The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Young Mr. Perry is too young to have seen Harold Lloyd climb a building in "Safety Last," but he might have seen him do it in "Feet First." And I'm glad to see that Bunny Howard took my advice and got a better headshot. Show business is all about appearances.

That's nothing, you should see what the Home Guard is using in England.

In other words, he just wanted to shack up.

Really, Annie? Tell him about the Easter Bunny next.

Connie has just about had it with this whole scene, man.

Anybody check with Missing Persons yet?

"Yes indeed, station WSAP! A little joke at the expense of my son-in-law! Hahahahaha!"

See what happens when you stir the pot?

C'mon, James Cagney. Make a "Moon Mullins" movie. You can fatten up McHugh and have him play Willie.

Yeah, the upkeep on that haircut must run into some coin.

 

[Fading Fast]

...Maine voters yesterday elected a straight Republican ticket in the first state-wide election of the 1940 season, choosing GOP candidates for Governor, Senator, and three members of the House of Representatives. Republican Presidential nominee Wendell Willkie declared that he is "gratified" by the returns, but Democratic leaders pointed out that the results of the 1936 presidential contest effectively repudiated the old saying "As Maine Goes, So Goes The Nation." In that year, Maine was one of only two states not carried along in the Roosevelt landslide...

All of these ad-hoc prediction methodologies work really well right up until they don't.

...
(Mr. Lichty would rather just stay home and draw.)...

Ya gotta love the few strands of hair all but floating on the top of his head. There's definitely something going on with Lichty and bald men.

...On the women's side, Alice Marble surprised no one by defeating Helen Wills 6-2, 6-3, with the consensus being that Wills just doesn't have the strength to stand up to Alice's sock....

...[ (I hope this dog is house trained, or you'll have a real problem on your hands.)...

I believe we have now exhausted the humor value of the cosmic-ray dog breaking the fence.

... (You gotta break some eggs to make an omelet.)...

And John gets his first lesson in realpolitik.

...
(You blew it, Dan. A real Fazian woulda shot him in the back.)

I'll give him that as the gunshot would attract attention (although, he ended up being seen anyway). Hey, who's that dejected-looking guy slumped over in the corner murmuring something about "speaking German" and "eh, it doesn't matter, whatever, nothing matters."

...[ Young Mr. Perry is too young to have seen Harold Lloyd climb a building in "Safety Last," but he might have seen him do it in "Feet First." And I'm glad to see that Bunny Howard took my advice and got a better headshot. Show business is all about appearances.....

After what we've seen other spurned lovers do on page four, I'm just glad Mr. Perry decided to only scale a building.

This DA-Judge-LaGuardia stuff could be explosive - any thoughts on who's telling the truth?

..
In other words, he just wanted to shack up....

Later immortalized in the Fleetwood Mac song "Go Your Own Way:"

Tell me why
Everything turned around
Packing up
Shacking up is all you want to do​

Which was Linsey Buckingham's angry response to Stevie Nicks leaving him to live with another guy. The line so infuriated her, she explained how she felt about having to perform the song with him thusly, "It was just an angry thing that he said. Every time those words would come onstage, I wanted to go over and kill him. He knew it, so he really pushed my buttons through that. It was like, 'I'll make you suffer for leaving me.' And I did." [That's some professional-level hatin' going on there.]

Nothing is really new.

... Connie has just about had it with this whole scene, man....

One could understand why Connie would flip the sexes in his mind when he first reads about the Equal Rights Amendment.

... See what happens when you stir the pot?....

He should've hired the efficiency woman, but had he, let's not kid ourselves, Snipe wouldn't have had a job to come back to.

... Yeah, the upkeep on that haircut must run into some coin.

Harold should have learned by now to keep his money in his pocket / don't count it in public / don't flash it around / etc. This is not his first rodeo (Senga anyone?).

 

[LizzieMaine]

Nobody liked Bobby Riggs in 1940, and nobody liked him in 1973. He is, at least, consistent.

It's obvious there's some real mutual loathing between LaGuardia and O'Dwyer, which is understandable -- O'Dwyer is Tammany and LaGuardia was elected on a platform of putting Tammany out of business. And this poor judge seems to just be caught in the middle. But Valentine is on LaGuardia's side, and unless O'Dwyer wants to take on the whole police establishment, he better pull in his horns. Unless, of course, he thinks he can steal some of Amen's thunder. I'm waiting for Mr. A to announce he's investigating O'Dwyer, which will be just the perfect capper to the whole thing.

Skeezix's leer in the first panel is savage. It's these quiet "nice kids" you have to watch out for.

We welcome overaged child star Spec O'Donnell in the role of Sonny Pipdyke:

 

[Fading Fast]

Nobody liked Bobby Riggs in 1940, and nobody liked him in 1973. He is, at least, consistent.

It's obvious there's some real mutual loathing between LaGuardia and O'Dwyer, which is understandable -- O'Dwyer is Tammany and LaGuardia was elected on a platform of putting Tammany out of business. And this poor judge seems to just be caught in the middle. But Valentine is on LaGuardia's side, and unless O'Dwyer wants to take on the whole police establishment, he better pull in his horns. Unless, of course, he thinks he can steal some of Amen's thunder. I'm waiting for Mr. A to announce he's investigating O'Dwyer, which will be just the perfect capper to the whole thing.

Skeezix's leer in the first panel is savage. It's these quiet "nice kids" you have to watch out for.

We welcome overaged child star Spec O'Donnell in the role of Sonny Pipdyke:

View attachment 260209

Today we'd make up a hundred excuses for Riggs - something-something syndrome, chemical imbalance, upbringing, control "issues," etc. - but the real answer, then or now, is that a guy like that is just an *ss.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The invasion of Great Britain by the forces of Adolf Hitler is at hand, according to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who broadcast a stern warning last night to the British people. In his address, the Prime Minister revealed that the Germans are now moving self-propelled barges and convoys of larger ships from northern territories to the French coast, under the protection of German coastal batteries, and he warned that the coming week may well prove to be the most critical in England's history. "This is the time for everyone to stand firm, to hold firm, as they are doing."

A Nazi bomb struck Buckingham Palace today as German raiders continued to pound London. The King and Queen were not in the palace at the time, and damage was confined to one corner of the North Front, with broken glass flying into the first floor. No casualties were reported from that explosion.

Assistant Attorney General John H. Amen has announced his own investigation of allegations of tampering stemming from the dismissal of murder charges earlier this year against two men charged with the killing of a Brooklyn patrolman during a 1939 gas station holdup in Williamsburg. Mr. Amen revealed today that he received a letter of complaint from the brother of the slain Patrolman Nicholas C. Moreno, and that the text of that letter was essentially identical to that already revealed by Mayor LaGuardia. "Naturally we investigated," stated Amen, "and we have never dropped the investigation. I cannot divulge any of the facts of the case at the moment."

Industrialist Henry Ford has endorsed Wendell L. Willkie for President. In a written statement released by the Republican National Committee, Ford declared "I am completely satisfied that he means to do exactly what he says, and is competent to do it without evasion or excuse." Mr. Ford endorsed Alf Landon in 1936 and Herbert Hoover in 1932.

