Dec. 31, 1907 (Tuesday)

ROOM IN NEW YORK'S CITY HALL IS "SAVED" BY MILLIONAIRE'S WIFE: The city of New York announced yesterday that it has accepted the offer of Mrs. Russell Sage (or, better, Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage-- a native of Syracuse, N.Y.) to pay for the restoration of the Governor's Room (above) in City Hall. Her donation is $25,000. The city's historical society, which had purchased all the plans of city hall architect John McComb, has discovered that the collection includes plans that "will enable the work of restoration to be done in the full spirit of the original," according to today's New York Times.
Here's a portion the letter from the philanthropist (about whom there's a biography available) (right), as described in a letter that is included in today's article:
I am interested in the complete and satisfactory restoration of the Governor's Room in the City Hall as one of the most important historical rooms in the city.
I understand that the changes recently made have not been satisfactory to the city authorities, but that there is no city money presently available to restore this room, as well as its decoration and furniture, substantially in their original condition.
The Times notes that the present effort to restore the room has been inapproriate and falls short of true restoration. For example, "the chandeliers in the room, while beautiful, are an anacronism."

GOLFING ACCIDENT LEADS TO A WEDDING: Former Yale University baseball star Burnside Winslow and former National Golf Champion Helen Carrington, daughter of John Carrington have announced they will be married on Jan. 15. This earns a spot on the front page of today's New York Times mostly due to the strange way the two met. While Winslow was a freshman at Yale, he played a round of golf at a New Haven club. While on the links, he was HIT by a GOLF BALL struck by Miss Carrington. A conversation followed. They were engaged about two years later.
This indicates that CUPID isn't limited to a mere BOW AND ARROW. Sometimes a niblik and ball will do nicely.

THERE'S PLENTY OF WORRY ABOUT JAPAN'S WAR PREPARATIONS: The Kosmos ocean liner Neko arrived in San Francisco recently from the port of Iquique, Chile. Passengers report that saltpetre and yucca are flowing from Chile to Japan. Today's Times reports that "a line of fast steamers of about 6,000 tons register has been put on between Japan and Iquique, and these steamers are taking full cargoes."
The Times properly gives an explanaion of the YUCCA shipment and how it relates to "War Supplies for Japan":
Yucca is a shredded palm with resinous grass growing in its head, which contains an abundance of PICTIC ACID, and its sole use in Japan is for the manufacture of SHIMOSE POWDER, the Japanese high explosive used with deadly effect in the war with Russia.
Guess the YUCCA is not being brought in for decorations in FERN BARS in TOKYO.

Dec. 30, 1907 (Monday)

MAN KNOWN FOR HIS BONES DIES ALONE: For about 16 years, Charles H. Perry travelled throughout the country, entertainig thousands of people.
He was widely known in circus circles as the Skeleton Man. He was found dead yesterday in a lonely hut on the outskirts of Providence, R.I., according to today's New York Times. Perry's stage name was Eugene Feralto. He stood about 6 feet 1 inch tall. He weighed a svelte 80 pounds. (In a word typical of the day -- usually applied to women -- he was "sylphlike".) His widow, son and daughter did not live with him in Rhode Island, where Perry had "lately lived a hermit's life." They live in New York City.

SHIP'S SURGEON DEFTLY CUTS OUT AN APPENDIX -- AS LINER PAUSES IN MID-OCEAN IN ROUGH SEAS: As the Cunard liner Pannonia muscled its way through a westerly gale on her way to New York City, coal trimmer Robert Law got ill. Doctors realized that Law needed an operation to remove his appendix. On dry land, in a typical operating room, such a procedure would likely take between 7 and 10 minutes. That wasn't going to happen on the ship. Dr. J. Fraser Orr, Dr. Torok of the Hungarian government and an assistant needed about an hour to do the work. They had a tough time of it. Today's New York Times says, "The hospital is at the stern of the vessel, located where every roll and plunge of the ship is felt."
The captain agreed to halt the ship when it was time for the operation. At the time the sea "was running very high." At times, the doctors had to "hang on to keep their feet." Making the six-inch incision was tricky. As soon as the final stitch was in, word was sent to the captain, who started the Pannonia back up. It turned out that gangrene had set in. Any delay would have likely killed Law.
(NOTE: The ship is named after a Roman province.)

