Dec. 2, 1907 (Monday)

CLEVER FEMALE DETECTIVE SUCCEEDS IN NAILING FUGITIVE: Dozens of Secret Service agents and detectives have spent months (and thousands of dollars) searching for Salomon Herman, who is wanted for receiving thousands of dollars of BRASS stolen from the National Tube Company (The picture above shows the plant near Pittsburgh). Then Mrs. Dan Muckler, who works for a Cleveland detective agency came up with a plan, according to today's New York Times. She headed to Lorraine, Ohio, and visited Herman's wife. She pretended to be a FUGITIVE from the law, herself -- trying to capitalize on the "honor among thieves" concept. She won the confidence of Mrs. Herman.
One day, Mrs. Herman approached Muckler and said, "I can't write the English. Will you address a letter for me?"
It turns out that she wanted to send the letter to her husband -- using an assumed name.
Muckler headed to the auto shop in Montreal, looking for the "Mr. Cohen," to whom the letter was addressed. Muckler recognized him from the descriptions.
That ended the search.

SACRE BLEU! FRENCH LOSE A MILITARY AIRSHIP "PATRIE": The French airship that broke loose from its stand near Verdun, France, on Nov. 30 WAS SPOTTED yesterday. That's the good news. The bad news is that the people who saw it were in various places in Cardiganshire, WALES. And they said the ship was floating away to the West. Later in the afternoon, an airship was seen passing over BELFAST, Northern Ireland, but the name could not be read. Essentially, it seems as though the Patrie (shown at right) is lost for good.

SON -- SPURNED BY FATHER FOR RUNNING OFF WITH A FRENCH MAID (YES, THAT'S RIGHT) -- WINS HIS WAY BACK INTO FATHER'S HEART -- BY COACHING A COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM TO A ONE-LOSS SEASON: All the elements of a racy novel seem to be present in the tale of former Yale football star John Alston Moorhead, son of John K. Moorhead Jr. and member of one of Pittsburgh's oldest and wealthiest families. During Easter vacation from Yale in 1906, John A. Moorhead, got to his family home just as his mother was returning from a visit to Paris, accompanied by a FRENCH MAID, [No, I won't give a link for that term; you'll have to find one yourself.] or, as today's New York Times puts it, "a petite French maid with beauty and an accent which attracted young John."
Their relationship blossomed. The servants talked. The mother heard about it. She confronted the maid -- who is not named in the article. She threw the maid out.
The son, upon hearing this declared, "If she goes, I go with her."
John A. and the maid were married in New York City the next day. The boy's father CUT HIM OFF, forcing the newlyweds to scrape by on meager earnings.
He found out that the Western University of Pennsylvania (now the University of Pittsburgh) needed a football coach. He was hired. However, "his family was indignant that a Moorhead should do such work." But the team did well in 1906. In 1907, according to the Times, WUP lost only one game (to Cornell, which was to be expected, of course) and defeated rival State College on Thanksgiving. THAT WIN evidently changed everything in the attitude of the elder John K. Moorhead. According to the article in today's Times:
Since last Thursday, he has taken his son back to his heart, told him that he has demonstrated that he is every inch a man, and extended to him and his young wife the place that belongs to them in the family circle.
(UPDATE: According to the obituary for John A. Moorhead, printed in the New York Times on Aug. 19, 1931, he coached through the 1910 season (including the game pictured above, against West Virginia in 1908 -- note the GRIDIRON yard markings on the field). He then went into the family steel business. He was 49 when he died, which was the result of a fall in his Sewickley home that caused a skull fracture. The article mentions the name of that French maid -- Marguerite Clements. They had one child, Marjorie Anne Moorhead.)
(A PUZZLE: The official Pittsburgh record book shows John A. Moorhead as the coach for one year only, in 1907, during which the team lost TWO GAMES. The Wikipedia entry gives the university a 9-1 record in 1907.)

Dec. 1, 1907 (Sunday)

JAMESTOWN EXPOSITION LABELED A 'DISMAL FAILURE': The much-ballyhooed Jamestown Exhibition closed at midnight last night. Today's New York Times puts it bluntly:
The Jamestown fair was the most colossal failure in the history of expositions.
Spell that "colo$$al failure". It's $2.5 MILLION in debt. Poor management led to poor attendance. Fair organizer claimed about 50,000 a day would attend the exposition , which opened April 26. But the daily average was 3,000 to 5,000.
One of the biggest attractions was the Hell Gate exhibit -- which featured numerous terrifying sights and sounds.
The biggest challenge might be trying to figure out what to do about the massive Government piers, which reach 2,500 feet out into Hampton Roads (above). They are joined by what's called the longest span of concrete in America. The piers and span cost the U.S. about $400,000. They were open for public enjoyment for only about two months.
The Times notes that the "local press" -- in and around Jamestown -- seemed oblivious to the problems at the exposition. Here's the damning paragraph (emphasis added):
The local press was loyal to the enterprise. It suppressed a great deal of the happenings down at the Tercentennial. The correspondents of out-of-town newspapers gave to their newspapers the facts, and the local press was placed in the ridiculous position of SUPPRESSING LEGITIMATE NEWS that came back to the city in out-of-town journals.

