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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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there was a lady in the room, but I don't think that they spoke in blasphemous terms ordinarily. It wasn't in their habit patterns. They could express themselves without calling on the Almighty in various aspects to bear them up or curse all their opponents.

But on this occasion they were so disturbed that they broke into blasphemous comment, such as “God Almighty, blast their hides,” that sort of thing. It was not conventional, but swear words from the heart. I noted it as an indication of how disturbed they were. They were really terribly disturbed and they looked it. Their denunciations couldn't be expressed in anything but terms that had blasphemous implications. That was, of course, true all through the town.

From that time on the President's leadership became very cautious and very careful. He knew he was dealing with eggs that could be broken very easily. I remember this outbreak of war very clearly, as I remember other things dealing with the foreign scene. The feeling at the time of Munich, a year before, isn't as clear to my mind because Munich was very confusing. The politicians were no wiser than the press and had no more insight into what was going on, and if you read the press of the day, you can see how





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