Evening star., 1936-07-30
PRECEDENT CITED
IN COUGHL|N CASE
Priest communicated in
1887 for Advocating
Single Tax.
BY JAMES WALDO FAwCETT.

0A4nLo NhADo
Has Pope Plus XI the power to halt
the crusade of Father Charles E.
Coughlin? Could he. if he wished,
command the pastor of Royal Oak to
abandon his campaign for social JUS
tice"?
These questions have been widely
discussed in the United States during
the past few weeks, but there has
been little agreement on an answer.
Nevertheless, a precedent exists for
Vatican interference. Readers of The
Star old enough to remember the
events of half century ago will re-
call the name of Father Edward
McGlynn, sanity but militant apostle
of reform.
His story begins with his birth in
New York, September 27, 1887. Peter
and Sarah McGlynn, poor Irish i'm
migrants, were his parents; the public
schools of Manhattan his university.
But fame laid a friendly hand upon
his head when he was still only lit
tie boy. He attracted the kindly at
tention of Right Rev. John Joseph
Hughes, Bishop of New York and
trusted representative of President
Abraham Lincoln in Europe during
the Civil War.
Studied in Rome.
Thus it happened that Edward Nc
Glynn, when but l3 years old. crossed
the ocean to Rome to study at the
~ ~r pvor 10
Perhaps he accompanied his patron
when, raised to the rank of arch
bishop, he received the pallium from
the hands of Pope Plus TX, April 3,
1851. In any case. the lad grew up
in the shadow of St. Peters and,
after thorough preparation, was or
dained priest March "a, 1860. He
returned to America to become as
sistant to Father Thomas Farrell at
St. Joseph's Church on Sixth avenue
New York.
In the Dictionary of American Biog'
faphy 1t is recorded that: "1nasmucf
as Father Farrell had been an ardent
opponent of slavery and left $1,000 II
his will for colored Catholic church
he probably was in large measure re-
sponsihle for the charitable and hu.
manitarian views and practices fol
which his young assistant became ane
remained conspicuous. In 1866 Father
McGlynn was appointed pastor OF st
Stephens parish. one of the most pop
ulous in New York. Here he worked
with great energy and zeal not only II
the various fields of parochial activity
but on behalf of every worthy cause"
But, the same biographical OUTLINE
continues, after a time he began Il
feel that life was made burden by tht
never-ending procession of men. wom'
en- and little children coming to my
door begging not so much for aims a!
for employment I began to ask my
self he wrote, '"Is there no remedy?'
-" began to study little politlca
economy, to ask, What Is Gods Law
as to the maintenance of his famil.
down here below
Advocated Single Tax.
He thought that he had found tht
answer in the teachings of Henr!
George (l839-189O. With his &C
customed fervor, energy and eloquence
he expounded the single tax doctrine
as the universal and fundamental rem
edy for poverty In the year 1886 HI
took an active part in the campaign
of Henry George for the office of mayo
of New York. This brought him int
open conflict with Archbishop Cor
xigan.s
About four years previously Car.
dinal Simeoni, prefect of the Congre.
cation of the Propaganda, had directed
the authorities of the archdiocese tc
compel Father McGlynn to retract his
views on the land question. Cardina
McClosky, at that time the head OF
the archdiocese, merely required Fa.
ther McGlynn to refrain from defend
ing these views in public"
When the cardinal died, however
s'Father McGlynn considered himself
free again to advocate the single tax
doctrine" But "on September 20
1886, Archbishop Corrigan forbade
him to speak on behalf of Henry
Georges candidacy at a scheduled
public meeting Father McGlynn re-
piled that to break his engagement
would be imprudent, but promised to
refrain from addressing any later
meeting during the political cam
paign. The archbishop Immediately
suspended him from the exercise OF
his priestly functions for a period of
two weeks. Toward the end Of No