Today -100: February 20, 1914: Of fires, neutral zones, lite generals, and how to dress decently

In Britain, suffragettes set a fire at the Northfield Free Library. A copy of Christabel Pankhurst’s tract on venereal disease, The Great Scourge and How to End It, is left “to start your new library.”

The Mexican Federales and Constitutionalists are negotiating conditions for the forthcoming battle for Torreon: a neutral zone for neutrals to cower in during the fighting (an idea evidently presented to the parties by the US). I predict the Romulans will violate the neutral zone. Fucking Romulans.

The US complains to Huerta’s regime about the anti-American editorials in El Imparcial. So Huerta exiles the editor.

Last week, the White House got Congress to create the new rank of “vice admiral” in the Navy. Now, inevitably, the Army wants its own, lieutenant-general, so that the Navy doesn’t outrank the Army in joint matters, or something. Actually, there used to be lt.-generals, but the title expired with Arthur MacArthur, Douglas MacArthur’s father.

A bill is introduced in the Maryland Legislature banning girls from wearing slit shirts and high heels and also banning the dancing of the tango, the turkey trot, the bunny hug, and the loop the loop. It would use the money from the fines collected for these infractions to “educate girls how to dress decently.”

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