NOTICE
This is a transcript of a tape-recorded interview conducted for the Harry S. Truman Library. A draft of this transcript was edited by the interviewee but only minor emendations were made; therefore, the reader should remember that this is essentially a transcript of the spoken, rather than the written word.

Numbers appearing in square brackets (ex. [45]) within the transcript indicate the pagination in the original, hardcopy version of the oral history interview.

RESTRICTIONS
This oral history transcript may be read, quoted from, cited, and reproduced for purposes of research. It may not be published in full except by permission of the Harry S. Truman Library.

Opened August, 1966
Harry S. Truman Library
Independence, Missouri

[478]

FUCHS: When the recorder stopped working in our last interview you were telling of the attempt to secure a man to take a position on the Securities and Exchange Commission during Mr. Truman's tenure as President. Would you care to finish that?

EVANS: Well, I think we finished it with the exception that I was not sure of his name and I now learn that that was Harry A. MacDonald, and then another name that I mentioned in that previous interview, Jim, was a man with the Bromo-Seltzer Company. It's just come to me today that his name was O'Neil. I believe that that about finishes that phase of...

FUCHS: We can go ahead then.

EVANS: I think I said that President Truman had asked me, knowing of my friendship and acquaintanceship with Nate Shapiro in Detroit, to confidentially check with him in regard to this Harry A. MacDonald,

[479]

whom they were considering for a position in the Government; and I checked with Mr. Shapiro who was well-known in Detroit, in fact, in addition to being the head of the Economical Cunningham drugstores, he was director of the fire department in Detroit, and was President of the Chamber of Commerce in those days. So he was quite a well-known man. And this man MacDonald had an executive position--I was going to say president--but, anyway, an executive position with an ice cream--company that supplied ice cream to the Shapiro stores in Detroit. So, he knew him very well and gave him a very fine recommendation--couldn't have been better--and I conveyed that information to President Truman and later he did go into the Government. I believe he's still in Government, although I'm not sure.

FUCHS: Did you go to Fulton, Missouri, in March, 1946, when Churchill spoke at Westminster College?

EVANS: Yes, I was there at the famous speech, but

[480]

there was such a crowd and quite a tremendous amount of turmoil that I didn't get much opportunity to visit with the President; but I was there along with a number of other people from Kansas City that went down.

FUCHS: He never told you whether or not he had prior knowledge of what Churchill was going to say?

EVANS: Visiting with him, I recall that he said something to the effect that in coming out to Fulton, that Mr. Churchill wanted him to read his speech and he said, "No, if I did, then people would think I wrote it. I don't want to know anything about what you're going to say or have anything to do with it. I'll hear it along with the rest of the people." So, my impression is that he did not--was not familiar with it. Now that may have been one of Mr. Truman's famous jokes, as you well know he's noted for.

FUCHS: Did you drive down to Fulton from here?

[481]

EVAN: Yes.

FUCHS: You didn't see them after the speech?

EVANS: You mean after the speech?

FUCHS: Did you see Mr. Churchill or Mr. Truman?

EVANS: Yes, I shook hands with Mr. Churchill on two occasions and bid the President good-bye and I came on back. I took a group down with me.

FUCHS: There wasn't any particular incident that you remember?

EVANS: Nothing of interest, I don't believe.

FUCHS: In 1946, there was quite a contest in the 5^th Missouri district for the Congressional seat involving Roger Slaughter and another candidate, Enos Axtell. What do you recall of that?

EVANS: Well, as you say, there was quite a lot involved and Mr. Enos Axtell was selected, and the President told me that he wanted me to do everything

[482]

I could to get him nominated, which I did, I worked plenty hard and met Enos for the first time early in that campaign. I raised a substantial amount of money, interested a lot of people in working; it was quite a campaign and, as you well know, we won the primary and beat Mr. Slaughter, but we lost the election to the son of Judge Reeves; but we go back to the old days, Jim, of "Goats" and "Rabbits." I've often said that I think I was probably 16 years old before I knew there was such a thing as a Republican. It was always Goats and Rabbits; and Mr. Truman and I were Democratic Goats and Mr. Slaughter happened to be a Rabbit, and the Goats and the Rabbits fought all the time, so that was just another Goat-Rabbit fight

FUCHS: Did you have a decided opinion about the qualifications of Slaughter and about his activities in Congress which were, as you know, somewhat in opposition to Mr. Truman's proposals for his

[483]

administration?

EVANS: Well, yes, I knew of the fact that on at least two or three occasions he had indicated that he would be for certain things that Mr. Truman expected him to be for and at the last minute he had been turned around without any advance warning and was against, which was enough to stir the desire to see him defeated, let's put it that way.

FUCHS: Had you talked to Mr. Truman about Slaughter prior to the selection of Axtell, and, incidentally, I'd like to know how that came about?

EVANS: Oh, yes, I had talked to him about (I'm sure other people had, too) finding some suitable candidate, I'm not so sure but what I might have had one, but if so, I’ve forgotten who I had; I've had a number of candidates, One, in particular, which is another story, is our present Congressman, Dick Bolling. I'm somewhat rambling,

[484]

but it might be a good place to record this, and I don't believe we have recorded it.

FUCHS: No, I had intentions to discuss that later on but you can go ahead.

