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Committee on the History of the
Federal Reserve System
PROGRESS AMD PLANS
A First Year* a Report
its
Content^ of this folder is an exact
replica of report presented to
Rockefeller Foundation on October
18, 1955 by Donald Woodward and
Robert D* Calkins*
Presented to Dr«ftonaanBuchanan,
Director of Social Sciences
COMMITTEE ON THE HISTORY OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
2251
PROGRESS AflD PLANS
A First Year's Report
COMMITTEE ON THE HISTORY OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
1951 - 1955
PROGRESS AMD FLANS
A First Year's Report
The enclosed report Is divided into two sections:
I« The report of the Secretary (12 pages)
II * The report of the Executive Director (10 pages)
To the latter are appended detailed memoranda on three
phases of staff work, labelled as follows:
i.
Notes on Visits to Federal Reserve Banks
(17 pages)
ii» Profile of Federal Reserve Top Coismand
(3 pages, 8 tables)
* Paper Hunt (9 pages)
COMMITTEE ON THE HISTORI OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
PROGRESS AND PLANS
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY
Committee on the History of the Federal Reserve System
Progress and Plans
In the spring of 1954 the Rockefeller Foundation, taking notice of
the results of a pilot project carried on by this Committee under a limited
grant, accepted the Committeefs proposal that a study be made of the history
of the Federal Reserve System and for that purpose provided funds to carry
the project for five years. The first of those years having passed, the
Committee now wishes to ask the Foundation's consideration of progress to
date and plans for the future.
L
Progress to Date
The Proposal which elicited the grant included a plan for work in
three fields. The Committee planned to engage in Archival and Research
activities which were described at some length, to undertake the commissioning of Major Works in two categories, the definitive history and a pattern
of related monographs, and to engage in the Editing and Publishing of Pertinent
Documents.
This third enterprise was seen as arising out of the other two
and therefore was not ranked as probably active until the later stages of the
project*
A* Archival and Research Activities
As will be seen in a report to the Committee enclosed with this
review, achievments of the Committee staff in the field of archival and
research activities are considerable*
Not only has a sound basis been laid
in collecting and arranging essential material which will be useful in
various aspects of this study, but the continuing discovery of private papers
and the collecting of memories by interview is greatly enriching the whole
field of documents available for research purposes in this area. The staff
has discovered the whereabouts of $$ pertinent collections of papers, and
2
has records of some 90 interviews with Board and Bank officers, directors
and related officials, with special attention to those who have had long
serviceo
Already four sets of private archives (the papers of Ogden Mills,
Fred To Kent, Emmanuel Goldenweiser and Frank Vanderlip) have been saved from
pending destruction or slow disintegration and moved, or are being moved, to
responsible librarieso
A major university has been inspired to plan the
establishing of a new library for monetary research, in which otherwise homeless private papers might be placed for cataloguing and useo
At one time the Committee thought it might be necessary to handle
and catalogue some of these private collections on its own account0
Its first
commission in this field was for a Selective Inventory of the Papers of Carter
Glass, which was made by Dr* Elbert Kincaid and a group of graduate students
at the University of Virginia in the summer of 1954 „ This inventory, a
valuable research aid, is now in mimeograph form awaiting inclusion in the
Committee's publishing program^
At the same time, the ground has been laid for research into the
early records of the Federal Reserve Banks and Board by personal visits of the
executive director and by questionnaires which will make it possible to coordinate information as to what historical material is kept in System libraries
and files, how it is kept, and how long it may be avaliable„
It seems probable
that no outside committee, lacking what might be called official status, has
ever been given such valuable cooperation by these financial institutions<>
Meanwhile extensive card catalogues have been developed for the
recording and filing of essential data, and easy reference td ito
These in-
clude first, career data for all Board members, senior officers and directors
of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks from 1914 to 1954; we also have a subfile for economists and monetary experts who are important in Federal Reserve
history and for those who might be participants in this projecto
Second, we
have a chronological ca,rd file for the forty years of System history which
3
includes not only pertinent government officials, "but also the legislation
affecting the System, the litigation (this is in process), the chief
Congressional hearings, the policy actions taken; an "Influential Events"
category is still in processo
Third comes a bibliographic file paying
particular attention to periodical contributions and special studies elsewhere
unlistedo
This may form the basis for a publishable bibliography of -wide
usefulness*
These archival and research activities are by no means finished0
By definition, such labors expand in depth as a project ,of this type grows *
They are, however, so well in hand that in the second year they need no
longer occupy a major part of the staff director's attention0
Bo
Commissioned Works
Work in the archival and research sector was planned to lead into
and feed the second category of Committee activity, the commissioning of the
history itself and of monographs dealing with special aspects of that
historyo
The monographic phase had a happy start last spring when Dro Lester
Chandler of Princeton University was commissioned to begin work on the biography of Benjamin Strong, Central Banker - a task for which three years
was the time allottedo
Dro Chandler, to whom Bank, Board and family files
have been freely opened, spent from January through May reading through files
made available in the Committee offices by the Federal Reserve Bank of New
Yorko
He has done considerable correlative interviewing and reports that he
expects to begin the writing process in September •
Other monographs and monograph writers were discussed but were,
by common consent, set aside until the historian was appointedo
A panel
of possible authors and a list of some thirty possible subjects were noted
and circulatedj£or consideration, but decisions were postponed on the
4
ground that the author of the major history, his needs and his wishes, were
of the first order of importance, and that until he should be at work, no
arrangements which might later seem in conflict should be made.
The definitive history, and the man to write it, have been, in
the minds of Committee members, the core of the whole project, and the
objects of their primary interest. When the Proposal was made a year ago,
we said that, "The major project will be put in charge of a scholar of wide
experience and attainments who will have general supervision over its
various parts and who will himself undertake some of the writing assignments which the Committee contemplates."
We were then assured, and we so informed the Foundation, that
Mr. W# Randolph Burgess, then Deputy to the Secretary of the Treasury and
now Under Secretary in charge of Monetary Affairs, would occupy this post
when his work at the Treasury was completed. The intervening year has made
it clear that while Mr. BurgessT interest in the project has not flagged,
his work at the Treasury has grown more,, rather than less, demanding and
intensive^ in any foreseeable future we cannot expect him to assume the
responsibility for the major historical study, but we have every reason for
expecting his aid and counsel in regular Committee activities.
When it became clear that the original plan could not be carried
out, Committee members began at once to seek an alternate for Mr. Burgess
who should bring to the project talents and reputation of an equivalent
order. They canvassed the field at the top academic level, and examined
into the credentials and the abilities of forty-two men who seemed possibly
fitted by reputation and experience to undertake the task.
Out of these,
ten were selected as possibilities.
Then began a most diligent process of consideration and interview.
Almost without exception the first reaction was one of enthusiastic interest,
5
followed by the handicap of individual difficulties. Either the potential
candidate felt himself too old to undertake so long and arduous a new task,
or he was too deeply committed to his present occupation to be ready to
change it for another which at best would be of relatively short duration.
Added to those difficulties was the fact that men of the desired caliber
make their commitments far in advance. The Committee was forced to conclude that the process of enlisting scholars of the first rank in a project
of this importance involved a longer time interval than had been estimated.
We are continuing the search.
C. Publishing
The third division of the Proposal concerned the editing and
publishing of pertinent documents. This was outlined as a late phase of the
project, but two accomplishments should be listed. The first is the
Selective Inventory of the Papers of Carter Glass, described on page 2,
which awaits inclusion in a future publishing program.
The second is a
report looking toward that program which the staff director made after interviewing key publishing houses of the commercial, the university and the
institutional types. This report constitutes a preliminary survey which
lays the base for later planning•
II.
Plans for the Future
Having in mind the considerable progress which has been made,
the Committee has ended its first year*s work with steadfast faith in the
importance of its project, with preparatory work in the Archival and
Research field well under way, with the most amicable relations established
among the people whose cooperation is essential to the project's ultimate
success. They have one research volume (the Glass inventory) approaching
readiness for publication, and one monograph (the Chandler-Strong study)
satisfactorily in process.
6
Balanced against these points of progress are the considerable
disappointments resulting from the Treasury's continued need for the fulltime services of Mro Burgess, and the Committee's inability to find an
alternate for him between the time that need was made apparent and the end
of the project's first year*
When the Committee members realized that, despite every effort,
they were approaching the end of the first year with no historian in hand,
they reconsidered the monographic approache
A new list of potential
authors and subjects was prepared and submitted which may yet prove itself0
But here too the time factor was a stumbling block*
In spite of a most
careful combing of the field, it has not been possible during the first
year to plan and commission a pattern of monographso
Plans for the history are therefore in abeyance until a scholar
of the required caliber can be securedo
Plans for relevant monographs are
still in the development stage, with two competent writers (in addition to
Br 0 Chandler) known to be available and a complete design for a monograph
pattern in the discussion stageo
The nature of this experience is such as to persuade the Committee
that one of the governing reasons for the Foundation's approval of this
project - namely, the need for restu&ying the history of the System - carries
with it certain obligations for which this project has made no adequate provisiono
Ours is not the first group to find the first rate economic his-
torians in the United States to be in short supply0
case when we entered on the project.
We knew this to be the
Indeed, this condition, and the
corresponding lack in adequate historical treatment of monetary affairs, was
a governing factor in our original requesto
7
What we had not anticipated was that this barrenness seems to prevail not only among the middle group but also among the young0
In an economy
so dependent upon monetary factors, we find this lack,of a scholarly focus
on monetary history and its lessons to be acutely disturbingo
We feel that
there is great need for a major effort directed toward awakening in younger
economists a sense of the importance of monetary history in the affairs of
the nation., with particular emphasis on the changes wrought since the creation
of the Federal Eeserye System, and we would like to add plans for such an
effort to our list for the coming yearo
However, we recognize that before accepting the responsibilities
imposed by new plans, we must arrange for those laid on us by old ones*
In
view of the Proposal made a year ago, the considerable progress achieved and
the disappointments experienced^ we find ourselves facing two alternatives,
on which we would like to consult the Foundation from whom our funds are
derived o On the one hand, we can proceed energetically .along the course we
are now pursuing, stressing the monographic approach for the present, and
looking particularly for younger talent^ but at the same time continuing to
search for the desired author competent and able to undertake the definitive
history*
On the other, recognizing that the pace of commissioning authors
has been slower than we hoped and that this slower pace may imperil the completion of the project in the time allowed, we can, if the Foundation so advises,
proceed at once to liquidate our present commitments with the understanding
that no new activities shall be startedo We would do this with grejkt regret 0
A,
The first alternative implies a continuation of the course which
the Committee has been following, with some changes and some additions0
lo
In view of the difficulty of securing an economic historian
of the required stature, the Committee proposes to devote its immediate
8
attention to the monographic approach to the field of Federal Reserve
history.
This calls for a carefully planned series of monographs,
coherent and related, which will cover not only the more obvious
problems but also include sufficient penetration in depth to examine certain phases for which new material exists and new interpretations are desirable.
It demands a panel of writers which will
include men experienced in Federal Reserve practice, academic
observers of monetary affairs, and younger students able to bring
new disciplines and new insights into play.
The success or failure of the undertaking will be determined by the availability within a reasonable time of competent
students wishing and able to do the studies. As part of the search
for them we propose to call in the autumn a conference focussed on
the problem and enlisting the outstanding students and authorities
in the field for the nomination of names and discussion of subjects*
We have also under consideration the planning of a seminar course at
the Brookings Institution for the longer term stimulation of interest
among younger men in the history of the Federal Reserve System.
In-
vitations would be issued to the most pomising of the younger monetary
economists with particular emphasis on their proven interest in writing on monetary subjects.
2.
This emphasis on the monographic approach would by no means
be considered a substitute for the hunt for an historian of the first
caliber who could undertake the definitive history which has been the
core of this project.
It is contemplated as a shift in balance which,
if men can be enlisted as in Paragraph 1 above, would allow us to get
more studies under way sooner* We would at the same time continue a
diligent search for a scholar able to carry the core of this project.
9
3°
Archival and Research activities would continue, with some
changes of emphasis, toward the completion of certain phases and the
addition of otherso
ao
Plans include an intent
To continue the visits to the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System to the end of improving our research
record of material available there.
