Sept. 16, 1906 (Sunday)

GIRLS GONE WILD, 1906 STYLE: Today's Washington Post includes an engaging front-page story headlines "Tennessee Girls Take the Town." It describes a visit to the city by a group of female students from the short-lived Radnor College, which was founded last year by Andrew Eshman in Nashville. The writer called the group of 251 students a "delectable delegation" and "distinguished looking Southern maidens." A more lengthy description follows: "There were tall and willowy girls, petite and pretty girls, blond girls, and brunettes. All were quietly dressed in traveling suits and most of them carried 'grips'."
You can bet they had one thing in common: white skin.
Anyway, the girls told the reporter that they weren't especially happy about their coverage in the press. There had been too much attention paid to the food they ate. Obligingly, the reporter ended with this sentence:
"The last glimpse The Post reporter caught of the pretty lasses from the South disclosed them seated around the tables of the Burton dining-room doing justice with the appetites of youth to the good things provided for them."

THE TIMES REVEALS A CONTRACT-BUSTING SCHEME FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS: A teacher in the recently reorganized school districts of the Mattituck, Long Island, area has been hired for the year at the salary of $45 a month. Soon after that, the doors were opened to her school in the West Mattituck area. One small pupil has so far attended her school. The teacher, who's not named in the article in today's New York Times, anticipates an easy year if it stays like this. The trustees of the district don't want things to stay this way. The per-pupil cost is too much. The Times reminds readers of one option: "The customary manner of breaking contracts with pretty school teachers in Suffolk County is to marry them to the sons of rich farmers."

PLEASE KEEP THE FRENCH CHEFS AWAY FROM THIS GOVERNMENT WORKER: In Paris, a government employee is paid to keep track of everything that is plucked from the River Seine. Here are the numbers of what the river surrendered in 1905, according to an item in today's New York Times:
101 human bodies;
2,114 dead dogs;
898 dead cats;
2,869 drowned rats;
31 horses;
12 sheep;
52 pigs (suckling and otherwise);
26 magpies;
29 turkeys;
9 goats;
4 porcupines;
About 700 other various creatures, including a monkey.
There's no mention of the fish.

Sept. 15, 1906 (Saturday)

CELERITY WATCHING SPARKS TURMOIL IN COLUMBUS: President Roosevelt's daughter, Alice,(right, in 1902) who's also known as Mrs. Nicholas Longworth, faced a panicky crowd yesterday at the unveiling in Columbus, Ohio, of a statue honoring the late President McKinley. About 50,000 people surged around a speakers' stand yesterday (she's seen in the stand above) trying to get a glimpse of her. According to one article, "The crowd was so large and cramped that it got beyond control, and the shrieking of women and children, who were caught in the crush rapidly worked the crowd into a frenzy. Many women fainted and were carried out of the crowd by the police." The Longworths climbed through a window that led from the platform into the governor's office. By all accounts this is the most stunning response people have ever had to anything related to McKinley. The sculptor, by the way, was Herman Atkins MacNeil. Here's how it looks:

Sept. 14, 1906 (Friday)

ETHEL HAS SOME ENERGY: Ethel Barrymore (right, born Ethel Mae Blythe) is touring with a popular "Alice-Sit-By-Fire" and people are finding out more about her life. She recently bought a house on Murray Hill in New York City. She's an accomplished pianist. One actor says, "Her friends are artists, writers, actors, people who do something in the world to entertain or enlighten it." Her brothers are John Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore, her nephew is John Drew Barrymore, and the grand-niece will be Drew Barrymore. The writers who appeal to her are Joseph Conrad and Jack London.

BACON WROTE CRISPLY: The Washington Post has an item in today's paper that might be true. In any case, it's interesting to writers. It's from the Philadelphia Bulletin. Here goes:
"The English sentence grows shorter and shorter," said an essayist. "Spenser, Sir Thomas More, Lyly and Sydney used sentences of the average length of fifty-five words. Nowadays the sentences of the average journalist are only 15 words long. Bacon (left) introduced the short sentence. At a time when everyone else was using 50 words, he took to 22. Praise be to Bacon."
The item offers some words-per-sentence numbers for various writers: Thackery, 31; Dickens, 28; Macauley and H.G. Wells, 23; Upton Sinclair, 22; Kipling, 21.

MIXED SIGNALS FROM THE NAVY: Sailors from the U.S.S. Denver landed in Cuba and then were ordered to get back to their vessel, leaving only a few on shore to protect members of the U.S. legation. Officials have made it clear that this is NOT AN ACT OF INTERVENTION. Rather the troops are there to PROTECT AMERICAN INTERESTS. Regardless, there's plenty of confusion regarding the actions of the Navy. Yesterday, Navy Secretary Bonaparte arrived at the Hotel Albemarle in New York City en route to Oyster Bay to see President Roosevelt. He was surprised when someone showed him an Associated Press dispatch that described the landing of the sailors from the Denver. He said he knew nothing about the action and couldn't account for it. Shortly thereafter, he entered into "telephonic communication" with Washington. The order to withdraw the soldiers is believed to have been linked to that call.

