The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Yeah, but you gotta admit the YCL has the best dance parties. And whoooozza good dog, Brownie! Ess oo izzzzzzz!

Chicago? Hmph. Knowing Davega, more like Waukegan.

Fascinating. I hope Mr. Jemail does more pieces like this.

Odds that Mr. La Plata falls down the stairs and shatters his handsome face now running at 1-1.

"I'll put him on a ship for the Amazon first thing in the morning! It got Chester out of your hair for a year, didn't it?"

That's gotta hurt.

"Idiot boy! You should bring your low life friends! I run a decent place!" *hits him with skillet* "OW! MA! STOP! I'M YA BOY! OW! OW!" *runs off* "AND COME BACK WHEN YA GOT A DECENT JOB! YA BUM!"

Future Senator Wilmer Bobble knows what it is to pull himself up by his own bootstraps.

Next: Mamie vs. Joe Louis. She'd do better than Godoy.

Don't get too sure of yourself, kid. He's still not over Lillums.

 

[Fading Fast]

...[
(Funny, I always thought Santa smoked Luckies.)...

What a great gag, instead of enriching your mind, you can poison your lungs. Merry Christmas.

... (Why no byline on this piece? It reads like Clifford Evans, but perhaps he's had one brick too many thru his window.)...

I noticed that too and thought it felt kinda like Evans' style. Interesting if true as, maybe, he really doesn't want his byline on the story.

...The Dodgers today announced Johnny "Red" Corriden as their new first base coach. With Chuck Dressen remaining on the job at third base, Corriden's addition to the staff frees up Fred Fitzsimmons for full time pitching duty next year. Manager Leo Durocher promises that Fat Freddie, who led the league in winning percentage in 1940, will see plenty of work out of the bullpen in 1941....

FFF: Has the Eagle come yet today dear, I want to check up on all the trade talk.
Mrs. FFF: Oh, I read the sports pages and there was no news.
FFF: Hmm, that's odd as there was a lot going on in yesterday's paper. Maybe I'll just have a quick look in case you missed something.
Mrs. FFF: Sure, hey, you know what would be a better idea, let's listen in on the radio as that news would be more up to date
FFF: Umm, you know, that's not a bad idea.
Mrs FFF: Phew!
FFF: What?
Mrs FFF: Nothing, why don't you turn the radio on, I'll be in right after I throw, uh, something, away.

.... (You go, Slappy! Embrace it!)...

So much was already out there in 1940, if you just knew how to see it.

... Chicago? Hmph. Knowing Davega, more like Waukegan.....

It's so like a store like Davega: stuff just pops up and there you are trying your skates on sitting in the corner of the store on a random folding chair with no one helping you.

...
Fascinating. I hope Mr. Jemail does more pieces like this....

Agreed, it's a really interesting one today.

Re Tom Jang, I bet he enjoys "Terry and the Pirates" even with some of its brutal stereotyping.

Re Dang Kai, "We could almost read these question in the face of the World's Fair visitors who came down here." Really? Stereotyping and confirmation bias works both ways apparently.

... Odds that Mr. La Plata falls down the stairs and shatters his handsome face now running at 1-1.....

I know we've talked about it before, but it is stunning how Gray went from nuanced, complex stories where right and wrong weren't clear, much happened in the grey area of life and you often didn't know what would happen next to this black-and-white morality world where everyone is all good or all evil and every story twist is announced loudly ahead of time. It's hard to think of another writer who so dramatically changed his or her style almost overnight.

...
Don't get too sure of yourself, kid. He's still not over Lillums.

I'm liking Lana Lanagans - understated in dress, hair and makeup and seems smart - she's probably too good for Harold anyway.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Riotous Reds raided classes, blew whistles, and engaged in unauthorized peace demonstrations, charged Brooklyn College President Harry Gideonse today in testimony before state legislative investigators. The college president also complained of Communists annoying him by picketing his own home, telephoning him in the night, and telling fellow students that they "shouldn't scab on peace." "They use the campus as a sounding board," charged Dr. Gideonse, but he admitted to investigators that he cannot prove claims that "outside influences" are behind the demonstrations. The president also stopped short of calling for membership in the Communist Party to be a disqualification for a teaching job in the city, observing that "if we make membership in one party cause for dismissal, it might lead to making membership in some other party grounds for dismissal."

Meanwhile, student pamphlets denouncing Dr. Bernard D. N. Grebanier as a "stool pigeon" and a "scab" for his testimony before the committee this week appeared on the Brooklyn College campus today, including material signed by the Trotskyite Young People's Socialist League, under the title "When Thieves Fall Out." Members of the American Student Union announced plans for a campus protest rally, and urged students to attend the hearings in person and make their views known. But Dr. Grebanier maintained that he also has supporters on the campus, noting that someone broke into his classroom overnight to write "We Are With You Prof" on his blackboard.

Three workers were killed today at the World's Fair when the domed ceiling of the Railroads On Parade exhibit collapsed, burying the demolition crew under a rain of shattered plaster and screening. Some of the men on a catwalk at the time of the collapse were hurled ninety feet to the ground. About ninety employees of Wreckers & Excavators Inc. of Manhattan, members of Local 95 of the Housewreckers Union, were working in, on, and around the building at the time of the collapse. In addition to the three confirmed dead, four others were hospitalized. At press time, workers were still combing thru the wreckage looking for survivors.

