Evening star., 1945-09-09
Fifty Years Ago
The American public commonly be-
lieve that no individual survived the


An Alomo the Mission Alamo at San
Survivor Antonio, March 6, 1886;
but the Dictionary of
American History says that the Mex
leans spared 80 noncombatants, one
OF whom, woman afterward known
as Nine. Candelaria. according to an
article in The Star for August %, 1895
still was alive half a century ago Al
legged to be 113 at the time when she
was interviewed. the reporter declared:
She certainly looks it. Such a speci-
men of humanity I had never before
gaZed upon. - She is totally blind,
and her face is not much larger than
a little child's and so weazened and
wrinkled as to be almost expression
less A Mexican boy acted as inter-
prefer Nine. or Sonora Candelaria
was 'garrulous' and her story is diff
ferent from that told by many his
torians." The details were CORY enough
to meet the most exorbitant demand
for horrors. How much of the tale
was tue nobody could be sure.
~k* ~~~-
On August %, 1895. The Star explained
that Gen. Lew Wallace, author of Ben
Hur," had announced
Noto at Charlottesville, Ind,
Candidate that he never heard
until yesterday of his
rumored succession to the position of
congressional librarian and would nol
accept the place under any considera-
ton The famous soldier and novelist
ALSO said that the old library as it
now stands is hotbed of disease and
peStllence." In his considered opinion,
AlnsWorth Rand Spoford, incumbent
from December J. 1864 onward. was
the only fit man" for the work and
until the library is removed to the
new building he should be
retained" To make sure that he meant
what he said to be understood, Gen.
Wallace added that Mr. Spoffords re-
moval before that time would be a
calamity" Mr.. Spofford remained at
the head of the Library of Congress
establishment until 1897 Thereafter
until his death on August II. 1908, he
was chief assistant. The entire span of
his service reached AZ years
Time was, so years back, when rents
in Washington were nothing horrible to
contemplate. For ex-
Kents were ample, B. H Warner
Reasonable & Co, 916 F street
NV, advertised in The
Star of August 30, 1895, house at I'LL
N street NV, for S25 month Mean
while, SO K street NE, might be had
for the asking at $40. Six rooms at 22O6
!, Cleveland street were only S143O And
10 rooms at 1873 H street NE were
only SIS. In a more fashionable neigh
borhood, $40 would pay for II rooms at
2119 r street NV. Any prospective
tenant who wanted l6 rooms might find
them at 4 Jackson place, for $3.50
Similar offerings were publicized by
R, o, Hoffman, Tenth and streets
NV: George W. Linkins, 800 Nineteenth
street NV, and Thomas j. Fisher &
Co., 1924 F street NV. The town was
full of places to live and prices were not
high. Such was the dreadful horse
buggy age about which modern genera
tions have heard such shocking stories!
Wouldn't it be wonderful if it came
back again? The answer probably is:
No.
If justice were done, Brig Gen. Ely
Samuel Parker, whose death was re-
ported in The
An Inoion Seneroi Star on August
Dies 81 1899 would oe
widely celebrated Americans of his day.
| He was a full-blooded Seneca Indian,
born in Genesee County, N Y, in 1928;
educated by the Baptists at Tonawanda
and at Yates and Cayuga Academies and
finally, in engineering at Rensselaer,
Polytechnic. While superintendent of
construction for various Government
works at Galena. Ill, he became the
friend of a humble clerk and ex-soldier
whose name was Ulysses S. Grant, At
the outbreak of the Civil War he was
refused commission because of his
race and Secretary of State William H
Seward even went so far as to tell him
that the war would be won by the whites
without the aid of the Indians" But
Parker was not discouraged. BY the
summer of 1863 he managed to be a
captain of engineers; in September of
the same year he was appointed lieu
| tenant colonel and Grants military sec.