Sunday, March 25, 1956
THE MIrIGtf2AiN
Snday Marc 25. 1 95LY6Page Three
BUSINESSMAN'S George Humphrey: Dominant Figure
Of the Renewed Partnership
BUSINESSMAN
Between Government & Business
By PHIL BREEN Humphrey joined the firm as as- girl he had been in love with "since more success. Income taxes have Treasury in three successive G.O.P.
"IN CABINET meetings." says sistant general counsel. It was a the age of ten." been lowered an average of 10 per administrations of the 1920's, Re-
President Dwight is,"hsa-,nice comfortable job and one whirl "We talked it over" he said cent, taxes on investments have
er. "I always wait for George ordinarily wouldn't call for too " and the thing we ept coming been cut, and the excess profits taxed apart-
much imagination. But George bark to was this: Say we were in is now dead. nership of business and govern-
Hupryto 'peak. I sit back Humhment. noBunstoneet bwast wtothtakey w carei
and listen to the others talk while Humphrey w a not one to "set" the same place on the plantation ment. Business was to take care
he doesn't say anything. But fIor very long, after I'd turned down the jobHUMPHREY is sincere in the of government in return for gov-
know that when he speaks up he Under his urging, M. A. Han- Would we really be enjoying it? belief that his methods are ernment taking care of business,
will say just what I am thinking na Co. undertook a vast and Wouldn't we feel I'd let the Presi- what the nation's economy needs The Democratic victory of 1932
When George talks, we all sweeping re-organization, dump- dent and the country down? As to give it new life and vigor. He put an end to this partnership. For
listen." ing old and unprofitable branches I said to my wife, this sort of thing was horrified at the "regimenta- twenty years the top leaders in
In the three years since he be- of the firm, merging the newer is kind of like the draft. If your tion and government controls" and government were lawyers, social
came Secretary of the Treasury. and more successful ones, stream- number's up, you've got to go." other 'things the American people workers, college professors-any-
gingprocedures,raiin new George M. Humphrey has emerged l n d ra new So he went. don't like" which twenty years of body under the sun except rich and
as the most powerful man in the capital, and hiring a whole new And when he went he took with New and Fair Deals forced on the successful businessmen.
asaf theymostpowerfulicanaus the nation,ihteRpblcnsepo
President's Cabinet. sta of young, eneretic, and ef him the same determination to nion mWithhe Republican sweep of
int's rCaent n ficient professional business execu- achieve, to build, that had so "We must re-establish natural 1952 the partnership once more
In the recent critical months of tives. srnlmakdhswoecer.incentives and then we can make wsrsmd
the President's illness and disabil- strongly marked his whole career. was resumed. Today, the sym-
ity, George Humphrey has been It was a lot of work, and Hum- As boss of the Treasury Depart- more things for less money for bol and dominating figure of that
doing a lot of talking. His sdsice. phrey did most of it. In 1929 ment's 87,525 employees and many more people. We can make this partnership is George Humphrey.
ideas, and policies have carried he as made president of the diverse Bureaus (Internal Reve- again a land of opportunity for
much weight. He has become the company ne, Printing and Engraving, Mint, our young men."
vital, moving force behind the In she reigi of George Hum- Narcotics, Budget, Secret Service, this kind of remark, Hum- Business
present Republican Administia- phrey M. A. Hanna Co. rose to to name a few) he had a big job phrey's critics retort with the rath- In An Election Year
tion new and more glorious heights. ahead of him, er obvious fact that it was under
Asd as Banns prospeaed 'o did the five Democratic governments l gHUMPHREY has come a
"The way people let tha t ides n sHnapoprds i of th 3Dad'i htGog
b e ay Pe that Humphrey As ruler of a sprawl- S KEEP of the Government's e '30's and '40's that George long way since he left his pros-
out me," he sys, " that there ing empire of stel, coal, steam- ' csh, Humphrey felt he "muist Humphrey made his money and perous little law practice in Sagi-
isn't a great deal you can do in ship, and textile interests, he do something to bring this octopus the M. A. Hanna Co., like so many naw, Michigan. He still sees "the
government without money, and siadtxieiteeth osmtig obigti cou otherwol hu
weeve hems moey . ats m amassed a personal fortune esti- that the Government had become businesses, reaped such large world through business eyes," and
bi mated conservatively at $20,000,- back under control." profits makes his decisions accordingly.
usiness. 000. "The U.S. Government," he said, In his views on the national He is still striving to "build some-
His "business" has carried him "now shows all the element political economy Mr. Humphrey thing," still struggling to achieve.
Into many different areas of the reminds one of a predecessor of In the seven critical months be-
Federal GovernmentHe has made Fa ily of a badly managed business." his, another millionaire-Andrew tween now and the November elec-
hisfl ouence felt in such fields as Stockhoalern e s Mellon. On the wall behind George tions, in these anxious days of
foreign affairs, national defense, & Th G OlP No an to p e a new Humphrey's desk in his office in "peace and prosperity" and "part-
labo reatinsanda hst f 0h- Th G..P. spending plan to the White th
labor relations, and a host of oth-ouse until the Treasury had a Teasury Building is a large time presidency," Secretary Hum-
er far-flung governmental activi- By 1948 the desire for accomp- chance o wok it ove, and prstly fige portrait o the thin hreo will continue to do renawful
ties. He is referred to by many lishment was still burning 2. No program to be offered and ghostly figure of Mellon staring lot of talking-and the President,
Washington observers as t h e strong in George Humphrey's to the White House without a Wfly out inton Secretary of the U Cabinet, and the people l the
strong man" of the U.S. Cabinet. heart. In that year he pioneered price tag showing the cost. WthMe__n__ecretary _ _theUniedStates will all be listening.
