| Show harry Tr life story to ry proves ag again ain cabin to white house road Is still open president advanced from county offices to head of nation by eliott pine released by western newspaper union forty years ago harry truman was plowing behind a mule on a missouri farm today la y he is in the white house in many ny ways the most powerful man in in the world the new president was born in lamar mo may 8 1884 four years later his parents john ander ander son and martha young truman returned to jackson county miles north which was the ancestral home ol of both harry grew up on the odoacre acre family farm farin in jackson county near Grand grandview view ills his mother still alive at 02 92 remarked Tern ints bently last fall all when he was elected to the vice presidency that boy could plow the straightest row of corn in the county he could sow wheat so there be a bare spot in the whole field he was a farmer who could do anything there was to do just a little bit better than anyone else during his grade and high sch school days harry distinguished himself by his scholarship he was an omnivorous reader an earnest student of everything when he graduated in 1901 he hoped to go to college but although his father was known as the best horse and mule trader in the county family finances would not permit any more education for the eager youth lie he won an appointment to west point but was rejected for weak eyesight harry decided to make his fortune in nearby kansas city after a few years at small jobs drug clerk bundle wrapper on the kansas city star bank clerk timekeeper on a railroad gang he went back dack to the family farm at his grandmothers invitation went to war for the next few years working the big farm arm took all harrys time then in 1917 he volunteered for or the army and soon became a lieutenant of field artillery while in training camp he organized a canteen for the men and took care of them in many other ways later he rose to a captaincy and led his company in hard fighting in saint mihiel and the argonne campaigns on the boat home harry was commissioned a major soon after returning to missouri he married his childhood sweetheart elizabeth bess wallace granddaughter of the first mayor of independence mo the ceremony took place in the episcopal church mrs Tr sect in 1918 1919 truman decided to go into business so he entered partnership with a man whom he met in army life and established a haberdashery store in kansas city harry invested his entire fortune amounting to about at first the business prospered but the sharp recession of 1921 brought disaster truman did not go into bankruptcy but chose to pay off his debts as well as he be could in 1934 1114 when elected to the U S senate he be was s still meeting old bills bill somewhat accidentally he got into politics an army acquaintance who was a nephew of thomas der gast then democratic leader in kansas city suggested harry truman for some small position the astute discovering that truman was well known and liked had the backing of the american legion and wa was s anxious for a new career appointed him a road supervisor in return harry made occa I 1 X X 4 kl 0 14 PRES HARRY S TRUMAN speeches and assisted in party organization work the young mans integrity and energy were effective and he was placed on the ticket for county judge in jackson county truman won and discharged his duties well during his bis two year term 1922 24 ile he was defeated in his try for reelection reelect lon h however 0 w the only political setback ebba e k in his bis career the office of f corro county judge in missouri corresponds to county superintendent in other states truman studied law at night during his term of office and gained admittance to the bar then in 1928 1926 he was elected presiding judge of jackson county which includes kan sas city and environs handled 60 million dollars I 1 had charge of the spending of 60 tor for highways and public buildings truman said later nobody ever found anything wrong with that arid and it gasn wasn t because they dlan t look either we built more miles of paved roads in jack son county than in any other county in the country with only two ex captions truman was repeatedly reelected to this office until 1934 he had sought the nomination for governor in 1830 1930 and for county collector to in 1932 but party heads advised him to wait a little longer then in 1934 came the big chance put truman on the ticket tor for the U S senate this was not such a favor as it might seem for pender fender gast did not expect victory in that year by a peculiar stroke of luck however the opposition was divided between two strong candidates and Tr truman s own popularity sufficed to win him a seat in the august upper house during his first term tru man remained somewhat obscure making few speeches and in general following the lead of mis souris senior senator bennett dark clark with few exceptions senator truman supported the party program he voted for the original agricultural adjustment act the wagner labor act social security the tennessee valley authority and the joining of the world court in his second year he voted for the florida ship canal and dam project the only measure he opposed was the presidents veto of the bonus payments la in 1938 and 39 he supported preparedness appropriations and lend lease ile he was chairman of a subcommittee that investigated railroad finance leading to the transportation act of 1910 ills work in drafting the civil aeronautics authority was outstanding tor for thoroughness and practicality in 1940 after squeaking through the democratic nomination battle 1 1 17 T 1 1 I 1 S xa 4 31 mrs airs bess truman and her daughter dau eliter mary margaret rela relax x in their lV washington ashington apartment with only votes to spare he be won the te election by a wide margin soon after resuming his seat he became interested in reports of extravagance trava gance in construction of arriey army camps funds to set up an investigating committee with himself na as chairman within a few months the committee uncovered widespread waste excessive purchasing profiteering and inefficiency in military contracts in the first report the committee attacked needless waste amounting to in the ardys cantonment construction program plenty to investigate complaints poured into the committees mit tees headquarters one concerned inferior steel plate in naval naval construction construct lon an investigation disclosed a serious situation which was corrected the committee brought about a reversal of policy when housewives housew ves complained about a shortage of df sugar for canning thirty one reports were issued ali all unanimous on the part of the six democratic and four republican members the committee was instrumental in consolidating the various and conflicting war agencies into the war production board it helped to end bottlenecks in synthetic rubber and aluminum production it advocated subcontracting to am small 11 war plants the thing to do Is dig this stuff up now and correct it truman declared if we run this war program efficiently there wont be any opportunity tor for some one to undertake a lot of investigations after the war and cause a wave of revulsion that will start this country on the downhill road to and put us in another war in 20 years these famous investigations put the truman committee in the headlines time and again senator truman grew into a national figure president roosevelt took increase 41 the presidents mother mot lier air mrs A martha lartha E truman now 92 still lives in independence mo ing interest in him so did robert hobert hannegan national democratic chairman who knew truman in kansas city when the dust settled at the convention in chicago last summer harry S truman found himself nominated as vice president victory at the polls in november thrust him into the second highest office in the land As vice president truman had less opportunity to act independently than while in the senate since as presiding officer of the upper house he could not take sides as often he wished to do unlike his predecessor wallace he did not travel abroad on aej any special missions tor for the president but remained in washington close to affairs of state shrewd practical man the new president Is considered a shrewd and practical man main a mid dle of the road liberal with an ability to get along with conflicting factions and to compromise when necessary necessary capital observers think he will rise to the demands of the enormous task ahead as have other vice presidents suddenly called to vast responsibilities personally the new president Is a modest appearing man of almost 51 61 he stands 5 feet 10 inches tau tall weighs about pounds and is trim and well proportioned until they entered the white house he and mrs truman lived in a five room apartment they had no house servants as mrs truman who has been her husbands secretary tor for yea years rs also preferred to take care of the apartment herself the Tru Tr only child mary margaret Is studying at george washington university she is 21 and nd a junior her hopes are tor for a aarder career in music an all his life president truman has been a joiner even as a child he often att attended ndoc the presbyterian sunday school although he is a baptist in youth he enlisted in the national guard and stayed in service for a dozen doen years until 1917 his frat fraternal anal connections include the elks the masons he was state grand master lor for missouri in and the anah template Temp lars |
