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Amherst Chicago Economists

Chicago. Economics Ph.D. alumnus, George Rogers Taylor. 1929

The economics Ph.D. alumnus featured in today’s post was awarded his doctorate in 1929 by the University of Chicago. George Rogers Taylor had a long and distinguished career at Amherst College as a leading U.S. economic historian. He was the author of  the history of economics at Amherst College from 1832 to 1932 transcribed for the previous post.

Taylor was an early pioneer in the interdisciplinary field of American Studies.

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George Rogers Taylor
Life and Career

1895. Born June 15 in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.

1914. Graduates from Wayland Academy at Beaver Dam.

Fun Fact: The school was named after Francis Wayland (1796-1865), Baptist minister, economist, and president of Brown University.

1916. Graduates from Oshkosh Normal School. “He earned his way through college by waiting on tables, mowing lawns and tending furnaces. He credits the late Prof. F. R. Clow for his life-long interest in economics, Prof. M. H. Small for getting him a job as a steward in a boarding club where he received his meals and Prof. J. O. Frank, whose furnace he tended.” Source: The Oshkosh Northwestern, May 10, 1971, p. 3.

1916-17. Principal of an Blair School with ca. five teachers at Waukesha, Wisconsin. He taught seventh grade and half of the sixth grade.

The original school was established in 1847, rebuilt at new locations in 1889 and 1966 and finally closed in June 2019. Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (June 4, 2019).

1917-19. Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, aviation operations. Assigned to wireless telephony.

1919. Summer. Worked at the post office at Beaver Dam.

1919-20. Taught eighth grade for one year at Wayland Academy.

1921. Ph.B., University of Chicago. Attended two summer school sessions plus an academic year to complete degree requirements in one year. College credit was given for some of his Navy service.

Taylor had received a four year scholarship which covered his tuition for his Chicago training. There was a long-time close connection between the Wayland Academy and Chicago. The main prize at Wayland Academy’s commencement was a four year scholarship to Chicago.

1921-22. Taught at University of Iowa. Taylor was asked by Frank Knight to go there as an instructor for a year.

Taught public speaking for part of spring term at a Hammond, Indiana high school at some point during graduate school.

1923. Taught economics at Earlham College for a semester.

1924. August 23 marries Mary Leanah Henderson in Mooresville, Indiana. He met her when she was a senior at Earlham College.

1923-24. Instructor, University of Chicago.

1924. Joins the faculty of Amherst College at the rank of instructor, coming along with Professor Paul Douglas.

1927. Promotion to assistant professor, Amherst College.

1929. Ph.D. University of Chicago.

1929. Promotion to associate professor, Amherst College.

1929-30. First semester visiting professorship at Mount Holyoke.

1930. Visiting professor at Smith College.

1930-31. Research for the International Committee on Price History.

1930. “Prices in the Mississippi Valley Preceding the War of 1812,” Journal of Economic and Business History, Vol. III, pp. 148-163.

1931. “Agrarian discontent in the Mississippi valley preceding the war of 1812,” (subject of the doctoral dissertation) Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 39, No. 4 (August 1931), pp. 471-505.

1932. “Wholesale Commodity Prices at Charleston, S.C.,” Journal of Economic and Business History, (two parts). Vol. IV (February and August).

1932. Arrived August 3 at the port of New York aboard the S.S. Europa that sailed from Southampton.

1934-35. Second semester. Visiting professor of economics at Mount Holyoke.

1937. (with Louis Morton Hacker and Rudolf Modley). The United States: A Graphic History. New York: Modern Age Books, Inc.

1938. Senior agricultural economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

1939. (with Edward Albertus and Lawrence Z. Waugh). Internal Barriers to Trade in Farm Products. Department of Commerce. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

1939. M.A. (hon.) Amherst College.

1939. Promotion to professor of economics, Amherst College.

1940. Spring semester. Visiting professor, Mount Holyoke College.

1940. “State Laws which Limit Competition in Agricultural Products,” Journal of Farm Economics Vol. 22, No. 1 (February).

1941-46. Office of Price Administration and War Production Board.

1943. Adviser on price and control and rationing to the Republic of Paraguay.

1948-68. General editor of the Amherst College’s American studies program book series “Problems in American Civilization” (D.C. Heath Co.). This was a part of Amherst’s “New Curriculum” introduced in 1947. Amherst was a pioneer of the field of American Studies.

1949. Jackson versus Biddle; the struggle over the second Bank of the United States. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company.

1950. Hamilton and the National Debt. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company.

1951. The Transportation Revolution, 1815-1860. Vol. IV of The Economic History of the United States.Rinehart and Co.

1952. Visiting Professor, Columbia University.

1953. The Great Tariff Debate, 1820 to 1830. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company.

1955-60. Editor of Journal of Economic History.

1956. The Turner Thesis concerning the Role of the frontier in American History. Rev. ed. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company.

1956. (with co-author Irene Neu). The American railroad network, 1861-1890. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

1956-58. President of the American Studies Association.

1959-62. Chairman of the Council on Research in Economic History.

1959. (with Ethel Hoover) Statement at Hearings before the Joint Economic Committee: Employment, Growth and Price Levels, 86th Congress, 1st Session, April 9, 1959.

1960. “Railroad Investment before the Civil War: Comment,” Trends in the American Economy in the Nineteenth Century, National Bureau of Economic Research, Studies in Income and Wealth, Vol. XXIV.

1961. Summer. Visiting professor at the University of Hawaii.

1962-64. President of the Economic History Association.

1963. The War of 1812: Past Justifications and Present Interpretations. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company.

1963. Visiting Professor, Tokyo University.

1964. Presidential address before the Economic History Association annual meeting “American Economic Growth before 1840: An Exploratory Essay,” Journal of Economic History, Vol. XXIV (December, 1964), 427-444.

1965. Retires from Amherst College.

1964. March 12. Public lecture at the University of Delaware published in “The National Economy Before and After the Civil War,” in David T. Gilchrist and David Lewis eds., Economic Change in the Civil War Era (Greenville, Delaware, 1965).

1966. “The Beginnings of Mass Transportation in Urban America, Part I,” The Smithsonian Journal of History. Part I (Summer); Part II (Autumn).

1965-70. Senior resident scholar at the Eleutherian Mills Historical Library (Wilmington, Delaware). Taught graduate seminars in economic history at the University of Delaware.

1967. “American Urban Growth Preceding the Railway Age,”Journal of Economic History, Vol. XXVII (September).

1969. Introduction to the reprint of Introduction and Early Development of the American Cotton Textile Industry to 1860 (1863) by Samuel Batchelder. New York: Harper & Row.

1969. American Economic History before 1860 (Goldentree Bibliographies in American History, ed. Arthur S. Link) compiled by George Rogers Taylor. New York: Appleton Century Croft.

1983. Died April 11 in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Sources:

Obituary, Daily Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, Massachusetts), April 12, 1983, p. 4.

Scheiber, Harry N., and Stephen Salsbury. “Reflections on George Rogers Taylor’s ‘The Transportation Revolution, 1815-1860’: A Twenty-Five Year Retrospect.” The Business History Review, vol. 51, no. 1, 1977, pp. 79–89.

May 19, 1978 interview of George Rogers Taylor from the Amherst College Archives & Special Collections, Oral History Project.

