I'd reckon that the disreputable practice of cutting off the derailleur hanger ("ear") from the right side drop-out didn't start with this generation of kids converting road bikes...
Last year at Cirque, I bought a repainted Ephgrave, a very pretty red, and presumed to be early 1950s or so. It has a nice down-tube brazed-on shifter boss. But, sometime before the repaint, someone cut off the derailleur hanger. Whoever the barbarian (by our standards) was, s/he ground or filed the cut smooth, but the scar doesn't lie: they didn't bother to file the back of the drop-out to match the left side. I just find it amusing that ear-hacking isn't new.
I like the frameset, and am happy to have been able to buy it. it just came with extra charm and history.
harvey sachs mcLean va Where none of the bikes is perfect, but some are closer to it than their keeper.