Evening star., 1943-05-16
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star
Fifty years ago The Star Of May II,

,
1893, described scenes no longer pres
ent-great "doings" along
The ConoI the C. e. o. Canal at
Booms Georgetown. Activity in
canal circles is unabated.
The great discharging derricks and
hoppers are being worked for all they
are worth. The Chesapeake g. Ohio
Canal booms Its volume of trade in
creases The daily list of arrivals Is
larger than it has been for years, and
the deepened and strengthened condi-
ton of the ditch permits each boat to
load a greater tonnage of COAL The
boats in today will average l20 tons
each. Old residents of Georgetown stand
along the banks and say-'The canal Is
not relic of our past greatness; 1t is
our present glory and our future power.
To these sentiments the boatmen sing
out amen" For while the glory con-
tinued, but in time increased efficiency
of railroad transportation put the canal
out of business.
Washington was the scene OF a con-
vention of the Presbyterian Church, with
delegates from all over
Presbyterion the Nation. The Star
Convention of May l8, 1898. re-
ported: THE body
which met in the New York Avenue
Church today bids fair to become his
toric. 1t was the l05th general assembly
of the Presbyterian Church in the
United States of America. Presbyterians
throughout the country and in fact all
christendom will watch its deliberations
with more than ordinary interest. The
genera assembly is representative body.
The 22j presbyteries sent 586 commits
sioners to the assembly" The meeting
lasted for days.
Hawaii was in the transition stage be-
tween independence and annexation to
the United States, and the
Howoiion situation was greatly con-
Affoirs fused. With no cable laid
to the islands, and, of
course, no radio, days and even weeks
would go by without news, until some
steamer arrived. Queen Liliuokalani had
been deposed, but was still political
figure to reckon with. The Star Of May
IT, 1893, in news obtained from San
Francisco, explained: The Hawaiian
Star, the extreme annexation organ, in
an editorial calls attention to the danger
of allowing Liliuokalani to remain on the
islands, and suggests that she be re-
quested to travel in foreign lands, with
all expenses paid by the provisional gov
ernment. More conservative members
of the party say that as long as the
Queen conducts herself properly she
should be allowed to remain"
The concluding paragraph of the dis
patch from San Francisco Is of especial
interest today: "It
JOBS Make has been announced
Wise Decision that the big Japa-
nese cruiser Nantwa
Kan. which has been in Honolulu Harbor
for several months, has been recalled
and will sail today for Japan. This
would indicate that Japan has given up
any hope she may have had Of obtain
ing foothold in Hawaii. The departure
of the Japanese warship will be relief
to the American warships here, for ever
since the Japanese captains proud boast
that he could blow the American fleet
out of the water the American sailors
and officers here have had no love for
the representative of the Mikado."
Bank failures in the Middle West, In
reality premonitory symptoms Of the i'm
pending panic Of 1893,
WhistIinq in were not yet recognized
The Dark as serious. The president
of the Clearing House
Committee, who should have been in a
position to know the true facts, was
quoted in The Star of May IS, 1898:
There has been altogether too much
made of the situation. All that Is wanted
now is quiet. The Western failures are
adequately explained in the method on
which they did business. The ease with
which the business community sustained
the loss Of last week makes them grounds
Of confidence rather than anything else,
The losses must have been enormous, yet
see how quickly and how comparatively
easily they have been taken"