Personnel

Last week the following were news: Highest council in the steel industry is American Iron & Steel Institute, whose 32 directors administer the Steel Code. When President Robert Patterson Lamont, onetime (1929-32) Secretary of Commerce, resigned last year, the Iron & Steel Institute postponed electing a new president pending reorganization. Its members wanted an active steel executive at their head and a far-flung research staff to keep the industry and the public abreast of Steel's developments. Last week, its reorganization apparently completed, the Institute announced the election of Eugene Gifford Grace of Bethlehem Steel as president and Tom Mercer Girdler of Republic Steel as vice president. Henceforth only an executive within the industry may become the Institute's head, may hold office for not more than two years.

Nine years ago Seymour Weiss was a $25-a-week manager of the Hotel Roosevelt barbershop in New Orleans. He was promoted to hotel pressagent. The best publicity job he ever did was to provide Governor Huey Long with a free and luxurious suite of rooms. Governor Long made him Colonel Weiss, appointed him treasurer of the Long political machine. Soon "Colonel" Weiss was appointed NRA Hotel Code chairman for 13 Southern states. Last week he was elected president of the newly formed New Orleans Roosevelt Corp., operator of the Hotel Roosevelt and the Hotel Bienville. Twenty-four hours later a Federal Grand Jury indicted him for evading taxes on a $200,000 income.

In June 1933 President George A. Sloan of the Cotton Textile Institute walked into the White House, slapped down on President Roosevelt's desk a cotton textile agreement which, with modifications, became the first NRA code. When Mr. Sloan tried to resign as chairman of the Code Authority and president of the Textile Institute last summer, the industry would not hear of it. Fortnight ago the Institute re-elected him president. Last week, complaining of the "double load of important activities," he compromised by keeping his job with the Code Authority but resigning his job with the Institute. Goldthwaite H. Dorr, counsel of the Institute, assistant director of munitions during the War, was elected to succeed him.

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