When Dean Acheson’s law firm swung the $90,000,000 Polish loan, its fee from behind the Iron Curtain was $1,000,000, plus an equal sum for expenses.
Leon Henderson, the social planner who admits he won World War II single-handed, deserves an important place in this chapter. As one of the brain-trust of the “progressive” Americans for Democratic Action, brother Henderson throws the weight of that organization’s supposed voting strength around Washington for the benefit of his private clients. That is, when he is not too busy making a fool of himself with some young blonde on a New York dance floor.
The A.D.A. pipeline into the White House is David Garrison Lloyd, assistant general counsel to the President.
Robert Nathan, the CIO economist, who comes up with fantastic suggestions such as that the cost of labor has nothing to do with the final price of the commodity, helps support himself by “economizing” for capitalistic clients trying to borrow dough from the RFC. If they hire him, they usually get it.
Those who shed tears for Louis D. Johnson when he was fired as Secretary of Defense need have no worries about how Louis is going to make a living in the future. He is a partner in the firm of Stepto and Johnson, and he has high connections.
Louis, who put the stigma on five-percenters, is one of the biggest operators on government contracts in town. Incidentally, there’s nothing illegal about five-percenting and the fee is now seven and a half percent—Truman inflation.
Though out of the administration, Johnson is so potent and powerful that failure to retain him is a death warrant on some deals. He specializes in alien property work.
Once again, as during World War II, the lobbyists and five-percenters’ password is “Are You Protected?”
That goes for a lot of things. It means are you protected against the law, against competition? But, mainly, are you protected from your clients?
Too many fixers found themselves double-crossed. After they had delivered, they couldn’t collect.