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Margaret Monaghan Munn Memoir

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Margaret Monaghan Munn Memoir University of Illinois at Springfield Norris L. Brookens Library Archives/Special Collections Margaret Monaghan Munn Memoir M925. Munn, Margaret Monaghan (1908-1995) Interview and memoir 4 tapes, 273 mins., 56 pp. ADLAI E. STEVENSON II Munn, personal secretary of Governor Stevenson, 1949-52, discusses her work and association with Stevenson: functions and duties of personnel, accomplishments and problems of Stevenson's administration, relations with the press, the presidential campaign of 1952, his last days in office, and his death. Interview by Stephen Bean, 1975 OPEN See collateral file: interviewer's notes, photographs, photocopies of articles on Stevenson and Munn, and photocopies of letters and telegrams. Archives/Special Collections LIB 144 University of Illinois at Springfield One University Plaza, MS BRK 140 Springfield IL 62703-5407 © 1975, University of Illinois Board of Trustees PREFACE This manuscript is the product of tape-recorded interviews conducted by Stephen 13ean for the Oral History Office during July of 1975. Stephen Bean and Rosalyn Bone transcribed the tapes and Stephen 13ean and Kay Mac­ Lean edited the transcript. Margaret Munn reviewed the transcript. Margaret Munn was born in Springfield, Illinois on September 6, 1908. She was educated in the Catholic school system and brought up in a political family. Her first political experience was helping her cousin Andy O'Neill get elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in the late 1930's. After working in Springfield for a time, she left for work in Washington, D.C. and New York. She later returned to Springfield 'when her father be­ carne ill and entered State service. She served in the Departrent of Fi­ nance under Governor Green's administration. In 1949 Margaret Munn joined the Stevenson administration as a personal secretary to Governor Stevenson at the mansion office. Mrs. Munn became close friends with Governor Stevenson and other members of the administration. These close personal ties continued beyond Governor Stevenson's tenure in · office. Mrs. Munn witnessed the people, the places, and the happenings of the administration from her job. Her tenure of service with Governor Stevenson clifuaied with the 1952 Presidential campaign. Following the de­ feat of Governor Stevenson in 1952, she went to work for the IEpartment of Mental Health. Today she serves as the chief of the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals. From her many years of working with Governor Stevenson and later corresponding with him Mrs. Murm has collected personal correspondences with Governor Stevenson, the handwritten concession telegram to Eisenhower, photographs and many other written materials. This collection of books, photographs, and written materials allows her to maintain a fresh impres­ sion of the Stevenson administration and the years following. Readers of this oral history memoir should bear in mind that it is a transcript of the spoken word, and that the interviewer, narrator and editor sought to preserve the informal, conversational style that is inher­ ent in such historical sources. Sangamon State University is not responsible for the factual accuracy of the remoir, nor for views expressed therein; these are for the reader to judge. The manuscript may be read, quoted and cited freely. It may not be reproduced in whole or in part by means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the Oral History Office, Sangamon State University, Springfield, Illinois, 62708. TABlE OF CONTENTS Background 1 Involvement in politics 2 Adlai Stevenson II 4 Governor Stevenson's staff 5 Functions and duties of personnel 7 Mansion 10 Governor Stevenson's dog King Arthur 11 Social life 13 Relationship and problems with press 14 Alger Hiss 16 State Police affair 17 Adlai Stevenson II 18 Cabinet rr:errbers 19 Accomplishments of Stevenson administration 20 Bill Blair 21 Mansion staff and guests 22 Work, problems, scandals 23 Plan for continuation of first-term program 25 Presidential nomination 28 Presidential draft 31 Speech writing 33 Returning to Springfield; state business 35 Campaign headquarters, chairman, staff, 36 writers, volunteers Campaigning by plane 40 Ftmny incident on campaign trail 41 Hotels on tour; Snoo farm 42 Whistle-stopping 43 Menard penitentiary riot 44 Traveling staff and guests 45 Final days of campaign 47 Telegrams on night of defeat 48 Last days of office 50 Last offical appearance in Springfield 51 Funeral arrangements 52 Margaret M. Munn, July, 1975, Springfield, Illinois. Stephen Bean, Interviewer. Q. Mrs. Munn, could