Evening star., 1937-10-24
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

THE advantages which Washington
offers as the city of national conven-
tions says The Star of
convention October 18, 1887 have
Hall Needed. been commented upon
many times in the
past: the great obstacle of the lack of
hall of the size necessary to accommo-
date a vast assemblage has been fire.
quently recognized and various unsuc-
cessful movements have been made in
the direction of securing for the city
recognized position as the meeting place
of national organizations. The argu-
ment in favor Of the use OF Washington
for this purpose grows stronger every
year. The prospect of adequate pecunl-
ary returns would doubtless bring about
the necessary enlargement OF hotel IA
cilities if Washington should become
the convention city. But the erection OF
a vast meeting hall would, perhaps. not
be in itself a paying individual invest
ment Public spirit and the self-interest
of that part of our citizens which will
profit directly by the presence OF crowd
of people at Washington must be de-
pended upon to give the hall project sub
stantial backing"
y y y
"The American Street Railway Associ-
alton has fixed upon Washington as the
place for holding its
Kappa 1Tanslt next convention"
Object Lesson. says The Star of Oc-
tober u. 1887. IF
the meeting were to be held here this
Fall Washington's principal hope would
be that the members of the association
would patronize at least once their own
special means of conveyance in making
the rounds of the city. For when they
had felt the discomforts OF travel on
some of our local lines they would be
pretty sure to bring pressure to pear on
the Washington street railway managers
TO procure a better service for public
that gives them so generous patronage.
But their convention does not occur so
soon, and before they come to us the
city may be better prepared to be in
spected by them and need less the benefit
of reproachful criticism in this regard.
The interest taken by the local street
railway men in improved motors, en-
livened perhaps by the prospect of a
thorough examination of the matter of
our street railways by the Senate this
Winter, gives promise that the city S
hope deferred will not be deferred much
longer and that the visiting association
will find here to admire model railway
system in convenience, rapidity, safety
and comfort"
"The Ethiopian serenaders' or Negro
minstrels' who delighted the amusement
seekers of a generation
Decauehce VI ago have practically
Minstrelsy. passed off the stage"
says The Star of Octo-
her %. 1887. Unto their place has
slipped a nondescript class of entertain
ers. wearing the same name but belying
it by the gradual effacement of every
distinctive Ethiopian characteristic.
Half of the stage business Is done In
white faces, and, as recent exhibition
in this city showed, even the incon-
gruity of first part in powdered wigs
and small clothes in the style of the
French Directory is not gross enough to
MT the seekers of novelties to the blush.
The end men sing Irish and German
dialect songs in burnt cork. The 'planta-
tion scenes and character delineations'
which made up the second part of the
program of old have given way before
gymnastics, parlor magic, ventriloquism
and other adaptations from the variety
halls. But the climax seems to have
been reached in the announcement that
Mike Kelly, late Of the Boston base ball
team. has been engaged by the enter
prising managers of one minstrel troupe
to sit in the middle of the crescent in the
first part and PROFOUND puzzling ques-
tions to Brudder Bones and the tam
BOURNE twirler at the two extremities.
Whether this is more remarkable as a
collapse for the dignity of the ball field
or as stride further into inanity for the
profession of minstrelsy, it is hard to
determine. But the mixture is not ele-
waiting to either element"