There has never been any protocol for relations between a president and his predecessors. The nature of the contact between these men was most often determined by personalities rather than procedures. On the face of it, Hoover and Truman seemed to have little in common and therefore should have had little contact. They were of opposing political parties and had very different personalities. Yet this oddest of couples fashioned a special relationship that eventually developed into a true friendship. The friendship evolved over two decades. During the years that Truman was in the White House, the two were formal but courteous. Truman praised Hoover for his famine relief assistance and righted a wrong by returning Hoover's name to the dam on the Colorado River. For his part, Hoover loyally supported the president's efforts to promote food relief and to reorganize the federal government. The two did not always agree; in fact there were instances when the two presidents were frustrated, peeved, and even angry with one another. Yet their partnership evolved into a friendship that is to this day unprecedented in the history of the American presidency.

117. JAMES E. WEBB TO M. C. LATTA, APRIL 29, 1947

One of the petty injustices done to Herbert Hoover after he left office was the removal of his name from the project to dam the Colorado River. Until 1933 it had been the custom for the government to name dams for the president in office at the time the work began. Thus the name Hoover Dam was given to the Boulder Canyon project. But in May 1933, Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes broke this precedent by changing the name of the dam to Boulder Dam, after the canyon where the dam was located. Ickes falsely claimed that Hoover had nothing to do with the project and did not deserve the honor. It was a slight that Hoover and his friends never quite forgot.

Congressman Jack Z. Anderson of California introduced a resolution in March 1947 to restore Hoover's name. The bill moved through Congress with little opposition and went to the president for signature. In the following memorandum Truman's budget director summarizes the history of the project and recommends the name change. Truman signed the resolution in a low-key ceremony on April 30, 1947. Hoover was pleased, but he later confided to Rickard that Truman "missed a chance by not instigating the change." (This document is from the holdings of the Harry S. Truman Library.)

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Executive Office of the President
Bureau of the Budget
Washington, D.C.
April 29, 1947

My dear Mr. Latta:

The Congress has enacted H.J. Res. 140, a resolution, "To restore the name of Hoover Dam."

It is the sole purpose of this measure to restore the name of "Hoover Dam" to the Dam on the Colorado River in Black Canyon constructed under the authority of the Boulder Canyon Project Act, approved December 31, 1928, which is now referred to as the "Boulder Dam", and provide that any law, regulation, document, or record of the United States in which such dam is designated or referred to under the name of Boulder Dam shall be held to refer to such dam under and by the name of Hoover Dam. There were several amendments to the Act of December 21, 1928 in which the dam in question was referred to as the Hoover Dam.

There are a number of precedents whereby dams are named after persons living at the time of their construction, such as the Roosevelt Dam in Arizona, which was named while President Theodore Roosevelt was in office; Wilson Dam, forerunner of the Tennessee Dam; and Coolidge Dam in Arizona, which was constructed while President Coolidge was in office. When the dam in question was named the Hoover Dam, it was due primarily to the fact that Mr. Hoover had an essential part in making the construction thereof possible.

A facsimile of the enrolled enactment has been referred to the Interior Department, and its reply, interposing no objection to the bill, is attached.

I recommend that the bill be approved.

Sincerely yours,
/s/JAMES E. WEBB
Director

118. HOOVER ADDRESS, MAY 10, 1947

Hoover returned to the annual Gridiron Club dinner on May 10, 1947, after an absence of fifteen years. The Club was made up of prominent journalists working in the nation's capital and its annual dinner included a satiric look at the people and events in the news over the previous year. In line with the tradition of the Club's dinners, Hoover delivered rather light-hearted remarks that sympathized with the president. In response, the president penned an endorsement on Hoover's address: "With high esteem and keen appreciation to a great man, Harry S. Truman." (The complete text of Hoover's remarks is in Addresses Upon the American Road, 1945-1948, [New York, 1949] pp. 152-155.)

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. . . I am not on your operating table tonight. But I can sympathize with Mr. Truman's difficulties in this matter as can no other man. I am fully aware of the skill and earnestness with which you cut up his ideology, his domestic and foreign policies. I can tell him, from long experience, not to look forward to much use of anesthetics . . .

And I wish to take the opportunity to say to you that President Truman has given high service to our country in repairing these dikes of safety which guard our national ideals. Moreover, amid the thousand crises which sweep upon us from abroad, he has stood firm with his feet rooted in the American soil . . .

119. AYERS DIARY, MARCH 24, 1948

As the chairman of a non-partisan commission on government reorganization, Hoover vowed not to take any substantive part in the presidential campaign of 1948. When he agreed to appear at the Republican National Convention in June, he made it clear that he would not deliver the keynote speech or attack the president. Hoover passed this message on to Truman through presidential press secretary Charles Ross. Based on this entry in the diary of Eben Ayers, at least some of the president's aides would have preferred that Hoover take a leading role in the campaign. (See Robert H. Ferrell, ed., Truman in the White House: The Diary of Eben A. Ayers [Columbia, Mo., 1991] p. 250.)

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Charlie Ross told the president at our staff meeting this morning that he had lunch with former president Herbert Hoover yesterday, at Hoover's invitation. He said Hoover sent word to the president that the Republicans wanted him to deliver the keynote speech at their national convention this summer but that he had refused. He said he had great respect for the president and would not attack him. He said he probably would speak at the convention, but it would be on some abstract subject such as human rights.

