Summary Information
Republican Party of Wisconsin Records 1900-1974
Mss 649
6.6 c.f. (4 record center cartons and 9 archives boxes)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Records of the Republican Party of Wisconsin consisting of printed constitutions, minutes of executive committee meetings, records of annual conventions, and executive directors' correspondence. The collection mainly documents the period 1946-1970. In addition to correspondence, lists, platforms, and resolutions, the convention records include full secretarial transcriptions of proceedings. For several conventions, speeches and remarks of John Byrnes, Thomas Coleman, Glenn Davis, Everett Dirksen, Gerald Ford, Barry Goldwater, Charles Halleck, Warren Knowles, Melvin Laird, Joseph McCarthy, William Miller, Thruston Morton, Richard Nixon, Donald Nutter, Oscar Rennebohm, and Alexander Wiley are included. The executive directors' correspondence consists primarily of the correspondence of George Greeley (1960-1970), although a few scattered items pertain to other individuals who held that post. These files concern fund raising events and party finances, inaugural planning, and monitoring of Republican and Democratic politicians. Of the state chairmen of the period, only Ody J. Fish is extensively represented, although there are small files for the majority of the leading Republican office holders of the era. The national convention files include recollections of delegates to the 1960 and 1964 national conventions. English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00649 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
The Republican Party of Wisconsin was founded at an anti-slavery meeting in a schoolhouse in Ripon on March 20, 1854, the same schoolhouse which is generally credited with being the birthplace of the national Republican Party. During the 19th century and the first third of the 20th century the Republicans dominated Wisconsin politics, and the most important voter decisions were made in the primary elections between the progressive and stalwart factions of the party.
During the Depression, the independent Progressive Party was in the majority in Wisconsin, and its demise in 1946 created a major political realignment. This realignment, which was not evident until the election of 1958, was characterized by electoral contests for power between the Republicans and Democrats which more precisely mirrored the national two party patterns.
For a decade after the demise of the Progressive Party, the Republicans were able to maintain their dominance largely as a result of the organizational abilities of state chairman Thomas Coleman (1943-1947). During the Coleman era the Republicans not only held the vast majority of the state offices and seats in the Legislature, but they also held a monopoly on county offices. Despite their electoral success, however, the 1950's were a period of internal disunity for the Republicans because of the controversy surrounding Senator Joseph R. McCarthy in state politics. It was the special election following his death in 1957 which brought these conflicts to the surface and which contributed to the Democrats' first statewide electoral breakthrough.
The party's more pragmatic and less ideological response to what one historian has called the “unprecedented challenge of partisan balance” of the 1960's was reflected in the record of Governor Warren P. Knowles (1964-1970), a representative of the moderate wing of the party, and the meticulous local organizing skills of State Chairman Ody J. Fish. Their efforts paid off with renewed electoral success for the Republicans during the late 1960's. The early 1970's, however, were difficult years for the party which was beset by debt, the image of the Watergate scandal, and an inability to recruit strong candidates. During the latter part of the decade the financial difficulties were ended thanks to the efforts of Financial Chairman Daniel Parker and the electoral fortunes of the party were improved as a result of the popularity of Governor Lee S. Dreyfus and President Ronald Reagan.
Related Material
Researchers may wish to consult the papers of Chairmen Thomas Coleman and Wayne Hood which are also held by the Historical Society. Earlier records of the party (1893-1904 and 1925-1931) held by the Milwaukee Public Library complement the Society's holdings. These records, bound as 15 volumes, include earlier convention minutes, transcripts, and lists, and some correspondence pertaining to the statewide party and to the Milwaukee County organization.
Publications of the party--Action, Facts about Your Government, Focus, Wisconsin Insider, and Wisconsin Republican--are available in the State Historical Society Library.
