Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-30
FIFTY YEARS AGO
IN THE STAR

One Of the severest summer storms ever
experienced by Washingtonians visited the
capital on Sunday. June 81.
Hail 1851. The following vivid
s4or, description OF the disturb
ance IS taken from The Star
of the next day:
1t has rained, morning andrnight, for We
don't know how many times forty days in
succession, and yesterday 1t hailed. A
threatening cloud blackened the western
sky between and 3 o'clock yesterday aft
ernoon, portending the usual daily INSTALL
ment of rain. and nothing more. This We had
accompanied by fearfully vivid lightning and
heavy thunder. Then occurred q pause,
and then came a fearful. unfamiliar. crash
Ing sound, and a fall OF hail, or rather large
cakes and fakes Of Ice. which smote mer-
c1lessly the tender vegetation and carpeted
the ground, almost instantaneOusly, with
thick covering of crushed plants and green
leaves stripped from the trees. The loaded
boughs Of fruit trees were In many in
stances entirely denuded. fields OF grain
were laid PROSTATE, as by the mowers
scythe, greenhouses, public and private.
were naturally stricken down with a crash.
and the rare plants in many cases de
stroyed. The westerly windows Of build
ings unprotected by shutters blinds were
COulplStcty EluOleOs even lIo HcdNy SidSSs
some three-eighths OF an inch thick, in the
roof Of the new halls of Congress. was
broken by the terrible blows inflicted by
those falling masses OF ice Houses were
from point to point. believing. In their pit
eOus fright; trees were torn up by the roots
or their limbs broken of like pipe stems;
shutters were twisted from houses: the
streets were deluged with water, which
moved with sluggish currents. its drainage
being impeded by the admixture Of frozen
sleet, which did not melt Immediately, ow-
ing to the sudden and uncomfortable low
ering of the temperature In consequence OF
the falling hail. The red lightning. like
an attendant demon upon the storm king.
played a fearfully active part. Everywhere
was presented something startling, some
thing out Of the course of nature. - -.
1t was estimated that at least $1,000
lights of glass were smashed by the hail in
Washington.
The common council and board Of alder
men, elected on the day Of the great riots,
met on the 22d of June, and
Echoes Of there was keen public inter-
~. p;.. est in the action the latter
body would take with refer
ence to that disturbance. the common coun-
Gil having already adopted resolutions
commencing the course of the municipal
and federal officials on that occasion. The
debate was spirited, but finally the resolu-
lions were adopted with a slight change,
the vote being to 4. Alderman Evans
created diversion by offering substitute
resolutions declaring that ''inasmuch as
there was no rioting In Washington on cleo
ton day no warrant existed for the use
of the troops and that the firing by the
marines was uncalled for, unprovoked and
unjustifable. the bloody consequences Of
which rest on the President Of the United
States and the Secretary Of the Navy" The
presentation of these resolutions. which
were rejected by vote Of to 3. later
elected sharp comments from the local
press. The Star remarking:, g..
What but spirit of revenge on account
of the defeat Of the efforts of the plug ugli g
to control the result of the late election here.
abiding sympathy with such characters,
could have given rise to such aspersions on
the present chief magistrate of the United
States as the resolutions in question en-
ly not the ordinary differences between
men in political matters: as Is forcibly IL
Illustrated by the indignation manifested by
nine-tenths of the American party of this
city against the acts of the Baltimore row.
dy friends Of F.. 8. Evans, withdrawing
nothing to lose In the way of public conf
dence-he thus seeks to- paIliate. defend
and commend.
Before the typewriter was invented gov
eminent clerks and business men had
hard time deciphering the
Illeeible handwriting of their corre-
r.. spondents. Half century
ago the quill pen was still
in vogue. although the steel and gold pens
had been used for some years. The quill
did not yield the most perfect results and,
save in the hand Of careful writer, 1t was
apt to produce bewildering effects. In The
Star of June 49, 1857, is a paragraph which
suggests that the typewriter would: have
been a greatly appreciated boon in those
days. - 05'.7-' 81 1~s>' 81
Much Of the alleged dissatisfaction over
alleged disregard of promptness in replying
to inquiries. on the part of the government
here. arises from the fact that they are
/ illegibly written. We saw a communication
to the Indian bureau a day or two since.
evidently conceived by the writer to be of
great Importance to him. all the important
fact of the utter impossibility of declpher-
ing them. He will nevertheless doubtless
growl and growl and growl for months
over the apparent neglect Of the bureau to
attend to and dispose OF his requests.
The college commencement Of half CEN
fury ago was somewhat different from the
same ceremony of the pres
Columbian ent day. There was consid-
Co31ere cradle more oratory on the
part of accomplished stu
dents. a longer list OF Intellectual ''at-.
fractions" and a more academic trend of
topics. In The Star of June q, 1857. is an
account of the commencement exercises. of
the Columbian College, since transposed into
the George Washington University. They
were held at the + Street Baptist Church
The President Of the United States was
present. but merely as an attentive au-
ditor.' Prayer was offered by Rev. Or.
RylAnd, president Of Richmond College Vir-
ginia. The speakers and their subjects
were as follows: r. A. Christian. jr.,
Of Virginia. The Waste Of Mind"
Giles +. Ewbank Of Virginia THE
Pride of Ancestry ]. L. Barnes Of North
Carolina, THE Character Of Sir walter
Raleigh" Chastian c. Meader Of Virginia.
The Relation of Science and Religion G.
w. H. Morgan Of Virginia. The Ages"
A. D. Moore Of Washington, The Christian
Statesman" VIM. F. Mattingly Of Wash
ington, THE Fine Arts in America The
Stars report concludes:
AT the conclusion Of the respective ora
lions the speakers were greeted with the
plaudits Of an appreciative audience. and
the ladies welcomed their entrance upon