Evening star., 1949-02-25
By the Associated Press

FOLLOWING is the tert of Presi-
dent Trun,dn's formal address
last night at the Jefferson
Jackson Day Dinner IN the
8 Hotel Stdtler:
Mr.. Chairman, ladies and gentle
men:
This is a happy occasion for the
Democratic Party. know that all
the gatherings of OUR party, through
out the country, are as cheerful as
this one, and I give all of them
greetings.
am happy to be here talking to
you once more from the same old
stand.
Incidentally, this is where I sx-
pected to be.
What feel tonight is not personal
pride or elation: 1t is deep salts
faction that our party has served
its country 80 well that the people
have indorsed it for the fifth con-
secutive time.
I am aware that this was some
thing of a surprise in certain quar-
tiers. I am told that some persons
were even making elaborate plans,
with considerable relish, to bury the
Democratic Party and all that it
stands for.
Like Jackson's Friends.
These persons were like certain
friends of Andrew jackson, whose
memory we are honoring tonight.
Once upon a time, there were a
number of citizens who thought that
Andrew jackson ought to have a
suitable coffin. At great expense,
they went to Syria and purchased a
marble sarcophagus. A sarcophagus.
as you know, is a tomb-a big marble
coffin with a marble lid. These
citizens then shipped this marble
box to Washington, which was quite
q job as it weighed or tons.
At last, they thought, a suitable
resting place had been provided for
Andrew Jackson.
The only trouble with the project
was that Andrew Jackson was not
dead. Moreover. he wasn't ready to
die He did not intend to be hurried
to the grave.
Courteously but firmly he wrote to
these well meaning citizens and
said, "I must decline the intended
honor"
And they never did get Old Hick-
ory into that thing. You can still
see it, if you're interested, out in
front of the Smithsonian Institu-
ton.
Story Has Moral.
I think that this little story has a
moral in it. It is this: Before you
offer to bury a good Democrat. you
better be sure he is dead.
There is another lesson you can
derive from the more recent past:
You cannot bury the Democratic
Party as long as it is working for the
welfare and the advancement of the
people of this Nation.
The central issue of the campaign
last fall was the welfare of all the
people against special privilege for
the few.
When we made it clear where the
Democratic Party stood on that is
sue, the people made it clear that
they stood with us.
The Democratic Party has had
long and glorious history. Through
its founders and leaders, whom we
honor tonight, its roots go back to
the American Revolution. But how
ever ancient and glorious it may be,
our party is not, and never has been,
an end in itself. The only justiflca-
tion for the Democratic Party is its
usefulness to the American people
in achieving the government they
desire.
I am pround to say that never be-
fore has the Democratic Party been
more firmly dedicated to a program
in the interest of all the people. The
platform adopted at the Democratic
Convention of 1948 is clear and
fortnight.
Determined Opposition.
Our job now is to enact into law
the programs that the people need
and deserve.
That is exactly what We are doing.
We are meeting determined op-
position. The special interests are
fighting us just as if they had never
heard of November 2. From them,
campaigns and elections are just
preliminary exhibition matches