Auction Date:2012 May 16 @ 18:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
TLS as president, one page, 8 x 10.25, White House letterhead, May 4, 1948. Letter to Secretary of the Treasury John W. Snyder. In full: “It has been shown to my satisfaction that yachts belonging to regularly organized yacht clubs of the United States are allowed to arrive at and depart from ports in Canada and to cruise in the waters of such ports, without entering or clearing at the customhouses thereof, and without the payment of any charges for entering or clearing, dues, duty per ton, tonnage tax, or charges for cruising licenses. Therefore, it would appear that the Commissioner of Customs henceforth may exercise the discretion vested in him by the provisions of section 5 of the Act of May 28, 1908, as amended (U.S. Code, 1940 ed., title 46, section 104), as modified by section 102 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1946 (3 CFR, 1946 Supp., Ch. IV), with respect to the issuance of cruising licenses to qualified Canadian yachts.” Pencil file notation to upper right reads, “File The President.” In fine condition, with staple hole to top left, a bit of trivial soiling around pencil notation, and a few light creases. Accompanied by a 5 x 3 index card upon which has been typed: “5/10/48 Copy sent to Mr. Foley for action. bp.” “bp” is probably Bill Parsons, Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury. Mr. Foley is most likely Edward H. Foley, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
John W. Snyder was a close friend of Truman and, charged with establishing a stable postwar economy, served as the Secretary of the Treasury from 1946 to 1953. The president’s May 1948 letter to Snyder resulted in the Act of June 26, 1948, which removed discrimination against yachts not belonging to “regularly organized yacht clubs.” Truman’s particular interest in the laws governing such vessels may have stemmed from one of his favorite form of relaxation as president: taking trips aboard the presidential yacht, U.S.S. Williamsburg. Despite being prone to seasickness, the native of landlocked Missouri loved the motor yacht and found cruising—especially on the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay—an easy way to escape the demands of the presidency. On the Williamsburg, Truman could work in peace or entertain friends and members of his staff, and he used the ship frequently until the the end of his term.
Auction Location:
5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
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