Aug. 3, 1909

MINT ROLLS OUT NEW LINCOLN CENTS: Today's Globe has a brief item about yesterday's release of the new Lincoln one-cent coin, which is being released in honor of the 100th anniversary of the year of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln. The article (right) notes that the coins are extremely popular. As the article says, this is "the first coin to bear the image of the head of one of our great statesmen." The parsimonious nature of the federal government is evident in the fact that the banks who wanted a supply of the coins had to "pay the transportation charges from the mint."
Some controversies will surface regarding the coin and the use of the initials of the designer, V.D.B. (for Victor David Brenner).
At 100 years and counting, the longevity of the front of the coin is noteworthy. Also noteworthy is the fact that some in the South were very upset (in 1909) they had to use a coin honoring Lincoln.
The coin replaces the Indian Head Cent, which was minted from 1859-1909.

CHICAGO JUDGE TRIES TO THROW SOME COLD WATER ON THE "SUMMER DANGER": Judge Albert C. Barnes (above) of Chicago is tackling something he calls the "summer danger." It's not sunburn. It's not a shark attack. It's not going swimming too soon after eating a meal. According to a news report, the judge says too many single persons who go on "excursions or short vacations together" plunge too quickly into marrage. He calls this the "summer danger." The article mentions that such marriages are "rushed into at the end of a steamboat excursion or a suburban street-car ride." Too many judges are "continually being called upon to undo them in divorce courts," the article says.
He asks, "Is marriage too easy under the present laws?" The judge was asked what could be done to prevent this. His response:
"A statute requiring the license to be issued two weeks previous to the amrriage ceremony would perhaps do something."


SOME CHURCH MEMBERS SAY PRIEST LIVES UP TO HIS NAME: One article deals with a dispute raging in a Catholic Church in Utica, N.Y. The priest says some members of the congregation attempted to kidnap him. The plot unfolded when he was asked to rush to the death bed of a parisioner. He headed to the church to grab "the blessed sacrament and holy oils." When he emerged, he was greeted by about a dozen members of the church who offered to give him a ride -- in a "closed carriage." When the door was opened, he noticed four more men inside. He balked, sensing a trick. Some of the others attempted to force him inside, but he outsmarted them. According to the article, he pulled out of his pocket a PYX that contained the sacraments and warned them not to commit a sacrilege. They backed off, and the priest has sought help from Bishop Ludden in Syracuse and the police in Utica. The last paragraph adds an exotic dimension to the efforts of some church goers to oust the priest:
"His friends charge that a recent attempt was made to POISON THE WINE used in celebrating mass."
Oh, yes, the SURNAME. The priest is referred to as the "Rev. Fr. SUCK."