The Era -- Day By Day

Ahhh, the drama today in Boomville is so intense it knocked me right off my chair...


"HE WAS GETTING A KICKBACK ON MY TUITION?????"

The statute of limitations has passed and whatever commercial application said monies are now time-barred
past recover so the local yokel DA is merely rubbing salt in poor Ms Barclay's heart wounds.

A sanctimonious sorry sonufabitch jack leg duck's ass; he probably works in the Illinois State's Attorney Office.

BULLETIN: Chemical factories in Greenpoint are threatened at this hour by a three-alarm fire that broke out this afternoon in a vacant two-story building at India and Oakland Streets. Firemen are working to keep the flames from spreading to the nearby factory buildings.

German authorities in Paris today rounded up 6000 Jewish "dissidents" in the working-class neighborhood surrounding the ancient Bastille, according to word received today in Vichy. The raids encompassed the entire 11th Arondissment in the former French capital, near the Pere Lachaise Cemetery -- the "Potters Field" of Paris. News of the arrests followed widespread reports of unrest among Jewish anti-Nazi elements across France. It is also reported that 10,000 Communists have been rounded up in unoccupied France and between 30,000 and 40,000 in the German-controlled zone. Communists were blamed in the French press for an outbreak of railroad sabotage that threatened Nazi supply lines.

German forces driving toward Leningrad have claimed the key towns of Novgorod, Narva, and Kingisepp, as Nazi troops push toward their target from Estonia, according to a communique issued from the field headquarters of Adolf Hitler. It is also stated that hand-picked SS shock troops have taken the town of Cherson, 90 miles east of beleaguered Odessa in the Ukraine.

Soviet troops have blown up the Dnieper Dam, turning the upper reaches of the Dnieper River into a raging torrent of mud intended to foil the advance of Nazi troops. The dam, a symbol of Soviet achievement as the largest concrete waterwork outside the United States, was destroyed with the express approval of Premier Josef Stalin, in order to render navigation of the river impossible to the advancing German forces, and to deny the Nazi invasion forces the hydroelectric power generated by that dam. A Russian report published by the London Telegraph noted that torrential flooding as far south as Kiev followed the destruction of the dam and predicted that it will take weeks for the waters to level out.

Diplomatic sources in Washington say a three-power conference on the course of the war will be held in Moscow in early September, but official details remain scanty. Secretary of State Cordell Hull refused today to discuss any element of planning for the conference, but it is rumored that Lend Lease Administrator Harry Hopkins may play an important role in planning American participation.

New England senators are pressing today for a full Congressional investigation of the East Coast gasoline shortage, as reserves for the region are reported to have dwindled to a ten-day supply at present rates of consumption. With gasoline rationing now almost certain to come sooner than most motorists believe, Senator Francis T. Maloney (D-Connecticut) declared today that it is necessary for Congress to investigate in order to determine if a shortage in fact exists. "We have a very skeptical public in New England," stated the Senator, noting that many "question" the facts given concerning the present situation.

With sabotage definitely ruled out as the cause of the disastrous fire that destroyed the freighter Pacuno and Pier 27 at the foot of Baltic Street on the Brooklyn waterfront, divers today continue to search the oil-soaked wreckage for bodies of sailors and longshoremen killed in the Monday blaze. Four more bodies were pulled out of the hold of the ruined ship late yesterday, bringing the total recovered from the vessel to 13. As of this afternoon, four Panuco crew members and 12 longshoremen remain unaccounted for. A board of inquiry yesterday concluded that sabotage could not have been responsible for the fire, nor were sparks from a tugboat or donkey engine likely to have ignited cargo aboard the ship. Assistant District Attorney Edward A. Heffernan stated today that investigators are leaning now toward the theory that a carelessly-discarded cigarette touched off the fire.


("Awwww!" says Joe. "Poor Hilda. We otta sen' some fruit a'sump'n. We're goin'nat doublehedda onna 7th -- won' be t'same wit'out her t'ere!" "Jus' so we ain' gotta sit right in fronnava!" says Sally. "Las' time she hit me right inna backa t'head wit'tat bell she got!"
"Wazzat what happened?" asks Joe. "I t'ought she was jus' outta tune!")

