Mission Statement

Due to all the news, “Mission Statement—Reader’s Survey Part II” is postponed.

Tomorrow, we hope to have the full Beige report, and also by district. Commonly known as the Beige Book, this report is published eight times per year. Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank and Branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. The Beige Book summarizes this information by District and sector. An overall summary of the twelve district reports is prepared by a designated Federal Reserve Bank on a rotating basis.

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“Thank you for placing my classified ad in your newsletter. I read The
Leasing News daily and ultimately found a credit position from an employer
that placed an ad in it. I have accepted the position and now ask that
you remove my ad.

“I really appreciate the service you provide and the help you
gave me in finding a new position within the leasing industry.”

Sincerely,

Steve Zuck
Credit Officer
Alliance Funding Group, Inc.
2099 S. State College Blvd., Ste. 301
Anaheim, CA 92806
Ph. 714-704-1440
szuck@alliancefunds.com

7 years experience in leasing credit/syndication. Earned BS Business Administration: Finance at C.S.U.L.B. Seeking growth position in credit/syndication.

Credit: Atlanta, GA. VP Credit/Operations/Sr. Credit Officer. 15yrs exp. in equipment leasing. Strong financial analysis and management skills. Experience developing and maintaining profitable customer/vendor relationships. Email:credops@msn.com

Senior Credit Officer in middle-market equip. finance, vendor, 3rd party, specialty, flow credit to the fortune 1000. Team builder, originations capable, strong work ethic, ability to multi-task. Email: kyletrust@hotmail.com

Challenging position where my skills, professional experience, organization, leadership, strategic thinking, creativity, energy, passion, competitive nature will enable me to define opportunities and personal development.

VP credit Consumer Credit prime/sub prime Auto lending/leasing/mortgages. 20+yrs exp. If you are looking for someone to affect the bottom line I am that person. Will relocate. Email:amosca2000@yahoo.com

Credit: Long Beach, NY. Credit officer w/more than 20 years of experience. Seeking position in which I can utilize my credit-collections, communication &management skills. Email:michaelschaubeck@webtv.net

Over 15 years experience in Credit/Operations with Small Ticket and transactions up to $500,000.00. CLP, with excellent relationships with most major lenders. Email:jonbh123@earthlink.net

Senior corporate officer with financial services credit background. M and A, fund raising and workout expertise. Email:nywb@aol.com

Credit Analyst with 10+ years experience in small-ticket lending up to $500,000. Experience with both vendor-direct and with brokers.

3+ years of leasing credit / contracts experience. Currently in the leasing industry and moving to NY! Exp. working at both funding source and broker.

V.P. Credit & Collections w/23 years exp.looking for a situation where I can utilize my varied & extensive knowledge of credit/collections/risk-management & leasing. Email:rcouzzi@yahoo.com

Credit: New York, NY Credit officer with banking and leasing background; strong analytical and communication/PC skills with lending and portfolio management experience. Email: michaelschaubeck@webtv.net

Credit: San Francisco, CA. 10+ years Credit Analyst experience underwriting for a direct lessor, regional bank and vendor leasing company. Have CLP and will make decisions ( won't rely on a FICO score for enlightenment.) Email: pmtorres1@yahoo.com

7+ years Credit/Underwriting experience Comp lit. Please email me for copy of job description at mgallo@comfingrp.com

”In case you haven't heard , (today) the executives of Orix Capital Markets will announce that they are shutting down the NY office. Major layoffs will hit the Kennesaw, Georgia office either mid or late February. Nothing is certain yet but it is probably safe to say that Orix will be out of the leasing business altogether at this time in 2005.

“ They have also already told the CIO, Chief Legal Officer, EFG Group President, and some other senior level people when their last day will be. I'm hearing they will be leaving on 2/29 but haven't confirmed yet. Will let you know more when I find out.”

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday requested that Congress stop the widespread leasing of public water systems, subways and bridges to private companies in arrangements that infuse cash into local governments and hand tax breaks to private investors.

Left unchecked, the Treasury Department said, the lease arrangements could drain nearly $34 billion from the U.S. Treasury over a decade.

``We think it's been pretty widespread,'' said Assistant Treasury Secretary Pamela Olson.

The Treasury Department is requesting the prohibition take effect retroactively on Jan. 1, 2004, which would leave previous transactions intact. Assistant Treasury Secretary Pamela Olsen notes the department plans to review older leases.

``The IRS is auditing in this area,'' she said.

It was not uncommon for a local government leases infrastructure built or bought with public funds to a private company to raise revenue. The private company claims a tax break for the depreciated value of the infrastructure. The local government retains control of the infrastructure.

Olson claims there is little businesses substance to the leases. ``There is little to be said in support of these transactions,'' she said.

These types of transactions were brought to Congresses attention on October 21, 2003, Senate Finance Committee Hearing "Tax Shelters: Who's Buying, Who's Selling, and What's the Government Doing About It?" included testimony from an anonymous witness who used the term leasing to describe a broad financial structure which included leasing, loans, and other financial instruments. While LILO transactions used leases in the structure, they are not similar to the thousands of leases done every day which allow businesses to acquire productive assets.

The witness testified that the public transit systems of Boston, Chicago and Washington had been leased to private companies.

