August 13: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

August 13, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1906, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “ALBANY — Justice Howard of the Supreme Court today upheld the constitutionality of the act of the last Legislature reapportioning the Senate and Assembly districts of the state. The decision is rendered on the application of George E. Payne and Harry E. Perley of Queens County and Walter Pendleton of Richmond County, for a writ of mandamus requiring the secretary of state to send out election notices under the reapportionment act of 1904. The applicants held that the reapportionment act of 1906 was unconstitutional because the constitution of Queens and Richmond Counties as one Senate district gives that district a population of 117,000 in excess of the ratio. Another point raised was that the combining of the two counties did not create a district of contiguous territory.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1922, Eagle columnist Frederick Boyd Stevenson wrote, “What part is Bolshevism taking in the great coal and railroad strikes? To what extent are the Soviets of Russia exerting an influence in the continuance and expansion of these strikes for the purpose of spreading their red doctrine of internationalism in the United States? Joseph Kowalski, alias Ullman, alias Stephanowski, has been arrested by agents of the Department of Justice in the City of New York. It is charged that he has been sent direct to this country from Moscow as a representative of the Soviet government for the purpose of organizing Communists in the coal fields and other places. It is said that a great deal of the violence that has taken place during the strike is traceable to his activities. Capt. W.B. Estes, formerly of the United States Military Intelligence Service in Moscow, who was a prisoner under the Bolshevist rule, has positively identified Kowalski as one of the most influential men in the government of Lenin and Trotsky. Chief William J. Burns of the Department of Justice, Bureau of Investigation, said: ‘We have been looking for Kowalski for some time. Kowalski was one of the Russian radicals shipped out of this country in 1919 on the transport Buford. But he sneaked back into the United States some weeks ago in violation of American law.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1943, the Eagle reported, “A war veterans’ hospital in Bay Ridge appeared assured today when a resolution approving its establishment was introduced at the American [Legion] state convention in the Hotel Pennsylvania. While the resolution is one of seven offered by the Kings County delegation, many other delegations indicated their support of the measure and no opposition was expected. Setting up the hospital requires congressional approval and all of the state’s representatives and both senators have declared themselves in its favor. The convention also had before it a resolution condemning the government practice of sending home and discharging wounded men in need of hospitalization. The resolution urged that the Veterans Bureau be required to provide necessary hospital service for the men of World War II.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, an Eagle editorial said, “The March of Dimes drive last January was the most successful in history but the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis has been forced to launch an emergency appeal due to the staggering cost of carrying out new preventive steps on a mass scale during the current year. The deficit amounts to more than $32,000,000 and the unpaid bills threaten the continuance of patient care programs in many cities. Currently, cases of polio are running 20 percent ahead of the five-year national average and thus any thought of curtailment of the foundation’s efforts is unthinkable. The objective of the emergency campaign is $20,000,000, a large sum of money but not beyond the capacity of the American people. Rapid strides have been made against this dread disease of childhood and thanks must go to the foundation for its energy and resourcefulness over the years. We urge members of the Brooklyn community to heed the call for help at a time when hope runs high that the conquest of polio can be achieved if the effort is maintained at peak level. Your dollars can make sure that it will.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who was born in Brooklyn in 1946; former N.Y. Yankees shortstop Fred Stanley, who was born in 1947; opera star Kathleen Battle, who was born in 1948; Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke, who was born in 1949; “United 93” director Paul Greengrass, who was born in 1955; “The Partridge Family” star Danny Bonaduce, who was born in 1959; weather anchor Sam Champion, who was born in 1961; “Mad Men” star John Slattery, who was born in 1962; “Goodfellas” star Debi Mazar, who was born in 1964; former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was born in 1982; Olympic gold medalist and NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins, who was born in 1990; and “Captain America” star Sebastian Stan, who was born in 1982.

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NO WAY OUT: The Berlin Wall was built on this day in 1961. Early in the morning, the Communist East German government closed the border between the east and west sectors of Berlin with barbed wire to discourage further population movement to the west. Telephone and postal services were interrupted, and later in the week a concrete wall was built to strengthen the barrier between official crossing points. The wall remained in place for 27 years.

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A HERO’S EXIT: Mickey Mantle died on this day in 1995. The Oklahoma native was signed by the N.Y. Yankees after high school and roamed the outfield at the Stadium from 1951 to 1968. He led the Yankees to seven World Championships while winning three MVP awards and a Triple Crown, despite a slew of injuries that left him in pain for the rest of his life. Mantle succumbed to alcoholism after his retirement and received a liver transplant in June 1995. Shortly before his death, he recorded a video message for his fans, saying, “This is a role model. Don’t be like me.” He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1974.

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

Quotable:

“A team is where a boy can prove his courage on his own. A gang is where a coward goes to hide.”

— N.Y. Yankees legend Mickey Mantle, who died on this day in 1995