4 HONORARY CHAIRMEN Hon. Sherman Adams Assistant to Tbe President Hon. Douglas McKay Secretary of the lnterior Hon. Val Peterson Administrator, Federal Civil Defense Hon. Adlai E. Stevenson Hon. Gordon Persons Governor of Alabama Hon. Howard Pp Governor of rrzona Hon. Francis Cherry Governor of Arkansas Hon. Earl Warren Governor of California Hon. Dan Thornton Governor of Colorado Hon. John Lodge Governor of Connecticut Hon. J. Caleb Bo gs Governor of DAaware Hon. Luther W. Youngdahl Judge, Distric: of Columbia Hon. Dan McCarty Governor of k3orida Hon. Herman E. Talmadge Governor of Georgia Hon. William G. Straaon Governor of Illinois Hon. George N. Craig Governor of Indiana Hon. William S. Beardsley Governor of Iowa Hon. Edward F. Am Governor of Kansas Hon. Lawrence Wetherby Governor of Kentucky Hon. Charles e. Farnsk Mayor of Louisville, Jy. Hon. Robert F. Kennon Governor of Louisiana Hon. Burton M. Cross Governor of Maine Hon. Theodore R. McKeldin Governor of Maryland Hon. Christian A. Herter Governor of Massacbuserrs Hon. G. Mennen Williams Governor of Michigan Hon. C. Elmer Anderson Governor of Minnesota Hon. Hugh White Governor of Mississippi Hon. J. Hugo Aronson Governor of Montdna Hon. Robert B. Croshy Governor of Nebraska Hon. Charles H. Ilussell Governor of Nevnda Hon. Hugh Gregg Governor of New Hampsbir. Hon. Alfred E. Driscoll Governor of New Jersey Hon. William B. Umstead Governor of Nortb Carolina Hon. C Norman Brunsdale Governor of Nortb Dakota Hon. Johnston Murray Governor of Oklahoma Hon. Paul L. Patterson Governor of Oregon Hon. John S. Fine Governor of Pennsylvania Hon. Dennis J. Roberts Governor of Rbode Island Hon. Sigurd Anderson Governor of South Dakota Hon. Frank G. Clement Governor of Tennessee Hon. Lee E. Emerson Governor of Vermont Hon. John S. Battle Governot of Virginia Hon. Anhur B. Lan lie Governor of Wasfingtan Hon. William C. Mnrland Governor of West Virginlr Hon. Walter . Kohler, Jr. Governor 01 Wisconsin Hon. C J. Ro ers GovAnor ol(wyominp NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH COMMITTEE 1129 Vermont Avenue, N.W. Washington 5, D.C. REpublic 7-4398 Co-Chairmen Executive Director MIKE GORMAN MRS. ALBERT D. LASKER 0 CHARLES SCHLAIFER 14 April 1954 Dear Mary: In answer to your request of Tuesday for a memorandum on what can be done at the state level in the next ten weeks: 1. The southern state survey still has priority. If possible, I should still go down to Atlanta for a week and help them round out their reports. llowever, I have hesitated to go away for a week because of the uncertainty about the dates for the hearings. I talked to the elusive Colonel Quinn last night and he still doesn't have a firmed- up date on the fiouse side. IIowever, he thought they would probably finish with theTnstitutes the week of April 26th, meaning that we might go on hlay 3rd. As to the Senate, the Lord only knows when they will start hearings. 2. The mid-western regional conference on mental health has been tentatively scheduled for June 7-8 in Indiannapolis. Sidney Spector is doing practically all the preliminary work for this conference. Ile doesn't think the mid-western group is equipped to make a regional mental health resources survey in time for the '55 legislatures, however, the American Psychiatric Association is making a survey in Indiana. Governor Williams had his own survey made last year in Michigan. Among the big states this leaves Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, It is my impression that Minnesota has been surveyed to death, and I think there was a survey in Illinois preparatory to the 1953 legislature, which voted $9,000,000 for research for the biennium. In other words, the mid-western situation is much different than that in the south. In the south you were practically starbing from scratch; in the mid-west, there have been a number of surveys of various kinds. However, there is a tremendous need for regional cooperation in re- search and training and I think this will be one of the major achievements of the June conference. If the Senate hearings ddnot occur at that time, I should go out to Indiannapolis and push whatever I think can be pushed after talking to a couple of the Governors. Much of this has to be played by ear. ADVISORY COMMITTEE Hon. Sidney S. JIcJIath Hon. Elbert S. Carve1 Hon. Fuller Warren Hon. Henry F. Schricker Hon. Earl 6. Long Former Got erncr of Arkansas Former Goreracr of Delauare Former Gorernor of Florida Former Corernor of Indiana Former Gbt.ertror of Lorririaia Spafford Ackerly, 31. D. Chester Alter, Ph. D. bIrs. >lax Ascoli Edward L. Bernays Barry gingham, Karl Bowman, AI. D. Francis J. Bracelacd, >I. D. Henry W. Brosin, &I. D. Anhur Bunker Melvin A. Casberg, AI. D. JIrs. Bennett-€erf Bennett Cerf David Crockett R. W. Cumley, Ph. D. .Albert Deutsch Franklin G. E baugh, JI. D. Xlrs. Winthrop Emmet 0. Spurgion English, hl. D. Jack Ewalt, hl. D. Jacob Finesinger, SI. D. Emerson Foote 7 Jlrs. Allmon Fordyce Edwin Gildea, hl. D. - Hon. Frederick G. Payce Cnited States Senator and Former Get.ernor of Alaine Former Gorernor Gf Masrarhrrsetts Former Governor of hfississippi Hon. Paul A. Dever Hon. Fielding L. Wright, Sr. SPONSORISG MEMBERS Margaret C. - L. Gildea, AI. D. Mikc Gorman Roy Grinker, hI. D. hlrs. John Gunther John Gunther Irving Harris F. Homburger, AI. D. ~ Robert W. Hyde, hI. D. Mrs. Henry Ittleson, Sr. hI. Ralph Kzufman, M. D. William K. Keller, AI. D. hlrs. Robert Kintner Judge John H. Lamneck Isabel Leighton Airs. David Levy hirs. Leonard Lyons Arthur hIag hirs. Florence Mahoney Albert Q. hiaisel hIrs.1 Joseph LMankiewicz Ben May Karl A. hlenninger, bf. D. William C. Menninger, hl. D. Hon. John W. &cr.er Hon. b7. Kerr Scctt Hon. Gordon Brox ninp Hon. Frank A. Barrett Former Get rrnor of .