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Dear N r. P re sid e n ts I know t h a t you have been communing w ith y o u r s e l f th ese days a s to th e enormous o p p o rtu n ity and th e t e r r i f i c r e s p o n s ib ilitie s o f n a t io n a l and w orld le a d e r s h ip t h a t have been l a i d as the outcome o f the r e c e n t e l e c t i o n , on your sh o u ld ers I th in k you know t h a t wwrrhy jrft-ja&t a l l , o f us who are feErataxaffyglassy agency heads in t h i s g r e a t n a t io n a l e sta b lish m e n t are g iv in g our b e s t th o u g h t to the q u e s tio n o f how we can most f u l l y serve you in our r e s p e c tiv e corners^ teirp.i'eH fjh o^ aocoYiipliglMftsivti ofH iih e 1.1!' ^ '.H'puinc,, » I t i s im portant n o t m erely t h a t e v e ry horse in t h i s " b ig horse team” be stro n g and ready to throw h im s e lf in to th e c o l l a r , b u t a ls o t h a t th e r e be a p r o p e r ly c o n str u c te d harness so t h a t h i s p u ll may be e f f e c t i v e l y added to t h a t o f o th e r s in moving th e lo a d forward* T h is d e s ir a b le c o n d itio n does n o t e x i s t in so f a r as the C o u n c il o f Economic A d v is e r s i s concern ed, am I f e e l t h a t c e r t a in is s u e s i ^ ^ I!' £yV'*- & fa ce d and a p p r o p r ia te ad ju stm ents made w ith reaso n ab le prom ptness, P* ' , rhaaA n o i f a e l - tfr^^- 6 o geri^ lirh ye in -fchat are^ involved. y- Hv. •j«yvAVi TZT? L' , v J l. ^ u rin g t h i s f i r s t two y e a r s and a h a l f , I have lab o red hard t o l a y a s o l id fou n d ation f o r t h i s agency a s a permanent f e a tu r e o f th e E x e c u tiv e O f f i c e , to e s t a b l i s h e f f e c t i v e r e la t i o n s in s id e and o u ts id e o f Government, and to g e t s tu d ie s under way on fundam ental problems uc unj br the d e c la r a tio n o f p o l ic y o f th e -Employment ACT o f 194-6. I th in k k UJ * - 2 - t h a t upon t h i s fou n d ation we s h a ll be a b le i n c r e a s in g ly t o b r ir g th e / ' -— *( 4 product o f th e b e s t th in k in g o f p r o fe s s io n a l econom ists exp erien ced b u sin e ss and la b o r le a d e r s to your d e sk , where f i n a l p o l i c y and a c t u a l d e c is io n s must be made. A l l t h i s p r e p a r a tio n , however, i s r e l a t i v e l y u s e le s s u n le s s we have th e o p p o rtu n ity to be heard b e fo r e commitments are a c t u a l l y made. I have ta lk e d some o f th e se m a tte r s over w ith Mr. Steelman in the p a s t and he has shown a l i v e l y u n d erstan d in g o f th e d i f f i c u l t i e s and p o s s i b i l i t i e s , and I th in k he w i.ll g iv e w ise co u n sel a s t o how th e y w ill s x e e v e n t u a lly have t o be m et. I s h a l l hope to t a l k to him a t some le n g th and to you y o u r s e l f in so f a r a s your crowded sch ed ule p e rm its, / A Your d e c is io n as t o th e r o le you vdsh the C o u n c il to p la y in fu tu r e and th e way in which i t can most h e l p f u l l y serve you t e r r e la t e d w ith the q u e s tio n o f i t s chairm an ship. in I have in d ic a te d c l e a r l y in the p a s t t h a t I am s u ite d to my p r e se n t p o s itio n o n ly i f i t i s in ten d ed to make th e C o u n c il a s t r i c t l y p r o f e s s io n a l agency and to g iv e i t e ffe c tiv e it a r e a lly p o s itio n a s a channel fo r "econom ics in the p u b lic s e r v i c e . n i s i i n any way to be a s sig n e d a p o l i t i c a l r o le o r to b e allo w ed to s t r a y o v e r in to p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t e s or l a y i t s e l f open to p o l i t i c a l i n f lu e n c e s , you would want an e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t kin d o f chairman, and I would vrant to be r e lie v e d o f th e p o s itio n a t once. I hope t h a t you are h a vin g a w onderful r e s t and b u ild in g up a b ig s t o c k p i l e o f s tr e n g th fo r the t*£a>ls ahead. S in c e r e ly y o u r s , If *u*njc P = r 'S / z 1 - U v November 1 2 , 19-48 ------------- / Bear Mp. President: I knov that you have been communing with yourself these days as to the enormous opportunity and the terrific responsibilities of national and world leadership that have been laid on your shoulders as the outcome of the recent election. I think you know that all of us who are agency heads in this great national establishment are giving our best thought to the question of how we can most fully serve you in our respective corners. It is important not merely that every horse in this "big horse team" be strong and ready to throw itself into the collar, but also that there be a properly constructed harness so that his pull may be effectively added to that of others in moving the load forward. As chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, I am especially part desirous tha this agency play its rgj-g toward the accomplisjfiment of this desirable condition. I have labored hard in the oast two and a half f) *t years to lay a solid foundation for tais-o sX•>h l W ihwri t as a permanent feature of the Executive Office, to establish effective relations ^ ** h i inside and outside of Government, and to get fxidi wnti1! studies under >*>g,oi« tt*t »m way on problems - ^ r- r ~in^™ the declaration of policy of the Employment Act of 194-6. Upon this fouii. ation it should be increasingly possible to bring the product of the best thinking of Y\-s( of professional economists^ experienced business and labor leaders to your desk. All this preparation, however, will be rleatively useless unless the