The Era -- Day By Day

[Harp]

Thanks bro. I may read Bork's seminal antitrust tract.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("I wondeh," wonders Joe, after absorbing the day's news, "whateveh happ'nt wit' O'Dwyeh anna Mayeh?" Sally rocks Leonora in silence for a long moment, and finally sighs. "Who cares?")

The sale of automobile and truck tires has been banned nationwide for the next eleven days by order of the Office of Production Management in order to halt a "buying wave" that erupted in the wake of the United States' entry into the war. OPM Priorities Director Donald L. Nelson issued the order effective last midnight, and declared that severe penalties will be imposed on any and all violators. It is expected that the order will be the first of many to be issued in the coming weeks curtailing or halting the production and sale of many categories of consumer goods, including automobiles and light trucks, washing machines, refrigerators, stoves, furniture, bicycles, coat hangers and, says Nelson, "thousands of other items." Secretary of Commerce Jesse H. Jones warned yesterday that the United States now has on hand approximately 600,000 tons of rubber for manufacturing use, about one year's normal supply -- but with supply sources now severely restricted by the war, efforts will be made thru sales and manufacturing bans to stretch that supply to last, at most, two and a half years.

(No food shortages -- yet. But the labor shortage in non-defense sectors is well underway.)

(What will the war do to the theatre? Well, at least Olsen and Johnson are too old to be drafted.)

("Don't You Know There's A War On?")

(Mr. Lichty could soon have a job with the Office of War Information.)

(Larry and Leo don't like Dixie Walker for reasons other than his playing ability, and it shows in this constant "we need another outfielder" drumbeat. And $10,000 a year to Mr. Reiser is all well and good, but he should keep in mind that he might soon be cut to $21 a day once a month.)

(And here we see another example of Comic Trope #5 -- "The egregious racial stereotype is actually the smartest guy in the room.")

(Hey cabbie, keep your eyes on the road!!!)

(Rosemary and Priscilla Lane At Home.)

(Yep, there's no weapon more lethal than a big cardboard tube.)

 

[Fading Fast]

.. (Mr. Lichty could soon have a job with the Office of War Information.)...

"Advance in the direction we came from." I'm surprised Goebbels didn't use that to describe Germany's current strategy on the Eastern Front. That line alone, proves, if he wants it, Lichty has a bright future in advertising.

...
(Hey cabbie, keep your eyes on the road!!!)...

I respect how seriously George has been taking his new line of work, but he might want to study up a bit on what's legal and what's not.

... (Rosemary and Priscilla Lane At Home.)...

I was thinking more Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.

"Ms. McSnooty" and "ain't -" Angel's humble beginnings show when she gets angry.

... (Yep, there's no weapon more lethal than a big cardboard tube.)

This might be the funniest panel in "Dan Dunn" ever:

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Ah for the days when the News front page was mostly pictures.

Remember that debutante who stripped and danced in the Rainbow Room on New Year's Eve, while tuxedoed playboys cheered her on? Seems so long ago.

Well now. Looks like Mr. Clark works with a very short lead time.

So maybe Dr. Zee is a Lincoln Brigade vet, but somehow I don't see Warbucks quite fitting in.

Whoever writes the titles in the slug line gets a prize today.

Somebody's one step ahead of somebody.

"Gee. I wish Trixie was in town."

Hortense DeStross Fleecer, to be precise. Just about time for her to be coming home, isn't it?

Last night at the theatre, a gentleman walked in wearing exactly the same distinctive style of pants as favored by our Mr. Wm. P. Mullins. I have never before seen such trousers in real life, and I wonder if I ever will again.

"Starting Tomorrow -- "Harold Teen" moves to Page Four!"

 

[Fading Fast]

And in the Daily News...

View attachment 386746 ..
Well now. Looks like Mr. Clark works with a very short lead time....

Prognostication can have its advantages.

.. Somebody's one step ahead of somebody....

Agreed, it's hard to tell who has the glass with the poison in it at this moment. This type of confusion is one of Caniff's go-to moves.

.. "Gee. I wish Trixie was in town."..

Worry more, kid, if she stops writing.

...
"Starting Tomorrow -- "Harold Teen" moves to Page Four!"

Right behind "Mary Worth" and assuming Page Four comes back.

 

[Harp]

Caniff is a 'mechanic' possessed a golden arm with deliberate touch, dealing death, confusion, intrigue
and adroitly manipulating time and circumstance to accord contemporary history. Burma would overshadow
April Kane so she has been dealt out for now. Same song HuShee. Hong Kong has fallen, Sino forces scattered.
Dragon Lady needs Hong Kong locus to focus, must circulate to percolate. She waits in the wings.

