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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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deal of the time.

I don't know what moved Douglas to decide the way he did. I was pretty mad and said to Sam Rosenman that I thought it showed awful poor thinking on the part of Douglas. He said, “Well, Frances, the pressure is very great, very great.” I think he was just pacifying me on this score, but I do think that Harold Smith was pressuring Douglas. Now, Harold Smith, when he learned that McNutt was going to be appointed, came rushing to me to see if I couldn't stop it. He said, “This ought not to be! McNutt ought not to be appointed.”

I said, “I've washed my hands of it, brother. I don't think we ought to have a War Manpower Commission and you know why. I've told you the whole story.”

“But, Oh,” he said, “McNutt is the wrong type to be there. He's the wrong type, you know. He's a kind of dictator.”

“Well,” I said, “he's not a serious dictator. Don't worry about that.”

McNutt didn't pay enough attention to things to be a dictator. A dictator has to work quite hard and pay attention. However, Smith didn't want him. I don't yet know how it was settled. I suppose he was appointed because of a trade-off on something. McNutt was a thorn in the flesh. He had quite a build-up, and a great following among the veterans. He had a big following in Indiana. The veterans





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