The Era -- Day By Day

[Fading Fast]

("Hah!" hahs Joe. "Nice woik if y'can get it! I wonneh what police inspecteh it is t'at's gettin' free diapeh soivice!" Sally looks up from rinsing one of Leonora's in a dented pail in the sink and shakes her head. "It ain' t'at I can't sympat'ize.")
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"I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts." ― Will Rogers

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View attachment 409045
(Three more days!)
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He should be using the Income Tax Form service the Eagle has been offering on its front page for over a month now.

I guess Lichty had to give his guy hair so he'd have some to pull out in frustration.

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(Look, maybe you guys just shouldn't go to Cuba anymore.)
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No kidding and the first clue is when the GM has to hire investigators to keep watch of the team. Next year in Florida with wives' attendance mandatory.

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(Friends? Pals?)
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Since the Eagle printed this same "The Bungles" strip two days ago, that means it has left one out, so the Eagle will either have to print two strips tomorrow (or on some day) or we'll lose one forever.

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(Don't be so sure of that.)
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Colonel dies of pneumonia? We got to get rid of this guy somehow.

And in the Daily News...

View attachment 409051
Look, is she 28 or 27? Can we please get to the bottom of this?
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Eventually, we'll find out which paper has better fact checkers.

Regardless, Ms. Webb is not facing her moment of crisis with stoicism.

God love Page Four, though, two, not one, pictures of the model cum murderess. I think she looks cuter with the glasses.

And in the Daily News...
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Well, let's see. Harvey out there in Queens was mixed up in the paving scandals, now we see all the squirmy things crawling out from under the wet rock that is Mr. Flynn in the Bronx. Hey Cashmore, got your books in order?
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No kidding, it's a cesspool. And while, as you noted a few days back, Kern sometimes gets ahead of himself, I'd happily make book that he's spot on about the antique Belgian courtyard.

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Zee is Brady CONFIRMED.
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"Who's next Doctor Blunt?"

"Some detective claiming another doctor didn't set his broken leg correctly, but it looks to me like the cast was removed too early.

"I'll bet the detective bullied his doctor into doing that."

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This guy looks a bit like Chester Gould, which makes me wonder about just how well he's handling wartime pressures.
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After you told us how Gould played hardball to keep Marsh's new strip out, I could see Gould dealing in black-market tires and looking just like this guy.

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"Be honest with me, daughter. Do I need to bring my shotgun?"
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Let's see, Nina is about 18, but based on the illustrations, her parents look to be about ninety years old. Or was she raised by her great grandparents?

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View attachment 409076
Big shot? Could that be -- Dude Hennick to the rescue?
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[LizzieMaine]

I have the feeling that Nina is the youngest of a very large family that was started when Mr. and Mrs. Clock were very young, as was the case with 19th Century farm families. If her oldest siblings were born in 1885 and she was born in 1921 or so that's still within the realms of possibility.

And that also makes it understandable why she wants to get married SOON.

By the way, Papa's full name is "Seth Thomas Clock." And I bet Mama's maiden name was "Ingraham."

 

[Fading Fast]

I have the feeling that Nina is the youngest of a very large family that was started when Mr. and Mrs. Clock were very young, as was the case with 19th Century farm families. If her oldest siblings were born in 1885 and she was born in 1921 or so that's still within the realms of possibility.

And that also makes it understandable why she wants to get married SOON.

By the way, Papa's full name is "Seth Thomas Clock." And I bet Mama's maiden name was "Ingraham."

I'm surprised there wasn't a lawsuit (or was there?) of the name "Seth Thomas Clock."

 

[LizzieMaine]

On the other hand, though, you can't beat the advertising.

Mr. King did love his oddball names. Skeezix's real name is "Allison," meaning "Son of the Alley," but I've never seen him actually use it.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(What, bail bond irregularities again? I thought Abe Frosch joined the Army. And at this point, shouldn't somebody be investigating Valentine? Oh, and $25,000 in hotel expenses? Just how much room service did Reles get?)

Dispatches from Stockholm and various continental news centers indicate today that the Soviet Union has opened a new phase of its winter offensive, throwing powerful new attacks against Nazi forces along the entire front from Leningrad to the Sea of Azov. Reports that the Red Army is driving on a 250-mile southern front with 90 divisions totalling 1,750,000 men are unconfirmed. Berlin confirms that its forces are under "heavy and continuous attack" from Orel, 200 miles south of Moscow and east of Kharkov, all the way into the Crimea.

