Summary Information
A. Merriman Smith Papers
1937-1973 (bulk 1940-1970)
- Smith, A. Merriman, 1913-1970
U.S. Mss 72AF; PH 4910; Audio 1474A; AD 404-406; EA 067
9.0 c.f. (8 record center cartons, 1 flat box, and 1 oversize folder), 911 photographs (2 archives boxes and 1 flat box), 309 transparencies (1 archives box), 3 negatives and 401 negatives on 36 strips in 1 negative box, 3 reels of 16 mm film and 1 reel of 8 mm film, and 88 tape recordings
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers, mainly 1940-1970, of A. Merriman Smith, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author sometimes referred to as “the dean of the White House correspondents” for his news coverage of six presidents, 1941-1970, and for his Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The papers, which include correspondence, subject files, speeches and writings, working files, presidential memorabilia, and photographs, document both reporting for United Press International (UPI) and his personal life. Coverage of both an informational and evidential nature is strong for those periods when the President was away from the White House. Smith's journalism is represented by draft and printed news stories, articles, speeches, fiction stories, interviews, reporter's notebooks, and drafts of four books: A President Is Many Men (1948), Meet Mr. Eisenhower (1956), A President's Odyssey (1961), and The Good New Days (1962).
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0072af ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Albert Merriman Smith, better known by his professional name, Merriman Smith, was born in Savannah, Georgia, on February 10, 1913. He attended elementary and secondary schools in Savannah and entered Oglethorpe University in Atlanta in 1931. Simultaneous with his entrance into college, Smith began his career in professional journalism as a sportswriter for the now defunct Atlanta Georgian until 1933.
Leaving Oglethorpe in 1934, his junior year, Smith became a feature writer for the Atlanta Journal Sunday Magazine. He held this position until 1935, when he was hired as managing editor of the Athens (Georgia) Daily Times. The following year, he joined United Press (later United Press International). Until late 1940 he filled a number of assignments in the South including coverage of the Georgia and Florida state legislatures. During the period leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Smith was transferred from the Atlanta bureau to Washington, D.C. Thereafter, he reported on the activities of six Presidents. In addition to day-to-day coverage of Presidential news, Smith wrote a column for United Press International (UPI) entitled “Backstairs at the White House” that dealt with some of the interesting sidelights on the first families. Merriman Smith's only break from this assignment in over thirty years lasted seven months during 1958 when he reported on the national recession and the Sherman Adams-Bernard Goldfine political scandal.
During his decades in the nation's capital, Smith was an on-the-scene observer of many of the major events of his time. In 1941 he supplied the public with details of the disaster at Pearl Harbor. He accompanied President Franklin D. Roosevelt on wartime trips in and out of the United States. In recognition of his coverage of the death of Roosevelt in Warm Springs, Georgia, in 1945, Smith was presented with the 1946 National Headliners Award. During the administration of President Harry S. Truman, Smith covered such major events as the Potsdam Conference in 1945 and the meeting between the President and General Douglas MacArthur on Wake Island in 1950. He was with President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower in Korea in 1952 and later reported on Eisenhower's activities at home as well as at the Bermuda Big Three Conference in 1953, the NATO Council of 1957 in Paris, and the 1960 summit in Paris. In addition, Smith accompanied the President on all of his foreign tours. In 1961 he was with President John F. Kennedy at meetings with Charles de Gaulle and Nikita Khrushchev. In 1960 UPI assigned him to cover both the national Democratic and Republican conventions. For his detailed, firsthand coverage of the assassination of President Kennedy Smith was awarded the 1964 Pulitzer Prize for “distinguished reporting of national affairs.” Shortly before leaving office President Johnson awarded Smith the Medal of Freedom, the highest award given to civilians.
In addition to his regular reports and columns, Smith wrote articles for most of the major national magazines, including the New York Times Magazine, This Week, and Nation's Business. He has also appeared frequently as a panelist on national television and radio shows, and was in frequent demand as a public speaker. Smith also found time to write five books dealing with the Presidency. In his first book, Thank you, Mr. President (1946), Smith presented his impressions of Presidents Roosevelt and Truman and their relationships with the press. He depicted Roosevelt as a great man, while Truman was described as a typical American. Smith further described the daily routine in the White House in A President Is Many Men (1948). His Meet Mr. Eisenhower (1956) was the first full-length work about Eisenhower to appear after his election victory. Eisenhower's travels during 1959 and 1960, on which Smith accompanied him, were the subject of A President's Odyssey (1961). The Kennedy administration is the subject of The Good New Days; a Not Entirely Reverent Study of Native Habits and Customs in Modern Washington (1962).
In 1937 Merriman Smith married Eleanor Doyle Brill and they had three children: Merriman Jr., Timothy, and Allison. They later divorced. In 1966 Smith's oldest son, a helicopter pilot, was killed in Vietnam. In 1966 Smith married Gailey Johnson and they had a daughter, Gillean. Smith died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on April 13, 1970 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Scope and Content Note
The bulk of the Merriman Smith Papers arrived at the Historical Society in 1988 in great disorder and in poor physical condition apparently due to years of storage in poor conditions in North Carolina. The papers consist of CORRESPONDENCE, SUBJECT FILES, WORKING FILES, SPEECHES AND WRITINGS, VISUAL MATERIALS, and AUDIO RECORDINGS. It is unlikely that the collection represents the entirety of the Smith papers that once existed, for in editing Merriman Smith's Book of Presidents: a White House Memoir, Smith's son Tim mentioned having consulted 26 cartons of papers; whereas only 18 cartons were received in the Archives.