[Clark] Clifford and some of the others laughingly expressed regret that he was not going to be the Republican keynoter as they felt it would be a help to the Democrats. This led the president to comment that sometimes you can be too nice to a person . . .

120. TRUMAN TO HOOVER, JUNE 23, 1948

In response to Hoover's efforts to stay out of the political fray, Truman penned the following note congratulating the former president on his speech at the Republican National Convention. This was one of three small courtesies that the president had extended to the former president over the previous six months. In December Truman had invited Hoover to a White House reception, and little more than a month later he offered Hoover the use of the presidential retreat at Key West.

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The White House
Washington
June 23, 1948

/s/Dear Mr. President:

Your speech to the Republican Convention was the utterance of a statesman.

May I presume to congratulate you upon it.

Sincerely,
HARRY S. TRUMAN

121. TRUMAN ADDRESS, OCTOBER 19, 1948

Truman, fighting for his political life in the fall of 1948, seemed to face insurmountable odds. The Republican nominee, Thomas E. Dewey, was far ahead in the polls and Truman's Democratic party was badly divided. To rally voters, Truman attacked and ridiculed all things Republican -- including his new "friend", Herbert Hoover.

Truman made a stinging attack on Hoover in a speech delivered at the North Carolina state fairgrounds in Raleigh. Destined to be known as the "Hoover cart speech" for its reference to old automobiles being pulled by mules because their owners couldn't afford to buy gasoline, the speech showed no mercy on Hoover. (For the complete text of Truman's address, see Public Papers of the Presidents: Harry S. Truman, 1948, [Washington, D.C., 1964] pp. 822-827.)

Truman Public Papers			View Document			Listen to speech

You remember the Hoover cart -- I didn't find that in Iowa, or anywhere else -- the remains of the old tin lizzie being pulled by a mule, because you couldn't afford to buy a new car, you couldn't afford to buy gas for the old one.

You remember. First you had the Hoovercrats, and then you had the Hoover carts. One always follows the other. Bear that in mind now, carefully.

By the way, I asked the Department of Agriculture at Washington about this Hoover cart.

They said it is the only automobile in the world that eats oats. They don't recommend it, and neither do I . . .

This year the Republicans are putting on a terrific advertising campaign in order to sell you the same old brand of Hoover carts. They're spending money in carload lots and are buying themselves all kinds of strange bedfellows. But there are some things that are not for sale in this country . . .

But above all I treasure the basic principle of democracy itself -- the right to disagree among ourselves, without letting differences of opinion lead us into temptation, or to be betray our own best interests.

That is why I do not worry too much about the many violent arguments we Democrats have. I think that there will be plenty of Democrats on election day, as long as we retain respect for free speech, and get a fair and honest count at the polls.

Just the same, I hope that somewhere in North Carolina you have a Hoover cart on display -- lest you forget that the Republicans want you to take another ride in that same old wagon.

In the 1920's, the Republican Party could not fight the depression. It was incapable of bold action for the people. Big business owners of that dismal party said there was nothing to do but "ride it out." Ride it out! You did -- in Hoover carts.

Today, the Republican Party stands convicted of being incapable of fighting inflation. Some of its present leaders have tried to put the blame for inflation on farm prices.

They want you to ride it out -- ride it out! -- in Hoover carts.

It was under a Democratic administration that Hoover carts gave way to real automobiles with plenty of gasoline in them

Your cash receipts are running eight times what they were in 1932. You didn't make that trip in a Hoover cart . . .

I know that you good people of North Carolina are not responsible for the Republicans in the 80th Congress. But we can all learn a lesson from them. They have given us a sharp warning of what the Republican Party stands for today. And their record shows that the Republican Party stands for the same thing today that it did under Herbert Hoover.

That is the record on which the Republican Presidential candidate wants to be elected -- that is the one on which he wants to be unified . . . I don't think you want to take another chance on the Hoover brand of Republicanism.

I don't think you have to be hit on the head twice to know who hit you the first time.

I don't think you are going to be the victims this time of the old Republican doctrine: "If you can't convince them, confuse them."

I think you know who your real friends are and who your enemies are.

I feel pretty sure that in 1948 the South is not hankering for another ride in a Hoover cart . . .

122. TRUMAN ADDRESS, OCTOBER 27, 1948

Little more than a week after he attacked Hoover in Raleigh, Truman mounted the stage at Mechanics Hall in Boston and repeated the exercise. Although he made no references to Hoover carts, the speech pulled no punches. Truman referred to Hoover as an engineer who "backed the train all the way into the waiting room and brought us to panic, depression, and despair." It was the ridicule in such remarks that stung Hoover. As Rickard noted, Hoover thought Truman to be "unpredictable, recalling that after his nice personal notes to H.H., he slammed him in Boston speech." What was politics for Truman was treachery to Hoover. For the complete text of Truman's address, see Public Papers of the Presidents: Harry S. Truman, 1948 [Washington, D.C., 1964] pp. 882-886.)

Truman Public Papers			View Document

. . . Here in Boston, you still stand among the Nation's foremost fighters for freedom and against intolerance.

