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Magil, Abraham Bernard

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University of Central Florida STARS PRISM: Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements 1-1-1939 The real Father Coughlin Abraham Bernard Magil Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/prism University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Book is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in PRISM: Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact STARS@ucf.edu. Recommended Citation Magil, Abraham Bernard, "The real Father Coughlin" (1939). PRISM: Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements. 35. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/prism/35 ITHE REAL; THE REAL FATHER COUGHLIN BY A. B. MAGIL . . -. '* * b I c L' , -*  atic voice comes over k. hmhi-a re-awakened America-an America that 3- e a t  for Americanism--an America .that will havi 90' ,&ncp either with Nazism or Communism; an America that . .J%& by the traditions of o w  lfaefathers-traditian. of - r. r .4  &my, traditions of Godliness, traditions upon which we must 2, I establish a sane Christian nationalism." Americanism? Yes, that's what America stands fat-the tradi-. tions of Washington, Jefferson, Jackson and Lincoh But t this the Americanism that Father Coughlin stands for? Why was his k ,3 b .  c a w  he said so. but at what. a cost! anti-religious activities of the Nazis. On he said in an address to the Sacred Csllege "Rarely has there been persecution so grave, so te&blk9' ful, so sad in its deep e.fFerrS'. It is a persecution that lacks the brutality of violence n~ the pressure of threats nor the dtkits of cunning and falsehood." As for the new Pope, Pius XI, one has only to recall the atti- tude adopted toward him by the Nazi and the Italian 4 ip the days before his election. It was Eugenio Catdin .f' .XI& who was singled wt by these regimented news- fm&laae mnn whom by did par -wish to see elected that Pius XI, faithful u, the p&cier of his lvrt d e  pea% with the atemisr of csligious ganism that has ddand war oa the .the U d d  Stat-, whae orders t attitude toward the Caa:hoEc mqn-Americm Bwd pro- Mmd, N. Y. Thir play s.m& caused the head a# the . I 4  , L .  , -  m 7 The ~ a z k  did ntit &laud Father bern& ht is a Catholic priest, k dcopite it. They did not .ot cbrrr because he is faithful to the 'beashings of the Chuo& sad of ito best leaders, bukon & ccm- bebecause b y  regard him as sympathetic to thek I& doctrines. Are the N h  in this belief? Again, b : m  Me. First, what was E~thscGughlh's own attitude toward the Bund meeting in Madison Square Garden. where the propaganda T 1 5 are the very opposite of the principles of mda1 jusdre & de- mocracy, are the sune as those that m today and Germany. For it has become darrr thPn gnm of Farher Coughlin is in' all essatiab tht - ,  national fascism. . . " b34.. i-i 50 ~,..~+'~rn, nno, 8hough it lras not mzil that m a g  his closest advisers a r l y  in his carter nm, noto- rious anti-ioeq the low egIConp-n h i s  T. MGadden ' af Pmnrylva~ia and - b r y  -A. Jnng, af the American I? -,= ' 6 30 saved avmut03 aq3 m Aauo~m ips daa~ e am,s~a[ nf . amp mddq os g! aria -ASopd~ ou sqnbu aspnunu03 e S~aq , pue ~~QQM aaaaaq E pue ajg aaaq E qaas usafunm *aspnwr 9 Baq 03 aqa auoIlue 303 JO &a[ E 303 atqn ou s! a! 'MON 303 SqJSBf IlE PUE -m~ m.pSe urqzTm.pam 9 'UDIp 36l@e. -m %da[ ueuuas aqa oq A wa.1 s,u~~Sn.a3 uq3q 9 . a all fountdc* Tbk was purLululy true in pteHit1er Ge-, - whae the vast naajdy of tbt Jm ~uppxtd &E b C ~ , ~ ~ d -  - iP gmdes. Ammg the ei&y.roae Chmmi&td.rtSptfhq iil ch ? '  f u r d r m m a L i c ~ t h 6 I T V ? ~ ~ . . -  U& to p v e  his case in Germ R u s h  Jcm and a n q t r  to make happened in &timap. This he does tim cd i* Ele --tes that "the 191 ruled maay of the flo.cd tbnt of the twentyfive of &an wen atheistic Jews, ( A n  f cn AnrtSemitc?, p 37.) significant &at Coughlin a d d s  listued by Nazis aad distributed i b In other -.mrds, he is off erina t4t. r i c a a . p & l b N o a - ~  . 