The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

(Keep 'em flying, Anne Magas!)

American and Australian patrols, mopping up in the wake of blasted Japanese forces, killed 135 enemy stragglers, and found 90 more dead from starvation in the North Papuan sector of New Guinea, according to a communique from the headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur. As Allied patrols harassed the enemy in the Kumsi-Opi River sectors between the Gona Mission, down the the northeastern New Guinea coast from the big Japanese base at Salamaua, other Australian forces were following up their damaging defeat of a 3000-man enemy force in the area of Wau and Mubo Village, just south of Salamua.

Allied Boston and Ventura bombers escorted by "many squadrons" of fighter planes attacked docks and shipping facilities at Boulogne and St. Malo, France, and the iron and steel work at Ijumden, Holland, the British Air Ministry reported last night. The fighters made supporting and diversionary sweeps, in the course of which they destroyed three enemy fighters. Six Allied fighters were lost in the raids, but all bombers returned safely to base.

("Ma neveh got oveh we din' have a choich wedd'n," sighs Sally. "Rings f'm a pawn shop, ten minutes at Borra Hawl," recalls Joe. "An'nen a wedd'n breakfas' at Hawrn n' Hawrda't's. Pretty good deal, I t'ink." "It ain' t'bill ya run up," nods Sally. "It's whatcha get f'ya money 'at counts. Now pass me s'mor'a t'em choc'lates, an' not one'a 'tem ones wit'ta funny white stuff in it." "I din' get non'a t'em," declares Joe. "I sez t'teh guy downa Schriebstein's, I sez, 'Sal wants cawr'm'ls an' caw'rm'ls she shall have." "Yeah," says Sally, popping one into her mouth. "I keep f'gett'n'ney ac'sh'lly sell canny down'neah.")

Naval authorities are conducting an intensive investigation into the death of Seaman Second Class Robert O. DeWolfe, the 22-year-old sailor whose body was found by IRT track walkers yesterday morning, 100 feet east of the Clark Street platform on the eastbound 7th Avenue line. Authorities have yet to determine if DeWolfe fell onto the tracks or if he was a victim of muggers who threw him off a speeding train. Police had the body removed to Cumberland Hospital where it was determined that the sailor, a native of North Field, Minnesota, had died from a fractured skull, but also had other injuries.

Private Jakie Webb, Cafe Society playboy turned phony Army captain turned guardhouse prisoner, is back in an Army psychiatric hospital near Reno, Nevada today after he was recaptured by authorities following an escape attempt. Private Webb, scion of New York's famous Vanderbilt family, had climbed out of a second story window clad only in a red Government Issue bathrobe and house slippers. Webb, most accustomed to weaving his way among night club tables, managed to elude Nevada State Police and walked ten miles to the Reno city limits, hired a taxicab, and checked himself into one of the city's finest hotels. Registering under the name of "Bill Derton," Webb told the incredulous desk clerk that "he couldn't sleep at home." Police arrived ten minutes later and took him back into custody. He is being investigated by Army psychiatrists in preparation for a court martial on charges of impersonating and officer and bringing disgrace upon the Army uniform.

(Meanwhile, Chuck Dressen draws his unemployment check and wonders "WHERE DID I GO WRONG?")

(Barney doesn't look much like a welterweight anymore. Must be those GI rations.)

The new Spencer Tracy-Katherine Hepburn mystery-drama "Keeper of the Flame," soon to open at Radio City Music Hall, will be Private George Cukor's adieu to the screen for the duration. The director, known for his accomplishments with such films as "The Philadelphia Story," "The Women," "Dinner at Eight," "A Bill of Divorcement," and last year's Tracy-Hepburn hit "Woman of the Year," was inducted into the Army at the completion of the new film, declaring that after twelve years at MGM, he'd gotten "a better offer from Uncle Sam."

(You must admit the "Ha-Ha!" is a nice touch. And nice to see Prune Face has already found another gig.)

(I bet that chair was a gift from Alice Marble, eh King?)

(Seriously, though, isn't that the only reason to own a bronze bust of yourself?)

(Hahahahahahahahahaha!)

(You're slipping, Mary. A couple years ago you would've spotted that right off. And I wonder if there's a real estate agency somewhere that specializes in Lairs, Hideouts, and Hidden Chambers?)

(Actually, the creator of those "Value Me As You Please" coins only marked them that way because he had, at first, attempted to pass a ha'penny's worth of copper off for threepence, and every tavernkeeper in Connecticut had thrown him out. True story.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

YA THINK?

"Aw, who's a nice doggie? OW!"

Nothing is ever so inaccurate as your first day impressions of a new job.

Well now. I would've never guessed Bim had such skills. That how you got your money?

Good ol' Bumphrey Hogart. I bet you know Bingrid Irgman too.

So, um, Pop -- hate to ask, but how's the romance going? Shadow your stepson yet?

So who's the sockair now?

******sob******

Actually, I kind of doubt that "CRACK AWRK!" would be exactly the sound heard. And I hope Annie, Junior, Chester, and Kayo are getting more than scale for showing up here.

Careful, kid. You're a better poker player than this.

 

[PrivateEye]

Today's posts will be delayed a bit while I take an unexpected and not especially desired trip to the dentist. Till I return, Happy Skeezix's Birthday!

