Tuesday, January 27, 2009

It reminded me of the old Reader's Digest.. I give you the

Sheriff's Report by Panola County Sheriff Jack Ellett
I know that it’s been a while since I've written a Sheriffs Report. I guess after all the years, it just became difficult to think of a new subject each week. I will try to do a little better in the near future.Since we've just gone through a Presidential Election and swearing in ceremony, I thought it would be good to talk a little about a past President. It is amazing how things have changed in these past 50 to 60 years. Recent Presidents have made a lot of money on many things after leaving the Presidency and have lucrative retirement salaries as well as continued Secret Service protection, etc.Harry Truman, from Missouri, was a different kind of President. He probably made as many important decisions regarding our nation's history as any past President. However a measure of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the White House.Historians have written the only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was in Independence Missouri. On top of that, his wife inherited the house from her mother.When he retired from office in 1952, his income was a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted an 'allowance' and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. There were no Secret Service following them.When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating "You don't want me. You want the office of the President, and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale."Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, 'I don't consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise."He never owned his own home and as president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food.Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth. Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices.He went broke in the clothing business after WWI and was advised to take bankruptcy saying that the debts he owed were extended by those who trusted him to pay and he intended to pay. For years he sent a portion of his salary as judge and later U.S. Senator to payoff those debts which were finally paid in full.Had he taken bankruptcy he could probably have owned his own home as well as other comforts which he denied his family to pay his debts. I have a lasting respect for President Harry Truman.See you later, may God Bless, and I'll see you later.

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