Today -100: January 7, 1924: Of peace plans, bombs, and munitions

Edward Bok, former editor of the Ladies’ Home Journal, sponsored a $100,000 prize for the “best practicable plan for U.S. cooperation in world peace.” Of the 22,165 submissions, he chose:  join the World Court, cooperate with the League of Nations, which has to change the provisions of its Covenant (“substitute moral force and public opinion for military and economic force...”)... I’m gonna stop there, since this is just the Republican position from when they were torpedoing Wilson’s attempt to join the League. This is... nothing... justifying my ignoring all the stories about this contest until now.

Someone throws bombs at the Japanese Imperial Palace. The police leap into action and suppress a newspaper that reports the incident, which seems to have been more in the nature of a demonstration than an actual attack intended to hurt anyone. A Korean is arrested, as was the custom.

The State Dept warns against US arms dealers selling to the Mexican rebels, but it’s not a formal ban, at least not yet.

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