General Douglas MacArthur's men on the fortress island of Corregidor are taking what amounts to, pound for pound and acre for acre, the heaviest air attacks in history. The raids so far have cost Japan at least 120 planes, with estimates that up to half of some attacking fleets falling victim to the island's anti-aircraft guns. American forces on the island estimate that they have been hit by at least 1500 bombs during the raids.

(Elektro the Robot finds a new job. It's not the World's Fair, but at least he's doing his bit.)

The "Mad Dog Killers" lie today in the morgue at Sing Sing Prison after last night riding the last mile to the electric chair. Brothers Anthony and William Esposito, weakened by refusal to eat or exercise during their time on Death Row, and their sanity a matter of dispute until a report last week ruled them "hysterical, but sane," had to be pushed in wheelchairs from their cells to the death chamber, and had to be lifted from the chairs by guards and placed, in turn, in the electric chair. Neither man weighed more than eighty pounds. Neither Esposito had any last words before the switch was thrown, and both seemed oblivious to their surroundings -- their only visible reactions coming when the deadly voltage jolted thru their bodies. The brothers were convicted of murder in the death of a payroll courier during a criminal rampage thru midtown Manhattan early last year.

(And you'll look swell when you go in for your audit!)

Brooklyn's quota is 16,000 pints in the new American Red Cross Blood Drive to be formally inaugurated next week with the dedication of the new Blood Donor Center at 57 Willoughby Street. Borough President John Cashmore will be donate the first pint at the new facility, which will be staffed on a full-time basis. "Brooklyn cannot contribute such large sums of money as Manhattan can," commented Tracy B. Voohrees, chairman of the blood division, "but with its nearly 3,000,000 population, making it the second largest community in America, Brooklyn has the manpower and the patriotic awareness of the need to take a leading part in this blood drive."

("At Cashmore might be t'fois' one in line," declares Sally, "but I'm gonna be t'secon'. You see'f I ain't!" "I heah t;ey give ya a cookie," says Joe. "I hope it ain' a macroon, I hate macaroons." "Las' time I give blood, t'ey gimme a sugeh cookie," notes Sally. "But wit' times bein' what t'ey is, ya might hafta take a macaroon a' nutt'n. Doncha know t'ez a wawr on?")

(Gus Arriola is the first, and, in 1942, the only Latino syndicated cartoonist in the business. "Gordo" means "fat" in Spanish. Wonder Fitz will think of that?)

(That's the spirit!)

Police at the Bergen Street station are guarding one of the most valuable lost properties ever turned in at the precinct -- a 14-ply 12.00x20 truck tire, which, with its wheel and tube, flew off a passing truck on Clermont Avenue yesterday and crashed into a workman's shanty near the corner of Atlantic Avenue. The tire, which would have been worth about $185 before the start of rubber rationing is now worth, according to a dealer, "an arm and a leg." The owner may claim it at the police station, but will need to bring a hoist to take it away.

The supply department at Camp Upton's 1222d Reception Center has faced down two serious challenges to its ingenuity this week. When Pvt, Benjamin Kiningsberg of the Bronx reported for training, the supply sergeant found that he needed a size 3 1/2 shoe -- the smallest yet requisitioned at the base. And no sooner had Pvt. Kiningsberg been fitted and sent on his way,
than Pvt. Michael J. Seider of Albany reported to the supply counter to request an overcoat suitable for his 6 foot 1, 305-pound frame. After some searching, Pvt. Seider was issued a smart-fitting garment.

(C'mon, Larry, shell out. At least he didn't pan you in the Saturday Evening Post.)

(Acutally, Hitler never went in for gaudy uniforms, and was well-known for dressing rather drably. You must've got in Hermann's room by mistake.)

(I bet Miss Panel Two has a great Page Four scrapbook.)

(Well, that's that.)

