Mellon himself never spoke or wrote about how he retained his cabinet position for so long, but after his death a few of his associates speculated. They told the story of how the National Gallery was created, with Mellon donating both the millions for the building and his massive art collection (worth many more millions). Roosevelt hated Mellon and was not happy about having to accept the charitable gift, but the president had no choice. To refuse would have seemed petty and foolish, two things Roosevelt could never afford to be publicly. Decades after Mellon’s death, some of his associates finally began to whisper things Mellon had used to maximum political advantage.
By November 1936 Mellon knew he was dying. On New Year’s Eve 1936 he met with Roosevelt at the White House. His closest friend, David Finley, accompanied him. Finley would later become the first curator of the National Gallery of Art and the founding chairman for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. We know from Finley that the president and Mellon spoke privately for about fifteen minutes. Finley wrote in his diary that Mellon left that meeting in “an exuberance that I had never before seen upon the man.” When queried, his mentor said, “I gave the president a note that I drafted. He crumpled it up and threw it across the room. But it will be interesting to see what he ultimately does with it.” Finley tried to learn more, but Mellon remained cryptic. “It’s something to occupy him. In the end he’ll find what I left. He’ll not be able to keep himself from looking, and all will be right. The secrets will be safe and my point will have been made. For no matter how much he hates and disagrees with me, he still will have done precisely what I asked.”
“Finley became a Washington icon,” Harriett said, “the father of the historic preservation movement. He was the one who fought to save Europe’s treasures after World War II. The Monument Men were his creation.”
She knew of Finley’s reputation. Credible and trustworthy. Not a fanatic in any way. Which gave Howell’s account even more importance.
They kept reading the marked passages.
Finley and Mellon were especially close. They worked together at the Treasury Department. In 1924 Finley ghost-wrote Taxation: The People’s Business for Mellon, which spelled out the then Secretary of Treasury’s position on taxes. The book was immensely popular. By 1927 Finley had become Mellon’s closest associate, penning his speeches, helping write official Treasury policy, and assisting with Mellon’s private art collection. Mellon died in 1937, just as construction on the National Gallery began. The museum opened in 1941, with Finley in charge. Books written by people close to the National Gallery have acknowledged that, even from the grave, Mellon directed a great many details. Finley, remaining loyal, did exactly as Mellon had requested.
“What in the world,” Harriett said. “It’s like an Oliver Stone movie.”
She smiled. “And just as short on proof. Lots of vague references to unnamed sources. But I’m not surprised. I’ve come across things far stranger than this that proved to be true. So I’ve learned to keep an open mind.”
“Is that another lesson I should learn, too?”
“It’s just that you’ve been in this job only a short while. I’ve dealt with some unique stuff over the years. So the fact that a former secretary of Treasury may have corralled FDR into doing his personal bidding is not all that strange.”
They found the final flagged portion.
Little is known as to what happened after that meeting on New Year’s Eve 1936. If FDR paid attention to anything Mellon said, there is no record of it that can be found. There is evidence, though, of an internal Treasury Department investigation that occurred in early 1937. Documents I obtained through several Freedom of Information requests contain references to that inquiry, ordered by FDR himself. Unfortunately, documents were withheld from my request (noted as classified) and some that were provided came heavily redacted. What could be so sensitive that so many decades later it must still be kept secret? From the few references that have survived, we know that Roosevelt became concerned about the 1935 redesign of the dollar bill and wanted to know if Mellon had played any part in that process. Unfortunately, no documents that I have been able to obtain can answer that question. Mellon died in August 1937, and Roosevelt’s attention focused on ending the Depression and the growing turmoil in Europe. There is no evidence of Roosevelt concerning himself again with Andrew Mellon.
One comment, though, did survive. Not by Roosevelt, but by David Finley. In his private diary, published in the 1970s, Finley recounted his last conversation with Mellon, just days before his mentor’s death. Finley accompanied Mellon on a drive from Mellon’s Washington apartment to Union Station. From there, a train would take Mellon north to Long Island and his daughter’s residence. He planned on spending a few weeks there refreshing himself. Unfortunately, that’s where he died. As they passed the Federal Triangle and the site where construction on the National Gallery had begun:
We talked of the 1920s and our days at Treasury. He was so proud of his public service. He’d shepherded America into great prosperity. The Depression was still not his fault. “It should never have happened,” he said again. “If Hoover had only listened.” We gazed out at the foundation work for the National Gallery. Though I did not know it at the time, that would be his last look at his creation. He spoke of New Year’s Eve a few months earlier and our visit with the president. I asked if anything had ever come of that balled-up piece of paper. He shook his head and told me that the secrets remained out there. “The president hasn’t looked yet, but he will,” he said to me. We then rode in silence. When we reached the station his final words summed up the man, or at least how he certainly viewed himself. “I’m a patriot, David. Never forget that.”
SEVENTEEN
VENICE
Malone opened his eyes.
His head throbbed. He was not a drinker and had never experienced a hangover but, from listening to others complain, he imagined the agony currently raging between his ears had to be what it felt like. Where was he? Then he remembered. Still in Larks’ suite.
Something was in his right hand.