The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Somewhere, Ellery Queen and Philo Vance are tripping over each other trying to solve this case.

Carlisle's right about Czechoslovakia. Pity he and associates weren't actually saying these things in 1938.

Josephine Bungle, Sunken Heights, housewife. "I tell my dippy husband when he's being dippy, and make no mistake, whenever lowbrow relatives or gossipy neighbors or bold fakers like that Oakdale come around, if my husband doesn't know his place I make certain that he does know! Well, wouldn't you?"

A MISSING CLUE TO SAM'S SINISTER PAST????

"Sigh. In a year and a half I'll be old enough to be drafted, and then I'll NEVER HAVE TO SEE WILMER AGAIN."

Well, gee, I mean, if a guy with a face like yours can get married, it could happen to anyone...

Without even breaking a sweat.

Okay then, now that the board is all set up, let the chess game begin.

So now we know that Mr. Gould works ten weeks ahead.

By the way, Moon, what happened to your girlfriend? And have you even looked in that bag yet?

 

[Fading Fast]

A mysterious new type of bomb nicknamed "the Comet" pounded the British capital today, as German planes continued their attacks on London in series of isolated lightning raids. Massive destruction in the workers' district of Bermondsey was originally believed to have been the result of a crashed Nazi plane, but subsequent investigation determined that the explosions resulted from this new German bomb. Official statements indicated that ninety persons were killed and 350 injured in last night's raids....

I've read more WWII books than I could ever remember and some on the Blitz specifically, but nothing has brought home the horror, destruction and loss of life the British had to face daily than these day-by-day newspaper accounts.

...
(So if you want cream, you have to buy it separately, is that it? Darn clever, these milk companies.)...

That is insanely confusing ad copy. How did it ever make it through the editorial-approval process? I've read it several times and am still not sure how the math works, especially in the top "Save 28 cents..." box.

...

(Miss Leigh can't believe she's doing this, but hey, the money's good.)...

The boys worked hard to not say "fake," so the cameo is "simulated" and the setting is "gold-finished." At least Miss Leigh's picture looks real.

...A fundraising campaign is underway to purchase and preserve the Polish Tower at the World's Fair as a permanent part of the future Flushing Meadow Park. The movement followed the city's purchase of the Japanese Pavilion from the Japanese Government for $250,000, and is hoping to raise the estimated $60,000 cost of the tower and its accompanying statue by "selling" the shields that make up the structure to donors for $50 each. The American-Polish Memorial Committee is sponsoring the campaign, and states that 317 shields have been sold so far....

Kind of reminds me of fifteen or so years ago when the Plaza Hotel was sold and the new owners did a complete renovation to convert many of the rooms to condos: you could buy items like "original Plaza Hotel" fireplace mantels and doorknobs on eBay. Nothing wrong with it, but it all felt a bit carnival barker-ish.

... ("Seriously, my mother kept telling me to go into insurance, but noooooo....")...

Very Tarantino - bad guys as regular people with regular thoughts and concerns - moment.

... Somewhere, Ellery Queen and Philo Vance are tripping over each other trying to solve this case....

Every time I read a bit more about the O'Dwyer-LaGuardia feud, I get a bit more confused.

And in the "sealed-room" case: the glasses that potentially contain the poison used in the murder or suicide had been "merely" overlooked in the first search. Quite the police procedures and controls you have there.

... "Sigh. In a year and a half I'll be old enough to be drafted, and then I'll NEVER HAVE TO SEE WILMER AGAIN."...

The sad thing is you know King is writing Wilmer from experience as many offices have one or more Wilmers in them. They are exhausting to work with.

...
Without even breaking a sweat....

And she even got a barb in at Raven "pale one" as it was happening.

... Okay then, now that the board is all set up, let the chess game begin....

It's been a week or so since we've had any comic-strip soft-porn, so this was due.

... So now we know that Mr. Gould works ten weeks ahead....