Eighteen-year-old Patrick Ryan, the youth who was saved last year from punishment for a series of petty crimes by the intercession of his younger sister, was today sentenced to not less than six months and not more than three years in the reformatory on burglary charges as his sister stood by in silence. Ryan was found guilty of breaking into a shoe store in July of this year, escaping with a pair of shoes and a package of shoelaces. Ryan told police he had no idea why he stole the shoes, since they were not his size. His sister Nora stated after the sentencing that her brother has been turned away from job after job because of his age, but that eventually, she is sure, he will make good.

Eighteen-year-old Willie Hamm of Sheepshead Bay is threatening to "paste in the puss" whoever it was who pushed his truck into the Shell Bank Creek yesterday. Hamm, a delivery boy for the West End Grocery Store at 2934 Gerritsen Avenue, had parked the truck on a hill on Knoll Street while delivering a grocery order, with the wheels turned toward the curb and the brake locked. But when he returned after making the delivery, the truck was gone. He soon found the vehicle in the creek, immersed in ten feet of water. Hamm reported the incident to the Sheepshead Bay police station, and a police emergency squad hauled the vehicle out of the water.

A 23-year-old Red Hook woman is being held without bail after her arriagnment in Brooklyn Felony Court as an accomplice in a series of robberies of doctors' offices. Mrs. Catherine Gritelli of 119 Wyckoff Street is accused of acting as a "gun moll" for a gang preying on area physicians. Police say Mrs. Gritelli would be sent into a doctor's or dentist's office complaining of severe pain, accompanied by a gang member posing as her husband or brother. While the physician was seeing to the patient, the escort robbed the office of cash and valuables. Three men also face charges in connection with the gang's activities.

Thousands of volunteer plane-spotters are being recruited to form an Aircraft Warning Service, in a test sector comprising the New England states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, as well as New York east of the Hudson River. The organization follows on from a system tested during the recent First Army maneuvers in northern New York State last month, and will be administered by the Army's Air Defense Command. Observers and deputies are being recruited for training from the American Legion and other civic and patriotic organizations, with a goal toward establishing AWS operations covering the entire northeastern United States.

The Time Capsule at the World's Fair will be sealed in its crypt for the next 4,999 years a week from Monday, with officials at the Westinghouse Pavilion hosting ceremonies to mark the burial of the "Cupraloy" cylinder containing a full record of human civilization as of 1938. The capsule, which has been visible to the public since it was lowered into an open shaft outside the Westinghouse building on September 23, 1938, will be sealed in place by a special chemical compound designed to resist all extremes of temperature, to insulate the cylinder against chemical degradation or electrical discharge, and to provide impervious protection against moisture. Once sealed, the shaft will be covered with a permanent granite plug. The capsule contains an extensive microfilmed record of modern civilization, along with selected artifacts of everyday life.

(No. I don't think so.)

The Eagle Editorialist weighs in on recent reports that the Duchess Of Windsor is going in for plastic surgery to correct facial flaws, comparing the work required to "the drydocking and overhauling of the Queen Mary."

(Ripped from the headlines!)

The acquisition of infielder Alex Kampouris, purchased by the Dodgers from the Newark Bears for $25,000 cash and a player to be named later, may mean that Pete Coscarart will be wearing a different uniform next year. Dodger president Larry MacPhail has been disappointed with the Bouncing Basque this year, with his batting average 40 points off his 1939 pace, and even his fielding having diminished lately from the heights of which he is capable. Kampouris played several seasons for the Reds under MacPhail's administration of that club, and is hitting .278 for Newark this year. Coscarart's name has figured often in possible trade talk over the past couple of years, and so far MacPhail has considered him Not Available For Trade at any price. But now, with Kampouris available, it is likely that The Red Headed One will be willing to entertain offers for Pete over the winter.

(Sally looks up from the paper, all color drained from her face. The kitchen is silent save for the hollow ticking of the clock, the slow drip of water into the icebox pan, and the quiet crinkling of the pages in Sally's white-knuckled grip. Joe opens his mouth to speak, thinks better of it, and, putting down his half-eaten slice of toast, pushes back slowly from the table.)

Yesterday's rainout means the Dodgers and Cubs play two today at Ebbets Field, adding to the two twinbills already scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Because of all the games to be made up due to rainouts early in the season, the Flock faces a brutal schedule of nine games over fifteen days. Today the Dodgers get their first look at Dizzy Dean since his return from exile, with Ol' Diz due to make his first National League start of 1940 in the second game. Our old friend Claude Passeau will start in the first game, with Durocher sending out Whit Wyatt and Lee Grissom for Brooklyn.

Although the Cleveland Indians are in the thick of one of the tightest pennant races in years in the American League, they are also without doubt the most unpopular team in baseball, with scorn and derision heaping upon them even before their home fans due to their rebellion against manager Oscar Vitt. Although they played Monday's game at 80,000 seat Municipal Stadium in expectation of a big crowd, only 2500 fans showed up to jeer them, some even throwing baby bottles onto the field. But the derision doesn't stop at the players. Tribe fans have also turned on owner Alva Bradley and general manager Cy Slapnicka for failing to act decisively to bring the players in line. The distaste local rooters are showing for their hometown team and everyone associated with it is even more noteworthy when you consider that the Indians have a chance to win their first pennant in twenty years.

(Sally will stuff the ballot box for Petey, but seriously, the only possible answer is Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons.)

(Yeah, that's all well and good. But what kind of idiot parents leave a two-year-old alone in a room with an open window and no screen? Did someone drop them on their heads when they were little?)

(Yeah, ha ha and all, but isn't this something you should be investigating scientifically? Especially since you're so afraid of shrinking, and it doesn't seem to happen to this guy?)

("Anyway, it's been a lovely evening. We must do this again soon!")

(Well, what have we here?)

(Don't bother, if they haven't hit you by now, they never will.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

OK, the story in the Eagle yesterday was pretty specific that the parents weren't home when this happened. Somebody's not telling the truth. AND GET SOME SCREENS.

Psst, Carlisle. "1936!"

Somewhere a grumpy old man is saying "yahhhh these kids today with their autographed beer jackets an' their jalopies covered with funny sayin's. What's the world comin' to?"

"If you live long enough, everything you love will be sullied."

Although the DL is presently a noble fighter for her homeland, she wasn't always such. She has enemies. Time to meet some?

"Hello, police! Come at once! My good-for-nothing billionaire son-in-law has stolen my jewels!"

That's right, Wump. Cool as a cucumber. They won't suspect a thing.

Smoking in bed? I'm disappointed in you, Gould -- your villain deaths are usually more baroque.

PASSING FIREMAN KILLED BY FAT BUM IN WINDOW FALL

Annnnnnnnnd we're off!

 

[ChiTownScion]

Astute beyond her years, that girl.

