The Era -- Day By Day

[MissNathalieVintage]

The ad for Fun in the kitchen sold me. And wondered how would on be able to put a top of stove pad on a gas stove. I looked it up and learned that the stove pad is not meant to be on the actual range its meant to be used to protect the counter top from getting burnt from putting hot pans/utensils on the counter top next to the stove.

https://www.amazon.com/wellhouse-Mu...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

 

[LizzieMaine]

I am really not seeing $10 worth of difference between that Maurice Rothschild of Chicago dress and the one from Lane Bryant Of Brooklyn. Fashion is Spinach, as Miss Hawes is wont to say.

The "Among The Folks of History" cartoon is a great specimen of nostalgia 1940-style, when middle-aged folks looked out at all the hepcats in their weird untucked shirts and clamdigger pants and saddle shoes and reminisced about the Good Old Days back at the turn of the century when the well-dressed young swain went forth in a celluloid collar, button shoes, a drainpipe suit, and a "roached" haircut. Gaar Williams was one of several cartoonists during the Era who went in for this type of material, and he was extremely meticulous about the details he worked into his drawings.

There's a lot to unpack in "Smilin Jack" there. "Fat Stuff" is a unique figure in the funnies, the only continuing depiction of a racial-stereotype Polynesian, and is the chief mechanic at Jack's airfield. He is also the father of identical triplets who are small copies of himself and who communicate in Morse code. Note also the villian of the piece, who is obviously some piscene kin of Dr. Shark, recently squashed like a bug in "Sparky Watts."

The post season "City Series" between the Cubs and White Sox was a big deal in Chicago, and got as much coverage in the local press as the actual World Series. Most multi-team cities had some variation of such a series, but only in Chicago did it take on the status of war.

Marshall Field III is a busy man in New York right now. He was a typical rich young wastrel until he underwent psychoanalysis, which completely reversed his worldview. So he moved east and put up the money to start "PM," a unique evening paper with a leftward outlook, some of the best writers in journalism, and no advertising whatsoever. It started out as the sort of paper read by people afraid they might get fired if seen buying the Daily Worker, but it went on to become one of the really good, thorough newspapers of its time. They probably thought Mr. Field III was crazy back in Chicago, but he was a very popular fellow in New York.

"Portia Faces Life" was one of the less-dopey soap operas -- the story of Portia Blake, hard-charging Woman Lawyer, and her quest for professional and personal fulfillment. I had a friend who actually played Portia for a few episodes when the regular actress had to step down for some reason, and was disappointed when the assignment ended because she wanted to know how the case came out.

 

[LizzieMaine]

For the first time since 1934 a National League team holds the World Championship of baseball, with the Cincinnati Reds defeating the Detroit Tigers 2-1 at Crosley Field.

The Reds broke out from a 1-0 deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Frank McCormick led off with a prodigious double off the wall in deep left field, and former Dodger Jimmy Ripple brought him home with the tying run with a double off the right field screen. As the crowd rained seat cushions, papers, and other debris on the field in its excitement, Detroit pitcher Buck Newsom, making his third Series start, huddled with his infielders to discuss strategy. With Tommy Bridges and Al Benton warming up in the Tiger bullpen, 40-year-old Jimmy Wilson sacrificed Ripple to third. Ernie Lombardi, weak ankle and all, came up to pinch hit for Eddie Joost, and was intentionally walked, with Linus Frey coming off the bench to run for the slow-moving Schnoz. Ripple then scored on a long fly ball by Billy Myers to put the Reds in front, a margin proving sufficient to give Cincinnati its first series win since 1919.

The State Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of Tammany political operative James J. Hines on racketeering charges. Hines was found guilty in February 1939 after Manhattan District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey brought him up on charges of using his political influence to shield a policy racket. He was sentenced to four to eight years in prison, and has been free on $35,000 bail pending appeal.

The United States Government today advised American citizens in the Far East to return home immediately, with the call covering U. S. civilians living or working in China, Japan, Korea, Manchuko, Hong-Kong, Formosa, and Indo-China. Officials in the State Department indicated that consideration may soon be given to withdrawing U. S. Marines from China, but such discussions have not yet taken place.

(Awright, Caniff -- let's see what you do with this. How about a storyline revolving entirely around the DL, Hu Shee, Cap'n Blaze and Cheery, Singh-Singh, Big Stoop, and Connie?)

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced in the House of Commons today that Britain will reopen the Burma war supply road in China in response to Japan's pact with Germany and Italy, and declared that Japan's new allies "will not be able to help her" so long as the British and US fleets are "in being."

Wendell Willkie's campaign tour thru "Tammany-dominated Manhattan's" garment district encountered its first example of rowdyism in New York when a five-pound cardboard wastepaper basket was thrown from an upper-story office building window and bruised a spectator. Mr. Willkie's motorcade was passing the Pershing Building at 100 E. 42nd Street in the Grand Central area when the wastebasket was tossed from a window, bounced off a ledge, and hit a spectator identified as Frank Daniels in the shoulder. Mr. Daniels declined medical attention and refused to give his address, but police are investigating the incident. The Pershing Building houses the headquarters of the Associated Willkie Clubs of New York.

Riding bareheaded in an open car despite the rain, Mr. Willkie was greeted by a mixture of cheers and boos, with the latter reaching their loudest volume in the area of 7th Avenue and 34th Street.

Convicted embezzler George Scalise, sentenced to five to ten years in Sing Sing for rifling the treasury of the union he served as president, has been indicted by a Federal grand jury in Brooklyn for income tax evasion. The grand jury charged Scalise with failing to pay taxes on income received as president of the Building Service Employees International Union from May 1937 until the end of 1939.

The chairwoman of the Milk Consumers Protection Committe declared today that there is no excuse for an increase in milk prices. Miss Asho Ingersoll, twenty-five-year-old daughter of the late borough president Raymond Ingersoll, issued a statement today criticizing the proposed price-raising amendment now before the Department of Agriculture, and declaring that an increase in the retail price of fluid milk will only mean that less milk is consumed -- and farmers will end up earning even less. Miss Ingersoll called for the regulation of milk prices on a national level to ensure a fair price to farmers, and an affordable price to the public.

