The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Officially, the United States didn't have an overseas espionage/spy agency in 1940. Officially.

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE!

(At Childs they're shaking in their boots because they know D. L. Toffenetti is here, and he plays for keeps.)

Hahahahahahahaha!

Of course, Annie has *no idea at all* that this lady is married to a Judge who just might be having dealings with Peg soon. Nick taught her well.

Yeah, he *is* pretty naem at that!

Careful, Skeez, don't give the poor kid the wrong idea.

This would be a good moment for The Blue Tiger to step from the shadows. Or from the blinding white light, whatever.

Y'know, Lana, Harold's cousin Lilacs is a nice kid. And he's not comatose.

One of the unsettling conventions of prewar comic strips is that, while Black men, and middle-aged Black women, were usually drawn in the "minstrel" style, young Black women -- often sexualized -- seldom were.

 

[Fading Fast]

...The center of the British port of Bristol is in flames today after a night of heavy raiding by Nazi bombers. The German DNB news agency states that no German planes were lost in the raids, which also struck portions of Southampton, Bournemouth, and Brighton, as well as sections of London....

It's amazing to think that Pearl Harbor is still one year away (to the day).

...In a scene reminiscent of a Hollywood premiere, the Loft Candy Corporation opened its elaborate new store in Flatbush with searchlights and celebrity guests. Singer Patricia Ellis and bandleader Blue Barron, now appearing at the Flatbush Theatre, were the headline attractions for the dedication of the new ultra-modern store at 922 Flatbush Avenue, the 153rd outlet in the city-wide chain.

(Let's run over and take a look, shall we?

Ah, yes, we know this block well -- we've visited the Davega before. 922 is the itty little "Hats by Sima Lee"
storefront in between the photo shop and the Florsheim store, so it appears we've arrived a few months early for the Loft opening. That's OK, we can wait. I imagine they're gonna be pretty cramped there trying to find room for all the celebrities and searchlights and all...)...

As you imply, I would have thought it would have been bigger. Maybe it gets bigger toward the back. Any update on the stupid slogan contest - we can go in and ask. (Edit, just saw your next story and laughed - great minds and all.)

The landlord of that run of stores got some nice zoning there to put up all those rent-paying billboards.

This pic said "Flatbush Avenue" and is dated 1959, but the surrounding architecture doesn't look right. Maybe it was mislabeled or there were two Lofts on Flatbush, as it's a big, long avenue:

...
("Bilk and Milch." Mr. Lichty holds a grudge.)...

It was still the era of the famous quip, "where are the customer's yachts?"

...
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE!....

Yup. You can feel how much the government - used to getting its way - hates to have its authority challenge, which is the only reason it would push this case. It's representative democracy and an independent judiciary enforcing the rule of law vs arrogant bureaucracy with a dictatorial lean all on display in little Brownie's legal travails.

...
(At Childs they're shaking in their boots because they know D. L. Toffenetti is here, and he plays for keeps.)....

And he's clearly going after the late-night drunk-and-hungry crowd. Many a NYC diner has made a good living serving greasy food to drunk kids at 2 in the morning. In the '80s and '90s in NYC, I did field work studying this exact situation.

... Careful, Skeez, don't give the poor kid the wrong idea.....

"You want to do WHAT?! No, No, No, No, No, No, No!"

...[ This would be a good moment for The Blue Tiger to step from the shadows. Or from the blinding white light, whatever.....

Don't quit on us now Hu Shee, I was just elected president of the local chapter of your fan club.

... Y'know, Lana, Harold's cousin Lilacs is a nice kid. And he's not comatose....

Did Harold step over to "Gasoline Alley's" wardrobe and steal Wilbur's overcoat?


And it's no wonder that the square-jawed, fedora-wearing detective became such an icon of the era:

......1940 Dan Dunn..........1940 Dick Tracy...............Recent TCM Logo

 

[LizzieMaine]

To say nothing of this gent --

(A bit of nostalgia for longtime Loungers.)

922 Flatbush Avenue today. I'd like very much to see what's behind that clumsily stuck-on signboard. And it's remarkable that the same trusswork for the billboards still seems to be there.

I don't imagine it's possible to go broke running an all-night restaurant in Times Square, although I imagine it got pretty dangerous in the '70s. Toffenetti's, it seems, only made it to 1968.

 

[Fading Fast]

To say nothing of this gent --

View attachment 287165
(A bit of nostalgia for longtime Loungers.)

View attachment 287166
922 Flatbush Avenue today. I'd like very much to see what's behind that clumsily stuck-on signboard. And it's remarkable that the same trusswork for the billboards still seems to be there.

