The Era -- Day By Day

[Harp]

Caniff is taking no prisoners with his readers. This is brutal.

He certainly pulls no punches. Raven is probably running a 104* temperature as her body fights
infection with fever, however morphia residue trace and sepsis have spread to vital organs including
the brain, so a transfusion will not mitigate delerium. She will loose speeech.Brochial and femoral arterial
pulse read after a minute tourniquet loose will indicate cardiac decline while urinary rate reveal Islet of Langerhans pancreatic infection. Either her heart or liver will initiate cardiac failure, most likely before dawn.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I can think of a lot of people in 1941 who deserve this fate more than Raven Sherman. It's heartbreaking to think back on how she was when she first appeared, in that football jersey, putting Pat and Cap'n Blaze to work washing dishes, getting April all wound up and jealous, and fighting off both the Invader and the cholera. It's a testimony to Mr. Caniff's skill that I find myself really upset to see him putting her thru this.

If there's anything that'll get the News, at least, to settle with the newsdealers' union, it's that three million readers are going to be desperate to know how this story comes out. Wonder if that has anything to do with the timing?

 

[Fading Fast]

He certainly pulls no punches. Raven is probably running a 104* temperature as her body fights
infection with fever, however morphia residue trace and sepsis have spread to vital organs including
the brain, so a transfusion will not mitigate delerium. She will loose speeech.Brochial and femoral arterial
pulse read after a minute tourniquet loose will indicate cardiac decline while urinary rate reveal Islet of Langerhans pancreatic infection. Either her heart or liver will initiate cardiac failure, most likely before dawn.

Could not click "like" for this one, but very much appreciate the detailed medical view.

I can think of a lot of people in 1941 who deserve this fate more than Raven Sherman. It's heartbreaking to think back on how she was when she first appeared, in that football jersey, putting Pat and Cap'n Blaze to work washing dishes, getting April all wound up and jealous, and fighting off both the Invader and the cholera. It's a testimony to Mr. Caniff's skill that I find myself really upset to see him putting her thru this.

If there's anything that'll get the News, at least, to settle with the newsdealers' union, it's that three million readers are going to be desperate to know how this story comes out. Wonder if that has anything to do with the timing?

That's a heck of a dot for the strikers to have connected, but good for them if they did.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The decisive battle for Moscow, it was reported today, may be in progress in the vicinity of Borodino, where Napoleon 129 years ago blasted open the way to the Russian capital and his own eventual disaster. Russian reports indicated that the Soviets have succeeded in knocking back the Nazi spearhead by eleven miles, retaining eight miles of this gain in the face of desperate German attacks. Nazi casualties were estimated at 600,000 men, including 150,000 killed since the start of the present offensive.

The Berlin radio claimed today that the "extreme outer defense ring" of Moscow is "within range of heavy artillery." German reports acknowledge that this ring extends in a radius "well over 100 kilometers" (62.1 miles) from the center of the city itself. A High Command communique stated that Red Army forces pocketed on the central front have been broken up into groups in the woods near Bryansk, and that "their destruction is continuing steadily." It is asserted in the communique direct from Adolf Hitler's military headquarters that Russian prisoners taken in the present thrust for Moscow now exceed 350,000.

A U. S. Navy patrol boat arrived at Boston today, escorting a 60-ton Norwegian freighter carrying some 20 Nazi prisoners charged with operating an illicit radio station at Greenland. It is believed that the prisoners, after their interrogation, will be interned with several hundred German seamen previously stranded in this country.

House Administration supporters are confident today of receiving the necessary votes to authorize the arming of U. S. merchant ships, but non-interventionists in the Senate are girding there for a final battle over the President's requested amendment of the Neutrality Act. Senator Burton K. Wheeler (D-Montana), leader of the Senate non-intervention bloc, promised "a determined fight" to defeat the bill.

The City Council today faces a threat by Mayor LaGuardia to veto bills cutting the city's sales and use taxes to one half of one percent, or abolishing those taxes altogether. In a letter to Council president Newbold Morris, the Mayor insisted that the Council instead approve his own plan to reduce the sales and use taxes to a flat and even 1 percent. The Council's alternatives to the Mayor's proposal were put forward by Brooklyn Councilman Joseph T. Sharkey, Democratic Majority Leader, and will be taken up along with the Mayor's plan in a special meeting of the Finance Committee this afternoon. The Mayor also assailed State Solicitor General Henry Epstein for his remark last week urging the council to repeal the taxes and "let the Mayor stew in his own juice." The Mayor accused Mr. Epstien of "a shocking indifference" toward the welfare both of persons on relief and on the finances of the city itself, and declared "I refuse to sacrifice the interest of the city for a political advantage. I refuse to sacrifice the taxpayers for a political insult."

District Attorney William O'Dwyer, the Democratic candidate for the mayoralty, promises to "get down to the meat of the campaign" tonight in a rally at Jamaica High School. In a radio speech last night, Mr. O'Dwyer accused the Mayor of colluding in a plot with his longtime ally Congressman Vito Marcantonio and the left wing of the American Labor Party to "swing the Communist vote to himself."

