The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

("'Mrs.?' That's MAJOR Hobby to you!")

New York City will hail fifteen British and American fighting men tomorrow with a parade and a ceremony at City Hall. The heroes will relate their experiences carried out on the sea, in the air, and on land on various fighting fronts. Those exploits include Commando raids on the French and Norwegian coasts, desert fighting in Libya, and air battles in the Pacific. The fighting men will arrive at the Battery in police patrol boats from the seaplane base at LaGuardia Field at 11:30 AM tomorrow, and after traveling up Broadway in an open car will be received by Mayor LaGuardia at City Hall at noon. The procession will proceed briefly to 23rd Street and 7th Avenue, and from there to Duffy Square, where the Mayor's Committee, headed by Bernard Baruch, will again welcome the heroes. A private luncheon will follow at the Hotel Astor.

The United States Conference of Mayors, headed by Mayor LaGuardia, will advise Congress of the need to ration transportation over the coming months to insure that sufficient fuel is available to the East Coast before the onset of winter. Mayor LaGuardia will travel to Washington next week with the recommendation on the basis of a resolution passed by mayors from as far north as Portland, Maine and as far south as Miami, Fla., who met yesterday at City Hall. Mayor LaGuardia, in announcing the resolution, noted that it is impossible to convert more than fifteen percent of the oil burning furnaces in the metrpolitan area to burn coal before the arrival of the winter heating season.

("Downa celleh wit' Leonora an' Stella," declares Sally. "An' wit'tat gun you got hid inna sock draweh, jus' in case." "At ain' my gun," insists Joe. "Ya brutteh -- um -- loant it to me b'foeh he -- um -- wen'inna soivice. B'sides, I don' t'ink it's even a real gun. I t'ink it's one'a t'em ones f'lightin' a cig'rette. Lookit, he also gimme t'is switch blade knife wit'ta comb comes out've it. Said he prob'ly wout'n need it inna Awrmy. I guess t'ey give'm Awrmy combs a'sump'n." "Well, 'at ain' no good 'ten," sighs Sally. "We gottat Flit gun unneh t'sink," offers Joe. "Y'c'd use'at." "Yeah," nods Sally. "Squoit'a t'at bt'weena eyes take t'fight outa anybody. Maybe I c'd use t' fake gun t' light it on fieh, make a flamet'roweh." "You sure you ain' one'a t'em Commandos?" marvels Joe. "Not yet," declares Sally, her mouth a hard line. "Not yet.")

Today marks the sixth-month anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Eagle Editorialist notes that the period just past was "among the most critical in the entire history of our country." "The war has been going badly," he admits, "yet the feeling persists that the worst may be behind us. Undoubtedly there is still a long bitter road ahead, with many losses and heartaches. Deep down within us however, we have an abiding faith in the victory of our cause."

Reader Louis M. Goren writes in to urge the opening soon of a second front "to relieve and aid the valiant Russians in their Kharkov offensive." "Let the American Eagle scream in chorus with the British Lion and the Russian Bear, and the Nazi Jackal will give up the ghost in 1942."

(Now that Fitz has retired, Mr. Davis is the oldest pitcher in the National League, and you will recall how well the Portly One did in that role. Big shoes to fill there, but keep it up!)

You have to roll back the calendar more than a quarter of a century to find a another Brooklyn ballclub that led the National League, without dispute, from sunrise to sunset, on Memorial Day, and you have to go back five years beyond that to find another Brooklyn squad commanding a lead on that date by more than five and a half games. The 1942 Dodgers, however, are already shaping up as the superior of those past squads, and Durocher's men now stand on a par with the great teams of the "Hanlon's Superbas" days or even all the way back to the legendary Bridegrooms of 1890. The last Dodger club to lead the league on Memorial Day, Uncle Wilbert Robinson's 1916 squad, went on to win the pennant, only to lose the World Series to the Boston Red Sox.

Old Timer J. T. Whitelaw Sr. remembers the old days at P. S. 28, when the fearsome Miss Folger would wield her dreaded rattan cane at the slightest provocation. Two quick lashes across the extended bare palms of the miscreant were usually enough to make the point, although some of the more incorrigible youngsters learned that an application of rosin to the palms could both mitigate the sting and cause the cane to fracture. Or at least, it was so said.

(Young Mr. Wilson will have a long career in mostly smallish roles on Broadway and television, but he will one day be best known as the voice of cartoon character "Tom Terrific.")

Oveta Culp Hobby also makes the front page of TREND this week, in addition to the front of the paper proper. I wonder if she'll push Red Ryder off the front of the comic section?

(Nope, guess not.)

(I think the idea of an evil stage mother as a comic strip villain has tremendous possibilities. Imagine what Chester Gould would do with it.)

(Bleek has no idea who's he's working for. And what happened to Irwin getting married???)

(Huffing paint is never a good idea.)

(And in case you didn't notice, there was no Indianapolis 500 this year, nor will there be for the duration. Those X cards are more trouble than they're worth.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Madeline who?

EVERYBODY GETS AN A-CARD! NOW GO HOME! JUST GO HOME!

A HAPPY ENDING? Did Gould get drafted???

When will you drips realize YOU JUST CAN'T WIN?

I dunno, kid -- I've for-real ridden an elephant in a circus parade, and trust me -- it's no dream!

"But be sure and take Willie with you."

Next Week: Zack Mosley gets drafted and we never get an ending.

There is no being on earth so fearless as a seven-year-old girl.

Congratulations, Normandie -- you're in the army now.

I wonder if Judy Wallet has ever blown up any submarines?

 

[Fading Fast]

...