EVANS: Well, 1948 there was a young lawyer here in Kansas City by the name of Emmett Scanlan, who was a candidate for Congress in the 5th Congressional District from Kansas City, who I've known for many years. Anyway, he apparently had the backing of most of the Democratic factions, and he had double-crossed me at a state Democratic convention by promising to vote a certain way on a program that we had, and when we got into the meeting, why, he voted the other way and I got pretty angry about it, So, I looked for a good candidate and a group of young lawyers and young merchants told me about a fellow by the name of Dick Bolling who had just gotten out of the service and had been overseas, been over in Japan, and was on the staff of General MacArthur; had

[485]

entered the service as a private and had come out a colonel; and that he was teaching school at the University of Kansas City. And I met him, and it was Dick Bolling, a fine young man. We had numerous visits, and I was quite enthused with Dick and his ideas and, to make a long story short, he was much interested in running for Congress. Mr. Truman, of course, was President and was up for election, and in very early 1948 Mr. Truman was back here at the Muehlebach Hotel and I spoke to him about the fact that I had a candidate for 5th Congressional District for Congress and that I'd like to have him meet him. He said he'd be delighted to but he'd already committed, and he was for Emmet Scanlan. And I said, "Well, then there isn't any use doing anything about it, but I would love to be for this man Bolling because he's just, in my opinion, an outstanding, capable, young fellow and what we need."

And he said, "Well, why don't you go ahead and let him run?"

[486]

And I said, "Well, I'd hate to have to beat you."

And he said, "Well, you couldn't beat me."

I said, "Would you get mad at me?"

And he said, "Why certainly not; go ahead."

So I did. We ran him, and we beat his candidate in the primary. And, of course, in November he was elected along with Mr. Truman when he was elected President. Within three or four months after Dick Bolling had taken his office as Congressman from the 5th District, I was in Washington and President Truman said, "Tom, I want to tell you one thing. You have sent me the finest Congressman that we have in Congress. Dick Bolling is a wonderful fellow and in my opinion has the greatest opportunity of anybody in politics that I know, if you can do one thing, if you can keep him from getting 'Potomac Fever."'

You, of course, Jim, are familiar with Potomac Fever, which, I'm sorry to say, it seems to me that about ninety-nine and forty-four

[487]

hundredths of a percent of the people in Washington, be they Democrats or Republicans, have that horrible disease. Later on I'll tell you about some of them that were connected with the President, some few of them who had Potomac Fever. I said, "Well, Mr. President, I probably could keep him from getting it if he knew that you had instructed me to, and would you tell me that in front of Dick?"

And, he said, "Yes, but how will we do it?"

I said, "Well, we'll arrange it."

He said, "Well, I'll have him come over to the office and you be here tomorrow, and I'll tell him."

So, Dick Bolling came over to see the President at my suggestion, and he went in and shook hands with him and we visited a minute, and I said: "Well, Mr. President, you're very busy; why don't you tell me again what you told me yesterday that you wanted me to do about Dick Bolling." I said, "Dick, he gave me some instructions,

[488]

but I wanted you to hear them first hand."

So the President said, "Yes, Congressman, I told Tom that in my opinion you had the finest future of anybody in politics providing he could keep you from getting the Potomac Fever and that's the job I have given him."

So, '48--it's been a good many years ago--what, fourteen, sixteen years ago. When somebody says, "Well, Dick's not spending much time at home; Dick's doing this, Dick's doing that," I say to Dick, "Say Dick, you haven't got a little temperature have you?" And he knows what I'm talking about; so I think that's been a little helpful.

Well, anyway, I got off the subject of having a candidate--that incidentally, was the same district where Mr. Slaughter was up and Enos Axtell. I imagine I might have had a candidate; if so, I've forgotten who it was. But anyway, Mr. Truman said that, as I remember it, that

[489]

Vivian had selected this Enos Axtell, who lived in Grandview, and asked me if I knew him. He had a law office in Kansas City, and I had met Enos, but, frankly, I didn't place him. I immediately met him and he--well, he was a very young man and very intelligent and bright, no question about that, and was capable and qualified. And with Mr. Slaughter's record of being a double-crosser, it was not hard for me to go all out for Enos Axtell.

FUCHS: That's about your memory of that campaign?

EVANS: Yes.

FUCHS: Incidentally, you said someone brought Dick Bolling to your attention. Do you recall who that was and had Bolling expressed his desire to run for Congress prior to that to this gentleman or did you make the proposal to him?

EVANS: I don't think he had expressed a desire to be a Congressman, but I was quite active at the

[490]

Kansas City University, in those days, in getting our old Kansas City College of Pharmacy (where I got my pharmacy degree) made a part of the University of Kansas City--in other words, having the University of Kansas City, take over the old Kansas City College of Pharmacy. I had gotten quite a bit of money to go to the University to keep this college going and knew a number of the teachers and people connected with it, because of that work. I was to a meeting on this pharmacy matter when I met Dick Bolling along with a number of other teachers at the University. I remember I invited him to lunch, and he was very much interested in politics, not at that particular time for himself, but in political history and the background; and, knowing of my friendship with Mr. Truman, we had long conversations about Mr. Truman and his activity, political, with the Pendergast regime, his presiding judgeship, his campaign for senator the first time and the second time, his vice-presidential campaign, and what have you.

[491]

And, I think, it was probably my idea, although he was most receptive, that he consider running for Congress. As you probably know, when Sam Rayburn, who was the Speaker of the House, passed away--well, prior to that, as you recall, when our United States Senator from St. Louis, Hennings, died, many, many people wanted Dick Bolling to be appointed by the Governor to his unexpired term and be a senator. I talked to Mr. Truman about that and he said, "No, let's keep Dick in the House where he now has built up quite a lot of seniority"--which means a tremendous amount, as you well know--"and eventually he will be Speaker of the House, and in my opinion," (I'm quoting Mr. Truman) "that is the most powerful office in the land; more powerful than any office outside the President of the United States. And Dick is young, he's capable, he's qualified, and I just don't believe that Sam's going to run again, and we want to keep Dick so he can be Speaker of the House." Sam didn't run again,

[492]

bless his heart, due to the fact of his death. And Bolling was considered for it, but because of seniority, the present speaker got the job. There isn't too many ahead of Congressman Bolling and the present Speaker is quite old and there's only a very few ahead of him and most of those would not want the job, so I hope to live long enough to see Dick Bolling Speaker of the House; and I've heard Mr. Truman as late as this week say the same thing, that he hoped to live long enough to see Dick Bolling Speaker of the House, because he's so capable and qualified.