 

[Fading Fast]

...Assistant Attorney General John H. Amen has announced his own investigation of allegations of tampering stemming from the dismissal of murder charges earlier this year against two men charged with the killing of a Brooklyn patrolman during a 1939 gas station holdup in Williamsburg. Mr. Amen revealed today that he received a letter of complaint from the brother of the slain Patrolman Nicholas C. Moreno, and that the text of that letter was essentially identical to that already revealed by Mayor LaGuardia. "Naturally we investigated," stated Amen, "and we have never dropped the investigation. I cannot divulge any of the facts of the case at the moment."...

Kudos Lizzie, quite prescient.

...A 23-year-old Red Hook woman is being held without bail after her arriagnment in Brooklyn Felony Court as an accomplice in a series of robberies of doctors' offices. Mrs. Catherine Gritelli of 119 Wyckoff Street is accused of acting as a "gun moll" for a gang preying on area physicians. Police say Mrs. Gritelli would be sent into a doctor's or dentist's office complaining of severe pain, accompanied by a gang member posing as her husband or brother. While the physician was seeing to the patient, the escort robbed the office of cash and valuables. Three men also face charges in connection with the gang's activities....

"Gun moll" sadly is a term that's disappearing.

And one of the best movie gun molls, Peggy Cummins in "Gun Crazy:"

...The Time Capsule at the World's Fair will be sealed in its crypt for the next 4,999 years a week from Monday, with officials at the Westinghouse Pavilion hosting ceremonies to mark the burial of the "Cupraloy" cylinder containing a full record of human civilization as of 1938. The capsule, which has been visible to the public since it was lowered into an open shaft outside the Westinghouse building on September 23, 1938, will be sealed in place by a special chemical compound designed to resist all extremes of temperature, to insulate the cylinder against chemical degradation or electrical discharge, and to provide impervious protection against moisture. Once sealed, the shaft will be covered with a permanent granite plug. The capsule contains an extensive microfilmed record of modern civilization, along with selected artifacts of everyday life....

This is very cool.

...The Eagle Editorialist weighs in on recent reports that the Duchess Of Windsor is going in for plastic surgery to correct facial flaws, comparing the work required to "the drydocking and overhauling of the Queen Mary."...

...(Sally looks up from the paper, all color drained from her face. The kitchen is silent save for the hollow ticking of the clock, the slow drip of water into the icebox pan, and the quiet crinkling of the pages in Sally's white-knuckled grip. Joe opens his mouth to speak, thinks better of it, and, putting down his half-eaten slice of toast, pushes back slowly from the table.)...

Joe needs to be like Sparky Watts and shrink down to a pinpoint. Like most of us, I've been in Joe's position; right now, Joe's praying that chair does not squeak as he moves it back at the rate of one inch per minute.

I remember being about eleven when, in the mid '70s, the football Giants traded Norm Snead to the 49ers that (with some other moves) brought Craig Morton to the Giants. My father didn't care that much about Snead, but Morton was poison to him. And you have to remember, being a Giants fan in the '70s meant you were in an abusive relationship on the receiving end. I remember very slowly and quietly leaving the room as my father "absorbed" this news.

... (Yeah, ha ha and all, but isn't this something you should be investigating scientifically? Especially since you're so afraid of shrinking, and it doesn't seem to happen to this guy?)...

Sparky started strong and now is losing its way. It either needs to shore up its science or move away from it as, right now, it's just sounding stupid. A tree saw would have made some sense; dynamite is dumb. We'll accept questionable science in a superhero, but not if the writer forces you to think too much about it.

...
(Well, what have we here?)...

I'm seeing some parallels to 2016 and will leave it there.

.. (Don't bother, if they haven't hit you by now, they never will.)

It's time to get creative, steal a plane and, with the Indiana Jones theme playing in the background, fly out of there with bullets pinging off the fuselage as you take off.

...
OK, the story in the Eagle yesterday was pretty specific that the parents weren't home when this happened. Somebody's not telling the truth. AND GET SOME SCREENS....!

Half of the many apartments I lived in, in NYC, the past three decades did not have screens. It's crazy to me as we get our share of mosquitoes etc., but it is what it is. We, now that we own, have bought screens for every window.

Mr. Galbraith is just another society father who will need to keep his checkbook open for his oft-marrying daughter.

...[ Psst, Carlisle. "1936!"...!

The real crime, if it is Tootsie, is that instead of having to suffer these indignities, there's a million dollar trust fund waiting for him if he only knew about it.

...[ Somewhere a grumpy old man is saying "yahhhh these kids today with their autographed beer jackets an' their jalopies covered with funny sayin's. What's the world comin' to?"...

Stockings are for women what ties are for men: They were oh so important until one day they weren't.

... "Hello, police! Come at once! My good-for-nothing billionaire son-in-law has stolen my jewels!"...

When momma opens the door, some nondescript detective will be there with wealthy and suave "society sleuth" William Powell who is there for no real reason other than that he solves upper-class crimes for fun.

... That's right, Wump. Cool as a cucumber. They won't suspect a thing....!

This seems to be the comic-strip equivalent of when code-era movies make everything right with the censors in the last scene, but we all know knees were really knocking earlier on.

 

[Haversack]

Annnnnnnnnd we're off!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Accused Murder-for-Hire gunman Vito Gurino, long a fugitive sought for questioning in connection with a long series of gangland slayings, is in custody at last. Gurino, a stocky, sloppy man known in the underworld as "The Torpedo" and "Socko," who gave his trade as a baker, and his address as Ozone Park, was hauled screaming into the Poplar Street precinct station in Brooklyn Heights last night, blubbering that he didn't want to die a squealer's death, and was questioned thru the night by detectives and Assistant District Attorney Edward Heffernan, who states that Gurino has admitted having a role in the murders of Anthony Siciliano and Cesare Lattaro, who were shot to death in the basement of their Bergen Street apartment building on February 6, 1939. However, Gurino pleaded not guilty when arraigned this morning on a double murder charge, and was taken immediately after that arraignment to the office of District Attorney William O'Dwyer, where he was grilled extensively about his recent activities. Gurino jumped bail on February 17th of this year after his arrest on a vagrancy charge, and has admitted that he has been hiding out in Jersey City since then. He told interrogators that he surrendered to protect his family, having turned up shortly before 9:40 pm at a Roman Catholic church in Manhattan screaming hysterically that he was being tailed "by three gunmen." When police arrived at the church, they took Gurino to the W. 20th Street station, where he threw himself on the floor, writhing and howling in terror. It took five policemen to subdue him and bring him to Brooklyn for questioning. District Attorney O'Dwyer had only one word when asked about Gurino's condition: "Yellow."

More than a hundred persons are reported injured in the explosion of a gunpowder factory this afternoon near Dover, New Jersey. The blast that destroyed the Hercules Powder Company works at Kenvil, N. J. shortly before 1:30 pm was felt as far away as Westchester.
Long distance telephone operators at Newark report that all telephone service to Kenvil, a town of about 900 persons, has been cut off.

The historic St. Paul's Cathedral in London is threatened by a German time bomb believed to be ticking in the churchyard. The bomb fell during daylight Nazi air raids this morning, and the area around the nearly 300-year-old church was evacuated while fire, police, and emergency rescue crews stood by. The raids this morning followed a twelve-hour respite from the near-continuous bombing of the British capital in recent days.

