The Era -- Day By Day

[3fingers]

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No matter how many times I see this I still laugh every time.

 

[Fading Fast]

No matter how many times I see this I still laugh every time.

I'm glad you said it as I feel the same way - I chuckle every single time. Sometimes I almost want Lizzie to post later so that I can pull out the Cookie-Monster-waiting GIF.

 

[LizzieMaine]

He just gets excited hoping there'll be news of the Dodger third baseman.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The investigation of Brooklyn's "murder for hire" racket by District Attorney William O'Dwyer took a new turn today with the questioning of flashy Louis Capone. The dapper, dandyish Mr. Capone, who disavows any relationship to the more famous Al Capone, has been in trouble with police before but has never been convicted, despite his arrest in 1936 in connection with a gangland rub-out in Brownsville in which two known underworld figures were lined up against a garage wall and shot. Mr. Capone, flashing conspicuous jewelry and exuding the aroma of hair oil, was acquitted in that case thru the efforts of expensive legal talent. Mr. Capone lives on Avenue J, and is said to derive his living from half-ownership of a Coney Island restaurant. The District Attorney ordered him held as a "material witness," noting that Capone is "acquainted" with a number of persons believed to be involved with the racket.

Meanwhile, the District Attorney's office has revealed that one of two men arrested recently in connection with the "murder for hire" racket decided to tell all he knew after receiving a scientific "third degree." The suspect, whose name the District Attorney did not disclose, was picked up a few days ago, brought to a Brooklyn police station, stripped naked, and examined over every square inch of his body with a microscope. "They'll get you soon," warned the officer with the microscope, "and we're looking you over for identifying marks in case your body is too mutilate to recognize." After this treatment, the man was given his clothes and released -- only to be approached by detectives in an unmarked car a few hours later. "Get in," one of the detectives hissed -- and the suspect "fainted dead away." When he woke up at the police station, he "talked so fast the stenographer could hardly keep up."

The possible entry of Italy into the European War on the German side is expected to be a topic as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet today in Rome. Informed sources believe that Italy will agree to provide such aid "when it is needed by Germany," an adjustment from the Fascist state's current status of "not neutral but not a belligerent."

A 62-year-old Connor Avenue man appeared in Bay Ridge Court today to accuse his wife of disorderly conduct. Vincent Marra told Magistrate John F. X. Masterson that his 60-year-old wife Teresa has refused to give him any fish for the past four years. After reviewing the Penal Code for several minutes, the magistrate asked Mr. Marra for a further explanation. My wife feeds me left-over macaroni and potatoes," he complained. "Never any fish. No meat." Mrs. Marra retored "He hasn't given me any money for the past four years." The magistrate dismissed the charges on the promise that Mrs. Marra would give Mr. Marra a little fish and meat now and then.

("Hey Sal," says Joe in an insinuating tone. "How 'bout some fish tonight?" "Can a' sardines in the cupboard.")

A possible break is expected soon in the standoff between Dodger first baseman Dolph Camilli and team president Larry MacPhail. Camilli was allowed today to suit up and work out with the team at its Clearwater spring training base, and he is expected to sign soon at the disputed figure of $15,000 for the 1940 season.

(Lichty should have had a cartoon about this.)

Albert Einstein today gave his personal endorsement to Bertrand Russell, British philosopher-mathematician, whose position on the CCNY faculty has been challenged by Catholic conservatives. In a written statement, Einstein said that "great spirits have always found opposition from mediocrities, who cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to heredity prejudices but honestly and creatively uses his intelligence and fulfills the duty to express the results of his thought in clear form."

Six hundred followers of Father Divine picketed Manhattan Superior Court today protesting a decision in favor of Verinda Brown, former Divine "angel" who sued the Harlem cult leader for the return of $3800 she had given him. Divine's disciples completely surrounded the courthouse and blocked entry to the building until a police inspector convinced them to assume a more orderly line.

("Your brother oughta get one of those," snorts Joe. "He never could shift for himself." Sally just glares.)

Mrs. A. M. writes to Helen Worth to recommend that boarding house living is just the quiet, pleasant thing for an elderly woman who lives alone. Clearly Mrs. A. M. does not read comic strips.

A bizarre double feature at the Rialto: a heavy British medical drama, "The Outsider," and a Joe Penner comedy, "Millionaire Playboy." "Wanna buy a malpractice suit?"

