Today -100: June 9, 1923: I am not practicing to be an Emperor

As the largest-denomination German note, the 100,000 mark note, is now worth just $1.30, they’ll start printing million mark notes.

France won’t reject the German reparation proposal, it will simply ignore it, because it is not accompanied by an end of passive resistance in the Ruhr.

Mussolini denies planning to proclaim himself dictator and/or emperor: “Do not be afraid because I ride horseback every morning. I am not practicing to be an Emperor; I am young and I like to ride.”

The British House of Commons votes to equalize the law of divorce. Under the existing law, a husband could divorce his wife for a single act of infidelity but a wife would also have to prove cruelty or desertion.

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Today -100: June 8, 1923: Unacceptable in Belgium

Germany makes a new offer on reparations, which France and Belgium will certainly reject because it does not come with a command to end passive resistance in the Ruhr. Germany pledges income from railroads, the alcohol and tobacco monopolies, and pinky-swears to fund reparations of 1.2 trillion gold marks per year, which is the equivalent of some money and 365 days respectively. It wants an international commission to determine its ability to pay.

The German proposal is “held unacceptable in Belgium.”  I’m not sure why I find the phrase “unacceptable in Belgium” so amusing, but I do.

NYC Mayor John Hylan promises that the NYPD will cooperate with the federal prohibition authorities, although he does suggest that they do something about closing the Canadian border to smuggling.

At the Lausanne Conference, Turkey refuses to allow 250,000 Armenians who fled Constantinople last year during the Greco-Turko war to return.

The Kansas State Censor Board gives permission for The Birth of a Nation to be shown. Opposition from previous governors has hitherto prevented the 1915 film being screened in the state.

Russian serial killer Vasili Komaroff is ordered executed, along with his wife, who may or may not have been involved. Komaroff says “Well, it’s my turn to be put in the sack now” (like he did with his victims). The NYT’s correspondent says his “callousness is that of the typical Asiatic.”

Gov. Thomas McLeod calls on South Carolinahoovians to pray for relief from the boll weevil, which was sent by God as a punishment for our sins.

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Today -100: June 7, 1923: Of hushed phones, wolves, flying lions, and prosperous nipples

German police kill 6 at a demonstration against the cost of living in Leipzig.

Doodad of the Day -100:  

Vasili Komaroff, the Russian serial killer known as the Wolf of Moscow is on trial. He has confessed to 33 killings. He lured his victims to his house by offering to sell them a horse cheap and then killed them in a variety of ways. He just wants the trial over with: “I am 52, have had a good time and don’t want to live any longer.” He won’t.

A crowd breaks up a Ku Klux Klan meeting in Plainfield, New Jersey.

The famous French lion tamer “Marcel,” stranded by a Belgian railroad strike (I’ve been there), gets a mail plane to transport his 3 lions to Paris. I can only guess that this is the first time lions have flown. Three lions in a hot-air balloon would have been adorable.

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Today -100: June 6, 1923: Secret fraternity is one thing; secret conspiracy is quite another

Pres. Harding addresses the Shriners’ convention, in preparation for which the feds have been cracking down on bootlegging in DC.  Harding attacks the Ku Klux Klan without ever actually naming it: “Secret fraternity is one thing; secret conspiracy is quite another. ... In the very naturalness of association, men band together for mischief, to exert misguided zeal, to vent unreasoning malice, to undermine our institutions. This isn’t fraternity; this is conspiracy. This isn’t associated with uplift; it is organized destruction. This is not brotherhood; it is the discord of disloyalty and a danger to the Republic.” But other fraternal orders, like the Fez Bros, are fine.

Not to be out-fraternal-ordered, NY Gov. Al Smith joins the Elks.

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Today -100: June 5, 1923: Of mere knowledge of the German knowledge, soused sailors, consternation, and long live Barry II

The US Supreme Court overturns the bans in 21 states against the teaching of languages other than English in schools (and not just public schools in some of these states). Justice James Clark McReynolds, authoring the majority opinion, writes that “Mere knowledge of the German language cannot reasonably be regarded as harmful.”