Hugh G. J. Aitken’s memorial note in The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 626-629.

Image Source: Amherst College, The Olio 1930, p. 45.

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Amherst Economics Programs Undergraduate

Amherst. 100 years of economics, 1832-1932

Even a superficial local history of one department can contain anecdotal nuggets of interest to historians of economics. This one for Amherst College was written by the University of Chicago trained economic historian George Rogers Taylor (Ph.D. 1929) whose Amherst faculty career spanned four decades. He tagged along when Paul Douglas took leave to teach at Amherst.

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One Hundred Years of Economics
[1832-1932]
at Amherst College
by George Rogers Taylor 

                  ALTHOUGH economics is one of the oldest of the so-called social sciences, it may come as a surprise to some to learn that in one form or another this subject has been taught at Amherst probably since the founding of the college. At first no separate courses were given in economics, but it was a recognized part of the more general subject then known as moral philosophy. It will be remembered in this connection that Adam Smith himself was professor of moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow and came to his interest in economics from that more general subject. As early as 1827-28 “political economy” — now known as “economics” — was listed as required for seniors, but it is not known how much work was done or what member of the faculty directed it. Quite possibly Pres. Heman Humphrey, who held the chair of professor of mental and moral philosophy, may have done some regular teaching in economics.

                  One hundred years ago, during the school year 1832-33, political economy became a definitely recognized part of the curriculum, and Hon. Samuel C. Allen [a trustee of the Amherst College Corporation] was appointed to the faculty as lecturer in political economy [First term of Senior Studies “Say’s Political Economy” (p. 14); “ Lectures on Political Economy and Legislation will be delivered by the Hon. Samuel C. Allen” (p. 15)]. It is reported that he volunteered his services for this purpose and received by way of compensation “the thanks of the trustees.” He lectured only during this one year. Though political economy continued to be taught, there probably were no further formal lectures in the subject until 1835. In that year Hon. William B. Calhoun of Springfield [A.M. “Lecturer on Political Economy”, Nov 1836 Catalog (p. 5)], one of the trustees, was appointed lecturer in political economy [Third term, Senior year. Nov 1836 Catalog (p. 16)]. He continued to hold that position until 1849 [sic, 1835-1850 according to Amherst records]. Then, for a little more than a decade, there was no faculty representative definitely in this field; but the course continued as part of the curriculum and, at least in some years, regular lectures were given. Apparently this teaching was allotted to the professor of intellectual and moral philosophy.

                  One other lecturer in political economy was appointed before 1876. Amasa Walker [Note: Father (!) of Francis Amasa Walker] held that position from 1860 to 1869. Like Allen and Calhoun, Walker came to his teaching with the background of one interested in public affairs. In addition to holding state offices, all three men were members of the United States House of Representatives. Both Calhoun and Walker carried on their work at Amherst College while serving in Congress. All of these early teachers of political economy at Amherst were unquestionably able, public spirited, and deeply religious men.

                  The economics taught in these early lectures followed in general the lines laid down by the English classical school. The popular translation of Say’s “Political Economy” was used as a textbook until 1838, when it was replaced by Wayland’s “Political Economy” — an American restatement and simplification of the classical doctrine. But it must not be concluded that these men were dry-as-dust expositors of the “dismal science.” Nor were they among those of the period who have been so often accused of using classical economics primarily as a device for defending the status quo. All were men of liberal tendencies, much interested in the progressive movements of their day. Allen, who started out as a Congregational minister, afterwards becoming a Unitarian, was a Democrat and an ardent champion of free trade. William B. Calhoun is described as one who dealt with social and political problems more in the spirit of a philosopher than a politician. He left former political allegiances to become a strong anti-slavery Whig and was a leader in the temperance movement of the time. Amasa Walker also was an active leader in the reform movements of his day. He gave generously of his time and ability to the temperance, anti-slavery, and peace movements.

                  Of the three, Walker is the only one who was primarily an economist. He was generally recognized in his day as an authority in finance and has left writings, particularly in the field of currency and finance, which may still be read with profit by the economist and the historian. In 1866 he published his chief work, “The Science of Wealth.” His chapters on money and currency are particularly able. He was much in advance of his time in the use of statistics and graphical methods. Even in the more theoretical parts of the subject, Walker was vigorous and questioning. American conditions with which he was acquainted, not only as a business man but also as a legislator, led him to question Malthus’s famous law of population and to differ with Ricardo on certain important points of rent theory.

                  The present phase of economics at Amherst College began with the appointment of Anson D. Morse as instructor in political economy in 1876. The subject became now much more than an appendage to moral philosophy and the lectures were no longer given by ministers or practical men of affairs. From now on the teachers were professional students of social science, trained as such, and among those who were called to the chair of professor of economics were men who are numbered among the ablest in the American field.

                  Professor Morse [Anson D. Morse Papers at the Amherst College Archives] began his many years of fruitful teaching at Amherst in 1876 as an instructor of political economy. But his main interest was history, and before many years he had shifted completely over to that department. It is history, therefore, rather than economics, which has primary claim upon this man who is remembered not only as a scholar but as one of Amherst’s most stimulating teachers.

                  From 1885 down to the World War, three outstanding teachers left their impress on economics, not only by their teaching at Amherst College but also through their writings. Two of these, John Bates Clark [see also; also this post] and his son, John Maurice Clark, have made major contributions to the economic thought of the time. The elder Clark is known for contributions to economic theory that are regarded by many as the most significant which America has produced. His son has taken his place as one of the ablest and most original of American economic writers of today. The third, James W. Crook, [see also] was primarily a teacher, beloved by two generations of Amherst students.

                  In more recent years, the professors of economics at Amherst have continued to be men of outstanding ability and national prominence. Among those who were in the department long enough to leave a definite mark on the life of the College must be listed Walton Hale Hamilton, Walter W. Stewart, Paul Howard Douglas, and Richard Stockton Meriam.

                  Until 1880 only one course was given in economics. This was apparently comparable to the principles or introductory course of more recent years. It is interesting to note that the first course to be added (1880) was one in the history of socialism. As time went on other courses appeared and disappeared, but usually they were substantially in one of the four fields now covered by advanced courses — finance, labor, economic history, and advanced theory.

                  It will be noted that two tendencies in the teaching of college economics which have been increasingly prominent in the United States during the last twenty years have been completely avoided at Amherst. The first is that toward the multiplication of courses. In fact, Amherst has gone to the extreme in the other direction. A study¹ of a large number of American colleges made in 1928 brought out the fact that only three colleges offered fewer courses in economics than Amherst, and the average number of subjects per instructor was smaller at Amherst than at any other college.

                  In the second place, the trend toward the introduction of business subjects has not affected the Amherst course of study. Economics, as taught here for one hundred years, has been given from the cultural and not from the professional point of view. In fact, the early courses in moral philosophy, which included at least some economics, were in so far as they were especially designed for students preparing for the ministry, possibly more professional than are the present courses in economics which are designed for the student who is to enter any walk of life.

