Guide to the John D. Works Papers, 1910-1917
Processed by The Bancroft Library staff
The Bancroft Library
© 1997, 2018
The Bancroft Library
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
bancref@library.berkeley.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
The Bancroft Library
Title: John D. Works Papers,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS C-B 423
Physical Description:
4.6 linear feet
(11 Boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1910-1917
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Abstract: Correspondence; printed copies of his speeches; and some reference materials, such as clippings, reports, copies of bills
and government documents. Relate mainly to his career in the U.S. Senate and his stand on such issues as intervention in Mexico,
neutrality, preparedness, U.S. entry into World War I, Hetch Hetchy Valley legislation, irrigation in California; and to the
political situation in California, particularly during the 1916 presidential campaign.
Language of Material: English
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft
Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which
must also be obtained by the reader.
[Identification of item], John D. Works papers, BANC MSS C-B 423, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Senator Works' papers came to the University of California Library in the early part of 1917 and were later transferred to
The Bancroft Library. On October 26, 1916, J. C. Rowell, University librarian, requested that Works deposit his senatorial
papers in the library, to be preserved for the use of future historians. Works agreed and went through his correspondence,
segregating what he thought worthy of preservation and grouping them by subject. He cautioned Rowell that the files were not
complete since he did not save all his correspondence, but stated nothing had been "left out by design."
The papers, covering the period 1910 to 1917, consist mainly of letters addressed to Works, carbon copies of some of his
outgoing letters, printed copies of his speeches and some reference materials such as clippings, reports, copies of bills
and government documents. They relate to his senatorial career, particularly the stand he took on such national issues as
intervention in Mexico, neutrality, preparedness and U.S. entry into World War I, and those problems so important to California,
Hetch Hetchy legislation and irrigation. They also shed light on the confused political situation in California during the
1916 presidential campaign.
A key to the arrangement of the papers follows herein. As will be seen, the Senator's topic grouping has been retained only
in the subject files and in the miscellaneous letters. Most of the correspondence was removed, for easier reference, and placed
in incoming and outgoing correspondence files. References have been made, however, on the subject files to the appropriate
letters.
The library at UCLA has some of Senator Works' papers -the letters from presidents, cabinet members and congressmen that
Works had given in May 1916 to his friend, T. Perceval Gerson of Los Angeles.
Memoirs and some correspondence are at Stanford University.
John Downey Works was born in Indiana, March 29, 1847, and attended public schools there. At the age of 16 he enlisted in
the 10th Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Cavalry of the Union Army and served the duration of the war. He then studied law, was
admitted to the bar in 1868 and began his practice in Indiana. In 1883 he moved to San Diego, California, and continued the
practice of law. He served as judge of the Superior Court of San Diego County, 1886-1887, and as associate justice of the
Supreme Court of California, 1888-1891. He moved to Los Angeles in 1896 and became president of the city council in 1910.
In November of that year he was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate, serving from 1911 to 1917. Deciding not
to be a candidate for re-election, he resumed his practice of law, and died in Los Angeles, June 6, 1928.
box 1
Outgoing correspondence 1911-1917
box 2
Incoming: A through D, Miscellaneous
A - Miscellany (single letters from Alaska Packers Association; Alaska Square Deal League; Alexander, Moses (1853-1932); Alfalfa
[magazine]; American Independence Union; American Independence Union of California; American-Mexican Steamship & Trading Co.;
Anti-Saloon League of America; Arizona and California River Regulation Commission; Arnold, Morris Allen (1866-1946); Aston,
Taggart; Avery, Russ (1872- )); ; Adee, Alvey Augustus, 1842-1924; Ainsworth, Frank Harrison, 1865-; Austin, Richard Wilson,
1857-1919; B - Miscellany (single letters from Bacon, Augustus Octavius; Bankhead, John Hollis (1842-1920); Barclay, Henry
Augustus (1849- ); Bard, Thomas Robert (1841- ); Berkeley, California. City Clerk; Bilbo, Theodore Gilmore (1877-1947); Blaisdell,
James A.; Borah, William Edgar (1865-1940); Bridge, Norman (1844- ); Britt, E. W. (1855- ); Brown, Lathrop (1883- ); Burnett,
Albert Glenn (1856- ); Burnquist, J. A. A.; and Byrne, Frank M. (1858-1927); ; Baker, Bernard Nadal, 1854-1918; Booth, Willis
H., 1874; Bourne, Jonathan, 1855-1940; Boynton, Albert E., 1875-; C - Miscellany (single letters from California. Adjutant
General's Office; Camp, E. W.; Capper, Arthur (1865-1951); Carter, John P.; Chandler, Harry (1864-1944); Chapman, Charles
Clarke (1853-1944); Chapman, Ervin S. (1838-1921); Chuckawalla and Palo Verde Irrigation Association; Clark, George Archibald
(1864- ); Clark, Walter (1846-1924); and Committee for the Preservation of American Rights in the Panama Canal); California.
