Ostensibly exploring the practice of law before the internet. Heck, before good highways for that matter.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Mid Week At Work: Order Coal Now
I've posted this poster before, but I like it a lot, and it gives us a glimpse of man and animal at work, just about a century ago. A modern world we can recognize, but one involving animals in a way we don't really see in the western world anymore.
This poster is from the World War One era, urging people to lay in a supply of winter heating coal early. Heating with coal is also largely a thing of the past in the US, for the most part.
Thursday, April 2, 1914 Villista victory at Torreón, Disaster on the ice, Cumann na mBan, birth of Alec Guiness.
It was opening day.
Pancho Villa telegraphed the head of the Mexican opposition,Venustiano Carranza, to report he had retaken Torreón. He noted his losses as 2,000 killed or wounded, and the Federal dead at 12,000 killed, wounded or captured.
Effectively, he had taken control of northern Mexico.
The U.S. Navy gunboat, Dolphin, entered Tampico harbor in Mexico and presented a 3x21-gun salute to the Mexican flag in remembrance of the April 2, 1867, Battle of Puebla.
It would be the last peaceful diplomatic exchange between the United States Government and the Mexican government of Victoriano Huerta.
Wes Kean, captain of the SS Newfoundland, spotted survivors from his ship that had been trapped on ice floes off Newfoundland for three days during a blizzard. The men had been set out for seals on April 1, with the expectation that if the weather worsened, they could stay aboard the nearby Stephano. Instead, Wes' father, Adam, gave the men lunch at that point and ordered them back out on the ice. This left the captains of both vessels under the belief that the men were safe. While equipped originally with primitive radios, they had been removed prior to the voyage as a cost savings measure, which compounded the error..
Kean, upon spotting the men, alerted the nearby SS Bellaventure. 77 of 132 men who had been lost, died.
The same weather sank the Southern Cross with the loss of all hands.
The Cumann na mBan, or Irishwomen's Council, an Irish Republican paramilitary organization, was founded. It apparently still exists.
300 Pentecostal preachers and laymen gathered in a general council in Hot Springs, Arkansas to discuss preservation of Pentecostal revivalism.
A train derailment near Tanjung Priok, Indonesia caused by buffalo crossing the tracks resulted in the death of 20 people and 50 more being injured.
Great British actor Alec Guinness was born in Maida Vale, London, England. One of the greatest actors of all time, he appeared in 62 films, many of which are remembered at least in part for his performance. They include such varied classics as Lawrence of Arabia, Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Bridge On The River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago, and Star Wars. His career was interrupted by World War Two, during which he served in the Royal Navy, and during which he formed the intent to become an Anglican Priest. An experience on a movie set impacted him deeply, and he converted to Catholicism, as did his wife, who only informed him after the fact, in later years, from Judaism.
Last prior edition:
Wednesday, April 1, 1914. Villa at Torreón
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Wednesday, April 1, 1914. Villa at Torreón
Villa's fortunes in Torreón were improving.
The same paper featured this interesting watch ad:
Note that wristwatches were treated as a female item, which they were until World War One, we we are now in the cusp of in this timeline, changed that.
Last prior edition:
Friday, March 27, 1914. "Any kind of fighting you wish".
Monday, March 31, 2014
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Friday, March 27, 1914. "Any kind of fighting you wish".
And some employers had photographs taken of their employees.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
"Thank you for your service"
Mid Week At Work: Everywhere is nowhere?
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
The American Songbook
In grade school, in the 1960 and early 1970s, we learned a range of "traditional" songs, some of which, in thinking back, weren't all that old at the time, but seemed so. These included the Hudie Ledbetter (Leadbelly) series of songs that most people believe are age old folk songs, some genuine old folks songs, folk songs of the 1930s and some well known U.S. military ballads.
Songs that I can recall learning this way, if not always understanding, include Down In the Valley, Jimmie Cracked Corn, Johnnie Came Marching Home, The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Little Brown Church In the Vale, Red River Valley and This Land is Your Land, amongst others.
