Paul Hoffman, president of Studebaker Corp., was in Honolulu, on his way home from Korea and Japan, when a telephone call from the White House caught up with him. The call was from John Steelman. Harry Truman's aide wanted to know whether Hoffman, who had been a member of a commission making a Far East economic survey, would head the Economic Cooperation Administration. Hoffman said later: "I tried for two days to think of how to say No, but I just couldn't." Two days later, lugging a suitcase full of dirty laundry,...
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