July 27: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY – Brooklyn Daily Eagle

ON THIS DAY IN 1913, a Brooklyn Daily Eagle editorial said, Have you ever thought, as you read of the heroic deeds performed daily by the mounted patrolmen throughout the greater city, of the conspicuous part played by the police horse? The career of a maddened runaway horse is checked, and perhaps the lives of women and children saved; the rush of an angered mob is stemmed, or a crowd hurled back from the path of an onrushing fire truck, by a horse, that at a touch of the rein, effects a side movement, forcing back the surging human mass, without endangering a single life. In such instances, of very frequent occurrence, the newspaper headlines laud glowingly the coolness and bravery of the patrolman, while little or nothing is said of the horse. The police horse, with his high intelligence and fine courage, may well feel proud of the position he holds, for in addition to school training, he must pass an examination even more rigid than that required of patrolmen ambitious to enter the department ranks. So strict are these requirements that three out of every ten horses offered for police duty are rejected by the exacting police regents, who will tell you that the department horse, loyal and trustworthy, is one of the most valuable assets of the whole department; hence only the best must be selected.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1919, the Eagle reported, WASHINGTON, JULY 26 Congress is beginning to realize that it is high time to do something about the cost of living, if anything can be done. The problem is getting bigger and more troublesome. There are many senators and representatives who are convinced that the mass of the people are far more concerned about high prices than they are about the peace treaty or any other issue before the country. There is no assurance among legislators here that living costs can be brought down by investigation or legislation, but the feeling is growing rapidly that something must be attempted in response to the increasing public complaint. Prices of nearly all necessities have gone up since the armistice was signed, and are still going up. When a citizen in Washington buys a pair of shoes or a suit of clothes, he usually is informed by the tradesman that the next time he comes around, the price will be still higher. The immediate future is made to appear very dark. With Washington conditions right under their eyes, and with reports and protests coming in from many other parts of the country, members of Congress are bestirring themselves and are beginning to study the problem anxiously.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1942, the Eagle reported, Aides of former Assemblyman Herbert Brownell Jr., chairman of the Dewey-for-Governor Committee, predicted the unopposed nomination of Thomas E. Dewey at the Republican State Convention in Saratoga on Aug. 24 and 25. Dewey campaign managers asserted that not only are party leaders and delegates to the convention overwhelmingly behind Mr. Dewey, but the party rank and file as well.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, LONDON (U.P.) Winston Churchill, the warrior-statesman who led Britain through blood, sweat and tears to victory over Germany, stepped reluctantly into political obscurity today as his Laborite successor, Maj. Clement Attlee, hurried to form a new government to finish the war against Japan. Grimly silent on the stunning Laborite upheaval that broke his Conservative partys 10-year reign in Britain, Mr. Churchill appeared ready to write finis to his turbulent, 46-year political career. There was no immediate word from the defeated prime minister on persistent reports that he was retiring at once into private life to finish his memoirs. But some observers believed Mr. Churchill would reject the seat in Parliament voted him by his Woodford constituents and that he had even refused Major Attlees offer for him to return to Potsdam for the final phase of the Big Three conference. I regret that I have not been permitted to finish the work against Japan, was the dour gist of a statement issued by Mr. Churchill just before he left 10 Downing Street for the last time yesterday to surrender the seals of his office to King George.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, PANMUNJOM (U.P.) The first full-scale war between the free world and Communism ended today in a straw mat house in the middle of the Korean no-mans land. The signing of the Korean armistice by United Nations and Communist representatives ended more than two years of frustrating negotiations The next chapter will be written at the forthcoming post-truce conference. Where or who will write the third chapter, no one knows. Whether the Allies won or lost the peace is still to be learned. But in the past 24 months they carved out an armistice from a rock-hard block of Red delay, inconsistency, stubbornness and falsehood. The main obstacles included prisoner repatriation and cease-fire line, selection of neutral nation commissions to umpire the cease-fire, the question of foreign troop withdrawals from Korea and arrangements for the high-level political meeting aimed at establishing a permanent peace in Korea.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include All in the Family creator Norman Lear, who was born in 1922; Knots Landing star John Pleshette, who was born in 1942; Ode to Billie Joe singer Bobbie Gentry, who was born in 1942; Hill Street Blues star Betty Thomas, who was born in 1947; figure skater and Olympic gold medalist Peggy Fleming, who was born in 1948; The Morning After singer Maureen McGovern, who was born in 1949; Chicago Hope star Roxanne Hart, who was born in 1952; comedian and writer Carol Leifer, who was born in 1956; Charmed star Julian McMahon, who was born in 1968; former Saturday Night Live star Maya Rudolph, who was born in 1972; former N.Y. Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who was born in 1975; N.Y. Mets pitcher Max Scherzer, who was born in 1984; and golf champion Jordan Spieth, who was born in 1993.

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ACROSS THE SEA: The Atlantic Telegraph cable was laid on this day in 1866. Having started from Valentia, Ireland on July 7, 1866, the Great Eastern steamship successfully laid a submarine cable at Hearts Content, Newfoundland, Canada. This cable provided transatlantic communication and followed almost-successful efforts in 1858 and 1865.

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NEVER FORGET: The Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., on this day in 1995. More than 36,000 Americans died in the war, which lasted from June 1950 to July 1953. Of these, 8,200 are listed as missing in action or lost or buried at sea.

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Special thanks to Chases Calendar of Events and Brooklyn Public Library.

Quotable:

It was Brooklyn against the world. They were not only complete fanatics, but they knew baseball like the fans of no other city. It was exciting to play there.

Baseball Hall of Famer Leo Durocher, who was born on this day in 1905

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July 27: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - Brooklyn Daily Eagle