Today marks the sixth-month anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Eagle Editorialist notes that the period just past was "among the most critical in the entire history of our country." "The war has been going badly," he admits, "yet the feeling persists that the worst may be behind us. Undoubtedly there is still a long bitter road ahead, with many losses and heartaches. Deep down within us however, we have an abiding faith in the victory of our cause."
....

What it was hard for the country (and editorial page) to know in real time, was that the news on its front page today about Japan's losses at Midway (and Coral Sea a month ago), especially of its aircraft carriers, turned the tide of the war in the Pacific and basically sealed Japan's fate.

...

(I think the idea of an evil stage mother as a comic strip villain has tremendous possibilities. Imagine what Chester Gould would do with it.)
...

I was thinking a similar thing: what is it with all these comicstrip storylines about actors violently attacking their competition? Invisible Scarlett wouldn't survive five minutes in Chester Gould's world.

Meanwhile, Sandy thinks to himself, "If I lost this job and something should happen to Wolf, not saying something will, just saying 'if,' I wonder if they would look to replace him with an experienced actor?"

...

(Bleek has no idea who's he's working for. And what happened to Irwin getting married???)
...

This is an odd "Dan Dunn" all around as it usually doesn't break from the weekly storyline on Sunday. Also, Irwin calling in a false tip to make himself a hero seems like Marsh is taking Irwin's character from nice bumbler with a bit too much bravado to an outright liar willing to waste police resources to advance his career. It's not a small or pretty step.

And in the Daily News...

Madeline who?
...

The pic of the prison-coiffed, sans-makeup Madeline might have been the News' coda for the story for now. But we know Hirschl's trial and the executions are still out there.

Myrna should have been a bit gun-shy as this new marriage only lasted two years. Clearly, it's easier to be the perfect wife when you have good scriptwriters.

...

EVERYBODY GETS AN A-CARD! NOW GO HOME! JUST GO HOME!
...

My Dad didn't talk to me a lot, but the two most frequently things he asked me were "how old are you" and "what grade are you in?" I remember regularly hearing him say to my mother, when she'd mention something about me, "How old is the boy?" I am very comfortable he'd had no idea of my height, etc. There'd be no ration card for me.

...

A HAPPY ENDING? Did Gould get drafted???
...

This entire storyline is bizarre. No one seems to care that Mrs. Yollman and Van Dyke are guilty of a serious crime.

Also, the drama critic is engaged in full CYA mode, "I drove alongside the train trying to 'talk' him into surrendering." Sounds like he was trying to help Yollman, doesn't it?

But the transcripts show something else. Is this what you call "talk:" "You criminal, you better give yourself up. You can't make a getaway...I'll follow you...and see that you're nabbed. You'll see."

...

When will you drips realize YOU JUST CAN'T WIN?
...

"Now I gotta chance with Susie Q." Is he kidding us? Based on these Sunday strips, Shadow should be tired of, umm, "her company" by now.

...

Next Week: Zack Mosley gets drafted and we never get an ending.
...

If she's found guilty, will the News run a shot of Cindy with a prison crop and no makeup?

...

Congratulations, Normandie -- you're in the army now.
...

"My greatest fear is that Merrily will keep Pat faithful to that Normandie dame."
"What, Commander?"
"Uh, umm, I said my greatest fear is dawn. That's what you, he who doesn't want to be reduced in rank, heard, correct?"
"Yes, Commander, dawn will be a problem."
[Neither one looks at the other]

 

[LizzieMaine]

("A lyin', sniff'lin', sneakin' t'ief," reads Sally. "Welllllll, we neveh had nut'n like t'at at Erasmus." "It's all a frame-up," declares Joe. " Well," continues Sally, "c'ep f't'at time 'at Kilgallen stole t'fountain pen I got f'my sixteent' boit'day. Well, din' steal 'zackly, but I los' it, an' I bet sheeza one foun' it, an' neveh give it back.")

The Australian Government blacked out 1200 miles of the industrial New South Wales coastline tonight, and tightened precautions against a possible all-out blockade by Japanese submarines which earlier today shelled the suburbs of Sydney and Newcastle. Informed quarters believed that a formidable fleet of enemy submarines may be lurking off shore preparatory to a large scale effort to blockade the southeast coast and cut off American supplies, possibly in support of an impending invasion attempt.

Fleets of Japanese planes attacked Chinese positions today on five fronts where an estimated 300,000 enemy troops have opened strong offensives. Southwest of the Chekiang capital the Japanese were reported to be storming the railroad center of Tungsiang. Heavy fighting also spread to a new front in inner Mongolia, 340 miles west of Peiping.

Congressmen are said to have "revolted" against suggestions that President Roosevelt will extend gasoline rationing into all 48 states as a rubber conservation measure. A special House committee organized at a meeting of irate representatives last week, under the leadership of Rep. Richard M. Kleberg (D-Texas), will confer with the President this week to present their reasons for opposing the plan. Meanwhile, the plan continues to move forward with the Office of Price Administration, with OPA officials announcing a new crackdown on gasoline black-marketeers. Under the permanent rationing plan which will replace the present punch-card system in July, filling station operators will be required to keep a complete daily record of all fuel sold and all ration stamps taken in, and violators of the regulations will be subject to fines of up to $10,000 or a year in prison -- or both.

In Chattanooga, Tennessee, the leader of the "Crusader White Shirts" was sentenced to five years in prison after his conviction on sedition charges. George W. Christians was found guilty of sending letters and other literature to members of the Armed Forces which tended to "encourage insubordination," including efforts to put into effect by force what Christians termed his "human effort monetary system." The defense denied that Christians ever actually intended any violence.

(Hitler had a nose job? Did the old one get in the way when he chewed on the carpet?)

