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Maurice Sugar Papers

 Collection
Identifier: LP000232

Scope and Content

Part 1: Note should be taken that the clippings included in several different parts of the collection were the special effort of Maurice Sugar. Arranged on a day-to-day basis they were selected from Detroit and other newspapers and with a special discernment as to what would, at least later, constitute a matter of historial significance.

Important subjects: George Addes, Automobile Labor Board, Black Legion, Clippings of Interest, Conventions (UAW), Election Campaigns (Sugar's), Facitonalism, Foley Square Trial 1950-1951, Ford Motor Company Union Organizing, Injunctions, Legal Services to UAW, Homer Martin, Walter Reuther, Sit-Down Strikes, Songs by Maurice Sugar, Sugar Conspiracy Trial, Sugar Diary.

Important Correspondents: George Addes, George Crockett, Ernest Goodman, Homer Martin, Wyndham Mortimer, Lee Pressman, Walter P. Reuther, Bud Reynolds.

Series Description: Series 1: Book Files and Personal Subject Files Comprised of files including those selected by Maurice Sugar for his own writings.

Series 2: The United Automobile Workers Comprised of materials concerning Sugar's interst and work in the United Automobile Workers union.
Part 2: Part 2 of the Maurice Sugar Collection consists of a draft manuscript of his unpublished autobiography, correspondence with his wife, Jane Mayer Sugar, and friends and colleagues, and material relating to police and FBI investigations of Sugar and to radical politics in America in general.

Important subjects in the collection: Ford Hunger March House Un-American Activities Committee United States — Radical Politics

Important correspondents in the collection: Crockett, George W., Jr. Goodman, Ernest Reuther, Walter P.

Dates

  • 1907 - 1989

Language of Materials

Material entirely in English.

Access

Collection is open for research.

Use

Refer to the Walter P. Reuther Library Rules for Use of Archival Materials. Restrictions: Researchers may encounter records of a sensitive nature – personnel files, case records and those involving investigations, legal and other private matters. Privacy laws and restrictions imposed by the Library prohibit the use of names and other personal information which might identify an individual, except with written permission from the Director and/or the donor.

History

Maurice Sugar was one of the first American lawyers to become what is now known as a "Labor Lawyer." Before he was made Chief Legal Counsel of the United Automobile Workers, a post he held between 1937 and 1948, he had practiced as a labor lawyer and defender of the poor since 1914.

Born in Brimley, Michigan in 1891, he was educated in the Detroit school system. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School where he was Editor of the "Michigan Law Review." In 1914 he and Jane Mayer were married. She later became Supervisor of Elementary School Physical Education for the City of Detroit.

Sugar's first client in 1914 was the Detroit Typographical Union (AFL, and before his work with the UAW he represented nearly all Detroit area unions including the Detroit and Wayne County Federations of Labor (AFL) and various AFL international unions. During the Tool and Die Makers Strike of 1913 he handled over two-hundred cases in the courts.

During World War I Sugar was indicted and convicted in a conspiracy trial (1917-1918), as he was a pacifist, but he was subsequently readmitted to the bar and pardoned. Active during his youth in the Socialist Party he later became an important psokesman for what were then consider "left wing" causes, including civil rights and racial equality. He was wone of the founders of the National Lawyers Guild and an early advocate of pensions, unemployment compensation, social security and other such measures. He was singled out for provocation and even death by the notorious Black Legion, a Michigan-Ohio organization similar to the Ku Klux Klan.

Sugar's work as UAW counsel saw him through many of the high points of the UAW history of which he was a part. These are also reflected in the collection. He represented executive board members whom Homer Martin tried to expel and was strongly involved in the local unions' litigation which was an important part of the factional power struggle. The sit-down strikes and the union organization of the Ford Motor Company, and litigation with it, were other important episodes of UAW history in which he participated in 1948, when he was dismissed.

He continued in private practice, and with his civil rights interests, and his life-long pleasure in writing songs until and even after his retirement. He died at the age of 82 in 1974.

