The Era -- Day By Day

[ChiTownScion]

While there are special circumstances in Pop's case, it is amazing how many lawyer quit or never even go into the law after law school. That's a lot of time, money and effort to put aside, but it happens quite often.

Karl Llewellyn wrote an excellent book about the study and practice of law, The Bramble Bush: On Our Law and Its Study (1930). One could dismiss it as an exercise in cynicism, but I'm glad that I read it before starting law school.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(And the war reaches its most crucial stage.)

Axis war planes swept over the center of Cairo early today thru bursts of heavy anti-aircraft fire and dropped bombs on the outskirts of the city, killing one person and causing slight property damage. Residents of the Egyptian capital were rousted from their beds by air-raid alarms that sounded constantly between 2:30 AM and 4:30 AM, with only brief intervals of silence, to watch the biggest anti-aircraft display they have witnessed since the start of the war. Enemy planes appeared over the city in bright moonlight, encountering five separate attacks from anti-aircraft batteries.

Seven of the twenty-eight persons charged with engaging in a nationwide conspiracy to impair the morale of the United States Armed Forces pleaded innocent today in U. S. District Court in Washington. An eighth defendant, Ralph Townsend, was given a continuance of one week while he attempts to obtain counsel. Townsend, a convicted Japanese propagandist, is already serving a term of eight months to two years in the District of Columbia Jail for violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Among those pleading not guilty today were George Sylvester Viereck , a convicted German propagandist, and Prescott Freese Dennett of Washington, the first member of the Armed Forces to be indicted for sedition. Dennett, dressed in an Army fatigue uniform, stood alongside Viereck as they entered their pleas, and had allegedly assisted the German agent in the operation of a "make Europe pay its war debts" organization. An assistant to Attorney General Francis Biddle asked $5000 bail for each of the defendants. The arraignment was delayed for half an hour due to a false air raid alarm turned in at the courthouse.

(Frankly, I'm more worried about what's going to happen to those carrots.)

(And be sure to put a piece of cheesecloth over the top of the can to keep the flies away.)

The Eagle Editorialist scoffs at claims by the defendants in the Nazi spy case that they slipped onto US soil from German submarines "to escape from Germany," and further scoffs at the idea that these persons are entitled in any way to the protection of the same civil liberties enjoyed by American citizens. "These Nazis were armed invaders," he observes, declaring that it is "sheer nonsense" to bother about their rights. "To do so would make us appear ridiculous before the world."

Reader A. H. Hill declares that a vote for Attorney General Bennett for Governor will be a vote against "boss rule," and further declares "if Mead is rammed down our throats, or Dewey, who is just as bad, the war is in vain."

(Yeah, but what KIND of powder?)

In Los Angeles, Dr. William Boyce, eye specialist, is convinced that he and his estranged wife "could live out our lives together" if she would give up her affections for Sheland "Sho-Sha" Shaimond, a ghost. Dr. Boyce filed suit for desertion this week, after failing to win a divorce in 1940 on the grounds that Mrs. Boyce had left him for "a spirit." An attempt to force "Sho Sha" to materialize in the courtroom by subpoena was unsuccessful.

("Stop at t' canny stoeh on ya way t' woik t'night," directs Sally, "an' cawl up MacPhail an' ordeh Woil' Series tickets. MAin 4-1030. Tell 'im it's f' me, an' tell 'im t'ey betteh be GOOD seats." "Um," ums Joe, "innit a lit'l oily? Two mont's to go..." "Get T'REE seats -- an' don't get 'em too close t'rail or t'aisle. Leonora gonna be wawkin' by t'en, an' I don' wan'neh runnin' onna fiel' a'nutt'n. OH -- an' tell 'im we ain' f'got 'bout t'at mess las' yeeah, an'nee betteh tell Casey not' to t'row no moeh wet slidehs!")

ALthough rain washed out the Bushwicks' contest against the Chicago American Giants, more top-level Negro competition moves into Dexter Park tonight with the Birmingham Black Barons taking the field at 7:30 pm. The Barons finished second last year in the Negro American League, and are in the thick of the race this year behind the potent hitting and pitching of Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, who when he isn't pitching moves behind the plate to catch.

A 21-year-old Coney Island youth was fined for giving an exhibition on the beach without a permit after he gathered a crowd at the foot of Stillwell Avenue while dressed as Charlie Chaplin. A patrolman put a stop to the performance and took young Anthony Peccorella, complete with derby hat, big shoes, tiny moustache, and wagging cane, before Magistrate Nicholas Pinto. Peccorella explained that he was trying out his routine for a Chaplin look-alike contest at a neighborhood theatre next week, and the Magistrate, after viewing a demonstration, declared that he will probably win the prize. "In advance," he added, "just leave your $2 fine with the court clerk."

(Hey now, I love a good Mountie movie.)

(Better put on a jacket there, handsome -- it's getting ICEEEEEEEEEE.)

(Yeah, Helen Worth gets letters about this kind of thing all the time.)

(IT'S AN ADDRESS YOU MEATHEADS. 572 PEACHTREE STREET! NOW GET GOING! THE TRAIN TO ATLANTA LEAVES IN FIVE MINUTES!)

("Goofy?" No, that's just his regular manner.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Well, if you want to be a hermit, Greenville's as good a place as any to do it. And the story of the "major" proves something we've seen again and again in these pages over the years -- it's actually very easy to be a con artist if you are so inclined, because most people will take anything put before them at face value.

I really wanna see the "hat to match."

Annie may ponder the meaning of it all -- but Sandy just thinks it's hilarious.

Either that or some really stale pizza.

