The Era -- Day By Day

[ChiTownScion]

I have no idea what the ultimate fate of Miss Hu will turn out to be, but I doubt we've seen the last of her.

Meanwhile, here's something I came across recently that's rather interesting -- the results of two nationwide surveys of comic-strip popularity conducted in 1934 and 1936. There are a couple of things worth noting in this -- one, many of the strips we follow in 1941 are already quite popular this far back, and two, the trend in comics in the mid-thirties was clearly moving in a more adult, less slapstick direction. "Terry" made its debut in late 1934, and just two years later it was already among the top fifteen strips in the country. Few comics made that much of a splash in so short a time.

View attachment 318799
"Apple Mary," which is moving upward toward the top ten in 1936, was the original title of "Mary Worth's Family," and you'll also note that "Dan Dunn," of all strips, is in the twentieth spot. The Bungles don't make the top thirty-five in either year, but theirs was always a strip that fell a bit out of the mainstream in its appeal, and reading such a list would no doubt cause George to exclaim "what crust!"

These are the only legitimate surveys of this type that I've been able to find during our approximate period, but it's clear from the strips we follow the trend toward melodrama/adventure/adult realism is very much continuing into the early forties.

I like the mention of Smokey Stover in the 1936 survey: at that time it was still a Sunday only feature and it had only been out for a year, but it ranked a respectable 25. The bad puns and sight gags in that strip always had me howling as a kid.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"What this country needs is FOO!"

 

[ChiTownScion]

"What this country needs is FOO!"

Expand the garage and acquire a Foo Car to park next to the Plodge (for trips to & from work, and parades)? The mind boggles.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Mayor LaGuardia today told leaders of both sides in the present bus strike that they must settle or submit to arbitration -- or else. The Mayor presented his ultimatum this morning before a meeting of leaders of the Transport Workers Union, CIO and officials of the Fifth Avenue Coach Company and the New York City Omnibus Corporation in the Board of Estimate room at City Hall. Flanked by his labor advisor, Mrs. Ethel Epstein, and the regional director of Social Security, Mrs. Anna Rosenberg, the Mayor outlined an elaborate basis for arbitration and warned that if his plan is not accepted by both sides, he will immediately appoint a three-member fact finding committee to mount an independant investigation of the strike and assign blame for the standoff "where it found it belonged." The Mayor left the room after warning both sides to "think it over."

The Board of Education, in a sweeping move designed to purge political radicalism from the four municipally-run colleges, today voted to discharge all teachers who belong to any politically radical group, or who in any way sympathize with or advocate "subversive doctrines or activities." The action, unanimously adopted by eighteen members of the Board, climaxed a five-hour meeting today at Hunter College, was announced as "a clarification of the policy under which the Board will act." The wording of the resolution, it was noted, would require only that the Rapp-Coudert Committee investigating radical influence in public education need demonstrate evidence of a teacher's "sympathy" toward radical beliefs rather than actual membership in any radical party or organization, in order to require that teacher's dismissal.

A band of daring burglars has looted five electroplating factories in Brooklyn and Queens in the past week, stealing more than $10,000 worth of metal ingots "thru the ingenious use of a midget." Since practically every window in each of the factories is barred, it is believed entry to the factories was gained by means of a midget burglar squeezing thru those bars and then arranging for the entry of his confederates. Given the weight of the metal ingots, it is believed that the robbers also had use of a truck. Police believe the burglars had to have some knowledge of the electroplating industry. The ingots, or anodes, are used exclusively in that industry, and their price has risen substantially in recent months due to the war.

Bids were opened today in the offices of the Board of Transportation for the demolition of the Fulton Street L, with a total of ten bids received for the project, which is to proceed in three stages beginning with the removal of the structure from Myrtle Avenue to Lafayette Avenue, followed by the razing of the structure from Myrtle Avenue to 3rd Avenue and 38th Street, and finally by the demolition of the Broadway Ferry spur from the East River to Havemeyer Street. Bids were accepted on two forms, one under which the contractor would pay the city for the right to demolish the structure in exchange for salvage rights to the metal, and the other under which the city would pay the contractor to demolish the structures and would allow the contractor to salvage the metal. It was expected that the contract will be awarded to the Harris Structural Steel Company, which proposed to pay the city $76,055 for the right to remove the structure and salvage the metal, on the condition that the work be completed within five months of the execution of the contract.

