The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

("Good f't'is Nelson guy," declares Joe, as he pours himself a cup of watery-looking coffee. "Keep'm flyin' kid." "You don' want none'a t'at," says Sally. "It's Sanka. All I c'd get." "Might as well drink Postum," mutters Joe, his fingers fumbling as he drops the cup on the floor. "Well ya don' hafta be like T'AT about it," snaps Sally. "I can't help it if..." Joe makes no reply, but grasps at the edge of the sink, his face going blank. And as Sally gasps in horror, Joe crumples suddenly to the floor...)

Eighteen meat dealers indicted in Newark yesterday on black-marketing charges were described by Price Administrator Prentiss Brown as "the biggest hammer blow we have yet dealt" to the illegal meat trade, even as the Office of Price Administration itself remains the butt of sharp attacks by groups in the food industry, charging that they are being "squeezed out of business." Comprising one spearhead are independent butchers complaining that the new ceiling prices will aggravate their inability to compete against chain stores, with many local supermarkets offering meat well below the new ceilings that go into effect April 15th. Prices charged by independents are generally higher than those incoming ceilings. Patsy D'Agostino, president of the New York State Food Merchants Association, warned that it will be impossible for independent markets to compete against chain outlets selling porterhouse steak for 37 cents a pound, and predicted that "about one third" of the city's retail food dealers will be driven out of business.

War jobs will be open to boys and girls 16 years of age and up, and school pupils may be legally released from school to take up farm work under bills signed into law today by Governor Thomas E. Dewey. The Governor expressly warned, however, that no other relaxation in the laws governing the employment of children under the age of 18 is included in the new law, nor are such further changes contemplated. Approval of the measures is intended, stressed the Governor, to relieve critical labor shortages. The Governor also emphasized that there are restrictions on the type of noncombatant war work for which youths may be used, noting that the bill does not "place children in the factories and the shops."

The president of a Brooklyn department store has been appointed as the new Director of the United States Purchasing Commission in Brazil. Benjamin H. Namm, president of the Namm Store on Fulton Street, will leave for his new post in Rio de Janerio within two weeks.

In Indianapolis, Indiana an eighth-grade boy who appeared in school with a tattoo of a naked dancing girl on his arm has been ordered by a judge to have the figure tattooed over with clothing. Fifteen-year-old Bobbie McDonald amazed his friends by causing the nude figure to "dance" by flexing his forearm muscles, and was brought before the Juvenile Court where he was directed to "put a dress on her."

(Oops.)

A 26-year-old Army private with a proud family tradition of military service and two bachelors' degrees from the Sorbonne appeared in Queens County Court today to face bigamy charges. Pvt. George Van Dreyer, born in Siberia, and not an American citizen, stood stiffly before Judge Joseph M. Conroy and admitted that he married Marie Trefzer of College Point on January 12th, despite the fact that he was also married to Ethel Jean Ten Eyck of East Orange, New Jersey. Both wives sat in the front row of the courtroom as Van Dreyer was arraigned. The soldier was also charged with passing two worthless checks for $25 at a Flushing saloon, and it was noted that he had previously been convicted of Army desertion. Van Dreyer told his story, Judge Conroy held his hands to his temples and swayed on the bench. Van Dreyer's attorney David A. Ticktin stated to the Judge, "I cannot understand this young man." "I can't either," agreed the Judge.

Police are searching today for a 32-year-old singer from Manhattan who disappeared yesterday from her suite at the Hotel Ansonia, only to be found unconscious in Central Park, and then disappeared again after receiving treatment at Roosevelt Hospital. Miss Bernice Lawrence, described as a soprano voice student who had received applause Sunday night for her performance at a Red Cross benefit, lived at the hotel with her teacher, Nadine Aslanoff. She was reported missing early this morning by her brother Elmer, a performer with the Fred Waring orchestra. Miss Lawrence is five feet four inches tall, weighs about 135 pounds, and was last seen wearing a camel's hair coat over a black dress, black shoes, and a scarf.

(Latest craze of 1943 -- "Powers Models." Unless you're in "Mary Worth," that is...)

The Eagle Editorialist salutes Our Dodgers for being "out in front" in all efforts on behalf of the war program. "It is a matter for congratulations that Branch Rickey is proving just as aggressively patriotic as Larry MacPhail, who led the Dodgers at the head of the Organized Baseball procession in all such matters last year." The EE notes that the ball club "hung up a splendid record for patriotic endeavor" in 1942, and all indications are that they will exceed that record in 1943.

(FIRST GUY TO BE DRAFTED FOR FARM WORK)

(Since Sally is preoccupied right now, I'll say it for her -- Herman at third, fine, but WHO'S GONNA PLAY SECOND?? KAMPAHOOZIS? GLOSSOP? HAH!)

A $1000 war bond will be awarded to the parents of hero flyer Sgt. Meyer Levin by the producers of the "Hop Harrigan" radio serial. M. C. Gaines, president of Hop Harrigan Enterprises, which produces the aviation-adventure serial heard weeknights over WJZ, says that the program is the first and only children's feature to make such awards recognizing real-life aviation heroes. The new "Hop Harrigan Award" will be presented in recognition of air heroism four times a year.

(Nobody likes a gossip columnist. I mean, whatever became of Clifford Evans?)

(Debate: Super Strength > Invisibility.)

(SEE IT'S JUST LIKE FLIP CORKIN AND ROUGE)

("WHAT?? A CONSCIENCE? LOOK MUTT, YOU'RE IN TOO DEEP TO SUDDENLY GROW A CONSCIENCE! WE GOT A CONTRACT!")

(I get it now, this is the ultimate Alternate Universe story for George. Suddenly there's five times as many people around to browbeat him.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

If there's one thing I'd like to see, just one thing, it'd be a pit fight between Butch and Buncombe Bob Reynolds.

"It's a shame to see so many men at a trial like this, especially since manpower is so short."

Wait'll you meet Mama.

War is Hell.

"And what of you, Mitt -- with those whiskers! Living in a CASTLE! Are you a -- monarchist???"

