September 17: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
ON THIS DAY IN 1916, Brooklyn Daily Eagle columnist Frederick Boyd Stevenson wrote, “The street railway strike in New York City, following the threatened general railroad strike in the United States, has forcefully brought out of the labor problem which, in the minds of many students of economics, promises to be the greatest problem in America. A universal clash between capital and labor has been long predicted. Recent events have given cause for the belief that another step has been taken along this path of danger. In the present instance the union insists that the very life of the union itself is at stake. On the other hand, the street railway companies insist upon the legality of individual contracts and the right to handle their own affairs in their own way without interference from outsiders. The men of the street railway companies have organized a union of their own known as the Brotherhood and with the representatives of this organization only will the employers treat. The whole situation, say the railway officials, grew out of the attempt of the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees to force the employees of the Rapid Transit Company and the employees of the New York Railways Company to join the union organization. By obtaining the signatures of 9,500 out of the 11,700 of the railway employees to two-year contracts with the company and by the organization of the company’s own union, [railroad executive Theodore] Shonts clearly outwitted the leaders of the Amalgamated Association.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1929, the Eagle reported, “Stocks moved in uncertain fashion today. Rallies and declines followed each other quickly as money rates advanced and news from Washington told of Federal Reserve Board meetings and possibly adverse action. Despite the uncertainty, a good number of stocks reached record high levels. In the rally which followed the posting of 9 percent for call loans in the early afternoon, Foreign Power, American Power, Public Service and other utilities reached new peak prices. Elsewhere various motor, steel, electrical and specialty stocks displayed no little strength and weakness as the market moved up or down. Outside of the money situation of the Reserve Board meetings, most of the news was of a constructive nature and traders were inclined to be optimistic about the future course of prices. Dividend actions were favorable, new mergers were announced or rumored, and tips were quite frequent.”
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.