The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

Oh, and...

Gypsy doesn't get ALL the endorsements!

 

[Fading Fast]

("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.")
...

We've joked about Babs before and rightfully so as she's made herself a comic figure. With a world war on, people have less patience for spoiled-rich-girl antics, but I think we've also noted that she probably has real mental issues, QED.

...

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.
...

It will probably get resolved locally as LaGuardia's style/strategy is to overreach intentionally, see what he can get away with and then pull back when he's under pressure to a line farther out than where it was when he started. But there are real constitutional issues at play here that could end up at the Supreme Court if not resolved.

...

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.
...

"I regret that I am taken from you; and happy and beloved as I have been, it is not hard to guilt you all..."

...

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."
...

I'm all for bringing back the Trolleys, but the electricity to run them doesn't come from the ether. We see that same faulty thinking today around EVs.

...

Somewhere, Nick Gatt is smiling.
...

Annie has to be about forty years old to understand how things work the way she does.

...

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

No kidding, you'd think Shadow would be all the red flag he'd need.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It's a sign of just how far the war has affected the news that Tommy Manville getting married again only rates an itty little box. Why, I can remember a time....

 

[LizzieMaine]

(Note the candy store sign on the top of the scrap heap. This gambling crackdown is really taking a toll.)

The Adjutant General of the Army today renewed his appeal for the immediate enlistment of 18 and 19 year old youths to fight in "this young man's war." General James M. Ulio, speaking in a radio interview over an East Coast network, declared that "too many of us are still qualifying the conditions under which we will go all out to win the war." Ulio did not specifically propose that Congress change the Selective Service Act to include the younger men, but Congressional sources revealed that the War Department is pressing for the immediate enactment of such legislation. "Today," stated General Ulio in his broadcast, "endurance and skill are the main tests of soldiers in battle. In this global war, we must have sufficient troops to serve on every front."

The Japanese appear today to be losing their grip on the western Aleutian Islands, the first and only point of the Western Hemisphere they have invaded. Their sole remaining position on the island chain, Kishka Island, is under almost daily attack by American bombers based in the Andreanof Islands. They have apparently abandoned the other two islands they had occupied in June, Attu and Agattu, but those withdrawals are not considered of strategic importance. As long as the Japanese maintain control of Kiska, they can control the immediate area.

War Manpower Commission Chairman Paul V. McNutt and War Production Board Chairman Donald L. Nelson agree that national service legislation for the control of manpower is needed, but express the hope that such a program can be established on a voluntary basis. However, they also told a House committee today that they do not believe that appeals to patriotism, persuasion and arguments will prove sufficient to convince workers to move from non-essential or less-essential to essential employment, and that therefore legislative coercion is needed to back up those appeals. Mr. McNutt stated his belief that actual conscription of war labor will not be necessary -- if the possibility of such conscription exists to bring about "proper allocation of manpower without force." Thus far, the WMC chairman stated, appeals without legislative backing have only been successful to the extent of about ten percent.

Father Edward Lodge Curran, head of the International Catholic Truth Society, is refusing to repudiate his belief in isolationism, either that expressed before Pearl Harbor or that presently expressed. The Brooklyn clergyman, formerly the East Coast representative for Father Charles E. Coughlin, took that stand in a telegram to Dr. Francis E. McMahon of Notre Dame University, who had urged Fr. Curran to follow the example of Dr. Robert I. Gannon, president of Fordham University, in repudiating such views. Fr. Curran declined to do so, arguing that both President Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie ran in 1940 on platforms promising to keep the United States out of the war, and that "since the attack on Pearl Harbor, all isolationists are united in a program of victory."

A crippled 16-year-old youth from Shreveport, Louisiana, brought into Adolescent Court on a vagrancy charge, told the magistrate that he had hitchhiked from his hometown in hopes of finding a job in New York. Robert Ray, a victim of infantile paralysis, hobbled into the courtroom on crutches, wearing blue denim overalls, with his belongings in a pack on his back, and testified that he was an automobile mechanic by trade, and had heard there were good jobs to be had here. He added that the catfishing down home wasn't so good this year. Patrolman Arthur Niederhoffer arrested the youth aboard a Brighton train yesterday, and testified that after police sent a wire to the boy's mother she replied that "he should hitchhike back the way he got up there." The Welfare Department will arrange for the boy's fare home, and in the meantime he will stay at the Brace Memorial Newsboys' Home in Manhattan.

("Her only fault is that she would follow Al anywhere." Gonna be an uncomfortable Thanksgiving this year.)

(Funny, she doesn't look Icelandic.)

("Hey, whateveh happn't allem old busted radios?" wonders Joe. "Awready toin't'm in," replies Sally. "I *tol'ya* it was awl inna good cauwse.")

Workers at the Brooklyn Navy Yard are being discouraged from the usual hot dog lunch grabbed from a vendor, and are now being served balanced, nutritious meals in paper cups and containers of various sizes, all neatly fitted into the apertures of a paper tray. The food, similar to that served aboard some airlines, is planned and served in such a way as to waste no time, space, or labor, from two conveniently spaced booths, at a price of 40 cents for a full meal including soup, a choice of two hot and hearty entrees, coffee or milk, and dessert. If a worker desires a simpler meal, sandwiches and desserts are also dispensed on an affordable a la carte basis. No detail is missed with these meals -- even disposable wooden utentsils are used, eliminating any need for dishwashers. Popular entrees include beef or lamb stew, Spanish rice with sausage, beans and bacon, chili con carne, spaghetti, or old-fashioned Navy mulligan.

(Hey, let's give HER a Broadway show!)

Pinball machines seized during Mayor LaGuardia's drive on gambling devices are no longer smashed up with sledgehammers -- instead, they are stripped down for their electrical parts, which are then sent to Hunter College. Electric motors, relays, transformers, fuses, wiring, screws, and even the plywood cabinets are being used in the college laboratories to further the education of young women in the fields of science and engineering.

(Look, Mulvey -- stop all this foolishness and give the job to Rickey. The Winter Meetings are less than eight weeks away and he's going to want to get busy.)

("Oh, and the glasses and the hair? Look, you know the routine.")

(I don't know much about Fine Wine, but I do know that this is not the kind of place you go to find it.)

(Hey Dan, did you get that hat at the Zoot Suit store?)

(SOME DETECTIVE, HUH FOLKS? I ALWAYS GET MY MEAL -- uh -- MAN.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Don't tell the Mayor, but they're giving 2-1 that Wilhemina dumps him by December.

Well, at least nobody brought up Mickey Owen.

"Now send someone out for a pack of cigarettes and a couple of blindfolds."

"Well, I suppose I can live with 'Hubert.'"

"Unfortunately, Miss Lee and Miss Hart sent their regrets, but I have been able to sign up Miss Sally Rand to do a specialty number. She did, however, insist on cash payment."

Just the sort of thing you find under any old barn.

Hey, whatcha gonna do?

"Give you time to forget it?" The longer you know people, the fewer surprises.

"Wait, you mean I'll NEVER HAVE TO PAY MY TABS? DADDY!!!"

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oh, and,

Harris? Who last won a pennant in 1925? Grimm? A folksy banjo-playing clown? Hartnett? Meh. Hornsby? More of a racetrack character than Leo. Dressen? Now we're talking. Fitz? NOW WE'RE TALKING. NEVER MIND ANYBODY ELSE. GIVE IT TO FITZ! DO IT NOW!

 

[Fading Fast]

...

("Hey, whateveh happn't allem old busted radios?" wonders Joe. "Awready toin't'm in," replies Sally. "I *tol'ya* it was awl inna good cauwse.")
...

In addition to the radios, which somebody clearly went down and brought back (I'm guessing Joe), each "event" also took out a window pane. I'm thinking the super/owner of that apartment isn't absorbing that cost; hence, Joe and Sally had to buy a new radio and a new pane of glass each time. I'd bet Sally would argue it was all worth it, and she might be right - sometimes you just got to get it out of your system.

...

Pinball machines seized during Mayor LaGuardia's drive on gambling devices are no longer smashed up with sledgehammers -- instead, they are stripped down for their electrical parts, which are then sent to Hunter College. Electric motors, relays, transformers, fuses, wiring, screws, and even the plywood cabinets are being used in the college laboratories to further the education of young women in the fields of science and engineering.
...

How great would it be if the girls were assembling pinball machines and selling them out of the city.

...

(I don't know much about Fine Wine, but I do know that this is not the kind of place you go to find it.)
...

1940s comicstrip criminals use an incredible number of basements and other underground structures. Builders of these structures should be marketing directly to the criminal element: "Looking for a place to store your stolen goods, hideout while the heat's on or 'deposit' an 'extra' body, call Basements 'r Us at..."

And in the Daily News...

Don't tell the Mayor, but they're giving 2-1 that Wilhemina dumps him by December.
...

Allowing a few weeks for a honeymoon, which takes us into late October, that sounds about right.

Also, God love Page Four for getting in one more dig in the last sentence, "The asbestos heir gave his age as 48."

...

Well, at least nobody brought up Mickey Owen.
...

With that stupid hateful arrow. Hard to believe it's been almost a year since we first saw that picture.

Without thinking about it at all, the first picture that came to my mind was the man standing in front of a line of tanks in Tiananmen Square. With thought, there are other pictures I would say are more meaningful to or had a bigger impact on me, but for whatever reason, Tiananmen Square came up first.

...


"Unfortunately, Miss Lee and Miss Hart sent their regrets, but I have been able to sign up Miss Sally Rand to do a specialty number. She did, however, insist on cash payment."
...

And she also wants a deposit for any feathers not returned after the show.

...

Just the sort of thing you find under any old barn.
...

Junior's gots a shot of beating Terry to the punch. Frizzletop is no Hu Shee or Rouge, but first is first.

Oh, and,

Harris? Who last won a pennant in 1925? Grimm? A folksy banjo-playing clown? Hartnett? Meh. Hornsby? More of a racetrack character than Leo. Dressen? Now we're talking. Fitz? NOW WE'RE TALKING. NEVER MIND ANYBODY ELSE. GIVE IT TO FITZ! DO IT NOW!

