Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 1961)
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27. 1961 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. ORE. They're something special at SAFEWAY IT r XI .sCI VIL WAR 'MISERABLE VILLAGE' On the even ning of the Civil War, Washington was a city of 60,000 persons, shot through with and entirely surrounded by secessionists. To the west, north and east was Maryland, which was temporarily dominated by South ern sympathizers, and to the south was Vir ginia, rocking on the brink of secession.' Flocks' of geese wandered along Pennsyl- ania ave. and pigs wallowed around the Capitol. John Hay, one of President Lin coln's secretaries, called Washington a "mis erable sprawling village." The sketch above was made from a balloon in early 1861 and shows the still unfinished Capitol dominat ing the "village." (UPI Telephoto) Life in 'Miserable Village' UPI Correipondent s By MERTON T. AKERS r Washington on the eve of the Civil war was a one-paved-street city of 60,000 shot . through and entirely turrounded by secessionists Flanked on the west, north and east by Maryland, which was temporarily dominated by southern sympathizers, and on the south by Virginia, rocking on the brink of seces sion, Washington was a be leaguered capital. Perhaps half of the city was secessionist or In sympathy with the South. Its one rail road connecting it with the North ran through Maryland, with a branch to the west Into Ohio and another cast to Annapolis from a V Junction north of the city. Southern sympathizers in Maryland could isolate the capital at will by cutting the railroad Garrison It Small . ; At .the- start of 1881 the Washington "garrison" con sisted of a few War Depart ment officers, 300 Marines, three officers and 53 enlisted men of the Ordnance Depart ment and four under-strenglh militia companies. Along the one paved street. Pennsylvania Ave. the blue cockades . of secession could be bought at newspaper stands. ; , -,- . , . j ' The cobblestones of Penn sylvania Ave. were hard to detect under the dust (in the summer) and mud (in the winter). Big chuck holes yawned for the unwary omni bus driver or day dreaming horseback rider. , Flocks of geese wondered along the avenue or along any other street that suited their fancy. Pigs wallowed around the Capitol and Judiciary Square. Tiber Creek meandered along the Mall, "floating (with) dead cats and all kinds of putridity and reeking with pestilential - odors." Residents dumped slop In. the gutters and their dead animals into the creek.. John Hay, one of President ' Lincoln s secretar ies, wrote that the south win dows of the White (pest) House let in the "ghosts of 20,000 drowned cats." - There was a rudimentary water system but most people depended on wells and springs for drinking water.; Two sketchy sewers backed up in basements more often than they drained. The area along the Potomac river was considered uncommonly un healthy. A contemporary guide book dismissed this health hazard, saying that while "bilious and intermit ting fevers prevail to a con siderable extent, , the ma larial influences do not last long and those who have be come acclimated are seldom subjected to these diseases." Streets Wrecked Coaches Besides omnibuses, the cap ital had a new horse-drawn street car system, promoted by Jay Cooke, the New York banker, but the citizens gen erally disdained it, calling it a "Yankee invention." Omni buses would angle across the street to pick up passengers and that saved boot shines and hoop skirt hems from mud or dust. ' A newspaper Invited at tention to the condition of F st. at 11th. A half dozen coaches were "shipwrecked" there In one day. : One be longed to a foreign diplomat. "The coach settled into the mud up to the axle," the newspaper said, "One of the distinguished . occupants was rescued by a huge Negro, who, wading leg deep to the coach, brought the foreign of ficer in full diplomatic re galia through the sea of mud on his back to terra firma. The other occupant plunged into the muddy chasm, and came out safe - but with the mud hanging sadly on his gay costume." - There were upwards of 60 hotels, nearly all of them boarding houses for govern ment employes and congress men. Fanciest was Willard's at 14th and F sts., the same site but not the same building as the Wlllard hotel now. Wil lard's could, and frequently did, serve meals to 1,500 per sons a day. It was the gather ing place for officials, politi cians and newspapermen, es pecially for - breakfast when ;the; menus . featured : fried oysters, steak, and onions, blanc mangeahd pate de fois gras.. (O n e .restaurant Harvey's- employed : 20 oyster shuckers to keep up with demand.) , ' Tourist Sights Were Few , The National and the Metropolitan hotels stood on -opposite corners of 6th st.