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At this point I think Wagner said, yes, they were vastly different, or much more different than the President thought.

The President said, “Well, you can bring them together anyhow. It's got to be done. Let Johnson and Richberg and yourself be the final arbiters. Keep Miss Perkins informed about what's going on. She'll cooperate and she'll keep me informed. You do believe in this, don't you?” he said to me.

I said, “Yes.”

I was supposed to be a sort of liaison with the President. It was all very vague. My general interest was described. They could count on me as a friend and I would keep the President informed. After all, I was the only public officer at hand. Some public officer had to be representing the President at some point or it wouldn't look right, and it didn't look right in the President's eyes.

Then things began to move very rapidly. I didn't keep in daily touch with what they were doing, but Lubin, more or less, did. I kept in quite close touch with Richberg, because he was willing to talk to me. He was cooperative. Johnson was more and more cooperative, but Johnson always wanted to see you privately. Johnson didn't like to talk before a group. He didn't like to have anybody else present, except himself and one or two people who might be his cohorts.