Yeah. I'll tell you a quick story about how Paul came to joing Governor
Hodges' staff. So many things are just happenstance. You say, well, how
did a man of Paul Johnston's ability and stature end up working for
Hodges? They didn't know each other. What happened was this. Mr. Umstead
died. As I told you, he had never really completed his staff
appointments. I was his only male employee. I was running everything. I
was operating the office. I was the administrative person. I signed all
the notary commissions and other legal requirements. I was, you know,
doing everything, handling media, and writing speeches, and news
releases, etc. One of the reasons that Mr. Umstead was very angry at
Governor Kerr Scott—of course, they were not close at all—he said Scott
wasted a lot of money by having two men in the office. Scott had Ben
Roney and John Marshall. Mr. Umstead said, "We don't need two men. You
can run it."
[laughter] After my first
couple of years, I needed help. So following Governor Umstead's death,
when I met with Mr. Hodges, of course I offered my resignation. I didn't
know Hodges well at all. I said, "I'll leave now, or I'll stay until you
get a replacement, whatever you want to do but I understand that the
position of private secretary is a very personal choice for you." You
know,
Page 40 I had a close personal relationship with Mr.
Umstead." Hodges leaned back in his chair and said, "Ed, this is all
totally unexpected. I never expected to be here under these
circumstances. I don't have anybody else in mind." He said, "Why don't
we just try it for a while." And off we went. About three weeks later,
one day the Governor suddenly looked at me and said, "Ed, everything is
going fine." That's all that was ever said. So I'm saying, I had no
relationship with Hodges but he kept me on.
After he said let's get on with it, I said, "Governor, there's a couple
of things we've got to do. We've got to have a lawyer. All work stuff
with the attorney general, fugitive warrants, and things, I can sign my
name but I don't know what all this is about. I've got too much else to
do. We need a lawyer." So he said, "Well, I can understand that. I'll
take care of it." Two or three days went by (this was in late November
of '54 and the 1955 legislature is coming, the Pearsall thing's going
on, etc.) and the Governor said, "Ed, I've having trouble finding an
attorney. I've called two or three people, and you just can't pick up a
good lawyer right now. They just can't drop everything and come in." He
called the name of a lawyer over in Greensboro, Elton Edwards, and he
said, "I've known him, and I asked him if he couldn't just drop
everything." Edwards said, "It'll take me three months at least to clear
out things so I can come." So I said, "Governor, let me make a
suggestion. You're a good friend of Albert Coates, and Albert will do
anything in the world for you. I know he's got a lot of
Page 41 legal talent over there in the Institute of Government."
What I'd do is pick up the phone and call Albert and tell him your ox is
in the ditch. You've got to have some help. You need a lawyer on loan
for whatever period of time, at least to get you through the '55 General
Assembly." Hodges quickly agreed. He called Albert Coates, who, of
course, protested that, "I'm stretched thin with my staff." Hodges
listened, said he understood and then asked, "Who are you going to send
me."
[laughter] So with that I got a call
from Albert Coates, and he said, "Can I meet you for breakfast in the
morning over at the cafe back of the capitol, seven o'clock." I said,
"I'll be there." Albert wanted to help, of course, but he explained
again his staff shortages. He said, "Oh, we're stretched thin. We've got
this. We've got that." I just sat there and looked at him and said,
"Who's is it going to be, Albert."
[laughter]
He said, "All right, I'm going to give you my best man. His name
is Paul A. Johnston," and he told me a little something about him.
Coates insisted that, "He's on loan, you understand. 'Cause he is a top
flight man and I need him." I said, "Well, that's something for you to
work out with the governor," but I added, "Can he come tomorrow?" So
Paul Johnston came over in a couple of days. That's how Paul came in,
strictly on loan, on assignment, and never dreamed that he would stay
beyond it. Of course, Paul was a first rate person who immediately
jumped in with a great…