The Era -- Day By Day

[LizzieMaine]

As Soviet bombers pounded Berlin for the second consecutive evening, the German High Command declared today that Nazi forces in the Ukraine are continuing at blitzkrieg pace with the capture of Korosten, 85 miles northwest of Kiev, and the "smashing of the Russian 6th, 12th, and 18th Armies." A German communique also claims the destruction of "another great Soviet force" 60 miles southeast of Smolensk.

Meanwhile, powerful four-engine Soviet planes rained bombs on the Nazi capital, striking military objectives in the city after traveling 550 miles from bases on the islands of Saare and Hiiu off the Estonian coast. British bombers also struck naval targets last night at Kiel, with "accurate and sustained" explosive and incendiary attacks on German docks and shipyards.

The United States is planning a sweeping program described as "the greatest relief effort in history" to feed millions of Europeans expected to be left starving at the end of the present war. Assistant Secretary of State Adolph Berle stated today at a reception for the exiled Grand Duchess of Luxembourg that the US "will bring the full measure of its economic strength" to bear in postwar relief efforts once "the first tide of barbarity shall be rolled back."

Authoritative Washington sources indicated today that unless the strike at the Federal Shipbuilding Company yards in Kearny, New Jersey is settled by Monday, U. S. Marines will be sent in by the Government to take physical possession of the plant. The National Labor Relations Board has directed the company to accept the closed-shop clause in the proposed contract with Local 13 of the Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers CIO, which is the only issue still in dispute, warning that if the company refuses to do so, Federal action will be taken to seize the plant. Union leaders have pledged full cooperation with Federal authorities if a takeover occurs.

Washington sources state that American-built fighter planes are on their way to the Soviet Union. The planes were among those manufactured for Great Britain, but it is stated that British authorities have authorized their diversion to Russia to aid in the war effort there.

Administration leaders today acknowledge that they may have to accept less than an eighteen-month extension of required active military duty for selectees and reservists as the House debate on Monday approaches. House leaders expect extensive debate on the extension backed by the Senate, with Republican members of the House Military Affairs Committee now pushing to entirely eliminate selectees from any extension to be considered.

The bus strike in Queens moves into its second day with rival unions disputing the effectiveness of the walkout. Leaders of the AFL Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway, and Motor Coach Employees say that about sixty percent of bus routes are operating as usual today, in defiance of the walkout called yesterday morning by the CIO Transport Workers Union. The AFL union has a contract with the Triboro Bus Company due to expire in 1942, but the TWU disputes the legitimacy of that contract.

As the night curfew on gasoline sales approaches the end of its first week, there has been an overall reduction in gasoline sales of 10 to 30 percent in the metropolitan area, according to a report released today by the Gas Station Council of Metropolitan New York. The coalition of filling station operators met this morning at the St. George Hotel for a review of the curfew's progress to date, and to consider a campaign to convince motorists not to purchase from stations refusing to observe the curfew.

(New York didn't care much for architectural history in 1941, alas. Wonder what became of that clock? And Sally says she remembers Mr. Shep Fields very well from Erasmus. "Oh yeh," she laughs. "Saul Feldman. I dunno where he gets 'at "Shep Fields" stuff! A senior when I wazza froshie. Nice lookin' fella. 'Cept he was a'ways blowin' bubbles inn'is milk!")

("Native Son" at the Flatbush? I'm in!)

(And don't forget the 100,000 seat Dodgers stadium in Woodhaven!)

(Lichty vs. The Boys? It's ON!)

(Slow news day?)

(I've always preferred the old "NL-style" hit-and-run game to the hairy-chested "AL-style" slugging game, but hey, anything to win. And I bet DiMag'll pop right out of his slump now that he doesn't have to worry about getting his watch back.)

Radio actress Jeanette Nolan went into labor just before she was to play a lead role in a "26 By Corwin" play over CBS, but Florence Robinson did a bang-up job on the broadcast after being rushed in as a last-minute substitute. Author/Producer Norman Corwin dispatched a congratulatory wire to the new mother -- "26 BY CORWIN HAPPILY DEFERS TO 1 BY NOLAN!"

(Yeah, I'm pretty sure Boody's just trolling us now.)

(I love a tense courtroom drama.)

(Dale asked for a raise and didn't get it.)

("Well, I do remember a little girl, I think. 'Babs', I think her name was." "Who? Never heard of her.")

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Juuuuust a gig-o-lo...."

"Arthur Murray? Never hoid of 'im."

Ah, Colonel Stoopnagle! Always with the ad-libs.

Tell her what you did, kid. I dare ya.

Jeez, everybody's touchy today.

Is it just me, or are the cabbies in Tracy's City really dumb?

Skeez has still got a year to go, but Tops would be prime draft bait right now. Why not beat the rush, kid?

"Even if your hair is dishevelled?" DIE GOOSEFACE!

Speaking of the draft, I bet Moon will go far in the Army.

She can get a lot of leverage from a sitting position.

 

[Harp]

Burma seems a mite addled over things beyond a simple quiz game. She sees Raven as more
than a competitor while Terry is in excellent position to further compromise this catfight with
the right word or two plus the improper move.

 

[Fading Fast]

...
(New York didn't care much for architectural history in 1941, alas. Wonder what became of that clock? And Sally says she remembers Mr. Shep Fields very well from Erasmus. "Oh yeh," she laughs. "Saul Feldman. I dunno where he gets 'at "Shep Fields" stuff! A senior when I wazza froshie. Nice lookin' fella. 'Cept he was a'ways blowin' bubbles inn'is milk!")...

