The Editorial Page of the Sunday News

The editorial page of the Sunday News usually was more soft-focus and reflective than the hard-hitting, highly political editorials in the daily. On April 14, the News asked “Are We Better Off Than in 1886?” It answered "yes" in terms of creature comforts but not necessarily in terms of our leaders.

The editorial page cartoon, "The Family," struck a similar theme. As they lean against a rail fence, a woman asks her husband if they were better off than they were 60 years ago. The husband replies in response “Are we better off than we were 10 years ago?”

The editorial page was shared with the “Voice of the People,” the paper’s letter to the editors section. According to John Chapman’s history, Tell It to Sweeney, Patterson went for the most extreme or outraged opinions. In the early days they would sometimes make up the letters. Conventional wisdom was that the letters were an accurate gauge of the opinion of New Yorkers on the issues of the day. However according to John Tebbel in American Dynasty, a study showed that the selection of letters was slanted to reflect support for News editorial positions. On this Sunday:

  • A reader in Connecticut signing himself as Jimmie the Jeep, expressed his scorn for world government, discoursing on the differences between un-American, UN-American and un-UN-American.

  • New Castle Yankee from Nassau wrote that the Yankees were the only New York club with true team spirit since none of them had been lured into joining the Mexican League.

  • Mrs. Phelan of Manhattan objected to the News's editorial stand that it was no concern of ours if Russia gobbled up the British Empire.

  • Anonymous in Manhattan thought that Washington should transfer bureaucrats back to DC and free up New York apartments for veterans.

  • Laundryman Bill in the Bronx asked how come the signs in the subway trains and stations said "This is YOUR Subway-This Is YOUR Subway" while on the way to work he counted twelve notices telling him what he can't do on the subway.

  • Archie of Brooklyn complained about Henry A. Wallace and his “policy of planned scarcity,” echoing the conservative talking point of the day on price controls.

  • Miss Sixth Avenue in Manhattan wanted the city to change Avenue of the Americas back to Sixth Avenue and also urged a name change for LaGuardia Field "as he will soon be forgotten, we hope." The Irish-dominated Tammany Hall had wrested control of city hall in the last election back from LaGuardia's coalition of Jews, WASPs, Italians, leftists, New Dealers, reformers and Republicans.

  • Joseph J Quillin of Newark reported on a resolution passed by his local of the Bottled Beer Drivers, Warehousemen, Bottlers and Helpers calling on Congress to rescind a War Food Order limiting the use of grain by brewers which they say already had caused a loss of 10,000 jobs and soon would lead to 10,000 more job losses.

  • NaiMin in Suffolk suggested that the turnstiles in the subway should be installed in pairs: one reading “Fare still only 5 cents” and the other "Sales tax of five cents on fare"

Since 1922 the News had run the “Inquiring Fotographer,” the paper's most popular feature according to a 1941 survey. Jimmy Jemail asked passerbys a question of the day, submitted by a reader. Inquiring reporters were a standard newspaper feature. The News innovation was including a snapshot of the respondents. On this day the question was “How old is a wolf before he becomes domesticated?” It was asked on Lexington Avenue. The $5 prize for the day’s question went to Charlie Farrell, c/o the drugstore on W. 14th and 8th Avenue.