On this page we will look back at life in the city during the war years. Here we will provide the visitor with the stories making the news, what was happening in sports and entertainment, city politics, the social scene and the prominent people at the time. So, check back often for new editions. To share your family or neighborhood stories, please email PhillyWWIyears@gmail.com
TODAY IN PHILADELPHIA – FRIDAY, MAY 25, 1917
Today’s weather calls for fair clear skies with light winds from the northwest. The high will reach 63° with the low tonight 51°. The Retail Merchants’ Liberty Committee announced today that 2000 stores throughout this city will be taking Liberty Bond subscriptions over the counter. Also announced was that 5000 volunteer Bond salesmen will be traveling around the city offering subscriptions.
The students of Abington High School have gone on strike. Over 150 boys failed to attend classes today in protest to the radical punishment meted out by Principal James Barkley. The boys point to the suspension of the entire basketball team because some members attended the theatre in Philadelphia and yesterday four boys were summoned for disciplinary action and two were suspended. Today Principal Barkley is conferring with the school superintendent about the matter. The striking boys are marching along the roadside of the town airing their complaints.
The mob spirit in Memphis, Tennessee has dissipated and some semblance of sanity has returned to the area after the lynching of Eli Persons on Tuesday. Dewitt Ford and Dan Armstrong, the two negroes arrested in connection with the murder of 15 year old Antoinette Rappal, have been release from jail. Reputable white citizens provided alibis for the men and they have been assured they will not be prosecuted. As of yet there is no mention of prosecuting those who killed Eli Persons.
In baseball today it took 11 innings for the A’s to make it two in a row against the Tigers out in Detroit. The Tigers drove Bullet Joe Bush off the mound in the first. He was relieved by Rube Schauer who pitched the remaining 10 innings. In the 11th the A’s exploded for 6 runs and the Tigers could not match them. The final was A’s 10 Tigers 6. The Phillies came back from yesterday’s whipping by the Reds to even the series. Fred Luderus and Dave Bancroft contributed home runs to the effort as the Phillies won 5 to 2.
WAR NEWS
On the western front, British troops have captured a section of German trenches in the Loos sector which is northeast of Lens. In the south, the Italian army continues its offensive near Mt. Cucco in the Julian Alps. Every counter-attack by the Austro-Hungarians has failed to recover the land lost earlier. The Italians are now about 9 miles from Trieste.
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