Some sacrifices are too great to make for the war effort.

Now let's hear it for the brave unsung heroes of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western.

Haystacks? Oh, how little you know, son.

There's no HIPAA in 1942.

"KID? Say, Lieutenant, let me tell you about some of the things I've done..."

Careful, now -- bikes are a vital war resource!

 

[Fading Fast]

...

("Stop at t' canny stoeh on ya way t' woik t'night," directs Sally, "an' cawl up MacPhail an' ordeh Woil' Series tickets. MAin 4-1030. Tell 'im it's f' me, an' tell 'im t'ey betteh be GOOD seats." "Um," ums Joe, "innit a lit'l oily? Two mont's to go..." "Get T'REE seats -- an' don't get 'em too close t'rail or t'aisle. Leonora gonna be wawkin' by t'en, an' I don' wan'neh runnin' onna fiel' a'nutt'n. OH -- an' tell 'im we ain' f'got 'bout t'at mess las' yeeah, an'nee betteh tell Casey not' to t'row no moeh wet slidehs!")
...

Other than from his wife, I don't think we've ever read a nice word about Bobby Riggs in any of these papers from the '40s. Some people are the same their entire lives.

...

ALthough rain washed out the Bushwicks' contest against the Chicago American Giants, more top-level Negro competition moves into Dexter Park tonight with the Birmingham Black Barons taking the field at 7:30 pm. The Barons finished second last year in the Negro American League, and are in the thick of the race this year behind the potent hitting and pitching of Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, who when he isn't pitching moves behind the plate to catch.
...

Let's put the pitcher at the one position where his arm will get no rest on his day off. How can that work? "That was a nice nine innings you gave us yesterday, but your throw to second needs more zip or they'll be stealing on us all day."

...

(Better put on a jacket there, handsome -- it's getting ICEEEEEEEEEE.)
...

"No can do, if I put on a jacket, she won't be able to see my rippling muscles and you know how these society debs go for blue-collar muscles.

And in the Daily News...

Well, if you want to be a hermit, Greenville's as good a place as any to do it. And the story of the "major" proves something we've seen again and again in these pages over the years -- it's actually very easy to be a con artist if you are so inclined, because most people will take anything put before them at face value.
...

Whatever it is Count Court Haugwitz-Reventlow has got, girls with lots of money want. It's not a bad talent to have, especially if you don't like to work.

...

I really wanna see the "hat to match."
...

Oh look, we can date ugly sweaters back to, at least, 1942 now.

...

Annie may ponder the meaning of it all -- but Sandy just thinks it's hilarious.
...

"I'll be at church bright and early this Sunday, Padre, wouldn't want to do anything to anger God." - Annie

"Five panels today, that shows my value - stupid Wolf never gets five panels. And it is true what they say, the ink adds ten pounds. I look so much thinner in person." - Sandy (a bundle on neurosis and insecurities).

...

Now let's hear it for the brave unsung heroes of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western.
...

You have to wonder how many not-Fedora-Lounge fans (or not-Grateful Dead fans) today would get the Casey Jones reference.

As noted before, putting that truck on the railroad tracks was possibly the stupidest thing we've seen Andy do, and that is saying a lot.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("HAH!" hahs Former Sheriff Magnano. "When *I* soived papehs, t'ey got SOIVED!")

Japanese planes, in one of their biggest drives yet, bombed four areas in the Australian zone yesterday and overnight, in apparent preparation for a new offensive move. Seven fighter planes and two heavy bombers were shot down out of a fleet of 27 bombers escorted by 22 Zero fighters which attacked the great Allied north base at Darwin. Only one Allied plane was lost.

Italian planes rained thousands of incendiary bombs on Bosnia towns this week in an attempt to put down Yugoslavian patriot resistance. The towns, most of them held by the guerilla armies of Gen. Draja Mikhailovitch, burned for two days, driving hundreds of persons from their homes. Sixteen other Bosnian towns were burned to the ground by Italian land forces in retaliation for continued resistance against the Axis occupation. Warnings from Axis occupation headquarters declared that all towns taken by Mikhailovitch's forces will be similarly destroyed, and hostages taken.

British fighter and bomber planes renewed their daylight raids today on the French coast, with a large mixed force observed to return from Bolougne, believed to be the center of the latest wave of attacks. Bad weather kept British planes grounded over night, but nine German planes were shot down during raids on the Midlands and scattered towns in other areas.

The president of Wellesley College has been selected to head the new Navy branch for women. Dr. Mildred H. McAfee is to be sworn in this week as the director of the Women's Naval Reserve Corps, with the rank of lieutenant commander. The "WAVES" will begin recruiting additional officer candidates once essential qualifications are established, and will begin enrolling to fill the enlisted ranks. Approximately 10,000 women are expected to serve in the new branch, freeing male personnel in shore stations for sea duty.

Attorneys for movie comedian Harold Lloyd and the estate of late Universal Pictures president Carl Laemmle filed suit today seeking reductions in taxes on their lavish Hollywood mansions on the grounds that increased wartime income taxes have made it impossible to earn enough money to maintain the buildings and grounds. Lloyd's 15 acre estate, which incorporates a full golf course, a swimming pool, and tennis courts, is presently assessed at $222,760, and the comedian is seeking to have that assessment reduced to $49,410. The Laemmle estate is assessed at $110,410, and has been on the market since the producer's death without an offer. An example of the reduced value of Hollywood properties was offered in the recent case of actor Warner Baxter, whose $500,000 estate recently sold for $85,000.

("The Banana Diet" works because bananas contain no gluten -- but it'll be another decade before science realizes this.)

