Monday, July 31, 1911. End if the Porfirian legislature and of Standard Oil. Complaining Russians and Germans. First Black Boy Scouts.

The pre revolution Mexican legislature went out of session.  A new legislature was slated to be elected and convene in September.

Standard Oil announced its break up plan with November to be the date the company would become multiple companies.

Oh for the days the Government actually enforced the Sherman Anti Trust Act.  Looking at you Apple.

General Motors became the first automobile company to list its stock for sale on the New York Stock Exchange.

North Carolina saw the formation of the Elizabeth City Troop, the first chartered black Boy Scouts troop.  It wasn't the absolute first, as an unchartered one, which would later be chartered, had been formed in Brooklyn in August, 1910.

Russia's ambassador to Persia demanded the resignation of Treasurer General W. Morgan Shuster.  Shuster was an American businessman who had been hired by the Iranian parliament to manage the nation's finances. Germany made a similar demand the following day.

The British weren't very keen on Shuster either.

Akron Ohio, July 31, 1911.

Brady Lake, Ohio. July 31, 1911.

Last edition:

Saturday, July 29, 1911. Trade reciprocity dissolves the Canadian parliament.

Labels: 1910s, 1911, Army, Canada, Diplomacy, Francisco I. Madero, Industry, International trade, Iran, Maderistas, Magonistas, Mexican Revolution, Texas, Texas (Galveston), Washington

Saturday, July 29, 1911. Trade reciprocity dissolves the Canadian parliament.

The Canadian Parliament dissolved over ratification of a trade reciprocity treaty, which the US had ratified but Canada had not.

I wonder what my great grandfather and great grandfather thought of the matter?

An election was called for September 21.

The Persian government put a price of $100,000 on the head of the former Shah who was now attempting to regain his thrown with the backing of Russia, and the opposition of the United Kingdom.

Ricardo Flores Magón argued in an op ed in Regeneración that the liberal/anarchist movement was not a personal political cult in order to distance the struggle of the now defeated Magonistas from individual leaders like Francisco I. Madero.  Infighting was setting in.

Given that, it's not surprising that the U.S. Army remained encamped on the Mexican border.

Camp of 2nd Prov. Regt., Ft. Crockett, Galveston, Tex. July 29, 1911.

The frightening industry of the day carried forward.

Concrete mixing plant,  Kachess Dam, Inlet Channel, Kachess River, 1.5 miles north of Interstate 90, Easton, Kittitas County, WA

Last edition:

Friday, July 28, 1911. War ending as other prepare for war.

Labels: 1910s, 1911, Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Australian Navy, British Commonwealth, French Army, Haiti, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy

Friday, July 28, 1911. War ending as other prepare for war.

Government troops defeated Haitian rebels at Les Cayes.

The Australasian Antarctic Expedition departed London aboard the SY Aurora.

Gen. Joseph Joffre was made the Chief of the General Staff of the Army of France, the first person to hold that position..

Canadian Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier announced a plan of cooperation between the Canadian, British, Australian and New Zealander navies.

Last edition:

Thursday, July 27, 1911. Ordered to ride.

Labels: 1910s, 1911, Art, Coles Phillips, Equine Transportation, French Army, Health, Military, Old Age, Omar Bradley, Theodore Roosevelt, Women

Thursday, July 27, 1911. Ordered to ride.

French Minister of Defense Adolphe Messimy ordered that any officer who was "unable to ride a horse" to retire.  The order was given as a way to force the retirement of elderly officers, but ws not really unprecedented.  Theodore Roosevelt had issued a similar order, requiring a long ride, when he was President of the United States.

The French order was not in effect long as it was regarded as impractical.

Omar Bradley received notice that he'd been accepted to West Point.

Last edition:

Monday, July 24, 1911. Hiram Bingham at Machu Picchu.

Labels: 1910s, 1911, baseball, boats and ships, Exploration, Inca people, Iran, Peru (Machu Picchu), Sports

Monday, July 24, 1911. Hiram Bingham at Machu Picchu.

American archaeologist Hiram Bingham III rediscovered the ruins of Machu Picchu.

Martial law was proclaimed in Tehran while the HMS Fox captured two ships in the Persian Gulf carrying weapons for an attempted dynastic revolution backed by Russia.

Baseball's first all star game was held in Cleveland.

Last edition:

Sunday, July 23, 1911. The passing of Scotty Philip.

Labels: 1910s, 1911, Agriculture, Bison, China, Mongolia, Qing Dynasty, Russia, South Dakota

Sunday, July 23, 1911. The passing of Scotty Philip.

Scottish born South Dakota rancher James "Scotty" Philip died at age 53.  He is remembered for his personal pioneering efforts to save the Bison from extinction, his own heard having grown from five to over 1,000 by the time of his death.

Philip was a member of South Dakota's legislature.

The Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, spiritual head of Mongol Buddhists, sought help from the Russians in separating Mongolia from the Chinese Empire, the latter of which was itself just about to collapse.

