The daily independent., 1937-07-31
u0 NM'

to Gust Him; hclpeu Drait
Securities, Holding Company,
Tax Dodging, Wage, Acts; EX-
Wall Street Lawyer Who Has
Worked Under 3 Remarkable
Teachers.
Editors Note: The Brass Ring
is awarded to those who can ride
The washington Merry -GO-Round
Without losing their balance OF
their sense Of humor." One free
ride on The Merry -Go-Round to-
day goes to Tom Corcoran, most
influential of the Presidents
Brain Trust" adviSerS0
aShington-During the winter
of 1881, Tom Corcoran, now a
close adviser to President ROOSe-
velt and one of the most spot
lighted men in America, was an
obscure young lawyer living in a
Brooklyn apartment which over
looked Brooklyn Bridge and the
towering citadels of lower Man
haitian.
One night, pointing to the
lighted windows where charWom-
en- were cleaning up the debris of
the bankers and brokers of Wall
Street, Corcoran raised his glass
and proposed his toast:
ITO the day" he said when we
stop them from bleeding the cOun-
try"
Corcoran was then 80. And in
! the six years which followed, he
has come very near the fulfilment
Of his toast. He helped put thru
the Securities Act regulating the
sale of stocks and bonds to the
public. He helped draft the Stock
Exchange Act which attempted to
protect the public from the raiders
of Wall Street. He was the
brains behind the Holding Com
pany Act is helping to plug up
the holes in the income tax law.
and now is waging campaign
for the passage Of the Wages and
Hours Act.
All of which explains why. next
to the President himself. he is
the man most hated by Big Busi-
ness and most unpopular with
conservative Senators of any man
in the Roosevelt Administration.
Real Human Being
To anyone who did not know
Tom Corcoran, the recitation OF
his achievements would make him
out to be a Scheming. vindiCtive
radical, bent upon revenge against
the interests with which he once
worked. But he is just the OPP
poSite.
He is one Of the most charm
ing and delightful individuals in
Washington. He has fund OF
stories which keeps any dinner
party in an uproar. He can play
the piano and the accordion. and
sing American folk-SongS like a
professional. And he has a sense
Of loyalty to his friends which
has won him more friends than
enemieS-though he has plenty of
the latter, too.
He has all the loveable emo
tion3 of the Irish. ana despite his
crusade for less profits and more
honesty in business, actually he
is more enamored Of human be-
ingS than of principles. He has
gone to the rescue Of many a
friend who Sinned grievouSly
against the things COrCoran is
fighting for. Once, when up
braided for making such a res
cue, he replied:
Yes, they are lice. But dam
NIT they're my lice"
Many Teachers
Tom COrCOran was porn IN raw
tucket. Rhode Island. of a moth |
er who was the daughter of sea-
captain, very Strong-Willcd |
woman. Tom woes home to visit |
her frequently. His father is a
small town lawyer, and sometimes |
comes down to visit his son in !
the Nations Capital.
Tom has studied under three |
remarkable teachers. At Har-
ward Law School he was a dis
ciple Of Felix Frankfurter. After
graduation, he became the SeCre- |
tary to Oliver Wendell Holmes, |
beginning a close friendship which
lasted until the Justices death. |
simultaneously he also became |
the friend Of Jlb;tiCe BrandeiS,
for whom he has done a great |
deal of research.
After leaving Holmes. COrCOran !
joined the law firm of Cotton and !
Franklin, where he worked witt |
Jos eph p. Cotton, later Under
Secretary of State, and got to
know all the tricks of Wall Street.
When chidcd on his past rs a
Wall Street lawyer, CorcOran re-
plies
"Of course. Where did you
think I got wise to the stock
market-at a tea party?"
Worked for Hoover
1t was not the New Deal but |
Eugene Meyer, then RFC chair
man who first brought Tom to
Washington. During the first |
year or so of the Roosevelt Ad- |