View attachment 489528

Thanks Lizzie, hope everything went smoothly and painlessly!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Thanks Lizzie, hope everything went smoothly and painlessly!

Except when they handed me the bill. I lost a piece of a tooth eating some caramels and it serves me right. Have to go back next month to get the repair done, today was just the (*gag*) X-rays...

 

[Fading Fast]

...

("Ma neveh got oveh we din' have a choich wedd'n," sighs Sally. "Rings f'm a pawn shop, ten minutes at Borra Hawl," recalls Joe. "An'nen a wedd'n breakfas' at Hawrn n' Hawrda't's. Pretty good deal, I t'ink." "It ain' t'bill ya run up," nods Sally. "It's whatcha get f'ya money 'at counts. Now pass me s'mor'a t'em choc'lates, an' not one'a 'tem ones wit'ta funny white stuff in it." "I din' get non'a t'em," declares Joe. "I sez t'teh guy downa Schriebstein's, I sez, 'Sal wants cawr'm'ls an' caw'rm'ls she shall have." "Yeah," says Sally, popping one into her mouth. "I keep f'gett'n'ney ac'sh'lly sell canny down'neah.")
...

Of course that will work because no man or woman ever removed a wedding band when on the make.

...

The new Spencer Tracy-Katherine Hepburn mystery-drama "Keeper of the Flame," soon to open at Radio City Music Hall, will be Private George Cukor's adieu to the screen for the duration. The director, known for his accomplishments with such films as "The Philadelphia Story," "The Women," "Dinner at Eight," "A Bill of Divorcement," and last year's Tracy-Hepburn hit "Woman of the Year," was inducted into the Army at the completion of the new film, declaring that after twelve years at MGM, he'd gotten "a better offer from Uncle Sam."
...

"Keeper of the Flame" is an uneven effort from this team, but still worthy of the watch.

I'm surprised Cukor isn't going in as an officer as you'd think he could leverage his talent and connections for an officer's rank, which means maybe he chose not to.

...

(You're slipping, Mary. A couple years ago you would've spotted that right off. And I wonder if there's a real estate agency somewhere that specializes in Lairs, Hideouts, and Hidden Chambers?)
...

The speech about taste changing tucked inside "Mary Worth" today is spot on and a good reminder for either picking on past periods or feeling too confident that what we do today will look good in fifty or a hundred years.

I don't know about a real estate agency, but the construction firm of Basements 'r Us happens to have a Lairs, Hideouts and Hidden Chambers 'r Us division that has been quite busy of late.

And in the Daily News...

YA THINK?
...

Miss Frisby is one of the scariest calmly psychotic persons we have met on Page Four and that is saying a lot.

...

So who's the sockair now?
...

Rogue is on the wrong side, but she is an impressive woman, especially pulling a D. B. Cooper. Once again, Caniff shows us that he likes creating strong women characters. Sometimes they are nice and sometimes not, but almost all of them are a force to recon with.

...

Actually, I kind of doubt that "CRACK AWRK!" would be exactly the sound heard. And I hope Annie, Junior, Chester, and Kayo are getting more than scale for showing up here.
...

It would probably sound more like thick jello hitting a working Cuisinart.

Good to see Cindy getting some fresh clothes on, it was touch and go there for awhile.

...

Careful, kid. You're a better poker player than this.

If he says "Ho! Ho!" one more time, somebody has got to slap him upside his head.

And yes, that was uncharacteristically badly played by Annie.

Except when they handed me the bill. I lost a piece of a tooth eating some caramels and it serves me right. Have to go back next month to get the repair done, today was just the (*gag*) X-rays...

Glad thing went well considering the problem.

As to the bill, at least for me and as opposed to medical bills, my dental bill is a real bill that can be understood and doesn't hide anything. Mine was for X-rays, cleaning, a checkup and a set of replacement retainers (they have to be replaced every five years), so the bill exceeded my first semester at a State University I attended in the '80s, but again, the bill was spot on to the listed prices, transparent and final. I haven't had one medical bill in the past two decades that met those criteria.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Good luck at the dentist. I, too, am off, in five minutes, to the dentist.

I've taken a week's 'holiday' for demographic global economic crisis analyses. Not quite a dental appointment.

The war bridal piece is sweet. Last week I sat Summer of '42 and I walked into a hard right cross to the heart.

Pvt Webb isn't insane just caught entangled within the Web of Fate just like everyone else.

I've noticed the dead GI stories or involved as in the slain bride lower train berth. The quality of the circa newspapers cannot be denied but are not easy reads.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("I t'ought we was awl done wit' freezin'," shivers Joe, huddling closer to the crackling space heater. "HEY!" yells Sally, banging a pipe wrench on the radiator. "WHASSAMATTEH DOWNEAH?" "Y'otta cawl ya Uncle Frank again," chatters Joe. "He says'em coal grates ain' come in yet," Sally snaps back. "Even f'Uncle Frank, t'eah's a wawr on," she continues, as Leonora sniffles and pulls at her ear. "C'meah unneh t'blanket," Sally urges, "an' we'll take ya't t'docteh again t'marra." "C'n ya get in?" asks Joe. "Uncle Frank soivices t'docteh's office," comments Sally. "Ah," nods Joe.)