In Little Rock, Arkansas it is reported that as many as 200 men have deserted from the Army's 165th Infantry, a unit made up largely of selectees and reservists from Brooklyn and Queens, with additional desertions from the 100th Field Artillery of Brooklyn and the 105th Field Artillery of Queens, with all of these desertions having taken place since the Draft Extension Law, signed by President Roosevelt last Saturday, was first brought to Congress about six weeks ago. Military authorities say the desertions have wrought hardship upon the remaining troops, who have marched to Arkansas from Ft. McLellan, Alabama for training maneuvers.


(Last season, George and Gracie were sponsored by Spam, so I guess this is a step up.)


(First it's Lichty who's drawing my back yard all the time, and now Bohack's gets in on the act. WHAT'S GOING ON?)

Mrs. C. R. W. writes to Dr. Brady to ask if he has any suggestions about food and nutrition. The Doc recommends she should send a quarter and a one-cent stamp for his booklet, "Feeder's Digest."

(Gawdawmighty.)


(Elaine Barrie wads up the paper, throws it against the wall, and screams incoherently.)

The Eagle Editorialist says the idea of building a new $35,000,000 headquarters building for the War Department in direct view of Arlington Memorial Cemetery is offensive, and commends President Roosevelt for being so opposed to the plans that he has ordered the War Department to put three shifts on the job designing a new plan at a different location. "That the War Department should propose and Congress approve such a monstrous idea," he says, "will amaze most Americans."


(Lichty vs The Boys!)


(C'mon, Hig, put down the bourbon and the comic books, and CONCENTRATE. Sheesh. And meanwhile, Laughing Larry is playing a very effective psych game by churning up controversy with the Cardinals management. Who better to know how to play head games than the game's greatest head case?)


(And speaking of head cases, GET SOME HELP BOODY!)


("There's a traffic policeman leering at me..." Sure, Sibyl, it's always about you.)

("Nonsense, dear. Come, be my maid. I'm so tired of rinsing out Bill's socks I could scream.")

("Oh Dan! Now we can work together! I'm a Secret Operative myself now -- look, they even gave me a medal of valor for breaking this dope ring!" "Oh ha ha ha! Kay, you're such a kidder. You, a Secret Operative! Ha ha ha! Wait! Kay! What are you doing with that chair leg! KAY! NOOOO! AAAAAAAAA!")

Dumbass duck's ass: "Don't worry baby, I'll handle everything. Strictly pro bono. Ain't a trust set yet I can't
break into; attach an equity lean upon or petition the Trust to collateral equity settle with a loan for
a fast nickel over a slow dime."

Ms Barclay is gorgeous.

And in the Daily News...


Wow, she really put the bite on him.


Missionaries have a lot to answer for.


Hepcats in action.


If anybody ever deserved to get rugged...


Now you've done it. Not only are you facing a murder rap, a kidnapping rap, and grand theft auto -- but the Kingsborough Country Club is gonna be all over you for ruining that net!


All right, Burms. Once again, for the record. Which side are you on?

Min is a good soul, who deserves much better.

And for that matter, so is Sally Snipe.

And even Gee-Gee. They all ought to form a club.

But these two, on the other hand, deserve each other.

Ted-Spread Judas surely backs ba***rd Jacks with calls and puts. Covers his ass. Nice Renminbi-Yen spread.

The Eskimo murder trial severance of two defendants for temporary insanity yet the other five
defendants were not similarly released raise flags. In for a penny, in for a pound. Either all or neither,
this strikes chickanery. This entire episode is tragic and religious fervor is not a cruel homicidal mandate.
And several children were senselessly murdered.

LizzieMaine said:

.Soviet troops have blown up the Dnieper Dam, turning the upper reaches of the Dnieper River into a raging torrent of mud intended to foil the advance of Nazi troops. The dam, a symbol of Soviet achievement as the largest concrete waterwork outside the United States, was destroyed with the express approval of Premier Josef Stalin, in order to render navigation of the river impossible to the advancing German forces, and to deny the Nazi invasion forces the hydroelectric power generated by that dam. A Russian report published by the London Telegraph noted that torrential flooding as far south as Kiev followed the destruction of the dam and predicted that it will take weeks for the waters to level out...

Click to expand...

Nobody in the Soviet command wanted to make that decision without Stalin's approval, but that could not have been a fun coversation. "Yeah, that's a great idea, why don't you go ask Joe about it while I wait out here."

