Evening star., 1939-09-10
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star
Pennsylvania avenue was being re-
paved, so years ago, to the great salts

paved, 5O years ago. TO the great salts
faction of the public, but
Repovine so slowly was the work
the Avenue being done that a serious
nuisance was created by
the dust arising from operations. The
Star of August %, 1882 says editorially:
The public is not SO much interested
in deciding who is or has been respon-
sble for delays in the work of resurfac-
ing Pennsylvania avenue as in Fastening
the improvement to speedy compile
ton. At present the cause of delay is
found in the insignificant force of men
employed in repairing the track bed of
the street railway and the effort of the
Commissioners to quicken the snails
pace of this work will receive public in
dorsement. In its present stage the
work on the tracks is nuisance ire
spective of the delay caused to the con-
tractors engaged in resurfacing the Ave-
nue. with asphalt.
To the merchants. whose busy season
is near at hand. it is becoming a serious
matter to have the street torn up in this
way and SO little done toward putting
it into passable condition for customers
carriages. Every citizen who takes a
pride in Washington is mortified at the
idea OF presenting such a spectacle to
our guests who will gather here shortly
for the Masonic conclave and the other
political, social and scientific reunions
The people of the city are especially
anxious that no additional delays shall
occur to postpone the completion of the
| work, arising from Wrangles between the
parties who are responsible to the public
for the performance of varying duties
in respect to the improvement. The
! general advice to everybody connected
| with the resurfacing is to postpone for a
time consideration of the shortcomings
OF others; to do heartily what duty to
the public requires in the matter, and
to hurry about it."
Breaking oceanic records was in prog
ress so years ago, even as in latter
days In fact, record break
Atomic ing is seemingly endless.
Tronsit August %, 1889, The Star
said:
"The record of Atlantic transit has
been broken again, and by the City of
Paris. which stood already at the head
| of the list of ocean coursers. Her best
time is days 10 hours and lS minutes
| for the 2,788 miles from Cork Harbor to
| Sandy Hook. In view of the unusual
| number of icebergs reported afloat this
summer, and in the track of some of the
| lines working farthest south, it will be a
wonder If the season of fast travel closes
without an accident of some kind. When
a fine steamer has been wrecked and q
large number of her passengers and
crew lost, as a result of this practice of
! sacrificing everything else to speed, there
will be sudden shift of public interest
from record breaking to record mending,
and the line which can point to the
least broken record for safe and cautious
management will win the best paying
traffic from the rest
This warning was not needed. Twen-
ty-three years later, April IA, 1912, the
steamer Titanic, rushing on her maiden
voyage across the Atlantic, crashed into
an iceberg and sank with the loss of
$500 lives. Incidentally it may be noted
that the speed record to date is held by
the Queen Mary, which in August, 1898
crossed from Bishop Rock to Ambrose
Light in 3 days 20 hours and q minutes
Commenting on the activities In the
professional world Of that day, The Sta,
of August -, 1859, said
Professional with the American
Problems editors meeting in ont
place to discuss the best
ways of making everybody happy, anG
the lawyers meeting in another to de.
eide what ought to be done for thai
part Of the race which refuses to be sat.
isfied with its lot, and the scientists al
still a third headquarters considering
how small q place mankind fills, any.
way, in the vast economy Of nature
the present turning point between sea.
sons ought to be fruitful OF many i'm.
|