MsC 107

Paul Harvey Cunningham Papers

Detailed Folder Inventory

Folder 1, items 1 -- 41

Wendell Wilkie congratulates Paul Cunningham for voting in favor of the amendments to the Neutrality Act. Clyde Herring expresses pleasure at having Congressman and Mrs. Cunningham as his guests. Senator and Mrs. Bourke Hickenlooper express thanks to the Cunninghams for the funeral flowers. J. Edgar Hoover extends thanks. Major General John A. Klein places Paul Cunningham's name on Officers Honorary Retired List. Congressman Paul Cunningham recalls President Eisenhower's 1958 address to Congress. Major General Lewis B. Hershey extends holiday greetings. Carl Vinson extends invitation to view model of the new Air Force Academy. Walter H. Judd extends appreciation for Paul Cunningham's remarks concerning his Chicago Convention speech. Edith Nourse Rogers sends appreciation for Christmas card. Governor Robert O. Blood welcomes Paul Cunningham to New Hampshire. Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn extends birthday greetings. Senator Edward L. Bartlett (Bob) expresses concern over the election. William M. Miller ("Fishbait") extends Christmas greetings. Dwight D. Eisenhower congratulates Paul Cunningham on his re-election to the House. Franklin D. Roosevelt extends invitation to meet with him at the White House. Paul Cunningham requests Paul Beer to circulate his nomination petition for him. David A. Dancer welcomes Paul Cunningham as a member of the Pioneer Lawmakers Association of Iowa. S.A. Watson thanks Paul Cunningham for his keynote address to the Boy Scout Council Conclave. H.B. Comfort thanks Paul Cunningham for speaking at the Alpha Council Reunion. Dee Maier thanks Paul Cunningham for appearing on television program, "Congress, -- mechanics of getting federal legislation." Hal H. Hale extends New Year greetings. Paul Cunningham expresses regret at the death of W.C. Strock. Dorothy A. Houghton extends thanks for the luncheon. James M. Barnes testifies as to the authenticity of President Roosevelt's signature on his letter of April 2, 1943, to Paul Cunningham. L.D. Teter writes that Congressman Cunningham carried all four wards of Pella, Iowa, in the 1946 general election. Ida B. Wise Smith approves of a Democrat presenting the prohibition bill. C.W.T. Robinson presents Paul Cunningham with an honorary life membership in the National Association of Retired and Veteran Railway Employees. Henry Cabot Lodge wires thanks to Paul Cunningham for his friendly message.

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Folder 2, items 42 -- 57

Joseph W. Martin, Jr., recalls his many years of friendship with Paul Cunningham. August E. Johansen relates Paul Cunningham's friendship with Congressman Paul Shafer. Senator Ernest Gruening writes of Paul Cunningham's work studying Alaska's road problems. Virgil M. Hancher expresses sorrow at the death of Paul and Mrs. Cunningham's son, Edward Plummer Cunningham, on Saipan. Paul Cunningham dies of heart attack at Gull Lake, near Nisswa, Minnesota.

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Folder 3, items 58 -- 69

Harry S. Truman Inaugural Ball, January 20, 1949. Reception at the White House, February 18, 1947. Inauguration ceremonies, Dwight D. Eisenhower, January 20, 1953. National Cherry Blossom Festival Ball invitation, March 28, 1958. Inauguration ceremonies of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, January 20, 1941. Inauguration of William Allen Egan, Governor of Alaska, at Juneau, January 17, 1959.

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Folder 6, items 136 -- 163

Paul H. Cunningham succeeds Cassius C. Dowell. Cunningham speaks on the "American Way." Favors present farm program. Ladies Home Journal supports Cunningham. Cunningham is a very good friend of labor. Robert K. Goodwin nominated for the special "short term" sixth congressional race.

