The Era -- Day By Day

[Fading Fast]

...

British bombing planes left a trail of destruction across the Ruhr region, blasting German industrial centers in one of the greatest aerial offensives of the war so far. It was the third such attack in as many nights on the center of the Nazi heavy air industry, and the second in the past two nights on the key maritime centers at Brest....

It's pretty amazing how there is almost no coverage of the war in the Pacific. Heck, if it wasn't for Caniff, you could forgive Eagle readers for not even knowing there is a war going on there.

..."E. K." writes to Dr. Brady wanting to know what the advantages are in using chewing gum, since he and his friend "chew gum constantly." The Doc advises that gum-chewing serves as "a feeble sort of vicarious outlet for emotions that might be more healthfully absorbed by fighting or running away."...

If his column isn't tongue in cheek, then Dr. Brady is the one that needs medical help.

...[

("We've Come So Far.")...

There are several early 1930s movies about colleges where, even then, they are bemoaning that fact that the football team gets all the attention and too much of the budget (but, also, brings in most of the alumni donations). Several plots of those movies pivot on professors being pressured to pass football players in their class, who clearly haven't passed, so that they can play in "the big game."

...(It seems obvious, from a 2021 perspective, that Phelps is suffering from serious depression or other mental-health issues -- but the world of 1941 professional sports has no place for any such diagnosis. And as we saw last summer in the case of Willard Hershberger, sometimes the consequences go far beyond a mere trade.)...

That statement could be edited from "...the world of 1941 professional sports has no place for..." to "the world of 1941 has no place for..." and it would still be pretty much accurate, but as you note, that's our 2021 perspective and we've learned a lot between 1941 and now.

... ("Motivated seller.")...

I know this guy has a better sounding story, but how has Mary learned nothing? Every buyer's story/offer should be checked, compared, reviewed, etc. Mary almost sold for fifty cents on the dollar a moment ago and now she's trusting this guy because he has a better story and offer?

...
Has it only been three weeks?...

This guy is spot on - it's enough already, Gray.

...
"Nice timing, kid."...

"It must be very warm in the shelter, Burma, your cheeks have a red glow and you're perspiring."

"Yeh, that's it kid. Shut up and get in."

Terry is becoming a 1941 Forest Gump.

...
BOOM!

Darn it, since tomorrow is Sunday in 1941, we won't get a continuation of the story line until our Wednesday.

 

[Harp]

A little menage a trois sans menage. And Wolff, like Wing-ding, has held the horns of cuckoldry
out for the kid-if not a coronation nevertheless a confirmation that time waits for no man, nor stops for a woman.

 

[LizzieMaine]

President Roosevelt yesterday took action to freeze all assets of Continental Europe in the United States, including patents, in the most drastic action yet taken against the Axis powers -- with the dual objective of waging an economic counterattack against those powers, as well as attempting to curb espionage and sabotage of vital American defenses. The stern Presidential move came immediately after a warning to Germany by Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles that American powers will not be intimidated by German "bluster and threat" that other American shipping may meet the same fate as the torpedoed U. S. merchantman Robin Moor.

Meanwhile, hope that the thirty-five missing passengers and crew of the Robin Moor may yet be alive was expressed today by the U. S. Maritime Commission after an exhaustive study of wind and tide conditions in the South Atlantic. The three missing lifeboats from the torpedoed freighter may have been driven by wind and currents to the vincinity of St. Paul's Rock off the Brazilian coast, an area off the regular steamship lanes. A Brazilian government search vessel has been dispatched to search that area.

A proposed two-year no-strike/no-lockout agreement was submitted yesterday by the Office of Production Management to seven Brooklyn shipyards, and three Long Island facilities. The local yards are among 55 shipbuilding yards along the Atlantic Coast to receive terms of the proposed agreement, which is similar to that presented to West Coast shipbuilders in an effort to speed construction of ships for the United States and England and to ease labor confrontations that have lately plagued the defense industry. The proposed agreement sets a base wage of $1.12 an hour for skilled mechanics, as well as a basic wage and hour scale for construction and repair workers, with annual cost-of-living increases and overtime rates of time-and-a-half for hours in excess of forty per week, and double time for Sunday and holiday work. The contract also calls for the establishment of a worker grievance and mediation procedure requiring arbitration for all disputes.

Homicide Squad detectives combed Bay Ridge yesterday in search of clues to the murder of 34-year-old Flora M. Poore, Memphis, Tennessee blonde divorcee who was found stabbed to death by a "stiletto-like" weapon in her 53rd Street apartment. Police say they have learned that Miss Poore had "an argument with an unknown man" after a drinking bout Friday evening. The victim shared the apartment with Henry Capparet, a local longshoreman, who discovered the body early yesterday morning.

