The Era -- Day By Day

[Fading Fast]

...A 40-year-old Brooklyn mother and her curly-haired 9-year-old daughter are safe today thanks to the heroism of two tugboat deckhands who rescued them from a strong current at the foot of 39th Street. Mrs. Mamie Gunderson of 512 Bergen Street and her daughter Eleanor were passengers aboard the 39th Street ferryboat Tremont when Eleanor fell over the boat's rail into the water -- and her mother immediately jumped overboard to save her. Both were caught in the current, and as the ferry crew sent up emergency flares to summon help, two crewmen of the nearby Eastern Steamship Lines tugboat Norfolk leaped into action. Fully clothed, deckhands George Nelson of Ettingsvile, Staten Island, and Nicholas Nelson of Manhattan swum to the aid of the mother and child just as Mrs. Gunderson was losing consciousness after striving for fifteen minutes to keep her daughter's head above water. A police emergency squad was waiting when the Norfolk arrived at the 39th Street slip....

Everything is always ugly if you choose to only see the ugliness, but there are also always stories like this which have to lift your spirits.

...A Carrol Street man was arraigned today in Flatbush on charges of maintaining a public nuisance, after neighbors complained about his pet rooster. 63 year old Charles Buckridge told Magistrate D. Joseph D'Andrea that he did keep the bird, but he didn't think it crowed *that* much. Neighbors alleged that the large fowl crowed constantly, day and night. Magistrate D'Andrea suggested that the approach of Thanksgiving might offer a solution to the problem, proposing that Buckridge host a chicken dinner for his neighbors, but Buckridge protested that the rooster is his granddaughter's pet and he will not kill it. The court agreed that the bird's life will be spared if Buckridge immediately deports it to "rural surroundings."....

 

[Fading Fast]

740 Carroll Street, home of Charles Buckridge, his granddaughter and their rooster.

View attachment 190905
Keep Manhattan, just gimme that countryside.

It seems as if it was touch and go for a moment for the rooster in the courtroom, but thankfully, calmer heads prevailed.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I bet Eleanor Gunderson never leaned over the railing of a boat again.

 

[Fading Fast]

I bet Eleanor Gunderson never leaned over the railing of a boat again.

I doubt her mother ever gave her a chance again to do so.

 

[vitanola]

If you have any of those plain white label records -- you know the kind, wink wink -- by Dwight Fiske hidden inside your Victrola, he's playing an engagement in the Cafe Lounge at the Savoy Plaza over in Manhattan this week. You know the kind of show he does, wink wink.

.

nudge nudge

say no more, say no more!

 

[LizzieMaine]

The Eagle Boy just tossed the big Sunday edition up on the stoop, so let's get to it --

British anti-aircraft guns brought down three or four Nazi planes today, depending on whether you believe the headline or the story, over the North Sea in an unsuccessful German attack on a British naval convoy, an attack marking what Chancellor Adolf Hitler calls the start of an intense "all oceans offensive." A German patrol boat blew up today after hitting two mines off the coast of Denmark, killing seventy of the seventy-four men aboard.

Hitler's call for full-scale ocean warfare comes with a warning to neutral nations to keep their ships far from Allied convoys lest they become targets.

Meanwhile, a passenger on board the storm-ravaged liner President Harding told the Eagle that the ship was being followed by a submarine even as it plowed into the hurricane. Philip Adler of Detroit, a reporter for the Detroit News who was returning from a European assignment, says the sub, believed to be the same one that sank the British vessel Hartespool, tailed the Harding for at least an hour before breaking off pursuit.

Russia and Italy are both sounding off on the three-way mutual assistance pact between Turkey, Britain, and France. The Soviets say that as the leading power in the Black Sea, they will be observing events in that area carefully, while Italy promises to defend its interests in the Balkans.

Real estate in Brooklyn is overassessed by nearly 35 percent according to an Eagle investigation. There is an average disparity over more than $3000 between the assessed value of residential properties and undeveloped land and its actual market worth, leading to significantly increased property tax burdens on homeowners in the borough. In some cases, the study found, properties are assessed by the city at as much as twice their actual market value.

Mayor LaGuardia's war on milk chiselers has carried to Washington, with the Mayor sending a telegram to Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace calling for federal intervention to enforce the $2.15 per hundredweight price due to farmers under current contracts. The Mayor named twenty-eight milk distribution firms that do stick to the contracted price, but conspicuously absent from the list are Borden and Sheffield Farms, the city's largest distributors, and Renken's Dairy, the largest Brooklyn milk distributor.

