Creator: Wilson, M. L. (Milburn Lincoln), 1885-1969

 

Provenance Note: Original documents and photocopies of material pertaining to the career and activities of M. L. Wilson were compiled by employees of Montana State University in the 1960s to create this artificial research collection. Provenance of much of this material has been lost, but many files were apparently copied from originals held by the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D. C.

 

Historical Note: Milburn Lincoln Wilson was born in Atlantic, Iowa on 23 October 1885, the son of John Wesley and Mary E. (Magee) Wilson. He received a B.S.A. from Iowa State College, Ames, in 1907 and his M.S. in agricultural economics and rural sociology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1920. He began his career as a farmer in 1907. He served as Assistant State Agronomist at Montana State College, Bozeman, 1910-12; County Agent in Custer County, Montana, 1912-14; Montana State Extension Agent Leader, 1914-22; and an extension agricultural economist at Montana State College, 1922-24. Between 1924 and 1926 he took charge of the U.S.D.A. division of farm management and cost accounting. During his stint as professor and head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Montana State College, 1926-33, he provided consultation on large-scale wheat farming in the U.S.S.R., 1929. From May 16 to September 1, 1933, Wilson served as the Chief Wheat Production Secretary in the Agricultural Adjustment Administration and then moved on to the directorship of the Division of Subsistence Homesteads in the Department of the Interior until June 30, 1934. In 1934, Wilson was appointed the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture and in 1937 the Undersecretary of Agriculture until 1 February 1940 when he became the Director of Extension Work at U.S.D.A. While Director, he also filled in as the Chief of Nutrition Programs and in the Production and Marketing Administration between 1943 and 1949. He was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Farm Economic Association (president, 1925), Epsilon Sigma Phi, Phi Kappa Phi, and Alpha Zeta. He was also a Unitarian and belonged to the Cosmos club. His writings include Farm Relief and the Domestic Allotment Plan (1933) and Democracy Has Roots (1939). Married on December 17, 1913 to Ida Morse from Cromwell, Minnesota, Wilson made his home in Washington, D.C. where he died in October 1969 and is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery.

 

Content Description Note: This collection includes materials created or collected by M.L. Wilson and in turn collected and arranged by Montana State University. It contains: original copies of Wilson's unofficial correspondence; photoduplicates of original correspondence held by the National Archives and Records Administration documenting Wilson's activities as Undersecretary of Agriculture and Director of Extension; subject files; agricultural history and Thomas Jefferson material; speeches; statements; articles; and materials from his personal files. Topics include: the Agricultural Adjustment Administration; various agricultural bills; domestic allotment; Farm Bureau; various New Deal programs concerning labor, land, rural housing, extension schools, erosion, and subsistence homesteads; agricultural history; Thomas Jefferson; conservation, economics; social sciences; politics; and postwar reconstruction. Photographs have been removed from files marked by an asterisk (*) and placed in Series 16. Large items have been also been removed for separate storage and files from which they have been removed marked by an asterisk (*).

Series 1: Non-official Correspondence, 1935-1960

Letters, memos, and notes pertaining to a wide variety of subjects including extension work, various studies, addresses, travel, foreign aid, United Nations, and Ford Foundation material. This material is very scattered in content and volume, with no personal or family letters included. Wilson's official job related correspondence has been arranged in subsequent series.

Box 1
1-2. Non-official Correspondence 1935
3. Non-official Correspondence 1936-37
4-5. Non-official Correspondence 1938
6 - 9. Non-official Correspondence 1939
10-11. Non-official Correspondence 1940
12. Non-official Correspondence 1941
13-15. Non-official Correspondence 1943-45
16-17. Non-official Correspondence 1946
18-21. Non-official Correspondence 1947-48
22. Non-official Correspondence 1949
23-26. Non-official Correspondence 1950
27-28. Non-official Correspondence 1951
29-34. Non-official Correspondence 1952
35-43. Non-official Correspondence 1953

 