("...makes William Tell look like the Phillies in the National League?" Now, is that nice?)

("NOT ADEPT AT HUMOR???" roars Joan Crawford. "Um," ums Herb Cohn, "I said, 'not always.' Please, put down the chair!")

The Eagle Editorialist scoffs at the Mead campaign's explanations of why the Senator did not endorse William O'Dwyer in last year's race for Mayor, calling "unsatisfying" the argument that the Senator was too busy with vital matters in Washington to take part in the O'Dwyer campaign. The EE points out that Sen. Mead was able to find time to go to Buffalo and stump for the Democratic mayoral candidate there, and argues that the real reason was that the Senator refrained from endorsing O'Dwyer due to the White House's support for LaGuardia. "The host of Democrats in Brooklyn and elsewhere who deeply resented Mead's attitude last fall," sniffs the EE, "will not be impressed by such an alibi."

(Just to be safe, better paint those tomatoes black.)

The National Association of Broadcasters today accused American Federation of Musicians president James C. Petrillo of "evading the basic issue" in his explanation of the ban on the making of recordings by union musicians, scheduled to take effect at midnight tonight. Mr. Petrillo issued a detailed statement concerning the reasons for the ban to Federal Communications Chairman James L. Fly, pointing out that "95 percent of music enjoyed by Americans is canned, with only 5 percent left for the professional musician who studied all his life to provide for his family," and arguing that "not one recording or transcription company has approached the AFM with any suggestion to improve this problem." The NAB dismissed that argument, and declared that the ban will "deny the American people the right to enjoy the fruits of invention, and will deprive our citizens of the inspiration and enjoyment of hearing music performed by their favorites."

(That MacPhail has a network of spies somehow surprises me not a whit. Or a Higbe. Oh, and the Browns are in fourth place and two games over .500 at the dawn of August? Imagine what they'd be doing in Los Angeles!)

Leroy "Satchel" Paige, greatest pitcher in Negro ball, will make his first appearance of the season at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, when he and his five-time Negro American League champion Kansas City Monarchs face the New York Cubans in the first game of a Ruppert Cup doubleheader. In the nightcap, the Negro National League-leading Baltimore Elite Giants will face the Philadelphia Stars.

("Mr. Seegfrid?" OBVIOUSLY A CLEVER DISGUISE!)

(Suddenly Fake Red is seven feet tall? Better get your glands checked.)

(Irwin Higgs will now be played by Joe Besser: "HEYYYY! STOP PUUUUUUUSHIN'!")

("Ambushed by Cupid?" More like "waylaid by Dionysus.")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Somehow I don't think Lindbergh is going to help the defense much.


("'At bum lan'lawd ain' got any a' t'ese yet," grumbles Sally. "Bum!" adds Leonora. "We otta jus' go an' get one," continues Sally, "ya neveh know what might happ'n." "Wellll," comments Joe, not looking up from the comics, "oueh annevoisary's comin' up." "You wout'n dare," breathes Sally. Joe looks up with a smirk. "Bum," reaffirms Leonora.)

("But gee whiz, Pop -- no radio! An' we're missin' the game!")

Point of order: wouldn't that have been "sizzled him hotter'n a fried mackerel?"

Snipe can't get here quick enough.

"Make it out to the Raven Sherman Foundation."

"You a cop? Don't be ridiculous, who ever heard of a cop named Anson?"

We're out of sequence again, but hey, 'seeza maboiks!'

Unnnnnnnnnncomfortable.

Most realistic married couple in the funnies.

 

[Fading Fast]

...

("NOT ADEPT AT HUMOR???" roars Joan Crawford. "Um," ums Herb Cohn, "I said, 'not always.' Please, put down the chair!")
...

At least Cohn didn't comment on her dancing "talents."

...

The National Association of Broadcasters today accused American Federation of Musicians president James C. Petrillo of "evading the basic issue" in his explanation of the ban on the making of recordings by union musicians, scheduled to take effect at midnight tonight. Mr. Petrillo issued a detailed statement concerning the reasons for the ban to Federal Communications Chairman James L. Fly, pointing out that "95 percent of music enjoyed by Americans is canned, with only 5 percent left for the professional musician who studied all his life to provide for his family," and arguing that "not one recording or transcription company has approached the AFM with any suggestion to improve this problem." The NAB dismissed that argument, and declared that the ban will "deny the American people the right to enjoy the fruits of invention, and will deprive our citizens of the inspiration and enjoyment of hearing music performed by their favorites."
...

Having seen many years of work invested in building skills and a career path made obsolete by technology, I am sympathetic to the musicians' plight, but like John Henry learned, fighting technological advancement is a mug's game. Find a new way to utilize your skills or build new ones. It ain't fun at all, but they aren't going to turn the machines off for you.

And in the Daily News...


Somehow I don't think Lindbergh is going to help the defense much.
...

Ditto on Lindbergh.

The police should be able to make progress on the pastry shop owner's murder. There's going to be an interesting story behind that one. What exactly is a telegram pay station in a bar and grill: you fill out the telegram form and pay at the bar and later your telegram is picked up and then sent from an actual telegram office? Or did the bar have a telegraph machine and operator on site? Also, where were her kids while she was vacationing?

...

("'At bum lan'lawd ain' got any a' t'ese yet," grumbles Sally. "Bum!" adds Leonora. "We otta jus' go an' get one," continues Sally, "ya neveh know what might happ'n." "Wellll," comments Joe, not looking up from the comics, "oueh annevoisary's comin' up." "You wout'n dare," breathes Sally. Joe looks up with a smirk. "Bum," reaffirms Leonora.)
...

