Friday, December 1, 1922. Environment.

Protesters took advantage of the Thanksgiving Holiday to picket the White House regarding those held under sedition charges.

At the Conference of Lausanne, the Turks informed European delegates that Greeks remaining in Eastern Thrace had two weeks to leave.  They numbered 1,000,000.

Monica Cobb appeared at the Birmingham Assizes, acting in the role of a prosecutor.  It was the first appearance by a woman solicitor in court in the United Kingdom. The defendant was charged with bigamy.

A safety parade took place in Washington, D.C., viewed by President Harding.

 

Environment, a silet move about the trials of a female ex con, was released:

Saturday, April 29, 1922. The Auctioneer

The Saturday magazines were out, of course.  Country Gentleman had a Norman Rockwell on its cover, of an auctioneer.  A better Rockwell was on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, showing a thin young man lifting weights while looking at a photo of a body builder.

A protest took place in Washington D.C. featuring children, hoping for the release of those imprisoned due to the Sedition Act.

In China, warlord Zhang Suolin began a campaign that would ultimately see him rise to power in China, fall, and then lead to his assassination.

January 8, 1920. Snippets.

Anna Manson, a Russian woman who was arrested in the offices of a Russian publication in New York City and sent to Ellis Island to be deported. The New York Herald, January 8, 1920.

William Jennings Bryan, photographed at Democratic National Headquarters in Washington.  January 8, 1920.

Wilbur W. Marsh, Treas. of the Democratic National Committee and S.W. Fordyce of Saint Louis, photographed at Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C. January 8, 1920.

January 3, 1920. A Roaring Start

1920 was certainly off to a "roaring" start.

The news on January 3 was all about the Palmer raids of January 2, which came one day after the first Palmer raids on January 1.  A huge sweep of the nation had rounded up a lot of "Reds", which in this context were simply radicals of all stripes.  Indeed, in Russia, where the civil war was raging, the Reds of the Communist Party had proven to be bad news for the socialist left, even the radical socialist left, as well as for anarchists.  In the US, however, they were all being rounded up together.

Radicals were even reported lurking in Denver stores.

The Press, which was generally Progressive, didn't shed any tears for the radical right. Now the Palmer Raids are regarded as an embarrassment, but the time, not so much. . . at least for awhile.

Mexico was showing up again on the front page and had been for some time, we'd note.  Fighting was still ongoing and an election was scheduled.  In the midst of it, Carranza had decided to try to reorganize the Mexican Federal army.

Radicals in store or no, the National Western Stock Show, a big even that's still held annually in Denver, was about to get rolling.

In Washington D. C., famous figures of the recent war continued to visit.

Admiral Jellicoe with Admiral Niblack on the latter's arrival at the Union Station, Washington D.C., January 3, 1920

January 2, 1920. The peak of the Palmer Raids . . .

came today, although the news was reporting on the raids of yesterday.   Technically, the raid of January 1 was a Chicago Police Department raid, although in coordination with the Federal government.  Chicago was complaining today about the lack of help from yesterday.

By the end of the raids about 10,000 people would be arrested.

A lot of the warrants were soon cancelled as illegal.  556 resident aliens were deported.  Originally the government reported having found a couple of bombs but later the news on that stopped, so whatever the truth of it is, it's vague.  Only two pistols were seized.  Public opinion turned against Palmer quickly and he went from being a probable contender for the Presidency to not being one.

January 1, 1920. New Year's Day. Revelry and Raids.

And so the violent 1910s had end and 1920, not yet roaring, was ushered in. . .ostensibly dry although efforts were already being made to evade Prohibition, both great and small, as the Chicago Tribune's Gasoline Alley made fun of.

January 1, 1920.  Gasoline Alley:  Happy New Years On Avery

On this day in Chicago undoubtedly sober agents conducted raids on suspected Reds in various gathering places they were known to frequent, arresting 200 people.  The same was conducted across the country under J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI, with about 6,000 people being arrested as a result.

U.S. Attorney General Alexander Palmer.

November 12, 1919. Crowds

Gunston Hall students awaiting the Prince of Wales departure from the French Embassy, Washington, D.C.  The Gunston Hall School for Girls was a highly respected girls school in Washington D. C. that closed at the start of World War Two.

Edward, the Prince of Wales, continued his tour of Washington D. C. on this day in 1919 and was drawing admiring crowds.

Leaving the French Embassy.

