Arthur Ellsworth Summerfield (March 17, 1899 – April 26, 1972) was a U.S.
political figure
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who served as the 54th
Postmaster General of the United States
The United States Postmaster General (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency.
The PMG is selected and appointed by ...
from 1953 to 1961. As Postmaster General, he was an ardent opponent of obscenity.
Early life and career
Summerfield was born in
Pinconning, Michigan
Pinconning is a city in Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,307 at the 2010 Census. It is included in the Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City metropolitan area. The city is locally noted for its former production of chees ...
, on March 17, 1899, the son of Cora Edith Ellsworth, (Born in
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
on April 11, 1877 - Died in
Flint, Michigan
Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...
, on January 18, 1933) and William Henry Summerfield, (Born in
Zilwaukee, Michigan
Zilwaukee is a city in Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2020 census places the population at 1,534. The city is adjacent to and was created from Zilwaukee Township. It is the home of the Zilwaukee Bridge.
History
Zilwaukee wa ...
, in 1876 - Died in
Flint, Michigan
Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...
, in 1938).
He before to embarking on his political career, Summerfield had become well known in Michigan as the owner of one of the largest
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
automobile dealerships in the state; and one of the largest in the Midwest. On July 22, 1918, Summerfield married the former Miriam Wealthy Graim, (Born in
Alma, Michigan
Alma is the largest city in Gratiot County, Michigan, Gratiot County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,383 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It was incorporated as the Village of Alma in 1872 and became a city in 1905 ...
, on September 7, 1898 - Died in
Flint, Michigan
Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...
, on February 12, 1987). They had two children:
* Gertrude Miriam Summerfield MacArthur, (Born in
Flint, Michigan
Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...
, on November 26, 1920 - Died in
Flint, Michigan
Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...
, on July 17, 2008).
* Arthur Ellsworth Summerfield, Jr.
Political career
Summerfield served as the
chairman of the Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fun ...
between 1952 and 1953. At the
1952 Republican National Convention he played a key role in winning the GOP presidential nomination for General
Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
. As Michigan's delegate chairman Summerfield convinced the large, uncommitted Michigan delegation to support Eisenhower, thus providing "Ike" with a major boost before the voting.
In December 1952, President-Elect Eisenhower chose Summerfield as the federal
Postmaster General
A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...
; he served in that post from 1953 until 1961. His assistant postmaster was former
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
Ben H. Guill
Ben Hugh Guill (September 8, 1909 – January 15, 1994) was a short-term Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 18th congressional district, which then encompassed the Te ...
of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
.
As postmaster general, Summerfield oversaw attempts to reform and modernize the
Post Office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
and the U.S. mail system, which was still conducting many sorting and processing operations by hand. Summerfield called for an increase in postage rates to subsidize the purchase of new mechanized mail processing and sorting equipment. Some of this equipment was adopted, including the ''Hamper-Dumper'' internal mail sorting/transport system and the ''Mail-Flo Letter Processing System'', which used conveyors to speed mail processing. However, rapidly increasing mail volume and postal deficits prevented the Post Office from completely modernizing and mechanizing all of its many post offices. To improve the Post Office's image with the public, Summerfield began a promotional campaign designed to showcase Post Office achievements. On October 7, 1954, Summerfield appeared on the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
network to introduce an innovative
anthology series
An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...
, ''
The Mail Story
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', subtitled ''Handle with Care''. The semi-documentary and dramatic program ended its run on December 30, 1954.
On July 4, 1955, in order to highlight its new image as a modern organization, the Post Office adopted a new red, white, and blue color scheme for all Post Office collection boxes, trucks, delivery vans, and equipment, as well as new technology and procedures for mail delivery. As part of that effort, Summerfield supported experiments with
rocket
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
-delivered mail, using the
missile mail
Rocket mail is the delivery of mail by rocket or missile. The rocket lands by deploying an internal parachute upon arrival. It has been attempted by various organizations in many different countries, with varying levels of success. It has nev ...
carrier. The first and only flight of the missile mail carrier occurred on June 8, 1959, when a letter-stuffed
Regulus
Regulus is the brightest object in the constellation Leo and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation designated α Leonis, which is Latinized to Alpha Leonis, and abbreviated Alpha Leo or α Leo. Reg ...
cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...
was successfully launched from the U.S. Navy submarine
USS ''Barbero''.
