Recent Articles – Page 20 – Old Magazine Articles

Debating Immigration
(Time Magazine, 1923)

An occasion was provided to debate the pros and cons of American immigration policy at the National Immigration Conference that convened in New York City during December of 1923:

“Most of the speakers advocated restriction and selection, but as to the degree and variety of each there was no consensus of opinion. Especially, there were two different methods of attacking the problem – from the industrial standpoint, and from the standpoint of the welfare of the race and of citizenship.”

W.W. II-Era Immigrants and Americanization
(Newsweek Magazine, 1941)

“Convinced that the best way to combat fifth columnists is to teach aliens how to become good citizens, the Department of Justice announced a $14,000,000 program to expand Works Projects Administration classes in ‘Americanization’…”

Canada Steps Up for Britain
(Collier’s Magazine, 1940)

In 1939, “Canada wisely decided that she could become an ideal training center for pilots and airmen generally. Canada could produce munitions in her factories. Conditions were ideal for both pursuits.”

W.W. II: Where were the war poets?

Canada Steps Up for Britain
(Collier’s Magazine, 1940)

W.W. II: Where were the war poets?

The Television Set
(Coronet Magazine, 1945)

As the last year of the war began, the American home front turned their attention to all the various commercial products that would once again be offered in the shops. New cars were a popular topic, but the one subject Americans were most curious about was television.

The Strategist
(Collier’s Magazine, 1944)

Here is a Collier’s profile of U.S. Admiral Raymond Spruance (1886 – 1969):

“Outside Navy circles, very few know much about the man who bosses our task forces in the Pacific and has never lost an engagement. But Admiral Nagano knows of Spruance; so does Tojo – because, if it weren’t for Spruance at Midway, Japanese carriers might now be based at Pearl Harbor.”

The Strategist
(Collier’s Magazine, 1944)

Here is a Collier’s profile of U.S. Admiral Raymond Spruance (1886 – 1969):

Price Gougers Sent to Jail’
(PM Tabloid, 1945)

A grocer and his bookkeeper were sentenced to prison for jacking-up chicken prices in violation of Federal law.

The First Nazi Prisoners
(Spot Magazine, 1941)

The first Nazi prisoners to be incarcerated by the U.S. were not from North Africa or Atlantic U-boats, they were the officers and men of the German passenger liner Columbus in 1939.

VE-Day in New York
(Philadelphia Record, 1945)

“New York City’s reaction was a snowstorm of wastepaper that cascaded from buildings as the people shouted and sang in the streets. Others openly wept and prayed on sidewalks… News of the surrender spread like wildfire on Wall Street and set off an all morning celebration by jubilant downtown workers who left their jobs.”

1923 Germany
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1923)

Maximilian Harden (1861 – 1927) was a major-league journalist and editor in Germany at the time of the First World War. Between 1914-18 he was all-in for a German victory. After the defeat he believed in the democracy that came with the Weimar Republic – but he hated the economic state that his country was forced to endure – and that is what he addresses in this column.

“An old married couple, or a widow, who in 1914 were assured of an untroubled existence on an income 6,000 marks a year, cannot buy with that amount today a pair of shoes, or any new sheets, and can get nine or ten pounds of butter at the most…If anyone has looked upon all this destitution, which is borne by many in silence and true dignity, if anyone has seen this decay of a whole nation, which is like the crumbling of some venerable cathedral, and if in spite of this he puts it all down as camouflage, then that person has a heart of stone in his breast.”

Kamikazes: The Naked Truth
(All Hands Magazine, 1946)

This unnamed journalist wished to discern fact from fiction as to what was expected from Kamikaze pilots. After spending almost an entire year in Occupied Tokyo, he read numerous reports on the topic, both military and civil. The PR blather fed to the Japanese public did state that a willing death was expected of them, but was surprised to find that many (not all) of the pilots were given parachutes (rarely used). His research revealed that the Kamikaze corps was hastily assembled and was composed of the lousiest pilots they could find.

Troopship
(Coronet Magazine, 1945)

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Race Riots
(Newsweek Magazine, 1943)

“It is a singular fact that [the] supposedly civilized Americans in these times deny the Negroes the opportunity to engage in respectable jobs, the right of access to the restaurants, theaters, or the same train accommodations as themselves and periodically will run amuck to lynch Negroes individually or to slaughter them wholesale – old men, women, and children alike in race wars like the present one.”

What Radio Tokyo was referring to were the multiple race riots that broke out in Detroit and seven other municipalities during the Summer of 1943.

The Radio Facsimile Transmitter
(Spot Magazine, 1941)

Throughout the course of the Second World War the Radio Facsimile Transmitter (Radio Fax) was used by the Allied Armies to transmit maps, orders and weather charts across God’s vast oceans. War correspondents used the technology to transmit articles and images to their editors.

Mr. Nystrom’s Car Won’t Quit
(Spot Magazine, 1941)

Mr. John Nystrom of New York City drove a 32 year-old Model T Ford. Judging by the writer’s tone, we can guess that not many cars from 1909 were around to see Roosevelt’s third term. The Flivver (as she was nicknamed) had 250,000 miles on her (no mention as to how that was known) and still got 20 miles per/gallon, with a top speed of 48 miles per/hour. We can assume that Mr. Nystrom went to his rewards some time ago, but his car is probably still out there being written about.

His Mail
(Spot Magazine, 1941)

Unlike his many predecessors, FDR used to encourage the American people to write him with their thoughts. At times, the President used to boast to Congress concerning the volume of his mail in favor of his programs, but the mails did not simply deliver stamped envelopes:

“Almost anything you can think of has arrived as a gift at some time or another – dogs, sheep, eagles, baby chicks, toads, alligators. Mr. Roosevelt has never received any lions, but Calvin Coolidge got two, from Johannesburg…”

Explaining the Need for the USO
(Spot Magazine, 1941)

This article said it all honestly and without flowery metaphors – plainly stating the facts that if American military personnel were not provided some wholesome distractions, they would simply loiter around barrooms and whorehouses during their leisure time and become a drag on society.