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Harry S. Truman 3 Letters as President, He Works with Treasury Secretary on Korean War, Domestic Air Routes, and Raising New Revenue
Harry S. Truman 3 Letters as President, He Works with Treasury Secretary on Korean War, Domestic Air Routes, and Raising New Revenue
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Truman Harry

Harry S. Truman 3 Letters as President, he Works with Treasury Secretary on Korean War, Domestic Air Routes, and Raising New Revenue

 

HARRY S. TRUMAN, three brief Typed Memoranda Initialed, to Secretary of the Treasury John W. Snyder, July 20-September 1, 1950, on “The White House” stationery, Washington, D.C. Also includes one enclosed memorandum and one enclosed letter. 6 pp. total, 6.875" x 8.75" to 8" x 10.5".  Very good.

 

This interesting correspondence between President Truman and Secretary Snyder captures a moment at the beginning of U.S. involvement in the Korean War as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force. In these brief, initialed memoranda to his Secretary of the Treasury, President Truman thanks the Secretary for his and his daughter’s attendance at the president’s broadcast speech on the situation in Korea, brings him up to date on a case involving midwestern air routes, and urges him to work with Congressional leaders on revising a tax bill to raise revenue for the new involvement in Korea.

 

Highlights and Excerpts

-          Harry S. Truman to John W. Snyder, July 20, 1950

“Thanks for your note in regard to the Message. It was good to see you and Drucie last night at the broadcast.”

 

On July 19, 1950, President Truman delivered a Special Message to Congress on the “Situation in Korea.” He explained that on June 25, armed forces from the Soviet-occupied portion of the Korean peninsula crossed the thirty-eighth parallel and invaded the Republic of Korea “without warning and without provocation.” The Security Council of the United Nations immediately called for the cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of the invading troops, and fifty-two of the fifty-nine member nations supported the United Nations action.

 

President Truman ordered United States air and sea forces to give the Korean government troops cover and support. Several other United Nations members offered military support and other types of assistance. “The attitude of the Soviet Government toward the aggression against the Republic of Korea,” Truman insisted, “is in direct contradiction to its often expressed intention to work with other nations to achieve peace in the world.” He told Congress, “it is apparent that the United States is required to increase its military strength and preparedness not only to deal with the aggression in Korea but also to increase our common defense, with other free nations, against further aggression.” He promised specific requests for additional appropriations of approximately $10 billion. He also supported the Mutual Defense Assistance Program, then pending in Congress.

 

He concluded that “the free world has made it clear, through the United Nations, that lawless aggression will be met with force. This is the significance of Korea—and it is a significance whose importance cannot be over-estimated.... We will follow the course we have chosen with courage and with faith, because we carry in our hearts the flame of freedom. We are fighting for liberty and for peace—and with God’s blessing we shall succeed.”

 

 

-          Harry S. Truman to John W. Snyder, August 14, 1950

“I am attaching a report on the Parks Air Lines Case, which goes into the case in detail.”

 

Enclosure of Memorandum of Stephen J. Spingarn to Harry S. Truman, August 12, 1950

Excerpts

“The Parks Air Lines case centers around Parks’ long-continued failure to start service to 62 midwestern cities on 3 feeder routes originally given to Parks more than 2-1/2 years ago.”

“In 1946 and 1947, the time of the original route awards, Parks was backed by Oliver L. Parks of St. Louis and was selected over 16 other applicants, several having greater capital resources.”

“The parties to the proceeding generated an extraordinary amount of Congressional and civic pressure on the [Civil Aeronautics] Board.... Of nearly 500 communications to the Board trying to influence the Board’s choice of carriers, only 35 have endorsed Parks.”

“I believe the case has been decided strictly on the merits.”

 

Stephen J. Springarn (1908-1984) was an attorney who served as special counsel to President Truman in 1949, and as an administrative assistant to Truman in 1950, before becoming a member of the Federal Trade Commission later that year.

 

-          Harry S. Truman to John W. Snyder, September 1, 1950

“I am forwarding you copy of a letter which has just come from John McCormack. I call your attention to Point Four in that memorandum.”

