Evening star., 1944-08-06
Failure Launched Truman Success
Entry Into Politics Business Venture

u Lie QOlltlCdl ldQucT Oh WIllCIl k1dITy
s. Truman climbed to the Democratic
vice presidential nomination. A dozen
years after the Truman haberdashery
had closed its doors on Kansas City's
lusty Twelfth street, the erstwhile pro-
prietor was member Of the United
States Senate from Missouri. The pas
sage of another decade finds him pos
sibly in line for the White House.
Much has been said and written about
the 60-year-old Missourian's entry into
the national scene, how he was hand
picked for the Senate by Thomas j.
Pendergast who carried the Jackson
County vote-and then some-in his vest
pocket. Actually. the slight, affable
Truman was political accident"
whose career was launched when he was
looking for job, If the record Is
straight. The Senate nomination that
later was the Pendergast gift was going
begging when he took it.
The Truman story starts May s, 1884,
when he was born into a farm family
that for years has had place near
Kansas City. Mrs. Martha Truman, still
active at 81, was visiting at Lamar, Mo-,
when her SON arrived. His father was
John Anderson Truman.
First Job at So a Week.
AS youngster, Harry Truman fin
ished grade and high school at nearby
Independence and aspired to West
Point, but an eye defect stood in the way.
His first job was in drug store and
paid So week. Then he wrapped papers
for the Kansas City Star for while.
Next he clerked In bank. If he thought
about the future in those days 1t was as
member of an orchestra, for he could
hit mean" note on the piano. But
nothing came of that, and when at the
age of % his salary was $25 a week, the
father had no trouble persuading him to
return to the Jackson County farm. For
10 years young Truman plowed and
MIXED. He was turning 30 when Amer
lea began preparing for the World War
and, before long, Pvt. Harry S. Truman
was member of the Missouri National
Guard.
AS soldier, there was nothing at the
outset to distinguish him from thou
sand other GIs (who were not called
that them, but as time passed latent
abilities as an organizer and leader
came to the fore, and when the Mis-
souri, guardsmen went to France as a
part OF the 35th Division the private had
become captain, in the field artillery.
The 35th saw hard service and new dis
tinction came to Truman. When the
war ended he was a major.
Back home, and returned to civilian
life, Truman married his childhood
sweetheart, Bess Wallace. He abandoned
the farm for the haberdashery, but busi-
ness was not good. That posed the prob
lem OF finding something to do AS a
soldier Truman had been q popular Of
ficer In fact, on the homeward trip the
men of his command "cut" a crap game
to present him with q loving cup that
legend has it was one of the biggest
tokens of its kind ever seen west of the
Mississippi River. Some of the men
from Maj. Truman's outfit had found
places in the Pendergast machine, and
the ex-haberdasher looked them up.
AOAAA SAi0CA SoSu A1lCt edIlO 1lhSu llllll, dllU
the result was a place on the jackson
County payroll as road overseer.
Elected Judge in 1922.
In 1922 Truman branched out, WIN
ming election as Judge of Jackson
County Court, which is not a judicial
body, but an administrative agency
that runs the county's affairs. He al
ways had regretted that his schooling
stopped so early and now that the op-
portunity was presented to do some
thing about it, Judge Truman entered
law school, attending classes at night.
Upon graduation he was admitted to the
bar. He was defeated for reelection in
1924, but captured the presiding judge
ship with 16,0O0-vote majority two
years later, and in 1880 was reelected by
$4,000 majority.
Senator Truman always has been
proud of his county court record In that
position he could have played ball with
the prosperous cement manufacturing
concern that was a part of the Pender-
gast empire, but that wasn't his way.
Il had charge of the spending of