The Era -- Day By Day

[Fading Fast]

Fat Freddie demonstrating his motion for the camera.

View attachment 238226

He'll turn thirty-nine years old in July, and has been in the majors since 1925, most of that time spent with the Giants. He joined the Dodgers in a mid-season trade in 1937, and has been a reliable spot-starter and mid-reliever since then. As a master of the knuckleball, he doesn't have to throw hard, and considers his age and his weight to be of no consequence. He admits to 215 pounds, but there are those who would add another twenty to that. "His arm is so crooked he can't bend down and pick anything up," says Durocher, who enjoys playing gin rummy in the clubhouse with the portly pitcher-coach.

I'd bet CC Sabathia could carry Fat Freddie around in his hip pocket.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Terry "Fat Tub of Goo" Forster was no slouch either.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Incidentally, I can't get over how much Harold looks like young Ronald Reagan in the last panel of today's strip. And now I really want to see Ronnie starring in "Harold Teen In The Big City," with, oh, I dunno, Ann Sothern as Senga.

 

[Fading Fast]

Incidentally, I can't get over how much Harold looks like young Ronald Reagan in the last panel of today's strip. And now I really want to see Ronnie starring in "Harold Teen In The Big City," with, oh, I dunno, Ann Sothern as Senga.

It's the hair - very Reaganesque. Sothern would have been convincing as Senga as would have sweater girl Lana Turner.

 

[PrivateEye]

(These portable closets, with woodgrain-printed corrugated cardboard walls and doors mounted on a wooden stick framework were a big fad in the 1940s. I used to have one in an apartment, and it worked fine -- until I tried to add one more garment to the twelve already stored inside. It collapsed, spectacularly, in the middle of one particularly humid night, into a mass of soggy cardboard and broken sticks. Live and learn.)

There was one up in a third floor bedroom of a house we bought in Boston in 1980. It was still intact and in use when we sold it 20 years later. Like the former occupants, we left it behind for the next ones. Not sure it would have survived if we had tried to get it down three flights of narrow stairs.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The French industrial city of Lille and the Belgian Channel port of Ostend have been siezed by the Germans, the British Expeditionary Force is facing destruction, and an important segment of the French line has collapsed, according to a German High Command communique issued today, as its legions circled for the kill in the Flanders-Artois trap. German troops are storming Ypres, some twenty miles from the Channel coast between Dunkirk and Ostend, while simultaneously launching an attack on Kemmel, southwest of Ypres.

Undaunted by nineteen days of steady action the British Expeditionary Force began a movement from Flanders toward the English Channel today in a desperate attempt to get thru the steel jaws of a closing German trap. Military officials refuse to give the exact position of the British troops, whose fight to reach the Channel was made more perilous by the Belgian capitulation, which opened the way for "a swift Nazi attack" on Dunkirk. That town is said to still be under British control but undergoing a heavy shelling, bombing, and machine gunning as the British forces "still fighting as a unit" fall back.

Meanwhile, a "murderous battle" continues to rage in Flanders, and a War Office spokesman says the British and French are "fighting admirably," although he gives no further indication of how the battle is going.

Vandals overnight destroyed or damaged memorial wreaths and American flags displayed on 150 memorial trees along Eastern Parkway between Underhill and Franklin Avenues near Prospect Park. The trees are among three thousand planted in memory of American troops lost during the World War, with each bearing the name plate of a single soldier, and all of the trees had been decorated with laurel wreaths and American flags in preparation for tomorrow's Memorial Day observations by the Memorial Wreath Committee of the Kings County American Legion. Legion officials say the vandalism was obviously a deliberate act, with the wreaths folded in half and broken, the flagstaffs snapped in two, and the flags themselves torn up. The vandalism in Brooklyn follows two similar incidents this week in Manhattan, one of which saw the memorial plaque to S. Rankin Drew, killed in action in 1918, smashed to bits by someone wielding a hammer.

US Attorney General Robert H. Jackson is calling for immediate legislation to require the registration of all firearms in private hands, in an effort to keep guns out of the hands of "Fifth Column" organizations. The Attorney General submitted a proposed bill incorporating such a requirement to Speaker of the House William Bankhead. In the accompanying letter, the Attorney General stated that the measure "would be of great importance in the interest of National Defense." The bill includes provisions calling for nationwide gun licensing, recording of all transfers of fire arms, and the payment of a small tax on all gun transfers.

A Brooklyn patrolman who paused while walking his beat to visit a tailor shop pleaded guilty "with an explanation" today in a departmental trial on dereliction of duty charges. The unnamed patrolman told Third Deputy Commissioner Michael A. Lyons that he is constantly being accosted on his beat by people wanting to know the score of the Dodgers' game, and he went into the shop in order to answer that question from its proprietor. "Did the Dodgers win that day," asked Lyons. "Yes they did, " said the patrolman. "That's good," Lyons replied, as he took the case under advisement.

One of the fourteen defendants in the Christian Front seditious conspiracy trial today not only denied holding anti-Semitic views, but enthusiastically declared that he loves Jews very much. Thirty-five-year-old Andrew Buckley was then confronted with a copy of "The Protocols Of The Elders of Zion" which police had confiscated during a raid on his home. The defendant insisted he had never read that notorious anti-Semitic tract, and had only borrowed the copy in question from a co-defendant when he wanted to "check up" on a statement appearing in "Social Justice," the periodical published by Father Charles E. Coughlin. Buckley further stated that he was "completely ignorant" of any conspiracy, and that he had attended only three meetings of the twenty in which the plot was said to have been discussed.

(Pullman porters, however, will still operate on a tip basis. Fifty cents at the end of your trip is the customary sum. And don't call him "George," that isn't his name.)

(Kids Today.)

A giant "independent civic celebration" is rumored in Brooklyn for this weekend, separate from the officially-sanctioned observances surrounding the termination of the Fulton Street "L." Exactly what is planned, and by whom, is being kept a closely guarded secret.

"Madder Than A Wet Hen's" recent letter to Helen Worth about mashers in the movies has generated a flood of replies. Suggestions range from vocally confronting the offending man, in the loudest, sticky-sweetest voice possible with "YOU SEEM TO BE CROWDING ME," to jabbing him as hard as possible in the ribs with an elbow. Helen says these are all good ideas, and she has many others to share in the days to come.

("A hatpin woiks," says Sally. "Ax that guy tried to get smart with me on th' subway yesterday.")

The new Berlin-Ryskind musical "Louisiana Purchase," now playing on Broadway at the Imperal is good fun for everyone, says Arthur Pollock. Victor Moore and William Gaxton, as in "Anything Goes," are together again, joined by Vera Zorina, and the ineffable Irene Bodoni in a tuneful comedy dealing with corrupt Louisiana politics, and if the show has a flaw its that the plot tends to dawdle too much as it meanders along. Nobody says a musical comedy has to be snappy all the time, but neither should it be lethargic.