Box 2
1-12. Non-official Correspondence 1953
13-22. Non-official Correspondence 1954
23-25. Non-official Correspondence 1955-56
26-28. Non-official Correspondence 1957
29-31. Non-official Correspondence 1958
32-33. Non-official Correspondence 1959
34. Non-official Correspondence 1960
35. Non-official Correspondence [n.d.]
36-41. Personal Correspondence, Dixon Co., Iowa Real Estate
42. Alumni Merit Service Award, Iowa State College

Series 2: Undersecretary of Agriculture -- Incoming Correspondence, A-Z -- 1933-1940

Photocopies of original correspondence held by the National Archives. It is a selection of non-official and official correspondence recieved by Wilson while he served as Undersecretary; it does not represent the total volume of that correspondence. Subjects include: AAA, agriculture education, extension, land-grant colleges, agricultural experiments, sociology, science, and international relations. The letters have been arranged alphabetically by the author's name.

Box 2 (cont.)
43-44. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, A - 1934-1940

 

Box 3
1-6. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, B - 1933-1940
7-10. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, C - 1933-1939
11-13. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, D - 1934-1940
14-15. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, E - 1934-1939
16-17. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, F - 1934-1940
18-19. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, G - 1934-1940
20-24. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, H - 1934-1940
25. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, I - 1935-1937
26. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, J - 1934-1939
27-28. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, K - 1935-1939
29-32. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, L - 1934-1940
33-38. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, M - 1937-1940
39. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, O - 1933-1939
40-43. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, P - 1934-1940
44-45. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, R - 1933-1940

 

Box 4
1-3. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, R - 1933-1940
4-7. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, S - 1934-1940
8-9. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, T - 1934-1940
10. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, U - 1938-1939
11. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, V - 1935-1938
12-14. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, W - 1934-1940
15. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, Y - 1935-1939
16. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, Z - 1937-1939

Series 3: Director of Extension -- Correspondence, 1940-1953

Photocopies of original correspondence held by the National Archives. It is a selection of non-official and official correspondence recieved by Wilson while he served as the Director of Extension; it does not represent the total volume of that correspondence. There is no correspondence for the years 1944 through 1946. The chronological arrangement, as received, has been retained.

Box 4 (cont.)
17. Director of Extension Correspondence, 1940-41
18-20. Director of Extension Correspondence, 1942
21-24. Director of Extension Correspondence, 1943
25-29. Director of Extension Correspondence, 1947-65

Series 4: Undersecretary of Agriculture and Director of Extension Correspondence, 1932-1948

Photocopies of original correspondence held by the National Archives. It is a selection of non-official and official correspondence sent by Wilson while he served as Undersecretary and the Director of Extension; it does not represent the total volume of that correspondence. These letters may have originally been filed under a subject or name arrangement but were not received in such an arrangement. Some of the letters are duplicates of correspondence found in other parts of this series.

Box 4 (cont.)
30-34. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, 1932-36
35-39. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, 1937
40-44. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, 1938
45-47. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, 1939

 

Box 5
1-8. Undersecretary of Agriculture Correspondence, 1939
9-12. Director of Extension Correspondence, 1940-43
13-16. Director of Extension Correspondence, 1944-48

Series 5: Undersecretary of Agriculture, Subject Files

This material includes photoduplicated letters, reports, articles etc. dealing with the various subjects listed for each folder. The subject headings which appeared on the cover envelopes have bee retained.

Box 5 (cont.)
17. Agriculture Adjustment Administration
18. Conservation -- Transfer from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Interior
19. Cristgau Bill
20-21. Decentralization, Cont'd in Folder 21
22-28. Domestic Allotment I
29-34. Domestic Allotment II
35-39. Domestic Allotment III
40. Farm Bureau
41-43. Farm Labor - Volunteer Land Corps
44. Land Planning Committee

 

Box 6
1. Land Planning Committee
2-6. Land Policy Materials
7. National Agricultural Conference
8. New Deal - Economic Philosophy - Mordecai Ezekial
9. Regional Meetings, Spring 1935
10. Regional Meetings, Summer 1935
11. Regional Meetings, Letters to Colleges
12-15. Reports (Miscellaneous)
16. Rural Housing
17-21. Schools for Extension Workers
22. Smith Lever Act
23-26. Wind Erosion

Series 6: Division of Subsistence Homesteads, 1933-1935

This contains correspondence and other records of Mr. Wilson as Director of the Division of Subsistence Homesteads within the Department of Interior, 1933-35. Listed as Record Group 96 in the National Archives.