I don't imagine it's possible to go broke running an all-night restaurant in Times Square, although I imagine it got pretty dangerous in the '70s. Toffenetti's, it seems, only made it to 1968.

The TV show "The Deuce" does a darn good job of capturing the lawlessness of 1970s Times Square. As a kid and, then, teenager, I saw it regularly and it was at least as bad as portrayed in the show. During the day, you had to watch out for pickpockets, weird druggies and dealer, pimps and hookers and other cheats, but the crowd and light provided some protection. But at night, especially as the crowds thinned, it was outright dangerous just to be there. The cops all but accepted a certain amount of lawlessness. Five blocks away could be an entirely different world, but in that section, it was insanely dangerous.

For years in the early '00s, I worked at 42nd and 6th and would go over to Times Square in the 5am area (as it had a lot of open stores at that hour) if I was getting into work early and wanted to pick up something to eat or from the drug store. A part of me was always amazed at how safe it was - well lit, cops everywhere, it felt safer than standing in front of a police station. I honestly remembered the same streets where you would fear for your life now being some of the safest in the city at 5am - it's just stunning.

 

[Haversack]

Officially, the United States didn't have an overseas espionage/spy agency in 1940. Officially.

Well perhaps not an all-encompassing shop. However the Office of Naval Intelligence, (ONI), was founded in 1882 as a response to the rapid development of technology and naval build-up by foreign governments.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A British dreadnaught is reported to be hunting a German raider in the northern reaches in the South Atlantic, after that Nazi ship attacked a British auxiliary cruiser about 700 miles off the coast of Montevideo. The former British passenger liner Carnavon Castle, converted for wartime use, was heavily shelled, and sustained damage to its deck, including the loss of a funnel, but safely made its way to port. The dreadnaught Warspite was spotted by a Uruguayan cruiser making north under heavy draft, presumably in search of the Nazi vessel.

Members of the Teachers Union plan a mass rally this afternoon at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, launching a three-week campaign to "tell the people the truth about the probe" now underway by the Rapp-Coudert Committee of alleged subversive activity in the public schools. The rally, conducted in cooperation with the Committee to Defend Public Education, will include speeches by playwright Irwin Shaw, a Brooklyn College alumnus, along with Brooklyn College assistant professor of philosophy Howard Selsam, one of the instructors who has refused to testify in closed session before the Committee, I. Kaufman of the Newspaper Guild, and Clair Bee, football and basketball coach at Long Island University. The legislative board of the Teachers Union yesterday voted its formal condemnation of the Committee investigation, and today's rally is intended to form a plan of action to carry forward that resolution.

(There is no truth to the rumor that a clandestine recruiting film showing Brooklyn College radicals in action will be screened at the event --

)

Henry B. Clarke, back home in Roslyn, L. I. after 66 days at sea in a small sailboat brought real meaning to the old phrase "from hell to breakfast" by devouring sixteen eggs at a single sitting after the vessel finally made safe landing in Nassau, Bahamas. Mr. Clarke, an aircraft manufacturer who was determined to get home from England in time for Christmas despite being barred from sailing aboard any British ship, sat down to dine on four servings of ham and eggs -- with two eggs per serving, and followed that with four servings of bacon and eggs -- again with two eggs per serving -- as his first meal back on dry land. The small sailing yacht upon which Mr. Clarke and a crew of five made their way across the Atlantic ran out of provisions three days before finally making landfall last week.

Authorities in the Hauge, Netherlands have confiscated sausages made of dog meat in a crackdown on black-market meat being sold to housewives desperate for something to serve for their Sunday dinners. Mutton and horsemeat have vanished from the marketplace since Nazi occupation forces banned the slaughter of sheep or horses.

A 23-year-old Brooklyn Navy Yard metalworker who paraded around Sands Street in a sailor's uniform has been found guilty of impersonation. Warren E. Plant was picked up by police after a detective noticed him making the rounds of the neighbohood bars wearing a regulation uniform -- except for the ordinary laborer's boots on his feet. Plant said he didn't mean anything by it -- and explained he'd gone into a store near the Navy Yard to buy a new shirt, but a fast-talking salesman convinced him to spend $7.50 for a sailors' blouse, $4.50 for sailor pants, and a gob cap for "I don't know how much." Plant added that the salesman threw in the sleeve insignia of a Chief Engineer for free.

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor will arrive in Miami Beach from their new home in the Bahamas next week for a brief visit as the Duchess keeps an appointment with a Florida dentist for "a major operation." Although it is the Duke's first visit to American soil since 1924, no formal ceremonies are planned.

