Press Release, Speech of President Harry S. Truman, Sidney, Ohio

IMMEDIATE RELEASE IMMEDIATE RELEASE REAR PLATFORM REMARKS OF THE "NATIONAL PRESIDENT AT SIDNEY, OHIO ARCHIVES AND RECORDS OCTOBER 11, 1948 - 1:10 P.M., E.S.T. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you very much. I can't tell you how very much I appreciate this wonderful turnout in this great city in the center of Ohio. It is one of the finest greetings I have had during my cruside across the country to tell the people what the issues are in this campaign. And I think you want to know what the issues are. You wouldn't turn out like this if you didn't want to see the President and if you didn't want to find out what the President stands for, and the why and wherefore of this tremendous crusade I am making across the country to let you know what the issues are I would like to congratulate the people of this fine city on the record they made during the war. I heard a lot about Sidney when I was Chairman of the Special enate.Committee to investigate the national defense program. I remember a Saturday Evening Post article way back in 1943 about Sidney's outstanding record in the production of war materials. I remember that the War Manpower Administrator, Paul McNutt, talked about Sidney on a nation-wide broadcast, and he told me about what you had done here. The whole country needs that kind of ingenuity and elbow-grease and Sidney seems to have it. We need it if we are going to keep the prosperity we now have. The Democratic Administrations of the last 16 years have brought this country from the bottom of a depression to the greatest prosperity in the history of the world. The reconversion policies of the Administration have resulted in more than 61 million people being at work right now. They said that was impossible. And if you remember, this same bunch of Republicans said it was impossible for us to.turn out 60 thousand airplanes when we needed them -- but we did it. And three years ago a lot of people laughed when I said 60 million jobs was the goal. They said it couldn't possibly be done. It's not going to be easy to keep this prosperity because the Republican 80th Congress refused to take any steps to meet the conditions with which we are faced today. They tried to turn the clock back. They are trying to go back to the 1920's. And I'm very, very sure that you don't want to go back to the 1920's. You want to go forward to the 1950's. Prices can be checked. I know, because we kept prices in line during the war when inflationary pressures were even greater than they are now. But the Republican leaders are more interested in big profits for big business right now than they are in helping you meet the rising cost of living. Time and again I asked the Republican Congress to pass laws to take care of that situation. They refused to take any action. Their only excuse to you people has been a lot of false propaganda. They won't discuss the issues in this campaign. They are afraid to discuss the issues in this campaign because they are on the wrong side of those issues. They tell the farmer that prices are going up because people in the cities are getting too much money in wages; and they tell the people in the cities that prices are going up because the farmers are getting too much for their crops. Both of these statements are false, and you know it. The prosperity of farmers and workers goes hand-in-hand. One is prosperous only when the other is prosperous. And that has been the policy of this Administration -- to make a fair dis- tribution of the income of the country so that the farmers get their share, the workers get their share, and the small business man gets his share. That's not what the Republicans want. I'm going into some detail tonight in Akron on just what the conditions are with which we are faced and why these Republicans are afraid to discuss the issues. I hope you will listen in on that conversation because it will be very edifying for you if you are interested in your own welfare. (OVER)