Lingle & Co. (cont.)

Chicago police last week arrested a suspect of the murder of Jake Lingle, Chicago Tribune racketeer-reporter (TIME, June 23 et seq.). But again the actual murder case was obscured by the audacity of the St. Louis Star's Reporter Harry T. Brundidge. Reporter Brundidge went to Miami Beach, Fla. to interview Alphonse ("Scarface") Capone, following up the theory that Lingle was only one of many corrupt newsmen. From Florida Brundidge sent his paper a sensational story. Excerpt:

Brundidge: How many newspapermen have you had on your payroll?

Capone (after a pause, a shrug): Plenty.

"Suddenly [Capone] leaned over, put his left arm around my shoulders and with typical Latin affection squeezed me and said:

" 'Listen Harry, I like your face. Let me give you a hot tip: lay off Chicago and the money hungry reporters. No one man will ever realize just how big it is, so lay off. . . . They'll make a monkey out of you. No matter what dope you give that grand jury, the boys will prove you're a liar and a faker. You'll get a trimming!' "

Brundidge: I'm going to quote you as saying that.

Capone: If you do, I'll deny it.

Capone, of course, did deny it, called the story a deliberate lie. Retorted Reporter Brundidge: "My interview with AI Capone was correct as published."

Max, Louis & John

Wichita, Kan. is famed for stockyards, broom factories, oil refineries, Quakers. Lately it has been calling itself "aviation capital of the U. S." having forty-seven aeronautical enterprises in or near it. In the past fortnight Wichita has become indebted for further prominence to Max and Louis Levand, co-publishers (with their brother John as circulation manager) of the Wichita Beacon, formerly owned by Senator Henry Justin Allen.

The Levands obtained nationwide mention when, after they had demanded that Alexander Legge resign as Chairman of the Federal Farm Board, Chairman Legge replied: "You may present my compliments to Max and Louis and tell them I said they can go to hell" (TIME, July 21).

Far from feeling personally abused, the Levands last week were making fine capital of Mr. Legge's remark. They printed all dispatches mentioning their part in the controversy. They said that Chairman Legge had "told Kansas to go to hell." Their seven-column headlines shrieked: CONGRESSIONAL PROBE OF LEGGE IS DEMANDED. The story explained that the Brothers Levand were the demanders, that they had telegraphed Sen- ator Capper of Kansas to get busy.

HEAD OF FARM BOARD ANSWERS BEACON DEMAND cried the Levands when Chairman Legge wrote in a letter to Governor Clyde Reed of Kansas: "Still another peculiar angle is brought up by your friends, Max and Louis . . . acting as if they thought they were the State of Kansas."

Two years ago the Levands found in Wichita a stage admirably set for their talents by the ancient bitterness between Senator Allen's Beacon (an evening paper) and the morning Eagle published by the brothers Victor and Marcellus Murdock. For years the Brothers Murdock had eyed the profitable afternoon field. On March 28, 1927 they sprung a surprise. An Evening Eagle, with bigger headines, blacker type and more pictures than Wichita had ever seen, burst upon the city unan- nounced. A crew of newsmen had been housed in a hotel where the first issue was prepared in dead secrecy.

Senator Allen was away from Kansas at the time, touring the globe as professor of journalism with the University Afloat (TIME, Sept. 27, 1926 et seq). He got word in Berlin of the Murdocks' coup. He rushed home, tried to fight the Eagle with its own weapons, made no headway. In the spring of 1928 came the Levands, reputedly through the efforts of a wealthy Wichitan whom the Murdocks' Eagle had offended.

Between the office of Publisher Frederick G. ("Bon") Bonfils of the incredibly yellow Denver Post and the office of his sly, genial partner, the late famed H. H. ("Tarn") Tammen, there used to be a desk to which each partner would send the kind of orders that great publishers send to their Men Friday. At that desk for many years sat Louis Levand, patient, portly, devoted. Brother John Levand was in the Post's circulation department. Brother Max, too, was on the staff, more driving and hard-boiled than the other two. "Bon" and "Tarn" sent him to be business man ager of their Kansas City Post, where he remained 16 years. When the Kansas City Post was sold, Brother Max bought the Casper, Wyo. Herald, sent its circulation and advertising skyward, sold out, repeated the process with the St. Joseph, Mo. Gazette. When Henry Justin Allen wanted to sell his Wichita Beacon, Broth ers Louis and John joined Brother Max in buying 65% control for about $1,125,000*

The Levands' Beacon soon jolted Wichita like a battering ram. It sprouted all the loud, flamboyant labels of the Denver Post. It applied all the high-pressure business technique of the adroit and powerful Bonfils & Tammen. The Brothers Murdock at first affected to ignore the newcomers but rural Kansas editors have found that an almost certain way of getting themselves quoted in the Murdocks' Eagles is to take a crack at the (to them) unspeakable Levands. Some of these cracks, which the Brothers Levand say are "inspired" by the Brothers Murdock, are too much for even the Mur docks to reprint. For example, Editor Paul Jones of the Lyons Daily News, under the headline "Ye Gods!" wrote:

"Henry J. Allen . . . has 'sold himself down the river.' [The Beacon] has fallen into the hands of a young man with a Yiddish name, given and family, who came out of the sticks with a million and a half and picked it up. . . . The new pub lisher is filling the paper with pictures and complimentary references to himself. He seems to be quite a guy and frankly admits it. But we doubt if he ever learns to speak the Kansas language as Henry speaks it. . . ."

Trained to the ways of Jew-baiters, the Levands turn such comment to their own uses. Quickly it comes to the attention of such potent Wichita advertisers as Wal-lenstein-Raffman (department store) and Jack Spines (haberdasher).

In conversation the Levands affect an injured air. They say that whereas attacks against them are politically or racially motivated, they "are only trying to give Wichita a good paper." Latest official figures appear to support the Levands' claim, of having the biggest newspaper in Kansas./-

*Mr. Allen, onetime (1919--23) Governor of Kansas, then became editor of Hearst's new Omaha Bee-News, but never went to Omaha to reside.

/-The Beacon has 61,705 net paid circulation; the Eagle (morning), 57,681; the Eagle (evening), 31,341. (A. B. C. publishers statements March 31, 1930).

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