Evening star., 1948-10-07
Volunteer Firemen
|nduct Truman, Get
Hot Campaign Pledge
BY Joseph A. Fox
Sfor Stoff Correspondent

| ~
| By Joseph A. Fox
stor Staff Correspondent.
EN- ROUTE WITH PRESIDENT
TRUMAN, Oct. 7.-President
Truman today became an hon.
orary member of Rainbow Fire
Company No. / of Reading, Pa,
and promptly promised to wage
a "firef1ghting whirlwind cam
paign."
The President got his membership
when he stopped at Reading for an
other blast at the COP and en-
countered the annual convention OF
the Volunteer Firemen of America.
The President left his train and
rode several blocks to Penn Square
where police estimated about 10000
persons were on hand to hear him
Several thoughar1d others lined the
route over which he travelled.
Points to Prosperity.
In addition to his fire company
membership, the President also was
inducted into the Americus Demo-
cratic Club of Reading. which, he
said, is the oldest organization of the
kind in the country.
Mr.. Truman recalled that Sam
ual j. Tilden addressed the club
when he campaigned against Ruth
erford B. Hayes in the memorable
contest of 1877.
In his talk, the President pointed
to the prosperity the country is ex.
periencing.
At Bridgeport Mr.. Truman told 6
trainside crowd the COP is afraid
to reply to his campaign criticism
He said it didn't hurt" Senator
Taft. Republican, of Ohio, and some
OF the economic royalists" when
price controls went off.
Warns Against COP.
He said prices went "up, up an6
up" although Senator Taft had
promised they would level off
without controls.
Mr.. Truman said that the Demo.
Gratis, if elected, will work on thai
Taft-Hartley bill in your interests.
If you send a Republican Con.
gress," he added. they will take
the rest Of your liberties away from
you"
Without mentioning Gov. Thomas
E. Dewey by name, Mr.. Truman
said of Republican candidates:
They dare not answer me. They
are afraid to get on the issues. They
talk about home. and mother, what
nice country it is, you can trust
u.s."
You can't trust EN-" he con.
tinued.
In Jersey CITY Tonight.
The President goes into the do
main Of Frank Hague tonight, where
he speaks at Jersey City, an old
fashioned rally with fireworks and
other trimmings. Before dinner, he
will make q talk at Newark.
Tomorrow Mr.. Truman will be
stumping upstate New York, with
Albany on his calling list.
AS the Presidents special train
rolled northward on the second day
on the road with Pennsylvania IS
electoral votes and New Jerseys 1e
as his immediate objective, one
thing seemed clear: That the SUBJ
ject Of high prices is the top talk
ing point the President has.
In Louisville a week ago, MIR. Tru-
man got the best reaction of his
Western trip, as he slashed away at
the Republicans with argument de-
signed to pin responsibility for high
prices on the party
1t was the same story last night In
Philadelphia, where he told an au-
dlence Of about 13,000-which failed
by approximately 1000 to fill Con-
vention Hall-that the cost OF liy-
ing is due to an ''uIiholy. alliance
between the Republican Party and
big business"
Repeatedly Mr.. Truman was in
terrupted by applause as he re-
counted his efforts to hold the line
and recalled the failure that met
his attempts to have price controls
reinstated after the OPA was killed
in 1916.
There was no good reason why
prices could not have been helc
down after the war ended-unti
supply caught up with demand" Mr.
Truman asserted, after explaining
that prices had advanced only 6l5
per cent between May, 1943, and the
middle of 1916, under wartime con-
trolls.
Twinned with the price issue was
an attack on the COP for passing
the Taft-Hartley Act, which the
President launched to the accom-
paniment of some "boos" from
sympathizers with his stand
The President earlier had banged
the labor law around in late after
noon speech in Camden, N. j.
Mr.. Truman's Convention Hall
talk climaxed 10 busy hours in the
Philadelphia area, during which he
rode about so miles at the head of a
motorcade and was seen by thousands
of people.
Visits Negro Housing Project.
In midafternoon, the President
visited the Richard Allen Homes, a
slum clearance project. peopled by
Negroes. and in a brief talk to an
audience Of several thousand, as
serted that II can't understand for
the life of me why real estate lobby
prevents such projects as this
In the course of this trip, while
the presidential caravan was going
through the unstylish fishtown sec
ton OF the Kensington district, a
motorcycle policeman riding just off
the right rear fender of the Presi-
dents car, was hit by an egg throw
er. The egg, which the policeman
said seemingly was lobbed from a