Sept. 13, 1906 (Thursday)

BY GOSH IT WASN'T A FAKE BODY AFTER ALL; IT WAS MUMMIFIED IN PLASTER: Something strange turned up recently at the famous Carlyle House (right) in Alexandria, Va. -- a body. At first, people thought it might be a fake, but scientists now agree, according to today's Washington Post, that the plaster-encased remains are that of a human body. The final word comes from the Smithsonian's Ales Hrdlicka (left). Identifying the body is another matter. Some think it's John Carlyle, the man who first lived in the house in 1753. Others think it's Gen. Edward Braddock, which some would think would be a fitting end for the man.

A 'GARRISON FINISH' IN DETROIT: In yesterday's game in Detroit, Cleveland led the Tigers by a 4-0 score with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Amazingly, the Tigers roared back by scoring an incredible 5 runs. The final runs scored on a walk-off bases-loaded triple by Fred Payne. The article in today's Post says, "Detroit fans never witnessed a Garrison finish of its like." That term -- "Garrison finish" -- comes from horse racing, in honor of the come-from-behind wins of jockey "Snapper" Garrison (left).

NEW UMPIRE WILL BE A TOUGH ONE: National League boss Harry Pulliam has hired an umpire who is not expected to take any lip from any players. His name is Charles "Cy" Rigler. Here's how Pulliam described Rigler's method of dealing with an unruly player: "If a man happens to call him one of the usual pet names, he quickly pulls off his mask and chest protector, and, rushing at the player, lets fly a punch at the jaw." Although the article focuses on Rigler's pugnacity, he's going to be known for more than that. He developed the ball-and-strike signals while in the Central League. He made quite an impression upon the game.

Sept. 12, 1906 (Wednesday)

NERVOUS EYES TURN TO CUBA: The simmering revolution in Cuba has many in the U.S. government on edge. According to The Washington Post, it's rumored that President Roosevelt has ordered the cruiser U.S.S. Des Moines (right) to Key West so it will be as close as possible to Havana. This is evidently being done to "protect American interests in Cuba." This is not a big ship. It will likely be used as a asylum if needed at all.

THE SEASON IS VIRTUALLY OVER, BUT THE BOSTON PLAYERS ARE FIGHTING, LITERALLY: Tempers flared in the dugout of Boston's American League team yesterday during the game against New York. A ball dropped between second baseman Hobe Ferris (right) and right fielder Jack Hayden. They misplayed it, allowing a New York batter to round the bases. The players dealt with it between innings in the dugout. According to a newspaper article, Ferris kicked Hayden in the mouth. That loosened three of his teeth. Hayden was certainly sensitive to that kind of damage. He had studied dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania and earned a degree in the field at the University of Maryland. The police got involved.

PANAMA-HAT SUPPLY IS THREATENED: The future of the Panama hat industry is bleak. That's the word -- not from Panama, of course, but from Ecuador, where the straw comes from. The New York Times has an article that says the recent South American earthquake ruined the fields in a vital district of that country. The article says, "The inhabitants of the district who have been deprived of employment are in dire want.

Sept. 11, 1906 (Tuesday)

ZOO EXHIBIT DRAWS MORE FIRE: The turmoil over the exhibit of Ota Benga at the Bronx Zoo continues. Members of the Colored Baptist Ministers Conference visited the zoo to see if the story was true -- that Ota Benga, who was brought to America from the Congo about a month ago -- has been exhibited in a cage with monkeys. According to today's New York Times, the zoo's Director Hornaday explained it this way: "Benga is in the primate house because that was the most comfortable place we could find for him." That comment won't sit well with the ministers, who know of many places in New York that provide a better environment -- in homes or in institutions.

FOR PEAT'S SAKE....: Restoration has begun at Winchester Cathedral in England. Something needs to be done. In some places the walls are 2 to 3 feet out of perpendicular. Now they have a good idea of what happened -- when the church was built in 1202. It was built on trunks of large birch tees set into a bed of PEAT.

AUTHOR'S TRUE IDENTITY REVEALED: The identity of the author known as "Sydney McCall," whose name is on "Truth Dexter" and "The Breath of the Gods," was revealed yesterday by the publisher Little, Brown. The writer is really Mrs. Mary McNeil Fenollosa (right), an Alabama native who has spent a number of years in Japan. There has been speculation that her husband, Prof. Ernest Fenollosa (left) had been a collaborator on the works. The publisher's announcement is tied to a push for publicity surrounding her newest book, "The Dragon Painter," will be published in October.

Sept. 10, 1906 (Monday)

RACISM GOES ON EXHIBIT IN THE BRONX: The New York Zoological Park has come upon a controversial way to boost crowds. Some nut there decided to put a pygmy named Ota Benga in the same cage as an orangutan. The crowds have come -- thousands were at the zoo in the Bronx yesterday, according to an article in today's New York Times. However, criticism has erupted. The most vocal opponents are some clergymen. One complained, We send our missionaries to Africa to Christianize the people, and then we bring one here to brutalize him." Ota Benga is from the Congo. This is a controversy that should be remembered.

ASSASSIN'S SISTER HAS A PLAN FOR CHICAGO: The sister of Charles Guiteau (right), the assassin of President Garfield in 1881, is back in the news. Nowadays, she is known as Mrs. Frances M. Norton. About 25 years ago, she was Mrs. George sociable. (Her husband was the one who defended the assassin in a trial that generated a lot of criticism, especially regarding guides insanity plea. One magazine cover was especially critical. She even wrote a novel to try and show guide was innocent.) Nowadays, Mrs. Norton wants to set up a Utopian tenement house in Chicago. Many wealthy Chicagoans seem to be behind this.