Arrested Pulse

I somewhat doubt that then Asst. Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevlet and Secretary of the Navy J. Daniels would have touched this had they been thinking clearly. I think part of the problem is that their own apparent homophobia seems to have led to several instances of appallingly poor judgment on the part of both men. I think US Attorney General Mitchell Palmer quickly saw how such an investigation could backfire and declined to have anything to do with it. He was not thinking with a penis that sometimes stood at attention when he heard or read accounts of male homosexuality I guess. The idea that FDR allowed himself to be manipulated by a trouble-making Machinist's Mate/former Private Dick trying to make a name for himself by digging in the dirt is shocking. How could any such investigation help the US Navy, Newport, RI or the USA? It could have ruined FDR's career. Did it never occur to anyone at the outset that collecting evidence in this way might cause the case to fail or backfire? I suppose they assumed that it would only be a Court Martial and that the public would never hear of it, but the stupid prosecutors sought to charge civilians involved as well. That was the final nail in the coffin of this ill-advised affair. It apparently never occured to the prosecutors that in a case such as this, the means by which the evidence was collected might have some bearing on its admissibility and on the credibility of the Navy itself. It also had the effect of implying that the Navy was a haven for homosexual or homosexually-inclined men (not that that's bad in my view, but remember the time). The prosecutors just thought that the sky was the limit when it came to "catching queers." Ha ha! They failed. Mate Arnold did not come off too well. I am afraid that at least in this case, the muckraking yellow journalist Rathom actually contributed to some kind of justice. He and the Episcopal Church (FDR was an Episcopalean) embarrassed the Navy and the government, and they deserved it. I am deeply ashamed of FDR, but I guess he more than redeemed himself later. I am sure if he had had it to do over, he would have thought better of it.

This goes on all the time (the straights getting blown by gays) in both military and civilian society. Every guy who's ever been in a pool club or served or is enlisted has heard or sometimes even seen this kind of activity. It's not worth writing about anymore. It's old hat. They let those gay dudes out of prison anyway, right? So why beat a dead horse. It just makes things worse for those who wanna play both sides of the fense. I don't do that but if others want to whatever sails their ship, I say.

I'm researching the Newport scandal for a class and as an offshoot have been trying to find more info on Roosevelt's involvement in the scandal. Pretty hard to find primary sources online (I found a NY Times article where Roosevelt spoke on the Senate subcommittee investigation but it's been tough to find others.) Any suggestions?

Patricia: Thanks for bringing this error to my attention. I didn't have the book when I wrote this part of the blog and confused Lawrence Murphy with Randy Shilts, who died of AIDS after authoring *Conduct Unbecoming.* I have corrected the sentence.

--Kevin

Nice article. I'm studying gay male history in early part of 20th C. & found your page while adding some footnotes to a Wikipedia article.

I have a question -- are you sure Lawrence Murphy died of AIDS? In "A Personal Message," which precedes the preface and introduction to Murphy's book, Russell Len Griffin (Murphy's partner) wrote: "Larry did not live to see the final act of publication. On September 26, 1987, a condition he had since his youth ended his life."

great story. Thank you for telling it.

Suck it up! you should be willing to accept the consiquences of your actions. In our society we have men and women those who fall in between. These people who fall in between are the result of a society that sent mixed messages to their children and confused them from the beginning as to who they were. Mothers who wanted daughters and got sons. These mothers often continued to live in a fantacy and dress those boys in girls attire. Hence the most common explanation given that they were born that way! Fathers who wanted sons and got daughters continue to raise their daughters with male orientations. More Often most of this alternate lifestyle is due to boredom. Bottom line, no life insurance or health insurance for those living with same sex partners unless you are married have dependent children, at time of employment. NOTHIN GAY ABOUT BEING GAY!

i think that this is a good read

Great article... I think I will order a copy of that book right now.