So, did we just learn our omnipresent magistrate Charles Solomon ran as a mayoral candidate on the socialist party ticket back in '33? Wow.

...[ ("Native Son" at the Flatbush? I'm in!)...

"I Wanted Wings" put nineteen-year-old Veronica Lake on the map and propelled her to her staring role in "Sullivan's Travels."

You can't swing a dead cat lately in 1941 without hitting Oscar Levant.

...
(Lichty vs. The Boys? It's ON!)...

... (I love a tense courtroom drama.)...

"That dinky Justice-of-the-Peace court orator." You gotta love Peggy when she's mad.

...
"Arthur Murray? Never hoid of 'im."....

Wouldn't it have made more sense for him to have opened a bartending school?

... Tell her what you did, kid. I dare ya.....

Even clueless Terry can sense this is not the time to let that tidbit out.

Burma's still wearing her my-kingdom-for-a-button blouse, but she can turn a phrase, "Miss Plonk's school for dopey debutantes!"

...[
She can get a lot of leverage from a sitting position.

Veronica's making a critical mistake - she's ruining a perfect opportunity to make Tim jealous. She'll never make it as a gold digger without a meta game.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Germany claimed today that its anti-Soviet blitzkrieg remains in full swing, and that a total of 30 Russian divisions have been destroyed by German armies driving deep into the Ukraine along a 460-mile line southeastward from Smolensk. The Soviets countered with a flat denial of the Nazi reports, with the Red Star, official Army newspaper stating that ten divisions of German troops have been decimated as the Red Army continues to hold all along the 1800-mile front, after seven weeks of the "bloodiest fighting in modern history." It was also hinted in Soviet reports that a full air offensive against German cities is "in prospect."

While the attention of the world remains riveted on the Russo-German war, it was reported in Washington diplomatic circles that Hitler today sent two Panzer divisions of about 1000 tanks and troop carriers into Spanish Morocco, for simultaneous dashes into French Morocco and the strategic port of Dakkar.

The Office of Production Management last night announced that steel will be rationed to manufacturers effective September 1st. OPM Priorities Director Edward J. Stettinius indicated making the announcement that use of steel for National Defense will take priority "uncompromisingly" ahead of all use for civilian purposes. The OPM will take full control of all steel produced in US mills, and will ration it out first to defense manufacturers, and then to producers of essential civilian goods. Only after these priorities have been met may steel be used for any non-essential civilian purpose. Steel manufacturers are required to accept any and all defense orders under the OPM regulations, even if it means the deferrment of non-defense or lower-priority orders already on their books. The manufacture of automobiles, refrigerators, lighting equipment, building equipment, and furniture for civilian use will face sharp curtailment under the order.

Charles A. Lindbergh charged last night that "United States interventionists" plan to "create incidents and situations" intended to force the nation into war in Europe and Asia "under the guise of defending America." Speaking at a rally sponsored by the America First Committee at the Cleveland Auditorium, Lindbergh accused the present administration of practicing "government by subterfuge," and asserted that the question of war or peace, "of whether or not the destiny of America is to be merged with the destiny of Europe" has not been placed before "a vote of the people."

Trustees of the East New York Savings Bank say they are prepared to finance a 220-unit housing project in the Cypress Hills section, if the Board of Estimate agrees to provide a partial tax exemption for the project. The development is planned for the old railroad freight yard property on Atlantic Avenue, and would incorporate two and three story brick buildings at a total cost estimated at $1,000,000. If completed the project would be the first of its kind in Brooklyn.

A plan to enter the name of Democratic incumbent John Cashmore in the Republican Party primary for the office of Borough President is being attacked by Kings County Republican district leaders as "a Tammany plot" instigated by "Tammany Democrats posing as independents and a few disgruntled Republicans." County Republican leaders last week, as part of an independent Fusion movement, nominated Judge Matthew J. Troy, an "independent Democrat," as their candidate for the Borough Presidency, and yesterday warned all borough Republicans to avoid signing petitions that would place Mr. Cashmore's name on the primary ballot.

With the hammer-and-sickle insignia banned from the New York City ballot, the Communist Party announced today that it will use a new party symbol in the coming election -- a worker's hammer and a farmer's pitchfork, arranged in the shape of a large letter "V."

(*snif* "Laid away" is a phrase you don't hear now, but when I was young you still heard it from the old folks.)

A 14-month old baby boy was shot in the hand by his father yesterday in Bay Ridge. Police say the child, Michael McCormack of 801 70th Street, was hit when when his 27-year-old father Williard McCormack "whipped his gun out of his holster" and the pistol "accidentally discharged" Police did not explain why Mr. McCormack was "whipping the gun out of his holster."

(Coming Events Cast their Shadows Before...)

The Eagle Editorialist declines to endorse a proposal now before Congress that would change the name of Ellis Island to "Liberty Isle," suggesting that name would be better applied to Bedloe's Island, where the Statue stands. He also notes that "while Ellis Island has been the portal to liberty for many who have passed thru its portals, the fact remains that many have been detained there, along with aliens who are to be deported."

A hundred and fifty new designs for cotton stockings will be released to the hosiery manufacturing trade by the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Home Economics this week. The Bureau has had the question of cotton hosiery under careful consideration for the past three years as part of an effort to reduce the mounting cotton surplus, and the present shut-off of the supply of raw silk from Japan makes that study timely. Chief Textile Technologist David H. Young notes that the recommendations include patterns for mesh knits suitable for evening wear as well as sheer-appearing lisle for street wear and sturdy knits for household use. It is also noted that 89 percent of the knitting machines now in use for the manufacture of full-fashioned silk or nylon hose can be easily adapted for the use of cotton.

