Foreign Relations: Summit in Smalltown

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Roses to the Workers. There, for two days, the invitation rested. Johnson's calendar began filling up. Kosygin, who had landed in New York on June 17 with his married daughter, gracious, well-dressed Liudmila Gvishiani, went about his business and pleasure, giving the impression that he was waiting for further word from Washington. "It is not up to me," he said. By foot and limousine, he toured Manhattan from Wall Street to Harlem; and later, Liudmila, who speaks English and was full of smiles, took an excursion to Times Square, went to the opera (La Gioconda), the movies (Barefoot in the Park, Blow-up), and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where the photographers delighted in finding her in the Egyptian wing. Kosygin made plans to go to the opera himself (when he had to cancel, he sent roses to "the workers of the opera house").

One place he would not go was Washington. Just as Johnson was unwilling to appear to be buttressing the Russian's presence at the U.N., Kosygin did not want the Arabs to view him as a supplicant at Johnson's table. But four days after he arrived, the feeling in Washington had tilted in favor of a meeting. Johnson has been accused in the past of neglecting diplomacy and missing opportunities to treat with the Communists. Now, moreover, there was a human desire to size up Kosygin, who, despite his wooden mien, is recognized as the closest thing the Kremlin has to a statesman in the Western sense. West European sentiment favored the meeting. Furthermore, there was the belief in Washington that everything possible should be done to keep the line open to Moscow. Finally, at a noon-hour meeting with Kosygin, Secretary of State Dean Rusk made the deal. Kosygin had been a flop at the United Nations. He was increasingly eager to make some showing of success.

Halfway House. Where to meet? Although Kosygin ranks second in the Soviet hierarchy only to Communist Party Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, he apparently had authorization from Moscow to see Johnson only in New York. An exchange of cables with the Kremlin was necessary for Kosygin to get clearance to go out of town. Then, it turned out, the Chairman had no enthusiasm for a helicopter ride, while the White House insisted on a halfway house near Philadelphia with its big jet strip. There were other considerations—security, privacy, facilities for the press.

Johnson telephoned New Jersey Governor Richard Hughes, an old friend and fellow Democrat. Hughes, who had earlier suggested the possibility of a New Jersey location, immediately proposed Holly Bush. Fifteen miles southeast of Philadelphia, it is almost exactly midway between Washington and New York, an easy automobile ride via the New Jersey Turnpike, with a nice campus setting and a handy gym for press facilities.

In his White House bedroom, Johnson called for a map and, with a trio of aides, searched for Glassboro. There was considerable discussion, an exchange of phone calls with Rusk in New York and, two hours later, final agreement with the Russians. The White House announcement half an hour later put Glassboro on the map for keeps.* No one bothered to tell President Robin son about it until after Glassboro got the word from radio and TV newscasts.