Every single apartment was supposed to have one?

...

Point of order: wouldn't that have been "sizzled him hotter'n a fried mackerel?"
...

"Maybe I should dye my ears the same color?"
"I like them the way they are."
"You're my agent, I'm looking for career advice here - would my public prefer that they match?"
"I think you are over-thinking this."
"Was Veronica Lake's agent over-thinking when he suggested the peek-a-boo hairstyle to her?"
"Good grief!"
"What exactly do you do for your 15%?"
"Have conversation like this, apparently."
"I wonder who Lake's agent is?"
"I'll gladly get you the number."

...

We're out of sequence again, but hey, 'seeza maboiks!'
...

I forget already, is "Seeza Maboiks" the husband's name or is it something else?

Are these strips just archived out of order or did they run that way in 1942. Considering the large and passionate readership of comics back then, I'd think the Eagle would be getting an earful if the latter.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The archive seems to be a bit messed up -- I go thru the various editions of the News each day to find the copy that's got the best quality reproduction, and for some reason the early Pink edition of July 30 and 31 were correct, but the later editions were transposed to the wrong days. Given that this also happened on a day earlier this month, I suspect whoever digitized the microfilm was working on a Friday afternoon.

"Seeza Maboiks" is, I suspect, Penguin language for "Andy Gump is my Love God," which is a sentence that has never before been typed by anyone, anywhere.

Equipment for fighting incendiary bombs is at a minimum, required on every floor of every apartment building, but many landlords, especially tenement owners, took their time in getting around to meeting this obligation. That said, a nice stirrup pump might not make a good anniversary present, but maybe for Christmas...

I kinda like Sandy's ears that way. It's DISTINCTIVE.

The telegram pay station is exactly that -- it's a courtesy service offered by establishments where you submit your telegram copy, pay the fee, and it's relayed to Western Union, usually by telephone. You'd see WESTERN UNION or POSTAL TELEGRAPH signs outside places offering this service, usually candy stores, drug stores, bars, lunch counters, neighborhood groceries, etc.

 

[Fading Fast]

The archive seems to be a bit messed up -- I go thru the various editions of the News each day to find the copy that's got the best quality reproduction, and for some reason the early Pink edition of July 30 and 31 were correct, but the later editions were transposed to the wrong days. Given that this also happened on a day earlier this month, I suspect whoever digitized the microfilm was working on a Friday afternoon.

"Seeza Maboiks" is, I suspect, Penguin language for "Andy Gump is my Love God," which is a sentence that has never before been typed by anyone, anywhere.

Equipment for fighting incendiary bombs is at a minimum, required on every floor of every apartment building, but many landlords, especially tenement owners, took their time in getting around to meeting this obligation. That said, a nice stirrup pump might not make a good anniversary present, but maybe for Christmas...

I kinda like Sandy's ears that way. It's DISTINCTIVE.

The telegram pay station is exactly that -- it's a courtesy service offered by establishments where you submit your telegram copy, pay the fee, and it's relayed to Western Union, usually by telephone. You'd see WESTERN UNION or POSTAL TELEGRAPH signs outside places offering this service, usually candy stores, drug stores, bars, lunch counters, neighborhood groceries, etc.

Thank you very much for all that.

The 1928 apartment building I live in still has the racks on each floor for firehoses and some floors still have (or had, haven't looked recently) their bucket for sand (now empty) still hanging on hooks. I think those were related to 1928 fire codes and not WWII.

I like Sandy's ears as is, too, but we know he has his issues.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(I'm not a particular fan of Abbott and Costello, but they get a salute for this performance. And meanwhile, in a tiny office in the McGraw-Hill Building, 19-year old Stanley Lieber, a gofer at his Uncle Marty's seedy comic book publishing house, tears out an item from the front page. "Spider Man?" he thinks. "Say, that's good!")

Members of the American Labor Party heard a call for unity toward Allied victory in the coming election, at a rally attended by more than 400 persons at the Hotel Livingston. Speakers urged party members to back "a win the war Senator" in endorsing the candidacy of Senator James E. Mead, and further urged the election of Administration loyalists to Congress and to state offices. A resolution adopted at the rally declared that "a disunited Labor party can only serve to defeat the best interests of the American people." The resolution further called for the immediate opening of a second front in Europe, as part of "immediate and complete unity for the victory of the United Nations against the Axis, and for victory of the democratic forces within our country and against appeasement and reaction."

State Democratic Chairman James A. Farley today insisted that the Brooklyn delegation to the State Democratic Convention will stand firmly for Attorney General John J. Bennett
as the party's nominee for Governor, and further asserted that the Bennett forces are stronger and more united now than they were before Senator James E. Mead joined the race. "All this talk about inroads in Kings County," scoffed the Chairman, "is too silly for comment." It is widely acknowledged that the decision of the Brooklyn delegation will declare the outcome of the contest, to be decided at the Convention here on August 19 and 20.

The U. S. Justice Department is preparing to file suit in Chicago to enjoin the American Federation of Musicians ban on the making of recordings by union musicians, which took effect at midnight. Union president James C. Petrillo, meanwhile, declared if the Armed Forces or the President want recordings for the entertainment of the troops, the union will make them -- but he drew the line at allowing the manufacture of recordings for stateside juke boxes, noting that it costs a dancer, whether civilian or soldier, fifty cents for ten selections from a juke box, where that same dancer could enjoy an entire evening of live music by an excellent orchestra for just the 25 cent admission price at a ballroom. Petrillo also stated that permission has been granted for recordings to be made of radio programs on which union musicians perform, if those recordings are to be sent to Latin America, and also for radio transcriptions to be made for the Treasury Department for the promotion of War Bonds.

