1920 – Page 4 – Old Magazine Articles

Composer Leo Ornstein
(Vanity Fair, 1920)

A profile of Futurist composer Leo Ornstein (1893 – 2002). Ornstein appeared on the New York music scene at a very young age; hailed as a genius by many, he performed to packed houses. In 1917, music critic James Huneker(1860-1921) remarked:

I never thought I should live to hear Arnold Schoenberg sound tame, yet tame he sounds—almost timid and halting—after Ornstein who is, most emphatically, the only true-blue, genuine, Futurist composer alive.

Leo Ornstein left the public eye by 1925 and was soon forgotten until the 1970s. This Vanity Fair article was written by James L. Buchanan, who had written a number of pieces on Ornstein and his music throughout his career.

‘The Emancipation of Women in Soviet Russia”
(Soviet Russia Magazine, 1919)

Like a lot a guys, Vladimir Lenin said many nice things about feminism, but, alas, all his sympathetic talk just blended in with all the other Utopian promises he made – and couldn’t deliver.

Anti-Immigration Legislation
(The Independent, 1920)

The measure is not intended as a basis for permanent immigration policy, but simply as an emergency injunction to halt immigration until Congress… can determine the policy it wishes to adopt

Post-War French Opinions About Their American Allies
(Literary Digest, 1920)

Here are a few French thoughts regarding America’s late arrival in the war and some additional opinions on the matter of Uncle Sam’s inflated ego.

Click here to read an article by a grateful Frenchman who was full of praise for the bold and forward-thinking manner in which America entered the First World War.

Odd Post-War Thinking from H.L. Mencken
(The Smart Set, 1920)

Perhaps in his haste to be the reliable cynic, H.L. Mencken (1880 – 1956) decided to ignore the haphazard nature of industrial warfare and indulged in some Darwinian thinking. There is no doubt that this column must have infuriated the Gold Star Mothers of W.W. I, who were still very much a presence at the time this opinion piece appeared, and it can also be assumed that the veterans of The American Legion were also shocked to read Mencken’s words declaring that:

The American Army came home substantially as it went abroad. Some of the weaklings were left behind, true enough, but surely not all of them. But the French and German Armies probably left them all behind. The Frenchman who got through those bitter four years was certainly a Frenchman far above the average in vigor and intelligence…

The U.S. Occupation of Turkey
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1920)

There aren’t many Yanks in Turkey but an American naval force of eight destroyers is being kept in Turkish waters to protect American interests and to assist the British, French and Italian navies before Constantinople to induce compliance by Turkey with the terms of the peace treaty and to serve as a warning to cease her practices against the Armenians in Asia Minor.

Eastern European Jews Slaughtered
(Current Opinion, 1920)

One of the most sinister results of the war has been a new wave of anti-Semitism in Europe. Recent dispatches from Berlin describe street demonstrations against Jews and speak of a veritable pogrom atmosphere in Munich and Budapest. In Poland, Jewish blood has flown freely, amid scenes of horror described by Herman Bernstein and other writers in American newspapers. In Ukraine the number of Jews massacred during the early part of the present year is estimated anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000.

‘Troublesome Mesopotamia”
(Literary Digest, 1920)

This is a very interesting magazine article concerning the 1920s British experience in Iraq (Mesopotamia); regardless as to where the reader stands concerning the 2003 Iraq War, you will find a striking similarity in the language used in this piece and the articles printed prior to the U.S. infantry surge of 2008:

Unless there is a complete change of policy, Mesopotamia, which has been the grave of empires, is now likely to be the grave of the Coalition.

Click here to read more articles about the British struggle for 1920s Mesopotamia.

Claude Monet at the Age of Eighty
(Vanity Fair, 1920)

The editors of VANITY FAIR saluted the eighty year-old painter Claude Monet, praising him as

the only remaining member of a little group of painters – Degas, Manet, Renoir and several others – known as the Master Impressionists.