Extent

60.5 Linear Feet (117 MB, 2 SB)

Additional Description

Abstract

Chief counsel for the UAW from 1937 to 1946, Mr. Sugar's career as a labor lawyer began in 1916. The items in this collection pertain to his song, Sit Down, a favorite of the sit-downers of the mid-1930's. Subjects include: UAW legal matters; UAW factionalism; Ford Hunger March; HUAC; radical politics.

Arrangement

Part 1: Arranged in 2 series – Series 1 (Boxes 1-24), Series 2 (Boxes 25-117).

Related Materials

Part 1: Papers related to Sugar's interest in and work with the National Lawyers Guild may be found at the Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institution in Berkeley, California. A partial list of those holdings (3.5 linear feet) is at the end of this guide.

Transfers

Part 1: Publications and printed conventional materials and reports were transferred to the Archives' Library.

Photographs and display items were transferred to the Archives' Audiovisual department.
Part 2: A few photographs, a film, and an audio tape have been placed in the Archives Audiovisual Collection.

Collection Index

Note: The first number is the box number. The number after the colon is the folder number. Law firms in cities other than Detroit are additionally identified by city
  • Addes, George 3:4; 4:17; 5:15-16; 41:4,9; 42:7; 43:1; 44:18; 45:2; 46:4,13; 62:12-13; 63:13; 64:1-20; 65:14; 66:6-7; 67:16-17.
  • AFL-CIO Codes of Ethical Practices 2:28
  • Akers, Elmer 18:4.
  • Allen, W. L. 19:18.
  • Alverno Dam 16:26-27; 17
  • American Civil Liberties Union, Report on the Dies Committee 6:27.
  • American Committee.for Democracy and Intellectual Freedom, Activities of the Dies Committee 6:27
  • Anbender, Harry 75:10.
  • Anderson, Ind., 1937-1938 2:26.
  • Andrews, Fred 74:1.
  • Arsulowicz, Joseph E. (Grand Rapids, Michigan) 75:11.
  • Atwood, Arnold 74:1.
  • Automobile Labor Board 1:13.
  • Automation, Report to UAW-CIO Conf. 2:28.
  • Automotive Industrial Worker's Association First Yearbook and History 5:4.
  • Avnet, I. Duke (Baltimore, Maryland) 75:12.
  • Baldwin, Roger 53:12-14,23.
  • Bandler, Brady and Cass (New York) 75:13.
  • Bendix Corporation 70:4.
  • Biddle, Francis 69:4.
  • Bittleman, Alex, How to Win Social Justice: Can Coughlin and Lemke Do It? 6:2
  • Black Lake 16:25-27; 17.
  • Black Legion 1:19; 18 to 24. Report of Activities in Oakland County 18:20.
  • Black Panthers 16:1.
  • Boggio, Bernard 18:8.
  • Bollens, John H. 18:9.
  • Book Cadillac Hotel Worker 2, February-March 1935 10:3.
  • Boone, William H. 72:1.
  • Bordin, Ruth, Michigan Historical Collections 6:2.
  • Boudin, Leonard 69:3.
  • Bridgman Case, 1922 2:11; 24.
  • Briggs Strike, 1933 1:1-4.
  • Briggs Beatings, 1944 5:16.
  • Britchey, Jerome M. 53:23-24.
  • Brodsky, Joseph 43:24.
  • Brophy, John 42:7, 14.
  • Brower, William 42:7.
  • Brown, Earl, Why Race Riots? 5:13
  • Brucker, Wilbur 5: 19.