First he mentions Raven, now he brings up Dude. The future bodes ill for Lt. Guinevere Marian Tucker.

I hope you can live with yourself, bud.

Why doesn't Frank King get nominated for a Pulitzer?

"No, I read something like this in a Batman comic!" "You mean a Green Arrow comic? "Whatever."

You may think you're cool, but you'll never be Moon Mullins sitting around the house in a black undershirt showing off his new tattoo cool.

 

[Fading Fast]

...

In Indianapolis, Indiana an eighth-grade boy who appeared in school with a tattoo of a naked dancing girl on his arm has been ordered by a judge to have the figure tattooed over with clothing. Fifteen-year-old Bobbie McDonald amazed his friends by causing the nude figure to "dance" by flexing his forearm muscles, and was brought before the Juvenile Court where he was directed to "put a dress on her."
...

This kid was born 80 years too soon for the anything-goes tattoo craze. That said, since it is 1943, where the heck are his parents in all this?

...

(Oops.)
...

Only suspended? What does a guy have to do to get fired around here?

...

A 26-year-old Army private with a proud family tradition of military service and two bachelors' degrees from the Sorbonne appeared in Queens County Court today to face bigamy charges. Pvt. George Van Dreyer, born in Siberia, and not an American citizen, stood stiffly before Judge Joseph M. Conroy and admitted that he married Marie Trefzer of College Point on January 12th, despite the fact that he was also married to Ethel Jean Ten Eyck of East Orange, New Jersey. Both wives sat in the front row of the courtroom as Van Dreyer was arraigned. The soldier was also charged with passing two worthless checks for $25 at a Flushing saloon, and it was noted that he had previously been convicted of Army desertion. Van Dreyer told his story, Judge Conroy held his hands to his temples and swayed on the bench. Van Dreyer's attorney David A. Ticktin stated to the Judge, "I cannot understand this young man." "I can't either," agreed the Judge.
...

Two wives, two bachelors' degrees and passed two worthless $25 checks; today, in our era of everything is a disease and nothing is a failure of personal responsibility or restraint, his defense in the bigamy case would be he suffers from binary-philia disorder. The man needs to get a job in the aborning field of computers.

...

Police are searching today for a 32-year-old singer from Manhattan who disappeared yesterday from her suite at the Hotel Ansonia, only to be found unconscious in Central Park, and then disappeared again after receiving treatment at Roosevelt Hospital. Miss Bernice Lawrence, described as a soprano voice student who had received applause Sunday night for her performance at a Red Cross benefit, lived at the hotel with her teacher, Nadine Aslanoff. She was reported missing early this morning by her brother Elmer, a performer with the Fred Waring orchestra. Miss Lawrence is five feet four inches tall, weighs about 135 pounds, and was last seen wearing a camel's hair coat over a black dress, black shoes, and a scarf.
...

Check the grease pit at that station over on 10th Avenue.

...

(SEE IT'S JUST LIKE FLIP CORKIN AND ROUGE)
...

Panel three today should have been the near-violent embrace and panel four the reclining-while-smoking-a-cigarette shot. That's how you sneak hate sex past the censors.

...

(I get it now, this is the ultimate Alternate Universe story for George. Suddenly there's five times as many people around to browbeat him.)

Do we know if Tuthill restarted the strip in this odd way or is this just when the News was able to bring it back as, just guessing, maybe the News had to wait, contractually, until it could drop "Hugh Striver" before it could bring back "The Bungles?" Otherwise, this feels like a really weird way to restart a strip.

...

"It's a shame to see so many men at a trial like this, especially since manpower is so short."
...

You can't swing a dead cat in New York City in 1943 without hitting a house of prostitution. You also gotta love all the hands in the till.

...

Wait'll you meet Mama.
...

Great call on the cowlick, Lizzie.

"What do you mean you don't remember it; it's been our 'safe word' for years. Hey, you're not Bim!"

Like a paper cut in the movie "36 Hours," it's always the small details that trip you up.

...

"And what of you, Mitt -- with those whiskers! Living in a CASTLE! Are you a -- monarchist???"
...

Mitt is really proving to be, first and foremost, an idiotist.

...

Why doesn't Frank King get nominated for a Pulitzer?
...

He'd get my vote.

Why didn't they stay in the truck's cab - afraid they'd be buried in it? This tent could get buried too and it's more fragile and lower to the ground.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I can't find any instances of the revised "Bungles" showing up before this past Monday in any other paper I have access to -- that's not positive evidence that it didn't, but since the Eagle was always one of the strip's flagship papers, I have to expect it was one of the first to sign up for the revived version. One thing that's different here is that Tuthill is no longer working for the McNaught Syndicate, which had been his distributor pre-retirement -- he's now distributing the strip himself without working thru a middleman. Maybe there are legal/copyright reasons why he has to change it up enough that it isn't exactly like the original version, or maybe the only characters he directly owned were George, Jo, and Peggy, all of whom appeared in his earlier strip, "Home Sweet Home," before he joined McNaught around 1922. Lawyers will find a way to ruin anything.

I do hope this theory isn't correct. Although the Bungles as parents of manipulative scheming children offers a lot of opportunity for plot development, I'll really miss the Oakdale/Jo mutual loathing if we don't get it back.

Here's an ad announcing the roll-out of the new version in the Washington Star later this month -- I would have expected the Eagle to run a similar ad, and am surprised that they didn't.

 

[Fading Fast]

I can't find any instances of the revised "Bungles" showing up before this past Monday in any other paper I have access to -- that's not positive evidence that it didn't, but since the Eagle was always one of the strip's flagship papers, I have to expect it was one of the first to sign up for the revived version. One thing that's different here is that Tuthill is no longer working for the McNaught Syndicate, which had been his distributor pre-retirement -- he's now distributing the strip himself without working thru a middleman. Maybe there are legal/copyright reasons why he has to change it up enough that it isn't exactly like the original version, or maybe the only characters he directly owned were George, Jo, and Peggy, all of whom appeared in his earlier strip, "Home Sweet Home," before he joined McNaught around 1922. Lawyers will find a way to ruin anything.