Box 6 (cont.)
27-28. Division of Subsistence Homesteads

Series 7: Bureau of Agricultural Economics, Office of Farm Management, 1924-1925

Records of the Office of Farm Management within the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, 1924-25. H.R. Tolley, Head. Includes those records relating to M.L. Wilson. Listed as Record Group 83 in the National Archives.

Box 6 (cont.)
30-34. Bureau of Agricultural Economics, Office of Farm Management

Series 8: Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils and Agricultural Engineering, 1934-1941

Bureau Chief's Correspondence, 1934-41, F.D. Richey and E.C. Auchter, Heads of Bureau. (Records relating to M.L. Wilson) Listed as Record Group 54 in the National Archives.

Box 6 (cont.)
35-37. Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils and Agricultural Engineering

Series 9: Mordecai Ezekial, Domestic Allotment Plan, 1929-1933

Material from the files of Mordecai Ezekial, Economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, on the Domestic Allotment Plan. This material consists of photoduplicated copies of material from the National Archives.

Box 6 (cont.)
38. Domestic Allotment Plan - J.D. Black, 1929
39-42. Domestic Allotment Correspondence, 1932
Box 7
1-4. Domestic Allotment Correspondence, 1932
5-7. Domestic Allotment Correspondence, 1933
8. Condensed Summary of Events, 1932-33

Series 10: Chester C. Davis Material

Recollections and correspondence donated by Mr. Davis for inclusion in the Wilson file. Contains information about M.L. Wilson, Gov. Joe Dixon, Newspapers - Miles City Star, Avant Courier, Montana Farmer, Non-Partisan League.

Box 7 (cont.)
9. Chester C. Davis Material

Series 11: Agricultural History and Thomas Jefferson Material

This material includes speeches, articles, notes, clippings and correspondence on the subjects of Thomas Jefferson and agricultural history. Included are materials from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents, a proposed Agricultural Hall of Fame and agricultural museums. Much of the material is devoted to the Jefferson Bicentennial.

Box 7 (cont.)
10.* Agricultural History - Miscellaneous Material
11-16. Agricultural History - Miscellaneous Material
17-19. History of the Plow
20-23. M.L. Wilson, "Thomas Jefferson and Modern Scientific, Agriculture," 1949
24-29. Jefferson Bicentennial -- Copies of letters and memoranda
30. Jefferson Bicentennial -- minutes of meetings - conference on plans
31. Jefferson Bicentennial -- Publication - Clippings
32-34. Jefferson Bicentennial Committee -- minutes of meetings, membership, correspondence
35-36. Jefferson Bicentennial Committee -- Land Grant College and Extension participation
37-40. Jefferson Bicentennial Committee -- Miscellaneous correspondence, articles, clippings

 

Box 8
1-10. Jefferson Bicentennial Committee -- Miscellaneous correspondence, articles, clippings
11-20. Thomas Jefferson -- Bibliographies and Quotations
21-22. Jefferson and Agriculture -- Sourcebook by Everett E. Edwards
23-27. Thomas Jefferson -- Pamphlet and Journal Material
28.* Thomas Jefferson -- Photographs used in connection with the Bicentennial

Series 12: Speeches, Statements, Articles, 1932-1956

This material represents mostly the product of Mr. Wilson himself, or articles about him. Those which were attributed to others but retained by Mr. Wilson are so designated on the chronological listing attached to this inventory as Folder 36.

