Food Riot (Pathfinder Magazine, 1931)"In Central Arkansas where crops were ruined by the drought and farmers were left without food, some 300 of them banded together, descended on the little town of England and grimly announced they were going to have food if they had to take it from the shelves of the stores." The Healthiest American Men and the Draft of 1917 (U.S. Gov. 1931)Attached is a map of the 48 states that will show you which regions of the country produced the greatest number of healthy men who passed their Selective Service physical examinations. You will also learn which parts of the nation provided men who could not pass this examination. Over 15,000 Suicides in 1928 Germany (Pathfinder Magazine, 1931)A short notice compiled from figures collected at the end of 1928 showed that Germany was the all-time global-champion when it came to suicide:
"In that year 16,036 persons in Germany committed suicide. This is an average of 44 a day or 39 for each 100,000 persons in the country..." Realistic Training for ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (Photoplay Magazine, 1931)Prior to reading this Photoplay article we were convinced that Oliver Stone's Vietnam war film, Platoon (1986) was the first production of it's kind to actually take the effort to school all cast and extras as to the horrors of war, however, it seems that this unique distinction goes to All Quiet on the Western Front.
In this interview the seven leading cast members discuss how the making of that movie disturbed each of them in profound ways: "We went into that picture a group of average wise-cracking fellows. We didn't come out that way..."
A small notice has been added that announced that the movie had been banned in Austria.
A 1929 review of the book can be read here
Saint Peter: An Appreciation (Commonweal, 1931)The well-loved Christian author Helen Walker Homan wrote this very charming essay about Saint Peter: "Saint Peter knows that the very fact that he, of all the Apostles, has been the most frequent subject of jokes by mankind, is only an added proof that he has been the most beloved of mankind." European Praise for American Silent Comedies (Photoplay Magazine, 1931)Written at a time when it was widely recognized that the silent film era had finally run it's course and talking pictures were here to stay, the film critic for the Sunday Express (London) stepped up to the plate and heaped praise on the Hollywood film colony for having produced such an abundance of sorely-needed comedies which allowed Europe to get through some difficult times: "While German films were steeped in menacing morbidity and Russian films wallowed in psychopathic horrors; while Swedish film producers turned to Calvinistic frigidities, and Britain floundered in apologetic ineptitude...Hollywood's unfailing stream of fun and high spirits has kept the lamp of optimism burning in Europe." Training the Doughboy (U.S. Gov. 1931)Two remarkably brief paragraphs concerning the required military training of the average American Doughboy throughout the course of America's blessedly short participation in the First World War: "The average American soldier who went to France received six months of training in this country before he sailed. After he landed overseas he had two months of training before entering the battle line. The part of the battle line that he entered was in a quiet sector and here he remained one month before going into an active sector and taking part in hard fighting." Click here to read a 1918 magazine article about the Doughboy training camps. The Size of the U.S. Army: 1917 - 1919 (U.S. Gov. 1931)A diagram pulled from a 1931 U.S. Government study indicating the number of soldiers in the American Army each month from 1917 through 1919, and the number of Doughboys who were deployed in Europe. Click here to read an interview with the World War I American fighter pilot Eddy Rickenbacker. American Spelling Rejected by Canadians (Pathfinder Magazine, 1931)Heaven knows that the average American had it tough during 1931. The Great Depression was coming down hard on them - but the harshest blow came from our neighbor to the North who rejected our manner of spelling! ''Canned Goods'' From Canada (Pathfinder Magazine, 1931) Jean Harlow, Star (Photoplay Magazine, 1931)When this interview appeared on the newsstands, Jean Harlow (1911 – 1937) had fifteen credits under her belt (most of them short films) and only six years left until she would assume room temperature as a result of kidney failure. Written by the PHOTOPLAY reporter Leonard Hall (who would like us to believe that he was a Hollywood studio psychiatrist), this is a light and breezy two page interview conducted at the New Yorker Hotel at a time when that establishment appealed to Hollywood Royalty.
Click here to read articles about Marilyn Monroe.