Yup.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

Its quite scary in the news today, with the London bomb attack. A massive thank you to all the men and women who fought in WWII.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Well, let's see if we can work this out. If you take one two-quart paper carton of Sheffield milk per day, it costs 15 cents a quart, or 30 cents per carton at seven days a week, so that's $2.10 per week for the milkman. But if you take two quarts a day in the regular glass bottles because the paper-carton milk leaks or goes bad before you can finish it, it costs 17 cents a day or 34 cents for two bottles, or $2.38 a week. So good so far, that's 28 cents a week -- just like the Boys say.

BUUUUUUUUT -- if you get the glass bottles, you pay a two-cent deposit per bottle, which is the difference between the 17 cents per quart in the bottle versus 15 cents a quart in the carton. You get that deposit back when you return the empties. SO IF YOU FACTOR THAT IN, THERE'S NO DIFFERENCE IN THE PRICE AT ALL, it's 15 cents a quart no matter how you slice it. Your milk bill will say 7 days, 2qts glass, $2.10 plus 28 cents deposit, less 28 cents return on empties for a net due of $2.10.

So, you don't really save anything at all except the cost incurred to Sheffield for washing and storing empty bottles. If anything, the cost of the milk in cartons should be substantially less if they're passing that saving along to the consumer, as this whole campaign has been telling us for the past year. They seem to be actively pushing cartons in hopes they can eliminate the bottle processing department entirely, without actually saving the consumer anything.

Remember, friends, you can order from Renken's by calling MAin 2-6740 or NEvins 8-8600.

As for the LaGuardia-O'Dwyer affair, I think what's being hinted at is that somehow O'Dwyer's strings were pulled by the former Manhattan sheriff to quietly get his nephew "out of storage" without having to go thru procedures, because, you know, the publicity and all, and LaGuardia caught onto it as a chance to take the Crusading Brooklyn District Attorney down a peg. After all, in the five-ring circus that is New York, there is room for only one ringmaster. If true, it's a pretty serious charge, and it will be interesting to see if it sticks.

Early in his career, Frank King worked in a bullpen at the Chicago Tribune alongside Harold Gray, Carl Ed, and Sid Smith (original artist of The Gumps.) I wonder which one of them was Wilmer?

Nice to see Sigrid Schultz get a by-line in the Tribune. She wasn't always on the Colonel's good side, but she always gave a clear picture of what was going on in Europe based on firsthand knowledge of the parties involved, and was also one of the most prominent women to have a radio-commentating job in the Era -- the Tribune owned a half interest in the Mutual radio network, and Miss Schultz had a regular commentary period on that network.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

So the photo of the London sitting room is missing one thing, an air raid shelter.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

 

[LizzieMaine]

British fighters repulsed more than 200 German planes in a massive battle over the southeast coast of England today, driving the raiders back "in disorder" toward their bases in France. Meanwhile, the Admiralty reported the sinking by torpedo of a 10,000-ton German troop transport in the North Sea off the coast of Denmark. Nearly all the 4000 men on board that ship were lost.

A bus strike in Queens that left nearly 70,000 commuters were to their own devices this morning has been resolved after a conference between officials of the North Shore Bus Company, which operates routes connecting Queens neighborhoods to the city subways, and Local 1056 of the Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway, and Motor Coach Employees of America mediated by Mayor LaGuardia. Seven hundred union drivers walked off the job at midnight after the union and the bus company had failed to reach accord on a new contract. The Mayor stated that all of the issues raised have been settled, with the exception of certain matters pertaining to seniority for drivers transferred to new routes. That issue is to be resolved in a future conference.

The electric chair lies ahead for Murder For Hire operatives Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss and Martin "Buggsy" Goldstein, following their conviction last night for the 1939 murder of Brownsville bookmaker Irving "Puggy" Feinstein. The Kings County Court jury deliberated for an hour and twenty minutes before returning guilty verdicts for both men, bringing to four the total of Murder For Hire killers convicted under the administration of District Attorney William O'Dwyer. The convictions carry a mandatory death sentence, which will be read out by Judge John J. Fitzgerald next Wednesday. Judge Fitzgerald noted that since 1930 there have been a total of 83 unsolved murders in Brooklyn, and that District Attorney O'Dwyer has stated that he has evidence that Strauss alone committed twenty-eight of them, with Goldstein said to be responsible for another three. The Judge also noted that there has not been a single major crime reported in Brownsville since O'Dwyer began his present crusade against the Murder For Hire Gang.

