The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-01-19

admiration club at the White House conference last week. There have been so many of these con- ferences that 1t is hard to keep them straight. But this was the Brain Trust conference consisting of labor, industry, and banking representatives, and it proved to be the most important of all Roosevelt's many confabs.
 John L. Lewis not only saw eye-' to-eye with the Morgan partner at this meeting but also with Owen D. Young, head of the giant General Electric Company. The two big businessmen had never met the big miner until a few days before, but they liked each other from the start.
 Absent A. F. of l..
 A lot of people wondered why Bill Green or some other A. F. of L. leader did not go with Young, Lamont and the others to this meeting,
 This was no accident. Inclusion of an A. F. of L.. representative was considered, and the conferees actually got out the list of Fed eration leaders in advance. But they turned thumbs down on them all, decided that Lewis could speak for the whole labor move ment.
 Secret Luncheon
 After the White House meeting, all of the conferees except the President went to the Mayflower Hotel, where they lunched to- gether in a private dining-room.
 Driving to the hotel, Philip Murray, a naturalized citizen and vice president of the United Mine Workers, rode in the same taxi with Tom Lamont, and as they got out, the Morgan partner started to pay the bill.
 Just a minute, MT. Lamont" interceded Murray; my life's ambition has been to pay taxi fare for one of the Morgan partners. So I insist"
 MURRAY PAID THE BILL. Inside Story
 Inside story of how this White House meeting was organized is important. It gives the best idea of what the shooting was all about.
 Chief organizers were Rex Tug well, ex-Brain TruSter, and Charles Tassig, president of the American Molasses company and another original Brain Truster, also was in on 1t. In short, the old Brain Trust was back in full bloom.
 Taussig and Tugwell, the lat ter now understanding the busi- ness viewpoint, several weeks ago started talking with Lewis and his smart young assistant, Lee PresSman, about the need of cooperation among government, business and labor.
 In New York they talked with Owen Young and the J. P. Mor- gan partners. Then they brought Lewis up to New York for several roundtable talks, finally suggested to the President that they all be invited to the White House.
 Who Killed NRA?
 It is important to remember that the old Brain Trust (except for Professor Moley, who early was a misfit) never agreed with the MIRA. They thought General Johnson and Don Richberg had killed a golden opportunity by permitting industry to fix prices and cut production.
 The Brain Truster advocated the policy of industrial plenty, not scarcity; proposed increasing production at stabilized wages but lower prices.
 This was one of many things discussed with Owen Young, Tom Lamont and John L. Lewis in advance.
 "Mr. President,
 We Think .'
 So when they got to the White House, the big miner, the big banker, the big industrialist and the old Brain Truster were in complete agreement. They talked straight from the shoulder. Lewis and Young did most of the talk ing though all participated. There was no wise-cracking. The Presi- dent listened more attentively, talked less than usual.
 One idea they handed Roose- welt was that he, himself, had been talking so much about price cuts that it had acted to slave off buying. Industry didn't buy because momentarily it expected prices to tumble. Thus the Presi- dent was partly responsible for poStponing recovery.
 They also emphasized that if