The Era -- Day By Day

[Fading Fast]

...
("I give out coupons!")...

Many years ago, I had chronic sinusitis and, after going through several NJ doctors, I wound up at a NYC specialist (this is back when health insurance actually worked) and he, basically, told me the same thing as the doctor the illustration. He was correct as he was more advanced and knowledgable than the NJ doctors and, one unenjoyable surgery later, solved the problem. Still, you only get to the right one by trial and error - there is no other way unless you happen to get lucky.

Another favorite doctor comment is "well, just pop back in if...." There is no "popping in" on doctors as the process of making an appointment, arranging to miss work, getting there and, then, waiting, sometimes hours, is difficult and exhausting.

... (These Fazians get around.)...

Finally, something other than the dog smashing the fence.

.. (See how neatly all this fits together?)...

Just noting, that as far as the public is concerned, John Blackston is still a member of the Purple Shirts. Swiller might be their leader, but John is believed to be a member at this point. As you note, nice tie-in to Bonetti, but a shame we didn't know about the commuted sentence ahead of time as that would have made for quite the surprise moment now.

You know Leona is going to get very quiet when Bonetti's name comes up. She did nothing wrong, but probably would prefer everyone just forgets about her Club Buccaneer days all the same.

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

If Dan has to choose between Irwin and the dog on the next mission, he should be stocking kibble for the trip.

... 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....

One has to carry two distinct gangster memes is his/her head today: the TV/movie kind that, sometimes, has a moral code and an almost romanticized life and the real-world violent-killer one who preys on the rest of us.

The US Government suing the city over the post-office site is kinda interesting. First I've ever heard of it.

... This is a fascinating promotion. The sets sell for $1.39 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....

Even in the '70s, there was still a bit of a belief left that "culture" - classical music, opera, classic literature, etc. - was ennobling and worthy of gov't effort to bring it to the masses (like a young me seeing things like opera or shows discussing books on PBS that I had no other exposure to growing up). There's very little of that left today and I don't think our current politics even believes in the theory behind it anymore.

And, yes, neat to see Davega trying to class itself up.

... View attachment 261129
Caps, okay, whatever. And boldface, well, you have to make a point. But caps AND boldface, well, isn't that a bit much?...

Probably the biggest thing I've taken out of these (and some other newspaper coverage in these Day by Days) is how you can see that social media didn't cause as much as enable the politics and approach we have today. It was almost all there in 1940; it was just wanting a platform so that our politics could morph into what we have today.

... Who writes your stuff, Sam? Uncle Bim?...

Seriously and with an assist from Rod Serling for today's speech.

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

Before the barber and haberdashery, how 'bout a dentist and doctor, but before even that, this guy needs a shower for the ages.

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

What Dude says is usually awful, but the guy has come through when it counts several times.

One of the things I like about T&TPs is that it shows strong, smart, independent women, but also will fire out a comment like Pat's in panel one. Today, it's all walking on egg shells to not offend or hewing perfectly to a shifting political standard.

Caniff clearly respects women and their abilities (Hu Shee played Pat and team like a fiddle), but he'll point out foibles and traits in both sexes that we're not allowed to acknowledge (in one sex anyway) today. Caniff's 1940 world is more real than most of our modern TV shows and movies that simply preach a tightly circumscribed one-sided belief system.

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

Today's version is called "title inflation," and companies do it because it works. While these two are complaining, I've seen many employees satisfied with a new title and little or no raise to go along with it. The game eventually runs out of room - so the board has to be reset ("announcing a new, more-efficient organization with updated titles, blah, blah, blah") - but it's not going to go away.

... View attachment 261137 Today's guest artist, Charles Addams....

Edward Rochester's first wife breaks out?

 

[LizzieMaine]

The President's signature is expected early next week on the first peace-time conscription law in United States history, after Congress gave the Burke-Wadsworth bill final approval yesterday by margins of nearly two to one in both houses. The law provides for the conscription of 900,000 men aged 21 to 35 into the Army, and will require 16,500,000 men within that age group to register for the draft. It is expected that registration will begin in early October, with the first draftees receiving their orders to report for induction in mid-November. The President has dispatched a request to House Speaker William B. Bankhead (D-Alabama) for an additional sum exceeding $1,783,000,000 for National Defense, with the bulk of that money earmarked to fund the conscripted troops.

The first group of draftees is expected to number 75,000, with the total reaching 400,000 by January 1941. Exemptions and deferments from the draft will be granted to men with dependents, to ministers of religion and theological students, men in essential occupations, certain Government officers, aliens, the physically unfit, and conscientious objectors. The latter will be subject to noncombatant service. Draftees will be paid at the rate of $21 a month for their first four months of service, with raises up to $30 possible, and all draftees will be required to serve for one year.

Italian troops smashed a wedge ten miles deep across the Egyptian frontier tonight, as sand-whipped Fascist legions rolled into the ruined villages of Sollum and Musad under heavy air attack by British planes. A British communique declared that "the situation is well in hand."

London absorbed another night of heavy aerial bombardment, with three separate Nazi raids pounding the British capital over the course of the evening. When the all-clear sounded at the conclusion of the third raid, it was the first respite from nighttime bombing London has seen in nearly a week.

