The Era -- Day By Day

[MissNathalieVintage]

Haha, this is one amazing invention, I wonder if this is still in use today.

 

[Fading Fast]

Mrs Snyders brought out the big guns today: butterscotch marshmallow. As I've told my girlfriend of 23 years, don't ask me to choose between you and butterscotch marshmallows / I love you, but some questions are better not asked. Fannie Farmer might have the larger ad, but you can't beat butterscotch marshmallows.


"Tribune Writer Finds British Lion Crouched, Ready to Spring" Good headline.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Chicago has a much sweeter tooth than Brooklyn. All Joe and Sally seem to get is Loft's.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

Here is the recipe for Butterscotch Marshmallows candy. Oh, and I see why these are meant for men only, it was considered un-lady like for women to have anything with hard liquor. So this candy has butterscotch schnapps in them, very interesting. This is good news to me since I am no drinker by any means.

And if I do decide to try my hand at this recipe I can use all vegan ingredients and no liqueur.

Oh, and for all you tea drinkers out there I have good news they still make Salada Tea https://salada.com/products/salada-original-blend-black-tea-100-ct

 

[LizzieMaine]

Salada was and still is very big in the Northeast. They were the first brand of tea bags to use a tag and a string to help you pull the bag out of your cup, and the tags for many years were noted for the pithy aphorisms printed on them. "Salada Tag-Lines."

"Smilin' Jack" and "Smitty," a strip about the adventures of an office boy and his family, are also both featured in the News. The fellow in "Smilin' Jack" whose face is always turned away from the reader's view is "Downwind Jaxon," a man so handsome -- we are told -- that it's unbearable to look at him. If the art style looks familiar, it's because Boody Rogers, who draws "Sparky Watts" in the Eagle, was formerly Zack Mosley's assistant/ghost on "Smilin' Jack," and still draws in the house style.

In Chicago, "Hired Wife" is an "Adults Only" film. In New York, bring the kiddies. There were "two Americas," culturally speaking, even in 1940.

 

[Fading Fast]

I think that Hudson is bigger than a couple of my NYC apartment were over the years.

The Forum's 9 cent bacon and egg breakfast could give H&H a run for its money.

Neat stuff about Joan Bennett and her husband.

Here is the recipe for Butterscotch Marshmallows candy. Oh, and I see why these are meant for men only, it was considered un-lady like for women to have anything with hard liquor. So this candy has butterscotch schnapps in them, very interesting. This is good news to me since I am no drinker by any means.

And if I do decide to try my hand at this recipe I can use all vegan ingredients and no liqueur.

Oh, and for all you tea drinkers out there I have good news they still make Salada Tea https://salada.com/products/salada-original-blend-black-tea-100-ct

⇧ Thank you for this.

Many years ago, I read this story:

A Modjeska is a confection consisting of marshmallow dipped in caramel. It was created in the 1880s in Louisville, Kentucky by confectioner Anton Busath (1845-1908) to honor Shakespearean actress Helena Modjeska, who was performing there in the US debut production of Ibsen's A Doll's House.

I proceeded to order them online and have been hooked on caramel/butterscotch-marshmallow candy ever since.

 

[LizzieMaine]

President Roosevelt today clamped down an embargo on the sale of scrap iron and steel to Japan, effective October 16th, but left the way open for exports to nations in the Western Hemisphere and to Great Britain. The action came within 24 hours of the Export-Import Bank offering a new $25,000,000 loan to China, whose stubborn resistance has been the main obstacle to the expansion of Japanese power in the Far East. A White House statement did not specifically explain why Britain, alone of all non-Western Hemisphere nations, would be permitted US scrap, but the exception is in general line with the Administration policy for aiding Britain in its war against Germany and Italy.

Meanwhile, a "highly qualified Japanese informant" stated today that Japan is expected to "go to active support of Germany if the United States enters the European War." The informant described the United States as "an unalterable opponent of Japanese expansion" in the Far East.

British bombs raked a 300,000 kilowatt electrical power station outside Berlin last night, targeting the plant at Klingenberg that furnishes much of the electricity for industrial works in and around the German capital. The British Air Ministry called the raids the greatest assault yet on the seat of Hitler's Reich.

The Navy is denying claims by the president of the Triangle Conduit and Cable Company in Glendale that "sailors in uniform" have been offered to the company for use in crossing picket lines at the plant. Some three hundred members of Local 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers remain on strike at the Queens factory, and while Naval officials deny that they have offered any deployment of enlisted personnel at the factory to aid in bringing supplies past the pickets, they do state that company president John E. McAuliffe has assured them the strike will not lead to delays in the fulfillment of defense contracts. Mr. McAuliffe stated that he declined the offer of uniformed sailors, and that police now stationed at the plant "are enough." Violence erupted at the plant earlier this week when strikebreakers attempted to cross the picket line, but union officials emphasized that Navy trucks are allowed to cross the line without interference.

