Previous | Next
Part: 12 Session: 123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536 Page 760761762763764765766767768769770771772773774775776777778779 of 1143
He came to see me at the farm after he had visited her, and we had a pleasant visit. I remember that it was a lovely summer and that the roses were very good even though it was August. It hadn't been too hot and the flowers were in very full bloom.
I drove down with him to New York the next day, and naturally we spent a great deal of time discussing the forthcoming campaign and the support that he needed.
What kind of advice were you prepared to give him at that time?
Well, I was especially interested at that time that be should make the theme of the campaign the elimination of poverty in the United States. We had done a booklet in our office called “Let's Push Poverty Out of the United States,” which showed that about 20 percent of the people were living in substandard conditions and were really in states of grave deprivation, both educationally and from a health and housing point of view, due to lack of jobs, and probably due to the other factors. The booklet made suggestions about what should be done. Now, Stevenson did actually use this booklet as a basis for a speech, and Mrs. Roosevelt used it as a basis for a speech, as I recall, when she spoke before the Democratic Convention.
Now, this idea of the elimination of poverty as a theme didn't really catch hold until recently. Bobby Kennedy and President Kennedy in this last year, in '63, have discussed the elimination of poverty more than it ever was generally discussed
© 2006 Columbia University Libraries | Oral History Research Office | Rights and Permissions | Help