Today -100: October 19, 1913: Of misdirections of human energies, moral turpitude, bloody foundation stones, new languages, and angry Frenchmen

British First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill proposes a one-year “naval holiday” with Germany, in which both countries would stop building battleships (Germany plans two in that period, Britain four). Churchill figures every other country on earth would follow suit. He says the arms race is a “serious misdirection of human energies.”

Austria presents Serbia with an ultimatum to remove its troops from Albania within 8 days.

British suffragist leader Emmeline Pankhurst arrives in New York, but is held by immigration authorities and ordered deported on grounds of “moral turpitude.” She will appeal.

Former US ambassador to Mexico Henry Lane Wilson, proving once again why Pres. Wilson was right to fire his ass, says that Huerta’s government is just as legal as Roosevelt’s was when he became president after McKinley’s assassination. Which would be true if Roosevelt had ordered McKinley’s assassination.

There have been protests in Russia against the ongoing ritual murder trial of Mendel Beilis in Kiev, with strikes, protests signed by students, etc. Prosecution witnesses have fallen apart on the stand, some accusing the police of pressuring them to lie. Beilis has plenty of witnesses that he was at work at the time of the murder, but still the trial drags on. Today, for example, “Another rumor, that some of Yushinsky’s blood was used in connection with the laying of the foundation stone of the Old Age Home, was shown to be groundless by the testimony of Mark Zaiteff, one of the proprietors of the brick works, who produced proof that the ceremony took place several days before the murder.”

Linguistic Headline of the Day -100: “Norway to Adopt an Entirely New Language.” Landsmål. You don’t want to know.

Dog-Bites-Man Headline of the Day -100: “Germans Anger French.” By celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig.

Motoring Headline of the Day -100: “Cyclist Falls on Coffin.” Unfortunate motorcycle rider crashes a funeral procession.

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