Evening star. [volume], February 22, 1936, Page A-5, Image 5

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
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Diary Discloses His Interest
in Commercial Catches
in Potomac.
A common bond between George
Washington and local fishermen was
revealed today by Charles E. Jack
son, Deputy Commissioner of Fish
eries.
The current popularity of commer
Bial shad fishing in the Potomac and
Tidal Basin recalled to Jackson that
the first President operated one of
the first fisheries in the country at
his Mount Vernon estate. Washing
ton’s diary comments on shad catch
ing in much the same manner as
might fishermen of today—making
allowances for modes of expression
in vogue between 1748 and 1799.
“Many fish caught today,” he wrote
on April 30, 1787. But then comes
the depressing information, doubt
lessly experienced by “shadders” of
1936: “No demand for them; salting
them up.”
A few days earlier he had written:
“The Shad began to run today, hav
ing caught 100, 200 and 300 at a
draught.”
The squire of Mount Vernon re
ferred frequently to his fish house, a
building probably used for storage of j
nets and equipment and for salting ]
his surplus catch. He seems to have
employed numerous persons for fish
ery work.
“No Fish Today.”
“No fish being caught today,” he ,
wrote on May 5, 1788. “I ordered the !
i Hogsheads, and everything else to be |
secured, and the People to repair to I
their respective places and busi- j
nesses.”
The presence of a bountiful supply
of fish in the Potomac during Wash
ington's time, when there was no pol
lution and only a few engaged in the
industry, is evidenced by a diary j
entry of April 14, 1788. which reports
a catc'. of 50,000 herring. Washing
ton, the fishery owner, complains at
one time of catching “only” 30,000
fish during one night. “No great hand
made of fishing,” he wrote that day.
Other diary entries show he leased
fishing rights and privileges on his
Potomac shores and caught species
of fish long since exhausted. He
speaks of catching sturgeon, sheeps
t head and whitefish. There is no rec
ord of sheepshead being caught in
the Potomac since 1880, according to
Jackson. Practically no sturgeon are
taken in the upper reaches of the
Potomac today, statistics of 1933
showing 125 pounds, or only about
two or three fish, taken.
Disorderly Ovsterman.
Washington's intimate accounts of
his trials and tribulations as a fish
ery manager would delight anglers of
today. On January 3. 1760, he evi
dently was annoyed by an unman
nerly visitor in his waters, for he
wrote: “Hauld the Sein and got some
fish, but was near being disappointed
of my Boat by means of an Oyster
Man, who had lain at my landing and
plagued me a good deal by his dis
orderly behavior.”
He fished for sturgeon “from
breakfast to dinner” May 16. 1768,
“but catchd none.” Other sample ob
servations include:
“April 11, 1769—Tire Whitefish ran
plentifully at my Sein landing, hav
ing catchd abt. 300 at one Hawl.
“July 17, 1773—Went down to
Colo. Fairfax's White House to haul
the Sein, returned to Dinner.
“April 23. 1787—But poor success
In fishing today.”
iiaiuntigwji n a.' wvm,vtu lu liavv.
marketed his fish in Baltimore,
though he probably disposed of some
at Georgetown and Alexandria, ac
cording to Jackson. It is also thought
that he salted large quantities of fish
which were used in feeding his own
slaves and perhaps those of his
neighbors. Fried fish is a great deli
cacy among colored folk.
Like Fishing as Sport.
In addition to commercial fishing,
the first President was interested in
fishing for sport and refers in his
diary to several expeditions with
friends and to an exceptionally large
catfish that he and a neighbor
caught. On May 13, 1768, he noted:
“Went after Sturgeon and a-gun
ning.”
Washington listed among his equip
ment for a trip in the Fall of 1784
•'fishing lines in canteens, madeira
and port wine, cherry bounce, and
oyl, mustard, vinegar, and spices of
•11 sorts.”
Jackson’s bureau wishes devoutly
that fishing in the Potomac was as
good as during Washington's time.
The shad run is decreasing “in spite
of everything we can do,” it mourns,
attributing the decrease to heavy pol
lution of the Potomac by domestic
sewage from the District and other
communities upstream.
--•
DR. R. W. WEAVER
ANNOUNCES TOPIC
Representative W. L. Nelson to
Be Guest Speaker at Missouri
Day Service.
“Christian Conquests Conditioned
by Co-ordination and Co-operation,”
in his sermon series on “Evangelical
Emphases,” will be the subject of Dr.
Rufus W. Weaver at the First Baptist
Church tomorrow morning. Missouri
day will be observed and Representa
tive William L. Nelson of Missouri will
. be the guest speaker. All persons from
that State are especially invited.
Swedish services will be held in the
afternoon. Dr. K. E. Carlson preaching.
