The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

(Coffee shortage? Couldn't care less. Tea shortage? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!)

Resumption of heavy assaults on Manila Bay forts and new landings in Mindanao were believed today to indicate that the Japanese are launching a campaign to wipe out remaining resistance in the Philippines, ending the comparative lull that has prevailed since the fall of Bataan. Renewed intense attacks on Corregidor's Fort Mills, and the neighborhing Forts Drum, Hughes, and Frank make it appear now as if an effort to land and overwhelm the defenders may be at hand. For the first time since the fall of Bataan the War Department made no mention of the Corregidor garrison answering the enemy bombardment or air attacks.

Russia today claimed successes on the Kalinin and Leningrad fronts and the destruction of 264 German planes over the past week. The latest communique from Moscow also stated for the first time in weeks that Soviet forces "carried out offensive operations," a hint that the long-awaited Red Army spring offensive may have begun.

Two high officials of the War Department will appear today before the House Military Affairs Committee to oppose legislation that would prohibit the commissioning of civilians as army officers unless they have prior military experience. Committee chairman Andrew J. May (D-Kentucky) stated today that he agrees with the War Department's opposition to the bill. "It is true that there should be no wholesale commissioning of officers from civilian life," he stated, "but in times like these nothing should be done that would interfere with the war program."

(Or, like a certain bald-headed billionaire, you could just commission yourself into your *own* army.)

(So who's guarding all these city supplies, anyway?)

(Because if there's one thing Our Boys need, it's "Less Irritation.")

The Eagle Editorialist expresses pleasure at the news that Social Justice, the paper run by Father Coughlin, has suspended publication after facing the loss of its mailing privileges. It is to be "hoped that Father Coughlin clearly and sensibly recognizes that his reckless and inflammatory journalism -- which was seditiously propagated by dubious and inflammatory organizations and personages whose connection with the propaganda of our Axis enemies is being closely investigated by our Government -- was doing grave injury to the church of which he is an ordained servant, as well as to the country of which he is a citizen."

("But we haven't gotten to tourniquets yet!!")

Rationing of domestic heating oil on the East Coast may prove necessary next fall to "help relieve critical shortages of fuel among war industries" in that area, it was stated today by federal petroleum officials. An official of the Office of Price Administration further warned that unless consumption of gasoline is sharply reduced this summer, the fuel oil shortage may become critical next Winter. That same official acknowledged that setting up a fuel oil rationing program will be "the next order of business" following the implementation of gasoline rationing in 17 eastern states as of May 15th.

A 27-year-old Brooklyn truck driver begins a three-year prison sentence today for theft of a gas range he'd been assigned by his employer to deliver. John Prill of 329 17th Street admitted to Kings County Judge Peter J. Brancato that he sold the range for $27, and spent the money on liquor.

(The arguing-balls-and-strikes rule was passed largely due to the activities of Mr. Durocher, and you'd think he'd be proud.)

The House of David baseball team makes its first local appearance of the spring at Dexter Park this Sunday when the bearded athletes take on the Bushwicks in a doubleheader. The Davidmen dropped a 1-0 decision during their last appearance of 1941, in a game fraught with thrills, and it is expected the same high level of baseball will prevail for their coming engagement.

(Not only that, do you have any idea how much a partial plate costs???)

(Ehhhhhh, could be!)

("...and a fool for a client.")

("Ahhh it's me shrapnel wound. I'll never ONE TWO THREE KICK again!")

("With that hat???")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Smile, kid. Smile like you really mean it.

Of course he's right, he's Alexander Woollcott!

Time to open a second front, eh General? "Oh, and I gave my plant to Bill Slagg. I should say, FIELD MARSHAL Bill Slagg. He's great!"

I told ya, hit him over the head. That vase'll do.

"Normandie? Normandie who?"

Aw, you can hit harder than that.

"Oh look, he drew a picture of an igloo on the back. What's that supposed to mean?"

Sorry, having a flashback.

Actually, Willie is perfectly cut out for corporate life.

The plot sickens.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And a bit of baseball bonus...

I fully agree with Westchester Mary's suggestion. Feller got all the headlines, but Lavagetto just seen his duty and done it. COOOOOOKIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

 

[Fading Fast]

(Coffee shortage? Couldn't care less. Tea shortage? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!)
...

It's different today, but growing up in NJ in the 1970s, everyone drank coffee and no one drank tea. I'm probably (unintentionally) exaggerating, but I don't think I even saw a cup of tea (not on TV) until I was a teenager.