I do hope this theory isn't correct. Although the Bungles as parents of manipulative scheming children offers a lot of opportunity for plot development, I'll really miss the Oakdale/Jo mutual loathing if we don't get it back.

Here's an ad announcing the roll-out of the new version in the Washington Star later this month -- I would have expected the Eagle to run a similar ad, and am surprised that they didn't.

Your theory sounds reasonable; I guess we'll kinda see as, if Jo and Oakley don't re-appear, we'll know something is up. I liked those two characters in their own way.

I guess it was a "Star Exclusive" because they had it first?

Any version of "The Bungles" is better than "Hugh Striver."

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

My thought on reading both the Eagle and the News coverage is that no way does a 15 year old come up with this -- especially given the specialized demographic of the clientele -- without some outside instigation. Investigate the family.

Takes a great many personalities to comprise this planet.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("How long'm I gonna hafteh stay heeh again?" grumbles Joe, from a bed in a ward at Boro Park General Hospital. "You seen'a x-ray pitcheh," replies Sally. "Ya been wawkin' aroun' awlis time wit'a fratch'ehd skull. Ya gotta stay f'obsehvation." "Look, tell'm fine, I gotta go back t'woik," snaps Joe, tossing his legs out of bed. "Whatt'ey do wit' my pants?" "Settle down," remonstrartes Sally. "T'ey cawl'tcha plant, tol'm what was goin' on. Ya officially absenteed t'ill t' docteh says it's safe f'ya ta go back t'woik. Y'stawrt passin' out onna job, roun' awllem machines, who knows what's gonna happ'n." "I don' caeh," retorts Joe. "T'eah's a wawr on. I gotta get back. I got a jawb t'do." "What's WROWNG wit'cha?" roars Sally. "Honestagawd, ya woise'n Pete Reiseh!" "Yeah, well," growls Joe, "at least Reiseh's inna Awrmy." "What?" interjects Sally. "Whassat got t'do wit' anyt'ing?" "You hoid me," Joe grumbles, his face darkened. "Reiseh's inna Awrmy. Jus' like Solly. Solly's inna Awrmy, out'namiddla'gawdknowswhat, an' what'm I doin'? Runnin' a lathe, an'nen I come home an' sleep in me own bed, eat breakfas' wit' you an' Leonora, an' maybe on Sunday we go see a moom pitcheh, maybe t'is summeh we go see a bawlgame, or go t' Coney Islan', jus' like we awrways did. Whatt'hellissat??? An' now t'ey tell me I gotta lay off 'cause I bumped me head inna subway, can't even do what lit'l I been doin'." "Joe.." begins Sally, but her husband cuts her off. "I dowanna tawk about it." "Look," she insists. "Ya doin' ya pawrt. You ain' missed a day since ya stawrted at Sperry's. You woik awlat ovehtime b'sides. In jus' a yeeeh, ya went f'm bein' some guy skimmed t'scum offa pickle vats -- an' t'at was hones' woik, nut'n eveh wrong wit'it -- to a fois' class machinis' makin' stuff t' Awrmy anna Navy need t'do t'eah woik." Joe has no reply. "Tell'm," he finally growls, "I wanna get out.")

Six American jeeps, creeping cautiously aloong a black macadam road this afternoon, met three British Eighth Army armored cars stained with the dust of an historic 2000 mile offensive across North Africa. There was a moment's pause by both the Americans and the British beside the 67-kilometer road marker on the road from Gabes to Gafsa. Then there was a burst of shouts from the dust-parched throats, and the Allied soldiers who had come from the opposite sides of Africa leaped from their vehicles to shout congratulations and clasp hands grimy from the red dirt of the Tunisian hills. The Americans and the British then embraced each other, pounding each other on the back and again shouted congratuations. Formality was brief between the two armies that had run the Desert Fox, Marshal Erwin Rommel, across the continent into a trap. Patrols lined up, officers posed, and photographs were taken, but as soon as those ceremonies were completed, the men were again thumping each other with joy.

House Republican Leader Joseph L. Martin of Massachusetts suggested a plan today whereby the House could pass a Pay-As-You-Go tax plan in one day before the projected Easter recess, fixed tentatively for April 17th. Asserting that "40,000,000 taxpayers can't be wrong," Rep. Martin advised the Ways and Means Committee to report out a new tax bill, "let it be open for amendments, provide two hours for general debate and two hours for amendments, then let us vote. We can pass a tax bill in a single day. If that is done, we can have our recess and secure our praise instead of the reproof of our constituents."

(Butch wouldn't have had anywhere near as much fun in the Army.)

Brooklyn leads the entire nation in raising money for warplanes, bringing in more money for that purpose than any entire state in the Union. Deputy State Administrator John M. Rae of the U. S. Treasury Department, addressing a Brooklyn Club luncheon, noted that Brooklyn has already raised enough money to build 60 complete airplanes, more than doubling the previous record of 29, held by the State of Texas.

(Woo-hoo! Meat's back! I think this is the first time we've seen actual meat listed in a grocery ad since last fall.)

Classes in Chinese cookery, a cuisine which requires few rationed items in the preparation of delicious meals, will be offered at the Ballard School, Central Branch of the YWCA, 610 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan, starting April 13th, under the auspices of United China Relief. The classes call for no ingredients that cannot be obtained at any neighborhood grocery store, and the recipes usually require less than a pound of meat, fish, or poultry to feed an entire family. The Chinese method of cutting the meat into thin strips and cooking the meat and vegetables for a very short time in a small amount of liquid saves all the food value of the ingredients, in addition to their flavor and appetizing appearance.

"Casablanca," starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, will open today at RKO neighborhood theatres in Brooklyn and Queens., shown just as seen downtown. Also featured on the bill will be "He's My Guy," with Joan Davis, Dick Foran, and Irene Hervey.

Soviet weekly newsreels will be added to the program at all Embassy Newsreel Theatres in the metropolitan area. Scenes of the heroic Red Army launching its successful offensive on the central Russian front will highlight this week's presentations.