The final death toll from the explosion of the Hercules Powder Company works in Kenvil, New Jersey stands at 47. Eight of the bodies recovered from the rubble have yet to be identified.

District Attorney William O'Dwyer is investigating suspected irregularities in contracts awarded for painting public schools in Brooklyn, and is "inviting" members of the Board of Education to his office for questioning. The summons follow a secret inquest into whether all provisions of painting contracts let out for the schools have been carried out according to specified term.

Throat specialists have been rushed by plane to intercept the special train carrying Wendell L. Willkie, after the Republican presidential candidate's voice failed during his present campaign tour from Illinois to Kansas City. Mr. Willkie completed a speech in Peoria yesterday criticizing President Roosevelt for his position on the Munich Agreement of 1938, but his voice was cracked and weak. A Willkie spokesman later withdrew an earlier statement by the candidate claiming that the President had personally telephoned Hitler and Mussolini in support of the partition of Czechoslovakia, stating that Mr. Willkie "had spoken in error" in making that claim, and that what he meant to say was that Mr. Roosevelt had merely "urged a settlement."

(I for one am looking forward to seeing M. Nussbaum's "graceful gait of a model." Should be quite a demonstration.)

Parks Commissioner Robert Moses is confident there will be no delay in converting the World's Fair grounds into the world's largest public park, with his plans for Flushing Meadows Park on target for completion by 1942. The $4,000,000 project was threatened this week by concerns over capital outlay in the city budget, but Commissioner Moses is adamant that the funds will be found to keep the project moving forward. "Any delay will result in a mess such as that following the Chicago Fair and many others in the past," declared the Commissioner in a speech to the Flushing Chamber of Commerce. Moses reiterated that demolition of the World's Fair buildings will begin immediately upon the Fair's closing.

"An Eagle Reader" writes in to complain about dirty windows in the trolleys that run on Flatbush Avenue. Fulton Street is all well and good, but how about improving conditions for Flatbush riders? And 17-year-old reader Wesley Callender Jr, who has been riding the trolleys to school every day for twelve years, is critical of the decision to replace the Fulton Street cars with buses. He finds trolleys -- especially the new P. C. C. cars -- far more comfortable than "bumpy buses."

(Brooklyn Clubwomen Speak Out! See, Carlisle, this is how you do it.)

The Dodgers wrapped up their five-game sweep of the Pirates yesterday by taking both ends of a doubleheader, with first-rate pitching and timely hitting giving the Faithful a hint that maybe the season isn't over after all. Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons, venerable thirty-nine-year-old knuckleballer, cruised to his fifteenth win of the season with a sparkling 5-0 shutout of the Bucs in the first game, while Tex Carleton, of whom little has been heard of late, returned to his early-season form in relief of Lee Grissom in the nightcap, sealing a 4-2 victory. Dolph Camilli and Joe Medwick provided the offensive force in the first game, accounting for all five runs between themselves, and Camilli combined with Babe Phelps to drive in all four Dodger runs in the afterpiece.

The league-leading Reds, fresh from edging out the sinking Giants yesterday, arrive at Ebbets Field today to begin a conclusive series with another doubleheader before an anticipated capacity crowd. Durocher offers Curt Davis and Hugh Casey, while McKechnie will lead with his aces, Paul Derringer and Bucky Walters.

Bill Terry won't be going to the World Series this year -- but there's a chance he might be going to Cleveland. With continuing unrest in the Indians' clubhouse, it is expected that Oscar Vitt will be handed his papers at the conclusion of the season, and owner Alva Bradley is said to already be eyeing Memphis Bill as a likely replacement. Terry may finally have worn out his welcome at the Polo Grounds, with the Giants sinking to insignificance in the waning weeks of the present campaign, and it is likely that he has also lost his patience with the sorry lot of players who have performed for him this year. Terry is still under contract to the Giants for three more years, but all observers agree his chances of bringing in a pennant during that span are nil, and that better opportunities will be found elsewhere. Cleveland, a powerful club in need of strict discipline, may be just that place.

The Football Dodgers open their 1940 campaign tomorrow against the Washington Redskins at Griffith Stadium. It'll mark Dr. Jock Sutherland's debut as Dodger coach, following an outstanding coaching career at Pitt that saw him succeed none other than Knute Rockne as the nation's leading college coach.

Old Timer John J. Ryan remembers the "fat cops" who used to predominate when all the villages of Brooklyn had their own police departments. The coming of consolidation in 1898 and the rise of the Teddy Roosevelt rugged ideal soon put an end to that, with all the jolly fat coppers giving way to lean athletic specimens after the century turned.

The commanding officer of the New York National Guard doesn't look any too confident on the front of "Trend" this week...

At the Patio this week -- no longer boasting of being AIR COOLED -- it's Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard in "The Ghost Breakers," paired with Robert Young in "Sporting Blood."

Out at the Sunrise Drive-In, the 1936 Bing Crosby musical "Pennies From Heaven," paired with an Andy Clyde comedy short and the latest news. "Enter and Leave any time!"