A Williamsburg policeman was suspended from duty today and charged with felonious assault in connection with the shooting of a man and a woman in an altercation last night. Patrolman Charles Miller of the Grand Avenue precinct is accused of shooting 39-year-old Lester Wheeler and 33-year-old Mrs. Grace Monroe, both "Negroes," in Mrs. Monroe's apartment at 548 Grand Avenue after Wheeler convinced Miller to accompany him there to investigate an incident in which Wheeler claimed to have been "duped by some friends." Mrs. Monroe and her husband John refused to allow the two into the apartment, but they forced their way in, and Miller drew his gun -- shooting Wheeler in the arm and Mrs. Monroe in the thigh. Miller acknowledged that he met Wheeler "in a tavern" before the incident, and a police surgeon confirmed that the patrolman was "suffering from a hangover." Wheeler, who is being treated for his injury at Kings County Hospital, will also face felonious assault charges.

City gasoline stations may soon be allowed to abandon the curfew keeping them closed from 7PM to 7AM, with the Gasoline Station Council of Greater New York reporting that "an October anomaly" in the fuel distribution allocations has left metropolitan dealers with more gasoline available than anticipated. The curfew is still a voluntary program, with about 100 dealers in the metropolitan area refusing to participate.

(Winter's coming.)

("It's a living.")

An order issued by the commanding officer at Fort Dix, New Jersey will require soldiers to properly dispose of their empty beer cans. Colonel Cassius M. Dowell issued the order today, directing all unit commanders to enforce a policy requiring that all men under their command cease dropping empty beer cans on the ground. "This is a reflection on the entire garrison," warned the Colonel, "and is prohibited by state law." There have been complaints of beer cans strewn along the roads surrounding the Army base.

(I had a teacher who followed this advice. She was also pretty good at yanking you out of the lunch line by your ear.)

(And if the football thing doesn't work out, he could always join the Rockettes.)

(It's a real sign of just how non-prestigious "The Maltese Falcon" was in 1941 that it's already playing in Brooklyn.)

Don't miss this week's "Information Please," Friday night at 8:30 PM over WEAF, when Fred Allen makes a return engagement on the panel. The New England radio wit will join John Kieran, Franklin P. Adams, Oscar Levant, and moderator Clifton Fadiman for his second turn on the program, following a successful debut last year.

(Ah! The dog and the turtle return!!)

(Ahhhh! Again with the hallucinations!)

(I've known quite a few newspaper editors in my time, and I can say with great confidence that there isn't a single one of them who would, or could, ever do this.)

(Uh-oh, Dan's becoming SELF AWARE!)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Conkey Whitehead was the son of Joseph Whitehead, one of the first three bottlers of Coca-Cola. If it comes out that Emmy drinks Pepsi, all hell will break loose.

This whole story reeks. C'mon, investigators. INVESTIGATE.

I bet Miss Steinberg is a lot of fun at parties.

Then how'd you light the dynamite fuse? HUH????

And he doesn't just LOOK like my brother...

Damn.

I hope, for all our sakes, that this is just a con game they're talking about.

"Incidentally, what do you hear from -- ah -- Godiva?"

True love.

The thing about having a past is that it always catches up with you.

 

[Fading Fast]

...A U. S. Navy patrol boat arrived at Boston today, escorting a 60-ton Norwegian freighter carrying some 20 Nazi prisoners charged with operating an illicit radio station at Greenland. It is believed that the prisoners, after their interrogation, will be interned with several hundred German seamen previously stranded in this country....

I'm thinking Dan and Irwin should soon be in Greenland, unless Kay is being sent since that job is too important for those two idiots.

...The City Council today faces a threat by Mayor LaGuardia to veto bills cutting the city's sales and use taxes to one half of one percent, or abolishing those taxes altogether. In a letter to Council president Newbold Morris, the Mayor insisted that the Council instead approve his own plan to reduce the sales and use taxes to a flat and even 1 percent. The Council's alternatives to the Mayor's proposal were put forward by Brooklyn Councilman Joseph T. Sharkey, Democratic Majority Leader, and will be taken up along with the Mayor's plan in a special meeting of the Finance Committee this afternoon. The Mayor also assailed State Solicitor General Henry Epstein for his remark last week urging the council to repeal the taxes and "let the Mayor stew in his own juice." The Mayor accused Mr. Epstien of "a shocking indifference" toward the welfare both of persons on relief and on the finances of the city itself, and declared "I refuse to sacrifice the interest of the city for a political advantage. I refuse to sacrifice the taxpayers for a political insult."...

New York City sales tax today is 8.875% (not 9%). It's made up of 4% New York State, 4.5% New York City and a transit "surcharge" of .375%.

...
("It's a living.")...

I know smoking was considered "sexy" by some back then, but shouldn't the Oomph Girl be hawking something more "Oomphy?" Maybe a lingerie line, while Lana Turner hawks sweaters and Clara Bow sells pronouns?

...An order issued by the commanding officer at Fort Dix, New Jersey will require soldiers to properly dispose of their empty beer cans. Colonel Cassius M. Dowell issued the order today, directing all unit commanders to enforce a policy requiring that all men under their command cease dropping empty beer cans on the ground. "This is a reflection on the entire garrison," warned the Colonel, "and is prohibited by state law." There have been complaints of beer cans strewn along the roads surrounding the Army base....