...

(So who's guarding all these city supplies, anyway?)
...

That's interesting and, despite the ruling, it still sounds dirty to me. What I really want to see is how Flynn gets away with his antique Belgian courtyard as I, sadly, bet he does.

...

(Because if there's one thing Our Boys need, it's "Less Irritation.")
...

In a pre-internet day, the logistics of this program had to be insanely complex and both paper and labor intensive.

...

("...and a fool for a client.")
...

My not-lawyer understanding is that a spouse can't be force to provide testimony against his or her spouse when that spouse is on trial, but in this case, Jo is just giving testimony, so George can also give testimony, even if it conflicts with Jo's. (Lawyers out there, please correct me.)

...

I told ya, hit him over the head. That vase'll do.
...

Wouldn't Van Dyke be better off if Yollman just stays in a hypnotized state?

...

"Normandie? Normandie who?"
...

"It is well to wear one's most impressive uniform"

...

"Oh look, he drew a picture of an igloo on the back. What's that supposed to mean?"
...

Let's see if we can help Nina, "We stopped at a whorehouse today..."

 

[PrivateEye]

(Ehhhhhh, could be!)

I hope this is the end of the robot, it's a boring storyline.

This strip is a relatively new addition to our mix, let's hope it gets better.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(Sorry, no good news today.)

China was being virtually isolated from her allies today, with powerful Japanese columns blocking her back door to Burma, attempting to cut off a British-Chinese retreat in the upper Irrawaddy Valley, and carrying the threat of invasion closer to India's jungles. By storming the Nam Mao River into Yunan province at Wanting, the Japanese reached the major goal of their Burma conquest, with the next phase of the enemy's offensive now developing toward India. Tokio's imperial headquarters stated today that Japanese army units had "completely occupied" the strategic sea and air base of Akyab, Burma, on the bay of Bengal, less than 100 miles south of the Indian frontier.

A letter received today by the Brooklyn Eagle from Fort Jackson, South Carolina contains a plea from a local boy for some of the luxuries he left behind. Private Joseph Kudasz of G Company, 30th Infantry, 77th U. S. Army writes that he misses Brooklyn's "pretty girls, theatres, subways, crowds, and, of course, the Dodgers," but what he really wants most is cigarettes and books. Especially cigarettes. "We're doing our part as much as we can," he writes. "Surely you generous folks can do your bit by sending me cigarettes please. Thanks."

(Point of order: shouldn't Mr. Flynn have been asked to explain why, if he had paid the cost of trucking the blocks out to his estate, he also claimed to have no idea that any of this was going on? Hmmm?)

Sugar is on sale again in Brooklyn after sales were suspended pending the issuance of ration books in the borough, with retailers offering the commodity for a price-per-pound and a ration stamp. Today is the third day of the ration book issuing program, with the issuance of books to be completed in the borough tomorrow. Once the sugar books have been issued, the Office of Price Administration will begin to issue gasoline ration cards, with applications taken next Tuesday to next Thursday, from 3 PM to 8PM at neighborhood public schools. Motorists should enroll for gasoline cards at the school closest to their homes. Five types of cards will be issued based on the specific needs of each motorist, from the basic "A" card, thru "B-1", "B-2", and "B-3" cards for persons with demonstrably greater needs. An "X" card allowing unlimited fuel will be issued to persons requiring an unrestricted fuel supply, such as doctors, nurses, and veterinarians. No gasoline will be sold in any of the affected 17 Eastern states without presentation of a ration card as of May 15th.

The one-time "Messenger," or leader, of the Royal Society of Master Metaphysicians will spend two and a half to five years in Sing Sing Prison after pleading guilty to swindling a woman follower out of $9000. James B. Shafer, founder of the Long Island religious cult, wept as he was sentenced yesterday in General Sessions Court. Shafer's attorney Raymond Wise pleaded unsuccessfully for leniency, denying his client was an "out-and-out swindler and common thief," but Judge Owen W. Bohan declared that Shafer was, in fact, exactly that -- pointing out that, when he had belonged to the Ku Klux Klan in Michigan before founding his religious sect, he had even stolen money from that organization. Shafer's cult came to national notice two years ago when it adopted Baby Jean Gauntt, and declared it would raise the child to immortality "in an atmosphere of metaphysical love." Baby Jean's mother reclaimed the child, however, and the sect's compound, "Peace Haven," was subsequently sold at auction to satisfy a judgement.