Stokers and firemen on French steamships threaten to strike unless they get the 2 liters of wine per day which French maritime law entitles them to, even in ships bound for the US, which now forbids alcohol on incoming ships.

Cardinal Soldevilla y Romero, 79, is assassinated by anarchists near Saragossa, Spain. The Chicago Tribune informs us that the news was received with “consternation” in Madrid. And with rioting in Barcelona, which is, like, extreme consternation. Before the last election in April, the cardinal ordered the government not to change the constitution, which I think means proposals to give greater freedom to non-Catholics.

People are criticizing Maine Gov. Percival Proctor Baxter for ordering the flag on the State House flown half-mast in honor of his dead Irish setter Garry II. Baxter responds that dogs are great.

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Today -100: June 4, 1923: Of clinging type!

A commission set up by NY Mayor John Hylan to examine US history textbooks recommends that 8 be thrown out as too pro-British. Some of them had been written or revised during the Great War so as not to criticize an ally too much, but commission head David Hirschfeld, who is not an educator or a historian, says “Any history which, after 150 years, attempts to teach our children that the War of Independence was an unnecessary war and that it is still a problem as to who was right and who was wrong, should be fed to the furnace and those responsible for those books branded as un-American.” He says the books are part of a plot to restore the US to the British Empire, or at least an alliance dominated by Britain, a movement he says is backed by “an international money power” which “knows no patriotism.” Hirschfeld also sees Rhodes scholarships and the World Court as part of this pro-British conspiracy.

Fashion of the Day -100:  

Also, more Frenchwomen seem to be blond lately, a fashion set by stage actresses, who are going blond to get into the pictures, where blondes show up better.

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Today -100: June 3, 1923: Of speed, deportations, and proven historical facts

The London Underground has been advertising that its trains are faster than the New York City subways and London pedestrians walk faster than New Yorkers (2½ to 3 mph on Fifth Ave vs. 3¼ mph on Oxford Street) (it’s the silly walks that do it). Also, London taxis are faster than NY ones and passengers are called guv’nor.

The acting prohibition chief for the Boston region, Charles Smith, asks that two men convicted of manufacturing liquor (a misdemeanor) be deported. Assistant US Attorney Elihu Stone says don’t be ridiculous.

South Carolina Gov. Thomas McLeod addresses the negro exodus, warning about “the proven historical fact that while the Northern people love the negro en masse and as a race they have no affection or consideration from him as an individual.” The SC whites will do just fine, he says. In other words, there’s no need to improve conditions for black people.

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Today -100: June 2, 1923: Of prohibition, women MPs, tombstones, and inKorporation

NY Gov. Al Smith signs the repeal of NY’s prohibition enforcement act but says this won’t bring back the saloon. The feds plan to send many dry agents into the state.

Mabel Philipson wins the Berwick-upon-Tweed by-election, becoming the 3rd woman member of Parliament (the 4th elected), garnering more votes than her husband Hilton Philipson did in the same seat in the 1922 general election. His election was invalidated because of excessive election spending and false reporting by his election agent, although he personally was cleared of wrongdoing. He’s banned from running in the constituency for 7 years, so she considers herself a placeholder for him although he was a National Liberal and she insists on running as a Tory; when he gives up on politics in 1929, she will too. Mabel, 37, is a former actress.

20 Polish soldiers invade a synagogue in Beuthen, Polish Upper Silesia to attack the congregation. Thwarted by police, they return at night to throw grenades at tombstones, as was the custom.

The Ku Klux Klan applies for incorporation as a benevolent society in New York in an attempt to evade the Walker Act which requires various groups – but not benevolent societies – to provide the government a list of members by June 23rd. Legal eagles think it won’t work.

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Today -100: June 1, 1923: Of obelisks, evil curbs, hay, and how many midgets can you fit in a taxi?

