The head of the Columbia University economics department, Edwin R. A. Seligman, invested considerable effort in recruiting James Waterhouse Angell in 1924. The items below come from central administration files. There are also several letters back-and-forth between Seligman and Angell in Seligman’s papers (saved for a later posting). Clearly Angell was a red-hot prospect with “a very charming little woman” spouse.
____________________
Columbia University
in the city of New York
Faculty of Political Science
March 20, 1924.
Dean F. J. E. Woodbridge,
University Hall.
My dear Dean Woodbridge:
Following up the recommendations in my budget letter for the new Professorship in the Department of Economics, I beg to state that after much investigation and consideration the Department of Economics has come to the unanimous conclusion to recommend Dr. James Waterhouse Angell Jr. [sic, “ Jr.” is incorrect], of Harvard University, the son of President Angell of Yale University and the grandson of President Angell of the University of Michigan. Dr. Angell is a younger man, but in our opinion an abler man, than any of the others that we have considered. He is at present instructor in Harvard University, and has been offered a promotion there for next year and he has also been offered a full Professorship at the University of Michigan. On account of his comparative youth, however, we preferred to offer him, in a tentative way, only a Lectureship, at a salary of three thousand dollars, although with the distinct understanding that if he made good, he would be recommended for promotion, first in salary, and then in rank. Dr. Angell will make a distinct sacrifice—and as compared with the Michigan offer a very considerable sacrifice—in accepting our offer; but he would be very glad to accept such an offer from us because of the opportunities for research and advanced work.
Dr. Angell has had an interesting career. He has an A. B. from Harvard in 1918 and has since then received the degree of both A.M. and Ph.D. He was also Kirkland Fellow at Harvard and the incumbent of the Sheldon Traveling Fellowship at Harvard. He was assistant at the University of Chicago, 1918-1920, tutor in the Division of History, Government, and Economics at Harvard, 1921-22, and is at present instructor in Economics. Professors Young and Ripley agree in saying that Dr. Angell is the ablest student in Economics that they have ever had, and Professor Taussig and his other colleagues have an equally high opinion of him. Dr. Angell has written several articles of a very high order of merit in the Journal of Political Economy [“The Illinois Blue Sky Law”] and the Quarterly Journal of Economics [“International Trade under Inconvertible Paper”], and his Doctor’s thesis is entitled “The Theory of International Prices and its History”.
If Dr. Angell comes to us he proposes to devote his energies to the general subjects of International Trade and International Investments, which are precisely the topics mentioned in my budget letter as constituting the most serious gap now existing in the University. It is the judgment of the Department of Economics that there is no one in the country better calculated to do good work in this subject than Dr. Angell and I may add that the recommendation of the Department has already been unanimously approved by the Committee on Instruction of the Faculty of Political Science. Dr. Angell has a very pleasing personality and has recently married, as we are informed, a very charming wife.
I should like to urge favorable action on our recommendation, not only because we shall thus be filling a long-felt gap in the Department, but because, with the impending absence next year of Professor Seager, an additional instructor in the Department of Economics becomes imperatively necessary.
Now that Professor Chaddock is to go over to the Department of Sociology, — a transfer that is being made with the full assent of the Department of Economics, it will become absolutely impossible for Professor Mitchell, Professor Simkhovitch, and myself to attend next year to the administrative work of the Department and the needs of our graduate students. At no time in the past few decades have we felt the pressure of work as we are feeling it now and unless this addition is made to our forces, either our scientific work or the carrying on of our academic duties will be seriously jeopardized.
I venture, therefore, to hope that the recommendation of the Department will be approved. If the approval can take place speedily there will yet be time to insert the announcement of the new courses in the forthcoming bulletin, which will be of considerable advantage in attracting students who are interested in that particular field of international economic relations.
Respectfully,
[signed]
Edwin R. A. Seligman
__________________________
Columbia University
in the City of New York
Faculty of Political Science
April 16, 1924
President Nicholas Murray Butler,
Columbia University.
My dear Mr. President:
I have received word from Dean Woodbridge of the approval of the Angell proposition by the committee on education and the committee of finance of the Trustees. I want to thank you personally for your kindness in this entire matter and I want to express the confident expectation that young Angell will make good. His wife is a very charming little woman and took tea with us the other day.
With kind regards,
Faithfully yours,
[signed]
Edwin R. A. Seligman
__________________________
May 14, 1924
Professor E.R.A. Seligman
Department of Economics
Dear Professor Seligman:
I beg to advise you that at the meeting of the trustees held on May 5, the Budget for the Department of Economics for the next academic year was amended by inserting provision for a Lecturer in Economics at $3,000, and that Dr. James Waterhouse Angell, Jr. [sic, “ Jr.” is incorrect] was appointed to this post for the academic year 1924-25.
Very truly yours,
Frank D. Fackenthal
Source: Columbia University Archives. Central Files. Box 338; Folder 16, “Seligman, Edwin Robert Anderson”
Image Source: College Photo of James Waterhouse Angell in Harvard Class of 1918, Twenty-fifth Anniversary Report. Cambridge: 1943.