Questions of ballot fraud are under investigation in Brooklyn's 1st Assembly District after Louis J. Russo, defeated by six votes in the Democratic primary last week by incumbent Assemblyman Crawford W. Hawkins, demanded a recount. Russo had originally been declared the winner in the race by a 37 vote margin, but that announcement was withdrawn and Hawkins instead declared the winner by six votes.
Russo's attorney hinted today at "startling revelations" in the case, and Hawkins and others involved in the election have been summoned to appear in Supreme Court tomorrow to show just cause why the ballot boxes should not be reopened.

Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss and Martin "Buggsy" Goldstein will die in the electric chair during the week of November 4th for the 1939 murder of Brownsville bookmaker Irving "Puggy" Feinstein. The execution date was set today in Kings County Court by Judge John J. Fitzgerald, and was received impassively by Strauss. Goldstein however, replied to the sentence by wishing "the same" to Judge Fitzgerald and all his family. He added that his one wish before he dies is to perform an indignity upon Judge Fitzgerald, and concluded by "shouting hysterically" that he is prepared "to die like a man."

Daylight Saving Time ends at 2AM this coming Sunday. Remember to set your clocks back one hour before retiring on Saturday night or when arising on Sunday morning. "Is that clear?"

(Double Dipped, sure. But is each layer half as thick as you get with Single Dipped?)

The annual "red mass" of the Catholic Lawyers' Guild of Brooklyn today heard a denunciation of the involvement of priests in politics by Father Maurice S. Sheehy of Catholic University in Washington. Father Sheehy warned that he could see no greater menace for the Church in America than for it to become aligned with any one political party. He called on the clergy to refuse in any way to endorse candidates or political causes, and reminded them of their duty to "teach religion, not politics." He also urged lay Catholics running for political office to avoid "bearing false witness" against their political opponents.

(The SEX-PLOSION of the Season! Did Mr. Breen see this ad?)

Suburban Wife writes to Helen Worth for advice on what to do about the dishes when there's company for dinner. She says her mother told her to always do the dishes when they were fresh, and let her husband entertain the guests while she's doing them. Her husband says this is rude, and that she shouldn't force him to have to entertain the guests for the time it takes to wash the dishes. He also says he can't help her with the dishes after the dinner is over because he has to get up early. He says she should just leave the dishes in the sink till the next day, but her mother warned her never to do this. WHAT TO DO? Helen says don't worry about what your mother says, it's not up to her. The world changes, times change, ideas change, and we must change with them. Go out and enjoy your guests. The dishes can wait till tomorrow.

Jane Merchant of Brooklyn Heights is a busy woman. She manages two apartment buidlings, owns her own one-woman rental agency, sings and conducts at benefits, and plays golf two days a week. But she gets the most enjoyment out of the glee club she has organized among the crippled shut-ins at the Jewish Sanitarium and Hospital for Chronic Diseases at E. 49th Street and Rutland Road. She organized the group last year from among patients between the ages of fourteen and thirty-nine, none of whom had musical experience. But now, her "canaries" read and transcribe music fluently, perform deft four-part harmonies, and have gone from a shy, withdrawn group of invalids to happy, confident performers.

(And you won't even escape the draft.)

The Dodgers won't quite make their goal of a second consecutive season exceeding one million in attendance at Ebbets Field, but as they wind up 1940's proceedings in Flatbush this afternoon with a doubleheader against the Bees, they'll still end up leading the National League in attendance. With yesterday's game against the Giants rained out, the Flock goes into this afternoon with 971,071 fans having clicked the turnstiles for the year, and it's very unlikely they draw the nearly 29,000 spectators they need to break the million mark. But whatever today's final tally turns out to be, someone will win a shiny new automobile, given by Ringmaster Larry MacPhail along with 99 other prizes assembled for the "Million Day" promotion by Santa Claus John McDonald.

The Yankees ended their home season yesterday with a final tally of 988,975, a target in closer reach for Brooklyn than a million, but still unlikely. The Yanks are still mathematically in the pennant race, while the Dodgers, despite their best season record since 1924, are just playing out the string. The Detroit Tigers will lead the Major Leagues in attendance this year, with just over 1,100,000.

The manic American League pennant chase is going right down to the wire. The Tigers need one more win in the coming three-game series against Cleveland to cut the Tribe out of the race, while winning two out of three will eliminate the Yankees and nail the flag to the Briggs Stadium pole. Or the Yankees can eliminate themselves with another loss of their own -- the Yanks must win all their remaining games, and Cleveland must take two of three from the Tigers for the Yankees to land in a tie with Detroit and force a one-game playoff to determine the pennant winner.

