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THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON

CONFIDENTIAL

October 28, 1935

MEMORANDUM FOR
GOVERNOR EOOLES

Here is another one for
you to ohe ok up




F, Dc R.

CARTER GLASS, VA., CHAIRMAN
KENNETH MC KELLAR, TENN. FREDERICK HALE, MAINE
HENRY W. KEYES, N. H.
ROYAL S. COPELAND, N. Y.
GERALD P. NYE, N. DAK.
CARL HAYDEN, ARIZ.
FREDERICK STEIWER, OREG.
ELMER THOMASOKU.
PETER NORBECK, S. DAK.
JAMES F. BYRNlb, S. C.
U. J. DICKINSON, IOWA
MILLARD E. TYD1NGS, MD.
RICHARD B. RUSSELL, JR., GA. JOHN G. TOWNSEND, JR., DEL.
MARCUS A. COOLIDGE, MASS. ROBERT D, CAREY, WYO.
ALVA B. ADAMS, COLO.
PATRICK MC CARRAN, NEV.

JS>cnctie
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

JOHN H . OVERTON, LA.

JOHN H, BANKHEAD, ALA.
JOSEPH C. O'MAHONCY, WYO.
WILLIAM GIBBS MCADOO, CALIF.
HARRY S. TRUMAN, MO.
KENNEDY F. REA, CLERK
JOHN W. R. SMITH, ASST. CLERK

October 21, 1935.

(Strictly Personal)•

Dear Mr. President:
Complying with your request to look up Henry E.
Heimann, suggested by Secretary Roper as a suitable person
for membership on the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, I have made the investigation with some
care and am sending you a memorandum concerning Mr.
Heimann. In fact, I find that I have personally known him
for some time, but failed to identify him in the casual
conversation we had on the subject of membership of the
board. I t is my very definite conviction that Mr. Heimann
would prove a most useful and desirable member.
Cordially yours,

The Honorable Franklin D. Roosevelt,
The White House,
Washington, D.C.




Mr* Henry H. Heimenn was born in Missouri in 1891. His
father, now dead, was of Geiman descent, and his mother who is s t i l l
living i s an Imerican of I r i s h descent. There i s no Jewish blood in
Mr. Heimann's veins.
For tic years he attended St. Mary's College at St.
Mary's, Kansas, where he took the l i b e r a l a r t s course. He then transferred to the University of St. Louis where, after two years, he graduated, having completed the course in business administration, accounting and economics. He then attended the law school of St. Louis
University, securing his degree in law, after which he was admitted to
the Missouri Bar. He i s a member of the imerican Bar Association.
In 1916 he went to Niles, Michigan, to do some auditing
work for the Kawneer Company, manufacturers of store equipment. At
first his work was entirely on auditing and accounting, but subsequently he took charge of cost work and then credit work, u n t i l he
finally was made vice president of the Kawneer Company in charge of
sales and finances. As he worked in the credit end of that business
he became active in the work of the local and National Association
of Credit Men. In due course he became a director of the National
Association of Credit Men and subsequently, in 1931, was elected
president of this national association. Two months after his election as president, he resigned the presidency of the association
and the vice presidency of the Kawneer Company in order to become
secretary, treasurer and executive manager of the National Association of Credit Men on a full time basis. He has continued in that
capacity ever since.
During N.R.A. he served as a member of the Industrial
Advisory Board of N.R.A. Later he became (and remains) a member of
the Business Planning and Advisory Council of the Department of Commerce. For some time he served as secretary to the council. In
January 1934 he was appointed director of the Shipping Board of the
Department of Commerce, in which capacity he served for four months
while on leave of absence from the credit association.
Mr. Hermann is a Democrat and, while he has never
served in an elective public office, he is not inexperienced in polit i c s . He is extremely well grounded in business and economic
subjects and i s a profound student of business and economics. He is
a prolific writer on these subjects and, to some extent, a speaker.
He is held in highest regard by credit and business men throughout
the country, and has been sound in the doctrines he has enunciated.
He is pleasant socially, and an extremely good mixer.
Mr. Heimann is married and has one daughter. He maintains his residence in Niles, Michigan. As a matter of fact, Mr.
Heimann's duties keep him in New York most of the time, but he is
a registered voter in Michigan, which might be an important factor
in any consideration of his name. It would appear to be a safe
statement that business in general would react extremely favorably
to the appointment of a man like Mr. Heimann.