You must laugh at human stupidity

 You must laugh at human stupidity, greed, incompetence—even as you thwart it whenever possible.

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!

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.

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]

I was a sickly child

I spent hours, days and nights, and weeks by myself, entertaining myself. I read through all of my father’s substantial Library, all the philosophers, the novelists, starting in one corner then going all around the room. What a blessing to have those books. History, Art, Understanding. Life elsewhere.

Florence Kelley was one of eight children, six girls and two boys, one set of twins. Five of the children died, including both twins, some as infants, some when they were older. She was the only girl to survive to adulthood, one of her sisters, Anna, living until the age of six before dying when Florence Kelley was 12.
[Source: Florence Kelley as a child. From Sklar, Katherine 'Notes of Sixty Years: The Autobiography of Florence Kelley,' p. 22]

40 percent died before the age of 3

My mother, a remarkable woman. She had three daughters. I was the only one who survived. My beloved sister Anna died at the age of 12, an age where children had usually escaped the diseases.  Our hearts were broken. Vaccines made a difference. Of all children born in Chicago in the 1890’s, forty percent died before the age of three. People expected children to die, which didn’t make it right.

Group of children on street; Chicago, IL. [Source: ICHi-24067. Chicago History Museum. Reproduction of photograph, photographer unknown. Date: ca. 1905.]

Of course we remember those who came before us

Florence Kelley Live from 1890s Chicago: Of course we remember those who came before us, a year, a decade, a century ago. They built the stage where we stand and live out our lives.

Image of a funeral procession for victims of the Eastland disaster in Chicago, Illinois. The Eastland was a steamship that capsized in the Chicago River, leaving over 800 people dead.  [Credit: DN-0064960, Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum] 1915

 

We Are Alive!

Florence Kelley speaking, live from 1890s Chicago  

When we hear of an unexpected, sudden death, the woman with the limp and the burgundy stained apron—we passed as she hurried down on the muddy street yesterday, we mutter under our breath now: sad, sad, so very sad, and every day we open our eyes to sunlight and put our two feet flat on the floor, is a day to celebrate! We are alive!

Source: DN-0000953. Chicago History Museum.