The Wilmington morning star., 1946-12-28
As Pegler Sees 1t
By WEsTBROOK PEGLER
copyright, by King Features Syndicate, /

that President Roosevelt had done anything
of the kind and said that any such charge
was a damnable lie.
Within a few months, the Treasury Depart
ment, under Henry Morgenthau, whose regard
for Franklin D. Roosevelt was close to reVer-
ence, was forced to submit to the democratic
Ways and Means Committee of the House OF
! Representatives absolute and unden1ed proof
that the late President had hatched and put
through a scheme to cheat John Hartford. OF
the A and P grocery chain, of $4,000 to
defray Elliott's alimony obligations to his vile
of that time and their two infant children.
Two others who had loaned money to Ellott
we're marked for the same treatment. One'
David G.. Baird, an insurance man, gave up
and took his trimming, although not as eas4y
&C Hartford. The other, Charles Harwood, who
thought Roosevelt intended to give hln an
appointment as a federal judge, refused to
surrender the collateral which Elliott had CIV
en- him for his $25, 900 touch when Jesse Jones,
| then Secretary of offered ann sooo
for it. Harwood reckoned that If had to lose
SO cents on the dollar and didn't get MS Jop
on the bench, he might as we'll shoot II all.
! Therefore,, he held onto his stock in Elllotts
Texas state network. Subsequently, as Presl-
dent Roosevelt had foreSeen, the STOCK came
back and Harwood recouped.
Hill Blackett, of Chicago, an advertising
agent, was invited to dine at the White dcuse
with the President and Elliott's mother and
| 6ldCkSll 1GCOSlllLCd all leSAHP
him to throw advertising business to their
sons radio system. This mans experience
also refutes Elliott's statement that his tathe1
never interceded to promote his interests.
Except in Elliott's general denial, uttered
before the facts of these cases were es-
tablished in detail, no member OF the canlly
nor anv political adherent of President Roose'
Welt has ever challenged the disclosures In
any particular. -,
Another incident Of The same kind for the
same historical record comes to light,
Victor Emanuel, a rich financier, who had
met President Roosevelt only once, was IN
vited to lunch with him in the White House
Emanuel is a close friend and business as
sociate of Tom Girdler, OF Republic Steel.
A that lunch. as Roosevelts guest. Emanu-
ell was asked to lend money to Elliott.
Emanuel, who has large public utility inter-
ests. had been harassed and, he believed, I'M
fairly, by the Roosevelt administration. AS the
case was with John Hartford, who was being
prosecuted by Roosevelt's Department of JUS
tice as a food monopolist, Mr.. Emanuel was
put in a mental position to hope that his
troubles would cease if he should comply.
Mr.. Emanuel gave S ,5UO to Roosevelt's
first presidential campaign fund in 1882,
through James A. Farley. He voted for him
that once, but I am reliably told he never
voted for Roosevelt again. His one previous
meeting with Roosevelt had been casual.
AL tudL luIlCu, luc IIeoluSlL VI lWC LAtC
States asked a man whose business interests
had been under constant fire from the govern
ment for a long time, whether his financial
company would be interested in financing the
purchase of some radio properties in Texas
by Elliott. The Presidents only purpose in
arranging the luncheon meeting was to put
this question to Emanuel. He wanted Emanuel
to look into the matter and decide whether
Elliott's proposition struck him as a good in
vestment. Hartford had been completely casu-
al about his loan. He decided that it would
be a good idea to lend the money without
careful inquiry. Baird, more careful and
known as a shrewd and thrifty man, did in
quire but came through nevertheless. al
though Elliott's business methods and man.
agement were almost juvenile. For example,
down to the day that the Treasury questioned
him about the Harwood touch, he wasn't sure
whether he got the money for his company
as a loan or in payment for "a purchase of
stock.
Mr.. Emanuel did look into Elliott's radio
interests and reported to the President that
they did not present a sound investment, for
his firm. In a state Of mind over this expert
ence, he arrived in Miami soon afterward
and saw James M. Cox, the publisher of the
Miami Daily News, who in 1920 was the
democratic nominee for President against
Warren G. Harding, with Roosevelt as his
running-mate for vice-president. He related
HIS experience 10 NIL. OOX. NIL. Lux Tdu COlle
out of Dayton, O., to become governor of
Ohio as one OF the early democratic pro-
gressives. Mr.. Emanuel also comes from
Dayton, where his father was a poor mer-
chant. Mr.. Cox was in no position to offer
more than consolation for any damage that
Mr.. Emanuels ideals may have suffered.
On a later occasion, Mr.. Emanuel met Ell
lott casually and, true to his practice with
rich men, Elliott asked him to invest money
in another venture OF his. They did not sit
down to a business conference. Elliott nipped
at him on the run, so to speak, a bite that
failed but was worth trying. Again Mr..
Emanuel refused.
Mr.. Emanuel does not attribute any OF his
troubles with the government to motives of
revenge. On the other hand, Hartford enter
tanned the fleeing thought that his 5000, 900
loan might be the price Of peace, but was
bounded, as he thought, even though he gave
up not only his notes but the collateral as
we'll. The psychology was reminiscent OF the
old confidence game in which the sucker is
invited to bet on a fake fight or fixed morse
race. The trick is to compromise the sucker,
to entice him into a questionable it hot plain
ly dishonest position so that When ne is
trimmed he cannot complain without seeming
to incriminate himself.
The experience Of Hartford, BAIRD ano Har-
wood shows that Roosevelt was setting a trap
for Emanuel and that in the end, emanuel
would have been invited to surrender not only
his evidence of debt but his collateral on the
representation, carefully prepared, that 1t
was worthless, all for the patriotic ano hu-