Royal Air Force bombers dealt a double attack agains the Axis last night with a blockbuster raid on Cologne, and an assault on two important Italian war centers -- Milan and the great naval base at Spezia. A tremendous weight of three-ton bombs and incendiaries fell on Cologne in the 113th Allied raid of the war against that German city, which last year underwent a 1000-plane attack by the RAF. A British Air Ministry spokesman reported that eleven planes failed to return home from last night's raids. The Italian radio reported 16 persons were killed and 224 wounded in the attack on Milan, and conceded that "great damage" had been done.

A dispatch from Berne, Switzerland reported in the London Evening Standard states that Adolf Hitler has relinquished personal supreme command of the German Armies to Field Marshal Fritz von Mannerstein. There is no official confirmation of that report, but observers in London stated that they "would not be surprised if this happens, or if it has happened already." The mounting disaster for Nazi forces in Russia has apparently "cause dissension of some kind" in the German High Command, with military observers expressing the view that Hitler will likely be forced to give up the direction of strategy on the Eastern Front. A dispatch from Zurich speculated that Hitler may soon announce the formation of a "defense council" which will involve many changes in the high command, including the resignation of a number of prominent generals.

Air raid wardens are preparing to enforce a new blackout with new warning signals effective this week. The next drill will be held Thursday at 9PM, according to Mayor LaGuardia, who announced in yesterday's weekly radio broadcast over WNYC that the Thursday drill will follow official implementation of the new signal program by the Army effective this Wednesday. The Mayor stressed in his explanation of the new signal plan that the all clear will be sounded by the blowing of whistles by air raid wardens and police patrolmen, instead of sounding the all clear, as in the past, by sirens. The Mayor did not, in his broadcast, answer a question which has been troubling local wardens -- namely, how does a warden notify Mrs. Jones on the third floor to turn out her lights if blowing a whistle might be misinterpreted as the "all clear?" The Mayor emphasized that residents should keep their radios turned on thruout any alert for broadcast announcements.

Scrawny bespectacled Mohandas K. Gandhi is reported to be suffering slight nausea and dizziness today as he enters the sixth day of his fast, which has already developed into a war of nerves between Gandhi's Indian Nationalist movement and the ruling British government. His back propped up by pillows and his thin legs crossed, Gandhi was reported today to be reading the newspapers and dictating letters from his "prison" in the Aga Khan's palace. Also sharing his internment is Gandhi's wife, who is herself ill, and his goat, which usually provides Gandhi with milk. During his present fast, the Nationalist leader is partaking only of water mixed with fruit juice.

As the temperature continues to hover near the zero mark, secondary fuel oil dealers serving Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island collectively threw up their hands today in despair in the face of a critical shortage. The local heating situation grew even more desperate when it was learned that the War Production Board may soon issue an order curtailing the use of gas for heating non-essential businesses. By 7 this morning the Brooklyn Union Gas Company had sent out 112,000,000 cubic feet of the gas over the previous 24 hours, but with the temperature continuing to drop the demand on the gas supply is increasing, and a WPB curtailment order may be imminent. The Brooklyn Union Gas Company provides gas for heating purposes to 14,000 homes in the borough, as well as to 9,000 commercial customers, including such non-essential business enterprises as restaurants, barber shops, and beauty shops. Such businesses would be the first to be ordered closed should the curtailment order be issued. The gas company is asking all consumers to avoid the use of gas ranges for baking or roasting, and to do all cooking for each meal at once for the duration of the present cold spell, and to put off the daily bath or shower while using only a minimum of hot water for any necessary washing. Thermostats in gas-heated homes should be set back five degrees below the normal setting, and all unused rooms should be closed off.

The oil situation, meanwhile, is so dire that the fuel oil supply in the borough may last "only a few more hours." "We have no reserve supply," stated Gardner Patterson of the Burns Bros. company, heating oil distributors. "We've managed to squeeze thru till now," he continued, "but the weather will have something to do with it from here on." Fred H. Gilbert of the Patchogue Oil Terminal Corporation, one of the jobbers supplying retailers in this area, stated that his firm has only enough oil available to last until about 4 this afternoon. The fuel oil manager of the Arguls Gas and Oil Sales Company offered an even more dire prediction -- stating that his company has only enough oil to last until 1 PM, "or maybe 1:30. Then we close the plant. There's nothing else to do unless we get relief." At the Dale Coal and Coke Corporation, assistant General Manager Norman Serota declared that his firm has already exhausted its supply of fuel oil. "We have no oil at all," he said, "and we don't have any coming to us this week."

(The theatres are still open, at least, but Gypsy's so cold she's wearing a sweater!)

("There's No One With Endurance Like The Man Who Sells Insurance.")

Comedian Jimmy Durante is on his way to Los Angeles after learning of the death there last night of his wife, Mrs. Jean Olsen Durante. Before boarding his plane west, the grief-stricken actor commented that he has lost his father and his sister over the past two years, and Mrs. Durante had lost her father and her brother. Durante expressed doubt that he could fulfill a performance on a New York radio program scheduled for next Friday.

Mayor LaGuardia has declared war on butter profiteering. In his weekly radio broadcast yesterday, the Mayor announced "an immediate crackdown" on any and all retailers selling butter in the city for more than 57 cents a pound or 15 cents a quarter-pound stick. The Mayor pledged that all violators will be prosecuted under the authority of the Department of Markets. "Any store that does that," he declared, "don't expect that we'll overlook it." The Mayor called 57 cents a pound "a generous ceiling price," and any price charged in excess of that will be considered profiteering.

