This Month in Missouri History

License plates for cars, no-spitting ordinance

The City of St. Louis was pretty quick on the trigger when it came to requiring cars to have license plates. The city was also one of the first in the country with an ordinance against spitting in public.

These are a couple of the unique events from the state's past history that have anniversary dates in March.

Also, Harry Houdini, the famous escape artist, first tried one of his most famous tricks in St. Louis. And famed composer John Philip Sousa got notice of one of his most important musical appointments while in the city.

(Every month, the Missouri History Museum helps Young Saint Louis.com identify anniversary dates from the current month that occurred in the city and state. If you'd like to know more, visit www.mohistory.org.)

First auto licenses in St. Louis

On March 19, 1907, the St. Louis city council passed an ordinance requiring all automobiles in the city to display the number of its city license.

The ordinance specified that the license plates must be displayed permanently on the outside of the vehicle so they can be easily observed. The ordinance also said the license plates had to be lighted so they could be seen at night.

The licenses had to have numbers at least five inches high and must be "of arable numerals," no Roman numbers. The license numbers could be directly on the auto' outside.

But, the ordinance said, if the license was on a separate plate, it must be either "wood, metal or leather." Also, the plate must be "so attached to the machine that they will not sway in any direction independently of the motion of such machine."

For more about license history, visit www.licenseplates.tv/history.html.

St. Louis' "no-spitting" ordinance

On March 4, 1903, the New York Times newspaper reported that a St. Louis man had been charged with "spitting-violating the no-spitting ordinance."

The Journal of the American Medical Association put the spotlight on a national drive to ban spitting in public with an article on Oct. 20, 1900. The article was headlined: "Municipal Regulation of the Spitting Habit."

The article was written by Dr. Elmer Borland, a professor of hygiene and Dietetics at Western University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Borland cited author Charles Dickens as designating Americans "as a nation of spitters" who had no "national instinct of cleanliness."

The doctor said "enlightened nations of Europe regard spitting on the floors and sidewalks as not only unsanitary but an evidence of ill-breeding."

Dr. Borland wrote, five years previously, he had read a paper before the Allegany County Medical Society recommending regulation of public spitting. Nine of the 10 panel members agreed with the idea.

But, he added, six of the nine agreeing said regulations were impossible to enforce. One said, "Women can, but men cannot, change their filthy spitting habits."

He went on to say that several cities had enacted "no- spitting" ordinances. But, in 1900, St. Louis wasn't among them.

Dr. Borland said, "The Boards of Health of Chicago and St. Louis had contented themselves with suggestions to the public, mainly through signs placed in street cars."

But, St. Louis did enact a "no-spitting" ordinance later. But, in 1903, the arrest in the city still was unique enough to attract an article in the New York Times.

Now, if we could just get professional baseball players to quit.

For the NYT article, visit: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-
free/pdf?_r=1&res=9A0CEEDF1339E333A25757C0A9659C946
297D6CF.

A famous escape by Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini was born Erik Weisz in Hungary on March 24,1874. In 1899, he decided to stop his traditional magic act and concentrate on unusual escapes. His career took off.

In 1908, he was in St. Louis when he came up with a new trick. This one involved his escape from a large milk can filled with water.

That became a very popular part of his act and he took it on tour throughout the U.S., England and Germany.

For more on Houdini, visit: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/vshtml/vshchrn.html. (About the milk can escape) http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/entertain/houdini/magic_l

The "march king" John Philip Sousa

John Philip Sousa

John Philip Sousa died in March, 1932. St. Louis figured in one of the most important days of his life.

He was touring in St. Louis when he received a telegram offering him the leadership of the U.S. Marine Band in Washington, D.C. He became the band's 17th leader and undoubtedly its most famous.

There are several websites that give more about the background of Sousa's life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Philip_Sousa. http://www.marineband.usmc.mil/learning_tools/our_history
/john_sousa.htm. http://www.marineband.usmc.mil/WHO_WE_ARE/index.htm.

Laclede Gas in business before electricity

On March 2, 1857, the Laclede Gas and Light Company was founded. Thus, the company was delivering natural gas to customers long before electricity was even discovered.

There are two websites which provide interesting background: http://www.lacledegas.com/about/news/1/
http://fossil.energy.gov/education/energylessons/gas/gas_history.html (A history of natural gas)

Mayor Francis Slay's birthday

Mayor Francis Slay

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay was born in March 18, 1955.

Slay first won the mayoral seat when he defeated incumbent Mayor Clarence Harmon and former mayor Freeman Bosley Jr. in a three-way Democratic primary. In the City of St. Louis, a win in the Democratic primary usually insures a victory in the general election.

Slay won reelection in 2005. He is running for a third term.

For more on Mayor Slay, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_G._Slay