"Is Parliamentary Government
Doomed?” will be the subject discussed
at the evening service by Dr. Arthur
Deerin Call, secretary of the American
Peace Society, this being one of the
monthly Religious Liberty Forum series
conducted by the church, in which a
number of well-known speakers have
participated.
Next Friday and Saturday evenings
the Wigs and Queues Dramatic Club
will present a three-act play, "Her
Emergency Family,” under the spon
sorship of the B. Y. P. U. Members
of the Euzelian Class will conduct a
service at Ivakota Farm tomorrow.
The Executive Council will meet Mon
day evening and Thursday evening
Dr. Weaver will speak on “The Baptist
Interpretation of the Christian Faith.”
Gold Seekers Dig Crops.
A gold rush may cause a crop short
age at Harrismith, South Africa. AH
the old legends about treasure having
been buried in the town and district
during the Anglo-Boer War were re
vived when a gardener dug up a
- double-shafted'Kruger half sovereign
gold piece in a potato field. Within
* half an hour every potato, still dh
n#e, had been dug up.
Washington Wayside
Random Observations of Interesting
Events and Things. i
IT WAS George Washington-Sol
Bloom-George Washington-sllver
dollar day at this end of the tele
phone yesterday.
Most interesting call was that from
Robert Hanson, who said George
Washington couldn’t possibly have
thrown a dollar across the Rappa
hannock because there were no dol
lars. Washington was supposed to
have accomplished the feat during his
childhood and the first dollar was not
minted, Mr Hanson said, until 1794.
The Treasury Department said it
was 1793, but that's hair-splitting.
Washington might have thrown a
Spanish piece-of-eight, though, the
Treasury added in voice that indicated
it liked its illusions.
* * * *
GAMBLE.
Senator Key Pitman, Nevada
silver enthusiast, tvill make a nickel
if Walter Johnson throws that dol
lar across the river today. If the
former Griff star fails, the Senator
will lose a dollar.
The Senator, who is perhaps the
world’s most enthusiastic 'friend of
silver dollars, regardless of when
they are minted, offered a young
lady odds of 20 to 1 that Johnson
ivould land the dollar on the other
bank.
* * * *
WRONG NUMBER.
^yiTHOUT comment, we give you
the following explicit directions
given Department of Commerce per
sonnel for the handling of that ma
chine, the dial telephone:
Obtain the correct number from
the directory before dialing. If your j
finger slips, or if you have made a i
mistake, replace the receiver, then re- |
move it and dial the complete number
again. Do not remove the dial or the j
receiver hook while talking. Now if j
the line dialed is busy, a busy signal j
(a rapid intermittent tone) will be 1
heard. In such cases, hang up the
receiver, waiting a reasonable time j
and call again. If the line dialed is
not busy, a ringing signal (a slow in
termittent tone) will be heard.
t$owT»
Ute PiM
iTtLtWowE
For calls to other telephones in the
Commerce Building: Example—A call
for extension 653. Remove receiver
and listen for dial tone. Place finger
in the opening through which figure
"6” is seen and pull dial around to
finger stop; release dial and let it re
turn to normal; dial the remaining
figures in a similar manner.
It goes on from there, but we won’t.
* * * *
CLEAN-UP.
'T'HIS sounds like the Spring house
cleaning outlay for Paul Bunyan’s
logging camp. However, it’s the way
Arthur Cook, engineer at the Capitol,
budgets for keeping things clean on
the Hill:
Forty-five women. 34 men. 22 bar
rels of soap powder, 1.000 big cakes
laundry soap, 120 gallons cleaning
paste, 2 gross special window-washing
soap, 12 dozen 24-inch hair brooms. !
6 dozen straw brooms, hundreds of j
yards of cheesecloth. 5 bales blanket i
ends, dozens of counter dusters, dust
pans and scrub buckets.
The latter, by the way. are made
in the Capitol’s own machine shop,
and are kept pretty well on the go
all night long in the process of wash- !
r-—-1
Christian Endeavor
Senior Endeavorers at New York
Avenue Presbyterian Church will hold
their annual banquet at the church
Tuesday at 6 p.m. Representatives
of the group will conduct a worship
service at the Industrial Home School
tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.
“Foursquare Clan” will have charge
of the young people's Endeavor group
at First Brethren tomorrow at 6:45
p.m. Robert Heimer will supervise
the discussion period. A Leap Year
social will be held at the home of
Wade Koontz. 1613 Trinidad avenue
northeast, February 29.
C. E. Players of Rhode Island Ave
nue M. P. Church will present, “How
Dare You." Friday and Saturday at
8 p.m. in the Sunday school room. *
Intermediate Endeavorers at Al
bright Memorial Evangelical Church
will be led by Leonard Bowen tomor
row’ at 7 p.m. in discussing the theme,
“Why Should We Give Money to God
and How Much?"
