in the ma
jority to patronize crino-
line, very much to their discomfort during
the snowy weather, as the following para
graph in The Star of January IA. 1856. indi-
Gates:
1T fell to our lot lately to follow in the
wake of beautiful miss. who, incumbered
with hoop of the largest caliber. was en-
deavoring to work her way through a mar
row passage in a snowdrift. She had a
time Of 1t. The philanthropic digger of the
path had evidently not calculated upon the
contingency of a ladys hoop going through
and go through it would not. So the lady
raised the hoop and its surroundings just a
trif1e and tried again, developing by the
movement neatly turned ankle and per-
ceptible trace Of embroidered skirt, but as
the drift deepened 1t became painfully evil
dent that a retreat was inevitable. and re-
treat she did, blushing like peony, and
thus was this young lady compelled to
make circumbendibus of two or three
squares because she wore the hoop instead
OF the bloomer costume"
The snow storm which was causing dis
comfort such as that just related gave the
observation-disclosures plenty to think about and
grumble over, as this same issue of The
Star shows in the following paragraph:
Clear out, your cutters and allow the
dsmmed-up ice water a channel and free
passage, else the sidewalks and streets Will
be overfiowed, and then, perhaps, with a
hard freeze the future will be trifie more
slippery than the past. The cutters and
crossings are in an awful condition, as many
pedestrian has had occasion to ascertain.
Sleighing seems to have been brought up
with short turn; indeed. 1t is dangerous
driving a horse upon the streets in conse-
Guence of the acherous holes in the half
frozen ice and snow"
1t was evident that the sleighing for the
season was not all over, as the following
item In the news columns Of
UecAAeeS the issue Of January Is in
Sleighers. dicates that that sport was
still in evidence:
'.SIeighing, we know, is regarded as a car
niyal amusement in which free license Is
tolerated Yet we are sorry to see That
some gentlemen-or rather human beings
dressed as gentlemen-forget all the de-
cencieS of good behavior the moment they
hear the Jingle of the bells. Human life
and limb are looked upon as of no conse-
Quence if in the way of these Jehus, who
dash recklesSly along in their fancied I'M
punity as if monarch to the highway. one
case of this arrogant charioteership came to
our knowledge in a particularly aggraVat-
ing character. A sleigh was nearly driven
over gentleman who was on the crossing
of II and 10th streets, five minutes past 3
O'Clock, and the driver really owes an apol-
ogy to the gentleman whose limbs, If not
life, he periled. 1t may have been acct
tentative trust it was
This paragraph in The Star of January
16. 1856, described narrow escape from
death by burning in which a
"A Marrow then prominent Washingto-
Escape. Man figured:
I'VE understand that Gen.
Webb is recovering from the effects of a
recent accident, which might have proved
fatal. The general was shaving himself
before a coal fire. and suddenly turning
around. his dressing gown was whisked
into the CRATE. where it caught fire and
enveloped him in a blazing fire in the rear.
He, with great presence of mind, leaped
into bed and wrapped himself I'm the blan-
kets. extinguishing the flames. The general
is RAPIDLY recovering, and wag, remark
ing his absence from the lobby of the
House, said that he supposed he had sim
ply paired off with Horace Greeley.
from all parts of the country just at that
time, the prolonged speakership fight in
the House of Representatives attracting
keen interest, especially in the south. The
following paragraph in The Star of Janu-
airy 16 Indicates a congestion caused by
this inflow Of guests:
Quite an omnibus caravan of southern
passengers entered the city about half-past
they were obliged to stay all night in this
city the hotels were speedily flooded with
guests. This large party of travellers, shar-
ing the fate of all travellers during the late
storm had been weatherbound and were
three days on the way from Richmond to
Washington. At Gordonsville 400 passen-
gers were detained "a hours in consequence
of the heavy drift of snow upon the Orange
and Alexandria road
In The Star Of January II is a summary
of a leading editorial printed day previous
by the Philadelphia Evening
washington Bulletin, paying a handsome
Praised. tribute to Washington. The
Star says:
after abiding to the fact that we are
without great national city-a city repre-
senting the nation as Paris represents
France or London England-and that, in
deed, the prejudices of the people are hap
PLY against all claims to supremacy on
the part of any one city, at proceeds to say
that in the absence Of any great and domi-
neering metropolis whose commerce or
manufactures or wealth can give 1T the
power to represent the whole nation we
can turn with pleasure to Washington a
city in which the people take an interest
and in whose establishment and improve
ment every state can take a certain degree
of delight and pride The plan of Wash
and it may have seemed ridiculous to have
a few thousand people scattered over a
place that would lodge million and call it
a city But the designers of Washington
had calculated for futurity, and already it
is beginning to show that it will be large
enough for its plan. After some
notice of the works of art here the article
proceeds with an intimaton to the residents
of Washington that they should not depend
too conclusively upon government support.
There IS no reason why commerce and man.
ufactures should not flourish in Washington
as we'll as in Baltimore, and individual en-
terprise should go hand in hand with that
of government in charging the resources
of tiae place and increasing the inducements
for people to reside there. The vast expen-
diture of later years upon public buildings
makes it almost certain that the govern
ment will never be removed from Washing
ton And, indeed the extension of railroads
and teIegraphs destroys the force of the
chief arguments in favor of such removal.
So the people of Washington can safely en-
ploy their capital in home Investments that
will be of material advantage and feel secure
that there is no danger of a reaction or loss
from the removal Of the seat of govern
ment."
MORALES THE MENDICAHT.