The 100 Years Ago Thread

[albrecht]

From the Library of Congress, July 29, 1918.


The Tonopah (Nevada) Daily Bonanza:

PRO GERMAN GRABBED WHILE MAKING TALK

  Bert Steinberger, lessee of the Casino, may have a German name, but he has nothing of the German nature as he is a 100 per cent American and wants everybody to know that before they set foot in his house. This afternoon Pete Kristich, who had been reading the bulletins and imbibing Dutch courage, floated into the Casino and engaged in a war talk during the course of which he remarked that he hoped the Kaiser would win the war and that he would win it anyhow. How much further he would have gone with his assertions and predictions remains unknown, for in about ten seconds the stalwart form of Jack Grant, chief of police, who had been summoned by phone, loomed up in front of the bar and Mr. Kristich was lugged off to the town Bastille.


TAKEN TO JAIL TO STOP HEMORRHAGE OF THE NOSE

  Alex M Gibbons, recently released from the county jail, proceeded to celebrate the event in his customary style and was seized with a nose bleed so violently that Chief of Police Jack Grant thought he would be better off back in the old quarters on the hill where he could have medical attention.


EGG FAMINE IN HAWAII

  Honolulu is threatened with an egg famine. Because of the high price of feed Japanese and Chinese poultry men are disposing of their hens. Eggs now are a luxury, selling from 80 to 90 cents a dozen with prices of cold storage eggs, imported from the mainland, almost as high.


IMITATION SHRAPNEL SHOWN ON MIZPAH

  Saturday afternoon frequenters of Mizpah hill and residents along the trail leading to the property of the Tonopah Mining company were treated to an exhibition of war that threw a scare into the district. The powder gang working on the dump which is being shipped to the mill at Millers put in two shots that evidently were too strong for a surface display with the result that rocks as large as a man's head were strewn all over the neighborhood. Some fell on the firehouse and the gymnasium and the water office was peppered as though it was an outpost of Chateau Thierry. Fortunately no damage was done.


The Rogue River (Grants Pass, Oregon) Courier:

R.W. DE WITT ESCAPES FROM COUNTY JAIL

  The Josephine county jail was the scene last night of another successful jail break, when R. W. DeWitt, who was held to await the action of the grand jury, escaped through a hole in the brick wall. DeWitt is the man held for the robbery of the Boswell mine near Takilma early in May, when about $6000 in gold was stolen.

  Sheriff Lewis states that DeWitt had outside help, a confederate digging a hole in the brick wall on the Fifth street side of the jail, entering the corridor, picking the lock to the "tank," where DeWitt and four other men were confined, and releasing DeWitt. When the jail was opened this morning everything about the lock was found to be in order, but one prisoner was gone. The other prisoners say that they were awakened shortly before daylight by a scratching noise and the falling of brick, but they were afraid to make any outcry for fear of being shot in their cages.

  Up to the present time there is no clue as to the whereabouts of DeWitt.

I love how this reporter writes! We need more like him today.
ps: why didn't they make that German march down the main street holding an American flag and then kiss it in front of a jeering crowd like the last one?

[albrecht]

It is because Germans call themselves Deutsch for the same reason the Dutch do -- in English, they all used to be Dutch.  It's the same old word meaning "the people" and, linguistically at least, they are part of the same continuum from what used to be called High Dutch to Low Dutch (the "high" and "low" referring purely to topography rather than status, the mountainous interior of Europe vs. the low-lying coasts).  It's like how people say the Pennsylvania Dutch are really Germans, but the distinction didn't exist at the time they came over.

That makes better sense that what I thought. I had figured two possible reasons:
1) the English, and by extension Americans, are notoriously, and awesomely, self-centered and so would hear that 'foreign talk' and called it all Dutch. Dutch people call themselves Nederlanders.
2) Germans, especially due to odd religious sects and due to the two Wars, would say "I'm Dutch" so that people wouldn't know they were German and risk being discriminated against or held as some kind of 5th Columnists. Sort of like an American tourist in some Muslim country might claim to be Canadian etc?

[K_Dubb]

That makes better sense that what I thought. I had figured two possible reasons:
1) the English, and by extension Americans, are notoriously, and awesomely, self-centered and so would hear that 'foreign talk' and called it all Dutch. Dutch people call themselves Nederlanders.
2) Germans, especially due to odd religious sects and due to the two Wars, would say "I'm Dutch" so that people wouldn't know they were German and risk being discriminated against or held as some kind of 5th Columnists. Sort of like an American tourist in some Muslim country might claim to be Canadian etc?

Yeah I have heard in the past ten years or so a few attempts to get people to say "Netherlandish", in English, too, probably to remove any confusion but, since the confusion only exists for people who know what Dutch/Deutsch means, it's unlikely to take hold.  They are Dutch, dammit:  Dutch doors, Dutch cottages, going Dutch, Dutch apple pie...

On the bright side, anyone of German extraction can claim Dutch courage!

[K_Dubb]

Incidentally, the "Tysk" in Tyskland is, linguistically, the same word, the degree of corruption indicating how far back the distinction was drawn between Scandinavia and what is now Germany.  I've never really liked classifying the Scandinavian languages (and English, incidentally) as "Germanic" since the whole concept and name is much later than any of the languages and makes people think of Germany as some sort of ancestral homeland.  You can detect the fingerprints of 19th-century nationalism all over it.

[albrecht]

Yeah I have heard in the past ten years or so a few attempts to get people to say "Netherlandish", in English, too, probably to remove any confusion but, since the confusion only exists for people who know what Dutch/Deutsch means, it's unlikely to take hold.  They are Dutch, dammit:  Dutch doors, Dutch cottages, going Dutch, Dutch apple pie...

