Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-04-18
Difficulty in Re-
search Work Regard
ing the Early Boats
A Plant Where Steam
boats Were Built-A
Short journey Afield

l
| the Rambler has faith that
they will be overcome. Little help is
furnished by the eaGly newspapers.
and such help as they do give is in
their paid advertisements The news
paper OF century ago was not me-
| dunn of free advertising. 1t gave a
dry abstract Of the proceedings Of
Congress and contained an editorial
on some pending legislative matter
Sometimes the olden newspaper print
ed at considerable length a speech by
some member Of Congress. and often
! it was a speech that might just as
| well have remained unspoken. and the
| reason for printing it is beyond I'M
Outstanding now.
| The editor of a century ago did not
+! consider it his business to advance
| the personal fortunes of every adven-
turer by giving him free advertising.
A man might intrigue to have himself
the benefit. enlightenment and uplift
of his fellow citizens. and the old
fashioned editor did not haste to print
his picture. write the story of his life
and hold him up as a conspicuous eX-
ample for the youth of the land to
follow. If that public benefactor
wanted local notoriety and itched to
have the limelight turned on him. he
came down to the Office and put in an
advertisement, for which he paid.
This was very discouraging to men
who sought to become public charac
tiers by the hot-air method. but it
| saved the people of the city from hav-
ing more eminent men than they
needed. If grand ladies sought to
make themselves prominent in the
Itx,v, y Ia
associations to teach humble mothers
how to raise baby. make bingham
aprons. brew pot of coffee. bake
"pone" of corn bread or fry a herring,
they got no free advertising in the
newspapers Of hundred years ago.
But there was a great deal of news
of historic Importance which the old
fashioned editor did not print. Either
he did not know it was historic or he
did not care. He probably reasoned
that he was not printing newspaper
for posterity, but for his own sub
scribers. and when an important event
was proceeding in the city he as
sumed. and rightly. that all the citi-
zens knew about it and that it was
waste of print paper to tell them in
the morning what they had seen or
done the day before. The old-fash-
toned editor seemed to assume that
some OIL MS 1eliO" ClllZenS kne" as
much about some things as he did.
1t is a matter of regret that the
Washington newspaper of a hundred
years ago did not give more space to
the subject Of the first steamboat on
the Potomac river. When the Ram
first steamboat to carry freight and
passengers on our river was the
Washington, and she was running in
the spring of 1916" That was 105
years ago. He also wrote that he felt
sure that this steamboat appeared on
the advertisement of the Washing
ton in 1915 indicates that she was
then going concern and that she
had ceased to be sensation. The
first steamboat on river was thing
of wonder and people came to the
shore and the stopping places from
miles inland to watch her pass or to
get a good look at her. Capt Dun
nington Of the Library of Congress
called the attention of the Rambler to
a mention of the Washington in Mr..
Bryan's History of the District of
Columbia" That eminent historian
wrote: EARLY in 1913 the steamboat
company was organized. and by June
of that year the Washington was
launched at the shipyard in New York.
but two years passed before the boat
was brought to the Potomac"
The Rambler has found the follow
ing interesting advertisement which
was published in the National Intel
ligencer daily, excepting Sunday. from
December IS. 1912. to January 5. 1913:
Steam Boat:-A meeting of the sub
scribers to the stock for the estab-
lishment of a Steam Boat to run be-
tween tho City of Warrington and
Potomac Creek. near Fredericksburg
will be held at Triplet's Tavern. Alex
andria. on the I'd day OF January
! 1915. at which the subscribers are re-
quested to attend there in person or
! by proxy.
The subscription proposed to be
made for the establishment of n Steam
Boat to run between Georgetown and
the City Of Washington and Alexan-
| dria under the patent Of Messrn Liv-
ingston and Fulton Is suspended for
the present. (Signed) II. Henry La
! trobe. agent for Messrr. Livingston
and Fulton"
| The fact that the Advertisement was
| discontinued n day or two after the
| time Of the meeting Of the subscribers
and that a steamboat did come to the
! Potomac may he accepted aH evide nee
! that the company was organized in
! January. 1873. at Triplets Tavern In
alexandria. SO far as the Rambler
has learned. the names of the sub
scribers to the stock Of tho company
and the names Of It's officers have not
been preserved.
| The steamboat patcntees. Living