July 15, 1906 (Sunday)

ACCUSED KILLER IS CAPTURED: Chester Gillette of Cortland, N.Y., has been arrested and charged in the death of Grace Brown, whose body was pulled from Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks the other day. The arrest is big news in Upstate New York. The Syracuse Sunday paper includes this map that shows the before-the-killing and after-the-killing movements of Chester and, for a while at least, Grace. Authorities think he might have beat her over the head with an oar. He has told police that the boat they were rowing capsized and the best he could do was to save himself. He had no real good reason for not mentioning it to anyone for a couple of days, though. There'll likely be more on this one.

REMEMBERING REMBRANDT IN CHICAGO: In honor of the 300th birthday of Rembrandt -- which will be celebrated in museums around the world today -- a portrait of the painter by himself was unveiled today at the Art Institute in Chicago. It's the property of a Frank G. Logan and has not been exhibited in public before. According to The New York Times, it's called "Rembrandt in a steel gorget, with a cock's feather in his cap." It might end up not being a Rembrandt but if it is, it will be one of three in Chicago. One of them is known simply as "Portrait of a Girl" (right). It was donated to the Art Institute in 1894.

BAVARIA IS ON OTTO-MATIC PILOT: There's talk in Bavaria that officials are fed up with having King Otto (left)as the ruler of the state. He's quite mad. He has been king for about 20 years and, according to an article in The New York Times, he has "resembled a wild animal" for more than a year -- subsisting on bread crumbs and dried fruit. He's the one who replaced King Ludwig, who committed suicide.

July 14, 1906 (Saturday)

THEY THINK THERE WAS A CRIME AT BIG MOOSE LAKE: The body of Grace Brown (right)was pulled from Big Moose Lake in New York's Adirondacks yesterday and taken to Frankfort by the coroner. The coroner, who has the amazing last name of Coffin, had Frank Brown of South Otselic identify the body as that of his daughter. Mr. Brown said she was with a man named Chester Gillette, but nobody is certain that he was the man who was with her when she went out for a row. A straw hat belonging to the companion has been found but the lining has been ripped out -- likely to remove any identifying markings. We'll have to watch this develop. It could turn into a tragedy that's quite American.

TURMOIL IN PARIS: Yesterday a law was enacted in Paris that restored Alfred Dreyfus (right) to the Army of France. That move was followed by a duel in which Under Secretary of State Sarraut was wounded by M. Pugliesi-Conti. Sarraut and his seconds supported the restoration of Dreyfus. Pugliesi-Conti and his seconds bitterly opposed it. Sarraut's wound is considered serious, with penetration of the lung, but not fatal.

July 13, 1906 (Friday)

THESE WHEELS OF JUSTICE DID GRIND SLOWLY: Capt. Alfred Dreyfus was arrested in October 1894 and charged with treason. He was convicted and sent to Devil's Island, where he remained until 1899. Finally, his case has been reviewed and yesterday he was exonerated and restored to the French army. The New York Times offers this quote from Dreyfus:
The ordeal has been long and severe -- it has above all been long. The last stage, that of the inquiry in the Criminal Chamber, seemed to me interminable, but work was for me a calming influence....I am now at the end of my suffering. My honor is restored.

NO SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL: The National Billposters' Association decided yesterday to stop using images of Satan -- in all its forms -- in advertisements. The association will no longer distribute material with any representation of the devil -- whether with hoofs, horns and tails or more subtle kinds. The New York Times' report, which carries a Chicago dateline, adds that, "The members did not specify their objection to pictorial representations of the evil one, but will not post bills on which he figures." Not sure what they'll do when a production of "Faust" needs some publicity.

AUTOMOBILISTS BEGIN TREK: The second endurance tour sponsored by the American Automobile Association and Charles J. Glidden began yesterday in Buffalo. About 60 autos will make a somewhat circuitous 1,100 mile trip to Bretton Woods (right) in the White Mountains. The winner receives the Glidden Trophy. It's not based on speed. Rather it's based on the driver's ability to follow the tour on a certain timetable. Guess how the drivers will find their way: Two autos go ahead and spread confetti on the road to guide the competitors. That's probably more efficient than making the drivers figure out how to fold, unfold and refold a road map.