  • Brull , A. 6:10.
  • Buesser, Frederick G. 17:23.
  • Cahoon, Robert S. (Greensboro, South Carolina) 75:4.
  • Cameron, William J. 53:31-33.
  • Carey, Irving 44:18
  • Carey, James 42:7.
  • Cascaden, Gordon 72:2.
  • Chapman, Dwight 18:14.
  • Chicago Seven Trial 16:2.
  • Chrysler Corporation 62.
  • Clark and Zeron (Windsor, Ontario) 75:15.
  • Clark, Harry C. (Kansas City, Missouri) 75:16.
  • Clippings, 1942-1947 97-117
  • Clippings - Factionalism 48-52
  • Clippings - Ford Drive 54, 56-61
  • Clippings - Sit-Downs 25-40
  • Commercial Telegraphers Union 19:17. Communist Leaders, Case of 1951. Supreme Court Opinions, 1 : 18. (See also "Red" case).
  • Conspiracy Case (Maurice Sugar) 1917-1919 9
  • Conventions (UAW) 95
  • Costello, James J. 65:4.
  • Cotter Investigation, 1950
  • Coughlin, Father Charles E. 2:27. 6:1-2 To the Laboring Men 6:2
  • Couzens, Frank 18:9.
  • Couzens, James 2:18.
  • Cranefie1d, Harold A. (Memorial) 16:2.
  • Crockett, Ethe1ene 16:6.
  • Crockett, George W. 15:11-16: 16:7~18; 62:12; 69:6; 74:2-3; 75:17. Report of Investigation, 1950, Lawyers Guild 1:15.
  • Croll and Barius (Toronto, Ontario) 75:18.
  • Cronin, William J. (for AMA) Sit-Down. 25
  • Crowley, David H. 18:9.
  • Cunningham, E. S. 11:11.
  • Darrow, Clarence 10:5.
  • Davidow, Larry S. 3:33-38; 24; 41:9.
  • De Caux, Len 16:3.
  • De1son, Levin and Gordon (New York) 75:19.
  • De Montigny, Paul 6:11.
  • Detroit Saturdy Night 31 (October 23, 30, 1937), 11: 5.
  • Diamond, David (Buffalo) 75:20.
  • Dies Committee, 1942 6:27-28.
  • Dies Committee by Members of the American Bar 6:28.
  • Diggs, Charles C. 11:11.
  • Doig, David B. 11:13.
  • Doyle and Doyle (Saginaw, Michigan) 75:21.
  • Dunn; Robert W. Spying on Workers 1:3.
  • Edelman, Jacob J. (Baltimore, Maryland) 75:22.
  • Eden, Morton A. (Detroit) 75:23.
  • Edgecomb, Charles Analysis and Report of Spring Election, 1941.
  • Edwards, George C. (Dallas, Texas) 75:24.
  • Elder, Harry 6:26.
  • Election Campaigns (Sugar) 2:1-10.
  • Elmore and Adair (Montgomery, Alabama) 75:25.
  • Factionalism 41-52.
  • Feldman, Robert S. (Benton Harbor) 76:1.
  • Field, Morris 66:1.
  • Financial Affairs of McCarthy 4:8.
  • Fitzgerald, Frank 5:15.
  • Foley Square Trial 1:14-18.
  • Ford, Henry 53,54, 117:7.
  • Ford Hunger March 53:6~22; 54:17; 117:1-2.
  • Ford Motor Company, Organizing 24; 53-61; 117:1-3,7.
  • Ford Organizing Committee of UAWA. The Trial That Shocked a Nation 7:4.
  • Ford Riot, 1937 7:1-8. 24
  • Fraenke1, O. 53:23.
  • Frankensteen, Richard 41:4,9: 43:2.
  • Fuller, Glenwood C. (Grand Rapids) 76:2.
  • Gallagher, W. H. (Detroit) 76:4.
  • Gallagher, Margolis, McTernan and Tyre (Los Angeles, California) 76:3.
  • Gar1in, Sender Red Tape. and Barbed Wire 4:8.
  • Garst, De1mond 6:26; 42:7; 44:19; 66:13.
  • General Motors Corporation 62.
  • Gerber, Martin 74:2.
  • Ginger, Ann 16:20-21.