The Black Spider dies tomorrow, as Mayor LaGuardia wields the ceremonial acetylene torch to cut into a rusty steel pillar of the Fulton Street L to begin the full-scale demolition of the hulking old structure that has blotted out the sunlight for over half a century. Efforts to remove the L have been ongoing for more than twenty years, with Fulton Street merchants condemning the rickety old tracks and support columns as an eyesore, a traffic hazard, and a detriment to business in the downtown area. More than 500 persons have reserved tickets to witness tomorrow's ceremonies outside Borough Hall, and a celebratory luncheon will be held at the Towers Hotel following the ceremony.

(A&S's predecessor firm, Weschler & Abraham, was very much in business on Fulton Street in 1885, and I imagine that they were very much in favor of the L when it was built. Today's progress is tomorrow's embarrassment.)

The Deputy State Commander of the American Legion yesterday asserted that two million Americans are "suspected of Communist sympathies" by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Edward L. Voessler made the claim during Flag Day ceremonies at Borough Hall under the auspices of the Brooklyn Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Voessler stated that the two million names of persons "of all ages, races, and stations," are contained in a secret FBI file, and that they are "capable of anything from stealing naval intelligence files to throwing a brick at a passing auto."

(Careful, Commander -- YCLs are letting the air out of your tires even as you speak!)

The Brooklyn Marriage License Bureau is being swamped by an all-time-record June rush, exceeding even last year's wave of "beat the draft" marriages. Thousands of weddings have faced forced delays because only nine clerks are available to process applications and issue licenses. A Saturday law prohibiting the issuance of marriage licenses after 12 noon on that day of the week forced hundreds of couples to be turned away yesterday.

The Eagle Editorialist confidently predicts that all signs are pointing to Russia "edging into the German Orbit," and that "when the crisis comes, Stalin will yield supinely, with nothing resembling the display of heroism shown by the Greeks, the Dutch, and the Jugoslavs."

Old Timer M. G. J. R. remembers the good old days in Flatbush, when Flatbush Avenue contained of two deep ditches spanning the whole length of the town, with each house having a little bridge across the ditches into the street proper. Riding a horsecar into the city was wonderful, with a bed of straw strewn on the floor to keep your feet warm, and a flickering one-candle lamp at either end. "It was so dark in the car that when a new passenger got on it took a few minutes for you to recognize who it was."

Summer courses in cryptology and cryptography will be offered at Hunter College starting July 7th. These night courses are the only such courses in the country not directly connected to the War Department.

("Ya play Petey more off'n, he'll get more hits!" growls Sally. "Ain't nutt'n to it!" "Whattawe want Craft for?" grumbles Joe. "Ya got Walka, ya got Vosmik, ann'ey bot' hitt'n betta'n Craft. Two-t'oity six he's hitt'n! I'd radda have Phelps in bed t'en anutta two-toity-six hitta!" "Reese ain' hitt'n nuttin'," continues Sally. "Petey c'n play short, an' he c'n hit too! 'At Durocha! 'At MacPhail! T'ey don'neva lissen!")

The sale of electric refrigerators in the United States is at an all-time peak as manufacturers and consumers rush to beat the expected curtailment of production by National Defense needs. Sales so far this year are on a pace to exceed 3,500,000 units sold, which would far surpass the previous record of 2,528,566 machines sold, set in 1940.

(Justice Stone is already a popular crossword puzzle clue -- "What's a five-letter word for 'one of the Three Musketeers,' but not Athos.")

An American-born Mohammedan soldier has been sent to the guardhouse at Fort Dix, N. J. for refusing to obey orders to shave his beard, cut his hair, remove his fez, and put on necktie. Pvt. Eddie Stephens Bey of Camden, New Jersey was inducted into the Army last week, but has resisted all attempts to force him to comply with grooming and uniform regulations. "A necktie," declared Pvt. Bey, "reminds me of a hangman's noose."

(Pvt. Bey is a member of the Moorish Science Temple, a direct theological ancestor of the Nation of Islam.)

("Duuuuuuuuuude!")

(You can't be a gangster in 1941 without an underground lair.)

(What, no quirky celebrity facts this week? No fat-Hermann in a pink nightgown? Just a stupid ad? Goering must've called up his pal Henry Ford to see if something couldn't be done.)

(For a world where marriage licenses are being handed out faster than you can sign up for one, marriage sure seems unpopular in the funnies. And poor Irwin. "FAT GUY FAT GUY FAT GUY! I'VE GOT A NAME YOU KNOW!"

