March 2, 1907 (Saturday)

CONTROVERSY SWIRLS AROUND EDDY -- MARY BAKER EDDY: Relatives of Mary Baker Eddy (right), head of the Christian Science Church, filed suit yesterday in New Hampshire demanding an accounting of all her transactions. They claim that Mrs. Eddy has been "incompetent to do business or to understand transactions conducted in her name in connection with her property. Among those filing the suit are Eddy's son George W. Glover of Deadwood, South Dakota, and his daughter. The suit states that Glover saw Mrs. Eddy for about 45 minutes on Jan. 1. "She was weak bodily, and her mind was beclouded and enfeebled and possessed by strange and irrational notions," the suit alleges. They think others are benefiting from Mrs. Eddy's holdings and position with the church.

TELLER AT TREASURY ATTACKS REPORTER: Investigators are putting pressure on George Fitzgerald, the teller who was in charge of the cage in the subtreasury from which about $172,000 is missing in Chicago. He survived the "questioning" at the hands of the secret service, according to The Washington Post -- barely. An article in today's paper says, "Some idea of the ferocity of the sweating process may be gained from the fact that it is alleged the teller fainted under the ordeal and it was neessary to revive him." The teller turned some ferocity of his own on a reporter after the session. When he left the "inquisitorial chamber" on the eighth floor of the Federal Building, he attacked a newspaper reporter and threatened to kill him, while waving a blackjack. Fitzgerald said the reporter had visited the teller's home in search of a photograph of the man. The reporter told the teller's wife that he would print stories of her husband's private life unless she turned over a photograph of her husband. That's evidently what set Fitzgerald on the warpath.

CUSTOMS OFFICIALS IN RHODE ISLAND SEIZE A PAINTED CEILING: The U.S. has seized twelve "large cases of paintings" in Providence, R.I., claiming they were undervalued by at least 2/3 by people importing them from Italy. The cases have been in limbo since someone named Dominic Mango depositied them on the floor of the Customs House and let for home after escorting the packages from Italy. When put together, the cases make up a WOODEN CEILING that's 40 feet by 20 feet. The artwork depicts cupids, fruit, flowers and garlands. The art is in excellent condition and an expert claims it's the work of one of Italy's FIFTEENTH CENTURY MASTERS. The word is that the artwork came from a 15th-century Florentine villa that was destroyed a while ago. Interestingly, the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White of New York City has sued the importing house for $100,000 for failing to deliver "just such a work." The "White" in the firm's name refers to architect Sanford White, whose killer (Harry Thaw) is currently on trial.

March 1, 1907 (Friday)

AUCTION BRINGS HUGE PRICE FOR CHAMPLAIN NARRATIVE: E. Dwight Church of Brooklyn, one of the owners of Church & Dwight, has purchased a rare book by Samuel de Champlain (left). The volume is the first issue of his first narrative of his explorations, "Des Sauvages ou Voyage de Samuel Chaplain de Brovage." It was sold at auction on Tuesday for $2,900. Today's Washington Post says the volume had been picked up in Paris SIX MONTHS AGO for 20 centimes, or about 4 CENTS.

IF YOU THINK TRAVELING ECONOMY-CLASS IS BAD, TRY THIS... A man named Fred Paisley got into a boxcar in London, Ontario, yesterday with the task of overseeing the transportation of two stallions. Each horse was tied up at opposite ends of the car. However, once the train got going, one of the animals broke free and started attacking the other horse. That horse also broke its halter straps. The two beasts fought for ONE HOUR. At that point, one of the stallions lay dead. What of Mr. Paisley? Well, he was caught in the middle. He was kicked several times. He was rescued when the train pulled into Stratbroy, Ontario. The article says, "He is terribly injured."

A HAIR-SPLITTING LEGAL DECISION: The Southern Ohio Gas Company has to pay Samuel Beatty $101 for damages suffered in a gas explosion two years ago in Wellston, Ohio. The money goes to Beatty, 76, because of the "loss of the luxuriant growth of WHISKERS" that was burned off in the blast.

Feb. 28, 1907 (Thursday)

POET REMEMBERED: Many lovers of literature gathered yesterday at the National Arts Club in Manhattan to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. James Whitcomb Riley, via telegram, called Longfellow "our country's most beloved poet -- the truest, gentlest brother of us all." Gatherings were held in many locations, including Cambridge, Mass. There, a huge crowd turned out at Saunder's Theatre. In fact, according to The New York Times, "hundreds of persons were unable to obtain admission." It got a bit unruly: "There was almost a riot, and a large force of policemen was called to the scene."

YES, THEY CAN COUNT IN THE IVY LEAGUE: Yale and Columbia played a freshman hockey game yesterday in New York City at St. Nicholas Rink. There's no doubt about who won. Yale appeared to score at will. However, the headline of the story in today's New York Times indicates there was a bit of a problem. It said: "Hockey Scorer Lost Count." The article says the score was 19-0, "or thereabouts." Evidently, "the scorer lost his tally sheet, so no one knows just what the final score was." There was little doubt, however, regarding which was the best team.

Feb. 27, 1907 (Wednesday)

DISASTER IN MONTREAL: A fire in Montreal killed 16 pupils and one teacher yesterday. The disaster heavily damaged the Hochelaga School (right). The fire exposed numerous problems regarding school safety. For one thing, most of the students who died were kindergartners -- and their classroom was on the second floor. Another problem -- the fire drill bell did not ring. And another -- the school lacked any fire escapes. Evidently, the school's principal, Miss Maxwell refused to climb to safety and, instead, went back into the school to find more children. She died.
A little boy named Thomas Hogan told a reporter about his escape -- indicating that he probably helped save the lives of some other pupils:
I had my hat with me and ran out, and as soon as I got to the landing I saw the stairway full of smoke, with boys and girls crowding on it, afraid to go down. I pushed through them and ran down to the front door and hollered to the rest to come on, and a lot of them came.

ANOTHER STRANGE HAPPENING AT A COAT-CHECK ROOM: Earlier this month, there was a news report that a couple from Canada CHECKED THEIR BABY with the hat check person at the opera. Well, something similar happened last night. A woman brought a BULLDOG PUPPY to a theater at New York's Herald Square. She had carried the dog into the theater under her opera coat.

Feb. 26, 1907 (Tuesday)

PLAY CAPITALIZES ON THAW TRIAL: It's nothing new for someone to quickly go to press or stage with a book or production that deals with a recent tragedy. While the Thaw trial is still going on, audiences are flocking to see "A Millionaire's Revenge," which is advertised as being "founded on the Harry K. Thaw and Stanford White tragedy." Officials in Syracuse are worried about the play, which opened yesterday. All youngsters known to be younger than 16 years of age will culled from the crowd by the police chief, his deputy and the scretary of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Today's Post-Standard opines, "The play is simply an attempt to trade on morbid curiosity and depraved tastes whetted by the disgusting disclosures in the Thaw case." The theater was sold out in the afternoon and "half the men who sought admission" couldn't get a seat in the evening show. The play is the work of Hal Reid.

AUTHOR HOPES NOVEL WILL SCARE THE DISHONEST BROKERS ON WALL STREET: Today's New York Times has a huge advertisement for the book "Friday, the Thirteenth" by the amazing Thomas W. Lawson. The ad includes this picture of a woman with the caption "I saw there was something missing from her great blue eyes. I looked; gasped." If that makes you want to read it, you can go here. About 25,000 copies have supposedly been sold before publication. The ad calls the book "The novel which Mr. Lawson believes will annihilate Wall Street Stock Gambling."