Dear Bess: March 29, 1944
Transcript
Welcome to the Dear Bess/ Dear Harry podcast for March 29, 2024, brought to you by Harry S Truman National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, coming to you from Independence, Missouri, a place that Harry S Truman called the center of the world.
We’d like to share with you today a brief Dear Bess letter written on this date in 1944 by United States Senator Harry S Truman. Please be sure to see the link to see a digital copy of the original letter, preserved by the Truman Library. This letter was written on special Senate letterhead. The Special Committee Investigating the National Defense Program had a more common nickname in 1944…the Truman Committee. Via a series of hearings, meetings, visits around the country, Senator Truman, the Committee and its staff were able to investigate expenditures made in the name of defense, expenditures that seemed odd for whatever reason. The Truman Committee, although Truman didn’t care for that name, was able to save the American taxpayers billions of dollars. An initial budget of $15,000 expanded to $360,000 and saved an estimated $10-15 billion. It also made Truman a national figure.
Also in this brief letter Truman refers to an in-law, his wife’s cousin Gates Wells. Bess Wallace Truman’s mother’s maiden name was Gates. Also, please note the kind regards the Senator sends to his mother in law.
Regarding the Truman Committee, we recommend checking out a new book on it by Steve Drummond called The Watchdog that came out last year. There are some important lessons we can learn from that committee.
Here’s the letter:
Southern Pacific March 29, 1944
Dear Bess:
We are progressing down the Southern Pacific at a pace which would land us in Washington in about two weeks if we were east bound instead of southbound. Left Seattle at 4:30 yesterday and now we are approaching Sacramento at about the same time today. I was supposed to fly to Los Angeles yesterday morning so I could make a speech to 1200 Democrats who had paid $2500 a plate for the privilege of being present. I felt I couldn't leave a committee hearing to make a political speech after the furor that resulted in my statement released Monday morning. But I'm going to address the same sort of a meeting in San Francisco tomorrow night. I don't care whether they like it or not. I'm not going to be completely muzzled just because the Special Committee has made good. We had a very fine hearing in Seattle. As I told you yesterday Magnusson and Wallgren had talked too much as the parrot did. The Liberty Ship program has been a success and that, I think, is what history will say. But when demagogues can get up and say that soldiers and wounded are being put into them as troop ships we had to look into it. Naturally we are bound to displease some people. Kaiser made a good witness and most of the papers seem to be happy. The Portland Oregonian said last night we were playing politics. That will be the cry from now on no matter what we do. Think I'll shut down after this trip until fall.
Will mail this in San Francisco as soon as we arrive. Your cousin Walter Gates came to see me yesterday at the Court House. He is selling insurance in Seattle. Said his family were in Portland. He couldn't get a house to live in. Kiss my baby. Love to you. My best to your mother.
Harry
In this brief letter, Senator Harry Truman talks to his wife a bit about the famed select committee he is leading investigating waste and fraud in defense spending. The committee was bearing much fruit already, saving taxpayers money.
https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/truman-papers/correspondence-harry-s-truman-bess-wallace-truman-1921-1959/march-29-1944