Fraud Reports From Post Office Inspectors
The year saw 1,680 robbed post offices, 2,363 arrests including 417 post office burglars, and 100 postmasters among the detainees. Train robberies rose in the West with nine trains held up since March 1908, leading to nine convictions. The Mabry gang swindle and the gold brick fraud fleeced victims nationwide, millions involved, with international inquiries and trials spanning the United States and Canada.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tutal
Han
Post Office
United States
John C. Mabray
International
Great Britain
England
Canada
Maine Battleship Sunk by Internal Explosion Report
War department officials in Washington cite evidence from officers raising the Maine that the Havana harbor disaster resulted from an internal explosion in a munition storage compartment. Coal and human bones found around the hull support this theory, while earlier reports of shore wires are debunked. The ship lies in 28 fathoms of water with its bow buried in clay and surrounded by 12 to 14 feet of mud.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
United States
Maine
Havana
Cuba
War Department
Washington
Casa Blanca
Pension claims surge for Spanish War widows and Civil War cases
The pension office in Washington handles about sixteen thousand Spanish War pension claims, processed rapidly due to active record systems. Civil War widow claims, especially from colored soldiers, faced scrutiny after suspicious cooperation with a lawyer, leaving only a few dubious cases. Mothers seeking dependents face record challenges, with some remarriages and alleged common law marriages complicating adjudication.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ixteen
Washington
Pension Department
Pension Office
See Little Hope for Low Food Prices
Willet M Hayes acting secretary of agriculture doubts food prices will stay low and cites that only one third of the total population currently produces food. He notes a shift from two thirds producers two generations ago and argues higher living costs affect farmers less.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
IERG
Willet M. Hayes
Genius Bureau
World washing machine is handy and safe for children
A compact electric washing machine, invented by an Obie man, operates by absolute tension with adjustable water pressure. It has no springs or gears, reducing child risk, and features a manually adjustable plunger for manual use. Despite its small size, it is powerful enough to handle both a rub-board dashar and the plunger mechanism.
Trackless trolley begins operation in Laurel Canyon
A trackless trolley line runs from the Los Angeles Pacific railway mouth of Laurel Canyon to Bungalowland near the canyon head, about a mile and a half away. The two-wire system uses two trolleys and allows 11 feet of roadway clearance each side, enabling passing vehicles without disconnecting.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Laurel Canyon
Cal
Los Angeles Pacific Railway
Bungalowland
Harvard Student Proves Bed Can Be Wireless Antenna
Robert A. Morton of Brooklyn a Harvard College senior studying wireless telegraphy uses a common iron bedstead as the aerial for transmitting and receiving wireless messages. The bedstead sits in Morton's bedroom not on a roof and with all openings closed messages travel through the air only by the bedstead, supporting his claim that a roof aerial is unnecessary and that wireless signals can pass through materials other than steel.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Robert A. Morton
Brooklyn
Harvard College
Morton
Sound-Proofing Booths with Tin Lining Advised
A German inventor lines telephone booths with tin to achieve sound proofing. Publications now urge architects to use tin or aluminum in walls to deaden sound.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Germany
Architages
Deadun
New K-Blow Transformer Aims to Power Doorbells
The Popular Electricity notes a shift from battery powered doorbells to small transformers that drop 110 volt AC to a few volts. Demand grows as manufacturers flood the market, leaving room for the K-Blow voltage transformer. It threads into circuits to run doorbells, fan motors, toy motors, low voltage lamps, and Christmas tree lights.
Electric speed cinema captures ultra rapid insect flight
The Marey Institute of Paris builds an electric cinematograph that records at 2000 exposures per second with film moving at 130 feet per second. A spark 1.4 millionth of a second long yields sharp images on fast moving film, while a complex reel and copper interrupters drive the system. The setup uses quartz lenses and a light gate to frame insects as they move toward a window, producing visible motion when shown at standard cinema rates.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
M. Bull
Marey Institute of
Paris
Electric Power and Telegraph Advances Featured in Report
The report notes diverse progress in electric power use from peat fueled stations in Germany to irrigation and hydroelectric plans on the River Jordan. It cites Chile telegraph lines, Syria’s telephony expansion, an undersea Sweden Denmark electric rail tunnel proposal, and a push for electric meters to track telephone use.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jordan
Chile
Syria
Sen
Lebanon
Sweden
Denmark
Canal Zone
Europe
Monte Rosa
Ohio Seeks Funds to Host Olympian Games in Cleveland
Ohio congressman Paul Howland has introduced a bill for a federal appropriation of 220000 to back the Olympian games in the United States. Cleveland, Howland’s home, would add another 250000, hoping to hold the event within its borders. The plan faces uncertain odds as Congress weighs broader tariff questions and fiscal priorities. President Taft plans a spring and summer tour schedule, including Springfield Illinois for Lincoln memorial events, Columbus Ohio, Atlanta Georgia, Nashville and Cincinnati, with stops en route to Cleveland before returning to Washington.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ohio
Cleveland
Taft
Ilinois
George Clinton
Washington
Congress
Senate
House
Paul Howland
Springfield
Illinois
Columbus
White House
Atlanta
Southern Commercial Congress
Georgia
Tennessee
Cincinnati
Nashville
Chattanooga
New York City
New England
Beverly
Mass
Middle West
Kensay State Fair
Hutchinson
Six Gore Skirt Pattern and Light Keeper Duck Dinner
Pattern 5315 offers a six gore skirt for suit or separate wear with flat front and back panels and a flounced side. Materials include serge vicuna velveteen and tailored options. Pattern size 23 to 82 inches waist. medium uses 854 yards of 44 inch fabric. send 30 cents with name and address to Pattern Department. Keeper William C Williams at Hoon Island lighthouse reported four black ducks killed by light glare. no shooting or trapping involved.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Vicuna
William C. Williams
Hoon Island
Ower
Kennebec Journal
Practical Fashions S348 Mere frock for little girls
Dressy style pattern 5318 for ages 6 to 12 years features a yoke standing collar and shaped reyers trim. Side bodice opening to center with gathered front and long tabbed skirt. Skirt shows a reversed box pleat center front. Materials include cashmere camel’s hair and cheviot. Pattern 5318. requires 314 yards of 36 inch fabric and 1/2 yard 18 inch tucking. Send 10 cents to Pattern Department with size and pattern number.
The Best Willis Best Moment of Married Life
A quip from Puck notes the happiest moment of married life as when a man replaces his wife’s relatives in the family album with photographs of their baby, illustrating domestic bliss.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Willis
Gillis
Puck
Making Up the Difference. Tanke and Sallers exchange remarks
In a light exchange, Tanke wonders why Tobeley smokes so many cigars nightly. Sallers replies it stems from his doctor warning against smoking more than one cigar a day.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tanke
Tobeley
Sallers
Also Mentioned on This Page
Uncle Sam
California
Bell
Om BioWest A.C. Orcutt
Marey Institute of Paris
Pattern Department
Elvn
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!