 

[ChiTownScion]

Earth to Goofy: "Drop her. Like a bad habit."

 

[LizzieMaine]

("Izza war goin' good?" wonders Joe, "or ain'nit? Make up ya mines!" Sally is silent for a long moment. "Y'know what? Leonora toint t'ree mont's ol' on Decembeh 7t'. We din' even t'ink of it." She is silent for another long moment. "Helluvva damn time," she finally murmurs, "t'hava baby.")

The rift between District Attorney William O'Dwyer and Mayor LaGuardia was today nearer a settlement on the basis of the approval by the Board of Estimate of a transfer of $35,000 in new funds to the prosecutor's office budget. Although O'Dwyer had requested an additional $45,000 to cover special expenses incurred by his office in connection with investigations, Budget Director Kenneth F. Dayton stated "this sum of $35,000 will see him thru to the end of the year. The city would have had to pay these bills anyway." Mr. Dayton noted that with expenditures for hotel rooms for witnesses and automobile rentals the Kings County District Attorney's Office is running into deficit faster than any other department in the city, and he had previously held up covering those expenses until a study could be performed to determine exactly where the money is going and how Mr. O'Dwyer might reduce his expenses.

Police Commissioner Lewis J. Valentine testified for two and a half hours today before the Amen Grand Jury investigating police corruption in Brooklyn, appearing at his own request and without subpoena to provide information concerning the activities of policemen in charge of the suppression of bookmaking and other gambling rackets. Assistant Attorney General John H. Amen declined to provide specifics of the Commissioner's testimony.

Outgoing Queens Borough President George U. Harvey appeared before an Amen Grand Jury yesterday, answering questions concerning his personal finances as part of the Amen Office's investigation of the paving industry racket. Mr. Harvey, who was defeated for reelection last month and will leave office at the close of this year, stated under oath that he maintains only one bank account, and furnished the grand jury with all checks and stubs from that account.

(Well, at least it isn't some hokey Count. Or Duke.)

(Is that kid lighting his sister's cigarette or what? Hey, don't you know it'll stunt your growth?)

(If you don't think Butch can do two jobs at once, you don't know Butch. For him, that's a lazy weekend. And war or not, Mr. Lichty will never get tired of "Kids Today.")

(Mize to the Giants!!!??? It's 258 feet down the right field line at the Polo Grounds. Gawdawmighty.)

(The number of military-themed pictures now in release proves once again that Hollywood is always ahead of the trend.)

(Ah! The Turtle is back! And we're about to find out if he's a SNAPPING turtle!)

(By the way, George, did you ever file the paperwork for that private investigator's license?)

(No War But Class War!)

("Now report to the quartermaster for your fashy haircut and monocle fitting.")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Peace feelers from Germany? Nobody realizes it yet, but the war has already reached its turning point.

The Colonna gag is a hopeful sign that the old Page Four spirit isn't quite dead.

And the Neighbors continue to search for a new home. How about the recipe page, that's a nice cozy spot? Anything to get away from all these grubby finance company ads.

Meanwhile, someplace far far away, John and Jill Tecum relax on the beach. "Say," says John, sipping a tall, cool drink, "remember that kid that used to hang around all the time? The one with that big yellow dog? Whatever happened to her?" Jill offers no reply but a long, satisfied sigh.

"Well, there goes our public-works budget."

Giddyup.

Pat should have this all figured out in a couple of days, but Terry will always be a block of wood.

It's like Tops never left. Watch out Skeez, he'll be moving in with you next.

Eew, I hate eggs where the yolk's burnt to charcoal.

There's a train leaving in half an hour.

 

[Fading Fast]

...] ("Izza war goin' good?" wonders Joe, "or ain'nit? Make up ya mines!" Sally is silent for a long moment. "Y'know what? Leonora toint t'ree mont's ol' on Decembeh 7t'. We din' even t'ink of it." She is silent for another long moment. "Helluvva damn time," she finally murmurs, "t'hava baby.")...

You can only see it decades after the fact, but 1941 was a pretty good year to be born.

