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Mary LaskerMary Lasker
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before; although two speeches were made by Mrs. Roosevelt and Stevenson in the '56 campaign, they never followed it up. And they never followed it up with the suggestion of a commission being appointed, or any specific action being taken. But the truth is that we still have poverty and it still could be eliminated by a variety of efforts. Don't you agree?

Q:

Oh, yes, but it seems to me that in the '50s perhaps the economic situation in the country didn't lend itself to the promulgation of this theme.

Lasker:

I think it was really largely the point of view of the people that were advocating it. At any rate, it didn't happen, and I'm hoping now that it will be used in the next campaign.

Q:

Did Stevenson warm to this theme as a humanitarian, or was it. . .

Lasker:

Although he used the material, it didn't seem to particularly engage him terrifically. Not that he was against it; it just wasn't. . . .

Q:

It just wasn't one of the things nearest to his heart.

Lasker:

No.

I drove back with him from the farm, I remember, and was extremely tired when I returned to the farm from New York and caught a very bad cold. Mrs. Roosevelt came to see me the next





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