Brooklyn's legitimate junk dealers are organizing a trade association to protect the borough's housewives from unscrupulous racketeers who have infested the scrap-metal trade. The United Junkmen's Association of Brooklyn will send out representatives to women's clubs to demonstrate how to tell an honest junk dealer from a crooked one. Participating junkmen will equip all their employees with photographic identification badges which will be prominently worn whenever they are on the job.

Opening Day at Ebbets Field is April 23rd!

The American League beat the National League 2 to 1 in a Grapefruit League All Star Game, played before a crowd of 13,000 in Tampa to benefit Finnish War Relief. Dodger Pete Coscarart knocked in the lone Senior Circuit run with a base hit, and Dodger Luke Hamlin did well in a brief pitching stint.

The final standings in the National Hockey League show the Boston Bruins on top by three points over the Rangers. The Americans finished sixth, thirty-three points out of first.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin tomorrow night, as the Rangers and Bruins face off at the Garden. The Americans, just squeaking into the playoffs, face the Red Wings at Detroit.

Should performers be credited on daytime serials? Members of the American Federation of Radio Artists think so, and they're putting pressure on sponsors to give such credits. Sponsors argue that to do so would "shatter the illusion" that serial characters are real people, and that with only fifteen minutes per episode, there's little time for credits. Actors and actresses note that announcers usually give their names at the close of each broadcast, so why should they be left out? Actress Minerva Pious, in the latest issue of "Stand By," AFRA organ, declares that such credit is given in every other field of entertainment, and radio should be no different. "The radio audience has right to know," she maintains, "who is taking up its time."

Look, why not just kill the guy now and get it over with?

In the movies, this would be a fast montage. Clearly "Dale Allen" are fans of advanced Soviet filmmaking technique a la Eisenstein.

Grant Mr. Marsh this: it's refreshing to see a lackey named "Olaf" and not "Igor." Now if we can just get away from that "hunchback" stereotype.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Maybe they should look into stronger accreditation for flying schools.

BARE POLICE CORRUPTION IN TRACY CASE

I dunno about Annie, but if that guy offered *me* candy I'd be out of there so fast...

Fact: microphone grilles are made out of a thin, perforated aluminum or brass. A bullet would not ricochet off, it would go thru like it was hitting a piece of paper.

"A worm is about the only thing that can't fall down." Gee, thanks, I guess.

"Well, I do de-clare...."

Hmmm. Black overcoat, striped pants, derby hat, bristly moustache. Either this is a process server or Skeezix is about to get an invitation to the Running of the Hounds.

I don't know what makes me laugh harder here, that Elmo drinks his coffee out of the saucer, or the nonchalant and expressionless way in which he pours it out on the floor.

He really is taking this role-play thing way, way too seriously.

 

[Fading Fast]

...A 62-year-old Connor Avenue man appeared in Bay Ridge Court today to accuse his wife of disorderly conduct. Vincent Marra told Magistrate John F. X. Masterson that his 60-year-old wife Teresa has refused to give him any fish for the past four years. After reviewing the Penal Code for several minutes, the magistrate asked Mr. Marra for a further explanation. My wife feeds me left-over macaroni and potatoes," he complained. "Never any fish. No meat." Mrs. Marra retored "He hasn't given me any money for the past four years." The magistrate dismissed the charges on the promise that Mrs. Marra would give Mr. Marra a little fish and meat now and then. ....

"My wife feeds me left-over macaroni and potatoes." Which begs the question: To whom does she feed the macaroni and potatoes on the nights when they are first cooked? The judge showed these two more patience than I expected.

...A possible break is expected soon in the standoff between Dodger first baseman Dolph Camilli and team president Larry MacPhail. Camilli was allowed today to suit up and work out with the team at its Clearwater spring training base, and he is expected to sign soon at the disputed figure of $15,000 for the 1940 season.....

While $15,000 was a lot of money (~$277,000 in 2020), these guys were not the multimillionaires that they are today, so it seems crazy that Camilli would risk injury before signing a contract. Especially since there is so much animosity between him and management, if he gets hurt before he signs, they'll tell him to pound sand.

... View attachment 220952
(Lichty should have had a cartoon about this.)...

...
("Your brother oughta get one of those," snorts Joe. "He never could shift for himself." Sally just glares.)....

