Today -100: March 15, 1922: Of wine and factional fighting

It’s Wine Week in France. The message: if the US wants France to pay its war debts, it’ll have to allow imports of French wine, that’s just science.

What the NYT calls “factional fighting” resumes in various parts of Italy, although it sounds like it’s mostly Fascists murdering Socialists.

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Today -100: March 14, 1922: They regard the discovery of the bones of a five-toed horse as a greater event than the birth of the Christ

German newspapers report on the marital infidelities of Princess Eitel, aka Sophia Charlotte, the wife of former kaiser Wilhelm’s second son Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia, after she admits them in court in a divorce case (Prince Eitel is denying this, and the transcript is not public record, so he thinks he can get away with lying) (in a few years he will cite her many infidelities when divorcing her) (he started fucking around before she did, by the way).

The KKK sends a note to Colorado Gov. Shoup’s negro messenger, George Gross, ordering him to leave Denver. Gross is president of the local NAACP, which protested the local Klan’s application for incorporation.

Willliam Jennings Bryan replies in the NYT letter pages to a couple of professors who criticized his views on evolution as ignorant. “[I]t is evident that they regard the discovery of the bones of a five-toed horse as a greater event than the birth of the Christ.”

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Today -100: March 13, 1922: Of sedition, revolutions, smallpox, and vowels

Gandhi on trial. The “sedition” turns out to be some articles he wrote that caused disaffection against the colonial government. He (and some banker on trial with him) say they won’t put on a defense but will plead guilty.

South African planes bomb strikers/“revolutionists” on the Rand. Clashes all over Jo’burg. Many strikers captured. Someone shoots at PM Jan Smuts but only hits his car.

There’s a revolution in Albania.

The Connecticut State Health Department threatens to quarantine Bethel unless every Bethelhoovian gets vaccinated for smallpox after an outbreak there. There is some vaccine resistance, and some are questioning whether there even are any cases of smallpox.

The faculty of Sofia University declares a strike against the Bulgarian government’s plan to eliminate a letter from the alphabet.

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Today -100: March 12, 1922: Of air strikes, telephones, coarse lies, limerick truces, and moral disarmaments

The striking white miners in South Africa are now occupying Johannesburg suburbs. A government plane bombs the Benoni Trades Hall, killing many strikers. An airplane, possibly even that one, is reported shot down and its pilot killed. Shootings between strikers and police are widespread, with the police seeming to get the worst of it, for now. 

New York City, which is expected to have 1 million telephones soon, is replacing the “Sweetheart, get me Klondike 555” system with one where users dial – “punch” is the word the article uses – their own desired numbers, although “telephone girls” will still make the actual connections. The automatic system is expected to take 10 years to phase in.

The secretary of Prince Eitel Friedrich, second son of former kaiser Wilhelm, denies to reporters that Princess Sophia Charlotte admitted adultery in the divorce case of Baron and Baroness Plettenberg. A “coarse lie,” the prince has authorized him to call the factually correct charge. The prince is also threatening libel suits against the NYT and any foreign newspapers publishing the story (German papers have been obediently silent, as they are in all divorce cases).

An agreement is reached in Limerick. Both Free State & Republican IRA forces will evacuate the city. Some of them are traveling out on the same trains, but in separate compartments.

Blacks in Harlem, who largely voted Democratic in last November’s mayoral election, much to the Republicans’ shock, are demanding greater representation on the Republican county committee. 

German Defense Minister Otto Gessler denies accusations in, I’m assuming, French newspapers, that Germany is secretly training secret soldiers not in the regular army. Responding to complaints that Germany disarmed militarily but not morally, he says it is impossible to disarm morally because of the Entente’s unfair attitude toward Germany.

Czech Pres. Tomáš Masaryk amnesties the Communists and others from the December 1920 rising.

So what is this full-page ad on p.82 of the NYT actually advertising?

