Subversion, Dairy Strike
Highlight October 1953

Photo corbis.com. Flushing spy Morton Sobell being escorted to Federal court by a U.S. Marshal, March 1951.

Get into a conversation with a long-time Queens resident and you’re likely to discover a subscriber of the Long Island Star-Journal, a daily paper that informed the community about local and world news until it folded in 1968. A banner across the Star-Journal masthead reminded readers that the newspaper’s name came from the merger of the Long Island Daily Star (1876) and the North Shore Daily Journal--The Flushing Journal (1841).

Welcome to

October 1953!

It was the era of the Red Menace, when fear of Communism and Senator Joseph McCarthy’s campaign against the subversives he believed had infiltrated U.S. society dominated the political landscape. Readers of the Star—Journal became accustomed to stories with headlines such as "Four Queens Teachers on Trial in Red-Clean-Up" (on October 27), when they learned that "trials of 14 teachers—four from Queens—for clamming up on suspected Communist affiliations proceeded today before a Board of Education examiner in Brooklyn."

Photo corbis.com. Sunnyside resident Abraham Brothman (left) and Miriam Moscowitz beng taken from Federal Court after being sentenced for conspiracy to obstruct justice, November 1950. Brothman received a seven-year sentence.

On October 16, the Star—Journal told readers that "atomic spy Morton Sobell, who once lived in Flushing, was linked today to Senator Joseph McCarthy’s mushrooming probe of spies in the Signal Corps. McCarthy said that several witnesses have named Sobell, who once worked at Fort Monmouth, N.J., the big Signal Corps post. McCarthy said that he would probably visit Sobell in the jail where he is now serving 30 years for treason. The Wisconsin Senator’s permanent Senate Investigations Subcommittee is probing for Communist subversion by civil employees at the vital radar defense center at Fort Monmouth."

Possible subversive activity was in the news again on October 20, when the Star—Journal revealed that "sabotage was hinted at today as the FBI continued its inquiry into the crash of a Constellation airliner" the previous day at Idlewild Airport (today JFK International). Two people were killed and 22 injured as the Puerto Rican-bound airliner crashed and burned after taking off in a heavy fog. "The crash—the first at Idlewild Airport—was the worst in the metropolitan area since a cargo plane bound for Idlewild plummeted into the heart of Jamaica in April, 1952." The presence of FBI agents at the scene of the Constellation crash "was called ‘highly unusual.’ Observers said it could mean there was suspicion the giant airliner was tampered with before its takeoff for Puerto Rico."

On October 31, the Star—Journal revealed the existence of another alleged Soviet spy in our borough. Convicted spy Harry Gold was serving a 30-year sentence for membership in the espionage ring run by Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who had just been executed in June, the only two American civilians to be executed for espionage during the Cold War. Now Gold was telling McCarthy’s sub-committee investigators that Alexander Svenchansky, of Village Road in Jamaica, was also a Soviet spy. "A naturalized citizen, Svenchansky was hired by the UN in 1946 as an expert in radio and the Russian language." He had been fired from that post but "denied using UN radio channels to send coded messages to Russia."

In his statement, Gold referred to Svenchansky by the code name of "Shura Swan," Star—Journal readers were told. He also alleged that another Queens man, "Abraham Brothman of 41-08 42nd Street, Sunnyside, one of Gold’s former agents, told Gold in 1941 that ‘Shura Swan’ recruited him for espionage work. Brothman, a chemical engineer, was convicted in 1950 of conspiracy to obstruct justice and of trying to influence Gold’s testimony in a Grand Jury investigation of spying. Svenchansky invoked the Fifth Amendment in refusing to answer any [Senate] subcommittee questions about Brothman."

And in the same story there was an update on the Sobell story. "Morton Sobell of Flushing, now serving 30 years in Alcatraz as a conspirator in the Rosenberg atomic spy plot, may also have been a member of a spy ring stealing data on guided missiles, it developed yesterday. Sobell, who lived at 164-17 73rd Avenue, has been linked to the theft of information on guided missiles by investigators for the Senate Permanent Investigations Subcommittee."

"Earlier this week, Senator Joseph McCarthy sent two investigators to the Schenectady plant of the General Electric Company to look into reports of the theft of guided missile information there. A check of the company’s personnel records showed that Sobell was employed there in 1941and 1942 when the spy ring started its activity."

Queens mothers queuing for milk at the end of October 1953 may have felt as if they were already living in a Communist country! On October 26 the Star—Journal headline read: "All Milk Deliveries Halted—Store Supplies Will Be Gone By Nightfall."

"Housewives in Queens jammed stores today in a last-minute crush to get fast-dwindling supplies of milk as 13,000 milk drivers went on a citywide and tri-state strike. The strike began officially at 4 p.m. yesterday. All home and store deliveries have been halted." The strike cut off an estimated 3,500,000 quarts delivered daily.

By October 27 it was beginning to get ugly. "Price gouging on milk was charged today by angry Queens housewives as the strike entered its third day with milk supplies in the metropolitan area almost exhausted. A milling mob of over 200 Astoria mothers swarmed about the Borden milk plant at Steinway Street and 35th Avenue early today, demanding ‘milk for our babies!’ But there was no milk. Plant officials tried to quiet the howling mob today, telling them there wasn’t a drop of milk left. Police were finally called—reluctantly, Borden’s spokesmen said—and almost half the throng dispersed at the coaxing of two officers in patrol cars. At 10 a.m., however, there was still an estimated 100 mothers queued up in front of Borden’s.

"Police said that a survey early today showed that all north Queens dairies and retail stores had gone dry. The Star—Journal switchboard received many calls from Queens housewives [saying] that they had paid 30 cents for a 24-cent quart of milk. They had queued up for hours at the various places selling milk and then assertedly had been charged ‘black market’ prices."

Of the estimated 12,000,000 consumers affected by the strike, perhaps the most endearing was 5-year-old Ronald Simnett of Astoria, who "gave up his half-pint of milk—the quota conveyed through strike picket lines and issued to each school child during the strike—so he could give it to his sick sister." Star—Journal readers learned that after Ronald persuaded his teacher to let him bring the precious fluid home, Sis perked up immediately. On October 30, the strike ended after six days, deliveries were resumed, and milk reached Queens stores three hours after an accord had been reached.

That’s the way it was in October 1953.

Compiled by Clare Doyle, Librarian, Greater Astoria Historical Society.

For more information, contact the Society at 718-728-0700 or visit astorialic.org.