Evening star., 1917-10-21
FIFTY YEARS AGO
IN THE STAR

There was no Interstate commerce
law fifty years ago and railroad re-
forms were exclusively
Railroad under state direction and
control. A disposition
AseAoiAas. prevailed on the part Of
the public to demand lower rates. but
the way to reduction was slow and
beset with difficulties. In The Star of
October Is. 1887, Is an item bearing
on this subject:
New Jersey has Just started q move
ment likely to make q thorough and
beneficial change in the management
Of railroads in this country. The sub
ject was considered at . recent meet
ing Of representative men from the
various railway and transportation
companies Of the state, and It was un-
derstood that an agreement WAS ar
rived at upon a number of important
principles on which to base the pro-
posed system. The suggested reforms
fare is to be cents per mile on all
roads and for all distances. Tickets
are to be considered good on any train
belonging to the line that issues them.
until they have been taken UP BY the
conductor. Local commutation tickets
at low rates will be issued and every
other inducement to encourage local
travel, traffic and improvement will be
extended. Persons along the line and
elsewhere are to be encouraged to
ness that will bring the farmers and
consumers closer together. so as to
avoid the extortions Of several classes
of middlemen. Many Of these reforms
are almost indispensable and their gen.
eral adoption will. no doubt. come in
good time to the benefit of the roads
and their patrons"
Frequently the criticism is expressed
nowadays that public schools do not
sufficiently teach spell
Hich School ing. ana that in con-
= -, sequence the average
SpeAun8. high school pupil is de-
ficient in this respect. According to a
paragraph in The Star Of October 1s,
1857, poor spelling among the high
school students is by no means a mod
ern condition:
"At an examination Of pupils for the
days since. writing exercises were
given. when the following 81 ways
Of spelling the common word kerosene
were found as a result:
"'Carocene. carosine, carocine. caro-
sene, caroseen, caresen, carasien, caro-
seyn, carosien, carasiene, carecein, Carl
sene. carecine. carscean. carsein. carl
sene, carasene. caroscene, careeine,
caresine. cerosyne. cerosihe, ceroeene,
cerrscene. carrycean, carecein, cara
resen, charoscene. charaseen, Kerosene,
kerocene, kerocine. kerosien. kerosefn,
kereseen. kerocean, kerosean. kero-
seen, KEROSENE. KEROSENE. kerosene.
karinsin, kearasine. kersein, kerosine.
kerisine and kerrocine.
*
Search for the counterfeiters who
made and circulated the 7-3o United
States bonds fifty years
Counterfeiter ago continued actively.
In The Star of October
captured. 1s, 1887, is a note stat
ing that a man who had been arrested
In Buffalo for passing a ffty-dollar
counterfeit national bank note was be-
lieved to be one of those implicated in
passing bad 7-30 bonds. The note like
the bonds, was SO well executed as to
be pronounced genuine by bankers In
the same issue 1t was stated that UP to
that date the losses by the bond frauds
were $50, 900 on the notes redeemed by
the Treasury. and an unknown amount
IN dUulllOI Oll tHS AdiSo hoeSS hSAu SASS-
where Controversy had arisen as to
the liability and rights Of the govern
ment in the matter of the redemption OF
these bad bonds.
While there were legal standards of
weights and measures fifty years ago
the public was not
Short Weight fully protected from
fraud. A pound was a