Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-03-20
FIFTY YEARS Ago
IN THE STAR

In the good old days Of omnibuses citi-
zens burdened with small impedimenta
found it a convenience to
Package intrust their parcels with
n.I:- the drivers Of the stage
eAJ' coaches which ran be-
tween the navy yard and Georgetown.
The following news paragraph in The
Star of March II, 1860. indicates that this
system had its drawbacks:
"A civil suit was brought this morning
by A. IT. Young against g., Wander
werken for the recovery of $3.50. the
value OF bundle lost by one of the de-
PENDANTS drivers. The prosecution proved
that the bundle was given to a driver in
Vanderwerken's employ to carry to that
section of the city where he was going
and that the bundle was lost. Mr.. F. w.
Jones, for the defense. put in the plea
that the omnibus drivers are not common
carriers of freight and so are not amen
able to the law as common carriers. 1t
was proven that they are strictly pro-
hibited from taking bundles unless the
owners are with them. II a driver re-
ceives pay for carrying bundle 1t is his
own and the proprietor does not receive
it, The case was before Justice Dom,
who gave judgment for the defendant"
~
1.-The announcement that the hotel keep
ers of Charleston design doubling their
prices for board upon those
Charleston from q distance who may
rA, attend the convention" says
AAsseAS' The Star of March 13, 1850.
has caused a great f1utter among the
democrats here as elsewhere. When
Charleston was proposed at Cincinnati
one of the main arguments in favor Of
its selection was the allegation that under
no circumstances would Cincinnati's
gouging example be followed there-the
higher tone of the population of the
southern city being the guarantee sue
cessfuIly proposed. In the face Of this
fact the admission of the Charleston
Courier that the hotels of the city are
about to follow the Cincinnati example Is
sufficient to create very general i'm
preston that the public from a distance
are to be swinded at q round rate there.
The Courier's excuse is that the hotel
keepers are to be put to heavily increased
expenses for the occasion In the way OF
| the purchase Of additional furniture and
Increased supplies of food. the prices of
| which will be put up on them. The last
allegation is altogether baseless The
former might justify some slight increase
of their charges, but not the wholesale
swindling on their part evidently about
to take place. 1t Is worthy OF note that
none of the Charleston hotels are kept by
Charlestonians, or even by southerners.
| The public's remedy ia to attend in some
one of the steamships which will leave
| every Atlantic port for Charleston. re-
naming there and entertaining their pas
sengers throughout the whole of the con-
ventiOns session. A party of Washing
| ton gentlemen have an agent now at the
north looking up suitable steamship to
carry to Charleston those who may de-
sign attending from here. She is to be
| capable OF affording frst-class stateroom
accommodations for 200 persons at least.
| and the charge for the passage there and
back and board while there will be about
| SIS which is In the neighborhood of the
cost of the railroad fare there and back y
Uncertainty regarding the outcome of
the Charleston convention was undoubt
eddy the cause of
| Southern proposition for a gen.
r...;. eral southern conven-
| tons in that section. In The Star of
| March 49, $780, is the following para
graph:
Yesterday afternoon there was an inn
portant meeting of the senators and rep
resentatives in Congress from Alabama,
Mississippi and South Carolina. to con-
slider the proposition of a southern con-
vention to come off in June. 1t will be
recollected that the legislature Of South
Carolina started the project, that Vir
ginia declined to participate in It; that
Mississippi at once gave it her approval,
and her legislature elected her delegates
| to attend 1t, and that the Alabama leg
islature as promptly authorized her gov
ernor to appoint her delegation to 1t.
And, further, that the legislature of
South Carolina adjourned without select
ing or authorizing the selection Of the
delegates to represent her in It, The OBJ
ject Of the consultation yesterday was
to come upon some plan by which an
| attendance Of a South Carolina delega-
ton might be most conveniently secured
in case 1t was determined to carry out
the idea. The plan Of having the govern
or take the responsibility to appoint the
delegation was mooted and informally
discussed, and there is said to have been
| a clear expression of opinion against it.
Subsequently a proposition to advise the
governor to assemble q legislature to Sc
lect the delegates was evidently favored
by considerable majority of those pres
ent. The mattep however, was not final
ly disposed of at that meeting
J. E. Murdoch and Mrs. Gladstane