Just like Melville's Ishmael, when the everyday worries become overwhelming, I long for the sea. However, since the sea is over one hundred miles away from Westminster, Maryland, I must settle for some other diversion. Sometimes it is escape to news from "yesteryear."
I'm looking at a copy of The Literary Digest dated October 31, 1908 (101 years ago!) Some items that were of interest to me:
01. An ad showing a young lady with a bow tie sitting at a vintage Remington typewriter. Model 10 has a column selector, and model 11 has a built-in tabulator. (My grandkids may not know what a typewriter is... they probably don't even need to know what a word-processor is, as long as their agile fingers can "text".)
02. An ad for a two month's summer tour of Europe for $250.
03. An ad for GRAFT.."The game of the hour; the game for Election days. More fascinating than Bridge or Eucre... 50 cents."
04. Ad for 1,000 acres in West Virginia for $9,000.
05. Ad for Miss Hess' French School for Young Ladies.
06. Ad for "The 1909 Fad!" This device projects any sort of "Post Card, Sketch, Photograph, or Clipping in all the brilliant coloring" on the wall as a six-foot reproduction. Cost for this machine in its fully assembled form: $5.
07. News about the William J. Bryan and William H. Taft strategic struggle to gain sufficient electoral votes to win the Presidency. Teddy Roosevelt puts in his two cents. (It all sounds so familiar.)
08. News that the United States Battle-ship fleet sailed around the world and in Sydney Australia the fleet was welcomed by 9,000 school-kids grouped to form the words "Hail Columbia" and to trace the pattern in colors of the American and Australian flags.
And then... get this.. in Yokohama, to quote the New York Post: "Toward the close of the reception, at a collation on the after deck of the battle-ship, Captain Okada drank the health of Ambassador O'Brien. Then followed a demonstration that will be long remembered by the Americans. The Japanese admirals and captains raised Ambassador O'Brien on their shoulders and marched around the deck with him, everybody on board wildly cheering. The same performance was repeated with Rear-Admiral Sperry and each of the other American admirals present."
And then, the New York Tribune said "Japan and America are, and are likely to remain for a long time, the chief, we might say the only important, naval Powers in the Pacific" and indicated that this friendly reception should put to rest any suggestion of friction between these two countries.
09. Lots of news about the Balkans and Austria .. sounds like the problems that led up to WWI.
10. News that unemployment in England has reached "painful proportions." Mr. Stewart Gray, the leader of "Hunger Marchers" clashed with the police at Trafalgar Square. About 150,000 men in London are out of work.
11. Sir Hiram Maxim analyzed a "sure fire system" for beating the bank at Monte Carlo, and found that the player would probably win.. "one dollar in 21,474 years."
12. Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Buchanan, of the British Army in India says: "The best way to put a stop to the plague where it is epidemic is to keep cats."
13. Professor Gaston Bonnier of Paris says that "a beehive is a perfect example of the equalitarian product of state socialism."
14. "A system by which a wireless-telegraphic apparatus may control from a central station the clocks of a whole city is now in use in Vienna."
15. Joseph Ruau, French Minister of Agriculture says that "fraud is common in food manufacture, and reminds us that absolute purity is not practicable or necessary."
16. There is now a simple test for distinguishing between butter and "oleomargarin". (Sounds like a time-consuming process utilizing fresh milk and a "stick.")
17. Mr. Israel Zangwill caused a commotion with his play "The Melting Pot", where he implies that Jews will be best off in America by being "absorbed" through marriage. The Jewish Comment (Baltimore) likes his play and agrees with his thesis.
18. Mr. Marc Debrol, French writer, was asked if people in the US are religious in the "real sense of the word".. He replied: "No. The American is too taken up with the practical side of life, too preoccupied with conquests and gain, to be meditative. There is no introspection... in this race for the dollar, the finer sensibilities dry up..." (!) Debrol says that America is a charitable country, but "Charity does not spring from private initiative; it is carefully organised, and in many cases by the churches... The poor must be fed and clothed, not out of pity, but out of prudence; they must not become discontented and revolt, disturbers of the national peace."
