The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Chottie doesn't worry, so why should we?

And Livvy got the last laugh.

Mr. Hill and his wife are fighting again.

"Things have come to a pretty pass!" Karen 1940 wants to speak to the manager.

The dog can always tell. Always listen to the dog.

Do you get the feeling that people in 1940 are a bit anxious about sea travel?

Connie doesn't know Hu Shee, so he keeps up the "so solly" act. But Hu Shee clearly knows who Connie is, and is about to play him like an inexpensive stringed intstrument.

Oh good, Shadow found his other glove.

Good for you, kid. I used to go around doing the same thing.

Mr. Willard has a persecution complex.

 

[Fading Fast]

Funding for the long-discussed Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel has been approved by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Mayor LaGuardia announced yesterday that the RFC has agreed to finance the $80,000,000 tunnel project, and that the agency will allot $57,000,000 to buy bonds issued by the New York City Tunnel Authority. The Mayor revealed the agreement in his remarks at the dedication of the new Belt Parkway at Owl's Head Park, following confirmation in a telegram received from RFC head Jesse H. Jones. With funding now secure, the next step to be completed before construction of the tunnel can begin is for the Board of Estimate to acquire title to the necessary land for the shaft, a step to be completed "as soon as possible."...

Tech-nic-nee, NYC still has to pay for it as the financing, in this case, is a loan. Nothing wrong with that at all, but very different from today where NYC (and many other cities) often want a "grant" (money you just get to keep) from the Federal government for projects like this.

...A net reduction of one-half cent in the cigarette tax will be of no benefit to Brooklyn smokers, with the average price per pack of gaspers expected to remain at sixteen cents. Retailers will add the half-cent, instead, to their profit margin. The tax structure on cigarettes in the city now stands at 6 1/2 cents per twenty-stick pack for the Federal government, and 2 cents for the State. The former 1 cent city relief tax has been eliminated, but at the same time, the Federal levy rises to 6 1/2 cents from its previous six-cent level....

Today's tax (from the web):The state excise tax rate is $4.35 per package of 20 cigarettes. The New York City local excise tax is $1.50 per package of 20 cigarettes, bringing the combined tax rate for a package of 20 cigarettes purchased in New York City to $5.85. Plus, Cigarette taxes around the country are levied on top of the federal rate of $1.0066 per 20-pack of cigarettes.

So ~$6.85 all in for a pack in taxes today.

In comparison, the "inflation adjusted" 1940 tax of 6.5 cents a pack would be ~$1.28 today.

... (Fun Fact: Mr. Dewey is the last major presidential candidate to wear any kind of facial hair.)..

What are the odds of Cary Grant's Coney Island connection getting two separate mentions in the Eagle on the same day?

Re the hat: She's got nothing on Momma's "bird" hat.

... Chottie doesn't worry, so why should we?....

Isn't the obvious answer that Chottie will just tap her rich fiancé?

Re Leni Lynn: According to IMDB, she had a pretty minor career appearing in only ten films in total in the '30s and '40s with the last appearance being in 1946. She did do one thing very Hollywood though; she had a total of four husbands.

Re Cliff Edwards and his baldness treatments: could it be George Litchy using a pseudonym?

...
Mr. Hill and his wife are fighting again.....

"Bachelor career girls," uh-huh (note the attire of the woman on the right in the circle). Raven and Hu Shee might want to pay attention. They knew how to tuck this stuff in quietly back then, didn't they?

... The dog can always tell. Always listen to the dog....

Yup Re the dog.

I do feel bad for Jill.

Also, isn't it amazing how almost anyone who owned a boat in the '30s-'50s wore, basically, the same cap. You see it in the movies all the time, like on Bogie in 1944's "To Have and Have Not:"

... Connie doesn't know Hu Shee, so he keeps up the "so solly" act. But Hu Shee clearly knows who Connie is, and is about to play him like an inexpensive stringed intstrument.....

Why wouldn't "Hu Shee" use her "too long to remember" Chinese name when talking with Connie?

Raven spits out a lot of good lines (as always): "...if I act like a hot-house orchid instead of a work-gang foreman...," "You say your name is 'Hu Shee'?...that's too good," "If I'm to parade my fatal bee-youtee before Ryan..." and "That should bring him to my door quicker than a better mouse trap." Not bad for one day's work.

Still preferring soccer-shirt-and-slacks Raven to dolled-up Raven.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Yeah, and likewise Connie, who is not actually "George Webster Confucius," which is an entirely made-up name he used when he was trying to get the job as Pat and Terry's translator, using precisely the same excuse -- "Chinese name is too long." One of the things I always appreciate about T&TP is that nobody is ever exactly who they seem to be, with the possible exception of Terry himself.

Note also that Connie is very fond of using emojis. There is nothing new under the sun.

I suspect that Pat is going to take one look at her and bust out laughing -- "it's too early for trick or treat, so what's the angle?" And then her rage will flame like a thousand dawns.

Of course, twenty five years down the line, that cap is going to become forever branded as the mark of The Skipper, whaling down on the unfortunate head of poor Gilligan. I still see older, tubbier boaty types around town here wearing that exact headgear.

You can buy cigarettes by the carton from the Sears catalog in 1940 for $1.50 a carton, which saves a dime off the retail NYC price, if you don't get caught. Just have them shipped to an address in Jersey, drive over and pick them up. That's half the reason they built the Holland Tunnel.

 

[Fading Fast]

... And then her rage will flame like a thousand dawns....

...You can buy cigarettes by the carton from the Sears catalog in 1940 for $1.50 a carton, which saves a dime off the retail NYC price, if you don't get caught. Just have them shipped to an address in Jersey, drive over and pick them up. That's half the reason they built the Holland Tunnel.

For years, New Yorkers used to ship all sorts of purchases - suits, dresses, jewelry, etc. - to friends in NJ to save on tax. In the '70s, a lot of stores would just fake it and let you take the item. Then, for awhile, the thing was to send an empty box to a NJ address. But by the late '90s, that game was up and you had to send the actually item to a real address. I never played any of those games, not because I'm honest, but because I didn't want to risk my financial industry licenses if I got caught.

 

[belfastboy]

For years, New Yorkers used to ship all sorts of purchases - suits, dresses, jewelry, etc. - to friends in NJ to save on tax. In the '70s, a lot of stores would just fake it and let you take the item. Then, for awhile, the thing was to send an empty box to a NJ address. But by the late '90s, that game was up and you had to send the actually item to a real address. I never played any of those games, not because I'm honest, but because I didn't want to risk my financial industry licenses if I got caught.

