Dec. 11, 1906 (Tuesday)

YOU MIGHT WANT TO POSTPONE THAT TRIP TO TANGIER: According to a brief article on the front page of today's New York Times, trouble is continuing to brew in North Africa. The headline reads "Rais Uli Wants Holy War." Here's the article in its entirety.
TANGIER, Dec. 10 -- Rais Uli to-day informed the Moorish officials here that after conferring with the mountain tribes he was prepared to march upon Tangier at the head of 15,000 armed Moors and drive into the sea and massacre every Christian in the place.
He quoted the Koran to prove that even if a successful European invasion were to follow they would have carried out the commands of God.
Rais Uli or Raisuli (variously known as a bandit or freedom fighter) (right) pops up often in the news and had a bit of a run-in with President Roosevelt in 1904. Here's a place to go for information about Roosevelt and Raisuli. The Roosevelt-Raisuli conflict is touched on in "The Wind and the Lion", a 1975 film. Raisuli is portrayed by SEAN CONNERY, in a stunning bit of cross-ethnic, cross-cultural and cross-eyed casting.

JUDGE MIGHT GO AFTER SOME JOURNALISTS: Chester Gillette was sentenced yesterday to die in the electric chair sometime during the week of Jan. 28. Appeals will likely delay that, but that's the way things stand now in the case that will form the inspiration for Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy." It appears that Judge Devendorf, however, thinks the trial has been "A Journalistic Tragedy." Yesterday, he led some people to believe that some newspapers in the state of New York will have to face some serious questions about the FAKE ARTICLES that were printed about the trial. An account in today's Post-Standard says there's a rumor that a grand jury will hear evidence about the situation. No papers are mentioned by name in today's article in The Post-Standard.

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT WINS PEACE PRIZE: The Parliament of Norway yesterday named U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt as the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. The main reason he won the award, according to Gunnar Knudson, the president of the Norwegian Parliament, was the work he did to end the bloody Russo-Japanese war. The prize money comes to about $37,000, which the White House says will be used to support an "industrial peace" committee in this country, presumably to help smooth differences between employees and employers. The New York Times thought so highly of this award that it put the story on PAGE FIVE. That might be because it was included in reports in yesterday's afternoon papers.

COACH WARNER "POPS" OFF: Cornell football coach Glenn "Pop" Warner (shown at right in 1892) said yesterday he thinks the new football rules, which allow for the forward pass, are good for the game, but he would like to see 12 PLAYERS on the field, presumable for both Cornell and its opponent. Here's what he said:
Each time I had a play figured out, it failed to please me, for it seemed that there was always one player missing.
That EXTRA MAN rule likely won't happen, but he does seem to have a pretty good idea about the forward pass. Here it is in his words:
I would like to see all restrictions removed from the forward pass. The rule giving the ball to the other side when it hits the ground has made teams afraid to employ it, while to limit of its use to two times and compelling it to be passed five yards from center have kept the play from being developed to its fullest extent.
Again, under the current rules, the BALL CHANGES POSSESSION when a pass FALLS INCOMPLETE. On that one, it looks like he has a good point.