The buffaloes at the Prospect Park Zoo, papa Nickel and mama Nickelette, last week welcomed a newborn calf -- and that stiff-legged newcomer was introduced to the public today under the temporary name of "June." The youngster romped with uneven gait next to her shaggy mama, and when she fell behind, Nickelette, like any new mother, turned to scold her. Nickel, meanwhile, feels that he's getting the worst of it, since his missus has no time for him any more, and since the birth has been marching around his corral in a surly mood. Baby June is the first buffalo born at the new Zoo.

(I mean, there's an opening at New Utrecht...)

Men in Selective Service classification I-B, indicating minor physical defects, are now being inducted into the Army along with the regular quota of I-A men. Colonel Arthur McDermott, head of Selective Service for New York City, noted that two members of his own staff who had previously held exemptions under I-B status have now been put into uniform.

A man who roamed the woods of Bronx Park dressed in a "grotesque costume," and who calls himself "The Black Phantom," is in Bellevue Hospital today after he was arrested last night as a suspect in the robbery of a Manhattan couple. The Phantom was identified as Edwin Dennis of 65 W. 135th Street in Harlem, and wore an outfit which, according to robbery victim Harry Tannenbaum of 1706 Eastern Parkway, "was enough to frighten Hitler himself."

Playwright Claire Boothe Luce is being strongly supported in Greenwich, Connecticut as a Republican candidate for the Congressional seat formerly held by her late stepfather, Rep. Alfred E. Austin. Mrs. Luce already has the endorsement of former Republican National Committeeman Samuel S. Pryor, eastern campaign manager for Wendell Willkie during the 1940 Presidential Election. Mrs. Luce is the wife of Henry Luce, publisher of Time, Life, and Fortune magazines.

(You've got to admire Mr. Lichty's persistence in always working in the war bond plug no matter what.)

(There are worse ways to go.)

Fancy ice cream flavors will soon become the latest casualty of the war. New York manufacturers of the frozen delicacy report that they will soon discontinue the manufacture of all flavors other than the old standbys of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry in order to conserve fuel and rubber required for delivery vehicles. It is stated that fewer flavors will allow retailers to stock up on the basic three, thus reducing the need for delivery trips. Already the sixteen flavors offered in the city before the war have been cut to ten, and deliveries to retailers reduced by 25 percent.

(I thought Slaughter was already going in the service. Come on, Uncle, a fine figure of a man like that has no business playing baseball when there's a war on. TAKE HIM NOW.)

Groucho Marx will fill in for the vacationing Frank Morgan on the Thursday night coffee broadcast over WEAF. The man with the greasepaint moustache and the big cigar will appear with Fannie Brice, better known as Baby Snooks, as the first in a series of guest artists who will hold down the fort until Morgan returns on July 23rd.

("Is it OK if I keep a couple of wallet size, at least? I was thinking of sending them out for Christmas.")

(Zatso? I don't imagine the cats are any too fond of you, either.)

(Well, I don't remember that the pirate outfit had lapels...)

(WHY DOES DAN LOOK LIKE PAT RYAN? WHY DOES IRWIN LOOK LIKE DENNIE WORTH AFTER EATING TOO MANY PANCAKES? WHERE'S THE GIMP? WHERE'S WHATSHERNAME TIED TO THE CHAIR? What's going on here? Who drew this?? Did Marsh get drafted too?? I WANT MARSH BACK!)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Yeah, but can't we have *both* war news and Page Four news?

My pal, who never lets me down. Sigh.

"Just a minute, Mr. Critic. If he dies, we're gonna want to ask you some questions."

So that's why they're gonna leave it all out of the musical.

War is Heck.

This would be a good time for Dude Hennick to show up. And maybe Cap'n Blaze with a convoy of trucks and a load of machine guns.

Behold the "feather cut," style craze of '42.

That's what you get for not checking first with the Magicians Union.

Guess who's going to end up tied to a chair?

Charlie Paddock was an Olympic track star of the twenties. Moon must be older than he looks.

 

[Fading Fast]

...
("A lyin', sniff'lin', sneakin' t'ief," reads Sally. "Welllllll, we neveh had nut'n like t'at at Erasmus." "It's all a frame-up," declares Joe. " Well," continues Sally, "c'ep f't'at time 'at Kilgallen stole t'fountain pen I got f'my sixteent' boit'day. Well, din' steal 'zackly, but I los' it, an' I bet sheeza one foun' it, an' neveh give it back.")
...

"...Well, din' steal 'zackly, but I los' it, an' I bet sheeza one foun' it, an' neveh give it back."

God bless ya Sally, you do hate with passion.

...

The buffaloes at the Prospect Park Zoo, papa Nickel and mama Nickelette, last week welcomed a newborn calf -- and that stiff-legged newcomer was introduced to the public today under the temporary name of "June." The youngster romped with uneven gait next to her shaggy mama, and when she fell behind, Nickelette, like any new mother, turned to scold her. Nickel, meanwhile, feels that he's getting the worst of it, since his missus has no time for him any more, and since the birth has been marching around his corral in a surly mood. Baby June is the first buffalo born at the new Zoo.
...

What, no picture? This story only works with a picture of the cute baby buffalo next to her mom.

...

Fancy ice cream flavors will soon become the latest casualty of the war. New York manufacturers of the frozen delicacy report that they will soon discontinue the manufacture of all flavors other than the old standbys of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry in order to conserve fuel and rubber required for delivery vehicles. It is stated that fewer flavors will allow retailers to stock up on the basic three, thus reducing the need for delivery trips. Already the sixteen flavors offered in the city before the war have been cut to ten, and deliveries to retailers reduced by 25 percent.
...

