Tuesday, September 17, 1901. Battle of Blood River Poort.

The United States remained in deep mourning over the death of William McKinley.

Lieutenant Colonel Hubert Gough led his 280-man Mounted Infantry force into a surprise attack on Boer forces in the Battle of Blood River Poort.  He did not bother to reconnoiter is advance.

Outnumbered, after what was effectively a melee, his force was captured, although he and most of his surviving men would make their escape over the next few days.

Gough would go on to be a senior commander in the British Army in World War One.

Gough, for reasons we will not go into here (and may have already done) would end up in disgrace for his command in World War One, and enter private life in 1918, becoming a farmer.  He proved to be a fairly successful businessman.  A man of deep religious faith, he died at age 92 in 1963/

Poor planning lead to multiple injuries in Washington D.C. as people crushed in to pay their respects to William McKinley, lying in state.

Last edition:

Saturday, September 14, 1901. The death of William McKinley.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, 1907, China, Education, Grover Cleveland, It was because of the Civil War, New York, Ohio, Personalities, Qing Dynasty, Spanish American War, The Law of Unintended Consequences, Theodore Roosevelt, William McKinley

Saturday, September 14, 1901. The death of William McKinley.

William McKinley, 58 years of age, died at 2:15 in the morning.  His entire cabinet, save for Theodore Roosevelt, were present.

Two additional telegrams arrived at the remote New York campsite of Theodore Roosevelt yes there were, and even are remote New York campsites, for the Vice President, who had departed McKinley's side when it seemed safe to do so.  Less obvious to us now, in the age of Cable News Commentators, there was a feeling at the time that if Roosevelt remained, it indicated that McKinley would die. And also, frankly, in an age when people accepted death as a reality, which we no longer do, even though it still arrives, keeping on, keeping on, often seemed to be the thing to do.

With the telegrams, Roosevelt departed camp at 12:30 in the morning in a buckboard in the middle of a dark, stormy and uncertain night.  He switched wagons at the Tarawas Club clubhouse at 2:10 in the morning.  He arrived at at North Creek at 5:00 a.m. where he was informed of McKinley's death.  

He was darned lucky not to be killed in the journey.

He was sworn in as President at 3:25 in Buffalo.

Roosevelt was 42 years old, the youngest man to ever become President of the United States. That fact is often noted, but worth noting is that McKinley was only 58 years old at the time of his death, young by contemporary standards, ironically enough.  Eight U.S. Presidents have been in their 40s when they assumed office.  Only two have been in their 70s, with Trump twice being in his 70s.  Only ten have been in their 60s, with many being in their 50s.  The extreme old age we are currently experiencing is an anomaly, nd not a good one, and one the framers, who would have regarded life beyond 50 years of age as tenuous, did not contemplate.  Personally, I'd favor a Constitutional amendment precluding anyone from starting a first term who had obtained the age of 60, save for Vice Presidents who had started their term prior to age 60s.  If that was the law now, Ronald Reagan, William Henry Harrison, James Buchanan, George H. W. Bush, Zachary Taylor, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Andrew Jackson, and John Adams could not have served as President.  If you made that age Ronald Reagan,William Henry Harrison  and James Buchanan could not have served, and I'd be fine with that.

McKinley was a pius Methodist who, as noted, forgave his attacker, much to his credit.  He regarded the assailant as tragically deluded, which he was..  He had served in the Union Army during the Civil War, which caused him to have a horror of warfare.  He was not keen on the developments that swept the country into the Spanish American War, which he did not regard as a moral war, and in fact it was not.  He was a lawyer who entered state politics, seeing his rise to governorship of Ohio and later the Presidency.  His family was small for the time, as he had only two children, neither of whom survived to adulthood..  His wife was heartbroken by his murder and she died in 1907 at age 59.  Massee McKinley, a descendant of President Grover Cleveland, is William McKinley's closest living relative, and resembles him in appearance.

McKinley was a fairly good President, but for a disastrous tariff policy that Donald Trump has oddly cited for proof that tariffs work.  In fact, McKinley's tariffs proved disastrous fairly quickly, which he appreciated and sought to redress.  The tariffs also angered Canada enormously, which we are repeating.  Canadians at the time regarded them as an attempt to subvert their sovereignty and force them into a union with the US, which they did not react well to.  As noted, unlike King Donald, he'd experienced war and desperately wanted to avoid war with Spain. And he could recognize a tariff mistake when he saw it.

