Picture News #3

U.S. Senator Brien McMahon, chairman of the Senate Atomic Energy Committee, makes the case in this exclusive interview that atomic power represents humanity's greatest opportunity—or its greatest peril. McMahon argues that if atomic energy falls into private hands and goes uncontrolled, it could devastate the global economy within decades; instead, he advocates for international oversight and peaceful scientific cooperation to harness the atom's potential for medicine, industry, and human flourishing. This 1946 feature presents his vision for how the world can choose constructive progress over catastrophic risk.

A blind World War I veteran who lost his sight to poison gas relies on his German Shepherd guide dog, Chubby, to navigate life with his wife in Brooklyn—but when a neighborhood dispute leads health authorities to order the dog destroyed, Miles must fight to save his faithful companion. With help from sympathetic neighbors and a determined attorney, he wages a desperate appeal against time itself. This moving true story from 1946 captures one man's battle to keep the bond that means everything to him.

Frank Sinatra steps into a confrontation when a group of kids targets a boy because of his religion in this 1946 advocacy story from Picture News. Rather than walk away, Sinatra turns the moment into a lesson about American values and teamwork, using real wartime examples to show that heroism and sacrifice know no religious or ethnic boundaries. It's a straightforward reminder that bigotry has no place in a democratic nation—delivered by a singer willing to get his hands dirty for what's right.

Patrolman Ian Cosman has carried a dream of operatic stardom since he was seventeen, but a police career seemed like the practical choice—until the New York Opera Company came calling. With determination, a natural tenor voice, and his captain's blessing for a week off, Cosman takes the stage at New York City Center to prove that a cop from the beat can bring down the house as a singer.

Gen. George C. Marshall delivers a stark warning in his final report as Chief of Staff, showing how America's military weakness nearly cost the nation dearly during World War II—and arguing that lasting peace now depends on strength and preparedness. Through vivid examples of close calls and near-disasters, this pictorial essay makes the case for universal military training as the democratic answer to ensuring the country never again faces such peril unprepared.

In 1946 Maryland, Judge Chas. Marbury invokes an old state law to sentence Lloyd Busching, a gas-house worker convicted of beating his wife, to ten lashes rather than imprisonment—reasoning that keeping the breadwinner out of prison better serves the victim than losing his support. This crime story documents the judge's controversial punishment and its immediate aftermath.

Corporal Gene Atkins, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient who survived a harrowing night on Luzon, returns home to South Carolina with little more than his uniform and $300 in mustering-out pay—hardly enough to build the future he earned with his blood and courage. When a local country doctor writes to the newspaper about the decorated veteran's struggle, the community rallies behind him, pooling contributions large and small to purchase land, build a home, and give Atkins and his bride a genuine fresh start. It's a portrait of gratitude made real: one town's answer to what it truly means to say "thank you" to a hero.

In the aftermath of World War II, the Nuremberg trials represent a landmark moment: for the first time, international law prosecutes those responsible for starting wars and committing crimes against humanity, with American prosecutor Justice Robert H. Jackson leading the charge under the London Agreement of August 8, 1945. As figures like former French Premier Pierre Laval and General Gustav Jodl face judgment, this story examines how civilization is taking its first steps to make war itself illegal and hold its architects accountable, setting a new standard for global justice and human rights.

Benny Goodman arrived in Chicago in 1909 with odds stacked against him, but a rented clarinet and an ear for the new sound of jazz set him on a path to revolutionize American music. After building a swinging empire in the '30s, a back injury forced him to disband and explore classical music, but his recovery in the mid-1940s saw him reclaim his throne as the King of Swing with a fresh band and renewed energy. This story traces his journey from struggling immigrant kid to jazz innovator and back again, proving that the groove was always where his heart belonged.

June Allyson shares her straightforward approach to skincare and makeup in this practical beauty guide, breaking down her routine from cleansing cream to foundation and powder. The actress emphasizes that thorough cleanliness is the foundation of her natural screen look, offering readers a chance to learn her tried-and-tested steps for achieving polished skin.

Milt Gross takes a satirical swing at the week's absurdities in this four-page humor feature, skewering everything from relationship advice and a chronically tipsy dog to prize contests and hospital mishaps with his signature cartooning style. Each vignette spins a ridiculous news item into visual comedy—a wife fighting for her husband's attention, a pooch explaining his drinking problem, a Texas delicatessen's dubious customer incentives, and a few other wonderfully weird tales. It's pure Gross: silly, fast-paced, and full of the kind of exaggerated situations that made his reviews of the news so entertaining.

From ancient Greece to the modern age, this historical account traces humanity's long struggle against disease—beginning with Hippocrates, whose emphasis on careful observation laid the groundwork for medicine, through Galen's misguided theories of bodily "humors" that held sway for centuries, and culminating in the revolutionary discoveries of scientists like Anton van Leeuwenhoek and his early microscope. Spanning superstition, failed remedies, and gradual scientific breakthroughs, the story charts how mankind has slowly emerged from ignorance toward genuine understanding of what causes illness and how to fight it.

When Lieutenant Byron Oatley returned home from the war, he discovered his wife's pin-up photograph had become a sensation among servicemen—a fame that proved more appealing to her than domestic life. Their conflicting visions for the future lead the Lieutenant to take legal action, as his wife chooses to continue her glamorous modeling career over the quiet home life he envisioned. This 1946 story captures a postwar clash between ambition and tradition, told through the eyes of a soldier caught between pride and heartbreak.

At seventy years old, Jim Jeffries—the legendary heavyweight champion who retired undefeated in 1905—has found a new calling at his California ranch, passing his hard-won knowledge to young amateur boxers eager to master the sport. This feature chronicles Jeffries' rise from a boilermaker's son in Ohio to the only heavyweight champion never knocked down during his reign, and his decisive victories over formidable rivals including Bob Fitzsimmons, Gentleman Jim Corbett, and Tom Sharkey. Now training the next generation of "young America" in the art of boxing, Jeffries proves that even after leaving the ring, a true champion continues to shape the sport he dominated.