Guide to the Clarence Daniel Martin, Jr. Papers 1916-1976
Cage 449

Summary Information

Repository
Washington State University Libraries, Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections
Creator
Martin, Clarence Daniel, 1916-1976
Title
Clarence Daniel Martin, Jr. Papers
ID
Cage 449
Date [inclusive]
1916-1976
Extent
16.5 Linear feet of shelf space, 17 Boxes
Language
Collection materials are in English.
Abstract
The papers of Clarence Daniel Martin, Jr. consist of materials primarily relating to federal transportation policy, also materials relating to his service on the Board of the Panama Canal Company. Earlier papers include letters from his father, Washington Governor C.D. Martin, commenting on state and national events and politics.

Preferred Citation

[Item description]

Clarence Daniel Martin, Jr. Papers, 1916-1976 (Cage 449)

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

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Biography/History

Clarence Daniel ("Dan") Martin, Jr., the son of Clarence D. and Margaret Mulligan Martin, was born on October 23, 1916, in Spokane, Washington. He attended the public schools in Cheney, Washington, and summer sessions at Culver Military Academy, Culver, Indiana. Following graduation from Cheney High School in 1934, Martin entered Harvard University. During his freshman year at Harvard Martin played football and was tapped as a member of the Iriquois Club. He shared his family's interest in flying and became president of the Harvard Flying Club as well as president of the National Intercollegiate Flying Club. Martin was graduated from Harvard in 1938 with a B.S. degree in political science and economics. The Harvard Class of '38 was a diverse group that included: Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.; Marshall Field, Jr.; Randolph A. Hearst; Theodore H. White; Casper Williard Weinberger; and Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. In 1939 Martin took a year of graduate study at the University of Washington Law School.

The following year, 1940, he joined the family flour milling business, F. M. Martin Grain and Milling Company, Inc. of Cheney, Washington. As a graduate of the Harvard N.R.O.T.C. he was called to active duty in May 1941 and saw five years active service in World War II with the U.S. Navy, rising from the rank of Ensign to Lieutenant Commander as a naval aviator, a patrol plane commander on duty in the Air Force Atlantic Fleet, and Commanding Officer of the U. S. Naval Air Facility, Middle River, Maryland.

Upon release from active duty in 1946, Martin formed a business partnership in Seattle, Washington, in wholesale hardware and later a raw materials business. In 1950, he moved the center of his business activities to Los Angeles County, California. He opened a retail automobile dealership in Santa Monica, California, and Phoenix, Arizona. Upon the death of his father, Clarence D. Martin, Sr., in 1955, he assumed the management of the family corporation in Washington State, principally farming, real estate, and miscellaneous investments. Martin's political interests were molded by his father, C. D. Martin, Sr., who was a fiscally conservative New Deal Democrat who served as Governor of the State of Washington from 1933 to 1941. His association with the Kennedy family began at Harvard where he was a classmate of John F. Kennedy's older brother, Joseph P. Kennedy. Martin coordinated Jack Kennedy's pre-convention drive for the Democratic presidential nomination in southern California and later served as Deputy Chairman for Finance of the Democratic National Committee during the 1970 election campaign.

Martin was appointed Under Secretary of Commerce for Transportation by the newly elected President Kennedy on February 9, 1961, and took the oath of office the following day. Martin's appointment, however, was more than a political reward. He was chosen because of his administrative ability and the fact that he was removed from the bitter squabbles in which competing modes of transportation had long engaged.

As Under Secretary, Martin was the principal official responsible for the Department of Commerce's role as adviser to the President on national transportation policy. In addition, he was responsible for policy direction and coordination of the operations of the Bureau of Public Roads, the Maritime Administration, the Office of Emergency Transportation, the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation and the Great Lakes Pilotage Administration.

President Kennedy also appointed Martin to serve as a member of the Alaska International Rail and Highway Commission and the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Company. The latter group selected him to serve on their Executive Committee. As Chairman of the Interagency Committee on Transport Mergers Martin had the responsibility of developing the Kennedy Administration's policy on proposed mergers of transportation companies.

