November 4: ON THIS DAY in 1941, naval tanker torpedoed

November 4, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1919, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Stockholm (AP) — Leaders of Russia’s Soviet Government have banned the giving of Christian names to children, it is reported, because they are considered ‘reminiscent of the reactionary system.’ It is expected an order will be issued soon forbidding their use. Numbers are to be substituted. Thus, three children of a family named Petkoff may in the future be known as ‘Petkoff One, Two and Three,’ respectively.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Eagle reported, “Washington (UP) — The Navy announced today that the naval tanker Salinas was torpedoed off Iceland the night of Oct. 29-30, but managed to reach port safely despite serious damage. There was no loss of life or serious injury among personnel. The Salinas, which was in a convoy, is an oil tanker of 16,800 tons. She carried a complement of 107 men. The navy said the torpedo attack came without warning, a day before the attack on the destroyer Reuben James, which was sunk. No details of the damage will be released as it ‘will be of no value except to the Nazis,’ the Navy said … The Salinas was the fourth U.S. naval ship to be attacked southwest of Iceland by submarines. Meanwhile, new Navy announcements indicated 97 of the Reuben James’ complement were lost. The Navy announcement about the Salinas was made 10 hours after the department had revealed officially that of the Reuben James’ crew of 142 officers and men, two definitely were known to have been killed and 95 others were missing and presumed lost.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “Hundreds of families seeking admission to Marcy Houses and other low-rent housing projects in the city, to be opened next month, already have applications distributed by the New York City Housing Authority. More than 12,000 blanks were on hand for applicants for the 7,165 apartments in the five projects. For Marcy Houses, Marcy and Myrtle Aves., which will contain 1,717 apartments, the application office is at 119 N. Oxford Walk, in the Fort Greene Houses project … The order in which applications are received will have no bearing on the assignment of apartments. Priority will be given veterans and families which previously lived on the sites of the projects. The income limitation has not yet been announced. For veterans with several dependents, the income ceiling is expected to be about $4,000.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “Assemblyman-elect Bertram L. Baker of the 17th A.D. today had the distinction of being the first Negro ever elected to public office in Brooklyn. Nominated by the Democratic and American Labor parties, he polled 21,086 votes, of which 5,392 were on the A.L.P. line. His opponent, Mrs. Maude B. Richardson, also a Negro, who was indorsed by the Republican and Liberal parties, received 11,628 ballots, 2,777 of which were Liberal party votes. Mr. Baker, a 50-year-old public accountant, who lives at 399 Jefferson Ave., will succeed Democratic Assemblyman John J. Walsh, who did not run for re-election. Confidential aide to Borough President [John] Cashmore, Baker has served also as a deputy collector of internal revenue assigned to the Brooklyn Income Tax Bureau … Born in Nevis, British West Indies, Baker, the father of two married daughters, came to this country in 1915. He has lived in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area since 1923.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “Philadelphia (U.P.) — The Philadelphia Athletics, an institution set up by Connie Mack here 54 years ago, were sold today to Arnold Johnson, Chicago realtor, for transfer to Kansas City. Earle Mack, with tears in his eyes, came out of a morning session at his father’s apartment saying, ‘We lost out.’ Asked whether the club had been sold, Earle said, ‘Yes.’ ‘It was a tough decision,’ he added as he walked through the doorway of the apartment house with his attorney, Alfred Luongo … Connie Mack, Mr. Baseball to generations of Americans, did not appear as Earle tearfully announced the fate of the team that was a tradition on the local scene for more than a half-century.”