District Attorney William O'Dwyer in a St. Patrick's Day speech to a leading Brooklyn Irish organization strongly rejected suggestions that striking bus workers are Communists. Appearing before the 75th annual dinner of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Brooklyn, Mr. O'Dwyer stressed that "it isn't in the nature of the Irish not to side with the oppressed" in expressing his support for the strikers, and declared that he knows many of the striking men personally as solid citizens, family men, and war veterans, and denounced "propaganda to the contrary" intended to portray the strikers as Reds.

(Bert Wheeler is a funny guy, and he tries hard, but Bert Wheeler without the late Robert Woolsey is like macaroni and cheese without the macaroni.)

"If fascism ever comes to America, it will come in the name of freedom," declared exiled German author Thomas Mann in a speech to 1500 persons last night at the Brooklyn Jewish Center. "Friends of freedom must show their determination to stand together and form a united front equal to that of the enemy."

"Grandma" writes in to Helen Worth to describe how her 2-year-old grandson lost his habit of banging his head against the wall during tantrums. Seems the family used to live in an apartment with cheap plasterboard walls, and little Bobbie could pound his head against those walls all day without injury. But when the family moved to a brick apartment with hard walls, the first time little Bobbie banged his head during a fit of rage was also the last. He still has a temper, but now, at 16, he is one of the sweetest boys in the world. Helen thanks Gran for her letter and notes that headbanging is never a useful method of dispersing excess energy. "But alack, too many of us today find this out too late for the knowledge to be of any value."

(In less than a year, the tanker E. H. Blum, owned by the Atlantic Refining Company, will be blown up off the coast of Cape Henry, Virginia when it blunders into a US minefield. Hope that wasn't an expensive bottle.)

(Seriously, Herb, the phony name isn't fooling anybody.)

(Sorry, son, but this school offers no courses in potato-peeling.)

Pistol Pete Reiser celebrated his inauguration into manhood yesterday as he turned 21, but otherwise the Dodgers found little cause for excitement in a 6-2 loss to the Yankees. The Flock remained in the game until the 8th inning, when Tex Carleton filled the bases and Yankee Joe Gordon cleared them with a double to secure the margin of victory. The game marked a reunion of sorts for Pee Wee Reese and Phil Rizzuto, rival shortstop stars of the American Association in 1939, when Pee Wee starred for the Louisville Colonels and little Phil for the Kansas City Blues, and in that reunion Rizzuto came out on top, both in the field and at the plate. The Yanks have a budding star in the little fellow -- if the Army doesn't get him first.

The Dodgers host the St. Louis Cardinals today in Clearwater, getting their first look at a Redbird squad which, having shed the last remnants of the old Gas House Gang, is now packed with young talent.

Remember Gordon "Babe" Phelps? Heavyset fellow they used to call "The Blimp?" Used to be the number-one catcher for the Dodgers? Hates to fly and hates to sail? Well, nobody knows where he is. He was supposed to be training with the Montreal Royals in Macon, Georgia after refusing transportation to the Brooklyn camp in Havana last month, but nobody in the Montreal camp has seen him, and nobody in the Dodger office knows where he is.

(The effects of psychotropic drugs are not well known to the average citizen in 1941, but nevertheless I suspect that it's only a matter of time before Doc is accused of manufacturing them.)

(Somehow it makes sense that, given access to the secrets of the Fourth Dimension, Josephine Bungle would use them for petty trolling.)

(Uploading today's strip in enlarged form so we can get a good look at What This Is, and it appears to be a small voodoo-doll-like figurine of Senor Gonzalo. JUST WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO TED?)

