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Faculty and Proctors
In
a day or two, Ed's newspaper or some other would
come out with a column or more telling what a terrible
fellow Scotland Yard Joe was-terrible, at least, to
crooks. A long record of Joe's exploits might be chroni–
cled; famous mysteries he had solved; famous crooks he
had spotted and jugged-most of it drawn from Joe
himself, from a good reporter's "scrap-book," or from
his recollections of
othe~
previous write-ups.
And the crooks would read-or else somebody would
tell them. And they would stay ·away-at least those
who could be identified as er.oaks-and Joe would plume
himself that the Bar and the Lobby were again like
Eden before the Serpent did his dirty work.
Everybody who knew Joe liked him. But old-timers
on the staff had long memories. And one recollection
in which Joe had figured rankled. It was of a time Joe,
in his own way, had tried to make everybody rich. The
means was a tip purporting to come direct from J. P.
Morgan himself. Generously "slipped" by Joe, under
cover of secrecy, it cost a good many me!Ilbers of the
staff of the Waldorf their metaphorical shirts.
Of course, persons who could get anywfiere within
sound of Morgan's voice were apt to keep
o~
tiptoe to
grab any pearls of financial wisdom or information that
might drop from the lips of the oracle of finance. Such
did not realize always that there were occasions when
Morgan might speak without intending his words to be
taken seriously.
Morgan, mentioned as an early patron of the Bar,
used to come often to the hotel to attend dinners of the
Chamber of Commerce and other big banquets. From
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