The Era -- Day By Day

[Harp]

Exquisite rose Lana calls to mind Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
a 17th Century rose who rejected Aristotelian fixture to pen a cautionary tinctured feminine,
though not feminist, philosophy. Her Assaulted & Pursued Chastity perfectly sums dearest Lana,
sweet lady of pure intent. Like Madame Bovary, Cavendish has endured scathing rebuke from
intolerant academe for Assaulted, yet she conquered and vanquished inner doubts and masculine
insecurity to establish herself as a force in English Literature and Philosophy.
May darling ruby rose Lana free herself from infatuation.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Harold's been a blind dope thru all of this, but at least he took her to a nice restaurant and not the Sugar Bowl.

 

[Harp]

Harold's been a blind dope thru all of this...

I've always been able to see a bit of myself in every man I met; and, I really wish it were otherwise
but there was a lot of Harold Teen in me when I was young. There was a Lana in college,
a sweet wonderful girl whom I should have pursued and regret now not having done so.
Exigent circumstances, other stuff. All valid but I knew myself well enough to see my vulnerability.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The files of the State Department have been thrown open to Wendell Willkie by order of President Roosevelt, as the former Republican presidential candidate prepares for his fact-finding trip to Great Britain. The President also invited Mr. Willkie to the White House for a personal conference before his departure, a meeting expected to take place tomorrow, when Mr. Willkie arrives at the capital to confer with Secretary of State Cordell Hull. Mr. Willkie is traveling to Britain "entirely as a private citizen" to examine wartime conditions there, but it is widely speculated that his visit is of greater significance given the current Congressional debate over the President's Lease-Lend bill.

Meanwhile, Mr. Willkie warned Congressional Republicans yesterday against mounting "blind opposition" to the Lease-Lend program, putting GOP leaders on notice that, if they allow the party to become identified as the party of isolationism, "it would never again be called back to power." Speaking at a luncheon of the Women's National Republican Club at the Hotel Astor, Mr. Willkie warned Republicans not to allow "hate of an individual" to blind it to the reality of the world situation.

Retiring U. S. Ambassador to Great Britain Joseph P. Kennedy urged last night in a radio address that the United States "give the utmost aid to England," but said that he did not believe that the nation's immediate danger justifies passage of the Lease-Lend bill in its present form. Speaking over the Red network of the National Broadcasting Company, Mr.Kennedy contended that the bill would give President Roosevelt "authority unheard of in our history," and urged Congress to find "less drastic ways" of meeting the present situation.

District Attorney William O'Dwyer will appear today before the city's Assistant Budget Director to seek an additional appropriation of $120,000 for 1941, with all but $30,000 of that sum to be used to cover the increased cost of housing witnesses and otherwise administering his office's ongoing investigations of murder and racket cases in the borough. Mr. O'Dwyer will also release today a written report documenting the accomplishments of his first year in office.

A pair of "Bride and Groom" bandits who robbed an apartment house superintendant of $324 on Friday by posing as a young married couple looking to rent a marital home added another $600 to their bankroll yesterday by the same method when they held up the superintendant of a fifty-unit building at 1671 East 17th Street. The young woman, aged about 24 and wearing a black sealskin coat, blushed slightly as she told Mrs. Marion Cardiff of their wedding plans and asked to see an apartment. When invited in, the girl pulled a revolver and thrust its barrel under Mrs. Cardiff's nose, demanding cash. "Don't make any noise if you don't want to get hurt," the "bride" commanded, as her "groom," a young man of about thirty, watched the door. The girl then ordered Mrs. Cardiff and her husband to sit down and stay seated for fifteen minutes as the bandits made their escape. Police at the Sheepshead Bay precinct say the couple's description matches that of the pair who held up a superintendant at 236 E. 28th Street on Friday.

A campaign to compel visiting National League baseball clubs to stay in Brooklyn hotels instead of Manhattan hotels when they come to town to play the Dodgers is underway, with Dodger president Larry MacPhail having sent letters to the presidents of the Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Boston clubs strongly advising them to consider using local accommodations. The letters follow a presentation by MacPhail at the league winter meetings in December during which he pointed out the amount of money visiting clubs take out of the borough each season as their share of receipts -- a sum averaging more than $33,000 per year per club -- and reminded them that even though Brooklyn is a borough, rather than a separate city, it is still an equal member of the National League and is therefore entitled to the same economic consideration as any other community. MacPhail noted that the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce has endorsed his effort to bring the league's hotel business to the borough, and expects that local newspapers will endorse the campaign as well. "All of this," he stated, "is for your information."

