The New Normal
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1949)
In December of 1949 Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek’s anti-communist forces retreated to the island of Formosa (Taiwan).
1949
Articles from 1949
Sportscaster
(Quick Magazine, 1949)
It isn’t a sports show; it’s entertainment for the same kind of people who listen to Jack Benny
– thus said the sportscaster Bill Stern (1907 – 1971) – who is remembered in our age as the announcer to broadcast the nation’s first remote sports broadcast and the first telecast of a baseball game.
Changes Added to the College Football Rulebook
(Quick Magazine, 1949)
For all you football scholars out there, we offer a small article concerning one of the biggest events from the 1949 world of college football which involved the numerous changes that the college football Rules Committee put into play as the season began. The unnamed journalist concentrated on the five most important that involved the legitimacy of forward passes, fumbles and laterals.
Theatre Hats by Lilly Daché
(Quick Magazine, 1949)
Lilly Daché (1898 – 1989) was the most famous milliner of her era; before retiring in the late Sixties (when hats were finally shown the door) she had accomplished much in the realm of fashion – designing dresses, lingerie, gloves, bags, jewelry and hostess gowns. While in league with the Hollywood costume designer Travis Banton, her lids adorned many of the craniums of the most glamorous women ever to grace a movie screen.
German Prisoners Resisted Soviet Coercion
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1949)
The article posted above pointed out that the American-held German P.O.W.s who participated in the U.S. Army’s Special Projects Division were all volunteers and willing participants in the program. These Germans had shown some enthusiasm and an interest to learn about democracy and little coaxing was needed. Contrast this with the column linked to the title above that illustrated the crude manner in which the unforgiving Soviet Army chose to propagandize the malnourished German P.O.W.s who fought at Stalingrad:
If communism provides the Utopia that Marx, Lenin and Stalin claim, why does Russia have to rule by the bayonet?
As many of you know, the U.S.S.R. did not release most of their German P.O.W.s until the death of Stalin in 1953.
Reversals for Chiang Kai-shek
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1949)
The years 1927 through 1947 has largely been remembered as a victorious era for the Chinese Nationalists in their struggle against the Communist rebels under Mao Zedong (1893 – 1976). However, following Mao’s 1947 retreat to Manchuria and the subsequent training and reforms that took place within his army, the Nationalist Chinese troops began to feel the humiliation of defeat until they made good their strategic withdrawal to Formosa (ie. Taiwan), where they have remained ever since.
This single page article goes into greater detain outlining the chronology of events.
George F. Kennan: Mr. X
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1949)
George F. Kennan was an American diplomat who is remembered as being one of the most insightful analysts of Soviet foreign policy during the cold war.
Click here to read about the Cold War prophet who believed that Kennan’s containment policy was not tough enough on the Soviets…
The Soviets at the U.N.
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1949)
In 1949 there still existed such hope and optimism for the future of the United Nations as a force for good in the world – and a profound disappointment can clearly be sensed in this writer’s voice as you read this column that reported as to how the Soviets were manipulating the organization to benefit their espionage efforts.
CLICK HERE to read about the beautiful Blonde Battalions who spied for the Nazis…
Click here to read about the blackmail and extortion tactics that American Communists used in Hollywood during the Great Depression…
‘Russia Has a Congress”
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1949)
Many Americans do not realize that Soviet Russia has an elected congress. As its powers are set forth in the present Russian constitution, this congress has the appearance of being both representative and democratic… ‘The Supreme Soviet’ is somewhat similar to that of our national legislature. It has two chambers, like our house and senate. The author points out that regardless of the appearances, we all know that there is a catch somewhere’.
Click here to read about the blackmail and extortion tactics that American Communists used in Hollywood during the Great Depression…
Mickey Cohen in Hollywood
(Quick Magazine, 1949)
Illustrated with a photo of L.A. mobster Mickey Cohen and his wife, this short column from 1949 summarizes one of the many shake-down schemes that the thug would employ to blackmail Hollywood actors during their weaker moments.