(There's A New World Coming.)

(Well, you could always move. I hear Flushing's nice.)

("Aw, come on, honey -- forget all that an' jump in the hammock with me! Look -- new ropes!")

Possibility of a bumper crop of whiskers looms in the metropolitan area, with the announcement by wholesale distributors that retailers in the city will be limited to one carton of 100 individual razor blades each week. Certain high-grade brands of blades have already disappeared entirely from local stores, but the wholesalers were optimistic that the War Production Board allocations would provide for "average needs."

(WHO COULD HAVE IMAGINED THIS WOULDN'T WORK OUT? Hey Georgie, I hear Elaine Barrie's free.)

(Mr. Holmes is absolutely right about Mungo. After all, who put him in the laundry cart???)

("Very good! Tonight, we celebrate! Hasenpfeffer for everyone!)

(Ew! Ever try to get tea stains out of seersucker?)

(Yeah, that's a tough line of business to be in.)

(Losing a theoretical million is one thing. It's the fifty actual bucks you put in that you're really gonna miss.)

And speaking of a million, today's Bungle strip marks Harry J. Tuthill's retirement from the comic pages. Since beginning "The Bungle Family" in 1918, Mr. Tuthill has earned -- yes -- $1,000,000, and he has decided, at the age of 57, that that is as good a place as any to put down his pen and relax -- at least for now. Godspeed, George and Jo, and poor, sad Peggy. May the wind be at your back J. Hartford Oakdale, and may Mrs. Sybil Dardanella live happily ever after. May Sunken Heights society forever appreciate the doings of the Brushwood-Bungles, and all of George's many dilapidated cousins. May the Squick and Dumb Luck, and all the other gremlins return safely to the corners of George's fevered brain from which they sprung. And somewhere, someday, may Tootsie the Elephant settle down to earth. Enjoy your retirement, Mr. Tuthill -- and hey, if anyone knocks at the door, remember to put some clothes on.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

I could swear I've seen this Denver story in a comic book somewhere.

There now, Gus, see what you started???

A pilot with a cocky, devil-may-care attitude? Just don't go falling in love.

"Just don't stand up in the boat, kid. Don't stand up in the boat!"

Of course they turned him down. Look at that posture.

Don't get off on a trestle.

Private Buzzard, report for prophylaxis.

Never mind that, since when does Moon have a tattoo?

"Are you the next of kin?" "Well, no, but I owe him over a thousand dollars." "Billing is downstairs, first door on the left."

 

[Fading Fast]

(I'm not a particular fan of Abbott and Costello, but they get a salute for this performance. And meanwhile, in a tiny office in the McGraw-Hill Building, 19-year old Stanley Lieber, a gofer at his Uncle Marty's seedy comic book publishing house, tears out an item from the front page. "Spider Man?" he thinks. "Say, that's good!")
...

So Flynn had a farm and an estate, but just sold the estate. Good news though is he kept the farm that has the antique Belgian courtyard, wouldn't want to let that go. Today, when everything seems corrupt and politicians get away with outright lies and law breaking, we thinks it's worse - and maybe it is - but Flynn's corruption and exoneration is as blatantly dishonest as anything that happens today. The crime isn't of a huge magnitude, but the "oh, I'll just pay for it afterwards since I got caught" is disgusting. It is what we see today; there are two sets of rules, the rules we normal people live by and the rules the connected/rich/powerful live by.

...

The U. S. Justice Department is preparing to file suit in Chicago to enjoin the American Federation of Musicians ban on the making of recordings by union musicians, which took effect at midnight. Union president James C. Petrillo, meanwhile, declared if the Armed Forces or the President want recordings for the entertainment of the troops, the union will make them -- but he drew the line at allowing the manufacture of recordings for stateside juke boxes, noting that it costs a dancer, whether civilian or soldier, fifty cents for ten selections from a juke box, where that same dancer could enjoy an entire evening of live music by an excellent orchestra for just the 25 cent admission price at a ballroom. Petrillo also stated that permission has been granted for recordings to be made of radio programs on which union musicians perform, if those recordings are to be sent to Latin America, and also for radio transcriptions to be made for the Treasury Department for the promotion of War Bonds.
...

You aren't going to stop it. Just like we have streaming today which killed CD sales, technology always wins out.

...

(Well, you could always move. I hear Flushing's nice.)
...

Just be happy you don't live closer to Ebbets Field and that darn organ.

...

(Losing a theoretical million is one thing. It's the fifty actual bucks you put in that you're really gonna miss.)

And speaking of a million, today's Bungle strip marks Harry J. Tuthill's retirement from the comic pages. Since beginning "The Bungle Family" in 1918, Mr. Tuthill has earned -- yes -- $1,000,000, and he has decided, at the age of 57, that that is as good a place as any to put down his pen and relax -- at least for now. Godspeed, George and Jo, and poor, sad Peggy. May the wind be at your back J. Hartford Oakdale, and may Mrs. Sybil Dardanella live happily ever after. May Sunken Heights society forever appreciate the doings of the Brushwood-Bungles, and all of George's many dilapidated cousins. May the Squick and Dumb Luck, and all the other gremlins return safely to the corners of George's fevered brain from which they sprung. And somewhere, someday, may Tootsie the Elephant settle down to earth. Enjoy your retirement, Mr. Tuthill -- and hey, if anyone knocks at the door, remember to put some clothes on.

Did the Eagle make the announcement that Tuthill is retiring or is that something you just know, Lizzie? I assume the strip, like "Dan Dunn," will continue under a new artist?

..