  • Goldberg, Arthur, "Labor and Anti-Trust" 117:8.
  • Gomon, Josephine 3:21-23.
  • Goodman, Ernest 7:17; 16:2,4; 16:22; 76:5-11.
  • Goodman, Sol (Cincinnati, 0.) 76:11.
  • Gordon, Arthur E. 5:18.
  • Gosser, Richard 74:2-3.
  • Groeber,Wi11iam C. 74:4.
  • Grant and Anghoff (Boston, Massachusetts) 76:12.
  • Greenberg, Ferrer and Rein (Washington, D.C.) 76:13.
  • Grigsby, Snow 13:5.
  • Griff, Sam H. (Cleveland, 0.) 76:14.
  • Guberman, David A. (Cleveland, 0.) 76:15.
  • Haess1er, Carl 16:2,3; 25:4.
  • Hall, Ed 2:26; 41:4,9; 43:13.
  • Hamilton, George The House of the Masses Trial: Socialist vs. Communist 5:19 Hardin, Walter 54:1.
  • Harper, Fowler and Haber, David "Lawyer Troubles in Political Trials" 1:15.
  • Harrison, Thomas, Spangenberg and Hull (Cleveland, 0.) 76:16
  • Hart, Philip 15:15
  • Hays, A.G. 53:23.
  • Hidden Empire 7:4.
  • Hoffman, Clare 19:10.
  • Holmes, Ralph 6:8.
  • Honor, P. 18:15.
  • Hotel and Restaurant Review 1 (March, April, 1935) 10:3.
  • House of the Masses Trial, 1920 5:19-20.
  • Houser, Loren 43:18; 44:18.
  • Injunctions 62
  • Isserman, A. J. 53:24,31.
  • Isserman, Isserman and Kape1sohn (Newark, New Jersey) 76:17.
  • Jackson, Gardner 1:8.
  • Jacobs, Andrew (Indianapolis, Indiana) 76:18-19.
  • Jewish Activities in the United States 7:4:
  • Johnson, Oakley 53:6.
  • Johnson, Sam M. 41:4.
  • Johnstone, Thomas A. 65:9.
  • Joiner, Charles 17:15.
  • Jonas, Sidney 42:7.
  • Kelsey, W. K. 1:8.
  • Kemnitz, Milton 19:17.
  • Kerrigan, Charles 74:3.
  • King, Carol 53:24.
  • King, Leonard 18:9.
  • Kohler 6f Kohler News (April, 1955) 2:29.
  • Kovner, Joe 42:7.
  • Kraut, Alex 66:9.
  • Krista1sny, George 53:10.
  • Ku Klux Klan 5:5-14. 26
  • Lamb, Edward (Toledo, Ohio) 76:20.
  • Lamont, Corliss Challenge to McCarthy 4:14.
  • Legal Services 1:12; 62; 75-78.
  • Leider, D. William 69:12.
  • Leonard, Richard 65:14; 70:13; 71:14.
  • Lessler, David R. (Bridgeport, Connecticut) 76:22.
  • Levin, Abraham 46:6.
  • Levitt, William H. 69:13.
  • Levy, Irving J. 5:2.
  • Levy, Matthew M. (New York) 76:21.
  • Llewellyn, Percy 74:3.
  • Long, William F Are Sit-Down Strikes Legal or Ethical? 25:7.
  • Lovestone, Jay 42:7.
  • Lovett, W. P. 10:14; 11:9.
  • Lyons, Clarence 65:16.
  • Madden, Charles 43:18.
  • Magil, Abe 16:2 -The Real Father Coughlin' 6:2. The Truth About Father' Coughlin, 6: 2.
  • Mandell, Arthur J. 72:2.
  • Marcantonio, Vito 1:8.
  • Marco, Vincent (Beverly Hills, California) 77:2.
  • Marcus, Benjamin (Detroit) 77:1.
  • Martel, Frank X. 2:1.
  • Martin, Arthur T. 63:12.
  • Martin, Homer 1:25; 2:25; 3:25; 6:26; 41:6,9.15; 42:7,10,13; 43:2,7,18; 44:18-19; 41-52.
  • Mattson, Joseph 74:4-6. Maxon, Lou 15:19. 27
  • Mazey, Emil 4:17; 5:3; 17;14.
  • McAulay, William 74:6.
  • McBride, Roberta 7:26. Labor Relations in the Automobile Industry (bib1iog.) 2.29
  • McCrea, Duncan 18:9.
  • McGregor, L.D. 17:15.
  • McKie, William 54:1.
