Vic Hellard 0:03
This is tape nineteen of the Edward F. Prichard interview series. And it is tape
one of the interview with Katharine Graham. Chairman the board . . .Unknown 0:16
Yeah, Chairman board
Vic Hellard 0:17
Chairman of the Board, the Washington Post, taped in her office in Washington
D.C. on July 26th, 1983.Katharine Graham 0:27
Give us a moment to get together.
Vic Hellard 0:28
Please, no worry, I'm just glad to be here. I'm already done with (??) here. You
are a longtime acquaintances of Mr. Ed Prichard, is that right?Katharine Graham 0:40
Yes. I met Pritch. In--I guess it was the winter of--the fall of 1939. When I
came east from San Francisco, where I'd lived for a year recording,Vic Hellard 1:02
Let me make sure I'm getting--.
Katharine Graham 1:04
Asking--
Vic Hellard 1:05
And can came back from San Francisco, under what circumstances did you meet Mr. Prichard?
Katharine Graham 1:10
He was living at Hockley, which I don't have to describe to you, I presume?
Vic Hellard 1:15
Well, I think I want to get you to describe it so I can get your impressions of
it. Must have been a rather unique place.Katharine Graham 1:20
It was, there were 12 Boys in it, of whom 10 were law clerks, or Harvard Law
students, graduates. And two were--one was a journalist John Oates (??) and Dearing (??) Danielson who was something or other in the state. I forget what Dearing was doing journalism, I forget. And the rest were all rather brilliant law school graduates and four of us eventually, through a series of chance encounters--I think I found my way there through John Oates, who was working on the paper and in fact--I get (??) in the head. Okay, Headley Donovan was in the original group and they stayed in S Street, where there was another house, and which had Huddleston then. And I met them first on S street and then they moved to Hockley. When I got back from San Francisco, and they were all terribly attractive, and the house girls, if which I guess I was one, used to be out there most of the weekend. Or they'd be at our house.Vic Hellard 2:52
What was the atmosphere in Hockley House? In 1939, 1940?
Katharine Graham 2:58
For a single girl, itt was heaven. [chuckles] They were all very brilliant. Very
attractive, very funny. They were living like kings. I think they each contributed about $50 and they had this mansion with a sloping lawn to the river and white pillars. I mean, the works. And they had a couple of--a servant too, fortunately for them, Deena Anderson and fired for I believe regular sexual activities and I believe they had fired a couple for irregular sexual activities, or as they were then known. So, they acquired Dean's very well-trained servants--made you know, the makers of mint juleps and the cook and you know, I mean, they were all taken care of in great style, and they used to entertain at Sunday morning breakfasts or Saturday night parties. And Phil was living there.Vic Hellard 4:09
Can you recall some of the guests that may have appeared at some of those parties?
Katharine Graham 4:15
Well, of course Felix Frankfurter was one, some of his friends were other--since
they were all interconnected with literary and public figures. And Dean was certainly there--that's where I'm gonna have a memory failure because they were a lot of fun (??).Vic Hellard 4:40
Well, what were your initial impressions of Mr. Prichard when you met him?
Katharine Graham 4:47
Well, oh, I'm just trying to put--I guess I first met him--I'm trying to even go
back to think when the first meeting was. I guess I asked them all, to a coming out party in the fall, but my sister--my young sister was having a coming out party. And rather than ask some of them, but not all of them, I asked them all. And I think I'd met Prich before that, but I know I had not really met Phil before that. Prich came and got kind of a crush on my sister, which I deeply resented him. She was four years older than I was, and I was always rather jealous of her glamour, but she indeed have at that point. And I guess we all thought that he was tremendously. I mean, we were all bewitched, by his charm, by his humor, by his brilliance, by his eloquence. I think that's the main impression.Vic Hellard 6:13
Did you get any kind of feeling that there might be a bit of arrogance about him
or a bit of precociousness?Katharine Graham 6:19
Precociousness? Yes, arrogance. I guess in retrospect, they were all a little
arrogant. I don't think he was much more arrogant than any of the rest.Vic Hellard 6:29
I don't mean it to be sort of a critical question, but it's part of the--.