Weirdly enough, it’s D.W. Griffith’s film Orphans of the Storm, now playing at the Apollo Theatre on 42nd Street at popular prices.

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Today -100: March 11, 1922: Of sedition, wool kings (well, wool king – there can be but one), electric chairs, teapot foreshadowing, and putsches

Mohandas Gandhi is arrested and charged with sedition. Sounds like Secretary of State for India Edwin Montagu, before he was removed from office this week, had been holding off taking this step, which British newspapers have been baying for.

Sen. Robert “The Wool King” Stanfield (R-Oregon), who claims to be “America’s largest producer of wool and mutton,” presumably not from his own person, is accused by his creditors of defrauding them (he’s been badly hit by the drop in wool prices). Stanfield has been threatening to sue the Idaho agriculture commissioner for criminal libel for saying that the senator’s companies failed to pay for hay at the same time he somehow had money to buy hundreds of thousands of sheep dirt cheap. (Yes yes, pay for hay, sheep cheap, I see it too).

A black man, James Wells, is executed in Little Rock in the electric chair. The inexperienced electrician takes twelve (12!) shocks to kill him.

From the NYT’s news-in-very-brief section: “The National Popular Government League’s session yesterday was devoted to attacking Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall, who was charged with championing the Doheny oil interests. There were hints of a Congressional investigation.”

The US asks the conference of wartime Allied nations’ finance ministers currently divvying up German reparations for some of that money for the cost of the American Army of Occupation. The Allies just laugh. You negotiated a separate treaty with Germany, so don’t come to us to collect your money for you under the Versailles Treaty you refused to ratify, they snigger.

The German Supreme Court of Leipzig rejects Wolfgang Kapp’s offer to surrender for trial for high treason for the Kapp Putsch.

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Today -100: March 10, 1922: Of the unity of imperial foreign policy, rebellions, and ratifications

Because British Secretary of State for India Edwin Montagu allowed the publication of that call by the Government of India for revision of the Treaty of Sèvres, he has been forced out. Something about collective cabinet responsibility. He says he never considered suppressing the Indians’ views or preventing them informing the Indian people of the views the government puts forward in their name. Lloyd George, on the other hand, insists that the unity of the Empire’s foreign policy can only be maintained by the various colonies shutting the fuck up.

The South African government is mobilizing the armed forces, including planes with machine guns, to put down the white miners’ strike, which at some point they’ll call the Rand Rebellion. The strikers’ executive has told strikers to stop shooting at black people.

The New Jersey Legislature ratifies the already-ratified 18th Amendment. I’m not sure why this is a big deal.

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Today -100: March 9, 1922: Their natural tendency toward violence has been skillfully utilized by Gandhi

In an unusual move, the Government of India calls on the Secretary of State for India to revise the unratified Treaty of Sèvres to accommodate Turkey more. The Muslims of India are supposedly super worked up about this. Lord Sydenham, who was governor of Bombay until 1913, explains that Indian Muslims are “wholly uneducated, intensely fanatical and wholly ignorant... Their natural tendency toward violence has been skillfully utilized by Gandhi,” who recruits them by claiming that British troops have attacked the holy places in Arabia (the Baron will later express similarly complimentary views about the Jews).

Pres. Harding turns down the invitation for the US to participate in the Genoa Economic and Financial Conference. Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes says the US has decided it isn’t really an economic and financial conference but “rather a conference of a political character in which the Government of the United States could not helpfully participate.” 

Genoa should be a lovely site for the conference. It’s spring and the Fascist-Socialist gun fights are in bloom. Fascists burn a labor newspaper, and unions declare a general strike in protest (which they later call off).

The Irish Free State Bill passes the House of Commons.

St. Paul juries are evidently required to sleep on cots in the same room during deliberations, so a mixed-sex jury is causing some furore. At least one county is avoiding this problem by refusing to call up women jurors.