"Rebecca" will be held over for a week at Loew's Metropolitan.

(John Garfield and Anne Shirley? Didn't see that pairing coming.)

(Too Much Information, Mr. Lichty.)

The Dodgers won their sixth straight, and Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons scattered six hits in earning the 196th victory of his major league career, as the Flock inaugurated its 1940 slate of night games by defeating the Phillies 4-2. Newly-acquired outfielder Jimmy Wasdell made his first appearance in a Brooklyn uniform as the evening's right fielder, going two-for-four and scoring a run thanks to some wide-awake baserunning and adept coaching by manager Durocher. Pee Wee Reese saw his hitting streak stopped at seven games, but the well-corseted Joe Vosmik got two hits, joining Dixie Walker as the only two Dodgers now hitting over .300.

Wasdell's roster spot was opened up by the sale of seldom-used outfielder Gene Moore earlier in the day to the Boston Bees. The departure of Mr. Moore won't mean much on the field, but the Dodger Barbershop Quartet will need to come up with a new bass.

The other recent acquisition, outfielder Joe Gallagher, isn't yet in uniform, and may not be for a while, as Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis reviews the particulars of the trade which brought him to Brooklyn. Team President Larry MacPhail picked up Gallagher in a one-for-one deal with the St. Louis Browns for Roy Cullenbine, but the interleague transfer papers on that trade have not cleared, and until they do clear, neither player is eligible to suit up for his new club. There is as yet no word from the Commissioner's office on whether he has any specific reason to investigate the trade.

The Dodgers will be off today to rest up for the big Decoration Day doubleheader against the Giants, an event expected to fill Ebbets Field to the seams. Vito Tamulis and Luke Hamlin are expected to start for Brooklyn against Carl Hubbell and Harry Gumbert for New York.

("Ya got th' tickets, right?" pesters Joe. "Ya got th' tickets?" I got th' tickets," affirms Sally. "I didn't get to tell off MacPhail though. I'll do that at th' ballpark. Oh boy, will I.")

There'll be plenty of fine semi-pro baseball out at Dexter Park for the holiday weekend if you couldn't get tickets for Ebbets Field. The Bushwicks and Bay Parkways will go head to head in a Decoration Day Doubleheader, and then on Sunday, the Homestead Grays of the Negro National League will arrive to face the Bushwicks while the Parkways head back to Erasmus Field to meet the Cuban Stars.

Bob the Dog lost his last chance at life today as the Court of Appeals in Albany refused to vacate the death sentence imposed on the five-year-old fawn-colored Spitz owned by Mrs. Helen Brown of 809 Ditmas Avenue. Mrs. Brown's appeal to the state's highest court challeneged Bob's conviction on charges of biting three persons on the argument that the law was being applied retroactively in his case. Mrs. Brown has also argued a possible case of mistaken identity, since other dogs in the neighborhood resemble Bob. Bob was sentenced to die last year, and Mrs. Brown has fought to overturn the conviction thru every possible venue ever since. No new date has been set for Bob's execution.

(2-1 that Tootsie walks into the garage with that big dopey smile on her face just as Zip is convinced that the painted elephant is real. 1-1 if that happens, Zip socks George right in the beezer. Extra payoff if Jo is riding on Tootsie as she arrives.)

(I don't often think of turning to "Mary Worth" for hard-hitting criticism of our political system, but I'm willing to change my mind.)

(Yeah, just like Nick Gatt said. AT FIRST.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

The Duke of Windsor? Who cares about the Duke of Windsor right now?

Roast on toast? Do people actually do that???

"Ta-ra-ra-ra Boom-De-Ay," "The Band Played On," and "Mairzy Doats." Which explains a lot about how I grew up.

Let's cancel "Dick Tracy" and give Tip his own strip! Or, how about Tracy's next case being to clear poor Bob of all charges by tracking down the real biter?

Actually, Skeez, you had it right in the second panel. Tula's a lot of things, but she's not an "unobtrusive personality."

Oh, I can't even.

"So we're working together." "No we're not. I'm working. You're working." "So we're working. Together."

For the record, I'm pretty sure this is the first time we've seen Tilda cry since 1929. So you know it's serious.

When even the speech balloons think you're a chump, it's time to wise up.

Actually, shouldn't Moon have found a way to Hollywood by now? Gee-Gee's probably been married and divorced at least three or four times while all this stuff's been going on.

 

[Fading Fast]

...
(Pullman porters, however, will still operate on a tip basis. Fifty cents at the end of your trip is the customary sum. And don't call him "George," that isn't his name.)...

Several of the issues involved here have more than an echo to the issues in today's GIG economy-Uber-etc., debates.

..."Rebecca" will be held over for a week at Loew's Metropolitan....

Nice to see that Brooklynites know a good movie when they see it.

...
(John Garfield and Anne Shirley? Didn't see that pairing coming.)...

If from-the-street-and-angry Garfield can be successfully paired with all-things-pure-and-lovely Priscilla Lane (see '39's "Daughters Courageous") - any Garfield pairing is possible.

...Bob the Dog lost his last chance at life today as the Court of Appeals in Albany refused to vacate the death sentence imposed on the five-year-old fawn-colored Spitz owned by Mrs. Helen Brown of 809 Ditmas Avenue. Mrs. Brown's appeal to the state's highest court challeneged Bob's conviction on charges of biting three persons on the argument that the law was being applied retroactively in his case. Mrs. Brown has also argued a possible case of mistaken identity, since other dogs in the neighborhood resemble Bob. Bob was sentenced to die last year, and Mrs. Brown has fought to overturn the conviction thru every possible venue ever since. No new date has been set for Bob's execution....

Maybe it was emotional, but I thought somewhere along the way he'd receive clemency. There is still a chance I assume/hope.

... The Duke of Windsor? Who cares about the Duke of Windsor right now?...

Another fun-filled page. Pinna Nesbit Cruger Gaston would have won awesome name of the day, but was beaten out at the last minute as, in the same article, this wonderful name popped up, Puk Paaris (pronounced Pook and "Paaris" with two "As"). Thank God for society, models and show-biz people or life would be much duller.

... Let's cancel "Dick Tracy" and give Tip his own strip! Or, how about Tracy's next case being to clear poor Bob of all charges by tracking down the real biter?....

Also, if he gets away with this escape, Tracy should be demoted as our little friend pulled the exact same escape from the jailhouse when he first met Tracy.

.. Actually, Skeez, you had it right in the second panel. Tula's a lot of things, but she's not an "unobtrusive personality."....

Heck, I was just impressed with the salesgirl's vocabulary. Clearly, somebody's been studying her word-of-the-day calendar.

... Oh, I can't even....

I haven't seen it in decades, but I believe Sam and Diane had a "fake" or "forced" kiss early on for some contrived reason (like this Pat-Raven one) and their reaction was about the same. It's not a unique storyline, but "Cheers," forty years later, tracked pretty closely to this storyline in T&TP.

