This Copy For
NEWS CONFERENCE #761
AT THE WHITE HOUSE
WITH ANDREW T. HATCHER
SEPTEMBER 30, 1962
1:00 P.M. EDT
SUNDAY

MR. HATCHER: The text of this telegram is all I have. The telegram was dispatched to Governor Barnett at 5:45 P.M. last evening. No answer has yet been received.

Q. Andy, do you know whether it was delivered to the Governor?

MR. HATCHER: I do not. This is the gist of the President's first two conversations with the Governor yesterday.

Q. First two telephone conversations?

MR. HATCHER: That is right.

Q. Was it upon a failure to receive a reply as well as the failure to receive satisfaction on the telephone calls that led to the issuance of the Proclamation and the Executive Order last night, and the President then determined that the answers were unsatisfactory because he had not received any reply?

MR. HATCHER: I think last night's statement was perfectly explicit on this.

Q. Does he mean Sunday evening or Saturday evening?

MR. HATCHER: I said it was sent yesterday.

Q. You say this is the gist of the first two telephone conversations. Can you tell us what the third telephone conversation added up to?

MR. HATCHER: That is right; it was the gist of two conversations held in the President's office, one by the President and one by the Attorney General.

Q. Each of them talking about it to the Governor?

MR. HATCHER: That is right; separate calls.

Q. Can you give us the times. I think there would be a good deal of interest in the times.

MR. HATCHER: No.

Q. Did the President talk to the Governor around 9 o'clock?

MR. HATCHER: The President talked to the Governor of Mississippi shortly after 7:00 and then again sometime around 10:00.

Q. Twice or three times?

MR. HATCHER: The first one was in the early afternoon.

Q. Can we take them from the afternoon?

MR. HATCHER: There were three calls and I am not prepared to give the exact timing of the calls. The first call took place in the President's office in the early afternoon yesterday at which time the President basically said this. The Governor was later called by the Attorney General and the conversation took place in the President's office.

Q. Later he was called by the Attorney General from the President's office?

MR. HATCHER: Yes.

Q. Did the President talk to the Governor at that time?

MR. HATCHER: He did not talk to him but he was there.

Q. This was in the President's office?

MR. HATCHER: That is right.

Q. This first call placed by the Governor to the President?

MR. HATCHER: No, by the President to the Governor.

Q. How about the Attorney General's call?

MR. HATCHER: It was placed to the Governor.

Q. When was the President's next call and who placed it?

MR. HATCHER: Governor Barnett called the President at approximately 7 o'clock.

Q. Are your prepared to go into anything said on this call?

MR. HATCHER: No.

Q. When was the President's third call?

MR. HATCHER: The third conversation took place at approximately 10 o'clock.

Q. Who initiated that one?

MR. HATCHER: I am not sure.

Q. Could you find out for us who initiated that?

MR. HATCHER: I will attempt to. I think I may have a good deal more information later.

Q. On the calls?

MR. HATCHER: Or on any other thing.

Q. You said Governor Barnett called shortly before 7 and you said the Attorney General called him shortly after 7.

MR. HATCHER: No, I did not say that.

Q. When was the Attorney General's call?

MR. HATCHER:The Attorney General spoke to him while he was in the Presidents office in the early afternoon. In other words, the two telephone conversations are mentioned here. They actually refer to a conversation by the President and a conversation by the Attorney General.

Q. On the same call?

MR. HATCHER: No, two separate calls.

Q. Can you tell us what Barnett's purpose was in calling the President? Did he have a question to ask him?

MR. HATCHER:I haven't the slightest idea. It is possible as this says here that "I would like to hear from you this evening."

Q. In light of the many telephone calls, why was a telegram necessary?

MR. HATCHER: I just think that the President wanted to be sure that the Governor clearly understood and could see in writing the things that he was requesting of him.

Q. Can we assume, Andy, that since the telegram was sent at 5:45, which was after the two calls had taken place by the definition of early afternoon, that Barnett's call at 7 and whatever conversation took place at 10 were unsatisfactory in reply to these questions, which is what led the President to take the further action that he did?

MR. HATCHER: No, you can't assume that.

Q. Did the Governor's call around 7 respond to the receipt of this telegram?

MR. HATCHER: I can't say whether or not it did respond to the receipt of the telegram but it responded to the conversations earlier in the afternoon.

Q. Were there actually then four telephone calls? The President talked to him early in the afternoon, the Attorney General talked to him on a separate call?

MR. HATCHER: That is right.

Q. And Barnett called back around 7?

MR. HATCHER:That is right.