the mammoth $200,000,000 iron He felt that the cardinal sin
HE ROLE of "strong man" is ore development in Labrador, op- of previous Democratic adminis-
not a new one for George ening up a great new source of trations had been its "hang the
Humphrey. There have been few raw materials from which to feed cost" attitude, its habit of adopt-,, m tfu s ' " ' k"
times in his life when he has not the hung ry industrial mouth of the ing a policy and then trying to . ?hers
been a strong man, few ventures nation, figure out how to pay for it. And
he has been associated with in True, the venture would mean paying for it would always involve
which he has not taken the domi- a lot of money to him and his as- "borrowing more money or run-
nlant position, the leading role. sociates, yet he never thought of ning a bigger deficit." "Now"
His whole life has been one of it solely in terms of financial gain. says George Humphrey, "the cred-
constant striving-a struggle to To him the project was a real it of the American Government is
achieve, to accomplish, to build. accomplishment, and as he said, not unlimited. A country can't
George Magoffin Humphrey was "Accomplishment is the sum of a go on outspending itself indefinite-
born in Cheboygan, Michigan, on lot of things-building things, ly any more than a man can."
March 8, 1890. He grew uptin making things, making jobs for To prove his point he refersto never never..,n the wrld began
nearby Saginaw, where is father people, and, yes, making money, his experience in business. In the
was a leading citizen and prosper-too." business world, he says, "either as there been a perfume like
ous lawyer. At Saginaw High In Cleveland, where he spent they blow you up way beyond what
School he played on the sta high most of his mature years, few you're worth, or suddenly you're is
school championship football team people outside the higher echelons no good at all. While you're rid-
and was president of his clas. of the business community had ing high, the bankers are clamor-
two years in a row, ever heard of George Humphrey. ing to take you out to dinner, and
In 1908 he entered the Univer- In politics, he had never made press credit on you.:r
ity of Michigan to study engi- much noise. A staunch Republi- "The moment you begin to
neering. He soon switched law, can, he was content to remain in slip, or they think you're slip-
made good grades, and graduated the fund collecting end of the Re- ping - bing! -- your credit's all
with honors in 1912. publican Party organization in gone. And when it's gone, it's"e'-
After graduation he married Ohio. gone.'
his childhood sweetheart, Pamela
Sta k. etere hi fater'slaw In short, he was a business-
Sark enterted disfather's law nshrenasa O PRESERVE the credit of the
firm, and settled down to six years man busines'man - fervently T0 RSREtecei fte ~ '
of a healthy, respectable, and lug- loyal to his family, his stock- U.S. Government, Secretary -
rative law practice. But somehowholders, and the G.O.P. Humphrey has embarked on a po1- /
the legal profession did not satisfy By 1952 he was convinced that icy to cut Federal spending ' till
him. the only thing that could save the last dog is hung.h In so doig,
the country from perdition was his critics say, he has sacrificed
asolid Republican election sweep.
16 Years He had bankrolled George Bender altar of Balancing the Budget and
After Hanna to the leader'hip of the Cuyahoga Reducing the National Debt. To y
County Republican machine, had thi accusation, GeorgeHumphrey
\Q/HEN in 1918 he was offered a ' makes the following sort of reply: -
position with the M. A. Hanna Taft's campaigns for Senator, and "It's not so simple as saying,
Company of Cleveland, Ohio, he when the G.O.P. nominated Eisen- 'How much would you spend to
felt that here was the chance hover he became an avid Ike sup- save your life?', and to give the -
to begin the kind of life he wanted boterherngame andIkursng obvious answer, 'Anything' It's
to lead. In the 1890's the M. A. poptergatherin up an ring much more complicated than that.
whopping sums into the General" eesasu ih agra b
Hanna Co. had been a rich and m .Here's a guy with a dagger at '
powerful outfit, the treasurehouse your throat. You have to spend
of the illustrious Mark A. Hanna, Eisenhower's election was "one a lot of money to protect yourself,
then Senator from Ohio, political of , the most heartening ex- but if you spend too much, you v
boss of the Republican Party, and pensnces" of his life, Hmphrey tarve to death anyway, so what's
vita onrofPeidn ilimcoulnosibakadrsesy
virtual owner of President William ld now si back and rest easy the difference? What we are try- Lentharic's new, exciting perfume created for your special
McKinley. The battle was over. The nation ing to save is our American way . moments...a little primitive-eternally feminine-completely
But by 1918, 16 years after Han- was safe. of life-a free market economy- uninhibited! (Look at the wonderful gold-topped bottle.,.
na's death, the company had de- and you can lose that by economic makes an exquisite gift.)
generated into a veritable hodge- If Your Number's Up, disaster just as quickly as by mili-
podge of financial and industrial Yoo've Got To Go tary defeat." Pmtime .., 1 .5t ...I oz. 10.11.. Dram 3.II
odds and ends, struggling along George Humphrey is very de- Toiet War,...3% Iz 4.00,..2 of. 2.50
under the hectic mismanagement HE WAS taking a happy, well- voted to "saving our way of life.
of four partners, and losing two earned vacation on his flan- He has two sure-fire ways to save -
million dollars a year, tation in Georgia when General it:.
Lucius Clay presented him with 1. Remove all government
This is Phil llreen's second the President's offer of the Treas- shackles from private enterprise.
major contribution to the mag- ury post. At first he refused: "No 2, Lower taxes.
azine section. His article on businessman has any business in The first of these has been re- Open 8 A.M Sunday Hours
Richard Nixon appeared in the politics." Then, he decided to jected by an obstinate Democratic to 9 P.. 9 A.M. to 1 P.M.
January issue, think it over, He discussed the Congress.,Daily 5 P.M. to 9 P.M
problem with his wife, Pamela, the With the second he has found . " "