Opera and concert star Marion Talley has been sued for separation in Manhattan Supreme Court by her husband, Adolph G. Eckstrom, who accused the famed soprano of "committing improper acts" with a total of seven men since May of 1935. Those seven men were identified as radio comedian Edgar Bergen -- described in the suit as "Charlie McCarthy's stooge," Heinz pickle heir Rust Heinz, movie actor Erik Rhodes, movie director Aubrey Scotto, musician Arthur Rosenstein, French crooner Jean Sablon, and Miss Talley's attorney, John S. Keith. Mr. Eckstrom is asking for custody of the couple's 5 1/2 year old daughter.

(So it's straight hips now? Guess the sand ran out of that hourglass thing you sold us last year.)

Throngs are pouring into the capital today for tomorrow's Presidential inauguration ceremonies, as President Roosevelt prepares to begin his unprecedented third term of office. Crowds milled on the street yesterday trying to spot celebrities as final preparations for the ceremony continued. The President will swear the oath of office at noon tomorrow on the same 200-year-old Dutch family bible used during his two previous inaugurations and those of his terms as Governor of New York.

How'd you like to take the stage in a favorite old-time operetta or musical comedy? That's the idea behind one-time minstrel man Walter Dockstader's plan to start a Brooklyn theatrical stock company based at the old Majestic Theatre at Fulton Street and Rockwell Place. Dockstader, who first took the stage in burnt cork with his cousin Lew's famous minstrel company of the last century, says he remembers Brooklyn as a place "for better shows," and he wants to see that tradition of live theatre return in productions featuring local talent. Dockstader states that his productions will feature shows by Victor Herbert, Jerome Kern, Oscar Straus, and other authors of similar vintage.

("Sing fawya suppa," sings Joe, "an' you'll get breakfast, songboids a'ways eat!" "'At's Rodgers an' Hart," says Sally. "Betta watchit, ya getcha ASCAP in a sling!")

In Elkton, Maryland a 42-year-old man convicted of beating his wife and eight-year-old daughter was chained to a post and whipped by a county sheriff. Glen Doyle was sentenced in a Cecil County court to receive ten straight-arm strokes from a cat-o-nine-tails across his bare back, with the sentence carried out in the jail yard. About 40 persons witnessed the flogging, the first in the county in more than forty years. Doyle will also serve a sixty-day jail sentence.

(Truth in Advertising.)

(Somewhere a boy named David Frishberg is bored with his piano lessons, and keeps thinking, for some reason, of a name. "Van Lingle Mungo," roils the thought. "Van Lingle Mungo."

The Americans will be out for revenge tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs, still raging at the memory of the 9-0 drubbing the Amerks received when last the two clubs met. Since the dawning of the New Year, the Americans haven't won a game and are secure in their possession of the National Hockey League cellar.

(Personally, I think the skin is the best part of the grape, but whatever.)

"Meet The People" is a new kind of revue, opening this week at the Mansfield Theatre. That phrase "new kind of revue" is overused on Broadway, but this one truly is -- it begins with the cast coming down from the stage to shake hands and introduce themselves to the audience. You will not find big stars in this show, but you will find plenty of good young talent, including comedian Jack Gilford, impressionist Elizabeth Talbot-Martin, and dancers Nanette Fabares and Jack Albertson. The level of laughs is well above the usual run, with some of the smartest gagging heard in years, and the songs and dances are high-spirited fun, with the whole show clearly the product of quick minds.

Old Timer T. A. P. writes in to reminisce about the night Gussie Freeman and Hattie Leslie squared off in a boxing ring down at the old Grand Theatre in Williamsburg. Gussie was getting along pretty well until her hair came loose and fell in her face and she lost her temper. "I thought there would be a riot!"

(Wait, Red Ryder vs. Bigfoot? Well all right then!)

(The thing about having a super power is that you really have to think about when to use it.)

(Garbo says "Hey Scarlet O'Neil, can you show me how to do that trick?")

(Why is it that mean, obviously child-hating people think it's a good idea to open a nursery school? I've never understood that.)

(Um, you're not even fully hidden. He can see you. Even Dan isn't THAT dumb.)

(I'm actually sitting here with pencil and paper trying to sketch out what kind out layout for the Bungles' apartment would make this possible, and I can't. The only possible conclusion is that the apartment is both sentient and dimensionally-transcendant, constantly rearranging itself in order to maximize the soul-robbing hell that is George's daily existence. When Tuthill goes dark, he doesn't fool around.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

That there are still "Bonapartists" in 1941 is our Startling Thought For The Day.

Twenties nostalgia? Right on schedule!

Krome seems to have a psychotic compulsion to use obtuse gadgetry. Now you see where "Batman's" gimmicky villians came from.

Uncle Bim > Scrooge McDuck.

Psst, Kayo -- you get better results sliding down a hill with an old inner tube.

Yeah, well, the point would be better taken if Terry wasn't standing there holding a huge plate of food.

"Hey wait!" shouts poor old Pop. "Those are my only customers!"

Be sure to clip this photo, kid -- it'll come in handy for blackmailing the old man someday.

Heredity is a terrible thing.

