October 3: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

October 3, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1915, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Try to grasp the meaning of these facts, and bear in mind that they are understatements rather than exaggerations: Since March nearly 500,000 Armenians have been massacred by the Turks, and several hundred thousand more have been driven from their homes into the desert. Armenians in all parts of Turkey, including Constantinople itself, have had their goods and property confiscated, so that former wealthy people are now begging for their bread. Thousands of Armenians have been tortured into disclosing the hiding places of their arms, and have then been butchered although they had previously been promised immunity. No discrimination is made because of age or sex, except that the young girls are often seized by their Turkish persecutors and apportioned among them. The Armenians have only in rare cases been able to offer any resistance, and then with slight success. The present massacres far surpass the infamous massacres of 1895, both in extent and ferocity. German officers and officials in Turkey have paid no attention to the atrocities in Armenia, permitting them to go on unchecked. There is only one man in the world who can say the word that would save the remnant of the Armenian people from destruction, and that man is the German Emperor. There is only one nation in the world whose wish to end the massacre might influence the Kaiser, and that is the United States. If the Armenians are to be saved from total destruction, it will be through the agency of the United States, but we must act quickly or we will be too late.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1922, the Eagle reported, “ATLANTA, GA. (AP) — Mrs. W.H. Felton of Cartersville, Ga., was appointed by Gov. Thomas W. Hardwick today to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator Thomas E. Watson until the people elect a successor in November. Mrs. Felton will be the first woman to become a Senator. Mrs. Felton announced she would accept the appointment, which previously had been declined by Mrs. Watson, widow of the late Senator, because of ill health and an aversion to public life. ‘The lady I have selected for the appointment,’ said a statement by the Governor announcing Mrs. Felton’s selection, ‘is now and has been for many years the warm and loyal friend of the distinguished Georgian whom she temporarily succeeds in this high office. She is my own loyal, devoted and dearly loved friend. She is splendidly fitted to adorn the highest public station in the land for she wields the gifted pen of a cogent and forceful writer and has all the qualities of heart and head that equip one for broad and constructive statesmanship. She is wise, even beyond her years, and is glorious in the sunset of a splendid and useful life. She is known and loved throughout Georgia, the South and the country as Georgia’s foremost woman citizen.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1923, the Eagle reported, “To arouse the voters of New York State to the necessity for voting for the constitutional amendment providing for a $50,000,000 bond issue to add to State facilities for the care of the insane, the Citizens Committee in Protection of the State’s Unfortunates has compiled a table showing the overcrowding of institutions caring for these wards. In Brooklyn the capacity is 1,042, with actual patients numbering 1,441, an overcrowding of 398, or 38.2 percent. At Central Islip the capacity is 4,300, with 5,557 patients, an overcrowding of 1,257, or 29.2 percent. In Kings Park, with a capacity of 3,600, there are 4,680 patients, an overcrowding of 1,080, or 30 percent. Upstate hospitals show similar overcrowding ranging from 12 percent at Binghamton to 28.7 percent in Rochester, due largely to transfers of patients from New York and vicinity. The only hospitals showing patients less than the full capacity are in the Creedmoor Division, where there are only 133 patients in a building equipped for 150, and in the Marcy Division, where 241 patients are cared for, though there is a capacity for 260.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “Picket lines were expected to be withdrawn today from 18 taxicab company garages — eight of them in Brooklyn — following a surprise 24-hour strike called as a test of union strength in the midst of yesterday’s storm. About 1,000 cabs, roughly a tenth of the city total, were turned in so drivers could attend a union meeting in Manhattan. The walkout was based on demands of drivers for a larger percentage of fares collected. John Dioguardi, organizer for Local 102, United Auto Workers, A.F.L., said a meeting of the organizing committee would be held this afternoon to plan future action on behalf of the cabbies, who seek a 5 percent raise. Meanwhile, the companies had obtained a writ from Supreme Court Justice Samuel DiFalco ordering the union to show cause Monday why they should be enjoined from picketing.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1958, the Bay Ridge Home Reporter said, “The fate of the Seventh Ave. approach to the proposed Narrows Bridge was still up in the air this week after a stormy 15-hour hearing before the Board of Estimate last Friday. Some 500 persons were on hand at the opening of the hearing at 10:30 a.m., and at 2:15 the following morning sixty persons remained to hear Mayor Robert F. Wagner end the hearing with the announcement that the board considered the issue of such importance that further study was necessary. Most of the 61 speakers heard during the day were opposed to the bridge and asked that the city make an independent study of the substitute Liberty Bridge, first suggested by New Jersey industrialist Henry Such Smith. Mayor Wagner concluded that the city had never studied an alternate proposal, but did not commit himself to initiating such a study at the present time. Borough President John Cashmore, who announced that he would vote against the bridge, said after the meeting that he believed the board was deeply impressed by the arguments against the bridge, particularly by that of Mr. Smith, who spoke for an hour, backed by a stack of documents.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Apollo 16 lunar module pilot Charles Duke, who was born in 1935; Hockey Hall of Famer and N.Y. Rangers legend Jean Ratelle, who was born in 1940; “The Twist” singer Chubby Checker, who was born in 1941; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac), who was born in 1949; Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, who was born in 1951; Baseball Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, who was born in 1954; World Golf Hall of Famer Fred Couples, who was born in 1959; “General Hospital” star Jack Wagner, who was born in 1959; No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani, who was born in 1969; “Scream” star Neve Campbell, who was born in 1973; “Game of Thrones” star Lena Headey, who was born in 1973; singer-songwriter India Arie, who was born in 1975; “Creed” star Tessa Thompson, who was born in 1983; former N.Y. Knicks guard Courtney Lee, who was born in 1985; and “Stranger Things” star Noah Schnapp, who was born in 2004.