"What you want and what you git are different things!" Go, Duchess!

Worst part of it is, Mr. Willkie's voice is gone, so he can't explain to the cabbie what the problem is.

Bill reminds me a lot of my grandfather here. Except when he made me a swing, he didn't get it quite right, and it kept banging into the trunk of the tree.

The question isn't "Can This Marriage Be Saved?" It's "SHOULD."

Hey, how bout a new strip where Wolf, Sandy, and that pooch from "Sparky Watts" team up to fight Nazis?

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Um, was being billed as "The Girl Who Danced For Hitler" really ever that good an idea? Maybe this kid needs to fire mama and hire a new agent.

Aw, now the Democrats are going in for caps and boldface. What about civility in politics?

"Feathers burning." Hahahahahahahaha!

"Roloc Bard?" That's "Drab Color" backwards. WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL US, GOULD?

Tell ya what, Shad. How'd ya like to be a foot shorter than you already are?

Y'know, Annie talks a good game, and Kayo Mullins has a big mouth, but there's no doubt about it -- Chester Gump is the most ruthless kid in comics.

I don't often side with landlords, but honestly, Emmy's got a good case here.

Of course, Connie can be pretty ruthless when he wants to be.

Someone's spent a lot of time watching their kid sleep.

Nobody, but nobody, does "ominous gloom" like Harold Gray.

 

[Fading Fast]

... Mr. Willkie completed a speech in Peoria yesterday criticizing President Roosevelt for his position on the Munich Agreement of 1938, but his voice was cracked and weak. A Willkie spokesman later withdrew an earlier statement by the candidate claiming that the President had personally telephoned Hitler and Mussolini in support of the partition of Czechoslovakia, stating that Mr. Willkie "had spoken in error" in making that claim, and that what he meant to say was that Mr. Roosevelt had merely "urged a settlement."...

Nice to see that as early as 1940 politicians had already discovered the insulting-to-one's-intelligence phrase, "had spoken in error." I'm surprised they didn't use the passive voice as in "errors were spoken," but that obnoxiousness will eventually be discovered by politicians. Thus, my favorite politician's not-apology apology, "mistakes were made."

... "An Eagle Reader" writes in to complain about dirty windows in the trolleys that run on Flatbush Avenue. Fulton Street is all well and good, but how about improving conditions for Flatbush riders? And 17-year-old reader Wesley Callender Jr, who has been riding the trolleys to school every day for twelve years, is critical of the decision to replace the Fulton Street cars with buses. He finds trolleys -- especially the new P. C. C. cars -- far more comfortable than "bumpy buses."...

Give this kid a raise; the rails make all the difference.

... The question isn't "Can This Marriage Be Saved?" It's "SHOULD."...

You have a longer history with the strip, but my take is these two are suited for each other in the crazy way some marriages work. And let's not kid ourselves, their options are to stay together or be single - the odds of either one of them having a successful second marriage are slim to none. And they can't afford divorces the way Artie Shaw and Lana Turner can.

... Hey, how bout a new strip where Wolf, Sandy, and that pooch from "Sparky Watts" team up to fight Nazis?

Sandy would be in charge of strategic planing, Wolf; tactics and reconnaissance and Sparky's dog; weapons and ammunition. And if Bob gets his much deserved reprieve, then he could be their contact back at HQ.

... ] Um, was being billed as "The Girl Who Danced For Hitler" really ever that good an idea? Maybe this kid needs to fire mama and hire a new agent.....

After playing the American Bund circuit (including the Purple Shirts annual gala and awards dinner), she'd be wanting for gigs.

Does it seem that killing someone who resisted going out with you was a bigger thing back then or do I just not read the place where those stories are today? Today's entry is unclear and, sadly, sounds more like attempted rape, but we've read several stories recently about men killing women just because the women won't go out on a date with them.

...
Aw, now the Democrats are going in for caps and boldface. What about civility in politics?...

As you noted, they seem to have learned nothing from the clubwomen.

... Tell ya what, Shad. How'd ya like to be a foot shorter than you already are?...

Only way he could have made it worse is if he had said "good 'little' housewife." Then Penny should have bopped him on the top of his head. Or, if she's gone to the Pat Ryan school of cool, "conked" him on the head.

... Of course, Connie can be pretty ruthless when he wants to be....

Isn't anyone worried about the grass stains Pat's gotten on his nice white suit? Those will be impossible to get out.

I assume Terry was a bigger part of the story at some point or it wouldn't be called "Terry and the Pirates," but Caniff sometimes doesn't even bother to draw Terry into scenes that he should be in now.

Finally, "I'll conk you," was that ever really an acceptable expression for a swashbuckling hero to use?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I feel kinda sorry for Mr. Willkie at this stage of things. History will show that he's a much better man than he is a candidate, and the smoke-filled-room crowd who pushed him forward at the convention because they didn't like Dewey must be feeling rather nervous right now.