(Booking appointments for random fistfights by phone is a pretty innovative idea. Of course, in 2021 there'll be an app for that.)

(And of course, there's "Go Fund Me, 1880 Edition.")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

I had no idea horses liked coffee.

There was a wave of articles and books in the '90s about 1941 as "the last peacetime summer," but the haze of elderly nostalgia blurred the reality. Mr. Hill, however, is shackled by no such illusions.

Serves ya right, Tracy, you've been feeding us bull for years.

You'd think they'd realize by now that no one is ever whom they seem to be.

And it would've taken Warbucks six months and a giant magical assistant to do all this.

Bedroom action? We'll give you bedroom action!

"Cindy the Incendiary Blonde?" You're trying too hard, toots.

Oh, the double entendres.

My grandfather and I once enacted this very scene, but he just fell over and got sick. I often felt guilty about that.

Look, let's just dump Daddy, and La Plata, and Annie, and just go with "PUNJAB -- DEATH GOD OF VENGEANCE." With his new sidekick, "Maw Green -- Irish Troll."

 

[Harp]

^^Feller pitched in the majors as a seventeen year old kid. A late-in-life interview with Papa Joe Chevalier
he seemed a bit grumpus, but his memoir: Wisdom From The Mound is a sound take on his day.

__________

Wolff may have slipped inside a uniform but he may still be a decent sort.
...tune in tomorrow for another exciting, action-packed episode.

 

[Fading Fast]

...The Eagle Editorialist confidently predicts that all signs are pointing to Russia "edging into the German Orbit," and that "when the crisis comes, Stalin will yield supinely, with nothing resembling the display of heroism shown by the Greeks, the Dutch, and the Jugoslavs."...

I bet the Eagle Editorialist wishes he/she could delete that Tweet.

...
("Duuuuuuuuuude!")...

"Burned with fiery jealousy."

...
(What, no quirky celebrity facts this week? No fat-Hermann in a pink nightgown? Just a stupid ad? Goering must've called up his pal Henry Ford to see if something couldn't be done.)..

All that ⇧ and the ad is flat-out stupid anyway.

...
(For a world where marriage licenses are being handed out faster than you can sign up for one, marriage sure seems unpopular in the funnies. And poor Irwin. "FAT GUY FAT GUY FAT GUY! I'VE GOT A NAME YOU KNOW!"...

As Freddie reads the Eagle's comicstrip page, a thought occurs to him: Maybe Irwin and I should start a support group. No, that guy's an idiot.

...
I had no idea horses liked coffee....

You can see in your mind the Looney Tunes' riff on this as the horse in the gate sips coffee from a dainty cup while holding the saucer in his other front hoof, he, then, puts the cup and saucer aside and fires out of the gate blasting passed the other horses.

...
Serves ya right, Tracy, you've been feeding us bull for years....

Spot on call, Lizzie.

...
You'd think they'd realize by now that no one is ever whom they seem to be....

"Look in any mirror for the answer to that, Burma!" Good on Terry.

I hope Burma didn't get a chill sleeping with her blouse so unbuttoned.

..
"Cindy the Incendiary Blonde?" You're trying too hard, toots....

And that's hard to do given the spectrum of names allowed in comicstrip land, but she did it, just too much makeup. This strip, like most of them, loses a lot of engagement when you only get the Sunday edition of it.

...
Oh, the double entendres...."

Were they double entendres in '41? Was "ho" understood in that way? Or were you referring to what Shadow was really doing in the soda shop as he day-dreamt about the women?

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Ho" likely did have some currency in black urban dialect, but I don't think Shadow is likely to be too conversant in it. But the poster for the frothing mug of soda with BIGGEST ONE IN TOWN juxtaposed next to our own practicing sex god is likely not unintentional on Brother Ed's part, especially given the general theme of the strip today. It seems he does need a day once in a while to work the cheesecake out of his system.

I wish the reproduction in today's Terry was less muddy -- I'm assuming that's Wolff now in uniform, and not some random Nazi who's broken into his grip. For a moment I thought it might even be Kiel, back from his long swim, but that would be too too too much.

Poor Fitz. He's certainly a pleasant-looking guy, but these photographers do him no favors in the physique department. I'd like to see him next to Phelps, though, and see just who really deserves the name "Blimp."

For a cold-blooded assassin, the Asp sure does whine a lot.

 

[Fading Fast]

"Ho" likely did have some currency in black urban dialect, but I don't think Shadow is likely to be too conversant in it. But the poster for the frothing mug of soda with BIGGEST ONE IN TOWN juxtaposed next to our own practicing sex god is likely not unintentional on Brother Ed's part, especially given the general theme of the strip today. It seems he does need a day once in a while to work the cheesecake out of his system.