19. An ad for the Flexible Flyer, the Sled that Steers. "Send for a free cardboard model showing how it steers."
20. An ad for Whitelaw's Paper Blankets. Sanitary. Healthful. Warm. $3.00 a dozen.
21. An ad for Postum (coffee substitute still sold next to coffees in supermarkets.. I drank it for years. "There are still some well-informed persons who do not know that coffee contains a drug -- caffeine."
22. Ad for Harderfold Hygienic Underwear with the Inter-Air-Space System... "... affording protection against the vicissitudes of our variable climate..."
23. Ad for The Keeley Cure for liquor and drug using.
24. Finally...!! A joke from the Washington Star:
The Crank. "You say there is nearly always something broke about your automobile?"
"Yes," answered Mr. Chuggins, nervously.
"What is it, as a rule?"
"Me."
... so, not much has changed in 101 years.
.................................................................................................................................
Showing posts with label Socialism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Socialism. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
The 100th Blog.. actually.
This is actually my 100th blog entry. Four of them were duds, so even though it says 104, it really is 100. And there is something magical about the 100th blog. Google suddenly thinks that now the blog is serious. So I guess I have to be serious today.
Earlier tonight, I heard Elaine remarking about the letters to the editor for a couple of the latest Carroll County Times (Westminster, Maryland). She couldn't believe that the newspaper would print some of these letters. I read the letters and agreed with her. It must have been a slow day for letters.
However, we did think that not everything on the "Opinion" pages was like the letters. So, if you don't mind, I will comment on everything that is printed there, and you can decide if you like any of the material.
For August 4th, 2009:
01. The editor remarked that according to a recent poll, two-thirds of Americans don't know what the three branches of Government are. This is a startling statistic. Don't all American children learn about the three branches in school? New citizens all know that. Most foreigners know that.
I would have thought that only the college kids on the Leno Show didn't know that.
The editor does see a change in the statistic, at least in Carroll County, because of a recent increase in Town Meetings.
02. Some people don't believe that Global Warming is happening, so Tom Harbold, a columnist, asks some excellent penetrating questions about it.
a. Why has the Northwest Passage opened for the first time since the Vikings?
b. Why has the polar ice cap shrunk by 2 million square miles?
c. Why are Alpine nations having to spread reflective sheeting on their ski slopes to limit snow melt.
d. Why have glaciers in Glacier National Park dropped from 150 in 1850 to 26 now?
Something seems to be happening, guys.
03. A letter writer is mad that President Obama apologized for some dumb things the U.S. has done in the past. He accuses the President of bringing Socialism to the U.S. (It sounds to me as though he has no idea even what Socialism is.) He hopes that the President is voted out of office. (Wouldn't it be better to hope that the President succeeds in office? Why all this negativity? I'm sure it is not a racial thing.. at least I hope not.)
04. A letter writer is mad because the President was never a governor or an executive.. and never served in the House of Representatives or served in the military. (Perhaps the writer should read his history about other Presidents.) However, he does say that we should all pray for the President. I'm not sure, but I think he also doesn't like homosexuals.. but he has read something called the "Gay Manifesto".. I've never heard of it. Sounds like a phony document.
05. Another letter writer feels that America, like Nineveh, has severely violated God's law. Abortion, sexual immorality, same-sex marriage, sinful behavior being taught in school, violence in the streets... all of these things would normally cause God to destroy us.. but maybe, if we play our cards right, we will be redeemed by faith.
For August 5th, 2009:
01. Tom Zirpoli, columnist, feels that Americans should be watching the upcoming Afghan election because the outcome will have a significant impact on American foreign policy in the region. This is a well thought-out piece of analysis in my opinion. (The last election had a turnout similar to that of the U. S.; however, U.S. voters did not have to worry about bombs along the way to the polls like the Afghan people did. Think about that!)
02. The editor of the paper wrote that "Cash for Clunkers" money should be increased, and lambasts the Republicans who are fighting it. He takes a great chance of subscription cancelations in this Republican County. We'll see.