Officials in the three cities confirmed they use the leasing agreements and described them as a revenue boon for transit agencies, which had been approved by the Federal Transit Administration

Since then, the Federal Transit Administration has suspended its review of fifteen pending transactions worth up to $250 million to municipalities, according to the American Public Transportation Association.

``We think it is fundamentally unfair, if not arbitrary, for the FTA to suspend its review of the fifteen or so pending transactions that are no different from the many transactions the FTA has reviewed and approved in the past,'' President William W. Millar wrote to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta in December.

Michael Fleming, president of the Equipment Leasing Association, said declarations in Congress to bring an end to the practice have brought many pending agreements to a standstill without consideration of alternative sources of financing for hospitals, cities, schools and fire departments.

``They are the ones that are really going to be the losers in this,'' he said.

He also challenged critics who called the arrangements abusive tax shelters. ``There is absolutely no abuse,'' he said. ``They are done according to a long history of law.''

Critics in the administration and Congress say taxpayers lose more from the deductions claimed by private corporations than they gain from improvements to public works.

The Senate Finance Committee started work last year on legislation to block the lease deals.

``I'm especially glad to see administration support of my efforts to shut down abusive leasing transactions that allow corporations to claim tax deductions for subways, water mains and other infrastructure built with taxpayer dollars,'' said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa and chairman of the committee.

The proposal to prohibit the leasing deals is the largest in a list of initiatives to close down tax shelters and increase penalties for those who sell and use abusive transactions. The items will be formally proposed in the president's budget submitted to Congress in February.

In the budget, the administration plans to call for a 4.8 percent budget increase for the IRS, including $300 million boost for the division that enforces tax laws and unearths tax shelters.

Equipment Leasing Association Says Access to Important Source of Financing Threatened by Treasury's 2005 Budget Proposal

ARLINGTON, Va.--- Association Cites Loss of Financing Options to Charities, Hospitals, and Schools as an Unintended Consequence of Budget Provisions Pertaining to Leasing Transactions

The Equipment Leasing Association of America (ELA) responds to the Treasury Department's 2005 proposed budget plan to stop leasing transactions with 'tax-indifferent parties,' citing clear negative consequences that compromise many organizations' ability to finance projects and infrastructure.

"Unfortunately, this proposal will take away the ability for tax-exempt entities, such as hospitals, charities, and schools, already strapped for capital, to lease equipment and severely limit their financing options," according to Michael Fleming, President of ELA. "This is a poorly thought-out provision that will raise the cost of making needed assets and services available to these organizations."

This provision will adversely affect the tax deductions available not only to lessors of property leased to tax-exempt entities, but also will negatively impact owners that use leased property to provide virtually every type of service to such entities. This provision would adversely affect the federal government, state and local governments, including schools, and universities, hospitals, municipal and regional transportation authorities and other tax-exempt entities. The categories of property affected by this provision include:

1. Real estate leased to any federal, state or local government, any tax-exempt organization, including schools and hospitals, military installations, offices, etc.

2. Computers, other qualifying technological equipment and medical equipment leased to or used to provide services to tax-exempt entities including schools, hospitals, government and military installations.

3. Transportation property leased to or used to provide transportation services to any tax-exempt entity, including school bus companies, or which is used by or to provide services to municipal bus lines, ferry services, and rail lines.

4. Cars and trucks leased to federal, state and local governments, including fire trucks leased to municipal and tax-exempt fire companies.

5. Communications services provided to any tax-exempt entity, including satellite communication, and PBX systems and 911 systems. The provision could even affect telephone companies.

6. Utility services, including the provision and distribution of wastewater, freshwater, gas, electric, steam, etc. provided by state and local government, municipal systems, military bases and similar users. The provision will likely undo some of the energy tax benefits in the energy bill currently pending in Congress.

"ELA calls for the provision to be removed from the budget proposal," said Fleming. "The Administration, especially the Treasury Department, is asked to continue its support of current law which permits and encourages the providing of lease financing to tax-exempt entities for a wide range of important productive assets."

Organized in 1961, the Equipment Leasing Association (ELA) is the premier non-profit association representing companies involved in the dynamic equipment leasing and finance industry to the business community, government and media. As the voice of the leasing industry, ELA promotes the estimated $208 billion industry as a major source of funds for capital investment in the United States and abroad.

ELA provides its members with comprehensive services, assists in the resolution of industry issues, educates financial decision-makers on the benefits of leasing and promotes high standards of business practices within the industry. ELA maintains an informational portal for financial decision-makers to learn more about leasing and find a leasing company at http://www.LeaseAssistant.org. Headquartered in Arlington, Va., ELA has more than 800 member companies and a staff of 25 professionals. For more information on ELA, please visit ELA Online at http://www.ELAOnline.com.

-- Cities Access to Important Financing Threatened by Senate Finance Committee Action and Treasury Stance, January 13, 2004

-- Leasing Provides an Important Source of Financing for Cities, January 13, 2004

CONTACT:Equipment Leasing Association Amy J. Holmes, CAE, 703-516-8367 aholmes@elamail.com

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At its peak in the late 1990s, O/E Systems Inc. of Troy boasted nearly 800 employees who leased, serviced and resold computer equipment to dozens of prominent firms.

