The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

(The transition between "Wendell Willkie, Defeated Presidential Candidate" and "Wendell Willkie, Globe-Trotting Super-Hero" happened so quickly and so subtly that no one even noticed...)

Congressional and newspaper critics clashed today over the censorship of news relating to President Roosevelt's inspection tour of war plants, as some Senators and Representatives charged the trip is being made for political purposes. Representative Charles A. Hallack (R-Indiana) fired the first shot by commenting that "it seems a little strange that these important trips of the President always seem to occur just before the elections come along." Senator John Thomas (R-Idaho) agreed, stating that the tour "smacks of playing politics in the midst of war," while Representative John Taber (R-New York) dismissed the tour as "purely a campaign trip, nothing more." The Administration did not respond to those charges other than to point out that the President has seen no candidates for national office, no State party chairmen, and no Democratic National Committeemen during the trip.

Meanwhile, Washington correspondents are protesting the President's refusal to take them along on the tour, and some Democratic congressman are arguing that the Administration, as Rep. John M. Coffee (D-Washington) put it, has "gone to extremes" in "this matter of censorship." Senator Robert A. Taft (R-Ohio) said of the tour that he could not "understand the reason for keeping it a secret for so long."

President Roosevelt may formally endorse Attorney General John Bennett for Governor of New York today, as the Democratic gubernatorial candidate prepares for his third invasion of the Republican strongholds upstate. It is believed that the President is preparing to follow the lead of Governor Herbert Lehman and Democratic Natinal Committee Chairman Edward Flynn in endorsing Mr. Bennett's candidacy. The Governor and Mr. Flynn had led the campaign of Senator James Mead for the Democratic nomination but yesterday announced their official support of the Bennet campaign. Mr. Bennett yesterday also received the endorsement of the Central Trades Council of the American Federation of Labor, an organization representing approximately 500 unions under the AF of L.

Congressional leaders, criticized by the President for their failure to meet his October 1st deadline for the enactment of anti-inflation legislation, hope today to have a bill on his desk, ready for his signature. House members have informally agreed to accept a compromise amendment by the Senate that would add consideration of farm labor costs to the bill, and will try today to come to agreement on a "floor" for agricultural prices that would avoid a threatened $650,000,000 increase in the cost of living.

Motorists are widely disregarding the new Federal speed limit of 35 miles per hour. A survey revealed that speeds of 40 to 45 miles per hour continue to prevail not only on Federal highways and parkways where the new limit is in force but also on city streets where the limit is 25 miles per hour during the day and 20 at night.

(Well, that's one way to get rid of it.)

Mayor LaGuardia declared today that the future welfare of the United States depends on a widespread understanding of aviation. Dedicating the "Your Home at War" civilian defense exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, the Mayor stressed the importance of directing young people to an education in matters of aviation, pointing out his own experience during the First World War proves the fallacy of trying to teach adults to fly. "My record has never been challenged," declared the Mayor. "I was probably the worst flier in the whole A. E. F." The Mayor argued that the rudiments of flying can and should be taught to students as young as fourteen years of age.

Brooklyn blood continues to flow at an ever-increasing pace to save the lives of wounded servicemen, with borough residents having contributed 6561 pints during the month of September. The total quantity collected at the 57 Willoughby Street headquarters of the Brooklyn Red Cross and its traveling mobile unit exceeded the August total by 1233 pints. Twenty three percent of September donors were making their second, third, or subsequent donations. The new quota for October stands at 2000 pints per week.

Business concerns are now rushing to donate excess typewriters for Government use, in the face of a threat by the War Production Board to begin conscripting machines if voluntary donations were not forthcoming. One firm, for which the WPB was instrumental in securing key defense contracts, has offered to donate all its typewriters and go back to writing by hand if this should prove necessary. A bank pledged 20 percent of its machines as soon as the urgency of the present situation was placedf before it. Brooklyn's quota is 6000 typewriters manufactured since January 1, 1935.

(Look at all those Pocket Positives! Just like mine!)

(Do you sense a shift in the entertainment zeitgeist since the war? I mean, how many Broadway ads featured a dangling bra in 1941?)

(Never throw a party unless you have a definite plan in place for ending it.)

The dean of professional ventriloquists died yesterday in his room at the Hotel St. George from the effects of a throat infection. Fifty-five year old Marshall Montgomery had been on the stage for approximately 35 years, most recently at Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe. Before his stage career he had worked, briefly, for the Brooklyn Eagle advertising department under his true name of Albert Smith. He began his vaudeville career as a pianist, known for his ability to play while standing on his hands, but soon found it necessary to develop other skills to fill out his act. Developing his ventriloquial talents, he devised an act that he would eventually perform before such crowned heads as those of George V of England, Wilhelm of Germany, and Nicholas of Russia. One of his treasured possessions was a watch he was given by King George. Among his other accomplishments, Mr. Montgomery claimed to be one of the first ventriloquists to perform on radio.

("SLAUGHTEH!" hisses Sally. "WHY AIN' HE INNA AWRMY!" "Gotta a'mit, t'ough," argues Joe, "kin'a nice t'see t'Yanks gettin' slapped aroun'." "I hope t'ey BOT' lose," growls Sally. "Leonora! Stop t'rowin'nem beets at t'cat!")

Sugar Ray Robinson is the favorite as the undefeated welterweight makes his first start as a middleweight against Jake LaMotta of the Bronx at Madison Square Garden tonight. Robinson has fought 35 professional bouts and has won every one of them, to the frustration of ring fans who now boo as soon as he is introduced. While LaMotta has 14 pounds on Robinson, it's not the weight that may give Robinson a battle -- it's Jake's rip-roaring tear-into-em technique. Robinson has had his toughest challenges against opponents using the back-alley fighting style.

As soon as you walk into Freddie Fitzsimmons's bowling center on Empire Boulevard, you are greeted by a table where a committee sits selling war bonds and stamps. Fitz's lanes also offer bowlers the opportunity to send a carton of cigarettes directly to any man in the service in the United States for just $1.16. If the recipient is serving overseas, the cost is but 66 cents per carton. A salute is due the popular Dodger coach for his cooperation in the war effort.

The Football Dodgers, 0-2 on the young season, depart for Detroit today to meet the Lions at Briggs Stadium on Sunday. Coach Mike Getto is convinced as the Grid Flock departs for the Motor City, that his boys have "a tremendous struggle ahead."

Al Jolson's radio stooge Parkyakarkus will have a girlfriend when the Jolson show opens its fall season tonight at 8:30 over WABC. The Greek dialect character portrayed by Boston's own Harry Einstein will be joined by "Shakyakarkus," played by Elaine Arden. A New Yorker by birth and a show business veteran since the age of three, Elaine adopted a Greek dialect character because no other woman comic was doing such a part.

(With that hokey moustache? YOU'RE TOO GOOD FOR HIM, HON!)

(You really can have a lot of fun around a gas station. Hey Scarlett, try the air compressor!)

(LIKE THE EXTREME CLOSE UP FOLKS? THE SCARS FROM THE FACE LIFT DON'T EVEN SHOW!)

