New Coughlin Story Charged With Possessing
Many Sensations, Studded With Shortcomings

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Dr. Sheldon Marcus, who lie should do the refuting
On another score, Marcus
heads the urban education and there were many among adds a valuable note involv-
divison at Fordham Univers- us who felt that a Jew should ing the printer of Coughlin's
ity, took the Charles Cough- do the replying.
Socal Justice. It has not been
lin "Social Justice" issues for
There isn't a word in Mar _ publicized sufficiently. On the
his doctoral theme. Doing his cus' book about Dr. Walton cover of the book and th e
research, he came to Detroit E. Cole, the Toledo Unitarian title page, accompanying th e
last year with his family. He minister, who delivered a exaggeration in the quota
had long talks with Coughlin series of addresses. That's tion accredited to this re
and the Royal Oak priest en- not a chapter in the Coughlin viewer) is the 'following:
tertained the Marcus family story to be ignored. (Cole
at dinner.
"He was unscrupulous . . •
also held pulpits in Chicago
It is all told in Marcus' and Boston. He later came to rarely told the truth . . •
"Father Coughlin: The Detroit to take the 'ministry completely without consci
FATHER COUGHLIN
Tumultuous Life of the Priest in the First Congregational ence . amoral. His only in-
of the Little Flower" (the Church).
terest in people was in using ing in the Nov. 6, 1939, issue of
them." — Morris Steinberg,
latter referring, of course, to
Justice, he described the
It isn't enough to search for president of the corporation Social
United States as a 'crown colony'
the priest's church "The
of
Great
Britain.
Shrine of the Little Flow- gossip in writing an import- which initially printed Social
"Hilaire Belloc, world-renown-
ant
work
on
so
distressing
a
Justice, May 4, 1970.
ers."), published by Little,
ed English essayist, novelist, poet
period in history as the one
and brilliant expounder of Catho-
Brown and Co.
lic
was accused of hav-
The reference to Morris ing doctrine,
The Marcus work must be during which the waters were
a fascist frame of mind be-
Steinberg
is
in
a
note,
pages
muddied
by
the
Catholic
cause
of
the
pro-Franco outlook
7ed on the basis of fact and
and anti-Semitic beliefs he ex-
has already been pub- priest. Dr. Marcus is effec- 246-7. Detroiters will recall pressed in his book The Jews. In
lished. While he claims that tive in describing how Bishop that he was a member of a the 1937-1938 academic year, Bel-
came to the United States as
he has unearthed many new Michael Gallagher defended very prominent family here. loc
visiting professor of history at
His
brother,
Myron
Stein-
and
protected
Coughlin.
It
is
New York's Fordham University.
sources about the Royal Oak
that stay he became a
anti-Semitic priest, the truth the same Gallagher who ap- berg, is a well known printer During
regular contributor to Social
is that the new book can peared on the same platform here. His .sister, the late Justice. By 1940 the editors of
Social Justice found it difficult
only be viewed as providing with the late Dr. Leo M. Jeanette Steinberg, was to
obtain articles from individu-
a d d i t io n a I, supplementary Franklin in the early 1920s among the outstanding lead- als not directly emnloyed by one
ers
of
Hadassah,
locally
and
of Father Coughlin's organiza-
material to what has already when the parochial schools
tions. For by this time. it was
been published. To view it as were threatened in a pending and nationally. Morris Stein- obvious that Father Coughlin
represented an extreme point of
an unearthing product would bill in the Michigan State berg worked closely with the view
— a point of view that was
Legislature. The Franklin- late Julius Rosenwald in becoming
be an error.
increasing unnopular
bringing the chess champion as the Nazis swent across Europe.
Gallagher
joint
role
helped
As a matter of fact, Marcus
Sammy Reshevsky to this As Father Coughlin says, 'Some
has missed so much that his defeat the pending bill and country and for eventual set- of my so-called friends wanted
there was a friendship be-
nothing to do with me then.
work can not be too satisfying tween rabbi and priest. But tlement in Detroit. (Morris is They
were afraid to have their
for the student of the history Coughlin was a power in the presently in the toy manu- names associated with mine. The
heat was too much for them.'
of bigotry in the 1930s and Church and it may well be facturing business in New
"Father Coughlin claims that
he was never an anti-Semite, and
1940s. Just because a man that he was feared more than York).
until the summer of 1938 it would
has had long talks with the he was respected. That's the
be difficult to classify him as
Marcus' note about Stein- one. Before then he had referred
object of his study does not fear that should have been
to the existence of a 'Jewish
berg
reads:
"The
May
2,
1938,
make the work authoritative. tested.
question' and had also singled
issue of Social Justice was out the Jews as being overly
Gn that basis it could almost
So—Dr. Marcus does relate not published, a fact Father sensitive."
be judged as prejudicial in
This reviewer is seeking
about
Coughlin having pur- Coughlin attributed to 'publi-
favor of the interviewee who
entertained the author's chased a State of Israel Bond cation difficulties.' Morris information on the first item.
family.
in the amount of 8500. But in Steinberg, president and
The second item, dealing
This reviewer must, at the search of notoriety he went treasurer of Morris Press, with one of the most notori-
