Scope and Content Note
The papers of Elmer Holmes Davis (1890-1958) span the years 1865-1957, with the bulk of the material dating from 1946 to 1955. The papers are organized into the following series: General Correspondence , Personal and Literary File , Subject File , Radio Scripts , and Addition .
The General Correspondence contains mostly letters relating to Davis's career. He kept little of his personal incoming and outgoing letters. Davis did, however, retain some early correspondence written by his parents, his wife, and a few others. Notable are the 1917 letters from Carolyn A. Wilson who reported from France during World War I for the Chicago Tribune and corresponded with Davis about what she observed. Later correspondence reflects Davis's involvement in the political and literary fields. Correspondents include Bernard Augustine De Voto, Edward R. Murrow, Harold Wallace Ross, James Thurber, Harry S. Truman, Hendrik Willem van Loon, Sumner Welles, and William Allen White.
The Personal and Literary File contains biographical material, lectures and speeches, photographs, and printed copies of many of Davis's articles and early pieces of fiction as well as the typescript of But We Were Born Free. Of interest are photographs taken during a visit to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1944, and currency produced by the First National Bank of Aurora, Indiana, in 1865, where Davis's father worked.
The Subject File , devoted mainly to world events, contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, government publications, notes, and press releases issued by news bureaus and government agencies. Of interest are the files on the Office of War Information that include a report to the president for the years 1942-1945 and items relating to Davis's service as director including his file card from the Nazi Propaganda Ministry, memoranda of conversations with government officials, and correspondence and clippings relating to the dispute between the Office of War Information and its overseas branch. Further correspondence relating to the Office of War Information is in the General Correspondence.
Radio Scripts contains Davis's original scripts of broadcasts for the Columbia Broadcasting System and the American Broadcasting Company. For 1946, there is also a set of approved scripts. The Addition is comprised of a radio script dated 16 February 1942.