Still no update from The Eagle on the make and model of the new car that stalled on the train tracks yesterday resulting in the death of the driver? Hmm, I wonder if one of those new Chrysler transmissions failed? Doubt that was it, but also doubt The Eagle wants to anger its car advertisers by telling us what type of car stalled.

...Mrs. A. M. writes to Helen Worth to recommend that boarding house living is just the quiet, pleasant thing for an elderly woman who lives alone. Clearly Mrs. A. M. does not read comic strips.....

Dear God, no she does not. Nor does she watch movies (film noir in particular). That said, my guess, there were good one-off boarding-house experiences.

...Brooklyn's legitimate junk dealers are organizing a trade association to protect the borough's housewives from unscrupulous racketeers who have infested the scrap-metal trade. The United Junkmen's Association of Brooklyn will send out representatives to women's clubs to demonstrate how to tell an honest junk dealer from a crooked one. Participating junkmen will equip all their employees with photographic identification badges which will be prominently worn whenever they are on the job.....

Thankfully there's no way to fake a picture and a badge.

...Should performers be credited on daytime serials? Members of the American Federation of Radio Artists think so, and they're putting pressure on sponsors to give such credits. Sponsors argue that to do so would "shatter the illusion" that serial characters are real people, and that with only fifteen minutes per episode, there's little time for credits. Actors and actresses note that announcers usually give their names at the close of each broadcast, so why should they be left out? Actress Minerva Pious, in the latest issue of "Stand By," AFRA organ, declares that such credit is given in every other field of entertainment, and radio should be no different. "The radio audience has right to know," she maintains, "who is taking up its time."....

"Sponsors argue that to do so would 'shatter the illusion' that serial characters are real people, and that with only fifteen minutes per episode, there's little time for credits." And we have today's winner in the "self-serving BS answer" category.

... Look, why not just kill the guy now and get it over with?....

I get that movies, TV shows and comic strip stories all have to move their narratives along and often sacrifice realism to do so, but in the last panel, the old man's speech is painfully forced and ridiculous.

...[ In the movies, this would be a fast montage. Clearly "Dale Allen" are fans of advanced Soviet filmmaking technique a la Eisenstein.....

I thought it was well done. That Dale Connor is a very talented artist helps a lot. Also, I'm still liking Leona's hat - thinking it would look good on someone with a vintage sensibility who lives in Maine and owns an old Dodge - just saying.

...[ Grant Mr. Marsh this: it's refreshing to see a lackey named "Olaf" and not "Igor." Now if we can just get away from that "hunchback" stereotype.

I'm confused, are the first two panels a recap of Sunday's strip or did someone else just get bumped off? Also, is the leader of the Black Hoods the same as "The Higher One," or does the leader of the Black Hoods report into the Higher One?

...
Maybe they should look into stronger accreditation for flying schools.....

Technically, is the first crash really a plane crash or a boating accident? I get that it was serious enough to cost a life, but still, the plane tipped over while being taxied on water.

... View attachment 220961
BARE POLICE CORRUPTION IN TRACY CASE....

Amen should be all over it.

... "Well, I do de-clare...."....

So, Miss Raven Sherman opens with a dope-slap of Pat ("Nice speech"), then sharp-elbows April right out of the gate ("and let the young lady spruce up...") only to, basically, say game on and you're going to lose ("You need some feminine touches if you are going to keep tall, dark and disturbing thinking you're the big moment in his life"). Wow, she does not mess around - including some aggressive body English. Also, bonus points to her for the "tall, dark and disturbing" quip. And while I doubt they'd do it in 1940, but done today, I think Miss Raven Sherman would have more interest in April than Pat.

... He really is taking this role-play thing way, way too seriously.

Carl Ed, mini-stroke.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I'm amazed that fish story ended up in regular day court. It has Brooklyn-Queens Night Court written all over it. There are people who think comic strip couples like Willie and Mamie or George and Jo are exaggerations, but clearly, real life and the funnies had a lot in common.

I just gave another look at those mug shots of the murder-for-hire suspects, and my gawd. If your name is "Seymour Magoon," and you live in Brownsville in 1940, it's like you just can't escape your destiny.

It does my heart good to see that Minnie Pious was the leader of that AFRA campaign. She was the greatest female dialectician ever to work in radio, and I learned a lot of my own technique from listening to how she didn't just "do voices" but gave them individual personalities. Don't mess with Mrs. Nussbaum, I'm tallink you.