(Somehow I can't quite picture Lippy Leo as a habitue of the Sugar Bowl. Unless Poppa Jenks really DOES have a gambling hell in the back room.)

(Gee whiz, if Moe Howard is working for Dr. Shark now, what chance does America have?)

("You old tease?" Just where is this story headed?)

(Jeez, John -- you're the Governor Elect. Can't you set up a security detail for the folks?)

(I don't know what that beam of Irwin's is doing to Dan's physiognomy in panel three, and I don't think I *want* to know.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

Depressing, depressing, depressing. Isn't it time for Elaine to climb in Jawn's window, or land on his roof in an autogyro or something? And what of poor Susan there -- with her mother a refugee from the Hill Page.

"Man To Man" wasn't quite what you're probably thinking it was. It was a pulp featuring wink-wink "tales for males" by such New Yorkerish figures as Robert Benchley and James Thurber mixed in among articles on "Your Mistress And How To Keep Her" and an assortment of smeary sex cartoons. The Mayor warned you about this kind of stuff.

"Mr. Flynn of the Third Term Branch" is Edward J. Flynn, newly-installed chairman of the DNC. He is not to be confused with John T. Flynn, a founder of the America First movement, who once supported FDR and became extremely anti-FDR. You can't keep track of all the Flynns without a scorecard.

Mr. Gray does seem to be a bit more fixated on eternal questions than usual. Wonder if he got a health scare?

Oh, Gus -- please please please let the Old Timer be Barrymore and Tilda be Elaine.

You wanted it -- and here it is! Tracy vs. Edna St. Vincent Millay!

Skeezix is relieved Snipe didn't lay into him for that open Chinese take-out box on his desk.

There's real skin in this game, Raven -- and it isn't yours.

Raw onions? Oh, she'll be able to tell.

Moon learns a valuable lesson about Hollywood before he even gets there.

 

[Fading Fast]

President Roosevelt today clamped down an embargo on the sale of scrap iron and steel to Japan, effective October 16th, but left the way open for exports to nations in the Western Hemisphere and to Great Britain. The action came within 24 hours of the Export-Import Bank offering a new $25,000,000 loan to China, whose stubborn resistance has been the main obstacle to the expansion of Japanese power in the Far East. A White House statement did not specifically explain why Britain, alone of all non-Western Hemisphere nations, would be permitted US scrap, but the exception is in general line with the Administration policy for aiding Britain in its war against Germany and Italy....

Perfect example of doing what you want to do first and filling in the reason later. Not criticizing as it was the right decision, just fun to see the reverse engineering on display.

...Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss and Martin "Buggsy" Goldstein will die in the electric chair during the week of November 4th for the 1939 murder of Brownsville bookmaker Irving "Puggy" Feinstein. The execution date was set today in Kings County Court by Judge John J. Fitzgerald, and was received impassively by Strauss. Goldstein however, replied to the sentence by wishing "the same" to Judge Fitzgerald and all his family. He added that his one wish before he dies is to perform an indignity upon Judge Fitzgerald, and concluded by "shouting hysterically" that he is prepared "to die like a man."...

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” -Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride.

...
(Double Dipped, sure. But is each layer half as thick as you get with Single Dipped?)...

I don't see any caramel-marshmallows listed. Looks like Sally and Joe will have to write to Mrs. Synders.

...
(The SEX-PLOSION of the Season! Did Mr. Breen see this ad?)...

I don't have Lizzie's exacting memory, but I know that "The Sea Hawk" was one of the first "old" movies I saw as a kid in the early '70s (Saturday afternoon, on a local channel, on a B&W set) that helped make me a life-long fan of "old" movies. It also was my first Errol Flynn movie and, more than the "The Adventures of Robin Hood," it made me a life-long fan of his. It's still my favorite of his swashbucklers.

View attachment 264854
Depressing, depressing, depressing. Isn't it time for Elaine to climb in Jawn's window, or land on his roof in an autogyro or something? And what of poor Susan there -- with her mother a refugee from the Hill Page.....

Mankind does not seem very far from the Serengeti today.

Say what you will of Wall St., every firm I worked for over the past thirty years (and through mergers, acquisitions and job changes it was about ten), they all had a long process for firing someone for cause that sincerely leaned in the employee's favor. He or she had to be informed there was a problem and given several chances at improvement (over several months) with touch-base meetings along the way before he or she'd be fired.