("My fois' Motteh's Day," comments Sally, as she dunks Leonora's latest diaper in the pail. "'Magine 'nat." "Yeah," replies Joe, scraping his toast. "Innit." "Kin' of a special day, don'cha t'ink?" "What's Lastex?" says Joe. "You'll fin' out," declares Sally.)

Brooklyn actress Helen Mencken finds that her days, these days, are full. Not only does appear every weekday on "Second Husband," one of radio's most popular "soap operas," she also is the chairman of the Radio Division of the American Theatre Wing War Service, which she heads from a busy Manhattan office, where she keeps the wheels moving until the moment comes when she must jump into a waiting car to be raced to CBS for her daily broadcast. As soon as that task is completed, she rushes to fulfill volunteer duties with the Lexington School for the Deaf and the Institute for the Crippled and Disabled. Sometimes she's home in time for dinner -- but not always. Her husband, Dr. Henry Templeton Smith, noted eye specialist, isn't home either -- he's now a Major in the Army, stationed in Atlanta, Georgia. "That makes me an Army Widow with more time for war work," comments Miss Mencken, "but I do miss him."

(Bit early for the harvest, isn't it?)

Declaring that interfering defense work is far more reprehensible than gambling, Magistrate Charles Solomon reprimanded two patrolmen who last night raided a card game at the headquarters of Local 806 of the International Longshoremen's Association. The raid, which brought twenty-five dock workers before the bench in Brooklyn-Queens Night Court, took the men away from their work, declared the Magistrate after the defendants testified they were merely playing cards to pass the time while waiting to begin loading a ship. Joseph Moriarty, vice president of the local, declared that he had wired ILA President Joseph Ryan, who, he promised, would complain at once to Mayor LaGuardia and Police Commissioner Valentine about "the outrage."

(Banker -- and former Police Commissioner -- George V. "George the Fifth" McLaughlin is a vital figure in Brooklyn baseball history. It was he, as head of the Brooklyn Trust Company and chief trustee of the Ebbets and McKeever estates, who kept the two family factions from destroying the franchise in the 1930s, and it was he who hired Leland Stanford MacPhail to run the club in 1938. But it is also he who has a conniving associate named Walter F. O'Malley, to whom he will one day loan the funds to buy into the team. After 1957, he will never speak to Mr. Walter F. O'Malley again.)

Gargantua the Ape might be fierce and ferocious as he growls and glowers in his cage at the Ringling Bros.-Barnum & Bailey Circus, but he's just a big baby to the woman who raised him. That's not even his right name, says Mrs. Gertrude Lintz, who notes that when she was bringing up the gorilla at the old Van Brunt estate at 8365 Shore Road, she called him "Buddy." The boisterous ape used to slide down the bannisters in the front hall, beating his chest as he romped in the yard, or played with his pet kitten, but Mrs. Lintz says, rather sadly, that she had let him go when his weight reached 468 pounds. She used to walk with "Buddy", who dressed in overalls in those days, or go riding in her auto, and paid no notice to the stares that followed. "There was never anything mean about him," she insists. "He's just morose and resentful now because of his captivity. But his real nature is gay and playful."

(I had no idea Slappy had so many relatives in der Vaterland.)

(Hey, now, is that the way to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit?)

(They're hoping they'll get Solomon, but it'll serve them right if it's Liebowitz.)

(Oooooooooooze...)

(Well now! A hard-hitting story dealing with the vicious exploitation of migrant fruit pickers? Oh wait...)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

The Bronx is singularly free of corruption? WELL WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT. Meanwhile, Ireene Wicker was the closest thing radio had to Mister Rogers, and despite the loss of her own child, and despite her future blacklisting, she will remain on the air as an antidote to blood and thunder until 1975.

As you were, sailor.

"Drop it." "Oh, well, if you don't want to talk about it.." "No, I mean DROP IT."

Look, how hard does this have to be? Hit him over the head and take it. Where's Bull Moose when you need him?

Keep your hands on the wheel, Doctor.

Who needs dialogue?

Yeah, it's always THE BACK ROOM!

This "Do It Yourself" craze is really catching on!

Even the title writer is getting sick of this story.

An obviously high class establishment.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And another bonus, more love for the noble Cookie:

Jeez, Jimmy, he only joined the Navy. It's not like he's dead.

 

[Fading Fast]

...

(Point of order: shouldn't Mr. Flynn have been asked to explain why, if he had paid the cost of trucking the blocks out to his estate, he also claimed to have no idea that any of this was going on? Hmmm?)
...

Great point, Lizzie.

What a disgrace.