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Folder 7, items 164 -- 230

Paul Cunningham meets with Harold Ickes concerning auto gas rationing in the Midwest. Iowa men train at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. Cunningham votes to kill the neutrality act. Cunningham believes creation of the Federal Reserve System "started the farmer on the downward road." The Greer incident doesn't warrant a declaration of war. Cunningham showered by letters from pro-Nazi propagandists. Cunningham and Le Compte vote to arm American merchant ships. Roosevelt asks 77th Congress for billions to arm Allies against Axis. Only Herring and Cunningham have consistently voted to give the army and navy needed defense materials. Cunningham is for the Lease-Lend bill. Iowa Congressmen refuse the privilege of having "x" rationing cards entitling them to unlimited supplies of gasoline. Paul Cunningham is author of the Loan Title of the G.I. Bill of Rights. Robert K. Goodwin speaks on the loss of American's democracy.

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Folder 8, items 231 -- 258

Paul Cunningham predicts Congress will override President Roosevelt's veto of the synthetic rubber bill. Iowa's food production amounts to patriotism in diminishing fears of famine. Senator Clyde La Verne Herring biographical data with photographs. Cunningham writes of the farm parity problem. Cunningham testifies as to the fairness of Cartwright, chairman of the Roads Committee. Paul Cunningham does not vote for pensions for Congress. Cunningham votes to eliminate the privilege of free mail for government agencies. Cunningham becomes chairman of a GOP subcommittee to study farm machinery and labor. A Republican Food Study Committee appointed by House Minority Leader Martin studies problems of production, rationing, and distribution. Forty students attending a Science Talent Search Institute talk, with Vice President Henry A. Wallace.

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Folder 9, items 259 -- 284

Robert D. Blue charges Franklin Roosevelt with failure to make proper defenses against the oncoming war. American war veterans in the market for government-backed loans. Cunningham and others look on as Roosevelt signs the GI Bill of Rights. Robert Doughton broke with President Roosevelt over the tax bill veto. Jerry Voorhis argues for adoption of the Townsend Plan bill, HR 1649. The soldier-aid bill outlined by Congressman Cunningham is very American. Cunningham praises Iowa State Sales Tax. Cunningham gives pen which Roosevelt used to sign the G. I. Bill of Rights to the Baldwin-Patterson East Des Moines Legion Post No. 274. Cunningham voices support of Thomas E. Dewey. Cunningham has the best wartime voting record of any Iowa representative. Universal service would be a violation of the bill of rights. Iowa again elects a solidly Republican delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Folder 10, items 285 -- 307

One hundred eighty-one bills recommending changes in the 9 month old GI Bill of Rights submitted to the House of Representatives. Congressman Cunningham explains the meaning of the phrase "missing in action." Two million dollar Veterans Tuberculosis Hospital to be located in Iowa. Battle casualties are first reported to the next of kin through the Office of the Adjutant General. Cunningham rewrites GI Bill section relating to loans for purchasing or constructing homes, farms, and business property. Congressman Ben Jensen responds enthusiastically to President Truman's message to Congress. Raising of US flag on Iwo Jima scene used on new 3 cent postage stamps brings waves of protests from organized groups of patriots. The red tape surrounding government loans has discouraged many veterans from making application. Cunningham commends Aspinwall Hospital for its cleanliness. V.L. Shelley, a doughnut shop proprietor, is the first W.W.II veteran to be added in business by the Des Moines District OPA. Iowa Congressmen favor having fighting men represented in the United States delegation at the peace table.

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Folder 11, items 308 -- 340

Organized effort to discredit Iowa Congressmen who voted for the revised OPA bill is met head-on by Cunningham. Paul Cunningham slated to become chairman of the powerful House Roads Committee. Governor Blue wins renomination carrying every county in the state. OPA disgruntled because bill passed by the House provides for closing out its organization in 1947. Cunningham asserts Economic Stabilizer Chester Bowles has become a lobbyist for OPA. Paul Cunningham defeats Ray Yenter in the bid for primary election. Van B. Overturff defeats Basil Grossnickle by 1800 votes. Attempts to cut 22 administration agencies from federal bureau spending is defeated by Democrats. Congressman Cunningham charges that the New Deal has fallen victim to the communistic philosophy. The Knoxville school problem. The Hobbs Anti-Racketeering bill passes House without a single negative vote. Paul Cunningham is a party watchman in the House.