Council has grew I* i opportunity in Swb*re to be heard before final &VC policies and faced A *Y ft •fot * </JJh decisions are made. A Certain issues will have to be and appropriate adjustments made with reasonable promptness. r- Your decision as to the role you vish the Council to pay in future and the way in which, it can most helpfully serve you will Tbe interrelated with the question of its chairmanship. T have indicated clearly in the past that I am suited to my present .osition only if it is intended to make the Council a strictly professional agency and to give it a really effective position as a channel for "economics in the public service.” If it is in any way to be assigned a political role or to be allowed to stray over into fcx political activities or lay itself open to olitical influences, you would want an entirely different kind of chaima&n, and I would want to because I feel that it would be impossibe relieved of tae position at ^ ^ j ^ b e l to accomplish results proportionate to the labor and strain involved. I have talked some of these matters over with Dr. Steelman in thg oast and he has shown a lively understanding of the difficul ties and possibilities. He. would give you wise counsel as to how they will eventually have to be met. I shall hope to talk to him at some length and to you yourself in so far as your crowded schedule permits. I hope you are having a wonderful rest and building up a big stockpile of strength for the trials ahead, Ox._' EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS W A S H IN G T O N 2 5 , D . C . E D W IN G . N O U R S E , CHAIRMAN LEO N H . K E Y S E R L IN G . VICE CHAIRMAN JO H N D . C L A R K December 14. 1948 Dear Mr. Presidents I have reason to believe that you have been told that for some weeks or months prior to November 2, I devoted a major part of my time and effort to *saving my skin" in the event that there were a change in Administration. This is absolutely untrue. I have been deeply concerned that the Council of Economic Advisers should become established on a :Mghy professional plane, with its members not subject to the vicissitudes of politics but retained or replaced solely on the grounds of their qualifications as objective economists. In the nature of the case, various people interested in the work of the Council asked me what would be my attitude in the event of a change of Adminis tration. I always replied that I hoped replacements would be made solely with a view to strengthening the ability of the Council to serve the President as contemplated in the Employment Act, and that there should not be a merely poli tical housecleaning. I said that if there were a new President, and he wished me to remain for a time in order to give a new chairman or members the benefit of our initial two and a half years experience, or because he thought my compe tence and standing were as good as those of other persons who might be available, I should be glsd to remain and serve to the best of my ability for a reasonable time. In view of isy age and the hard work and tensions involved in the job, it was— and still is— my hope that I can be relieved at a not too distant date. On only two occasions, to the best of my recollection, did I myself make any move to make my views known to persons who might be consulted as to how the Council of Economic Advisers should be dealt with in the event of a change of Admini stration. In view of this and other considerations, I think it appropriate at this time to hknd you my formal resignation. Of course, I am not backing away from any duties or responsibilities in connection with your forthcoming Economic Report or the coordination of anti-inflation policy among the several agency heads in the Executive Branch. However, I hope you will regard this resignation as being on your desk any morning after these immediate responsibilities have been fulfilled to the best of my ability and that you will pick it up and inform me of your ac ceptance on the first day when you feel that the service of this agency to you would be bettered by such a change in personnel. Sincerely yours, The President Digitized forThe FRASER White House [Attach to No. 3f>] August 23, 1950 The paragraph **Post Elections** on page U of my memorandum of November 27* 19U8 was incomplete in that it did not indicate that I realized at once that the outcome of the November election meant that "the jig was up*’so far as there being any possibility of my achieving in the Council such results as would make it profitable or even possible for me to remain as chairman, I attach the preliminary and revised draft of a letter to the President which I prepared almost immediately a fter the election. I, however, dropped the matter at that point and nothing was sent to him or said to him on the subject at that time. While I was still ponder^what course I should take, Budget Director Webb incidentally in a conversation about the Cabinet Coordinating Committee on anti-inflation policy (which he said grew out of a suggestion made by him) mentioned that the President was being told diligently by certain parties that I had been flirting with influential Republicans in the hope of being continued as Chairman or at least member of the Council of Economic Advisers if Mr. Dewey had been elected. This information caused me definitely to abandon the November 12 draft of my proposed letter to the President and to substitute a letter of resignation linked to this rumor and my concept of the Council as a non-partisan agency. This resignation was dated December lit (copy follows).
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