Box 8 (cont.)
29. Material for M.L. Wilson Speeches
30-32. Library of Congress references in connection with the preparation of speeches
33-33a. Material on Science Lecture
34-35. List of M.L. Wilson addresses, articles, etc. prepared in the office of Extension, U.S. Department of Agriculture

 

Box 9
1-5. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. 1932-37
6-9. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. 1938-39
10-18. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. 1940
19-27. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Jan-June 1941
28-32. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. June-Oct 1941
33-40. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Oct-Dec 1941
41-43. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Jan-Aug 1942

 

Box 10
1-2. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Jan-Aug 1942
3-6. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Sept-Dec 1942
7-18. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Jan-June 1943
19-32. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. June-Dec 1943
33-40. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Jan-Apr 1944
41-46. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Apr-Dec 1944

 

Box 11
1-4. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Apr-Dec 1944
5-14. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Jan-Aug 1945
15-21. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Sept-Dec 1945
22-30. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Jan-Aug 1946
31.* Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Aug-Dec 1946
32-33. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Aug-Dec 1946
34-38. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Dec 1946
39-42. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Jan-May 1947
43-47. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. June-Dec 1947

 

Box 12
1-4. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Jan-May 1948
5-11. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. Jun-Dec 1948
12-16. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. 1949
17-19. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. 1950
20-25. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. 1951-56
26-29. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. [n.d.]
30-38. Speeches, Statements, Articles, etc. (misc)

Series 13: General and Miscellaneous Material

Subject files relating to the New Deal, agriculture, extension, economics, education, nutrition, etc.

Box 12 (cont.)
39-41. AAA -- New Deal Material
42-43. Agriculture -- Miscellaneous

 

Box 13
1-11. Agriculture -- Miscellaneous
12. Agriculture -- Land-Grant Universities and Colleges
13. Agriculture -- Radio Talks
14-20. Agricultural Extension
21-22. Agricultural Extension*
22-34. Agricultural Extension

 

Box 14
1-2. Agricultural Extension
3-11. American Philosophical Society
12.* Conservation
13. Conservation
14-16. Economics
17.* Education, Sociology, Political Science
18-20. Education, Sociology, Political Science
21.* Education, Sociology, Political Science
22-27. Education, Sociology, Political Science
28-30. Foreign Aid
31. Homestead Material
32-33. India -- Provincial Extension Directors, 1952
34. Labor
35-39. Nutrition

 

Box 15
1. Nutrition
2-4. Politics -- Miscellaneous
5-11. Politics -- Campaign of 1936
12-18. Rural America
19. Science History -- Discussion
20-23. Soviet Union
24-26. United Nations and Subordinate Organizations
27-32. War and Reconstruction
33-37. War and Reconstruction, "Democracy in the Present Crisis"
38. Report of the Secretary of Agriculture, 1930
39. Report of the Secretary of Agriculture, 1932

 

Box 16
1. Report of the Secretary of Agriculture, 1933
2. Report of the Secretary of Agriculture, 1934
3. Report of the Secretary of Agriculture, 1935
4. Report of the Secretary of Agriculture, 1936
5. Report of the Secretary of Agriculture, 1937

Series 14: M.L. Wilson Personal Files, 1914-1955

Series 14 consists of materials from the personal files of M.L. Wilson forwarded with some comments by Dr. P.L. Slagsvold. Some of this material was drawn from the files of the Agricultural Economics Department, Montana State College, but has been retained in this series as a file kept separately by Wilson.

Box 16 (cont.)
6. Correspondence, 1914-1920
7-13. Projects, Montana Agricultural Experiment Station
14-16. Agricultural Outlook Material
17. Allin, Bushrod, "Collective Economics of John R. Commons"
18. Farm Problems, Pamphlets 1927-32
19-20. Agriculture Situation, 1930-33
21. Ezekial, Mordecai, "Farm Problems," 1932
22. Wallace, Henry A.
23-25. Wilson, M.L., Land Utilization Speech and discussions, 1932-33
26-27. Farm Relief Bills, 1932-33
28. Anderson, Sydney, Agricultural Relief Plan
29. Farm Relief -- California Plan, 1933
30. Black, John D., The Agricultural Situation, January 1933
31. Rodgers, R.R., Farm Problems and Solutions, 1933
32. American Bakers Association, Farm Relief Problems and Plans, 1932-33
33. Tugwell, Rexford, "Agricultural Planning," 1934
34. Agricultural Planning Suggestions, 1933-35
     Note: Domestic Allotment Draft Bill, Box 20, Folder 1
35-36. Domestic Allotment, Notes and correspondence on Roosevelt's Topeka Farm Speech
37-41. Wilson, M.L., Domestic Allotment and Farm Relief -- speeches, 1933-34
     Note: M.L. Wilson -- Misc. is in Box 20, Folder 2.
42. Food Research Institute, Domestic Allotment -- Analysis, 1932

