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The publisher was very concerned about economic position of the Times, a point that I've discussed previously, and I think that he felt, whether he articulated it to himself or not I don't know - he certainly didn't ever spell this out to me. At the time that he asked me to step down as editor in favor of someone else, he stated, because I asked him explicitly, “Was it because you think that I've been running the editorial page in a wrong way or with wrong directions?”

He absolutely denied that and said, “Absolutely not. It's only because of the circumstances, someone is available and you're going to retire in a year and a half anyway.” And absolutely denied that there was an ideological reason whatsoever or policy reason whatsoever. But I think there is no doubt, I've come firmly to the conclusion that the reasons that I have just given, this feeling that I was not sufficiently attuned to the business interests of the New York Times, that made it quite easy, in fact advantageous from his point of view, to ask me to leave the editorship of the Times before I would have normally done it.

The automobile question that I've just been discussing is illustrative, I believe, of the way this operated.

I alluded a moment ago to the American Electric Power, Don Cook, and his wild campaign against the editorial position of the Times - his wild campaign through ads and long letters and through visits to the New York Times, to the publisher and so on, as another instance