The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

A paisley scarf? What a dandy.

Oh what a tangled web we weave...

Well, he won't have to worry about shaving.

Deep down in every actor, there's a critic desperate to get out.

"I mean, sure, Punjab's some kind of a wizard an' th' Asp is an assassin, but folks jes' don't want to talk about that, do they?"

Yeah, I've had a kitchen like this.

This doesn't look good at all.

It's either a boomerang or some kind of exotic sub-tropical bat.

I honestly never thought we'd see Lana again. Unless it's -- no, Senga was never in Covina. That we know of.

SLAP HIS SASSY FACE!

 

[Fading Fast]

("Are you now, or have you ever been, the holder of an X card?")
...

The clerk who got held up on his first payroll assignment had to be thinking, "you got to be kidding me, this is my first time."

We want a picture of the baby penguin.

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The restoration of trolley lines serving Bushwick is under consideration, with the City Council Committee on City Affairs expected to vote on a resolution that would bring back the Putnam Avenue and Gates Avenue lines. The resolution, introduced by Councilman Anthony J. Digiovanna, notes that the present shortages of gasoline and rubber may force discontinuation of bus service on those routes, and further asserts that the bus service as now operating causes "congestion, delay, and inconvenience" that did not exist when the trolley lines operated. The 28th Ward Taxpayers Association, headed by Jared J. Chambers was cited by Councilman Digiovanna as a major community force in support of the return of trolley service.
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Steel wheels and electric power is looking pretty good right now.

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A new organization called "The Citizens' Committee to Reopen the Flynn Case" has added its voice to those calling on Governor Herbert Lehman to reopen the probe into the use of city-owned Belgian paving blocks at the estate of Democratic National Committee chairman Edward J. Flynn. The new group wired the Governor yesterday calling his attention to a statement by a member of the Bronx Grand Jury charging that District Attorney Samuel J. Foley gave the panel "legal advice" that "precluded serious consideration of an indictment."
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I hope they get some traction, but I can't get the image of Sisyphus out of my head.

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Oh what a tangled web we weave...
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Well, that's a big new piece of information that explains how they finagled an exoneration out of the Grand Jury. Not only should they reopen the case agains Flynn, someone should look into bringing a disbarment motion against Foley.

...

Well, he won't have to worry about shaving.
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That's why she's the Dragon Lady.

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Deep down in every actor, there's a critic desperate to get out.
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All Yollman has is a handgun, which is not easy to fire accurately at a distance. Van Dyke should get as close to the stage exit as he can and then make a break for it.

...

It's either a boomerang or some kind of exotic sub-tropical bat.
...

Jo and George deserve each other; Min could have done better.

...

I honestly never thought we'd see Lana again. Unless it's -- no, Senga was never in Covina. That we know of.
...

I think you are spot on, it's lovely Lana (what the heck is her last name, "Langham" or something like that that started with an "L"?).

 

[LizzieMaine]

Lana Lanagan -- last seen leaving Covina in lonely tears over a year ago, after the entire "Harold engaged to Lana and Lillums at the same time" debacle.

But -- we don't know that it's Harold she's still carrying a torch for. After all, Shadow does get around.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(I knew Methodists who were this militant about their anti-alcohol views, my grandmother among them. She'd even throw away grape juice if it had been in the refrigerator "too long.")

War-weary Italy will "bolt the Axis" when the Allies invade, projects United Press correspondent Reynolds Packard. Reporting from Lisbon, Portugal, Mr. Packard stated today in a copyrighted article that "while the people of Italy are still under Hitler's thumb, and still fear the Fascist bogey of Russian Communism, most of them are ready to rally to the United Nations as soon as American and British forces land on their soil." He further notes that internal problems worsened by the war have put a strain on the Fascist government, and that there has been at least one reported plot by ultra-Fascists to kidnap Mussolini himself, and to "wipe out" his son-in-law, Foreign Minister Count Gaelazzo Ciano. There was, however, no indication of what these insurgents intended to do with Mussolini if their plot succeeded. It was suggested that their ultimate goal was to further tighten Germany's control of the Italian regime.

Chinese troops have hurled back three Japanese attempts to cross the Salween River near Kongkum, north of the Burma Road, killing several hundred of the enemy, and sinking a number of their invasion barges. A Chinese communique reported that the Japanese were pushed back by Chinese defenders on the east bank of the Salween, guarding the southern stretch of Yunnan Province, into which the Japanese have already pierced to a distance of sixty miles.