Mickey Owen is at last a Dodger. The 23-year-old catcher was acquired today from the St. Louis Cardinals in a deal that will send 35-year-old backup catcher Gus Mancuso and rookie pitcher John Pintar, who played last season in the Texas League, along with an undisclosed sum of cash expected to be in the range of $50,000. Owen hit .264 in 117 games for St. Louis in 1940, his fourth major league season, and despite his youth is considered one of the best defensive catchers in the National League. The Dodgers have coveted Owen for months, seeing him as the key to solving their longstanding catching problem, which dates back to the trade of Al Lopez to the Bees in 1936. Last year, Babe Phelps, Mancuso, and Herman Franks divided the job, but Manager Leo Durocher was unsatisfied with the inconsistent performance of the three. The trade also opens up the possibility of trading Phelps, whose fine hitting is offset by a certain lack of on-field aggressiveness and, with the Flock increasingly air-minded, his fear of flying.

The Government of Rumania has seized control of the nation's oilfields, to the chagrin of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, a major stockholder in the Romano-Americano Oil Company, whose holdings are to be expropriated. The expropriations come under an order issued by Premier Ion Antonescu calling for the forfeiture of all properties owned by Jews and all companies with Jewish stockholders. In addition to the real estate involved, the order also seizes all pipelines, pumping equipment, Danube River tanker ships, docks, and storage facilities owned by the company.

Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau declared today that Great Britain's financial standing makes it a "good risk" for future loans from the United States. The secretary made his statement when announcing an upcoming conference with British Treasury Undersecretary Sir Frederick Phillips, who arrives this afternoon in Washington.

The fifteen-year-old Brownsville boy charged with shooting his school principal "has seen too many movies," according to police. Harold Wagner "assumed a typical Dead End Kid attitude" as he was interrogated by detectives after the shooting of principal Milton Salit in his office at PS 214 yesterday. Wagner is being held at the Children's Society Shelter, 105 Schermerhorn Street, on a charge of juvenile delinquency. Mr. Salit is recovering at Unity Hospital from a 22-caliber bullet wound to his right shoulder and chest. The slug was successfully removed by surgeons, who found it lodged between two ribs. Meanwhile, police have arrested a 12-year-old boy as Wagner's accomplice in the shooting. Ignatius Hickson Jr. of 185 Sheridan Avenue, is accused of assisting Wagner in smuggling the sawed-off rifle used in the shooting into the school, concealed in an adhesive-tape wrapping. Wagner has admitted that he and Hickson have been stealing cameras from parked cars and snatching purses from women on Brownsville sidewalks for some time, and says he found the rifle in a lot off Sunrise Highway about four months ago. Police have also arrested Philip Bedilny, a barber, of Ozone Park, on a charge of receiving stolen property, but it is not yet known if Bediny is the fence to whom the boys sold their stolen goods.

(My living room chair, clawed to shreds by a succession of happy cats, is one of these Sears specials. I found it at the side of the road about twenty years ago, and it's the most comfortable chair I've ever owned.)

(More expensive, and probably even less cat-proof.)

The Red Hook woman accused of forcing her husband to his knees at gunpoint in a confrontation at his workplace because he had failed to visit his daughter in the hospital has been given a suspended sentence. Mrs. Vivian Tringali was placed on probation for three years after pleading guilty to carrying a dangerous weapon in an incident October 9th. Mrs. Tringali accosted her husband at the Bedford Avenue garage where he is employed and castigated him for not going to see their daughter, who had just had her tonsils removed. Producing a pistol she said she found on the roof of her home, she demanded that her husband get on his knees and apologize for his conduct. Judge Edwin L. Garvin, in suspending sentence, attributed her actions to "outraged motherhood."

"Boy Friend" writes in to Helen Worth with a plea on behalf of all boy friends everywhere: "Please don't give men cigars, cigarettes, or ties for Christmas. Anything but these."

("Kids Today.")

The acquisition of a young third baseman by the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday will have important ramifications for the Football Dodgers -- by convincing Ace Parker not to give up football in favor of baseball after all. The Pirates yesterday purchased infielder Stu Martin from the St. Louis Cardinals, with manager Frankie Frisch expecting to use him as his regular second baseman next year, shifting hard-hitting Frankie Gustine to third base. With Arky Vaughan locked in at shortstop and Elbie Fletcher at first, that leaves no chance for Parker to find a spot anywhere but on the Pirates' bench in 1941. The salary of a star National Football League player in Brooklyn tops that of a scrub in Pittsburgh, so borough fans can look forward to seeing Ace cavort again on the Ebbets Field sod next fall.

("Topping her triumph in 'The Women?'" I don't think so.)

The stage stars of the hit musical "Cabin In The Sky," Ethel Waters, Rex Ingram, Todd Duncan, and others, will present a tabloid edition of that show on Kate Smith's hour over WABC, Friday night at 8 PM. Miss Smith will also present her fifth annual selections for the All-Collegiate Football Team, headed this year by Fordham coach Jim Crowley.

(If a week ago you had asked me to name the most groundbreaking comic strip of 1940, I can honestly say that "Sparky Watts" would not have come up.)

(Sibyl's been married at least five times that I can remember, but I have a feeling this one isn't going to happen.)

(Leach doesn't know a lot about polygraphs, but I bet he does know that they require a trained, expert operator. Which is more than John knows.)

(One of these days, Irwin is going to get sick of Dan treating him like a five-year-old. Of course, before that can happen, he'll have to stop acting like one.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

"I Am" indeed. It may interest them to know that the real "Mr. Am" showed up a few years ago as a character in "Little Orphan Annie" with a big white Santa Claus beard, who will probably turn out to be Sam's dad. Harold Gray's lawyers will be in touch.

"Dead End Kid?" I'll say. He's even got the haircut.

"Christian Follower."

Ghost Of Nick manipulates events.

Jeez, Junior. Is it so hard to say "one of 'em's this ferret-faced, pop-eyed guy with a big birthmark on the side of his head?" Because, you know, that just might help a little.

"Your ship sails tomorrow morning at 6. Be on board!"

Swing it, kids!