BLACK MAN'S BODY IS DRAGGED THROUGH THE STREETS OF ALABAMA TOWN: A farmer's wife, Mrs. Ellis, and a 14-year-old girl named Miss Sorrell, spent much of yesterday morning shopping in Opp, Alabama (above). When they were traveling back to the Ellis home, they were held up by a man with a shotgun. The girl escaped, but the man allegedly attacked Mrs. Ellis. Shortly after that, she gave the description of the man who attacked her -- yes, she said it was a young black man. A posse was formed. A black man named Neal Sanders was under the posse's control by 4 p.m. Before long, about 300 BULLETS had been fired into Sanders' body. Then, members of the posse tied a rope around the neck of the body. The other end of the rope was tied to a buggy, and the body was "dragged through the streets of Opp and through the negro settlement of the town."

HUNGARIAN GETS A BIG SURPRISE WHEN HE TRIES TO MAIL A LETTER TO MILWAUKEE: John Toboszky arrived in New York City two days ago on the Red Star liner Merion, which came from Antwerp. His ultimate destination is Milwaukee. However, he'd been led to believe that the Wisconsin city was within WALKING DISTANCE from New York City. So, he went to stay in the Hungarian Home at 3 State Street. Yesterday, he finished a letter to his brother, who is already in Milwaukee. He asked the clerk at the home how to mail the letter. The clerk said, "Drop it in the box at the corner."
John found a box at the corner of Whitehall and State streets. The box had no slot for a letter. But it had a CRANK on it, so he turned it.
Less than five minutes later, four FIRE ENGINES and two FIRE TRUCKS and Fire Chief Duffy arrived on the scene, looking for a fire. Somebody pointed to John as the person who had raised the alarm. When the captain approached John, the Hungarian "produced his letter and handed it to the fireman with a pleased smile,'' according to today's New York Times. Unaware of what was happening, the Hungarian was arrested and taken to the Tombs Court. The Times says, "on the way to the station house he walked with a military bearing and appeared to enjoy the EXCITEMENT OF MAILING A LETTER in America."
He was discharged when the full story came out in court.

Nov. 30, 1907 (Saturday)

WILSON WORRIES ABOUT THE STATE OF EDUCATION: Woodrow Wilson (right), president of Princeton University, told a group of prominent educators yesterday that the nation's schools and colleges are doing a poor job of educating students.
Today's New York Times quotes liberally from his address before the Association of College and Preparatory Schools of the Middle States. One key phrase:
"We must remember that INFORMATION IS NOT EDUCATION. The greater part of work that we are doing in our colleges today is to impart information. My father, who was a man who used very precise English, once said: 'The mind is not a PROLIX GUT to be stuffed.' One of the principal objects of education should be ENLIGHTENMENT, or the unloading from the minds of the pupils of the MISINFORMATION that they have received."

He also railed about the complexities in the educational system, saying:

"We have developed a great GENIUS for EVERYTHING BUT SIMPLIFICATION."

IMMIGRATION-IN-REVERSE SURGE CONTINUES: Today's New York Times includes a tiny notice on page 5 that says the offices of "every steamship line" is being besieged by people -- aka "aliens" -- who want to get back to Europe. About 12,000 are expected to depart from the New York area today (from places such as Hoboken, N.J., above). This is taking place despite recent increases in steerage rates -- from $33 to $36 or $37. Some authorities think that the congestion for outgoing travel will last past Christmas. In addition to the massive move to Southern and Central Europe, now many men are coming to New York from the Northwestern sections of the U.S. Most of them will seek passage to Northern Europe, the Times says.

Nov. 29, 1907 (Friday)

SON OF FORMER GOVERNOR UNDER ARREST AFTER A DRAG RACE LEAVES A BLACK MAN DEAD IN BALTIMORE: Early yesterday, two high-powered automobiles raced down West Baltimore Street. At the corner of Baltimore and Fremont, a black man named James F. Grinnell was struck and killed by one of the speeding autos. The cars were driven by Frank Brown, Jr., son of a former governor of Maryland (Frank Brown, left), and James Elliott, "a sporting man of Washington, D.C.," according to today's New York Times.
The paper adds, "Neither one stopped after the accident, but continued at a terrific rate of speed."
A witness reported the accident and provided police with a description of the cars. The police found, and arrested, Brown and his chauffeur. Brown says it was Elliott's car that struck Grinnell. Police are unable to find Elliott.