Fitz would certainly start out with a lot of good will.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(Until recently, most major network radio shows did two performances -- an early show for the East Coast and a late for the West, in order to cover the time difference. Musicians were paid for these extra broadcasts. But when NBC started using transcriptions of the early show for the West Coast rebroadcast, it amounted to a de facto across the board pay cut for those musicians. There was no provision for these transcriptions under the union contract, and one of the things they're fighting for in this strike is an amendment to the contract that will provide a payment for the use of such recordings on the air. The networks and the sponsors, of course, don't want to pay this, arguing that the performers were paid for their work for the early show, and they are entitled to no say in how recordings of that show are used. Mr. Petrillo strongly disagrees.)

Almost the entire male population of a Norwegian town that rose up against Nazi occupation troops has been slaughtered by the Germans. A refugee spokesman for the Norwegian government in exile stated today that most males living in the Majavatn district were put to death in a reign of terror that began over the weekend by Gestapo officers, storm troopers, and Wehrmacht troops, who rounded up hundreds of hostages and moved military forces into position to oppose further actions by the Norwegian underground. Observers state that Nazi machine guns have been set up on street corners, and military tribunals have been formed to deal out death sentences for a "blacklist" of about a thousand persons known to be hostile to the occupation government headed by Vidkun Quisling. Fresh Nazi troops headed by black-uniformed Gestapo forces have been reported massing in the Oslo area and thruout the Trondheim region, now said to be the "most turbulent trouble center in Northwestern Europe."

Wendell Willkie missed death at the hands of Japanese shells "by five minutes" when enemy guns fired on a railway station somewhere along the Chinese battlefront, where the informal Presidential envoy had just alighted from his coach. Mr. Willkie was not the least disturbed by the explosions. "I am much pleased by the Japanese salutations," commented the 1940 Republican presidential candidate. "They are exceedingly thoughtful."

President Roosevelt told a press conference today that he expected that Mr. Willkie is "carrying out extremely well" the duties assigned him during his tour of battle fronts in Russia and China. The President acknowledged that he still hasn't read the newspaper accounts of Mr. Willkie's activities, calling them "purely speculative."

The Brooklyn jury list is being swiftly depleted by inductions into the Armed Forces, and the Brooklyn jury board is expected to soon address the situation, already said to be acute. Deputy County Clerk William Lane told the Eagle that an increasing number of jury notices are being returned to his office with the notation that the recipient is now in the Armed Forces, and he also notes that an increasing number of remaining jury candidates are busy in vital war work. It may be necessary, he indicates, to increase the number of women tapped for jury duty, which now stands at 10 percent of the total called to serve. Women, at present, cannot be required under the law to serve on juries, but county authorities are considering issuing an official call for women to volunteer their services. In Manhattan and the Bronx, the shortage of potential jurors has already increased the number of women called up to fifty percent of the total.

(The illiteracy rate in the United States in 1942 is slightly less than 3 percent of the total adult population, but this includes people who can only read or write in a language other than English.)

In London, Canadian soldiers outraged by German treatment of prisoners of war marched into Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum and assaulted the wax figure of Adolf Hitler. Two soldiers beat the figure while a third pulled out his service revolver and prepared to administer the coup-de-grace before museum guards were able to rescue what remained of the Fuehrer's effigy.

(There's A New World -- reluctantly for some -- Coming.)

Governor Herbert Lehman is considering a petition signed by 15,000 persons requesting the formation of a Negro regiment of the New York Guard to represent Brooklyn and Queens. Joseph Posey, chairman of the Co-Ordinating Citizens Committee for a Colored New York Guard Unit in Kings and Queens County, stated today that he has met with the Governor about the proposal and has found him to be "very sympathetic."

A mock political funeral for Georgia Governor Eugene Talmadge, recently defeated for renomination in a Democratic Party primary, will be held on Saturday from Fulton Street to Classon Avenue by members of the Holy Trinity Baptist Church. Pastor Thomas H. Harten invites all Brooklyn residents to take part in the parade honoring the downfall of "one of the most prejudiced men who ever lived."

("The Dodgers Cafe?" roars Lt. Col. Leland Stanford MacPhail. "McDonald! Are we getting a royalty on this?" "Colonel," replies poor John McDonald, "you don't work here any more. You're in the Army now!" "Answer my question, young man!" demands the Colonel. "Are we or aren't we! Get those lawyers in here at once! I'll show these upstarts who's running the show!" "I'm hanging up the phone now, Colonel," sighs Mr. McDonald. "Please stop calling.")

More than 1000 movie theatres across all five boroughs of New York City, along with Westchester County, upstate New York, and portions of New Jersey, will open their doors earlier than usual on Saturday October 24th for special shows benefitting the scrap campaign. Price of a ticket to these performances will be scrap metal of any weight or type, excepting tin cans. The War Activities Committee of the Motion Picture Industry will distribute a special short subject free to all theatres, in which War Production Board chairman Donald L. Nelson will deliver an appeal explaining how scrap metal is being used in the successful prosecution of the war.