Terry's really gonna want to sleep in tomorrow.

And just like that, Pop's business went "pfffft."

I wonder if Willie and Jiggs from "Bringing Up Father" ever get together and talk.

 

[Fading Fast]

...The Red Hook woman accused of forcing her husband to his knees at gunpoint in a confrontation at his workplace because he had failed to visit his daughter in the hospital has been given a suspended sentence. Mrs. Vivian Tringali was placed on probation for three years after pleading guilty to carrying a dangerous weapon in an incident October 9th. Mrs. Tringali accosted her husband at the Bedford Avenue garage where he is employed and castigated him for not going to see their daughter, who had just had her tonsils removed. Producing a pistol she said she found on the roof of her home, she demanded that her husband get on his knees and apologize for his conduct. Judge Edwin L. Garvin, in suspending sentence, attributed her actions to "outraged motherhood."...

When I had my tonsils out, my mom came to see me in the hospital, but my dad was too busy. No guns were later employed; no apologies were solicited or offered.

... ("Topping her triumph in 'The Women?'" I don't think so.)..

It's an awkward movie, an awkward pairing and an awkward role for Ms. Shearer.

...[ (One of these days, Irwin is going to get sick of Dan treating him like a five-year-old. Of course, before that can happen, he'll have to stop acting like one.)

"We'll go into production tomorrow." Sure, that's how quickly it takes to install highly sophisticated state-of-the-art technology in a customized airplane. Planning, testing, ordering the components, assembling the skilled workers, etc., always gets done in one day.

...[
"Christian Follower."....

They should check the original submission's handwriting against Howard Wagner's.

... Ghost Of Nick manipulates events.....

No question about it, Gray is scratching his Nick itch. I wonder if somewhere - in Gray's or his editor's or someone's papers - the real story behind Gray's "transition" from writing Nick stories to Sam stories is explained. Something happened.

A... Jeez, Junior. Is it so hard to say "one of 'em's this ferret-faced, pop-eyed guy with a big birthmark on the side of his head?" Because, you know, that just might help a little....

"And thanks for being such a great surrogate father, I love you Dad. I'd have told you sooner, but you left me alone to fend for myself amongst a gang of criminals so that you could go on vacation. Hey, I'm sorry, I forgot to ask, did you have a good time? I wish my head wasn't bandaged, as I'd love to see your tan, I bet you look great. I'd talk more, but I'm about to pass out from the pain."

... Swing it, kids!....

Does Wumple & Co have a broom closet?

... View attachment 286129 Terry's really gonna want to sleep in tomorrow.....

Hu Shee has other plans for Terry's time in bed. She didn't risk her life (several times) and schlep his wounded body all over China just so that he can take a long nap.

 

[LizzieMaine]

My mother never pulled a gun on my father, but she did throw a plate of fried tripe at him once. I guess that's something. The best thing about my tonsillectomy is that I got a little portable radio for a present. That one gift started me on the route that led me to where I am today, wherever that is.

I imagine this is the same contractor that built Dan's last plane, and they figure the way things go with him, it's worth keeping a crew on retainer.

Tracy is the most completely oblivious man in all comicdom, and considering some of his competition, that says a lot.

"Ignatius Hickson" is the best of all possible names for a wormy little sidekick in a kid-gang movie.

 

[Fading Fast]

My mother never pulled a gun on my father, but she did throw a plate of fried tripe at him once. I guess that's something. The best thing about my tonsillectomy is that I got a little portable radio for a present. That one gift started me on the route that led me to where I am today, wherever that is.

I imagine this is the same contractor that built Dan's last plane, and they figure the way things go with him, it's worth keeping a crew on retainer.

Tracy is the most completely oblivious man in all comicdom, and considering some of his competition, that says a lot.

"Ignatius Hickson" is the best of all possible names for a wormy little sidekick in a kid-gang movie.

All I got was ice cream. I think it was about my tenth birthday when I got a transistor radio (I specifically ask for it as we were a one-gift-per-occasion house, so you had to choose thoughtfully and not expensively) and that was part of my discovery of radio - news, programs, music sports. I didn't build a career around it like you did, but to this day, I have a strong affection for simple radio.

Dan and Irwin's relationship is outright odd.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A plan to purge Communists from Brooklyn College was revealed to the Eagle today in an interview with Dr. Harry Gideonse, school president, even as Rapp-Coudert Committee legal counsel Paul Windel prepares to move for contempt citations against twenty-five teachers and clerks, eighteen of whom are connected with Brooklyn College, who have refused to appear before secret sessions of the Committee. Dr. Gideonse told the Eagle that his primary tactic will be to appeal to the "overwhelming majority" of students and teachers to "take control of all activities" on the Brooklyn campus, and second, he will make a special effort to drive Communists out of the night-school program, which, with 7000 students, makes up half the college's student body. His third tactic will be to await the presentation of evidence against the accused teachers which will "stand up in court." His fourth tactic will be to ensure that the remaining students are given "practice in Democracy" during their college days. His fifth tactic will be to continue his appeals for funding for adequate staff at the college and the preparation of an assembly hall where students may gather.

Residents of the metropolitan area are digging out from under the first heavy snowfall of the season, with just under an inch and a half having accumulated by mid-morning, with temperatures hovering around the freezing point. The thermometer was expected to rise no higher than 36 degrees by mid-afternoon, although that is a definite improvement over the frosty temperatures of the past several days.

The announcement that a large section of the "highly restricted" Great Neck peninsula is to become the site of an extensive moderate-priced housing project is generating bitter rage among realty men, builders, and owners of expensive homes in the section. Announcement of the project last week by Thomas G. Grace, state director of the Federal Housing Administration generated immediate and furious condemnation of Mr. Grace's comment that the project has the endorsement of the Long Island Real Estate Board, with that board's chairman Walter S. Dayton declaring that the organization would never sanction such a development in a restricted section which would "definitely be a detriment to real estate values in the prescribed territory."