... "So we're working together." "No we're not. I'm working. You're working." "So we're working. Together."....

"You're an honest and upright citizen, but you're a gangster and political boss." Understanding the truth in that sentence is understanding the way the real world works.

The most successful gangsters and political bosses knew (and know today) that they worked in a world without a legal construct to arbitrate disputes, so their word needs to be trusted without doubt.

"Your word is your bond" could not be more important than it is in illegal transactions as it replaces the entire legal construct (contracts, arbitration, courts, etc.) necessary for the success of the legitimate business and political world. Nick knows exactly who he is and what he is doing.

...[ When even the speech balloons think you're a chump, it's time to wise up....n.

Please, please, please forget the money, let her have it, just keep walking and never come back.

 

[LizzieMaine]

British and French armies in the Flanders-Artois trap have been destroyed, according to a statement by the German High Command, and the German Air Force has sunk three Allied warships and sixteen transports trying to effect withdrawals from the pocket. The reports claim that German and French troops managing to reach the Channel coast thru the raking aerial bombardment are plunging into the water and trying to swim to small British boats at anchor, waiting to carry them away.

Meanwhile, British planes shot down 52 German planes and damaged 17 others in an attack on a Nazi seaplane base on the Dutch coast. The British Air Ministry also reports that three RAF planes are missing following that attack.

As a bright spring sun shone down over Brooklyn, the borough paused to remember its war dead in a Memorial Day celebration unlike any since the Armistice 22 years ago, as once again the nation piles up armaments in preparedness against the spreading holocaust of war. A handful of aged men in their nineties marched in the blue uniform of the Union to pay honor to those who died in the War Of The Rebellion, alongside veterans of the Spanish-American War and the World War -- which must now be renamed the First World War to mark it of from the world war that is now raging in Europe and spreading its tentacles across the sea. Breaking with precedent, Mayor LaGuardia himself, who served as a major in the United States Air Service along the Italian-Austrian Front during the World War, chose to march in the Brooklyn parade -- the first time a sitting Mayor has done so.

Tomorrow marks the final full day of operation for the Fulton Street L, with the dilapidated old structure seeming to scream in anticipation of its coming doom with every car that screeched over its rusted rails. The final train will depart from the Rockaway Avenue station at 11 pm, and will proceed to Borough Hall, where Borough President John Cashmore and his entourage will board the train for its final journey. From Borough Hall, the train will cross the Brooklyn Bridge to Park Row, where Mayor LaGuardia and his own entourage will board. The train will then head back to Rockaway Avenue, where it is due to arrive at the station at 11:49 pm for speeches and ceremonies at the terminus of the line.

Tomorrow afternoon at 2pm, an independent civic celebration of the end of the L will feature parades, bands, and banners, to culminate with the burning of the L in effigy near Borough Hall. Organizers of the celebration have declined to release further details, stating that they wish the celebration to be a "spontaneous" commemoration of the end of the unlamented "Black Spider."

The Faculty-Student Committee and Student Activities at Brooklyn College is denying that there is a movement among college administrators to prevent the expression of pacifist views on campus. The statement comes as President Harry Gideonse is the target of student protests over a ban on the activities of the American Student Union and the Peace Congress Continuations Committee, a ban which Dr. Gideonse insists was merely a "disciplinary action" taken in the wake of a "peace strike" by students on May 24th, a strike which the President stated was a violation of school regulations. Dr. Gideonse denied that he had personally ordered the ban, insisting that he "had no part in the matter." Student protesters picketed Dr. Gideonse's home after the ban was announced.

"Q. X." writes in to Helen Worth to complain about her boyfriend, who is nice as pie to her at home, but as soon as they're out in public he treats her a rude and brusque manner. When they go out with other couples, he laughs and jokes with them and pointedly ignores her, refusing to include her in the conversation unless she addresses him directly. She finds this embarrassing, and wants to know what to do about it. She's afraid if she raises the topic with the boyfriend directly, it'll cause a fight. Helen observes that there are, unfortunately, certain people in the world who feel that the malicious slight and the sarcastic dig at their companion somehow adds luster to themselves. She suggests that Q. should give him a chance to rectify his behavior, and if he won't -- drop him.

Cliff is full of beans today. Clearly "S. B." isn't the Big Shot, and he still hasn't told us who is. And another basketball team in Brooklyn -- not called the Dodgers? Someone's falling down on the job. And I had no idea Kate Smith ever sponsored a basketball team -- I thought hockey was her game. And Pee Wee is a "chowmeiniac?" Watch out, Cliff, Winchell doesn't like it when people steal his stuff.

The "Sweetheart of the AEF" from 1918 is back on the screen at Loew's Criterion in "Women At War," and Herbert Cohn says Miss Elsie Janis is all right as the matron as a group of hospital-ship nurses in today's European War. But the real star of the picture is Wendy Barrie as a snappy young woman who killed a soldier in self-defense, and redeems herself by enlisting as a nurse. Miss Janis, meanwhile is still a better singer than she is an actress, but she doesn't sing in this picture.

At the Patio this week it's Ginger Rogers and Joel McCrea in "Primrose Path," paired with "The House Of Seven Gables."

Dr. Abraham Lefkowitz, principal of Samuel Tilden High School, writes in to criticize the Eagle's coverage of his recent imbroglio with Larry MacPhail over the Dodger Knot Hole Club. He strongly resents the implication in recent articles that his actions "put the Knot Hole organization at risk," and calls that a "biased and wholly untrue statement." He further states, for the record, that when Dodger representative Jack Collins delivered 4000 Knot Hole tickets to the school, he specifically, and in front of reliable witnesses, stated that those tickets could be used by boys *and* girls both, and further, that the tickets could be given to any students up to the age of twenty. Dr. Lefkowitz further states that the Dodgers' refusal to admit two thousand ticket holders from Tilden High on the date in question, endangered those youngsters, and in doing so, the team's adminsitration committed an unprecedented breach of faith. And he concludes by stating that Mr. MacPhail, rather than responding in a sportsmanlike way to the charges made, instead misrepresents the facts to the public.

The Eagle Editor apologizes to Dr. Lefkowitz, stressing that it was never the paper's intention to imply that he was responsible for "endangering the Knot Hole program," but at the same time, the Editor defends the published articles by stating that "it did appear that" the controversy "might have some detrimental effect on the attitude of the club" toward the Knot Hole program.

("That's tellin' him, Doc!" exclaims Sally. "Let's see what th' big fathead has to say NOW!" "Open th' window," says Joe. "You can prolly hear him yellin' from here.")

("And I don't believe you weigh 112 pounds, either!")

