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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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friend.” You didn't have any dancing school friend. A friend was a friend.

Whereas, with Franklin Roosevelt there were a great many characteristics of friendship. There were friendships of this character, friendships of that character, friendships of still another character. With all of the people who fell into these categories he was friends. He was friends with certain church people, but he didn't share anything with them except their interest in the church. Beyond that he didn't go and they didn't go with him.

I think that was some of the thing that entered into the misunderstanding between Smith and Roosevelt. When Al Smith said he was a friend of Franklin Roosevelt's and Franklin Roosevelt was a friend of his, he didn't have any qualifications, or he didn't put it in any category of friendship. It was friendship. I think he was unable to comprehend a friendship that was political, but that didn't admit you to any of the secret recesses of the mind and heart. I don't mean that Al Smith thought that everybody who was associated with him in politics was a friend, but he had accepted Franklin Roosevelt in his own mind as a friend, period - not just as some body who supported you and would go along with you. I think he was emotionally touched by Roosevelt.





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