March 20: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

March 20, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1933, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (AP) — The House today passed and sent to the Senate a bill which would let state banks and trust companies borrow from Federal Reserve banks. The golden flood into the Federal Reserve banks has returned well above $400,000,000 in two weeks since President Roosevelt decreed hoarding was injuring the nation. Gold hoarders have been given until March 27 to return their stocks to the banks. The Federal Reserve Board yesterday sent out word to each of its 12 districts, extending the time for compiling of lists of those who have withdrawn gold since Feb. 1. There was no official comment. At the same time the Treasury authorized unopened state member banks to permit withdrawals of amounts not exceeding 5 percent of their deposits and repealed regulations allowing withdrawals from closed banks for meeting payroll and necessities of life. It was explained unofficially that with a number of banks now open, the regulations could well be set aside to conserve the assets of banks closed or under conservators.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1937, an Eagle editorial said, “The belief that has been held in many quarters that some legal way would be found to balk the marriage of Mrs. Wallis Simpson and Edward, Duke of Windsor, was practically punctured yesterday as a result of the developments in the British Divorce Court in London. The charge of collusion made by a mysterious solicitor, Francis Stephenson, was dismissed following the report by the King’s proctor that he could find no ground to prevent the granting of the absolute divorce sought by Mrs. Simpson. The proctor found specifically that there had been no collusion; that the petitioner ‘was not an accessory to or connived at adultery,’ and that there had been no conduct on her part which made her not entitled to relief. This should end the gossip that for months has rocked Great Britain and the rest of the world. Whether it actually will is another matter. Gossip has a persistence that withstands the most formidable array of facts.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, MARCH 19 (U.P.) — The State Department tonight warned the men in the Kremlin that it would be dangerous for them to underestimate the West’s power and determination ‘to take united action’ against attack. The department said it wanted to dispel ‘serious misconceptions … in the minds of leaders of the Soviet Union’ about the physical and moral strength of the Western democracies. And although only Congress can put the United States formally into war, the department added, this country ‘certainly can obligate itself in advance to action, including the use of armed force, as it deems necessary to meet armed attack affecting its national security.’ Its warning was set forth in blunt and unmistakable terms in a 6,500-word ‘white paper’ on the North Atlantic Treaty which the United States and seven — possibly 11 — other powers will sign here April 4. The 20-year pact, published yesterday, is the greatest defensive alliance every proposed in peacetime.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “TRENTON (UPI) — A report of the New York-New Jersey Transportation Agency released last night shows that 92 percent of New Jerseyans who commute to midtown Manhattan get there by using some form of mass transportation. Other facts pertaining to the New Jersey strap-hanging, ticket-punching, toll-paying set: Bergen County commuters spend an average 72 minutes and $1.24 getting to work. In Essex, the figures are 76 minutes and $1.65, in Hudson, it is 55 minutes and 88 cents. Mercer, Morris, Passaic and Somerset commuters spend 87 minutes. The cost of working in New York is 93 minutes and $2.22 for commuters in Middlesex and Monmouth and 78 minutes and $1.86 in Union. Over 40 percent of suburban commuters to mid-Manhattan start their trip by car. But less than 8 percent of Hudson County residents begin the day that way. Other counties in New Jersey range from 25 percent in Bergen to 49 percent of workers from Mercer, Morris, Passaic and Somerset Counties.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Barney Miller” star Hal Linden, who was born in 1931; former N.Y. Knicks coach Pat Riley, who was born in 1945; “Star Trek” actor John de Lancie, who was born in 1948; Emerson, Lake & Palmer drummer Carl Palmer, who was born in 1950; radio host Mike Francesa, who was born in 1954; Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee, who was born in Brooklyn in 1957; Oscar-winning actress Holly Hunter, who was born in 1958; former N.Y. Knicks guard Jamal Crawford, who was born in 1980; and tennis player Sloan Stephens, who was born in 1993.

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A BEAUTIFUL DAY: Fred Rogers was born on this day in 1928. The native of Latrobe, Pa., began producing television for children in 1953. His first program, “The Children’s Hour,” was the precursor to “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” which premiered in Canada in 1966 and the U.S. in 1968. The show ran on public television until Rogers’ death, and he became known worldwide for his dedication to the well-being of children and for his demonstrations of the importance of kindness, compassion and learning. He wrote a number of books for parents and children, wrote more than 200 songs and won dozens of awards, including Emmys, Peabodys and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He died on Feb. 27, 2003.

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

Quotable:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

— TV host Fred Rogers, who was born on this day in 1928