Nice hat, too. Unfortunately, the best the union could do in this case was get a concession that leading cast members would be credited once a week, usually on Fridays, which was better than nothing, but it still smarted to stand there and hear the announcer honk out his own name five days a week. In yer ear, Stuart Metz. Up yours, George Ansbro. Nertz to you, Ralph Edwards.

I think that "The Higher One" is "We Can't Call him Der Fuehrer Because We're Not Actually At War With Him," sort of like Caniff and "The Invader." And yeah, I'd say those first two panels are a clumsy recap of Sunday. A lot of strips that carry the story thru the Sunday page end up wasting Monday with a lot of exposition for readers whose papers don't carry that page.

I'm very impressed with Miss Raven Sherman, and I especially like that Mr. Caniff didn't give her that usual generic "pretty girl" face that shows up so often in comics. She looks like a real lived-in sort of person, and I look forward to getting to know her better. I'm sure Pat does too.

+1 to Harold's saddle shoes. It's a little early in the year, but what the hell.

 

[Fading Fast]

I'm amazed that fish story ended up in regular day court. It has Brooklyn-Queens Night Court written all over it. There are people who think comic strip couples like Willie and Mamie or George and Jo are exaggerations, but clearly, real life and the funnies had a lot in common.

I just gave another look at those mug shots of the murder-for-hire suspects, and my gawd. If your name is "Seymour Magoon," and you live in Brownsville in 1940, it's like you just can't escape your destiny.

It does my heart good to see that Minnie Pious was the leader of that AFRA campaign. She was the greatest female dialectician ever to work in radio, and I learned a lot of my own technique from listening to how she didn't just "do voices" but gave them individual personalities. Don't mess with Mrs. Nussbaum, I'm tallink you.

View attachment 221015

Nice hat, too. Unfortunately, the best the union could do in this case was get a concession that leading cast members would be credited once a week, usually on Fridays, which was better than nothing, but it still smarted to stand there and hear the announcer honk out his own name five days a week. In yer ear, Stuart Metz. Up yours, George Ansbro. Nertz to you, Ralph Edwards.

I think that "The Higher One" is "We Can't Call him Der Fuehrer Because We're Not Actually At War With Him," sort of like Caniff and "The Invader." And yeah, I'd say those first two panels are a clumsy recap of Sunday. A lot of strips that carry the story thru the Sunday page end up wasting Monday with a lot of exposition for readers whose papers don't carry that page.

I'm very impressed with Miss Raven Sherman, and I especially like that Mr. Caniff didn't give her that usual generic "pretty girl" face that shows up so often in comics. She looks like a real lived-in sort of person, and I look forward to getting to know her better. I'm sure Pat does too.

+1 to Harold's saddle shoes. It's a little early in the year, but what the hell.

The entire "it would hurt the realism by saying their name" angle was such BS that, even eighty year later, it p*ssed me off. Say you don't want to lose the air time to it as it's to valuable - be honest - don't make up some insulting-to-everyone's-intelligence reason.

Re Dan Dunn, I'm glad you said it was clumsy as I went back to the prior strip and, even reading it again, couldn't quite figure it out. Good call on "The Higher One" = Hitler, makes sense.

Miss Raven Sherman is the best new character we've had in awhile (especially compared to the wack-a-doodles popping up in Tracy, Harold, Bungles, etc.). I love that she's whip smart and can deliver a quick barb. She also loves throwing people off their game. If she wants Pat, April doesn't stand a chance. And as you said, she's impressive looking, but not in a '40s cookie-cutter way. Still want to hear the backstory on the sports jersey (which feels a bit under-the-radar lesbian for the day, but I could be all wrong and a cigar could be just a cigar in this case).

Good catch on the saddle shoes. I've noticed, over the past few summers, some of the retro-fashionable young men in NYC have been wearing them or spectators a bit more - still not mainstream at all though.

So do you think The Eagle kept the make of the car quiet for its advertisers?

 

[vitanola]

LizzieMaine said:
“...A 62-year-old Connor Avenue man appeared in Bay Ridge Court today to accuse his wife of disorderly conduct. Vincent Marra told Magistrate John F. X. Masterson that his 60-year-old wife Teresa has refused to give him any fish for the past four years. After reviewing the Penal Code for several minutes, the magistrate asked Mr. Marra for a further explanation. My wife feeds me left-over macaroni and potatoes," he complained. "Never any fish. No meat." Mrs. Marra retored "He hasn't given me any money for the past four years." The magistrate dismissed the charges on the promise that Mrs. Marra would give Mr. Marra a little fish and meat now and then. ....”