A new policy giving new Army selectees fourteen day furloughs following their induction is expected to ease the hardships faced by men who quit their jobs only to be rejected by the Army for physical or other shortcomings. The two-week furloughs will allow each man to be certain that he has, in fact, been accepted by the Army before he takes final steps to wind up his affairs. The new policy takes effect June 15th.

City Council President Newbold Morris walked five and a half miles yesterday, from his home at 80th and Madison to City Hall, in an effort to save gasoline and rubber, but upon his arrival at his office, he advised reporters that he won't do it again. Hereafter, declared Mr. Morris, he will use the subway. Mr. Morris was issued an A card, but is giving up his city car except for occasions where he is serving as acting Mayor, and requires it for the performance of his duties. His chauffeur, Charles Puzo, will be reassigned to messenger service.

A guard at the Corn Exchange Bank branch at 507 W. 207th Street in Manhattan went on a rampage in the bank lobby yesterday, firing a shot from his 38-caliber revolver and threatening the branch manager after being fired from his job for "habitual drunkenness." 43-year-old Thomas Powderly of 272 Nagel Avenue, Manhattan, was subdued by bank clerks and placed under arrest on a charge of felonious assault. Powderly had been warned ten days ago about his drunkenness, and when he staggered into work yesterday, manager Victor Salvatore summarily dismissed him.

(Well, guess that's everybody. Wait -- where's Davega?)

Although Dodger catcher Mickey Owen isn't a Catholic, he will be the featured speaker at today's Communion breakfast held by the R. C. Church of St. Mary, Queen of Heaven, 1319 57th Street, and thereby hangs a tale. When Mickey was hit in the head last May at Ebbets Field by a fast ball thrown by Ike Pearson of the Phillies, and taken to the Dodger clubhouse unconscious, the Rev. Thomas J. Crawford, pastor of that church, was brought to his side by District Tax Supervisor David Soden. The priest applied a relic of St. John Bosco to the injured catcher and prayed, and Mickey recovered rapidly from the injury. He readily accepted an invitation from Fr. Crawford to attend the breakfast. Fellow Dodger Joe Medwick and Mr. Soden will also speak.

The Brooklyn Eagle Unit of the Newspaper Guild writes in to commend the Eagle for its stand on the matter of "Social Justice" magazine. Guild secretary Katherine Blanck states that there is little difference between Father Coughlin and Quisling of Norway. "We think the Eagle spoke in the great democratic tradition of Walt Whitman, its editor shortly before the Civil War," writes Blanck, "when it approved the action of the Attorney General in the Social Justice case."

The theatrical world is mourning the death of producer Morris Gest, whose lavish Broadway productions of the 1920s are still discussed whenever theatrical people gather. It was the flamboyance of his productions that proved his ultimate undoing, when his $610,000 production of "The Miracle" drove him into bankruptcy. Mr. Gest resurfaced at the World's Fair in 1939, with "Morris Gest's Little Miracle Town," featuring a cast of midgets. Mr. Gest was 61.

(YOU KNOW WHO! YOU KNOW WHO! YOU KNOW WHO!)

1942's leading candidate for Rookie of the Year so far is getting the National League's goat. Nanny Fernandez, third baseman of the Boston Braves, is hitting .319 despite flopping in spring training, where observers dismissed the stocky Castillian as "a goldbrick." Fernandez tore up the Pacific Coast League last year, knocking in 129 runs for the San Francisco Seals, but his fizzing out in Florida led the Boston press corps to conclude that the Braves had been swindled when they purchased him last winter. But Fernandez fooled them all, with a stellar start that has his former critics now touting the 23-year-old as a real find. By the way, his real first name is "Frolian."

Freddie Fitzsimmons, Dixie Walker, Pee Wee Reese, and Pete Reiser will be the guests of honor at a orphans' dinner and frolic to be held Wednesday night by the Union Temple Men's Club, 17 Eastern Parkway. Children from St. Joseph's Home, St. John's Home, the Pride of Judea Home, and the Brooklyn Orphans' Asylum will mingle with the Dodger favorites as they enjoy the evening's festivities. Autographed baseballs, bats, gloves, and other prizes will be distributed to the 250 boys and girls expected to attend, with WHN sportscaster Dick Fishell acting as master of ceremonies. The dinner is being organized by incoming Union Temple Club president Jack Kahn and District Tax Superviser David Soden.