"No matter how cynical you become, it's never enough to keep up." - Lily Tomlin

"JFC" - me.

One more, "The gasoline and oil used in the city cars for the trips were returned in full." One, I'd love to see the dates on the receipts of those payments. Two, who "returns" or pays for oil used in a car. That alone speaks of an ex-post-facto attempt to make it all look clean.

...

Sugar is on sale again in Brooklyn after sales were suspended pending the issuance of ration books in the borough, with retailers offering the commodity for a price-per-pound and a ration stamp. Today is the third day of the ration book issuing program, with the issuance of books to be completed in the borough tomorrow. Once the sugar books have been issued, the Office of Price Administration will begin to issue gasoline ration cards, with applications taken next Tuesday to next Thursday, from 3 PM to 8PM at neighborhood public schools. Motorists should enroll for gasoline cards at the school closest to their homes. Five types of cards will be issued based on the specific needs of each motorist, from the basic "A" card, thru "B-1", "B-2", and "B-3" cards for persons with demonstrably greater needs. An "X" card allowing unlimited fuel will be issued to persons requiring an unrestricted fuel supply, such as doctors, nurses, and veterinarians. No gasoline will be sold in any of the affected 17 Eastern states without presentation of a ration card as of May 15th.
...

I assume the veterinarians got unlimited gas as they treated working animals and not because they treated pets. Just thinking about it from a 1940s mindset, as I'd be fine if it was because of pets, but I doubt that was the thinking back then.

...

Declaring that interfering defense work is far more reprehensible than gambling, Magistrate Charles Solomon reprimanded two patrolmen who last night raided a card game at the headquarters of Local 806 of the International Longshoremen's Association. The raid, which brought twenty-five dock workers before the bench in Brooklyn-Queens Night Court, took the men away from their work, declared the Magistrate after the defendants testified they were merely playing cards to pass the time while waiting to begin loading a ship. Joseph Moriarty, vice president of the local, declared that he had wired ILA President Joseph Ryan, who, he promised, would complain at once to Mayor LaGuardia and Police Commissioner Valentine about "the outrage."
...

Solomon is spot on with this one. Arresting organized gambling, sure, for the 1940s, that makes sense, but going after ad-hoc games is a waste of everyone's time.

And in the Daily News...

The Bronx is singularly free of corruption? WELL WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT. Meanwhile, Ireene Wicker was the closest thing radio had to Mister Rogers, and despite the loss of her own child, and despite her future blacklisting, she will remain on the air as an antidote to blood and thunder until 1975.
...

Effectively, he stole from the city, then when he got caught, he paid the money he stole back and somehow that's all fine. We'd all take that deal: Steal and either get away with it or have to give the money back with no punishment or even a blemish on your record. Again, JFC.

...

Look, how hard does this have to be? Hit him over the head and take it. Where's Bull Moose when you need him?
...

From memory, the gem was stolen and hidden in the casket that Andy bought and that the "tramp" now has, unbeknownst to him, in the handle of the umbrella. So, in reality, this is all a to-do about nothing unless Andy wants to traffic in a high-profile stolen gem.

...

Who needs dialogue?
...

After the Dragon Lady's disdainful once over in panel three, Normadie needs to excuse herself to, umm, freshen up.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("Governor William O'Dwyer," mutters Major William O'Dwyer. "Damn this war.")

A new style of monster tank will soon be rolling off production lines in Philadelphia, where the Baldwin Locomotive Works has already increased the production of the M-3 medium tank by "leaps and bounds." The new model, designated M-4, will have a lower profile than its predecessor, along with increased firepower, a wider angle of fire, and increased obliquity -- that is to say, the armor plating will be at greater angles to enemy fire rather than perpendicular. Baldwin officials note that the company has tripled the size of its workforce since 1940, and continues, alongside the production of tanks, to manufacture locomotives to meet the present transportation emergency.

Ten more French terrorists were to be executed today at Romorantin, in Occupied France, in reprisal for an attack on a single German soldier. Forty Frenchmen were shot by Nazi authorities in reprisal executions yesterday, ten at Romorantin and the remaining thirty in Caen. It was revealed that French civilians are now being forced to ride Nazi munitions trains as hostages in an effort to prevent sabotage. This news did not prevent an attack on a German train south of Cherbourg, in which twenty-one French hostages and an undisclosed number of German troops were killed. In Western Normandy a 7 pm curfew was imposed in an effort to check attacks by civilian saboteurs.