The CORRESPONDENCE consists of general and family mail, with spotty coverage before 1950. Notable from this period is a humorous note from President Truman in 1945 and many reader responses to Thank You, Mr. President. After 1950 the correspondence consists of exchanges with readers, book editors, and newspapermen about his stories and freelance writing. A substantial portion concerns arrangements for public speaking. Political news and gossip can be found occasionally. Of special interest is the letter Smith wrote to President Johnson on June 15, 1965 as Merriman Jr., was about to leave for Vietnam and Johnson's response written on June 22. After Smith's son was killed in 1966 the President movingly read Smith's letter to the public.
The family correspondence includes information on Smith's acrimonious divorce, letters to and from his attorney and his children during and after the couple's separation, and letters about his treatment for alcoholism written in a frank, reporter-like fashion. Many letters to Gailey Johnson prior to their marriage in 1966 also concern aspects of his recovery.
The SUBJECT FILES consist of additional correspondence as well as other types of documentation, all of which is alphabetically arranged. The most important files document his relationship with various UPI executives and editors, although these files are probably only a small portion of the communications of this type that once existed. Nevertheless, together with the material in the WORK FILES, the Merriman Smith collection provides good evidence of the wire service's operations and the activities of its staff and executives such as C. Edmond Allen, Hugh Baillie, Frank Bartholmew, Julius Frandsen, Earl J. Johnson, Mims Thomason, Gerald J. Rock, H. Roger Tatarian, and Lyle Wilson. These exchanges concern news events, arrangements for travel, congratulations on Smith's handling of particular stories, and routine matters such as expense accounts. Most of Smith's wire service memoranda are brief, but occasional longer items document a wartime FDR press conference with Black journalists, Smith's insights into the Johnson presidency (May 15, 1966), and news about the war in Vietnam (February 13, 1966, Labor Day 1967, and February 2, 1968). Filed with some UPI publications are reprints that illustrate national front page coverage of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Kennedy's assassination, and events of October 1942.
Also in the subject files are research materials on alcoholism and schizophrenia (perhaps the mental illness from which the first Mrs. Smith suffered), congratulatory letters and telegrams about his Pulitzer Prize and materials from the presentation ceremony; and scrapbooks concerning his youth, the death of his son, and writings, 1946-1948. From his early reporting career there are legal documents dated 1940 from the Osceola Migratory Labor camp and speeches by Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier at a British war relief appearance in Atlanta in 1940. There are also exchanges with Curtis Brown Ltd., Nev Wagner, and William Morris, all of whom represented Smith as a public speaker. A large collection of photocopied biographical clippings provides good coverage of Smith's career as a public speaker. Several of these presentations such as Smith's remarks about President Johnson's anti-war critics provoked national editorial comment.
The memorabilia in the subject files is of particular interest; it includes invitations and menus for various events at the White House to which Smith was invited (including the marriage of Lynda Bird Johnson and Charles Robb); souvenirs of helicopter flights from the White House lawn and on Air Force One; and copies of humorous skits of the Gridiron Club. Some of the unidentified slides in the collection are thought to illustrate Gridiron Club performances.
The SPEECHES AND WRITINGS series includes published news stories, edited book drafts, manuscript and printed copies of articles, short stories, and speeches, all of which are arranged alphabetically by genre. The writings include his freelance works which contain drafts and printed materials for Nation's Business, This Week, the High Point Hospital newsletter, and other publications. Articles for which the publication status is not indicated are filed as general articles. These drafts primarily concern President Eisenhower and the Secret Service's protection of the President. Three folders contain transcripts written by Smith for UPI's audio broadcast service, 1966-1970.
The book files document all five of Smith's books (Thank you, Mr. President, 1946; A President Is Many Men, 1948; Meet Mr. Eisenhower, 1955; A President's Odyssey, 1961; and The Good New Days, 1962). The files include drafts indicating editorial revisions and significant deletions, book reviews, and research. The published copies of each book are available in the Historical Society Library. Smith's columns, “Backstairs at the White House” and “Washington Window” are only minimally documented in either print or manuscript form and only a few are dated. Smith's fiction writing consists primarily of proposals and incomplete drafts making it difficult to determine if any was published. Apparently most complete of these efforts was a 1938 short story, “Nigger in the Woodpile” that is known to have been rejected. For “Hail to the Chief,” probably intended as a longer work, there is a proposal and several draft chapters. Other genres in which Smith worked include: Potus, a play; treatments for a television program to be entitled “Washington Correspondent”; and ideas for humorous sketches about President Johnson to be used on the television program That Was the Week That Was.
It is likely that Smith's published news stories, which are present as photocopied scrapbooks and loose clippings, represent only a portion of his career output. In addition to photocopied clippings, the collection includes souvenir copies of his most famous stories about Roosevelt and Kennedy, and “The Murder of a Young President,” a booklet reprint of his Kennedy assassination coverage. Related to the news stories are wire service bulletins, the original cabled stories transmitted to UPI by Smith while traveling with the President. The relationship of the original wire service bulletins to the published story has not been researched.
