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pieces of equipment, builds buildings, issues stamps, owns trucks, planes, boats, and many of the things purchased by it don't present a very well-designed or attractive image. Even the letter paper of the government departments can be made to look more authoritative and more attractive if the design was good.

I urged him to see Raymond Loewy, who had done a series of design suggestions which I presented to him in a small book, to improve the image of the federal government, from a visual point of view, and also to have surveys made of the purchases of many departments in order not only to have the things purchased better designed, but also less expensive and more serviceably designed.

I said, “I know that you're very visual-minded and that this can't help but appeal to you,” which is true. And he said, “Well, I don't know when I'm going to do anything about it, though. I don't know why I haven't got any time. And I don't know when I'll ever see him. But I agree with you.”

Then we had some other conversation about various things. It was a wonderful late twilight, and the sun was just sinking behind the Jefferson Memorial, which you could just sort of feel in the distance, in the landscape outside his office. We had some general conversation, and I left.