(Everybody hates the LIRR.)

Funeral services will be held Saturday morning at the Sacred Heart R. C. Church in Glendale, Queens for Adelaide M. Kaiser of 88-28 Union Turnpike, one of three USO entertainers killed in an airplane crash on March 27th near Vancouver, British Columbia. A military escort will accompany the body of the 27-year-old singer and dancer to St. John's Cemetary. Miss Kaiser had appeared on the Broadway stage and in motion pictures, and had a sustaining program on the Mutual network before joining the USO last October. She had requested to be sent to outpost camps, and was returning from one in Alaska when she was killed. She was a Brooklyn native, and after graduation from Newtown High School, attended the American Arts Academy. She was the cousin of Brooklyn actress Peggy Alexander, now serving with the USO abroad.

Dodger pitchers Bobo Newsom and Rube Melton today predicted that they will each win 20 games in 1943, revealing their phenomenal intentions at a mass war bond rally for employees of the Brooklyn Union Gas Company, 173 Remsen Street. Asked what he thought of the spring training facilities at Bear Mountain, Bobo declared "they should make it a concentration camp, and send conscientious objectors there."

(Ahhh, Rowdy Richard Bartell, a fellow with an important place in Dodger lore. Stepping to the plate at Ebbets Field as the leadoff hitter for the Giants on opening day 1937, he beefed over the first pitch, a called strike, and was promptly hit square in the chest by a rotten tomato fired from the first-base stands.)

Jack Benny returns to the air Sunday night at 7 over WEAF, fully recovered from his recent illness. His place on the program in recent weeks was taken by guest hosts, most recently and most agreeably, none other than Orson Welles, who proved himself an able comic talent.

("Sears?" "No, Montgomery Ward's." "*gulp*")

(The disadvantages of a high center of gravity.)

(Gee, I miss "Sparky Watts.")

(How about requiring background checks for meat sellers!)

(I don't know how George and Jo got this kid, but he's definitely their son.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

The Astors? Are they still in the league?

There's a lot of Joes out there.

But who has *you?*

He did it all for "love."

Had enough action yet?

Seeza Maboiks!

The Social Whirl.

I wonder how long it takes for mercurochrome to wash out?

Or you could turn it over to the FBI and go get a soda.

Sixty bottles an hour, because there's one born every minute.

 

[Fading Fast]

("How long'm I gonna hafteh stay heeh again?" grumbles Joe, from a bed in a ward at Boro Park General Hospital. "You seen'a x-ray pitcheh," replies Sally. "Ya been wawkin' aroun' awlis time wit'a fratch'ehd skull. Ya gotta stay f'obsehvation." "Look, tell'm fine, I gotta go back t'woik," snaps Joe, tossing his legs out of bed. "Whatt'ey do wit' my pants?" "Settle down," remonstrartes Sally. "T'ey cawl'tcha plant, tol'm what was goin' on. Ya officially absenteed t'ill t' docteh says it's safe f'ya ta go back t'woik. Y'stawrt passin' out onna job, roun' awllem machines, who knows what's gonna happ'n." "I don' caeh," retorts Joe. "T'eah's a wawr on. I gotta get back. I got a jawb t'do." "What's WROWNG wit'cha?" roars Sally. "Honestagawd, ya woise'n Pete Reiseh!" "Yeah, well," growls Joe, "at least Reiseh's inna Awrmy." "What?" interjects Sally. "Whassat got t'do wit' anyt'ing?" "You hoid me," Joe grumbles, his face darkened. "Reiseh's inna Awrmy. Jus' like Solly. Solly's inna Awrmy, out'namiddla'gawdknowswhat, an' what'm I doin'? Runnin' a lathe, an'nen I come home an' sleep in me own bed, eat breakfas' wit' you an' Leonora, an' maybe on Sunday we go see a moom pitcheh, maybe t'is summeh we go see a bawlgame, or go t' Coney Islan', jus' like we awrways did. Whatt'hellissat??? An' now t'ey tell me I gotta lay off 'cause I bumped me head inna subway, can't even do what lit'l I been doin'." "Joe.." begins Sally, but her husband cuts her off. "I dowanna tawk about it." "Look," she insists. "Ya doin' ya pawrt. You ain' missed a day since ya stawrted at Sperry's. You woik awlat ovehtime b'sides. In jus' a yeeeh, ya went f'm bein' some guy skimmed t'scum offa pickle vats -- an' t'at was hones' woik, nut'n eveh wrong wit'it -- to a fois' class machinis' makin' stuff t' Awrmy anna Navy need t'do t'eah woik." Joe has no reply. "Tell'm," he finally growls, "I wanna get out.")
...

"[The same firm] manufactures girdles to camouflage the feminine form divine and - nets to camouflage the location of huge antiaircraft guns. The same machines are used in the making of both..." The jokes really do write themselves sometimes.

Joe is dealing with a lot of internal turmoil.

...

Classes in Chinese cookery, a cuisine which requires few rationed items in the preparation of delicious meals, will be offered at the Ballard School, Central Branch of the YWCA, 610 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan, starting April 13th, under the auspices of United China Relief. The classes call for no ingredients that cannot be obtained at any neighborhood grocery store, and the recipes usually require less than a pound of meat, fish, or poultry to feed an entire family. The Chinese method of cutting the meat into thin strips and cooking the meat and vegetables for a very short time in a small amount of liquid saves all the food value of the ingredients, in addition to their flavor and appetizing appearance.
...

Back in the '80s and '90s, girls out of college would stay at that YWCA as they got themselves established as it was one of the "Ys" that hadn't become a de facto homeless shelter as many had back then. Sadly, this very classic architecture Y was knocked down about fifteen years ago.

...

Jack Benny returns to the air Sunday night at 7 over WEAF, fully recovered from his recent illness. His place on the program in recent weeks was taken by guest hosts, most recently and most agreeably, none other than Orson Welles, who proved himself an able comic talent.
...

Orson Welles was everywhere and doing everything in entertainment in the 1940s.