Father Charles E. Coughlin will not resume broadcasting this fall. The Michigan priest, notorious for his political broadcasts, left the air last spring, and today stated in his "Social Justice" newspaper that he will not return as previously planned, claiming that "men powerful in radio and other activities" are refusing to sell him air time in an effort to "silence" him.

("Aristostyle????")

The founder of the Associated Gas and Electric Utilities System will be committed to a hospital to determine if he is mentally competent to stand trial for conspiring to defraud the company of more than $20,000,000. Howard C. Hopson was committed by order of Manhattan Federal Judge Alfred Coxe, who stated that the disgraced executive was presently capable of doing nothing more than "lying in bed and composing jingles." The man who built a billion-dollar utilities empire now states thusly: "Oh dear, oh dear. Bread and beer. If it weren't for which, I wouldn't be here." Assistant Attorney General Hugh A. Fulton, prosecuting the Federal case against Hopson, agreed with the committment as a reasonable course to prove whether or not Hopson is truly insane, or merely feigning.

Are you up to date on the latest dance steps? The "Campaign Can-Do," which includes moves imitating baby-kissing and speechmaking, and "Peelin' The Banana," a Cuban-accented version of the Big Apple, are all the rage in Cafe Society.

(Yikes! With the exception of Sally Rand's recent turn at the Flatbush, this is the first ad promoting a burlesque show that we've seen in a full year of reviewing the Eagle. Mr. Schroth must be on vacation. And TRiangle 5 is a Brooklyn Heights exchange! How scandalous!)

The Eagle Editorialist praises District Attorney O'Dwyer for the conviction of Harry Strauss and Martin Goldstein, noting that Mr. O'Dwyer promised when he was running for election last fall that he would rid Brooklyn of "vicious killers and cheap punks," and so far he certainly seems to be keeping that promise.

(C'mon, Baldy. "Peel The Banana.")

The Dodgers were off yesterday, and will be off today, and have spent their break dividing up the cut of World Series money they'll earn for finishing in second place, a sum expected to fall somewhere in the range of $32,000, with each share coming to approximately $1000. There will be twenty-nine full shares distributed, covering Dodgers who spent most or all of the season on the active roster, along with the manager and coaching staff, the traveling secretary, the clubhouse man, and the trainer. Two-thirds shares will go to Lee Grissom, Pete Reiser, Ed Head, Charley Gilbert, and Tot Presnell, half shares to assistant clubhouse man Babe Hamberger and batboy Jackie Bodner, and one-third shares to pitcher Wes Flowers and groundskeeper Matty Schwab Jr.

Meanwhile, attention turns to the resolution of the tight-packed American League pennant race, with the Indians and Tigers opening a series at Briggs Stadium in Detroit in a dead tie for first place. The Yankees, meanwhile, are now four games off the pace with their hopes diminishing. Even if the Yanks win all ten of their remaining games, either the Tribe or the Bengals could clinch the flag by winning six of their next eight. A "welcoming committee" singing "Rock-a-bye Baby" met the Indians at the railroad station in Detroit with a barrage of fruit and paper bags full of water, and Cleveland trainer Lefty Wiseman was hit with a rotten tomato.

The Phillies invade Ebbets Field to begin a weekend series tomorrow, with Saturday's game also marked by Old Timers' Day festivities.

Flatbush is a great place to live, and will remain so into the future, according to the Flatbush Chamber of Commerce. But that organization also says there are certain things which must be done to keep that community a pleasant residential area -- new schools are needed, especially a vocational high school; better policing is needed, including the elimination of overnight on-street parking, and the installation of traffic lights at all dangerous intersections; there needs to be an expansion of transit services, including new subway lines and bus routes; and the streets need resurfacing.