                  The first hundred years of economics at Amherst College has witnessed many changes. A distinguished line of teachers has come and gone. The subject matter of the courses has been somewhat altered and expanded. In the early days economics was a compulsory course during part of the senior year. As time went on the department was enlarged but study in the department was made optional. Since 1927 the introductory course has been open to sophomores. The advanced student has now four courses in the department from which he may choose: economic history of the United States, labor problems, theory of credit, and development of economic thought, and additional individual work is offered for those taking honors in economics. But though many changes have taken place, the purpose of the work has remained essentially what it has always been, to fit the student to take his place in the world as a cultured man and a good citizen.

1 E. E. Cummins, “Economics and the Small College,” American Economic Review, Vol. XXVIII, No. 4 (December 1928) p. 631.

Source: George Rogers Taylor, “One Hundred Years of Economics at Amherst College,” Amherst Graduates’ Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 4 (August 1933), pp. 300-303.

Image Source:  1831 view of Amherst College by Alexander Davis. Restored copies are available for $44.95 (plus presumably shipping) at Vintage City Maps.

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Bryn Mawr Columbia Economists NYU Pennsylvania Wellesley

Columbia. Economics Ph.D. Alumnus, Henry Raymond Mussey. 1905

Time to meet another economics Ph.D. alumnus.

This post provides a chronology of the life and career of Henry R. Mussey who received his graduate economics (and sociology) training at Columbia University. His useful editing skills landed him jobs twice at The Nation where he served as managing editor for a number of years. A man of convictions sufficiently strong to quietly resign his Columbia/Barnard position in protest of the dismissal of psychology professor James McKeen Cattell and English/comparative literature assistant professor Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Dana in 1917 for allegedly disseminating “doctrines tending to encourage a spirit of disloyalty to the Government of the United States.” Historian Charles Beard’s resignation also in protest of these dismissals was both public and fiery. It is not clear why Mussey did not create more of a fuss, but I would guess his personality was the opposite of a fist-pounding, door-slamming alpha-academic. 

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Other posts with Henry R. Mussey related content

His 1910 essay “Economics in the College Course.”

Civil rights activist’s Virginia Foster Durr’s recollection of “Professor Muzzy” at Wellesley College in the early 1920s.

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Henry Raymond Mussey
Timeline

1875. December 7. Born in Atkinson, Illinois to parents William Alvord Mussey (1839-1926) and Louise Nowers (1845-1928).

Began his collegiate studies at the Geneseo Collegiate Institute, Illinois.

1900. A.B. Beloit.

Fun fact.  In 1899 H.R. Mussey (’00) played the role of Antigone. Performances of Greek dramas given in English were a staple of Beloit College life.
Source: Edward Dwight Eaton, Historical sketches of Beloit College, (Second edition, 1935), p. 234

1901-02. Presented a paper “The Theory of Monopolies” in John Bates Clark seminar in political economy and finance that met every other week.

1902. Fellow in the Columbia Department of Economics, appointed instructor in Economics to replace A.M. Day who had resigned to work for the new Tenement House Commission of New York City. “Mr. Mussey has already acquired much popularity and confidence among the students in his classes.” Columbia Daily Spectator, Vol. XLV, No. 42 (21 March 1902), p. 1.

1903. The “Fake” Instalment Business. New York: The University Settlement Society.

1903-05. Assistant Professor of Economics and Industry in New York University School of Commerce .
Source: Barnard College, Morterboard, 1912, p. 28.

1905. Ph.D., Columbia University. Thesis: Combination in the Mining Industry: A Study of Concentration in Lake Superior Iron Ore Production. (vol. XIX, No. 3) New York: Columbia University Press.

1905. Engaged to Miss Mabel Hay Barrows of New York. Ca. 1902 she directed a revival production of the Greek play The Ajax of Sophocles at the university. Winter 1904-05 Ajax performed in New York. Also given in different colleges (Manhattan, Chicago, University of California) travelling as far West as California. “Mr. Mussey accompanied the players as general director of stage manager. He is professor of economics and history in New York university.” The Minneapolis Journal (Jan 24, 1905, p. 11).

“The music for the occasion has been composed by Miss Constance Mills and the costumes worn by the actors and singers have been copied form Greek vase paintings. Preceding the idyls a chorus of maidens will sing the oldest piece of Greek music of which both words and notes are preserved—the Delphic Hymn to Apollo. The production will be rendered further interesting by three Greek dances, one of the religious type, one mimetic in character, and the other a reminiscence of the nymphs of sea and land, which will be given between the scenes from Theocritus.”
Source: Brooklyn Life (February 11, 1905, p. 32).

1905. June 28. Married Mabel Hay Barrows (1874-1931) in Georgeville, Quebec. One son.

1905-07. Associate Professor of Economics at Bryn Mawr College.
Source: Barnard College, Morterboard, 1912, p. 28.

1907-09. Assistant Professor of Sociology in the University of Pennsylvania.
Source: Barnard College, Morterboard, 1912, p. 28.

1908. Passport application (May 6). Permanent residence given as Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Occupation university professor. Passport to be sent to Loan Hall, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

1909-1917. On the faculty of Barnard College.

1910. Economics in the College Course. Educational Review, Vol. XL (October, 1910), pp. 239-249.

1910. Drs. Agger and Mussey project. “Intersection debate” conducted by the Barnard Literary Association. Teams selected of four students from each class to debate, “Resolved that the common ownership of all the means of production will promote social welfare.”

1911. Adjunct Professor of Economics.
Source: Barnard College, Morterboard, 1911, p. 27.

1911. Henry Raymond Mussey, editor. The Reform of the Currency. In the Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science in the City of New York, vol. 1, no. 2, (January 1911).

1912. Assistant Professor of Economics, Barnard College.
Source: Barnard College, Morterboard, 1912, p. 28). Under his faculty portrait: “A smile that puts to flight all care and troubles, withal it teaches us of poverty and rents.”

1912. [identified as Associate Professor of Economics, Columbia University] Mussey, Henry Raymond. “Discussion of Investments on Instalments.” Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science in the City of New York, vol. 2, no. 2, 1912, pp. 107–08.
JSTOR https://doi.org/10.2307/1171942

1916. Passport application (January 17). Permanent residence Croton-on-Hudson, New York. Plan to leave from the port of Seattle on the Awa Maru on March 7, 1916 to travel and study in Japan and China.

1916. Associate Professor of Economics in Columbia University, representing Beloit College at Vassar College Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration

1917. “took part in the arranging the program of a convention of the academy at Long Beach, L.I. in May, 1917, which caused comment because of alleged pacifist and pro-German speeches.” From Mussey’s New York Times obituary (February 11, 1940), p. 48

Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science in the City of New York, Vol. VII, Nos. 2,3 (July 1917). Edited by Henry Raymond Mussey and Stephen Pierce Duggan.

Part I. 1. The Democratic Ideal in World Organization; 2. Future Pan-American Relations.
Part II. 3. Future Relations with the Far East; 4. Investments and Concessions as Causes of International Conflict.

1917. Associate Professor of Economics on the Barnard College Foundation. Tendered resignation to be effective at the convenience of the University.
Columbia Daily Spectator, Vol. XLI, No. 47 (4 December 1917), p. 1

“Rumours that circulated about the University yesterday to the effect that Professor Henry Raymond Mussey, Associate Professor of Economics on the Barnard Foundation, had tendered his resignation because of his sympathy with Professor Beard’s recent similar action were thoroly dispelled by various authorities on the campus, including Professor Mussey himself.
Source: Columbia Daily Spectator, Vol. XLI, No. 48 (5 December 1917), p. 1

 

“Although Dr. Mussey refused to comment at the time, it was reported that the resignation was designed as a protest against the dismissal by the university of two other faculty members [James McKeen Cattell and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Dana]”
From New York Times obituary (February 11, 1940), p. 48

1918. Edited National Conference on War Economy. Vol. VIII, No. 1 (July 1918) of the Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science in the City of New York.