2000 Brooklyn orphans will attend today's pro football game at Ebbets Field between the Football Dodgers and the Philadelphia Eagles as guests of District Tax Appraiser David Soden. The outing is being held in honor of the late Edward McKeever, former partner in the baseball Dodgers.

"Fog Blue!' It's the misty diffused blue of a moonstone, becoming to blondes and brunettes alike, woven with Celanese rayon yarn. Dresses at 16.95, in the Marilyn Dress Shop on the fourth floor at Russek's.

1939 marked the biggest season in the history of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, with more than 689,000 visitors -- up more than 81,000 from last year.

It took 36 years, but the McDonald Avenue paving project is finally complete. The last section, a three-mile stretch between Avenue F and Avenue X thru the railroad area, was concluded this week. Arguments over jurisdiction of costs between the city and rail operators were the primary cause of the extended delay in finishing the project.

Another big variety review tonight on the Gulf Screen Guild Theatre! Hear Burns & Allen, James Cagney, and Gloria Jean tonight at 730 on WABC.

Ten years ago today, the stock market crashed. Millions won't forget.

Whittle your figure down to the 1940 model with massages and workouts from Madame Christine Midskaug's Swedish Institute, 427 Flatbush Ave. Extension. Call NEvins 8-2344. Charges are very moderate.

Rabbi Isaac Landman of the Eighth Avenue Temple will open the House of Representatives tomorrow with prayer.

Why aren't there any official candidates yet for the Republican presidential nomination in 1940? Ray Tucker thinks the party is waiting to see whether Senator Robert Taft or Senator Arthur Vandenburg picked the winning side in the neutrality debate.

A prominent historian on the faculty of Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute thinks Hitler will soon retire and turn his position over to Field Marshal Hermann Goering. Dr. Emil Lengyel thinks Hitler will then take on the role of a "living Buddha," a quasi-spiritual figure, before the German people.

Macy's invites you to compare the "Supre-MACY" vacuum cleaner, now just $49.95 complete.

Hallowe'en parties are the rage among the social set this week. How to celebrate without annoying the police? "Carve a pumpkin -- eat apples off a string -- go to a party -- holler BOO!"

A. W. , a woman in her late forties recently moved to Brooklyn from the midwest, writes to Helen Worth looking to meet bald-headed men between 50 and 60.

On the Old Timers' Page, former students of PS's 10, 2, and 3 are planning reunions. C. C. J. remembers seeing the tattooed man and Zip the What Is It at the old dime museums, and watching the Dodgers at old Washington Park. "A Guy Named Joe" says the day Flatbush was annexed to Brooklyn marked its end as an ideal town where livestock roamed and kids could swipe pears with impunity from the local trees.

In the Trend section, Germany's Franz von Papen, beau sabreur among diplomats, appears to be nearing the end of a very gaudy rainbow. And in fashion news, the British Army has abolished the wearing of the officers' Sam Browne belt for the duration. In Hollywood, the moviemakers are bravely facing down the hair shortage, with the 1939 crop down due to the war and a wig crisis fast approaching.

Yale beat Army yesterday, 20-15 on a rally in the fourth quarter. Columbia lost to Princeton 14-7. In the big schoolboy match of the day Erasmus Hall buried New Utrecht 20-9 at Ebbets Field. In two other games, Seward Park blanked Stuyvesant 6-0 and Madison shaded Hamilton 7-6. 20,000 turned out to see the contests.

The Dodger-Eagle feud resumes today at 2:15 when the two pro squads kick off at Ebbets Field. (The most significant aspect of this game isn't even mentioned -- it will be the first NFL contest ever shown on television with an NBC crew sending it out over W2XBS.)

New features will be included in homes being built along Remsen Avenue by developer Fred C. Trump, inspired by a visit by his crews to the World's Fair. The features include exhaust fans in kitchens, deeper medicine cabinets, glass-brick partitions, and violet-ray fixtures in bathrooms for a "Turkish bath" experience.

In the funnies, Red Ryder is on the trail of that mangy owlhoot who is ruining his reputation by riding his horse, wearing his shirt, and killing and robbing random people. You can see how that would mess up your plans for the day. And it's even worse when a posse arrests him at the scene of a train robbery.

