COLLECTION FINDING AID



WHITE HOUSE TELEGRAPH & TRAVEL SECTION:

SAMPLE OF TELEGRAMS, 1974-77

Office of the Chief Executive Clerk




SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

A random 3% sample of carbon copies of telegrams received and dispatched by the White House Telegraph and Travel Section. The collection contains no information on the operation of the Telegraph and Travel Section.

QUANTITY
1.5 linear feet (ca. 3,000 pages)

DONOR
Gerald R. Ford (accession number 77-107)

ACCESS
Advance consultation is required so that archivists may complete routine review of requested folders for restricted information.

COPYRIGHT
Gerald R. Ford has donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

Prepared by Geir Gundersen, February 1995
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INTRODUCTION

As a permanent operating unit of the Office of the Chief Executive Clerk [1], the White House Telegraph and Travel Section arranged travel for White House staff, assisted with travel arrangements for the White House press corps, and received and dispatched all telegrams for the White House Office. The collection has no information on these duties, but does contain a sample of telegrams taken from a complete set of incoming and outgoing telegrams maintained by the Telegraph and Travel Section.

In receiving and dispatching the telegrams, the Telegraph and Travel Section generated three copies of each. The original went to the White House office sending, receiving, or distributing the telegram; the second copy to the White House Central Files; and, the third stayed in the Telegraph and Travel Section. The Section kept their own set of telegrams, even though the White House Central Files staff deemed it unnecessary, because it was much easier to retrieve copies if asked [2]. The Section retained the telegrams for approximately three months before placing them in storage. The telegrams were shipped to the Ford Library as part of the White House Central Files Bulk Mail File and later segregated by Library staff into a separate collection, totaling 50 linear feet.

The Ford Library decided to sample and dispose of the bulk of the collection because copies are located in several other collections. The decision to retain a sample was prompted by the collection's arrangement of all topics in a single chronological sequence, which is unique and may have modest value. Archivists sampled all boxes of incoming and outgoing telegrams and randomly selected approximately 75 pages from each box and placed them in individual folders.

Although the telegrams have been arranged and described, the collection has not been reviewed. Access cannot be granted to any folder until it has been reviewed by Library staff. Library staff will entertain reasonable requests for review of folders, provided archivists are given sufficient advance notice to process the requests.

Related Materials (February 1995)
Copies of the telegrams are located in the White House Central Files (WHCF) Name File, the WHCF Subject File, the WHCF Bulk Mail File, and individual staff files.


SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Incoming Telegrams File, 1974-77.  (Boxes 1‑3, 1.2 linear feet)
A random sample of carbon copies of all incoming telegrams received by the White House. The telegrams are mostly routine messages from the American public expressing their opinions on a wide variety of issues.

Arranged by month

Outgoing Telegrams File, 1974-77. (Box 4, 0.3 linear feet)
A random sample of carbon copies of all outgoing telegrams dispatched by the White House. The telegrams are mostly congratulations on anniversaries and birthdays, or condolences sent by President Ford. There are also invitations to conferences and meetings at the White House sent to members of professional groups and associations on behalf of the White House staff member coordinating the event.

Arranged by month.


CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Incoming Telegrams

  • August 1974 (1)-(2)
  • September 1974 (1)-(7)
  • October 1974 (1)-(2)
  • November 1974
  • December 1974
  • January 1975

Box 2 - Incoming Telegrams

  • February 1975
  • March 1975
  • April 1975 (1)-(2)
  • May 1975 (1)-(2)
  • June 1975
  • July 1975
  • August 1975
  • September 1975
  • October 1975
  • November 1975

Box 3 - Incoming Telegrams

  • December 1-20, 1975 (1)-(3)
  • December 21-31, 1975
  • January 1976
  • February 1976
  • March 1976 (1)-(2)
  • April 1976
  • May 1976
  • June 1976
  • July 1976
  • August 1976
  • September 1976
  • October 1976
  • November 1976
  • December 1976 - January 1977

Box 4 - Outgoing Telegrams

  • August - December 1974
  • January - February 1975
  • March - August 1975
  • September - December 1975
  • January - April 1976
  • May - October 1976
  • November 1976 - January 1977

1. The Office of the Chief Executive Clerk is composed of permanent operating units established to support the President and members of his staff. The Office provides for the orderly processing of documents and correspondence within the White House Office and organizes and supervises clerical and administrative services and procedures. See White House Staff Manual, pages A-1 and A-2 (available in reference room).

2. Telephone interview with Gary Wright, November 17, 1994. Mr. Wright served as Assistant to the Chief, White House Telegraph and Travel Section, during the Ford administration.