(Sigh. The guy you cut loose in April is the one who'll come back to haunt you in August.)

Longtime Detroit Tiger star Charley Gehringer is expected to retire from baseball as of the end of this season. The famed "Mechanical Man" who has patrolled second base for the Tigers since 1924 has suffered from back pains in recent years, and has lately been replaced at the keystone sack by young Dutch Meyer, up from Buffalo. Gehringer, who has earned consideration as the greatest second baseman of all time, will work with the rookie thru this season, but will himself appear in the lineup only when necessary. He is expected to leave baseball and "go into business" next year.

The Football Dodgers open their pre-season training camp next week, convening once again at the Hun Junior School in Princeton, New Jersey. Coach Jock Sutherland and his staff will set up operations for camp on Wednesday, with the players required to report by August 17th. The Football Flock opens its 1941 season at Ebbets Field against the Detroit Lions on September 21st.

(Mr. O'Daniel is the real-world inspiration for the "Pappy O'Daniel" character in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" The real Pappy wasn't quite as much of a stumbling buffoon as he appeared to be in the movie, but it wasn't for lack of trying.)

Old Timer C. M. L. recalls his childhood days in Williamsburg with dread, when it comes to Miss Riker, the formidable principal of his primary school. Miss Riker, weighing in at least 275 pounds, had the habit of "licking" misbehaving children in full view of the whole school, laying them across her knees for the spanking. "This school later became a mission church."

Jack Benny may be convulsing moviegoers as "Charley's Aunt," but down at the Brighton Theatre, it's another radio funster who's getting the laughs. Phil Baker, radio's favorite comedy accordion player, will play the lead role in the Brandon Thomas stage farce beginning this Tuesday. It's Mr. Baker's first time in skirts, but he has proven over the course of his long career in vaudeville and on the air that there are few things he won't do for a laugh. Phil is also credited with introducing the word "stooge" to the theatrical world, when he hung the title on his comedy sidekick Sid Silvers way back in 1921.

(Where is this story taking place? Why is there a Viking king in the desert? How come he's held captive by a bunch of skinny guys in Panama hats? Run, Tarzan! Back to the jungle, where the world makes sense!)

(In reality, the baseball culture of 1941 would have found Breezy with his shoes nailed to the locker room floor, his bats sawed in half, and an assortment of slugs, bugs, used chewing tobacco, and anything else that might be picked up off the ground stuffed into his glove.)

(Mr. Roosevelt didn't actually come up with "fireside chat" himself -- Harry Butcher, the manager of the CBS station in Washington did. No word on whether he had a fireplace next to his radio when he thought of it.)

(And it was at that moment that little Sunny joined the Dark Side. And as for poor Irwin, nobody respects him. Nobody respects him at all.)

(And now I can't stop wondering exactly where his nose *is* under that helmet.)

(Out on Long Island, there's a man with bird scratches all over his face who shakes his head in sympathy.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

This is why strippers need to join AGVA.

Not just a USO benefit, but every benefit I've ever worked.

And please welcome for a special guest appearance, Hero Cabbie Leonard Weisberg.

But first, maybe bring him back? You *can* bring him back, can't you? CAN'T YOU?

"There now!" says Emmy. "Can Margaret Hamilton do THAT?"

"Hours?" Sadly, that is just about right.

Someday they're gonna do something about people smoking on the beach.

I wish the reproduction was more clear, because there's a lot going on in the backgrounds...

Uh-oh. Meet Burma's former colleague Captain Judas. Burma once betrayed him to Pat -- and she threw a flaming lamp in his face to punctuate the moment. He is not a man you want to see walking thru your hotel room door.

Next week: Bull Moose vs. a Triceratops.

 

[Harp]

...Someone from her past....?

 

[Fading Fast]

Germany claimed today that its anti-Soviet blitzkrieg remains in full swing, and that a total of 30 Russian divisions have been destroyed by German armies driving deep into the Ukraine along a 460-mile line southeastward from Smolensk. The Soviets countered with a flat denial of the Nazi reports, with the Red Star, official Army newspaper stating that ten divisions of German troops have been decimated as the Red Army continues to hold all along the 1800-mile front, after seven weeks of the "bloodiest fighting in modern history." It was also hinted in Soviet reports that a full air offensive against German cities is "in prospect."..

The Twitter battle over the war in the East continues.

...While the attention of the world remains riveted on the Russo-German war, it was reported in Washington diplomatic circles that Hitler today sent two Panzer divisions of about 1000 tanks and troop carriers into Spanish Morocco, for simultaneous dashes into French Morocco and the strategic port of Dakkar....

My God, how many German men of fighting age were there on the earth at that time?

...
(In reality, the baseball culture of 1941 would have found Breezy with his shoes nailed to the locker room floor, his bats sawed in half, and an assortment of slugs, bugs, used chewing tobacco, and anything else that might be picked up off the ground stuffed into his glove.)...

Boody Rogers and Russell Stamm both use their comic strips to play out their fantasies.

...
(And it was at that moment that little Sunny joined the Dark Side. And as for poor Irwin, nobody respects him. Nobody respects him at all.)...

We give these strips (movie, TV shows, etc.) plenty of leeway with their plots, continuity, reality, etc., but come on, "Charlie" knows he's had amnesia and that he can't remember his prior life, so it's stretching credibility too far to believe he'd dismiss this possible explanation so abruptly and completely.

...[ This is why strippers need to join AGVA.....

The stripper story is an immediate entry in our "Page Four Story of the Year" contest.

... And please welcome for a special guest appearance, Hero Cabbie Leonard Weisberg.....

I'm not just saying it, I had the same thought, Lizzie.