Katharine Graham 6:32
Well, I think they all felt very, I don't think it was exactly arrogance. But I
mean, I think they allVic Hellard 6:40
Secure their own opinions?
Katharine Graham 6:42
Certainly that [laughter]. I was always shocked by their manners, which I used
to say. But in fact, Felix had encouraged them. I mean, Felix liked arguments, which took the form of yelling matches, and he also liked, arguments that took place at a very high level. And he liked forthright expressions of opinions, and he cultivated them to do that. And I think that they had been brought up, he was their sort of father figure, in the case of Phil and Prich. And perhaps Joe Rauh, who wasn't in the house, he was then married Butch Fisher, they were the first law clerks. And they'd all graduated high in the class, they'd all been on the law--on the on the [Harvard] Law Review, and they were all at the court. And--and they were--they had had a lot of pretty heady wine (??) in--for kids just getting out of law school. In the lives they lead and the people they knew and this business about Felix encouraging this kind of--.Vic Hellard 8:17
What kind of influence did your husband, or if he ever expressed this, did he
feel that Frankfurter had a (??).He adored Felix. I think he--he felt that he was his--his mentor. When Phil
met--Phil met Felix only after he became president, of the Law Review, which I think was not true with Prich. Because Phil was not in that sort of in-group people who'd come from Florida, and had gone to the university down there. And he didn't talk a lot in class. And he--Huddleston took him to meet Felix after he was elected president of Law Review. So Phil only knew him the last year. But, I think intellect. They didn't agree--I mean, they were--they--they violently disagreed with a lot of Felix's opinions, but because he was so encouraging of their views. They were almost condescending of Felix, when they disagreed with him. I mean, to the point where--I know when Phil was his law clerk, he'd walk up and down, dictating his opinions. And if Felix would get to a point in the opinion, where Phil disagreed with him, he'd simply stop typing. And then they'd have you know, have an argument. And when they seriously disagreed, which they did. In the case of the Bridges opinion of the year Phil was his law clerk, the year after Prich had been. They just would fight it out all winter long they wrote [clear throat] the Bridges deportation opinion the end of the year, because Phil and he simply couldn't agree [chuckles] on what should be written.Well how about--of course Phil and Prich became friends in--at Harvard.
Katharine Graham 10:28
Yes.
Vic Hellard 10:29
I suppose remained fast friends of Phil's life.
Katharine Graham 10:34
Yes.
Vic Hellard 10:35
What kind of influence do you think they may have had on each other? Was there
ever a sense of competitiveness between the two of them? As sometimes it can happen between good friends?I think they were competitive in certain areas. But I don't really think
they--they basically were, I think, they basically really admired and liked each other.From what--well I'm trying to read it. It seems like they were--most of the time
were the same side of the issue.Katharine Graham 11:07
Yes.
Vic Hellard 11:07
Especially when Frankfurter was--.
Oh, they were, that's true.
It's fair to say they were--they were really kind of providing mutual support
for one another, as they developed during this timeframe. They were--.They were very different people. And--but, they were very devoted to each other,
Iwould say. They differed--I mean, they differed in styles a lot. Phil would never leave a peep (??). You know, I think that one of the things that Prich did that distressed all his friends in those days, was that he--he used to do things that--that they disapproved of but tolerated and even supportive and in a way helped. And I guess in retrospect, that was not a favor to Prich. If he went off for the weekend and left a piece of work unfinished, one of them would finish it, including Phil. Or if he left bills unpaid. You know, they go and cover up after. Bill Sheldon, do you know who Bill Sheldon is?No, I'm sorry.
Katharine Graham 12:24
He was Prich's great friend in Princeton, and he was killed during the war. But
he was one of the Hockley boys. And he was sweet. He was not--I mean, Bill was the non-arrogant one, he was very sweet and nice. And probably not as bright. I mean, he probably was lower key in that respect. But he was--he was very bright. Bill Sheldon said he figured that his friendship with Prich at Princeton cost him. I can't remember the figure. But it may have been $900. But it was a gigantic sum for a kid with no money.Vic Hellard 13:08
Wow.