1918-20. Managing editor of The Nation.

1922. Joins the Wellesley College faculty.

PROFESSOR HENRY R. MUSSEY TO TEACH HERE
Appointed to Position in Economics Department
The Wellesley News (January 26, 1922), p. 2.

                  Dr. Henry R. Mussey has recently been appointed a member of the Department of Economics and Sociology, and is to come to Wellesley at the beginning of the second semester.

                  Dr. Mussey has had a distinguished career as teacher in several of the colleges of highest standing. He has been at various times Assistant Professor of Economics and Industry in New York University School of Commerce, Assistant Professor of Sociology in the University of Pennsylvania, Associate Professor of Economics at Bryn Mawr College, and Associate Professor of Economics at Barnard and Columbia.

                  For the past four years Dr. Mussey has given his time to journalism and public affairs, serving successively as managing editor of the Nation and of the Searchlight, and as executive secretary of the People’s Legislative Service at Washington.

                  Wellesley is fortunate in having the first fruits of Dr. Mussey’s extra-academic experience.

“Through the studies which I have recently made in Washington of American shipping interests and the Merchant Marine,” said Mr. Mussey, new professor in the Department of Economics….[made] during the time he was conducting investigations for senators and congressmen at Washington, just before he joined the faculty of Wellesley College.”
Source: The Wellesley News (February 23, 1922), p. 5.

1922-1929. Joined Wellesley College February 1922, left in 1929 to serve as Managing Editor of The Nation. Returned to Wellesley in 1931. The Wellesley News (February 15, 1940)

1929-31. Returns to The Nation as managing editor.

1930. Mussey prepared survey “for the League for Independent Political Action in which need for the formation of a new political party to deal with unemployment was set forth.” From New York Times obituary (February 11, 1940), p. 48

THIRD PARTY PLANS ARE LAID BY GROUP
League for Independent Political Action, Headed by Columbia Professor, Is Formed.
By the Associated Press.

NEW, YORK, September 9. Formation of the League for Independent Political Action, to help in organizing a new national political party, was announced yesterday. Prof. John Dewey of Columbia University is chairman.

The announcement said a national committee of 100 had been formed to start the movement opposing the Republican and Democratic parties.

Among the league’s aims, according to the announcement, are public ownership of public utilities, unemployment and health Insurance, old age pensions, relief for the farmer on, virtually a free trade basis, high progressive taxes on incomes, inheritances and increases in land values; abolition of “yellow dog” contracts and injunctions in labor disputes, independence of the Philippines and non-restriction of Negro and immigrant labor suffrage.

Officers include James Maurer, president of the Pennsylvania Federation of Labor; Zona Gale, of Wisconsin, author; Paul H. Douglas, professor of industrial relations, University of Chicago, and W. E. B. Dubois of New York, Negro educator, vice presidents.
Source: Evening Star, Washigton, D.C. (September 9, 1929), p. 16

1931. Returns to Wellesley College. [The Wellesley News (February 15, 1940)]

1931. Mussey’s wife, Mabel Hay Barrows, died at Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg-Strelitz. November 30.

“Doctor and Mrs Mussey were abroad for a year, and she was taken suddenly sick while travelling through Germany.” Boston Globe (December 7, 1931), p. 11.

Date of death from American Consular Service, Report of the Death of an American Citizen. Cause of death: Intestinal Ulcers and intestinal complications as certified by attending physician (Duodenal Ulcer). Cremated.

1934. July 15. Married Miss Sara Corbett.

1936. “helped organize in Boston the Massachusetts Society for Freedom in Teaching.” From New York Times obituary (February 11, 1940), p. 48

1940. February 10. Henry Raymond Mussey, A. Barton Hepburn professor of economics, died in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Image Source: Bryn Mawr College Yearbook, Class of 1907.

Categories
Agricultural Economics Chicago Economists

Chicago. Economics Ph.D. alumnus, Edwin Ferdinand Dummeier, 1926

 

From the University of Chicago economics department records we can assemble a fairly complete account of the process of earning a doctorate in economics for the agricultural economist Edwin F. Dummeier who entered the Chicago program with a year’s worth of graduate credit. Dummeier’s five quarters in Chicago (from Summer 1925 through Summer 1926) in residence seems to be a lower bound at a time when the official regulations had been changed to state that as a general rule three years residence in graduate studies were expected of Ph.D. degree candidates. 

It appears to me that Dummeier’s undergraduate degree at L.S.U. was the result of regular summer school attendance while teaching/administering during the regular school year. His collection of graduate credits from the Universities of California, Wisconsin, and Colorado also show a considerable portion of summer school credit. It is interesting to see that he could apparently be appointed the principal of a Louisiana high school without having a completed college education. 

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Brief c.v. of Edwin Ferdinand Dummeier

1887, April 4. Born in Metropolis, Illinois.

1910-1917. Principal of Leesville, Louisiana High School

1917-1918. Principal of Minden High School, Webster Parish, Louisiana.

1918. A.B. Louisiana State University

1921. M.A. University of Colorado.

1921-23. Instructor in economics, Washington State College (Pullman, WA).

1923-1925. Assistant Professor, Washington State College (Pullman, WA).

1926. Ph.D. University of Chicago. Thesis: The marketing of Pacific coast fruits in Chicago.

1926-46. Professor of Economics, State College of Washington, Pullman, Wash.

1944, June 19. Married Binna Mason, school teacher

1946, June 17. Died in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Biggest publication:

Edwin F Dummeier and Richard Brooks Heflebower. Economics: with applications to agriculture. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1940.

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Dummeier’s application for graduate credit towards an economics Ph.D. from Chicago

The University of Chicago
The Graduate School of Arts and Literature
Office of the Dean

August 19, 1925

Mr. J. A. Field
Faculty Exchange:

I enclose application for graduate credit from Mr. Edwin F. Dummeier who is a graduate student in residence this quarter. While he is doing most of his work in Commerce and Administration at present, he wishes to go into Political Economy, and so I am asking you to estimate the amount of credit in Pol. Econ. that ought to be given in majors and in quarters for the work he lists. Please return the certificates from the University of California and the University of Wisconsin.

Sincerely yours,
[signed]
G. J. Laing
Dean

GJL:M

________________________

Department will recognize three quarters of graduate work

August 29, 1925

Dean G. J. Laing
University of Chicago
Faculty Exchange

My dear Mr. Laing:

I enclose herewith application for graduate credit for Edwin F. Dummeier which I have certified as representing in my judgment the substantial equivalent of three quarters of graduate work in Political Economy.

Sincerely yours,

[unsigned copy, J.A. Field]

JAF:MLH
Enclosure

________________________

Dummeier proposing his examination fields and requesting departmental review of all his coursework to identify any further course requirements

5757 University Avenue, Chicago, Illinois,
January 21, 1926

Professor L.C. Marshall, Chairman,
Department of Political Economy
The University of Chicago.

