Jan. 6, 1907 (Sunday)

HEIRESS DIES IN POVERTY -- IN OMAHA -- AFTER EATING... CHAMELEONS: This falls in the "important, if true" category... According to The Syracuse Herald and The Washington Post, Isola Douglass-Hamilton has died at 25 in a poorhouse in Omaha, Neb. The Post -- reprinting an article from the New York American -- identifies her as "the rage of the art world, the girl wit, declared to possess the most perfect figure of a decade, the girl who today might be reigning over almost any castle in England." At the St. Louis World's Fair (right) "the newspapers of three or four nations teemed with the narratives of what she was doing." That was in 1904. But a year ago she was working as a kitchen maid in Buffalo. More recently, she was attempting to recapture some degree of fame by performing as a snake charmer. The cause of death was related to her act. According to news reports, she died after EATING CHAMELEONS.

BOMB ROCKS PHILADELPHIA BANK: Two people were killed yesterday when a man who was denied a loan of $5,000 exploded a bomb in Philadelphia's Fourth Street National Bank. Killed were the bomb thrower and the bank's cashier. The man threw his device on the floor and it exploded on impact. Pieces of the bomber's body were found throughout the bank. Here's how today's Times describes the scene: "A shower of gold and silver swept through the bank from the desk of the paying teller. At least $20,000 was scattered in the wreckage about the place. Partitions, desks and chairs were thrown into a tangled mass upon the floors. Flames started among the splintered woodwork near the dead cashier." (In 2007 dollars, the loan request was the equivalent of $100,000.) He was turned down because he had no collateral nor anyone to vouch for him.

NEWSPAPER TURNS TO PRAYER: The editors and writers at The Kalamazoo (Mich) Gazette found out yesterday that they must BEGIN THEIR WORKDAY WITH PRAYER. This is the idea of managing editor John A. Ross. The prayer will be led by Ross or any of various ministers in the city. According to an item in today's New York Times, Ross explains his move this way: "I believe that the reporters will be able to do better work and that the object of the newspaper will be more thoroughly reached in this way than heretofore." He does not identify the problems that he thinks the prayer sessions will fix -- spelling? grammar? libel problems? profits?

Jan. 5, 1907 (Saturday)

OPERA STAR DECIDES TO CHARGE FOR AUTOGRAPHS: Because she receives so many requests for her autograph, Nellie Melba has decided to charge $1 for each signature. She says she will donate the money to a charity, perhaps an organization devoted to helping blind babies. She also receives many letters requesting that she listen to an aspiring singer. "There are dozens of letters in every mail," she says. She says she has decided not to handle any of them.

FORMER SLAVE DESCRIBES LIFE IN BONDAGE: Today Post-Standard newspaper includes part of a conversation a reporter had recently with James H. Adams, a former slave. Adams, 60, spoke of the way his family was splintered when the plantation broke up in 1850, when he was 4. The experience was typical of enslaved families: "Father went to Mississippi. I stayed in Virginia. One sister went to Kentucky, another to Florida, another to North Carolina, and the whole family was scattered." At the time, his father had asked the slavekeepers if at least one of his youngest children could accompany him. His father was threatened with bodily harm at that request. Once freed, Adams fought with the Union Army.

HE'S NOT AS FAMOUS AS CASEY JONES, BUT THIS ENGINEER MADE HIS MARK: Train engineer Daniel Garman died yesterday at Lebanon, Pa. The name probably means little. He was the man at the controls of President Lincoln's inauguration train in 1861. That train had to run on a secret schedule from Harrisburg, Pa., to Washington because of intelligence reports that Southern sympathizers were plotting to kill Lincoln before he took his first oath of office.

VETERAN WANTS A PIECE OF THE BATTLE OF BULL RUN: After hearing that the Long Bridge was about to be demolished, Col. George Dyer, commander of the 12th Regiment of Infantry of the New York National Guard, has asked for a souvenir from that bridge. It's a famous bridge to veterans of the first battle of Bull Run in the Civil War. Dyer is asking for a 15-foot beam from the bridge. The bridge means something especially special to Dyer, according to an article in The New York Times, because "his regiment was the first to cross this historic bridge in the retreat." Let's hear that one again.... His regiment was the FIRST to cross the bridge in RETREAT. Should he be proud of that?