I frankly don't really "get" royalty, so the crowds baffle me.  I'd be inclined to try to contrast this to our current era, but you really can't. The English Royal Family continues to draw crowds wherever it goes today.

Prince of Wales at Walter Reed

Edward came close to bringing that royal family down.  He'd be crowned King Edward VIII in January 1936 and occupy that office for less than a year, when he abdicated due to his intent to marry American divorcee Wallace Simpson. 

Arriving at Walter Reed.

A dedicated womanizer, the Prince's earlier relationships had caused so much stress to the Royal Family that his father held the view that it would be better if his brother, George, became king. There was some speculation that Edwards suffered from a psychological problem that contributed to his reckless behavior with women, although he may simply have been a bored lech.  His father was known to have stated that he hoped Edward would remain childless so that the crown could be inherited by George or one of his descendants.

Miss Dorthy Brown Priming of the Red Cross and the Prince.

As it happened, the relationship with Simpson in fact lead to that result. His intent to marry the difficult Simpson made his occupation of the position of monarch impossible as the Church of England did not recognize, and at least technically still doesn't approve of, divorce.  Due to that a church marriage should have been a technical impossibility, although a willing Anglican priest was found for the service in France, and his role as head of the Church of England, which the monarch occupies, would have been problematic at best.

The relationship with Wallace Simpson had an odd Wyoming connection as it seems that the couple may have been introduced, oddly enough, by Mildred Harris, Charlie Chaplin's first wife, at a party.

The monarchy of course managed to survive the scandal and King George VI went on to be a great example of a modern English king.  His daughter, Elizabeth II, remains the Queen.  But the entire event does give ample evidence both of the absurdity of modern monarchy and how teetering all monarchies were following World War One.  Edward gives a blatant example of how the assumptions made by the fans of monarchy are so far off the mark.  Edward was situated to be head of the English nation and its state church when at least up until his marriage his personal conduct would lead a person to really question his suitability for either role.  The near collapse of the monarchy in 1936 due to his marriage to Simpson shows how badly damaged all monarchies were following the Great War.

Elsewhere, the events in Centralia Washington were taking headlines all over the country. We noted that event a bit yesterday.

But only a bit.

This was an inexcusable omission, but readers here are already aware that this was a period of massive civil strife. The Centralia event was an extreme example of it.

It's also example of how such things achieve mythical status from which they can't be separated. What's clear is that hostility between the IWW and the American Legion erupted on Armistace Day resulting in five members of the Legion being killed and IWW leader Wesley Everest being lynched by being seized by a mob and hung off a bridge. The entire thing was brutal.  Newspapers of the day sided with the Legion on the matter, but rather obviously the entire thing was out of hand.

Armistice Day, 1919.

Today was the first Armistice Day, now converted into Veteran's Day, in U.S. history.  It came, of course, one year after the Armistice that had brought about an end to the fighting on the Western front in November, 1918.

Plans had been made in advance to celebrate the day, which of course was celebrated around the country.

In Central Wyoming the day's events were muted by the arrival of snow.

Which makes the day in 2019 a nice bookend.  Snow again.

In Washington, the Prince of Wales was visiting and marked the day, which was likewise being celebrated in English speaking countries around the world.

In Centralia, Washington, violence erupted between the American Legion and the Industrial Workers of the World, resulting in six deaths.

October 6, 1919 Reds Win Again, Red Summer Continues On

Cincinnati's Hod Eller.

The World Series resumed in Chicago after a day's delay due to rain.  By this time, additional gambling money had been distributed to the Chicago players in the plot.

In spite of that, both teams played well and the Reds won by only one hit.  Cincinnati's Hod Eller pitched so well that he achieved a record for the most batters struck out in a row that was not tied until 1966, and has not been surpassed.  Of course, the record is marred by the history of this Series.

The headlines were also full of news of race riots that were raging throughout much of the country. The Red Summer was continuing on into the fall.

And Woodrow Wilson was reporting to be recovering.

Secretary of Labor Wilson, no relation to the President, spoke at the opening day of a labor conference that had been called by the President.

Cardinal Mercier of Belgium was touring the United States.

Daylight savings ended on this day in 1919.

Saint Catherine Hotel, Avalon California.  October 6, 1919.

If Labor Day seems like the official end of American summer, perhaps the end of Daylight Savings Time feels like the hard set of American fall.  Perhaps that's what caused the Gasoline Alley gang to seek out drinks, even if only soft drinks were now in the offering due to Prohibition.