The daily worker., 1927-03-14
By SENDER GARLIN.


1 learned from The New York
Times the other morning that Ebert
H. Gary, chairman of the U. S. Steel
Corporation, had written up some Of
his "reminiscences of j. P. Morgan,
Sr.
In the days before Gustavus
Myers had turned to writing histo-
ries of american Idealism," I had
developed a rather hostile attitude
toward old man Morgan. Myers
History of Great American For
tunes," whatever its other obvious
defects, had provided me with a
graphic picture of the genesis,
growth and uses of Morgan's for
tune. Driven by curiosity concerning
the real Morgan, l hastened to invest
flee cents in the current issue of the
Saturday Evening Post, in which the
touching tribute to the old pirate ap-
pears.
Bed-Fellows.
Judge Gary is just the fellow to
write about j. P. Morgan. Similar
ity of background, tastes and charac-
ter makes of Gary the perfect bio
grapher. Sympathetic insight into
the motives of an individual are
known to be the prime essentials for
a thoughtful and artistic piece of
literature. Judge Gary's experiences
as a captain of industry and as a
leader of financial thought has
placed him in a strategic position to
understand the finer, more sensitive
aspects of his hero, Morgan.
"The people of the United States" !"
writes Judge Gary, "are reaping to-
day where the late ]. Pierpont Nor
gan sowed." How true! "The
influence of his genius is i'm
pressed on our railroads, our manu-
featuring industries and our finan-
cial structure. :"
NOthin' But a LOw-dOwn Trick.
Judge Gary complains, rather pet
ulently, that "the national habit of
using the name. Morgan as a syno-
nym for wealth has caused him to be
pictured as one seeking his own
profit, whether or not at the ex-
pense of others"
In this article Gary brands this
suspicion for what it is-a dirty,
craven lie, a libel, a slander for
which William z. Foster is probably
responsible.
81 never knew him to take hold of
an undertaking." continues Gary in
the same wistful, tender mood, chat
did not have as its chief hope of sue
cess the immediate benefits of many,
and the unending public good"
Was Fond of HOratio AIger.
In spite of these characteristics, it
appears from this portrait that
Morgan was bashful, modest and
unobtrusive. There was no bitter
ness or undue antagonism in his in
tentions."
1t is when Judge Gary begins to
discuss Morgan's experiences as an
exploiter of labor that his genius as
a biographer is best displayed. Cool,
dispassionate, and with confident
handling of his materials, Gary
paints tender picture.
"One very good way to gauge the
caliber of the man." he writes, "is
to note his (Morgan's) treatment Of
his employees and their attitude to-
ward him." We find that "he had
a deep and rumbling voice, and some
times in the heat Of argument it was
gruff, but when he gave orders to
his employees his tone was softened
and gentle"
Beautiful!
Them was the days. No unions,
not even of the american Plan" va
riety. Soft, gentle voices of en-
ployers; few strikes; friendly smile
when the Chief passed. =. Beautiful
at Pays to Be Decent"
At this point Gary runs out of
copy on the human aspects of his
hero, and goes off on a tangent. In
dulging in the luxury of a few gen.
eralizations on "the personal rela-