("But your Dad's a boob! So long, kid -- America's NUMBER ONE HERO DOG is off to the FBI!")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

That's a mell of a hess all right.

There's chaos in hundreds of candy store back rooms tonight.

Yep, trust Tracy to take ALL THE FUN out of a night in a haystack.

"But all I wanted to do is pick up tin cans!"

Hey, that's $66 a day once a month!

Hey Bimbo, update your will yet?

Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Well, you DID have something to do with it.

Serves ya right, Monty Woolley!

A geneticist would have a field day with this family.

 

[Fading Fast]

(The transition between "Wendell Willkie, Defeated Presidential Candidate" and "Wendell Willkie, Globe-Trotting Super-Hero" happened so quickly and so subtly that no one even noticed...)
...

I agree, but I don't know it if was "subtle" or just so sudden and absolute (in the Press, anyway) that it worked. But yes, the transition is now a fait accompli.

Cashmere's attitude and plan toward the fences grossly perverts the "what are we fighting for" argument. That our government doesn't take private property without legal due process, nor does it mock the legal protections of those rights, is exactly what we are fighting for. Maybe his zeal to win has lead him astray, because otherwise, he's doing his best to convince us he'd make an excellent Nazi.

...

President Roosevelt may formally endorse Attorney General John Bennett for Governor of New York today, as the Democratic gubernatorial candidate prepares for his third invasion of the Republican strongholds upstate. It is believed that the President is preparing to follow the lead of Governor Herbert Lehman and Democratic Natinal Committee Chairman Edward Flynn in endorsing Mr. Bennett's candidacy. The Governor and Mr. Flynn had led the campaign of Senator James Mead for the Democratic nomination but yesterday announced their official support of the Bennet campaign. Mr. Bennett yesterday also received the endorsement of the Central Trades Council of the American Federation of Labor, an organization representing approximately 500 unions under the AF of L.
...

Nope, time isn't healing this one as my blood still boils just seeing Flynn's name in print. What a crook.

...

The dean of professional ventriloquists died yesterday in his room at the Hotel St. George from the effects of a throat infection. Fifty-five year old Marshall Montgomery had been on the stage for approximately 35 years, most recently at Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe. Before his stage career he had worked, briefly, for the Brooklyn Eagle advertising department under his true name of Albert Smith. He began his vaudeville career as a pianist, known for his ability to play while standing on his hands, but soon found it necessary to develop other skills to fill out his act. Developing his ventriloquial talents, he devised an act that he would eventually perform before such crowned heads as those of George V of England, Wilhelm of Germany, and Nicholas of Russia. One of his treasured possessions was a watch he was given by King George. Among his other accomplishments, Mr. Montgomery claimed to be one of the first ventriloquists to perform on radio.
...

Even as a kid, I never got the appeal of ventriloquists. Clearly others do, but I never once got it.

...

("SLAUGHTEH!" hisses Sally. "WHY AIN' HE INNA AWRMY!" "Gotta a'mit, t'ough," argues Joe, "kin'a nice t'see t'Yanks gettin' slapped aroun'." "I hope t'ey BOT' lose," growls Sally. "Leonora! Stop t'rowin'nem beets at t'cat!")
...

The best use of the "I hope they both lose" line, IMHO, goes to (or was ascribed to, anyway) Henry Kissenger commenting on the start of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1970s.

...

As soon as you walk into Freddie Fitzsimmons's bowling center on Empire Boulevard, you are greeted by a table where a committee sits selling war bonds and stamps. Fitz's lanes also offer bowlers the opportunity to send a carton of cigarettes directly to any man in the service in the United States for just $1.16. If the recipient is serving overseas, the cost is but 66 cents per carton. A salute is due the popular Dodger coach for his cooperation in the war effort.
...

After Ebbets Field, Fitz' bowling center will be the next stop on our time-travel tour of 1942 Brooklyn.

...

(You really can have a lot of fun around a gas station. Hey Scarlett, try the air compressor!)
...

"Okay, that's enough Scarlett, put down the air-compressor hose and get back to work. Scarlett, Scarlett! Put it down now; this is a nationally syndicated comicstrip."

...

("But your Dad's a boob! So long, kid -- America's NUMBER ONE HERO DOG is off to the FBI!")

"Just cause you keep saying it, doesn't make it true."

"Sound like someone's jealous."
"I am not and shut up!"

...

There's chaos in hundreds of candy store back rooms tonight.
...

"You'll just have to make a living selling candy until we can get the operation up and running elsewhere."
"Are you kidding, I can't make a living do that."
"You are a legitimate candy store aren't you?"
"You are a legitimate news service aren't you?"

...

Hey Bimbo, update your will yet?
...

Bim: "The will should be fine, Lizzie, I sent Andy over to my lawyer's office with my addendums in a sealed envelope. Good ole Andy will take care of it."
Andy [Halfway to the lawyer's with the envelope now opened]: "Oh Min!"

 

[LizzieMaine]

(School shooting, 1942 style.)

Allies bombers have set fire to two big Japanese transports, have probably hit a cruiser, and have possibly damaged a second cruiser in a day of shattering attacks on enemy bases in the northeast Australian zone. The attacks, made while Douglas attack bombers and fighter planes gave heavy support to Australian troops driving up the Owen Stanley Mountains of New Guinea, approached a record for the southwest Pacific. Boeing Flying Fortresses, in a big raid on Rabaul in New Britain Island, most important base in the entire New Guinea-Solomon Islands area, set fire to a 15,000 ton Japanese transport and a 7000-ton transport with direct bomb hits, and probably hit a Japanese cruiser and another unidentified ship.

All across the United Nations, declares Wendell Willkie, the "Common Man" believes "the time has come to take the offensive everywhere." Mr. Willkie made his remark at a dinner last night in Chungking, China, given for him by Gen. Chiang Kai-Shek. Willkie met with Chiang today for about an hour for a discussion of the world situation.

Unofficial rationing of coffee is underway in Brooklyn, with many local chain and independent grocers limiting purchases to one pound per customer, despite efforts by some to circumvent that restriction by sending different members of their families to make repeat purchases. Some stores are reported to be completely out of coffee, with the New York Coffee and Sugar Exchange reporting that only 359,000 bags of coffee are available citywide, compared to 1,415,000 bags a year ago. Coffee economist George Gordon Paton of the Commodity Research Bureau warned housewives against hoarding, declaring that "unrestricted buying" will only serve to hasten the arrival of nationwide official coffee rationing.

The fall radio season gets underway in full swing tomorrow night when both Jack Benny and Fred Allen return to the air. Mr. Benny will be heard, as ever, from Hollywood along with his regular gang of Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Dennis Day, Don Wilson, and "Rochester," over WEAF at 7PM. Mr. Allen will follow over WABC at 8 PM, accompanied by Portland Hoffa, his Mighty Allen Art Players, and Al Goodman's orchestra. New on the Allen show this fall is announcer Arthur Godfrey, whose early morning program of chatter and recorded music over WABC is a local success.

(WELL IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME)

("Nahhhh, I'll be in the WAACs by then!")

