1931 Old Waldorf Bar Days by Albert Stevens Crockett

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 [ 87]