Now, many of you recall that campaign of 1928, when Al Smith ran for President against that well-known engineer -- Herbert Hoover. He was one engineer who really did a job of running things backward.

That campaign of 1928 was one of the most shameful political campaigns in our history . . .

The leaders of the Republican Party served notice on America then and there that they would stop at nothing in order to gain power.

Don't think that the elephant has changed his habits in the last 20 years. This Republican elephant is not that kind of elephant. They're trying to make you believe he has that new look, but he hasn't . . .

I have often thought what a different and better world we would have had if Al Smith had been elected President.

But that didn't happen. And the great engineer we elected backed the train all the way into the waiting room and brought us to panic, depression, and despair . . .

I say to you people of Boston that if Al Smith -- and not Herbert Hoover -- had been chosen President in 1928, we and the world would have been spared untold misery and suffering . . .

After the Republicans had made such a mess of our domestic welfare and world security, we brought to the Presidency a Democrat -- that courageous leader and great humanitarian, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Under Roosevelt's leadership, we licked the Hoover depression, we rebuilt a strong America, and we won the greatest war in all history.

I am proud to have been a part in Roosevelt's great fight for the rights and liberties of humanity . . .

123. HOOVER TO TRUMAN, JANUARY 21, 1949

In spite of Truman's remarks during the political campaign, Hoover did not break off communication with the White House. Intermittently, he offered his ideas on major international issues. In January, he addressed the ongoing question of Palestinians displaced as a result of the Arab -- Israeli War. Hoover suggested resettlement in the Tigris and Euphrates River valleys of Iraq. For Hoover it was a logical solution that could be incorporated in the Marshall Plan.

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The Waldorf-Astoria Towers
New York 22, New York
January 21, 1949

Dear Mr. President:

I would like to make a suggestion to you in connection with two Middle East problems.

1. Today there are about 500,000 Arabs who have been displaced in Palestine. They are in a deplorable condition, supported in a wholly inadequate way by various agencies, including some resources of American origin. I am informed by Mr. W. Hallam Tuck, Director-General of the International Refugee Organization, that it will require upward of $15,000,000 a year merely to provide subsistence, with no real solution of the problem, and that our government is likely to be saddled with most of this expense.

2. I need not dwell upon the animosity against us which has grown in the Arab countries out of the Palestine situation, nor upon the dangers which are rising from the weakening of their governments as the result of their war, and upon the fertile ground that has been created for advancement of powers antagonistic to Western nations.

My suggestion is:

There are around 2,000,000 acres of land in Iraq (the Tigris and Euphrates valleys) over which the ancient irrigation systems could be restored. Iraq is only 400 miles from Palestine. It is Arabic in language and culture. Under Arabic agricultural conditions, it is probable that five or six hundred thousand acres would absorb the displaced Arabs from Palestine. It would probably cost under $50,000,000 to put in modern irrigation. I believe that lands could quickly be made available by use of American pumping methods.

Such an undertaking would have several advantages:

1. It would give permanent solution to the problem of these unfortunate people.

2. It would ease the whole Palestine problem.

3. It would strengthen the economy of Iraq.

4. It would contribute a friendly gesture from the West to all Arab countries.

Even with no return of the money, it would seem to be a small item to be fitted into the billions of European Cooperation appropriations.

Yours sincerely,
/s/HERBERT HOOVER

124. TRUMAN TO HOOVER, JANUARY 25, 1949

As usual, the president responded to Hoover's plan with a cordial note of appreciation. "I have been working on just such a plan," he wrote to Hoover. If the president was not forthcoming with any details, it was true that Truman hoped to revive the economy of the Tigris and Euphrates area with a major public works project. Resettling displaced persons, however, was an entirely different matter.

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The White House
Washington
January 25, 1949

Dear Mr. President:

I appreciated very much your good letter of the twenty-first and I have been working on just such a plan. I don't know how far we can get with it but I've had conversations with several engineers on the subject and your analysis of the situation seems to me is one that is practical.

I certainly appreciate your interest in this matter and I hope we can get it worked out.

Sincerely yours,
/s/HARRY S. TRUMAN

125. BESS W. TRUMAN TO HOOVER, MARCH 22, 1949

Bess Truman made a small request of Hoover in March 1949. At that time the White House was being gutted and virtually rebuilt. As part of the redecoration of the White House, Mrs. Truman conducted a search for portraits of recent First Ladies. She wrote to Hoover and asked for a portrait of Lou Henry Hoover to be placed in the refurbished White House. In his response on April 9, Hoover expressed his gratitude for Mrs. Truman's thoughtfulness. "You are the first to express interest in this matter which has naturally long been of some concern to me," he wrote. "I will take steps to secure a portrait." The portrait was delivered to the White House in February 1951, but not acknowledged until March of 1952 when Mrs. Truman wrote to apologize. "In the confusion someone forgot to notify us that you sent it," she wrote. "It is a deep regret to the President and me that these are such belated thanks, but please accept our sincere appreciation of this addition to the portraits of the wives of the Presidents which hang in the White House."

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March 22, 1949

Dear Mr. Hoover:

The portraits of the wives of the Presidents have always been of the greatest interest to the sightseers who throng the building every year. Many have looked for one of Mrs. Hoover, who was greatly beloved. With this in mind, I am venturing to ask if you have a portrait that you would be willing to give to the White House and appropriately placed when the building is finally open to the public again? If so, it would be a great pleasure to the President and to me if we could have the privilege of receiving this portrait for the White House.

