Update: We passed the half-way mark late this morning and things are looking a lot better than they were 24 hours ago. My most heartfelt thanks and admiration to all of you who have donated so far, including my colleagues at Crooks and Liars, you are all amazing. We're not out of the woods yet, and there is still a ways to go - not as far as yesterday at this time, but we still need to get the other half in order to save the Archive from destruction and Newstalgia from becoming extinct. Any amount you can afford to give will be appreciated beyond words. The donation amounts so far have run from between $1.00 to $100.00 and they are ALL gratefully appreciated. Any amount of money is money desperately needed at this point. I cannot thank you enough, to those who have donated so far. I cannot tell you how much your support means, to those who haven't yet. We're a lot closer to making this happen, and with your continued support we will succeed!

If you've just run across Newstalgia for the first time, please take some time to scroll down the page and check out the some 3,000+ posts, running the gamut from historic speeches (like this one) and historic events (like 3-Mile Island) to weekly Jazz, Rock and Classical concerts and everything in-between. It's all about history, all about information and all about our world.

I ran across an article about Eugene Debs the other day. Considered by many to be the first Socialist leader four-time candidate for President in the early 20th Century, firebrand labor leader and one of the more notable figures on the political scene from the 1890's until his death in 1926.

Here is an address, which has been attributed to an actor (Len Spencer) at the time, recorded shortly after he originally gave it in 1904.

Debs was renown for his public speaking, and his dramatic addresses were legendary. Although this is most likely not the real voice of Debs, Len Spencer was well aware of Debs' oratorical skills and was said to have captured the spirit of a Debs address quite accurately. Obviously, that isn't anything anyone can actually verify in 2012, so we'll have to take their word for it.

Here is the transcript of that address, as the original cylinder and recording techniques make it hard to understand at times:

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Update: Just about an hour ago we hit the 2/3 mark. It is unbelievable, and truly humbling, the outpouring of support and donations that have come in today in my effort to save Newstalgia and the Archive it depends so heavily on. To you who have donated, you are an incredible gift and further evidence all angels don't have wings. To those of you on the fence, or afraid that what you can give isn't much - no matter how small or large your donation is, it is all desperately important and it is all chipping away at an enormous weight. No matter what you give, every penny makes a huge difference. I am grateful beyond words to those of you who have donated so far. We're almost there, and that's the opposite of where we were this time yesterday. I still need your help. We're getting close. You are making a difference. With your help, we're going to make it.

Staying in the early 20th Century today. Here is an address by the legendary William Jennings Bryan, who may probably be best known for his role in the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925; teaching Evolution in public Schools. Bryan died within hours of the trials end. Although Bryan came to epitomize the Liberal Wing of the Democratic Party, he was a staunch prohibitionist and staunchly anti-Darwin, whose theory of Evolution was the basis for the famous trial. He unsuccessfully ran for President in 1896, 1900 and 1908 and was appointed Secretary of State in the Wilson Administration in 1913.

Here is the last portion of his address to the 1908 Democratic Convention, recorded several days later, on July 21, 1908 for posterity and also to be used for the Bryan campaign.

Later known as the "Ideal Republic" Address, here is the transcript of that speech since, being recorded in 1908, is a little hard to decipher in places:

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Update: We still haven't been able to crack 30% in our desperate attempt to save Newstalgia from going away and the archive (from which everything you hear comes) from being destroyed. It's serious. I am completely in gratitude and sincere appreciation to those who have donated so far to keep us alive, but we still need a lot more help. With some 8 days to go before eviction and signing off for good, we need your help. Please keep Newstalgia going and offering history as you probably won't hear anywhere else. Anything you can do to help out is more than gratefully appreciated. No matter how much you're willing to give - it all makes a difference. Please consider making a donation, for whatever amount - large or small. We can get there but only if you help. Please help save Newstalgia from extinction.

A busy day in the world, this April 24th in 1998. Fourteen years ago on this day you probably woke up and heard the news that Boris Yeltsin, after a month of political wrangling and arm-twisting, finally succeeded in installing his pick for Prime Minister, Sergei Kiriyenko. Opposed by the Communist minority in the Russian Parliament, Kiriyenko was touted by Yeltsin as part of his plan for economic rejuvenation of the sagging Russian economy.

In other parts of the world. A festive atmosphere greeted the public execution of the first four convicted of perpetrators of the horrific genocide in Rwanda. The Soccer Stadium in Kigali filled to capacity to witness the firing squad take aim at the three men and one woman who were part of wave of mass killings that had gone on for so long in the beleaguered African nation.

With the recent death of James Earl Ray, convicted assassin of Martin Luther King, plans were still underway to open an investigation on the murder of the Civil Rights leader. Despite a 1978 Senate Subcommittee hearing that concluded Ray acted alone, there was pressing evidence that Ray had been funded by a group of St. Louis bigots who reportedly offered Ray $50,000.00 for the assassination.

Mergers and Unions in the Airline Industry were big news on this day. With talk of a merger between United and Delta Airlines, promises of a potential windfall, similar to the promises of a windfall from the previous days merger of American Airlines and U.S. Airways had many expressing doubts about how much of a windfall this really was and an investigation of this new merger was called for.

Meanwhile, over at Northwest Airlines - The labor dispute was deepening with Northwest reportedly firing two mechanics, one for wearing a clown costume to work, and suspending four others for a reported work slowdown at its Minneapolis hub. Six other unions were prepping for a confrontation with stockholders and NWO's annuan meeting in New York. A federal mediator called for resumption of talks before the ugliness got started.