May the Perpetual Light Shine upon  him.

Events, of course, would prove fateful and things took on a life of their own.  Roosevelt's ride through the night was dangerous in the extreme, but he was a man who did not eschew danger and he never was.  He'd usher in the age of the Imperial Presidency, which he did masterfully and for the public good, but he can and has been criticized for that.  His cousin and fellow New Yorker would take that further, and of course New Yorker Donald Trump has taken it to dictatorial and disastrous extremes, perhaps, maybe, bringing it to an end.

Let us hope so.

The law of unintended consequences works enormously here.  McKinley was a man of average means who struggled early in his life and rose to great heights based on his character and intelligence, while enduring personal tragedy of an extreme most of us can hardly imagine.  He's more like average Americans today than most people, and was more like an average American in his own age.  His death brought in a man who was nearly a force of nature, one of the most exceptional Americans to ever live, who was from a well to do family but who represented the best of the common man.  His cousin Franklin has been called "a traitor to his class". Now we have a man of wealth who every single one of them would have been horrified by.  The MAGA movement is nearly what Theodore Roosevelt worried about and warned about when he was concerned with Socialism, with the radical left and radical right never being very far apart.

As a total aside, there was a time in the country's history in which notable Americans last names were used as first names in certain demographics.  Most recently, I've seen that in the use of the the name "Reagan" as a first name.  If that was my first name, I'd start going by "Bob", or perhaps Diognetus, but I've seen it, and I once represented a Reagan from an extremely Republican family in a lawsuit.  Of note that same family had once been Democrats, prior to the Great Wyoming Political Shift. The use of the name "Roosevelt" had a following in African American families, recognizing what Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt had done for their cause.  McKinley had enough of a following that one of the greatest bluesmen of all time had McKinley as a first name, that being McKinley Morgenfeld, born in 1913.  He's better known as Muddy Waters. 

The Qing Dynasty converted provincial academies into colleges with each to offer a Western world education in addition to Confucian studies.

Last edition:

Friday, September 13, 1901. McKinley approaches the end.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, Theodore Roosevelt, William McKinley

Friday, September 13, 1901. McKinley approaches the end.

President McKinley's condition worsened and it became event to all that he was on death's door and he would not recover.  At 8:00 he fell asleep and would never wake up.

Harrison Hall, a mountain guide of 50 years of age, was detailed to find Vice President Roosevelt, who was camping.  His hike to locate TR took fourteen hours.  As it was night, Roosevelt determined, quite correctly, it was best to remain the night and return the following day.

Last edition:

Wednesday, September 11, 1901. McKinley doing well.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, Monarchy, Puerto Rico, Russia, ships Germany, Taxes, United States, William McKinley

Coldest Julys in Wyoming since 1895

Stacker compiled a ranking of the coldest Julys in Wyoming since 1895 using data from the National Centers for Environmental Information. Rankings are based on the lowest average temperature in each month. For each of the coldest months listed below, we've included the average state temperature, state-wide highs and lows for the month, and the total precipitation.

#10. July 1912
- Average temperature: 62.3°F
- Monthly high temperature: 75.5°F
- Monthly low temperature: 49°F
- Total precipitation: 2.2"

#9. July 1904
- Average temperature: 62.2°F
- Monthly high temperature: 76.9°F
- Monthly low temperature: 47.5°F
- Total precipitation: 1.06"

#8. July 1972
- Average temperature: 62°F
- Monthly high temperature: 77.5°F
- Monthly low temperature: 46.4°F
- Total precipitation: 0.99"

#7. July 1902
- Average temperature: 61.7°F
- Monthly high temperature: 76.8°F
- Monthly low temperature: 46.6°F
- Total precipitation: 0.97"

#6. July 1958
- Average temperature: 61.4°F
- Monthly high temperature: 75.8°F
- Monthly low temperature: 46.9°F
- Total precipitation: 2.02"

#4. July 1950 (tie)
- Average temperature: 61.2°F
- Monthly high temperature: 75.7°F
- Monthly low temperature: 46.7°F
- Total precipitation: 1.52"

