Summaries of Telephone Conversations

PR SUMMARY Washington, D. C. July 15, 1945 11:00am AL to PRICHARD. AL said he had talked to HAROLD last night and HAROLD had a wonderful idea. AL said, "of course, I don't know what's going to happen with the judge (Judge VINSON ?), but it doesn't seem to me that he's going to be able to hold both of them awful long (Treasury and OWM & R)." AL said that HAROLD had the idea of proposing WAYNE (WAYNE COY? Former Assistant Director of Budget Bureau, and now Assistant Editor of Washington post), who, AL said, is in very good with JIMMY (BYRNES). PRICHARD said he doesn't think it will work because he doesn't think the "head man" will do it. AL said he thought PRICHARD might ask HANNEGAN and see what he thinks of WAYNE. PRICHARD said he could do that but that HANNEGAN hardly knows WAYNE. PRICHARD said he will talk to HANNEGAN. AL asked what the judge thinks of WAYNE and when PRICHARD said the judge likes him all right, AL said, "Well, hell, between the judge (VINSON) and the justice (BYRNES) he can get a lot of backing. HAROLD SMITH (office of Economic Stabilization and Bureau of Budget) would back him. AL said he thought the old judge, SAM (SAM ROSENMAN ?), would back him. AL continued that "SAM is OSCAR'S (cox ?) candidate, and PRICHARD said, "Well that won't do. It won't be done either. ROOSEVELT didn't even want to appoint him to stabilizer." AL said, "The point is, I think you can really bring more heat to bear for WAYNE than you can on any other guy, and he's a better guy than any other guy. And as a matter of fact, if there's any danger of this being made soon, one way of sort of sounding this thing out would be to get word to BEN (BEN COHEN) PRICHARD said he would see what he could do. AL said he thinks the best way is to talk to HANNEGAN first. PRICHARD said he had already talked to HANNEGAN and "he wants him to keep both." AL said, "Well, that's all right, but it won't last," and PRICHARD agreed. AL said that the judge and the justice and HAROLD SMITH would be for WAYNE and PRICHARD said HAROLD SMITH wouldn't make any difference. AL said he thinks HANNEGAN should propose the thing rather than the judge because "this business of selecting a successor is always psycho- logically bad." PRICHARD said he'd see what he can do. 12:18pm LORETTA LARKIN (Phon.) to PRICHARD. She said she was at the office and that a Senator JOHN HASTINGS (State Senator ?) had tried to get PRICHARD last night. She said HASTINGS is the "gentleman that Mr. HANNEGAN discussed with you who is responsible, I guess, in a way, for having sent the gentleman in yesterday. It's something in connection with that." She said that HASTINGS had a Mr. CHADBORN (Phon.) with him and PRICHARD said he talked with CHADBORN two or three times yesterday. She said they took a plane to New York last night and that HASTINGS' phone number in New York is Rhine- lander 4-0881.