April 6, 1908 (Monday)

POLITICIAN THINKS HE HAS FOUND A WAY TO HARNESS THE USE OF HOT AIR: Sherbie Becker (left), who's known as the "boy mayor of Milwaukee," says he wants to take campaigning to a NEW LEVEL, according to today's New York Times. Last night he announced in Chicago that he had bought a balloon in St. Louis. If he runs for governor in the fall, he plans to use the balloon to travel around the state. He says it makes sense:
"There are many counties in the Northern part of Wisconsin that are difficult of access to steam cars or automobiles."
He hopes to visit 76 counties in the airship. He says he will speak from the basket. (The picture above is from a balloon fair in Chicago in the summer of 1908.)

FAMOUS TRAMP REVEALS HIS NAME: Until now, the world's most famous tramp has been known simply as "A No. 1." Now, according to today's New York Times, the man's real name has been revealed. He is Ray Livingston (right). He lives in Cambridge Springs, Pa., and plans to write a book. According to the article, he has been tramping since 1893. His nickname -- "A No. 1" -- has been spotted all over the place, written on fence posts, freight cars and railroad stations. He has supposedly traveled more than 500,000 miles and has spent only $7.55. Instead of begging, he carves artistic images from potatoes. And he speaks English, French, German and Spanish. One of his greatest accomplishments, according to the article, was traveling by rail from New York To San Francisco in 11 days and six hours -- without paying any fare. For that feat, he won a prize of $1,000.
[NOTE: He wrote a number of books, including "The Trail of the Tramp". He is portrayed in "Emperor of the North" by Lee Marvin (below).]

April 5, 1908 (Sunday)

WEALTHY PHILADELPHIA BOXER GOES A FEW ROUNDS WITH EX-CHAMP JACK O'BRIEN: Today's New York Times features right in the middle column of the front page a story that chronicles a four-round boxing match between "Philadelphia" Jack O'Brien and millionaire Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, whom the headline writer calls a "POET-BOXER."
Yesterday's bout was at the Merion Cricket Club in Haverford. The paper says of Biddle, "In the first two rounds he showed great knowledge of the game. He went at the ex-champion in a vicious manner as soon as time was called for the first round." However, Biddle tired during the next two rounds in the 18-foot ring and lost by a wide margin.
The pair (pictured above in Biddle's gym, with Biddle on the left and O'Brien on the right, in a photograph from this site) fought according to Merion Cricket Club rules, which, according to the Times, "allowed them to punch as long as they had an arm free."
O'Brien fought in bright green tights; "Tony" Biddle fought in his "customary blue tights."
The fighting was NOT limited to the ring. The Times says a couple of waiters had "a FIGHT in the KITCHEN as to who would serve the two celebrities at the table."
[Note: Biddle's life forms the basis of the 1967 musical "The Happiest Millionaire," which starred Fred MacMurray.]

SPEAKING OF MILLIONAIRES.... TAFT WANTS TO BEEF UP DIPLOMATIC PAY AND STATUS: In a speech in Chicago yesterday, Secretary of War William H. Taft weighed in against the poor housing and salaries offered to diplomatic and consular representatives. He thinks the current set-up closes the door on such careers to candidates with little outside income. He asked
"Could anything be more unrepublican, more plutocratic than a system of salaries and allowances that bar from the Diplomatic Corps every one SAVE MILLIONAIRES?"

STILL SPEAKING OF MILLIONAIRES: Today's New York Times features a tiny item on the front page with the headline "Yarn About Rockefeller." The article describes "a rumor [that] went the rounds of the newspapers last night" that John D. Rockefeller intended to spend $5 million to $6 million to establish "Bible classes of all denominations, under the leadership of his son, John D. Rockefeller, Jr."
The paper says that the rumor gave the pastor of the Rockefeller family's church, -- the Rev. Charles F. Aked of the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church -- "an uncomfortable half hour."
When contacted by the rumor sniffing journalists, Rev. Aked said, "The whole story is a pack of lies."

