The Nation: The Fall of Chairman Wilbur Mills

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"Mr. Chairman," Rostenkowski replied, "you've got a runaway caucus out there. You've embarrassed a lot of the members." As Rostenkowski explained that Mills' power was slipping from him, Mills drifted away, as though in a trance. "You know I'm a sick man," he finally said. "I've got terrible pain."

"You've got to go to the hospital," said Rostenkowski.

Another Congressman came into the room and urged Mills to go to the hospital, then left the two men alone again. Mills turned to Rostenkowski and asked once more: "How do you think I stand?" Rostenkowski was frank: "Mr. Chairman, you're out of business. It's all over for you. The members on this committee are terribly disappointed." At that, Mills picked up the telephone and called the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda to ask for admittance.