Jan. 24, 1909 (Sunday)

LUXURY LINER REPUBLIC IS RAMMED; WIRELESS SAVES THE DAY FOR PASSENGERS: Today's Globe trumpets the stunning collision of the RMS Republic and the Lloyds Italian liner Florida south of Nantucket. The Republic was, fortunately, equipped with wireless radio communications, and the remarkable rescue operation, which transferred hundreds of passengers first to the Florida, then to the Baltic was able to be done because the Republic was able to send distress signals by wireless. This proved the absolute value of wireless radio. The disaster spawned plenty of tales about the possibility of gold being on board.
The Globe devoted lots of the front page and all of Page 13 and Page 14 to the disaster, which happened about 6:20 a.m. -- in the fog -- on Jan. 23. The coverage included the image at right, which shows the transfer of passengers from the Republic to the Florida. No indication of whether or not is was an actual photograph (doubtful) or an artist's rendering of the remarkable rescue. Adding to the graphic presentation, the Globe included the large map shown below.



SPRING TRAINING LOOMS; BATHS AT HOT SPRINGS AWAIT THE RED SOX: The Globe's great sportswriter Tim Murnane wrote a roundup of baseball news for today's paper. [In 1978, Murnane was honored with baseball's Spink Award.] Lots dealt with the financial difficulties of Cap Anson. Here's the sequence, in which Anson and Murnane were approached in Hyde Park, London, in 1874 and asked if they would like to join the British army!



Other items:
Manager Fred Lake will bring 27 players to Hot Springs, Ark. There, the Globe points out, "the boys will play on their own ball field." In addition each player will take 21 baths in the springs. They should head North "in the pink of condition" (which, presumably, is close enough to red).
The Boston Nationals, on the other hand, will be in Augusta, Ga. About 25 are expected, many of whom will be new to the team, referred to as the Boston Doves. That name comes from President Dovey, who liked the results from the training at Augusta last year.
Harry Clay Pulliam, president of the National League, gave a "crisp interview" to New York papers before heading to a vacation in Canada. He said, in Murnane's words, "ball players as a rule were ungrateful" and that "not one National League magnate knew the rules."

Jan. 23, 1909 (Saturday)

SERIOUSLY, HER HAT????? The real problem for the mini-riot at the Mechanics Building in Boston seems to be that too many tickets were sold and the place was really crowded. The large hat, which a woman refused to remove, seems to have provided the spark for the riot. (For an idea of the dimensions, here's a picture at the right of a multi-plumed hat, taken from a fashion article in the Globe on Jan. 24, 1909.)
The headline and lead point clearly to the hat. Here's the beginning of the article:
An enormous hat on the head of a woman who refused to remove the headpiece started a disturbance among a crowd of five thousand Jewish people at the Mechanics Building last night, and before peace was restored the performance of "The Abnormal Man" had been brought to a sudden and unscheduled close, after which the actors, managers and attaches were chased through the streets by a throng of screaming men, women and children.
The key paragraphs, far down in the story, follow:
A woman who sat in one of the front seats persisted in wearing a large picture hat which was decked with several plumes. Those about he could not see the stage and they shoutsd "Take of the hat!" She refused, some of the audience state, and finally those back of her began to stand up in the effort to see the stage.
"then the shouting became general and almost everybody stood up. The throng now could not see nor hear the perrmance and the bedlam broke loose. many in the rear rushed into the aisles and some filled he space bten the first row of seats and the stage.
This was the move which stampeded the entire audience....
The woman with the hat is not named in the article.

Jan. 22, 1909 (Friday)

QUAKE REFUGEES GET PHOTOGRAPHED EVEN THOUGH IT HAS TURNED DARK:
About 1,100 people arrived last night in Boston Harbor aboard the White Star's Romanic (right).
Included were 30 survivors of December's massive earthquake in Southern Italy. Unfortunately the ship arrived about 10 hours behind scheduled, and an hour too late to allow officials to move the ship from quarantine to the Hoosac Tunnel dock in Charlestown. The late hour of arrival forced the Globe to send a towboat out to the ship so a reporter could interview passengers and a photographer could take "flashlight pictures" of them. The photograph with the story includes a caption that says the photo was "from a Flashlight Photograph taken by a Globe Photographer While the Steamer Lay at Quarantine Last Night." Call it intrepid newsgathering -- in the face of the late arrival and gathering gloom.
The reporter talked with Alezio Bellamacina, a barber living on Staniford Street in Boston. He was caught in the quake in Messina. The Globe reporter, in keeping with the style of the day, allowed Bellamacina to speak at some length about his experience (without paraphrasing):
"I was suddenly awakened by the noise, and the rocking of the building threw me out of bed. I struggled out through the ruins in the dark.
"The whole city of Messina was smashed up and nothing was left to tell it from a big stone quarry.
"Those who escaped were like maniacs. We were like a lot of children or crazy people, who did not know whether the world had come to an end, nor what to do or where to go.
"O, that terrific sea that swept over the city was awful to behold, and I am sure that caused quite as many deaths if not more than the shocks. I lost everything I had in the world over there, but I am thankful to be alive and back safely in the United States and Boston again."

SOME IN SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY REPORT SEEING A BEAST THAT'S A CROSS BETWEEN A KANGAROO, BAT AND DOG -- OR A HORSE: Many are whipped up in a frenzy in Southern New Jersey, according to today's Globe. Evidently, there have been numerous reports of a so-called "South Jersey Terror" or "flying kangaroo devil" in the area. In Burlington, a Mrs. Michael Ryan says she heard a commotion early in the day on Jan. 21 and poked her head out a window to look into an alley. An article in today's Globe says she thought "it had a peculiar shaped body and long bird-like legs, while its head looked like that of a horse." The mayor of the town has ordered police to shoot the beast on sight.
The story has taken hold. The article says:
The efforts of some amateur humorists to cast discredit upon the uncanny visitor are not all appreciated by the sober people of south Jersey. Those who have beheld the imprints of the terror's feet, and they are legion now, are among the best and most pious home-loving, churchgoing residents of the United States.

Jan. 21, 1909

BEN TILLMAN WOULD BE STUNNED IF HE KNEW WHO WOULD BE INAUGURATED AS PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. IN 2009 ....Today's Globe sums up the position of U.S. Sen. Ben Tillman (left), who's called "Pitchfork Ben Tillman" by some. The headline shown above is with an article on Page 9 which sums up the senator's reaction to a speech by president-elect William Howard Taft, which said Tillman did not support wider education plans for blacks. Taft was correct in his estimation of Tillman's position. The statement by Tillman which inspired the headline shown is, "WE NEVER INTEND TO BE GOVERNED BY NEGROES, WHETHER EDUCATED OR UNEDUCATED."