Big Chief Wahoo is still working the classroom gags, accompanying his niece Pigtails to school. Fun fact: Wahoo is written by the same writer who scribes the adventures of Apple Mary Worth. Wahoo should meet Leona, that would be a neat plot twist.

Jane Arden and Jim still have the eavesdropper locked in the closet and debate what to do with him. Jane thinks the ship is a front for a smuggling operation. Jewels! Opium! Eavesdroppers named "Pedro!" Wait -- that crate marked "Sewing Machines" contains army tanks! Uh-oh!

Bill Biff and Dennie kick a football off the head of the Stockpools' Italian stereotype gardener. This strip gets weird when Mary's not around.

Dan Dunn finds a .38 slug at the scene of the "suicide," but the gun is a .32. Hmmmmmmmmmm. Maybe he can figure this out with the aid of his flying crime lab plane.

Jo Bungle and one of the neighbor women put aside their mutual loathing to go out for lunch, leaving George in charge of the neighbor's dog. George thinks the dog snuck out, goes out and grabs a random dog off the street, brings it back to the apartment, and is the target of withering derision when the ladies return and see the "low dog" chasing and giving fleas to the neighbor's pup. Fast cut to another neighbor complaining that the Bungles have been screaming for 3 hours and 22 minutes about MERE DOGS. I think I used to live in that building.

And Aunt Jean reports that Dorothy Hornbostel won $5 beating 17 other kids at a spelling bee. Don't spend it all in one place!

 

[Fading Fast]

...Mayor LaGuardia's war on milk chiselers has carried to Washington, with the Mayor sending a telegram to Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace calling for federal intervention to enforce the $2.15 per hundredweight price due to farmers under current contracts. The Mayor named twenty-eight milk distribution firms that do stick to the contracted price, but conspicuously absent from the list are Borden and Sheffield Farms, the city's largest distributors, and Renken's Dairy, the largest Brooklyn milk distributor....

One, it will be interesting to see where this goes. Two, it also shows you how much more important the price of milk was to the average person then than now as there is almost no political capital in milk prices anymore (except for the occasional flare-up, but that's more farmers and big companies fighting about some dated price support / market-controlling regs and not some politician on a crusade to help the public).

...A prominent historian on the faculty of Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute thinks Hitler will soon retire and turn his position over to Field Marshal Hermann Goering. Dr. Emil Lengyel thinks Hitler will then take on the role of a "living Buddha," a quasi-spiritual figure, before the German people....

Hopefully, he already had tenure.

...On the Old Timers' Page, former students of PS's 10, 2, and 3 are planning reunions. C. C. J. remembers seeing the tattooed man and Zip the What Is It at the old dime museums, and watching the Dodgers at old Washington Park. "A Guy Named Joe" says the day Flatbush was annexed to Brooklyn marked its end as an ideal town where livestock roamed and kids could swipe pears with impunity from the local trees....

Nostalgia, as we've learned, is an evergreen business.

..A. W. , a woman in her late forties recently moved to Brooklyn from the midwest, writes to Helen Worth looking to meet bald-headed men between 50 and 60....

...In Hollywood, the moviemakers are bravely facing down the hair shortage, with the 1939 crop down due to the war and a wig crisis fast approaching....

The wig-less stars will have at least one fan in Brooklyn.

...The Dodger-Eagle feud resumes today at 2:15 when the two pro squads kick off at Ebbets Field. (The most significant aspect of this game isn't even mentioned -- it will be the first NFL contest ever shown on television with an NBC crew sending it out over W2XBS.)....

Great catch, I saw that somewhere else this morning. How many TVs were around to show it - was it even in the hundreds?

 

[LizzieMaine]

There were a few hundred sets in greater New York, most of them in the homes of NBC officials and engineers, or operating as display models at dealers' stores. In October, as part of an experiment into how television viewing habits would develop in a community setting, RCA descended on the town of Newburgh, about 60 miles from New York City, with a special cut-rate sales and promotional drive designed to get sets into as many homes as possible, and sold about two hundred in just a couple of weeks. These were the first ordinary families in the US to have television as a regular everyday thing in their homes, and according to reports, nearly all of them watched today's football game -- inviting neighbors over to make it a social event.