Fourteen-year-old Princess Elizabeth of Great Britian will speak over the radio for the first time next Sunday, addressing the children of the British Empire as part of a special Children's Hour broadcast. The Princess will speak for five minutes.

("Whattaya doin'?" wonders Sally. "Whasswit'all'is junk onna table?" "I'm inventin'!" replies Joe. "Inventin' what?" "I dunnoyet. One'a't'eese t'ings.")

A bill passed in the US Senate to limit imports of refined sugar from Hawaii and Puerto Rico is good news for the Brooklyn sugar industry, says the Eagle Editorialist. "Without this measure, " he warns, "the Brooklyn sugar industry faces extinction." Over 2500 local jobs are at stake as the President prepares to sign the measure.

(Spinach.)

There's a difference of $2000 per share between the winners' and losers' share in this year's World Series, and that's a lot of money for your average ballplayer. It's estimated that each full share for the winning team will come to approximately $6400. It's expected that the gate receipts for this year's Series will set a new record for a seven-game run, coming in ahead of the $1,304,399 record set by the Yankees and Giants in 1936.

The Louisville Colonels are still in the running for the Little World Series title thanks to the strong right arm of Cecil "Tex" Hughson, who led the Colonels to a 6-3 win over the Newark Bears. Hughson, who is property of the Boston Red Sox, tied the Bears in knots for most of last night's fifth game to determine the championship of the minor leagues. The series now stands at 3-2 in favor of Newark, with Hughson owning both the Louisville wins. Tonight, Louisville sends up another Red Sox farmhand, Charley Wagner, against knuckleballing Steve Peek for the Bears.

They call him "Buck" in Detroit, but when Louis Newsom pitched for the Dodgers back in the days of Uncle Wilbert Robinson's regime they called him "Bo-bo." That is, when they weren't calling him "Mr. Nuisance." Newsom broke in with the Dodgers back in 1929 with a month left to go in that season, and immediately began pestering Uncle Robbie to give him a start. "I can't win games sitting on the bench," snapped the strapping rookie. Robbie proceeded to give him three starts, and Newsom lost every one of them.

The Football Dodgers are back on the practice field after a two-day rest, preparing for Sunday's game at Ebbets Field against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Grid Flock lost to the Steelers in Pittsburgh to open their National Football League season, and coach Jock Sutherland will spend the rest of this week working on improving his team's pass defense and blocking. Even though the Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Eagles in their home opener last week, they were notably shoddy in opposing the Philadelphia passing game.

Yet another radio program has added an audience participation feature, with bandleader Ben Bernie introducing a segment called "Give A Guy A Hand." The Ol' Maestro will select a man and a woman each week from his studio audience and bring them up on stage. The man will outline some problem of his, and the woman will be asked to give advice on how to solve it. Last week's show had an interesting dilemma -- the man described how his boss gave him a grand piano as a present, but he didn't have room for it in his apartment so he put it in storage. But now the boss is coming to dinner -- what to do? The advisor suggested that he put all his other furniture in storage, bring the piano in, spread out a tablecloth on tip of it, and use it as a dinner table.

(And soon Halfpint will become "Two Quart Paper Carton.")

(Okay, now I see what's happening here. It's not the neighbor making the fish talk at all. It's Jo -- in her greatest troll ever.)

(Oh oh, is Mary's career as the Mapleville Madam is about to come to light?)

(Planes in 1940 weren't pressurized -- so oxygen mask or not, the higher you go, the more likely it is for Irwin to start puffing up like a big fat balloon. Why are you smiling, Dan?)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Sentence that has appeared once, and only once, in all the long history of the English language: "If those cows get in here, we'll never use this ballroom again!"

This is what happens when you let the Boys From Marketing run your campaign.

Pretty much every celebrity or pop-culture character you can think of in the Era was made the subject of a "Tijuana bible" or an "eight-pager," those grubby little hard-core pornographic comic pamphlets sold under the counter at newsstands and candy stores. Every one, that is, but the notable and conspicuous exception of Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia. Somebody really missed the boat there.

You can't beat Sam at this game, kid, so don't even try.

Hey, how come Whiskers there gets to keep his shirt on?

Dude must really be exhausted. His repartee is suffering.

FORESHADOWING

There's something profoundly disturbing about the Old Timer's pose in the last panel. I don't think I can look at it any more.

Can't ANYBODY in the comics have a happy marriage?

Either that's a really low bed, or Harold's putting on weight.

 

[Fading Fast]

...A bill passed in the US Senate to limit imports of refined sugar from Hawaii and Puerto Rico is good news for the Brooklyn sugar industry, says the Eagle Editorialist. "Without this measure, " he warns, "the Brooklyn sugar industry faces extinction." Over 2500 local jobs are at stake as the President prepares to sign the measure....

The fate of the last sugar refinery in Brooklyn was in and out of the news a bunch - it had a pretty big labor battle in the late '90s - over the past several decades. More recently, the site has been redeveloped into a "mixed use" area. Here's a pretty good Wikipedia article on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domino_Sugar_Refinery

The old Domino's Sugar Refinery building (IMHO, that building couldn't be more perfect):

...Yet another radio program has added an audience participation feature, with bandleader Ben Bernie introducing a segment called "Give A Guy A Hand." The Ol' Maestro will select a man and a woman each week from his studio audience and bring them up on stage. The man will outline some problem of his, and the woman will be asked to give advice on how to solve it. Last week's show had an interesting dilemma -- the man described how his boss gave him a grand piano as a present, but he didn't have room for it in his apartment so he put it in storage. But now the boss is coming to dinner -- what to do? The advisor suggested that he put all his other furniture in storage, bring the piano in, spread out a tablecloth on tip of it, and use it as a dinner table....

Are we sure that wasn't a storyline from "The Bungles?"

... (Okay, now I see what's happening here. It's not the neighbor making the fish talk at all. It's Jo -- in her greatest troll ever.)...

"I'm a fresh-water fish" is a good line.

...
(Oh oh, is Mary's career as the Mapleville Madam is about to come to light?)...

Too opaque a reveal so I'm calling it: T + Six Days.

The funny thing is, given a different set of circumstances in her life, Mary's combination of people skills, smarts, pragmatism, forceful will and compassion would have made her a very successful madam.