SOME CLASSIC BASEBALL WRITING: It's probably best to just let the first part of the game story speak for itself. It's from today's Washington Post. The Washington Nationals lost the game to the Cleveland Naps. Here you go:
The home squad's fielding stunts were off edge again yesterday, and Cleveland's troupe of pennant aspirants had the opener thrust upon them, making six unearned runs, while the natives quit before the championship form of "Soldier Boy" Hess (left). The contest was drowsy and uninteresting, as the outcome was never in doubt after the opening round.
Hess' nickname honors his service with the Army in the Philippines.

July 12, 1906 (Thursday)

ISMAY LIKES LIFE IN THE FAST (SHIPPING) LANE: Bruce Ismay (right), head of the International Mercantile Marine Co., arrived in New York on the White Star ship Oceanic yesterday and talked about his plans for a set of fast ships. The New York Times reports that Ismay's company will build a fleet of six new transatlantic liners. The article says the ships are expected to be "as fast as any vessel afloat when they take their place in the transatlantic trade." The report says that Ismay declined to say the ships would be faster than the newest Cunarders. One can only imagine what historic events lie ahead for any one of those ships. Or, of course, for Ismay, which sort-of rhymes with "dismay."

PITCHER'S CAREER IS A REAL SINKER: The once-remarkable career of baseball pitcher Ted Breitenstein (right) appears to be unwinding. In a recent game in Memphis, Breitenstein temporarily left his spot on the New Orleans roster to help umpire the game. He got into an argument with a first baseman named Scoops Carey (left)over a call. Breitenstein was arrested by Memphis' chief of police and faces charges of assault and using obscene language. To reiterate -- Breitenstein was the umpire.

UNION DISPUTE LEADS TO MID-AIR MURDER AT PLAZA HOTEL SITE: About 30 iron workers attacked three watchman on the eighth floor of the under-construction Plaza Hotel yesterday -- leaving one of the men dead and the other two injured. The three watchmen were at the site to protect some non-union workers who were building a stairway. The union workers cut off all escape by the watchmen by removing the ladders leading up to the eighth floor. The man who was killed (Michael Butler) was pelted with iron bolts, beaten and dropped onto the sixth floor. The other two were beaten but not dropped to a floor below. The New York Times says, "After all this the ironworkers resumed work as unconcernedly as if it had never been interrupted." It looks like the attackers face murder charges.

July 11, 1906 (Wednesday)

HE DOESN'T WANT HIS MUG ON A MUG -- OR A BOTTLE: The famous Adirondack hotel man Paul Smith (who was born as Apollos A. Smith) is suing a Baltimore whisky maker. Smith, who's behind one of the first wilderness resorts in the Adirondacks, the 255-room Paul Smith's Hotel in Brighton (shown at right in the early 1890s) wants the man to stop putting his portrait and name on his bottles of Paul Smith Maryland Rye. A news item said "Mr. Smith resents being used for a whisky advertisement." He's suing for $1,000. I'll drink to that.

THE BRITS HAVE THEIR OWN FOOD PROBLEMS TO WORRY ABOUT: Recent complaints from the British about the quality meat coming from packing plants in America are beginning to look pretty hypocritical. The annual report of inspector of factories and workshops paints a dismal picture of how the Brits are making their own food products. For example, here's part of a report on a jam factory.
The boiling room lay between the yard and the stable and the horses reached the latter through the boiling room. The sanitary accommodation was hardly separated from the room where the fresh fruit and uncovered jam were kept and the floors were dirty and undrained.
Before you pick up your English muffin, here's more from an article out of London: Inspectors of bakeries found that it was customary to bathe children in the bakeries after the workday ended on Saturdays. And, the report says sausage factories often are "small, dilapidated, badly lit and often infested by rats." By the way, would you like a sausage patty on that muffin?

