29
time endearing Rockefeller to Coloradans. The report of the Commission on Colorado Unemployment
cited King, stating, “His suggestions were always timely and his counsel wise and helpful.” [137]
King, of course, never fashioned himself as a “public relations specialist” or “advocate,” and
would probably blanche at such characterizations. When called to testify before the U.S. Commission on
Industrial Relations, King became indignant when Chairman Frank Walsh intimated that King was
nothing more than a hired gun for the Rockefellers. King had refused earlier in his career to work for large
Canadian industrial firms [138] King tried to portray himself as an academic who conducted industrial
relations studies for the Foundation, both at the Commission hearings and in later explanations about his
efforts before political peers in Canada. [139]. Yet, his actions suggest he was very much preoccupied
with trying to restore the Rockefeller’s reputation and in dealing with the political exigencies.
Lee continued to work for the Rockefellers for two decades, until his death in 1934. But clearly
Lee never became as close to JDR Jr. as King. Rockefeller later told his biographer that he “seldom was so
impressed by a man at first appearance” and developed a strong kinship with King because they both had
mothers they adored, shared common religious interests, and had common interests in books and music.
[140] Both were duty-bound in their careers to helping humanity—King through politics, Rockefeller
through philanthropy. Others researchers have emphasized that men similar in age and physical stature—
although quite different in personality. King offset Rockefeller’s tendency to be serious, aloof, colorless,
and introverted. King was the first business adviser of Rockefeller’s own choosing—and provided advice
that was often just the opposite of that provided from his father’s inner-circle. [141] King challenged JDR
Jr. to be his own person and to get out from under the grip of his father [142]
Rockefeller would later tell his biographer about King:
I was merely his mouthpiece. I needed education. No other man did so much for me. He had vast
experience in industrial relations and I had none. I needed guidance. He had an intuitive sense of
the right thing to do – whether it was a man who ought to be talked with or a situation that ought to
Convention