Evening star., 1920-03-07
FIFTY YEARS AGO IN
THE STAR, :

In The Star Of February %, 1870. 10
brief announcement OF q cable 70.
ceived BY Secretary
Oneida Sunk Fish from the Unit
r.u. ed States consul at
IN CoAuslon. Yokohama telling
Of the sinking Of the United States
steamer Oneida in collision. Tho Star
the next day printed more particulars.
as follows:
I'VE yesterday afternoon published
a brief account OF the sinking Of the
United States screw sloop-of-war
Oneida, Of the Chinese squadron. and
the loss Of 120 lives by tho disaster.
1t appears by the cable dispatches
that The collision occurred near Yo-
kohama between the Peninsular and
Oriental steamship Bombay and the
| Oneida. The latter sank with all
hands. numbering 120 men. The Bonn
bay was slightly injured. It 10 not
! stated that any OF the officers or crew
OF the Oneida were saved.
1T is stated at tho Navy Depart
ment that the Bombay is q large mail
steamship and could easily sink the
Ohoiua NY her aml00nlp8.
The Oneida was considered ono Of tho
pest sloops OF war in the Navy. and
Ter commander edward p. Williams),
one or the most experienced and re-
liable. She had been ordered to San
Francisco. and 1t was tho opinion Of
| the naval officials that she had 1ust
| left Yokohama for that place when
| she was run into by the British mail
steamship on her way into the bay"
] dispatch In later edition OF the
data fhYnnOh 7
that nfty-six lives had been saved
from the Oneida, having been pick
! ed up by email boats from the Bonn
| bay. Hope was expressed for the
| others.
Much confusion resulted nifty years
| ago from tho Official change Of the
house numbering sys-
Confusing tenn. owing to the fact
that the new numbers
were not promptly placed
and the old ones removed. In The Star
of March 2. 1870. is the following
editorial comment:
| There IL confusion confounded Just
| now In consequence OF the mixture of
| old numbers and new numbers upon
| the houses. The contractors and the
1 CIlIZSuo 6HOuIu cooperate keI inc
new numbers placed as speedily ~
possible on every house in the city.
At the same time It may be well to
| allow tho old numbers to remain on
for q season. In connection with the
new numbers. as a matter Of conven-
ience until the public is familiar with
the new system. The old numbers
might be designated by an erasufe
line across the face. made not %
heavy as to obliterate the figures"
Fashions change but slowly in
men's attire. with all the novelties
that are devised
"Svallowtaila" and introduced
o, from time to time.
Co0aemned. For instance. the
"swallowtair' coat 10 still the ac-
cepted article Of full dress evening
wear after many decades Of use. And
ism and a nuisance fifty years ago. In
The Star Of March 4. 1870. Is this
paragraph:
"'Howard Glyndon' makes q Just
war upon that hideous abomination Of
1t is a forelorn relic of q past ago
which should never have been di-
vorced from ruined shirts, knee
breeches, silk stockings and buckled
4 pumps. With the prosaic Oh-no-we-
never-mention-'e ems Of the nineteenth
century and the sedate calfskin boot,
or the modest half shoe which accom-
panies the aforesaid never-mention-
ems. swallowtails are simply hideous.
Howard paints the miseries Of the
era. at the ball. at the dinner table.
in q way that comes homo feeiingly to
the victims Of that fashionable mon
strosity.
Isn't 1t enough says H.. that he
has such an aggravating cat-in-a-
strange- garret-ty sort OF feeling from
the mere fact Of being invested with
this odious garment? Isn't It enough
that he doesn't know himself any
hi. when ns si'' outer s'mn:s %ss
in the mirrors along the waii!
Isn't It enough that his arms
hang down imbecilely. or nap Imply
about like great: stupid wings: that
his back. in outline. looks like .
curved ridge: that his legs are con-
ltinually bewildered by the tapping OF
those horrible appe ndages just above
them! That in fact, having on moth
name Of q coat. he feels like an OVER
grown schoolboy In q tight round
about-isn't all this enough? But,
then. oh heavens! oh horrors to be
lstared alto be smiled alto be criti-
cised-to be gaped after! verify. the
cup Of the swallowtailed man. encom-
passed around by an unconventional
crowd OF pea-jackets and sack-coats
and coats with skirts to them instead
OF swaliowtafls. 10 full to overflow
Ing with bitterness! Poor fellow!
can forgive him. even II he begins the
alphabet at D and tacks some more
letters to 1t. not exactly in regular
the loss Of the Oneida was not due
to too rigid adherence
Sails or to q strict naval regula-
c1... tion. and The Star in its
S'e@nf issue of March (, 1870,
had this to say on the subject:
The question has arisen and is
being discussed pretty freely In vari-
| calamity which befell the corvette
Oneida would have occurred but for
the order Of the Navy Department
| which requires its steamers to dis
pense with steam and depend on
their sails, except In time of storm
or action. It will be remembered
that all accounts Of the accident
out Of the harbor her fires were
banked and the steam blown or
and the argument is that. but for this
! circumstance, the Oneida would not
have been in the helpless condition
| in which she was found when the
| immense Bombay was seen coming
directly upon her. In making a voy-