Foxy Father

In three years of encounters with the press, Charles Augustus Lindbergh has had ample opportunity to learn the ways of newshawks. Also in that time he has formed two categories of newspapers: "good" papers on the one hand, Hearst-papers and tabloids on the other. Last week Col. Lindbergh essayed to turn his experience to his own purposes, to reward the papers whose tactics he approved; to punish those which he felt had most energetically badgered himself & family. The prize, to be bestowed or withheld: first photographs of Charles Augustus ("Eaglet") Lindbergh Jr. for which photographers had been keeping incessant vigil at the Morrow home in New Jersey.

Summoned by telephone to the Manhattan office of Col. Henry Breckenridge, counsel for Col. Lindbergh, were representatives of the approved list: the Sun, Post, World, Times, Herald Tribune, Telegram, Associated Press, United Press, Brooklyn Eagle, Acme News Pictures, Inc.-- A "tip'' of such proportions cannot escape the grapevine telegraph for many hours. The meeting time found the invited ones augmented by newshawks from the Journal, American (Hearst- papers), Mirror, News, Graphic (tabloids).

Singly the bidden callers were ushered in to blandly smiling Col. Lindbergh, who addressed each in private about as follows:

"Good afternoon. I have here some snapshots of my baby. I am giving them out to certain newspapers with certain stipulations. You may have one if you sign this agreement--to copyright the picture immediately and to give it to no other publication. As each print is of a different pose, I will readily be able to identify it if it is published elsewhere. I would prefer that you do not announce that I made the pictures. And above all, I do not want it said that I distributed them. And as you go out, please do not tell the others what took place in here. Give me your word of honor."

Eagerly each reporter subscribed to the terms, seized the envelope allotted him. dashed to the elevator. But their injunctions were mild as compared to the drastic ones imposed on the Associated Press and Acme Pictures services: "You must not release this picture to any New York paper or to any Hearst paper."

Presently the outraged outcasts were called in, one by one. The Colonel's smile was broader than ever as he faced the first one, empty handed. "Good afternoon," said he, politely, innocently. "What can I do for you this afternoon?" Vainly each man pleaded, reasoned, expostulated, protested ; begged to know why his paper was being excluded from this, the picture of pictures! Most vehement was the reporter from the Mirror, which had heralded the advance of Baby Lindbergh for some six months and had printed a large "artist's conception" of the mother & child on the birthday. To all questions Col. Lindbergh returned a smile of increasing breadth and the reply: "Sorry, I can't answer that today."

The next few hours were chaos for managing editors. Hearst executives were frantic; offered fat sums (reputedly $5.000) for a print. They wired "The Chief" in California, even besought Grandfather Dwight Morrow to intercede for them. More furious, if possible, was Capt. Joseph Medill Patterson, publisher of the Daily News. Heatedly but futilely he demanded that A. P. General Manager Kent Cooper obey the A. P. rules, supply the News with a picture.

Col. Lindbergh apparently had won, could gloat over the predicament of the papers he had long craved to chastise. But his triumph did not live long. Newsmen have devices with which he had not reckoned.

An A. P. courier, rushing packets of pictures to be put aboard trains at Grand Central Terminal, was accosted by a breathless, officious youngster. "Hey, wait! The office made a mistake--let's see your bundle. Yeh--they put two in for the Hartford Courant instead of one. Okay, I'll take the extra one back to the office. S'long."

Late that night the News appeared with a full front-page picture of Baby Lindbergh (and with the comment that the baby looked less like its father than like its mother). This News picture looked exactly like the pose given the A. P. It bore no credit line. A few hours afterward the Mirror, American, Journal and Graphic were on the streets, each flaunting a front-page picture apparently identical to the one in the News. The four papers quoted no source, but one way of obtaining the picture would have been to photograph the front-page of the News.

Friends of Publisher Patterson of the News know him for a good sportsman, a fair fighter. They wondered what his mental processes were when, three days after the baby-picture episode, the Daily News performed what looked like as spiteful a piece of journalism as has lately been performed in the U. S.:

A big Curtiss Condor biplane, taxiing to its hangar at a Long Island airport, suddenly ground looped, plowed into a crowd of holiday spectators. The whirling propellers killed a man and a wife. The plane bore the insignia of T. A. T.-Maddux Air Lines. Col. Lindbergh is technical adviser of T. A. T.-Maddux. Daily News screamed in full width headlines: LINDBERGH LINER KILLS 2.

Riddance

Last week appeared in Printers' Ink and Editor & Publisher a large advertisement: 'Paterson, N. J. Press-Guardian is in receiver's hands and has suspended publication. . . . The Paterson Evening News is now the only evening paper in Paterson, N. J. Circulation 30,000 daily. . . ."

Behind this gloating announcement was the story of a battle which began soon after the Publisher-Brothers Ridder went to Paterson in June last year. The Ridder Brothers* -- Bernard Herman, Victor Frank, Joseph Edward (TIME, July 1, 1929)--bought the Paterson Press-Guardian from William B. Bryant. The Evening News at that time trailed the Press-Guardian with 14,000 circulation. The Call, a morning paper, led with 21,000.

The Ridders negotiated with Publisher Harry Haines to consolidate his News with their newly acquired paper on a 50-50 basis. They asked him to name the price at which his half of the stock might be sold in event of his death. Publisher Haines demurred, suggested they likewise name a price for stock. Said the Ridders: "There are eight sons in our family. The Ridders never die."