The Army just wrote Lichty's strip for tomorrow. (Is it a "comicstrip" if it's only one panel?)

...
(It's a real sign of just how non-prestigious "The Maltese Falcon" was in 1941 that it's already playing in Brooklyn.)...

It's an interesting write up; Cohn saw, in real time, the classic it would become - that's not always easy to do.

RE a "prestige" movie, no kidding when you consider how belittled Brooklyn was over "Citizen Kane." "You'll see it when we say you'll see and, then, you'll pay plenty. Shut up and wait your turn."

...
(Ah! The dog and the turtle return!!)...

The dog and turtle must have been really lonely if they're happy to see these idiots. The turtle is learning what Sandy already knows, it's a tough market for comicstrip actors these days. Otherwise, he'd have been long gone from this nuthouse.

...
(I've known quite a few newspaper editors in my time, and I can say with great confidence that there isn't a single one of them who would, or could, ever do this.)...

Hu Shee would never have let the kite get away.

... Conkey Whitehead was the son of Joseph Whitehead, one of the first three bottlers of Coca-Cola. If it comes out that Emmy drinks Pepsi, all hell will break loose....

It will be very interesting to see where this story goes. She's saying no way, so do they have any evidence against her?

The Paula-FBI story is confusing, I think I've untangled it, but not sure. Some "oldest profession in the world" work seems to be part of this story.

...
This whole story reeks. C'mon, investigators. INVESTIGATE.....

Agreed, there's got to be more. Look hard into nightclub owner Anderson, why was he involved at all? Nightclubs and mobs and all that combination implies might be a clue.

... Damn.....

Unless something prompts me, I don't think about these strips after I read them until the next day, but I find myself thinking about - and feeling very sad about - Raven unprompted. As Lizzie noted yesterday, that Caniff can do this to us is impressive.

 

[Harp]

^Caniff's allowance of Raven's rational speech is artistic somatic license, "finis" writ large.

 

[Harp]

On a lighter though hardly trivial note, Mrs Whitehead, the mysterious Mrs. X in the Brooklyn spy ring
is a rather beautiful woman, and her proclaimed innocence is somewhat amusing, all things considered.

 

[Fading Fast]

On a lighter though hardly trivial note, Mrs Whitehead, the mysterious Mrs. X in the Brooklyn spy ring
is a rather beautiful woman, and her proclaimed innocence is somewhat amusing, all things considered.

It will be fun to watch this angle of the story develop.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Reports in the Soviet army newspaper Red Star today warned that German troops driving on Kalinin, north of Moscow, menace the capital city and complicate positions at the front which, the reports warned, "is more serious than ever before." Authoritative sources in the newspaper further warned that Germany is prepared to sacrifice "additional hundreds of thousands of men" to attain its objective. War front dispatches stated that Russian troops are fighting hard, and that Red Army counterblows have "littered roads with the wreckage of panzer units" and have slowed or checked the progress of the enemy in some sectors. The fifteenth day of the renewed German thrust against the Soviet capital saw massed tank and mechanized infantry columns led by dive bombers and parachute troops continuing to edge closer to Moscow, and Soviet sources admit that the threat to the city is now "very grave."

Reports from Berlin place panzer units paced by Stuka dive bombers now just 50 to 60 miles from Moscow, "roaring four abreast" along the highway leading into the capital city. An authorized Nazi spokesman questioned about reports that United States Ambassador Laurence A. Steinhardt has left Moscow said "if he is still there it will be so much better because we look forward to making his acquaintance."

The House Foreign Affairs Committee today approved a bill to authorize arming of U. S. merchant ships, and the measure will be brought before the full House tomorrow. The measure backed by President Roosevelt to repeal Section 6 of the Neutrality Act was passed by the Committee in a voice vote this afternoon following two days of debate. The bill is expected to pass the House "by a large margin" on Friday.

Up to 500,000 abortions are performed each year in New York City alone, according to a report released today by the Amen Grand Jury. In a presentment handed to Justice John T. McCrate in Supreme Court, it was also stated that it will be "impossible to stamp out" abortion in the city, noting that "it would be fatuous to deny that the effectiveness with which penal laws are enforced varies directly with the public determination that they will be." The Grand Jury acknowledged that many doctors who perform the practice do so because they believe that they are "performing a socially useful work," but warned that the practice of abortion by unethical persons threatens women, "who are gambling with their lives" when they submit to "the risks of the abortionist's operating table." The Grand Jury recommends tightening laws against doctors who even express willingness to perform abortions, and to grant immunity from prosecution to any patient who testifies against such a doctor. At present, women who seek abortions are guilty of a misdemeanor under the law.

A "collar ad" thug from Flatbush who broke into a neighbor's home at 1488 New York Avenue early this morning is in custody after slugging the 65-year-old head of the Child's Guidance Bureau in her bedroom. Mrs. Matilda Covart reported the attack to police shortly after it occured at 5 AM, and patrolmen quickly surrounded the house and arrested 22-year-old Edward McLaren of 1005 Foster Avenue, an impeccably-dressed young man in horn-rimmed glasses, who refused to explain his presence in Mrs. Covart's room, or why he slugged her. "That's my secret," declared the young man as he was led away to the Snyder Avenue station for booking on a charge of felonious assault. A member of Mrs. Covart's staff noted that McLaren "cracked wise" thruout his questioning by police, and treated the entire incident "as a joke." Mrs. Covart was treated for abrasions to the face and head at Kings County Hospital.

