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Mary LaskerMary Lasker
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go to Washington around the 1st of September to be sure that the President remembered to go into the National Institutes of Health figures with the Budget before the Budget had their figures set.

In Paris I met Dr. Howard Rusk, and I was convinced that it was important to interest him to work not only for the rehabilitation of people but for medical research in order to prevent the need for rehabilitation until the later stages of lives of people. I thought that he would be an outstanding spokesman for the cause of more Federal funds for research if we could only interest him deeply. Consequently, when I returned home and decided to go to Washington on September 8th, we asked him to go to see the President with us. This was taking an enormous chance, because Rusk is very, very convincing and has tremendous gift for selling people on anything that interests him. . .

Q:

And you weren't quite sure of his stand.

Lasker:

And we weren't quite sure whether he would really help us or not. Rusk, of course, made a plea for more funds for rehabilitation, but made no pitch for research, no real pitch. We then asked the President what had been decided between the Budget and himself about additional funds for the National Institutes of Health, and the President called his secretary and





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