 

[LizzieMaine]

Boodla-racka-sacky!

 

[LizzieMaine]

So do you think The Eagle kept the make of the car quiet for its advertisers?

It's very likely. Independent investigative journalist George Seldes is very active in 1940 documenting just how widespread the slanting of news to avoid offending the National Association of Manufacturers really is -- he'll be starting a newsletter soon called "In Fact," which does nothing but document the cravenness of the American press. Such suppression of facts to keep the sales department happy was pretty much the order of the day for every advertiser-driven paper in the country. Even Mr. Schroth, a decent public-spirited man in most respects, is not immune to this.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Brooklyn gangdom is wasting no time trying to foil District Attorney William O'Dwyer's crusade against the Brownsville "Murder For Hire" racket, with the DA's office revealing today that an eyewitness to the 1933 murder of thug Alexander "Red" Alpert was offered a $5000 bribe -- while he was being held at the West Side Jail in Manhattan. O'Dwyer declared that the offer was made on February 7th by none other than Abraham Frosch, confessed bail-bond racketeer, who is said to have told witness Harry Rudolph that "my mother will get you five thousand bucks if you put [Abe] Reles and Buggsy [Goldstein] on the street." O'Dwyer says this offer was delivered "with all the bold effrontery usually credited to cinema racketeers of the Little Caesar type."

Meanwhile, the District Attorney's office is continuing to peel back the layers in its continuing probe of the "Murder for Hire" racket, with Mr. O'Dwyer stating that it appears that this racket was in full operation in Brooklyn as far back as the July 1928 slaying of gangster Frankie Yale, who was shot to death while driving his flashy new car along a quiet street in Bay Ridge. The murder of "Red" Alpert is also believed to be the work of this organization, with Reles, Goldstien, and Anthony "Duke" Maffatore now held for that shooting. Maffatore is also believed connected to two shootings-for-hire in the Catskills, and will be questioned by an upstate grand jury later today. Those cases include the murder of Brooklyn taxicab driver Irving Ashkenas, who made frequent runs between Brooklyn and Sullivan County, and was found with sixteen bullets in his back in the Catskills town of Hurleyville on September 6, 1936, and the July 1937 killing of Walter Sage, cabbie turned mob enforcer, whose body was found chained to a slot machine floating in Swan Lake in the Sullivan County town of Liberty.

At present, O'Dwyer believes he can link at least fifteen as-yet-unsolved gangland slayings to the "Murder For Hire" ring, with more likely to be uncovered as the investigation continues. He is also investigating possible links between the Brownsville-based operation and the notorious Purple Gang of Detroit.

Assistant District Attorney Burton Turkus adds a few grisly details to the operating methods of the Brownsville murder ring, observing that it seems to be standard procedure for the gang's operatives to pump the abdomens of their victims full of bullets, so that the perforations will allow decomposition gases to escape, thus preventing "floaters" after the body is dumped in a lake or a river. But Turkus notes that occasionally this technique fails -- pointing to the Walter Sage case, where the bullets failed to penetrate the excess fat in the victim's belly and the body bobbed to the surface after about two days in the water. Turkus also notes that the gangsters erred in dumping Sage's body in Swan Lake, where the water temperatures are insufficiently cold to slow decomposition.

A 40-year-old Valley Stream woman was led around her home today and introduced to family members and familiar objects she failed to recognize. Mrs. Marie Corbett had been hospitalized for three weeks with a severe case of pleurisy, but after her release wandered off "in a fog" until she was picked up by a police patrolman near Madison Square Garden. She was taken to Roosevelt Hospital, where she was pronounced a victim of amnesia. Her husband John Corbett insisted on taking her home to their residence at 187 Roosevelt Street, but she showed no sign of recognition when she saw him or their three children.

(Divorce lawyers, please copy.)