Dear Sir:

Announcements from the Department of Political Economy to persons intending to become candidates for the Ph.D. degree state that “the candidate, subject to the advice and approval of the Department,” may choose his fields for specialization and written examination from designated lists. Other announcements of the University state that in the Graduate Schools of Arts, Literature and Science the courses to be offered must be “approved by the Deans of the Graduate Schools at least six months before the degree is conferred. The individual courses must receive the approval of the heads of the departments concerned.” It is also stated that the Department of Political Economy will ordinarily approve as an essential part of a student’s preparation for the degree a considerable amount of work in allied departments.”

In consideration of these announcements I am herby submitting the following statement of fields which, with the approval of the Department, I propose to designate as fields of specialization and examination: (1) General Economic Theory; (2) Market Structures and Functions, this being the thesis field; (3) The Pecuniary and Financial System; (4) Transportation and Communication.

Furthermore, I am submitting a list of courses in the past pursued and a statement of courses which I have taught, in order that the Department may take definite action of a character which will enable me to plan my work in the future with an assurance that all course requirements are being met.

My undergraduate work included courses in the principles of economics and accounting. It also included courses in history and political science.

Graduate work thus far completed and courses for which I am registered for this quarter are as follows:

Political Economy

At the University of Colorado, six quarters, 1919-1921
Money and Banking 24 weeks 2 hours per week
Taxation 36 weeks 2 hours per week
Socialism 24 weeks 2 hours per week
Immigration 6 weeks 5 hours per week
Business Organization 6 weeks 5 hours per week
Seminar in Economics 12 weeks 2 hours per week
Thesis, “Financing Public Education in Colorado,” 6 quarter hours credit.

 

At the University of California, summer 1923
Transportation, principles [& Hist. (Dixon)] 6 weeks 5 hours per week
Transportation, current problems 6 weeks 5 hours per week
Pacific Coast Rate Problems 6 weeks 5 hours per week

 

At the University of Wisconsin, summer 1924
The Classical Economists [Physiocrats thru J. S. Mill] 6 weeks 5 hours per week
Farmer Movements 6 weeks 5 hours per week
Statistics 6 weeks 7½ hours per week

 

At the University of Chicago, summer, spring, and winter Qtrs. 1925-26
Course No.
334 Money and Prices 1 major
388A Cooperative Marketing 1 major
388B Marketing Farm Products 1 major
301 Neoclassical Economics 1 major
345 Personnel Administration 1 major
386 Terminal Marketing Research 1 major
C & A. 375 Business Forecasting 1 major
335 Bus.Finance and Investment 1 major
499 Terminal Marketing Research 1 major

 

Sociology

At the University of Colorado, 1919-1921
Social Problems (poverty) 12 weeks 2 hours per week
Rural Sociology 12 weeks 2 hours per week
Psychological Sociology 6 weeks 5 hours per week
Social Viewpoints and Attitudes 6 weeks 5 hours per week
Criminology 12 weeks 2 hours per week

 

History

At the University of Colorado, 1919-1921
Colonization of North America 24 weeks 2 hours per week
The Westward Movement 6 weeks 5 hours per week

 

Education

At the University of Colorado, 1919-1921
History and Philosophy of Education 24 weeks 3 hours per week
Seminar in Education 24 weeks 2 hours per week

 

Political Science

At the University of Colorado, 1919-1921
Municipal Functions and Problems 12 weeks 3 hours per week
International Law 12 weeks 3 hours per week
World Govt. and Politics 6 weeks 5 hours per week
Political Parties and Party Problems 24 weeks 2 hours per week

 

Summary

Majors
Work in Political Economy at other institutions, certified by the Department of Political Economy of the University of Chicago as equivalent to… 8½
Work in Political Economy at the University of Chicago… 9
Work in Sociology at other institutions, certified by the Dept. of Sociology of the Univ. of Chicago as equiv. to … 2½
Work in History at other institutions, certified by the Dept. of History of the Univ. of Chicago as equiv. to… 1½
Work in Education at other institutions, certified by the School of Education of the Univ. of Chicago as equiv. to… 2
Work in Pol. Science at other institutions, certified by the Dept. of Pol. Science of the Univ. of Chicago as equiv. to… 3
Total majors in Political Economy… 17½
Total majors in other subjects… 9
Grand Total… 26½

 

For the past four years I have been a member of the faculty of the Department of Economics of the State College of Washington, for the past three years with the rank of assistant professor of economics. During this time I have taught the following subjects, having given courses in all of these subjects several times: (1) Economic Geography; (2) Foreign Trade; (3) Railway Transportation; (4) Agricultural Economics; (5) Marketing Farm Products; (6) Co-operative Marketing of Farm Products; (7) Money and Banking; (8) Principles of Economics, elementary and intermediate courses.

For the spring quarter I am planning to register for Political Economy 303, Modern Tendencies in Economics, to continue the research work on my thesis subject, and if advised to do so to register for one additional course. I do not expect to be able to complete the thesis by the close of the spring quarter, but am trusting that I may be able to meet all course requirements and to complete the thesis and take the thesis examination before the close of the summer quarter.

It appears evident that my course requirements are dependent upon the amount of work in allied departments, consisting of courses already completed in other institutions, which will be approved by the Department as a part of the preparation for the degree. I am submitting this statement in the hope that I may have from the Department at an early date definite notification of the courses which I shall have yet to complete in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree.

Certified transcripts of records of courses completed at other institutions and of the valuations placed upon this work by the various departments of the University of Chicago, as enumerated in this communication, are on file in the office of the Deans of the Graduate Schools.

Respectfully yours,
[signed]
Edwin F. Dummeier

________________________

Dummeier proposing his doctoral thesis subject

5757 University Avenue, Chicago, Illinois,
January 21, 1926

Professor L.C. Marshall, Chairman,
Department of Political Economy
The University of Chicago.

Dear Sir:

I am hereby presenting for your approval the subject and a brief prospectus of the thesis which I propose later to submit in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Economy. The subject of the proposed thesis is “The Marketing of Pacific Coast Fruits in Chicago”.

While the prospectus is designed to give some idea of the general nature of the proposed study, it does not indicate the degrees of relative intensity with which it is proposed to treat the various phases of the general subject. All phases will be treated to the extent of critically surveying the existing literature pertaining to them and making some supplementary field study. But the study as a whole will be based not on existing literature, but on original field observations and a study of commercial records. As an exhaustive study of all phases of proposed subject by these methods is beyond the capacity of any one individual it is proposed to investigate with much more detail some phases than others. The degree with which this specialization will be devoted to particular ones of the subheads listed in the outline will depend in part upon the degree of cooperation received from the trade and, therefore cannot be definitely stated in advance. Representative, however, as a phase of the general subject in regard to which there is at the present time only the most meager published information and which may be studied is the fruit and vegetable auction as a marketing institution. As the auction is mostly used in connection with the marketing of Pacific Coast products this would be a natural subdivision of the main subject.

The whole study has as its primary object the evaluation of existing methods in regard to these products as to their social efficiency and social significance.

