Finding Aid for the George Pigeon Clements Papers, 1825-1945

Processed by UCLA Library Special Collections staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé

UCLA Library Special Collections

UCLA Library Special Collections staff

Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library

Box 951575

Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575

Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu

URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/

Note

Biological and Medical Sciences --Agriculture --General Biological and Medical Sciences --Agriculture --Forestry Biological and Medical Sciences --Public Health --General Social Sciences --Area and Interdisciplinary Studies --Native American Studies History --History, California --General Geographical (By Place) --California

Finding Aid for the George Pigeon Clements Papers, 1825-1945

Collection number: 118

UCLA Library Special Collections

UCLA Library Special Collections staff

Los Angeles, CA

Contact Information

UCLA Library Special Collections staff
UCLA Library Special Collections
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific Time)
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/

Processed by:: UCLA Library Special Collections staff, January 1979
Encoded by:: Caroline Cubé
Text converted and initial container list EAD tagging by:: Apex Data Services
Online finding aid edited by:: Josh Fiala, June 2002

Descriptive Summary

Title: George Pigeon Clements Papers,

Date (inclusive): 1825-1945

Collection number: 118

Creator: Clements, George Pigeon, 1867-1958

Extent: 80 boxes (40 linear ft.) 1 oversize box

Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.

Los Angeles, California 90095-1575

Abstract: George P. Clements (1867-1958) was an organizer (1918) and manager of the Agricultural Department of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce (1918-39), a counselor on agriculture and conservation (1939-47) and Director of the Los Angeles County Farm Bureau. The collection contains manuscripts, printed material, reports, photographs, government publications, and correspondence related to George P. Clements.

Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Language: English.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Restrictions on Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.

Additional Physical Form Available

A copy of the original version of this online finding aid is available at the UCLA Library Special Collections for in-house consultation and may be obtained for a fee. Please contact:

Public Services Division
UCLA Library Special Collections
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific Time)
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu

Provenance/Source of Acquisition

Gift of George P. Clements.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], George Pigeon Clements Papers (Collection 118). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 964292

Biography

George Pigeon Clements was born, Dumfries, N.B., Canada, November 12, 1867; MD, University of New England, 1896; LLD, University of California at Berkeley, 1944; married Esther W. Hoag, 1898; organizer, 1918, and manager, Agricultural Department Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, 1918-39; counselor on agriculture and conservation, 1939-47; Director, Los Angeles County Farm Bureau; member, California State Land Use Planning Commission; died August 7, 1958.

Scope and Content

Collection contains manuscripts, printed material, reports, photographs, government publications, and correspondence related to George Pigeon Clements and his activities. Topics include agriculture, forestry, public health, Indians, migrant labor strikes, and soil and water conservation in Southern California. Also includes copies of The Gridiron, pamphlets opposing construction of Boulder Dam.

Organization and Arrangement

Arranged in the following series:

Conservation (Boxes 1-21).
Climate and weather (Box 22).
Indians (Boxes 23-34).
Botanical garden (Boxes 35-38).
Business and commerce (Boxes 39-43).
War and post-war (Boxes 44-45).
Miscellaneous (46-49).
Public health (Boxes 50-53).
Agriculture (Boxes 54-72, 80-81).
Forestry (Boxes 73-77).
Correspondence (Boxes 78-79).

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Clements, George Pigeon, 1867-1958--Archives.

Agricultural ecology--California.

Forest management--California.

Forests and forestry--California.

Conservation of natural resources--United States.

Indians of North America.

Public health--California.

Strikes and lockouts--Agricultural laborers.

Boxes 1-21

Conservation.

Box 22

Climate.

Boxes 23-34

Indians.

Boxes 35-38

Botanical garden.

Boxes 39-43

Business and commerce.

Boxes 44-45

War and post-war.

Boxes 46-49

Miscellaneous.

Boxes 50-53

Public health.

Boxes 54-72

Agriculture.

Boxes 73-77

Forestry.

Boxes 78-79

Correspondence.

Description of Some Items (Boxes 54-81)

Note

The first group inspected was labeled Agriculture (15).

Boxes 54, 55

Composed entirely of two government publications: The Land Service Bulletin, published by the General Land Office of the Department of the Interior, from December 1931-June 1933; also, the Land Policy Review, by the AAA of the Department of Agriculture, from March 1935 to April 1938, with some duplications and omissions.

Box 56

Composed chiefly of Foreign Agriculture, put out by the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agriculture Economics, from January 1937-June 1940. Also, The Mission IndianJune 1939 number, published by the Department of the Interior, Indian Field Service.

Boxes 57, 58

Various pamphlets from various sources on agriculture, including much on crop statistics, covering 1927-1936.

Boxes 59

Highly miscellaneous. Interesting pamphlet by Southern Pacific Railroad (n.d.) entitled California for the Settler, dealing with need for farmers in the state. Otherwise, mainly various levels of government publications, (some private) dealing mainly with citrus. Some on agricultural production, agricultural work and appropriations.

