Sept. 29, 1906 (Saturday)

WHEN ART AND DIPLOMACY COLLIDE: The Italian ambassador to the U.S., Mayor des Planches has evidently resigned, according to an article in today's New York Times. It seems that he and Secretary of State Elihu Root haven't gotten along since the days when Root was general counsel for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The issue: A few years ago, the museum decided not to display the statue "Saturnalia" by Ernesto Biondi. The dispute has lingered for about two years. The thinking at the Met was that the sculpture group "out-Hogarthed Hogarth." Biondi sued, saying the trustees had no right to decline the piece. Root refused to go to bat for the sculpture.

THEY WERE IMMOBILIZED IN MOBILE: More information is streaming in about the hurricane that smashed the Gulf Coast. One hard hit town was Mobile, Ala. Today's New York Times includes a first-person account by the city editor of the Mobile Register, William J. Carver. Once he realized that Mobile would be cut off by telegraph for about two days, he decided to head inland to find a usable wire connection to let people around the country know what had happened. First he tried horseback, then he got hold of a tug to head upriver. He and a railroad agent hired an engineer and got some militiamen to act as crew members. Against a raging river, they slowly made it 16 miles inland, to the Mobile River Bridge. They made it by 3 a.m. However, the cable box there provided no connection to the outside world. They then walked a couple of miles to Hurricane, Ala. The wires were useless there, too. So he walked another four miles to Carpenters, Ala. A friendly farmer gave him some food and the two of them -- on a horse and a mule -- headed 10 miles to Bay Minette. It took them four hours to thread their way through swamps and fallen trees. There, 25 miles from Mobile, Carver found a usable wire and an operator -- to tell his story and to describe the destruction to his city.

ANOTHER DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE CZAR'S SECURITY FORCE: Czar Nicholas is certainly feeling the pressure. Yet another plot has discovered that threatens his life. This time, it seems to involve servants in the Peterhof, the czar-man's secluded hideaway on Cronstadt Bay. (See the locator map on the right.) Supposedly, officials discovered two armed terrorists -- a man and a woman -- within the compound. They had been smuggled inside by servants, who have been arrested, too.

Sept. 28, 1906 (Friday)

CONVICTED MURDERER TESTS SCISSORS' SHARPNESS WITH BODY OF NURSE ... 200 TIMES: Notorious Elizabeth "Lizzie" Halliday has killed again. This time, the killing took place in the Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminal Insane (above). About 8 a.m. yesterday, she followed nurse Nellie Wickes into the lavatory, overcame her, stole her scissors and stabbed her -- many times. Actually, police think she stabbed her 200 times. Authorities say Halliday killed Wickes because Wickes planned to leave the institution and receive more training in nursing. This is Halliday's fifth murder in the past 15 years. In 1892, she killed her husband and son. Then she killed a woman and her daughter. Since her incarceration in the hospital, she has been considered a model prisoner. The drawing of her on the right is from the Marion (Ohio) Daily Star from Dec. 19, 1893. In an odd accompanying article, she is linked to the "Whitechapel murders" -- meaning, it appears, the Jack the Ripper killings.

THEY SURE DON'T WRITE LIKE THIS ANYMORE: The second game of yesterday's double header between Cleveland and New York (American League) ended in a tie because the game was called on account of darkness. Here's one sports writer's description of the last half inning, when Cleveland nearly took the lead. Let's pick it up with one out and nobody on base:
"Turner (right) sent the ball through the gathering gloom that was good for three bases, and the crowd proceeded to become wild. It laughed, cheered, loved and danced. Then up came Lajoie, and for the second time in the game he struck out. It was sad beyond description. A hush that could be heard for blocks settled down upon the multitude. Then Congalton came to bat. He swung at something that was a little bit darker than the rest of the scenery. It proved to be the ball, and it went out into the field. The umpire said Congalton was out. Somebody, Hoffman, the umpire said, caught the ball. Then the umpire found out it was dark and called the game."
It's not exactly "Casey at the Bat," but it has a similar drama.

ATLANTA NEWSPAPERS LINKED TO RIOTING: In Atlanta, the Fulton County Grand Jury made a public statement yesterday, blaming that city's newspapers, particularly the afternoon papers, with helping promote riotous behavior in the city last Saturday. The jurors have gone on record by believing that "the distribution by The Atlanta News of sensational extras on Saturday night among excited men and boys greatly influenced the crowd and promoted the formation of the mobs." This type of newspapering, the jurors stated, deserves "our severest condemnation."

