Evening Star Newspaper, July 14, 1935, Page 58

N = I8 | The east wing of the building was first occupied by the Secretary of the Interior in 1853. Its exterior walls were constructed of Maryland marble, and the difference between the faces of the old and the new part of the building caused the old part to be painted white to harmonize with the marble. This building has always been spoken of as one of the nest types of architecture in Washington, having been modeled after the Parthe- non, or Temples of Minerva, at Athens. Just how it will look after the F street portico has been abbreviated, is a question we can best answer after the work has been completed. The Pacent Office once housed the Government’s collection of curiosities and in 1842 we find this branch of its activities recognized by Congress, which provided that year for taking care of the natural history specimens THE SUNDAY STA T, P " obtained by the Wilkes exploring ex- | pedition. authorized by Congress in 1836. In 1854 Congress further di- rected that this collection e placed under the care and management of | the commissioner of patents, who was authorized to employ one principal keeper at an annual salary of $800, | one assistant keeper at $750. one night | watchman at $600 and two laborers al | 8365 a year. A total appropriation of | 82,980 for the first year of the nucleus | of the National Museum. For many years here also was housed the original manuseript of the Declaration of Independence, for the restoration of which Congress in 1878 | provided for a commission consisting | of the Secretary of the Interior, the | Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu- on and the Librarian of Congress. Part of Burnes Tract, Site of the Old Paten Office, Was One of Reser- wations Intend- dbyL’E cd by L Enfant A/, to Hold the Na- tional Church, or N ausoleum, W hich Never Materialized. By John Clagett Proctor. |u THE intersection of Ninth and | F streets northwest and its, neighborhood is one of the | busiest business sections of ‘Washington, and one of the oldest as well, although there are many persons who can recall when this part of the city had few business houses and when it was almost entire- ly a residential area. Indeed, even today, many of the stores in this vicin- ity occupy buildings once the homes of prominent Washingtonians, having only been remodeled for business pur- poses in the last 30 or 40 years. One thing we cannot claim for Washington is old age, for the city was not originally provided for by law until 1791, and the Government did not move here until nine years later, previous to which the site was largely made up of forests and farm land. However, what the city lacks in age, it makes up for in a hundred other different ways, and particularly 18 it rich in its historic sites. The old Patent Office, one of the most notable and handsome public buildings in Washington, faces F street. It covers the entire block bounded by F. G, Seventh and Ninth | streets, and bas entrances on all four sides, though some are seldom used. Like nearly all of the early Govern- | ment buildings, it was not erected as we see it all at one time. The first, or F street part, was begun in the Sum- of 1836, and finished in 1842. S had a frontage of 270 feet and ex- wnded back 70 feet, not including e south portico and the north apse. 2R is the F' street portico that is to be restricted in order to widen this thoroughfare, between Seventh and Ninth streets. ' It was designed by William P. Elliott of Elliott & Town, engineers, and executed by Robert Mills. The exterior walls were con- structed of sandstone from the Gov- ernment quarries at Aquia Creek, as | directed by Congress. TB‘E east wing of this old building d was authorized in 1849, and com- menced by Robert Mills, who was succeeded in 1851, by Edward Clark, then assistant and later architect of | the Capitol, who completed this wing about 1853, and the west wing in 1864, and here, on Monday, March 6, 1865, Lincoln's second inaugural ball was held in the north hall, which previous- ly had been used for fairs and other purposes of a patriotic nature. Sad- ness also reigned here during the Civil War, when the north and west wings were taken over for hospital purposes, and used as such from Oc- tober, 1861, to January 16, 1863. Fol- lowing the battle of Antietam, Sep- tember 17, 1862, many of the wounded were taken to the Patent Office Hos- pital, as it was called. . Though the old-timer will always call this building the Patent Office, yet this branch of the Government is no longer located here, having recently been transferred to the Department of Commerce Building. i The site of the Patent Office Was | one of the reservations intended by | | L’Enfant for public purpose, this particular one being for the erection of the National Church or Mauso- ! leum, which, as we know never ma- | terialized. It was & part of the Burns | tract. RIOR to 1836, when construction | work on the Patent Office Build- ing was begun, the ground in this immediate vicinity was occupled by a truck gardener named John Orr| | whose orchard extended mnorth .at least as far as Mt. Vernon Square. Apparently he did not own the land, | and 1f he ever leased it or paid rent for it. as age crept upon him, he was unable to continue to do so, and | finally he was dispossessed. Many years ago, some venerable | person with & mind for the historic, but whose name seems to have been | lost, wrote his recollections of this old man and his garden and orchard, | under the title of “Orr's Troubles and Death.” However, it was not printed at that time, but was later quoted by the late James Croggon, who either did not know the author. or inad- vertently omitted his name. It is a story of an uncompromising rich man getting his pound of flesh near- est the heart. Both have been dead for nearly a century, and if their bodies were disinterred, no doubt what | little there may be still remaining, both would bear a close resemblance. Just where the poor man is buried no one knows. The man of wealth lies buried in a mausoleum. No flowery epitaph for the man of poverty, and the one that was scratched in chalk on the tomb of the rich man many years ago, and still quoted by the old-timer, is not printable. But here is the story of John Orr, as related by one who knew him: “My first acquaintance with this man was in 1821. I had erected two | frame buildings at the corner of Eighth and G streets, directly opposite | to his cabin, which stood on the pub- | lic square. In going and coming from | his orchard he had to pass my house. At first he only gave me a silent salute as he passed, but at length be- came somewhat more familiar. “One day he called on me to tell me of & trick the boys had played him. He said he always carried his musket to the orchard when his fruit was ripe to frighten boys who were stealing his fruit. When engaged in digging he placed his musket on the ground. These chaps had seen this, and, slipping behind him, they stole his musket and were rejoicing over | 1 asked him where he was going so | to see who it was.' In a little while | I saw him returning, driving his cow the exploit. Hearing the noise be- | hind him he went to get his musket. | but soon discovered what had hap- | | pened and started to drive the boys | away. They then twitted him, asking | why he had not loaded his gun that ! morning, and what had become of | the flint, etc. After tiring of that line of petty annoyances they threw the gun over the fence. He took it {up and went to his house. He said | he was very much ashamed that the ‘boys had discovered that the gun was | never loaded and only used to | frighten them. Of course, the gun | had lost its terror. | NOTHER anecdote I will mention. The old man was on his way to| the orchard with his gun on his shoulder, which somewhat astonished | me, as I thought he had laid it aside. early in the morning. ‘Ach,’ said he, ‘somebody has milked our cow for the two last mornings and I am going before him. I inquired if he had seen who had milked the cow. He hesi- | tated for some time before telling me. ‘Indeed I have, sir!' he finally said. ‘It was a large blacksnake. But you must not tell anybody, as the old woman would not be able to sell her milk.’ “Just as I was about to remove| from this part of the city to Capitol | Hill he called on me in a very agi- tated state, with tears glistening in | his eyes. Some one had taken down a large piece of his fence on Seventh | street, which nearly cut his orchard | into two parts. I promised to make some inquiry into this matter. I ascertained that this lot had been sold by Gen. Van Ness to a clerk in| the post office and I went to the gen- eral about the matter, but he did not treat me with much consideration. “This was the commencement of the old man's troubles. Burns, the original owner of this part of the city, had died, and Van Ness, having mar- ried his daughter, became, through her, heir to & large estate. In a few months, after disposing of this lot on Seventh street, he sold the western lot on Ninth street, which took in the fruit tress and the cultivated part of the orchard. This now entirely de- prived Orr of the means of gaining livellhood and practically drove him to despair. He would look over his orchard and throw himself on the ground and there he would lie till his wife would find him, taking him up like & child. “This misfortune was the fatal blow which terminated his existence. Be- fore I had heard of his death he was buried by the corporation as a com- mon pauper in a pauper’s grave. '‘HE working people in the new Patent Office voluntarily erected a small cabin for the widow, into which she was carried, as her cabin had to be removed, and where she lingered but & short time. She was interred