Meanwhile, British bombers pounded Berlin's Tempelhof Airport, along with key railroad facilities and gun positions in the German capital. British planes also subjected German positions along the French coast, where Adolf Hitler is reported to be massing troops for the impending invasion of the British Isles, to heavy bombardment.

A plan to reduce the majority of women teachers in New York City elementary schools by hiring more men to teach is under consideration by the Board of Superindendants. At present the ratio of femal to male teachers in city schools stands at 13 to 1, and the plan under consideration calls for that ratio to be reduced to 9 to 1 in grades 6B and below, and 4 to 1 at the 8B level. In high schools, where the ratio is now 3 to 2, a plan is under advisement that would impose a teaching quota under which men would slightly outnumber women.

Quick enactment of peacetime conscription for men aged 21 to 35 is anticipated as a joint House-Senate committee meets today to draft a compromise version of a compulsory military training bill. The compromise is also expected to scuttle a House-favored sixty-day waiting period between passage of the bill and commencement of the draft, which would open the way to the drafting of the first selectees under the law as early as next month.

A total of 95 three-man draft boards will pass judgement on the fitness of Brooklyn men for service in the Armed Forces when the conscription law goes into effect. Mayor LaGuardia is expected shortly to submit the names of 600 qualified persons from the borough to Governor Herbert H. Lehman for approval for draft-board service. Approximately 945,000 men aged 21 to 35 in New York City as a whole will be required to register for military service under the law.

("I don't know, but I can tell you what will happen if you don't get in there and practice that damn accordion we're paying a dollar of good money a week for...")

The opening of a new Al Jolson show on Broadway has always been news, especially now that the World's Greatest Entertainer, he says, is back on the Great White Way for the first time in a decade. Arthur Pollock was of the company for the opening night of "Hold Onto Your Hats" at the Shubert Theatre, and says Jolson even after a decade of dallying with Hollywood and radio is still the same old Jolie, with most of the same old kick -- in fact, when he tries to act mellow, he's not so good. He appears here as a vainglorious radio cowboy hero who becomes mixed up with Mexican banditos at a dude ranch, with loud-mouthed Martha Raye furnishing the love interest as she matches Jolson gag for gag and tune for tune in the comedy-and-songs department. Bert Gordon forgoes his "Mad Russian" character as Jolson's radio sidekick, an incongruously Jewish Indian, and there are plenty of specialties to fill up the show. If you like Jolson you'll like this show -- if you don't like Jolson, you won't. And if you do like Jolson be advised that he does come out after the play to run thru all his old songs, which will keep you in your seat about half an hour longer than you expected. Good value for an $8.80 top.

("Martha Raye!" says Joe. "She remin's me 'a sumbuddy. Can't thinka who." "Izzat so?" wonders Sally, as she resumes writing a long and blistering letter to Larry MacPhail.)

(If you think the movies of 1940 fairly bristle with completely unconcealed hostility between men and women and women and men, well, this one won't change your mind.)

"Puzzled Mother" writes to Helen Worth to complain about her fourteen-year-old daughter, who lives like a pig. Her room is a mess, her clothes are a wreck, and she just doesn't care. P. M. has tried everything from harsh punishment to "trying to kill her with kindness," and nothing makes the kid change her ways. Helen can tell that P. M. has never raised a teenager before, and says to be patient and let nature take its course.

The new fashion fad for fall? Husbands and wives dressing in twin ensembles! It's all the rage now with Long Island society for Mr. and Mrs. to turn up at all the best events dressed in matching attire, right down to shoes and accessories.

(You don't see door-to-door salesmen much anymore. Not that I'm complaining.)

Yesterday's twinbill against the Cubs is best forgotten, with the Dodgers dropping both games, the first to a resurgent Dizzy Dean. Ol' Diz is no longer the fireballer of yore, returning to the Ebbets Field mound with a bizarre sidearm delivery that tossed up bubble after bubble, few of which the Flock could hit. Dixie Walker went down for the day with an ingnominious 0 for 9, which may have put paid to his quest for the National League batting title, and only Pete Reiser, who had three hits including a long home run, was able to truly solve Dean's new stuff. In the second game, old nemesis Claude Passeau toyed with the Dodgers to earn his 18th win of the season. The losses drop Brooklyn to nine games behind the league-leading Reds.

Larry MacPhail has positively guaranteed that maybe Leo Durocher might be the Dodger manager in 1941. The Dodger president issued a definitive statement on the Brooklyn managerial situation that contained no specifics whatever, other than the fact that Durocher's fate will be determined following the club's Board of Directors' meeting on September 30th. But front-office sentiment is said to be leaving heavily toward keeping Lippy on the job next year, under another one-season contract.

The Dodgers were happy to see the last of the Cubs, who concluded their season's business with Brooklyn yesterday. The Wrigleymen took the season series 12 to 10.

Today, the Pittsburgh Pirates invade Ebbets Field for a doubleheader. Hugh Casey started for Brooklyn in the first game against Ken Heintzelman, and at press time the Dodgers are batting in the bottom of the eighth, holding onto a 1-0 lead.

(If this dog business doesn't lead up to a "LIBERATE BOB" story, I'll be sorely disappointed. He was supposed to have another hearing this week, but there has been nothing on it.)

(Jo and George have been banned from Loew's Metropolitan since 1928.)

(I know many people who work or have worked in the newspaper business -- editors, reporters, photographers, layout people, printers, ad salesmen. But I don't know a single newspaper cryptographer.)

(Here's why you should never leave the keys in your tank.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

When Harold and Lillums botched their elopement last year, it was just sad. This, however, is hilarious.

Couldn't afford Jolson, could ya?

"The Communist Government of Mexico?" Clearly, "alternate facts" are nothing new.

Annie's school transcript must truly be a thing of wonder.

"All Our Rooms Boast The Latest In Fire Protection -- A Screaming Bellhop Is Assigned To Every Floor!"

Take it from experience, kids -- "Being Here Quite A While" and "Being About Due" will cut precisely no cheese.

"With Infinite Wealth Comes Infinite Escapes."

I never thought when I opened the paper today that I'd get the answer to "Connie -- Boxers or Briefs?"

The shaved head is a new look for Mr. Pallette, but I guess it works. But he's no Dude Hennick.

One of the things I always enjoy about Frank Willard's art is that his figures all have a real sense of solidity and weight. Except for panel three here, where Willie is about to float away like Tootsie the Elephant. What's the deal, Frank, you and Tuthill get together for a smoke?

 

[Fading Fast]

...
("I don't know, but I can tell you what will happen if you don't get in there and practice that damn accordion we're paying a dollar of good money a week for...")...

My dad, literally, took the completely opposite view of child raising to this ad: no music lesson and no hiding the news of the world from me. I was taught that the world is a very tough place from as early as I can remember. Right or wrong, his intent was good as he saw no value in sheltering me from the realities of life.

...Sally, as she resumes writing a long and blistering letter to Larry MacPhail.)...