Former big-time hood Waxey Gordon is back in Brooklyn after his release from prison, and plans to start a new life as a traveling salesman for a novelty company under his given name of Irving Wexler. Mr. Murray Mendelsohn, president of the M & J Novelty Company, says he doesn't care about his new salesman's former life as a millionaire beer baron of Prohibition days, but he does think that Mr. Wexler's skills as a salesman should carry over to his new career.

(Obviously A&S doesn't read Helen Worth's column, or they'd have paid attention to that guy who begged not to get ties for Christmas.)

("That's OK," snorts Sally. "Who wantsta gota t' Met anyways? T'em ushas awaysgott'eah noses upn'a aiah like t'ey smellin' sumpin' bad.")

City Court Justice Louis Goldstein will go down in history as Man's Best Friend's Best Friend if his recent mail is any indication. The judge whose ruling last week spared the life of Brownie the Dog, Bay Ridge cocker spaniel whose conviction for biting was ruled unconstutional, says he's received over five hundred letters from dog lovers since the ruling was announced, praising him for his judicial acumen.

(Wait, so they're going to go around to every newsstand, drug store, candy store, and street corner hawker in the city and verify that the subscribers don't buy the Eagle over the counter? Geez, Mr. Schroth, have you thought this promotion thru?)

"Old Timer" writes in to say he won't be convinced that vaudeville is really back in Brooklyn until he sees a regular house orchestra playing in the pit. This new style of having the band playing up on the stage behind the actors is not real vaudeville at all. "Cities much smaller than Brooklyn maintain vaudeville with house orchestras. Why not here?"

Old Timer Edward Touhey says he was there the day back in 1886 when Steve Brodie jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, and he says Steve had it all planned out -- less than an hour after he was rowed ashore, he was on stage at the old Bowery Museum at $500 a week.

The Chicago Bears are favored at 5 to 7 1/2 odds to take the crown as they face the Washington Redskins this afternoon at Griffith Stadium in the nation's capital to decide the championship of the National Football League. The winning team will divide $32,862.56 as its share of the $102,280 gate.

Baseball's winter meetings open in Chicago on Tuesday, and even though the Dodgers have already concluded two important deals they arrive at the conclave still in search of another outfielder. The Cincinnati Reds are reported to be interested in shipping out Harry Craft, but it is unlikely they would care to send him to the Dodgers. The Flock has also shown interest in trying to pry National League batting champion Debs Garms away from the Pirates, but it is unlikely Brooklyn would be willing to give up the first-grade pitching the Bucs are said to be in search of in order to get him.

With the new opera season now underway, the Met's head man makes the scene on the front of Trend this week --

James Cagney, Joan Bennett, and Brian Donlevy star in a condensation of "Torrid Zone," presented by the Gulf Screen Guild Theatre, tonight at 7:30 PM on WABC.

(Look, you guys can shoot up each other all you want, but leave the hosses alone!)

(There's a barber shop across the street here that seems to be patronized exclusively by bald-headed men. I've often wondered what goes on in there.)

(What, nothing about Wally's dentist? I'm disappointed.)

(Come on now, Bill, is this any way to act toward your -- uhh -- ex-father-in-law, I guess?)

(Kay is the most passive-aggressive woman we've ever met in the comics. She and Dan are obvious soul mates.)

("Storage Wars," 1940 Edition.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

The problem of vaudeville performers pinching each others' names was not uncommon. The comedy team of Moran and Mack had two different Morans and at least two different Macks, none of whom were actually named "Moran" or "Mack." On the other hand, a fiddling comic named Ben K. Benny was forced to change his name when fiddling comic-bandleader Ben Bernie complained, so he went with "Jack Benny" instead. Only to run into confusion when a bandleader named "Jack Denny" showed up. Who, was, in turn, often confused with "Jack Jenney." You can see where this gets to be a problem.

Hey, you wanted to live in Massapequa...

"Oh yeah? Where's your warrant? And you're a city cop -- you got no jurisdiction out here."

Mr. Caniff is finding it increasingly difficult to suppress his personal views of the situation.

Starting next Sunday -- the heart-stirring, globe-trotting adventures of A Boy And His Goat.

Although come to think of it, maybe Chester ought to just hang out with Kayo for a while and get a little perspective.

Of course. Why do you think Dad let you marry this bum anyway if not the guarantee of free airfare?

Hey Shadow, watch where you put those cold hands.

Little Judy is about to learn a valuable lesson.