(PItchers and catchers should be reporting this week, and now the fact that 1943 will not be just another season begins to really hit home....)

(NOTHING SUSPICIOUS ABOUT THESE TWO NO SIREE)

(This is why you should always have a chain on your door.)

(At least the water comes out of his mouth.)

(DON"T WORRY FOLKS TRIX ISN'T REALLY A BAD DOG HE'S JUST MY FOIL EVERY GREAT ACTOR HAS A FOIL ISN'T THAT RIGHT TRIX? TRIX???)

(Don't meddle with things that aren't your business, kid.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

No, go ahead and kick him. Maybe the Army will make that part of his sentence. Meanwhile, how often do you see O'Dwyer and Amen on the same page anymore? Those days seem like a million years ago.

"It's like living in the Half Moon Hotel!"

Aw, c'mon, Taff -- you're smarter than this.

Actor? That's what you get for hiring non-Equity.

And they say Chester Gould has no sense of humor.

Careful, Tilda -- don't spend all your capital in one place.

The manpower shortage really *is* this bad.

Miss Prang wouldn't stand for any of this.

Kid, you're such a chump.

NAKED PLUSHIE! NAKED PLUSHIE! NAKED PLUSHIE!

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Harold is quite edge-of-seat-of-late.

 

[Fading Fast]

("I t'ought we was awl done wit' freezin'," shivers Joe, huddling closer to the crackling space heater. "HEY!" yells Sally, banging a pipe wrench on the radiator. "WHASSAMATTEH DOWNEAH?" "Y'otta cawl ya Uncle Frank again," chatters Joe. "He says'em coal grates ain' come in yet," Sally snaps back. "Even f'Uncle Frank, t'eah's a wawr on," she continues, as Leonora sniffles and pulls at her ear. "C'meah unneh t'blanket," Sally urges, "an' we'll take ya't t'docteh again t'marra." "C'n ya get in?" asks Joe. "Uncle Frank soivices t'docteh's office," comments Sally. "Ah," nods Joe.)
...

It's good to have an Uncle Frank.

I would never have died in a refrigerator the way that kid sadly did as my parents would never - and I mean never - have put up with me jumping out from hidden spaces and scaring them.

...

A dispatch from Berne, Switzerland reported in the London Evening Standard states that Adolf Hitler has relinquished personal supreme command of the German Armies to Field Marshal Fritz von Mannerstein. There is no official confirmation of that report, but observers in London stated that they "would not be surprised if this happens, or if it has happened already." The mounting disaster for Nazi forces in Russia has apparently "cause dissension of some kind" in the German High Command, with military observers expressing the view that Hitler will likely be forced to give up the direction of strategy on the Eastern Front. A dispatch from Zurich speculated that Hitler may soon announce the formation of a "defense council" which will involve many changes in the high command, including the resignation of a number of prominent generals.
...

The real-time analysis of Hitler's hold on power by the Allies was logical in theory, but completely missed the, in reality, insane grip on total power that Hitler had nearly to the last minute.

...

(PItchers and catchers should be reporting this week, and now the fact that 1943 will not be just another season begins to really hit home....)
...

Quite a year not to be heading south. Should be fun playing baseball once they clear the snow from the practice fields.

...

(This is why you should always have a chain on your door.)
...

I don't think they make chains strong enough to stop Hippy.

Scarlett's best play is to break free somehow and go invisible and fast. This is the exactly type of scene we need to see between Mike and Amber, that would be a much-more fun one.

...

(At least the water comes out of his mouth.)
...

Now, Lizzie, behave.

...

Aw, c'mon, Taff -- you're smarter than this.
...

Jealousy often short-circuits intelligence. Heck, that provides us with some fun on Page Four every now and then.

...

NAKED PLUSHIE! NAKED PLUSHIE! NAKED PLUSHIE!

The comics are all kittywampus today: Mike and Amber, not Hippy and Scarlet, should be girl fighting and, well, almost anyone but Plushie should be naked - for example, Taffy could have just gotten out of the shower when Flip arrived.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

I missed Terrence earlier. The criminal treasonous indictment awaiting Rouge portends death.
I assume this pencil has lead.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("Hey!" shouts Joe, as he bursts into the still-chilly apartment shortly after 9 AM, as Sally is bundling Leonora up for a trip to the clinic. "I got news! Guess who's gonna get p'moted t'seniyeh machinist? An' guess who, stawrtin' Monday, is gonna be woikin' at Bush Toimenal?" "Huh?" blinks Sally, her deadpan firmly fixed. "'Oh, Joe, not t'at goil weahs her haieh like Veronica Lake?" "Ha ha," hahs Joe, "be funny. Gonna be onna foeh t'midnight shift, no moeh'a t'is ovehnight stuff, an' best'v all, no moeh Lawn Guylan Rail Road!" "Rail road SPPPPPPT!" interjects Leonora, by way of congratulation. "T'ank gawd f'sump'n good happ'nin f'oncet," proclaims Sally after an appropriate exchange of affection. "I was jus' down tawkin't t'lanloehd, an' he says we got a day's woit' a' erl left inna tankm an' he don' 'spect no moeh till wheneveh. So y'betteh pack up t'grips, an' get ready t'go back t'Ma's." "Even'nat don' bot'teh me," declares Joe, tearing his commuter pass to small bits. "NO MOEH LAWN GUYLAN' RAIL ROAD!" "Uh," notes Sally, "dincha say ya don' stawrt at Bush Toimenal t'ill Monday? T'is is is Tuesday. Y'got foeh moeh days y'gonna need t'at." "Oh," groans Joe. "Oh oh," commiserates Leonora.)