Jan. 4, 1907 (Friday)

MISSISSIPPI SHERIFF GETS THE GOVERNOR'S PHONE CALL TOO LATE -- THREE MINUTES AFTER THE HANGING: Sometime yesterday, Gov. James K. Vardaman (right) contacted the attorney of Will Harvey, a black man, to tell him that he had commuted Harvey's death sentence. According to a news report in today's New York Times, the attorney "hurriedly" contacted the sheriff of Issaquena County to get him to stop the execution. However, the sheriff did not reach the telephone until three minutes after Harvey was executed by hanging. If they're not expected the call, even speed-dial doesn't help. One wonders why Vardaman didn't contact the sheriff himself.

NEW YORK READY FOR A SPECTACULAR GIFT: The New York Times passes on the reaction to New York Gov. Hughes' announcement that William Pryor Letchworth has willed his magnificent 1,000-acre estate in Western New York to the state. The property includes the famous Portage Bridge, which is 800 feet long and 234 feet high. (It's shown at right in the 1870s, before it burned -- and was replaced.) This is "one of the most notable benfactions of its kind in the history of the country," said George F. Kunz, acting president of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society. Letchworth calls his estate Glen Iris.

IT'S NOT CLEAR IN THE NEWS STORIES, BUT THE ACTRESSES MIGHT HAVE KISSED EACH OTHER ON STAGE IN PARIS: Theatergoers pelted women on stage during a production last night of "A Dream of Egypt" at the Moulin Rouge in Paris. The focus of their ire was two women -- the Marquise de Morny (aka the former wife of the Marquis de Belbeuf) and Colette (aka Mme. Gauthier-Villars, aka Mme. Willy) (right, dressed for the production). An article in this morning's New York Times said their act ("A Dream of Egypt") "is as indecent as anything ever seen on the Parisian stage." Clubmen and Bonapartists descended on the show last night and when the curtain went up on the two women, there was "a rain of missiles of every description, the audience even throwing hassocks and boxes at the women on the stage." No word about whether or not the men actually WALKED OUT, though.

Jan. 3, 1907 (Thursday)

COPPERS STAND UP TO A 'COPPER KING': A bicycle policeman named Hickey spotted a red touring car zipping along at 22 MPH yesterday on St. Nicholas Avenue in New York City. That meant it was SPEEDING. So, Hickey started pedaling. He tracked down the car at 125th Street. He arrested the chauffeur, Otto Berger. The owner of the car, F. Augustus Heinze, (left) was in the back seat -- one of a trio of men considered the Copper Kings of Montana. Heinze caused a bit of a scene at the police station and then was told that $100 would be good for bail for the chaufeur. He pulled out a roll of bills, peeled one off and handed it over. Then he hung around, waiting for something. Eventually, one of the officers asked him what he was waiting for. He told the sergeant that he was waiting for a RECEIPT. The Sergeant's response is not quoted in The New York Times. A paraphrase will have to do: "The Sergeant explained politely that the police were above suspicion, and that anyway THE CHAUFFEUR WAS THE RECEIPT." It's unclear whether or not the yet-to-be-invented would agree with that one. In any case, this apparently mollified Heinze, who is heading -- fast -- toward more serious problems as the year progresses.

U.S. PRESIDENTS USUALLY DON'T GET THIS KIND OF GREETING -- IN ARABIC: President Roosevelt appointed Samuel Gummere as minister to Morocco, and the president just received a letter from The Sultan of Moroco, thanking him for the appointment. The Sultan greeted Roosevelt as:
"The Beloved, the Most Cherished, the Exalted,
the Most Gracious Friend,
Most Honored and Excellent
President of the Republic of the United States of America,
who is the pillar of its great influence
and the director of its most important affairs,
the most celebrated preserver of the ties of true friendship,
the faithful friend, Theodore Roosevelt."
It was written in Arabic. Odds are not many presidents have received similar letters.

HE PLEADS POVERTY AND WALKS OUT OF COURT -- WITH A FUR OVERCOAT AND A GOLD CANE: New York University student William Zink, 25, appeared before Magistrate Whitman in the West Side Court of Manhattan yesterday. Zink was charged with SPITTING on the platform of the elevated station at 59th Street and Ninth Avenue. The fine was to be $2. Zink told the judge he was a poor student and could not afford the fine. So, the judge dropped the fine. While leaving the courtroom, he paused to pick up his stuff -- a gold-headed cane, a fur-lined overcoat, with a diamond stud. Today's Times adds that Zink gave a wink to a court officer as he walked out.