The WORK FILES are an artificial series created when the Smith papers were first unpacked in the Archives that was probably meant to encompass a variety of material related to reporting. The series is arranged chronologically by President, with two additional files about Smith's coverage of the Adlai Stevenson and Hubert Humphrey presidential campaigns. In general, the series consists of background information that is focused around how the news media covered the President while he was traveling. Most of the work files include reporter's notebooks (only a portion of which are even roughly identified) and the detailed narrative travel logs released by the President's press officers. There are logs for Roosevelt's home front inspection trip in 1942, the 1943 and 1944 Quebec conferences, his 1944 Pacific inspection, and the meeting at Yalta in 1945. President Truman's logs represent the 1945 Berlin Conference, Caribbean vacations in 1946 and 1948, and his official visit to Brazil in 1947. President Nixon's trip to Europe in 1969 is also documented in this way. Other materials included additional cables to UPI's Washington desk; travel instructions; selected official White House press releases; menus, invitations, and other memorabilia; and background information on nations that were visited and the ships on which the President traveled.
Unexpected information of special value in the WORK FILES includes narrative memos on three Smith's interviews with President Eisenhower (1954, 1960, and 1965), a transcript of an appearance on Face the Nation, notes on 1961 interviews of Lawrence O'Brien and Robert F. Kennedy by Sander Vanocur and Ray Scherer; an interview of President Johnson by UPI colleague Helen Thomas; Smith's recollections of events witnessed on Air Force One on November 22, 1963; and notes on President Johnson's meeting with Pope Paul VI in 1965.
The VISUAL MATERIALS series includes photographic prints, transparencies, negatives, 16 mm film and 8 mm film. The photographs, transparencies and negatives consist of candid and informal portraits of Smith; photographs of him with Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy; as well as images of all six Presidents that he covered. The majority of these prints were taken by UPI or official White House photographers. However, there are also photographic prints taken by Smith and most likely all the transparencies and negatives were made by him. Events that Smith personally documented include: Eisenhower en route to Korea in 1952 and on several golfing vacations; and Johnson while traveling in Asia and the South Pacific in 1966 and 1967. Smith is known to have been an avid amateur photographer, but the images in this series probably represent only a small portion of his work. The collection includes two photograph albums presented to Smith by President Johnson. One documents the President's 1967 trip around the world; the other, which is entitled “Thank you, Mr. Smith,” was a gift for Smith's 55th birthday. All of the photographs in the second album have been humorously captioned. Other individuals of note in the photographs include James Cagney, Winston Churchill, John Foster Dulles, William D. Leahy, George Reedy, and Pierre Salinger. The collection also includes 16 mm and 8 mm films shot by Smith. Events documented in the films include a trip Smith made with President Truman in 1947 to Rio de Janeiro and Key West; and Smith receiving the Medal of Freedom from President Johnson. Also included are movies of Gailey Johnson Smith in 1935 in her playroom and at the Chicago Zoo.
The AUDIO RECORDINGS, 1961-1970, document Smith's career and have been divided by topic as follows: President Kennedy, President Johnson, President Nixon and Vice President Agnew, Merriman Smith, Labor News Conference, Humor, and Uncategorized. Included are press conferences with Johnson, Nixon, and George McGovern and a 1965 interview of President Eisenhower. Most tapes are arranged chronologically, then alphabetically for undated tapes. Exceptions include uncategorized tapes which are arranged alphabetically, and Labor News Conference tapes which are arranged by original number.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Original Collection presented by Merriman Smith, Washington, D.C. Additions presented by Gillean and Tim Smith via Mollie Green. Accession Number: MCHC61-055, MCHC65-102, M85-251
Processed by Carolyn J. Mattern, 2010.
Contents List
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U.S. Mss 72AF
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Series: Correspondence
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Box
1
Folder
1-20
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General, 1941-2003, undated
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Box
1
Folder
21-30
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Family, 1947, 1961, 1963-1970, 1973, undated
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Series: Subject Files
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Box
1
Folder
31
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Adams, Sherman, undated
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Box
1
Folder
32
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Alcoholism
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Box
1
Folder
33
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Appointment books, 1954-1955, 1963, 1967
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Box
1
Folder
34
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Awards, Standard size
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Box
9
Folder
1
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Awards, Oversize
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Box
2
Folder
1-9
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Biographical clippings, 1940s-1950s, 1960-1970, undated
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Box
2
Folder
10
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Children's Hospital
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Box
8
Folder
13
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Contracts
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Box
2
Folder
11
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Curtis Brown, Ltd., 1946-1962
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Gridiron Club
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Box
2
Folder
12
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Skits, 1970
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Box
8
Folder
14
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Miscellaneous materials
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Box
2
Folder
13
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Griffin, Merv
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Box
2
Folder
14
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Harper and Brothers
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Box
2
Folder
15
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Humor
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Box
2
Folder
16
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Interviews, miscellaneous
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Mementos and memorabilia
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Box
2
Folder
17
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General
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Box
2
Folder
18
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Presidential invitations and menus
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Box
2
Folder
19
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Milwaukee “White House” telephone directory
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Box
9
Folder
2
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Churchill Library groundbreaking ceremony, 1964
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Box
9
Folder
3
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Souvenir newspaper headline stories (Roosevelt, Kennedy)
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Oversize Folder
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Illustrated certificate to mark crossing the Equator on the USS Missouri, 1947
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Box
2
Folder
20
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Miscellaneous papers
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Box
2
Folder
21
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Morality research
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Box
2
Folder
22
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National Press Club
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Box
2
Folder
23
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Osceola Migratory Labor Camp, 1940
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Box
8
Folder
18
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Presidential fragments
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Box
2
Folder
24
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Presidential - miscellaneous
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Box
2
Folder
25
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Presidential travel
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Box
8
Folder
19
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Press organizations' miscellaneous papers
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Box
2
Folder
26
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Public speaking
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Pulitzer Prize
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Box
2
Folder
27-28
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Correspondence
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Box
2
Folder
29
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Scrapbook
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Box
2
Folder
30
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Research binder, 1963
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Box
2
Folder
31
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Research--miscellaneous
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Box
8
Folder
16
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St. Louis interviews, circa 1967
: From an unknown source.
