November 6: ON THIS DAY in 1918, Kaiser sends delegates to sign armistice

November 6, 2020 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1918, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “BERLIN VIA LONDON — An official statement issued here today says: ‘A German delegation to conclude an armistice and take up peace negotiations has left for the Western Front.’” It was also reported, “Amsterdam — General E.G.W. von Gruenell, Germany’s military delegate to The Hague peace conferences; General H.K.A. von Winterfield, former German military attache in Paris; Vice Admiral Muerer and Admiral Paul von Hintze, former Secretary of Foreign Affairs, have been appointed members of a commission to deal with the Allied powers on armistice negotiations.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1921, the Eagle reported, “A proclamation setting aside Nov. 11 next as a legal holiday was issued tonight by President [Warren G.] Harding. It follows in part: ‘Whereas, A joint resolution of Congress, approved Nov. 4, 1921, to declare Nov. 11, 1921, a legal public holiday. Now, therefore, I, Warren G. Harding, President of the United States of America, in pursuance of the said joint resolution of Congress, do hereby declare Nov. 11, 1921, a holiday, as a mark of respect to the memory of those who gave their lives in the late World War, as typified by the unknown and unidentified American soldier who is to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery on that day; and do hereby recommend to the Governors of the several States that proclamation be issued by them calling upon the people of their respective States to pause in their usual pursuits as a mark of respect on this solemn occasion.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1940, the Eagle reported, “Bushwick’s future voters held a practice election yesterday while their parents went to the polls. The result — President [Franklin] Roosevelt 135, Wendell L. Willkie 102. Voting requirements were limited to neighborhood children 5 to 18 years of age. The juvenile voters tossed two repeaters out of the voting line and reported no serious trouble during the balloting, which took place between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. A jerry-built booth consisting of two mahogany doors and a curtain, plus a cardboard receptacle for the ballots, was stationed in front of 233 Weirfield St. The election was the idea of seven-year-old Cynthia Cali, daughter of Dr. Sam Cali, in front of whose home the election was held. The voters were children largely of German, Italian and Irish ancestry.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1943, the Eagle reported, “London — The Nazi-controlled Rome radio said today that unidentified planes dropped four heavy bombs last night on Vatican City, causing ‘considerable damage.’ There was no immediate confirmation of any Allied raid on Rome and sources inclined to the belief that if bombs actually fell on Vatican City they were dropped by German planes in a carefully-laid plot to discredit the United States and Britain in the Catholic countries, particularly Spain, Portugal and Latin America. As if bearing out this theory, the Nazi propaganda broadcast, without specifically mentioning the Allies, said: ‘A thorough and conscientious inquiry will not fail to denounce to the whole world the authors of this criminal attack. It will show in whose interest it was to create consternation in Rome, where life has been normal for several days.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “An election sweep that was expected to make William O’Dwyer of Brooklyn the Mayor-elect of New York City before bedtime tonight was in progress today. The vanguard of 2,000,000 civic-minded voters went to the polls early, taking in stride the city’s first peacetime battle of the ballots since the end of World War II. Ideal weather conditions encouraged a heavy turnout of voters who had taken the trouble to register for the job of selecting the first new municipal administration at City Hall since retiring Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia ousted Tammany in 1933 and was re-elected in 1937 and 1941. Official voting hours designated by law were from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. The heaviest early-hour voting, according to a survey by the Brooklyn Eagle, was in the densely populated Brownsville section, one of the areas where managers of General Sessions Judge Jonah J. Goldstein, Republican, Liberal and Fusion candidate, expected him to make one of his best showings.”