Matt Weinstock -- July 22, 1959

Enforcing the Law Let us re-examine the premise, frequently developed here, that many mounted policemen seem to have been trained to the principle that the most important phase of traffic enforcement is writing the citation rather than guiding erring motorists in the path of righteousness. A man was nudged to the side in the southwest section by an officer who said he'd gone through a red light. The driver said he was certain he'd made it on the yellow. Everyone knows who wins that one. AS THE OFFICER stood writing the ticket a flash came over the police radio that a nearby bank was being held up. The officer admonished the driver to follow him to the address. When he was through there, he said, he would finish the ticket. As the officer took off there was great soul searching between the motorist and his wife. "Don't go," she said. He said he felt he should, even though he didn't think he'd run the red light. "Maybe there'll be shooting," his wife said. "He has no right to endanger our lives." The husband said they'd have to take a chance -- the law was the law. So they went. Nervously they approached the bank. But there was no shooting. It turned out to be a false alarm. And the motorist held still while the officer completed the ticket. :: A MAN WHO was unwillingly retired recently at 65 sums up his case -- and doubtlessly that of many others -- this way: "If only I could find something to do after breakfast, when I used to leave for work. That's the worst time of day." :: ESPECIALLY PURPLE I've never seen a UFO I guess I'll never see one -- I've never seen a Pluto-ite But I'd rather see     than be one.     -- TERRI McDANIEL :: SHARKS, real or fancied, are getting the headlines this summer but Bob Lee contends there's a greater menace. While standing hip-deep in the surf at Newport he was twice bowled over by unseen objects that proved to be body surfers (no surfboards) coming in with the breakers. So, bruised shins . . .Speaking of menaces, a fireman on the phone says morbidly curious people wouldn't flock to fires if radio and TV announcers didn't give the exact locations. He suggests they name only the general area . . . Another man says the way to discourage them is for firemen to turn their hoses on them. :: THE WHERE Do We Go From Here Society will come to order. Remember way back before anyone heard of status seekers, when the common goal was simply a chicken in every pot and two cars in every garage? Now it seems to be a pool in every yard. What next? Otilia Martin thinks it'll be a helicopter on every roof. :: SOMETIMES all the futility of existence is compressed into a single outraged fragment. A youth turned away from a bar as obviously underage was overheard by Maurice Ogden saying in agonized reply to a companion's suggestion, "But the place I work won't let me grow a beard, man!" :: OOPS, John Cornell picked up a youth fellowship manual in a church and in the back flyleaf discovered the following penciled evidence that two young ladies hadn't been paying strict attention to the class discussion: "Look at Betty's sexy sweater! Pretty cute, eh?" "And how!" :: MISCELLANY -- Re: movie cliches, Al O'Hara says let us not forget the bit of silliness wherein someone receives a threat over the phone and frantically jiggles the hook and shouts, "Hello! Hello! Hello!" when the caller hangs up. Everyone knows when the connection is broken there's nobody there but us dial tones . . . Recommended listening: Pearl Bailey singing "You Can Be Replaced" on her "For Adults Only" album, also presumably at the Grove . . . Overheard by Frank Barron: "Look at it this way -- every cloud has its fall-out!"

