March 7, 1934
"Morgan The Magnificent" by Winkler, author of "John D., A Portrait in Oils"At last I have found a biographer whose hero is termed a crook and a scoundrel, as well as an exemplar of virtue. He gives the devil his due in a direct, pungent style that grips the reader's interest. Of course
his subject required only a knowledge of his life and his environment to make the telling of it gripping
- a life whose keynote might be characterized by "What next?" And now I'll have to look up Judge Gary
some time. My contact with the local old-school industrialist makes this reading appropriate, for we are witnessing today a last stand of unscrupulous capitalistic industrial control against the humanizing
stand of the federal administration, which is really the culmination of the movement inaugurated by
Teddy's big stick. Personal interest is attached to the revelation that J.P.Morgan's grandfather was pastor of the Hollis Street Church for 26 years, and assisted in founding the A.U.A. in 1825. J.P. himself
was a staunch warden of the P.E. Church. Gary is revealed as a prophet of NRA when he startled a
Congressional investigation in 1911, by wishing for a responsible governmental authority to whom he
could say "Here are our facts and figures, here is our property, here our cost of production; now you tell us what we have the right to do and what prices we have the right to charge." A positive side of
Morgan's character was revealed in a similar investigation in which he stated (1912) that the rule of
business placed a man's character ahead of the possession of money or property in obtaining
commercial credit. Morgan delegated the tremendous details of his super-activities to partners, and
varied his own life by a wealth of personal hobbies; and saved his applied energies for final decisions.
L.E.D. makes his own detailed decisions, and so enslaves not only his subordinates, but to an even
greater extent himself. Such is the fate of an "indispensable" executive.Wayne is already showing tangible results: more than sixty in Church last Sunday. He continued his
development of his New Morality theme by proposing that the incentives for life are ideals. Most people have a central ideal, and many subordinate ones. Ideals are not necessarily moral, for the driving force of a criminal career may be considered as seeking perfection in overcoming the protective barriers of society.National Republic returned the Social-consciousness manuscript with the peculiar statement that they could use only a fraction of my material. That's all they said; so will have to wait and see what fraction it may be, and whether or not they intend remuneration. At any rate, this goes down in history as the first nibble.
Am still at the substation. The place has become annoying, now that there are pretty good prospects of
escape. The delay may mean inability of the powers that be to fit me logically into the new picture, or it may simply mean that quick action will be avoided so I won't feel too cocky over forcing the issue. A
little suspense is good for the soul.In an indignant mood yesterday I wrote a letter of denunciation to the President in which I scored the
destructive criticism of a demagog, and urged that pressure be brought to bear to bring the plotters of
dissatisfaction out in the open: and enforced cooperation. Undecided as yet whether or not to mail it,
for my sympathies are devided - rather my judgement. The chances are that if I get a half way decent
break I shall dismiss my cantancerous moods and settle down to the constructive business of making
the most of my job. My first consideration must be improvement in my worldly circumstances for the
sake of the family; just give me a chance, dame fortune.The boys are both keyed up for the movies tonight - Alice in Wonderland.
