Arthur Robert Smith papers, 1931-1966

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Smith, Arthur Robert, 1925-
Title
Arthur Robert Smith papers
Dates
1931-1966 (inclusive)
Quantity
0.9 cubic feet, (2 document cases; 1 reel microfilm)
Collection Number
Mss 1074
Summary
Papers relating to journalist Robert Arthur Smith's research and writing on Senator Wayne Morse. Includes copies of Morse's correspondence; Smith's correspondence and notes concerning Morse; materials relating to Morningside Hospital in Portland, Oregon; the Alaska Mental Health Bill of 1954; and typescript of Smith's 1962 book "The Tiger in the Senate."
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Arthur Robert Smith was an Oregon journalist and author whose book on U.S. Senator Wayne Morse, "The Tiger in the Senate," was published in 1962. In the mid-1950s, Smith wrote a number of investigative articles for the News-Miner newspaper of Fairbanks, Alaska, regarding the Morningside Hospital in Portland, Oregon. The hospital had housed mental health patients from Alaska, and its administration came under the scrutiny of the U.S. Senate as it debated a bill to fund mental health services in that state (then a U.S. Territory). The move for funding was championed by Oregon Senator Richard Neuberger, then in his first year in Congress.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection includes copies of correspondence to and from U.S. Senator Wayne Morse, and correspondence and notes of Arthur Smith regarding Morse. The microfilm contains copies of Morse's correspondence with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Also included in the collection are materials concerning the investigation of the Morningside Hospital in Portland, Oregon, and the related U.S. Senate effort to fund a mental hospital in Alaska in the mid-1950s. A typescript of Smith's book about Morse, titled "The Tiger in the Senate," is also included.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

Arthur Robert Smith papers, Mss 1074, Oregon Historical Society Research Library

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in three series: Series 1. Wayne Morse research materials and correspondence, 1931-1966; Series 2. Morningside Hospital materials, 1954-1956; Series 3. Typescript of "The Tiger in the Senate," circa 1961.

Acquisition Information

Gifts of Arthur Robert Smith, January 1963 (Lib. Acc. 9930) and February 1971 (Lib. Acc. 11806).

Location of Originals

The collection includes copies of papers housed at the U.S. National Archives, Washington, D.C., and at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series 1:  Wayne Morse research materials and correspondence, 1931-1966Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1
Correspondence with Arthur Smith
1953-1968
1 2
Correspondence between Arthur Smith and Wayne Morse
1955-1960
1 3
Correspondence of Wayne Morse (carbon copies and photocopies)
Includes correspondence with President Harry S. Truman.
1948-1969
1 4
General correspondence
1931-1966
1 5
Memoranda
1942-1964
Reel
1
Correspondence between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Wayne Morse
1933-1944

Series 2:  Morningside Hospital materials, 1954-1956Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 6
Articles of incorporation of Morningside Hospital (typescript copies)
1955
1 7
Audit of hospital by the General Accounting Office, and related materials
1954-1956
1 8
Public opposition to Alaska mental health bill (typed summaries)
1956
1 9
Letters to and from Arthur Smith regarding articles on hospital
1955-1956
1 10
News clippings
1954-1956
1 11
Notes on hospital
undated
1 12
Senator Richard Neuberger's press releases, reports, letters and recommendations
1954-1956

Series 3:  Typescript of "The tiger in the Senate", circa 1961Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 13
Pages 1-109
circa 1961
2 1
Pages 110-232
circa 1961
2 2
Pages 233-435
circa 1961
2 3
Pages 436-end, and related materials
circa 1961

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Mental health services--Alaska--History
  • Mental health services--Law and legislation--United States
  • Mental health--Oregon--History
  • Psychiatric hospitals--Oregon--Portland--History

Personal Names

  • Morse, Wayne L. (Wayne Lyman), 1900-1974
  • Morse, Wayne L. (Wayne Lyman), 1900-1974--Correspondence
  • Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945--Correspondence
  • Smith, Arthur Robert, 1925---Correspondence

Corporate Names

  • Morningside Hospital (Portland, Or.)

Geographical Names

  • Alaska--Politics and government--1867-1959
  • Oregon--Politics and government--1951-

Form or Genre Terms

  • biographies (literary works)
  • correspondence

Titles within the Collection

  • Tiger in the Senate : the biography of Wayne Morse