The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

Oh, and...

War is Hell.

 

[Fading Fast]

(A day of momentous developments. And if this elephant business isn't enough to convince Harry J. Tuthill to forego retirement and take up his pencil once more, then I just don't know what could.)
...

We, of course, knew the news was coming, but Rickenbacker being found alive had to be incredible news in '42.

LaGuardia is going to find that, despite his initial success, he's playing a losing game a whac-a-mole.

...

("And get those moldy oranges out of my refrigerator!")
...

Depending on your view of the origins of the coronavirus, this one could work in 2022.

...

A 49-year-old fancy figure skater who dazzed spectators with his figure-eights at the rink on the old World's Fair grounds will serve an eight-year sentence in Federal prison on a counterfeiting charge. Treasury agents arrested Edward Wellman two weeks ago at the Flushing Meadow rink after tracking him from Florida, where he had jumped bail on a six-count counterfieting indictment in 1941. In a search of Wellman's Manhattan apartment agents found over 900 counterfeit half-dollar coins. U. S. Attorney Martin Klein described Wellman yesterday in Manhattan Federal Court as "the cleverest coin counterfeiter in the United States."
...

He might be the only person in history to have a combined figure-skater and counterfeiter resume, not that there's probably much demand for one person to have those two skills.

...

(They'll find something to do. For the first couple of minutes, anyway.)
...

If they've truly waited, they should be able to rock-n-roll off and on for two weeks before they'll even care that they are locked in a room. Not allowing a radio and magazines is bad faith with the deal. Assuming some modest employment, they'd be able to buy magazines and a used radio at least.

...

(Well, at least he found his cigarette.)
...

"...and his fat pal..."

"Honey, I don't like this new writer of 'Dan Dunn'."
"Fitz dear, I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you with the water running in the sink. What did you say, was it about the new manager job?"

And in the Daily News...

"Gypsy Markoff, the muy caliente accordionist?" Quick, sign her up for Broadway while you still can.
...

You could tell yesterday there were plenty of fireworks still to come in this story and it ain't over yet.

...

YOU SHOT A DOG? HEY WHERE"S SANDY????
...

"Thank you for asking, but I'm fine. I wasn't in today's strip because I was busy doing war relief work."

"Sandy, the dog-groomer just called and asked where he should send the bill for today's all-day session which, apparently, included "an aromatic bath and tantric paw massage'."
"Shut up!"

...

What is it, National Stereotype Day or something? Meanwhile, the least they could have done is given Super Secret Agent Teen a private compartment.

No kidding, James Bond always gets one.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(And don't stop with the trolleys -- let's bring back the Fulton Street L!)

Desert reports tonight stated that Marshal Erwin Rommel is accelerating the pace of his westward retreat and has already pushed the main remnants of his forces well past Derna, nearly 500 miles from the Alamein battle ground, in a headlong race for El Haghelia on the Gulf of Sirte, where he may make a stand. British and American air squadrons are being pushed to the utmost to advance their forces rapidly enough to keep Rommel's men under the constant bombardment of high explosives which has followed their retreat from the El Alamein line in Egypt. Front line correspondents state that Rommel is now retreating so rapidly that he has broken off any rear guard actions against the advancing spearheads of the Imperial Eighth Army.

Marshal Henri Petain, apparently resigned to full Axis domination of France today ordered Admiral Jean Darlan, now in Algiers, to "defend North Africa from American aggression." Reports over the Vichy radio stated that it was Darlan who ordered the "capitulation of French North African forces to the Americans," and asserted that the Admiral has been cooperating with the American command since that capitulation took place. The broadcast report stated that Petain wired Admiral Darlan reprimanding him for "violation of my orders," and commanded that he take no action "in defiance of the Axis forces and not to add to the misfortunes of the Fatherland."

Lancaster and Stirling bombers of the R. A. F. today again pounded Italian industrial and supply centers at Genoa, returning to their bases without any loss after raids ranging over 1200 miles of enemy-occupied territory. Direct hits were scored on one of the primary targets, the Ansaldo plant, which manufactures warship engines, naval and land armaments. Large numbers of 4000 and 1000 pound bombs were used in the attack and left large fires raging in the attack zone.

Girls as young as 16 will now be permitted to work in war plants. An order yesterday by Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins reduced the minimum age for war plant employment for women from 18 to 16, in compliance with a request from the War and Navy Departments. The adjustment restricts workers under 18 to no more than eight hours per day, prohibits labor by 16 and 17 year olds between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am, and bars any employment in any occupation deemed hazardous or dangerous under state law or the Fair Labor Standards Act. It was stressed that no provision on hours of employment will supersede stricter regulations under any existing state law.

("All the time I tell him to take his suntan lotion! The big hero! The big war ace! Mr. Medal of Honor! Every time he goes out he burns like a cheap rib roast! But does he listen? I ASK YA!")

