The Era -- Day By Day

[Fading Fast]

Really interesting to see "Mein Kampf" advertised.

Marshall Field is no small account of the Tribune

...I skipped the Battle Page in today's News to allow room for the H&H donut ad -- after all, priorities -- so it's good to see it enclosed here. Interesting the Tribune switches the positions of the columns versus the way they're laid out in the News so that the Republican side catches the reader's eye first....

I applaud your editorial decision regarding H&H's donut ad and for the reason you noted.

From headlines to story placement/layout, as you note, you can see and feel the different political biases of the Eagle and News vs the Tribune. It's all tame compared to today's blatant cheerleading, but still, I noticed it as soon as @MissNathalieVintage started positing the Tribune's pages.

 

[LizzieMaine]

That edition of "Mein Kampf" is the one I have -- it was widely advertised, and even sold in the Sears catalog. It's the most comprehensive translation available to Americans in the prewar era, and includes useful annotations and contextualization that help to clear up some of the more obtuse passages. These annotations are still the most comprehensive published in English. This edition came out in 1939 -- before that, the only English translation of the book was a heavily abridged version that wasn't particularly useful -- it had been published under direct Nazi censorship.

Given that few Americans wanted to add to Hitler's royalty checks, the publishers of the new translation made a point of donating a substantial percentage of each sale to agencies working on behalf of European war refugees.

The Eagle is about as close to a "middle of the road" paper as you're going to find in the Era. Mr. Schroth is clearly not a supporter of the Third Term, and I sense a certain skepticism from him concerning Mayor LaGuardia, but national and world politics seem less important to him than hometown Brooklyn provincialism. For example, I think he favors Mr. O'Dwyer over Mr. Amen, simply because O'Dwyer is a local Brooklyn guy and Amen, for all his accomplishments, is still an outsider.

The News, on the other hand, is pretty much the only definitively pro-FDR mainstream paper in New York in 1940. PM and the Daily Worker are, of course, much harder to the left, but both are niche papers without the sort of clout a paper like the News has. The World Telegram and the Post are sort of dishwater centrist, and the Times tries to be but really isn't, but all the other major dailies tilt right -- from the Westchester Republicanism of the Herald-Tribune to the proto-paleoconservatism of the Sun to the Hearstian screech of the Mirror and the Journal-American.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Two Italian destroyers were sunk and a third severely damaged in combat 80 miles off the coast of Sicily with the British cruiser Ajax, veteran of the River Plate battle against the Graf Spee. The third ship was subsequently "finished off" by other British vessels, according to a report from the British Admiralty.

Reports from the British news agency Reuters state that Soviet troops have advanced into Rumania, moving southward from Bessarabia toward the mouth of the central arm of the Danube River. "The reports suggest," according to Reuters, "that Russia is answering the German occupation of Rumania by moves to gain control of the entire Danube Delta."

Meanwhile, there are unconfirmed reports that German forces have moved into Albania to bolster Italian troops already there, leading to speculation in the Balkans that the Axis forces are planning as their next move a drive across Tharce into Turkey.

Preparations were completed today for the opening of Selective Service registration, with more than 16,000,000 American men between the ages of 21 and 35 required to submit themselves for possible conscription into the Armed Forces. More than 1,100,000 men are expected to register in New York City alone. In Brooklyn, registrations centers have been established in public schools, church halls, and other public buildings, and a full list of these centers, grouped according to Assembly District, is published in today's edition of the Eagle. Election officials, school teachers, and volunteers have been trained to act as registrars when the doors open tomorrow morning. Registration centers will operate from 7 AM to 9 PM during the registration period. Municipal radio station WNYC will serve as a clearinghouse for all questions from registrants, with questions to be gathered at each registration center and submitted to the station for broadcasting, with answers, at half-hour intervals thruout the registration period.

Contractors whose bills for construction work on the World's Fair remain unpaid will be unable to foreclose mechanics' liens totally more than $160,000 against Fair improvements, following a ruling in Brooklyn Appellate Court today. The contractors who built the Fair's Cuban Village exhibit had initiated foreclosure proceedings to collect the sums owed, but the Appellate Court ruled today that the Fair, as city property, is exempt from foreclosure, and that the improvements themselves were never intended to be permanent.