- and Pennsylvania ave and were favored by southerners. The National had suffered an eclipse at the time of Presi dent Buchanan's inaugural. The President - and other guests caught an intestinal malady there which became known as "National disease. Old Buck's" nephew died of the disease,1 which some said was the result of a black Republican plot, but, more moderate people thought it was caused by defective sew ers. By war time the National again was popular The standard tourist route covered six spots the Capl tol, the While House (called the Executive Mansion then, the Smithsonian Institution, the Post Office building, the Patent Office and the new Treasury building. Few went to see the un finished Washington M o n u- ment, a i "factory chimney with the top cut off." The Senate and House wings of the Capitol were new and attracted the largest crowds with their paintings and marble halls, although only three of the 100 corin thian columns wore In place. The dome was being rebuilt and was crowned with a con struction crane. Crawford's statue of Armed Liberty lay on the lawn, eventually to top the new dome. Symbolic, some said. , Grccnough's great 12-ton statue of George Washington, at the Capitol, with the "Father of his Country" naked to the waist and draped in a Roman toga, drew some comment, mostly ri bald, from tourists. Labeled 'Miserable Village' Hay summed up Washing ton as "this miserable sprawl ing village which Imagines It self a city because it is wicked, as a boy thinks he Is a man because he smokes nnd swears." -1- . This "miserable village" seethed with alarms of threat- OE Something New in TOTAL COVERAGE Phone SP 3-7325 "For Your Insurance" 0Ea0E30EX0 ened uprisings, plots to over throw the government, con spiracies to kidnap the Presi dent and plans - for seizing the Treasury. It was a pick-your-own-rumor time. President Buchanan thought something needed doing about it and called on old Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott. Scott in turn called in a West Pointer and Mexican War veteran, Charles P. Stone, to reorga nize the District of Columbia militia which was heavily in filtrated by southern sympa thizers. Col. Stone went to work with speed and dispatch. Backed by Joseph Holt, sec retary of war, and at one critical point by the Presi dent, Stone by the March 4 Inaugural ot Lincoln had purged secessionists from the militia and organized enough new units to furnish most of the inaugural guards, ; , He ran up against deter mined southern opposition..' . After Ft. Sumter was fired on, 16 companies of Stone's militia were the first to be mustered into federal .service. District Youth Rally Set Tonight The First Assembly of God', 1108 West Main si.,' will, be host to a monthly district youth rally, Monday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m., according to Ger ald Smith) president, of the local Christ Ambassadors group. Churches from throughout the valley will participate. ' A combined orchestra from the different churches will provide the music. Guest speaker for the evening, will be the Rev. Elwood Irby, Jacksonville Assembly of God. A trophy will be awarded to the group with the highest total of points, based on the percentage of their members present. Tills will include orchestra members and visi tors, lt was announced.- Will Your Grandchildren Forget God? Nikita Khrushchev hat said, -"Your Grandchildren will grow up under Communiimi" If that's true, your grandchildren will forget God . . . will never go to church . . . will lie in a world of Godless atheism. "Nev er," you say. Bui are you sure? Are you doing anything to prevent ... to oppose Commu nism? One sure way is to help RADIO FREE EUROPE. RFE broadcasts truth from the Free World to 79 million people in captive nations behind the Iron Curtain. 