Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-18
FIFTY YEARS AGO
IN THE STAR

Although the Constitution granted
Congress exclusive jurisdiction over
the ten miles square
Federal constituting the federal
r,. capital. this District cost
the United States gov
eminent very little up to the assumption
by the government in 1873 of one-half
of the expenses of maintenance. In The
Star of October II, 1858, is the following
paragraph relative to this matter:
In answer to a resolution by Senator
Brown. which was passed during the late
session of Congress, calling upon the Sec
rotary of the Interior to furnish state
ment of the expenses of the government
in the District of Columbia since its foun-
dation. the statement has been made out
and amounts in round numbers to S26.-
100000. This includes all expenses for
public buildings repairs, bridges. gas
and everything except salaries of clerks.
OF this amount about 81 600 600. which
was appropriated for the Smithsonian
Institution, should be deducted as it was
not the money of the United States gov
eminent, but only held by them in trust
Tor the purpose of constructing that in
stltut1on and laying off its grounds
The federal officials who had control of
the matter of the band concerts in the
public parks half a CEN
Public tury ago we're determined
Concerts to give the people full
measure of music regard
less Of their appreciation. In The Star
OF October IL, 1893. is this paragraph
The outdoor concerts seem to be for
gotten entirely by those who used to
attend them so industriousy at the be-
ginning of the summer and should there
be no better audiences in future than
the Marine Band has had lately they
might as we'll be discontinued for all the
pleasure they afford to the public. The
concert in the Capitol grounds on last
Sunday was attended by an audience of
five little girls and one boy beside the
officers of the grounds. The leader of the
band was anxious to be dismissed before
the performance began, and made appIi-
| cation to the chief OF the Capitol police
to know If that functionary had not
power to postpone the performance for
the remainder of the season, but as that
obliging official had no authority in the
premises the program had to be gone
through with, which was done in a very
admirable manner, to the no small delec-
tatlon OF the aforesaid five little girls
and one boy. 1t is stated that the band
performed much better than at any pre-
Vlous time this year. This was the unan-
lmous decision of those present"
| Those having charge of the congress
| slonal quarters were busy preparing for
| the reassembling OF the
al Tue national Legislature half a
Canito1 century ago, and in The
Star of October -, 1893,
is a paragraph descriptive of the situa-
ton at the Capitol:
"Workmen are engaged in brushing up
the House Of Representatives and the
surrounding rooms and passages, and
within the hall the painters are engaged
upon the work of ornamentation. The
panels between the doors OF entrance 10
the hall have been beautifully painted N
| imitation OF damask, and those in the gal
lery are undergoing a clearing and being
| freshly freScoed. 1t is suggested thai
the new Senate Will not be in a condition
for the members to occupy it at any time
| during the coming session by reason of
the campnesS OF the walls. AS the Old
| Senate hall is as yet amply large enough
to accommodate that body, it would Ger
tainly be better to occupy it the coming
winter than to place the lives OF venerable
men in peril by removing them to the new
! hall, where no amount of precautiOn will
| be sufficient to prevent the dampneSS OF
its walls and the draughts of cold air,
which in the unfinished state OF the rooms
surrounding the hall must penetrate there,
from annoying the members"
X
Hope for the successful operation Of the
Atlantic cable persisted, Notwithstanding
the failure of all efforts
AtlaDt1c TO send ineligible signals
c.bla across it. In The Star OF
October ii, 1898, is a para
orap, IN tho Srhipct indicatjDp tho
| ures adopted to solve the problem:
Letters from Valentia report that no
Improvement had taken place in the cleo
trical condition of the Atlantic cable. The
fault. however, did not get worse, for oc-
casionally considerable and distinct re
versals' from Newfoundland We're dis
cernible. The opinion that the princi-
pal fault in the cable is near the shore
| daily gained ground, although Prot.
ThOmpson'S opinion was directly opposed
that something would be done toward
undermining and repairing the cable
during October, which is generally a tine
| month on the Irish coast. Mr.. Henley 5
| GIGANTIC magneto-eleCtric machine had ar
| rived at Valentia, and was being put
in operation, and with the aid of this in
strument Mr.. Henley hoped to be able to
work through the cable during some part
of each day, even il the fault should
prove irreparable. Beyond the continuance
of experiments nothing was to be done
with the cable until the preconcerted eX-
periments at both teIfnini of the line had
been made. They had been fixed to take
place early in October, and would, 1t
was expected, demonstrate the possibility
or impossibility of working the line in its
present condition"
=.
The proximity of Washington and Bal
timore has always inspired enterprises
for rapid communicat ton
steam between the two cities. Re-
Coaches. Gently a trolley line has
been installed, giving fire.
quent service. Fifty years ago, how
ever. there were only two trains a day
on one steam railroad line. The follow
ing paragraph in The Star Of October IT,
1858. indicates that a great improvement
was projected:
I'VE believe there is now no doubt that
the company that recently purchased the
turnpike from this city to Baltimore will
cause 1t to. be planked from end to end
in manner suitable for the use of
coaches drawn by steam capable of max
ing the trip in two hours. In England
steam-drawn coaches are becoming eX-
tensively and protitably used upon such
roads, and it is designed that the mode of
construction shall be in all respects after
the approved English method. The new
company will thus inaugurate a new era in
the modes of travelling in the United
States, as the railroad era OF America