Meanwhile, Radio Berlin announced today that Gestapo deputy chief Reinhardt Heydrich, who had been appointed "protector of Bohemia and Moravia" in an effort to check anti-Nazi terrorists in Czechoslovakia, arrived yesterday in Paris. Heydrich is known to be brutal and ruthless, stopping at nothing to achieve his purposes.

A division of Siberian reserves captured several strongly-defended villages, killed 1200 Germans, forded a strategic river under fire, and siezed strongholds in their first action against the Nazis, it was reported today by the Soviet army newspaper Red Star. This performance was cited as proof of the quality of Russian new armies pouring into the front for what may be a new offensive designed to beat the Germans to the punch.

Governor Herbert J. Lehman today signed into law two bills designed to "smoke out" un-American employers who discriminate against applicants for jobs in war industries on the basis of race, color, or creed. One of the new laws authorizes the State Industrial Commissioner to investigate charges of discrimination by public utilities, war industries, or labor organizations, while the other criminalizes the refusal to employ any person on discriminatory grounds by any corporation engaged in war work. Violators of the latter law will be subject to fines ranging from $50 to $500 per violation.

A 27-year-old X-ray technician from Queens was killed while lecturing to a class yesterday, after she brushed her arm against an active X-ray tube. Edith Fox of 84-56 164th Street in Jamaica was training three student technicians at Sydenham Hospital in Manhattan when her elbow made contact with the tube. There was a quick flash, and Miss Fox collapsed to the floor. Hospital authorities noted that the apparatus was capable of producing up to 2000 volts when operating, and while not new, was equipped with the latest "shock proof" devices.

("My ol' man useta tawk 'bout'tat Sacco an' Vanzetti," recalls Joe as he and Sally exit the Fox following a screening of "The Male Animal." "Who 'ah t'ey, anyways? Prizefightehs?" "Din'cha pay 'tention to 'tmovie?" eyerolls Sally. "Henry Fonda, he tawked awlabout'ttat." "I musta miss'tat," acknowledges Joe. "My ol' man, he useta wave 'is fist inna aieh, an' holla 'bout 'em, an' I jus' figgehed he musta los' money bettin' onna fight a'sump'n. 'Magine makin' a moom-pitcheh 'bout'tat.")

(Even in this golden age of convenience foods, I don't think that canned corn on the cob is going to catch on.)

(War is Heck.)

(ED HEAD! ED HEAD! ED HEAD! Oh, and quiet and peaceful Brooklyn chiorboys Camilli, Fitzsimmons, and Wyatt sit with their hands folded and halos all a-gleam as choirmaster Leo raises his baton.)

(Well, at least he won't need a *partial* plate.)

(Scarlet takes up the crusade for Prison Reform?)

(Jo really should've been a lawyer.)

(C'mon, sinister butler, get on with the sinister.)

(Don't you mean white *lightning?*)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

So Mr. Buscetto drank himself to death, made his way across town to a gas station, climbed down the grease pit, and laid down neatly waiting to be found. A perfectly reasonable thing for a man to do on his honeymoon.

All right, now what?

Punjab says "hey, stop stealing my act!"

You may have ridden the tidal wave, but you always end up naked on the beach.

"Besides, with you here, we'll never get a day's work out of that idiot Meagher."

"Your lips may say 'no-no,' mousy one, but your child's smiling Irish eyes say 'yes-yes.'"

"I'll just be sitting over here reading the paper. Oh, that Dan Dunn!"

Enjoy 'em while you can, kids -- the troops need mosquito netting!

Burying Pop in his own cellar? That's cold.

Doormen have a hard life.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And a Home Front Necessity bonus...

I guess if you can't get a locking gas cap for a 1941 Cadillac at Altman's, you can't get one anywhere.

 

[Fading Fast]

("Governor William O'Dwyer," mutters Major William O'Dwyer. "Damn this war.")
...

But Lehman would probably be running for another term if not for the war, so O'Dwyer wasn't getting in either way.

...

Ten more French terrorists were to be executed today at Romorantin, in Occupied France, in reprisal for an attack on a single German soldier. Forty Frenchmen were shot by Nazi authorities in reprisal executions yesterday, ten at Romorantin and the remaining thirty in Caen. It was revealed that French civilians are now being forced to ride Nazi munitions trains as hostages in an effort to prevent sabotage. This news did not prevent an attack on a German train south of Cherbourg, in which twenty-one French hostages and an undisclosed number of German troops were killed. In Western Normandy a 7 pm curfew was imposed in an effort to check attacks by civilian saboteurs.