The Canadian equivalent is to have US purchases shipped to a border town parcel service and then drive down to pick up. It saves a ton on shipping and if you under about $500 they wave you through and it saves the 12% sales tax. I always declare the goods when crossing back into Canada and while theoretically I should be sent in to the office to pay the tax they have always waved me through. The only time I can remember was bringing back $900 worth of bikes parts. They sent me in, I declared they were a combo of US and Japanese manufacture. They should charge duty on the Japanese items. The border agent asked if they were all purchased from a US source and when I replied yes....he declared that for today, between him and me....they were to be considered US made....close enough he said. He did not want to have to take the time to separate the two types and calc the duty owed. They can confiscate your vehicle if you make a false declaration...not sure they have ever done it to anyone but a drug dealer.
My border town is Blaine WA and most of the economy of the town is based on the many many parcel depots that have sprung up to handle us Canadian's US based purchases.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The German Army has set foot on British soil for the first time, occupying the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey in a surprise move by units of the Nazi air force. It was announced in London that all communication with the islands has been temporarily suspended.

The British Ministry of Information issued an official statement denying reports that German troops have landed on the English coast, and that paratroopers have landed in the West Midlands. The official report also states that a German reconnaissance plane shot down two British fighters of the Bristol-Blenheim type in an air battle.

With its forces withdrawing before the Soviet advance in Bessarabia and Bucovina, Rumania is now massing troops to meet a possible Hungarian invasion of Transylvania. A massing of Hungarian troops on the Rumanian frontier was accompanied by a callup of reservists across Hungary amidst "the general impression that Rumania is collapsing." The Hungarian actions are said to be intended to protect the Magyar minority of more than 2,000,000 living in Rumanian territory.

President Roosevelt today asked Congress to approve a "steeply graduated excess profits tax" applicable to all individuals and organizations to prevent the creation of war millionaires. The President did not estimate how much revenue toward National Defense he expects this tax to generate.

Republican presidential nominee Wendell Willkie today placed a chip on his shoulder and invited the President and his New Deal supporters to knock it off. Speaking before a free-for-all press conference in New York following his return from the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Mr. Willkie declared that he hopes the President will be nominated for a third term when the Democratic Party convenes later this month, "because I think I can beat him." The candidate expressed the belief that "the boys in Washington are jittery" over his nomination.

Old-time Hollywood comedian Ben Turpin has died at the age of 65. Famous for his prominent crossed eyes, Mr. Turpin made scores of one and two-reel comedies in the old silent days after a career on stage in vaudeville and burlesque, but has been little seen on the screen since the advent of the talkies. He retired in 1930, having grown wealthy from real estate investments, but made a comeback appearance last year in "Hollywood Cavalcade." He had been ill for some time, but seemed on the way to recovery until he was stricken early this morning.

Publisher Moses L. Annenberg will serve three years in Federal prison for tax evasion. The publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer and several magazines made his fortune with the Daily Racing Form, and was found guilty earlier this year of evading payment of more than $1,200,000 in Federal income taxes.

Detectives in the Fort Hamilton precinct are investigating a wave of tire-slashings. Thirty-six tires on nine automobiles were punctured sometime early yesterday while the cars were parked in front of the Wynshore Apartments, 1 74th Street.

A squad of investigators from the Triborough Bridge Authority today swept down on defiant residents of a mile-long stretch along 3rd Avenue who are refusing to vacate their homes to make way for the approach to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. The residents have defied an eviction order issued by the city on June 15th, giving them until today to vacate the properties, and are said to be preparing an organized resistance to the removal order. A spokesman for the Triborough Bridge Authority stated that it is not yet known exactly how many persons are invovlved in this movement, but the number could go as high as "several hundred." Many of those involved are said to have already retained legal counsel to aid in their fight against the city. The TBA official stated that if they continue to resist, the Sheriff will be called in and "they will all be moved out bag and baggage into the street."

The "Immortal Baby" being raised by a metaphysical religious cult on Long Island celebrated her first birthday today. The Royal Society of Master Metaphysicians, operating out of the old Vanderbilt estate at Oakdale, L. I., adopted the girl, named "Baby Jean", nine months ago, and declared that it would raise her as a living demonstration of its belief that human beings can be raised to live eternally. The child was turned over to the sect by her mother, a waitress who could not afford to keep her. Baby Jean, a chubby, laughing child, celebrated the start of her second year of Eternal Life by stomping her foot into the middle of her elaborate birthday cake.

(Less work for Mother, but more spaghetti.)

A new Federal Defense Tax on movie tickets goes into effect today, adding ten percent to every ticket sold at a price higher than twenty cents. Until today the Federal amusement tax applied only to tickets sold at prices above forty cents. The Government expects to raise over $60,000,000 per year thru the new levy on movie admissions. The law specifies that the tax must be paid directly by the ticket purchaser, and not absorbed into the general ticket price by the theatre. The amount of the tax per class of ticket must be clearly posted at all box office windows.

Now at the COMFORTABLY AIR-COOLED Patio, it's Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell in "Broadway Melody of 1940," paired with Pat O'Brien and Edward Arnold in "Slightly Honorable."

You might remember Nan Rae and Maude Davis, who played the three-a-days years ago as the "Clark Sisters," song and dance team, but now, at "a certain age," they're enjoying the greatest success of their careers on Broadway in "Keep Off The Grass," alongside Ray Bolger, Jimmy Durante, Jane Froman, and Ilka Chase. Nan Rae and Maude provide rollicking comedy relief in a show already well-stocked with comic talent, performing broad sketches built around their own material. Nan Rae convulses the crowds with her characterization of "Mrs. Stanislaus Waterfall," chattterbox widow with "three talented daughters," which leads into Maude's unique triple-talk technique of singing swing songs. In addition to their current Broadway success, the sisters expect to appear soon in a radio feature of their own.

(When every day was Black Friday.)

The Dodgers will be well represented on July 9th at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis for the eighth annual All Star Game between the top players of the National and American Leagues. The six Dodgers selected for the contest by vote of the league's players make up the largest team contingent on the National League squad, and the largest group of Brooklyn players ever tapped for the Mid-Summer Classic. But Dodger fans are annoyed that Dixie Walker, currently leading the team in hitting, is conspicuously absent from the All Star roster, with grumblings of a conspiracy by jealous National League players to keep him off the team because his roots are in the American League.

Yesterday the Dodgers split a pair with the Boston Bees to close out their homestand. Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons earned his 199th career victory in the opener, neatly handcuffing the Bees in a 9-2 Dodger win. Luke Hamlin wasn't so lucky in the nightcap, with the Bostons pounding him out of the box in the third inning as the whirring wings of the Bird could be heard whistling thru an irritated crowd of 28,909. The Dodgers lost that game 7-2, dropping them to two games behind the league-leading Reds.

The Dodgers are at Shibe Park in Philadelphia today, with a series against the woebegone Phillies opening up a road trip that will take them around the full National League circuit before they return again to Brooklyn. Tot Presnell starts today for Brooklyn against Hugh Mulcahy for the Phils.

(I'm getting to enjoy Sugarfoot's ritual humiliation by this elephant. He's the closest thing 1940 has to Wile E. Coyote.)

