The More Things Change

The French have a saying - "The more things change; the more they remain the same." Looking through an old newspaper confirms this.

This paper is from January 30, 1931. The headlines are pretty much the same as today's paper. The House was set to vote on Food Relief, seeking $25 million to feed the unemployed. There's your recession. The Secretary of the Treasury was backing payment of the War Bonus to the Veterans of the First World War, which they would never get. Similar to the current treatment of our returning Veterans from Iraq.

Below the fold is a story about Einstein and his theory on sunspots. There's your space exploration. On page 3 there is a Coast Guard Cutter capturing a rum runner- an earlier incarnation of today's War on Drugs.

Calvin Coolidge is on the front page- a former President undercutting the presiding one. Sounds like Jimmy Carter. The St.Valentine Day Massacre, barely 2 years old at the time, is laid at the feet of the Chicago Police Department. Police corruption and drive by shootings rolled into one!

In science, the tiny planet Eros was veering out of it's usual orbit and passing the Earth at a distance of 16 million miles. Space exploration.

Actually the only thing that has changed are the Want Ads. Gone are the various categories for Men and Women. In my old neighborhood apartments were renting for about $35 a month. Stenographers were earning about that for a weeks work. Maids were going for $70 per month.

I love to look at old newspapers - it's such an useful way to look back on the past and see what, if any, progress we have made. And by the way - this particular paper is from the day my Dad made his entrance into the world. So, in a way, I guess it was a big day for me - 23 years before I was born.