...

("Sears?" "No, Montgomery Ward's." "*gulp*")
...

Back in the my dating days in the '90s, I went out with a few work-a-day models, one who did a lot of work for Kmart.

Those are very not-fashion-y jobs, as companies like Kmart want models to do quick changes and not fuss as they want as many pictures per hour as possible.

This girl got it: she would change quickly, not care if the crew saw her in her underwear and, in any way she could, she'd speed the entire process along. Kmart asked for her all the time.

...

(Gee, I miss "Sparky Watts.")
...

I'm just glad to see our turtle friend is getting some work.

After two days in a swamp, there is no way Amber's hair is looking like that.

And in the Daily News...

The Astors? Are they still in the league?
...

What was Page Four's editor thinking? No one wants to see a picture of Astor's stupid round head as we all want to know what Ellen Tuck French Astor (now that is a cool name) looks like. So I Googled this:

Reading between the lines, it seems like ETFA stole her friend's fiancé - marrying rich men is a bloodsport.

...

I wonder how long it takes for mercurochrome to wash out?
...

All cuts where treated with mercurochrome in my house growing up in the 1970s - a little mercurochrome and a bandaid and you were on your way - so from memory, it took a few days to fade on skin. No idea how long on hair, but I'd bet Tuck's formerly blonde hair is looking pretty pink right now in an age when women didn't have pink hair.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

What was Page Four's editor thinking? No one wants to see a picture of Astor's stupid round head as we all want to know what Ellen Tuck French Astor (now that is a cool name) looks like. So I Googled this:
View attachment 505642

Reading between the lines, it seems like ETFA stole her friend's fiancé - marrying rich men is a bloodsport.

Ms Astor is a lovely lady, and though I quite certainly believe she possesses all requisite charm and elegance,
I wonder if she is innately happy. True happiness seems more a lower class human trait than found among aristocrats. Perhaps I'm wrong, but all the page rife and replete rumour, extracurriculars, divorce some days
read like a Jane Austen or Bronte novel.

 

[Fading Fast]

Ms Astor is a lovely lady, and though I quite certainly believe she possesses all requisite charm and elegance,
I wonder if she is innately happy. True happiness seems more a lower class human trait than found among aristocrats. Perhaps I'm wrong, but all the page rife and replete rumour, extracurriculars, divorce some days
read like a Jane Austen or Bronte novel.

There is selection bias to watch for, though, in drawing conclusion about the "aristocrats" from Page Four as it searches for stories about "aristocrats" having marital woes. If there were 99 happily married aristocratic couples for every unhappy one, we'll only read about the unhappy one on Page Four. Also, unless it's unique in some way - a violent murder, etc. - the "regular" people's marital woes don't make it to Page Four. So, effectively, Page Four is an aggregator of troubled "aristocratic" relationships.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

There is selection bias to watch for, though, in drawing conclusion about the "aristocrats" from Page Four as it searches for stories about "aristocrats" having marital woes. If there were 99 happily married aristocratic couples for every unhappy one, we'll only read about the unhappy one on Page Four. Also, unless it's unique in some way - a violent murder, etc. - the "regular" people's marital woes don't make it to Page Four. So, effectively, Page Four is an aggregator of troubled "aristocratic" relationships.

I guessed the editorial staff did the give-gave wheat from chaff routine shake on all top-drawer stuff.
And now that I give another look at the whole page these circa sheets would make good story research fodder
for budding pulp scribes today. The other day, the kid who supposedly ran a pediatric prostitution ring for middle aged
men just sickened. Separating fact from fiction, but even then resultant truth herein can prove shocking.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And when all else fails., there's always Tommy Manville.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

And when all else fails, there's always Jerry Powell.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("Freeze t'costa livin'," sighs Sally, sipping a Coke as she sits on a stool at Lieb's Candy Store. "Th' ice cream cone is farrr eatin', darlin'," remonstrates Ma Sweeney as Leonora smears said treat on her face, "an' not farrr wearin'." "I dunno how long Joe's gonna be laid up, t'docteh said at leas' t'ru t'weekend unless he gets woise," continues Sally, "but we can't hold out too lawng." "Ain't ye been layin' aside money? All that good money Joseph is makin' at the plaant," replies Ma, "ye oughta be savin' it." "Oh, we been savin' it," Sally snaps back. "We're gonna buy a house afteh t'wawr. Right here in Flatbush. Some nice ones right down'a street heah, oveh on Midwood, an' we'd be right close by t'you." "Ah," nods Ma Sweeney. "And Joseph agrees with that, does he?" "Oh," nods Sally, as she takes another sip, "he's comin' around. But anyway, awlat money's in wawr bonds, an' y'can't jus' dip int' it. So I been t'inkin' -- y'know, I been offa woik since b'foeh Leonoreh was bawrn -- awmos' two yeeahs now -- an' wit' Joe laid up, I been t'inkin' it's time I went backta woik. What if I help ya out inna stoeh heah?" "Ah," ahs Ma, drumming the counter with her fingers. "I donnn't know, daughter, what about ye child there?" "Ehh, we could just leave her t'playin' inna back room t'eah, toin it inta one'a t'em noisserys like t'ey got in awla big wawr plants." "Ahhh," replies Ma. "Have ye ever thawwwt about goin' in one'a them warrr plants yeself? Lots of jobs forr a strong healthy girrl like ye'self. I hearr the Todd Shipyards is hirin' folks, trainin'em, and all that what not. You could larrn to weld. Ahh, ye'd make a fine welderrr, you would." "I guess," shrugs Sally. "I just thought I might be able t'help ya out is awl.' "Yesss, indeed, daughter," enthuses Ma. "You'd make a foine strappin' welder, you would.")