The familiar old milk wagon and its faithful horse have never quite disappeared from Brooklyn, despite being phased out in most of the rest of the city in favor of special trucks. But now, even with gasoline and tire rationing an accomplished fact, it isn't likely that old Dobbin will be expanding his territory. Officials of the Borden Company state that they have no plans to eliminate the 250 horse-drawn wagons still in use on its routes, most of which are in Brooklyn, where level terrain and depots are close enough to make horse-power efficient, but further state that they will do everything they can to avoid expanding horse routes into areas now served by trucks. Many of the depots and bottling plants that formerly existed in the other boroughs to service horse routes were closed and the properties sold when the changeover to trucks was made. Horses themselves are also becoming hard to get, with the Army having first call on both equines and the men -- including stablekeepers, blacksmiths, and wheelwrights -- that go with them. A mere twelve years ago, 3500 horses worked for Borden's, which even operated specialized "horse hospitals" to care for their four-legged employees.

("Modesty is not a virtue Japanese admirals are addicted to." "Ha ha, that's funny!" chortles General D. MacArthur, as he reaches for his fancy hat and his giant pipe.)

Frills on ladies' nightgowns and long-pointed "Hollywood collars" on men's shirts are joining pants cuffs on the list of forbidden extravagances in the latest edicts from the War Production Board. The WPB has received a deluge complaints in the wake of the rules on nighties, with one such letter warning of the effect on homefront morale.

Old TImer Tom Wixted remembers Park Slope back in 1886, where every home bore 'a lithographic portrait of a presidential candidate, "according to the political predilections of its owner." You might recall that election was "the most hectic of all times," with the proponents of the gold standard and advocates of bi-metalism locked in a contest that "rocked the nation to its very depths."

("Well, that was easy enough.")

(Hey Doug, did you do that at Anacostia Flats?)

(Nothing shady about this guy, nosirreeee.)

("John, why does your sweater smell like a fire in a rope factory?" And I think Gertie and Kay should team up and take over the strip.)

(Actually, this is exactly how I remember stuff.)

(And when you step on a sea urchin, you'll breathe thru your feet too.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

"I don't mind the job, but I could do without the stupid hat." And I wasn't aware that good diction and a murderous spirit were exclusive.

Next big dance craze: "The Tin Can Stomp."

I saw something like this almost happen once -- a sandbag came loose and plummeted down, barely missing an elderly lady doing a recitation from Emily Dickinson. The theatre ghost didn't like poetry.

His jib? No, that's his nose.

It's wrong to gamble? I never would have pegged the Mullinses for Methodists.

Congratulations, Cherry -- you're a meme!

"To say nothing of the diaper pail."

Lana doesn't know how lucky she is.

"Little Dog Complex."

And there are those who say that Mr. Gray has no sense of humor.

 

[Fading Fast]

(I knew Methodists who were this militant about their anti-alcohol views, my grandmother among them. She'd even throw away grape juice if it had been in the refrigerator "too long.")
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Of course the case of the man with the same name, same job, same nationality and who lives in the same neighborhood as the deadbeat dad, but who isn't the deadbeat dad, winds up in Judge Solomon's court. You could easily see this being a storyline in the "The Bungle Family."

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View attachment 426307
(YOU KNOW WHO! YOU KNOW WHO! YOU KNOW WHO!)
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He's been incredible.

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Freddie Fitzsimmons, Dixie Walker, Pee Wee Reese, and Pete Reiser will be the guests of honor at a orphans' dinner and frolic to be held Wednesday night by the Union Temple Men's Club, 17 Eastern Parkway. Children from St. Joseph's Home, St. John's Home, the Pride of Judea Home, and the Brooklyn Orphans' Asylum will mingle with the Dodger favorites as they enjoy the evening's festivities. Autographed baseballs, bats, gloves, and other prizes will be distributed to the 250 boys and girls expected to attend, with WHN sportscaster Dick Fishell acting as master of ceremonies. The dinner is being organized by incoming Union Temple Club president Jack Kahn and District Tax Superviser David Soden.
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If Fitz didn't do these promotional events, we'd never see his name this year.

...

