Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-18
FIFTY YEARS AGO
In THE STAR

printed In The Star of February 10, 1852
touches upon this practice:
Several complaints have been made
and warrants issued against soldiers and
others, sojourners in Washington, who
treat the laws with contempt, riding and
driving upon the pavements and forcing
pedestrians, without regard to age or sex,
into the mud. A warrant was this morn
ing issued by Justice Walter against one
person for driving upon the pavement of
10th street as far north as 1t extended.
The complainant stated that frequently
on the route ladies had to go out in the
mud to avoid coming into contact with
the horses 1t is to be hoped that the
officers will arrest every offender and
that the magistrates will impose the
heaviest penalty the law allows 1t is a
common practice for officers and soldiers
passing between the Avenue and the
steamboat wharf to gallop their horses
along the sidewalks, to the risk of life
and limb to all pedestrians. We can
sympathiZe with the soldiers who have
to ride through the knee-deep mud but
the sidewalk is no place for their horses"
The War Department was greatly trou-
bled in the prosecution of the federal
campaign. by the activ-
Correspondent ity of spies working in
A~.l., the guise of newspaper
nriesteu. correspondents, and on
the 10th Of February. 1862. Secretary
Stanton issued an order calling for the
arrest of one ''Dr. Ives" claiming to be
special representative in Washington
of one of the New York papers, who had
violated the rules of the War Department
by intruding himself Into the chambers
where the Secretary and his assistants
were transacting business with members
of Congress, for the purpose of spying
and obtaining war news and intelligence
in respect to cabinet consultations, tele-
grams, etc, for publication which he
knew was not authorized to be pub
lished." The Secretary's order. published
in The Star of February 10. 1882, says:
The War Department is the place where
the President, commander in chief of the
army. and navy. and his subordinate, the
Secretary of War. and other public Off
GERS are earnestly engaged in the business
of overcoming treason and rebellion
against the government of the United
States; 1t is not a place where spies or
traitors or any person, but for public
purposes. can be suffered to enter or har-
public intelligence and instruction and
every proper facility will be afforded all
loyal persons to procure on equal terms
information of such public facts as may
be properly made known in time of re-
bellion. but no matter how useful or pow
erful the press may be, like everything. it
is subordinate to the national safety. The
fate of an enemy or the destiny Of ma
ton may be imperiled by spy in the
garb of a newspaper agent The nation is
jaf oCnY nd nhn1l ton o,,6
may be threatened by foreign foes. The
lives and fortunes of twenty millions of
people, andthe peacdand happiness o" their
posterity in the loyal states. the fate of
public liberty and the republican govern
ment forever are staked upon tha instant
issue. The duties of the President, his
Secretary. Of every officer of the govern
ment, and especially in the War Depart
ment and military service, are at this
most urgent and solemn of times the
upon man. No newsgatherer, nor any
other person, for sordid or reasonable
purposes, can be suffered o intrude upon
them at such a time to procure news by
safety Of the nation requires not to be
disclosed"
Great interest was manifested, in
Washington in the attitude of Louis Ma
poleon on the subject of
NapoleOn's the recognition of the Con-
aAA.A. federacy. In The Star of
0''A'"ue' February II, 1862, is a
bearing upon the receipt OF
news on this subject:
1.-THE news by the Jura of Louis Ma
poleon's declensdon to favor European
in our war, published in to-
f,,lIx 1>x-
government. as we intimated more than
a week ago. Notwithstanding the persist
ent effort of the English press and our
sensation press to create a contrary
This expectation entertained
here was simply the result of the abid-
ing confidence of the government of the
United States in the personal integrity
of the emperor of the French and his
whose intimations of their pur-
poses and views with reference to our>af-
fairs have invariably been Of a most
friendly and disinterested character. No
weight whatever Is to be attached to the
comments of the English papers with
secesh sympathies and associations,
wherein they attempt to discredit the
word Of the Emperor Napoleon by init
mating that he does not tell the truth
in his recent speech concerning his own
purposes. That line Of argument, all the
WOTlu hHOWS, Is HcTcly Tie IdSC IcSOIl
of those who find their previous state
ments confronted with positive proof of
their untruth.'
X
The capture of Roanoke Island by
the Burnside expedition caused great re-
joicing in the north, COM
Military ing. as it did, about the
c same time as the capture
0u00oSSos' of Forts Foote and Dom
elson And thus the columns of The
Star about this time fifty years ago re-
hected more hopeful spirit than had
prevailed for some time past. At the
same time came news from Gen. Halleck
Of the capture Of Springfield. Mo-, where
Price was badly beaten. Virtually every
issue of The Star from Monday. Feb
ruary 10, to Saturday, February 16.
1862, contained Geographic announce
ments of Unionist triumphs, so that 1t
was necessary in the issue of the latter
date to print the following paragraph in
explanation:
1.-The publication of the thrilling tele-
graphic news of today (the capture of
Green, Ky.) compels us to defer
until Monday a. quantity of interesting
matter set up for today's paper, includ-
ing the important executive order rela-
tive to state prisoners issued by Secretary
Stanton"