...Yesterday's twinbill against the Cubs is best forgotten, with the Dodgers dropping both games, the first to a resurgent Dizzy Dean. Ol' Diz is no longer the fireballer of yore, returning to the Ebbets Field mound with a bizarre sidearm delivery that tossed up bubble after bubble, few of which the Flock could hit. Dixie Walker went down for the day with an ingnominious 0 for 9, which may have put paid to his quest for the National League batting title, and only Pete Reiser, who had three hits including a long home run, was able to truly solve Dean's new stuff. In the second game, old nemesis Claude Passeau toyed with the Dodgers to earn his 18th win of the season. The losses drop Brooklyn to nine games behind the league-leading Reds....

So that leaves only the 2020 Yankees.

... (I know many people who work or have worked in the newspaper business -- editors, reporters, photographers, layout people, printers, ad salesmen. But I don't know a single newspaper cryptographer.)...

And one drawn by Lichty.

From books, movies and the comics, you can tell how important the newspaper business was in the culture at the time. It had elements of being the Silicon Valley of its day, but with a business model that is much-more visual and relatable to the public, so the stories are more engaging.

... (Here's why you should never leave the keys in your tank.)

I still think the airplane would have been more dramatic, but this is pretty good too.

... When Harold and Lillums botched their elopement last year, it was just sad. This, however, is hilarious....

It brought about other, um, complications, but at least the general acceptance of premarital sex stopped most of this nonsense.

Whatever one thinks of them, there's no denying that O'Dwyer and Amen are hard working men - they are involved in everything.

And regarding "The Neighbors," I learned early where to look to spot cops to warn my dad to slow down.

... Couldn't afford Jolson, could ya?...

Baked rice custard with raisons and cream or cup cake a la mode w/ hot butterscotch sauce or eggnog sundae. I hate it when dessert becomes a three-body problem.

I see that the green apples are still an issue.

... Annie's school transcript must truly be a thing of wonder....

While this storyline is really getting old ("bring back Nick," "what?" "nothing"), Annie's comments in the last panel have a lot of wisdom.

... Take it from experience, kids -- "Being Here Quite A While" and "Being About Due" will cut precisely no cheese....

Agreed and nor should they. "I am doing more, adding more value, making you more money or saving you money this way because of my increasing experience" is an argument; that I've punched the clock a lot doesn't and shouldn't matter.

... The shaved head is a new look for Mr. Pallette, but I guess it works. But he's no Dude Hennick....

Nice twist, Ed can now take this in several directions. Before Harold finds out who the gardener really is, it would be good if he tells him about the spoiled son, basically, taking away his wages as pater will probably make him whole.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Snipe probably has a better chance of diverting the milk train than Skeez does -- she's pretty much the office manager, in function if not title, and she's also clearly the smartest person in the company. Whether he wants to admit it or not, he can't afford to lose her. Skeezix is certainly carrying more of the load than Wilmer, but so does the coat tree. There are plenty of nineteen-year-olds around who can file cards and lick stamps for eleven bucks a week, Wumple will think, and that will be that.

I get the sense that Wumple inherited the company from his old man and never quite figured out what he's supposed to do, given that every time we've seen him in decision-making mode it's been the wrong decision.

I'd have that pork chop combination. For half a buck it's probably all gristle, but I imagine the fries are good.

Given her later incarnation as an annoying denture-glue hawker on television, it's always interesting to see Martha Raye as a young and dynamic figure. There weren't many women in comedy who could hold their own on the same stage as Jolson, Hope, Fields, Durante and Chaplin, but she never gave an inch opposite any of them.

The trope of the "Crusading DA" in books and movies came out of this era, and the exploits of O'Dwyer, Dewey, etc. are the reason why. You don't hear much about "crusading DAs" anymore -- most of them seem to be pretty dull people these days. I blame the general decline in the quality of the tabloid press.

It's a shame the "Harold Teen" movie series died on the vine, because this storyline would be perfect fodder for it.

 

[LizzieMaine]

German bombs pounded Buckingham Palace and Downing Street today in the boldest assault yet on the very seat of the British Government. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth remained safe in their underground shelter, but three plumbers working in the south wing of the palace were injured, craters were left in the palace grounds, and the Royal Chapel was destroyed. "Slight Damage" was reported at the Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street, but no injuries were reported at that address. The raid was believed to be part of a deliberate effort to drive the King out of London.

The death toll from the explosion yesterday of a New Jersey gunpowder factory may reach one hundred, as investigators consider sabotage as a possible cause of the disaster. The explosion at the factory of the Hercules Powder Company in Kenvil destroyed what had been described as "one of the most efficient explosives plants in the country," and this afternoon, a full day after the detonation, the ruins of the plant are still smouldering as police and fire crews dig thru the rubble for bodies. Thirty-five bodies have been recovered as of press time, five of them unidentified, and authorities there may be at least sixty more buried in the ruins. Meanwhile, police, Hercules Company security, the Army and Navy Intelligence Services, the FBI, and the Dies Committee are all either investigating or preparing to investigate the cause of the disaster. Work on a $2,000,000 Government munitions order was underway at the factory at the time of the explosion. A dynamite-mixing unit adjacent to the main building was not damaged, and workers today were back on the job at that facility.

Investigators have determined that several employees of the Hercules company and the nearby Picatinny Army Arsenal at Dover were dismissed recently in the wake of the recent joint meeting of the Ku Klux Klan and the German-American Bund at the Bund's Camp Nordland base, about ten miles away. FBI agents monitoring that meeting confirmed that several cars parked on the grounds bore vehicle identification tags issued to Hercules employees.

The principal of Bushwick High School is calling for the abolition of the New York City Board of Education and its replacement by local school boards organized in a loose federation. Milo F. McDonald, who also serves as the chairman of the American Education Association, in a letter to Paul Windle, overseer of the Legislature's invesitgation of city education, also called for an investigation of a Queens representative to the Board of Education whom he accused of advising students in a 1937 classroom lecture that they should refuse to fight in the event of war. McDonald called board member Mrs. Johanna F. Lindhof "a distinct menace to our public welfare." Mr. McDonald made no mention of his letter of a recent dispute in which Mrs. Lindhof accused McDonald and the AEA of "spreading intolerance and anti-Semitism" in the city's schools, but he did call for an investigation of Joseph Janblower of the Board of Examiners, whom he accused of being "insufficient in his Americanism" during the First World War.

(We're still thirty-nine years away from an effective rabies vaccine for dogs.)

Mayor LaGuardia announced his long-awaited endorsement of President Roosevelt's third-term reelection bid last night, and denounced Republican nominee Wendell L. Willkie as "a graduate of Tammany." In a broadcast over radio station WEAF of the National Broadcasting Company, the Mayor pointed to Mr. Willkie's past affiliation with the New York County Democratic Committee as evidence of his Tammany affilliation, while contrasting that record with that of President Roosevelt, who opposed Tammany interests while a member of the New York State Senate, and who fought to keep representatives of Tammany, railroad, and utility interests from "sending their man to the United States Senate." The Mayor complimented Mr. Willkie as "a brilliant executive of a holding company," and acknowledged that "if I were a bondholder of the Commonwealth and Southern Corporation concerned only with the dividends of my holdings, I would cast my vote for Mr. Willkie."

