Speech of Senator Harry S. Truman at Parkersburg, West Virginia

Bureau of Publicity Domocratic National Committee Biltmore Hotel New York, N. Y. Release on delivery at Parkersburg, W. Va. SPEECH OF THE HONORABLE HARRY S. TRUMAN AT PARKERSBURG, WEST VIR- GINIA, NOVEMBER 1, 1944. Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen: I feel at home in West Virginia because of the many trips that I have taken through your, beautiful State on my way between Missouri and Washing- ton. Also, I have heard so very much about West Virginia from your great Senator and my good friend, Harley Kilgore. Senator Kilgore served with me on the Truman Senate Committee and through his industry, knowledge and experience he made a very great contribu- tion to the work of that Committee. You kmow it was a most ambitious undertaking to investigate the war effort. There/are literally thousands of plants, factories, refineries, arsenals, shipyards and other establishments working to turn out material to equip our fighting men and aid them in beating the enemy. In addition, our Committee had to examine camps and cantonments, warehouses and storage depots, and military and naval establishments of every kind and nature. No matter how tough the job or how hard the work we could always count on Senator Kilgore's assistance. He deserves a vote of thanks for his untiring offorts. A great deal of the credit for the work of the Truman Committee has been due to the work of the members and the staff. The Committee was composed of nine of the ablest men in the Senate, five Democrats and four Republicans. They came from every section of the country, from Maine and Wash- ington on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to Texas on the Gulf, and they repre- sented almost every shade and variety of political opinion. I say almost be- cause there was one point on which every member of the Committee, Democrat and Republican alike entirely agreed. They were detormined that this country should be prepared to win this war as soon as possible and with a minimum of loss of life and property. There was not an isolationist in the group. I asked the Senate to create such a Committee early in 1941 because I had witnessod the loss of life on the battlefields of France and the failure to secure the peace because of our reliance upon Harding's campaign promises in 1920. I was determined to work with all my heart and soul for proparedness and to vote for every measuro that might better equip us to defend ourselves against Gorman and Japanese aggression. RUMAN NARA