There now, Gus, see what you started???
...

At least I wasn't that upset. But Edson had better deliver a pretty good answer soon as the more suspense you build, the greater the expectations become.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I didn't see an announcement in the Eagle, but it was mentioned in "Editor and Publisher," so I figured it was worth an explanation, given the importance that the Bungles have had over the years on the Eagle pages. Tuthill owns the strip himself, so no new artist will continue it -- I have no idea what will takes its place on Monday, but it can't help but suffer in comparision. Tuthill has always been a singular voice among cartoonists with the astringency of his approach -- and nobody else could capture that. I would hate to see a "zombie Bungles" strip, with the characters losing their distinctiveness the way that poor Mr. Dunn has.

But this isn't the absolute end of the Bungles. Rumor has it that Tuthill may, sometime within the next six months or so, decide to retire from retirement. We shall see.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in honor of Mr. Tuthill's retirement, let's turn the clock back to 1919. The Bungles, under the title of "Home Sweet Home," began the previous year in the New York Evening Mail, but didn't begin in syndication until a year later. Here, from November 3, 1919 is the earliest strip I've been able to find:

"Mab" is short for "Mabel," which was Jo's name until the week after this strip. The conceit of the strip for most of its first couple of years was that you only got to hear one side of whatever argument was going on, and had to use your imagination to fill in the rest.

And here, from November 11th, is Jo -- younger but no less Jo than she'll be twenty-three years later.

We live in a day when many of the strips we follow in 1942 have been given the deluxe hardcover-collection treatment. There are two small collections of Bungle strips available, encompassing the years 1928 and 1930 -- but we are long overdue for a complete compilation. My offer to write the preface still stands for any publisher who has the vision to take up the challenge.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("Aw, Frankie..." sighs Joe. "How cou'ja?" "Why ain'ee inna Awrmy?" wonders Sally. "Guy like t'at'd make a swell -- one-a t'em t'ings, you know what I mean -- a commando.")

Marking the 28th anniversary of the outbreak of the World War, the Soviet press today made a strong but indirect plea for the opening of a second front in Europe. An editorial in the official army newspaper Red Star noted that the Russian invasion of East Prussia shortly after the outbreak of the World War saved Paris by determining the outcome of the Battle of the Marne -- and therefore likely affected the outcome of the entire conflict. In that connection, the editorial noted, the Russian General Staff decided to make the sacrifice of opening that front in interest of the common cause. The Soviet daily Isvestia and the Communist Party paper Pravda both echoed this theme, observing that another vital component of the Allied victory during the First World War was the opening of a second front by American troops entering the war in 1917. "If Allied strategy had been coordinated from the very beginning," noted the papers, "and if the enormous resources of Britain, France, the United States, and Russia had been properly combined and utilized with the maximum intensity, victory could have been realized earlier and with fewer sacrifices."

The leader of the Vichy French government yesterday warned the French population against any efforts to join the followers of General Charles de Gaulle should the United States and Great Britain mount a sudden invasion of the continent. "The Second Front campaign finds no complicity in France," Pierre Laval is said to have stated to his council of ministers, following an announcement that Germany has completed "anti-invasion measures" at an undisclosed Channel port. Laval further told his council that the Second Front is "Josef Stalin's campaign," and that as such, it is unlikely there would be any mass uprising of the French populace in the event an invasion is mounted. The French radio yesterday broadcast a series of warnings to the public, emphasizing the the strength of German coastal defenses, and promising harsh Nazi reprisals against any Frenchman who follows recent de Gaullist radio appeals for the French public to join the invasion forces when an invasion comes. The Vichy broadcasts reminded all French citizens that a German ordinance provides for the immediate execution of any Frenchman found with weapons in any part of Occupied France. It was confirmed in British quarters that warnings have been posted all along the Invasion coast that any civilians who appear in the streets in the event of an invasion will be shot.

Borough President John Cashmore has appointed an official Welcoming Committee to plan a record reception for visiting delegates of the State Democratic Party, who will assemble later this month at the Hotel St. George for their party convention. "For the first time in history," noted Mr. Cashmore, "Brooklyn will have the distinction of playing host to a state convention. The honor that is conferred upon us is accompanied by an obligation to assure the visiting delegates and their friends of a rousing and sincere welcome." Mr. Cashmore named Henry J. Davenport of the Downtown Brooklyn Association as chairman of the new committee, with Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President David L. Tilly and Brooklyn Eagle publisher Frank D. Schroth named to serve as his vice-chairmen. The three will meet at Borough Hall next week to begin planning the reception.

The State War Council's Committee on Discrimination reports that the hiring of Negro workers in war plants is increasing steadily, and that "thousands more will move into armament production before the end of the year." On the basis of an investigation conducted into the hiring practices of 120 war plants, Industrial Commissioner Frieda S. Miller reported that, while Negroes comprise only 1.2 percent of the total workforce for those plants of 180,000, "the picture is much brighter than in 1941. As a result of pressure from our organization, one plant that formerly excluded them is now hiring eight Negroes to every one white person, and will continue to do so until a fair proportion is reached." She added, "many plants have promoted Negroes to supervisory positions, and some have taken on Negro technicians."

(I'm sorry, but I could never wear a pony-skin coat. I mean, *a pony!!*)

(OK, so Reiser seems to be unfazed by crashing into that wall. Doesn't mean they shouldn't have been a bit more cautious about putting him back in. And oh, a moment please to sympathize with the poor Phillies fans, if any. 40 1/2 games out. Ouch.)

