Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-12
FIFTY YEARS AGO
IN THE STAR

Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as
President Of the United States Monday.
March 4, 1851. The Star
Llncoln's Of that day printed an
~" OF the occasion. perhaps
until then the largest single news article
published In this paper. The Star said In
part:
This important 4th day OF March,
1851. dawned rather inauspiciously with
ieaden skies and tornadoes OF dust, which
was leveled somewhat later by a slight
lai OF RAIN AS the morning wore on
however. the skies frightened and the
Wlnd luiied. augures noted with some
compiacence by those who pin their faith
upon such omens. The streets thus early
were crammed with pedestrians, ninety
nine faces out OF 100 being those o!
strangers. The crowd in this city is un-
doubtedly larger by half than on any
previous occasion. but the proportion OF
ladies is very much smaller. or these
arrivals 1t is safe to say that two-thirds
are western men, After noting the In
tensely congested condition OF the hotels
The Star said: ~
Hundreds who have failed to get regu-
lariy chartered in hotels or hoardina
houses have been favored with fair wealth.
er. and strolling about all night. catch a
nap in some secluded spot in DAYTIME
Among the picturesque features Of the
present raid on Washington has been the
ocd expedients or the houseless visitors
TO supply themselves with hotel accom-.
modatlons after gypsy sort Of their own
Ihus hundreds have lodged at night ,,non
market stalls and lumber piles and in the
morning have assembled at the public
fountains to perform their toilets. dis
penslng with the luxury Of soap for the
time being and using pocket handler
chiefs of dubious purity in lieu of towels. -
mere was grave apprehension that an
attempt would be made by the disunion-
lists to prevent the in
military auguration Of President
prenou4;ors Lincoln, and rumors of
assassination plots were
circulated. Throughout The Stars ac-
count Of the proceedings runs the note of
apprehension. as expressed in such para
graphs as the following:
THE Washington Rifles were detailed
tor special duty in full uniform, Capt.
Balback. IAeuts. Loeffler Harp ana En-
sign Miller. and sixty men. The special
DUTY OF this company was to occupy the
Iops or several prominent buildings along
pennsylvania avenue in squads and over
look the procession as 1t passed
The National Rifles, Capt. Schaener
Leuts. watkins. Davis and Webb and
sixty men in full uniform. remained at
their armory subject to orders
Inough the report that an attempt
would be made to shoot Mr. Lincoln while
delivering his inaugural was not seriously
created, 1t was thought advisable to omit
no precaution to Illustrate any such plot,
and accordingly the police in front of the
sembiing OF any suspicious looking indi-
viduals in compact masses by passing
among them ever and anon"
The most intense interest was felt IN
hncolns inaugural address, as It was
realized that in some
The Star measure the fate Of the
Mobhed Union depended upon the
tone assumed toward the
subject Of secession and slavery and the
manner in which his words were received
bS the south. This interest was express
ed by the eagerness of the public to OBJ
tain copies of The Star containing the
full text Of the address. described as fol-
lows in the issue of March 5. 1851:
its six columns Of inaugural proceedings,
including the inaugural address, was the
most exciting we have ever experienced.
The jam in front Of the office was such
that door panels. sash and glass. gave
way at the first onset and the incoming
crowd was packed upon the crowd then
inside with such force that those who
had already secured papers were unable
to emerge or make any disposition Of
their hardly earned prizes other than to
Them al de- ~
harms way Of the ravenous host about
them. The rapid Star presses. working
to their utmost, could not approximately
feed the demand. The impatient crowd
The Star building in the wild hunt for
copies Of the paper in such sort that the
employees Of the office had rather a time
Of it to get on with their business"
While Lincoln was being inaugurated
the Virginia state convention was in
session and determined
virginia efforts were being made
c;4r.4;. by the disunionists to
secure the withdrawal of
that state from the Union. Throughout
the columns Of The Star at this time
fifty years ago run references to the sit
uation in the Old Dominion. which It was
recognized was In large measure the key
to the whole southern situation. BY the
in the state Lncoln's inaugural
address was interpreted as friendly to
the south, while others attacked It as an
expression signffy1ng q pur-
pose OF coercion and repression.
The President held his first levee at the
White House on the Sth Of March, 1861,
and in The Star Of the
Millinery next day is an account
NJ IT, Of this affair. describing
1~AA w. the great crowd at the
executive mansion, and concluding with
the following description of a now anus
ing, but then serious climax:
1.-The last scene of the levee was
tragic one. The mob of coats, hats and
caps left in the hall had somehow got
mixed up and misappropriat-
ed, and perhaps not one in ten of that
large assembly emerged with the same
outer garments they wore on entering.
Some thieves seem to have taken adj
of the opportunity to make
grand sweep, and a very good business
they must have done. Some of the vic
tins, utterly refusing to don the greasy,
kinky apologies for hats left on hand.
tied up their heads in handkerchiefs and
SO wendell their way sulkily homeward."
ON THE R0RDER INF