Scope and Content Note
The records of the Republican Party of Wisconsin held by the State Historical Society chiefly document party history during the 1950's and 1960's. Although the records are disappointing and incomplete even for the limited period which they document, they do provide coverage of a significant period in the party's history. Approximately half of the collection consists of documentation on the annual party conventions, 1938-1963; the other half consists of the correspondence of George Greeley, the party's executive director, 1960-1970. The remainder of the collection consists of a small file of printed copies of the party constitutions and minutes of the executive committee. Because of his function as executive director, Greeley's papers tend to deal primarily with administrative matters rather than policy issues or statewide political campaigns. With the exception of Ody Fish, there is little documentation from any of the state chairmen who held office during the era covered by the collection.
The CONSTITUTIONS section consists of printed copies of the constitution and revisions issued from 1940 through 1970. In the executive directors' files there is one folder on the 1967 Constitutional Revision Committee.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES include mimeographed and draft records of the body which made policy for the party between its annual conventions. Because the minutes were removed from George Greeley's papers they document only that era in party history, and even for that period there are breaks in the coverage. They do include, however, drafts of the minutes, comments by committee members, and some material distributed to the committee for review. The minutes are supplemented by the executive committee correspondence filed in the executive directors' section and by the numerous memoranda distributed to the committee by Ody Fish.
STATE CONVENTION FILES, mainly 1946-1963, include correspondence, platforms and resolutions, local arrangements material, lists of delegates, and transcripts. The transcriptions, which make up one of the most valuable portions of the collection, include full coverage of speeches and floor remarks as well as the general proceedings. Among the prominent state and national political figures who addressed the convention are John Byrnes, Thomas Coleman, Glenn Davis, Everett Dirksen, Gerald Ford, Barry Goldwater, Charles Halleck, Warren Knowles, Melvin Laird, Joseph McCarthy, William Miller, Thruston Morton, Richard Nixon, Donald Nutter, Oscar Rennebohm, and Alexander Wiley. (See also the Miscellaneous Items described below.)
The EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS' FILES consist primarily of records maintained by George Greeley who held that post from 1960 through 1970, although there are a few scattered items from other individuals who held that post such as Stanley York. These files include correspondence, clippings, memoranda, financial reports, and press releases and primarily concern administrative matters such as convention and inaugural planning, fund raising events, and party finances. Several special organizing efforts such as projects for returning Wisconsin veterans, naturalized citizens, senior citizens, and youth are also represented. There are small files for most of the party leaders of the era such as Mary Ising, Claude Jasper, Warren Knowles, and Wilbur Renk, as well as some files on their Democratic opposition. Notable among these are the files on Robert Kastenmeier and the Liberal Papers controversy.
There is very little information on statewide or national electoral campaigns or public relations in the file; miscellaneous printed materials pertaining to individual candidates found here have been transferred to the Wisconsin Political Vertical File. This series also contains reminiscences of delegates to the 1960 and 1964 national conventions which were solicited by the State Historical Society.
The final segment of the collection are MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS consisting primarily of platforms and convention minutes. All were received and cataloged individually prior to presentation of the files described above.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by the Republican Party of Wisconsin via George Innes and William Applegate, 1976-1978, with small additions from Mrs. Clifford W. Chatterson, Eau Claire; Scott M. Cutlip, Madison; Thomas E. Fairchild, Madison; David Fellman, Madison; Claude Jasper, Madison; Warren P. Knowles, New Richmond; Philip G. Kuehn, Milwaukee; Dwight T. Parker, place unidentified; Fred A. Risser, Madison; Edward J. Samp, Madison; Henry C. Shadeberg, Burlingon; Mrs. M. L. Wilcox, Wauwatosa; and Mrs. John E. Wise, Madison. Accession Number: M60-154, 169, 176, 184, 196, 200; M61-014; M64-218; M65-179, 256; M67-056; M71-015; M76-548; M77-056; M78-275, 381, 385
Processed by Carolyn J. Mattern, April, 1985. Miscellaneous Items processed by Karen J. Baumann, September 1995.
