Wesley L. Jones papers, 1896-1932 Overview of the Collection Creator Jones, Wesley Livsey, 1863-1932 Title Wesley L. Jones papers Dates 1896-1932 (inclusive) 1896 1932 Quantity 148.28 cubic feet (353 boxes, 1 folder) Collection Number 0157 Summary Papers of a Republican United States Representative for Washington, 1899-1908, and Senator for Washington, 1909-1919 Repository University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections. Special Collections University of Washington Libraries Box 352900 Seattle, WA 98195-2900 Telephone: 206-543-1929 Fax: 206-543-1931 [email protected] Access Restrictions Open to all users. Languages English Sponsor Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Biographical Note Wesley Livsey Jones was born on an Illinois farm in 1863, just days after his father died while serving in the Union army. Jones became a lawyer, and at the age of 26 he moved his practice to North Yakima (now Yakima). He quickly became involved with the Republican Party and was nominated to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1898. The Republican slate in Washington swept the elections, whisking Jones into office. He served in the House for ten years before running successfully for the U.S. Senate in 1908. He described himself a “conservative progressive”; a desire for compromise and an aversion to controversy characterized his political style. When many Republicans bolted to form the Progressive Party in 1912, Jones remained a “regular” Republican but moderated the dispute and helped pave the way for the re-integration of Washington’s Progressives in 1916. Jones rose to become the Republican whip and served as chairman of the powerful Appropriations and Commerce Committees. Jones unflaggingly promoted federal investment in the Pacific Northwest; he led the development of the Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, successfully championed several federal irrigation projects in the region, and drafted the Jones Merchant Marine Act of 1920, which stipulated that only American ships could carry cargo between American ports (which made Alaska dependent on Seattle-owned shipping firms). Jones also helped craft the compromise which became the Federal Water Power Act of 1920. Jones staunchly advocated Prohibition throughout his career and sponsored several failed bills to tighten enforcement of the Volstead Act in the 1920s. While this “dry” stance initially increased his popularity, Jones seemed out of touch and puritanical in the late-1920s Wesley L. Jones papers, 1896-1932 1 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv39005 as Washingtonians increasingly viewed Prohibition as a failure. Jones ran for a fifth term in 1932, but was hampered both by deteriorating health and by association with an unpopular party headed by the unpopular President Hoover. Just as a Republican landslide had swept him into Congress thirty-four years earlier, a Democratic landslide swept him out in 1932 and replaced him with the liberal Homer Bone. Jones died less than three weeks after his defeat. Content Description Primarily consists of correspondence from Jones’s time in the Senate, 1908-1932. Material from his tenure in the House of Representative is sparse. Also includes subject files, clippings, news releases, and speeches and writings. Of special interest is documentation on Prohibition, federal investments in the Pacific Northwest, and the Merchant Marine Act. Use of the Collection Restrictions on Use Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries. Administrative Information Arrangement Arranged in 2 accessions: Accession No. 0157-001, Wesley L. Jones papers, 1896-1932 Accession No. 0157-002, Wesley L. Jones letters, 1918, 1920 Detailed Description of the Collection Accession No. 0157-001: Wesley Livsey Jones papers, 1896-1932 130.49 cubic feet Arrangement: The papers are organized in topical and departmental divisions--material relating to the Labor Department or agricultural legislation, for example, are grouped together. This probably follows the original order. Arranged in 40 series: Politics Personal Tariff matters Pension legislation Railroad legislation Fish legislation Education legislation Child labor constitutional amendment District of Columbia matters Wesley L. Jones papers, 1896-1932 2 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv39005 Alaska matters Aviation matters Department of the Interior Department of Agriculture Department of Labor Department of Commerce Department of the Treasury Department of State Department of Navy Department of War Department of Justice Miscellaneous Boards and Commissions Boards and Commissions, Rivers and Harbors & Merchant Marine, Ships Board, Fleet Corp. Post Office Agriculture and reclamation legislation