Evening star., 1919-09-28
FIFTY YEARS AGO In THE STAR

Washington was suffering fifty years
ago from an epidemic of thievery.
The light-nngered folks
Thieves were especially active then.
a.s;,. rs the following paragraph
00'A'e' in The Star of September
20, 1859. will show, indicating. how
ever, somewhat Of a difference be-
tween the kind Of loot taken then and
now:
Petty thefts are frequent in the
northern sections Of the city, but the
articles taken are Of such small value
in most cases that but little attention
has been paid to the matter. The po-
lice Of the second precinct. the south
ern boundary of which is at street.
are as efficient as men can well be.
but. like reporters. they are not ubiqui-
tous, and, the beats being larger
than those downtown. thieves have
better opportunities to ply their voca-
tion than in any other part OF the
city. The neighborhood of Sth and 0
streets has suffered. and two more
cases occurred there last week. A
gentleman having received half bar
rel of ale placed 1t in the cellar and
locked the door, but in the morning
they found the door had been broken
open, and upon sending down in the
afternoon for ale for dinner the SER
want came back. reporting that the
barrel was there, but perfectly dry.
which proved to be the case. On sat
urday the servant in the same house,
believing that the slop barrel was
full. hailed a garbage collector. and
that officer. on going into the back
se1s ss.s msan nHand and am ePy drsy thief having
taken the swill- which by right should
go to the G. c. as one OF the per-
quisites of his office. The neighbor-
hood of the Western burial ground
been quite excited in consequence Of
thefts in that vicinity. About two
weeks since Mr.. James Henning lost
thirty-five chickens, and Mrs. Wilson,
q night or two afterward, lost twen-
ty-one; but Thursday night, 1t ap-
through the neighborhood and par
TALLY succeeded. At Mr.. Henning's
they got a board OF the fence, but
were scared OF; at Mrs. Wilson's they
took on the gate and gobbled one
hen; at Mr.. Keiley.s they captured ten
the roost; at Mrs. Devereux's they
succeeded in getting one goose. but
Mr.. GILL;. living in Boundary street,
was the greatest loser, he and his
wife having come in late. leaving
was all carried on. The residents of
that vicinity are busily preparing
armories for the reception of these
midnight marauders"
-
Annual reports Of DR.. Robert Rey-
burn. president and DR.. J. E. Dexter.
secretary. Of the board Of
Health health of Washington.
showed that the Washing
nepo1t. ton of fifty years ago was
a healthy city. In The Star Of Sep
tember Il, 1859. is an editorial sum-
mary Of these reports. with the fol-
lowing comment:
Taking these figures as a basis.
DR.. Reyburn says that Washington is
now as healthy a city as can be found
in the United States. This is capable
of demonstration by reference to the
tables Of mortality of few Of our
principal cities. The death rates In
New York and Brooklyn. for instance.
scarcely ever fall below twenty-five
per thousand of the population and
are frequently largely in excess OF
that proportion. The annual death
rate Of all England is twenty-three
per thousand, and in the city of Paris.
whose sanitary arrangements are the
most perfect Of any In the world. the
annual death rate 10 twenty-five Per
thousand. The annual death rate OF
Washington 10 twenty-five per thou
sand, showing that the death rate
Of this city compares favorably with
that Of other large cities. During the
years 1S6S-69 We have had no cpl
denies whatever Of serious character.
Scarietina and measles prevailed to a
limited extent during the winter and
spring months, but have now disap-
peared. The opening and grading of
80 many streets and the increase in
the number Of sewers have rendered
many parts Of the city dry and healthy
which were formerly damp and un-
wholesome.
"Dr. Reyburn thinks the canal
should either be dredged out and rem
dered navigable through the whole OF
its extent or narrowed and arched
over to be used az sewer for the
surface drainage Of the city. In its
present condition It ID . standing dis
grace to Washington and is a fruitful
source of disease to those who are un-
fortunate enough to live In its vicin-