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way. “Richberg's a good man. I've got nothing against him. You know that. But you have this deep experience. You have knowledge of the purposes of the NRA.” I laid it on thick. “I don't think the President would send Richberg. I don't think he would feel that he had a competent report. That isn't what he wants.”

“Oh, so you don't like Richberg.” I remember he said that to me quick as scat.

I said, “Sure I like Richberg. You know I do, but I'm just speaking like this because I imagine the President wants your view, your opinion.”

Anyhow, according to Baruch everything looked smooth. According to McIntyre and the President everything looked smooth. They didn't think that Hugh was going to decline to go. But in between their talks with him and his talk with me, something had happened. He told me he had decided not to go. He was going to tell the President in the morning that he wasn't going to go, that his plain duty was here.

In some way or other, and I never knew whether it was planted or not - planted by Hugh or by somebody else - by the next day the press had got not the exact story, but a rumor that the President wanted Johnson to go to Europe on some kind of a study. It was played up as a very handsome mission so far as the press got it. They