#4. July 1895 (tie)
- Average temperature: 61.2°F
- Monthly high temperature: 76.1°F
- Monthly low temperature: 46.4°F
- Total precipitation: 0.99"

#3. July 1992
- Average temperature: 60.8°F
- Monthly high temperature: 74.7°F
- Monthly low temperature: 46.8°F
- Total precipitation: 2.24"

#2. July 1915
- Average temperature: 60.3°F
- Monthly high temperature: 74.3°F
- Monthly low temperature: 46.3°F
- Total precipitation: 1.75"

#1. July 1993
- Average temperature: 58.9°F
- Monthly high temperature: 73.2°F
- Monthly low temperature: 44.6°F
- Total precipitation: 1.88"

Oyster Loaf Sandwich, 1909.

 

Ouled Nail woman, Algeria, c. 1905. What's the significance of the cross tattoos?

Preserving eggs 1909

 

Preserving eggs 1909

It's always interesting to see what people did for food preservation before refrigeration was common.

There's no way you'd use some of these methods now.

Perfection Salad (Anything But)

 

Two Weapons stories as the US heads towards ground troops deploying, again, in the middle east.

The Marine Corps, which insists on avoiding equipment adopted first by the Army, looked at the M7,and said, nah. . . 

M7 Rifle.

Marines not interested in switching from M27 to Army’s M7 anytime soon

Chances are good, I'd rate them as overwhelming, that the USMC will be using M27s within a week or two in Iran.  This will be the modified HK416's first major combat use, maybe its first use at all.

M27 Automatic Rifle.

It's a mistake, the M7 is definitely the better rifle with better ammunition.  But the Marines, if allowed to have a different rifle, will always do so.

Marines in China with M1895 Navy Lee, at the time at which the Army was using the Krag.  They didn't use it long.

And there's now drone killing ammunition:

U.S. Military Unveils "Drone Killer" Rifle Cartridges | An Official Journal Of The NRA

The pelletized ammunition sort of resembles "snake shot" for pistols used by outdoorsmen in the summer months.  It was developed by the Navy.

The Vandals.

American democracy has several great weaknesses, the primary one being that Americans believe that we have a "two party system".

We don't.  We've just allowed two parties to take over and even fund their party elections, the primaries, with government funds, and tolerate the creation of bogus Congressional roles, such "Senate Majority Leader".

That needs reform desperately.

Amongst other weaknesses, however, is that Americans believe that we have a free enterprise economic system. We don't. We have corporate capitalism which allows businesses to escape the implications of their actions through the corporate business form.

Americans believe so strongly in "free enterprise" that they basically never vote with their wallets.  They'll let businesses absolutely screw them and keep supporting them.  On the rare occasions in which they actually will vote with their wallets and boycott a product it's when its something trivial and otherwise readily available, as in when sales of Bud Light dropped off over a transgender personality advertising it.

Lots of companies brew beer.

I note this as the illegitimate occupant of the White House, who has no real authority, is having the East Wing of the  White House destroyed for on oversized garden shed, aka, a ballroom.

The White House doesn't need a ballroom.  This isn't 1875.  What Donald Trump wants is something overblown and gaudy, which is his brand, so that hopefully people remember him after he departs this Earth for his final reward. It's much the same motivation that has him angling for the Nobel Peace Prize.  He's hoping to be remembered as a serious person, rather than as a real estate developer/serial polygamist.

Before we move on, we should note that the White House was originally designed as a house, and its been modified continually.  Frankly, it ought to flat out stop. The constant monkeying with the structure only encourages this sort of baloney, and the building isn't getting any better looking over time.  The East Wing only dates back to 1942 and to some degree was built as a cover for the construction of a bomb shelter underneath it.  I suppose you can argue the bomb shelter was a good addition, but this just goes on and on.

The West Wing has been modified a great deal over time, but basically dates back to 1902.  Theodore Roosevelt was President then, and his large family was busting at the seams of the White House.

This is different, however.

The West Wing was built as office space.  Basically it's an office space annexation. The East Wing, as noted, was originally added to cover the construction of a bomb shelter.  In later years, offices for correspondence, calligraphers and the social secretary were placed in the East Wing. It became the offices of the First Lady, with the First Lady requiring offices a fairly dubious proposition, quite frankly.

