| Show tommy the cork marries secretary 1 I who like all girls once feared him hill by DREW PEARSON and ROBERT S ALLEN SALLEN copyright united features syndicate 61 inc released by western newspaper union athe dashington ASHINGTON this is the story of a lovely symbol of the modern girl friday peggy dowd who a few days ago married her brain truster boss tommy corcuran corcoran and thereby brought to many persons in and out of Washing oira torra breathing spell for as long as she can keep him away on their honeymoon its a romance as colorful V athe athe eventful career of the b arly fly haired bridegroom in washington peggy dowd Is always associated with the brain trust but long before there was a brain trust or the world had ever heard of tommy corcoran peggy dowd was holding down an important job she was the personal secretary of one of the big men of the hoover administration gardner cowles owner of the des moines register and tribune and director of the she liked midshipmen until it was a very pleasant job and peggy thought her boss was a grand man but her only interest in gov eminent was prom hopping wilh dashing annapolis midshipmen about this time there came to the a young lawyer as irish as herself peggy would see him now and then rushing along the corridors but she never talked to him for it was rumored in feminine circles that he thoroughly disliked women thought they had been put on earth only to get in the way of mens work girls frankly were afraid to work for tom corcoran he had come down to washington from a big wall street law firm and just could no not t get used to the deliberate civil service ways of government he considered dictating to a shorthand and book a waste of time insisted that his secretary take it down on the typewriter as he talked and he talked a blue streak tommy was a tough one he also had a lot of cr crazy azy ideas about shortcuts short cuts through the telephone he care how big his phone bills were so long as they saved time and around him he had a crowd of young fellows out of harvard law school who were just as wild as he was and who like him telephoned all day and dictated all night secretaries came to his office and departed like the days none ever stayed longer than a week there was a ladies room legend which persisted though corcoran denied it that he had once jerked a phone right out of its socket and tossed it at a secretary who insisted on going home at three in the morning his constant cry to the head stenographer was for a male secretary the morning after director cowles peggys peggye boss resigned and left for iowa the head stenographer faced with her daily headache of finding a secretary for corcoran she called it the suicide assignment summoned peggy dowd and said gently report please to mr corcoran oh no said peggy not me there are other jobs in this world for my sake please try it tor for a few days pleaded the head stenographer after all hes irish and you youre re irish and you can handle him it if anyone can just dont argue with him let him do things the way he wants to even it if they do seem crazy who knows perhaps there is a method in his madness 11 so peggy went up to the lions den in a short while orans buzzer rang and peggy went in get this telegram off right away he ordered without looking up or giving her time to sit down then for two minutes he reeled off a long wire so fast that peggy even get the start of it for a few moments she stood there helpless then with a jerk of her head she started for the door to tell the head stenographer it was no go the day Is saved As peggy turned there burst into tiie room one of the harvard law school boys J raburn food monroe now a successful new orleans lawyer and a power in the new anti long group who flashed a telegram before corcoran that changes everything corcoran shouted to peggy kill that wire I 1 just gave you so peggy just walked back to her desk pretending she had the wire but was not going to send it the fortuitous interruption had saved her and today peggy has one extra name among her patron saints the name is st food the first crisis thus survived so fortunately peggy decided to test her luck further at seven that night corcoran nonchalantly instructed go out and get something to eat and meet me at the capitol in the legislative counsels office at weve got a little job to do tonight wont take more than an hour or so it took most of the allotted half hour just to get to the capitol but peggy was there on time and there she met two other turbines of the brain trust ben cohen and jim landis later to become SEC chairman and dean of harvard law school big little job the little job was something about a securities bill which had to be ready for a congressional committee the next morning it was 4 a m when she pulled the last sheet out of the typewriter and the 7 FOR pr V 10 JJ 4 S 41 BRIDE AND GROOM thomas G corcoran no 1 brain truster tn ister poses his bride and former secretary peggy dowd following their surprise marriage at leesburg va peggy feared him and what secretary dian didn t until each discovered the other ivas also irish three men after a critical reading pronounced it okay yes added corcoran with a cheery smile a swell job miss what did you say your name was margaret dowd well margaret dowd tomorrow morning you tell the head stenographer that I 1 said do thus peggy dowd got her start as the girl friday of the brain trust and began seven years of thrilling work carried on at about the same hectic tempo as her first day side by side with corcoran cohen landis douglas jackson foley rowe dempsey and others of the family she went through the epochal legislative battles of the new deal the securities act the federal housing bill the fierce TVA clashes the tremendous holding company fight the wage hour bill the historic supreme court struggle the jackson ickes offensive against monopoly no more blore parties for peggy she was in the thick of them all always in the background but always on hand the confidential secretary of these confidential men at arms of the president it meant no parties no planning for a week or even a day ahead every waking hour was devoted to the job and peggy thrived under it all whether it was because she and tom corcoran were falling in love peggy became more and more beautiful in the last few years she has been conceded to be one of the most beautiful women in washington attired a honey col ored blonde with big gray green eyes vivien leigh eye corcoran calls them and a delicate complexion that her favorite pink camellias light up beautifully she was the prettiest picture in working washington at the occasional play they went to all eyes turned toward peggy dowd but if the onlookers got an eyeful they never got an earful silent As a ephy sphinx for one of the most amazing things about this very amazing young lady is that flattered courted and cajoled by everyone seeking the inside lowdown no one has ever been known to get anything out of her except when tom corcoran for hi his s own devious purposes wanted something to get out but there was one secret that peggy did spill she whispered it to her mother at the wedding party just before she and tom slipped out of town on thir skiing honeymoon it was this that the last man who kissed her before tom corcoran gave her his bridal kiss at the altar of the little church in leesburg va was the president of the united states note peggy will continue to be orans secretary also the famous corcoran cohen penthouse menage will be continued occupied by cohen alone |