(Given that DeSoto is positioned as Chrysler's answer to the Buick -- a dignified car for the dignified middle class -- all this "rakish" and "rocket" stuff seems a bit declasse. Either that, or they're trying to get an endorsement from Errol Flynn.)

Twenty-three prominent members of the City Fusion Party who broke with Mayor LaGuardia to endorse Wendell Willkie for President have had their wrists slapped by party chairman Ben Howe, who compared them to the famous "Three Tailors of Tooley Street" who once presumed to issue a manifesto as "we the people of England." Howe dismissed the insurgents as "well known, active Republicans obviously seeking to capitalize on the presitge of the Fusion movement to boost a partisan candidate in a national campaign," and pointed out that while he, personally, is supporting President Roosevelt, he has prohibited the Democratic Party from using his name in any campaign materials in order to preserve the integrity of the Fusion movement and its emphasis on municipal government only.

("Guaranteed Seven Months Since Our Last Gas Leak!")

The US State Department has banned all but the most essential travel by Americans to the Orient, even as it works to bring home thousands of Americans still in the Far East. It was announced today that no further passports will be issued for travel to China, Japan, Manchuko, Korea, Indo-China, or Hong Kong, or to any other location outside the Western Hemisphere, without a demonstrated essential purpose.

Definite progress toward more friendly relations between the United States and the Soviet Union are reported by the State Department, with Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles and Soviet Ambassador Constantine Oumansky conferring daily on "settlement of irritating questions that have created tension between the two nations." It is stated that these questions do not involve the possibility of a Russian-Japanese non-aggression treaty, American interests in the Far East, or other matters of a political character, but instead focus on issues relating to economic and commercial dealings, and other questions of a "day to day character."

A 42-year-old Flushing woman who belongs to the Jehovah's Witnesses religious sect has been sentenced to thirty days days in jail on a third-degree assault charge after an altercation on a doorstep with a Flushing housewife. Mrs. Nancy Muro of 59-25 160th Street was found guilty of striking Mrs. Anna Setzer of 77-02 166th Street during a call at her home. According to the complaint, Mrs. Muro knocked on Mrs. Setzer's door carrying a portable phonograph, upon which she played a record of a speech explaining the tenets of her sect, and when Mrs. Setzer objected to the recording and told Mrs. Muro to leave, Mrs. Muro struck her. Mrs. Muro did not deny striking Mrs. Setzer, but claimed that Mrs. Setzer hit her first.

The 32-year-old longshoreman convicted of the brutal Dyker Beach murder of 19-year-old Frieda Olson wept today when he was sentenced to die in the electric chair. Peter Salemi will be executed at Sing Sing prison during the week of November 26th, with sentence handed down in Kings County Court by Judge George Martin. As with all first-degree murder convictions, sentence will not be carried out until all appeals have been taken.

(What, no Basketball Dodgers this year? It's gonna be a long winter. And hey -- another Bunny! My Uncle Harrison was nicknamed "Bunny," but he never got his name in the paper...)

(Why so serious? Jeez.)

(Still no word when it's coming to Brooklyn. Get on the ball, Mr. Schroth! And note that thirteen years after the start of the talkie era, we finally get a "He Talks!" ad for Mr. Chaplin.)

(Guess he didn't cut it in the marriage-license line.)

Jock Sutherland isn't coaching Pitt anymore, but that's no reason to sell the Panthers short -- especially if you're Fordham. The Rams face Pitt next Saturday, and while the Panthers aren't the powerhouse they were when Jock was running the show, they're still formidable opposition.

The Football Dodgers, meanwhile, are gearing up for what's expected to be their stiffest opposition of the season as they prepare to leave for Chicago to face the brutal, bruising Bears, who are coming off Sunday's 7-0 shutout of the Detroit Lions. Two Dodgers are on the injured list after Sunday's defeat of the Steelers, with center Bud Svendzsen sidelined with a gash over his right eye, and tackle John Golemgske suffering a recurrence of an old shoulder injury.

