Sunday, July 12, 2009

Monday, July 12, 1909. Congress passes the 16th Amendment.

The House of Representatives passed the 16th Amendment. The Senate had already done so.

Korea turned prison administration over to Japan in what was a step towards full annexation of the Hermit Kingdom.

President Taft withdrew and therefore protected the Oregon Caves National Monument.

Last edition:

Saturday, July 10, 1909. An agreement on Chinese students.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Saturday, July 10, 1909. An agreement on Chinese students.

Two years before the fateful revolution of 1911, the United States and Qing China entered into an agreement which allowed select Chinese students to enroll at American universities. 

Flag of the Qing Dynasty.

The Qing Dynasty had been in existence since 1644.  That would come to an end in 1912.  China has pretty much been in some sort of political mess since then, although it certainly had plenty of problems before that.

A wreck on Long Island, July 10, 1909.

Last edition:

Thursday, July 8, 1909. Night game.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Thursday, July 8, 1909. Night game.

The first baseball game played under lights happened in a match between the Grand Rapids Team and the Zanesville Team of the minor league Central League.

British Home Secretary Herbert Gladstone met with eight suffragist leaders by way of a request of King Edward VII.

"Laura Petty, a 6 year old berry picker on Jenkins farm, Rock Creek near Baltimore, Md. "I'm just beginnin'. Picked two boxes yesterday. (2 cents a box). (See my report July 10, 1909.) July 8, 1909. Location: Baltimore, Maryland."

Last edition:

Wednesday, July 7, 1909. Lawrence goes to the Middle East.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Wednesday, July 7, 1909. Lawrence goes to the Middle East.

Undergraduate student T. E. Lawrence left Britain for his first trip to the Middle East, bound for Syria and Palestine to study the influence of the Crusades on European military architecture. The trip would later produce the book Crusader Castles, which came out the following year.

Some photos of agricultural child labor in Maryland were taken, captions are original.

Bertha Marshall a berry picker on Jenkins Farm, Rock Creek, near Baltimore, Md. Been at it 2 summers. Picks about 10 boxes a day. (2 cents a box). Photo July 7, 1909. Location: Baltimore, Maryland.

Johnnie Goldberg and father on a Rock Creek farm. Boy worked at Young Island, S.C. one winter. July 7, 1909. Location: Baltimore, Maryland.

Name: A four year old helper in the berry field Rock Creek, Baltimore, Md. Mother said, "He helps a little." July 7, 1909. Location: Baltimore, Maryland.

Last edition:

Tuesday, July 6, 1909. Albert Einstein, quitter.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Tuesday, July 6, 1909. Albert Einstein, quitter.

Albert Einstein resigned from his job at the Patent Office in Zürich in order to pursue the full-time study of physics, proving that there are times in which you should indeed quit your job.

Last edition:

Sunday, July 4, 1909. Independence Day.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Sunday, July 4, 1909. Independence Day.

The Plan of Chicago, a long range plan for the city, was unveiled.

In Scanton, Pennsylvania, a 16 foot high (including an intricately carved pedestal) bust of Abraham Lincoln was dedicated.  It was a gift from Italy.

It's now missing and nobody knows what happened to it . . .which is odd.

The French battleship Denton, the first battleship to have turbine engines, was launched.  It was sunk on March 19, 1917.

The first fireworks display in Major League Baseball occured at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field.

The Stanley Hotel opened in Estes Park, Colorado.


The Stanley was built by the inventor of the Stanley Steamer and was a luxury hotel.  It's famous, probably unfortunately, for featuring in the movie The Shining, which I've never seen.  I have stayed in the hotel, however, at which time it was under renovation.

Last edition:

Saturday, July 3, 1909. Adulterated.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Saturday, July 3, 1909. Adulterated.

Federal charges were filed against Koca Nola, yes you read that right, after it was found to contain cocaine.

It was advertised, FWIW, as "dopeless".  