("You want about four squads to help raid, eh??" The sense of utter resignation in the Chief's voice here is palpable.)

 

[Harp]

Kid looking to drop international writ is funny. Just go to class kid.

I had this Torts prof at Oklahoma City University School of Law, a knock out middle aged gorgeous lady,
very upset at my truancy, asked if I thought I was a genius. No, I said. Why are you skipping my class then?
I tried to explain that I had the text, Prosser, so I was all set. Gorgeous, but a Socratic wannabee. Torts is cut-
and-dried stuff, and I liked to hang out at the student grill drinking java. I started attending her class,
and, of course, she called on me. I remained seated instead of standing for reasons the guys here will understand.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News....

The News hasn't printed a single word on the Mungo story -- in any edition -- and yet it's all over the Gargantua-Toto affair. WHAT'S GOING ON??

Wow.

"We will indeed. But he probably really could have used a sidekick with the ability to make evil men disappear from the mortal plane. Pity there's no one like that around here, eh?"

GRAB THE GUN KID YOU'RE GONNA NEED IT

"Peeping Lizzie?" Well that's pretty meta, isn't it?

So we can assume that visit yesterday was not a friendly one?

Don't worry, ugly -- remember what strip this is. She'll die a horrifying death before you know it.

Hey Mamie, nice ink.

Yeah, well, Father, maybe you need to get that arm a bit higher there.

 

[Harp]

David and Goliath. Finish the ba***rd quick kiddo, grab Burna, his Walther, and scram.
And, while you're hightailing out, get the frack out of China, get back home on the New York Times, and American chow.
...remember to take Hu Shee with you kid.

 

[Fading Fast]

...A band of daring burglars has looted five electroplating factories in Brooklyn and Queens in the past week, stealing more than $10,000 worth of metal ingots "thru the ingenious use of a midget." Since practically every window in each of the factories is barred, it is believed entry to the factories was gained by means of a midget burglar squeezing thru those bars and then arranging for the entry of his confederates. Given the weight of the metal ingots, it is believed that the robbers also had use of a truck. Police believe the burglars had to have some knowledge of the electroplating industry. The ingots, or anodes, are used exclusively in that industry, and their price has risen substantially in recent months due to the war....

Tailor made for "Dick Tracy" or "Dan Dunn" to riff.

... (Somehow it makes sense that, given access to the secrets of the Fourth Dimension, Josephine Bungle would use them for petty trolling.)...

My guess too, but we didn't see him fall did we? I went back and checked my memory, he didn't fall yesterday. Odd, I'm surprised Tuthill didn't shown that happening.

...
(Uploading today's strip in enlarged form so we can get a good look at What This Is, and it appears to be a small voodoo-doll-like figurine of Senor Gonzalo. JUST WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO TED?)...

You'd think he'd be smart enough not to bring home a souvenir from the place where he was (sorta) cheating on his wife.

...
The News hasn't printed a single word on the Mungo story -- in any edition -- and yet it's all over the Gargantua-Toto affair. WHAT'S GOING ON??...

It's time Mrs. Solomon recognizes that Plan A isn't working and she needs to take a six-week vacation to Reno.

...
GRAB THE GUN KID YOU'RE GONNA NEED IT....

After this, I think Terry will be "ready" for Hu Shee the next time they meet. Heck, he might even get in a practice round with Burma first.

..

Yeah, well, Father, maybe you need to get that arm a bit higher there.

And, Father, get that hand re-scaled to something closer to reality.

......remember to take Hu Shee with you kid.

We know she already has an American Driver's license, just sayin'.

 

[Harp]

^^^^
Practice, practice, practice. Paul Hornung (Heisman; Notre Dame 1-7 record when awarded)

"You can never get enough practice."

Joe Namath

Mebbe even some menage a trois avec Burma et Hu Shee?

Side bar: Chicago Cubs offered Joe Namath $50k out of high school to pitch but his mom insisted college,
so oft he went to Alabama and Bear Bryant.