Well, now, I got off--talking about Dick Bolling--about Enos Axtell, but I think we've covered that, that I had known him slightly and it was quite a campaign; it was quite bitter, but we won and then we lost. Then I'm almost sure that Reeves was elected and Bolling replaced Reeves.

FUCHS: Yes, I believe that's correct. I know Reeves

[493]

was elected and I believe that Bolling was the next in line.

EVANS: And Bolling did beat in the election.

FUCHS: That would have been 1948.

EVANS: Yes, I'm sure that was it.

FUCHS: I've seen reference, in your papers, to a dinner in 1947 which General Eisenhower attended. Do you recall anything about that occasion?

EVANS: Yes, Jim, it's sort of a long story. According to a letter that Mrs. Evans has, dated June 7, 1947, I'm sure that that was the night that General Eisenhower was to speak at the Auditorium to the 35th Division Reunion. The letter I refer to explains it this way: When President Truman and his staff from Washington came to Kansas City, and they made numerous trips in the early days of his Presidency because of Mother Truman's illness, I made the reservation and I took care of most all the details--his staff was lost here--

[494]

as to who should or who should not see him, because they were not acquainted. I spent all my time when they were here, 12--14 hours a day, because everybody depended on me as to who should see the President and who should not of his many, many friends. Mrs. Evans became acquainted with all the staff members, and she loves to cook and bake and she'd make pies and she'd make cakes and bring them down, and they were all writing her letters about how wonderful her pies and cakes were. So, this particular evening, of June 7, 1947, we were invited by President Truman, Mrs. Evans and I, to have dinner with him and his staff in the Muehlebach penthouse and then go over to the 35th Division Reunion to hear General Eisenhower speak. And, so, Mrs. Evans said, "Well, I'll make some pies and send them down so I can give you some of my homemade pies," and so she did that morning, and in fact brought them down in her car and some of the boys went down in the afternoon and brought them up. Then

[495]

she came down later and had dinner with us, and while we were eating dinner President Truman suggested that they give her a letter thanking her for her pies, her good cooking, and so forth. So they called Jack Romagna in (the President did) and told him to write up a letter, and he went out and wrote it up on White House stationery and it's quite a document. It was signed, of course, by President Truman, by Dwight D. Eisenhower who, of course, was General of the Army then, and I remember his military aide, Craig Cannon (that was General Eisenhower's military aide), signed it; and Admiral Leahy, General Graham, Matt Connelly, Military Aide Vaughan, Charlie Ross. And this letter Mrs. Evans prized very highly and she had it framed and hung in our dining room; but the sun has gotten it, Jim, almost to the point to where you can't read anybody's signature except Craig Cannon's because the rest of them were all signed with a

[496]

ball point pen. Anyway, that was quite a document and Mrs. Evans valued it quite highly. Then, after that dinner we were to enter three cars, as I remember it, down on Baltimore Avenue at the Muehlebach, and go by car over to the Auditorium; and it was arranged for these cars to drive in the Fourteenth Street entrance and up and around right to the Presidential box where the Secret Service men were guarding it out on the main floor and to the entrance. I remember there were two Secret Service men went right with us as part of the party. Then another car to take General Eisenhower around, so he could be on the stage and make his speech. When Mrs. Evans came down that evening to go over to this meeting, I went down and met her at the Baltimore side of the Muehlebach Hotel and brought her upstairs to the penthouse. There was a gentleman got on the elevator with us and went into the penthouse with us. Incidentally, I said Mrs. Evans came down to dinner; she did not. I had dinner, but she

[497]

did not; she came down later. That's when this gentleman got on the elevator with us and went up to the penthouse and went in with us. We got ready to go to the auditorium and President Truman and the Secret Service agent got in the car, Mrs. Evans, Charlie Ross, myself, and this other man got in the same car, and there was another car with the rest of the. President's group; and we all went over to the auditorium and heard General Eisenhower make his talk, and back in the car and back over to the penthouse, and there we had had a drink. And this gentleman, who had come up on the elevator with Mrs. Evans and I also went to the Auditorium and back with us, sort of got unruly by arguing a little bit with the President of the United States, which is never done. I didn't like it very much and I said to Matt Connelly in a whisper, "Well, who is this fellow?"

And he said, "Well, I don't know; he's you're friend, isn't he?"

[498]

And I said, "Well, no, I don't know him."

And he said, "Well, I thought he was your friend."

I said, "No, I don't know him."

So then I went over to President Truman and kneeled down and close to his ear and I said, "I just learned that Matt Connelly doesn't know who this man is. Is he a friend of yours?"

And he turned around to me and he said, "Well, I thought he was with you; I thought he was your friend?"

About that time, General Graham came in to the penthouse and he stopped and looked startled at me and motioned for me to come over and said, "What's this man doing in here. He's a crazy man; he's just out of an institution, he hasn't any business being here."

And I said, "Well, I had just discovered that everybody thought he was my friend. He got on the elevator with Mrs. Evans and I and went up and the Secret Service who, of course,

[499]

knew me very well, thought that anybody coming in with me was all right and I didn't know him."

And he said, "Well, hell, we got to get him out of there; he's dangerous."