Sept. 27, 1906 (Thursday)

REMEMBER ZEB: Word of the centennial celebration going on in Colorado Springs in honor of the man who "discovered" Pike's Peak prompts some people in Northern New York to mention that Zeb Pike is actually buried at Sackets Harbor, on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. Pike was in his 20s when he first spotted the Rockies in 1806. He was killed a few years later in a battle in the War of 1812. That was in the famous attack on York (now Toronto). Pike's body was brought back to Sackets Harbor. Word is that -- for that trip -- the body was stuffed in a barrel of whisky or some other alcohol-based preservative. An article in the Post-Standard in Syracuse says that his body was plucked from an obscure grave "a number of years ago." By the way, today's Washington Post had the good sense NOT to say that Pike DISCOVERED the mountain. The paper says he "first recorded the existence of the mountain."

NOW THAT'S A TRUE WEB GEM: In a National League baseball game yesterday, St. Louis beat Boston, 6-3. That's not necessarily all that interesting. What is interesting is what happened to Boston's starting pitcher, Jack Cameron of Nova Scotia, in the first inning. Here's what happened:
Cameron pitched first to St. Louis left fielder Tom O'Hara, who singled. The next man up, Al Burch, hit a line drive up the middle. It hit OFF CAMERON'S HEAD and rocketed back to catcher Jack O'Neil. He caught it BEFORE IT TOUCHED THE GROUND and fired the ball to first baseman Fred Tenney in time to DOUBLE UP the runner, O'Hara. Cameron had to leave the game. He earned an assist on the play.

NEW FOOTBALL RULES FOR 1906 HAVE SUPPOSEDLY MADE THE GAME SAFER, RIGHT? Nineteen-year-old John Kennedy, the captain of the Lawrenceville School football team, was killed yesterday during a practice game at the school. He was running around the end, when one of the scrub players made a high tackle. Several other players fell on him. Kennedy got up with difficulty, walked to the gymnasium, climbed to the dressing room on the second floor and collapsed. A blood vessel at the base of his brain had been broken.

AT LEAST THEY'LL BE SAFE FROM THE STORM IN NEW ORLEANS, RIGHT? Today's Washington Post reports that a huge storm has begun lashing the Gulf Coast from Alabama westward to the mouth of the Mississippi. Alarming reports of imminent danger were received last night from Bay St. Louis on Mississippi Sound. There have been washouts in Biloxi. And Lake Ponchartrain has risen about four feet. The last sentence gives one reason why people in New Orleans can rest easy: "The city of New Orleans is protected from Lake Pontchartrain by levees."

Sept. 26, 1906 (Wednesday)

PALMA READY TO STEP DOWN IN CUBA: Cuba appears to be on the verge of a big change. In a drastic change, the Moderate Party, which as recently had virtually complete governmental control of the island and leader President Palma (right) are prepared to relinquish total control to the United States in order to avoid making any concessions to the Liberal Party. President Roosevelt's representatives, Secretary of War Taft and Assistant Secretary of State Bacon told the Associated Press that they are "disgusted by the petty methods of the Government leaders" (in the words of the journalist). The U.S. has just about given up efforts to restore peace on the island without the use of force.

THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION: A punchy paragraphist writing for The Post-Standard in Syracuse makes a good point regarding some of the events related to the recent rioting in Atlanta. Here goes:
"The State of Georgia proposes to suppress Rev. Tom Dixon's play, but we have heard of no steps being taken against the newspaper which offered $1,000 for the lynching of negroes."

MULEPOWER VS. HORSEPOWER: Some might consider mules to be a bit, er, thickheaded. But one in Texas seems to be smart enough to know when his future is threatened. Evidently, in Dallas (at right, a view of Main Street about 1900, I think), a mule that was hitched to a wagon did not like the odor coming from a nearby automobile. The mule attacked the auto with his hind legs, leaving holes in the metal. Onlookers were afraid the auto was going to explode. It did not. The owner did, however. Capt. W.H. Wilkerson had the owner of the mule arrested.

Sept. 25, 1906 (Tuesday)

MACON DECIDES TO KEEP "THE CLANSMAN" UNDER WRAPS: The dramatic version of Thomas Dixon's race-baiting story called "The Clansman" was scheduled to be shown in Macon, Ga., tomorrow night, but the mayor ordered that the show not be presented tomorrow night. This is evidently being done in light of the race riots in Atlanta. (The subtitle for the story is "An historical romance of the Ku Klux Klan.") An article in today's Washington Post says, "Steps will be taken to keep the show out of the theaters in Georgia." In addition, the city council of Montgomery in neighboring Alabama called on that city's mayor to prevent a production of that drama next week.