Last edition:

Saturday, June 24, 1911. Zapata in Mexico City.

Labels: 1910s, 1911, Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolution, Mexico, Mexico (Mexico City)

The Old Homesteads

I went to a ash spreading (i.e., a type of funeral really) out at an old homestead the other day. By 4x4, it was a long way out. Long, long way, or so it felt. I learned while there that the original homestead had first been filed and occupied in 1917, a big year for homesteading.

It was a very interesting place, and felt very isolated. In visiting about that with my father in law, however, he noted that there had been another homestead just over the hill. And, as I've likely noted here before, there were tiny homesteads all over at that time. It was isolated, but sort of locally isolated. There were, as there were with most of these outfits, another homestead just a few hours ride away, at most, if that.

That is not to say that they weren't way out. I'd guess that this place was at least a full days ride from the nearest town at that time. Even when cars were commonly owned, and they were coming in just about that time, it would have taken the better part of a day to get to town, or a town (there were a couple of very small, but viable towns, about equal distance to this place at that time). It's interesting how agricultural units everywhere in North American have become bigger over time, even if they are all closer now, in terms of time, to a city or town.

Tuesday, July 18, 1911. Premier game of the Wyoming State Penitentiary All Stars

 

New warden Felix Alston organized the team following his appointment to the position in 1911. He chose  George Saban, convicted murderer from the Spring Creek raid, to be head coach and team captain due to their friendship.  The only team they played against was the Rawlins Juniors, which they played four times in 1911. They won all four games.

The team was comprised for the following members:

Coach: Saban, George.  Convicted of murder, he escaped and disappeared from history in December, 1913.

Cameron, Thomas Convicted of Sexual assault, his sentence expired in June 1912.

Pendergraft, Harry A.  Convicted of Larceny , he was granted parole in Jan 1912

C, RF:  Powell, James.  He had been convicted of rape.  Powell was black.  This was an integrated team.

1B: Rowan, Eugene.  He had been convicted of rape, and breaking and entering.  He was granted parole in Nov 1913.  Rowan was also an African American.

2B: Fitzgerald, Frank.  Breaking and entering.  His sentence expired in Dec 1911

SS: Guzzardo, Joe.  Manslaughter.  He was pardoned in July 1912.  Guzzardo had killed a woman in 1908 while shooting at a man who was threatening his life.

3B: Crottie, John.  Grand larceny. He was released in Nov 1911

LF: Carman, Ora.  Grand larceny.  He completed his sentence in Sept 1911.

LF: Stone, Earl.  Breaking and entering.  He completed his sentence in Sept 1911.

CF: Potter, Sidney.  Forgery.  He completed his sentence in June 1912.

RF, C, SS:  Seng, Joseph.  First-degree murder. He was hanged in May 1912

Their August 29, 1911 game was their last.

Contrary to a myth about the team, they were not all on "death row", and indeed only one of the men, Joseph Seng, was. Seng had killed his supervisor after he was fired from his job as a watchman in Evanston.  He was the first man to be executed at the Wyoming State Penitentiary.

Russian backed and equipped deposed Shah of Persia Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar landed at the Caspian Sea port of Astarabad with an army in an attempt to regain the throne that he had lost in 1909.

Last edition:

Saturday, July 15, 1911. Unreasonable demands.

Labels: 1910s, 1911, Africa, Agadir Crisis, Albania, French Empire, German Empire, Morocco, Ottoman Empire, Republic of Congo

Saturday, July 15, 1911. Unreasonable demands.

Germany demanded that France cede French Congo to Germany in exchange for a withdrawal of German troops from Morocco.

Turkish troops ambushed Albanian rebels at Ipek.

Last edition:

Thursday, July 13, 1911. Edward, the Prince of Wales. The Third Anglo-Japanese Agreement of Alliance.

Labels: 1300s, 1301, 1600s, 1616, 1910s, 1911, David Lloyd George, Diplomacy, Japan, Monarchy, United Kingdom, Wales

Thursday, July 13, 1911. Edward, the Prince of Wales. The Third Anglo-Japanese Agreement of Alliance.

The Third Anglo-Japanese Agreement of Alliance was signed by the United Kingdom and Japan, which was somewhat of a British protégé, extending the date of the alliance from 1915 to 1921.

Prince Edward was invested as the Prince of Wales, in Wales, the first time since 1616 that the ceremony had occurred there.

The title is an ancient one which originated with the Welsh  rulers of Gwynedd to signal their claim to superiority over other Welsh princes. They began to use it in the 12th Century.  Edward I of England co opted it for his son Edward of Caernarfon where the use of it, sometimes challenged, for the future King of England started.

Edward I investing his son Edward of Caernarvon (the later King Edward II), as the prince of Wales, 1301.

The whole thing, while symbolic, and brought about as David Lloyd George, was Welsh, was unfortunate in some was, given Edward's later history.

Last edition:

Wednesday, July 12, 1911. Stealing second, third, and home.

Labels: 1910s, 1911, baseball, Disaster, Michigan

Wednesday, July 12, 1911. Stealing second, third, and home.