The new vaudeville season opened last night at the Flatbush Theatre with a stage revue headlined by the famous fan-and-bubble dancer Sally Rand, who needs no introduction to Brooklyn. Miss Rand is just as ever with her diverting little routine, with fine support offered by Art Jarrett and his Orchestra. Also worth your time on the Flatbush bill are The Three Waltons, a unique three-way contortionist act whose members twist each other into interesting shapes while draped over a table and chair; Nelson's Dogs, a canine act that proves once and for all that you can train Scotties; and the song-dance-comedy combination of Sid Tomack and the Reis Brothers. The short-subject film program was mostly good, with an interesting "March of Time" and another excellent "Information Please" episode. Something should be done about the Three Stooges comedy, but the Donald Duck cartoon was one of the best yet.

A Brooklyn sewer inspector indicted by the Amen Grand Jury of accepting $5500 in bribes over a three-year interval has been removed from his job by Borough President John Cashmore, who praised Assistant Attorney General John H. Amen for his investigation into the activities of George A. Green. Mr. Green, who had been attached to the Borough President's office, had served as a sewer inspector for sixteen years before his name came up in Amen's probe of corruption in sewer construction contracts.

The Eagle Editorialist endorses the replacement of the Fulton Street trolley lines by buses, noting that the move will hasten the demolition of the abandoned Fulton Street L, and will mean better service for passengers. The EE points out that those who complain that buses are not as comfortable for riders as trolleys fail to note that the comfortable streamline cars now running on the BMT are not running on the Fulton line, which makes do with the rattling old-fashioned cars, and the buses will be an improvement over those.

(Little pitchers have big ears.)

(If it's fall, it must be time to resume the celebrity tie-ins at A&S. Mr. Hawk and "Take It Or Leave It" gave the world the phrase "that's the $64 Question," but if he's only offering $6.40 it's not so impressive.)

As far as Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis is concerned, the Dodgers are still in the pennant race, with baseball's chief executive decreeing today that the 1940 World Series will begin on October 2nd -- "in Cincinnati or Brooklyn." And as far as Hugh Casey is concerned, the Dodgers really are still in the race, with Hughie's sidearm slider handcuffing the Pirates in both games of yesterday's twinbill at Ebbets Field. The Bucs have climbed to third place in the National League flag contest, with the Giants -- sorry Bill -- having been mathematically eliminated yesterday by the Reds, and had been expected to put pressure on Brooklyn for the second place slot. But yesterday's sweep gives the Flock a solid grasp on the runner-up position, and renews hopes among the Faithful that a late-season surge could well upend the race.

Dixie Walker's sudden slump continued yesterday, with a second consecutive 0-for-9 afternoon dropping the Alabama slugger to .314, and sending him into a post-game funk that had him reaching for a bottle of beer. Dixie normally avoids anything stronger than cola, and when his teammates noticed his choice of beverage, they rode him mercilessly.

With the you-guess-it pennant race in the American League still raging, league president Will Harridge decreed today that in the event of a two-way tie, the clubs will decide the pennant in a single-game playoff, location of which will be determined by lot. Harridge made no provision for settling a three-way tie among the Tigers, Indians, and Yankees, which is still a mathematical possibility, but suggested in the event of such a situation, two teams might be chosen to play by drawing of lots, and the third taking on the winner of that contest to decide the flag.

Olympic champion Jesse Owens will race a motorcycle as a pregame attraction before tonight's game at Dexter Park between the Bushwicks and the Toledo Crawfords. Owens is half-owner of the Negro American League franchise formerly based in Pittsburgh, and has been traveling with the Crawfords this season, putting on a variety of pre-game exhibitions as a special gate attraction. Following his sprint against the motorcycle, Owens will pit his speed against the fastest players on the Bushwick squad.

The head chef at Gage & Tollner, famous restaurant in downtown Brooklyn, says American men don't like well-seasoned foods, preferring "old fashioned wholesome fare" served plain, not "drizzled up with sauces." Steaks, lamb or mutton chops, and fried chicken are the favorite meats, but seafood is increasingly popular. "Rich, deep fruit pies" are the favored dessert.

(Why does Slap Happy have his name on his sweatshirt? Does he keep forgetting who he is? Maybe next time you should aim that ray at his head.)

(Just imagine. George Bungle has a key that lets him enter your apartment at any time. Yeah, I'd move too.)

(You don't often see a Warners B-picture fast-cut montage in a comic strip, but here it is. All we need is the staccato Leo Forbstein musical score and it'd be perfect.)

(You pay extra for that sunroof, or is it standard equipment?)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Hey, you know who should get together with Artie? Elaine Barrie.

Carlisle discovers cartoons! But where's your elephant? Tootsie looks like she's getting sick of her gig -- you might be able to lure her over.

Well, they *did* have a Superman day. Let's get on this!

Oooh, a bomb storyline? A little late, but still promising.

"Besides, the other kids all think I'm a pious little drudge."

Please let these guys be agents of Singh-Singh. I wanna see the DL, Raven, and Cheery Blaze all together when Pat shows up.

Yeah, compressed nerve gas will do that.

"...at $11 a week."

Too bad Abe Frosch doesn't have a franchise out west.

Never trust a man with a waxed moustache.

 

[Fading Fast]

German bombs pounded Buckingham Palace and Downing Street today in the boldest assault yet on the very seat of the British Government. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth remained safe in their underground shelter, but three plumbers working in the south wing of the palace were injured, craters were left in the palace grounds, and the Royal Chapel was destroyed. "Slight Damage" was reported at the Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street, but no injuries were reported at that address. The raid was believed to be part of a deliberate effort to drive the King out of London....

The British people, their political leaders and their royal family are conducting themselves with pride and fortitude. Sure, I know there are a billion examples of individuals doing this or that not good thing, but at an aggregated level, there they - the people, the politicians, the royals - are, taking the pounding, not fleeing and fighting back.

...The death toll from the explosion yesterday of a New Jersey gunpowder factory may reach one hundred, as investigators consider sabotage as a possible cause of the disaster. The explosion at the factory of the Hercules Powder Company in Kenvil destroyed what had been described as "one of the most efficient explosives plants in the country," and this afternoon, a full day after the detonation, the ruins of the plant are still smouldering as police and fire crews dig thru the rubble for bodies. Thirty-five bodies have been recovered as of press time, five of them unidentified, and authorities there may be at least sixty more buried in the ruins. Meanwhile, police, Hercules Company security, the Army and Navy Intelligence Services, the FBI, and the Dies Committee are all either investigating or preparing to investigate the cause of the disaster. Work on a $2,000,000 Government munitions order was underway at the factory at the time of the explosion. A dynamite-mixing unit adjacent to the main building was not damaged, and workers today were back on the job at that facility.

Investigators have determined that several employees of the Hercules company and the nearby Picatinny Army Arsenal at Dover were dismissed recently in the wake of the recent joint meeting of the Ku Klux Klan and the German-American Bund at the Bund's Camp Nordland base, about ten miles away. FBI agents monitoring that meeting confirmed that several cars parked on the grounds bore vehicle identification tags issued to Hercules employees....