Sincerely,
/s/BESS W. TRUMAN

126. HOOVER TO TRUMAN, JULY 9, 1949

In the summer of 1949, Hoover took up with the president the rapid decline in the price of nonferrous metals and the subsequent closing of lead, zinc, and copper mines around the world. As a former mining engineer as well as former president, he advocated an increase in American stockpiles of these metals. In nine closely reasoned paragraphs, he laid out his rationale.

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The Waldorf-Astoria Towers
New York 22, New York
July 9, 1949
/s/Personal

Dear Mr. President:

There is one spot of importance in the present unemployment which can be cured easily -- and in which other collateral important measures are also involved.

The precipitous fall in prices of nonferrous metals has resulted in the closing or imminent closing of about 50% of our lead and zinc mines, 20% of our copper mines, and likewise other non-ferrous metals. In fact, there are but a few mines paying expenses.

I will not trouble you with the reasons for this disastrous slump in prices -- mostly liquidating inventories, accumulated during the boom; dumping on the United States from sterling countries out of fear of devaluation of the pound, etc.

In lead and zinc alone some hundreds of thousands are unemployed, if we include not only the miners but also those in the smelters, in the preparation of their collateral supplies, the transportation of ores and metals, and the village merchants who are naturally restricting their orders for goods from other parts of the country.

Yet the world is fundamentally short of these metals, particularly lead, where no new mines of large importance have been discovered in the last forty years and important mines in Burma and elsewhere are closed by Communist activities.

The whole of this problem could be corrected by wise stockpiling policies. At my last advice, the stockpiles of all non-ferrous metals are less than a few months war supply.

If the Government would vigorously stockpile these metals until prices reach a reasonable production cost, it would not only cure much unemployment; it would prevent reduction in wages; it would save the immense collateral costs to the country for unemployment relief; and generally stiffen things up.

Aside from the defense question, the Government can lose no money by such an action as the national and world insufficient supply will some day enable it to sell its holdings at a profit if it wished to do so. These metals are selling at less than cost of production, and if this situation continues for long, we will have a famine in these metals and unreasonable prices.

And in writing this to you, I want you to know that my family own some minor interests in mines which are profitable even now, but lest some one have evil thought I want you to know this also. In fact, our long-view interest would be the quick elimination of higher cost products as that would bring us larger earnings. But it is not in the national interest. This participation in the industry affords me practical knowledge of what is going on.

Yours faithfully,
/s/HERBERT HOOVER

127. TRUMAN TO HOOVER, JULY 12, 1949

Truman endorsed the expansion of the stockpiling program in communications both to Congress and the Munitions Board. He held out little hope that the Congress -- especially economy-minded" Senators -- would go along.

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The White House
Washington
July 12, 1949

Dear Mr. President:

I appreciated very much your letter of the ninth in regard to a stock-piling program.

I have made that suggestion already, both to the Congress and to the Munitions Board, but I fear very much that due to some of our backward looking "economy minded" Senators the stockpiling appropriation has a good chance to be knocked out. Common sense would dictate that now is the time to make these stock-piles of non-ferrous metals.

Sincerely yours,
/s/HARRY S. TRUMAN

128. JOURNAL OF DAVID LILIENTHAL, AUGUST 17, 1949

David E. Lilienthal, the first chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, was an inveterate diarist. The seven volumes of his published journals cover the years from 1939 until 1981 and runs to several thousand pages. In an entry for August 17, 1949, Lilienthal recorded Truman's candid assessment of Hoover. (See The Journals of David E. Lilienthal, II: The Atomic Energy Years, 1945-1950 [New York, 1964], p. 564.)

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He [Truman] said something about the way the mossbacks always predict the end of the world and charge him with putting over a "welfare state" -- whatever that is -- this was Byrnes and Herb. Hoover. Which started him on Hoover. "He's a nice enough old man," he said. "Of course," and here he had a big laugh, "he's to the right of Louis the Fourteenth. But he deserves to be treated with respect as an ex-President. Roosevelt couldn't stand him and he hated Roosevelt. But he straightened out the food problem in S. America back there in 1945, and he can do some things. No reason to treat him other than with respect. But he doesn't understand what's happened in the world since McKinley."

129. HOOVER TO TRUMAN, AUGUST 18, 1949

Hoover wrote to the president in August with a personal appeal for aid to the earthquake victims of Ecuador. Hoover saw this disaster as an opportunity to combine the country's long standing "good neighbor" policy toward Latin America with money from the Marshall Plan.

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The Waldorf Astoria Towers
New York, New York
August 18, 1949

My dear Mr. President:

I have received an appeal from former President Isidro Ayora of Ecuador (a good man), for aid to the victims of the recent earthquakes.

I feel that a public drive for funds at this time is not likely to be very fruitful.

It seems to me, however, that this would be an opportunity to advance greatly the "good neighbor" policies. And it becomes more urgent by the low economic level of that country and the inability of the Government of Ecuador to meet emergency tasks.

I would, therefore, like to suggest to you that a modest diversion of Marshall Plan funds is fully warranted and would be generally acceptable both to our country and to the European states.