Three days later Publisher Haines decided not to merge with the Press-Guardian. He was told, "We'll spend any amount of money to get control of this field."

The Ridders opened with a circulation war, cut the Press-Guardian from 3-c- to 2-c-, announced a home delivery for 12-c- a week instead of 20-c-. Newsdealers protested. The Evening News fought, was supported by its morning neighbor, the Call. The News printed a story stating that Newsdealers Protective Association had met to protest against the Ridders' business methods. The Ridders sued Publisher Haines for libel, asked $1,000,000.

In April this year the Ridders eased out of Paterson by transferring the Press-Guardian to an Employes Publishing Co., made up of Press-Guardian workers, headed by Charles D. Whidden whom the Ridders had put in charge as publisher at the beginning. Steadily the Press-Guardian continued to lose until last fortnight when the Ridders' Staats-Zeitung, as largest creditor, asked that receivers be appointed.

First and loudest to speed the departing publishers was the News, which, although "Ridders never die," had doubled its circulation since they came to town.

Lingle & Co. (cont.)

Forgotten last week was the great pledge of all Chicago newspapers to unite in avenging the murder of the Tribune's reporter Jake Lingle (TIME, June 23 et seq.) After Lingle had been exposed as racketeering with the powers of his newspaper, charges were made by Reporter Harry T. Brundidge of the St. Louis Star of similar racketeering by men of all Chicago papers. Then all the papers quarreled, eyed each other with ill-concealed suspicion.

By reprinting Reporter Brundidge's findings, the Tribune drew the hostility of its competitors, and last week openly charged them with obstructing the search for Lingle's murderer. The Daily News and the Herald & Examiner tried but failed to force the removal of Charles T. Rathbun, the lawyer whom the Tribune had had appointed as special assistant state's attorney for the Lingle case. Other newspapers, the Tribune claimed, were printing information which served as warnings to men sought by police.

Further complications arose over a gang attack upon Reporter Leland H. Reese of the Daily News. This occurred immediately after Reporter Brundidge had revealed that the murdered Julius Rosenheim, "squawker, fixer and shakedown artist," had been Reese's tipster. Reese admitted the alliance, but vehemently denied knowing that Rosenheim used threats of exposure in the News as a club with which to collect underworld money.

In any event, the Tribune said last week, those things "could be important leads into the crimes of the underworld, but their presentation has changed the atmosphere from one of co-operation to one of hostility. . . . The search [for Lingle's murderer] is confused and obstructed by publishers who should be interested in making the pursuit relentless wherever it leads. . . . The decency and honesty of newspaper work in this city is on public trial."

Meanwhile in Los Angeles was occurring the last act of a newspaper racket story which made the petty taxing of Chicago brothel keepers pale into insignificance. Morris Lavine, ace reporter of the Los Angeles Examiner, was convicted of attempting to extort $75,000 in the course of a second expose of the Julian Petroleum Corp. scandal of 1927.

Lavine, University of California graduate, was first associated with the Examiner at the age of 14 as a contributor of school news. He became the paper's "big shot" reporter and investigator, known throughout the West for his sensational coups. It was Lavine who in 1922 found Clara Phillips ("Hammer Murderess") in Honduras after her escape from jail, and induced her to return to face a life sentence. It was Lavine who wrung a confession from Herb Wilson ("Preacher Mail Bandit") of two mail holdups and killing of a mail guard. Lavine it was who discovered the tell-tale bloodstains that led to the arrest of William Edward Hickman for the butchery of Marion Parker.

Again it was Lavine who was credited with the first expose in 1927 of the $40,000,000 collapse of the Julian Corporation under an overissue of 4,000,000 shares of stock. There were wholesale indictments, many an imprisonment. Last October stockholders brought a $12,000,000 recovery suit. Miss Leontine Johnson, former secretary to Julian's President S. C. Lewis, was supposed to have inside information. Lavine was assigned to "ghostwrite" her personal stories for the Examiner. After the first story appeared, Lavine was arrested outside the office of Charles Crawford, Los Angeles political boss, with $75,000 in marked bills. He and Miss Johnson planned, the prosecutors said, to squeeze $300,000 from a half-dozen prominent citizens, upon pain of using their names in unfavorable connections in the new revelations.

Both pleaded not guilty, said the $75,000 was given them for documents taken from the Julian files. Both were convicted and await sentence.* If sent to San Quentin, Reporter Lavine may meet convict (formerly) District Attorney Asa Keyes, whom he helped send there as a bribe-taker in the Julian prosecutions (TIME, March 24). If permitted to visit the women's quarters, he may even pay his respects to Hammer Murderess Clara Phillips.

*Acme News Pictures, Inc., a Scripps-Howard enterprise (like United Press. X. E. A., Telegram, etc.) was not invited. President Karl Bickel of United Press heard about it, hurriedly telephoned Col. Lindbergh, received belated admittance for Acme, an apology, an invitation to luncheon. -- Ridder papers: New York Staats-Zcitung, Herald, Journal of Commerce, Jamaica (N. Y.), Long Island Press. Seattle Times (minority interest), St. Paul Dispatch, Pioneer Press; Aberdeen, S. Dak. American, News.

*Last week another figure of the Julian Petroleum scandal, Motley H. Flint, was shot to death in a Los Angeles court by a victim of his stock transactions. Onetime (1896-1904) postmaster of Los Angeles, banker, "financial adviser" to motion picture leaders, brother of the late Senator Frank P. Flint, he was recently acquitted of a charge of usury in the Julian affair, was waiting trial on another charge.

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