(What, John suspect anything? Never.)

(It sure is a good thing we have SECRET OPERATIVES to cases like this. A regular cop would be too embarrassed.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

I have a feeling that there's some fudging going on with these incomes. Mr. Disney, for example, is probably only showing what he actually gets paid as salary. But there's a whole lot more than that coming in to the Disney enterprises for licensed merchandise -- Disney merch is HUGE in 1940 -- and bookkeepers have a way of making that kind of income invisible when the IRS comes around.

Life is very sad.

You know it's serious when Mr. Gray unfurls the "quavery YI!"

Come on, Tracy, get on your pony!

Settle down, Prince, we've already got one Barrymore, we don't need another one.

Terry doesn't like this not one little bit, nosirree, not one little bit.

All right you two, break it up, you know the rules about fraternization.

Willie's expression in panel two makes me wonder what's in that cigar.

It's too bad Senga's gone, because she'd have a field day with Shadow.

 

[Fading Fast]

...A squad of investigators from the Triborough Bridge Authority today swept down on defiant residents of a mile-long stretch along 3rd Avenue who are refusing to vacate their homes to make way for the approach to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. The residents have defied an eviction order issued by the city on June 15th, giving them until today to vacate the properties, and are said to be preparing an organized resistance to the removal order. A spokesman for the Triborough Bridge Authority stated that it is not yet known exactly how many persons are invovlved in this movement, but the number could go as high as "several hundred." Many of those involved are said to have already retained legal counsel to aid in their fight against the city. The TBA official stated that if they continue to resist, the Sheriff will be called in and "they will all be moved out bag and baggage into the street."...

Then and now, eminent domain is one of the government's most fearsome powers. Today, we see it used quite often to help "gentrify" neighborhoods where many of the existing residents are no more happy with it now than those living along 3rd Avenue were in 1940.

T...The "Immortal Baby" being raised by a metaphysical religious cult on Long Island celebrated her first birthday today. The Royal Society of Master Metaphysicians, operating out of the old Vanderbilt estate at Oakdale, L. I., adopted the girl, named "Baby Jean", nine months ago, and declared that it would raise her as a living demonstration of its belief that human beings can be raised to live eternally. The child was turned over to the sect by her mother, a waitress who could not afford to keep her. Baby Jean, a chubby, laughing child, celebrated the start of her second year of Eternal Life by stomping her foot into the middle of her elaborate birthday cake....

What happened to the "Immortal Baby:" http://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/jean_gauntt_the_immortal_baby

...
(Less work for Mother, but more spaghetti.)...

Chocolate chip cake you say, considering that I've eaten 700+ Entenmann's chocolate chip cakes (the iced and the loaf varieties) in my life, it would be nice to try someone else's.

...A new Federal Defense Tax on movie tickets goes into effect today, adding ten percent to every ticket sold at a price higher than twenty cents. Until today the Federal amusement tax applied only to tickets sold at prices above forty cents. The Government expects to raise over $60,000,000 per year thru the new levy on movie admissions. The law specifies that the tax must be paid directly by the ticket purchaser, and not absorbed into the general ticket price by the theatre. The amount of the tax per class of ticket must be clearly posted at all box office windows....)

Interesting that the law specified that the tax be itemized on the ticket as businesses are usually only too happy to do so as they want their customers to know that the "all in" price of the good or service it offers has a tax component to it. I have a vague memory of the government getting mad back in the '90s when some of the telecom companies broke out a new tax on their customers' bills with the tax's specific name listed as, some believed, the government had hoped to "slip the tax in" unnoticed and combined with the other taxes on telecom bills.

...
(When every day was Black Friday.)...

When I lived in Boston in the '90s, Filene's Basement had that throwback feel - large numbers of splintering wood bins holding tons of aggressively marked-down clothing next to haphazardly arranged rows of metal racks on wheels stuffed with suits and dresses all in a dusty, worn, shabby feeling (genuine) basement that was perfect for "bargain hunting." And the customers played their part by pushing and grabbing for this and that.

And the "this and that" could be an outstanding value on some item of clothing or houseware or some damaged item all but worthless - buyer beware. This was no twee outlet "mall" with fake-village-looking buildings all clean and spiffy; this was bargain hunting the old-fashioned way with grit and pluck and a bit of scamming and scheming by everyone. To wit, the labels put on by Filene's weren't always completely honest, but also, some customers were not above changing a label and hopping the switch was missed at the register.

...Yesterday the Dodgers split a pair with the Boston Bees to close out their homestand. Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons earned his 199th career victory in the opener, neatly handcuffing the Bees in a 9-2 Dodger win. Luke Hamlin wasn't so lucky in the nightcap, with the Bostons pounding him out of the box in the third inning as the whirring wings of the Bird could be heard whistling thru an irritated crowd of 28,909. The Dodgers lost that game 7-2, dropping them to two games behind the league-leading Reds....

Only six more wins for Fat Freddie and he'll match his heaviest playing weight of 205 pounds. FFF saw this weight-comparison "stat" in the paper and was seen giving his locker a swift kick while muttering something about "stupid reporters."

... (I'm getting to enjoy Sugarfoot's ritual humiliation by this elephant. He's the closest thing 1940 has to Wile E. Coyote.)...

As you've noted before, in panel 2 and 3, you can see that Tootsie's substitute is all but trolling Sugarfoot. And while Sugarfoot is 1000% wrong (I'm hoping he gets what he deserves and gets stomped on), there is a lesson here for wealthy control freaks and the unintended consequences of the conditions they put in their wills. That was a much more common plot devise in movies back then than it is today.

...
(What, John suspect anything? Never.)...

"Hang my stupidity!" Good '40s slang.

... I have a feeling that there's some fudging going on with these incomes. Mr. Disney, for example, is probably only showing what he actually gets paid as salary. But there's a whole lot more than that coming in to the Disney enterprises for licensed merchandise -- Disney merch is HUGE in 1940 -- and bookkeepers have a way of making that kind of income invisible when the IRS comes around.....

I have no idea how Disney's company was structured in 1940, but if it was a traditional corporation and Walt held stock, then, all the licensed-merchandise money would be taxed at the corporate level and would not be nor show as personal income to him. Also, the article specifically noted that stock dividends (which might be how Disney got most of his income) were excluded. As to the games bookkeepers play (note, my mother the honest bookkeeper takes umbrage ), the IRS is equally skilled - those "what is / where is the income" battles are evergreen.

... Settle down, Prince, we've already got one Barrymore, we don't need another one.....

Not unlike "Dan Dunn" (as you noted), "The Gumps" has more than a bit of opera to it.

A...
Terry doesn't like this not one little bit, nosirree, not one little bit.....

"Scent Makes Dent On Gent -" well done Mr. Caniff.

Also, while I fully get how wrong it is, if you separate that out and just take it as is, "Hu Shee" is funny as heck.

