TLS
Washington DC: October 28, 1937. Typed Letter SIGNED by Harry Truman thanking his future Treasury Secretary, Colonel John W. Snyder, Manager, Reconstruction Finance Corporation, St. Louis, for liking his speech and succeeding "in giving me the swell-head" " Snyder had called it "a concise clean-cut statement of a clear understanding and interpretation of the Constitution..." 1p, 8" x 10.5" Light horizontal shading across center. Six file holes in upper margin. Fine condition.
John W. Snyder had written to his friend, Senator Harry S. Truman, from St. Louis, October 26, 1937. His unsigned lightweight pink carbon copy is present. In part, "I have carefully read your Liberty, Missouri, speech on the Constitution several times. It is my opinion that it is a concise, clean-cut statement of a clear understanding and interpretation of the Constitution, and should be preserved. I recommend and urge that you have the speech read into the Record " Six file holes in upper margin.
Present is the original mimeographed speech, 8p, 8.5" x 13", separate sheets, folded, stapled together at top left. Light stain at lower left, browning at blank right edge of the first page which is headed: "Speech Delivered by United States Senator Harry / S. Truman of Missouri at Liberty, / Missouri, October 11, 1937." Truman delivered his Constitution of the United States speech in Liberty, Missouri, before the Clay County Historical Society. Six file holes in upper margin.
In full, "Of course you would succeed in giving me the swell-head if you could. I certainly appreciate your letter of the Twenty-sixth, and I am glad you liked the speech. I will have it put in the Record when Congress meets. If I get to St. Louis, I will certainly call you up. You always make it too pleasant for me not to." Handwritten postscript: "Best to Mrs. S. & Drucie." Drucie, Snyder s 11-year-old daughter, and Truman s 13-year-old daughter Margaret were close friends; they later were bridesmaids at each other s wedding.
John W. Snyder s close friendship with Harry S. Truman began in 1928 when Truman was a County Judge. They served together in the U.S. Army Reserves after World War I. Harry S. Truman was Colonel of Field Artillery, United States Army Reserve Corps. Lieutenant Colonel John W. Snyder was in Col. Harry Truman s Missouri Regiment, the 381st Field Artillery, 102nd Division. Snyder was later Assistant to the Director of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (1940-1944) and served President Truman as his Federal Loan Administrator (1945), Director of the Office of Mobilization and Reconversion (1945-1946), and Secretary of the Treasury (1946-1953). Item #137
Price: $600.00