Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-17
FIFTY YEARS Ago
IN THE STAR

p. r. Barnum published his autobiogra-
ply in 1856, and for some years thereafter
he suffered from the conse-
Barnum quences Of the frankness with
Abroad. which he took the public
into his confidence. He went
to England during the winter of 1861
and found public opinion very much
excited against him. especially as the
sympathies of that country had been
aroused in behalf of the southern states,
and Barnums name was already identified
with the stage production of Uncle Toms
Cabin Between the result of his confess
sions as the exhibitor of fakes and frauds
and the pro-slavery sentiment in England
Barnum had had hard time securing en-
gagements for his attractions, especially
Cordelia Howard, who played in Uncle
Tom,
At that time tom Thumb" whom Bar
mum discovered" was exhibiting in Lon
don on his own account and was finan-
ciafly injured by the anti-Barnum feeling
aroused by the publication of the auto
biography. Nevertheless he was not with
out some measure of popularity. as the
following paragraph. from The Star of Feb
ruary II. 1857. evidently taken from Lon
don paper, indicates:
During the performance of the panto-
mime at -Drury Lane lately, Tom Thumb,
VIII WAS seated IN the manager s DOX, WAS
not little surprised at being snatched up,
sans ceremonie.' by one of the clowns
and. before he could find time to protest,
he found himself standing in the center of
was as pleasant to the audience as 1t was
sudden to the general. The little fellow.
cap in hand. bowed gracefully to the audi
ence and then toddled OF to his box, amid
shouts Of applause.
\
While the streets Of Washington were an
abomination fifty years ago, the roads
leading into the city were.
RANK with single exception. in q
Road. state of unqualified atrocity.
and the conditions attending
the use of that solitary good road were so
onerous that the farmers of the neighbor-
hood were constantly seeking measures of
relief. In The Star of February 16. 1857,
is q letter calling attention to new propo-
sition OH this subject:
1.-THE petition presented by Mr.. Pearce of
Maryland in the Senate last week from
citizens of Montgomery county, asking that
the stockholders in the plank road and
make it a free avenue from the District
line to the center of the city of Washing
ton is one Of those measures that appeal
directly to the interests Of every one resid-
ing here. 1t is well known that the toll on
this road is exorbitantly high. and yet not
too much SO to give Its stockholders more
than per cent upon their investments. so
that it acts as g. tariff upon the necessaries
of life brought by the farmers of Mont
gomery to our markets and makes living
double as high as IL no toll was collected.
1t seems to me that all the leading roads
from the adjacent counties, within the
limits of the District, should be as free
from all Instructions to trade as the streets
or avenues of the city: for. in fact, when
we look at the city and county of WASH
s,,rr bow, fLa,,
community identical in interests. and living
under the fostering care of the general
government. The purchase Of this road
will involve an outlay OF not more than
$4,000, If SO much; while the benefits to
trade and the consequent reduction on the
price of market provisions will more than
compensate for its expenditure a hundred
fold annually"
This part of the country may have been
deficient in point of the number of railway
lines half a century ago. but
Southern it had the present beaten
Travel. badly in the matter of rail-
way promptness and relia-
bility, if the following paragraph in The
Star of February IT. 1857. is to be ac-
cepted as trustworthy evidence:
"On the Great Southern Mail Route to
and from this city passengers have not
failed to make the connection since the day
after a portion of the Long bridge was de-
stroyed by the ice freshet. Great credit 10
due to the indomitable Mr.. Hugh Latham,
the empresario Of the Orange and Alex
andria Railroad Companys line Of omni-
buses, running between their depot in
Alexandria and the Baltimore road depot
In this city, for the achievement of getting
through every passenger and the baggage
Of all of them going either way, in time to
make the connection. We have very re-
Gently Travelled up and down the Orange
railroad and find 1t In as good condition as
can possibly be desired; it's trips are made
to the minute of the schedule. and it has
in no way suffered through the late season
of almost unprecedented trials on railroads.
Its admirable management in all its depart
ments has made 1t great favorite with
the travelling public, and the fact that the
trains over it were interrupted less than
half as long as over all other routes in the
same latitude proves that its affairs are
in all respects skillfully conducted"
Notwithstanding this brilliant example Of
good railroading, public confidence In the
ability of the transportation
Inaugural lines to handle crowds was
Visitors, not SO high but that large
numbers of people were al
ready, at this season in 1857. arriving daily
to make sure Of being here in time for the
inauguration. In the same issue of The
Star is this paragraph:
THE approach of Inauguration day con-
tinues to pour in upon us. almost hourly,
avalanches of strangers from north, SOUTH
east and west. The leading hotels are all
overlooking, while all the boarding houses
have already a good supply of guests, at
tracted by the wonderful things to be done
and seen here on the 4th proximo-and
shortly thereafter. There more stranger
ladies of fashionable exterors in Washing
ton at this time than we ever before saw
here except on an inauguration day. Their
presence gives a glow of animation not only
to the immediate surroundings of Congress-
the parlors of fashionable hotels, the
Smithsonian Institution, the Patent Office
building and other public edifices visited by
nearly all strangers who come hither, but
to Pennsylvania avenue, which Cutters
with them when the sun shines. until it
perhaps equaled Broadway itself. yester-
day afternoon. Washington city at such a
season is like an omnibus on a rainy day
That is it is impossible so to crowd it that
it will not hold q few more. Quite fifty
thousand strangers can be made passably
comfortable in Washington from now until
after the Inauguration day."
JAPAN AND AMERICA.