At Public School No. 106 in Bushwick, something new has been added -- a dental clinic, right in the school building. And wonder of wonders, the little children actually like going to the dentist, because they helped prepare the clinic itself. Pupils up to the age of ten, from first grade thru 6-B, worked alongside the builders in getting the room ready for use, doing most of the paint work themselves as the construction men built a new wall partitioning an unused classroom into a waiting room and an examination room. And now the clinic is ready for operation and children who may never before have seen a dentist are now able to have their teeth examined. A dentist will be on duty every morning when school is in session, and a hygenist will be available every afternoon after classes. The Mothers' Club of PS 106 helped raised the funds to build the clinic, and other schools in the district helped raise the $1530 to provide the necessary equiment. Although the clinic is already open for business, a formal dedication ceremony, during which some of the children themselves will speak, will be held next Thursday afternoon at 3 pm.

The American Legion in Brooklyn is now accepting applications for membership from veterans of World War II who have been honorably discharged from the service due to wounds received in action. Both men and women are eligible to apply, under a mandate issued by National Legion Headquarters in Kansas City. It is understood that once the war is over, the privilege of membership will be open to any man or woman who honorably served in uniform.

Draft boards across Queens are facing the inevitability of drafting married men, with the supply of unmarried men suitable for service having been essentially exhausted across the entire borough. It is indicated that even the addition of teenage selectees will be insufficient to prevent the wholesale induction of married men. In Forest Hills, draft officials note that nearly half of all men aged 18 and 19 have already enlisted ahead of the draft, and nearly the entire December quota is expected to be made up of childless married men, most of them men with working wives.

("Izzat Helen Woit'? F'real?" wonders Joe. "I awrways figgehed she was some bawld guy f'm Bay Ridge!" "Ya too cynical," shrugs Sally. "What's cynical?" queries Joe, his eyes narrowing. "It means," replies Sally, "ya t'ink ev'ybody's really some bawld guy f'm Bay Ridge!")

(NO to Hartnett as manager. FITZ OR BUST. And that chart of stolen base leaders is a fascinating look at the decline of the running game since the end of the Dead Ball era. Wonder if that'll ever change?)

Our favorite Old Timer John P. Pfalzgraff continues his reminiscences of the wit and humor rampant in the old days in the Tenth Ward with a recollection of "an old Irishwoman, 96 years old when I first met her," who gave out with her blarney first in Irish-accented English and then would tell the same story again in pure Gaelic, "giving us a double laugh." Wit and the Irish are interchangeable terms, he declares, but he hastens to add that the stories he heard in those days were "seldom" off color.

The production of newsprint paper in the United States was down by more than 50,000 tons during the month of October over the same month in 1941, with output for the first ten months of 1942 down by about 5 and a half percent over 1941 levels. Both US and Canadian paper mills shipped out more newsprint than they produced during October, indicating something must soon be done to reduce demand if there are not to be paper shortages in 1943.

You know Lew Lehr as the eye-crossing mustachioed comedian whose segments in the Fox Movietone News often include the observation that "monkeys is the cwaziest peoples," but did you know Lew owes his success to his service in the First World War? Then-Sergeant Lehr grew his Kaiser Bill moustache on a dare from his company buddies, and when he saw the result, he realized that in order to live up to his new lip adornment, he'd have to become a dialect comic. After the war he did just that, touring with his wife as the team of Lehr and Belle before finding his way into the movies. They're still a team, though no longer on stage -- living happily in the Kings Point section of Great Neck, where Lew is busy in servicemens' clubs and bond drives. As for monkeys, Lehr has a strong defense for them after all: "Monkeys don't have to pay to get into the zoo!"

A new television station will go on the air from Manhattan tomorrow on a daily schedule from 3 to 9 pm. Station W75NY, operating on the 47.5 megacycle channel, is owned jointly by the Abraham & Straus and Bloomingdale Brothers department stores, with studios at 654 Madison Avenue and its transmitter atop the Hotel Pierre.

(Wouldn't Red make a good Brooklyn cop?)

("For the last time, children, we can't 'cannonball it.' Oh, all right, just once.")

(That's a very lovingly-drawn whiskey label, Mr. Stamm. Something you want to tell us?)

("That's right, Phil. I've been meaning to tell you for ages, but it just never seemed to be the right time...")

(Actually, I still have nightmares about something like this happening to me on the air. And really, Mr. Pinson, what did Irwin ever do to you to make you hate him so?)

(I do hope Howard W. Frick of Marion, Illinois remembered to swab out that cornet before putting it away.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

"Hey Rickenbacker, how may barnacles did YOU eat?"

Remember when they used to throw big block parties, and the whole neighborhood turned out to shower the boys with gifts?

Never mind worrying about the police, Prune Face -- now the BELL SYSTEM'S on the case!

Cheer up, kid.

"Page Four again, huh?"

Check and mate.

War is hell.

Goofy'll be drafted soon, unfortunately.

"HOW DARE YOU DIE!"

Now wait a minute. Where did you get a real hair off HIS head?

 

[LizzieMaine]

And as a Sunday News bonus, the results of a hard-hitting investigation into a current issue of pressing import....

"Now just a minute!" sputters Gypsy. "SHE gets a picture and *I* don't?" "But our chorus girls," harumphs Bobby Clark, wagging his cane and popping his eyes. "Shut up, pipsqueak," growls Gypsy. "WHERE'S MY PRESS AGENT!"

