A historical gem

0 Comments | Saturday Evening Post, Jan-Feb, 2008 | by Jay Anderson

Your 100 Years Ago in the Post item, Carl Werner's clever rhyme "The Night Before Christmas 1907," brings back the nearly forgotten Panic of 1907 when the stock market dropped 39 percent over the period of one year and our economy was only saved by the intervention of J. P. Morgan and the U.S. Treasury. It was also the time of Teddy Roosevelt's trust-busting activities. The big railroad conglomerates were one of his targets. Some blame the threats of breaking up companies for the steep market decline.

Werner's Santa Claus story was a hit with my high-school history classes who don't always enjoy studying this period. I hope I can look forward to more of these historical gems in future issues of your magazine.

Jay Anderson

Dallas, Texas