I've Seen The Elephant , livre ebook

I’VE SEEN THE ELEPHANT
An Autobiography
I’VE SEEN THE ELEPHANT
William B. Saxbe with Peter D. Franklin
The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio , & London
© 2000 by William B. Saxbe
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 00-035222
ISBN 0-87338-668-x
Manufactured in the United States of America
07  06  05  04  03  02  01  00      5  4  3  2  1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Saxbe, William B.
I’ve seen the elephant: an autobiography / by William B. Saxbe with Peter D. Franklin.
p.      cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index
ISBN 0-87338-668-x (cloth : alk. paper) ∞
1. Saxbe, William B. 2. Legislators—United States—Biography. 3. United States. Congress. Senate—Biography. 4. Attorneys general—United States—Biography. 5. Ambassadors—United States—Biography. 6. United States—Politics and government—1969-1974. 7. United States—Politics and government—1974-1977. 8. Ohio—Politics and government—1951– I. Franklin, Peter D. II. Title.
E 840.8. S 29 S 29 2000
328.73′092—dc21
[ B ]        00-035222
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication data are available.
For Dolly, Juli, Bart, and Rocky
To see the elephant (United States slang)—to see life, the world, or the sights (as of a large city); to get experience of life, to gain knowledge by experience.
The Oxford English Dictionary , 2nd ed., 5:134.
A farmer on his way to market came across a circus caravan. Scared by the elephant, his cow took off, his chickens flew away, his can of milk spilled and his eggs broke. When the townsfolk saw what had happened, they consoled the farmer.
“Oh, I don’t mind,” he said. “I’ve seen the elephant.”
—folktale
After experiencing combat many Civil War soldiers wrote about having “seen the elephant,” or variations thereof. However, the military connotation precedes that conflict. The phase also is associated with battle in the war with Mexico (1846–1848). Writing in Civil War Times Illustrated , Gerald Conti suggests the origin dates to the third century B.C. , when “Alexander the Great’s Macedonian warriors defeated the elephant-mounted army of King Porus in the Indus valley,” which is in modern Pakistan (“Seeing the Elephant,” Civil War Times Illustrated , 23 [June 1984]: 19).
CONTENTS
Foreword by William J. Keating
Acknowledgments
Introduction by William B. Saxbe Jr.
1 The Burg
2 Becoming Worldly
3 Army Daze
4 Ohio’s Public Servant
5 The Laudable 100th
6 Losing a Good Fight
7 Tackling Ohio Law
8 The Last Campaign
9 Here I Come, Ready or Not
10 Vietnam All Over Again
11 A Couple of Votes for Justice
12 The Finishing Touches
13 Desperate Times
14 A Constitutional Question
15 Very Model of a Modern Attorney General
16 Walking on Eggs
17 Nixon Bows Out
18 The Transition
19 Telephones and COINTELPRO
20 In Kipling’s Footsteps
21 Tiptoeing into India
22 Huntin’, Fishin’, and Leavin’
23 In Private Again
24 Teamster Times
Epilogue: Final Thoughts
Notes
Index
FOREWORD
Who is Bill Saxbe?
It was the mid-fifties. I was a young attorney in Cincinnati, just getting interested in Republican politics, when I was approached to become involved in Bill Saxbe’s campaign for Ohio attorney general.
A quick check revealed that Saxbe had alienated many Republicans in his losing effort to Congressman George Bender in the 1954 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. I was fascinated by his boldness. We met shortly thereafter; I liked what I saw and agreed to take a large role as a volunteer in his campaign in Hamilton County, Ohio.
Saxbe defies description, yet I will try. He is a man comfortable with himself, married to Dolly in what can only be described as the perfect partnership. Dolly is special; she is Bill’s rudder, his soulmate in every sense of the word; and she was willing to follow Bill’s dream wherever it took them.
If he stumbled, she was there. If he misspoke, and he often did, she was there. If he was courageous in his decisions, and he often was, she was there. Dolly and their children were everything to Bill Saxbe. They were his constant companions and provided support and love during one of the most extraordinary journeys a man can travel.
One lesson I learned early. When you walk into his office, locate Bill’s position in relation to his spittoon, and never get in the line of fire. Some have, to their dismay.
Aside from the campaign speeches we gave, the rallies we organized and attended, there was the job of hanging signs. It was easy, until we had to nail the double Saxbe signs on the farmers’ rail fences in the rural areas. Bill’s instructions were to hang the signs quickly and get out of there because “those farmers have guns.”