I wish the reproduction in today's Terry was less muddy -- I'm assuming that's Wolff now in uniform, and not some random Nazi who's broken into his grip. For a moment I thought it might even be Kiel, back from his long swim, but that would be too too too much.

Poor Fitz. He's certainly a pleasant-looking guy, but these photographers do him no favors in the physique department. I'd like to see him next to Phelps, though, and see just who really deserves the name "Blimp."

For a cold-blooded assassin, the Asp sure does whine a lot.

It's a shame as some days these strips get very muddy. Terry and Tarzan were both tough ones to see clearly today.

 

[Harp]

It's a shame as some days these strips get very muddy. Terry and Tarzan were both tough ones to see clearly today.

A Wolff in non-sheep sartorial style...but a belated transformation?

 

[Harp]

I wish the reproduction in today's Terry was less muddy -- I'm assuming that's Wolff now in uniform, and not some random Nazi who's broken into his grip. For a moment I thought it might even be Kiel, back from his long swim, but that would be too too too much..

The consistent or the inconsistent cartoonist, ace up his sleeve tossing a deuce out playing low stakes
story line mumbo jumbo, linear reason's plausible character construction in-or-out. I was starting to admire
Wolff, seemed a decent sort, an engineer from the professional officer class, hardly a Nazi card carrier.
Perhaps intuitive assumption in this particular strip, "reading between the lines" commits a mortal
sin of supposition bound to simply lead toward abject disappointment. Hopefully not, but the waters
are muddied with the strip about to tear credibility. But maybe not.

 

[LizzieMaine]

All German consulates and propaganda offices in the United States must close by order of President Roosevelt, and all employees of those offices and agencies will be expelled from the United States on charges that they have engaged in "improper activities inimical to the welfare of this country." The President's order, issued this morning, and to take effect no later than July 10th, was described as "not breaking" diplomatic relations between the US and Germany, and the German Embassy in Washington will remain open. The order covers a total of 25 consular offices around the country, as well as all offices of the Transocean news agency, all German travel agencies, and the German Library of Information in New York. The official German government news agency DNB was apparently not included in the Presidental order. Along with the Presidential order today, the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury announced that all funds and properties owned by the German-American Bund and other Fascist organizations in the United States are to be frozen in keeping with yesterday's order freezing all Axis assets in the country.

Meanwhile, Italy has responded to the President's freezing of assets by freezing all bank accounts owned by six thousand American citizens residing in that country. Italian merchants are reported to have cut off all credit to Americans and are demanding immediate settlement of debts.

The cremation of the Black Spider began at exactly 12:41 this afternoon, when Mayor LaGuardia, to the cheers of a vast crowd in front of Borough Hall, fixed a blazing oxyacetylene torch on a rusty 40-foot crossbeam of the Fulton Street L, marking the formal start of the final stage of demolition for the hulking half-century-old eyesore. Standing on a wooden platform raised to the level of the beam by two BMT repair trucks, the Mayor grinned behind his protective goggles as the white-hot flame cut into the steel with a shower of sparks. After two minutes, the Mayor turned the torch, his helmet, his goggles, and his heavy safety gloves over to Borough President John Cashmore, who cut into the beam's opposite end. After five minutes, workmen tied a rope around the section and pulled it free with a crane, dangling the severed segment before the shouting, laughing throng before lowering it into a waiting truck for disposal.

("Now let's CUT HIS GUTS OUT!")

The thirty-five missing crew and passengers from the torpedoed American freighter Robin Moore arrived at Cape Town, South Africa today, and are expected to come ashore tomorrow after arrangements are made by the American consul for their safe return home. The survivors arrived at Cape Town aboard a British ship which presumably picked them up from lifeboats in the South Atlantic. The safe arrival of the thirty-five, including two Brooklynites, means that all who were aboard the doomed freighter when it was attacked by a German U-Boat, have been rescued.

Diplomatic quarters in Washington are electrified over reports that a 2,000,000-man German force is mobilizing near the Russian border, with speculation rampant over the purpose of this force. It is believed by knowledgeable sources that the Germans may be planning a blitz campaign to overthrow the Soviet government and seize control of oil fields and agricultural territories for their own purposes, or that they may merely be rattling a large sword in an attempt to force Stalin's capitulation to German demands for access to wheat and oil, and a right of way across Soviet territory into the Middle East. Or, a third possibility under discussion is that the massing of troops is merely an attempt to distract world attention from Hitler's true purpose -- the long-expected invasion of Great Britain.