LizzieMaine said:

...With sabotage definitely ruled out as the cause of the disastrous fire that destroyed the freighter Pacuno and Pier 27 at the foot of Baltic Street on the Brooklyn waterfront, divers today continue to search the oil-soaked wreckage for bodies of sailors and longshoremen killed in the Monday blaze. Four more bodies were pulled out of the hold of the ruined ship late yesterday, bringing the total recovered from the vessel to 13. As of this afternoon, four Panuco crew members and 12 longshoremen remain unaccounted for. A board of inquiry yesterday concluded that sabotage could not have been responsible for the fire, nor were sparks from a tugboat or donkey engine likely to have ignited cargo aboard the ship. Assistant District Attorney Edward A. Heffernan stated today that investigators are leaning now toward the theory that a carelessly-discarded cigarette touched off the fire....

Click to expand...

To this day, I'm always suspicious when an investigation of a complex event quickly rules out sabotage or terrorism very early in the investigation.

LizzieMaine said:

...
("Awwww!" says Joe. "Poor Hilda. We otta sen' some fruit a'sump'n. We're goin'nat doublehedda onna 7th -- won' be t'same wit'out her t'ere!" "Jus' so we ain' gotta sit right in fronnava!" says Sally. "Las' time she hit me right inna backa t'head wit'tat bell she got!"
"Wazzat what happened?" asks Joe. "I t'ought she was jus' outta tune!")...

Click to expand...

I know I've said it before, these two should have their own radio show; it would be so perfectly 1940s.

LizzieMaine said:

...Mrs. C. R. W. writes to Dr. Brady to ask if he has any suggestions about food and nutrition. The Doc recommends she should send a quarter and a one-cent stamp for his booklet, "Feeder's Digest."

(Gawdawmighty.)...

Click to expand...

Why does this guy even have a column? Shouldn't he just be a paying advertiser as all he does is use his Eagle column to sell his booklets. He's playing the Eagle hard.

LizzieMaine said:

...
(C'mon, Hig, put down the bourbon and the comic books, and CONCENTRATE. Sheesh. And meanwhile, Laughing Larry is playing a very effective psych game by churning up controversy with the Cardinals management. Who better to know how to play head games than the game's greatest head case?)...

Click to expand...

No kidding, Lizzie, MacPhail is doing a really good job of effin' with them.

LizzieMaine said:

... ("Nonsense, dear. Come, be my maid. I'm so tired of rinsing out Bill's socks I could scream.")...

Click to expand...

"Dale Allen" loves the now-penniless-former-wealthy-heiress story. Wasn't Leona some version of it too? One wonders if there wasn't a snooty heiress who rejected one of them in their past and this is their fantasized revenge.

LizzieMaine said:

... ("Oh Dan! Now we can work together! I'm a Secret Operative myself now -- look, they even gave me a medal of valor for breaking this dope ring!" "Oh ha ha ha! Kay, you're such a kidder. You, a Secret Operative! Ha ha ha! Wait! Kay! What are you doing with that chair leg! KAY! NOOOO! AAAAAAAAA!")

Click to expand...

Better still, "Yes, Dan, it's true you'll be reporting into me, but that's not important as long as you do your job well. Umm, to that point, how long do you think till you'll be back on the job as you've been drawing a salary but not solving any crimes from that bed? Just sayin', we're not running a charity here in the Secret Operatives Department."

LizzieMaine said:

...

Wow, she really put the bite on him.....

Click to expand...

The E 67th Street police station where they took Auchincloss still serves that neighborhood (which includes my pedestrian neighborhood near fancy Park Avenue) from this incredible historic (and landmarked) station building:

You can read about it here: http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2018.pdf

Re the false-teeth-buying woman: 20 drinks in one night, really, I'd be dead.

LizzieMaine said:

...
Hepcats in action.....

Click to expand...

Today you can hardly make it down a single block in Manhattan without breathing in someone's marijuana smoke. Light up a cigarette in public in NYC and the death rays come out (I'm fine with that), but somehow the health risks of marijuana don't seem to worry the same health scolds who claim that is why they are anti tobacco.

LizzieMaine said:

...
If anybody ever deserved to get rugged......

Click to expand...