The Eagle Editorialist praises "the intrepid Russian people" for their courage in persuading the Nazis to cease efforts to capture the city of Stalingrad by direct infantry assault. This development, "another Russian miracle" may be the turning point of the war, as Gen. Timoshenko's army pushes down on the Germans' northern flank and the Nazi forces switch their attack on Stalingrad to bombardment by artillery and long-range air assaults.

(Gin rummy's a much more honest game.)

Film comedian Joe E. Brown's famous grin was erased from his face today as he flew to Palm Springs, California to claim the body of his son. Captain Don E. Brown, aged 25, was killed in a training accident nine miles north of the famous resort town, when the bomber he was flying crashed into the desert. Captain Brown was attached to the Long Beach Ferry Command Base, where authorities say that both engines on the plane apparently failed, causing the plane to nose into the ground.

A delegation of approximately 40 members of the Jehovah's Witnesses appeared before the Board of Education in Elizabeth, New Jersey to petition for the reinstatement to classes of a 9 year old Witness girl who was suspended from school for refusing to salute the American flag. Dorothy Engel, a fourth grade student at the Abraham Lincoln Public School, was suspended last week by order of Dr. R. E. Cheney, superintendant of schools, but a final ruling on whether she will be permanently expelled awaits further investigation by the board.

("Howcum t'ey make funna t'at Rizzuteh?" huffs Sally. "'Maskeeta boat.' "T' Flea.' Izzat nice? I ask ya!" "Well," observes Joe, "he ain' 'zackly Gargantua. B'sides, 'Pee Wee' is, y'know, awready taken." "Well, he needsa betteh nickname. How 'bout, oh, I dunno, 'Scooteh?' "Hah," hahs Joe. "'What izzee, a six yeeerol'? Nah, att'l neveh catch on!'")

Ten members of the Madison High School football team will not face disciplinary action for sneaking onto the grounds of Erasmus Hall High School under the cover of the dimout, and painting the slogan 'MADISON V FOR VICTORY" in big black-and-gold letters on the Flatbush Avenue entrance arch. The principals of the two schools agreed that the matter will best be settled on the gridiron at Lincoln Field tomorrow.

("HMPH!" hmphs Sally. "JUVENILE D"LINQUENTS!" "Wuzzey wearin' zoot suits?" wonders Joe. )

Dodger broadcaster Red Barber will be presented with the Army-Navy "E" award in recognition of his service heading the Brooklyn Red Cross Blood Donor campaign this year, in ceremonies to be broadcast from the Towers Hotel next Tuesday night at 8:15 over WMCA.

(Guess what doll-faced hyper-thyroid will be paying a visit soon!)

("Don't worry, it's California wine, nobody'll notice the difference.")

(That's what you get for hiding out at Dead Horse Bay!)

("HEY!" says Bo. "TURN IT ON, IT'S TIME FOR LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE. OH WAIT THAT'S GONE OFF THE AIR. TOO BAD!")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

"It's all a mistake!" says Waxey. "I thought it was malt syrup!"

Mrs. Luce has one child, now 18. She will never have another.

An iron fist in an iron glove.

"C2H50H! Hey, I think we've found Waxey Gordon's old hideout!"

"Now get rid of those dice, we're pulling into Penn Station."

He said it, I didn't.

"Oh. Never mind, you can keep it."

"Well, at least it's not something stupid like, oh, Forrest."

Many great show business fortunes were lost in just this way.

"Whatta MEAN you're garnishing my allowance???"

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oh, and...

"Really?" says Donald L. Barnes of the St. Louis Browns. "What time does the Super Chief leave? We'll be on it! Wait, whattaya mean we have to share the car with the Phillies?"

 

[Fading Fast]

...

In London, Canadian soldiers outraged by German treatment of prisoners of war marched into Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum and assaulted the wax figure of Adolf Hitler. Two soldiers beat the figure while a third pulled out his service revolver and prepared to administer the coup-de-grace before museum guards were able to rescue what remained of the Fuehrer's effigy.
...

One assumes alcohol was involved.

...

("Howcum t'ey make funna t'at Rizzuteh?" huffs Sally. "'Maskeeta boat.' "T' Flea.' Izzat nice? I ask ya!" "Well," observes Joe, "he ain' 'zackly Gargantua. B'sides, 'Pee Wee' is, y'know, awready taken." "Well, he needsa betteh nickname. How 'bout, oh, I dunno, 'Scooteh?' "Hah," hahs Joe. "'What izzee, a six yeeerol'? Nah, att'l neveh catch on!'")
...

"B'sides, 'Pee Wee' is, y'know, awready taken."

...

Ten members of the Madison High School football team will not face disciplinary action for sneaking onto the grounds of Erasmus Hall High School under the cover of the dimout, and painting the slogan 'MADISON V FOR VICTORY" in big black-and-gold letters on the Flatbush Avenue entrance arch. The principals of the two schools agreed that the matter will best be settled on the gridiron at Lincoln Field tomorrow.