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Box
2
Folder
32
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Schizophrenia
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Scrapbooks
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Box
2
Folder
33
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School
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Box
2
Folder
34
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Early career, 1937-1939
: Original handwritten speech of Sir Laurence Olivier and related items removed to Autograph File.
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Box
2
Folder
35-36
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1946-1948
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Box
2
Folder
37
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Death of Merriman Jr., 1966
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Box
2
Folder
38
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Reviews of Smith books
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UPI
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Correspondence and memoranda
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Box
2
Folder
39-41
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1941-1958, 1960-1964
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Box
3
Folder
1-4
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1965-1968, 1970, undated
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Publications
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Box
3
Folder
5
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Standard size materials
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Box
9
Folder
4
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“U.P. Play” War Extra, 1941 December, 1942 October
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Box
3
Folder
6
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University of New Mexico
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Box
3
Folder
7
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Nev Wagner Personal Management
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Box
3
Folder
8
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Warm Springs Memorial
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Box
3
Folder
9
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William Morris Agency
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Box
8
Folder
21
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White House Correspondents Association
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Series: Speeches and Writings
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Articles
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Box
3
Folder
10
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General
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Box
3
Folder
11
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Eisenhower, Dwight
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Box
3
Folder
12
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Graham, Walter
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Box
3
Folder
13
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Insight, 1964
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Box
3
Folder
14
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Leahy, William D.
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Box
3
Folder
15
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Secret Service
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Box
3
Folder
16
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This Week
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Box
3
Folder
17
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“Washington's Mood,” Nation's Business
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Box
9
Folder
5
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Large format
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Box
3
Folder
18-20
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Audio broadcasts, 1966-1970, undated
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Books
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Good News Days
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Box
3
Folder
21-22
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Drafts, introduction and chapters 1-19
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Box
3
Folder
23
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Clippings and reviews
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Box
3
Folder
24
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General
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Meet Mr. Eisenhower
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Box
3
Folder
25-26
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Draft binder
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Box
3
Folder
27
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Clippings and reviews
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A President Is Many Men
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Box
3
Folder
28-31
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Draft binders
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Box
3
Folder
32
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Miscellaneous papers
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Box
3
Folder
33
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General research material
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Box
3
Folder
34
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Historical research
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Box
4
Folder
1
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Historical research (continued)
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Box
4
Folder
2
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Rudolph Forster and Maurice Latta research
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A President's Odyssey
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Box
4
Folder
3-4
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Chapter drafts, 1-21
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Box
4
Folder
5
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Editorial deletions
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Box
4
Folder
6
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Clippings and reviews
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Thank you, Mr. President
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Box
4
Folder
7
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Introduction drafts
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Box
4
Folder
8
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White House notebook design
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Box
4
Folder
9
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Chapter drafts
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Box
4
Folder
10-11
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Typesetter's copy
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Box
4
Folder
12
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Clippings and reviews
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Box
4
Folder
13
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Excerpt
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Box
4
Folder
14
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Chapters, miscellaneous and unidentified
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Box
4
Folder
15
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College paper
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Columns
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Box
4
Folder
16
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“Backstairs at the White House”
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Box
4
Folder
17
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“Washington Pipeline”
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Box
4
Folder
18
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“Washington Window”
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Fiction
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Box
4
Folder
19
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“Farragut House,” 1962-1963
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Box
4
Folder
20-21
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“Hail to the Chief,” outline and draft chapters
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Box
4
Folder
22
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Miscellaneous writings and fragments
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Box
4
Folder
23
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“Nigger in the Woodpile”
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Box
4
Folder
24
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“Not Dawn”
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Box
4
Folder
25
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Short Stories
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Box
4
Folder
26
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John Wesley short story manuscript
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Box
4
Folder
27
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Fiction fragments
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Box
8
Folder
15
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Handwritten stories
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Box
4
Folder
28
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Murder of a Young President
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News stories
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Box
