Today -100: June 20, 1923: Of attempted lynchings, non-invasions, and airplanes

Police, fire hoses, and militia machine guns hold off a lynch mob trying to seize a negro charged with beating a white woman from the county jail in Savannah, Georgia.

Yugoslavia says it won’t invade Bulgaria. 

Russian Minister of War Leon Trotsky calls for lots of airplanes, the warfare of the future, so Russia won’t have to submit to demands by Britain etc.

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Today -100: June 19, 1923: Of newspaper talk, budgets, damned dirty liars, and medicinal liquor

Henry Ford says he’s not running for president because he’s too busy and any talk about him being a candidate is just “newspaper talk.” The people pushing his candidacy say they’ll continue and will draft him as an independent candidate.

Pres. Harding says he can keep the federal budget below $3 billion, and any government officer who asks Congress for more money than the administration’s budget calls for will be fired.

NYC Controller Charles Craig challenges Mayor Hylan to a fist-fight after Hylan calls him a liar and he calls Hylan a damned dirty liar (which is the worst kind of liar). Hylan suggests Craig should be examined by Bellevue. New York politics as usual.

The US gives in on allowing foreign ships to carry “medicinal liquor” as required by the laws of their home countries. This will be interpreted broadly enough to allow passengers and crew as much wine and whatnot as they want.

Last week French troops occupied some Ruhr railroad lines, whose German employees immediately went on strike. Now, the Ruhr faces starvation, which France says is the Germans’ fault.

Marcus Garvey is convicted for fraud in the sale of shares in his Black Star ship line after he knew it was insolvent.

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Today -100: June 18, 1923: Of anti-saloonitarians, grand lictors, and macedonians

The Anti-Saloon League will hold a conference later this month for the purpose of making sure NY Gov. Al Smith, who signed the bill repealing NY’s prohibition enforcement act, is not allowed to be a candidate for president next year.

The Fascisti of America deposes one of its officers and says the group will no longer be affiliated with any foreign fascists or use foreign titles like “grand lictor.”

The Bulgarian coup regime is trying to get the Macedonian province of Serbia to revolt.

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Today -100: June 17, 1923: Of outrages by organized mobs, and eugenics

Irony of the Day -100:  

Complain that their meetings have been subject to “outrages by organized mobs,” and if there’s one thing the Klan can’t stand...

Harry Olson, the chief justice of the Chicago Municipal Court, is also president of the Eugenics Research Association. So that’s good.

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Today -100: June 16, 1923: Of tiles (for some reason), prohibitions, and helicopters

Deposed Bulgarian PM Aleksandar Stamboliyski is killed in a gun battle between soldiers and peasant backers trying to free him. Part of Stamboliyski’s escape plan involved making a purchase, in disguise, of a large quantity of tile. But the tile merchant recognized him and finked him out. Anyway he’s tortured, the hand he used to sign a peace treaty with Yugoslavia cut off, and his head... 

Li Yuan-hung takes back his resignation from the Chinese presidency, says it was made under duress.

Constantinople goes dry. Except for bars serving foreign occupying troops. (Update: nope, postponed until August).

A French helicopter built by Étienne Oehmichen, holding 2 passengers, reaches 5 meters. 

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Today -100: June 15, 1923: Banquets are detrimental to the dignity of the Fascismo

The Belgian government resigns after losing a vote in the Senate about replacing French with Flemish language in the University of Ghent.

Hero of the Day -100:  

Bloomfield, New Jersey. The local American Legion post refused to participate in the Flag Day parade after hearing the Klan would be marching in it. I guess they didn’t consider the egg option.

Mussolini bars Fascists from attending banquets because “banquets are detrimental to the dignity of the Fascismo, which must be inspired by austerity.” Also tomato sauce really shows up on black shirts.

Chinese Pres. Li Yuan-hung resigns, after being subject to the “third degree,” whatever that means. And he gives up the seals, which his wife did have.

Deposed Bulgarian PM Aleksandar Stamboliyski is captured. The new government restores several letters his Agrarian regime had dropped from the Bulgarian alphabet.

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Today -100: June 14, 1923: Of seals, alliterative vigilantes, speedsters, and cannibals

Chinese Pres. Li Yuan-hung tries to flee Peking but his escape train is stopped on the order of the governor of Zhili province, supposedly because he took government seals. Li’s wife, who is not on the train, may have them.