John Wayne
(Quick Magazine, 1949)
The attached three page article about John Wayne appeared at the very doorstep of the Fifties – the decade that was uniquely hisown. The uncredited Hollywood journalist who wrote this column was doing so in order to announce to the reading public that Wayne was coming remarkably close to being the top box office attraction:
Wayne reached this eminence by turning out film after film for 18 years. Working with a steady, un-nervous strength for four studios: Republic, RKO, Argosy and Warner Brothers. – he shifts back and forth between Westerns, sea-epics and war pictures. With each movie he makes (most of them re-hashes of of standard action-film plots, but a few of them film classics), his fans grow.
A Spy Within the CPUSA
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1949)
These seven paragraphs from THE PATHFINDER magazine served to introduce their readers to Herbert Philbrick (1915 – 1993) and his efforts to expose the subversive elements within the Communist Party U.S.A..
For nine years Philbrick labored as an F.B.I. mole deep within the Cambridge Youth Council, the Young Communist League and the CPUSA until he made good his resignation by serving as a surprise government witness at a conspiracy trial in which numerous high profile American Reds were indicted (among them William Z. Foster, Eugene Dennis, Robert George Thompson, Gus Hall, Henry Winston, and ex-New York councilmember Benjamin Davis).
The Steineck Spy Camera
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1949)
Additional magazine and newspaper articles about Cold War spies can be read on this page. KEY WORDS: Steineck ABC Wrist
Did Stalin Want the U.S. to Recognize China?
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1949)
Felix Morley (1894 – 1982), one of the senior Washington columnists in the early Cold War era, summarized the various concerns involved in the diplomatic recognition of Communist China as well as the surprising issue as to whether or not it was what the Soviet Premiere actually preferred at the time?
There is good reason to believe that the Communist high command in Moscow does not want us to recognize the new Communist government of China
But in recent years we have mixed up diplomatic recognition and moral approval. The absurd result is that we recognize Russia and not Spain, and are at present opposed to recognizing China even though we fear that may be cutting off our nose to spite Stalin’s face.
New York’s Contributions to English
(Holiday, 1949)
New York City’s contributions to the American language go considerably further than the pronunciation of ‘avenyeh’ for avenue or ‘erl’ for lubricant. Peter Stuyvesant’s village has made rich entries into our spoken and written tongue. A handful, culled from Dr. Mitford M. Matthew’s A Dictionary of Americanisms
follows.
Click here to read more articles about American English.
Lana Turner
(Quick Magazine, 1949)
When this Hollywood profile first appeared on paper, actress Lana Turner (1921 – 1995) was all of twenty-nine years of age and about to begin working on A Life of Her Own
it was her thirtieth movie; her last four films had nearly grossed a record-breaking $20 million, and her smiling mug was on each and every Hollywood fan magazine that could be found.
Today, the sleek, gray-eyed Lana has shed the plumpness of two years ago, keeps her weight between to 118 and 127 lbs… Now Lana is as shapely as she was in those early days. She has the ‘perfect’ figure: 5 ft. 3 in., 34-in. bust, 24-in. waist, 34.5 in. hips.
The article is illustrated with photographs from eight of her pre-’49 movies and lists all the husbands that she’d collected up to that same period (she had acquired eight husbands before she was through).
Washington Weighs in on China
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1949)
Seasoned Washington journalist Felix Morley (1894 – 1982) discussed the complicated issues involved in the diplomatic recognition of Communist China:
All the obvious arguments are against recognition. The Red regime in China has imprisoned our official representatives, confiscated American property, flouted and insulted us in a dozen different ways.
But in recent years we have mixed up diplomatic recognition and moral approval. The absurd result is that we recognize Russia and not Spain, and are at present opposed to recognizing China even though we fear that may be cutting off our nose to spite Stalin’s face.