Show THE TIlE DAILY WASHINGTON INGTON National Whirligig Written for tor The By GEORGE DURNO WASHINGTON Apparently well woven into the current District of Columbia grand jury investigation of recent war department contracts is a 3 man of mystery He also is a man of mystery in the American Ameri Amen can Legion His name is Mark T. T McKee 1 of Detroit and other points in Michigan To leaders among the thousands of Legionnaires Legionnaires Legionnaires Legion Legion- who trek annually to a jovial reunion commemorating their unhappier experiences of 1917 18 McKee is known as the king That means he is key man of the little group which dictates selection of their national commander commander com corn mander each year Curiously enough McKee has never held heId high office in the legion itself either state or na na- na- na But it is common gossip among the ser ex vice boys that he either makes em or breaks em His batting average as a n political wire wire- puller within the legion is high so its it's plain he has a large following But those who have fought his candidates say he is the orders order's biggest biggest biggest big big- gest menace That's customary in any school of poI politics t ps ON l McKee Woodring eil- eil V McKee has been in Washington for several months Its It's no idle dream that hes he's been op operating operating op- op crating with Ralph ONeil O'Neil of Kansas former national commander of the legion ON ONeil O'Neil eil in turn is a close personal friend of Assistant Secretary of War Harry H. H Woodring Woodring has appeared before the local grand jury since the department the of justice first decided all was not well with recent army contract contract contract con con- tract negotiations Hes He's still on the job so it is assumed his testimony covered the war departments department's end of the attempted deals that brought forth White House and congressional demands for full airing a S But to return to the mystery man McKee McKee McKee Mc Mc- Kee first edged into the national picture back in 1920 when the Republicans were trying to nominate a presidential candidate at Chicago The gentleman from Michigan either guessed or or got an advance tip that Warren G. G Harding i was going to get the nod He rushed to Harry Daugherty and d delivered livered the Michigan delegation delegation delegation dele dele- gation to the cause Charles Beecher Warren who was heading the delegation came through with actual delivery de delivery delivery de- de livery some hours later ater Fortified by this success McKee returned home and lined the Michigan legion up behind Alex J. J Groesbeck for lor governor Groesbeck served two terms and those who remember say McKee 1 dictated the appointment of the state commissioner of public safety Others will tell teU you he had a hand in making Roy A. A Haynes Hayes of Ohio first prohibition com corn missioner And on through the years since McKee has turned up annually at the legion convention with the name of the new national commander in his p pocket J Stubbed His Toe Those who know say he put Henry L. L Stevens Stevens Stevens Ste Ste- vens of Warsaw N. N N C. C into the commanders commander's job single Later he boasted to inti inti- mates he ne was the Colonel House of the Stevens Stevens Stevens Ste Ste- Ste- Ste vens administration Whether he was the Colonel House or not McKee swung one big deal while Stevens was commander He sold President Hoovers Hoover's ad advisers advisers advisers ad- ad the idea of a legion drive to put a million million million mil mil- lion men back to work He raised in m New York to finance the drive Unfortunately for Jor him this him this drive lost McKee McKee Mc Mc- Kee the next legion Those opposed to the maker king-maker circulated the story he was bringing Legionnaires into direct spending of the with a secondary purpose of shaping shaping shap shap- ing his machine for the next legion election The insurgents put Louis Johnson in the saddle that year One Meaningful l Word Vord Airmail men in Washington are placing a great deal of confidence in the legal difference b between tw en the words annul and cancel All of the airmail contracts were annulled by Postmaster General Genera Farley Fancy and he and President President President Pres Pres- ident Roosevelt have used the word carefully ever since the fateful act Aviation big shots are gambling heavily that the annulment simply brought the bride out of the contract as if it shed she'd never met the man They point out that when an agreement is canceled it implies legal cause Now they're busy purging then elves of everything they think the administration here doesn't like As the law reads at a glance they're barred from even speaking to the lady for Cor or five years But if annul was used the way they think it was the army wont won't be flying the mails very long All will be forgiven by the respondent Copyright 1034 McClur N Newspaper Syndicate |