("John, why does your sweater smell like a fire in a rope factory?" And I think Gertie and Kay should team up and take over the strip.)
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Kay, yes, but I could only have stood one or two more panels of Gertie's screaming.

And in the Daily News...

"I don't mind the job, but I could do without the stupid hat." And I wasn't aware that good diction and a murderous spirit were exclusive.
...

Not just diction, but delivery and poise, then you know if one has the murderous spirit in him or her or not. So much easier than forensic evidence.

..


"To say nothing of the diaper pail."
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"The Dragon Lady is more amused than impressed by that prosaic recital." God love her.

 

[PrivateEye]

From a purely aesthetic perspective, upper Park Avenue (north of 60th) gets my vote as the prettiest street in the City.

I haven't looked for it recently, but the "Swing" sign was still there the last time I looked. There are a surprising number of those "name" signs on streets all over the city. To appreciate what that stretch of 52nd Street looked like in the day, there is a scene in "Sweet Smell of Success" where Curtis and Lancaster leave the 21 Club and spend some time on 52nd between 5th and 6th.

Just flew back from NYC this morning, and a colleague down there was bemoaning the fact that all the streets look the same now.

I'm certainly no expert, but he's a lifelong resident of Manhattan, thought it was an interesting comment.

 

[Fading Fast]

Just flew back from NYC this morning, and a colleague down there was bemoaning the fact that all the streets look the same now.

I'm certainly no expert, but he's a lifelong resident of Manhattan, thought it was an interesting comment.

There is definitely something to what he says. I started coming to NYC as a high school kid in the late '70s and then moved in a bit after getting out of college in the '80s. In that time, there has been a homogenization of the city.

Back then, there were, of course, very expensive neighborhood, but also, middle-class affordable neighborhoods and, even, inexpensive neighborhood (where I moved to in the 1980s). There were also a lot of industry-concentrated areas - Wall Street was downtown, Madison Avenue was midtown, the garment district was in the 20s and 30s on the westside and so on. Also, there were a lot of one-off and family businesses that had been here forever.

Hence, the city streets and neighborhoods had their own look and personality. Since then, though, the city has become expensive everywhere, which as pushed out, not only a lot of people who could no longer afford it, but also a lot of those mom-and-pop businesses that gave a street or neighborhood its personality.

Another factor has been the internet. Before it, there were a lot of niche businesses with incredible selections because New York City had a huge population and it was a destination for fans of - music or books or buttons (yup) or pens or etc. But now, it's cheaper to run that type of business on-line and not pay NYC rents.

Additionally, also because of the internet and people not needing to be next to each other physically to be connected, those industries - like Wall Street and the Garment district - no longer concentrate in NYC, so those neighborhoods have lost their "company town" feel. All of these things together, plus several other reasons, have resulted in a much more homogenized look and feel to the city.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(At 215 Montague Street, office workers try to ignore the muffled screaming from behind the inner door. Sorry, Larry.)

Chinese forces have "completely annihilated" remnants of a Japanese mobile column that penetrated north of the Burma Road in an attempt to outflank the defenders of Yungchang and drive upon Kumning, it was reported in a Chinese communique tonight. The Japanese force was said to have been wiped out in a five day battle near Lungling, 40 miles inside China's Yunnan frontier with Burma. Along the Burma Road itself, fierce fighting is reported to continue northward toward Yungchang.

Price ceilings now in effect were hailed today by Brooklyn housewives as an effective measuring stemming the high cost of living. Marking another milestone in the Government's all-out war effort, the retail prices on hundreds of thousands of commodities, covering virtually all things humans wear, use, and eat, were reverted to and frozen at their highest level prevailing in March. All commodities sold at retail, with a very few specified exceptions, are now price-controlled. Those exceptions include butter and cheese, evaporated, condensed, and other canned milk products, poultry and eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables except for bananas, flour, mutton and lamb, fresh fish and other seafood, game, nuts, dried prunes, and dried beans. All retail establishments must clearly post ceiling prices for all goods at the place of doing business, and retailers may charge less than, but not more, of the ceiling price. Ceiling prices may also differ from store to store, since the ceilings are established based on each individual retailer's highest prices charged during March 1942.