After President Kennedy's assassination, Martin continued to serve as Under Secretary of Commerce for Transportation in the Johnson administration. After over four years of federal service, Martin resigned his position and returned to his business interests in California. There he resumed his civic activities, serving as California State President and President of the Santa Monica Bay Council of the Navy League of the United States; on the Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America; as President of the Bay Council; and as a member of the Rotary Club of Santa Monica.

Martin maintained an active interest in sports throughout his life. He was part owner and vice-president of the Los Angeles Rams professional football team, and was the first to introduce professional soccer to the Los Angeles area.

Martin died on June 14, 1976, while in Boston. He was survived by his wife, Charlotte Yeoman Martin, a Butte, Montana, native, and their three children Diana, Cary, and Bradley.

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Scope and Content

The papers of Clarence Daniel Martin, Jr. consist of materials primarily relating to federal transportation policy, also materials relating to his service on the Board of the Panama Canal Company. Earlier papers include letters from his father, Washington Governor C.D. Martin, commenting on state and national events and politics.

The first series, Papers, 1916-1948, has been divided into two subseries: Correspondence, 1930-1941; and General Subject File, 1916-1948. Almost all of the material in the 1930-1941 Correspondence subseries was originally received with the papers of Clarence D. Martin, Sr. The correspondence includes letters written to Dan Martin during the period from 1930 through 1941, which encompasses his high school years, his summers at Culver Military Academy, his undergraduate years at Harvard, his graduate study at the University of Washington Law School in Seattle, and his initial months in the United States Navy. This subseries centers on Dan Martin's letters from his father; during this period, C. D. Martin, Sr., was governor of the State of Washington. (The other half of the correspondence, Dan Martin's letters to his father may be found in the Clarence Daniel Martin Papers, 1896-1954, Cage 336.) This file is unusually complete; despite his busy schedule, Governor Martin wrote to his son on an almost daily basis when Dan was away from home--at camp, vacationing, or during his years at Harvard. The Harvard correspondence from Governor Martin is especially useful because it includes discussions of current political and economic trends, both on the state and national level. Dan Martin also received letters from his mother, Margaret Martin, his brothers William and Frank, his father's secretary and business representative, Elizabeth Goerling, and many of his high school and college friends. The Correspondence subseries is arranged chronologically with the undated material placed at the end of the subseries.

The second subseries, General Subject File, 1916-1945, includes material from all aspects of Dan Martin's early years. Especially prominent is the material on his education: grade school report cards, class notes, papers and letters from Cheney High School, summer sessions at Culver Military Academy (19301932), and from his years at Harvard (1934-1938). Martin was president (1938) and treasurer-secretary (1937) of the National Intercollegiate Flying Club and this is reflected in the Club's correspondence and minutes, as well as in the "Newspaper Clipping" folder. The only hint of Martin's finances while at Harvard rests in his cancelled checks for the period from 1935 to 1939. A folder of "Photographs" consists of primarily undated and unidentified photos of Martin's high school and college classmates.

The period from 1945, the end of his military career, to 1960, when Martin became involved with the Kennedy drive to win the Democratic presidential nomination, is not documented in these papers. During this 15 year period, Martin moved from Seattle to Los Angeles, began his automobile dealership in Santa Monica, and became active in such civic organizations as the Rotary, the Boy Scouts, and the Navy League. This lack of documentation accounts for the sharp chronological break between the first and second series of the Martin papers.

Series II, Papers, 1955-1976, focuses on Martin's years in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations as Under Secretary of Commerce for Transportation. Martin served in this capacity from February 1961 through May 1965. The second series is divided into two subseries: Official Files, 1955-1965, and Personal Files, 1961-1976. This division reflects Martin's office filing system while serving as Under Secretary. He attempted to segregate his official materials from his personal papers. Such a division is difficult under the best of circumstances; consequently, materials which might well be included in the Official Files (such as appointment books and telephone logs) are arranged in the Personal Files.

