The following events occurred in October 1924:
October 1, 1924 (Wednesday) Stanley Baldwin's Conservative Party tabled a motion of censure against Ramsay MacDonald's Labour government over its handling of the Campbell Case. The motion alleged improper interference with the judiciary after the government vetoed the setting up of an inquiry into the matter. Baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned New York Giants player Jimmy O'Connell and coach Cozy Dolan over a bribery scandal. They were charged with offering Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Heinie Sand $500 to throw a game on September 27 to help the Giants win the National League pennant. The U.K. Liberal Party broke with Ramsay MacDonald's Labour government when it announced that it would not vote to ratify the treaties that the government had signed with the Soviet Union. The Liberals passed a motion in a party meeting declaring that that could not approve a treaty which "threatens to divert resources which are urgently needed for national and imperial development, and which amongst other objections contemplates that the British taxpayer should be made liable for further loans to the Russian state." Born: Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States, in Plains, Georgia William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 2005)
October 2, 1924 (Thursday) The Geneva Protocol for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes received preliminary approval at the League of Nations. The agreement was not binding until formal approval had been given by all governments concerned, and it was understood that it would not be very meaningful until after a world disarmament conference was concluded the next year. The Protocol included a very controversial piece of wording added at the insistence of Japan, which allowed for the restriction of immigration to become a matter of international jurisdiction if it endangered the peace. Cesáreo Onzari of Argentina scored a direct goal from a corner kick against Uruguay, who had recently won the 1924 Olympic title. For this reason the direct goal from a corner kick is called an Olympic goal or gol olímpico in Latin America. Baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis said the World Series would go forward despite the bribery scandal. "Inside of four days after the attempted bribery of Sand of the Phillies had occurred, the guilty persons had been placed on baseball's ineligible list. Surely our speedy action in the matter must indicate that the game is being kept clean", he said. Born: Ruby Stephens, baseball player. in Clearwater, Florida (d. 1996)
October 3, 1924 (Friday) Britain's Evening Standard blasted the Geneva Protocol and called on Australia, Canada and New Zealand to quit the League of Nations over it, pointing out that if Australia refused to submit to Japan's demand that it alter its immigration policy, the British fleet might be called upon to impose a naval blockade in the name of the League. A conference in London between the United Kingdom and Egypt on the issue of Egyptian independence ended without success. Hussein bin Ali passed rulership of the Kingdom of Hejaz to his son Ali and went into exile. A feud erupted between major league baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis and American League president Ban Johnson. Johnson told the media that he would pursue an independent investigation of the circumstances under which the New York Giants won the pennant, and that they should be forbidden from playing in the World Series. "It stands to reason that one or two men can't throw a baseball game", Johnson said. "As a rule, to throw a game you have got to get at least four or five men to be crooked, including the pitcher. I just want to know how many players were involved." Johnson also called Landis a "wild-eyed, crazy nut" who was "protecting the crooks" by failing to investigate the scandal more thoroughly.
October 4, 1924 (Saturday) In the Second Zhili–Fengtian War, Zhang Zuolin won a major victory at Fengtian. The First Division Monument was dedicated in Washington, D.C. During his dedication speech, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge briefly remarked on the Geneva Protocol. "We do not propose to entrust to any other power or combination of powers any authority to make up our minds for us", Coolidge stated. "I am in favor of treaties and covenants conforming to the American policy of independence to prevent aggressive war and promote permanent peace. But they have little value unless the sentiment of peace is cherished in the hearts of the people."
