Robert Edward Merriam papers, ca. 1947-1955

These records are a gift of Robert E. Merriams, Wayne, Illinois, May 1962 (accession #: 62.341 and accession # 1984.82 acquired later, source unknown.

Robert Edward Merriam Papers (Chicago History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and series/box/folder/call number of a specific item.

The papers deal almost exclusively with Merriam’s participation in several City Council committees, these being the Committee on Utilities, Committee on Conservation, 1953. Included are printed proceedings of committee meetings, correspondence both to and from Merriam relating to the committees’ work, and newsclippings on committee revelations. Also present is a miscellaneous lot of material, primarily information files compiled by Merriam on such topics as the municipal courts and the compliance of city departments with consultants’ reports on city-operated utilities.

The records are divided into three series: I. Committee on Utilities, 1947-1948, II. Emergency Crime Committee, 1952-54, and III. Special Committee on Conservation, and miscellaneous materials, 1949-1955.

Robert Edward Merriam was born October 2, 1918, the son of Charles E. Merriam, professor of political science at the University of Chciago, and Hilda Doyle Merriam. Young Merriam was educated at the University of Chicago and graduated in 1940 with a Master’s degree. In 1942 he entered the U.S. Army and was made a combat historian for the Seventh Armored Division; he produced Dark December: The Full Account of the Battle of the Bulge in 1947.

After leaving the service Merriam was elected Alderman of Chicago’s 5th Ward in 1946, and re-elected in 1951. Although he served on the City Council as a Democrat, he ran in 1955 as the Republican candidate for mayor against Richard J. Daley. After his defeat Merriam was appointed to the U.S. Budget Bureau in Washington, D.C. where he became Deputy Director in 1958; he subsequently became Deputy Assistant to President Eisenhower.

Upon his return to Chicago in 1961 Merriam became president of Spaceonics Inc. Other works he has authored are The American Government: Democracy in Action (1954, written with his father) and Going into Politics: A Guide for Citizens (1957, written with Rachel Goetz).

University of Chicago Library, Special Collections Research Center holds a larger collection of Robert E. Merriam papers.

• Names
  • Merriam, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1918- -- Archives
  • Chicago (Ill.). City Council
• Subject
  • City council members--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • City planning--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Municipal government--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Politicians--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Public utilities--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Urban renewal--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
• Geographic CoverageChicago (Ill.)--Politics and government-- 20th century

The collection is arranged in three series.

Series I. Committee on Utilities, 1947-1948 (boxes 1-5)

On September 17, 1947, the franchise between Commonwealth Edison Company and the City of Chicago expired. Negotiations for renewal were begun by the City Council’s Committee on Utilities. A franchise was proposed to the company, which it refused on December 15. Negotiations then lasted until March 1, 1948, when a final proposal was drafted. The Council gave its approval on May 24, and the company accepted the franchise on June 17, 1948.

This series illustrates Merriam’s participation in the franchise renewal negotiations in 1947 and 1948. It consists of correspondence, reports, appraisals and comments on the Commonwealth Edison Company, notes and statements by Merriam on the franchise, news releases and informational publications (plus newspaper clippings), and drafts of the proposed contract, with various comments and amendments. Also included is an incomplete set of transcripts of the public and committee hearings conducted between October 20, 1947 and May 25, 1948.

Series II. Emergency Crime Committee, 1952-1955 (boxes 5-14)

On February 14, 1952 an Emergency Committee on Crime was created by the City Council “to investigate the alliance between crime and politics in Chicago; to determine a course of action to drive the hoodlum element out of Chicago; and to recommend such improvements as it deems necessary to restore the confidence of the people of Chicago in the Chicago Police Department and in the administration of justice at Chicago.” (Journal of the Proceedings of the Council, February 14, 1952.) The Committee investigated irregular and illegal activities of ward politicians along with underworld influence in the Chicago Police Department. It held investigations and hearings through June 14, 1953, when the Superior Court of Cook County ruled against the legality of requiring personal income information from police officers. The committee’s activities were suspended until July 1954, when the Supreme Court reversed the lesser court’s decision. Merriam assumed the chairmanship of the reconstituted committee but resigned on November 22, 1954 to enter the mayoral campaign.

Included in this series is correspondence that includes complaints by Chicago citizens about crime and corruption; rules of procedure of the committee with statements and notes by Merriam relative to the conduct of the committee, newspaper clippings, financial reports and reports on investigations, materials concerning questionnaires on policemen’s income plus court briefs and appeals produced during the ensuing litigation. There is also an incomplete set of transcripts of the committee hearings in 1952, 1953 and 1954.

Series III. Special Committee on Conservation, and miscellaneous materials, 1949-1955 (boxes 14-15)

In the summer of 1953 Merriam, as chairman of the Housing Committee, was an interested party in formulating the city’s response to recently enacted Urban Community Conservation legislation at Springfield. A special committee on Conservation was formed with Merriam as co-chairman, which met from July through August; the papers include minutes from these committee meetings, plus some correspondence related to the committee’s work.

Additional materials include information files on the Chicago metropolitan area, which Merriam compiled for use in a survey for his own use, plus other miscellaneous information files. There are also a couple of folders of reports from various city departments in response to a consultants’ (Griffenhagen and Associates) proposal on improving city-operated utilities.