Work is the Tonic That is Expected to Restore the Shell-Shocked Soldiers to Health at Post Hospital

From The Indianapolis News, Saturday, March 1, 1919: More than one hundred veterans suffering from “shell shock” are undergoing treatment at Ft. Benjamin Harrison hospital. Physicians caring for the men whose nerves were shattered by the thundering of the big guns along the Western Front call this form of nervous disease “psychiatric cases.” Maj. Frank Leslie directs an occupational therapy program treating the men. “No medicine can be used efficaciously in the treatment of men whose nerves collapsed under the strain of battle. Natural surroundings, open air, quiet and work may effect a cure,” he says. Work is the tonic being given to the men and, with the help of government aides and many specially trained Indianapolis women, craft classes such as basketry, wood carving, pottery, and weaving allow the men to work at their bedside or in the workshop.

“…Shell-Shocked Soldiers to Health at Post Hospital,” The Indianapolis News, 1 March 1919, p. 2:1

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Governor Signs Anti-German Bill

From The Indianapolis News, Wednesday, February 26, 1919: Yesterday, Indiana became the first state to enact anti-German school legislation when the Indiana House of Representatives suspended the rules and voted 97 to 0 to pass Sen. McCray’s bill which had earlier cleared the Indiana Senate by a vote of 48 to 1. Gov. Goodrich signed the bill, which carried an emergency clause, and it became law immediately. The law repeals an 1869 provision providing for the compulsory teaching of German in elementary schools on the petition of the parents or guardians of twenty-five children. The law also stipulates that instruction in public, private, parochial and institutional elementary schools “shall be taught in the English language only,” and the teaching of the German language is specifically prohibited. The anti-German bill was spurred on by Hoosier war mothers and veterans.

“Governor Signs Anti-German Bill,” The Indianapolis News, 26 February 1919, p. 15:1

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Airplane Leaves with Prisoner as Passenger

From The Indianapolis News, Monday, February 24, 1919: The airplane was used today for the first time to transport a prisoner. Dayton, Ohio police inspector Seymour Yendes arrived in Indianapolis at noon aboard a Wright Airplane Co aircraft to get Robert Tamplin, accused of stealing $50 (2017: $736) from a laundry driver. After fleeing Dayton, Tamplin was arrested in Indianapolis on other charges. City police detectives Frank Reynolds and Frank Row met the plane at the Speedway and accompanied inspector Yendes to City Court where Judge Walter Pritchard turned Tamplin over to the Dayton officer. When asked if he would waive extradition and return in the plane, Tamplin replied, “Sure, I’ll waive anything to get to take that trip!” Detectives then took Tamplin to the plane, strapped him in, and fifty-five minutes later he was in a Dayton court room.

“Airplane Leaves with Prisoner as Passenger,” The Indianapolis News, 24 February 1919, p. 1:6

#1919 #aeroplanes #crime #changingtimes #court #Speedway