Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-06-10
FIFTY YEARS AGO
IN THE STAR

This government has never had
enough room for transaction of its de-
partmental business. It's
! Crowded building accomm odations
a. have always been in
"1A seIs. arrears. however rapidly
new constructions were ordered. After
the civil war the congestion was espe-
cially severe. In The Star of Juno s.
1857. Is the following paragraph:
THE increased business OF the patent
once renders 1t necessary that addi-
tional room be provided for the examin-
ers and clerical force. Each room
now contains six and eight desks.
action of business. Commissioner
Theaker has made application to the Sec
| rotary of the Interior for more room. and
| 1t is thought some arrangement will be
| made to give additional rooms to the
| patent office when Secretary Browning
returns. The pension office clerks also
| are very much crowded. and Commits
sioner Barrett. too. has made applica-
| ton for more room. 1t will be neces-
sary to remove one Of the bureaus from
| the patent office building in order to
| provide accommodation for the forces
of the patent and pension Offices"
At about the same time bids were
opened for the erection Of new build
ing for the Department Of Agriculture
| (then a bureau of the Interior Depart
| menD on the Mall west of the Smith
sonian.
The District Jail was a poor place for
| the detention of prisoners fifty years ago.
The old building stand
Eour Escane ing on the north end of
r.. r.;I judiciary Square was
AoA 'oAi' one of the easiest in
| situations of its kind for the jailbreak-
ers. In The Star Of June 5. 1867, is
| reported the escape of four prisoners,
w. NJ King. a notorious horse thief;
Bill Mortimer. a burglar and desperate:
w. P. Wambold. confidence man, and
James Smith, horse thief all of whom
were awaiting trial. The Star said:
Tho manner Of their escape, as
described by the prisoners who saw 1t.
and the Jail guards. indicates the man.
agement Of King. who has been very
successful In escaping from prisons in
which he has been incarcerated. In the
| wall of the corridor Of the second story
| is a register connected with the heating
apparatus. About six weeks ago some
of the prisoners in an effort to escape
hole in the wall nearly through 1t. The
attempt was discovered. the hole
| patched up and the iron grating re-
placed. Yesterday the prisoners. as
corridor and King and his comrades
again pulled the bars from the register
and with one of them cut a hole
| through the west wall. under which is a
the shed and from that dropped into
| the western yard. which Is surrounded
| by a wall eight feet high. Wambold
placed himself in the northwest corner
for a stepladder and called to the
| others to mount, and they went to the
| top of the wall without difficulty and
i reaching down soon lifted Wambold
up and all escaped except two. named
Wilson and Heating. who were dis
| covered and returned to their cells"
| King, Mortimer and Smith were taken
| two days later in Lyons woods. near
| Kalorama. and on their return to Jail
orders were given for them to be
ironed;. On King a large dinner knife
ground to a point was found bound
under a bandage tied over a wound in
| one of his legs.
The Star Of fifty years ago was a four
page issue, each page containing six COL
umns and shorter than
Enlargement the present sheet. 1t
N, was greatly crowded by
OF The Star. its advertising and an
enlargement of the space for reading mat
ter was found necessary. In the issue Of
June s, 1867, is the following announce
ment:
| I'm consequence Of the steadily increas-
| ing pressure upon the advertising columns
| of The Star. 1t has been apparent for some
| time that the paper must be enlarged in
I n readers and
advertisers. For months 1t has been a
daily question in making up the forms
| which should give way, the advertising
| matter the news matter. Not infre-
quently the former has crowded the read
| ing matter down to less than five columns.
| and even then from three to four columns
Of advertisements have been left on the
galleys. for which there was no room in
| the paper The purpose to enlarge has
only awaited execution until fall in the
| price of material should make 1t feasible.
more than the price of the paper printed
| The price of paper is not yet sufficiently
| reduced to altogether justify the proposed
| enlargement: but the necessity. as above
| stated, is SO imperative-if reading matter
| is not to be crowded out altogether by
observation-disclosures we have concluded
to undertake 1t. We shall. therefore. at
the commencement of the next volume. on
! each page and 1engthen each column. max
| ing twenty-eight columns instead Of
| twenty-four. The readers of The Star Will
| then receive a paper about one-fifth larger
in size without an increase of price. With
this enlargement we should be able to ac-
commodate the business public and also to
| give much additional reading matter"
X *
Washington has never been strongly in
clined toward Sunday sports and fifty
years ago was decidedly hos
Sunday tile to any form OF games or
competitions in public In
uaMes. The Star of June 10. 1867.
Is the following paragraph on this sub
ject:
1.-The common Sabbath day amusement
of a low order of youths. without distinc-
zion Of color, is about to be resumed for
the ensuing season. In some localities the
weather doesn't prevent the game of ball.
and yesterday the police in the northern
or 1n1