"... other than the old standbys of chocolate, vanilla, a̵n̵d̵ strawberry and mint-chocolate chip..."

You may carry on with the war now.

...

("Is it OK if I keep a couple of wallet size, at least? I was thinking of sending them out for Christmas.")
...

It's time for Invisible Scarlett to go back to superhero school to brush up on planning, tactics and morality.

...

(Well, I don't remember that the pirate outfit had lapels...)
...

Maybe it's on underneath. She doesn't want to catch a chill on the way over.

...

(WHY DOES DAN LOOK LIKE PAT RYAN? WHY DOES IRWIN LOOK LIKE DENNIE WORTH AFTER EATING TOO MANY PANCAKES? WHERE'S THE GIMP? WHERE'S WHATSHERNAME TIED TO THE CHAIR? What's going on here? Who drew this?? Did Marsh get drafted too?? I WANT MARSH BACK!)

In the last two days, the wheels have come off the Dan Dunn bus - storyline and illustration. What the heck is going on?

And in the Daily News...

Yeah, but can't we have *both* war news and Page Four news?
...

Madeline?

...

This would be a good time for Dude Hennick to show up. And maybe Cap'n Blaze with a convoy of trucks and a load of machine guns.
...

Hu Shee is still out there, somewhere.

...

Guess who's going to end up tied to a chair?
...

It's the plot of "Larceny, Inc." just with a soda fountain not luggage store. In the movie, Paulette will be played by Jane Wyman with dyed blonde hair.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("Whered'ya think you are, anyway? Valley Stream??")

BULLETIN: Chinese defenders have killed or wounded 7000 Japanese troops in bloody fighting today in the streets and outside the gates of the encircled city of Chuhsein, bringing to nearly 20,000 the enemy's losses in the bitter struggle for the city.

Free French forces have repulsed heavy Nazi attacks in the Libyan desert at Bir Hachiem, it was reported in a communique today. Against the defenses, Col. Gen. Erwin Rommel again sent tanks, infantry, artillery, and Stuka dive bombers.

The Office of Defense Transportation, in a sweeping order effective July 1st, today placed intercity bus operations thruout the city under wartime regulations, cancelling all express service, and banning all routes to places of public amusement. The order also discontinues schedules which do not meet certain standards of efficiency, and calls on bus companies to pool their services over competitive routes. The order defines intercity service as all routes operating outside a fifteen mile limit of a city, and schedules on which the average fare is more than 35 cents. Schedules operated primarily to transport workers to and from their places of employment are not included under the regulations. Also exempt are buses serving military and naval establishments.

In a 5 to 4 decision today the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that local laws may limit the exercise of freedom of speech to "times, places, and methods not at odds with the preservation of peace and good order." The case under consideration involved four members of the Jehovah's Witnesses who were convicted in Fort Smith, Arkansas of peddling without a license. Two of the defendants were arrested while going house to house playing phonograph records promoting the sale of religious literature. At 101 Henry Street, national headquarters of the sect, and at 117 Adams Street, the organization's printing factory, no one could be found to comment on the case. "There is no one here," stated an official at the factory, "to speak to the press." Sect President Nathan H. Knorr, who succeeded the late Judge Joseph Rutherford in January, could not be reached.

Meanwhile, the Selective Service Administration continues to ponder what to do with the Witnesses, all of whom of draft age claim exemption from service as conscientious objectors. Draft boards in Brooklyn, particularly Brooklyn Heights Local Board No. 133, which includes the organization's headquarters staff, have faced repeated problems with sect members claiming exemptions. Aides to City Selective Service Director Arthur McDermott stated today that the question of the Witnesses' draft status is entirely up to the discretion of local boards.

(Sixty-five helmets at $200 comes to about $3.08 apiece. You could've gotten them for less at Davega!)

Brenda Diana Duff Frazier, celebrity debutante of 1938 and favorite of cafe society until her marriage a year ago to former New York Football Giants star John S. "Shipwreck" Kelly, turns twenty-one today, and thus inherits $1,000,000 in cash and securities, and a trust fund totalling $2,500,000. The retired glamor girl can never be said to have lived in squalor, but her inheritance makes her now, officially, one of the wealthiest young women in America. Brenda's father, the late Frank Duff Frazier, prominent stockbroker, had left a provision in his well specifying that if Brenda still lived with her mother upon reaching 21, the money would go instead to his alma mater, Yale University, but that provision was defeated when Brenda's mother, Mrs. Frederic N. Watriss, convinced the court to appoint her the heiress's legal guardian.

("Don't you know there's a war on??")

(Ramona -- with no cover charge? My kind of show!)

(I recommend the Sinclairs, they have those nice tile roofs.)

(Well now! Coach Freddie pitched four effective innings in Kansas City?? Maybe we haven't seen the last of him! After all, nobody ever called Fitz "big, lazy, and beefy.")

Eighty-six filling station operators reported as being "in clear violation" of rationing laws will be required to appear before public hearings beginning Thursday to show cause why they should not be deprived of further gasoline supplies. The offenders were cited by a corps of volunteer women investigators who made the rounds of 1,039 stations yesterday, checking for compliance with Office of Price Administration regulations. Those cited were found to have sold fuel to women who did not present or possess ration cards.

(Sure, Danny's kind of a dope, but I wouldn't call him an SOB.)

(And what they'll get, will serve them right.)

(Fish in a barrel.)

(Well, I hope we at least get a sidebar article in a few days describing how Marsh has joined the service, become a "dollar a year man," or has been found trussed up at the bottom of a grease pit in the Bronx. We deserve closure, at least.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

And if you're going to completely eradicate commercialized vice, well, Atlantic City is a very good place to start.