Pee Wee Reese was everything Larry MacPhail hoped he'd be when he plucked the rookie shortstop out of the Boston Red Sox system -- but how, exactly, did that colossal steal come to pass? Former Red Sox farm director Billy Evans says that Reese had a bad day at the plate and in the field on the afternoon when he and manager Joe Cronin looked him over during a 1939 spring training game, and Cronin, especially was not impressed. Evans says the whole reason the Red Sox bought into the Louisville Colonels franchise was to get Reese, but after seeing the then-nineteen-year-old in action that day, both he and Cronin -- but Cronin especially -- were soured on the young man. "You would not have paid twenty cents for him," says Evans of Reese's performance that day. Evans also says his recent separation from Thomas A. Yawkey's employ had nothing to do with losing Reese, but it is likely that that particular transaction will be long remembered in Boston the same way the loss of "house painter" Jimmy Ripple will be remembered around Brooklyn.

A Chicago announcer for NBC is in hot water after declaring into an open microphone at the conclusion of a program "This is the National Biscuit Company." The joke is a common one around the NBC studios, but up till now nobody's ever actually said it on the air.

(Iggum Whongly is a known associate of Squib Goobly.)

(If this ends up with George being carried down four flights of stairs in a straitjacket, I for one will laugh and laugh.)

(Dennie is *so* going to get this guy. Meanwhile, I am intrigued by the picture on the wall in panel four. What could that possibly be if not one of Leona's lobby photos from the Club Buccaneer?)

(Yeah, Dan, you better land this plane in one piece, or it's coming out of your expense account.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

For those who lost track of the Mayo story in the vast passing parade of 1940, a brief resume -- with plenty of lines to read between. And I wonder how Mr. Mirman is coming along with those payments.

In 1940, as today, the overwhelming majority of canned corned beef comes from the Argentine. I've always wondered about that.

Kids Today.

Annie of course has completely sussed out this situation -- but without Nick to guide her, she cannot form a plan of action. Sad.

Theory: Andy doesn't have a real moustache at all. He has a whole drawer full of stick-on fake moustaches, and when he burns one off, he just slaps on a new one and calls it good.

Yeah, Dude, don't think you're getting your deposit back.

Oh, is that flame? I thought someone had stuck a giant peacock feather down the gun barrel.

I don't have a whole lot to look forward to this winter, but one thing I do look forward to is seeing somebody -- anybody -- paste Wilmer one right in the face.

Bad move, Pipdyke. Handing Harold Teen a check is like trying to pour water into a sieve.

Or you could just lift up the other side of the hood.

 

[Fading Fast]

...The US State Department has banned all but the most essential travel by Americans to the Orient, even as it works to bring home thousands of Americans still in the Far East. It was announced today that no further passports will be issued for travel to China, Japan, Manchuko, Korea, Indo-China, or Hong Kong, or to any other location outside the Western Hemisphere, without a demonstrated essential purpose....

No Americans will be coming to rescue our Terry and the Pirates friends. They'll have to get out of their fixes by themselves.

...The 32-year-old longshoreman convicted of the brutal Dyker Beach murder of 19-year-old Frieda Olson wept today when he was sentenced to die in the electric chair. Peter Salemi will be executed at Sing Sing prison during the week of November 26th, with sentence handed down in Kings County Court by Judge George Martin. As with all first-degree murder convictions, sentence will not be carried out until all appeals have been taken....

The speed of this so far has been amazing versus how long the same legal process for an event like this would take to unfold today. It will be interesting to see how long the appeal process goes on for.

...
(What, no Basketball Dodgers this year? It's gonna be a long winter. And hey -- another Bunny! My Uncle Harrison was nicknamed "Bunny," but he never got his name in the paper...)...

Man did basketball and Brooklyn have a comeback, but it took over seventy years.

Regarding Ms. Waters, I'm assuming he is referring to the actress Bunny Waters, as how many 6'2" female Bunny Waters could there be in the world in 1940? One, according to IMDB, she defied her name and profession and was married only once and for 46 years until her husband passed away and, two, remember that this ⇩ unfolds to a full six feet and two inches.

...
(Why so serious? Jeez.)...

No kidding, why such a scowl? And I'm partial to Drakes coffee cakes as they were, basically, breakfast (via vending machines) through four years of college.

... (Iggum Whongly is a known associate of Squib Goobly.)...)