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oh, and...

"This year, make it a Christmas she'll remember..."

 

[Fading Fast]

...

Marshal Henri Petain, apparently resigned to full Axis domination of France today ordered Admiral Jean Darlan, now in Algiers, to "defend North Africa from American aggression." Reports over the Vichy radio stated that it was Darlan who ordered the "capitulation of French North African forces to the Americans," and asserted that the Admiral has been cooperating with the American command since that capitulation took place. The broadcast report stated that Petain wired Admiral Darlan reprimanding him for "violation of my orders," and commanded that he take no action "in defiance of the Axis forces and not to add to the misfortunes of the Fatherland."
...

This is not a good look for a country.

...

The production of newsprint paper in the United States was down by more than 50,000 tons during the month of October over the same month in 1941, with output for the first ten months of 1942 down by about 5 and a half percent over 1941 levels. Both US and Canadian paper mills shipped out more newsprint than they produced during October, indicating something must soon be done to reduce demand if there are not to be paper shortages in 1943.
...

This is not a small deal. It's like telling this generation that the internet will be shut down for several hours a day soon if we don't get enough electricity. What other way, in '42, could people get in-depth, extensive and real-time news coverage?

...

A new television station will go on the air from Manhattan tomorrow on a daily schedule from 3 to 9 pm. Station W75NY, operating on the 47.5 megacycle channel, is owned jointly by the Abraham & Straus and Bloomingdale Brothers department stores, with studios at 654 Madison Avenue and its transmitter atop the Hotel Pierre.
...

But who will be watching? Also, I get the station being owned by businesses, but it's a bit odd that it's own by two fierce business competitors.

...

("That's right, Phil. I've been meaning to tell you for ages, but it just never seemed to be the right time...")
...

Since we're now told it's all fluid and not to think binary, I believe The Rolling Stones have some advice for Phil.

You say you got a friend, that she's wilder than you/
Why don't you bring her upstairs/
If she's so wild then she can join in too/
It's no hanging matter/
It's no capital crime/
- From Stray Cat Blues

Problem solved.

...

(Actually, I still have nightmares about something like this happening to me on the air. And really, Mr. Pinson, what did Irwin ever do to you to make you hate him so?)
...

The degree of hate he has for Irwin is quite stunning; he is only a comicstrip character after all.

"Excuse me!"

"Sorry, buddy, just trying to make a point."

...


Check and mate.
...

Terry finally scored a victory...in the war anyway.

...

"HOW DARE YOU DIE!"
...

"Herr Schtinker." Wonderful

"I'm not conceding an inch in 1942's smallest-waist-in-a-comicstrip competition." - Cindy

And as a Sunday News bonus, the results of a hard-hitting investigation into a current issue of pressing import....
...

"Now just a minute!" sputters Gypsy. "SHE gets a picture and *I* don't?" "But our chorus girls," harumphs Bobby Clark, wagging his cane and popping his eyes. "Shut up, pipsqueak," growls Gypsy. "WHERE'S MY PRESS AGENT!"

Those women have more 2022 than 1942 bodies, but my guess is if you're going to appear on stage nearly naked, you don't want much jiggling going on (in most places).

Oh, and...

"This year, make it a Christmas she'll remember..."

Look for the Official O.C.D. Stirrup Pump commercial on our new TV channel W75NY (for the three people in the greater NYC area that own a TV).

 

[LizzieMaine]

(How does some random kid from the street rate Former Corrupt District Attorney William F. X. Geoghan as his legal counsel? I ASK YA!)

British forces driving thru Libya have occupied the airdrome at Matruba, 670 miles from the Tunisian border, and are continuing their pursuit of the remnants of German armoed forces, it was reported today in a communique. British Eighth Army forced under General Sir Bernard Montgomery occupied Matruba yesterday, and it was indicated that they must already have reached the key Axis base of Derna, 18 miles to the west, on their way to Benghazi, Tripoli, and Tunisia. Allied bomber and long-range fighter planes kept up a ferocious attack on the German forces all the way from the battle area to Tunisia.

War Manpower Chief Paul V. McNutt today supported charges by Sen. Harry F. Byrd (D-W. Va.) that the Government is wasting manpower, asserting that some Federal agencies are hoarding workers or pirating them from one another. In a statement issued last night, Senator Byrd accused the Government of "recklessly employing" large numbers of "unnecessary workers needed elsewhere in the war effort," and claimed that up to one third of the present 3,000,000 workers in the Federal Civil Service could be dismissed without harming war agencies. In a press conference, McNutt agreed there is "hoarding and pirating" going on, but he declared that efforts to correct these practices are meeting with "some success." The War Manpower Director also reiterated a statement made previously that war workers who are frequently absent from their jobs should have their draft exemptions revoked. Asked if he was calling for a "work or fight" policy, McNutt averred "I don't like cliches, and that is one."

The number of American service personnel killed, wounded, taken prisoner, or reported missing since the entry of the United States into the war now stands at 48,956 according to figures released today by the Office of War Information. The figures do not include the present North African campaign. 17,500 of the missing are American troops left in the Philippines, with another 11,000 reported to be Philippine scouts. 5,694 Americans have been killed in the war so far.