State Mining Bureau; California. University. Library; California Federation of Women's Clubs; Call, Joseph H.; Carr, Harry,
1877-1936; Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America; Chamber of Mines and Oil, Los Angeles; Chambers, John Sheerer,
1867-1923; Christian Science Monitor; Colby, Bainbridge, 1869-; Crocker, William Henry, 1861-1937 ;Curtis, Charles, 1860-1936;
D - Miscellany (single letters from Daniels, Gilbert B.; Davidson, Gilbert Aubrey (1868- ); Davis, Samuel McClellan (1861-
); Dawe, Grosvenor (1863-1948); Deemer, Horace Emerson (1858-1917); Dennett, Lewis Lincoln (1867- ); and Dollar, Robert (1844-1932)).
box 3
Incoming: Da through K-Miscellaneous
District of Columbia. Commissioners; Drew, Alexander M.; Dunn, Russell L.; E - Miscellany (single letters from Eagle, Joe
Henry (1870- ); Earl, Edwin T.); F - Miscellany (single letters from Ferguson, James Edward (1871-1944); Ferris, Woodbridge
Nathan (1853-1928); Fishburn, John Eugene (1859-1929)); Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; Federation of Federal Civil
Service Employees; Fulkerth, L. W.; G - Miscellany (single letters from Gallinger, Jacob Harold (1837-1918) Gates, Charles
Winslow (1856-1927); Gerson, T. Perceval; Graves, Jackson Alpheus (1852-1933); Greene, Carlton W.; Guck, Homer; Gulick, Sidney
Lewis (1860-1945)); Graham, S. C., 1862; H - Miscellany (single letters from Hale, George Ellery (1868-1938); Hart, William
Henry Harrison (1848- ); Hay, Eugene Gano (1853-1933); Hayes, Everis Anson (1855-1942); Hays, George Washington (1863-); Heney,
Francis Joseph (1859-1937); Herrick, S. H.; Hopkins, Charlotte Everett (1851-1935); Humphrey, William Ewart (1862-1934));
Hammond, John Hays, 1855-1936; Hilles, Charles Dewey, 1867-1949; Hughes, Charles Evans, 1862-1948; Imperial Irrigation District,
Calif.; Irish, John Powell, 1843-1923; Iron Canyon Project Association; J - Miscellany (single letters from Jacobs, Isidor;
Johnson, Hiram Warren (1866-1945); Johnson, Robert Underwood (1853-1937); Joint Party State Committee, Calif.; Jones, Thomas
Goode (1844-1914); Jones, Wesley Livsey (1863-1932); Judson, Harry Pratt (1849-1927)); Jackson, Grant; Jess, Stoddard, 1856-;
Jordan, David Starr, 1851-1931K - Miscellany (single letters from Kahn, Julius (1861-1924; Kent, William (1864-1928); Kofoid,
Charles Atwood (1865-1947).
box 4
Incoming: Ka through O
Kains, Archibald Chetwode, 1865-1944 (see Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco); Keesling, Francis V.; Kerckhoff, William
George, 1856-; Kimba1l, Ernest John; Knowland, Joseph Russell, 1873-; L - Miscellany (single letters from Latimer, Norval
H., (1863- ); Lister, Ernest (1870-1918); Lodge, Henry Cabot (1850-1924); Loveland, Harvey Davis (1853- ); Lubin, David (1849-1919));
labor unions (Samuel Gompers, president, A. F. of L.; Petaluma Local 438 American Federation of Musicians; California State
Federation of Labor; Central Labor Council of Alameda County; Federal Employees Union; International Union of Steam and Operating
Engineers; International Union of the United Brewery Workmen of America); Lane, Franklin Knight, 1864-1921; Los Angeles. Chamber
of Commerce; Lynch, Robert Newton, 1875-1931 (see San Francisco Chamber of Commerce); M - Miscellany (single letters from
Martin, Theodore; Martin, Walter S.; Merrill, Charles Washington (1869- ); Miller, Charles R. (1857-1927); Mills, Abbot Low
(1858-1927); Minot, Thomas Sumner (1862- ); Morrow, William W. (1843-1929); Myers, Henry Lee (1862-1943)); McCormick, Cyrus
Hall, 1859-1936; McHarg, Ormsby, 1871-; McKeeby, George Lemuel, 1873-; McLellan, Archibald, 1857-1917; McReynolds, James Clark,
1862-1946; Maxwell, George H.; Mead, Elwood, 1858-1936; Miller, Clement H.; Modesto Irrigation District; National Republican
Union; Newman, Oliver P.; O - Miscellany (single letters from Oliver, George Tener (1848-1919); Osborne, Henry Zenas (1848-1923);
Oxnard, Robert (1853- )); Oil Industry Association of California; O'Shaughnessy, Michael Morris, 1864-1934 (see San Francisco.
Dept. of Public Works).
box 5
Incoming: P through Ss
P - Miscellany (single letters from Peary, Robert Edwin (1856-1920); Perky, Kirtland Irving (1867-1939); Phelan, James Duval
(1861-1930); Poindexter, Miles (1868-1946); Pomerene, Atlee (1863-1937)); ; Parsons, George W.; Pruitt, Drew, 1860-; R - Miscellany
(single letters from Reeve, Sidney N.; Redfield, William C., 1858-1932; Republican Party. National Committee; Republican Party.