...
All right you two, break it up, you know the rules about fraternization....

It is amazing how one person, one single person, in even a relatively large office can poison the atmosphere. On the days he or she is out, the entire place feels lighter and runs better.

...[ It's too bad Senga's gone, because she'd have a field day with Shadow.

Is Senga really gone for good?

 

[LizzieMaine]

We had a place when I was growing up called "Mohammed's Mountain Bargain Palace," a sort of department-store basement without the department store. It was set up in an old granite-working warehouse along the Penobscot River, and it was set up in that same anything-goes kind of way, lots of low tables covered in random merchandise you had to scrabble around in to find what you wanted. I only remember going there once, and remember coming away with six pairs of socks, none of which seemed to be the same size, a novelty bar of soap that could grow hair, and a Kansas City Athletics baseball cap, which I insisted on getting because I had never seen a bright green baseball cap before.

There is no trace of this place left now -- the warehouse burned down in the 70s, and I have never met anyone else who ever went there or even remembers it. But it isn't a figment of my imagination, because I had that cap for years.

A lot of Caniff's tendency toward funny names and stereotype jokes trace back to the earliest years of the strip, when it had much more broad comedy in it than it does now. Connie it the most obvious survivor of this -- his odd character design comes out of the more cartoony origins of the strip, but looks more and more out of place as the rest of the strip evolves toward realism...

(This is the third episode of T&TP, from 1934, and is also the earliest original art from the strip known to survive. Pat is a bit sketchier than he is now, but otherwise recognizable, but Terry looks more like Chester Gump -- who was actually an inspiration for the character.)

"The Gumps" has always had a tendency toward florid melodrama. Sid Smith, the creator and original artist, was born in the 1870s, and had a definite taste for broad Victorian schmaltz. Gus Edson -- aided by some of the same assistants who had worked for Smith -- tried to stick as close as he could to that style when he took over after Smith died in 1935. (Smith was killed in a car accident while driving home from signing a new $1.5 million contract, which is a twist right out of one of his own storylines.)

If Senga knew there was an even dopier kid from Covina on his way to New York with a pocket full of loose cash, she'd jump off that boat right now and swim all the way back to meet him.

 

[Fading Fast]

We had a place when I was growing up called "Mohammed's Mountain Bargain Palace," a sort of department-store basement without the department store. It was set up in an old granite-working warehouse along the Penobscot River, and it was set up in that same anything-goes kind of way, lots of low tables covered in random merchandise you had to scrabble around in to find what you wanted. I only remember going there once, and remember coming away with six pairs of socks, none of which seemed to be the same size, a novelty bar of soap that could grow hair, and a Kansas City Athletics baseball cap, which I insisted on getting because I had never seen a bright green baseball cap before.

There is no trace of this place left now -- the warehouse burned down in the 70s, and I have never met anyone else who ever went there or even remembers it. But it isn't a figment of my imagination, because I had that cap for years.

A lot of Caniff's tendency toward funny names and stereotype jokes trace back to the earliest years of the strip, when it had much more broad comedy in it than it does now. Connie it the most obvious survivor of this -- his odd character design comes out of the more cartoony origins of the strip, but looks more and more out of place as the rest of the strip evolves toward realism...

View attachment 244904 (This is the third episode of T&TP, from 1934, and is also the earliest original art from the strip known to survive. Pat is a bit sketchier than he is now, but otherwise recognizable, but Terry looks more like Chester Gump -- who was actually an inspiration for the character.)

"The Gumps" has always had a tendency toward florid melodrama. Sid Smith, the creator and original artist, was born in the 1870s, and had a definite taste for broad Victorian schmaltz. Gus Edson -- aided by some of the same assistants who had worked for Smith -- tried to stick as close as he could to that style when he took over after Smith died in 1935. (Smith was killed in a car accident while driving home from signing a new $1.5 million contract, which is a twist right out of one of his own storylines.)

If Senga knew there was an even dopier kid from Covina on his way to New York with a pocket full of loose cash, she'd jump off that boat right now and swim all the way back to meet him.

Any idea why Connie calls Terry "Mike?"

As you noted before, it is amazing how much more impressive the art work is in these strips when not beaten up in so many ways before we see it today. And with all that, it still looks impressive even in these scans.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The chief Fascist faction in Rumania is demanding the abdication of King Carol over his decision allowing the Soviet Union to take control of Bessarabia and northern Bukovnia. The Nazi-aligned Iron Guard, whose leaders returned to Bucharest recently from exile in Rome and Berlin declared that the King should be held personally accountable for allowing the Soviets to occupy that territory, thus giving them control of a key German supply route. The Iron Guard, which was responsible for the assassination last fall of Premier Armand Calinescu, declared in its statement that only an alliance with Germany could have prevented the loss of territory. Meanwhile, Nazi anti-aircraft guns shipped from Germany arrived today in Bucharest, and were being placed in position. The equipment is being supplied by the German government in exchange for Rumanian oil.

The British Admiralty today announced that sea losses of British, Allied, and neutral shipping over the past week total almost 193,000 tons, the greatest losses in the war so far. Increased U-boat activity is held as the cause for the losses, but the Admiralty declared that it is "not worried" about the escalation of German and Italian sea warfare.

The Japanese government will throw up a blockade around Hong Kong late today, with Japanese troops massing at Shumchun, railroad town adjacent to the Hong Kong border. Reports in the Hong Kong press state that the Japanese military is conscripting male and female Chinese labor to rebuild the road from Namtau, landing point for Japanese forces along the Canton River, which was washed out recently by floods. Japanese troops are also preventing the evacuation of Chinese civilians from Hong Kong unless they proceed to the Bias Bay area instead of to their own homes. Three thousand non-Chinese women and children have been processed for evacuation from the city, and will report today for embarkation.

The two Republicans appointed by President Roosevelt to his new coalition Cabinet today declared themselves in opposition to US involvement in the war. Colonel Frank Knox, appointed Secretary of the Navy, and Henry L. Stimson, nominee for Secretary of War, took their positions during confirmation hearings before the Senate Naval and Military Affairs Committees.

Republican presidential nominee Wendell L. Willkie is reported to be vexing GOP leadership already by refusing to allow the Republican National Committee to oversee his campaign. The candidate, nominated last week in Philadelphia, has instead appointed his own three-member campaign steering committee to take charge of campaign operations. That committee would include the National Committee chairman as one of its members, but the other two seats would be filled by Mr. Willkie's personal appointees who would not be accountable to Party leadership. Speaking at his Manhattan office this morning, Mr. Willkie would say only that he is "considering" the steering committee plan, and has not made a final decision.

In Jersey City today, Max Baer couldn't wait for tonight's fifteen-round heavyweight bout at Roosevelt Stadium against Two-Ton Tony Galento, and took a swing at his garrulous opponent during the weigh-in ceremonies. Galento responded in kind, and handlers had to pry the two boxers apart as they snarled threats at each other.