...
Pretty much every celebrity or pop-culture character you can think of in the Era was made the subject of a "Tijuana bible" or an "eight-pager," those grubby little hard-core pornographic comic pamphlets sold under the counter at newsstands and candy stores. Every one, that is, but the notable and conspicuous exception of Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia. Somebody really missed the boat there....

I understand your point that LaGuardia was waging this battle, at least, in part to hurt the mob, but did he also believe in the anti-porn/smutt stuff or was that just his angle to fight the rackets?

Regardless, that battle has been firmly lost. I am continually amazed at the gratuitous sex and sexual comments that make it into mainstream entertainment today.

Say this for LaGuardia, the man fills his days - milk, porn - he's got a finger in everything.

... You can't beat Sam at this game, kid, so don't even try.....

I know that you know that I know that you know that I know...

Also, my dad would not have been the right father for Annie. He'd have probably shot her before she turned five.

... Hey, how come Whiskers there gets to keep his shirt on?...

Because the customer is alway right...or so we're told.

.... Dude must really be exhausted. His repartee is suffering.....

Ever since he bagged Raven, he's become even more full of himself. That said, kudos again to Caniff, though, as panel one is wonderful exposition of a sniper's thinking. It beautifully sets up the next three panels.

... FORESHADOWING....

I'm just going to say it, it's time for these two to have sex and not out of great love or passion, but in a "slightly older woman showing a younger man the ropes" way. That is exactly where their relationship is at. In comic-strip land, it would have to be reduced to a kiss and a hug in her apartment, but still, we'd all get what really happened.

... There's something profoundly disturbing about the Old Timer's pose in the last panel. I don't think I can look at it any more.....

Min's got a wonderfully sharp tongue.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I think Cumberland Packing is still in Brooklyn, but I guess they don't do any refining, just packaging and distribution. Last vestige of a once-mighty industry.

In any case, I'm very happy to see that the Domino sign is still there. I hope they keep it lit. Given the gentrification of Williamsburg, it's a miracle they lasted there as long as they did.

The Mayor is a fascinating puzzle. He lives an ascetic life, he is completely incorruptible, and he seems in a lot of ways like the Puritan to end all Puritans -- and yet he bitterly opposed Prohibition and was one of the loudest of voices in favor of Repeal. It seems like any public position he takes comes back in some way to his hatred of the Mob. And yet he also sounds like everybody's crabby uncle who is just about DONE with this crap, whatever the crap may be. There's got to be something personal in it with him beyond the mob stuff, but it's impossible to really know for sure how much of which is what with him. Oh wait, he's done talking about this and is going to ride off on a fire engine.

Porn wasn't as public in 1940 as it is now, but what it lacks in mainstream appeal it more than makes up in rawness. Some of those "eight pager" comics are deeply disturbing.

(You don't want to know.)

At this stage of Skeezix's life it's an open question of whether he is Experienced. The way he cavorts with Nina back home would suggest one answer, but there's an innocence about him that suggests the opposite. Harold, I have no doubt at all, was inexperienced when he left home and was inaugurated into certain matters by Senga, but I honestly don't think Skeezix has been down that road yet. And I don't even want to get into the question of Terry.

To survive thirty years of marriage to Andy Gump, one needs both a sharp tongue and a thick skin. I imagine Min and Jo get together for coffee a lot.

 

[Fading Fast]

I think Cumberland Packing is still in Brooklyn, but I guess they don't do any refining, just packaging and distribution. Last vestige of a once-mighty industry.

In any case, I'm very happy to see that the Domino sign is still there. I hope they keep it lit. Given the gentrification of Williamsburg, it's a miracle they lasted there as long as they did.

The Mayor is a fascinating puzzle. He lives an ascetic life, he is completely incorruptible, and he seems in a lot of ways like the Puritan to end all Puritans -- and yet he bitterly opposed Prohibition and was one of the loudest of voices in favor of Repeal. It seems like any public position he takes comes back in some way to his hatred of the Mob. And yet he also sounds like everybody's crabby uncle who is just about DONE with this crap, whatever the crap may be. There's got to be something personal in it with him beyond the mob stuff, but it's impossible to really know for sure how much of which is what with him. Oh wait, he's done talking about this and is going to ride off on a fire engine.

Porn wasn't as public in 1940 as it is now, but what it lacks in mainstream appeal it more than makes up in rawness. Some of those "eight pager" comics are deeply disturbing.

View attachment 268605
(You don't want to know.)

At this stage of Skeezix's life it's an open question of whether he is Experienced. The way he cavorts with Nina back home would suggest one answer, but there's an innocence about him that suggests the opposite. Harold, I have no doubt at all, was inexperienced when he left home and was inaugurated into certain matters by Senga, but I honestly don't think Skeezix has been down that road yet. And I don't even want to get into the question of Terry.

To survive thirty years of marriage to Andy Gump, one needs both a sharp tongue and a thick skin. I imagine Min and Jo get together for coffee a lot.

More on the Dominos sign and the area: https://www.nydailynews.com/life-st...omino-sugar-sign-start-week-article-1.1893410

In theory, as per the article, the sign is coming back somewhere (haven't read anything about it recently). The building looks sad and naked without its adjacent sign:

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

In the Daily news...

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

 

[LizzieMaine]

Truck drivers in New York City will be back on the job this afternoon after mediation by Mayor LaGuardia produced a settlement that will provide drivers with a week's paid vacation each year. Local 807 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters signed a new contract shortly afternoon today with the Merchant Truckmen's Bureau and the Master Truckmen's Assocation of America after two hours of negotiations in the Mayor's office. The new pact covers truckers operating within the city limits, while over-the-road truckers remain on strike, but the Mayor expressed confidence that they also will ratify the new agreement. "I just talked to them," stated the Mayor, "and told them to get in touch with Local 807, and I told Local 807 to get in touch with them." The Mayor added that he believes the real accomplishment in the new contract is an agreement to provide arbitration machinery that will "end the vicious trade practices that have caused so much chaos in the industry."

Navy Secretary Frank Knox declared today that the United States Pacific fleet will be brought up to full capacity immediately by the addition of 4200 men. The transfers will raise the crewing levels of battleships from their present 85 percent of capacity to a full 100 percent. Mr. Knox was asked if he agrees with a reported prediction within the Administration that express the view that Japan will go to war against the United States within fifteen days, and he promptly replied "No. I don't think anybody knows."