(As Freud says, "sometimes a shoe is just a shoe.")

(As a Bungle reader of longstanding, one of my very favorite things about the strip is Jo's passive-aggressive speeches. Today is a choice example, and the passive-aggressiveness of her posture is even better. When he's sober, Mr. Tuthill is a gifted observer of life.)

(Could there possibly be a better name for a no-account loser than "Slim Worth?")

("Hm," thinks Wolf. "At least I won't have to worry about food.")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

C'mon, Page Four Editor, nobody cares about hokey deposed royals. Give us a big diagram of the Sealed Room Mystery!

And at last, the Shift Lock Moratorium takes effect.

In 1940, an ordinary "high heel" was 2 1/2 inches. The only place 4 or 5 inch heels existed was in Irving Klaw's basement.

Calling it now: the mystery woman is Sam's long-lost daughter fleeing persecution in the old country. And Sam himself is a deposed prince.

Fun fact: head shaving was politically discouraged in post-revolution Kuomintang China as a symbol of the rejected values of the Qing Dynasty -- except among monks. I don't think Dude is going to pass very well as a monk.

Meanwhile, Tracy is looking forward to the arrival of the fine engraved clock he bought as a reconciliatory gift for the Chief.

Andy Gump has always been a blowhard jerk, but this is just cruel. I hope Tilda wraps that mop handle around his scrawny neck.

"Rascal?" Gee, Skeez, you can speak plainer than that.

Hey, I know what we need. A crossover strip where Mamie and Tilda get sick of all the crap they take from men, and team up to go on a murderous cross-country road trip.

BLACKMAIL!

 

[Fading Fast]

...

("Aristostyle????")...

Not kidding you, that made-up word jumped out at me, too, even before I read your comment. The entire ad is full-throttle from beginning to end, but for whatever reason, they seemed to want to imply "aristocratic" but not say it, so they made up a word. I was exhausted when I finished reading that ad as it felt like I was being yelled at the entire time.

...The founder of the Associated Gas and Electric Utilities System will be committed to a hospital to determine if he is mentally competent to stand trial for conspiring to defraud the company of more than $20,000,000. Howard C. Hopson was committed by order of Manhattan Federal Judge Alfred Coxe, who stated that the disgraced executive was presently capable of doing nothing more than "lying in bed and composing jingles." The man who built a billion-dollar utilities empire now states thusly: "Oh dear, oh dear. Bread and beer. If it weren't for which, I wouldn't be here." Assistant Attorney General Hugh A. Fulton, prosecuting the Federal case against Hopson, agreed with the committment as a reasonable course to prove whether or not Hopson is truly insane, or merely feigning....

It seems like the Eagle left out all the details of this one or I've missed its early coverage of the story. At a time when we've seen corporate fraud being treated as a big deal when it is in the tens of thousands, that is a honking-big number for the day ($20,000,000 in '40 is approximately $371,000,000 today).

...(Yikes! With the exception of Sally Rand's recent turn at the Flatbush, this is the first ad promoting a burlesque show that we've seen in a full year of reviewing the Eagle. Mr. Schroth must be on vacation. And TRiangle 5 is a Brooklyn Heights exchange! How scandalous!)...

As you usually do, you answered the question I had, i.e., this is the first ad like this we've seen. To be fair, Sally Rand seemed like she was a genuine celebrity in the era versus this which is just run-of-the-mill burlesque. It will be interesting to see if the ads continue - a newspaper's gotta eat too - or if it slipped by and won't happen again.

....
(C'mon, Baldy. "Peel The Banana.")..

Five for five on bald-headed men today.

