Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-02-20
FIFTY YEARS AGO
IN THE STAR

LIN lnE Dian
Considering the Importance of the is
sues pending fifty years ago. in which
the south was vitality in
Southern terested, the demoraliza-
NIL ton of the mail service
N"io' from which that section
suffered, as noted in the following para
graph In The Star of February ii, 1850,
was of serious consequence:
we do not know that there was ever
before SO general complaint as at present
concerning the irreGularity and dilatori-
ness of the southern mail. The inability
of the department to keep its engage
ment with the contractors has placed it
at their mercy. AS they are not being
paid. of course they will pay less attention
to the due observance of the regulations
for the government The fault is with
Congress altogether, which has failed to
enable the department TO pay them. In
the matter of the great southern mail,
however, the department does seem fairly
chargeable with the fact that the mails
between New York and New Orleans are
now regularly two days behind passengers
between the same points The latter take
the new south railroad route and thus
travel from Washington to New Orleans
in three days. The former are transport
ed over the cd route and require five
days to make the journey
1t is interesting In this connection to
note that the passenger service between
Washington and New Orleans is now ac-
commodated on thirty-six hour basis.
oneehalf the time required fifty years ago
to make the journey between those points.
-.
The advertising columns of The Star,
under the head of Personal in the is
sues of February Is and
personals IA, 1860 contain an inter-
Cvoho.moa esting exchange of COM
CAcnaAseu. pIiments between two nm
named individuals. The first advertise
ment is as follows:
ON Sunday morning, September Is
1853, a notice appeared upon a door Of
a prominent hotel in Washington city, Of
which the following is a verbatim COPY:
Gentleman will please not Bring any
chairs into the passeg or about tn door
1t very much displices tn lads & the
success in the business depend on pleas
ing the Lads
The proprietor of the hotel alluded to
IN the above notice, knowing who caused
the same to be inherited in Harper's
Weekly. sent in the following note. He
was educated in the land of free schools :
Understanding that you have been
making your Bags that you cause to be
Inherited in Harper magazine a motifs that
had put upon my door last fall which I
NJ VT, u
towards me. and wishing to have no in
tercourse with you In any manner / there
fore request that you will discontinue
your visits to the = House upon all oc-
caslons whether by invitation or other
wise.
In the next issue of The Star, February
IA. 1850. was the following PERSONAL:
Inc gentleman. Mr.. j.. who caused the
notife OF last September to be published
IN Harper's Magazine and also in last
evenings Star together with the notice
he received February from a hotel keep
er requesting him to discontinue his visits
at the hotel neglected to publish that he
paid no attention to the request. but con-
tinued them until Saturday evening last,
when he was for the fl st time seen by
the proprietor and called from the office
into the passage; the proprietor then es-
corted him through the hall and with a
gentle touch with the toe of his boot sent
him part way down the steps, with an
increasing anxiety to get down the re-
mainder.
Washington had a sidewalk snow law
half a century ago. and. judging from the
following paragraph in
Snow The Star of February Is,
T.- 1850, 1t was not enforced
satisfactorily:
General Snow was busy during the
sleeping hours last night in spreading his
white carpet. to the discontinue of Cen
eral Green and to the utter dismay of the
fair-weather mongers, who predicted a
mild winter and no more snow in the
early part OF last month. 1t is to be
hoped that our citizens generally will pay
little more regard than heretofore to
the wholesome and seasonable law re-
quiring them to remove the snow from
their (. ont pavements within few hours
after each fall. Why have the police off,
GERS. whose duty 1t is to execute the city
ordinances, almost ceased to regard the
law as vital enactment? We call upon
them, In the name of humanity and for
the preservation of the lives and limbs of
our fellow citizens to do their duty in
the premises p. omptly and impartially
otherwise it may be suspected and sug-
gested by shrewd observers that the po-
lice OuCeTS nave COISplTeQ WITH the pny-
sicians. surgeons, bone-setters and med
ical students to make cases for them in
stead of the corporation of Washington,
which pays them libel ally for their off,
cial services"
Alexandria was proud of its commercial
Importance fifty years ago. and enthusiast
tic citizens of that COM
y