FIFTH AVENUE HOTEL TO BECOME HISTORY: A huge crowd turned out last night to turn the lights out -- for the last time -- at the famous Fifth Avenue Hotel (pictured above) in Manhattan. A subhead in today's Times puts the hotel in its place: "Famous House Which Has Sheltered the makers of Our History Closed at Midnight." At one time, the hotel housed the "first passenger elevator ever operated in the land." It also housed the politically famous "Amen Corner," a bastion for Republicans. The hotel, on the west side of Madison Square, brimmed with journalists and politicians and various hangers-on last night. In addition to the predictable "Auld Lang Syne," they sang "We're Here Because."

April 4, 1908 (Friday)

WHITE SOLDIERS IN NEW YORK OBJECT TO BEING LED BY A MARCHING BAND -- OF COLORED SOLDIERS: Plans for a grand military escort for Gov. Charles Evans Hughes' visit to Watertown, N.Y., have hit a snag. The Chamber of Commerce wants the "colored band" of the 24th Regiment (the regimental badge is above), which was recently moved to the barracks at Sackets Harbor to lead the procession for the governor. However, some soldiers of Company C are upset. According to today's New York Times,
When the Chamber's intention became known a protest from the white soldiers went up, some of those of Southern birth saying that NO NEGRO could LEAD the procession.
The Chamber of Commerce has an additional dispute. There's a big argument about whether or not to serve wine at the dinner with the governor.

JOURNALIST JOE HOWARD IS LAID TO REST: Today's Boston Globe includes a lengthy write-up for the late Joe Howard, whose death was mentioned April 1.
Evidently he had quite a service, attended by numerous members of the New York Press Club, of which he was a president for about six years. One thing that might surprise people. According to the article, the official SONG of the New York Press Club -- an outfit that included numerous journalists among the publicists -- was "Scatter Seeds of Kindness." (For a 1917 recording, click here.)
Another item of interest is that one of the honorary pall bearers was William d'Alton Mann; another was Frank A. Burrelle [whose namesake company survives].
Of particular interest, however, was the lengthy presentation of remarks made by Dr. Newell Dwight Hillis, pastor of the famous Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, site of the service. Hillis spoke about -- among other things -- the value of NEWSPAPERS. I think it's worth presenting, as quoted in today's Boston Globe:
Now and then a man like Mr. Balfour, prime minister of England asserts that he never reads a daily newspaper or magazine, but books alone. But this is as superficial in reality as it is seemingly wise.
What!
The newspaper ephemeral! The sunshine of today is ephemeral. Tomorrow's warm beams that awaken the orchard are ephemeral, and last you for a day; but many ephemeral sunbeams make shocks and sheaves. What you call the ephemeral newspaper of today conserves the body of knowledge that makes the literature of tomorrow. No wise man despises so-called ephemeral journalism.
What God Almighty thinks it worth while to do in the morning is always worth a finite man's telling about at night. It can never be a little thing to tell the story of a great day that Almighty God hath made.

POLITICIAN ACCUSES ROOSEVELT OF VANITY -- ESPECIALLY REGARDING THE CAMERA ANGLE HE USES FOR HIS HORSEBACK-RIDING POSES: Rep. John J. Fitzgerald (D-N.Y.) is evidently getting sick and tired of all the attention President Roosevelt seems to attract. For one thing, Fitzgerald objects to the riding tests that Roosevelt wants all army officers to pass. Roosevelt (shown above in Colorado in 1905, on the white horse in front) is too eager to show off his own abilities as a horseman, Fitzgerald says -- going to great lengths to distribute photographs of himself on horseback. Fitzgerald claims that Roosevelt creates a false impression in some of the pictures:
"When the picture shows him jumping a fence, he has the camera set on the ground to exaggerate the appearance of height."