Boxes 60

Consists entirely of various state publications and reports re agriculture. A few 1940 issues of China Monthly.

Box 61

Various government publications re various aspects of agriculture. Contains one possibly valuable copy of The Rural Californian (Los Angeles) for February 1895 (vol.18 no.2). Several U.S. Department of Commerce publications.

Box 62

Miscellaneous documents re migrant labor: strikes by Mexicans at El Monet, Grapes of Wrath, etc. Some letters and talks by Clements. Valuable stuff. Chamber of Commerce meetings on the problem and reports. Some as late as 1939.

Box 63

Information, mainly federal, (reports of hearings chiefly) re migrant labor, chiefly Mexican, chiefly in the 1920s. Some miscellaneous pamphlets on the subject from various sources, mainly private.

Box 64

More material re migratory labor, chiefly in the 1930s, the influx, housing, unrest. Much documentary material compiled by various agencies. One packet of highly-confidential (so marked) materials re strikes (especially the milk strike of 1934) prepared for submission to the LaFollette Committee hearings on California labor.

Boxes 65,66

Pamphlets, including a few issues of the Land Policy Review of 1939, and some valuable manuscript materials chiefly on land policy. Also, on resettlement, a bit on housing, migration to California. Mostly 1930s. Something on Secretary Tugwell's project for government-run canneries. (This latter in all probability confidential material). A valuable handbook included, the California Development Association's A Survey of Economic Research and Sources of Data re California, (n.d.).

Boxes 67,68

Highly miscellaneous bundle. One small packet on migratory labor, opinions on Carey McWilliams' Factories in the Fields, by Roy Pike and others, and a great deal of Chamber of Commerce statistical information re crop production in Southern California in the late 1920s-1930s. But again, highly variegated. Material re several agricultural conferences.

Box 69

Consists entirely of two bound volumes of International Harvester Company pamphlets on agriculture.

Boxes 70,71

Highly, miscellaneous. Some government publications. About one-third devoted to agricultural prorate work, especially prunes. Much data on miscellaneous agricultural production.

Box 72

Highly miscellaneous. Much manuscript material, dealing chiefly with 1939 land problems. Carey McWilliams' Factories in the Field hit hard. Some government materials. Migrant labor, land values; interesting letter here re Tugwell's Resettlement Administration program. Rural rehabilitation.

Box 80

Valuable file of materials re Mexican immigrant labor situation 1929-1934.

Scope and Content Note

Mainly letters. A very valuable packet. Almost entirely manuscript material.

Box 81

Oversize Agriculture--charts, diagrams, etc.

Box 78

Letter Cases.

Note

It is absolutely impossible to generalize with regard to the contents of this lettercase. It is an extremely variegated lot of material, almost entirely one-of-a-kind material, including pictures, letters, memoranda, and circulars. A considerable group of data concerns various real estate interests (holdings or simply interests) of Mr. Clements.

I made only three specific citations:

1-27-25: A long, heartfelt memo to Manager (of Chamber of Commerce) Arnoll threatening in effect to resign over misrepresentations by Mr. Richard Pridham. Details of the matter not given.
3-20-23: The Chamber of Commerce apparently quite loyal to Clements. A Godfrey Edwards wrote to Chamber protesting Clements' remarks to an Eagle Rock group attacking proposed annexation to Los Angeles. The Chamber solidly backed Clements' freedom of speech as an individual in this matter.
4-26-26: A long letter to a Mr. Bert sets forth efforts to obtain a botanical garden for Los Angeles. This is a well-organized and careful outline of the project.

Box 79

Letter Cases January-December 1930.

Note

This again is a highly-variegated collection of letters, documents, memoranda, circulars, and ephemera. It is, I should say, much more valuable in the historical sense than the other letter case, not only in the amount of material present, but also in that there seems to be a good deal in connection with various topics of importance. Some of these topics will be indicated:

A considerable amount of correspondence dealing with Mr. Hecke, the State Director of Agriculture, including a few bits of correspondence from Governor Young.
Some correspondence on the Commission Merchant Act.
Considerable material, most of it in the form of letters to Knowles Ryerson, on water rights and water conservation problems. This material is scattered throughout the letter case.
A bit of material strongly attacking the administration in Washington for its agricultural policy in general, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in particular.
Some correspondence with Mr. H.S. Hazeltine, president of the American Fruit Growers' Association, on various matters, including one letter attacking the Federal Farm Board as being a misconception of the methods of handling the agricultural problem. Considerable material to and from Hazeltine on agricultural production data. One letter from Hazeltine discusses the duty of the government to aid the farmer with information, storage, and loans.
Correspondence with Lee Strong, Chief Quarantine Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, on various matters, of which background is missing. Strong language re an article by Mr. G.F. Ferris in the New Republic on plant quarantine procedure.
One letter indicates that Mr. Clements apparently was asked to serve on a committee to investigate the waters of California under Mr. Andre Nordskog, but apparently refused.
The material in general seems to be quite rich and broad in scope. However, without some general background and orientation, it would be most difficult to work with this material. Considerable additional material is required.