A little history from Dubuque - On this day in 1938, the Archbishop of Dubuque, Francis J. L. Beckman, denounced swing music as “a degenerated musical system… turned loose to gnaw away at the moral fiber of young people,” warning that it leads down a “primrose path to hell.” Impressed with Catholic culture he had seen in Europe, Beckman began to collect fine art pieces starting with a small collection of artifiacts belonging to Father William Kessler at Columbia Academy in Dubuque. He had placed a number of art pieces in a museum that was created at Columbia (now Loras) College with the assistance of the Midwest Antiquarian Association. This collection had included works of some of the best artists over the past few centuries including Winslow Horner, Rembrandt, Rubens, and Van Dyck. The collection was estimated to be worth 1.5 million dollars. In 1936 Archbishop Beckman was introduced to the idea of investing borrowed money in gold mines by Phillip Suetter of California. He perhaps thought that he could gain funds to further his art collection. Instead Beckman had involved the archdiocese in what turned out to be a dubious gold mine scheme. Beckman signed promissory notes on behalf of the archdiocese, which caused financial problems for the archdiocese when the scheme fell apart and Suetter was arrested. President Franklin Roosevelt directed the FBI to investigate Beckman to determine the extent of his involvement in this financial scheme, not because of Beckmans opposition to the president as some believed. Soon the holders of the notes began demanding repayment. Most of Beckmans collection was sold to pay off the notes. The cost to the archdiocese was over half a million dollars. As a result of all of Beckmans problems, Bishop Henry Rohlman of Davenport was transferred to Dubuque to serve as coadjutor archbishop and apostolic administrator. Beckman was allowed to retain his title as Archbishop of Dubuque, but it was made clear to him that actual authority rested with Rohlman. Archbishop Beckman remained Archbishop of Dubuque until Pope Pius XII named him Titular Archbishop of Phulli and he retired on November 11, 1946. Following retirement, Beckman left Dubuque and moved to Cincinnati. Beckman died at the Alexian Brothers Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, at age 72. He was buried in the mortuary chapel of Saint Raphaels Cathedral in Dubuque. (Wikipedia)
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 12:35:24 +0000
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