Roy Wilson Howard Papers [Finding Aid]. Library of Congress
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Roy Wilson Howard Papers A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 2010 Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact Additional search options available at: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms010299 LC Online Catalog record: http://lccn.loc.gov/mm81026583 Prepared by Allan Teichroew Collection Summary Title: Roy Wilson Howard Papers Span Dates: 1911-1966 Bulk Dates: (bulk 1920-1963) ID No.: MSS26583 Creator: Howard, Roy Wilson, 1883-1964 Extent: 115,000 items ; 351 containers ; 140.4 linear feet ; 3 microfilm reels Language: Collection material in English Location: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Summary: Newspaperman. Correspondence, family papers, reports, clippings, photographs, printed matter, and other papers relating to Howard's career in the newspaper business, especially with United Press Associations (later United Press International) and with the Scripps-Howard newspapers, particularly the New York World-Telegram. Selected Search Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein. People Ackerman, Carl W. (Carl William), 1890-1970. Aylesworth, Merlin Hall, 1886-1952. Baillie, Hugh, 1890-1966. Baker, Newton Diehl, 1871-1937. Barnes, Harry Elmer, 1889-1968. Barton, Bruce, 1886-1967. Baruch, Bernard M. (Bernard Mannes), 1870-1965. Beaverbrook, Max Aitken, Baron, 1879-1964. Bickel, Karl A. (Karl August), 1882-1972. Brittain, Harry, Sir, 1873-1974. Broun, Heywood, 1888-1939. Chambrun, René de, 1906- Chiang, Kai-shek, 1887-1975. Clapper, Raymond, 1892-1944. Cooper, Kent, 1880-1965. Dreiser, Theodore, 1871-1945. Golden, John, 1874-1955. Hawkins, William W. (William Waller), 1883-1953. Hays, Will H. (Will Harrison), 1879-1954. Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964. Howard family. Howard, Jack R. (Jack Rohe), 1910- Jack R. Howard papers. Howard, Roy Wilson, 1883-1964. Hurst, Fannie, 1889-1968. Johnson, Hiram, 1866-1945. Johnson, Hugh S. (Hugh Samuel), 1882-1942. Kennedy, Joseph P. (Joseph Patrick), 1888-1969. Koo, V. K. Wellington, 1888-1985. Kuhn, Irene, 1900- Kyne, Peter B. (Peter Bernard), 1880-1957. La Guardia, Fiorello H. (Fiorello Henry), 1882-1947. Landon, Alfred M. (Alfred Mossman), 1887-1987. Lasker, Albert Davis, 1880-1952. Long, Ray, 1878-1935. Roy Wilson Howard Papers 2 Luz, Arsenio. MacArthur, Douglas, 1880-1964. Matsuoka, Yōsuke, 1880-1946. McRae, Milton A. (Milton Alexander), 1858-1930. Mellett, Lowell, 1884-1960. Northcliffe, Alfred Harmsworth, Viscount, 1865-1922. Osborne, May Quirk. Paine, Robert F. (Robert Findley), 1856-1940. Parker, George B., 1886-1949. Pegler, Westbrook, 1884-1969. Quezon, Manuel Luis, 1878-1944. Romulo, Carlos P. (Carlos Peña), 1899-1985. Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945. Roosevelt, Theodore, 1887-1944. Scripps, James G. (James George), 1886-1921. Scripps, Robert P. (Robert Paine), 1896-1938. Sorrells, John Harvey, 1896-1948. Thacker, Earl M., -1971. Tokugawa, Iesato, 1863-1940. Tong, Hollington Kong, 1887-1971. Van Loon, Hendrik Willem, 1882-1944. Von Wiegand, Karl H. Willkie, Wendell L. (Wendell Lewis), 1892-1944. Wood, Lee B. (Lee Blair), 1893-1982. Organizations Scripps-Howard. United Press Associations. United Press International. Subjects American newspapers. Occupations Newspapermen. Administrative Information Provenance The papers of Roy Wilson Howard, newspaperman, were given to the Library of Congress by his son, Jack R. Howard, in 1981. Processing History The papers of Roy Wilson Howard were arranged and described in 1983. The finding aid was revised in 2010. Copyright Status Copyright in the unpublished writings of Roy Wilson Howard in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public. Access and Restrictions The papers of Roy W. Howard are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use. Roy Wilson Howard Papers 3 Microfilm A microfilm edition of United Press Associations, Early Files, 1911-1919, in the Roy Wilson Howard Papers is available on three reels. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition as available. Preferred Citation Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Roy Wilson Howard Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Biographical Note Date Event 1883, Jan. 1 Born, Gano, Hamilton County, Ohio 1902 Graduated, Manual Training High School, Indianapolis, Ind. Reporter, Indianapolis News 1906 New York manager, Publishers' Press Association 1907 New York manager, United Press Associations 1908 New York correspondent, Scripps-McRae League 1909 Married Margaret Rohe 1912-1920 President and general manager, United Press Associations 1915-1918 War correspondent in Europe 1921 Business director, Newspaper Enterprise Association 1921-1952 Chairman of the Board, Scripps-Howard Newspapers 1925 Assumed editorial direction with Robert P. Scripps of Scripps-Howard Newspapers 1927 Negotiated purchase of New York Telegram 1931 Negotiated purchase of New York World 1950 Negotiated purchase of New York Sun 1952 Retired as president, Scripps-Howard Newspapers Became chairman, Executive Committee, Scripps-Howard Newspapers 1960 Retired as editor of New York World-Telegram & Sun 1964, Nov. 20 Died, New York, N.Y. Roy Wilson Howard Papers 4 Scope and Content Note The papers of Roy Wilson Howard (1883-1964) span the years 1911-1966, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period after 1920. The collection consists of family and executive correspondence, early letters of the United Press Associations, the office files of Howard's son and business successor, Jack R. Howard, for 1960-1961, and miscellaneous financial and printed matter concerning Roy Howard's career in the newspaper business. The collection is organized in five series: Family Correspondence ; United Press Association, Early Files ; Executive Correspondence ; Jack R. Howard Papers ; and Miscellany . By far the major portion of the papers consists of Executive Correspondence . Organized largely as received by the Library, the series includes letters, reports, clippings, and related material that Howard sent and received as head of the United Press and the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain. New York was Howard's residence, office, and the site of his organization's flagship enterprise, the World-Telegram & Sun, and much of the series centers on the files from this central location. Present as well, however, are extensive records for each Scripps-Howard property. They cover related services such as the Scripps-Howard News Alliance (which in keeping with the geographical arrangement scheme is located under its Washington, D.C., designation), plus daily papers ranging from the Akron Times to the Youngstown Telegram. In addition to documenting the work of the correspondents who wrote for Howard, the files reveal the internal dynamics of a vast newspaper concern. They feature Scripps-Howard management in its various business and editorial levels, treat the breadth and detail of local as well as national and international issues, and give voluminous private and public reaction to nearly every aspect of the news media that Howard directed. The genesis of the collection is in the decade before World War I when Howard became New York manager of a fledgling news service organization. A native Ohioan, Howard had grown up in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he entered journalism as a newsboy and rose to become sports editor of the Indianapolis News. In 1907, Howard was named by E. W. Scripps to the post of general manager of the newly consolidated United Press Associations. Having climbed to the presidency and then chairmanship of the board of the reorganized United Press, Howard in 1921 become chairman and business director of the Newspaper Enterprise Association and the Scripps-McRae (later Scripps-Howard) newspaper chain. As a reporter, he obtained exclusive interviews with leading European heads of state during World War I, and in the same period he worked to introduce and extend the United Press system abroad. The task involved direct competition with the Associated Press, already powerful in the United States, and also entailed the difficulties of dealing with the information flow of official news services connected to foreign governments. Evidence of Howard's ability to make as well as report news can be found throughout the collection. In the 1930s he broke barriers by getting audiences with Emperor Hirohito of Japan and Joseph Stalin. These stories made headlines outside the Scripps-Howard orbit, while on another, earlier occasion, his cablegrams from France convinced editors across the United States that World War I had ended on November 7, 1918, several days before its occurrence. Information on these and other episodes is available in relevant chronological or geographical files, with the armistice controversy being highlighted in the United Press Associations file for the war period. Contained in the same series is