Contents List
Box
1
Folder
1
|
Series: Constitutions, 1940-1970
|
|
Box
1
Folder
2-4
|
Series: Executive Committee Minutes, 1958-1974
|
|
|
Series: State Convention Records
|
|
Box
2
Folder
1
|
1938, Transcript
|
|
Box
2
Folder
2
|
1940, Green Bay, Transcript
|
|
Box
3
Folder
1
|
1940, La Crosse, Transcript
|
|
|
1946
|
|
Box
3
Folder
2
|
Transcript
|
|
Box
3
Folder
3
|
Rules, Principles, Miscellany
|
|
Box
3
Folder
4
|
1947, Transcript
|
|
|
1948
|
|
Box
3
Folder
5
|
Transcript
|
|
Box
3
Folder
6
|
Delegate list
|
|
|
1949
|
|
Box
3
Folder
7
|
Transcript
|
|
Box
4
Folder
1
|
Delegate list
|
|
|
1950
|
|
Box
4
Folder
2
|
Transcript and platform
|
|
Box
4
Folder
3
|
Delegate list
|
|
|
1951
|
|
Box
4
Folder
4
|
Transcript
|
|
Box
4
Folder
5
|
Delegate list
|
|
|
1952
|
|
Box
4
Folder
6
|
Delegate list
|
|
Box
5
Folder
1
|
Transcript
|
|
|
1953
|
|
Box
5
Folder
2
|
Delegate list
|
|
Box
5
Folder
3
|
Transcript
|
|
|
1954
|
|
Box
5
Folder
4
|
Transcript, program, platform
|
|
Box
5
Folder
5
|
Delegate list
|
|
|
1955
|
|
Box
5
Folder
6
|
Transcript
|
|
Box
5
Folder
7
|
Delegate list
|
|
Box
5
Folder
8
|
Miscellany
|
|
|
1956
|
|
Box
5
Folder
9
|
Transcript
|
|
Box
5
Folder
10
|
Resolutions
|
|
Box
5
Folder
11
|
Delegate list
|
|
Box
5
Folder
12
|
Interim Platform Committee
|
|
Box
5
Folder
13
|
Miscellany
|
|
|
1957
|
|
Box
5
Folder
14
|
Transcript
|
|
Box
5
Folder
15
|
Delegate list
|
|
Box
5
Folder
16
|
Resolutions
|
|
Box
5
Folder
17
|
Miscellany
|
|
|
1958
|
|
Box
6
Folder
1
|
Transcript
|
|
Box
6
Folder
2
|
Delegate list
|
|
Box
6
Folder
3
|
Resolutions and platform
|
|
Box
6
Folder
4
|
Correspondence
|
|
Box
6
Folder
5
|
Miscellany
|
|
Box
6
Folder
6
|
Interim Platform Committee
|
|
Box
6
Folder
7
|
Rules
|
|
|
1959
|
|
Box
6
Folder
8
|
Transcript
|
|
Box
6
Folder
9
|
Resolutions
|
|
Box
6
Folder
10
|
Delegate list
|
|
Box
6
Folder
11
|
Correspondence
|
|
Box
6
Folder
12
|
Miscellany
|
|
|
1960
|
|
Box
6
Folder
13
|
Transcript
|
|
Box
6
Folder
14
|
Platform and resolutions
|
|
Box
6
Folder
15
|
Interim Platform Committee
|
|
Box
6
Folder
16
|
Correspondence
|
|
Box
6
Folder
17
|
Delegate list
|
|
Box
6
Folder
18
|
Miscellany
|
|
|
1961
|
|
Box
7
Folder
1
|
Transcript
|
|
Box
7
Folder
2
|
Chairmen's dinner remarks
|
|
Box
7
Folder
3
|
Resolutions
|
|
Box
7
Folder
4
|
Miscellany
|
|
Box
7
Folder
5
|
Correspondence
|
|
|
1962
|
|
Box
7
Folder
6
|
Transcript
|
|
Box
7
Folder
7
|
Resolutions and platform
|
|
Box
7
Folder
8
|
Correspondence
|
|
Box
7
Folder
9
|
Miscellany
|
|
|
1963
|
|
Box
7
Folder
10
|
Transcript
|
|
Box
7
Folder
11
|
Correspondence
|
|
Box
7
Folder
12
|
Miscellany
|
|
Box
7
Folder
13
|
Resolutions
|
|
Box
7
Folder
14
|
Printed platforms, 1964-1970
|
|
|
Series: Executive Directors' File
|
|
Box
8
Folder
1
|
Allied Development Corporation, 1965
|
|
Box
8
Folder
2