("Restricted" in the real estate parlance of 1940 means "no persons of the Hebrew, Negro, or Asiatic races" are permitted to own or occupy any dwelling within the boundaries of the designated area, with such prohibition being written directly into the deeds. In 1948, the Supreme Court will rule such restrictions unconstitutional and unenforceable. )

At least eight persons are reported killed in the crash of a New York-to-Chicago airliner near the Chicago Municipal Airport. The United Air Lines cruiser with 21 passengers aboard plunged nose-first into a vacant lot about 200 yards from the airfield about 6 PM last night. Poor flying conditions were blamed for the crash, with investigators at the scene reporting that the wings of the plane were coated in ice "two or three inches thick."

More than 100,000 persons turned out yesterday in Times Square for the opening of the new Bond Clothing store. Occupying the site of the former International Casino nightclub, previously Oscar Hammerstein's Olympia Theatre, the new store is said to be the largest menswear establishment in the world. (Oh, and they bought this big ad...)

A prominent Brooklyn businessman is being held on $25,000 bail today on perjury charges connected to his sword denial that he fronted money for the Brooklyn Murder For Hire Gang. District Attorney William O'Dwyer brought the charges yesterday against 40-year-old Benjamin "Chick" Weiss of 500 St. Johns Place, who is engaged in the automobile and construction businesses in Brooklyn and Queens. Weiss testified before a grand jury on Tuesday disclaiming any connection to gang financial operations. According to the District Attorney, Weiss's sister is married to a brother of a chief lieutenant of Louis "Lepke" Buchalter.

(Oooweeee. Blue Barron. Guess the hepcat in the booking office must be taking the week off. But I do enjoy Mabel Todd -- she turns up all over those late-thirties Warner college musicals as the comedy-relief gal with the nasal voice and the glasses. Not that *I'd* ever play a role like that. And what can you say about Morey Amsterdam other than the fact that he spent his entire long life never once dropping out of character.)

Now showing at the Patio, it's Don Ameche and Betty Grable in "Down Argentine Way," paired with John Garfield and Brenda Marshall in "East of the River." No cash giveaway tonight though.

(My grandfather was a Texacoman for forty years, and I can say with absolute certainty that my grandmother would not have stood for him offering this young lady any "mileage bonus.")

A grand old Brooklyn tradition, the annual Volunteer Firemen's Parade, will come to an end with the 1941 edition next February, and the Eagle Editorialist will be sad to see the "Vamps' March" coming to an end. There are too few survivors of Brooklyn's 19th Century volunteer fire departments still alive and healthy enough to participate, and with dwindling financial support for the parade, the Kings County Volunter Firemen's Association has already declared that next years' will be the last. The EE deplores the Board of Estimate's refusal to appropriate $1500 as a contribution to this last stand, and he hopes that Mayor LaGuardia, who has ridden on his share of fire engines, will take steps to see that the Vamps get their due recognition.

(If it's true that an army travels on its stomach, then we can be certain this one will go far.)

You can say a lot of things about Larry MacPhail, but you certainly can't call the Red Headed One a cheapskate. In just the past six months, Laughing Larry has peeled a grand total of $350,000 off the Brooklyn bankroll to buy first-rank players, starting last June with Joe Medwick, continuing into the fall with Kirby Higbe, and now Mickey Owen -- and each of these players is a man MacPhail announced well in advance that he wanted and intended to get however he could. Most significant, though, is that these deals have brought important talent to Ebbets Field while giving up very little other than cash. No notable players changed hands in the Medwick or Higbe deals, and while Gus Mancuso, who heads to St. Louis in the Owen deal, is a very nice fellow, he was never an indispensible man on the Dodgers. That means Luke Hamlin and Babe Phelps, who had been expected to figure in the Owen trade, will instead remain in Brooklyn in 1941, unless Larry has something going on he hasn't talked about . Which, knowing Larry, isn't likely. Leo Durocher, for his part, likes Babe the Blimp, and doesn't especially want to see him traded. Durocher and Owen had words last summer, when Owen made the mistake of taking a swing at Lippy during an on-field brawl in the wake of Medwick's beaning, but it is expected that that will all be water under the bridge in 1941.

Tune in WOR tomorrow morning at 11:15 to the Martha Deane program and hear the Eagle's own advice-giver Helen Worth, who will be interviewed on advice-giving and other matters by Bessie Beatty.

(Ah! A football story! Does that mean we get to see Slappy dressed up as a cheerleader?)

("Sort of a fan of finances." Well, that's not how Jo would put it, but okay.)

(Joke's on you, Leach! That isn't even a real polygraph -- it's just a battery charger John borrowed from a gas station!)

(YES INDEED MR. FIFTH COLUMNIST THUG THAT IS CERTAINLY LUCKY FOR YOU.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News --

"WINE TOSSING BLONDE SUED FOR FUR PIECE" might be the most Page Four headline ever. The only thing that could improve it is if she tossed the wine at Elaine Barrie.

Somebody got hazed the last time this ad ran -- note that now the actual price is far more visible. Good work, Consumers Union.

Yeah, have some couth. Wait'll they throw the paper on the floor of the car, and then pick it up when they get off.

Yeah, but in 1940 what's the market for wide-eyed Jackie Coogan-type waif actors anyway? The trend is to the Dead End Kid type -- don't you read the papers?

Andy in the North Woods? I dunno, isn't someone likely to mistake him for a scrub pine and chop him down?

Good ol' Uncle Avery!! He's notorious back home as the cheapest, moochiest man in town. Wilmer doesn't have a chance.