The gasoline rationing program, which has sharply curtailed motor vehicle traffic across the entire metropolitan area, moves into its second phase today as local ration boards begin hearing appeals and requests for higher classifications of ration cards. Traffic has been reduced city-wide by approximately 50 percent since the rationing program took hold on May 15th, and yesterday train and bus ticket sales reached an all-time high as motorists forced to leave cars at home sought alternate methods of Sunday transportation. A majority of the city's gasoline stations were closed yesterday, and the few that remained open limited sales from one to five gallons in an effort to conserve supplies. No new deliveries to retailers will be permitted until the new quota system goes into effect on Wednesday.

(Yeah, didn't he say the same thing last year?)

Over a quarter of a million people jammed the mall and sheep meadow at Central Park yesterday for ceremonies marking the observance of "I Am An American Day." Mayor LaGuardia presided over the program, which featured appearances by Navy hero Lt. John D. Bulkeley of Long Island City, heavyweight boxing champion Pvt. Joe Louis, concert singer Marian Anderson, actor Paul Muni, Governor Herbert Lehman, Justice Hugo Black of the U. S. Supreme Court, Lily Pons of the Metropolitan Opera, violinist Albert Spaulding, and a surprise greeting by shortwave from Free French General Charles deGaulle.

Communist Party leader Earl Browder made a quiet return to his home in Yonkers today following his release from Atlanta Penitentiary by an act of executive clemency. President Roosevelt commuted Browder's sentence for passport fraud to the fourteen months already served, stating that he did so out of a desire to "allay feelings that the unusually long sentence was imposed upon the Communist leader because of his political views," in the interests of national unity. A determination by Browder and his followers to make good on the President's statement was seen today in the avoidance of any celebrations or rallies marking his release. A group that had gathered to cheer Browder when he arrived at Pennsylvania Station was disappointed when he got off the train at Newark instead and drove home accompanied only by few personal friends. Arrangements that had been made prior to his release by the Citizens Committee to Free Earl Browder for a rally at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday have been cancelled. An editorial in today's issue of the Daily Worker stated only that "heightened united action to win the war" is the principal benefit flowing from "the President's courageous action."

(SO STOP COMPLAINING!)

Sgt. Frank E. Carter of Brooklyn and Ft. Jackson, South Carolina writes in to repudiate the Fort Jackson-Brooklyn soldier who wrote in last week to ask the people back home to send him cigarettes. "The writer, and many others from Brooklyn have been in longer," he writes, "and for the same reason as your correspondent with his month or two, and have done without many of the comforts and conveniences previously enjoyed, but we aren't complaining or begging."

Augustine C. Morris of South Ozone Park writes in to suggest that, with Memorial Day approaching, parades dispense with "semi-nude majorettes" who "have no idea what the day means. They are only interested in attracting the crowd with their silly gyrations." Memorial Day is, he maintains, "a day of reverence, not revelry."

(Know Your Audience!)

(Pete Resier stealing home is right up there with the Murder For Money Gang and irradiated beef at Bohack's as the Most 1940s Brooklyn Thing Ever. And if the umpires think a dirty look will stop Gladys Goodding, they have no idea who they're up against.)

(And now that Mr. Ayres has agreed to go into the Army, he gets his name in the ads again. Watch the MGM publicity machine go!)

Radio commentators Adelaide Hawley and Mary Margaret McBride of WEAF will be joint directors of the Camp Fire Girls Donut Drive, which aims to sell over 100,000 donuts in the city, to raise funds to buy a summer camp. That's a lot of dunking.

(C'mon, Scarlett, shouldn't you be going after That Tough Guy Mickey?)

(I can't wait to see how the law books write this up.)

("Oh hell," thinks Mary. "Here we go again. I'm too old for this!")

(Everybody in this strip walks like they're suffering from chronic arthritis. Hey, you know, cortisone shots will fix that right up.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

C'mon, O'Donnell, don't leave us hanging. Which paper was it? We know it isn't the Eagle, so that leaves the Journal-American, the World-Telegram, the Post, or PM. Of those, the Journal-American is the sleaziest, the World-Telegram the most middlebrow, the Post the most earnest, and PM the most politically-provocative. So take your pick.

The game's not over till the last batter's out.

Annie can't be bothered with loose ends. Hey kid, what do you hear from the Tecums?


"But he's got a gun!" Hmph, you're a disgrace to the profession of theatre manager.

"Besides, the way he kept trying to grab your behind sort of gave it away."

This kid looks like he'd be more interested in what's going on in the back room.

