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MS 33 Don L. Berry, 1880-1974 Papers, 1936-1970 |
Special Collections Department |
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| Descriptive summary
| Administrative information | Biographical/Historical note Collection description | Organization | Description of series/container list |
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| Descriptive summary | |
| creator: | Berry, Don L. (1880-1974) |
| title: | Papers |
| dates: | 1936-1970 |
| extent: | 2.1 linear feet (4 document boxes and 2 half-document boxes) |
| collection number : | MS 33 |
| repository: | Special Collections Department, Iowa State University |
| Administrative information | |
| access: | Open for research |
| publication rights: | Consult Head, Special Collections Department |
| preferred citation: | Don L. Berry Papers, MS 33, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library. |
| Biographical note |
| Don L. Berry, 1880-1974, was born in Indianola, Iowa. He
graduated from Simpson College in 1903 and joined the staff of the Des Moines
Register
and Leader. In 1905 he married Bertha Sloan. He left the Register and Leader in
1904 to farm full-time and in 1920 bought the Indianola Record. He remained editor
and publisher of the Indianola newspapers for forty years. He retired in 1960.
Berry was a delegate to the 1936 Republican Convention. He served on the Resolutions Committee and as a "State Committeeman" on the Platform Subcommittee on the Farm Plank, in which capacity he was in charge of county hearings in Madison, Marion, and Warren counties. The Iowa Farm Tenancy Committee was a special committee of the Iowa State Planning Board, appointed by the governor. Its purpose was to investigate the "farm tenure problem" (the increase of farms operated by renters, rather than owners). The percentage of rented farms had reached 50% by 1935. In 1939, Berry conducted an editorial campaign against Harrison Spangler's tenure as Republican national committeeman from Iowa. The claim made by Berry (and others) was that Spangler was pro-Hoover, and that his ten years in the East had made him insensitive to the problems of Iowa farmers. A great deal of editorial comment, both for and against Spangler, was generated. Berry was chairman of the Iowa Postwar Rehabilitation Commission, which was established by the state legislature to "study the economic and social conditions of the state with a view to recommending to the 51st General Assembly such legislation. . . .as may provide work which needs doing . . . . to enable Iowa to reabsorb smoothly the returning . . . . .service personnel and after-war workers." (See December 12, 1944 letter from Berry to Governor Hickenlooper in 6/9). In 1941, Berry was appointed Executive Secretary of the National Republican Farm Study Committee under the chairmanship of Clifford Hope, Representative from Kansas. |
| Collection description |
| Collection consists of correspondence from 1936 to the early
1940s about state and national Republican Party politics. Included are correspondence and
news releases concerning the National Republican Farm Study Committee; the 1936 Republican
Convention; the Iowa Farm Tenancy Committee; Harrison Spangler; and the Iowa Postwar
Rehabilitation Committee. The final report of the Iowa Farm Tenancy Committee, June 1938
(see folder 6/6) is included. Correspondents include: William Beardsley, Myers Y. Cooper, John M. Henry, Clifford Hope, Alf M. Landon, Harrison Spangler, Walter A. Sheaffer, Dan W. Turner, William W. Waymack, and Kenneth S. Wherry. Related materials can be found in the National Farmers Process Tax Recovery Association Files, MS 44, 43/Files 1-4. |
| Organization |
The collection is organized by subject into eight series:
Series 1, Correspondence |
