Evening star., 1916-10-15
FIFTY YEARS AGO
In THE STAR

The friction between President John
son and Congress was brewing about
this time fifty years ago,
Sensation although the houses
ns, were not in session.
eeo' Runor mongers were
busy respecting this situation, and 4
nation-w wide sensation was caused by
the publication of the Philadelphia
Ledger in news dispatch which had
an Immediate and disastrous affect
upon the stock market. The Star of oc-
tober IL, 1866. thus described the dis
patch, and formally denied it:
Gold in New York had gone up TO
1881 today on the strength of Il sem
sational dispatch in the Philadelphia
Ledger to the effect that the President
had sent in to the Attorney General
series of interrogatories rs follows.
and that the Attorney General would
give an opinion against tho legality of
Congress:
list. Is the present CONGRESS. COM
posed of mem bers from the northern
states alone such :. Congress as the
Constitution requires. Or is il an il
legal and unconstitutional s.ssemblase:
"'2nd. Would existing circumstances
JUSTIFY the President in sending his
next annual message to an Illegal and
unconstitutional assemblage, pretend
ing TO be the Congress of the L. s.:
3rd. Does that clause in section .,
article L of the Constitution, which
makes each house the judge of the
election returns and qualifications OF
its own members. give to the present
Congress the right to exclude the mem-
berS from ten states, or to impose dis
honorable and unconditional terms upon
thetG submission?
'4th. Does the Presidents oath OF
Office require him TO enforce those pro
visions Of the Constitution which give
to each state an equal right Of repre-
sentatiou in Congress?
18th. What steps do the Constitution
and his oath OF Office require the Presi-
dent to take in order to secure the as.
sem blage of a constitutional Congress
I'VE have authority for saying that
there is not one word of truth in this
dispatch to the Ledger. The fellow who
would fabricate story SO nischieTous
at this time of feverish excitement de-
serves to have his esrs cropped
A subsequent issue of The Star car
ries a statement by the Philadelphis
Ledger disclaiming the dispatch -.
based upon facts given by one in whom
the Ledger declared it had no conH-
dence.
= ::
Washington was swept by terrlnc
storm on the 10th and 18th Of october.
1856, in the course of which
VioIen+ an unprecedented quantity
of rain fell. swelling the
storM. streams. bursting sewers
and causing widespread damage. 1t
was estimated by Prof. Henry OF the
Smithsonian. according to The Star Of
October II. 1866. that between an
Wednesday and 9 am. Thursday five
and one-ifth inches Of water fell in
Washington. Rock creek left Its banks
and the torrent swept away much
property. The bridge near Lyons mill
and the smaller bridge in that vicinity
were carried away Thursday morning.
A short time later the paper mill
bridge" was aweot from its place and
small buildings began to float down the
stream The railroad service between
Washington and Baitimore was seri-
ously delayed. the emban5ments
we're endangered by tie fresllets aud
TIE trains were compelled I" creep
:; Iorg slowly. Residences along East
Capitol street. which had just beer
lately graded. we're flooded. the water
being waist deep Oh the lower floor OF
fhe home Of Thomas +. Dant. at the
corner of 9Th street. Wednesday even
ing. during the storm, q wagon. i'll
which were riding two passengers. in
Z additou to the driver. WIS suddenly
81 topped at the corner of 14th and F
streets. the driver discovering that
the horse had sunk into the street. The
driver and his passengers attempted to
rescue the horse by u1h:rching the
wagon. and the horse and large part
of the wagon disappeared. having Fallen
about fifteen feet into the sewer. which
had given ray. The sewer al the
corner oc 18th ..EG II streets also gave
Wa during the night. A singular fea-
ture of this storm was that it was ac
coinpanied u. severe lightning. One
of thc bolts struck the Aaspole over
the ferryhouse at the foot OF 7th street
and glancinS from the flagstaff TO d
street car. standing iii ftcIt OF the
building. stripped the harness from
one Of the horses without Going the
least injury to the animal. The con-
ductor, who was alone III TIE car. was
thrown down, but not hurt. The water
in The Washington canal rose above the
walls and in the lumber yard district
about 18th street the pavements were
flooded. At 11th and L streets there
was Teritable lake
Notwithstanding the numerous expos
ures Of tho gift concert fraud these enter
prises continued to Sc
Still Another cure patronage. -tnoth-
c:e4 er one had been pro-
oiAee'' NOTED in Washington
and the drawings were to take place on
the evening of October H. 1866. an I'M
mense crowd packing the National Thea
ter despite the inclement weather There
was uproarior, mpatience when. after q