Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-08
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

Hard money" meaning the silver
dollar, has never been very popular In
s., this part of the country as
0llVeE common medium Of ex-
nollor. change. though always in
favor IN the Western part
of the country. Fifty years ago an at
tempt was made to put silver dollars
into circulation here, as thus told in
The Star of September /, 1879:
Since the recent order of Secretary
Sherman requiring payments in silver
United States in an amount equal to
10 per cent of the monthly salary of
each, 1t is noticeable that the dollar
of our dads is fast coming into general
circulation and is good deal Of a
nuisance to business men. The order is
executed with strict impartiality, af-
fecting not only the clerks, but the
President, his cabinet and members of
Congress, who all receive their 10 per
cent allowance of the silver coin. A
day or two ago q check was sent to
the sergeant-at-arms of the House by
Hon. John T. Harris Of Virginia for 5000
The messenger who bore it demurred to
receiving $40 Of the amount in silver,
but the cashier told the young man to
tell Mr.. Harris he had voted for the
bill which made the coin and that not
only he, but all members of Congress,
will be paid 10 per cent in silver on
their salaries hereafter, as the Treas
ury made the sergeant alarms take 1t,
and there was no other course. left him
than to pay 1t out.
Judge Richardson, ex-Secretary of
the Treasury and now o judge OF
the Court of Claims, says that Secre-
tary Sherman is right is pushing the
nrNfwN tai. At~A la&f a
that 1t will not be long before the very
men who voted for the silver dollar
will be the most violent opponents OF
the coin as circulating medium. The
Judge says that in China, which is q
silver country entirely, as its circulate
ing medium is all silver, the coin Is
not used at all in the ordinary details
of trade, but that nearly all merchants
have checkbooks, and purchaser OF
any commodity, instead of paying for
1t directly in the coin Of the country,
gives his check for the amount OF his
purchase, and the settlements are de-
ferred until there is some large pay
ment to be made by those holding such
checks. He says 1t took nearly half
bushel basket of silver to pay the pas
sage money Of himself and family from
Hong Kong to San Francisco and that
It was placed in such basket and
towed out to the ship in a small boat.
The judge says, as a matter OF fact,
that China, an absolute silver country,
Is disguised with its own circulating
medium, and that the American people
will soon become disguised with the
so-called dollar Of our dads"
4
A local institution, regarding which
great expectations were entertained
Ground Broken for tury ago,
National Race Track. r wss % on sSe
I'd of September, 1879, when ground
was broken for q race track and other
improvements to constitute a national
fair grounds In the northeastern out
skirts of Washington. the site Of which
is now occupied by the roundhouse and
railroad tracks of the washington ter
minal east of lexington. The Star of
September 3, 1879, describes the cere-
mony, which was participated in by
President Hayes, District Commissioners
Dent and Twining, Representative
Qater Senator) J. c. s. Blackburn OF
Kentucky and others eminent in local
affairs and active In the promotion OF
the sport Of kings" Mr.. Blackburn
was orator Of the day and paid high
tribute to the enterprise Of the Capital
In providing q means Of maintaining
horse racing. President Hayes, before
using the spade, told how when young
man the first time he listened to q
public speaker was on the occasion Of
the dedication of fair ground. This
speaker, who was quite famous, said the
President, told his hearers that, as the
day was warm and the work hard. he
would have to take OF his coat to do
It. He did so, and the job was well
done. For himself he would prefer to
keep his coat on. Despite this, he
turned Q good spadeful of earth. re-
marking that the land was not so good
ss that of the black swamp farms. near
bis own western home.