Why has the turtle not gotten the heck out of there by now?

... (Dennie is *so* going to get this guy. Meanwhile, I am intrigued by the picture on the wall in panel four. What could that possibly be if not one of Leona's lobby photos from the Club Buccaneer?)..

re your picture-in-panel-four call.

Don't pay. The $2000 (~$37,000 in 2020 dollars) buys you nothing, but maybe, a little time before he is back. She's either got to let the pigeons loose and see what happens or go the Bonetti route. Paying is the stupidest move of the three.

... View attachment 270763 For those who lost track of the Mayo story in the vast passing parade of 1940, a brief resume -- with plenty of lines to read between. And I wonder how Mr. Mirman is coming along with those payments.....

And another story - the Cafe Society host / gamblers / bookmakers / scion club owners / crusading investigators - reads like a Warners Brothers script, right down to Hedy Lamarr (on loan from MGM) dating one of the shady characters. (Heady, really? What are you thinking?)

... Oh, is that flame? I thought someone had stuck a giant peacock feather down the gun barrel.....

Oh, and there is no reason that tank couldn't have been tested long ago without anyone in it to see if it's fireproof. Putting Tracy and Pat in the submarine-tank is a Bond-villain move.

.... View attachment 270772 Bad move, Pipdyke. Handing Harold Teen a check is like trying to pour water into a sieve....

Somewhere in the world, Senga just got a tingling feeling, but she doesn't know why.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

That is so great to learn a little bit about the washing machine. And I remember the Ayds ads from the 1980s, it was always funny to me since the woman would be in a towel on a scale and I had no idea why, but hey I was only a child and had no clue till now that was going on in the ad.

*I have a fine Forstmann's suit hanging in my closet, that I used to be able to wear until it mysteriously shrunk. Funny how that happens.*
Ah, yes the incredible mystery of the shrinking suit I too have experienced this.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Tepid Fahrenheit" used to be a fifth columnist? You'd never expect her to be someone who would Celsius out her country.

I really want a baked potato right now. We might remember D. L. Toffanetti introducing his Times Square Wonder Restaurant with a full-page ad in the News a few months back -- but not a word has been heard from him since. Guess the potatoes must've gotten held up on their way to the East.

Miss Marie Fitzsimmons has a lot to live down being "Miss Energy of 1940." What if she wants to sleep in?

 

[Fading Fast]

Subway building has always been very expensive.


Today, thankfully, the hairdresser would get more than a $50 fine. That is creepy and scary.


Great ad for the Zephyrs.


"It's a beau catcher..." wonderful.


This will always be what men's coats, hats and luggage look like. Heck, that era had passed by the time I was born, but still, growing up with old movies, even then, you could feel something to that style versus the oddness of the '70s.

And we have a new candidate for top-five female comic-strip-character name: Tepid Fahrenheit

 

[Fading Fast]

"Tepid Fahrenheit" used to be a fifth columnist? You'd never expect her to be someone who would Celsius out her country.

I really want a baked potato right now. We might remember D. L. Toffanetti introducing his Times Square Wonder Restaurant with a full-page ad in the News a few months back -- but not a word has been heard from him since. Guess the potatoes must've gotten held up on their way to the East.

Miss Marie Fitzsimmons has a lot to live down being "Miss Energy of 1940." What if she wants to sleep in?

Neither you nor I missed the beauty of a character called "Tepid Fahrenheit," ("Celsius" joke - really? Alright, it was okay.)

And I very much remember Toffanetti - very cool space he created, but as you note, we haven't heard from him since.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

Yes, these are some of my favorite ads, especially when I a woman is still trying to catch a Beau, LOL.

 

[Fading Fast]

 

[LizzieMaine]

Today is Selective Service Registration Day, with more than half a million men between the ages of 21 and 36 having registered for the draft by 12:30 PM. Registrations in Brooklyn are reported to be proceeding at the rate of 100,000 per hour, with long early morning lines giving way to a steady trickle.

Police report only one registration-line fight, with two men squaring off over who was to be first in line at one location. One man was charged with disorderly conduct for punching the other in the nose. (Funny, isn't George Bungle overage?) The most common wisecrack, heard innumerable times by registrars, was "when do I get my gun?" "Next month, buddy," came the common reply.

