| Show Round Merry By DREW PEARSON and ROBERT S. S ALLEN i Editors Editor's note The note The Brass Ring and one free ride on the Washington Round Merry-Go-Round free ride on the Washington Round Merry-Go-Round this week go to New York Supreme Court rustice Jus rus- rus tice Ferdinand Pecora presiding jud judge e in the trial of Tamm Tammany amm ny Leader James J. J Hines NEW YORK YORK Intimate Intimate friends of Ferdinand Pecora will tell you that in his his his' heart he would far rather be standing in young young Tom D Deweys Dewey's wey's shoes shoes- prosecuting Jimmy Hines than to be sitting sitting sit sit- ting bedecked in the black robe of a judge conducting conducting conducting con con- I ducting the sensational Tammany trial Ferd is just built that way T T the tips of his his' fingers he is a crusader a resourceful in indefatigable indefatigable indefatigable in- in and indomitable battler for causes Long b before fore anyone ever heard of Dewey Pecora was rocking the nation and making history history his his- tory with his spectacular investigation of the greatest financial powers in the world world world-J. J. J P. P Morgan Co the Chase National bank the First National b bank Kuhn Loeb Co and the New York New York Stock Exchange That Th t was really big game hunting with mighty national issues at stake Out of Pecora's disclosures disclosure came three of the most reaching far-reaching reforms of the new new deal deal deal- the securities es act the law lavi creating the securities securities ties and exchange commission and the holding company act Following this Pecora might have haie been the theman theman theman man standing in Deweys Dewey's shoes but for Tammany Tammany Tam- Tam many Hall I In 1933 thrilled by the magnitude of his extraordinary achi achievements in Washington Manhattan liberals ran him as an independent for district attorney But the Wigwam while suffering defeat at the hands of Fiorello LaGuardia LaGuardia LaGuardia La- La Guardia for the mayoralty was still strong enough to elect its own man to the district at attorneys attorney's attorneys attorney's at- at torney's office in New York county And Pecora by now elevated to the state supreme court was especially singled out by Governor Lehman to preside over the Dewey prosecutions What thoughts may run through Pecora's mind as he sits on his judicial dais are his alone But it is is' not unlikely that he frequently wishes he were down in the fighting fight fight- ing lag arena before him Long Life-Long Fighter Fighting comes natural to Pecora He had to fight h hard rd for everything he ever eyer got in life Born 56 years ago in s Sicily he was brought to the U. U S. S by his parents when 5 y years ars old In his early l teens ens his father died and Pecora took up the burden of supporting his mother smaller br brothers and sisters sister An effective speaker and possessed of an unusually ingratiating personality young P Pe Pecora Pecora Pe- Pe cora was early attracted to politics He joined the Democratic party but the qualities of the crusader deeply ingrained in his so soul l kept him from tying up too closely with Tammany H Hall II In 1918 he was named an assistant district attorney and four years ears later after especially brilliant work was elevated to chief assistant But the district itself was was' was care carefully care care- fully kept out of his reach Tle Wigwam preferred preferred preferred pre pre- safer men Banking Probe Pecora remained chief assistant district attorney attorney at attorney at- at torney until 1930 when he returned to private practice Three years later he was summoned to Washington to tackle the much befuddled and ineffectual banking probe Three predecessors predecessors predecessors h had d blown up on the job Wall Street was laughing up its sleeve Three months after Pecora had taken hold that laugh had turned to toa toa toa a howl of outraged fury Led by Virginias Virginia's peppery little Senator Car Carter ter Glass a group of committee members sought to block Pecora's expose of certain secret Morgan Morgan Morgan Mor Mor- gan deals Two great members of the committee commit commit- tee the late Senator Duncan U. U Fletcher Democratic Democratic Democratic Demo Demo- cratic chairman from Florida and the late Senator James Couzens Republican from Michigan Michi Michi- gan were Pecora's unfaltering mainstays Working 15 and 18 hours a day in the most ferocious of Washington's hot weather Pecora had the mightiest of the Wall Street giants ter ter- ter- ter Secret Ambition Pecora's secret ambition is to be a aU U U. U S S. S senator He wanted to run run in 1936 when the late Senator Royal S Copeland was up for re reelection reelection reelection re- re election and could have won hands down if White House leaders had had the courage to back him S' S 2 But v v Roosevelt was up for a second term arid and his political master minds were afraid that a primary p battle with Copeland might throw New ew York state into jeopardy So they swallowed lowed without a fight The election returns Is showed v d their fears were groundless Co Copeland eland instead of leading the president trailed far fax behind Copyright 1933 for The Telegram f i. i Y I 1 If |
