Harry Truman Read Free

ticket as vice president. Here, from Dad’s private papers, is a memorandum telling what he really thought about this idea:
    I call him [Douglas], tell him I’m doing to him what FDR did to me. He owes it to the country to accept.
    He belongs to that crowd of Tommy Corcoran, Harold Ickes, Claude Pepper crackpots whose word is worth less than Jimmy Roosevelt’s. I hope he has a more honorable political outlook. No professional liberal is intellectually honest. That’s a real indictment - but true as the Ten Commandments. Professional liberals aren’t familiar with the Ten Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount.
    Most Roosevelts aren’t either!
    Ironically, my father received unexpected - and completely unintentional - support from Strom Thurmond, the Dixiecrat candidate, around this time. Someone asked Thurmond why he had broken with the Democratic Party over the Truman civil rights program. Hadn’t President Roosevelt run on platforms with almost the same promises of justice and equal opportunity for America’s black citizens?
    “I agree,” said Thurmond grimly, “but Truman really means it.”
    The antics of the younger Roosevelts inspired Dad to make some interesting comments on party loyalty to his sister Mary. Dad mentioned an ex-governor and said:
    He was a fine old man but a sort of Bill Southern [the publisher of the Independence Examiner ] Democrat, one that apologizes for his Party most of the time and knocks it the rest; then takes all he can get from it if it profits him personally. The word “sacrifice” is not in their dictionary, especially if it means personal sacrifice for Party good. We have immense numbers of Democrats like that.
    Then we have them whose definition of loyalty is loyalty to themselves - that is it is a one way street.
    Take the Roosevelt clan as an example. As long as Wm. Howard Taft was supporting Teddy he was a great man - but when Taft needed support Teddy supported Teddy. The present generation of Franklin’s is something on that order. Although it looks as if Eleanor & Anna are not going along with Elliott & Franklin Jr. - at least not yet.
    Anyway we’ll attempt to beat the whole works when it comes down to brass tacks.
    As a result of this fratricidal feuding, the Democratic Convention opened in an atmosphere of appalling gloom. I think it will be clear from the following notes, written by my father on July 12, how badly the party needed his leadership:
    Douglas says he can’t quit the Supreme Court. Says the family are of the opinion that his lack of political experience would cause trouble in the campaign. Says no to my request that he take second place on the ticket with me. I’m inclined to give some credence to Tommy Corcoran’s crack to Burt Wheeler that Douglas had said he could “not” be a No. 2 man to a No. 2 man.
    Call old man Barkley and soothe his feathers so he’ll go ahead and make the keynote speech.
    McGrath calls me and suggests I call Barkley again and say I am not against him. I don’t do it.
    Barkley makes a real keynote speech. Ends up at midnight. I can’t get him by phone. My “good” friend Leslie Biffle spends all his time as sergeant at arms of the convention running Barkley for President. I watched the demonstration on television. Having been in on numerous demonstrations I’m not fooled. I can see everything taking place on the platform. The “actors” forget that.
    Barkley in his good speech mentions me only casually by name.
    Perhaps I should identify more completely some of this cast of characters. Tommy Corcoran, often known as “Tommy the Cork,” was an old Roosevelt brain truster. Burt Wheeler was Burton K. Wheeler, the Democratic isolationist senator from Montana. Alben Barkley was, at this time, the senator from Kentucky and the Democratic majority leader of the Senate. Leslie Biffle was the secretary of the Senate and one of Washington’s shrewdest politicians. It was a good index of how demoralized the Democrats had