Terry was originally the focus of the strip. The origin story had him as a 13-year-old American boy who inherited a map from his grandfather leading to a valuable mine in China. He hooked up there with Pat, who was a "writer looking for something to do," and after they picked up Connie as their translator they set out to find it. They ran into the Dragon Lady not long after this, never did end up finding the mine, and when the war came along in 1937 they got immediately caught up in that. Pat's pretty much been the lead since then -- but Terry, who ages in more or less real time -- he's about the same age as Harold and Skeezix, neither of whom I could imagine parachuting into a war zone -- will eventually regain his lost prominence.

If, that is, he ever takes off that stupid helmet.

"Conk" was a slang word for "head" at the time -- "that's using your conk." One theory is that it comes from African-American Vernacular English, where "conk" referred to the processed hair style favored by urban hepcats, a style achieved by the use of a chemical hair straightener called "Kongolene." So to "conk" someone could mean to give them a "conk" hairstyle -- or to simply strike them a short, sharp blow on their "conk."

How Connie would know hepcat slang is a question yet to be answered, but it wouldn't surprise me to learn that he's a big fan of Cab Calloway movies, ya dig? Pat, the big ickie, probably picked it up from him.

Clearly the 'incel' phenomenon is not a modern thing. They just didn't have a name for it in 1940.

Now I really do want to see this "Heroic Dogs" strip. They could operate out of Mrs. Helen Browne's house on Ditmas Avenue, and O'Dwyer could be their law enforcement contact. When he needs their help he shines a big searchlight projecting the silhouette of a bone on the evening clouds.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Londoners spent almost the entire day in their air raid shelters as German plans pounded the British capital in the longest continuous daylight raid yet. Altogether the people of London were under alert for a total of five hours and forty-three minutes, beginning in late morning and extending until nearly dusk. Meanwhile German artillery shells plunged into the streets of Dover, England's "invasion corner," an attack made, according to the Nazi radio, in retaliation for a British bombardment. Eleven Dover residents were wounded in the attack.

President Roosevelt, at press time today, is preparing to sign the Burke-Wadsworth conscription bill into law, with the ceremony set for 4 PM in the White House cabinet room. Present will be the Chairmen of the House and Senate Military Committees, along with Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Marshall. White House press secretary Stephen Early stated this morning that the President will also issue a proclamation following the signing, formally announcing the start of the draft, and putting into motion plans for its execution. The proclamation will announce the date of the start of registration for the 16,500,000 American men aged 21 to 35 who will be subject to conscription for one year's military service under the new law.

Meanwhile, sharp bugle notes playing the call for "Assembly" sounded thru the halls of the 245th Coast Artillery Armory at Sumner and Jefferson Avenues at 10 AM sharp today, formally activating the sixty-seven officers and 1300 enlisted men of the Brooklyn regiment for one year's service in the Regular Army. Following completion of physical examinations, the unit will travel to Fort Hancock in New Jersey for advanced artillery training. Only two officers and between 150 and 200 men declined activation by resigning from the regiment under the dependents clause. 200 new members arrived at the Armory to enlist as the activation was taking place, and are expected to be sworn in tomorrow.

With the arrogance of the dullard, Abe "Kid Twist" Reles today confessed to ten murders under the auspices of the Brooklyn Murder For Hire gang, after implicating Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss and Martin "Buggsy" Goldstein in the strangulation-incineration slaying of Irving "Puggy" Feinstein, Brownsville bookmaker whose charred body was found in a vacant lot in September of last year. Reles stated that Feinstein was done in by the Murder For Hire gang as "a simple contract job" ordered by waterfront gangland chief Albert Anastasia in retribution for Feinstein's having "crossed" one Vincent Mangnano, whom Reles did not otherwise identify. Reles stated that neither he nor Strauss and Goldstein had ever seen Feinstein before, and experienced some difficulty in locating their target after the assignment was given in August. Reles further related that the problem was solved by Feinstein himself, who walked into the headquarters of the murder gang looking for one Louis "Tiny" Benson, described as a "450-pound front for a loan shark." Reles stated that the strangulation of Feinstein was the first murder using that method in which he had directly participated, with his role usually related to supplying the icepick Strauss routinely used in finishing off his victims.

In Washington, 58-year-old Texas Democrat Sam Rayburn was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives today, filling the vacancy created by the death from a cerebral hemorrhage yesterday of Speaker William B. Bankhead. Bankhead's body lay in state before the House rostrum as members chose his successor. There has yet been no decision on Rayburn's successor as House Majority Leader.

Funeral services will be held today for a Long Island City couple who died in a murder-suicide twelve hours after becoming engaged. 21-year-old Florence Tucker was shot and killed in her apartment by her 22-year-old fiance, James Bacon, who then turned the gun on himself. Bacon, a Navy seaman attached to the Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Virginia, was home on leave to attend Miss Tucker's graduation from the Brooklyn State Hospital Nurses' Training School, and proposed marriage to her after that ceremony. The couple then went out to celebrate their engagement with friends. Although neither Bacon nor Miss Tucker had anything to drink during that celebration, it is believed that they quarreled over the date of the wedding, and that as a result of that argument, Bacon shot Miss Tucker with a 32-caliber Spanish revolver as she slept before killing himself.

(The Sage Of Greenpernt Has Spoken!)

