The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1938-12-22


Even his friends shake their heads
over it. But when he is on the wit
ness stand his friends and cham
pions-even though they have at
times suffered from this very trait
glory in it.
This trait consists Of a meticulous
insistence that everything be pre-
cisely and exactly, all the way down
to astronomical fractions =as-he
wants it. Nothing else will do. 1t
makes not the slightest difference
to Morgan what the purpose of the
person trying to get him to agree
is. He is just as difficult for friend
as for foe. II is the nature Of the
man.
Anyone who has served on COM
mittee which must make decisions
has encountered fellow committee
members who had something Of this
stubborn insistence on having his
own way down to the last detail
in a course of action and as to the
precise form of the resolution.
Trouble Makers RecLoned
Without Their Morgan
Morgan is that type of committee
member carried to the nth degree.
An amusing instance developed
down at Knoxville last summer
when the congressional committee,
which is supposed TO be investigat-
ing IVA, had him on the stand. 1t
SO happened that for nearly two
hours the only committee members
present we're the four Republicans,
two of whom were frankly out to
make trouble Here was a golden
opportunity A hostile witness-in
fact the chief critic Of TVA-on
the stand and no Democratic mem
bers of the committee to interfere.
True, Francis Biddle, the commit
tee counsel, was present, and Bid
dies desire is to protect IVA from
every attack, but Morgan had al
ready demonstrated that Biddle
could not handle him.
So the trouble makers started to
make medicine But they reckoned
without their Morgan. Somehow
they could not get their questions
phrased just to suit the ex-char-
man. He spent so much time
Strengthening them out that finally
they gave up in disgust.
That's Morgan all over. He
doesn't want any help, either in
smearing IVA or anything else. In
fact, he rather reserts any other
attack on IVA. After ALL it is by
way of being his baby The only
other hostile testimony he likes is
when some employee .or outsider is
proving that some particular thing
Morgan said is true. And even then
he is unhappy most Of the time be-
cause the witness generally goes a
little further than he wants to 60,
or else does not phrase his testi-
mony just to suit him.
arnold Takes Up CiAdgels
10 Defend Sherman fct
Just why Thurman w. Arnold,
ss1ss. for the depart
ment of justice, should have taken
up cudgels to defend the Sherman
antitrust act, despite his arguments
day in and day out for a couple Of
years now that the law must be
amended, is somewhat surprising to
Washington observers.
Mr.. Arnold was obviously an
noyed, and driven into one of the
poorest shoWings he has made in
any argument since he came TO
Washington, either in public or pri-
waite, because an economist insisted
the Sherman law had actually OPP
Grated to force business combina-
tons. The witness pointed out that
under the aRti-trust law five cor
poratons making suspenders, TO use
an illustration, could not agree
among themselves either as 10
prices or as TO ALLEGATION of terri
tory.
But if the five, among them, con-
trolled only half of the total sus-
pender-making business Of the Unit
ed States, they could legally be
merged into one company. Then
there would be no question Of allo-
eating territory or price fixing