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Mary LaskerMary Lasker
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Part:         Session:         Page of 1143

effort, that is, to make the effort seem important. I was finally discouraged from this by Senator Bridges, when Pepper and I asked him to be a sponsor of the new bill in January of '48. Bridges promised he would see; he said, “Don't tie yourself down to any specific amount of money; a specific amount of money will frighten the boys off from voting for the legislation. If you get the legislation passed, I'll see that you get the money to start, and I'll see that you get adequate funds. A large amount will just make the bill hard to pass.”

Q:

Do you think this was good strategy?

Lasker:

It was; he was right.

I then saw Dr. Thomas Parran, who was then the head of the Public Health Service; I saw him in Atlantic City, at which time he got the special Lasker Award, in October '47, and I asked him if he'd be in favor of the Heart Institute bill similar to the Cancer Institute bill. He was very cautious about this. Imagine! It's the main cause of death, and I was asking the head of the Public Health Service if he would be in favor of a bill similar to a bill that was already in existence in the Public Health Service regarding the second cause of death, and he was very cautious and said he would have to think it over.

Q:

How do you analyze this attitude?





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