Evening star., 1923-07-08
Fifty Years Ago in
The Star


Washington always took an inter
Y 3 = hood was spent in
Col, Watterson this city ana
in Tondon whose career in
journalism was
for many years followed faithful.
by. the residents of the capital In
the summer OF 1873 he was overseas
writing and The Star in its issue of
June so that year thus reports him.
/ "Mr. Henry Watterson of the Louis
vile Courier-Journa is writing let
ters from London. and Il more dissat-
isfied man YOU don't often see. He
rakes down the Britishers in a wav
calculated to pay. off our indebtedness
| to Basil Hall. Alarryat, TrolIopp.
Dickens and the rest of our defamers
with compound interest and bonus
| over. The London Sunday he de-
! clares TO be too dismal. for anything.
All the wicked people go out of town
TO enjoy themselves on Sunday and
there are mot enough good people left
to give any show - life to the city
Louisville is livclirr than Londou on
Sunda::.
There is not a wen ordered ana
fairly equipped barber shop in AL
London. = A., clean shave is. simpir
butchery, The BARRIERS excuse them
selves on the score that they have
so little practice. The nobility. they
say. are shaved at home. the gentry
and plain people shave themselves,
The English fatter themselves that
they, are the best travellers. and
that they have the best conducted
lines of travel i'll the world: yet there
= II No IN .lg 1,u 1rc~r,, ..J,9
used on any of the railways in Eng
land. You get no guarantee what
ever for your baggage. 1t is your
business TO see ton the cab. to SEE
train. And il is Your business 10 =.
get it again at the end of the
THE English women. Mr.. Waiter
son rather ungallantly declares, are
the poorest dressers. in Europe; and
vet English society is singularly ca
ballad concert AT st. James Hall
happens to wear n light Paris bon
net and is required 10 take ii off in
dressing room, paying the waiting
she, is allowed y take the seat she
has paid for. She goes in and finds
the hall filled with scrubby. i'll
dressed women. each having A Bit Of
considering herself in full dress .pf
course. no gentleman is permitted az p
Covent Garden or Drury. Lane with
out a swallowtail coat and white
cravat; nor then until he has paid
sixpence' TO a hag who turns down
his seat for him or opens the door
of a box. Go where you WILL this
petty tax is encountered. Why? Be:
cause the country is too full of peo .
pie and living has TO be got at for
the overplus in some way.
"1f London cabby cheats YOU
out of siNpence he thinks he has
done a good thing, but If he does
you for half a crown he feels proud
Of himself. of his vocation and of
his country, A pretty barmhid swim,
died me out OF a ha'penny on a glass
OF sherry Ihe other day and j su.w
joy 'unspeakable beam out of her
lovely thieying eyes as l turned
away and she felt sure of having
bagged her plunder. They do their
robbery on a small scale. In London
a penny is big thing. ...t..
Mr.. Watterson also finds fault
with the political season. II is dull
y tanner affair than the great Hyde
Park reunion Of workingmen can
scarcely be conceived. The speech
of Mr. Odger. the orator-in-ch of
the trade unions, was simply laugh
able. The Times speaks of him as a
man of ability and power. He is, in
fact. a. wretched little scarecrow
with a weak voice and a stammer.
II Bob Gilchrist would come over
here he would raise himself to credit
and renown at once with the British
workingmen. He would become botu
4heir Lender and their sneaker"