The National Association of Broadcasters has begun circulation of a pamphlet attacking American Federation of Musicians President James C. Petrillo. Entitled "The C. is for Caesar," the pamphlet attacks the union chief and the AFM prohibition on making recordings as "an attack on the art of music itself." The "C" in Mr. Petrillo's name does, in fact, stand for "Caesar."

("You can't hit him if you can't catch him." Which sort of describes the last month of the Dodgers' season. And Dressen managing in 1943? When he can't even get Higbe to show up? "HAH!" hahs Sally. "TIME T'BACK UP T'TRUCK!")

(I realize that with the war on and all, Mr. Schroth has no time for his "Bring First Run Movies to Brooklyn" crusade, but I do want to point out that "Yankee Doodle Dandy" opened in Manhattan almost four months ago.)

("Is that a dig, young lady? WELL IS IT?")

(OH NO! IT'S ONE OF THOSE FISHER ALL-STEEL BODIES! DAMN YOU GENERAL MOTORS!)

("Gallopin' Goldfish, Dan! Look at that FAT GUY!")

(CUT! C'mon, Dad, would it kill you to put a little more commitment into the part? AMERICA'S NUMBER ONE HERO DOG deserves only the best!)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

There was a time when the News would have had a headline like BKLYN PUNKS SLAY TEACHER WHILE KIDS LOOK ON. But the war has changed a lot of things.

"Duces Tecum Sauce?" That fifty-cent law dictionary is a wellspring of inspiration.

("Settle down, dear, 'Terry and the Pirates' will be on the air in five minutes.")

"And tell that truant officer outside to keep movin' if he knows what's good for him!"

"Oh well, rigor mortis lets go in about a day and a half, so -- ah -- Frizzletop and I might as well go get some -- sleep."

"Seems to me as you can't see too many planes lookin' at a paper." "Nope."

This town must be smaller than it looks.

The Big Dance Craze of 1942 -- "Do The Bim!"

Beard-grooming made simple.

Think carefully, Pop -- do you REALLY want to marry into this family?

 

[Fading Fast]

...

All across the United Nations, declares Wendell Willkie, the "Common Man" believes "the time has come to take the offensive everywhere." Mr. Willkie made his remark at a dinner last night in Chungking, China, given for him by Gen. Chiang Kai-Shek. Willkie met with Chiang today for about an hour for a discussion of the world situation.
...deserves only the best!)

Think Willkie asked Gen. Chiang about Terry?

...

(WELL IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME)
...

City planners versus those of us who use mass transit is an evergreen problem. A quasi version of that is playing out right now with "congestion pricing." Those figuring out the "plan" will exempt themselves from it and then tell those who have to deal with the fallout to (in political speak) "stuff it."

...

(I realize that with the war on and all, Mr. Schroth has no time for his "Bring First Run Movies to Brooklyn" crusade, but I do want to point out that "Yankee Doodle Dandy" opened in Manhattan almost four months ago.)
...

I did a double take on that movie title too as it seems to have been out a long time - I would have guessed longer than four months.

Cohn clearly does not like the Falcon movies. I've seen several of them and think of them as enjoyable B-movie serials with Sanders and Conway doing a good job in the role. There are much worse serials and B-movies to complain about.

...

(CUT! C'mon, Dad, would it kill you to put a little more commitment into the part? AMERICA'S NUMBER ONE HERO DOG deserves only the best!)

"Great actors don't need advertising, promotion and slogans as their work speaks for itself."

"You begged Annie to accept that merchandise deal and then moped for a week when she said no."
"I hate you and shut up!"

And in the Daily News...

There was a time when the News would have had a headline like BKLYN PUNKS SLAY TEACHER WHILE KIDS LOOK ON. But the war has changed a lot of things.
...

We've certainly seen that there was plenty of random and gratuitous violence in the '30s and '40s, but this horrible act seems particularly gruesome and senselessly. We'll see if there's an outpouring of emotion or if the war is just absorbing all the bandwidth.

...

"Oh well, rigor mortis lets go in about a day and a half, so -- ah -- Frizzletop and I might as well go get some -- sleep."
...

As Nina and Skeezix learned, you should never let a good pile of hay go to waste.

...

Beard-grooming made simple.
...

No kidding, there's no worrying about what "number" the clippers are set to with this method.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("JIttehbug assassins?" huffs Joe. "I neveh seen'em kids at Roselan'!" "When we was at Roselan'," sighs Sally, "t'em kids was in knee pants." Joe gapes for a long moment. "Kids t'day," he finally exhales. "I ask ya.")

Allied troops struggled up the backbreaking peak of the Owen Stanley Mountains in New Guinea in search of the elusive, retreating Japanese today, as Allied aircraft continued pounding steadily at enemy shipping. In the absence of contact with the main Japanese force for nearly a week, the Allied command was confronted with what appeared to be a military mystery, and authoritative sources acknowledged that there is an element of worry regarding present operations. There is no inclination, it was indicated, to believe that the Japanese have made a complete withdrawal.

American flying men in London today told of how a formation of Flying Fortresses drove off an attack by 35 crack German fighter planes over France yesterday, destroying a record-breaking total of 13 and possibly twelve more, in a ten minute duel at 25,000 feet. The battle resulted in what is probably the biggest bag of fighters ever scored by a bombing formation. The Fortresses were part of a continuing day-and-night British-American air offensive over the Continent.

Victimized pupils of New Utrecht High School in Bensonhurst have a vital interest in the case of Max Cohen, their former economics teacher, who will come before Judge Louis Goldstien tomorrow for sentencing on a third-degree-forgery conviction. Cohen faces up to five years in prison for mulcting his students out of nickels, dimes, and quarters totalling $19,000 over a five-year period while serving as treasurer of the school's General Organzation, which administered the funds of the various New Utrecht student groups. The case has also focused interest on the activities of former New Utrecht principal Dr. Maurice E. Rogalin, who came to the school just as Cohen was taking up his duties as treasurer, and who, when the case against Cohen came to light this past spring, applied for immediate retirement and pension. That application was denied by the Board of Education, only to be overruled by the Supreme Court, which concluded that the regardless of any case against Dr. Rogalin, the law concerning retirement was "so narrow that it allows no other conclusion." Cohen, in entering a plea of guilty, pointed to Dr. Rogalin as the cause of his defalcations, charging that the principal had asked him for loans of varying amounts which he felt obligated to make. In order to repay those loans, funds for which he obtained thru banks or finance companies, Cohen said he had to steal from the accounts under his control. Dr. Rogalin, thru counsel has denied all those accusations, and has not yet been formally charged. Judge Goldstien ordered the May grand jury continued in order to gather further evidence concerning the disposition of the money.

A kosher meat market in the Brighton Beach section is the latest victim of Mayor LaGuardia's crackdown on "tinhorn gambling" in the city, with three men arrested on bookmaking and disorderly conduct charges during a raid on the market at 621 Brighton Beach Avenue. The market was closed yesterday for observance of the Jewish Sabbath, but the bookmakers had "managed to gain entry," and were present when the police broke in.

