U.S. Senator William Proxmire reports to you from Washington, 1957-1964

              U. S. Senator
jrywilliam Proxmire
reports to you
from Washington
November, 1957
Since that magic day of the special
election on August 27th, it seems that Ellen
and I have hardly had time to catch our
breath. We've been simply swamped with making arrangements to move to Washington, preparing legislation to introduce in the Senate when it convenes early in January, getting our office set up and operating, and
taking care of hundreds of requests from
Wisconsin residents for help in dealing with
various government agencies.
MEANWHILE,
pened to us:
all these things have hap-
1. We arrived in Washington to receive
a tumultous welcome at the airport from a
big crowd of happy Democrats including several great Senators for whom we both have
always had a deep admiration and respect.
We were swept into a wonderful reception by Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota.
A little later, Senator Ralph Yarborough of
Texas (who also had run three times for office before getting elected, as I had) was
our host at a morning coffee hour in the old
Supreme Court Chambers, where a dazzling array of dignitaries came in to greet us.
Senator Lyndon Johnson presided at a
luncheon in our honor. We never expected to
see so many Democratic Senators together in
one place at the same time--except, perhaps,
on the Senate floor.
2. The morning after our arrival in
Washington, I was sworn in to the United
States Senate.
3- The same night I cast my first votes
for the following important measures:
The first Civil Rights Bill to pass
the Senate in more than 80 years;
The compromise Foreign Aid Bill cut
sharply below Administration requests; and
A bill to close off FBI files from
possible invasion by Communists or their
lawyers.
Bill and Ellen Proxmire are pictured above with the U.S.Capitol in the background on the day Bill was sworn in as
Wisconsin's Junior Senator.
k. Then we organized our Washington office. Ellen and I are both very proud indeed of our office staff. We have become
convinced that the strength of a Senator depends very largely upon the quality of the
men and women who work on his staff. In our
later Newsletters, we will introduce each of
our staff members to you.
5. We also established a home office in
Milwaukee, with a staff of people there who
have distinguished themselves as hard and
effective workers.
Our address in Milwaukee is: 536 West
Wisconsin Avenue, until the end of November.
After that it will be 7^9 North Second St.
between Wisconsin Avenue and Wells Street.
This office belongs to the people of
Wisconsin. It is open to serve all of you..
it is in daily contact with our Washington
office- (Next page, please)
""It ought to be the happiness and glory of a representative to live in the strictest
union,the closest correspondence, and the most unreserved communication with his constituents. Their wishes ought to have great weight with him.; their opinion, his high respect;
their business, his unremitted attention. It is his duty to sacrifice his repose,his pleasures, his satisfactions, to theirs; and, above all, and in all cases, to prefer their
interest to his own. But his unbiased opinion, his mature judgement, his enlightened conscience—these he ought never sacrifice to you, to any man, or to any group of men living.
These he does not derive from your pleasure; no, nor from the law and the constitution —
they are a trust from Providence, for the abuse of which he is deeply answerable. Your
representative owes you not only his industry but his judgment, and he betrays, insteadcf
serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion."
—Edmund Burke at Bristol, England,ITJh