 

[Harp]

We know she already has an American Driver's license, just sayin'.

Expired, no doubt. But Hu Shee can help Terry with his learner's permit.

 

[ChiTownScion]

"True greatness has no connection with wealth or position, Little Princess."

Mr. Gray's Masonic principles are so thick on this one that you can cut them with a knife.

 

[LizzieMaine]

City College English teacher Morris U. Schappes, admitted former member of the Communist Party, who faces perjury charges stemming from his testimony before the Rapp-Coudert Committee, was released today on $5000 bail. The bail was ordered in Manhattan General Sessions Court by Judge John J. Sullivan, and was posted this afternoon by the Continental Casualty Company. Assistant Attorney General Sol Gelb argued for the bail over a request by defense attorney Edward Kuntz that Schappes be paroled into his custody, and in doing so argued that "Communists cannot take a stand on any question unless they first ascertain what Moscow thinks," and that in view of this, parole would be out of the question. Mr. Kuntz responded to this statement with sarcasm, "is that part of the indictment? If so I shall have to subpoena Stalin." "You are a very offensive person," responded Mr. Gelb to Mr. Kuntz. The defense counsel had argued that "Mr. Schappes is a man of education and reputation, not a criminal. This is another Dreyfus case, a cause-celebre. In causes-celebre, we don't ask for bail. You don't have to watch the defendant. History watches the defendant."

Representatives of the Transport Workers Union, CIO and city bus companies are in conference this afternoon at City Hall, having resumed negotiations toward a resolution of the now ten-day-old strike that has shut down bus transportation in Manhattan and most of Queens. CIO President Philip Murray announced the resumption of talks this morning, following a fifty-minute closed-door conference between CIO organizer Allan Heywood and Mayor LaGuardia, and the meeting convened promptly at 2 PM.

Chaos erupted in Kings County Court this morning when accused Murder For Hire killer Harry "Happy" Maione attacked key prosecution witness Abe "Kid Twist" Reles as Reles gave testimony about attending a meeting at Maione's home in which the murder of George Rudnick was planned. Maione erupted from his seat and flung a water glass at Reles, screaming "That's a lie, you --------! You were never in my home." A deputy sheriff lunged into the path of the water glass, deflecting it from the witness stand, and it shattered against the railing alongside the court clerk's desk. As the entire courtroom erupted to its feet during the outburst, Reles kept his seat, remaining quiet, composed, and emotionless as the judge gaveled for order.

Leonard Weisberg, heroic cabbie who was shot and wounded by holdup men during a midtown Manhattan gun battle on January 14th, is back in Brooklyn and looking forward to getting back to work in his brand new taxicab, awarded to him by a local dealer in recognition of his heroism. Weisberg is tanned and rested after spending the past month in Florida recovering from his injuries.

In Berlin, Foreign Office officials today indicated that a representative of the U. S. Embassy's Consular Department will be permitted to see United Press correspondent Richard C. Hottelet of Bath Beach, held prisoner by the Gestapo on suspicion of espionage since last week. Meanwhile, two Gestapo agents today made a second search of the Berlin apartment where Hottelet lived with fellow correspondent Joseph W. Grigg. The agents seized several travel brochures and other papers from Hottelet's desk, apologized to Mr. Grigg for delaying him from going to work, and offered to give him a ride in their car. Mr. Grigg accepted that offer.

A pinball machine seized from a Coney Island candy store will be destroyed on orders of Magistrate Vincent J. Sweeney. The device was confiscated by police after it was reported that storekeeper Leon Kessel of 2481 96th Street had paid out five nickels as a prize to a player who had achieved a high score on the machine. Mr. Kessel denies that the machine was used as a gambling device, and that he paid out the nickels to a customer as change.

(I dunno, between the look on his face and the way he's holding that bottle, maybe you ought to be asking him what he knows about electro-plating factories.)

(The deli I worked in out west had a product they called "kosher bacon" -- sliced, smoked beef belly meat. It was pretty good, but not quite as piquant as the real thing.)