So I went to the head of the Secret Service detail (who had a room down the hall from the penthouse), Nick, as we called him--I think his name was Nixon--a great friend of mine--and I told Nick the story. I was quite nervous and upset to think that a man could go in a car with the President of the United States--was surrounded by Secret Service and went over and sat through this and back, and nobody raised a question; all of them thought he was my friend. It didn't seem to disturb Nick too much and he just said, "Well, you go in and tell him that Nick wants to see him at the door."

And I said, "Well, what if he don't come out?"

And he said, "Oh, he'll come out."

[500]

And I said, "Well, what if he don't?"

And he said, "Well, let's worry about that later."

So. I went back into the penthouse, walked over to where he was sitting on the davenport by the President, as I remember. I just went in and said, "Nick wants to see you at the door."

And he got right up and went to the door and the last I saw of him--and I haven't seen him since Jim--Nick grabbed him by the shoulder and took him in the room and I haven't seen him since; that's been a good many years ago. But General Graham was quite upset and he knows who that gentleman is; I don't recall his name, but he apparently had been a mental case. What had actually happened, when I went down to get Mrs. Evans, I later found out, why, he just came right by the side of us and walked in and the Secret Service men, as I say, all knew me and they just thought that the man was coming in with me.

[501]

FUCHS: There were no Secret Service men on the elevator when you went down and back up?

EVANS: Yes, there were always Secret Service men there; they knew I was going down to meet my wife. They thought also that I was to meet this gentleman. You see, when the President was there in the penthouse, there's one single elevator that goes up to the penthouse floor, it stops on all floors, but when he was here it was used exclusively by the President and his party. There was Secret Service men on the ground floor, Secret Service men on the top floor and, of course, Secret Service men all over the place; and nobody could get on that elevator to go up unless they were approved, but this man wasn't approved but he got on and went up with Mrs. Evans and me. So, it just shows what could have happened, and I've often thought how impossible it is to get to the President of the United States and how easy it was. He must have spent four or five hours--

[502]

four hours at least--and everybody thought he was my friend. So you can see what a bad situation can develop.

FUCHS: Was there any publicity on that?

EVANS: Oh, no. No, I should say not. Not at all. I don't think anybody was very proud of it, especially me.

FUCHS: I thought the press might have gotten a hold of it somehow and that would have been an interesting story.

EVANS: No, I'm sure there was no story on it.

FUCHS: I'm certain the Secret Service wouldn't have wanted to reveal it.

EVANS: No, I should say not. After that I assure you that nobody ever went in with me without them standing on their own.

FUCHS: Did anything else happen in that Eisenhower--

[503]

Truman dinner that comes to mind, any discussion of politics?

EVANS: Oh, I don't think there was any politics discussed at all, and in fact, I know that Mr. Eisenhower was a great admirer and supporter of President Truman at that particular time. No, I don't think of anything of extreme interest.

FUCHS: What part did you play in the campaign in 1948?

EVANS: Well, I didn't have too much to do with the '48 campaign. Well, anyway, in 1948 in the red hot summertime, as I well recall the temperature of 106 degrees, President Truman was coming to Bolivar, Missouri, to dedicate a statue of Simon Bolivar, and he was coming by train in the President's special car attached. Mrs. Evans and I drove down to Bolivar. It was another day that I later was reminded of when we dedicated the Truman Library. Hot! I

[504]

couldn't take it, and of course, in those days we didn't have air-conditioned cars, and I remember I put on a pair of slacks and a sport shirt, and outside of Bolivar I stopped at a filling station and changed into some clothes. Otherwise they would have been soaking wet and dirty. We met the President and Mrs. Truman, and Margaret was along, and his staff, when they got in; we went up to the dedication, and the President for an hour and a half sat under this sweltering 106 degree temperature. People were fainting and getting sick. It never bothered him. I had to get up and leave and Mrs. Evans got sick. Oh, the heat was unbearable and he set through it all, it didn't even look like to me like he was perspiring, and got up and made a wonderful speech. It was over and he was escorted down to his private car and said to me, "Be sure to come down before we leave, I want to see you." So, Mrs. Evans and I went down to the

[505]

car and went in and we were sitting back in the reception room part of his private car and I never will forget how comfortable it felt after that 106 degrees. Of course, the car was air-conditioned and we were just visiting a normal visit and I said, "Well, Mr. President, this will be the first Democratic convention that I've missed for a good many years." And he sort of rared up and back and said, "What do you mean, miss?"'

And I said, "I'm certainly not going; there's no need of me going. You're not going to have any problems, so there's no need of me going."

"What do you mean I won't have any problems? I may have the fight of my life and I want you there next Tuesday morning." This was Saturday, by the way. In those days I was running a couple of pretty big businesses, Crown Drug Company and KCMO--I mean, I was really running them in those days. I had a good many plans and

[506]

I said, "Well, Mr. President, I didn't think you would need me. I hadn't planned to go." And my wife who never interferes in my business or anything said, "Well, don't worry, Mr. President, I'll have him there."

Well, I was there on Tuesday morning in Philadelphia for the '48 convention. There I met Lew Barringer, whom we talked about, from Memphis, Tennessee, and there was a suite reserved for Lew and I, and we had a direct telephone to the White House, that the Secret Service had put in. I went in and registered and met Lew and came downstairs. This was on Tuesday before the convention opened the following Monday, and my instructions were to let him know everything that was going on, anything that we heard or anything. Well, the first thing that happened to me in the lobby of the hotel was, here was Jim Farley talking to Mayor Hague, who was the political boss in New Jersey, and four or five people in a group in the lobby. And I knew Jim

[507]

Farley very well, and, in fact, he had written a book called Behind the Ballots, I believe was the title of it; and I had agreed to put these books in all of Crown Drug Stores and we sold quite a few--maybe seven or eight hundred. As you know, Jim Farley is noted for his wonderful memory. I went up and I said, "General, I just wanted to say hello..."