Psst, Lana -- take a tip. A nice flannel nightie is far more comfortable.

"Scram," says Hu Shee to the Blue Tiger. "Can't you see I'm working this side of the street?"

Oh, don't give it to Patton, you know he'll come back with the wrong picture and you'll end up arresting the Chief by mistake.

I admittedly don't know a whole lot about the doings in barber shops, but is it usual practice to shave a guy without taking the cigar out of his face first?

 

[Fading Fast]

...More than 100,000 persons turned out yesterday in Times Square for the opening of the new Bond Clothing store. Occupying the site of the former International Casino nightclub, previously Oscar Hammerstein's Olympia Theatre, the new store is said to be the largest menswear establishment in the world. (Oh, and they bought this big ad...)

...

It is amazing how mainstream wearing suits and ties was for a meaningful part of the population back then. Bond was definitely a store of the people with "specials," "deals," and other promotions we'd see years later in another mass-market men's clothier, Jos A Banks of "buy one get two free" fame.

A pic and a postcard illustration of the Times Square store (a store you will see in the background of many movies from the '40s - '70s):

... ("Sort of a fan of finances." Well, that's not how Jo would put it, but okay.)...

Just a crazy thought, they might want to look into how they are actually going to produce these rubber maps before they finish up the office - you know, have an actual working product to sell.

... "WINE TOSSING BLONDE SUED FOR FUR PIECE" might be the most Page Four headline ever. The only thing that could improve it is if she tossed the wine at Elaine Barrie...

And if it turned out that she was also the plump blonde NJ bank-heist gang leader and was arrested later because a smart detective noticed the resemblance in this Daily News' picture.

... Somebody got hazed the last time this ad ran -- note that now the actual price is far more visible. Good work, Consumers Union...

Does this mean I'm too late to buy a pair of skates?

 

[Fading Fast]

And

...
"Scram," says Hu Shee to the Blue Tiger. "Can't you see I'm working this side of the street?"...

Terry: Hu Shee, um, thank you for all you've done for me, but could you hold me just a little bit less tight.
Hu Shee: Shhh, quiet yellow-haired one, now just go to sleep while Hu Shee loosens your shirt.

 

[ChiTownScion]

And in the Daily News --

View attachment 286511 Psst, Lana -- take a tip. A nice flannel nightie is far more comfortable.

She may look like Mr. Bean's Irma Gobb in those glasses, but before I was married I've always found that sort of woman far more attractive. Bookish, intellectually driven and well read is a lot sexier to me than a girl to whom after one says, "Hello," is stuck for an answer... no matter how pretty the package.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Students and teachers at Brooklyn College are rising in opposition to the Rapp-Coudert Committee investigation of Communist influence in the public schools, with a front-page editorial in the student newspaper Brooklyn Vanguard accusing the probe of weakening confidence in the public schools, in a campaign "aided enthusiastically by the prostitute press, by the American Legion and Christian Front brand of virile red-white-and-blue-blooded 100 Per Cent Americanism, by the hordes of powerfully organized morons who don't believe in book-larnin' beyond the stage of literacy, and by the pennywise industrialists whose war profits are being nibbled by state education taxes." The editorial went on to declare, "as students of a college which has nothing wasteful or subversive on its record to be ashamed of, we view with indignation and disgust the hideously distorted image of our institution which has confronted us and millions of our fellow citizens this week."

A spokesman for Dr. Harry Gideonse, college president who has endorsed the investigation, responded to the editorial by stating that although the paper has "thrown off control by the American Student Union, its sympathies are evidently still considerably left of center."

Meanwhile, teachers opposed to the investigation gathered last night under the banner of a newly-organized Student Committee of 6000 To Defend Free and Higher Education to hear speeches by five of the twenty-five faculty members in the city who have refused to appear when summoned by the Committee to testify in closed sessions. The five indicated that their counsel has advised them that they are under no legal obligation to appear before such a committee, and congratulated the Brooklyn College students who have taken the lead in forming the new organization.

At the same time, it is reported that membership in the Teachers' Union has dropped by up to fifty percent following attempts by Rapp-Coudert Committee counsel Paul Windel to subpoena the union's membership list. A teacher representing the rival Teachers' Alliance made that claim in testimony before the committee today. Windel has alleged that the Teachers Union is "communist-dominated."

Marshal Pietro Bagdolio has resigned as chief of the Italian General Staff, and as overall commander of Italy's land, sea, and air forces. No reason for the Marshal's resignation has been announced. He will be succeeded by General Ugo Cavallero, an obscure Army veteran who had been commanding troops on the French frontier.

A twenty-five year old registered nurse from Bay Ridge put a stop to an attempted holdup in the lobby of an apartment building by reprimanding and lecturing her assailant until he put his gun away and waited for the police to come and arrest him. Miss Margaret Powell arrived at the 7715 4th Avenue building intending to inspect an apartment she was considering renting, when she was accosted by a 20-year-old Eurasian youth with a pistol, who jammed the weapon into her ribs and demanded she hand over her money. Miss Powell slapped the gun away, thrust her finger into the astonished gunman's face, and chided him fiercely about his need to get a real job instead of going around pestering honest people with a gun. When police arrived, the youth, identified as Frank Koyama, Brooklyn-born son of a Japanese father and a German mother, was standing sheepishly in a corner of the lobby and staring at his feet. The gun, it turned out, was a toy. Police say the youth is behind at least one other recent holdup in the neighborhood, in which $7 was taken from a woman.

A married man whose wife's earnings near or equal his own is still entitled to a draft deferrment, with New York Selective Service head Col. Arthur McDermott upholding a ruling by a local board deferring a Brooklyn man who earned $27.50 a week as a clerk in a brokerage house, and whose wife earns a weekly salary of $25. The board concluded that the couple had arranged its affairs to live on the combined income, and that taking the man in the draft would therefore work a hardship on the woman. Col. McDermott stressed that Selective Service is making every attempt to avoid disrupting civlian life in families.