COMPOSER JOHN PHILIP SOUSA IS SERIOUSLY ILL: It looks like a severe case of ptomaine poisoning has laid low the great song-writer and band-leader John Philip Sousa. He is "seriously ill" at the Auditorium Hotel in Chicago, two days after being stricken in Milwaukee. He was unable to conduct his band's concert last night. The word is that he became ill after eating a "hearty meal of PRAIRIE CHICKEN," according to the front-page article in today's New York Times. He tried to conduct on Tuesday night, but he mad it through on half the program. He tried to conduct again on Wednesday and was unable to do so.Then, he and his band moved on the Chicago, and he's still ill. To find out if he's going to die, click here.

DIET CATCHES UP ON NUTMEG -- THE EAT-ANYTHING MASCOT OF THE CONNECTICUT: The battleship, the U.S.S. Connecticut (above) needs to recruit a GOAT as soon as possible. The ship is in dry dock at the New York Navy Yard but is scheduled to head to Hampton Roads on Dec. 1 -- before its around-the-world trip as part of the Great White Fleet. The ship's old goat, named Nutmeg, died. It's difficult to understand how anything could have killed the beast. Today's New York Times says the goat was able to eat "a dozen steel rivets" and wash it down with "a mixture of paint, ink and glue." However, it was an overdose of RED PAINT that killed him. The other day sailors had prepared a mixture of red paint, which was going to be applied to the nicely scraped funnels of the ship. Nutmeg found the paint and took a big swallow. The goat was dead within 29 minutes.
Sailors have scoured the countryside around New York, seeking a replacement. Some enlistment men are expected to make more excursions today.

Nov. 28, 1907 (Thursday)

WESTON DOES IT! Edward Payson Weston has completed his walk from Portland, Maine, to Chicago. He finished the trek yesterday. The photo here shows him being escorted down a Chicago street by various officials. He sent a note to the Boston Globe, which the paper printed today. He arrived at the city limits at 11;30 a.m. and was at the post office by 12:10 p.m. Weston says he officially beat his time from 40 years ago by 40 HOURS. The headline to his letter says "Better at 69 than at 29". In Chicago, he was greeted by thousands of people. He was serenaded by choir boys of the Harvard school as he passed 47th Street. At 23rd Street a little girl dressed like Red Riding Hood ran out of the crowd, eluded Weston's police escort and ran up to the walker. Weston bent over, picked her up and kissed her. Then she raced back into the crowd. The crowd went wild.
He plans to stay in Chicago about a week. Then he will tour the nation and give a series of lectures. He could certainly tap into any weight-loss movement. Weston says he lost about 18 pounds on the trip -- dropping from 148 to 130 pounds.

IF YOU THINK A WALK ACROSS HALF A CONTINENT IS TOUGH, HOW ABOUT AN AROUND-THE-WORLD AUTOMOBILE RACE: Today's New York Times leads with an announcement that the newspaper and the Paris Matin will sponsor a New York-to-Paris automobile race (via SIBERIA and ALASKA). What will become known as the Great Race.
Plans -- which are somewhat tentative now -- indicate that the racers will cover about 15,000 miles. People think this is possible because of the Peking (now Beijing)-to-Paris race held earlier in 1907. That race has its romantic portrayals (above) and its more realistic portrayals (right).
Harry Fosdick, who is helping organize the 1908 race, reminded readers (in today's New York Times) that the big and powerful cars aren't necessarily the best ones for such a trip. "the small two-cylinder De Dions that finished the Peking-Paris run, demonstrated the reliability of the medium=powered stanchly [sic] built car."
He added that the winner of that remarkable Peking-Paris race, Prince Borghese, succeeded thanks largely to some innovative thinking. For example, he traveled with FOUR BOARDS -- one for each wheel. He laid them out over marshy ground, enabling him to slowly drive on top of the boards -- picking up the rear boards and moving them to the front.

Nov. 27, 1907 (Wednesday)

QUARRY WORKERS PROTEST CUT IN PAY WITH -- CUT IN TOOLS: The current financial downturn forced owners of the Hoosier quarries (shown above in an undated photo)near Bedford, Ind., to cut the pay of about 100 "foreign laborers" from 15 cents an hour to 12.5 cents an hour.
Not surprisingly, this made the workers angry, according to today's New York Times. So they marched to the machine shops at the quarry and cut 2.5 inches from their shovels -- to match the corresponding cut in pay.
The shorter the paycheck, they reasoned, the shorter the shovel.
So, what's next? Should baseball players who are upset with their pay cut a couple inches off their BATS?

