IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (18th - 24th NOVEMBER 1919)
This week's stories include a claim of baby farming in Westfield Street, the woman from Shaw Street prosecuted for taking her child into a pub, the work of the St Agnes Home in Nutgrove for fallen women and why the town's Electricity Committee was "between the devil and the deep sea" over a Swiss generator.
We begin on the 18th when this advert extolling the virtues of Beecham's pills was published in the Nottingham Journal: "You will awake in the morning fresh and vigorous, feeling that it is a joy to be alive if you make a point of keeping your liver and kidneys active, your bowels regular and your digestive system in good order. You will start the day well, without a headache or any other sensation of heaviness if you will make it a practice to take a dose of Beecham's Pills at bed-time occasionally.
"They are efficacious as a corrective, an aperient, a tonic and a blood-purifying medicine. If you take this excellent preparation from time to time your health will be all the better for the treatment. You will maintain your energy, your efficiency, your zest for pleasure, and you will keep your complexion clear and your eyes bright. Sold in boxes, labelled 1s-3d, and 3s-0d."
A testimonial from a Mrs Burgess from Phythian Street was also in many newspapers this week. It extolled the virtues of a nerve tonic called Dr Cassell's Tablets and made a remarkable claim of recovery: "After an operation my little Edith was always weak and puny, and seemed to get thinner every day. She did not eat well, but just lay about, a frail little thing. At two years old she hadn't begun to walk. She just wasted away to a skeleton, and what flesh there was on her poor little bones was quite soft.
"I had tried everything I could think of for Edie, without benefit, when a friend advised me to give her Dr. Cassell's Tablets. I did, and it was really astonishing how they helped her. She picked up wonderfully, and quite soon was eating better than ever she had done. Then she began to put on flesh, and now she is running about ever so well and strong."
On the 20th a special meeting of the Town Council was held to discuss a resolution of the Electricity Committee that a tender from a Swiss firm to supply a turbo alternator be accepted. This was a hugely controversial issue, which Alderman Henry Bates expressed as putting them "between the devil and the deep sea."
That was because the £20,000 tender was more than £4,000 cheaper than that of British firms and the council was obligated to obtain value for money for its ratepayers. However they were also expected to buy British and the Swiss had stayed out of the war and had not suffered inflation like the British economy and so arguably could pay their workmen less. After a lengthy discussion and much soul searching it was decided to go ahead and accept the Swiss bid.
The annual meeting of the Prescot Rural Deanery and District Branch for Preventive and Rescue Work was held on the 20th at St Helens Town Hall. The society with the long-winded name essentially attempted to save girls from moral danger and looked after "fallen women" at the St Agnes Home. The Mayor, Joseph Turner, presided over the meeting and said the war had made people more humanitarian and charitable, with "more consideration for the sinner".
During the year ending in August, the St Agnes Maternity Home and Crèche at the former Nutgrove Hall had helped 78 girls, with 27 of them having being admitted into the institution. That was probably because they had been kicked out of their own homes after getting pregnant. The society's report into last year's work said: "The superintendent [Miss Jubb] has been very successful in dealing with the girls, who show their appreciation of the house and the care they received there by their constant visits afterwards."
The crèche side of the home had only been going for 16 months and during that time had cared for 28 babies, with 11 being allowed to remain until they were five years old. The Vicar of St Helens, Canon Albert Baines, told the meeting that the work being undertaken could not be done by the State, because it was work "which required the redeeming hand. Its chief value was in the reforming of characters which had been somewhat shattered."
However Rev. Mould, the Vicar of Christ Church, Southport, had far more critical comments to make, saying the war with men and women working side by side in factories had had a "bad effect on morals". The vicar criticised a "lack of modesty, propriety, decency and decorum amongst almost all classes of the community". He also said: "There was to-day a very light, airy and trivial view of sin."
After being suspended for the last few years because of the war, the St Helens Police Ball was held again during the evening of the 20th. The event took place in the Town Hall, with six hundred guests dancing from 7pm to 1am.
On the 21st Elizabeth Whittle from Shaw Street appeared in St Helens Police Court charged with allowing a child of eleven to be in the bar of licensed premises. At nine o’clock on the previous Saturday evening, Inspector Bowden and PC Heaton had made a routine visit to the White Hart in Church Street. The police entered the bar and noticed a young girl sat on a form by the counter, with Mrs Whittle and another women attempting to conceal the child from view.