"No compulsion, see?" mutters Sally. "But just sayin', y'know, neighbeh t' neighbeh, if y'don't sign up -- well, t'ings c'n happ'n." "What?" says Joe. "Nut'n," replies Sally. "Jus' rehoisin'."

"Hmm. I could swear that dog smells of cordite."

So I guess he wasn't in "Hellzapoppin"

"I'm just a simple private collector!"

And in twenty-five years, that mackerel will be worth a cool 25 cents!

"...but then again..."

"Look, kid, make up your mind, OK? There's a housing shortage!"

"I'm cold, that's all!"

Of course, "hookin' up" in 1942 doesn't mean the same as it does in 2022. Oh, wait, maybe it does.

 

[Fading Fast]

...

(Ramona -- with no cover charge? My kind of show!)
...

It's going to be fun to watch "Edge of Darkness," which is just beginning production, move toward the big screen.

I continue to marvel at the incredible selection of quality pictures available to a 1942 audience.

Sally and Joe need to see "Saboteur," as so much takes place in NYC, including (I think) a scene at the Brooklyn Naval Yard.

...


(Well now! Coach Freddie pitched four effective innings in Kansas City?? Maybe we haven't seen the last of him! After all, nobody ever called Fitz "big, lazy, and beefy.")
...

That's exciting news about Fitz, but I wonder how it happened as he was "let go" to get the team down to 25, so how was he allowed in the game? Was he quietly added back and someone else dropped? Can that decision be made game day / during the game? I doubt that, right? Also, does he get his old salary back now that he is an active player?

You got to love the skill of the photographer lately. Did the Eagle send out its own photographer to travel with the Dodgers or are those AP (or the equivalent) pics?

And in the Daily News...

And if you're going to completely eradicate commercialized vice, well, Atlantic City is a very good place to start.
...

She's younger, prettier and $3,900,000 (~$70 million in today's dollars) richer, but still, she's no Madeline.

There are two reason why I think prostitution should be legal, but the one that matters is when it's illegal, no one suffers more than the prostitutes. Illegal means it moves underground, because it isn't going away.

...

"...but then again..."
...

"...the Sandhurst mouse..."

...

Of course, "hookin' up" in 1942 doesn't mean the same as it does in 2022. Oh, wait, maybe it does.

Is she/he the one? It really is one of the key decisions a person makes in life that hasn't changed much in thousands of years.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Alas, this game was an unofficial exhibition game, against the Yankees' top farm club, and it was common for non-roster players to appear in such contests. Note that Durocher, who is also off the active list, got in a couple of innings too.

But nevertheless, the fact that Fitz was able to pitch effectively, at least against AAA-level talent, is a good sign that whatever's been wrong with him this year may not be permanent. And with the draft likely to cut a further swath in the pitching staff as we go along, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him get reactivated at some point. Just please, wear a shin guard or something.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("Solly ain't in Awrstralia, izze?" queries Sally. "Nah," says Joe. "He don' even know howta speak Awrstralian." "It's f't'bes'," says Sally.)

A submarine presumed to be Japanese has sunk an American merchantman off the northern Pacific Coast of the United States. Senator Homer T. Bone stated today that a ship was torpedoed off Neah Bay, at the extreme northwest tip of the state of Washington, and it was presumed to be the same vessel. Fifty-three survivors of the merchantman were reported landed at an unnamed West Coast port.

Former Police Inspector John Reddan's efforts to pin a charge of willful neglect of duty against Assistant Attorney General John H. Amen were balked again today when Acting District Attorney Thomas Craddock Hughes refused to institute contempt proceedings against grand jurors who were subpoenaed in Bay Ridge Court last week and refused to testify. Mr. Hughes told the Eagle that Reddan's attorney Robert H. Elder "asked this office to take action, but presented nothing that would entitle him to take action by this office." Reddan was one of the police officers named in presentments by the Amen Grand Jury, in connection with the Amen Office investigation of the police-gambling tie-up, but had retired from the force in 1941 and was "no longer amenable to disciplinary proceedings."

(A "perfect example of the Herrenvolk." Yep, that about says it.)

("Oh, and what the hell is going on with Dan Dunn???")

Reader "Old Timer" writes in to deplore the recent proposal in Washington to dissolve the Civilian Conservation Corps, and calls instead for a campaign to make the organization and its wholesome camps a permanent part of American life. He urges the Government to create enough new CCC camps "so that every schoolboy can enjoy their benefits under supervisors trained to make real sturdy men of them."

(See Page One.)

(Dahlgren, you may recall, is the man who replaced Gehrig at first for the Yankees. And that didn't work out too well. And a fascinating discussion on baseball vision by Mr. Parrott, although I do have to suspect that Mr. Waner's eyesight might improve a bit if he stopped trying to see thru the bottom of a shot glass.)

(Soldiers prefer movies with laughs and songs. And suddenly Abbott and Costello are the biggest stars in Hollywood.)

(Me, I'da gone with a left to the jaw and a right to the stomach, but then again, I'm not invisible.)

("A town just boiling over with cats!" That's it, I'm moving to Sunken Heights.)

(Tsk, Leona. You're slipping. That's what you get for not working out before hitting the field.)

("I must tell you of an extremely large fish that got away." Well, at least it kinda sounds like Marsh's dialogue. But shouldn't Irwin be yelling GALLOPIN' GOLDFISH! by now?)

 

[LizzieMaine]

Meanwhile back in Finland, Marshal Mannerheim and Herr Hitler last week enjoyed a friendly visit marking the Marshal's 75th birthday. A recording of their lunchtime chat was made, and remains the only known recording of Hitler speaking in a non-oratorical tone of voice.

