3/13-3/19/49

3/13 Sunday Found I had 101.5 temp and we called Dr. Holzman. He diagnosed a strep throat. He ordered sulfa tablets, liquids, gargling with Dohees' [?] Solution. My temp rose to 102.5° and I spent a pretty miserable day and night. Lillian slept in the living room. She gave me the sulfa every four hours throughout the day and night.

3/14 Felt a little better this morning but throat still hurt. Temp. in the morning was 100.4°. Took a little cereal. Delegations are picketing N.Y. legislators and heading for Albany to protest five "Anti-subversive" bills. Negro and white longshoremen united to fight Ryan and demand a hiring hall. Gravediggers returned to work with the increase they were originally offered 8 1/3%. They now belong to the AFL Bl'dg Service Employees Union. Mama came over bringing the supper we were supposed to have on Sunday. My temp. was about 100.5° all day.

3/15 My temp was down to 99.4° but pain was still there when I swallowed. The school called Lillian this morning to come and get Sylvia. We were both worried till we found it was due to the rash she had on her face. Dr. Holzman had seen it Sunday and thought little of it merely telling Lil to use zinc oxide which she had been doing. The school nurse however thought it was an impetigo and was afraid of it spreading so Sylvia came home. Eugene still likes to participate in Sylvia's cutting paper dolls and number books but has great difficulty in getting her permission to do so. Runaway wire tapper K Ryan surrendered and was indicted as millionaire O'Dwyer foe C. Ryan appeared before the Grand Jury. He claimed he had been offered an ambassadorship to France as a bribe to lay off. Leading Soviet officials continue to be shifted resulting in the usual speculation as to meaning. Henry Wallace' speech on a radio religious hour resulted in  suspension of the station by the director. Sun Fo will be impeached for financial corruption. Traitor and anti semite Ezra Pound now confined in a mental institution has been presented the Bollinger Award sponsored by the Library of Congress for a book of his poetry. T S Eliot another anti semite was spokesman for the group of "intellectuals" who presented the award. The Nat'l Invitation Tourney in basketball increased to twelve teams in order to place four N.Y. teams when at least two N.Y. entries were asked saw all N.Y. teams lose the first day. In the quarter finals, all favorites were defeated including the two greatest teams in the country St Louis & Kentucky. Russian U.N. aide Gubitchev arrested for espionage refused to plead in court claiming diplomatic immunity. My temp reached 99.8°. My meals are getting better all the time.

3/16 Temperature down to normal but some pain still remains. Have my meals in the kitchen now. Sylvia's rash is getting better. She is very difficult. Will do nothing no matter what logic is used. Only strong threats or force can ever convince her. Delegations won a day's delay on the McMullen bill. The House passed a 15 month extension on rent control. However weakening amendments allow the states to kill rent control in their own territory and a fair return is guaranteed to landlords. Another Amendment does away with voluntary 15% increases. A vote to censure the Franch gov't for participating in the Atlantic Pact was defeated 350-228. Sylvia got a pair of low black pumps at Alexander's $6.00 Size 13 1/2E. Played Eugene a closely contested chess game. This is Eugene's speech in the St Patrick's Day program: A is for adventure for the Irish have been lovers of adventure since the earliest days of history. Her sons have migrated to all parts of the world to Africa and Australia as well as the Americas. Long ago they sailed the treacherous seas. They cut trails through the wilderness of newly found lands. They led soldiers into battle against tyranny. The George Washington of the far away country of Chile was Peter O'Higgins, an Irishman and the father of the American Navy was another of Ireland's famous sons - Commodore John Barry. 

3/17 The pain left entirely today and I stayed out of bed at last. Sylvia played with her block house and read her school reader. She goes to Norma's house for television by herself but will go to Mrs. Kreisler's next door only with Eugene. Played a long chess game with Eugene, he reading his comics in between moves and I, my book. The State Dep't announced it will allow delegates from Russia and the Eastern countries to the Cultural Peace Parley to enter here. However the dep't made a statement criticizing the projected proceedings. New Jersey banned discrimination on beaches, in halls, hotels, schools, etc. Left wingers filibustered in the Italian chamber against the Atlantic Pact.

3/18 Bad weather and Eugene has a stuffed nose so he stayed home making four of us home. The kids got into a violent quarrel. I scolded him and when answered back rudely he got a good tongue lashing and some blows. He sat for two hours in the living room before making up his mind to apologize. Later played him a chess game, then we all played casino and pisha-paysha up and down. Sylvia was scared of going through the mill if she lost. At bedtime Sylvia said robbers want God to be dead. It turned out she didn't know what 'rob' meant. Incidentally we banned comic books for good in the morning. There was one death and some casualties in Italy in anti Atlantic Pact riots. The Senate adopted a compromise closure rule which would allow closure only on support of 2/3 of the full Senate. Civil rights legislation is apparently dead with the defeat. The terms of the Atlantic Pact were given out. It pledges the U.S. and Allied Nations to resist an armed attack against any of them.

We would say "cloture" today, but, I looked it up, and the New York Times used "closure" in discussing the issue. 

3/19 Lillian bought herself a black untrimmed winter coat $19 and Silvia a dressy spring coat $16. Also flannel pajamas for me ($1.30 all at Kleins). Played rummy and hide and seek with the kids. Sylvia now enjoys "Archie" Sat A.M. On television the kids hear "How de doody" and "Small Fry". The Italian Chamber approved the Atlantic Pact 242-170.