Well now. When we last saw Daddy, he was tied up aboard Axel's ship, waiting to be tortured to death, as Axel threw Annie and Sandy into the sea. So obviously, they'll have some catching up to do.

 

[Fading Fast]

...A pair of "Bride and Groom" bandits who robbed an apartment house superintendant of $324 on Friday by posing as a young married couple looking to rent a marital home added another $600 to their bankroll yesterday by the same method when they held up the superintendant of a fifty-unit building at 1671 East 17th Street. The young woman, aged about 24 and wearing a black sealskin coat, blushed slightly as she told Mrs. Marion Cardiff of their wedding plans and asked to see an apartment. When invited in, the girl pulled a revolver and thrust its barrel under Mrs. Cardiff's nose, demanding cash. "Don't make any noise if you don't want to get hurt," the "bride" commanded, as her "groom," a young man of about thirty, watched the door. The girl then ordered Mrs. Cardiff and her husband to sit down and stay seated for fifteen minutes as the bandits made their escape. Police at the Sheepshead Bay precinct say the couple's description matches that of the pair who held up a superintendant at 236 E. 28th Street on Friday.....

A comic-strip version of this story should show up in "Dick Tracy" or "Dan Dunn" in the future.

...Opera and concert star Marion Talley has been sued for separation in Manhattan Supreme Court by her husband, Adolph G. Eckstrom, who accused the famed soprano of "committing improper acts" with a total of seven men since May of 1935. Those seven men were identified as radio comedian Edgar Bergen -- described in the suit as "Charlie McCarthy's stooge," Heinz pickle heir Rust Heinz, movie actor Erik Rhodes, movie director Aubrey Scotto, musician Arthur Rosenstein, French crooner Jean Sablon, and Miss Talley's attorney, John S. Keith. Mr. Eckstrom is asking for custody of the couple's 5 1/2 year old daughter.....

Well now, that's quite a list. If true, she's been a busy little girl. I assume Page 4 will have more information on this breaking story today or tomorrow.

A...
Twenties nostalgia? Right on schedule!....

And now we see how the '20s inspired Leona's Club Buccaneer costume. It appears the '40s were a bit more risqué.

... Yeah, well, the point would be better taken if Terry wasn't standing there holding a huge plate of food.....

True, but Kudos to Wing. Yes, he stole Hu Shee from Terry, but when push came to shove, he defended the boy.

... "Hey wait!" shouts poor old Pop. "Those are my only customers!"....

Once Carl Ed comes up with a Sunday gag, he milks it for as many weeks as he can.

... Well now. When we last saw Daddy, he was tied up aboard Axel's ship, waiting to be tortured to death, as Axel threw Annie and Sandy into the sea. So obviously, they'll have some catching up to do.

Polite Sam running out of patience: "Perhaps if you will open it you will discover who the sender is."

Fading Fast running out of patience: "Open the damn letter kid if you want to learn who sent it."

 

[Harp]

Mr Adolph G Eckstrom, husband of Marion Talley, opera star and bedroom diva should issue
suit for Criminal Conversation against her dalliance collective; seeking compensation for loss
of consortium and marital mortal wound, but that ba***rd jack leg is the main primary objective.
Disbarment, of course. But address suit to his law firm. Go after the whole kit and kaboodle.
Nail his sorry ass to the conference room wall. Big bucks bingo, proctology of law, slime suits,
slap dash take out the trash. Mr John Keith Esquire gets it up the wazoo.
And garnish Marion's not-a-librarian salary for child support and loss of consort damages.
Split the marital estate fifty-nifty, quick. Settle up; saddle up, moving out time huba huba.

 

[LizzieMaine]

However it comes out, I look forward to hearing Charlie McCarthy's reaction. It's always bad news for a comedy act when the straight-man goes off the rails.

 

[Harp]

However it comes out, I look forward to hearing Charlie McCarthy's reaction. It's always bad news for a comedy act when the straight-man goes off the rails.

Menage a trois avec Monsieur McCarthy? (Irlandis marionette done un sens a obtenir un peu de bois....)
I hadn't considered the likely involve with his inseparable sidekick. Any three way triple play, relevant to suit.
McCarthy is going to be sorry he got his Pinocchio mixed up with this mezza soprano Marion.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It wouldn't be the first time. Just ask Dorothy Lamour.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Democracy is not dying -- and will not retreat. So declared Franklin Delano Roosevelt as he began his unprecendented third term as President of the United States. Sworn in by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes at precisely 12:11 this afternoon, with his hand firmly placed on the historic Roosevelt family Bible, the President was cheered by the massed thousands in the Capital Plaza as he advanced to the podium for his third Inaugural Address. "In the face of great perils," declared the President, "our strong purpose is to protect and perpetuate the integrity of Democracy," and he emphasized that the nation's goal over the next four years must be to "save America and its institutions from disruption from without," and in a pointed thrust at certain American apologists for fascism, the President challenged the philosophy who believe that "tyranny and slavery have become a the surging wave of the future."