And here's what may be the very first mention in the American press of the name of Eva Braun.

Stop smirking, Sandy, you'll give the game away.

"And what a dog of a play it was! Only show I was ever in that closed before the second act!"

So now we're back to "Handsome One." Guess who's back in the catbird seat.

What's the rap for "receiving stolen property?"

There's always Parcel Post.

"And remember, if they call you a 'yardbird,' it's a compliment."

Poor Moon. He really did want to see the dinosaurs.

Run for it, kid. But first, get rid of those shoes.

 

[Fading Fast]

("Solly ain't in Awrstralia, izze?" queries Sally. "Nah," says Joe. "He don' even know howta speak Awrstralian." "It's f't'bes'," says Sally.)
...

The Japanese were correct in reporting that they lost one carrier at midway and 35 planes; they just neglected to mention that they also lost three more carriers and over a hundred more planes.

"...a female curfew at midnight...would keep 'undesirable' women off the streets and eliminate the 'shameful behavior of girls roaming the streets throwing themselves on soldiers,." I think we now know where Senga is. It's nice to know the kid's okay.

...

(Dahlgren, you may recall, is the man who replaced Gehrig at first for the Yankees. And that didn't work out too well. And a fascinating discussion on baseball vision by Mr. Parrott, although I do have to suspect that Mr. Waner's eyesight might improve a bit if he stopped trying to see thru the bottom of a shot glass.)
...

That Parrott can produce his, usually, very good column several time a week is pretty impressive.

Meanwhile back in Finland, Marshal Mannerheim and Herr Hitler last week enjoyed a friendly visit marking the Marshal's 75th birthday. A recording of their lunchtime chat was made, and remains the only known recording of Hitler speaking in a non-oratorical tone of voice.
...

That fingerprint surgery sounds awful. Is it really worth it? Is it that hard to make an honest living? If these guys put half that effort into legitimate work, they'd do fine.

...

So now we're back to "Handsome One." Guess who's back in the catbird seat.
...

And today's she's "The Weeping Mouse."

...

There's always Parcel Post.
...

Well done illustration. I've been up on many a rooftop that looks just like that and with that same view (with some modern skyscrapers mixed in).

 

[LizzieMaine]

(And by "1942," we mean to say "1944." Sorry for any inconvenience. Oh, and it really does feel like Mr. Amen is wrapping things up so he can get into uniform and not let O'Dwyer show him up.)

Military and naval authorities, scoffing at Japanese claims of landings on the Aleutian Islands, predicted today that Japan will attempt further hit-and-run raids in the Alaskan area. Those sources indicated that all is quiet in that area at the present time, but it is said that they are not ruling out the possibility of additional strikes similar to that which occurred at Dutch Harbor a week ago.

Chinese troops aided by guerillas are striking along the entire length of the Chekiang front, where three strong Japanese columns are driving east and southeast from Manchang, attempting to seize full control of the Chekiang-Kiangst Railroad. Although the situation reported in a military communique was admittedly grave, the Chinese forces are said to be slashing at enemy lines and garrisons in a desperate attempt to slow down the Japanese drive and prevent an outflanking of the Chinese positions along the railroad.

The Appellate Division today reserved judgement in the suit filed by Paul Kern demanding that Mayor LaGuardia reinstate him to his former position as president of the Municipal Civil Service Commission. Attorney Stanley Kreutzer, representing Mr. Kern stated in a ninety-minute argument yesterday that Kern's ouster was "willfull, unwarranted, and illegal," and will result in the destruction of "every vestige of independence of Civil Service."

In Newark, New Jersey, the State Board of Public Utility Commissioners ruled today that "insufficient supervision of the railroad" was responsible for the Hudson and Manhattan tube wreck on April 26th, in which five persons were killed. "The system of supervision is so inefficient," reported the Board, "that a drunken motorman would not be prevented with any degree of certainty from operating a train." The report also recommended a reorganization of the railroad's administrative management, noting that railroad president C.S. Klumpp, head of that management, has been indisposed by illness since last November, without adequate replacement.

(Hey, Mr. Amen -- when you do leave, here's a potential replacement!)

The government of Vichy France today banned Jews from the practice of the "lyrical arts," prohibiting Jewish persons from performing as actors or in other employment in connection with "theatrical or cinematographic spectacles," or from singing or performing on musical instruments before audiences. Another restriction announced today virtually closed the practice of dentistry to Jews, stating that the number of Jewish dentists "cannot exceed 2 percent of practicing non-Jews in the profession."

The "Black Phantom," arrested Sunday in the Bronx park on robbery charges, today confessed to two recent holdups in that area. Edwin Dennis, "a giant Harlem Negro," told police he was influenced by "macabre detective story magazines" in donning a bizarre costume to commit robberies. Dennis, who was released from Bellevue Hospital to the police lineup early today, had previously been held at Pilgrim State Hospital prior to his release a year ago.

(1942 America is "insignia minded." "But," says Sally, "I ain'aboutta change stockin's ev'y time I go inside a' outside." "What if," says Joe, "ya weah one white stockin', an' one' noot'ral stockin'? Annen stan' facin' whicheveh side when ya inside a' outside?" "Hey," blinks Sally with some small astonishment. "'At jus' might woik!")

(Kids today, mooching off the folks. And please keep Mr. Bungle away from those cats.)

(Well, at least they aren't allowed to advertise.)

Scientific research has proven that mothers smoking cigarettes during pregnancy and while nursing causes babies to develop a "tolerance for nicotine," but, a report presented by Dr. H. Harris Perlman to a conference of the American Medical Association in Atlantic City asserts that this is "not harmful" to the infants.

