THE ROOM

THE ROOM

A great many people seem to be mildly upset by the actions of Big Tech lately, and their habit of providing information to the Intelligence agencies whenever requested, as well as some of
them having had their seed money provided directly by the CIA or another spy group. Oh, and their interfering in politics and society in general.

But this has been going on for much, much longer than the internet.

Before World War II, the US Government traditionally left intelligence to the principal executors of American foreign policy, the Department of State and the Military Intelligence forces. Attaches and diplomats collected the bulk of America's foreign intelligence, mostly in the course of official business but occasionally in clandestine meetings with secret contacts.

Some of the powerful business interests in America were not happy with "civil servants" being in charge of such secrets, especially if the civil servants did not wish to share their information with anyone outside the government.

In 1927 a group of rich businessmen and intellectuals decided to form a sort of "think tank" and quasi-intelligence organization that could advise the President and top business leaders on the state of the world. Spearheaded by William Vincent Astor, a clandestine organization known as "The Room" began operations in an apartment at 34 East 62nd Street in Manhattan. William Astor was the elder son of John Jacob Astor IV. Its early membership had ties to British intelligence, but recruiting of Ivy League students soon began. All of the players in this drama knew each other socially and interacted through their business and political activities. Details of the operation of this ring can be found in the book The Roosevelt-Astor Espionage Ring, by Jeffery M. Dowart, New York History 62 (July 1981):307-22.

After his election to the Presidency in 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt began to rely on the information gathered by members of "The Room". He was acquainted with most of the membership through his social, political and business activities, and he enjoyed receiving confidential information from agents who reported to him personally and privately. These "off-the-books" spies were very helpful to him.

One member of this private club was Winthrop Williams Aldrich, president and chairman of the board of the Chase National Bank. He was able to provide fiscal intelligence gathered from his international offices and make it available to the group. Another helpful member was Astor himself. As director of the Western Union Cable Company he was able to intercept pertinent cablegrams and pass them on to President Roosevelt. In return Roosevelt appointed Astor to the position of Coordinator of Intelligence for the New York area in June of 1940.

We can see very clearly that even at this early date some American citizens had no problem at all with the idea of using the financial statements that you filed with your local Bank as a tool to inform others just what you might be up to. And while this seems to have been restricted to Western Union communications, the spying on our cell phones and internet emails is just a step up on the technological ladder. If you believe that this date was and is only being used against enemies of the United States, you would be very naive indeed.

And, since this started in 1927, there really was no world enemy to speak of, so of course the intelligence was simply a tool of the rich to gain more money and power. And control over the people less wealthy than they are.

In addition to often living near each other, the powerful elite who pull a lot of the strings
of our Government also seem to like to lie near each other in death. And one quite
popular spot is the Sleepy Hollow Cementery in New York.

The cemetery is a non-profit, non-sectarian burying ground of about 90 acres. It is contiguous with, but separate from, the churchyard of the Old Dutch Church, the colonial-era church that was a setting for "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". The Rockefeller family estate (Kykuit), whose grounds abut Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, contains the private Rockefeller cemetery.

Here are some of the wealthier 'guests' :

The Astors (Billionaires)
The Rockefeller family on the adjoining land
John Dustin Archbold, a director of the Standard Oil Company
Andrew Carnegie
Walter Chrysler
William Conant Church, co-founder of the National Rifle Association
William Sloane Coffin, Sr., of W.& J. Sloan Co.
Samuel Gompers, founder of the American Federation of Labor
Alexander Hamilton's sons and daughters
Harry Helmsley, one of the biggest property holders in the United States
Leona Helmsley, bequeathed $12 million to her dog.
Washington Irving
George Jones, one of the founders of The New York Times
William Orton, President of Western Union
William Rockefeller, New York head of the Standard Oil Company
Henry Villard, railroad baron
Paul Warburg, banker and early advocate of the U.S. Federal Reserve system
Thomas J. Watson, transformed a small manufacturer of adding machines into IBM
 

August

Metanoia
THE ROOM

A great many people seem to be mildly upset by the actions of Big Tech lately, and their habit of providing information to the Intelligence agencies whenever requested, as well as some of
them having had their seed money provided directly by the CIA or another spy group. Oh, and their interfering in politics and society in general.

