FEBRUARY 20 — 1893 Panic of ’93 begins with Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Companies going under; 2003 Station Nightclub Fire in Rhode Island; 1792 Pres. Washington signs Postal Service Act; 1963 Happy Birthday Charles Barkley
FEBRUARY 20
1893 – Philadelphia and Reading Railroad go under, starting the Panic of ’93.
During the last days of the Benjamin Harrison administration, the National Cordage Company would also default, sending bankers and creditors into a tailspin in North America and Europe. 15,000 businesses including banks, steel mills, and railroad companies would close down, sending unemployment nationally up to 25%. In Ohio, it went up to 50%, as homelessness skyrocketed and riots erupted in streets.
Businessman Jacob Coxley organized a protest that marched to Washington DC, only to get arrested by police upon arrival. The federal government, led now by Grover the Beast of Buffalo Cleveland, decided not to get involved, as he saw it as nothing more than a temporary depression in the economic cycle that would naturally fix itself.
But no thanks to Cleveland’s Billion Dollar Congress which spent excessively to civil service pensions among other things, Gold reserves were declining and the Sherman Silver Act was draining the gold supply.
President Big Steve Cleveland promised to rescue the gold standard but just wound up getting the Democratic Party badly beaten in the election of 1896. In fact, Cleveland would have to rely on bankers JP Morgan and the Rothschild banking family of England to borrow $65 million worth of gold for a bailout. I find that to be by far the most important reason I’m telling this story. If all this wasn’t bad enough, the legendary, possibly fictional, Panic Circular was released by banks that started the depression intentionally.
According to harmlesswise.com,Senator Robert Owen first brought this to light while testifying before Congressional Committee, he had received this circular in his role as organizer and then President of the First National Bank of Muskogee. “You will at once retire one-third of your circulation (your paper money) and call in one-half of your loans. Be careful to make a monetary stringency among your patrons, especially among influential businessmen.
In fact, Charles Lindbergh Senior, the father of great aviator, if you read Banking and Currency and The Money Trust, “The future of our banking system depends upon immediate action, as there is an increasing sentiment in the favor of Government legal-tender notes and silver coinage.”
Proof right there of the money makers being in charge. Nothing to see here folks, just keep scrolling, right? The Panic lasted until 1897.
1864 – Battle of Olustee, or Ocean Pond.
Union Brig. Gen. Truman Semour v Conf. Brig. Gen. Joseph Finnegan. The result: a confederate victory.
According tocivilwar.org, in February 1864, the commander of the Department of the South, Maj. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore, launched an expedition into Florida to secure Union enclaves, sever Rebel supply routes, and recruit black soldiers.
Brig. Gen. Truman Seymour moved deep into the state, occupying, destroying, and liberating, meeting little resistance on February 20, he approached Brig. Gen. Joseph Finegan’s 5,000 Confederates entrenched near Olustee. One infantry brigade pushed out to meet Seymour’s advance units. The Union forces attacked but were repulsed.
The battle raged, and as FiNnegan committed the last of his reserves, the Union line broke and began to retreat. Finnegan did not exploit the retreat, allowing most of the fleeing Union forces to reach Jacksonville.
2003 – The Station nightclub fire.
On this night, 80’s hair band rockers Great White played a gig at a Warwick, R.I. nightclub that engulfed in flames and killed over a hundred people and injured hundreds more. Illegal pyrotechnics were used to start the band off that night in the opening song, and inflamed some cheap soundproof foam that was supposed to be fire proof but was not. The band and the nightclub pointed the fingers at each other and refused to take blame. Jack Russel, lead singer of Great White, said ten years later, “My heart aches for all the families and friends of the victims whose lives will forever be changed by this terrible tragedy. I too lost many friends that night, but I can’t begin to equate that to the loss of a family member. For what it’s worth, you have been in my prayers and always will be.” Kind words, except there was never an I’m Sorry in there anywhere. Same for the nightclub management, who created a foundation for the victim’s families called the Station Fire memorial Foundation, who, to this day refuse to take any contributions from Russel or the rest of Great White, for that matter. History.com has a very clever take on this story. It mentions how David Lee Roth of Van Halen has a clause in his contracts with nightclubs stating specifically there are not to be any brown M&M.s Is it because Diamond Dave has a thing against brown M&Ms? No, it’s because if he sees a brown M&M backstage, he’ll know the contract wasn’t read correctly or even at all.
1792 – George Washington signs the POostal service Act. Under this act, newspapers, mail, magazines, etc. would be allowed to inexpensively be sent throughout the states. To guarantee the privacy of the mail, post officials were not allowed to open any letters unless they were undeliverable. Congress would assumed responsibility for the creation of postal routes, utilizing the routes Ben Franklin had previously made including the original Route 1 from Florida to Maine.
1963 – HB Charles Barkely. The Round Mound of Rebound, as he’s nicknamed. Played for the Philadelphia 6ers, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns. One of the more dominant power forwards to play the game, Sir Charles has amassed 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists. These days you’ll see him as an analyst on Inside the NBA. Happy birthday Chuck.