In Hollywood, character actor Edward Arnold, known for playing bankers and businessmen, will take on the role of labor leader. Mr. Arnold was elected yesterday as the new president of the Screen Actors Guild, Hollywood union, succeeding outgoing president Ralph Morgan.

Celebrities from the stage and sports will be on hand in Flatbush on Wednesday night to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the opening of Flynn's Cabaret, popular nightspot on Washington Avenue, near Ebbets Field. Among the guests will be bandleader Art Jarrett, comedian Henny Youngman, boxers Jim Braddock and Pat Comiskey, Dodgers Joe Medwick, Dixie Walker, Pee Wee Reese, and team president Larry MacPhail. Magician "The Great Huber" will headline the floor show.

(Sally and Joe both grab their coats and race for the door. Cinnamon Bun Squares are on sale, and they know there'll be a line.)

(Ripped From The Headlines!)

The retired police lieutenant who brought "Jack The Slasher" to justice in 1892 has died at his Richmond Hill home at the age of 79. W. H. Masterson, then a detective, singlehandedly captured the mysterious assailant who had slashed the throats of several Manhattan residents shortly after "Jack" had committed another murder. "Jack" was identified as Henry Dowd, a 30-year-old "mentally deficient" man who had escaped from a Flatbush insane asylum some time before. Masterson was promoted to sergeant for his work on the case, and made Lieutenant in 1902. He retired from the force in 1919.

Bucky Walters became the first National League hurler to win 20 games in 1940, as the Reds drubbed the Dodgers 13-3 in the first game of a doubleheader yesterday at Ebbets Field, and the best the Flock could manage in the nightcap was a tie, with the game called after eleven innings due to darkness, with the score knotted at 1-1. Whoever it was in the Dodger office who botched the waiver listing that allowed the Reds to get Jimmy Ripple last month must be hanging their head in shame, with Ripple having paced the first Reds rally of the afternoon with a three-run homer. Since joining the Reds, Ripple's been batting a cool .357, with 20 hits in 57 at-bats as the regular Cincinnati left fielder. For good measure, Ripple also accounted for the one Cincy run in the nightcap.

The Reds, hamstrung in the catching department since the suicide of Willard Hershberger earlier this season, have recalled Dick West from their Indianapolis club in the American Association to replace Ernie Lombardi, who ran into the stands chasing a foul ball yesterday and wrenched his ankle. Lombardi's injury left the Reds with only 40-year-old player-coach Jimmy Wilson to handle their backstop chores. Wilson is still spry for an old man, but his tongue would be hanging out if he had to play every day.

Meanwhile, the elimination of the Montreal Royals from the International League playoffs means the Dodgers can bring up several new players from the minor-league club, including outfielder Charley Gilbert, who started the season in Brooklyn, along with pitcher Steve Rachunok and third baseman Don Ross.

The Dodgers and Reds will lose an off-day today, in an attempt to make up yesterday's tie.

The Dodgers will present an Old Timers Day on Sunday, celebrating the pennant-winning 1916 and 1920 clubs. Catcher Otto Miller -- who was behind the plate for the first game ever played at Ebbets Field -- has been rounding up the old boys for the festivities, and so far has promises to attend from Zack Wheat, Ivy Olson, Nap Rucker, Leon Cadore, Andy High, and many other old-time Brooklyn favorites.

(Twenty years from now, Otto Miller will be present, and weeping, at the funeral services for Ebbets Field. Two years after that ceremony, he will fall to his death from a Brooklyn hospital window. Or did he jump? We'll never know. But his friends said he was never the same after the Dodgers left town.)

NBC's "Great Plays" series, presenting full-hour adaptations of great theatrical works from Aristophanes to Gilbert & Sullivan, will return over WJZ starting Sunday October 13th at 3pm. The series, entering its fourth season, has been lauded by educators for its attention to detail and historical context in its productions.

("Does he look like one?" Whattaya think this is, "Dick Tracy?"

(Panel three -- united forever by the utter bleakness at the core of their souls, George and Jo finally merge into a single terrifying entity.)

(Because in a state controlled at every level by a devoted crypto-Fascist, we can always be sure the election will be honest. Right?)

(I imagine "wouldn't have left me for anyone but HIM" is a phrase poor Irwin uses a lot.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Even by 1940 standards, this has been an unusually violent September.

Gee, I'd have thought you'd have been ripened up by now. And why does the traveling salesman look like Zeppo Marx?

Political Memes, 1940 edition.

Yeah, Sam, maybe you need to be moving a little faster there.

Um, not to be arch or anything, but I hope you didn't pay too much for that haircut.

Oh Raven.

Plans? What plans? Is Min really a secret crime lord holding the city in her thrall? I'd read that story.

"Sailin' for a whalin'."

Today's strip presented in "Od-o-Rama."

"It's just that your humorously froggy voice threw me off!"

