November 28: ON THIS DAY in 1950, 200,000 Chinese soldiers invade North Korea

November 28, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Tokyo, Nov. 28 (UP) — A horde of 200,000 Chinese Communists swarmed over North Korea today, threatening to trap desperately fighting Allies in an offensive which Gen. Douglas MacArthur said marked the start of ‘an entirely new war.’ The Chinese, pouring like locusts over the countryside as far as the human eye could see, ripped through a widening hole torn in the right flank of the U.N. line. They could be seen along ‘every road, every gully and every ridgeline,’ a 1st Corps spokesman said. As the Chinese seized the offensive and rocked the Allies back on the defensive, MacArthur issued a bristling statement accusing the Chinese of hurling the major part of their fighting force against the U.N. MacArthur said China’s full-scale intervention in the Korean war posed issues beyond his authority and asked the U.N. what they wanted to do about it. In a special signed communique, he said Red China had shattered his ‘high hopes’ of an early end to the Korean war that could get American troops ‘home by Christmas.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1845, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The Washington Monument. — A beautiful design for this national structure has been prepared by Mr. Robert Mills, architect, and will be immediately lithographed and sold in aid of the Society’s funds. The cost will be about $200,000, of which some $50,000 is already in hand. The work will be commenced as soon as a proper site has been obtained for the purpose.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1864, the Eagle reported, “It is now conceded on all hands that the plot to burn New York City was concocted by refugees from the South. This much is taken for granted by the New York News, a journal which certainly cannot be charged with enmity towards that section. It is claimed, however, that the rebel authorities gave no countenance to this terrible project. In all probability, this is so. Whatever may be said against Jeff Davis and his associates, they are wise enough to understand their own interest, and this could not have been subserved by the success of the terrible plot, which failed almost by accident. Still, it is doubtful if the attempted crime will be looked upon with the same feeling by any class in the South with which we regard it. We assume that the rebel authorities will say that we of the North have provoked this method of retaliation, and that the conduct of our military authorities have justified it.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1926, the Eagle reported, “Philadelphia, Nov. 27 (AP) — Revision of the alphabet would save the nation $1,000,000,000 a year, Dr. Godfrey Dewey, Harvard University professor, told delegates today at the English Language Congress. Dr. Dewey followed his announcement of the saving to be effected by a new system of letters with a concrete scheme for putting it into effect. The new system, considerably in excess of 26 letters, would include 24 consonants, 13 vowels, four diphthongs and a sign for the word ‘the,’ which in itself takes up 7 percent of all the words in ‘the printed page,’ he said.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Eagle reported, “Tokyo, Nov. 28 (UP) — Informed sources suggested today that Japan and the U.S. might issue a joint or parallel statement declaring their intention to solve Pacific problems without war and call a tacit ‘cooling off’ period as a preliminary to attempted general settlement of the crisis. The suggestion was made as the Japanese Cabinet, with high military, naval and Foreign Office advisers, studied Secretary of State [Cordell] Hull’s memorandum in preparation for sending instructions to Japanese negotiators at Washington. A Swiss radio broadcast relayed to London said Premier [Hideki] Tojo conferred with the chiefs of the Japanese Army, Navy and Far Eastern departments after the Cabinet session, the International News Service reported. The press took the line that the Washington negotiations are nearing rupture.”