A $290 payment received by a former inspector of regulating, grading and paving for the Borough President's Office from a local paving concern was not a bribe at all but payment for a dog. So claimed former inspector John F. O'Neill today before Supreme Court Justice William R. Wilson in a plea for reinstatement. O'Neill was dismissed from his job on August 7th after the Amen Office's investigation of racketeering in the paving industry accused him of accepting graft from the Mill Valley Paving Company, but he insisted today that he was merely paid for selling his dog.

("Double the press run!!")

("Whassis stuff?" queries Joe, pointing to a box on the kitchen table. "Ma sennova somma my ol' cloes f' Leonora," replies Sally. "All kin'sa stuff inneah." "You woah t'is stuff?" chuckles Joe. "Hey, lookit, a sail'a suit!" "At's a middy blouse," Sally notes. "Allus gals woah 'em in 1919. T'lates' t'ing." "It's too big fa Leonora t'ough. I mean, she's growin' fas' but notT'AT fas'! Hey, whassiss one? Howcum it says 'Evenchally, Why Not Now?' onna back?" "Ma made a lotta my cloes utta flouah bags," explains Sally. "Sometimes'a printin' din' wash allaway off. I loint ta read offa my own cloes. Howbouttat?" "Boy," says Joe, "I neveh know t'ey done t'ings so fancy in Pigtown.")

(Kids Today.)

(Advanced Military Training.)

(The post-Dodger season is an arid one for the Eagle sports page. You'd think they'd give a hockey player falling down a mine shaft bigger play.)

(Or this, even.)

(Sure, Doc, make fun of the poor man's disability THAT YOU CAUSED. That's cold.)

("Practically 100 percent OK mentally.")

(Oh well.)

(Poor Irwin.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Didn't Puk, the last time we saw her, vow eternal love? It's so hard to keep track. And as for the food-snob Windsors, keep in mind that when the King visited a couple years back he got hot dogs and liked them. So there.

What's next, flying it off the back of a jacked-up pickup truck?

Penney? Don't you mean "patsy?"

Don't mess with a guy who has his own private army.

"Oh, and I want you should wear the outfit all the time, right? It's -- ah -- part of the plan."

Now, if this was Warbucks, Punjab would be waiting in that room with the rug. But Bim -- well, there's a big pile of loose money, and he'll just tell the guy to help himself.

Aside from the unspeakable horror of Wilmer's face in 3D, why is Horace walking around with a broken arm? I get the feeling there's a story here we're not getting.

Damn.

"Dad? Is that you? I though Mom buried you in the cellar."

Stick it to The Man.

 

[Fading Fast]

Reports in the Soviet army newspaper Red Star today warned that German troops driving on Kalinin, north of Moscow, menace the capital city and complicate positions at the front which, the reports warned, "is more serious than ever before." Authoritative sources in the newspaper further warned that Germany is prepared to sacrifice "additional hundreds of thousands of men" to attain its objective. War front dispatches stated that Russian troops are fighting hard, and that Red Army counterblows have "littered roads with the wreckage of panzer units" and have slowed or checked the progress of the enemy in some sectors. The fifteenth day of the renewed German thrust against the Soviet capital saw massed tank and mechanized infantry columns led by dive bombers and parachute troops continuing to edge closer to Moscow, and Soviet sources admit that the threat to the city is now "very grave."..

For comparison, the US lost ~400,000 soldiers in WWII in total. The scale of the carnage on the Eastern Front is stunning.

...A $290 payment received by a former inspector of regulating, grading and paving for the Borough President's Office from a local paving concern was not a bribe at all but payment for a dog. So claimed former inspector John F. O'Neill today before Supreme Court Justice William R. Wilson in a plea for reinstatement. O'Neill was dismissed from his job on August 7th after the Amen Office's investigation of racketeering in the paving industry accused him of accepting graft from the Mill Valley Paving Company, but he insisted today that he was merely paid for selling his dog....

$290 in '41 is about $5400 today. Sure, for a purebred dog, for certain breeds, from a top breeder that number is possible, but for "someone's dog," I don't think so.

...
("Double the press run!!")...

There are plenty of movies from the '30s and early '40s showing the bullying tactics the newspapers employed with the newsstand operators. I don't know the details in this dispute, but again, from the movies of the time, it's clear something thug-like was going on.

... View attachment 369503 (The post-Dodger season is an arid one for the Eagle sports page. You'd think they'd give a hockey player falling down a mine shaft bigger play.)...

I watched a bit of the Dodgers game yesterday and felt some kind of 80 year sinew. It wasn't good or bad, it just was. After the heartbreak of the '41 series and knowing the pain when the team left Brooklyn, the connect to today's team is tenuous, but I felt it last night in some way.

...
(Or this, even.)...)

Good luck with your new father-in-law dude.

... (Oh well.)...