("Remembeh t'at winteh I was shovelin' snow f't' WPA," sighs Joe, his feet comfortably tucked in the oven. "Fois' winteh we was married," nods Sally. "'At was t'yeeah you stawrted doin' t'is heeah," she adds, knocking his feet out of the oven and kicking shut the door. "We ain' gonna have no gas lef' y'keep doin'nat." "Wawr is hell," sighs Joe.)

Brooklyn's famous veteran of the Civil War celebrates his 100th birthday tomorrow. Robert G. Summers is not as spry as he used to be, by his own admission, but he plans to mark the milestone as the guest of honor at a Masonic ceremony at Acanthus Lodge No. 719, in the Aurora Grata Cathedral, Bedford Avenue and Madison Street. Mr. Summers has been a Mason for 73 years, and a member of Acanthus Lodge since 1893. Mr. Summers, who served in the Union Army as a corporal in Company H of the 139th New York Volunteers, lives in a second-floor apartment in a brownstone building at 36 Herkimer Street, where his living room is filled with mementoes of past glories, including oil portraits of himself and of General Grant. He relaxes by playing the pump organ and enjoys the occasional cigarette smoked thru a holder, and keeps fit, he says, by regular calisthenic exercises. He is the last survivor of Grant Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and until recently could always be found marching proudly, in his G. A. R. uniform, in Brooklyn's Memorial Day parade.

("There has never been a play on that subject before." No, I guess there hasn't.)

(It's going to be a long winter.)

("They're Like Phils -- On Ice!" NOW IS THAT NICE?)

Erasmus Hall High School overcame the major obstacle on its path to a second consecutive schoolboy football season on Saturday, defeating Boys High 12-6. The Buff and Blue have now chalked up six wins in the 1942 season, making a total 12 straight victories over the past two campaigns. Erasmus must now beat Tilden High -- which has yet to win a game this year -- in order to achieve the two-year unbeaten milestone. Meanwhile, the State Board of Regents is to consider a proposed post-season game between Erasmus and Abraham Lincoln High, which has, itself, just concluded its second unbeaten season. With the Government having encouraged extended high school athletic seasons as a way to encourage physical fitness for the war effort, approval is still needed from the Public School Athletic League to schedule any additional games beyond the regular season.

The dignified moderator of "America's Town Meeting Of The Air," George V. Denny shed a bit of that dignity when he appeared as a guest end man on the Yankee Doodle Minstrels program over WJZ Sunday night. Mr. Denny can now be heard in a special WMCA broadcast of the "Town Meeting" on Monday mornings, when, it is assumed, he will not ask his guests "who was that lady I saw you with last night?"

(It's all the control room's fault -- they should have cut Polly off and gone to a standby organ solo as soon as she started to scramble.)

("OK, so what do we do the rest of the night?")

("IT'S A CODE DAN -- THE NUMBER OF ROLLS MULTIPLIED BY THE NUMBER OF BRISTLES ON THE BRUSH TOTALS THE TAKE FOR EACH DAY CAN'T YOU SEE IT'S ALL RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU" "Shut up, Irwin, you're stupid and nobody likes you.")

(SOMEBODY REPORT THIS CROOK TO THE BOARD OF VETERINARY MEDICINE)

("Miss Glory?" Is that the name she works under at the Club Buccaneer?)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Hollywood, Land of Dreams.

SORRY HELMET SOLD SEPARATELY

Hey Doc, maybe you should get together with Frizzletop.

KIDS TODAY ARE SO PAMPERED

How are you at working a punch press?

Hope she brought along something to keep busy.

Well, to be fair, when a chorus girl was "cooking with gas" it usually meant something else.

CLOSE THE DAMPER STUPID

Never mind Broadway, Commissioner Moss -- look what's going on in the comics!

Fish in a barrel.

 

[Fading Fast]

(How does some random kid from the street rate Former Corrupt District Attorney William F. X. Geoghan as his legal counsel? I ASK YA!)
...

That is odd. Either there is some secret money behind the boy from somewhere (which I doubt) or Geoghan sees a career advantage to taking this case.

While the boys dropped the Zoot Suits, at least they didn't show up sporting pigtails.

...

Erasmus Hall High School overcame the major obstacle on its path to a second consecutive schoolboy football season on Saturday, defeating Boys High 12-6. The Buff and Blue have now chalked up six wins in the 1942 season, making a total 12 straight victories over the past two campaigns. Erasmus must now beat Tilden High -- which has yet to win a game this year -- in order to achieve the two-year unbeaten milestone. Meanwhile, the State Board of Regents is to consider a proposed post-season game between Erasmus and Abraham Lincoln High, which has, itself, just concluded its second unbeaten season. With the Government having encouraged extended high school athletic seasons as a way to encourage physical fitness for the war effort, approval is still needed from the Public School Athletic League to schedule any additional games beyond the regular season.
...

I'm surprised we never hear anything from Sally about this. You'd think she'd be pretty pumped up with pride. That said, being the general manager of the Dodgers, while looking after Leonora and running the house does keep her busy.