| Series 1 | Correspondence |
| extent: | 32 folders |
| description: | Outgoing correspondence 1936-1943, and incoming correspondence A-Z. |
Container list
| Box | Folder | Title | Dates |
| 1 | 1 | Outgoing correspondence | 1936 |
| 1 | 2 | Outgoing correspondence | 1937 |
| 1 | 3 | Outgoing correspondence | 1938 |
| 1 | 4 | Outgoing correspondence | 1939 |
| 1 | 5 | Outgoing correspondence | 1940 |
| 1 | 6 | Outgoing correspondence | 1941 |
| 1 | 7 | Outgoing correspondence | 1943 |
| 1 | 8 | A | |
| 1 | 9 | B, Includes Justin Barry (3), William Beardsley (5) | |
| 1 | 10 | C, Includes C. F. Curtiss (2) | |
| 1 | 11 | Myers Y. Cooper, former governor of Ohio (12) | |
| 1 | 12 | D | |
| 1 | 13 | E - F, Includes letter about Alf M. Landon by C. J. Evans, John W. Evans (16), Kirk Fox (4) | |
| 1 | 14 | G | |
| 1 | 15 | A. C. Gustafson, chief clerk, Iowa House of Representatives and Executive Secretary of Committee of 100 and of the Iowa Club (25) | |
| 1 | 16 | H, Includes J. R. Howard (1) | |
| 1 | 17 | John M. Henry, chairman, Iowa Republican County Central Committee (24) | |
| 1 | 18 | Clifford Hope, Representative (Rep.) from Kansas (15) | |
| 1 | 19 | I - J | |
| 1 | 20 | K - L | |
| 1 | 21 | Alf M. Landon, Governor of Kansas and Presidential candidate, 1936 (24) Includes comments on Herbert Hoover | |
| 2 | 1 | M | |
| 2 | 2 | N - O | |
| 2 | 3 | P | |
| 2 | 4 | R, Includes George Washington Robinelt (3) | |
| 2 | 5 | S, Includes Harrison Spangler, National Committeeman from Iowa, (5); Vincent Starzinger, Des Moines lawyer (2) | |
| 2 | 6 | Walter A. Sheaffer, president of W. A. Sheaffer Company (11) | |
| 2 | 7 | T | |
| 2 | 8 | E. H. Taylor, Associate Editor of Country Gentleman (16). Includes comments about Thomas Dewey (March, 1939; February, 1943) and Harold Stassen (ca. 1943) | |
| 2 | 9 | Dan W. Turner, former Governor of Iowa (16) | |
| 2 | 10 | W, Includes William W. Waymack, editor of editorial pages of the Des Moines Register and Tribune, (5) | |
| 2 | 11 | Controversy over Harrison Spangler or William J. Goodwin for Republican National Committeeman from Iowa, December, 1939. Correspondents include John M. Henry (5), George Olmsted (6), William A. Sheaffer (1) | |
| 4 | 1 | Correspondence, including letters from Representative Clifford R. Hope of Kansas and D. Howard Doane of the Doane Agricultural Service (St. Louis) | 1936-1960 |
Description of series
|
Republican Farm Study Committee |
|
| extent: | 7 folders |
| description: | Correspondence and records of the Republican Farm Study Committee. |
Container list
| Box | Folder | Title | Dates |
| 2 | 12 | 1941 | |
| 2 | 13 | A - G | |
| 2 | 14 | H - M, Includes John M. Henry (6), Glenn W. Martens, chairman, South Dakota Republican Central Committee (10) | |
| 2 | 15 | Clifford Hope, chairman, Republican Farm Study Committee (24) | |
| 2 | 16 | N - Z, Includes Kenneth S. Wherry, chairman, Republican State Central Committee of Nebraska (5), Joseph S. Wishart, lawyer, Lincoln, Nebraska (8) | |
| 2 | 17 | Expenses | |
| 3 | 1 | Press releases |
Description of series
|
Subject files |
|
| extent: | 3 folders |
| description: | Clippings, publications, and related correspondence reflecting Berry's interests and work |
Container list
| Box | Folder | Title | Dates |
| 3 | 2 | Farm-to Market editorial (January 5, 1940). Correspondents include Justin Barry (1), Bourke B. Hickenlooper (1) | 1940 |
| 3 | 3 | Notes by Berry on meeting of farmers, 15 December 1939; interview with Berry, August 1937 (?) About meeting of twenty-seven prominent Republicans regarding gubernatorial candidates; pamphlet on Republican farm plans; article in the Des Moines Register (21 July 1936) (compares Democratic and Republican farm programs); Report (by John Henry to Berry ?) On Omaha and Indianapolis meetings of Republican state chairmen (1941). The Way Farmers Look at Landon and Roosevelt (mimeo; letter to Don Berry, 7 September 1936 about soil conservation program in Warren (Iowa) County (name erased); interview with a Mr. Tomson about Alf Landon; poem, "Alphabetically Speaking" | 1936-1941, n.d. |
