First Post Up on the new Blog!

Dear Readers,

This will be my last post on blogger. I've got the first post up on my own domain this morning.....it's on the USS Ranger. Great pictures and some good links.

Here's the URL: http://history.writingwithtony.com

Here's the URL for feedburner if you want to subscribe via email:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/AdventuresInHistory


I've still got to tweak the site, but some new stuff I'm thinking about includes a possible newsletter if anyone is interested.

Thanks for staying with me during the move!

See you over at the other place!

Have a great weekend!

New Blog Up, will try to post up at least by Monday<-Please Read

Dear Readers and Subscribers,

As outlined in my previous posts, I have moved the blog to my own domain. The new address for the blog is:

http://history.writingwithtony.com/


It's newly born, so it may take some time for the DNS to note the site. I should have some posts up sometime this weekend.

Please stay with me as I try to make this a better place to visit!

Thanks!

Tony

Dear Readers, please read........I'm moving!

To all my subscribers and daily visitors and readers!


At this point, I will be moving the blog over to my own domain within the next week. After the move, I will post out here with the updated web address.

Thank-you for your patience as I try to make a better blog.

Please email me if you have any questions.


Thanks for your support!



Tony

Al Capone, Taxes, and the Lost Marshal

Much has been written about Alphonse "Al" Capone, the massive underworld and Mafia figure from the 1920's and 1930's.

(1)

Finally arrested in 1931, the Internal Revenue Service pegged him on tax charges, not for his other generally recognized criminal activities.

(2)

However, have you heard of his older brother?

James "Two-Gun" Capone or also known as "Richard Hart"

Evidently departing the family in the early part of the 1900's, James adventured around the world in circuses, Europe, and Central America. He finally settled down in a little town in Nebraska called Homer and immediately began acquiring his reputation, not mentioning to the other people in town his storied family history back east.

He tried a variety of jobs and occupations, including Indian agent as well as a Prohibition agent and evidently was very successful.

Called "Two-Gun" in the October 1, 1951 issue of Newsweek, James Capone, aka: Richard Hart, was also described as "....a tough officer who would not take a bribe...." (3)

(4)

However, it seems in the later part of the 1930's, life turned for James and he appealed to his family back east for financial assistance. Ralph "Bottles" Capone transferred one of his properties over to him, providing income. As a result of this, the 1951 investigation of Ralph also brought to light James and his past.

Now, here is where history departs, and I leave it for you to decide what is the truth and what isn't. In the articles and magazines I have seen, James (Richard) is described as an upstanding, very effective lawman. However, other sources tell a different tale:

"Some of it was true...including fantasy service in World War I..." (5)

In any event, no matter what the outcome, it's a great story! I've provided some links and some interesting reading below that will help inform and perhaps entertain. I hope you enjoy it!

Have a great day, see you tomorrow!

Links:

Capone Brothers-Encyclopedia of Crime
Homer, Nebraska entry for James Capone
Mr. Capone
Wikipedia-James Capone
Wikipedia-Ralph Capone

Sources:
(1)DN-0081114, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society. (LOC)
(1)
(2)NARA-Search for Capone
(3)Newsweek, October 1, 1051, pg. 23
(4)LOC-Prints & Photographs Reading Room
(5)Google Book Search, Title: Mr. Capone, by Robert Schoenberg, pg. 350.

Popcorn? Check....Drink? Check.....Let's watch some movies!

Who doesn't like a movie?

Who doesn't like old movies?

Well, if you DO like old movies, then today I have a great link for you to check out! It includes shows like this:

Who needs CSI when you have Sgt. Friday?

Can't forget the cartoon short! Superman anyone????

Now for the main feature:

Want to watch movies like these for free? Forget iTunes for now. Just click over to the Internet Archive and explore for a while. With newsreels, cartoons, full-length movies and more, you can have a DIY movie night with your friends for no cost!

On a serious note, however, for historians and researchers, this site is invaluable for the documentation that it does hold. Trends, fads, costume, culture, these can all be viewed and incorporated into your research.

Plus, you'll have some fun as well.

Have a great day, see you tomorrow!


Links:

Internet Archive
Wikipedia entry-Internet Archive

Sources:

All pictures today courtesy the Internet Archive!

Lucky Lindy, The Kidnapping and The Secret Spy Mission!

Known primarily for his flying hero status in the 1920's and 1930's, Charles Lindbergh was an A-list celebrity of the times. While most people today remember his exploits with the Spirit of St. Louis, many do not know of the kidnapping of his child or his coup of intelligence information that he picked up on his whirlwind tours of the German aircraft industry in the pre-World War II years.

The Hero!