"Indeed? Let me tell you, mousy one, about what I do when I want someone to keep quiet. I once had a servant, a very tall servant..."

"What's to explain? I've always wanted to raise pigeons, so I went out and bought a whole flock! Why are you looking at me like that?"

Most romantic couple in the comics.

"Lana? Lana who?"

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oh, and...

Sure, Jimmy. Stir the pot.

 

[Fading Fast]

...

Augustine C. Morris of South Ozone Park writes in to suggest that, with Memorial Day approaching, parades dispense with "semi-nude majorettes" who "have no idea what the day means. They are only interested in attracting the crowd with their silly gyrations." Memorial Day is, he maintains, "a day of reverence, not revelry."
...

Oh, so he wants them out of the parade altogether. At first I thought he was upset that they had some clothes on. I bet my idea would increase attendance.

"What? You can get an application over there Senga, but sorry, I was wrong, the majorettes will be wearing clothes. Don't frown at me, I was on board with the idea."

...


(Pete Resier stealing home is right up there with the Murder For Money Gang and irradiated beef at Bohack's as the Most 1940s Brooklyn Thing Ever. And if the umpires think a dirty look will stop Gladys Goodding, they have no idea who they're up against.)
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Stealing home is just an insanely exciting play, in part, because it's such a cool way to score a run and, in part, because the mind can never really imagine it working.

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(C'mon, Scarlett, shouldn't you be going after That Tough Guy Mickey?)
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"Danny, I'm just going to pop in and take a quick shower before we go out, I feel a bit, uh, dirty."
"Oh, you look fine, I won't mind at all."
"You might."

...

("Oh hell," thinks Mary. "Here we go again. I'm too old for this!")
...

"A flock of icky old hens, um, er, but not you, of course, Mary."

...

The game's not over till the last batter's out.
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It's a bold move if Foley is reassembling the jury to harangue the one member who talked about the case. Sadly, I still believe they will get away with this done-in-the-open cover up. My belief in 1942 justice is beginning to equal my belief in 2022 justice.

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Annie can't be bothered with loose ends. Hey kid, what do you hear from the Tecums?
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"Note the robust tail curl in panel three. That's how a pro does it. I'm destine for bigger roles, I have to be."

...

"Indeed? Let me tell you, mousy one, about what I do when I want someone to keep quiet. I once had a servant, a very tall servant..."
...

She might wind up without a tongue or, even, dead, but I respect this version of Normandie.

...

"Lana? Lana who?"

"Your readership has been slipping a bit, spice up the strip."
"But the storylines have been good."
"You're not listening to me, SPICE up the strip."
"Oh, got it."

 

[PrivateEye]

Oh my....that's quite a strip to take in before lunch, I'm feeling a bit flustered...

 

[LizzieMaine]

Carl Ed puts the strip in comics.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And here's a clean, high-res copy of that shot of Reiser stealing home.

Smile, kid. The photographer's right on top of you.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And a bit of digging reveals that the paper breaking the "house of degradation" story concerning the mystery senator is the Post -- and that the mystery senator himself is David I. Walsh of Massachusetts, head of the Senate Naval Affairs Committee, and an ally of none other than Father Chas. A. Coughlin. As prewar isolationists in Congress go, he was pretty small fry compared to Wheeler, Nye, Martin, Barton, and Fish, so it's odd that if this was a political vendetta that they'd go for such a minor target. On the other hand, Sen. Walsh appears to have been well-known to Washington insiders as "a confirmed bachelor," as they said at the time.

It will be interesting to see how this story unfolds when no paper other than the Post seems to want to touch it in any but the most veiled terms. Given that it's happening right in Mr. Schroth's back yard, it's hard to see the Eagle being able to ignore the story for long. And the News seems to be indicating there's a big place opening up on Page Four.

 

[Fading Fast]

And here's a clean, high-res copy of that shot of Reiser stealing home.

View attachment 426699

Smile, kid. The photographer's right on top of you.

That's a heck of a set of good looking teeth for '42 - think they are real?

 

[LizzieMaine]

If he keeps stealing home, they won't be for long.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(Yeah, Adolf, better give it up now. When Maggie from Woodhaven says you're done, brother, you're done!)

