Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 25, 1993 TAG: 9303250294
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
OTHER EX-CONGRESSMEN ALSO FOUND COLLEGES HANDY
WHAT HAVE OTHER former members of Virginia's congressional delegation done with their papers? Here's a glimpse:
Caldwell Butler held the 6th District seat in the House of Representatives from 1972-82. He retired in 1982 and lives in Roanoke County.
"The big problem when you leave Congress is how to get rid of all these papers," Butler said. "Donating to a college is a fine way to do it."
Butler says he tossed items that "didn't have too much enduring value."
Others, such as letters from irate constituents, he kept in a trunk.
But Butler gave the Washington and Lee University Law School his papers on the Watergate hearings - he was a member of the House Judiciary Committee, which investigated actions of President Nixon and his advisers - and those on the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, of which he was chief author.
John Jacob, archivist for the university's law library, said Butler's papers get occasional use. Those related to the bankruptcy act are used more often than those on Watergate, Jacob said.
Congressional papers can be valuable, depending on how well-organized they are and how well records have been kept, Butler said.
"I kept a lot but have not found much use for it," Butler said. "I recently moved and threw some things away. If I make another move, it'll all be gone."
William C. Wampler held the 9th District seat in the House of Representatives from 1953-54 and 1967-82.
He lost to Rick Boucher in 1982 and lives in Bristol.
Wampler, who was the ranking Republican on the House Agriculture Committee for eight years, donated his papers to Virginia Tech.
"My papers probably are more agriculturally related," Wampler said.
"And I had a good deal of background and files on the federal Surface Mining Act. Of what value they could be to researchers, I don't know."
The papers have restricted access, meaning they can be used only with the donor's permission, a library spokesman said.
Wampler kept many of his personal files - mementos, letters, newspaper clippings.
Until last spring, he kept copies of every voucher for flying Piedmont Airlines during his years in Congress.
"My wife accuses me of having the world's largest collection of useless information," Wampler said.
Richard H. Poff held the 6th District seat in the House of Representatives from 1952-72; he chose not to seek re-election.
He was appointed to state Supreme Court in 1972, retired in 1988 and lives in Richmond.
Poff's papers, covering his political career from 1935-72, take up 192 linear feet in the University of Virginia library.
The collection includes files on Poff's work with the House Education and Labor, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees and papers on commerce, criminal law, civil rights, Electoral College reform, gun control and labor reform.
The collection also includes information on the 1968 presidential campaign and Poff's own re-election campaigns.
The collection has restricted access, a library spokeswoman said.