I am not sure but that the American Red Cross has taken action. They have large reserve funds which have been accumulated for such purposes. In any event, any relief, if undertaken, should be administered by our Red Cross.

Yours faithfully,
/s/HERBERT HOOVER

130. TRUMAN TO HOOVER, AUGUST 23, 1949

Truman responded to Hoover with a brief but cordial note of thanks. "I certainly do appreciate your interest in the matter," he wrote, "and thank you very much for writing me about it."

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The White House
Washington
August 23, 1949

Dear Mr. President:

Replying to yours of the eighteenth, we are looking into that approach to the situation, although the Red Cross has taken over down there. I certainly do appreciate your interest in the matter and thank you very much for writing me about it.

Sincerely yours,
/s/HARRY S. TRUMAN

131. HOOVER TO TRUMAN, APRIL 28, 1950

Hoover addressed the American Newspaper Publishers Association when it met at the Waldorf Astoria on April 27. In a speech entitled "The Voice of World Experience," he expressed his "suspicion that the world in its tumults has abandoned most of its acceptance of history as a guide post." He called for the "spiritual mobilization of the nations to believe in God against this tide of Red agnosticism." In fact, Hoover suggested the United Nations be reorganized without the Communist nations. "If that is impractical," he added, "then a definite United Front should be organized of those people who disavow Communism, who stand for morals, and religion, and who love freedom."

Hoover's cold war rhetoric and controversial proposal seemed popular with the 1,800 publishers, editors and guests at the dinner and the former president received a standing ovation. Adding to the effect of the speech was a call from Truman shortly after Hoover had finished speaking. Hoover wrote the president the next day to explain his delay in coming to the phone and the flurry of interest in the call from the press.

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The Waldorf Astoria Towers
New York, New York
April 28, 1950

Dear Mr. President:

I am grateful for your telephone message congratulating me upon my speech last night at the Newspaper Publishers dinner.

I want you to know the background of the incident that embarrassed us both.

The word that you wished to speak to me came while I was still at the Speakers' table. The publisher who conveyed the message to me spoke loud enough for half a dozen persons to hear. I sent word back three times suggesting it wait a few minutes unless it was very urgent, as I did not wish to interrupt the current speaker by leaving the room. Also, I did not wish to create more curiosity as by this time the Speakers' table was agog. Word came back from the operator that it was very urgent and I left the hall. Apparently the man on the program stated I had gone to answer a call from you. You have perhaps observed that curiosity is part of the necessary equipment of the press.

As I hold to the old and sacred rule (from plenty of experience) that citizens should not discuss what Presidents say, I could only reply "No comment" to the press bombardment.

I am arranging to change some appointments and will accept your kind invitation to visit you during the week.

I will value the opportunity to discuss our reorganization situation which is not going as we could wish.

Yours faithfully,
/s/HERBERT HOOVER

132. TRUMAN PRESS CONFERENCE, MAY 4, 1950

Hoover's remarks on reorganizing the United Nations were respectfully received at the White House. In fact Truman and Hoover discussed his proposal in a meeting on the afternoon of May 3. This did not mean that the president agreed. Far from it. In response to a direct question at a press conference, Truman laid out his differences with Hoover's proposal. (The complete transcript is in Public Papers of the Presidents: Harry S. Truman, 1950 [Washington, D.C., 1965], pp. 284-288.)

Truman Public Papers			View Document

THE PRESIDENT. Yes. President Hoover called on me, at my suggestion, to discuss the reorganization plans that are now before the Senate and the House. And incidentally his speech of a night or two ago was brought up. Mr. Hoover and I are not in agreement on the United Nations program. I am in full support of the United Nations, both as an individual and as President of the United States. The United Nations is organized for the purpose of discussion of problems with which nations are faced, in the hope of arriving at a peaceful settlement of these problems. It is working, in most instances. We shall continue to support the United Nations as long as I am President of the United States.

I discussed the other section of President Hoover's speech, which was the mobilization of the moral forces of the world against the unmoral forces of the world. I have been trying to do that for 5 years, and we are having some success in that. And I complimented him on that part of his speech. I did not agree with him on his proposed reorganization of the United Nations, and we are perfectly friendly, Mr. Hoover and I are . . .

133. HOOVER TO TRUMAN, JULY 1, 1950

The outbreak of the "Korean situation," as Hoover called it, was a time for all Americans to stand with their nation and their president. Hoover issued a statement for broadcast on the NBC radio program "Voice of Events" on July 1. On the day of the broadcast, Hoover wrote to Truman to offer his services.

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Waldorf Towers
July 1, 1950

/s/Dear Mr. President

I need scarcely write to you that I will be glad to be of any service within my limitations at this time.

Sincerely Yours
HERBERT HOOVER

134. TRUMAN TO HOOVER, JULY 3, 1950

In response to Hoover's public statement of support and private offer of service, Truman sent the following handwritten note.

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The White House
Washington
July 3, 1950

/s/Dear Mr. President:

I appreciate most highly your letter of the 1st. It was great of you to issue the statement you did. If events require, you may rest assured that I will want your help and advice. I pray that peace may come.