Meanwhile, charges of card gambling against 36 men were dismissed in Brooklyn-Queens Weekend Court for lack of evidence, but nine men were fined $1 each for gambling at cards following a raid at 162 Bridge Street. Another six men were fined $1 for participating in a crap game raided by police at 291 Ashford Street.

(I think I missed something, could you tell us again what kind of pants they were wearing?)

Rationing should not be resented, declared Miss Mary Barber, official food consultant to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, in a speech at the Henry Hudson Hotel on Friday. Instead, it should simply be viewed as "sharing with others." Miss Barber, speaking at a luncheon hosted by the Womens' Interests Section of the War Department, stressed the importance of insuring that food supplies for the Armed Forces are sufficient, and declared that military kitchens are doing their part to make certain that food requisitioned for military use is not wasted. "Every particle of waste in the Army kitchen," she assured her audience, "is salvaged."

("Rickey -- coming here?" gulps Joe Medwick. "Uh-oh.")

Erasmus Hall defeated Brooklyn Tech 14-6 yesterday in schoolboy football at Erasmus Field, opening the new season with the Buff-and-Blue's seventh consecutive win, counting the six with which they closed out last year. Star halfback Ben Raimondi connected with seven of nine passes, two of them for touchdowns.

Coach Chuck Dressen will have an impressive pitching staff today as his All Stars take on the Bushwicks in a doubleheader at Dexter Park. Along with slide-armer Bill Lohrman of the Giants and fastballer Johnny Podgany of the Phillies, who will start the two games, Dressen has at his disposal Tom Ferrick of the Indians, who fans will well remember as a Bushwicks idol of previous seasons. and Tom Hennessey, another Phillie. Catching for the All Stars will be Dodger farmhand Ed Badkte, whose starred this summer with the Johnstown club in the Penn State League, and another big bat will be carried by Heinie Majeski, Yankee farmhand who tore up the International League at Newark this year, and who is expected to replace Red Rolfe at third base for the Yanks next summer.

("Tim O'Shenko?" says Joe. "Funny, he don' look Irish.")

Old Timer P. G. S. remembers Katie King, long ago of Jewell Street in Greenpoint, who used to make lovely taffy. Her recipe? "Put together vinegar, sugar syrup, or molasses, boil until done, and pour in butter pans until cooled. Then pull it until it's the color of gold, and cut it into small pieces with scissors." "We would get two small pieces," P. G. S. recalls, "and we wouldn't complain, because Katie was a big girl, and we were afraid of her."

Red-headed movie favorite Nancy Carroll will star next week at the Flatbush Theatre in a production of Kaufman and Ferber's hit "Stage Door." Also appearing, among the 19 featured ingenues, will be Eddie Cantor's oldest daughter Marilyn.

Former child star Mitzi Green, now a 21-yearo-old grown-up chanteuse, stars in the new production by the Youth Theatre of Brooklyn, "Let Freedom Sing," a new musical revue by Harold Rome, Earl Robinson, Marc Blitzstein, and Lou Cooper as a sequel to their 1941 hit "Of V We Sing." The show, also featuring Eddie Mayehoff, Berni Gould, Betty Garrett, Phil Leeds, and Mordecai Bauman, opens tomorrow night at the Longacre Theatre.

Cary Grant calls himself "a fugitive from leading man roles," as he stars in "The Talk of the Town," now showing at the Brooklyn Paramount. The suave Mr. Grant actually plays a fugitive in the picture, as the target of the nation's most intensive manhunt led by Jean Arthur and Ronald Colman. Although he is known for his sartorial elegance, Grant's entire wardrobe in the new picture consists of "one second hand suit."

(Twenty-five years from now, this is bound to turn up a an episode of "F Troop.")

(No Private Lives again this week, but at least Rube Goldberg is still getting work.)

(Does Scarlet really need a kid sidekick? DOES SHE??)

(Fritzi Ritz, Woman of Agency.)

(Poor Irwin never gets to shoot or do anything fun. Hey Mary, brighten HIS morale.)

(Those go-cart thingies would go over great on Fulton Street.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Emotions aren't the only thing being germinated by the war.

The Army Information Service has taken a real hit since that Long Island signs-in-the-fields thing.

Well then you'd think he'd know better than to fool around with an underground laboratory.

"Aw, I know all about balconies. Dude told me!"

"Hmph," snorts Bo. "I don't NEED an armband!"

Most realistic married couple in the comics.

Is there nothing Atlas Maidenswoon can't do?

There was a time long ago when Shadow used to pull this same stunt on Harold.

"You know, kid, your big brother was a lot more fun than you are."

Ever get the feeling that the early 1940s are the Golden Age Of Fake Facial Hair?

 

[Fading Fast]

("JIttehbug assassins?" huffs Joe. "I neveh seen'em kids at Roselan'!" "When we was at Roselan'," sighs Sally, "t'em kids was in knee pants." Joe gapes for a long moment. "Kids t'day," he finally exhales. "I ask ya.")
...

I don't think there is, but it feels like something is missing from the murdered teacher story - a real reason or motivation, even if it was anger at something else and the teacher's reprimand pushed them over the edge. But this just seems to have happened for no real reason. It's tragic, but also surreal. Leopold and Loeb planned out their horribly cruel and senseless murder; this one seemed to be done casually and on the fly.

...

Victimized pupils of New Utrecht High School in Bensonhurst have a vital interest in the case of Max Cohen, their former economics teacher, who will come before Judge Louis Goldstien tomorrow for sentencing on a third-degree-forgery conviction. Cohen faces up to five years in prison for mulcting his students out of nickels, dimes, and quarters totalling $19,000 over a five-year period while serving as treasurer of the school's General Organzation, which administered the funds of the various New Utrecht student groups. The case has also focused interest on the activities of former New Utrecht principal Dr. Maurice E. Rogalin, who came to the school just as Cohen was taking up his duties as treasurer, and who, when the case against Cohen came to light this past spring, applied for immediate retirement and pension. That application was denied by the Board of Education, only to be overruled by the Supreme Court, which concluded that the regardless of any case against Dr. Rogalin, the law concerning retirement was "so narrow that it allows no other conclusion." Cohen, in entering a plea of guilty, pointed to Dr. Rogalin as the cause of his defalcations, charging that the principal had asked him for loans of varying amounts which he felt obligated to make. In order to repay those loans, funds for which he obtained thru banks or finance companies, Cohen said he had to steal from the accounts under his control. Dr. Rogalin, thru counsel has denied all those accusations, and has not yet been formally charged. Judge Goldstien ordered the May grand jury continued in order to gather further evidence concerning the disposition of the money.
...

This story is just getting started. Also, "mulct" is not a word you see anymore.

...

A kosher meat market in the Brighton Beach section is the latest victim of Mayor LaGuardia's crackdown on "tinhorn gambling" in the city, with three men arrested on bookmaking and disorderly conduct charges during a raid on the market at 621 Brighton Beach Avenue. The market was closed yesterday for observance of the Jewish Sabbath, but the bookmakers had "managed to gain entry," and were present when the police broke in.
...

