Harry S. New Autographs, Memorabilia & Collectibles

Harry S. New (1858-1937, born in Indianapolis, Indiana) was a US Senator from Indiana from 1917 to 1923 and US Postmaster General from 1923 to 1929 appointed by President Warren Harding and continuing in office under Calvin Coolidge. He was also a reporter, editor, part owner and publisher of the Indianapolis Journal from 1878 to 1903. Earle B. Mayfield was a US Senator from Texas, serving one term (1923-1929). The likely target of this letter was Thomas Blanton, a Texas Congressman who was trying to unseat Mayfield in the 1928 Democratic primary. Blanton had inserted a purportedly obscene letter in the Congressional Record in 1921, which the House voted to expunge by a vote of 313-1. Neither Mayfield nor Blanton would win that primary. The victor was Representative Tom Connally, who went on to serve four full terms in the Senate and chair the Foreign Relations Committee.