The artifact transcribed for the previous post came from the tenth year report for the Harvard Class of 1903 written by University of Chicago associate professor of economics James A. Field. This post begins with an excerpt from Field’s Chicago Tribune obituary to complete our picture of his career.
What makes this post noteworthy for Economics in the Rear-view Mirror is the following information transcribed from Field’s graduate student records kept at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and within the division of History and Political Science during his first two graduate years in residence at Harvard.
Also of particular interest is the copy of a 1911 letter included in his file informing the chairman of the economics department, Professor Frank Taussig, that the submission of a single excellent paper would not satisfy the thesis requirement for the Ph.D. By this time James A. Field was well-established at the University of Chicago and appears to have subsequently abandoned his plans to complete a Harvard Ph.D. degree.
_________________________________
From James A. Field’s obituary in the Chicago Sunday Tribune
(July 17, 1927)
James Alfred Field, professor of economics at the University of Chicago, died on Friday [cf. The Associated Press reported that he died Saturday] in Boston from a tumor of the brain. He was returning from study at the British museum when he was stricken in Boston and died after a short illness. He was 47 years old and a native of Milton, Mass…In 1910 he came to the University of Chicago and in 1923 was made dean of the college of art and literature.
He was associate editor of the Journal of Political Economy and was special investigator of the division of statistics of the council of national defense in 1917. In 1918-19 he served as chief statistician of the American shipping mission of the allied maritime transport council in London. Prof. Field was the author of “Progress of Eugenics” and co-author of “Outlines of Economics…”
Source: Chicago Sunday Tribune, 17 July, 1927, p. 12.
_________________________________
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DIVISION OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
Application for Candidacy for the Degree of Ph.D.
[Note: Boldface used to indicate printed text of the application; italics used to indicate the handwritten entries]
I. Name (in full, and date of birth).
James Alfred Field
May 26th 1880
II. Academic career. (Mention, with dates inclusive, colleges or other higher institutions of learning attended and teaching positions held.)
Harvard College 1899-1903
Assistant in Economics 1903-1904
Austin Teaching Fellow in Economics 1904-1905
III. Degrees already attained. (Mention institutions and dates.)
A.B. Harvard 1903
IV. Academic distinctions. (Mention prizes, honors, fellowships, scholarships, etc.)
A.B. summa cum laude; honorable mention in Economics; Jacob Wendell Scholarship; John Harvard Scholarship (twice)
V. Department of study. (Do you propose to offer yourself for the Ph.D., in “History,” in “Economics,” or in “Political Science”?
Economics
VI. Choice of Subjects for the General Examination. (Write out each subject, and at the end put in [brackets] the number of that subject in the Division lists. Indicate any digressions from the normal choices, and any combinations of partial subjects. State briefly what your means of preparation have been on each subject, as by Harvard courses, courses taken elsewhere, private reading, teaching the subject, etc., etc.)
-
- Economic Theory and its History [1]. Based on Econ. 1, taken and for two years taught. Econ. 3, Econ. 15.
- Economic History [2 and 3 merged] Based on Econ. 6 and 11 and parts of History 9.
- Sociology [4] Based on Econ. 3 taken and taught; Anthropology 1, and on private reading.
- Labor Problems and Industrial Organization [9]. Based on Econ 9a and 9b.
- The Sociological Aspect of the Evolution Theory [4 and 16, modified]. Based chiefly on private reading; and on parts of Philosophy 1b, of the courses mentioned under (3), and of other courses and work in biological subjects.
- International Law [14, adapted] Based on Gov. 4.
VII. Special Subject for the special examination.
[Left blank]
VIII. Thesis Subject. (State the subject and mention the instructor who knows most about your work upon it.)
[Left blank]
IX. Examinations. (Indicate any preferences as to the time of either of the general or special examinations.)
General examination as late in the present academic year as is practicable.
X. Remarks.
[Left blank]
* * * * * * * * * * * *
[Not to be filled out by the applicant]
Name: James Alfred Field
Date of reception: Feb. 13, 1905
Approved: Feb. 14, 1905
Date of general examination: June 12, 1905. Passed.
Thesis received: [blank]
Read by; [blank]
Approved: [blank]
Date of special examination: [blank]
Recommended for the Doctorate: [blank]
Voted by the Faculty: [blank]
Degree conferred: [blank].
