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Heeding Johnson’s request, Senator Eastland had called Mississippi Governor Paul Johnson and in this call reported his findings to President Johnson.
James Eastland: . . . that he thinks you ought to know what the facts are. He says that these people [COFO activists] that are in the state haven’t scratched the . . . and that they’ve got to do something to attract attention.
Now, here’s what he says about this thing at Philadelphia: he said those people were in Meridian. They left Meridian to go to Philadelphia, which is 45 miles away. Before they got to Philadelphia, they were announced missing by the headquarters of this organization in Jackson. And then they showed up in Meridian and were put in jail after that and kept a few hours and turned loose. Now, he says he expects them to turn up and claiming with bruises and claiming that somebody’s whipped them, when that . . . he doesn’t believe a word of it. And it is peculiar from what he said that they were reported missing, he said, 45 minutes after they left Meridian and before they got to Philadelphia, and they served . . . were put in jail in Philadelphia after that.
President Johnson: OK, now here’s the problem, Jim: Hoover just called me one minute ago and—I guess five minutes ago—and told me that they had found the car. It wasn’t headed toward Meridian; it was headed a different direction out at a Indian reservation . . .
Eastland: Well, there’s all kind of Indian reservations between Philadelphia and Meridian.
President Johnson: Well, he said it was headed away from Meridian, but an Indian found it, saw it burning yesterday.
Eastland: Oh.
President Johnson: And he reported it to them, and his agents have gone out there, and the car is still burning. And it’s so hot they can’t get inside of it, and they don’t know whether the people are inside of it or not, but it’s the same car they were in because it’s got the same license numbers.
Eastland: Well, I know nothing about that. But the governor says you can send some impartial man down here and that you’ll get the surprise of your life, and, there is . . . Now, now all around me, there are . . . in Ruleville—it’s one of the headquarters [of white supremacy groups]. And there’s just nothing [near Meridian]. There’s no violence or no friction of any kind.
President Johnson: OK, much obliged. And you’ve communicated my wishes to him so there’s no use in my calling him?
- Tape WH6406.14, Citation #3845, Recordings of Telephone Conversations—White House Series, Recordings and Transcripts of Conversations and Meetings, Lyndon B. Johnson Library.
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