 

Box 17
1-3. Domestic Allotment and Farm Problems -- Correspondence, 1932-33
4-5. Domestic Allotment -- Notes and Discussions
6. Domestic Allotment and other suggested farm plans -- analysis
7-10. Millers' National Federation, Domestic Allotment -- Criticisms
11. Lippmann, Walter, Domestic Allotment Plan -- Clippings
12. Decentralization of Industry
13. Agricultural Adjustment [partial text of speech]
14-16. Agricultural Planning -- Miscellaneous Material, 1936-38
17-21. Wilson, M.L. -- General Correspondence, 1953
22-24. Wilson, M.L. -- General Correspondence, 1954
25-27. Wilson, M.L. -- Ford Foundation Correspondence, 1953
28-29. Wilson, M.L. -- Ford Foundation Correspondence, 1954
30-32. Wilson, M.L. -- Ford Foundation Expenses, Fees, etc., 1954-55
33-35. Miscellaneous Pamphlets
36. Association of Land Grant Universities and Colleges
37-38. American Farm Bureau Federation
39. Geologic Map of Western United States

Series 15: Miscellaneous Notebooks and Scrapbooks, 1916-1956

Box 18
1*-3.* Farmers' Bureau, 1916-19
4-14. Weekly Letters to State Directors of Extension, 1945
    Note: the Weekly Letters are arranged according to the original arrangement found in M.L. Wilson's ring binder.
15-27. Weekly Letters to State Directors of Extension, 1946
28-40. Weekly Letters to State Directors of Extension, 1947
    Includes Table of Contents for 1947

 

Box 19
1-3. Weekly Letters to State Directors of Extension, 1947
4-18. Weekly Letters to State Directors of Extension, 1948
     Table of Contents for 1948
19-25. Press Clippings, Nationwide Judging Tour, 1956 Community Service Contest
26-30. Miscellaneous House and Senate Bills and Resolutions with suggested changes, related letters, etc.
31-33. Missoula County Farm Bureau Organization
     Note: "Scrapbook -- General Agricultural Newspaper clippings and articles" to Box 21.
     "Scrapbook -- Farmers' Bureau" to Box 21.

 

Box 20
1. Domestic Allotment Draft Bill
2. Wilson, M.L. -- Miscellaneous

Series 16: Photographs

This series includes photographs removed from various folders throughout the collection.

Box 20 (cont.)
3. Photographs #1-5
4. Photographs #6-10
5. Photographs #11-15
6. Photographs #15-20
7. Photographs #21-27
8. Photographs #28-32

 

 

Box 21 Oversize items transferred from Series 15 to this flat box.
1. Scrapbook -- General Agricultural Newspaper clippings and articles
2. Scrapbook -- Farmers' Bureau

 

Oversize storage
"Data Regarding Subject Matter Specialists Agricultural Section" (2 sheets)
"Data Regarding Subject Matter Specialists Home Economics Section" (1 sheet)
"Farmers' Institute" [poster]
"Mr. Taxpayer . . ." [announcement for short course]
"Lower Madison Community Fair and Labor Day Picnic" [poster]
"Farmers Hear" [poster]
"Farmers' War Meeting" [poster]
"Dry Farming Exhibit for Triangle Farmers" [poster]
"Official Bulletin of the Dairymen's League," September 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, October 5, 10

Updated: 4/30/09