Evening star., 1939-03-20
DouqIus
Continued from First Page }

his lN-kempt sandy hair as he talks
His clothes will remind you of the
underpaid college instructor. Not
SO his talk. That will be sharp and
nervous. 1t will be the talk of a
man who knows he has important
work to do.
All his life Mr.. Douglas has had
important work to do. AS the son
OF poor missionary parents, much
OF the work was grubby. To get
money for an education he worked
as farm hand, junk dealer and
janitor.
He was to be described by Presi-
dent Robert M. Hutchins of the
University of Chicago as the Nations
"outstanding professor of law"
Mr.. Douglas attended grade school
and high school at Yakima, Wash,
where his family moved in 1904, when
he was 6. In 1916 he entered Whit
man College, Walla Walla, Wash,
and four years later received a
bachelor of arts degree.
Taught in High School.
Then for two years he took a fling
at teaching in the high school at
Yakima, but finally turned East.
After bumming his way on a
freight train ne arrived in New
York. That was in 1922. His work.
ing capital was Sc cents. That didn't
see him through Columbia Univer-
slty Law School He managed to
work his way through, then hoped
a subway downtown where he cot a
job in one of the New York's leading
corporation law firms-Cravath,
Degersdorff, Swaine & Wood.
In two years he tired of that and
took a subway back uptown-to
Columbia Law School, where he lee
turcd from 1925 to 1927. BY 1882
he had shifted to Yale Law School
and been promoted to be sterling
professor Of law-reputedly the high
est paid post in the school.
Those who profess to be in the
know around Washington say that
it was a corporate reorganization
by Mr.. Douglas which first captured
the attention of the New Deal.
Joseph Patrick Kennedy was run
ming the S. E. C. during the first
flush of the New Deal and heard
Mr.. Douglas had written an analysis
OF reorganization procedure. Few
New Dealers had as sharp an eye
for the intricacies of corporation
finance as Mr.. Kennedy. The lat
ter, so the story goes, read the
study, summoned Mr.. Douglas. The
net result-in 1937-Mr. Douglas
elevation to the Craftsmanship of the
S. E. C.
In this job the erstwhile farm
hand and junk dealer, proved a
shirt-sleeves chairman.
Chilled Bankers Club.
Before his elevation, he had
chilled the stuffy corridors of the
fashionable Bankers Club of New
York with luncheon speech. Wall
Streets banking aristocracy had
politely snuddered and retired-to
hope behind closed doors that this
man would never be chairman of
S. E. O.
When he finally got the job he
trained his sights on Wall Street.
What he saw indicated to him the
Stock Exchange needed cleaning. He
was not long in saying so. In No.
vember, 1887, three months after he
took over, he let loose blast which
shocked and sickened the Wall
Street apostles of the status quo"
In 1000 words of polished English
he roared at the Stock Exchange.
The burden of his message-as
humbly paraphrased-was:
Clean up-or else"
After the exchange had tidied it.
self up, Mr.. Douglas turned his at
tention to the utility industry. The
law said that as soon as practicable
after January l, 1898, the utility
holding company should begin a
new way of life. It should simplify
itself geographically and financially.
Favored Pump Printing.
To this job Mr. Douglas has given
himself. He has told the utilities
simplification should be revolution
ary rather than revolutionary" The
completion of the job, he has said,
will take several years.
What are some of his beliefs? His
PHILOSOPHERS?
He has favored pump printing"
by the Government.
One Of his main goals he has