Truman Visits in 1948

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On Oct. 1, 1948, a crowd estimated at 10,000 or more people thronged to Huntington’s
Chesapeake & Ohio Railway passenger depot to hear President Harry S. Truman speak.

File photo | The Herald-Dispatch

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On Oct. 1, 1948, a crowd estimated at 10,000 or more people thronged to
Huntington’s Chesapeake & Ohio Railway passenger depot
 to hear President Harry S. Truman speak.

As vice president, Truman, a Democrat, had assumed the presidency after the 1945
 death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1948, when he campaigned for
 election to a full term as president, he found himself locked in a tough
 battle with his Republican opponent, New York Gov. Thomas
Dewey. Most political experts expected Dewey to win.

The embattled Truman fought back by crisscrossing the nation
 by train, delivering brief “whistle stop” speeches from the
 official presidential rail car at the end of his train.
During his marathon campaign, Truman’s
traina total of more than 28,000 miles,
 enabling him to deliver more than 250
 speeches like that in Huntington.

The Truman train arrived in Huntington from Kentucky 45
 minutes late. He spoke briefly and brought out First
Lady Bess Truman and daughter Margaret,
 introducing them to the
cheering crowd.

In a 13-minute appearance, Truman also warmly endorsed
Matthew M. Neely, who was seeking a U.S
. Senate seat from West Virginia.

“If you people don’t elect Matt Neely to the Senate, you
 don’t know which side your bread is buttered on,”
Truman said. Neely then responded by slapping
the president on the back and saying, “And
if you folks don’t vote for this man,
you won’t have any bread
to put butter on.”

Despite the predictions of the experts, Truman defeated Dewey
on Election Day. And Neely, too, won his race, beginning
his third non-consecutive term in the Senate, where
 he continued to serve until his death in 1958.

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Note:  This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on Nov. 1, 2022..

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