A Writ for Martyrs: Eustace Mullins, R.I.P.

Eustace Mullins (1923-2010), an American historian and controversial author of books dealing with antisemitism and conspiracy theories such as Secrets of the Federal Reserve (1952), has passed away, according to a statement made earlier today by his caretaker, Jesse Lee of Cut and Shoot, Texas. Mullins was 86 years old.

ABOVE: Micah A. Hanks (far left) and Vance Pollock (far right) interviewing Eustace Mullins with Christopher McCollum (not pictured) in late 2009

Mullins was born in Roanoake, Virginia, in 1923 to parents Eustace Clarence Mullins and Jane Katherine Muse. He received education at Washington and Lee University, New York University, the University of North Dakota and the Institute of Contemporary Arts in Washington, D.C. before enlisting in the military as a Warrant Officer in 1942. Mullins also served thirty-eight months active service during World War II in the United States Air Force.

Mullins was well known for the association and friendship he maintained with several noteworthy historic figures with whom he frequently visited, earning him the nickname “America’s Guest”. He frequently visited the home of Conservative writer and fiction author Russell Kirk, as described in his book, A Writ for Martyrs (from which the title of this post is derived). He first became acquainted with American poet Ezra Pound in the winter of 1948, while Pound was being kept at Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. At Pound’s request, Mullins, at the time an employee at the Library of Congress, was commissioned to author a book about the Federal Reserve on Pound’s behalf. Through the publication of such controversial books, as well as his associations with literary and political figures that included Russell Kirk, E.E. Cummings, and Joseph McCarthy, Mullins became an object of concern to the FBI under then-director J. Edgar Hoover, who secretly kept files on Mullins throughout his tenure. Using Freedom of Information Act Requests, Mullins obtained a portion of this record in December of 1981, and subsequently published a book based on his experiences, A Writ for Martyrs (1985).

Due to the controversial nature of some of his written works, Mullins was dogged with accusations of racist and anti-Semitic views, such as those expressed in his book The Curse of Canaan: A Demonology of History. Due to his controversial status, he was frequently asked to appear on radio and television programs that included The Political Cesspool, in addition to public appearances at events alongside speakers with questionable positions in relation to subjects involving race relations in America.

Jim Marrs, author of numerous books on conspiracies such as Rule By Secrecy and The Terror Conspiracy shared his feelings about Eustace after hearing of his passing:

Eustace has, and will remain, on my Hero List. His diligent work to bring out the under reported aspects of our national history have been a tremendous help in my own investigations. And I know of no factual information that significantly contradicts his finds and conclusions. If the day ever comes when America honors truth over spin, hype and distraction, the name of Eustace Mullins will be at the top of the list. We must never forget his legacy.

Christopher McCollum, a writer and editor at the Culture of Spirits website, shared the following of his visit with Mullins in winter of 2009:

I would like to say that with my three days that I spent with him, I felt completely at home. His breadth of knowledge and experience was astounding, and the only thing more impressive than that was his willingness and ability to speak about it. Like a rare visit from a favorite uncle, we gathered around him and sat mesmerized as he told his tales.

It was an experience that I will never forget, I daresay. The last of Ezra Pound’s students had the temerity to stand up for himself against unthinkable enemies and odds, and should serve as a beacon to those who think that one man can’t fight the system.

Eustace will be sorely missed, and I thank the heavens that I got to spend the time that I did with him, in his waning days.

Vance Pollock, a historical researcher in Asheville, North Carolina, also expressed sentiments regarding his many meetings and discussions with Mullins:

For my part, I will miss Eustace as one of the last links to that greatly misrepresented American struggle against “creeping communism” which it seems we lost with a whimper over the last few decades.

To anyone who would question authority and the establishment formula which states what a person should think, feel and believe regarding the way the world is run, Eustace Mullins was that rare and exceptional voice of the free thinker.

Eustace Mullins will forever stand in my mind as the unwavering underdog. In seeking to understand why Eustace will be given the silent treatment afforded all such troublesome characters, I imagine him as a young man standing by the coffin of Joe McCarthy delivering his eulogy (Editor’s note: It is known that Mullins was actually a featured speaker at McCarthy’s funeral).

Fifty some years later, this chapter in history has been rewritten for us to interpret any such sincere and patriotic opposition to “the enemy within” as some confused or misguided paranoia… but was it? Eustace Mullins preserved for us a seed of truth that will continue to be hidden away from the mainstream.

He will continue to be loved, respected and admired by future seekers who search for their answers in the dark, neglected corners of the dustbin of history.

