April 19: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

April 19, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle

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ON THIS DAY IN 1919, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “ALBANY — Governor [Al] Smith today signed the bills authorizing Sunday baseball and moving picture shows. Under the two bills, baseball games may be played and moving picture shows exhibited on Sundays, providing that consent is given by the local governing body. The bills were fought by the Lord’s Day Alliance and other religious organizations but were supported by the State Federation of Labor and numerous business and political bodies. Opponents and proponents had a hearing before Governor Smith on Wednesday. In announcing his approval of the Sunday baseball and Sunday movie bills, Gov. Smith issued statements. Concerning both measures he said: ‘After a thorough consideration of the matter, I am of the firm opinion that those members of a community who oppose all recreation on Sunday or at least recreation permitted by this amendatory bill, have no right, in law or morals, where they constitute a minority of a community, to impose their views upon the majority, who disagree with them, and to prohibit the latter from exercising rights and privileges to which they deem themselves to be entitled, the exercise of which will in no wise interfere with the orderly and proper observance of the day of rest by those desiring to refrain from attending amusements.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — An atomic weapon, believed to be an improved atomic bomb, has been tested secretly at Eniwetok, a remote and heavily guarded Pacific atoll. Results of the test were not — and will not be — announced. The Atomic Energy Commission, in a brief and guarded announcement, did not even reveal the date of the world’s sixth known atomic explosion. The only report on the test will be made secretly to the Joint Atomic Energy Committee of Congress. From previous statements by members of the commission and others, it was considered likely that the Eniwetok explosion was a laboratory test of the bomb under strictly controlled conditions. It may have been a deep-water blast. It was believed to have been carried out to determine how much better today’s atomic bomb is than those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the waning days of World War II and those tested at Bikini in July 1946. The Hiroshima bomb was announced as more powerful than 20,000 tons of TNT. The Nagasaki bomb was more powerful than that.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “The faculty council of Brooklyn College has adopted proposals for ROTC courses at the college over protests of two student groups, it was learned today. The result of the vote of the faculty council is that the college will have either an Army Signal Corps or an Army Security Unit of the ROTC next September if the Department of Defense can activate such a unit. If not in September, the unit will be in operation in February 1951, when the spring semester opens. A minimum of 50 students is understood to be required and campus opinion is that no difficulty will be experienced in obtaining the minimum. The proposal for ROTC courses was adopted with only two audible dissenting votes at the council meeting, which was held yesterday afternoon. Two petitions from student groups asking for a postponement of action until after a student referendum were ordered filed with the minutes of the meeting. President Harry D. Gideonse said at the conclusion of the meeting: ‘I have all along been convinced that every public college and university should have a voluntary ROTC. The action of the faculty council in a nearly unanimous vote is a happy one. It puts us in line with comparable institutions throughout the country.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “Blessed with fine weather, traditional Brooklyn Easter sunrise services attracted large congregations yesterday, and thousands of Brooklynites thronged to their churches to commemorate the rising of Christ. More than 3,000 persons of all denominations assembled on the parade grounds at Fort Hamilton for the 6 a.m. service there, one of the oldest in the metropolitan area. Another outdoor dawn service was the one conducted by the Salvation Army on top of Mount Prospect in Prospect Park. Some 250 people gathered there for another traditional expression of faith.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1852, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin. This beautiful and instructive book, which is now in everybody’s hands, or soon will be, struggled into existence under the following circumstances, as we learn from the Eve. Post – ‘Dr. Bailey, of the National Era, enclosed one hundred dollars in a note to Mrs. [Harriet Beecher] Stowe one day, with a request that she would send him as good a story for the Era as she could afford to write for that amount. After the lapse of some weeks, a few sheets of Uncle Tom’s Cabin were forwarded to the doctor, and in due season appeared in the Era. The following week more sheets arrived and were published. The story grew on her hands, and expanded as she progressed, and instead of being a tale of ordinary magazine dimensions, as was anticipated, it swelled to the proportions of a two volume novel, and instead of being closed in a month, it has been a most attractive feature in the Era every week for more than a year.