you tell us the interesting story surroilllding your birth? A. Yes, but may I preface this by saying that it strikes TIE as strange that we are here today talking about--primarily, Adlai Stevenson is what the topic is going to be and today is the tenth anniversary of his death. He died ten years ago today, [on] July 14, 1965, in London, England. I did want to make a point of that, because I haven't seen anything in any of the newspapers and I just want the record to show soneplace along the line that someone reiiErrbered. Now as far as I'm personally concerned, I am a native of Springfield. Born, in fact, where I am still residing, on the south side. I was born even further south, which is over on Eighteenth Street which, at that time--it was a nurriJer of years ago, it's 66 going on 67 years ago-­ was called the prairie. Being 67 years ago, that was in that fateful year of 1908, the year of what is commonly lglown as--quote-~race riot­ W1quote. I think the riot, as I recall from reading thi~ program 1 s booklet on-what was the title of it? The Year_ of~? I think it really came to its height in August and I was born in September. My father always used to say, "Marga.ret, you 1 11 never be able to forget the year you were born. You were born during the race riot in Spring­ field." I can renerrber nw mother telling about how worried she was about IrE being born, and nw father was out in the field with a gun guarding his horre. I guess this was just conm:m. All the men in this area--or any area in Springfield, it was so wide-spread--were doing this. But in any event, I survived and went on and was educated in the Catholic school system--at Saint Patrick's School, in fact--then went on to Sacred Heart Acadenw for:_ four years where I took a college preparatory and a busi­ ness course corrbined. Then things didn't work out so that I could go to college and I irrlrrediately started to work. I had several jobs, one with the Illinois Bell Telephone Company and another with the Illinois Building and Loan league. Those were the only two, as I recall, at that tinE. And then I left Springfield. I married and went East and worked in Washington, D.C., and New York for a nurriJer of years and then cane back to Springfield and took a job with the State at that time and stayed in 1 surnmer of Rage 1 The Springfield Race Riot of 1908, by James Krohe, Jr. is one of a series of historical publications, Bicentennial Studies in Sangam::>n History, -edited by Cullom Davis, published by the Sangamon CoW1ty Historical Society, Springfield, Illinois, 1973. [Ed.] Margaret M. Murm 2 Springfield when my father became ill. I worked in the House of Repre­ sentatives first; I worked in the speaker's office. And I might say this was under a Republican administration, so I can't characteristically be called a Derrocrat or a Republican. I suppose at that ti.Ire I was rrore or less an Independent. However, nw family background was Derrocratic. And then eventually I worked in the governor's statehouse office and then eventually, at Governor Stevenson's request after he became governor, transferred over to the rransion to work directly for him. Q. What year did you enter state gove:r'ml'ent? A. Actually, I suppose it was about--after I came back from Washington, D.C.; it was not until 1943. I was in the Departrrent of Finance when I first came back, then the House of Representatives and the speaker's office. And then in 1948 when the Stevenson administration came in--I'm talking about the Departrrent of Finance and the House of Representatives, this was under the [I:wight H.] Green administration, imrediately preceding. I might say, too, that this was not a Republican-appointed job under that administration; I was a civil service employee. I took the tests and I was appointed from the list, grade-wise, and so forth. So nw whole tenure was civil service except when I worked for Adlai Stevenson and went over to the mansion to becorre a rrenber of the personal staff. We relinquished civil service status at that time. 'Ihey put us on an unactive list be­ cause you were not allowed to be personally covered by civil service if you worked that closely or were that closely identified. Q. Can you remenber your first glimpse of state politics as a child? A. My father [Patrick J. Monaghan] was always--I guess he could be com­ pared to what they call in the big cities the ward-healer. He was always in politics in this area, and he would be the one that the politicans would core see to line up the precincts for them. And then I had a cousin who was an orphan cousin by the nai!'E of Andy O'Neill whom my mother raised and he was raised just like our brother, and he was in politics.
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