The girl's mother explained that she had brought her daughter in out of the cold and the police were satisfied that the pub's landlord had been unaware of her presence. That was important as otherwise he could have been in serious trouble with the authorities. A short time later Inspector Bowden was going along Hall Street and saw the same child crying in the street close to where she lived. Upon searching for her mother he found her drinking beer in another pub nearby (probably the Union Hotel). The magistrates said allowing the child into the pub was a dangerous thing, because it was not only endangering the child but also the licensee and Mrs Whittle was fined 30 shillings.
Also in court was Edith Mather of Westfield Street, who was charged with taking an infant child to nurse for reward without registering it. In fact the childless woman had been given the baby to bring up as her own. The mother was Rebecca Hudaly, an unmarried woman from Vine Street in Liverpool, who had given birth to the child in July. Rebecca's father was blacksmith Juli Hudaly, who described himself as a Russian Jew. He had sought the assistance of the Rev. Paul Dressler to help him persuade Mrs Mather to adopt his grandchild.
Rev. Dressler described himself in court as the missioner of the Jews in Liverpool and said they came to him with all their troubles. He described how he had been to see Mrs Mather to ask her if she would adopt the baby. She agreed and the child was handed over in Knotty Ash, along with £5 to help with expenses. The court clearly did not like what it was hearing and the prosecution said the family were getting out pretty cheaply for just £5. Then the Chairman of the Bench asked Rev. Dressler if he had ever assisted in "smuggling a baby" before.
The answer was no but it was revealed that Mrs Mather had previously "adopted" a child from Rebecca Hudaley. This she had registered as being her own child but it had died in 1913. The Chairman thought what had occurred was very much like baby farming and said the magistrates "deprecate strongly the action taken by all the parties" as he imposed a fine of £5 on Edith Mather.
The resurgence of the motor car since the dark days of the war when most production ceased was continuing to be displayed in the pages of the St Helens Reporter. This week's edition was published on the 21st and as well as plenty of adverts for motor vehicles, there were quite a few motorists prosecuted for not having lights on their vehicle.
Amongst them was Thomas Allen from London, who was a business rep – or traveller, as they were then known. He pleaded guilty to riding a motorcycle with sidecar without two front white lights. Mr Allen said he was quite ignorant of the fact that he had to have lights on his bike, having only purchased it last month without any lamp on it. The Bench was in a generous mood and let the man off on payment of costs.
Next week's stories will include the man from Liverpool Street charged with attempted murder, the one-legged ex-soldier's marital dispute, the one-footed drunken sailor in Marshalls Cross, a new pavilion for Saints, the downfall of a schoolteacher's widow and a boy's unmerciful thrashing for accidentally breaking a shop window.
We begin on the 18th when this advert extolling the virtues of Beecham's pills was published in the Nottingham Journal: "You will awake in the morning fresh and vigorous, feeling that it is a joy to be alive if you make a point of keeping your liver and kidneys active, your bowels regular and your digestive system in good order. You will start the day well, without a headache or any other sensation of heaviness if you will make it a practice to take a dose of Beecham's Pills at bed-time occasionally.
"They are efficacious as a corrective, an aperient, a tonic and a blood-purifying medicine. If you take this excellent preparation from time to time your health will be all the better for the treatment. You will maintain your energy, your efficiency, your zest for pleasure, and you will keep your complexion clear and your eyes bright. Sold in boxes, labelled 1s-3d, and 3s-0d."
"I had tried everything I could think of for Edie, without benefit, when a friend advised me to give her Dr. Cassell's Tablets. I did, and it was really astonishing how they helped her. She picked up wonderfully, and quite soon was eating better than ever she had done. Then she began to put on flesh, and now she is running about ever so well and strong."
On the 20th a special meeting of the Town Council was held to discuss a resolution of the Electricity Committee that a tender from a Swiss firm to supply a turbo alternator be accepted. This was a hugely controversial issue, which Alderman Henry Bates expressed as putting them "between the devil and the deep sea."
That was because the £20,000 tender was more than £4,000 cheaper than that of British firms and the council was obligated to obtain value for money for its ratepayers. However they were also expected to buy British and the Swiss had stayed out of the war and had not suffered inflation like the British economy and so arguably could pay their workmen less. After a lengthy discussion and much soul searching it was decided to go ahead and accept the Swiss bid.
The annual meeting of the Prescot Rural Deanery and District Branch for Preventive and Rescue Work was held on the 20th at St Helens Town Hall. The society with the long-winded name essentially attempted to save girls from moral danger and looked after "fallen women" at the St Agnes Home. The Mayor, Joseph Turner, presided over the meeting and said the war had made people more humanitarian and charitable, with "more consideration for the sinner".
