April 2: ON THIS DAY in 1945, American troops overrun southern Okinawa

April 2, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle

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ON THIS DAY IN 1846, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “South Ferry. – The new arrangements on this ferry commenced yesterday, the night boat leaving the Brooklyn side every half hour from 9 to 12 p.m., and the New York side from 9 1/4 to 12 1/4 p.m. This arrangement will prove of great service to our merchants residing in South Brooklyn, and who are detained in the city during the busy season until a late hour; it will also afford those who desire amusement an opportunity of visiting the public places devoted to that purpose.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1861, the Eagle reported, “There seems to be no end to taxation in New York; and so fast has the wealth of the city grown that the taxpayers seem able to bear any amount of profligacy on the part of their rulers. This year the taxes amount to twelve millions of dollars, a sum greater than was required to support the United States government for many years after its formation. The value of the real and personal estate of New York is six hundred million dollars, so that despite all of the extravagance the taxes are less than two per cent. The taxes of Brooklyn amounted last year to about two million of dollars, one-sixth the amount required in New York, and our real and personal estate was valued at just over one-sixth of that of New York – $100,000,000. Our rate of taxation is about the same … The increase in taxation in Brooklyn is due almost entirely to the large expenditures for our water works, which are not yet self-sustaining. If the legislature will not saddle us with additional taxation, in a few years we will be able to reduce our rate of taxation far below that of New York, and make it an inducement for capitalists to seek investment here.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1868, the Eagle reported, “A novel way has been discovered in a neighboring city of getting rid of an obnoxious minister – by literally playing him out of the church. The Trustees invited the objectionable minister to resign, which he declined to do and proceeded to preach; whereupon the impeaching Trustee told the organist to play and drown the preacher’s voice. The organist played away with all his stops out, and drove the discomfited preacher out of the church. This opens a new field of usefulness for the church organ as a means of promoting harmony in the church. With an organ like that of Plymouth Church you might extinguish not a single parson but a whole conference. Having found a way of getting rid of an obnoxious minister, the next question is how to get rid of a bad organist. Is there no way of playing him out?”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “Guam, April 2 (UP) – Tens of thousands of American invasion troops overran a dozen or more villages in southern Okinawa, only 362 miles south of Japan, and pressed on today against continued light resistance toward Naha, the island’s burning capital. Radio towers in Naha, a city of 65,000, were clearly visible to the advancing Americans as the greatest invasion of the Pacific war entered its second day already days ahead of schedule. Late yesterday, troops and tanks were less than seven miles from Naha. Marines and soldiers of the new American 10th Army stormed ashore from a 1,4000-ship armada and sized an eight-and-three-quarters-mile-long beachhead on the west coast of southern Okinawa yesterday. Within the first three hours, they captured two airfields and by nightfall they had driven approximately half way across the waist of Okinawa toward the naval anchorage of Nakagusuku Bay on the east coast, another of the prime objectives of the invasion.”