("HMPH!" hmphs Sally. "JUVENILE D"LINQUENTS!" "Wuzzey wearin' zoot suits?" wonders Joe. )
...

I'm surprised it was treated so lightly as that paint won't be easy to remove.

...

("HEY!" says Bo. "TURN IT ON, IT'S TIME FOR LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE. OH WAIT THAT'S GONE OFF THE AIR. TOO BAD!")

"Let me just turn the dial to station K-Make-Believe and we'll all listen to the "Bo Radio Hour."

"Somebody still seems upset that they were told they didn't have a bark for radio."
"Shut up!"

...

Mrs. Luce has one child, now 18. She will never have another.
...

Don't worry, the post-war baby boom will plug any holes in the population.

...

He said it, I didn't.
..

The odds on Junior beating Terry over the finish line are shooting up; although, some smart money is hedging those bet with the long-odds bet that Terry's first time will be a quick go at hate sex.

Oh, and...

"Really?" says Donald L. Barnes of the St. Louis Browns. "What time does the Super Chief leave? We'll be on it! Wait, whattaya mean we have to share the car with the Phillies?"

No one, in '42, thought it would, one day, include the Dodgers.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("Heh," hehs Joe. "'Magine if ol' Solly, oveh t'eah, gets mixed up wit'wunna'tem Irish gals." "An' 'zackly WHAT," huffs Sally, her Irish roused, "is wrong wit'tat?" "Ummmm," stammers Joe, "what I mean is, um, you how Solly is, an' -- um -- hey, when ya go shoppin', don' f'get t' check t'ceilin' prices...")

A nationwide shortage of chewing gum can be blamed on Japan, and its occupation of Singapore, which has disrupted the world supply of chicle, necessary component in gum manufacture, and on the diversion of much of the remaining gum supply to the Armed Forces. Across the United States, somewhat more than half the normal stock of chewing gum is available for retail sale, but the shortage is believed to be worse in metropolitan areas where there is a concentration of war workers who have found that chewing is an acceptable substitute for smoking on factory floors. Gum is also issued as a part of Army field rations as a means of relieving thirst.

("I got a swell left, too!")

Members of the Metropolitan Rod and Gun Club of 162 Pacific Avenue will send a delegation to meet with Police Commissioner Lewis J. Valentine to protest his recent order requiring that all members of rifle and pistol clubs in the city be fingerprinted. The order also restricts all use of gun ranges to registered and fingerprinted members of recognized gun clubs. It is argued that this order will end all intra-city and intra-state shooting tournaments because few gun owners belong to such organizations. There are about 100 gun clubs in the metropolitan area, with about 3500 registered members. Commissioner Valentine defended the order, noting that members of the German-American Bund operated under the guise of gun clubs, and that it is necessary to set up regulations to govern range use.

A seven-minute "Blue" air raid alert mobilized civilian defense workers across four states last night. Wardens in the metropolitan area along with portions of New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania were placed on alert status at 10:43 PM by the Eastern Defense Command after an unidentified plane was spotted approaching the coast from seaward. The alert was cancelled at 10:50 PM after the plane was identified as friendly.

(Hence the expression, "don't poke the bear.")

Reader George Durst writes in to suggest that the time has come to eliminate automobile license plates as a way of saving metal for war production. If plates must be used, he suggests making them out of plastic, but even better, he proposes, would be to use luminous paint to apply large registration numbers to all vehicles.

("Yeah, that's why I'm 4-F.")

New tinless containers for everything from toothpaste to motor oil have been announced by two separate inventors at once. In both cases, the containers are made of paper specially-coated on the interior with a plastic compound that is impervious to oil and air. The Macmillan Oil Company in Los Angeles expects to save 10,000,000 pounds of metal per year by replacing its present metal motor oil cans with these paper containers. Meanwhile, experimenter Duryea Bensel says he has also developed a lined paper container which may be used for packaging foods. The Bensel process results in a container which the inventor says is heat resistant up to 300 degrees and will hold a vacuum, making it useful for the production of canned products such as soup, meat, fish, and vegetables -- preserving such goods for up to five years. The paper can also, he says, be processed to make bottle caps for soft drinks and beer.

("No one" in charge of the Dodgers? So, like most of the 1930s, you mean?)

("Margie WHO?" sniffs Gypsy. "Jimmy Savo!" sneers Bobby Clark. "He carried my bags once outside the Music Box Revue.")

(FORESHADOWING!)

(And that's why you should never leave any loose ends.)

(LOOK FOR A MAN WHO CAN'T AFFORD HALF-SOLES!)

(I'M ON THE JOB NOW! JUST LOOK AT ME GO! SNIFF SNIFF SNIFF HEY WHAT'S THIS ON THE SIDEWALK SNIFF SNIFF SNIFF!)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

"Basil (The Owl) Banghart?"

Oh yes, he's exactly like Leo. Except for the whole "stealing Babe Ruth's watch" bit.

Lesson learned.

"Can't we wait for, you know, not a manure truck?"

This war production jargon is out of control.

Actually, he learned to do that when he was 12 years old. From Trixie.