Dec. 29, 1907 (Sunday)

WRITER LET OFF EASY BY JUDGE, WHO IS SENSITIVE TO CELEBRITIES AND "OLD SOLDIERS": Author Booth Tarkington (above) was spared an embarrassing scene in the prisoner's dock in police court yesterday in an Indianapolis courtroom.
The author was accused of disturbing the peace and resisting officers. The affidavits, released for the first time yesterday said "that the defendant willfully, viciously and violently kicked Detective Samuels in the abdomen with both of his feet" and that he kicked Detective Manning on the legs and punched him with his fist, according to the front-page article in today's New York Times. The officers and a witness were in court, expecting to testify. But Judge Whallon ruled that the case against Tarkington had been "continued indefinitely on the court's own motion." That likely means the case will never be tried.
After the session the judge was asked if somebody else "who planted his feet in an officer's stomach would get off so easily." The judge said it might happen. In court, he had previously stated, "This action is not wanting in precedent, as the court has done it before in the case of OLD SOLDIERS and CELEBRITIES."
Tarkington is not an "old soldier" but the future Pulitzer Prize winner is considered a celebrity in 1907. The Times article reminds readers that Tarkington -- charged with an ungentlemanly act -- also wrote the book titled "The Gentleman from Indiana".

A "NEW RIVAL" HITS THE STAGE IN VAUDEVILLE: On Friday, a gentleman named William Morris, a vaudeville agent, incorporated a company for $500,000 so he can operate theaters, according to today's New York Times. He told a Times reporter:
The theatres will be high-class vaudeville houses, and we will have a house in New York. Our own theatres will reach from New York to Chicago, and beyond that we will have connections through to San Fancisco."
The Times adds that "Mr. Morris is recognized in vaudeville circuits as one of the most experienced men in the business."
Eventually, there will be a large agency that bears the William Morris name.

A STRANGE THEORY SURFACES ABOUT NIGHT-TIME AUTOMOBILING: Evidently, some automobilists think the machines run better once the SUN has GONE DOWN. Here's an explanation, courtesy of Sir Edgar Roehm, as presented in The London Auto Car, and reprinted in today's New York Times:
The reason is obvious -- for the herbage and foliage &c. give off certain gases at nightfall which act on the explosive mixture, the ignition of which supplies the force which moves the pistons of the engine, and, in consequence, we get an increase in power.
For safety's sake, we hope the HEADLIGHTS benefit from some of that mystical power as well.

Dec. 28, 1907 (Saturday)

SENATOR SAYS THE IMMIGRATION COMMISSION WILL DO ITS WORK SLOWLY: Today's Times wonders about the status of Congress' Immigration Commission, which is under the leadership of Sen. William Paul Dillingham (right) of Vermont. The commission was launched earlier in 1907 in response to worries about growing immigration from Asia and Southern Europe. Policies of other countries regarding EMIGRATION often collide with U.S. policies, the Times notes,
The immigrants we wish, they do not care to lose; those we would exclude, they do not greatly care to keep.
[NOTE: I added the commas to make the complex sentence a bit more clear, I hope.]
In an interview, Dillingham cautioned the Times not to expect anything quickly. An editorial in today's Times says, in part,
Its purpose is to collect and formulate the data for really intelligent action which now seems impossible, so complex is the subject and so defective the information available."
The Times editors shouldn't hold their breath. The famous Dillingham Commission won't produce its famous report until 1910 and 1911. The influence will be far-reaching. It is still worth including in a college lecture.