Meanwhile, Radio Berlin announced today that Gestapo deputy chief Reinhardt Heydrich, who had been appointed "protector of Bohemia and Moravia" in an effort to check anti-Nazi terrorists in Czechoslovakia, arrived yesterday in Paris. Heydrich is known to be brutal and ruthless, stopping at nothing to achieve his purposes.
...

Obtaining and holding an empire are two different things.

...

("My ol' man useta tawk 'bout'tat Sacco an' Vanzetti," recalls Joe as he and Sally exit the Fox following a screening of "The Male Animal." "Who 'ah t'ey, anyways? Prizefightehs?" "Din'cha pay 'tention to 'tmovie?" eyerolls Sally. "Henry Fonda, he tawked awlabout'ttat." "I musta miss'tat," acknowledges Joe. "My ol' man, he useta wave 'is fist inna aieh, an' holla 'bout 'em, an' I jus' figgehed he musta los' money bettin' onna fight a'sump'n. 'Magine makin' a moom-pitcheh 'bout'tat.")
...

Oh Joe. (And thank you, Lizzie.)

Lizzie, since the time machine already took us there for Opening Day, we might as well check out "Saboteur" at Radio City.

...


(ED HEAD! ED HEAD! ED HEAD! Oh, and quiet and peaceful Brooklyn chiorboys Camilli, Fitzsimmons, and Wyatt sit with their hands folded and halos all a-gleam as choirmaster Leo raises his baton.)
...

"We've had this conversation before, she can chant 'Ed Head' as much as she wants, it's not violent and she's a Brooklyn kid after all. Now, get back to your classroom and teach those kids something."

Greenleaf might or might not win, but we know pool posterity will forget him, but not Willie Mosconi.

...

(Jo really should've been a lawyer.)
...

"I'll explain to that judge."

Yes, that's how it works.

And in the Daily News...

So Mr. Buscetto drank himself to death, made his way across town to a gas station, climbed down the grease pit, and laid down neatly waiting to be found. A perfectly reasonable thing for a man to do on his honeymoon.
...

That story felt very odd from the start. My best guess is some tie to organized crime, but I can't make the pieces of the puzzle all fit. I hope the papers continue to cover it.

The alimony ruling is interesting and is something else I don't remember reading about before these pages.

...

All right, now what?
...

As infuriating as it is, it's over. With the war on, the story will just fade away. It's such blatant corruption, it makes you sick. People like Joe and Sally work hard, live frugally, save what little they can and pay taxes so that crooks like these can have antique Belgian courtyards on their lake front second homes.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

...

"Your lips may say 'no-no,' mousy one, but your child's smiling Irish eyes say 'yes-yes.'"
...

...

Doormen have a hard life.

"Pleasetameetcha"

In NYC, in the '70s and '80s, in particular (it still goes on a bit here and there, today), a doorman at a hot club was a very hard but lucrative job.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("I wisht I could go," sighs Joe. "But woik, it comes foist." "Ma stood in line awl day, an' got t'ree tickets," says Sally. "One fa her, one fa me an' one fa Leonora. Her foist game!" "She's awredy good at blowin'a razzberry," notes Joe. "Hey kid, give'm one f'a ya ol' man, hey?")

Adolf Hitler today deputized a brigadier general of his vaunted storm troops to serve as "police fuehrer" of Occupied France, and assigned him to suppress increasing terrorism and sabotage by French civilians rising against Nazi rule. Deputy Gestapo Chief Reinhardt Heydrich is in Paris to personally preside over the installation of General Carl Oberg as head of all police forces in France, and it is believed that the presence of Heydrich, who had earlier ordered the execution of 500 hostages in Prague, was intended to "strike fear into the hearts of French patriots." Three more French hostages were shot by the Nazis today, bringing to 93 the number of reprisal killings in France during the past few weeks.

The War Labor Board has ordered the Sperry Gyroscope Company of Brooklyn to recognize the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers, CIO, as the legal representative of its employees on grievances. The company, which employs 12,000, has a prior agreement with the Brotherhood of Scientific Instrument Makers, but members of the CIO union filed a complaint before the National Labor Relations Board last year charging that the Brotherhood is in fact an illegal company union controlled by Sperry management. The NLRB concurred with that argument.

(Who steals a dog right out of a car? C'mon, Commissioner Valentine, assign a squad to this at once!)

TODAY'S HITLER-HELPER: Men who worry more about restrictions on trouser cuffs than about soldiers having good clothes.