April 3, 1908 (Friday)

GUILTY VERDICT ENRAGES DYNAMITER, SO HE PULLS OUT A GUN AND KILLS AN OFFICER IN THE COURTROOM: Moments after a jury convicted Henry F. MacDonald guilty in the 1907 dynamiting of a church and two stores in Sanford, Indiana, he shot half a dozen men in the courtroom in Terre Haute (above, in 1912) yesterday afternoon. He fired first at the prosecutor, but James A. Cooper noticed the gun and pitched backward. The bullet missed. McDonald then fired at a group of police officers who were seated at a table. The Chief of Detectives William Dwyer was killed. Five others were injured. Police were hindered in their attempts to fire back at MacDonald because an attorney named Judge J.T. Walker was struggling with the gunman in an effort to disarm him. Eventually McDonald fell with a dozen wounds in his body. He is expected to survive. The final paragraph in the story on the front page of today's New York Times answers at least one question:
While McDonald was held to be a desperate man, he had been permitted his liberty during the trial.The Police Department had been active in the case, and several officers were in court to hear the verdict. They expected some demonstration by McDonald, but had not taken precautions against such an outbreak.

ANOTHER CLAIM TO FAME FOR BOSTON: The advertisement above (on Page 16) of today's Boston Globe boldly states that the capital of Massachusetts is "the ale centre of America." The key, according to the add, is the quality of water coming from the faucet. So, the next step is to propose that the city establishes -- in addition to its Freedom Trail -- an Ale Trail.

RISING FLOW OF NEWCOMERS IN BOSTON PROMPTS A CALL FOR A NEW IMMIGRATION STATION -- ON THE MAINLAND: According to Congressional testimony more than 70,000 aliens entered the U.S. through the port of Boston during the past fiscal year. This makes Boston the "second port of immigration in this country," according to a report by Rep. Joseph F. O'Connell (D-Mass.) [right, whose legacy remains in the form of a law firm in Boston].
The increasing volume demands a change, he says, adding that the present quarters are inadequate. Fire is a big problem. According to today's Globe, he wrote:
They are located on a very busy wharf, the greater part of which is often occupied by inflammable material. The building is of wood and stands on wooden piling, and if fire ever broke out on the premises, it is a very doubtful question whether the detained persons could be saved. The building itself could not be saved if the fire ever got headway.
Furthermore, the facilities are too small, especially in light of the "establishment of regular lines to Mediterranean ports."
The politicians evidently don't want a facility placed on an island in the harbor. In what is some apparent sound fiscal thinking, O'Connell wrote:
If the station is placed on the mainland, there will be no need for a ferry service.... the cost of maintaining the ferry would in a few years equal the initial expense of building the station.

April 2, 1908 (Thursday)

SPAIN'S ROYAL HOUSEHOLD IN TURMOIL OVER RELEASE OF LETTERS: According to today's Washington Post the El Libertad of Madrid recently published communications alleged to be between former King Alfonso XII and singer Elena Sanz (pictured above). The pair had two sons, who seek higher standing in the royal household. In a dispatch dated March 24, the Queen Mother -- the wife of XII and mother of XIII -- declared in a disposition that she had been forced by swindlers to pay $16,000 for letters between her late former husband and the singer. She has evidently been tricked, and the originals have surfaced -- in print. Today's Post prints an excerpt:
My Little Elena: To-morrow -- to-morrow at last I will be with thee. Nothing I might say here can give thee the smallest idea of the impatience that consumes me.
All day yesterday I had to sit, as often before, witnessing the absurd ceremonious genuflections of a lot of gouty old marchionesses, ugly as virtue and as stupid as their husbands.
As I contemplated their faded faces I was seized by an insane desire to jump into a carriage and bask in the sunshine of thy joyous laughter.
Eight hours more of separation and then I will be flying toward thee. Meanwhile, accept the very best wishes of thy
ALFONSO