The Louisiana federal prohibition chief announces the formation of a secret group of “Volstead Vigilantes,” 300 of the first 400 of whom are women, to help with prohibition enforcement.

Eleanor Roosevelt is fined for speeding through Earlville, New York. I imagine there’s a commemorative plaque there now.

France tells the League of Nations that something should really be done about cannibalism in Cameroon, the former German colony France holds as a League mandate. It needs League permission to impose the death penalty and fines for cannibalism. There is no cannibalism in Cameroon, but European explorers have convinced themselves for decades that there is.

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Today -100: June 13, 1923: Of war-like adventures, hostages, and counterfeits

I guess Bulgarian PM Aleksandar Stamboliyski wasn’t arrested yesterday after all, but he is under siege, supposedly. There’s a story that as he was fleeing, a soldier shot at his car, hitting his chauffeur and he ran into the woods (a later version has him disguised as the chauffeur, with his mustache shaved off, not shot, but still with the escaping-into-the-woods part). The new government reassures everyone that it will abide by the Versailles Treaty, saying Bulgaria “is absolutely opposed to any sort of war-like adventure.” War-like adventures are the worst kind of adventure.

The Chinese bandits release the last 8 of the hostages they seized off a train 5 weeks ago after receiving ransom. Sorry, that’s the last 8 non-Chinese hostages. The Chinese hostages, who knows or evidently cares.

Watch out for counterfeit $1,000 bills, with badly drawn eagle claws and Alexander Hamilton’s right eye is too dark.

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Today -100: June 12, 1923: This will not turn out well for his body

Ousted Bulgarian PM Aleksandar Stamboliyski is arrested by his own bodyguards. Ouch.

The federal prohibition commissioner for NY, Roy Haynes, says non-citizens make up half those arrested for dry law violations in the city, which evidently means they’re proportionately four times as drunk as citizens and certainly not that they’re four times as targeted for alcohol-related arrests. He says only 10% of those arrested in the city for booze in 1922 were even indicted but it’s still a deterrent. 

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Today -100: June 11, 1923: Of tall cedars, coups, and dancing

Pres. Harding joins a Masonic group and is now a “Tall Cedar.” But did they give him a silly hat to wear?

Is this his last ever silly hat? We shall see.

Civil war in Bulgaria, with Aleksandar Stamboliyski supposedly leading a peasant militia against the coup regime. The new prime minister, appointed by Tsar Boris III, is Aleksandar Tsankov (aka Zankoff), poli sci professor at Sofia University. There is talk about Greece having encouraged the coup in order to get a more anti-Turk government in Bulgaria.

New dancing record: Bernie Brand of Dallas danced 217 hours, winning a prize of $5,000.

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Today -100: June 10, 1923: Bulgarian liberty dawns again

There’s a coup in Bulgaria by an organization of reserve army officers (i.e., a private group, not the army itself, but with support from the tiny army, which is all that’s allowed by the punitive post-Great War peace treaty). A new government is formed from all the opposition parties except the Communists, but they’re still working out who the prime minister will be (no, wait, there’s an AP story further down naming... the wrong person). The overthrown cabinet and parliament are all under arrest (no they aren’t). A statement by the coup leaders says “Bulgarian liberty dawns again. The regime of deceit, violence and murder has collapsed under the weight of its crimes, and a new era of law, harmony and peace has arrived.” So that sounds nice (it won’t be).

Henry Ford says prohibition should be enforced by the army and navy which don’t have anything to do in peacetime anyway.

China protests Japanese marines shooting Chinese rioters in Hunan province and demands the withdrawal of gunboats. So Japan sends 4 destroyers. Japan replies that it was just protecting its nationals, who are facing a boycott movement.

A circuit judge refuses to grant an injunction against the Chicago police interfering with a planned 7-day dance marathon, saying “there is a moral danger which must be considered” and they attract the “morbid curiosity seeker,” just like bullfights and cockfights.

Today -100’s Sunday NYT has an article covering all the anti-Darwin activity in state legislatures that the paper’s been ignoring the last few months. Oklahoma banned the purchase of textbooks including evolution, with just one no vote; Florida is considering banning the teaching of the theory; Kentucky’s Monkey Bill failed by a single vote; Tennessee’s Legislature declined to invite William Jennings Bryan to speak, saying it had more important matters to deal with – that won’t last.

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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.

Headline of the Day -100:  

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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.

Headline of the Day -100:  

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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