Home
Search transcripts:    Advanced Search
Notable New     Yorkers
Select     Notable New Yorker

Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
Photo Gallery
Transcript

Part:         Session:         Page of 912

Interviewer:

“The first Truman's Cabinet meeting was on April 20th. Wickard talked about A.F.O. Stettinius talked about the San Francisco Conference. Kenneth McKellar was there as President pro tem of the Senate.”

Perkins:

That was a funny thing. You see, that was one of the things I noticed, was McKellar being there. You know, very unusual. The President had never brought in anybody from the Congress to a Cabinet meeting. This was Truman's instinct. He'd been a Senator, after all, and his instinct was to rely upon the strength and force of the Senate. That was why he brought McKellar in. And of course there was a great deal of talk about San Francisco. What was Kenneth's post at the time? President pro tem of the Senate. Yes. But of course, McKellar was a strange person to have there.

Interviewer:

“Truman issued some orders about bickering and said that anyone who didn't do his job would catch hell from him.”

Perkins:

On that occasion? Well, he perhaps had felt the same thing that I felt. For a week there was a certain pulling and hauling and pulling wires and bickering going on. Also, there had been this rumor, you see. It had been printed in the Press. I think it was more a rumor that the Press started and supported than it was a reality--the rumor that the





© 2006 Columbia University Libraries | Oral History Research Office | Rights and Permissions | Help