Today -100: May 5, 1916: Of imperialism, dangling suspenders, Irish justice, and Baptist hypocrites

Lots of US imperialism news today.

Mexico has backed off its demands that US troops withdraw, instead agreeing to cooperate with them and let them stay just as long as they like.

The Haitian Cabinet has resigned in a conflict with its Congress over acceding to US demands.

US Navy Commander W.S. Crosley threatens to land troops in the Dominican Republic, ostensibly to protect the US legation.

Speaking of the Dominican Republic, James Sullivan, the former US ambassador there until he resigned last year under investigation for getting Dominican railroad and electrical contracts for a relative (he was also accused of receiving diplomats in his undershirt with dangling suspenders – DANGLING SUSPENDERS!), is arrested in Dublin for complicity in the Rising (he was born in Kilkenny). He’ll be released without charges although, yeah, he was definitely part of it.

Courts-martial in Ireland are rapidly convicting supposed rebels in large numbers, while houses all over Dublin are being raided and no one can leave the city without a military pass. The authorities are taking a bit longer to prepare for Sir Roger Casement’s trial, and by prepare I mean leaking salacious excerpts from his diaries to anyone who might have publicly defended him (I said that Sir Roger being a homosexual was going to become significant), including politicians, newspaper editors, the US ambassador, and so on.

Theodore Roosevelt denies calling Charles Evans Hughes “that Baptist hypocrite.”

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