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Mary LaskerMary Lasker
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story. Mike de and I, were threatened with 150 million dollar budget cut , in December,'65, by the Budget. We came to see the President, but Valenti wouldn't let us see him. As we didn't see him, we saw Cator, and we explained to Valenti as best we could that this would be a mistake. Well, we saw that they were going to change the 150 million dollars back again, so Mike and I went home to our various homes, and through Mike Gorman I communicated with the secretary of the Dean of the American Medical Schools, and said that if there were a 150 million dollar cut, they would all suffer, and that they should write to the President and telegraph to him, urging no cut in the Budget, . He was going to cut out 150 million that we had had, believe it or not.

Q:

It seems to me you're faced with that every year.

Lasker:

Every year! But it's always getting bigger. Well, believe it or not, this wordx spread, and the President did indeed receive numerous letters and telegrams, and he is reported to have said to McGeorge Bundy: “Mary Lasker is picketing the White House.”

He immediately associated all this with me. I wouldn't know why or how . Actually, I spoke to very few people, and it was really only Mike Gorman, who got busy with the secretary of the organization of medical schools, the dean. I did, however, pay for some of the wires that it took to communicate with the deans. What was it -- it was about $300. At any rate, I did





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