ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “HELSINKI (U.P.) — President Juho K. Paasikivi announced today the government has agreed to Marshal Josef Stalin’s proposal to negotiate a Russo-Finnish friendship and military pact. Paasikivi said he had recommended negotiations begin in Moscow. It was understood the majority of Finnish parties, who did not want to negotiate a military alliance, proposed the Moscow site for fear Communist demonstrations might be touched off during any conference here. The government’s decision was made at a momentous Cabinet meeting today. It was understood Agrarians and Social Democrats held out against negotiations to the end. Paasikivi then sent a note to Moscow through the Russian ambassador here. His announcement later today indicated he had confirmation Moscow had received the note. A government spokesman said Finland would appoint a joint government-Parliament delegation to handle negotiations.”
ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “ALBANY — Legislation to bar Communists from public office and civil service positions, sponsored by Assemblyman Frank J. McMullen, Brooklyn Republican, was scheduled to come to a final vote in the Assembly today. The measure already has been reported out of the lower house’s Civil Service Committee and has advanced to the order of third reading, where it is ready for a vote. The bill, which would amend the Civil Service Law, requires an anti-Communist oath of all Civil Service appointees and specifically outlaws appointment of members of the Communist party or other groups that teach or advocate the overthrow of the government by force.”
ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “MOSCOW, MARCH 7 (U.P.) — More than a million Russians led by Premier Georgi Malenkov filed today past the bier of Josef Stalin, who lay in the eerie shadow of his own portrait. The line of mourners stretched 10 miles from the marble columns of the Hall of Trade Unions where the dead Soviet leader lay in state. On Monday there will be a great state funeral and Stalin’s coffin will lie in the red and black marble mausoleum in Red Square alongside that of V.I. Lenin. Malenkov and members of the new Soviet government which he heads stood with bowed heads beside the body of their 73-year-old leader and teacher who died Thursday night of a brain hemorrhage. The tens of thousands who viewed the body today included the foreign colony, 100 of them Americans led by U.S. Charge d’Affaires Jacob Beam, dressed in somber black, who will represent the United States at the funeral. Stalin’s body was visible from the waist upward in the open coffin. Flowers blanketed the coffin from the waist down and were banked around the catafalque. A giant portrait of the familiar face gilded in a black-bordered frame hung behind the coffin. An enormous spotlight on the picture cast the shadow over Stalin’s face.”
ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (UPI) — A half million Cubans, more than 7 percent of the island’s population, have asked the United States to grant them asylum from the Castro regime during the past two years. This was reported yesterday by officials elaborating on statements by Secretary of State Dean Rusk. Rusk said about 200,000 Cubans had left the island since Fidel Castro came to power in 1959 and ‘several hundred thousand’ more want to leave. Officials said that slightly more than 500,000 have sought ‘visa waivers’ from the U.S. government since January 1961. About 100,000 have been admitted to the United States, leaving 300,000 still waiting in Cuba. About 100,000 applications have been denied as ineligible under immigration laws. According to United Nations estimates, Cuba had a population of 6,933,000 in 1961. Prospects for Cubans on the waiting list are not bright at present. Before the missile crisis last October, Cubans arrived at the rate of 7,000 to 8,000 a month. Since then a few groups have arrived on returning ransom ships. But the flow has slowed because regular commercial transportation is not available. The visa waivers are granted under a provision of the Immigration Law that permits special admission of certain people fleeing Communist regimes, including close relatives of people already in this country.”
NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include jazz saxophonist George Coleman, who was born in 1935; “Webster” star Susan Clark, who was born in 1943; Monkees drummer Micky Dolenz, who was born in 1945; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Randy Meisner (the Eagles), who was born in 1946; Songwriters Hall of Famer Carole Bayer Sager, who was born in 1947; Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Rice, who was born in 1953; “Dateline NBC” anchor Lester Holt, who was born in 1959; “The Practice” star Camryn Manheim, who was born in 1961; former NBA point guard Kenny Smith, who was born in 1965; “She’s All That” star Freddie Prinze Jr., who was born in 1976; and “Dawson’s Creek” star James Van Der Beek, who was born in 1977.
ROBBERY IN PROGRESS: The Internal Revenue Service began to levy and collect income taxes on this day in 1913. The 16th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified Feb. 3, 1913, gave Congress the authority to tax income. The U.S. also levied an income tax during the Civil War.
SEASONS PASS: Carl Furillo was born 100 years ago today. The Pennsylvania native roamed the outfield for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1946 to 1957 and moved with them to L.A., finishing his career in 1960. The lifetime .299 hitter had 192 home runs, 1,058 RBIs and 895 runs scored. He played in seven World Series, winning championships in 1955 and 1959. He died in 1989.
Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
“Carrots might be good for my eyes, but they won’t straighten out the curveball.”
— Brooklyn Dodgers outfielder Carl Furillo, who was born on this day in 1922
BIPARTISAN POSTAL REFORM ACT PASSES SENATE: The U.S. Senate yesterday passed the historic Postal Service Reform Act in a bipartisan vote of 79-19.
HELP FOR THOSE BEHIND ON RENT PAYMENTS: Catholic Charities Neighborhood Services, Inc., the social services arm of Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, was recently awarded a $250,000 “Housing for Everyone” grant from the TD Charitable Foundation.
ATTORNEY GENERAL: PRICE GOUGING IS ILLEGAL: New York Attorney General Letitia James, in response to President Biden’s ban on imports of Russian energy resources, natural gas and coal, immediately warned oil companies and gas stations that price gouging is illegal.
On just the 1.5 miles of Pennsylvania Avenue between the Belt Parkway and New Lots Avenue, there were 2,768 reported crashes over the same eight-year period, or nearly one crash every day, injuring 38 cyclists, 173 pedestrians and 871 motorists, killing five pedestrians and two drivers.
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https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2022/03/08/march-8-on-this-day-in-1945-rhine-crossed/
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and brooklyneagle.com cover Brooklyn 24/7 online and five days a week in print with the motto, “All Brooklyn All the Time.” With a history dating back to 1841, the Eagle is New York City’s only daily devoted exclusively to Brooklyn.
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