Truman's letter to a hapless music critic
Arnold Markoe, the editor in chief of the Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, sent me the text of a wonderful letter by Harry S. Truman to Paul Hume, music critic of the Washington Post. Hume had made the mistake of criticizing Truman’s daughter, Margaret. Can anyone imagine a modern president writing anything so angry and rash?
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
Dec. 6, 1950
Mr. Hume:
I’ve just read your lousy review of Margaret’s concert. I’ve come
to the conclusion that you are an “eight ulcer man on four ulcer
pay.”It seems to me that you are a frustrated old man who wishes he
could have been successful. When you write such poppy-cock as was
in the back section of the paper you work for it shows
conclusively that you’re off the beam and at least four of your
ulcers are at work.Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you’ll need a new
nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter
below!Pegler, a gutter snipe, is a gentleman alongside you. I hope
you’ll accept that statement as a worse insult than a reflection
on your ancestry.H.S.T.