June 25: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

June 25, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1922, Brooklyn Daily Eagle columnist Frederick Boyd Stevenson wrote, “The question is often asked: ‘Are we living too fast?’ The answer is: ‘We are not living fast enough.’ The mental capacity of man — to say nothing of his spiritual attributes — has fallen far behind his materialistic advance. And by materialistic advance I mean the invention of new machinery, and new scientific discoveries. Here is the point: The real brain power of man — the capacity for reason, the logic of mental deduction, the ripening growth of philosophy — has not increased one iota — if it has not actually decreased — since the days when Noah gathered the chosen few about him and entered the ark.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1935, the Eagle reported, “An effort to control crime by placing firearms licenses under Department of Justice jurisdiction was launched last night by the Federal Grand Jurors Association of this district at its closing meeting of the season in the Federal Building, Washington and Johnson Sts. The jurors passed resolutions urging Congress to enact a law requiring all those ‘who deal in or own or import ammunition or firearms to secure their licenses from the Federal Department of Justice.’ Copies were sent to local congressmen and to Attorney General Cummings. William M. Taylor, chairman of the committee, explained that the present system of police permits allows loopholes, such as intra-state address changes. August Kupka, president, declared the new plan would help to make regulations throughout the country uniform.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1942, the Eagle reported, “Serious consequences of the shortage of gasoline and fuel oil apparently threatened New York today from two directions. From Queens came the cry that inability to obtain gasoline was interfering with work on war contracts at several plants. And authoritative industrial sources warned that many homes equipped with oil furnaces may be cold next winter. The war plant situation was disclosed in a letter to Mayor LaGuardia from Daniel S. Hollenga, business manager of the Chamber of Commerce of Queens. Describing the situation as ‘very bad,’ Mr. Hollenga informed the mayor of complaints from three war contract plants. One told of a truck loaded with urgently needed material stalled in Brooklyn, another reported six trucks idle for two days because of lack of gasoline, while at a third workers reportedly had lost time from work in order to obtain fuel for their cars.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, JUNE 24 (U.P.) — The cost of living rose eight-tenths of 1 percent last month in the biggest increase since July 1948, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said today. The consumers’ price index, which gauges retail cost of goods and services bought by moderate-income families in large cities, rose to 168.6 in the month ended May 15. The 1933-39 average is 100. The May index of 168.6 was four-tenths of 1 percent less than a year earlier. But it was 26.5 percent higher than at the end of price controls in June 1946, and 71 percent higher than in August 1939. While the cost of living was rising, B.L.S. said yesterday that earnings of the nation’s 11,800,000 production workers hit an all-time peak average in May of $57.50 a week, about $3.50 more than a year ago. The peak in the cost of living index was 174.5 in August and September 1948.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Lassie” and “Lost in Space” star June Lockhart, who was born in 1925; Knicks legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Willis Reed, who was born in 1942; incoming Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Carly Simon, who was born in 1945; “Good Times” star Jimmie Walker, who was born in 1947; Toto singer David Paich, who was born in 1954; U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was born in 1954; “After Life” star Ricky Gervais, who was born in 1961; former N.Y. Yankees catcher Mike Stanley, who was born in 1963; Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, who was born in 1966; “ER” star Linda Cardellini, who was born in 1975; and internet personality Lele Pons, who was born in 1996.

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TO THE BITTER END: The Battle of Little Bighorn took place on this day in 1876. Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, leading military forces of more than 200 men, attacked an encampment of 2,000 Sioux Indians led by Chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse near Little Bighorn River, Montana. Custer and all men in his immediate command were killed in the two-hour battle.

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GET SET: The first color TV broadcast took place on this day in 1951. CBS produced the four-hour program, which was carried by stations in New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C., although no color sets were owned by the public. At the time, CBS itself owned fewer than 40 color receivers.

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

Quotable:

“Go to the moon. If you don’t get it, you’ll still be heading for a star.”

— N.Y. Knicks legend Willis Reed, who was born in this day in 1942