Thinks to himself: Ehh, I never really liked her anyway, impressive body though.

...
(Poor Irwin.)

Dan thinks to himself: Well, I can't blow my cover and Irwin knows the risks. Maybe it will all work out. I'm tired, I think I'll go home now.

... Didn't Puk, the last time we saw her, vow eternal love? It's so hard to keep track. And as for the food-snob Windsors, keep in mind that when the King visited a couple years back he got hot dogs and liked them. So there.....

Re Loews: "He said that the expense accounts of the company executives were heavily padded and he pocketed the differences." Won't the shareholders be happy to learn that fact.

Re Puk: Yup, that's what I remember.

Re Fanny Belford: I want to hear more about how she bought her husband. It seems counterintuitive to ask for alimony from a husband you bought for yourself; maybe a partial refund (remember, she did get the kid eventually) would be more appropriate.

...
Penney? Don't you mean "patsy?"...

As we've both been saying, there's more to this story than a simple robbery gone wrong.

...
Don't mess with a guy who has his own private army.....

"...I could go in and make sure we got 'em all right -"
"Huh, no need o' that! They're in there O.K. and for keeps - that gas is permanent."

I've had it up to here with all of you, both the bad and good guys. Does anyone read the Rulebook, ANYONE! Yeah, I'm talking to you Scuttle!

Let me remind you all of this pertinent section from the The Fedora Lounge Rulebook for Killing a TV, Movie or Comic-Strip Enemy, "Always kill your enemy as fast as you can and, then, check carefully to make sure he or she is dead."

Now, how hard is it to follow a simple rule. We don't make these rules for fun! I can't look at any of you right now. Go! Get out of my office...[ominously] not you Scuttle.

...
"Oh, and I want you should wear the outfit all the time, right? It's -- ah -- part of the plan."....

Not exactly all the time.

... Aside from the unspeakable horror of Wilmer's face in 3D, why is Horace walking around with a broken arm? I get the feeling there's a story here we're not getting.....

Skeezix is learning the ways of the world. He would never have played a deep game on Wilmer like this a year ago.

..
Damn....

This is brutal.

... View attachment 369526 Stick it to The Man.

Good for him.

 

[Harp]

Raven's lucid state is inconsistent with her condition though within license.
Should Caniff revert to medical form, her death rattle will shock Dude to what end....
__________

Other news such as the "love slave" bought for $10k; and the divorcee whom apparently loves marriage
despite her innately cruel jealous former spouse, raise an amused eyebrow over yesterday front page content.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Mrs. Belford could've avoided all this hassle if she'd just kept the receipt.

 

[Harp]

Mrs. Belford could've avoided all this hassle if she'd just kept the receipt.

Mr Belford must answer and the learned judge will wait, reserving his opinion.
Marriage itself is a contract, entered into freely without reservation or evasive purpose or intent;
and, it is clear that Mr Belford did not enter this contractual precedent, nor desire marriage with
its attendant marital obligation as Mrs Belford has testified. Therefore, the Belford marriage is
invalid.

Legal contract between parties can be suspensive or resolutive depending upon agreed condition(s)
with fulfillment as with resolutive contracts, terminating said contract while suspensive contracts will
not come into existence before condition(s) are met. The judge may elect to declare the Belford
quandry Resolutary, with coitus consensus consumtus, and order both parties brought to their pre-
contract state; directing Mr Belford to return the $10k to Mrs Belford in full settlement.

Mrs Belford would then raise her child with these funds and her own resources.

A terrible immature mistake and a poor child born out of wedlock.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The Government of Premier Prince Fumimaro Konyoe fell today in Japan, after failing to negotiate rapprochement with the United States, and amidst speculation concerning the formation of "a strong military government" to meet any war emergency that may arise in the Pacific. Major General Kiyofuku Okamato, director of the second division of the Army's general staff, declared that "despite every possible peaceful effort by Japan, efforts at Japanese-American negotiations may end in failure," and added "the Japanese people must be prepared for the worst."

Konyoe, who had headed three Japanese cabinets since 1937, resigned with his government at a time when the German offensive against Russia and the breakdown in negotiations with the United States seemed to be forcing the Pacific crisis toward a climax, resulting in a statement by a Japanese navy spokesman that "the fleet is itching for action."

President Roosevelt cancelled his regularly-scheduled Cabinet meeting today and instead sequestered with his closest State Department, miltary, and naval advisors in a meeting presumed to focus on the rapidly-developing situation in Japan. Informed administration quarters took a grave view of matters in Tokyo, and interpreted them as marking "a collapse" of peace talks between the US and Japan, and there was speculation that a new military-led government may strike at Russia -- and that such a move may mean Japanese interference with the shipment of American war materials via Vladivostok.

A violent wave of liquidation swept commodity markets today on reports of the falling of the Japanese government and of President Roosevelt's calling of a special meeting of his advisors, presumably to discuss the Japanese situation. At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, wheat dropped ten cents a bushel, corn 8 cents, and oats 6 cents, with cotton futures falling below $6 a bale, cottonseed oil dropping 100 points, and world sugar futures droppinig 20 points. The New York Stock Exchange slumped two points in trading today, while Japanese bonds dropped three.