Sam works in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

A married man whose wife's earnings near or equal his own is still entitled to a draft deferrment, with New York Selective Service head Col. Arthur McDermott upholding a ruling by a local board deferring a Brooklyn man who earned $27.50 a week as a clerk in a brokerage house, and whose wife earns a weekly salary of $25. The board concluded that the couple had arranged its affairs to live on the combined income, and that taking the man in the draft would therefore work a hardship on the woman. Col. McDermott stressed that Selective Service is making every attempt to avoid disrupting civlian life in families.

***Its amazing that people had this option. And of course they'll have to investigate to see if what the couple is calming is true. Any chance to avoid having to go to war is a plus. And later on they learned how traumatized and mentally unstable some not all, these men who served were when they returned home.

 

[Fading Fast]

... View attachment 287336 ("That's OK," snorts Sally. "Who wantsta gota t' Met anyways? T'em ushas awaysgott'eah noses upn'a aiah like t'ey smellin' sumpin' bad.")..)

The different prizes for men and women struck me as odd too.

...[ (What, nothing about Wally's dentist? I'm disappointed.)...

The Prince holds "political conferences" in bed; is that what they called it back then?

A... "Oh yeah? Where's your warrant? And you're a city cop -- you got no jurisdiction out here."....

Super detective Tracy didn't put a man out back?

... Mr. Caniff is finding it increasingly difficult to suppress his personal views of the situation....

He's as close to crossing the line as he could be. He is also one really good story teller. More than any strip, he drops (for a time) what seem to be key characters and introduces others and you are almost immediately engaged with them - that's hard to do. At least that's what we talked about at our Hu Shee fan-club meeting last night.

... Hey Shadow, watch where you put those cold hands.....

Another Sunday, same joke.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Giant blazes in London "blended into one sea of fire" today, according to reports from the German High Command, as Nazi raiders unleashed between 80,000 and 100,000 incendiary bombs and over a million and a half pounds of explosives on the British capital. Nazi authorities stated that the latest attack was in reprisal for British raids on cities in western Germany, and made use of a new tactic in which planes seek to set fire to entire blocks of buildings, which a second wave of raiders then blows apart with explosives. Today's raids continued for nearly eight hours.

An audience of more than 2700 students and teachers overflowed two halls at the Brooklyn Academy of Music yesterday to hear speakers on behalf of the Teachers' Union inaugurate a three-pronged effort to counteract the "high handed and un-democratic activities" of the Rapp-Coudert Committee investigating "subversive activity" in the city's public schools. The campaign calls on supporters to write their State Senators demanding full legislative aid for the public school system, to align their unions and other organizations in active support of the teachers, and to spread "the gospel of school expansion." The central charge made by the speakers was that the Rapp-Coudert campaign is in fact a smokescreen thrown up by those seeking to cut state aid to public schools, and to undermine support in general for the public school system. In addition to Brooklyn College assistant philosophy professor Howard Selsam, Brooklyn College alumnus and playwright Irwin Shaw, I. Kaufman of the Newspaper Guild, and Principal Garibaldi M. Lapolis of Public School 174, other speakers included Earl Robinson, composer of the famous "Ballad For Americans," George M. Murphy, publicity director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Professor Margaret Schlaugh of New York University.

Meanwhile, Rapp-Coudert Committee legal counsel Paul Windel announced today that the twenty-five public school teachers under orders to testify before the panel have until next week to appear or they will face contempt charges. The twenty-five have stated that their legal counsel advises them that they are under no obligation to appear before the committee, and they will not do so.

Fifty policemen of the 76th Precinct patrolled today at the Brooklyn end of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, as a jurisdictional dispute between sandhogs and dockworkers threatened to halt construction on the new tube. Members of Local 147 of the sandhogs' union picketed the site, while members of Local 1456 of the dockworkers' union, claiming control of the shoring-up phase of the work, continued work in the pit. Officials of both unions met with Mayor LaGuardia last week and agreed to arbitration of their differences, with those meetings to be held later this week.

In Nazi-occupied Paris, police have begun a roundup of known Communists, with ninety so-called "militants" in custody and 63 others to be "held for questioning" by the Gestapo. The week-long drive aims to clear Paris and its suburbs of "Communist operations."

A prominent French philosopher has resigned from the College of France at Paris in protest of new anti-Semitic laws. Henry Bergson, a Jew, refused to accept an exemption from the laws offered by the Vichy government for his "literary services to the nation."

