Evening star., 1952-01-01
Continued From First Page. }

several inches, with six columns
to the page in place of the orig
inal five. Its news coverage, both
local and national, had improved.
Its editorials exuded Self-confi-
dence. 1t was to be made "em-
phatically THE Washington news
paper of the day."
Subscriptions Pour In.
The new Star no sooner had ap-
peared than subscription orders
began pouring in. Within a few
days the publishers were antici-
pating a subscription list greater
than all the city papers combined
tan anticipation not to be real
lied for several years.. 1t had
been proved beyond the shadow
of doubt" they reported, "that
the people of the District of CO.
lumbia will support in a hand
some manner properly conduct
ed penny paper"
AS editor of The Star, Mr.. Wal
ZACH kept sharp eye out for
talented help. Among the first
additions to the papers payroll
in 1853 was a 28-year-old man
named Crosby Stuart Noyes, hired
to set up carrier system de-
manded by The Stars new popu-
larity.
Mr.. NoyeS was comparative
newcomer to the city. He had
set out from his native Maine in
1847 in search of a warmer cli-
mate. He had arrived in Wash
ington on New Years eve with
$1.61 in his pocket, hitching a
ride on farmers wagon. For
several months, he had earned a
slender living working for Joe
Shillington, a bookseller at Penn
Sylvania avenue and Four-and-a-
half street. He had edged into
the newspaper business by serving
as route agent for the Baltimore
Sun, holding down a job on a
weekly called the Washington
News and writing regular news
letters for a string of New Eng
land papers and the Saturday Eve
ming Post at 81 a column.
Gets Weekly Salary of $12.
The Star seemed to offer greater
possibilities. After completing his
first assignment, Crosby Noyes
took on the job of general utility
man, assistant editor, reporter and
whatnot" at salary of $12 week.
BY that time, The Star had
moved into a small building that
once had served as blacksmith S
shop, on D street between Twelfth
and Thirteenth. Editorial, busi-
ness and composing room employees
numbering IL men in all
worked together in the loft,
reached by rickety outside stair
case. The press was housed in
a shed at the rear.
The papers editorial staff con-
sisted of Messrs. Wallach, Noyes
and Bill Tucker, the last having
survived the transfer of owner
ship. Mr.. Wallach had a habit of
leaving Unexpectedly to look after
things on his Maryland farm, and
Mr.. Tucker was subject to epilep-
tic seizures. Mr.. Noyes found his
work strenuous but interesting.
His workday started at 7 am.
when, dinnerpail in hand, he
showed up to report proceedings
at the old Central Guard House.
The small brick building which
served as a police lookup was
located in the Center Market,
where the Archives Building now
stands. From there he hot-footed
to The Star Office to get up the
editorial column, and clip and
condense the news exchanges. I"
ReporterS borrowed literally
from other papers in those days. :.
He selected the days literary diet
and wrote a number of short par
agraphs of general information
for filters.
End of Days Work.
After making the rounds of Gov
ernment departments and the
Capitol. he returned to the Office
to see to the makeup of the paper
and superintend its printing. Then
he reported to the editor on the
days receipts. Evenings were
spent covering various meetings
and checking the hotels for new
arrivals. The days work usually
wound up around midnight.
In September, 1854, The Star
took up new quarters at the
southwest corner of Pennsylvania
avenue and Eleventh street, the
site of what is now the Old Post
Office Department building. The
three-story brick structure, the
papers home for the next q
years, was then considered one
of the most imposing in the city.
In addition to The Star, it housed
an auction parlor, book store
and, at one period, hotel. Ad-
joining was a variety theater-
the stage served as ceiling to The
Stars press room. The composing
room on the third floor was heat
ed by an old-time cylinder stove,
around which the printers gath
cred on cold mornings to warm
their fingers and steel sticks be-
fore handSetting the days paper.
In very cold weather a wood fire.
place cast a CHEEKY glow.
In spite of it's limited staff, The
Star quickly moved ahead in
news gathering. 1t served as the
only Washington outlet for the
old Associated Press-a forerun-
ner of the modern press services
led by a group of New York pa
pers. 1t elbowed its way into the
field of political reporting, once
monopolized by the Congressional
Globe. There was no Congress
Sional Record in those days, and
The Stars interpretive summaries
of daily doingS on Capitol Hill