April 17: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
ON THIS DAY IN 1865, a Brooklyn Daily Eagle editorial said, “Underlying the universal sorrow for the death of President Lincoln, and inspiring the grief which is today everywhere manifested, there is this feeling: the death of Mr. Lincoln renders the pacification of our country more difficult, and more remote than it would otherwise have been. Let our present rulers take this lesson to heart: the dead President is mourned as no other man perhaps ever was by his countrymen, because of the belief which is everywhere felt that in his last days Mr. Lincoln’s thoughts turned to conciliation and peace. We are satisfied that in no way can respect for Mr. Lincoln’s memory be shown more sincerely than by faithfully executing the policy upon which he had determined at the time of his decease. We are certain that the comments upon the recent calamity indulged in by those who assumed that Mr. Lincoln had rounded off and completed his life in the overthrow of the rebellion jar harshly at this time on the public ear. To human eyes it would seem that the period of the President’s usefulness was only beginning. To have controlled the administration which brought the country through a gigantic war was an honor, but it would have been something more to have been at the head of an administration that restored the protection of the government to all our people — united and at peace.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1912, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON — A resolution will be introduced in the Senate, probably today, to direct the Commerce Committee or a sub-committee to make a thorough probe of the Titanic tragedy, and to empower the committee to summon witnesses and take any necessary steps. As a complement to the Congressional investigation, the scope of which has not yet been fully determined, Secretary Nagel of the Department of Commerce and Labor will take up at once with President Taft the entire subject of safeguarding ocean travel by more stringent American shipping regulations. The Titanic disaster has aroused Congress, President Taft and the Cabinet to the urgent need for immediate measures of safety for ocean travel. It is believed that laws will be prepared at once in Congress, based on the advice of officials of the Department of Commerce and Labor and American shipping experts, that will insure safety of passengers and crew in cases like the Titanic, where ample time existed for their removal in lifeboats.”
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’.