It actually was hard to be fired for cause the way Sadler was unless you wanted to be. To be sure, if you were caught stealing funds or committing other crimes or near crimes, the process was sped up for obvious reasons, but if it was just a "you're not doing a good job," the process gave you many chances to improve. That said, layoffs - the business has declined and we can't keep this division going - still had a process, but you really couldn't change the outcome. However, you'd usually get a chance to find another job internally, severance, a good recommendation, etc. when that happened.

...
"Man To Man" wasn't quite what you're probably thinking it was. It was a pulp featuring wink-wink "tales for males" by such New Yorkerish figures as Robert Benchley and James Thurber mixed in among articles on "Your Mistress And How To Keep Her" and an assortment of smeary sex cartoons. The Mayor warned you about this kind of stuff.....

So, was the mayor being a censoring dictator, or was he fighting a good fight on this one? By today's standards, it seems the former, but period context and times matter.

... Mr. Gray does seem to be a bit more fixated on eternal questions than usual. Wonder if he got a health scare?....

As we've chatted about, something took Gray from gangsters and grifters to Jesus and eschatology. It could be what you said; it could be a forced-editorial / censorship thing (and he's over-reacting to make a point), or he could have had a spiritual awakening. Something happened, though, for sure.

... You wanted it -- and here it is! Tracy vs. Edna St. Vincent Millay!....

... There's real skin in this game, Raven -- and it isn't yours.....

Well, at least everyone decided to put on all their clothes for today's installment. Oh, and, Pat, Dude, we're, um, er, waiting.

And when they do make the movie, Raven will demand as few profile shots as possible as her best angle is the full-face shot.

... View attachment 264874 Raw onions? Oh, she'll be able to tell.....

Ed's storytelling and transitions have been janky of late.

 

[ChiTownScion]

View attachment 264874 Raw onions? Oh, she'll be able to tell.

He should hook up with Jiggs. Burgers are fine, but corned beef & cabbage tops 'em.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I think Hizzoner's real motive in this crusade is the same as in all his crusades -- banning pinball machines, banning artichokes, closing down burlesque shows, all of them. All of these things are controlled in New York City by organized crime. Magazine distribution is a mob operation from top to bottom in the city, and many of the distributors dabble as publishers as well, with porn and near-porn their favorite genres. (Soon it will be comic books, and those will be harder to suppress.)

LaGuardia takes the mob personally because of the whole Italian-as-gangster stereotype. He figures by crusading against organized crime he can separate himself from that stereotype, and he's so singleminded about it that he often doesn't realize -- as with the artichoke business -- that it sometimes makes him look a bit silly.

I'd like to know, though, exactly how the publisher of "Man to Man" got Benchley and Thurber involved -- or did he just pirate their stuff and hope they wouldn't notice?

At least compared some of the greasier stuff on the newsstands in 1940, this publication looks positively chaste, until you catch on to the titles. I bet Dude Hennick has a copy of this under his mattress.

I think Carl Ed is using a new assistant. The Sunday pages lately have used no assistant at all -- the art on those has been done by Ed alone -- but the dailies are clearly being done, or at least inked, by an assistant, and I suspect whoever it is is a new one. There have been a number of scenes lately where the figures have been just slightly off model. Whether this assistant is also working on the story is another question entirely.

 

[Haversack]

A Modjeska is a confection consisting of marshmallow dipped in caramel. It was created in the 1880s in Louisville, Kentucky by confectioner Anton Busath (1845-1908) to honor Shakespearean actress Helena Modjeska, who was performing there in the US debut production of Ibsen's A Doll's House.

Growing up, I know these as Queen Anne Caramels. See's, (a West Coast confectionary around since the 1920s), sells them as Scotch Kisses.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Tokyo has formally joined the Rome-Berlin Axis, with Japan, Germany, and Italy proclaiming a "new order" in Europe and Asia. The three nations have entered into an agreement for mutual aid against any new enemy entering the European War or that in China, an eighteen-year pact covering joint military and economic obligations. The three powers assigned one another specific spheres of influence, with Japan recognized as the leader of the "new order in East Asia," and Germany and Japan leading the "new order in Europe." The effect of the agreement would force the United States into fighting a two-front war against populations totalling 250,000,000 if it enters the war.

The agreement spells out no obligations by any nation toward or against the Soviet Union. Spain is also reported to be considering the possibility of joining as the fourth member of the Axis.

Sidney W. Gerson resigned today from his job as confidential examiner to Manhattan Borough president Stanley M. Isaacs, as a court hearing opened on a lawsuit filed by the American Legion demanding that Gerson be ousted from the position due to his membership in the Communist party. A week's adjournment in the case has been ordered to allow time to determine the effect of Gerson's resignation on the issues at hand. Gerson's attorney Joseph Brodsky had been prepared to argue for his client on civil liberties grounds, contending that membership in the Communist party, or any recognized political party, is insufficient grounds for dismissal from public employment. Gerson, formerly a reporter on the staff of the Daily Worker, Communist newspaper, was appointed as the borough president's aide in 1937. In his letter of resignation, Gerson observed that Communists are always the first targets of political persecution when Nazis and Fascists come to power, and that their persecution is invariably followed by measures against "every other liberal force."