Chester B. Duryea, who has been under indictment without trial since 1914 for the murder of his father, left the Raymond Street Jail this morning on $10,000 bail. It was Duryea's first breath of freedom in twenty-six years, and he was taken aback when the first thing he saw outside the jail was a new streamlined taxicab. Duryea was charged in 1914 with the murder of his father, Gen. Hiram Duryea, but was found at the time to be "incurably insane" and was committed to a mental hospital on Long Island. He was released from that hospital earlier this year when a judge ruled him sane enough to finally stand trial, and has been held at the Raymond Street Jail since then pending bail arrangements.

In Shoshone, Idaho, two young men and their teenage sister are in custody facing first-degree murder charges after staking their father out to die in a desert ravine. Forty-eight-year old George Saunders died of exposure after spending four days bound and gagged in intense desert heat. Twenty-year-old Joseph Saunders, the oldest of the youths, declared that his father had beaten and abused them all. "We were just giving him the same," he said, "as he gave us."

A crackdown by the Federal Communications Commission intended to root out "fifth columnists" among the nation's amateur radio operators is underway, with all licensed amateurs required to show proof of US citizenship by August 15th, or lose their licenses to operate. Meanwhile, FCC monitors are combing the airwaves on a round the clock basis scanning for contraband signals. Since June 5th, American radio amateurs have been prohibited by Federal law from any contact with overseas operators.

(And also this year, Socony-Vacuum, thru its Deutsche Vakuum-Oel A. G. subsidiary, is still doing a booming business lubricating Herr Hitler's war machine.)

(The Paramount doesn't mess around with its double features. No B pictures here!)

(This is a hell of a year for Broadway. The movies are pretty swell too. But gee whiz, Cliff, Larry Adler? Xavier Cugat? What an ickie.)

Twelve more police officers have been forced into retirement by Commissioner Lewis J. Valentine in connection with Assistant Attorney General John H. Amen's investigation of the Brooklyn bail bond racket. The latest wave of forced retirements brings to twenty-five the number of men removed from the force thus far in the probe.

Helen Worth is on vacation this week. You'll have to solve your own problems.

(Even in 1940 there were those who believe science is subject to a vote.)

The Dodgers slapped Hugh Mulcahy around for three runs in the first inning and added another in the fourth, and that was enough to give them a 4-3 win over the Phils at Shibe Park. But Curt Davis, in to relieve Tot Presnell, very nearly came unglued in the bottom of the ninth, when with two away and a man on third Johnny Rizzo unloaded a high, hard drive to deep left field which looked like a goner until Joe Medwick flattened himself against the concrete wall to reel it in for the final out.

The Dodgers wrap up the Philadelphia series today before heading back to New York and a swing up to the Polo Grounds, expected to provide plenty of its own fireworks.

Tony Galento is the favorite tonight at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, with the smart money running 8 to 5 on the beer-barrel man over Max Baer. Two-Ton laughed off his weight-in spat with Baer, and also an incident last week where his brother Russell threw a beer glass at him during an argument. "It didn't hoit me at all," chortled Tony. "It was a light beer! Haw! Haw!" Baer was having none of the pre-fight jocularity, declaring "I'll flatten that pig-faced Galento in six rounds."

("Ya wanna go?" says Joe. "We could go! We can come up with seven bucks. Solly Pinkus downa plant owes me three." Sally isn't convinced. "Ya think if I call Durocher, he'll tell me for sure if Petey is gonna play?" she wonders. "I ain't goin' allaway ta Boston ta look at that bum Hudson. An' how come you loanin' three ta that Solly Pinkus?")

(The sad thing is, elephants being the noble souls that they are, Not-Tootsie will save the no-good worm's life.)

(Yeah, you're gonna wish you were on that boat with Tecum.)

(Odds now 1-1 that Irwin ends his investigation naked and tied to a chair.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

What, Artie and Lana didn't last? WHO COULD HAVE IMAGINED IT? Meanwhile, Tennis Daughter there just had here career ambitions ground into the clay. That's all right, maybe someday you can beat Bobby Riggs.

Bring an extra napkin.

Cheesecake not included. Also, "Even if your lunching?" Davega needs to invest in a proofreader.

This has been a rough couple of weeks for Annie. "The sun'll come out tomorrow" indeed.

"Let's go by car." Ahhhhhhh, Tracy, you're no fun at all.

Big Stoop can't talk because the Dragon Lady cut his tongue out. Kinda takes the edge off the comedy, doesn't it?

What is it with funny-paper characters who don't know how to hold a telephone?

Knowing Wilmer is like realizing you have gum on the bottom of your shoe.

Lillums knows when she's well off.

Good shot of Mamie's tattoos in Panel One.

 

[Fading Fast]

...The British Admiralty today announced that sea losses of British, Allied, and neutral shipping over the past week total almost 193,000 tons, the greatest losses in the war so far. Increased U-boat activity is held as the cause for the losses, but the Admiralty declared that it is "not worried" about the escalation of German and Italian sea warfare....

I'm glad the British Admiralty isn't worried because I am worried even though I know how it all, eventually, turned out.

... .(The Paramount doesn't mess around with its double features. No B pictures here!)..

I guess they figure they have to put as many bodies as they can in the seats to pay for all that air-conditioning. "The Doctor Takes a Wife" is one of those "God forbid some couple somewhere in the world had sex (or even spent the night under the same roof) out of wedlock" messes created by the Production Code.

...
(This is a hell of a year for Broadway. The movies are pretty swell too. But gee whiz, Cliff, Larry Adler? Xavier Cugat? What an ickie.)...

Nice to see "The Mortal Storm" get a good mention. However, he's selling "My Favorite Wife" a bit too hard as it's okay, but it also has another one of those Movie-Production-Code-mangled plots.

...
("Ya wanna go?" says Joe. "We could go! We can come up with seven bucks. Solly Pinkus downa plant owes me three." Sally isn't convinced. "Ya think if I call Durocher, he'll tell me for sure if Petey is gonna play?" she wonders. "I ain't goin' allaway ta Boston ta look at that bum Hudson. An' how come you loanin' three ta that Solly Pinkus?")...

And, as always, the real price is higher as you are gonna need some refreshments at some point (plus a subway ride for two in and out of NYC to get to Grand Central). I'm thinking they need to figure on $9-$10 all in or about $180 in 2020 dollars. Not cheap at all, but also not bad value for two train seats up and back to Boston plus two tickets to the game. Doing it as cheaply as possible today, you'd be somewhere between $250 and $300.

...
(The sad thing is, elephants being the noble souls that they are, Not-Tootsie will save the no-good worm's life.)...

The drawing of Not-Tootsie and his facial expression in panel 3 is outright heartbreaking.

...
(Yeah, you're gonna wish you were on that boat with Tecum.)...

I was gonna type "Blackston's too stupid to be governor" and, then, realized how stupid that sounds.