"...the bookmakers had 'managed to gain entry...'" This story has more to it, too, but we might never read about it.

...

Meanwhile, charges of card gambling against 36 men were dismissed in Brooklyn-Queens Weekend Court for lack of evidence, but nine men were fined $1 each for gambling at cards following a raid at 162 Bridge Street. Another six men were fined $1 for participating in a crap game raided by police at 291 Ashford Street.
...

LaGuardia better have a talk with these judges as these fines will not discourage gambling.

...

(I think I missed something, could you tell us again what kind of pants they were wearing?)
...

"...at least 'one of the boys had a grudge against the teacher'." There has to be some past history between at least one of the boys (and, really, both) for this to make any sense, of course, in a still horribly tragic way.

...

Cary Grant calls himself "a fugitive from leading man roles," as he stars in "The Talk of the Town," now showing at the Brooklyn Paramount. The suave Mr. Grant actually plays a fugitive in the picture, as the target of the nation's most intensive manhunt led by Jean Arthur and Ronald Colman. Although he is known for his sartorial elegance, Grant's entire wardrobe in the new picture consists of "one second hand suit."
...

Watching it, you do notice that Grant isn't in his usual sartorial splendor. You kinda keep waiting for him to get dressed, but he never does.

And in the Daily News...

Emotions aren't the only thing being germinated by the war.
...

A classic Page Four day.

...

Well then you'd think he'd know better than to fool around with an underground laboratory.
...

Frizzletop has a Hu Shee moment, "From my war training..." Why exactly did you have war training?

I'm surprised Tracy didn't go up the ladder ahead of Junior.

...

"Aw, I know all about balconies. Dude told me!"
...

P.S. Did you bang the sexy Japanese spy yet, Kid? We'll talk about it when we get out of here.

...

"Hmph," snorts Bo. "I don't NEED an armband!"
...

"Maybe if you had an armband you wouldn't be corroborating with the enemy. Did everyone see how I used only my domineering presence to control that other dog. That's acting and talent you'll only see from an experience thespian, not some hack second-rate comicstrip player."

"Good Lord."
"Shut up!"

Re "Maw Green:" When I took my driver's test in 1980, you had to know hand signals for turns - do they still even test for that?

 

[LizzieMaine]

There doesn't seem to be a lot of delving into the boys' backgrounds yet, although I assume that will come. The News did have a story today, but it was badly blurred and I couldn't make out enough of it beyond the weird preoccupation everybody seems to have with their clothes and haircuts.

The Citizen doesn't publish on Sunday but they did have a couple of bits in their story yesterday that are worth noting, especially the fact that one of them had done a stretch in reform school. Neither of them were current students, and their age difference is such that it's unlikely they would have ever been students in that school at the same time.

Add to the macabre aspects of the case the fact that they *went to work* after the killing like nothing had happened. Sociopathy, defnitely.

 

[Fading Fast]

There doesn't seem to be a lot of delving into the boys' backgrounds yet, although I assume that will come. The News did have a story today, but it was badly blurred and I couldn't make out enough of it beyond the weird preoccupation everybody seems to have with their clothes and haircuts.

The Citizen doesn't publish on Sunday but they did have a couple of bits in their story yesterday that are worth noting, especially the fact that one of them had done a stretch in reform school. Neither of them were current students, and their age difference is such that it's unlikely they would have ever been students in that school at the same time.

View attachment 455395 View attachment 455396

Add to the macabre aspects of the case the fact that they *went to work* after the killing like nothing had happened. Sociopathy, defnitely.

Yes, sociopathy, so far, seems to be it. This is a chilling story for 1942 or 2022.

Lizzie, thank you for the posting the additional story.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("Sigh," sighs Joe. "We ain' been out steppin' f'a long time. Din' useta be sin cesspools." "Roselan' ain'no sin cesspool," huffs Sally. "A pud'l maybe, but not a cesspool.")

Diplomatic sources in London believe that "only the strongest possible clamor in Parliament or from the people" will force Great Britain or the United States to make an official reply to Soviet Premier Josef Stalin's blunt demand for "a second front on time." The only authoritative comment at the moment was a statement from a British diplomatic commentator that "Stalin's statement very much confirms what the Prime Minister said in the House three weeks ago," that is, that Stalin is very much dissatisfied with the amount of aid contributed by Britain and the United States. The British attitude seems to be summed up in a statement from Minister of Information Brendan Bracken that the Allies are "pushing second front preparations as fast as possible," but Bracken refused to give any hint what action is planned, or when.

Australian forces are nearing the backbone of the Owen Stanley Mountains of New Guinea after taking Efogi Village, last important Japanese base on the southern side of the range, it was announced today. From the furthest point of the Japanese advance on the great Allied base at Port Morseby on the South New Guinea Coast, the Australians have pushed the Japanese back 40 miles.

French laborers drafted by the Vichy Government to work in German war factories began passing before medical examiners today preparatory to being sent to the industrial centers of the Reich. They are the first French mechanics and industrial specialists to be conscripted under a new policy by which the Laval Government hopes to fulfill its quota of 150,000 laborers to be sent to Nazi war factories. A Vichy source stressed to a United Press reporter that the government "has no intention of forcing workers to go to Germany." They will be drafted, but if they refuse to go, it is asserted, "they will not be forced to." They will, however, receive a "high pressure sales argument" from the labor supervisor of their district. A powerful incentive for their compliance will be the fact that if they choose not to go, their names will be placed on a "record of disobedience."

Occupied countries facing what is expected to be the most terrible winter of modern times know today, by official German pronouncement, that they will be left to starve if necessary to allow sufficient food for the German population. In a thanksgiving harvest speech in Berlin yesterday, No. 2 Nazi Hermann Goering emphasized that "if there is hunger, it will by no means be in Germany."

("Gradually losing their sharpie zip." Yeah, a weekend in the Hotel de Raymondie will do that.)

Three "young flashily dressed Puerto Ricans, their jet-black hair plastered back with perfumed oil," were today charged with the mugging murder of 22-year-old Pvt. Edwin Berkowitz, who was stabbed to death in Harlem on Friday. Admitting without regret that the murder netted them only a few dollars, the three youths were rounded up yesterday in various bars and grills near where the young soldier's body was found in the basement of a church rectory at 114th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. 18 year old Benitez de Jesus, 18 year old William Diaz, and 19 year old Americo Romano, all of Harlem, were to be arraigned today in Manhattan District Court. According to police, the three admitted that "Berkowitz put up a hell of a fight" before he went down, stabbed in his left chest. The muggers rifled his pockets and came up with $6 before dumping the body. As they fled the scene of the crime, it is believed that they were recognized by "a Negro air raid warden," who reported the crime to police.

General civilian transportation by train and bus may be rationed "sooner than we think," according to comments by Defense Transportation Director Joseph B. Eastman. Speaking yesterday in Boston, Mr. Eastman declared that civilians must observe three specific rules before planning travel by train or bus: 1. Do not travel more than you can help. 2. Travel light, with as little baggage as possible. 3. Do not travel on weekends -- plan your trip for the middle of the week if possible.

