Evening star., 1948-10-03
Fifty Years, Ago

ASSlsIant FoStmaSCer General Ferry Sanford
Heath told The Star on September 27, 1898:
There is practically no COM
Money Order petition between the banks
System and the money order system
OF the Department. It is true
that some private corporations issue money
orders. and they offer the public good service
in that respect The business of the corpora
tions and of the postal money order system is
confined to small sums, 500 being the meH-
1mum OF postal order and $50 of the orders
Issued by corporations. The larger banks as
Is well known, do not care to issue drafts for
small sums. The average of postal money
order Is less than So. Hence this is class of
business which is not profitable to banks and
therefore is not desirable" Mr. Heath anxious
to reassure the banks, went on to explain:
THE department has no intentions whatever
OF adopting the savings bank system as a part
OF the money order system"
convention Of the members of the Order
OF the Eastern Star was assembled in WASH
ington just half q century ago.
Eostern Star and The Star of September 49,
concIove 1898, reported: THE reception
at the White House yesterday
evening was q most enjoyable affair. The
President wore badge of the Order and was
most gracious. Most Worthy Matron Partridge
and Most Worthy Matron Kinds were intro
duced to him by L. Cabell Williamson, past
worthy patron of the District of Columbia
The other members of the General Grand
Chapter were not introduced by name, being
merely marshaled into order by the chair
man Of the Executive Committee of the Dis
trict, John F. ONeill. The faces of many Of
the visitors lighted with pleasure as this event
OF their lifetime approached-the opportunity
to shake hands with the President of the
United States. Ever and anon the President
greeted them with Pleased to meet you or
Glad to see you,' which forms of welcome
regularly alternated But that feeling of
anxiety which is the constant companion of
those in high station seemed to be ever present
with the Chief Executive, and at the close of
the reception he hurried off to again take up
the tangled sken OF this most important era
in Americas Nationhood" Perhaps Mr.. Nc
Kinley had some premonition that eventually
he would give his life in fhlfllment of that
feeling Of anxiety"
'Those who oppose the use Of artificial aids
to the female figure" were sustained in their
position by an incident chroniced
FotoI in The Star for September 20, 1898,
Corset as follows: "A popular German
actor, who has for many years
played female parts, died suddenly a few days
ago, and his death Is now said to have been
caused by his wearing stays. He had taken
on flesh to large extent during the summer
vacation, and in order for him to make any
sort of a figure on the stage it was necessary
for him to lace to an extraordinary degree.
The pressure of flesh on his heart, due to tight
lacing, was what brought about his end But
The Star conceded that there is another side
to the story, or to be more precise, another
story. When "a didn't know 1t was loaded
fool" fired a pistol point blank at q young
woman, the bullet hit a corset steel which
saved her life.
The star Of September 30, 1893, contained an
account of the funeral Of Fanny Davenport,
one of the truly great
Fonnv Davenport actresses of the American
Dead stage in "the palmy days"
A strkngy beautiful and
rarely gifted woman, she was regarded as
rival of Sarah Bernhardt for the highest reach
of stardom Her work in Shakespeare and IN
modern French plays won her numerous
public Nancy sykes, Fedora and La Tosca'
were her best roles. The end OF her career
came at her summer home at South Duxbury,
Mass. Her grave Is in Forest Hills cemetery,
Boston.
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