Trump wasn't supposed to really touch the East Wing Structure but a Volvo bucket is out destroying part of the facade now. The new structure will be, of course, a garden shed. . .um a ballroom.

Adding offices made sense.  Adding a bomb shelter in 1942 made sense, after all, German rocket technology brought the ICBM within reach during  World War Two and submarine launched aircraft actually did made land strikes on the West Coast during the war.

A ballroom, however, is a superficial structure for somebody who likes to entertain.

Trump is a superficial person who has been spending a lot of his time at the golf course.

Trump can't molest the structure unless the forces of capitalism dutifully line up to give him his dream. There was never any doubt that they would.  So, have you wondered who the Vandal hired by the illegitimate occupant of the White House/Real Estate Developer/Serial Polygamist to design and construct a giant garden shed is?

Well, wonder no more:

President Trump Hires National Civic Art Society Board Member to Design New White House Ballroom

James McCrery, a classical architect who is a co-founder of the National Civic Art Society and a member of our Board of Directors, has been chosen by President Donald Trump to design a new ballroom at the White House.

According to the administration, “The White House State Ballroom will be a much-needed and exquisite addition of approximately 90,000 total square feet of ornately designed and carefully crafted space, with a seated capacity of 650 people — a significant increase from the 200-person seated capacity in the East Room of the White House.”

McCrery, who is principal and founder of McCrery Architects in Washington, D.C., is associate professor at the Catholic University of America's School of Architecture. He was a commissioner on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, appointed by President Trump during his first term. McCrery served alongside NCAS President Justin Shubow, who was chairman of the Commission.

According  to Shubow, “The National Civic Art Society is ecstatic that President Trump selected James McCrery to design the new White  House ballroom. McCrery is one of the best architects in America, and he will  honor and respect one of the most beloved classical buildings in the United  States. Our organization has no doubt he’ll design a beautiful, fitting  addition. It was President Theodore Roosevelt who personally chose Beaux-Arts architect Charles  McKim to renovate the White House in his time. President Trump has made an  equally wise decision in hiring McCrery.”

Announcement from the National Civil Art Society.

The National Civil Art Society is an organization that sponsors the view that public buildings should be in a classic style.  It's a worthwhile goal, as there sure are a lot of ugly public buildings around.  And the architects firm, McCrery Architects, based on their website, designs a lot of nice classical buildings.  Frankly, choosing them was a really good move for a really bad building.  Things could have been a lot worse.

So should we rejoice?

Well, no, 

McCrery clearly has a lot of talent, as do the people on his staff, but this is still a huge oversized shed that looks ugly.  No matter, it'll go down on his resume, unless it turns out to be a national embarrassment, in which case it will be removed from his resume.

He's designed some beautiful buildings, including the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville, TN.  To go from that, to this . . what a waste.

The contractor for the abomination is heavy contractor Clark Construction, whose website declares "Building What Matters".

M'eh.

This structure doesn't matter.

It is, however, no doubt a major contract.  Nobody could blame them for bidding on it, as that's what they do.

Engineering was done by AECOM, whose website declares; "AECOM is the trusted global infrastructure leader committed to delivering a better world.".  

Well, this structure and the project makes the world just a little bit worse.  No matter, it's probably a big contract.

Funding for the project is not public.  The $200,000,000 to $250,000,0000 vandalization will cost is going to be born by Real Estate Developer Donald Trump and donors.  Donors include Google, Lockheed Martin, Palantir, Booz Allen Hamilton, and NextEra Energy, but there are a lot more.  Lockheed Martin is chipping in $10,000,000.

And there's the real question.  

Blogger, which this is published on, is a Google thing.  Google itself is darned near impossible to avoid, so even though I think they're chipping in is inexcusable, I'll continue to use Google's products, making me just as hypocritical as can be.  I don't buy anything from Lockheed, and I'm not a shareholder, but if I was I'd write in and complain.  

Why would outfits like these chip in?  Well, they're making a bet that King Donald will love them, or at least not hate them.  That's why.  And frankly, if some future administration wanted to build to whack it down, which will occur, and put up a Trump Hall of Shame, they'd contribute to that.