(The specific target of that thrust was Anne Morrow Lindbergh -- whose essay "The Wave Of The Future" postulated that Fascism is precisely that, and by extension her husband Charles, who will soon take his place as the most prominent American fascist of 1941.)

(And if you missed the broadcast of the speech, you can tune in here.)

Washington police reported that a man with a revolver in his pocket was arrested this afternoon and taken to the White House for questioning. It is reported that the man was caught approximately 100 feet from the reviewing stand from which the President was to review the Inaugural parade.

Spectators braved chill weather in the capital to witness the Inaugural ceremonies. One of the first to enter the section reserved for the public was a woman who brought along a portable oil stove. Others came swathed in multiple overcoats and heavy blankets. The President himself appeared on the platform bareheaded, his breath visibly frosting in the 28-degree afternoon air. Marines armed with rifles guarded the Capitol building inside and out, aided by police from Washington, Baltimore, New York, and Boston. Police estimates state that the total crowd for the day exceeded 100,000 persons.

A plan of assistance to local manufacturers for the expediting of defense work has been presented to the National Defense Advisory Commission by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, and has been hailed as an example to be followed by other big cities. The plan for organizing available facilities in the borough for the most efficient implementation of national defense production may be instrumental in resolving delays over which the President himself has expressed frustration.

In Michigan City, Indiana, a 98-pound housewife gave birth to quadruplets today, but only three of the infants have survived. The three girls and a boy were born to Mrs. Eva Swanson, but the third of the tiny babies to be born, one of the girls, died about an hour and a half after birth. The father, 125-pound Melbert Swanson, a boiler factory clerk, declared that he was "tickled to death." The children are the couples' first, after four years of marriage.

(Because nothing says "a relaxing evening at home" like ordering coal.)

(Actually, Oomphie here is listening to one of those independent stations that has the ASCAP songs. Don't tell!)

Heavily guarded and handcuffed, one of the two "mad dog" brothers responsible for last week's violent spree in midtown Manhattan today pleaded not guilty to a first degree murder charge. Anthony Esposito denied killing payroll courier Alfred V. Kaufman in a 34th Street elevator last Tuesday, and claimed that he had been beaten while in police custody. A psychiatrist from Bellevue Hospital observed Esposito in the courtroom. The second Esposito brother, William, was arraigned later in the morning at his Bellevue hospital bed pleaded not guilty to the murder of Patrolman Edward Maher, in an exchange of gunfire in the midst of the 5th Avenue shopping district.

("Hey!" says Joe. "Whattifya take'at hoop, right? An' ya put it, y'know, downeah, annen ya do, y'know, t'is heah." Sally observes her husband's remarkable gyration. "Hm. Y'know, 'atsa pretty good idea." "Yeah, like t'ey do downa Stah Theatah. Umm -- I mean, Solly Pincus tol' me, I ain'seenit a'nuttin.")

A German spokesman hinted today at "further political and diplomatic developments" after two sailors in San Francisco tore down the Nazi swastika flag from its pole outside the German Consulate in that city, cheered on by a crowd of onlookers. The State Department today expressed regret for the incident, which the Germans described as "the violation of the holiest symbol of the nation by a howling, agitated crowd in the presence of police authorities, and in violation of the laws of hospitality that are observed even in the jungle." The sailors, two enlisted men, were bailed out of jail today by the American Legion, and told reporters they thought the swastika banner had been hung out by "fifth columnists."

Wendell Willkie arrived at Pennsylvania Station today with nothing to say to reporters about his private conference yesterday with President Roosevelt. Mr. Willkie declined all questions and left the station immediately for his home. The former Republican presidential nominee is preparing for a fact-finding tour of Great Britain and is expceted to depart on that trip later this month.

("Are you sure you won't go for the double indemnity?")

A 3-3 tie between the Americans and the Toronto Maple Leafs is a big improvement for the Amerks over the 9-0 drubbing they took from the Leafs the last time the two clubs met, and coach Red Dutton is optimistic that his team is improving to the point where it will climb out of the National Hockey League cellar and overtake the Montreal Canadiens for sixth place before the season is over.

Tommy Holmes is right behind Larry MacPhail's crusade to make six of the seven visiting National League teams take their hotel accomodations in Brooklyn. Tommy notes that for the past two years, visiting clubs have made more money as their share of gate receipts on Brooklyn than in any other city on the circuit, and it's high time they put some of that bounty back into the community. He notes that as it stands, the only money Brooklyn merchants make from these visiting clubs are the petty sums paid by visiting players buying cigarettes along the short walk from Ebbets Field to the Prospect Park subway station. He adds that there are plenty of fine hotels and restaurants in the borough that would be happy to host the visiting clubs, and these accommodations are every bit as good as what's available in Manhattan. MacPhail's proposed resolution will be voted on by the clubs at the league's next business meeting on February 4th.