near her husband's grave.” Mr, Van Ness did & great deal of charity and his amiable wife, Marcis, the daughter of David Burns, was & real Christian and benefactress and was one of those who helped establish the Washington City Orphan Asylum in 1815, when Dolly Madison was elected first directress and Mrs. Van Noss the sscopd directress. Later, WASHINGTON i EENETTY eorre s okl oo tf Upper, left: west corner of Ninth and F home of George C. Whiting the intersection. Top, center: ! I,I ilitdy o iyl Azmm-r? T . Removal of the St. Cloud Building, south- streets, in 1890. The early at the southwest corner of The Critic Office, home of an early well-known Washington newspaper, Ninth street below F. Upper, right: Old Masonic Temple, northwest corner of Ninth street at F. Lower, left: Burning of the Patent Office, September 24, 1877, from an old print. Lower, right: way, which ran past the old Patent Office. center: Group in front of Seventh street cable rail- Lower, Standiford's Pharmacy, in the old St. Cloud Building, taken in the early 80s. The young man on crutches in front is Eddie Rheem, brother of the late Clarence B. Rheem; the little man to the left of him is J. Fred Kelly, who died recently, and the man next to the boy on the other side of the picture is Harry Standiford, proprietor of the pharmacy. when Mrs. Madison retired, Mrs. Van Ness succeeded her in the higher office. ‘The charities of Mr. Van Ness were | usually well advertised and in this re- | spect he differed decidedly from Sam- | uel Kirby, a well-known cabinet- maker of the early days, who lived on the east side of Eighth street be- | tween D and E streets northwest and had his place of business on the west side of Eighth street in the block to the south. Upon ope occasion Mr. Kirby was deeply offended when he was public- ly thanked for liberally giving to the | church he attended, and could never | be induced to enter the church again, | nor would he contribute further to the | worthy cause. Indeed, he seems to have carried his modesty to the ex- 7 treme, as demonstrated by his ac- tions in another case related by Mrs. Jennie Tree Rives, who tells us that: “He began sending a turkey every Christmas to the Washington Orphan Asylum on H street, between Ninth and Tenth streets, next to the Van | Ness mausoleum. As the number of | children increased, so diu the number of turkeys, until at last a barrelful was needed to supply the demand. Year after year the barrel was sent Christmas eve. One year no barrel came. At the very last minute the matron and manager had to hustle | around to get up a Christmas dinner for the children. When asked why he had not sent the turkeys as usual, he said ‘that women never could keep a secret: that some of the women with their long tongues had told all about Ethiopia Holds Spotlight (Continued From PFirst Page.) | portant requisite to Ethiopian rulers. Throughout his admin- istration as regent Ras Tafarl consummated many treaties with foreign powers, including one of “perpetual friendship” with Italy in 1928, by the terms of which all disputes between the two countries were to be settled by_aribtration. In November, 1930, the Ras Tafari was crowned His Impe- rial Majesty Halle Selassie I, King of Kings of Ethiopia, Con- uering Lion of the ibe of udah. Representatives of vir- tually everz nation in the world attended the ceremonies. During the intervening years the Emperor ¢rndunll¥ has fos- tered improvements in educa- tion, in hospital and public health services, in banking and | in taxation. A year after his coronation he gave his people a constitution and a Parllament. In 1923, as regent, he had suc- ceeded in bringing his country within the membership of the League of Nations. Today, with the motivation for it all somewhat confused, the clouds of war are mixed with the gray skies that ur out their yearly offering to this rough but proud k ingdom. To present his side of the case Mussolini“is sending 225,000 black-shirted young soldiers, a . modern army, equipped for mod- ern warfare, including that of the air. In answer, Haile Selassie, King of Kings of Ethiopia and Con- quering Lion of Judah, points to 800,000 fierce warriors. Although the degree of their equipment for efficient fighting has been (1uemoned, it is the general be- llef that about one-quarter of this army is reasonably well armed. They have some machine guns and few planes. Most im- )eortnnc. however, they have the remendous advantage of ter- rain, which they know well; horses that are adapted to hard travel in the region where they will force the Italians to do most of whatever fighting transpires, and the ability to live off the land with a minimum of diffi- culty, as compared to that which faces any Invadlnfn army and its need of supply lines of many miles. Lovers of raw meat, the Ethiopians thus eliminate on frequent occasions the need of cooking equipment or time. Warfare in this land will not be that of digging trenches and fighting for days and weeks over narrow strips of land; rather it will be that of quick attacks and retreats, a return, perhaps, to the days when cavalry units were most effective. Meanwhile, it rains, steadily and effectively, between Ethiopis and hgr foes. PART FOUR. | the gift of the turkeys, and he didn't | mean to send any more.’ In this case | he was a little unjust tc the women, the secret having leaked out through | the market men. A barrel of turkeys is a good deal for a private individual to buy, and would be apt to cause | | comment, but I never heard that he | sent any more turkeys at Christmas.” | CH’R!ST’XAN HINES in his recollec- tions around the period of 1800 says there were but three frame houses in the block betwcen Eighth and| | Ninth, D and E streets, one of which | was occupied by & Mr. Eakins. one by | Mr. Thecker and the other by 3| | woman whose name he was unable to | recall. He also mentions Mr. Orr as! | living in an old frame house on the | site of the Patent Offize Building, and | to the north of which was Jenkins' | farm. Lambert Tree, who came to Wash- ington from Philadelphia by stage and | | boat in 1820, in 30 hours, tells us that | at that time F street was deemed the boundary of the city “as almost all| | the ground beyond the point was oc- | | cupied by fields of corn or wheat, or, " when not under cultivation, overgrown | with scrub oak and briar bushes. Mr. Tree, who becarae a clerk in the | Washington city post office in 1827. | says that there were only four clerks and a mesgenger employed there at that time, and that only one mail & | day was received from the North and seaboard, and but three a week from the Northwest and Southwest. Three | or four mail pouches anc two or three bags of newspapers comprised the amount forwarded to the East and | North, and about the same amount for the West and South. Ninth and F streets has changed | wonderfully in the past half century, even though two of the corners are | practically the same—the Patent Of- | fice Building and the old Masonic Temple. But back in 1877 for a while it did look like the Government was going to lose one of its best buildings, | together with its great store of patent models, when the building caught fire and did considerable damage before the blaze could be extinguished. As s youngster going to school at old Grace Church, Ninth and 8 streets northwest, the writer recalls witness- ing this fire. It started shortly after 11 o'clock . on September 24, but because the employss thought they could subdue the flames, an alarm was not sounded until 35 minutes after- ward. However, when the knowledge of the fire became general, it must have béen about 12 o'clock, when the noon recess was due. Anyhow, it is | safe to say there was not a corporal’s guard of boys to respond to the school bell at 1 o'clock that afternoon, and, undoubtedly, the same old “Please ex- cuse Johnny” note was handed in the | next morning. ‘THIB was one of Washington's no- | table fires. Martin Cronin was chief of the department at that time, and, upon arriving at the fire, at once turned in a general alarm. BSecretary of the Interior Carl Schurg, who had his office in the building, urged that immediate assistance be requested of Baltimore, and the mayor of that city was accordingly appealed to to send over what firemen and apparatus they could spare. Alexandria also was tele- graphed to for aid and sent the steamer Hydraulion and the relief hook and ladder company with their wc;-uenmuuoumbmua arrived here and got info service about ! 1 o'clock. Fifteen minutes after the Baltimore department was telegraphed to sev- eral pieces of apparatus, including Nos. 1 and 3 steam engines and hose carriages were in the railroad yard. Through what seems to have been stupid handling of the situation the train was delayed in the yard 36 min- utes before starting, not leaving there until 1 p.m., and not arriving in the Washington depot until 2:12 o'clock, taking 1 hour and 6 minutes to make the trip. At the time it was reported that the 40 miles were made in 32 minutes, but obviously this was not so. A second train from Baltimore with engines 3 and 4. beat the first train time by 12 minutes, arriving here in 54 minutes. Upon a previous occa- sion when Baltimore asked help from Washington, the trip was made in 41 i minutes. 1 When the Baltimore engines arrived at the depot. they were drawn from there to the fire by the horses of our | department. In the meantime. the roof of the western wing had fallen in and the fire had made its way along the G street wing toward Sev- | enth street. LTHOUGH this was said to be a | fireproof building, yet the loft under the roof near where the fire had started was mostly filled with immense piles of papers and docu- | ments {rom the bureaus in the lower | part of the building. making an ideal | place for a fire to atart. | As it s0 happened, the nearest place to obtain water, which was from a tank which stood outside the ~3 et Ty PR l\.