The overall shame, however, is that this is public property.  It's being vandalized.  And nobody can apparently do anything about it.

When this era is over, the country needs major reform.  Part of that reform needs to be an effort to reign the Oval Office into reason.  Another part needs to be to kick the dead asses in Congress back to work and require them to do their actual jobs.

As a final note, Hitler was fond of monumental projects too, planning on building a monumental Berlin after the Second World War.  Franco had the monumental Valley of the Fallen built, which at least commemorates something.  Fascist Italy had a bunch of monumental structures built, and of course Mussolini was in power for quite some time.  The Soviets had Lenin stuff in a mausoleum, the latter of which provides an idea.

Seeing as a modern White House doesn't need a ballroom, and given that Trump is really old and will pass from natural causes in the foreseeable future anyhow, perhaps AECOM can design this structure with hydraulic jacks and wheels so when that day comes this can just be jacked up, hooked up, and wheeled down the highway to Mar A Lago, which it can serve as the Trump Mausoleum and library (I serious doubt Trump has very many books that he's actually read, so the size won't be a problem).  Probably Google, Lockheed Martin, Palantir, Booz Allen Hamilton, and NextEra Energy will be willing to pay for it.

French Dip Sandwich (1908 0r 1918) on Sandwiches of History

Clothing, then and now, and a lost manufacturing base.

derek guy@dieworkwear

at the turn of the 20th century, working class men had something like two pairs of pants, three shirts, and a pair of boots. middle class men wore detachable collars bc shirts were expensive. one man died bc he got drunk. his head drooped & he choked to death on his stiff collar

Very interesting, really, and not just in the context of the Very Stable Genius and his trade war with China, but in terms of the focus of this page.  

I've discussed this before, but cheap clothing is a post World War Two thing.  The entire series of jokes about people having vast numbers of shoes, or t-shirts that are decades old, reflects a bonafide change in how people live.  I recall my father mentioning that at one time it was considered ideal to buy a suit with two pairs of pants, as you could stretch out the cleaning.

Clothing now costs less, and frankly it lasts a lot longer, than it once did.

Indeed, how often do you really wear out clothing?  I'm do wear out shits, but waistline expansion over time is more likely to render my trousers unwearable than really wearing them out is.  Granted, part of that is because I have a fair number of them.  If I was wearing the same two or three pairs of trousers every day, the story would be different.  But they also simply last longer than they once did.

This is really intended to be an observation on clothing, then and now, but a little remark about now is warranted.

I have a cotton Colorado Rockies kelly green baseball hat sitting here where I'm typing.  If you look at the label, it's made in China.  Lots of Levis are made in Vietnam.  We have, truly, exported clothing manufacturing overseas, which is to say, the producers did.  I do lament that, but do U.S. consumers want to pay more for clothing?  I wonder.

I guess with tariffs, we'll find out.

I have, as readers  here know, a fondness for M65 Field Jackets.  I'd like to have an OG 107 one for every day wear.  I thought one would be easy to find, but they aren't, so I ordered one, to my present regret, from Propper.  It came Chinese made (of course) and the size is completely wrong.  I should have sent it back, but I didn't, as my extreme introverted nature precludes me from doing so.  I thought maybe I could shrink it, but it doesn't look like I'll be able to.  Anyhow, it's just wrong.  

I note this as US military uniforms are in fact made in the U.S., and indeed I believe there may be a statutory requirement to that effect.  Some years ago there was a scandal when the US ended up with some berets that were made overseas.  I've heard of the military actually checking to make certain that soldiers don't deploy with foreign made gear, but that must be tougher than ever, with the loss of so much of the US manufacturing base.

All of which is to say that I'm sympathetic with those who lament that loss.  But the time to really address it came and went some thirty to forty to fifty years ago and, if could be addressed, which is a huge if, it can't be done all at once.

And, my Propper M65 Field Jacket aside, things made overseas are not, by and large, of cheap quality anymore.  Some things surely are.  The stuff you get at Harbor Freight might be second rate. . . or not.  As overseas manufacturing has increased, quality has too.