Yours respectfully,
[signed]
E. F. Dummeier

Thesis
THE MARKETING OF PACIFIC COAST FRUITS IN CHICAGO

Chapter

  1. Introduction
    1. The importance of the study
    2. Method of treatment
      1. Emphasis on a few commodities, especially apples
      2. Emphasis on change and development in marketing methods
    3. Specific objectives
      1. Primary objective: To evaluate comparative merits of different methods of performing marketing services.
      2. Secondary objectives: To show the relation of Chicago to the producing areas; to describe physical facilities of the market and the physical movements of these products thru the market; to determine costs of marketing these products and reasons for these costs; to examine factors influencing demand and to examine trends of change and their causes.
  2. Chicago and the Regions of Supply
    1. Data on production, arrivals, and unloads at Chicago. Data on storage movements and reshipments from Chicago.
    2. The historical development of the industry, its present status, and its current trends.
  3. The Physical Facilities of the Market and Physical Commodity Movements
    1. Transportation services and facilities
    2. Wholesale receiving
    3. Auctions
    4. Peddlers
    5. Retailers
  4. Carload Distributors, Brokers, and Carload Receivers
    1. Numbers and classes of dealers
    2. Marketing services performed and trade practices
    3. Charges for services
  5.  Auctions
    1. Extent of movement thru auctions
    2. Auction methods
    3. Auction charges
  6. Jobbers and Shippers
    1. Numbers and classes of dealers
    2. Methods of buying and selling
    3. Margins and costs
  7.  Retailers
    1. Numbers and classes of dealers
    2. Methods of buying and selling
    3. Margins and costs
  8. Marketing Costs
    1. Critical consideration of marketing costs, especially of oranges and apples, on the basis of differences in marketing methods employed until time of sale to jobbers.
    2. Particular consideration of the desirability of selling at auction.
  9. Marketing Costs (Continued)
    1. Critical consideration of marketing costs subsequent to time of sale to jobbers
  10. Factors Influencing Demand
  11. Summary and General Conclusions

________________________

Department approves Dummeier’s thesis subject

January 27, 1926

Mr. E. F. Dummeier
5757 University Avenue
Chicago, Illinois

My dear Mr. Dummeier:

The Department of Political Economy accepts as your thesis subject “The Marketing of Pacific Coast Fruits in Chicago.”

It is our understanding that you will carry on work in connection with this thesis under Mr. Duddy.

Yours very sincerely,
[Unsigned copy, L.C. Marshall]

LCM:MLH

________________________

Department Head Marshall asks his colleague to double-check the Dummeier transcripts for possible feedback

The University of Chicago
Department of Political Economy
February 1, 1926

Mr. C. W. Wright
University of Chicago
Faculty Exchange

My dear Mr. Wright:

I enclose a letter from Mr. Dummeier. I have written him concerning the field “Transportation and Communication.” Perhaps you will wish to look over his statement of courses and credits to see if any action needs to be taken concerning them.

Yours very sincerely,
[signed]
L.C. Marshall

LCM:MLH
Enclosure

________________________

The University of Chicago
Department of Political Economy

Edwin F. Dummeier

A. B. University of Louisiana, 1918
A. M. University of Colorado, 1921

Summer Quarter, 1925

Pol Econ. 334 A
C & A 388 A
C & A 388B A

French and German Exams. Passed. Sept. 1, 1925

Grad. Work in other insti. September 1, 1925

University of Colorado
Soc. (Faris) 2½ majors
Residence credit 1 Quarter

Grad. work in other insti. September 3, 1925

University of Colorado
Pol. Econ. (Field) 5½ majors
Residence credit 2 Quarters

 

University of California and Wisconsin
Pol. Econ. (Field) 3 majors
Residence credit 1 Quarter

 

Autumn Quarter, 1925

Pol Econ. 301 A
C & A 313 [blank]
C & A 345 A
C & A 385 A
C & A 386 A

 

Grad. work in other insti. Jan 4, 1925

University of Colorado
Educ. (C.H. Judd) 2
Pol. Sci. (C.E. Merriam) 3
Residence Credit 1 Quarter
History (C.F. Huth) 1 ½
Residence Credit ½ Quarter

________________________

Department requests clarification regarding the proposed field “Transportation and Communication”

February 1, 1926

Mr. E. F. Dummeier
5757 University Avenue
Chicago, Illinois

My dear Mr. Dummeier:

It seems entirely probable that the Department will approve the four fields suggested in your letter of January 21st.

The Department has, however, asked me to secure from you a more detailed statement of your understanding of the territory that would be covered by the field “Transportation and Communication.”

Yours very sincerely,

[Unsigned: L. C. Marshall]

LCM:MLH

________________________

Schedule of written field examinations

February 2, 1926

Mr. E. F. Dummeier
5757 University Avenue
Chicago, Illinois

My dear Mr. Dummeier:

This is just to let you know that I have you scheduled to take the following examinations on the dates mentioned.

February 13, Economic Theory. 8:30 A.M.

February 20th, Pecuniary and Financial Systems, 8:30 A.M.

February 27th, Transportation and Communication 8:30 A.M.

The questions will be given out at Harper E 57. Please let me know at once if the above schedule is incorrect.

Yours very sincerely,
[Unsigned copy: Margaret McKugo]

MM:MLH

________________________

Dummeier clarifies his understanding of the field “Transportation and Communication”

5757 University Avenue, Chicago, Illinois,
February 4, 1926

Professor L.C. Marshall, Chairman,
Department of Political Economy
The University of Chicago.

Dear Sir:

In reply to your letter of February 1st I am hereby submitting the following as my understanding of the territory that would be covered by the field “Transportation and Communication”, which was proposed by me as one of my fields of specialization in my candidacy for the Ph.D. degree.

As to agencies, I understand the field to include all the agencies of land and water transportation. Major emphasis should, however, be placed upon railway transportation in the United States. Agencies supplying communication other than physical transportation would include the telephone and telegraph. As compared with railway transportation these are of less importance, and as they present relatively few distinctive problems they may be said to be somewhat incidental to the main field.

With regard to the above mentioned agencies consideration should be given to phenomena and problems of the character of those with which Political Economy in general concerns itself. These should include the following:

  1. The historical development of the various transportation agencies,
  2. The services performed and economic significance of the various agencies,
  3. Theories of rate making, particularly railway rates,
  4. Rate making practices and rate systems,
  5. Railroad finance,
  6. Sufficient knowledge of the technic of operation to be able to consider intelligently questions of public policy with regard to railroads and other transportation agencies,
  7. The economic and legal bases of the regulation of public carriers and the history of their public promotion and regulation,
  8. Various present day transportation problems in which the general public has an interest, such as valuation, consolidation, and government ownership or operation.

The above indicates the general scope and to some extent the relative emphasis of the constituent parts of the field of Transportation and Communication as a field of Political Economy as I understand it.

Most respectfully yours,
[signed]
Edwin F. Dummeier

________________________

Wright’s Response to Marshall’s Feb. 1, 1926 Inquiry

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
The School of Commerce and Administration

Memorandum to Marshall from Wright
[no date, but probably early Feb. 1926]

After surveying Mr. Dummeier’s record of courses taken, it seems to me that in the four fields chosen he has not covered the following.

Theory: History of Theory. Only partly covered.

Unsettled Problems. He plans to take this in the Spring.

Marketing: Advertising. I am not certain as to this.

Transportation: Public Control of Railroads.

Of the specific general requirement he has covered Statistics and Accounting but not Economic History of the U.S. I gathered from the discussion at the Dept. meeting that the members of the Department would refuse to tell him specific courses that were required, though personally I do not consider this a reasonable attitude.