... Uh-oh. Meet Burma's former colleague Captain Judas. Burma once betrayed him to Pat -- and she threw a flaming lamp in his face to punctuate the moment. He is not a man you want to see walking thru your hotel room door.....

"I've taken enough from that horse-faced Sherman witch..." "Hennick hangs around because I'm a hotter number that Miss Gotrocks!" She's no Jo, but angry Burma on a roll is pretty good too.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Japan has placed its economy on a full war footing, with the Imperial Council tonight enacting four new ordinances submitted by Premier Prince Fumimaro Konoye. The new ordinances are intended to mobilize the nation on both a financial and economic basis, and will regulate transactions on the Japanese Stock Exchange and the appraisal of corporation-owned stocks, and will impose nationwide price controls. The Japanese Government has not, however, given official confirmation that Japan has warned the United States not to transport war supplies to the Soviet port of Vladivostok. It was also reported by the Japanese Domei News Agency that the Japanese army and navy have intensified an economic blockade of China in order to "starve the Chinese out" by nullifying the effect of US aid sent to China by way of Burma.

Soviet forces battled mightily today to stem a Nazi drive in the Ukraine, threatening encirclement of the Black Sea port of Odessa, while also fighting German units on the fronts facing Moscow and Leningrad. "Our air force," stated a Soviet military communique, "in cooperation with land forces, inflicted heavy blows on Panzer troops and infantry." It was also reported that five German raiders were shot down over Moscow last night during a bombing attack that spanned from 11 PM to 3:15 AM.

(What, no ceremonial "Last Ride On The Trolley" pageantry? What's happening to Old Brooklyn Pride?)

Full service has resumed on Triboro Bus Company routes in Queens, following the resolution of a three-day-old strike by the Transport Workers Union CIO. Bus company officers refused to discuss terms of the settlement, but it is understood that the firm will rehire four men discharged because of their TWU affiliation, and will reopen the cases of 20 others, as well as reopen the matter of contract renegotiations with the TWU and its AFL rival, the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway, Electric Coach, and Motor Employees of America.

The former president of the New York Stock Exchange walked out of Sing Sing Prison today a relatively free man, bound for a new life as a New England dairy farmer. Richard Whitney, wearing a new prison-issued suit with $183 in accumulated prison wages and donations from friends and family in his pocket, had served three years of a five-to-ten year sentence for embezzling an estimated $30 million in funds belonging to the Stock Exchange, the New York Yacht Club, and other accounts and trusts under his supervision, following the collapse of his brokerage firm. Mr. Whitney will take over management of a herd of 25 cows in Barnstable, Massachusetts, and will remain on parole until 1948. During that time he may have no contact with other ex-convicts, may not possess firearms or liquor, and may not engage in any way in the exchange of securities or any other finance-related business.

An associate Price Control Administrator in Washington today charged that widespread price gouging is taking place among wholesale and retail dealers in hosiery. Administrator Harriet Elliot said that while many dealers have "patriotically refrained" from raising prices, "others are taking advantage of the situation to reap windfall profits." The administrator urged consumers to avoid hosiery hoarding, and to "vigorously protest and refuse to pay" when they encounter raised prices. She further urged consumers to consider cotton and rayon hose as alternatives to silk and nylon.

Three persons were injured, four cars were wrecked, and traffic backed up for miles on approach to the Triborough Bridge this morning after a woman's hat blew off on the Grand Central Parkway in East Elmhurst. Police say the hat worn by Mrs. William H. Brown of Flushing blew off as the car in which she was riding with her husband was moving west along the Parkway. Mr. Brown stopped the car to retrieve the hat, and was struck from behind by a chauffeur-driven car belonging to Mr. and Mrs. John Larsen of Valley Stream. The Larsen car, in turn, was hit by a car driven by Joseph Viox of Ridgewood, and Mr. Viox's car, in turn, was struck by one driven by John Madonia of Bath Beach, Brooklyn. The Larsens and Mr. Viox were taken by ambulance to Long Island Hospital as tow trucks worked to untangle the general wreckage. Mrs. Brown's hat was undamaged.

(Joseph Stalin never actually said "one death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic," but it is, in times of war, nevertheless the truth.)

(The First Hooterville Tractor & Combine Battalion musters for duty.)

(So that's how it's gonna be, is it? Well, we got ways of dealin'....)

(By the way, note the proof that ballpark gouging on concessions is well underway in 1941. Ten cents for a nickel bottle of soda? I ASK YOU!)

Pitcher Bots Nekola of the Bushwicks seems to have taken the measure of the Negro American League, with three straight wins this season against NAL clubs. The Woodhaven southpaw's latest conquest is the Jacksonville Red Caps, shut out 3-0 in the opening game of yesterday's twinbill at Dexter Park. The win was the first horsecollaring to be administered by a Bushwicks pitcher at home this season. Nekola has also racked up wins against the Kansas City Monarchs and the Memphis Red Sox this year. Jacksonville reversed the treatment in the nightcap, shutting out the home club by an identical score of 3-0.

It'll be a hot time tonight in the weekly meeting of the "Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street" at 9PM over WJZ. Pianist Bert Shefter will sit in with Maestro Paul Lavalle's boys, with august commentary to be offered by none other than NBC Music Division head Samuel Chotzinoff, whose eminently long-haired observations have long been featured on the Toscanini broadcasts.

(This whole storyline is nothing but a dream. In reality, Sparky is back home, passed out cold on the floor after reading his draft notice.)

(OILY FACED WIFE DESERTER! OILY FACED WIFE DESERTER! OILY FACED WIFE DESERTER!)