9, played 2 minot names oif men like hd I&&s at all,, hut h4 Revolution. The fact is that the twenty-five members. The first Cowcil of. consisted of fifteen members, of whom o n l y . + ~ ~ ' m ,  r: : b L  liLt' b a c t e r  is the List of supposed slernks Q&!:& Committee of the Cbmmunist Party of the SnidJoib~ In on *effort to prove that Jews were respond& for the && L+ amrilr Revolution Father Coughlin offeis an alleged from the Ammicon Hebrew of September 10, 1920. This quw- tion, as presented by him, reads: "The achievement, the Russian Jewish Revolution, destined to 4; figure in history as the overshadowing result of the World War, , 10 1 ~ ~ b s ' & p u m  'in &e Z ' b w a k  M, 1938, d~c&&ae 1 &a qtu&afiaa WM awsed, &isr,phnht&-+ l m A d -  Semite? ha c h g s ' a  it .a f h s  'tp. 31): "Tha .diev~&n* @a ~~~(~'totr-Jcwbh Uavaltl- tion&d*) * darb"lr#d ro 'm 1 .  I P - - -  b tsar, complete religious Now what about this alleged report of the American Secret Service? It is contained in Father Fahey's book. Fahey gbr it, ignor Ryan, from & anti-Semitic London t. And the Patriot got it from the March umrntdtim Cathdique of Paris, "a publica- "whose statements, of course, hive eanlE J. Wilson, chief of the United ice,,+ed a statement that he had made an in- , M' v'estigasion and '*itL : @te 'mtain that no such report was ever ma& b;y ttie UrqJ!~ta&ii ~ c r e t  Service." T o  which Monsignor ology suggests that it is &ti- a report of at1 agency of the curiously enough this alleged t Senit$' reads a k s t  ward the February 15, 1936, issue ed W d d  Smrice, six lilpguges. L+et land isch-Westfaeliahp s e t , '  ' 'a se; Jewish firm in Gwzmny? with, La- is h e ,  Jew- zare Bros., a Jewish badkg hutwe and also with in Paris, and ahso with C h z h f ~ ,  - t8e Jd House of Gudourg a Jewish W i g  cmo.m b.St of ~ e t k n d ,  Tokb and Paris; if, Peterrbug, Pui. d TO& a d  in addition, we remark that all the when we f u ~ h e r  asc~rtaia &t all above-mentioned Jewish Houses the above-mentiomd Jewish bank- are in clbse co-pondence with ing houses are in cEw relationship ii .Sptjw & with the J York ad Speytl: & s s w e l l o s  Y~~ Catholic Doctrine and Aria How does Father Coughlin's anti-Semih olic doctrine? The late Pope Pius XI had ocssrbh - ycos 05 his reign to speak out more thnn once againrr &;fa& -*Per o m p h  by parapapb comparison of Goobbub' speech ucd Cwghlin'a artide in lrEw badlrt F& Conghlin; His ''Facts" and Argr-, pp. 32-3Y, publisbtd by the 4jmmdJn*kheonacil. 14 I r .achm .nd =agpird m t j d  u hrrLrs itnd BWL &twoen axmle and l e ~ h I . ' b  L ~ P  by uy Bishop ofi d b ,  ~ntktr-+w*.*~40 * .  ex- vim'on nnrsmw ev-p k Cubolie €Ixwx& nor .b3G tripe or sentiments of the ,9qrcb,' " I ,  . . 1 1, '1" Yil be S w k  Union, side wicb the Ian headlingly &dcaim w tCllizing that the gmpter activities ' of the f&t powm-mzied on in the name of a -  m d e  : ple-whiIe it has showered fulsome prnise on the Hitler-Mus- sohi invaders and their tool Franco. Moreover* in disregard of that love and charity toward all men which is one of the basic . tucfrings of. the Catholic Church, an editorial in the January 2, 1939, ;sSue of*SocLJ Justice attacked the p r o p d  that the Red for distribution to the needy on both sides was that since the greatest need wad of this wheat would go to feed stuv- it off* when tens of tho-& of S p  . Fanco, began streaming over the ce (February 13,1939, p. 