Three children saved their mother from their axe-wielding father, foiling a murder attempt at their home in Greenpoint. Thirty-eight-year-old Mrs. Marie Obochowski was attacked in her residence at 121 Driggs Avenue by her estranged husband, 40-year-old Peter Obochowski, from whom she has been separated since last fall. They were to appear in Domestic Relations Court this morning, but Obochowski instead ambushed Mrs. Obochowski in the basement of the six-family house with a hatchet. Obochowski struck her several blows about the neck and head, and her screams awakened the children, aged 16, 15, and 12, who rushed to the basement and fought off their father until a neighbor could summon the police. Obochowski managed to escape and fled the basement. He remains at large. Mrs. Obochowski was treated for her injuries at Greenpoint Hospital and released.

("Yeah," says Sally. "Try *THAT* with one'a them paper cartons." And Joe says "Good thing it wasn't skim milk.")

The world leader of Orthodox Jews arrived in New York today, a refugee from the Nazi blitzkrieg in Poland. Rabbi Joseph Isaac Schneerson was greeted by representatives of Mayor LaGuardia and Governor Lehman as he disembarked from the Swedish-American liner Drottenholm, and the foot of the West 57th Street Pier, a group of more than 500 bearded rabbis wearing long black coats formed a double line and chanted an ancient Hebrew greeting as he passed. Rabbi Schneerson's arrival marked the formal transfer of the world headquartres of the Chabad Chasidic Orthodox movement from Warsaw to the United States. The movement was founded 175 years ago by Rabbi Schneerson's grandfather. The Rabbi and his family survived the bombing of Warsaw hiding in a cellar, and subsequently made their way to Latvia, where special diplomatic arrangements were made for them to emigrate to the United States.

Fake census takers are roaming the streets of Flatbush, and residents are advised to demand identification before allowing any canvasser claiming to represent the Census Bureau into their homes.

Lucille V. calls upon Helen Worth to lend her support to a crusade discouraging the practice of asking a person their age "based on the slightest provocation." Lucille notes that she refused to give her age to an employer and ended up losing her job because of it, and she resents that this is allowed. Helen says there definitely needs to be flexibility in such rules, and throws the question open to her readers -- what do they think about this?

Brooklyn gets its first look at Walt Disney's latest cartoon feature when "Pinocchio" opens tomorrow at the RKO Albee.

The Eagle Editorialist displays a curiously mixed opinion about DA O'Dwyer's crusade against the "Murder For Hire" racket. On the one hand, as you might expect, he feels this will be yet another obstacle for Brooklyn's image to overcome, but he does praise O'Dwyer for his effort -- even though he also suggests letting thugs murder each other is an efficient way to get rid of them. "It is a quick way," he declares, "to rid the community of its most worthless and dangerous element."

"So she sez ta me, why'nya go downna blood bank an' make a withdrawal. So here I am."

Gossip columnist Clifford Evans claims to have the inside dope on how the Brownsville murder gang works its racket -- rubbing out victims to order for as little as $5 a head. He claims that the Brownsville boys work thru the Purple Gang in Detroit, which handles all the booking arrangements and ensures that the gunmen all have foolproof alibis. And he further claims that the Purple Gang flies Brooklyn hoods in to take care of business in the Midwest as well. (Mr. Evans had better watch his step, I imagine he might be a premium-priced hit. Not as much as Winchell, of course, but probably at least a $10 or $15 job.)

Dolph Camilli is expected to finally sign a 1940 contract for $15,000 today, marking the end of a long and bitter standoff with Dodger president Larry MacPhail. Camilli may sign in time for him to play in today's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals at St. Petersburg.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin tonight, with the Rangers and the Bruins facing off before a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden. Hear the action over WHN at 9:30 pm.

NBC is being flooded with requests for a repeat broadcast of James Cagney's performance of Arch Oboler's adaptation of Dalton Trumbo's "Johnny Got His Gun." Thousands of letters have poured into the network since the broadcast two weeks ago congratulating all involved in the program for what's being called an outstanding triumph of radio drama.

"Oh, let's rub no-ses -- like the Esk-i-mo-ses..."

"I don't care about Bill though. Bill can take care of himself." And I have to say I'm getting a bad feeling about kindly old Dad Gummert there. Either he's going to tip the hoods off or he's about to get killed.

"And we do solemnly swear that we will only ever use Texaco products..."

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Don'cha hate when that happens?

Maybe so, but "Come In And Win!" is catchier.

Mr. Gould is by no means a realistic artist, and his use of caricature is extreme thruout the strip -- but this doorman is pretty egregious even by the standards of 1940. Compare to George Clark's drawing of a Pullman porter in his "Neighbors" panel a few days back. And "Yowsa" is only justified if you're Ben Bernie or Harold Teen.

Well, he's sure not getting his cleaning deposit back!

I'm sure a man called "Professor Geek" would adhere to the highest possible artistic and sanitary standards in his establishment. And that cabbie looks like a real candidate to end up chained to a slot machine at the bottom of a lake.

Makeover!

Closest we'll come to a gratuitous beefcake shot in this strip. Stand up, Harold, so he can get a better look.

Aw, you might as well humor him, Moon. You're wasting your time trying to win money from those two boobs.

 

[Fading Fast]

Brooklyn gangdom is wasting no time trying to foil District Attorney William O'Dwyer's crusade against the Brownsville "Murder For Hire" racket, with the DA's office revealing today that an eyewitness to the 1933 murder of thug Alexander "Red" Alpert was offered a $5000 bribe -- while he was being held at the West Side Jail in Manhattan. O'Dwyer declared that the offer was made on February 7th by none other than Abraham Frosch, confessed bail-bond racketeer, who is said to have told witness Harry Rudolph that "my mother will get you five thousand bucks if you put [Abe] Reles and Buggsy [Goldstein] on the street." O'Dwyer says this offer was delivered "with all the bold effrontery usually credited to cinema racketeers of the Little Caesar type."

Meanwhile, the District Attorney's office is continuing to peel back the layers in its continuing probe of the "Murder for Hire" racket, with Mr. O'Dwyer stating that it appears that this racket was in full operation in Brooklyn as far back as the July 1928 slaying of gangster Frankie Yale, who was shot to death while driving his flashy new car along a quiet street in Bay Ridge. The murder of "Red" Alpert is also believed to be the work of this organization, with Reles, Goldstien, and Anthony "Duke" Maffatore now held for that shooting. Maffatore is also believed connected to two shootings-for-hire in the Catskills, and will be questioned by an upstate grand jury later today. Those cases include the murder of Brooklyn taxicab driver Irving Ashkenas, who made frequent runs between Brooklyn and Sullivan County, and was found with sixteen bullets in his back in the Catskills town of Hurleyville on September 6, 1936, and the July 1937 killing of Walter Sage, cabbie turned mob enforcer, whose body was found chained to a slot machine floating in Swan Lake in the Sullivan County town of Liberty.

View attachment 221155

At present, O'Dwyer believes he can link at least fifteen as-yet-unsolved gangland slayings to the "Murder For Hire" ring, with more likely to be uncovered as the investigation continues. He is also investigating possible links between the Brownsville-based operation and the notorious Purple Gang of Detroit.

Assistant District Attorney Burton Turkus adds a few grisly details to the operating methods of the Brownsville murder ring, observing that it seems to be standard procedure for the gang's operatives to pump the abdomens of their victims full of bullets, so that the perforations will allow decomposition gases to escape, thus preventing "floaters" after the body is dumped in a lake or a river. But Turkus notes that occasionally this technique fails -- pointing to the Walter Sage case, where the bullets failed to penetrate the excess fat in the victim's belly and the body bobbed to the surface after about two days in the water. Turkus also notes that the gangsters erred in dumping Sage's body in Swan Lake, where the water temperatures are insufficiently cold to slow decomposition....."

Abraham Frosch certainly gets around. As to the bodies floatings, isn't that what the cement was suppose to address?

...A 40-year-old Valley Stream woman was led around her home today and introduced to family members and familiar objects she failed to recognize. Mrs. Marie Corbett had been hospitalized for three weeks with a severe case of pleurisy, but after her release wandered off "in a fog" until she was picked up by a police patrolman near Madison Square Garden. She was taken to Roosevelt Hospital, where she was pronounced a victim of amnesia. Her husband John Corbett insisted on taking her home to their residence at 187 Roosevelt Street, but she showed no sign of recognition when she saw him or their three children....."

And, once again, we see the comics - in this case, Dick Tracy - "ripping its stories right from the headlines."

...Three children saved their mother from their axe-wielding father, foiling a murder attempt at their home in Greenpoint. Thirty-eight-year-old Mrs. Marie Obochowski was attacked in her residence at 121 Driggs Avenue by her estranged husband, 40-year-old Peter Obochowski, from whom she has been separated since last fall. They were to appear in Domestic Relations Court this morning, but Obochowski instead ambushed Mrs. Obochowski in the basement of the six-family house with a hatchet. Obochowski struck her several blows about the neck and head, and her screams awakened the children, aged 16, 15, and 12, who rushed to the basement and fought off their father until a neighbor could summon the police. Obochowski managed to escape and fled the basement. He remains at large. Mrs. Obochowski was treated for her injuries at Greenpoint Hospital and released....."

"...struck several blows about the neck and head" with a hatchet. "Mrs. Obochowski was treated for her injuries at Greenpoint Hospital and released."

That's amazing or it was a very tiny hatchet.

...Gossip columnist Clifford Evans claims to have the inside dope on how the Brownsville murder gang works its racket -- rubbing out victims to order for as little as $5 a head. He claims that the Brownsville boys work thru the Purple Gang in Detroit, which handles all the booking arrangements and ensures that the gunmen all have foolproof alibis. And he further claims that the Purple Gang flies Brooklyn hoods in to take care of business in the Midwest as well. (Mr. Evans had better watch his step, I imagine he might be a premium-priced hit. Not as much as Winchell, of course, but probably at least a $10 or $15 job.)..."

$5 in '40 = ~$92 today. That seems like an insanely low fee (ignoring the horrible immorality of it all for the moment).

... "I don't care about Bill though. Bill can take care of himself." And I have to say I'm getting a bad feeling about kindly old Dad Gummert there. Either he's going to tip the hoods off or he's about to get killed...."

Also, "you'll be guarded every second 'till the trial is over," is nice, but the mob's efforts don't stop with the end of the trial; hence, the witness protection program.

...
Don'cha hate when that happens?...

Oh the love.

... I'm sure a man called "Professor Geek" would adhere to the highest possible artistic and sanitary standards in his establishment. And that cabbie looks like a real candidate to end up chained to a slot machine at the bottom of a lake.....

It's also hard to believe that mama wouldn't be considered a complete joke in whatever society she's trying to break into.

... Makeover!....

Outstanding illustrations. Also, as we noted yesterday, Miss Sherman Raven is the most interesting new character we have - she's got something more up her sleeve. Might be good or bad, but there's more here than we know so far. I'll also note that it could be nothing or you can think what you want about Miss Sherman Raven's shoulder hold on April.

... View attachment 221199 Closest we'll come to a gratuitous beefcake shot in this strip. Stand up, Harold, so he can get a better look.....

I'm feeling objectified and am looking for a safe space.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Clearly they need to use shorter chains when they attach the body to the slot machine.

The names that are coming up in this investigation are just priceless. "Frankie Yale." "Buggsy Goldstein." "Anthony (The Duke) Maffatore." You can't make this stuff up. And "Burton Turkus" is a pretty good name for a bulldog-faced prosecutor.

I bet Amen is just writhing with frustration that O'Dwyer is getting all the publicity right now. I expect him to come up with a topper any day now. Whatever became of Lt. Cuthbert J. Behan?

If this was a novel, young Abe Frosch would secretly be the ruling brains, the king don, the Godfather behind it all. It's always the weaselly, wimpy little sideline character who turns out to be the Big Bad.

Mrs. Obochowski has a pretty impressive brood of kids there.

I bet they have two-for-one coupon deals that get that $5 a head charge down even lower.

Pat's and April's expressions in that last panel are priceless. Caniff does so much with so little.

 

[Fading Fast]

Those names are insane - better than the ones Puzo made up.

April almost always looks like a lamb being lead to the slaughter - the only question is who is going to get to do the "slaughtering."

I bounce back and forth, but T&TP and MW are not only the two strips I enjoy the most, they also have outstanding illustration.

Hey, I just noticed something - what happened to Little Orphan Annie today? It belongs in that list of my favorites with T&TP and MW.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Ah -- I must've missed it. One moment (rustles paper) --

Annie's current father-figures have distinctively different worldviews.

 

[Fading Fast]

Ah -- I must've missed it. One moment (rustles paper) --....

Thank you

...Annie's current father-figures have distinctively different worldviews.

I'm glad I was raised by a guy who leaned more toward Nick's than John's worldview. It's less fun and less wholesome - not much childhood innocence in there - but also more practical.

 

[3fingers]

Boodla-racka-sacky!

That's a good one but it's no Spring Cleaning.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"No lady, we can't haul yo' ashes fo' twenty five cents -- that's bad business!"