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Today -100: March 8, 1922: I trust everyone appreciates how I’m avoiding limerick jokes

Henry Ford closes down his car factory in Cork, Ireland after the town tries to force him to, among other things, hire a lot more people than he wanted to.

Nothing much going on in Limerick, despite the presence of three military forces there (regular IRA, “rebel” anti-Treaty IRA, British military). The rebel IRAers are patrolling the streets, though, as the Morning Post says, “the purpose of the patrols is not altogether clear.” Meanwhile, sectarian clashes kill five in Belfast, as was the custom.

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Today -100: March 7, 1922: Crucified to Italy’s flag

The rebel IRA forces that moved into Limerick give an ultimatum for the Free State forces to surrender the Limerick police barracks. They’ve also seized 3 hotels for billeting, or possibly they’re playing life-size Monopoly.

Dr. Laura Black Stickney (R) and Lois McKiever (Ind) lose elections for mayor of Saco, Maine and Bath, Maine respectively. There has yet to be a woman mayor in New England.

Illinois Gov. Len Small gets a postponement of his corruption trial because the court accepted his argument that it is essential that he not be distracted from handing out spring road-building contracts. It’s not as long a postponement as he wanted, which would have had the trial starting after the primaries. Instead, it will begin on April 3rd, eight days before them.

Poet-Aviator Gabriele D’Annunzio writes messages of support to the Fascists who took over Fiume, but he seems to be staying away this time. He also sends some, for lack of a better word, poetry:

Wolfgang Kapp of Kapp Putsch (1920) fame, hiding in Sweden, offers to surrender for trial. The German government is not enthusiastic.

The movie Sherlock Holmes, with John Barrymore in the title role, premieres.

Rep. Fritz Lanham (D-Texas) complains that the Congressional Record reports him saying that no helium was lost from the sea serpent in any of its flights, when he actually said no helium was lost from the C-7 (a military blimp).

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Today -100: March 6, 1922: Should have stuck with strawberry

IRA units invade Limerick City. The IRA, or at least some of it, has declared that it doesn’t recognize the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State but supports “the existing Irish Republic.” The British Amy still hasn’t withdrawn from Limerick, so this could get interesting.

A duel between the current editor of Le Figaro and the former editor is called off, which is just spitting in the face of the long proud history of Le Fig editors fighting duels, when they’re not just being shot dead by wives of finance ministers.

10 are ill from ptomaine in ice cream cones.

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Today -100: March 5, 1922: If there is one trouble with this White House job, it is in being a human being

After speeches are made by Tory leaders, including Austen Chamberlain and Winston Churchill, backing Lloyd George’s continuation as prime minister, he withdraws his threat to resign, which would trigger snap elections. Churchill’s speech, in Loughborough, stressed the need for unity against the “growing peril of Communism.”

Colonial Secretary Churchill says that the British government is using two weapons to restore order in Ireland: British good faith and Irish responsibility. He said “British good faith” with a straight face, too.

At a party celebrating his first year in office, Pres. Warren G. Harding says the achievement of that year is “the long step toward getting back to normal ways of government,” possibly referring to massive corruption. He says he likes parties like this because “If there is one trouble with this White House job, it is in being a human being.”

Russia says it will pay all its debts, even those incurred by the czars.

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Today -100: March 4, 1922: Of Fascist coups, hangings, and nosferatus

Fiume President Riccardo Zanella surrenders after Italian Fascists fire cannons at the government palace.

A lot of Wall Street brokerage houses have collapsed in the last few days.

The House Appropriations Committee voted to cut the army to 115,000 men, but Harding doesn’t want it reduced below 130,000.

Matthew Bullock will not be extradited from Canada to North Carolina. A detail I’d missed: the state first tried to extradite him for “inciting to riot,” only later charging him for attempted murder. Bullock, a black man, was worried that if returned to NC he’d be lynched like his brother.

A black man, Terry Williams, is hanged in Virginia for an alleged rape. By the Virginia authorities I mean, not a baying mob, not that there’s a huge difference.

