The Washington times., 1938-12-20
MUSICA CASE
MAY SHADOW
CAREERS HERE
Capital Awaits Names
OF "Congressmen"
BY THEODORE HUNTLEY


With the morbid curiosity Of
any mob. Official Washington
and probably the country-hangS
on the daily disclosures of the
strange life of Philip Musica, alias
F. Donald Coster. to see how many
congressional careers will be
touched and perhaps blasted as
the full facts come to light.
New York dispatches speak
vaguely of men in high places,
of WASHINGTON officials" and OF
30 Congressman" as in some way
mixed up in the Coster-Musica rec
ord.
an. Y. CONGRESSMAN"
At least one New York Congress
man. not now in Washington, is
having his name banded about as
having supposedly helped MuSlca
to become Coster, through is
suance of a birth certificate by
District of Columbia authorities.
based on a faxed affidavit by a
midwife.
Advertisements appearing a year
ago in the trade paper, Drug Top
les. paid for by McKeSson q ROD
bins, the old and favorably known
drug company of which Coster
became the head. and which heI
apparently used as blind for his
illicit trade as gun runner and
possibly as smuggler, contain the
picture of Representative Wright
Patman, of Texas, and praised his
speech before a large group OF
druggists in Chicago. The head
line of the advertisement reads:
''PATMAN WINS OVATION AS
1900 CHEERING DRUG
GISTS HEAR HIS PLEA
FOR COOPERATION"
His Chicago speech was one OF
10 which, according to the language
of the trade paper advertisement,
were to be delivered under the
sponsorship of McKesson & Rob-
bins, Inc"
McKESSON AIDE
Leo Lanigan, vice president of
McKesson & Robbins and preSi-
dent Of the National Wholesale
Druggists Association, presided at
the Chicago meeting. Patman
was introduced by Representative
Adolph j. SABBATH, of Chicago, a
fellow Democrat and now-unlesS
the Musica-C oster denouement
sidetracks HMM line for the
Craftsmanship of the House Rules
Committee as successor to Repre-
sentative John O'Connor. of New
York, defeated in the New York
primaries as the sole victim of the
Presidents 1888 purge program.
Representative Patman'S promi-
nence in the McKeSson and Rob-
bins picture comes at a moment
when he is driving hard for a place
on the House Ways and Means
Committee to be vacated by the re-
tirement of Representative Morgan
Sanders Of Texas.
Vice President Garner, though
officially silent, is reported op-
posed to Patman for the place and
inclined to favor Representative
Milton H. West of Texas.
Patman's speech before the
druggists, and others delivered
subsequently, were built around
the Robinson Patman bill of which
he was coauthor, aimed generally
at price cutting in the drug trade
and particularly at chain stores.
GOT NO MONEY
Representative SABBATH, reached
today in Chicago, told the Wash
lngton Times he had been
asked to introduce Patman as a
colleague, and had done so, but
that he had himself made no
speeches for the Robinson-P atman
measure, although one of some so
House members named as coau-
thorS of the measure, nor had he
presided at the Chicago meeting
or accepted fees from McKesSon
and Robbins.
CAPITAL CLUES
As the investigation continued
into Coster's affairs. investigators
were known to be following Wash
ington as well as New York clues
in an effort to learn what Mem
bers of Congress were identified
with the legislative battles in
which he interested himself.
They were looking also for rec
ordS of campaign contributions
which might be traced to Nc
Kesson and Robbins officials.
nm /AA-