(The old pea-coat is suitable if you're posing as a dock worker, but jeez, Dan, the white flannel pants are just a little too jaunty,)

 

[Fading Fast]

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The "Mad Dog Killers" lie today in the morgue at Sing Sing Prison after last night riding the last mile to the electric chair. Brothers Anthony and William Esposito, weakened by refusal to eat or exercise during their time on Death Row, and their sanity a matter of dispute until a report last week ruled them "hysterical, but sane," had to be pushed in wheelchairs from their cells to the death chamber, and had to be lifted from the chairs by guards and placed, in turn, in the electric chair. Neither man weighed more than eighty pounds. Neither Esposito had any last words before the switch was thrown, and both seemed oblivious to their surroundings -- their only visible reactions coming when the deadly voltage jolted thru their bodies. The brothers were convicted of murder in the death of a payroll courier during a criminal rampage thru midtown Manhattan early last year.
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It's amazing that we've seen this story from start to finish.

Today, it's unlikely the case would even have yet gone to trial.

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(And you'll look swell when you go in for your audit!)
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Hey, I thought they had already made the two-trouser thing (which I still believe saves material) illegal for the duration?

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("At Cashmore might be t'fois' one in line," declares Sally, "but I'm gonna be t'secon'. You see'f I ain't!" "I heah t;ey give ya a cookie," says Joe. "I hope it ain' a macroon, I hate macaroons." "Las' time I give blood, t'ey gimme a sugeh cookie," notes Sally. "But wit' times bein' what t'ey is, ya might hafta take a macaroon a' nutt'n. Doncha know t'ez a wawr on?")
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You know Kilgallen will be in line ahead of her.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Chess? Who cares, I wanna see the wedding gown photos. And that tiny little bit at the bottom of the page about Colliers, the Post, and Liberty all raising their prices is actually a rather momentous moment -- signalling the start of the long decline and fall of the general-interest weeklies.

Ripped from the comic pages.

Um, are you taking new patients?

First it was Lichty drawing pictures in my yard, now it's Clark.

Aw, cmon! Where's Dude? Bless Bess!

Point of order! Since when does a common hood like BB Eyes have access to a comprehensive fingerprint file? Unless he got it from somebody on the force. But we all know that kind of corruption is IMPOSSIBLE.

Ahhhh, a good night's sleep. How I wish I could have one.

Ahhhh, my surrogate daughter went thru this with her future mother in law last year, and it didn't end well at all. Hey Nina, do you need a notary to do a quickie wedding? I've got my certificate!

I wonder if Emmy and Andy Gump are related?

"Hah! That Goofy! What a chump! Oh, wait..."

 

[LizzieMaine]

And...

I bet goat hair soaked in beer really smells.

 

[Fading Fast]

And in the Daily News...

Chess? Who cares, I wanna see the wedding gown photos. And that tiny little bit at the bottom of the page about Colliers, the Post, and Liberty all raising their prices is actually a rather momentous moment -- signalling the start of the long decline and fall of the general-interest weeklies.
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Tommy Manville! Tommy Manville!

I thought the chess-playing burglar was a pretty good story, but yes, the photos of "that" would be better. And nothing today about Ms. Webb?

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Point of order! Since when does a common hood like BB Eyes have access to a comprehensive fingerprint file? Unless he got it from somebody on the force. But we all know that kind of corruption is IMPOSSIBLE.

Gould is going into noir land with dirty cops.

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Aw, cmon! Where's Dude? Bless Bess!
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Dude seems more like a loan wolf. I'm still hoping on seeing The Dragon Lady and/or Hu Shee to the rescue.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Congratulations to the flexible kid in the third row for his correct answer to today's quiz. And here's your prize, sonny, a fifty pound bundle of asbestos shingles courtesy of our friends at Johns-Manville.

 

[Haversack]

I grew up with Gordo in the Chronicle. It was just after Arriola completed his style change in how he drew Perfecto Salazar Lopez, i.e. 'Gordo'. Arriola slung good stories with a host of memorable characters and with an increasing display of artwork. The highlight of the week were the Sunday cartoons. Separate from the weekly's storyline, these took up an entire page in tabloid format and often incorporated motifs taken from Mexican art and jazz.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Arriola was an animator at Disney and MGM before starting his strip, and you can see just from the Eagle's promo drawing that even at this early stage -- the strip began in 1941 -- he's already got a sharp and confident line. I'm looking forward to seeing how he comes along.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(Father Curran, who serves a parish in Prospect Heights when he's not delivering political speeches in Boston, is, the article neglects to mention, the former East Coast representative for Father Coughlin, who has been off the air since the spring of 1940, and is presently under investigation for sedition. And I'll also note that "Rose O'Day" is nowhere near as infuriating as "Deep In The Heart Of Texas," and I hope the magistrate takes that under consideration.)