Katharine Graham 13:10
And he said he just decided it was worth it. And so he--this was when--I
remember this came out when Bill and Phil and I were--were holding these periodic consultations about what to do about Prich's habits. I wouldn't--I don't exactly know the right word. But--sloppiness isn't quite the right word. But permissiveness. I guess is the wrong word.Vic Hellard 13:52
Something--.
Katharine Graham 13:52
Toward himself.
Vic Hellard 13:53
Some things that Prich didn't seem to worry about.
I think he did worry about them. But I think he couldn't help--I mean, if
somehow there was--there was something in him that let him do those things and something about his charm that people were always picking up after him.What was the--what were some of the thoughts that Phil had about Prich?
Well, he used to worry--we all used to worry terribly about this habit of
Prich's of of letting work go or not--I mean, to give you an example of it, there was a case that had to be--that Felix had to withdraw the year Prich was his law clerk because it hadn't been what they call shepardize. And Prich hadn't done it, and there was a case that, you know, he thought he knew when he didn't. And I think at that time no--on opinion have ever had to be withdrawn, but they had to withdraw it.I see. Did--after the Hockley House Of course, as (??) said, Prich was Phil's
best man, [at] your wedding?Katharine Graham 15:15
Yes, he was.
Vic Hellard 15:16
And Phil was vice versa? Did you maintain a regular contact with Mr. Prichard
after the Hockley days?Yes. The whole time he was in Washington. When he went to Kentucky, it got more
irregular just--through--through absence.What were your expectations for Prich? Do you have any expectations?
Katharine Graham 15:43
Oh, I think all of us thought he had an enormous future, politically. His--his
whole antanne, and his whole interests and his whole preoccupation were with past, present, and future politics. And I don't have to go into the telling of the Kentucky stories, you know all those things that he used to do then, that we all used to make it before. And he was equally interesting about current events. He read everything he had, he had not only his own views, which were interesting, but those of other people's. I mean, they were both--they were all friends of each others.And they all worked together during the war a bit. When, when the war first
started, and Phil was in Lend Lease and Prich was in whatever he was in and I sort of forget it, but they--they--that was very heady days, because they were all doing things that were way beyond where they would have been had they just--had there not been a war going on. And they had Wayne Coyne in the White House and Oscar Cox is head of Land Lease. They--and Felix and they could get an awful lot done. And they did. The story that Prich told about the leaks. And in that last interview that they sent me from the Boston Globe, which I assume you've seen.Vic Hellard 17:28
No, I have not.
Katharine Graham 17:30
I'll give you a copy--.
Vic Hellard 17:30
I would appreciate that.
Katharine Graham 17:32
Well, he tells the story about--which was very funny about the leaks. And it
really--I mean, he tells it as coming from [Franklin D.] Roosevelt, which I fear it was not--it was the boys. They used to meet Joe Rauh, Prich and Phil. I forget who else, but there were a bunch of them. Butch, probably--I'm not sure about. And Prich used to leak to Drew Pearson and others, but particularly Drew and he'd leak everything--and--out--partly out of friendship with Drew and partly I think out a sort of pleasure in it. And so they cracked down and it said, "Prich, you've simply got to stop it. You know, it's gone too far, you can't do it anymore." And he said, "Alright," sort of--he used to sulk or pout when he--when--you know this is sort of monstrous mountain pouting. And so, they met the next week. And they had an issue in front of them that they wanted leaked. And they said, "all right now you could do it." And they said--he said, "now you're telling me one week I can't and now you're telling me too and what do you mean and are you sure you want it leaked?" And they said "yess, we're sure we wanna leak it--want it leaked." And he said, "are you absolutely sure?" And they said "yes." And he said "alright, I've already done it." [laughter]Vic Hellard 19:09
That sounds like Prich. [chuckles]
Now, he'd tell this is coming from--as Roosevelt, and I'm sure we all get cloudy
in our memories, but it really was not Roosevelt. It was this group of them. That and in fact, you see, Phil got past the small loan--small VE loans. he had wrote the legislation and got it signed off on by all the Cabinet members and passed in Congress. You know, they just got extraordinary things done.Well, they were where they were primarily because of the influence of
Frankfurter, that's fair.Primarily, yeah.