A total of one hundred and eight persons killed or injured resulted from Nazi bombing of a hospital and air-raid shelter in the London area today. British fighters reportedly drove off the attacking planes, but not until the damage had been done.

(Queens is a hotbed of canine intrigue.)

Mr. and Mrs. Consumer will pay more for a wide range of common household items in the year to come due to National Defense priorities. It is anticipated that the cost of clothing will increase sharply due to increased demand for woolens by the Armed Forces for uniform production. Cottons and leather goods will also see an increase due to military requirements for these products.

(Martin's is the swankest women's store downtown -- but they do an awful lot of their selling on Convenient Credit Terms.)

A helplessly deadlocked jury in the murder trial of accused underworld gunman Max "Little Larney" Ludkovich produced a mistrial in Brooklyn Supreme Court. The twelve members of the Blue Ribbon jury could not reach an agreement on whether Ludkovich was guilty of the 1937 slaying of "Knockout Jack" Halperin, with disagreement over the story told by purported eyewitness Jack Barnes, crippled law student, a key factor in the deadlock. Ludkovich has been returned to jail pending a decision on a retrail.

Workers at the new Brooklyn Central Library, which has yet to fully open, have taken up residence in the building's garage, working among incoming and outgoing trucks, and stifled by gasoline and exhaust fumes as they process incoming and outgoing books from mobile libraries. Chief Librarian Milton J. Ferguson today criticized the city for failing to appropriate sufficient funds to complete the building's second floor. "It's like sending teachers to the basement to grade examination papers," he declared as he observed the twelve assistant librarians at their work.

("Say," says Sally. "Ah you t'rilled by it's bigness?" "Nah," says Joe. "I ain't t'rilled by its bigness. I seen a Plymouth 'totha day haddalot more bigness 'n 'at." "Bigness ain' such a hot t'ing," adds Sally. ""Magin' tryin' ta fit allat bigness inna pahkin' lot. Ya nevvagettit out." "Yeah," says Joe, "but yagotta right amounna bigness, why, ya' don'needa house or a apa'tmen' or nuttin'. Ya live rateinnit. Putcha kitchen table anya icebox rateinna back seat. Solly Pinkus done 'at oncet, but I t'ink he hadda Nash.")

(P. K. Wrigley throws down a challenge to Mayor LaGuardia, implacable foe of gum-chewing. P. K. Wrigley lives in Chicago. P. K. Wrigley does not know who he is up against.)

"The Long Voyage Home," based on four plays by Eugene O'Neill, is now showing at the Rivoli, and the direction of John Ford brings suspense and fine acting to the film, according to Herbert Cohn. There are no major box office stars in the film, but plenty of fine actors like Thomas Mitchell, Ian Hunter, John Qualen, and Barry Fitzgerald. The plot revolves around sailor Ole Olsen, played by John Wayne, and his determination to go home to Sweden, despite an attempt to shanghai him, and on the intrigues and melodrama once the ship sets sail. Ford is at his directoral peak in this picture, keeping all his actors in line and achieving all that the script has to offer.

("Hmmm," says Jawn. "Brigham Young! Why, I never thought of trying that! IT JUST MIGHT WORK!")

At the Patio, it's Errol Flynn in "The Sea Hawk," paired with the slap-happy spanking comedy "Public Deb No. 1."

G. E. writes to Helen Worth wondering about a couple of friends who are getting married. They are of different religious beliefs, and are planning to get married in a church to which neither of them belongs, having selected it only for its "vine covered appearance." Is this the proper thing to do? Helen basically tells G. E. to butt out. "If the two persons like the church selected, that's all that's necessary. There are no conventions to be followed in such cases."

(A football gag and a war gag. Mr. Lichty, as always, has his finger on the American pulse.)

The Eagle Editorialist congratulates the Cincinnati Reds on their World Series victory, but warns that next year it'll be the Dodgers. Third in 1939, second in 1940, and first in 1941. "Why, it's in the bag for next year!"

Leo Durocher will be back at Ebbets Field as Dodger manager next season, with Larry MacPhail making the official announcement today, and confirming that the reappointment has been approved by the club's board of directors. Lippy will also receive a pay increase in 1941, but the exact amount has not been revealed. But Brooklyn fans don't realize just how close the Flock came to having a new manager -- MacPhail was actively scouting for a replacement after his explosive argument with Leo at the World Series and Leo's retreat to his St. Louis home in the wake of that argument. Only Leo's hasty return to his boss's side the next day saved his job.

Jimmy Ripple will get only a half-share of the Reds' World Series money, despite playing a key role in the final pennant drive and the club's World Series victory. The former Dodger outfielder, plucked from the roster of the Montreal Royals by the Reds after a botched wavier procedure, turned out to be the best $7500 investment of the season. Most of Ripple's teammates expect that Reds general manager Warren Giles will personally make up the difference between the half share Ripple gets and the full share many feel he earned.

Baseball may have seen the last of veteran Tiger second baseman Charley Gehringer. The "Mechanical Man" is reported to be considering retirement unless his back improves over the off-season. Gehringer injured himself shoveling show from the sidewalk in front of his Detroit home last winter, and it never healed properly, causing him much discomfort over the 1940 campaign.

Radio commentator Johannes Steel will inaugurate the annual winter lecture series sponsored by the Men's Club of Temple Ahaveth Shalom in Flatbush. The broadcaster will speak October 15th on the topic "Will Fascism Destroy Western Civilization?"

(Earlier this year the advent of "Robin" in Detective Comics magazine kicked off the fad for "battling boy companions" in super-hero comics. It seems Sparky is right on trend.)

(You've got to admire the neighbors for coming to terms with it all.)

(While Leach has been mean and spiteful toward Mary, he's been absolutely malevolent toward Bill ever since he showed up. Theory: the damaging information he knows isn't about Mary at all -- it's about Bill.)

(I admittedly don't know a whole lot about aerial combat tactics, but isn't a big lumbering DC-3 type plane like Dan has completely outmatched in every way by one fighter plane, let alone a whole squadron of them?)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News....

