Working

by Robert A. Caro

it aside, the next document was not a letter but a Western Union telegram form, turned brown during the decades since it had been sent—on October 19, 1940. It was addressed to Lyndon Johnson, and was signed “George Brown,” and it said, in the capital letters Western Union used for its messages: YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE CHECKS BY FRIDAY…HOPE THEY ARRIVED IN DUE FORM AND ON TIME. It also named the people who were supposed to have sent the checks: six of Brown & Root’s subcontractors. And Tommy Corcoran had been wrong: Lyndon Johnson had put something in writing. Attached to the telegram was a copy of his response to George. ALL OF THE FOLKS YOU TALKED TO HAVE BEEN HEARD FROM, it said. I AM NOT ACKNOWLEDGING THEIR LETTERS, SO BE SURE TO TELL ALL THESE FELLOWS THAT THEIR LETTERS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED…YOUR FRIEND, LYNDON B. JOHNSON. Johnson had added by hand: “The thing is exceeding my expectations. The Boss is listening to my suggestions, thanks to your encouragements [sic].” So there was the proof that Lyndon Johnson had received money from Brown & Root in October, 1940 (and that it had brought him into some sort of contact with “The Boss,” Johnson’s name for President Franklin Roosevelt). In his telegram, Brown named six people who were supposed to have sent the checks. How much had they sent? What