Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-04-21
FIFTY YEARS AGO In THE STAR

Washington was the first city to erect
"a memorial to Abraham Lincoln. I'M
yelling it on the third an
IinooIn niversary of his death. The
monument was provided by
Otatue. public subscription. started
Immediately after the Presidents as
It is that which stands in
front Of the city hall or District court
house. In The Star of April IA. 1858. is
the following description. in anticipa-
ton of the dedicatory exercises which
occurred the day following:
This day three years ago President
Lincoln fell by the bullet Of the as
sassin Booth. and tomorrow. the 18th.
Following upon that terrible tragedy
movements were made in almost every
part of the country to raise monuments
expressive Of the popular regard for the
martyred President. Such movement
was set on foot by the citizens of Wash
gton, and though in consequence Of
the competing efforts elsewhere 1t was
found impractfcable to secure the requi-
site contributions throughout the coun.
try to build monument at the seat OF
government on the scale desired, yet
the people of Washington. out of their
small means. spontaneously contributed
sum sufficiently large to enable the
Monument Association to provide for
the erection of a monument in the shape
of a statue and PEDESTAL. of a character
to be creditable to the city and the Ma
tional Capital. A number of designs
and models were presented to the COM
mittee having the matter in charge.
and the decision of the committee was
given in favor Of that offered by Mr..
Lot Flannery of this city. whose monu-
ment over the victims of the arsenal ex-
plosion. at the Congressional cemetery.
has ELECTED SO much favorable notice.
Ambitious. and with enthusiastic love
for his art, Mr.. Flannery has devoted
himself to the production Of a statue
which should identify his name with
the most satisfactory representation ex-
tant Of lamented dead, both as to like
ness and as a work of art. Those who
have seen the result of his labors be-
lieve that he has fully succeeded in his
aspirations; but 1t will be for the as
semblage Of citizens present tomorrow,
when the statue Is unveiled, to pro-
nounce upon its merits. Washington
may with some pride claim to be the
first city that has raised a monument
to Lincoln. for of all the enterprises
undertaken contemporary with ours. no
other has reached any results, nor has
the first stone been laid at any point.
elsewhere, to that end"
X
Railroad accidents were becoming
common fifty years ago and protest
was being raised against
Railroad the increasing slaughter
xu- Of the people. A derail-
"eSAS' ment occurred April IA,
1868. on the Erie railroad near Port
Jervis and between twenty and thirty
persons lost their lives and others
were injured. The Star Of April It,
1858, says:
The terrible slaughter on the Erie
railroad, when twenty or thirty per-
sons were killed outright and from
fifty to sixty shockingly mangled. elicits
a great deal Of indignant denuncia-
ton Of railroad managers and a loud
call for rigorous legislation to prevent
a repetition of these wholesale MUIR
ders on the rail. The probability is,
however. that the ebull!tion of feeling
will all end In talk, and there will be
no legislation, rigorous or otherwise.
There was the same noisy talk after
the Norwa1k disaster. the Lake Shore
(Angola) disaster, the Elmira dis
aster and the long list of massacres
arising from the carelessness or Gu
pidity Of railroad managers, but it all
ended in talk in every instance. There
was broken rail- or Il broken wheel
and that was all the satisfaction to