The Washington times., 1933-05-27


In almost every question he
drives home is a cutting imputar
ton of evasion, or guilt, or double
dealing, or something equally OBJ
noxious and angering to the man
in the witness chair.
And if an Interruption comes,
as so frequently it does come,
from some Senator who inter.
poses his sacred and venerable
person between the fangs Of Pc
cora and the imperilled hide Of a
Morgan partner, Pecora sits back,
with eyes lifted to the ceiling,
eyes which fairly shout:
"Oh, Lord, how long!
And if the Senators babble off
into a sideroad which, usually re-
veals their perfectly phenomenal
unacquaintance with the proceed
ure of banking, Pecora's chill and
sarcastic smile fits about the
room.
against stupidity the very
gods contend in vain!"
And when the interruption is
over and he is free to proceed
again with his line of question
ing, he returns, like the human
bulldog that he is, to the precise
topic he had previously been
chewing on.
The interruption may last q
minute, or ten minutes, or half
an hour. It makes no difference
The bulldog takes hold again
in the same old spot and begins
to worry the anguished victim.
One must suppose, watching
him hour after hour and day
after day, that his main perplex
ity must be:
''How can these Senators
waste so much valuable time
in idle chat, leading nOwhere?"
And when this idle chat, into
which the great Mr.. Morgan Is
sometimes drawn by this Senator
or that, and bursts of laughter
ring out across the table, Pecora' s
face sets like stone.
It is obvious that he does not
think it seemly for these investi
gators, Senators though they be
to be exchanging quips with the
very gentleman they are sup
posed to be hauling over the
Goals.
For Mr.. Pecora takes himself
seriously, as he takes his profes
sion seriously and life seriously
He is out to get Morgan, and
in the shortest possible time con.
sistent with a thoroughly done
task, and it irks him and vexes
him to see the gentlemen for whom
he is toiling at the princelJ
emolument of $55 a week include
the gentleman whom he must re
gard, professionally, and for the
purposes of the inquiry, as the
head devil of creation, not tc
speak of Wall Street.
Senators Cramp His Style
It's a perfect cinch that if Pc
cora were not hampered by the
flock of Senators who surround
him and crowd him and cramr
his style, who display, some OF
them, an amusing awe Of Nor
gan and a panied aversion tc
seeing Morgan's feelings trifled
with, he would clean up his jot
in jig time, for he's a rapiC
worker when his Senatorial bosses
don't hobble him.
He got along pretty well with
j. Pierpont.
Obviously, it was difficult TO,
him at first to get through his
head that j. P. Morgan was &C.
tually so ignorant or uninformec
of a multitude of matters con
nected with j. P. Morgan & Co.
which Mr.. Pecora regarded as i'm.
portant or significant.
It was hard for him at frs
to understand how a man coulc
be so vague about a little mattel
of where twenty millions or sC
went.
But presently he began to SCI
the picture as it is, that j. P
Morgan, by his own statement
troubles little or not at all with
the details Of the firms business
and is in virtual retirement from
active business life.
But once he got that through
his bulldog mind, he eased up OF
Jove and went after the lessee
gods of the Morgan Olympus.
He went after Mercury, in esp
cia1, the nimble-footed George
fMhitney, who carries in his heaC
an astounding knowledge Of th'
intricacieS Of the Morkan opera
tinnS ...l-.-..