Even this plan, however, had a questionable aspect which came to trouble Mr. Baruch, and the manner in which he manipulated the matter shows either a very shrewd mind or else very shrewd advice. The latter undoubtedly went with the former: there were plenty of Jewish advisors about.
To begin with, Mr. Baruch says: “The members of that committee were picked out by myself; the in¬ dustries did not pick them out.” Which means, in fact, that Mr. Baruch picked out a group from a group that had previously been chosen by the producers, although plainly Mr. Baruch was desirous of modifying this impression. And again: “It is true that these great copper producers were on the committee, and I selected them because they were great men * * * ”
Now, these men, as members of a government com¬ mittee, were to all appearances selling to themselves as members of the government committee, and, ap¬ parently, buying from themselves as owners and con¬ trollers of the great producing combinations. Not necessarily in any discreditable way, but in a very unusual way.
In the face of this condition, Mr. Baruch had the coolness to say, “So you can see that the government was as much in the saddle as it was possible to be.” The producer-members of the committee, headed by Baruch, were the government, so far as this statement is concerned. Time and again it was shown that the responsible officials of the government were not even visible until this extra-government had determined all the conditions.
Mr. Garrett—“Did any troubles arise with the committees growing out of the legal situation, that you remember of?”
Mr. Baruch—“The committees of the trade, espe¬ cially some of those that I had asked to serve, were very much disturbed about their standing in reference to the Sherman Anti-Trust Law. Is that what you refer to?”