 

Enclosure of John W. McCormack to Matthew J. Connolly, August 30, 1950

Excerpts

“I shall appreciate if you will call my letter and report to the President as soon as possible. You will remember that John Snyder, Frank Myers, and I saw the President this morning (Wednesday) on the Tax Bill.”

“(4) I suggest that the Treasury Department put workers to work getting the machinery in operation.”

 

John W. McCormack (1891-1980) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts from 1928 to 1971. He several times served as House Majority Leader, including 1940 to 1947, 1949 to 1953, and 1955 to 1962. From 1962 to 1971, he served as Speaker of the House.

 

Matthew J. Connelly (1907-1976) was President Truman’s Appointments Secretary from 1945 to 1953.

 

Francis J. Myers (1901-1956) was a U.S. Representative (1939-1945) and U.S. Senator (1945-1951) from Pennsylvania. From 1949 to 1951, he served as the Senate Majority Whip.

 

In January 1950, President Truman asked Congress for a series of revisions to the federal tax structure, including a modest reduction in excise taxes and a range of reforms and rate revisions. Republicans called for deeper tax cuts, and even many Democrats wanted relief from the heavy taxes of World War II. Treasury Secretary John W. Snyder laid out the details of a plan in February. Snyder testified before the House Ways and Means Committee, as did some 275 other witnesses. The Ways and Means Committee delivered its tax bill, differing substantially from Truman and Snyder’s recommendations, the day before war broke out in Korea. The House debated it for several days before passing it on June 29, the day Truman authorized American intervention in Korea. It was a colossal instance of poor timing.

 

On August 2, Snyder outlined for the Senate necessary revisions to the pending legislation, and the Senate Finance Committee agreed with most of Snyder’s requests. The Revenue Act of 1950, signed by President Truman on September 23, 1950, eliminated a portion of the income tax rate reductions of 1945 and 1948, and increased the top corporate tax rate from 38 percent to 45 percent. It also denied tax exemption to certain foundations and trusts. Ultimately, it raised $4.5 billion in new revenue, largely from increased personal and corporate income taxes.

Harry S. Truman (1884-1972), Thirty-third President of the United States. A Missouri native, Truman first won elective office in 1922, winning a judge’s seat on the Jackson County Court.  After serving several terms, Truman was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1934, and in 1940 gained national attention for his chairmanship of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, which was eventually nicknamed “The Truman Committee.” Truman continued his political rise in 1944, when he was elected Vice-President as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s running mate. After only 82 days as Vice President, Truman was thrust into the Presidency when Roosevelt died unexpectedly. His inheritance was a world at war. Germany had surrendered, but Japan refused to give up the war. Truman, in a desperate move to avoid having to invade the Japanese mainland, ordered the deployment of two atomic bombs. They were dropped on August 6 and August 9, 1945. Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945. As President, Truman waged an undeclared war on the Soviet Union, drafting the “Truman Doctrine,” which proclaimed the United States’ willingness to provide aid to countries resisting communism. The Marshall Plan sought to strengthen the European economy in the hopes that this program, too, would prevent the spread of Soviet influence. Elected President for a full term in 1948, he also brought United States troops into the Korean War (1950-1953). In addition to his cold war activities, Truman’s administration expanded the New Deal and promoted Civil Rights initiatives. 

 

John W. Snyder (1895-1985) was born in Arkansas and studied at Vanderbilt University before serving in the army during World War I. After the war, he served in the U.S. Army Reserves with Harry S. Truman, with whom he became close friends. In 1920, Snyder married Carrie Evlyn Cook (1895-1956), and they had one daughter, Edith Cook “Drucie” Snyder Horton (1925-1999). Snyder moved to Washington in the early 1930s with a background in banking and business. He held several public and private offices including manager in the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Executive Vice President in the Defense Plant Corporation, National Bank Receiver in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Loan Administrator, and Director of War Mobilization and Reconversion. In 1946, his friend President Harry Truman appointed Snyder as Secretary of the Treasury, a position he held until the end of Truman’s second term in January 1953. A deeply conservative businessman, he believed the post-war economy would work itself out, and he reduced the national debt while balancing the budget.

 

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

 

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