|
Calendar, 1966-1972
|
|
Box
8
Folder
3
|
“Campaign Central,” 1968-1969
|
|
Box
8
Folder
4
|
Campaign literature for statewide campaigns, 1950-1968
|
|
Box
8
Folder
5-6
|
Campaign schools, 1963-1974
|
|
Box
8
Folder
7
|
Caravans, undated
|
|
Box
8
Folder
8
|
Clapp, Norman, 1961
|
|
Box
8
Folder
9
|
Common Cause, 1971
|
|
Box
8
Folder
10
|
Committee lists, Miscellaneous, 1967-1971
|
|
Box
8
Folder
11
|
Constitutional Revision Committee, 1967
|
|
Box
8
Folder
12
|
County chairmen correspondence, 1971-1972
|
|
Box
8
Folder
13
|
Democratic Party of Wisconsin, 1961-1965
|
|
Box
8
Folder
14
|
Directories, 1965-1969
|
|
Box
8
Folder
15-16
|
Endorsement, 1942-1971
|
|
Box
8
Folder
17
|
Erickson, John, undated
|
|
Box
8
Folder
18
|
Ethnic groups, undated
|
|
Box
8
Folder
19-21
|
Executive Committee correspondence, 1963-1972
|
|
Box
8
Folder
22
|
Executive secretaryship, 1955
|
|
Box
8
Folder
23
|
F, 1969-1970
|
|
Box
8
Folder
24
|
Facts, 1965-1967
|
|
Box
8
Folder
25-26
|
Fair booth program, 1968-1971
|
|
|
Field reports
|
|
Box
8
Folder
27
|
Brueggemann, D., 1972
|
|
Box
8
Folder
28
|
Innes, George, 1972
|
|
Box
8
Folder
29
|
Jordan, J. J., 1972
|
|
Box
8
Folder
30
|
Kussart, G. E., 1972
|
|
Box
8
Folder
31
|
Mihajlov, T. P., 1972
|
|
Box
8
Folder
32-33
|
Finance Committee, 1952-1954, 1972
|
|
Box
8
Folder
34
|
Innes file, 1968
|
|
Box
8
Folder
35
|
Kimberly, John R., 1965
|
|
Box
8
Folder
36
|
Pickard, Samuel N., 1958-1960
|
|
Box
8
Folder
37
|
Viviani, Peter J., 1968-1969
|
|
Box
8
Folder
38
|
First Voters program, 1956
|
|
Box
8
Folder
39-41
|
Fish, Ody J., 1967-1971
|
|
Box
8
Folder
42
|
“Skirmish Line,” 1965-1967
|
|
Box
8
Folder
43
|
Focus, 1969
|
|
Box
8
Folder
44
|
Ford, Henry, II, 1964
|
|
Box
8
Folder
45
|
Friend, Edward, 1963
|
|
Box
9
Folder
1
|
Fund raising, Samples of tickets, 1958-1961
|
|
Box
9
Folder
2-3
|
Fund raising dinners, 1961-1969
|
|
Box
9
Folder
4
|
G, 1954-1970
|
|
Box
9
Folder
5
|
Goetz, James B., 1967-1969
|
|
Box
9
Folder
6
|
Goldwater, Barry, 1959-1964
|
|
Box
9
Folder
7
|
Greeley personal correspondence, 1967-1972
|
|
Box
9
Folder
8
|
H, 1960-1972
|
|
Box
9
Folder
9
|
Hinsman, Keith A., 1961-1966
|
|
Box
9
Folder
10
|
Hood, Wayne J., 1963-1964
|
|
Box
9
Folder
11
|
Hough, John E., 1968-1969
|
|
Box
9
Folder
12
|
Housing and Urban Development, Milwaukee office, 1971
|
|
Box
10
Folder
1
|
I, 1956-1970
|
|
Box
10
Folder
2-4
|
Inaugural balls, Gubernatorial, 1965-1969
|
|
Box
10
Folder
5
|
Inaugural balls, Presidential, 1972
|
|
Box
10
Folder
6
|
Insider, 1968
|
|
Box
10
Folder
7
|
Ising, Mary, 1961-1969
|
|
Box
10
Folder
8
|
J, 1958-1970
|
|
Box
10
Folder
9
|
Jasper, Claude J., 1963-1969
|
|
Box
10
Folder
10
|
Job applicants, 1970
|
|
Box
10
Folder
11
|
Junior Chamber of Commerce, 1966
|
|
Box
10
Folder
12
|
K, 1960-1970
|
|
Box
10
Folder
13
|