...The Dodgers were off yesterday, and will be off today, and have spent their break dividing up the cut of World Series money they'll earn for finishing in second place, a sum expected to fall somewhere in the range of $32,000, with each share coming to approximately $1000. There will be twenty-nine full shares distributed, covering Dodgers who spent most or all of the season on the active roster, along with the manager and coaching staff, the traveling secretary, the clubhouse man, and the trainer. Two-thirds shares will go to Lee Grissom, Pete Reiser, Ed Head, Charley Gilbert, and Tot Presnell, half shares to assistant clubhouse man Babe Hamberger and batboy Jackie Bodner, and one-third shares to pitcher Wes Flowers and groundskeeper Matty Schwab Jr....

This reminds me of yesterday's milk ad as it seems like there would be more people than shares (even with the partial shares). I would think the active roster plus the manager and coaching staff would easily exceed 29 before they even got into the factional shares.

... (As a Bungle reader of longstanding, one of my very favorite things about the strip is Jo's passive-aggressive speeches. Today is a choice example, and the passive-aggressiveness of her posture is even better. When he's sober, Mr. Tuthill is a gifted observer of life.)...)

Whenever I begin to think Jo is kinda normal, Tuthill reminds us that she's just as crazy as George; she just keeps it under wraps a bit better. I still think she's smarter, which makes her crazy even worse. He's just an emotional dope, which explains most of what he does.

... C'mon, Page Four Editor, nobody cares about hokey deposed royals. Give us a big diagram of the Sealed Room Mystery!...

But to be fair, while, yes, just another tawdry royals tale, it did have a lot of interesting moving parts with some meaningful political overtones.

And, agreed, a diagram would be helpful - or pics. Also, the gas company seems to have evidence that completely refutes the police theory on which the police closed the case. And why would he put on his pajamas to kill himself in the kitchen?

... And at last, the Shift Lock Moratorium takes effect....

And the page looks and reads so much calmer because of it.

... Meanwhile, Tracy is looking forward to the arrival of the fine engraved clock he bought as a reconciliatory gift for the Chief....

You walked up to the luggage line but didn't cross it, well played.

.. "Rascal?" Gee, Skeez, you can speak plainer than that....

And Miss Snipe, while we're having this lovely Willmer colloquy, would you mind grabbing one or two of these five-pound books from me.

... BLACKMAIL!

Anne's the nice one, right? Re the dough, good call; other option: fudging the garage books / car-maintenance costs / etc. (and bullying money out of the under chauffeurs).

 

[LizzieMaine]

I've always wondered how sports teams figured out how to divide the winning shares for something like this -- is it based on statistics, is it based on cliques, is there some contractural obligation, or is it just a free for all?

In the case of the Flock, there were really only two full-time coaches on the staff -- Chuck Dressen, who was the third base coach, and Ben Tincup, who was sort of a coach-without-portfolio. Durocher and Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons are both on the active roster along with manager/coach duties, so I guess they'd have votes among the players as to who got what. Basically, any player who was with the club for at least two thirds of the season got a full share, with late-season callups getting the two-third shares. I wonder what Wes Flowers did to tick everybody off that he only qualified for a third share?

Nice to see the non-uniformed staff getting recognition, though. Some teams were notoriously chintzy about cutting the help in on the gravy.

Babe Hamberger is a notable figure in Brooklyn lore -- he worked for the team in various backstage jobs for forty years, and was the notably the last Dodger employee stationed at Ebbets Field. He had been the stadium superintendent, and refused to go west when the team moved, staying behind to take care of the ballpark for as long as it remained standing. He was the one who turned off the lights for the last time in 1960, and it broke him. He never held a paying job again, and died in Brooklyn, still broken-hearted, in 1978. He had done about everything you could do in a non-uniformed role with a ball club, from serving as batboy to painting seats to serving as a ticket salesman to serving as road manager and baggage-handler to babysitting young Peter O'Malley, and without the Dodgers, what was there?