Convicted Murder for Hire gunmen Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss and Martin "Buggsy" Goldstein are on their way to Sing Sing Prison today, there to face their deaths in the electric chair the first week in November. Before leaving the city, however, the killers were taken from the Raymond Street Jail to Brooklyn Police Headquarters on Bergen Street for processing. Goldstein lashed out at reporters and photographers as he was led into the police station by a phalanx of guards led by Kings County Sheriff James Magnano, flicking a lit cigarette butt into the face of a press cameraman as he passed. Once inside, the mobster ranted out threats against Assistant District Attorney Burton Turkus, who prosecuted the case against him, and against County Judge John Fitzgerald, who presided over the trial and handed down the death sentence. "The judge is no damn good," sneered Goldstein, promising to "get him" before he is executed. Strauss, meanwhile, had nothing to say save for occasional incoherent remarks and a muttered "not guilty."

A lurid 18,000 word confession by accused killer Peter Salemi was read to a blue-ribbon jury in Kings County Court today as the 32-year-old longshoreman's trial for the brutal murder of 19-year-old nurse Frieda Olsen, who was beaten and burned to death on Dyker Beach last month. The confession detailed how Salemi brutalized the young woman with a wrench after she refused his advances, and described his actions in attempting to conceal the crime.

Brooklyn residents unable to afford dental care may now finance their treatments thru an arrangement between the Kings County Dental Society and local banks. Loans to pay for dental work may be arranged thru the offices of any participating dentist and repaid out of wages earned.

Officials of the city's Board of Higher Education have denied that a hiring policy discriminating in favor of Christians is in place, following a charge by a Jewish job applicant that she was denied employment because of her faith. Miss Pearl Bernstein had sought a job with the Board as a stenotypist, but was denied the job because an official of the employment agency in charge of filling it told her "she had only Jewish stenotypists on her office list, and therefore advertised the new position for 'Christians only' so as to allow for a 'more representative' pool of applicants to be forwarded to the Board." Miss Bernstein also stated that she was told that the "Christians Only" proviso in advertisements was often used when it was known that no Jewish applicants would be hired, "so as to save Jewish girls the carfare of coming down to apply." The Board stated that the position in question was only temporary, and that therefore it was exempt from Civil Service Commission requirements. The advertisement in question was run by the employment agency contracted to fill the job, and not by the Board or the City itself, and the Board and City disclaim all responsibility for its content.

(Namm's is to A&S and Loeser's as Hearn's is to Macy's and Gimbel's -- the department store where the working class shops. Joe and Sally are very proud of their Namm's bedroom set, and expect to have it paid off by 1942.)

Cab Calloway's Cotton Club Revue at the Flatbush this week is a Cab Calloway show, and you know what that means -- lots of hot swing, lots of Hi De Ho and Za Zoo Zazz, and lots and lots of the ebullient Mr. Calloway's personality. But Robert Francis finds something lacking -- Cab only wears one suit of clothes thru the performance, "the last gasp in cream-colored evening tails." A real Calloway show should have at least six complete changes of outfits, each more resplendent than the next. The band is pretty snazzy in their bright green-checked sport outfits, but Mr. Calloway just isn't as glorious as you expect him to be. And, sad it say, it really is about time for Cab to drop "The Jumpin' Jive" from his repertoire.

(Keeping America Safe for Fat Bald Guys Everywhere.)

Everybody who thought Max Baer was washed up will rethink their opinions after Maxie disposed of Pat Comiskey in just one round in Jersey City last night, and put further impetus behind the idea that Baer deserves a rematch with Joe Louis, who wiped the ring with him back in 1935. Baer himself sounded that note last night following his blink-and-miss-it victory at Roosevelt Stadium, declaring that he'll be World Champion again by next summer. Baer had been equally cocksure after beating Two Ton Tony Galento last summer, with observers pointing out that beating up a sloppy beer-soaked fat man isn't the same as defeating the Brown Bomber, but Baer's efficient demolition of the young, sleek Comiskey has fight fans wondering if maybe there's something to his boasts.

The Dodgers closed out their season's affairs at Ebbets Field yesterday on a down note, falling twice to the Boston Bees before a lackadaisical crowd of 6,086, but still there were celebrations. Outfielder Dixie Walker proudly accepted the Auto-Lite Spark Plug Award for 1940, stating that it's the first such award he's earned in his career, and that he hopes to gather in the best reward of all -- a World Series ring -- in 1941. Fan Anthony Huschie of Forest Hills drove home in a brand-new 1941 Buick sedan awarded for coming the closest to guessing the total Brooklyn attendance for 1940, which came in at 977,093.