‘.mfl" o \ ] ohn Orr Once Had a Truck Garden There-- and Plenty of Trouble—Th Building " a. Badly Burned inl1877—Sur- rounded by In- \dences. | 'The late Henry E. Davis was born the neighborhood and in refe | to Georgia to teach school, was lost | :;‘:";:‘::l;’yf T“m“:‘iu:h“(::[ g‘flm!;‘:‘ to the topography of the intersectior says: spread, and it became necessary to go | . - & th it fully 500 feet before water could be | . L 1%‘;%,3;"9’3“;;& il obtained. Although the emploves "r": . existence, 83 the street | worked heroically, yet the handicap Ul 4 'inat point was on a line with w':t"‘;‘?";'"c';fi e oo ival of | the top o those dights, and from that assistance p,'rm‘“ Baltimore, the fire | POINt down to and ;l:’w m: Herndon > USH [ Stre Was ver: was brought under control, but con- | :{;:;E;:; ::;;‘f:g”:' Tpor! e e e Sodbuct for some time after- | yigren in the neighborhood for ¢ : | sledding and sliding. and one of the ::M:‘rd\:nm;n:;f ::v', ;:‘:: 1‘)‘1: chief features of mischief :1-}\ the i ; children in the neighborhood wa: re::lt. w:mg:d]}’o:‘{gcfl::ls;r::‘"lh’: form a slide on P street alongside t Was no 3 r House and make the place flames were such national treasures ifl:l?ggfl\_m:;m e g e Al as the Declaration of Independence. ;md much amusement lurking now on exhibition in the Library of |about in the shadows and watc Congress; :’"fl"éfiz?i . :fi:lfifixfi I the unwary pedestrians fall and bump as commander - S deee the Bl can forces, his uniform and his camp ‘me_" WAy down ¢ ev 3 ¢ Chosts the coat; Gien Jackuon wore at| . The scuthesss comer was oace the Bate of New Orieans, and many | FECNE, (0 1y i old buil il | nt Mason, n st relcs and trophies, nchuding | [0y i & prance e B 0 Saoqn | onucted aame ot Dis carlove, ice R it i maae | st eperiments eilc attending the © | Bliss Electrical School. It was here fig;"‘l’:n‘M"‘;;’:';:i:ug’z‘:“g; &‘;i&"e’“ [ that he perfected his first invention Y+ | in television. who went | Hhe Xapkee D | Many a former newsboy—now in all likelihood a granddaddy, will recall” in the flames. | One may get an idea of the intense | the old Critic Office, close to the heat from the fire when he is told | Gavety Theater. Brad Adams' and that the occupants of the houses op- | Tharps’ on F street, east of Ninth: ite the Patent Office on the Ninth | Von der Heide's, next north of the e | Masonic Temple, and La Fetra's close street side only saved their property | o ey it the fire’ Trom; pteading by |0V PUsier UD the strot, fust aboye he suspending wet quilts from the roof of their dwellings. On the G street side the heat was just as great, and for a time it was thought that the Thompson and ‘Wright Buildings must go, but these | also were saved by excellent work and the fire prevented from spreading to adjoining property. oY THE northwest corner of Ninth and P streets, prior to the clear- ing of the site for the Masonic Tem- | ple in 1868, stood the Model House. “a blueish-gray brick,” as described by Henry E. Davis. It was practically the old-time tavern, was well built and quite large for that time. In| 1860 Seth W. Kipp and Albert Brewer were its proprietors. In 1865 Brewer had dropped out of the firm and his name ‘does not appear in the city | directory. A son, by the same name, | & member of the Metropolitan police force, was then residing at the Model House, The Herndon House which preceded | the St. Cloud Building was of brick, and, in 1865, was being conducted by | P. G, Murray. Many will recall it as the St. Cloud Building, razed in 1890, to make way for the Washington Loan & Trust Co., whose granite building has since that year occupied this corner. by. G street was Freunds' and opposite, | where 15 now the moving picture house. stood for many years a bulld- ing in which Alexander R. Shepherd once lived. This is indeed an old neighborhood and there is much to say about it; entirely too much for one story. —_— Population Decrease Feared. THE Agricultural Adjustment Ad- ministration takes note, with some concern, that there is likely to be a decrease in population in the United States after another year or two, un- less foreign immigration is permitted. There may have been some increase in births during the past year, but it is considered doubtful if that trend continues after this year. In general, the birth rate on the farms is about double the deaths, but in the cities deaths are exceeding births at the ratio of 3 to 2. The concern the Consumers’ Guide feels s on the effect a declining birth rate will have on the farms. The general trend has been to less con- sumption of food per person, and if the number of inhabitants falls off ther decline. & - . teresting Rest-" . the need for farm products will fur- ©