Get Used to Drinking Water
(The New York World, 1920)

One year into the noble experiment, cartoonist Rollin Kirby (1875 – 1952) penned this editorial gag which clearly indicated that the nation was being lorded-over by a bunch of prudes.

In the August, 1932, issue of VANITY FAIR MAGAZINE the Conde Nast editors sang high praise for Rollin Kirby while writing their ‘Hall of Fame’ nomination:

Because he is considered the finest political cartoonist in America; because he has thrice won the Pulitzer Prize; because he was once a successful magazine illustrator; because he invented the high-hatted Prohibition figure…

1920s Prohibition created a criminal climate that appealed to more women than you ever might have suspected…

The Gun Barrel Fence on P Street
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1920)

When compared to the historic events that took place on numerous other street corners in Washington D.C, the intersection of 28th and P streets barely makes the list, but the residence that stands on the north-east corner there is a twofer. The attached article explains just why the front and side fence is so unique to Washington history – and in later years the house would be purchased by Cold War diplomat Dean Acheson.

Remembering the Golden Age of the Dandy
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1920)

This is a fun read covering the all too short reign of the dandy. It touches upon those who were the great practitioners of the art (Beau Brummell, Sir Phillip Dormer Chesterfield, Beau Nash, Sir Robert Fielding, Count Alfred d’Orsay) and those who came later, but deserving of honorable mention (King Alphonso XIII and Oscar Wilde), as well as the wannabe bucks who wished they were dandies but simply came away well-tailored (George IV and Edward VII).

An article about Beau Brummell can be read HERE

The Popularly-Elected Senate
(American Legion Weekly, 1920)

In 1913 a very strong, anti-Federalist step was taken to amend the Constitution and alter the manner in which U.S. Senators were to be selected and replaced in the event of vacancies. The 17th Amendment was passed: it guaranteed that senators would no longer be elected from within the legislative bodies of the state governments, but would be elected directly by the citizens of their respective states, just as the representatives are. Historian Everett Kimball pointed out in this article how the 17th Amendment altered the very nature of the U.S. Senate.

Salty Opinions from a Frenchman
(Literary Digest, 1920)

Attached are the rantings of one Frenchman on the matter of American gullibility, solipsism and naive stupidity. While recognizing an innate sense of optimism that seemed natural to Americans, the Gaul also believed that within the American culture the seed of tyranny had been planted and would one day bloom.

And in this new and vigorous country they are going to make nationalism a great religion, the supreme intellectual and social motive. This means Prussianizing, pure and simple.

Promoting Citizenship
(Touchstone Magazine, 1920)

To encourage the making and distributing of films that will promote faith in America, the Americanism Committee of the Motion Picture Industry was organized.

Where Did the Doughboys Board? Where Did They Land?
(Pictures of The World War, 1920)

A black and white map indicating the Atlantic ports up and down North America where the A.E.F. boarded troop ships, their trans-Atlantic routes and their French and British points of arrival. The map is also accompanied by a few facts concerning this remarkable trip across U-boat infested waters.

Click here to read an article about the sexually-transmitted diseases among the American Army of W.W. I…

When the Doughboys complained, they complained heavily about their uniforms; read about it here.

The Advantages of Silent Movies Over Theater
(Photoplay Magazine, 1920)

Strong arguments were put to verse by the popular song writer Howard Dietz (1896 – 1983) as to why the up-town theater crowd had it all wrong.

The picture theater is always dark
So things you throw won’t hit the mark.

The actor in the movie play
Can’t hear the things you often say.

The spoken drama’s always longer;
The movie hero’s always stronger.

Click here to read more comparisons between film and stage.

A Salute to Susan B. Anthony
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1920)

Five and a half months before the 19th Amendment was ratified, granting all female citizens over the age of 21 the right to vote, the editors of THE PATHFINDER MAGAZINE saw fit to pay tribute to Susan B. Anthony (1820 – 1906) – the woman who got the ball rolling so long ago:

She drafted the pending amendment to the constitution in 1875.