A spokesman for the national office of the America First Committee stated today that his organization is in no way planning to challenge the Dodgers' permit to play night baseball. Last week, Brooklyn America First chairman William Leonard made such a threat after Dodger president Larry MacPhail sharply refused to rent out Ebbets Field for an America First rally, but national spokesman John T. Flynn denied today that the organization will organize any such effort in retaliation against the ball club. "I'm busy fighting night and day war," insisted Flynn, "but neither night nor day baseball."

A race riot on the Lower East Side early today led to the death of a soldier and injuries to scores of others. The incident erupted around 3 AM at the intersection of Governeur and Henry Streets, when 25-year-old Private Thomas Joyce, attached to an anti-aircraft unit at Fort Wadsworth confronted a white woman walking with a Negro man and demanded to know if he was "with her." The woman, 40-year-old Mary Green, also known as Mary Murray, told the soldier to mind his own business, and a scuffle broke out between Joyce and "the Negro," whose name was not given. That fight soon spread into a general brawl of more than a hundred persons, and Joyce received a fatal slash from a razor during the riot. Police broke up the melee after ten minutes. Miss Green is being held "as a material witness" in the death of the soldier.

A woman suffering from a swollen red nose writes in to Dr. Brady for advice, complaining that her friends tell her she has "a rummy's nose" even though she is a teetotaller. The Doc tells her to coat her nose with a mixture of zinc sulfate, sulfurated potash, and rose water and let it dry to a crust overnight. Wash it off in the morning. Do this every night for two weeks. If that doesn't help, try X-rays and send 25 cents for the pamphlet "Save Your Skin."

(A great comedienne who led a very tragic life. That happens a lot, but in her case it's particularly tragic because she was so incredibly gifted. If she never did anything in her life but "The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek," she'd still rank as one of the all time greats.)

The Eagle Editorialist agrees with Parks Commissioner Robert Moses in opposing the idea of "Gas-less Sundays." Mr. Moses this week advised Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes of his opposition to the idea of closing all gasoline stations on Sunday as a way of reducing American fuel consumption, and called that plan "premature," noting that vast numbers of Americans depend on automobiles and buses not just for transportation but for access to recreation, among them millions of New Yorkers. Mr. Moses points out that one out of every five automobiles crossing the Tri-Borough Bridge does so on Sundays.

(Well, I mean, Santa's a dollar-a-year man with the OPM now, so it's basically the same thing.)

Stage and screen actress Irene Franklin died today in Englewood, New Jersey, three days after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage at her residence at the Actors Fund Home. Miss Franklin began her theatrical career at the age of six, and from 1895 to 1931 was a star on the legitimate stage. She turned to Hollywood in later life, with her last role that of the late Jean Harlow's mother in "Saratoga." Last week, approaching her 57th birthday, she wrote to a friend and asked "doesn't anyone remember anymore?"

(Wait, I know Medwick had the mumps, but what's wrong with Cookie? Did his appendix grow back??? And let's salute Pete "Pecky" Suder, a fine player who will spend many years toiling helplessly for Connie Mack, and will only once in his career ever see the light of fourth place.)

(And for $50 you can lace on the gloves and go a round yourself.)

Eight-year-old Patsy O'Shea of Flatbush, just a regular girl around the neighborhood, is a radio star now -- appearing as a regular member of the cast in "Reg'lar Fellers," kid-gang summer replacement for Jack Benny's program over NBC. Patsy's been acting since she was old enough to walk, and has appeared in two Broadway shows, several film shorts, and a number of small radio roles before getting her big break as wisecracking "Aggie Riley," who keeps the boys in their place. She also sings and tap dances, and declares that when she grows up she wants to be Katherine Cornell.

(Ohhhhhhhh dear. I'm sure Boody will handle this with nuance and sensitivity.)

("The thick steak district." More proof that Tuthill is the king of comic-page phrasemakers.)

(I'm very grateful for the help the FHA gave me in my own housing situation, but honestly, they don't really grin this much.)

(Hey Irwin, be sure you save that egg for evidence and don't eat....Oh. Never mind.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Victor Mature? Ew.

I had no idea this was Kay's backstory, but if it is, I'm impressed.

"HELLO FOLKS!" Hey, don't you know the World's Fair is over?

All the schmaltz is worth it if we get to see PUNJAB BE PUNJAB!

"Of course, my big career plan is to wait for Uncle Bim to die and then cash in. Who needs a Greek God Figure when you've already got Croseus?"

"Plus you gotta admit, I look sharp as hell in it."

