Joseph E. (Mission to Moscow) Davies, onetime Ambassador to Belgium and Russia, and a wealthy lawyer before he married into the Post Toasties millions in 1935, dealt with a rumor that had Washington buzzing. The rumor: Davies had just bought a fleet of seven new Cadillacs. Reached by newsmen at Tregaron, his baronial estate in Washington, Davies set the whole thing straight. Said he: “I bought four small cars to conserve gasoline. Mine is a Chrysler or Cadillac, I’m not sure which. I daresay there were several Cadillacs bought—new cars conserve gas, actually. We purchased four or five small cars, I’m not sure which, but not just for ourselves. We have a large staff.” Just how many cars did he own altogether? Joe Davies replied impatiently that he didn’t know, would have to ask his bookkeeper.
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