Opposition against obscenity
As Postmaster General, Summerfield was a vigorous opponent of the mailing of
obscene materials through the postal system. In 1955,
postal inspectors seized a rare volume of the 2,400-year-old play ''
Lysistrata
''Lysistrata'' ( or ; Attic Greek: , ''Lysistrátē'', "Army Disbander") is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponne ...
'' by Aristophanes, which Summerfield described as "obscene, lewd and lascivious". When the first unexpurgated edition of ''
Lady Chatterley's Lover
''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' is the last novel by English author D. H. Lawrence, which was first published privately in 1928, in Italy, and in 1929, in France. An unexpurgated edition was not published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960, w ...
'' was published in the US in 1959 by
Grove Press
Grove Press is an United States of America, American Imprint (trade name), publishing imprint that was founded in 1947. Imprints include: Black Cat, Evergreen, Venus Library, and Zebra. Barney Rosset purchased the company in 1951 and turned it in ...
, Summerfield moved to ban it from being sent by mail, saying that "any literary merit the book may have is far outweighed by the pornographic and smutty passages and words".
Under Summerfield, the post office targeted not only producers of obscene materials, but also recipients.
Among the best known was
Newton Arvin
Fredrick Newton Arvin (August 25, 1900 – March 21, 1963) was an American literary critic and academic. He achieved national recognition for his studies of individual nineteenth-century American authors.
After teaching at Smith College in N ...
, an esteemed professor of English at
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
, who was disgraced as a result of his prosecution for possessing "obscene photographs" in the form of
physique magazines
Physique magazines or beefcake magazines were magazines devoted to physique photography — that is, photographs of muscular "beefcake" men – typically young and attractive – in athletic poses, usually in revealing, minimal clothing. During t ...
such as ''
Grecian Guild Pictorial
''Grecian Guild Pictorial'' was an American physique magazine published from 1955 until 1968. While ostensibly dedicated to art, health, and exercise, like other physique magazines of the time, it was understood that, in practice, its homoerotic ...
'' which contained homoerotic photographs of scantily dressed men. Arvin's story was made into an opera, ''
The Scarlet Professor'', which featured Summerfield as a character.
In January 1961, toward the end of his tenure as Postmaster General, Summerfield oversaw the indictment in Chicago of more than fifty members of the "Adonis Male Club", a gay
pen pal
Pen pals (or penpals, pen-pals, penfriends or pen friends) are people who regularly write to each other, particularly via postal mail. Pen pals are usually strangers whose relationship is based primarily, or even solely, on their exchange of le ...
service, for conspiracy to send obscene materials through the mail. The accused men had their information printed in local newspapers, and many lost their jobs and were disgraced in their community. One man committed suicide, and another attempted suicide. All defendants eventually pled guilty or were found guilty. A government spokesperson said that many more white-collar men would have been prosecuted, but were instead allowed to be sent for psychiatric treatment by their employers.
Death and legacy
Summerfield died in
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...
, on April 26, 1972, at the age of 73. Summerfield is interred in Sunset Hills Cemetery in
Flint, Michigan
Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...
.
![Missilemail](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Missilemail.jpg)
Summerfield's book, ''U.S. Mail The Story of the United States Postal Service'' (By Summerfield as told to Charles Hurd) was published in 1960.
Quote
:''Before man reaches the moon your mail will be delivered within hours from New York to California, to England, to India or to Australia by guided missiles.... We stand on the threshold of rocket mail.''
References
External links
The Political Graveyard*
National Postal Museum
The National Postal Museum, located opposite Union Station in Washington, D.C., United States, covers large portions of the Postal history of the United States and other countries. It was established through joint agreement between the United S ...
RetrofutureMissile MailUnited States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
Papers of Arthur E. Summerfield, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Summerfield, Arthur E.
1899 births
1972 deaths
20th-century American politicians
Eisenhower administration cabinet members
Michigan Republicans
People from Pinconning, Michigan
Republican National Committee chairs
United States Postmasters General