FORMER FORMER OTIS EMPLOYEE USES ELEVATOR BLUEPRINTS TO SWINDLE BLUEBLOODS: For a while, things were LOOKING UP for Ernest Archer, especially after his recent discharge from a position with the Otis Elevator Company. When he left the company, he took with him various blue prints that showed the design of elevators in many swank homes on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, including the residences of John Jacob Astor, John D. Rockefeller, various Vanderbilts and Astors. Over the past few weeks, Archer visited such houses, brandishing the elevator plans, and convinced various butlers and household staff members that he needed to INSPECT THE ELEVATOR. Once inside, he pocketed numerous items of value. Yesterday, the elevator swindle came crashing down. Archer was at the home of Col. William Barbour, founder and president of the Linen Thread Company. The butler -- having heard of recent thefts from nearby homes -- got suspicious and, with the help of the footman, jumped Archer and had the maid call the police. Complaints were filed by, among others, W.W. Barbour, whose family was mentioned on this site on July 23, 1907.

BASKETBALL TERMINOLOGY:
NOW IT'S A "TIP-IN" or a "PUT-BACK"; IN 1907 IT WAS A "JUMPING THROW": Today's Boston Globe continues its series on "How to Play Basket Ball" (yes, it was two words).
Jumping and leaping are evidently NEW to the game. Here's evidence from today's feature that REBOUNDING a missed shot was a fairly passive act:
It is customary for most players to wait for the ball to descend before attempting to obtain possession of it.
This flat-footed approach offers an opportunity for an active player, the article indicates. A player who "learns to leap up quickly" and grabs the ball while it's still high in the air "surprises his opponents."
Such a move gives that player to make what's called a "jumping throw":
The player should jump high, catch the ball and throw for the basket while still in the air.
It's shown in the picture, which didn't seem to reproduce all that well. This group clearly posed for the photographer. Notice the players who merely "wait for the ball to descend."

Dec. 27, 1907 (Friday)

BOSTON CONSTABLE APPEARS ON STAGE DURING AN OPERA -- AT THE ELBOW OF THE TENOR WHO FACES ARREST: Theatergoers at Boston's Majestic Theater (shown at left in the early 1900s) were jolted from their seats at last night's performance of the opera "Il Trovatore". Every time tenor Carlos Albani appeared on stage during the show, he was accompanied by a Boston constable (appearing as himself, in plain clothes). Here's how today's New York Times described the policeman:
Wearing his overcoat and hat, he followed every movement of the singer and seemed perfectly at home in his latter-day garb among the gorgeous costumes of Italy in the Middle Ages.
Needless to say, some members of the audience HISSED at each appearance of the police officer. He was there because Albani had been arrested on a charge that he owes New York producer Oscar Hammerstein $1,000 and had signed a contract that he would sing exclusively for Hammerstein. In Boston, Albani was appearing with the San Carlo Grand Opera Company.
For further explanation, the Times added:
"The Sheriff's officer who arrested him agreed to allow him to sing his role, but insisted on displaying his authority by dogging his footsteps even before the footlights."
The Times put the story on the front page; the Boston Globe ran a longer one but put it on Page 4 (above).
For a smattering of information, perhaps reliable, about Albani, go here.

THEY CALL RENT-STRIKE LEADER A MODERN-DAY JOAN OF ARC: The scarcity of money has driven about 100,000 men and women out of work in New York's lower east side tenements (likely similar to the ones shown above). But rents must be paid, and evictions loom. Now an enterprising garment worker has launched a crusade to encourage residents to withhold their rent payments until landlords reduce the cost. Today's Times says Pauline Newman is the real leader and that she is "hailed throughout the Grand Street section as the east side JOAN OF ARC." She spends most of her days working in a shirtwaist factory on Grand Street. In addition, she spends about six hours a day "visiting the tenements and arousing the interests of the dwellers there." Reportedly she has organized about 400 women, all of whom support themselves. The goal: an 18 to 20 percent drop in rent. The strategy is simple. If people don't pay, landlords will proceed to evict families. However. city ordinances limit evictions to one family per month per building (each of which in the targeted neighborhood contain from 18 to 34 families). Each dispossessed tenant will take the case to court. Lawyers will then ask for a delay. The courts will become clogged. Landlords will face increasing court costs.
Needless to say, the landlords are NOT AMUSED. One lawyer representing the landlords says, "The tenants are taking advantage of landlords. They have pounced upon the money stringency as a reason why they should not pay as much rent."
(NOTE: Could this be the same Pauline Newman who is historically linked to the great Triangle Factory Fire of 1911? She's pictured below being interviewed in 1981 (below).)