(Oh, and if this was 1842 instead of 1942, Mr. Flynn would be whapping Mr. Kern across the face with a fawn-colored glove and inviting him to meet on the field of honor.)

Russian sources claimed today that Red Army troops have killed another 15,810 Germans and have recaptured 100 more villages and hamlets along the Northern front. A special communique this morning announcing results of fighting in the North from February 22nd to March 10th said 14,000 of the enemy had been slain on that front alone. The first communique today added new figures, noting also that on several sectors of the southern front, Soviet troops smashed 33 earth-fortified Nazi positions, killing 1500 Germans and destroying much materiel.

Japanese invaders of Burma are reported officially today to be moving northward from Rangoon, and according to reports broadcast by Radio Sydney, they have attacked with tanks 70 to 80 miles northwest of the fallen capital.

("I'm old an' rough an' doity an' tough, said Barna-cle Bill t' Sail-eh!" sings Joe. "What?" whats Sally. "Nut'n," replies Joe.)

No direct evidence of sabotage has been uncovered in the fire that gutted the former French liner Normandie, according to two separate investigations conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a House Naval Affairs Subcomittee. Both reports concluded that the blaze was accidental, touched off when a blaze from a welder's torch touched off a stack of kapok life preservers stored nearby. The House report stated that it has not yet been determined if the $80,000,000 liner, which was being converted for war work, can be in any way salvaged.

A book entitled "America Handcuffed By Radio Chains" by Anthony B. Meany of Queens asserts that radio advertising caused the Depression. In the book, published by Daniel Ryerson, Incorporated, Mr. Meany contends that radio advertising continues to harm America's economic and social structure by causing a reduction in patronage for motion picture and legitimate theatres, the sale of newspapers, the use of transportation, and attendance at church services. Mr. Meany advocates as a remedy the abolition of all network broadcasting of commercial programs, and the strict regulation of all other forms of broadcast advertising.

(Life is very sad.)

(Hig's got a sore shoulder? Must've been a very heavy glass.)

Announcer Alan Hale will join Red Barber at the Ebbets Field microphone this season, replacing Brother Al Helfer, who is now on active duty as a lieutenant in the U. S. Navy.

(Kay Francis movies are always a known quantity, but I can honestly say I've never seen a bad one.)

(Hey now, no jokes about the Scotch-Irish. We're sensitive.)

(Somebody skinned a couch to make that suit.)

(Maybe you wouldn't but I bet *he* would.)

(PIGEON nests of crime! Watch your heads!)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

"DeLancey 'Slant Face" Murgatroyd?' Ya makin' that up.

When you look at it this way, it seems even worse.

Whatever happens, is going to be spectacular.

"He'll ruin it for all the rest of us!" Mr. Gray doesn't much care for the AMA.

BB won't waste a good death trap on this guy.

Sorry kid, there's an uncle who'll be writing you soon, and his name isn't Walt.

"He's been sacrificed to the jackal-god Anubis!" "*sigh* I'll get the mop..."

One more day!

"Sorry, that ascot, that shirt, and those pants are gonna cost you at least $35."

Before you start playing grownup, it's a good idea to be one.

 

[Fading Fast]

(Father Curran, who serves a parish in Prospect Heights when he's not delivering political speeches in Boston, is, the article neglects to mention, the former East Coast representative for Father Coughlin, who has been off the air since the spring of 1940, and is presently under investigation for sedition. And I'll also note that "Rose O'Day" is nowhere near as infuriating as "Deep In The Heart Of Texas," and I hope the magistrate takes that under consideration.)
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Another teeny tiny connect I have to this era is that the first office building in NYC I worked in was 120 Broadway, which, I just learned today, was hit by errant friendly anti-aircraft fire during WWII. Also, in the fun-fact category, 120 Broadway was the first building in NYC to ever take up a full city block. It is a behemoth and was very cool to work in as it had incredible original interior architecture, much of it still untouched in the '80s.

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("I'm old an' rough an' doity an' tough, said Barna-cle Bill t' Sail-eh!" sings Joe. "What?" whats Sally. "Nut'n," replies Joe.)
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WWII: Men line up for brothels on Hotel Street, Honolulu, Hawaii​

It looks to me like there's a sailor or two in line.