The Axis apparently fears the possibility of United Nations efforts to open a second front with an invasion of Italy, and is reported to be "feverishly erecting fortifications along the coast," including barbed wire, concrete pillboxes, and emplacements for artillery. United Press correspondents released from internment in Italy under a prisoner exchange reported seeing extensive fortifications under construction as they passed the Italian coast by train. Meanwhile, it was reported in diplomatic quarters that Benito Mussolini's recent trip to Sardinia was part of an inspection tour resulting from fears the Allies might occupy that island as a staging area for a full-fledged invasion of Italy.

In the British House of Commons debate continued over the question of a second front, with Deputy Prime Minister Clement Atlee declining to offer any prophecy as to when an invasion by Allied forces might occur. Mr. Atlee did, however, emphasize that Allied strength is increasing every month, noting the recent arrival of additional American troops adding to the force now stationed in North Ireland.

An order issued by Nazi occupation authorites in Paris specifies that as of June 1st, all Jews in the city will be required to wear armbands displaying a yellow Star of David on their left sleeves, "as an identifcation mark to aid in crushing" anti-Nazi violence.

(Soooooooooomebody's not telling the truth.)

Men will have to do without their fancy pajamas under a new clothing regulation proposed today by a clothing-industry advisory committee to the War Production Board. Manufacturers under the proposal would be required to eliminate all collars, lapels, pockets, coat sashes, and cuffs from mens' sleepwear, all patterned fabric would be prohibited, and firms would be limited to the manufacture of three styles, and three styles only -- "a colorless slipover coat, a surplice coat with buttons, or a colorless sleep coat." The latter item is simply the modern term for Grandfather's old-fashioned nightshirt.

("Well!" huffs Joe. "I like T'AT!" "Hah," hahs Sally. "You sleep in ya unnehweah." "Yeah, well," mutters Joe, "it'sa principle a' t' t'ing.")

Increased demand and diminished supply -- that tells the story of the gasoline rationing situation in the City of New York today. Thousands of motorists swamped ration board offices today to demand supplemental rations beyond the basic three gallons a week represented by the A card. But it was also noted that about 30 percent of those appearing at board offices were there to turn in X or B-3 cards for lesser A or B-1 rations. At the main Brooklyn office of the OPA, at 44 Court Street, a total of 530 X and B cards were turned in yesterday. The picture for those trying to purchase fuel, however, was bleak. Only about half of the city's gasoline stations are open for business today, and many of those are restricting fuel purchases to no more than one gallon at a time. It is also noted that after a weekend in which 98 percent of gasoline dealers in the city were closed, an estimated 3 percent of the total will not reopen at all, their operators having decided to close down permanently.

(Awww, it's always good to see an old friend again.)

("The best comic strip in the country is -- Blondie?" "Hmph, those snippy judges!" sniffs Josephine Bungle. "How lowbrow!" "Oh dear," sighs Mary Worth. "Bring them to me at once," comes a commanding voice from the East. "They shall know what it is to trifle with the Dragon Lady!")

(Yeah, well, they heard you were a cowboy-gangster-jitterbug.)

In Vichy France, wartime restrictions have done away with stage magicians, who have had their rabbits and doves confiscated to go into the food supply.

In China, wartime restrictions have done away with tea houses, under a government edict ordering all such places to be closed as "frivolous wastes of money and time."

(It was this series that earned Bill Nicholson, a fine power-hitting outfielder for the Cubs, the nickname that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Whenever he comes to bat at Ebbets Field from now on, the fans will chant, loudly, and distinctly, with every swing of his bat, "SWIIIIIIIIIIIIISH!")

(Watch where you point that hat, Cath, it might go off.)

(Magistrate Solomon racks up another win.)

(There's something funny going on with the art lately. I don't know who that is in panel one, but it isn't the Leona and Mary we know. And note that Dale is no longer signing the strip. Has she joined the WAAC? Has she run off with Boody Rogers?)

(Dan's such a fun date.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Well now, I guess we can see exactly where the Finger of Guilt is pointing today.

Shoot the messenger.

"Nick sent me."

Point of order: no one can crawl that fast thru a theatre without getting stuck to the floor.

Here in America be thankful that magicians still practice freely.

You've got nothing to lose if she finds out the truth. Oh wait, yes you do.

"I'll stop by on my way to the recruiting office."

By the time you're old enough it'll be $50 a day once a month.

Oh, this'll end well for everyone.

You've got to admire someone who starts thinking about Christmas presents in May.