Kastenmeier (Liberal Papers), 1960-1962
|
|
Box
10
Folder
14
|
Kirk, Claude R., 1968
|
|
Box
10
Folder
15
|
Knowles, Robert, 1956-1963
|
|
Box
10
Folder
16
|
Knowles, Warren, 1958-1970
|
|
Box
10
Folder
17
|
L, 1950-1970
|
|
Box
10
Folder
18
|
LaFave, Reuben, 1960
|
|
Box
10
Folder
19
|
La Follette, Bronson, 1963-1967
|
|
Box
11
Folder
1
|
Laird, Melvin D., 1965-1969
|
|
Box
11
Folder
2
|
LaRocco, John, 1968
|
|
Box
11
Folder
3
|
Leonard, Jerris, 1966-1969
|
|
Box
11
Folder
4
|
Lincoln Day dinners, 1960-1970
|
|
Box
11
Folder
5
|
Lorge, Gerald, 1962-1963
|
|
Box
11
Folder
6
|
M, 1961-11968
|
|
Box
11
Folder
7
|
Midwest Republican Conference, 1971
|
|
Box
11
Folder
8
|
Moses, Robert, 1960
|
|
Box
11
Folder
9-10
|
National Republican Convention, 1960
|
|
|
National Republican Convention, 1964
|
|
Box
11
Folder
11
|
General file
|
|
Box
11
Folder
12
|
Recollections of delegates
|
|
Box
11
Folder
13
|
National Republican convention, 1968
|
|
Box
11
Folder
14-15
|
Naturalized citizens program, 1965-1971
|
|
Box
12
Folder
1
|
Neighborhood-to-Neighborhood fund drive, undated
|
|
Box
12
Folder
2
|
Nikolay, Frank M., 1960-1961
|
|
Box
12
Folder
3
|
O'Konski, Alvin, 1970
|
|
Box
12
Folder
4
|
Olson, Jack, 1966-1967
|
|
Box
12
Folder
5
|
Olson, John D., 1965-1969
|
|
Box
12
Folder
6
|
P, 1970
|
|
Box
12
Folder
7
|
Parker, Dan, 1961-1965
|
|
Box
12
Folder
8
|
Peckham, Ann, 1967-1969
|
|
Box
12
Folder
9
|
Peterson, Elly, 1963-1965
|
|
Box
12
Folder
10
|
Peterson, R. W., 1968
|
|
Box
12
Folder
11
|
Pierce, Robert L., 1962-1965
|
|
Box
12
Folder
12
|
Presidential electors, 1956-1968
|
|
Box
12
Folder
13
|
Primary election revision, 1956
|
|
Box
12
Folder
14
|
Primary, Presidential preference, 1968
|
|
Box
12
Folder
15
|
Proxmire, William, 1958-1964
|
|
Box
12
Folder
16
|
Rabinovitz, David, 1963
|
|
Box
12
Folder
17
|
Renk, Wilbur, 1962
|
|
Box
12
Folder
18
|
Rennebohm, Oscar, 1948-1968
|
|
Box
12
Folder
19
|
Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, 1969-1970
|
|
Box
12
Folder
20
|
Republican Leadership Conference, 1970
|
|
Box
12
Folder
21
|
Republican National Committee, 1969-1970
|
|
Box
12
Folder
22
|
Resolutions re deceased members, 1962
|
|
Box
12
Folder
23
|
Returning Wisconsin servicemen project, 1967-1969
|
|
Box
12
Folder
24
|
Reynolds, John W., 1962-1964
|
|
Box
12
Folder
25
|
Ripon as home of Republican Party, 1964-1967
|
|
Box
12
Folder
26
|
Rohde, Gilbert, 1961
|
|
Box
12
Folder
27
|
Romney, George, 1962-1967
|
|
Box
12
Folder
28-30
|
Senior Citizens Advisory Committee, 1968-1971
|
|
Box
12
Folder
31
|
Special elections, 1967
|
|
Box
12
Folder
32
|
Springer, Floyd, 1963-1968
|
|
Box
12
Folder
33
|
Staff, State headquarters, 1964-1969
|
|
Box
12
Folder
34
|
Staff training conference, 1971
|
|
Box
12
Folder
35
|
State Central Committee lists, 1955-1966
|
|
Box
12
Folder
36
|
