Series Statement

I.             Agencies, Committees, and Departments, Box 1-28, 14 linear feet

The Agencies, Committees, and Departments series includes news releases, publications, correspondence, reports, bills, news articles, and statements between 1958 and 1981.  This section spans Murray’s time serving as Minority Counsel to the House Agriculture Committee and a brief portion of his time as Minority Counsel of the House and Counsel to the Minority Leader.

Agencies includes correspondence, news releases and publications regarding the Environmental Protection Agency between 1974 and 1976. 

The Committees subseries provides extensive materials on advisory committees and budgets.  Correspondence regarding the Committee on Agriculture includes communications with committee members Bob Poage and William Wampler, and committee staffer John Baize from 1953 to 1980.  The Agriculture Committee files continue with information on committee meetings and members, news releases, publications, and statements from hearings including fertilizer, fuel, and fuel allocation.  Reports and research materials spanning the 1970s include publications, notes, correspondence, bills, news releases and articles.  Rules from the 84^th through the 95^th Congresses are integrated as well as materials from agricultural subcommittees including cotton, tobacco, wheat, and livestock.  The Agricultural Committee material concludes with a Witness Procedure.  After the Agriculture Committee files, this section continues with documents from the Ethics, Judiciary, Nuclear Safety Oversight, and Select committees.  The Committee subseries closes with files containing House Rules from the 92^nd and 95^th Congress and Votes. 

Departments begin with material on the Department of Agriculture.  This includes information on the Research Center, Commodity Credit Corporation, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, court cases, Farmers Home Administration, and World Food programs.  These files also contain correspondence, reports, statements, and general information on various departments such as Defense, Army, Energy, Labor, State, and Treasury.  The Department materials span the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and 1980s.

A selection of additional files follows the Departments section.  This includes other commission, committees, task force, tax, and administration information.  The files date from 1965 to 1981.  The Task Force on Rural Development constitutes the largest section.  War Powers files close this series.

II.          Congressional Staff Club, Box 29-33, 2.5 linear feet

This series covers Murray’s participation in the Congressional Secretaries/Staff Club between 1950 and 1980.  The materials incorporate newspaper articles, publications, correspondence, photographs, bulletins, programs, and brochures.  The Congressional Club materials are divided into subseries: business notebooks, club administration, correspondence, events, fundraising, sports, travel, and personal.  The Business Notebooks contain governing materials, board meeting minutes, presidential reports, as well as a directory of board members, officers, and volunteer lists.  All of the business notebooks are dated 1965.  The Club Administration subseries consists of managerial material, Congressional lists, directories, activities outlines, income tax returns, volunteer information and “Year in Review” newspapers.  It also contains newspaper articles, publications, election materials for the Club elections, handbooks from 1964 and 1967, and directories from 1963 and 1965.  The Events subseries consists predominately of “Man of the Year Programs” from1963 to 1978, and includes a “Woman of the Year Program” from 1968.  Fundraising involves materials from various charitable events, organizations, drives, and associations.  This includes correspondence and publications from the Watkins School Charity Drives, and newspapers articles regarding Aid for Vietnam.  There is also extensive material concerning the Society for Prevention of Blindness.  The Sports section represents materials covering the club leagues including baseball, basketball, softball, and football spanning more than a 20-year period from 1958 to 1979.  The documents include league rules and information, rosters, and news articles.  The Travel subseries contains brochures, newspaper articles, and correspondence from Murray’s trips to Florida, Mexico, New York, and South America from 1965 and 1967.  Two Personal files contain correspondence about the Nemetz Cases and photographs from 1965 and 1967.

III.       Hoover Institute, Box 34-36, 1.5 linear feet

The Hoover Institute constitutes three boxes covering Murray’s participation with the Hoover Institute on War, Revolution and Peace in Stanford University.  These files are predominately correspondence, itineraries, speeches, articles, and publications.  The Hoover Institute papers are subdivided into five subseries: correspondence, 1975-1979, Publications, Ralph Nader’s Congress Project, China, and Topics.  Correspondence, 1975 to 1979, arranged chronologically by subject rather than by name, covers a variety of topics including wheat, agricultural conferences, associations, institutes, and bureaus.  Geographically, the Hoover Institute papers blanket the globe from Russia, Paris, and Belgium to China, Canada, and the United States.  A small Publications subseries includes a sample US Department of Agriculture Telephone Directory.  Most r Publications were separated and catalogued.  Ralph Nader’s Copngress Project is comprised of seven 1972 biographies of various politicians including Bob Dole, Eligio de la Garza, and William C. Wampler.  The China subseries includes reports, publications and notebooks regarding agriculture, the economy, and policy issues in the Peoples Republic of China.  These six folders are chronologically arranged from 1974 to 1976.  The Topics subseries is a collection of correspondence, articles, and programs from 1965 to 1978.  These eleven folders include American Political Science Association programs from 1965 and 1968; Vietnam Christmas correspondence from 1968; and Wisconsin political articles from 1969 to 1973.

IV.        Legislation by Bill, Box 37-84, 24 linear feet

Legislation by Bill consists of materials about agricultural legislation passed during 30 years, 1954 to 1984.  Each bill carries a general description and supplementary information such as reports, statements, surveys, statistics, analysis, or publications.  Legislation include the various agricultural acts, sugar acts, soil bank acts, animal quarantine laws, food stamp acts, cotton, dairy, and farm bills.  This series provides a wealth of legislative history and information.  The bills are arranged numerically within each legislative term (two years). The finding aid lists most titles of bills, reports, analyses, statements, amendments, publications, and articles found in the files.

