Wartime Washington   1944

LETTERS
--------------------------------------------------
(L440430) Dorothy Griffin to Maude / Arlington, VA
(L440531) Dorothy Griffin to Maude / Arlington, VA
(L441201) Dorothy Griffin to Maude / Arlington, VA
(L450312) John Griffin to Parents / Arlington, VA


YEAR (FILE ) SUBJECT
---- ------- ---------------------------------
1944 (7005) John Robert and Paul Griffin
1944 (5016) Mother's Day Card from Bobby

I handled a number of other cases under the Packers and Stockyards Act, including a rate case at East St. Louis and other disciplinary cases. Since coming to the Department of Agriculture, my Division Chief had been promoted to Associate Solicitor, and Charlie Bucy, an attorney I knew, was moved up to Division Chief. One day Bucy called me into his office and asked me how I would like to work with him on a big "corner" case, involving the General Foods Corporation, under the Commodities Exchange Act. He said that he was going to handle the case but needed someone to help him and that it would give me some valuable experience. I was happy to have the opportunity.

The next three months I spent learning a new language, involving "hedges'", "spreads'; "corners", squeezes", "futures", etc. It was weeks before I could even understand what they were talking about. Finally I began to understand. It appeared that some clever brokers in Chicago had talked the Genaral Foods Corporation into trying to make up some of their anticipated losses because of price ceilings, by hedging in rye. General Foods acquired vast quantities of rye futures. The brokers talked them into holding on to them while the brokers were buying May, 1944 futures in vast quantities. As May approached, they held for delivery and a squeeze developed in rye; the price rising substantially. The brokers made lots of money but General Foods had to "burn the crops" and really got stuck. Our job was to prove all of this.

We had a difficult time getting the rest of the industry to cooperate with us and give us witnesses who could testify as experts as to what had taken place. They were evidently afraid of retaliation from General Foods in later years. We decided to go up to St. Paul to see some of these people about a month before the hearing. Bucy and I went there with the chief of the enforcement section of C.E.A., Jack Bagwell. We didn't have too good luck but after spending two days, Bucy decided that he had to return, as he had received a wire from Washington.

On a Friday afternoon we were in the St. Paul C.E.A. office going over the case when Bucy was called out for a phone call. After talking for some time he came in and motioned for me to come out. He said that it was the big boss on the phone and that Charlie ( ) who was the Associate Solicitor was going to leave to become dean of the Pittsburgh Law School. He said that he was going to move up as Associate Solicitor and that he was recommending me for his job as the Division Chief if I were interested. I told him that I believed I was but that we had planned to return to. California after the War and before giving him an answer I would like to discuss it with my wife.

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