The lyrics of some included cultural references that were never explained to us, such as Jimmie Cracked Corn, which is sung from the prospective of a Southern slave. By today's standards, that song would be both rather shocking, and not exactly socially tolerable. Others were cleaned up versions of songs that had heavy situational references unknown to us. Down In The Valley, for example, is a Leadbelly song that includes a references to being in prison, if all the lyrics are included,
Write me a letter, send it by mail;At least one standard was somewhat controversial in its origin, but it seems to have gotten over it quickly, perhaps in spite of the desires of Woodie Guthrie, it's author, that being This Land Is Your Land. Guthrie, who was basically a fellow traveler prior to World War Two, meant the lyrics of the song much more literally than most seem to believe. Of course, the last three stanzas of the song are usually omitted.
Send it in care of the Birmingham jail,
Birmingham jail, dear, Birmingham jail,
Send it in care of the Birmingham jail,
One of the more unusual songs, looking back, that we learned was the Field Artillery Song. I later had to learn it again, or sing it rather as I already knew it, at Ft. Sill. I'd already learned it as a child in grade school.As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.
- Over hill, over dale,
- We will hit the dusty trail,
- And those Caissons go rolling along.
- Up and down, in and out,
- Counter march and left about,
- And those Caissons go rolling along,
- For it's high high he,
- In the Field Artillery,
- Shout out your "No" loud and strong,
- For wher-e’er we go,
- You will always know,
- That those Caissons go rolling along.
We learned a selection of national or patriotic songs as well. Of course The Star Spangled Banner was one. So was My Country Tis of Thee, which I learned at home was to the same tune as the British National Anthem, The Queen. My Country Tis of Thee is much less less martial.
- My country, 'tis of thee,
- Sweet land of liberty,
- Of thee I sing;
- Land where my fathers died,
- Land of the pilgrims' pride,
- From ev'ry mountainside
- Let freedom ring!
- God save our gracious Queen!
- Long live our noble Queen!
- God save the Queen!
- Send her victorious,
- Happy and glorious,
- Long to reign over us:
- God save The Queen!
- O Lord our God arise,
- Scatter her enemies,
- And make them fall:
- Confound their politics,
- Frustrate their knavish tricks,
- On Thee our hopes we fix:
- God save us all.
- Thy choicest gifts in store,
- On her be pleased to pour;
- Long may she reign:
- May she defend our laws,
- And ever give us cause,
- To sing with heart and voice,
- God save the Queen!
These songs tended to be taught in music class, in which a music teacher who went from school to school taught the songs and occasionally played the piano. I can't recall her name, but I do recall that she tried to teach us something by making us memorize the words Tee Tee Te-te Tong, in much the same way the children in The Sound Of Music learn the "Doe, a deer" song. Sometimes we gathered in school assemblies, seated by grade and sang them along with clips from "film strips".
Now all of this seems to be a thing of the past, and there's a lot to teach so perhaps that's no surprise. But in looking back at it, it's a bit of an open question, maybe, of what occurs when a culture loses its base of common songs. The country won't collapse, of course, but a bit of a widely shared heritage is lost in the process.
Wednesday, March 25, 1914. Villa repulsed.
According to the Cheyenne paper, Villa had suffered a set back.
The same paper showed that Wyomingites were slamming Democrats as far back as that, and even earlier.
Also in that issue, some interesting items showing how local agriculture was.
And then there was this interesting item:
Monday, March 23, 1914. Doubts about Roosevelt's fate on the River of Doubt.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Forces with History -- Official Blog of Robert W Mackay: A Great War Election With a Twist
Monday, March 23, 1914. Doubts about Roosevelt's fate on the River of Doubt.
We just posted an item for 1909 on Theodore Roosevelt leaving the US for his legendary 1909, 1910 safari. Famously, after losing his effort to regain the Presidency in the three-way race in 1912, he embarked on the exploration of what was then known as the River of Doubt, or more officially the Roosevelt–Rondon Scientific Expedition
That trip was plagued by horrific events, one of which was detailed in this edition of the Cheyenne based Wyoming Tribune.
It's often noted that Roosevelt never recovered from this trip, but that can be somewhat debated. It's true he was never himself thereafter, but Roosevelt had been a vigorous proponent of "the Strenuous Life" and had lived it. While this is fully admirable, and today would be cited to some degree as a life extending practice, Roosevelt had experienced ill health with asthma in his youth (as have I), and had been shot during the 1912 campaign. Four years of semi enforced idleness as Vice President and President had taken their toll as well, and by the time he left office in 1909 he was, in my view, beginning to significantly age even though he was not yet 60.
