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Mary LaskerMary Lasker
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know how he knew of our activities, and I was horrified that he had mentioned this even, because we wished to seem as invisible as possible and not to take any credit for anything, as it's always annoying to people.

Johnson again said that the HEW budget had to be cut and he was going to take 500 million dollars out of it. I don't see how he can possibly do this since there are new programs that have to be initiated. I don't know whether he means it or whether he was trying to frighten me to death, which he pretty nearly did.

He was very anxious to get paintings for his office in the White House, and Lady Bird wished to have paintings for the family section of the large corridor which amounts to a living room at one end of the White House on the second floor. I wrote a memorandum about that the next day. Actually, Johnson didn't like the Catlins that were hanging on the second floor wall, in the big hall. They were portraits of Indians, and he said they reminded him of the fact that we haven't done nearly enough about the Indians and it made him sad when he looked at them. He's quite right, I think. However, Mrs. Johnson dismissed that, and I don't know what happened to the Indians.

The next day Mrs. Johnson and I went to see his office in the Executive Office Building and there were a few paintings by Southwestern painters, of Texas scenes, very realistic and pleasing, which she considered moving either to her room or to his office. I suggested that if what he wanted were really scenes





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