I'd forgotten all about the "Art Gallery Murder." It's so hard to keep up.

Carlisle is, of course, talking here about Marshall Field III, whom we discussed the other day, the backer of PM. He hasn't, and has never had, anything to do with the operation and management of the Marshall Field stores. He was a prominent investment banker in the 1920s before he reevaluated his life.

That must've been quite a party.

Annie's going to make it her business to get hold of that clipping. Nick taught her a few tricks, I'm sure.

"Someday," thinks Pat Patton, somewhere in the dim reaches of his imagination, "Chief Brandon is going to retire and open a luggage shop. And I will be promoted OVER TRACY to take his job. AND THEN TRACY WILL BE SORRY FOR EVERYTHING HE'S PUT ME THRU! YOU CAN COUNT ON IT!"

Even his best friend can't resist snarking Andy.

Is Raven thinking, dreaming, or talking in her sleep?

"?" = OMIGAWD, THERE'S TWO OF THEM!

"A dry pair of pants and a trip to the bathroom."

Ever get the feeling that the most common complaint people have in 1940 is "unwanted house guests?"

 

[Fading Fast]

...A helplessly deadlocked jury in the murder trial of accused underworld gunman Max "Little Larney" Ludkovich produced a mistrial in Brooklyn Supreme Court. The twelve members of the Blue Ribbon jury could not reach an agreement on whether Ludkovich was guilty of the 1937 slaying of "Knockout Jack" Halperin, with disagreement over the story told by purported eyewitness Jack Barnes, crippled law student, a key factor in the deadlock. Ludkovich has been returned to jail pending a decision on a retrail....

"Little Larney Ludkovich" even mobsters intuitively understand the appeal of alliteration.

... View attachment 268856 ("Say," says Sally. "Ah you t'rilled by it's bigness?" "Nah," says Joe. "I ain't t'rilled by its bigness. I seen a Plymouth 'totha day haddalot more bigness 'n 'at." "Bigness ain' such a hot t'ing," adds Sally. ""Magin' tryin' ta fit allat bigness inna pahkin' lot. Ya nevvagettit out." "Yeah," says Joe, "but yagotta right amounna bigness, why, ya' don'needa house or a apa'tmen' or nuttin'. Ya live rateinnit. Putcha kitchen table anya icebox rateinna back seat. Solly Pinkus done 'at oncet, but I t'ink he hadda Nash.")...

My favorite two from today: "'totha day," and "Magin'." Well done as always Lizzie.

Note also, it's a Chevy. The Eagle viewers don't get the Cadillac and Oldsmobile ads that we see in @MissNathalieVintage Tribune paper postings. GM knew its market segments back then.

... (P. K. Wrigley throws down a challenge to Mayor LaGuardia, implacable foe of gum-chewing. P. K. Wrigley lives in Chicago. P. K. Wrigley does not know who he is up against.)...

At a time when modern dentistry was in its infancy, it was probably not the best idea to regularly chew on a stick of rubbery sugar between meals.

...[
(A football gag and a war gag. Mr. Lichty, as always, has his finger on the American pulse.)...

Could a "Grin and Bear It" and "Dan Dunn" crossover be far behind?

... (While Leach has been mean and spiteful toward Mary, he's been absolutely malevolent toward Bill ever since he showed up. Theory: the damaging information he knows isn't about Mary at all -- it's about Bill.)...

And knowing Mary, it would make sense that she would put up with this for someone else's benefit rather than her own.

On a separate note, it sounds as if we learned today that Bill "occupies" his own room so, possibly, no bed-sharing with Mary.

Oh, and T+Seven Days!

... I'd forgotten all about the "Art Gallery Murder." It's so hard to keep up....

I had the same thought. It's almost like visiting with an old friend, ditto the Bertrand Russell teaching-position story. News stories seem to just disappear, like our still never-heard-from-again plump blonde bank-heist mastermind. (A very old and wealthy recluse woman, surfing the web, reads this post and thinks, "enough with the 'plump" comments stupid Fading Fast, if I was a bit younger, I'd show you who's 'plump'." The ghost of FFF cheers her on from the sidelines.)

And on the subject of blondes, have to enjoy today's "unidentified" one. She's a very busy girl as she pops up in many bedrooms in the '30s, '40s and '50s.

"The Neighbors" are cribbing a bit from "The Gumps."

...
That must've been quite a party....

Holy Smokes!

... Annie's going to make it her business to get hold of that clipping. Nick taught her a few tricks, I'm sure....

I'm not crying, I'm not. Something just happened to blow into my eyes, yes, both of them, when you mentioned Nick's name.

... "Someday," thinks Pat Patton, somewhere in the dim reaches of his imagination, "Chief Brandon is going to retire and open a luggage shop. And I will be promoted OVER TRACY to take his job. AND THEN TRACY WILL BE SORRY FOR EVERYTHING HE'S PUT ME THRU! YOU CAN COUNT ON IT!"...

"Is he going to throw it? He has his hand on it, yes, coach Fading Fast is throwing the red instant-replay flag. We'll be back after this insanely long commercial break. Well, welcome back, the referees are coming out of their huddle around the replay screen. And yes, the ruling on the field is overturned and Maine will be charged with 'an uncalled-for indirect reference to the Chief's never-received piece of luggage'."

... Is Raven thinking, dreaming, or talking in her sleep?...

In the real world, this is the DL's perfect opportunity to trump Raven again as she and Dude would be going at it right now while Raven dreams or thinks or talks in her sleep about a "kiss."

... "A dry pair of pants and a trip to the bathroom."...

Credit where credit is due, Fontaine's played Harold perfectly so far.

 

[NattyLud]

1940 seems to have been a banner year for loud checked pants, at least in the funnies.

What also strikes me is the overwhelming marketing content on display. I used to think this went into high gear later toward the 50s when industry and returning officers energies were refocused on domestic consumerism, but it appears here in full swing.

 

[LizzieMaine]

With the notable exception of PM and the Daily Worker, the newspaper industry was overwhelmingly driven by advertising long before the '50s. Big-money national advertisers started to dominate the metropolitan press around the turn of the century, and by the twenties were pretty much running the show.

PM was the only major metropolitan paper to specifically bar advertising -- the Worker didn't have many ads (understandably enough), but it did have a few, mostly local or regional.

