The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

I buy my winter oil supply on one of these summer contract deals -- the price locks in for the year as of May 1st -- and I'm gonna be sitting pretty this year. Which is good, because I lost a third of my income right off the bat when the virus started.

The Dodgers had to lose eventually, but notice Durocher just can't wait for an excuse to put himself back in the lineup. This is why playing managers went out of style.

Leona's latest hat looks like something Cootie Williams would stick in the end of his trumpet. Look at her smirk in the last panel -- you know she tipped off the reporters well in advance. "But John, publicity will be good for your career! Look at O'Dwyer!"

The look on Harold's face in panel one is hilariously disturbing. Lillums was never like this.

 

[vitanola]

That’s a sensational value, but 1938 model? HAH! That’s a 1935-6 Grunow or Majestic refrigerator, bankrupt stock.

Davega was notorious for this sort of thing. They’d buy a quantity of radios or other appliances form a bankruptcy trustee, stock which might have been a few years old because of the time occupied by the bankruptcy process, remove the original logo on the cabinet, install a Davega decalcomania, and offer it as a “1938 model Davega”. Mind you, they did offer excellent service, and they stood behind their goods. These might have been 1935 Majestics but Davega kept a large stock q

 

[LizzieMaine]

My living room radio, a 1937 Philco, came from Davega. Of course, it might have been sold in 1940, but still...

 

[LizzieMaine]

All of Norway except Narvik is reported to have been abandoned by Allied troops, with heavy German bombardment of an Allied landing base at Namsos routing British and French forces. The Allies are reported to have left Namsos so quickly that much of their equipment was abandoned in the streets and is now in German hands. Some of the Norwegian troops left behind are reported to be demobilizing and heading for their homes in discouragement. Meanwhile, the Norwegian legation in Stockholm denies reports that King Haakon, his family, and his government are now refugees in England. It is stated by the legation that the King and his entourage have escaped from Andelsnes but remain in Norway.

British officials deny reports that the Allies will completely abandon the Norwegian campaign, stating that Allied planes are continuing bombing raids over Oslo.

A police captain about to retire after 30 years on the force in the face of departmental charges has committed suicide at his home in Flatbush after learning that he was to be questioned by the Amen Office in connection with the ongoing investigation of the Brooklyn bail-bond racket. Captain Max Finkelstein, commander of the Meserole Avenue precinct in Greenpoint, shot himself in the head with his service revolver at approximately 7:15 this morning in the bathroom of his home at 181 Lenox Road. His retirement from the Department was to have taken effect tomorrow, after Police Commissioner Lewis J. Valentine learned that charges against Finkelstein had been prepared by Assistant Attorney General John H. Amen. Upon learning of Capt. Finkelstein's death, the Commissioner expressed regrets, stating that the charges were not of sufficient seriousness to warrant self-destruction, were not in fact as serious as those faced by other officers who have been compelled to retire, and would not have threatened his $2500 annual pension.

An oil company executive and two workers were killed today when an empty 45,000 gallon fuel tank exploded in the Long Island village of Manor Haven, near Port Washington. Thirty-nine year old Harry Berg, president of the Berg Oil Company, and employees Henry Oates and Harry Chase, were believed to have been inside the tank cleaning it when a spark detonated accumulated gas inside the corrugated iron structure. Two other employees were injured in the explosion but are expected to recover. The detonation was heard miles away, and flames could be seen climbing high into the air over the site of the accident.

District Attorney William O'Dwyer knows the names of two men who "unwittingly lured" crusading longshoreman's union activist Peter Panto to his death last year, but has not disclosed those names. The men, reportedly known on the Brooklyn waterfront as "the Brothers," although they are not related, are said to have brought Panto to a meeting with gangland assassins, but did not realize the fatal consequences of the meeting until four days later.

Meanwhile, the Bronx District Attorney's office is grilling Murder For Hire gunman Seymore "Blue Jaw" McGoon today in an attempt to clear up the "mistake murder" of music publisher Irving Penn last summer. Penn was shot outside a garage on Neptune Avenue, allegedly because of his resemblance to a racketeer marked for elimination by the Murder For Hire gang. McGoon is an associate of Murder For Hire figure Martin "Buggsy" Goldstein, and has been in custody since he was picked up for vagrancy during O'Dwyer's roundup of Brownsville mob characters in March.

Former film actress Arline Judge today was granted a divorce in a Connecticut court from Football Dodgers owner Dan Topping. The millionaire sportsman will pay Miss Judge a $250,000 cash settlement and $1000 per month in alimony, with Miss Judge retaining custody of the couple's son. Miss Judge had accused Topping of committing various acts of violent drunken behavior and making physical threats against her after she accused him of infidelity.

Thousands of Dodger fans are expected to converge on Floyd Bennett Field next Thursday to welcome the beloved Flock home from their Western road trip if a proposal to move the arrival of the Dodger plane from LaGuardia Field is accepted. Chairman Joseph O'Neill of the Airports Committee of the Brooklyn Real Estate Board wired Dodger president Larry MacPhail urging him to reconsider the landing point for the flight from Chicago to make it easier for Brooklyn fans to greet their heroes. At present, the plane is scheduled to land at LaGuardia Field on Thursday at 11 AM.

Today, the Dodgers' first meeting of the year against the Pittsburgh Pirates was washed out by rainy conditions at Forbes Field. The two clubs will try again tomorrow. Yesterday's finale of the series against the Reds in Cincinnati was also rained out, giving the Flock an unexpected respite.

A Federal judge in Philadelphia has ruled that raids on the offices of the Communist Party and the International Workers Order in that city by agents of the Dies Committee were illegal. Judge George A. Welsh determined that the raids last month were made under illegal warrants, but deferred a ruling on whether documents seized during the raids must be returned. The agents seized membership records, letters, and other papers from the offices, which are now being held under police guard in Philadelphia after being examined in Washington.