03. A letter writer laments the fact that Insurance Companies are using scare tactics to fight against Health Care Reform. He makes the main good points: "We are the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't have universal health care," and "there are...47 million Americans who have no insurance at all because they can't afford it."
04. Another letter writer was grossed out by the anti-abortion protesters who were showing giant colored posters of aborted fetuses on the sides of Route 27. She did not feel good that her child had seen the pictures.
05. There was agreat cartoon of an elderly couple at a dating service. The wife is saying to the receptionist: "I'd like to trade him in under the "cash for clunkers" program.
There... we've got it all out of our systems.
Earlier tonight, I heard Elaine remarking about the letters to the editor for a couple of the latest Carroll County Times (Westminster, Maryland). She couldn't believe that the newspaper would print some of these letters. I read the letters and agreed with her. It must have been a slow day for letters.
However, we did think that not everything on the "Opinion" pages was like the letters. So, if you don't mind, I will comment on everything that is printed there, and you can decide if you like any of the material.
For August 4th, 2009:
01. The editor remarked that according to a recent poll, two-thirds of Americans don't know what the three branches of Government are. This is a startling statistic. Don't all American children learn about the three branches in school? New citizens all know that. Most foreigners know that.
I would have thought that only the college kids on the Leno Show didn't know that.
The editor does see a change in the statistic, at least in Carroll County, because of a recent increase in Town Meetings.
02. Some people don't believe that Global Warming is happening, so Tom Harbold, a columnist, asks some excellent penetrating questions about it.
a. Why has the Northwest Passage opened for the first time since the Vikings?
b. Why has the polar ice cap shrunk by 2 million square miles?
c. Why are Alpine nations having to spread reflective sheeting on their ski slopes to limit snow melt.
d. Why have glaciers in Glacier National Park dropped from 150 in 1850 to 26 now?
Something seems to be happening, guys.
03. A letter writer is mad that President Obama apologized for some dumb things the U.S. has done in the past. He accuses the President of bringing Socialism to the U.S. (It sounds to me as though he has no idea even what Socialism is.) He hopes that the President is voted out of office. (Wouldn't it be better to hope that the President succeeds in office? Why all this negativity? I'm sure it is not a racial thing.. at least I hope not.)
04. A letter writer is mad because the President was never a governor or an executive.. and never served in the House of Representatives or served in the military. (Perhaps the writer should read his history about other Presidents.) However, he does say that we should all pray for the President. I'm not sure, but I think he also doesn't like homosexuals.. but he has read something called the "Gay Manifesto".. I've never heard of it. Sounds like a phony document.
05. Another letter writer feels that America, like Nineveh, has severely violated God's law. Abortion, sexual immorality, same-sex marriage, sinful behavior being taught in school, violence in the streets... all of these things would normally cause God to destroy us.. but maybe, if we play our cards right, we will be redeemed by faith.
For August 5th, 2009:
01. Tom Zirpoli, columnist, feels that Americans should be watching the upcoming Afghan election because the outcome will have a significant impact on American foreign policy in the region. This is a well thought-out piece of analysis in my opinion. (The last election had a turnout similar to that of the U. S.; however, U.S. voters did not have to worry about bombs along the way to the polls like the Afghan people did. Think about that!)
02. The editor of the paper wrote that "Cash for Clunkers" money should be increased, and lambasts the Republicans who are fighting it. He takes a great chance of subscription cancelations in this Republican County. We'll see.
03. A letter writer laments the fact that Insurance Companies are using scare tactics to fight against Health Care Reform. He makes the main good points: "We are the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't have universal health care," and "there are...47 million Americans who have no insurance at all because they can't afford it."
04. Another letter writer was grossed out by the anti-abortion protesters who were showing giant colored posters of aborted fetuses on the sides of Route 27. She did not feel good that her child had seen the pictures.
05. There was agreat cartoon of an elderly couple at a dating service. The wife is saying to the receptionist: "I'd like to trade him in under the "cash for clunkers" program.
There... we've got it all out of our systems.
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