(You know who really ought to be getting married? Doc and Mary Worth. What a perfect couple.)

("Don't even speak to me, greasyface, or I'll measure you for an embalmer's frolic." Yup, Sturges.)

(Um, shouldn't you put that hood up or something? He was just at your house, you know.)

("When Titans Clash.")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Suicide by subway -- ew. And I'd forgotten all about Oom the Omnipotent. I wonder if he belongs to the same union as Mr. Am?

Would it be too much to hope that this actually comes with an itty little crown made of sugar candy?

Clip and save.

"Oh, an' wait'll you meet his friends! There's Punjab, who's this great big tall man in a turban who's like a genie and has this carpet he can roll ya up in an' ya just DISAPPEAR! An' then there's The Asp, who's this skinny little fella all dressed in black! An' if Punjab don't get ya, The Asp will! Boy! I can't wait for ya to MEET them!"

Yeah, but this only works if the super put a penny in the fuse box.

"How dare you sir! Put me down at once or I shall cane you!" Y'know, sometimes I think Gus is putting us on.

Annnnnnnnd guess who's about to sell you out to the Invader.

FIND WILMER AND KILL HIM NOW

Yeah, she's been swell. Sigh.

They don't need ya, bub -- they've already got Cagney.

 

[Fading Fast]

View attachment 302478 ...The President himself appeared on the platform bareheaded,...

And how many times have we all read that JFK killed men's hat wearing when he appeared hatless at his inauguration 1961. Hmm.

... View attachment 302494 (Actually, Oomphie here is listening to one of those independent stations that has the ASCAP songs. Don't tell!)...

... (You know who really ought to be getting married? Doc and Mary Worth. What a perfect couple.)...

Mary is way too smart and practical for him. She'd shoot him within a week (and I wouldn't blame her).

The strip is feeling a bit "Harold-Teen" like with today's development.

...
Would it be too much to hope that this actually comes with an itty little crown made of sugar candy?...

I hope so. I know I would be over at H&H today finding out.

... Annnnnnnnd guess who's about to sell you out to the Invader.....

Seriously, resistance forces have to be ruthless even to their own. How can't they see the threat Tang is?

 

[Harp]

View attachment 302477
It wouldn't be the first time. Just ask Dorothy Lamour.

Woody Woodpecker ain't riding shotgun neither.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Opponents of President Roosevelt's Lease-Lend bill to aid Great Britain will testify today before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, but the leadoff testimony by retiring Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy is being claimed by both sides in the debate following his radio speech on Saturday. Committee chairman Sol Bloom stated his belief that Mr. Kennedy stands "99 percent in favor" of the bill, but is "holding back 1 percent." Representative Hamilton Fish, leader of the opposition bloc in the House, argued that Kennedy stands with House Republicans in favoring a more restrictive approach to providing "full aid to Britain," and it was Rep. Fish himself who invited Kennedy to testify today.

Eighteen men drowned today within sight of their home port, as their Boston-based fishing schooner was split open in a collision on its approach to Boston Harbor and sank. Five half-frozen sailors from the sunken Mary O'Hara were pulled from the icy water by the crew of the trawler North Star as they clung to the protruding mast of their destroyed ship. The survivors told their rescuers that 18 other men had fallen, one by one, into the water and drowned after their hands froze. It is believed that the Mary O'Hara struck a barge around 3 AM today near Pine Ledge, on the outer frings of the harbor. The schooner, covered with a heavy layer of ice in the 12-degree morning air, sank within five minutes. The doomed crew could not free the iced-over lifeboats in time to make an escape.

Widespread disorder is reported today in Rumania, as German soldiers and Communists battle in the streets of Bucharest and other cities. It is suggested that increased resentment by Rumanians over the German military concentrations present in the country and against the regime of Iron Guard-backed Ion Antenescu has flared into a violent free-for-all, with the Nazis attempting to enforce order. There are also rumors that rival factions within the Iron Guard are taking advantage of the situation to promote their own ends. It is reported by a dispatch from Yugoslavia that a German major was shot to death in the lobby of a Bucharest hotel by a man believed to be "of Greek origin."

Ten thousand volunteer civilian airplane spotters at 650 designated observation posts will be on the alert today for an airborne invasion drill covering the Northeast from southern New England to Montauk Point. The three-day exercise will test the elaborate civilian-observer system worked out for the aerial defense of the Eastern Seaboard. Fourteen Army bombers have flown from Langley, Virginia to Mitchel Field, and will be dispatched today to "secret destinations" to play the role of an aerial invasion force.