A German aerial offensive that struck today at almost all coasts of England, Scotland, and Wales was described today as "one of the heaviest of the war." The raids on London were officially described as the largest of recent nights, but it was stated that the number of dead was less than that of a similar raid last month. Meanwhile, official German reports described London as "a vast sea of flames that could be seen 60 miles away."

With voter registration books closed for the coming election, Brooklyn has enrolled a record number of voters. A total of 3,391,238 are registered to vote next month, an increase of 491,050 over the 1936 election. A sharp increase in the number of women voters is also noted.

The chairman of the Democratic National Committee today charged that the American press is ruled by "a financial dictatorship of their advertisers." Chairman Edward T. Flynn claimed that editorials denouncing European dictatorships "aren't on the level" because American papers "feed their readers in the news columns wholesale doses of partisan propaganda instead of adhering to the independence they so often vaunt." Mr. Flynn singled out the New York Times for particular criticism, pointing out that the paper -- "which prides itself on its fairness" -- printed a "smear story" against Democrats on its front page while burying a story concerning a "Republican smear" on the same topic -- racial prejudice -- in the back of the paper. Said Flynn, "it was proven conclusively in 1936 that newspapers did not represent the views of their readers, and it will be proven again in 1940."

(In 1940, "nutria" is not an artificial sweetener, but a color indelicately described as "baby (poop) brown." It comes from the natural coloration of the fur of the nutria, a large rodent indelicately described as "a swamp rat." Now you see why it's only $3.98.)

The Warden of the Raymond Street Jail says that convicts should be considered for military service under the conscription law. Warden Henry O. Schleth says that even among prisoners there is patriotism, and that the 200,000 men now behind bars in the United States should be given their chance to receive military training while serving their sentences. He acknowledges that the convicts shouldn't be given guns, but he believes that the training itself would be good for prisoner morale.


The first baby doll made entirely out of plastic is the invention of a clever Brooklyn dentist. Dr. Joseph Mitchom, who developed the toy from an unbreakable plastic material of his own creation. Dr. Mitchom's father is the founder of the Ideal Toy and Novelty Company, which will market the new doll. Dr. Mitchom's creation has a so-called "magic skin" surface that feels like real flesh -- but is so tough it cannot be chewed up, slashed, or torn off by rambunctious youngsters. The 20-inch doll, complete with layette, sells for $6 and up at the three leading Brooklyn department stores.

("It's OK," says Ducky, "this is a *chicken* wish bone. Whattaya think, I'm some kinda psycho?")

(Point of order -- is there a man in this line who is under the age of 36? If so, people really do age faster in 1940.)

"Fair Play" writes in to complain that he is compelled by his Wall Street employers to wear a Willkie button, even though he does not support the Republican candidate, and he knows hundreds of others on the Street in the same situation. He notes a recent story in which a boy wearing a Willkie button was beaten up by other boys, but wonders why nobody says anything about "threats by Big Business to its employees."

The Dodgers have picked up two players in the minor league draft. Pitcher Al Sherer, a righthander, comes to the Flock from New Orleans of the Southern Association, part of the Cardinals chain, while catcher Thompson Livingston was taken from the roster of the Springfield club in the Eastern League in the Philadelphia Athletics organization. Livingston had a brief major league trial with the Senators in 1938.

(Hitler himself saw the film several times. But when will it come to Brooklyn?)

The president of the League For Less Noise, Mr. Ernest Peabody of Brooklyn, will be Fred Allen's "Person You Didn't Expect To Meet" tonight at 9pm on WABC. Mr. Peabody notes that it has been proven that motorists drive more cautiously when their horns are disabled, and he will also reveal during the broadcast the noisiest location in New York City. ("At's easy," says Joe. "Section 37 at Ebbets Feel!" "Yeah," agrees Sally, "special whennat lady witta cowbell's sittin'ere!")

(+1 for being the only strip to mention Registration Day, +1 for working some of the artist's friends and colleagues into the art, but -100 for the single most racist character design we've seen yet, one that's grotesque even by 1940 standards. Mushmouth is hard to take, and that doorman Dick Tracy ran into was disturbing, but this guy literally looks like he's wearing a rubber monkey mask.)