In Philadelphia, the Yankees swept two from the Athletics yesterday, placing them in an advantageous position for a last chance at the American League pennant. They are now closely observing the Cleveland Crybabies, who must win their last three games against Detroit to eliminate the Tigers and give the Yankees a tie for the pennant. Oh, and the Yankees must also win their four remaining games to earn such a result.

The Dodgers head to Shibe Park to wrap up the season with two single games over the weekend against the Phillies. And then, it's "Wait 'Till Next Year."

Ebbets Field, however, is preparing to shift into football mode, with the schoolboy grid season at the ballpark opening tomorrow with Manual against New Utrecht. Pro football is also on the way, with Jock Sutherland and the Football Dodgers setting up shop next week. The Football Flock takes on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Forbes Field on Sunday. It's a homecoming for Coach Sutherland, who achieved collegiate fame in the Steel City as coach for the University of Pittsburgh.

(MacPhail wouldn't put up with this. And do the Hodgers even have a field manager? Or does Mr. Hodgers run the club Connie Mack style in a sober black suit?)

(Mr. Tuthill sure does like to draw noses. Punchable, punchable noses.)

(Watch out now, Mary's getting riled. You won't like Mary when she's riled.)

(In the real world, of course, Irwin's rather unfortunate center of gravity coupled with that heavy backpack would mean that there's no way he could cling to that ledge. Be thankful for comic-strip physics.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Passport fraud was extremely common in the Era, mostly due to immigrants changing their names without going thru the necessary paperwork, and there were plenty of racketeers who took advantage of this. Such cases were seldom prosecuted unless a celebrity was involved and/or the racketeer got a little too ambitious.

Better get used to it, Carlisle -- "Tommy the Cork" will be a fixture on the Washington scene for decades to come. And hey, DNC -- just because Carlisle is laying off the shift lock doesn't mean it's OK for you to do it.

Sowing the wind.

Sam knows, but you know, the whole "speaking in parables" thing.

Over to you, knob-head. Let's see whatcha got.

WATCH OUT SHE HAS AN EVIL MONKEY'S PAW

"Take the situation seriously?" laughs Dude. "Where's the fun in that?"

Wahh-wah-wahhhhhhhhh....

A marker of his working-class status by the modes of the Era is that Moon sleeps in his underwear. A subtle detail, but a well-observed one.

All right, sister, if you're so worried -- talk. What's going on here?

 

[Fading Fast]

Tokyo has formally joined the Rome-Berlin Axis, with Japan, Germany, and Italy proclaiming a "new order" in Europe and Asia. The three nations have entered into an agreement for mutual aid against any new enemy entering the European War or that in China, an eighteen-year pact covering joint military and economic obligations. The three powers assigned one another specific spheres of influence, with Japan recognized as the leader of the "new order in East Asia," and Germany and Japan leading the "new order in Europe." The effect of the agreement would force the United States into fighting a two-front war against populations totalling 250,000,000 if it enters the war....

Eighteen years?

Also, hard to believe Hitler agreed to this, "The three powers assigned one another specific spheres of influence, with Japan recognized as the leader of the 'new order in East Asia,' and Germany and Japan leading the 'new order in Europe'."

...Officials of the city's Board of Higher Education have denied that a hiring policy discriminating in favor of Christians is in place, following a charge by a Jewish job applicant that she was denied employment because of her faith. Miss Pearl Bernstein had sought a job with the Board as a stenotypist, but was denied the job because an official of the employment agency in charge of filling it told her "she had only Jewish stenotypists on her office list, and therefore advertised the new position for 'Christians only' so as to allow for a 'more representative' pool of applicants to be forwarded to the Board." Miss Bernstein also stated that she was told that the "Christians Only" proviso in advertisements was often used when it was known that no Jewish applicants would be hired, "so as to save Jewish girls the carfare of coming down to apply." The Board stated that the position in question was only temporary, and that therefore it was exempt from Civil Service Commission requirements. The advertisement in question was run by the employment agency contracted to fill the job, and not by the Board or the City itself, and the Board and City disclaim all responsibility for its content...

There's a scene in 1947's "A Gentleman's Agreement" where a secretary in a publishing firm explains to her boss that her job application at this firm was rejected when she submitted it with her "Jewish" name, so she "Anglicized" it, re-submitted her application and, presto, she got hired. She said it was well known inside the firm that the firm didn't hire Jewish secretaries.

