The Virgil J. Muench papers are arranged in four series: correspondence, “Free Trade” papers, conservation papers, and miscellany.
The CORRESPONDENCE, 1940-1958, includes letters to and from Muench regarding Green Bay Trade Independent Association business. Muench also wrote to radio commentators, newspaper columnists and editors, business leaders, and political leaders, mostly in response to their published remarks. Answers to this correspondence consist primarily of short, courtesy acknowledgements. Izaak Walton League business and Muench's correspondence with his allies in the conservation cause are also included, especially letters with other attorneys, documenting the strategy used in the Namekagon case. A few letters scattered throughout are routine exchanges with his clients and others relating to his law practice.
“FREE TRADE” PAPERS include a file of polemic articles and speeches, which, although most are unsigned, apparently were written by Muench. The records, 1939-1945, of the Green Bay Trade Independent Association (GBTIA) consist of legal and financial records, and copies of its publications. Copies of articles and speeches, 1941-1952, by others who shared Muench's philosophical views constitute another file, and the newspaper clippings, 1940-1952, consist of articles relating to his political conservatism and to the GBTIA.
The CONSERVATION PAPERS include Muench's speeches, especially those given at meetings of the Izaak Walton League, and League-related papers, including announcements of meetings, programs, public relations bulletins, and copies of speeches (not given by Muench). They also include the returns of a questionnaire on which the 1950 candidates for governor of Wisconsin stated their views on conservation issues. One archives box contains Muench's copy of the records of the Namekagon dam case, as argued before the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, the Circuit Court of Dane County, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and, finally, the Federal Power Commission, where the case was settled in favor of the League. Also filed in this category are legal papers related to pollution cases. Included are interviews, petitions, court decisions, and other documents apparently used to support arguments at various hearings. Muench also maintained copies of reports of Wisconsin state agencies and the U.S. Public Health Service that relate to conservation issues. Resource files include a variety of documents on various conservation-related subjects.
MISCELLANY includes papers related to Muench's legal practice, and other miscellaneous papers, including some about fishing contests and Wisconsin recreational sites.
