SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

The collection consists of small fragmentary series concerning Callaway's work as Secretary of the Army and chairman of the President Ford Committee (PFC), along with a large legal file concerning allegations of misconduct involving Crested Butte Mountain Resort. Much PFC material concerns Callaway's contacts with the Committee after his departure, but some memoranda, schedules, and a campaign plan date from his service as chairman.

QUANTITY
1.9 linear feet (ca. 3,800 pages)

DONOR
Howard H. Callaway (accession numbers 91-12, 91-26, 91-56, and 92-32)

ACCESS
Open. Some items are temporarily restricted under terms of Mr. Callaway's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request.

COPYRIGHT
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain. In addition, Mr. Callaway donated to the United States of America his copyright interest in any other of his writings that might be included in this collection. The copyright interest to materials written by other individuals or organizations is presumed to remain with them.

Prepared by William McNitt, July 1992.
[s:\bin\findaid\callaway, howard - papers.doc]

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Howard Hollis "Bo" Callaway

April 2, 1927 - Born, LaGrange, GA

1944-45 - Student, Georgia Institute of Technology

1945-49 - B.S., United States Military Academy

1949-52 - 1st Lieutenant, United States Army

1953-64 - Member, Board of Regents, University System of Georgia

1953-70 - President, Callaway Gardens

1956-70 - President, Ida Cason Callaway Foundation

1958-64 - Director, Trust Company of Georgia

1960-64 - Director, Georgia Power Company

1965-66 - U.S. Representative from Georgia

1966 - Republican candidate for Governor of Georgia

1966-73 - Chairman, Freedom's Foundation at Valley Forge, PA

1968-73 - Republican National Committeeman from Georgia; Vice Chairman, Republican National Committee

1970-73 - President, Interfinancial, Inc.; civilian aide to Secretary of the Army

1975-76 - Chairman, President Ford Committee

1976-Present - Chairman of the Board, Crested Butte Mountain Resort, Crested Butte, CO

1980 - Candidate for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate from Colorado

1981-87 - Chairman, Colorado Republican Party

1987-Present - Chairman, GOPAC (a Republican political action committee)

INTRODUCTION

President Richard Nixon appointed Howard H. "Bo" Callaway as Secretary of the Army in 1973, Callaway continued in that position into the Ford administration. Callaway, a Georgia businessman and Republican politician, had served as a civilian aide to previous Army Secretaries. During his tenure with the Army, his major accomplishment was to "sell" the concept of an all-volunteer army and then preside over its implementation.

Callaway resigned from his post in June 1975 to become chairman of President Ford's newly-formed campaign organization, the President Ford Committee (PFC). Callaway headed the PFC for nine months, overseeing the recruitment of personnel, the development of its organizational structure, and, in conjunction with the White House, the implementation of political strategies.

In March 1976, Democratic Senator Floyd Haskell advanced charges that Callaway, while serving as Secretary of the Army, had furthered his family's interests in a Colorado ski resort by persuading the Forest Service and the Civil Aeronautics Board to make rulings favorable to the resort. Callaway asked President Ford to relieve him of his duties pending the resolution of these charges. With Ford in a tough fight for the Republican nomination, Callaway soon resigned as PFC chairman. Rogers Morton replaced him.

After leaving the PFC, Callaway devoted himself to disproving the charges leveled against him. He testified before Haskell's committee investigating the charges and considered legal action against his accusers. In the end the Senate committee criticized Callaway only for "poor judgement," while a Justice Department investigation cleared him of any conflict-of-interest charges. In July 1977, a Harper's magazine article reviewed the case at length in terms sympathetic to Callaway and critical of the roles of Haskell and the media.

The Callaway papers contain only fragmentary information on his work as Secretary of the Army and PFC chairman. Callaway reports that he left behind virtually all his files when he left these two posts.

Although much of Callaway's PFC material concerns his contacts with the campaign committee after his departure, it does contain some early notes on the organization of the campaign, an August 1975 campaign plan, and Callaway's schedules. Of special note is a memo to President Ford dated March 27, 1976, assessing the personnel, organization, and activities of the PFC.

Much of the Army material concerns personal or routine matters, but some relates to Army policies or organization. Of note is material on Callaway's testimony before a House committee concerning his views that the military service secretaries were not being kept fully informed on matters of military strategy by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The bulk of the collection concerns Callaway's largely successful struggle to disprove the allegations surrounding his actions on behalf of his ski resort at Crested Butte, Colorado. Besides Callaway's own small file on this topic, the collection includes all of the working files of the Washington law firm which he hired to represent him. The material relates both to the congressional investigation of the charges and possible legal action against his accusers.