A while back, both The Bungle Family and Moon Mullins featured characters in an identical style of black-and-white checked suits. There must've been a sale.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The "parish church of the British Empire" was struck today by a Nazi bomb. The high altar of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, designed 265 years ago by Sir Christopher Wren was wrecked by an explosive bomb that crashed thru the roof and struck an arch at the extreme east end of the building. Along with the altar itself, the bomb destroyed or damaged nearby stained glass windows and priceless artifacts. The cathedral was only one of several historic buildings and streets damaged by Nazi raiders over the past twenty-four hours.

Mayor LaGuardia is brushing aside criticism of the presence of thirteen professional ballplayers on the Department of Sanitation's White Wings baseball team, uncovered in an investigation by a City Council committee scrutinizing the Municipal Civil Service Commission. The Mayor contended today that the thirteen professionals were hired thru regular Civil Service channels to perform Sanitation Department duties, and that their skill as ballplayers is an aid to morale in the Department. "We follow the practice which has been accepted and adopted by business and industry in this country," stated the Mayor, noting that "the ball team has done a great deal for the Department, not only for its morale but in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for the welfare funds." Two of the players testified at the hearing, pitcher Albert "Bots" Nekola and Alfred E. "Al" Cuccinello, both of whom have playing experience in the major leagues, and who have performed for the past two seasons in Brooklyn with the semi-professional Bushwicks club. The players testified that they "stood in line in the rain for hours" to apply for the $1500-per-year jobs on Sanitation Department garbage scows, and that eleven other semipro and former big-league players had done likewise.

A Prospect Heights garage mechanic refused to file charges against his estranged wife, after she held him at gunpoint at his workplace following an argument over his failure to visit his young daughter. Twenty-two year old Mrs. Vivian Tringali is being held on $4500 bail for violation of the Sullivan Law following the incident, but Mr. Tringali declined to sign a felonious assault complaint, arguing that she wouldn't have actually shot him. Mrs. Tringali arrived at the garage at 1409 Bedford Avenue yesterday to challenge her husband over his refusal to visit their daughter Gloria in the hospital, where she was recovering from a tonsillectomy. When he refused to discuss the matter, Mrs. Tringali drew a revolver and forced Mr. Tringali to his knees while commanding him to pray for forgiveness. A passing police patrolman witnessed the incident and came up behind Mrs. Tringali and knocked the gun from her hand. "Give me one more minute with him," she pleaded as she was disarmed. The couple has been separated for two years.

Two professional football players have been returned to the Long Island Indians club of the American Association after an attempt by the management of the New York Football Yankees to "kidnap" them in violation of their contracts. Judge Meier Steinbrink ruled in Brooklyn Supreme Court today that former collegiate stars Spencer C. Mandrodt and George Lenc are under binding agreements to play for the Indians, and may appear for no other professional club. A complaint by Indians owner William A. Shea alleged that Yankees coach John F. McBride had "induced" the two players to cross the river in violation of their contracts, and that he was attempting do likewise with several other Indians players. Shea's attorney Harold Cowin condemned McBride as "the Hauptmann of Football" for his "abduction" of the players.

(The ILGWU has professional-grade musical talent among its members, and has just recently concluded the Broadway run of "Pins and Needles," the first and still-only hit musical comedy revue ever put on by a labor union. None of the performers are "ringers" -- they actually work sewing machines and cut fabric when they aren't on stage. And doesn't the Perisphere look philosophical about its death sentence?)

A riot last night at an organizing meeting for a new rank-and-file longshoremen's union is under investigation by District Attorney William O'Dwyer. Meeting chairman Peter Mazzle, age 23, received a gashed scalp when he was hit by a chair during the melee at the 175 Columbia Street hall of the International Longshoremen's Association.

(My grandfather and an aunt both carried ILA cards, but they never got hit in the head with chairs.)

Six hundred Brooklyn College students marched today in a campus anti-war protest. The marchers heard speeches from Daniel Gilmour, editor of "Friday" magazine, and Rabbi Moses Miller of the Jewish People's Committee. In his speech, Gilmour defined himself as "a conservative -- who believes in conserving such things as democracy, the Bill of Rights, and the National Labor Relations Law." Rabbi Miller urged repeal of the conscription law.

(My 1941 Canadian Dodge is basically this car with a slightly different engine, a different grille, and an identical body. It seats six comfortably, and seven if you squeeze.)

(Joe looks at the jar of Gulden's on the table and feels inadequate.)

(Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!)

Actor Berton Churchill died today after being discovered unconscious his room at the Hotel Lincoln late yesterday. The 64-year-old veteran of stage and screen was a member of the cast of the new Kaufman-and-Hart comedy "George Washington Slept Here," and had failed to appear for rehearsal. He was discovered on the floor, with the telephone receiver knocked off the hook. Doctors believe he had collapsed of uremic poisoning and had been unconscious since Tuesday.

You can thank Mrs. Grace Durocher for the fact that her lippy husband will be back as Dodger manager in 1941. It was Mrs. Durocher, who designs dresses under the name of "Carol King," and is a far better businessman than her husband, who convinced Leo to patch things up with Larry MacPhail after their explosive argument at the World Series last week.

Meanwhile, Laughing Larry has forgotten all about the Durocher imbroglio, and is hard at work planning his winter activity in the trade marts. MacPhail is continuing to work on Phillies president Gerry Nugent about a deal for hard-throwing Kirby Higbe, and is also said to be trying to pick up a new catcher. If he can't pry his first choice, Harry Danning, away from Horace Stoneham's Giants, he has his eye on Mickey Owen of the Cardinals -- the same Mickey Owen who engaged in an exchange of fisticuffs with Mr. Durocher last summer.

The matter of Jimmy Ripple, lost to the Reds in a waiver bungle, just won't go away for the Dodger front office. Because he was claimed by a major league club off the roster of the Montreal Royals, a minor league club, baseball law says he is entitled to be compensated for the difference between his minor and major league pay. The Reds say the Dodgers should make that payment, while the Dodgers say that since the Reds got so much benefit out of Ripple during their September pennant rush, that they should be the ones to make up his pay. It is believed that Judge Landis will order the Dodgers to pay.