And he said, "Don't tell me who you are; I'll tell you who you are. You're a druggist from Kansas City and you sold my books and your first name is Tom, but I can't recall your last name." And he said, "Oh, yes, 'Evans,' how are you?" And he shook hands with me and with that I heard this Boss--from New Jersey say this: "Well, if he's nominated, my men will have to eat snow. He couldn't carry any state in the country. My men would just have to eat snow and they can't live on snow."

And with that Jim Farley said, "Boss Hague,

[508]

do you know Tom Evans from Kansas City; he's President Truman's close friend?"

And this boss politician said, "Yes, I know who Mr. Evans is and I don't care if Truman does know it. If he's nominated, my men will eat snow. He can't win."

Oh, he was bitter. Well, that just made me sick, and so for the first time I used the telephone to the White House and got Matt Connelly on the phone, who put the President on, and I told him what happened, and I thought it would upset him and he just laughed and said, "Well, that's old Boss Hague. We won't worry about that; we'll show him." And to be perfectly frank, Jim, I wasn't very enthused about how we were going to show him.

Oh, there was a lot of little incidents there. There was an old war buddy of General Eisenhower who was parked with a car across the street from the hotel there in Philadelphia with a loud speaker, who was booming General

[509]

Eisenhower for President. He talked fourteen hours a day for that Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and all during the convention. But, oh, we did everything we could. We saw various people of various delegations. It turned out that it didn't look like there would be too much difficulty in nominating Mr. Truman, but no one was enthusiastic; it was the deadest convention I was to, and I'd been to a number of them. It appeared to me that they were just going through the motions of having the convention and picking the candidate that they knew was going to be defeated. That's actually the feeling. Then it was agreed, after the final vote, when President Truman was nominated, that he would come over in the private train and be there and address the group. If you recall, Jim (I know you've read about it), it was quite late and it was a hot, horrible night; it was raining, and the humidity must have been ninety-nine percent.

[510]

I know I was just soaking--sopping wet through my suit, and the President and his special train and his staff had come over from Washington. They'd gotten there about, it seems to me like, about seven-thirty in the evening and President Truman was dressed in a white, silk suit. He sat around there--it seems to me it was twelve midnight before it got to the point of bringing him in as the nominee for President.

FUCHS: Were you with him at that time?

EVANS: Oh, I was there at the hall. I had been there and he had come over from Washington. Oh, yes, and he was sitting out by the door in this white suit and I give you my word of honor, there wasn't a wrinkle in it--he was as cool, as collected like he was down in Bolivar, Missouri--it didn't seem to bother him at all. Everybody was worn out and the delay in the convention had just worn everybody out. Of course the hall was packed, and then he was brought out.

[511]

FUCHS: What room was he waiting in?

EVANS: There was a room in the back, behind the stage, as I call it, where he could wait; but it was so uncomfortable in there they had brought him out by a big door that opened out--big enough door for a car to drive in. It was raining out, and he sat there and shook hands with a lot of people. Oh, I was in and around him all the time.

FUCHS: Was he talking to people most of the time?

EVANS: Oh, yes, constantly, and in the best frame of mind. Of course, the general public couldn't come back there, the Secret Service were there; but I took a number of people back. I remember General Ralph Truman's wife and General Ralph Truman's son and daughter-in-law were in a box, and Vivian, and, I believe, Miss Mary Jane, were in a box and I would visit with them. They'd been back to see the President, and back out in

[512]

a box waiting for him to appear. I know I was exhausted and, as I say, not very enthusiastic. And then they brought the man out and introduced him--Sam Rayburn, bless his heart did the job--and he started in on his speech of "Turnip Day" and calling the Congress back, and I never in all my life got such a tremendous build up in such a short time, that I got convinced that he could win, that night. And I think everybody in the hall did. And, of course, what happened from then on, why, you of course know as well as I do.

FUCHS: Did you have any idea prior to that evening that he was going to call the Congress back?

EVANS: No, I did not. Not until he announced it there. Well, I went with him back to the train where he and his staff got on--it seems to me they left about two o'clock in the morning. I know I got to bed about 3:30 and I found I could get a plane at 6:30; 1 wanted to get out of that town.

[513]

I was worn out and I got a plane out, and I never will forget, they ran extra planes out of Philadelphia there to take care of the crowd and that plane was so early there was only one other man and myself on a great big seventy-two seat plane that morning. And I came back to Kansas City. Oh, there was a number of things.

FUCHS: When did you first learn that he would run again?

EVANS: Why, I don't think there was ever any question about him running again.

FUCHS: At least not in your mind?

EVANS: Not in mine--I don't think in his, because of what he said, "I didn't figure that there would be any trouble in him being nominated, and then there wasn't. But he said, "I may have the fight of my life. Sure I want you back there." Oh, I think it was a foregone conclusion from

[514]

the day he became President that he'd run again. At least certainly in my mind and I'm sure it was in his; but as you know, very few people thought that he could be elected.

Well, I think the next thing that occurred, the President called me from Washington and he said, "Tom, I've got to have a finance chairman for the western part of Missouri; I've got a finance chairman for the eastern part of St. Louis"--I've forgotten who it was--"but I've got to have a chairman of the western part and I don't want to ask the man and be turned down, so I wonder if you'll go and see Jim Kemper and ask him if he will be the chairman for the western part of Missouri for my campaign fund."

FUCHS: Who was Jim Kemper and what was his relationship to Mr. Truman?