It's odd that, having grown up in NJ in the '70s (about 50 miles from the factory), I don't remember ever hearing or reading about this explosion. "Famous" fires and, of course, the Lakehurst NJ Hindenburg disaster, were regularly discussed (as I'm sure all states do with their history), but not once do I remember ever hearing about this explosion.

... View attachment 260886
(We're still thirty-nine years away from an effective rabies vaccine for dogs.)...

Separately, as you noted, still no word on Bob?

...The new vaudeville season opened last night at the Flatbush Theatre with a stage revue headlined by the famous fan-and-bubble dancer Sally Rand, who needs no introduction to Brooklyn. Miss Rand is just as ever with her diverting little routine, with fine support offered by Art Jarrett and his Orchestra...

A quick Googling of Ms. Rand's name and images "revealed" that she didn't always keep the feathers as strategically placed as shown here:

...The Eagle Editorialist endorses the replacement of the Fulton Street trolley lines by buses, noting that the move will hasten the demolition of the abandoned Fulton Street L, and will mean better service for passengers. The EE points out that those who complain that buses are not as comfortable for riders as trolleys fail to note that the comfortable streamline cars now running on the BMT are not running on the Fulton line, which makes do with the rattling old-fashioned cars, and the buses will be an improvement over those....

Jean Arthur, how do you feel about the logic of buses over trolleys:


How do Sally and Joe feel about this?

... (If it's fall, it must be time to resume the celebrity tie-ins at A&S. Mr. Hawk and "Take It Or Leave It" gave the world the phrase "that's the $64 Question," but if he's only offering $6.40 it's not so impressive.)...

I have nephews in their early 20s who have never worn a suit once in their lives.

...The head chef at Gage & Tollner, famous restaurant in downtown Brooklyn, says ..."Rich, deep fruit pies" are the favored dessert....

Like, say, huckleberry or green apple? Asking for a friend.

... (You don't often see a Warners B-picture fast-cut montage in a comic strip, but here it is. All we need is the staccato Leo Forbstein musical score and it'd be perfect.)...

Spot on. "Get me Pat O'Brien, James Cagney and that Sheridan woman." "For what roles, sir?" "Doesn't matter, we'll figure that out later, I just need actors who can fire out dialogue like machine-gun bullets." "Also, get me Rosalind Russell." "She doesn't work for us, we'll have to pay up to get her." "Nuts to that, see if Davis can squeeze it into her schedule and ignore her first three answers of 'no'."

Kidding aside, the artwork today is outstanding. All panels are really good; panel two is freakin' fantastic.

... (You pay extra for that sunroof, or is it standard equipment?)

Also, darn fine artwork today here as well.

...
Hey, you know who should get together with Artie? Elaine Barrie.....

Why not? Shaw would eventually have eight marriages, one more wouldn't make a difference either way and, as you imply, those two deserve each other.

I love that the underaged-bride's mother bailed her daughter out but not her son-in-law. That is perfect.

A...
Well, they *did* have a Superman day. Let's get on this!....

...[ "...at $11 a week."....

As have most of us at one point or another, I've been in Skeezix's exact place several times and the mental calculus you're furiously making is how much enthusiasm do I show for the "promotion," so as not to anger the boss, but not so much that he/she thinks he/she can get away without giving me a raise. It's a delicate balancing act. You never want to be fobbed off with a "promotion" when what you really want is a raise.

... Never trust a man with a waxed moustache.

Not the smoothest transition from yesterday to today.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Say, Joe. Some monkey over here wantsta know what we thinka them puttin' buses on Fulton Street."

"Hah? Whozat now? Izzat Jemail from th' News? Hey, do I look awright?"

"Nah, ain't Jemail. Jus' some guy. Me, I can'stannagota Fulton Street fa' nut'n. Them dames downeah all dressed up looka me funny cause I'm wearin' las' year's coat. Joke's onnem, I goddis coat in nineteen-t'oity seven. Go onna trolley, go onna bus, issawlasame ta me."

"You wendownna Fulton Street 'at time lassyeah whennat Coscarart was handin' out auttagraffs at Abr'amanstrauss's. You couln'waitta get downeah. I seen ya, headin' outta door. Wuntwearinno nineteen-t'oity seven coat that time!

"He dowanna know 'bouttat, he wanssaknow 'bout do you ratta ridea trolley or a bus? You tell 'im, you're th' one awlways poppin'offya mout'.

"You knowwhut I hate 'bout them trolleys? Always when I ridem, you gotta guy been eatin onions, an' he's awlways stannin' right nexta me. Don' matta if I'm goin' ta Coney Islan' or Red Hook, awlways I'm stannin' nextta some guy been eatin' onions. Say, if when they bring inna buses, an'ney don' let on guys been eatin' onions, I'm awl forrit. Say, you sure you ain't Jemail?"

 

[Fading Fast]

"Say, Joe. Some monkey over here wantsta know what we thinka them puttin' buses on Fulton Street."

"Hah? Whozat now? Izzat Jemail from th' News? Hey, do I look awright?"

"Nah, ain't Jemail. Jus' some guy. Me, I can'stannagota Fulton Street fa' nut'n. Them dames downeah all dressed up looka me funny cause I'm wearin' las' year's coat. Joke's onnem, I goddis coat in nineteen-t'oity seven. Go onna trolley, go onna bus, issawlasame ta me."

"You wendownna Fulton Street 'at time lassyeah whennat Coscarart was handin' out auttagraffs at Abr'amanstrauss's. You couln'waitta get downeah. I seen ya, headin' outta door. Wuntwearinno nineteen-t'oity seven coat that time!

"He dowanna know 'bouttat, he wanssaknow 'bout do you ratta ridea trolley or a bus? You tell 'im, you're th' one awlways poppin'offya mout'.

"You knowwhut I hate 'bout them trolleys? Always when I ridem, you gotta guy been eatin onions, an' he's awlways stannin' right nexta me. Don' matta if I'm goin' ta Coney Islan' or Red Hook, awlways I'm stannin' nextta some guy been eatin' onions. Say, if when they bring inna buses, an'ney don' let on guys been eatin' onions, I'm awl forrit. Say, you sure you ain't Jemail?"

Wuntwearinno nineteen-t'oity seven coat that time!

"He dowanna know 'bouttat, he wanssaknow 'bout do you ratta ridea trolley or a bus? You tell 'im, you're th' one awlways poppin'offya mout'.

Well done with some noted standouts above. Thank you.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The former president of the Building Service Employees International Union faces up to half a century in prison following his conviction for stealing funds from the union's treasury. George Scalise was found guilty on five of ten counts shortly before 5 AM today by a jury in Manhattan General Sessions Court following 17 and a half hours of deliberation. The former labor leader was originally charged on a total of sixty counts of larceny and forgery stemming from the theft of $60,087 from the union. Thirty-five of those counts were subsequently withdrawn by the Assistant District Attorney prosecuting the case, with fifteen others thrown out by the judge before the case was turned over to the jury.