4
Folder
29
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WWII scrapbook
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Box
4
Folder
30-37
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Loose clippings, 1941-1970, undated
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Box
8
Folder
3-10
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Notes, notebooks and loose notes, undated
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Plays
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Potus (about the President)
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Box
4
Folder
38
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Typed draft
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Box
8
Folder
17
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Handwritten draft
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Box
8
Folder
11
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Untitled typed script
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Proposals
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Box
4
Folder
39
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General ideas
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Box
4
Folder
40
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Eisenhower book, 1954
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Box
4
Folder
41
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“How to Stay Alive” outline
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Box
4
Folder
42
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Lyndon Johnson book, foreword and chapter 1
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Box
4
Folder
43
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TW3 television program suggestions
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Speeches
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Box
4
Folder
44-49
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1961-1966
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Box
8
Folder
20
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1966
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Box
5
Folder
1-4
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1967-1970
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Box
5
Folder
5
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undated
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Box
5
Folder
13
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undated (continued)
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undated, but
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Box
5
Folder
6
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1950s
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Box
5
Folder
7
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1961-1963
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Box
5
Folder
8
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1963-1969
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Box
5
Folder
9
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1969-1974
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Box
5
Folder
10
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Kennedy era
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Box
5
Folder
11
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Johnson era
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Box
5
Folder
12
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Nixon era, circa 1969-1970
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Box
5
Folder
14
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Television “Washington Correspondent,” 1951-1966
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Wire service bulletins
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Box
5
Folder
15
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Roosevelt
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Box
5
Folder
16-17
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Truman
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Eisenhower
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Box
5
Folder
18-19
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Various dates
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Box
8
Folder
22
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1960
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Kennedy
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Box
5
Folder
20
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Various dates
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Box
8
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1961
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Box
5
Folder
21
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Assassination
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Johnson
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Box
5
Folder
22
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Various dates
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Box
5
Folder
23
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1966
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Box
5
Folder
24
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Manila Conference, 1966
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Nixon
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
25
|
Various dates
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
26
|
Romania, Asia trips, 1969
|
|
|
Series: Work Files
|
|
|
Roosevelt
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
1-2
|
White House Press Office logs
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
3-5
|
Reporter's notebooks
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
6
|
Fragments
|
|
|
Truman
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
7
|
Berlin Conference
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
8
|
Inauguration
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
9-11
|
White House Press Office logs, 1945-1948
|
|
|
Box
7
Folder
1
|
General work materials
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
12
|
Stevenson, Adlai, presidential campaign
|
|
|
Eisenhower
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
13-14
|
General work materials
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
15
|
USS Helena traffic
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
16
|
Interviews -- transcripts and notes, 1954, 1960, 1965
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
17-18
|
Reporter's notebooks
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
19
|
Typed notes
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
20
|
South America trip, 1960
|
|
|
Box
7
Folder
2
|
USS Triton
|
|
|
Box
7
Folder
3
|
USS Yorktown
|
|
|
Kennedy, John F.
|
|
|
Box
7
Folder
4
|
Reporter's notebooks
|
|
|
Box
7
Folder
5
|
Assassination and Warren Commission
|
|
|
Box
7
Folder
6-7
|
General work materials
|
|
|
Box
9
Folder
6
|
“Four Days that Shook the World,” promotion
|
|
|
Johnson, Lyndon
|
|
|
Box
7
Folder
8
|
Helen Thomas interview, 1968
|
|
|
Box
7
Folder
9-13
|
Reporter's notebooks
|
|
|
Box
7
Folder
14-15
|
General work materials
|
|
|
Box
8
Folder
12
|
Vietnam briefing
|
|
|
Box
7
Folder
16
|
Humphrey, Hubert, presidential campaign
|
|
|
Nixon, Richard
|
|
|
Box
7
Folder
17
|
Interviews, 1968
|
|
|
Box
7
Folder
18
|
Log, 1969
|
|
|
Box
7
Folder
19-20
|
General work materials
|
|
|
Box
8
Folder
1-2
|
Reporter's notebooks
|
|
|
Box
9
Folder
7
|
Large notebook, 1969 December 12
|
|
|
Box
9
Folder
7
|
Press conferences and speeches
|
|
|
PH 4910
|
Series: Visual Materials
|
|
|
Photographs
|
|
|
Merriman Smith
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
1
|
Portraits/Alone
|
|
|
Box
3
Folder
1
|
Oversize
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
2
|
At work/Reporting on events
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
4
|
With others/Attending events
|
|
|
Box
3
Folder
2
|
With various U.S. Presidents
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
8
|
With Vice President Hubert Humphrey
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
3
|
Smith Family
|
|
|
Presidents/Coverage of Presidents
|
|
|
Franklin D. Roosevelt
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
10
|
Alone/With others
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
11
|
With Merriman Smith
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
13
|
Harry S. Truman and Merriman Smith
|
|
|
Dwight D. Eisenhower
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
9
|
Alone/With others
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
7
|
With Merriman Smith
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
5
|
Trips
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
6
|
Golfing at Augusta, 1957
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
10
|
Album: Eisenhower Korean Trip, 1952
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
16
|
Truman and Eisenhower
: Album page and loose prints.
|
|
|
John F. Kennedy
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
3
|
Alone/With others
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
4
|
With Merriman Smith
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
5
|
With Jacqueline Kennedy/Mrs. Kennedy alone
: Probably by Smith.
|
|
|
Lyndon Johnson
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
1
|
Alone/With others
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
2
|
With Merriman Smith
|
|
|
Albums
|
|
|
Box
3
Folder
3
|
World Tour, 1967
: Pages removed from album.
|
|
|
Box
3
Folder
4
|
“Thank you, Mr. Smith” Birthday, 1968
: Album cover and pages removed from album.
|
|
|
Richard Nixon
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
7
|
Alone/With others
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
8
|
Paris trip, 1969 February
: Nixon not pictured.
