Evening star., 1944-02-20
Fifty Years Ago
Fifty years ago the District Commits
sioners were working for a new cit

Fifty years ago the District Commits
sioners were working for a new city
hall or munic-
New Municipal ipal building.
Building Proposed The Star Of
February 10,
1894, IN this connection remarked: TO
day, in accordance with the suggestion
of Chairman Bankhead of the Com
mittee on Public Buildings and Grounds
bill was submitted providing for an
appropriation of s250,O00 for the COM
mencement of a new municipal build
ing on that part of the public
reservation fronting the south side of
Pennsylvania avenue Between Seventh
and Ninth streets, not occupied by the
Washington Market Co."
Union veterans of the Civil War held
a meeting in Washington. as described
by The Star of
Civil War February 90 1894:
Veterans Meet The Department
Of the Potomac,
GAR, held its Goth annual encamp-
ment at Grand Army Hall last evening.
There was a good attendance all the
local posts being we'll represented. Col
S. E. Faunce, department commander,
presided. The session lasted from
to O'Clock and was devoted principally
to the nomination of officers for the
ensuing year" Here followed a list
OF the nominations. The feature of the
evening was the speech of Gen. ].
g. B. Adams, who "dwelt upon the
lesson In patriotism that 1t was in
cumbent upon the Grand Army to
teach of which the chief was loyalty
to the flag. The veterans would soon
fall out and the sons would take their
places. They should teach the doctrine
that no flag but the nag of the Union
could be allowed to float from any
staff within our borders"
Woman suhraglsts had an oppor-
tunity to present their views to Con.
a gress that week,
Fight for Woman hearings at the
Suffrage Capitol being
granted In the
words of The Star of February 81, 1894:
twenty-five ladies, the remainder of
the. national woman's suffrage conven-
ton, which has been in session in
Washington for a week past, appeared
before the House Judiciary Committee
this morning to advocate a constitu-
tional amendment for woman suffrage.
Such resolution had recently been
rejected by the committee, but was
reconsidered at the request of the
ladies'" Susan B. Anthony spoke elo-
quently for womans rights, and told
how the system had worked locally
in Colorado, but the time was not yet
ripe. Although many Congressman pri-
vately recognized the justice of the plea.
Military alarmists, even so years ago,
declared that the city Of Washington
was defenseless in
Washington case of invasion, al
Defenseless though it was not
suggested how an in
vasion could be made nor even what
nation might try it. Speaking in The
Star of February II, 1894, one of these
experts said: Washington today is as
defenseless as in 1914, when the British
walked without hindrance into our midst
to burn and pillage, or as in 1861 when
our streets, after the disastrous battle
of Bull Run, were filled by fleeing Fed
eral soldiers" He wanted the old de-
caying Notifications around the city
restored and others built-a useless ex-
pense as long as we had a powerful
offensive weapon in the Navy, then being
greatly expanded. 1t was our offensive
power, not passive defense works around
the Nations Capital, that won the next
war, four years later. with Spain.