Friday, August 17, 2012

Today -100: August 17, 1912: To have a man on both sides of the fight when we are on one side is uncomfortable, especially when he is behind you


President Taft attacks presidential electors whose names appear on the Republican ballot but who intend to support Roosevelt. “[W]e have to be a single party, and not a part of two parties. I don’t think we are unfair in asking that we be given a chance for a fair fight, and in counting those against us who are not with us. To have a man on both sides of the fight when we are on one side is uncomfortable, especially when he is behind you.” Taft sounds rather as if he’s heading for a nervous breakdown.

Helen Keller sings to a convention of otologists at Harvard Medical School. Evidently she has absolute pitch.

A Philadelphia city council member resigns. He turns out to have had a former life as a thief, under another name, possibly Jean Valjean. He served a 7-year prison sentence and then made good, but a former prison associate found him and was blackmailing him, so he quit.

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3 comments:

  1. Would it be impertinent to ask if something close to pinball as we know it existed 100 years ago?

    ReplyDelete
  2. If so, one mourns for the lost opportunity.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes. Indeed, here's a picture of an 18th century German pinball machine. No flippers until after World War II, according to Wikipedia.

    ReplyDelete