Collector's Item: #4 Costly Treaties and Free Verse 1914-1920

Boy, am I pooed out! That classroom about ran me ragged today! Questions, questions, questions - tell I thought they'd never stop. Oh, that sounds good to me. Oh, it is good! You know I appreciated it's just that while there's so much to cover that I get a little upset when we can't stick to the schedule well kind of funny in a way young Bob Hancock doctor going on his theory that death the movies hadn't contributed much to American life Danny run better to throw back - well part of it was defeat so many of my other students know about this theory of mine about the arts of the country reflecting the light from the time you know turn into a free-for-all whale not quite now you see after I've dead pointed out some of the contributions the movies had made why the destruction drifted on to the other art thanks me everybody well personal memories of a penis cooties don't say well that's true of course but they must understand why we fought that war and why we thought the second so that perhaps we can profit by our mistakes and not have to fight a third your remember what President Wilson said when he came back from the Peace Conference after the war he said that peace cannot endure for a generation unless guaranteed by the unified forces of the civilized world yes yes it was I wonder if we'll ever learn well I must be getting on gets my notes rearranged here see if we can get that scheduled backup I have to work to do upstairs well she wanted me the bath I didn't put stuff away Don Hamad and she wouldn't do it for me you know I can't quite get that world war discussion we've had in class out of my mind I suppose it's because this s who says we have personal memories abilities pertain I was fifty youngster that of course Oh muscular good-looking youth no doubt then I've all the rest of the country I wanted to get in there and fight paperwork the first drafting of men started in June 1917 all over the town hope you packed up enticing young men to join the search long lines started forming the recruiting offices and the parade's of servicemen going out to war became a common thing well sir you know what they did to me they made me a cook but cook or not I was in no Esther and I were saving just before I left for France she used to keep me pretty well in foreign or what was going on back here the things she used to write most about with the food conservation program called Herbert Hoover lady to become president headed it up an Americans responded well to the clean not to waste food one magazine Gainey cautions mothers do not permit your child to take a bite or two out of an apple and throw the rest away nowadays even children must be taught to be patriotic to the core okay here's something that Esther doesn't know I still had keep down him draw some letter if she wrote to me while I was in France now they were talking about this team in one of her letters here so I can find it yes we're doing our part here at home and I must confess I am doing things I never thought I would do the city women have a Garden Club we have quite grown how to sit on vegetables now that way our cupboards don't have anything that will be wasted by now we are surly convinced that the posters are telling us to do the right thing that was her last letter pursuing the ship which one has been ever alert for submarine now it's being homework with the flags and the contrived and on the Tooth Fairy wait father ship paint instead we're always over and we were home all-america team turned out to welcome those of us to return and nothing was too good for the boys over at the Hippodrome Theatre special roles were but after we were home we faced the prospect of readjusting to civilian life our country was making a readjustment to all around the person could detect the signs of change after 1918 the first change had come earlier when we had switched from an isolationist country to a world power fighting in a world war so President Wilson have little reason to doubt that we would follow through fight the war then join with other countries to help preserve the peace first I've got a clipping in my case here the headline I was going to show my class if we never got through that 1918 grid the ultimate outcome will be triumphant acceptance of treaty and lead I do not doubt the issue will but President Wilson's dreams the dreams of the world as it later turned out were destined to failure he attended the Peace Conference and became beloved by all Europe because of his to idealism and humanitarianism but the plans of Lloyd George of England Orlando of Italy Flemming saw a friend and Woodrow Wilson dissolved into nothingness when America rejected the League of Nations that was destroyed out in Congress working against our joining the league senators Raj Berlin Johnson led the American people didn't let him sign a long term lease to protect other countries in case of war they wanted to take no chances on becoming involved in another European war they were concerned with getting back to normal to their play to their work well at this time there was a man in America who was living with the working class and writing about the working class this man was proud Stanford Sandberg dramatized the moral strength and dignity of the common man he was one of the new group reports who were using American theme for their content and developing a whole new style oh that was Robert Frost Edgar Lee masters Edward Arlington Robinson and Carl Sandburg Sandburg fathers he was a Swedish immigrant and young Sandburg knew firsthand how death and despair was cut off by America's foreign-born many of his early poems were about the immigrant worker and his beloved Chicago just let me read you the first part of his poem Chicago called the butcher of the world toolmaker stacker of wheat player with railroads and the nation's Strait handler storm a husky brawling city of the big shores don't you just feel the lights and the vitality in that well in his book Chicago poems came out it hits the genteel readers the same way the butchers now hit the steers the result was a completely new American book and a new voice wasn't Wow until 2000 of Americans the new poetry meant Carl Sandburg wholly driven a milk wagon and working barber shops even the lunch counter and the railroad in wheat field Sandburg wrote during the war to his poetry speaks for itself this is Carl I have been watching the war man slammed up for advertising in front of the newspaper office button red and yellow button blue and black buttons are shoved back and forth across the night and a laughing young man sunny with freckles crimes ladders the yellows a joke to somebody in the crowd and then fixes a yellow button one teen twists and follows the yellow button with a black lucky one th wet 10,000 men and boys twist on their bodies in a ridgetop belong a river gasping a wound calling for water