German claims of front-line Panzer units now only 60 miles from the center of Moscow may mean that the Soviet capital may soon be surrounded and attacked from the rear. Berlin dispatches describe a "tidal wave blitz" against the city, now rolling forward from three sides, with only the sector east of Moscow remaining open. It is expected, according to informed German quarters, that this route will be closed shortly. Meanwhile, Berlin also reports that Rumanian troops have taken the city of Odessa in the southern Ukraine. The key Soviet port on the Black Sea has been under heavy siege for the past two months.

Moscow acknowledged today that the situation facing Moscow is increasingly grave, admitting in its morning war communique that "the western position has suffered a change for the worst." The report commended Red Army forces in that sector for offering "heroic resistance and inflicting heavy losses" on the German invaders, but acknowledged that they were "forced to retreat."

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce today launched a campaign to raise $150,000 a year, to be used to attract new defense industries to the borough. Already Brooklyn concerns have earned more than $1,000,000,000 in defense contracts, with potential for far more.

Cosmetic queen Madame Helena Rubenstein faces the wrath of the CIO, with District 50 of the Drug, Chemical, and Cosmetic Division of the United Mine Workers having called a a strike this morning at her Long Island City glamour factory. At issue is an attempt by the Rubenstein firm to defeat a representation vote by the interpolation of a company union. Three women workers at the plant were arrested today on disorderly conduct charges after a scuffle with non-strikers who attempted to cross the picket line.

Police in Centerport, Long Island are investigating the killing of a swan, strangled to death by a person who lured the male bird ashore at the town pond, killed him, and then "skilfully butchered" the carcass. Police say all that remained of the bird was its head, wings, legs, and skin. A spectacle case and a funnel were also found at the base of a telephone pole near the pond, with bloodstains at the scene indicating that the killer had held the bird's throat against the pole in order to behead it. Centerport residents noted that the swan and his mate have lived in the pond for years, and were "exceedingly tame," accepting gifts of food from townspeople. It is reported that the female swan is grieving the loss of her mate, and residents fear she may "die of a broken heart."

In Falmouth, Maine a sixteen-year-old runaway boy was arrested today for the murder of an Alexandria, Virginia building contractor whom the boy claimed was "molesting" a girlfriend. The man, described only as a "Mr. Browning" had, according to the youth, made advances toward a fourteen year old girl with whom the boy was traveling, and that he therefore shot the man to death with a .25 caliber pistol. The boy, the girl, and another girl, aged fifteen, had induced "Mr. Browning" to give them a ride from Alexandria to Portland, where the boy said the three youths had relatives. The car stopped outside Baltimore for a rest break, and it is believed the slaying occured there. "Mr. Browning's" body has not been recovered, but police in Falmouth discovered bloodstains in the car in which the youths were traveling.

(Without baseball people gotta have *something* to talk about...)

The twenty-fifth anniversary of the opening of the first birth control clinic in Brooklyn will be marked tonight at the Hotel Roosevelt in Manhattan. The clinic, opened by Mrs. Margaret Sanger on Amboy Street in Brownsville, was also the first such clinic in all the United States. Mrs. Sanger and her associate Mrs. Mary Byrne, opened the clinic as a direct challenge to Section 1145 of the New York State Penal Code, prohibiting the dissemination of birth control information, and were raided by police within a short time of the clinic's opening, resulting in a jail sentence. Much has changed since 1916, with the legal right of physicians to give birth control information now protected by law, the American Medical Association officially endorsing the practice of birth control, and clinics now operating across the country.

(Mushrooms have -- tentacles? Who knew?)

(Gee, Cliff -- workin' hard or hardly workin'?)

("The Greatest Generation.")

(Wasn't Parker's ankle supposed to be completely healed? Hey Ace, how'd the baseball work out? And BOBBY RIGGS IS TURNING PRO? Yes please! I can't wait to see Alice Marble pound him into the clay.)

Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack laid down the law yesterday about mineral baths. Next spring, the Mackmen will be banned from taking such baths, after making much of them during last year's training camp. The A's came in a bad eighth in the American League this year, thirty-seven game behind the Yankees, and Mr. Mack ruefully stated that the mineral baths "were hardly worth the money."

Priscilla Lane will play the ingenue role in Warner Bros. upcoming screen adaptation of the current Broadway hit "Arsenic and Old Lace." Cary Grant will play the romantic lead, with Raymond Massey to fill the menacing role taken by Boris Karloff in the play, with Peter Lorre, Jean Adair, Josephine Hull, and John Alexander -- the latter three from the original stage cast -- in support. Frank Capra will direct.

(Wow, he's quick. I performed a marriage ceremony last month and it took almost ten minutes, what with swatting the mosquitoes and all.)

(Ever notice that whenever George goes off on these hallucinatory kicks, it's always right after he's had extended dealings with Hartford Oakdale. Which suggest to me that Oakdale isn't just a run-of-the-mill con man -- he's actually a dealer in psychoactive substances, and George, the poor man, is completely hooked. Get clean, friend! Straight edge for life!)

("Oh fiddlesticks," says Mary, "that's no problem at all, I have plenty of fire insurance. I mean, after all, after we burned down Gov. Blackston's house, and....oh, wait. Oh dear.")