Having said that, he made a really dedicated effort to join the Army as head of an expeditionary unit during World War One, so he had plenty of vigor left, even after these ordeals.
It's also noteworthy how, just before World War One, there was plenty of exploration of the remote regions of the globe still going on. The era immediately before the war seems to have been the last great push in the age of exploration.
Last prior edition:
March 21, 1914. Yo acuso
Related threads:
Tuesday, March 23, 1909. Bound for Africa.
Friday, March 21, 2014
Agricultural Cluelessness: Nevada Farmers Hack The Drought By Switching Up The Crops : The Salt : NPR
Nevada Farmers Hack The Drought By Switching Up The Crops : The Salt : NPR
That this sort of thing is going on is no suprise, so I wouldn't have even linked this in here save for one of the comments, which is clueless. It states:
Humans once farmed parts of what is now the Sahara desert! The aridThe arid west may or may not have too many people living in it. Those of us who grow up here and like our room probably largely agree with that, and tend to cringe when some newcomer comes in and tells us how he or she moved here as "I just love how empty it is", not realizing that the huge check they brought from the sale of their out of state home which will be used for the construction of a new one, and their presence in and of itself, operates against the very thing they declare they love. Be that as it may, the statement that; "The arid
west simply has too many people living in it, for farming to be
sustainable for long periods of time!
west simply has too many people living in it, for farming to be
sustainable for long periods of time!" is amazingly ignorant.
People don't farm the west for the west. The west hasn't had that sort of agricultural economy for a century or longer, if we're talking about crops. Farmers in the US farm for the entire country really. Granted, there is local farming, but if a person feels that farming is the thing that's endangering the West due to the human population, they probably have the story reversed.
Framing in the Southwest, where this story is focused, has been going on at some level since for hundreds of years. Modern farming implements and practices may be having a negative impact, but the thing that's really unsustainable in the west are cities built without regard to the supply of water. Water mining is really common, for cities, in the southwest, and that is something that ultimately defeats istself.
I guess the main thing that irritates me about a comment like this is the seeming ignorance of the person commenting on the huge modern farming infrastructure of our nation. Fruits and vegetables on most people's tables come from hundreds or even thousands of miles away, and indeed quite a few come from south of the border. The farmer in this photo may produce a crop that's just as likely to be served on a dinner table in New Jersey as it is in Las Vegas. There is a local food movement, of course, but only a tiny percentage of Americans participate in it, and the assumption the writer made is almost surely off the mark.
March 21, 1914. Yo acuso
A commission set up by Venustiano Carranza confirmed British rancher William S. Benton had been stabbed to death in Pancho Villa's office by Major Rudolfo Fierro.
The commission further claimed Villa invented the court martial story to protect Fierro, who was distantly related to him.
Fierro played the role of Villa's executioner until he died in an accident in 1915, being thrown from his horse and drowning in quicksand.
Anarchist marched in New York City.
Last prior edition:
Thursday, March 20, 2014
How the heck does a person figure out what to do?
Truckin' got my chips cashed in. Keep truckin', like the do-dah man
Together, more or less in line, just keep truckin' on.
Arrows of neon and flashing marquees out on Main Street.
Chicago, New York, Detroit and it's all on the same street.
Your typical city involved in a typical daydream
Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings.
Dallas, got a soft machine; Houston, too close to New Orleans;
New York's got the ways and means; but just won't let you be, oh no.
Most of the cast that you meet on the streets speak of true love,
Most of the time they're sittin' and cryin' at home.
One of these days they know they better get goin'
Out of the door and down on the streets all alone.
Truckin', like the do-dah man. Once told me "You've got to play your hand"
Sometimes your cards ain't worth a dime, if you don't lay'em down,
Sometimes the light's all shinin' on me;
Other times I can barely see.
Lately it occurres to me What a long, strange trip it's been.
What in the world ever became of sweet Jane?
She lost her sparkle, you know she isn't the same
Livin' on reds, vitamin C, and cocaine,
All a friend can say is "Ain't it a shame?"
Truckin', up to Buffalo. Been thinkin', you got to mellow slow
Takes time, you pick a place to go, and just keep truckin' on.