Allied bombers battered Japanese bases thruout the Southwest Pacific area yesterday, hitting Rabaul on New Britain Island for the second straight night with more than 38 tons of explosives and 1500 incendiaries, and blasting Ambon, Dobo, Dilli, and Lae in one of the heaviest and most widespread series of raids of the war. A single Flying Fortress led the way over Rabaul, followed 45 minutes later by the first full wave of bombers, which remained over the target for about an hour and a half before being joined by a second wave. When the raiders finished their work, Simpson Harbor was a ring of thick smoke, flames, and explosions, as the planes all returned safely, despite heavy anti-aircraft fire, to base.

Soviet doctors are performing medical miracles at the front, according to reports in London. Pressed by the necessities of war, and working within earshot of artillery and aerial bombs, Red Army surgeons have succeeded in reducing the death toll from stomach injuries by one third, from head and chest wounds by two thirds, from spinal wounds by four fifths, and from anaerobic bacterial infections from 60 percent to merely 10 percent. It is also reported that Soviet scientists are near success in efforts to develop an effective preventative and cure for tuberculosis. One surgeon is credited with the successful transfer of a motor nerve from a person killed in an accident to the shattered arm of a Red Army commander, where the transplanted nerve has taken root. Since that original patient returned to duty, it is reported that the transplant operation has been successfully completed many times.

Representative Claire Boothe Luce (R-Connecticut) renewed her attack on the "freedom of the air" policy proposed for the post-war world by Vice President Henry Wallace in testimony today before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, declaring that allowing "complete freedom of the airlanes" to all nations after the war would be "dangerous to America from both a military and an economic standpoint." Mrs. Luce further argued that such a policy would "drive down the cost of living in this country," and would "mean that we would have to compete with subsidized countries which would be given the right to freely land their airplanes on our airports."

Observers in Washington expressed doubt today that Finland will turn on its Nazi friends in the wake of the election of new Finnish president Risto Ryti. An authoritative source stated today that the United States is more interested in definite actions to clear Finland of German troops and Nazi influence than in any particular political developments in that country's government.

Mohandas K. Gandhi has entered a critical stage in his current fast, now entering its seventh day. The Indian Nationalist leader continues to suffer from "nausea and chills," according to reports from Poona, India, where Gandhi is being held at the palace of the Aga Khan. Sir Henry Richardson, European leader in the Central Assembly, charged that the fast is only a new form of the All-India Congress's challenge to the British government, and declared that "a pistol is held against our forehead. We cannot surrender."

(Clean sheets don't keep you any warmer than dirty ones.)

Price Administrator Prentiss M. Brown pledged today that the Office of Price Administration will wipe out the black markets in meat, butter, and other scarce commodities. In an exclusive interview with the United Press, the OPA chief asserted that the black market has presently "reached its peak," and that the agency is prepared to use "every means at its disposal" to crush all illegal manipulations that, he declared, are "sabotaging the war economy." Brown outlined four specific methods now in use to break the back of the black market, including extensive use of the press , radio and other methods to inform the public as to the health menace brought by unsanitary black market goods; the rigorous pursuit of legal action against violators and strict enforcement of all ceiling price and sanitation codes; the soon-to-be implemented system of point rationing; and the likely imposition soon of ceiling prices on live cattle.

Reader "Ground-Grubber" writes in to dismiss claims by some that the greatest menace to Brooklyn this spring will be roaming cats. Instead, "Grubber" notes, it's likely to be the same menace that despoiled gardens last year -- neighborhood hoodlums who rampaged thru clearly-marked vegetable patches, trampling the young vines and stripping off the fruits, only to throw them in the streets and byways, "a total loss." "It would be an excellent undertaking," Grubber contends, "for all boys and girls of 'Scout' age and over to do, under supervision, some work of real consequence in gardening and other civic projects."

("Oh yeah?" sneer the Girls From Marketing.)

Thirty-three men and women have volunteered to be used as "human guinea pigs" in tests to determine whether the common house mouse is a major carrier of the polio virus. Dr. William Holla, health commissioner for Westchester County, says that his volunteers for the tests include a doctor, a dentist, a Sing Sing Prison inmate, and two parolees. One man, he said, asked for a $12,000 fee. Further tests will be conducted on actual guinea pigs, rabbits, and monkeys before the tests are performed on human subjects.

(Why doesn't Leo just get spike plates attached to his civilian shoes? Those two-toned wingtips would look awful snazzy on the field.)

("Night Monster?" Yeah, that about fits Atwill. And meanwhile, for the information of the public, here is the public-service cartoon "Point Rationing of Foods," now showing at your neighborhood theatre:

)

("Herbert Fopply?" "Look, it's not easy to come up with a phony name, OK? Be nice.")

(Who knows? Mr. Stamm took the afternoon off.)

