Evening star., 1928-11-04
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

In this column last week was printed
an extract from an issue Of The Star
Gas Electricity az ago rel relative to the
Competition. puiops'i,ee titiop between sDt the
new electric light and gas for public
Illumination. The same subject Is thus
discussed In The Star Of October 80,
1878:
much has been said of the declin-
ing value of the stock OF the New
York and other gas companies caused
by the prospect that gas will be super
seded by electricity as an Illuminating
agent in the near future. 1t appears
that Manhattan Gas Company stock
sold on October at 200la and on
October 90 at 148. New York Gas Com
pany stock dropped between the same
dates from 92l2 to 1874. Metropolitan
Gas Company stock sold at l2S on the
I'd of october; on the 23d OF OCTOBER
the same stock offered obtained no
bids. but on the 9th of October at prt-
vate sale the stock figured at l05. 1t
is said that a company for popularizing
the electric light, claiming prior organl-
zation to the one established by Edison,
has experimented successfully and has
introduced its light In several places
in the country and that rights have
been largely sold in England ana on
the Continent. This organization is
controlled by the gas companies and
was formed by them not long after
Edison's experiments in lighting by
electricity began to be the subjects OF
publications In the newspapers. The
question of priority of patent right be-
tween Edison and the inventor and
st ttaa V1inSt nfQrfFir
light, it Is said, is likely to come up
in the courts on question of infringe
ment." as
Il X
Protest against the somewhat. hap
hazard designing and placing of pub
Pubic art ington fifty years ago
rr;4;o;,ad were occasionally voiced
OTltlclzeu' in the columns of The
Star. The following in the issue Of
October go 1873, relates to the latest
additions to the Capitals outdoor art:
every person of taste will admit
that In the establishment of our city
with statues and monuments many
grave errors have been committed.
The most superb sites for effective dec
Grafton have been spoiled by having
inappropriate monuments erected
thereon. For instance, the cemeterial
group of white marble before the west
ern front of the Capitol Is sadly out OF
place, and at distance 1t is indls-
A colossal, plainly dis
cerned figure of bronze or a grand
fountain would have been the proper
thing 1t was In very bad taste to pro-
pose another mounted warrior for M
Street Circle while that section already
numbers four such. This beautiful site
should have been occupied either by a
large fountain or monumental design
in the form OF an octagon. when
front view would have been presented
to each Of the eight converging streets.
In that case the Thomas monument
should have been put up in P Street
Circle, to establish something like con-
formity l assert that the cavalry tri-
angle, 'McPherson-Sc Scott Thomas. Is
absurd. Many more faux pas could
easily be pointed out What is most
needed now to prevent further mischief
is the working out Of a systematic plan
for the harmonious and imposing
adornment Of the National Capital and
then urging this plan upon the atten-
ton of Congress. A committee of men
of esthetical culture, artists and archi-
tectS, should be appointed by the Com
missioners for this purpose. We have
In Washington at present the basis and
groundwork of a magnificent modern
Capital, but the details Of its embellish-
ment must not be left to the arbitrary
notions of an individual
A correspondent whose letter was
printed In The Star of November l,
1878, expressed himself much more
emphatically regarding the naval mon
ument west of the Capitol, saying:
That group Is, think, an abomina-
tion--a monstrosity, blotch, blur
and excrescence, an unsightly thing
and ought not to be tolerated in a city
where fine esthetic tastes abound 1t
is nothing more nor less than a 'ceme-
terial group and not half so well ex-l