Sittin' and starin' out of the hotel window.
Got a tip they're gonna kick the door in again
I'd like to get some sleep before I travel,
But if you got a warrant, I guess you're gonna come in.
Busted, down on Bourbon Street, Set up, like a bowlin' pin.
Knocked down, it get's to wearin' thin. They just won't let you be, oh no.
You're sick of hangin' around and you'd like to travel;
Get tired of travelin' and you want to settle down.
I guess they can't revoke your soul for tryin',
Get out of the door and light out and look all around.
Sometimes the light's all shinin' on me;
Other times I can barely see.
Lately it occurres to me What a long, strange trip it's been.
Truckin', I'm a goin' home. Whoa whoa baby, back where I belong,
Back home, sit down and patch my bones, and get back truckin' on.
Hey now get back truckin' home.
Joey tried to help me find a job
A while ago
When I finally got it I didn't want to go
The party Mary gave for me
When I just walked away
Now there's nothing left for me to say
All the burning bridges that have fallen after me
All the lonely feelings and the burning memories
Everyone I left behind each time I closed the door
Burning bridges lost forevermore
Years have passed and I keep thinking
What a fool I've been
I look back into the past and
Think of way back then
I know that I lost everything I thought that I could win
I guess I should have listened to my friends
All the burning bridges that have fallen after me
All the lonely feelings and the burning memories
Everyone I left behind each time I closed the door
Burning bridges lost forevermore
One night while I was out a ridin'
The grave yard shift, midnight 'til dawn
The moon was bright as a readin' light
For a letter from an old friend back home
And he asked me
Why do you ride for your money
Tell me why do you rope for short pay
You ain't a'gettin' nowhere
And you're loosin' your share
Boy, you must have gone crazy out there
He said last night I ran on to Jenny
She's married and has a good life
And boy you sure missed the track
When you never come back
She's the perfect professional's wife
And she asked me
Why does he ride for his money
And tell me why does he rope for short pay
He ain't a'gettin' nowhere
And he's loosin' his share
Boy he must've gone crazy out there
Ah but they've never seen the Northern Lights
They've never seen a hawk on the wing
They've never spent spring on the Great Divide
And they've never heard ole' camp cookie sing
Well I read up the last of my letter
And I tore off the stamp for black Jim
And when Billy rode up to relieve me
He just looked at my letter and grinned
He said now
Why do they ride for their money
Tell me why do they ride for short pay
They ain't a'gettin' nowhere
And they're loosin' their share
Boy, they must've gone crazy out there
Son, they all must be crazy out there
Night Riders Lament by Jerry Jeff Walker.
Of course, some people just seem to know what they want to do from an early age, something I've always been amazed by. They'll form an early idea of what they want to do, and pursue it.
Non, Rien de rien
Non, Je ne regrette rienNi le bien qu'on m'a fait
Ni le mal tout ça m'est bien égalNon, Rien de rien
Non, Je ne regrette rieC'est payé, balayé, oublié
Je me fous du passéAvec mes souvenirs
J'ai allumé le feuMes chagrins, mes plaisirs
Je n'ai plus besoin d'euxBalayés les amours
Avec leurs trémolosBalayés pour toujours
Je repars à zéroNon, Rien de rien
Non, Je ne regrette rienNi le bien qu'on m'a fait
Ni le mal tout ça m'est bien égal
Non, Rien de rien
Non, Je ne regrette rienCar ma vie, car mes joies
Aujourd'hui, ça commence avec toi
Others seem to fall into jobs, however. Some of them find their early goals can't be met, or perhaps they lose interest in the pursuit of the original goal, or decide it isn't worth it. Some of those fall into one thing or another and like that alternative. Others just fall into something.
I'm not suggesting, I'll note, that nothing is done now. I just don't know what it is. I have a son in high school and they do seem to have more recruiters and job fair type things when I was there. Perhaps a lot more is going on than I suppose.
But it's heavy burden, and I feel for those involved in it.
Friday, March 20, 1914. The Curragh Muntiny
The Curragh Mutiny saw British Army officers stationed at Curragh Camp, Ireland resign their commissions rather than face being ordered to resist the Ulster Volunteers, should the Home Rule Bill pass.