PRESIDENT HARRY S TRUMAN - MEMORANDUM SIGNED 08/09/1950 - HFSID 88104

HARRY TRUMAN
Signed Presidential memo to the Attorney General he was obliged to fire two years later
Typed Memorandum signed: "H.S.T.", 1 page, 6¾x8¾. Washington, D.C., 1950 August 9. On White House stationery for "Attorney General." In full: "I am attaching copy of a memorandum to the Secretary of the Treasury, [Item not included.] which is self-explanatory. I appreciated very much your letter of the ninth". Paper clip rust stain and staple holes at upper left corner. Mailing fold, not at signature. Otherwise, fine condition. Accompanied by matching mailing envelope (7¼x4¾), addressed to McGrath and marked "Personal." Rust stain at upper left corner. Otherwise, fine condition. Also included is an unsigned copy of the memo. In 1950 John W. Snyder (1895-1985), a friend of Truman's since they served together in France in World War I, was Secretary of the Treasury (1946-1953). Snyder had held several prior economic posts in the Roosevelt and Truman administrations. The Attorney General, J. Howard McGrath (1903-1966), formerly a Governor and Senator from Rhode Island, was a staunch advocate of Civil Rights who had desegregated the Democratic National Committee while serving as its Chairman during Truman's re-election campaign (1948). However, his refusal to answer personal financial questions and firing of a special prosecutor during a 1952 investigation of corruption in the Justice Department compelled Truman to ask for his resignation. Snyder was Truman's third Secretary of the Treasury, McGrath the third of four Attorneys General. Two items.