It's interesting to see how a version of the "diversity" argument was used by the employment agency and, maybe, the Board of Education in 1940. Things always go much farther back and have more complex pasts than we might like.

... (Namm's is to A&S and Loeser's as Hearn's is to Macy's and Gimbel's -- the department store where the working class shops. Joe and Sally are very proud of their Namm's bedroom set, and expect to have it paid off by 1942.)...

The advertising industry eventually coopts and denudes of meaning everything for its ends. "Bright Young Things" was a neat term coined to describe a generation of young, rich and modestly rebellious English upper-class youths who partied hard and out loud in the '20s. But by 1940, it's employed by The Boys to hawk modestly priced dresses to working-class women in Brooklyn. And another term dies for Madison Avenue's needs.

... (In the real world, of course, Irwin's rather unfortunate center of gravity coupled with that heavy backpack would mean that there's no way he could cling to that ledge. Be thankful for comic-strip physics.)

Also, that's a confusing as heck message.

The officer is supposed to "proceed with the revolution as soon as Zango takes over [the] government." But "Additional supplies will reach you and orders to attack your objective will be issued," however, "proceed with all speed." What? Am I awaiting supplies and further orders or am I proceeding with all speed?

...
Sowing the wind.....

I think all these moves and explanations by FDR/Washington - things like "lend-lease" or this Indo-China stuff - were nothing more than stalking horses for the one thing Washington really wanted to do which was support anyone fighting against Germany and Japan in any way they could because they believed we'd be fighting them eventually (QED).

...
"Take the situation seriously?" laughs Dude. "Where's the fun in that?"...

So, Dude wasn't kidding, he really did shave his head as he appears to be growing in a full head of hair. Won't Raven be pleased? Or maybe she has a thing for Lichty men - you never know what's really ticking inside someone's libido.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Transcription error there on my part -- it should say "Germany and Italy" will preside over the New Odor in Europe, not German and Japan. Although it would have been interesting to see the look on Duce's face if that were the case.

1940 really is the critical year on the foreign policy front, as you see all the chess pieces being moved into position. We have the benefit of knowing how it's going to turn out, which makes all the moves obvious, but even in 1940 a well-read person didn't need much imagination to see the big picture taking shape. Next year, when the "America First" movement picks up steam, the lines will be drawn even more fully.

Somewhere in the Board of Education office there's somebody frantically and desperately scrambling to cover their a. on this situation. You routinely see "Christian Only" in ads for domestic help, but it's frowned on in white-collar circles, especially in Brooklyn -- which in 1940 has the largest Jewish population in the United States.

Dude is growing in his crop to be better prepared for having Raven grab it in the throes of passion. Or so, I am sure, he imagines. The trope of the Sexy Bald Man is still yet to come -- in 1940 a shaved head still denotes a convict, a dockworker, a professional wrestler, or Erich von Stroheim.

6.95 isn't even all that inexpensive for a dress. You can get similar models at Sears and Roebuck for half that.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Authorized sources in Berlin today described the new agreement among Germany, Italy, and Japan as "a red light on the horizon" against any action by either the United States or the Soviet Union that would affect the outcome of the war in Europe or in Asia. The comment cited the United States' recent transfer of over-age destroyers to Britian, and supplies of war materiel from Russia to China as "not likely" to affect the outcome of the war, but hinted that future transactions of such nature would be judged on how likely they were to have such an effect. The sources also stated that the anti-Comintern agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan, pledging those nations to oppose the spread of Communism, remains in effect, and that it also includes Spain and Manchuko.

Five officers and members of Local 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have been arrested under a secret indictment charging those persons and thirteen others with inciting a riot in connection with an outbreak of violence last week between strikers and strikebreakers at the Triangle Conduit and Cable Company in Glendale. Union leaders charge that the arrests are part of an ongoing collusion between the company and the police to break the nine-week-old strike at the plant, and that they are also part of a politically-motivated attempt by Queens County District Attorney Charles P. Sullivan to embarrass Mayor LaGuardia and prevent him from mediating an agreement to end the strike. The mayor is presently mediating questions of work hours between the union and three cable manufacturers, and only the Triangle firm has refused to accept the mayor as arbiter or meet with union representatives.

Sudden death in the gangster manner came to Harry "Knockout" Halperin, Murder-for-Hire gang member who was killed in the midst of a series of conferences with former Assitant District Attorney William E. McCarthy. So charged the prosecution in the opening day of the murder trial of Max "Little Larney" Ludkowitz, accused of shooting Halperin as a "squealer" on February 8, 1937. Halperin had been talking with McCarthy for several months before Ludkowitz stepped from a car on State Street near Boerum Place and shot him once in the back of the head. Ludkowitz then pumped four more bullets into the fallen body before getting back into the car and driving away.