("Wah-hoo!" shouts Sally. "Erasmus gonna win this easy. Go Buff 'n' Blue!" And Joe chuckles derisively. "Neh. New Utrecht's gonna clean their clock, you wait." And Sally says "C'mon, you never even went to high school. Whatta you care for New Utrecht?" And Joe says "Fella on the trolley tol' me it's in th' bag. I got $2 down on New Utrecht to win, an' see if I don't clean up.")

Onlookers at the Flatbush Avenue station of the Long Island Rail Road nearly missed their trains this morning as they watched Cobina the station cat stalking Hugo the Mouse, rodent interloper whose antics have proved a amusing diversion for commuters in recent days. Cobina coquettishly batted about cigar and cigarette butts outside Hugo's hole on the station platform, while keeping a sharp eye peeled for her quarry to appear, but when he failed to so so after a time, she approached the hole and emitted a piercing yowl directly into the aperture, to let Hugo and his family know she was onto him. Then, with tail hoisted defiantly, she strode away to hunt again another day.

(We have passed the peak of American radio engineering, and are now beginning the downward slope. 'Built in Aerials' are a nice gimmick, but in general, you'll probably get better performance and reliability, and arguably more pleasing aesthetics, from a 1936-38 model. And our friends at Davega can probably help you out with that if you insist.)

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce says that if the city's subway system is to be entirely self-supporting after transit unification a fare increase from five cents to at least seven cents will be necessary. The Chamber in a statement released this week states that it has long advocated unification, and does not specify a seven-cent fair arbitrarily, arguing that such an increase is necessary to reach an income level that will allow the subways to operate on an "honestly self supporting basis."

Men! You need to wear contrasting trousers with your sporty summer jackets to achieve a pleasing effect. Your hat should match the shade of your trousers, but accessories such as handkerchiefs and socks need not match. The button-down shirt, in white or solid colors, is always appropriate for sporting wear. (If you have any questions, contact Moonshine Mullins, c/o Plushbottom Boarding House, for his free booklet, "Fashion Tips I Have Knowed.")\

(Sorry, it is much, much too early to even mention football.)

("HEY JOE! WHERE'S TH' SCISSORS?? An' howcum there ain't no picsha!")

The Dodgers will make up yesterday's rainout in Cincinnati on Friday July 12th, an open date following a night game between the two clubs at Crosley Field.

Charley Gilbert and Babe Phelps were to have been back in the lineup yesterday, but they'll get two extra days of rest due to the rainouts. Durocher now says he'll rejoin the lineup either tomorrow in Pittsburgh or in the following series at St. Louis.

(Ah, the balmy breath of spring.)

If Buddy Baer, Max's kid brother, beats Nathan Mann at Madison Square Garden tonight, the 175-pounder will get a crack at Joe Louis for the title. Which, says boxing columnist Harold Conrad, "is like promising Junior a slap across the kisser if he's a good boy."

William Saroyan's latest play, "Love's Old Sweet Song," rings the bell -- sweet, comical and cockeyed in its portrayal of an Okie family traveling with a wide-eyed photographer out to capture their story, says Arthur Pollock, who was of the opening-night company at the Plymouth Theatre last night under the auspices of the Theatre Guild. "Mr. Saroyan does not write his plays," opines Mr. Pollock. "They float right out of his head, pervading the theatre with a light and somewhat inebriated air." In addition to the Okies and the photographer, a resourceful street corner pitchman, two white-slavers, and a naive maiden lady from Bakersfield figure in the typically Saroyanesque plot.

("No, that's just a cow. Hey! George! What if we tie a vacuum cleaner hose to that cow's nose! Uncle Zip would never know the difference! IT COULD WORK!" As George scrabbles around in the glove compartment for that gun he used to have.)

("Luke Screed?" A Hearst by any other name would smell as sweet.)

(Harold Lloyd, he ain't.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Something for everyone.

Ohhhh, I loved them so.

And by blowing off Katerina, Axel unwittingly seals his own doom.

Oh, Min -- be sure to stuff a sock in Andy's mouth before Prince Jones arrives. Just to be safe.

OK, point of order. I realize the idea of this is to show Raven just how heroic Pat the Bum can be -- but how dumb is it for him to go off in that boat alone. If he gets spotted and shot, boom, that's it. If he's got someone with him, his chances of success double. Blaze would be the best choice from a fighting point of view, but he'd probably swamp the boat -- so why not Capt. Sandy MacScotsman there? Granted, I don't crave to see either him or Blaze with their shirts off, but still...

Oh here we go. Hey kid, written to Nina lately?

Hmmm. Moon's a poolroom loafer, a barfly, and a no-account shiftless street-corner hustler. But he's not a pickpocket.

Mr. Gould trolls the "Too Much Violence In The Funnies" crowd with his most epic troll yet.

Mr. Durocher in 1940 has not yet said "Nice Guys Finish Last," but as he pages thru today's News, I am sure the concept occurs to him.

 

[Fading Fast]

...An oil company executive and two workers were killed today when an empty 45,000 gallon fuel tank exploded in the Long Island village of Manor Haven, near Port Washington. Thirty-nine year old Harry Berg, president of the Berg Oil Company, and employees Henry Oates and Harry Chase, were believed to have been inside the tank cleaning it when a spark detonated accumulated gas inside the corrugated iron structure. Two other employees were injured in the explosion but are expected to recover. The detonation was heard miles away, and flames could be seen climbing high into the air over the site of the accident...

A lot happens in Port Washington - in the past few months, in addition to today's story, didn't we also have a plane crash that killed a few people and a mob rubout or something like that happen in Port Washington?

... View attachment 232464
("Wah-hoo!" shouts Sally. "Erasmus gonna win this easy. Go Buff 'n' Blue!" And Joe chuckles derisively. "Neh. New Utrecht's gonna clean their clock, you wait." And Sally says "C'mon, you never even went to high school. Whatta you care for New Utrecht?" And Joe says "Fella on the trolley tol' me it's in th' bag. I got $2 down on New Utrecht to win, an' see if I don't clean up.")...

I've been around gamblers my entire life and there are several types, but one type is in it mainly for "the action" and will put a bet down on almost anything. Yes, I'm talking to you Joe.