Our reward for that effort was to be invited to the Van Darby Club for the Pure in Heart party where, among other things, they had fried fish that were best described as “barely edible.” I haven’t eaten fried fish since.
Following Saxbe’s election as Ohio attorney general in 1956, I worked in his office as an assistant in worker’s compensation matters and tried cases in various courts in Ohio. As attorney general he permitted me the same independence he enjoyed in his own work. He was extremely loyal to his friends and to the people who worked for and with him, but he demanded honesty in all matters.
When Bill was in the United States Senate, I was in the House of Representatives. We had many common constituent problems, which we attacked and solved together. He never forgot how important each individual’s predicament was, regardless of that person’s station in life, and each received his personal attention.
After I left Congress and Saxbe became the U.S. envoy to India, he and Dolly invited Nancy and me to India to stay with them in New Delhi. While we were there, I spoke to various groups about the U.S. Constitution and freedom of the press. (I was publisher of the Cincinnati Enquirer at the time.) That was shortly after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had declared a national “emergency,” in the process abolishing freedom of the press and constitutional privileges. That didn’t bother Saxbe; it just made life more interesting.
There are many stories I could relate, so many Saxbeisms I could repeat. Nevertheless, I will always remember Saxbe as a fiercely independent, funny, secure, and intelligent person with an inner strength in troubled times—a man who was loyal and faithful to his mission as he discharged his duties in the various offices he held.
Bill Saxbe has fought and is fighting the good fight. He is keeping the faith. And above all, he has certainly seen the elephant.
As you read this story you will come to know Bill Saxbe for what he was and what he continues to be, a talented, forthright man without guile, a man of impeccable integrity. What you see is what you get.
William J. Keating Cincinnati, Ohio   
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It would be hard to imagine a treasured Bill Saxbe story that I haven’t heard, but I am sure a few more will spring to life once this book is published; so much the better for storyteller and listener alike.
Most of these engaging yarns—some became legends in their own time—were told to me by Saxbe himself during the hundreds of hours I spent with him. Anecdotes and Saxbe go together like salt and pepper. I also discovered that the man has a remarkable memory for people and events that touched his life for more than four score years. I am honored that he chose me to help him record his multifaceted career.
Many others contributed their memories of Saxbe during his years of public service, and I am most grateful to all of them. I am particularly indebted to President Gerald R. Ford, Alexander M. Haig Jr., and Saxbe’s many friends and associates in Ohio, Washington, India, and elsewhere he has trod since.
I would be remiss if I did not also single out the contributions of Carolyn Conrad Nassar, secretary to Charles R. “Rocky” Saxbe, who provided invaluable help, particularly during the early stages of this project, and who met me “in the alley” so many times. Also, Mike Brown deserves recognition for his computer expertise, thus saving this work from disappearing into computer oblivion.
Inestimable help came from a flock of hard-working librarians, including those at the Ohio Historical Society, where Saxbe’s Washington papers are stored. The men and women at the Columbus Metropolitan Library always seemed to relish going the extra mile, and for that I am thankful. Also helpful were librarians and archivists at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland; the Gerald R. Ford Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan; The Ohio State University Libraries, including the Veterinary Medicine Library; the Otterbein University Library, Worthington, Ohio; the libraries of The Columbus Dispatch, Cleveland Plain Dealer , and other newspapers; and community libraries in Dublin, Upper Arlington, Cleveland, and Mechanicsburg, Ohio.
The Saxbe family was incredibly kind and forthcoming. It goes without saying that the book lives only because of their wholehearted support. Dolly fed me well and made sure her husband didn’t make any mistakes in the telling of the tales. Juli, Bart, and Rocky told me stories that even their parents had not heard—and a few made it into this book!
Finally, special recognition is due my wife, Eleanor, for her love and unflagging support. She has been there for me every step of the way.
Peter D. Franklin
INTRODUCTION
Ever since Dad wrote Seems Like Yesterday , his account of growing up in Mechanicsburg, Ohio, his family and friends have pestered him to continue the story. He and Mom have had a fascinating life, both as private citizens and as public figures. For ourselves—my sister, Juli; my brother, Rocky; and myself—and for our children—we wanted a written record of our parents’ times at Ohio State University; the military years during the Second World War and the Korean War; Dad’s public service to Ohio and the nati