EVANS: Well, Jim Kemper was president of the Commerce Trust Company, the largest bank in Kansas City.

[515]

His father, W. T. Kemper, was a former president of that bank and his father was National Democratic Committeeman, and I guess Jim Kemper was probably the best known man in Kansas City, Missouri. He was immensely wealthy, and had a gigantic, big bank. In fact he still is chairman of the board. W. T., his father, who was National Democratic Committeeman, has been dead many years. I bank with the Commerce Trust, knew Jim intimately, had known his father intimately, and so I went down and said, "I talked to President Truman and he wanted me to tell you that he'd like to have you be chairman of the western part of Missouri for his campaign funds, which will involve the raising of funds. Of course, he didn't want to call you unless you'll accept." That's customary with the President of the United States.

He said, "Tom, I like old Harry very much; he's a nice boy, but he hasn't got any more chance of being President than I have being

[516]

the Pope of Rome," and he said, "I just can't do it. It would hurt me with the banks that I do business with throughout Kansas and Missouri and I just can't do it. You just tell old Harry he's a nice boy, but he hasn't got a chance."

So I felt pretty low about that. I went back and got Matt Connelly on the phone and he got the President on the phone and I told him and he said, "Well, I'd like to have you talk to Crosby Kemper." Now, that's Jim's brother, who was head of the City National Bank, the third largest bank in Kansas City, and of course, another son of this former National Democratic Committeeman. So I went to see him and Crosby says, "Well, Tom, I think Harry has got a good chance of being President. I think he's done a fine job, but I simply cannot take that job. I just don't want to get mixed up in politics." And he turned me down, but not as bitter as Jim, his brother had. You know what I mean. I actually felt that Crosby was being a little bit more polite

[517]

and that he didn't think maybe that he had a chance of being elected but trying to be nice. So I went back and again went through Matt Connelly and got the President on the phone and told him what had happened. It didn't disturb him at all. He laughed and said, "Well, I figured that would happen. Well, there's one thing, I know one fellow that you can see who won't turn me down; he never has."

And I said, "Well, fine, I'll be glad to see somebody that won't. Who is it; who do you want me to see next?"

He said, "Well, I want you to get this fellow Tom Evans, he'll never turn me down; he'll be chairman of the western part. You're it."

"O.K. I don't know what I can do, but I'll do all I can."

So I was chairman of the western half of Missouri of the fund raising. And he said, "I want you to work with Eddie Jacobson and we're going to need a lot of money."

[518]

Well, Jim, money was just about as scarce as the old saying, "hen's teeth"--hard to get. We raised a substantial amount of money. I got quite a large group to help me, Eddie Jacobson particularly. I can't think of the National Democratic chairman--Johnson, wasn't it?

FUCHS: Wasn't it McGrath, J. Howard McGrath?

EVANS: Well, anyway, I've got all kinds of correspondence from him. The other day I was down in my safe deposit box and I was looking for an old picture of my father and mother. My sister is here from California and I said, "Well, I think I have one down in my box," and I went down to get it and here was a little leather case and in it is a minted coin dipped in gold. It's a silver United States coin dipped in gold. I can't tell you what it was, but anyway, I wrote on there and there's a letter from the then chairman stating, "This is your reward for the wonderful work you did in President Truman's campaign for 1948." And

[519]

his name is signed there and I have this little silver coin dipped in gold which is a coin that they minted--something to do with Truman; I've forgotten what it was. But anyway, I would get a call from him saying, "Look, we need $5,000 by four o'clock tomorrow afternoon and we've got to move the train out of the station and we can't move it until we pay the railroad."

Well, I'd call Eddie Jacobson and we'd start calling and we never failed. That happened at least, I'm sure, eight times to raise a certain amount of money, $2,000 once, $1,500 once, $5,000 once, and wire the money so that they could move the train; and some of the people that we'd call we'd have to call three, four, five or six times, I know that, but we always managed to get it; but oh, boy, it was tough going. That was about the extent of the '48 campaign, which took a lot of time.

FUCHS: To go back a little bit, I noticed a reference

[520]

in your papers to a fact that Connelly was quite upset about Bolling at Bolivar in July 1948. Do you know what that had reference to?

EVANS: Quite upset? You noticed in my papers that he was upset?

FUCHS: A letter is in there about Connelly being upset about Bolling at Bolivar in July of '48.

EVANS: About Bolling?

FUCHS: Yes, about Dick Bolling.

EVANS: Oh, I'm sure that was the first year that Bolling run, when I run him against Truman's candidate.

FUCHS: Did Matt Connelly get vociferous about it?

EVANS: Well, he didn't know that I had an agreement with the President that he wouldn't feel bad. It was all right, as I told you a while ago, I

[521]

had the President's approval to run Bolling.

FUCHS: Were there any incidents there? Did Connelly come to you and...?

EVANS: I think now as I remember, it's been a long time ago, that he was quite upset because I was insisting on running Bolling against the President's man and I sort of laughed it off and told the President, told him to straighten him out. That was all, I think that must have been it, though. I didn't understand you to say that he was upset about Bolling. I'm sure that was it because I was running him against this candidate whose name was Emmett Scanlan. Later Scanlan was appointed by Mr. Truman in the war crime trials in Germany and he spent four or five years in Germany on the wartime trials as a prosecutor--United States prosecutor in those trials.

FUCHS: Mr. Truman wrote to you in July after the convention; "That was quite a night in Philadelphia.

[522]

I don't suppose we will ever have another like it." And then he added in his own handwriting, "Thanks a million for what you did up there." Does that have reference to a particular task you performed or just...

EVANS: Oh, I think it was the general task by going there and reporting. Oh, I talked to him fifteen or twenty times. I'm sure there will never be another night like it. That was the night it was so hot and rainy and everybody was down in the dumps. Boy, he raised them out of it, though.