On the bright side, anyone of German extraction can claim Dutch courage!

Dutch Uncle, also.

Even they are somewhat confused or, more likely, made a practical decision to accept use Dutch or even Holland. For example for official tourism site they use Holland (which is a region/2 provinces) not the whole country. For the football team they chant "Hup, Hup, Holland" and so on.

[Rikki Gins]

It is because Germans call themselves Deutsch for the same reason the Dutch do -- in English, they all used to be Dutch.  It's the same old word meaning "the people" and, linguistically at least, they are part of the same continuum from what used to be called High Dutch to Low Dutch (the "high" and "low" referring purely to topography rather than status, the mountainous interior of Europe vs. the low-lying coasts).  It's like how people say the Pennsylvania Dutch are really Germans, but the distinction didn't exist at the time they came over.

I could have got off my lazy ass and looked it up but I much prefer to get the information from you, K.  My thanks to you and to mr. albretch.

[K_Dubb]

I could have got off my lazy ass and looked it up but I much prefer to get the information from you, K.  My thanks to you and to mr. albretch.

My pleasure, Rix, you know I have opinions on that sort of thing; I'm full of 'em.  It's interesting to wonder if, without its heavy influence from the various Romance languages (especially French) from which we get the word "people", we might call ourselves "Dutch", too.  The closest native word we use is probably "folk" and, true to custom, in English it's retained for low-status stuff like folk art, music, folksy humor, etc.  Linguistically, English has a major inferiority complex going on.

[JUAN]

My mother has one of those French artillery shell vases, brought back by her father who was a doughboy. They seem to be fairly common.

[Rikki Gins]

My mother has one of those French artillery shell vases, brought back by her father who was a doughboy. They seem to be fairly common.

Yes, lots of trench art out there, juan.  We had several decorated shells floating around the house when I was a kid.  One of them was big enough to hold umbrellas but it was never used for that purpose.  I remember reading somewhere that WWI German POWs made them so that they could be traded for cigarettes, soap, etc.

I noticed a lot of them are for sale on eBay.  Priced mostly between $50.00 to $500.00.  I liked this one:

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[Rikki Gins]

From the Library of Congress, July 31, 1918.


The Rogue River (Grants Pass, Oregon) Courier.

JAIL BREAKER DEWITT IS STILL IN HIDING

  R. W. DeWitt, who escaped from the jail Monday, is still at large but Sheriff Lewis is working on a clue which may give some light as to his whereabouts.

  Jailer Schroder stated positively that DeWitt was locked in the cage Sunday night, that he talked with him after he had been locked up and that he saw DeWitt playing cards with the other prisoner.

  The police authorities in all towns north and south of Grants Pass as well as the outlying country districts have been notified to be on the watch for DeWitt, and a careful description of the man has been given.

  DeWitt is about 45 years of age, is about 5 feet 7 or 8 inches tall; hair quite gray; light colored mustache. He wore a gray flannel shirt open at the throat exposing a hairy breast; felt hat pinched in to form a peak; dark corduroy pants and was in the habit of carrying his coat, a khaki Norfolk. He can be easily identified through the fact that the middle finger on his right hand is missing at the middle joint.


The Tonopah (Nevada) Daily Bonanza.

SIXTY DAYS FDR DISLOYAL TALK

  Pete Kristich, an Austrian who indulged in seditious remarks at the Casino, was arraigned yesterday afternoon before Judge Dunseath after remaining in the county jail for forty-eight hours in an attempt to sober him up sufficiently to stand before the court of justice. The remarks were to the effect that "It is a cinch that the Kaiser will win the war." The charge was proved and the court imposed the extreme penalty for disorderly conduct and Kristich was remanded to jail. It is intimated that there are other, and more serious charges against the prisoner who will be held in safe keeping while they are under investigation.


The Seattle Star.

[Rikki Gins]

American jazz pianist Hank Jones was born on July 31, 1918.

Biography of Hank Jones: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Jones

[Rikki Gins]

From the Imperial War Museum, August 1, 1918.

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Troops of the American 326th Infantry Regiment moving towards the enemy at Choloy, 1 August 1918. Note a Bangalore torpedo they are carrying.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205093108 © IWM (Q 69955)

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Troops of the American 326th Infantry Regiment attacking German trenches at Choloy, 1 August 1918.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205359135 © IWM (Q 69944)

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Troops of the American 326th Infantry Regiment attacking German trenches at Choloy, 1 August 1918.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205218821 © IWM (Q 57695)

[Rikki Gins]

From the Library of Congress.  The Rogue River (Grants Pass, Oregon) Courier, August 1, 1918.

NOBLE BEST SUCCUMBS T0 BAFFLING ILLNESS

  Noble best, who has been ill for some time the past week, died at 3 o'clock this afternoon at the family home on North Ninth street. The cause of death in both cases was paralysis of the cranial nerve, but the cause of the disease is still baffling the physicians.

  The death of this young man, coming only a few days after the death of his sister, Audrey, which occurred on Sunday, comes as a distinct shock and casts a gloom over the entire community.

  The funeral arrangements have not yet been made.

[Rikki Gins]

Anti-Greek riots erupt in the town of Toronto, Canada on August 1, 1918.

Article: http://citiesintime.ca/toronto/story/anti-greek-r/

[Bart Ell]

Anti-Greek riots erupt in the town of Toronto, Canada on August 1, 1918.

Article: http://citiesintime.ca/toronto/story/anti-greek-r/

And 100 years later there is still trouble on The Danforth, Mr. Rikki.