I mean, they certainly held their own once they were there. But--
Katharine Graham 19:54
Yeah, I think once they were there but I mean, then they knew other people too.
Wayne (??) was very helpful.Vic Hellard 20:02
Prich has a way of attracting young people to him. And I think perhaps likes to
be considered as their mentor. Is this something you think he may have picked up from Frankfurter?Katharine Graham 20:15
I would say no--.
Vic Hellard 20:16
--Did Phil have that kind of ability or tendency to attract younger people to him?
Katharine Graham 20:24
Well, Phil attracted everybody to him. He was very charismatic. And I guess he
was only about 48 when he died. So, it wasn't quite the same. But--I think yeah, I think that probably to some extent, he did.Vic Hellard 20:52
Interesting. Well, you're--you're--let's talk about from when Prich got back
Kentucky--well before I go do that, did Prich ever express any kind of political ambitions? Did he ever say, "I want to run for Senator, I want to be in the Congress, or I want to be president?Katharine Graham 21:14
No, I think it was unspoken. I mean, yes, interest in politics. But, did he say,
"I want to be governor or president?" I don't think so.Vic Hellard 21:25
Never anything specific.
Katharine Graham 21:27
No. I don't think so just to be involved.
Vic Hellard 21:29
Well, he left to go back to Kentucky. And say, "well, I'm going home to run for--."
Katharine Graham 21:32
No. No.
Vic Hellard 21:34
Did he say why he went back to Kentucky?
Katharine Graham 21:35
But you--well, you see, Phil--Phil's original plan was to go back to Florida and
get into politics. To some extent, I think they were--had all been influenced by [Louis] Brandeis' philosophy, which was not to stay in government and Wall Street when you've been to the Harvard Law School, but to go back where you came from, and get involved and get into politics, and Phil's plan before we went into Lend Lease, was to go back--to the Florida State Government and get--he was going to get a job in the attorney general's office--the state attorney general's office there. So--I think he has his own--his own--well to be honest [clear throat] he was much like Prich is. You know, that you want--that that's what you did. In a way, I think that that whole group of young men coming out of college and law school, as opposed to going in business, most of them headed for the government. I mean, a lot of--at least those that I knew.Vic Hellard 22:49
Wel--when you heard of Prich's--how did you first hear of Prich's difficulty
with reference to the ballot box stuff you can tell me about.Katharine Graham 22:58
I can't really remember the details. You know, I guess I heard about it, when it happened.
Vic Hellard 23:04
What were your thoughts, do you recall them?
Katharine Graham 23:07
Well, I just couldn't believe he had done it, because going through Harvard Law
School and then going back and stuffing ballots, especially when it was pointless. It took me a long time and I don't know at what point I realized that maybe he had done it. But I was disbelieving.Vic Hellard 23:30
I guess that was Phil's general feeling too?
Katharine Graham 23:35
I suppose so. But, I can't really say. I mean, I don't know that. I'm sure it was.
Vic Hellard 23:44
Did you all communicate with him after that--that event happened?
Katharine Graham 23:51
You know--I can't really recall. Because it--Prich was all--both our friends.
