Water Resources People and Issues
Weber, to fill the position that Charlie
had held before he went to work
for the second Hoover Commission. A fellow named Wally Vawter, whom I
never met, filled in for
while he was at the Hoover Commission.
Interestingly enough, they had both been in the Bureau of the Budget before
moving to the Library of Congress. When
didn't want to come back to
the position they had held for him and Vawter had already left, they had to fill
it.
Howard Cook called me up one day to tell me about it. He said they had
invited him to come up and talk to them about the position, and he said
something like, "I don't think I want the job because I think I can do more
good at the Corps." Howard really felt that he was helping to reform the
Corps' policies. Howard was a wonderful person with great integrity. I think
I've mentioned that I'd worked with him when he was in the Office of Land
Utilization in the Agriculture Department. The Corps was lucky to be able to
hire him when he was booted out of Agriculture when Ezra Taft Benson
became secretary.
Anyway, Howard asked me if I would be interested in interviewing for the
position. I told him that I hadn't really thought about it, but if it were a
promotion I might consider it. Then a few days later Gene Weber called me
and told me that he had been up there talking to them, but that it was not the
kind of job he wanted. You remember, Gene was involved in the International
Joint Commission, but I don't know whether he was a commissioner yet.
However, he had a very public image and at one point had received a very
important public service award. I think he felt it would be a step backward in
his career. I think he said that he was not the kind of person who could sit at
a desk and do research. Then he asked me if I would be interested. And I gave
him the same answer I had given Howard. So Howard and Gene apparently
gave my name to Ernest Griffith, director of the Legislative Reference Service,
who invited me to come up for an interview. And when they offered me the
job, with a promotion, I left the Bureau of the Budget to join the staff of what
is now the Congressional Research Service. So I was up there when the
omnibus bill finally was enacted with a lot of those projects out.
One of the ironic things that happened over the next few years in my role at the
Library of Congress was that Senator McClellan and Senator Ellender and
various other members of the Congress whose projects had been curtailed in
that
act asked for my help in getting what they wanted reinstated. The
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