White House Press Release, Rear Platform Remarks of President Harry S. Truman at Jefferson City, Missouri

274 IMMEDIATE RELEASE JUNE 17, 1948 REAR PLATFORM REMARKS OF THE PRESIDENT AT JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI, -- 10.55 c.s.t. Mr. Mayor, and Governor, and all the distinguished Misscuri officials. it certainly is a pleasure to be here this morning and see SC many people, su many people that I know. I think probably I could cell half of you by name. I have been down here on many an occasion, both political and otherwise. I made four campaigns for the Senate in this State, two in the primary and two in the general elections. And in those campaigns I was in Jefferson City each time, and I didn't draw a crowd like this. There must be something about this Office that makes the people want to see their President. Of course, they know him just as well, if they hadn't seen him. I am glad we get that way, b Lecause it is my busi- ness on this trip to keep you informed as to what the issues are before the country. There is just one big issue: it is the special interests against the people. And the President, being elected by all the people, represents the people. You have now a special interests Congress. You have that special interests Congress because only one-third of you voted in the election of 1946, and you are getting just what you deserved. I have no sympathy with you. If you do that again, yuu will also get what you deserve. Now, you will have a chance, very shortly, to make a decision as tc whether you want people in there, in the Congress, to represent you, and to look out for your interests, or whether you want ti continue the special interests Congress in force. NOW there are many fine gentlemen in that Congress, but they are nut in the majority. They were overwhelmed in 1946. And that is the reason you are getting the sort of legislation you are getting now. If you will analyze that legislative program, you will find that special interests come first, and the people come second. Now if the President doesn't get out. and inform the people on what the issues are, then he is not doing his duty; and that is why I took this trip, that is why I went out through the west and the southwest and the central part of the country, in order that the people might understand just what the issues are. You are interested in agricultur in this pert of the world, to some extent - - to a great extent, I think -- I know. Now there has been an agricultural program covering the last 12 years, which has been successful. In 1932, the farm income of the United States was 4 billion, 700 million dollars 4 billion, 700 million dollars. In 1947 the farm income was a little over 30 billion dollars, six or seven times as much as it was in 1932. The farmers, in 1932, were losing their farms, because the mortgages were coming due SC fast we couldn't meet them. Not only were they losing their farms, but they didn't have any money in the bank, and if they had money they were afraid to go to a bank and put it in for feer it would blow up in their faces. We haven't had a single bank failure in the last three years. Nobody has lost any money in a bank failure in the lost three years. And the farmers have 23 billion dollars on deposit in thuse safe banks. Now the issues are clearly drawn. The agricultural situation was brought about by a program in favor of the farmers. That program -- the :**undamental basis of that pro- gram, will expire on the 31st of December. The bill is rest- ing in the Cungress that will meet that situation. OVER