Tuesday, January 20, 1925. The Soviet–Japanese Basic Convention

The Soviet–Japanese Basic Convention between the Soviet Union and Japan was signed.  It provided:

JAPAN and the UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS, desiring to promote relations of good neighbourhood and economic co-operation between them, have resolved to conclude a Convention embodying basic rules in regulation of such relations and, to that end, have appointed as their Plenipotentiaries, that is to say :

His MAJESTY THE EMPEROR OF JAPAN :

Kenkichi YOSHIZAWA, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of China, Jushii, a member of the First Class of the Imperial Order of the Sacred Treasure ;

THE CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS :

Lev Mikhailovitch KARAKHAN, Ambassador to the Republic of China ;

Who, having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found to be in good and due form, have agreed as follows :

Article I.

The High Contracting Parties agree that, with the coming into force of the present Convention, diplomatic and consular relations shall be established between them.

Article II.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics agrees that the Treaty of Portsmouth of September 5th, 1905, shall remain in full force.

It is agreed that the Treaties, Conventions and Agreements, other than the said Treaty of Portsmouth, which were concluded between Japan and Russia prior to November 7, 1917, shall be re-examined at a Conference to be subsequently held between the Governments of the High Contracting Parties and are liable to revision or annulment as altered circumstances may require.

Article III.

The Governments of the High Contracting Parties agree that, upon the coming into force of the present Convention, they shall proceed to the revision of the Fishery Convention of 1907, taking into consideration such changes as may have taken place in the general conditions since the conclusion of the said Fishery Convention.

Pending the conclusion of a convention so revised, the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics shall maintain the practices established in 1924 relating to the lease of fishery lots to Japanese subjects.

Article IV.

The Governments of the High Contracting Parties agree that, upon the coming into force of the present Convention, they shall proceed to the conclusion of a treaty of commerce and navigation in conformity with the principles hereunder mentioned, and that, pending the conclusion of such a treaty, the general intercourse between the two countries shall be regulated by those principles.

　　　　　　　　　(1) The subjects or citizens of each of the High Contracting Parties shall, in accordance with the laws of the country : (a) have full liberty to enter, travel and reside in the territories of the other, and (b) enjoy constant and complete protection for the safety of their lives and property.

　　　　　　　　　(2) Each of the High Contracting Parties shall, in accordance with the laws of the country, accord in its territories to the subjects or citizens of the other, to the widest possible extent and on condition of reciprocity, the right of private ownership and the liberty to engage in commerce, navigation, industries and other peaceful pursuits.

　　　　　　　　　(3) Without prejudice to the right of each Contracting Party to regulate by its own laws the system of international trade in that country, it is understood that neither Contracting Party shall apply in discrimination against the other Party any measures of prohibition, restriction or impost which may serve to hamper the growth of the intercourse, economic or otherwise, between the two countries, it being the intention of both Parties to place the commerce, navigation and industry of each country, as far as possible, on the footing of the most-favoured nation.

The Governments of the High Contracting Parties further agree that they shall enter into negotiations, from time to tune as circumstances may require, for the conclusion of special arrangements relative to commerce and navigation to adjust and to promote economic relations between the two countries.

Article V.

The High Contracting Parties solemnly affirm their desire and intention to live in peace and amity with each other, scrupulously to respect the undoubted right of a State to order its own life within its own jurisdiction in its own way, to refrain and restrain all persons in any govern mental service for them, and all organisations in receipt of any financial assistance from them, from any act overt or covert liable in any way whatever to endanger the order and security in any part of the territories of Japan or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

It is further agreed that neither Contracting Party shall permit the presence in the territories under its jurisdiction :

　　　　　(a) of organisations or groups pretending to be the Government for any part of the territories of the other Party, or

　　　　　　(b) of alien subjects or citizens who may be found to be actually carrying on political activities for such organisations or groups.

Article VI.

In the interest of promoting economic relations between the two countries, and taking into consideration the needs of Japan with regard to natural resources, the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is willing to grant to Japanese subjects, companies and associations concessions for the exploitation of minerals, forests and other natural resources in all the territories of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Article VII.

The present Convention shall be ratified.

Such ratification by each of the High Contracting Parties shall, with as little delay as possible, be communicated, through its diplomatic representative at Peking, to the Government of the other Party, and from the date of the later of such communications this Convention shall come into full force.