The model TRK-12 was the most popular of the RCA sets, including a fine all-wave radio in the same cabinet with the TV. It had a 12-inch picture tube with the face masked to a viewing area about 8 x 10 inches. Because the tube was so long, it had to be mounted vertically in the cabinet, with the face viewed in a mirror mounted on the lid. RCA normally sold these sets for $600, but offered cut-price deals in Newburgh, selling them for $400 on low-down-payment, easy-credit-terms. Altogether about 600 families bought sets over the course of the experiment.

Dodger football became a regular event on W2XBS for all home games over the rest of the season. And so began the transition of the NFL from a low-budget second-rate promotion to the most significant force in American spectator sports.

NBC staff announcer Alan Walz did the play-by-play during the game from a seat in the upper deck. They used two cameras -- one up behind the announcer and the other on the 50 yard line. There were no commericals. The picture kept fading out due to overcast skies and poor light -- and Walz had no monitor. He'd get a signal that the picture had gone out, and would switch to a radio-style play-by-play technique until he got a cue that it had faded up again. There were no sideline interviews -- the players didn't even know the game was being televised.

 

[Fading Fast]

There were a few hundred sets in greater New York, most of them in the homes of NBC officials and engineers, or operating as display models at dealers' stores. In October, as part of an experiment into how television viewing habits would develop in a community setting, RCA descended on the town of Newburgh, about 60 miles from New York City, with a special cut-rate sales and promotional drive designed to get sets into as many homes as possible, and sold about two hundred in just a couple of weeks. These were the first ordinary families in the US to have television as a regular everyday thing in their homes, and according to reports, nearly all of them watched today's football game -- inviting neighbors over to make it a social event.

The model TRK-12 was the most popular of the RCA sets, including a fine all-wave radio in the same cabinet with the TV. It had a 12-inch picture tube with the face masked to a viewing area about 8 x 10 inches. Because the tube was so long, it had to be mounted vertically in the cabinet, with the face viewed in a mirror mounted on the lid. RCA normally sold these sets for $600, but offered cut-price deals in Newburgh, selling them for $400 on low-down-payment, easy-credit-terms. Altogether about 600 families bought sets over the course of the experiment.

Dodger football became a regular event on W2XBS for all home games over the rest of the season. And so began the transition of the NFL from a low-budget second-rate promotion to the most significant force in American spectator sports.

NBC staff announcer Alan Walz did the play-by-play during the game from a seat in the upper deck. They used two cameras -- one up behind the announcer and the other on the 50 yard line. There were no commericals. The picture kept fading out due to overcast skies and poor light -- and Walz had no monitor. He'd get a signal that the picture had gone out, and would switch to a radio-style play-by-play technique until he got a cue that it had faded up again. There were no sideline interviews -- the players didn't even know the game was being televised.

Did the "mirror" method require the viewer to be in a very narrow range to see it, or am I missing something about how that worked (which is usually the case)?

 

[LizzieMaine]

You got the best results from grouping around the set from a fairly close range -- and it was also recommended you dim the lights in the viewing room. The tube was long but it was relatively dim compared to the sets of the postwar era.

These early sets were also dangerous for Joe Doityourself to fool around with -- they had a high-voltage power supply that worked directly off a transformer, turning out 7500 volts of brute-force DC for the picture tube. Stick your hand in the back with the power on and there's a good chance you won't pull it out.

 

[tonyb]

Perhaps the following more rightly belongs in “vintage things that have disappeared in your lifetime” thread, but seeing how early television sets have made their appearance here ...

The TV repairman. I recall the fellow in a khaki uniform with his mirror and cases of tubes and whatnot setting up in the living room and us kids being told to get the hell outta the way.

 

[LizzieMaine]

If you owned a TV set in 1939, you got white-glove service from RCA -- they had a special corps of technicians directly employed by the company who would deliver your set, install the antenna, and handle all the fussy calibrations needed to get it working properly. NBC broadcast test patterns during the afternoon specifically for the use of these technicians.

 

[David Conwill]

This thread is addictive. Thanks so much for bringing us the news from '39 every day!

And Aunt Jean reports that Dorothy Hornbostel won $5 beating 17 other kids at a spelling bee. Don't spend it all in one place!

I ran this through an inflation calculator and came out over $91. Not a bad prize!

 

[David Conwill]

RCA normally sold these sets for $600, but offered cut-price deals in Newburgh, selling them for $400 on low-down-payment, easy-credit-terms.

