Get into a conversation with a long time Queens resident
and you're likely to discover a subscriber of the Long Island Star- Journal,
a daily paper that informed the community about local and world news until
it folded in 1968. A banner across the Star Journal masthead reminded
readers that the newspaper's name came from the merger of the Long Island
Daily Star (1876) and the North Shore Daily Journal - The Flushing Journal
(1841).
Welcome to September 1917!
On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany, marking America's entry into World War I. By September, the dominant news stories in the Star were about Queens' war effort.
On September 4, nearly a thousand young men from Long Island City took part in a draft parade along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. These men were LIC's first quota to make up the "first army of 500,000." As they passed the reviewing stand at 42nd Street, a long, round cheer broke out. Among those who were applauding from this point were General George R. Dyer, Alton B. Parker (Democratic presidential candidate in 1904) and city officials. At the head of the LIC district's part of the parade walked the exemption board workers-the men whose toil resulted in the certifying of the most fit for Uncle Sam's service. Thousands lined the parade route from Washington Square to 50th Street. The cheering crowds on each block contained many Queens residents.
The same day, 600-odd draftees from draft districts in Maspeth, Woodside, Corona, Elmhurst, Forest
Hills and Winfield marched in Newtown. At the end of the march, Congressmember Charles Pope Caldwell spoke briefly to an immense audience that had gathered for the event. He predicted that "the 500,000 men going to France now will be only a drop in the bucket, compared to the number that will actually set forth on this mission to free the world from autocracy."
On September 13, Long Island City's campaign to recruit 15,000 members for the Red Cross was launched at a mass meeting in the Queens County Courthouse. The speaker of the evening was G. O. Tamblyn, director of the membership extension of the Atlantic division of the American Red Cross, who explained: "When the war broke out, the membership in the Red Cross in the United States was 24,000. When the United States entered the war, there were 100,000. At the present moment, the American Red Cross can claim a membership of 4,000,000. Since the Red Cross has become a clearing house for relief work for the Army and Navy, it has become a man's organization as well as a woman's."
An article in Queensborough, the monthly publication of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, noted industrial and real estate activities in Queens had been greatly stimulated by the demands on the many factories in the borough as a result of the war. Among 35 Queens factories contributing to the war effort were Ford Motor Company, American Hard Rubber Company, Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company and Neptune Meter Works.
In a note to Draft Board 176, Fredrick Emens of Beechhurst gave some pointers for those draftees going
to Camp Upton in Yaphank, Long Island. "For those who follow, it may be of interest that it will probably be at least a week before shoes and uniforms are given the men and that consequently it would be best to wear the most comfortable shoes one has; also a flannel shirt or jersey is better than a white shirt.
"We have no lockers, so I suggest that the men's things be carried in a pasteboard box or a tin bread box that can be used after the camp is reached, rather than just a paper bundle. A big nail brush to scrub clothes with when washing them is handy, as is a clothes brush, for it is very dusty here. A small mirror is another necessary item. There are stores here where such things can be bought by those who have not gotten them already."
Work was well underway on the 60th Street subway tunnel under the East River (today used by the N, Wand R trains.) The Star noted the importance of the "gauge man", whose task it was to increase or decrease air pressure in the tunnel while construction took place under the river. Until the tunnel was lined with concrete, there was a danger that additional water pressure would cause the tunnel to flood, while decreased water pressure would cause a "blow out", where the contents of the tunnel (including workers) would be blown through the protecting crust of earth or rock into the river. Work continued 24 hours a day, so the gauge man had to use his gauges to carefully monitor the tides on the river. The job was so important that duplicate gauges were kept in the offices of the chief engineer and superintendent.
The first annual field day of the policemen of the Elmhurst precinct was held. A baseball game was played at Maspeth Field. The teams were composed of policemen, who, while having had no practice, displayed agility at the game. Many police wives witnessed the five-inning game. After the game, there was a dinner at Fritz's Hall on Grand Street. The policemen and their wives occupied two large tables in the hall, which was decorated with American flags. No time was wasted in getting to the speeches, which began after the first course. Before and after the dinner there was dancing with music being provided by pianist Edward Thompson of Corona.
The completion of the Catskill Aqueduct water system was to be commemorated by a three-day celebration beginning October 12. There would be exercises at Courthouse Square in Long Island City and a pageant in Central Park where 25,000 school children would participate. President Woodrow Wilson was expected to attend, along
with George B. McClellan, Jr., (son of the famous Civil War Union general) who, as mayor of New York City, began the Catskill water system.
The aqueduct had been completed without a single labor disturbance, within contract time and within the appropriation of $140,000,000. The system was considered to be the greatest engineering feat in the world. It carried water 150 miles, making it three times longer than the Panama Canal.