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
9
|
People of note
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
12
|
USS Triton
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
15
|
USS Yorktown
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
14
|
Vietnam War protest, District of Columbia
: Probably by Smith.
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
6
|
Miscellaneous
|
|
|
Transparencies
|
|
|
Merriman Smith
|
|
|
Work related
|
|
|
Box
4
Folder
8
|
Gridiron Club?
|
|
|
Box
4
Folder
6
|
Peace Demonstrations, Lincoln Memorial, 1967 November
|
|
|
Box
4
Folder
5
|
Dean Rusk and William Westmoreland, 1967?
|
|
|
Box
4
Folder
9
|
Aircraft carriers, 1959, 1969 and undated
|
|
|
Travel
|
|
|
Box
4
Folder
11
|
Berlin
|
|
|
Box
4
Folder
12
|
India, 1959 and 1967?
: Possibly a UPI trip.
|
|
|
Box
4
Folder
1
|
Smith Family
|
|
|
Presidents/Coverage of Presidents
|
|
|
Dwight D. Eisenhower
|
|
|
Box
4
Folder
2-4
|
Golfing trips, 1957-1960, undated
|
|
|
John F. Kennedy
|
|
|
Box
4
Folder
7
|
Trips, 1962-1963
|
|
|
Box
4
Folder
10
|
Memorial
|
|
|
Lyndon Johnson
|
|
|
Box
4
Folder
13
|
Trips, 1963-1968
|
|
|
Negatives
|
|
|
Merriman Smith
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
1-3
|
Portraits
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
23-29
|
At work/Reporting on events
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
18-22
|
With others/Attending events
|
|
|
Travel
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
30-39
|
India
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
40-50
|
Miscellaneous
|
|
|
Presidents/Coverage of Presidents
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
4
|
Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Merriman Smith
|
|
|
John F. Kennedy
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
5
|
Kennedy in Ireland
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
6
|
Hyannis, Boats
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
7-8
|
Gravesite, Arlington Cemetery, circa 1965
|
|
|
Lyndon Johnson
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
9-10
|
Alone/With others
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
11
|
With Press Corps
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
12-17
|
Richard M. Nixon
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
51-53
|
Reporters
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
54
|
Social gathering/music
: Possibly EDICON, 1969 October.
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
55
|
United Press International party?
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
56
|
Aircraft carrier helicopters
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
57
|
Klu Klux Klan parade
|
|
|
Films
|
|
|
AD 404
|
Gailey Johnson (wife of Smith) at the Chicago Zoo, 1935
16 mm
|
|
|
AD 405
|
Gailey Johnson in her playroom, 1935
16 mm
|
|
|
AD 406
|
Merriman Smith receiving an award, probably the Medal of Freedom from President Lyndon Johnson, circa 1968
Black & white, 16 mm
|
|
|
EA 067
|
President Harry Truman's trip to Rio de Janeiro and Key West, 1947
Color, 8 mm
: Showing harbor and ships, military parade, Truman in top hat and aboard ship in military hat; arriving by plane (probably at Key West), Truman speaking, indigenous peoples (probably Central American), in native dress; and press corps relaxing.
|
|
|
Audio 1474A
|
Series: Audio Recordings
|
|
|
President John F. Kennedy
|
|
|
1474A/15
|
President John F. Kennedy's Address to United Press International Editors Publishers, Statler-Hilton Hotel, New York City, 1961 June 8
|
|
|
1474A/16
|
President John F. Kennedy Assassination, Earl McRoberts Xtra News, 1963 November 22
|
|
|
President Lyndon B. Johnson
|
|
|
1474A/2
|
Lyndon Johnson press conference at Job Corps camp in Texas, 1965
|
|
|
1474A/20-21
|
Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966 February 24
2 tapes
|
|
|
1474A/23
|
Lyndon B. Johnson to Courtney Valenti, LBJ to OAU, 1966 May
|
|
|
1474A/17
|
LBJ, 1967 October 10
|
|
|
1474A/25
|
1968 election, LBJ urges voters to “stay in the USA until after election day”
|
|
|
1474A/22
|
LBJ bombing
|
|
|
1474A/24
|
LBJ, his dog “his,” and Fresh Concrete; Talks about the White House; 4 episodes
|
|
|
1474A/18
|
“A Spark of Divinity: The Divinity Within all Humans Regardless of their Belief Sets,” Lady Bird Johnson said to not be present, undated
|
|
|
1474A/19
|
Harry S. Truman and Lady Bird in Greece; Sid Davis, LBJ, Astronauts, undated
|
|
|
President Richard M. Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew
|
|
|
1474A/30
|
Nixon Inauguration, 1968 January 20
|
|
|
1474A/32
|
Nixon at the Republican National Convention, 1968 August 5
|
|
|
1474A/4
|
Richard Nixon press conference following his nomination, 1968 August 7
|
|
|
1474A/5
|
Richard Nixon, law and order campaign speech, circa 1968 September 7
|
|
|
1474A/5 (continued)
|
Richard Nixon press conference, 1968 September 8
: About his schedule, William Scranton's trip to Europe for him, and communications with the Johnson administration.