Most sincerely,
HARRY S. TRUMAN

135. HOOVER TO TRUMAN, NOVEMBER 2, 1950

An assassination attempt on Truman's life by Puerto Rican terrorists sobered the nation. Hoover was quick to issue a public statement of thanksgiving for the president's life and he passed on that statement to Truman in the following letter.

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The Waldorf Astoria Towers
New York, New York
November 2, 1950

My dear Mr. President:

My feelings concerning the incident which occurred yesterday are expressed in the opening statements I made to the Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States:

"I am sure that I echo the satisfaction of everyone here that the President escaped the attempt on his life today. The President of the United States is the symbol of our nation and assassination is not a part of the American way of life."

Yours faithfully,
/s/HERBERT HOOVER

136. TRUMAN TO HOOVER, NOVEMBER 3, 1950

Truman wrote a heartfelt thank you note to Hoover for his statement of thanksgiving. There was a certain innocent irony in Truman's handwritten postscript: "I hope you are in good health."

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The White House
Washington
November 3, 1950

Dear Mr. President:

It is impossible to tell you how much your letter of November second means to me. Please know that I am truly grateful for these expressions, especially because they come from you.

Very sincerely yours,
/s/HARRY S. TRUMAN

/s/I hope you are in good health.

137. TRUMAN TO HOOVER, NOVEMBER 25, 1950

Late in November 1950, Truman called on Hoover to serve in yet another capacity. With Senator Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin on the rampage over alleged Communist infiltration of the State Department, Truman wanted a bipartisan commission to look into the matter and, of course, to deflect criticism of his administration. Who better to serve as chairman than Hoover?

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The White House
Washington
November 25, 1950

Dear Mr. President:

There has been a great deal of talk about the infiltration of communists in the Government, particularly in the State Department. I've decided to appoint a bipartisan Commission consisting of representatives of all parts of the population of the United States -- some churchmen, both Catholic, Protestant and Jewish, some outstanding men from the legal fraternity, from business and from labor.

I would personally appreciate it if you would be willing to act as Chairman of that Commission. There has been a great deal of misrepresentation and garbling of facts in regard to this situation and if you would accommodate me by acting as Chairman of this proposed Commission of men, I think we could not only restore the confidence of the people in the organization of the Government but could help the Foreign Policy situation very much.

I tried to call you yesterday but was informed that you were not available.

Sincerely yours,
/s/HARRY S. TRUMAN

138. HOOVER TO TRUMAN, NOVEMBER 26, 1950

Hoover, however, would not accept the chairmanship of a commission on communists in government. In a detailed letter to the president, he outlined his concerns. The issue, he said, was not communists in government (he doubted there were any "card-carrying Communists" in the government); it was "men in Government whose attitudes are such that they have disastrously advised on policies in relation to Communist Russia. The suspicion is abroad that they continue in Government."

Because those in question were in the administration, Hoover surmised that the president would not want a widespread inquiry. Besides, he added, "the Congress itself is likely to be engaged in such investigations anyway." He suggested that Truman issue a statement encouraging Congress to establish such a commission. "That very statement by you would greatly restore confidence in the Administration's Foreign Policy makers."

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The Waldorf Astoria Towers
New York 22, New York
November 26, 1950

My dear Mr. President:

I have your letter suggesting that I should take the Chairmanship of a Presidentially appointed bi-partisan Commission to report on the question of the "infiltration of communists in the Government "

Despite the encroachments of advancing age, I do not wish to ever refuse service to the country. There are some phases of the matter, however, which greatly trouble me and which I should like frankly to lay before you.

First. I doubt if there are any consequential card-carrying communists in the Government, or if there are, they should be known to the F.B.I.

Second. Your admirable purpose is "to restore the confidence of the people in the organization of the Government" and thereby "help the Foreign Policy situation." I suggest that the current lack of confidence arises from the belief that there are men in Government (not Communists) whose attitudes are such that they have disastrously advised on policies in relation to Communist Russia. The suspicion is abroad that they continue in the Government.

Third. Without a wide-spread inquiry into the past and present of such men and the facts, the answer to this problem could not be determined. It would require the authority to examine on oath, together with large expenditure for investigation staff, and to include access to all files of all officials and departments over the years. Such powers could come jointly from yourself and a Congressional Act. The personnel of such a Commission would need be approved by the leaders of both parties in that body if it were to carry conviction to them.

Fourth. The Congress itself is likely to be engaged in such investigations anyway.

Therefore it seems to me that any inquiry as to "Communists in the Government" by an informal Commission would not be likely to satisfy the public or to restore confidence.

I dislike indeed to respond in terms of declination to any request of yours as I would like greatly to be helpful to you in these troublous times.

In that direction may I suggest that a statement might be issued by you that you would be glad if the Congress would either create such a Commission or would itself make an inquiry on the broadest basis, such as I have outlined, both as to the past and the present. That very statement by you would greatly restore confidence in the Administration's Foreign Policy makers.

Yours faithfully,
/s/HERBERT HOOVER

139. TRUMAN TO HOOVER, DECEMBER 7, 1950

In his response, Truman rejected Hoover's suggestion that Congress establish the new commission. Truman was concerned that the charges arose from partisanship -- an obvious reference to McCarthy and that the creation of a commission by Congress was the matter.

