Truman Announces for Symington, Chicago SOF & Sil. Neg. Trims 5-13-60

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wrong with as I've told you time and again if a Democratic convention acts on the nomination of the candidate and you can't be a candidate until the convention acts and you find a little more about that my statement there I think that's all the comment I have tonight you have any hopes for the upcoming summit meeting in light of recent events I have hopes of course that some good will come out of it for the peace of the world that's what I hope and pray for all the time you feel the American spy plane into the cold will have any you find a statement on that in the speech so we're not going to be filming your speech I don't think would you say just something about a bar for our film well they hear is the situation is substantially what's in the speech here the American government has always been known for its honesty and integrity in all its dealings and that's the way it's looked upon by all the members of the free world and the countries in South America and I'm very very sorry that the situation has developed that is likely to undermine that confidence that's the statement in the are you glad that we stood up to push up now in this thing saying that we need this intelligence information and we're at I have to send more planes that I didn't know we've done that if we have it's a good thing I mean an incumbent senator I was an incumbent senator and I was the vice president there have been some company on the wires and I have to do a little thinking about it there there has been one or two I think in the early days usually the vice president succeeded to the presidency in the early earliest of the early days and a great many of the presidents have been senators but I can't give you a specific interest instance but not in modern times any what the bag remember of the possibility of the United States resuming underground nuclear testing well I tell you I think the best thing on that is to consult me I wonder if you had any comment on the possibility of the United States resuming underground nuclear test I sincerely hope they will I've never been in favor of stopping the that the approach that we should and are trying to make is to use that tremendous power for the welfare of the country in civilian use and not for the murder of the world and you can't find out how to do that unless you experiment with it and I think you find that some of the great greatest of the scientists are in that same frame of mind suppose we'd stopped experimenting with the electric light after Edison found a little film bulb and said the danger to the world could be used would you have these up here suppose we just stopped with the Ford Model T without experimenting on how the other cars are made be made it's a matter of common sense because this is the greatest release of power in the history of the world and it can be used and will be used for the welfare and benefit of mankind remember the old man and gives these Nobel prizes he found TNT and dynamite and he thought he destroyed the world and he's conscious with the Lord he set up these these programs but TNT and dynamite have been used for peaceful purposes and that's what happened Tom Kennedy and all that.

Trillman back to domestic politics Senator Timington said the other day he discussed the possibility of the presidential nomination with you.

Did you care to tell us about it? I'll tell you about it when I raise this statement.

I was hoping you'd ask that question.

I'm glad you brought it up.

Let's have a press conference and have a statement.

Alright, alright you fellas have got all you want.

Are we all set? I'm going to read the statement so you can have it.

Are you a cop sir? Big pardon? You got a copy for all of you but I'm going to read it first.

You're not going to run out on me.

I told you fella.

We'll do a thing like that.

I just want to be sure we got nothing to say.

Well there it is.

It's about five paragraphs.

In the war period I investigated the Emerson Electric Company of St.

Louis of which Mr.

Sonnington was the president.

The Emerson Electric Company was making warheads for the United States government.

I gave the organization a complete and thorough investigation at the request of the president and the people in St.

And I found nothing wrong with his work for the government in the war effort.

I gave him a clean bill of health.

Later on after I became president I asked him to liquidate the surface property which was left over from the second world war.

There was 40 billion dollars worth of that property.

Senator Sonnington liquidated it without one breath of scandal and liquidated it in the interest of the United States government.

Later I asked him to act as liquidating agent for the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.

Which he carried out with entire satisfaction to all concerned.

Then I met Secretary for Air in the organization of the Defense Department in which position he did an outstanding performance.

In 1952 he told me in 1952 that he expected to run for United States Senate from Missouri in the primary.

And I told him I had agreed to support another man.

He ran and was nominated and I supported him for the United States Senator after he was nominated.

He carried the state of Missouri by a very large majority.

