The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

("Well," puzzles Uncle Frank, "Oi joost doon't get it, that's aaahl. It ain't loike y'didn't coom inta this coontry legal-like. Ye don't need noobody t'wroite a lettar voochin' farr ye good charactarrr. B'soides, even if ye DID, noobody's goona say noothin' they aaaaught naaaht. Oi joost doon't see why ye doon't want t'fill in th' faaarm!" "Oi got me reasons," snaps Ma. "Now leave me be." "Now how would that look," frowns Uncle Frank. "Me, standin' oop tharrr, raisin' me roit hand, takin' th' ooooth a' citizenship, an' you sittin' tharrrr with ye arms foolded an' that look aaahn ye face like ye was weaned aaahn a pickle." "Oi joost doon't want nooobody proyin' into me proivate affairs," insists Ma. "Oi mean, that business doon th' battam aboot bein' an anarchist. What if they aaaask me about Sally??" "Sally ain't no anarchist," dismisses Uncle Frank. "Throwin' a brick thru a movin' pitcharr screen," frowns Ma, "doon't make ye noo Repooblican. An' when she was a little garrl, wroitin' ahn th' charrrch wall aboot that Saaaaco an' Vanzetti. They could drag aaaaaahl that oot, an' aaaask a laaata questions, an' end oop not joost deport'n ME but her aaaaaaalso! An' thin' won't YOU be in a foine place, with J. Edgaaaar Hoovaaar noosin' aroond ye business! Nooo, Oi ain't coom this faaaar withoot keepin' t'meself, an' Oi ain' aboot t'start fillin' in noo goover'ment faaaarms." "Ye talkin' foolishments," scoffs Uncle Frank. "Oi also ain't goin' t'get depaaaaarted," vows Ma. She cocks her eye meaningfully at her husband. "Naaaaht with what's waitin' faaar me back in Oireland." Uncle Frank shakes his head. "Nora," he sighs, "that was faaaaarty years agoo. An' ye toold me ye'self tharr wasn't noo way they was evaaar goin' t'foind..." "Yarrr th' oonly livin' sool Oi ever told," declares Ma. "An' Oi fully intend t'keep it that way. Now drink ye drink befarr it goos flat." Uncle Frank finishes his two-cents-plain, and chews his lower lip in deep thought. "An' doon' t look at me loike that," snaps Ma. "Ye know it makes me naaaarvous." Uncle Frank shrugs, and unwraps a fresh Tootsie Roll as he ponders the situation....)

("Toin'im oveh t'Stalin," frowns Sally. "He'll take good 'nough caehr'v'im. Give 'im oveh t' t'em British, t'ey'll sen' 'im awff t' t'em Bahamas a'someplace, 'n 'ee c'n go swimmin' wit't'at Duke'a Windseh." "T'at was a helluva t'ing," recalls Alice. "Him quittin' as King an' awl. I lissen'ta t'at onna radio. 'Wit'out t' help an' suppoeht a' t'woman I love.' Wan'nat sump'n?" "Meh," scowls Sally. "I hoid a betteh soap opr'a from Ma Poikins. Anyways, t'ey betteh not let Hitleh wawk." "T'ey could sen'im oveh heeh," shrugs Alice. "Maybe send'im t'Brownsville. T'ey'd take cahe'r'v'im pretty quick." "Heh," snickers Sally. "You read too many a't'em gangsteh books....")

A committee representing 197 hotels from all five boroughs will confer with Mayor LaGuardia today at City Hall, to consider the Mayor's announced plan for meat conservation. The plan proposing the city-wide adoption of "Leftover Monday, Meatless Tuesday, and Meatless Friday" has already been endorsed by the Cafe Owners' Guild and the Society of Restaurateurs. Meanwhile, the New York Central Railroad reported a steady flow of meat shipments, but it was indicated by retail officials that most of it went to the Armed Forces and large wholesalers rather than to neighborhood distributors. The general meat situation seemed to be brightening with further word that an increased number of live steers are ready for local slaughter, and in view of that situation it was reported that all city schools have resumed serving meat as part of Federally-subsidized luncheons.

("Well now, I wouldn't say that." -- The Petroleum Industry.)

The Eagle Editorialist salutes the Red Army for its smashing victories in Poland, capped so far by the liberation of Warsaw. "No matter how we differ on governmental or economic ideology," observes the EE, "we must recognize the tremendous part that Stalin and his valorous armies are playing in the proscecution of the war. We shudder to think of what our position would be today without Russia at our side."

Eighty years later you'll find entire subreddits devoted to this theory.

("Hey Leo! Nice rug!" -- Ducky.)

(I still don't fully understand what Al Smith is doing in this strip. Or why he isn't wearing any socks.)

("I hear there's a room at Emmy Plushbottom's place. But watch out for the fat guy in the checkered pants.")

(C'mon, toots, NOBODY's not the ice cream type.)

(The Power of Engineering.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Meow.

All set for spring!

KIDS TODAY

"Uncle Walt, this is an apple crate with roller skates nailed to the bottom." "WELL IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR SKEEZIX!"

Hey look, it's my fourth grade teacher!

"The check cleared, didn't it?" "We'll see."

At least until the next warm spell.

TADPOLE!

"Look, Doc," wheedles Mr. Willard. "You forget about this bill, and I'll put your name in the strip." "Well, all right. But don't make me look stupid." "You bet. But at least comb your hair."

Monogrammed jammies, Chaz? Or did you try out once for the Cubs?

 

[Fading Fast]

... Oi joost doon't see why ye doon't want t'fill in th' faaarm!" "Oi got me reasons," snaps Ma. "Now leave me be." "Now how would that look," frowns Uncle Frank. "Me, standin' oop tharrr, raisin' me roit hand, takin' th' ooooth a' citizenship, an' you sittin' tharrrr with ye arms foolded an' that look aaahn ye face like ye was weaned aaahn a pickle."...

Not the same specifics, but growing up jn the 1970s (so not the 1940s), I heard friends of my grandparents having serious conversations just like this. It was an of-the-era immigrant thing; it just was.

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Monogrammed jammies, Chaz? Or did you try out once for the Cubs?

In the 1930s-1950s, regular middle-class (and the uber rich) women (not men, so Chaz is on his own here) often embroidered large monograms or, sometimes, even their full first name on a lot of things - PJs, yes, but also sweaters, tops, and even coats. You see it in the movies and old photographs from the era all the time. It cracks me up as you'll see an adult woman named Trudy, with either a giant "T" or even a giant "Trudy" spelled out on her sweater. It's no odder than stuff we do today - it's just funny to see.