(I never noticed it before, but Mary does have a certain resemblance to Mother Bloor.)

(Well, they could always tie him to a chair and hit him over the head. That usually seems to work.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Why does the Cooper-Hewitt story remind me of a rejected plotline from "The Gumps?" Bull Moose would be a fine choice to play the miner.

Does Huckleberry Finn in fact like huckleberry pie? Having read as much Twain as anyone, I don't recall any instance where he expresses such a sentiment.

Just stay off the Grand Central Parkway.

Well, he does have this uncle, who's even funnier-looking than he is...

For those who came in late...

We meet some pretty ruthless people in the funnies, but Punj takes the cake. And what's with the audience in panel two all tied up in potato sacks? I don't even want to imagine what he's got planned for them.

A radio gag man?? DRIVE FASTER!

"Sigh. I wonder what Tula's up to?"

Well all righty then.

The art in panel one is just perfect. YOU TELL 'EM GEE GEE!

 

[Fading Fast]

Japan has placed its economy on a full war footing, with the Imperial Council tonight enacting four new ordinances submitted by Premier Prince Fumimaro Konoye. The new ordinances are intended to mobilize the nation on both a financial and economic basis, and will regulate transactions on the Japanese Stock Exchange and the appraisal of corporation-owned stocks, and will impose nationwide price controls. The Japanese Government has not, however, given official confirmation that Japan has warned the United States not to transport war supplies to the Soviet port of Vladivostok. It was also reported by the Japanese Domei News Agency that the Japanese army and navy have intensified an economic blockade of China in order to "starve the Chinese out" by nullifying the effect of US aid sent to China by way of Burma....

"It was also reported by the Japanese Domei News Agency that the Japanese army and navy have intensified an economic blockade of China in order to "starve the Chinese out" by nullifying the effect of US aid sent to China by way of Burma"

Burma? What is she up to now? Oh, the country not the "Terry and the Pirates" character.

...Three persons were injured, four cars were wrecked, and traffic backed up for miles on approach to the Triborough Bridge this morning after a woman's hat blew off on the Grand Central Parkway in East Elmhurst. Police say the hat worn by Mrs. William H. Brown of Flushing blew off as the car in which she was riding with her husband was moving west along the Parkway. Mr. Brown stopped the car to retrieve the hat, and was struck from behind by a chauffeur-driven car belonging to Mr. and Mrs. John Larsen of Valley Stream. The Larsen car, in turn, was hit by a car driven by Joseph Viox of Ridgewood, and Mr. Viox's car, in turn, was struck by one driven by John Madonia of Bath Beach, Brooklyn. The Larsens and Mr. Viox were taken by ambulance to Long Island Hospital as tow trucks worked to untangle the general wreckage. Mrs. Brown's hat was undamaged...

This could easily be reworked into a storyline for "The Bungle Family," with George having gotten into a fight and, as he's being hauled off to jail, shouting over his shoulder to Jo to call his lawyer, the one Jo refers to as, "That dinky Justice-of-the-Peace court orator."

...
(The First Hooterville Tractor & Combine Battalion musters for duty.)...

If it had been around back then, this could have been a good "Saturday Night Live" skit with Hitler honking the tank's horn and screaming insanely at the indifferent-to-it-all wagon driver who completely and blithely ignores Hitler's ranting.

... (OILY FACED WIFE DESERTER! OILY FACED WIFE DESERTER! OILY FACED WIFE DESERTER!)...

That's our Jo. Also, Lizzie, try not to share that expression at your next meeting with your counselor.

... (I never noticed it before, but Mary does have a certain resemblance to Mother Bloor.)...

Connie should make the jump to "Terry and the Pirates" now as, all of a sudden, war-torn China doesn't look that bad versus having an angry mob about to attack your house with only an effete editor and Mary standing between you and it. Plus, Burma and Raven could use some competition from a new brunette. Finally, if the female-to-male ratio gets high enough, even Terry should be able to get some action.

... Why does the Cooper-Hewitt story remind me of a rejected plotline from "The Gumps?" Bull Moose would be a fine choice to play the miner....

We need to know more as this story could easily be an entry in our "Page Four Story of the Year" contest (a new entry two days in a row has never happened before) or, if she is truly mentally challenged, it's a very sad story.

...
Well, he does have this uncle, who's even funnier-looking than he is...

"That side-show freak's..." and "Do you mean to say that face has a wife?" Somebody's channelling his inner Jo.

...
For those who came in late......

Burma, Raven, Terry Dude, Dude, Terry, Raven, Burma - whatever. I was all for it when I thought Terry would be smart enough to get some action out of this nonsense. But since that ain't gonna happen, Terry needs to go on a vision quest to find Hu Shee. Some men where not cut out for casual flings.

...[
Well all righty then....

Finally, I've been jumping up and down screaming this for days. How did she not see this opportunity right off the bat?

...
As you note, the art in panel one is just perfect. YOU TELL 'EM GEE GEE!

The art is spot on in panel one, but its biggest lesson is to teach us to appreciate Burma and Raven more.

 

[Harp]

Burma, Raven, Terry Dude, Dude, Terry, Raven, Burma - whatever. I was all for it when I thought Terry would be smart enough to get some action out of this nonsense. But since that ain't gonna happen, Terry needs to go on a vision quest to find Hu Shee. Some men where not cut out for casual flings.

This hand has played itself out. Captain Bad Ass looks a pathologic sort; Burma is prey vulnerable to rape and murder.
Terry as knight errant looks a fool without portfolio. The strip itself needs rescue; new blood; blood shed.
I have been pulling for Terry and Hu Shee but quite a bit less optimistic now. She is indeed a lady far above the
price of rubies, priceless in fact.