("Um, boss, the execution room?" "You know, that room off the kitchen with the hot water heater. Where we keep the brooms and the vacuum cleaner and the box of Christmas decorations. THE EXECUTION ROOM!")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Mr. Petrillo was the broadcasting industry's number one boogieman for many years, even more so than ASCAP. But working musicians loved him, because he fought for them harder than anyone ever had before. Oh, and DON'T MESS WITH ELEPHANTS.

This story is now officially too bizarre even for Page Four.

Sorry, Bill. Don't quit your day job.

Next time, you dip the matches in wax before taking them in the mine.

At least he paid for the apple. That's a first.

I'm not prepared for Gus to turn this into a "hardboiled detective" strip, but if he's going to do it, this is a pretty good start.

"And best of all, no more Wilmer!"

Speaking of hardboiled. Is Raymond Chandler guest-writing this week?

What house you been living in, kid?

 

[Fading Fast]

...Police in Centerport, Long Island are investigating the killing of a swan, strangled to death by a person who lured the male bird ashore at the town pond, killed him, and then "skilfully butchered" the carcass. Police say all that remained of the bird was its head, wings, legs, and skin. A spectacle case and a funnel were also found at the base of a telephone pole near the pond, with bloodstains at the scene indicating that the killer had held the bird's throat against the pole in order to behead it. Centerport residents noted that the swan and his mate have lived in the pond for years, and were "exceedingly tame," accepting gifts of food from townspeople. It is reported that the female swan is grieving the loss of her mate, and residents fear she may "die of a broken heart."...

Sad and crazy at the same time.

...[
(Wow, he's quick. I performed a marriage ceremony last month and it took almost ten minutes, what with swatting the mosquitoes and all.)...

Back then, some couples truly did "wait," so even two minutes had to feel like an eternity; today, couples are more relaxed at these things.

...
(Ever notice that whenever George goes off on these hallucinatory kicks, it's always right after he's had extended dealings with Hartford Oakdale. Which suggest to me that Oakdale isn't just a run-of-the-mill con man -- he's actually a dealer in psychoactive substances, and George, the poor man, is completely hooked. Get clean, friend! Straight edge for life!)...

Poor Peggy has really been left hanging this time.

...[
("Oh fiddlesticks," says Mary, "that's no problem at all, I have plenty of fire insurance. I mean, after all, after we burned down Gov. Blackston's house, and....oh, wait. Oh dear.")...

Wait till she sees next year's premium hike assuming the insurance company doesn't just cancel her policy outright.

... Mr. Petrillo was the broadcasting industry's number one boogieman for many years, even more so than ASCAP. But working musicians loved him, because he fought for them harder than anyone ever had before. Oh, and DON'T MESS WITH ELEPHANTS....

The scale and scope of the bribe payments from the studios to the union head is quite stunning.

...
This story is now officially too bizarre even for Page Four....

No kidding and more will be spilling out for sure.

Separately, nothing new in the Miley case today, I guess.

... At least he paid for the apple. That's a first....

I'm going to have to throw a flag here with Duke about to coincidentally show up at the fruit store where Tracy is - that's 15 yards and a loss of down for one-too-many coincidences in a single storyline. What's that? I'm a what? You just bought yourself an additional 15 yards, Mr. Gould, for unsportsmanlike conduct. I'm sorry, did you say something else? I can do this all day. Yes, I figured you were done talking.

... Speaking of hardboiled. Is Raymond Chandler guest-writing this week?...

That will push lunch off for an hour. I assume we've just met the first Mr. Veronica.

...

Rest in peace Raven.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The New Jersey-built USS Kearny, one of the Navy's newest destroyers, was torpedoed and damaged today in a submarine attack off the coast of Iceland, marking the first successful attack on an American naval vessel since the war began. The attack, according to a brief announcement by the Navy Department, occurred about 350 miles south and west of the American-occupied island nation, while the ship was on patrol duty prepared to carry out the President's shoot-on-sight policy concerning Axis submarines, surface raiders, or airplanes sighted with the U. S. defense zone encompassing the sea lanes to and from Iceland. The Navy did not immediately identify the submarine responsible for the attack, but indicated that it was "undoubtedly a German one." On September 4th, a German submarine attempted an attack on the USS Greer, in the same general area, but its torpedoes missed the target. Preliminary Navy reports indicated that no injuries were reported aboard the Kearny, which was constructed at the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Kearny, New Jersey, and commissioned at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on September 13, 1940.

The torpedo that struck the Kearny today led to a Flatlands woman learning the whereabouts of her Navy lieutenant husband. Mrs. Ann Sarsfield of 3717 Avenue M had just received a heavily censored letter from her husband, Lieut. Eugene S. Sarsfield, stating only that he was "at sea," when she learned from an early edition of the Eagle that he was serving as the executive officer aboard the Kearny, and was uninjured in the attack. She had last seen her husband on August 23rd and stated that she "doesn't know" when she'll see him next. The captain of the Kearny is a Brooklyn man as well, Lieutenant Commander A. L. Danis of 8701 Shore Road.