outset, take exception to a to the Israel Bond publicity which was printing this at- ous British anti-Semites, af-
quotation on the title page man (Meyer Steinglass) to tractive version of Social firms Coughlin's anti-Semit-
and repeated on the jacket of get corroboration. But he had Justice. said that the priest ism.
this book which was publish. already been informed about had told him that the printing
The latter item refutes the
ed by Little, Brown & Co. He it by this reviewer, who re- of the magazine was costing Coughlin sanctimony about
quotes this reviewer as hav- lated that a photo of the pur- too much money and that its not being an anti-Semite: of
ing said: "There was always chase was brought to him by publication would have to be course, that was his constant
a great fear among us about the Detroiter who sold the discontinued. Steinberg knew argument, about differentiat-
Father Coughlin because of priest that bond; that The that the circulation of Social ing between good and bad
his tremendous following ..." Jewish News editor was Justice was declining. but he Jews, an old-time anti-Semitic
In essence this is probably a ready to print the photo and was upset when he discover- trick.
correct quotation because he the story—if the priest bad ed that Coughlin was negotiat-
This reviewer had a few
did ask when he was here: replied with a request to ing with Cuneo Press, the other contacts: his refutation
atone
for
what
he
had
done
original printers of the jour- of the Protocols of the Elders
"Was there fear?" But to the
words already quoted he ap- in his anti-Semitic speeches. nal, to resume publication. of Zion. whch was accepted
pended: "We were afraid." The priest never replied. Coughlin told Steinberg that for publication in S o c i a l
This is not true. We were dis- That's a story Dr. Marcus he could no longer honor the Justice, later was distorted
contract he bad signed with by Coughlin's writers. Lots
gusted, outraged, resentful, failed to tell.
but if we had been frightened
But what he was especially Morris Press on Feb. 23, more is involved that Marcus
we could not fight Coughlin anxious to sensationalize (and 1938. to print the magazine. had not begun to exploit in a
—and we did!
he asked this reviewer for On the basis of this contract Coughlin book.
Steinberg had spent a con-
Dr. Marcus. instead of get- help to get the unavailable siderable amount of money on
There are same silly things
facts)
was
that
"Father
ting much of the Coughlin
expanding plant facilities in the Marcus book—such as
Coughlin,
as
a
young
priest,
verbosity, could have gotten
and in having additional em- having singled out the late
a fascinating story about the was taught in the act of ployees. Faced with financial Aaron Kurland (who headed
Catholic layman, Frank pederasty with another priest, ruin, Steinberg brought a the Michigan Bank Depositors
Hogan, who delivered the who was defrocked." There $200,000 suit against Cough- League during the critical
major address, broadcast na- was a note about it in an lin for breach of contract. economic period) as having
tionwide, in refutation of ADL file, but no corrobora- Coughlin's Social Justice been in the Coughlin audience
Coughlin's bigotries. He tion. That's what motivated Publishing Co. promptly filed at an Olympia Auditorium
would have learned about a the Marcus search.
a counter-suit for $200,000 , rally; or listing Rabbi Leon
debate that ensued whether
But, let it be said to Mar- against Steinberg, also for Fram in the index that he
Abba Hillel Silver or a Catho- cus' credit that he did a good breach of contract. The legal "supports Coughlin." It refer-
job exposing the fascination wrangle that followed was red to a mild statement in the
for Coughlin by H. L. Men- finally settled when the Social early Coughlin activities,
ken. An associate of Menck- Justice Publishing Co. agreed when many were fooled by
en has already charged that to pay the Morris Press Coughlin rhetoric and many
the noted author was anti- $12,000,"
Jews supported the eventual
Semitic. On this score, Mar-
anti-Semite financially. It
cus has done well.
There is a page in the Mar- isn't fair to label a 'man on
He does not do as well in cus book that deals with three the basis of Coughlin's early
dealing with Gerald L. K. items worth exploiting. That decencies.
Smith. He does not expose page reads:
As an addendum to what
him sufficiently to indicate
"Philip Johnson, who designed has already been published,
the
Seagram
Building
and
the
that the Protestant anti- Museum of Modern Art in New Marcus serves a purpose. To
Semite had wanted to make York, and who is currently work- the claim to having unearth-
ing for the Israeli government on
a partnership with Coughlin, plans
to redesign Jerusalem, was ed new material and much of
that the priest went on his a f or eign correspondent for value, this reviewer offers a
Social
Justice. In this capacity
own, that Smith thereupon he accompanied
the German challenge.
became an anti-Coughlinite, army into Poland, William Shirer,
—P. S.
Berlin Diary, labeled Johnson
and at one point he came in
a German collaborator. In a story
here to ask Detroit Jews to appearing in the Sept. 11, 1939,
finance him to conduct the issue of Social Justice, but filed
the German invasion of
anti-Couglilin campaign. We before
Poland, Johnson wrote that in his
know the aftermath—Smith's visits to Polish towns 'there were
even any Poles to be seen in
anti-Semitism perhaps be- not
the streets, only Jews.' Nowhere
cause Jews knew better than does he note how lie was able
to differentiate the Jews from
REV, W. E. COLE
to make a deal with him.
the Poles. In an article appear- .

