Brooklyn Boro

November 5: ON THIS DAY in 1952, Eisenhower landslide leaves Dems reeling

November 5, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle History
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ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Toronto (INS) — German submarines are operating off the coast of Newfoundland ‘within sight of land’ and are being attacked by ships and planes of the Canadian defense forces, it was disclosed today. The disclosure came from the Mon. Angus MacDonald, Minister of Defense and Naval Affairs, and was confirmed by Rear Admiral Percy Welles, naval chief of staff. At its nearest point, Newfoundland lies less than 500 miles from the most northerly point of Maine. MacDonald’s revelation came when he was interviewed in his railway car on a siding near Toronto and asked for details concerning his report to the House of Commons in Ottawa to the effect that Canadian ships have sunk several German submarines. MacDonald was quoted as saying that these sinkings had occurred within sight of Newfoundland shores.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1942, the Eagle reported, “George M. Cohan, Broadway’s remarkable ‘song-and-dance man,’ died at 5 a.m. today, at the age of 64 … Cohan’s passing rang down the curtain on a stage career of more than half a century, during which George M. was actor, dancer, singer, playwright, song writer, director and producer — and a star in each capacity. He was equally at home on the variety stage during vaudeville’s golden age, on the legit when vaudeville began to fade and in musical comedy. During World War I he wrote ‘Over There,’ to which millions of Americans in uniform marched. It was the American war song of 1917-1918. Tradition has it, and the records show, that George M. Cohan was born on the Fourth of July, 1878, and in later years Cohan’s musical comedies had a star-spangled banner zest which critics joined and audiences loved.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “Left-wing control of New York City politics by balance-of-power rule appeared effectively broken today by off-year election returns reaching a climax in a majority decision of the voters to kill the Communist-supported Proportional Representation City Council voting system. Complete returns from the city’s 3,757 election districts placed the plurality for repeal of the controversial method of choosing City Council members at close to 350,000 voters. With New York City rolling up a majority of nearly a million votes for the pending $400,000,000 soldiers’ bonus, overwhelming adoption of the statewide proposal to reward New York’s veterans of World War II by cash grants ranging from $50 to $250 each also was certain. The city-wide bonus amendment vote produced a total of 1,205,685 in its favor to 389,769 in opposition.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “Dwight D. Eisenhower, elected as the 33rd President of the United States, scored a smashing victory as he ended the 20-year Democratic control of the White House. The former general defeated Adlai E. Stevenson by a popular vote and electoral college margin that even his most enthusiastic supporters had not dared to predict. Cracking the ‘Solid South’ for the first Republican triumphs below the Mason-Dixon Line since 1928, Eisenhower won or was leading in 38 states with a total electoral vote of 431. The popular vote — incomplete — was Eisenhower, 28,434,963, and Stevenson, 22,871,179. Never before in history has a candidate ever received as many votes for the presidency as did the 62-year-old Republican candidate, and never before have as many persons journeyed to the polls to cast their ballots.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “Attendance in Catholic schools in the Brooklyn diocese zoomed to new highs this year, with a total enrollment of 219,992 students in 309 schools. Monsignor Joseph V.S. McClancy, diocesan superintendent of schools, cited these figures as evidence of the ‘insistence’ of Catholic parents on a religious education for their children in his annual report, released today, to Archbishop Thomas E. Molloy of the Brooklyn diocese. Breaking down the diocesan figures, which includes Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk, Monsignor McClancy revealed that 113,504 students attend 233 Catholic schools in Brooklyn, including the eight schools of St. John’s University. The report also revealed that $7,793,971.36 was spent by the diocese erecting new elementary schools, mostly in Queens and Nassau, and constructing additions to existing schools.”

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