79 million people who are vital to the cause of freedom because they create a buffer one between Russia and the Free World . . . a zone that ties up JO Russian Divisions . . . keeps Russia from starting a war. There's only one catch RFE needs your support to continue on the air. How about it? Will you help light Communism? Se cure the future of your children? Your dimes, your quarters, your dollars help to keep freedom alive in the world. Stnd your cnlribuHM (D.nl woH I ht mtM) tm Radio Free Europe Fund Ntw York City Published public strvie In cooper t ton with Tnt Advertising Council and th Newspaper Adverttltnf Executives Association. l7 JJ!t W Ih hills bros Asparagus U U COFFEE Chunk Tunas.,,,., 4tr$1 "Indian River" . ' ..7 for I Re9.or . A it, i CM IT I SD3ghGtti Franeo-American 7 cans $1 Drip, 21b. J! 17 I 0 ,A 1 :;. . . ... r m - . wnppnn .. - - nun mr 1 1 .' 1 iieoouii wii at. w lb. 72 I Pase - . . I O 9- ' Ofti I r 1 1 tt I olid ,-.'Xi heads 7 ' ctiwaras vOTTee i , I Why pay more? 2-lb. CQ 3 for 25 V I Limit'plea"-. - . " Our banana experts start by selecting the plumpest, most perfect, fully-mature green bananas grown. They place this fruit gently into our own temperature-controlled rooms for just the time needed to slowly ripen "from inside 6ut." Carefully, the delicate fruit is packed for the smooth ride to our store near you, where you'll find it something special Fresh California Grapefruit Cabbage LJ-. I I ' Crisp, Bell Peppers Grand stuffed Wesson Oil Frilit Sfllfld Del Monte-303 Can 4. for $1 Quaker ' Reg. or Quick : .' pkg. 43c Prune Juice Del Mont - 32-oi. 49c Pullman WhitesMar B;Soaf 33c Safeway Meats are GUARANTEED to please! Canned Pop Cragmont Mayonnaise Best Foods linrpokedl Picnics A smackin' good smokehouse buy! Mild yet full and rich in' flavor '. i '.. that's 'what you'll enjoy when you buy a Safeway fully-smoked pork shoulder. Short shanked, medium size . ..'and a sensational LOW' price! Beef Sausage Delicately seasoned pure beef . . . grand for any meal. Slice-off. rolls. 3 - H lb. dJ & 12-oz. can 10c qt. 59c Cigarettes SS' j. 51-69 Co Ira USv Swansdown White, .; OOrt VdlVC ml Yellow, Chocolate pkg. wG Fresh Frozen Spruce Brand '. Mandarin Oranges 8 $1 Carnation Milk 2c29c 15-oi. Can Bockwurst Fresh, mild flavor . . like weiners and serve, like weiner and serve. lb. 69- Fresh Oysters Finest medium size Pacific oy sters. Perfect for tasty stew. ' 12-oz. EC jar , 4F Friskies Dog Food ; 2 f029c Facial Soap Brocade 10 pbka8r 49c Friskies Meal or Cubes 10b'abg$1.29 Chun King vtablL 303 can 31 c Fels Naptha i Pkfl 65c Wisk Liquid SS, t $U7 "USDA CHOICE' beef , ... . scientifically aged and carefully trimmed before weighing. Blade cuts. t Breaded Shrimp t" 98 Trophy brand frozen . , . cooked and shelled. So easy to prepare; fresh flavor. Safeway's own cottage cheese . . . you'll taste the superior flavor and quality. A style to suit every taste . . . Large curd,- Farmer style, Chive, Low-Calorie, and fruit salad. Half Gal. 98 s. 49c Pint Veal Steaks 6 for 1 Lucerne "AA" Butter Finest quality sweet cream butter. Regularly 73c. Limit, please Manor House frozen individual steaks . . . perfect for a quick meal. 3 oz. each. . Coldbrook Colored cubes Beef Pol Roast 49' LUCERNE COTTAGE CHEESE 25c 59 2 25 Doz. J9 7 "! $1 4""1 3 c" 69' 5 Play Safeway's exciting "CROSS-OUT for CASH." This is a reprint of Game No. 6. 4 8 15 19 23 24 28 35 36 40 4? 44 48 51 55? 56 60 63 64 67 68 75 76 80 83 87 88 95 96 of O tuft HP MM. rtM, HSJ. mt. m M 4 II T tlOB OUT" AM C fKd Margarine More proof it Pays to Save at Safeway. ' Grade "AA" Large Eggs Cream O' The Crop. Guaranteed ranch-fresh.'. . sure to please. Van Camp Pork & Beans Famous for quality and goodness ... a favorite served hot or cold. IXL Chili Con Carne Regular 29c value. Homemade flavor and goddness . . . save on this one Libby's Green Beans Fancy quality tender cut green beans. Just like fresh picked. Tree-Top Apple Juice From finest tree-ripened fruit. A pick-up at breakfast time. Mb. print Planters Salted Peanuts u 79c 7 r 39c Blue Bell Potato Chips Triple Pack 69c Ohio Book Matches King Size box of SO 29c WE GIVE GOLD BOND STAMPS FOR EXTRA SAVINGS Prices effective Monday through Wednesday, March 1, at Safeway in Medford. We reserve the right to limit.,