The prices of butter and cheese will be cut today by Government order, under new price control regulations expected to be the first in a series of measures taken under the President's anti-inflation program. Other measures taking effect today include 60 day emergency price ceilings on all food products that have not heretofore been under price controls, and the implementation of nationwide rent controls under the same system already in force in 366 designated rental zones. OPA Administrator Leon Henderson will sign an order today freezing all dwelling rents at the levels prevailing in March of 1942. Wages are also to be frozen under the new program, with no individual permitted to earn more than $25,000 per year after taxes.

(The Wisdom, as they say, of Solomon.)

If you're lucky enough to have chops and roasts on your dinner menu, be sure not to throw away the scraps of fat you trim from your feast. They contain vital grease needed for the war effort. You must render all fat scraps by frying out the grease and pouring it ithru a strainer into a covered container for delivery to your butcher. You will be paid for your grease, and your butcher will turn it over to the appropriate authorities for use in the manufacture of munitions.

(And after four months, "Mrs. Miniver" makes it to the Patio, where Sally's ma sits in the back row for three consecutive shows, sobbing into a pocket full of handkerchiefs.)

The Eagle Editorialist praises President Roosevelt for his endorsement of Attorney General John Bennett for Governor, calling it "no small announcement," and noting that its impact on the candidacy of American Labor Party candidate Dean Alfange remains to be seen. The weakness of Alfange's candidacy, pronounces the EE, "has been notorious from the start. Now there seems to be absolutely no excuse for him to remain in the field, for his opposition to Bennett was based entirely on the fact that the latter was unsatisfactory to the White House." The EE concludes that the only logical course of action for Alfange is to withdraw from the race.

(There's a lot of that going around.)

A Midwood woman faces a disorderly conduct charge after making "an unpatriotic remark" in a Sheepshead Bay restaurant. Mrs. Mabel Bigalow of 1280 Ocean Avenue was booked at the Sheepshead Bay station after Mrs. Vivian Braunstien of Manhattan Beach overheard her, while dining at Lundy's Restaurant, make the comment that "the Nazis and Japs ought to come over here and bomb us off the map." Mrs. Braunstien reported the comment to police, who arrested Mrs. Bigalow at the restaurant.

(Mr. Rickey is known for his ability to negotiate a deal, which is what you want, but he is also known for his ability to negotiate a deal in his own favor. Mr. Mulvey had better warm up the checkbook.)

The Bushwicks showed Chuck Dressen's All Stars where to get off, and did it twice in yesterday's twinbill at Dexter Park. The strong arms of Bill Sahlin and Wally Singer hogtied the Major-Minor Leaguers bats, leading Mr. Rosner's men to victories of 2-1 and 3-1. Bill Lohrman of the Giants hurled a seven-hitter in the first game, but his teammates couldn't make much hay off Sahlin, with their lone run coming when fleet-footed George Case of the Senators scored on a base hit by Elbie Fletcher of the Pirates. Johnny Podgany of the Phils threw four scoreless innings in the nightcap, but the Bushwicks came to life against his teammate George Hennessey to push over their three runs for the victory.

George Burns and Gracie Allen return to the air tomorrow night at 9 over WABC with Paul Whiteman's orchestra, singer Jimmy Cash, announcer Bill Goodwin, and "Herman the Duck" all present and accounted for.

("But I have two grandchildren to look after -- oh, never mind, Bill can do it." And that's how the trouble began...)

(Some cars still had at least partial wooden floorboards as late as 1940. UNFORTUNATELY FOR SCARLET!)

("And to think I gave up a perfectly good job playing Luthor in "Superman" for THIS.")

(Dad is another one of George Bungle's dumb cousins CONFIRMED.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Again with the zoot suits. Which those, actually, don't look much like.

There's a New World Coming...

Forget colonel, make Annie Secretary of War.

KIDS TODAY

HMPH, says Junior. DON'T I GET A GUN? TURN YOUR BACK TRACY. THAT'S IT.

Poor Millie. Thick as a brick.

"Do you really think that's what he wants?" "Of course! What soldier doesn't want a nice framed photo of his mother to hang in his barracks!"

Would it kill you people to pull the shades?

Oh, Pop. Don't worry, Shadow will give you all the pointers you need.

"That was fun! Let's do it again!"

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oh and...

All right, this is getting ridiculous.

 

[Fading Fast]

("Sigh," sighs Joe. "We ain' been out steppin' f'a long time. Din' useta be sin cesspools." "Roselan' ain'no sin cesspool," huffs Sally. "A pud'l maybe, but not a cesspool.")
...

For a young pastor, he seems like a complete killjoy. Kidding aside, his views were not as far out there in '42 as they appear to us today.

The Rizzuto headline is insanely confusing.

...

Diplomatic sources in London believe that "only the strongest possible clamor in Parliament or from the people" will force Great Britain or the United States to make an official reply to Soviet Premier Josef Stalin's blunt demand for "a second front on time." The only authoritative comment at the moment was a statement from a British diplomatic commentator that "Stalin's statement very much confirms what the Prime Minister said in the House three weeks ago," that is, that Stalin is very much dissatisfied with the amount of aid contributed by Britain and the United States. The British attitude seems to be summed up in a statement from Minister of Information Brendan Bracken that the Allies are "pushing second front preparations as fast as possible," but Bracken refused to give any hint what action is planned, or when.
...

Well, at least it's now down to under two years that Joseph will have to wait.

...

("Gradually losing their sharpie zip." Yeah, a weekend in the Hotel de Raymondie will do that.)
...

Since Clarence Darrow passed away in '38, what celebrity lawyer is going to take on the boys' defense?

...

Three "young flashily dressed Puerto Ricans, their jet-black hair plastered back with perfumed oil," were today charged with the mugging murder of 22-year-old Pvt. Edwin Berkowitz, who was stabbed to death in Harlem on Friday. Admitting without regret that the murder netted them only a few dollars, the three youths were rounded up yesterday in various bars and grills near where the young soldier's body was found in the basement of a church rectory at 114th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. 18 year old Benitez de Jesus, 18 year old William Diaz, and 19 year old Americo Romano, all of Harlem, were to be arraigned today in Manhattan District Court. According to police, the three admitted that "Berkowitz put up a hell of a fight" before he went down, stabbed in his left chest. The muggers rifled his pockets and came up with $6 before dumping the body. As they fled the scene of the crime, it is believed that they were recognized by "a Negro air raid warden," who reported the crime to police.
...

There's a disturbing trend of remorseless killers in the news lately.

(And after four months, "Mrs. Miniver" makes it to the Patio, where Sally's ma sits in the back row for three consecutive shows, sobbing into a pocket full of handkerchiefs.)
...

Sounds about right as that is the appropriate way for any normal person to respond to seeing "Mrs. Miniver" for the first time.

...

HMPH, says Junior. DON'T I GET A GUN? TURN YOUR BACK TRACY. THAT'S IT.
...

At least he didn't send him back into the poison-gas basement to look for clues. I'll bet you he thought about it though.

...

Would it kill you people to pull the shades?
...