SOME AMAZING DETAIL IN A SUICIDE STORY: A well known banker named Howard Maxwell killed himself yesterday, and the report was the leading news story on the front page of today's New York Times. Maxwell was the president of the Borough Bank and International Trust Company who had been deserted by his friends during his recent legal problems, which had led to the loss of all he owned.
He cut his throat and wrists while shaving at his home. The Times article went into some detail in describing how he cut himself in the bathroom of his home in Brooklyn:
Standing before a mirror in his bathroom he slashed his throat with a razor. With a small penknife he cut a jagged, triangular wound in his left wrist, and with still another razor slashed again at his throat, severing the windpipe and several of the blood vessels.
Something tells me it would be hard to find a paragraph like this in a newspaper of 2007.

LACKAWANNA RR WANTS YOU TO RIDE WITH PHOEBE: Today's New York Times has a four-column advertisement that includes an image of "Phoebe Snow," who has been touting the CLEANLINESS of the anthracite-fueled trains on the railroad. This ad shows the routes, stretched from New York to Buffalo and Chicago and St. Louis. Lots of poems are linked to the sparkling-clean Phoebe -- an important early advertising icon. Here's one:

I won my fame and wide acclaim
for Lackawanna's splendid name
by keeping bright and snowy white
upon the Road of Anthracite.

Nov. 26, 1907 (Tuesday)

DID A FUTURE PRESIDENT'S LIFE REALLY DEPEND ON THE PLACEMENT OF A RAILROAD-TRACK SWITCH IN SIBERIA? A report out of Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, carries with it an intriguing "what if?" scenario. The train on which Secretary of War (and future president) William Howard Taft was riding from Vladivostock to Moscow NEARLY CRASHED on Nov. 24 in the community of Chita.
A SWITCH in the track had been misplaced, and the problem was discovered and fixed "only a minute before the train came along."
The article in today's New York Times (on Page 4) explains:
Had the train been thrown onto the siding it would have crashed into a number of freight cars.
And, Lord knows, any train carrying Taft would have a bit more momentum than normal -- thanks to his girth and weight. (Remember, Force = Mass x Velocity.)

NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS WILL HAVE TO FIND THEIR LIQUOR FROM SOME PLACE OTHER THAN A PASSING SEABOARD TRAIN: The Seaboard Air Line Railway Company has decided that it will sell liquor to PASSENGERS ONLY while its trains rumble through North Carolina, which is basically a DRY STATE. Evidently, the passing trains have been determined to be a fine source of liquor according to today's New York Times. The paper explains, in an article with a Richmond, Va., dateline:
Old North State is practically dry, and so eager for drink were the crowds at every point where the trains stopped that the railway company found it impracticable and undesirable to supply the demand.
One such stop is pictured above, the photogenic Seaboard station in Hamlet, N.C.

Nov. 25, 1907 (Monday)

WESTON MAKES STEADY PROGRESS IN PORTLAND-TO-CHICAGO WALK: Today's Boston Daily Globe devotes a large chunk of its front page to Edward Payson Weston's walk from Portland, Maine, to Chicago. The paper slapped a map across the top of the page -- under the banner -- (above) to let people know that Weston is only about 125 miles away from his goal. He'd be doing better if he hadn't run into some trouble in Clyde, Ohio, where he spent the night on Nov. 19. That's where he fell ill after "partaking in a bowl of clam chowder," the paper says. He's about 40 hours ahead of the time it took him to do the same walk 40 YEARS AGO.

PAWN SHOP OWNER'S DREAM COMES TRUE: A few months ago a well-dressed woman walked into the shop of an unidentified pawnbroker and asked for a $2 loan. She said she needed the money for a short time. She had to pay a railroad fare "for a short distance out of town," the pawnbroker recalls. He asked what she had for collateral. She said she would leave the fur coat she was wearing. He had no idea if the coat was worth much, but he suspected it was worth more than $2. He loaned her the money. She left. He tossed some mothballs on the coat and put it away.
A day or two ago, he recalled the coat. He looked up his records and found that the time limit had expired on it and he could proceed to sell it. He put out an advertisement to auction the coat off. At the auction the bids reached $1,800. He was shocked. He decided to buy it from himself and take it to a furrier, suspecting it was worth more than people were bidding.
It turns out the coat is a genuine RUSSIAN SABLE, "exquisitely made and trimmed with half a hundred tails valued at $75 each," according to an article in today's New York Times. It's value? About $5,000!!!!!
The coat has been legally forfeited by the woman (for $2) and now the pawnbroker owns it.