Welcome back to Bad Things in History, where we don t spend the first few minutes stalling before
getting to the topic you clicked on. This episode continues our series which
explores the worst events of the 1920s. Today we focus on the year 1924.
The period between World War One and the Great Depression
is usually remembered as a peaceful time. But, it was a chaotic decade full of horrible events and
unsavory individuals. People died from mistakes, ignorance, and of course murder.
Our first story describes how some unfortunate souls met their end
in a watery grave. ----------------
HMS L24
The British did a lot of work on submarines during the 1920s. And
they lost several of them in the process. Earlier in the decade the British Navy worked
on improving their K-class submarines. These were built during World War One.
That effort was unsuccessful and one of the vessels was lost in 1921.
At the end of the war, they built larger submarines.
These were referred to as L-class and were quite large.
These submarines were 238 feet long, 23 feet wide, and could dive to a depth of 150 feet. When on
the surface an L-class vessel was propelled by two 1200 horsepower diesel engines.
On January 10th, 1924, the submarine designated as L24 took part in an exercise off the English
coast. Among the vessels participating was a battleship called Resolution. At 11:13 am the
crew of the Resolution felt as though the boat struck something. But they didn t find anything,
and the battleship wasn t damaged. When Resolution returned to port it was
discovered that the L24 had not returned. And the hull of Resolution was slightly damaged.
A later investigation discovered that HMS L24 had surfaced near the battleship. It tried
to take evasive action, but it was too late. Resolution struck the submarine which then sank
to the bottom of the ocean. It is estimated that thirty-eight people died in the accident.
Castle Gate Mine Disaster
Coal mines were located all over the United States in the early 20th century.
This also included Castle Gate, Utah which is around 100 miles away from Salt Lake City.
Coal mines are full of hazards. One of the deadly items miners have to deal with is coal dust.
It can diffuse through the air within an active mine. If it is ignited, then it can explode.
Miners were aware of this in the 1920s.
Usually at the end of a working day they would dampen coal dust within the mine.
By keeping it wet they could rest assured that the dust would not catch on fire.
On March 8th, 1924, a shift of workers in the Castle Gate mine didn t do this properly.
Around 8:00 am someone from the next shift was investigating a roof in the mine.
His job was to try and discover things that might be dangerous. But as he was trying to
examine the roof his carbide lamp went out. He needed light to see, so he struck a match.
When the match burst into flame it lit coal dust that was suspended in the air.
The result was a sudden and violent explosion. Equipment and telephone poles near the mine
entrance were thrown almost one mile away. Not all the miners died.
But they were trapped in the dark and their lamps had gone out during the first explosion.
To help see what was happening they tried to light their lamps. This triggered another
explosion. This explosion in turn caused the mine to collapse and killed all the miners.
It took nine days to recover the bodies. Many of them were so disfigured that they could
only be identified by articles of clothing. A total of 171 miners died in the accident.
Leopold And Loeb
Sometimes people who think they are very smart really aren t.
Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were from Chicago. They came from wealthy families
and lived in an affluent area of the city. The two were aware of each other while growing
up. But when they attended college, the pair began spending more time with each other.
The two began reading the works of Friedrich Nietzsche and became obsessed
with his description of supermen. These individuals were described as more intelligent
and capable than most people. And they were immune to the consequences of their actions.
Nathan and Richard decided that this description applied to them.
They began testing this theory by committing crimes. They broke into buildings and stole
things. Nathan and Richard vandalized property all over the city. They even set things on fire.
Nobody ever suspected them of being criminals. The two became frustrated as the press wasn t covering
their mischievous deeds. So, they decided it was time to commit the perfect crime.
Kidnapping and murder would be the way in which they proved their superiority.
They spent seven months planning the crime. On the afternoon of May 21st, 1924, Nathan and
Richard began executing their plan. They settled on victimizing fourteen-year-old Robert Franks.
He was Richard s second cousin and belonged to a wealthy family.
They rented a car then drove it alongside Robert. They offered him a ride, and Robert climbed into
the car. Nathan was driving. Robert was in the passenger seat. Richard was behind Robert.
As they drove Richard took a chisel and hit Robert in the head repeatedly.
Then he was dragged into the back seat and gagged. Robert died soon after.
Nathan and Richard left the body in a ditch and poured acid on it. Then the two killers
went home and called Robert s family demanding a ransom. They also sent a ransom note.
Before the pair could collect their blood money, Robert s body was found.
Police also found a pair of prescription glasses at the crime scene.
It turned out they belonged to Nathan. Robert s murder was not the perfect crime.
Nathan and Richard were arrested and put on trial. At the time,
it was called the Trial of The Century. They were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
In 1936 Richard was killed in prison. An inmate fatally wounded him with a straight razor.
Nathan remained incarcerated until 1958. He died of a heart attack in 1971.
