"Mr. Statistics"

The great brontosaurus of American industry, U. S. Steel Corp., was brought into existence by the mighty financial hand of the original J. P. Morgan. Today, as from its beginning, Morgan men sit prominently on the board of U. S. Steel. Last week one more Morgan man, not a partner but a son of the House, was chosen to help mold the destinies of Steel. His name is Edward Riley Stettinius and he has, by reputation, the driving power of a locomotive.

The original Edward Riley Stettinius was a matchmaker (president of Diamond Match) from St. Louis who was picked by the House of Morgan to buy supplies for the Allies before the U. S. entered the War. He did so well that in 1916 he was made a Morgan partner. He, too, was known as a driver. After the U. S. entered the War he became one of Bernard Baruch's big right hands in getting U. S. War supplies, and later Assistant Secretary of War. When he died in 1925, he left a widow with a "show place" at Locust Valley, L. I., two daughters, one of them Mrs. Juan Trippe (Pan American Airways), and two sons, William and Ed- ward Jr. At the time that his father became a Morgan partner young Ed was in Pomfret School. From there he went to the University of Virginia whither his brother William had preceded him. To distinguish them Bill was known as "Big Stet," Ed as "Little Stet." The janitor of his house called Ed "Mr. Statistics."

In those days the heavy head of hair over Little Stet's square, good-looking face was already turning grey. At college he never touched a drop to drink, never smoked, never used bad language. He became head of the college Y.M.C.A.. and also King of the Imps (noted for their heavy drinking), was rated a "swell guy" and finally was elected president of the Academic department. His inherited drive was already in full swing.

In 1924, the year after he left college, he got a job with Hyatt Roller Bearing Division (General Motors). Two years later he was made assistant to General Motors' vice president John L. Pratt. In 1930 he was made assistant to President Sloan and placed in charge of industrial relations. Two years ago he became a vice president, and, still spreading his activities, took charge of the Share-the-Work movement in the 2nd Federal Reserve District under Standard Oil's Teagle. Last June he was summoned to Washington to act as go-between between the tycoons of the Industrial Advisory Board and the hard-boiled theorists of NRA. There he worked at his usual swift pace and demanded the same of his subordinates. One minute he would put in a long distance telephone call and the next grab up the receiver to demand "How about it?" Then he would go striding off down a corridor, pop into someone's office to ask a question, pop out again, race back to his desk. Amiable, casual in manner, he sped callers on their way with "Good luck, old boy. Thanks for coming in." His job was to meet tycoons when they went to Washington with their problems and he had the knack of sending them all away happy whether or not they got what they wanted. Last week U. S. Steel acquired his future services. On April 1 he will become vice chairman of Steel's Finance Committee filling the post vacated by the promotion of William J. Filbert (TIME, Dec. n). Steel permits its executives to retire at 65, pensions them off at 70. Nobody knows the exact age of bald, mysterious Mr. Filbert, master of so many columns of figures, but it is a fact of record that he got his first job with the Chicago & Northwestern Railway 52 years ago. The presumption is that he is in the 65-70 year bracket, will soon retire, that young Mr. Stettinius will within a reasonably short time become in fact Steel's "Mr. Statistics." Even before then he will probably become one of Steel's 15 directors along with J. P. Morgan, Thomas W. Lamont, Myron C. Taylor, James A. Farrell, George F. Baker, Walter S. Gifford and Sewell Avery. Today Little Stet is only 33. but as be fits a man who has already had a full career, he is practically white-haired. In 1926 he married Virginia Wallace, a Vir ginia girl. They have three children: Edward Jr., aged 3, and twin sons born last March during the banking holiday. From his spacious Manhattan apartment on Fifth Avenue he has a good view of the Metropolitan Museum and a fine vista of a successful career. Last week General Johnson genially patted him on the back: "His place in NRA will be hard to fill, but we can hardly stand in the way of a young man's advancement."

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