“If Columbus had had an advisory committee he would probably still be at the dock”

A statement against committees was published in a February 1962 newspaper:
 
“Secretary of Labor Goldberg, always a free-wheeling operator, frets over the time-consuming committees which have been created to advise him on policy. Annoyed by the collective gab-fest at a recent meeting, he exploded: ‘If Columbus had had an advisory committee, he would probably still be at dock.’—Lawrence Stessin, in Dun’s Review.”
 
Arthur Goldberg (1908-1990) was the 9th U.S. Secretary of Labor, serving from January 21, 1961 until September 20, 1962. “Had had” is often cited with just one “had.”
     
 
Wikiquote: Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus (c. 1451 – 20 May 1506) (Cristoforo Colombo in Italian, Cristóbal Colón in Spanish, Cristóvão Colombo in Portuguese) was an explorer who crossed the Atlantic Ocean and reached the Americas on October 12th 1492 under the flag of Castilian Spain. In subsequent voyages he oversaw the conquest of the Caribbean, where his brutality led to arrest and loss of favor in the Spanish court.
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Quotes about Columbus
If Columbus had an advisory committee he would probably still be at the dock.
. Arthur Goldberg
 
Wikipedia: Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Joseph Goldberg (August 8, 1908 – January 19, 1990) was an American statesman and jurist who served as the 9th U.S. Secretary of Labor, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the 6th United States Ambassadors to the United Nations.
 
Old Fulton NY Post Cards
20 February 1962, Rome (NY) Daily Sentinel, pg. 6, col. 6:
Committees
Secretary of Labor Goldberg, always a free-wheeling operator, frets over the time-consuming committees which have been created to advise him on policy. Annoyed by the collective gab-fest at a recent meeting, he exploded: “If Columbus had had an advisory committee, he would probably still be at dock.”—Lawrene Stessin, in Dun’s Review.
 
20 November 1965, Boston (MA) Globe, “Editorial Points,” pg. 6, col. 2:
Says Ambassador Goldberg: “If Columbus had had an advisory committee, he’d still be at the dock.”
   
Google Books
Read My Quips
By Vernon K. McLellan
Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers
1991
Pg. 30:
If Columbus had had an Advisory Committee he would probably still be at the dock — Arthur Goldberg.
 
11 October 1994, Rockford (IL) Register Star, “Cryptoquote,” pg. 11D, col. 8:
Yesterday’s Cryptoquote: IF COLUMBUS HAD HAD AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE, HE WOULD PROBABLY STILL BE AT THE DOCK.—ARTHUR GOLDBERG
     
Google Books
Dictionary of Quotations
Edited by Connie Robertson
Hertfordshire, UK: Wordsworth Reference
1998
Pg. 150:
GOLDBERG Justice Arthur 1908-1990
4137
If Columbus had had an advisory committee he would probably still be at the dock.
 
Google Books
The Biteback Dictionary of Humorous Business Quotations
By Fred Metcalf
London, UK: Biteback Publishing Ltd
2014
Pg. ?:
If Columbus had had an advisory committee he would probably still be at the dock.
Arthur Goldberg, American statesman and jurist
 
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If Columbus had an advisory committee he would probably still be at the dock. (Justice Arthur Goldberg) #quote
3:58 AM - 24 Jan 2018