 

[Fading Fast]

...Funeral services will be held today for a Long Island City couple who died in a murder-suicide twelve hours after becoming engaged. 21-year-old Florence Tucker was shot and killed in her apartment by her 22-year-old fiance, James Bacon, who then turned the gun on himself. Bacon, a Navy seaman attached to the Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Virginia, was home on leave to attend Miss Tucker's graduation from the Brooklyn State Hospital Nurses' Training School, and proposed marriage to her after that ceremony. The couple then went out to celebrate their engagement with friends. Although neither Bacon nor Miss Tucker had anything to drink during that celebration, it is believed that they quarreled over the date of the wedding, and that as a result of that argument, Bacon shot Miss Tucker with a 32-caliber Spanish revolver as she slept before killing himself....

In a day already filled with horrible news, this stands out. I assume Page Four will have more.

..In Hollywood, character actor Edward Arnold, known for playing bankers and businessmen, will take on the role of labor leader. Mr. Arnold was elected yesterday as the new president of the Screen Actors Guild, Hollywood union, succeeding outgoing president Ralph Morgan...

Finally, a way for him to breakout of being typecast.

...
(Sally and Joe both grab their coats and race for the door. Cinnamon Bun Squares are on sale, and they know there'll be a line.)...

That one caught my attention too. As I race over (gotta beat that Joe and Sally this time), I'll be saying a small prayer to the Gods of sweets that they also have icing on them, "please, please, please make it so."

...
(Ripped From The Headlines!)...

And, shockingly, hair on his head, just like the fully parted head of hair on the guy reading the paper. Also, note the disgust on the women's faces in the background: I doubt they were lining up to marry this guy anyway.

...
("Does he look like one?" Whattaya think this is, "Dick Tracy?"...

The bald, monocle-wearing guy with a big scar and divot on the top of his head might not want to be too aggressively critical of how others look. Just sayin'.

L... (Because in a state controlled at every level by a devoted crypto-Fascist, we can always be sure the election will be honest. Right?)...

Just noting that, being fair to the people, based on what they know, their choice is between the leader of the Purple Shirts and a member of the Purple Shirts. Hmm, must be horrible to only have two terrible candidates from which to choose.

Also, Leona seems to be going through a phase of wearing patterns.

... (I imagine "wouldn't have left me for anyone but HIM" is a phrase poor Irwin uses a lot.)

Mondays in Dan Dunn world are like when, back in the old days of broadcast TV, you'd tune in to see your favorite show and, unexpectedly, they ran a repeat. You were so disappointed as it meant waiting another week until you could see a new episode.

... Oh Raven....

Yes, Raven landed a monster roundhouse. Even the DL will be rocked back a bit by that one.

... "Sailin' for a whalin'."...

Wilmer's behavior is one-hundred-percent true to life. I've seen it time and again. Internal promotions create horrible resentment, fair or, as in this case, not.

...
"It's just that your humorously froggy voice threw me off!"

Tech-nick-nee, it isn't frankness since he didn't know he was talking to the boss.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

Sweet thread, I just discovered it yesterday and have never thought to read newspapers from the past online everyday on the actual day.

I've done this with magazines, I've bought a couple of magazines to read each month with in the month to read, if that makes sense.

On Saturday's there is a radio program on WDCB 90.9FM in Illinois where they have over three hours of golden era radio and radio from the 1960s. Along with one of the radio men who has a huge vintage newspaper collection and he reads bits from the newspaper over the radio. Including which movies were playing at what theater to clothing ads for men and women, it really is a treat to listen.

And they even have their own radio guide magazine that gives over three months of info of radio programs that will air. Plus interviews of stars from the past, and some vintage ads too.

I'd like to also get into reading some newspapers from the past on the actual date myself. I checked my local library and they do have a huge list but its not as easy to navigate as the one Lizzie posted.

And I did learn my local library does have newspapers on micro-fesh, at this current time they are not allowing the public to view them.

I can not wait to get reading and see what I find to share here too.

 

[LizzieMaine]

On behalf of all of us, Dude Hennick welcomes you to 1940!

I used to do a radio feature called "Used News" that was similar to this, using hard-copy papers, but access via internet archives broadens the scope considerably.

We're approaching the one-year anniversary of this thread, and I fully intend to keep it going, if only to know the final fate of Bob the Dog.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

Here is my first vintage newspaper
https://search.proquest.com/hnpchic...ageviewPDF/56C44B31BBDA42E3PQ/1?accountid=303

 

[LizzieMaine]

Long-distance German guns fired from the French channel coast began to rain shells on London tonight, covering a distance of approximately ninety miles. Informed German sources state that at this stage the operation of the guns is primarily intended for range-finding purposes, but the so-called "super cannons" are expected to increase in usage daily. Strict secrecy prevails as to the precise caliber of the new guns, but it is noted that the famous "Big Bertha" cannons of the World War had a range of approximately seventy-five miles, and newsreel films shown in Germany reveal that the barrels of the new weapons are constructed in the manner of a telescope. The films show that the barrels of the cannons sway in the wind after a shot is fired.