It's 1941 and, once again, we see a pretty good racial-justice line running in one of the country's most popular comic strips. Nothing is ever as black and white in the past as we think nor are we so perfect and first in our justice campaigns today.

LizzieMaine said:

...
All right, Burms. Once again, for the record. Which side are you on?...

Click to expand...

She wouldn't like it, but she would have been okay with the supplies being stolen, but she's not going to sit by and watch Raven, Dude and Terry get killed in a bombing raid. Once her blouse in done drying on the clothes line, she can spring into action.

Harp said:

Ted-Spread Judas surely backs ba***rd Jacks with calls and puts. Covers his ass. Nice Renminbi-Yen spread.

Click to expand...

Agreed. It's mendacious and murderous, but you have to respect how he's double dipping on the trade. It's like the rare occurrence when both sides of a spread trade are profitable.

Leona was the ne plus ultra of the spoiled-heiress stories -- her parents, you may recall, were aboard a ship that got torpedoed in the North Atlantic in the early weeks of the war. Either that or they framed up the whole thing to get away from her. But be that as it may, I do miss her -- all of these Leona-lites we've had since have failed to measure up to her standard. The day she finally had to hock her mink still stands as an outstanding Day By Day memory.

I don't know where Governor Bonedumb is on his vital mission to wherever, but he can stay there for all I care as long as we eventually get Leona back.

Hilda Chester was a fascinating character. Nobody ever really knew who she really was or where she came from or what her story was, but for about fifteen years she was the single most famous baseball fan in America. But after the Dodgers left, she fell back into obscurity -- so traumatized by losing the team she refused to ever speak of that time of her life again. She died in a nursing home in Queens in 1978 and is buried in a paupers' grave on Staten Island -- but there's a statue of her at the Baseball Hall of Fame. There's an epic movie in that story somewhere.

LizzieMaine said:

Hilda Chester was a fascinating character. Nobody ever really knew who she really was or where she came from or what her story was, but for about fifteen years she was the single most famous baseball fan in America. But after the Dodgers left, she fell back into obscurity -- so traumatized by losing the team she refused to ever speak of that time of her life again. She died in a nursing home in Queens in 1978 and is buried in a paupers' grave on Staten Island -- but there's a statue of her at the Baseball Hall of Fame. There's an epic movie in that story somewhere.

Click to expand...

Hilda Chester should be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and there most definitely is an epic movie
somewhere, to be scripted and produced, an epic motion picture of a most singular fan.
Today, Covid has if anything shown major league baseball a thing or two about the fan's role in this game,
a role that is not as insignificant as was previously held.

For the second time in a week, New York agents of the FBI are investigating the destruction by fire of a freighter. The Finnish vessel Aurora, subject to seizure by the British had she traveled into the Atlantic, was devastated this morning in the Hudson River, about a mile north of the George Washington Bridge. Sixteen men and two stewardesses were rescued as the flames engulfed the 4,956-ton vessel, which had been moored in the river for nearly a month since arriving with a cargo of linseed oil, rye, wheat, and hides. The fire was reported by a crew member shortly after 4 AM, who stated that he smelled smoke coming from the ship's pantry. He roused fellow crew members but not before one man, first mate Conrad Fleese, succumbed in his bunk to smoke inhalation. The ship's captain, 39-year-old Albert Bjorkluf, was pulled from the water by a commandeered pleasure boat after abandoning ship. Investigators traced the fire to the ship's No. 3 hold, but authorities have not determined a cause. The Aurora was one of a number of Scandinavian ships stranded in the United States by the war to have moored in the river in an effort to avoid the payment of pier charges.

An army of millions of men and women joined in an epochal battle today to stem the Nazi invasion of Leningrad, in conflicts of mounting fury on the north, central, and southern fronts. Soviet dispatches from the northen front declared that the local population of 3,000,000 people "rose as one" under the command of Marshal Kleminti Voroshlikov to defend their nation's second largest city "to the last drop of blood." Scores of Nazi attempts to bomb Leningrad's great industrial sector were reported smashed without a single high-explosive bomb striking the city.

German authorities in Paris, enforcing drastic steps against Communist-led demonstrations, are reported to also be confronted by new problems in the form of railroad sabotage and recruiting for the forces of Free France. It was disclosed belatedly that a major act of sabotage occurred a few days ago in vital freight yards south of Paris when posters printed by the occupation forces announced public executions in response to the incident. Along with several Communists believed involved in the sabotage, Nazi forces shot Jose Reig for recruiting volunteers to serve in the Free French forces under General Charles de Gaulle. Additional posters in the former capital city announced that any person hiding or failing to report the presence of British airmen shot down over France will be shot.