...Onlookers at the Flatbush Avenue station of the Long Island Rail Road nearly missed their trains this morning as they watched Cobina the station cat stalking Hugo the Mouse, rodent interloper whose antics have proved a amusing diversion for commuters in recent days. Cobina coquettishly batted about cigar and cigarette butts outside Hugo's hole on the station platform, while keeping a sharp eye peeled for her quarry to appear, but when he failed to so so after a time, she approached the hole and emitted a piercing yowl directly into the aperture, to let Hugo and his family know she was onto him. Then, with tail hoisted defiantly, she strode away to hunt again another day....

...The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce says that if the city's subway system is to be entirely self-supporting after transit unification a fare increase from five cents to at least seven cents will be necessary. The Chamber in a statement released this week states that it has long advocated unification, and does not specify a seven-cent fair arbitrarily, arguing that such an increase is necessary to reach an income level that will allow the subways to operate on an "honestly self supporting basis."...

Nice try, but it's eighty years later and the system isn't any closer to being self-supporting.

...Men! You need to wear contrasting trousers with your sporty summer jackets to achieve a pleasing effect. Your hat should match the shade of your trousers, but accessories such as handkerchiefs and socks need not match. The button-down shirt, in white or solid colors, is always appropriate for sporting wear. (If you have any questions, contact Moonshine Mullins, c/o Plushbottom Boarding House, for his free booklet, "Fashion Tips I Have Knowed.")\...

"Fashion Tips I Have Knowed." What? Even if "ironic," it doesn't work.

...If Buddy Baer, Max's kid brother, beats Nathan Mann at Madison Square Garden tonight, the 175-pounder will get a crack at Joe Louis for the title. Which, says boxing columnist Harold Conrad, "is like promising Junior a slap across the kisser if he's a good boy."...

Nobody who weighs 175 pounds should get in a ring with Joe Louis in 1940.

... And by blowing off Katerina, Axel unwittingly seals his own doom.....

Katerina is the scariest comic-strip sociopath we've met so far.

... Oh, Min -- be sure to stuff a sock in Andy's mouth before Prince Jones arrives. Just to be safe.....

Now, when I see Baby in that hat, all I can think of is The Flash - thanks for that Lizzie.

... OK, point of order. I realize the idea of this is to show Raven just how heroic Pat the Bum can be -- but how dumb is it for him to go off in that boat alone. If he gets spotted and shot, boom, that's it. If he's got someone with him, his chances of success double. Blaze would be the best choice from a fighting point of view, but he'd probably swamp the boat -- so why not Capt. Sandy MacScotsman there? Granted, I don't crave to see either him or Blaze with their shirts off, but still.......

I hear ya, but if I'm Pat, I'd rather not have (as you noted) two-ton Blaze or the bent-over Captain with me. I did like the over-the-shoulder screw-you to Raven as he rowed away.

... Oh here we go. Hey kid, written to Nina lately?....

I've never understood people who think like Tula - how can you not worry, like Skeezix, about the future payments? They are not years away, the first one will have to be made next month for God's sakes.

 

[LizzieMaine]

German reports claim that Nazi bombers have destroyed a 30,000 ton British battleship of the Queen Elizabeth class off the west coast of Norway. Chancellor Adolf Hitler and Air Marshal Hermann Goering are reported to be "overjoyed at this latest development." British sources decline to comment on the report.

Meanwhile, a "final assault" on Narvik is reported to be near, as Allied forces continue to shell the German-held city above the Arctic Circle. Allied guns are said to have pounded German positions thru the night, and refugees arriving in Stockholm from the Narvik area say that the Germans are growing short on food and might have difficulty in getting ammunition.

Six of Peter Panto's friends knew he was dead before the current inquiry into his fate by District Attorney William O'Dwyer, according to a labor lawyer who reportedly gave them the news following the disappearance of the crusading union activist last July. Attorney Marcy Protter was working with the group to take over control of the International Longshoremen's Association, but at a meeting in Protter's office on the night of July 18th, the lawyer told the six that Panto wouldn't be attending the conference because he had been "murdered or shanghaied." At least one of the six longshoremen at the meeting is now believed by O'Dwyer to have been a spy working for the very forces the group was working to expel from the union, and two others, men named "Joe" and "John" and known on the waterfront as "The Brothers," were said to be responsible for unwittingly luring Panto into a trap. The Eagle is withholding "for the time being" the full names of the six men who attended the meeting for the protection and safety of the innocent.

The right of the Amen grand jury to indict Max Ludkowitz for the 1937 murder of Harry "Glass Eye" Halperin has been challenged by Judge Franklin Taylor on the grounds that the Amen Office has no jurisdiction in the case that supersedes that of a regular Kings County Grand Jury or of the prosecutorial jurisdiction of Distric Attorney O'Dwyer. Taylor, a frequent critic of Assistant Attorney General John H. Amen, stressed that his comments do not reflect on the Amen grand jury, but "if it is true that there has been an excess of power, then that indictment may be null and void."

A 41 year old Brooklyn Heights man will be arraigned today on a charge of stabbing a former employer to death because that employer failed to give him a good work reference. Horace Cabutto of 63 Middagh Street is accused in the death of 45 year old James Noble, superintendant of the Carroll Apartments, 770 St. Marks Avenue. Cabutto had been discharged from his job as a hall man by the real estate agency operating the building last month, and when he approached Noble for a reference, and was refused, he attacked the superintendant with a bread knife. Noble was pronounced dead at Swedish Hospital, and Cabutto was arrested about two hours after the stabbing, after police found him hiding in a coal bin.

("So there!")

The sun shines bright today at Churchill Downs, and the track will be fast for the 66th running of the Kentucky Derby, with all nine horses entered expected to run. Big old Bimelech is favored to win "The Run For The Roses," with the other entries expected to compete, at best, for second money. Post Time is approximately 6:45 pm Brooklyn time.