The Official Files subseries is arranged in six subseries (which reflects the received order and attempts to recreate the office filing structure used by Under Secretary Martin): Correspondence, 1961-1965; Transportation Subject File, 1958-1965; Transportation Policy File, 1960-1965; Speeches and Testimony, 1961-1965; Maritime Subsidy Board Actions, 1963-1965; and Transportation Reports, 1955-1965.

The Correspondence, 1961-1965, sub-subseries consists of the official daily correspondence of Under Secretary Martin during his years with the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. This correspondence comprises the bulk of the collection, accounting for over two-thirds of the total items, and includes Martin's responses to questions from the public, business, and governmental agencies, Commerce Department memoranda, policy statements, and, in some cases, in-coming correspondence. The correspondence file is arranged chronologically. The second sub-subseries, Transportation Subject File, 1958-1965, consists of material collected on selected transportation topics arranged alphabetically. This material pre-dates Martin's accession to office because relevant material pertaining to transportation topics was retained in the files from the previous administration or collected by Martin during his tenure. The Transportation Subject File includes material on aviation (a large part of which concerns the development of the Supersonic Transport); the development of the nuclear ship N. S. Savannah; the Panama Canal (Martin served both as a director and on the Executive Board); the St. Lawrence Seaway; and the U. S. "Shipping Mission to Moscow." The third sub-subseries, Transportation Policy File, 1960-1964, contains alphabetically arranged material on the formulation of the annual transportation message to the nation, policy planning information, and program development for the Department of Commerce. The fourth sub-subseries, Speeches and Testimony, 1961-1965, includes addresses (before both Houses of Congress) given by Martin during his tenure in office. This sub-subseries also includes some material from conferences and meetings attended by Martin, and also articles by Martin. This material is arranged chronologically by the date on which Martin participated in the event. The fifth sub-subseries, Maritime Subsidy Board Actions, 1963-1965, is arranged alphabetically by the name of the subsidy case involved. The sixth sub-subseries, Transportation Reports, 1955-1965, contains reports arranged alphabetically by title, concerning topics of interest and importance to the department during the period from 1955 through 1965.

The second subseries, Personal Files, 1960-1976, is divided into two additional subseries: Office Subject File, 1961-1965; and General Subject File, 19601976. The Office Subject File consists of the personal material Martin maintained at his office. It includes out-going correspondence to his friends and close associates, photographs, newspaper clippings, appointment calendars, telephone logs, Christmas card lists, and files concerning various individuals, such as: John F. Kennedy, Luther H. Hodges (Secretary of Commerce), Warren G. Magnuson (senior Senator from Washington), and Drew Pearson (newspaper columnist). The files are arranged alphabetically by subject and cover the period of Martin's federal service, 1961-1965.

The General Subject File, 1960-1976, has been assembled by the processor with materials drawn from throughout the collection. It contains some correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs and certificates, and a tape record ing. The majority of the material is from the period after Martin left federal service, from 1965 through 1976.

Series 3, Memorabilia, 1916-1976, contains various material which Martin chose to save over the years, such as: two flags from the Maritime Administration, souvenir programs, tickets and cards (some of which may have been his father's, Governor C. D. Martin), several copies of Martin's official photograph, Harvard football programs, the Lampoon, and alumni magazines, souvenirs of his trip to Japan, Christmas cards for 1964, two naval manuals from Culver Military Academy, and two long-play records of Martin's commencement address to the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy graduating class of 1961.

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Arrangement

The papers are arranged in three series and multiple subseries. In general, the various correspondence subseries are arranged chronologically, subject subseries are either arranged alphabetically by subject or kept in the original order.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections  © 2022

https://libraries.wsu.edu/masc/

Terrell Library

P.O. Box 645610

Pullman, WA, 99164-5610 USA

509-335-6691

mascref@wsu.edu

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open and available for research use.