A statewide investigation of the black market in meat was begun today by State Senator Thomas C. Desmond of Newburgh, chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Nutrition. The inquiry, Desmond said, will cover five aspects of the black market, including a report that an Eastern underworld gang has made New York its headquarters for illicit trafficking in meat. A comprehensive plan to stamp out the menace has been mapped out by the committee, and Desmond promised that, if necessary, his group will use its broad powers, which include subpoenaing records and witnesses, to get at the fundamentals of the black market problem. Desmond stated that his committee has reason to estimate that 200,000 cattle, 125,000 calves, 110,000 hogs, and 25,000 sheep are being slaughtered annually in New York State without Federal or, in many case, local inspection.

The reopened hearing on objections to assessments for the demolition of the Fulton Street elevated structure from the East River to Rockaway Avenue was completed today before Supreme Court Justice Charles C. Lockwood, who set April 27th for the final filing of briefs and indicated strongly that so far as evidence is concerned, the last word really has been spoken. Evidence offered by city engineering expert George W. Burpee arrived at the figure of $2,200,000 for the Fulton Street line, of which Fulton Street property owners must pay one third. Proceedings today consisted of direct testimony by city engineers showing the various costs that made up that total. When it was noted that the city got $213.420.95 for the scrap metal that used to be the Fulton Street L, Judge Lockwood demanded to know what this was reckoned as cost rather than being credited to the city, the Assistant Corporation Council explained that value must be determined for all property acquired over the course of the demolition, and that includes the structure itself. Also mentioned were the expenses involved in relocating trolley wires formerly supported by the L structure, the car tracks, and the erection of new trolley poles. Burpee stressed that every item of expenditure enumerated was absolutely essential to the project.

Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau and actor Paul Muni will be among the speakers kicking off the Treasury Department's "Art For Bonds" exhibit today at the Brooklyn Museum, part of the $13,000,000,000 Second War Loan drive which begins on Monday. Admission to the exhibition of thirty six original paintings by 29 distinguished American artists, intended for use on war bond posters, will be by purchase of war bonds in denominations of $25 to $5000. The Brooklyn quota has been set at $500,000. The exhibition opens this afternoon at 5 o'clock. Also scheduled to appear at the opening of the exhibition is Mrs. Samuel Levin, mother of the late Brooklyn war hero Sgt. Meyer Levin.

(I wonder what became of Mrs. August No. 1?)

An American patent medicine heiress admits she married a Swedish waiter just so she could get a Swedish passport and use it to flee the United States for good says she'd "rather walk on a window ledge" than come back. Merry Fahrney Pickering Eisner Berlingiert Cassini Holm married Kurt Holm in New York, became a Swedish citizen, and fled to Brazil. She now lives in Argentina, and says she doesn't know where Holm is now. "We are separated," she says, "but I don't think he lacks for money." The socialite, known to the press as "Madcap Merry," claims the State Department denied her a U. S. Passport due to her friendship with Herbert von Stempel, once the First Secretary of the German Embassy in Washington, and she says she believes that Hitler is a great man "fighting for the people." "God help the world," she declared, "if Hitler falls before he finishes off Russia." While she admits that the Nazi Gestapo "isn't good," she claims it is no worse than "the way things work out in the United States where everybody pries into your life."

A beer shortage may loom for this summer, according to the assistant controller for the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company. George Kattenhorn told a meeting of the Brooklyn Chapter of the National Association of Cost Accountants that brewers are being restricted to only 93 percent of last year's supply of grain, malt, rice, and other beer-making essentials, and therefore consumers can expect a 7 percent decrease in the amount of lager available to the public. Bottled beer will be even harder to come by, with the metal shortage limiting capped beer to 70 percent of last year's output. No beer will be available for civilian consumption in cans.

Dodger president Branch Rickey told members of the 90-and-10 Club of the Kings County War Savings Staff that "suffering is a precedent to sacrifice, and we must come very near matching the suffering of our boys in the war before we can say that we sacrifice. The head man of the Brooklyn Baseball Club addressed more than 100 life insurance underwriters, members of the club, who attended the meeting to receive citations for war bond sales over the past six months. the program of the 90-and-10 club for April requires the sale of one additional war bond to every life insurance employee in Brooklyn during the month.

(You just know that Mr. Pollock has been waiting all year for his chance to review the circus.)

(Wouldn't it just be easier to take up chess?)

"Disgusted" writes in to say that the Army has done the right thing by rejecting Mayor LaGuardia's bid to become a general. "Maybe now he will settle down and do the job he is paid to do and let the Army run the war as it is qualified to do without the help of big-mouthed civilians."

The Eagle Editorialist says the Army has done the city a favor by turning the Mayor down. "We could not help but sympathize with the Mayor's point of view in this incident," the EE writes. "In fact, his attitude was that of every able-bodied patriotic American of service age." The EE also acknowledge that the Mayor had a splendid service record during the First World War, and his fluency in Italian would have made him especially useful in the type of post for which he was said to be under consideration. But "Mr. Stimson has put himself under deep obligation to New Yorkers if he has really persuaded Mr. LaGuardia that the job of being Mayor of the nation's biggest city is a vital wartime task. So here's hoping His Honor will forget about those silver stars and the trim Army uniform and concentrate on our tremendous municipal budget and the threatened tax boost, and the thousand and one problems that arise constantly." After all, "an efficient Mayor of New York cannot be picked out of a hat."

(Enos Slaughter? WHY DIDNT YOU GO INTO THE ARMY IN MAY?)

(Oh, Sonja!)

(Yeah, looks like you won't have to worry about your legs much longer...)

("IN YOU GO! Well, that was easy.")

(So this is what Irwin's been up to. But his heart doesn't really seem to be in it.)

(Jo and Peggy look twenty years younger than when we last saw them. Maybe it's all a dream. SACRED COW!)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Funny, she doesn't *look* Aryan.

Sure, there's a lot you can do in the Village.

Waaaaaait for it....

"It doesn't make sense these trucks don't have a radio. OH ALL RIGHT I'LL SHUT UP. But it doesn't."

"Wait, does a sister in law outrank a nephew in probate court?? OH NO!"

Cover his face in band-aids, THAT'LL HELP!

It'll be hard to go back to the LIRR after this.

You two are going to get yourselves killed, and no one will want to read a strip about Goofy and Honey.