United Republicans of California; Roberts Frank C. ); Root, Elihu, 1845-1937; Roper, Daniel Calhoun, 1867-1943; Rowell, Chester
Harvey, 1867-1948; Rowell, Joseph Cummings, 1853-1938 (see University of California. Library); Rush, Allan C.; S - Miscellany
(single letters from San Francisco. Board of Supervisors; Sanford, John Bunyan (1869-1928); Siddons, Frederick Lincoln (1864-1931);
Smith, Addison Taylor (1862- ); Spaulding, Rolland Harty (1823-1942); Spry, William (1864-1929); Stanton, Philip Ackley (1868-
)); Sacramento Valley Development Association; San Diego Co. Chamber of Commerce; San Francisco. Chamber of Commerce; San
Francisco. Dept. of Public Works; San Joaquin Valley Water Problem Association; Shaw, Leslie Mortier, 1848-1932; Short Frank
H.; Speer, Emory, 1848-1918; Spreckels, Rudolph, 1872-1958.
box 6
Incoming St through Z
T - Miscellany (single letters from Taft, William Howard (1857-1930); Trammell, Park (1876-1936)); U - Miscellany (single
letters from U.S. Dept. of Agriculture; U.S. Dept. of Labor; U.S. Post Office Dept.); U.S. Adjutant General's Office; U.S.
Attorney General; U.S. Dept. of Commerce; U.S. Dept. of State; U.S. Dept. of the Interior; U.S. Navy Dept.; U.S. Treasury
Dept.; U.S. War Dept.; V - Misce1lany (single letters from Van Fleet, William Cary, (1852-1923)); Vogelsang Alexander Theodore,
1861-1930; W - Miscellany (single letters from Wallace, Albert Joseph (1853- ); Walsh, Thomas James (1859-1933 ); Wangenheim,
Julius; Wellborn, Olin (1843- ); Western Oil Jobbers' Association; Wilson, Woodrow (1856-1924); Women's State Democratic Club
of California; Works, Lewis Reed (1869- )); Waters, Arthur J., 1871-; Weeks, John Wingate, 1860-1926; Wheeler, Benjamin Ide,
1854-1927; Withycombe James 1854-1919; Woman's Christian Temperance Union; [Yuma Irrigation project, Imperial Co., Calif.].
World War I letters January-March 1917.
Unarranged. Works had destroyed the letters that disagreed with his neutrality stand. In a letter, July 31, 1917, to J. C.
Rowell, librarian, University of California, he stated, "If I had known that I was to deposit the letters relating to my course
respecting the war in the library for public reference I should have preserved those which disagreed with me and called me
names, but I had no intention of using any of the letters for any such purpose and expected very soon to dispose of all of
them... They were generally letters denouncing me as a traitor and a disgrace to my state and such like, containing no argument
nor anything that would be worth preserving, and they were few in number. I wish now I might have made the record complete
by preserving them."
box 7
Assorted letters protesting threatened war with Germany January-March 1917
box 8
Assorted letters protesting threatened war with Germany January-March 1917
Letters on various subjects and speeches approximately 1912-1916
box 9
Assorted letters approximately 1912-1916
Arranged by subject, as follows: proposed national home for Confederate soldiers; woman suffrage; appointment of Louis D.
Brandeis as associate judge, U.S. Supreme Court; embargo of arms and ammunition; preparedness for national defense; Japanese
relations; Japanese immigration; proposed six year term for president; proposed literacy test for immigrants.
Subject files
Mainly reports, clippings, government documents, copies of legislative bills, and other reference materials. The subject designations
were devised by the Senator. Letters that were in these files have been removed and placed in the correspondence files. Where
this was done, notations have been made on the folders.
box 10
Subject files, A-L
Aerial coast patrol; Alaska legislation; appointing commission; purchase of lands for aviation school; bridge across San Francisco
Bay; California postmasters; Chico plant introduction gardens; Choctaw Indians; Clara Barton tablet; clean journalism; Confederate
veterans; corrupt practices act; Ralph W. Davis; Department of Commerce; desert sign posts; District of Columbia; downward
tendencies of government; election expenses investigation; espionage of courts and judges; exhibition buildings for states;
Mrs. Anna M. Foster; good roads bill; health department; Hetch Hetchy water legislation; Imperial Valley; imprisonment -persons
serving in the armed forces; Isle of Pines; liquor amendment; irrigation and reclamation of arid lands
box 11
Subject files, M-Z
Merchant marine; Mexico; military training; National Institute of Arts and Letters; establishment of naval bases; oil lands;
Panama Canal; postage on foreign periodicals; preparedness and neutrality bills; reclamation projects; proposed reunion of
Republican Party, 1916; retirement civil service employees; seal fisheries; tariff commission; treaties; trusts and combinations;
war and peace; war tax; war with Germany; water power leasing bills.