A political tempest threatens the government of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, with speculation that the fate of Norway will decide that of Chamberlain. British newspapers are strongly critical of the Chamberlain government for what the Manchester Guardian calls "its failure to realize the scope or strategic connotations of the invasion of Norway." The Guardian goes on to state that "Chamberlain's capacity for self delusion is a national danger. The Daily Mirror of London is also highly critical, stating that the Prime Minister "is an expert at explaining away failure."

Dodger fans are putting pressure on team president Larry MacPhail to go along with a proposal to land the team at Floyd Bennett Field when it flies in from Chicago next week following the completion of its first western trip of the season. Plans are already under way for a vast rally to greet the Flock when it returns home, with thousands expected to turn out if MacPhail gives the green light. Borough President John Cashmore has endorsed the proposal, stating that "it's only fitting that the greatest community in the country should be represented by the greatest baseball team in the nation," and promising to be on hand himself to lead the homecoming festivities. Some of the most enthusiastic rooters are even suggesting that the plane skip airports entirely, and land instead in the middle of Ebbets Field itself, allowing the players to alight at second base before a full house of cheering spectators. ("Nix on that," says Sally. "They might mess up th' doit, and Petey might trip an' hoit himself!" And Joe shakes his head and mumbles "He don't even know ya alive.")

(No doubt the recent move has been hard on the Lichty marriage.)

(I'll make a not-too-wild guess here and say that the star that Cliff is alluding to here is none other than George Raft, whose mobster portrayals have always had a bit more of the sheen of reality than they ought. But what Cliff isn't saying is that one of George's closest pals is Leo Durocher. Best not to get into that just now, but the day will come when this relationship will receive close scrutiny. The prizefighter he's talking about is without doubt Al "Bummy" Davis, whose gangland connections have never been particularly secret.)

Weather permitting in Pittsburgh, Whit Wyatt will pitch this afternoon for the Dodgers against Mace Brown for the Pirates. The spate of recent rainouts is hampering the Dodger quest to pick up another starting pitcher, with so many doubleheaders mounting up to make up the lost games around the league that all clubs are hoarding pitching talent. Meanwhile, rosters must be cut to 25 men within the next ten days, meaning Durocher has to figure out which four of his present players he can do without. Outfielder Gene Moore and fourth-string catcher Angelo Guiliani appear to be two on the way out, but the other two players to be cut are anyone's guess -- although it seems almost certain that they will have to be pitchers.

(Rain, Rain, Go Away, etc.)

Buddy Baer will get a chance to be knocked around by Joe Louis in September, following his defeat of Nathan Mann last night at the Garden. Buddy's big brother Max promises that he'll tutor the 175-pounder in Louis's technique before the big bout. Max Baer became an early notch on the Brown Bomber's belt back in 1935.

W2XBS will set up its cameras at Belmont Park next week for the first of several racing telecasts planned for this summer. Next Saturday, the cameras will be deployed at the World's Fair for the official opening ceremonies of the 1940 season.

(And Cousin Sugarfoot was never seen alive again...)

(Why do I suspect that when Mr. Screed shows up, he'll look an awful lot like Edward Arnold?)

(Well, it's certainly stretched tight. Either that or Dan is more of a lightweight than we ever could have imagined.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Something about this Finkelstein business just doesn't add up.

From Brooklyn comes the sound of faint snickering.

Uh-oh.

At least Nick kept his shirt on, for which thanks.

We can be grateful, too, that Mr. Gould spared us the bone-crunching visuals. He won't always be so considerate.

Nice timing, Min.

And Skeezix's downfall began so subtly, he barely noticed it.

And where were you, exactly, Mr. Wm. P. Mullins, when the money disappeared? I know they'll ask.

Pre-code comics.

 

[Fading Fast]

...The right of the Amen grand jury to indict Max Ludkowitz for the 1937 murder of Harry "Glass Eye" Halperin has been challenged by Judge Franklin Taylor on the grounds that the Amen Office has no jurisdiction in the case that supersedes that of a regular Kings County Grand Jury or of the prosecutorial jurisdiction of Distric Attorney O'Dwyer. Taylor, a frequent critic of Assistant Attorney General John H. Amen, stressed that his comments do not reflect on the Amen grand jury, but "if it is true that there has been an excess of power, then that indictment may be null and void."...

Seriously guys, you're all suppose to be on the same team.

...[
("So there!")...

And how's this for atypical Hollywood: Stewart had one 46-year marriage and no divorces / de Havilland had two divorces (a bit high for the general population, but probably brought the overall Hollywood average down).

...The sun shines bright today at Churchill Downs, and the track will be fast for the 66th running of the Kentucky Derby, with all nine horses entered expected to run. Big old Bimelech is favored to win "The Run For The Roses," with the other entries expected to compete, at best, for second money. Post Time is approximately 6:45 pm Brooklyn time....

Since all Kentucky Derby entrees are three years old, it seems odd to describe a Derby horse as "old." That said, I'm so starved for horse racing that I'm looking forward to seeing how "Big old Bemelech" does. I don't remember his name as a Derby winner, but I don't know all the winners by heart, so he probably won. That said, favorites often lose especially at the Derby as they're still young horses and aren't use to the insane crowd noise (and distance) of the Derby.

...Dodger fans are putting pressure on team president Larry MacPhail to go along with a proposal to land the team at Floyd Bennett Field when it flies in from Chicago next week following the completion of its first western trip of the season. Plans are already under way for a vast rally to greet the Flock when it returns home, with thousands expected to turn out if MacPhail gives the green light. Borough President John Cashmore has endorsed the proposal, stating that "it's only fitting that the greatest community in the country should be represented by the greatest baseball team in the nation," and promising to be on hand himself to lead the homecoming festivities. Some of the most enthusiastic rooters are even suggesting that the plane skip airports entirely, and land instead in the middle of Ebbets Field itself, allowing the players to alight at second base before a full house of cheering spectators. ("Nix on that," says Sally. "They might mess up th' doit, and Petey might trip an' hoit himself!" And Joe shakes his head and mumbles "He don't even know ya alive.")...