Just like it says in the Articles of War.

"Congratulations! I'm still in the will, right?"

As another wise show business mogul one said, "A verbal agreement isn't worth the paper it's printed on."

"Of course, dear son, your mother will be keeping the books..."

 

[Fading Fast]

("Heh," hehs Joe. "'Magine if ol' Solly, oveh t'eah, gets mixed up wit'wunna'tem Irish gals." "An' 'zackly WHAT," huffs Sally, her Irish roused, "is wrong wit'tat?" "Ummmm," stammers Joe, "what I mean is, um, you how Solly is, an' -- um -- hey, when ya go shoppin', don' f'get t' check t'ceilin' prices...")
...

"Nazis 'Relax' Drive Against Stalingrad." I guess that is accurate if "relax" means that after you've thrown everything you have at something, and you have nothing left, you stop throwing, then yes, the Nazis have "relaxed" their drive against Stalingrad.

"2 Pretty Girls in Slacks Hunted in Five Staten Island Burglaries." See, those opposed to women wearing slacks were right about their immoral influence. (I'm just kidding.)

...

A nationwide shortage of chewing gum can be blamed on Japan, and its occupation of Singapore, which has disrupted the world supply of chicle, necessary component in gum manufacture, and on the diversion of much of the remaining gum supply to the Armed Forces. Across the United States, somewhat more than half the normal stock of chewing gum is available for retail sale, but the shortage is believed to be worse in metropolitan areas where there is a concentration of war workers who have found that chewing is an acceptable substitute for smoking on factory floors. Gum is also issued as a part of Army field rations as a means of relieving thirst.
...

"First stupid LaGuardia shuts down my, umm, 'side' business and now I can't even get supplies for my legitimate candy store."

And in the Daily News...

"Basil (The Owl) Banghart?"
...

Page Four has been returning to its roots lately: a Park Avenue charity scandal including debs collecting dimes in glass bowls at nightclubs and a mother-daughter society tandem tag teaming it to beat up their husband/stepdad with their shoes.

"Mrs. A. Biddle Duke." I'd have lost money betting whether that was a real society name or a Hollywood made-up one.

...

Lesson learned.
...

I'm officially confused, who is Rogue working for as it seems that she's screwed everybody over. How great would it be if the Dragon Lady turns out to be behind her?

...

Just like it says in the Articles of War.
...

I'm onboard with Annie's approach on this, but that just means she and I are way out of touch with the current thinking on crime, punishment, prevention and rehabilitation, at least in the city I live in.

...

"Congratulations! I'm still in the will, right?"
...

Fully acknowledging the bad connection, still, how do you get "Ferdinand" from "Cuthbert?"

Also, why are Andy and Bim wearing the same patterned pants?

...

As another wise show business mogul one said, "A verbal agreement isn't worth the paper it's printed on."
...

The expression "A fool and his money..." is widely known for a reason.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("Whattaya mean a explanation? We like toast! Ya can't have toast wit'out no bread, now can ya??")

American and British planes joined yesterday in a devastating sweep of Nazi air fields in the North African desert, shooting down 20 planes and damaging many more. In the course of the operation, the first completely American victory was scored when a Messerschmitt 109 fell to American guns fired by an American pilot. No American planes were lost in the raids, and it is stated by returning U. S. Army pilots that they had shot down at least four Messerschmitt 109s, and "probably destroyed" an additional Messerschmitt and an Italian Macchi. Several hundred tons of explosives were dropped on Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's vital bases in one of the heaviest days of bombing and strafing in all the North African campaign.

Another large contingent of U. S. troops has disembarked at an unnamed British port, including units in virtually every category. These task forces included well-trained, battle-ready bomber, fighter, infantry, armored, Signal Corps, medical, engineer, and quartermaster units.

Allied jungle patrols maintained contact with fleeing Japanese near the gap in the Owen Stanley Mountains of New Guinea, as they awaited the arrival of the main Allied forces. A communique from the headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur indicated that Allied patrols have exchanged rifle and machine gun fire with the fast-retreating Japanese.

The most intensive manhunt in the Midwest since the days of John Dillinger pressed forward today as the search continues for John "The Terrible" Touhy, and six other desperate criminals he led in a dramatic escape from the Illinois State Penitentiary. Meanwhile, Governor Dwight H. Green has taken personal charge of the investigation into how Touhy and his confederates broke out of the supposedly escape-proof prison at Statesville. Governor Green stated his belief that outside conspirators smuggled in guns for the use of the escapees. Police have set up roadblocks thruout Northern Illinois, but so far Touhy and his men have successfully evaded all of them. The prisoners fled the prison in a green Ford sedan belonging to a guard. Police have begun a systematic search of known gangster hideouts on the belief that Touhy, nearly as notorious in the old Prohibition days as Al Capone, may be out for revenge against his sworn enemy Jake "The Barber" Factor, an international stock promoter for whose kidnapping Touhy was serving life imprisonment. Police have been ordered to shoot to kill, with Chicago chief of detectives John L. Sullivan commenting "we'll talk to this outfit in the morgue."