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Folder 12, items 341 -- 367

Paul Cunningham suggests a federal aid highway program lasting ten years and costing up to 800 million dollars annually. Iowa's vital farming interests are well taken care of by Charles B. Hoeven. Des Moines Industrial Union Council supports Paul Cunningham's Tax exemption bill. Cunningham is a foe of big government and excessive federal controls. Congressman Thomas E. Martin favors helping the European countries get back on their feet. New legislation to help war veterans buy farms with loans up $12,000 with mortgages running 40 years at 3 per cent interest set before Congress. Iowan Wallace Carothers, who synthesized nylon, believing himself a failure, drank poison. Cunningham proposes a return to the 6 day week. Road builders' strikes hold up equipment needed in construction. Federal government approves $70,000 grant-in-aid to the Ames airport project. Fifteen million dollar emergency flood relief bill geared for quick passage in the House. Greek-Turkish aid proposal fails to draw usual interest from Iowans.

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Folder 13, items 368 -- 402

Paul Cunningham establishes outstanding House attendance record, 96 per cent perfect. President Truman requests a temporary revival of the draft. Cunningham introduces legislation to authorize construction of federal buildings in six Iowa communities. Senator Vandenburg opposes Spain's inclusion in the European Recovery Program. The Republican party is fighting Communism and all other "isms" foreign to American ideals. Cunningham praises the nomination of W.S. Beardsley for Governor of Iowa. Drake University sophomores favor Thomas E. Dewey in the coming national election. Fort Des Moines civilian residents to be given the right to vote. Midwestern House members are very powerful in the Agricultural Committee. Cunningham offers bill to provide a $1,115,500,000 federal-aid highway program. Top-ranking Congressional authority on federal highway legislation, Paul Cunningham, airs views at Contractor's Day Program. Overburdened taxpayers given a lift by the slashing of 1948 individual income taxes by more than $4.7 billion. Cunningham votes $2 1/2 billion slash in Truman's 1949 budget. Mr. Truman is surrounded by those who would wreck America, a palace guard, and is resorting to demagogic political campaigning. Cunningham would have everyone awakened to the dangers which face our American Constitution. That Iowa's Congressional delegation of ten members is strategically spotted on most of the important committees in the House and Senate is no accident. One of the strongest delegations in Congress is the Iowa group in the House, a bloc well-known for cohesiveness and cooperation. Vincent Browner begins election contest against Congressman Paul Cunningham. Republican Congressional Food subcommittee plans to conduct personal interviews with farmers. Cunningham introduces bill to prohibit export of fuel oil to foreign countries. Official ballot count. Annual meeting of the Carolina Road Builders Association, February 1 -- 3, 1948, at Mid Pines Hotel in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Cunningham is swamped with requests for speeches and appearances.

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Folder 14, items 403 -- 443

The number one back-stop job in Congress assigned to Paul Cunningham; ninety percent of the legislation passed by the House must get his nod before going on toward enactment. Cunningham's objections to the El Paso bridges are withdrawn after talking to Regan. Bill introduced to appropriate federal aid for the public school system of Knoxville, Iowa. Cunningham has until January 20, 1949, to make reply to Vincent Browner's contest filed on him. The Knoxville Express takes a stand against socialized medicine. Cunningham speaks on the fight between the Jeffersonian and New Deal Democrats, and the Byrnes - Wallace squabble. Doctors must defeat government health insurance for their own protection. Transfer of Fort Des Moines from the US Army to the State of Iowa is approved. Iowa delegation leans toward high, fixed level price supports for farms. Political forces are driving the nation toward socialism, which is no different than Communism. Great interest has been aroused in Congress by Britain's "Utopia on the Rocks." Investigating the charge that the late Harry Hopkins helped expedite shipment of atomic materials to Russia during the war. Dr. Paul B. Magnuson, Veterans Administration medical director, assures the Knoxville, Iowa, mental hospital will not be abandoned. Cunningham attacks President Truman's proposed health insurance plan. Attorneys for Cunningham make formal answer to Vincent Browner's election contest notice. Warren A. Smith questions Cunningham's voting against the rent control bill. Roads offer one of the best opportunities for work. Cunningham introduces bill for a $240,000 post office building at Ames, Iowa. House passes an anti-poll tax bill after an angry debate. General Vandenberg promises new types of air force bombers will be shown at Des Moines' Hawkeye Holidays.

