1922

Articles from 1922

The Klan in New York City (Literary Digest, 1922)

The Klan has set New York by the ears; Mayor Hylan has ordered the police to investigate the activities of an accredited representative of the Invisible Empire, and, save in one instance reported in the press, the order has been denounced in Protestant, Catholic and Jewish circles alike…Exciting much comment was the accusation that Calvary Baptist Church, the largest of its denomination in New York, was a hotbed of Klan propaganda; but the charge was vigorously denied in a statement signed by leading members and by Dr. John Roach Straton, Pastor…

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The Town Cars of 1922 (Harper’s Bazaar, 1922)

This is a quick read from a 1920s HARPER’S BAZAAR comparing the European and American limousines (a.k.a., ‘coupe, town car, cabriolet’); these were the luxurious looking vehicles that we’ve all seen in pictures from that period in which the chauffeur was expected to perform his duties without the benefit of a roof over his head. The uncredited journalist talks about where cars such as these are likely to be found, their interiors, tufted seating upholstery, basket weaving applications, leather casings and more.

Click here to read about the first car radios.

Click here to read a magazine profile of W.W. I fighter ace Captain Eddy Rickenbacker.

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Chemical War (The North American Review, 1922)

The article attached concerns the past and future of chemical warfare (at least as this was understood in 1922) and was written by Captain J.M. Scammell, Brit who wrote a good deal on the matter throughout much of the Twenties and Thirties. Like so many other articles we find from the immediate post-war period, Captain Scammell argued that chemical warfare can be one of the most humane options available to a general:

The really significant figures are those showing that while gas caused 27.3 percent of all casualties, of these only 1.87 percent died! That is less than one-twelfth the percentage that died from the effects of other wounds. Gas, moreover, does not mutilate or disfigure…

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German Schools and the Teaching of the War (Literary Digest, 1922)

It was discovered in 1922 that when the German school system made mention of the recently ended war (if they addressed the topic at all), the subject was often white-washed or inaccurately characterized. When approached by a foreign reporter concerning the matter, teachers claimed that new books were too expensive and that the prevailing political forces could never agree on an accurate history of the war:

When do you think you will be able to begin studying the history of the war in your schools? I asked.

Not until this generation dies…

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Clemenceau (Literary Digest, 1922)

Georges Clemenceau (1841 – 1929) served as one of France’s wartime Premieres (1917-1920). The following is an excerpt from his letter to the American people imploring them to share in his outrage concerning Germany’s open defiance to the Versailles Treaty. Clemenceau would die seven years later, fully convinced that another devastating war with Germany was just around the corner.

Click here to read more articles about the German violations of the Versailles Treaty.

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Bertrand Russell on American Intervention (Literary Digest, 1922)

The British philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872 – 1970; Nobel Prize for Literature, 1950) used to get mighty hot under the collar when the topic of American society came up and this column is just one example. During his 1922 American speaking tour Russell rambled-on about how prone Americans were to confuse the truth with commercial messages; believing that altruism was seldom a motivating factor behind a single American undertaking. He will have none of the thinking that America’s main concern for jumping into the meat grinder of 1914-1918 was entirely inspired by wounded France and poor little Belgium but was rather an exercise in American self-interest.


Read the thoughts of one W.W. I veteran who regrets having gone to war…

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The Battle of Kenesaw and the Goodness of Colonel Martin (Confederate Veteran, 1922)

Here is a segment from a longer article found on this site that recalled the history of boys who had enlisted in the Confederate cause – this short paragraph tells the story of a Rebel colonel, W.H. Martin of the 1st Arkansas Regiment, who called out to his opposite number in the Federal ranks during a lull in the fighting for Kenesaw Mountain and allowed for a truce so that the immobilized wounded of the Northern infantry would be rescued from a fire that was spreading in no-mans-land.

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