(Maybe she's not Burma, but I swear Mr. Andriola is tracing Burma to draw her. Mr. Caniff's lawyers will be in touch.)

(Somebody's overdoing their meat ration.)

("You don't know me, Hugh. You don't know me at all. I am not merely an avenger of the night, Hugh. I *am* the night.")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Marriage license declined on the basis of "Insufficient Funds."

A busy day for the Supreme Court.

That's right, kid, great big puppy dog eyes. Oh, wait.

Wait'll he finds out they made Horace a sergeant.

Gus is getting good use out of that "G. I. Slang" booklet he got for Christmas.

Back from Stalingrad so soon?

Sorry kids, you're In The Army Now.

Better watch it, Frizz, this kid has BAD INFLUENCE written all over him.

"You may think you're cool, but you'll never be Moon Mullins smoking a cigar in his undershirt in February cool."

Still want that draft exemption, kid?

 

[Fading Fast]

("Hey!" shouts Joe, as he bursts into the still-chilly apartment shortly after 9 AM, as Sally is bundling Leonora up for a trip to the clinic. "I got news! Guess who's gonna get p'moted t'seniyeh machinist? An' guess who, stawrtin' Monday, is gonna be woikin' at Bush Toimenal?" "Huh?" blinks Sally, her deadpan firmly fixed. "'Oh, Joe, not t'at goil weahs her haieh like Veronica Lake?" "Ha ha," hahs Joe, "be funny. Gonna be onna foeh t'midnight shift, no moeh'a t'is ovehnight stuff, an' best'v all, no moeh Lawn Guylan Rail Road!" "Rail road SPPPPPPT!" interjects Leonora, by way of congratulation. "T'ank gawd f'sump'n good happ'nin f'oncet," proclaims Sally after an appropriate exchange of affection. "I was jus' down tawkin't t'lanloehd, an' he says we got a day's woit' a' erl left inna tankm an' he don' 'spect no moeh till wheneveh. So y'betteh pack up t'grips, an' get ready t'go back t'Ma's." "Even'nat don' bot'teh me," declares Joe, tearing his commuter pass to small bits. "NO MOEH LAWN GUYLAN' RAIL ROAD!" "Uh," notes Sally, "dincha say ya don' stawrt at Bush Toimenal t'ill Monday? T'is is is Tuesday. Y'got foeh moeh days y'gonna need t'at." "Oh," groans Joe. "Oh oh," commiserates Leonora.)
...

My small hands-across-time connect to Joe is that for several years I worked across the street from a beautiful gothic-inspired high-rise which was Bush Tower, the corporate headquarters of the company that owned Bush Terminal.

Bush Tower

...

Soviet doctors are performing medical miracles at the front, according to reports in London. Pressed by the necessities of war, and working within earshot of artillery and aerial bombs, Red Army surgeons have succeeded in reducing the death toll from stomach injuries by one third, from head and chest wounds by two thirds, from spinal wounds by four fifths, and from anaerobic bacterial infections from 60 percent to merely 10 percent. It is also reported that Soviet scientists are near success in efforts to develop an effective preventative and cure for tuberculosis. One surgeon is credited with the successful transfer of a motor nerve from a person killed in an accident to the shattered arm of a Red Army commander, where the transplanted nerve has taken root. Since that original patient returned to duty, it is reported that the transplant operation has been successfully completed many times.
....

Uh-huh.

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("Night Monster?" Yeah, that about fits Atwill. And meanwhile, for the information of the public, here is the public-service cartoon "Point Rationing of Foods," now showing at your neighborhood theatre:

)
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That's a really neat video.

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(Maybe she's not Burma, but I swear Mr. Andriola is tracing Burma to draw her. Mr. Caniff's lawyers will be in touch.)
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The real tragedy here is the career decline of the actress who plays Burma. You would think that after having a major role in "Terry and the Pirates," she could have at least gotten a role in "Dick Tracy" if she was going to accept a part in a detective strip. What's next for her, dare I say it, Huge Striver?"

...

("You don't know me, Hugh. You don't know me at all. I am not merely an avenger of the night, Hugh. I *am* the night.")

After several days of coherent storytelling, it's back to being a hot mess.

And in the Daily News...

Marriage license declined on the basis of "Insufficient Funds.

"Lieut. Louise Stewart of Villanova PA, a former assistant editor of the Ladies Home Journal, was asked why the Marine Corps had not chosen a special name for the women's service."

"I would rather be called a marine than anything else."

I'm glad she's fighting on our side.

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A busy day for the Supreme Court.
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Nice to see our old "friend" Lepke not get a reprieve. It's also interesting to see Enoch Johnson mentioned who, I admit, I only know about because of the fictionalized version of him that was on the TV show "Boardwalk Empire," which unbelievably is over ten years old now.

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Wait'll he finds out they made Horace a sergeant.
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Interesting the way "drag" is used as slang for influence or pull. It makes sense based on the word's definition, but I haven't seen it used that way before. Oh, and God Wilmer is a PITA.

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Sorry kids, you're In The Army Now.
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Shut up Rogue.

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Better watch it, Frizz, this kid has BAD INFLUENCE written all over him.
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I know I've mentioned this before, but there were several periods, especially when I was very young, when my dad supported us by betting on the horses. "Going to the track" was treated very seriously and without a hint of irony in my house growing up.

