Oral history transcript, Lawrence F. O'Brien, interview 27 (XXVII), 9/23/1987, by Michael L. Gillette

The Humphreys' visit with the O'Briens the day before Richard Nixon's inauguration; O'Brien's decision to become president of McDonnell and Company as Murray McDonnell became chairman of the board; Ira Kapenstein and Phyllis Maddock moving to McDonnell and Company with O'Brien; the state of McDonnell and Company when O'Brien came to work for them; selling seats on the New York and American Exchanges to make McDonnell and Company money; the McDonnell family's wealth and influence; a merger proposal between McDonnell and Donaldson Lufkin; Horace Flanigan; O'Brien's meeting with branch managers and McDonnell's announcement there that a deal had been made to make financing available; Lufkin's meeting with O'Brien to explain the true status of the company; O'Brien's resignation from McDonnell and Company after working out a deal for Kapenstein to stay; the eventual demise of McDonnell and Company; O'Brien severing his financial ties to McDonnell and Company; creating O'Brien Associates and working again with Kapenstein, Maddock, and Claude Desautels; Fred Harris' resignation as chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Colonel Jake Arvey's request that O'Brien not comment publicly on the resignation; the DNC executive committee's rejection of Hubert Humphrey's recommendation of Matt Welsh to replace Harris; the DNC executive committee offering O'Brien the chairmanship; the DNC's massive debt; how O'Brien became chairman of the DNC; other candidates for the position; what O'Brien's DNC chairmanship meant to O'Brien Associates; problems within the DNC under Fred Harris; the need to make the party more appealing to Congress and middle-of-the-road Democrats; Bob Strauss' work to raise funds and restructure staff and staff responsibilities; O'Brien's priorities of finances, communications, and campaigns and organization; office security in 1970; DNC staff; national publicity for O'Brien's statements and the DNC's positions; DNC support for all Democratic candidates 1970-1972; Sargent Shriver's plan to develop an entity outside the structure of the DNC.