October 1: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
ON THIS DAY IN 1933, a Brooklyn Daily Eagle editorial said, “The action begun by Federal District Attorney Medalie against Frederick B. Campbell, Manhattan lawyer, will provide a test of the constitutionality of the emergency laws relating to the hoarding of gold, and consequently a test of the powers exercised by the President under those laws. Strictly speaking Mr. Campbell has not been accused as a hoarder, though he may yet be indicted for that offense. The indictment to which he has filed a not guilty plea and to which his counsel plans to file a demurrer simply charges him with failing to present a report covering the amount of gold bullion deposited by him with the Chase National Bank. The fact that Mr. Campbell had bullion valued at more than $200,000 in the vaults of the bank was disclosed to the Federal authorities on Mr. Campbell’s own initiative in beginning a legal proceeding against the bank to compel the return of the bullion to his own custody. Under the law the bank cannot do that. A prosecution of the civil action to the end might have attained the same result as that sought by the District Attorney’s criminal process, which is a test of the law relating to gold withheld from Government control. Mr. Campbell might have preferred the test of the civil process. Mr. Medalie, bound to move for the enforcement of the law, prefers the criminal process, which would make the defendant liable to imprisonment as well as fine in the event of conviction. Mr. Campbell is a reputable citizen of good standing in his profession. That Mr. Medalie would press for a jail sentence in the event of conviction is unlikely. The case is important in its criminal aspect only because it promises the first definitive test of the extraordinary powers conferred upon the President to meet an emergency created by a panicky distrust of Government and of banks.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “UNITED NATIONS HALL, FLUSHING (U.P.) — The United States battled toe-to-toe today with the Soviet Union in a desperate attempt to repudiate partially and indirectly the Stalin-Roosevelt secret Yalta agreement which gave the Soviet Union three votes in the United Nations. Alarmed U.N. delegates sat helplessly and almost equally divided while the two giants hurtled head-long at each other in a basic struggle over Poland’s successor on the Security Council. Many feared it may destroy the U.N. as it now exists. The United States is trying to establish the principle that neither the Ukraine nor White Russia have the same rights within the U.N. as other nations because of being an integral part of the Soviet Union. The Yalta agreement granted them an equal status with all other nations. If the U.S. wins, the Soviet Union is certain to challenge the decision with an explosion that will be heard far beyond these halls. The Soviets had more than a majority on their side as the fight entered its second day, but it was a few votes short of a needed two-thirds. The issue is: What nation shall succeed pro-Russian Poland, which has represented Eastern Europe and the Slav bloc on the Security Council for two years and has been Russia’s sole supporter in innumerable 9 to 2 votes. The Russians want the Ukraine. It is an integral part of the Soviet Union but has a separate U.N. delegation with a vote of its own.”
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.