*Watch Some Assorted Jean Harlow Clips from 'Hell's Angels In The Country Illegally (Pathfinder Magazine, 1931)"[President Hoover's Secretary of Labor, William N. Doak] placed the number of aliens now illegally residing in the United States at 400,000. Of this number he thought 100,000 were subject to deportation... The illegal entries were made, he said, under the quota laws of 1921 and 1924, the larger part coming through Mexico and Canada, while ship's deserters amounted to about 1
Click here to read about the U.S. Border Patrol.
1,000." A.E.F. Deployment Compared to B.E.F. Deployment (U.S. Gov. 1931)Attached is a graph comparing the amount of time it took for both the British Army and the American Army to have 2,000,000 soldiers on the Western Front during World War One: "The British sent to France many more men in their first year in the war than we did in our first year. On the other hand, it took England three years to reach a strength of 2,000,000 men in France and the United States accomplished it in one half the time." Where Were the Doughboys From? (U.S. Gov. 1931)This page contains a chart clearly stating the number of men who served in the U.S. Army during World War One, the number of men provided by each state and what percentage of the entire army originated from these states.
*Doughboys from New York numbered 367,864 and made up 9.7% of the U.S. Army.
*Doughboys from Pennsylvania numbered 297,891 and made up 7.93% percent.
*While the men of California made up 2.98% of the army, clocking in at 112,514. etc...etc...etc...
Click here to read about the shipments of chewing gum that were sent to the American Army of W.W. I.
A Study of World War I American Army Officers (U.S. Government Archive, 1931)The attached pie chart will give you an understanding as to the history of the U.S. Army officer corps that served throughout the First World War. Drawn in 1931 and based upon the data collected by the Department of War, this study outlines the history of Army leadership between April of 1917 through November of 1918.
Click here to read a 1917 article about the U.S. Army officer training camp at Plattsburg, New York. The U.S. Army Divisions and Their States of Origin (U.S. Government Archive, 1931)The attached file is composed of two informative paragraphs and a table listing the 42 American Army divisions, the states from which they were pooled and the locations of their respective training camps: The Doughboys were "trained in the division, which was our typical combat unit. In the American Army it was composed of about 1,000 officers and 27,000 men. Training and sorting organizations of about 10,000 men, known as depot brigades, were also utilized, but as far as possible, the new recruits were put almost immediately into the divisions which were the organizations in which they would go into action." Click here to read about the efforts that were made to get free cigarettes to the Doughboys... The 1917 Draft (U.S. Gov. 1931)Attached is a small piece that explains how the draft of 1917 was conducted. Illustrated with three charts, this article provides the number of males in the U.S. at that time (54,000,000), how many had registered under the Selective Service Act (26,000,000), the percentage of the whole number who had never registered and how the onslaught of the influenza epidemic had affected the W.W. I draft. "In the fall of 1917 the first half million came rapidly. During the winter the accessions were relatively few, and those that did come in were largely used as replacements and for special services." Al Capone: Tax Evader (Chicagoan, 1931)Preferring not to be found face-down in the Chicago River, this journalist wrote a very middle-of-the-road sort of article about Al Capone following the thug's 1931 conviction on tax evasion. The Expansion of the U.S. Army (U.S. Gov. 1931)Attached is a pie chart illustrating the expansion of the U.S. Army beginning in April of 1917 through 1918, when it reached the zenith of its might. The chart also indicates the shrinkage in National Guard units within the same time frame.
Read about the W.W. I growth of the U.S. Marine Corps... Click here to read what the young women of France thought about the Doughboys. The News from Talkie Town (Theatre Magazine, 1931)"To a regular cinema-goer in the era of silent films, attendance at the motion-picture playhouse today is a continuously disturbing experience...The discovery that the shadowy images of the screen could be made articulate was as fruitful for exploitation to the captains of the cinema industry as was the realization that women would wear long skirts to the couturiers. ...Paramount alone has already announced 243 releases for next season, double the number issued this year, and other companies are following suit."
Click here to read articles about Marilyn Monroe.
The Negro's Northern Exodus (The Literary Digest, 1931)Click here to read a second article about the great migration. | 