It was the third most popular cola in the United States at the time, but would be bankrupt within a year.

Hudson debuted.

Hudson advertisement from 1910.

Hudson's were made until 1957, when the company merged with AMC.  AMC would come to have substantial ownership by Renault and existed until 1987, when Chrysler bought the company's stock.

Last edition:

Thursday, July 2, 2009

1920, law, and the Geology Museum

I learned just the other day that the University of Wyoming College of Law was founded in 1920, and received ABA approval in 1923.

Shoot, that's a lot earlier than I thought. I had thought, for some reason, that the College of Law dated from after World War Two. It sort of redefines my concepts of what the university regarded as worthwhile or important early on. When the College of Law was founded, I think the school was about 30 years old.

In other news, the University has had to cut its budget fairly significantly due to the decline in mineral revenues. Nearly the entire state budget is funded through severance taxes, which have taken a real hit in the last year. The change in economic fortunes has been massive, due to the national slow down, and the regional decline in the value of natural gas. So, as a result, Gov. Freudenthal has ordered ever state agency to cut back, and also enacted a general hiring freeze.

The University has taken the ax to distance programs, I guess (I'm not really up on that). But as part of the cutbacks, the very old Geology Museum is being closed.

It's a shame. I'll admit that I find it sad, as I'm a graduate of the Geology Department. I hate to see it close. I don't know how old it is, but it's real darned old. I don't disagree with the need to cut back, but I find it very difficult to accept that a cut back in a feature of a hard science department is academically sound.

Friday, July 2, 1909. The 16th Amendment passes Congress

Congress passed the 16th Amendment allowing for an income tax, and it was sent to the states for ratification.

Fritz Haber and his assistant, Robert Le Rossignol, first demonstrated a nitrogen fixation process for synthesizing ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen, a process used for nitrate fertilizer.

Last edition:

Monday, June 28, 1909. Al fresco.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Monday, June 28, 1909. Al fresco.

Due to a heat wave, President Taft had dinner for guests served on the roof of the White House's West Wing.

The President had gone golfing earlier in the day.


Cincinnati adopted daylight savings time for the summer, proof that the bad idea was around prior to World War One.

Casper wasn't in danger from Pathfinder Dam, which was good news.


Last prior edition:

Tuesday, June 27, 1909. Helen of Troy.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Friday, June 26, 2009

Saturday, June 26, 1909. Smile when you say that.



Today In Wyoming's History: June 26:   1909  Medicine Bow becomes an incorporated town.

Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, known to history as Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager, was born in Breda, Netherlands.  While he only entered the US at age 20, he could flawlessly speak English with a Southern accent.



Last prior edition:


Saturday, June 20, 2009

Sunday, June 20, 1909. Typhoid Mary.

The New York American broke the tragic and odd story of Mary Mallon, Typhoid Mary, who had been quarantined at that point for two years.

Mallon never accepted that she was responsible for passing typhoid, but remained quarantined until 1910 when she was released with a promise that she would not return to cooking. Facing economic desperation, she did, and new infections commenced that were traced to her.  She was returned to quarantine in 1915 where she remained until her death at age 69 in 1938.

In a modern context, this is interesting due to the recent debates on quarantines.  The ethnics of essentially imprisoning a person for life as a disease carrier have been debated, but its clear that in the first half of the 20th Century, it could in fact be done.

Errol Flynn was born in Hobart, Tasmania.  The Australian actor obtained a reputation as a dashing figure in Hollywood, with his reputation tarnished by being tried for two accusations of statutory rape in 1942.  His career didn't end, but it did suffer thereafter, even though he was acquitted.  He oddly had a late in life role as a journalist from Cuba, where he supported Fidel Castro.  He died in 1959 at age 50 of a heart attack while in British Columbia.  His then current girl friend, 17 years old at the time, was with him on the trip.

