Evening star., 1947-03-30
Fifty Years Ago
There was no reason when grand
mother WAS a girl why she or ar1y other


There was no reason when grand
mother was girl why she or any other
young woman should be
Footwear anything but grandly-
Borqoins and inexpensively-shod.
An advertisement in The
Star on March %, 1897, announced: "A
week from tomorrow night every pair
OF Wilson's shoes and slippers must be
sold. - We are satisfied to lose money
on the balance Of this stock. Our sole
ambition Is to clear this store before
the first day of April-and We'll do it!
Ladies', misses, children's shoes, slippers,
oxfords, SOC for choice. The balance
of Wilson'S splendid stock of fancy
satin siippers-all the neatest shades
and colors-not pair worth less than
81; closing price. 81. Ladies' and mems
$6 shoes-s3 q pair while they last.
Better come tomorrow! Wilson's Old
Stand, 929 F street NV"
If any great automobile factory in
Detroit were to be wrecked by fire
tonight, the reaction
Bicycle Works Of the national public
In Flomes might be similar to
that which undoubt-
ediy was caused by story in The Star
for March "a, 1897, telling how: 1.-THE
large plant of the Acme Bicycle Works
(Reading, Pa was destroyed ''' early
this morning" The conflagration "orig-
mated in the enameling room, which
was filled with coloring fluids. Owing
to the inflammable nature of the stock,
the big four-story brick building was
soon mass Of flames. AL the valuable
machinery was destroyed, making the
total loss about $4,000, covered by in
surance. The building contained mate
rial for fully 5000 bicycles. About 500
men and boys were employed at the
works, about one-half of them being
at work at the time the flames broke
out. The works will be rebuilt at once"
Police officers are supposed to culti-
vate a memory for faces, and many of
them develop positive
Deserter genius for such recollec-
Coptured tion. The Star of March
rs, 1897, included story
illustrating what can and occasionally
does occur in the line of miraculous
Identification. "A rather good looking,
intelligent young man appeared at CEN
trail police station last night" explained
wire from Cleveland. The stranger
"raoI1ostad thot he ho oiyop a 1odo;x ~
until morning, and "he was taken to a
CELL" But "the desk officer was con-
WINGED that he had seen him somewhere
before. It finally struck him that he
had seen the face on photograph sent
out by the United States Secret Service.
Upon producing the card his suspicious
became strengthened, and he ordered
the young man to be again brought be-
fore him. The latter acknowledged that
his name was the name called for on
the postal card. He was charged with
being deserter from the United States
Army at Washington, D. C.. Despite his
protests, he was again locked up" SUBJ
sequently, he admitted that he was
deserter and said that he had become
dissatisfied with Army life owing to the
restrictions placed upon the soldiers"
X + X
The front page news Of so years ago
differed but little from that of today
in principle.
Trouble in For example,
Mediterranean Area The Star for
March 26,
1897, chronicled revolutionary activity
in Crete and said that "a company Of
100 Russian riflemen from Odessa" had
landed at Canea to participate in the
scrimmage. A dispatch from st. Peters
burg read: 1.-THE members of the diplo-
matte corps here now greatly apprehend
serious complications in Macedonia
which will jeopardize the peace OF Eu-
rope. Although recognizing that the
chief danger lies in that direction, the
proposal of Great Britain to establish
q neutral zone on the Greek frontier is
regarded as ineficacious and impracti-
cable. 1t is urged here that 1t would
be preferable to accelerate the pacifica-
ton Of Crete by Immediately blockading
the coast of Greece" From London, an
Athens correspondent of the Times was
quoted to the effect that: THE resolu-
tion Of sympathy with Greece adopted
by the American Senate reached the
Greek government today"
The Star for March 81, 1897, an
nounced When the last herdic turns
in after its last trip
End of tonight the company
Herdic Era will 60 out Of active
operation, and the her.
dies, which have been for more than is
years familiar sight on the streets Of
Washington, will disappear" In expla-
nation Of the discontinuance OF the