(1)

More than anything else, the Spirit of St. Louis has come to symbolize the roaring of the American nation on the world stage of the 1920's. The first to fly non-stop from New York to Paris, Lindberg sealed his destiny in aviation forever as well as winning $25,000! Coming from this flight were major advances in aeronautics, including:

"...Lindbergh is recognized in aviation for demonstrating and charting polar air-routes, high altitude flying techniques, and increasing aircraft flying range by decreasing fuel consumption. These innovations are the basis of modern intercontinental air travel...." (2)


Disaster Strikes!

(3)

After his famous flight, Lindbergh married and had children, still continuing his flying career. However, in 1932 disaster struck, as one of his children, Charles Augustus Lindbergh was kidnapped. The nation was stunned with the event soon turning into a media circus with theories, supposed details and shady characters. As an interesting note, one of the principles in the story was none other than Wild Bill Donovan, future head of the OSS in World War II. Al Capone offered help as well. In the end, results were futile as the body of his son was found and indentified, however, the criminal, Bruno Hauptmann was convicted of the crime.

Lucky Lindy, Secret Agent?

(4)

(5)

While it was a known fact that Germany was building up the armed forces in the 1930's, the extent to which that was happening was not concrete. American officials as well as the British, however, scored a coup when Lindbergh was invited to Germany by top Nazi officials, including Goering. While there, he learned much about the top line aircraft in the German inventory, with the information soon flowing back to the appropriate intelligence services. . In the pages above, located in NARA, we see Truman Smith's information on the tours taken by Lindbergh.


I've only just described the tip of the iceberg with the data and images available for these topics. Take a few minutes and hit the links below for more in depth information.

Have a great day, see you tomorrow!



Links:

FBI Files-Lindbergh Kidnapping Case
FBI Files II-Lindbergh Kidnapping Case
Wikipedia-Lindbergh Kidnapping
CIA-Information on Military Attaches-Truman Smith
Wikipedia: Main entry for Lindbergh
LOC-Search for Lindbergh

Sources:
(1)LOC-Prints & Photographs Online Catalog
(2)Wikipedia-TransAtlantic Flight
(3)FBI-Ransom Note
(4)NARA
(5)NARA

The Jungle, "Packingtown" and the great TR!

With all the uproar about product safety these days, it's interesting to note that in the early part of the 1900's, similar conditions existed here in the United States. In his book, The Jungle, Upton Sinclair was a primary force in pointing this out and arguing for changes in the industry--helping to spawn many of the food safety programs now used today. The National Archives, in their section, America's Historical Documents, posted out a copy of the letter from Sinclair to the then President, Theodore Roosevelt. Here's the letter outlining some of the conditions:

(1)

and

(2)

While it's important to know that The Jungle is a work of fiction, Upton Sinclair did quite a bit of research for the book. Here's a quote from the novel that caused quite an uproar:

"...For they had set him to cleaning out the traps; and the family

sat round and listened in wonder while he told them what that meant. It
seemed that he was working in the room where the men prepared the beef for canning, and the beef had lain in vats full of chemicals, and men with great forks speared it out and dumped it into trucks, to be taken
to the cooking room. When they had speared out all they could reach, they emptied the vat on the floor, and then with shovels scraped up the balance and dumped it into the truck. This floor was filthy, yet
they set Antanas with his mop slopping the "pickle" into a hole that connected with a sink, where it was caught and used over again forever; and if that were not enough, there was a trap in the pipe, where all the
scraps of meat and odds and ends of refuse were caught, and every few days it was the old man's task to clean these out, and shovel their contents into one of the trucks with the rest of the meat!..." (3)

(4)

The public was outraged! There were massive calls for changes in the industry. Says Wikipedia:

"..The morbidity of the working conditions as well as the exploitation of children and women alike that Sinclair exposed, showed the corruption taking place inside the meat packing factories. Foreign sales of American meat fell by one-half. In order to calm public outrage and demonstrate the cleanliness of their meat, the major meat packers lobbied the Federal government to pass legislation paying for additional inspection and certification of meat packaged in the United States. [2] Their efforts, coupled with the public outcry, led to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, which established the Food and Drug Administration...."

(5)

Check the links below for more details and images. Just make sure you are not getting ready to eat lunch!


Have a great day, see you tomorrow!!!

Links:

The Jungle (Wikipedia)
The Jungle (Project Gutenberg-whole book)
America's Historical Documents
Library of Congress (keyword search will get the most results)


Sources:

(1)NARA
(2)NARA
(3)The Jungle-Project Gutenberg
(4)Prints & Photographs Online Catalog

(5)Wikipedia-The Jungle