Remember you are only one person, and while one person can’t do everything, there is much she can do! Like working to get women the vote successfully in Illinois, in 1913! What will you fight for now?
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| Governor Edward F. Dunne signing the Illinois suffrage bill on June 26, 1913. From the Chicago Record Herald, June 27, 1913. [Credit: Chicago Herald Record, Chicago History Museum, ICHi-036849] |
You must laugh at human stupidity, greed, incompetence—even as you thwart it whenever possible.
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| View of William Deneau, a diver in the Eastland disaster recovery efforts, in the water near a tugboat in the Chicago River, Chicago, Illinois, circa August 28, 1915. They were searching for objects in the river from the overturned Eastland steamer. The Reid Murdoch Building and the Clark Street Bridge are visible in the background. [Credit: DN-0065012, Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum 1915 Aug] |
Politics has always been a mess, and dominated by the greedy, the corrupt, the incompetent.
On December 30, 1903 in the afternoon 575 people – hundreds of young children and their mothers who had come to see Eddie Foy in a holiday matinee – died when flames, fumes, smoke and explosions rocketed from the stage of the Iroquois Theatre. Then a thin blue mist and great volumes of grey cloud engulfed the audience. Many died in their seats, others were trampled on their way to the exits.
The Mayor, the second Carter Harrison elected in 1897, was arrested and held to answer when it was discovered that the City Commissioner of Buildings had not inspected the building or enforced regulations regarding the fire escapes and extinguishers. The Commission had the authority to direct the Fire Department to tear down a dangerous and defective building.
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| Firemen spraying water at the Iroquois Theater building during the fire. View of firemen spraying water up at the Iroquois Theater building in Chicago, Illinois, during the fire. Other firemen are standing nearby. [Source: Date: DN-0001584, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum. 1903 Dec. 30] |
Two old adages seem especially relevant right now: "It’s always darkest before the dawn," and "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."
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| [Credit: © 2024 Mark Edwin Swindle] |
We marched onto the floor of the Illinois State Legislature for a Reason: So that you would have more power than we did. Do something with it!!
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| Suffragette Parade, 23 October 1915. [Source: Wikimedia. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.] |