THE BATTLE OVER DELEGATES AT LARGE -- IS THAT THE SAME AS A SUPERDELEGATE? -- MIGHT GET DOWNRIGHT UGLY IN TEXAS: On May 2, there will be a special primary election in Texas to see if U.S. Sen. Joseph W. Bailey (above) shall be elected as a DELEGATE AT LARGE to the National Democratic Convention.
The word out of Dallas is that Bailey's campaign manager (Clarence Ousley, editor of The
Fort Worth Record) has printed a warning to Bailey's political enemies, and invokes the images of PRESIDENTIAL ASSASSINATIONS in the process. According to today's New York Times, Ousley mentioned the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley and declares that there's a chance a similar killing could happen in Texas. He's talking about threats to Bailey. He said:
Within the last ten days two men have been heard to declare that Senator Bailey ought to be killed, and one of them in a public restaurant, in the hearing of several persons, said that he would be glad to pay the expenses of any man who would do the deed.
This is from the If You Think Politics Is Nasty in 2008, Just Take a Look Backward Dept.

IT'S GOOD TO KNOW THAT WASHINGTON, D.C., HAS BEEN WORKING ON THE COCAINE PROBLEM FOR A LONG TIME: The article at right showed up in today's Washington Post newspaper. City commissioners have proposed a measure that would greatly limit the availability of the drug. It might even decrease consumption. According to the article, the measure makes it unlawful for anybody who's not a registered DRUGGIST, PHYSICIAN, DENTIST or VETERINARIAN to have cocaine or morphine unless it has been prescribed by a physician. Even then, the drug must be in a container with the name of the physician and person for whom it is intended.
There's no explanation about a veterinarian's need to have cocaine.

April 1, 1908

JOURNALIST JOSEPH HOWARD JR. -- FAMOUS FOR A GRAND HOAX DURING THE CIVIL WAR -- DIES AT 75: How utterly appropriate that the obituary for Joseph Howard surfaces on APRIL FOOL'S DAY. The veteran journalist was known as the brains behind the so-called Gold Hoax of 1864. Somehow he survived that and went on to a remarkable career as a journalist. He covered, for example, the Lizzie Borden trial for the Boston Globe, which published his obituary and photograph today on Page 3 (above).
Howard was also the one who was loose with the facts in his reporting of the trip that President-elect Abraham Lincoln made to Washington, D.C., for his inauguration in 1861. Howard, who was first with the story for the New York Times that Lincoln was secretly conveyed to the capital to ensure his safety from assassination, added some details that became "history." He wrote that Lincoln's disguise included a military cloak and a Scottish cap.
The Globe obituary includes quite a few humorous tales of Howard's life. At one point, as the story goes, Howard got into a fist fight with Joseph Pulitzer, owner of the New York World. Evidently, or so the story goes,
"neither was injured because, both having lost their spectacles in the melee, neither could see the other."
Nothing like the sight of a couple of near-sighted journalists slugging it out!
The tale of how Howard came to become a reporter for the Times is equally interesting. As the story goes,
Young Howard, who had been in California without finding there a congenial business opening for a start on a career, was in Lynn, Mass., visiting relatives in February 1860 when a great strike of the shoe workers (right) took place there.
Joe, then 27 years old, had never written a line for a newspaper in his life, even if he had ever dreamed of doing so. But having nothing on his hands at the time, and doubtless not being over-burdened with funds, while watching the comings and goings of newspaper men employed in observing the strike, he became fired with the ambition to enter the lists with them.
He read upon the hotel register a list of the names of visiting newspaper men from New York. Mr. So-and-so, New York Herald; Mr. So-and-so, New York Sun etc., and he noticed that one of the leading New York papers was apparently not represented, namely the New York Times. So he boldly wrote on the register, "Joe Howard Jr. New York Times."
He then hung out with the other reporters, who happened to be pretty morose because the strikers weren't talking with them.
Howard then arose and walked to the locked doors behind which the strike leaders were gathered. He knocked on the door; someone opened it; he walked right in and interrupted the speaker with an "Excuse me, please." He then said he was a special emissary from the Times and said he had been sent to Lynn to present their side of the dispute. As today's Globe summarizes it, "He exalted the rights of labor, the power of the press and the duty of American citizens in general." Also, he "threw in a few good stories" and soon had control of the meeting. He then listened to the strikers. After the meeting, he wrote up a report, signed it "Howard" and sent it to the Times. At the Times, nobody knew who Howard was. Some suspected the paper's founder and owner, Henry J. Raymond, had hired him without telling the editors. Besides that, the story was "good stuff." The story was printed. Raymond read it and liked it. He asked the editors who "Howard" was. Nobody knew. They tracked down the writer and Howard "was at once offered a place on the staff of the Times" (or so the story goes).