  • Meador, Lee R. (Wichita) 77:3.
  • Meek, Walter M. 45:10.
  • Meiner, M. J. 74:4.
  • Merrill, Russell 43:18.
  • Meyers, Ben 19:17; 68:5.
  • Meyers, Meyers and Rothstein 77:4-5.
  • Mezerich, A. 14:13.
  • Michel, F. J. 43:18.
  • Miley, Paul 66:20; 68:6; 74:5.
  • Millard, C.H. 44:18.
  • Moran, E. J. 74:4.
  • Morris, Winifred 11:10.
  • Mortimer, Wyndham 3:26-27; 25:4,9;41:4,9,22;43:1
  • Moss and Metzenbaum (C1eve1and),Ohio) 77:7.
  • Murphy, Frank 2:20; 3:5-20.
  • Murphy, George 4:2.
  • Murphy, John P., Jr. (Saginaw, Michigan) 77:8.
  • Nation 134 (March 23, 1932) "Bullets, Not Food, for Ford Workers" by Maurice Sugar 117:2 176 (June 6, 1953) 4:14; 133 (July 8, 1931) 3:31.
  • National Labor Relations Board 24.
  • National Lawyers Guild, Dies Committee 6:27.
  • Naugle, J. V. 17:10.
  • Nertney, Patrick S. 5:19.
  • New Force 1 (March -April, 1932) Ford Massacre Number 117:2.
  • New Masses 7 (May, 1932) "Class War in Detroit" 117:2.
  • New Republic (March 30, 1932) "After the Dearborn Massacre" 117:2.
  • Novak, Stanley 1:4; 3:29.
  • O'Brien, Patrick H. 4:2.
  • Olbum and Libsom (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) 77:9.
  • O'Malley, H. L. 5:16.
  • One Word to the President (Smith Act) 4:8.
  • Packard, Russell, 77:10.
  • Padway, Joseph 19:17.
  • Patterson, William L. 5:12.
  • Pool, Pearce and Hall (Atlanta, Georga) 77:1.
  • Pressman, Lee 41:9; 43:1,8,9ff; 46:1,7;53:23-24;69:17;71:18;77:10.
  • Padway, Joseph 19:17.
  • Patterson, William L. 5:12.
  • Race Riot, Detroit, 1943 5:12-13.
  • Rapaport, Raymond H. (Lansing) 77:15.
  • Raskin, Max 46:4; 77:12-14.
  • Rauh and Levy (Washington, D.C.) 77:16.
  • "Red-Baiiing'r i:14-18; 24; 25:25; 54:11~12,20. Red"" II Cases Story of Assu1t on Liberty in Michigan Red Cases 2:11 "
  • Reisinger, Richard E. 44:19; 46:2; 74:7. 29
  • Report: Board of International Trustees and Emil Mazey, 1960 (UAW) 2:29.
  • Reuther, Walter P. 5:3; 47:25;65:1-17;67:2;74:2-3.
  • Reynolds, Bud 3:32; 16:5.
  • Rights 1 and 2 (February, November, 1954) 4:8.
  • Rimar, Ralph 54:9.
  • Robbins, Arthur 1:8.
  • Robetts, LeRoy L. 74:7.
  • Rogge, Fabricant, Gordon and Goldman (New York) 77:17.
  • Rosenberg and Sharfman (Washington, D.C.) 77:18.
  • Rosenzweig, Louis (Detroit) 77:19.
  • Roth, Stephen J. (Flint) 77:20.
  • Rothbard, Harris and Oxfe1d (Newark, New Jersey) 77:21.
  • Rothman and Irving (Englewood, New Jersey) 77:22.
  • Rubenstein, Benjamin (New York) 77:23-24.
  • Russian Trip 2:22-23.
  • Ryan, Floyd H. 43:2.
  • Samp, Genevieve 6:25.
  • Schneider, William S. 10:8.
  • Scholle, Gus 17:16-17.
  • Seidman, Joel "Sit Down" 25:7.
  • Senate 75th Congo 1st Session Violations of Free Speech and Rights of Labor 1:3.
  • Seymour, E. N. 42:7.
  • Shawe, Earl K. (Baltimore, Maryland) 78:1.
  • Sheiner, Leo (Miami, Florida) 78:2.
  • Sigal, Benjamin (Washington, D.C.) 78:3.
  • Sing Out 2 (April, 1952) 25:7.
