Typed Letter, signed (“Harold L. Ickes”) to Harry Barnard of Chicago, objecting to Barnard‘s preference for Carl Sandburg over Paul Douglas for the Senate

Washington, D.C., 1948. One page on personal letterhead. Small pinholees in upper left corner, text unaffected. In brown cloth folder. One page on personal letterhead. Ickes (1874 -1952), former Secretary of the Interior under FDR (and briefly under Truman) and the administrator of the Public Works Administration, grew up in Chicago himself, and after leaving the administration, remained active not only in nationa but in Illinois politics. Here, in a letter to the newspaper columnist Harry Barbard of the CHICAGO DAILY NEWS, Ickes opines:

“A man whom I don’t know has sent me a tear sheet from the CHICAGO DAILY NEWS of January 23 in which appears (truncated) a communication from you with reference to the Senate situation in Illinois. I believe that I will not fall behind in my esteem for Carl Sandburg, but the suggestion of support for him for the Senate seems to me to be entirely futile. Neither can I understand your expressed opposition to Paul V. Douglas. I have known Douglas for years, and I believe that he would make a great Senator.

“You concluded that Mr. Douglas is for the Truman Doctrine as applied in Greece and Turkey because he is for the Marshall Plan for West Europe. This certainly is not necessarily so. Personally I have opposed the Truman Doctrine for Greece and Turkey from the very beginning. It was a bad conception, and it was done in too much of a hurry, and I believe that as a result of it, we are in a highly dangerous position in those two countries today … However, I am in favor of the Marshall Plan for Western Europe. I do not believe that Western Europe can recover economically without our aid, and if Europe doesn’t take a nose dive …”

Paul Douglas — not Carl Sandburg — served as Senator from Illinois from 1949-1961. (Inventory #: 247372)