Illinois really does hang Harvey Church, in a coma (maybe) and tied to a chair. The coroner has a theory that Church was actually drugged into that state by someone who didn’t want him exposing his confederate in the murder of two car salesmen, but Church’s family refuse to allow an examination of the body.

F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu premieres in Germany, with Max Schreck.

Headline of the Day -100:  

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Today -100: March 3, 1922: Of peeresses, women’s suffrage and duels

The House of Lords Committee on Privileges rules in favor of allowing Viscountess Rhondda to enter the Lords. This would also allow in 23 other peeresses (or maybe fewer). Margaret, Lady Rhondda, a suffragette from waaaay back and a Lusitania survivor, sued under the 1919 Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act. At some point this decision will be reversed, and no ladies will darken the towels of the Lords until 1958, just a few weeks after Lady Rhondda’s death.

The Dáil Éireann rejects a proposal to extend the vote to women over 21 in the upcoming elections (presumably it would otherwise be restricted to women over 30, as in Britain). Arthur Griffin says he’s not against it in principle, but regards the proposal as a delaying tactic by anti-treaty republicans, since, he claims, it would take months to organize. He’ll support women voting on equal terms with men under the Free State.

Prince Marino Torlonia is not excommunicated after his duel with Count Filippo Lovatelli over a sculpture the latter made of the former’s wife (yeah, I’d like to know more about that too). Evidently the Catholic Church is supposed to excommunicate anyone who dueled. (Update: ok, he was excommunicated and then immediately re-communicated, if that’s the term, after he claimed Lovatelli had attacked him and he only fought in self-defense.)

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Today -100: March 2, 1922: Of resignations, hangings, and mosquitos

Lloyd George has been threatening to resign as prime minister, saying the Tory MPs in the coalition are going all Joe Manchin. Tory party leaders would prefer to avoid an election right now and are trying to persuade him to stay in office.

Convicted murderer Harvey Church, who hunger-struck himself into what Illinois is claiming is a state of being “mentally dead,” which is not how hunger-striking works (also, the prison was force-feeding him), will be hanged tied to a chair. “Only two other men have been hanged bound to chairs in Chicago,” says the NYT without providing details.

New Jersey is going to war against its mosquitos.

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Today -100: March 1, 1922: Of royal marriages, special relations, and accompaniments of discreditable character

No links, NYT website still fucked.

Princess Mary, aunt of Queen Elizabeth II, marries Viscount Lascelles.

Britain ends the protectorate over Egypt, declaring Egypt an independent sovereign nation except for all the powers Britain plans to retain in Egypt (or as Lloyd George calls it, the “special relations” between the two countries). Martial law will remain until the Egyptian government passes an indemnity law for British interests.

Pres. Harding, in person, presents Congress his plan to support US shipping, including subsidizing it with 10% of customs duties.

The International Anti-Cigarette League ask Will Hays to ban cigarette smoking by women in movies, except “as the accompaniment of discreditable character.”

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Today -100: February 28, 1922: I am hard up and confining myself to the necessities of life

No links, NYT website still fucked.

The (German) Association of War Veteran Cripples write to former kaiser Wilhelm asking for a donation. He replies, “I am hard up and confining myself to the necessities of life.” He says he’s even had to fire some of his servants. He does send the war cripples a photo of himself in a field marshal uniform.

The US Supreme Court rules unanimously that the 19th Amendment was properly ratified. One complained that the Maryland Constitution limited the franchise to men and the Legislature voted against ratification of the 19th Amendment. A second suit is rejected on the basis of standing.

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Today -100: February 27, 1922: Of coalitions, alliances, and vowels

Luigi Facta forms a new government in Italy. It’s a wide-ranging coalition.

Britain and France agree to a 20-year alliance aimed against Germany, including if Germany causes any trouble in the east. Britain is now committed to protecting Poland.