But a slumping economy, an end to Y2K fears, a dot-com bubble and a few other factors later, and this once high-flying company owned by the prominent Vlasic family recently did what once might have been unthinkable: exited the leasing business entirely.

O/E still operates three remaining business arms, including SecondWindPC.com, a reseller of computer equipment, and a couple of subsidiaries that operate and service computer systems for corporate clients. But after laying off some 50 or so sales and support workers in mid-November when it stopped originating new leases through its M/C Leasing subsidiary, the company now employs about 200.

The O/E story illustrates how quickly fortunes can turn around in the information technology industry. It also shows how major players are coming to dominate an industry once populated mainly by small independents like O/E.

"The big players were getting bigger, and the small players were continuing to exit. The writing's on the wall," says Rob Kowalski, vice president for human resources at O/E.

Founded in 1979, O/E remains privately held by members of the Vlasic family, best known in Detroit for the pickle company the family founded nearly a century ago and later sold to Campbell's Soup Co. in 1978. Paul Vlasic is chairman of O/E Systems, and his brother, Michael, is a director.

The firm's name stood for office equipment, its original product line, but over time it moved more into leasing computers, printers and other information technology equipment. (The subsidiary M/C name stood for micro computer.) Highly successful, the firm supplied computers to major utility companies, law firms and other clients.

But then a series of setbacks in recent years whittled away at the company's revenues and client base. A Chicago-based phone company took its information-technology support operations in-house instead of outsourcing to O/E, resulting in 150 layoffs. The end to the Y2K scare meant more layoffs. And the slumping economy cut personnel further.

Everyone agrees that independent leasing firms like O/E have been getting squeezed by the biggest new players in the industry.

There are three parties to a traditional leasing relationship: a client who needs the equipment, a manufacturer or vendor that makes or sells it and the leasing company that acts as a middleman, setting up financing and often retaining legal ownership of the equipment.

In recent years, major computer makers like IBM and Dell have been setting up their own leasing operations. Known as captives, these big-name leasing operations muscle out smaller independent leasing firms like O/E, says Ralph Petta, vice president of industry services for the Equipment Leasing Association, an Arlington, Va.-based trade group.

"Those are the large companies, household names," he says of Dell, IBM and others. "I guess in general independent leasing companies are having a tough time. Manufacturers and vendors are driving the business."

In the $25-billion-a-year leasing market for information technology equipment, the big captive firms hold 53 percent of the market, ELA statistics show. Banks, which also do some leasing, hold a 26-percent market share. Independent lessors like O/E hold just a 21-percent share.

Mark Lichtman, president and chief executive of Livonia-based ZenaComp, which develops Web applications for clients, said his firm just bought a major order directly from Dell instead of using a leasing firm like O/E. "It's just more convenient working with the manufacturer if they're setting up leasing. It's a one-stop shop," he says.

But the head of another prominent leasing firm disagrees that independents are doomed. Kenneth Steinback, chairman and chief executive of St. Louis-based CSI Computer Sales International, agrees there is pressure from captives like IBM and Dell, but added, "They've got a significant share, but they're not squeezing us out. If you run your business properly, there's plenty of room for us."

Although it's no longer originating leases, O/E has about $300 million worth of equipment at clients on existing leases. As those leases expire over the next few years, the SecondWindPC .com subsidiary will refurbish the equipment and sell it to the public.

Once that equipment is all sold, O/E will rely only on its systems-servicing subsidiaries.

we thank them, too, but we first received it from Mr. Southwell. Thank you. editor )

AmSouth Reports Record Fourth Quarter Net Income of $158.6 Million on Higher Revenues; 2003 Earnings Reach Record $626.1 Million

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.----AmSouth Bancorporation (NYSE:ASO) reports earnings in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2003, of $.45 per diluted share, a 2.3 percent increase from $.44 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2002. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2003 was $158.6 million versus $155.2 million for the same period in 2002.

For the year, reported earnings were $626.1 million compared with $609.1 million in 2002. Diluted earnings per share were $1.77 for the year, a 5.4 percent increase from $1.68 per share in 2002. Return on equity for 2003 was 20 percent, return on assets was 1.47 percent and the efficiency ratio was 52 percent.

"AmSouth delivered solid results throughout 2003, driven by improving loan demand and strong deposit growth," said Dowd Ritter, AmSouth's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "With good momentum in all of our lines of business, we enter 2004 focused on growth opportunities and enhanced performance."

AmSouth's fourth quarter performance resulted in a return on average equity of 20 percent, a return on average assets of 1.41 percent and an efficiency ratio of 52 percent.

Net interest income for the quarter increased 17.9 percent on an annualized basis compared to the third quarter, reaching $358.8 million. The net interest margin rose to 3.61 percent in the fourth quarter, compared to 3.60 percent in the third quarter. Total revenue increased 6.9 percent annualized compared with the previous quarter.

Average loans grew by $2.4 billion in the fourth quarter, or 9 percent, to $29.3 billion compared with the same quarter in 2002, while total deposits grew $2.9 billion, or 11 percent.

Noninterest income, which includes earnings from trust, investment management services and other sources of fee income, was $223.4 million, an increase of $31.2 million or 16 percent compared with the same quarter in 2002. Fourth quarter noninterest expenses were $310.8 million, an increase of 12 percent compared with the same quarter in 2002.