 

[LizzieMaine]

Five of California's wealthiest families are combining forces with Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in an effort to rescue a three-year-old Count from the clutches of a "suave, hook-nosed kidnapper." The son of the Count and Countess de Tristan, French nobility living in Hillsborough, California, young Marc de Tristan was reported abducted by a Latin-appearing man between the ages of 45 and 50 with an apparently unstable mind while being wheeled by his nursemaid thru the streets of the wealthy San Francisco suburb. A ransom note subsequently received demanded a $100,000 ransom for the return of the child. The note was signed "Unconventional Eccentric." The family followed instructions in that note by inserting a classified advertisement in today's San Francisco Examiner indicating willingness to pay that ransom.

In Washington, the FBI has declined to comment on the California kidnapping, but it is noted that since kidnapping was made a Federal crime under the Lindbergh Law in 1932, the Bureau has solved 185 of the 187 such cases covered under its jurisdiction, with a total of 367 criminal convictions against only 24 acquittals.

Adolf Hitler's air raiders inaugurated the third successive week of mass assaults aimed at London with another attack on the British capital today, but met with strong anti-aircraft resistance which drove off most of the planes. Meanwhile, British attacks on German channel ports have continued with "the regularity of a clock," though RAF raids on Berlin and Hamburg were reported to have been driven back.

The body of a twenty-five year old German refugee was found in a locked bathroom in Queens this morning, burned about the head and shoulders with acid. A neighbor discovered the body after climbing into the bathroom thru a window after hearing screams from the young man's father. The young man was identified as Claude Sonnefeld of 111-39 76th Road, Forest Hills, who entered this country with his parents about nine months ago, and was employed by a Manhattan department store. Sonnefeld was pronounced dead at the scene. Police cannot account for the acid burns, noting that only a broken bottle of hair tonic, likely dropped or knocked off the window sill, was found on the floor near the body.

Three hundred Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island couples celebrating their 40th wedding anniversaries this year will be the guests of the Eagle tomorrow at the World's Fair. The couples, selected from those who wrote in to submit themselves for consideration, will enjoy an all expenses paid tour of the Fair's leading attractions.

("Huh," says Joe. "Forty years. How 'bout somethin' when ya been married FOUR years?" "Yeah," says Sally. "Th' foist four years is th' hardest."

A writ for the release of anti-Semitic orator Joe McWilliams was rejected today in Manhattan Supreme Court, with Justice Lloyd Church ruling that McWilliams must remain confined at Bellevue Hospital for psychiatric observation for the full ten days ordered this week by Magistrate Edward Thornberger. McWilliams was committed for observation after his arrest on charges of disorderly conduct following Tuesday's primary election.

District Attorney William O'Dwyer is in Washington today to seek the transfer of convicted mobster Louis "Lepke" Buchalter from the Federal prison at Leavenworth to local custody so that he may face a first-degree murder indictment in Brooklyn. In the indictment handed up last May, Buchalter is charged with five others in the slaying of candy store operator Joseph Rosen, who was shot and killed in his shop after being questioned by Manhattan DA Thomas E. Dewey about his knowledge of Buchalter's activities. Buchalter is serving a fourteen year sentence at Leavenworth on a Federal narcotics conviction.

("Sheffield Farms? Never heard of it.")

(You don't have to be Clifton Fadiman to know that The Nationally Famous Figure referred to here is none other than J. Edgar himself. Better mind your manners, Cliff, they'll be opening a file on you. And what I wouldn't give to hear Dixie Walker on the stage of the Flatbush Theatre singing "Six Lessons From Madam LaZonga.")

Henry Morgan, who does a nifty bit of kilocycle comedy weeknights on WOR, is promising an exhibit at the Hall of Inventions out at the World's Fair that will "rock the world." So successful will the Morgan invention be that he is already planning for a Darryl Zanuck super-spectacular film production of "The Life Of Henry Morgan," starring Don Ameche, Alice Faye, and Tyrone Power." Unless Morgan grows a beard, in which case he will be played by Paul Muni.

(Despite the best efforts of Dan Topping, in 1940 football still means "college football.")