QUOTE OF THE DAY I: A janitor yesterday showed a flat in Harlem to a woman, her husband and their bull terrier. When she saw the rooms, the wife said, "They're very, very small."
The janitor disagreed. Here's what he said, according to today's New York Times: "Them ain't small. Y'orter see the flats next door. If you took one of them you'd have to teach your dog to WAG HIS TAIL UP AND DOWN."

QUOTE OF THE DAY II: Ambassador Bryce, who's coming to Washington to represent Great Britain, is being warned about "that awesome institution, the American press," according to today's New York Times. A London writer suggests that Bryce learn how a predecessor, Lord Pauncefote, handled American journalists. Here's what he said at a meeting of the Gridiron Club a couple of years ago:
"I am very glad to see you gentlemen all here," he said in his slow, drawling speech, and the diners cheered him lustily. "I am glad to see you all here," he repeated, pausing to rub and adjust his eyeglasses,"because for the time being, anyway, I know you are out of mischief elsewhere."

Jan. 2, 1907 (Wednesday)

GANS SWINGS HIS WAY TO VICTORY: Fighter Joe Gans defeated "Kid" Herman, the Pride of Chicago, in eight rounds yesterday in Tonopah, Nev. Gans "landed a full swing on the point of the jaw" and walked off with a knockout, according to news reports. Articles said the arena was "like a refrigerator." Many people inside wore heavy overcoats and gloves. Sprotswriters had to wear "huge goatskin gloves." Herman was gracious in defeat, saying, "There is no getting away from it, the best man won. I made the best fight that was in me against a superior man.

ACTRESS TREASURES SOME ADVICE FROM GEORGE BERNARD SHAW: Actress Gertrude Elliott (right) played one of the title roles in George Bernard Shaw's "Caesar and Cleopatra last night in Syracuse. (Her husband, Forbes Robertson, is playing Caesar.) She spoke with a reporter about her role and passed on some advice Shaw gave her. Here's how she described it:
Naturally there were many discussions with Mr. Shaw and finally he turned to me one day and said, in his usual whimsical manner: "Do you remember, my dear lady, when you were a girl of 16 in America?"
"Certainly," I replied.
"Then play it just that way," said Mr. Shaw.

A CHILLING THOUGHT ABOUT BEING IN THE WHITE HOUSE: Lots of names are being tossed around when people discuss who will run for president in 1908. Mississippi congressman John Sharp Williams (above) says he's not interested. He had an interesting comment about it that was in The New York Times today. He said, "Mrs. Williams and I have talked the matter over, and it is her opinion that the ATMOSPHERE in the WHITE HOUSE is too DAMP. Some of the children might take cold." Later, while talking to a reporter, he elaborated: "I should have no special objections to it, as far as I am personally concerned, but Mrs. Williams will not hear of it. She says she feels sure that Kit and Sallie would catch their death of cold up there in those damp cellars." I wonder WHY would they keep their KIDS in the CELLARS?

ONE MORE REASON TO LEARN HOW TO WHITTLE: Until recently, E.C. Smith was in jail in Bennington, Vt. He's no longer there. Smith, a convicted forger, somehow made a KEY out of BROOM HANDLE. He tried to escape with his WIFE, but she was scared by the jailer's dog and returned to her cell.

Jan. 1, 1907 (Tuesday)

A VISIT FROM THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS PAST: This cartoon greeted readers on the front page of today's Washington Post. Debt and Christmas have been together for a long, long time.

JERSEY GIRLS GET A BAD RAP: Thinking it would be good for a small joke, Sophie Ellis of Caldwell, N.J., responded to an advertisement for matrimony published by Henry Dominyi of Buffalo. To add to the the joke, Sophie responded under the name of her friend Rose Galash and sent her own photograph. To the girls' surprise, Mr. Dominyi arrived on Saturday from Buffalo. When he got to the Ellis home, he met Sophie and immediately "opened negotiations for the marriage amid affectionate demonstrations," according to today's New York Times. Sophie was at first stunned into silence. Then she tried to explain that this was all a joke. But he pursued his suit. Exasperated, she decided the two of them should take a walk. He thought she was taking him to see a clergyman. Instead, she took him to Recorder Heller and filed a complaint against Dominyi. The man from Buffalo was ordered to leave town. He did so -- and, in the words of the Times "declaring that JERSEY GIRLS were DECEIVERS." Hmmm. That might fit in with the title for a song.