Today's the big day at Ebbets Field as the Giants move in for a doubleheader clash with the Dodgers, and the Flock is looking forward to seeing their good old friend Carl Hubbell on the mound for the Terrymen in the opener. "The Meal Ticket" has a history of getting punched in Brooklyn, and doesn't even have a .500 record against the Dodgers, having lost 26 out of 48 career decisions. Luke Hamlin pitches the first game for Brooklyn, with Vito Tamulis facing the Giants' Harry Gumpert in the nightcap.

Meanwhile, Leo Durocher is more than happy with Jimmy Wasdell, saying all those people who warned he couldn't hit seem to have been all wet, if the former Washington Senator's debut in Dodger raiment is any indication. "Did you notice his wrist action?" exults Lippy. "There aren't many pitchers fooling that baby badly when he can snap into a ball like he does?" Durocher is also looking forward to trying out former St. Louis Brown Joe Gallagher, dismissing talk that the new acquistion can't hit the curve ball. Leo says his present plans for the Dodger outfield, also known as "The Passing Show of 1940," are to alternate Wasdell and Gallagher alongside Walker and Vosmik to see what develops. That leaves one-time wunderkind Charley Gilbert on the bench alongside Ernie Koy. Gilbert may get in when Walker "gets tired," says Leo, but it appears Ernie will be picking up splinters indefinitely.

Larry MacPhail isn't having any of the criticism now coming his way over the failure of now-departed $25,000 man Roy Cullenbine. The Red Headed One insists that things have worked out exactly as he wanted in the first place, stating that he had tried to buy Gallagher from the Browns last winter for $30,000 but couldn't get him. Now he does have Big Joe, "and we saved $5000, see?"

("You rubbing your greasy face on my nice white beard!" Yep, he's a true Bungle.)

("Things were so much easier when I was a celebutante! Nobody ever wrote anything about me then!")

(Hmmm. Paranoia, mania, uncontrollable jitters. Yep, sounds like Dan's been hitting the pipe all right...)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Ah, Barrymore's back! Borrowing from your ex-wife to pay your income tax? I wonder what Elaine thinks of THAT.

It's going to be a lot more before it's over.

Hahahahahahahahahaha!

Don't you DARE shoot the dog!

You can tell Tilda's really sincere about this, because otherwise she'd have laid the Doc out on the floor for that crack. And Andy too.

And now I'm really beginning to wonder -- IS Nick actually Daddy Warbucks in disguise??

Skeezix, you duplicitous swine. Your web of deception will one day close about you.

Don't scratch matches on the wallpaper, Elmo, you uncouth hound.

This'll end well.

 

[Fading Fast]

...

Cliff is full of beans today. Clearly "S. B." isn't the Big Shot, and he still hasn't told us who is. And another basketball team in Brooklyn -- not called the Dodgers? Someone's falling down on the job. And I had no idea Kate Smith ever sponsored a basketball team -- I thought hockey was her game. And Pee Wee is a "chowmeiniac?" Watch out, Cliff, Winchell doesn't like it when people steal his stuff....

Agreed, he owes us a name or he doesn't get our respect. Even away from that, his column isn't close to Winchell's.

...Dr. Abraham Lefkowitz, principal of Samuel Tilden High School, writes in to criticize the Eagle's coverage of his recent imbroglio with Larry MacPhail over the Dodger Knot Hole Club. He strongly resents the implication in recent articles that his actions "put the Knot Hole organization at risk," and calls that a "biased and wholly untrue statement." He further states, for the record, that when Dodger representative Jack Collins delivered 4000 Knot Hole tickets to the school, he specifically, and in front of reliable witnesses, stated that those tickets could be used by boys *and* girls both, and further, that the tickets could be given to any students up to the age of twenty. Dr. Lefkowitz further states that the Dodgers' refusal to admit two thousand ticket holders from Tilden High on the date in question, endangered those youngsters, and in doing so, the team's adminsitration committed an unprecedented breach of faith. And he concludes by stating that Mr. MacPhail, rather than responding in a sportsmanlike way to the charges made, instead misrepresents the facts to the public.

The Eagle Editor apologizes to Dr. Lefkowitz, stressing that it was never the paper's intention to imply that he was responsible for "endangering the Knot Hole program," but at the same time, the Editor defends the published articles by stating that "it did appear that" the controversy "might have some detrimental effect on the attitude of the club" toward the Knot Hole program.

("That's tellin' him, Doc!" exclaims Sally. "Let's see what th' big fathead has to say NOW!" "Open th' window," says Joe. "You can prolly hear him yellin' from here.")...

This story just got more interesting. Hope there's followup. Oh, and "prolly," well done.

... ("Things were so much easier when I was a celebutante! Nobody every wrote anything about me then!")...

And Leona explains why, then and now, politics rarely attracts the people we'd want governing us.

I know we've said it before, but both in looks and substance, there's some cosmic connect between Leona and Raven Sherman - we need a crossover / the people demand it.

... Ah, Barrymore's back! Borrowing from your ex-wife to pay your income tax? I wonder what Elaine thinks of THAT.....

Another fun-filled day.

Re the union corruption story: it's evergreen and captured pretty well in 1954's "On The Waterfront." We had a similar story just this past January.

Re Virginia Cocalis: Her dad left one complicated-as-heck will.

Re 40 years of back alimony: Maybe the ex is super rich; otherwise, good luck collecting on that decree.

Re Barrymore borrowing from the Ex to pay taxes: Barrymore's gonna Barrymore.

...
Hahahahahahahahahaha!....

More Sam and Diane. My very long ago memory says there was a slap involved as well.

... You can tell Tilda's really sincere about this, because otherwise she'd have laid the Doc out on the floor for that crack. And Andy too.....

That is one seriously harsh comment as, one assumes, the doctor was completely unaware and just being honest. I'm surprised Tilda wasn't laid out on the floor from it. I tilted back a bit just from the collateral blow.

... This'll end well.

I was happy enough for him to abandon the money, but since he's gone this far, pick what you can up (don't spend too much time though) and hightail it out of there. Kudos to Senga, though, for a quick on-her-feet meta-game move. I'll bet it works, too.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A French military source stated today that the Allies have retaken the Abbeville region at the mouth of the Somme, taking two hundred German prisoners and inflicting heavy losses on the enemy in a fierce counterthrust. The report did not lay out specific boundaries of the recaptured territory, but the important section lies north of the Somme River, which would presumably give the Allies a bridgehead and the basis for a possible stab up the coast toward Boulogne and Calais. French sources claim that this thrust at the German rear may be of great importance. French losses included a single tank, but were comparatively light.

Expectations that Adolf Hitler may attempt to split the Allies by offering a separate peace to Britain and to France were voiced today as British troops who escaped from the Nazi trap at Flanders still poured home from the inferno across the Channel. Approximately half of the British Expeditionary Force has been successfully evacuated so far, with new thousands of British, French, and Belgian troops arriving constantly. A new rescue armada of hundreds of ships sailed into Dunkirk harbor, and embarked additional thousands of trapped British and French soldiers while Allied rear guard troops were "fighting like cats" to hold off the Germans.