And in 1958 he was re -elected by the largest majority by which any senator ever carried Missouri.

And I carried myself twice by a large majority.

And it's interesting.

Eight years in the Senate and about oh between four and six years in the executive branch of the government.

I think he's the best qualified man in the picture today.

And that's the reason I want to support him.

And here's statements for all of you.

There's one there for each one of you.

You see why I didn't want to do it? Is this in relation to the other candidates? No I do not intend to do that because one of those candidates may be nominated.

And I want all of us to support him.

And I'm not going to get in any tangles.

Who will of course support any other candidate? I'll support the candidates nominated.

I didn't say any other candidate because any other candidate won't be nominated.

Truman have you talked with Mayor Daley and Colonel Harvey about and urging them to support? I have not.

I probably will.

Truman I'm a boss newspaper man.

I assume from what you told this gentleman that you would not answer a question of mine.

This fellow I'm supporting isn't my home state.

Don't you see? Is there any one of the current front runners Mr.

Truman who you would not support if you were not? None that I've never met any of them that I wouldn't support.

What about the feeling among all the pundits Mr.

Truman that because we're in West Virginia Mr.

Kennedy has a stranglehold in the nomination right now.

Is that what you think he could be nominated with 231 votes? Don't ask me.

Well all right I'm asking you to understand that it takes the majority of the delegates to the Democratic Convention to nominate him in.

Well that's all there is to it.

You don't feel then that he has to.

I don't think anybody's got a stranglehold on it.

No and you can't put a stranglehold on a Democratic Convention I can tell you that.

It's been tried by experts.

How many votes can Simon can go in with you know? I don't know.

I haven't been making any votes in there for any of them.

What would be the five objections Mr.

Kennedy? I don't have any objections.

Why are you asking me that question? You want me to go into religious issues? I'm not going to do it.

You think the religious issue is dense? I hope it is.

It hasn't been assumed in the first place.

Do you think the results that weren't out before the West Virginia results took it out? I hope so.

Do you think they took it out? I don't know.

Your guess is as good as mine.

I say I hope they took it out.

I know when it's in there in the first place.

I'm starting to think you are knowing more about it.

Oh well you're kind.

You give me too much credit.

You sharp fellas know as much about these things as I do only you just haven't had my experience on the inside.

You're assuming you'll be conferring with Mayor Daley and Colonel Harvey.

Will you be doing that today sir? Well I don't know.

I always confer with Mayor Daley and Colonel Harvey and any other Democratic politician in high place whenever I'm in town.

I've done that ever since I've been coming here.

How about that next year in New York? No we did not.

The statement wasn't released until I got here.

I saw the mayor.

Identifier

F.2012-03-1062

Date Of Production

1960

Abstract

Black and white outtakes of a press conference with Harry Truman in which he reads out a statement endorsing Senator Stuart Symington as the Democratic presidential nominee in 1960.
He also discusses an upcoming international summit and says he fears that recent government actions may have tarnished the world’s view of the United States as an honest country. This is possibly in reference to a summit held in Paris between the USA and USSR to discuss the Gary Powers U2 incident. He is asked about the USA resuming nuclear testing and says he believes this is important as it will be an important civilian tool in the future. In his statement about Symington he gives a brief overview of his relationship over the years. Future U.S. president John F. Kennedy is also discussed.

Run Time

0:09:30

Format

16mm

Extent

340 feet

Color

B&W

Sound

Optical

Reel/Tape Number

1/1

Has Been Digitized?

Yes

Language Of Materials

English

Element

Negatives

Genre

Political

Form

Outtakes

Subject

Presidents
Politics and government
Political conventions
Political elections

Related Collections

SUBSERIES I: Politics & Government

Related Places

North America ➜ United States ➜ Illinois ➜ Chicago

Main Credits

Koza, Frank (is filmmaker)

Participants And Performers

Truman, Harry S. (is participant)

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