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Folder 15, items 444 -- 467

Deficit spending and increasing government controls over the individual are the big issues at stake in the next election. Paul Cunningham is the only veteran running for Congress from the fifth district. Cunningham reports that the Brannan Plan was written by Lee Pressman, a recently confessed Communist, during the time when Henry Wallace was Secretary of Agriculture. Iowa's eight Republican Congressmen win reelection William Hardin loses to Raymond Mick. Hickenlooper warns this country is heading for a planned economic state -- Socialism. Cunningham asserts the State Department is infiltrated with persons sympathetic to Communism. Gibson Holliday asks full support for the U.N. Discussing dangers of surprise attack, Cunningham notes that Des Moines is closer by air to Moscow than Moscow is to New York City or Washington, D.C.. Iowa Farm Bureau Federation launches movement to improve rural mail service to Iowa farmers. John Rankin suggests moving the national capitol to near Mammoth Cave, Paducah, Kentucky, in the event of atomic attack. Cunningham proposes increased federal highway allotments. Federal government taxes a Des Moines benefit for crippled children. The New Deal has given too many powers to the executive branch of government. Carl Vinson is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

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Folder 16, items 468 -- 500

Cunningham declares that of all the nations in the world, the United States alone enjoys complete freedom. Cunningham gives up post of Public Works Committee member to take position on the Armed Services Committee. Armed Services are forced to lower their induction standards. Federal spending into bankruptcy has full support of Communist sympathizers in America, declared Paul Cunningham at Westerman Field. A bill to pay Carroll O. Switzer for five months service on the federal bench is introduced in the House. Iowa Health Fair to offer emergency health problems in civil defense, fist aid, cancer, and dental care. Senator Alden Doud denounces President Truman's proposed $71 million tax proposal as a camouflage for socialist measures. President Truman says we are to continue in Korea. Knoxville school system asks for $49,000 federal aid for building construction. C.D Van Nordstrand suggests nominating Paul Cunningham for the presidency in 1952. Iowa Congressmen receive mailed protests against drafting 18-year olds. Cunningham seeks investigation of discrimination against Ames, Iowa, manufacturer, the General Filter Company, operated by J.P Lawlor. Suggests Veterans Administration use W.W. II army and navy hospitals rather than building new ones. Iowan Homer G. Hamilton moves closer to collecting from the government on his claim that he was the original designer of the "Jeep." Coach Earl H. Blaik asks Congressman Cunningham to appoint a good football prospect to West Point. Taxes in the United States have now hit the 35 per cent mark. Ninety cadets at West Point named for dismissal because of "cribbing" in examinations.

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Folder 17, items 501 -- 526

Hebert subcommittee reveals as much as $2 a pair difference in prices the Armed Services were paying for dress shoes. President Truman's seizure of the steel industry termed "unconstitutional". L.M. Peet announces his candidacy for Republican nomination for Congressman in the fifth district. The low-bidding Ames General Filter Company is squeezed out of an air force contract. President Truman calls Otha Wearin a "pinheaded Congressman." New ten million dollar VA Hospital at Iowa City prepares opening. Paul Cunningham votes conservative, but his logic is Middle-of-the-Road. Cunningham said testimony before the committee by General J. Lawton Collins indicated that Universal Military Training would not increase the security of America now. Egyptian cotton broker, Loutfy Mansour, acting on inside information, grossed sixteen million dollars at the expense of the US Department of Agriculture. Cunningham objects to the Pentagon's sending "alibi witnesses"' to testify before the House committee investigating military spending. GOP candidates extol Abraham Lincoln and lash the 20-year-old national Democratic regime. Cunningham finishes tour of seventy-six speeches. A crowd of 15,000 person fill the National Guard Armory to hear Evangelist Billy Graham preach.

