Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The first nine feet (boxes 1-9) consist of five feet of correspondence and other papers arranged chronologically (1905-1964), and four feet of unarranged financial reports, scrapbooks, membership lists, and miscellaneous association records.

Correspondence, 1908-1949 (Microfilm rolls 1-91, Manuscript boxes 1-47). The series has been arranged chronologically, with undated letters placed at the end of the relevant month, year, or decade, depending on which is apparent, or at the very end of the series, if no date is apparent. Other undated letters have been categorized by periods of Murphy's life (e.g., Detroit period, gubernatorial period, etc.) and placed at the end of the period. The Bentley Historical Library has a large (but not complete) name index to the incoming correspondence files (boxes 100-103, not microfilmed).

The largest series in the collection is the Correspondence which dates from 1908 to 1949 with most of the files falling in the period of the 1920s when Comstock was active in business and in the affairs of the state Democratic Party. Correspondence for the period when he was governor and after are slight. The series, although labeled as Correspondence, also includes a mixture of other types of business and legal documentation. The correspondence is of most importance for its documentation of Comstock as a successful man of business.

Correspondence (1912-1968; 26 linear ft.) is the largest series in the collection. The files are broken down into broad chronological subseries though there is frequent overlapping of dates depending upon whether an older file was carried over into a subsequent subseries because still of current use to Pollock or filing error. The researcher should consult the card index of Pollock correspondents if interested in a specific individual or organization. Also to be noted, this series includes more than correspondence. Depending upon the file heading, there could be reports, memoranda, and other kinds of documents. Correspondents include other political scientists, state government administrators, politicians, national figures, journalists, and those with whom he worked while stationed in Germany.

Correspondence (3 linear feet) is arranged chronologically (except for a scattering of special topic files) and covers the years 1915-1951. Correspondents include the major political and public figures of the day, including Dean Acheson, Thomas Dewey, John Foster Dulles, Herbert Hoover, Henry Cabot Lodge, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Harry S. Truman. Researchers should note that the correspondence is but a fragment of what once existed. The files were severely weeded prior to their coming to the University of Michigan.