|
|
|
1474A/28
|
Humphrey on Issues & Answers, 1968 November 3
|
|
|
1474A/6
|
N.A.T.O., 1969 April 10
|
|
|
1474A/26
|
Spiro Agnew, 1969 April 25
|
|
|
1474A/28 (continued)
|
Nixon's first press conference as president, 1969 January 27
|
|
|
1474A/31
|
Nixon's first press conference as president, 1969 January 27
: Continues from 1494A/28.
|
|
|
1474A/29
|
Nixon, Dwight D. Eisenhower Eulogy, Capitol Rotunda, 1969 March 30
|
|
|
1474A/27
|
Blastoff Weekend for President Nixon, Series: A view from the White House, undated
|
|
|
1474A/33
|
Random Nixon sound clips, undated
|
|
|
Merriman Smith
|
|
|
1474A/11
|
Martha Deane Program, WOR-FM, Guest: Merriman Smith, 1963 January 16
|
|
|
1474A/1
|
Smith interviews retired President Dwight Eisenhower, 1965 October 11
|
|
|
1474A/12
|
Merriman Smith on Griffin Show, 1969 July 3
|
|
|
1474A/13
|
Reporting from his house because of pneumonia, 1970 February 14
: Talks about the possibility of buying a house next door to Nixon's house in California.
|
|
|
1474A/9
|
Gorden Cooper, Astronaut
: Problems with retro rockets and oxygen over the Bay of Bengal; sounds like Smith.
|
|
|
1474A/7
|
G. and the Silk Merchants
: Likely a Smith broadcast.
|
|
|
1474A/10
|
Letter of correspondence, undated
|
|
|
1474A/8
|
Merriman Smith, [year unknown] September 27
|
|
|
1474A/14
|
White House, [year unknown] November 11 and 29
: Likely a Smith segment.
|
|
|
“From the People,” John Chambers
|
|
|
1474A/34
|
Dr. James Allen, United States Commission of Education
|
|
|
1474A/35
|
Postmaster General Winton Blount
|
|
|
1474A/36
|
John Chambers
|
|
|
1474A/37
|
Senator Edward J. Gurney (R - Florida)
|
|
|
1474A/38
|
George Romney (Former governor of Michigan) with John Chambers, Housing
|
|
|
1474A/39
|
Senator Ted Stevens (R - Alaska)
|
|
|
Labor News Conference
|
|
|
1474A/40
|
Labor News Conference #1-8, 1968 April 23
: Subject: America's Trade Unions Stress Community Service
Guest: Leo Perlis, Director of the AFL-CIO's Department of Community Services Activities
Reporters: Harry Conn, Editor, Press Associates, Inc. and William Eaton, Washington Correspondent for the Chicago Daily News
Moderator: Frank Harden
|
|
|
1474A/41
|
Labor News Conference #2-8, 1968 April 30
: Subject: New Labor - Management Drive to Improve Collective Bargaining
Guest Roy Siemiller, President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and a Vice President of the AFL-CIO
Reporters: Reporters: James Welsh, Staff Writer for the Washington Evening Star and Alan Adams, Washington Correspondent for Business Week Magazine
Moderator: Frank Harden
|
|
|
1474A/42
|
Labor News Conference #12-8, 1968 July 19
: Subject: Hiring the Hard-Core Jobless
Reporters: John W. Livingston, Director of Union Relations of the National Alliance of Businessmen
Reporters: James Welsh, Staff Writer for the Washington Evening Star and Stanley Levey, Labor Correspondent for the Scripps-Howard Newspapers
Moderator: Frank Harden
|
|
|
1474A/43
|
Labor News Conference #13-8, 1968 July 16
: Subject: Youth Unemployment - Scope and Solutions
Guest: Marion Friedman, Assistant Director of the AFL-CIO's Department of Research
Reporters: Alan Adams, Washington Correspondent for Business Week Magazine and Harry Conn, Editor of Press Associate, Inc. Moderator: Frank Harden
|
|
|
1474A/44
|
Labor News Conference #20-8, 1968 September 10
: Subject: New Directions in Union Community Service
Guest: Leo Perlis, Director of the AFL-CIO's Department of Community Service Activities
Reporters: Murray Seeger, Washington Correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and Harry Conn, Editor of Press Associates, Inc.
Moderator: Frank Harden
|
|
|
1474A/45
|
Labor News Conference #22-8, undated
: Subject: Labor's Election Year Look Out
Guest: Albert S. Zach, Director of the AFL-CIO Department of Public Relations
Reporters: Neil Gilbride, Labor Correspondent for the Associated Press and William Boton, Washington Representative for the Chicago Daily News
|
|
|
1474A/46
|
Labor News Conference #25-6, undated
: Subject: The Senate fight for Social Security
Guest: Bert Seidman, Director of the Department of Social Security, AFL-CIO;
Reporters: Cecil Holland, Capitol Hill Correspondent for the Washington Evening Star and Frank Swoboda, Labor Correspondent for UPI
Moderator: Frank Harden
|
|
|
1474A/47
|
Labor News Conference #25-8, unknown year, July 10
: Guest: Bert Seidman, Director of the AFL-CIO's Department of Social Security
Reporters: Al Goldsmith, Editor of the Washington Insurance Newsletter and Theodore Schuschat, Nationally Syndicated Columnist for the North American Newspaper Alliance
Moderator: Frank Harden
|
|
|
1474A/48
|
Labor News Conference #47-7, 1968 March 10
: Subject: Jobs for the Jobless
Guest: Marion Friedman, Assistant Director of the AFL-CIO's Department of Research
Reporters: Neil Gilbride, Labor Correspondent for the Associated Press and Harry Conn, Editor, Press Associates, Inc.