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor arrived in Miami today under a level of police protection usually accorded only to the President of the United States. A cordon of fifty officers guarded the dock where the Windsors' yacht was to land, and the couple will be escorted by fifty motorcycle patrolmen to a Miami Beach hospital where the Duchess is to undergo a dental operation. Police declined to discuss the reasons for the elaborate precautions, but it is believed that every effort is being made to avoid any "untoward incidents" that may mar the "strictly private" visit. The couple arrives in Florida four years to the day after the Duke abdicated the Throne of Great Britain for "the woman I love."

("Too bad they forgot the Old Golds." It's a little known fact that Jolly Ol' Nick funded his global manufacturing operations thruout the Era with money from his many commercial endorsements.)

A bomb threat caused delays yesterday at the Queens end of the Triborough Bridge, with police searching all persons and automobiles along the approach after a telephone call was received threatening to blow up the bridge at 9:30 AM. "Every inch of the bridge has been searched," say police, who will continue the special precautions thru today.

(With clams, 5 cents extra.)

(A lot of work for Hal Roach alumni in this bill, but it's hard to imagine how Billy Gilbert fits into a Marlene Dietrich picture. "Huh!" he sniffs. "She's no Thelma Todd!")

New York University graduate Jane Long is a rising star in the advertising game, but when she first started out she was annoyed that her bosses would only assign her to "ladylike" accounts like lingerie, cosmetics, and perfume. Wanting a job she could really sink her teeth into, Miss Long campaigned to be assigned to an account for a firm building road machinery -- and she did such a good job for it that she was hired away by the agency to go to work for the Carrier Corporation, manufacturers of air conditioning plants. Now she's working for the "Electric Furnace Man," a company that builds furnaces and automatic coal stokers. "I've always been interested in mechanical things," says Miss Long, and she notes it makes perfect sense for a woman to write about furnace equipment -- since who is it who fills the job of "fireman" in most homes but the woman!

Mrs. JT writes to Helen Worth to complain about her husband's habits of bringing home business acquaintances and expecting her to put them up for the night. Their apartment is too small for this, and she doesn't see any reason why she should have to do it. Helen says hubby needs to realize that fair dealing goes both ways in a marriage, and if she feels put-upon by the unexpected visitors, he needs to listen to what she has to say.

Reader Walter Jones, a Brooklyn College student, writes in to complain about the sensationalistic tone of coverage of the Rapp-Coudert hearings, which he believes unfairly characterizes thousands of students in the city college system who have committed no crime "other than to accept the offer of a free education." The publicity given the committee's investigations is a "knife in the back" to students who are trying to improve relations between Brooklyn College and the community.

(From 1930 until the early 1970s, any Brooklyn student whose grades met the standard could receive a full four-year education at Brooklyn College at no cost whatsoever.)

("I'm glad there's no armadillos here. Those bits of shell get stuck in your teeth.")

(Well, that settles that.)

Remember Potsy Clark? The former coach of the Football Dodgers, fired at the end of the 1939 season by owner Dan Topping is now the director of public relations for the University of Grand Rapids. How the mighty hath fallen.

Rumors that the Boston Bees will be sold to a wealthy coal baron are rampant as the Winter Meetings get underway in Chicago, and the coal man in question, Albert H. Powell of New Haven, Connecticut, says he expects to complete the necessary negotiations "before long." No decision will be announced, however, until after Bees president Robert Quinn returns to Boston from Chicago. Mr. Powell says that if the deal does go thru, he hopes to retain Quinn as head of the team.

Ever listen in on the shortwave bands to the "cue channels" international correspondents use to chat back and forth with network headquarters in New York? You can hear some pretty amusing stuff -- ranging from family gossip to baseball chatter. There are, it seems, several Dodger fans among the overseas newsmen, and during the summer, the invariable first question asked over the cue channels was "how'd our boys do today?"

(Gee, that must be why Washington lost so badly.)

(When your answer to every challenge is "petty trolling," you're probably not going to accomplish much in life.)

("Yes, officer, unfortunately Mr. Leach was shot while resisting arrest. Isn't that so, Higgins." "Yes sir, very unfortunate, sir.")

("Oh, incidentally, Irwin, thank you for putting gas in the plane before we took off. Uh -- you did put gas in the plane, right? Irwin? IRWIN?")

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Yeah, be a pity if something happened to that yacht while it's in port.

"Hey Sid, whatta we gonna do with this overstock of kid-sized raincoats?" "Here, put these Superman decals on each one an' double the price!"

As the chess pieces move into position...

It's an unorthodox legal strategy but it just might work.

Good thing for Tracy everybody here seems to be moving in s-l-o-w-w-w-w motion.

Yeah, that'll work.

If we get to see Andy going around for the next six weeks with that bandage dangling off the end of his nose, then I for one approve.