Paul V. Coates -- Confidential File, July 22, 1959

Confidential File Cops Troubled With Delusions A policeman's lot, I've heard it sung, is not a happy one. And I'm inclined to agree. He's an underpaid, overinsulted public servant who even has to make good on the bullets he uses protecting the proverbial life and limb. He's the guy who finds himself pounding a lonely beat in Staten Island for giving a friend of a friend of the mayor a bad time about a traffic ticket. While the top brass works in air-conditioned offices, he patrols the streets in 90-deg. weather wearing a heavy wool uniform shirt. And they tell him he is to conduct himself in "a manner becoming an officer" even under conditions when human nature makes it just about impossible. A policeman, as Ezra Taft Benson might put it, has a tough row to hoe. And, apparently, it's going to get tougher. There's a trend developing among some leaders in law enforcement to consider themselves and their subordinates as a sort of "elite corps." It first became evident with the sudden burst of sensitivity on the higher levels at the use of the formerly respectable three-letter word "cop." Even such a calm head as J. Edgar Hoover put himself on record as considering the term a personal affront to his profession. Lately, the strange attitude that cops should not be considered mere mortals has become even more evident. Now a policeman is not supposed to fraternize with civilians on the grounds that the contact will contaminate him. I refer you to this week end's bizarre headlines out of Las Vegas, where the sheriff of that quaint little village canned one of his deputies for becoming engaged to a chorus girl. The sheriff, W.E. Leypoldt, said the showgirl was too wealthy (from some real estate investments which she made), and explained away his action by stating: "I don't want any captain of mine coming to work in a Cadillac and living in a $50,000 house. "It is the policy of the police departments everywhere to terminate officers who marry wealth," he added. Taking the sheriff at his word, I still take exception to his logic. There are enough people around today, telling bachelors whom to marry, without having it become part of the department's manual. I could understand a bank president frowning on one of his tellers exchanging vows with a girl who did time for embezzlement. But I think Sheriff Leypoldt's attitude -- whether he's against showgirls or wealthy women -- is a little bit wild. It's a rare occurrence nowadays that a bride comes complete with dowry and a good figure. It seems to me that if the sheriff really had a fatherly interest in his boys on the force, he'd be proud that one of them landed a good catch. But the feeling I get concerning the affair is that Leypoldt didn't want one of his men to marry beneath his station. This is pure snobbery and a slap in the face to show business. Not Blue Book Babes, But . . . It's true that not many chorus-line cuties are in the social register, but today's crop, in general, is well protected and well respected. Chorus girls now are poised, educated, talented entertainers -- not Yukon belles. If the current protective trend among law enforcement brass continues to develop, I can foresee a grim day ahead when deputies will be permitted to fraternize with no one except departmental personnel. Policemen would have no choice but to marry policewomen. And you know what that leads to. Inbreeding!

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Educational Comics

July 22, 1944: Edward Steichen throws out his paintbrushes and takes up photography. It's not clear if the above story is entirely true -- but it is entertaining.

5 Lynched in Louisiana

July 22, 1899, Tallulah, La.: "When he got to the courthouse square, a crowd of about two hundred and fifty citizens overpowered the sheriff and, after a severe struggle, took Joe and Charles Defatta down to the slaughter pen and hanged them to the gallows used for slaughtering beeves." Read more here>>>

Man Thrown Off Yacht for Singing

July 22, 1889: A man nearly drowns after being thrown off a yacht returning from Santa Catalina Island because he insisted on singing the tune "White Wings," which was evidently considered bad luck. Note: If you search on the Internet you'll find that nearly everyone says "White Wings" was written in 1912. This is absurd, of course, if people were singing the song in 1889. Below, a 1926 Times story says it was written in 1882. June 6, 1926: The Times profiles Banks Winter, composer of "White Wings."

Found on EBay -- Myer Siegel

This silk dress from Myer Siegel has been listed on EBay. It's unclear from The Times' clips exactly what became of Myer Siegel, but it disappears in the early 1950s. Myer Siegel items are fairly unusual on EBay, compared with those from Bullock's or even Oviatt's. Bidding starts at $34.99.