...The rift between District Attorney William O'Dwyer and Mayor LaGuardia was today nearer a settlement on the basis of the approval by the Board of Estimate of a transfer of $35,000 in new funds to the prosecutor's office budget. Although O'Dwyer had requested an additional $45,000 to cover special expenses incurred by his office in connection with investigations, Budget Director Kenneth F. Dayton stated "this sum of $35,000 will see him thru to the end of the year. The city would have had to pay these bills anyway." Mr. Dayton noted that with expenditures for hotel rooms for witnesses and automobile rentals the Kings County District Attorney's Office is running into deficit faster than any other department in the city, and he had previously held up covering those expenses until a study could be performed to determine exactly where the money is going and how Mr. O'Dwyer might reduce his expenses....

A world war is a heck of a deus ex machina for provincial political squabbles.

..
(Well, at least it isn't some hokey Count. Or Duke.)...

Yes, but you know the four hundred is enjoying "son of the broccoli king."

... (The number of military-themed pictures now in release proves once again that Hollywood is always ahead of the trend.)...

Cohn is spot on about "The Feminine Touch;" you want to like Rosalind Russell in it, but the material is just not funny.

...
(No War But Class War!)...

Well, I think we now know how to push Ms. Varden's buttons, but she's a fighter. I assume tomorrow we'll see what Connie has to say in response.

... Peace feelers from Germany? Nobody realizes it yet, but the war has already reached its turning point....

Yes, the Russians held into the winter and the US is now in it. Hard to believe, but it is all over (except for four-plus years of horrific carnage to come, yet the outcome is pretty much assured). Interestingly, it was really Germany and Japan who knew it first. Heck, the smart ones in Japan knew it before Pearl Harbor.

...
And the Neighbors continue to search for a new home. How about the recipe page, that's a nice cozy spot? Anything to get away from all these grubby finance company ads....

How do you get as close to saying "period" as you can without saying "period:" "periodic female weakness." Agreed, Lizzie, they need to find "The Neighbors" a better new home.

... Pat should have this all figured out in a couple of days, but Terry will always be a block of wood....

Terry's looking very Jimmy Olsen in panel one. I expect April to man-up quickly on this one.

... There's a train leaving in half an hour.

A world war is a heck of a deus ex machina for provincial love-affair squabbles.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I thought I was done with monthly functional disturbances, but every month, for four or five days, I get a debilitating migraine. Maybe I should see what Mrs. Pinkham's Compound has to offer.

 

[PrivateEye]

[QUOTE="Fading Fast, post: 2875741, member: 26387"Welome back my friend - you've been missed. Hope all is well.

Enroute home Thursday evening November 4th I stepped out a Chicago Transit Authority subway car
at LaSalle and had an ischemic stroke. Spent ten days inpatient Northwestern then three weeks Marinjoy
Rehab since right side paralyzed but cognitive brain still good. Now at mt sister's for an expected six month recover.
Can't complain. Thanks guys, glad to be back.[/QUOTE]

Well welcome back, and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

 

[Harp]

Thanks PI. While at Northwestern and Marianjoy I flirted like hell with the nurses,
many of whom had never heard romantic poetry or Sapphic verse addressed to them.
Just told them I am an Irish poet scoundrel...so I still have my fastball, Thanks again.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(A week ago the spy verdict would have gotten the eight-column banner.)

("Colin Kelly was a pilot, flying down low. Levine pushed the button that let the bomb go. They sunk the Haruna to the bottom of the sea. It was foreigners like those kept America free..." -- Pete Seeger.)

The largest radio audience in American history -- more than 90,000,000 persons -- heard President Roosevelt's war message to the people on Tuesday night. The C. E. Hooper Inc. research firm found that the President's December 9th speech earned a 79.0 rating, which translates into an audience making up more than 92 percent of all American families. The new record surpasses the previous record also held by the President, set during his Unlimited National Emergency speech last May, which scored a rating of 70.0.

(Shop now to beat the ration.)

Workers at Flushing Meadow Park today began tearing down the Japanese Pavilion left over from the World's Fair. Parks Commissioner Robert Moses noted that the pavilion had been left standing after the rest of the Fair was demolished because of a request by the Japanese Government that it be retained as "a symbol of goodwill between the nations," but Mr. Moses declared "it was never satisfactory anyway."

A 57-year-old Ozone Park man who served in the First World War as a second lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps reentered the Army today as a private. It's the third hitch for James A. Knapp, who first enlisted in 1905, and reached the rank of sergeant in the Coast Artillery before the first war, later receiving a commission. He left the Army, he thought, for good, on December 30th, 1918.

