The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-02-13

tion - the agency which hs Tn fact few people recall that Jesse Jones was preceded in that office by another Democrat, and that Jones did not succeed-as most people believe-CharleS G. Dawes as REQ chairman.
 The man whom Jesse Jones Suc- ceeded was the late Atlee Ponl- creme, former Democratic senator from Ohio; and thereby hangs an interesting story of how Jess got the job which his friends in the Senate say should not be given to Henry Wallace.
 In 1882 when Dawes stepped out as REC chairman, President HooV- CT waited until Andrew Mellon, then ambassador to Great Bri- tain, was back in the U. s. A. on a visit, in order to ask his advice on who should succeed Dawes.
 Hoover told Mellon that Jesse Jones, then a member of the REC, but not chairman, had asked him for the appointment as chairman, so Hoover wanted to know what Mellon thought of Jones' financial foresight and ability. Hoover also explained that he was seriously consider ing appointing Democrat as chairman.
 Mellon replied that he knew Jones, but did not think too much of his foresight in finance, citing the fact that Jones had plunged heavily in New York real estate which at that time was seriously depreciated in value.
 Mellon went to to say that If President Hoover was looking for a Democrat as chairman, which might be good idea, he could recommend man who he thought had an unusual knowledge of cor porate finance. During the 1n- vestigation of the Teapot Dome Oil Scandal, Mellon continued, owen D. Roberts (now Justice Of the Supreme Court) and Atlee Pomerene, former senator from Ohio had come to thet treasury to trace the corporate holdings of the oil companies involved. And Mel lon said he had been greatly im- pressed by the manner in which Pomerene took hold of the situ- ation and did more work on the matter than Roberts who was a corporatoin lawyer.
 So Hoover turned Jones down and appointed ex-SenatOr Pom creme of Ohio chairman of the Reconstruction Finance Corpora ton.
 JONES BUTTONHOLES FDR
 Meanwhile Roosevelt was nonl- mated and later elected Presi- dent Shortly after election, Jesse Jones went down to Flor ida to visit him and made strenuous bid to become chairman of the REC. Among other things he impressed upon Roose- welt was that Atlee Pomerene had been for Al Smith at the Chicago Convention of 1882, while he, Jones, said he had swung the Texas delegation over to Roose- welt. Actually, Pomerene had put ex-Governor White of Ohio in nomination at Chicago. While he took no vigorous part in the convention, 1t was true he had not been for Roosevelt.
 Farley also went to bat Tor Jesse Jones, telling the Presi- dent-eIect that Jones had swung the Texas delegation and that Roosevelt owed him a debt of gratitude.
 So as a reward for Jones' pO- litical support. rather than be- cause of any financial genius, 1t was decided that Jesse was to be- come chairman of the REC.
 However, this was not made known to Atlee Pomerene. In fact he never knew about 1t from Roosevelt himself. It was Jesse Jones who broke the news. On the morning of March 4, just be- fore the inauguration, the REC held a meeting and afterwards the former senator from Ohio went up