Pittsburgh, PA
President Truman's second visit to the Freedom Train

Col. Robert F. Scott, Commanding Officer of the Marines assigned to guard the train, is seated next to Truman. After the train's tour, Scott served as a White House Aide to Truman in his second term in office.

Top photo: Scott family collection.

Bottom photo: Ted Tintor collection.

The following are Truman's remarks from the rear platform of the Freedom Train on September 17, 1948 at 6:25 pm (courtesy of the Truman Presidential Library archives).

"Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentleman:

This is indeed a surprise to me. I started this train off in Washington just about a year ago; and I'm happy to be present in Pittsburgh on it's anniversary.

I am informed that it has been in something over 300 towns and that something like 2,700,000 people have been through it. It's an education in itself and I want to advise everyone who has not seen it to go through it and get an education on the history of the United States. It has documents in it that will convince you that your Government is the greatest and the best Government in the world, if you don't already believe that way.

There is the original document of the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, the Constitution of the United States, and many others, too numerous for me to mention this evening.

I certainly do appreciate this privilege. This stands for real Americanism, real patriotism. You can't help but be a happy person after you walk through this train and see what all our interests have been the welfare and the right of the individual, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights.

We have a system in which we believe that the Government is for the benefit of the individual. There are other systems which make the individual subject to the whims of the Government. We've been fighting for that ever since 1776, for the welfare and the benefit of the individual.

We have the greatest Government in the world. We have the greatest country in the world. We have the most powerful country in the world. Let's live up to our ideals and keep working for that peace which all of us want so badly. We want peace in the world and justice to every individual in every nation in the world. That's what we fought two world wars for. I'm hoping, and I've always been hopeful, that we would eventually reach that ideal condition where the United Nations would represent the world as the United States represents the Government of the United States.

Thank you very much."

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