TENNESSEE TOWN DEVASTATED BY DYNAMITE BLAST: The list of people killed in Friday's deadly explosion in Jellico, Tenn., has gone up from seven to 22. The body of an unidentified girl was found in a field HALF MILE from the site of the explosion. All her clothes had been blown away. The body was virtually intact. Also, many are worried that the number of dead will rise by five. A woman from a nearby town has been looking for five children, to whom she gave permission to go to the circus in Jellico. Yesterday, a coroner's jury finished its investigation and found either or both of two railroad companies guilty of criminal negligence.

ORDERLY WEIGHS ON ADMIRAL'S REQUEST: According to a notice in the Rochester Herald, an orderly had a wonderful comeback for an admiral who asked for some assistance. It happened right after an admiral was handed a dispatch. The admiral's eyesight wasn't very good, so he held the dispatch at arm's length and tried to read it. Then he brought it closer to his eyes, and he still couldn't read it. He spotted an old Irish orderly who was standing nearby. He handed it to the man and said, "Read this for me."
The orderly responded, "Oi can't sir. Oi'm as ignorant as yourself."

Sept. 24, 1906 (Monday)

NEWSPAPERS TAKE SOME HEAT IN ATLANTA: About 1,000 militia members are on the ground in Atlanta to help deal with ongoing race riots. At least 10 are dead. Another 40 are injured. Some citizens are upset about the role newspapers have played in stirring things up. An article describes what a group of community members think about that: "The heralding of recent assaults on white women by negroes in flaming headlines in extras of local papers was condemned in unmeasured terms and the earnest request was made that hereafter no special editions covering these topics be issued." The image at right that purports to show what went on in Atlanta in the riot comes from a French publication that was released in October 1906.

FIELD AND STREAM OFFERS A CLOSE LOOK AT THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BLACK BASS: Evidently, some fishermen are catching some flack about catching too many black bass (right). To counter the complaints and perhaps to show that black bass really aren't VICTIMS in the big picture, some papers are quoting from Field and Stream magazine. Evidently, an article in that publication says, "A black bass will swim into a school of minnows, gulp them down until he can hold no more and retire as the Romans used to do at their banquets, returning with an empty stomach to repeat the process." The magazine also says that 20,000 black bass were put into a pond by themselves, and after three months, 9,000 had been devoured. I guess that means the fish are enmeshed in a kill-or-be-killed cycle, so why not let fishermen be part of it?

Sept. 23, 1906 (Sunday)

SHE BROUGHT THE HEMLINE UP A BIT ON THE TENNIS COURT: Tennis champion May Sutton (left) recently spoke with some reporters and today's papers include items about her. She's the best female tennis player in the U.S. One article describes her play this way: "She plays hard and without the slightest care of whether she is graceful about it or no, consequently she is graceful." She won the Wimbledon championship a year ago. She's the one who SHOCKED British tennis spectators when she played in a dress that was SO SHORT you could see her ANKLES. Plus, her sleeves exposed the skin up her arm up to her ELBOW. To her, it made sense: "that's the way to obtain absolute freedom and if you're going to play tennis you've got to have it." Things have changed a bit, 100 years later.

RICE CASE STILL SIMMERS: About 3,500 physicians put their names on a petition to try and secure the release for prisoner Albert T. Patrick, who was convicted in the killing of millionaire William Marsh Rice in 1900. The physicians say the medical testimony offered in the case was false. This is an intriguing case that drew plenty of coverage. Patrick was convicted mostly on the testimony of the BUTLER, who likely DID IT, but secured immunity. Rice, and his money, was instrumental in the founding of Rice University. What happened to the butler? He shot himself in 1954 according to this review of the case in Time.

ATLANTA'S ABOUT TO EXPLODE: Reports surfaced today of race rioting in Atlanta, especially in Decatur Street. Supposedly, the trouble is based on assaults earlier in the day on some white women. Reports are confusing. One article published in the North says, "The mob seems to lack a leader, and the police seem at midnight to have the mob controlled." No mention of the nature or race of that mob. The number of dead from yesterday's rioting is uncertain. Police reports differ from numbers offered in newspaper accounts. One article says, "There already are known to be dead, and many negroes were seriously beaten." Clearly, this riot bears watching.