...[ (Odds now 1-1 that Irwin ends his investigation naked and tied to a chair.)

If so, a brief description will suffice, no details and, absolutely positively, no illustration.

What, Artie and Lana didn't last? WHO COULD HAVE IMAGINED IT? Meanwhile, Tennis Daughter there just had here career ambitions ground into the clay. That's all right, maybe someday you can beat Bobby Riggs....

Re Lana and Artie, those two were just getting their divorce scores revved up as they would eventually end life with eight divorces each (yes, sixteen between them). Also, who'd a thunk it, but Artie later married someone at least as beautiful as Lana - Ava Gardner, the man clearly had something going on.

Re Hubby elopes story. That first sentence is all but impossible to follow (even after you've read the story). And to be honest, it took a second go through of the full article to really understand what happened.

... "Let's go by car." Ahhhhhhh, Tracy, you're no fun at all....

Meanwhile, in front of a Dodgers' locker, our friend Fat Freddie reads the Eagle's comic page as a tear or two wells up in his eyes in sympathy for "Joe Atom's" girlfriend. "Don't listen to the haters" he wants to tell her.

View attachment 244983 .. What is it with funny-paper characters who don't know how to hold a telephone?....

That phone thing is odd - right?

Also, those two idiots shouldn't be allowed a bicycle license let alone a marriage license.

Somebody should just shoot Mamma. My guess, done without too much fuss, everybody, including the police, would just look the other way. Then, discretely bury the body and move on with the day.

... Knowing Wilmer is like realizing you have gum on the bottom of your shoe.....

Over the years, a few people have stopped by this or that office that I've worked at while they were on their vacation, but they usually are lonely and nice social people who miss the human interaction, not jerks like Wilmer.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A court challenge to the authority of Assistant Attorney General John H. Amen has been turned aside by a unanimous Appellate Division decision ruling that his power to investigate official corruption in Brooklyn did not end with the departure of William Geoghan as District Attorney. The ruling comes in response to an injunction sought by prominent Brooklyn paving contractor Batholdi Turecamo, claiming that only present District Attorney William O'Dwyer has the legal authority to prosecute criminal investigations in the borough. The injunction was sought as the Amen Office is moving forward with the prosecution of Vito Picone, another prominent borough paving contractor, in connection with an alleged contract-rigging racket that has, according to Amen, mulcted the city out of $500,000.

In rejecting Turecamo's argument, the Appellate Court noted that the original order authorizing the creation of the Amen Office by Governor Herbert H. Lehman specifically provided for the formation of extraordinary grand juries "for as long as is necessary for the investigation of corruption in Brooklyn." and that the order made no provision for its expiration at the conclusion of any District Attorney's term. The court also ruled that the creation of the Amen Office as an extraordinary body did not usurp or reduce in any way the power of the District Attorney's office.

Firemen this afternoon are struggling to control a blaze ripping thru the steamship Algonquin, moored at the North River pier at the foot of Spring Street in Manhattan. The ship, due to sail for Miami, Florida today carrying 150 passengers and a cargo of small arms and ammunition, was reported on fire around 10 this morning. At press time, thirty pieces of land apparatus and three fire boats are on the scene, working to prevent explosion of the cargo hold.

A "tiny Amazon" raised havoc in Brooklyn Supreme Court today, ripping chairs and railings from their moorings and throwing files and papers to the floor before court officers could subdue her. Twenty-three-year-old, four-foot-ten-inch Marie Gallo stormed into an empty courtroom during a break in proceedings and went on a rampage of destruction. Court officers alerted to her presence by the noise of crashing and smashing furniture tried to wrestle her to the ground as she screamed and bit them. When finally subdued, she was taken by ambulance to Cumberland Hospital, where she was pronounced "not a mental case, but greatly disturbed about something" by a doctor.

Ten of the twelve jurors who voted to convict no one in connection with the Christian Front seditious conspiracy trial are now planning to join the Christian Front themselves. That information comes to the Eagle from Martin Boettiger, one of the five defendants not acquitted in the case and now awaiting a possible retrial on charges of sedition and conspiracy to steal government property. Boettiger told the Eagle that he had been "out with one of the jurors" the night before, and was told of the plans at that time.

The Senate Naval Affairs Committee today approved Col. Frank Knox as Secretary of the Navy, confirming the Republican by a vote of 9 to 5. With the Senate Military Affairs Committee having also approved Henry L. Stimson for the post of Secretary of War by a vote of 14 to 3, the two nominations to President Roosevelt's new "coalition Cabinet" are due to be considered by the full Senate next week.

("Edison The Bitter Angry Old Coot" was never made after Ned Sparks refused to wear old-age makeup for the part.)

Out at the World's Fair, they're expecting the biggest crowds of the season over the holiday weekend. Today will be the first "Children's Day" of 1940, with a mammoth parade around the Perisphere featuring floats, elephants, giraffes, monkeys, clowns, and midget racing automobiles.

Washington columnist Ray Tucker says you shouldn't buy the story that Wendell Willkie's nomination by the Republican Party was a case of the "little man" triumphing over the GOP "Old Guard." That "Old Guard" in fact lined up firmly behind Mr. Willkie once it became clear which way the wind was blowing, with such skilled political mechanics as convention chairman Joe Martin, Republican National Committee chairman John Hamilton, and party publicist Franklin Waltman Jr. all pulling the necessary strings behind the scenes to ensure that Willkie got all the breaks he needed to win the vote once it became clear that Thomas E. Dewey was too weak a candidate to control his delegates.

("Live Alone And Like It!")

Max Baer took care of Two-Ton Tony Galento last night in seven rounds out at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, and is now itching for another crack at Joe Louis, who pounded him into the mat in just four rounds back in 1935. Baer took his vengeance on the beer-barrel man last night for all those "you peanut-hearted bum" cracks, aiming straight at the stitched-up wound Galento had suffered when his brother threw a glass of beer at him. Baer's onslaught popped those stitches, leaving Galento spitting blood for most of the fight. Said Max, "this is the first time I've ever been in the ring with a man I cordially disliked," and added "I'm only sorry he gave up before I could cut him up some more."

It's too early to say if or when Baer will get a rematch with Louis, but promoter Mike Jacobs is already working on arrangements, and both Chicago and Detroit are said to be in the bidding to host such a bout.

The Dodgers are back in first place, at least for the moment, after wrapping up the Phillies at Shibe Park yesterday by a score of 4 to 1. Tex Carleton picked up his fourth win of the season against only one defeat, and Joe Medwick crashed his first home run in a Brooklyn uniform in the fifth inning. Pete Coscarart also homered for his sixth of the season -- and who'd have thought he'd only be one homer behind Camilli as we approach mid-season.

("I'LL TELL YA WHO," shouts Sally to no one in particular, because Joe is still out trying to collect that three dollars he loaned to Solly down the plant.)