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A book entitled "America Handcuffed By Radio Chains" by Anthony B. Meany of Queens asserts that radio advertising caused the Depression. In the book, published by Daniel Ryerson, Incorporated, Mr. Meany contends that radio advertising continues to harm America's economic and social structure by causing a reduction in patronage for motion picture and legitimate theatres, the sale of newspapers, the use of transportation, and attendance at church services. Mr. Meany advocates as a remedy the abolition of all network broadcasting of commercial programs, and the strict regulation of all other forms of broadcast advertising.
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Dear Lord.

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(Somebody skinned a couch to make that suit.)
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Agreed, but you know Andy Gump is wondering where he can buy a suit just like it.

And in the Daily News...


"DeLancey 'Slant Face" Murgatroyd?' Ya makin' that up.
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There's not a minute to waste Dan Dunn.

And in the Daily News...
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"He'll ruin it for all the rest of us!" Mr. Gray doesn't much care for the AMA.
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Heck, the most impressive thing is they got a doctor's office to tell them what something will cost beforehand. Good luck getting a straight answer to that question today. Gray seems to be moving through a socialist phase based on what you told us about him awhile back, Lizzie.

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View attachment 409832
Sorry kid, there's an uncle who'll be writing you soon, and his name isn't Walt.

"Fly there over the weekend." Exactly how much is this high school graduate making at the factory? The average American 18 year old (or of any age) didn't really think about flying anywhere in 1942, that was a rich person's way to travel.

 

[ChiTownScion]

Honey is best described as a, well, it rhymes with "wall duster." And Goofy, her meathead hubby, would try the patience of a saint. He makes Harold seem sageous by comparison: perhaps the only consolation is that Miss Honey could have ended up with Shadow.

But speaking from my own experience, I wouldn't want to relive that first year of marriage, ever. "Honeymoon, " my south end! It was more like two large, teethed gears learning how to mesh. No clutch, and a lot of grinding. We were both over 30, and maybe that was an issue. Money wasn't a problem but learning to work together is perhaps a bit harder than it would have been had we been ten years younger. You get set in your ways and dealing with someone new can be challenging. And then there's the issues of family... both hers and mine.

The upside was that we bought our first home after nine months, and once we moved in, a lot of the tension dissipated. I have the feeling that it's going to be quite a while before Mr. and Mrs. Goofy will be paying off a mortgage.

 

[LizzieMaine]

(It takes a particular kind of person to go on the warpath against both Butch and Tammany Hall at the same time. I hope, for Mr. Kern's sake, that somewhere in his desk he has Nick Gatt's phone number.)

Australia, powerfully aided by an American expeditionary force, struck thru the air today against the tentacles of a Japanese invasion pincers that seeks to grab a jumping-off point for attacks on the Australian subcontinent. United States correspondents, for reasons of military security, are not permitted to disclose the whereabouts of American forces now ashore in Australia, nor may they reveal the type of units involved nor their ports of arrival. It can be reported, however, that American heavy bombers are flying side by side with Australian planes in the battering attacks on Japanese invasion ships and land forces which seek to transform New Guinea into a springboard for a full attack on Australia's north coast.

Germany was reported last night to be massing troops and war material in Norway and Denmark, and intensifying military preparations along the Baltic coast. Reports from Stockholm indicated that these Nazi moves, which have not been held under any effort at secrecy, are in apparent preparation for a German spring offensive across Finland, and as precaution against an Allied thrust against the Norwegian coast. Swedish sources maintain that there has been no evidence that Germany is at this time preparing an attack on Scandanavia, and that reports of an imminent crisis between Sweden and Germany are without basis.

Great Britain's nonstop aerial attack against Axis war factories gained momentum yesterday in a powerful bombardment of Cologne, attacks on enemy positions in France and other occupied countries, and the downing of ten Nazi fighters over the English Channel. The Cologne industrial and railroad center was the primary target of the RAF bombers which swept in force across northwestern Germany. "A great weight of high explosives were dropped," reported a communique, "and many large fires were left burning." It is also reported that continuation of the offensive this morning led to the destruction of eight Messerschmitt-109 fighters.