(Hitchcock and Abbott & Costello in one night. Herbie sure earns his pay.)

The Eagle Editorialist doesn't waste any time endorsing Attorney General John J. Bennett Jr. of Brooklyn as successor to Governor Herbert Lehman. "Brooklyn has never had one of its sons occupy the Governor's chair in all the history of the Empire State," the EE observes. "With such a strong candidate available now is the time that our community should win this political recognition."

("I mean, is Portla still Facing Life?")

Former U. S. Ambassador to Russia Joseph M. Davis last night denounced opponents of war aid to the Soviet Union as "sixth columnists and stooges of Hitler," as he spoke before a Russian War Relief benefit dinner last night at the Hotel Commodore. The dinner, opening a drive to raise $6,000,000 for medical and surgical supplies for the Russian people, was presided over by President Thomas J. Watson of the International Business Machines Corporation. "The least we can do," declared Ambassador Davies, "is contribute generously to Russian war relief and thereby express the gratitude, admiration, honor, and respect which we have for a great ally, whose people are doing more fighting, bleeding, and dying than all the rest of us put together in defense of a kind and manner of life which we and other free men of the world require. This is the least we can do to repay the debt we owe."

Police in Flatbush and Borough Park are seeking bandits who leap on the running boards of autos driven by lone women when the cars stop at stop lights, and then victimize the drivers. The latest victim of a jump-and-grab robber was Dr. Rebecca G. Liswood of 8415 Bay Parkway, whose car was boarded along Avenue N between East 4th and 5th Streets, and her purse stolen.

(French is throwing a knuckleball now? And that's why Fitz is a great guy to keep around. And Mr. Brannick's comment about Medwick being a lemon even before he was hit in the head is very interesting. What did Larry know and when did he know it?)

(All right, let's see you get out of THIS one.)

(If Scarlett eats lunch and then turns invisible, can you see the lunch? I can't stop wondering about this.)

(Occult stuff? Did I see someone taking a goat into the judge's chambers?)

("John's an idiot, he won't care. But watch out for that butler!")

("Well, chief, I believe it might be an alloy of gold mixed with a high percentage of nickel and zinc. BUT I COULD BE WRONG!")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

I realize it's a slow day on Page Four, but do we really need to see that picture?

"Sawed-off billiard cues?"

Wait a few years, hon, and you'll find that it's no trouble at all.

Don't get any ideas, "General."

"What sort of things?" "Well, there's that time we were strung up together by our wrists by a sinister warlord who sliced our clothes off.." "Oh." "And then there's the time her hell-driving assistant led a ragtag band of misfits on a suicide mission to rescue her from an Invader prison, and I parachuted in wearing a double-breasted white dinner jacket. Never got a spot on it, either." "My aunt was right about you." "WELL I NEVER HAD A KID WITH HER. I mean, that I know of..."

We shall indeed.

"No, that's not it. Wait, let me try it again. No, be patient, it's great. Let's see now..."

No wonder Papa had a heart attack.

BEST PAGE FOUR EVER

"Pop? Pop who?"

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oh, and...

"Yeah, I'm a little busy now..."

 

[Fading Fast]

("I wisht I could go," sighs Joe. "But woik, it comes foist." "Ma stood in line awl day, an' got t'ree tickets," says Sally. "One fa her, one fa me an' one fa Leonora. Her foist game!" "She's awredy good at blowin'a razzberry," notes Joe. "Hey kid, give'm one f'a ya ol' man, hey?")
...

This is one time when the papers are not only not exaggerating, but they got the significance of a battle in real time. The Battle of Coral Sea and the follow-on Battle of Midway would, effectively, determine the war in the Pacific.

...

(Who steals a dog right out of a car? C'mon, Commissioner Valentine, assign a squad to this at once!)
of nickel and zinc. BUT I COULD BE WRONG!")...

I love dogs, but why would someone steal this dog? I know some of the reasons dogs are stolen in some circumstances - to become fighting dogs, for food, breeding - but I doubt any of these fit this particular theft, so why?

...

(Hitchcock and Abbott & Costello in one night. Herbie sure earns his pay.)
...

"Saboteur" is Hitchcock doing WWII propaganda very well. My comments on it here: #29,337

Always fun to see our girl Jinx Falkenburg get a mention.

...

(All right, let's see you get out of THIS one.)
...

Once he's out of the sub, his super strength will return and he can swim or fly to safety. He'll still need the plate though, unless his superpowers include growing back teeth.

...