(Dr. Perlman, of the Philadelphia Pediatric Society, is something of a controversial figure in medical circles. He made headlines in 1937 advising that lollipops are a nutritious food that should be given to children when they have colds. I hope we get a response from Doc Brady.)

("Unmentionable weather." And speaking of Randall's Island Stadium, that's where, eighteen years from now, the light towers from Ebbets Field will be taken to live out their days following certain unmentionable events.)

Superman will appear in person five days a week over WOR starting in August. The great guy has thrilled the moppets over the station by electrical transcription for the past two years, but beginning in August, there will be a real he-man before the microphone every weekday afternoon at 5:30. Studio secret agents inform us that this personality carries a paid-up AFRA card made out to one "Bud Collyer," but we won't believe it until we hear his actual booming voice.

(Three papers must be pretty desperate.)

(Meow.)

(Hey, what do you hear from Louie Bonelli?)

(The man who --- knows what happened to Norman Marsh??)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

"A railroad signalman who got his signals mixed and ended up in Virginia's bedroom."

Always nice to catch up with old friends. Whattaya hear from Charlie McCarthy?

"Migawd, what I have I invited into my home???"

Sheesh. Give the kid $35 a week, and he starts living the high life. What's next, a manicure?

"Well now, let's not be hasty..."

Little early for the harvest, isn't it?

Oh, bicker bicker bicker. Time for Hu Shee to swoop in and knock both your heads together.

Well that took a dark turn...

Yeah, but remember what happened to Romeo and Juliet in the end. I'm sure Mr. Gould does.

C'mon, at least "fumble for the check." Otherwise, where's the satisfaction?

 

[Fading Fast]

(And by "1942," we mean to say "1944." Sorry for any inconvenience. Oh, and it really does feel like Mr. Amen is wrapping things up so he can get into uniform and not let O'Dwyer show him up.)
...

An earthquake in Reno! Oh my God, we could lose half of our Page Four wives and half the actresses in Hollywood in a flash.

...

The Appellate Division today reserved judgement in the suit filed by Paul Kern demanding that Mayor LaGuardia reinstate him to his former position as president of the Municipal Civil Service Commission. Attorney Stanley Kreutzer, representing Mr. Kern stated in a ninety-minute argument yesterday that Kern's ouster was "willfull, unwarranted, and illegal," and will result in the destruction of "every vestige of independence of Civil Service."
...

Kern wasn't an easy one to like, but he's probably being punished for telling the truth about the Antique Belgian Courtyard as a lesson to any future whistleblower wannabes. That was the clearest case of pure government/political corruption and coverup - amazingly, all done in the open - that we've seen.

...


("Unmentionable weather." And speaking of Randall's Island Stadium, that's where, eighteen years from now, the light towers from Ebbets Field will be taken to live out their days following certain unmentionable events.)
...

Today, Icahn stadium, named for large donor Carl Icahn, sits on the site. I wonder what happened to the light towers? If you take a cab in from LaGuardia or Kennedy airports and come via the Triboro bridge, you'll pass right by it.

...

(Three papers must be pretty desperate.)
...

Some are clearly still kicking, but newspapers have, essentially, been a business in retreat since the advent of radio. It's pretty amazing.

...

(Hey, what do you hear from Louie Bonelli?)
...

I'm suddenly losing interest in the pirate outfit.

...


Always nice to catch up with old friends. Whattaya hear from Charlie McCarthy?
...

At least nobody had to dodge an earthquake in Reno.

...

Oh, bicker bicker bicker. Time for Hu Shee to swoop in and knock both your heads together.
...

"...that mewing kitten"

...

Well that took a dark turn...
...

It would have been easier and safer to just keep threatening to stop paying the brother's hospital bills.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Wikipedia claims that the Ebbets Field light towers were left in place when Icahn Stadium was built, but looking at the pictures they don't look the same at all. The Ebbets towers were very distinctive triangular lattice frameworks that stood on the roof, whereas the ones shown at the current Icahn Stadium are tall free-standing structures that look like radio towers. Unless they reused the old metal beams or the original lighting bowls to build the new towers, I don't think they're the same.

"I bet this would make a great punchbowl for the office party."

 

[LizzieMaine]

(Speaking of the lights at Ebbets Field. Does this mean we can have the All Star Game back???)

Allied General Staffs are in contact on the vital question of opening a second front in Europe during 1942, it was understood today. Only a few men in Washington, London, and Moscow understand, however, when the blow will fall under agreements reached by the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. London and Moscow report that the British and Russian "man in the street" interpret the announcement this week in the same way as his counterpart in the USA, in assuming that it means exactly what it says -- that an actual land fighting front will be in operation in Western Europe this summer following an invasion of the Continent. But more conservative quarters, understanding the scope required by such an attack, suggest that the formation of such a front immediately would be impossible, and that it is more likely that action this year will be limited to bombing attacks of growing ferocity and Commando-like raids in an increasing scale along 2000 miles of the Atlantic coast.

The besieged and outnumbered forces of Sevastopol, counterattacking under terrific aerial bombardment, have driven the Germans back at several points after inflicting 60,000 casualties on the enemy over the past three days. The official Red Army newspaper Red Star acknowledged, however, that the situation at the long-besieged Black Sea naval base and port of the Crimea remains "exceptionally grave."

Motorists in the eastern states will be permitted to purchase double allotments of gasoline on their ration cards over the last two weeks of June -- but it will have to last thru July 15th, when the new permanent rationing program goes into effect. The change was ordered by the Office of Price Administration when it became clear that more time will be required to train registrars and members of ration boards in the administration of the new coupon-based gasoline rationing system, and that implementation of the new program on July 1st, as originally announced, would not be feasible. The increased allotment will allow A card holders to purchase six gallons of gasoline per week thru the end of June, instead of the previous three-gallon ration.