A survey of the Long Island Railroad's "fainting financial position" is believed to be the first step toward a general increase in passenger fares. The J. G. White Corporation of Manhattan has been engaged to study the line's books and present recommendations, which are expected to include a call for an increase in fares, which have remained steady since 1918. The line is reported to be operating at a deficit of nearly $400,000 over the first half of 1941, and is said to have lost over $1,200,000 in 1940.

A Long Island maid enraged by a routine household order set fire to $44,000 worth of art to spite her employer. Forty-four-year-old Marie Hauser of Manhattan, employed as a maid by aviation magnate and art connoisseur Capt. Daniel Sickles, burned three paintings, including two Gainsboroughs, in the fireplace of Capt. Sickles' cottage at Hampton Bays, and then attempted to take her own life. Detectives questioning the maid at Bellevue Hospital said that she told them she was "enraged" by an order to prepare the cottage for weekend guests, and destroyed the paintings in a fit of anger over the command. She further stated that she was immediately ashamed at what she had done, and attempted to kill herself with an overdose of sleeping tablets. Police were unable to explain why such a routine order had so enraged the maid. The Gainsboroughs destroyed in the fireplace were "Black Boy," a portrait of Charles Manners, Marquess of Granby, and a landscape known as "The Wayfarer." The third work, dating to the fifteenth century, was a portrait of Charles the Bold executed by an unknown Flemish artist working in the school of Rogier van der Weden.

A suit for $50,000 has been filed on behalf of a ten-year-old Brownsville girl whose parents claim that an interne at Unity Hospital left their daughter with a maimed left hand. The parents of Frances Goldberg of 238 Hinsdale Street say the treatment their daughter's wrist injury by Dr. Rocco Nocella at the hospital on January 7th of this year caused her hand to lock into the shape of a claw, and that as a result of the interne's "unskilled treatment," the child's condition will be permanent. The accused parties disclaim all responsibility.


(Yeah, but what about that pushy cop? Knock him down a peg too!)



Up to five hundred of the city's 7000 gasoline stations will be forced to suspend sales in the wake of anticipated confirmation from Washington that wholesale supplies to the East Coast will be slashed by ten percent. Closing of gasoline pumps will likely occur within two days of the reduction order -- a consequence, says Nathan Gelfer of the Gasoline Station Council of Metropolitan New York, of too many retailers defying the call for a voluntary overnight curfew on gasoline sales. The five major oil companies serving the city have indicated that closed pumps will not be replenished before the first of September. "The operators who have been selling more than they should," warned Mr. Gelfer, "will not be able to get a single gallon above their quotas."


(It's OK, but Bette's no Tallulah.)

The Eagle Editorialist calls our attention to a fine neighbor and one of the great cities of the Eastern Seaboard -- Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love. Independence Hall is located there. Many fine businesses and industries make this fine city their home, a city with a culture as rich and as modern as a transport plane. And Philadelphia is also the home of a baseball team that last night beat the St. Louis Cardinals, firming the Brooklyn Dodgers' hold on first place in the National League. "We love Philadelphia."


("It was a simpler time...")


(There's a New World Coming...)


("Huh!" snorts Sally. "Lookitat Hoiman! What a tub! I bet he hadda change pants wit' Fitzsimmons!" "Hoiman ain' fat," protests Joe. "He's jus' -- upholsta'd. You know, 'case he gets tipped over inna double play, he don' get hoit." "He's FAT!" growls Sally. "Petey ain' fat!")


(Fortunately, the giant tropical beetles they had to crush up to make that mascara are waterproof.)


(Join us tomorrow in this space for "Josephine Bungle, Secret Operative 4-AAAA.")


(Alllllllllways with the English-major jokes.)

(Ummm, Dan -- that moustache didn't work for Cagney, it didn't work for Dick Powell, so what makes you think it's gonna work for you?)

Powell was married to gorgeous Joan Blondell and let her get away....
And he placed his hands inside his suit pockets instead of his pants pockets....
The stasche didn't work....
And Ruby Keeler kicked his ass all over a stage set whenever they acted or sang together....

