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Mary LaskerMary Lasker
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Part:         Session:         Page of 1143

Institute; and another would be brought up for the Mental Health Institute, to increase their funds across the boards, by 33 million dollars. Florence and I telephoned nearly all night, trying to get various doctors to send letters or telegrams in support of increased appropriations. The next afternoon or earlier we were in the Senate gallery and our friends brought up their amendments to the appropriations bill. Pepper made a magnificent speech in defense of research and construction funds for heart. Magnussion used our figures from our fact sheet and the answers to the question verbatim in his speech on the floor. And Matt Neeley was so touching about the needs for cancer research, which he felt so deeply, as he had been a victim himself, that we both wept in the gallery, Florence and I. (Neeley finally died of cancer, but not for sometime after.”

Prior to the session that day, I'd seen Senator Bridges of New Hampshire and told him we hoped he'd support the amendments to the appropriations bill for the Heart and Cancer Institutes. Bridges was very important, as he was a ranking Republican on the Appropriations Committee and had incredible power for making mischief or for silencing mischief, if he didn't want any to go on among other Republicans.

Q:

Was this because he also had native ability, or...

Lasker:

He had energy and he was shrewd and he had been the





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