Napalp Massacre
Indigenous people have suffered all over the world. In the 1920s, the
native inhabitants of Argentina were the next to endure violence and death.
The Toba people inhabited what is today northern Argentina.
The arrival of Europeans reduced their territory as they were attacked and defeated repeatedly.
In the 1880s the Toba no longer had the numbers or resources to resist the invaders. So, they
retreated to a heavily forested part of northern Argentina. They survived in this difficult terrain
for years. But little by little their land was taken, and their population was reduced.
The Toba people were placed into camps and began working on farms. It was demanding work but some
of the natives actually began earning a profit. Soon they would face the possibility
of extinction one more time. The Argentine government began taxing
cotton at a rate of fifteen percent. The Toba were not happy and began revolting. They retaliated
against some of the European farmers and killed their animals. A couple of settlers were killed
as well. The Governor of the region decided to use overwhelming force to resolve the situation.
On July 19th, 1924, a group of police, ranchers, and white citizens armed themselves.
The group of 150 men began marching to the Napalpi community. It took them forty
minutes to finish attacking the group. The militant group shot over five thousand
rounds during the attack. When it was finished, they used machetes to kill the survivors.
Then trophies were taken. The attackers cut parts off the bodies of the dead and displayed
them proudly in their homes and businesses. The death toll was around two hundred men, women,
and children. Some white farmers that wanted to help the Toba were also killed in the massacre.
Nobody was ever punished for this crime. Babbs Switch Fire
In the early 20th century, rural children who attended school in
the United States often did so in what was known as a one-room schoolhouse.
Instead of being segregated based on age all the pupils were present in a single large room.
This was a convenient arrangement for educators. But on Christmas Eve 1924
it would become a dangerous situation for one school in Babbs Switch, Oklahoma.
The school decided to have a party on the day before Christmas. At least two hundred people
were packed into the small building. At the front of the room was a large Christmas tree.
Instead of electric lights it was covered with candles. There were wrapped presents
in the branches of the tree as well. A teenage student arrived dressed as
Santa Claus. He began taking presents from the tree and handing them to children. But
as he removed one of the presents the wrapping paper was ignited by a candle.
The presents and the tree burst into flames. Soon it began spreading to the entire building.
Everyone tried to leave the building. But there was only one door that opened inward.
So as people pushed against the door it became impossible to open it.
The windows also had metal screens to prevent entry to the school. So, nobody could use
windows to escape the flames either. One child managed to climb out a window.
Everyone else remained trapped until rescuers could get into the building.
In the end thirty-six of the occupants died. At least thirty more were seriously injured.
The remaining survivors would never forget the horrible experience.
As a result of the disaster fire safety codes were improved in Oklahoma and, eventually,
the rest of the country as well. Battle of Hanap?p?
In the 1920s one of the main exports from Hawaii was sugarcane. There were several plantations
that produced the crop. The most profitable of these were near the community of Hanapepe.
The plantation depended almost entirely on laborers from the Philippines.
By the early 1920s the plantation owners were becoming disillusioned with the Filipino workers.
They began demanding better conditions which cut into the profit margins.
The crop producers in Hawaii wanted to use cheap Chinese labor instead.
But the Chinese Exclusion Act prevented that. So, they had to keep using Filipinos.
If you want to know more about why Chinese were banned from the United States, we discuss it in
another episode called Rock Springs Massacre. In 1924 the laborers finally had enough.
They demanded an increase in the minimum wage. And they wanted
the workday reduced to just eight hours. The plantation owners ignored the workers demands.
Having exhausted all other options, the Filipino laborers finally went on strike.
Those who led the strike found that they became inviting targets.
Individuals hired by the planters would sabotage their efforts to organize.
Others were paid to testify against strikers in court.
On September 9th, the Filipino strikers lost their patience. They kidnapped two people who tried to
break the strike and return to work. The police arrived and tried to rescue the kidnapped workers.
They faced two hundred angry Filipinos. The laborers were
armed with knives, clubs, and pistols. The police and the striking workers began fighting
each other. Eventually the authorities gained the upper hand and their opponents fled.
Sixteen Filipino strikers were killed as were two police officers.
The police began searching for those who participated in the attack. Over
one hundred were arrested though only seventy-six faced charges. At least fifty-six of the workers
ended up receiving four-year prison sentences. The Filipino labor movement did not completely
disappear. But it never had much success. ------------------------
As the 1920s began natural disasters, accidents, and assassinations seemed to
indicate a possible trend. But by the middle of the decade people were tired of pleasantries.
A lot of them apparently had murder on their minds.
What do you think about the events of this terrible year? Was the past much like today? Or
are you suddenly glad to live in the present? Let us know what you think in the comments
below. Also like the video and subscribe to our channel if you feel like helping us out. We have
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Thank you for watching Bad Things in History. ------------------------