Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-02-05

age man. He has longish, down dropping
face, with dark, serene eyes; his hair is
brown-and when you have said that you
have said everything. There Is nothing
more. Mr. Rockefeller is inconspicuous-not
in a mysterious way-but simply, just as
the lamp post is, because it Is one among
many thousands. On this youngish man of
40 there are signs of the stress and sag
of an incredible huge fortune and stagger-
ing responsibilities. He took his place in the
tall-backed chair just in front Of the grim
portrait of old Zachary Taylor and spread
out his papers on the desk And there he was
"a calm pleasant man in brown tweeds and
bar and dot shirt who kept a wary eye on
the Inqusitor and waited.
And the Chief Inquisitor went at him.
Such Duel of Wits
1t was evident that Mr. Walsh was keen
and expert cross examiner; it was evident
that he was thoroughly familiar with the,
dark and tragic labor wars in Colorado and
with the Rockefeller Foundation and with
all the multiple Rockefeller affairs; 1t was
evident that his heart was in his work.
Well?
He thrust and hacked and hawed he
coaxed and cooed in his Irish voice. he dou-
bled and turned and twisted; he tried irony
ness and incredulity; and nothing happened.
Always In front of him was the cool smooth
surface of politeness blander than his own
a deadly defense that he could not pierce. 1t
was an astounding thing. have seen many
great men-giants-face an fnquisition in
court or in Parliament; but have never seen
so calm and deft and triumphant witness
as j. D. Rockefeller Jr. 1t was not an intel
ectual exhibition. There was nothing intel
lectual about 1t, What was in 1t was some
thing rarer and subtler and more indescrb-
able. You might think of 1t in terms of
sword play, but there was no apparent effort
no fash-no clank of steel. l think Mr..
Walsh's feeling must have been that of a
man without hands in front of a locked door.
He couldn't get in.
1t was not that Mr.. Rockefeller refused toan-
swer He answered every question with grave
politeness, with ample explanations, with po-
litely worded qualifications, with an evident
care to answer with scruplous exactitude
only, when he was done you suddenly real
ized that he had left the matter exactly
where it was when the question was put. He
was SO entirely master of himself that he
was inevitably the master of the commits
sion. Now it is not an easy thing to face for
days a skilled and earnest cross examiner, to
answer him fully. deliberately, with unfailing
readiness, and yet never for one moment to
say anything but what one has determined to
say.
| have never seen It done before And
therefore l say that behind the cool, smooth
surface of that Rich Man-that youngish
man who has raised inconspicuousness to an
must be strange kind of power
do not know what 1t Is 1t may be Will
and trained win is formidable thing.
What Win Come of ItH
And what does an inquisition of this sort
amount to? What will Professor Commons
put in his scholarly report?
There has been lot OF abstract talk about
the psychology OF labor, benevolent absolut-
ism and upllft; there have been certain sad
facts about the deeply intrenched
lives Of certain miners; there have been dis
quieting discussions about huge, oyertoppllng
that are Ian Irish voice intimates)
trying to buttress themselves up on charity
but talk of this sort has never
changed anything Reports to Congress do
not usually work miracles.
Yet / do not think the inquisitors have
wasted their days. You may remember a
statement, which is possibly historical: "Now
there were two men in one city; the one
rich, the other poor" The United states
on Industrial Relations has
brought those two men face TO face; out OF
the wary eye-seaTehing good may come.
And one thing more. l have discovered
| give you my proud word for 1.-THE original
Closed Shop.
1t Is ]. d. Rockefeller. Jr.