Wow. That's like a discount from $11,000 down to $7,300.

 

[LizzieMaine]

You could get an entry-level set for even less -- they were selling the TT-5, a video-only attachment, in Newburgh for a little over $100 - marked down from $199.50, or about what you'd pay for a mid-range console radio. These little sets had to be plugged into the phono jack on a regular radio -- some RCA radios that year even had a dedicated "Television" jack -- for the sound, and they had a tiny five-inch picture tube, but if you wanted to get in on television for comparatively small money, this was the way to do it. $5 down, 18 months to pay, and you can watch the game!

 

[Fading Fast]

You could get an entry-level set for even less -- they were selling the TT-5, a video-only attachment, in Newburgh for a little over $100 - marked down from $199.50, or about what you'd pay for a mid-range console radio. These little sets had to be plugged into the phono jack on a regular radio -- some RCA radios that year even had a dedicated "Television" jack -- for the sound, and they had a tiny five-inch picture tube, but if you wanted to get in on television for comparatively small money, this was the way to do it. $5 down, 18 months to pay, and you can watch the game!

Was the smaller picture much clearer / did it offer better clarity?

Did you get the same white-glove service?

 

[LizzieMaine]

RCA offered 12, 9, and 5 inch sets and the consensus was that the 5 inch ones weren't as clear, bright, or sharp as the larger models -- probably because the 5 inch tube ran on a lower voltage. Many of the 5 inch sets that were still in use after the war were modified to use an improved picture tube that gave better performance -- but 5 inch sets weren't very popular once 7 and 10 inch models were available at the same price point, and most of them ended up getting put in the attic sooner than they might otherwise have.

All the RCA prewar television models got the same level of service -- the company had a lot of money riding on television, and they believed that poor performance from shoddy installations and low-grade repair service would not help to sell the public on TV. And selling the whole concept of television was the whole point of the Newburgh experiment.

Mr. McDermott owned a bar in Newburgh, where his television set was installed. That set survives and is operational to this day in the collection of the Early Television Museum. It's an RCA TRK-9, the mid-range model of the line.

 

[Fading Fast]

⇧ In a way, for that moment in time, the TV sets were the shavers or cameras with watching TV (thus, providing eyeballs to attract advertising dollars) being the replacement blades or film.

 

[Blackjack]

Warsaw surrendered today -- or so the Germans claim. Meanwhile, Nazi air attacks against the British fleet in the North Sea are the topic of conflicting reports from Berlin and London. The British say no ships were hit, the Germans claim to have sunk a carrier.

Closer to home, Assistant D. A. Alexander R. Baldwin will face a disbarrment hearing, despite his acquittal on a charge that he accepted an $800 bribe from Isadore "I Paid Plenty" Juffe, reputed fur racketeer.

The court martial of a notorious World War draft dodger on Governor's Island took a twist today when defendant Grover Cleveland Bergdoll claimed he'd snuck into the US twice during the years he was supposedly living in exile in Germany, in order to tap a hidden cache of gold totalling $150,000.

An eight year old Ridgewood girl given a year to live after being diagnosed with bone cancer is holding on after the amputation of her right leg. Dorothy Lewis told doctors that, despite the operation, she's "feeling swell."

The overcrowded conditions at the notorious Raymond Street Jail get worse every day. With 44 new prisoners added to the population today, the current population stands at 541 -- 77 above the listed capacity. Jail officials blame rainy weather for the current crush.

Seventy-two year old Simon Weir of 595 Stone Avenue, described as a "Jewish Sexton," was killed yesterday when he fell off a hearse en route to Monteflore Cemetery, and was crushed by a truck.

Out in Lapeer, Michigan, the Associated Press reports that two couples are on trial for "lewd and lascivious cohabitation" after two men, 34-year-old factory worker George Davis and 39-year-old farmer Clarence June agreed to swap their wives and families. Their wives, Mildred Davis and Edith June, both aged 28, are also facing charges.

Aviatrix Laura Ingalls is in trouble in Washington after dropping a load of "Keep America Out Of War" pamphlets over the capital. Charges indicate she flew over the Capitol building and the White House, airspace that has been legally restricted since 1935.

In the Feature section, Jane Corby's series of metropolitan romance stories tells the true tale of Bill and Dottie Harrison of Jamacia, currently honeymooning at Niagara Falls -- two years after their marriage. Neither one of them had any money when they wed -- but why wait when you're in love? Bill is a security guard for the Holmes Detective Agency, and Dottie works an office job for Metropolitan Life.

