Session: 123456789101112131415161718192021         Page 337338339340341342343344345346347348349350351352353354355356357 [missing]358359360361362363364365366367368369370371372373374375376377378379380381382383384385386387388389390391392393394 of 1029

Roosevelt would think that if he put his name in the books people wouldn't steal them!

Was he hurt by...?

The first thing that I did when I saw that the sale was going badly--and he was very optimistic--was to try to temper him down a little bit. I found out from Doubleday that they had done a two volume edition of the public addresses and papers of Herbert Hoover and it was a colossal flop--it sold only about 2,000 sets. I went up to Hyde Park and I said, “You know, I'm a little worried about the project because I don't think that the public papers and addresses of anybody are going to have any huge appeal to the American public.” He said, “What makes you say that?" I said, “I just checked up on what Doubleday did with the Hoover and they only sold about 2,000 sets, Mr. President.” He let out a roar of laughter and slapped his knee and said, “Hoover sold 2,000! We'll sell a million!.”

Now, the final story, to show you what an incurable optimist he was when he wanted to be--the night before the set came out, I went down to the White House with a very good object in mind. I knew what I wanted. I wanted the President to put his set on his desk so that in all the pictures that would be taken of him, our set would be in the background. When he was posing with any visiting dignitaries, there would always be that set in the picture. He thought that was a