FUCHS: Well, apparently you were one of the many who thought prior to the convention that it would be difficult for him to be reelected, and then you felt after the acceptance speech, that he had a good chance. Then did you sort of have a retrogression in that you felt later on during the campaign that he would not be able to, or were you always confident that he would come through?

[523]

EVANS: Well Jim, to be perfectly frank, I got a tremendous buildup at the convention, but I never had the feeling that he could win, that it was just a cinch that he was going to lose, he just couldn't win. I mean that's the truth. When he came back from his long campaign all over the country--and if I remember right, he closed his campaign in '48 in St. Louis on a Saturday night before the election was on Tuesday--he came over to Independence Sunday. Monday he was over where the staff was in the penthouse. He came over there and I saw him, of course, and I said to him, "What do you actually and honestly believe? Do you think you can win?"

And he said, "Yes, I'm going to win."

And I said, "I've always said you ought to be the international president of the Optimist Club because you've always been an optimist,

[524]

but what do you base it upon?

He said, "Come in here and I'll show you."

And I went into the bedroom with him, of the penthouse and threw out a chart that actually didn't mean too much to me, involving the number of people that put down on this chart and how it had gone Democratic in '44 and that they lost so much how it would still go Democratic. And when he got all through, he said, "Now you see; I'm going to fool everybody." What he was going by, "These crowds that have come to the train to see me just can't mean anything but victory."

And it turned out he was right. I was a little bit more optimistic but to be perfectly honest, I was worrying about--I knew that I would be at the penthouse the night the returns would come in. I did not know at that time--well, let's say on Saturday or Sunday, where President Truman would be, but I knew I would be at the penthouse because we had a lot of equipment

[525]

set up and telephones back to New York at Republican headquarters for the Secret Service men. I knew I was going to be there, and we got a lot of reports coming in from there that Connelly had arranged, but I didn't know where the President was going to be. I remember this distinctly "How bad is the President going to feel when he's defeated?" And, "What's it going to do to Mrs. Evans? How upset is she going to be?" In other words, I'm planning for the ultimate catastrophe and then, of course, the story of the election eve

FUCHS: Before we go on to that, I would just like to ask a couple of more questions about the convention? When you were talking to Farley and Hague from New Jersey, who was so garrulous about Mr. Truman's lack of chances, did Farley seem to share his opinion? What did Farley say?

EVANS: He was not--what shall I say--mean about it like Hague, but he wasn't at all enthusiastic, and

[526]

he was more interested in trying to get the boss to quit talking about it in front of me by saying, "You remember Tom Evans who is a close friend of President Truman?" That didn't stop him: "I don't care if he is President Truman himself, he hasn't got a chance. My people can't eat snow."

Well, I, of course, did have ulcers in those days. You know, I got rid of them, but boy those ulcers of mine and that day in '48, were turning over and upside down and everything, because that was just terrible. But, I'm sure that Mr. Farley--answering your question--certainly was not outspoken about it.

FUCHS: Did you travel on the train any during the '48 campaign?

EVANS: I made only two trips, one from Omaha; I met him in Omaha, I think it was, and came down to Kansas City when they came down. And one when we went from Boston into New York, I think it was.

[527]

Anyway, I was with him on the train in New York because the reason I remember the New York trip so well, the Secret Service men said, "Now the minute this is over, don't hesitate a minute or you'll miss us because we're going to get right out of here, so you come right in right back of us."

And I got up the minute it was over and was about ten feet back of the Secret Service group, and I turned around to shake hands with somebody and they were up and gone and I did miss them. I had a heck of a time. They were on a private train. I had to take a taxi cab and I had an awful time getting through to them, but they didn't leave me at the station, but they did leave me there. They laughed at me after that quite a lot. I had a lesson to learn not to get back ten feet but to get ahead ten feet of the Secret Service men. They travel fast.

FUCHS: Who did you talk with on the train, and what

[528]

was the general atmosphere on the train?

EVANS: Very optimistic and, actually, most of my contact was with Matt Connelly, who made the trip with him, and Charlie Ross. Matt Connelly was quite optimistic; I don't think Charlie Ross--I think he was about in the same category that I was.

FUCHS: How did Matt Connelly seem to be spending most of his time on that campaign train?

EVANS: Oh, he was well acquainted with all the political leaders in all the cities, and he did a tremendous amount of work on his speeches, having them typed, and having the proper people see him. He was the busiest man I ever saw.

FUCHS: Then, in relation to Crosby and Jim Kemper again, was Mr. Truman a particularly good friend of Crosby Kemper?

EVANS: Oh yes, Jim and Crosby are brothers; he was a great friend of all of them.

[529]

FUCHS: And he suggested that you talk to James first?

EVANS: Right, and he turned us down and then suggested Crosby and he turned us down.

FUCHS: Were there any other normally strong supporters of the Democratic party in this area who refused to contribute or support Truman in '48?

EVANS: Oh, yes, there were a number of people who would make contributions and say they were wasting it because Truman didn't have a chance, but, invariably they said they were going to vote for him. That was always a peculiar thing; they were sold on him but the people weren't. That seemed to be the trouble. I don't recall--oh, I think there were some probably, but I don't recall who they were. I'm sure Jim Kemper, who used to make a rather substantial contribution, did not contribute to that campaign; Crosby did, but not very much.

FUCHS: Coming down to election day, then, you say Mr. Truman?

