The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 87, July 1983 - April, 1984 Page: 60
468 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
might be in the Ickes Papers in the way of letters and documents
remains to be determined.7
John C. Granbery was a liberal educator, clergyman, and periodical
publisher in Georgetown, Texas, whose voluminous papers are in the
Barker Center. They contain numerous Johnson letters that the presi-
dent's papers do not have. Shortly after Johnson's election to the
House, Granbery wrote him that he hoped for the new congressman's
success. However, he recalled visiting Johnson's National Youth Ad-
ministration office in Austin with a personal request only to be told
"that it was quite impossible for us to see you, that you were entirely
too important a man to fool with small fry like us, and by all means
please not to have any letter sent to the office, as you were already
swamped." Despite this initial difficulty, Johnson and Granbery ex-
changed friendly letters about The Emancipator, Granbery's paper,
and about policy matters, and the liberal editor supported Johnson in
his 1941 senatorial campaign. A few weeks after the defeat at the
hands of W. Lee O'Daniel, the irrepressible Granbery asked Johnson
to comment on a newspaper report that had inquired: "Did Washing-
ton politicians 'shake down' defense contractors to the tune of $384,000
to buy that seat for Lyndon Johnson?" Johnson's reply, if there was
any, is not with Granbery's letter, but presumably the matter would
be relevant to Caro's interest in Johnson's finances. The friendship
with Granbery continued, and it offers some knowledge about John-
son's eclectic political style that his own papers cannot convey.8
An even more revealing example emerges from the Pat M. Neff
Papers at Baylor University, which bear on a key episode of Johnson's
entry into politics. Drawing on the recollections of Welly K. Hopkins
and others, Caro describes a scene in July, 1930, at a barbecue in
Henly, near Johnson City, where former governor Pat M. Neff,
seeking "reelection" to the Texas Railroad Commission, was sched-
uled to speak. Eager to hear the celebrated Neff, Johnson was there,
but then the candidate failed to appear. As the master of ceremonies
was preparing to declare a default, Johnson spoke up: "Well, I'll
7Harold Ickes Diary, Mar. 3o (1st quotation), Apr. 5 (2nd quotation), 1940, Harold
Ickes Papers (Manuscript Division, Library of Congress); Caro, The Years of Lyndon
Johnson, 586-593.
8John C. Granbery to Lyndon B. Johnson, July 16, 1937 (ist quotation), Mar. 28, 1940,
May 2, July 14 (and quotation), 1941, John C. Granbery Papers (Eugene C. Barker Texas
History Center, University of Texas, Austin; cited hereafter as BTHC). For other letters,
see L. B. Johnson to Granbery, Jan. 20o, Mar. 7, 30, Nov. 28, 1940, Jan. 8, 29, Apr. 27,
1941, ibid.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 87, July 1983 - April, 1984, periodical, 1983/1984; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117150/m1/80/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.