August 26: ON THIS DAY in 1939, Britain calls cabinet

August 26, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1858, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The excitement which the successful laying of the Atlantic Cable has occasioned has created a new set of imposters, mock sailors, who pretend to belong to the Fiagara, and who invade offices, saloons and barrooms with grossly bad imitations of the Atlantic Telegraphic Cable, five or six inches in length, which they offer for sale at prices varying from fifty cents to a dollar. These men can never be mistaken for real sailors by anybody but the greenest landsman, who has never whiffed the sea breeze in his life. Their appearance is bogus, their nautical talk is bogus, and their ‘cable’ is the most bogus of all. There will be plenty of the genuine cable in the market before many days. Let enthusiasts wait; they will be able to purchase it at a cheap rate at respectable establishments. In the meantime, let them shun the bogus cable of the streets.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1939, the Eagle reported, “London (AP) — Sir Neville Henderson, British ambassador to Berlin, bearing the latest views of Adolf Hitler on the European crisis, arrived by airplane today to report to King George and the government … King George commanded him to come to Buckingham Palace after the ambassador had conferred with Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax and Prime Minister [Neville] Chamberlain. Chamberlain was believed to have under consideration the calling of an emergency meeting of the cabinet. Sir Neville intended to fly back to Berlin later today. There was a general feeling in informed quarters the envoy’s report would embody, besides a firm expression of the German point of view on the German-Polish dispute, a hint at possibilities for discussion of terms. The belief was bolstered by the intense diplomatic activity that marked the night and early morning hours throughout Europe.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “Indianapolis, Aug. 26 (U.P.) — Six aged Union veterans of the Civil War were squaring away today for a possible scrap on whether to disband the Grand Army of the Republic after its 83rd encampment here next week. But their ages, ranging from 100 to 108, were against them and the sharper minds of their younger advisers were expected to prevent an open squabble. Last year, six of the handful of surviving ‘Boys in Blue’ voted at Grand Rapids, Mich., to make the 1949 encampment their last. Congress passed a special act ordering the U.S. Marine Band to play at the final session. The Post Office Department issued a special stamp marking the end of the organization. The governor of Indiana ordered church bells tolled and a general suspension of business for an hour during the ‘last earthly encampment’ of the men. But two of the six expected to attend the ‘last’ encampment outspokenly favored continuing the annual meeting until there was only one member left alive. A third wants a chance to be G.A.R. commander-in-chief and might side in with the two.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “The new $1,500,000 Mays Department Store building was formally opened, at Fulton and Bond Sts., today, with city officials and business leaders looking on. Thirty foot patrolmen and other police in prowl cars and on horseback, under command of Deputy Chief Inspector David A. Conden, head of Brooklyn uniformed forces, kept order among several thousand shoppers who crowded the street half an hour before the grand opening. The building is located next to the existing Mays store, Fulton St. and Hanover Place. As bargain hunters made their appearance, police set up barricades and lined up the eager customers-to-be four abreast. Included among officials attending was Abe Stark, City Council president, and himself a Brooklyn merchant. Also federal as well as city and borough officials, including Acting Borough President John F. Hayes. Some 600 persons attended a special breakfast and then were escorted by Joe Weinstein, Mays chairman of the board, to the store’s main floor, where the grand opening ceremonies were held. They were launched with the playing of the national anthem and display of colors by a color guard of the Kings County American Legion.”