THOMAS DIXON JR. - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 01/13/1932 - HFSID 31847

THOMAS DIXON
Author Thomas Dixon signed this letter, typed on his personalized stationery, in 1932. It was sent to gossip columnist Louis Sobol to ask him how he received checks signed by Washington Post publisher Ned McLean and about Sobol's allegations of corruption in President Warren G. Harding's administration. This letter is probably in reference to Dixon's book The Inside Story of the Harding Tragedy, published in 1932.
Typed letter signed "Thomas Dixon." 1 page, 7¼x10½, on his personalized stationery. Jan. 13, 1932. In full: "Dear Mr. Sobol: Yoursreceived this morning.I imagine from that you say that it will be a waste of time for me to see that orchestra leader. The issue between us is NOT whether Harding was ever in McLean's house on K st but whether Daughery was ever there.No issue of libel can be made on the dead - only on the living.I take Daugherty's word for it that he was never in that house in his life.The exact language of the test of the book is:'Harding wa s [sic] never there ,to my knowledge.' This after a specific statement that he(Daugherty ) was never inside it or ever saw it in his life. The plain implication of your article are that you had the cancelled checks,that Daugherty was involved in them,that the trip to Panama grew out of some incident in that house,and that it was a scandal. I again suggest that we meet as fellow writers and talk the matter over before it goes further.I,ofcouse [sic], could not waive responsibility for jeopardy to the orchestra leader in order to meet him.If he is a truthful man he should not make statements to a newspaper man he can not back up. With all good wishes, Sincerely, Thomas Dixon". "The book" quoted is probably Dixon's The Inside Story of the Harding Tragedy. It was written with Harry M. Daugherty, one-time U. S. Attorney General and Harding's campaign manager, and published in 1932, the year this letter was dated. It concerned Daugherty's experiences in the Harding administration. This letter also makes numerous references to two other letters to Sobol, written by Dixon on Jan. 8 and Jan. 11, asking about checks and an orchestra mentioned by him in one of his columns. Tycoon NED McLEAN (1889-1941) was publisher and owner of the Washington Post (1916-1933), which supported many of Harding's policies, and head of Harding's inaugural committee. New York journalist LOUIS SOBOL (1896-1986) wrote a gossip-oriented entertainment column for 40 years, initially focused on the Broadway stage but also covering film and TV personalities for the New York Journal American. THOMAS DIXON (1864-1946), born Thomas F. Dixon, Jr., was a lecturer and Baptist preacher, but is probably best known for his novel The Clansman (1905), which is infamous for its sympathetic treatment of the Ku Klux Klan and which was the basis of D. W. Griffith's landmark silent film Birth of a Nation (1915). The Clansman was part of a trilogy, including The Leopard's Spots (1902) and The Traitor (1907), on Reconstruction, which Dixon witnessed firsthand. His father had been a North Carolinian slave owner, and his experiences with the chaos and corruption of Reconstruction, including the mistreatment of Southern citizens by occupying Northern troops, turned him into a white supremacist. A Democrat who made numerous speeches on the plight of the working man, he nevertheless held many right-wing views and was a staunch opponent of the New Deal. Lightly toned and creased. Paper clip impression in top left corner. Random ink stains. Folded twice and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition.