The idea for a Commonwealth Conference for the study of local problems in government and administration was originally conceived by Benjamin Shambaugh in 1913 but it was not until the summer of 1923 that the first conference was held in Iowa City under the auspices of the University of Iowa. By 1925 the Commonwealth Conference had achieved national prominence, receiving coverage in such papers as the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times. Themes of the conferences were: Citizenship (1st, 1923); Problems of the electorate (2nd, 1924); Costs of government (3rd, 1925); Local self-government (4th, 1926); Municipal government and administration (5th, 1927); Political issues of 1928 (6th, 1928); Political issues of 1930 (7th, 1930). The Conference was not held in 1929.
From the description of Commonwealth Conference files, 1923-1930 (Iowa Sate Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 61243900