...

("Miss Glory?" Is that the name she works under at the Club Buccaneer?)

I believe we started with the launch of the strip, but I still feel like I came in the middle of the story as I don't really understand what's going on.

You know, tucked away in a trunk in the attic of the Governor's mansion is a Club Buccaneer costume.

...

SORRY HELMET SOLD SEPARATELY
...

*ONE FREE PLUSH BO DOG INCLUDED WITH A PURCHASE OF TWO OR MORE SWEATSHIRTS

"Heh-heh"

"Good to see you're not jealous."
"I could get one and pee on it."
"Do you even hear yourself?"

...,

Never mind Broadway, Commissioner Moss -- look what's going on in the comics!
...

If they plan to take their career farther than this town, they are going to have to come up with a more appealing name than "The Slither Sisters."

...

Fish in a barrel.

It would have been easier and cheaper to have just mailed the plans directly to Hitler.

 

[PrivateEye]

I believe we started with the launch of the strip, but I still feel like I came in the middle of the story as I don't really understand what's going on.

More importantly, I can't seem to care...


It's hard to imagine a time my BC Eagles were considered the best in the country. Hard times have befallen them in recent years, the move to the ACC really put them out of their league.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Hughie needs to wrap up this sub-Dead End Kids plot and get on with tailing some Nazi spies. C'mon, Dale, it's 1942 not 1937.

The Slither Sisters don't have a chance on Broadway, but in 2022 they'll fit right in as a neo-punk act.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(Just a hall monitor doing his job.)

Admiral Jean Francois Darlan, former Vichy collaborationist, whose position as French leader in North Africa has aroused the bitter opposition of the Fighting French was denounced today in the British House of Commons as a "Quisling." "Whatever debate is flaring behind the scenes," declared Liberal Nationalist Edgar L. Granville to the Commons, "the view of a large number of people in Britain is that Darlan must go." As the debate in Parliament flared up, the British press published a statement that the United States Government is expected to issue a statement shortly "clarifying the North African situation and Darlan's status." Deputy Prime Minister Clement Atlee responded to Granville's remarks by stressing that U. S. Lt. General Dwight D. Eisenhower's present conferences with Darlan involve "the present military situation" only, and further comment is not possible at this time. Meanwhile, denunciations of Darlan were also heard from the Nazi-controlled Paris press and radio.

The British First Army under the command of Lt. General Kenneth A. N. Anderson, reinforced by fast, hard-hitting American units and French forces was reported ready today on the Algerian frontier for the "grand smash into Tunisia." French and German rifle units met in Tunisia on Sunday, it was reported today, and after an exchange of fire, the Germans withdrew to Tunis. The United States Consul who escaped from Tunis and arrived in Algeria on Tuesday stated that Germany should be expected to fight only defensively, in an effort to hold major ports and harbor facilities in an attempt to aid Marshal Erwin Rommel, whose shredded Afrika Corps may soon be trapped between two advancing Allied armies. The Consul also reported that as soon as the French in Tunisia heard that the Allies were approaching they scuttled their own ships and removed all mobile defenses, leaving only fixed defenses to be used by Germany in defending the port.

In White Plains, the 17-year-old boy convicted in the murder of two young girls sneered and smirked at the judge today as he was sentenced to die in the electric chair. Edward Haight of Stanford, Connecticut was convicted on November 6th in the brutal slayings of 7-year-old Margaret Lynch and her 8-year-old sister Helen, of Bedford Village N. Y. on September 14th. The court found Haight to have been sane when he kidnapped, tortured, and killed the two children. Judge Frank H. Coyne sentenced the youth to be electrocuted at Sing Sing Prison the week of December 27th.

A Carroll Gardens detective today pleaded in court on behalf of a 25-year-old peddler whom he arrested on charges of robbery and violation of the Sullivan Law. Detective William Fruin of the Butler Street Station urged Magistrate Nicholas Pinto in Brooklyn Felony Court to help Francis Reilly of 324 Prospect Avenue who was arraigned today for attempting to rob a butcher shop at 76 Nevins Street with what turned out to be a toy pistol. A note found in Reilly's pocket addressed to his wife pleaded for her forgiveness, noting that the family faced eviction from its home with a third child on the way. After hearing Detective Fruin's statement on behalf of the defendant, Magistrate Pinto appointed prominent attorney Leo Healy as Reilly's defense, and summoned a representative of the Home Relief Bureau to confer with a prospective employer for the accused man about what might be done to ease the family's burden. The result was a pledge that Home Relief will provide immediate aid for the Reilly family, and that as soon as Reilly himself is free, he will be given employment at a good wage. Bail was fixed at $500 on the robbery charge, and Reilly was paroled into Healy's custody on the gun charge. Mr. Healy indicated that if Reilly cannot secure the aid of a bail bondsman, he will post the bail himself.

("Wondeh if Mickey's gonna make it home f'T'anksgivin' or not," ponders Sally. "He's prob'ly not used ta gettin' leave," notes Joe. "What?" "Nut'n.")