A 108-year-old man who died yesterday in a Park Slope boardinghouse appears headed for a pauper's grave, despite once having held a considerable sum of money. William Oliver was a former photographer and inventor who had $35,000 in the bank from motion-picture work done for the Government during the World War, but lost it all during the Wall Street crash of 1929. According to his landlady, Oliver has lived in recent years on a small state old-age pension and had no known living relatives.

Charlie Chan faces charges for drug possession, stemming from the storage of a quantity of opium in the back room of a Park Slope laundry. Mr. Chan, aged 42, who resides at 10 Pell Street in Manhattan, will appear in Brooklyn Felony Court today following his arrest yesterday at the 238 Prospect Park West establishment. Also arrested was an alleged accomplice, 60-year-old Eng Wo of 30 Mott Street in Manhattan.

(All right then. Good to know.)

The "One O'Clock Curfew Blues" is the new theme song for Sands Street, following the imposition of an early-morning ban placing the street's bars, taverns, and other recreational establishments off limits to Navy Yard sailors. Alphonso P. Spero, chairman of the Sands Street Merchants Association is urging Navy Yard commandant Rear Adm. Clark Woodward to reconsider the curfew, which, he insists, is harming local businesses while doing nothing to keep seamen from late-hour drinking. Mr. Spero contends that the sailors have simply moved their recreation "en masse" to Manhattan. He also expressed the fear today that the curfew will promote bootlegging -- and will eventually lead to the entire neighborhood being placed off limited to all military personnel on a round-the-clock basis.

("Hellzapoppin'," 1602 Edition.)

"Gone With The Wind," which ran a year at Loew's Capitol in Manhattan as a reserved-seat attraction will return to that theatre on Thursday on a continuous-shows, general-admission basis at popular prices. It is stressed that the film will be shown in its original, uncut form.

(Just steer clear of Sands Street, boys.)

Fifteen years ago Don Costello was just that good-looking, curly-haired kid going to P. S. 29. But now, the Clinton Street boy is Brooklyn's top Latin dancer, a star attraction in night clubs both here and in Manhattan. Don says he adopted the South American style because there's a craze for such dancing going on at the moment, especially the Conga, which he dismisses as "not really dancing at all." Rather, he says, it's simply a matter of moving to the basic rhythm -- "boom boom boom BOOM." Mr. Costello has traveled widely among the Senoritas of Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil, and beyond, but hasn't married yet -- and he doesn't sound too terribly determined about the idea of eventually doing so. "I've got to make my million first," he smiles.

The Eagle Editorialist is proud to endorse Larry MacPhail's campaign to bring the National League's hotel and restaurant business to Brooklyn, noting that the Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Boston clubs seem willing to consider his idea. The EE applauds Mr. MacPhail for going to League president Ford Frick to apply pressure on Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis to do likewise.

The EE also has kind words for District Attorney William O'Dwyer, who over just a year in office has made a real dent in Brooklyn crime. Evidence of this can be seen at the Raymond Street Jail -- a year ago, this blight on the local landscape was dangerously overcrowded, but now there are actually 75 empty cells.

(The kind of innovative thinking that gets an officer promoted.)

The Rangers have an uphill fight when they face the Bruins tonight in Boston. The B's have won eleven straight games.

It's also an uphill climb for Van Mungo, as he looks forward to beginning his comeback bid at the Dodger training camp in Havana next month. Mungo predicts he'll throw 250 innings in 1941 and win twenty games, but the truth of the matter is that pitchers who have made successful recoveries from severe arm trouble are exceedingly rare, and they generally have to reevaluate their entire approach to pitching to do it. Consider Lefty Grove -- who was a consistent 20 to 31 game winner with the Athletics for years, but who snapped something in his shoulder during his first season with the Red Sox. Grove had to lay off the rest of that season, and when he did come back in 1936, he did so without his once-blazing fastball. Lefty has had success with craft where once he got by on speed, and it's likely that Van, even if his experimental surgery at Johns Hopkins was successful, will have to follow a similar path.

Joe Louis will meet Arturo Godoy for a third time, with a re-rematch scheduled for April 15th in Los Angeles. Their last bout, in which the Brown Bomber knocked out the Chilean in the eighth round, was widely considered to be underwhelming.

(Poor Hedy better stop off at a garage first and get her alignment checked.)

("I'll put a gully in that lug's skull!" I could listen to this stuff all day.)

(Put down the funny book, pal, this ain't no liberry.)

(Louis Vs. Godoy III.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Awwwww, I wanted to hear Miss Talley's rationale here. I mean, Bergen is a very funny guy, but let's face it, Charlie is the better-looking member of the act. And Erik Rhodes? He makes Johnny Arthur look like John Garfield.

There's always some wise guy in the crowd.

Oh, and tell her about Daddy's private army. That'll really impress her.

Well, won't this be gruesome.

You've got the phone right in your hand there, kid, with a nice stout cord on it. A couple wraps around his neck, cinch it tight, give it a twist, and that's all you gotta do.

