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170103975
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Memorandum from Major General Philip B. Fleming to Matthew Connelly
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document
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1
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id
170103975
contentType
document
title
Memorandum from Major General Philip B. Fleming to Matthew Connelly
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President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration)
White House Files
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170103975
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day
30
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1948-12-30
month
12
year
1948
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nara-archive
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1
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photo
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2ceee4cade0d5012
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FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY
WASHINGTON 25
OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR
December 30, 1948
Memorandum to Mr. Matthew Connelly:
I suggest that you advise the President of the mounting
estimates for the White House repair job so that he can be
educating the newsmen and the people of the country to the
probable high cost of the job. In the course of a couple of
press conferences he can "take the odge off" the startling news
that there's a $4,000,000 item in the budget for the job instead
of the $1,000,000 everyone is expecting.
A minute or two taken now to discuss the shoring up of the
third floor and the need for tearing out all of the underpinning
will pay real dividends later when the budget becomes available.
It might be worthwhile for the President to venture this
thought: when he heard the mounting estimates of the cost of
the job - as the true state of the building was discovered
after his removal to the Blair House - he realized that it might
be less expensive to have the White House razed and rebuilt. He
knew, though, that the White House is a shrine to the people of
the nation and to many millions of others throughout the world
and, therefore, he has gone along on the more costly rebuilding
program.
TRUMAN
by
Philip Fleming
B.
Major General, U. S. A.
Es
SERVICE
Administrator