I am very excited about a new addition to my Winston
Churchill collection: A letter from
Attorney General Francis Biddle to gossip columnist Walter Winchell. The premise put forward here is interesting,
and it is likely to attract arguments from Churchill supporters and
critics—although I think the eighteenth-century reference is a bit harsh.
Biddle was an interesting figure in his own right. The scion one of Philadelphia’s most
prominent families, he embodied a commitment to public service throughout his
career. In fact, his obituary in the New York Times in 1968 had “Noblesse
Oblige” as a subhead. Biddle was Oliver
Wendell Holmes’s secretary, head of the FDR’s National Labor Relations Board,
U.S. Circuit Court judge, attorney general during World War II, and one of the
judges at the Nuremberg Trials. He also
served in various prominent non-government positions.
Biddle’s wife, Katherine Garrison Chapin, was a noted poet
and was equally interesting. Her work
“Plain-Chant for America,” a paean to democracy, was performed by several
orchestras with musical accompaniment.
She also wrote about Sojourner Truth and Charles Lindbergh among other
subjects.
Walter Winchell was a one-time popular columnist
specializing in sensationalism. He also
became known for his staccato radio performances highlighting the salacious
news of the day. An early anti-Nazi
crusader and an FDR admirer, he later turned to promoting Joe McCarthy and his
anti-communist attacks.
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