In an effort to prevent exhaustion of gasoline supplies along the East and West Coasts, the War Production Board has ordered an across-the-board reduction in fuel supplies of 20 percent, effective March 19th, in seventeen eastern states, the District of Columbia, Oregon, and Washington. Operation of filling stations within the designated zone will be restricted to no more than twelve hours per day spread over any six days of the week. The order by Federal Oil Coordinator Harold I. Ickes is viewed as a stopgap measure until a formal card rationing system can be established in the affected areas. In addition to restrictions on operating hours, the order restricts gasoline deliveries for filling stations to 80 percent of each station's base gallonage for the period between December 1, 1941 to February 28, 1942. Station operators will be allowed to decide their specific operating hours, and the day they will be closed, for themselves. The restrictions on operation go into effect Thursday, but delivery restrictions are immediate, a move seen as a way to prevent last-minute hoarding of fuel.

The big thermometer set up in front of Borough Hall to monitor the progress of Brooklyn's current Red Cross drive has boiled up beyond the $700,000 mark. The success of the two-month campaign will be celebrated tomorrow night with an "over the top celebration" at the Hotel St. George, where 1500 workers will be entertained by stars of the opera, stage, screen, and radio and hear speeches by prominent speakers.

Brooklyn's Irish will be on the march Tuesday as the borough does its part in the city's annual celebration of St. Patrick's Day. Besides furnishing its usual contingent for the big parade along
Fifth Avenue, the borough will sponsor two outstanding functions, with the 80th annual dinner of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick to be held at the Columbus Club, 1 Prospect Park West, with Borough President John Cashmore the featured speaker; and the annual dinner of the St. Patrick Society of Brooklyn to be held at Manhattan's Waldorf Astoria, with Bishop Thomas E. Molloy and other prominent churchmen expected to speak.

("Hmph," hmphs Joe. "Pa'gett an' Rizzo wit' one hit b'tween'm. Dixie woulda gone t'ree fa foueh, you wait'n see'f he wouln't" "Huh," huhs Sally. "Magehkoit' was umpin', an' Leo din' get t'rown out. What kin'a game izzat?")

Yankee manager Joe McCarthy sees his club repeating as American League pennant winners this year -- but he doesn't think it'll be as easy as it's been in the past. "Nobody can predict what'll happen this summer," declares the Yankee pilot. "Cleveland lost Bob Feller to the service and Hal Trosky to illness. Both the Boston and Detroit clubs have been hit. And there is NO doubt in my mind that we'll be hit." McCarthy notes that any of the now-aging Yankees could start to slip, and have to be replaced, and while rookie pitcher Johnny Lindell, with 26 wins for Newark last year and a .298 batting average besides, is an outstanding prospect, many Yankee rookies remain unknown quantities.

Tommy Holmes looks at the 1942 Dodgers and sees a strong and consistent club heading into the new campaign, with the Flock having lost only one key man -- Cookie Lavagetto -- to military service, and Larry MacPhal saw that coming far enough in advance to bring in Arky Vaughan as an able replacement. Otherwise, the Flock going into 1942 has all the strengths of the 1941 National League Champions, "with more really good ballplayers wearing Brooklyn monkey-suits than have ever before appeared in Dodger livery at any one time." The club is so good, in fact, that several outstanding rookies who would have every chance of breaking into the starting lineup with any other team may be spending their seasons in Montreal or, at best, on the Brooklyn bench, with outfielder Tom Tatum and catchers Dixie Howell and Cliff Dapper all having fine springs.

Freddie Fitzsimmons isn't the only local baseballer to make his mark in the bowling business. Giant catcher Harry Danning kept in shape over the winter working as a pinboy at the alley he runs on Long Island.

(He might be a dictator, but he's *our* dictator. Well, not really -- that Brazil never became a banana-coffee republic suggests that Sr. Vargas wasn't about to line up fully in anyone's camp.)

Next Saturday's matinee will mark the 500th performance for "Arsenic and Old Lace," placing the Lindsay-Crouse hit about deadly old ladies from Brooklyn in the rarefied category shared, among current shows, only by "Life With Father"-- also a Lindsay-Crouse success -- and "My Sister Eileen." Since opening on January 10, 1941, "Arsenic" has seen one marriage among its cast and crew members, along with the birth of three babies, one death, and one induction into the armed forces.

("He can lick everything but liquor!" Once again, Mr. Harman tackles the tough issues.)

(Whenever a gimmick like this I wonder how they built it without being noticed. "Building permit? Hah, here's a picture of General Grant. That's my building permit!")

