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Show I NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS Written for The Telegram By Rey Tucker 1 WASHINGTON The Father Coughlin episode has provoked tremendous interest in ecclesiastical ecclesias-tical and political circles because of the deft diplomatic manner in which the new archbishop at Detroit, the Rt. Rev. F.dward Mooney, took the political priest off the air and out of the headlines. head-lines. Here's the Inside story: The Catholic hierarchy, including the Vatican, deplored Father Cough-lin's Cough-lin's political and ortorical excuses, ex-cuses, figuring that he was giving giv-ing the church a black eye. It did not want to drag him from hia public pulpit, however, for fear that it would be accused of exercising censorship over its spokesmen. Moreover, the lata Bishop Gallagher of Detroit was a Coughlin champion, and he waa supreme in his own diocese. He refused to discipline the apostle of cheap money and the critic of Roosevelt." ' ' Every Informed layman, how-aver, how-aver, saw tha handwriting on the wall when Archbishop Mooney was selected to succeed Bishop Gallagher on the latter's death. Father Coughlin's new superior was known as a simple, unassuming unassum-ing man, but also as the first American to win an appointment to the permanent diplomatic service serv-ice of the Vatican. They predicted pre-dicted that he would outsmart the oratorical clerygman at the first opportunity. Father Coughlin precipitated his own downfall when he accompanied accom-panied an announcement .of a new series of radio talks with the atatement that he would submit sub-mit all hia speeches to the new archbishop. Then Father Coughlin made the mistake of denouncing the CIO and blaming the Hugo Black appointment ap-pointment on President Roosevelt's Roose-velt's "personal atupidity." In view of the previous announcement announce-ment that all future Coughlin pronouncements pro-nouncements would be handed to him for blue-penciling. Archbishop Arch-bishop Mooney quietly intervened. He explained that he had not seen the anti-Lewis and anti-Roosevelt anti-Roosevelt statement beforehand, and criticized Father Coughlin for making it Then tha latter presented pre-sented to Archbishop Mooney reply which the latter did not feel he could okay. After this rebuff. Father Coughlin canceled his radio broadcasts of his own volition. He was driven off the air without knowing how. Archbuhop Mooney is an affable af-fable rather than an affrighting individual. Fifty-seven years old. ha was born in the Maryland Free State and taken early in 1 life to Youngstown. Ohio, by his parents. He has seryed the church here and abroad in numerous delicate assignments, but his greatest service, in the unexpressed unex-pressed opinion of most of his clerical colleagues, was his quiet conquest of Father Coughlin. By raising rates on certain coal-carrying railroads now paying pay-ing 9 per cent dividends, the interstate in-terstate commerce commission has made a redoubtable enemy in the person of John Carson. He happens to be consumers' counsel for the bituminous coal commission, commis-sion, and his oathbound assignment assign-ment is to combat a public-be-damned policy on the part of corporations cor-porations or federal agencies. Besides being a radical,, new deal, red-headed Irishman with a heart on bis sleeve for the underdog. un-derdog. Mr. Carson knows mora about the inside policies and personalities per-sonalities of the I. C. C. than any than other man in Washington. For more than 10 yeara he was confidential secretary to the late Senator Couzens, senate inter-atate inter-atate commerce and L C C boas. His closest friends are former I. C, C. Chairman Eastman and Max Lowenthal, No. 1 sleuth for Senator Wheeler's committee investigating in-vestigating railroad financing. Mr. Carson would not have attacked at-tacked tha recent increase on coal rpada If he had not been primed by insiders that it wouldn't look ao well under public acru-tiny. acru-tiny. It will probably provoke an investigation on Capitol Hill, where the coal consumers' man Is a powerful figure. Tha new deal's latest troublemakerGeorge trouble-makerGeorge Henry Payne of the communications commission-is commission-is an impish, roly-poly, black-eyed black-eyed fellow who Is never happier than when he is in official hot water. He writes and talka like an indiscreet angel and his verbosity ver-bosity always gets him into trouble. trou-ble. "George Henry" began as a political reporter In New York City when the politicians , used rough language and their journalistic jour-nalistic listeners didn't translate their remarks into molly-coddle English. Subsequently he wrote editorials for tha Hearst newspapers, news-papers, and he didn't pull hia verbal punches on that job. His Hearst-Hylarr services won him a political post as New York tax assessor, but he, lost out when Fiorello LaGuardia was elected. As a close political friend of G. O. P. Progressives, including the lata Theodore Roosevelt, ha waa given his present job. For two years he sniped at his superiors on the commission, and . was reappointed only on condition condi-tion that he would lock up his tongue. He didn't Now he's engaged en-gaged in a free-for-all brawl involving in-volving lawyers, lobbyists and reporters re-porters as a result of his charges that two members of the local legal profession should be disbarred. dis-barred. His colleagues don't take him seriously, however, and have barred him from sitting in judgment judg-ment while they try the case. The inside story is that babbling, belligerent George Henry is on his way out simply because he can't control his tongue.-- - H. G. Wells almost missed his recent engagement with President Roosevelt. The famous British author hailed a cab at his hotel, and instructed the driver to take him to the White House. The taxi-man, taxi-man, however, dropped him off at the basement door of the White House, which faces on Executive avenue. Mr. Wells tried to break In. but two burly White House policsment barred , hia entrance. Not even hia glowing account of hia accomplishments and bis insistence in-sistence that ha had an appointment appoint-ment with the president would not budge them. They told him to drag himself and his story to the front door of the executive office. There Mr. Wells was confronted by an indignant cab driver demanding de-manding his fare. Once convinced that he hadn't paid for the ride, the Britisher began to dig through his pockets. He couldn't find a nickel. He explained 'his predicament predica-ment to a young stranger, and the latter gave the cabby 23 cents 20 for the fare and a nickel for tip. The Wells befriender was a reporter who, luckily, had been paid that very morning. Otherwise, Other-wise, the writer who gets J3000 a lecture might have had to borrow bor-row from the preaident himself. The only members of the White House family who attended tha Baltimore opening of the George Cohan satire early this week were Secret Service Chief Ed Starling and a party of tuxedoed fi rends. Mr. Starling did not go as a censor or critic. He listened to the satiric lines as tha sharp-eared sharp-eared and bright-eyed guardian of the life and comfort of tha president of the United States. He wanted to discover whether the script contained remarks which might provoke cranks to inconvenience incon-venience Mr. Roosevelt - He wanted to be sure that the drama was not provocative of trouble for himself and the man he is charged with protecting. (Copyright 1937, for The Telegram) |