Evening star., 1907-11-17
FIFTY YEARS ago
IN THB STAR

In THE STAR
The government printing Office was
evolved after severe travail. The prepo-
sition to create such an
Public establishment aroused q
p-,,t,,. storm Of protest. The
Star was In the opposition
at that stage of the case, fer reasons
which are set forth in an editorial printed
,November 10. 1857. IN part az follows:
An United States government printing
establishment can hardly fail to become
the gEsadest eleemosynsry institution the
world ever saw. costing the national
treasury millions on millions more than
the cost Of the public printing at the
present time, which is much less than
the public are being led to believe by
persons who. considering It plunder.
are endeavoring to catch 1t after the
ashton Of highwaymen. The prices paid
less than when 1t was done by the ven
erable Thomas Ritchie, while the wages
paid by the public printer are full Is
per centum higher A public printing
bureau will turn out & to be s, sort Of hug
matter Is one of no little Importance to
the Business Interests Of the Federal me-
tropolis, hundreds Of our best nechanics
and their families deriving their bread
from 1t. and ne are no longer disposed
to remain qinet en- the subject while
gangs ct treasury plunderers By trade
are setting their traps to induce the re-
moval Of the work from our midst In
their efforts to secure its alleged profits
FOR themselves, probably in the name OF
others"
II Il
So fierce were the rivalries Of the local
fire companies. causing riot almost
every time an alarm was
Fire sounded. that greater con-
Er.,r.s sideFatton was paid to q
proposal to set up steam
fire engine IN Washington
fifty years ago than would ordinarily
have been given to 1t. In The Star Of
November 10. 1857. is the following item:
1.-THE seasonabIe proposition of A. B.
Latta & Co. to furnish the city Of Wash
ington with a steam fre engine was COM
municated to the councils last night by
the mayor. The proposal is to furnish
the city with q steam fire engine of tn.
third class, complete. for the sum OF
$1,000 The apparatus is to be capable
will throw stream Of water ~ inches
in diameter 200 feet horizontally. or two
A-inch streams It's feet. The machine
is to be drawn by two horses. The
manufacturers agree to keep the whole in
order one year. They say they can show
a great saving in property by their new
arrangement in Cincinnati, Ohio. suficient
to support six such fire departments as
they had. besides destroying the moral
influence which naturally arises from the
will be from $500 to 81 600 year Such
an engine as they propose will be capa.
BILE of doing the work Of three hand en-
gines."
Washington had been without q theater
since the burning of the National. and
many efforts to supply the
Theater lack had failed because of
p-o,.c+ insufficient financial sup
port. On the 18th OF No
venber. 1857. The Star printed q letter
from John T. Ford. the Baltimore theatri-
cal manager. offering to engage in such
al enterprise in Washington:
win you permit me the use Of your
columns to make reply to the gentle
men by whom, during the past few
months. have been repeatedly urged
and solicited to meet the earnest desires
of the citizens of Washington. by taking
the initiatory steps toward the erection
OF a theater, which should be worthy OF
their liberal tastes? In the assurance
cooperation submit to all interested in
the matter proposition to erect, by sub
scriptions OF $500, more or less, as may
be most available. a frst-cIass. substan-
tial theater. to be conducted by Kunkel
& Co., in connection with their Richmond
managed by myself for the stockholders.
entirely Independent Of those cities
Twenty-Five or thirty thousand dollars "a
portion of which we would ourselves SUBJ
scribe) would suffice for the elegant and
commodious house. the completion of
which could be accomplished In brief time.
I respectfully invite those practically
favorable to the project to confde, at an
early period, their names and the sums
they would subscribe to the editor of The
Evening Star. when, II the result offers
sufficient encouragement, I would hold
an early conference with them and at
once proceed to the erection Of the the
ater."
The eventual result Of Mr. Ford's offer
was the construction Of the 10th street
building which was the scene Of President
Lincoln's assassination.
It has been some time since the ten
cent man" held forth on the street cor
ners Of Washington. with
Corner his GLIB talk and trashy
r.k.r trinkets. In The Star Of
November 13, 1857, is an
article descriptive Of his methods. which
will probably remind many readers Of
days that are gone:
1.-The ten-cent man Is just now the lion
Of the town and is driving q roaring trade,
as he rarely fails to draw q crowd OF
purchasers by his eccentric style of hold
ing forth. His stock in trade consists
of box of brass trinkets, printed slips.
etc, and over this he descants in the
purest cockney dialect, somewhat In the
following strain:
"''Ere you hare, gentlemen and ladies;
the greatest number of things of the
greatest value, for the smallest amount
of money. Ere you go-first, this sheet
Of upwards of fifty songs, all complete,
by the first American authors: then you
ave my funny secret, full OF useful in
formation; that is two; then there Is the
curious Chinese puzzle, which may be in
troduced, with great applause in private
parties or public assemblies-that's three;
next comes $40 BILL payable at my own
door to Touch-and-Go, the molasses man
ufacturer; just slip in and get your
change at the counter-that makes four;
next is the gold handkerchief pin. con-
tanning an emblem of affection, the hand
and heart-that's Ave; and sixth. plain
gold wedding ring; also seventh. gal
vanized silver ring, and eighth, double
keeper. containing the thirteen stars in
the middle, surmounted on the edge with
the beautiful emblem Of a snake: ninth is
lady's silver thimble. worth all the