The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-06-05

not even relish him as assistant secretary of war. The generals did not want him. Not even Jim Farley wanted him. But Harry Woodfing is now secretary of
 The st1swer is that Harry just l9vea being acting secretary of war, and Roosevelt couldn't hear to mar his happiness. Harry has 2 lovely wife, and they have two lovely babies. They were wise enough to select son Jimmy Roosevelt as best man when they were married. And WheneYer F. D. Roosevelt came hume from one of his many trips, Harry was always down at the Uni1n station to meet him.
 Tn addition to all this, there wasn't anyone else clampring to be secretary of war. So after George pern died, Woodring be- came acting secretary, and finally full-fledged secretary of war. War Contracts Scandal
 All of which goes to prove that the i1letnory of mankind is short.
 For 1t was not long before this that Harry Woodring, then a fauch-critipized assistant secretary of war, was pleading for his po- litical life before a grand jury Investigating charges a fraud in army contracts.
 Had the hand of fate predicted to Roosevelt at that time, that Harry Woedring was going to be- come a full-fledged member of his cabinet, he never would have believed 1t. For at that time Wopdrifg even suffered the hu- initiation of having his chief, Sec- retary Derh, order him to keep a register of every caller at his office and submit the list for in- spsction twice 9 week.
 Too Friendly
 The chief trouble with Wood ring was too many friends from Kansas ard tco great an anxiety to please. Some of those friends were interested in getting army contracts. One friend, Ralph O'Nsil, represented Joe Silver man, second hand dealer. who bought 53,o90 rainccats for 25 cants apiece, then wanted to sell them hack to the Army for s1.32, which was 6 cents cheaper than the Army could get them else where.
 The Army needed the rain c0ata. but bought them for S1.S7 from somebody else.
 Since his was the lowest bid, Silverman and O'Neil threatened to sue. So Woodring worked out a deal by which the raincoats were returned to the Army, and Silvera1sa was given saddles, bridles, and tent covers in ex- change.
 But before they could be de- liIosci, General MacArthur stepped in and called it an outrage and robbery of the Ainsriean taxpayer"
 There were other Army bids ir- volving airplaneS and trucks. all of which caused tGrrific furors at the time, plus a congressional investigation. But when RpoSe- welt appointed Wecdring secretary of war three years later, every one had forgotten it. There was not a line about it in any news paper.
 Horatio Alger CD Woodring
 When Harry Woodring pleaded his case hefore the grand jury Investigating Army contracts, the argument that made the biggest impression upon the jurors was his description of how he began life as janitor of a bank in Neo- dcsha, Kansas. Tears ca1ne to his eyss as he recountcd the struggle of those early years.
 The only thing Harry neg leeted to say was that his father owned the bank.
 This explains young Woodrine's lncteoric rise to be president and chief owner of a bank at the age of 3l. All the biographical sketches of our hero portray him selling popcorn in the streets, and working his way up from the low ly life of a poor farm boy.
 Harry did work hard. But he had a few lucky boosts along the way.
 One boost was his enlistment as a private in 1917. Through no fault of his own, Harry got no further than Camp Colt, at Gettysburg, Penn. but in later years this service helped make him Kansas commander of the American Legion. and gave him a fillip toward the governorship of the state in 1880.
 WOedring was one of only INRawA swAG ova aNka -' '--