The Dodgers are off today after splitting a twinbill with the Giants yesterday. Tomorrow they're in Boston, meeting the Bees for two more doubleheaders. Then they're back at Ebbets Field to close out the season with doubleheaders against the Phillies. (Who drew up this schedule, anyway? Insane.) Meantime, excitement is building for the "Get The Dodgers Over A Million" attendance contest, with a car being awarded to the fan who comes the closest to guessing the team's final gate total for the season. The final twinbill against the Phillies will feature between-games entertainment by Olsen and Johnson, stars of the Broadway smash "Hellzapoppin."

The National League pennant chase remains unresolved, but the Reds are building their lead which now stands at 3 1/2 games over the Cardinals. The teams split a pair yesterday, and meet again today at Crosley Field. Eagle sports columnist Harold Conrad contends that the Cardinals' failure to land Cookie Lavagetto last winter in a proposed trade with Brooklyn for Don Gutteridge will cost them the flag -- Lavagetto is currently hitting a cool .300, while the slumping Gutteridge is slogging along for the Cards at .285.

If you want to sign up for this winter's Brooklyn Eagle Bowling League, you better hurry -- rosters close on October 4th. Sections will form for teams representing Borough Hall, Bay Ridge, Bushwick, and Flatbush.

George Bungle's cousin Elmer remains bedridden after hitting his head against a door, and is looking forward to squeezing some cash out of the situation. Ah, relatives.

You should record these Lizzy onto cd's! I grabbed some old radio clips and newscasts and stuck them between songs on a couple cd's. I never get tired of the promos for the Shadow and news flashes on there...

 

[LizzieMaine]

The head of the US Communist Party was arraigned in Federal court in Manhattan yesterday on charges that in 1937 and 1938 he traveled abroad using a passport obtained by swearing a false statement. Earl Browder, who garnered nearly 80,000 votes as his party's candidate for the Presidency in 1936, is being held on $10,000 bail. Browder's arrest follows a Federal probe into the operation of an alleged "passport mill," in which probe Browder had been subpoenaed to testify. The arraignment charges that Browder in the 1920s, after his release from Federal prison on charges that he evaded the World War draft, obtained passports under false names, and that he obtained a new passport under his own name in 1934 by falsely swearing that he had not held a previous passport. The hearing was adjourned pending Browder's arrangement for legal representation. If convicted, the Kansas-born defendant could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $2000.

The British Air Ministry reports RAF planes sunk two U-Boats yesterday, even as word comes that German submarines sunk two British merchant ships.

Discussions between the Soviet Union and Finland are focusing on fortifications for Russia on islands in the Gulf of Finland.

President Roosevelt has been asked to intervene in the ongoing debate over construction of a Brooklyn-Battery Bridge. Mayor LaGuardia sought the President's intervention with the War Department's rejection of an Army permit that would allow the $44,000,000 project to proceed. The War Department believes the proposed six-lane span would be a hazard in time of war.

Striking drivers for the Green Bus Line in Queens were admonished today by Mayor LaGuardia, who warns that he may step in if service on the line is halted by the walkout. The Mayor stated that he would invoke a clause in the company's franchise agreement that permits compulsory arbitration in the event of a labor dispute. Early this morning, 25 buses were reported stoned along the route, but there has been no indication of any escalation of violence. Drivers are calling for a semi-closed shop, wages of $1 an hour for drivers and $1.05 for mechanics, four paid holidays, two weeks paid vacation, ten minutes report-in time at the start of each shift, and a 15-minute turn-in time at the end of each day's run. The company is offering a ten percent increase over the current wage of 70 cents an hour.

The Eagle's investigation into overassessment of property values in Brooklyn reveals that properties lost to foreclosure are valued by the city at an average of 214 percent more than the prices those properties bring at foreclosure auctions.

A 39-year-old Laurelton woman faces a first-degree manslaughter charge in Queens County Court. Mrs. Mae Heard is accused in the stabbing death of her husband Charles Heard in a domestic dispute last June. The couple's daughter testified that her parents had fought when Charles Heard told his wife he wasn't going to work and threw a bowl at her, threatening both his wife and daughter. Mrs. Heard, according to the daughter's testimony, then held up a knife and Charles Heard "ran into it."