BULLETIN -- The House of Representatives today, after less than two days of debate, passed the Roosevelt Administration's bill to repeal Section 6 of the Neutrality Act, and to authorize the arming of all American merchant vessels. The measure goes now to the Senate.

Headquarters of the 12th Naval District in San Francisco today ordered all U. S. merchant ships in Asiatic waters to make for friendly ports immediately. The order is believed to consider British, Dutch East Indian, and Phillipine ports "friendly," and is expected to effect the major portion of the U. S. merchant fleet in the Pacific now occupied with carrying oil to Russia via Vladivostok and war supplies to China by way of Malaysia.

A report from the Vichy radio asserts that Nazi forces are now 37 miles from Moscow, while the Moscow radio reports that German attackers continue to pound at the Red Army, but at a "slower pace, and at the cost of huge casualities." Fighting around the Soviet capital by regular army troops and Home Guards is concentrated around approaches to key defense works according to broadcasts monitored in London and New York. Direct press communication with Moscow has been interrupted for the past 24 hours.

The Japanese Army's "big three" are reported in the process of forming a new government under the leadership of General Hideki Tojo, by command of Emperor Hirohito. The 57-year-old General Tojo is considered a conservative nationalist, and had served as war minister under the now-fallen government of Prince Konyoe.

The possibility that the sinking of the Robin Moor last spring was orchestrated by the Brooklyn spy ring was raised today in the continuing espionage trial of 16 defendants in Brooklyn Federal Court. A list of sailings stated by counter-espionage agent William Sebold to have been given him by spy defendant Leo Waalen for transmission to German included the information that the Robin Moor would leave New York on May 3rd, for arrival at Capetown, South Africa on June 2nd.

(Well isn't that interesting.)

District Attorney William O'Dwyer went on the counterattack against charges of "bossism" in the mayoral campaign in a radio broadcast last night, declaring that he is not subject to machine control from Tammany Hall, and that if elected he will jail "crooked politicians" just as he has jailed common pickpockets. Mr. O'Dwyer conceded in his speech, heard over WMCA and WBYN, that in the past "rascals" have been affiliated with Tammany, but also pointed out that such Democratic candidates as former Governor Al Smith and President Roosevelt himself have been elected with Tammany support. He also denied being under the control of "the Kelly machine" in Brooklyn or any other Democratic Party organization, and pledged to "destroy" any Democrat who attempts to use his political influence for "private graft."

Mayor LaGuardia warned that if voters reject his Republican-Fusion city government in the coming election, "the city will be bankrupt within three years." Speaking at a reception in his honor at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, the Mayor accused his Democratic opponents of mounting "a campaign of vitriol and calumny," and defended himself against charges that his activities with the Office of Civilian Defense have left him "a part time Mayor." The Mayor insisted that his defense duties are performed as "overtime," and notes that he receives no salary for that work, while accusing Lieutenant Governor Charles Poletti, a key O'Dwyer supporter, of being "an influence peddler" who earns $25,000 every time he goes to Washington on behalf of his clients.

("Y'see," murmurs Sally to slumbering baby Leonora. "'At's how ya gotta be innis woil'. Ya gotta stan'nup f'ya rights, so ya don' get pushed oveh. Ain'nobody innis fam'ly eveh benna pushoveh. Ya papa, wenney wen'non strike downa pickle woiks in t'oity-sev'n, he got hit inna head by a scab. An'nee got right back up an' slugged 'em back! Innis woil' ya gotta be brave an' be strong -- like Deanna Doibin -- an' ya papa!" "Whatcha sayin'neah?" says Joe, tossing his dinnerpail on the table and his jacket on the rack. "Nuttin'," says Sally. "Jus' a lit'l lullaby, 'at's all. One'a t'em songs Deanna Doibin useta sing." "Deanna Doibin," says Joe. "Yeah, I awrways liked Deanna Doibin. Say, I wonna whatevva become'a Bobby Breen?")

(What a difference a new antenna pattern makes. Except in New Jersey.)

("Remember that time his toupee fell in the gravy? No wonder he doesn't wear it anymore!" "Yes, I think we all learned a valuable lesson that night!")

(I wonder how Tommy Holmes is dealing with all this time off.)

(Well, I suppose that's something, at least...)

("Now if you'd just hand me the license, I'll need to sign it." "License? Oh, wait...")

(Wherever she is right now, we all have to agree that Peggy is better off.)

(Dale Connor didn't get along all that well with Allen Saunders, and scripts like this one are why.)

("Because, y'know what? I'm gonna just stand here and watch.")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Not to sound callous, but it really doesn't seem that the excision of Mr. Browning from the active scene is going to amount to a net loss...

Nerves.

Blue hair? Well, it's the Stork Club, whattaya expect?

"Let me repeat, then. I'm BILL SLAGG. Surely you've heard of me?"

"I learned my dialog from George Raft movies! Pretty good, huh?"

For those who came in late...

Don't smile too big, kid, or the top of your head will split right off.

All right, point of order -- we know that Veronica knew Harold in high school, and that Harold graduated about two and a half years ago. Just how old was Veronica when she got together with this guy? Was she still a minor? Who's this guy think he is, Georgie Jessel?

I never get tired of Plushie's poor-sad-walrus expression.

"Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world -- where I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night."