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Public Papers of President Harry S. Truman
President Harry S. Truman. Source: Truman Library. President Harry S. Truman. Source: Truman Library.   The Public Papers of Harry S. Truman contain most of President Truman's public messages, statements, speeches, and news conference remarks. Documents such as Proclamations, Executive Orders, and similar documents that are published in the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations, as required by law, are usually not included. The documents within the Public Papers are arranged in chronological order. President Truman delivered the remarks or addresses from Washington, D. C., unless otherwise indicated. The White House in Washington issued statements, messages, and letters unless noted otherwise. (Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Harry S. Truman, 1945-1953. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1966)

The Public Papers contain items such as the Statement by the President Announcing the Use of the A-Bomb at Hiroshima (August 6, 1945), the Special Message to the Congress on Greece and Turkey: The Truman Doctrine (March 12, 1947), the White House Statement Announcing Recognition of the Government of Israel (January 31, 1949), the Statement and Order by the President on Relieving General MacArthur of His Commands (April 11, 1951), and The President's Farewell Address to the American People (January 15, 1953).

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Provided courtesy of The American Presidency Project.  John Woolley and Gerhard Peters. University of California, Santa Barbara.
 
54.  Address Before the United States Conference of Mayors
March 21, 1949

Mr. Chairman, and members of the mayors conference:

I feel very much at home before this Conference of Mayors.

One reason is that I remember the hospitality and the courtesy that so many of you showed me on my recent tours around the country.

I greatly enjoyed visiting your cities and talking with your citizens. I hope that someday I shall be able to visit you again in your hometowns and cities, and visit some that I missed last fall. I don't miss very many.

Another reason for feeling at home here is that you are a group of elected executives As an elected executive myself, I know something about the problems you face Some of you are responsible to electorates larger than the total population of the United States in Washington's time. And the duties with which you are charged seem to increase almost as fast as the population--which is just the way it is at the White House.

As our modern civilization requires people to live and work together in larger and larger groups, cities take on more and more importance--and city governments face greater responsibilities. In many respects, we have failed to adjust our thinking to the increased importance of our cities in political and economic affairs.

It is a mistake to act as if the cities were inferior administrative subdivisions. It is a very serious mistake--because for most of our population, city government is the form of democratic self-government which is closest to the people.

In this country democracy is not a slogan--nor is it a propaganda smoke screen. It is a practice, a way of doing things. It is a method of adjusting the differences that arise between people in their daily lives in accordance with the principles of mutual tolerance and brotherly love.

The more closely people are brought together-the more they rub elbows--the more necessary it is for them to regulate their affairs on a democratic basis. In meeting this need through local self-government, our cities are among our most important democratic Institutions.

As usual, there is an exception to the rule, and the exception in this case is the city you are meeting in today, the city of Washington, D.C. I hope that the Congress will soon give the District real self-government and make it, like our other cities, a local democracy.

In foreign countries, as well as in the United States, cities show their essentially democratic nature. I am glad to see that the Conference of Mayors maintains strong bonds of friendship with the cities of other nations. Out of the understanding which you are creating among the cities of the world, will come added strength for the cause of peace.

I extend greetings to your honored guests who are here from other countries: the mayors from Canada are such old friends that we almost forget that they come from another country. To the mayors who are here from Europe, the people of the United States of America express their admiration.

They and their c ...
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The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum is one of thirteen Presidential Libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration.

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