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Still want that draft exemption, kid?

It's not too late to switch horses right now, Kid, and it will be less painful now than later.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Point Rationing of Foods" was directed without credit by Chuck Jones, of Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck/Road Runner fame, whose unit at the Schlesinger studio turned it out in about a month, working at night and off the clock. In addition to its value as a propaganda film, it's now considered a pioneering use of abstract design in American animation, and pointed the way to a lot of the flat stylization that took over animiation in the postwar era.

And yes, it gets the point across far more clearly than pages of explanations would.

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Terrence is certainly none too subtle what with Rouge openly scorned and Taffy pulled.
And Harold trips this reader up but it's a good show with goggles sans her mask with these two staring each other.

The amount of information made public in newspapers and editorial copy quality is streets above most Fleet Street.
Very top shelf and all front burner. A damn fine show.

 

[LizzieMaine]

("Of courrrse, daughter," declares Ma Sweeney, "y'may stay aas long as ye want., it's only..." "Only what?" sighs Sally, as she releases Stella the Cat from her bag, and Joe wrestles the rest of the bags up the stairs. "Well, daughter," Ma continues, "I merely suggest thot aafter Joseph goes to work tonight thot you and little Leonora go out to a picture show. A foine film playin' tonight at the Patio, there is. All aboot poirates, with Toirone Power in it, a very good picture indeed." Sally twists her face into a gag. "Meh," she snorts. "Tyrone Poweh. Look, Ma, we're awl tiehed, an' if it's awla same t'you we'd jus' like to toin in oily t'night." "Well, ye see," sighs Ma, "it's loike this then. I have a little gaatherin' here in th' place, you know, ev'ry Wednesday noite aafter the store closes, just me an' -- ahhh -- some of the ladies f'm around the th' neighborhood, we -- ah -- woork on our tattin' an' our embroidery an' all that." "Aw," shrugs Sally, "we c'n sleep t'rough t'at." "Wellll, daughter, ye see, soometimes t'ladies get a bit excited about -- well, ye know, a stitch done especially foine. Ye understand. Yes, indeed, daughter. Toirone Power. An' some other picture too, a double feature it is." "All right," sighs Sally, too tired to argue. "Tyrone Poweh." "Ahhh, ye might aafter the show, stop off forr a snack or a saandwich. The Bickford's down Flaaatbush Avenue is open late." "Bickfe'ds? Y'mean t' one acrost f'm Erasmus? At's nine blocks an' back! I'd rat'teh jus' come home an' go t'bed." "Ah, thaat's the problem, daughter, ye see, all the ladies will -- ah -- haave their cooats on ye' bed. They haave those delicious cakes at Bickford's now. You'll have a lovvely evenin', ye' will." "I s'pose." "Aand bring me back soom of those doughnuts, will ye now? Thaat's a good girl.")

American naval forces will soon shift to the offensive against the Axis submarine menace, the commandant of the 3rd Naval District today told graduates of the U. S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen's school. Speaking during gradutation ceremonies at Riverside Church in Manhattan, Vice Admiral Adolphus Andrews emphasized that Germany is turning out new U-Boats at the rate of twenty per month, and though Allied forces have had success in sinking them, "we are not sinking them fast enough." Admiral Andrews stressed that more ships are needed to begin the necessary offensive to win the battle for the North Atlantic, and warned against the "false optimism" of looking for an early end to the war. He assured the midshipmen that "they will have ample opportunity to prove their worth" in battle.

(An Assistant Corporation Counsel, like an elephant, never forgets.)

In Hollywood, screen star Lana Turner collapsed today at the bedside of her former husband, who had taken an overdose of sleeping pills when she refused to marry him again. Stephen Crane, whose marriage to Miss Turner was recently annulled when it was revealed that he was still married to another woman, attempted suicide Monday night after going to Miss Turner's home and demanding an immediate reply to his new proposal. Crane's marriage to his previous wife, society figure Carol Kurtz Crane, was officially dissolved on January 19th, but Miss Turner refused to call off the annulment proceedings she had begun in December, and on February 4th that annulment was granted. Crane and Miss Turner had eloped last summer, following her divorce from her previous husband, orchestra leader Artie Shaw.

The Brooklyn Union Gas Company has received a sufficient supply of fuel oil to remain in operation for three more days, forestalling the immediate need to restrict the supply of illuminating gas to customers. Industrial customers not engaged in war work had already seen their gas supply restricted, and company president Clifford E. Paige announced today that the situation remains serious, and that home subscribers should continue to do everything in their power to restrict their use of gas ranges, heaters, and other gas-fired equipment.

Although rising temperatures have somewhat improved the situation, the fuel oil shortage remains severe, and it is anticipated that the vast majority of commercial laundries in the metropolitan area will be forced to close within two weeks. Deputy regional director of the WPB and PAW H. M. Brundage stated today that approximately 85 percent of laundries will have to close entirely by the first of the month, with the remaining laundries kept open at about 75 percent capacity to handle only work for hospitals, doctors, and other essential services. There will be no laundry service at all for the civilian public, and those families without washing machines will have no other recourse than to renew acquaintance with the washtub and the scrub board.

(*snif*. Keep 'em flying, kid, wherever you are.)

