PHILIP L. WARDEN PAPERS
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library
West Branch, Iowa
The Philip L. Warden Papers document the career of journalist Warden (1912-1990), a longtime Washington correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. The papers were donated to the Hoover Library by Warden’s family in 1992, and consist of reports filed by Warden, correspondence, and clippings of his published articles and columns.
Philip L. Warden was born in Trenton, Missouri on November 3, 1912. After obtaining an AB degree in 1934 from Park College in Parkville, Missouri, Warden returned to his hometown of Trenton to work as an advertising solicitor for the Trenton Republican-Times. In 1935, however, he decided to continue his education at the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in that field in 1936. That same year, he began working for The Packer, a trade publication for a fruit and vegetable trade association based in Kansas City and Chicago. In March 1940, he joined the business news staff of the Chicago Tribune, and was transferred to that newspaper’s Washington Bureau in 1942. With the exception of his two years of service with the U.S. Navy’s aviation training program during World War II, he remained with the Washington Bureau of the Tribune until his retirement in 1975.
During his years in Washington, Warden covered many different areas for the Tribune, such as the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Labor and Treasury, as well as the Internal Revenue Service. From 1957 onward he served as the Tribune’s correspondent on Capitol Hill, focussing especially on Illinois’ congressional delegation. He also traveled with Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and Nixon, with highlights including the 1950 meeting between Truman and General Douglas MacArthur on Wake Island, and Eisenhower’s 1960 trip to Latin America.
Upon his retirement from the Tribune, he began an association with yet another President, Gerald Ford, working as the editor of the Presidential Daily News Summary. He also worked as a public information officer for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington in 1976. A longtime resident of Alexandria, Virginia, Mr. Warden died in that city at Mount Vernon Hospital on December 30, 1990.
The 5.8 linear feet of the Philip L. Warden Papers is divided into two series: Name and Subject (1.6 linear feet) and Clippings (4.2). The first series contains files on events and individuals covered by Warden, such as the Truman-MacArthur meeting, Eisenhower’s Latin American trip, the final months of Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign in 1964, and the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968. These files usually contain copies of the stories Warden submitted while covering these events, handwritten notes, press releases, and other background information that Warden kept. The Clippings Series consists of files of Warden’s stories arranged chronologically, from 1943-1975. Another related collection of papers in the Library’s holdings is that of Walter Trohan, chief of the Tribune’s Washington Bureau. Correspondence from Warden can be found in the “Name and Subject” series of that collection.
PHILIP L. WARDEN PAPERS
Box and Folder Inventory
Box Content
1 NAME AND SUBJECT SERIES
Boorstin, Daniel J. Speech, “Dissent, Dissension, and the News,” 1967
Democratic Fund Raiser, April 4, 1968
Democratic National Convention, 1968
Eisenhower, Dwight David
April, 1957
South American Tour, 1960
Folder 1
Folder 2, Background Information
Election Results, 1973
Ford, Gerald, 1974
Goldwater, Barry, 1964
Johnson, Lyndon Baines
Bobby Baker Scandal
1964
Exhibits 1-33
Kefauver, Estes, 1950
Kennedy, John F., Tributes in Congress, 1963
2
Mazo, Earl, “Richard Nixon” Proof Copy, 1959
Muccio, John J., Medal for Merit Award, Undated
2
Nixon, Richard M.
1968, Acceptance Speech
1969
1970
1973-74
Press Room List, 1970-73
Printed Material, 1968-69
Radio Broadcasts, 1950-65
Republican Party, 1958-63, 1980
“The Trib” Magazine, 1947-69
Trohan, Walter, 1972-80
Truman, Harry S.
University of Missouri Graduation, 1950
Virgin Islands trip, 1948
3
Meeting with Douglas MacArthur, 1950
White House Correspondents Association, 1970-73
White House Telephone Directory, 1974
Warden, Philip L.
Compliments on Stories, 1946-72
Expenses, 1972 Elections
General Correspondence
1930-49
1950-59
1961-69
4
1970-74
1975-86, Undated
Miscellaneous, 1949
News Summary Editor Appointment
1974
1974-75, Congratulations
News Summary Printed Copies
1974
1975
Press Passes, 1968-74, Undated
CLIPPINGS SERIES
1916
Republican Convention, 1980
Undated
5
Warden, Philip L. Articles
1943-1947 (2 of 4)
6
1947 (3 of 4)- 1950
7
1951-53
8
1954-56
9
1957-59
10
1960-62
11
1963-65
12
1966-68 (2 of 3)
13
1968-1970
14
1971-74