Evening star., 1913-12-28
FIFTY YEARS AGO
In THE STAR

In l1E OlAn
In The Star of December p. 1865, is
short news item about q woman who,
then inconspicuous. has since
DR.. Mary become well known through
w.Il.- out the United States. She
did not then attract atten-
tion because of the singularity Of her cos
tune. which was a later development.
when she conceived the idea that women
should dress in the same garb as men:
''Dr. Mary Walker. a young lady who
designs to open an institution for the re-
lief Of destitute females. has. by permis-
sion of Supt. Webb. established an Office
in one of the rooms Connected with the
fourth-ward station. She has obtained
house in which they may reside until
employment can be obtained for them.
and Miss Walker designs acting for them
as an agent in the procuring of suitable
situations where they will be able to
maintain themselves. The object is in
tended to relieve such only as are worthy.
The selection Of the fourth ward station
for an Office room is an excellent one, as
numerous cases of destitution have been
presented there. all females. as the re-
ports of The Star will show. Some of
these cases have cost the benevolent OFF,
GERS large sums Of money in aiding the
destitute ones. Most of these women are
wives and sisters of soldiers in the army.
who sometimes seek in vain for their
relatives
AS a sort Of relief from the reports of
battles come the dispatches printed in
The Star of December 3,
Heenan-King 1863, telling of prize
Prize Fight fight that occurred on
the 10th of December at
Tunbridge. England. between Heenan and
King. The preliminary announcements of
this engagement had aroused keen interest
on both sides of the Atlantic and the
allotment of about two columns of space
In The Star to the accounts, which had
been brought by steamer to Portland
Me-, is not a matter of surprise Prize
nghtng was then in good repute, COM
paratively, and pugilism was a topio of
very general conversation whenever big
bout was scheduled. This fight was for
in twenty-five rounds. the fight lasting
thirty-one minutes. There was much bet
ting on the result, owing to the interna-
tional aspect of the engagement, Heenan
being regarded as the best American
pusilist of the day. Heenan had had
trouble In previous fighting with sore
and soft hands and had been tryins, to
overcome this handicap by practicing for
hours daily punching at a sack filled with
oats Owing to the difficulties of COM
munication it was several days before the
readers of The Star could be given full
particulars of the fight. coming in INSTALL
ments as ships arrived from the other
side.
In The Star of December 5, 1869, is a
third of column abstract of the annual
report of the board
Report OF the OF metropolitan po-
DoI;a. pl lice commissioners.
The chief argument
of the board was designed to prove that
1t was the imperative duty of the govern
ment to furnish the means to pay the
police, inasmuch as they protected the
great amount of government property,
the board urging that for the protection
OF property and the preservation of order
one well trained policeman was worth a
squad of soldiers. There was at that
time about one policeman to each thou
sand inhabitants. the metropolitan police
district including about seyenty-five
square miles In Washington each pa
trolman guarded about four square miles
Of territory. The board recommended
that the force should be increased to 500
men. On the matter of pay the report
M hn &c 1Nv
law paid 5000 year and the patrolmen
SiS6 Since those rates were fixed the
necessities of life had all advanced in
price and the two cities had been com
PEELED to grant an extra compensation to
the men. looking to Congress for reim-
bursement. The report laid stress upon
the necessity of placing every policeman
beyond the temptation to take bribe.
The erection of a suitable penitentiary
was urged and a site was mentioned
though not specifically located. where an
institution could be advantageously
placed in view of the fact that 1t includ-
ed building stone quarries. The board
particularly urged the establishment of
house of detention and correction for the
safeguarding Of the boys who followed
the army, but were soon cast upon the
streets of Washington. The board con-
sisted of Commissioners George S. Gid :
con-, president; Joseph F. Brown, treas
urer: Sayles j. Bowen, William II. Tenny.
Richard Butt and the mayors of Wash
ington and Georgetown. Thomas A. Lag
enby was secretary to the board, George
r. Herrick, property clerk and William
3. Webb was superintendent of police.
In The Star of December %, 1863, is a
long article comprising a protest against
the low salaries paid to
Low Salaries the teachers of the Dis
of Teachers. trleI nsa public uf , schools the
ing lately voted to increase the pay Of
practically all other corporation employees
while refusing to make any advance in
the public school pay scale. There were
about sixty teachers then the rolls.
The Star said:
1T is time we realized that no success
full system of public education can be
maintained in this city without a liberal
expenditure of money. and the cheap or
pauper system, where men and women
are to be employed as the lowest bidders
for job to 'do-the-boys,' after the style
of the celebrated educator, Wackford
Squeers. will certainly never be tolerated
in Washington. The parents of Wash
ington are inclined to have the best
teachers rather than the cheapest and
about the last persons they wish to trust
their children to are the broken down..
low-priced candidates who. having failed
to earn their salt in every other occupa-
ton under heaven, are held up as proper