(The Marxes on the bottom half of a double bill is pretty sad. One more feature after this, and they're done at MGM. Never should have gone there in the first place.)

The soy bean is America's versatile new health food -- and you'll find plenty of ways of preparing and serving it right at your neighborhood grocery store. More and more Brooklyn stores are carrying and promoting this health-giving bean and the products made from it, including a simulated meat that looks and tastes like the real thing. Especially convincing is a bologna-like soy bean sausage made with gluten, peanuts, onions, tomatoes, flour and salt, a "veal loaf" made with soy beans and cashew nuts, and a juicy "soy burger" made from soy beans, peanut meal, soy sauce, and seasonings.

(Even the Boys From Marketing get drafted.)

The Dodgers clipped the Cardinals yesterday 7-6, snapping a three game springtime losing streak, in a game featuring a fine five-inning pitching stint by Hugh Casey along with some snappy Brooklyn defense. Wes Flowers, who tossed the last four innings, showed an amazing talent for getting himself out of jams, allowing no runs despite pitching himself into several dangerous situations.

There's an old familiar face in the Dodger camp this week -- Max Carey is back on the premises for the first time since he was relieved as Brooklyn manager in 1933. You will remember that Max, during his playing days with the Dodgers and the Pirates, was the finest baserunner in the National League, and Mr. MacPhail invited him to stop by the Clearwater camp for a few days to share his basepath wisdom with the current Flock. Carey will be working especially closely with Pete Reiser, who is probably the fastest man on the 1941 Dodgers, and who will benefit much from some expert training.

Also in camp, but just for the briefest of moments, was the mysterious fourth-string Brooklyn catcher Angelo Guiliani -- who has been Absent Without Leave and with no communication at all since spring training began a month ago. Guiliani blew into Clearwater yesterday -- and then blew out just as quickly, propelled by a forceful gust from the lungs of Larry MacPhail. It is believed that Guiliani is now free to "make a deal for himself," and may be headed for Leesburg, Florida -- spring quarters of the St. Paul Saints of the American Association, the catcher's home-town club.

"Amos 'n' Andy" gave their first broadcast under that name over a Chicago station thirteen years ago tonight, and since then an entire generation of listeners has grown up following their nightly adventures. Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll say they've written over 3500 scripts over those thirteen years -- using no assistants -- and have played hundreds of different "voice characters" over that span. But they remain devoted to the old favorites -- Amos, Andy, the Kingfish, Brother Crawford, Henry Van Porter, and Lightnin' -- and they continue on as they ever have tonight at 7 over WABC.

(I should think military intelligence would be very interested in such a device. What's the deal, Doc, you some kind of red?)

(There are times when Mr. Tuthill's dialogue is absolutely sublime. "A man who walks as if he was carrying a big drum.")

(Ted, you schmuck. Dig yourself a big deep hole and crawl into it.)

("And put out that stupid cigar, you fathead -- you might as well be shining a flashlight!")

 

[Harp]

Schappes is an example of prosecutorial ineptitude writ large. DA Geib doesn't have valid reason to bail insist,
defense counsel Kuntz riposte illumines a pernicious paranoia, and Witness-pun intended-is the book to read.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

"What's the problem?" protests Oggie. "All I did was say 'I hate wah, Eleanah hates wah, my sons Elliot and Jimmy hate wah, my dog Fala hates wah!' You know, in that voice. Everybody down at the club does that!"

Every face you pass on the street has a story that you can't begin to imagine.

Reminds me of my tenth-grade history class, which used a textbook published in 1937, and most copies of which were water damaged and moldy from a long-ago burst pipe. A few of the kids would have allergy attacks every time they turned a page. But hey, no "classroom frills."

Annie's usually the sharpest person in the room, except when she isn't.

You got a lot to learn, kid.

"Just lemme finish this sandwich first!"