(What Mr. Holmes doesn't write here, and he certainly has no excuse for not writing it, because he knows very well that it's the truth, is that the owners' "concern for the Negro Leagues" is based to a very large extent on the revenues several of the owners receive from renting their ball parks to Negro League clubs. "It's a business" all right.)

Old Timer John P. Pfalzgraf writes in to remember Old Mat Reilly, whose saloon at the corner of Warren and Hoyt Streets was a beloved landmark in the old 10th Ward. "He was a typical Irishman of the old school with a rich, racy brogue -- a likeable fellow, but sharp of tongue when the occasion called for it." Old Mat was well-known for giving a bigger can of beer for ten cents than any other saloon in town. "Some may have served better beer, but none gave a fuller measure. And he 'put the froth at the bottom', as they used to say."

Playwright William Saroyan makes the the front page of TREND this week. "The Best American Propagandist this country has ever had" makes it clear he doesn't want to be anything but a regular soldier if his request for a deferment is not granted. "I will be a soldier and no more," he insists. "I will not be required to write."

Bobby Clark and Gypsy Rose Lee get top billing in "Star and Garter," as they should -- but also featured in Michael Todd's Music Box Theatre extravaganza is a local monkey who made good. Herman the Monkey, that is -- born and raised in a Long Island apery, he joined with his comedy partner Gil Maison three years ago as part of an act that also featured three chihuauas and a bulldog. He's a stage veteran now, but that doesn't mean Herman doesn't like his free time. Once he slipped out the stage door during a rehearsal and went capering down the avenue, forcing Maison to chase him six blocks waving a bag of bananas as an incentive for his return. It took a startled motorcycle cop to chase the window-shopping ape back to his career.

(Even Red Ryder has an underground lair!!)

(At last, a worthy opponent for Bobby Riggs.)

("Snead Wormly?")

(Nice shirt, Bill. Davega? And away with you, Irwin, and your prattle of Constitutional niceties.)

(And in the place of our dear departed Bungles, may we introduce Miss Fritzi Ritz. She is a former movie starlet, occasional stage actress, and the aunt of a precocious niece named Nancy. And her poofy-headed boyfriend is Phil Fumble, whose name says it all.)

(And when Mussolini and Riggs finish their match, Alice will gladly thrash the winner.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Hitchcock? Do they even make uniforms in that size?

C'mon, you goofs -- don't you read those ads? "LONG DISTANCE CALLS FOR URGENT WAR BUSINESS ONLY?"

Endanger a civilian? All in a day's work for DICK Tracy.

There's a New World Coming, even for Harold Gray.

Nothing impresses a bookie like a "neat and nobby" client.

They clearly aren't wise to Shadow yet at the "Pink Poodle."

That's a lot of plot to cram into one page.

Somewhere, Dude Hennick is feeling really left out.

That poor pig. "THIS ISN"T OVER, TUBBY!"

IT JUSSSSSSST MIGHT!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oh, and...

I'd gladly eat a cereal endorsed by Guy Kibbee.

 

[Fading Fast]

...

Marking the 28th anniversary of the outbreak of the World War, the Soviet press today made a strong but indirect plea for the opening of a second front in Europe. An editorial in the official army newspaper Red Star noted that the Russian invasion of East Prussia shortly after the outbreak of the World War saved Paris by determining the outcome of the Battle of the Marne -- and therefore likely affected the outcome of the entire conflict. In that connection, the editorial noted, the Russian General Staff decided to make the sacrifice of opening that front in interest of the common cause. The Soviet daily Isvestia and the Communist Party paper Pravda both echoed this theme, observing that another vital component of the Allied victory during the First World War was the opening of a second front by American troops entering the war in 1917. "If Allied strategy had been coordinated from the very beginning," noted the papers, "and if the enormous resources of Britain, France, the United States, and Russia had been properly combined and utilized with the maximum intensity, victory could have been realized earlier and with fewer sacrifices."
...

I'm sure the full Red Star article credits the former Czar for making the decision to enter the first World War.

...

(Nice shirt, Bill. Davega? And away with you, Irwin, and your prattle of Constitutional niceties.)
...

That way-too-obvious "Mary Worth" joke was carried for way-too-many panels - much worse than a "Harold Teen" Sunday effort.

"...we ain't got a warrant..."
"A what!?"

...

(And when Mussolini and Riggs finish their match, Alice will gladly thrash the winner.)

Captain: "Good news crew, it won't get any colder even if we go higher up."
Crew: "Drop dead."

...

Endanger a civilian? All in a day's work for DICK Tracy.
...

"I'll only go back and help you if we change my name from Frizzletop...and that's not a negotiable demand!"
[Muttering] "Reasonable, very reasonable."

...

They clearly aren't wise to Shadow yet at the "Pink Poodle."
...

If Ed milks this Sunday joke as long as he did the "who gets to date Susie Q" one, we have another six months to go.

...

That's a lot of plot to cram into one page.
...

It's like Mosley just realized he had to find a way to save Cindy in a hurry. Good thing Jack and Downwind seem to have unlimited access to death-row prisoners. I'm sure in real life it's easy to get in to see someone on death row.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(Morris "Dimples" Wollen. I'm glad that, in these days of disquieting war news, there's still a place for whimsical gangster names.)

Mayor LaGuardia warned today that if Federal authorities cannot put a stop to gasoline bootlegging in the city, he will assign local police to enforce compliance with coupon rationing. Boarding a plane for Washington, the Mayor told reporters that he believes enforcement of the rationing laws to be "a Federal matter," but he stands ready to provide "assistance" if necessary. The situation was likened to the Prohibition era, when local police provided aid to Federal agents in enforcing liquor laws. The Mayor's comments came amidst widespread assertions that gasoline bootlegging is rampant in Brooklyn, with filling station operators reported to be giving six gallons of fuel against four gallon coupons, and making up the difference using extra coupons provided to them by the holders of "S" books. Those books are issued to taxicab drivers, operators of buses, ambulances, and other types of commercial vehicles. Each contains 96 coupons for five gallons each, and are issued to users "as needed," with, it is claimed, "little detailed accounting required for coupons already used.