Truman did agree with Hoover that the commission's mandate must be broad enough not only to include investigation of Communists in government, but also to review government loyalty and security programs.

The president made it clear that he was not dissuaded by Hoover's concerns. On January 23, 1951, Truman announced the President's Commission on Internal Security and Individual Rights with Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as chairman. But conflict between Truman and the Senate prevented the commission from ever beginning its work and the president dissolved the commission on November 14, 1951.

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The White House
Washington
December 7, 1950

Dear Mr. President:

Thank you very much for your letter of November 25, 1950. You have always given freely of your time and energy to your country, and without thought of self. I know that my sense of gratitude for your service is shared by the country.

In view of your feeling concerning the advisability of the proposed commission, I do not believe that I should urge you to reconsider your decision. It is very important, however, that the appointment of the commission have the support of the leader of this country. Consequently, there are certain considerations which I should like to bring to your attention.

The charge has been made that there are some persons in the Government who do not have the best interests of our country at heart. This serious charge has been made in an atmosphere of bitter political controversy. The people have been confused by this and, I believe, will be much better satisfied if it is looked into by persons whom they respect as above all political partisanship. This is not a question which should be made the subject of a partisan debate in the Congress, which I am afraid might be likely if the establishment of such commission were referred to the Congress.

While it is of course expected that the commission would be composed of members of both parties, I do not believe that its members should be designated to serve either as Republicans or Democrats. They should serve as Americans who have the interest of their country at heart and who have the respect of their fellow Americans.

Further, I contemplate that the work of the commission will be of a most comprehensive scope. Its work will not be confined to charges that communists have made their way into the Government service, although this will constitute a very important part of the commission's work. Its work will include a review of the Government Employee Loyalty Program and of the operation of all other programs established by the Government to assure the security of its own operations. The Commission will review and evaluate all existing internal security laws, procedures, and practices, and will recommend what changes, if any, should be made in order to achieve both the security of the Government and the protection of the rights of individuals. This is made particularly important by the divided state of opinion on some provisions of the recently enacted Internal Security Act of 1950. You will note that the program that I have in mind for the commission is far broader than any single question affecting the security of the country.

In setting the commission to its tasks, I shall give it full access to all files and papers in the Executive branch of the Government which are relevant to its studies and investigations, including the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The commission will likewise be assured of the cooperation and assistance of the Attorney General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and of every other responsible official in the Executive branch.

I wanted you to have this information, so you would understand why I feel this commission is necessary.

Sincerely yours,
/s/HARRY S. TRUMAN

140. TRUMAN PRESS CONFERENCE, DECEMBER 28, 1950

Foreign policy frequently divided Hoover and Truman. Their differences were never more obvious than when the president was asked to comment on one of Hoover's speeches. At his December 28 press conference, Truman was asked to comment on Hoover's national radio address of December 20. Hoover had suggested that the United States concentrate on preservation of the Western Hemisphere, with Great Britain as our outpost in the Atlantic and Japan, Formosa, and the Philippines as our outposts in the Pacific. To Truman such ideas seemed little more than a return to isolationism and he said as much. (For the complete transcript, see Public Papers of the Presidents: Harry S. Truman, 1950, [Washington, D.C., 1965], pp. 760-763.)

Truman Public Papers			View Document

THE PRESIDENT. Well, I just want to say this, that the country is not going back to isolationism. You can be sure of that.

Q. Mr. President, would you like to comment on the results to this country, if you should take Mr. Hoover's advice? What would happen.

THE PRESIDENT. Well now, I would have to make you a speech that would take all afternoon, and you haven't got time to listen to that.

Q. It's all right with me. [Laughter]

THE PRESIDENT. No, I will not comment further.

Q. Mr. President, is the White House mail running for or against Mr. Hoover's idea?

THE PRESIDENT. The White House mail is running for the President of the United States on that subject.

Q. Mr. President, do you consider his recommendations isolationism?

THE PRESIDENT. Nothing else. Read it carefully.

Q. I did.

THE PRESIDENT. All right . . .

141. HOOVER TO TRUMAN, MARCH 7, 1951

Although they differed on foreign policy, both Hoover and Truman took care to clarify misunderstandings or misinformation about their meetings that appeared in the press. The two men had met on February 7 to discuss the administration's policy toward India. Although Hoover left no notes of this meeting, there is no indication that he vigorously disagreed with the president. When newspaper columnist Walter Winchell reported a story that the two men were feuding over administration policy toward India, Hoover wrote to Truman that "the column causes me much distress as it is not only untrue but unfair to both of us."

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The Waldorf Astoria Towers
New York, New York
March 7, 1951

Dear Mr. President:

My attention has been called to a statement of Mr. Walter Winchell in his column of March 6th which causes me much distress, as it is not only untrue but unfair to both of us.

I presume it originates from a question at the press conference that followed our recent discussion of Indian famine policies in which I was glad to give you my fullest support. A forthcoming speech of mine on foreign policies had already been announced. The question, as nearly as I remember it, was: Does the President know you are making this speech? I stated that he was aware of it and welcomes all sides of a debate.

Mr. Winchell has no doubt been misinformed for certainly no statement of the purport given by him came from you in our friendly discussions, or no such information came from me.

I presume these are a part of the burdens that anyone who ventures into public life must bear, but I want you to know of my distress at such misrepresentation.