And in the Daily News...

Well, hey, here's an idea -- those fights that are getting crowded out of Ebbets Field? Why not book them into the Stork Club!


Look, I realize you've been trying to unload these records for more than a year, but after the past eight months of radio-vs-ASCAP, do you really think anyone is even remotely interested in Stephen Foster tunes?


"Jittery an' scairt?" snaps Sally. "ME??"


Hmph. Didn't get the message yesterday, didya bud?

...and now add BICYCLE THEFT to the rap sheet! Where's J. Edgar when you need him?

What? Of course cats can talk.

As I noted earlier, Judas is not a man of nuance. And even at her most opportunistic, Burma still has a conscience.


Hey Wilmer, who's that coming up behind you?


Mr. Willard generally goes in for broad and cartoony faces, but the ever-changing expressions of "I AM SO DONE WITH THIS IDIOT" he's giving Gee-Gee these days are quite wonderful.


Vintage Expressions That Have Vanished In Your Lifetime.

LizzieMaine said:

... View attachment 356052
(Yeah, but what about that pushy cop? Knock him down a peg too!)....

Click to expand...

Agreed. Nobody "adulted" in this encounter.

LizzieMaine said:

...
(It's OK, but Bette's no Tallulah.)...

Click to expand...

"Little Foxes" is an outstanding movie with an impressive cast, comments here: #27189 (third movie down).

James Gleason deserves the attention he's getting. He's a talented actor without matinee looks who built a heck of a career.

The Andy Harding series, never more than fluff at its best, was played out by this one.

LizzieMaine said:

...
("Huh!" snorts Sally. "Lookitat Hoiman! What a tub! I bet he hadda change pants wit' Fitzsimmons!" "Hoiman ain' fat," protests Joe. "He's jus' -- upholsta'd. You know, 'case he gets tipped over inna double play, he don' get hoit." "He's FAT!" growls Sally. "Petey ain' fat!")...

Click to expand...

Freddie Fitzsimmons: "Et tu, Sally?"

LizzieMaine said:

...
(Fortunately, the giant tropical beetles they had to crush up to make that mascara are waterproof.)...

Click to expand...

"Eve and I worked all morning giving each other a finger wave." Henny Youngman: "But when did you girls also find time to do your hair?"

Stupid me just picked up on the Eve symbolism.

LizzieMaine said:

...
(Join us tomorrow in this space for "Josephine Bungle, Secret Operative 4-AAAA.")...

Click to expand...

Please, Kay's going have her hands full whipping this new guy Dan Dunn into shape.

LizzieMaine said:

...
(Alllllllllways with the English-major jokes.)...

Click to expand...

It took me about two seconds in college to decide to make Economics my major and English my minor and not vice versa as, never having had a trust fund, I w̵a̵n̵t̵e̵d̵ needed to actually earn a living after college.

LizzieMaine said:

... Well, hey, here's an idea -- those fights that are getting crowded out of Ebbets Field? Why not book them into the Stork Club!....

Click to expand...

Quite a good Page Four day overall, but you nailed it, Lizzie, the Stork Club story - including a snooty telegram from Ethel Merman's lover - is the topper.

Lenore Lemmon's - who fittingly has a comic strip name - hair doesn't look bobbed, does it?

LizzieMaine said:

... View attachment 356068 ...and now add BICYCLE THEFT to the rap sheet! Where's J. Edgar when you need him?....

Click to expand...

Good memory about Hoover, Lizzie.

Also, this is just perfect:

LizzieMaine said:

...
Vintage Expressions That Have Vanished In Your Lifetime.

Click to expand...

That expression pops up regularly in books and movies of the era, but for obvious and good reasons, it's a dead one today.

LizzieMaine said:

View attachment 356076
Vintage Expressions That Have Vanished In Your Lifetime.

Click to expand...

Good thing. When my mom would spout that fifty plus years ago, I'd cringe.

Stealing a kid's bike is one of the worst thefts (morally) that there is, in my book. A brother in law stole my dad's bike when my dad was a kid and pawned it to buy booze. That transgression was never forgiven by my dad.

Burma does indeed have a conscience. And a conscience can cost a great deal, all the more so in wartime.

