Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-10
FIFTY YEARS AGO
IN THE STAR

In THE 6TAK
While preparations are In progress for
the final removal of the old Long bridge
across the Potomac 1t Ii
Long Bridge interesting to note that
Damaged. just half q century ago q
large portion of this struc-
ture was carried away by the ice. In The
Star Of February 0, 1851, Is the following
account of the accident;
THE Ice In the river has for some days
past showed signs of dissolution, and on
Saturday was SO much weakened that the
Powhatan steamboat was able to cut her
way through to Alexandria and back, maxi
ing the round trip In about forty minutes.
The thiclest ice found was opposite the
arsenal. Yesterday the rapid thaw had
occasioned great rise in the river, and
the various points overlooking 1t were oc-
cupied during the day by crowds Of spec
tators. attracted by the sublime spectacle
presented. Gazing at the sweeping tide Of
thick foes Of ice coming down from the
upper Potomac. 1t needed little exercise Of
the imagination to imagine ones self In
those arctic regions depicted by DR.. Kane.
AAAS AAAAAhSAAoC PoWS4 Va SAlAS iAoSAA6 DOuy
of ice made itself felt upon the Long
bridge from its start early in the morning,
and before 8 o'clock pm. 1t had made its
mark by carrying away considerable por-
ton of the woodwork at the Georgetown
channel The portion completed under
Commissioner Blake remains unmoved,
though an immense weight of ice is lodged
against 1t. The heaps Of ice piled upon
the flats protect the remainder OF the struc-
ture. and 1t is believed that no further
damage will be done. About 100 feet Of the
town channel is gone, and as much more
shaken and out of position. The draws
are uninjured
1--WE learn that the inclined plane at the
Little Falls bridge was carried away yes
terday; also that the ferry boat at George
town was swept down the river. The high
northwest wind which prevailed yester-
day and operated so disadvantageously to
the Long bridge was doubtless the saving
of Georgetown, proving the truth of the
saving. It's an Ill wind that blows good to
nobody"
Congress paid very little attention to Dis
trict matters fifty years ago. and COM
plants were often uttered
Local by local residents that their
Legislation. interests were neglected by
the legislature. In The Star
Of February H. 1857. is an expression of
this feeling, as follows:
"a large portion of the business before
the House of greatest Importance to the
governments immense property interest in
the District of Columbia. as well as to all
our fellow-citizens, remains undisposed of
by the House, the single day so far given
matters not having proved sufficient for
its due disposal The interests of the peo-
pie of this District are wholly at the
mercy of Congress, for they have no local
legislature to make for them the simplest
regulations, such as those which the prog
ress of the times makes necessary in every
state in the Union. We therefore trust that
our friends of the House will bear with us
in again urging that they appropriate an
other day in which to dispose at least of
the District bills already reported. many
of which, while they are wholly unobjec-
tionable. can not be passed over without
grievously injuring and doing cruel injus-
tice to the people by whom Congress are
now Immediately surrounded. We are per-
suaded that the. members, one and all. feel
kindly toward the District and its inhab-
itants. and should be grieved. indeed. II
the latter should through the inconsider-
ateness of the members of the House have
cause to remember them as those, of all
others. who have seen fit to deny them
local legislation just as necessary to their
future as the legislation of state of the
Union is to the cities within its boundaries"
X
Washington was an unpaved city in 1857,
and progress through the streets was de-
plorably unpleasant in wet
proposed weather. Sometimes 1t was
Pavement. actually impossible. There
were ambitions, however,
in this matter, as the following paragraph
in The Star of February IL attests:
1T is hoped that Congress. in determin-
ing upon a plan for finishing the grounds,
streets, etc, surrounding the Capitol build
ing as it is to be finished, will cause the
carriageways to be paved upon the Bel
gian plan, which has given much sat
isfaction in New York, whose crowded
of a century been experimental on in the
matter of pavements in all conceivable
ways. and until the introduction of this
late improvement always unsatisfactory
from some defect in the plan adopted. 1t
consists of trap rock about eight inches
deep and from five to seven inches square,
jointed and laid slightly arched from curb
to curb. 1t has been found that the man
ner in which it can be keyed renders 1t
proof against sinking or being thrown up
anywhere by the action of the frost. and
also that its numerous joints prevent horses
from slipping upon it. as upon the Russ
and every other similar road surface SO
far experimental with in New York. great
ly to the injury of stock owners there.
Much permanent pavement Is to be laid
in and around the Capitol grounds ere the
improvements of the government there are
completed, and the question is, shall the
roadways be constructed in a manner in
keeping with the construction of the build
ing"
Now Congress is considering whether it
Is necessary to cause the wagon owners of
Washington to equip their heavy vehicles
with four-inch tires to protect the asphalt
pavements of the city.
R0CKEFELLER'S GIFT.