Q. And there was a fourth call around 10 o'clock?

MR. HATCHER: That is right, but only three involving the President.

Q. The Attorney General was with the President just around the time the Newport trip was called off. Is that the period of the day when he spoke to the Governor?

MR. HATCHER: Yes.

Q. Can you tell us when the President first called the Governor?

MR. HATCHER: I don't have an exact time.

Q. Can you find that out?

MR. HATCHER: I will try.

Q. Was it after the second telephone conversation that the White House withdrew its request for television time tonight and after the third conversation that the White House renewed its request for television time?

MR. HATCHER: What do you mean withdrew?

Q. I had been led to believe that it was requested, withdrawn and then the request was renewed.

MR. HATCHER: I have no information on that.

Q. When was the Attorney General here?

MR. HATCHER: He was here from approximately 12:30 to 3:30.

Q. Yesterday afternoon?

MR. HATCHER: Yes.

Q. Didn't he come back later in the day?

Q. Didn't they have dinner together?

MR. HATCHER: The Attorney General did come back later. He was here between approximately 7:10 and 8:00.

Q. Will he be here today?

MR. HATCHER: I don't know.

Q. Has he been here today?

MR. HATCHER: No, he has not.

Q. Was the Attorney General present during the second conversation?

MR. HATCHER: Yes, he was.

Q.Was he present during the first call the President made?

MR. HATCHER: Yes, he was.

Q. He wasn't there at the 10 o'clock call?

MR. HATCHER: No, he was not.

Q. So obviously the first call was sometime after 12:30 yesterday?

MR. HATCHER: That is right.

Q. It would have to be to be early afternoon.

Q. What about speech text for tonight?

MR. HATCHER: I don't have any information on it. I am shooting for trying to give it to you around 6:00 with release on delivery. You know how that is.

Q.You said you expect to have more information. Do you mean with respect to details or do you expect to have more announcements?

MR. HATCHER: More with respect to details. Right now we are concentrating on the text.

Q. Can you give us any rundown on how the President spent his time today?

MR. HATCHER: He returned from church. He came over to his office to go over some papers, conferred with some of his aides, took at least two strolls on the South Lawn, and he returned to the mansion around 12:30.

Q. What time did he go to church?

MR. HATCHER: He went to church around 10:00 and returned about 10:50.

Q. Did he go over to the mansion for lunch after 12:30?

MR. HATCHER: That is right, and he went over to the Usher's office around 12:50 to greet his luncheon guests.

Q. Is the Attorney General attending the luncheon?

MR. HATCHER: No.

Q. Has the President been in communication with Secretary McNamara with respect to the use of the Guardsmen as troops?

MR. HATCHER: He talked with Secretary McNamara yesterday and also, in addition to his scheduled appointment with General Taylor concerning General Taylor's recent trip, he also talked with General Taylor and saw him later yesterday.

Q. With respect to the Mississippi situation?

MR. HATCHER: Yes.

Q. Did he see General Wheeler at the same time?

MR. HATCHER: He saw General Wheeler at the same time and he also discussed this matter with the Secretary of the Army, Cyrus Vance.

Q. When did all of this take place?

MR. HATCHER: Yesterday afternoon.

Q. Can you give us a rough time?

MR. HATCHER:Sometime between 12:30 and 4:15 when he returned to the mansion.

Q. What officials were here last night while this was going on?

MR. HATCHER: The Attorney General and Burt Marshall.

Q. Yourself?

MR. HATCHER: Yes.

Q. General Clifton?

MR. HATCHER: General Clifton and I were here also.

Q. What hour are we talking about?

Q.7 to 8 o'clock, and then after that?

MR. HATCHER: The President was alone after that and then at approximately 11:15 General Clifton and I returned here. Norbert Schlei was over here at approximately 11:45 and
Q. Who is he?

MR. HATCHER: An Assistant Attorney General.

Q.Bringing the documents?

MR. HATCHER: Bringing the document. It was taken over to the President who was fully clothed at the time, He bad not retired, and he signed it at 12:01, both the Proclamation and the Executive Order, in the Treaty Room.

Q. What time give you give for Schlei?

MR. HATCHER: About 11:45.

Q. When did the President go to bed?

MR. HATCHER: I don't know when he retired. The last time anyone here spoke to him was approximately 12:45.

Q. Andy, why were the Proclamation and Executive Order both signed at 12:01? Was it deliberate to get it into September 30th?

MR. HATCHER: No. There was no deliberate plan of signing it at that time. In fact, the date was not even filled in until afterwards.

Q. Did Burt Marshall return to New Orleans?

MR. HATCHER: I don't know where he is.