(Joe and Sally look at each other and sigh with relief.)

Skaters will soon be able to pick their way past the wreckage of the World's Fair to enjoy brand-new ice and roller skating rinks, scheduled to open next month in the former New York City Building on the Fair grounds. The last of the exhibits will be out of the building by January 15th, allowing the structure, which will be one of the few permanent buildings left behind by the Fair, to host skating activities thru the winter months. And next summer, the former Billy Rose's Aquacade should be ready for use as a public swimming pool.

The Board of Estimate yesterday approved funding for new police traffic lights to replace those now hanging from the former Fulton Street L, clearing one more obstacle to the ultimate demolition of the hulking fifty-year-old structure. The Board also rejected a proposal to ban the construction of sewage treatment plants in residential neighborhoods, a move which is certain to generate outrage in Bay Ridge, where plans for a sewage facility at Owl's Head have stirred up brisk opposition.

("Hey!" says Joe. "Lessgota Namm's tamarra!" "I dunno," says Sally. "I don' like strange an' bizzzah gifts same as'a nex' poisson, but lasstime I got unnaweah at Namms, it made me itch." "Awwww," says Joe. "But I wanna see t' live monkeys!" "Yeah," says Sally. "Live monkeys. 'At's prollywhat made me itch.")

The death toll stands now at six from the collapse of the ceiling at the Railroads On Parade exhibit at the World's Fair. Demolition work at the structure remains suspended as inspectors from the Department of Housing and Buildings continue to question witnesses. A laboratory examination of debris from the building will be undertaken to determine if substandard materials were used in its construction.

(It might be worth going into The City to see this show, if only to see exactly what kind of stage act Mr. Bogart has for us. Does he sing? Does he dance? Does he play an instrument? Does he tell jokes? Does he do celebrity impressions? Does he do bird calls? Does he perform acrobatics? Or is it enough for him to just stand there for twelve minutes, the faintest trace of a smile playing over his face, just being Humphrey Bogart? It's hard to see in the ad, but it seems that Mayo Methot -- the Mrs. Bogart of the moment -- is also featured in the act. Do they swipe material from Burns and Allen?)

(Kids Today!)

The recent acquistions of Mickey Owen and Kirby Higbe may or may not cinch the pennant for the Dodgers in 1941, but one thing is for sure. Next year's squad will be, by far, the most expensive aggregation of talent ever to gambol onto the Ebbets Field sod. Two members of the present Brooklyn lineup -- Harry Lavagetto and Pete Coscarart -- predate the Larry MacPhail administration, and Cookie was a real bargain, coming to the Dodgers for a few minor players and no cash. Pete Reiser was a lucky grab after he was liberated from the Cardinal farm chain by Judge Landis, and Dixie Walker was the biggest waiver steal ever. But the rest of the lineup -- well, you can see how much they cost just to bring to Brooklyn. The Dodgers don't quite yet equal the profligacy of Tom Yawkey, owner of the Boston "Gold Sox," but it certainly isn't for lack of trying.

Meanwhile, Larry's willingness to unlimber the checkbook has the Giants racing to keep up, with Bill Terry dipping into Mr. Stoneham's vault for approximately $50,000 to buy pitcher Joe Bowman from the Cardinals. It was Mr. Bowman, you may recall, who laid Joe Medwick in the dirt with a high, hard one to the skull last June, and his presence among the Polo Grounders next summer will no doubt bring added spice to the traditional Dodger-Giant rivalry. If that isn't enough, it is strongly rumored that Memphis Bill is dickering with the Cubs to send Harry Danning to Chicago in exchange for Hank Lieber and Claude Passeau -- with Mr. Passeau having been one of the principals in a ferocious bench-clearing brawl that began when he threw his bat at Hugh Casey.

("Washington Redshins." Hehehehehehehehe.)

("Whom are you?" Tsk, George, such grammar.)

(Will Mary chide him most fiercely, like that gal in Bay Ridge? Or will she tackle him, like Becky Pecker at the candy store? I can't wait to see!)

("Flys it?" Who'se edditng this stuff?)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

**snif***

Coming events cast their shadows before.

So there.

Lawyers in Mr. Gray's worldview are almost always shown as being completely scabrous -- except for Tecum, and he was just dumb -- so for this guy to show any pangs of conscience at all is really something.

C'mon, Maw -- hit him with a skillet! You know you want to!

He's a lumberjack and he's OK.

What, and leave your life of pulse-pounding excitement in the city?

"I'll get him to come up here to the office, and I'll give him a back massage!"

Never mind that, I want to know what shattered law of physics allows Kayo to balance on the edge of the table like that.

END OF THE LINE! ALL OUT!

 

[Fading Fast]

...Marshal Pietro Bagdolio has resigned as chief of the Italian General Staff, and as overall commander of Italy's land, sea, and air forces. No reason for the Marshal's resignation has been announced. He will be succeeded by General Ugo Cavallero, an obscure Army veteran who had been commanding troops on the French frontier....

Considering the recent rout of the Italian military in the Greece campaign, it might be a performance-based decision where he was given the choice of resigning or being fired.