A twenty-one-year-old South Brooklyn man faces disorderly conduct charges, reduced from third degree assault, after attacking an umpire following yesterday's game between the Dodgers and Reds at Ebbets Field. Frank Germano of 128 33rd Street was arrested at the ballpark after leaping upon umpire George Magerkurth and pummeling him with blows in protest of a decision that went against the Dodgers in the top of the tenth inning. Magerkurth, working at third base, overruled a call by second base umpire Bill Stewart calling Cincinnati runner Ival Goodman out in a tight play that resulted in Dodger second baseman Pete Coscarart dropping the ball. Stewart ruled that Goodman was out on a force when Coscarart had control of the ball, and that the fielder dropped it only while preparing to throw to first, but Magerkurth overruled that decision on an appeal from Reds manager Bill McKechnie, calling Goodman safe. Dodger manager Leo Durocher then raced onto the field howling with rage, and was immediately ejected from the game. Durocher refused to leave, however, and continued to argue the play for nearly ten minutes before order was restored. Goodman went on to score what turned out to be the winning run in Cincinnati's 4-3 victory, and as soon as the game was over, and fans were filing across the field toward the center-field exit gate, Germano raced out of the crowd and tackled the unsuspecting umpire, pounding him with both fists until the other umpires, ushers, and park police could intervene. Neither man was injured, though Germano's shirt was shredded as Magerkurth tried to hold him off. Appearing in Snyder Avenue Magistrate's Court immediately after the incident, each man accused the other of striking the first blow.

Germano was taken to the Raymond Street Jail pending a court appearance today, and police determined that he is unemployed and on parole from the West Coxsackie state reformatory, where he had been serving a sentence on a petty larceny conviction. He will be returned to that institution pending disposition of the disorderly conduct charge, where he will remain until the conclusion of his sentence on January 12, 1941.

Durocher, meanwhile, was charged with "inciting to riot" by National League President Ford Frick for his role in the incident, was fined $500, and was suspended for five games. Coach Chuck Dressen will manage the club for the duration of that suspension, with Johnny Hudson expected to play shortstop.

Agents of District Attorney William O'Dwyer are guarding the polls this afternoon as Brooklyn residents cast their ballots in the primary election to determine party nominees for Borough President, Judge of the County Court, City Council member, members of Congress, members of the State Senate and State Assembly, and to choose delegates for State and Judicial conventions. Polls opened at 3pm, and will remain open until 10 pm.

Martin "Buggsy" Goldstein dramatically interrupted testimony in his own murder trial today, shouting at state's witness Seymour "Blue Jaw" McGoon that "our lives depend on your telling the truth!" Goldstein is on trial in Kings County Court alongside Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss for the 1939 murder-for-hire of bookmaker Irving "Puggy" Feinstein. McGoon, a chunky, heavy-jowled young man, took little notice of Goldstein's outburst, which was followed by another, less-coherent outburst after McGoon finished his testimony. "There's a girl in the spaghetti house!" shouted Goldstein. "The man's burning me!" The witness corroborated earlier testimony by Abe "Kid Twist" Reles concerning the killing of Feinstein.

A 45-year-old Manhattan man who posed as a salesman of religious pamphlets robbed a Midwood woman of $2.11 after selling her a booklet discussing the Ten Commandments. Samuel Newman was arrested and charged with larceny after using a passkey to reenter the apartment of Mrs. Rose Berach of 1491 Ocean Parkway after concluding his sales call. Newman, an ex-convict, admitted in Brooklyn Felony Court that the pamphlet-selling was intended as a blind in case he encountered anyone at home while using his key.

The 21-year-old Queen of the New York State Fair is in an iron lung today after collapsing during an appearance at the World's Fair. Doctors determined that Miss Gordyne Sedgewick of Syracuse suffers from a rare form of infantile paralysis that attacks the nerves of the spinal cord, and which may develop as a complication of a spinal injury or a common cold. Her prognosis is uncertain.

("Becomingness?")

The Dodgers and their guests the St. Louis Cardinals will be out in force at the Brighton Theatre in Brighton Beach tonight to see Joe E. Brown, comedian and noted baseball fan, make his first legitimate-stage appearance in a dozen years, in the George Kelly comedy "The Show-Off." The two ball clubs will have prime seats to cheer on Brown, who hasn't done a stage show since he played Broadway's old Liberty Theatre in the winter of 1928.

(Kids today!)

The Eagle Editorialist endorses the new subsidized-milk program in the city's public schools that makes a half-pint bottle of milk available to students every day for one cent, as opposed to the former five-cent cost. "This makes milk available at least once a day to every child who needs it."

("Hah!" says Joe. "That Magerkoith! That meathead! About time he got what was comin' to 'im! I'daliketa been downeah, took a coupla whacks m'self! Face like Hoibet Hoovah!" And Sally, lost in her own private rages, can only mumble "Petey woul'na dropped'at ball if'at bum Goodman hennarammed'im! Wait'll nex' yeah!")

(Who puts the "ick" in "icthyosis?")

(Forty years before the bizarre Belushi-Ackroyd film "Neighbors," Mr. Tuthill gives us a preview of the plot.)

(Better have another cup of that coffee, kids. It's gonna be a long night.)

(Funny how Irwin is built just like Frankie Germano.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

It was always a cliche that sports fans read the back page of the News first, but this was a day where that cliche was true.