For all of "The Gumps'" Victorian excesses, it's also, by far, the most relentlessly cynical of all the strips we follow. Even the Bungles at their strivingest don't grub and scheme for a buck as desperately as these people do. Bim and Chester are the only ones in the whole strip who seem to be immune, and I often get the sense that Bim is trolling them all.

Listen to Snipe, boys, she's been around.

The sight of Willie casually plomping his fat heinie on the piano there for some reason makes me unaccountably happy.

Windowpane double-breasted sport coat? Black shirt? Bow tie? It seems Harold's solution to his problems is to run away to Miami and spend the rest of his life betting on jai-alai.

 

[Harp]

Terry, slit the ba***rd's throat or knife puncture his right kidney fast; ditto the guard. A shave swipe works best.
Get his Walther pistol, take any cash in wallet, pocket, papers, grab coat and scram. Burma's a write off, she's stuck.
Damn, but that's comic strip life.

 

[Fading Fast]

...Chaos erupted in Kings County Court this morning when accused Murder For Hire killer Harry "Happy" Maione attacked key prosecution witness Abe "Kid Twist" Reles as Reles gave testimony about attending a meeting at Maione's home in which the murder of George Rudnick was planned. Maione erupted from his seat and flung a water glass at Reles, screaming "That's a lie, you --------! You were never in my home." A deputy sheriff lunged into the path of the water glass, deflecting it from the witness stand, and it shattered against the railing alongside the court clerk's desk. As the entire courtroom erupted to its feet during the outburst, Reles kept his seat, remaining quiet, composed, and emotionless as the judge gaveled for order...

That is a real-life Hollywood moment - Warners Bros. in particular. Warren William, reading his morning paper, thinks to himself, there will definitely be a role for me in this movie.

...A pinball machine seized from a Coney Island candy store will be destroyed on orders of Magistrate Vincent J. Sweeney. The device was confiscated by police after it was reported that storekeeper Leon Kessel of 2481 96th Street had paid out five nickels as a prize to a player who had achieved a high score on the machine. Mr. Kessel denies that the machine was used as a gambling device, and that he paid out the nickels to a customer as change....

It's good to see that NYC has solved all its major problems and can devote time to this nonsense.

...
(I dunno, between the look on his face and the way he's holding that bottle, maybe you ought to be asking him what he knows about electro-plating factories.)...

Does this sentence in the caption make sense: "His mother, it seems, he's a baby and lives near a school."

... (I should think military intelligence would be very interested in such a device. What's the deal, Doc, you some kind of red?)...

From what we know of this new ray, shouldn't Sparky's clothes have been made invisible too?

... "What's the problem?" protests Oggie. "All I did was say 'I hate wah, Eleanah hates wah, my sons Elliot and Jimmy hate wah, my dog Fala hates wah!' You know, in that voice. Everybody down at the club does that!"...

He "was shot six times through the chest and lungs," and with 1941 medical care being what it is, is only wounded - how is this man still alive? Where did the bullets go; how did they miss all the important stuff?

"Romania Marks Jews' Passports." Even though we know the horrible history, reading this stuff in real time is chilling.

... Annie's usually the sharpest person in the room, except when she isn't....

She's got a lot on the ball, but the kid can't stop talking. She's got to learn when it's smart to be silent.

... ] You got a lot to learn, kid.....

Caniff is so far ahead of the other strips, it's like watching Secretariat win the Belmont.

... The sight of Willie casually plomping his fat heinie on the piano there for some reason makes me unaccountably happy.....

Willie: "I'll have you know, Lizzie, the checkerboard pattern makes it look bigger than it is, thank you very much." [Editor's note: It ain't just the checkerboard pattern.]

... Windowpane double-breasted sport coat? Black shirt? Bow tie? It seems Harold's solution to his problems is to run away to Miami and spend the rest of his life betting on jai-alai.

Or he knows there is no way out of his Lana-Lillums jam, so he's interviewing later today over at "Dan Dunn" for a henchman job working for the Skull (the Skull knows he needs to upgrade his crew). Sure, it would be a step down for Harold, but he figures he can work his way back up and it gets him out of the love triangle from hell. Hence, he's following the advice they used to give to "dress for your next job."