| 3 | 4 | Joseph W. Walt, "The Story of Don Berry, Iowan." Palimpsest, November, 1963, XLIV (11). | 1963 |
Description of series
|
Writings and speeches |
|
| extent: | 9 folders |
| description: | Writing and speeches by Don Berry and others |
Container list
| Box | Folder | Title | Dates |
| 4 | 2 | Unknown author, "The Farmers Crop is Good Security". Advertisement by Indianola area banks regarding use of crops as security against loans | n.d. |
| 4 | 3 | Guest editorial by Don L. Berry, "Bell System Championed Against the FCC." Des Moines Tribune, 23 June 1939 | 1939 |
| 4 | 4 | Prairie Club paper: "Comparing the Decline of Venice to Our Day" | 1940 |
| 4 | 5 | Statement on the Wage-House Law and its effect on the Indianola Record's circulation (Printed during World War II) | 1940s |
| 4 | 6 | Prairie Club Paper: "The Hershey Strike and the Necessity of Many Voters Having a Stake in their own Business" | 1943 |
| 4 | 7 | Address to Council of State governments on the Iowa Postwar Rehabilitation Commission, Chicago, Illinois, 21 October 1944 | 1944 |
| 4 | 8 | Prairie Club Paper: "From E. T. Meredith to Now" (Includes two copies of talk and letter from Adelaide Walker of Fortune) | 1945 |
| 4 | 9 | Speech on George Washington given at Carlisle, 4 July 1950 | 1950 |
| 4 | 10 | Talk to Iowa Natural Resources council representing Three Rivers Watershed Council regarding Saylorville Dam | 1955 |
Description of series
|
1936 Republican Convention |
|
| extent: | 9 folders |
| description: | News clippings about the 1936 Republican Convention |
Container list
| Box | Folder | Title | Dates |
| 4/11 - | News clippings, June - August | 1936 | |
| 5/1 | News clippings, June - August | 1936 | |
| 5/2 | Delegate name tags | 1936 | |
| 5/3 | Fowler, Richard B. Deeds Not Deficits: The Story of Alfred M. Landon. The Author, 1936 | 1936 | |
| 5/4-8 | News clippings | 1936 |
Description of series
|
Iowa Farm Tenancy Committee |
|
| extent: | 6 folders |
| description: | Official records of the Iowa Farm Tenancy Committee |
Container list
| Box | Folder | Title | Dates |
| 6 | 1 | "State Summary of Comments (Long Questionnaire)" | n.d. |
| 6 | 2 | "Summary of Findings, Part II: Summary Tabulation of Long Questionnaire," Iowa State Planning Board, May | 1938 |
| 6 | 3 | "Summary of Findings, Part III: County Agricultural Planning Reports" | n.d. |
| 6 | 4 | "Summary of Findings, Part V: Public Hearings on Farm Tenancy," Iowa State Planning Board, May | 1938 |
| 6 | 5 | Summary of Findings, Iowa State Planning Board, May | 1938 |
| 6 | 6 | "Report and Recommendations of the Iowa Farm Tenancy Committee," Iowa State Planning Board, June | 1938 |
Description of series
|
Harrison Spangler |
|
| extent: | 2 folders |
| description: | News clippings about Harrison Spangler |
Container list
| Box | Folder | Title | Dates |
| 6 | 7-8 | News clippings | 1939-1940 |
Description of series
|
Iowa Postwar Rehabilitation Commission |
|
| extent: | 2 folders |
| description: | Correspondence and report of the Iowa Postwar Rehabilitation Commission |
Container list
| Box | Folder | Title | Dates |
| 6 | 9 | Correspondence regarding the final report of the Highway Committee of the Iowa Postwar Rehabilitation Commission | 1944 |
| 6 | 10 | Final Report by the Highway Committee, Iowa Postwar Rehabilitation Commission, November 24 | 1944 |
Iowa State University Library, Ames, IA 50011
Comments: tzanish@iastate.edu
URL: http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/manuscripts/MS033.html
Revised: 19 February 1998.