Net charge-offs were .60 percent of average net loans in the fourth quarter of 2003, compared with .58 percent in the previous quarter. The ratio of loan loss reserves to total loans was 1.31 percent, down one basis point from the previous quarter.

Total nonperforming assets at Dec. 31, 2003, were $147.8 million, or .50 percent of loans net of unearned income, foreclosed properties and repossessions, compared to $161.8 million or .55 percent in the previous quarter.

AmSouth is a regional bank holding company with $46 billion in assets, more than 650 branch banking offices and over 1,200 ATMs. AmSouth operates in Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia. AmSouth is a leader among regional banks in the Southeast in several key business segments, including consumer and commercial banking, small business banking, mortgage lending, equipment leasing, annuity and mutual fund sales, and trust and investment management services. AmSouth also offers a complete line of banking products and services at its web site, www.amsouth.com.

CONTACT:AmSouth Bancorporation Investment Community: List Underwood, 205-801-0265 or News Media: Rick Swagler, 205-801-0105

LONDON- --The Alta Group, an international consulting firm serving the equipment leasing industry, has added a new Associate to its European unit. Patrick Gouin, based in France, specialises in the development and management of international leasing operations and is well versed in navigating the challenges of business restructuring and reorganisation together with mergers and acquisitions. He has built a career in information technology equipment finance.

Patrick Gouin formerly worked for De Lage Landen (DLL), in the first instance building up and managing the European Digital Equipment Finance JV, and later as the Managing Director of the DLL Technology Finance European business where he helped develop strategic plans and vendor relationships throughout a network of eleven countries.

Prior to his term at De Lage Landen, he spent several years with Digital Equipment Corporation, managing operations in France and the European network and launching a captive finance group. Presently Mr. Gouin is the managing director of Max & Tite International, a consultancy group focusing on strategy, organisation and international development. He is also an administrator of the Six Axe Group, which includes three companies, Max & Tite plus two others: Six-Axe Consultants (focusing on IT engineering) and Trilog (software and consultancy for banks).

”Patrick Gouin will bring a wealth of experience to The Alta Group, here in Europe, in international business development and commercial organization in general and with particular experience in the management and development of leasing services through indirect vendor channel networks. Based in Paris, he will concentrate on servicing our clients in France and Southern Europe. We are very glad to have him on board.” says Derek Soper, the founding Alta Principal in London.

Founded in 1992, The Alta Group (www.thealtagroup.com) is based in Glenbrook, Nevada, and is a leading source of corporate consulting and advisory services, education, and training to the global equipment leasing and finance industry. The Alta Group’s European office, based in London since 1998, is now composed of seven members, all with extensive backgrounds in the $500 billion global equipment leasing and finance markets. Globally the Group is composed of 21 professionals-former CEOs, company founders, and industry organisation leaders-who collectively have more than 500 years of experience. For more information on The Alta Group and its European operations, visit www.thealtagroup.com or call Derek Soper at +(44) 1444 891344.

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Fitch: U.S. College Rtgs To Be Stable in '04 Despite Costs, Legislative Pressures

Fitch Ratings-New York- Bond ratings of U.S. colleges and universities generally are expected to be stable in 2004, according to Fitch Ratings. Long-term credit prospects continue to be positive due to ongoing growth in college-going rates by traditional and adult students (especially racial and ethnic minorities), the upcoming peak philanthropic years of the aging baby boom generation, and continuing favorable demographic trends in most regions.

Fitch believes most college ratings will remain stable in 2004. 'Right now, positive trends in the equity markets, low interest rates for borrowing and refinancing, and robust demographics generally are offsetting negative trends,' said Pam Clayton, senior director, Fitch Ratings.

Rising equity markets are good news for colleges, according to Fitch. 'Investment values are recovering, and this is great news for endowment revenues and fundraising,' said Jason Dickerson, senior director, Fitch Ratings.

In addition, positive demographics - steadily increasing numbers of high school graduates -- continues to benefit colleges financially. 'Demographic trends favor colleges, including public universities, which, in some cases, have raised tuition by large percentages with few instances of decreased student demand,' noted Douglas Kilcommons, director, Fitch Ratings.

Negative trends being monitored by Fitch's higher education analysts include rising costs for employee benefits, ever-increasing demands for amenities and programming from prospective students and their parents, continuing reductions in state appropriations to public universities, and the intense pressure from political leaders, board members, and faculty to compete for a slowly growing pot of federal research dollars. 'In general, expenses continue to rise in order to provide the services that students, parents, faculty, political leaders, and board members demand,' Dickerson said.

One unknown is the impact of the expected reauthorization of the Higher Education Act by Congress in 2004. Fitch is concerned that policy proposals to limit access to some federal funds based on affordability and outcome measurements, such as rates of tuition increase, graduation, and retention, will affect the financial health of some institutions. Nevertheless, as noted in prior Fitch research, calls for the most radical changes in federal aid and loan eligibility appear to have calmed recently.

Contact: Pam Clayton +1-212-908-0728, Jason F. Dickerson +1-212-908-0684, or Douglas Kilcommons +1-212-908-0740, New York.

