Evening star., 1925-11-15

Among the literary notables who
made Washington their home half
Walt Whitman ago was Walt
in Washington. Nh1imsn' eIe1R IN mh0; ons as
ing the Civil War, wrote some of his
poetry that made him famous and, in
cidentally, caused his dismissal from
his Office. He revisited the Capital
from time to time, as was noted In The
Star of November 9, 1876, as follows:
Walt Whitman, in propria per-
sonnae, and about as natural as ever,
appeared on Pennsylvania avenne
this forenoon, after an absence of
nearly three years. Though yet Ill
from paralysis and other ailments
and very lame and slow in gait, his
large figure, clothed in gray, with
the regular open neck, white collar,
red face and copious beard of yore,
looked much the same, and not much
amiss amid the bright sunlight and
crispy and mellow atmosphere Of
this magnificent Autumn. w. W. is
on visit to Washington. stopping
at the house of his old friend, Mr..
Michael Nash, S13 L street south
east, navy yard.
Introduction of the bell punch on
the street railways of Washington
Bell Punch and Checking the re-
Voting Machine. ffoD5 fe1p5 passensers' 81 .a5es
was not altogether q popular move
little more than half century ago. In
The Star Of November 9. 1875, is an
item of interest In connection with this
device and one that had been pro-
posed to facilitate the taking of votes
in Congress:
Some parties. it Is reported, are
about making a war upon the street
railway bell punch, or rather upon
the company who, having its con-
troll, are making railroad companies
pay a royalty of 25 cents per day
for each punch, and whose receipts,
it is said, amount to $1,500,0O0
annually. 1t will be remembered that
in 1852 Henry johnson, an ingenious
Washingtonian, invented what he
called a device for taking the yeas
and nays In deliberative bodies and
attempted to introduce the invention
by putting UP machines in the two
houses of Congress, Senator Houston
then taking a very active part in IA
vor of it's introduction. The principal
objection made was that such voting
would be unconstitutional and Mr..
Johnson abandoned all attempts at
its Introduction. The apparatus
was never patented and it is said
that the principle Of the present bell
punch Is the same as that used In
the voting machine. 1t Is now pro-
posed to show by descriptions of the
machine published at the time and
~ nx-S1 no Va arir n
are identically the same, and there
fore, the bell punch is not a new
invention. This being done will
give the privilege to railway COM
panies and others to make their own
punches and therefore relieve them
of the payment of a heavy royalty"
The Government departments at
Washington have always been easy
Ammonia Mine moters of get.rich.
Stock SAller. quick schemes. rifty M
es0en SoAA1A' years ago g. "Col.
Sellers" appeared in this city and
offered the clerks a chance to make
fortune in an ammonia mine! This Is
told of In The Star Of November II,
1875, as follows:
"An enthusiastic individual was
at the Post Office Department today
with a specimen of ammonia in the
form Of small Jumps of what looked
like Jumps of sugar saturated with
spirits of ammonia, which he said
was found in large quantities at a, GER
tain point on the Pacific Coast. He
had been appointed agent to sell 81
shares of stock in the District q
Columbia at 100000 a share. and
was anxious that the clerks should
take at least a couple of shares.