I can think of, oh, say a reason or two why landing at Ebbets Field isn't a good idea, but I really hope they land at Floyd Bennett as you can feel how much the people of Brooklyn, and the players, want it.

...
(No doubt the recent move has been hard on the Lichty marriage.)...)

No kidding, since they moved, they've reminded me of the strip "The Lockhorns."

... View attachment 232709
(I'll make a not-too-wild guess here and say that the star that Cliff is alluding to here is none other than George Raft, whose mobster portrayals have always had a bit more of the sheen of reality than they ought. But what Cliff isn't saying is that one of George's closest pals is Leo Durocher. Best not to get into that just now, but the day will come when this relationship will receive close scrutiny. The prizefighter he's talking about is without doubt Al "Bummy" Davis, whose gangland connections have never been particularly secret.)...

I didn't know what you know, but Raft's was the first name that popped into my head based on his Hell's Kitchen, street kid origins.

I don't own a car, so I'm not up to date, but back in the '80s and '90s, I remember friends telling me there were plenty of parking-ticket "facilitators" whose business was to do what was described - for a fee, take care of the wait and procedural part of paying your ticket.

"Facilitators" are a sad part of NYC's bureaucracy as you need them almost anytime you have to interact with NYC's government. I'm guessing some of the facilitator's fees flow back to officials either legally as campaign contributions or under the table (or as "safe" jobs, etc.) - purely a guess. We hired a couple of facilitators when we bought our coop and when we did some renovation work as we were told by everyone there is simply no other way to do it unless you want to wait years for approval and spend days and days waiting in line at government offices to file forms that you will not fill out correctly anyway.

...Buddy Baer will get a chance to be knocked around by Joe Louis in September, following his defeat of Nathan Mann last night at the Garden. Buddy's big brother Max promises that he'll tutor the 175-pounder in Louis's technique before the big bout. Max Baer became an early notch on the Brown Bomber's belt back in 1935....

How did big Max Bear have a 175 pound brother? Must be a half or adopted brother.

... Something about this Finkelstein business just doesn't add up.....

Could not agree more. Thought the same yesterday when the story broke; there's more here or he wouldn't have killed himself.

... Uh-oh.....

You called it; you said one of them wouldn't make it. She'll die "pure of heart" pining for Pat (possibly in his arms) - very old-fashioned romantic.

... At least Nick kept his shirt on, for which thanks....

Nick is the man, but yes, we're all happy he kept his shirt on.

... We can be grateful, too, that Mr. Gould spared us the bone-crunching visuals. He won't always be so considerate.....

I'm assuming reconstructive hand-surgery 1940's style is coming as hero Tracy has to be able to outshoot everyone or is he ambidextrous?

... And Skeezix's downfall began so subtly, he barely noticed it....

Also, a great lesson in behavioral economics as you notice how easily he found a way to spend more money now that he has it (and only thought about the person-to-person option when it was too late).

... Pre-code comics.

And Senga basically just described the plot of '33's movie "Double Harness." Also, plenty of comic-strip soft porn today with Senga in the shower and Leona prancing around in a bikini.

 

[David Conwill]

These lamps are well worth restoring simply as practical luminaries.

What is the story on bulb selection? Do they work with LED's or does one need to use incandescent bulbs?

 

[LizzieMaine]

A rush-hour fire last night in the Long Island Railroad's Atlantic Avenue tunnel near Grand Avenue trapped two trains carrying over 200 commuters until a LIRR steam locomotive could speed to the scene and rescue them. The fire, caused by an electrical short, shut down power to the entire section of the line, and forced a halt to all incoming and outbound traffic at the Flatbush Avenue terminal. Commuters arriving at the station after 5 pm were told to take the subway to Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan where their LIRR tickets would be honored, as railroad crews worked to rescue the trapped passengers.

The steam locomotive was dispatched from Jamacia shortly after 5:30 pm, and tracks were cleared to allow it unimpeded passage to the rescue scene, with the locomotive making the 19-minute trip in just 10 minutes. The useless electric locomotive was uncoupled from the train and hauled to a spur track off the main line, allowing the steam locomotive to connect to the train full of passengers and pull it to safety. After a three-and-a-half hour tieup, power was restored to the line shorty after 8:30 pm.

Facing mounting opposition from a coalition of Labourites, Liberals, and insurgent Conservatives, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain will be fighting for his political life when he appears before the House of Commons on Tuesday. A call for the resignation of Chamberlain, Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir John Simon, and Air Minister Sir Samuel Hoare by Labour Party spokesman Herbert Morrison was piled upon criticism of the Chamberlain government for its "complacency" and "oversatisfaction" in the face of the deteriorating military situation now facing the Allies. Commons opposition leader Clement Atlee and Labourite MP Emmanuel Shinwell also delivered speeches in the House today denouncing the Chamberlain government. Meanwhile, members of the Conservative Party's "Council of 15" are meeting today to plot strategy in the face of mounting opposition among the Tories themselves to Chamberlain's administration.

A secret headquarters near the Red Hook waterfront is base for agents of District Attorney William O'Dwyer as he continues to probe the disappearance of union activiist Peter Panto and tp tighten pressure against racketeers who prey upon dock workers. This office has aided the DA in selecting 134 longshoremen for questioning in connection with waterfront racketeering, among them Anthony Carmada, secretary-treasurer of Local 1119 of the International Longshoremen's Association, who was questioned for several hours yesterday. Carmada is the brother of Emil Carmada, vice-president of the ILA and the "general overlord" of dockworkers in Brooklyn.

A 35-to-1 shot came in at Churchill Downs yesterday, as Galahadion, burnished bay from the stables of Mrs. Ethel V. Mars slipped to the rail in the home stretch to defeat heavily-favored Bimilech for the $60,150 purse. Left among the shards of his broken dreams was Bimilech's owner, Col. Ed Bradley of Idle Hour Farm, who called the horse "the greatest to ever carry my colors."