But he was--to some slight extent, in ways in that--in that kind of way, he was more of Phil's friend. And we were always in touch with him. And always tried to help him and I know, Paul Porter was the main--do you know about Paul? Well, Paul, and I think Paul really was the main source of support for Prich. But Phil would raise money for him or go down there or try to get him jobs or try to get him help. And, unfortunately, see, I think something quite extraordinary has happened, even in those days, you'd get Prich a job and he wouldn't do it. He had this really capacity for not being able to--to fulfill an obligation that may not be very interesting, or that might be boring, or that was expected of him. I mean, it was just like not finishing, finishing his work at the court or. He never stopped doing that, not even after judge experience, but now he seems to have I mean, in this extraordinary moment of when he's--when he's having his worst afflictions, he seems to have risen above everything in the most extraordinary way. That if he had been able to do the things earlier, that he seemed to have been able to do after he'd had these terrible physical afflictions, even financial afflictions and others. I mean, it's heroic things that he's done now. Maybe he didn't have enough troubles early enough.Vic Hellard 26:06
That could be.
Katharine Graham 26:06
You know, I think when--things come too easy to people, or they don't have
enough discipline, or they don't have enough adversity of some kind, it doesn't need to be--.Vic Hellard 26:23
I think that may well have been Prich's (??). Although Prich would attribute it
to---I don't think we're talking about school, he would attribute it to just his tone, and the occupation of politics. Largely, he let cases slide and his work slide because he'd much rather be involved in politics for (??).Katharine Graham 26:42
Well, we all have something we like to do now. But you have some, you know,
you've been brought up to say.Vic Hellard 26:49
Something about being a servant (??).
Katharine Graham 26:50
Fulfill your obligations.
Vic Hellard 26:55
In reading--.
Katharine Graham 26:56
I think maybe, you know, I think he was a mother's boy, frankly. His--his mother
adored him. And whether that had--I mean, I'm not here to psychoanalyze him.Vic Hellard 27:06
No.
Katharine Graham 27:08
Maybe, maybe that had something to do with it.
Vic Hellard 27:13
In [David] Halverstam's book, you know, just reading a part of it he says--that
when Phil proposed to you, and you accepted and Phil got wildly drunk, and the next day when he came to pick you up, he wrote Prich along, so that he wouldn't have to discuss the--events of the night before. Was that true?Katharine Graham 27:32
Well, that--he's gotten--.
Vic Hellard 27:32
Is that not correct?
Katharine Graham 27:33
Somewhat, but not--that's not the sequence actually, Prich and I were having,
Prich was a friend of mine. And so then--he didn't get drunk the night we got engaged, but he did go in his--they were living in the same room. And he went in whistling and Prich woke up and said, "God damn you, you've done it." [laughter]Vic Hellard 28:02
Well, I thought it was something that--. I guess that was--. Who was he with the
next day?Katharine Graham 28:07
Prich. No, it wasn't the next day, it was well, that spring. Prich was very
upset. I think it wasn't serious--it really wasn't serious--anything between us but, he had a slight crush on me at that particular moment. He went into a sulk and we had some problems.Vic Hellard 28:36
Okay. here we go. This is tape 20 The end of the Prichard series, but it's tape
one of Katharine Graham, side two, to July 26th, 1983. Let me see if I can pick that up. There we go. Now, you were--you were saying that.Katharine Graham 28:56
Well, after we got engaged, so-called Prich became somewhat upset. And so he was
put out with both of us for a while, not for long. I mean, he got over it. And so that really was totally a part. Phil did drink a lot in those days, but I had never, this was actually--it was when we had been to a party. It was--it wasn't right at that engage night. In fact, it was you know, some--well I guess we got engaged in March and I mean, we--it was all very quick. We--I guess we got engaged in April or May and married in June. But somewhere along on in that time, the Glovers, some people in Washington gave a party, a dance, and Phil would drink a lot in those days, sometimes, you know, just too much. And he had gotten out of hand drunk and I'd never seen him so drunk and I really was, I thought, "I can't deal with this." And I was very serious, I was gonna have words with him and say, "I just couldn't do that." And he very cleverly stayed away from me for 24 hours and we had--we were supposed to have a date at some point the next night or the following night and he appeared with Prich--that--that--but it was not the night we got eng--it wasn't then, it was later but it did happen.Vic Hellard 30:46
That's interesting. So, Prich was kind of the buffer.