This is pretty much how I always had to do it at the theatre -- "as long as somebody shows up, I don't care who." And somebody always did.

Lana and Hu Shee = College roommates.

Darn tootin', Mamie. Take no crap.

 

[Fading Fast]

Giant blazes in London "blended into one sea of fire" today, according to reports from the German High Command, as Nazi raiders unleashed between 80,000 and 100,000 incendiary bombs and over a million and a half pounds of explosives on the British capital. Nazi authorities stated that the latest attack was in reprisal for British raids on cities in western Germany, and made use of a new tactic in which planes seek to set fire to entire blocks of buildings, which a second wave of raiders then blows apart with explosives. Today's raids continued for nearly eight hours....

How was anything left standing at the end of the Blitz?

...
("Too bad they forgot the Old Golds." It's a little known fact that Jolly Ol' Nick funded his global manufacturing operations thruout the Era with money from his many commercial endorsements.)...

"Prepared with a finished art..." Huh?

... (Well, that settles that.)...

In an era of the ground game and low scores, that is an insanely big blowout.

...Ever listen in on the shortwave bands to the "cue channels" international correspondents use to chat back and forth with network headquarters in New York? You can hear some pretty amusing stuff -- ranging from family gossip to baseball chatter. There are, it seems, several Dodger fans among the overseas newsmen, and during the summer, the invariable first question asked over the cue channels was "how'd our boys do today?"...

That's really neat.

... Yeah, be a pity if something happened to that yacht while it's in port....

You could not write a fictional story about the King of England abdicating his throne for an American divorcee, then make the couple Nazi sympathizers and, then - while his country is being bombed nightly by Nazi Germany - have him and his wife sail from Bermuda, where he is governor, to Miami, for dental surgery for his wife, on the yacht of a friend of Herman Goering. You just couldn't write fiction like that an expect anyone to believe it. No two people could be that arrogantly stupid.

... "Hey Sid, whatta we gonna do with this overstock of kid-sized raincoats?" "Here, put these Superman decals on each one an' double the price!"....

No kidding, besides the crass marketing, a raincoat is the opposite of Superman.

... It's an unorthodox legal strategy but it just might work....

While we think she is right, her husband is not wrong in saying that, effectively, her conversation with Annie is not incontrovertible evidence.

... Good thing for Tracy everybody here seems to be moving in s-l-o-w-w-w-w motion....

Seriously, any respectable crook would have been out of there a few seconds after Tracy revealed himself.

...
Yeah, that'll work....

Listen Dr. Ping, thank you, that's an interesting idea that Terry and I should talk over in private (Dr. Ping leaves). Terry, why don't you scooch over and we'll discuss his idea. Mind if I get under the covers, it's a bit cold in here.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

 

[LizzieMaine]

Hahahahaha! Jack is such a sap.

Isn't BLOWING CROWS UP WITH DYNAMITE BOMBS a bit much? Can't they just put up a few plastic owls or something?

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

I wish they were talking about cutting the bus fare these days, its so expensive to ride the bus and subway in Chicago. Bus (no transfers) $2.50 cash, with refill card $2.25 and one transfer, a one time fare card ( only available to buy at train stations) is $3.00 with one free transfer. Subway one will have no choice but to get a refill card or a one time fare card, cost $3.00 and one transfer.

 

[Fading Fast]

What a good ad:

 

[LizzieMaine]

Adolf Hitler today promised German munitions workers that "nothing in the world" can defeat Germany. "Our capacity for work is our gold, our capital," declared the Nazi Fuehrer, "and with it we will defeat the entire world. Hitler vowed that "no power on earth" can remove German occupation forces from Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, or France, and further pledged that if Britain again seeks a foothold on the Continent, "it will get to know us." In the ninety-minute speech Hitler also accused British Prime Minister Winston Churchill of launching "unrestricted air warfare" against German targets, and promised continued reprisals against England.

In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma a 22-year-old graduate of Brooklyn College faces a sentence of up to ten years in prison after having been convicted of "criminal syndicalism," a charge based on his membership in the Communist Party. Alan Shaw, "whose real name is believed to be Alan Lipschitz," was "convicted by a jury of small businessmen" on the basis of his party membership and his possession of Communist literature of violating the state's "anti-syndicalism" law. County Attorney Lewis Morris, in announcing the verdict declared that "membership in the Communist Party, attendance at Communist meetings, and possession of Communist literature" is, by virtue of this law, illegal in the state of Oklahoma. The conviction of Shaw is the second under the law, with the operator of a bookstore selling Communist literature -- a man also identified as a Communist Party official -- having been the first. Nine other persons who are known to have "frequented that bookstore" were also rounded up and are facing trial on similar charges.