Worst spies ever.

Oh and...

All right, this is getting ridiculous.

Based on recent trends, you don't want to get on her bad side.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(If the walls of your jail are literally about to fall in, MAYBE you ought to do something about your jail.)

Borough President John Cashmore today blamed methods of distribution of war contracts for the failure of small businesses to take their proper place in war production. Mr. Cashmore declared that the earmarking of contracts in Washington should be supplemented or replaced by the use of local procurement officers to award contracts in the area containing local factories. "Plants which should be operating at full capacity are either closed down or operating part time," the Borough President asserted. "Idle plants are slacker plants," he continued, "and they are the reason men and women who should be working find themselves tramping the streets in search of a job. All those people want is an opportunity to join in the fight to beat the Axis. The way to give it to them is to increase the amount of business given to small factories and manufacturers, and arrange for the procurement divisions in this area to give the contracts directly." Mr. Cashmore has called a meeting at Borough Hall, where Army procurement officers will meet with the heads of local manufacturing firms, in order to teach those businessmen how to place the facilities of small factories in full operation. Senators Robert F. Wagner and James E. Mead have been invited also to attend the conference. An exhibit will be set up by the Army Ordnance Department at Borough Hall displaying the various goods the Army requires to be manufactured.

Army bombers are steadily pounding Japanese positions in the Aleutians, while at the other end of the Pacific line, American forces are bracing themselves to meet a reinforced Japanese attempt to capture the Solomon Islands. American air power over the Aleutians seems to be hitting its stride in its attempt to drive the Japanese out of the Aleutians, with continuous bombing raids from bases merely an hour's flight from Kiska. In the Solomons, American planes of all types are reported to be "getting in good whacks" at the Japanese.

In a broadcast to the Chinese people from Chungking, Wendell Willkie today declared that "the time for colonial empires is over," and called on the United States to take the lead in ensuring that Asiatic states will be "completely independent after the war, with government of their own choice." Speaking to reporters following his broadcast, Mr. Willkie denied reports that he had made any comment concerning a second front since arriving in China. "Since leaving Russia," he insisted, "I have made no statement on a second front."

(Powder keg, meet match.)

The Interstate Commerce Commission has postponed indefinitely, possibly for the duration of the war, appeals by the Long Island Railroad and nine other railroads operating in New York, for increases in commuter rates. It was the first specific benefit to commuters from the policy laid down by the newly-adopted anti-inflation law. The postponement had been specifically requested by Federal Price Administrator Leon Henderson, the New York Public Service Commission, the New York State Transit Commission, and the city's Corporation Counsel.

In Nassau County, the resignation of ten members of the county Air Raid Precautions staff is being blamed on an order that wardens be used to distribute 100,000 pamphlets detailing household defense preparations. Ralph S. Healy, chief of the Nassau A. R. P. staff, resigned his position, along with nine other key members of the department, after County Civilian Protection Director Col. Edward C. O. Thomas criticized that plan, declaring that the wardens have enough to do without taking on "unnecessary work."

The Assistant Director of the Overseas Division of the USO fell to his death today from the window of his office on the 16th floor of the Empire State Building. 48-year-old Wilbur Judd was trying to force open a stuck window when the window gave way and he fell over the sill. He plunged ten floors before landing on a sixth-floor extension.

(I'll go see any show by Harold Rome, any place, any time. A forgotten great of the musical theatre. And Blitzstein and Robinson are exceptional bonuses. After outliving the 1950s blacklist, Betty Garrett and Phil Leeds will go on to become ubiquitous character actors in 1970s television. You might not remember the names, but you'd know the faces.)

It is now considered rude and inappropriate to point out to a woman that she has a run in her stocking -- and not only rude, but unpatriotic, given that nylons are out of production for the duration.

Members of the all-male Brooklyn Club have been forced to make a patriotic sacrifice due to the meat shortage, cancelling plans for a traditional beefsteak party on October 19th. Instead of heaped platters of rare beefsteak served to club members wearing butcher coats, to be eaten with their bare hands, club members will instead dine on chicken, at a date to be announced. Wives will be present for the occasion.

("Watchit wittat cradle rockeh stuff," growls Ruby Pavey. "I din' get t'is muscle rockin' no cradle!")

("It's not enough we might get mugged -- now we've got to watch out for the Junior Commandos!")

Negro contralto Marian Anderson has given a conditional "if" to the Daughters of the American Revolution in response to their invitation that she sing a recital at their Constitution Hall in Washington. Miss Anderson told the DAR she will perform, if, and only if, there is no racial segregation permitted in the audience during the performance, and if the hall remains open to her for future performances. Miss Anderson was denied a performance at Constitution Hall in 1939 by DAR officials on the basis of her race, but after the intercession of Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, she performed instead before an audience of thousands on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

("Hmph," hmphs Joe. "We cudda beat'em Yanks jus' as easy azzem Cawrdn'ls. Eight straight we won. We cudda made it a dozen." "T'em Yanks," sneers Sally. "T'ey laid down, t'at's whatt'ey done. Jus' t'spite us. WAIT'LL NEX' YEEAH!")

Bushwicks owner Max Rosner is in the midst of negotiations, he says, to bring stars of the recent World Series to Dexter Park next weekend for a doubleheader against his boys. He anticipates the team would be filled out by an assortment of minor league stars.

Star of the Yiddish stage Molly Picon will headline her own English-language series over WHN starting tonight. First installment of the "Molly Picon Theatre of the Air" will be heard 8pm, with music, comedy, and dramatic sketches.

("Ah. Well, we'll soon put a stop to that.")

(That's it? We expect more from you, One-Eye.)

(Hey, wait, I know where we've seen this guy before -- it's good ol' Slap Happy! Hey, let's see your feet!)

(Where's Hero Cabbie Leonard Weinberg when we need him?? Hey Bo, you hero types stick together -- go get 'im, boy!)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Have we had enough violence yet?

Apparently not.

Hey, I bet we could make a really good movie musical about these guys.

"Well, at least I won't have to fill out the paperwork."

These are great days for obsessives.

Well, you could have filed the paperwork yourself.

Awwwwwwww. And everyone will throw maraschino cherries at the happy couple.

The lights have been dim for a while now.

"And when he was on the five-a-day in Sioux City, he did an act with a pig on the stage! The pig was there to eat up the stuff the audience threw!"

Coulda been us. SHOULDA been us. WHY ISN'T SLAUGHTER IN THE ARMY?

 

[Fading Fast]

(If the walls of your jail are literally about to fall in, MAYBE you ought to do something about your jail.)
...

1. Read headline that Italian Navy claims to have sunk US Battleship Mississippi.
2. Have cynical, dismissive thoughts about the Italian Navy such as "it has a navy?" followed by, "if it does, there's no way in h*ll it sank a US Battleship."
3. Check accuracy of cynical and dismissive thoughts on Wikipedia.
4. Feel smug when reading that the Mississippi wasn't decommissioned until 1956.
5. Still, acknowledge love of pizza.

...