During the year ending in August, the St Agnes Maternity Home and Crèche at the former Nutgrove Hall had helped 78 girls, with 27 of them having being admitted into the institution. That was probably because they had been kicked out of their own homes after getting pregnant. The society's report into last year's work said: "The superintendent [Miss Jubb] has been very successful in dealing with the girls, who show their appreciation of the house and the care they received there by their constant visits afterwards."
The crèche side of the home had only been going for 16 months and during that time had cared for 28 babies, with 11 being allowed to remain until they were five years old. The Vicar of St Helens, Canon Albert Baines, told the meeting that the work being undertaken could not be done by the State, because it was work "which required the redeeming hand. Its chief value was in the reforming of characters which had been somewhat shattered."
However Rev. Mould, the Vicar of Christ Church, Southport, had far more critical comments to make, saying the war with men and women working side by side in factories had had a "bad effect on morals". The vicar criticised a "lack of modesty, propriety, decency and decorum amongst almost all classes of the community". He also said: "There was to-day a very light, airy and trivial view of sin."
After being suspended for the last few years because of the war, the St Helens Police Ball was held again during the evening of the 20th. The event took place in the Town Hall, with six hundred guests dancing from 7pm to 1am.
On the 21st Elizabeth Whittle from Shaw Street appeared in St Helens Police Court charged with allowing a child of eleven to be in the bar of licensed premises. At nine o’clock on the previous Saturday evening, Inspector Bowden and PC Heaton had made a routine visit to the White Hart in Church Street. The police entered the bar and noticed a young girl sat on a form by the counter, with Mrs Whittle and another women attempting to conceal the child from view.
The girl's mother explained that she had brought her daughter in out of the cold and the police were satisfied that the pub's landlord had been unaware of her presence. That was important as otherwise he could have been in serious trouble with the authorities. A short time later Inspector Bowden was going along Hall Street and saw the same child crying in the street close to where she lived. Upon searching for her mother he found her drinking beer in another pub nearby (probably the Union Hotel). The magistrates said allowing the child into the pub was a dangerous thing, because it was not only endangering the child but also the licensee and Mrs Whittle was fined 30 shillings.
Also in court was Edith Mather of Westfield Street, who was charged with taking an infant child to nurse for reward without registering it. In fact the childless woman had been given the baby to bring up as her own. The mother was Rebecca Hudaly, an unmarried woman from Vine Street in Liverpool, who had given birth to the child in July. Rebecca's father was blacksmith Juli Hudaly, who described himself as a Russian Jew. He had sought the assistance of the Rev. Paul Dressler to help him persuade Mrs Mather to adopt his grandchild.
Rev. Dressler described himself in court as the missioner of the Jews in Liverpool and said they came to him with all their troubles. He described how he had been to see Mrs Mather to ask her if she would adopt the baby. She agreed and the child was handed over in Knotty Ash, along with £5 to help with expenses. The court clearly did not like what it was hearing and the prosecution said the family were getting out pretty cheaply for just £5. Then the Chairman of the Bench asked Rev. Dressler if he had ever assisted in "smuggling a baby" before.
The answer was no but it was revealed that Mrs Mather had previously "adopted" a child from Rebecca Hudaley. This she had registered as being her own child but it had died in 1913. The Chairman thought what had occurred was very much like baby farming and said the magistrates "deprecate strongly the action taken by all the parties" as he imposed a fine of £5 on Edith Mather.
The resurgence of the motor car since the dark days of the war when most production ceased was continuing to be displayed in the pages of the St Helens Reporter. This week's edition was published on the 21st and as well as plenty of adverts for motor vehicles, there were quite a few motorists prosecuted for not having lights on their vehicle.
Amongst them was Thomas Allen from London, who was a business rep – or traveller, as they were then known. He pleaded guilty to riding a motorcycle with sidecar without two front white lights. Mr Allen said he was quite ignorant of the fact that he had to have lights on his bike, having only purchased it last month without any lamp on it. The Bench was in a generous mood and let the man off on payment of costs.
Next week's stories will include the man from Liverpool Street charged with attempted murder, the one-legged ex-soldier's marital dispute, the one-footed drunken sailor in Marshalls Cross, a new pavilion for Saints, the downfall of a schoolteacher's widow and a boy's unmerciful thrashing for accidentally breaking a shop window.