The Kings County Democratic Committee has endorsed the Rapp-Coudert Committee hearings, and has pledged itself to ridding the city's school system of "subversive doctrines and Communist teachings" by "any and all lawful means." County Democratic Chairman Frank Kelly announced a unanimous resolution by the local party organization affirming support for the "free education system" while calling for the removal of Communist and Communist-sympathizing teachers within that system.

The basketball and football coach at Long Island University denied press reports that he attended Sunday night's rally at the Academy of Music promoted by the Teachers Union in opposition to the Rapp-Coudert hearings. Clair Bee told the Eagle he had been invited to attend, and had intended to speak from the platform to urge that the Brooklyn College athletic budget not be cut, but upon learning of the political nature of the meeting, he withdrew his acceptance of the invitation and was not present at the rally. Bee says he knows 400 or 500 students at Brooklyn College, but he doesn't know of any Communists there, and he asserted that there "is no subversive activity at L. I. U."

(And when you turn to page sixteen you see...)

(Really, Mr. Schroth, this is beneath your dignity. Did Hearst buy the Eagle and you didn't tell us?)

Brooklyn College President Dr. Harry Gideonse denounced remarks by Brooklyn College assistant professor of philosophy Dr. Howard Seslam accusing him of opposing peace activities on the campus. Dr. Gideonse stated that his opposition to the activities of the American Student Union were merely to uphold actions taken last summer by the Faculty-Student Committee on Student Activities banning the A. S. U. from the campus, and that he agrees with that Committee's condemnation of the A. S. U. as a "small self-seeking minority." Dr. Gideonese accused Dr. Seslam of introducing a "red herring" into the controversy.

("Ha ha ha Daddy's a Dope" is not a 21st Century invention.)

(I think I'd enjoy an hour or two in Loeser's book department. That "Complete Sherlock Holmes" is the edition I have, and the introductory piece by Christopher Morley is excellent. The Van Loon books on geography and the arts are interesting too, as introductions to those topics intended for middle-class people who had never actually studied them in any depth. But seriously -- "I Claudius?" Fine Christmas reading, that is.)

(*snif*)

(On first read, this caption gave an entirely different meaning from what Mr. Lichty intended.)

The Eagle Editorialist accuses the Teachers' Union of throwing up a smokescreen by accusing the Rapp-Coudert Committee of throwing up a smokescreen, and by not even mentioning Communism in their meeting Sunday. "Frankly," he declares, "we did not expect the meeting to openly tilt a lance in defense of the practice of Communism in schools and colleges, but one might have expected some denial that the professors under fire are Communists or that any of their actions might be properly criticized."

The News Editor of the Brooklyn Vanguard, student paper at Brooklyn College writes in to dispel the image created by newspaper coverage that his school is a hive of Communism. George Schwartz says that the school is merely a reflection of its community -- and if there are a few Communists at Brooklyn College it's merely because there are also a few Communists in the 23rd Assembly District, the 7th Sentatorial District, and so on and on. "Brooklyn College is fulfilling its purpose," he insists, "that of producing intelligent, useful citizens -- and it is on that basis that it should be judged."

The Dodgers have acquired utility infielder Lew Riggs from the world champion Cincinnati Reds in exchange for minor league infielder Floyd Young, who was drafted by Brooklyn last month off the roster of the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association. The deal might not seem significant -- but it is, once you consider that Cookie Lavagetto has the lowest draft number of any Brooklyn player, and if any member of the Flock is called up for the Army during the 1941 season, it will be him. Cookie is 26 years old, unmarried, and has no dependents, meaning if his number comes up he will have no choice but to exchange his flannels for khaki. Riggs is not Lavagetto's equal, but he is a solid player who could fill the gap if it becomes necessary to fill the gap.

Meanwhile, it also turns out that Leo Durocher himself could get an early call-up from Uncle Sam, since he also has been assigned a low number -- and though he is married, his wife is financially independent thru her own dress-designing business in St. Louis. Lippy believes that he is entitled to an exemption because he supports his mother and his stepbrother, which may weigh in his favor with his draft board. He is also 36 years old, which might also carry weight.

It turns out that all was not entirely well with Joe Medwick after he was hit in the head by Bob Bowman's fastball last June. Durocher reported today that Medwick has been experiencing double vision since the beaning, with the facts having come out following Ducky's examination by doctors at the Mayo Clinic last month -- and further, he is still having vision problems six months on from the beaning. It is hoped, however, that the problems will resolve themselves by the time the Dodgers report to their Havana training camp in February.