Q. When was he in here?

MR. HATCHER: The first time I saw him was about 1:15.

Q.1: 15 P.M.?

MR. HATCHER: 1:15 P.M. yesterday.

Q.You said this morning that, at about 1 o'clock, the Secretary of Defense had also signed an order at 12:02, so apparently there was a reason for this at least in a coordinating sense.

MR. HATCHER: The order was there waiting for him to sign. He could not sign his until the President signed.

Q. So they picked this hour to agree to both start signing?

MR. HATCHER: I don't think they picked it. If the President signed it at 11:31, I am sure the Secretary of Defense would have signed it before 11:35.

Q. In other words, there was some coordination?

MR. HATCHER: That is right.

Q. Did the President receive any assurances from Barnett in the conversations that took place yesterday that he would purge himself of the contempt?

MR. HATCHER: I just do not know the content of those conversations, and I do not think I should comment on them.

Q. Andy, have there been any telephone communications with the President today by anybody with regard to this Mississippi situation? Has he talked to anybody on the telephone?

MR. HATCHER: That is hard to say. I would like to discuss that question with the President before I answer.

Q. What time are you planning to come up with more detail?

MR. HATCHER: FOR BACKGROUND
No, I had better not say because I am not sure.

Q. What time will you have further information?

MR. HATCHER: I will be here and I should possibly put up notices and arrangements for the pool for the telecast. We will only have four members pooling. They have not been selected yet, and if there are any volunteers, we will be glad to take them. CBS is in charge of the pooling. Broadcasters and commentators or live shows, TV and radio, will be stationed in Mrs. Lincoln's office and going back to the Cabinet Room. The pool will probably enter the room around 7:20 or something like that. My present inclination is to permit only the wires, stills and one .35 mm in for coverage of the President, and we will have a separate meeting with the photographers.

Q. When you say four, you are talking about reporters?

MR. HATCHER: I am talking about two wires and other than television people who, of course, will have their broadcasters, and I feel since they are well represented on the perimeter that they should not take up the space.

Q. You will have a .35 mm silent?

MR. HATCHER: That is right.

Q. Do you assume the President will take up practically the full half hour?

MR. HATCHER: It is only 15 minutes.

Q. Can I clarify this business of yesterday when he talked with Secretary McNamara, General Taylor and General Wheeler in person.

MR. HATCHER: He talked with Secretary McNamara by telephone.

Q. He did not see Secretary McNamara in person?

MR. HATCHER: No, but he saw all other individuals in his office.

Q. Does that include Secretary Vance?

MR. HATCHER: Yes.

Q. How about General Wheeler?

MR. HATCHER: Yes, he was here.

Q. Does the President have any meetings set up today with respect to the Mississippi situation the rest of the day?

MR. HATCHER: That is really hard to say. He will be in this luncheon until 3:30. I am positive he will meet with the Attorney General at some time prior to the telecast.

Q. Can you give us more details on the luncheon today?

MR. HATCHER: No, I can't.

Q. Will you have a statement after the luncheon?

MR. HATCHER: We have discussed the possibility of a communique, and feel sure there will be something afterwards, either an oral explanation or a communique.

Q. Who is actually there?

MR. HATCHER: Ambassador Home, Ambassador Ormsby-Gore, Ambassador Bruce, Secretary of State Rusk and Under Secretary Ball.

Q. How about Russell?

MR. HATCHER: He is not in there.

Q. Will the transcript that will be made of the speech as it is delivered be taken in front of the televisions or how will it be in production?

MR. HATCHER: It will either be done that way or through earphones, but the transcripts will be in the production during the course of the remarks.

Q. That will be available after the telecast has been completed?

MR. HATCHER: That is right, on a page-by-page basis.

Q. What time do you want to see us again?

MR. HATCHER: I don't really want to see you.
This is on a PROTECTED BASIS.
What about four o'clock, and if people are away and you want to call in, I can tell you if I am going to have anything.

Q.In other words, you may not see us at 4:00?

MR. HATCHER: I will be here and you can come in, but I don't think there will be too much because, with this luncheon going well into the afternoon--

Q. Will you then have some of these further details?

MR. HATCHER: That is what I hope; to get some of these details I have to talk to the President or the Attorney General, and when I do talk, I am preoccupied with the arrangements of text and all that kind of business for the telecast.

Q. Did you say you would not have an advanced text?

MR. HATCHER: No, I didn't. I am never hopeful.

Q. You are now hopeful for 6 o'clock?

MR. HATCHER: That is my goal.

Q. How many words?

MR. HATCHER:I couldn't say.

Q. Thank you.

END