Over 1,100 tons of bombs fell on Britain yesterday in the mightiest German air attack yet seen, according to German sources. The German DNB news agency also claimed that 101 British planes were shot down and that two merchantmen in Dover Harbor were sunk by German shells fired from across the Channel. The United Press reported that a thick cloud of smoke hung over London in the wake of the attack.

Brooklyn police are tracking two hijackers who seized a truck in Bedford-Stuyvesant carrying an estimated $16,000 worth of furs. The two armed men leaped onto the running boards of a truck owned by the firm of Starovin and Mishkowitz near the corner of Sumner and Vernon Avenues, and took control of the vehicle, blindfolding the driver and his helper and forcing them into the back. After stopping at what was probably a warehouse to unload the cargo of furs, the hijackers drove the truck to Park Slope and abandoned it at the corner of 8th Avenue and Berkeley Place. Warning the driver and his helper not to remove their blindfold for ten minutes, the hijackers then fled. The furs were reportedly insured.

The stormy petrel of state Republican politics seems ready to enjoy the last laugh tonight, even as his split lip heals from a blow struck by the heavy right fist of a political opponent. Kenneth F. Simpson, Manhattan GOP leader, appears likely to fall heir to Representative Bruce Barton's nomination in the 17th Assembly District after Barton's decision to seek a U. S. Senate seat instead. Simpson was punched in the mouth yesterday at the State Republican Convention in White Plains by 18th Assembly District GOP Leader James Bruno because a Bruno protege had not been selected to run for an Assemblyman-at-Large position in Manhattan. Simpson has already roused the ire of the state Republican establishment because of his refusal to support Thomas E. Dewey's ill-fated Presidential bid.

(Hey, do the Pipdyke girls wear rubber bands on their wrists? Keep an eye out!)

Enjoy a big day out at the Fair a week from tomorrow on the Eagle, with a big "Newspaper Day" combination ticket offer. Present this ad with fifty cents at the main gate and enjoy admission to the Perisphere, Gardens On Parade, Mrs. Thorne's Miniature Rooms, the Pastorama, and the Town of Tomorrow. Ride and show concessions covered by the ticket will include the Centipede, the Comet, the Crimson Tower, the Cyclone roller coaster, the Dancing Campus, Forbidden Tibet, Frank Buck's Jungleland, Gay New Orleans, the Live Monster Show, the Giant Ferris Wheels, Living Magazine Covers, the Magic Carpet, Nature's Mistakes, the Palace of Wonders, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, the Snapper, the Scroll of Life, the Whip, Winter Wonderland, and Zoological Wonders of the World.

(Convenience foods are ruining America.)

"Irritated" writes in wondering what ever happened to Mayor LaGuardia's crusade against people throwing their gum on the sidewalk. If he doesn't do something about the situation, gum chewers themselves better do it.

The Detroit Tigers clinched the American League pennant yesterday thanks to a florid young rookie named Floyd Giebell, just up from Buffalo, who astonished the baseball world by shutting out the Cleveland Indians in only his second major league start. The 2-0 victory was a tight pitching duel between Giebell and 27-game-winning Indians ace Bobby Feller, who gave up only three hits over the afternoon. But one of those hits was a two-run homer by Rudy York, and thanks to Giebell's sparkling performance on the mound, that was all that was needed. Giebell's only other start was a 13-2 complete-game win over the Philadelphia Athletics, but despite his astounding performances in the heat of the pennant race, he joined the club too late to be eligible to appear in the World Series.

Indians manager Oscar Vitt took defeat calmly, and there was no sign of the expected explosion by the "Cry Baby" Indians players who had clashed with him over the season. "I don't know if I'll stay around for the World Series," said the embattled manager. "I might just go on home. It's been a hard year."

The Dodgers open their final series of 1940 in Philadelphia today, hoping to wrap up their affairs by concluding a season sweep at Shibe Park. The Flock has played the Phillies nine times on their home grounds this year, and has won every time.

Meanwhile, Leo Durocher and Phillies manager Doc Prothro are expected to get together today or tomorrow for a conversation expected to revolve around hard-throwing Kirby Higbe and what it might take to bring him to Ebbets Field next season. Nothing will be known, however, of any possible deal until next week, since Larry MacPhail is away on a moose-hunting expedition.

The local college football season opens today, as the Brooklyn College Kingsmen face the Long Island University Blackbirds at Brooklyn College Stadium. All 5,500 seats will be sold out at a $1 top.

(Shoulda paid extra for the safety glass.)

(Self-aware? What's that mean?)

("I know you're Living In Sin!")

(Poor Irwin. Here's hoping the chasm is tapered, and he ends up just wedging into it like a big fat cork.)