An overheated boiler on the top floor of a Manhattan dance hall exploded last night, tearing off part of the roof of the three story building, but none of the 75 dancers present in the ballroom were seriously hurt. A chunk of the boiler from the building at 88 Columbus Avenue was found several hundred yards from the scene, and a piece of the building's wall smashed thru the plate glass window of a Bickford's restaurant, narrowly missing several customers. Windows were reported shattered for hundreds of feet along Broadway. Few people were about at the late hour, and police say that fact prevented serious injuries or loss of life.

Persons with surnames beginning with the letters A thru F should report to their neighborhood elementary schools on Tuesday to register for War Ration Book No. 2, containing the necessary stamps for the new point-rationing program that begins next month. Persons whose names begin with G thru O will report on Wednesday, and P thru Z will be registered on Thursday. Schools will be open from 3pm thru 7pm each afternoon and evening from Tuesday thru Thursday for registration.. OPA officials stress that only one member of each family need appear to register for each member of their family, including those whose surnames might begin with a different letter, but each family member's valid copy of Ration Book No. 1 must be presented in order to qualify for Ration Book No. 2.

A former aide to then-Manhattan District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey has been charged with consipracy to seize control of a union local while assigned to investigate allegations of corruption within that local. Victor J. Herwitz, a former Assistant District Attorney under Dewey, was charged today in affadavits filed in Manhattan Supreme Court with conspiring with Daniel J. Sullivan, now president of Local 32-B of the Building Service Employees International Union to force out Herman Palatnik, formerly the chairman of the local's District Council 2, and a political rival of Sullivan. James M. Bambrick, former President of the local, contends that he was forced out of his position and imprisoned due to the manipulations of Herwitz and Sullivan, and another opponent of Sullivan claims that he was threatened with indicutment by Herwitz unless he stepped aside. After receiving a clean bill of health from Herwitz's investigation, Sullivan was elected local president in September 1941, and Herwitz immediately resigned from his job as assistant district attorney and was hired by Sullivan to serve as legal counsel to the local.

Police Commissioner Lewis J. Valentine is promising a police department shakeup in the wake of recent unsolved murders. The Commissioner warned top-ranking members of the department that he is in "no way satisified" with the progress of the investigations into several recent cases, including the slaying of Mrs. Nahamah Baranow in a Brooklyn elevator earlier this month, and also expressed concern about the potential for mass confusion tomorrow night when the new air raid warning system receives its first test. The Commissioner declared there is no excuse, war or not, for the recent murders going unsolved, and he warned department members to give "full cooperation" to air raid wardens during the coming drill.

(Isn't Mr. Nelson doing anything about this???)

("Um," whispers John McDonald to his new secretary as he looks around his new office, "have there been any -- uh -- messages?" "Non, monsieur," replies the secretary. "That is to say, no sir." "No telegrams?" "Non." "No telephone calls? No calls from a man with a -- loud, shouting voice? Or another man who sounds -- well, uh --," and here Mr. McDonald makes a tippling motion with his right hand and staggers in a small circle around the carpet. "Non, monsieur." Mr. McDonald exhales a deep sigh, the sigh of the just. "There is, sir, however, how you say, le coils, a parcel, has arrived. From the Brooklyn." "A parcel," stammers Mr. McDonald, the color draining from his features. He opens the door to his private office to see a large wooden crate sitting on the floor before his desk. "Did you open..."
"Non, monsieur. Here is le conaissement -- the bill of the lading. You see, it contains, la tete d'orignal, le caribou...the, how you say, head of the moose. Monsieur? Monsieur???")

("Send them away" -- tie them up in our basement lair. Because, you know...)

(Nah, you'll blend right into the woodwork.)

(Mike isn't going to take it like Irwin did. KICK HIM HARD.)

(GRRR! I HAD TO GO ALL THE WAY TO JERSEY TO GET THIS LEG BONE. GO GET YOUR OWN!)

(He traded that other gun for this neat novelty cigarette lighter. What? It makes sense enough for this strip.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Your comment, Governor Dewey?

Won't *this* be interesting.

I don't know what the military entomology would be, but around here, a pogie, or a pogy, is another name for menhaden -- a small, greasy "trash fish" caught in nets and used as lobster bait. Why that would translate to "candy" is probably a rich field for research.

WELL MIGHT AS WELL GET TO IT

"Bum!" laughs Leonora. "Bum! Bum!" "Hey," heys Joe. "Is she *readin' 'at? Eighteen mont's ol', an' she's readin'?" "Nah," shrugs Sally. "She jus' knows a bum when she sees one."

"Nah, it's just th' sawdust Ma is usin' 'steada flour!"

Forty years from now, Wilmer will be the guy who never shuts up about being a veteran.

Ah yes, Not-Sergeant Lee. Whatever became of him?

The Club Whoopanholler? Say hi to Tommy Manville.

"Wish *I'D* thought of that!"

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oh, and...

AND DON'T TRY TO CHEAT!

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Lora and Joan are dolls. Hugh and Harold are luck lads in this war.
I believe Darryl Zanuck had a hardscrabble adolescence that included a hitch in the US Army. Quite a telling tale but every private carries a field marshal's baton inside his knapsack. I may be mistaken about Zanuck, but he does hail that studio mogul generation of rough hewn men, lads who rose and made good themselves.