The John Byrnes Papers consist of correspondence, publicity and public relations papers, grants and projects files, legislative records, Ways and Means Committee files, and personal and political files. Although there are a few campaign files relating to his election to the Wisconsin Senate, the bulk of the collection pertains to Byrnes' career in the House of Representatives.
The collection is arranged basically as it was in Byrnes' Washington, D.C. office. The records of his career are extremely well organized, and because he served in Congress during a period when the duties and functions of legislators expanded rapidly, they serve as an excellent vehicle for observing the operation of a legislative office during this important period of change. Because of the overall nature of the collection, a number of logs and internal indexes (such as the case and telephone logs) have been maintained, not because of the importance of the information they monitored, but because they provide a concise summary of day-to-day office activities. Retention of these logs has permitted many of the routine records to which they referred to be discarded. Researchers interested in daily operations should consult the procedures manuals filed in the first box of the collection.
Although the filing system served its immediate purpose admirably, it is unfortunately not as well suited to many research needs. For example, the majority of the correspondence and the case files were combined alphabetically by correspondent name into the extensive MASTER FILES. Filing by correspondent makes it difficult to track the congressman's position on particular issues or bills. Two internal devices partially overcome this drawback. Letter books, 1945-1966, filed with the pressure mail contain form letters which Byrnes issued arranged by congress and by committee. They provide a quick overview of the congressman's views and their evolution on many issues. The collection also includes a file of pink tissue copies of outgoing correspondence (for the 87th through the 92nd congresses only) also arranged by congress and committee, which provide a partial subject index to the constituent correspondence.
An additional problem to utilizing the MASTER FILES arises from the fact that after 1953 when correspondence with any particular individual was not extensive, these letters were combined in single letter groupings. This arrangement makes it difficult to identify and locate some prominent individuals with whom Byrnes corresponded.
Arrangement by correspondent does have the advantage, however, of grouping letters from various corporations and associations. Researchers will find, for example, that extensive files on firms such as Kimberly Clark and the Fort Howard Paper Company are of considerable interest for studying the involvement of Wisconsin businesses with a pro-business congressman. Because this is only a provisional register and because of the extremely large number of small files of limited individual value, the container list for this section of the collection lists only substantial files or well-known correspondents.
During processing, routine case files in this series were discarded.
PERSONAL FILES are not personal in the strict sense. Rather they consist of information which Byrnes maintained in his inner office so that it would be readily available (for example, the informational desk files and some committee correspondence) or which related to non-legislative duties. Filed here are the voluminous (although extensively weeded) political files, one of the most valuable portions of the collection. Included are extensive runs of correspondence with local, state, and national Republican leaders and organizations. The non-campaign political correspondence is separately filed either alphabetically by individual name (these are primarily Wisconsinites) or by organization name. These are largely district organizations, although there are also large files on the state and national parties. There is also a smaller file on political special events including honorary dinners and political conventions. The file on Byrnes' favorite son presidential candidacy at the 1964 convention is most notable here. There are also detailed materials on campaign planning and expenditures for all Byrnes campaigns except the 1950 election. Although routine documentation has been removed, there are copies of correspondence and memoranda distributed to campaign committees, samples of literature and advertising, reports on distribution and utilization, issue briefing books, and financial reports.
Under the committee heading in the PERSONAL FILES are materials on Byrnes' work on various Republican Party and congressional committees. Included are correspondence, memoranda, and reports principally on the House Republican Policy Committee and the Joint Senate-House Republican Leadership Committee. The Desk Files, so named because Byrnes kept them in his desk rather than in the office files where they would have been less accessible to him, include memoranda, correspondence, reports, and information arranged alphabetically by subject. Although many topics are covered, the majority appear to relate to his work on the Ways and Means Committee. Also filed with the personal materials are appointment books, “day-timers,” and other information relating to his schedule.
PRESS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS FILES include material on Byrnes' relations with the media, information on mailings, commendations on legislative work, speeches, press releases, radio scripts, and newsletters. Also belonging to this section intellectually but physically separated to the Visual and Sound Archives at the Historical Society are a large volume of photographs, sound recordings, films, and videotapes. Despite the congressman's reputation as an amateur photographer, the photos in the collection consist entirely of views taken for public relations purposes. The sound recordings are chiefly short spots distributed to district radio stations. The films include analagous visual material as well as campaign spots. The collection offers relatively complete coverage of Byrnes' writings, including final and draft versions of many speeches. A complete file of hisn Byrnes' relations with the media, information on mailings, commendations on legislative work, speeches, press releases, radio scripts, and newsletters. Also belonging to this section intellectually but physically separated to the Visual and Sound Archives at the Historical Society are a large volume of photographs, sound recordings, films, and videotapes. Despite the congressman's reputation as an amateur photographer, the photos in the collection consist entirely of views taken for public relations purposes. The sound recordings are chiefly short spots distributed to district radio stations. The films include analagous visual material as well as campaign spots. The collection offers relatively complete coverage of Byrnes' writings, including final and draft versions of many speeches. A complete file of his Memo newsletter is available on microfilm in the Society Library.
Byrnes' office also maintained excellent GRANTS AND PROJECTS FILES on expenditures of federal funds in the Eighth District. These consist of correspondence, reports, clippings, and press releases on various airport, harbor, highway and bridge, housing, environmental, and post office construction projects. This series is composed of two categories of records: files on large scale construction projects in the Eighth District which were to be operated by the federal government, and those which were to be operated by district governments. The first are alphabetically arranged under the headings: airports; harbors, highways and bridges; post offices; and miscellany. The second category, which includes a large number of grants for sewage treatment plants and subsidized housing, are arranged first by county and then by local governmental authority.
Taken together these files are an excellent source for studying the impact of federal expenditures on local communities and the rapid growth of such projects during the 1960's. Congressman Byrnes' office kept very complete project files, and he appears to have been prominently involved in many.
LEGISLATIVE RECORDS include lists, working files, and information on legislation sponsored or introduced by Congressman Byrnes. The working files are arranged by congress and by bill number and include correspondence, memoranda, annotated drafts, notes, press releases, and statements. Constituent correspondence regarding specific legislation is generally filed with the Master Files.
WAYS AND MEANS FILES are not the official records of the committee. Instead they appear to be material relating to the committee which was kept in Byrnes' congressional office. Regardless of this fact, there is considerable information about committee activity in the collection. Of small volume but of considerable value are the memoranda written by minority counsel William H. Quealy to Byrnes. Constituent correspondence relating to issues considered by the committee are sorted into answered and unanaswered categories. The answered mail is subsorted first into Wisconsin and non-Wisconsin categoreis, then into two chronological periods (1963-1967 and 1968-1972), and finally arranged alphabetically by name within each period. The unanswered mail, which is largely from outside Wisconsin, has not been fully processed, as several boxes could not be located when processing was undertaken in 1984. Extensive alphabetically-arranged information files concern taxation, tariffs and trade, Social Security, and other issues brought before the committee.
PRESSURE MAIL consists of constituent correspondence of a pressure or orchestrated character. The majority of this section is filed alphabetically by subject with the most substantial files being those for gun control, pollution, and pornography. The form letter books which are filed by congress and then by subject provide quick access to Byrnes' views on many subjects.
The collection contains no truly personal or family correspondence. As a result, like many contemporary political collections, glimpses of John Byrnes as an individual emerge only fleetingly. Neither do the papers include the biographical clipping scrapbooks found in many congressional collections.