Addendum: 

At the time of our interview with Eustace Mullins, he was very elderly, wheelchair ridden, and had some difficulty speaking after having suffered a stroke (having been only weeks prior to his death, our discussion, informal though it was, may have been the last interview Mullins gave prior to his death).

Among the subjects and individuals I asked him about were Senator Joseph McCarthy, at whose funeral Mullins had been a speaker; I also asked if he had known the American conspiracy researcher William Cooper, and Mullins related that the two were apparently rather well acquainted, and rather interestingly, had even attended an early UFO-themed event together. Mullins also related a fanciful story about an individual claiming to be the “lost Charles Lindberg baby”, who rather than being found dead after the infamous kidnapping, had been sent away into hiding for his protection. Mullins said he had considered writing a book about this, but for some reason chose not to.

Preeminent among my personal interests, as a lover of poetry, had been Mullins’ association with poet Ezra Pound. Arguably, Pound had authored some of the most linguistically and conceptually complex poetry ever authored, which I find to be a matter of interest not only as a matter of poetic style, but due to the mythological elements, as well as those which involve philosophy of language. Pound was an expatriate living Italy who began to support Mussolini’s fascism while living there, in advance of World War II. He had written for a number of Italian publications at the time, featuring antisemitic themes in some of his works. He was indicted for treason in 1943, after a number of anti-American radio broadcasts Pound had been producing on Rome Radio were monitored by the US Foreign Broadcast Monitoring Service. He was later brought back to the United States, and admitted to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Mullins met the poet during his “incarceration” at St. Elizabeth’s (Mullins referred to Pound as a political prisoner, rather than any typical patient). At Pound’s urging, Mullins, who worked for the Library of Congress at the time, began writing about the origins of the Federal Reserve Bank, which led to the publication of his book Secrets of the Federal Reserve. Authorship of this book is believed to have resulted in his release from employment at the Library of Congress, and this, along with his contributions to anti-semitic publications shortly thereafter, led to his monitoring by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Thus, we also discussed J. Edgar Hoover, first director of the FBI. Mullins recalled him during our talk as though remembering him fondly, and was always smiling and cheerful, though later I would find that the relationship between the two had been anything but friendly (more on that in a moment). 

Mullins was very controversial in certain circles for the aforementioned anti-semitic overtones in his writing. Interestingly, he mostly denied having any personal negative views toward minority groups and people of ethnicity while speaking with us, although one can certainly ascertain that there is an element of this in his writing. He was very open about discussing it though, and maintained that his expressed views had been misconstrued by his critics, which may be true, at least to some degree. On the other hand, when one looks at his written works, it is virtually impossible to dismiss this. 

On the subject of his writing, Eustace Mullins left several copies of his books in our possession, in appreciation for our taking time to visit with him. Some of Mullins’ books are fascinating to read, including those in which he presents summaries and analysis of portions of the U.S. Constitution, and especially his book A Writ for Martyrs, in which he discusses his own personal struggles under surveillance by J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI (his own FBI file was eventually released to him in 1986, if memory serves, and it detailed the strange affair in depth, which included a physical attack against his father, and numerous positions at various jobs being lost, which Mullins attributed to the Bureau’s involvement).  

Among the books that were not included in this batch, however, one will find the more overtly racist shades of Mullins’ ideology. In his 1968 book Mullins’ New History of the Jews, the introduction states, “… throughout the history of civilization, one particular problem of mankind has remained constant. In all of the vast records of peace and wars and rumors of wars, one great empire after another has had to come to grips with the same dilemma … the Jews.” Similar unsettling, and overtly racist themes were reflected in the 1967 book The Biological Jew, which described Jews as “parasites”.

At the time of his death, Graeme Wood, a contributing editor at The Atlantic and the Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote of Mullins’ litigious nature when confronted with criticisms that, “The cost of hiring lawyers wouldn’t have been worth the pleasure of ridiculing him. In death there will be plenty of time for that.” Similarly, the Southern Poverty Law Center had summarized Mullins as being, despite his sunny demeanor, “a one-man organization of hate.” 

Perhaps some of Mullins’ attitudes had changed, or at least softened, by the time he had reached his sunset years. Although, arguably, his contributions to various literature pertaining to conspiracy theories and matters of history and government are indeed noteworthy, it is the overt antisemitism in his writing that colors Mullins as not only a controversial character, but as a confused and troubled individual; one among a number of notable conspiracists in American culture whose notions of secret workings, and an overt agenda aimed at controlling America from behind the proverbial scenes, helped foster a troubling outlook that had been all-too willing to lay blame for the woes of the world at the feet of the Jewish people: it is an unfortunate, but time-honored tradition of persecution.

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