 

[LizzieMaine]

President Roosevelt urged farmers today to "produce abundant crops" in order to ensure that food remains "a weapon against Hitlerism just as much as munitions." In a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Claude R. Wickard, the President praised American farmers for their response to the present crisis, but warned that increased agricultural production will be necessary not just to meet the needs of the present situation, but to "meet emergencies which as yet have only been dimly foreseen." The President called the attention of farmers especially to the role that American crops will have to play in the reconstruction of Europe once the "monstrous forces unleashed upon the world" by Naziism have been defeated.

The Japanese Government today hinted that action might be taken to prevent the shipping of U. S. aid to the Soviet Union by way of Vladivostok. Chief government spokesman Koh Ishli stated that it does not matter to Japan whether such aid is shipped via American or Russian vessels, but declined to be specific about exactly what Japan might do to stop the shipments. "Why ask such difficult questions?" he replied when pressed by reporters. The spokesman reiterated that "Japan desires to maintain peace in the Pacific," and that therefore the shipment of goods by the US to Russia is "very embarassing" to the Japanese Government.

Steps by the U. S. Navy to take over the Federal Shipping and Drydock Company works in Kearny, New Jersey are expected to be taken, following a conference between Navy Secretary Frank Knox and company president L. H. Korndorff, who are reported to have offered to turn the plant over to Naval authorities rather than resolve a five-day-old strike by the Industrial Union of Maritime and Shipbuilding Workers, CIO. The union has already pledged its cooperation with the Government if the plant is taken over by the Navy.

(The good Senator, an associate of the Rev. Gerald L. KKK. Smith and the Rev. Gerald "Jayhawk Nazi" Winrod, will soon be under investigation for allowing Nazi agents to send out propaganda pamphlets under his Congressional frank. Attention Page Four Editor!!)

Administration leaders today expressed the belief that an extension of military service obligations under the conscruption law is assured of passage in the House, given recent "threatening developments" on the world scene. Remarks yesterday by Secretary of State Cordell Hull warning that failure to adopt the extension will have "an exceedingly bad psychological effect" on the Government's influence in international affairs appeared likely to sway sufficient House support to enact the extension. The House will convene this afternoon for final action on the extension, with a vote expected tonight.

Federal authorities today began drafting new regulations to crack down on "easy credit" sales, in an effort to reduce consumption of consumer goods in the interest of defense production, and to reduce the risk of inflation. Americans now carry an estimated $10,000,000,000 in installment debt, and the Federal Reserve Board may go so far as to entirely ban credit sales of automobiles, home appliances, and similar goods in order to remove the incentive for manufacturers to continue their production.

The Arma Corporation factory at Bush Terminal will today be awarded the Navy's "E" pennant, denoting excellence in defense production. Assistant Navy Secretary Ralph Bard will present the flag this afternoon to company president Robert F. Nelson, and "E" buttons will be issued to all employees at the plant in recognition of their outstanding performance in the fulfillment of naval contracts.

(Better hurry!!!)

Queens Borough President George U. Harvey, the city's most prominent opponent of the overnight gasoline curfew, today called for an immediate end to restrictions on the sale of motor fuel between 7PM and 7AM, and denounced the order by Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes as "a brainstorm, which, masquerading as national defense, will lead to a change in our own government system." Mr. Harvey argued that "no gasoline is being saved" as a result of the curfew, and that attendance at beaches and summer resorts is continuing at a record setting pace. "This is how it should be," he declared. Mr. Harvey further criticized the Administration for sending oil to Russia instead of "brave little Finland," and likened Mr. Ickes to "a Soviet oil commissar."

Meanwhile, five major oil companies serving the Eastern Seaboard acknowledged that gasoline sales have actually increased 17 percent since the curfew was imposed. In Maspeth, members of the Long Island Gasoline Retailers Association threw a picket line around the Bridge-Tunnel Service Station at Borden and Betts Avenues in protest of its refusal to observe the curfew. That station has ignored the curfew from the beginning, and the Association indicated that it would maintain the picket line until the station complies with the order.

(Everybody's gotta have a tie-in.)

(Jekyll & Hyde as a sex picture? Well, why not?)

"J. M." writes to Helen Worth in a state of annoyance as a father who doesn't think it's right for his son to object to his kissing his daughter-in-law. "She comes from a very affectionate family," he protests, adding that "I have been good to them both." Helen rolls her eyes and suggests that perhaps only an occasional kiss might be appropriate, but there's no need to do it every time you see her. "Try to accept it without comment," she counsels.

("Anyway, we should go now and beat the traffic on the Triborough Bridge. Oh, and how about we put the top down?")

Former trolley riders on Fulton Street are praising the new buses now in operation for cutting a solid minute off the transport time along the former trolley routes. The new buses run three minutes apart at rush hours, compared to the trolleys which stopped every four minutes. About 30 buses are now operating on Fulton Street during peak hours.

("Who's old?" demands Fitz. "Lookit these other guys!")

A broadcast tribute to "America's Negro Soldiers" tonight at 10 PM over WJZ will feature an impressive array of "Negro stars," including symphony conductor Dean Dixon leading the NBC Concert Orchestra, the Leonard Depaur Chior, an original comedy sketch by Eddie Green, a performance by concert singer Paul Robeson, and appearances also by dancer Bill Robinson, comedian Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, and heavyweight champion Joe Louis. Bandleader Noble Sissle will preside as master of ceremonies, and U. S. Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall will broadcast from Washington with a message to "Negro troops."