Aw, this makes me sad. Marjory was one of my favorite band singers of the thirties, she made some really fine, sophisticated records with Johnny Green's orchestra. But I guess that's what you get for marrying a golfer.

Carlisle isn't the only one with a shift-lock problem. Must be contagious.

Huh. I was expecting her to be healed by his touch.

Too bad April isn't here, I'd love to hear her take on this conversation.

"Uh, not so fast, bub. You didn't file your Alien Registration card by the deadline. All right, boys, lock him up."

Oh yeah, Chester's bed. Good thing he's on the other side of the world right now being held captive by a lunatic with a death ray. Kinda puts YOUR little fussing into perspective, doesn't it Min?

By all rights, Wilmer should be getting the can, but if he goes, those new promotions become meaningless. You're backed in the corner here, Wumple. Shoulda kept Godiva around after all.

"I thought I was all set with a job for Bim Gump, but some other mug got it."

We welcome Rosemary and Priscilla Lane as the Pipdyke Sisters. Switching their hair colors is an interesting dramatic choice.

 

[Fading Fast]

...A 45-year-old Manhattan man who posed as a salesman of religious pamphlets robbed a Midwood woman of $2.11 after selling her a booklet discussing the Ten Commandments. Samuel Newman was arrested and charged with larceny after using a passkey to reenter the apartment of Mrs. Rose Berach of 1491 Ocean Parkway after concluding his sales call. Newman, an ex-convict, admitted in Brooklyn Felony Court that the pamphlet-selling was intended as a blind in case he encountered anyone at home while using his key....

As an agnostic, I still think it's not smart to tie your corruption scheme to falsely presenting yourself as religious / playing on people's religious beliefs. Beyond the meanness of it, you just never know.

... (Better have another cup of that coffee, kids. It's gonna be a long night.)...

This will be known as Leona's print/pattern era.

And how small is this state that 2000 votes from one city are in anyway meaningful or telling for the election of its governor?

... Aw, this makes me sad. Marjory was one of my favorite band singers of the thirties, she made some really fine, sophisticated records with Johnny Green's orchestra. But I guess that's what you get for marrying a golfer....

As we discuss often, it's just more evidence that society types/royalty/Hollywood actors/artist/scions/heiresses should not be allowed to make their own marital decisions.

... Too bad April isn't here, I'd love to hear her take on this conversation....

These women have life experience that put them way out of April's league. Heck, I had to read panel four a second time to take it in. April's notions of love probably come from reading Austen. The DL is real, raw life and Raven sits somewhere in between. I did love the DL playing the "I've already $#%&* him" card in panel two. The facial expressions in panel four are incredible.

... "Uh, not so fast, bub. You didn't file your Alien Registration card by the deadline. All right, boys, lock him up."...

Just noting, the professor still hasn't showered.

... By all rights, Wilmer should be getting the can, but if he goes, those new promotions become meaningless. You're backed in the corner here, Wumple. Shoulda kept Godiva around after all....

Fire Wilmer and let your two new "executives" hire his replacement. Seen it done before, it's a way to address the internal-promotion resentment issue.

...
We welcome Rosemary and Priscilla Lane as the Pipdyke Sisters. Switching their hair colors is an interesting dramatic choice.

I was going to comment that Priscilla has to play the brunette - as she doesn't do bad girl well - but as usual, you were already ahead of me

 

[LizzieMaine]

There's an awful lot of depth in today's TATP, but I guess it comes down to this -- when you get right down to it, the DL is fighting for the survival of her people, not just politically but literally. Even in 1940, the Chinese knew what the Invader had in store for them. For the DL, distractions are weaknesses, and there can be no weaknesses. And Raven is -- well, she doesn't really *know* what she's fighting for, or even if she's fighting for something. Maybe she will when this is all over, or maybe not. But the DL will always know, because the knowledge was forced upon her by reality. She can't escape it by boarding a plane for Manhattan.

Pretty heady stuff for the funny papers.

On the one hand, we've seen that the Worth-Stockpool-Blackston-Biff melange lives in a city big enough to have mobsters, divey nightclubs, and a subway. And yet the election makes it seem likes Hicksville. Reality bends to suit the story being told.

I don't know what "friend back home" Anne reminds Harold of. Lillums is a nice kid and all, but she isn't exactly someone given to serious and meaningful conversation unless it centers on her. Maybe he and Shadow secretly have heart-to-heart talks over sodas.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

Hooray! I found an easy to navigate free vintage newspaper website. So if anyone is from Illinois they'll be able to read the Chicago Daily Tribune 1940s
Here is the link to the website: https://search.proquest.com/hnpchicagotribune/publication/publications_46851?accountid=303

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

Saw an ad on where to dine, Ricketts Restaurant is the place. I looked it up and sadly it is no
longer open but looks like a great place to socialize at.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

This draft info caught my eye.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It'll be interesting to see how the Tribune plays the draft story going forward -- the Tribune and the NY Daily News corporate-wise are sister papers, with a lot of features in common, but in 1940, they have very different editorial policies. The News is pro-FDR, the Tribune is the most anti-FDR paper, and I suspect they were will very much on opposite sides of the conscription story.

Keep on posting!

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

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