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply.

Acquisition Information

The papers of Clarence Daniel Martin, Jr. (1916-1976) were donated to the Washington State University Libraries by Charlotte Y. Martin in two separate accessions: February 1977 (MS 77-6) and March 1981 (MS 81-14).

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Related Materials

Related Material

Clarence Daniel Martin Papers, 1896-1954 (Cage 336)

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Names and Subjects

Corporate Name(s)

Subject(s) :
  • Panama Canal Company
  • United States. Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Transportation

Geographic Name(s)

  • United States -- Politics and government -- 1933-1945 -- Sources
  • Washington (State) -- Politics and government -- 1889-1950 -- Sources

Personal Name(s)

Subject(s) :
  • Martin, Clarence Daniel, 1916-1976 -- Archives
  • Martin, Clarence D. (Clarence Daniel), 1886-1955
Creator(s) :
  • Martin, Clarence D. (Clarence Daniel), 1886-1955

Subject(s)

  • Washington (State)
  • Politics and Politicians

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Detailed Description of Collection

Series 1: Papers 1916-1945 

Correspondence File 1930-1941 
box folder

Correspondence 1930-1941  1025 items.

 1 1-18

Correspondence undated  30 items.

 1 19

General Subject File 1916-1948 
box folder

Baby book 1916  1 item.

 1 20

Cancelled Checks 1935-1939  150 items.

 1 21

Cards--Identification, student, etc. undated  15 items.

 1 22

College Catalogs, Harvard undated  6 items.

 1 23

College Notes 1934-1938  200 items.

 1 24

Culver Military Academy, summer sessions 1930-1932  65 items.

 2 25

High School, Cheney--notes, papers, etc. 1930-1934  350 items.

 2 26-27

Invitations 1934-1940  50 items.

 2 28

Military service 1945  2 items.

 2 29

National Intercollegiate Flying Club 1935-1938  10 items.

 2 30

Newspaper clippings 1935-1941  30 items.

 2 31

Photographs undated  40 items.

 2 32

Report cards 1923-1924, 1926, 1929  5 items.

 2 33

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Series 2: Papers 1955-1976 

Official Files 

Correspondence 1961-1965 
box folder

Correspondence Jan. 26-Dec. 31, 1961  2460

 2 34-45

Correspondence Jan. 1, 1962-Oct. 31, 1963  3305 items.

 3 46-67

Correspondence Nov. 1, 1963-May 31, 1964  2045 items.

 4 68-79

Correspondence June 1-Nov. 15, 1964  2060 items.

 5 80-90

Correspondence Nov. 16, 1964-March 31, 1965  2075 items.

 6 91-102

Correspondence April 1-May 31, 1965  875 items.

 7 103-111

Transportation Subject File 1958-1965 
box folder

Air Transport Association 1964-1965  5 items.

 7 112

American Bureau of Shipping, Annual Report 1964  1 item.

 7 113

Aviation 
box folder

Aircraft Loan Guarantee Program April 1962-May 1965  80 items.

 7 114-115

Airline Subsidy Reduction Program July 1963-March 1964  35 items.

 7 116-117

Helicopter Proceedings, CAB Jan.-May, 1965  65 items.

 7 118

International Air Transport Study 1961-1963  40 items.

 7 119-121

Northwest Airlines, Inc. 1964  2 items.

 7 122

Seaboard World Airways, Inc. 1965  3 items.

 7 123

Short-Haul Transport Program 1963-1964  15 items.

 8 124

Supersonic Transport 
box folder

Program Jan. 21, 1963-May 4, 1965  170 items.

 8 125-132

American Airlines 1963  1 item.

 8 133

Commerce Position May-June 1963  20 items.

 8 134

Douglas Aircraft April 1963-January 1964  2 items.

 8 135

Lockheed, CAB Meeting March 1964  1 items.

 8 136

Senate Committee Hearings October 1963  3 items.

 8 137
box folder

Bridwell, Lowell K. September 1964  1 item.

