[ Douglas Woodruff and Dr Max Bindermann ] Typed Letter Signed from Woodruff to Bindermann, defending the Tablet's position on the Hungary; with typed article by Bindermann on the Habsburgs and Fascist Fatherland Front; and autograph notes by him.

The three items in fair condition, on aged and worn paper. ONE: TLS by 'Douglas Woodruff'. 1p., 4to. The letter begins testily: 'Dear Sir, | I was rather puzzled to receive your letter in the form of a carbon copy. As you may imagine, we are not fond of letters that are circulated. I have now read it in Truth, although presumably the opening paragraph refers to the Tablet. If you had written to the Tablet alone I would have printed the letter, with the comment that we never said that everything Hungarian governments do is to be commended, but only this particular stand they are now making in Hungary.' In the following two paragraphs he discusses the cause of the 'disappearance of parliamentary institutions in almost every country in favour of an authoritarian regime', the role of the church, and the 'refugee movement from Austria'. TWO: Carbon typescript of article titled ' "Soil that suits them," II | By Dr. Max Bindermann'. 4pp., 4to, with slip carrying two footnotes. With a few manuscript and typed emendations. The article - written in response to the Tablet's cover editorial on 11 November 1939 - begins: 'Your article of the same name and Father Muckermann's "The Unity of Germany["] in your issue of 11th November require some additional remarks.' Bindermann's conclusion, at the end of a well-informed and well-argued piece, is: 'Therefore Catholicism should not compromise itself by backing the bankrupt cause of the Habsburgs or the Fascist Fatherland Front and endanger its own great authority.' THREE: Various autograph notes by Bindermann. 2pp., 4to. In pen and ink. The first page, in ink and pencil, is headed 'Tablet 27/2/1940' and contains rough disjointed notes relating to the Catholic church and Nazism. The second page is more finished, with the text discussing the question 'Is a monarchic restoration in Austria a Catholic interest?' The two pages are on separate leaves, and on the reverse of the first leaf are personal notes in pencil. For more about Bindermann and his wife Anna, see Henry M. Kissman's autobiography, 'Views from the Road I traveled' (2008).