The most famous horse in America was put to death today at the age of forty in the palatial stables of his late master. Tony The Wonder Horse, steed of the late movie western star Tom Mix, has lived in quiet retirement in the San Fernando Valley for the past fifteen years, but his health has declined in recent months. A veterinarian put the horse out of his misery with an overdose of chloroform as sad-eyed stablehands watched. Tony and his master were world-famous stars in the days of silent pictures, traveling the world and making appearances at fancy banquets while other horses were pulling milk wagons. His handlers said Tony was always "an extrovert horse" who enjoyed the spotlight as much as Tom Mix himself did. Mix himself was killed in an automobile accident just a day short of two years ago.

(I'd forgotten about this guy, or at least I'd tried to forget about him. It Was A Gentler Time.)

Police are searching for a newly-married 19-year-old "deaf-mute bride" from Alabama who has been missing from her home near Clinton Hill since Wednesday. Mrs. Annie Kelly of 155 South Oxford Street is described as five feet seven inches tall, weighing 115 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and was last seen dressed in a red blouse with white figures, a black skirt, black and white low heeled shoes, and a grey topcoat. Her husband, 26 year old Willy Kelly, a cook, told police she had been his childhood sweetheart in Troy, Alabama, and that they had married in Brooklyn last June. Despite her inability to speak, her husband states that she has applied recently for work at several war plants. She had less than a dollar in her possession at the time of her disappearance. Police are investigating the possibility that she has returned to Alabama.

If you think today's rush hour traffic on the BMT is something, Old Timer John P. Pfalzgraff is here to tell you that the traffic on the old Bergen Street trolley line had it all beat. But even despite the crushing crowds of commuters making their way into Manhattan aboard the old open cars, the line always ran on time, and the conductors were always friendly, especially a man named Meyer -- who conducted himself in the manner of the old Cavaliers in helping a lady down from the car to the street. "He must've had a fine voice in his youth, because he would also occasionally burst into song."

Reader W. Cope writes in to express concern that stirrup pumps and pails of sand won't be much good in the event of an actual bombing -- because who's going to be there to use them? "Everyone I have spoken to says they will run for dear life, especially if the bomb is a 'block buster.'" When the raid comes, he warns, it won't be one bomb -- it'll be hundreds, and says "I'd like to be enlightened!" The editor responds by pointing to the example of London, which has taken just such heavy bombing and has lived to tell about it. "And certainly the Londoners should know something about it!"

Dodger broadcaster Red Barber is responsible for as many as 27,000 blood donations during the baseball season just ended, according to figures assembled by the Brooklyn Red Cross. The broadcaster appealed for donations during each of his broadcasts, and will be honored for that work at a testimonial dinner at the Towers Hotel next Tuesday.

(Sigh. Baseball really is over. Sighhhhhhhh.)

Erasmus Hall High School got its revenge for the vandalism committed by the wall-painters of James Madison High by blanking their arch-rivals 13-0 before a crowd of 6000 at Lincoln Field. The victory is the eighth in a row by the Buff and Blue, spreading back to last season.

The Football Dodgers will shoot for their third in a row as they open their home season at Ebbets Field this afternoon. The Grid Flock under new head coach Mike Getto goes into today's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers leading the National Football League's Eastern Division for the first time in the history of the club. The Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions on the road to open the 1942 campaign.

The most formidable squad ever to face the Bushwicks invades Dexter Park today for an afternoon twinbill, headed by World Series stars Phil Rizzuto, Whitey Kurowski, and Hank Borowy. Buddy Hassett will also be on hand, but he won't play -- instead he'll manage the Major-Minor League All Star Squad for the day. Today's contests will mark Rizzuto's last civilian games for the duration as he heads into the Navy next week.

(REMEMBER YOU PROMISED IF I DO THIS PHOTO SHOOT I GET TO MEET BO, AMERICA'S NUMBER ONE HERO DOG! REMEMBER, YOU PROMISED!)

Yiddish stage favorite Molly Picon is returning to the boards next week -- in a theatre carrying her own name. The Molly Picon Theatre -- formerly the Jolson Theatre -- will present as its first attraction "Oy Is Dus A Leben," a musical cavalcade of the star's eventful career. Miss Picon has worked steadily during her hiatus from the Yiddish stage, starring on Broadway in "Morning Star," as well as in vaudeville and on radio. With her in her new production are her longtime aides-de-camp, composer Joseph Rumshinsky and librettist Jacob Kalich. Mr. Kalich, who is also Miss Picon's husband, will play himself in the new production.

(SERVES YA RIGHT)

Tea with Mint???? Well, at least it isn't lemon!

(HOW'M I DOIN' BO? JUST LIKE YA TAUGHT ME! I WANNA BE LIKE YOU WHEN I GROW UP BO AMERICA'S NUMBER ONE HERO DOG!)

(Well, at least it's not a beer ad.)

(Drama, huh? Wait'll Angel Varden shows up. And what bunk, Dan -- no shoe repair guy works that fast.)

(John LAND? A SEAman? C'mon, Hixie, stop making things up.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

"Intimate Moving Pictures?" Well, that's one way to get people interested in jury duty.

Don't forget the censor telling you just before air time that you can't actually kill anyone, even if it is a Halloween show.

NOTHING SHADY ABOUT THIS GUY NO SIRREE.

"Away, chipmunk-faced one," says the DL. "*I* am working this side of the street."

Forget this small-time stuff -- Terry could use your help.

And that's why rumble seats went out of style.

Smilin' Jerk.

When Pop moves in he'll put a stop to all this.

The saddest moment in growing up is the one where you realize you'll never play in leaves again.

Of course, some kids never play at all.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oh and...

"Wriggly teasers?"

 

[Fading Fast]

...

The most intensive manhunt in the Midwest since the days of John Dillinger pressed forward today as the search continues for John "The Terrible" Touhy, and six other desperate criminals he led in a dramatic escape from the Illinois State Penitentiary. Meanwhile, Governor Dwight H. Green has taken personal charge of the investigation into how Touhy and his confederates broke out of the supposedly escape-proof prison at Statesville. Governor Green stated his belief that outside conspirators smuggled in guns for the use of the escapees. Police have set up roadblocks thruout Northern Illinois, but so far Touhy and his men have successfully evaded all of them. The prisoners fled the prison in a green Ford sedan belonging to a guard. Police have begun a systematic search of known gangster hideouts on the belief that Touhy, nearly as notorious in the old Prohibition days as Al Capone, may be out for revenge against his sworn enemy Jake "The Barber" Factor, an international stock promoter for whose kidnapping Touhy was serving life imprisonment. Police have been ordered to shoot to kill, with Chicago chief of detectives John L. Sullivan commenting "we'll talk to this outfit in the morgue."
...

Never call something "unsinkable" or "escape-proof" or anything like that.

...

Police are searching for a newly-married 19-year-old "deaf-mute bride" from Alabama who has been missing from her home near Clinton Hill since Wednesday. Mrs. Annie Kelly of 155 South Oxford Street is described as five feet seven inches tall, weighing 115 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and was last seen dressed in a red blouse with white figures, a black skirt, black and white low heeled shoes, and a grey topcoat. Her husband, 26 year old Willy Kelly, a cook, told police she had been his childhood sweetheart in Troy, Alabama, and that they had married in Brooklyn last June. Despite her inability to speak, her husband states that she has applied recently for work at several war plants. She had less than a dollar in her possession at the time of her disappearance. Police are investigating the possibility that she has returned to Alabama.
...

Purely a instinct, but this story could turn out very ugly. Hopefully not and it's just that the girl wanted to go home, but it doesn't feel right.

...

(REMEMBER YOU PROMISED IF I DO THIS PHOTO SHOOT I GET TO MEET BO, AMERICA'S NUMBER ONE HERO DOG! REMEMBER, YOU PROMISED!)
...

"Whiskers, pshaw! What? Was 'Fluffy' already taken?"

...

Yiddish stage favorite Molly Picon is returning to the boards next week -- in a theatre carrying her own name. The Molly Picon Theatre -- formerly the Jolson Theatre -- will present as its first attraction "Oy Is Dus A Leben," a musical cavalcade of the star's eventful career. Miss Picon has worked steadily during her hiatus from the Yiddish stage, starring on Broadway in "Morning Star," as well as in vaudeville and on radio. With her in her new production are her longtime aides-de-camp, composer Joseph Rumshinsky and librettist Jacob Kalich. Mr. Kalich, who is also Miss Picon's husband, will play himself in the new production.
...

I understand less than half of what this article is saying, but "Oy" has been assimilated into NYC argot so much that you'll hear people of every background using it, even new immigrants. What was once "Catskill" humor, now comes out of the mouths of newly arrived Nigerian cabbies - it's a very cool NYC thing.

...

Tea with Mint???? Well, at least it isn't lemon!
...

I'm willing to bet it was infused with something a heck of a lot stronger than mint or lemon.

And in the Daily News...

"Intimate Moving Pictures?" Well, that's one way to get people interested in jury duty.
...

Somebody forgot to give Judge Hatton his "envelope" this month.

...

NOTHING SHADY ABOUT THIS GUY NO SIRREE.
...

In the second-to-last panel, it looks like glasses boy also burned off most of Frizzetop's left arm.

...

When Pop moves in he'll put a stop to all this.
...

Good punchline today in a very understated way.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Oy Is Dus a Leben" translates more or less to "Ohhhh, is this a life?" Add the proper intonation and it's a perfect title for the life story of a Yiddish comedienne. Miss Picon was sort of a less-brassy Fannie Brice in her performing style, and she had considerable crossover appeal to non-Jewish audiences. But unlike some Yiddish theatre performers who went mainstream and never looked back, she never forgot her roots. Her best known mainstream performance is in the movie version of "Fiddler on the Roof," as the matchmaker, matchmaker who makes with the match.

I bet it burned up Jolson they changed the name of his theatre.

 

[PrivateEye]

The saddest moment in growing up is the one where you realize you'll never play in leaves again.

It's even sadder when you realize it of your own children.