 8 138

Business Economic, Office of March 1962-April 1965  40 items.

 8 139

Civil Aeronautics Board 1963-1965  4 items.

 8 140

Commerce, Department of 
box folder

Briefing Books 1960, 1965  10 items.

 8 141-142

Hodges, Luther. Meetings 1963-1964  60 items.

 8 143-144

Committee of American Steamship Lines April 1961-May 1965  30 items.

 8 145

Maritime Administration 
box folder

Alaska Ports, Survey of 1965  1 item.

 8 146

N. S. Savannah (Nuclear Ship) 
box folder

General Correspondence April 1963-April 1965  255 items.

 8 147-151

Backup Crew June 1963-May 1964  40 items.

 9 152
box folder

National Capital Transportation Agency November 1962-May 1963  6 items.

 9 153

New York World's Fair May 1964-April 1965  5 items.

 9 154

Panama Canal Company 
box folder

Board of Directors 1961-1965  55 items.

 9 155-156

Correspondence 1961-1965  40 items.

 9 157

Financial Statements February-April, 1965  3 items.

 9 158

Reports 1961-1965  15 items.

 9 159-160

Elliot Roosevelt proposals January-March 1965  15 items.

 10 161
box folder

Pan American Railway Congress Assn. August 1962-November 1963  20 items.

 10 162

Plowman, Dr. E. G. (Deputy Undersecretary for Transportation) 1964  5 items.

 10 163

Project Mercury Commemorative Stamp 1962  1 item.

 10 164

Public Roads 
box folder

Alaska Task Force 1964  1 item.

 10 165

Highway Cost Allocations Study March 1965  1 item.

 10 166
box folder

Railroad Labor Dispute July 1963- December 1964  35 items.

 10 167

St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. February 1961-May 1965  35 items.

 10 168-170

Shipping to Moscow 
box folder

Background October 1963-October 1964  45 items.

 10 171-172

Correspondence March-August 1964  25 items.

 10 173

Final Reports July 1964  2 items.

 10 174

Press Information February 11-March 16, 1964  65 items.

 10 175

Secretary's Meeting March 23, 1964  20 items.

 10 176

Telegrams-Cables February-March 1964  20 items.

 10 177
box folder

Staff Activity Reports May 1964-May 1965  70 items.

 10 178-181

Trinity River Basin November 1963-April 1965  10 items.

 10 182

U. S. Science Exhibit, Century 21 Exposition September 1958-October 1962  20 items.

 10 183

Virgin Islands March-May 1964  2 items.

 10 184

Washington, D. C., Permanent Exhibition May 1965  12 items.

 10 185

Weather Bureau July 1961-October 1963  10 items.

 10 186

White House 
box folder

Cabinet Meetings January-October 1964  10 items.

 10 187

Correspondence February 1961- September 1964  16 items.

 10 188

Democratic Platform July 1964  8 items.

 10 189

State of the Union Message January 1964-January 1965  10 items.

 10 190

Transportation Policy File 1960-1964 
box folder

Industry Meetings 1962  20 items.

 10 191

Message 
box folder

November 1960-March 1961  75 items.

 11 192

March-November 1961  40 items.

 11 193

May-September 1961  100 items.

 11 194

August 1961  100 items.

 11 195

September-December 1961  200 items.

 11 196

December 1961-May 1962  225 items.

 11 197
box folder

Policy Group, W. Owens March-July 1961  35 items.

 11 198

Policy Planning Groups 1961  40 items.

 11 199

Program: Present and Future 1962  1 item.

 11 200

Recommendations 1963-1964  80 items.

 11 201-203

Reorganization Proposals March- November 1961  115 items.

 11 204

Speeches and Testimony1961-1965 
box folder

March 14, 1961-March 24, 1962  150 items.

 12 205-222

March 8, 1962-February 4, 1964  380 items.

 12 223-288

February 10, 1964-May 13, 1965  310 items.

 13 289-334

Article, Paul Martin May 1965  1 item.