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Folder 18, items 527 -- 559

Multi-million dollar plant built in Louisiana, Missouri, to extract gas from coal. Governor Beardsley will not seek the 5th district Republican Congressional nomination. Ronald Rietveld honors the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. More than 1278 Congressional bills introduced to change the Social Security Law. James I. Dolliver has a record for absenteeism missing more than 60 per cent of the roll call votes. Cunningham says new single catalogue for use of all branches of the Armed Services in purchasing equipment is expected to save four billion dollars a year. Government sells Convair Plant 2 at San Diego for $1,050,000. Iowa Congressional delegation skeptical of the long-time value of the Korean truce. Cunningham and LeCompte vote to kill the Simpson Bill. Biographical sketch of Paul Harvey Cunningham. H.R. Gross raises question whether persons with interests in the rubber or petroleum industry should be on the commission to sell government-owned rubber plants. Cunningham appointed to committee of official visitors at West Point Military Academy. Air Force attempts to buy a strip of land at $5,300 an acre. H.R. Gross splits with his colleagues on the "tidelands oil bill." General Van Fleet declares Allies can win in Korea without enlarging the war. H.R. Gross refuses to sign statement approving President Eisenhower's inaugural message. Charles E. Wilson divests himself of General Motors Corporation stock to overcome Senate objections to his appointment as Secretary of Defense. G.O.P. hails aims of Eisenhower. Cunningham says Communists trying to wreck our national Congress.

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Folder 19, items 560 -- 590

Fanatic Puerto Rican nationals shoot Ben F. Jensen (Iowa) and four other Congressmen on the House floor. LeCompte and Cunningham agree with Eisenhower's much reduced foreign military and economic aid program. Cunningham calls attention to uses of atomic energy for peaceful purposes. Dallas County Young Republicans sponsor Republican Party motor caravan. Cunningham delivers speech, "The Christian in Politics." Cunningham views atomic bomb blast in Nevada. Iowa railroad men out of work after nearly a lifetime of service. Eisenhower nominates Iowan Archie A. Alexander to be Governor of the Virgin Islands. Iowans split sharply on Eisenhower's farm program. Two hundred persons protest proposed termination of the Fort Des Moines housing project. House subcommittee saves $800,000 by investigating a Detroit, Michigan, area Defense Department real estate transaction. Cunningham seeks to have old Fort Des Moines army post reactivated as national headquarters for the Civil Defense administration. Cunningham unopposed for the Republican nomination. Ben F. Jensen expresses bitter resentment at Eisenhower's criticism of Republicans who want 90 per cent of parity supports in the farm bill. Four hundred ninety-four Iowans gain listing in 1954 -- 1955 edition of Who's Who in America. Provision of network of efficient, modern highways to handle swift military movements in event of a national crisis is a paramount need says Cunningham. Warren County Republicans endorse the administration of state affairs under William S. Beardsley. House passes farm bill which calls for price supports at from 82 l/2 per cent to 90 per cent of parity on basic farm commodities.

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Folder 20, items 591 -- 609

Cunningham says Eisenhower will be reelected. Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson is a political asset to the Republican Party declares Cunningham. William Lemaster suggests plan of compensatory payments at the retail level to the consumer for short-time emergency periods. Cunningham says that left wing groups have found that the way to undermine the government is to discredit Congress. House bill makes it possible for farmers to set up the "innocent purchaser" defense against suits by the Commodity Credit Corporation. Iowan attorney Allen Whitfield nominated to be a member of the Atomic Energy Commission. Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee approves bill providing for the transfer of Camp Dodge to the state of Iowa. President Eisenhower suffers heart attack. Clarion farmer Bernard Collins testifies before members of the Senate Agricultural Committee.