(Wow, that luminous corsage really does the job. Hey, can you turn it up brighter?)

(Look, kid, don't be hard on yourself -- Edison didn't actually build any of the stuff he invented. And GOOD LUCK SAILOR, says the B-girl in her trim white linen suit and modest black silk blouse)

(Keep 'em flying!)

(I hope that poor camel doesn't end up on the menu.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

I bet the good people of Davenport, Iowa are really excited to get this kind of publicity in a BIG NEW YORK NEWSPAPER.

"We ain' hoid f'm Solly in a while," notes Joe. "I guess no news is good news." "I wonneh how t'ey celebrate Sain' Patrick's Day in Ireland?" wonders Sally. "Solly ain' Irish, t'ough," Joe points out. ""At neveh stopped 'im when he was livin' heah," sighs Sally.

And who in the sheriff's office tipped you off about that????

"Oh wait, no, it's just an old crate of fake Canadian whiskey."

Now I really want to know what's in the crate that Kayo can sit on the end of it like that without it moving.

If this international adventurer bit doesn't work out, Pat can always get a job in the circus.

Zack Mosely listens to too many soap operas.

I hate March. I really do.

Susie's mother is a saint.

Judge Bulge is Nick CONFIRMED. And how about Maw Green doing the "money or your life" gag seven years before Jack Benny gets around to it. Didn't quite get the punch line right though.

 

[Fading Fast]

(It takes a particular kind of person to go on the warpath against both Butch and Tammany Hall at the same time. I hope, for Mr. Kern's sake, that somewhere in his desk he has Nick Gatt's phone number.)
..

It does indeed. It would be quite interesting if Kern just "disappears." Although, that would be a pretty high-profile move to cover up. While he doesn't seem to have much on LaGuardia (who's probably guilty - like nearly all politicians at some point - of looking the other way), his story is pretty compelling against Flynn. It will be fun to see how this one plays out. I love that Flynn is still in Florida. Is he working on his defense or is it just arrogance? I'm thinking the latter.

...

Germany was reported last night to be massing troops and war material in Norway and Denmark, and intensifying military preparations along the Baltic coast. Reports from Stockholm indicated that these Nazi moves, which have not been held under any effort at secrecy, are in apparent preparation for a German spring offensive across Finland, and as precaution against an Allied thrust against the Norwegian coast. Swedish sources maintain that there has been no evidence that Germany is at this time preparing an attack on Scandanavia, and that reports of an imminent crisis between Sweden and Germany are without basis.
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Invading Russia was such an unforced error for Hitler. He just stretched his impressive war machine too thin.

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(Whenever a gimmick like this I wonder how they built it without being noticed. "Building permit? Hah, here's a picture of General Grant. That's my building permit!")
...

Two very '40s things - at least in comicstrips and movies - are, one, the secret hideout with a subcategory being the mob boss' secret luxury apartment and, two, car ramps and elevators in buildings taking cars pretty high up. I don't remember the movie, but there is one where customers could drive into a building, take a car elevator up to the top and drive into a nightclub (or something close to that). I, too, always wonder about how all these secret places get built.

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(Look, kid, don't be hard on yourself -- Edison didn't actually build any of the stuff he invented. And GOOD LUCK SAILOR, says the B-girl in her trim white linen suit and modest black silk blouse)
...

I think Marsh left a panel out between 7 and 8 where spy girl does some extra-curricular activity with the sailor to get the information. That said, this is an okay plot for a "Dan Dunn" story.

And in the Daily News...

I bet the good people of Davenport, Iowa are really excited to get this kind of publicity in a BIG NEW YORK NEWSPAPER.
...

What a humdinger of a story it is though and Page Four has only scratched the surface. We need to learn more about Ms. Bishop and the new bride, wonderfully named, Chrystol. That's she's eighteen, while Ms. Green is 23 is a nice touch too. It's bit hard to tell for sure from the wire-service photos, but I think our young man has a definite type.

And in the Daily News...

And who in the sheriff's office tipped you off about that????
...

Joking aside, this is some tough stuff for kids.

And in the Daily News...
...

Zack Mosely listens to too many soap operas.
...

"Your answer please?"

"What would a Page Four story, a Greek Tragedy and Grace Metalious' "Peyton Place" look like as a comicstrip mashup?"

"That is correct."

And in the Daily News...
...