Whitewater figure Susan McDougal was sitting it out in a Little Rock jail on this day, as the result of refusing to answer questions for the Grand Jury hearing.

The cost of Health Insurance premiums were going to be going up, with a reported increase of as much as 15% in some cases.

The Senate narrowly approved legislation on Tax-free savings accounts for school expenses. President Clinton threatened a veto.

And daughter of OJ Simpson, Arnell was arrested for Drunk Driving in Beverly Hills.

Some day.

That and lots more via the CBS World News Roundup for a Friday, April 24th, 1998.

While the War was slowly turning in favor of the Allies, The groundwork for setting up The United Nations had been established. On June 7 of 1943, President Roosevelt addressed the very first United Nations Conference on Food and Agriculture and discussed what role the allies would play in the Post-War world and the crucial importance of Food production.

Here is that address, complete as given on June 7, 1943.

En route to the much anticipated Vienna Summit with Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev, President Kennedy paid a State Visit to Charles DeGaulle to engage in talks regarding French views on U.S. Foreign Policy and discuss differences with regards to NATO.

Here is a wrap-up of the days events for June 2nd, 1961 as reported by Leon Pearson and NBC Radio News.

We tend to forget what a crucial role railroads played in our society during the 20th century. It was the main source of transportation over long distances for passengers (or medium distances for commuters) and for freight and raw materials. Air travel was still considered a luxury and our highway system was still evolving.

In 1946 the country was crippled from a strike by Railroad workers. Essentially, the entire nation was stranded, and the strike quickly escalated to crisis stage where President Truman addressed the country to declare a national emergency in an effort to bring the warring parties back to the bargaining table.

On May 24th he made a radio address and on May 25th he addressed an emergency session of Congress.

Here is that May 24th address by President Truman from the White House as broadcast over all networks.

Ironically, the strike was settled the next day as Truman addressed Congress. But until then, it was a nail-biter.

We forget how often President's used to hold news conferences. During the JFK years is was almost every week. This Press Conference, from June 7, 1962 covers a wide range of topics. The budget, the recession, inflation, taxes and of course Medicare, which was foremost on JFK's agenda in 1962.

He opens the Press Conference with a statement:

President Kennedy: "Good afternoon. I have a brief preliminary statement. I would like to say a few words about our economic outlook and program.
I think most financial experts have realized for some time that an overpriced market could not hold up once investors recognized that inflation was ending. Price-earning ratios which averaged on Dow-Jones 23 to 1 could not be justified unless there was heavy inflation in prospect. And we have been working to prevent inflation, which gives a very misleading and spurious picture of economic health. We must not permit the effects of this adjustment, however, to hamper the growth rate of our economy, with which we have, as you know, not been fully satisfied. While our recovery from last year's recession has been a good one, production, profits, and employment are at alltime highs, and the prospects for continued economic expansion remain favorable. In view of corporate and consumer cash on hand, we should take every appropriate step to make certain that recovery is stronger and longer than before and is not cut short by a new recession.

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It should be remembered that the concept of affordable Healthcare for everyone isn't a new concept. It's history goes back as far as 1909 as an idea hatched by Teddy Roosevelt. It was re-introduced during the FDR years, first as a possible adjunct to Social Security, but shelved temporarily, and was in the midst of being introduced again, when World War 2 broke out in December of 1941. It was again introduced by Harry Truman as a continuation of the legacy of FDR. It was bandied about during the Eisenhower years and it was again introduced in 1962 by President Kennedy.

Here is an address made by JFK at a rally in Madison Square Garden on May 20, 1960. Promoted as Medical Care for the Aged, Kennedy hoped for a plan that would insure decent medical care to those over the age of 65 and those who couldn't afford it. The bill was introduced and shelved, but was re-introduced and finally passed during the Johnson Administration in 1964 as a legacy to President Kennedy.

Here is that complete address.

If you haven't seen this post before (it was posted on this day last year and this day the year before that), it's a reminder that protesting a wrong your government is doing is legal - it is part of our democracy. And when 100,000 people do it, as they did on this day in 1970, it sends a message.

As an outgrowth to the violence that met the anti-War protests at Kent and Jackson State Universities only a few days earlier, a mass demonstration and protest to the Vietnam War and our incursion into Cambodia on April 30th was organized and a march on Washington was held on May 9th.

It was the biggest demonstration of its kind, and the most peaceful. This was the demonstration made somewhat famous by the presence of President Nixon, walking through the crowd unannounced and without Secret Service in the middle of the night, talking with protesters.

News reports remarked Nixon thought the exchange with the demonstrators was "interesting". At a time when the word "interesting" could either mean enthusiasm, revulsion or the Chinese Curse - it was hard to pin down exactly what Nixon meant. But suffice to say, this demonstration brought mass opposition to the Vietnam War very much to the forefront.

Here is a special broadcast as presented by NBC News on May 9,1970.

Since 1938 was a Mid-Term election year, President Roosevelt embarked on a 28 day tour of the U.S., bringing his message of the accomplishments of his second term and a few words about The New Deal and the Recovery taking place in the country. The NRA had undergone a challenge in the Supreme Court and many of the programs initiated during FDR's first term were in jeopardy. So in an effort to bolster support and to campaign for incumbents, FDR did a series of whistle-stop appearances.

This one, on July 7, 1938 was from an appearance in Covington, Kentucky and was broadcast nationwide to a capacity audience.

Here is the complete address.