London must now choose "between the fates of Warsaw or Paris," according to informed German quarters, with the choice between destruction and occupation to be forced by continuous air attacks. "London's 5000 dead," warn the Germans, "will not be their last." The German threats come as neutral military observers warn that the long-awaited start of the Nazi invasion of the southern English coast should be expected within the next forty-eight hours. British naval forces continue to shell German positions on the French side of the Channel, where boats equipped with special tank-carrying platforms have been observed.

The explosion of the Hercules gunpowder works at Kenvill, New Jersey was likely the work of saboteurs, according to New Jersey Senator W. W. Barbour. The Republican senator declared today that "when the facts are known, it will be discovered that it was due, as in the case of the Black Tom disaster of the pre-World War period, to the activities of foreign agents. The death toll from the explosion now stands at at least 43, with more than a score of the buildings that made up the 2000-acre plant having been completely demolished by the blast. Steam shovels and cranes continue to probe the wreckage for bodies, as investigators look for clues as to the cause of the disaster. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation are combing the personnel records of the plant for possible Nazi sympathizers, with the Sussex County Sheriff's office having turned over to the FBI a list of all automobile license numbers recorded outside the German-American Bund's base at Camp Nordland, the site of a recent conclave between Bundists and the Ku Klux Klan. So far, about forty employees of the plant have been linked to such groups. The operations manager of the plant stated that he had never, to his memory, dismissed a man for belonging to a Nazi group, but added that "I feel in my heart that this blast was set off by some bundist."

Abe "Kid Twist" Reles will take the witness stand when testimony resumes on Monday in the murder trial of Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss and Martin "Buggsy" Goldstein for the Murder-for-Hire rubout of Irving "Puggy" Feinstein, the bookmaker and underworld informant who was transformed into a flaming corpse in a vacant lot in Brownsville on September 4th of last year. According to Assistant District Attorney Burton Turkus, Reles will describe his own role in the hit, and will detail the involvement of the defendants in the crime.

Republican presidential candidate Wendell Willkie today accused President Roosevelt of directly promoting the sellout of Czechoslovakia at Munich. The GOP nominee, addressing a crowd of several thousand persons from the platform of his special railroad car stopped at Joliet, Illinois, claimed that the President personally telephoned Hitler and Mussolini to urge their support for the Munich Agreement that spelled the end of a free Czechoslovak nation.

The prospective draftee's first weapon once the conscription law takes effect will be a sharpened pencil, to be used to fill in a blank longer and more complicated than an income tax form. The eight-page form will contain more than a hundred questions, intended to determine all personal particulars about each of the estimated 16,500,000 men aged from 21 to 35 who will make up the conscription pool. Potential draftees will have five days to complete the form and return it to Selective Service authorities for processing.

It is easier for a city boy to become a U. S. Marine than a country boy. So state Marine Corps officials, who routinely reject six out of every seven applicants for service in the branch. Recruitment officers say that a higher percentage of rural applicants than city applicants are turned away, most often due to a lack of teeth.

(LEAVE THE DOG ALONE)

(These stupid reality shows are ruining radio.)

Fred Allen, Portland Hoffa, and the Mighty Allen Art Players invade WABC on Wednesday October 2nd at 9PM, beginning their new CBS program for an oil company on the same night and the same hour they formerly occupied on NBC for a drug firm. Allen's new orchestra leader will be Broadway favorite Al Goodman, and his new vocalist will be none other than Jack Benny's old vocalist, tenor Kenny Baker.

("I give out coupons!")

The Dodgers won their third straight over the Pirates yesterday on the strength of fine pitching by rookie Ed Head, with the 20-year-old righthander handcuffing the Bucs with an impressive mix of a snappy fastball, an impressive curve, and a bubble-like changeup. Durocher says all the kid needs is confidence, and he seems to be well on his way to attaining that. Head gave up only seven hits, and even got into a jawing match with Pittsburgh pitcher Bob Klinger, who didn't like the rookie's attitude and dusted him off when he came to the plate. Head got his revenge in the sixth inning, when he rammed a basehit that scored two runs and sent Klinger to the showers.

Dixie Walker broke out of his slump with a solid base hit, and Joe Medwick continues to pound the ball at a healthy clip, clubbing a long double off the Gem Blades sign on the right field wall in his first at-bat of the day. Ducky is now batting .299, and is expected to finally crack the .300 mark today.

A few reserved seats are still available for tomorrow's doubleheader against the Reds, opening up a series against the Rhineland boys that will in all likelihood decide the National League pennant race. In addition, ten thousand general admission and bleacher tickets will go on sale at Ebbets Field at 10 AM tomorrow.

("I'm campin' out tonite," says Joe. "Hah," says Sally. "Las' time you done that you fell asleep an' somebody rolled ya for ya billfold." "Ain' gonna do it this time," Joe declares. "I got it hid where ain'nobuddy gonna fin' it." "Hah," says Sally. "Las' time you done that *you* coul'n fin' it.")

As of yesterday's game, Dodger attendance for 1940 stands at exactly 875,022. If you can guess exactly what that number will be at nightfall on September 26th, you can win a new car, or one of 99 other prizes rounded up for the contest by Dodger secretary John McDonald. Pick up your guessing blank at the ballpark or one of the many local stores where they are available, and drop it in one of the receptacles located in the marble rotunda or other locations around the stands.

Dodger broadcasters Red Barber and Al Helfer will get a Day at Ebbets Field next Saturday, but it is reported that the enormous Brother Al would rather have a hamburger. Or a double hamburger.

(These Fazians get around.)

("Well, officer, it seemed like a good idea at the time...")

(See how neatly all this fits together?)

(It's Irwin's focused, all-encompassing powers of trained observation that make him such a valued operative.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Whenever one might be tempted to romanticize gangsters, remember Vito Gurino. And "Red Hooker" in that headline led me to envision an entirely different story.

This is a fascinating promotion. The sets sell for $1.75 per opera -- that's less than half what you'd pay for name-brand recordings of the same material at a record store, and most of them were recorded by none other than RCA Victor using regular union musicians who waived their fees due to the public-service nature of the project, which was based on the idea of getting operatic material into the hands of people who never would have otherwise thought of buying it or couldn't afford to buy it. Some actual Metropolitan Opera stars participated in the recording sessions under the cloak of anonymity. And most interesting of all, the entire New Deal-style "distribution center" program was managed by none other than our friends at Davega. And you thought all they did was sell off-brand refrigerators, remaindered radios, and tacky sportswear.

Caps, okay, whatever. And boldface, well, you have to make a point. But caps AND boldface, well, isn't that a bit much?

Who writes your stuff, Sam? Uncle Bim?

Well now, here's a face from the past. "Old Timer" Keyes is an old crony of Andy's, who runs a fishing camp up in the woods, and was a major player in Gumpian affairs back in the early twenties with his "down to earth homely philosophy." He hasn't been seen much since Gus Edson took over the strip, so it'll be interesting to see what the point is of bringing him in now.

"Can I go to the bathroom first? I've been holding it for a long time..."

That Pat hasn't punched Dude in the face by now is testimony to his strong character.

"All chiefs and no... oh, wait, we've still got Wilmer."

Today's guest artist, Charles Addams.

"Terms Which Have Disappeared" -- "in storage/out of storage" for "in jail/out on bail."