NY Gov. Alfred E. Smith holds hearings on whether to sign the bill repealing NY enforcement of prohibition, staying silent throughout the proceedings.

The British response to Russia’s response to Britain’s ultimatum includes a demand that Russia’s, representatives in Afghanistan and Persia, which Britain seems to have forgotten are not British colonies, be removed for doing propaganda.

The Boyne Obelisk, erected in 1736 in Drogheda, Ireland to celebrate William of Orange’s victory over the forces of Catholicism, is blown up. By the Irish government, although the NYT neglects to include that detail.

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Headline of the Day -100:  

Aldous Huxley’s Antic Hay is published sometime this month. I read about a quarter of it before giving up, partly – but only partly – because he used a lot of fancy words that I didn’t know and which my Kindle’s dictionary didn’t know either.

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Today -100: May 31, 1923: Of mysterious deaths, pingers, undesirable tributes, and cardioscopes

Jess W. Smith, the, er, assistant to Attorney Gen. Harry Daugherty (he had a desk outside Daugherty’s office at Justice but wasn’t actually on the government payroll – he was the massively corrupt Daugherty’s bagman), commits suicide in the hotel suite he shared with Daugherty (no, not like that, or maybe exactly like that), shooting himself in the head. The administration is putting it out that Smith had health worries, but the crime scene was scrubbed by Bureau of Investigation chief William Burns, who lives in the same hotel, and the gun mysteriously disappears and there’s no autopsy, and he seems to have shot himself in the left temple despite being right-handed, and...

The Chinese bandits release a couple of American hostages, including Maj. Roland Pinger, which is certainly the name of a person and not of a sex toy.

The Rockville Centre, Long Island, Ku Klux Klan leave a wreath at the local war memorial on Memorial Day. The commander of the local American Legion post discovers what he calls “an undesirable tribute to the American soldier,” and hands in the wreath to the police station. Immediately calls start coming in complaining, lots of calls (Rockville Centre is a big KKK town), and the town council orders it put back, without the card (which I think had already been torn up).

The American Association of Thoracic Surgeons announces that the cardioscope has been tested on animals and “perfected” by Dr. Duff Allen of Washington University and is ready for use on humans during heart surgery.

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Today -100: May 30, 1923: Of poll boycotts

After Arabs boycott elections for the Legislative Council in Palestine in protest at Zionist something or other, the British declares the elections null & void. Only 12 of the 23 members of the Council would have been elective, and I’m gonna hazard a guess that its powers would be pretty limited.

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Today -100: May 29, 1923: Laying aside your arms now is an act of patriotism as exalted and pure as your valor in taking them up

Dresden is now controlled by mobs of unemployed and/or Communists, who are ordering shops and restaurants closed, as well as the Opera House, “because the sight of wealthy men enjoying themselves while they must starve was too much for the unemployed.” The Opera House owners promise to take up a collection from the audience, and the fat lady is allowed to sing.

Éamon de Valera issued a cease-fire order last week that I guess the Free State is just finding out about. It admits that “The republic can no longer be sustained successfully by your arms. The continuance of the struggle in arms is unwise in the national interest. ... Do not let sorrow overwhelm you. ... You have saved the nation’s honor and left the road open to independence. Laying aside your arms now is an act of patriotism as exalted and pure as your valor in taking them up.” 

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Today -100: May 28, 1923: Of kluxers and poison gas

The Ku Klux Klan hold multiple meetings in New York (and one in Jersey) in defiance of the new law requiring it to reveal its membership lists. A speaker at one of the Long Island meetings says Gov. Al Smith has wrecked his presidential ambitions by signing that bill.

The army chemical warfare corps will use mustard gas, phosgene and chlorine gas on rattle snake nests in Texas, part of a program of proving the usefulness of Great War-era poison gas that includes using it to “cure” the flu.

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Today -100: May 27, 1923: Of Fords, executions, and parades

There’s been some chatter recently about Henry Ford running for president, none of it from Ford himself, at least not publicly. William Randolph Hearst says he’d support Ford if he ran, but he can only run as an independent.

