Evening star., 1936-12-06
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

The annual report Of the District
Commissioners submitted so years ago
evoked the following comment in The
Star of December 6. 1886:
Among the commendable suggestions
Recommendations Of sioners, G w % renorr
Commissioners, are those calling
for better sys-
tenn of lighting the streets. dispensing
with the village practice of depending
upon the moon when the almanac
pledges 1t to the performance Of its full
duty; for the increase of school facilities
to correspond with the growth of the
population. and for the improvement of
the police system. Under this last head,
two requirements are especially urgent.
The force must be strengthened in num-
ber and in capacity. The restriction Of
membership to men with a record in the
Army or Navy of the United States is
bit of buncombe, the last excuse for
whose existence is fading away, and
which has now become positively and
dangerously burdensome. What the
force requires is not old blood with q
record made, but new blood with some
ambition to make one"
The building known as Lincoln Hail. at
the corner of Ninth and D streets, erected
in 1859 as headquarters for the Y. NJ
c. A. and used as a place Of public gath
p. W., erings, was destroyed
Ancoin nalI by fire on Sunday
Burned Down. morning, December
S, 1886. The Star Of
December SAYS:
Now that Lincoln Hall has finally
burned down, the people of Washington
will take a breath Of relief. 1t was
doubtless the worst planned building for
exhibition purposes that ever was con-
structed. and had fire or panic occurred
while an entertainment was in progress
1t would have been almost, II not wholly,
impossible for q dozen persons to escape
from it alive. AS it seems to be the fate
of places of amusement to be burned
some time, the existence Of such death
trap Is q constant menace, an ever
present cause OF apprehension to
thoughtful people. Those who are losers
by the fire are. Of course, entitled to
and have the full sympathy of the COM
munity, but they. equally with others.
have cause for thankfulness that the
result is no more disastrous. If there is
any authority to prevent 1t no such struc-
ture ought to be allowed in the city
again."
According to the statement in yes
terday's Star" says The Star of Decem-
Der II. 1886. the Washington and
Georgetown Railway Co. says it proposes
to make some radical
improvements. Grating Of its lines
by the substitution OF
q cable for horses, as soon as the neces-
sary authority for the contemplated I'M
provements shall be granted by Congress.
This authority may or may not be given
and the changes proposed may or may
not be a good thing-though 1t Is dim
cult to conceive how any change that
can be made in the general street rail-
way service for the city would not be
for the better Meantime, it is within
the power of the company to make one
important improvement in the interest
of its patrons without the intervention
of the lawmaking power and without the
outlay Of any considerable amount OF
money. It is to keep decently clean
and dry the street crossings at its
transfer points at the intersections OF
Fifteenth street and New York avenue
| and Pennsylvania avenue and Seventh
street, 50 that passengers can pass from
one line to the other without wading
through snow and filthy slush shoe
mouth deeD"