Oral history transcript, Lawrence F. O'Brien, interview 16 (XVI), 11/21/1986, by Michael L. Gillette

Title:

Oral history transcript, Lawrence F. O'Brien, interview 16 (XVI), 11/21/1986, by Michael L. Gillette

Number of Pages:

47

Description:

John Gronouski's appointment as ambassador to Poland after being U.S. postmaster general; the beautification stamp; a Post Office Department recruiting plan for college graduates; Civil Service regulations and hiring practices; a training program for new employees; seasonal temporary post office jobs; the Post Office equal employment opportunity task force; Ronnie Lee and the White House Fellows Program; curb versus door mail delivery and new mail pickup ideas; the problem of developing new mail system ideas while having to maintain the old system; contracts with private-sector universities and other entities to begin research and development efforts; the importance of Post Office Department independence to modern facilities and mail-handling methods; the decline of railroads and growth of trucking; encouraging government offices to use zip codes; overnight mail delivery; monitoring delivery times; increasing postal-window hours and six-day-a-week delivery service; opposition to legislation that would cause the postal service to compete with the REA Express; a bulletin O'Brien issued to the postal service in response to complaints about delays and employees being rude to patrons; efforts to hire minorities and disabled employees; O'Brien's involvement in cabinet meetings as postmaster general and congressional liaison; the usefulness of cabinet meetings and how they were conducted; cabinet members taking advantage of travel opportunities to help Democratic candidates who were up for election in 1966; speculation that O'Brien would become chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in the fall of 1966; the role of John Macy and the President's Club in patronage and Democratic Party finances; the relationship between the political party and Congress and how being in office affected a party's power; growing opposition to LBJ's Vietnam policy in 1966; O'Brien's report on 1966 election expectations based on his nationwide travels; early opposition to U.S. involvement in Vietnam from Vance Hartke, Jeff Cohelan, the New York Times, Newsweek; John Gilligan; O'Brien's June 1966 trip to California and his report on the political climate there; Ronald Reagan; evidence that negative comments by U.S. congressmen regarding Vietnam were being used by the North Vietnamese and Chinese Communists; summary of the politics of 1966.

Contributor:

O'Brien, Lawrence F. (Lawrence Francis), 1917-1990

Collection:

LBJ Library Oral Histories

Collection Description:

Go to List of Holdings

Series:

Transcripts of LBJ Library Oral Histories

See Also:

See all online interviews with Lawrence F. O'Brien

Relation:

Go to Interviewee bio page

Rights:

Possibly copyright restricted: see deed at end of transcript for details