Declaration of New York City as a "rent control" area with all rents frozen at March 1942 levels is being sought in a petition to Price Administrator Leon Henderson being circulated in Brooklyn by members of the St. Marks' Tenants Association. The petition has the support of the United Tenants Leagues of Greater New York, whose educational and publicity director Mrs. Catharine Masters told a meeting at the Madison Club that when rent control does arrive, "the need for organized, unified efforts among tenants will become greater than ever."

The number of so-called "Pants Bandit" robberies in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens now stands at fifty, all perpetrated without arrest. The most recent such robbery occurred shortly before 9 this morning at a Roulston grocery store at 7223 5th Avenue in Bay Ridge, where two bandits ordered the manager, a clerk, and a man delivering milk to the store to take off their pants in a back room while the robbers rifled the till for $49 in cash. While police were broadcasting an alert for the robbers, the same two robbers struck a second time eleven blocks away, at a Bohack store at 6216 4th Avenue, where the manager and clerk received the pants treatment as the bandits fled with $250 from the till and $20 from the manager's pocket.

A former Follies dancer was fined $2 yesterday in Manhattan for allowing her pet fawn to roam at large in Central Park, where it was caught nuzzling a baby. Miss Beth Pitt defended her pet, declaring that the fawn was only speaking to the child in "the language of kindness."

Thirty-five merchants in the Navy Yard district have banded together to fight "fly by night" operators who specialize in gypping sailors. Calling themselves "a little OPA," the Sands Street merchants meeting at the Navy Yard YMCA last night proposed joint action to enforce neighborhood ceiling prices and to "freeze out" "freelance operators" who collect deposits from sailors for custom-tailored uniforms and equipment which they cannot deliver. The meeting was called in response to complaints to the Navy, the OPA, and the newspapers about "newcomers" to the neighborhood who have been "taking sailors for all they have." The meeting pointed out that many of the participating merchants have been in the uniform and supply business for up to fifty years, and can be trusted to deliver what they promise -- unlike the "fly by night" operators who have only entered the business since Pearl Harbor, and who depend on "propaganda smoke screens" to conceal their unreliability.

(When a Roulston's man loses his pants, at least you know his shorts are clean.)

The Eagle Editorialist declares the recent outbreak of anti-Semitism in Brooklyn "a disgrace," and warns that the borough "cannot afford to accept a place on the sorry roll of shame on which it has been placed" by Commissioner of Investigation William B. Herlands. Brooklyn, according to the Herlands report, has the second-highest number of incidents of malignant anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, pro-Nazi, pro-Fascist acts of violence, vandalism, and sacrilege in the entire city of New York. Twenty-two specific instances are presently under investigation, and every resident of Brooklyn knows that there are far more "cowardly and vicious acts" provoked by "the foul spirit of racial and religious superstition" than have been reported to police. The EE agrees with leading religious spokesmen of all faiths in calling for "full public disclosure and demonstrating that anti-Semitism is a living menace, not only to all Jews, but to all minorities and democracy itself."

(Sorry, occupational deferment clearly applies only to the real, genuine Santa himself, not any of his "helpers." CLASS 1-A!)

Reader "Alert" writes in to recommend that the in addition to patrolling parking lots around racetracks and ballparks, the OPA might set up a night crew to investigate the "nice new whitewall tires" on shiny cars parked outside nightclubs. "A tour of inspection in Flatbush," he declares, "should bring wholesome results," and is especially hopeful that OPA agents will note the big cars leaving nightclubs after midnight "with only two people inside. Share the ride, eh?"

("Outstanding, my boy, simply marvelous," declares Mr. Branch Rickey. "And as a token of my affection, sir, of my true and sincere admiration for all that you have done for baseball in this community, will you please accept this genuine...." "OH NO," bellows Leo. "NO MOOSEHEAD! I DON'T WANT THE MOOSEHEAD.")

(The elevator boy won't smile so big when he realizes that Gabe just flipped him a coat button.)

(I dunno, it's a bit late in the year to pose for a calendar.)

("That'll be easy for Irwin, sir, he wrecks everything he touches...")

(HEY A NEW STORY ABOUT A PLUCKY LITTLE GIRL AND HER BRAVE DOG! THAT'S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE HAS IT? I MEAN NOT DONE *RIGHT.*)

(Well, it's nice to see that Tom and Connie have found work.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Oh deer.

All the world's a stage.

"Dubb killed by lightning, I lose my arm, indeed we are merely the playthings, not of a divine planner, but of a capricious, violent deity whose ways will remain forever inscrutable! Hello, Sandy, who's a good boy!")

"Cheep." Yes, a capricious, violent deity indeed.

("Oh, and be sure to watch out for affectionate fawns.")

Good old billionaire strap-hanger Bim.

"And so far the pickings are pretty slim."

SEE! I'M NOT SO DUMB AFTER ALL!

"Look, Margie," purrs Gypsy. "Here's a new job for you!"

Harold could not possibly be so clever as to disguise top secret plans as a corsage. More likely he picked up the wrong package at the office, and now Mr. Steele is desperately explaining to his wife why she's wearing a sheaf of blueprints to the company dinner.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oh and....