### Press Release #############################

[Top]

Venture-Backed IPO Market Tops $1 Billion in Fourth Quarter 2003, Quarter Sees Largest Number of IPOs Since 2000

1639-The first formal declaration of American Democracy was the “fundamental orders,” drawn up by Roger Ludlow and adopted by representatives of Wethersfield, Windsow, and Hartford, Connecticut. It was a written body of laws by which they would govern themselves. It is considered the first constitution of colonial Connecticut, with the declaration “...the foundation of authority is in

the free consent of the people.” Roger Ludlow was influenced by a sermon delivered May 31, 1638, by the Reverend Thomas Hooker at Hartford’s Center Church.

1697- The Massachusetts colony held a day of fasting. In the churches the men who had sat in judgment of the witches or testified against them examined their consciences. One of the judges Samuel Sewall stood with bowed head as a minister read aloud his wish to take "the blame and the shame."

"Most women were not witches. But everywhere and always, most accused witches were women. "The continent of Europe had begun to find witches in its midst in the 1300's and by 1700 had put perhaps nine million to death.

"Britain, isolated across the Channel, remained free of the scourge until the 1560's. Then... Scotland, affected and infected by its alliance with France, began to hunt witches, torturing and burning... Elizabeth I's successor, King James I of Scotland, was a firm believer in witchcraft and told of his constant wonder that the devil invariably chose hags as his agents.

"Between 1580 and 1660, England hanged more than 30,000 witches in the Puritan counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, and Essex...precisely the place and exactly the time to give future New England colonists at least one full generation of living with and witnessing the phenomenon firsthand... hanging witches, rather than... burning them, was considered a hallmark of English humanitarianism (and) carefully transmitted to America.

"... Women accounted for something like 70% of those executed and around 75% of those accused in Europe...the court at Salem ordered 20 humans (six males, 14 female) and two dogs (sex unknown) put to death in six frenzied months between March and September, 1692."

"The so-called victims of the supposed witches were mostly young, unmarried girls in their teens, the supporting witnesses were 75% men, usually married.

"Most of those brought to trial as witches were married or widowed women, aged 41 to 60. When young people were accused, they usually turned out to be children of alleged witches. This follows the assumption of the time that witchcraft was transmitted through family lines or close relationships. Men accused of witchcraft were mostly husbands of supposed witches or were put on trial after denouncing the whole idea of witch-hunting.

"One witch was Dorcas Good, a six-year-old girl who was starved, imprisoned, and finally driven mad for the rest of her life."

- Excerpted from Demeter's Daughters, the Women Who Founded America, 1587-1787 by Selma R. Williams. It includes biographical sketches together with old engravings and paintings.

1739-Birthday of William Whipple, American patriot and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Born at Kittery, ME, he died at Portsmouth, NH, Nov 10, 1785

1741-Birthday of Benedict Arnold, a revolutionary war hero, injured in battle, not happy with the French, deserted to the British during the

fortress guarding a major waterway and route of supplies. His name has since become synonymous with treachery. Born at Norwich, CT. Died June 14, 1801 at London, England.

1784-The Continental Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris , officially establishing the United States as in independent and sovereign nation.

1794-Dr. Jesse Bennett of Edom, VA, performed the first successful Caesarean section. The patient was his wife. Bennett had asked Dr. Alexander Humphreys of Staunton, VA, to assist in performing the operation, but because of the low chance of success, Humphreys had declined. Dr. Bennett performed the operation with the assistance of two slaves, who held the patient. She was placed on a table made of two planks, load on a couple of barrels, and was given laudanum in lieu of an anesthetic.

1799-The first US Senator to be impeached was William Blount, the first senator from Tennessee, who was elected on August 2, 1796, and served from December 6, 1876, until July 8, 1797, when he was expelled. The trial was held form December 17, 1798 to January 14, 1799, when the vice president announced the decision of the High Court of Impeachment that the charges were dismissed for want of jurisdiction. Blount was accused of entering into a conspiracy with British officers to divert part of Louisiana from Spain to Great Britain,, “ a high misdemeanor, entirely inconsistent with his public trust and duty as a Senator.” While the case was in progress in Washington, DC, Blount was elected to serve in the Tennessee state senate, and at the opening session in 1798, was chosen to be its speaker.

1806-Birthday of Matthew Fontaine Maury, Naval officer, born at Fredericksburg, VA. Maury established oceanography as a branch of science and revolutionized the recording of oceanographic data as a superintendent of the Naval Observatory. Died at Lexington, VA, Feb 1, 1873.

When Outcault was asked by the New York World’s Sunday editor to submit drawings for use with their new process for printing color pictures, colored comics or “funny papers” were born. Outcault’s first color drawing, titled “ Origin of a New Species” was published Nov 18,1894. The first regular colored strip, “Hogan’s Alley,” drawn by Outcault, began appearing with its main character’s blustery comments written across his nightshirt. It was Outcault’s strip “Buster Brown” that brought him celebrity and fortune. Outcault was born at Lancaster, OH, and died Sept 25, 1929 at Flushing, NY.

On May 18,1896, the Supreme Court endorsed “separate but equal” racial segregation with its “Plessy versus Ferguson” decision, a ruling that was overturned 58 years later.