"bo
To carry on by means of correspondence the good relations
already established with the twelve Federal Reserve banks o
Visits may be necessary on occasion, but these should be
minor until the point of intensive research into individual
Bank history Jhas been reachedo
Co
To continue the hunt for papers, the recording of their
whereabouts^ and the recommendations for deposit of important
collections in appropriate librarieso
do
To complete the biographic^ bibliographic and chronological
master fileso
Of these the first and third are nearly
finished; the second, planned for ultimate publication, continues to groWo
eo
To revise the interview process so as to lay less stress
on collecting of general memories and more on
(i)
Interviews in depth with men known to have
participated in important decisions at important
moments o
The number of interviews will be smaller,
but the research value should be greater„
(ii) Well planned group or conference interviews
on the highest level like the two at Princeton which
proved so valuable in November 1954 and January 1955*
4«
We would continue to keep in mind what was originally the
third section of the Proposal, namely the editing and publishing of
10
pertinent documents, but we anticipate no final decisions in this
sector until 1956-57o
Bo
The second alternative should, if adopted, allow time for the com-
pletion of work under wayo
This includes archival and research activities
which could be wound up by June 1956, and the completion of Dr0 Chandler's
study of Benjamin Strong which has two years to run (until 1957) ° It would
preclude the completion of a definitive bibliography or the undertaking of
a publishing program,, Staff work should, with the adoption of this alternative, cease June 3®^ 195^ except for bookkeeping operations connected with
the Chandler-Strong book, a task which the Brookings Institution probably
could assume o Funds remaining when existing commitments are fulfilled would
be returned to the Foundationo
The decision to liquidate would be painful,
and the Committee would be very regretful, but the members realize that
progress has been slower than had been anticipated and that this might make
liquidation of the project seem reasonable0
The Committee would prefer to proceed with the first and more positive of these programs o
therefore seeks ito
However, it feels the need of Foundation advice and
Whatever the decision, the Committee wishes to record
its graditude for the privilege of having been able to carry forward the work
herein presented<,
Acknowledgments
Before concluding this review of the first year?s Progress and Plans,
the Committee wishes to point with pride and pleasure to the quality and extent
of cooperation which the Federal Reserve System is according this study by an
outside staff o This cooperation has taken many forms, from the open doors and
the thoughtful assistance rendered in Washington to the welcome accorded the
Committee's executive director in all twelve regional bankso
Officers have
granted interviews, employees have searched out information with unfailing
11
courtesy and interesto
The staff's daily work in the coiafortable and efficient
offices provided free of rent by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is made
easier by courtesies on the part of the Bank staff who mend our typewriters,
buy supplies for us, lend us library facilities, allow us cafeteria privileges,
furnish emergency typing aid, permit us to examine old files and, in general,
combine for us the best features of treatment as honored guests and as members
of the Bank familyo
That this type of assistance has greatly facilitated the work of
inquiry into the research material which might be available to properly
qualified students goes without sayingo
It also constitutes a substantial
contribution to the projecto
At the same time, tribute should be paid to the quality and extent
of interest shown in the project by the very busy men who make up the membership of this Committeeo
This is In the best sense of the word a working
group, responsive to every request made by officers or staff members, willing
to make room in crowded schedules for meetings, alert to requests for consultation by telephone or personal conferenceo
In addition to attending
business meetings, these men have given up two Saturdays and one Sunday for
full-day group conferences at Princeton, and they show every desire to contribute to the project whatever is asked in terms of time or thoughto
As
they are themselves men of wide experience in the theory or practice of
Federal Keserve operation, the ability to draw on this reservoir of knowledge
gives the project a rare distinctiono
Another notable feature is the hearty cooperation given this project
by men of many types in many fields who have served terms as Eeserve bank
officers or directors, and who now respond to requests for information with
an alacrity which is as gratifying as it is valuable o
Some of them contribute
written memoirs, some agree to open their files for research, other submit
to long interviews of the kind that recreate their past in the System0
It
12
has been our repeated experience that a mere mention of the project serves to
evoke a "wide interest in the subject and a statement of its aims brings an
immediate recognition of its broad import.
Of primary importance in the Committee's work is the participation
of the Brookings Institution with its long and varied experience in the nursing of scholarly inquiries and the accumulated wisdom which its President
brings to bear on Committee problems. We count ourselves fortunate to have
the Institution's counsel and encouragement; also we are grateful for its
hospitality, and for the high quality of its aid and advice in some of the
more puzzling daily tasks•
Donald Woodward
Secretary
COMMITTEE 01 THE HISTORI OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
COMMITTEE ON THE HISTORY OJ THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Report of the Executive Director for 1954-55
The Secretary's summary review of work done in 1954~~55 reports the
Committee's progress a,nd outlines the plans proposed for 1955-56* This more detailed report of staff accomplishment is appended for the interest of Committee
members«
Archival and Research Activities
This group of activities was planned as basic to the entire project,
and a continuing attempt has been made to keep it firmly rooted there# As the
project is concerned not only with the history of institutions and the people who
set them up and have operated them, but also with the theories held, the policies
followed, the effect of those theories and policies on the country's monetary
structure and on the surrounding economy, it has been necessary to plan several
lines of inquiry and to record various types of information*
This information is primarily concerned with the past, but we have
been getting at the past by courtesy of the present* Visits to Board, Banks and
Treasury are made to those institutions as they now work, and records of those
visits necessarily touch on present characters and conditions as well as on
those of days long past.
Because the field is so large, the survey has, for this first year,
been continuing to map mostly surfaces. The majority of this is done* We now
know a good deal about what material is where, how to find it, in what direction
further searching can most usefully proceed* We hope in the second year to complete our survey, make its results available to scholars working on this project,
and dig into deeper levels«
1.
Board Visits
The staff*s executive director made nine visits to Washington between
September I954 and May 1955, of which eight were for two days each* An office
with desk and telephone was made available for her use, library and cafeteria
privileges were extended* During these occasions she had one or more interviews
with Chairman Martini his assistant, Mr* Rieflerj the Board's Secretary,
Mr* Carpenter; the Economic Advisor to the Board, Mr* Woodlief Thomas; the
General Counsel, Mr* Vest (who has kindly ttndertaken some research for us into
significant court decisions involving the Board or the Banks); the Director of
Research and Statistics, Mr. Young; the Assistant Director, Miss Burr; the
Librarian, Miss Sutherland; the Head of Files, Miss Poeppel; and others of the
staff*
Transcripts of these interviews were dictated from notes and filed in
the Committee office as nconfidential*f? The useful information they contain is
being held as part of the raw material which can be made available for students
working on the history., They also served to orient the staff director as to the
material available in the Board*
Library - The library of the Board of Governors is essentially a working institution, serving primarily the Board and staff members, but welcoming our
inquiries» It does not aim to become a depository of historical material, nor
has it space or staff for the housing and servicing of collections whose value is
chiefly historical. It contains a good collection of printed data, basic to this
project, including the reports of the National Monetary Commission, the Aldrich
Plan, and so forth. It has complete sets of Board Reports, and a collection of
memoranda and speeches by Board members and staff over the years • Its librarian^
Miss Sutherland, makes no claim that this collection is complete or definitive,
but it is certainly rich. One hopes it may be kept intact, with current additions but without forced disposal of early material, as its historical importance
grows with the years. Students who come with appropriate introductions are permitted to work there in the limited space available.
Miss Sutherland loaned us a complete set of Annual Reports (later replaced by the New York Bank Library) and had copied for us a set of library cards
cataloguing addresses and testimony before Congress of members of the Board and
of the Board's staff*, She also made it possible for a former member of the
Board's staff to compile for us (at our expense) a card file of the principal
Congressional hearings which have been concerned with Federal Reserve matters.
This gives the Committee unique and valuable research aid.
Files - A complete report on material available in the files of the
Board of Governors could only be made after more exhaustive inquiry than has thus
far been possible. Legal files, Research files, and General Administrative files
are separate collections following different patterns of organization. Legal
files include a device called a "spike file/* also existing in the New York Bank,
which is in effect a chronological record of matters that come up day by day in
the Legal Division,, Bound at intervals and kept on shelves in the Legal Division,
the early volumes afford a picture of the legal aspect of the System as it
evolved within the Board*
General Administrative Files are the Board's device for central filing*
According to Miss Poeppel, who runs them, they contain a good 25$> of material
that is archival in nature. Organized as subject files, classified according to
a modified Dewey Decimal System^ they also contain a key to the persons creating
the material in the form of a card file started very early by Mr. Jemison^ a
former Head of Files, who kept a carded record of who wrote what on subjects of
importance»
These files were apparently assembled from various places when the
Board came from several offices into its own building nineteen years ago, and
there is some indication that their form of organization may have been changed at
least once. Miss Poeppel has recently begun to replace worn backings and tattered guides so as to render the older material more easily useable* She is much
interested in the aims of this Committee, and very cooperative, an attitude in
which she has official support*
2«
Bank Visits
The staff director has now made the acquaintance of all twelve regional
reserve banks; New York^ Boston, Philadelphia and Richmond before July 1954, and
the other eight between July 1954 and the end of June 1955* No attempt has yet
been made to see branch offices«
3
Dates and places were as follows:
July
July
Jan.
Febe
Mar,
Apr*
June
June
20-23, 1954, inclusive
26-29, 1954,
11-13, 1955,
15-18, 1955,
30-Apr. 1, 1955 !f
4-11, 1955 (inc. weekend)
8-11, inclusive
13-15, 1955, inclusive
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
tt
it
10
Chicago
it
ft
tt
n
Cleveland
ft
ft
tt
n
Atlanta
tt
tt
tt
ft
Dallas
11
tt
ft
?t
San Francisco
ft
ft
tt
rt
Minneapolis
?!
ft
tt
Kansas City
The way for these visits was prepared by a letter from Mr* Sproul,
Chairman of this Committee and President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York,
to his colleagues in the other eleven banks introducing the work of this Committee
and asking their cooperation, a letter which proved its effectiveness many times•
Bank cooperation showed itself in many courtesies, large and small, in
a willingness to answer all questions and to open all doors • The degree of interest in historical research as such varied with the individual, but the general
attitude was one of warm welcome* With two exceptions, caused by absence from
the city, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank welcomed the Committee's
representative in person, and talked at length about the district, the bank, the
economic history of the region, as well as contributing anecdotes of earlier days
and suggesting ftelder statesmen" who might have useful memories• A desk was
provided, schedules of further interviews set up* Nor did Bank hospitality end
there. Luncheon invitations were extended, sometimes with other officers, once
with the entire officers' council. Bank cars and drivers were offered to take
the visitor around the city. Dinner appointments were made as for an honored
guest. The director is warmly appreciative of such hospitality and such kindness*
To talk with senior officers, to inquire about rlelder statesmen" who
might contribute papers or memories, to find out what historical material was
available in files and libraries, to establish a sense of confidence which could
be extended and deepened by correspondence, to create a reciprocal interest in
the project which might result in volunteered information and aid, all this was
the repeated aim* The Chairman of this Committee, Mr* Sproul*, very early expressed the hope that it might be possible to coordinate information about bank
archives 1 that goal has stood high on the list of things which might be accomplished by these bank visits*
Toward that latter purpose, two questionnaires were constructed, one
to find out what material was held in bank libraries, the other designed to find
out about bank files« In framing the library questionnaire we had the aid of
Miss Marguerite Burnett, recently retired as librarian of the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York, and a longtime friend of librarians at other Federal Reserve
Banksj most of them meet annually at the convention of the Special Libraries
Association, The questionaire on files proved more difficult, but the returns
have been rewarding* Both are described in the appendix report on banks,
3*
Treasury Visits
Because the Federal Reserve Board was lodged in the Treasury Building
for at least part of the time before the present building was finished in 1936,
and because the operations of the two institutions have been so intimately related, we made inquiry about the location and dA&paeition of Treasury files
related to the decades of Federal Reserve history* Mr. Wo Randolph Burgess,
Under Secretary of the Treasury and a member of this Committee,, opened the ap«
propriate doors for a general survey of Treasury material. Much more needs to
be done in this sector, but at least we have made a start in finding out where
Treasury material of potential interest to students can probably be found.
Paper Hunts and Handling
The search for pertinent private papers, which from the start has been
one of the primary objectives in this project, has continued to occupy a regular
part of staff time. We now have reports on the whereabouts of 94 collections,
with some indications of their size and their condition. (A complete list is
appended.) In one instance (the Carter Glass Papers) we have a selective inventory of material which concerns the Federal Reserve System, and in several
others we have obtained permission from the Library of Congress to copy their
registers *
Our latest valuable find is the important collection of Owen D» Young,
who served on the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in
various capacities from 1923 to 1940* These papers are arranged with care and
housed in a steel vault at Yan Hornesville^ New York, They have been surveyed
by the director, and we are assured that they will be made available to properly qualified students able to go and work there*
As noted, in the Secretary's report, the Committee has, in several instances, played a leading role in rescuing valuable papers, and bringing about
their transfer from casual family storage to a library where they will be properly arranged and catalogued for scholarly use* Committee members may remember
that the Ogden Mills collection was, after Committee intervention, moved from a
Long Island garage to the Library of Congress. With Committee aid in the
earlier stages, the Goldenweiser papers have been transferred to the same depository * The Fred I. Kent papers were saved from destruction and given to the
Princeton University Library where they are to be housed in the section on
International Finance. The Frank Vanderlip papers, now stored in the family
garage at Scarborough, are being invited to Columbia University by the Director
of Libraries of that institution* The saving of these collections for scholarly use will benefit students working in many sectors of financial history**
When this project was first proposed, the Committee anticipated the
need for considerable work in organizing, arranging and cataloguing the collections of papers it hoped to find and in Mialyzing their contents for scholarly use* Toward these ends, two experiments were tried* If Again, the Committee
may remember that the papers of Senator Carter Glass, "rough sortedft, boxed and
put on deposit in the Alderman Library of the University of Virginia, were
without index of their contents* Interested students had to go through the
whole collection in order to know what of interest it might offer them* ^
the sujnmer of 1954 Dr* Elbert Kincaid, distinguished economist,
then head of the Economic Department of the University of Virginia, for years
Economic Advisor of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, was given a sub-grant
to make an inventory of the Glass papers, with, particular reference to Federal
Reserve material* That inventory was delivered as finished in October 1954*
Its list of the pertinent contents of 423 boxes occupies 614 mimeographed pages*,
5
Six copies in ring binders have been given to the Library at the University of
Virginia* Thirty-seven more await distribution by this Committee* Such distribution awaits Committee decision as to whether this scholarly aid should be used
in its present form, or held for eventual publication.
The second experiment was carried on with the aid of the National
Records Management Council which undertook to set in order two small collections
as examples of the kind of work they might do on larger groups of papers,, This
taught us more about modern techniques in archival practice, but it too promised
to be very expensive0
In the end, and after consulting experts in the Library of Congress,
the Harvard Business Histories Group, the National Archives and the Ford Archives
on the handling, processing and arranging of important papers for scholarly use,
Committee members came to the conclusion that rather than commission the ar»
ranging and cataloguing of papers on its own account, efforts might better be
spent in persuading their owners to move them to a qualified library which would
then undertake the processing of these collections according to its own rules
and system.
The Committee therefore on. May 24, 1955 adopted the following points
of policy for making recommendationss
(1) Papers which have belonged to a man of national stature, active in
the political scene, should be made available to the Library of
Congress provided that the institution shows an interest in acquiring them;
(2) Papers belonging to a man who has had, or whose family has had,
marked affiliation with a specific college or a particular region
should be offered to the library of that college if properly
equipped to handle them, or to the properly equipped library of
a college in that region;
(3) Papers belonging to a New York financier should, if not preempted
under the two earlier provisions, be regarded as available for the
Columbia University Library, which has come, under Committee urging,
to consider the establishing of a new manuscript collection of
financial and monetary papers•
The Columbia plan is highly interesting but still tentative*, The
Committee, searching for a library in the New York region where the papers of
financiers who had made the great metropolitan money market famous could be
studied, discovered that no such center existed. Convinced of the value of such
a center, sure that the time to set it up was now, before more collections
should be dissipated or destroyed, the Committee secretary arranged for a series
of conversations with Dean Courtney Brown of the Columbia Business School and
Dr. Richard Logsdon, head of Columbia's libraries* Columbia now seems eager to
establish a fine manuscript collection in the field of financial and monetary
problems* To acquire, arrange and service such a collection, they would need
a fund of $35,OOO#
The Committee, after extended discussion of the plan, has decided
that, while in view of the size and importance of the problem the sum is entirely reasonable, they cannot themselves set aside so large a proportion (more
than 10$) of their own funds for the needs of a single institution or a single
6
sector of the entire project in which"they are engaged* The plan is therefore
in abeyance until autumn when other solutions to the problem of funds may be
soughto
Card File Building
The making of master card files, started during the pilot phase as a
primary aid to research and so planned that they could be duplicated for scholars elsewhere, is in various stages of near-completion.
Biographic cards now record essential data for 1,450 individuals who
have played important roles in the System*, These men include senior officers
of the regional banks, directors, government officials, academic consultants
and so on. The staff continues to refine and add to this file, as to the
others, but 75$ of the work has been completed, and 15$ of what remains is clerical in nature o It is out of material compiled for this file that the data
used in the study of age, length of service and career background of officers
and directors, appended to this report, has been assembled*
A sub-file of 550 cards has been built to give necessary career and
achievement data for economists and monetary historians who have been suggested
as participants or consultants in this projecto These are at present classified according to field of interest; the file needs duplicating to allow for
alphabetic arrangement and quick reference«
The bibliographic file, to which a part-time staff member devotes
complete attention, now contains some 7>0GQ items and is still growing* This is
planned to provide basic material for the definitive bibliograpl^projected as
one of the works to be publishedo It promises to be particularly valuable in
the field of periodical literature on Federal Reserve matters which contains
important academic and professional comment and analysis, and for which no comprehensive guide exists a Miss McKinstry has worked^on it some 600 hours during
1954-55* "but it cannot be regarded as more than one«third finished*
The chronological file is perhaps three-quarters complete. For each
year from 1914 through 1954 we have recorded on file cards for the purpose of
quick reference the following categories of informations
Names of President^Secretary of the Treasury, Comptroller of the
Currency
Names of members of Banking and Currency Committees in House and
Senate
Names of members of the Federal Reserve Board"
Names of members of the Federal Advisory Council
Names of members of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee
Names of officers and directors of the 12 regional banks
Chief Congressional hearings affecting the System
Legislation affecting the System
!Eb.ree other categories are in process » "Important court decisions affecting the System" are now being analyzed and listed fa? us by kindness of
Mr* George Vest, Counsel of the Federal Reserve Board* "Policy Actions of the
System" is almost completed*, "Events influencing or surrounding System action"
is still in progress•
7
All these research aids are, of course, available to students working
on phases of the project, Dr* Lester Chandler is the first to make use of them,
and his use of them is helping in turn to test their value. His report assures
us of the value of these card files*
Interviews
From the beginning the Committee has laid heavy stress on the value of
interviews with older men who had good memories and were interested in reliving
their early days in the System for the benefit of those working on this project.
A year's experience, added to that gained in the pilot project, makes it possible to look at the interview process more closely, to analyze its values, and
to make recommendations for the future*
Three types of interviews have now been developed* The first is the
interviewing of a retired official for the purpose of finding out what events
or impressions in his years of service stand out most clearly in his memory»
This had in the beginning a triple value - it made textbook accounts come alive
for your director, it provided suggestions about other people who might usefully add to the record, and it created a reciprocal interest which has led to
contributions in the forms of papers, memoirs, etc
The second type, the bank interview, is a variant of the first, in
that it deals with people still active; it leads toward the sketching of what
might be called aj>historical profile of each of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks.
The third type is the group or conference interview, of which the
Committee held two at Princeton, the first in November 1954 with the participation of three consultants (Dr. Karl Bopp, Dr, Lester Chandler, and Dr« Elmer Wood),
the second in January* This has proved very valuable in contributxng new material as in getting at the sources of controversy and the process of decision*
It has possibilities which we hope to explore further.
All three types of interview have been recorded tod made part of the
Committee's material. The first two types were, with one exception, taken down
as pencilled notes, then dictated and transcribed, labelled ftconfidential" and
filed* The exception was a pair of interviews with Mr* Leslie Hounds, formerly
Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Hew York, in which we tried using
a tape recorder with less success* The third group, the conference interviews,
were taken verbatim by a stenotypist, distributed to participants and corrected
by them*,
In evaluating these interviews and these processes, it should be remembered that while the interviewing was done by one experienced in that process, the statements in them have not yet been checked. The transcripts rank as
part of the raw material needed in this project, to be used with caution and
only after extensive cross-checkings
In this framework they are very useful* On the other handj if they
are regarded as elements of "oral history," their importance becomes arguable.
Procedures adopted by the Harvard Business Histories Group and by the Oral
History Project under Dr* Allan Nevins at Columbia University have raised questions about note-taking as a way of recording interviews, and have laid heavy
stress on the tape recorder which takes down every word and the trained transcriber who edits out unnecessary words as she types, Whether or not this
8
judgment is accepted, the fact that the new processes exist lays an extra burden
of caution on those who still use the old for research purposes.
At their best, the new processes make possible a verbatim record of
an interview-in-depth, taken down after a vast amount of preparatory work has
been done by both the skilled interviewer and the forewarned subject* On a
lower levels they offer little or no improvement over note-taking. They are
very expensive processes. That they are not always successful is suggested by
the recent comment of a critic who concluded that "Oral history reminiscences
can be worthwhile, but only if they are prepared with educated care and used
with scholarly caution"„
The lesson for this project would seem to be threefold; first, the
interviews with individuals thus far taken and transcribed are valuable in recalling events and the atmosphere in vhith they happened* in contributing de«*
tail, in recreating the sense of personalities long gone but important in System
history. They also suggest the wisdom of further inquiry on certain points
sometimes believed to be settled* On the other hand, subject as they are to the
frailties of human memory, they seldom can be taken as providing the absolute
truth or the final word in a complicated controversy*
Bank interviews have also been subject to some of the same difficulties, but have almost always led to the discovery of further material* Here the
need for personal contact and the establishing of confidence has been as great
as in the earlier type* No matter how good the introductions - and ours have
been of the best ~ it is only in individual conversation that the past begins
to take shape as men reach back into memories long untouched* Correspondence
may be useful as a follow-up, but it will not do the job of a face-to-face
discussion*
pzoaona for
For 1955-56 your director would like to suggest thaty\new interviews be
chosen with more care, that second interviews-in-depth be held where first interviews indicate the existence of memories so rich that they call for further
exploration, and that major stress be laid on group or conference interviews of
which the two Princeton conferences were important examples» These group con-*
ferences can achieve a quality and depth of recall which is seldom won in a
general interview. They are particularly valuable in re-creating and clarify*
ing the quality of a controversy concerning which official records show only
the unexplained out come *
The interest of the Committee itself in these group interviews is
lively, and more of them have been approved in principle» They result in records valuable to the student of central banking history in the United States*
At least three of them could well be included in the plans for 1955-56*
Writing
The reason for this archival and research work is, of course, the acquiring and organizing of information basic to the scholarly writing which is
the core of this project* It is in the anticipation of monographs and the
history that the paper chase, the interviews, the laborious business of file
carding all come alive*,
Monographs
During most of 1954-55 the central stress of the Committeefs efforts
lay in securing the historian who would tackle the definitive history itself*
There was, however, one monograph for which arrangements were made very early.
This is the biography of Benjamin Strong, Central Banker, which Dr* Lester Chandler
of Princeton University started in September 1954, on which he has been working
throughout the year. His first report on the progress of that work has been made
to the Brookings Institution and a copy is on file with this Committee • He expects to finish the bulk of his research by September of 1955* a ^& to begin
writing then* Three years is the estimated time for the book's completion* No
arrangements for publishing have as yet been made*
Other monograph plans await decision and commissioning., The staff has
done considerable preparatory work in collecting suggestions for subjects and
data concerning possible authors • It is hoped that this may be imfUwerfkd in the
near future.
Committee Organization
When the Rockefeller Foundation granted the Committee's proposal in
the spring of 1954, the following names of Committee members were attached to
that proposals Allan Sproul, Chairmanj W# Randolph Burgess| Robert D. Calkinsj
William McC. Martin, Jr.; Walter W# Stewart) Donald B« Woodward* All these men
were experienced in the monetary field, and actively interested in the development of economic studies. To widen the scope of interest in the Committee, they
invited Dr» Joseph Willits, with wide experience in the field of social science,
and Dr« F. Cyril James, financial historian, to join the Committee; the two
scholars accepted membership in it, and have added strength*
Association with the Brookings Institution has been strengthened in
the regular process of working together* The association has value for both
groups| the counsel given this ad hoc Committee by the more experienced institution, in matters of policy as well as in bookkeeping and budgetary matters, is
a sturdy and continuous contribution to the progress of the program*
The Committeefs expectation was that Mr« W» Randolph Burgess would
have general supervision over this project and would himself undertake some of
the writing assignments which the Committee contemplated* Then, as the
Secretary's report indicates, it became obvious that Mr« Burgess must continue
serving the Treasury as Under Secretary in charge of Monetary Affairs, Under
those circumstances, and until a substitute of equivalent stature could be found
in the person of the historian, the work of the staff has been supervised by an
executive sub-committee composed of the Chairman, the Secretary, Mr« Burgess
and Dr* Calkins, who have been as generous with their time as they are astute in
their judgmentsm
Staff
The daily work processes have been in charge of Miss Mildred Adams,
who acted as research director of the pilot project and on March 1st was made
executive director* From June until September 1954 she had the part-time help
of Miss Katherine McKinstry (acting thus in intervals when Dr« John Williams,
for whom she is secretary, was not in New York) and the typing assistance of
10
Lois
Bank. On
executive
ployed as
Krebs. Both of these were loaned by the New York Federal Reserve
September 9th Mrso Ellen Singer was added to the staff to serve as
assistant and secretary. On November 1st Miss Irma Burstein was emstenographic secretary, and Miss Krebs went back to the Bank*
Meanwhile, three people have worked in our offices on special projects:
Miss McKinstry from June to September worked as assistant for the part-time equivalent of six weeks, and from September to June worked 413 hours (or ten weeks)
on the bibliography project; Miss Burnett worked eight months part-time (or four
months full-time) on the archives project; and Dr. Chandler worked at his own
pace on the life of Benjamin Strong.
These, in addition to Miss Adams, make the office sound amply staffed.
However, analysis shows that omitting Dr. Chandler who was occupied with his own
projects, the regular office force throughout the year adds up to less than three
persons, while the two part-time workers on special projects for office use
together worked the equivalent of 29 full time weeks, or slightly more than half
a person on full time*
In addition, we borrowed (and paid for) 640 hours (sixteen weeks plus)
of typing aid from the Bank,
Complicated as this staff situation may look, we believe that this
small office, given the special skills it needs, has operated more economically
this way than if we had tried to get the same vork done by hiring four fulltime employees. The ability to borrow (and pay for) typing help from the Bank!s
pool when and as we need it is a real source of economy as well as an aid to
peace of mind.
Quarters
When the pilot project was begun in January of 1954 "the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York housed the staff rent free in a pleasant working room on the
8th floor into which desks, a table, a bookcase apd a file cabinet were fitted.
That arrangement continued into the first months of the longer projecta In
November 1954, after the staff had been reorganized for the longer life of the
main project, the Bank made available a suite of three pleasant and efficient
rooms at the eastern end of the 11th floor. These quarters provide a private
office for the director, a research room with three desks and file cabinets, a
reception and clerical office a They have the double advantage of being within
the Bank so that various Bank services are still available, and sufficiently set
apart from Bank operations so that the independent status of the Committee is
clear. They are sufficiently spacious and flexible so that they should serve
Committee needs in 1955-56 without change if the Bank continues its generous
permission for their use.
Respectfully submitted,
Mildred Adams
Executive Director
COMMITTEE ON THE HISTORY OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
i.
Motes on V i s i t s to Federal Reserve Banks
Committee on the History of the Federal Reserve System
Notes on Visits to Federal Reserve Banks
This skeleton report is made on the basis of three-day visits to nine
of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks* Of the others, the New York Bank houses
the staff, and information is there acquired by specific question and by a daily
process of osmosis; Boston and Philadelphia are so close at hand that they were
each visited on two separate occasions, rather than on the three»day visit
schedule«
Data set down after such quick surveys is necessarily superficial and
inadequate* Much more remains to be learned about the history of the individual
banks and their place in the System, as well as about the material available to
scholars in libraries and files« What is here noted is only a sketch, to be
filled in after further work.
To supplement the notes made after returning from each bank, two questionnaires were sent out - the first a "Preliminary Questionnaire on Federal
Reserve Archival Material," which was sent to the librarians in the spring and
was in effect a query on library resources, the second, a "Preliminary Questionnaire
on Files and Historical Source Material in Federal Reserve Banks" which was sent
in July to the Committee's liaison officers in the various banks* Both were
filled and returned•
The material gathered at first hand is supplemented by answers to the
two questionnaires. The former is descriptive, full of detail, difficult to
compress into a quick report* Any attempt at summarizing the whole would, at
this point, produce little but a handful of disjointed facts * There are, however,
a few aspects which should be notedo
Committee members may remember at Princeton some discussion of the
difficulty of defining just what categories of material would be most needed in
historical studies of the kind contemplated* This problem of definition^ particularly as applied to material in bank libraries and tile*, has been a constant puzzle* Finally the research director attempted to answer, "What kind of
material are you looking for?" by asking, "What material have you?" It was at
that point that the ttoo questionnaires were framed. Even now a complete definition of what we are looking for must still be expressed in general terms, but
at least we know more about what is the material in banks from which we can
draw.
These we have divided into four categories, First come the documents
of incorporation and proprietorship - a bank8s Certificate of Incorporation,
the contracts, deeds, leases, etco These are kept generally in the President's
Office, the Secretary's Office, or the vault, and this category is, so far as
our quick search reveals, generally intact since 1914*.
Also intact since 1914 is the second category which we call Management
and Policy Records « this includes Minutes of the Board of Directors, with supporting memoranda. Minutes of the Executive Committee, of the Officers' Council,
and so on.
The third category, Operating Records, includes Annual Reports,
Presidents' Reports to the Directors, to the Stockholders, internal bulletins,
personnel records, officers" correspondence of a policy-making nature, legal
records, departmental memorandao Of this group, the Annual Reports are intact
from 1914 to date except for a gap when none were published., Officers' policy
correspondence is intact for forty years in some banks but not in others.
As for correspondence less clearly of long importance, that in some
banks is kept active for 18 months, sometimes for two years, sometimes for five
yearso It is then transferred to an inactive file center, variously named, and
kept for varying periods * Only one bank seems to be microfilming important
papers for indefinite retention in limited spaceo
The diversity in filing practice is such as to confound anyone prone
to assume that the twelve banks or any two of them are carbon copies of each
other* Some banks swear by centralized filing, some swear at it and prefer to
departmentalize their files• Some have their important files intact since 1914,
some have little on hand before 1925, one made basic changes in file organization as late as 1951•
Only the New York Bank pays specific attention to archives in the
usually accepted meaning of the term* One or two others use the word to designate the place where files are moved when they cease to be active, and from
which a varying degree of destruction is decreed*
The variety in filing practices, and in historical material thereby
available, is to a certain extent echoed in the bank libraries, but with this
difference - that library methods have an accepted degree of standardization and
librarians have a professional organization within which they meet to discuss
those standards, This brings them closer to a uniform practice than obtains
among filing circles•
The libraries vary in size, coTerage, and in responsibility* Each is
rich in the material of its region, and in material common to the System* Some
have a marked historical interest that goes back to earlier days, one or two
spread their interest to the broader field of international financeo No one of
them,nor the Board itself, claims to have everything that an historian of the
System might want*
In short, the scholar who goes seeking data from Federal Reserve Banks
will find much that he needs, but not all of it in any one place• Files and
libraries will be his friends, but vaults and the Secretary's Office may be more
permanently dependable*, Official records of action taken in meetings of officers
and of directors can be found in all the banks, from 1914 to date* Correspondence
which might provide background, explain decisions or the lack of them, illumine
controversy, show the nucleus of an idea, reveal what was discussed but failed
of support - all this is in uncertain quantityo Some banks have kept it from
early days forward*. Others threw it out. Under these Circumstances, the finding of any crucial letter, on any subject, becomes in some degree a matter of
lucko
The situation may improve, now that the importance of historical records and the historical point of view is being stressed,, One bank, New York,
has a collection of basic documents which is kept intact, by itself, and regularly added to as the years go byo Two other banks use the word "archivesf< to
designate dead files, but do not keep them intactp A third intends to start an
"archives11 center to preserve documents of historical importance* Others might
follow if sufficiently urged, for the sense of local pric)e is strong* The danger
in this idea is that, with the best will in the world, the picturesque will be
preserved and the critical document will be judged confidential and kept out, to
be destroyed under another heading at another time*
The importance of official destruction schedules in this is more complicated than it may seem, and deserves more extensive treatment than it can be
given here* Conversations between the executive director and the chairman of
the pertinent sub-committee of the Presidents1 Conference are still in process*
Each of these bank visits is reported under the following headingst
(a) Character of the district, with a note about bank histories if
they exist
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Subjects of Special Interest
Officers or Directors to be Queried about Early Days
Men Whose Papers Should be Sought
Library Coverage
(f) Filing System (with a note about archives and about local impact
of destruction systems)
4
Visits to Federal Reserve Banks
District
Date of Visit
la Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
March, 1954
a)
This district includes all six of the New England states, with the exception of a southwestern county in Connecticut bound by transportation ties to
New York* Densely populated, old in banking traditions, the region offered considerable opposition to the System when first set up, and certain practices in
the Bank can only be understood in terms of that early history* Small, closely
integrated territory traditionally centered on Boston, no branches were necessary* The Bank's earnings were at first enough to rank it immediately after
New York and Chicago, but other districts have grown faster*
A history written in 1938 by Joseph Taggart and published by Bankers
Publishing Company is entitled"Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.ft
b)
Subjects of Special Interest
Co-equal responsibility of chairman and governors, as reported by
Mr* Curtiss*
Value to Bank of Stockholders' Advisory Committee, annual stockholders'
meeting, annual report to stockholders * Effect on System*
Experiment with Havana Branch, and resulting competition with Atlanta•
Bank's role in district's economic and industrial woes*
Effect of banking holiday,
c)
Officers or Directors to be queried about Early Days
Frederic Curtiss (one of few original chairmen still living),
Roy Young, Walter Eddy, Carl Pitman, W« Wo Paddock, and retiring
vice presidents*
d)
Men Whose Papers Should be Sought
Frederic Curtiss, Wo P* Go Harding, Roy Young, Alfred L* Aiken,
Charles A* Morss, etc*
e)
Library
Library is large in proportion to size of Bank* In addition to the
usual Federal Reserve Reports and Bulletins, it contains a file of reports of
the Comptroller of the Currency, and earlier reports of the Secretary of the
Treasury back almost to the founding of the Republic; 50 volumes of local banking histories; 20 years of Banking manuals and annual reports of the banking
commissions of the New England statesj a complete run of the Commercial and
Financial Chronicle and its predecessor, Hunt's Merchant Magazine9 back to 1832,
and other source material for monetary historians* Large number of regular bank
publications here in complete series*
f)
Filing System
The present filing system, set up in 1948, is a mixture of the centralized and the departmental Correspondence and memoranda of senior officers
is centralized, so is Fiscal Agency correspondence« Legal and research niaterial
is in the relevant departments• Files are considered active for 2 years, material is removed annually to uncurrent files and stored for varying periods, depending on destruction schedules* There is a complete set of bank publications
since 194?a In general., files can be said to go back to 1914• Selected Liberty
Loan material, 1917 ~ 1923, is still preserved*
Bank has no archives division, either in files or library* Destruction
schedules of Treasury and Presidents1 Conference apply«
District
II,
Date of Visit
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
(Staff housed here)
a)
This district is small in area, large in population, limited to one
state and parts of two others* Bank has one "branch in Buffalo* Concentration
of banks and money market makes active wealth the greatest of any in the Systeme
The Bank is consequently possessed of assets and income far in excess of any
other. Its influence in the System stems in part from this, in part from the
character of the men who have run it, in part from the functions peculiar to
itself which it performs for the entire System*, As a bank,, its size dwarfs the
others and makes useful comparisons difficult, yet for the purposes of this
resume, it is reported under the same headings,,
A history written in 1930 by Laurence Roberts, published by Columbia
University Press, is entitled t?The Federal Reserve Bank of New Yorko51
b)
Subjects of Special Interest New York!s role in establishing character of American central banking,
1914 - 1928O
Lesson of the Liberty Loans, 1914 * 1918.
Conflict between Bank and Boards and effect on System.
Leadership relations with other regional banks«
International role, 1920 - 1929«
Bank's role in the making of Monetary Policy.
The Bank and the Money Market*
Effect of the crash of October, 1929.
The Bank and the System's Open Market Operations *
The 5anking holiday in New York*
Development of research tools - eog. Department store indexo
c)
Officers or Directors to be queried about Early Days
George Harrison (the second governor),, Leslie Rounds, Jo Herbert Case,
Owen Do Young, Samuel Reyburn, etco
d)
Men Whose Papers Should be Sought
Papers of Benjamin Strong, George Harrison, Owen Do Young are available and rich. Others should be sought, eogo Gates McGarrah,
Jo Herbert Case,
e)
Library
Largest bank library in the System j, with fine resources in district,
national and international material a Books of clippings from 1914 valuable and
should be preserved« Treasures include reports of Secretary of the Treasury
1790 *b° date,, long runs of government reports and financial periodicals^ charters and laws governing important central banks of the worlds their annual reports; yearbooks and statistical reports for foreign countries; wartime foreign
exchange regulations„ Publications issued by the Bank are kept in complete sets*
Pressures of space weigh heavily on older material, but thus far have been
withstood.
f)
Filing System
Present filing system set up 1914 by former librarian who adapted
Bewey Decimal System to filing needs and set pattern for several other Federal
Reserve Banksa Central filing established as a policy., upheld by Governor
Strong and bank heads who followed» Covers general nonroutine correspondenee,
but not legal nor complete research materialo Subject file of important correspondence goes back to^1914 and is rich in policy material valuable to historians* Files may be current or non-current, but are so well classified and
identified that the old can usually be located without difficulty <> Destruction
schedules approved by Presidents8 Conference and by Treasury apply to routine
material listed therein*
"Archives*1 here refers to a collection of material Bet aside in a book
vault in 19^7 according to then current ideas of material with historical importance o Periodic items in this collection have been generally kept up to date*
Sense of history strong in this bank.
District
Date of Visit
III. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
March 18, 1954
a)
This is in area the smallest of the districts<, including one of the
smallest states in the Union and parts of two others» Long-settled, its banking
habits firmly fixed in the community* its early System days bear comparison with
those of Boston • Like Boston, the Federal Reserve Bank here has no branches *
In the first years its earnings ranked with those of Boston and Cleveland; now
they still rank with those of Boston«, The diversity of manufacture which the
Bank serves is Baid to make for a notable steadiness of business.
A history was published in 1943 by the Columbia University Press9
written by Frank Jo Tomby^ entitled "Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia»"
b)
Subjects of Special Interest
Slow acceptance of the Bank in the district„
Lending policies during the Austin period»
Philadelphia and Gold Settlement Fund*
Role in the economics of anthracite and steel•
Contribution to System in terms of research men.
Banking holiday of 1933,
7
c)
Officers or Directors to be queried about Early Days
Charles Jo Rhoads, governor 1914 - 1918, is one of the few original
bank governors still alive. Casimir Sienkiewicz, Thomas McCabe.
d)
Men Whose Papers Should be Sought
Richard L» Austin, E o Po Passmore, George Norris, Thomas B o McCabe*
e)
Library
Library is a good one, rich in historical roaterial of the region and
the nation« 9^000 volumes <>
f)
Filing System
File system set up in 1914 by Library Bureau, and non-routine correspondence^ beginning then, is still held* Mixture of centralized and departmental
systems o Present officers11 files, Bank Examination, Legal, Government Bond and
Custody, Research files kept in departments where they originate. No archives
collection.
Destruction schedules of Treasury and Presidents * Conference applied
except to officers3 files•
District
IVo
Date of Visit
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
January 11-13^ 1955
a)
District includes all of Ohio, and parts of three neighboring states,
giving it a mixture of highly industrialized and deeply rural regions with considerable agricultural variety• Not a homogeneous district nor self-contained,
but described there as "open-ended." The Bank has two branches.
A history was published by the Columbia University Press in 1940,
written by Arthur Blaser and entitled "Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland«" Two
unpublished theses also contain material*
b)
Subjects of Special Interest
Cleveland8s part in events leading to the bank holiday of 1933°
Effect of Guardian Trust and Union Trust failures.
Cleveland Bank and big industry.
Cleveland Bank and lake traffic„
Relations with Chicago.
1929 - 1933 period.
c)
Officers or Directors to be queried about Early Days
Ray Gidney, Mr. Laning, Mr* Ehninger0
about to retireo
d)
Several long-service employees
Men Whose Papers Shouldjae Sought
Gidney papers should be useful If obtainable. E. R* Fancher, David Co
Wills, George DeCamp0 Some long-service directors. Crissinger of
8
the Board came from this district> but his papers have not yet been
f ound. Warren G* Harding was an Ohio man, but his papers are not
yet open to the public.
e)
Library
Library established in October, 1918 by Miss Alta Claflin (librarian
1918 - 1944) after consultation with New York. Her idea of a library was a
place where historical research could be doneo Consequently Cleveland has much
valuable older material, including a clipping file 1918 - 1944. Their particular interest is the fourth district * Library has notable file of staff papers
1918 to date.
This Bank is unique in its "Chronicle Log of Important Happenings and
Events" which is the particular charge of Mr o Harmen Flinkers, and which gives
a picture of Cleveland Bank history for any year desired. This is a useful research device for quick reference,,
f)
Filing System
Files not centralized. General file system set up in 1920 on alphabetic basiso Includes general correspondence of senior officers, but not Fiscal
Agency material, officers8 memoranda, research or legal material; these latter
are kept in the departments concerned * Active files cover current year and past
two yearso Older material goes to uncurrent files for micro-filming of important material, which is afterward destroyed. Rest, including general correspondence^ is destroyed after 3 years without micro-filming«
The micro-filming program has not in practice caught up to the theory*
The destruction of old records at this Bank is, however, a peril from the history
point of view*
"Archives" used here to mean uncurrent, or dead, files.
District
Vo
Date of Visit
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
End of April, 1954
a)
This district includes four of the southern states bordering on the
Atlantic, part of West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The Bank serves,
with its two branches, three big cities and several small ones, but the district is predominantly agricultural and rural0
A "History of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond" was written by
Charles G« Coit, published in 1938 by the Columbia University Press,,
b)
Subjects of Special Interest
Bank has had only one governor and one president - effect of these
long regimes?
Richmond-Baltimore rivalry in 1913°
Par clearance experience and controversies in this district.
Effect of this Bank on southern banking practice, and vice versa.
Agricultural depression of 1920Jso
Post - 1930 developmentso
9
c)
Officers or Directors to be queried about Early Days
Hugh Leach, now President., began as assistant auditor in 1921*
Mr* Kezeez, now retired, has good memory. Others can be found.
d)
Men Whose Papers Should be Sought
William Ingle, Caldwell Hardy, William W« Hoxton, F. A. Delano*
Papers of Governor Seay (1914 - 1935) ought to be valuable„ Much
is in the Bank, but there is material in the possession of his wife,
now very old. Papers of John Skelton Williams of this district are
in the possession of his sono Those of Carter Glass are in the
library of the University of Virginia.
e)
Library
The library here, good if small, prides itself on being one of the
best financial libraries in the south. The staff has a sense of history rare
in banks and will try to hang onto their historical material, in which they have
some interesting items• Chief function is to serve research division*,
f)
Filing System
The filing system was set up in 1920, after conference with Miss Mary
Parker, head of files in New York, and according to the Dewey Decimal System she
favoredo It is a subject file, but at some time a card catalogue was set up according to authors of letters, and this provides a personal key into old files
which Is extremely tasefulo The files are not entirely centralized,, Fiscal
Agency correspondence, legal correspondence, research studies, most officers *
memoranda are files in the departments from which they come0 Subject files and
files touching the other Eeserve Banks go back as far as 1914; subject files
are considered active for 5-10 years and then moved to the Old Record Room*,
Thus, material useful in historical inquiry should be available here.
Aside from one file drawer and a box, there is as yet no Archives
section; the subject was discussed when I visited the Bank in 1954, and we are
now told that future plans call for the organization of such a section.
Destruction programs of Treasury and Presidents1 Conference are
followed <•
District
VI.
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Date of Visit
February 15-18, 1955
a)
This, the second southern district, includes three southern states and
parts of three others, runs from the Atlantic to the Mississippi „ Larger in
area than the Richmond district, it includes about the same number of people,
but continues smaller in earnings than Richmond. The recrudescent South, coming
to balance old agriculture with newer industry, is burgeoning here, thanks perhaps to steel and chemical as well as textile mills. The bank, with its four
branches, has taken a considerable spurt since 1938*
A history of the Bank was published in 1940 by the Columbia University
Press, written by Axel E* Nielson, entitled "The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta."
10
ID)
Subjects of Special Interest
Governor versus Chairman controversy, Wellborn versus McCordo
Par clearance experience and controversies*
Rivalry with Boston over Havana Branch,
Effect of this bank on southern banking practices, and vice versa*
Agricultural depression of the 1920?s*
Florida land boom of 1925-1926.
Role of the Bank in recent industrial penetration.
Economic research and the Bank.
c)
Officers and Directors to be queried about Early Days
M. Bo Wellborn, chairman, is old, deaf and in Florida* Mr. Lewis Adelson
might have useful memoirs to contribute„ Frank Ueely is a mine of
information*
d)
Men Whose Papers Should be Sought
Hoke Smith, Ronald Ransom, Mr* McCrary, Mr. Saunders, Mr* Wellborn,
Frank Neely*
e)
Library
Library a good working collection, 10,000 volumes, but until now its
librarian has had little demand for keeping older materials or searching for
them* An unpublished "history" of the Bank was put together by Joseph McCord,
the first governor, after he was old and infirm» It is not distinguished, but
has some useful material.
f)
Filing System
Files suffer from past intervals of what was described here as "careless
housekeeping." The policy from 1914 to 1948 was that everything should go into
General Files, but there is considerable evidence that General Files was hardly
equipped to handle material with complete efficiency* From 1948 to 1951 files
were kept in individual departments, and centralization, even as a policy, was
forgotten* In 1951 a new set of General Administrative files was set up, and
the sub-basement, which houses uncurrent files, was completely overhauled under
the direction of Miss Poeppel, head of files at the Board, and one of her assistants o The system of location then installed has mostly been followed, but
chaos still reigns within certain of the older file drawers*
For practical working purposes the General Administrative files serve
the present officers. For students seeking to do historical research, the subbasement is highly important• Fortunately there is no suggestion that early
files be destroyed simply because it has not seemed imperative to set them in
order* Material back to 1914 can still be found*
There is no archives collection.
Destruction schedules framed by Treasury and Presidents1 Conference
apply.
11
Pigtrlct
VII.
Date of Visit
Federal Reserye Bank of Chicago
July 26-29, 1954
a)
This district, composed of the state of Iowa and parts of four other
states of the north central section, includes the major cities of Chicago and
Detroit a The latter contains the BankJs one branch. While it has agricultural
interests, the size of cities and industries tends to dwarf the importance of
the farming element except insofar as it becomes the raw material for industry.
In wealth the Bank is second only to New York*
A history was published in 1935 ^7 the Columbia University Press,
written by John Alfred Griswold, entitled "History of the Federal Reserve Bank
of Chicago*" Federal Reserve material also exists in Cyril James" two volumes
on "Growth of the Chicago Banks,"
b)
Subjects of Special Interest
Given Chicago's size, independence and rivalry with New York, it is to
be expected that banking characters and banking controversies both
flourished there.
Influence of Chicago in the Aldrich-Glass controversy which preceded
the setting up of the system.
Par clearance and collection troubles*
Reserve Requirements.
Discount rate controversy«
Bank holiday.
Chicago's influence in the Federal Advisory Council.
c
)
Officers or Directors to be queried about Early Days
Older staff members are going out. 8 men still in the Bank came to
work in 1914, 9 in 1916. Bentley McCloud, vice governor, is inter esting* President Young retires in a year or two, 3 vice presidents
retire in 1955• All have memories to be tapped•
d)
Men Whose Papers Should be Sought
Papers of Forgan, Traylor, Wetmore are in the keeping of the First
National Bank of Chicago. Papers of James McDougal, George J.
Schaller, C. H, Bosworth^ William A*Heath, Eugene M.Stevens would help,
e)
Library
The library is good, useful, in charge of an able young librarian who
is alert to historical needs. She has several file drawers of archival material
with a certain historical importance. Some Liberty Loan material is preserved
in the Chicago Historical Society•
f)
Filing System
The filing system has from the start been decentralized, organized
alphabeticallyo Material of a record character is forwarded to General Files,
confidential and specialized material is retained in the department handling
12
the transaction,. General correspondence, wires and advices are retained 10 years;
Fiscal Agency material is intact from 1925 <> Departmental files contain "permanent
file" subject matter of some age, "but this is spotty except for such essential
records as Directors' Minutes, etc* General Files holds material for 18 months,
then moves it to Bindery and Inactive Records Department where it stays for
3 l/2 years, then to Records Warehouse for 5 years; then destruction.
Three destruction schedules are followed - Treasury, Presidents1
Conference and the Bank ? s own.
There is no archives section*
District
VIIIo
Date of Visit
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
July 20-23, 1954
a)
This district includes the state of Arkansas and parts of six other
Mississippi Valley states« Slightly larger than the Chicago district in terms
of area, It has less than half the population and a quarter of the annual earnings . The economic balance of the district is weighted heavily on the agricultural side a Industry is diverse, including oil, a complex of chemicals and
atomic energy* The district includes the confluences of three great rivers, but
river commerce is only recently being restored as an important economic factor«
A history was prepared in 1941 as a graduate thesis for Washington
University, written by Wilber C* Bothwell, entitled "Federal Reserve Bank of
St o Louis o!!
b)
Subjects of Special Interest
Chairman as executive officer - Wells and Martin.
Early troubles with the discount rate.
Par clearance and collection*
Agricultural depression of the 192Qfs*
Bank holiday of 1933Growth of specialized research.
c)
Officers or Directors to "be queried about Early Days
Clarence Stewart, vice president and head of Little Rock branch,
Chester Davis, vice presidents near retirement«>
d)
Men Whose Papers Should be Sought
William McC. Martin, John So Wood, David C. Biggs, Chester Davis.
e)
Library
Library a good working collection, 6,000 volumes, mostly devoted to
the System and the economics of the 8th district. Includes cumulative file of
staff memoranda and special studies, 1914 to date* Also reports of State Bank
Commissioners and Departments for 7 states in district*
13
f)
Filing System
Present filing system, alphabetic in order, was set up in 1945 - It
is a mixture of the centralized and the departmentalized, with the emphasis
tending to fall on the latter. Files are considered active for two years except for subject matter correspondence which is retained indefinitely. An Old
Record Room contains material back to 1914, but few of the files, active or inactive, go back that faro Active files are considered to cover 1945-1955•
Earlier material is complete only in such essential categories as, for example,
Directors3 MinuteB and Annual Statements«
There is no archives collection*
Destruction schedules of Treasury and Presidents1 Conference are followed with some divergence for the Bank*s needs, particularly in research*,
District
IXo
Date of Visit
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
June 8-11, 1955
a)
This district centers on the northern tier of the Mississippi Valley,
but it also stretches west so far as to cover all four time zones in the U, S o
In terms of territory, it is one of the four great western districts, four times
as big as the lew York district in area, but with less than a third as many
people., The Bank has a single branch. Economically, the district's income is
derived from agriculture, mining, and a few industries, with the major accent
on agriculture, now Buffering a decline.
b)
Subjects of Special Interest
Par clearance history and controversya
Effect of the Bank on isolated country banking*
Montana and the demand for silver coinage.
Agricultural depression of 1920*s.
Closed banks and sod house bankers .
The Bank and the bank holding company controversy «
c)
Officers or Directors to be queried about Early Days
Mr. Clark, Mr* Decker, Mr,, Peyton, Mr. Jaffrey, Norman Holter, John W*
Black, J. Cameron Thompson.
d)
Men Whose Papers Should be Sought
Theodore Wold, Andreas Ueland, Roy Young, Peyton, Jaffrey, John A.
Rich, John R« Mitchell.
e)
Library
The library is small (4,000 volumes) and designed to serve research
department, member banks and public in that order. New librarian. Collects
Rutgers Graduate School of Banking theses. Recently set up "Memory Lane"
collection of miscellaneous older material, mostly of persons and events.
14
f
)
Filing System
Most files are centralized, but s"uch centralization does not include
officers5 memoranda, legal memoranda or legal correspondence• It does include
officers5 correspondence and Fiscal Agency correspondence<> Other material is
kept within the departments where is originates. No effort is made to hang on
to any of it for any length of time,, Fiscal Agency files go back to 1925,
general files to 1949; otherwise, correspondence and Bank entries are moved
annually from active to inactive status, and kept in an "old records division"
only "Until destruction schedules permit of their destruction.
This program bodes ill for historical studies • It might be noted,
however, that the Minnesota State Historical Society is recommended as a source
of financial informationo
There is no archives section«
Destruction schedules framed by Treasury and Presidents1 Conference
are followed.
District
X.
Date of Visit
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
June 13*20, 1955
a)
This district is second only to San Francisco in area, but with half
as many people as in the 12th district „ It includes four of the states of the
central plains area, stretching frcaa the Missouri River west to the Rocky
Mountains, and parts of four others. Cattle and grain, air transport, railroads,
oil, automobiles, farm machinery and uranium are the most obvious sources of
wealth* The remnants of the frontier are disappearing, but the district cherishes its memorieso
b)
Subjects of Special Interest
Progressive discount irate, invented here*
Agricultural depression of the 1920!so
Failed banks and bank robberies. Liberty Loan experience.
Character and influence of Jo Zach Miller on Bank and Board*
Check collection complaints„
Cattle paper and central banking-
c
)
Officers and Directors to be queried about Early Days
Mr* White, Mr. John Phillips, etc.
d)
Men Whose Papers Should be Sought
Jo Zach Miller^ Eo F* Swinney, Asa Ramsay, Charles M. Sawyer,
Jo Wo Fleming, W o J. Bailey«
e)
Library
The library is a good modern center, well arranged, serving mostly
the big research division under Clarence Tow. They have a small amount of historical material, including an unpublished history by Jesse Worley, and a typed
15
master!s thesis ("The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, 1914 - 1921") "by
Robert Wallace who had the advantage of long conversations with Jo Zach Miller*
There is also a history written by Hershel Underhill, published by the Columbia
University Press in 1942, entitled "The Kansas City Federal Reserve District,
Origins and Developments«"
f)
Filing System
Files were set up in April 1918. Some are centralized, others kept in
departmentso An alphabetic system of filing prevails. Active files which are
classified for permanent retention go back to 1914, but "active" in general
means only for 2 years; inactive material is moved annually, bank files to an
olcl records file room and Fiscal Agency files to a Federal Records Center in
Kansas City*
This does not sound like a promising place for historical research;
much of its picturesque past will be lost unless collected from retiring officers by interview processo
There is no archives collection.
Destruction schedules framed by Treasury and Presidents8 Conference
apply.
District
Date of Visit
XI o Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
March 30 - April 1, 1955
a)
This district includes all of Texas and parts of four other southwestern states, yet it is in area the smallest of the four great western districts. It is also one of the most interesting, partly because its economic
changes and its extremes have been so great. It suffered heavily from the depression of the 1920fs, yet much wealth has been made very fast. The shift from
cattle and agriculture to petro-chemicals and industry is still visible,, The
Bank's president is trained in economic research and possessed of a broad point
of view* Except for his interest, curiosity about elements in the Bank's history
is very slight, mostly anecdotal a<nd on the picturesque side*
Two unpublished accounts are kept in the Bankrs library, one a "History
of Organization and Growth of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas" by James L*
Lumpkin, dated March, 1920; the other, ?tDiscount Operations of the Federal
Reserve Bank of Dallas" by Jean Richardson (master2s thesis, 1947).
b)
Subjects of Special Interest
Agricultural loans of the 1920*8.
Failed banks.
Cattle paper.
Heavy use of checks in the district - cause and effect.
The bank holiday.
Effect of oil boom*
Growth factors and their influence on the Bank.
Relations with the Board.
16
c)
Officers or Directors to be queried about Early Days
This Bank will lose four of its older officers this year, and with
them a vast amount of knowledge of how things were done in older
days, most of this unwritten. It can only be collected through
interview sessions,,
d)
Men Whose Papers Should be Sought
Governor Talley's papers, if available, should be interesting. Also
the papers of E. Lo Van Zandt, B, A. McKinney, E. Oo Tennison,
W* Fo Ramsey, etc«
e)
Library
Library good but small (3,000 volumes) with special emphasis on economic conditions and the new industries of the region. Furnishes monthly appraisal of national situation for directors and officers• Keeps track of international data touching Texas.
f)
Filing System
Files are mostly departmentalized, but a General Files system is set
up chronologically and by subject a Active files cover a very short period, and
are moved out at the discretion of each officer and each departments Some consideration has been given the installation of complete central filing, but it
would be expensive, difficult, and opposed by many officers used to the departmental way a When moved to "archives11 (synonymous in Dallas with dead files),
files stay for a period set by destruction programs of the Treasury, the
Presidents* Conference and the Dallas Banko
No archives collection in any sense other than dead files. All
Liberty Loan and War Finance Corporation material has been destroyed.
Destruction schedules framed by Treasury apply* Those of Presidents"
Conference used with some variationDistrict
XII.
Federal Eeserve Bank of San Francisco
Date of Visit
April 7-11, 1955
a)
This district, containing six of the far western states and a section
of a seventh, is in area the largest in the System. Alaska and Hawaii are, for
certain purposes, now included. Population has grown hugely* As for relative
wealth, current earnings in 1953 put the San Francisco Bank in third place among
the twelve banks, though it was eighth when the System was started. Growth is
thus recurrently an influential economic factor.
A hiatory was published in 1937 hy the Columbia University Press,
written by Willis Parker Brown and entitled "The Federal Reserve Bank of San
Francisco."
IT
b)
Subjects of Special Interest
Effect of long early battle for power between president and chairman.
British influence on Bank habits and practices*
Par clearance troubles•
Agricultural depression•
Effect of recurrent expansion factor on the San Francisco Bank.
Attitude toward inflation.
Branch banking in the district and Its effect on the System.
Gold and silver coin usage and handling in the 12th district.
Effects of far western situation and location - unusual degree of
autonomy?
Competition between branch and home office.
The Bank and the evacuation of the Japanese in World War II
(deserves a monograph, though late for this project).
c)
Officers or Directors to be queried about Early Days
Mr^ Morrison, Mr» Herman Mangels, Mr«> Lelsner of the Seattle branch,
certain older bankers in remote sections.
d)
Men Whose Papers Should be Sought
John Perrin, Archibald Kains, John U. Calkins, Ira Clerk, Isaac Bo
Newton.
e
)
Library
Library has about 4,000 volumes, good librarian. Mostly concerned with
financial and economic life of region, but Is now building up collection of foreign bank reports, both central banks and commercial, along with monthly economic reviews and special studies; emphasis in present early stages on Pacific
and Asiatic areas. Library treasures Include supercargo's journal of ship which
burned In gold rush days at site now occupied by the building.
f)
Filing System
Files are centralized, organized and managed in such a way as to
delight any research worker. Dewey Decimal System used in subject or reference
file. Central filing system Includes officers8 correspondence and memoranda,
Fiscal Agency correspondence, legal correspondence and memoranda« Research
studies are retained in research department. Files go back to 1914, but present system was set up In 19^0. All material in reference file (which is quite
understandably their pride) is considered active and kept that way* Inactive
files are moved to records room, kept according to dates set in the Bank's destruction schedule (related to schedules issued by Treasury and the Presidents1
Conference), and then destroyed. This affects only ephemeral and routine
material.
The word
!!
archlves" Is used In this Bank as meaning a room for inactive
records.
Destruction schedules framed by Treasury and Presidents1 Conference
are applied„
COMMITTEE ON THE HISTORY OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
ii.
P r o f i l e of Federal Reserve Top Command
Conani ttee on » the. gi®togy of, theffftdeml,Reaerya,, Sy&tem,
Profile of Federal Reserve,. System Top Command
From the material gathered in our biographic files- the staffI has
drawn a quick sketch of Bank directors and their chairmen, of Board members,
of Bank presidents (we use the never term but include those who were called
governor fc&fore 1935)• Here is the composite picture of the men who, during
forty ymtfrr* have had th# final responsibility of making those decisions
which httW" Shaped the System as it is today* ¥e now know what section of
the country (or another country] they came from, what level of education they
had, what business eXp^tlfence they acquired* ¥e know how old they were when
they came into office, and how lpi^g they stayed in the System* s serviceo
bldgwtphtc card$ tell us a good deal more about them in addition
to thes#fcarstefacts, and it ii|ay seem desirable later to do a more intensive
sx^rv^yo He note, for example, that men now in directorships see® to have had
more yeftSrsr ot formal education than did tjhe earlier ones, and we would like
to test* the two levels with those prevailing in other occupations in the
United 8N«te#-*«tr the same periods to see whether this represents the general
trend oT'obeys some deviation peculiar to bankers a ¥e are, however, well
aware of* the statistical perils that lurk in any attempt to get averages out
of sucK small groups, and it may be that description, backed by carefully
chosen examples, will prove to be a better way of making comparisons*
From November 1914, when the Board and the twelve Banks opened their
doors td December 31, 1954 a total o£ 36 men have served as Board members,
60 as Blrik pjpsidettts {or governors^, 79 as chairmen, and 590 as directors*
these 636 H&en ('this total excludes the figure for ehainaen, who were of course
directed*^ b&t Still contains a small amount of duplication among men holding
more than one office) constitute the top decision-making group that runs the
central banking system of the United States5 their composite profile is
visible behind monetary and economic changes that are felt far beyond the
limits of this country a
A surprisingly large number of them, wherever they serve, were born
in the Middle Westo 14 Board members, 26 presidents (or governors), 33 chairmen, 236 directors came from the regions comprised in the five Federal Reserve
districts" (7^8,9,10,11) located mostly in the great central valleys that feed
the Mississippi Rivero The Northeast (districts 1,2,3,4), for all its preponderance of population and of financial strengthy comes second in the breeding of men who have risen to the top in Federal Reserve postso
As for their education, our information raises questions0 Of the 36
Board members^ 12 ended their formal education with a bachelor1 s degree and
14 added advanced degrees, making a total of 26 or 72*2% who w&nt through college o Bank presidents include U5% i& the same category, chairmen 49 o4/6*
Among directors, curious differences catch the eye* Of the Class A directors,
only 300 % went through college (9<>956 with an advanced degree) and 13*4$
finished their fomal education with the end of grammar school* Of Class B
directors, 450656 went through college (16ol$ took a higher degree) and 14*4%
stopped with grammar schoolo Among Glass C directors, 46*2% had at least a
bachelor8 s degree (Z(>% took a higher degree) and only 9*1$ had to be content
with gr&fflft&i* sohoolo Less than half (40o756J of the men /who have acted as
Federal Reserve Bank directors during some part of these forty years were college grattaai»s, while the group as a "whole is divided almost equally between
those who did and those vho did not go to collegeo
Iftese men weire mostly over fifty \*hen they entered their high
offices^ flerfe too differences characterize the various positions** Of Board
members', M.i5% weite bt%nmm 51^and 55 when they were appointed, For Bank
presidefTff i®r wwimzarn), the favorite age has a wider swing, and one notes
that mcrsrfe e * A i # ^
and 60, with very little to dhoose' between
the thirtite ht^fi^ywr spawns In thode fifteen years a Chairmen tended to Be
Slightly diSfeir ^ here the majority were between 51 and 65 on appointmento As
for ditWrtblrfty the largest percentages in the A group fall between 46 ami 65,
With 56l&j6&'bi4ng the preferred ageo the B group clusters between 51 and 60,
with a p^f^6titeeJfdr!56--6Ov though the spread throughout the middle years
1$ fairly even0 The Class C directors are one age bracket younger0
the surprising thing is the sharp break that comes for all the
groups"at* age 4.0o As though this represented a major hurdle, the appointments
and eleetlctns' begin to pick up once that anniversary is passed„ Only 1 Board
member, $- pi-feBlttents,"2 cfaaiimen were chosen under that magic age, and only
50856 of the directors have been that youngo
f* £& W thr^crecttpatioiml experience whictor they bring to their posts
that Federal Reserve officials suddenly break into great variety, so great
that th& chart itself tells the tale better than any summary* Presidents and
chainnetrsre weighted on the banking sideo A directors, being chosen by the
member banks, all come out of bankingo But among Board members, experience
in public administration runs banking experience a close secondo And if B
directors are rather heavily weighted in manufacturing, refining and construction, they are balanced by the C directors who draw members from so many
other classes of occupations0
Born largely in the Middle West, most of than with at least a high
school education and almost half of them college graduates, between fifty and
sixty years of agB on appointment, with a wide range of business experience
behind them, this is the composite picture of decision-makers in the Federal
Reserve Systemo Once they get in, how long do they stay? Long enough to
put seasoned experience to work? So long that their colleagues begin to
mutter about l!the dead hand?"
¥e haye divided length of service charts two ways, looking at length
of service in the System and length of service in the particular position,
and separating those whose t e m s had ended prior to December 31* 1954- from
tlio§e ^who w6re still in office on the 31st of December, 1954o From them
w$ learn that the most favored term for directors has been 4 to 10 years but
that a surprising number went on to serve 11 to 20 years0 The 11 to 20 year
stretch in the System has been the favorite among Bank presidents (or
governors), £hai;nnen and Board members, though the largest number of presidents have stayed in that position 4- to 10 yearsj Board members have been
movfed or resigned to such an extent that more than half of those vhose tenns
had ended before December 31* 1954 had only stayed three years at most in
office o The fringe figures catch the eye in charts like these - the 4
directors fchst seized 31 to 40 years on Bank boards, the 3 Board members
served fee Sjrstem from 21 to 30 years, or the 13 Bank presidents vho stayed
in office three years at mosto
I t i s the reasons for these deviations that one seeks, and tfaely
effect dri tfae System8 s course o We hope to refine these sketches, to work out
ways of comparison over time that will reveal ^hat has been happening in
human ifeftni to the System*s high command during the decades of i t s liffeo A
matted'tfT'Bwft great importance to the United States calls for the best
analysis that can be given i t o
Place of Birth - Board Members,, $ank Presidents Jind directors
1 9 U - 1954
Place of Birth ty Grouping*
B
C
D
Foreign Info. Not
Country Available Total
Board Memberq
Numbep
6
% ctf Tptal
.7
5
2
0
36
380 9
13 o9
5.5
0
100.0$
Presidents
13
11
26
7
2
1
60
21o7
18»3
3»3
11 O 7
3.3
1.7
100.0$
23
16
33
3
2
79
29»1
20o3
41o8
3*3
2*5
100.0$
65
28
83
7
7
32ol
13,9
a»
Number
60
30
70
4
3
13
180
% of Total
3»3
16 O 7
38.9
2O2
1O7
7.2
100o0$
9
8
13
208
3.8
6.3
100.0$
Number
% of Total
Chairmen
Number
% of Total
A Directors
Uumber
% of Total
.5
12
202
100.0$
3.5
B Directors
C Directors
Number
% of Total
31
30 o 8
83
o3
Groupings are: A - Federal Reserve Districts 1,2,3>4 (Boston, New York,
Philadelphia, Cleveland)
B - Federal Reserve Districts 5>6 (Richmond, Atlanta)
C - Federal Reserve Districts 7,8*9,10>UL (Chicago, Sto Iiouis,
Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas)
D - Federal Reserve District 12 (San Francisco)
Highest Level of Education Completed ~ Board Members, Bank
Presidents and Directors, 1 9 M - 1954
Hig hfst Level Completed
Grammar
School*
High
School
College
Advanced
Degree**
Info. Not
Available
Total
12
14
2
36
Board Members
Number
1
7
2.8
19.4
33.3
38.9
5.6
8
22
10
17
3
13.3
36.7
16.7
28.3
5.0
6
29
21
18
5
7.6
36.7
26.6
22.8
6.3
100.0%
27
83
42
20
30
202
13.4
41.1
20.8
9.9
14.8
26
49
53
29
23
14.4
27.2
29.5
16.1
12.8
Number
19
66
42
54
27
% of Total
9.1
31.7
20 o2
26.0
13.0
% of Total
100.0%
Bank Men
Presidents
Number
% of Total
60
100.0%
Chairmen
Number
% of Total
79
A Directors
Number
% of Total
100.0%
B Directors
Number
% of Total
180
100.0%
C Directors
208
100.0%
*
Educational background listing "public schools,11 but not specifically
mentioning high school, is included in grammar school categoryo
**
"Advanced Degree11 includes LLoBo as well as masters degree or doctorate..
Age Upon Entering Position of Board Member, Bank President and Director * 1914-1954
Age Interval (inclusive)
71
Below
$ of Total
Info
Not
Avail
35-40
41-45
46-50
51-55
56-60
61-65
0
1
5
7
16
4
3
0
0
0
36
0
2.8
13.9
19.4
44 = 5
11.1
8.3
0
0
0
100.0$
0
3
8
15
16
14
3
0
0
0
60
0
5.0
13.3
25.O
26.7
23.3
5.0
0
0
1.7
100.0$
0
2
8
7
18
23
12
3
4
2
79
0
2.5
10.1
8.9
22.8
29-1
15.2
3.8
5.1
2.5
100.0$
3
12
20
35
39
43
29
10
3
8
5.9
9-9
17.3
19.3
21.2
14.4
5.0
1.5
4oO
100.0$
20
29
35
36
21
15
2
14
180
7.8
35
Board Members
Number
and
Over
66-70
Total
Bank Men
Presidents
Number
$ of Total
Chairman
Number
$ of Total
A Directors
Number
$ of Total
B Directors
Number
$ of Total
C Directors
Number
$ of Total
1.5
4'
2.2.
2.2
il.l
16.1
19.5
20.0
11.7
8.3
1.1
0
11
30
27
56
40
23
7
2
0
5.3
14.4
13.0
26.9
19.2
11.0
3*4
1.0
12
5.8
202
100o0$
208
100.0$
Occupation JJamediateJy Prior to Taking Office in System of Board Members*
Bank Presidents and D i r e c t s ^ 191k Occupational Groupings
Mfg.
Finance
Refin- Transp.
InsurAgric.
Canuoun. Trade
ing
ance
Pub.
Con*
Mining
Real
ComBankEsto
merce
Forestry stm»
ing
Uto
Board Members
Number
% of fatal
Bank lien
Governors and
Presidents
Nmober
% of Total
Chairmen
Number
* of Total
A Directors
Number
* of Total
B Directors
Number
* of Total
t
1
1
0
1
5.5
2.8
£•8
0
2.8
1
3
1
0
2
1.T
5.0
1.7
0
3.3
3
15
lit
9
3.8
18.?
5.1
17.7
ll«i»
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
tk
78
1°
33
7
13.2
142.9
10.5
18.2
36
22
1?.3
10.6
C Directors
Number
* of Total
11.1
Prof.
Info.
Not
None Avlb.
Total
3
33
1
0
0
36
8.3
36.1
2*8
0
0
100.0*
3
3
1
1
60
68.2
5.0
5.0
6.7
1.7
1.7
100.0*
23
k
1
3
1
2
7?
29.1
5.1
1.3
3.8
1.3
2.5
100.0*
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
100.0*
1
0
5
2
0
13
182*
3.8
0.5
0
i.7
1.1
0
7.1
100.0*
31
15
32
15
0
8
I
2$
208
Hu°
7.2
15.1*
7.2
k.$
3.8
1.0
T«r© B Directors who held two occupation®
makes Total greater than actual number of B Directors*
Aca- Public
demic Admins
38.9
la
202
100.0*
202
100.0*
Gammanicaticm^ Prfbli©
Co3xmn 3$
Utilities
Length of Service in the P-ealtiena. of Board Membership, Bank Presidency
and Directorship of Those Wiose Terms in Those Positions
Ended Prior to 12/31/54
Intervals in Years (Inclusive)
0-3
4-10
Info. Not
11-20 21-30 31-40 Available Total
Board Membership
Number
$ of Total
17
6
5
2
0
0
30
56o6
20 o 0
I6o7
6,7
0
0
100.0$
13
24
10
1
0
0
48
2ol
0
0
100.0$
2
0
0
68
2»9
0
0
100.0$
7
1
0
167
4.2
.6
0,6
0
100.0$
Bank Positions
PresidencyNumber
$ of Total
27»1
50.0 20.8
Chairmanship
Number
$ of Total
26
38o3
30
10
44=1 14«7
A Directorship
Number
$ of Total
52
31ol
78
29
46.7 17*4
B Directorship
Number
$ of Total
42
63
31
7
3
0
146
28.8
43.1
21.2
4.8
.1
2.1
0
100.0$
54
82
31
6
0
0
173
31.2
47o4
17*9
3.5
0
0
100.0$
C Directorship
Number
% of Total
Length of Service in their Respective Positions of Present Board Members,
Bank Presidents and Directors (as of 12/31/54-)
Intervals in lears (Inclusive)
0-3
4-10
3
2
o Not
11-20 21-30 31-40 Available
Total
Board Membership
Number
% of Total
50 oO
33o3
6
1
0
0
0
16o7
0
0
0
100oG#
0
0
0
12
Bank Positions
Presidency
Number
% of Total
4
3
5
33 o3
25 oO
41o7
0
0
0
100.0%
9
2
0
0
0
0
11
18 o2
0
0
0
0
100a0%
14
5
0
0
0
35
0
0
0
100O0#
0
0
0
34
0
0
0
100.0$
0
0
0
35
0
0
0
100.0%
Chairmanship
Number
% of Total
81.8
A Directorship
Number
16
% of Total
45o7
40 oO
14o3
B Directorship
Number
15
% of Total
44ol
15
44«1
4
Ilo8
C Directorship
Number
20
% of Total
57,2
9
25c7
6
17ol
Less than 36 (12x3) directors in any class, or less
than 12 chairmen, implies vacancies as of 12/31/54-
Length of 3ervice in the Federal Beserve System of Board Members, Bank
Presidents and Directors Who Previously Served System
(service ended prior to 12/31/54)
Intervals in Years (Inclusive]
Info* Not
31-40 Available
0-3
4-10
11-20
21-30
Total
5
8
13
3
0
0
29
17.3
27o6
10,3
0
0
100o0
5
11
18
10
4
0
48
1 0 <>4
22O 9
37o5
20 o9
8.3
0
IOO.I
7
26
27
7
0
0
67
10o5
38.8
40o2
10.5
0
0
100.1
78
36
10
1
1
167
46,7
21»6
0o6
0.6
100.0*
59
41
4
1
U3
41o2
28.7
2.8
0.7
100.0%
78
46
8
0
2
169
46o2
27.2
4*7
0
1,2
100.0J6
Board Members
Number
% of Total
Bank Men
Presidents
Number
% of Total
Chairmen
Number
% of Total
A Directors
Number
41
% of Total
24»5
6.0
B Directors
Number
31
% of Total
21.7
7
4.9
C Directors
Number
35
% of Total
20o7
Length of Service in thfr Federal Reserve System of Board Members, Bank
Presidents and Directors Who Presently Serve System (as of 12/31/54-)
Intervals in Years (Inclusive)
Info. Not
0-3
4-10
11-20
21-30
31-40 Available
Total
Board Members
Number
% of Total
1
3
2
0
1
0
7
14.3
42.8
28 06
0
14.3
0
100 „<#
2
2
5
0
12
Bank Men
Presidents
Number
0
H of Total
0
25.0
16 O 7
16»7
a.6
0
100.0%
Number
1
6
4
1
0
0
12
% of Total
8o3
50.0
33.4
8o3
0
0
100.0*
15
8
0
0
0
35
42.8
22o9
0
0
0
100.0$
20
3
2
0
0
37
8,1
5.4
0
0
100.036
10
2
0
0
39
25.6
5.1
0
0
100.0%
3
Chairmen
A Directors
Number
12
% of Total
34.3
B Directors
Number
12
% of Total
320 4
54.1
C Directors
Number
14
% of Total
35o9
13
33.4
COMMITTEE ON THE HISTORY OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
I i i . Paper Hunt
Paper Hunt
The following list contains the names of men whose papers we have
discovered, with a quick description of their location.
Aldrich, Nelson
Some papers in Library of Congress, where listing is available. Son
Winthrop has complete set of National Monetary Commission papers with Nelson!s
annotations. Will make these available to Committee.
Await, Gloyd
Papers, including those dealing with banking holiday, still in his
possession. He intends to write his memoirs from them.
Baker, Newton D.
Papers are at the Library of Congress. Committee has permission to
consult.
Baker, Ray Stannard
Papers in the Library of Congress contain material about Woodrow Wilson,
whose papers Baker edited. Committee has listing.
Ballantine, Arthur
Three file cabinets in his office. Day-by-day memoranda on banking
crisis of 1933 sit his house. Negotiations still under way.
Bankhead, Senator John A»
Papers are deposited in the State Archives at Montgomery, Alabama.
Borah, Senator William
Papers in the Library of Congress. Committee has permission to consult.
Brandeis, Louis
Papers are in the library at the University of Louisville, Kentucky.
Bruere, Henry
Memoirs transcribed by Columbia University Oral History Research
Office.
Bryan, William Jennings
Papers are in the Library of Congress. Committee has permission to
consult*
Burieson, Albert
Papers are in the Library of Congress. Committee may consult.
Coolidge, Calvin
Papers divided between the Library of Congress and the Forbes Library
at Northampton, Massachusetts * Committee has listing of latter collection, and
obtain listing of former.
Cumberland, William Wilson
Memoirs transcribed by Columbia Oral History Project*
exchange material pertinent. Open for useo
Some foreign
Curtis, James Freeman
Two-volume memoir was recorded by him in 1951 for Oral History Project
at Columbia. 50 pages concerned with Federal Reserve Bank of New York have been
photostatted and are in Committee files. No other known papers except as incorporated in Federal Reserve Bank of New York filesCurtisSj Frederic Haines
Committee has small collection given under instructions that papers be
inspected and destroyed. Includes critical memoranda and correspondence. Other
papers remain with Mr* Curtiss but should be solicited for library preservation•
Daniels, Josephus
Papers are in the Library of Congress. Committee may consult.
Davis, Chester
Memoirs transcribed by Columbia Oral History Project. Private papers
in own possession.
Davis, Norman H.
Papers have been given to the Library of Congress but are presently
on loan to Yale University for two years.
Daves, Charles Go
Papers in the Deering Library, Northwestern University.
Dawes, Henry
Official papers, from his term as Comptroller of Currency, left in
Washington. No other papers known to exist, but Deering Library at Northwestern
University should be queried.
Day, Edmund
Papers occupying 100 linear feet are in the Mann Library at Cornell
University. Contains small amount of material on Federal Reserve.
Delano, Frederic Adrian
Papers have been divided between the library at Princeton, New Jersey
and the Roosevelt Library at Hyde Park*
Draper, Ernest
Diary of 300 pages covering May 1941 - 1949 now in possession of
Mrs* Draper, may be given to University of Virginia.
Ebersole, John F.
Papers given to Baker Library at Harvard University except for small
collection of Federal Reserve material still in possession of his widow, who will
let Committee survey them.,
Eccles, Marriner
Twenty-six volumes of papers, bound and indexed, are deposited in
Mro Ecclesf office in Salt Lake City* On suggestion by this Committee, they have
been promised to the Library of Congress after Mr* Eccles1 death.
Forgan, James B»
Papers are filed and held in storage room of the First National Bank
of Chicago* Committee may consult them.
Fraser, Leon
Small collection of papers given this Committee and now in files.
Rest may be in B.IoSo
Gilbert, So Parker
Pertinent papers incorporated in those of the Bank •far International
Settlements* Widow reports all private papers were destroyed after his deaths
Glass, Carter
Papers in the Alderman Library, University of Virginia occupy 138 linear feet, and include 7 volumes of letter press as well as well as 6l4 boxes.
Committee has selective inventory of Federal Reserve material.
Goldenweiser., Emmanuel A,
Papers occupy 21 linear feet of shelf space, are being moved under
Committee urging and assistance to Library of Congress. Committee may consult *
Hamlin, Charles
Diaries and indexes deposited in the Library of Congress now open for
students use. Committee has listing, and borrowed copy of exerpts typed for the
Board of Governors.
Harding, Warren Go
Papers supposed to "be in the possession of the Harding Memorial
Association at Marion, Ohio« Further information sought "but not available.
Hardy. Charles 0«
Papers in hands of his daughter Margaret (Mrs. Potter) in Washington.
Committee has permission to inspect* Still in negotiationo
Harri s on, Ge orge L*
7 l/2 file drawers now in the charge of his secretary, Miss McCarrick,
at the Hew York Life Insurance Company, 51 Madison Avenue. Permission to consult has "been granted this Committee.
Hepburn, A o Barton
Papers in library of Columbia University.
Hitchcock, Senator Gilbert M>
Papers are in Library of Congress. Committee may consult.
Hollander, Jacob
Papers are at Johns Hopkins University. Amount of Federal Reserve material still to be ascertained a
Hoover, Herbert
Papers in the Hoover Library at Stanford University.
archivist is appointed and trained.
Closed until new
Hopkins, Harry
Papers are in the Roosevelt Library at Hyde Park, N. Y.
House, Colonel Edward M.
Papers are in the Library of Congress. Committee may consult.
Houston, David
Fragmentary collection deposited in the Houghton Library at Harvard
Universityo Treasury material in National Archives at Washington.
Hughes, Charles Evans
Papers are in the Library of Congress«
of listing.
Committee will receive copy
Kemmerer, Dro Edwin
Papers are with the Benjamin Strong collection in the library at
Princeton University«
Kent, Fred I,
Papers have, at Committee urging; been saved from destruction and
moved to library at Princeton University.
Lamont, Thomas Wilson
decided.
Papers still in files of J, P, Morgan and Company. Disposition not
Son will let us know.
Lane, Franklin K.
Papers are in the library of the University of California.
Lansing, Robert
Papers are in the Library of Congress„
Committee may consult.
Laugh1in, James Lawrence
Papers 1910 to 1932 and 1912 to 1914 are in the Library of Congress.
Leffingwell, Russell C.
Collection of printed papers in bound volume given to Committee. Also
said to be 25 volumes letter press copies of correspondence stored in his basement.
Lichtenstein, Walter
Papers covering years as Secretary of Federal Reserve Advisory
Committee have been given to Baker Library at Harvard University. Part of 'JO
cases of material given Harvard.
Martin, William McC», Sr,
Papers are in the possession of his son Malcolm in St. LouisCommittee has been promised listing.
Mellon, Andrew
Official papers of Treasury service now in national Archives. Others
stored in Pittsburgh and Washington.
Meyer, Eugene
Papers still in his possession include 7 or 8 volumes of diaries.
Collection now in use by biographer, final disposition not determined. Also
being interviewed by Columbia Oral History Project.
Miller, Adolph Co
Papers found in Mr. Miller?s house were deposited in the Federal
Reserve Board, listed by them, and a copy provided for the use of this Committee.
Mills, Ogden
Papers in 25 "boxes have, at Committee suggestion, been moved from the
family garage to the Library of Congress which is still processing them.
Committee will get listing when prepared*
Mitchell, Charles E*
Secretary has storage closet full of papers which Bhe will inspect
for relevant material. Still in negotiation„
Mitchell, Wesley C»
Papers in Columbia University library listed as Wesley C. Mitchell
Collectiono Includes diary over 43 years.
Morgan, J, P«
Son Junius says papers are mostly in the Morgan and Company files.
Father not given to memoranda or much correspondence,, This might yield to further work as needed •
Morgenthau, Henry Jr*
Papers, including the famous diaries and telephone records, at
Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, except those said to be in use by a scholar at
Morgenthau, Henry Sro
30 volumes diaries and notes 1871-1919* 2 3 volumes diaries and notes
I92O-I94O in the Idbrary of Congress• Listing available.
Morrill, Chester
Memoirs recorded by Oral History Research Office at Columbia University
include substantial section regarding his years at Federal Reserve Board. Will
not be open for use until 5 years after his death*
Morrow, Pwight
Papers presented to Amherst College library by his widow and available there to students* Committee has listing.
tfewlands, Senator Francis J.
Papers are in the Library of Congress. Committee may consult.
Morris, George
Papers are in the Library of Congress. Committee has copy of listing.
Overman, Senator Lee S.
Papers are in the library at the University of North Carolina.
Owen, Robert Latham
Papers 1920-^1941 in the Library of Congress contain some Federal
Reserve material but not as much as expected„
Platt, Edmund
Committee' has a small collection of papers sent us by Mrs* Platt.
Others are in the files of the Federal Reserve Board.
Poindezter, Senator Miles
Papers are deposited in the Alderman Library at the University of
Virginia, Charlottesville*
Reynolds, Jackson
Memoirs recorded and transcribed by Columbia University Oral History
Research Office. Open for use.
Roosevelt, Franklin D«
Papers arranged and indexed for students in the Roosevelt Library at
Hyde Park.,
Simraons, Senator Ftzrnifold
Papers are deposited in the library at Duke University, Durham, North
Carolina.
Snyder, Carl
1 l/2 linear feet of correspondence between Snyder and Benjamin Strong
bo*ed and kept with Strong papers in New York Federal Reserve Bank*
Sprague, Oliver M» W.
A few papers, including letters from Banjamin Strong, are in the possession of Mrs Spraguefs BOn* The Committee has had photostats made of important speeches not otherwise available.
Stettinius, Edward
Papers in the University of Virginia library at Charlottesville.
Strauss, Albert
Few papers survived. The Committee has a small set of speeches presented by a daughter*
Strong^ Benjamin
Papers occupy two file cabinets in the Federal Reserve Bank of New
York. Others in possession of son, Benjamin Strong. Now in use by Dr. Lester
Chandler for biography commissioned by this Committee.
8
Thomas, Senator Elbert D»
Papers are deposited in the Roosevelt Library at Hyde Park, N. Y.
Traylor, Melvin
Papers are filed and held in storage rooms of the First Hational Bank
of Chicago* Committee may consult*
Underwood, Oscar E.
Papers are apparently in the State Archives at Montgomery, Alabama.
Untermeyer, Samuel
Papers still in possession of his estate. Committee has been given
bound collection of speeches^ 1^10-1922.
Yanderlip, Frank Arthur
Estimated 132 linear feet of papers in family garage at Scarborough
useful for Aldrich Plan and early Federal Reserve comment. Negotiations under
way to get collection to Columbia University library which wants it.
Walsh, Senator Thomas J.
Papers are deposited in the Library of Congress* Committee may consult them.
Warburg, James Paul
(Son of Paul M» Warburg). Papers now at home in Greenwich include
6 volume diary for 1933-1934 covering banking holiday and London Economic
Conference. Committee has permission to consult*
Warburg, Paul M*
Papers now in possession of his son James at Greenwich, Connecticut
include a skeleton diary of 1907-1914, and October 4-24, 1915. The Committee
has permission to consult. Committee has important early memorandum on
acceptances.
Warren, Robert B»
Papers including some 200 essays and memoranda, mostly unpublished,
together with correspondence, are being edited for publication "by Dr. F. Cyril
James. Final deposit not decided. Committee has list.
Wetmore, Frank
Papers are filed and held in storage rooms of the First National Bank
of Chicago* Committee may consult.
Wiggin, Albert H.
25 page memoir in Chase National Bank library. Daughter, Mrs. Sherburne
Prescott, has others. Inquiry still under way.
Williams, John Skelton
Papers include diaries, as well as some speeches and correspondence.
Still in possession of Mr. Williams8 family, but promised to a responsible
library where students could consult them.
Willis, Henry Parker
Papers in family home in Staten Island, bequeathed to son Parker Willis
in Federal Reserve Bank of Boston,, Columbia University library may ask for collection* Still in negotiationo
Wilson, Woodrow
Papers in Library of Congress* Committee has permission to consult.
Wolfe, 0. Howard
Papers include correspondence and speeches on Gold Settlement Fund recently brought from Philadelphia to his home in Milford, Pennsylvania. Still in
negotiation•
Wyatt, Walter
Papers still in his hands include daily memos of events during banking
holiday. Still in negotiation*
Young, Owen D«
128 linear feet of papers, sorted and- in manuscript boxes, deposited
in vault room at Van Hornesville, New York. Committee has permission to study*
Young, Roy
Papers are still in possession of Mr* Young, who says he has promised
them to a newspaper friend for the writing of a biography. Still in negotiation.
@FedFRASER