1920 News and Interesting Tidbits



New Airmail Postal Service
The airmail service continues to grow with a new service from Chicago to Omaha carrying 500 lbs of mail daily except Sundays and Holidays , the service will take about 5 1/2 hrs. 1920






Child labor laws of Georgia
Child labor laws of Georgia were highly debated. It was proposed by one state representative that forbade children less than twelve years of age to work. Similarly, it was proposed that children under fourteen should not be able to work without parent or guardian’s signed permission.






Start of Famine In Russia
Famine was just starting in Russia due a food shortage, it became much worse in 1921. No wheat flour was available caused by disturbances in agriculture during the World War I and the Russian Revolution and civil war that followed.







Women’s Suffrage Movement
Delaware was the last of 36 states that needed to make a decision regarding Women’s suffrage. When this state voted “yes” to the 18th Amendment, allowing women to be able to vote in the upcoming November presidential election.







Treaty of Versailles
The senate voted to refused to ratify the treaty of Versailles that would end the nations war status .








Spanish Immigrants All Time High
The number of Spanish immigrants was expected to be at an all-time high. During this time in history, they have been coming to America at record rates. Statistics regarding this were taken from local immigration application records in various Spanish cities.







University of Wisconsin at Madison
The number of students at the University of Wisconsin at Madison far exceeds the number originally budgeted for which was only for 5,000 so the current number of 7,000 are stretching both the buildings and staff available ( in 2007 there are 41,466 enrolled . This just gives an idea for one University but most have seen similar changes in numbers of students over the last 80 years )







USDA Beef Improvements
Improvements in the type and quality of beef were proposed by the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture). USDA tips given to farmers included the following: providing enough feed and pasture, proper breeding procedures, correct fattening techniques, and adequate shelter. Farmers were also advised as how to decide whether cattle would produce suitable beef. For instance, the U.S. Department of Agriculture urged farmers to use pure bread registered bull in order for choice calves to be born consistently. Replacing old cows with heifer calves was also sometimes necessary for breeding in order to ensure quality meat production. Work also needed to be done in order to prevent disease to the flock of cattle as well.







Pancho Villa
The rebels in Mexico led by Pancho Villa are to launch a major drive against federal forces and are continuing to gain ground







Summer Olympic Games of the VII Olympiad
The Summer Olympic Games of the VII Olympiad are held in Antwerp, Belgium

This is the first time the Olympic flag with the five rings representing the five major regions of the world is raised ( Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia )






First Play By Play Broadcast Of Football Game
WTAW of College Station, Texas, broadcast the first play-by-play description of a football game, between the University of Texas and Texas A&M







1920 Airplane Race Across The Atlantic
It was announced on this day that fliers from 18 different nations are planning to participate in an Atlantic Flight race. The first place winner of this race was to receive $100,000. The plan was to start the fliers off from either New York or Atlantic City. From one of these points, the fliers would head south towards Cuba Haiti, Puerto Rico, and the across the Caribbean Sea to Caracas, and then to Permambuco. After that, they would then fly across the Atlantic to Dakar, then along the western coast of Africa. After that they would head northward and will pass Magador and Casa Blanca. From there, the flight will head across either Spain or Portugal to Biarritz, and then to the French Coast and the London Channel. The return trip planned would be straight across the Atlantic Ocean.







France To Hand Over Colonies For War Debts
On this day, a proposal was made by France to hand over colonies to the U.S. They were in the process of considering this because they needed to pay off some war debts. A map was printed in a local Oklahoma newspaper, indicating which territories the U.S. may acquire. If the French were to follow through with their offer to the U.S. at this time, the United States would own the following: The Miquelon Islands (on Newfoundland coast), West Indian Islands (Guadeloupe and Martinique), and French Guiana. Great Britain was also to receive some land for similar reasons. They would for sure receive French Somaliland (at the entrance of Red Sea) and possibly Madagascar. It was undecided which country would receive French Indo-China.







China Severe Earthquake
An earthquake measuring 8.5 magnitude on the Richter scale hits the heavily populated of Gansu province of midwestern China, causing the deaths of an estimated 200,000 people.






Soviet Union Legalises Abortion
The Soviet Union becomes the first country in the world to legalize abortion when Lenin legalized all abortions in the Soviet Union.







8 Members of The Chicago White Sox Banned For Life
Following the 1919 World Series which was fixed two members of the Chicago White Sox admit their involvement and taking bribes to fix the Game. Following lengthy investigations 8 members of the team are banned banned from Major League Baseball for life.







Foreign Aliens Suspected as Radical Leftists Deported
The Palmer Raids ( named for Alexander Mitchell Palmer, United States Attorney General ) were a series of controversial raids by the U.S. Justice and Immigration Departments from 1919 to 1921 on suspected radical leftists in the United States . These arrests were made under the provisions of the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918. In 1920 6,000 are arrested, mostly members of the Industrial Workers of the World union and deported without trial or proof.
The raids followed a series of bombings including the the Wall Street bombing in 1920 that killed 38 people.






Switzerland Neutrality
Switzerland had asked for international confirmation of it's neutrality in 1920 before becoming a member of the League of Nations. The countries belonging to the League of Nations (the predecessor to the United Nations) agreed and recognized the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland.







League of Women Voters Formed
The League of Women Voters is founded by Carrie Chapman Catt in Chicago during the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.








Chicago Flu Epidemic
A group of 600 volunteer nurses were on task to help fight against the flu epidemic. It was reported that about 1,200 cases of this sickness had affected people within a 24 hour period of this date in Chicago.

A majority of the above-mentioned cases were mild, but five people had died from influenza (the flu) and eight had died from pneumonia (an advanced stage of sickness usually originated as a flu).







18th Amendment Prohibition
Prohibition takes effect in the United States stopping the sale and consumption of alcohol when the 18th Amendment went into effect it ended in 1933







Royal Canadian Mounted Police Formed
1st February, 1920 : The Royal Canadian Mounted Police as the federal and national police force in Canada is established when Royal North West Mounted Police and the Dominion Police are combined as a single force .







Miracle Man
Harry Mays, a man who was known as the “Miracle Man” was reported to be down with the Pneumonia. he had created a hype in the U.S.A. claiming to be able to heal people by the magical touch of his hand. The doctor who had treated Mays has stated that May’s condition is serious, but that he is likely to recover. Also, it was recorded that the fact that May was sick made no difference to those who looked up to him. Many people still had the faith to believe this man could “heal the sick”. However, it would be at least two weeks before Harry Mays would be allowed to have contact with others









325 new cases of small pox Canada
325 new cases of small pox that had occurred in the previous week ending January 10th. 1920

These cases of small pox sickness were reported to be in the province of Ontario. In addition, 116 new cases occurred in the city of Toronto, and this disease had resulted in four deaths. In all, there were 400 recent cases of this sickness within a week.

At this time vaccination and immunization measures were not as advanced. Therefore, people who contracted this type of sickness were more susceptible to serious attack of illness or death than would be in the present day.








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