("That's right, George. Here, why don't you slip into this nice warm sweater for the trip. Let me help you with the sleeves, we'll just tie them around the back to keep them out of the way...")

(Hmmm. What if John and Slim have had dealings that Mary knows nothing about? What if Slim is a low level operative for Bonetti who's been paying John off to try and get control of the gang left behind when Louie went to prison? And what if Mary goes out in the kitchen, gets a heavy iron skillet, brains Leach with it and buries him out back in the garden? NO ONE NEED EVER KNOW.)

(Seriously, Dan? SERIOUSLY?)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News,

Name a prominent concert cellist in 1940. All right, name another one.

Jeez, Carlisle, settle down. LaGuardia isn't even running for president.

I got a telegram once, and it wasn't all that scary. I was just disappointed that it wasn't delivered by a uniformed boy on a bicycle.

"Here's a hint -- my middle initial is 'H.'"

There are no SWAT units in 1940, but you'd think they'd at least have a truck.

"Goofy screwball" can be an effective cover for "deadliest man in the room."

Hey, why not? After all, you've got two eyes.

Those opaque glasses really help with the gaslighting, don't they Wump?

Ahhh, those two-tone corduroy pants are finally within reach....

Never mind the room, I wanna see how the both of you are going to fit in that bed.

 

[Fading Fast]

...
(In 1940, "nutria" is not an artificial sweetener, but a color indelicately described as "baby (poop) brown." It comes from the natural coloration of the fur of the nutria, a large rodent indelicately described as "a swamp rat." Now you see why it's only $3.98.)...

The dress looks very 1940s, but the woman's hair, hat and, even, the picture frames in the background feel more turn of the century. Odd, as advertisers, other than when intentionally trying to evoke nostalgia, tend to be more consistent and up-to-date in their illustrations.

...
("It's OK," says Ducky, "this is a *chicken* wish bone. Whattaya think, I'm some kinda psycho?")...

At least Ducky seems happier today. I think - only think - I remember Drake's macaroons. If I'm not confusing them with something else, as I haven't seen them since the '80s, they tasted a bit like coconut-flavored paste.

..
(+1 for being the only strip to mention Registration Day, +1 for working some of the artist's friends and colleagues into the art, but -100 for the single most racist character design we've seen yet, one that's grotesque even by 1940 standards. Mushmouth is hard to take, and that doorman Dick Tracy ran into was disturbing, but this guy literally looks like he's wearing a rubber monkey mask.)...

Okay, I thought it was a rubber monkey mask and I was trying to understand the tie in to his dialogue. I didn't even pick up on it being a racist character as it was so past the pale that I missed it.

... (Hmmm. What if John and Slim have had dealings that Mary knows nothing about? What if Slim is a low level operative for Bonetti who's been paying John off to try and get control of the gang left behind when Louie went to prison? And what if Mary goes out in the kitchen, gets a heavy iron skillet, brains Leach with it and buries him out back in the garden? NO ONE NEED EVER KNOW.)...

I'm good with your plan or, as mentioned before, if he's not mob, then hire the mob to take care of him. The stupidest move is to pay him off - IT WON'T WORK and you'll be out the money. Heck, Leach all but told her just that. She's either gotta take the medicine or take matters into her own hands, directly or indirectly.

... (Seriously, Dan? SERIOUSLY?)

Very late '60s TV "Batman" as, right when a crisis called for a certain gizmo, his utility belt just happened to have it.

......
"Here's a hint -- my middle initial is 'H.'"...

As you noted a few weeks back, Annie can't beat Sam at this verbal-volley game. But bless her little heart, she keeps trying.

...[ Those opaque glasses really help with the gaslighting, don't they Wump?....

I was on the receiving end of that speech a few times in my life. One time - as I was several years into my career by then and beginning to understand the game - it took all my control not to laugh in his face. But I did return volley with comments about the firm's profits, how competitors paid their employees and its aggressive layoff policy when business slowed down for a second. Loyalty and devotion need to be a two way street; interestingly, it was always the least loyal-and-decent-to-their-employees employers who used that speech on me.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

 

[MissNathalieVintage]