some rattling death who would guess what it cost to move two buttons one inch on the war map here in front of the newspaper office where the freckle-faced young man is laughing at it well there you have it the where are being felt the world coming to an end Carl Sandburg talking to America about America and with the war over people settling down to a peacetime normal existence where the federal government was putting up a to housing project middle to veteran the walls and the nation was developing it faces although the desire was still strong for Georgian homes and homes patterned after the European style several new architects began to take the spotlight Frank Lloyd Wright was still ahead of his time and for Sarah nearly a farm which he out of the original Sullivan group was among the leaders you remember my mentioning that Louis Sullivan was the father of a skyscraper the bank does in the Midwest proved to be far ahead in design here's a bank in Grinnell Iowa designed by Sullivan and this is the courthouse at Sioux City Iowa then in 1917 by Purcell and Helmsley and it's still an imposing building period the time of transition the transition with our national political story what about your favorite subject er you know how you have the movies we're going through the most terrific period of transition in the history of the industry they were changing just like the rest of the country thought was oh dear too easily persuaded all right I've done just what it takes to prove now you're not going to get outside very widow happy don't know well think of evening please well these films out for quite a while obviously well I have several films here you see when Europe went to war in 1914 America was turning out this over half of the total movie production of the world well relax and enjoy it I was saying that the movie industry had reached a turning point in its development in 1913 this was the time when the feature-length movies were capturing the public space they were rapidly fading out of the picture and the bigger movie houses took over by 1916 yes we're adding a little classical music to the atmosphere as a matter of fact this time the audience's themselves will becoming more sophisticated you know where everybody at handed from all walks of life just like they do not especially with making movies like that yes Judith of the few year bible story you've changed Oh Judith of Bethulia was just the beginning why Griffith produced some of us that's two famous movies of his career during this period Birth of a Nation and entire life and they far surpassed anything that had been produced in this period just before the World War they really showed this artistic sense this Birth of a Nation film it was really effort making as far as movies were concerned you see Griffith just stripped away all conventions and dramatized the dramatic possibility to film of course when the war came along that's something else again and Griffith and the other producers began making films that dealt with these all the feeling of the day for the movies they really had a part in the fuck oh yes you bet they did but even before the law they were commenting on our changing attitude Charlie Chaplin yeah yeah he started with Mack Sennett well if you betray anyone was responsible for them yes but to say I think I have a film of Mack Sennett's here with Charlie Chaplin minute called the rounders Senate was the king of parodies were less Chaplin in the Senate films just used his talent according to what Senate what later he was to become an individual the man with a mustache contain as the Derby became a starring a producer if he's alright Charlie Chaplin master of pantomime comedian commentator satirist social critic every man seemed to recognize in Chaplin's experiences his own dreams and disappointment Chapman's frustrations are mankind in his movie the kids to social outcasts try to get along the kid is Jackie Cuban we give an extreme when Peterborough became famous as the fans irresistible in partners your Felice setting a trap for a man but another battle was going on they battle in the form of war the movie industry rallies to sell the war to America DW Griffith's produced the movie parts of the world showing how German militarism was a threat to world civilization for this he received a well service battle scenes were filmed in part and others were filmed abroad where the movies had previously preached against the war they now preach preparedness and battling for one's country we saw the movies had become a propaganda tool during World War one and soon political and military films will be he was the perfect male to millions of American women all right you win this prize for the day a picture hold the Americana and it shows the typical of how he was Bryant appears he favors not regardless to be honest I have to see all of that one of these days glad to run a little for you it really shows how the movies will be coming and heart digging but I don't see anything particularly crazy a party I'm living hmm oh hey that's pretty terrific isn't it hey have you ever seen Michael then with me a good many years now first too much I'd forgotten the few folks were here let's talk just a moment about radio they're wireless communication radio signals were sent farther and farther in 1914 then wireless communication was established between Germany and America the President Wilson and the Kaiser exchanged messages for issues before their countries were fighting each other well in long in 1915 a person's voice sent over the air in Washington was verged way out in San Francisco in Hawaii but most of these signals were heard on headset by ham operators the war brought about several notable technical advances then after the war at the number of ham operators doubled many of these men during their lower service had see what radio could use and now out on their own they were trying to experiment what was about this time named David Sarnoff he came up with the idea that people could have radio music boxes right in their old house there would be a simple broadcasting station to play music familiar does just about the radio set up we have to dig in 1920 dr. Frank Conrad started broadcasting voice music to 1986 where when the Westinghouse company saw the popularity of dr. Conrad broadcast Tina they built one in East Pittsburg and it was here that radio broadcasting as we know it got his first start taking the design the call letters KDKA on November 2nd 1928 broadcast to return to the presidential election Harding each even saw well radio was after a good start and soon it too would become an art medium reflecting the time hey I better skip up and see Harlow Jimmy's coming with that bicycle you have a spread all over the yard before I get there oh by the way next time you drop in we'll talk about the first part of the Roaring Twenties Coon skin coats and flappers should be fun right now