Moderator: Frank Harden
|
|
|
1474A/49
|
Labor News Conference #50-7, 1968 April 12
: Subject: Social Security and Welfare - The Needs Today and Tomorrow
Guest: Bert Seidman, Director of the AFL-CIO's Department of Social Security
Reporters: William Eaton, Chicago Daily News and J.V. Reistrup, Washington Post
Moderator: Frank Harden
|
|
|
1474A/50
|
Labor News Conference #52-7, undated
: Subject: Job Related Psychological Testing
Guest: Brett Gottlieb, an Industrial Engineer in the AFL-CIO Department of Research
Reporters: Alex Uhl, Editor of Press Associates, Inc. and Neil Gilbride, Labor Correspondent for the Associated Press
Moderator: Frank Harden
|
|
|
1474A/51
|
Labor News Conference, unnumbered, undated
: Title: Union members in Arts and Sciences
Guest: Jack Golodner, Executive Secretary of the Council of AFL-CIO Inions for scientific, professional, and cultural employees
Reporter: Alex Uhl, Editor of Press Associates, Inc and William Eaton, Washington Correspondent for the Chicago Daily News
Moderator: Frank Harden
|
|
|
Humor
|
|
|
1474A/52
|
Comedy Sketch about Lucy B. Johnson (LBJ's Daughter)
|
|
|
1474A/53
|
President Nixon Comedy Sketch
|
|
|
Uncategorized Tapes
|
|
|
1474A/54
|
3 candidate debate, 1968 August 27
|
|
|
1474A/55
|
Address to Joint Session of Congress Capitol Building, 1963 November 27
|
|
|
1474A/56
|
Allison, The Young, 1968 December 13
|
|
|
1474A/57
|
Allison Smith's 5th Birthday, undated
|
|
|
1474A/58
|
Beyond the Fringe, undated
|
|
|
1474A/59
|
Burlington, Iowa, 1967 August 4
|
|
|
1474A/60
|
Cassels at ANPA, 1970 April 20
|
|
|
1474A/61
|
Correspondence with Merriman Smith Jr. concerning a broken tape recorder, son is in Vietnam, undated
|
|
|
1474A/62
|
Diamonds, Lenses, and Other Company Discounts, 1965 October 25
: Multiple playback speeds.
|
|
|
1474A/63
|
Eaton, 1969 May 27
|
|
|
1474A/64
|
Evans, Clifford, 1969 December 8
|
|
|
1474A/65
|
Garrison Investigation, 1967 March 4-5
|
|
|
1474A/66
|
Gartlan, M to Trim, G to Trim, [year unknown] December 12-13
|
|
|
1474A/67
|
Arthur Godfrey Show with Murphy Griffin Substituting, undated
|
|
|
1474A/68
|
Grid 70, REH'L, undated
|
|
|
1474A/69
|
International Sports Competitions (Diving)
|
|
|
1474A/70
|
Long, Earl
|
|
|
1474A/3
|
George McGovern press conference at Job Corps camp in Texas, 1965
|
|
|
1474A/72-73
|
Microphone Checks, undated
|
|
|
1474A/71
|
NASA -Educational Radio Presentation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, undated
|
|
|
1474A/74
|
A phone conversation between Smith children, undated
|
|
|
1474A/75
|
Pearls for Gammy, Sending of Packages, Conversation with Merriman Smith Jr. or Merriman Smith Sr.'s father, undated
|
|
|
1474A/76
|
Predictions of 1960
|
|
|
1474A/77
|
Report from Washington, Walter Diohan, 1967 November 26
|
|
|
1474A/78
|
Rickles, undated
|
|
|
1474A/79
|
Short on Gillean, 1969
|
|
|
1474A/80
|
Stone & Webster Service Corporation, “1962 Executive Conference,” 1962 December 6
|
|
|
1474A/81
|
Suarez, Ted?, 1968 February 21
|
|
|
1474A/82
|
Won Tally, Oriental Imports, undated
|
|
|
1474A/83
|
UPI Edicon SX (Sigma Chi?), 1967 September 19
|
|
|
1474A/84
|
Volpe, Secretary of the Department of Transportation, undated
|
|
|
1474A/85
|
WA SDX (Sigma Delta Chi?), 1967 June 2
|
|
|
1474A/86
|
Whitmore, Albert; Director of the Industrial Union Department with Hauph on Surplus Food disposal, 1959 June 8
|
|
|
1474A/87
|
[hard to hear recording], undated
|
|
|
1474A/88
|
[hard to hear recording] about Dr. King?, undated
|
|
|