\fontam For:rlrr Gcrrrnor cf .Y+r:h Carclim Former Goremor 6f Tei;t.tejree L'nited States Senator and Former Gorernor of Wyoming Lois Jfattox JIiller John A. P. Millet, 31. D. Robert A. Moore, .\I. 0. Douglas Orr, Jl. D. AI Ostrow Clifton Perkins, hl. D. Howard Potter, >I. D. Justin Reese Bernard J. Reis Thomas A. C. Rennie, JI. D. Elmo Roper Thomas Rosenberg Helen Ross Leonard Rountree, J1. D. Arthur H. Ruggles, AI. D. hfrs. Charles Schlaifer Julius Schreiber, JI. D. Spyros P. Skouras Harry C. Sdonon, &I. D. Benjamin Spock, JI. D. Airs. Charles Vidor @ro T. Woods, 31. D. S. Bernaid Wortis, 31. D. Purpose: Through a broad educational campaign, to create public understanding and support of the IO-point Bill of Rights for the mentally ill adopted by the 7954 National Governors' Conference on Mental Health. To convince the American people to actively support federal, state and local preventive mental health programs emphasizing research, training and expanded clinic and community services designed to treat and cure mental illness in its early stages. Mrs. Albert 9. Lasker Kirkland, Arizona Page Two 3, There are also regional meetings of the very important state commissions on interstate cooperation. These are annual affairs and they are composed mostly of legislators. Bane attaches great importance to the actions of these commissions. The southern meeting will be held at Fort Monroe, Virginia on May 3-5 and the mid-western one at French Lick, Indiana around the last week in hlay. Rlental health will be an important part of the agenda at both of these regional conferences. It would be useful to attend these,since you are dealing here with legislators who are actually the final arbiters of the monies voted for mental health. 4. You must remember that the Council of State Governments is doing a very aggressive job of selling the recommendations of the Detroit. conference to the key people involved. It has sent out 5,000 summaries of the Detroit conference to legislators, budget officers, state officials, the National Association of Science Writers, etc, At the regional meetings referred to above, it will continue its evangelical work. Because the Council is the official representative of both the National Governors' Con- ference and the Conference of Legislators, it is able to do many things which we could not even attempt. Furthermore, when it sends out a summary of a National Governors9 Conference on Mental Health to a legislator in rural Oklahoma, he pays attention to it because it has the status of an official communication, When we send the same summary to that rural legislator, he frequently dismisses it as propaganda from a bleeding heart organization, potential out of the existing organizations in the field - the National Governors' Conference, the Council of State Governments, the American Psychiatric Association, etc. In other words, my major aim is to work myself out of a job. If we can persuade these outfits to adopt progressive programs, then we have put a real foundation under the mental health movement. 5. I still feel very strongly about getting the maximum 6. If you have tine to see Bane in Chicago next Tuesday, it would seem to me that the important questions which should be asked of him are the following: a. !Nhy doesn't he expand the National Clearinghouse on Mental Health to the point where it can do an effec- tive technical and program-planning job for all the states? b. What is he doing towards selling 1955 state legis- latures on line items for research and training? c. What does he want the mid-western regional mental health conference to accomplish? hlrs. Albert D. Lasker Kirkland, 12rizona Page Three d. How about the New England and IVestern areas? Does the Council have any plans in these areas? I realize the above thoughts are random in nature; however, I don't think you can write a firm blue print for the next two or three months. If Fogarty and his little boy Quinn decide on a House floor fight for research construction monies, doesn't that change the picture as far as conLcentration of effort is concerned? I think we ought to talk in more detail about this when you come back east. Hope that all you girls get rid of your annoying colds, The New York office is sending a copy of the Menninger piece to Mrs. Rosenherg, I have taken care of the matter of the Saturday night editor's dinner for Mrs, Mahoney. Miss McDonough is sending me copies of the new heart booklet, which T. am eager to see. I am also awaiting one hundred copies of the mental health fact sheet. Cordially, yc& hlike Gorman Executive airector P.S. The House Interstate Commerce Committee is again in Executive Session this morning on the grant-in-aid bill. I hope to have word on it this afternoon. Mrs. Albert Do Lasker Z Triangle Ranch Kirkland, Arizona MG/ne