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Folder 21, items 610 -- 680

Continuation of operation of Knoxville Veterans Hospital Laundry assured. Cunningham accuses Adlai Stevenson of "stone-age thinking" in suggesting ending H-bomb tests. Cunningham spends $3,871.12 in successful campaign for reelection to Congress. William Denman says Iowa farm income has dropped more than fifty per cent. Chance Vought Aircraft Company of Dallas, Texas, accused of abusing the taxpayers' money. Democrats in Congress scuttle Eisenhower's school construction program. Cunningham is booed in NFO political candidate meeting. Iowa delegates call on former President Hoover in San Francisco. Indianola GOP plans torchlight parade. The Democratic "prophets of doom" who control Congress should blame themselves, not the Eisenhower administration for farm problems, says Cunningham. Eisenhower re-elected President in a landslide. Republican Paul Cunningham defeats Democrat William Denman by 2,000 votes. Iowa is one of the two states without a Utilities Commission. Cunningham is author of the Fungible Goods Act. Adlai E. Stevenson bravely faces the disappointment of his second defeat by President Eisenhower. A portrait of oils of the late Mrs. Dixie Cornell Gebhardt, designer of the Iowa flag, is unveiled at annual D.A.R. banquet in Des Moines. The Railroad Retirement Act provides a 15 per cent increase in present annuities and pensions. Cunningham says government should limit salaries paid to aircraft company officials when their pay is charged to taxpayers as part of the cost of producing military planes. The House kills the School Construction Bill after an anti-segregation amendment is nailed to the measure. Cunningham is co-author of the revision of the National Service Life Insurance legislation.

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Folder 22, items 681 -- 701

John Moaney, devoted valet of President Eisenhower, proudly presents his mother to the President. Civil Aeronautics Administration agreed to triple allocation of funds for the Des Moines municipal airport project. The VA should be compelled to use World War II army and navy hospitals rather than building new ones. The Virginia Plan would remove 20 per cent of production. The Iowa, a battleship, is scheduled for the mothball fleet. The "Eisenhower Doctrine" authorizes the President the right to spend 200 million dollars for special economic aid projects in the Middle East. Cunningham speaks on the Corn Farm Program. Cunningham expresses not being worried about the Sputniks. Massive retaliation is still America's best defense against attack by Russia. Heavy fog hampers outbound inauguration visitors. Polk County men emphasize the need for an early start on the Saylorville Dam north of Des Moines. House kills School Aid Bill. Cunningham takes out nomination papers for reelection in the June primary. America is no weaker and Russia no stronger because of the Soviet launching of the two globe-circling satellites. The laundry facilities at the Knoxville Veterans Hospital will continue to operate. Net profits of 600 million dollars are divided equally between King Saud and the Arabian American Oil Corporation.

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Folder 23, items 702 -- 744

Editorial, "The True Fiber of America," by Paul Cunningham. Proposal to move the Rock Island office of the Corps of Engineers to St. Paul thought to be false economy. House Armed Services committees release $802,000 for construction of Iowa National Guard facilities at Des Moines and Fort Dodge. H.R. 8002 gives Congressmen a firmer control over federal expenditures. United States Army successfully launches a satellite equivalent to those launched by Russia. Air-conditioning systems installed in Des Moines Post Office and federal court house buildings. House passes military pay adjustment bill. Senator Mike Mansfield adds new touch to the technique of vote-stalling. Red Rock Project dam and reservoir proponents ask House and Senate Committees for $805,000. Jean Listebarger, Ames, Iowa, is named national "Teacher of the Year." Burney Twedt farms the same 80-acre farm for 47 years and provides a good living for himself, his wife, and his 10 children. Paul Cunningham lays the first brick on the National Animal Disease Laboratory at Iowa State College. Capitol wives don vintage fashions. The National Federation of Republican Women launch "Operation Coffee Cup." Theodor Heuss stresses hard work and US economic assistance necessary to Germany's recovery. Agriculture Secretary Ezra Taft Benson finds a stout public defender in Congressman Paul Cunningham. Air Force is preparing to send a rocket to the moon. An estimated 85 million people rely on a private benefit system against the contingencies of sickness, unemployment, and old age. Vice President and Mrs. Richard Nixon receive enthusiastic welcome in Washington returning from their South American good will tour.

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Index of Names: Correspondence

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