MANNERS & MORALS: Americana, Mar. 17, 1947

Notes on U.S. customs, habits, manners & morals as reported in the U.S. press:

¶ In Manhattan, red-haired Renee Carroll, "the best-known hat-check girl in America," celebrated 20 years of profitable (about $200 a week) tip-taking at famed Sardi's Restaurant by tipping the customers. Her tip to each: 25¢. Total cost: $50. The most astonished customer: English actor John Gielgud, who recoiled and cried: "Is this the custom here?"

¶ In Atlanta, state legislators learned that an old law required locomotives to go toooooooot-toooooooot toot-toot when approaching Georgia grade crossings, brought it up to date and in conformity with the laws of adjoining states by authorizing toooooooot toooooooot toot-toooooooot.

¶ After laboriously feeding young white rats a diet of ham & eggs, the Department of Agriculture arrived at a heartening conclusion: ham & eggs are a good combination, scientifically. Their proteins supplement each other so well that when eaten together they supply more nourishment than when eaten separately.

¶ In Boston, Forever Amber went on trial for obscenity under a new law which permits prosecution of a book rather than a bookseller. Most interesting exhibit: a realistic, life-size photographic cut-out of sexy Authoress Kathleen Winsor. Though the prosecutor thundered, the judge, a man of 65, averred: "The book acts like a soporific rather than an aphrodisiac. While conducive to sleep it is not conducive to a desire to sleep with a member of the opposite sex." His verdict: Not guilty.

¶ The Gallup poll disclosed the results of a nationwide poll on the spanking of children—three out of four parents still thought it an excellent idea.

¶ In Washington, diplomats were up against a stiff-bosomed shirt shortage, were appearing even at White House functions with frayed cuffs and patched fronts and were sending their chauffeurs on systematic tours of waiters' supply houses.

¶ In Salem, Ore., ten-year-old Jerry Burns appeared before the state senate to lobby against a bill prohibiting July 4 fireworks. He complained: "It seems like nowadays everything that's any fun is dangerous or immoral or illegal."

¶ The F.B.I, announced that crime in 1946 broke all records for the past decade. The totals: murder and manslaughter, 8,442; manslaughter by negligence, 4,701; rape, 12,117; robbery, 62,782; aggravated assault, 67,512; auto theft, 229,920; burglary, 357,99!; larceny, 941,738.

¶ The Licensed Beverage Industries, Inc. blew the dust off some rare old statistics on the state of the U.S. thirst. The per capita consumption of distilled spirits was 2.86 gallons in 1860, only 1.22 gallons in 1945.