The Republican journal., 1907-05-16
vate residences on F street.

| VaCo residences on + street. Inert
was a grocery store on the corner O
| F, and 14th streets and down the latte
street were number of lesser build
lngs in which the correspondents O.
| leading newspapers had their offices
and for many years it was known a!
| Newspaper Row. On the ground floor
| corner of 14th street and Pennsylvania
avenue, was the office of the Associated
Press formerly the wine store of FREQ
S. Cozzens, author of 'The Sparrow
grass Papers" and ga Month Among
the Bluenoses") and the Western
Union Telegraph office, with the op
Grating rooms on the floor above. The
Ebbitt has now absorbed most of the
buildings on l4th street. but this cor
ner building still stands, with furnish
ing goods store on the first floor anG
newspaper offices above. Newspaper
Row no longer exists, and the CORE
spondents are scattered about on F.
and G. streets and in the Post and
Munsey buildings on E. street. In the
former building was found VIM. B
Shaw, so years ago the "Nestor of the
Row" and who still holds that title. His
is the only name on the list of Washing
ton correspondents that was there in
my time. Mr.. Shaw formerly represent
ed the New York Herald, and was the
first correspondent to send news by
telegraph to his paper. He now repre-
sents the Philadelphia Enquirer and
attributes his excellent health to his
temperate habits. He neither drinks
nor smokes, and spoke of some of his
contemporaries who passed away years
ago as "high rollers" W. c. Mcbride,
whose name now appears in the list as
the correspondent of the Cincinnati
Enquirer, was in my day the city editor
of the Chronicle, one of John W.
Forney's 'two papers, both daily"
the other being the Philadelphia Press.
Mr. Mcbride is also the manager of the
Washington Post, owned by John Nc
Lain, who is also the proprietor of the
Cincinnati Enquirer, established by his
father, Washington McLain. In this
connection it may be mentioned
that one of my fellow workers and
only one now living
Mr.. Frank A. Richardson of the Balti-
more Sun, retired SOME years ago to
enjoy well earned competence. He
came to Washington in 1865, and was
then one of 26 correspondents. When
he retired in 1901 the Congressional
directory contained the names of near
ly two hundred, and these were all rep
resentatives of daily newspapers, using
the telegraph. No doubt there were as
many more letter writers and con-
tributors.
AS illustrating the changes that have
taken place it may be mentioned that
having missed Welkers restaurant,
which occupied a handsome marble
front building on 18th street, one of the
clerks at the Ebbitt House was asked
what had become of it and said he had
never heard of it, perhaps you mean
Wormleys," he added. But that was
another establishment. Adam Wei
ker's restaurant was the highest priced
and most noted restaurant in Washing
ton in its day. Here the Washington
correspondents gave dinner attended
by President Grant, members of his
cabinet, prominent members of the
Senate and House, Col. John w. For
ney, then collector at the port of Phila-
delphia, aid Tom Mast, the caricatur-
lst. If memory is not at fault the din
ner cost $50 plate. Wormley was a
colored man who made a success as a
and a wealthy Congressman
from Massachusetts, name not now re-
called, built small hotel for him. That
also seems to have gone out of exis-
tence, although one of the objects seen
from the Seeing Washington auto
mobiles is the Old Wormley Cafe.
c. A. p.