Tomorrow evening following the tea
and social period from 6 to 7 o'clock
the Covenant Fellowship Group of
Covenant-First Presbyterian will hear
Marjorie Heflebower speak on “Great
Men Believe.” William B. Drysdale
will lead the Westminster Club in dis
cussing “Religion of Lincoln and
Washington.”
Featured at the March Senior
Union rally will be a music festival
participated in by representatives from
numerous member societies of the
union. Luther Place Memorial will
be the scene of the rally March 2 at
8 p.m. Jesse Stimson at 703 Emer
son street or Adams 3663 will place
any interested parties on the pro
gram. The monthly board session will
be held at the latter’s home Monday
at 7:45 pm.
“Christian Youth in Action” will
be the theme of a conference spon
sored by the Washington Youth Coun
cil at the Mount Vernon Place M.
E. Church South, Friday, Saturday
and Sunday. Delegates from the
various Endeavor groups are requested
to forward registrations with the fee
to Martha Winters, 503 McLachlen
Building, at once. Reservations for
the banquet at 6 p.m. Friday in he
Vermont Avenue Christian Church are
limited, and should be made early.
Raymond H. Firth is conference
chairman.
“DESTINY OF JUDAS’'
Rev. J. H. Miers Will Preach on
Topic Tomorrow Morningf.
At the-Fourth Presbyterian Church
tomorrow at li o'clock Rev. James H.
Miers will preach on “The Destiny of
Judas.” This sermon will be broad
cast over station WOL from 11:30
to 12.
In the evening he will preach on
“The Restoration of Israel,” and de
liver the monthly prophetic study of
the signs of the times.
Monday evening Dr. Miers will speak
in the weekly study course on the
Book of Revelations on “Further In
formation About the New Jerusalem
During the Millennium.” *.
The Greek class is discontinued for
the term.
ing and polishing the miles and miles
of floor and desk space Inside the big
building.
* * * *
CAMERA.
Assistant Solicitor Thomas J. Mur
ray of the Post Office Department
knows now that a tripod and black box
doesn’t necessarily add up to a camera.
Conducting a mail fraud hearing a
few days ago, Murray's sense of pro
priety was outraged when a stranger
entered and without so much as a
by your leave started setting up an
apparatus that bore all the earmarks
of a photographic layout.
Quickly the official protested that
“no pictures” could be taken.
“But I am not taking a picture,
sir—this is a stenotype machine. I
am here to record the testimony in
this case” was the response that sent
a chuckle through the room, in which
Murray joined.
BLUNDER BOOK.
The Federal code is about the
last place where mistakes might be
expected to crop up, but the pres
ent 2,300-page volume lists no less
than 57 on a flyleaf inserted after
publication, and others are de
tected from time to time. Mis
spelled words, incorrect punctua
tion and omissions arc included in
the errata.
* * * *
CRITIC,
'T'HE visitor from Richmond was be
ing shown the Capital’s sights.
His guide pointed out the statue ol
Gen. George B. McClellan at the junc
tion of Connecticut avenue and Co
lumbia road, with the general looking
down the avenue toward the city and
the two thoroughfares branching out
behind him.
"I see,” sniffed the visitor, evidently
not unfamiliar with the campaign on
the peninsula, "One avenue of ap
proach, two of retreat.”
^ _ — T -
WORT MEASURE]
UP TOROOSEVELT
Bill Gives Traffic Control
to Commerce De
partment.
President Roosevelt Is scheduled to
receive today a bill providing for rigid
control under supervision of the Com
merce Department of ground and air
traffic at Washington Airport.
The measure completed its legisla
tive journey late yesterday when the
House, without debate, concurred in
amendments approved by the Senate.
The new resolution, seventh intro
duced in Congress dealing with the
Washington Airport emergency in less
than two weeks, relieves the War De
partment of responsibility for con
trolling Military Road traffic which
has been held a hazard to air trans
portation.
It provides that traffic lights, bar
ricades and guards may be maintained
by Washnigton Airport with approval
of the Commerce Department and
provides penalties of $500 fine or six
months imprisonment for violation of
the traffic rules which may be estab
lished to safeguard traffic using the
intersection of Military Road with the
Washington Airport runway.
In approving the Senate amend
ments, the House receded from pro
visions of its bill putting responsibility
for Military Road traffic control on
the War Department and permitting
the Secretary of War to close Military j
Road if deemed necessary. The new j
measure provides that Military Road
shall remain open.
- .- •
JURY PICKED FOR GIRL
Oklahoma Trial in Father Slaying
Begins.
