September 19: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

September 19, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — Armed with more authority than any predecessor, Secretary of Labor Lewis B. Schwellenbach today tackled the job of bringing peace to the nation’s troubled labor front. Simultaneously, responsibility for the nation’s stabilization program shifted from William H. Davis, director of the Office of Economic Stabilization, to Reconversion Director John W. Snyder. President Truman transferred OES to Mr. Snyder in a surprise move late yesterday. In his long-awaited reorganization of government labor services, Mr. Truman gave Mr. Schwellenbach authority over the War Labor Board and War Manpower Commission as well as a voice in making the wage stabilization policies under Snyder. With his new powers, Mr. Schwellnbach emerged as probably the strongest labor secretary in U.S. history. He recaptured not only functions that were divorced from the department under stress of war but inherited agencies set up in both peace and war to keep labor-management relations on an even keel.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “UNITED NATIONS HALL, FLUSHING (U.P.) — Russia’s demand that the U.S. be branded guilty of ‘warmongering’ and that the American press be denied freedom to criticize the U.S.S.R. ‘on pain of criminal punishment’ headed today for overwhelming United Nations rejection. The immediate interpretation of the proposal by the Western powers was that the Soviet Union would impose on them the same kind of controlled press and restraints on freedom of speech existing within the Soviet Union. Soviet Delegate Andrei Y. Vishinsky himself could hardly hope for support from more than five U.N. members within the Soviet sphere … Vishinsky, who was prosecutor of the famous purge trials in Russia which resulted in countless death sentences, minced no words in disclosing what he would do with such ‘warmongers’ of the press and other citizens in the Soviet Union. He said: ‘Should any person in the Soviet Union make a statement even in infinitesimal degree resembling (those by U.S. ‘warmongers’), full of criminal greediness for a new manslaughter, such a statement would meet with a severe rebuff and public disapproval as a socially dangerous act leading to serious harm.’ The general reaction to Vishinsky’s slashing attack was that he overplayed his hand in a shocking manner.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “POPLAR BLUFF, MO. (U.P.) — Four planes chased after a ‘flying saucer’ which hundreds of persons saw roaring across the sky, but the pilots said today that they couldn’t get near it. Police, airport and radio station personnel said ‘just about everyone in Poplar Bluff’ saw the mysterious spherical object for five or six hours yesterday afternoon. Civil Aeronautics Authority workers at Malden, 28 miles southeast of here, plotted its southeasterly course from 4 p.m. until dark. But descriptions of the object and guesses as to its identity were almost a dime a dozen. National Guard authorities at Memphis who sent two F-51 fighters up to check reports that a ‘translucent washtub’ was at large in the airlines were close-mouthed. A National Guard sergeant at Memphis confirmed that the F-51s climbed to 30,000 feet but could not make contact with the object.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1951, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (U.P.) — Ailing King George VI seemed headed toward another surgical operation today and he may have to cancel his projected tour of Australia for a second time. Not since 1949, when the frail 55-year-old monarch underwent an operation to prevent the loss of a leg, have the people of his empire been so concerned over his health. Last night’s brief announcement that the King is suffering from ‘structural changes’ in a lung confirmed that his condition is serious, even if not dangerous. Other developments pointing up official concern over the King’s health included: 1. The presence of two surgeons among the nine medical men who issued the announcement last night; 2. Queen Elizabeth’s sudden return by air from Scotland with Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh to be with the King; 3. The speed and urgency of examinations and consultations since the first of the month when the crisis began. If an extreme illness forced the King to abdicate, Princess Elizabeth would assume the throne immediately.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Tom & Viv” star Rosemary Harris, who was born in 1927; “NCIS” star David McCallum, who was born in 1933; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bill Medley (The Righteous Brothers), who was born in 1940; singer and actor Paul Williams, who was born in 1940; “Emergency!” star Randolph Mantooth, who was born in 1945; Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons, who was born in 1948; former “Good Morning America” co-host Joan Lunden, who was born in 1950; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Nile Rodgers, who was born in 1952; “Kiss Me Deadly” singer Lita Ford, who was born in 1958; country music star Trisha Yearwood, who was born in 1964; U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, who was born in 1965; broadcast journalist Soledad O’Brien, who was born in 1966; former N.Y. Yankees pitcher Jim Abbott, who was born in 1967; “The King of Queens” star Victor Williams, who was born in 1970; and talk show host Jimmy Fallon, who was born in 1974.

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FINAL FOUNDER: Charles Carroll was born on this day in 1737. The Maryland native and American Revolutionary leader was the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. He died in 1832.

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TIME FLIES: William Golding was born on this day in 1911. The British author is best known for his terrifying first novel, “Lord of the Flies.” He was recognized for his contributions to literature with a Nobel Prize in 1983. He died in 1993.

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

Quotable:

“Man produces evil as a bee produces honey.”

— author William Golding, who was born on this day in 1911