World Series heroes Bucky Walters and Jimmy Wilson will appear at Dexter Park this weekend, with the star hurler and elderly catcher joining a squad of minor-league stars against the Bushwicks. (Jimmy Ripple will not appear.)

("Hmph!" hmphs Sally. "Whasshe gottagains' Ebbets Fiel'?" "Nehhhhhh," nehhs Joe. "Prolly scairt Frankie Germano gonna tackle'im.")

A rare Siamese cat is missing in Flatbush. "Suki" is one of only five hundred or so of her breed in the United States, and wandered away from an apartment on Marlboro Road last week. Her owner Mrs. William C. Klein is appealing to all Eagle readers and animal lovers of Brooklyn to help find her, and is offering a reward for her recovery. Suki has cream colored fur, with brown markings on her face, legs, and tail, and blue eyes which are usually crossed. She is described as "very playful" and capable of performing many little doggy tricks.

(Ha ha ha, but think about this for a minute. It's been established that the deal with this machine is that once you are subjected to its rays, you must continue to take treatments or you'll shrink up like a bug. So basically this poor kid's been condemned to an entire lifetime as a scientific guinea pig at the hands of a mad scientist who's got, what, maybe twenty years left of his own life? Nice going, Doc.)

("In a kidding way." Right, George, keep telling yourself that.)

(OK, here's what Mary needs to do. Call John. It's still his house, after all. And he's still District Attorney until he's sworn in as Governor. Have him send his boys out to find out what there is to know about this guy, and then haul him in. If you can't find a charge, ha ha ha, well, "protective custody" will work. I mean, come on, this is 1940. You know how the game is played.)

("No reason to worry?" Gallopin' goldfish, Irwin -- have you been into that morphine from the first aid kit again?)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

("Bots" Nekola is actually a baseball figure of some note -- he will serve for decades as the chief New York scout for the Red Sox, and will one day sign both Carl Yastrzemski and Rico Petrocelli to Boston contracts. But I never knew about his career on a garbage scow till now.)

I would have KILLED for this -- I mean, there's even an itty little wind machine!!!! And yes, it's not even halfway thru October and they're already pushing Christmas. "Season's Greetings!"

You think they got together and planned out the cartoons today, or is it just a coincidence?

Well, with that hairdo you must be some kind of a showgirl or something, so yeah, I can believe that...

Hahahahahahahaha! Raven goes Full April!

But sir, it's our "Chief's Special!"

*snif*

Yes, she did indeed say "Crummy Clutterbutt." In a family newspaper, yet. Well, sort of a family newspaper.

On the other hand, half-dressed Tracy shoving a hammer down his pants while feeling up Pat makes "Crummy Clutterbutt" seem positively wholesome.

And as for Harold, well, remember all those tricks Senga taught ya, OK?

 

[Fading Fast]

... View attachment 269188
A Prospect Heights garage mechanic refused to file charges against his estranged wife, after she held him at gunpoint at his workplace following an argument over his failure to visit his young daughter. Twenty-two year old Mrs. Vivian Tringali is being held on $4500 bail for violation of the Sullivan Law following the incident, but Mr. Tringali declined to sign a felonious assault complaint, arguing that she wouldn't have actually shot him. Mrs. Tringali arrived at the garage at 1409 Bedford Avenue yesterday to challenge her husband over his refusal to visit their daughter Gloria in the hospital, where he was recovering from a tonsillectomy. When he refused to discuss the matter, Mrs. Tringali drew a revolver and forced Mr. Tringali to his knees while commanding him to pray for forgiveness. A passing police patrolman witnessed the incident and came up behind Mrs. Tringali and knocked the gun from her hand. "Give me one more minute with him," she pleaded as she was disarmed. The couple has been separated for two years....

Might be a bit too morally ugly for "Dick Tracy," but the old "Little Orphan Annie" would have loved to riff on this story with Annie being the one knocking the gun out of the woman's hand.

...

(The ILGWU has professional-grade musical talent among its members, and has just recently concluded the Broadway run of "Pins and Needles," the first and still-only hit musical comedy revue ever put on by a labor union. None of the performers are "ringers" -- they actually work sewing machines and cut fabric when they aren't on stage. And doesn't the Perisphere look philosophical about its death sentence?)...

The Perisphere does look resigned to his fate, but you have to feel bad for him. Maybe he could get a job at H&H helping the talking pie as they look similar in style.

...A riot last night at an organizing meeting for a new rank-and-file longshoremen's union is under investigation by District Attorney William O'Dwyer. Meeting chairman Peter Mazzle, age 23, received a gashed scalp when he was hit by a chair during the melee at the 175 Columbia Street hall of the International Longshoremen's Association....)

What the heck is a "gashead scalp?" Oh, "gashed" scalp - nothing to see here, carry on. Note to self, read a bit slower.

... View attachment 269195 (My 1941 Canadian Dodge is basically this car with a slightly different engine, a different grille, and an identical body. It seats six comfortably, and seven if you squeeze.)...

Just as we saw GM advertise its lowest-priced line, Chevrolet, Chrysler is pushing its least-expensive line, Plymouth, in the Eagle. No first-run movies, Cadillacs, Lincolns, Chrysler Imperials, mageskas or $60 dresses for Sally and Joe.

... View attachment 269196
(Joe looks at the jar of Gulden's on the table and feels inadequate.)...

...You can thank Mrs. Grace Durocher for the fact that her lippy husband will be back as Dodger manager in 1941. It was Mrs. Durocher, who designs dresses under the name of "Carol King," and is a far better businessman than her husband, who convinced Leo to patch things up with Larry MacPhail after their explosive argument at the World Series last week....

That's really cool. Good for her.

...The matter of Jimmy Ripple, lost to the Reds in a waiver bungle, just won't go away for the Dodger front office. Because he was claimed by a major league club off the roster of the Montreal Royals, a minor league club, baseball law says he is entitled to be compensated for the difference between his minor and major league pay. The Reds say the Dodgers should make that payment, while the Dodgers say that since the Reds got so much benefit out of Ripple during their September pennant rush, that they should be the ones to make up his pay. It is believed that Judge Landis will order the Dodgers to pay....

This nightmare just won't stop for the Dodgers. You have to believe someone lost his or her job over this one.