ANADARKO, Okla., February 22
<.•?) —Ten farmers, a real estate dealer j
and a druggist will decide the fate j
of Emma Willis, 38, accused of killing j
her share-cropper father, Iddish H.
Willis, 52, with a shotgun after he
| refused to let her have a “date.”
The jury was completed ftate yes- j
terday while spectators jostled to get j
better views of Miss Willis. The de- |
fense will plead temporary insanity. |
Opening of testimony was delayed until |
1 Monday
ONE-DAY
SPECIALS
MONDAY ONLY
—important highlights
of the
4^W/UiAf€^05rlJL|
Beginning Monday and each day, next week, we will offer a limited number
of ONE DAY SPECIALS. Quantities in most cases will be limited—and the prices are
so much lower than usual that we can offer them ONLY ON THE ONE DAY for which the
merchandise is advertised. These eight are on sale Monday only.
Cray Goose Feather Pillows
Would Regularly Be Higher Priced
Plump, soft pillows of grey goose feathers, covered with
a feather-proof, striped ticking of excellent quality.
21x27 inch size. Special_
Bedding, Sixth Floor.
Monogrammed Playing Cards
Would Regularly Be Higher Priced
Brevoort cards, individualized with vour initials. Three
initials on blue and red or green and melon cards. One
week will be required for delivery, and telephone or C
C. 0. D. orders cannot be accepted. Box of two decks,
special _
Stationery Atstfs 4 ant» fi ant> Oifts Aisle 14 First Floor.
Printed Bemberg Chiffon
Regularly SI yard
Floral and geometric patterns on colored or white grounds. ^
A chiffon that can be washed, if given reasonable care. 42 5^ C
inches wide. Yard, special_
Synthetics, Second Floor.
Priscilla Sewing Cabinets
Would Regularly Be Higher Priced
Three styles in easily carried cabinets, in maple or walnut ■■ mm
finish. With tray for thread, needles and other sewing /
aids. Special_ "
Notions, Aisles 21 and 22. First Floor.
New Spring Sports Coats
Regularly $16,95
The nicely tailored Westburv coats, exclusive with us in
Washington. English topper, swagger and fitted models
in Galterry, Shetland, ombre plaid and monotone tweeds.
In rose', gray, brown, tan, natural and blue. Three- ,75
quarter and seven-eighths lengths, all Earl-glo lined.
Sizes 12 to 20 and 38 to 42. Special_
Misses’ and women’s Coats, Third Floor.
Babies' Hieh Chairs
o
Would Regularly Be Higher Priced
A particularly good value is this chair with sturdy
wooden back. The detachable tray has the smoothly up
curved edges that mothers know are so much nicer for <£ Q ^
baby’s play—and so much easier to clean, too. In maple
or ivory finish. Special -
Infants’ Furniture, Fourth Floor.
*
IN THE DOWN STAIRS STORE
_/■,
%
Percale Hooverettes
Regularly $1.58
\ Bright floral prints, cheerful checks or stripes in green,
orchid, red, navy, copen and brown. Some sleeveless, others
short-sleeved styles—in those popular house frocks. Special
Down Stairs Store, Inexpensive Dresses.
Swan Ray (Rayon) Slips
Regularly $1
The much liked tailored and lace-trimmed slips in smooth,
dull-finish rayon crepe. Full cut, with double-stitched
seams in tailored and lace trimmed styles. Bias cut in
tailored or lacy vee-top, plain or appliqued, and lace
trimmed straight-top styles. Also, a straight-cut, straight- "TF P"
top tailored style. White and tearose; sizes 34 to 44. M
Special _ *
Down Stairs Store.
_A*v \
Woodward & Lothrop
* to™ 11™F»md G Streets Pho« District 8300
Our Dry
Cleaning Plant
Offers These
Specials for the 56th
Anniversary Selling
Gloves cleaned, any style. Special
18c a pair
Men's Ties cleaned and expertly
pressed. Special
10c each, 6 for 50c
Dry Cleaning Receiving Desk, 11th and G Streets
Corner, First Floor.
1
WOODWARD & LOTHROP
10’* 11” F AND G Streets Phone district 5300
On Monday
Mr. John W. Higgins
Expert fitter and representative from the
= Matrix factory will be in the Men’s Store
to advise you how to remedy your foot
troubles and to explain why
Matrix Shoes
for Men
Regularly $10. Specially $7-95
priced in the Anniversary g
# Give immediate foot
comfort
0 Are smartly styled
0 Are “Your Footprint in
Leather”
See him about your foot difficulties and let
him show you the exclusive Matrix innersole
I that conforms to and supports every curve
■ and arch of your foot ... a health feature
that has brought relief and comfort to
thousands of tired and aching feet.
The Men’s Store, Second Floor.
h ,j&
- -————————