 

[LizzieMaine]

How terrified does Mr. Grigg over there in Berlin have to be that he accepts an offer of a ride from Gestapo agents?

I think that "he's a baby" line got garbled by a typesetter, and probably should read "has a baby." And if the five year old looks like this, I'd hate to imagine what the baby looks like.

Burma is in this situation a lot deeper than she lets on.

 

[Harp]

Caniff is so far ahead of the other strips, it's like watching Secretariat win the Belmont.

Spent last nite watching basketball instead of handicapping the Louisiana Derby card.
I will always remember Creator jumping the chow line past Lani and Destin to win the Belmont by a half-nostril.
Nosed me out of $2,700,000 before the Internal Revenue Service; Cook County tax; Track take-out; additional fees
for availing exotic wager, and the grand lost staked to the stakes. And the intuitive notion that Creator as the seventh
highest North American purse earner could not be ignored from either objective nor subjective view.
I laughed my Irish ass off.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The Pope is sending out "peace feelers" from the Vatican in an effort to end the European War, according to reports from the International News Service. Under that effort, Roman Catholic authorities in the United States have been instructed to "carry out a discreet but comprehensive investigation of how the idea of a negotiated peace agreement would appeal to the people of the world at large."

On the basis of reliable information received by the INS in London, Pope Pius XII has been in direct communication with King Victor Emmanuel of Italy in order to work out a method of "removing Italy from the toils of war." The fact that Marshal Pietro Bagdolio, recently dismissed as chief of staff by Premier Benito Mussolini, has been recalled by the King and assigned a mission is seen as indicating that the King intends to actively assert his authority in Italian political affairs, and that as he does so he will have the powerful backing of the Vatican. It is reported that the King believes that the Italian public is "getting out of hand," and that Italy must withdraw from the war before "an irremedial disaster overtakes the country."

Meanwhile, Europe may be about to face "the worst epidemic in its history," according to a prominent Brooklyn scientist. Dr. Harry Plotz, MD, who spent twenty-one years on the staff of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, warns that wave of typhus is likely to sweep the continent in the near future, breeding in the "famine and filth of war." Typhoid fever is already raging in Spain, and he anticipates that under war conditions it will spread rapidly across the continent.

A three-man fact-finding board appointed by Mayor LaGuardia met today in order to formulate an order for arbitration between the Transport Workers Union and two bus companies in order to end the eleven-day-old strike that has paralyzed bus service in Manhattan and much of Queens. The board consists of Columbia University law professor Noel T. Dowling, former BMT president William S. Menden, and former Federal receiver for the IRT Thomas E. Murray, and represents a last minute effort by the Mayor to restart talks between the strikers and the bus company that broke down yesterday after four hours of conference between the two sides at City Hall.

A Brooklyn man who refused to be inducted into the Army on religious grounds was sworn in by force yesterday, shoved into an Army reconnaissance car, and carried off to Camp Upton. Twenty-eight-year-old Frank Maconda of 69 3rd Street, a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses sect, registered for the draft as required by law, but claimed the status of conscientious objector. His draft board denied him that classification, and after Maconda submitted to a physical examination, he was stood against a wall, shown a flag, and ordered to recite the oath of induction. He repeated the phrase "I, Frank Maconda," but refused to continue. The lieutenant administering the oath recited it himself, and ordered to Maconda to say "I do." Maconda refused to do so and said "I won't." The lieutenant then declared that he was in the Army anyway, and three soldiers wrestled the new private into a waiting car for the trip to training camp, where he was thrown into a tent. He refused to report for mess last night, and refused to respond to the reveille bugle this morning. Maconda told officers at the camp that he opposes war, opposes the draft, and will sign nothing, will take no oath, and will salute no flag or officer. An official at Camp Upton stated today that Maconda "probably should be considered a conscientious objector," and assigned to non-combatant duty.

("Hey Slap-Happy, why aren't you in the Army?")

