Oct. 18, 1908 (Sunday)

DARK SIDE OF CAMPAIGNING SURFACES IN NEWARK WHERE "ATTACK AD" LEADS TO A JUDGE'S SUICIDE: Nasty political campaigns -- filled as they are with "attack ads" -- can lead to extremely dark ends. It happened in Newark, N.J., yesterday, according to today's New York Times. The headline (at right) says it all. The suicide of Judge David T. Howell in Branch Brook Park (shown above in 1907) stunned the city. The article says
Word of Judge Howell's act spread rapidly through Newark, and excited crowds gathered at the various news sources of the city. No event has caused a greater sensation there in years, coming as a climax to a week of startling political happenings which began on Tuesday when Under Sheriff Charles Mason at a meeting of the "Read Democracy" wing of the
Democratic Party made an attack full of personalities upon ex-United States Senator James Smith Jr., Mayor Jacob Haussling of Newark, City Councilman James R. Nugent, who is a State Democratic Chairman, and Judge Howell.
The article includes part of Mason's statement:
Should we be surprised that a Mayor like 'Jake' Haussling should appoint as Judge of the Criminal Court of Newark a man that had been convicted of assault and battery upon his wife, and from whom his wife on account of this vice and immorality was compelled to secure a divorce and to earn a living for herself and three children?"
He was talking about Howell's first marriage. Some think there's more to the story.
A witness saw the judge shoot himself -- twice. Here's how the Times describes what the witness saw [emphasis added]:
Pausing a moment, Jude Howell drew a revolver from his pocket and, placing the muzzle to his right temple, fired as Benn ran toward him. As the park employe neared him Judge Howell rose to his knees and struggled toward the revolver, which lay on the ground. He reached it as Benn came within twenty feet of him and placed it against his temple again. Benn halted, horrified and saw the man PULL THE TRIGGER THREE TIMES WITHOUT EFFECT. The fourth attempt discharged the gun and Judge Howell sank unconscious upon the ground.
One paragraph would delight any viewer of TV shows such as "CSI: Las Vegas." The Times describes the damage done by the bullets in this way:
One bullet was found to have nearly ENCIRCLED THE SKULL INSIDE THE SKIN, while the second, which had entered the brain, could not be located.
The paper gives some background for the judge. Before coming to the United States, Howell was born on the west coast of Ireland and was preparing for a life in the ministry when his father died. Howell was forced to take a job working as a rent collector for Capt. James Boycott -- the man whose name, the Times notes, became synonymous for "ostracizing by agreement." Of course, they should have called him Charles Boycott.

FORMER SHERIFF OF LONDON SAYS SOME MUSIC CAN BE "POISONOUS": Some classical favorites such as "The Merry Widow Waltz" and "Mefistofele" are dangerous to some listeners, according to some critics in Great Britain. One, Sir Charles Wakefield, the former sheriff of London, made the following comment at a school-prize presentation this week, according to a report in today's New York Times (right). The notice says, "There has been a frenzied debate on the subject."

Oct. 15, 1908 (Thursday)

PITTSBURGH AUTHORITIES PUT "SALOME" IN A SKIRT THAT HANGS TO THE ANKLES:On Oct. 13, Joe Weber opened a run of a burlesque show in the Duquesne Theater in Pittsburgh that combined features of "The Merry Widow" and "The Devil." Worried citizens of Pittsburgh protested the show, which includes a dance in which Blanche Deyo (shown above in an undated photo) portrays the sultry Salome.
Director of Public Safety Lang attended the performance, alerted by the protests.
When Deyo got to the point of the dance during which she produces the head of John the Baptist, Lang leapt from his box and rushed to the stage door. He found it locked. He pounded on it, but nobody answered. Then the dance ended. Lang was not amused, saying, "It is outrageous and will not be repeated in this city."
He kept his word, at the afternoon performance on the 14th. The police insisted that Deyo wear MORE CLOTHES than she did on the night of the 13th. The scene backstage at the matinee looked like this:
Reluctantly [Chief of Police] McQuaide took his stand outside Miss Deyo's dressing room this afternoon, and when she came out he inspected her with a critical eye and let her go on [stage].

TIMES FINDS A RELIABLE INDEX FOR A FALTERING ECONOMY, 1908-STYLE: It's not exactly a Dow Jones Industrial Average, but today's New York Times includes some numbers that reveal a significant change in the economic lives of some regular folk in New York. Today's paper says that MORE THAN TWICE AS MANY CHILDREN are looking for employment this fall season than the fall of 1907.
In September of last year, 1,300 children aged 14 years old applied for certificates so they could become bread winners.
In September 1908, that number swelled to 2,700 children.
The city's Health Board draws one conclusion from this increase: "That a larger number of parents find themselves at the approach of Winter either out of employment or with their earning capacity reduced."

HERE'S SOMETHING THAT WON'T APPEAR FOR AT LEAST 100 MORE YEARS: The Chicago Cubs won the World Series yesterday, and it's reported in today's New York Times -- on page 7. The headline is on the right. The attendance for the clinching game -- over the Detroit Tigers -- was only 6,210. Each team received shares of the total amount brought in. The Cubs received $27,660; the Tigers received $18,446. PER TEAM, that is.
Detroit's manager, Hugh Jennings, praised the victors. And he lamented that his own team failed to put "the old-time Detroit dash and ginger to their work."

Oct. 14, 1908 (Wednesday)

SUFFRAGETTES STORM PARLIAMENT AND ONE GETS INSIDE: For more than three hours yesterday a large mob of suffragettes and their supporters crowded around Parliament in London and, essentially, besieged the building, according to a report in today's New York Times. The report pointed out that Mrs. Travers Symons was the "heroine of the day." She dashed past the doorkeeper and entered Parliament while members of the House of Commons were debating a bill that was designed to prevent children from smoking cigarettes. As she stood in front of the Speaker's chair, she yelled, "Leave off discussing children and talk about the women."
Three men grabbed her and hustled her outside. Then Parliament issued an order, in the words of the Times, "that hereafter women should not be admitted to the building on any pretext whatsoever, and in the future the historic grille will not screen feminine spectators."

EVEN THOUGH HE DESERTED HER, WOMAN REMEMBERS HUSBAND IN HER WILL -- TO THE TUNE OF ONE DOLLAR: The will of Catherine B. Heckler of Portland, Ore., was filed in probate court in Chicago yesterday. She left virtually all of her estate to a friend named Isabella Vance. Her attorney gets a cut-glass water bottle. Her former husband receives something, too: One dollar. It will be paid to him in FOUR MONTHLY INSTALLMENTS of 25 CENTS EACH.
The will describes the former husband as "the individual who married me in 1905 in San Diego, Cal., and who got from me thousands of dollars and when he could get no more, deserted me."