Dana Converse Backus
Dana Converse Backus (1907–1981) was a 20th-Century American attorney based in New York City who served at the founding conference of the United Nations (over which Alger Hiss presided as Acting Secretary); he and his wife supported good government (Citizens Union and the American Association for the United Nations).
Background
He was born on February 26, 1907, in Bayonne, New Jersey. He studied at (then) Harvard College, followed by Harvard Law School.
Career
Backus became a partner in the Manhattan firm of Kramer, Marx, Greenlee, and Backus (later Windels, Marx, Davies and Ives; currently Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf. A co-founding partner was Henry Mosler Marx (born March 18, 1908). Windels, Marx, Davies & Ives, founded in the 1830s In its infancy, the firm provided a number of integral representations, including litigation defending Thomas Edison's ownership of the creation of the lightbulb and the original incorporation of IBM in the 1920s. Later partners included William Crawford, Jr.
In 1945, Backus served as a lawyer for the Secretariat at the founding conference of the United Nations in San Francisco.
On June 4, 1948, Backus wrote to the New York Times a strongly worded letter "The Mundt-Nixon Bill: Suggestions Given for Revision of Proposed Legislation." With regard to American Communists, he argued for "a sense of proportion" so Americans might "realize that we are dealing more with a microbe than a menace" and that "the best weapon against a Communist is to know that he is one," while preserving civil liberties. The Mundt-Nixon Bill would outlaw communist parties in the U.S. and thus "encourage a multiplicity of Communist front organizations." He recommended that the Mundt-Nixon Bill be scrapped. In its stead, he recommended that organizations which solicit funds should have to declare any officers or directors or equivalents as communists. For communist organizations themselves, he recommended mandatory self-declarations when soliciting funds (or loss of tax exemption).
He served as vice president of the Citizens Union and retired in 1981.
Personal and death
Backus married Louise Burton Laidlaw. They had four daughters, of whom Anne Converse Backus died in a car crash while a junior at the University of Wisconsin in 1970.
Backus was a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
On June 7, 1987, he died of Alzheimer's disease at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn on Long Island, age 82.
Louise Laidlaw Backus
During the 1930s, Louise Laidlaw Backus published poetry under her maiden name. She also served as director of the League of Nations Association, Inc.. In 1943, Mrs. Backus chaired the association's Education Committee. Later, she became director of the American Association for the United Nations. She died on July 5, 1973.
Writings
Written by Backus:
Written about Backus:
See also
- United Nations Conference on International Organization 1945
- Mundt-Nixon Bill 1948
- Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf
- Citizens Union
- American Association for the United Nations