Township would be mighty near unanimous if he should run. He now lives in Independence and is in business in Kansas City. . . . Mr. Truman has not said that he is willing to be a candidate.”
The publisher of the Examiner was Colonel William M. “Pop” Southern. One of my mother’s brothers had married his daughter. This explains, in part at least, the editor’s kind words. Note, however, that my father was easing himself into the race, not as a Pendergast man, but as an independent. On March 8, 1922, the Examiner headlined Dad’s formal announcement of his candidacy. It did not emanate from Mike Pendergast’s Tenth Ward Democratic Club. Instead, it came from “an enthusiastic meeting” attended by 300 war veterans at Lee’s Summit, one of the small farming communities outside Independence. The story told how Major Harry Truman (he had been promoted in the Reserve in 1920) of Grandview was declared the choice of the ex-servicemen as a candidate for county judge from the eastern district. Colonel Ε. M. Stayton, the former commander of the 129th Field Artillery, presented Major Truman to the meeting. He urged his fellow veterans to back him in the forthcoming election.
“It was a new method for starting out a candidate for county judge,” the reporter wrote. “Usually the factions of the Party in Kansas City agree on a man and the word is sent out to the workers in the county and instructions given to support him for the nomination. The Truman announcement is made without any organizational or factional endorsement whatever.” The reporter specified that there were men from Kansas City, Independence, Buckner, Blue Springs, and Oak Grove and they included both Goat and Rabbit Democrats. But we can be certain that there was a solid contingent of old Battery D boys in the crowd, from a description of the entertainment. Mrs. Ethel Lee Buxton of Kansas City, who had sung for the soldiers in France, entertained with songs that included “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling,” and “Mother Machree.”
This appearance also marked my father’s first attempt to become a public speaker. It was a disaster. When Colonel Stayton introduced him, Dad rose and completely forgot the little speech he had intended to make. All he could do was stammer that he was grateful for his fellow veterans’ support, and sit down. Fortunately, the boys from Battery D were not a critical audience. They cheered “Captain Harry” anyway.
On April 21, 1922, another Examiner story on the coming election described the ominous three-way fight that was developing among the Democrats. Along with the usual brawl between the Rabbits and the Goats, there was a faction surrounding Judge Miles Bulger, who was presiding judge of the county court. This meant he controlled some sixty road overseers, powerful allies in the sixty districts covering every part of the eastern half of the county. After speculating on Goat and Rabbit candidates, the reporter noted that one candidate, George W. Shaw, had no promise of support from any organization. “Harry S. Truman is another,” he wrote. “He has consulted no political director and has already announced and has received much promise of support. He stands well with the ex-servicemen, being an ex-serviceman himself, and is the youngest man suggested. He is going ahead with his campaign regardless of factional permission.”
On April 26, the Examiner reported a visit of Mike Pendergast to Independence. He held a meeting at the Eagles’ Hall, where about 100 of “the faithful,” as the reporter described them, discussed candidates for eastern district judge but came to no conclusion as to whom they would endorse. Meanwhile, my father was campaigning vigorously. In Grandview, on May 4, he filled the local movie house at a rally. On May 12, the Men’s Rural Jackson County Democratic Club endorsed him in a rally at Lee’s Summit. The Examiner continued to describe him as “Harry S. Truman of Grandview.”
The publisher of the Examiner was Colonel William M. “Pop” Southern. One of my mother’s brothers had married his daughter. This explains, in part at least, the editor’s kind words. Note, however, that my father was easing himself into the race, not as a Pendergast man, but as an independent. On March 8, 1922, the Examiner headlined Dad’s formal announcement of his candidacy. It did not emanate from Mike Pendergast’s Tenth Ward Democratic Club. Instead, it came from “an enthusiastic meeting” attended by 300 war veterans at Lee’s Summit, one of the small farming communities outside Independence. The story told how Major Harry Truman (he had been promoted in the Reserve in 1920) of Grandview was declared the choice of the ex-servicemen as a candidate for county judge from the eastern district. Colonel Ε. M. Stayton, the former commander of the 129th Field Artillery, presented Major Truman to the meeting. He urged his fellow veterans to back him in the forthcoming election.
“It was a new method for starting out a candidate for county judge,” the reporter wrote. “Usually the factions of the Party in Kansas City agree on a man and the word is sent out to the workers in the county and instructions given to support him for the nomination. The Truman announcement is made without any organizational or factional endorsement whatever.” The reporter specified that there were men from Kansas City, Independence, Buckner, Blue Springs, and Oak Grove and they included both Goat and Rabbit Democrats. But we can be certain that there was a solid contingent of old Battery D boys in the crowd, from a description of the entertainment. Mrs. Ethel Lee Buxton of Kansas City, who had sung for the soldiers in France, entertained with songs that included “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling,” and “Mother Machree.”
This appearance also marked my father’s first attempt to become a public speaker. It was a disaster. When Colonel Stayton introduced him, Dad rose and completely forgot the little speech he had intended to make. All he could do was stammer that he was grateful for his fellow veterans’ support, and sit down. Fortunately, the boys from Battery D were not a critical audience. They cheered “Captain Harry” anyway.
On April 21, 1922, another Examiner story on the coming election described the ominous three-way fight that was developing among the Democrats. Along with the usual brawl between the Rabbits and the Goats, there was a faction surrounding Judge Miles Bulger, who was presiding judge of the county court. This meant he controlled some sixty road overseers, powerful allies in the sixty districts covering every part of the eastern half of the county. After speculating on Goat and Rabbit candidates, the reporter noted that one candidate, George W. Shaw, had no promise of support from any organization. “Harry S. Truman is another,” he wrote. “He has consulted no political director and has already announced and has received much promise of support. He stands well with the ex-servicemen, being an ex-serviceman himself, and is the youngest man suggested. He is going ahead with his campaign regardless of factional permission.”
On April 26, the Examiner reported a visit of Mike Pendergast to Independence. He held a meeting at the Eagles’ Hall, where about 100 of “the faithful,” as the reporter described them, discussed candidates for eastern district judge but came to no conclusion as to whom they would endorse. Meanwhile, my father was campaigning vigorously. In Grandview, on May 4, he filled the local movie house at a rally. On May 12, the Men’s Rural Jackson County Democratic Club endorsed him in a rally at Lee’s Summit. The Examiner continued to describe him as “Harry S. Truman of Grandview.”
Similar Books