V.           Legislation by Subject, Box 85-142, 29 linear feet

Legislation by Subject overlays with Legislation by Bill, but includes more information and spans a broader period of time, 1948-1984.  The series provides agricultural legislation supplemented by discussions, hearings, articles, reports, statements, publications, proposals, statistics, and correspondence.  The subjects are alphabetically arranged providing for easy and efficient access.  The subjects include various agricultural acts involving Mexican Farm Labor, fair practice, trade development, animal welfare acts, beef research and information, commodities, cotton, dairy, feed, meat inspection, food stamps, rural development, sugar, and wheat.  The Animal Welfare Acts from 1965 to 1976 includes extensive lists, licenses, reports, resolutions, correspondence, and newsletters.  The Farm Bills incorporate the largest amount of legislative information spanning nearly two decades from 1959 to 1977.  Legislation by Subject also includes information on the “Food for Peace” and “Food for Freedom” programs, which focus predominately on India, and FIFRA, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act in 1975.  This series composes the most comprehensive section of the Murray papers for agricultural history and related information.  The subjects are arranged alphabetically and chronologically within the subject.  There are approximately 160 subjects.  The finding aid lists many titles of bills, reports, analyses, statements, amendments, publications, and articles found in the files.

VI.        Personal, Box 143-151, 4.5 linear feet

The Personal series documents Murray’s private events and activities.  These items encompass awards, correspondence, invitations, interviews, doodles, travel materials, and visitor correspondence.  Of particular interest are the doodles make by Murray during committee meetings.  A selection of these have been taken from throughout his papers and saved in this section.  Some of these are also saved in Photographs, scanned, and added to the web site.  The largest section, Travel, is comprised of pictures, postcards, notes, brochures, correspondence, itineraries, speeches, expenses, and more from Murray’s trips to Africa, Denver, Europe, Fargo, Rome, Venezuela, and Wisconsin.  The personal materials furnish a glimpse into Murray’s personal life and interests. 

VII.     Photographs, one notebook

The Photographs span 1958 to 1982 and include sports, committees, doodles, cartoons, group photos, meetings, special occasions, and travel.  Selected doodles have been added here.  Of particular interest are the photographs of the Gitfiddle Band. The travel pictures cover Murray’s trips to Mali, Rome, and Venezuela in 1973 and 1974.  The photographs supplement Murray’s personal and professional files.  All of the photographs are stored in a separate notebook and are available online.

VIII.  Politics, Box 152-163, 6 linear feet

The Politics series contains information collected by Murray between 1947 and 1979 about the Republican Party.  These files are arranged by subject, then chronologically within each subject.  Republican National Convention files from 1968 to 1972 include platforms, committees, directories, the Miami convention, and the 1970 election.  Murray’s politics notebooks contain key votes, study committees, and policy statements.  People files contain correspondence, news releases, statements, and newspaper articles about prominent political figures.  Some of these public figures include Jimmy Carter, Bob Dole, Gerald Ford, LB Johnson, and Richard Nixon, John F. Kennedy, Barry Goldwater, and Robert Kennedy.  Some of the articles and information cover important moments in U.S. History such as Nixon’s resignation.  Publication files exhibit a variety of publications including articles, Legislative Digest, and newsletters.

IX.        Publications

A.     General, Box 164-176, 6.5 linear feet

General Publications were collected by Murray between 1949 and 1984.  These 309 books, acts, reports, and manuals were mostly published by the USDA, U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Senate.  They are arranged alphabetically by title.

B.     Press Releases, Box 177-178, 1 linear foot

Press releases relate to agriculture between 1959 and 1980.  The majority date between 1973 and 1974 and are arranged chronologically.

C.     Samples

A number of publications from the late 1970s documenting the types of publications received by the Committee on Agriculture were part of the Murray Papers.  A similar group of publications was also received with the papers of W. R. Poage..  A complete list of the publications was made and then most were discarded. A sample issue of each publication has been retained in General Publications.

X.           Speeches, Box 179-196, 9 linear feet

Throughout his career, Murray regularly wrote speeches for public figures.  This series represents some of Murray’s speeches written between 1958 and 1978.  There are approximately 1,136 speeches.  Besides writing addresses for himself, Murray created speeches for Bob Dole, Ezra Benson, Earl Butz, Orville Freeman, Gerald Ford, Clifford Hardin, Charles Hoeven, Richard Nixon, True Morse, Clarence Palmby, W.R. Poage, and William Wampler among others.  The speeches are arranged alphabetically by speaker, and chronologically under each name. 

XI.        Topics, Box 197-245, 28.5 linear feet

Topics is a compilation of Murray’s research from 1949 to 1980 organized alphabetically by subject.  Murray researched Legislative issues and prepared reports and speeches.  His sources include House Resolutions, media releases, newsletters and articles, statements, reports, publications, correspondence, and congressional records.  Murray researched such topics as Agricultural Committee, Agricultural Policy, Animal Welfare, Barter, Beef, Brucellosis, China, Common Market, Cotton, Dairy, Exports, Farm Bill, Livestock, Rural Electrification Administration, Sugar, Tobacco, Wheat, and the World Food problem.  There are approximately 352 topics.  The finding aid lists the title of every media release, statement, newsletter, publication, and  report found in these files.