Hockey will never be a major sport in this country until it learns to market its stars.

 

[Fading Fast]

...

A Carroll Gardens detective today pleaded in court on behalf of a 25-year-old peddler whom he arrested on charges of robbery and violation of the Sullivan Law. Detective William Fruin of the Butler Street Station urged Magistrate Nicholas Pinto in Brooklyn Felony Court to help Francis Reilly of 324 Prospect Avenue who was arraigned today for attempting to rob a butcher shop at 76 Nevins Street with what turned out to be a toy pistol. A note found in Reilly's pocket addressed to his wife pleaded for her forgiveness, noting that the family faced eviction from its home with a third child on the way. After hearing Detective Fruin's statement on behalf of the defendant, Magistrate Pinto appointed prominent attorney Leo Healy as Reilly's defense, and summoned a representative of the Home Relief Bureau to confer with a prospective employer for the accused man about what might be done to ease the family's burden. The result was a pledge that Home Relief will provide immediate aid for the Reilly family, and that as soon as Reilly himself is free, he will be given employment at a good wage. Bail was fixed at $500 on the robbery charge, and Reilly was paroled into Healy's custody on the gun charge. Mr. Healy indicated that if Reilly cannot secure the aid of a bail bondsman, he will post the bail himself.
...

Judge Pinto and the Sullivan Law had a busy day in court with toy and real guns (front page).

...

In White Plains, the 17-year-old boy convicted in the murder of two young girls sneered and smirked at the judge today as he was sentenced to die in the electric chair. Edward Haight of Stanford, Connecticut was convicted on November 6th in the brutal slayings of 7-year-old Margaret Lynch and her 8-year-old sister Helen, of Bedford Village N. Y. on September 14th. The court found Haight to have been sane when he kidnapped, tortured, and killed the two children. Judge Frank H. Coyne sentenced the youth to be electrocuted at Sing Sing Prison the week of December 27th.
...

Good.

...

("Wondeh if Mickey's gonna make it home f'T'anksgivin' or not," ponders Sally. "He's prob'ly not used ta gettin' leave," notes Joe. "What?" "Nut'n.")
...

...

(Sorry, occupational deferment clearly applies only to the real, genuine Santa himself, not any of his "helpers." CLASS 1-A!)
...

The movie version won't appear until 1947, but this man taught us not to assume anything about the authenticity of department-store Santas.

...

(Well, it's nice to see that Tom and Connie have found work.)

It's a comicstrip, the words are in English, I recognize the illustrations are of people and I can even tell, at a high level, what, kinda sorta, is going on, but this is a confusing mess of a strip so far.

And in the Daily News...

Oh deer.
...

Good one, Lizzie.

And back to our favorite wanton Pan Am executive:

"You are so much like your sister that I want you."

What?

In recorded history of time, has that line ever worked?

...

SEE! I'M NOT SO DUMB AFTER ALL!
...

Fredo, it's going to take more than one strategically placed SOS to convince us as there are a lot of entries on the other side of the ledger.

 

[PrivateEye]

In White Plains, the 17-year-old boy convicted in the murder of two young girls sneered and smirked at the judge today as he was sentenced to die in the electric chair. Edward Haight of Stanford, Connecticut was convicted on November 6th in the brutal slayings of 7-year-old Margaret Lynch and her 8-year-old sister Helen, of Bedford Village N. Y. on September 14th. The court found Haight to have been sane when he kidnapped, tortured, and killed the two children. Judge Frank H. Coyne sentenced the youth to be electrocuted at Sing Sing Prison the week of December 27th.

The wheels of justice moved at a whole different pace in 1942...but can't get rid of this guy soon enough!

 

[LizzieMaine]

(I have a .32 caliber revolver in my bureau drawer right now, and I can pick it up and tell, at the slightest glance, without even having to open the cylinder, whether or not it's loaded. Sorry kid, NOT BUYING IT.)

President Roosevelt told the country last night that the war has reached its turning point, but warned against premature "exultation." Speaking to the New York Herald Tribune Forum in an address also broadcast by radio, the President acknowledged that "we have had an uphill fight all the way, and it will continue to be uphill, all the way. There can be no coasting to victory." The President particularly cautioned against listening to "war discussions of the uninformed," or to "blustering war critics" who are "actuated by political motives." He pointed out that those not in possession of all the facts must speak based "on guesswork based on information of doubtful accuracy," "Loose talk," he stressed, "is the damp that gets into the powder. We prefer to keep our powder dry."

The British Commander in Chief of Middle East Forces believes that Marshal Erwin Rommel and the fleeing remnants of his Afrika Korps will make a last stand at El Aghelia. General Sir Harold Alexander's forces are presently within 70 miles of Benghazi, and anticipates a final confrontation with Rommel about 180 miles further down the Libyan coast. Gen. Alexander stated his belief that Rommel has only about fifteen tanks left out of an initial force of an estimate 500 at the start of the British invasion.

