Evening star., 1952-01-01
CROSBY S. MOVES

| JOSEPH B. TATE.
Founder of The Star.
a special editorial hot-foot. The
Star considered it intolerable that
man standing under a gas lamp
on Pennsylvania avenue could
not see the time of night by his
gold watch and chain" 1t called
on the gas company for "less
odor and more light"
A Fighting Editor.
Mr.. Wallach, the editor, became
famous for his brillance-and also
for his love of a good fight. He
fought the radical. abolitionist
press, denouncing its leader, Hor-
ace Greeley, as the "hyena OF
journalism. He fought the anti
Catholic Nothing party
when it took over the District
Government in 1854, and smashed
a Know-Nothing newspaper which
was supposed to drive The Star
out of business. He fought so
hard with his partner that Will
liam Hope sold out his interest
in the paper in 1855. and moved
on in search of quieter fields.
/ AS the stormy buildup to the
Civil War began to center on
I Washington, The Star scolded
hotheads in both camps. Although
personally sympathetic to the
South, Mr.. Wallach was primarily
interested in preserving the
Union. Washington's destiny as
| the Nations Capital was at stake
that was the deciding issue.
When affairs reached crisis in
the election of 1860, The Stars
editor, like many Americans, fore
saw that victory for Abraham
Lincoln and the Republicans
might precipitate secession of the
Southern States. The news was
broken gently on November Z:
"The Stars readers, we take ii
for granted, were not unprepared
for the result of yesterdays elec-
ton, for it has sought to raise
no baseless hopes in their minds
upon the subject; having for weeks
past clearly foreseen that the de-
feat of Lincoln was impossible. -
The Star counseled course OF
moderation for the South.
A City at War.
The easy-going life that hao
been Washington's in the early
days of The Star was blasted
forever by the news from Fort
Sumter. Overnight the city be-
came an armed camp, threatened
with invasion. The windows of
The Star office ratified to the
tramp of marching men on Penn
sylvania avenue. Union sympathies
were not always conspicuous in
Washington. Yet once the fat was
in the fire, The Star rallied to the
! Union cause.
/ It's pages, during those four
) violent years, tell the story of g
city afraid for it's life. When blue
clad recruits reeled back into
Washington from disaster at Bull
Run, The Stars matter-of fact
assessment of the loss helped stem
the tide of panic. When the dooo
tide of rebellion broke against
Union bayonets at Gettysburg
: anxious citizens jammed Penn
Isylanvia avenue to read of victory
on The Stars bulletin board
When a hard-riding rebel named
i Jubal Early burned farms neal
Silver Spring, and the city's cap
ture seemed to many residents q
matter of hours. the men of TIL,
: Star stuck to their job of gettint
out a paper to tell the public
the facts.
I Some stories of the period teno
to explode myths cf latter-day
history. 1t now is widely supposed
for instance, that at the time he
made it, Lincoln's Gettysburg Ad-
dress was a flop. The Star re-
ported the President was inter.
Irupted five times by applause
and received long and con-
iItinued" ovation at the end. Some
Historians have it that the speech
| Igot little notice in the press. Blu
!, The Star carried the whole text
Including interesting variations
Jon the schoolbook version. TIL,
long grafton delivered by Edward
!. Everett on the same occasion, t,
which other papers devoted mos
of their space, received not ever
the compliment of paraphras,
in The Star.
The Civil Wars most tragic
postscript was spelled out. il
, minute detail in black -borderee
columns on April 16, 1865. THAI
!, story. incidentally, provided Ths
Star with what might be callee
its first news picture-a round
black ink spot, representing tn.
size of the pistol ball removed
from the body of Presiden
Lincoln after his death in ding!
bedroom across Tenth street from
1.-THE Ford Theater.
/ Mr.. Wallach Grows Weary.
4 From his Office window, in ths
fall of 1867. William Wallacf
could look out over the postwar