Evening star., 1948-11-03
Public Fancy Caught by Truman
In Confident Two-Fisted Fiqht

'o-Fisted Fight
House, he was a reluctant heir to
the presidency.
Often in the crowded days that
followed the Missourian told
friends: 'I didn't ask for this Job:
I didn't want it. But I'm going to
do the best can with It,"
In the years that followed, his
attitude changed. There was no
deviation from the purpose of doing
what seemed best for the country.
But human nature being what it is,
Mr.. Truman came to want" the
presidency and was determined to
fight for it.
Civil Rights Big Issue.
1t was the Presidents legislative
aims that contributed so largely to
the turmoil in the Democratic Party
Once the Southerners started their
drumfire against Mr.. Truman's con-
troversial civil rights programs, the
big city bosses in East and Middle
West began looking around for some
one who might placate that group,
and incidentally save their own
political skins in November.
Ironically enough, Mr.. Truman,
product of a political machine, had
never taken any pains to try to keep
Democratic lines intact.
So he emerged from the national
convention with about as much vocal
Opposition in his own ranks as from
the Republicans.
| The Truman ship, however, had
bucked adverse winds before. And
he signalled fighting campaign
with fighting acceptance speech
that later was to pay dividends.
The Truman family line traces
in Kentucky stock. His four grand
parents migrated from the Blue
Grass State in 1842, and settled in
jackson County, Missouri, before
Kansas City, which eventually was
to be the hub of the area, was
founded. A rolling upland farm at
Grandview became the, Truman
family home, but the future Presi-
dent was born at Lamar, while
his parents were away from the old
homesite briefly.
Farmed for ii Years.
Financial reverseS kept young
Harry Truman out of college, and
weak eyes deprived him of an edu-
cation at West Point. He finished
high school at Independence, an
other Jackson County community in
1901, then took on the usual jobs
of boys of 16 and 17-errand boy
and window washer in a drug store;
mail room wrapper in the Kansas
City Star; railroad timekeeper.
He was making 500 month as a
bank clerk when his parents moved
back to Grandview from Independ-
ence to help his grandmother and
uncle manage farm. In 1905, the
President joined his father in q
farming venture and for the next
II years, the future President
worked from dawn to dark in the
fields. He never has lost either the
early rising or work habit.
The Missouri National Guard at
tracted him and. as q captain he
served in World War with the
129th Field Artillery, seeing ex-
tensive action on the Western Front
despite the handicap of weak eyes.
With the end Of the war, he and
Eddie Jacobs, a comrade. opened a
haberdashery in downtown Kansas
City. The depression Of the 1920s
killed that and Mr.. Truman still
was paying off accumulated debts
after he entered the Senate in 1885.
The collapse Of this business put
Mr.. Truman into politics. During
the war, one of the men Of his
command was James Pendergast,
nephew of Thomas j. Pendergast,
head of the potent Kansas City
Democratic machine. The younger
man recommended Mr.. Truman to
his uncle, and election to the county
court of Jackson County in 1922
resulted. This unit Is the equiva-
lent of a county board of commits
sioners or supervisors. Failing re-
election in 1924, Mr.. Truman was
reelected in 1926, this time as pre-
siding judge.
Went to Senate in 1884.
In 1884 Judge Truman went TO
the Senate with the Pendergast
blessing. When he came up for re-
election In 1910, the machine had
been riddled by vote fraud disclosure
whcih Jailed many of its principals
and Pendergast had gone to the
penitentiary for income tax fraud
No finger of suspicion ever was
pointed at Mr. Truman.
Soon after he was elected Vice
President, Mr.. Pendergast died. Mr..
Truman few to the funeral.
HE was my friend" he said.
In three-way race where he had
been conceded slight chance of VIC
tory, Mr.. Truman won denomination
in 1910, and then was elected once
more. He was on his way to the
White House.
World War II found him trying
unsuccessfully to get into the Army
again, the stumbling block, as he
often recounts with a chuckle, being
Gen. Marshall, then Chief of Staff
who said he was too old.
Unable to help on the battlefield,
Senator Truman decided the next
best thing toido was to keep a watch
on the way the money for war was
spent. That led to the creation of
the well-remembered War Investi-
eating Committee, which promptly
became known as the Truman Com
mittee," when the Missourian was
named to head it.
Record Led to Vice Presidency.
His record in that field led to the
vice presidency. He had been in
Office less than three months when
President Roosevelt died.
World shaking events began to ex-
plode in rapid succession as the
erstwhile Missouri farm boy became
32d President of the United States
with plea for divine guidance.
Germany fell May 8, 1945, Presi-
dent Truman's 61st birthday. The
atomic bomb blasted Japan out two
months later. In the meantime,
tho TTnitad Nations hod baa,, cot IN