Your basic mileage ration is now good only for three gallons of gasoline per week, in a 25 percent reduction in use for the East Coast rationing zone, as ordered by the Office of Price Administration. The cut to three gallons a week from four also applies to those sections of New York State, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Florida where rationing is not presently in effect, but will be as of December 1st, but it will not affect A-card rations in other portions of the country where ration is to take effect at the first of the month. It is noted that motorists in the three-gallon zone requiring additional rations for essential purposes may still apply for them.

("What used stockins? I been wearin' 'liquid stockins' f't' pas' yeeah," grumbles Sally. "Send'm a sponge," suggests Joe.)

A forty-year-old man convicted last year of mail fraud was found guilty yesterday of using a recess in that trial to swindle an elderly Williamsburg widow out of her life savings. Joseph Rosenberg was convicted yesterday in Brooklyn Felony Court of defrauding 74-year-old Mrs. Emma D. Voickmann of 111 South 9th Street out of $8150, which included all the cash she had on hand and all she could raise by borrowing additional funds and selling a mortgage, for which "commission" Rosenberg promised, he could find a buyer for oil stock for which she had paid $5000 some years ago. Rosenberg posed as "a former German Army officer" in furtherance of this scheme. Judge Louis Goldstein commended the jury for its verdict, noting that Rosenberg's operations across the United States have been "noted for their audacity."

War Production Chief Donald L. Nelson urged Americans today to work a full day on Thanksgiving, declaring that a full-day's worth of war production would be the best way to show gratitude for the blessings of the past year. "Our enemies," stressed the WPB chairman, "are not going to stop production on November 26th. We dare not do so either."

(This is the time of year when we usually see the local restaurants jousting to offer the best price on Thanksgiving dinner, but those ads have been conspicuously absent this year. Will Namm's be winner by default?)

The Eagle Editorialist says this is no time to be injecting politics into the situation in North Africa, not if negotiations with Admiral Darlan will save American lives. "Everything being done by General Eisenhower is of purely military significance," the EE asserts. "And if he feels that Admiral Darlan can serve our purpose in this crisis, then as an American soldier and patriot there is only one course for him to follow: to make use of Admiral Darlan in every way possible."

(The worm has turned.)

A Manhattan concert violinist plunged to her death yesterday in a likely suicide triggered by a summons issued by employees at Riverside Park for letting her dog run at large. Mrs. Lillian Campbell was found dead on a railroad track at 143rd Street, forty feet below ground level at the park, shortly after she was issued the citation for allowing her Irish terrier Winkie to frisk off his leash in the park, near their home at 600 Riverside Drive. "Please don't give me a citation," pleaded Mrs. Campbell. "I'm a violinist and I have a concert tonight." When the park attendants gave her the summons anyway, she tied Winkie to a tree, proceeded to a stone wall, and either fell or jumped off, landing on the tracks. Police found her evening clothes laid out on the bed in her apartment, but were unable to determine where she was scheduled to perform. The citation carried a fine of $2.

(The most terrifying thing on this page is the admission that four months after hitting that wall, Reiser "still isn't right." Yeah, Leo, but that didn't keep you from playing him! Oh, and Babe Hamberger for manager? Babe Hamberger the guy who paints the box seat railings every spring and carries the beer crates upstairs to the pressroom bar? That Babe Hamberger? Come now, Mr. Parrott. Don't troll the folks.)

(Well, if you're really that serious, you have no time to bother with Dr. Matt Ballard, NOW DO YOU?)

(One Size Fits All.)

(You think so, do you?)

(I suspect Mr. Beck recently had a very bad experience with a veterinarian.)

(Look, Dale, I'm a fan from way back, and I really want you to make good here -- so please tell Herb he needs to explain the characters he already has before he suddenly causes new ones to materialize out of thin air. Just a tip, OK?)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Butch is trying to shovel water. And I realize that Page Four is never known for its refined good taste, but there really is no need to see a picture of that particular defendant in any circumstances whatsoever. Leave such things to the Mirror and the Journal-American.

"Hey," says Joe. "Sump'n f' Leonora f' Chris'mas!" "Yeah," says Sally. "But let's get'm at Namm's. Remember 'at time we was inna city, an' I seen Killgallen comin' outa Bloomin'dales? "Oh yeah," replies Joe. "You really t'ink anybody t'ere would remembeh t'at?" "*I* remembeh t'at," growls Sally. "Little Miss Poifeck w'itta white gloves on an'neh nose inna aieh. LA DE DAH." "Y'didn't hafta trip her," says Joe. "Who says I tripp'teh? She wawrkin wheah I put my foot, t'at's awl."

"MOVE YOUR HAND, GENERAL! Th' folks can't see me!""

Walt is general sales manager for Wicker & Company, a company devoted exclusively to the manufacture of wicker furniture. So yeah, not a growth industry right now.

Either that or he's allergic to pigeon poop.

You know, you can eat at the Automat in complete anonymity.

Wait'll he finds out he's getting Postum.

K, Rouge -- time to skip town. OH WAIT THERE'S NO TOWN LEFT!

Sit a little closer to the stage, wise guy, and you'll get one right in the beezer.

America owes its future security to Outstanding Pullman Service.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oh, and...

Please show your 4-F card in order to purchase.