On this particular day in December in 1947, all was not so calm and not so bright. With news of the recent partition of Palestine, rioting broke out all over the region. 5,000 Arabs ran through Jerusalem, heading to Zion Square and the Jewish Quarter, setting fires to Jewish owned businesses and putting British troops on general alert.
Meanwhile, strikes in France were crippling Paris and Communists were thought to be at the root of the unrest. It was also learned the U.S. was building facilities in the South Pacific to accommodate increased Atom Bomb testing.
The Big Four Conference was trudging along in London with the Austrian Peace Treaty still pending and the Soviets adamant about more land as part of a settlement.
Domestically, prices for meat, butter and shortening shot up and the economy was once again a matter of concern.
And a squabble broke out between iconic American painter Thomas Hart Benton and writer/editor H.L. Mencken over the value of an early painting Benton sold to Mencken, which Mencken wanted to donate to a museum for a tax write-off. Benton insisted he sold it for $15.00 and it was only worth a $.50 tax credit.
How times have changed.
All that and a lot more via the NBC News Of The World for the morning of December 2, 1947.