... View attachment 269202
("Hmph!" hmphs Sally. "Whasshe gottagains' Ebbets Fiel'?" "Nehhhhhh," nehhs Joe. "Prolly scairt Frankie Germano gonna tackle'im.")...

"Whasshe gottagains'"

... (Ha ha ha, but think about this for a minute. It's been established that the deal with this machine is that once you are subjected to its rays, you must continue to take treatments or you'll shrink up like a bug. So basically this poor kid's been condemned to an entire lifetime as a scientific guinea pig at the hands of a mad scientist who's got, what, maybe twenty years left of his own life? Nice going, Doc.)...

Yup, everything you said plus you know Mr. Scientist there has learned nothing about real life as "the baby turned the machine on himself" defense will only (rightfully) fire up the mother's anger more.

... ("In a kidding way." Right, George, keep telling yourself that.)...

We need more information for this story to hold, so I'm making the call, T+One Day

... (OK, here's what Mary needs to do. Call John. It's still his house, after all. And he's still District Attorney until he's sworn in as Governor. Have him send his boys out to find out what there is to know about this guy, and then haul him in. If you can't find a charge, ha ha ha, well, "protective custody" will work. I mean, come on, this is 1940. You know how the game is played.)...

I think this situation requires a different, um, "touch." Mary should call Leona to see if she knows any of Bonetti's old pals who will do some work on the QT. The legal system is too slow and transparent; she needs this guy dealt with quickly, quietly and in a way that he'll never try to blackmail her again.

And it's T+Eight Days.

("Bots" Nekola is actually a baseball figure of some note -- he will serve for decades as the chief New York scout for the Red Sox, and will one day sign both Carl Yastrzemski and Rico Petrocelli to Boston contracts. But I never knew about his career on a garbage scow till now.)...

It's hard to imagine former pro-players on a local union team. Even run-of-the-mill professional players are exponentially better than your average good amateur on a union or company team.

Oh, and good, healthy parenting there in "The Neighbors."

... I would have KILLED for this -- I mean, there's even an itty little wind machine!!!! And yes, it's not even halfway thru October and they're already pushing Christmas. "Season's Greetings!"...

$1.98 is about $37 today. That's not a crazy expensive price for what looks like a pretty sophisticated toy. Lizzie, have you looked on eBay, etc., as a few might still be around today? That said, I bet if they are, and are in decent condition, they are a heck of a lot more than $37.

... View attachment 269209
You think they got together and planned out the cartoons today, or is it just a coincidence?...

Hard to believe that just happened by chance.

... Hahahahahahahaha! Raven goes Full April!...

Even the strong have their weak moments and she's been through a lot. But heck, she's getting a little of her piss and vinegar back by the last panel. Also, she's probably exhausted sucking in her waist to a WASP size 12".

Oh, and "Dude Hennick's the label, Baby!" He's so outlandishly himself that it almost works for him. Only Errol Flynn could, maybe, get away with delivering a line like that when they make the movie.

... View attachment 269218 On the other hand, half-dressed Tracy shoving a hammer down his pants while feeling up Pat makes "Crummy Clutterbutt" seem positively wholesome....

Tracy right now is treading on the same ground that upscale Laurence Fellows does in his beach illustrations of men in fancy togs in "Apparel Arts." Creative humans always find a way around censorship.

... But sir, it's our "Chief's Special!"...

Coach Fading Fast slams his headphones to the ground and, red faced, all but charges the referee screaming for a flag on the Maine team as Maine's coach placidly (but hiding a smirk) tries to hurry her team to the line of scrimmage to get the next play off before the ref can change his mind.

And, wouldn't Wump & Co provide Wilmer with, at minimum, an employee discount for its luggage line?

.. Yes, she did indeed say "Crummy Clutterbutt." In a family newspaper, yet. Well, sort of a family newspaper.....

Man, unwanted house guests are a big thing in comic-strip land in 1940.

Oh, and Joe and Sally take umbrage, "Weeza famlee, too." (Feel free to correct my Brooklynese.)

... And as for Harold, well, remember all those tricks Senga taught ya, OK?

Exactly. That's the type of, um, er, training Miss Snipe needs to give Skeezix.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Dude gets extra smooth points for keeping his line of bunk going while he's eating potato chips or crackers, or Nilla wafers, or whatever it is that he's shoveling into his face there.

The thought that Wilmer ought to be issued a company sample case to carry sample cases in did come to mind -- no doubt this is another sign that the receivers will be arriving at the Wumple offices any day now. All that aside, though, I'm really impressed with the detail with which Mr. King has drawn that bag -- the shading and the texture are just right. I've handled that bag myself.

Wonder if there's a baby in it?

That really is a neat toy -- and it was actually made and sold by RCA, which seems like an odd direction for them to be going in, but hey, diversification wasn't just a sixties thing. Doesn't seem to be one on the 'Bay right now, and I'd imagine a complete set would be very hard to find. I know if I'd had one, my sister and brother would have gotten it after I had it, and there wouldn't be much left by the end. I do have an actual professional sound-effects kit that we use in our broadcasts at the theatre, but it isn't as nifty as this one.

The Bushwicks were a pretty big deal in 1940 -- they usually got knocked around pretty bad by the Negro League clubs, but they did OK against the House of David and the other barnstorming clubs. There were usually a few future major leaguers on the roster and quite a few aged former major leaguers playing out the string. And apparently, according to this article from Sports Illustrated, the Sanitation Department link went on for a while.

Given Mr. MacPhail's disposition, I'm sure that not only did someone get fired over l'affaire Ripple, there is at least one large hole in the plaster directly behind that poor soul's desk.

 

[Fading Fast]

...All that aside, though, I'm really impressed with the detail with which Mr. King has drawn that bag -- the shading and the texture are just right. I've handled that bag myself.
....

I, too, was impressed with the Gladstone illustration. I've loved those forever, but good ones were always priced out of my league. Then, J.Peterman put its version on deep sale when it was in trouble many years ago and I bought it for a very reasonable price. It's not as nice as the really good ones, but it's pretty darn good. I've received several unprompted compliments on it from strangers when traveling.

Peterman doesn't seem to be carrying it at the moment - it brings it back from time to time - but here's an illustration of it as that's how Peterman used to show it.