Strong winds and cold temperatures tonight, with an evening low of 32 degrees, from a daytime high of 50. Small craft advisories are in effect from Sandy Hook to Eastport.

The debate over the Arms Embargo may reach a climax this week, with a final vote in the Senate expected by Friday.

Reports from Moscow indicate the Soviet Union will provide no military aid to Germany. Chancellor Hitler is reported to be "in a dilemma" as to his next move.

So Refreshing At Lunch Time! With something good to eat, you want something good to drink! Make it ice-cold Coca-Cola and add a taste surprise to lunch. It's the drink that makes lunch time refreshment time!

Magistrate Charles Solomon, American Labor Party candidate for Kings County District Attorney, will go on the air tonight at 11:15 over WOR to rebut Mayor LaGuardia's endorsement of Fusion candidate William L. Bayes.

Germany has imposed an additional "vengeance tax" on German Jews after the initial assessment fell short of the goal of one billion Reichsmarks. The tax was first imposed last November after the assassination of a German embassy secretary in Paris.

A hundred thousand spectators lined the streets of Jamaica yesterday to watch New York's annual Navy Day parade. Forty thousand marchers drawn from veterans' groups and civic organizations took part in the celebration.

Mayor LaGuardia has decorated 29 employees of the Sanitation Department for heroic deeds performed in the line of duty. A majority of the men receiving medals serve the Department in Brooklyn and Queens. The deeds of valor so recognized included rescues of people trapped in burning buildings, capture of rampaging horses, and the rescue of a man from a submerged car.

Lady, You Ought To Bowl! Anyone Ever Tell You That? Join the Brooklyn Eagle Ladies Bowling League! Sign up for a season of good sound fun!

Sentiment is building among farmers toward another milk strike, come reports from Albany, where union leaders are lining up behind Mayor LaGuardia's denunciation of distributors who refuse to comply with minimum price contracts. Union chairman Archie Wright says the Mayor is just being polite when he calls these distributors "chiselers."

"In A Jewish Grocery," the latest production of the Yiddish Folk Troupe, is a good show for anybody's money at the Second Avenue Theatre. The play is an entertaining slice of neighborhood life, as various people come and go thru the store letting the grocer act as arbiter for their amusing everyday problems.

Ray Tucker thinks James Farley has the best shot at the Democratic presidential nomination in 1940, since he seems to be the only man in Washington adhering to the President's request to suspend partisan politics during the current war crisis.

Famous author of Western fiction Zane Grey has died at the age of 64. He was a baseball player and a failed dentist before taking up a writing career in 1904.

A 21 year old man and a 19 year old woman are recovering from bullet wounds after an altercation in a Chinese-American restaurant at 477 Sutter Avenue erupted into gunfire. Woodrow Armstrong and Miss Sonya Mendelson were in the restaurant with a group of friends when they became involved in a quarrel with four men at an adjacent table. One of the men pulled out a revolver and fired two shots, hitting Armstrong and Mendelson. The gunman has not been identified, and fled the scene with his friends. The car taking Armstrong to Kings County Hospital collided with another vehicle en route, and a police ambulance took Armstrong the rest of the way.

"Cuddles!" Cozy chenille robes, $3.98 in the Second Floor negligee department at Abraham & Straus.

Admiral Richard E. Byrd will soon be off to Antarctica for another expedition. With him as always will be his famous husky dog Finn Ronne. The expedition will also take along "several score" of talking movies to enjoy during the long polar night.

After the last round of football, NYU stands as the city's top team, with Fordham fading into insignificance.

Coach Potsy Clark's new policy of avoiding mass substitutions stood well for the football Dodgers yesterday, with a 23-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. The football Giants beat the Chicago Bears 16-13, retaining their hold on first place in the NFL Eastern Division.

George and Jo would be sleeping soundly if they didn't have that cat prowling around in their walls. MEEEEEEYOW!!! YOWWWWWW!

Mary and Dennie arrive back at the Stackpool manor to find Murdock the Butler beat them there, greeting them with an icy and supercilious glare. Mary is about to confront him when he declares there is a letter for Miss Leona that has upset her terribly. Murdock is very good at changing the subject.

Dan Dunn races to his microscope with a clod of mud, from which he determines that the killer wore work or sport shoes. Wait, what clod of mud? Did we miss something? WHAT ABOUT THE BULLET, DAN???