Bonusandmiscellaneous legislation Miscellaneous legislation Miscellaneous 70th Congress (1927-1929) 71th Congress (1929-1931) Miscellany White House correspondence Lyle-Whitney Case Prohibition - special cases Prohibition - miscellaneous Veterans United States Employees Compensation Commission Appropriations Positions and appointments Miscellaneous correspondence and ephemera Scope and Content: Correspondence and subject files maintained during his political career; personal papers, consisting of correspondence, clippings, and drafts of speeches and writings, 1908-21; and political papers, including correspondence, news releases, clippings, ephemera, and drafts of statements. Digital Content/Other Formats: View selections from this collection in digital format. Restrictions on Access: Presume open to all users. Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries. Acquisition Info: Gift from unknown source, 1941 Container(s) Description Dates Politics General Correspondence Wesley L. Jones papers, 1896-1932 3 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv39005 Container(s) Description Dates Box/ Accession Folder 1/1 0157-001 Adamson, G. W. 1913 2 items 1/2 0157-001 Aldwell, Thomas T. 1914-1926 10 items 1/3 0157-001 Alexander, F. A. 1925-1926 7 items 1/4 0157-001 Allmond, Douglas 1913-1931 5 items 1/5 0157-001 American Federation of Labor 1908-1914 4 items 1/6 0157-001 Anti-Saloon League 1914-1926 12 items 1/7 0157-001 Argus (periodical) 1926-1930 3 items 1/8 0157-001 Armstrong, L. K. 1914 4 items 1/9 0157-001 Auten, Frank E. 1910-1911 5 items 1/10 0157-001 Averill, Harry B. 1914-1931 3 items 1/11 0157-001 Axtell, Silas Blake 1926 3 items A Miscellaneous Box/ Accession Folder 1/12 0157-001 Abbey, Fred G. 1914 1 item Wesley L. Jones papers, 1896-1932 4 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv39005 Container(s) Description Dates 1/12 0157-001 Abbott, T. O. 1914 1 item 1/12 0157-001 Abel, W. H. undated 1 item 1/12 0157-001 Aberdeen Daily World 1913 1 item 1/12 0157-001 Acheson, E. F. 1914 1 item 1/12 0157-001 Adams, Charles 1913-1914 2 items 1/12 0157-001 Adams, F. H. 1920 1 item 1/12 0157-001 Adamson, T. H. 1931 1 item 1/13 0157-001 Administrative Prin. Association 1926 1 item 1/13 0157-001 Aiken, W. G. 1914 1 item 1/13 0157-001 Aitchison, Clyde B. 1920 1 item 1/13 0157-001 Albright, H. 1930 1 item 1/13 0157-001 Aldwell, J. Lloyd 1920-1926 2 items 1/13 0157-001 Allen, Charles E. 1928 1 item 1/13 0157-001 Allen, Edgar, Jr. 1914-1919 2 items 1/13 0157-001 Allen, L. V. 1914 1 item Wesley L. Jones papers, 1896-1932 5 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv39005 Container(s) Description Dates 1/14 0157-001 Allender, G. W. 1914 1 item 1/14 0157-001 Alloway, A 1920 1 item 1/14 0157-001 Ambrose, Thomas S. 1920-1925 2 items 1/14 0157-001 American Automobile Association 1920 1 item 1/14 0157-001 American Bible Society 1925 1 item 1/15 0157-001 American Indian (weekly Indian newspaper) 1926 2 items 1/15 0157-001 American Indians Society 1920 1 item 1/15 0157-001 American Legion 1926 1 item 1/15 0157-001 American Mining Congress, 23rd Annual Con. 1920 1 item 1/15 0157-001 American Protective Tariff League 1914 1 item 1/15 0157-001 American Sociological Congress 1920 1 item 1/15 0157-001 American Taxpayers League 1931-1932 2 items 1/16 0157-001 American Wood Pipe Company 1920 2 items 1/16 0157-001 Ammerman, C. W. 1926 1 item 1/16 0157-001 Anderson, A. T. 1914 1 item Wesley L. Jones papers, 1896-1932 6 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv39005 Container(s) Description Dates 1/16 0157-001 Anderson, A. W. 1914 1/16 0157-001 Anderson, Joseph W. 1914 1 item 1/16 0157-001 Anderson, Nels 1909 1 item 1/16 0157-001 Anonymous 1913-1923 5 items 1/16 0157-001 Anrys, A. P. 1914 1 item 1/16 0157-001 Anschell, S. H. 1918 1 item 1/16 0157-001 Anti-Prohibition Association undated 1 item 1/16 0157-001 Applely, Stephen C. M. 1925-1926 2 items 1/17 0157-001 Archer, Anderson 1914 1 item 1/17 0157-001 Archer, F. R. 1925-1930 2 items 1/17 0157-001 Archer, Samuel, Jr. 1913 1 item 1/17 0157-001 Arctic Club 1920 1 item 1/17 0157-001 Argall, J. C. 1925 1 item 1/17 0157-001 Arledge, H. B. 1926 1 item 1/17 0157-001 Arlington Chronicle 1914 1 item Wesley L. Jones papers, 1896-1932 7 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv39005 Container(s) Description Dates 1/17 0157-001 Arlington Memorial Commission 1920 1 item 1/17 0157-001 Armor, (Mrs.) M. M. 1920 1 item 1/18 0157-001 Armstrong, Julian 1920 1 item 1/18 0157-001 Armstrong, Lloyd 1910 1 item 1/18 0157-001 Arnold, Martha T. 1930 1 item 1/18 0157-001 Arrowsmith, F 1930 1 item 1/18 0157-001 Ash, Edwin 1914 1 item 1/18 0157-001 Associated Hoover Clubs of Texas 1929 1 item 1/18 0157-001 Associated Press 1928 1 item 1/18 0157-001 Asthon, James M.