President Roosevelt today submitted to Congress a request for an additional $1,000,000,000 in supplemental emergency defense funding, and requested "action without delay." The latest enlargement of the Administration's military program is made necessary by "the almost incredible events of the past two weeks of Europe's war -- particularly as the result of the use of aviation and mechanized equipment." While acknowledging that no one can foresee the future, the President stated that "reasonable precaution demands that American defense be made more certain."

The "Black Spider" dies tonight, following a day of civic celebrations over the demise of the fifty-two year old Fulton Street L. Convicted by the people of Brooklyn of the heinous crime of retarding progress, the monster will be executed at the stroke of midnight by Mayor LaGuardia in person. Assisting in the execution will be Borough President John Cashmore and Commissioner John H. Delaney of the Board of Transportation, with members of their respective staffs on hand to act as witnesses. The formal termination of service at the Rockaway Avenue station is the final act in a series of events marking the finish of the L, whose shadows have cast much of Downtown Brooklyn into gloom since 1888, including a motorcade thru the borough led by civic officials and a ceremonial burning-in-effigy of the monster itself.

The L will linger after death for a brief time as plans advance for its demolition, expected to begin within a few weeks. The monster will receive no dignified burial or cremation, but its corpse will be torn to pieces in a torturous manner befitting an arch-criminal, with the Board of Transportation serving as undertaker. Survivors include the younger, healthier, and more progressive Fulton Street Independent and IRT subway lines, now together under transit unification, and the surface lines, all of whom, it is hoped, will serve into the future as vehicles of progress and not impediments to it.

A National Guard supply sergeant admitted today to illegally providing Government ammunition three times to fellow Christian Front seditious conspiracy defendant William Gerald Bishop on three occasions, under the orders of his commanding officer, defendant Capt. John T. Prout Jr. Sergeant Alfred Quinlan stated in Brooklyn Federal Court that the last such instance involved "six hundred or seven hundred rounds" of ammunition, but could cite no figures for the previous two instances, stating only that these cases involved quantities of 30-caliber rifle cartridges carried away by Bishop in a brown paper bag.

Three more of eleven paving corporations indicted by Assistant Attorney General John H. Amen in his investigation of corruption in the awarding of borough paving contracts have entered guilty pleas before Supreme Court Justice John McCrate. The three are the Cranford Company, the Cranford Materiel Corporation, and the Highway Improvement and Repair Company, Incorporated. Sentence will be deferred until all of the cases have been disposed of. The companies are liable to fines of up to $20,000 each.

Magazine publisher Moses L. Annenberg is expected to settle his outstanding income tax bill for a compromise payment expected to be in the range of $8,000,000. The tentative agreement with the wealthy publisher, who made his fortune with the Daily Racing Form before moving on to other publications including Movie-Radio Guide, would dispose of civil and criminal charges against Annenberg and ten of his associates.

Dr. Abraham Ditchik, Manhattan dentist convicted of extortion in connection with a Brooklyn abortion racket, has been released on $20,000 bail pending an appeal of his case before the State Appellate Division. Dr. Ditchik had been sentenced, following his convinction on March 6th, to between two years and three months and four years and six months at Sing Sing Prison.

Yesterday's Memorial Day attendance at the World's Fair set a new single-day record of 317, 068 paid admissions -- which puts the Fair far ahead of 1939's attendance pace. Statisticians in the Fair office pointed out that 1939's edition didn't pass the 300,000 attendance mark for a single day until August 27th, and predict that with the coming of the summer season, all Fair records will be broken.

Only four Boys In Blue remained to march in this year's Memorial Day Parade, with Commander Robert G. Summers, at age 97, serving in full dress G.A.R. uniform as the Grand Marshal. Last year, six Civil War veterans marched in the parade, and in 1938 there were nine.

("Hey Joe," says Sally. "Whyncha get yaself an outfit like this? Look better'n 'at old doity unnershoit you got on when ya set out on th' stoop at night." "Huh," says Joe. "Willya lookit that. Whassa woil' comin' to? Looks like one 'a them hepcats or somethin'.")

Did you know that most screen kisses you see in the movies are faked? Directors can't use a real, honest kiss because it always distorts the faces of the kissers, and that just won't do. Most movie smooches are applied off-center or below the actual lips of the kiss-ees, to ensure that the leading man's nose doesn't throw a shadow on the leading lady's face or otherwise impair the camera's view. Most generous of screen kissers? James Cagney, who is always very careful to leave his co-star's features in view. Most troubelsome kisser? Errol Flynn, who "regularly violates screen kissing customs."

(Kids Today.)

Thirty-four thousand four hundred and fifty-eight rampaging rooters stuffed Ebbets Field to the rafters yesterday -- with another twenty thousand turned away -- and most of them left in a foul mood after watching the Dodgers drop their Memorial Day twinbill to the hated Giants. Carl Hubbell, usually meat to Brooklyn batters, instead held the Flock to a single hit in rolling up a 7-0 win. Adding insult to injury, Ol' Squarepants accomplished this feat while facing the minimum 27 batters -- Johnny Hudson's single in the third inning was promptly followed by a double play, and that was that. The nightcap featured more scoring but still no real punch, as the Giants prevailed 12-5 in twelve innings, and the less said about the twelfth-inning Giant onslaught the better.

Three ticket scalpers were arrested outside the ballpark before the game, in the city's promised crackdown on speculators. Before they were shutdown, the pasteboarders were asking -- and getting -- $15 for a pair of $1.65 reserved grandstand seats.

Radio listeners were baffled yesterday by the late start to WOR's broadcast of the doubleheader. The station had neglected to inform Larry MacPhail that it had a previous commercial obligation that would keep the Dodgers off the air from 1:30 to 2:30 pm, and when MacPhail did learn of this, he sent two armed guards to the broadcast booth to keep Red Barber and Al Helfer from taking the air at 2:30. Furious telephone conversations followed, and Mr. Barber was allowed to begin his Barbering at 3:12 pm, with the first game nearly over. The nightcap was broadcast in its entirety without incident.

The Dodgers are off today, as they head west to meet the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field tomorrow.

Wilbur Shaw of Indianapolis earned $30,000 yesterday as winner of the Indianapolis 500 auto race, averaging 114.277 miles per hour to rack up his third victory in the annual speedway classic. Shaw also became the first driver to win the race in consecutive years.

(Better am-scray, boys -- the game is up!)

(So I guess we don't have to worry about John dallying with his secretary. He's not her type.)

("But first -- have you tried the newest, the richest, most chocolatey-flavored Ovaltine!")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Somehow it doesn't surprise me that subway-motormaning is among Hizzoner's many occupational talents.

Celebrity endorsements, yet! If H&H is on the ball, they'll sign up Jerry Colonna immediately.

Point taken.

