“Added Logic” (August 1, 1948)
by William (Bill) Crawford (1913-1982)
15 x 22 in., ink and crayon on heavy paper
Coppola Collection
Crawford worked as a sports cartoonist and for the Washington Daily News and the Washington Post from 1936-38. He joined the Newark News as an editorial cartoonist and his cartoons were distributed to more than 700 daily newspapers by the Newspaper Enterprise Association. He was an active member of the National Cartoonists Society, serving as its president and vice-president. In 1956, 1957, 1958, and 1963 he was awarded “Best Editorial Cartoon” by the National Cartoonist Society, and in 1973 he received their Silver T-Square Award. Crawford retired in 1977.
As New York City grew, so did the demand for more and more convenient air routes in and out of the area. In 1948, the New York International Airport at Idlewild was dedicated. Years later, it would be renamed as the JFK.
Truman used the event to press his argument for the United Nations, which is reflected in the cartoon. The headline in the New York Times read “Truman dedicated Idlewild Airport; Hails it as ‘Front Door’ for the UN; 900 planes stage parade of air might.”
“President Truman dedicated the 4,900-acre New York International Airport yesterday before thousands of persons at Idlewild in Queens. He assured the world that the nation’s air might, demonstrated soon afterward in an hour-long sky review, was “convincing evidence of our determination to remain strong in the cause of peace.”
It was reported to be the greatest exhibition of air power ever staged in one spot in peacetime in the history of the US.