But this has been going on for much, much longer than the internet.

Before World War II, the US Government traditionally left intelligence to the principal executors of American foreign policy, the Department of State and the Military Intelligence forces. Attaches and diplomats collected the bulk of America's foreign intelligence, mostly in the course of official business but occasionally in clandestine meetings with secret contacts.

Some of the powerful business interests in America were not happy with "civil servants" being in charge of such secrets, especially if the civil servants did not wish to share their information with anyone outside the government.

In 1927 a group of rich businessmen and intellectuals decided to form a sort of "think tank" and quasi-intelligence organization that could advise the President and top business leaders on the state of the world. Spearheaded by William Vincent Astor, a clandestine organization known as "The Room" began operations in an apartment at 34 East 62nd Street in Manhattan. William Astor was the elder son of John Jacob Astor IV. Its early membership had ties to British intelligence, but recruiting of Ivy League students soon began. All of the players in this drama knew each other socially and interacted through their business and political activities. Details of the operation of this ring can be found in the book The Roosevelt-Astor Espionage Ring, by Jeffery M. Dowart, New York History 62 (July 1981):307-22.

After his election to the Presidency in 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt began to rely on the information gathered by members of "The Room". He was acquainted with most of the membership through his social, political and business activities, and he enjoyed receiving confidential information from agents who reported to him personally and privately. These "off-the-books" spies were very helpful to him.

One member of this private club was Winthrop Williams Aldrich, president and chairman of the board of the Chase National Bank. He was able to provide fiscal intelligence gathered from his international offices and make it available to the group. Another helpful member was Astor himself. As director of the Western Union Cable Company he was able to intercept pertinent cablegrams and pass them on to President Roosevelt. In return Roosevelt appointed Astor to the position of Coordinator of Intelligence for the New York area in June of 1940.

We can see very clearly that even at this early date some American citizens had no problem at all with the idea of using the financial statements that you filed with your local Bank as a tool to inform others just what you might be up to. And while this seems to have been restricted to Western Union communications, the spying on our cell phones and internet emails is just a step up on the technological ladder. If you believe that this date was and is only being used against enemies of the United States, you would be very naive indeed.

And, since this started in 1927, there really was no world enemy to speak of, so of course the intelligence was simply a tool of the rich to gain more money and power. And control over the people less wealthy than they are.

In addition to often living near each other, the powerful elite who pull a lot of the strings
of our Government also seem to like to lie near each other in death. And one quite
popular spot is the Sleepy Hollow Cementery in New York.

The cemetery is a non-profit, non-sectarian burying ground of about 90 acres. It is contiguous with, but separate from, the churchyard of the Old Dutch Church, the colonial-era church that was a setting for "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". The Rockefeller family estate (Kykuit), whose grounds abut Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, contains the private Rockefeller cemetery.

Here are some of the wealthier 'guests' :

The Astors (Billionaires)
The Rockefeller family on the adjoining land
John Dustin Archbold, a director of the Standard Oil Company
Andrew Carnegie
Walter Chrysler
William Conant Church, co-founder of the National Rifle Association
William Sloane Coffin, Sr., of W.& J. Sloan Co.
Samuel Gompers, founder of the American Federation of Labor
Alexander Hamilton's sons and daughters
Harry Helmsley, one of the biggest property holders in the United States
Leona Helmsley, bequeathed $12 million to her dog.
Washington Irving
George Jones, one of the founders of The New York Times
William Orton, President of Western Union
William Rockefeller, New York head of the Standard Oil Company
Henry Villard, railroad baron
Paul Warburg, banker and early advocate of the U.S. Federal Reserve system
Thomas J. Watson, transformed a small manufacturer of adding machines into IBM

There are some heavy hitters in there.
 
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