The Phillies arrive today to open a three-game weekend series at Ebbets Field, with Luke Hamlin due to start against Si Johnson for the Phils. The series won't mean anything to the pennant race, but even though the Dodgers have already divided up the second-place loot, they still don't have a lock on the runner-up spot, with only five games separating them from the third-place Cardinals. Brooklyn has lost four straight, and they can't afford to keep going along those lines as the season nears its end.

Dodger Old Timers are in town today in preparation for tomorrow's big Old Timers Day game, and Tommy Holmes went to dinner at the Bossert Roof last night with the greatest Dodger of them all, Zack Wheat. Though it's been fourteen years since Wheat last cavorted at Ebbets Field, and the old slugger is now fifty-two years of age, he's still looking forward to displaying his famous wiggle at the plate one more time. Wheat says he can remember ever one of the more than 2800 hits he made during his eighteen year career, and adds that he wishes he could have finished his playing career in Brooklyn. But Connie Mack made him an offer he couldn't refuse after the Dodgers cut him loose in 1926, noting that he made a cool $15,000 playing for the Athletics in 1927, along with a $7500 signing bonus, which combined for more than he ever made in Brooklyn.

As Detroit edged out Cleveland for a one-game lead in the frantic American League pennant chase, criticism flew once again in the direction of embattled Indians manager Oscar Vitt over questions of strategy. Vitt pulled starting pitcher Mel Harder with one out in the eighth, despite giving up only five hits and a single run, and put in Bob Feller, who had thrown a complete-game victory over the Senators just a day before. Feller, who has been a leading critic of Vitt this season, then proceeded to lose the game. Prior to pulling Harder, there was a short but intense discussion on the mound involving Vitt, catcher Frankie Pytlak, and shortstop Lou Boudreau -- with team captain Hal Trosky conspicuous by his omission from the conference. Vitt defended his decision by stating that Harder is over thirty years of age, and was beginning to tire. Feller, meanwhile, is still scheduled to start against the Tigers tomorrow, and Hank Greenberg, who hits the flamethrowing righthander like it's batting practice, is eagerly looking forward to seeing him again on the mound. Greenberg started off the game-winning Detroit rally against Feller yesterday with a sizzling line drive single.

(Sparky might be a great ball player, but you don't see him getting invited to sing "Six Lessons From Madam LaZonga.")

(Hey Jo, do you still have that spyglass handy?)

(Annnnnd in a dramatic return to his villainous roots, we welcome William Powell as Slim Worth!)

("Wait, you mean we're underground? Shouldn't you be tied to a chair?")

 

[LizzieMaine]

The News has a way of cutting to the heart of the story.

But no matter how many rich boys are kidnapped, Page Four must go on as ever.

Careful, Carlisle. Razz FDR all you want, he's got a thick skin. But don't mess around with the Little Flower if you know what's good for you.

The foreshadowing here is even thicker than the crosshatching.

Yeah! Who's the comedy relief NOW?

It's called "conscience," gooseface. Maybe you oughta look into it.

Never mind the yellowface routine, I want to see that musical show.

Welcome to the Adult World, kid.

And you thought this was going to be a nice cushy setup.

Mamie = my mother.

 

[Fading Fast]

Five of California's wealthiest families are combining forces with Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in an effort to rescue a three-year-old Count from the clutches of a "suave, hook-nosed kidnapper." The son of the Count and Countess de Tristan, French nobility living in Hillsborough, California, young Marc de Tristan was reported abducted by a Latin-appearing man between the ages of 45 and 50 with an apparently unstable mind while being wheeled by his nursemaid thru the streets of the wealthy San Francisco suburb. A ransom note subsequently received demanded a $100,000 ransom for the return of the child. The note was signed "Unconventional Eccentric." The family followed instructions in that note by inserting a classified advertisement in today's San Francisco Examiner indicating willingness to pay that ransom.

In Washington, the FBI has declined to comment on the California kidnapping, but it is noted that since kidnapping was made a Federal crime under the Lindbergh Law in 1932, the Bureau has solved 185 of the 187 such cases covered under its jurisdiction, with a total of 367 criminal convictions against only 24 acquittals...

Ten weeks till the comic-strip version of this story appears.