("Hmph," hmphs Joe. "We cudda beat'em Yanks jus' as easy azzem Cawrdn'ls. Eight straight we won. We cudda made it a dozen." "T'em Yanks," sneers Sally. "T'ey laid down, t'at's whatt'ey done. Jus' t'spite us. WAIT'LL NEX' YEEAH!")
...

That feels like such an anticlimactic ending. It always does when your team gets knocked out right at the end or during the playoffs.

...

(Where's Hero Cabbie Leonard Weinberg when we need him?? Hey Bo, you hero types stick together -- go get 'im, boy!)

Beck is an odd storyteller. He often focuses in on some incredibly unimportant details, yet at other times, he will rush past crucial parts of his story.

"...but it's fun going any old place with them" is a thought held by every dog we've ever had.

And in the Daily News...

Have we had enough violence yet?
...

Moses might or might not be right about halting the tunnel, but you know it's spite not patriotism that's driving him.

New Brunswick is my hometown. It was not a pretty place when I was growing up in the 1970s, but I was told it was a nice town before the 1960s ruined it. To be fair, the pictorial evidence supports that argument and a gruesome murder can take place anywhere.

...

Apparently not.
...

It's the 1940s, if you rob a candy store, screw the candy, cigarettes and money in the till, rob the backroom where the real money is, but of course, then you'll have more than the police to worry about.

...

The lights have been dim for a while now.
...

To be fair to Terry, James Bond had not been created yet, so he didn't know he was supposed to sleep with Rogue so that she would then, at the crucial moment, sell out all her past convictions and relations and rescue Terry because of Terry's awesome manliness. At least that's the lesson I took out of James Bond as a kid.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("Swalla'in' a glass?" marvels Joe. "T'at's impressive. I remembeh Solly swalleh'd a spoon oncet on a bet, but ev'n he woul'na swalleh'd a glass." "I seen a glass eateh at Coney Islan' oncet," notes Sally. "Ate a whole light bulb. Babs oughteh go downeah an' get inna hones' line'a woik.")

Wendell Willkie today urged the Allies to "open an all-out offensive everywhere," because "we are ready to deliver some knockout blows." Speaking in Chungking, China, Willkie, who two weeks ago in Moscow advocated a second front as soon as the Allies are capable of delivering it, emphasized that in all of his remarks, he speaks only for himself, and not for the United States Government. "I'm Wendell Willkie," he declared to newspapermen at a press conference, "and I speak as I damn well please."

Admiral William H. Standley, American ambassador to the Soviet Union, prepared to leave Moscow today for Washington, where he is expected to inform President Roosevelt of the fight Russia is making on the Eastern Front, and to seek means of more closely coordinating American and Soviet war efforts. The Admiral was briefed yesterday on Russia's attitude concerning the Second Front and supply problems facing Soviet troops during a conference with Premier Josef Stalin and Foreign Commissar Viacheslav Molotov. Meanwhile, President Roosevelt maintains an official silence on the question of the second front, stating yesterday that he has not yet read dispatches from Moscow in which Wendell Willkie seconded the Soviet pleas. The President called such dispatches "speculative and not worth reading," although Mr. Willkie went abroad as a quasi-official representative of the President.

American positions in the Solomon Islands were believed today to be more seriously menaced that at any time since the Marines landed there in August. That believe prevailed largely because of the constant landing of Japanese reinforcements on Guadalcanal, key of the American defense of the island, even though American bombing raids on Japanese positions continue to maintain American air superiority. It was reported that the latest attempt by the Japanese to bomb American installations on Guadalcanal ended "in ignominious failure."

Householders applying for fuel oil rations will be required to explain in writing why they have not converted their furnaces to burn coal. The four-page application form to be issued later this month by the Office of Price Administration will also question the convertability of equipment used to heat household water, and the availability of equipment burning fuels other than oil or kerosene. The form will consist of thirty-five questions, all of which must be completely answered in order to receive a fuel oil ration. Applicants are advised that they must complete three steps before submitting their applications -- measure the square footage of the floor area of the entire living spacce of their home, measure the precise quantity of fuel currently in their storage tanks, and obtain from their fuel oil dealer a certified statement of fuel delivered over the twelve months ending on May 31, 1942.

(Even brisket??)

Four racing publications have filed a $50,000 lawsuit against city Licensing Commissioner Paul Moss after they were banned from all licensed newsstands in the wake of Mayor LaGuardia's crackdown on "tinhorn gambling." The Morning Telegraph, the Daily Racing Form, The Daily Racing Guide, and the New York Daily Tab were back on the newsstands this morning after one day's absence, under a temporary restraining order preventing enforcement of the ban. The ban is also under fire from the Allied Printing Trades Council, an amalgamation of AFL printing unions under whose jurisdiction the papers are printed, with union leaders arguing that the ban not only violates freedom of the press, but threatens the jobs of "hundreds or even thousands" of printing workers. Three so-called "scratch sheets," the William Armstrong Daily Sports, the Daily Green Sheet, and the National Racing Program, remain off the stands today under the ban.

At James Madison High School today, the works of Shakespeare, Shelley, and Keats have been temporarily discarded, with all English classes turned into symposiums on scrap metal and its importance to American freedom. Students at Madison have organized themselves into a youthful army of salvage scrappers, operating on a systematic plan based on the block system used by air raid wardens. About fifty tons of useful scrap have already been collected by the Madison block squads fanned out across the populous Flatbush community.

("Death or injury of teachers on duty is virtually unprecedented." Well, so much for that.)

(All you can do is keep trying.)

Reader P. D. Q. writes in to demand that the trolleys be restored to Fulton Street at once. "Conditions on the buses have become intolerable," Mr. Q. declares. "They are a positive menace to health in times when doctors are scarce and we are urged to keep well. There is no solution save restoring the good old trolleys that use no gas, no oil, and no rubber." Mr. Schroth replies to Mr. Q with a bland statement that "removing the elevated structure and the overhead trolley wires on Fulton Street is the outstanding accomplishment secured for our leading shopping street."

(He's not fooling anyone with that "your friendly banker" jazz.)

(Sighhhhhhhh. Eighteen weeks till spring training. Hopefully.)

A radio innovation is underway at station WBYN, where the noon to 6 PM period has been given over to the continuous broadcasting of news headlines. This requires the WBYN staff to prepare 48 "editions," 24 of them devoted to international and world news, and 24 to national stories, under the supervision of editor George Wells. Human interest and humorous items are also broadcast in an effort to avoid too much repetition.

(Don't waste any time now.)

(These convertible business coupes are great. The trunks sleep two.)

(Hope they sent in the warranty.)

(See, Dad, if you went to the movies more often, you'd know this stuff!)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Just when you've forgotten about l'affaire Guggenheim, it giggles back to the surface.

"And while you're at it, how about that giant sports stadium in Flushing?"

Somewhere, Nick Gatt is smiling.

Wipe your glasses, Cal.

"Your wife didn't actually have a baby at all. Actually, it was just a really bad kidney stone."

War is Hell.

Fish, meet barrel.

I absolutely never did this.

Yeah, you really need to take a deep breath and think about this first.

Most realistic married couple in the comics.