... A twenty-five year old registered nurse from Bay Ridge put a stop to an attempted holdup in the lobby of an apartment building by reprimanding and lecturing her assailant until he put his gun away and waited for the police to come and arrest him. Miss Margaret Powell arrived at the 7715 4th Avenue building intending to inspect an apartment she was considering renting, when she was accosted by a 20-year-old Eurasian youth with a pistol, who jammed the weapon into her ribs and demanded she hand over her money. Miss Powell slapped the gun away, thrust her finger into the astonished gunman's face, and chided him fiercely about his need to get a real job instead of going around pestering honest people with a gun. When police arrived, the youth, identified as Frank Koyama, Brooklyn-born son of a Japanese father and a German mother, was standing sheepishly in a corner of the lobby and staring at his feet. The gun, it turned out, was a toy. Police say the youth is behind at least one other recent holdup in the neighborhood, in which $7 was taken from a woman....

They aren't making enough women (and men) like this woman today. Of course, today, we'd immediately break into two camps on the story and, then, protest, riot and lawyer-up all meaning out of this simple but powerful tale of a woman stoping a crime.

...
("Hey!" says Joe. "Lessgota Namm's tamarra!" "I dunno," says Sally. "I don' like strange an' bizzzah gifts same as'a nex' poisson, but lasstime I got unnaweah at Namms, it made me itch." "Awwww," says Joe. "But I wanna see t' live monkeys!" "Yeah," says Sally. "Live monkeys. 'At's prollywhat made me itch.")...

"unnaweah"

...
(It might be worth going into The City to see this show, if only to see exactly what kind of stage act Mr. Bogart has for us. Does he sing? Does he dance? Does he play an instrument? Does he tell jokes? Does he do celebrity impressions? Does he do bird calls? Does he perform acrobatics? Or is it enough for him to just stand there for twelve minutes, the faintest trace of a smile playing over his face, just being Humphrey Bogart? It's hard to see in the ad, but it seems that Mayo Methot -- the Mrs. Bogart of the moment -- is also featured in the act. Do they swipe material from Burns and Allen?)...

Agreed, love to know what Bogart does live and, heck, "The Letter" is an outstanding movie anyway.

... Lawyers in Mr. Gray's worldview are almost always shown as being completely scabrous -- except for Tecum, and he was just dumb -- so for this guy to show any pangs of conscience at all is really something....!

It is consistent with the overall change we've seen in Gray's work since he killed off Nick and Tecum. While good to see some conscience in a lawyer, there's way too-much conscience in Gray's work right now.

.. END OF THE LINE! ALL OUT!

I'm saving up box tops of my favorite cereal so I can become a member of the Hu-Shee fan club and get a Hu-Shee membership ring and card.

Isn't it odd that in neither the Eagle nor Daily News do we ever get any news about Japan invading China? From what we've learned from history, today, we can follow this strip, but if the news of the Japanese invasion and all its machinations and ramifications wasn't being reported regularly in the US, how did this strip make sense to 1930s/40s-era readers?

 

[LizzieMaine]

George Seldes, the most vocal press critic of 1940, believed there was a concerted effort to suppress news of what Japan was doing in China for political reasons -- the corporate line at the time was that the Japan-China situation was not a matter to concern the West, and that those agitating on China's behalf by calling for boycotts of Japanese goods were no more than fringe characters attempting to interfere with legitimate business activity.

The fact that our Mr. Caniff has been strenously withheld from ever mentioning the name of Japan in his strip -- at one point he got seriously hazed for showing an identifiable Zero plane instead of drawing it as a generic plane -- suggests that, at least as far as the mainstream newspapers are concerned, there's something to Mr. Seldes' contention.

There was quite a bit of coverage of the Japanese invasion around 1937-38 -- Life did a number of multi-page spreads, including one featuring this famous photo:

But Japanese agents in the US started a campaign claiming such photos were staged fakes as part of an "anti-Japanese propaganda campaign by the Communists," which enough media outlets picked up on to blunt the impact. That Mr. Caniff gets as much realism into his strip as he does in the face of the environment of the time is certainly testimony both to his skill, and to his moral convictions.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

Some people have all the luck. I've never found a pistol on my roof.

 

[Harp]

She may look like Mr. Bean's Irma Gobb in those glasses, but before I was married I've always found that sort of woman far more attractive. Bookish, intellectually driven and well read is a lot sexier to me than a girl to whom after one says, "Hello," is stuck for an answer... no matter how pretty the package.

Amen. Beauty is definitely beholden.

 

[Haversack]

It is interesting to note that in 1940, China's ambassador to the US was Hu Shih. And in December of 1940 Hu was involved in the negotiations that led to the creation of the AVG under Chennault.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The State Commander of the New York American Legion today denounced as "scurrilous and wanton" criticism of the Legion published in the Brooklyn College student newspaper. " Commander Edward A. Voessler condemned statements in the Brooklyn Vanguard likening the Legion to the Christian Front and other "100 Per Cent Americanism" organizations and linked the paper and its editors to Communism. "The American Legion," declared Mr. Voessler, " is prepared to prove before any court in the state that the Communist Party in America advocates the overthrow of our constitutional means of government by acts of violence and by other unlawful means." The Commander commended the Rapp-Coudert Committee for its efforts to purge Communists and Communist sympathizers from the public education system, declaring that "such doctrine must be eradicated in American institutions of learning."

The principal of Abraham Lincoln High School today charged that "Communist-controlled" youths are attempting to disrupt the activities of "legitimately sponsored groups" at the Coney Island school. Dr. Gabriel R. Mason, in an interview with the Eagle, alleged that a group of students affiliated with the American Student Union --a group banned by order of the Board of Education from the city's high schools -- "raided" a meeting of a newly formed "American Defense Club" at Lincoln High, by entering the room where the meeting was being held and demanding to be allowed to address and join the group. Dr. Mason stated that he knows for a fact that the Student Union is holding meetings for Lincoln High members at a location away from the high school itself, and he noted that the Defense Club's faculty adviser, teacher Benjamin Gerdy -- a member of the American Legion -- physically "expelled" the Student Union members from the classroom where the meeting was being held.

