On January 3, 1945, a federal order shut down the operations of all horse and dog tracks. The stated purpose was to reduce the burden on roads and mass transit systems. But the real purpose, as government officials acknowledged in off-the-record comments, was to eliminate the unseemly spectacle of war-enriched civilians betting their newfound wealth at the tracks. The following month, a midnight curfew order was imposed on bars and nightclubs. In this case, the ostensible purpose was to save electricity and fuel oil, but the measure was really “an instrument for meeting what is perhaps
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