Steiger, Carl E., 1963
|
|
Box
12
Folder
37
|
Steiger, William A., 1967-1969
|
|
Box
12
Folder
38
|
Surveys, 1968
|
|
Box
12
Folder
39
|
T, 1960-1965
|
|
Box
12
Folder
40
|
Teen-age Republicans, undated
|
|
Box
12
Folder
41
|
Tewes, Donald, 1956-1964
|
|
Box
12
Folder
42
|
Thomson, Vernon, 1968-1969
|
|
Box
12
Folder
43-48
|
Treasurer, Invoices approved for payment, 1965-1970
|
|
Box
12
Folder
49
|
U-V, 1956-1971
|
|
Box
12
Folder
50
|
United Republicans of America, 1967
|
|
Box
12
Folder
51
|
University of Wisconsin, 1951-1960
|
|
Box
12
Folder
52
|
W, 1946-1966
|
|
Box
12
Folder
53
|
WEA, 1968
|
|
Box
12
Folder
54
|
Wallace, George, 1968
|
|
Box
12
Folder
55
|
Warren, Robert W., 1968-1970
|
|
Box
12
Folder
56
|
Wiley, Alexander, 1960-1962
|
|
Box
12
Folder
57
|
Wisconsin Almanac and Government Guide, 1969-1970
|
|
Box
12
Folder
58
|
Wisconsin Association of School Boards, 1968
|
|
Box
12
Folder
59
|
Wisconsin Press Association, 1962-1967
|
|
Box
12
Folder
60
|
Women's statewide conference, 1970
|
|
Box
12
Folder
61
|
Workshop of Wisconsin, 1961
|
|
Box
12
Folder
62
|
Y-Z, 1960-1970
|
|
Box
12
Folder
63
|
YGOP, 1966-1970
|
|
Box
12
Folder
64
|
Yerly, Everett, 1957-1968
|
|
Box
12
Folder
65-66
|
Youth Task Force, 1971
|
|
Box
12
Folder
67
|
Zawacki, Edmund, 1961
|
|
Box
12
Folder
68
|
Zimmerman, Robert, 1968-1969
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|
Box
12
Folder
70
|
Zuckerman, Stanley, 1963-1964
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|
|
Series: Miscellaneous Items
|
|
Box
13
Folder
1
|
, 1900 and 1902: Statements of election expenses
|
|
Box
13
Folder
1
|
, 1902: Certificate of nominations for state officers
|
|
Box
13
Folder
1
|
, 1914: Party platform (typewritten carbon)
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|
Box
13
Folder
1
|
, 1924: State Convention minutes (typewritten carbon)
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|
Box
13
Folder
1
|
, 1928: State Convention minutes and platform (typewritten carbon)
|
|
Box
13
Folder
1
|
, 1930: State Convention minutes and platform (typewritten carbon)
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|
Box
13
Folder
1
|
, 1932: Proceedings of the Platform Convention and its Committee on Resolutions (typewritten carbon)
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|
Box
13
Folder
2
|
1936: State Convention proceedings (1 volume, typewritten)
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|
Box
13
Folder
2
|
1938 August 5: Opening campaign address by Edward J. Samp, candidate for U.S. Senate, Waukesha, Wis. (at back of volume above)
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|
Box
13
Folder
3
|
, 1938: State Convention proceedings (typewritten carbon)
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|
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