Just be glad you're not working for Mao, pal.

Oh, my! There's just so much joy here today, it's hard to find a place to start. *Sok*

I think we've established by now that Mush is (1) a textbook stereotype, and (2) by far the smartest guy in the strip. Make of that what you will.

IS THERE ANYTHING SHE CAN'T DO???

 

[Fading Fast]

...The "One O'Clock Curfew Blues" is the new theme song for Sands Street, following the imposition of an early-morning ban placing the street's bars, taverns, and other recreational establishments off limits to Navy Yard sailors. Alphonso P. Spero, chairman of the Sands Street Merchants Association is urging Navy Yard commandant Rear Adm. Clark Woodward to reconsider the curfew, which, he insists, is harming local businesses while doing nothing to keep seamen from late-hour drinking. Mr. Spero contends that the sailors have simply moved their recreation "en masse" to Manhattan. He also expressed the fear today that the curfew will promote bootlegging -- and will eventually lead to the entire neighborhood being placed off limited to all military personnel on a round-the-clock basis....

If Prohibition taught us nothing else, it taught us the truth behind the expression, where there's a will there's a way, especially when it comes to drinking.

... View attachment 302774 ("Hellzapoppin'," 1602 Edition.)...

I'll say it again, "Hellzapoppin'" is one of the best ever Golden Era names for a show.

..."Gone With The Wind," which ran a year at Loew's Capitol in Manhattan as a reserved-seat attraction will return to that theatre on Thursday on a continuous-shows, general-admission basis at popular prices. It is stressed that the film will be shown in its original, uncut form...

...
(Just steer clear of Sands Street, boys.)...

In the '30s and '40s, did Frank McHugh even have time to go home at night?

... (Poor Hedy better stop off at a garage first and get her alignment checked.)...

Based on the weddings I've been to, if it's a traditional Catholic ceremony, she's got plenty of time.

... Awwwww, I wanted to hear Miss Talley's rationale here. I mean, Bergen is a very funny guy, but let's face it, Charlie is the better-looking member of the act. And Erik Rhodes? He makes Johnny Arthur look like John Garfield....

She's probably too tired to testify anyway.

Separately, it's hard to fathom the pain the parents of the quadruplets are experiencing.

...
There's always some wise guy in the crowd....

Since you went to all this effort, you should have checked and gotten the name correct, it's "Lend-Lease."

... Oh, and tell her about Daddy's private army. That'll really impress her....

This is the first time I remember someone in the Golden Era, effectively, being referred to as a billionaire. Usually, "he's got millions" or "he's a millionaire," did the trick back then.

... Just be glad you're not working for Mao, pal....

Again, their country is being invaded and they are back on their heels, they have no time or margin for error to be playing nice with Tang.

... I think we've established by now that Mush is (1) a textbook stereotype, and (2) by far the smartest guy in the strip. Make of that what you will...

I've noticed that too. It could be trying to be subversive to the stereotype, but it is also still painful to see and read.

... IS THERE ANYTHING SHE CAN'T DO???

If only she could see herself differently, Lana could go oh so far.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I thought the way the Eagle handled that quadruplets story yesterday, or at least the way the AP handled it, was bizarre -- they quoted the dad as saying he was "tickled to death" right after describing how one of the babies didn't make it. Somebody somewhere along the line should have edited the copy a bit better.

There aren't too many actual billionaires in the real world in 1941 not named Henry Ford, but we have two in the funnies -- Uncle Bim and now Daddy Warbucks, the Bezos and Musk of the comic pages. I'd like to see them have it out sometime -- Daddy has his mystical sidekicks and his private army, but by gad, sir, Uncle Bim has his CANE.

We're at an interesting point in the status of black-stereotype characters in popular culture. In 1941, they're still very common, but within the next ten years there will be a quantum shift in the way such characters are viewed, and the war will be the catalyst for this. Stereotypes will still be around, but they'll be much much more subdued -- when Jack Benny and Rochester, who are basically radio's answer to Moon and Mush, do a crap-shooting gag in 1951, there'll be a dramatic outpouring of criticism and public denunciation in both the black and the white media over it. A lot can happen in ten years.

Lana's got too much going for her to stay in Covina. She should have been the one to go to New York.

McHugh is one of those actors who always plays exactly the same character, but he does it so well you're always glad to see him.

 

[Harp]

Harold may be looking to gutter score off alley. Lana dear heart dispatch infatuation.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A poll revealed today in the nation's capital revealed that 15 of the 25 members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee favor the Roosevelt Administration's arms-lending bill, with nine opposed and one undecided. The division falls almost entirely along party lines, with thirteen Democrats and only two Republicans endorsing the bill, although some of those have also indicated that they would support restricting amendments.

The Committee today continues to hear opposition witnesses, with Socialist Party leader Norman Thomas and former minister to Canada Hanford Macnider scheduled to appear this afternoon.