Yours faithfully,
/s/HERBERT HOOVER

142. TRUMAN TO HOOVER, MARCH 13, 1951

Truman was grateful for Hoover's note and was quick to discount the columnist's report. "I do appreciate most highly your writing me," he wrote, "but bear in mind that any statement by Winchell, or any other columnist, would have no effect on my always kindly feeling toward you."

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U. S. Naval Station,
Key West, Florida,
March 13, 1951

Dear Mr. President:

I appreciate very much your letter of the 7th, calling my attention to a statement by Walter Winchell, in his column of March 6th. It is very difficult for Mr. Winchell to state the facts even when he knows what they are, and I never give any credit to anything he says. So don't let this statement by him distress you.

Your answer to the question was exactly what I understood you expected to say.

I do appreciate most highly your writing me, but bear in mind that any statement by Winchell, or any other columnist, would have no effect on my always kindly feeling toward you.

Sincerely yours,
/s/HARRY S. TRUMAN

143. TRUMAN ADDRESS, OCTOBER 3, 1952

Even though he was not a candidate in the fall of 1952, Harry Truman defended his administration and worked for Adlai Stevenson. The president used the "whistle stop" campaign techniques that had contributed so much to his surprise election victory in 1948.

Beginning on September 29, he rode the train from Minnesota to Washington State to California and back across the Great Plains and the midwestern states and on to New England before returning to the District of Columbia on October 23. At dozens of stops along the route, the president spoke from the back of the train and gave "hell" to the Republicans and their candidate.

On at least three occasions the president referred to Hoover in unflattering terms. The first remark came in a speech at Redding, California, where Truman criticized the water control policies of the Republicans and made reference to the dam that he himself had renamed in honor of Hoover. (For the complete address, see Public Papers of the Presidents: Harry S. Truman, 1952-53, [Washington, D.C., 1966] pp. 695-697.)

Truman Public Papers			View Document			Listen to speech

I call it Boulder Dam, but the Republicans prefer the title Hoover Dam. They changed the name, back in the 80th Congress and that's the only contribution to the power field that the 80th Congress made.

You know the Republicans puzzle me sometimes. They are always saying that when we build these dams to produce public power, that's socialism. But they still wanted to name that dam for President Hoover. So there it stands on the Colorado River, a magnificent monument to "creeping socialism;" and the name of it is Hoover Dam. Now, I think that's kind of funny . . .

144. TRUMAN ADDRESS, OCTOBER 8, 1952

The second time Truman referred to Hoover was in the former president's home state of Iowa. Speaking in Shenandoah, Truman referred repeatedly to the "Hoover farm depression" of the 1930s. The president warned the farmers, "The same thing could happen again if the same Republican Party gets back in control of the National Government." (For the complete address, see Public Papers of the Presidents: Harry S. Truman, 1952-53, [Washington, D.C, 1966], pp.750-756).

Truman Public Papers			View Document			Listen to part one of speech			Listen to part two of speech

. . . Now, a lot of the Republican newspapers have been saying that the Democrats have got to stop running against Herbert Hoover. I can see why they'd like to drop the whole subject. I would, too, if I were in their shoes.

There may be some of you folks so young that you don't remember the Hoover farm depression. But a lot of us older people do, and I don't think it's something the country can afford to forget.

The same thing could happen again, if the same Republican Party gets back in control of the National Government.

The Hoover farm depression hit us for a very simple reason. We did not have in Washington in the 1920's a party that was interested in all of the people. The Republican Party rushed to the rescue of the banks and the railroads. They bailed out the big interests, but they didn't lift a finger to help the farmer and the ordinary workingman.

The people who were left behind came mighty close to revolting here in the Middle West. Farmers sometimes took things into their own hands in those days, when the courthouse walls were plastered with mortgage foreclosures. But, fortunately for the country, they had a peaceful means of changing the order of things, and in 1932 they brought in a Democratic administration.

And the change that has taken place since then is almost unbelievable. The increase in farm prosperity has been so great, and has lasted so long, that a lot of farmers have forgotten all about the Hoover depression and have started voting Republican again. How they can do that, I just can't understand . . .

145. TRUMAN ADDRESS, OCTOBER 18, 1952

Truman also referred to Hoover in a speech at Taunton, Massachusetts. Once again, he blamed Hoover for the depression. As part of his attack, Truman provided his listeners with a review of the third volume of Hoover's recently published memoirs. (For the complete address, see Public Papers of the Presidents: Harry S. Truman, 1952-53, [Washington, D.C., 1966], pp. 865-867).

Truman Public Papers			View Document

Mr. Hoover has published his autobiography, and in the latest volume, on page 195, he tells about the apple-selling that went on during the great depression of his administration.

Now listen -- according to Mr. Hoover, people weren't selling apples because they were broke and jobless -- not at all. They were selling apples because the apple business was booming. He says that some apple growers' association got the bright idea -- I am quoting out of his book -- now this is what he says, " . . . and set up a system of selling apples on the street corners in many cities, thus selling their crop and raising their prices. Many persons left their jobs for the more profitable one of selling apples." And there were only 14 million people out of jobs at that time!

You see, those apple-sellers were just coining money. I wonder if anybody really believes that, and wants to go back to those good old days? . . .

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