The Lausanne Conference survives another crisis when Turkey gives up its demand for reparations from Greece in exchange for some territory. This after Greece threatened to walk out, evidently still under the impression that it didn’t lose the war it started with Turkey.

The French occupiers in the Ruhr execute one Albert Schlageter, a right-wing Freikorps type, for blowing up railroad tracks and bridges. That’s a German executed in Germany by the French.

The NYT has a 4-sentence story about a revolution that has broken out in Bulgaria and the prime minister fleeing. It hasn’t and he hasn’t.

The New York Fascisti withdraw from the Memorial Day parade after opposition from Samuel Gompers and the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union.

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Today -100: May 26, 1923: Of steel, women voters, lusks, and censors

A committee of steel bosses appointed by Elbert Gary, the founder of US Steel, at Pres. Harding’s request to investigate union demands for an  8-hour day, says that after thorough investigation, the 12-hour day in the steel industry is perfectly fine, and certainly not injurious to workers in any way. And steel workers aren’t demanding the 8-hour day, they like the extra pay. Gary had to leave the stage during his reading of the report when he became ill, possibly from suppressed snickering. Harding is said to be disappointed by the committee’s report, but what the hell did he expect?

A new New York law allows women voters to merely declare themselves over 21 rather than give their exact age.

And Gov. Alfred E. Smith signs the repeal of the Lusk laws requiring teachers in public schools to be subject to loyalty tests and for private schools as a whole to be subject to a similar test.

The chief British movie censor explains the 67 things that get American films banned, including the depiction of Jesus, cruelty to animals or children, disparagement of public characters, over-long death-bed scenes, too much revolver shooting, girls participating in crimes, drunk girls, women being branded, or the words “hell” or “devil.” 

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Today -100: May 25, 1923: We went to the Ruhr to get paid

Chinese government troops attack the Shantung bandits holding those train passengers.

Supposedly, the bandits got the idea for the train derailment from the movies.

Communists seize and burn the Gelsenkirchen (Ruhr) police hq and fight the citizens’... militia? neighborhood watch? and firemen. 8 dead. They propose a group of 400 workers – 100 Socialist, 100 Communist, 200 trade union – to take over the policing of the town, since the French fired all the security police in February. In the meantime, they enforce food price reductions. And then the looting begins, which is definitely a price reduction. French troops move into the town and... watch. As was the custom, when Germans were fighting Germans.

French PM Raymond Poincaré and his cabinet resign because the Senate refused his demand that it try Deputy Marcel Cachin and other Communists for sedition and/or treason. The deputies opposed the occupation of the Ruhr, but the Senate (in its role as high court) decides it’s not its job to try the cases – there are courts, you know. Pres. Millerand refuses to accept the resignations and Poincaré agrees to stay, although he had argued “we cannot allow these Communist conspiracies.”

Earlier in the day PM P told the National Assembly he would do to Germany what Germany did to France in 1871. He said the occupation of the Ruhr is succeeding in getting coal to France so “we are in no hurry and can wait as long as necessary for Germany to come to her senses.” No comment. “We went to the Ruhr to get paid.”

The new British prime minister’s 24-year-old son, Oliver Baldwin is.... DUM DUM DUM... a socialist. In fact, in 1929 he’ll be elected a Labour member of Parliament, embarrasing daddy no end. He’s already been a prisoner of both Armenian Bolsheviks and then, on his way home, Turkey, which held him 6 months as a suspected Russian spy, or something.

Newly elected Chicago Mayor William Dever says he found the city’s treasury is empty, indeed in deficit, and the municipal government may have to stop operating soon.

William Burns, director of the Bureau of Investigation, tells the Kiwanis Club in Atlantic City that if Congress passes two bills (dunno which ones), he will “drive every radical out of the country and bring the parlor Bolsheviks to their senses.” Every big strike in the US, he says, is caused by Soviet influence and propaganda.