Katharine Graham 30:50
Well, you know, I just couldn't say--have this conversation with Phil, but I
mean was very smart of him. And by the time I got at him, of course I'd cooled off and--.Vic Hellard 31:04
Over the years, can you think of any fun little stories about Prich or things
that maybe he did that were worthy of recalling?Katharine Graham 31:23
There was one--well, most of the stories are kind of famous by now, like
scraping the bottom of the barrel and then taking the barrel you know, when--during the war, you know that one, I assume. But there's one that I re--I've often recalled because Herbert Bayard (??) Swope, who was a friend of Felix's, and he had been at Felix's, and the law clerks were at dinner. And he then went over and he saw my family. He said, "I'm just amazed at how rude they are to him. It's just extraordinary." And so my family said, "what happened?" And he said, "well, they were all yelling about something or other and Prich was slumped over the bottom of the table at the end of the table, and he was tapping his hands like that on the table, and Felix suddenly looked up at him and said, "Prich what are you doing?"" And Prich, said, "counting the digressions in your argument." [laughter]Unknown 32:48
And he'd get away with that?
Katharine Graham 32:49
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, Felix loved it. And the other--the other, there was
a wonderful moment. There's another story that's pretty good that I now recall because of Swope. Swope had a son called Artie who everybody was rather condescending about. And thought very little of apparently, I didn't ever know him. And we were talking one day about [clears throat] liking people who said nice things about you, even though you might not think very highly of them, that you were swayed by the fact that they said, you know how great you were. So, Prich had apparently expressed some intemperate views of Artie Swope. And somebody said, "Prich you shouldn't say that, because he said he thought you were the greatest young man of your generation." And Prich said, "with anybody else, I'd like him immediately, but with Artie, it's going to take me three minutes." [laughter]Unknown 33:54
Prich is always fast.
Katharine Graham 33:55
The other--there was another--he used to come to my family's house--that--they
like everybody else, thought he was very charming, but I must say they were--. Early on, they did not like his manners, and did not like the fact that for instance, he'd never write thank you letters or do the normal sort of politeness. And they used to complain about it. And--but he loved my father's cigars because my father smoked wonderful cigars. And I mean, he had his own (??) with his name on it, you know, he imported it, so that--they were very grand cigars and Cuban cigars obviously in those days and the best work were called Belinda's. And Prich used to say that most beautiful at the Meyer girls was Belinda. [laughter] I mean, you can go on and on if you can just--if you can just focus your mind back on that kind of one-liner.Vic Hellard 35:02
Well--you got, you now have a viewpoint of a long--longtime, almost a lifetime
with Prich. We've seen him evolve from a law clerk to a very aggressive young lawyer and go through the ballot box stuffing, and the recovery period, and to the point now where he, as you were saying, he gets things done, and is probably one of the most respected men in Kentucky, in terms of lending advice, and so forth to--to people. What--what's your opinion of Prich now, today?Katharine Graham 35:35
Well, it's, it's kind of what I said--that it's just moving--you know, I think
his performance now is simply extraordinary. And it's greatly helped by his retention and his memory, which seems to be as good as ever. And the fact that he keeps up so extraordinarily, with what's going on, and that he can work with this. And that he's read everything still. And that when you talk to him, it's like talking to you or me, only better. Because he's read more and knows more and is more interesting about what's going on, and yet, it's all been read to him--so he hasn't--he can't read it that fast. And has to retain it all. And I think--I don't know how he works, and yet he does. I don't see him enough up close--to be able to appraise all what he's doing. But I've read one of his speeches on education that I thought was--that he made it at, I guess, some award of his or graduation or I forget what--at Kentucky University, but I thought it was really wonderful. On the issue of, of education. I think it's a great sadness, because there was so much talent there and so much--almost genius that if he had gotten the act together earlier on, you just can't tell where it would go and what he could have added, at least to Kentucky and maybe to the country. But, I think it's wonderful, you know that he has a fine family and job--I mean, you know, that he's working and producing and that he's--that he's terribly well regarded after all this travail. I love seeing him and I wish I saw him oftener. The last time I saw him was at the reunion of the law clerks in--in Harvard, and we all had an evening together. Arthur Schlesinger, it was at Ken Galbraith's and Joe Rauh, and my daughter was there and Prich and Lucy. And we had I mean, it was absolutely like the old times. And he was wonderful at the reunion I mean, he contributed and he was as funny as ever and he doesn't let you feel sorry for him, which is terrific. So you know, there's not enough you can say about his performance now, is there?Vic Hellard 38:38
No, not really, he's amazing fellow. Can you--can you think of any significant
contribution that Prich has made, in his lifetime, to his friends or?Katharine Graham 38:51
Well, I think he's given us enormous pleasure and some enormous concerns too.