One of the original "Big Four" of Italian Fascism resigned today from his post as head of the Italian Army's Aegean operations. Count Cesare Marie de Vicchi di Val Cismon stepped down from his command in the Dodecanese Islands in the second major resignation in the Fascist military leadership this week. The 65-year-old Count has been the military governor of the Aegean sector since 1936. He will be replaced in the post by General Ettore Bastico, most recently commander of Italy's motorized forces and a longtime veteran of the Fascist Blackshirts.

The center of the British port of Bristol is in flames today after a night of heavy raiding by Nazi bombers. The German DNB news agency states that no German planes were lost in the raids, which also struck portions of Southampton, Bournemouth, and Brighton, as well as sections of London.

The two children of a Brooklyn representative to Congress were struck and injured by a hit-and-run driver while sledding in front of their Bay Ridge home. Police say 8-year-old Donald L. O'Toole Jr. and his 8-year-old sister Mary O'Toole were hit as they sledded into the street in front of 20 77th Street. The boy told police that his sister was cut and bleeding, and that the driver picked her up, took her out of the road, and placed her on the sidewalk before getting into his car and driving away without identifying himself or making any effort to locate a policeman. Representative Donald L. O'Toole Sr. told police both children were badly bruised in the incident, but neither required hospitalization. An intensive search is on for the driver.

In a scene reminiscent of a Hollywood premiere, the Loft Candy Corporation opened its elaborate new store in Flatbush with searchlights and celebrity guests. Singer Patricia Ellis and bandleader Blue Barron, now appearing at the Flatbush Theatre, were the headline attractions for the dedication of the new ultra-modern store at 922 Flatbush Avenue, the 153rd outlet in the city-wide chain.

(Let's run over and take a look, shall we?

Ah, yes, we know this block well -- we've visited the Davega before. 922 is the itty little "Hats by Sima Lee"
storefront in between the photo shop and the Florsheim store, so it appears we've arrived a few months early for the Loft opening. That's OK, we can wait. I imagine they're gonna be pretty cramped there trying to find room for all the celebrities and searchlights and all...)

(Ah, this should be interesting. Better than that dumb Loft contest, anyway. And hey, did anybody ever win that?)

("Bilk and Milch." Mr. Lichty holds a grudge.)

An epidemic of influenza sweeping up the Pacific Coast has closed schools in parts of California, Oregon,
and Washington state. The disease is also spreading fast in Arizona, although authorities there say it has not yet reached epidemic status. Army camps and other places of population congestion are reported to be hard hit, but health officials anticipate the disease will have run its course by Christmas. In San Francisco it is estimated that 22 percent of all school pupils are infected.

The Midwest dominates the 16th Associated Press All-America collegiate football team announced today, with representatives of teams in the powerful Western Conference leading the way. The East and South trailed behind, followed by the Southwest, Far West, and Rocky Mountain regions. Four members of the squad, including sensational Michigan halfback Tom Harmon, were carried over from the 1939 team.

The Dodgers knew Mickey Owen was a feisty young fellow all along, but all doubts were removed last June 19th at Ebbets Field when the stocky then-Cardinal catcher popped Leo Durocher on the chin. Ironically, Leo had stated earlier in the season that he thought Mickey had "lost some of his spirit," but he is now thoroughly convinced that his opinion was in error. Owen is quite a character, despite being only 23 years of age. He was an all-city halfback when in high school in Los Angeles, was profiled in the Saturday Evening Post before he'd even played a single game in the big leagues, and spends his off seasons doing those crouching Russian kick dances with heavy boots on as a way of building up his leg muscles for catching.

"Big Poison" is looking for a job. 37-year-old outfielder Paul Waner was given his unconditional release by the Pirates this week after fourteen seasons with Pittsburgh, and says he isn't quite ready to retire. Waner hopes to catch on with another club as a part-time outfielder/pinch hitter, and the Dodgers have expressed some slight interest in taking a chance on him, depending on any other outfield moves they might make this season. With Pete Reiser likely to move into the Dodger outfield next season, Joe Vosmik's name has been mentioned as possible trade bait, which might open up a slot that Waner could fill.

Before anyone starts accusing the Dodgers of trying to buy a pennant with all their high-dollar wheeling and dealing this year, they ought to take a look at the example set by the Yankees. Old timers will recall that the Yanks were the dregs of the American League for many years before Colonels Ruppert and Huston unlimbered their bottomless checkbook in 1919, picking the Red Sox clean of Babe Ruth and many other star players in exchange for bundles of cash. Ruth alone, you might remember, cost the Yanks $125,000. The Yanks won their first flag with purchased talent in 1921, and ended up dominating the American League for most of the next two decades.

("Keep your suitcase packed!")

The Metropolitan Opera opens its tenth radio season this afternoon with "The Marriage of Figaro." The opera's broadcasts, with Milton J. Cross announcing, will be sponsored this year by an oil company, and will feature a new intermission segment called "Our American Way Of Life." Former President Herbert Hoover will be the first speaker featured in that segment. An "Opera Quiz" segment featuring a panel of opera authorities answering questions in a manner similar to "Information Please" will also be featured, with Mr. Cross presiding as moderator.

(Texaco will continue to sponsor the Met for the next sixty-three seasons, Mr. Cross will remain at the microphone until his death in 1975, and the Opera Quiz remains a regular feature of the broadcasts down to the present time. Mr. Hoover, however, made just the one appearance.)

(College: Where Men Are Men!)

(I thought the hunchback played for Notre Dame.)

(Well, with that dialect and those whiskers, either he's a Bolshevik or a Brooklyn College student.)

(Well. Didn't see that coming. Oh, and John -- that's a real Irwin you've got for a bodyguard all right.)

("Say Dan, why is there only one parachute?")