The campaign to bring next week's Dodger homecoming flight to Floyd Bennett Field continues to build support, with the Flatbush Chamber of Commerce and Borough Hall Lodge 222 of the Loyal Order of Moose endorsing the drive. Flatbush chamber president Benjamin J. King promises that if the Dodger plane touches down on Brooklyn soil instead of at LaGuardia Field, "almost all of Flatbush" will be on hand to greet it. Plans are in the works for an elaborate motorcade from the airport to Ebbets Field, led by a band from Post 33 of the Brownsville American Legion, and featuring a delegation of marching Moose led by Deputy County Clerk James Kelly, who serves as Governor of the Borough Hall Lodge of Moose. The Dodgers will fly home next Thursday following the final game of their western tour in Chicago.

Yesterday's game against the Pirates was rained out, and the Dodgers will try again today against the Cardinals at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

In a scathing denunciation of the decrepit Raymond Street Jail, a Kings County Grand Jury today declares that conditions at the crumbling dungeon-like facility are inferior to the accomodations enjoyed by animals at the Prospect Park Zoo. In the presentation handed up to Judge Franklin Taylor, the grand jury denounced "petty politics" as the primary reason why the jail has not been replaced, but specifically exculpates Mayor LaGuardia and Borough President Cashmore for any responsibility, noting that both have been demanding a replacement for the jail for years.

(Clever of the Boys -- making it seem that Katherine Cornell endorses the sale, without actually saying so, and thus they don't have to pay to use her name and image if all they're doing is "saluting" her. A&S seems to go in for this type of advertising a lot.)

The Eagle Editorialist reminds Brooklynites that with the coming of the World's Fair season comes also a need for greater awareness of public sanitation. Don't throw your gum on the sidewalk, don't toss your wrappers on the ground, don't leave used newspapers on benches or in the subway, don't treat the streets as your personal garbage can. Remember, the eyes of visitors are hungry for impressions!

Boys and Girls Week in Brooklyn climaxed yesterday with a parade of 6000 marchers thru the streets of downtown, featuring dozens of youth organizations, Scout troops, and bands. Co-Youth Borough Presidents Thomas McGorry and Dolores Flynn passed the Borough Hall reviewing stand in automobiles to the cheers of the crowd.

Red Barber will present a telegraphic recreation of today's Dodger-Cardinal game from St. Louis at 4:25 pm over WOR.

WEAF, WOR, and WABC will broadcast "A Salute To The World's Fair" at 2 PM.

Songwriter J. Fred Coots is an old Brooklyn Boy, and he writes to the Old Timers Page this week to wax nostalgic about his days growing up in Bay Ridge, which was a literal "tin pan alley" in those long-ago days. He pays tribute to his favorite teacher at PS 118, principal Joseph Wingebach, who steered him away from the dangers of youthful pranking and toward a career in music.

("How'dja do?" asks Sally. "Shaddup," grumbles Joe.)

(Ah, statistics. The Bees have the second-best hitting in the league, and yet they've only won two games out of ten. Just goes ta show ya.)

(And as Norway teeters on the edge of conquest, as the Chamberlain government nears collapse, all eyes at Trend are on -- Yugoslavia. Okay then.)

If you want to see Katherine Cornell in "No Time For Comedy," you better be quick about it. The show runs at the Majestic Theatre Tuesday thru Saturday only.

Meanwhile, on Broadway, no less a pair than Lawrence Olivier and Vivien Leigh will open Thursday at the 51st Street Theatre for a limited engagement in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." The couple has flown in direct from Hollywood exclusively for this run. They are supported by Dame May Whitty and Edmund O'Brien.

Now at the Patio, James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan in "The Shop Around The Corner," paired with Preston Foster and Chief Thundercloud in "Geronimo."

(Little Beaver has a lot more going for him in the brains department than Red does. Sooner or later he's going to look up at that title panel and wonder why it isn't *his* name up there.)

(And maybe someday, Sunny will change her name to "Little Iodine" and get a strip all her own...)

(Did you remember to bring your cables splicer? No? Too bad.)

(The reason George's nose is like that is because people are always punching him in it.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Today it's all on Page Three.

Everybody knows about Joseph Ignatius Breen and the MPPDA Production Code Office, but what many don't realize is that state censorship of the movies during the Era could be even more stringent, and more dominated by the specific panics of local bluenoses.

It took me a minute to realize, but Mr. Hill didn't draw this page. It's a close aping of his style -- the old lady in panel four is a direct swipe of an image we've seen before -- but the faces and proportions are off, and if I had to guess, it's probably the unsigned work of Leo O'Mealia, the News sports cartoonist, who drew in such a style for comic books at the time. Which raises the question -- what happened to Mr. Hill this week? Is he on vacation? Or did he phone in the gags this week from a garage in Peekskill, while waiting for them to finish an emergency ring job on his Buick?

On the other hand -- ha, ha -- there can be no possible question of who drew this page.

I worry about Harold sometimes, but he's a good kid at heart, and eventually things will work out for him. Shadow, on the other hand, I fear is doomed by his essentially duplicitous nature to a life of sad and petty deception.

Nick isn't here to bandy words. And I kinda like the idea of "Maw Green -- Movie Critic."

Laugh out loud of the day -- Plushie's expression in panel six.

Superman, Slam Bradley, Batman, and the Green Arrow, all rolled into one. Everybody who works at DC Comics should be paying royalties to Mr. Caniff.

Walt's approach to parenting has always had a streak of "Do as I say, not as I do" about it.

Meanwhile, Axel's cousin Bruce is doing the best he can with what he has.

 

[Fading Fast]

...A 35-to-1 shot came in at Churchill Downs yesterday, as Galahadion, burnished bay from the stables of Mrs. Ethel V. Mars slipped to the rail in the home stretch to defeat heavily-favored Bimilech for the $60,150 purse. Left among the shards of his broken dreams was Bimilech's owner, Col. Ed Bradley of Idle Hour Farm, who called the horse "the greatest to ever carry my colors."...

As the old gambling adage goes: that's why they run the race.

