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And Raskin had hit mandatory retirement in May of '76, so that there were only eight months that an assistant editor could be named, because the near certainty was that my successor would want to name his own assistant editor.

But I felt that Hechinger deserved this job, if he would take it, knowing that he probably would not be kept in it by my successor, who was hell-bent on making, as it developed, who was hell-bent on making as complete a sweep of the editorial board as was possible.

At the time the changeover was agreed on in March of '76, I had no idea whatsoever from either him or from the publisher that a virtually - I hate to use the word, but I'm afraid that was the phrasing - a virtual clean sweep of the editorial board was envisaged, which -

You had no idea originally, in March?

I certainly didn't. I certainly did not, at the time that the publisher asked me if I would give up the editorial page in favor of my successor. I certainly knew at that time, when my successor came in, he would certainly want a couple of his own people, but I had no idea that it would be as extensive as it developed, involving about half the members, to be precise. About half the members of the editorial board were going to be forced out. And then, as it happened, - I am now really getting ahead of the story - almost all the others, who weren't forced, out departed, because they didn't like the situation. So the result is that today, in December 1977, less than a year after I handed over the reins, there are only two full-time and one part-time members of the editorial board today who were there when I was running the page.