The Chicago Day Book was an experimental 6x9 inch, 32 page newspaper that accepted no advertising. Most news was "boiled down" into short clippings just perfect for my kind of book. One column was for local news and another for national and international "doings." It was a paper for the people and because advertisers and politicians had no hold over The Day Book, it was a paper that was delightfully sassy. Unfortunately, making a profit was a problem and the paper ceased publication in 1917.
A different place and a different time from THE COFFIN WAR - a much larger city, more people and more problems, but the history, humor, and weirdness were all still there in the Chicago paper. For example, close your eyes and imagine horse drawn wagons, cars, streetcars, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians, including children, sharing Chicago streets with no crosswalks and no stop signs. Then throw in trains without gated crossings on some of those streets. Pretty wild and often lethal. Yes, people did speed back then and a brand new court was opened just for speeders.
Working conditions were horrible at this time resulting in strikes all over the country. 1912 was an election year. The Titanic sank in 1912 and one of the most moving stories in the book is about the death ship that picked up as many bodies as it could and took them to Halifax.
The tango was thought to be a most evil dance. Police were stationed at Chicago beaches to ensure swimming suits were suitable. A woman divorced her husband because he called her "sweetheart" in public. Two other Chicago women murdered their husbands and children to collect the insurance money.
But all news was not so grim. For example, judges meted out justice instead of sticking to the letter of the law and paid money out of their own pockets to help good people who got into trouble instead of sending them to jail.
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