Columbia Heights' own Ezra Stone may be a buck private at Camp Upton, but Henry Aldrich will remain a civilian when "The Aldrich Family" returns for the fall season. The Army has officially granted Pvt. Stone permission to perform in the Thursday night broadcasts, which return to the WEAF schedule on August 31st.

("Do you have this week's strips done?" asks Mrs. Mary Rogers of Great Neck. "Let me see them." "I mailed 'em already," says Mr. Boody Rogers. "Well, I'll have to see them in the Eagle," frowns Mary. "And I *will* see them. AND PUT DOWN THAT PHONE! I ALREADY CALLED AND TOLD THEM *NOT* TO CANCEL OUR SUBSCRIPTION!")

(Ah, the "Mother-Daughter Dance.")

("AND DON'T SEND THAT PASTY FACED EDITOR OUT!")

(Yeah, try it, and the FACE EATING DOG will be on you like you were 280 pounds of Bohack's rump roast.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

And in the Daily News...

Well now! No flies on our editor today!

"Twice the entendres for a nickel, too!"

"Schadenfreude" isn't just a word in German.

Oh jeez. If we're now in for two months of Bill Slagg-style "Punjab is Great" stuff, I think I'm gonna scream.

Judas has been dead several times, but it never seems to take.

Hahahahahahahaha! HERO CABBIE LEONARD WEISBERG CANNOT BE CORRUPTED!

I wonder what would happen if the Gumps and the Bungles ever lived in the same building?

Well, you could always enlist.

Do they really sell Dresden at Woolworth's?

It's a living.

 

[Fading Fast]

...
(The good Senator, an associate of the Rev. Gerald L. KKK. Smith and the Rev. Gerald "Jayhawk Nazi" Winrod, will soon be under investigation for allowing Nazi agents to send out propaganda pamphlets under his Congressional frank. Attention Page Four Editor!!)...

Isn't the old bald guy with the jowly face supposed to be the one with the coin when there's a marriage between him and a pretty twenty year old? Something is very wrong with this script.

...
(Better hurry!!!)...

Apparently, "Mary Worth's" Connie Barclay has a side job modeling for car companies.

...
(Jekyll & Hyde as a sex picture? Well, why not?)...

Not how I remember that movie.

In one year, Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon will team up again to make one of the best WWII propaganda films ever, "Mrs. Miniver."

...
Well now! No flies on our editor today!...

Yup, this is exactly what a good Page Four looks like. The pics, stories, tone - all Page Four perfect and with no stupid serious Washington or war news.

...
Oh jeez. If we're now in for two months of Bill Slagg-style "Punjab is Great" stuff, I think I'm gonna scream.....

Ditto.

...[
I wonder what would happen if the Gumps and the Bungles ever lived in the same building?....

How do you think black holes are formed?

...
It's a living.

No, no, no, that's not the way to play it. Just act all into Hugh and Tim will come around quickly.

Only a very young woman has the engineering to wear that dress.

 

[Harp]

Terry and The Pirates need a shake-out-shake-up. A new cast of characters, a change of scenery.
Love, romance. War, hate. Life and Death.
The strip has grown stale, kickstart time.

 

[Fading Fast]

Terry and The Pirates need a shake-out-shake-up. A new cast of characters, a change of scenery.
Love, romance. War, hate. Life and Death.
The strip has grown stale, kickstart time.

Caniff seems to be just about ready to do that. He's pretty good at moving on to new story lines with additional characters (some get dropped, some new ones come in and some old ones pop up again). I often think about what these guys are asked to do - 365 small comic strips a year. That ain't easy.

 

[LizzieMaine]

With everything that's happening on the Asian front in the Real World right now, you've got to think that Mr. Caniff wishes he didn't work on such a long lead time. I do want to know what Pat did after the DL carried him off. And did April ever get over the cholera and did she report that Crispin guy to the nurses? Did Bucky and Dr. Ping and Hu Shee survive that raid? Is Cap'n Blaze still wandering around Hong Kong disguised as a gentleman? Has Cheery disposed of Singh-Singh and taken over his gun-running operation? And is Kiel really dead? We never saw a body.

The thing about working in such a broad canvas is that you have plenty of room to push characters off to the side when you can't think of anything for them to do and bring them back again when you're ready. Mr. Caniff takes full advantage of that.

 

[Harp]

Character continuity and credibility work hand in glove for Caniff, understandably, a broad canvas
and a war writ large; although with certain restrictions. Kiel perished at sea, without trace.
Should he magically be resurrected without plausible rhyme or reason, the strip would suffer.
Other aspects have some latitude but the limits of common sense and reason prevail.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A plot to mulct 82,000 students in the municipal college system out of $200,000 in excess charges for the purchase of laboratory supplies over the past fourteen years is alleged today by the Rapp-Coudert Commitee. Attorney Nathan H. Heath of 129 E. 29th Street told the committee that he was a partner with Brooklyn College chemistry department head Dr. David Hart and two City College chemistry teachers in the Kemkit Chemical Corporation, which sold specialized kits to chemistry students as a required part of the curriculum. Mr. Heath denounced the Kemkit system before the committee as offering "no advantage over any other method of instruction," particularly when it is considered that many of the students enrolled at the municipal colleges have difficulties raising carfare, let alone purchasing such expensive compulsory supplies. The Kemkit system was also denounced by City College chemistry teacher Morris U. Cohen, currently facing a departmental trial over alleged Communist political sympathies, who noted that Dr. Hart and the two teachers named, Drs. Frederick L. Weber and Charles Marley, vigorously attacked as "Reds" any teachers who dared to oppose their business practices.

