Evening star., 1912-01-07

important articles, and In many in
stances greater
Important number. such as
"The Reports OF
"nVAV61sPnS' Maj. LIE q n {"
Early Maps and Surveys Of Washing
ton." "reminiscences Of the Mayors of
Washington" Thomas Law. Washing
toms First Rich Man.; ''Old Families
and Houses" "The Theaters of Wash
ington." John Barnes. a Forgotten
Philanthropist of Georgetown; wash
ington's Houses ON Capitol HILL"
Hotels Of Washington Prior to 1914"
and Jefferson and His Relations to the
Newspapers" Then there is the paper
on Col William Duane" by Allen C.
Clark. Col. Duane was the editor In
1922 OF the Aurora. and was q news
paper man Of considerable Importance
In Washington at that time. His caustic
pen. however. won him many enemies,
and 1t was said Of him that
1.-THE Devil never feels In trim
But when in lies and scandal busy.
The Aurora man is just like him.
And In fact a Junior Devil is he
some Of the volumes have been so
popular as to necessitate reprints. This
was the case with the ''Diary Of Mrs.
Thornton" wife Of William Thornton.
:'The sessford Annals" Of equal inn
portance and popularity. This latter
paper contained the work Of nearly
thirty years by Sessford for the
National Intelligencer: and was OF I'M
OF the smaller doings Of the city at
that period. such as the growth Of
houses, deaths. etc. One paper which
has reused wide interest is that on
"The Postal System of Washington"
by Francis c. Huebner.
K
While the chief value Of these books is
to Washington itself. interest is felt in
them in a much larger
Circu1afed area. About $40 copies of
each volume are printed.
Widely. OF these the $50 members
each receive a copy. Then an exchange
is made with about fifteen OF the largest
historical societies all over the country,
a list which is continually growing Com
plimentary copies also are sent to such
persons as have delivered papers be-
fore the society which are contained in
any Of the volumes. or to any person
who has contributed to the library.
BY reason of the copyrfghting or the
volumes. the Congressional Library re-
ceiveS two copies of each volume. but
| aside from this set is being maintained
dent, DIR. Joseph NJ. Toner. Besides these
the Public Library the three universi-
ties, the five high schools. the state De
partment and the New York Public LII
brary are also given each volume as it is
printed In this way the collection is not
only at the disposal of all Washing
| tonians who care to look it up. but of a
large number of people in the other parts
of the country.
The fourteen volumes which make up
the bound output of the organization do
not, however. constitute its soc posses
sions. Many of the papers which are
read before the society are not included
| in the volumes. but are carefully kept
as part Of the society's archives Then
| too. a library Of about 1900 volumes is
also very valuable. Not all these books
| Of course, deal exclusively with the Dis
| trict. or even in part. as many OF them
treat Of national affairs. Still, all these
volumes come either under the first or
secondary aim of the society.
Aside from this treasure store. there
is a carefully cared for collection of rel
les, of which all the men,
Interesting bers are duly proud
n.,. Here is to be found a
AeAicS. scrap Of silk .brocade
which at one time formed part of the
dress Of the first lady Of the land. Mar
tina Washington. Then there are two
purses which belonged to Nellie Custis.
pair Of hinges also holds a place of
honor. They were the property of David
Burnes the one man who is said TO have
| talked back to George Washington.
He was among the original proprietors
of Washington, and when 1t was pro-
posed to make this city he stubbornly
refused to give up his land. This action
prompted Washington to inquire where
he (Burnes) would be IL that same land
had not been chosen as part of the site
of Washington. to which the Scotch
man replied, And. yes George, mon, and
what would you be IL 1t hadn't been for
the widow Custis' land and negroes?'
Two door knobs from the Van Ness
from the Weston. or afterward called
Ruthven Lodge The fact that Dolly
Madison used to visit at this house was
its chief claim to distinction. 1t stood
sachusetts avenue was extended q crew
were sent out to wreck 1t. but the
stones refused to separate despite the
fiercest picking. Finally the foundation
was removed only after 1t had been dyna-
mited. 1t is one of the bricks out of this
foundation which Is included in the his
torical society's collection.
All these treasures, however, date back
many years. and have a right to the name
"relics." There is one
Pen That more. however, of re-
cent acquiring, which is
Made Law. nevertheless highly
prized- This Is the pen with which Presi-
dent Taft signed the bill naming Com
modore Barney Circle. Many photo
graphs, too, have been gathered together
by the society. One in particular which
deserves mention is an original sketch
of the Impeachment trial of Andrew
Johnson in which all the faces are por-
traits. This is about six by eight feet,
and was presented to the society by
Lawrence Gardner.
Then, too, the society is very proud OF
it's gavel. recently presented by President
Morgan. It Is made from the wood Of q
red cedar which stood by the The, originaI
Georges county. Nd. This gift is all
from the fact that DR.. Morgan's
erandfather William Dudley Digges. was
the man who gave L'Enfant home
when he would otherwise have been
forced to seek shelter in TIE almshouse.
And so this collection. printed and in
relic form, which the Columbia Historical
Society has been industriously gathering
for the past eighteen years. stands as a
monument to Washington. past and pres
emf. and as an inspiration to the future.
It shows the growth and development OF
Washington from q "cfty OF magnificent
distances'' Of uncompleted buildings, red