Fireworks are on the agenda as the Dodgers head to the Polo Grounds for their holiday series against the Giants. Whit Wyatt starts today for Brooklyn, while Carl Hubbell, the Flock's favorite meal ticket, heads to the mound for the Terrymen.

Dizzy Dean's path to a big league comeback seems to be going well, at least on paper. Ol' Diz is 4 and 1 for the Tulsa Oilers in the Texas League, using a new sidearm delivery to take the stress off his bad shoulder, but that record only shows so much. It seems that none of those wins are complete games, and a starter who can't finish doesn't go for much in the big time. Dean has been a boon to attendance though, with 7500 showing up for Tulsa's game last night against the Houston Buffaloes.

(No, that's much too subtle for Sugarfoot.)

(Seriously, how dumb can one man be?)

(I wouldn't have thought there'd be all that much money in the hot-clothing racket, but she must be doing pretty well if she can afford to hire C. Aubrey Smith as her henchman.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Oh my! Was Norman Marsh by any chance a client??

They aren't even trying anymore.

Well now, won't this be fun.

Yeah, "salty man o' the sea" is the first thing that comes to the mind when I think of Tecum.

Here's a hint, kid -- leave your money at home.

Jeez, Pat, that's quite a wardrobe for a freelance adventurer bum.

"Misfortune comes on wings and departs on foot." Few know that Bim made his first million in the fortune cookie business.

Even the title writer has turned on Harold.

But at least Harold isn't as dumb as Plushie.

 

[Fading Fast]

...Firemen this afternoon are struggling to control a blaze ripping thru the steamship Algonquin, moored at the North River pier at the foot of Spring Street in Manhattan. The ship, due to sail for Miami, Florida today carrying 150 passengers and a cargo of small arms and ammunition, was reported on fire around 10 this morning. At press time, thirty pieces of land apparatus and three fire boats are on the scene, working to prevent explosion of the cargo hold....

While the name "North River" for the "Hudson River" has all but disappeared today, it seems, based on books, movies, etc., that back then, the river's two names were both used frequently. And, yes, there is a good book by Pete Hamill name "North River," which is an outstanding Fedora Lounge trip back to the '30s in New York City, but it is not specifically about the river itself.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/127947.North_River

...Ten of the twelve jurors who voted to convict no one in connection with the Christian Front seditious conspiracy trial are now planning to join the Christian Front themselves. That information comes to the Eagle from Martin Boettiger, one of the five defendants not acquitted in the case and now awaiting a possible retrial on charges of sedition and conspiracy to steal government property. Boettiger told the Eagle that he had been "out with one of the jurors" the night before, and was told of the plans at that time....

If true, that seems like a Hollywood twist to the story.

...
("Edison The Bitter Angry Old Coot" was never made after Ned Sparks refused to wear old-age makeup for the part.)...

The Edison movie is pure hagiography. What Sally and Joe should do is get over to the Met today to see "Waterloo Bridge" before it goes away if they haven't already seen it. A tarted-up Vivien Leigh turning tricks in WWII to keep a roof over her head tops fake-Edison history any day.

...("I'LL TELL YA WHO," shouts Sally to no one in particular, because Joe is still out trying to collect that three dollars he loaned to Solly down the plant.)...

Those two have to go on that Brooklyn day train-ticket special to Boston if for no other reason than so that we can hear their hard Brooklyn accent ask a hard Southie accent for directions to Fenway from South Station. An interpreter will be needed.

...and a starter who can't finish doesn't go for much in the big time....

Oh how times have changed, I spent all of last season praying to get five or six innings out of any of the Yankee starters.

... (Seriously, how dumb can one man be?)...

As noted yesterday, I thought the same until I remembered that we have so many examples today of stupidity not disqualifying someone for higher office.

.. (I wouldn't have thought there'd be all that much money in the hot-clothing racket, but she must be doing pretty well if she can afford to hire C. Aubrey Smith as her henchman.)

"I'll tell you Lizzie, they don't pay us older actors that much and at least this comic-strip work is a regular paycheck." - CAS

(I couldn't find the "right" picture, but I agree, there's a strong echo of CAS.)

... Oh my! Was Norman Marsh by any chance a client??....

God bless the News, pictures of the horsewhips and promises of "other pics" to get you turning the pages.

But it's also educational as I learned a new word today:

ba·gnio
(băn′yō, bän′-)
n. pl. ba·gnios
1. A brothel.

And today, madams are smarter as they usually provide bail and legal representation for the girls too. Otherwise, those girls can sink you fast.

Also, did you notice the age of some of the "girls?" Apparently, you can have a longer career in that line of work than I thought.

...
They aren't even trying anymore.....

Seriously, they've quit. They didn't even list out the "five lavish entrees" as they normally do and which usually includes a horrible-sounding vegetable plate.

... Jeez, Pat, that's quite a wardrobe for a freelance adventurer bum.....

It's funny, there are sorta two "experiences" out there on men's wardrobes in the GE.

On the one hand, we know that the majority of people didn't have much or any money, so many a man had one or two suits a few shirts, ties and that was that (different if his work was physical labor), but you also see a lot of men - and not just the uber rich - with very extensive wardrobes as people dressed up for a lot of things in those days that required a lot of different items.

I've seen movies where a tough gangster, a middle-class salesmen or a work-a-day lawyer will have an extensive wardrobe and those wardrobes are not part of the plot or character development, just part of the background where you see their closets.

And, of course, there's the famous scene in "Sunset Boulevard" where Gloria Swanson takes her "younger man" William Holden shopping and we later see a long row of closets holding all his clothes. Granted, that was not the norm, but a fun look at the clothes of the period for the "well-dressed" man.

Pat might have a bit of the vagabond in him, but he seems to have a sense of style too.

... Even the title writer has turned on Harold....

Since we seem to be wrapping up this story line, I'll say it again, Harold learned (assuming he really learned it) a cheap life lesson. Senga made off with about $200 (~$3600 today). Not a small amount of money at all, but if he learned about the duplicity of some people, not to trust others blindly (especially when sex is involved) and the need to protect your property, then it's not too expensive a lesson. Considering he dodged a bad marriage, I'd say, all in all, he came out okay.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Well, the Eagle doesn't publish today due to the holiday, so while Mr. Schroth is up on the roof throwing cherry bombs at Borough Hall, while Sugarfoot and Not-Tootsie engage in high-adventure bonding, while John Blackston tries to be as stupid and naive as possible, while Irwin prepares to be captured by a ruthless clothing trafficker (sigh), and while Joe and Sally cram themselves onto the A train in hopes of getting into the Polo Grounds. we turn right to the Daily News...

Oops.

My uncle once lit a very large firecracker inside a closed car going across the Waldo Hancock Bridge. And then he couldn't get the window open. He learned his lesson, and from then on only ever lit firecrackers in convertibles.

But seriously, I don't think massive cranial injuries work that way. Ask Joe Medwick.