Charles A. Lindbergh will testify against the bill tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Wendell L. Willkie left for London today aboard the Yankee Clipper for his independent fact-finding tour of Great Britain. Before boarding the plane at LaGuardia Field this morning, the former 1940 Presidential candidate told a crowd made up mostly of Republicans that he believes "the survival of Britain is the best assurance of keeping America out of war, and we should support the fighting men of Britain so that they can stop the onslaught of Hitlerism." Mr. Willkie made no mention before his departure of his recent private conference with President Roosevelt.

For the second consecutive day today, "enemy bombers" raided the Northeast industrial sector of the United States, as volunteer airplane spotters, gazing skyward from 700 observation posts, gave quick warning of their approach. With the initial excitement of their assignment having worn off, the army of 10,000 volunteers this morning went about the business of reporting the "invaders" with crisp efficiency. Today marks the middle point of a four-day test of the volunteer warning system, with most of the volunteers drawn from the ranks of the American Legion and employees of the Telephone Company.

Authorities in New Jersey are preparing to seek extradition of Charles "The Bug" Workman, held as a material witness in the Brooklyn Murder-For-Money investigation, in connection with the slaying of mobster Arthur "Dutch Schultz" Fleigenheimer, who was gunned down in a Newark tavern on October 25, 1936. Workman is being held in Brooklyn in connection with the September 13, 1936 murder of Joseph Rosen, who was gunned down that night in front of a Sutter Avenue candy store. Rosen, who was said to be preparing to testify against Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, is believed to have been a Murder For Money victim.

Removal of the "moral embargo" on shipments of strategic war supplies to the Soviet Union headed the United States toward closer relations with Russia today. Lifting of the embargo by the State Department follows recent initiatives by the Japanese Government to ameliorate Russo-Japanese differences in the Far East. The Washington move is seen by many observers as an attempt by the Administration to draw the Soviets further away from the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis, with Senator Claude Pepper (D-Fla.), who is often seen as an unofficial Administration spokesman, stating "I've had a feeling all along that all Russia needed was sympathy and help from the United States and Great Britain, and she would stiffen her resistance against Germany and Japan."

(Mr. and Mrs Cornelius H. Tiebout? Mrs. Wilson Goodbody? Who's writing this stuff, John Cheever?)

(Social distancing? What's that mean?)

A newspaper survey conducted in several key cities finds that a potential audience of more than 79 percent of the total American population is still waiting to see "Gone With The Wind," which tomorrow goes into general release after a year of playing reserved-seat engagements at road-show prices. The Civil War epic begins its local popular-price run at the Capitol Theatre tomorrow morning, with continuous shows starting at 9 AM.

Warner Brothers has promoted featured players Brenda Marshall, Ronald Reagan, Eddie Albert, Dennis Morgan, and James Stephenson to full star status for 1941, based on their work during the 1939-40 motion picture season.

Magistrate Abner C. Surpless writes in to criticize the shift from trolleys to buses in Brooklyn, observing that the people who actually ride surface lines in the city clearly prefer trolleys, which are cleaner, safer, and more comfortable than any bus. "Those who advocate buses," he concludes,"are concerned more with the appearance of the streets and avenues than they are with the convenience of travelers."

(Sad to say, I've bought a car from this guy.)

(Yeah, and where in Manhattan can you swim in a REAL SALT WATER POOL?)

Paul Waner is willing to report to Havana on his own responsibility to try out for a spot on the Dodgers' roster this spring, following conversations with Leo Durocher about a place on the club for the 38-year-old former Pirate slugger. Waner and Leo played golf this week in Sarasota and talked at length about the possibility of Waner catching on with the Flock as a pinch hitter/backup outfielder, and both are said to be enthusiastic about the prospect. Waner, released last fall after sixteen years with Pittsburgh, thinks he's still got what it takes to help the Dodgers, but no contract is expected to be offered until he proves it.

Durocher is also high on Joe Medwick for 1941, promising that Ducky will be his old self in the new season, with his double-vision problems stemming from last summer's beaning now reported to be resolved. Leo says Medwick kept his vision problems a secret even from him until the season was over, but even thus impaired, the muscular Hungarian hit .301 on the season. As for another 1940 injury victim, Durocher says he spoke yesterday with Pee Wee Reese by telephone from Louisville, and invited him to report to Sarasota for a few weeks of "fooling around" before the opening of the Havana traning camp. "I don't know that he isn't okay," insists Leo, "but I want to have him around where I can see for myself."

(Better step on it, toots -- you've got maybe four seconds, five tops, before this is all over.)

(That's "sic semper tyrannis," Butchie, but to be honest, I like your version better.)

(OH COME ON)

(Dope! All that time you spent teaching Irwin to fly, you could have been down at the Y taking a ju-jitsu class.)