And don't rip out the speaking tube, kid, those things cost money.

When you're dealing in a low-margin product, volume sales are key.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oh, and...

Introducing Dick Young, a sportswriter who may one day change the face of the entire profession.

 

[Fading Fast]

"Freeze t'costa livin'," sighs Sally, sipping a Coke as she sits on a stool at Lieb's Candy Store. "Th' ice cream cone is farrr eatin', darlin'," remonstrates Ma Sweeney as Leonora smears said treat on her face, "an' not farrr wearin'." "I dunno how long Joe's gonna be laid up, t'docteh said at leas' t'ru t'weekend unless he gets woise," continues Sally, "but we can't hold out too lawng." "Ain't ye been layin' aside money? All that good money Joseph is makin' at the plaant," replies Ma, "ye oughta be savin' it." "Oh, we been savin' it," Sally snaps back. "We're gonna buy a house afteh t'wawr. Right here in Flatbush. Some nice ones right down'a street heah, oveh on Midwood, an' we'd be right close by t'you." "Ah," nods Ma Sweeney. "And Joseph agrees with that, does he?" "Oh," nods Sally, as she takes another sip, "he's comin' around. But anyway, awlat money's in wawr bonds, an' y'can't jus' dip int' it. So I been t'inkin' -- y'know, I been offa woik since b'foeh Leonoreh was bawrn -- awmos' two yeeahs now -- an' wit' Joe laid up, I been t'inkin' it's time I went backta woik. What if I help ya out inna stoeh heah?" "Ah," ahs Ma, drumming the counter with her fingers. "I donnn't know, daughter, what about ye child there?" "Ehh, we could just leave her t'playin' inna back room t'eah, toin it inta one'a t'em noisserys like t'ey got in awla big wawr plants." "Ahhh," replies Ma. "Have ye ever thawwwt about goin' in one'a them warrr plants yeself? Lots of jobs forr a strong healthy girrl like ye'self. I hearr the Todd Shipyards is hirin' folks, trainin'em, and all that what not. You could larrn to weld. Ahh, ye'd make a fine welderrr, you would." "I guess," shrugs Sally. "I just thought I might be able t'help ya out is awl.' "Yesss, indeed, daughter," enthuses Ma. "You'd make a foine strappin' welder, you would.")
...

Ma wants no part of Sally working in her "store." It's off to the war plant for Sally with Ma hiring a girl to watch Leonora to induce Sally.

Who throws chocolate "novelties" away (typed as he munches on a chocolate bunny)?

Stealing a soldier's relief fund from a blind vendor is the definition of not believing in karma.

The "Relief" not "Special" train is absolutely perfect. Many a problem is solved that exact same way.

...

(I wonder what became of Mrs. August No. 1?)
...

After giving birth to ten kids, Mrs. August No. 1, one way or an another, said enough.

...

An American patent medicine heiress admits she married a Swedish waiter just so she could get a Swedish passport and use it to flee the United States for good says she'd "rather walk on a window ledge" than come back. Merry Fahrney Pickering Eisner Berlingiert Cassini Holm married Kurt Holm in New York, became a Swedish citizen, and fled to Brazil. She now lives in Argentina, and says she doesn't know where Holm is now. "We are separated," she says, "but I don't think he lacks for money." The socialite, known to the press as "Madcap Merry," claims the State Department denied her a U. S. Passport due to her friendship with Herbert von Stempel, once the First Secretary of the German Embassy in Washington, and she says she believes that Hitler is a great man "fighting for the people." "God help the world," she declared, "if Hitler falls before he finishes off Russia." While she admits that the Nazi Gestapo "isn't good," she claims it is no worse than "the way things work out in the United States where everybody pries into your life."
...

Why exactly did the State Department not want to give this woman a passport so that she could leave the country? Talk about an unforced error. "Allow us to pay for your ticket, too."

...

"Disgusted" writes in to say that the Army has done the right thing by rejecting Mayor LaGuardia's bid to become a general. "Maybe now he will settle down and do the job he is paid to do and let the Army run the war as it is qualified to do without the help of big-mouthed civilians."

The Eagle Editorialist says the Army has done the city a favor by turning the Mayor down. "We could not help but sympathize with the Mayor's point of view in this incident," the EE writes. "In fact, his attitude was that of every able-bodied patriotic American of service age." The EE also acknowledge that the Mayor had a splendid service record during the First World War, and his fluency in Italian would have made him especially useful in the type of post for which he was said to be under consideration. But "Mr. Stimson has put himself under deep obligation to New Yorkers if he has really persuaded Mr. LaGuardia that the job of being Mayor of the nation's biggest city is a vital wartime task. So here's hoping His Honor will forget about those silver stars and the trim Army uniform and concentrate on our tremendous municipal budget and the threatened tax boost, and the thousand and one problems that arise constantly." After all, "an efficient Mayor of New York cannot be picked out of a hat."
...

It's all true.

...

(Oh, Sonja!)
...

How many girls, from the north, that are her age in 1943 didn't know how to ice skate? It was a big thing back then.

...

(Jo and Peggy look twenty years younger than when we last saw them. Maybe it's all a dream. SACRED COW!)

They do and it's all very odd. As you said, some of it could be driven by legal/copyright issues, but I doubt he had to make them look younger. This is an awkward relaunch, at best.

And in the Daily News...

Funny, she doesn't *look* Aryan.
...

So few of them do, which is telling.

Best line in this Page Four perfect story, "Gosh, I didn't think about that. I Just wanted to get rid of her."

That said, he's no innocent victim in all this.

I've mentioned this before, Gallagher's Steak House is still in business.

...

"It doesn't make sense these trucks don't have a radio. OH ALL RIGHT I'LL SHUT UP. But it doesn't."
...