A COMPLIMENT EVEN A DIVA WOULD LOVE: The New York World printed an item (picked up in some of today's papers) about a comment actress Sarah Bernhardt (right, as Theodora) enjoys passing on to her admirers in Paris. It deals with something that a dry goods clerk told her in a town in the Western United States: "Madame, I learned French only to hear you; and it was worth it."

July 10, 1906 (Tuesday)

CAN YOU SAY "REACH FOR THE SKY, PARDNER" FIVE TIMES? You might not have heard that five stage coaches near the entrance at Yosemite National Park in California were held up on Saturday, one after another. (Above is a picture of a typical stage from about 1900.) Evidently the robber had enough time to rob each stage as it passed around a corner near Ahwahnee. He stopped the stage by pointing a gun at the driver. He demanded that passengers toss their money and jewels out on the roadway. When they did that, he ordered the driver to move on and waited for the next stage to roll by. He did this five times and then dashed into the woods. Well, now the sheriff thinks that one person committed all the robberies: "Jack" Sweet. He owns a small tract of land in the Sierras. Word that he's been arrested is based on information from "a man named Graham from Ahwahnee." Sweet is evidently from a place called of Grub Gulch. Really.

THE MEAT'S GOT TO BE REAL BAD IF THESE LADS DON'T WANT IT: The British navy is turning up its well-traveled nose at canned meat from America -- inspired by the recent controversies regarding the products of Chicago's Packingtown. Instead, the British will eat meat from Australia and Argentina. The bureaucrats evidently see no need to look any further than countries beginning with the letter A. Noted carnivore Winston Spencer Churchill -- undersecretary for the colonies -- assures the politicians that, for example, the government in New South Wales makes sure that "only absolutely healthy hooves are slaughtered for food and that every precaution is taken at freezing and canning work to insure a cleanly method." There's no comment from librettist W.S. Gilbert, of Gilbert and Sullivan fame on this new naval development. (Sullivan, as you know, died about six years ago.)

July 9, 1906 (Monday)

MORE DISCUSSION IN BASEBALL CIRCLES ABOUT SAM CRAWFORD'S INCREDIBLE TWO-BASE HIT: A ruling by umpire Tim Hurst in Saturday's baseball game between the Washington Nationals and the Detroit Tigers has drawn quite a bit of criticism, rightly so. During the game, Detroit's Sam "Wahoo" Crawford (left) hit a high popup that went virtually straight up in the air. It hit the ground about six inches inside the first base line, near home plate. After it hit the ground, it bounced back into foul territory and rolled toward the stands -- something that normally results in a ball being ruled foul. But Umpire Hurst called the ball fair. According to Nationals manager Stahl, Hurst said he ruled it fair because it was hit SO HIGH IN THE AIR. The baseball rule says a ball that "settles on foul territory between first and home plate" is called foul. However, Hurst evidently believes that the HEIGHT of the popup meant that the ball "settled" in fair territory regardless of the fact that it bounced backward. The game is under protest by the Nationals, whose manager is absolutely stunned by the ruling. Now, it's up to American League President Ban Johnson to decide whether or not the game should be played over. The Washington Post says, "It depends entirely on the interpretation of the word 'settles' by President Johnson."

A HEADLINE THAT MIGHT SEND A READER SCAMPERING TO A DICTIONARY: Today's Washington Post has an article with this headline: "Women Hobsonize Skipper." The subhead provides a clue: "Capt. Penco, of Italian Liner, Kissed by Misses He Rescued." It turns out that Capt. Penco of the liner Dinnamare was the one who recently towed the Fabre liner America to safety in Bermuda. Now he's in New York City with his ship -- and its 32,000 cases of lemons. He told reporters that when he came up alongside the disabled America in mid-ocean, many of the people on board wanted to kiss him. He said, "Two of the women, one an old lady and the other a very presentable miss, did succeed in planting a smack on my port cheek, but they were the only ones." There you have it. The two women kissed their rescuer. In other words, they "hobsonized" him.
So, what's up with that word?
It turns out that the word's definition is based on the reactions to the exploits of Naval officer Richmond Hobson (left) during the Spanish-American War. To use it in a sentence: "The Washington Nationals will NOT hobsonize Umpire Tim Hurst."