 13 335

Miscellaneous Articles undated  5 items.

 13 336

Maritime Subsidy Board Actions 1963-1965 
box folder

General 1964-1965  85 items.

 13 337-339

American Export Lines, Inc., Subsidy Case 1964-1965  3 items.

 13 340

American Hawaiian Subsidy Case 1963-1965  40 items.

 13 341-342

Bloomfield Steamship Co. Subsidy Case 1964  5 items.

 13 343

Farrell Lines, Inc., Subsidy Case 1964  3 items.

 13 344

General Order 99, Decision on 1965  2 items.

 13 345

Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp. Subsidy Case 1964  2 items.

 14 346

Lykes Brothers (Cargo Ships) Subsidy Case 1963  21 items.

 14 347

Moore-McCormack Lines Inc., Subsidy Case 1964  25 items.

 14 348

Prudential Lines, Inc., Subsidy Case 1964  4 items.

 14 349

States Steamship Subsidy 1964-1965  50 items.

 14 350-351

U. S. Lines-American Export-Waterman Steamship Case 1964  5 items.

 14 352

Waterman Steamship Company Subsidy Case 1964-1965  8 items.

 14 353

Transportation Reports 1955-1965 
box folder

Maneuvering Propulsion Devices on Merchant Ships, Use of January 1965  1 item.

 14 354

Maritime Resources of Security and Trade undated  1 item.

 14 355

Merchant Marine undated  1 item.

 14 356

Miscellaneous 1955-1962  8 items.

 14 357

New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad 1962  6 items.

 14 358

Northeast Corridor undated  4 items.

 14 359

Ocean Conference Freight Rates: Inbound vs. Outbound with Japan July 1964  1 item.

 14 360

Regulations, Current Index of April 1965  1 item.

 14 361

Transportation Policy and Program Proposals September 1964  1 item.

 14 362

Transportation Policy and Program of the Department of Commerce undated  1 item.

 14 363

Personal Files 1960-1976 

Office Subject File 1961-1965 
box folder

Appointment Calendar 1961-1963  3 items.

 14 364-366

Appointment Calendar 1964-1965  2 items.

 15 367-368

Biographical sketch 1961  6 items.

 15 369

Christmas Card lists 1961-1964  40 items.

 15 370-373

Clippings 
box folder

General 1961-1965  70 items.

 15 374

Martin's appointment 1961, 1965  20 items.

 15 375
box folder

Commerce, Department of. Luther H. Hodges  20 items.

 15 376

Correspondence: Personal, A-Z 1961-1965  645 items.

 15 377-401

Kennedy, John F. (President) 1961-1965  7 items.

 15 402

Klotz, Herbert W. 1963-1965  2 items.

 15 403

Miscellaneous Correspondence 1965  2 items.

 15 404

Magnuson, Warren G. 1961  7 items.

 15 405

Martin, Clarence D., Sr. 1961  4 items.

 15 406

Personal Information, U.S. Government 1961-1965  3 items.

 15 407

Photographs: Official 1961-1965  250 items.

 15 408

Public Roads: Drew Pearson's Column 1963-1965  15 items.

 15 411

Receipts 1961-1965  25 items.

 15 412

Roosevelt, Franklin D., Jr. 1963-1965  2 items.

 15 413

Telephone Calls 1961-1962  2 items.

 15 414-415

Telephone Calls 1963-1965  3 items.

 16 416-418

General Subject File 1960-1976 
box folder

Correspondence 1961  4 items.

 16 419

Martin Clippings 1960-1970  15 items.

 16 420

Photographs 1960-1973  4 items.

 16 421

Tape recordings Feb. 19, 1961  2 items.

 16 422

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Series 3: Memorabilia 1916-1976 
box

Tickets and souvenir programs, 1964 Christmas cards, Culver Military Academy naval manuals, records of July 1961 Martin Speech, Harvard National Lampoon and Alumni Association Magazines  300 items.

 17

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