As you noted the other day, Skeezix really matured, "Yes if," is such an adult response.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("Hah!" hahs Joe, tossing the paper across his bed. "T'em Erasmus kids, whatta buncha helots. Pooeh Red Skeleton." "Ahhh," dismisses Sally, "kids t'day. We was neveh like t'at when I was at Erasmus." "Din'cha tell me," replies Joe, "t'at one time you an' a buncha yez went t'see Rudy Vallee at t' Paramount? An'ney t'rew ya out f'' rushin'na stage?" "'At was diffn't," sniffs Sally. "I mean, Rudy Vallee was not t'same as Red Skelton. Not a bit. An' we was very dignified about it." "Din'ney hafta cawla cops?" recalls Joe. "W'ann'eah a riot?" "I would'n know," huffs Sally. "I seen what I come to see, an'nen by t'time awlaresta t'at hapn't, I was gawn." "I wish I was gone outa t's hawspit'l," sighs Joe. "T'docteh says t'ey ain' gonna hafteh op'rate," reassures Sally. "T'ey'll take an'oteh x-ray t'marreh, an' if t'swellin' is gone down, t'ey might even letcha go home t'marra." "How much t'em x-rays cost?" fusses Joe. "How we gonna pay f'tis?" "Don't worry 'bout it," shurgs Sally. "I'm woikin' on sump'n." "You sueh," resumes Joe, gazing at Sally with narrowed eyes, "you din' get arrested t'at time?" "I neveh got arrested," insists Sally. "OK, well, yeah, I did get a ride inna pie wagon, but whenney got t'tstation Uncle Frank come in an tawked t't sawrg'nt, an'ney seen it his way." "He a fan'a Rudy Vallee too?" "Nah, he likes Crawsby.")

Three thousand Chinese laborers may be put to work on Long Island farms this summer under a plan proposed by agricultural officials of Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The workers, to be recruited from New York City's Chinatown, would be housed in a labor camp to be constructed at some centrally located point, and after receiving the necessary training would be assigned to farm jobs. Farm bureau officials estimate there are at least 3000 Chinese presently registered with the U. S. Employment Service who would be eligible for the jobs. In addition, it is proposed that the camp would also accommodate 150 New York City college girls who would be trained to weed truck crops and help, later in the season, with light harvesting tasks. Farmers of Nassau and Suffolk Counties will be briefed on the proposal at a meeting tomorrow at 3pm at the New York State School of Applied Agriculture at Farmingdale.

(See, all is forgiven. They even let Mickey hold the trophy.)

More and bigger blackout drills for the entire state are in the offing according to Col. Edward C. O. Thomas of Garden City, newly appointed State Director of Civilian Protection. Colonel Thomas, who served for more than a year as head of the Nassau County civilian protection organization, last night told more than 500 persons at a preview of the Westchester Warfair in the White Plains County Center that "we are going into the blackout business regardless of the lights of worship for particular faiths, or evenings when stores are busy." Predicting full harmony between his state organization and military officials, Col. Thomas declared "there will be no more pulling away from other agencies working for civilian protection, and there will be no more cancelled blackouts." He stressed that there will be no limitation on the time of day or night when drills may occur, and even Saturday night shoppers had better be prepared for the wail of sirens.

(There's A New World Coming...)

In Chicago, Judge Rudolph Desort said today he will investigate the possibility of fraud in the quick-action divorce obtained by patent medicine heiress Merry Fahnrey, who married a Swedish waiter and used his passport to flee the country. Superior Court records indicated that Miss Fanhrey had been granted the divorce from Nils Curt Holm by Judge Desort on November 25, 1941 -- just eleven days after the two were married at Checaw, South Carolina -- on the grounds of cruelty after she, filing under the name of Mary Holm, testified that her husband had struck her twice, a statement corroborated by her maid, Maria Rush of New York. Judge Desort indicated that, if evidence of fraud is discovered, "appropriate legal action" will be taken. Miss Fanhrey, who was denied a US passport on the basis of her friendship with a Nazi diplomatic official, now resides in Argentina.

("Indeed, madam. I shall assign you to camouflage.")

"Mayor LaGuardia is arrogant, conceited, tempestuous, irritable, and utterly unable to credit any opponent with any motive but the worst," writes in a reader who signs himself "Puzzled." But he also acknowledges that the Mayor has always proven himself to be an able administrator, and "he would have been an excellent choice for military administrator of Italy when we invade that unhappy country." Puzzled finds the rejection of the Mayor for that position to be "utterly disheartening," and suggests the real reason why he was turned away may be a fear that he would expose "the sorry mess of things our diplomats and generals have made of the North African political mess."

(Glossop. Alban Glossop. Albie Glossop. Al Glossop. *Sigh* I suppose we can get used to it.)

("If my skates weren't nailed to the floor...")

("Oops, never mind.")

(HA HA FOR YOU LADY, THIS GUN WAS FULL OF BLANKS! Oh, wait.)

(I don't know, do OPA agents really cruise around in pairs in cars marked "OPA?" And they don't even have a siren on the hood, and a flashing sign on top?)

(Recall that George has had repeated dealings with various types of sprites and pixies capable of bending time and space themselves. One of them must be showing him a life he might have had, and he will awaken a far more contented man.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Miss Fahnrey is heir to the "House of Fahnrey," a firm known for the manufacture of Dr. Fahnrey's Teething Syrup, Dr. Fahnrey's Infallible Worm Syrup, Dr. Peter's Blood Vitalizer, Dr. Peter's Gomozo, Dr. Peter's Hoboko, Dr. Peter's Novoro, Dr. Peter's Zokoro, Forni's Alpenkrauter Laxative, and Forni's Heil-Oel Liniment. This latter being especially helpful for right arms strained while saluting the Fuehrer.

(What's Mom's story?)

I wonder what kind of comics run in that paper? Is that a Lichty cartoon on the back page?

Waaaaaaaaait for it....

Sorry, Tracy. Only Sam the Presser could help him now.

I'm sure there's an interesting etymology of that phrase but I'd rather not know what it is.

Which one is the jackass again?

It's a hedge against inflation.

My grandmother was very anti-mouse, and she used to get very annoyed with me because I went around the house springing her traps because I felt sorry for them. I don't know why this reminds me of that, but it does.

What's that glowy stuff again that you paint on the dials of those instruments you make here?