Meanwhile, hearings continue today before OPA officials at the Empire State Building in cases of garage and gasoline station operators charged with violating ration regulations by selling fuel to persons not presenting ration cards. Out of eighty-six summoned to testify yesterday, twenty-six confessed to violating the rationing regulations. Penalties involving revocation of the privilege of receiving new gasoline supplies for various numbers of days will be announced once approval of the penalties is received from Washington. As the hearings continue, the Eastern States Retail Dealers Conference condemned the methods used by the OPA in investigating gasoline retailers. Attorney Sol Herzog, counsel for the organization, criticized "the use of private citizens as lures, particularly women, who were used for entrapment purposes."

(A crooked cop? In Brownsville? You don't mean to tell me!)

(Ew.)

(Jean Sablon! Give our regards to Marion Talley!)

The Eagle Editorialist commends the Brooklyn Union Gas Company for bringing Man's Best Friend to the job of protecting the gas works against sabotage. A corps of German Shepherd dogs will patrol the company's plants alongside the regular watchmen, and "anyone who has seen one of these dogs in attack will realize that the prowler is in a most unenviable position.

(Yeah, but we need a better name than "German Shepherd." How about FACE EATING DOG! FACE EATING DOG! FACE EATING DOG!)

War Is Heck.

("Are you a Bill Terry man?" Ahhhhh, Brooklyn justice.)

(Physician, heal thyself!)

(Well, you ASKED for it!)

(I do love a good chess game.)

(Well, at least Irwin hasn't changed.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News....

No words.

But when you sign up for Civilian Defense, do remember to put your clothes on.

"Hey, if I don't tell PUNJAB what I'm up to, what makes you think I'm gonna tell YOU?"

Well, don't throw it in the river, that fool kid of yours will just drag it out again.

Mr. Clark seems to be spending a lot of time on rooftops these days. Everything all right?

"Yes, I'm here to criticize this performance we just saw."

"Maneuvering for domination is a waste of time, when I'm the one with my own army."

Sad walrus isn't sad.

**snif, sincerely**

Hey kids, comics.

 

[Fading Fast]

...

Meanwhile, hearings continue today before OPA officials at the Empire State Building in cases of garage and gasoline station operators charged with violating ration regulations by selling fuel to persons not presenting ration cards. Out of eighty-six summoned to testify yesterday, twenty-six confessed to violating the rationing regulations. Penalties involving revocation of the privilege of receiving new gasoline supplies for various numbers of days will be announced once approval of the penalties is received from Washington. As the hearings continue, the Eastern States Retail Dealers Conference condemned the methods used by the OPA in investigating gasoline retailers. Attorney Sol Herzog, counsel for the organization, criticized "the use of private citizens as lures, particularly women, who were used for entrapment purposes."
...

"...the use of private citizens as lures, particularly women, who were used for entrapment purposes."

Are we still talking about gas rationing?

...


(Ew.)
...

The only thing worse than where this story is now, is where we all know it is going.

...

The Eagle Editorialist commends the Brooklyn Union Gas Company for bringing Man's Best Friend to the job of protecting the gas works against sabotage. A corps of German Shepherd dogs will patrol the company's plants alongside the regular watchmen, and "anyone who has seen one of these dogs in attack will realize that the prowler is in a most unenviable position.

(Yeah, but we need a better name than "German Shepherd." How about FACE EATING DOG! FACE EATING DOG! FACE EATING DOG!)
...

"You realize we don't have enough money to get her private session with the counselor? So I ask you again, do you think her outburst was really threatening or was it more like, umm, I got it, 'enthusiastic patriotism' as she was excited that the plant was being protected against sabotage? That latter would make this all go away and you know I will keep your exemplary record in mind as I make assignments for next year"

[Dejectedly] "It was 'enthusiastic patriotism'."

"Good. Now go back to your classroom."

"She better not be in my classroom next year."

"She won't be."

...


("Are you a Bill Terry man?" Ahhhhh, Brooklyn justice.)
...

"Poor man's Carnegie Hall." Perfect.

And in the Daily News...

.


No words.
...

Thankfully, I read the hilarious "zipper" story first. If "a blue housecoat with a zipper up the front," does it, then Leona, Burma, et al. are trying too hard. Plus, how the heck did she juggle all these men?

Even when you think you are numb to the newspaper, the drowning story sadly proves you uwrong.

...

But when you sign up for Civilian Defense, do remember to put your clothes on.
...

Although, not necessary if your area of patrol is Valley Stream State Park.

...

Well, don't throw it in the river, that fool kid of yours will just drag it out again.
...

Ah, the irony, after that long storyline where Andy tried everything to get his hands on the big jewel, now to be stuck trying to figure out how to get rid of a chest full of them. Can't these two just move in with Bim and become his dependents - life is just too much for them on their own.

...


Mr. Clark seems to be spending a lot of time on rooftops these days. Everything all right?
...

He's definitely been inspired by them lately. This one today seems to be a riff on what I think is one of the most-impressive pre-war apartment houses built in the city, River House ⇩. And his punchline is spot on as, despite living right on a river with beautiful views, the majority of River House apartment owners also own places on some shoreline, somewhere that they go to in the summer.

...

**snif, sincerely**
...

Just pointing out that Nina's new do makes her look kinda like Ms. Snipe, which should probably work for Skeeziz, at least until Tops comes sniffing around.

...

Hey kids, comics.

This is stunningly viscerally violent and abusive in a way that is much-more real than "Dick Tracy" and the other comics almost ever are.