...As Detroit edged out Cleveland for a one-game lead in the frantic American League pennant chase, criticism flew once again in the direction of embattled Indians manager Oscar Vitt over questions of strategy. Vitt pulled starting pitcher Mel Harder with one out in the eighth, despite giving up only five hits and a single run, and put in Bob Feller, who had thrown a complete-game victory over the Senators just a day before. Feller, who has been a leading critic of Vitt this season, then proceeded to lose the game. Prior to pulling Harder, there was a short but intense discussion on the mound involving Vitt, catcher Frankie Pytlak, and shortstop Lou Boudreau -- with team captain Hal Trosky conspicuous by his omission from the conference. Vitt defended his decision by stating that Harder is over thirty years of age, and was beginning to tire. Feller, meanwhile, is still scheduled to start against the Tigers tomorrow, and Hank Greenberg, who hits the flamethrowing righthander like it's batting practice, is eagerly looking forward to seeing him again on the mound. Greenberg started off the game-winning Detroit rally against Feller yesterday with a sizzling line drive single....

Starting pitchers really were used differently back then. Regardless of who is correct, Cleveland management has to solve the player-coach war. It's one of those where who's right is less important than solving it.

... (Sparky might be a great ball player, but you don't see him getting invited to sing "Six Lessons From Madam LaZonga.")...

Am I the only one worried for the turtle?

View attachment 263405 ... But no matter how many rich boys are kidnapped, Page Four must go on as ever.....

Shame about the producer prices for milk as it comes right after Sheffield did such an outstanding job clarifying its retail-pricing model.

... Never mind the yellowface routine, I want to see that musical show....

You know it's getting serious, Pat loosened his tie. Also, I am not commenting on Terry and the Dude in panel one.

... Welcome to the Adult World, kid....

I was thinking the same thing as in "this is life, young man."

... And you thought this was going to be a nice cushy setup.....

Key for today's strip
Panel one: "I didn't go out" means "I wen't out but I want you to say you didn't see me"

Panel two: "Maybe it was Anne" means "I love ratting on my sister."

Panel three: "Hope you're not peeved because I spoke so sharply to you last night...by the way, I wouldn't speak to any one about the money you saw me counting - it's some I saved to send my mother" means "I'm offering an insincere, half apology to hopefully buy you silence about the money that I have stolen and am not sending to my mother."

 

[LizzieMaine]

Mr. Vitt needs to have his resume out. If he lasts longer than 24 hours after the last pitch of the season I'll be shocked. I won't be shocked if that pitch is aimed at his head.

Bob Feller was a pretty loudmouthed character over the course of his long life, and he had opinions on anything and everything. But I don't remember ever hearing or reading about him saying anything of substance about what happened in 1940. I would be interested to find something along those lines. Lou Boudreau was another 1940 Indian who had a long post-playing career as a broadcaster, but if he ever went into all the salacious details of the "Cry Baby Rebellion", I don't remember ever hearing or reading it.

As for this mystery death in Queens, has it occured to anyone that someone wishing Mr. Sonnefeld ill filled his hair tonic bottle with acid? That seems much more likely than some random acid-thrower skulking around Forest Hills. Without doubt there is more to his story than we now know.

Mr. Wax Moustache Chief Chauffeur there is a drug peddler, Cynthia is his most addicted customer, and Anne knows about it and is trying to pay him off to leave her alone. You're a long way from the Sugar Bowl, Harold.

 

[ChiTownScion]

I can already see this getting a lot darker than the usual Harold escapade.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

Father Charles E. Coughlin will not resume broadcasting this fall. The Michigan priest, notorious for his political broadcasts, left the air last spring, and today stated in his "Social Justice" newspaper.

OOO! very interesting. I'll have to scoop the internet for more Father Charles E. Coughlin info.

Here is what wikipedia has to say: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Coughlin

Short documentary:

IMDB:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1795032/bio

Its sad Father Charles approved of the Holocaust and said so among other things, YIKES!

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

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