C.W.W.

________________________

Response of Department to Dummeier’s follow-up regarding his examination field “Transportation and Communication”

March 2, 1926

Mr. E. F. Dummeier
5737 University Avenue
Chicago, Illinois

My dear Mr. Dummeier:

I spoke to Mr. Wright and he told me that your recommendation had come before the Department, but he could not at this time give you a written statement concerning it. He is turning your letter over to Mr. Marshall who will write you as soon as he returns to the office.

Yours very sincerely,
[Unsigned copy: Margaret McKugo]

MM:MLH

________________________

Economics Department Record of Dummeier’s Written Ph.D. Examination Grades
(First attempt)

Winter Qr. 1926

E. F. Dummeier

Economic Theory

Viner — Pass Fair
Clark — B

Pec. And Fin. Sys.

Mints — Failed
Wright — C
Meech — Failed

Trans. & Com.

Clark — Passed
Sorrell — [Blank]
Duddy — Passed

________________________

Department’s decisions
regarding credits recognized
plus advice on “possible gaps”

March 16, 1926

Mr. E. F. Dummeier
5757 University Avenue
Chicago, Illinois

My dear Mr. Dummeier:

After examining your credits as officially certified by various departmental representatives it seems clear that you have met the general requirements as far as the total number of majors is concerned.

The only issues outstanding are these:

  1. There is a requirement that a candidate for the doctor’s degree shall have covered work in the Economic History of the United States. I am uncertain whether you have taken care of this requirement.
  2. You will, of course, need to be prepared to pass the examinations in four fields. As you know no specific courses are required in connection with these examinations. The candidate is expected to work up each field in a rather comprehensive way.

Certain questions arise in my mind with respect to these examinations. Have you prepared yourself in the field of Public Control of Railroads? Have you done so in the general field of Advertising? Have you done so in the History of Economic Thought? You will, I am sure, realize that these inquiries do not indicate the necessity of your taking specific courses in these territories. I mention them merely as possible gaps in your thinking in these fields.

Yours very sincerely,
[Unsigned copy: L. C. Marshall]

LCM:MLH

________________________

Dummeier informed that he passed two of his three written examinations
[Carbon copy]

March 24, 1926

Mr. E. F. Dummeier
5757 University Avenue
Chicago, Illinois

My dear Mr. Dummeier:

The final reports for the written examinations taken by you during the Winter Quarter, 1926 in partial satisfaction for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy are as follows:

Economic Theory — Passed

Pecuniary and Financial System — Failed

Transportation and Communication — Passed

Yours very sincerely,
[Unsigned copy: L. C. Marshall]

LCM:MLH

________________________

Economics Department Record of Dummeier’s Written Examination Grades
(Second attempt: Pecuniary and Financial Systems Field)

Pecuniary and Financial Systems

Mints — Pass
Cox — Pass

________________________

Dummeier told he successfully passes his third written examinations
[Carbon copy]

June 8, 1926

Mr. E. F. Dummeier
5757 University Avenue
Chicago, Illinois

My dear Mr. Dummeier:

I am pleased to report that you have passed the Pecuniary and Financial System examination, taken in the Spring Quarter, 1926, in partial satisfaction for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Yours very sincerely,
[Unsigned copy: L. C. Marshall]

LCM:MLH

________________________

Dummeier’s Principal Advisor not in Chicago during the summer quarter (when the thesis is expected to be completed and submitted)

The University of Chicago
Local Community Research Committee
Address: Faculty Exchange. The University of Chicago

June 7, 1926

Mr. L.C. Marshall, Dean
Department of Political Economy
University of Chicago

Dear Mr. Marshall:

My absence during the Summer Quarter means that some one must supervise the students who have been working under me in community research. Mr. Dummeier, who plans to get his degree in Political Economy, is quite well along with his work and I should like to recommend that either Mr. Wright or Mr. Viner look after him. He is going to develop a section on price study and Viner would be a help there.

The other men, Davidson, Journey and Weaver, are planning to come up in Commerce and Administration, and I am making recommendations to Mr. Spencer to take care of them. In the case of all of these men, I shall want to read copies of their theses as they come in. Both Mr. Dummeier and Mr. Journey have their outlines fully developed and have begun to write.

Yours very truly,

[signed]
E.A. Duddy

EAD:JS

________________________

Department Head Marshall turns to Jacob Viner
for last-minute thesis advice

June 8, 1926

[Memorandum to:] Jacob Viner

[From:] L. C. Marshall

Mr. Dummeier has been working with Mr. Duddy, but Mr. Duddy is to be away this coming summer. I wonder if you would be willing to look after Mr. Dummeier’s work on the thesis since he is planning to develop a section on price study.

The matter is one upon which the Department needs to take action in view of the fact that Mr. Dummeier plans to take his degree in Political Economy.

LCM:MLH

_______________________

Viner “gratefully” accepts the “chore”

The University of Chicago
Department of Political Economy

June 10, 1926

Mr. L. C. Marshall
Faculty Exchange

My dear Mr. Marshall:

You may send on Mr. Dummeier to me. I will take over the job of supervision of his research during Mr. Duddy’s absence, inasmuch as I have been unable to think up a good excuse for evading the chore.

Gratefully yours,
[signed]
Jacob Viner

_______________________

Notification that Viner Will Serve as Substitute Research Supervisor

June 17, 1926

Mr. E. F. Dummeier
5757 University Avenue
Chicago, Illinois

My dear Mr. Dummeier:

I have had a note from Mr. Viner indicating his willingness to supervise your research in Mr. Duddy’s absence.

Yours very sincerely,
[Unsigned copy: L. C. Marshall]

LCM:MLH

________________________

Official Examination Notice for E. F. Dummeier
(with Prof. Meech’s scribbled note that he will be unable to attend)

________________________

COURSES PRESENTED BY EDWIN F. DUMMEIER
FOR THE DEGREE Ph.D. IN ECONOMICS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

Majors
Pol. Econ. 334 Money and Prices. Hardy 1
C & A 388 B Marketing Farm Products, Weld 1
C & A 388 A Cooperative Farm Marketing. Jesness 1
Pol. Econ. 301 Neo-Classical Economics. Viner 1
C & A 345. Personnel Administration. Stone 1
C & A 386 Terminal Marketing Research. Duddy 1
C & A 355 Business Finance and Investment. Meech 1
C & A 375 Business Forecasting. Cox 1
Pol. Econ. 499 Terminal Marketing Research Duddy 3
Pol. Econ. 499 Terminal Marketing Research. Viner 3
TOTAL 14

Graduate Work at Other Institutions

Economics
Transportation. Principles Univ. of Cal. Dixon
Transportation. Current Problem[s]. Univ. of Cal. Dixon
Pacific Coast Rate Problems. Univ. of Cal. Harraman
Farmer Movements. Univ. of Wis. Hibbard
The Classical Economists. Univ. of Wis. Scott
Statistics. Univ. of Wis. Lescohier
Money and Banking. Univ. of Colo. Ingram
Taxation. Univ. of Colo. Ingram
Immigration. Univ. of Colo. Ingram
Business Organization. Univ. of Colo. Ingram
Seminar in Economics. Univ. of Colo. Bushee
Thesis “Financing Public Education in Colorado.”
Total (Field) 8½
Economics Total   22½

 

 

Education Total Judd 2
Sociology Total Faris 2½
Political Science Total Merriam 3
History Total Huth 1½
Grand Total   31½

 

________________________

Memo from Millis announcing/reminding about oral examination date
[Carbon copy]

The University of Chicago
The Department of Political Economy

August 17, 1926

Memorandum to:

N. W. Barnes [Associate Professor of Marketing]
P. A. Douglas [Associate Professor of Industrial Relations]
L. H. Grinstead [Visiting Assistant Professor from Ohio State University]
G. G. Huebner [Visiting Professor from the U. of Pennsylvania]
L. C. Sorrell [Assistant Professor of Transportation and Communication]
Jacob Viner [Professor of Political Economy]
C. W. Wright [Professor of Political Economy]

From: H. A. Millis

This is just to let you know that E. F. Dummeier will come up for his oral examination on Monday, August 23, at 3 o’clock in Harper E 57.