Killjoy. Let 'em mix it up a bit first, that's why we read this strip.

I don't remember what Hank does for a living, but I seem to remember it was something rough and/or shady. Tops would fit right in down on the docks.

I've often commented on Harold's resemblance to young Ronald Reagan, but I didn't know till now how much I actually wanted to see Mr. Reagan playing the role.

Hey, remember Gee-Gee Gamble? You know, the woman you bummed all the way across the country to chase after? Whatever happened to her, anyway? Oh never mind.

 

[Fading Fast]

All German consulates and propaganda offices in the United States must close by order of President Roosevelt, and all employees of those offices and agencies will be expelled from the United States on charges that they have engaged in "improper activities inimical to the welfare of this country." The President's order, issued this morning, and to take effect no later than July 10th, was described as "not breaking" diplomatic relations between the US and Germany, and the German Embassy in Washington will remain open. The order covers a total of 25 consular offices around the country, as well as all offices of the Transocean news agency, all German travel agencies, and the German Library of Information in New York. The official German government news agency DNB was apparently not included in the Presidental order. Along with the Presidential order today, the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury announced that all funds and properties owned by the German-American Bund and other Fascist organizations in the United States are to be frozen in keeping with yesterday's order freezing all Axis assets in the country....

It might not be "breaking diplomatic relations," but it is certainly bending them as far as they can go.

....The thirty-five missing crew and passengers from the torpedoed American freighter Robin Moore arrived at Cape Town, South Africa today, and are expected to come ashore tomorrow after arrangements are made by the American consul for their safe return home. The survivors arrived at Cape Town aboard a British ship which presumably picked them up from lifeboats in the South Atlantic. The safe arrival of the thirty-five, including two Brooklynites, means that all who were aboard the doomed freighter when it was attacked by a German U-Boat, have been rescued....

To not lose one crew member or passenger is an unexpectedly good result.

...Diplomatic quarters in Washington are electrified over reports that a 2,000,000-man German force is mobilizing near the Russian border, with speculation rampant over the purpose of this force. It is believed by knowledgeable sources that the Germans may be planning a blitz campaign to overthrow the Soviet government and seize control of oil fields and agricultural territories for their own purposes, or that they may merely be rattling a large sword in an attempt to force Stalin's capitulation to German demands for access to wheat and oil, and a right of way across Soviet territory into the Middle East. Or, a third possibility under discussion is that the massing of troops is merely an attempt to distract world attention from Hitler's true purpose -- the long-expected invasion of Great Britain....

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

...A woman suffering from a swollen red nose writes in to Dr. Brady for advice, complaining that her friends tell her she has "a rummy's nose" even though she is a teetotaller. The Doc tells her to coat her nose with a mixture of zinc sulfate, sulfurated potash, and rose water and let it dry to a crust overnight. Wash it off in the morning. Do this every night for two weeks. If that doesn't help, try X-rays and send 25 cents for the pamphlet "Save Your Skin."...

What's going on with this "Doctor?" Is the Eagle trolling its readers?

... (A great comedienne who led a very tragic life. That happens a lot, but in her case it's particularly tragic because she was so incredibly gifted. If she never did anything in her life but "The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek," she'd still rank as one of the all time greats.)...

Two things I learned over time working with private banks: One, being born wealthy quite often does not work out well and, two, people who weren't born wealthy don't want to hear that. Not being of the first, I was guilty of the second (always passively assumed life would be easy if you had been born "rich") until I saw the results up close.

...(Wait, I know Medwick had the mumps, but what's wrong with Cookie? Did his appendix grow back??? And let's salute Pete "Pecky" Suder, a fine player who will spend many years toiling helplessly for Connie Mack, and will only once in his career ever see the light of fourth place.)...

"...but what's wrong with Cookie? Did his appendix grow back???" LOL

...
(Ohhhhhhhh dear. I'm sure Boody will handle this with nuance and sensitivity.)...

A week or so with these idiots and this articulate kid will be incoherent.

... "Plus you gotta admit, I look sharp as hell in it."....

Allow me to translate: "They can still whore Burma out for their purposes."

... I don't remember what Hank does for a living, but I seem to remember it was something rough and/or shady. Tops would fit right in down on the docks....

I'm guessing very low-level mob stuff.

... I've often commented on Harold's resemblance to young Ronald Reagan, but I didn't know till now how much I actually wanted to see Mr. Reagan playing the role.....

I know that trying to "steal a kiss" is a crime against humanity today - got it, check, but by 1941 standards, Harold's move is kinda funny and on the ball for him - he saw an opportunity and he took it.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I've been wondering the same thing about Dr. Brady. I'm almost convinced that he and Helen Worth are one and the same, and that Helen came up with the "Brady" persona as a way of getting it all out of her system.