LOOKING FOR CULPRITS WHO STOLE HIS ICE CREAM, MAN TIES CAMERAS TO A KITE AND SENDS IT ALOFT: William A. Eddy, who is assistant city collector of Bayonne, N.J., who's known as a "sky camera expert," went to great lengths yesterday to discover who stole several quarts of ice cream from the rear porch of his house. He attached THREE CAMERAS to a LARGE KITE and sent it several hundred feet into the air. By pulling on strings, he could open and close the shutter of the cameras.
He brought the kite down quickly and "hastily" developed the pictures. He found an image of "two men seated beneath a tree a few hundered yards from the Eddy home and eating the stolen cream, but alas! the features are too small to furnish a clue to the thieves."
Eddy rushed to the site, but the men were gone. All was not lost: "He recovered the empty ice cream boxes, however."
Unless, of course, this happened to be an April Fool's Day tale.
Eddy suspects the culprits were boys who weren't invited to his daughter's party.

TWO YEARS AGO TODAY: The first item for this blog was two years ago, for the news of April 1, 1906.

March 31, 1908 (Tuesday)

RAILROAD SAYS STORY WAS OFF-TRACK: The Pennsylvania Railroad Company denies yesterday's report in The New York Times that it has discharged foreign workers unless they could show some naturalization papers. Railroad officials "say that no such order has ever been issued," according to a notice at the bottom of the front page of today's Times. The report was "sent out from Pittsburg" [which is spelled without a final -h] on the night of March 29.

YALE SENIORS PUT HARVARD IN ITS PLACE, FINALLY: A big surprise surfaced yesterday when the results of the annual survey of Yale seniors was released. One of the questions was "What is your favorite college next to Yale?" Until now, the answer has always been Harvard. This year, the nod went to Princeton over Harvard, by a 195 to 34 spread. A shocker also came out with the response to the vote for the "favorite amusement." Usually football wins. This year football came "low in the list, receiving only eight votes" -- tied with bridge whist and dancing. The class voted tennis as its favorite sport.
Other results:
Favorite poem: "Crossing the Bar";
Favorite actor: Sothern [only the last name is given; presumably it's E.H. Sothern;
Favorite actress: Maude Adams (right);
Favorite novel: "Lorna Doone";
Favorite prose writer: Robert Louis Stevenson.
[NOTE: The Maude Adams in this voting is not to be concerned with a latter-day actress named Maud Adams -- the title character in "Octopussy."]

IT'S ALL OVER FOR CHESTER GILLETTE: Convicted murderer Chester Gillette died at 6:18 a.m. yesterday on the electric chair at the prison in Auburn, N.Y. The article on page 5 of today's New York Times has some interesting information from the AUTOPSY of the killer. The autopsy revealed that Gillette "was a normal man." For one thing, his brain weighed 57.5 ounces. His heart was smaller than a normal man's weighing 12 ounces. He weighed 146 pounds and stood 5 feet 8.5 inches tall. There was "a slight adhesion in the right lung."
His spiritual advisers released a statement after the death, which was his punishment for one of the most well-known killings in the state of New York. The Rev. Henry McIlravy and the Rev. Cordello Herrick said
"Because our relationship with Chester Gillette was privileged, we do not deem it wise to make a detailed statement, and simply wish to say that no legal mistake was made in his electrocution."