The decisive moment in the defense of Leningrad has arrived, according to Marshal Klementi Voroshilov, who called on the city's 3,000,000 residents to "fight to the death" to turn back Nazi invasion troops threatening the cradle of the Soviet revolution. Red Army troops numbering 1,500,000 surround the city today battling a Nazi encirclement drive as well as a push from the north by Finnish troops. A Soviet military communique stated today that three villages previously overrun by German forces along the central front have been retaken with an offensive powered by a heavy Russian aerial attack having driven back German panzer units.

Meanwhile, Nazi military sources declared today that "an attack of annihilation" is underway on the Leningrad front, and that German units to the south have smashed across a new point on the Dnieper River to threaten Red Army Ukrainian units from the rear. Reports from Helsinki stated that Finnish troops on the Karelian isthmus have pushed to within 45 miles of Leningrad after breaking at one point thru the Russian lines. A report from m the German radio monitored in New York by CBS warned that Nazi forces will show no mercy to "the deceitful snipers and tricky females" now said to be defending Leningrad.

Should Japan attack the United States, Great Britain will declare war against Japan immediately. So pledged British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, according to reports now circulating in diplomatic quarters, with the Prime Minister said to have further pledged full cooperation with the United States in the prosecution of any war resulting from "Japanese aggression." Diplomatic quarters in London yesterday had indicated that the United States and Great Britain had agreed that Japan's southward expansion must be opposed -- "forcefully," if necessary, and reports now circulating suggest that the Japanese government may be reconsidering that expansion in the face of Anglo-American opposition.

In Philadelphia, a five-alarm fire of undetermined origin swept a huge lumber yard, destroying thousands of square feet of lumber earmarked for defense construction, and damaging surrounding homes and small machine shops. A red glow rose high in the sky over night as the flames raged across the Joseph H. Sykes Company yard, as 10,000 spectators burst thru police lines at the scene of the fire and hampered efforts of firemen to battle the blaze, which took five hours to contain. The fire, causing damage believed in excess of $1,000,000, is the second major lumber-yard fire in Philadelphia in three months, following on the $1,000,000 blaze at the Lear Lumber Company in May.

Motorists along the Eastern Seaboard face a possible 40 percent cut in the supply of gasoline for the remainder of the month of August, following a British request for another 100 tankers to be placed into service along Anglo-British gasoline supply routes. Those demands on the American gasoline supply would lead to the reduction by nearly half of the number of barrels of gasoline supplied annually to the East Coast. The total reduction of 40 percent over the rest of this month would be necessary to meet the quota set by Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes, who called for a 10 percent reduction in consumption compared to that of July, and a further 10 percent reduction agreed upon this week by the Eastern Petroleum Marketing Board. With voluntary compliance with a gasoline curfew having been insufficient to meet these goals, it will require an even sharper curtailment of supply in order to bring the region into compliance by September 1st.



All Nassau is agog over reports that a prominent Republican political leader tried to drown his wife by tossing her off a rowboat in the channel off Island Park, after previously attempting to toss her off a dock. Mrs. Virginia A. Southard of Oceanside filed charges against her husband Percy G. Southard, assistant counsel to the Oceanside Sanitation and Water Commissions, a Nassau County Deputy Sheriff, and an influential figure in Long Island GOP affairs, charging that he made two attempts on August 14th to drown her. The complaint alleges that Southard first tried to throw Mrs. Southard fully dressed off the dock and that when she resisted, he forced her into a boat, told her he intended to drown her, and then shoved her over the side and held her down before rowing away. Southard, who denied the charges, was ordered released on his own recognizance pending trial in Mineola on September 15th. Mrs. Southard then contacted police to complain that her husband was "acting badly," but in the face of threats of a disorderly conduct charge, he agreed to "pack up and leave."

The days of buying a radio or a refrigerator on a "$1 down, $1 a week" basis will come to an end as of September 1st, when sharp new curbs on installment credit take effect under orders of the Federal Reserve Board in order to drastically reduce demand for consumer goods that take up materials required for defense production. The restrictions authorized under an executive order signed by President Roosevelt earlier this month affect credit purchases of twenty-four specified types of merchandise, banning credit agreements extending beyond eighteen months, and requiring high minimum down payments to discourage "easy credit" transactions. Under the new regulations, a minimum down payment of one third the total purchase price is required for credit sales of automobiles, of twenty percent on the purchase of household appliances, radios, and other home goods made principally of metals, fifteen percent on furnaces, burners, stokers, water heaters, plumbing fixtures, home air conditioners, and attic fans, and ten percent on all other household furnishings. A maximum eighteen-month duration will also be imposed on all installment loans of less than $1000 as of October 1st.