Nobody ever experienced, or ever will experience, as much unadulterated joy in being Mayor of New York as Fiorello H. LaGuardia. Wield that torch, Butch!

 

[Haversack]

I wonder if any other mayor of an American city has had a Broadway musical about them?

 

[Harp]

^Wolff is not a wolf, and our St Louis alley cat has been checked if not mate. Cherry Terry has a chance.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A "sharp change" in relations between Germany and the United States is imminent, according to authorized German sources, following the order by President Roosevelt closing all German consulates and propaganda offices in America and expelling their staff from the country, and freezing all German assets. Those sources also state that a previous comment that "we will not let ourselves be provoked" no longer holds. Whether this "sharp change" will include retaliatory steps against American consulates and diplomatic staff in Germany could not be confirmed, but it is believed by correspondents of New York and Washington newspapers in London that "only a minor incident" is now needed to trigger a full break in diplomatic relations between the U. S. and the Nazi state.

Administration sources are reported to be taking "a grave view" of the present diplomatic situation between the U. S. and Germany, with the International News Service reporting that a full break in relations would "cause no surprise" in Washington.

The president of the CIO denied today that there is any kind of "Red purge" underway among leaders of the labor federation, and dismissed such rumors as the work of "scandal seekers" out to undermine the labor movement. CIO head Philip Murray further noted in a letter to all CIO officials and union locals that the organization will take "all constitutional steps" to prevent wildcat strikes in the defense industry, but emphasized that he will tolerate no attempt to push the CIO in a direction "foreign to collective bargaining and the advancement of labor interests."

With a cry of "Let 'er go!" at 9:20 this morning, workers demolishing the Fulton Street L pulled loose the final girder of 200 feet of upper rigging on the structure between Borough Hall and the old Myrtle Avenue station, allowing for the first time in more than half a century a spot of sunlight to fall on the street below. Demolition contracts call for all parts of the structure other than the upright support columns to be removed within three weeks, and all traces of the Black Spider to be gone within five months.

In Washington, D. C., the War Department has assigned Army troops to aid in tracking down the killer of a young Department clerk, who was criminally assaulted and strangled to death as she walked home from her job yesterday. The body of 23-year-old Elizabeth Streiff, originally of Des Moines, Iowa, was found, dressed only in shoes and sport socks, in a garage belonging to DeWitt C. Crossiani, professor emeritus of English at George Washington University. Professor Crossiani is presently reported to be "vacationing," and the body was discovered by his maid. The murder is the fourth recent unexplained slaying in the residential section of the Capital, and the second to be discovered in the exclusive Dupont Circle neighborhood. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt today issued a warning to all young women in Government service to never walk alone in residential neighborhoods, and to, if possible, use street cars to travel to and from work. Mrs. Roosevelt also warned against drinking with or accepting rides from strange men.

Vichy Chief of State Marshal Henri Petain today accused Frenchmen who believe their destiny now is more tragic than it was a year ago of being influenced by Communists, and warned that "France has not yet finished paying for its faults." In a broadcast marking the first anniversary of his assumption of leadership of the Vichy government, the Marshal stated that "a year ago I gave a gift of myself to the people of France," and promised that the French people will acquire "wisdom and patience in the discipline imposed by myself."

The head of the National Association of Manufacturers today demanded that all Communists be expelled from the United States, that "a firm policy" be adopted to deal with strikers, and that the President take action to kill legislation authorizing the Government to seize control of defense plants. NAM President Walter D. Fuller, speaking before an Association conference in Pittsburgh further blamed the recent use of the Army to seize control of the North America Aviation plant in Inglewood, California on "a labor government that has outdone itself" in giving "too much rope" to labor.

(Yeah, I do have foot problems, but I don't know as I trust some guy from a Lichty cartoon to solve them.)

Dodger president Larry MacPhail today fired another salvo in the direction of his present pet peeve, the America First movement. "I have no use for William Leonard," declared the voluble executive, naming the chairman of the Brooklyn branch of that organization, and further added to his list of persons and institutions for which he has no use the names of Colonel Lindbergh, Senators Wheeler and Nye, the German-American Bund, the Christian Front, Joe McWilliams, William Dudley Pelley, Father Coughlin, and Adolf Hitler. "I believe the propaganda which these individuals and groups are sponsoring is very dangerous in the present emergency," declared the Dodger president, and he further condemned threats by Mr. Leonard to begin a campaign in Flatbush to revoke the ball club's night baseball permit after MacPhail denied him permission to rent Ebbets Field for a rally. "The America First outfit," stated MacPhail, "is the only group which has adopted the Hitler tactics to force the club to alter its policy with respect to use of the field." Mr. Leonard was unavailable for further comment.