Nick's daily "To Do" list must be quite a read.

This Or That: "Dog Leaping Off Fire Escape" or "Annie Being Thrown In Sea?"

OK, now that you know, what are you going to do about it?

I never cease to be amazed by the ol' Cap'n's remarkable agility.

Moth, meet flame.

Why even pretend anymore?

"Put in storage." Heh!

 

[Fading Fast]

....Approximately half of the British Expeditionary Force has been successfully evacuated so far, with new thousands of British, French, and Belgian troops arriving constantly. A new rescue armada of hundreds of ships sailed into Dunkirk harbor, and embarked additional thousands of trapped British and French soldiers while Allied rear guard troops were "fighting like cats" to hold off the Germans....

Amazing to read about Dunkirk in real time. While it's been recreated in many movies since, I still find its representation in 1942's "Mrs. Miniver" to be the most emotionally stirring of them all.

...and the surface lines, all of whom, it is hoped, will serve into the future as vehicles of progress and not impediments to it....

Sigh

...("Hey Joe," says Sally. "Whyncha get yaself an outfit like this? Look better'n 'at old doity unnershoit you got on when ya set out on th' stoop at night." "Huh," says Joe. "Willya lookit that. Whassa woil' comin' to? Looks like one 'a them hepcats or somethin'.")...

"Whyncha"

...
(Kids Today.)...

Also, that was back when college was, for the most part, an elite-kids event.

...Three ticket scalpers were arrested outside the ballpark before the game, in the city's promised crackdown on speculators. Before they were shutdown, the pasteboarders were asking -- and getting -- $15 for a pair of $1.65 reserved grandstand seats....

That is a serious premium to face value (by any ticket-scalping standards) and explains why, try as they will, they won't shut ticket scalping down - it's just too darn profitable as it's filling a real demand.

... (So I guess we don't have to worry about John dallying with his secretary. He's not her type.)..

And in case he ever thinks about cheating in general: note to John, Leona is not a woman to cheat on.

...

Somehow it doesn't surprise me that subway-motormaning is among Hizzoner's many occupational talents....

This Gould divorce will be interesting to follow as both sides appear to be dug in and Gould's got some, on the face of it, serious arguments.

Gould's home, The Ritz Tower, then and now:

... Nick's daily "To Do" list must be quite a read....

Running any large business or organization is exhausting as only the really tough problems bubble up - and there are always a lot of them. All the easy stuff is taken care of before it gets to the big guy/woman in charge.

Years ago, my girlfriend sat on the jury of a pretty big gang trial and she said the leaders - had they gone the honest route - could have gone pretty high up in legitimate business as they were, basically, smart business guys running a large organization worried about payrolls, motivation, employee satisfaction, business planing, competition, customer satisfaction, etc., along with all the violent stuff (which they didn't want - bad for business, expensive and dangerous).

... This Or That: "Dog Leaping Off Fire Escape" or "Annie Being Thrown In Sea?"...

Good catch. The image of Annie being tossed overboard was incongruously very funny.

... Moth, meet flame.


Why even pretend anymore?...

These two boys are killing me slowly. A few more days of this water torture and I'm giving up - give 'em your money, marry 'em, shoot yourselves - I won't care anymore.

Also, what the heck happened to any sense of scale in "Harold Teen" panel one or was that done on purpose?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I caught that weird perspective too, and I can't imagine it wasn't intentional. There is a whole subculture built around just such giant-woman tiny-man dynamics (hello, Chester Gould), and it's just too disturbing for words to imagine Harold involved in that.

I do, however, appreciate "Holy Sox!" Vintage Expressions You No Longer Hear.

 

[LizzieMaine]

France stood firm as Germany launched a mass attack today along the Somme, attempting to win back bridgeheads the French had won on the north bank on the twenty-mile front between Amiens and the sea. Sensing a threat to their entire Channel wedge, the Nazis opened with a violent bombardment by field artillery followed by roaring Stuka dive bombers, then massed tanks, and finally the infantry in massed formations of the type favored by Germany in the last war. Again and again the Germans attacked, only, according to official assertions, to be thrown back without gain.

All but one division of the 175,000-man British Expeditionary Force has been safely removed from Flanders, according to members of that force saved from the Nazi trap by the greatest rescue operation in military history. That one remaining division, numbering an estimated 15,000 men, along with two divisions of the French army, were the only Allied troops still covering the Dunkirk retreat, out of a force that once numbered over a quarter of a million. How many were killed has not been ascertained, but it is estimated that approximately 100,000 men were rescued.

Meanwhile, German bombers claim to have sunk five British transport ships in raids over Dunkirk, along with one destroyer and several speedboats reported to have been destroyed by submarines. The air and sea attacks continued as German infantry marched 26,000 French prisoners toward prison camps from the blood-soaked fields around Lille.

Congress today rallied behind President Roosevelt's call for another billion dollars to shore up American national defense, but there was sharp dissension over his request for authority to activate the National Guard if needed. Republican Senator Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan called that request "shocking," suggesting that such power would give the President the ability to "order a partial mobilization" by executive authority alone.

The arrival of June meant a sudden crush of traffic at the long counter of the Brooklyn Marriage Bureau. Thirty-seven couples were waiting when the office opened this morning, impatient to get their marriage licenses, and if they're any sampling of public opinion it isn't because of the war. "The war ain't got nothin' to do with it, see?" snapped one prospective bridegroom when questioned by an Eagle reporter. But there was one dissenter -- the thirty-seventh groom-in-waiting declared that the war has "everything" to do with his impending marriage. That gentleman shouted that he works in an aircraft plant, and the job security provided by the war is the major factor in making a wedding possible.

Fifteen thousand revelers were on hand at Rockaway Station at the stroke of midnight to mark the long-awaited demise of the Fulton Street L, but when the last car came screeching into the station, it had been stripped clean of all possible souvenirs by its riders, with straphandles, emergency cords, and anything else that could be pried up, out, or off having been claimed by last-run passengers. Among the last riders was Benjamin Grindrod, a mortician of 27 Hull Street, who had the distinction of riding on the very first car to traverse the L back in 1888. Mr. Grindrod vividly recalled the puffing steam locomotives that pulled the trains more than half a century ago, but looking around at the rattletrap wooden car making the final run, he suggested it might be one of the originals.

Borough President John Cashmore was nearly grabbed for turnstile-jumping when he attempted to board the last train at Borough Hall. An alert guard intercepted the Borough President and demanded to see his ticket, and was ready to run him in until Mr. Cashmore explained who he was. Even then, the ticket-taker was reluctant. "I don't know," he demurred. "If you say so, I guess it's all right..."

Miss C. H. F. writes to Helen Worth to chime in on the matter of movie mashers -- she says the only way to deal with them is to let them have it right in the face. "Your advice is always punk," she declares. "Always sticking up for rotten men in love affairs."