18) cynically for escape at the border are not usands are Russian Reds,* wn his hand in regard to J m ' s  yu against the Chinese Commuiists.. Jm ..,A- i$ -&m&ed as *the sole barrier against the m e w e  of tr the Far East" (which is exactly what the J+an& pkgi-adisu say), and the reader is assured &at Vitogy f ~ g ' C U k  would mean victory for Communism in dhinp.7, N& .dmr & author neglect to introduce an anti-Semitic few countries. in 19 the world in which there is so small a numb& of Jews as &a China But trust S o d  Jwricc to find a ~ e & &  &a '- t W !  in China. And a we read (Dmmbu 19, 1918, =IS;- 4) : . c "Abraham &hen, who has beeri dous ly  bowti--is G m d .  Ms . pld G a d  Moi Sha, is the power behind thr Nationik  go^ ' e-ent.'? Even if this were true, there would, of course, -bc - ' elt's foreign policy is also &- Japanese press which, cu~ousIy uw many of the arguments of Father Coughlin and stionist friends. It is also interesting that while Coughlin Nazi attacks an American foreign policy (the March 20, iaae of Sack1 Justice published an article with the title, IS R'oomeit w 'Wr-Makr No. I' ") , he set~lcs fo di9. in & U#wd States. ue of S d  Justkx p & b d  spy up* Jlc Upltid I co s I d  W.P.A. lunds, cut down expenditures tor housing,* sodrl wcurity, etc .wn&rm the poor to t*m greater povertp and inwuricy. Very s i i a m t ,  for -14 t 4AmgWr at- timde mwud rbe SociPl Secluiry Aa. Irr I true of Sock1 Jurtice &ere appeared an l3dwiwds atitled: "SO&l hwity's Threat Q& existence tnt.lrea he t h g  b r  than the C o a e b l i n , ~ b a t o  with aa attide by the same which stated: "Studying it [the Social Secutiay Act M y  it is socinliaL in its conc&& the dd school; mciaIEa that 06- .if- the threatened evil; sue - haYe and give to those Apparently what irks C*'rbrt the big employers have to pay The article advocates, in plocv o a d  wage. This sounds very radical mnd wage for every worker is o d Gbai with conditions as they are now, not as welfare of the people, instead of ur&g $Ic deftme Social Security Act, wodd seek its improaame ..od aa- ta indude groups of workers that at presmt are dmitd Caughlin needed votes, when in 1936 r his Charlie McCarthy candidate for QIB Mu& 19, 1939, Coughlin attacked the federal housing and . (New York Herald Tribune, Much 20, 1939.) . &midens Lemlre, he did not hesitate a, flirt with the Towmend and to spout fiae phrases &ut Sodpl security. klim-ks Esther Couphb f d  'rh &vent41 of his six- nght a, organize? In building &e Little Flower he showed his . J . . >?: > -  - which the Amexia~\,Wp;. so a o q h l ~ ~ ,  on ~ a d w y  1, 1937, he hastad-bnal; sa bdam ahiretat& on,,bwsands of striking General ~ n d  a few.. months later found hi& attmptimbf w . ~ f q p k e  awpvlr union at the Ford Dearborn plpnt umbr 'tb name of Wgrkm Councils for Social Justice. Though &k esort fell h g h ,  Coughlin continued to fish in muiddp waters and soon found a kindred soul in Homer Manitr, fohet president of the United Automobile Workers. Martin3$ fi&t agoihst the over- whelming, majority of . the union's members -*ad o6cera . and 23 against the p'qpssie palicks of h e  -0; ba ~CXifld. ia the wl& corn- of iMdk) favokitm of the Royal Oak f20ehcer. t jEB1. the Naeiond L a b 1  Rielations 's r e d  in regard a0 civil sought to create a false bswr o statsons have refuged ta tlra & spy agencies &as of certain powerfu ' -* hd Social Justice ' . &we. On the other -, *> i ships: , . . T  . ,, -, . I + 1 7  - ~K*,;k&?