Judge Bulge is Nick CONFIRMED. And how about Maw Green doing the "money or your life" gag seven years before Jack Benny gets around to it. Didn't quite get the punch line right though.

Exactly how would an honest judge become this rich?

 

[LizzieMaine]

(Before this month, most Americans knew only two things about Australia -- it has kangaroos, and the drain water goes in the opposite direction. Oh, and I'm sure Dixie Walker will be wishing Mr. Padgett well as he departs for the Army.)

The City Fusion Party today called for a full investigation of all issues related to the alleged use of city materials to pave the courtyard of National Democratic Chairman Edward J. Flynn's Lake Mahopac estate. Miller M. Brister, Fusionist chairman whose party supported Mayor LaGuardia in each of his three elections, declared today that he will appeal to Governor Herbert H. Lehman should city investigations fail to reveal "every detail of their findings" in connection with the affair, "no matter where they may hit." Testimony of witnesses already examined by ousted president of the Municipal Civil Service Commission Paul J. Kern and Investigation Commissioner William J. Herlands revealed that at least 24 employees connected to the office of the Bronx Borough President were involved in "paving irregularities," with their time sheets falsified in a cover-up effort. Although Bronx District Attorney William J. Foley has announced he will begin presenting the case to a grand jury within ten days, Mr. Brister warned that if the entire results of the probe are not made public, the Fusionists will see no other alternative than to demand an impartial investigation from another source.

(It's that time of year again!)

Air raid wardens in the Coney Island district yesterday went into defensive action -- not against invaders, but against local hoodlums who smashed windows and damaged equipment in their post headquarters at 406 Avenue U. The wardens of Zone 2, Sector K reported that a gang of boisterous youths smashed the windows of their office shortly after midnight, crawled inside, and went on a rampage smashing office equipment. All but one of the group fled before police arrived, with 20-year-old Anthony Serifino of 2526 Stillwell Avenue brought yesterday morning before Magistrate Nicholas Pinto in Weekend Court on a charge of disorderly conduct. The youth claimed that "he was just trying to stop his friends," but Warden Thomas Maher of 2126 Ocean Parkway claimed that Serifino punched him in the eye -- and displayed a shiner as evidence of that claim. "Don't you realize that these menare doing their patriotic duty, giving up their time," demanded Magistrate Pinto of the defendant. "Incidentally," he continued, "why haven't YOU volunteered your services as an air raid warden?" "Oh gee," replied the defendant, "could I?" "Yes," replied the Magistrate, "but you certainly picked the wrong way to start." The Magistrate ordered the youth held on $200 bail for a further hearing on Wednesday.

(They should have Hero Cabbie Leonard Weisberg as the spokesman for this ad, especially since, I believe, he's in the Army now.)

(My neighborhood again. Now I'm really starting to feel paranoid.)

Reader Ethel Waxman of Manhattan writes in to complain about the people complaining about the General Diaper Service providing parking-ticket forms to the Police Department. "I can't see why there's so much excitement," she protests. "If the city can save money on its printing, I'm all for it, and every patriotic citizen should feel the same way."

Author Rachel Field, whose novel "All This And Heaven Too" was a best-seller in 1938, and was made into a motion picture two years ago with Bette Davis, has died of pneumonia following a surgical operation. She was 47.

(ED HEAD! ED HEAD! ED HEAD!)

Red Hook's battling welterweight Vinnie Rossano could earn a shot at "Sugar" Ray Robinson if he takes the measure of Harlem slugger Vic Dellicurti tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden. Rossano is a young fighter with much promise, say his handlers, with potential not only to defeat Robinson, but also welterweight champ Fred Cochrane.

The Philadelphia A's won the pennant yesterday -- not the baseball Athletics, the soccer Americans, who earned the championship of the American Soccer League by defeating the St. Mary's Celtics at Celtic Park by a score of 3-1.

(I don't think grenades work that way, but hey, anything for a gag.)

(Back into the funnies? Yup, they start next week in "Mary Worth.")

(Tomorrow: A deathbed confession.)

(Well, we seem to be joining this storyline at an auspicious point. Our hero Gordo is a well-meaning and decidedly single bean farmer who lives with his precocious nephew Pepito, and has a propensity for finding his way into trouble. Despite this situation here, though, he is not Mexico' s answer to Dan Dunn.)

(Try to think like a pigeon. That shouldn't be too hard.)