(Joe puts down the paper and looks at Sally, trying to see if she has an ink stain on her fingers. She notices him looking and he immediately begins to study an ad for Loon Lake Colony in the Adirondack Mountains.)

Clifford Evans says that there is no love lost between Larry MacPhail and Leo Durocher. Relations between the Dodger president and his manager are frosty after two recent incidents of MacPhail storming into the dugout during recent games at Ebbets Field, and objecting to Lippy's strategy -- in full view of players and fans.

(They had to do something before social media was invented.)

The Eagle Editorialist reluctantly endorses the death sentence against Bob the Dog, stating that the "wisdom of the law" in upholding the sentence passed last year against the fawn-colored Spitz cannot be doubted. "Bob's lack of discretion in the matter of biting proved he cannot be trusted."

The Dodgers, still smarting from their doubleheader loss to the Giants on Decoration Day, and looking up at the league-leading Reds from a defecit of two games, are nonetheless optimistic as they begin a twelve-game western road trip today in Chicago. Tommy Holmes points out that the Flock has done much better on the road this season than at home, with a 10-2 record abroad compared to their 11-8 tally at Ebbets Field. The road trip will include four games at Wrigley Field, including a doubleheader tomorrow, followed by two in St Louis, including a night game, four in Cincinnati, including a twinbill, and two in Pittsburgh including a night game.

Tex Carleton, who hasn't had a decision since his no hitter over a month ago, will get the start this afternoon, followed by Hamlin and Wyatt in the doubleheader tomorrow.

Pete Coscarart has had the stitches removed from his spiked knee, but he is expected to be out of the lineup for another week.

There will be no air travel during this road trip, with the Dodgers completing the entire circuit by rail, which seems to be a tacit admission on the part of club management that the time isn't yet ripe for regular flights.

Frank Capra will begin his career as an indepenent producer with "The Story of John Doe," starring Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper. Filming is to begin on July 3rd, with Capra intending to release the picture thru Warner Bros. this winter.

Now at the Patio, it's Mickey Rooney in "Young Tom Edison," paired with Lionel Barrymore and Lew Ayers in "Dr. Kildare's Strange Case."

(Never try to pull off a scam in a building with only one exit.)

(Somewhere, 22-year-old Edwin O'Connor is reading "Mary Worth" and soaking up future inspiration.)

("Wheeeeeee!" indeed.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Somehow gamy celebrity divorces don't seem quite so compelling today...

I've done both the mixed-shoes thing and the get-in-the-shower-with-clothes-on thing, but not the nightgown thing. Yet.

Fox? More like a cat, complete with nine lives...

Either that's the biggest laundry basket ever seen by the eyes of humanity, or Trohs has once again exercised his remarkable shrinking power yet again with blatant disregard for the laws of conservation of mass. And will somebody please help that poor dog???

Endgame? Or just the beginning?

Miss Snipe = J. Wellington Wimpy. "Come on over for a duck dinner -- you bring the ducks!"

The Prince is pretty remarkable -- just as articulate in his sleep as when he's awake. Just please no more hokey poetry.

Senga will not be "friendzoned."

Nanny sure does like to live a dangerous life.

 

[Fading Fast]

France stood firm as Germany launched a mass attack today along the Somme, attempting to win back bridgeheads the French had won on the north bank on the twenty-mile front between Amiens and the sea. Sensing a threat to their entire Channel wedge, the Nazis opened with a violent bombardment by field artillery followed by roaring Stuka dive bombers, then massed tanks, and finally the infantry in massed formations of the type favored by Germany in the last war. Again and again the Germans attacked, only, according to official assertions, to be thrown back without gain.

All but one division of the 175,000-man British Expeditionary Force has been safely removed from Flanders, according to members of that force saved from the Nazi trap by the greatest rescue operation in military history. That one remaining division, numbering an estimated 15,000 men, along with two divisions of the French army, were the only Allied troops still covering the Dunkirk retreat, out of a force that once numbered over a quarter of a million. How many were killed has not been ascertained, but it is estimated that approximately 100,000 men were rescued....

I know the papers are reporting in real time, so no criticism, but I think, in the end, the estimates were north of 300,000 recovered from Dunkirk, a truly amazing feat and number.

...Congress today rallied behind President Roosevelt's call for another billion dollars to shore up American national defense, but there was sharp dissension over his request for authority to activate the National Guard if needed. Republican Senator Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan called that request "shocking," suggesting that such power would give the President the ability to "order a partial mobilization" by executive authority alone.
...

There's an expression in the investment world that goes something like this: all investible ideas are visible ideas as we must see it in the data. Which loosely means investment ideas that have yet to show up in the data (the stock going up, say) are hard sells as people only like to commit when an idea is already visibly working. Apparently, Congress and spending on war preparation has a similar dynamic.

...Miss C. H. F. writes to Helen Worth to chime in on the matter of movie mashers -- she says the only way to deal with them is to let them have it right in the face. "Your advice is always punk," she declares. "Always sticking up for rotten men in love affairs."

(Joe puts down the paper and looks at Sally, trying to see if she has an ink stain on her fingers. She notices him looking and he immediately begins to study an ad for Loon Lake Colony in the Adirondack Mountains.)...

...The Eagle Editorialist reluctantly endorses the death sentence against Bob the Dog, stating that the "wisdom of the law" in upholding the sentence passed last year against the fawn-colored Spitz cannot be doubted. "Bob's lack of discretion in the matter of biting proved he cannot be trusted."...

....Frank Capra will begin his career as an indepenent producer with "The Story of John Doe," starring Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper. Filming is to begin on July 3rd, with Capra intending to release the picture thru Warner Bros. this winter....

No small amount of Hollywood politics and fighting went on behind that decision.

... ("Wheeeeeee!" indeed.)

It's a Tarantino moment before there was a Tarantino: the bullets will be flying soon enough.

...
I've done both the mixed-shoes thing and the get-in-the-shower-with-clothes-on thing, but not the nightgown thing. Yet.....

I've never mixed up the shoes, but have worn mismatched socks many times and forgot to put on my belt on more than one occasion (finally decided to just keep an old one at work for such "emergencies"). I've stepped into the shower with my glasses on a few too many times to admit. My girlfriend, about once a year, leaves the house with a blouse/shirt on inside out.

... Fox? More like a cat, complete with nine lives.......

They were starving for weeks awhile back, had some long treks and it's hard to believe they were overfed on the cholera boat - doesn't Blaze ever lose any weight?

... Either that's the biggest laundry basket ever seen by the eyes of humanity, or Trohs has once again exercised his remarkable shrinking power yet again with blatant disregard for the laws of conservation of mass. And will somebody please help that poor dog???....

All true, plus, I'm expecting Tracy to discover the laundry shoot escape. Maybe it wasn't the trope it became, but finding it is still pretty straight-forward detective work.

... Miss Snipe = J. Wellington Wimpy. "Come on over for a duck dinner -- you bring the ducks!"....

