Morison Holds President's Archives Invaluable Contribution to America

Samuel E. Morison, professor of History, who sponsored the scheme for transferring the President's archives from Washington to a permanent repository at Hyde Park, predicted yesterday that these records would become an invaluable contribution to Americana.

Recently returned from a trip devoted to verifying the log of Columbus, Professor Morison discounted the statements of Representative Hamilton Fish and Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. claiming that Roosevelt's only purpose in collecting his archives was to glorify his term in office.

Gift to Government

Admitting that funds for the library would have to be raised from personal subscriptions, Professor Morison pointed out that Roosevelt's resources were not sufficient to bear the cost of such a project. He observed that Roosevelt plans to donate his Hyde Park home to the Government on his death.

Professor Morison emphasized the need of a special building to house the documents, for placing his presidential papers in the National Archives would separate them from his other political papers, his private library, and his naval history manuscripts, prints, and ship-models.

"It would be a crime," he stated, "to break up this unique assemblage of historical sources and objects of personal interest, and the only way to keep it together is to erect a special library-archive museum building to held all of it.

Archives Totally Destroyed

"The archives of some former presidents have been totally destroyed," Professor Morison continued, "while others have been kept fairly intact by the family, but not opened to investigators. Only the Hoover, Hayes, and Harding papers have been housed in buildings specially constructed."

Although ex-President Hoover had the means to give his collection proper care, Professor Morison showed that whereas Hoover received 600 pieces of mail daily, the White House average has now risen to 6000, owing mainly to the depression. Thus, he believes the task of earing for a President's papers has now grown too big for any one family to handle.