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planning who should be on the board. But come Pearl Harbor it had to move quickly. That was when we fixed December 17th for the decisive meeting. Before that we had met with each of the groups separately, and more than once. I had met with them without Davis, because I knew that some of them didn't like Davis. I wanted to give them an opportunity, particularly the employer people, to air their minds to somebody who represented the President. I had confidnece in Davis and thought he was the best we could get. But if they felt aggrieved about him - and he was very long-winded, and bored them with his long-winded, legalistic philosophy, as well as the fact that he could think up queer ways of siding with the unions in a few cases - I wanted them to have a chance to say so. So I had them in to talk with me without asking Davis in, or without asking Lloyd Garrison, whom I sometimes asked, in. I let them air their minds about the personnel involved in the public membership.

On the whole I realized that they didn't really have any grievances against the public membership, and that Davis, I still thought, was the best person to do it, because he was willing and was loyal - loyal to the President. He was going to work at it, wouldn't just wash it off. He had had a considerable success, although I saw some of his peculiar personal characteristics.