United States bombers, escorted by fighter planes, today dropped three and a half tons of bombs on Japanese headquarters and transports at Linchuan, while Chinese ground forces battled on the outskirts of the Klangst Province city. The American fighter escorts were from the 23rd Group, contradicting Japanese claims that that group had been "wiped out" in a prior attack.

Mohandas K. Gandhi warned today that the people of India might welcome Japanese troops unless India is given its freedom by Great Britain "at once." Other leaders of the All-India Congress Party promised that a campaign of disobedience, expected to receive official party approval Friday night, will mark "a fight to the finish" for immediate independence. Gandhi added that "a chorus of indignation from Britain and America" will not alter the party's demands, or halt its campaign, nor would "hysterical outbursts from those countries extinguish the right to revolt once it lighted."

The chief of the Vichy French Government Pierre Laval today blamed "foreign propaganda" for a riot in Paris, claiming the uprising outside food stores on the Avenue Orleans was incited by a woman who shouted "Revolt! The Americans order it!" One person was killed, and nine critically wounded when police exchanged revolver fire with protestors while civilians lined up for food rations. A French policeman and a German soldier were also reported wounded.

A 45-year-old equipment salesman began a 30-day jail sentence today after being found guilty of "making disparaging remarks about the American and British war effort." Moses Elisberg was found guilty of disorderly conduct after he was overheard saying to a group of people which included a plainclothes policeman, "who is this President Roosevelt? He's only a man elected by the people. He's not a god. We're losing the war! Who are these generals? They are only there because they knew the right somebodies!" Said Magistrate Robert Levis in pronouncing sentence, "I'm going to stamp out lying statements which are dangerous to the war effort."

(My grandmother did this to the end of her life.)

New dimout rules requiring the dousing of automobile headlights go into immediate effect citywide as of tonight, according to an order issued by Police Commissioner Lewis J. Valentine, but ticketing of violators will not begin until August 10th. Motorists will be required to paint over their headlights, or mask them with cardboard -- allowing only a narrow slit of light to remain -- or to drive using parking lights only. Fines of $2 will be laid on violators, and the Commissioner noted that there will be "no summary arrests -- unless necessary."

("Hah," hahs Sally. "An' if ya don't like t'way t'pain' job come out, y'c'n go to t' Patio -- an' rinse it all off inna pool!" "Watch out f'tem gol'fish, t'ough," warns Joe. "T'ey bite!")

(Which reminds me, is that Sands Street curfew still in effect?)

(Everybody in Mr. Lichty's universe, regardless of national origin, has the same physique.)

The 19-year-old war plant worker who required six stitches in his heart after he was stabbed in a Harlem mugging on July 18th died last night in a Manhattan hospital after suffering "one complication after another." Stanley Kolbusz, of Holyoke, Massachusetts, had developed double pneumonia a week after the operation was performed, and had undergone daily blood transfusions in a futile effort to save his life.

A 30-year-old Stuyvesant Heights woman received a suspended sentence on a charge that she had insulted a patrolman who had told her and a group of friends to "move along" as they congregated on the corner of Reid and Gates Avenues. Patrolman John D. Foy brought Mrs. Richards Bey before Magistrate Charles Solomon on a disorderly conduct charge, but Magistrate Solomon suspended sentence after Mrs. Bey explained she had merely bowed to the patrolman and salaamed him in the Moslem fashion, saying, in a combination of "Moorish and Yiddish," "Peace be with you."

Reports are being broadcast in Europe that Prime Minister WInston Churchill and Soviet Premier Josef Stalin met over the weekend in Moscow to discuss a second front. The rumors had wide currency on the continent, but have received no confirmation from London or Moscow. The Moscow radio, in a German-language broadcast, did state, however, that Britain, the US, and the Soviet Union have agreed that a second front will be opened in 1942, with 15,000,000 troops committed to the invasion along with 85,000 tanks and 50,000 planes.

(Ohhhhhhhh, to be at this game. And the magazine piece Mr. Werber so gently called to Leo's attention was Stanley Frank's short story "The Name of the Game," which portrays a thinly-veiled Durocher character as a vainglorious thief and thug. Mr. Werber likes to live dangerously.)

(That's a real smack all right -- look at his head swell up!)

(Well, bud, you're no prize package yourself.)

(Why is That Woman suddenly four feet tall? Marsh had a weird sense of proportion, but at least it was consistently weird.)

(Well, now, I wasn't expecting the Bungles to be replaced by a strip about talking dogs. How Jo would rage!)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

There's a lot about probate law that I don't understand, but more power to Miss Beaton.

Joe can't wait to get at that Coke machine.

*snif.*

Probably shoulda brought your gas masks.

Just once -- JUST ONCE -- I'd like to meet a pilot who's a diffident, modest type.

Hundreds of miles away, Minerva Gump settles back against her pillow, closes her book, snaps off the light, and sighs her way to a restful, pleasant sleep.

"What? We can't have a skylight? Look, I got the building permit and everything!"

"Sigh, speaking of that, you know, I do miss Tops so. Do you have anyone around here who's, you know, big and stupid?"

Dad looks over and says "yeah, but we still gotta FEED him."

Opening the Second Front.