1896 – Birthday of American novelist John Dos Passos, lefty novelist/capitalist realist (the U.S.A. trilogy), & later Cold War warrior, born Chicago. An integral part of the Lost Generation crowd in Paris in the 20s. His increasing fascism estranged him from most of his associates, including Hemingway, it is reported.

http://www.cyberonic.net/~danne1/dospassos/dospassos.html
http://www.csupomona.edu/~rljohnson/Professional/DosPassos.html

1896-Carlo Ponzi immigrates to America from Italy on this day. The small-time con man would later stumble into one of the largest scams of all time and have an entire type of crime named after him: the "Ponzi scheme.” For 20 years, Ponzi bounced from job to job, always dreaming up a way to make millions but never coming close. But in 1919, he came up with a new plan. Ponzi told friends and potential investors that they would get a 50 percent return on their money within three months if they invested with him. The hapless investors were never told much about what Ponzi planned on doing with their money, but, when pressed, he told them that it had to do with international postal exchange coupons, an obscure field that virtually no one knew much about. Ponzi told his marks that they could cash out at the end of three months or roll over their investments. Ponzi promptly paid off his initial investors and soon the investment dollars were pouring in. Thousands of people came to his offices, where money was stuffed in every desk drawer and filing cabinet. Ponzi was taking in an estimated $200,000 a day at the frenzy's peak. When a local writer questioned Ponzi's financial record, he threatened to sue and scared off further inquiry. Ponzi went on a personal spending spree in 1920, buying 100 suits and 100 pairs of shoes. He also took $3 million in cash to the Hanover Trust Company and bought a controlling interest in the reputable firm. However, when state investigators finally began examining his books and interviewing his workers they found that there was no real investment going on. Of course, only the very early investors actually got any money back, and these funds came from later investors. Such a scam, known as a pyramid scheme, inevitably explodes, as it did on August 13, 1920, when thousands of investors demanded their money back. Ponzi, anticipating the collapse, had already taken $2 million to the Saratoga casinos in a vain attempt to make up the lost money. Ponzi went to jail and was deported to Italy in 1934. He told reporters, "I hope the world forgives me.” Perhaps taken in by his apparent contrition, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini gave Ponzi a high position in the government's financial sector. However, human nature is very difficult to change, and Ponzi eventually embezzled funds from the country's treasury and escaped to Brazil, where he died in 1949.

1914 - Henry Ford announced the latest advance in the assembly line production of automobiles, the continuous motion method. This new concept decreased assembly time of a car from 12½ hours. His ideas for the assembly line were first formulated after visiting the Chicago slaughterhouses, where 75,000 hogs a day were being routinely butchered. Not mentioned on the Ford Website, July 30, 1938—Adolph Hitler presented the highest non-citizen award — "Grand Cross of the Supreme Order of the German Eagle" — to Henry Ford in Berlin. Ford, like Charles Lindbergh & his author-wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was a Nazi sympathizer.

1916-Birthday of African-American Novelist John Oliver Killens, born Macon, Georgia. died October 27, 1957, Brooklyn, New York. His novels And Then We Heard the Thunder and 'Sippi dramatized racism in the U.S. Army during World War II and the South during the voting rights struggles of the 1960s. Both And Then We Heard the Thunder and Killens's satirical novel about black class divisions, Cotillion, or One Good Bull Is Half the Herd, were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

1916-Birthday of tenor sax player, arranger/producer Maxwell Davis, Independence, KS, died September 18, 1970,

1917-Birthday of trumpeter Billy Butterfield http://www.musicweb.uk.net/encyclopaedia/b/B322.HTM

1919-Charles Stoneham, John McGraw and Francis X. McQuade bought the New York Giants from Charles Hempstead. The Stoneham family controlled the Giants for the next 56 years and moved them to San Francisco after the 1957 season.

1930- Canadian avant-garde jazz trumpeter and composer Kenny Wheeler was born in Toronto. He moved to England in 1952, rising to prominence in Britain in the 1960's and in the European avant-garde the following decade. From 1971 to '76, Wheeler performed with US reedman Anthony Braxton, with whom he often appeared in North America

1938 – Birthday of Jack Jones (John Allan Jones) (singer: Lollipops and Roses, Wives and Lovers, The Impossible Dream, Lady, The Race is On, Love Boat theme). His father was a very famous singer in the 1930’s and early 1940’s.

1938-Birthday of Allen Toussaint, born New Orleans, LA; one of the most important forces in New Orleans rock 'n' roll in the 1960's. Toussaint, a pianist, songwriter and arranger, played on some of Fats Domino's early recordings. And in the '60s, he produced and arranged such hits as "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" by Jesse Hill, "Mother-In-Law" by Ernie K-Doe and "I Like It Like That" by Chris Kenner. Allen Toussaint is also the composer of "Java," an instrumental hit for both trumpeter Al Hirt and pianist Floyd Cramer.

1940—Birthday of Julian Bond (legislator: Georgia [1965]; civil rights leader: helped found Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; chairman of NAACP board of directors) , born Nashville, TN.