[530]

EVANS: Yes, yes, he was over at the penthouse visiting, happy as he could be, optimistic as usually, and I asked him where he was going to be--was he going to be there with us or what, and he said "no" he was going to be at home. He had this dinner that he had promised to attend (I've forgotten what dinner) and so he was going to leave fairly early. Incidentally, in the afternoon of election day in the State of Kansas, they start counting the votes, I don't know the hours, but let's say all the votes cast in a precinct up to ten o'clock are taken out and counted at ten o'clock and then again at two o'clock (I'm not sure of the hours); and along late in the afternoon out in Kansas they were--I remember in particular, Pittsburg, Kansas--we got a report that Truman was in the lead, which was normally a Republican stronghold, and Truman was leading by the second count, which I'll say is

[531]

two o'clock. I may be wrong on the time. A number of precincts out in Sedgwick County, around Wichita, and in various places, and invariably Truman was in the lead. It came to my old home county, Pawnee, which is normally Republican, rather substantially Republican; it was almost a break even for him. I remember speaking to the President about it. And he said, "Well, I've been telling you I was going to win all the time. It's nothing new." Well, I just really got quite enthusiastic about it at that time. We had teletype machines in there from the news services; we had direct telephone lines, Secret Service lines, as I say, to the Republican headquarters because if his opponent had been elected, you know, they had to take charge. I remember that the chief of the White House detail was in New York at Republican headquarters to take charge of Mr. Dewey, and Nick, I think, that I spoke about, was here in Kansas City, because,

[532]

of course, they had to still guard Mr. Truman. So we were pretty well set up to know what was going on and a number of headquarters were to call. Bill Boyle was there that evening with Matt Connelly and--I'm not sure Bill Boyle was there; no, I don't think he was--anyway, the phone rang and it was the Secret Service man. I answered the phone and he told me who it was and he said he wanted to talk to Connelly--I could tell by the conversation that the President was on the line. Then I talked to him, and he said, "Well, I sneaked out of this dinner and I'm over in Excelsior Springs and nobody knows where I am, but this is where you can get me." It's the first time that I knew he was there, and so he was going to be there and spend the night.

FUCHS: Did the reporters suspect that he was missing?

EVANS: No. Up to that time they wanted to know where he was; that he had left this dinner--it was out

[533]

here in Independence some place (I've forgotten where) and I said, "Why, I presume he's home." Well, then, after he let us know where they were, I would go back into another room where the recorders were, and pull it off and rush out and in, and call him at the hotel in Excelsior and give him the results of various states. And it was amazing how well he was doing and was way in the lead in the early stages, which was surprising for a candidate that was supposed to be defeated but not surprising for a Democrat because the early returns--they're always in the lead, you know what I mean. I kept on giving those reports. Then Connelly was busy talking to the various leaders in various states, like in New York and Boston and Philadelphia and down south and out west where the polls had not been closed very long. I was busy conveying this information. Well, he said not to call him until he called me. I don't know what time it was. I imagine

[534]

it was somewhere around 10:30 or 11 o'clock that I talked to him. He had carried a couple of states that I didn't expect him to and he laughed, "Well, we're going to win." Then it got fairly late and, Jim, the election had gotten in this position, that for him to win, he either had to carry the State of Ohio, Illinois or California. He'd be assured a victory if he carried either one of those three states, and California would be some time before it would come in. Ohio would be in ahead of Illinois because of the difference in time zones. I remember talking to him. I said: "Well, Mr. President, you're just about in this position that you've got to carry either Ohio, Illinois or California."

He said, "That's good. Don't bother me anymore; I'm going to bed; don't call me anymore."

And I said, "What the hell do you mean you're going to bed; you can't go to bed until you carry one of those states." Oh, you know,

[535]

just screaming--I was worn out and excited naturally.

"Why," he said, "I'm going to carry all three."

I said, "Oh, boy, I'll settle for one."

Sure enough, he did; he carried Ohio, Illinois, and California. Then apparently when it was final that he had carried Ohio and Illinois, the Secret Service men woke--him and he called up.

FUCHS: Is this the first time he put a call through.

EVANS: Oh, no, no, no. He put many calls through.

FUCHS: One time you said he said, "Don't call me anymore, I'll call you."

EVANS: That's the first time he put a call through after that, after he had said, "Don't call anymore; I'm going to bed." So then he called up and he talked to Connelly and he talked to me and he wanted to know who all was there, and it was final. We were waiting or had been told that

[536]

Dewey would concede.

FUCHS: Who was there at that time?

EVANS: Oh, my, there was a lot of people. The staff in itself was quite large with the Secret Service men and I remember Jerome Walsh was there with Matt Connelly and I--we were the three principal ones. You remember Jerome Walsh?

FUCHS: Did you stay all night?

EVANS: Oh, yes: So in talking to him, which must have been along about--it was definite he was in--I would say it must have been about 2:30, he said, "Well, I'll see you in the morning."

And I said, "What time are you going to be here because that's what everybody wants to know?" Up until then we wouldn't say where he was.

FUCHS: You knew where he was prior to 2:30?

EVANS: Oh, yes, I knew where he was.

[537]

FUCHS: But you told people you didn't know?

EVANS: That's right because everybody would clamor--it was just a madhouse. There was 150 or 200 reporters up and down that hall and 25 or 30 Secret Service men, and every time they'd see me they'd just clamor to get me to tell them where he was. Well, I didn't know where he was--that's what I kept saying, "I don't know."

"Has he called in yet?"

"Yes, I think Connelly's talked to him, but I haven't talked to him. I'm busy, I haven't talked to him."

Anyway, I said, "What time are you going to be here?" It would be awful if you got over here at six o'clock knowing how early you get up."

"What time do you think I ought to be over?"

And I said, "Eight o'clock."

And he said, "O.K. You tell Charlie to tell them that I'll be there at eight o'clock."

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