"What sort of things?" "Well, there's that time we were strung up together by our wrists by a sinister warlord who sliced our clothes off.." "Oh." "And then there's the time her hell-driving assistant led a ragtag band of misfits on a suicide mission to rescue her from an Invader prison, and I parachuted in wearing a double-breasted white dinner jacket. Never got a spot on it, either." "My aunt was right about you." "WELL I NEVER HAD A KID WITH HER. I mean, that I know of..."
...

It's a little disconcerting when anyone refers to themselves in the third person, but doubly so when it's The Dragon Lady.

"...your exotic friend..."

I don't expect it to happen, but yes, Lizzie, it would be beyond awesome if The DL brings back a kid that just happens to look a lot like Pat.

...

"Pop? Pop who?"

If they're tunneling to a bank, Ed's a little late as "Larceny Inc." was already in the theaters.

Oh, and...

"Yeah, I'm a little busy now..."

I think I mentioned it before that whenever I read about "Burma under attacked," etc., in the war news, my mind first goes to "our" "Terry and the Pirates" Burma.

How great would it be if Pat rescues Burma and, she too, has a little Pat Ryan with her? That would be a heck of a hat trick.

 

[ChiTownScion]

Suppose this should be in the "So Trivial/Still Ticks You Off" thread, but since it was raised here:

One doesn't "win" the Medal of Honor. Or a Bronze Star. Or a Purple Heart, or a VC. They are awarded.

Okay, I'm off the soapbox.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Yeah, "win" does make it sound like something you'd get at Dish Night at the Patio.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(Flynn's out of town? Boy, he moves fast. Meanwhile, out in Kansas, old Elmer Garner is no stranger to observers of the radical right -- he was in the thick of the nativist-Populist movement of the late 19th Century, and was prominent again in the '30s as an ally of Dr. John "Goat Gland" Brinkley. But whatever movement he pegs onto, he brings along his own distinctive flavor of heartland racism and anti-Semitism.)

The Office of Price Administration intends this weekend to "clear up" the question of exactly how much gasoline non-essential East Coast motorists will be allowed to buy when rationing begins on May 15th. Price Administrator Leon Henderson, noting much speculation in the press as to quotas, testified yesterday before a House subcommittee that non-essential drivers will get "between two and three gallons" of gasoline per week, and stressed that there is absolutely no chance that they will be allowed more than three. Henderson stated that two or three gallons is "a damn sight more" than some of these motorists are entitled to, given the severity of the present situation. Registration of car owners begins on Tuesday, and Henderson testified that he expects at least a full third of all motorists in the seventeen affected states will be classed as non-essential, and allowed only the minimum allotment of fuel. Other motorists will receive only enough fuel to travel to or from essential war jobs, and to conduct necessary war business. The initial rationing program will last for seven weeks, before it is replaced by a permanent rationing system.

(They actually did cram more than 40,000 into Ebbets Field for a Memorial Day doubleheader against the Giants in 1934 -- so that as many fans as possible could give Bill Terry their love after his "still in the league" remark -- but they did so by roping off portions of the outfield and seating fans on the grass. The fire department doesn't allow that anymore.)

("Get a horse!")

("Ahhhh, it was great!" declares Sally. "We seen Hilda. She ast how you was doin' -- says t'las' time she seen ya, ya looked kinda green." "You was goin' inta labeh," mutters Joe. "How'm I *sposta* look?" "Annen t'eah wazzis Giant fan sittin' right in fronna us. A Giant fan. I ask ya." "Whadja say?" queries Joe. "Ya tellim awf?" "Nah," replies Sally. "I din' say nut'n. Leonora spit up onnim." "Aw," smiles Joe. "Whatta good kid. Ain'cha, kid?" "Bummmmmm," says Leonora.)

(Count your change, Larry. You know how these ticket sellers are.)

Yesterday's game marked the debut of Ebbets Field's new electric organ, which will furnish musical entertainment before and after games, and between innings. Organist Gladys Goodding will be at the console. Miss Goodding also performs on the organ at Madison Square Garden, where her selections have entertained fans at Rangers hockey games for several seasons.

(Monday morning -- "Wow, what a terrible dream! Boy, I'm thirsty!")

("Utsa matta, utsa matta, hey! Utsa matta fa you? Ya eat-a my rav-i-oli an' my pas-ta-fa-zoo-la too!")

(Well now, let's not waste any time!)

(WELL DOESN'T THAT MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE TEN CENTS.)

("Credentials? ID? I -- um -- left them on the bus." "Yeah, sure bud, whatever.")