And here is the long-shot winner:

... View attachment 232912 (Clever of the Boys -- making it seem that Katherine Cornell endorses the sale, without actually saying so, and thus they don't have to pay to use her name and image if all they're doing is "saluting" her. A&S seems to go in for this type of advertising a lot.)...

From memory, A&S might have done the same thing with fashion designer Schiaparelli as it's always been unclear in its ads (that we've seen in these Day-By-Days) if she's endorsing the product or if A&S is just referencing her style. I assumed she was endorsing them since her name was in the ad, but maybe, in light of what you said, A&S was playing it cute.

...[
(Did you remember to bring your cables splicer? No? Too bad.)...

Why would there be a steel wire hung between two buildings? Seems pretty random and lucky that it was right there.

... Today it's all on Page Three.....

Re The Harps and Co: That is one complicated story

Re The five-times-married Heiress and her alimony: Hopefully that will be a big "no" from the judge

Re the mob trial: It should be easy enough to confirm if he was getting a blood transfusion at the same time he was supposedly kidnapped.

...
On the other hand -- ha, ha -- there can be no possible question of who drew this page.....

A little more sense of urgency about getting Tracy to a hand surgeon would be nice.

...
Nick isn't here to bandy words. And I kinda like the idea of "Maw Green -- Movie Critic."...

Shame he had to leave Axel alive.

..
Superman, Slam Bradley, Batman, and the Green Arrow, all rolled into one. Everybody who works at DC Comics should be paying royalties to Mr. Caniff.....

Absolutely outstanding illustrating and narrating of an action sequence - best we've seen so far. Separately, poor April.


N.B., In addition to my standard protest over breaking the storylines for Sunday, I will protest ahead of time the repeating of today's storylines in tomorrow's strips (and, yes, I get that there is a minor contradiction there). Also, where's Childs and H&H been the past few days - don't people eat in May?

 

[LizzieMaine]

My thought on that wire is that it might be a radio antenna -- but if it was it would only be something like 14-gague copper wire, not a stout cable like that. Irwin thinks it's a phone wire, but Irwin is also an idiot.

That blood transfusion thing came up a while back, and I'm shocked nobody's actually gone to the trouble of running that down -- if not a cop, a reporter. Come on you guys, get with the program.

I doubt he's leaving Axel for long. I suspect that Nick's boys will come back to "take care of him," but I'd be more worried about Katerina.

Some cartoonists (hello Mr. Marsh) could get an entire month out of that one Terry page. Where Caniff really shines is knowing exactly when to pick up the pace.

I have also noticed the absence of our favorite eateries in the News these last few days. I hope they haven't given up for the spring, I already miss Chef Oscar Levant.

 

[Fading Fast]

...but Irwin is also an idiot.....

LOL

...That blood transfusion thing came up a while back, and I'm shocked nobody's actually gone to the trouble of running that down -- if not a cop, a reporter. Come on you guys, get with the program.....

Insanely sloppy work.

...I doubt he's leaving Axel for long. I suspect that Nick's boys will come back to "take care of him," but I'd be more worried about Katerina.....

Hope you're right.

...Some cartoonists (hello Mr. Marsh) could get an entire month out of that one Terry page. Where Caniff really shines is knowing exactly when to pick up the pace....

T&TP and LOA are in a class by themselves.

 

[LizzieMaine]

While we wait for lunch-oriented advertising to resume, here for the delectation of all is a Childs menu from 1940 --

I think we've seen all the items featured on the back cover in various ads, but I think they should have designed the whole menu in the style of those ads, with the New Yorker-y cartoons and all.

Those fried scallops look awful nice in Kodachrome though.

 

[Fading Fast]

While we wait for lunch-oriented advertising to resume, here for the delectation of all is a Childs menu from 1940 --

View attachment 233009 View attachment 233010 View attachment 233011
I think we've seen all the items featured on the back cover in various ads, but I think they should have designed the whole menu in the style of those ads, with the New Yorker-y cartoons and all.

Those fried scallops look awful nice in Kodachrome though.

I'm with you on your menu design suggestions. That would give it a fresher, more spirited feel. The current pictures are off in some way and make the inside inconsistent with the cover.

Do you think "Creamed Tapioca Pudding" means "creamy tapioca pudding" or something else?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I'm pretty sure that's your typical tapioca in a cream-based pudding type of deal, and I'm pretty sure I'm having it to go with my veal cutlet.

Note a couple of absences -- no hamburgers on the sandwich menu, since a burger was too declasse for an upscale cheap lunchroom like Childs, and no soda on the beverage menu. Coke was just now running an ad campaign encouraging the beverage as a companion to meals, but the "Burger-fries-Coke" paradigm was still a few years away. If you wanted a burger and a coke you went to White Castle, a lean-to sidewalk shanty, or to a joint like Harold's hangout "Vic's."

Seeing them in color, I want a set of Childs dishes.

 

[Fading Fast]

 

[LizzieMaine]

Mob leaders on the Brooklyn waterfront are reportedly demanding a $5 kickback from all working longshoremen to raise a legal defense fund for members of the Murder For Hire gang now under indictment and expected to face indictment in the future, according to District Attorney William O'Dwyer. The collection is being made, the District Attorney states, in the name of Joseph Florino, alias Speranze, said to be chief lieutenant to Albert Anastasia. The District Attorney says that news of this assessment has caused him to increase efforts to track down and apprehend Florino, Anastasia, and fugitive gunman Vito "The Torpedo" Gurino. Prior to their disappearance, Anastasia and Florino were reputed head men of the waterfront crime syndicate, with Anastaisa said to be realizing over $600,000 a year in kickbacks extorted from dock workers.

Meanwhile, the FBI is engaged in a nationwide manhunt for Joe Adonis, long a major figure in the Brooklyn underworld, on a Federal warrant charging kidnaping, extortion, and assault in connection with the 1932 abduction, beating, and eventual death of 50-year-old Isidor Wapinski of Brooklyn, who was suspected by Adonis and co-defendant Sam Gasperg of "holding out" profits from an illegal game Wapinski was operating using funds advanced by the two mobsters. Adonis, whose true name is Joseph N. Doto, disappeared from his home in Miami, Florida on April 22nd. Gasperg was arrested yesterday by FBI men and New York detectives in Los Angeles.