The formal exchange of the ratifications shall take place at Peking as soon as possible.

In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention, in duplicate in the English language, and have affixed thereto their seals.

Done at Peking, this twentieth day of January, One thousand nine-hundred and twenty-five.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(L. S.) K. YOSHIZAWA.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(L. S.) L. KARAKHAN.

Japan and Russia, and then Japan and the Soviet Union, never got along well.  They had fought the Russo Japanese War some twenty years prior, and Japan had heavily intervened in Siberia during the Russian Civil War.  There remains tension between them over the the Sakhalin.

Last edition:

I had no idea Sanka was this old.

Labels: 1920s, 1925, Blog Mirror, Coffee, Daily Living, Food

Japanese Artillery. National Museum of Military Vehicles.

Japanese weapons receive much less attention that those of other armies, in part because their ground weapons tended to be obsolescent or odd.  Artillery is no exception.

A lot of Japanese weapons tended to reflect an earlier era, sometimes only slightly so, and sometimes greatly, than that of the 1940s.  Japan tended to adopt a weapon, of a copy of a good Western design, and stick with it for a long time, savor for naval and air weapons, where they were advancing all the time.  In terms of artillery, much of it was light and antiquated.

It's notable here that of the Japanese guns depicted, most still retain wagon wheel type wheels.

Last edition:

British 25 Pdr. National Museum of Military Vehicles.

Labels: 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, Artillery, British Army, National Museum of Military Vehicles, World War Two, Wyoming (Dubois)

Theodore Roosevelt at Arlington.

On this day…we call to mind the deaths of those who died that the nation might live, who wagered all that life holds dear for the great prize of death in battle.

President Roosevelt at Arlington National Cemetery, Memorial Day, 1902.

I have to say, I wouldn't have referred to death as a "prize" in this context.

Blog MIrror: The American Springfield Krag–Jørgensen Rifle

 

The American Springfield Krag–Jørgensen Rifle

February 22, 1874. Birth of Bill Klem.

"The Old Arbitrator", Klem was a Major League (National League) umpire from 1905 to 1941, and served in eighteen World Series (1908, 1909, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1917, 1918, 1920, 1922, 1924, 1926, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1934 and 1940), more than any other umpire.

He lived until 1951 and passed away at age 77, writing his attorney just before his death that "This is my last game, and I'm going to strike out this time."  He and his wife Marie had no children.

Last prior:

February 18, 1874. Disputed crown.

1906 US Army Emergency Ration Preserved Survival Food Testing 24 Hour MRE Review

Monday, July 23, 1973. Old Faithful Inn added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Old Faithful Inn in 1909.

Today In Wyoming's History: July 23: 1923  1973   Old Faithful Inn was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Attribution:  On This Day.

  President Nixon refused to turn over tape recordings to the Senate or special prosecutor.

A Hairy Time

This is an advertisement commissioned by the Wyoming Department of Health, and my gosh does it bring home a really overlooked point about the past. . . and today.

Very well done, and very much worth the watching.

Not all that long ago getting a simple infection, and tetanus is more than a simple infection, could kill you.  Calvin Coolidge, Jr., the then Vice President's son, died from a staph infection resulting from a blister on a toe that he acquired playing tennis barefoot.  The infection killed the poor boy within a week of its occurrence.

Infections acquired at barber shops, sometimes deadly, were such a problem that they were a major topic of local physician's organizations.  Tetanus was only one of the killer diseases that lurked there. Even anthrax could be picked up from razor strop, if it had been made from a diseased animal.  Bacteria lurking in barbers brushes, used all day long on multiple clients, posed another danger.

And of course, as the story of Calvin Coolidge, Jr. shows, infections could be picked up anywhere, and kill you.

Memories of such things remained strong in my parents' generation.  My mother recalled that her father used to occasionally get a shave at the barbers, which was odd as this was well after the safety razor came about, and that he invariably developed "barber's cancer", a colloquial term meaning a bad rash from an infection.  The family tried to prevent him from doing this, but he would occasionally anyhow, and given the line of work he was in, it was probably in order to engage with members of the local public.  My father, for his part, never approved of going barefoot, regarding it as an invitation to infection.

Now, simple vaccinations eliminate the danger.