Last prior edition:

Friday, June 18, 1909. Medals for the Wright Brothers.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Friday, June 18, 1909. Medals for the Wright Brothers.

Orville and Wilbur Wright were presented with a Congressional Gold Medal by Gen. James Allen, Chief of the Signal Corps, on behalf of President Taft, for their aeronautic feats.   At the same time, Governor Judson Harmon of Ohio presented the brothers with the Ohio Medal, and Mayor Edward E. Burkhardt with the City of Dayton Medal.

William Lorimer was sworn in as U.S. Senator from Illinois.


His tenure would be brief.  After the Senate determined that the Illinois legislative vote, which is how Senators were then determined, had been tainted by corruption, he was unseated by the Senate on July 14.  This helped give rise to the 17th Amendment providing for the direct election of U.S. Senators.

Lorimer was a Republican and if this happened today, he'd declare undying allegiance to Donald Trump and Republicans in the Senate would declare that this was some sort of horrific tragedy.

Last prior example:

Thursday, June 17, 1909. Taking from the Papago's.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Thursday, June 17, 1909. Taking from the Papago's.

Executive Order 1090—Restoring to Public Domain Certain Lands in Arizona Which Were Reserved for Papago Indians

June 17, 1909

It is hereby ordered that the following land in Arizona, being a part of those withdrawn by Executive Order of December 12, 1882, for use of the Papago Indians, be, and hereby are, restored to the public domain: Section 16 and sections 19 to 36, inclusive, in township 5 south of range 5 west of the Gila and Salt River meridian.

Signature of William Howard Taft

WM. H. TAFT.

The White House,

June 17, 1909.

What the heck? 

Last prior edition:

Wednesday, June 16, 1909. Tax Sanity.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Wednesday, June 16, 1909. Tax Sanity.

President Taft recommended to Congress that the Constitution be amended to allow for the Federal Government to levy an income tax.  Ultimately, the 16trh Amendment was ratified on February 25, 1913, allowing the country to become a modern and great nation, although its constantly attacked by retrograde forces that somehow feel that everything should be precluded, save for what they benefit from personally.

Taft's original proposal, in that more responsible and cheaper day, was for a 2% income tax on corporations, so a personal income tax was not his proposal.  Of course, in our current era, corporations are regarded as inviolate.

Wyoming voted for the proposal on February 3, 1913.  No doubt today, it wouldn't, which would lead to an economic disaster.

Last prior edition:

Monday, June 14, 1909 Shackleton returns. The Age of Exploration. The Age of Assassination.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Followup to the Combs murder, discussed below

The CST's history column follows up on the murder of attorney Combs.
Casper Tribune-Herald, 1934

Evidence piles up -- Throughout the week of June 15, excited headlines screamed of the presumed solution to the previous week's top story. "MRS. COMBS ARRESTED

"WIDOW FACES FIRST DEGREE MURDER CHARGE

"In a startling climax to investigation into the murder of S. S. Combs, his widow, Mrs. Hazel Combs, was placed under arrest. ... A warrant charging the first degree murder of the former (Casper) city attorney was served on the slight, steel-nerved woman. ...

"(Combs) had been shot five times at such close range that powder burns were left by some of the shots. ...

"Prisoner Visibly Shaken When Shown Weapon

"To the rear of the (Combs) cabin, about 50 feet distant, is the outhouse where an important discovery was made. Beneath fresh wood ashes ... was found the revolver with which, the officers said, the murder was committed. It contained six empty shells. ...

"MURDER WEAPON IDENTIFIED

"EXPERT LINKS REVOLVER WITH BULLETS FOUND

"Insurance Collection Is Held Motive

"... Mr. Combs was husband No. 4. ... He was an attorney who represented her in divorce proceedings against husband number 3. ... Harley Atwood, the second husband of Mrs. Combs, died ... from asphyxiation by gas, when a coffee pot boiled over on a gas stove in the room where he lay asleep on a couch