Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-13
FIFTY YEARS AGO In The STAR

New Yorks jealousy on the score OF
Boston's big musical jubilee fifty
years ago was
New York Plans not purely
negative stat 4
to Beat Boston. Of mind 1t led
to practical plan for musical af-
fair artistically greater than that
projected and executed by the Hub.
In The Star of July s, 1859. is this
paragraph:
New York is going to have mu-
steal jubilee of her own. She has no
idea of being surpassed by provincial
Boston in matters musical or any
thing else. And as she can't well get
up a bigger jubilee than the Hubs.
she proposes to surpass il by mini
MIXING the Boston explosion down
TO the limits of artistic good taste
That is to say. she will have no mon
ster building, no big chorus or or
chestra. no anvils. no guns and no
Gilmore clap-trap. The force in the
different departments is to be small
but well selected and it is proposed
to furnish musical entertainment of
a weeks duration. The proceeds of
the jubilee are to be devoted to the
building Of a music hall which will be
credit to the city. Probably it will
be pleasant affair, but the New
Workers ought to be able to strike out
original projects instead of resorting
to Boston for ideas. and specially
after the Juice has been so effectualIy
squeezed from the musical orange by
that city"
Municipal iealousies were mani
tested in strange ways fifty years
ago. Perhaps one Of
A CAPITAL the strangest of these
m wb..,. was that of Chicago
toward ST. Louis
There had been some talk after the
civil war of removing the national
capital from Washington to west
ern city. There were some aspirants
for this designation, including Gin
cinnati, Chicago and St. Louis. Not
all Chicagoans. however, desired the
honor of entertaining the United
States, but some of them regarded
the presence of the federal admins
tration as a municipal handicap rather
than an aid. Consequently, voicing
the feelings of those mentioned. the
Chicago Tribune. according to an
article in The Star of July Z, 1863.
was trying to wish" this preferment
on St Louis The Star. commenting
on this exceptional attitude Of the
Tribune, said:
Chicago believes that she could
not infiict a greater blow upon the
business prosperity of st. Louis than
by bringing her under the blighting
influences of the governmental in
cubus, depriving her of any voice in
the conduct of her own municipal
affairs and subjecting her. as Wash
ington is subjected, to the caprice or
Chicago chuckle if she could thus
hamper and emasculate her most for
mida Bile rival. But We would suggest
to Chicago the advisability of placing
the capital on wheels. and when she
has used the Trojan gift to effectually
might move it about through the
great west to kill off in succession
any locality threatening business
rivalry with herself. 1t will be about
as possible to place the national cap
ital On running gears as to take down
the present public buildings of Wash
ington stone by stone, load them on
government and other vessels, carry
them to St. Louis and erect them
precisely as they now stand This
novel idea when broached last winter
by western member was received
with such a guffaw that we hardly
supposed that it would be reproduced
in a hurry. But the Tribune evident
ly has not given much attention to
the practical part of its grand project,
and. moreover. it cannot readily get
over the Chicagoan habit of dealing
sly pokes under the ribs of ST. Louis.
It's solemn Endorsement Of the health
fulness Of St. Louis is creamily good
in view of the fact that the people of
that city are in the habit of aban-
doning the city pell NELL almost every
year to escape the cholera or yellow
fever. It is pretty certain that Con-
gress wouldn't be apt to hold very
long summer sessions there and would
be apt to adjourn in a hurry every
now and then. Equally funny is the
Tribune's praise of the noble river
used as drinking water for St. Louis
which deposits half an inch of sedi-
ment to the tumblerful and which