Evening star., 1949-08-28
New Attorney Genera
Got EorIy Stort
in Politics
bv Robert K. Walsh


Grath, personifies the art that
conceals art.
A man of drive and energy, he
seldom seems to exert himself
or push others. With astonishing
speed, but with steady rather
than spectacular steps, this ma
tive of the smallest State in the
Union has grown into one of the
Nations biggest notables.
He looks younger and often
acts older than his As years. He
blends or balances shrewdness
and sentiment. severity and hu-
mility, aggressivepess and shy
ness, reserve and Affability, per-
suasiveneSS - or stubbornness -
and open-mindedness.
He has always given the i'm
preston of knowing exactly what
he wants. but he usually is con-
tent to let others wonder how
and why he got it.
This 5-foot, 10-inch, 165-pound
figure worries artists and feature
writer's. Cartoonists complain of
difficulty in putting him on paper.
Profile articles run the risk OF
turning into a mere list of i'm
pressive positions he has held
since he first took public office
10 years ago. He has been too
busy to be very "colorful'-even
to the extent of wearing bow ties.
Sociable but Dignifed
To most newspaper reporters,
however, he has never been too
occupied, too uninterested or too
eyasive to answer, explain and
comment or at least to say mo
comment" patiently and politely.
Mr.. McGrath has developed the
art of getting along with people
He is equally at home with all
sorts s-sd sizes, whether in a roar
ing s1litical convention hall, a
quie- executive chamber. or an
argumentative legislative confer
ence room. In his own house his
friends find him a genial COM
panion and generous host.
But for all of that, he is so
conservative in dress and fire.
quently so dignified in manner
that he fits the conventional pic
ture of a banker or corporation
lawyer more than the popular idea
Of an astute political leader whose
views theoretically could induce
apoplexy in various banking and
corporate circles.
AS for conservatism in political
theory and practice. his critics
wouldn't call him reactionary
Some label him a moderate" in
stead of a far-reaching all-out
liberal" Few accuse him of being
a fugitive from principles and pro-
grams of the New Deal or the Fair
Deal.
To tag this placid faced. calm
voiced gentleman as a fighting
politician might cause eyebrow
lifting. Still, he has weathered
more than his share Of rough and
tumble fights-none flercer than
the Democratic faotional battles in
his own Rhode Island.
His tenure at Democratic Ma
tional Committee headquarters
boiled with toll and trouble. If
Mr.. McGrath did not invariably
hold his temper, he generally hid
his feelings behind a smokescreen
from cigars he necessarily enjoys.
What kind of Attorney General
he will be remains to be seen. Mr..
McGrath prefers to be seen rather
than heard, particularly in ad-
vance of the act.
Party Worker at School
Perhaps the most appropriate
keynote in this instance appears
not on the Justice Department
Building. but on the nearby Ma
tional Archives structure with its
Shakespearean inscription: THE
past is prologue"
City solicitor, State Democratic
chairman. United States attor-
ney. Governor, solicitor general
of the United States, Senator (as
well as mayor" Of Washington /,
Democratic national chairman,
and now the Nations chief legal
ofhcer-that is the running story
from 1880 to 1949. It is far from
the whole story to date.
James Howard McGrath was
not born to politics. But he be-
gan life November %, 1908, in
Woonsocket, r. l., a city of some
so 900 people, mostly of French
or Irish extraction, renowned for
a rip-roaring brand Of politics
all their own.
He was the second of five chill
dren Of Mr.. and Mrs. James J..
McGrath. His father, who was
in the insurance business. moved
the family to Providence when
Howard was about 2 years old.
They settled in a section then
inhabited by hundreds of fam
lilies of Irish descend and vigor-
Gus Democratic attachment.
Activity as well as academic in
terest in politics began unusually
early for the young McGrath.
While at La Sale Academy, a
Christian Brothers high school,
sulaara he uznnf affaf. GRO S,ia fisaSr