[chuckles] I think he's, we've all enjoyed and profited from his reading and his perceptions and his--his social--his sort of extraordinary social ability with a small S. I think he's got t--you know, when you analyze his point of view, it's very decent, and very enlightened. And very creative. It's not--he's not just brilliant in a vacuum. So--and he's--he's very affectionate and loving and thoughtful. I haven't been in as much touch with him as I wish I had been because of the difficulty of Kentucky. My son went down there to the Derby and got a (??) drive it and went over to see him and spent an hour with him, just this last May. And I see him when he comes here. But, it would--I'm not up to date with Prich.Vic Hellard 40:24
Over the years and Kentucky, Prich has developed a very good rapport with the
press, in particular with editorial writers. And as a consequences--he has probably been used more as a resource person for--for editorials written by the [Louisville] Courier-Journal, and the [Lexington] Herald, the Paducah Sun Democrat. And probably because of that, has had great influence.Katharine Graham 40:46
That's interesting.
Vic Hellard 40:47
--In the way things have shaped in Kentucky or shaping himself. Has he ever
attempted to influence the [Washington] Post editorial or has he ever attempted to offer information or advice or--on any matters that an editorial was written about.Katharine Graham 41:02
I can't think of a case.
Vic Hellard 41:07
And I don't mean in a harsh way, I think that the--the editorialists have just
come to rely on him to give them good, reliable advice. And of course, you can always get advice in a number of ways, but I think Prich--is well-recognized as being the motor of public--of higher education in Kentucky.Katharine Graham 41:27
Well, that's great.
Vic Hellard 41:29
So, that's a very significant thing. Bill, have we missed anything?
Bill 41:33
No. Well, a couple of--just a couple of questions that I'm curious about, in
1947, when the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) was formed, as I understand it, Phil Graham was a silent partner or was a supporter who was not highly visible. Whereas Ed Prichard and Joseph Rauh were. What exactly were the roles of those three individuals?Katharine Graham 41:58
I don't think Phil had any role--.
Bill 42:00
Or did he--?
Katharine Graham 42:00
--That I know of ADA because he was already a publisher. I mean, he was already
here at the paper. So [clears throat] it would have been entirely inappropriate, and I don't think he did.Bill 42:09
Hmm. Whereas the other two were very instrumental--
Katharine Graham 42:15
Yes.
Bill 42:15
In planning and organizing.
Katharine Graham 42:17
I think they were involved. Yes.
Bill 42:19
I see, right. I realize it's very difficult to predict the future, but do
you--do you see any possibility of some type of collaboration with Ed Prichard in the future on some particular project or memoirs or on some particular social issue or something where you would, where the two of you would be able to pool your resources and set about attacking some particular political problem or social problem?Katharine Graham 42:49
I don't--see I stay out of politics too, I think you have to.
Bill 42:53
Sure.
Katharine Graham 42:54
in this position, I mean, I don't stay out of issues, but I stay out of
politics. And I do stay out of issues, but I mean, I, I I get involved in what's going on, but I try to stay out of taking sides because it's up to us to take sides on the editorial.Vic Hellard 43:14
Do you have any other comments you'd like to give?
Katharine Graham 43:17
I don't think so.
Vic Hellard 43:18
Okay, well, thank you so very much. End of tape.
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