Friday, June 8, 1973-45

Louis Redstone Authors Book
on Shopping Mall Designs

Noted architect Louis Red- field, near Chicago which
stone will be honored at a was developed by the Taub-
champagne reception 6-8 p.m. man Co. of Southfield.
Tuesday on the occasion of On the other hand, Red-
the publication of his "New stone wrote, there is a coun-
Dimensions in Shopping Cen- ter-trend toward mini-malls,
ters and Stores." such as the one Redstone's
The event will be held at firm designed in Northville.
the - new Manufacturers Bank The well-illustrated book
Building, one of Redstone's also has a collection of ideas
architectural achievements, on the architecture of mar-
in downtown Detroit.
keting.
,Redstone, a fellow of the
Redstone has authored
American Institute of Archi- "Art in Architecture," pub-
tects, designed Somerset, Li- lished by McGraw-Hill. He
vonia and Macomb malls and received the gold medal of
participated in the design of the Detroit Chapter of the
Southland and Westland cen- AIA for his contributions to
ters.
the profession.
The book, published by Mc-
Graw-Hill, includes examples
Procrastination
of the giant new centers that
Life consists mainly of
have gone up in the last few what we haven't done, and
years throughout the coun- what we are going to do to-
try. One of these is Wood- morrow.

get all your
friends and
relatives
into the
swing of things

let them be*
as informed
as you . . .

give the gift
that will be remembered
all year

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