MID-SOUTH MEMORIES
25 years ago — 1995
Beijing – As a torch was passed from hand to hand and a performer sang “Keep on Moving Forward,” more than 15,000 women cheered the opening Wednesday of the Nongovernmental Organizations Forum on Women. A chain of women passed the torch, which began its journey a month ago in Durban, South Africa, to the conference leader, Supatra Masdit. The 10-day gathering of activists will discuss domestic violence, jobs, education and other areas where women seek better treatment. In Washington, the White House said first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will visit Mongolia, a fledgling democracy, after going to Beijing.
50 years ago — 1970
The rush-hour traffic jam and the distance to parking spaces have been causing many a motorist to announce that the bus must be easier. Today there is extra reason for trying the bus. The Memphis Transit Authority will begin this morning five routes designed for the new shape of the town. The downtown area will be reached more quickly by buses routed on the expressways. There will be direct connections between some of the outlying shopping centers. A new “Roundtown Express” will connect other bus lines with a limited number of pickup spots in between. The Transit Authority experts hope they have set up so attractive a package that thousands of persons will want to “leave it at home.” The way to find out how well they have done is to get aboard the bus.
75 years ago — 1945
Washington – The secrets of Pearl Harbor were bared by President Truman Wednesday, revealing criticism striking into high levels of the government. Gen. George C. Marshall, chief of staff, was hit by an Army board, on the grounds that he failed to alert Pearl Harbor fully before the Japanese struck that bastion Dec. 7, 1941. Cordell Hull, former Secretary of State, was said by the same board to have presented the Japanese with what they regarded as an ultimatum at a time when the Army and Navy were trying to stall for time to get prepared. This, the board said, “touched the button that started the war,” though it quickly added that war was inevitable.
100 years ago — 1920
New York – Young W. Averell Harriman, son of the late E.H. Harriman, gives promise of being as over-shadowing a figure in the shipping world as his father was in the world of rails. By his recent election to the presidency of the American Ship and Commerce Corp., he advances a step into the first rank of American ship owners.