1941 -- A. Philip Randolph, president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and chief spokesperson for the African American working class, calls for a March on Washington, demanding racial integration of the military & equal access to defense-industry jobs. The call prompts black enthusiasm too great for the government to ignore. On June 18th, less than two weeks before the march, Beloved & Respected Comrade Leader President Roosevelt invited Randolph to the White House. In the unpleasant confrontation, Randolph told Roosevelt he will abandon the march plans only if Roosevelt bars job discrimination in both the defense industry and government. Incredulous at Randolph's obstinacy, Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802 [eighty-eight oh two], the government's most significant action on behalf of African Americans since post-Civil War reconstruction.

http://www.aphiliprandolphmuseum.com/evo_history5.html
http://www.pbs.org/weta/apr/aprbio.html

1941 - Then head football coach of Massillon High School, Paul Brown, was named head coach of Ohio State’s Buckeyes. In his seven years of high school competition, Brown’s team only lost one game.

1943 - The Allies met in Casablanca to agree on a strategy for concluding World War II and to demand the unconditional surrender from the enemy. United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first President of the United States to fly in an airplane while he was in office, when he flew from Miami, Florida to French Morocco.

1943- Shannon W. Lucid (Ph.D.) birthday, American astronaut who has spent more time in space than any other American astronaut, or any woman, almost two-thirds of a year in all in five space flights/events.

1947-Birthday of Gene Alden Washington, former football player, born Tuscaloosa, AL.

1949-The Department of Justice went trust busting on January 14 and filed an anti-trust suit against AT&T. The suit was designed to break AT&T's choke hold over the industry by forcing the company to relinquish ownership of Western Electric, a potent manufacturing concern. After much wrangling, the suit was settled in 1956, when AT&T consented to limit the scope of its business to the national phone network and government jobs.

1950---Top Hits
Dear Hearts and Gentle People - Dinah Shore
A Dreamer’s Holiday - Perry Como
The Old Master Painter - Snooky Lanson
I Love You Because - Leon Payne

1951 - In Los Angeles, California, the first National Football League Pro Bowl All-Star Game was played. The American Conference beat the National Conference, 28-27.

1952- the Modern Jazz Quartet was formally incorporated, beginning a career that lasted more than 40 years. The group signed a unique partnership agreement stipulating that the quartet would have no leader. The original members were pianist John Lewis, vibraharpist Milt Jackson, bassist Percy Heath and drummer Kenny Clarke. The MJQ had only one personnel change in 42 years - Connie Kay replaced Clarke in 1955.

1952-“Today” Premiered on TV. The NBC program that started the morning news format we now have today. Captained by Dave Garroway, the show was segmented with bits and pieces of newes, sports, weather, interviews and other features that were repeated so that viewers did not have to stop their morning routine to watch. The segments were brief and to the point. Slyvester Weaver devised this concept to capitalize on television’s unusual qualities. What used to take three hours to broadcast live across the country was done in two with videotape of a delayed basis. The addition of chimpanzee J. Fred Muggs in 1953 helped pus ratings up. There have been a number of hosts of the years, from John Chancellor and Hugh Downs to Tom Brokaw, Bryant Gumbel and Matt Lauer. Female hosts ( originally called, “ Today Girls” ) include Betsy Palmer, Florence Henderson Barbara Walters, Jane Pauley and Katie Couric.

1954 - Screen actress and sex symbol Marilyn Monroe, age 29, and New York Yankees baseball star Joe DiMaggio were married in San Francisco. Monroe later wrote in her autobiography, "That was something I had never planned on or dreamed about - becoming the wife of a great man.

1954-Alan Freed, disc jockey of the popular radio show Rock 'n' Roll Party, produces his first rock and roll dance concert in New York at the St. Nicholas Arena. The Rock and Roll Ball featured the Drifters, Fats Domino, Joe Turner, and others. All the musicians were black, but at least half the audience packing the arena was white. Freed, who was also white, had been an influential force in popularizing rock and roll (then a synonym for rhythm and blues) since he started airing a radio show in Cleveland called Moondog House in 1951. The self-dubbed "King of the Moondoggers" (who actually preferred classical music) spoke to listeners as if they all belonged to a hip kingdom, united by their affinity for the same music.

In 1952, he had thrown a rhythm and blues concert called the Moondog Coronation Ball, which drew more than 10,000 people. An angry mob, denied admittance once the arena was full, started a riot, and teens stormed the stage, abruptly ending the concert. Cleveland city officials accused him of "reckless disregard" for public safety, but the riot turned him into a local celebrity.

Radio station WJW gave him nightly airtime for his program. The following year, he threw The Biggest Rhythm and Blues Show tour, featuring Ruth Brown and Wynonie Harris. The tour drew a largely black audience, but within just a few years rhythm and blues crossed over to become the dominant mainstream musical form. The Moondog had to stop using his popular moniker in 1954; he had borrowed it from the song "Moondog Symphony," recorded by a blind New York City street musician who won a court battle with Freed, which stripped Freed of the ability to use the name. Forced to find a new identity for his show, he decided to rename it Alan Freed's Rock and Roll Party. He copyrighted the phrase in partnership with black music legend Morris Levy, veteran promoter Lew Platt, and radio station WINS. But soon, the tidal wave of rock and roll made his copyright virtually useless; nevertheless, in 1955, Cleveland was selected as the site for construction of the Rock and Roll Museum because Freed had popularized the term there.