Yeah, sure, now about this little kid who just lost her -- I dunno, foster parents? Guardians? Caretakers? You know, that dopey guy and his poor suffering wife that she lived with?

Um, gee whiz Terry, do you always hang around the bathroom when Pat's taking a shower?

What is it with the showers today??

At least they're not all taking a shower.

The Sad Walrus at his saddest.

I don't know what's sadder -- poor Harold languishing hungrily in the rain or the inevitable fact that Shadow is going to eat that entire cake before he even gets on the train.

If you think Pee Wee is a swell ballplayer now, just wait'll he hits puberty.

 

[Fading Fast]

Well, the Eagle doesn't publish today due to the holiday, so while Mr. Schroth is up on the roof throwing cherry bombs at Borough Hall, while Sugarfoot and Not-Tootsie engage in high-adventure bonding, while John Blackston tries to be as stupid and naive as possible, while Irwin prepares to be captured by a ruthless clothing trafficker (sigh), and while Joe and Sally cram themselves onto the A train in hopes of getting into the Polo Grounds. we turn right to the Daily News.......

So, the key question is will the Daily News print both days of comic strips tomorrow, to get us up to speed, or do we just have to deal with the one-day gap in the storyline? I assume, since the Daily News printed its comic strips today, that the ones in the Eagle were also produced; hence, they are out there, but we're just not seeing them. Or am I wrong?

... My uncle once lit a very large firecracker inside a closed car going across the Waldo Hancock Bridge. And then he couldn't get the window open. He learned his lesson, and from then on only ever lit firecrackers in convertibles.....

Wouldn't mind knowing more about the violinist and the German wavelength label.

... Yeah, sure, now about this little kid who just lost her -- I dunno, foster parents? Guardians? Caretakers? You know, that dopey guy and his poor suffering wife that she lived with?....

LOA really busted out the July 4th theme today. Regarding Annie, while I get the trauma, that kid is strong. She'd be better off if Nick showed up and adopted her. Annie has little left to learn from the Tecums, but growing up with Nick would be a lesson in life she'd benefit from forever.

... Um, gee whiz Terry, do you always hang around the bathroom when Pat's taking a shower?...

As noted earlier in the week regarding the "bachelor" women roommates (remember the one in a tie and pulled-back hair) and every third detail hinted at about Raven Sherman, the '40s found a way to tuck this stuff into the allowed framework, right down to Pat's long and giant box of roses for Raven.

Also, outstanding artistic details in panel one - from the tile work to the talc container, all feels real.

FYI, TCM has an episode of the 1940 T&TP series on right now - they run one every Saturday morning. Unfortunately, as noted in prior posts, it's formulaic kids' stuff with not much of the adult content from the strip.

... What is it with the showers today??....

.... At least they're not all taking a shower.....

Another life lesson for a young man is that he'll learn that, for some guys, every not-work activity is just an excuse to justify a day of drinking. Fine for them, but you have to decide if that is for you. Skeezix is simply growing up.

... I don't know what's sadder -- poor Harold languishing hungrily in the rain or the inevitable fact that Shadow is going to eat that entire cake before he even gets on the train....

To be fair, have you ever tried to travel (especially on public transportation) with an iced layer cake? Good luck with that. How 'bout a box of cookies or something that has a chance of surviving the journey. More outstanding artwork - panel three.

...
If you think Pee Wee is a swell ballplayer now, just wait'll he hits puberty.

"Knocked on his panties." Seriously?

 

[LizzieMaine]

It's funny, I went looking at other papers that run the Eagle strips, and it turns out that the episodes that ran yesterday are the episodes that ran today in all of those papers. Somewhere along the way, the Eagle dropped a day's worth of strips -- probably "recap" episodes that didn't make much difference to the storyline -- so that when they didn't publish on the 4th they'd be up to date again when they resume on the 5th. Very shady, Mr. Schroth.

The Eagle doesn't publish on Christmas, New Years, and the 4th of July. Come the Yuletide, I shall be monitoring the flow of the comics with great care.

That radio station was probably the "New British Broadcasting Station," a so-called "black propaganda" operation that claimed to be a clandestine station run by Britons disenchanted with Mr. Churchill's war policy, but was actually blasted into England from the Radio Normandie facilities in France by agents of Dr. Goebbels. I've heard bits of it -- it's pretty greasy stuff, without the fatuous humor value of German 'white propaganda' of the Lord Haw Haw type.

In a couple of years there'll be a station like this broadcasting into the US, "Station DEBUNK," supposedly run by a Christian Front-type character named "Joe Scanlan." It'll be even more obnoxious than the NBBS.

You can smell that bathroom in T&TP. It's funny, the Concerned Academics who criticized the comics in the late '40s focused a lot of attention on the gay subtext in "Batman" -- which was, in at least some cases, placed there as a private joke by some of Bob Kane's disgruntled ghosts -- but there is no mention made to the goings-on in Terryland. Of course, Caniff was gone from the strip by then, and his successor carried on with Terry as a square-jawed Army Man. It wouldn't have been nice to digging back into his past looking for scenes like today's. Nevertheless, the subtext is there, and Caniff never did anything by accident.

I fear that Mrs. Trohs is about to exceed all the gorgon-wives of the funny pages in the degree of her revenge on hubby. Emmy Schmaltz Plushbottom should be taking notes.

Speaking of little fellows, Shadow Smart's height is as inconsistent as Jerome's. When he first showed up at Covina High several years back, he looked to be about five feet tall -- short next to Harold and the rest of his bunch, but not lilliputian. But standing next to that armchair he looks to be no more than three feet tall, which means that enormous cake is going to be pretty clumsy for him to carry around.

The guy who laid out that back page makes no attempt to hide his loyalties, which is understandable since the News was always considered "a Dodger paper." Giant fans read the Herald Tribune, where nobody ever intimated that their catcher wore panties.

 

[Fading Fast]

It's funny, I went looking at other papers that run the Eagle strips, and it turns out that the episodes that ran yesterday are the episodes that ran today in all of those papers. Somewhere along the way, the Eagle dropped a day's worth of strips -- probably "recap" episodes that didn't make much difference to the storyline -- so that when they didn't publish on the 4th they'd be up to date again when they resume on the 5th. Very shady, Mr. Schroth.

The Eagle doesn't publish on Christmas, New Years, and the 4th of July. Come the Yuletide, I shall be monitoring the flow of the comics with great care.....

There have been days when this or that strip seemed to "jump" storylines or continuity, so maybe this - the Eagle trying to skip a day - is the explanation.

The easy solution would be to run two strips in one day, but maybe that would either mess up the paper's formatting too much (doubt that, but what do I know) or they don't want to buy a day's worth of strips when the paper isn't printing and, thus, isn't taking in revenue (but I would think the contract with the strips is not day by day but for some defined time period).

It will be very interesting to see what you learn from your Christmas monitoring.