Related Materials (July 1992)
The records of the President Ford Committee include much on Callaway's tenure as chairman, especially in the files of the Chairman's Office. Additional materials on Callaway's role in the campaign can be found throughout the campaign-related files in the Library. Please consult the Library's list titled "The 1976 Presidential Election: A Guide to Manuscript Collections Available for Research" for further information.

White House Central Files Subject File category FG 14 and its subdivisions relate to the Department of the Army, as do scattered folders in other collections.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

President Ford Committee File, 1975-76.  (Box 1, 0.3 linear feet)
Correspondence, memoranda, notes, schedules, briefing papers, lists, publications, and clippings. The material concerns both Callaway's work as chairman of the Committee and his subsequent contacts with the campaign after he resigned in March 1976. Included are Callaway's notes on early campaign contacts, July-August 1975, an August 1975 campaign plan, and Callaway's schedules. Much of the file dates from after Callaway's departure.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View container list for this series

Legal File on Crested Butte Allegations, 1976-77 (1979).  (Boxes 2-4, 1.2 linear feet)
Memoranda, correspondence, depositions, legal documents, and clippings. The material concerns Callaway's response to allegations that he had used his position as Secretary of the Army to influence decisions by the Forest Service and the Civil Aeronautics Board affecting his ski resort at Crested Butte, Colorado. The series contains both the working files of his attorneys (the folder titles starting with case numbers) and his own personal file. It concerns both the investigation by Senator Floyd Haskell's committee (the Environment and Land Resources Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs) and potential legal action against Callaway's accusers.

Arranged alphabetically by title.

View container list for this series

Department of the Army File, 1972-1976.  (Box 5, 0.4 linear feet)
Correspondence, lists, testimony, and a report. Some of the correspondence dates from the period when Callaway was a civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army, some from his own service as Secretary, and some from the period after he left the Army. Much of the material is personal or routine in nature, but some documents reflecting changes in Army policies or organization are included. The collection contains no correspondence covering the period August 1973 to November 1975.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View container list for this series

1994 Accretion, 1975-1976.  (Box 5, 0.1 linear feet)
Correspondence and memoranda. Most of the material concerns his work on the 1976 presidential campaign. Many of the items contain substantive discussions about campaign strategies, the political climate in various regions, and other Campaign matters. Much of the material documents Callaway's concerns about small matters associated with the campaign, especially presidential appearances and campaign recruitment. There is almost no material reflecting his work in any capacity other than as a campaign advisor.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View container list for this series

CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - President Ford Committee File

• Callaway Notes on the Campaign, July - August 1975
• Callaway Schedules
• Campaign Plan, August 29, 1975
• Correspondence, March - November 1976
• Factbook (1)-(2)
• Lists of Campaign Officials, April - September 1976
• Memoranda, January - March 1976
• Newsletters, Press Releases, Clippings and Leaflets

Box 2 - Legal File on Crested Butte Allegations

• 204C-1 - Legal Memoranda (1)-(3)
• 204C-2 - Statutes and DOD Regulations
• 204C-3 - Miscellaneous Legal
• 204C-4 - Conspiracy Theory
• 204C-5 - Pleadings
• 204C-6(a) - Civil Aeronautics Board Correspondence (1)-(4)
• 204C-6(b) - Civil Aeronautics Board Depositions and Miscellaneous (1)-(3)
• 204C-7 - Haskell Committee Report (1)-(2)

Box 3 - Legal File on Crested Butte Allegations

• 204C-8 - Haskell Conduct - Senate Rules Violation (1)-(3)
• 204D-1 - General Correspondence (1)-(2)
• 204D-2 - Chrono Log
• 204D-3 - Miscellaneous Memoranda
• 204D-4 - Press and Media Clips (1)-(5)

Box 4 - Legal File on Crested Butte Allegations

• 204D-4 - Press and Media Clips (6)-(9)
• 204D-5 - Accuracy in Media, Inc.
• 204D-7 - Rocky Mountain Journal - Callaway Travel
• 204D-8 - Civil Rights Statute (1)-(2)
• Callaway's File on the Haskell Committee Investigation (1)-(4)

Box 5 - Department of the Army File

• Correspondence, June 1972 - July 1973 (1)-(4)
• Correspondence, November 1975 - November 1976 (1)-(4)
• Lists of Meeting Attendees
• Personnel File
• Testimony Before the House Committee on Governmental Operations, 1975 (1)-(2)
• Year-End Report, 1975

Box 5 (Continued) - 1994 Accretion

• Rumsfeld/Cheney
• White House