November 13: ON THIS DAY in 1918, Wilson pledges food to Germany

November 13, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1860, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The question of the abstract right of secession is one which has never been thoroughly discussed. The framers of the Constitution made no provision for it and no provision against it. As the Grecian legislators refused to attach penalties to certain crimes, or even mention them in their statutes, because they were deemed such as human nature in its normal condition would never perpetrate, and their mention might suggest them to the morally depraved, so the founders of the Republic thought it unnecessary to stipulate pro or con with reference to a contingency which they could hardly contemplate as even among the remote possibilities of the far-distant future. Scarcely has a generation passed away, when the question comes up for practical solution, certain States claiming the right to withdraw, and threatening to put it into execution. Putting aside the abstract right of secession, the present aspect of the South demands attention, as it is fraught with immediate and important consequences to the country at large.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1918, the Eagle’s Washington bureau reported, “Representative Frederick C. Hicks of Long Island has introduced a bill to make November 11 a national holiday, to be known as Victory Day. Up to the present time Congress has never created a national holiday by legislation. It is Mr. Hicks’ idea that November 11, which marks the surrender of Germany, should always be celebrated in commemoration of the achievements of the American Army. His bill is as follows: ‘That in recognition of the glorious victory won for human liberty by the American forces in the conflict against Germany and her Allies and to perpetuate for all time the bravery, courage and valor of those forces, by which a complete and absolute victory was obtained, November 11 is hereby declared to be in each succeeding year a national holiday throughout the United States, its possessions and the territories thereof. That this national holiday shall be designated Victory Day.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1938, the Eagle reported, “Berlin (AP) — Nazi Germany today practically wiped out Jewish business, barred the nation’s 500,000 Jews from public entertainments and fined them $400,000,000 for the slaying of a German diplomat by a young Polish-German Jew in Paris. In addition, the government required that Jews whose 1,000 Berlin shops were wrecked or looted Thursday in mass demonstrations must pay for the damage themselves. Insurance claims by Jews for demolition of their properties must be paid to the state. Officials promised ‘further decisive measures’ and Jews feared that the Ghetto, unemployment or concentration camps were in store for them as the result of the most violent government and private anti-Semitic actions Nazi Germany yet has seen.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “Walt Whitman’s own copy of the first edition of ‘Leaves of Grass’ in its original paper covers – believed to be one of three extant — is the ‘star’ in the New York Public Library’s Walt Whitman exhibition opening today in Manhattan. The exhibition totals over 500 items, many of which are of great rarity, some of which are unique. Among them are books, manuscripts, letters, memoranda and notebooks relating to Whitman’s writings, his early newspaper work in Brooklyn (he was once editor of the Brooklyn Eagle) and New York, his experiences as a volunteer Civil War ‘nurse,’ his jobs in Washington, D.C., his recollections of his early life and wanderings.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1962, the Eagle reported, “The American Broadcasting Company said that Richard M. Nixon may have equal time, if he requests it, to reply to a network show on his career that caused an uproar because Alger Hiss was one of the participants. The nationwide telecast, entitled, ‘The Political Obituary of Richard Nixon,’ was carried Sunday night. It was in the form of filmed interviews by moderator Howard K. Smith. ABC received more than 1,000 calls and telegrams protesting the show. Other messages congratulated the network.”