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1937, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (A.P.) — Senator [George W.] Norris (Ind., Neb.) proposed today that Constitutional amendments be ratified by popular majority vote in two-thirds of the States. Thrusting yet another factor into the controversy over the Constitution and the judiciary, he suggested replacing the amending clause of the fundamental charter with one designed to simplify, speed and reduce the cost of the amending process. ‘I’ve always favored submitting amendments to the people,’ he said in an interview. ‘The thing that has brought it to the fore now is that opponents of the President’s court bill say, ‘Let’s take it to the people.’ They proposed Constitutional amendments. Here is a way to make amendments to the people. At present, with ratification dependent on action by three- fourths of the State Legislatures or conventions, it’s almost impossible to get an amendment adopted if there is concerted opposition by a few men with any political influence.’ He planned to introduce the latest amendment in the Senate at noon today.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “With one-third of the city’s population already vaccinated against smallpox, long lines continued to form today in front of health centers, police precincts and hospitals, spurred on by revelation of a new case. The United States Public Health Service has informed Health Commissioner Weinstein that a 23-year-old Puerto Rican seaman, a Manhattan resident, was removed from the army transport Stewart when his ship docked at Bremerhaven, with what was diagnosed as smallpox. Health investigators immediately contacted friends and relatives of the man — he had lived on the upper West Side from March 4 to 14 — but could discover no illness among them. Dr. Weinstein estimated that 2,600,000 New Yorkers had been vaccinated up to yesterday — 818,254 of them at health centers, hospitals and police stations. Lines were moving faster at these spots today, with the staff of private physicians helping out being increased by 105 to 425. In addition, the vaccine shortage was rapidly disappearing. Some 1,600,000 units were received yesterday, and 3,000,000 more were due from manufacturers.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “Brandishing placards calling for defeat of the proposed hike in the city sales tax from three to four percent, 43 doughty Brooklyn businessmen walked over historic Brooklyn Bridge yesterday in what was called a Secession March on City Hall. A helicopter from a national picture magazine whirred overhead, a press contingent trudged along with the marchers and a cooperative sun broke through an early morning drizzle to cheer on the protesting Brooklynites. Once arrived at City Hall, the unit marched up and down in front of the structure until 11:15 a.m., when the City Council hearings on the measure got underway. Minority Leader of the Council Angelo Arculeo (Rep.) earlier had told 63 persons at a secession breakfast at Schrafft’s, Fulton and Smith Sts.: ‘The sales tax was initially Mayor LaGuardia’s suggestion in 1934 to pay for unemployment relief … The pendulum has swung so far that now the sales tax causes unemployment.’”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Father Knows Best” star Elinor Donahue, who was born in 1937; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Alan Price (The Animals), who was born in 1942; “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” star Tim Curry, who was born in 1946; former N.Y. Mets pitcher Frank Viola, who was born in 1960; race car driver Al Unser, Jr., who was born in 1962; “Kiss the Girls” star Ashley Judd, who was born in 1968; “127 Hours” star James Franco, who was born in 1978; “Almost Famous” star Kate Hudson, who was born in 1979; “Star Wars” star Hayden Christensen, who was born in 1981; Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu, who was born in 1981; and tennis player Maria Sharapova, who was born in 1987.

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FOUNDER’S DAY: Roger Sherman was born 300 years ago today. The Massachusetts native was a member of the Continental Congress (1774-81, 1783-84) and a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He also calculated astronomical and calendar information for an almanac. He died in New Haven, Conn., in 1793.

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FIGHTING WORDS: The Battles of Lexington and Concord were fought on this day in 1775, beginning the America Revolution. John Parker, captain of the Minutemen, said at Lexington: “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon; but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”

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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.

Quotable:
“The question is, not what rights naturally belong to man, but how they may be most equally and effectually guarded in society.”
— U.S. Founding Father Roger Sherman, who was born on this day in 1721