("It ain' t'enna t' woil'!" argues Joe. "T'Pittsboigs come heah 'leven times a yeeah! An' we c'n go as many times as ya want! Hones'! Ya Petey'll be playin' e'vy day again! An' b'sides, I mean, jeez, 'at Vaughan, he's a helluva playeh! It's gonna woik out good f'evy'body! Ya see t'at, don'cha???" But Sally merely gazes out the window, into the rainy December night, and remembers that afternoon so long ago, when Pete Coscarart bumped into her going down the stairs at the Prospect Park station, and said 'sorry lady.' A real gentleman, he was. 'A real gentl'm'n," she sniffs. "Not like t'resta t'em bums.")

("Low, Hite, and Stanley" are quite an act -- "Low" is an eccentric dancer of ordinary stature, "Hite" is an acromegalic giant just short of eight feet tall, and Stanley is a dwarf.)

(To think this whole storyline started because Boody got tired of drawing Sparky's freckles.)

("A key? Whattaya want, they were half price...")

(You're out of your league, Mary. Send for Leona.)

(Point of Order -- how does Veeda get manage to get things done with such little chicken arms?)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

It's only the beginning.

Page Four might never be Page Four again.

There's one big drawback with this deal, and that's that Arky Vaughan hates Leo Durocher's guts. And I want to know exactly what the beef is with Lavagetto, who has always been a fine clutch player. Sure, he's injury prone, but is that worth breaking that "Cookie!" balloon guy's heart? And I hope Phelps hits .350 next year.

I suppose this isn't a bad spot for the Neighbors, but after all these years, Skeezix shouldn't have to share his page. "Ching Chow" was a feature in the News forever -- I remember he was still around in the 70s -- and was as, the art style suggests, a spinoff of "The Gumps," where he was one of Uncle Bim's employees who guarded Chester on his globetrotting adventures. Stanley Link was Sidney Smith's assistant on the parent strip, and was in line to take it over when Smith died in 1935 -- but he made the mistake of asking Capt. Patterson for too much money, and they gave the strip to Edson instead. Link got "Ching Chow" as a consolation prize, sort of. As you can see from today's aphorism, he certainly learned his lesson.

"Of course, I couldn't spare Punjab to stay with you, but I've arranged for Sandy to receive two extra ounces of kibble a day to serve as your bodyguard. Isn't that right, boy?"

"Wow, these price wars are getting bruuuu-tal!"

Two gents who need to be thinking about their military status. Terry is still underage, but maybe not for much longer, and Pat was not residing in the "continental United States" at the time of the original draft registration order last year. Enjoy those civvies while you can, boys, because you've both got a date with Uncle.

You're 20 years old, son. The Army will gladly take you if your parents sign off on it. And let's be honest, they're probably practicing their signatures right now.

A fine thoroughbred troll.

This strip is always a treasury of street-level slang of the Era, but "boob trap" for nightclub is the most outstanding specimen yet.

 

[Fading Fast]

... ("Colin Kelly was a pilot, flying down low. Levine pushed the button that let the bomb go. They sunk the Haruna to the bottom of the sea. It was foreigners like those kept America free..." -- Pete Seeger.)...

Re the Ford article: You can feel America's industrial might firing up for war production. The smart people in Japan were against the attack on Pearl, in part, for just this reason. They knew Japan could never compete with America's output. It's fascinating to see all this stuff we've read about in history happening "in real time."

...A 57-year-old Ozone Park man who served in the First World War as a second lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps reentered the Army today as a private. It's the third hitch for James A. Knapp, who first enlisted in 1905, and reached the rank of sergeant in the Coast Artillery before the first war, later receiving a commission. He left the Army, he thought, for good, on December 30th, 1918...

The army lets 57 year olds enlist?

... View attachment 387363
("It ain' t'enna t' woil'!" argues Joe. "T'Pittsboigs come heah 'leven times a yeeah! An' we c'n go as many times as ya want! Hones'! Ya Petey'll be playin' e'vy day again! An' b'sides, I mean, jeez, 'at Vaughan, he's a helluva playeh! It's gonna woik out good f'evy'body! Ya see t'at, don'cha???" But Sally merely gazes out the window, into the rainy December night, and remembers that afternoon so long ago, when Pete Coscarart bumped into her going down the stairs at the Prospect Park station, and said 'sorry lady.' A real gentleman, he was. 'A real gentl'm'n," she sniffs. "Not like t'resta t'em bums.")..