In Hollywood, a police guard has been placed around the crypt of film star Rudolph Valentino in anticipation of crowds gathering to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the silent screen star's death. Hundreds are expected to visit the crypt, including several "veiled women in black" who are known for frequent visits to the mausoleum at Hollywood Cemetery.


("Ain'choo hoid, bud? Brooklyn *IS* t' nation!")


(On the other hand, Kaltenborn will never stop pronouncing "Russia" with three syllables.)

("Yeah," says Joe, "it's awrful. Solly's out f'm woik -- he seen a guy sellin' tickets inna subway yes'day, ova' t' Prospeck Pa'k station, an' inna crowd he got pusht downa staiahs -- lan'ned on some dame, picked 'im up an' tossed him up agains' a canny machine, smashed open'na glass, an' people come runnin' all ova t' pick up t'nickels. Aw, it was awrful. Din' get no tickets, neit'a. Busted his wris' fallin' downa staiahs, an' t'is dame t'at t'rowed 'im aroun, I t'ink he gotta bruise onna head or' sum'pin. Gotta buncha Hoishey Bahs outa t'deal t'ough. Heah, y' wan' one?" "Hmph," hmphs Sally. "Woul'na happn'd if Petey was t'ere. I ever tell you bout't time he bumped inna me onna steps at Prospeck Pa'k an' he stopped an' said t'me, he sai'd "Sorry lady," he said. Jus' like a gen'leman. Y'got any wit' almon's?")

The Black Yankees, now leading the pace in the Negro National League, will surge into Dexter Park tomorrow for two daylight games against the Bushwicks. The Woodhaveners hold the edge on the Black Yanks in the season series, 3 games to 2, but the Black Yanks are on a tear, having drubbed the Bay Parkways in a doubleheader earlier this week, followed by a 12-7 win over Cedarhurst.

Among the stars on the Bushwicks this season is an old friend from Ebbets Field. You remember Charley Hargreaves catching for the Flock back in the days of Uncle Robbie, but did you know he's still in fine fettle out at Dexter Park? Charley is now 45 years old, but you'd never know it from the way he's been swinging the bat lately.

The Lux Radio Theatre program returns for the fall season over WABC on September 5th with "Tom Dick and Harry," a dramatization of the current Ginger Rogers success. Cecil B. DeMille will again host the popular Monday night feature from Hollywood.


(And of course, if you're Artie Shaw, there's all that alimony to keep up...)


(Oh no, oh gawd no....)

(And now it's Jo's turn for a "crisis of conscience...")

("Oh boy!" says Mary. "This'll keep me busy for WEEKS!")

(Either that or his real name is Skullington S. Skulnik, but we can't expect you to care about that...)

And in the Daily News...

Seriously, "wife dunking?" Shouldn't the charge be "attempted murder?"


The pitcher whom Mr. Powers is too much of a gentleman to name is a fellow named Joe Sullivan, who has been poking around the major leagues to little effect for the past six seasons, and who will pitch only three more games in the majors. But he'll kick around the minor leagues until 1949, and will never, as far as is known, be rolled out onto the field in the middle of a tarp.


I can't believe Jimmy didn't try to find Frankie Germano and get his views on this.

You should have killed him, Burms, back when you had the chance.

You think so? Wait'll he can't make fivesies, and out comes the rug...

Oh, absolutely, this'll be MUCH better.

Let's see, 22 Cokes, at least, at a nickel a piece plus two cents each on the bottles, that comes to more than a buck and a half, plus we know Skeez had to pay for the two movie tickets, that comes all together to well over $2. Sheesh, you didn't spend that much on Nina when she was here.


"Oh, nothing fancy." *BONK!*


And the sad part of it is, Mush is the only real friend Moon has.


I wonder what'll be on Page Four tomorrow in the Covina Courier?

Finally managed to get a week vacation, and the first thing I have to do when I get back is catch up on a week's worth of news and comic strips!

Now that that's done, I can get to all the e-mails I missed...