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totally diffused, and without any thought given to any series of stamps. This is what I was urging. Using it as a tool, as a propaganda tool.

In this memo I gave the President, I suggested that the Interior Department, particularly the Parks Service, could benefit through better design of visitors' facilities and renovation of hotels and motels, signs and uniform of the people who are working for the motels; that the Department of Commerce, which aids trade fairs and expositions abroad, could be helped; that the Defense Department could be aided with the design of transportation equipment; that the Social Security offices could be aided through repainting and making attractive the thousands of offices where people come to get their Social Security checks and advice, that these could be made more efficient and attractive through a standard design for painting and lighting. They could be attractive instead of grubby and awful, you know?

Johnson looked at this and said, “Well, you should have given me this a few months ago. This should have been part of the message on beautification.” I didn't say, “Well, I did give it to you last June,” but I did say, “Well, I think you should do it just the same.” He picked up the phone and called Dick Goodwin, who is now his aide and wrote part of the natural beauty message, and said, “I have a memo here I want you to write me a memorandum on. Something that Mrs. Lasker just brought. I'll send it to you in the morning.”