Ty Cobb stole second, third, and home on three consecutive pitches by Harry Krause of the Philadelphia Athletics.

Au Sable, Michigan was destroyed by a forest fire in day two of horrific forest fires occurring in Michigan.

Last edition:

Sunday, July 9, 1911. Partido Constitucional Progresista

Labels: 1910s, 1911, Agadir Crisis, Art, France, Francisco I. Madero, Germany, Mexican Revolution, Mexico, Partido Constitucional Progresista, Women

Sunday, July 9, 1911. Partido Constitucional Progresista

Francisco I. Madero issued a manifesto changing the name of his movement the Progressive Constitutionalist Party (Partido Constitucional Progresista).

France and Germany agreed to negotiate an end to the Agadir Crisis.

Last edition:

Saturday, July 8, 1911. Aspinwall rides into New York.

Labels: 1910s, 1911, 62nd Congress, Art, children, entertainment, Equine Transportation, New York, Weather, William F. Cody, Women

Saturday, July 8, 1911. Aspinwall rides into New York.

Nan Aspinwall arrived in New York City, making her the first women to cross the United States by horse.

She was a performer in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and made the trip after a bet with Buffalo Bill Cody.

It was a Saturday, and on the East Coast, a hot one.

Vice President James S. Sherman broke a Congressional tradition by bringing an electric fan into the Senate Chamber.

Members of Congress followed his example that very day.

Burbank California was incorporated.

Last edition:

Friday, July 7, 1911. Fur seals, heat wave.

Labels: 1910s, 1911, children, Conservation, Diplomacy, East Coast, Environmentalism, Ireland, Monarchy, United Kingdom, Weather

Friday, July 7, 1911. Fur seals, heat wave.

The United States, Russia, the United Kingdom and Japan signed the Convention on the International Protection of Fur Seals, prohibiting hunting of the endangered animals in the North Pacific Ocean.

Populations rebounded by 30% within six years.

King George V and Queen Mary arrived in Dublin for a visit of Ireland, of which they were its monarchs.

The North American East Coast was in the grips of a terrible heat wave.

Last edition:

Thursday, July 6, 1911. Taft saves from mining.

Labels: 1910s, 1911, California, Colorado, Colorado National Guard, Diplomacy, Geology, Labor unrest, nature, Public Land, William Howard Taft

Thursday, July 6, 1911. Taft saves from mining.

Labor unrest resulting in the National Guard being called out in Colorado.

Publisher Charles Curtis debuted a new version of the farmers' magazine Country Gentleman.

The magazine, whose covers have often appeared here, had declined down to 2,000 subscribers at the time.

An arbitration treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom was signed.

President Taft created the Devils Postpile National Monument in Madera County, California.  His doing so saved it from mining companies that were set to demolish the pillars in order to build a dam.

The current administration likely wouldn't lift a finger.

Last edition:

Monday, July 3, 1911. Panther arrives.

Labels: 1910s, 1911, Agadir Crisis, Canada, Canada (New Brunswick), Disaster, French Empire, German Kriegsmarine, Labor unrest, Mexico, William Howard Taft

Monday, July 3, 1911. Panther arrives.

The SMS Panther arrived off of the coast of Agaidir.

A British merchant marine strike with the strikers largely prevailing in their demands.

Lightning struck the south-west comer of the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral in Fredericton, New Brunswick, rusling in a major fire doing damaged to the structure and causing its bells to fall.

It was restored.

William Howard Taft visited Marion, Indiana.

Gen. José González Salas, who had served in Diaz's army, was appointed Secretary of War and Navy of Mexico.

Last edition:

Sunday, July 2, 1911. Krazy Kat debuts.

Labels: 1900s, 1903, 1910s, 1911, Cartoons, Central America, Colombia, Diplomacy, Interstate Commerce Commission, Mexican Revolution, Mexico, Mexico (Juarez), Panama, Panama Canal, Railroads, United States

Sunday, July 2, 1911. Krazy Kat debuts.

 Krazy Kat debuted as a spinoff from The Dingbat Family, which it would supplant.

The United States broke diplomatic relations with Colombia over an ongoing dispute about the US's role in severing Panama in 1903 from the country, which was a fairly stinky thing for the US to do.  It was based on our desire to see the canal built on the Isthmus of Panama.  The US was attempting to repair the situation, which understandably upset Colombia.

The ongoing balkanization of Central America is a major source of its ongoing difficulties today.  Some of the territory which is now in independent states bordering Mexico should really be part of Mexico and the balance, perhaps absent Panama, one single state.  This would, in fact, comport with the original hopes of those who severed those regions from Spain.

The Interstate Commerce Commission ordered an investigation of all express train companies in the United States.

Last edition:

Saturday, July 1, 1911. The Agadir Crisis commences.

Labels: 1910s, 1911, Agadir Crisis, Art, France, French Empire, German Army, German Kriegsmarine, Independence Day, J. C. Leyendecker, Morocco