Page:Letter from Harry S. Truman to Sam Roberts - NARA - 201513.tif

 September 8, 1949

Dear Sam:

I read your letter of September first with a lot of interest. You evidently got an immense amount of political information in the two and one-half months you were in Britain and it is most interesting. I have many reports on the situation in Great Britain and I have come to the conclusion that the British have always handled their internal affairs to their own satisfaction and I propose to let them continue to do it. We have never been in complete agreement with them on anything. That disagreement started in 1776. If you remember fundamentally, however, our basic ideas are not far apart - they gave us our fundamental and basic law and have been our allies in nearly every war we have fought since 1860. You must remember they have been through two of the most terrible experiences in the history of the world - experiences which cost them the young men of two generations. Had our losses been in proportion we would have lost between twelve and fifteen million of our young men. Try to contemplate what that would mean to this country.

I note carefully what you say about Mercy Hospital and the General Hospital. I am not worried about that end of the population nor am I worried about those who make $25,000 a year and over. The health of the people between those two extremes is what is most important to the country and when we find 34% of our young men and women unfit for military service because of physical and mental defects, there is something wrong with the health of the country and I am trying to find a remedy for it. When it comes to the point where a man getting $2400.00 a year has to pay $500.00 for prenatal care and then an additional hospital bill on top of that there is something wrong with the system. Before I get out of this office I am going to find out what is wrong and I am going to try and remedy it. I'd suggest you Doctors had better be hunting for a remedy yourselves unless you want a drastic one.

Dr. Sam E. Roberts

1110 Professional Building

Kansas City, Missouri