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The Topical Files, arranged alphabetically contain interesting material but are not particularly revealing of Ferguson's own views of the Committee's work. His handwritten notes are fragmentary, and appear to have been written primarily during the Committee's hearings. They hint at what the Senator found of interest, but not why, and at times they merely take the form of questions directed at particular individuals. In the Charles Beard file there is very interesting correspondence between Ferguson, Beard, and Beard's nephew, George H. E. Smith (Secretary of the Republican Steering Committee), regarding Beard's involvement with the committee work of Ferguson. Many of the documents collected by Ferguson regarding individuals and aspects of the investigation are interesting in and of themselves (see, for example, Cordell Hull and Frank Knox), but, again, the researcher should first become familiar with the published material.