Hors de combat.
Wednesday, January 29, 1919. Colonies in issue, Secret Treaties Exposed, Immigration to be halted, State Prohibition Bill Advances as 18th Amendment Certified, Mexican Rebels reported defeated again, and Yanks can Marry By Mail.
English Inns at Court being used as an American Navy rest barracks, Red Cross supplies being unloaded. January 29, 1919.
There was a lot to report on on this Wednesday, January 19, 1919.
The Peace Treaty was struggling on what to do with the colonies of the defeated. Giving them nation status, unless they were European, seemed out of the question, so League of Nation mandates were being argued about instead.
The 18th Amendment was certified by Congress as ratified, but the State was still going to pass a prohibition bill anyhow, showing that the desire to act on the already acted upon purposelessly already existed. There was no reason to pass any Prohibition bill in Wyoming, but the Legislature was going to do it anyway.
And American soldiers could marry their sweethearts by mail, it was decided, exchanging vows by correspondence, apparently. The validity of that in certain faiths, it might be noted, would be questionable.
As, in most cases, would be the purpose. Separated by an ocean, the couples were not going to reunite until Johnny Came Marching Home anyhow. And if he was going to instead find the Belle de France in la belle France. . . well that was probably going to happen anyhow as well. About the only reason to do this would be to resolve questions of impending legitimacy, which perhaps would have been a concern in some instances.
And the economy was tanking while there were vast numbers of Europeans who were refugees, which no doubt put focus on immigration and which was accordingly being addressed in Congress.
Among the refugees were the Armenians. Their plight was well known but it had not been addressed.
Apparently, to my huge surprise, leaving for Florida in the winter was already a thing. I would not have guessed that at all, once again showing the application of Holscher's First Law of History.
Elsewhere, Mexican rebels were reported as defeated, once again.
New counties were a hot issue in the Legislature as well.
And a Laramie policeman was compelled to draw his pistol when in s scuffle with somebody who was thought to be speaking German.
Laramie, fwiw, had a German language church early on and, I think, at this time, so a Laramie resident who could speak German wouldn't be that odd. Let alone that its a university town where, presumably, some people were still learning the language.
