4-D . SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1998 OURCENTURY 1932

ATA GLANCE Food, shelter were the

PD FILE issues Workers put the last stone in place on the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge. By Fred McGunagle It happened less than a week be- fore the Feb. 16 special election for Fire set by arson mayor. But it wasn’t a political action. Or was it? In 1932, shelter — like food gang killed 12 — was a political issue. Shortly after midnight on June 7, a terrific Bailiffs arrived at Joseph Iachino’s explosion shook E. 9th St. and Superior Ave. house on E. 139th St. with eviction pa- Flames and black smoke poured from the six- pers and began to cart out his posses- story Ellington Apartments as nightgowned sions over his protests that his wife residents screamed for help from windows. was sick. His neighbors muttered an- One woman leaped to her death from the grily. Suddenly they seized the furni- fourth floor. ture from the outnumbered bailiffs Twenty fire companies and nearly all of the and carried it back into the house. police on duty rushed to the scene. So did catcher Mickey Cochrane of the visiting Phila- Police, remembering an earlier delphia Athletics and a Philadelphia sports- eviction riot at which two people writer, who rescued four people before the were killed, rushed to the scene. PLAIN DEALER FILE firefighters arrived. Eventually, the truckload of belong- Mayoral candidate Ray T. Miller casts his vote in 1932. A crowd estimated at 10,000 watched the ings was taken to the precinct station firemen pour thousands of gallons of water for the night and Iachino’s wife was into the building seemingly with little effect. taken to the hospital over her objec- attention from the fact he is the By the time the fire was out, it had killed 12 tions. The Unemployed Council, a Maschke candidate, he is allowing his residents, 10 of them women. Communist group, called a rally to henchmen to reach into the pockets Police suspected arson but lacked evidence. protest. of part-time laborers and take part of They got a break when an arrest in Pittsburgh their hard-earned money for his cam- broke up an arson-for-hire gang. Members ad- Ray T. Miller and Daniel Morgan paign chest.” mitted being paid by Ray Turk, who had col- lected on a $15,000 insurance policy for his Morgan shot back that the county first-floor store. He was convicted of murder, Democratic organization was using but the charge was reduced to manslaughter state money for ditch-digging proj- on appeal. The Sunday Letters to ects to put Democrats on the payroll. the Editor page will Meanwhile, police arrested a dozen · return next week. people for vote fraud. Republican The largest crowd in baseball history — Councilman Herman Finkle was 79,979 paid — turned out for the first baseball found to have 20 transients sleeping game in Stadium, on July 31. They on cots in his office so they could use saw a dandy, as Lefty Grove of the Athletics the address when voting. outdueled the Indians’ Mel Harder 1-0. Play- didn’t need that clash to tell them ers complained they couldn’t see the pitches what was on the minds of the voters. Thousands of Clevelanders cam- because of white-shirted fans in the center It was the bitterest election Cleve- paigned for the candidates, many in field bleachers. landers could recall. The overriding hopes that the winner might get them The crowd turned out to be more than one- issue was relief. Perhaps 100,000 a job. Others were involved because eighth of season attendance. Playing their re- Clevelanders were out of work, and ward clubs, with their dues of 10 maining 32 remaining home games in the Sta- most of the rest were on short weeks, cents a month, were one of the few af- dium, the Indians drew 468,953 fans, or 15,000 had taken pay cuts or both. fordable social outlets. The Plain fewer than in 1931. They played 19 games Miller, the county prosecutor who Dealer listed 54 political meetings there in 1933 and then returned to League scheduled for Feb. 9 alone. Park. had made his reputation sending Re- The team won 87 games in 1932, but finished publican councilmen to jail, charged As expected, the vote was close. fourth, 19 behind the Yankees. Wes Ferrell that Morgan was a stooge for Repub- Miller led with 102,632 votes to won 23 games — the fourth straight year he lican boss Maurice Maschke. Mor- 94,227 for Morgan. The Republicans had won 20 — and Earl Averill hit .314 with 32 gan, who had been city manager until had carried their traditional black home runs. voters threw out the system in No- and Jewish strongholds. (Blacks were Tom Manning had broadcast some Indians vember 1931, charged that Miller loyal to “the party of Mr. Lincoln.”) games over WTAM from 1928 to 1931. In 1932, would be a stooge for Democratic But Miller carried the West Side. For Ellis Vander Pyl took over on WHK, but he boss Burr Gongwer. the first time in 17 years, the Demo- was soon replaced by Jack Graney, who had crats controlled City Hall. been an Indians outfielder from 1920 through Miller called for money from the 1922. state gasoline tax to be diverted to re- Under the new charter, Miller took PD FILE Graney was to be the voice of the Indians lief. Morgan countered that, even if office four days later. He immedi- This contingent of Pennsylvania workers marched to Washington, D.C., to through 1954 — but not in 1933.At the end of the legislature agreed, “that would ately faced the task of submitting a the 1932 season, Indians President Alva Brad- take away the money for road mainte- budget in which revenue came no- ask Congress and the president for aid. By 1932, 12 million Americans ley banned broadcasts because, he said, they nance and throw thousands of men where near needs. Less than half of were out of work and going hungry. hurt attendance. out of work.” property taxes were collectible and the city, like the county, faced default · Miller responded: “He [Morgan] Steel production had fallen from 88.5 deadlock among New York Gov. on its bonds. The Lorain-Carnegie (now officially the says his heart is bleeding for the poor percent to 19.5 percent of capacity. Franklin Roosevelt, 1928 nominee Al Smith and a host of favorite sons. Hope Memorial) Bridge was described as one and the unemployed. But while he is Since 1929, national unemployment More than 5,000 banks had failed, of the most beautiful in the country when it trying to make relief for the unem- had risen from 1.5 million (3.2 per- with a loss to depositors of $3.2 bil- Just when a deadlock appeared opened in December. Drivers thought the $6.1 ployed, the principal issue to detract cent) to 12 million (24.1 percent). lion. More telling were the statistics likely, John Nance Garner released million, 4,558-foot-long bridge was beautiful reported by Associated Charities: Of his Texas delegation and it switched because it relieved traffic jams on the High 245 families in one Cleveland neigh- to Roosevelt. Garner got the vice Level (Detroit-Superior) Bridge. borhood, 45 had no means of support presidential nomination as a reward. Also new were the 1,200-foot Fulton Rd. and 22 literally lived on garbage. They campaigned on a platform call- Bridge over Big Creek, the 1,132-foot Brecks- ing for a 25 percent cut in govern- ville Bridge over the and the Unable to feed its own citizens, the ment spending. 1,666-foot Bedford Bridge over Tinker’s Creek city was unprepared for the arrival The national election in November and Broadway. All made it easier for Cleve- from Detroit of several hundred vet- was about the same issues as the landers to reach their new homes in the sub- erans headed for Washington to de- Cleveland election that started the urbs. mand early payment of a World War year, and once more voters swept out Cleveland did annex one suburb, however — bonus. Officials quickly rounded up the incumbents. Roosevelt carried 46 Miles Heights, with its 2,000 people in the Lee- trucks to carry them to Akron, where states. Democrat George White won Miles area. It was to be the last suburb to vote they were fed and promptly shipped the governorship. to join the central city. off to Youngstown. Cuyahoga County results were far · They eventually camped on the from a landslide — 185,680 for Roose- The National Air Races drew their usual Mall in Washington, where some re- velt to 166,277 for Hoover — but big crowd over Labor Day. Streets around the mained after the Senate had voted Democrats won most county offices airport were packed with families watching down the bonus payments. In July, and 12 of 17 seats in the state House from their cars. Jimmy Haislip won the Ben- President Herbert Hoover finally of Representatives. dix Trophy, arriving from the West Coast in 10 sent the Army to evict them at bayo- Now there would be a change, vot- hours, 19 minutes. Jimmie Doolittle won the net point and burn their shacks. ers told themselves. Then they real- Thompson Trophy, careening 50 miles around ized that under the Constitution, the pylons at an average speed of 252.69 mph. Hoover’s popularity was at rock Roosevelt would not take office until (In 1942, he would fly a more hazardous bottom. Homeless people lived in March. For four months, Hoover course when his unescorted carrier-based cardboard shacks in “Hoovervilles.” would be a lame duck president, un- squadron bombed a shocked Tokyo and es- Newspapers were called “Hoover able to take effective action. caped to what President Franklin D. Roosevelt PLAIN DEALER FILE blankets.” As the Democratic con- announced as “Shangri-La.”) The nation drifted into a long, cold For the year, Municipal Airport counted In 1932, an “army” of World War I veterans and their families — 20,000 vention opened, Cleveland’s Newton winter with nobody in charge. 26,522 takeoffs and 81,023 of what still had to people in all — converged on the Capitol, set up camp and demanded early D. Baker was given a good chance to be described as “hardy” passengers. payment of a promised cash bonus. The early years of the Depression hit win the nomination to oppose Hoover. McGunagle is a Cleveland free- · Clevelanders hard, too. He was the logical choice in case of a lance writer. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court had a backlog of 19,204 civil cases as of Feb. 1 and LOOKINGATAYEAR had been able to dispose of only 18,000 in the previous year. The Plain Dealer blamed the public, “which has become more and more conscious of its right to sue for sums ranging Feb. 11: In a meeting with Pope April 10: Incumbent Paul von Hin- nation for president, promising “a Born: Edward Kennedy, Mario from $1,000 to a small fortune as the result of Pius XI, who had been extremely denburg wins the German presi- new deal for the American people.” Cuomo, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter almost any incident from the scraping of auto- critical of him, Italy’s Fascist leader, dency, defeating Adolf Hitler by 6 Sept. 1: Under fire for many in- O’Toole, John Updike, Omar Sharif, Benito Mussolini, throws himself to Johnny Cash. mobile fenders to the things which are said million votes. But Hitler’s National stances of alleged wrongdoing, New and done after an ace has been trumped in a his knees and kisses the pope’s hand. Socialist Party doubles the number of Died: American composer John March 2: Charles Lindbergh Jr., 20 York Mayor Jimmy Walker resigns. Philip Sousa, New York show pro- game of bridge.” seats it holds in the Reichstag. months old, is kidnapped from the Nov. 8: Roosevelt scores a landslide ducer Florenz Ziegfeld, Swedish in- Also new this year: The Forest City Publish- family’s New Jersey home. The July 2: New York Gov. Franklin D. victory over Republican incumbent dustrialist Ivar Kreuger, former ing Co. child’s body is found on May 12. Roosevelt wins the Democratic nomi- Herbert Hoover. French premier Aristide Briand.