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Paper finding aid with additional information available in Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries.
Willis Emerson Stone was born in Denver, Colorado on July 20, 1899. He attended local schools and was a graduate of the University of Denver. As a young adult, he was, at various times, a newspaper reporter, an advertising executive, and a realtor. In 1930 he found his niche as an industrial engineer.
He retired from that profession in 1958 to devote his energies to the ratification of the 23rd Amendment to the U. S. Constitution. This was called the Liberty Amendment, and was first proposed by Stone in a newspaper column in 1944. The Amendment, which called for the elimination of the federal income tax, was introduced in Congress in 1959 by James B. Utt. By 1981 it had been ratified in nine states: Wyoming, Texas, Nevada, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Arizona, and Indiana.
Stone founded the National Committee for Economic Freedom in 1959 to assist state groups supporting the Liberty Amendment. In 1962, the name was changed to Liberty Amendment Committee of the U.S.A. Stone served as national chairman until he retired in 1976. Stone was also active in the American Progress Foundation and the Organization to Repeal Federal Income Taxes, Inc. which combined their Board of Directors in 1966 and placed Stone as head. He also served as National Secretary of We, the People, and was a member of the American Legion and the Lions Club.
As an author, Stone wrote a syndicated newspaper column, "American Way," which was featured in. about 3,000 newspapers. He also wrote Where the Money Went (1971) and Ten Lessons on the Constitution (1974). In addition, he served as publisher of American Progress magazine and Fact Sheet.
He had numerous awards bestowed upon him, including: George Washington Medal, 1962, Freedom Foundation; Liberty Award, 13 times 1964-1974, Congress of Freedom; Patriotic Service Medal, 1967, American Coalition of Patriotic Societies; and the American Leadership Award, 1969, We, The People.
Willis E. Stone is retired and currently residing in Florida.
The majority of the Stone Papers center around the issue of tax reform, and include correspondence, publications, and administrative materials of four organizations: the American Progress Foundation, the Organization to Repeal Federal Income Taxes, Inc., the National Committee for Economic Freedom, and the Liberty Amendment Committee of the U.S.A. Also included in the collection are Stone's personal papers; research materials for his books, articles, and radio broadcasts, as well as copies of the articles and broadcast scripts; newspaper clippings which discuss the Liberty Amendment and its progress in the state legislatures; and five scrapbooks dating from 1949 to 1957 containing newspaper articles about Stone as well as copies of his "American Way" column.