Bulgaria is eliminating one of the 32 letters of its alphabet, and firing university professors who protest. We don’t know for sure which letter, but it’s probably a vowel.

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Today -100: February 26, 1922: Of truces, guesses, balances, pianos, and Cuban extravaganzas

Some NYT article links are currently redirecting to a generic page (and it’s getting worse), so no links below for those stories.

British Prime Minister David Lloyd George plans to propose at the Genoa conference a 10-year truce throughout Europe.

There’s an article in the Sunday NYT by William Jennings Bryan setting out his views on evolution. Did you know there is “not one syllable in the Bible” to support “Darwin’s guess”?

On the 4th anniversary of the Red Army, Russian War Minister Trotsky says Russia’s fate is “now balancing over” the forthcoming Genoa economic & financial conference (which looks like being postponed), and if the conference doesn’t go favorably for Russia, the balance may have to be tipped with blood, so the Red Army will need to be built up before the conference starts. I have no idea what he’s actually threatening here, to be honest.

In the first half of 1921, the German birth rate was 3 times that of France.

It’s estimated there are 12,588,949 automobiles in the world, of which 10,505,660 are in United States.

Half as many pianos were sold in the US in 1921 as in 1913, and no one knows why.

West Point cadets put on a play. It is called “Ho, Ho, Jose,” a “Cuban extravaganza.” One assumes it is super-racist.

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Today -100: February 25, 1922: Of ice chips, regular extraditions, bluebeards & death villas

Some NYT article links are currently redirecting to a generic page, so no links below for those stories.

A big explosion hits Chicago. Dynamite at an ice plant. No one knows why.

Latest theory in the murder of director William Desmond Taylor: he was killed because he was fighting a dope gang to save some woman.

North Carolina, still trying to get Matthew Bullock extradited from Canada so he can be lynched or whatever, refuses to send witnesses to Ontario as the judge there is demanding. Gov. Cameron Morrison tells the State Dept that if Canada fails to extradite Bullock “in the regular way,” the state won’t honor any Canadian requests. Under the extradition treaty, the court in Canada can require evidence that the fugitive would be charged if the alleged crime had been committed in Canada.

Serial killer Henri Landru is guillotined. “His head fell into the basket as the first rays of dawn gleamed in the sky.” Pres. Millerand rejected the jury’s recommendation of mercy (which they presumably made because no bodies were ever recovered). Such recommendations were always respected before this case. The villa in Gambais where he killed many of his victims was bought for a lot of money and opened to paying tourists, as is the custom.

A few days ago, the Mississippi State Senate voted 25-9 to ask Harding to forgive some of the European war debt in return for some piece of colonial Africa, and then to ship the state’s black population to the new “final home for the American negro.” Mississippi was 52% black as of the 1920 Census. The measure will fail in the Miss. lower house, because white plantation owners needed the super-cheap labor force.  (I originally missed this story, by the way, because the NYT didn’t report it. h/t to Jon Schwarz for the WaPo article, which I must pedantically point out is wrong about who the KKK imperial wizard was.)

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Today -100: February 24, 1922: Where’s Solomon when you need him?

In 1914 Marcelle Heymann was born in Nancy, France. At the start of the war, her German parents were interned and a French family took her in, everyone assuming the war would be over in a few months. Last year the Heymanns, now back in Germany, wrote the Demanges demanding their daughter back (not clear why they waited until 1921). The Demanges, not wanting to return her, then demanded 5,000 francs, which is the equivalent of some money, for the expense of keeping Marcelle. Her parents have refused to pay and are having the matter raised in the Reichstag. Hopefully the NYT will actually follow up on this story, cuz a quick googling reveals nothing.

The Japanese Diet rejects universal suffrage, 288 to 159. Currently voting is restricted to those paying 15 yen a year in property taxes. During the debate, someone throws a live snake on the floor of the Diet, as was the custom.

The British, confused by the Sinn Féin convention decision not to decide anything for 3 months, puts off ratification of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

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