The Connecticut Legislature bans flogging in prisons.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. gets a contract to act in motion pictures at $1,000 a week. He is 13 years old. Doug Senior knew nothing about this (Jr. lives with his mother).

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Today -100: May 24, 1923: On every essential point, the Bolshevists propose a conference

Looks like every member of Bonar Law’s Cabinet is willing to continue under Stanley Baldwin, including Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon.

By the way, Baldwin is a cousin of Rudyard Kipling.

Winston Churchill, who earlier in life left the Conservative Party for the Liberals, is thinking of jumping back. If you were wondering why no one really trusted him. Churchill was bounced from Parliament by the voters at the last election, so his old-new party would have to find him a seat.

Russia is conciliatory in response to Britain’s ultimatum to pay compensation for the seizure of a trawler and the execution of alleged spies and withdraw letters the British found rude. Doesn’t seem to promise not to propagandize in India, Afghanistan and Persia, which was another demand. The London Times complains, “On every essential point, the Bolshevists propose a conference.” 

Mussolini purges Capt. Aurelio Padovani and all who follow him from the Naples Fascists for their “grave and prolonged indiscipline.” Padovani will later (1926) die the most Fascist of deaths when a balcony on which he is greeting his followers collapses.

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Today -100: May 23, 1923: Of primes minister, secret enticements, lynching, easter islands, and chicken scrambles

Stanley Baldwin will be the next British prime minister. The process by which he rather than Curzon was chosen is entirely opaque. It’s unclear whether Curzon will continue as foreign secretary, which sounds like more his choice than Baldwin’s.

North Carolina, facing an exodus of its negro population, decides to treat black people better. No, just kidding, they arrest labor agents for “secretly enticing” negroes to go to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, fining them $500 and $1,000 for soliciting labor without a license.

Pennsylvania has new laws making participation in a lynch mob murder and making a kidnapping resulting in death first-degree murder. It also makes trying to seize a prisoner a crime, and being an officer who loses a prisoner to a lynch mob a crime, and it will fine counties in which a lynching occurs $10,000 for their dependents, or the state if there are none.

Lady Constance Lytton, the British suffragette who, frustrated at the favoritism shown by prison authorities in not forcibly feeding her, disguised herself as a commoner and was force fed, has died at 54, her health permanently damaged by that force-feeding.

Headline of the Day -100:  

The earthquake was last November, but only a fishing boat has been there since.

A Brooklyn dry goods store’s “chicken scramble” promotional event is interrupted by the SPCA just as they were about to throw live chickens off the roof, with their legs tied with a ticket for a special prize, for customers to scramble over. The owner is summonsed for Friday, but I think we know what his defense will be: “As god is my witness...”

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Today -100: May 22, 1923: Wait, is there no prime minister?

Fascists in the Naples region resign in large numbers after the central Fascist organization orders them to accept a merger with Nationalist militia types, some of them former Communists who saw which way the wind was blowing. Most of the Neopolitan Fascist leaders, rank & file, and Fascist trade union members, maybe 40,000 in total, quit.

Former (as of yesterday) British prime minister Andrew Bonar Law has an operation for his throat cancer. The king has yet to ask anyone to form a government, waiting for the Conservative Party to make up its own mind.

New dance records: James Karnell in Youngstown, Ohio, at 161 hrs 56 min, and his partner Mrs Yarnell, who gave up at 132 hours but still broke the women’s record.

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Today -100: May 21, 1923: Of unspectacular premiers, lonely Aussies, and hooded parades

Andrew Bonar Law, who the NYT accurately describes as “the most unspectacular of British Premiers,” resigns as British prime minister on the recommendation of his doctors.

Earl Stradbroke, governor of Victoria, visiting England, tries to get English lasses who want to get married to come to Australia, which has an over-abundance of big, manly men who are successful but lonely (not sure if that’s a quote or a paraphrase).

109 Klansman have a little parade in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.

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