BROOKS HAYS DIARY NOTES - February 7, 1963 Last night I had an opportunity to observe how things are done something in positions at the highest level of government. Mrs. Lincoln called me at 6:45 p. m. last evening at home to ask if I was working on the President's remarks for the Christian Leadership breakfast "tomorrow." I told her I was not and would not know who had been given the assignment. I suggested she call Sorensen and she held me on the line while he came on to say, "Brooks, you're the only praying one around the White House. Write some-thing out for us. " I told him it would be two or three hours before I could get something to him. He said, "Leave it on my desk." At 11:30, I placed a four-page statement on his desk.
Warren ate with Marion and me at the Cosmos Club and we discussed it there. Stephanie joined us at the office later and typed in broken fragments Bible verses and quotations. I wrote out some ideas and tried to piece them together--borrowing a bit from recent speeches. A copy of the results is attached.
The President's talk the next morning indicated that he had used it as a basis for his own contribution. References in his talk included the Mayflower Compact, White House mail indicating prayers were daily offered for him, and the "Ben Franklin" quotation: "I am convinced that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it."
Brooks Hays Materials