BARONESS EARNS SPECIAL FINAL RESTING PLACE: Baroness Burdett-Coutts (right)who died Dec. 30 as England's wealthiest heiress, is expected to be buried at Westminster Abbey in London on Jan. 5. Her remarkable career will land her near the west door of the nave of the abbey. She was particularly known for her vast support of charities and for her patriotism.

RACE DRIVER HOPES TO DRAW ATTENTION TO ALCOHOL AS FUEL FOR AUTOS: At midnight, just as 1907 became a reality, auto racer Joe Tracy (right) and mechanic Al Poole started a run from New York to Philadelphia to demonstrate that DENATURED ALCOHOL could serve as a FUEL for AUTOMOBILES. They left in the Golden Dragon car, with its brass body and bronze hood. They acknowledge that the price of alcohol will have to come down to make it more viable as a fuel. Tracy estimates that this 104-mile trip will cost $37.50 for the alcohol fuel alone. (For 2007 dollars, MULTIPLY that by 20.) The trip celebrates the fact that the $2-per-gallon duty on industrial alcohol is removed with the new year.

Dec. 31, 1906 (Monday)

DIVORCEE TRACKS DOWN WAYWARD HUSBAND, THANKS TO A PHONOGRAPH RECORD: Recently, a Brooklyn school teacher named Mrs. Grace E. Rorer, the former Mrs. Fred G. Rorer, decided to put a penny into a musical phonograph to listen to a song while waiting for a ferry. It didn't take long for her to recognize the high tenor voice that came out of the machine. She checked the phonograph record to find out who made it and hustled to the office of her lawyer. She told him she had a lead on the whereabouts of her former husband, from whom she had been separated since June 27, 1905. It had been a year and a half since Supreme Court Justice Kelly had ordered Fred Rorer to pay his ex-wife $7 A WEEK in support. Rorer, who had been a tenor soloist at the Clinton Avenue Congregational Church in Brooklyn (right) had since disappeared. The lawyer found him. He is evidently making $100 A WEEK as a vaudeville performer with the Rialto Comedy Quartet and as an employee of the phonograph company that made the record that Grace heard while waiting for the ferry. Rorer will now have to appear in court on Jan. 2 to explain why he should not be found guilty of contempt of court for not paying the alimony he has owed. (For 2006 dollar equivalents, multiply by 20.)

FAIRBANKS PLANS A PREMATURE FAREWELL: Actor Douglas Fairbanks, who is in his early 20s, said yesterday that his upcoming wedding to Beth Sully will likely take him away from the stage. Fairbanks, who currently has a role at the Savoy in "The Man of the Hour," expects to go into business with his bride's father, Daniel Sully, who has started the manufacture of toilet soaps. A producer named William A. Brady said last night that he has a five-year contract with Fairbanks and the actor would likely have to pay some kind of "bonus" to free him from that obligation. (Fortunately, Fairbanks' departure from the stage is brief, leading eventually to roles such as Zorro (right).)

DOZENS KILLED IN TRAIN WRECK NEAR D.C.: About 50 are killed and another 50 or so are injured when an empty freight train crashed into a passenger train about 6:30 p.m. yesterday at the Terra Cotta station, three miles outside Washington D.C. The fog was so thick, that people could see only a few yards. Some speculate that's why the driver of the freight train missed the red-light signal and kept moving -- at a speed that some put at 65 or 70 mph. That train of empty cars hit the passenger train in the back so hard that it "carried the wreckage nearly three-quarters of a mile along the track, strewing dead bodies and injured men and women beside the track for nearly half that distance."

REVIEWER IS DISMISSIVE OF YOUNG PIANIST AT CARNEGIE HALL: Miecio Horszowski, who's 14, gave a recital last night at Carnegie Hall. The reviewer for The New York Times says he "was heard by a rather sparse audience and applauded generously, but without special enthusiasm." He mentioned the technical skills of Horszowski, but added "he offers nothing very striking." The reviewer was scornful of musical prodigies, adding that "Local specimens appear from time to time in New York. They are of interest chiefly for what they promise and in the degree of their promise." As it turns out, the "promise" of Horszowski (right) was vast, and he had a remarkable career. Amazingly, he was still playing, and being reviewed, in 1987.