(I haven't seen or thought of "brick codfish" in years, but we used to get it a lot when I was little. It was very very salty, and came pressed into a brick shape in a little wooden box with a slide top. The box was very useful for storing sewing pins after the fish was fried up into cakes or whatever. Cod was cheap then. It isn't cheap now.)

(And speaking of fish...)

68.9 percent of American women believe that "blood and thunder" radio serials tear down home life, according to a survey conducted by the Women's Institute of Audience Relations, 9 Rockefeller Plaza, under the direction of Agnes Drew. 31.5 percent of women surveyed responded that they liked such programs. But 71.4 percent of women surveyed said that they approve of radio dramatizations of motion pictures, with 28.6 percent of women expressing opposition to this type of broadcast.

(Who comes up with these bills? Ben Blue? The comedian who looks like a comedian, moves like a comedian, and talks like a comedian, but never actually does or says anything funny? Gus Van, grandma's pinup boy? Helen "Boop-boop-a-doop" Kane? Mitzi Mayfair, generic showgirl whose name might be the most generic showgirl name ever? And then stuck in the middle of it all, Van Alexander, the man who arranged "A Tisket A Tasket?" for Ella Fitzgerald? WHO COMES UP WITH THESE BILLS???)

(In 1941, most airlines require their "hostesses" to be RN's. No matter what Downwind Jaxon thinks.)

They call Luke Hamlin "Hot Potato" due to his unsettling habit of dishing up home runs, and he was up to his old tricks in Miami yesterday, dishing one up to Johnny McCarthy of the Giants during a six-run sixth inning that cost the Dodgers the game -- and Hamlin's diminishing performance over his last couple of outings is leading Leo Durocher to reconsider Luke's place as the fifth man in his 1941 starting rotation. Wyatt, Higbe, Casey, and Davis are cinches -- and it had been hoped that Hamlin would rebound to his 1939 performance to take the fifth slot, but if he keeps going like he is going, he seems bound straight for Leo's doghouse. Trouble is, with Tex Carleton showing his age, Freddie Fitzsimmons now relegated to bullpen duty, and Van Mungo eliminated from the picture by an angry dancing matador, and nobody else seeming to be up to the task, Leo may be forced to go with Hamlin by default.

Stephen Vincent Benet's short story "Freedom Is A Hard Bought Thing" will be dramatized on the Free Company broadcast next Sunday afternoon at 2 over WABC. The adaptation of the story of a "Negro slave who yearns to be free" will be directed by Norman Corwin, and will feature a musical score composed and conducted especially for the broadcast by Bernard Hermann, with Canada Lee in the leading role.

(Y'know, Doc, Warbucks would pay a bundle for this technology. I'm just sayin'.)

("...who by the way, wasn't invited here..." Ahhhh, one of the most endearing things about Jo is that she grants absolutely no quarter.)

(In for a penny, in for a pound.)

(A LITTLE LOUDER, IRWIN! I DON'T THINK HE CAN HEAR YOU!)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News,

Having been stuck yesterday with a medical bill for more than $5000 that I have little hope of paying anytime soon, I cannot in any way sympathize with anyone who can afford 50 visits to a doctor, even if it is in 1941.

Oooh, I hope this the first in a series of ads inspired by current Broadway hits, and in the next one we see Sheridan Whiteside bellowing from his wheelchair that "the only thing colder than this dismal midwestern hovel was last night's wretched excuse for a pot roast!"

And Tracy laughed and laughed.

Loose lips sink ships, kid, so button yours.

It's a wonder anybody gets any sleep in this house.

Sea lion? There are six extant species. Can't you be more specific?

How many times must Terry be played before he realizes he's being played?

That can't possibly be -- TULA? Could it?

Wait, Plushie -- a seedy member of the British Aristocracy who lives in a seedy boardinghouse in a seedy part of a seedy city -- actually has "business?" I eagerly look forward to meeting her.

So that's the answer to that old riddle, "how can my brother be my Father?"