Matt Weinstock -- July 21, 1959

McCarthy Ghost Still Haunts Two teachers who have been subpoenaed to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee here Sept. 15 called on a staff member the other day to tell their stories and ask a favor. One is a middle-aged, married, soft-spoken woman who teaches kindergarten in a nearby city. She has never been associated with any Communist activity, she said, and has no idea why she has received the summons. She had talked to her principal after it was served and told him that the only reason she could remotely give for the subpoena was that she had expressed disapproval of some of the material used in the early grades, notably the book "Little Black Sambo," which she felt was racially discriminatory. DESPITE THIS, the principal suggested she resign to protect her record as a teacher and to prevent a furor in the community, which is notably sensitive to the slightest taint of subversion, even if unproved. And so she has resigned. The other is a philosophy professor at a college in the community. His record is also clean and he has no idea why he was subpoenaed. Like the kindergarten teacher, he has also signed a teacher's loyalty oath. He told the head of the college that he had searched his memory for a possible reason for the summons and the only thing he could think of was that he had signed a petition, as others have, urging that the House Un -American Activities Committee he abolished. The college had expressed understanding and there has been no suggestion of resignation. Why did they come into the main office to talk to a newsman? To ask that, although innocent, their names not be printed when the list of persons subpoenaed is released to the press. In the subversion league, they know, public accusation is tantamount to conviction and the smear is permanent. The ghost of Joe McCarthy continues to hover. :: AN EXECUTIVE of Beckman Instruments in Fullerton invited a friend to his home and at the time he was due to arrive the phone rang. It was the friend, who said, "I'm at 1st and Palm -- what should I do now?" He was talking from his cruising car. The host stayed on the phone and talked him in, just like at the airport with a plane lost in the fog. Paul Chase, who was there, is working on a new system to be called GCA -- Guest Controlled Approach. :: THE PET female rabbit belonging to Kathy Mellon, 8, has become a nuisance, and the other day her father, who prides himself on his selling ability, saw a chance to get rid of it. He asked a neighbor boy, 10, who has a male rabbit, "How would you like to get in the rabbit-raising business?" He painted a glorious picture of the immense profits of such an enterprise. The boy thought that it would be fine but he said he'd have to ask his mother. The response came cold and sharp directly from the boy's mother. "We have guinea hens," she said. "How would you like to get into the guinea-hen business?" :: TOM CASSIDY of KFAC took his son Johnny, 4 1/2, to Family Night at the Hollywood Bowl and was pleased at the boy's seeming absorption in the program -- until an announcement during a cowboy interlude. At which Johnny commented, "Boy, he sure goofed! He said Annie Oakley was on Channel 7 -- she's on Channel 11." :: AT RANDOM -- En route to Peoria, Ill., where he'd served 27 years with the fire department, Aylesworth R. Place of L.A. died in a heart attack. For his funeral in Van Nuys a few days ago his widow called the LAFD and asked if three pallbearers might be furnished as a tribute to a fellow fireman. Nine volunteers responded . . . One of the luxurious, modern living room displays at the Home Show is titled "Penthouse on Bunker Hill, 1960" -- premature perhaps but prophetic.

Paul V. Coates -- Confidential File, July 21, 1959

Confidential File On the Mentally Sick Who Rule the Well If someone will kindly run up a flag of truce, I'd like to have a word with Gov. Long. I know the old gentleman's respect for the working press isn't too keen these days, but all I want is a minute of his valuable time. I want to tell him that I'm on his side. The boys with the note pads and the pencils have been snapping at his heels long enough. It's time they laid off. I think, just as he does, that the reporters and photographers from the national news services should look elsewhere for copy, and let the statesman from Louisiana live it up at the races and at bordertown night spots without having to put up with the intruding eye of the press. If he wants to insult Mexican officials and bounce four-letter words off the hard skulls of Texas law officers, that's his affair. Besides, I'd just as soon not hear any more about his escapades. Because, from the daily reports I've been reading on Gov. Long's conduct, I've already formed my opinion of the man. I don't need any more information to convince me that he's mentally ill. And while, on that score, he has my sympathy, there's another aspect of the situation which, at present, has me more concerned. And that is: that here, in the United States, it's possible for a man ravaged by delusions of persecution to remain -- in his own state -- a popular and powerful political figure in spite of evidence that he's incapable of managing his own personal affairs, much less the affairs of millions. In recent world history, we've seen insane men gain fantastic power. But I can't recollect where it's ever happened in a democracy. Before Gov. Long went on his rampage, I would have bet anyone that it couldn't happen here. After all, the people of the United States are, by world standards, a highly intelligent, well-informed body. Even in the Deep South, our literacy rate compares favorably. To keep madmen from ruling us, our democracy has an intricate system of checks and balances. But Gov. Long, apparently, has built up a machine more powerful than all of these forces. The chief executive of a state is a man entrusted with fantastic responsibilities. Think, for a minute, what would happen here in California if an Earl K. Long were sitting in the governor's chair in Sacramento. If you've been following the current legislative session at all, you know the number of vital matters which need the governor's signature. I shudder to think about what could happen at a national level. But much as I'd like to, I can't blame Gov. Long. I'm convinced that he's not responsible for his own actions. What Manner of Men? However, what I can't figure out is how -- against the wishes of his family and against the advice of some top psychiatrists -- he can be turned loose on the people of the state of Louisiana. The obvious conclusion is that the people of Louisiana want it that way. But cynical as I am about public attitudes in the South, I find that very hard to believe. Maybe that's my trouble. I'm one of those naive individuals who think that humans are the most intelligent of the species.

