October 16: ON THIS DAY in 1940, 190,000 register for draft in rush on borough boards

October 16, 2020 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1911, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON — Plans for the erection of a great Presbyterian temple in honor of the memory of the late Justice [John Marshall] Harlan of the Supreme Court of the United States already are being considered here. It is suggested that $1,000,000 be raised by subscription throughout the country to build the temple. Justice Harlan during the latter years of his life hoped to interest Presbyterians in the erection of a temple to be the meeting place of the governing body of the Church, and the plans proposed by friends here is to carry out his idea and at the same time provide an appropriate memorial to the distinguished jurist.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1918, the Eagle reported, “MINEOLA, L.I. — The [voter] registration in the three villages of the Town of Hempstead having a population of over 5,000, and in the City of Glen Cove, has been noticeably heavier for the first two days of this year over the first two of the last. This, of course, is due to the proportionately large number of woman registrants. There will be two more days of registration in these three villages and in Glen Cove City, next Friday and Saturday. In the villages in which the population is less than 5,000, registrants have until October 19 to indicate their intention of voting. Personal registration is not necessary. In Freeport, which has six election districts, only 924 men and women have registered in two days, but it is expected that the figures will be greatly augmented after next Friday and Saturday. The Liberty Loan drive and the Spanish influenza epidemic served to keep down the registration.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1940, the Eagle reported, “New York City today went about the business of registering an estimated 1,100,000 men for military service with a rush and a minimum of confusion. By 12:30 p.m., five and one-half hours after the registration places had opened, 538,611 men between the ages of 21 and 36 had been listed in the city for the first peace-time draft of the United States. They were being signed up at the rate of 100,000 an hour. Brooklyn, by 12:30, had more than a third of that total, or 190,216. The Bronx came next with 119,121, Queens had 110,091, Manhattan 108,125 and Richmond 11,058. At noon, Brooklyn’s registration had been 160,076 and at 10:30 a.m. 139,277. Col. Arthur V. McDermott, the city’s selective service director, estimated that, if the city should register 1,200,000 men, Brooklyn’s share would be upward of 400,000. There was an early morning dash, as men between the ages of 21 and 36 stopped off on their way to work at schoolhouse registration centers to be listed among those who may be called for the draft. By mid-morning, long lines had been reduced to a trickle. At the noon hour there was another though smaller rush and the late afternoon and evening, it was expected, would bring forth more draft-age men in large numbers.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “Hong Kong (U.P.) — The Chinese Communists occupied the heart of Canton yesterday and pushed south today to the British border, a dozen miles from the heart of Hong Kong. The vanguard of the Red army was drawn up across a flimsy barbed wire fence at the border between China and British territory, where 40,000 British troops were at battle stations. British and Gurkha troops waited with tanks, mobile guns, planes and armored cars ready to repel any invaders, whether Nationalist or Communist. Red troops, pursuing fleeing Nationalist soldiers, reached Shumchun, the village where the Canton-Kowloon railway crosses the border. Shumchun is about 15 miles north of Hong Kong. Communist underground agents took over the border village of Shataukok, 13 miles from the heart of Hong Kong. Shataukok is seven miles east of Shumchun, from which Red troops fanned out along the 20-mile border.”