German, Hungarian, and Rumanian rapid troops and infantry divisions are pursuing Red Army forces toward the Black Sea coast, creating what is described as "a Dunkirk situation" for Soviet troops east of Odessa. Russian troops at that port are said to be already boarding ships bound for Crimea, as Nazi planes continue to pound the coastline.

A detachment of "barefoot Russian troops" routed a German motorized division, with two other divisions, including one made up of Hitler's hand-picked "SS" men, reported smashed. The barefoot forces, who had been encircled for over a month, fought their way back to the Russian lines, where, using captured German weapons and wearing the tattered rags of German uniforms, they proceeded to rout the motorized force, killing 3000 men, and seizing 300 trucks and hundreds of motorcycles. Germans are said to have referred to the barefoot force as "wild Bolsheviks."

The Royal Air Force and the Red Air Force are collaborating in an aerial pincer offensive against Berlin, with sections of the German capital aflame this morning after explosive and incendiary attacks from the air. Other British bombers struck overnight at Magdeburg, Hanover, and the big Krupp armaments works at Essen, with airfields in Holland, docks at Le Havre, and shipping in Norwegian harbors also hit in the raids.

President Roosevelt today suspended the eight-hour day for mechanics and laborers employed by the War Department at air fields, troop housing units, fortifications, and other defense-related public works projects. The suspension of the regulation is intended to spur the completion of necessary military projects by the earliest possible date.

In Los Angeles, a judge has ruled that a 29-year-old salesman who claims that he is turning into a woman must prove that the physical changes he has undergone are permanent before a legal order can be issued granting a change of name and legal sex. Edward P. Richards filed a petition last month to change his name to Barbara Ann, after describing changes that have occurred to his body over the past year. Richards, appearing in court in a pink dress, silk stockings, and high-heeled shoes, told Judge Emmet H. Wilson that he and his wife, 32-year-old Rosa Lorraine Wilcox, an architect, have not yet decided whether to seek dissolution of their marriage.

("I wen' ova t' Sperry's t'day, at lunchtime," says Joe. "I put in my name. T'em classes I been takin' at school, I figure I might be able t' get in. Y'know, d'fense woik." "I dunno," sighs Sally. "T'is fella I knew at Erasmus, Oivin' Schlagel. He woiks at Sperry's. Makin' gyrascopes an' allat. Oivin' Schlagel. What a good lookin' fella he was. Nexta Oivin' Schlagel, Barrymore is Andy Gump. But t'en he wenna woik at Sperry's. Makin' precision pa'hts. Onna big lathe. All day, toinin', toinin' -- day afta day afta day. Annen one day he's woikin ova'time, makinnem gyrascopes for nation'l d'fense. A real patriot. But he's woikin' too long an'nee falls asleep right at 'is machine. An' he slumps ova', an' his nose falls right inta t'lathe. Grinds it right down ta .0001 of a inch. Poor Oivin'. Roont his beautyful face." Joe scowls. "Ya kiddin." "As I live an' breathe. It's awful. Poor Oivin,' he puts on his glasses anney slide right down 'is face. He got a wooden nose ta weah, but it swells up inna hot weatha so he don' like to weah it. Anna glasses, t'ey jus' slide right down 'is face. It's a real problem. Poor Oivin'." Joe gazes long and hard at his wife. And then she begins to laugh. "Honesttagawd, Joe," she chortles, "sometimes ya such a chump!")

(Some days it jus' don't pay ta gettoutta bed.)

A Brooklyn traveling salesman was held today for the Grand Jury on a charge of bigamy, when his first wife, suspicious of his long absences, learned that he had been married for a second time. Forty-three-year-old Herman Simon of 1273 E. 70th Street was accused by his wife, Mrs. Anna Simon, who has been married to Mr. Simon since 1926, of marrying Miss Emma S. Klaman, a Pittsburgh school teacher, on Christmas Day 1938. He had been absent from his Brooklyn home since January 6, 1940, leading Mrs. Simon to investigate his movements.

(Mr. Watson is having way too much fun! Hey, have you heard you can make a great tent with that blanket, a couple of kitchen chairs, and some pillows?)

Federal authorites in Brooklyn are investigating a group of hair-tonic salesmen accused of diverting denatured alcohol used in the manufacture of the product to bootleggers, who purified the alcohol for drinking purposes at a profit of as much as 550 percent. 36 year old Hyman Green of 700 Lefferts Avenue, the first salesman arrested by Federal revenue agents in connection with the case, pleaded guilty yesterday in Brooklyn Federal Court, and will face up to two years in prison for his role in the scheme.

(Something for everyone.)

(Spinach? I thought that was the Navy.)

(Yeah, but four guys over .300 and you still couldn't beat the Giants? What's wrong with you people? Oh, and almost 40,000 people cramming into Ebbets Field? No wonder that guy fell off the wall.)

Boxing's lover boy and once-and-future challenger to Joe Louis will launch his ring comeback in Madison Square Garden this fall, with Billy Conn taking on Bob Pastor -- a fight which will send its winner to fight the winner of the upcoming Louis-Nova bout, expected naturally to be Mr. Louis. Pastor has just returned from the Coast where he scored an impressive win over "hard-hitting Negro heavyweight" Turkey Thompson. While the Conn-Pastor bout hasn't yet been formally announced, it is expected that it will take place at the Garden in November.

(Oh, do let them wash ashore in China. Burma would make short work of this bunch.)

(Aside from George himself, poor Sibyl here is the least self-aware person in the whole strip.)

("Ya mean we oughta -- VOTE? Yeah!! That's right! Let's VOTE! I vote we BURN THE HOUSE DOWN!")

(Actually -- um -- that seems *exactly like* the Old Dan Dunn.)