1956 - Rock ‘n’ roller, Little Richard, sang the recently released, "Tutti-Frutti". The Pat Boone cover version of the song became more popular. http://www.littlerichard.com/

      1958---Top Hits
At the Hop - Danny & The Juniors
Stood Up/Waitin’ in School - Ricky Nelson
Kisses Sweeter Than Wine - Jimmie Rodgers
Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis
     1963- Bob Dylan sat in on a recording session in London for an album by folk singers Richard Farina and Eric Von Schmidt. Dylan was billed as "Blind Boy Grunt."
     1963 -- George Wallace sworn in as Governor of Alabama, his address states "segregation now; segregation tomorrow; segregation forever!". It was written by Asa Carter, the founder of a KKK terrorist organization.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/wallace/timeline/index_2.html

1964 – first hootenanny was held at the White House, as the New Christy Minstrels performed not only for President and Lady Bird Johnson, but also for Italy’s President.

1966 -- March on Atlanta to protest ouster of Julian Bond, African American from Georgia House of Representatives, after his endorsement of SNCC statement critical of US involvement in Vietnam; basically he opposed the war in Viet Nam. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke.

1966- rock promoter Bill Graham leased the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. The Fillmore became the prime venue for psychedelic rock in the late '60s

1966---Top Hits
We Can Work It Out - The Beatles
She’s Just My Style - Gary Lewis & The Playboys
Flowers on the Wall - The Statler Brothers
Giddyup Go - Red Sovine

1967 -- Gathering of the Tribes for the First Human Be-In (first hippie "be- in") at Golden Gate Park in Frisco, California. Probably 20,000 come to play, though Emmett Grogan says as many as 300,000 in Ringolevio. Familiar names include Michael McClure, Gary Snyder, & Lenore Kandel. Sponsored by Haight Independent Proprietors (H.I.P.) & the Communication Co. Among the performers are The Grateful Dead & The Jefferson Airplane. Speakers also include

Jerry Rubin, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti & Timothy Leary. Participants were urged to bring food to share, flowers, beads, costumes, feathers, bells, cymbals & flags. The Be-In was produced by Michael Bowen.

1968-The Green Bay Packers won their second straight Super Bow, defeating the Oakland Raiders, 33-14. Packers quarterback Bart Starr completed 13 of 24 passes for 202 years and one touchdown and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

1968-Birthday of singer James Todd Smith ( L.L.Cool J ), St. Abans, Queens, New York.

http://www.llcoolj.com/
1970- Diana Ross performed for the last time with the Supremes at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas. The show began with a medley of hits and ended with "The Impossible Dream."

1972-“ Sanford and Son” premiered on TV. This NBC sitcom gained immediate popularity depicting an African American father and son engaged in the junkyard business. Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin developed the comedy series based on the British, “Steptoe and Son.” Comedian Redd Fox played Fred Sanford. His son, Lamont, was played by Demond Wilson. Others appearing on the show were Whitman Mayo as Grady, Slappy White as Melvin, LaWanda Page as Aunt Esther, Gregory Sierra as Julio. Nathaniel Taylor as Rollo, Raymond Allen as Uncle Woody, Don Bexley as Bubba Bexley, Lynn Hamilton as Donna Harris, aHoward Plat and Hal William as Hoppy and Smitty, Pat Morita as Ah Chew, Marlene Clark as Janet and Edward Craford as Roger. The last telecast was September 2,1977.

1973 - The Miami Dolphins became the first NFL team to go undefeated - a perfect season. They defeated the Washington Redskins 14-7 in Super Bowl VII. Tickets were $15.00. Kickoff time was 12:30 p.m. in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Miami finished the season 17-0.

1973 - Elvis Presley drew the largest audience for a single TV show to that time -- an estimated one billion viewers in 40 countries. "Elvis - Aloha From Hawaii", a live, worldwide concert from Honolulu International Center Arena. Performed at 12:30 a.m. Hawaiian Time, it was beamed live via Globecam Satellite to Australia, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, South Vietnam and other countries, and was seen on a delayed basis in approximately 30 European countries. The first American airing was April 4th on NBC-TV. The show was also released as a two-record album, and became one of Elvis’s top-selling LPs.

1973- bass guitarist Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead was arrested at his home in Fairfax, California on drug charges.

1974---Top Hits
The Joker - Steve Miller Band
Show and Tell - Al Wilson
Smokin’ in the Boys Room - Brownsville Station
I Love - Tom T. Hall

1986 - "Rambo: First Blood, Part II" broke the record set by "Ghostbusters", for first day orders, when it arrived at video stores. 435,000 copies of the video were sold, for a total of almost $21.4 million worth.

1990 - The pilot episode to launch the “The Simpsons” series on Fox was 7G02 Bart the Genius. There was a test launch on December 17, 1989 and originally

the show was seen in “shorts” on the Tracey Ullman Show. The originator of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie is cartoonist Matt Groening. The characters stem from a long line of TV families, from the Honeymooners through the Flintstones. Homer makes one of the great parental statements to Lisa, when she says he does not understand something:

1990---Top Hits
Another Day in Paradise - Phil Collins
Pump Up the Jam - Technotronic featuring Felly
How Am I Supposed to Live Without You - Michael Bolton
It Ain’t Nothin’ - Keith Whitley
1998- 100th episode of "Ellen" airs, starring Ellen DeGeneres