(Actually, it's nothing at all like "The Awful Truth," but what can you expect from the Mirror? And "swing" is certainly not a quality that I have ever associated with Allan "Not Zeppo" Jones.)

(NO DESSERT FOR YOU. Unless it's oatmeal.)

Reader John Dunlop not only believes that General Grant's statue should stay in Brooklyn but that we ought to bring his tomb over here too. "There's lots of room."

(The old "drugstores sell everything besides drugs" gag never gets old.)

("Cookie's gotta bruised wrist?" huffs Joe. "Hey, MacPhail, whattabout plastic wrist protectas?" "WHATTAYA MEAN PETEY POPS UP?" erupts Sally. "HEY HOLMES! WAS YOU ONNA ALL-STAH TEAM LASS YEEAH? HUH? WAS YA?")

(This kid can keep up the trolling all day. Meanwhile, a pocket square with a polo shirt? And loud plaid pants? NOW THAT'S STYLE.)

(Get set for a hard-hitting look at the growing problem of barbiturate abuse.)

(Well, you can get a nice house in Flatbush for $4000, over on Midwood Street near Sally's ma. And in eighty years, Dennie and Sunny will be millionaires.)

(TIED TO A CHAIR! TIED TO A CHAIR! TIED TO A CHAIR!)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Peggy Hopkins Joyce? Sonny Tufts? It's a Cole Porter "list song" come to life.

"The Climax Rubber Company." Very funny.

"We've come so far."

I just realized that "Asp" spelled sideways is "Sap." Well played, Mr. Gray.

OK Burma. Your move.

What, no scene of the bull chasing Tracy around in a circle? Not even one measly panel?

OK, enough of this stuff Gus, let's get moving with the plot again. And what happened to Min's necklace in panel 3?

I can't imagine why they don't give Tops a job here, he'll fit right in.

Willie looks just like a techie I used to work with, except Willie dresses better.

Bourbon and a bowl of saltine crackers. Now that's a dinner.

 

[Fading Fast]

...Vichy Chief of State Marshal Henri Petain today accused Frenchmen who believe their destiny now is more tragic than it was a year ago of being influenced by Communists, and warned that "France has not yet finished paying for its faults." In a broadcast marking the first anniversary of his assumption of leadership of the Vichy government, the Marshal stated that "a year ago I gave a gift of myself to the people of France," and promised that the French people will acquire "wisdom and patience in the discipline imposed by myself."...

"'a year ago I gave a gift of myself to the people of France' and promised that the French people will acquire 'wisdom and patience in the discipline imposed by myself'."

Maybe it's the translation that makes this sound so insanely obnoxious.

...
(NO DESSERT FOR YOU. Unless it's oatmeal.)...

That is an overly complicated article. I think I need a piece of H&H's custard pie to relax now.

...
(Well, you can get a nice house in Flatbush for $4000, over on Midwood Street near Sally's ma. And in eighty years, Dennie and Sunny will be millionaires.)...

Or she could ask that titan of Wall Street Andy Gump for investment advice. "Put it all in Elastic Plastic!"

...[ (TIED TO A CHAIR! TIED TO A CHAIR! TIED TO A CHAIR!)

Now Kay is going to have to waste time rescuing this idiot.

Wonder how Dan's taxi-driving career is going?

Meanwhile in the Fitzsimmons home: "Dear, come to dinner." "One minute, I'm just finishing up the paper." "Didn't you read it already?" "It's for work, I'm studying the boxscores" [To himself, "Fat Guy," hah, hah] "Freddie, your dinner's getting cold."

...
"The Climax Rubber Company." Very funny....

Freakin' perfect.

...
OK Burma. Your move....

"When I turn you in it will offset the evidence this woman has against me."

That is not how Nazi "justice" works.

And, yes, you can see the wheels turning in Burma's head.

...
I can't imagine why they don't give Tops a job here, he'll fit right in....

Chigger is really an odd dude.

 

[Harp]

^^^Terry is but a pawn, hardly probative against serious accusation and Wolff undoubtedly
possesses impeccable credentials; whatever impending toil the formerly hidden Teutonic mindset
finally reveals a pragmatic grasp of circumstance, and willingness to throw the kid to the wolves.
Burma is unusually taciturn. Considered with the strip's editorial chaste cast, Wolff is a tough dog to pin.