November 23, 1960

MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION WITH MRS. F. D. R. IN NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 18, 1960

I met with Mrs. Roosevelt on November 18 to discuss the many inquiries, letters and requests which she had received about Adlai and suggestions and advice which people wanted her to pass on to the President-elect.

We reviewed briefly the campaign trips we had taken together, and I brought to her attention the many letters of thanks which I have received for the arrangements I had made for her appearances, all of which credited Mrs. R. with having obtained many votes in the areas in which she spoke. She told me that she, too, had received similar letters but that she wondered whether she was, in fact, helpful. She was pleased when I told her about the rebroadcast of many of her speeches, particularly on the religious issue, in Pennsylvania and other states.

She told me that she has received a great deal of mail from Adlai supporters complaining that he was being "dumped";2 and that she had spoken to Mary Lasker and was afraid that Mary "wasn't very pleased", because "I was rather sharp with her." Mary complained that Adlai wouldn't be Secretary of State and "she told me I must do something about it." Mrs. R. told Mary Lasker: (1) that she was a bit "fed up" with people who didn't understand the burdens and problems which face Mr. Kennedy; (2) that she had told Jack Kennedy on several occasions that she felt Adlai was an excellent person in the field of foreign affairs; but (3) that it would not only be presumptuous on her part, but grossly improper, for her or anyone else to tell Jack Kennedy whom he should choose as his Secretary of State, since the President must take into account many factors in deciding the membership of his cabinet, such as (1) the question of personality and whether he can work closely with the particular individual concerned; (2) his concept of his own role in the field of foreign affairs; and (3) political problems particularly in relation to 1964.

Mrs. R. said that while Mary Lasker was probably "annoyed", the time had come when Adlai supporters, whoever they might be, must realize that the choice of Secretary of State as well as other positions must be the choice of Mr. Kennedy; and that any type of undue pressure or attempted influence on Mr. Kennedy would be a disservice to him and to the country. She went on to say that having been the wife of a President of the United States for many years perhaps she is better able to understand the burdens and pressures on Mr. Kennedy and, therefore, she may be more sensitive to avoid doing anything which would add to those burdens.

I told her that I was sure that Jack Kennedy would appreciate her understanding and viewpoint; but that I nonetheless felt that because of her experience, particularly in U.N.,3 she was uniquely qualified to pass on advice regarding the type of persons and perhaps particular individuals who might be considered to fill U.S. posts in U.N., without regard to whom Jack Kennedy might choose as the U. S. representative at U.N. She agreed that her six years in U.N. as a member of the U. S. delegation and as the U.S. Representative to the Human Rights Commission, together with her activities since that time on behalf of the American Association of U. N., might qualify her to speak with knowledge and understanding, but that she did not want to make any suggestions in any direct manner which might leave the impression with Mr. Kennedy that she was urging or promoting the candidacy of any individual for any post. He must be "left free, to make his choice and best judgment." She added, however, that she would be willing to pass on her thoughts and the many inquiries and suggestions which she is receiving, if I was willing to channel the suggestions and letters to the proper persons and bring whatever I consider of important to the President-elect's attention through Jim Landis' or any other channel.4

We then discussed specific areas of U.N. activities. Mrs. R. first mentioned the need to carefully choose the U.S. Representative to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). She said that the present U.S. Representative, a young Republican, is a "nice boy but completely ineffective"; that the Economic and Social Council is one of the most important organs of U.N. today, since all questions of economic and technical assistance involving the underdeveloped areas come before it; that neither the principal U.S. representative, nor his deputy, had made full use of the opportunities in ECOSOC; and that she had no names to suggest at present but would hope that very careful consideration will be given to the naming of the U.S. representative and staff to ECOSOC.5

She then touched upon the Human Rights Commission, to which she had for six years served as the U.S. representative. She felt that her successor, Mary Lord,6 had done a good job in making friends with the countries represented on the Human Rights Commission, but that the ground had been cut from under her by Mr. Dulles who made clear at the outset that the Eisenhower Administration would not agree to signing a covenant on human rights. I asked her what she would think of the appointment to that post of a qualified Negro. She felt this desirable if a qualified Negro were available. I asked about Edith Sampson,7 of Chicago, who she felt would not be the best person since she was not someone who is accustomed "to doing her homework", and is too concerned about promoting herself. She said, however, that it might be worthwhile to look into the qualifications of Carl Rowan8 who is a top-notch reporter on the Minneapolis Tribune. She thought that he was an extremely well-educated gentleman,9 very highly regarded in the Negro community and in the newspaper world. She did not urge his appointment, but merely indicated that it might be worthwhile having someone check on him.