The Dodgers shelled out a lot more for Mickey Owen than previously believed, according to club secretary John McDonald, who hints that estimates in excess of $75,000 would be closer to correct than the previous estimate of $50,000.

Benny Goodman appears tonight on "We The People" to discuss his upcoming performance as a classical clarinetist with the New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. Goodman will share the microphone with music critic Deems Taylor at 9 PM over WABC.

(Seriously though, isn't football season over? Shouldn't this be a hockey story, and Sparky just tore the face off a goalie by hitting him with a lead puck?)

(FIFTH COLUMNIST!)

(Or maybe it's Leona wanting to know WHAT IS KEEPING YOU JOHN I'VE BEEN SITTING IN THIS CAR FOR A WEEK!)

(Remember that kid last summer who stole a plane from Floyd Bennett Field and piled it up in Long Island Sound or someplace? It's a pity he couldn't have waited for this storyline.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Wait, Axel??? His name is AXEL!?? We better hope Nick really *is* still alive.

What? He's been home for a month now. And that's a TERRIBLE picture.

("Hey," says Joe. "I cudusewunnate'm leatha jackets. I don'carenuttin' bouta spots, t'stains from t'pickle brine'll cova 'em up." "Two ninety eight," says Sally. "I dunno. Lasst'ing we got at Davega wassat bat'in'suit you had lasssumma. Rememba? Wit' t' big moth hole right whea y'cud see ya..." "NEVVAMIN'.")

"And what's more, you can't go to court wearing a sweatshirt!"

I know Pat is kinda soft-headed -- but "squish?"

A polar bear? Just how "north" are these "north woods?"

Point of order: Wilmer works on the road, so there still won't be anyone in the office. Come up with another plan, kid.

Nothing could possibly go wrong.

My favorite thing about Mamie is the way she walks. No delicate footfalls for her.

My, but isn't Terry looking perky today. What's in that tea, anyway?

 

[Fading Fast]

...[ (I think I'd enjoy an hour or two in Loeser's book department. That "Complete Sherlock Holmes" is the edition I have, and the introductory piece by Christopher Morley is excellent. The Van Loon books on geography and the arts are interesting too, as introductions to those topics intended for middle-class people who had never actually studied them in any depth. But seriously -- "I Claudius?" Fine Christmas reading, that is.)...

Seconded. I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon - it would be heaven. Visiting old bookstores is one of my favorite things to do today; this would be the best fantasy version of that ever.

...It turns out that all was not entirely well with Joe Medwick after he was hit in the head by Bob Bowman's fastball last June. Durocher reported today that Medwick has been experiencing double vision since the beaning, with the facts having come out following Ducky's examination by doctors at the Mayo Clinic last month -- and further, he is still having vision problems six months on from the beaning. It is hoped, however, that the problems will resolve themselves by the time the Dodgers report to their Havana training camp in February....

I think we noted at the time that it happened that this one felt more serious than usual and that they didn't give him - or he wouldn't take - enough time off to fully heal.

... (Seriously though, isn't football season over? Shouldn't this be a hockey story, and Sparky just tore the face off a goalie by hitting him with a lead puck?)...

Agreed. I think we are seeing why Boody Rogers, despite having some smart and exciting ideas, didn't turn Sparky Watts into a huge hit. He doesn't seem to really understand the medium he's in and how it and good storytelling works.

... (Or maybe it's Leona wanting to know WHAT IS KEEPING YOU JOHN I'VE BEEN SITTING IN THIS CAR FOR A WEEK!)...

That's quite the leap Leach just took from small-time bank robber to revolutionist.

... Wait, Axel??? His name is AXEL!?? We better hope Nick really *is* still alive....

And didn't the Tecums disappear on a yacht off the coast of Florida, just sayin'.

... Nothing could possibly go wrong....

No kidding, that's quite a bold move.

... My, but isn't Terry looking perky today. What's in that tea, anyway?

It's Hu Shee's special blend - perked the yellow-haired one right up.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I can't wait till Mr. Bowman comes in next spring pitching with the Giants. It'll be glorious. I hope Frankie Germano has tickets for every game.

Boody appears to have a reputation for odd, surreal work -- "Sparky" being his most mainstream creation. I wasn't aware of him until we started following his strip in the Eagle, but it appears he was the focus of a full-scale critical appreciation a few years ago...

BOODY: The Bizarre Comics of Boody Rogers

It would appear, from this cover, that there will eventually be a storyline where Sparky is hanging around in a smoking jacket with a half-two-headed-woman/half Dr. Seuss creature. I have to say that I wish he'd hurry up and get to it.