A great day in the history of confectionaries. Haribo, the German candy company that invented Gummi Bears (Gummy Bears, Gummibär) came into existence.
It wouldn't come up with Gummi Bears for another couple of years, however.
Coincidentally, the excellent A Hundred Years Ago blog has an item up comparing how much Americans spent on candy a century ago, as opposed to now. You can find that item here:
How Much do Americans Spend on Candy, 1920 and 2020?
News that some would have taken as bittersweet was the repeal of the Sedition Act of 1918. It was swept out with a lot of wartime measures that were being contemporaneously repealed.
Sedition has been discussed here recently and its still a Federal offense. Interestingly, I don't think that most Americans, up until this past week, were familiar with the word in an sense, save for those who are students of history. Many of those folks probably didn't realize that sedition remains a crime. As we pointed out here just the other day, the current crime is defined as follows:
If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.
Sedition is suddenly in the news as there's been speculation on whether or not various efforts to keep President Trump in office amount to that. Indeed, a Congressman from New Jersey has written Nancy Pelosi a letter urging her not to seat those Republican Congressmen who signed onto supporting the Attorney General of Texas' suit against other states, maintaining that their act was seditious.
The 1918 Act was a much different one than the standard one that is set out above. We covered in an entry when it was passed. That item is here:
Today In Wyoming's History: May 16, 1918. The Sedition Act of 1918 passed into law.
It provided, amongst other things:
SECTION 3. Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully make or convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States, or to promote the success of its enemies, or shall willfully make or convey false reports, or false statements, . . . or incite insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States, or shall willfully obstruct . . . the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States, or . . . shall willfully utter, print, write, or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States, or the Constitution of the United States, or the military or naval forces of the United States . . . or shall willfully display the flag of any foreign enemy, or shall willfully . . . urge, incite, or advocate any curtailment of production . . . or advocate, teach, defend, or suggest the doing of any of the acts or things in this section enumerated and whoever shall by word or act support or favor the cause of any country with which the United States is at war or by word or act oppose the cause of the United States therein, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both....
As noted, the 1918 Act was notorious for its broad sweep and the impact of its Section 3. It was controversial at the time. The full Section 3 is set out here:
Sec. 3. Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully make or convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States, or to promote the success of its enemies, or shall willfully make or convey false reports or false statements, or say or do anything except by way of bona fide and not disloyal advice to an investor or investors, with intent to obstruct the sale by the United States of bonds or other securities of the United States or the making of loans by or to the United States, and whoever when the United States is at war, shall willfully cause or attempt to cause, or incite or attempt to incite, insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States, or shall willfully obstruct or attempt to obstruct the recruiting or enlistment services of the United States, and whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully utter, print, write or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States or the Constitution of the United States, or the military or naval forces of the United States, or the flag of the United States, or the uniform of the Army or Navy of the United States into contempt, scorn, contumely, or disrepute, or shall willfully utter, print, write, or publish any language intended to incite, provoke, or encourage resistance to the United States, or to promote the cause of its enemies, or shall willfully display the flag of any foreign enemy, or shall willfully by utterance, writing, printing, publication, or language spoken, urge, incite, or advocate any curtailment of production in this country of any thing or things, product or products, necessary or essential to the prosecution of the war in which the United States may be engaged, with intent by such curtailment to cripple or hinder the United States in the prosecution of war, and whoever shall willfully advocate, teach, defend, or suggest the doing of any of the acts or things in this section enumerated, and whoever shall by word or act support or favor the cause of any country with which the United States is at war or by word or act oppose the cause of the United States therein, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or the imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both: Provided, That any employee or official of the United States Government who commits any disloyal act or utters any unpatriotic or disloyal language, or who, in an abusive and violent manner criticizes the Army or Navy or the flag of the United States shall be at once dismissed from the service. . . .
Sec. 4. When the United States is at war, the Postmaster General may, upon evidence satisfactory to him that any person or concern is using the mails in violation of any of the provisions of this Act, instruct the postmaster at any post office at which mail is received addressed to such person or concern to return to the postmaster at the office at which they were originally mailed all letters or other matter so addressed, with the words 'Mail to this address undeliverable under Espionage Act' plainly written or stamped upon the outside thereof, and all such letters or other matter so returned to such postmasters shall be by them returned to the senders thereof under such regulations as the Postmaster General may prescribe.
While was controversial, it was used and a there were an appreciable number of prosecutions under it.
On the same day the League of Nations established by Treaty the Permanent Court of International Justice. It wasn't that permanent in that it lasted only until 1946.
And the famous La Scala Orchestra arrived for a tour in the US from Italy.
No comments:
Post a Comment