January 22: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

January 22, 2025 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1887, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle said, “Reports from Ottawa state that there is trouble in the Dominion Cabinet, and the Hon. J. A. Chaplean, Secretary of State, will probably resign for the purpose of forming a third party.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1926, the Eagle reported, “The final session of the Women’s Industrial Conference at Washington, which closed last night with a dinner, was almost as stormy as the first, with a continuation of the clash between the proponents and opponents of restrictive labor legislation for women only. A resolution was adopted after a stormy debate providing that the Women’s Bureau of the United States Department of Labor, under which the conference was called, should make a comprehensive study of all such legislation in the various States and report the results. The controversy, which waxed bitter at times, revolved about an attempt by the National Woman’s Party representatives to add an amendment to the resolution whereby Miss Mary Anderson, head of the Women’s Bureau, could not go before Congress during this investigation to ask support for restrictive legislation for women. A counter-amendment proposed that the Woman’s Party be similarly restrained from presenting its petitions for an equal rights amendment to Congress. Neither amendment was accepted.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Eagle said, “The testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee of Joseph P. Kennedy, retiring Ambassador to London, was in line with his radio address Saturday and helped still further to clear away the rumors and mystery that have been whirling about him, even though he did not contribute anything startling or particularly new to the discussion on the lease-lend bill. Mr. Kennedy shows himself to be like most Americans, desirous of British victory but not quite sure of how far we should go to help Britain achieve that victory. Like most of us, too, he favors granting wide powers to President Roosevelt but believes it is in the best interests of the United States that the powers in the lease-lend bill be limited. His testimony is likely to be of considerable influence when general debate on the bill is taken up.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “Four men who admitted having jumped over the turnstiles at the Kingston Ave. Independent subway station have started 20-day sentences in Raymond Street Jail following their plea of guilty to disorderly conduct charges and their inability to pay $50 fines.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “NANKING (U.P.) ― Vice President Li Tsung-jen was installed as acting President of China today and soon after called an informal meeting of the Chinese Cabinet and legislative leaders to discuss peace with the Communists. Chinese press reports said a local agreement to surrender Peiping to its Communist besiegers had been reached between Nationalist Gen. Fu Tso-yi and Communist leaders, but the report was not confirmed officially or in Peiping dispatches. The Executive Yuan ordered Nationalist Peace Envoy Chang Chis-chung to fly to Yenan today to open direct discussions with Communist leaders, but Premier Sun Fo’s inner cabinet was reported to have countermanded the order. Authoritative reports said the Cabinet decided that the peace delegation may leave for Communist territory within the next three days. It was believed some officials felt that immediate action in sending a peace envoy to Yenan so soon after Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek’s retirement would reflect undue haste.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, WASHINGTON (U.P.) ― Charles E. Wilson today was reliably reported to be considering selling his $2,700,000 General Motors stock ― which Senators said he must do in order to become Defense Secretary. A source close to the former G.M. president said he still was reluctant to part with the controversial stock, but ‘probably’ would do so if no other way can be found to bail the Eisenhower Administration out of the politically embarrassing dilemma. Senators of both parties were emphatic in saying there is no other way to get Wilson confirmed. Some even thought the situation had gone so far that President Eisenhower might find it politically expedient to drop Wilson, stock sale or no, and find a new Defense Secretary. Selling the G.M. stock would be a high price for Wilson to pay for the privilege of serving in the new Republican cabinet. He would be liable to a capital gains tax of 26 percent on the ‘profit’ portion of the sale proceeds. How much the tax would come to cannot be computed, except by Wilson’s personal accountants, since it depends on what he paid for the stock when he bought it and other factors. Associates said, however, it was not the money but the principle of the thing that caused Wilson to balk at selling the stock.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle said, “Evidently the baseball writers thought that Joe DiMaggio should age in the wood for a while before gaining entrance to the game’s Hall of Fame at Cooperstown. But that’s no excuse for the continued brushing off of Dazzy Vance and Zach Wheat, a pair of Brooklyn greats of another generation. A qualified voter must have a minimum of 10 years’ press box observation behind him. Many of the veterans saw Vance pitch and Wheat play the outfield at Ebbets Field. Yet neither has received just recognition at the polls.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “Al Moran, 24-year-old shortstop who was with Dallas-Ft. Worth and Vancouver last year, will be given a trial by the New York Mets in spring training. He will report with the rest of the squad on February 24th at Casey Stengel Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. A fine fielder, Moran is the property of the Buffalo Bisons, the Mets’ AAA farm affiliate in the International League. He was the third player the Mets received in their recent trade with the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Felix Mantilla. The others were infielder Pumpsie Green and pitcher Tracy Stallard. Stallard is on the Buffalo roster.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “The Galloping Gourmet” star Graham Kerr, who was born in 1934; “The New Centurions” author Joseph Wambaugh, who was born in 1937; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Steve Perry (Journey), who was born in 1949; “Night on Earth” director Jim Jarmusch, who was born in 1953; “The Exorcist” star Linda Blair, who was born in 1959; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Steven Adler (Guns N’ Roses), who was born in 1965; producer and songwriter DJ Jazzy Jeff, who was born in 1965; “Streets of Fire” star Diane Lane, who was born in 1965; celebrity chef Guy Fieri, who was born in 1968; “The Wonder Years” star Olivia D’Abo, who was born in 1969; “7th Heaven” star Beverley Mitchell, who was born in 1981; Evanescence co-founder Ben Moody, who was born in 1981; and Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark, who was born in 2002.

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SOCK IT TO ME: “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” premiered on this day in 1968. Hosted by Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, the NBC comedy featured a talented young cast that included Dennis Allen, Chelsea Brown, Judy Carne, Ruth Buzzi, Ann Elder, Richard Dawson, Teresa Graves, Arte Johnson, Goldie Hawn, Alan Sues, Jo Anne Worley and Lily Tomlin. The show moved fast from gag to gag, with heads popping out of bushes or doors in a big wall. It brought a new energy to comedy as well as new phrases to our vocabulary (“You bet your sweet bippy,” “Sock it to me”). The last telecast was May 14, 1973.

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COURTING CONTROVERSY: On this day in 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade struck down state laws restricting abortion during the first six months of pregnancy. The court overturned the decision on June 24, 2022.

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

Quotable:

“There’s always a price for what you want.”

— Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Steve Perry, who was born on this day in 1949