Oct. 7, 1906 (Sunday)

THE KIDS CAN DREAM, CAN'T THEY? Here's a delightful cartoon that's part of Henry Mayer's full page of drawings (headlined "Some Impressions of the Passing Show") in today's New York Times. The drawing is inspired by a news item, which the cartoonist captures this way: "Effect of an edict that school teachers may marry." The primary Romeos are, of course, the young, well-knickered lads in the classrooms.

CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK IS STILL TOO SMALL A CHIP: Theodore Roosevelt Jr. has been trying to make the Harvard College football team. (That's him, with the white X above his head, at a football practice in Cambridge.) But it turns out he's too light for the team. He weighs 145 pounds. He did play last year on the freshman team, but the coach needs a bit more heft. The word is that this is his only shortcoming. One article says, "Were he a bit heavier, he would undoubtedly make the big team as he has the right kind of 'stuff' in him for a good player."

CAN SINGER BUILDING SEW UP ENOUGH BUSINESS? Some news articles are paying attention to the Singer Building which is going up in New York City. It's going to be 612 feet tall, which will make it the world's tallest building. It will appear to dwarf the nearby buildings, which are 300 to 400 feet high. It will be taller than the Washington Monument. The financial success of the building will be the key for the "future vertical increase in the dimensions of buildings," according to one article. About 6,000 people will work in the building.

Oct. 6, 1906 (Saturday)

A DRAMATIC COMMUNICATIONS LESSON -- ON RUMORS: Parents rioted at four schools in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn yesterday. Evidently, an unidentified boy circulated rumors that "murder doctors" at the schools were preparing to CUT THE THROATS of children in the schools. The biggest outburst was at the school at Metropolitan and Manhattan avenues, which has about 1,900 pupils. The parents went nuts. One mother jumped on a policeman and scratched his face until he bled. He clubbed her. The source of the rumor? The Board of Health ordered doctors to examine all pupils for an eye and throat problem that has been spreading among the children. It seems that many of the parents found the rumor believable because they recently came to the U.S. from countries where such a systematic killing of children by governments was quite believable.

A DRAMATIC PHYSICS LESSON -- ON GRAVITY: A teacher at the high school. on Oconto Falls, Wisc. (above), took his physics class yesterday afternoon to the footbridge that's about 40 feet above the waterway near one of the paper mills in the town, which has an interesting history. At first mill workers told Prof. Newman not to take the students on the bridge. Somehow the teacher got the go-ahead -- so long as he took only half the class at a time. After one group checked out the bridge and the scenery, the teacher brought the second group onto the bridge.That's when the bridge collapsed. One student was killed. Three students and the teacher were seriously injured. The rest had various lesser injuries. Fortunately, the mill workers shut off the water when they saw the accident; otherwise, all would have probably drowned.
For a glimpse of the accident scene, here's the final sentence of one version of the news article: "Parents and friends of members of the class were in a panic until the victims off the accident were recovered."

Oct. 5, 1906 (Friday)

POETRY COLLECTION SELLS FOR $10,000: An American has bought a copy of the 1612 edition of "Passionate Pilgrime," which contains a number of poems, including some by William Shakespeare (right). The seller was Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge. One other copy is known to exist. It's in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. This copy used to be owned by John E.T. Loveday, who had inherited it. In an item published in 1882, he said he discovered it in behind two rows of other books. Based on the price ($10,000) and the size (62 leaves), the Times speculates that this might be "the most costly book ever sold."

BRITISH DOCTOR PEEKS INTO THE FUTURE AND MAKES A MADDENING PREDICTION: A report from London says that Dr. Forbes Winslow (left)has come up with a worrisome forecast. He sees a WORLD GOING MAD. In an interview, he says, "It can be shown that before long there will be actually more lunatics in the world than sane people." He adds that figuring out how to prevent this is the "burning problem of the day." It's certainly enough to drive you nuts thinking about it. Heck, the guy should lighten up. What could possibly go wrong in the coming years?