He should simply not have picked up the tab especially since he wasn't eating and hadn't invited anyone. At some point, you have to learn how to not be a sucker.

... Senga will not be "friendzoned."....

I'm so frustrated with him and Skeezix (what is with that name?), that I might take out a little ad box in the Eagle's classified or write a letter to Helen Worth as those seem to be the things to do to vent publicly before social media.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Skeezix is called that because, supposedly, it's "an old cowboy slang term for a motherless calf." And that fits in with his origins -- on the morning of February 14, 1921, fat fussy bachelor Walt Wallet opened his front door and....

Walt started calling him "Skeezix" a week later without any explanation, suggesting it was a familiar slang word, at least for readers of pulp westerns in 1921. But eventually his neighbors complained that "Skeezix" wasn't a proper name for a child and he decided to name his foundling son -- "Allison."

Allison. "It means 'son of the Alley,'" he explained, while standing out in the original "gasoline alley" with his friends. And from then on, everybody called the boy "Skeezix," and he remains such even down to the present day.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Germany claims that it has destroyed the battleship H. M. S. Nelson, pride of the British Home Fleet. A Nazi spokesman claims that 700 crewmen went down with the 33,950-ton flagship, but citing military secrecy declined to provide further details.

Meanwhile, the German High Command says the last resistance in the north of France has been broken, as lines of disarmed Allied soldiers plod toward prison camps. German estimates state that 28,000 French troops have been captured in the Lille sector alone. German dive bombers continued today to pound the last remaining Allied fighters in the ruins of Dunkirk, as Nazi armies in the south continued their drive along the Somme.

British troops arriving back on their home soil following their dramatic cross-Channel evacuation declare that "Jerry's no fighter!" as they describe battle conditions in the fight for France. Returned Tommies state that Nazi troops "used women and children as shields," and one lance corporal spat on the ground as he condemned German battlefield atrocities. "The Jerries drove women and children ahead of them," he claimed, "and we had to hold our file. We finally got our chance and went at them with bayonets." The corporal continued, "give us more tanks, more planes, and more machine guns and we will run the blighters into Berlin."

Dodger shortstop Pee Wee Reese is conscious and resting comfortably in a Chicago hospital after he was hit in the head by a pitch thrown by Jake Mooty of the Cubs during yesterday's game at Wrigley Field. The 21-year-old star rookie was beaned in the top of the twelfth inning, and was taken unconscious to Illinois Masonic Hospital for treatment. X-rays revealed no skull fracture, but doctors stated that Reese suffered "a severe concussion" from the ball, and he will be unable to undergo further examination until tomorrow. The Dodgers lost the game in the bottom of the twelfth on a home run by the Cubs' Al Todd by a score of 4-3.

The city has taken formal title to all properties of the B. M. T. under transit unification. Payment of city bonds totaling $147,000,000 to B. M. T. shareholders concludes the transaction, and Transit Commissioner Reuben L. Haskell -- a prominent opponent of the final unification plan -- says that he will do his best to enforce the terms of what he calls "a bad bargain." Mayor LaGuardia was on hand to preside over the ceremony paying over the bonds, and when asked whether the removal of the Fulton Street L will lead in turn to the removal of the trolley lines now operating along Fulton Street the Mayor acknowledged that "it seems a pity" to leave them there, but that at least the long-haul trolleys on that route will have to remain in operation "for the time being."

The Richmond Hill telephone exchange in Queens is to be discontinued, following a ruling by the state Public Utilities Commission upholding a decision by the New York Telephone Company to drop that exchange and absorb the area it covers into surrounding exchanges. Residents had opposed the decision, citing a sentimental attachment to the Richmond Hill name, and members of the Richmond Hill Board of Trade declared that loss of that name in telephone numbers will lead to a loss of business. The Richmond Hill exchange dates back to 1892, and is one of the last non-dial-service manual exchanges left in the city.

(There is nothing on earth so uncomfortable as wearing a girdle on a hot day. Trust me.)

A group of North Shore property owners is petitioning to keep the subway spur built to serve the World's Fair in operation after the Fair closes this fall. The spur running from Kew Gardens to the fairgrounds is slated to be razed once the Fair is over, but property owners say the increase in homebuilding now going on between Kew Gardens and Flushing makes continuation of the spur essential to the growth of the area.

Old Timer Thomas J. Preston remembers the good old days back home in Greenpoint, when he played shinny on Leonard Street with his pal Charley Hughes. Maybe you know him today -- he goes by the name of Chief Justice Of The Supreme Court Charles Evans Hughes.

Thomas C. Desmond of Newburg writes in to suggest that in these critical times it's worth taking another look at the benefits of child labor, proposing that the old "apprentice system" should be revived -- but he stresses that he believes this program should be a supplement to classroom education and not a replacement for it.

Tommy Holmes reports that the Jake Mooty pitch that knocked Pee Wee Reese out cold hit him so squarely behind the right ear that Reese went into a half spin and then fell so hard that his feet flew in the air. He also notes that Reese had hit long flies off Mooty in two previous plate appearances, and suggests that if the pitch was an intentional effort to brush the rookie back, it more than succeeded. Both benches emptied onto the field, but there was no brawl, as a Chicago physician, Dr. John F. Davis, rushed from the stands and took charge as Reese was carried off the field on a stretcher. The injury to the young shortstop is the second severe blow to the Dodgers in as many weeks, with Reese's keystone partner, second baseman Pete Coscarart, still recovering from a severe spiking during a game against the Cubs at Ebbets Field.

Luke Hamlin and Whit Wyatt are scheduled to pitch for Brooklyn today in a Wrigley Field twinbill against Chicago, against Vern Olson and Big Bill Lee. It remains to be seen if simmering bad blood between the two teams over the injuries to Coscarart and Reese will spill over onto the field.

Out at Dexter Park today the Bushwicks, with an 11 game winning streak on the line, will face the powerful Homestead Grays of the Negro National League in a doubleheader, with the Grays expected to pull out all the stops in an effort to snap that skein. Last year the "crack colored outfit" beat the Bushwicks three games out of five. The Grays finished second last year in the NNL, and have a much improved team in 1940.

One of the few New Dealers in the steel industry takes the front cover of Trend this week -- E. R. Stettinius will serve on the new Council of National Defense as a strong supporter of the Roosevelt Administration...

The first political party convention of the 1940 campaign season will be broadcast this afternoon over WJZ and WOR at 1:30 pm, as the Communist Party convenes to select its presidential nominee. WABC will join the convention broadcast at 8 pm.

(A circus! Maybe Red will run into Tootsie the Trolling Elephant!)

(Poor M. Reynaud. I don't think he'll be getting in much bicycling from here on.)

(Sunny is a "free range child.")

("Militarization of the Police," 1940 style)

(Be thankful, at least, that they aren't elephants.)