Anti-Farm Aid, ctd.

President Harry Truman, September 18, 1948, on the difference between Republicans and Democrats:

The farmer and the worker know that their troubles have been coming from another source. Right here I would like to cite you an example of the situation that they were faced with not so long ago. In 1932, under the Republicans, we had 12,500,000 unemployed, with average hourly wages at 45 cents, and we had 15 cent corn and 3 cent hogs. In fact, you burnt up some of your corn, because you couldn't market it, it was too cheap.

Those gluttons of privilege remember one plain fact. Never once during the great crises of the past 50 years have the Wall Street Republican administrations lifted a finger to help the farmer. Wait a minute-wait a minute!--they did once. They gave you a Farm Board. That was their great contribution.

How well you must remember the depression of the 1930's! The Republicans gave you that greatest of all depressions, as I said before, when hogs went down to 3 cents, and corn was so cheap you were burning it up.

All through this country, the American farmer and worker have been the victims of boom and bust cycles--with accent on the bust, especially for the farmers and the workers. And they have suffered alike in these misfortunes.

I wonder how many times you have to be hit on the head before you find out who's hitting you? It's about time that the people of America realized what the Republicans have been doing to them.

Why is it that the farmer and the worker and the small businessman suffer under Republican administrations and gain under Democratic administrations?

I'll tell you why. It is the result of a basic difference in the attitude between the Democratic and the Republican parties.

The Democratic Party represents the people. It is pledged to work for agriculture. It is pledged to work for labor. It is pledged to work for the small businessman and the white-collar worker.

The Democratic Party puts human rights and human welfare first.

But the attitude of the Republican gluttons of privilege is very different. The bigmoney Republican looks on agriculture and labor merely as expense items in a business venture. He tries to push their share of the national income down as low as possible and increase his own profits. And he looks upon the Government as a tool to accomplish this purpose.

These Republican gluttons of privilege are cold men. They are cunning men. And it is their constant aim to put the Government of the United States under the control of men like themselves. They want a return of the Wall Street economic dictatorship.