Oct. 4, 1906 (Thursday)

'ACCIDENTAL' HOME RUN BEATS THE NEW YORK HIGHLANDERS AND CLINCHES THE A.L. TITLE FOR CHICAGO: A quirky home run by Philadelphia first baseman Harry Davis (right) provided all the runs needed for a 3-0 win over the New York team of the American League yesterday. (That would be the Yankees.) That clinched the league title for the "hitless wonders" -- the Chicago White Sox. How could a home run be "accidental"? Well, in the third inning, Jimmy Dygert and Topsy Hartsel got on base for Philadelphia. That brought up Davis, who is one of the best home run hitters in the league. (He's on his way to a 12-homer season.) Pitcher Bill Hogg got the signal to give an intentional pass to Davis. His first two pitches were wide of the plate; Davis let them go. Then Hogg made a blunder, and here's how the pitch was described in today's New York Times: "The third ball just grazed the outer edge, and it was waist high and had no twist to it." Davis could not resist. Davis, batting from the right side, reached over and swung hard. The ball sailed into the screen in right field in Columbia Park (above) and rolled down between the screen and the wall. The paper calls it an "accidental" home run. Obviously, the accident was on the part of the pitcher, not the batter.

AUTHOR, WANTING TO ACT, MIGHT FIND IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE: Writer Upton Sinclair has become quite interested in the stage version of his blockbuster novel, "The Jungle." He wrote the dramatic version with Margaret Mayo. Now, it turns out that he plans on taking on a role in the production. He will portray Ostrinsky, a Lithuanian worker in a Chicago packing house. It's probably not the smallest role in the show. Isn't there a role for, say, Sal Monella?

TRAGEDY IN WEST VIRGINIA: About 75 miners are feared to be entombed after an explosion yesterday afternoon in the West Fork mines of the Pocahontas Collieries Co. in West Virginia. The explosion is similar to the one at the same mine that killed 16 workers and a superintendent in 1902. The rescue work is being delayed by the lack of "brattice cloth," according to The New York Times.

Oct. 3, 1906 (Wednesday)

SOMETHING'S COOKING UP NORTH: Dr. Frederick A. Cook (right), of Brooklyn, has evidently made history. He claims to have climbed Mount McKinley in Alaska. This is the first successful climb on record. This is the fourth attempt by the 41-year-old. This time, he tried it on a route from the north. This man has plenty of controversy in his future.

BOSTON POLICE HAVE THEIR EYES ON THEODORE ROOSEVELT JR.: An investigation by Boston police into an assault on a police officer at Boston Common last Thursday has led investigators to Harvard College. They are interested in the role Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (left) and a group of his friends might have had in the attack. Yesterday officers were prepared to serve summons on Theodore Roosevelt's son and friend Meredith Blagdon -- compelling them to appear before a grand jury. Meanwhile, Shaun Kelley of Fitchburg, who is the president of the sophomore class at Harvard.

A PUZZLING HEADLINE IN THE WASHINGTON POST: Here it is, on the front page of the Post: "Order Chinese To Go." No, it's not an advertisement for carry-out Chinese food. It seems the people of Eureka, Calif., have voted to expel a group of 27 Chinese laborers who had been borought there to work in a canning factory at the mouth of the Eel River. This might not be the end of the story. The cannery owner, the Tallant Company, is looking to the governor to protect its interests. The report mentions that this could turn into something similar to the disruptions of February 1885, when citizens banished Chinese because of a killing that was the result of a highbinder war.

Sept. 30, 1906 (Sunday)

DOES THE HOLDER OF THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD HAVE A DOUBLE STANDARD? Today's New York Times includes this provocative cartoon, by Henry Miller, as part of his weekly effort called "Some Impresions of the Passing Show." In case it's hard to make out, the drawing shows a read-for-battle Uncle Sam with his eyes fixed on the turmoil in Russia, far from home and across the sea. With a sword drawn and holding a shield that carries the word "humanity," he has his back turned on another crisis, close to home. Framed by the burning sun that bears the word "Atlanta" (scene of the recent race riots), blacks suffer. One victim, on his knees, implores, "What about us, massah?"
'Nuff said.