* * * * * * * * * * *
Unsigned copy of letter to F.W. Taussig
(presumably from head of Division)
11 December 1911
Dear Taussig:
I have read Field’s article with interest, and I wish all our Ph.D.’s could do things as well. I should suppose there would be no question that it shows the kind of quality which will justify a doctor’s degree, and, of course, quality is far more important than quantity. Nevertheless, I think that if this article alone were accepted as a thesis our students and former students would feel that Field had been let off easily. Good as it is, I should not suppose this article would stand in line with the substantial volumes which make up the Harvard Economic Studies, and I should be sorry to have anybody feel that we had given Field a special favor.
I hope very much we can make Field one of our Ph.D.’s. Could he not advantageously and with comparatively little effort use this article as part of some more comprehensive study in the field of population? The stimulus of working on a larger book is something Field needs.
Sincerely yours,
[unsigned copy]Professor F.W. Taussig
Source: Harvard University Archives. Division of History, Government & Economics, Box 3 “PhD. Exams, 1917-18 to 1920-21”, Folder “Ph.D. Applications Withdrawn”.
[Memo: The above letter was likely written by CHARLES HOMER HASKINS, Ph.D., Litt.D., Professor of History, Chairman of the Division of History, Government, and Economics, and Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.]
_________________________________
From the Announcement for Ph.D. General Examinations
James Alfred Field.
General Examination in Economics, Monday, June 12, 1905.
Committee: Professors Taussig (chairman), Ripley, Carver, Gay, Castle, and Dr. Munro.
Academic History: Harvard College, 1899-1903; Harvard Graduate School, 1903-05; A.B. (Harvard) 1903.
General Subjects: 1. Economic Theory and its History. 2. Economic History. 3. Sociology. 4. Labor Problems and Industrial Organization. 5. The Sociological Aspect of the Evolution Theory. 6 International Law.
Special Subject: Sociology.
Thesis Subject: (Not yet announced.)
Source: Harvard University Archives. Division of History, Government and Economics, Exams for PhD. (Schedules) 1903-1932. Examinations for 1904-05, p. 8.
_________________________________
FROM THE GRADUATE SCHOOL RECORD CARD
[Note: Boldface used to indicate printed text of the record card; italics used to indicate the handwritten entries]
Record of James Alfred Field
Years: 1903-04, 1904-05
First Registration: 1 Oct. 1903
| 1903-04 | Grades. | |
| First Year. | Course. | Half-Course. |
| History 9 | abs. | |
| Government 4 | A | |
| Economics 2 | A | |
| Economics 11 | incomplete | |
| 1904-05 | Grades. | |
| Second Year. | Course. | Half-Course. |
| Economics 9a1 (extra) | no report | |
| Economics 9b2 (extra) | ||
| Economics 15 (extra) | abs. | |
| Economics 20 (extra) | incomplete | |
Division History and Political Science
Scholarship, Fellowship
Assistantship in Economics [1903-04]
Austin Teaching Fellowship in Economics [1904-05]
Proctorship in Apley 1 [1903-04, 1904-05]
College attended [Harvard]
Honors at College: Hon. Mention, Economics.
Degrees received: A.B. summa cum laude 1903
Non-Resident Student Years: 1905 John Harvard Fellow
Source: Harvard University Archives. GSAS, Record Cards of Students, 1895-1930. File I, Box 5 “Eames-Garrett”.
_________________________________
Economics in the Rear-view Mirror Note:
Course numbers, names, and instructors
1903-04
History 9. Constitutional History of England to the Sixteenth Century. Professor Gross.
Government 4. Elements of International Law. Professor Macvane and Mr. Jones.
Economics 2. Economic Theory. Professors Taussig and Carver.
Economics 11. The Modern Economic History of Europe. Asst. Prof. Gay.
Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1903-04.
1904-05
Economics 3. Principles of Sociology, Theories of Social Progress. Professor Carver and Mr. Field.
Economics 9a1. Problems of Labor. Professor Ripley and Mr. Custis.
Economics 9a2. Economics of Corporations. Professor Ripley and Mr. Custis.
Economics 15. History and Literature of Economics to the year 1848. Asst. Professor Bullock.
Economics 20. The Seminary in Economics.
Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College 1904-05.
Image Source: Original black-and-white image from the Special Diplomatic Passport Application by James Alfred Field (January 1918). Cropped and colorized by Economics in the Rear-view Mirror. (Note: left third of the image is slightly distorted because of a transparent plastic strip used to hold pages in the imaging process)