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movies

July 21, 1943: Shout-out to David Croy and other fans of vintage lettering. Notice the different handling of "Frankenstein" (bolted together) and "Wolf Man" (furry) with this elegant script for "meets" as if it's a party invitation. And all the lettering is reversed (white on black). These artists knew how to set the tone very quickly. Speaking of David Croy, check out what he has to say about the poster for "Public Enemies.">>>   (Warning: David has very colorful ways of saying he doesn't like something).

Architectural Rambling -- Pasadena

July 2, 1917: Architect Frederick C. Grable dies of anemia.

Photo courtesy of Ray Combs / Dilbeck GMAC Real Estate A 1914 home at 888 S. Madison Ave. in Pasadena, designed by Frederick C. Grable and Clarence C. Austin, has been listed at $2,350,000. Further information is here.

This Dodger Plays Like a Kid; Moonwalking on the Angels

July 21, 1969: "First, the picket who you sent to the hospital wasn't a student! He had no reason to be on this campus -- except to stir up trouble!" :: The Dodgers' youth movement was led by a youngster of 36. Maury Wills continued to play like a kid in his second stint with the Dodgers, hitting safely in his 14th consecutive game. The Times' John Wiebusch noted that it was the Dodgers' longest hitting streak since 1965, when Wills hit in 20 games in a row Not all the Dodgers were doing so well, as they lost to the Giants, 7-3, to fall into second place. "I've never felt better," Wills said. "My legs are strong and my reactions are good. But it is the same as before. Personal things mean little if the team is losing." :: Baseball couldn't compete with a moon walk. The Angels split a doubleheader against Oakland that was sprinkled with historic moments. None of them happened on the field, however. Rick Monday was hitting for Oakland in the second inning when the game was stopped and a message flashed on the Big A scoreboard: "We have landed on the moon." Many of the fans at Anaheim Stadium took the message and headed home early. "The second game ended five minutes before Apollo 11 astronauts began preparations for their unprecedented walk on the moon," The Times' Mitch Chortkoff wrote. "In anticipation of the event, however, all but about 3,000 spectators departed the ballpark before the second game ended." That's one small step for man, one giant leap out of the ballpark. --Keith Thursby

Man Sought in Oklahoma Killing Arrested in L.A.

July 21, 1899: Clyde Mattox, a murder suspect wanted in Oklahoma, talks to a reporter because they are both members of the Knights of Pythias. "In 1889 when but 19 years of age, Mattox was a member of the police force of South Oklahoma City, when a dispute arose over the city marshalship. John Hayward, the town marshal, had refused to surrender the office to the marshal-elect. The latter employed Mattox to gain possession of the office and Mattox carried the day by shooting and killing Hayward. He was acquitted, however, on a plea of self-defense."