Evening star., 1943-08-08
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

session Of Congress, called by Grover
Cleveland to deal with
SpecIoI Session the panic Of 1893, as
OF Congress sembled. The opening
words OF the Presi-
dents message to Congress, as reported
IN The Star Of August 8. 1893, were: THE
existence of an alarming and extraordi-
nary business situation, involving the
welfare and prosperity of all our people.
has constrained me to call together in
extra session the peoples representa-
tives in Congress, to the end that
through a wise and patriotic exercise of
the legislative duty with which they
solely are charged, present evils may be
mittgated and dangers threatening the
future may be averted." Mr.. Cleveland
went on to give his version Of the cause
OF the panic, then offered a possible cure,
namely, the divorce Of silver from gold,
thus putting q stop to the unlimited
coinage Of silver.
A gang Of counterfeiters was arrested
In the Nations Capital, not by the Secret
Service but by local po-
Counterfeiters lice. Said The Star OF
Coptured August 8, 1893: THE po-
lice of the eighth pre-
cinct received word from citizen that
there was a gang OF counterfeiters oper-
ating here. According to the in
formation received, there was a regularly
organized crowd engaged in the manu-
facture Of spurious coin in the vicinity
of Ninth and @ streets NV. The
police started out last night to arrest the
parties suspected and they had lively
time of 1t before they returned to the
station. In P street alley three
men were together and the officers sue
ceeded in capturing them. Then two
sisted strongly, but was subdued.
Trouble In Samoa was brought to a
conclusion by the surrender OF the ma
tive chief Ma
Trouble in Somoo taafa. In a dispatch
At on End from Apla, via San
Francisco The Star
of August S. 1893, reported: "Mataafa
and his chiefs have surrendered and are
now prisoners on board British and Ger
man warships. The war is virtually over.
Mataafas life was guaranteed before he
surrendered.' At the time the United
States had no war vessel near the scene,
although the U. 8. s. Philadelphia was
en- route. No comment was made by the
State Department. There was never
much worry over what Mataafa could
do, but it was important that the rebel
lion be put down before too many Euro
pean nations became involved. Even
SO years ago, Europe was a rumbling
volcano Of war
AS evidence of this, consider a brief
article in TIE Star of August 8, 1898:
Just before leav-
War in Europe ing London for a
Narrowly Averted holiday on Friday
Lord Roseberry
said to political friend: We were nearer
to war with France week ago than at
any time since Waterloo Englishmen
are learning with genuine alarm how
slender is the thread with which the
sword is suspended over Europe" The
crisis referred to was the French block
ade OF Siam, and was relieved when Siam
capitulated.
The capitulation affected even the
plans Of our own Navy Department, ac-
cording to an account in The
Novol Star Of August 8. 1898: The
News conditions which recently
threatened the peace Of the
many countries of the Pacific having
practically disappeared through natural
causes there is no longer the same ur-
gency for American warships on that
station. and the Navy Department has
more time to consider the work desired
Of the vessels composing that fleet. Near
ly all those took part in the naval review
at New York, and were hurriedly pre-
pared for duty on the Pacific, then
thought to require immediate attention.
Now the occasion for haste has
passed." The next major need Of the
deet vas destined to bs i've years In the
future, In the war with Spain.