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the meantime the Association has had many internal troubles and Wilde resigned early in '55.

On April 12, of '55, O'Connor made the final announcement of the great victory over polio with Salk vaccine, and at the same time when asked what the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis would do next, he was quoted in both the press and on the air as saying that mental health was the greatest single problem facing the people of the United States and that they were considering turning the activities of the foundation into this field.

It's a great shame that he did not do this. Actually, he decided to go into the field of arthritis and birth defects in children.

What induced him to change this?

I don't know.

You weren't in personal contact with him.

After that, I urged him to do this, and I found I could do no more, and they finally had made a decision but it was not in this area. It's a sad thing because O'Connor has a dynamic quality of leadership, promotional ability, and enthusiasm, and he has the right kind of an organization, the National Foundation was organized with a progressive