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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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Part:         Session:         Page of 731

If you can add to their prestige in some other way than by the appointment of a rural carrier, that will often help them out just as much. What they're really worried about is losing their grip on the leadership of the party in their state. They're loyal to the President or they're loyal to the administration. They don't want to lose their lead. They want to do those things, or have those things done for them, which will help them to keep the party together, and integrate it, build it up, expand it. They really have ambition to make a good party unit out of it in most cases.

“I discovered that while they came wanting patronage, and they had a whole long list of people wanting jobs always, they would be very reasonable provided they got a little attention, a little prestige, a little notice. The promise of a visit of a Cabinet Officer to their bailiwick to make a speech would often suit them. They would give up the eight or ten political appointments that they wanted for the sake of the prestige. That always meant a great deal when somebody important came.

“I learned to arrange that it got into the local papers when they called on the President; that whatever the leading papers of the state were got a special dispatch from Washington that Mr. So-and-So had spent half an hour with the President that morning. That meant a great deal.





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