Peace Officers Civil Service Association 1944 Hollywood Palladium Dinner Dance

Description: Up for sale is an interesting piece of ephemera. It is a ticket stub for a Dinner Dance held on Thursday, June 29, 1944 and presented by the Peace Officers Civil Service Association of California, Inc. as a "Public Official and Civic Night" event. It turns out that the Peace Officers Civil Service Association was quite a controversial organization! This Dinner Dance was held at the Hollywood Palladium. Admission was $ 2.00 which consisted of the following components: Dinner & Dancing $ 1.51; Federal Cabaret Tax $ 0.45; and State Sales Tax $ 0.04. The stub is printed on one side in red and black ink. It is on cardstock and measures about 3.625 inches wide by about 2.625 inches tall. The words "Hollywood Palladium" are printed in a very unusual font and are separated by a lyre shaped symbol. Although the name "Peace Officers Civil Service Association of California, Inc." suggests that this was a local chapter of a national organization, it was not. I find no evidence of any "Peace Officers Civil Service Association" in any other state. Starting in the mid 1930's, the Association was very active in the Golden State, particularly in Southern California, attracting a large membership from local municipal police departments. For several years, it was politically well connected. For example, on June 30, 1941, the Monrovia News-Post reported that an Association banquet (also held at the Hollywood Palladium) hosted California Governor Culbert Olsen as its distinguished guest. However, on May 3, 1945, the Metropolitan Pasadena Star-News reported on a dispute between the Association and California Attorney General Robert W. Kenny. Kenny, spurred by certain police chiefs, supported a bill that would have prohibited members of the Association from wearing badges resembling police officers' official badges. In response, the Association claimed that it was being persecuted for its anti-Communist positions. (Kenny denied the charge, claiming it was a "red herring".) In the October 14, 1945 issue of the San Fernando Valley Times, Captain C.A. Welsh of the LAPD charged that the Association was running a "racket", in which businesses were offered badges in return for buying advertisements in the Association's periodical, a ploy that was earned the Association over $ 40,000 per year. (Welsh also charged that the Association sold badges directly to the public for as much as $ 25.00 each.) On December 6, 1945, the Los Angeles Evening Citizen News reported that the City Council had passed an ordinance requiring Association solicitors obtain licenses from the Police Commission. The Association had sought a legal injunction prohibiting enforcement of the Ordinance. On March 20, 1946, the Oakland Tribune reported that Association Executive Director A. Beldon Gilbert had announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 1946 gubernatorial race, in opposition to Attorney General Kenny. Gilbert's campaign was short lived; under pressure from the Democratic Party, he withdrew his candidacy only a few days later. In reporting Gilbert's decision, the Santa Cruz Sentinel mentioned that the State Legislature had already passed a bill "to prevent the misuse of badges resembling those of authorized peace officers". The legislators had been persuaded after hearing evidence that badges bearing the name Police Officers' Civil Service Association of California had been "used in various crimes in Southern California". CEO Gilbert died suddenly in April, 1948, at the age of only 47. The Association appears to have faded away shortly thereafter, as subsequent newspaper articles referencing it do so retrospectively (e.g. in obituaries of former members). The Hollywood Palladium was a relatively new facility when this Dinner Dance was held in 1944. Located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard, and constructed for a cost of $ 1.6 M, the nightclub boasted a dance floor of over 11,000 square feet with room for up to 4,000 persons. (Opening night attendance in 1940 was over 6,200, who came to see Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra.) The Palladium was operated by Maurice M. (Maury) Cohen, who had a been a poverty row "B" movie producer during the 1930s. Cohen's (printed) signature is found at the right lower corner of the ticket stub I am selling. Please see above for full description of condition and for photos. Sold as is. Attention US Buyers: I will ship this by USPS First Class Letter (not a Parcel).

Price: 7.5 USD

Location: Metairie, Louisiana

End Time: 2024-11-08T01:31:33.000Z

Shipping Cost: 1.35 USD