Part: 123456789         Session: 1         Page na123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169170171172173174175176177178179180181182183184185186187188189190191192193194195196197198199200201202203204205206207208209210211212213214215216217218219220221222223224225226227228229230231232233234235236237238239240241242243244245246247248249250251252253254255256257258259260261262263264265266267268269270271272273274275276277278279280281282283284285286287288289290291292293294295296297298299300301302303304305306307308309310311312313314315316317318319320321322323324325326327328329330331332333334335336337338339340341342343344345346347348349350351352353354355356357358359360361362363364365366367368369370371372373374375376377378379380381382383384385386387388389390391392393394395396397398399400401402403404405406407408409410411412413414415416417418419420421422423424425426427428429430431432433434435436437438439440441442443444445446447448449450451452453454455456457458459460461462463464465466467468469470471472473474475476477478479480481482483484485486487488489490491492493494495496497498499500501502503504505506507508509510511512513514515516517518519520521522523524525526527528529530531532533534535536537538539540541542543544545546547548549550551552553554555556557558559560561562563564565566567568569570571572573574575576577578 of 578

otherwise he would be against us.” So he wanted him for his counsel. Everybody agreed. The President said, “That's all right.” So he asked Richberg to be counsel and Richberg said he would, entering into it with a good deal of interest.

Richberg had an excellent legal mind, and with a legal mind he had a sense of organization and of the channeling of work to appropriate authorities through appropriate patterns. So he was a help to Johnson.

Everybody was suggesting so many things that it's a wonder anything got done, but it was obvious that Johnson couldn't organize. He couldn't put things together. The job got ahead of his organization. There was more coming in than he'd been able to prepare for.

John Hancock was operating secretly. Nobody saw him around. He wasn't there hiring people, setting them and describing the duties of the office, but he was Baruch's Number I man and he was around the scene.

Then Blackwell Smith came into the picture. He was a young lawyer, now (1953) practising in New York, who's done very well in the law. He's a Californian, a graduate of Pomona College. I don't know who brought him in. I suspect that he was one of the out-of-work young lawyers that were floating around, that he probably applied for the job and Richberg hired him as an assistant. Blacky