That seems like an odd trade. And, yes, poor Sally. We've all been there when our favorite player has been traded away - you feel like the team doesn't care about you. Hmm....

... (To think this whole storyline started because Boody got tired of drawing Sparky's freckles.)...

A butterfly flapped its wings.

...
(You're out of your league, Mary. Send for Leona.)...

I've never quite understood the "fight for your man (or woman)" idea in this manner. If they don't want you how you are, then they aren't right for you. If Connie has to be someone she's not to win Tom back, what good is there in that? Also, if Tom wants an Angel Varden, and Angel Varden is who you think she is, then why do you want Tom? I expect better advice from Mary. That said, I'm all for bringing Leona back for whatever reason (if I have to, I'll even post the Club Buccaneer pic - wasn't that the name of the club?).

...There's one big drawback with this deal, and that's that Arky Vaughan hates Leo Durocher's guts. And I want to know exactly what the beef is with Lavagetto, who has always been a fine clutch player. Sure, he's injury prone, but is that worth breaking that "Cookie!" balloon guy's heart? And I hope Phelps hits .350 next year.....

Lizzie, you know this stuff better than I do, but this trade doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

...
Two gents who need to be thinking about their military status. Terry is still underage, but maybe not for much longer, and Pat was not residing in the "continental United States" at the time of the original draft registration order last year. Enjoy those civvies while you can, boys, because you've both got a date with Uncle....

I forget sometimes that Pat's a smart guy.

...
This strip is always a treasury of street-level slang of the Era, but "boob trap" for nightclub is the most outstanding specimen yet.

Isn't it the guy who doesn't marry Gee-Gee that's the winner?

 

[Harp]

Speaking of dates. June St Clair. youzzzaa.

And the Brooklyn Spy Trial is all the more remarkable for public discovery.

Caniff writes literature not comic foolscap, Terry and The Pirates was well ahead of its time.
And frankly given current comic fare still is. Out in the hustings caught in fateful webbing the boys
are fenris wolves bound by the staunch and supple web.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The only way the Vaughan trade makes sense is if the Pirates are short of money and figure that, given his age and his so-so year last summer, he's on the downward slope. If they had gotten Lavagetto in the deal, it would have made sense, but instead they get Coscarart, who is an outstanding glove but a very erratic bat, Hamlin, the king of the gopher ball, Phelps, a catcher with mental issues, and Wasdell, who isn't any better than anyone else the Pirates have as an outfielder. It's harder to give up home runs in Forbes Field than it is in Brooklyn, so maybe Hamlin will work out, and maybe Phelps's real problem is that he can't stand Durocher, and maybe Petey just had an off year -- he was, after all, an all-star in 1940. And maybe Wasdell won't strike out so often as Vince DiMaggio. But still...

Vaughan was also hit in the head in an exhibition game last season and was erratic toward the end of the year -- maybe Frankie Frisch thinks he knows something the Dodgers don't, and figure it's better to unload him now rather than wait until further consequences of that injury manifest. It's not like the Dodgers don't have experience with such situations.

I weep today for Sally. I can still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing the moment I found out the Red Sox had traded Tony Conigliaro.

 

[Warker007]

"The sale of automobile and truck tires has been banned nationwide for the next eleven days by order of the Office of Production Management in order to halt a "buying wave" that erupted in the wake of the United States' entry into the war. OPM Priorities Director Donald L. Nelson issued the order effective last midnight, and declared that severe penalties will be imposed on any and all violators. It is expected that the order will be the first of many to be issued in the coming weeks curtailing or halting the production and sale of many categories of consumer goods, including automobiles and light trucks, washing machines, refrigerators, stoves, furniture, bicycles, coat hangers and, says Nelson, "thousands of other items." Secretary of Commerce Jesse H. Jones warned yesterday that the United States now has on hand approximately 600,000 tons of rubber for manufacturing use, about one year's normal supply -- but with supply sources now severely restricted by the war, efforts will be made thru sales and manufacturing bans to stretch that supply to last, at most, two and a half years."
Is this possible? Hope someone can answer for me?

 

[LizzieMaine]

Yep. Under the unlimited national emergency declared by the President on May 27, 1941, the Government has full authority to take any steps necessary to ensure that national defense priorities are met, including the regulation, rationing, or banning the manufacture for civilian purposes of any consumer product. At this point in 1941, production of goods using aluminum is already highly restricted, with the Government having taken over and rationed out the entire supply of raw aluminum. Copper, nickel, and steel are facing restrictions as well. We haven't seen anything yet.