  • Sit Down Strikes 25-40.
  • Slomovitz, Philip 12:20.
  • Smith, Alson J. The "Christian" Front: Coughlin's Storm Troopers 6:2.
  • Smokler, N. L. (Detroit) 78:4-9.
  • Sobel, Daniel D. (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 78:10.
  • Songs (By Maurice Sugar) 14.
  • Soviet Russia Today 2 (May, 1933) 2:23.
  • Spolansky -Address of Jacob Spolansky 1:2.
  • Stellato, Carl 54:14.
  • Stewart, Irma Mortimer 25:4.
  • Strite, Samuel C. (Hagerstown, Maryland) 78:11.
  • Stromar, A. J. 74:5.
  • Sugar, Maurice Book files 1-7. Diary 9 Personal 8-17 Songs 14 "American Adults and Societ Kids" 2:22. Analysis of New Michigan LaQor Mediation Act. (Bonine-Tripp) 2:28 Analysis of the Taft -Hartley Act and Instructions 2:28 Auto Workers Tell the President -Plenty! 1: 3. 31 Nation 134 (March 23, 1932) "Bullets, Not Food, for Ford Workers." 117:2. A Negro on Trial for His Life: The Frame-up of James Victory Exposed! 2:28; 5:13. The Proposed Michigan Anti-Sabotage Bill 2:28.
  • Swanson, Carl A. 46:4.
  • Switzer, Oliver (South Bend, Indiana) 78:12.
  • Taft, Charles P. 3:24; 46:2.
  • Talisman, Mandel and Golat (Newark, New Jersey) 78:13.
  • Tappes, Sheltton 54:7.
  • Tessmer, Raymond, case 7:9-22.
  • Thomas, R. J. 5:15, 19; 43:18; 53:24; 62:13; 63:1-12; 65:14; 67:5; 68:12-15.
  • Thompson, Hugh 2:26.
  • True Detective 27 (January, February, 1937) 18:18.
  • Tucci, Frank 44:18.
  • Tucker, Jack N. 63:12-13; 78:14.
  • UAW Agreements, Sample Clauses from UAW-CIO Agreements 2:28.
  • UAW Executive Board Minutes (1936-1948) 78-94.
  • UAW Legal Department -Proposal for 1:12.
  • UAW, First Annual Report of the Public Review Board 2:28.
  • Umpire Case A-74 "Discharge Upon Expulsion from the Union" (March 29, 1944) 24.
  • Uncensored! 1 (September, 1950) 4:14.
  • UE Steward 6 (September, 1953) 4:8.
  • Victory (UAW) 7:8.
  • Voss, Bob 65:9.
  • Washburn, Lester 44:18.
  • Webster, Charles P. 18:9.
  • Webster, Clyde 62:2-3.
  • Weiner and Weiner (Elizabeth, New Jersey) 78:17.
  • Weinstone, William The Great Sit Down Strike 25:7.
  • Wells, Walter 41:4,9; 43:18.
  • West Side Local 174 2:28.
  • White, Walter and Marshall, Thurgood, What Caused the Detroit Race Riot? 5:13.
  • Widman, Michael 53:24; 67:8.
  • Williams, Claude 64:1.
  • Wirin, Okrand (Los Angeles, California)
  • Wishart, James 67:9; 68:17; 74:7.
  • Witt and Cammer (New York) 78:15-16. 78:18.
  • Wolf, Popper, Ross and Wolf (Washington, D.C.) 17:19.
  • Wolff, Elizabeth 41:16.
  • Woods, Harold 65:5.
  • Wunsch, Ernest C. 5:18.
  • Zwerd1ing, A. L. 5:3

Processing History

Processed and finding aid written by Walter P. Reuther Library.

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Maurice Sugar Papers
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Walter P. Reuther Library.
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

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