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Allan Turner Howe papers, 1975-1976

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Howe, Alan Turner, 1927-
Title
Allan Turner Howe papers
Dates
1975-1976 (inclusive)
Quantity
27 Linear Feet
Collection Number
MS 0140
Summary
The Allan Turner Howe papers (1975-1976) are composed of the material accumulated during Howe's term in the U.S. House of Representatives. The collection consists of material generated by the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and the Committee on Public Works and Transportation. Correspondence to and from constituents, and casework handled through his offices in Washington, Salt Lake City, and Cedar City is also included.
Repository
University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-0860

Telephone: 8015818863
special@library.utah.edu
Access Restrictions

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Allan T. Howe was born in South Cottonwood, Utah, 6 September 1927. He graduated from Granite High School in 1945, received a B.S. degree from the University of Utah in 1952, and was graduated from the University of Utah College of Law in 1954. He was called to serve in the Central Atlantic States Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in July 1949. In 1953, he married the former Marlene Dee.

Howe served as City Attorney of South Salt Lake City and Deputy County Attorney of Salt Lake County after his admission to the Utah Bar Association in 1955. From 1959 to 1964, he served as Field Representative and Administrative Aide to Senator Frank E. Moss of Utah and served as Legal Counsel and Administrative Aide to Utah Governor Calvin L. Rampton from 1965-1968. From 1968-1972, Howe served as Executive Director of the Intergovernmental Economic Unit of the Four Corners Regional Development Commission (Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico). In addition, he was National President of the Young Democrats in 1961.

Howe was elected to the United States House of Representatives on the Democratic ticket in November 1974 and served in the 94th Congress as Congressman from the Second Congressional District of Utah. He was appointed to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and the Committee on Public Works and Transportation. On February 6, 1976 he announced his intention to run for a second term.

Howe was nominated for his second term by the Utah Democratic Convention on July 12, 1976. The Democratic Party ultimately withdrew its support after Howe's arrest in Salt Lake City. He was convicted on a morals charge in Salt Lake City Court on July 23, 1976 and in Third District Court on August 24, 1976. Howe was unsuccessful in his bid for re-election, losing to Republican Dan Marriott.

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Content Description

The Allan Turner Howe papers (1975-1976) are composed of the material accumulated during his term in the United States House of Representatives, 94th Congress. The collection consists of material generated by the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs; the Committee on Public Works and Transportation. Correspondence to and from constituents and casework handled through his three offices in Washington, D. C., Salt Lake City and Cedar City, Utah is included. The collection does not contain any material from his career before election to the 94th Congress, his campaign, his arrest and trial in 1976, or any subsequent events. Also, it contains no office "logs" or diaries and no non-print materials such as photographs or tapes of speeches.

The filing systems used in the three offices have been retained to the greatest possible degree. Constituent and casework files were sampled when the material contained was voluminous or repetitive. Sampled files have been noted in the register and in the files themselves. In all cases, an attempt was made to retain the character of the files.

The collection is divided into the following areas. Boxes 1-18 contain the Legislative Files. Generally the Legislative Files contain all source material and the legislative progress of each bill by the bill number rather than the general subject. The overall order is established by committee and sub-committee, with the files filed under the appropriate sub-committee. Box 15 is a record of all legislation sponsored or co-sponsored by Representative Howe, organized alphabetically by committee.

Boxes 19-35 contain the Subject Files. Boxes 19-28 cover 1975 and 29-35 cover 1976. The Subject Files are organized alphabetically by subject, each file in chronological order. The files contain almost exclusively letters and telegrams from constituents who received individual rather than "form" letter responses from Representative Howe.

Boxes 36-49 were labeled Constituent Letter Files. Boxes 36-42 cover 1975, and boxes 42-49 cover 1976. These files consist primarily of correspondence to Representative Howe on issues of legislation and proposed legislation, but also included constituent opinions on non-legislative matters ranging from the Kaiparowitz Power Plant to Natural Foods. Howe did not separate correspondence on legislative and non-legislative materials. The letters are arranged by subject and letters for each subject are organized alphabetically by the surname of the correspondent. Almost exclusively, constituent letters were answered with a form letter and the drafts of these letters are found in front of the first folder for each subject. Most of the sampling was done in this part of the collection because of the form letters, post card campaigns and similarity of letters received on a given subject.

The Casework Files consist of inquiries made to Howe on behalf of individual constituents to solicit his help in solving a problem of that constituent, or in some cases, a member of the family, for example: Social Security reimbursements, problems with various branches of the armed services, etc. The files are divided by the office that handled the case. Boxes 50-55 are the Washington, D.C. casework files organized alphabetically by general subject with some of the more voluminous cases filed at the end by the surname of the individual case. Boxes 56-58 contain the Salt Lake City office casework files, alphabetical by surname of the individual case rather than by subject. There is no cross-indexing from subject to surname.

Boxes 59-61 contain the files of the Cedar City, Utah office. All matters handled by the Cedar City Field Office are contained here, including casework for individuals that was conducted by this office, general inquiries and correspondence, public relations files and the Field Office files. The casework is organized alphabetically by surname of the case. Next are found general inquiries filed by subject and public relations files consisting primarily of congratulatory messages from the Congressman for various occasions and filed by county. The office files are found at the end. The Cedar City files are interesting because they provide a marked contrast to the Salt Lake City and Washington, D. C., files with their emphasis on personal congratulations and the nature of the cases sent to Cedar City.

Box 62 contains the Washington, D.C, office files. Staff rosters all form letter responses, news releases, etc., are contained in the office files.

Boxes 63-66 consist of a group of files that have been titled Legislative and Casework Miscellaneous. These files were received in separate box from the Legislative or Casework Files and this organization was retained. In most instances, these files are concerned with items of particular interest to Howe's constituents, such as abortion, the Kaiparowitz Power Plant, Utah National Parks, etc., which were never legislative matters before the Congress. They are organized alphabetically by subject. The importance of the Kaiparowitz Power Plant generated quite a bit of material and it is again noted that it is found in boxes 64 and 65 as well as in the 1975 Constituent Letter files, box 39.

There are three areas where material is lacking which should be noted. There is no personal material perse. This is strictly a collection of office materials. Second, the lack of office logs or diaries leaves only the written record and no clues regarding appointments, telephone calls, etc., which might be significant. Third, there is no material on the arrest or trial of Howe.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Preferred Citation

Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.

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Administrative Information

Processing Note

Processed by Carolyn Dusenbury in 1978.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Politicians--Utah

Personal Names

  • Howe, Alan Turner, 1927- --Archives

Corporate Names

  • Democratic Party. Utah

Finding aid prepared by Carolyn Dusenbury.
1978 (last modified: 2019)

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