Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-25
RARE THINGS As GIFT
Humorous Resident Makes
Donation to the District.
BIG COLLECTION OF RELICS
Letter to Commissioners Will Even.
tually Find It's Way to the {
Rubbish Collector.

The city has received a dona lion. the
first II has received In a long time. Ii
comes from Charles b. Sonborger. who
lives at Dos Sheridan street, i'm Bright
wood. Mr.. Sonborger gives to the Dis
trict OF Columbia his household gods.
his broken skillets and potsherds. his
iares and penates. He bequeaths his
tomato cans and the condensed milk cans,
the lamp chimneys and swcepings from
the parlor and kitchen. The old news
papers and comic sheets, tops OF boxes.
crates, fruit baskets and tinware.
All these he gives with a free hand AMI
spirit. He says he has the finest coliec-
ton OF broken bottles and tins In all his
neighborhood, and would have the city
profit by what his true amateur and
artistic heart has led him to CLEAN from
time to time. 1t is possible, too, the
Commissioners will accept them. They
have never before had a man offer to
make a free gift of potsherds and splin-
| tered glass. And in this case they are
constrained to set a precedent.
Letter From the Donor
Charles Sonborger's gift came rs a sur
prise to the Commissioners. The fret
they knew OF IL was when Secretary VII
| liam T:ndall bore toward them the letter
| which explains the donors impulses.
That letter reads as follows:
Without desiring to manifest any un-
due pride on account OF ownership, I
| write to say that ] am possessed OF rather
more than a barrel full OF old tins. cans.
broken crockery and other souvenirs of
domestic felicity, the accumulation OF
~n-1fr has A>l ,..it rls,I
| Of time and entailed considerable expense
1t has occurred to me, however. that the
| ostentation OF such a hoard ma excite
the discomfort, IL not envy, of adjacent
| residents. and 1 therefore. at length. re-
| sign myself to the thought of parting
with these rehcs, In spite OF the senti
mental associations connected Herewith.
| Therefore, / hereby tender them to the
District, for such use az they may serve
| In Its economy, STIMULATING only that the!
be removed without expense to me-
Il am trying to couch this offer in diplo-
matte and seductive terms because q pos
| tai card written by me some weeks aso
| to the street cleaning department, ex-
pressing the same tender sentiment, but.
as / now fear, phrased I'm too terse and
abrupt Language, has produced no reply
| or effect
On It's Way to Goal.
The letter passes today from DIR. WILL
lam Tpdall. secretary OF the Board Of
Commissioners. to q clerk. who jackets
the words and marks strange characters
| in red ink. Then II is listed and made
Of record and goes to the tall and black
clothed Ralph Pratt. who takes II to Gen.
| Johnston, who worries over the street
| cleaning problems. Thence 1t goes through
pneumatic tubes to James NJ. Wood. su
| perintendent of street cleaning. He hands
| 1t to q chief clerk, who marks things In
| q book and makes out q card, same card
| to 60 to an inspector, who will put it with
| q large, fat bundle Of cards Of other COM
plants, and sometimes he will mount
himself to the hills of Brightwood and
| see for himself.
Then. after that--sometimes, perhaps-a
| man with q footing horn will appear and
| take those downcast gods OF household
| cleanliness and toss them to heather
dump