Elias Mortimer, a construction lobbyist, needed to land his firm a fat government contract to build veterans' hospitals. Luckily for him, the chief of the Veterans' Bureau had three great loves: getting bribed, misappropriating government funds, and intense 24/7 partying. They thought there was no way anything could go wrong. But what happened nearly destroyed them both. Read a full transcript of this episode on the Something True website. Follow Something true on Twitter @atruepodcast. (Or just follow Duncan and Alex.) Music on this week’s episode: Jahzzar – Take Me Higher* Latché Swing – Swing 39* Alialujah Choir – Kings and Queens* Latché Swing – Menilmontant* Costa and Nero – Rast’e Tou Teke* Podington Bear – Starling* Nick Jaina – High Beams* *modified for the podcast.
In one of Aesop's classic fables, a farmer comes across a viper freezing in the snow.
Oh no, he says, here, little viper, let me put you inside my coat for warm.
The snake immediately bites him.
Oh no, he says again, I am rightly served for pitying a scoundrel and he dies.
Thats good, thought Aesop, when he came up with it.
Thats a good fable.
And he wrote another 15 fables before he got up off the toilet.
Youre listening to something true stories from the footnotes of history, written by Duncan Fife and read by Alex Ashby.
This weeks episode Charlie Joyride after the First World War, the United States of America made a promise that it would not forget the needs of its veterans.
In 1920, the government set up a new agency, the Veterans Bureau, which had a budget of $18 million to build specialized veterans hospitals.
If you worked in the construction industry back then youd do anything to win the contract to build those hospitals and to get them.
The man you needed to woo was Charles Forbes.
He was the director of the bureau.
He was a mister, moneybags, a corporal.
Contracts a dollar daddy.
And Elias Mortimer, a political lobbyist for the Thompson Black Construction Company of St.
Louis, was in the mood to woo a dollar daddy.
Elias and his wife Catherine lived in a DC hotel which happened to be around the corner from Charles Forbes own house.
Elias met with Charles and asked him if he'd come round for dinner.
Charles did.