Pope Pius XII is said to be preparing a final effort to secure peace in Europe, based on the hope that Italy will not enter the war. Vatican sources state that the Pontiff has made his views known to Myron C. Taylor, President Roosevelt's personal envoy to the Vatican, and that the Pope is in full agreement with the President in the desire to prevent any further spread of the current conflict. The Pope has also expressed these views in an audience with the Crown Prince and Princess of Italy, and has asked that his opinions be conveyed via the Papal Nuncio at Berlin to the German government.

A former National Guard supply sergeant has tied two of the sixteen defendants charged in the Christian Front seditious conspiracy case to the theft of more than two thousand rounds of ammunition from a Brooklyn armory. Alfred G. Quinlan, formerly supply sergeant of Company M, 165th Infantry, submitted a signed statement introduced by prosecution as evidence stating that defendants William G. Bishop and John T. Prout stole the ammunition from the division's stores, and that Prout, then his superior officer in command of Company M, had ordered him to open the locked storage room to allow him to take the ammunition, which was carried out of the armory in three trips using a briefcase.

A former assistant district attorney on the staff of former District Attorney William F. X. Geoghan has been accused of accepting $10,000 in bribes in connection with abortion cases. Francis A. Madden is charged in his disbarment trial with taking two $5000 payments from Manhattan lawyer Harold B. Karp, in connection with 1937 cases involving accused abortionists Dr. Louis I. Duke and Dr. Harry Blank. Blank is currently serving a two-year sentence on an abortion conviction at Sing Sing prison, while Duke has resumed his medical practice at 551 Bedford Avenue.

Dodger president Larry MacPhail says he'd be happy to have the team land at Floyd Bennett Field on its flight home from Chicago this week, assuming that the insurance company that covers the team will allow it. MacPhail says he has spoken to officials of American Airlines, and they are also willing to change the plane's landing site if insurance approval is forthcoming. Community interest in a Brooklyn landing site for the team plane has exploded in recent days, with many thousands expected to turn out to welcome the team home after its first western trip of the season.

A fifteen year old Williamsburg boy blew off part of his right index figure while experimenting with a homemade explosive in front of his house. Rocco Colotto of 559 Grand Street poured a mixture of potassium chloride taken from a toy chemistry set and cane sugar into a piece of brass tubing about two feet long. He then applied a lit match to the end of the tube and was felled by the explosion. In addition to the loss of his fingertip, the boy suffered leg lacertations, as did a 9-year-old girl, Felia Degroca 594 Grand Street, who was watching the demonstration.

("We never did nuthin' that dumb when I was a kid," says Joe. "Well, except for them fireworks that time." And Sally replies "You've never see that scar, have ya? You prob'ly can't twist around enough ta..." And Joe says "Hey, how 'bout them Dodgers?")

("Unsuccessful Advertising Mascots Of The Era.")

Because of outstanding demand, "Gone With The Wind" has been held over for another week at the Flatbush Theatre. The picture will play at the Flatbush "as long as you wish it to remain." All evening and weekend matinee seats are sold on a reserved basis only, and may be secured by calling BUckminster 2-6000.

P. A. M. writes to Helen Worth to offer several lovely little kittens to good homes that will promise to be kind to them only. They are seven weeks old, housebroken, and eating by themselves. And they are all very cute!

Brooklyn writer/performer Stella Unger says the only way to get ahead in any career is to put your dreams on a cash-and-a-carry basis. Mrs. Unger, who has written lyrics for Broadway shows, scripts for plays and radio shows, was radio's first woman sports announcer, and is now on the air as "Your Hollywood Newsgirl" with her own one-woman show, says every woman, married or single, should have a career -- and what's more they should insist on getting paid for all the work they do, wherever they do it. "Use your dreams to make the cash register ring!" she says. She also says her husband, a doctor, was opposed to her career at first -- until he heard that cash register ringing. "We had some colossal battles," she laughs.

(You never think it'll happen to you, and then one day you wake up and realize it did.)

Ten thousand persons, including many police and city officials, attended funeral services yesterday at the Jewish Memorial Chapel in Brownsville for Police Captain Max Finkelstein, who died by his own hand last week in the face of an investigation of his involvement in the Brooklyn bail-bond racket. In his funeral oration, Rabbi Isidore Frank emphasized Captain Finkelstein's accomplishments over his long police career and as a family man, and warned against making assumptions over the talk of charges against him until those charges were proven.

The once-mighty Cardinals proved little threat at all to the Dodgers yesterday, as the Flock racked up its tenth win in eleven games by a score of 9 to 6. Sloppy defense by the Gashouse boys made the difference, with St. Louis committing three errors, including a botched double-play in the ninth that left two Dodgers on with nobody out and set the stage for Roy Cullenbine to knock in the winning runs with a hard-hit double. The Cardinals ran thru five hurlers in a poorly-pitched game to go along with their porous glovework. The Dodger pitching wasn't that much better, with Durocher sending out four relievers himself after Whit Wyatt fizzled. In fact every Dodger on the roster got into the game except for benchwarming outfielder Gene Moore.

Air travel seems to suit the Dodgers well, with road secretary John McDonald reporting that plans are in the works for the club to handle all their westward trips for the rest of the season by chartered plane. The players are adjusting well, with the exception of catcher Babe Phelps, who is said to balking at the air-travel requirement. It would be strange, says Tommy Holmes, for a man known as "The Blimp" to refuse to go up in the air.

(Josephine Bungle, the Voice of Reason.)

(Keep your eyes in their place, laughing boy, or your honeymoon will be over right now.)

(Calling it now: the cable's gonna snap and Dan will swing down and crash thru the window of the secret chamber of the Chief Of The Black Hoods. Either that or the bedroom of some middle-aged lady named Gertie who will declare it's the most exciting thing that's happened to her since she got married.)