Evening star., 1933-12-10

Wires Are Banned. a,os shouxn hu'san's; of :
negative nature. as thus discussed In
The Star Of December 10, 1888:
N'The District Commissioners deserve
and viii receive, whether formally ex-
pressed or not, the thanks Of the people
Of Washington for their order pro-
hibiting the further stringing Of electric
wires and cables on poles over and
through the streets Of the city. The
feeling Of satisfaction with this action
Is, we are sure, both general and sincere,
tempered, perhaps, with sense of regret
that the tnhfbitory mandate had not
been issued before the dangerous
nuisance Of air-strung wires had reached
its present proportions. Better late
than never, however, and In the better
order Of things now secured for the
future The Star takes no little felicita-
ton to itself, for its fight for this excel
lent result has been both long and per-
sistent, As its readers can bear testi-
mony. In the same interest It now
takes the liberty Of suggesting that this
deserved power contemplated by the
terms OF the order for possible future
emergencies be used very sparingiy or,
better still, not exercised at all. When
one way Of doing . certain thing Is for
hidden another method can easily be
found; and where . loophole Is left
subject to individual discretion it Ii
pretty certain to be misused, as Is
illustrated by the fragrant manner IN
which certain liberal provisions Of the
building regulations have been abused
from time to time"
Halt q century ago Oscar Wilde was
much In the public eye, SO much so.
Oscar Wilde as - Legal % disputa. !.
Proprietary Asset. t1on tSs a,oss nr.roSsr over
tive Of his pictorial representation.
The Star Of December II, 1888, says:
"A singular case Is now being tried
In the Supreme. Court, involving the
true title to Oscar Wilde rs q photo
graphic property. Sarony claims q
copyright on him, contending that he
knee breeches, his disheveled hair and
his stomach-ache look. All this, Mr..
Sarony's counsel claims, gives him q
monopoly Of Oscar ~ against the tmi-
tative representations Of Q hthographic
company, but the other side contend
that Sarony had not produced or In
vented, but merely arranged Mr.. Wilde
as . pleasing symphony In black and
white, and that, even granting the
claim Of invention. Sarony should have
taken out q patent on Oscar rather
than copyrighted him according to act
Of Congress. The question Is knotty
one and the court may have to resort
to the Judgment Of Solomon-cut him
In two and give one-han to Sarony and
the other to the lithograph company"
senator vance's excellent bill pro-
posing to regulate the street railroad
Street Cars a. q ington." says
Health Nuisance. The Star Of De De-
fought also to prohibit the filthy. Gus
tom Of Nttering the cars with hay and
straw; but since it does not, 1t would
seem to be quite within the scope Of
to abate the nuisance On sanitary
grounds Anyway, 1t ought to be abol-
ished. Some Of the cars where straw
and hay are used look and smell more
like Q horse stall OK . pig sty than .
vehicle intended for the conveyance Of
respectable people, and the fact that
the use Of these articles u offensive to
large numbers, II not al persons obliged
TO use the cars, should Of itself be sum-
cient TO lead the managers to discon-
tinue e. But there are other and more
serious objections to the practice. A
trick hyer Of straw or. hay u o mere
cover for dirt that ought to be other
wise disposed Of, and to the dirt it con-
ceals It IL itseN constantly adding. In
dry weather the flne dust thus created
b very irritating to weak lungs, and ex-
ceedingly disagreeahle to al passengers,
whether III or well; while IN stormy
weather the mass Of wet hay and straw,
receiving and retaining the drippings
from umbrellas, waterproof garments,
ETC., keeps the air foul and damp and
both provokes and asgravates colds and
complaints Of that character. Pitch out
the hay and straw, Nessrs. Car COM
paniQs, and have yUur vehicles swept
and mapped out a& the end Of every
round trip according 70 The condition
q the weather.