~l . '$@& G;, tbe 'd-esp-where continuing d e p ~ & ~ ~  &dy, per* simrard fjfe of Communism-to fern f s n  mrrlons g; a*. which &taps ; . b e  cured depression and seopped C~XBBW- ..I- -p . . . . - - L  I the one hand, the grateful suppo- , ,  &d on the other, the iII=clad, iD&xmd, of the democracies 'free men' *lI a6t +Here Cou* quite clearly states his pipprsfemce for the fas- cist dictatorships. It is, of course, nat are &at ihese dictator- ships have cured depression, or that thc nghn~1td millions who groan beneath their yoke are grateM supporters of Hitler and. Mussolini. But what are a few untruths more ar less to a fascist demagogue? . - .-7*- ~ u t  Coughlin has been even more explicit in indicating what he would favor in place of the New Deal. On March 13, 1938, he broadcast a speech urging the establisheat in this country of a corporate state, which is a fancy name for the fascist state of Mussolini. A United Press dispatch in the New York World- Telegrm of March 14 stated: "A c q m a t e  state in which parria would be abolishd 4 &e President mwld k chosen by 'a House, ,of Representatives e l 4  c-2 by occupationd classes wa? proposed Sunday by Father Charles E.. . cou*.' .'. I * ., a: -C- During the 1936 electha campaign, in an off -rnamht, ''* radio priest made his p i h n  even cleaer. In m inten&& it which Dale Kramer, forziir- national secretary of the l?a&~L up and a&a~&.-&e ember 25, 1936:) *:''f mb But Hitler als I days Cuughlin had not get ii L I - ~~ the prapoganda of the t~ Rmww1t ae ttp~esenting the threat I 7 .  Father CwgW P bpvp discussed the ns with Henry ~ord,~-b~h Randolph ttee for the Nation,. p @ bush- or- antit* ..bts - 1% b& Inc. Mari &dfs *&re has I" 3 t-i* % - - -  &&BtIer g6;O;emm~nt. It is evident that Henry Ford and -Father Wghh ' s l e ep  in the same political bed. . . 'bn becede r  1, 1938, the newspapers published a statement by"Henry Ford, issued after a conference with Rabbi Leo M. Franklin of Detroit, in which the automobile manufacturer sharp- ly criticized the Nazi pogroms against the Jews. The statement, considering its source, was a distinct surprise. The  following Sunday, December 4, Coughlin, in hi weekly broadcast, made public ,a signed statement from Harry Bennett, the head of 7 7 Prndoubtedly something more. In his authorized Chmles E. CougMin, written by his right-hand d, we find the fallowing (p. 107) : perst.de him &at he should launch into 'to Mr. George LeBlanc, had engaged in trdmg more perhaps any other l3ving man." LeBlanc, whose ogce is at 44 internutimu1 b,ker. Mr. e, 60 Beaver S q  New a well-known mtmn and -.~Wilik It Happen Hen? + it has suffered in Gemmy, Italy, Inthiscritical hourunityof labor of a broad democratic 'front of the the people against Gughlinism and th; emrmts. The Communist Party, con- - --- - - - - their enemies at home and abroad. cy, peaa be our watchword. &-' the of the American working --- -- -I--------- ZLdas 06 men like C o d  Hearst a d  Dieq H -* which is true to -he kst traditions of the 1 m - 7  --1 ..---- - -- -4 (d our rqublic. It includes among its members Gtho- r- hwstants, Jews and non-religionists. The Corn& . . urge . vciitl lY, the majority of whom are devoted to bmof- _i.A -- t such galse leaders as Father & u g b  and join -1 b d ~ b . : a p u n +  for common economic a d  socid nima I s&al justice be achieved. FOR BOOKS, PAMPHLETS  AN^ - :Baltimore, Yd., International Bookshop, 501A N. Cleveland, Ohio, Modern Bookshop, 1522 h s r p s d  Dehoit, Mich., Modern Bookshop, 7 Sibley Strsef- Lor Angeles, Cal., Central Literature D i M a b + a ~ , '  224 South Spring Slreet Minneapolis, Minn., Progressi Oklahoma .City, Olda., Progressive b&h~ap, Grand Avenu St. Louis, Moml Vanguard Bo+Q#~, 3520 bnl$i 170 Golden Gate Aware shop, 703 Olive Way Ca~a~ogue w riTe TO RKERS LIBRARY PUBLISHERS, Inc. P. 0. Box 148, Station D 

The real Father Coughlin

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The real Father Coughlin

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