If it is impossible for you to be present will you please notify Miss McKugo in Harper E 57?

________________________

Memo from Millis announcing/reminding about oral examination date
[Carbon copy]

[Memorandum To:] L. S. Lyon [Visiting Professor from Robert Brookings Graduate School of Economics and Government]

[From: H. A. Millis]

August 18, 1926

This is just to let you know that E. F. Dummeier will come up for his oral examination on Monday, August 23, at 3 o’clock in Harper E 57.

If it is impossible for you to be present will you please notify Miss McKugo in Harper E 57?

________________________

A “Thank-you” to Marshall for his support
Note: Dunnmeier’s article on auctions apparently never published

 

The State College of Washington
Pullman, Washington
Department of Business Administration

December 28, 1926.

Professor Leon C. Marshall
Department of Economics
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Dear Professor Marshall:

I am enclosing herewith a review of Benton’s “Marketing of Farm Products” for the Journal of Political Economy. I had hoped to have gotten this review to you at an earlier date, but teaching duties have kept me so busy as to delay its completion somewhat longer than I anticipated.

Not long ago I received a letter from professor Duddy, in which he stated that you had spoken to him with regard to my writing an article for the Journal on the fruit auction as a marketing agency, the article to be based on my first hand research work in Chicago. I have started the preparation of such an article and hope to submit it within the very near future.

I have found on my return to my duties here that my year at the University of Chicago has been of very large benefit to me, and I continue to feel most grateful to you for your part in making that year possible.

Most cordially yours,
[signed]
E. F. Dummeier

EFD/EIB

Source:  University of Chicago Archives. Economics Department. Records & Addenda. Box 6, Folder 12.

Image: “Dummeier Rites Are Held Today,” Spokane Chronicle, June 18, 1946.

Categories
Chicago Funny Business

Chicago. Lyrics to “The Law (of Diminishing Disciples)”. By Anonymous, 1960’s?

One can only presume that the following song was sung to a doggeralized version of the inspiring hymn “I shall not be moved”, though I am unable to fit the Chicago lyrics to the tunes used for any of these classic covers:

Dream Team version:  Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and (probably not) Johnny Cash

The civil rights version (The Freedom Singers)

The union version (Pete Seeger and Chorus)

Perhaps someone is still alive who knows who penned this masterpiece of economics irony?  Asking for generations of economists yet unborn as well as for all the boomers and beyond still among us.

________________

THE LAW

(Anonymous, U. of Chicago)

I

In the days of old
And in every land
Economics was free
And supply meant demand

Adam Smith propounded it
No one has confounded it
Praise be to our theory
We shall not be moved

There were no unions
All men were bossed
Marginal output
Met marginal cost

Ricardo repeated it
No one defeated it
Praise be to our theory
We shall not be moved

The utilities moved
In harmonious flow
Through natural channels
To where they should go

Marshall repolished it
No one demolished it
Praise be to our theory
We shall not be noved

Marginal product is
The perfect gauge
For capital’s gain
And the worker’s wage

Douglas computed it
No one refuted it
Praise be to our theory
We shall not be moved

There were no barriers
And no controls
The system created
And reached its own goals

Friedman restated it
No one deflated it
Praise be to our theory
We shall not be moved

The weavers wove
The spinners spun
They always had jobs
In the very long run

Smith propounded it
No one confounded it
Ricardo repeated it
No one defeated it
Marshall repolished it
No one demolished it
Douglas computed it
No one refuted it
Friedman restated it
No one deflated it
Praise be to our theory
We shall not be moved

II

These man were thinkers
Deep and profound
Their assumptions well based
Their logic sound

Their laws have developed
In several stages
Are now well-grounded
Will live through the ages

But as they develop
From leader to follower
The thinking becomes
Just a little bit hollower

If one looks at history
From beginning to end
Within it there is
This secular trend:

In the earlier men
Originality burns
But the neo’s are met
With smaller returns

This function descends
From great things to trifles
This is The Law
Of diminishing disciples.

Source: Harvard University Archives, Papers of Zvi Griliches, Box 129, Folder “Faculty skits, ca. 1960s”.

Categories
Columbia Economists Gender Social Work Socialism

Columbia. Economics Ph.D. Alumna, Vera Shlakman, 1938

 

Vera Shlakman (1909-2017) was born in Montreal to an anarchist mother and social-democratic father, Jewish immigrants born in Vilna and Pinsk, respectively, who named their children after Eleanor Marx, Victor Hugo and the Russian revolutionary Vera Zasulich. “Whenever Emma Goldman and Rudolf Rocker came to Montreal to lecture they stayed with us.”

Vera and her siblings all studied at McGill University but then moved to New York to find jobs. Vera did her Ph.D. thesis work with the economic historian Carter Goodrich at Columbia University. Later at Smith College she worked together with, among other people, Dorothy Douglas (divorced from the economist and later U.S. Senator, Paul Douglas).

Vera Shlakman’s career as an economist was cut short in 1952 as a consequence of the Second Red Scare. She was later rehabilitated and actually received financial compensation for lost pension rights. Of no small interest are the recollections  of the eminent historian of economics, Mark Blaug, included below.

__________________________

Biographical information for Vera Shlakman

Heins, Marjorie. Priests of Our Democracy–The Supreme Court, Academic Freedom, and the Anti-Communist Purge. New York: New York University Press, 2013.

Kessler-Harris, Alice. “Vera Shlakman, Economic History of a Factory Town, A Study of Chicopee, Massachusetts (1935).” International Labor and Working-Class History, no. 69 (2006): 195-200.

Avrich, Paul. Interview with Lena Shlakman, January 23 and 24, 1974, in Anarchist Voices. A Oral History of Anarchism in America. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1995. Pages 325-328.

Vera Shlakman’s New York Times obituary, “Vera Shlakman, Fired in Red Scare, Dies at 108” was published November 29, 2017.

__________________________

Timeline of Vera Shlakman

1909. Born July 15 in Montreal to Louis Shlakman (tailor and shirtwaist factory foreman) and Lena Hendler (glove stitching, shirtwaist factory worker).

1930. B.A. in economics from McGill University in Montreal.

1931. M.A. in economics from McGill University.

1931/32-1932/33. In residence graduate work at Columbia University. Some months employed as research assistant to Professor Arthur R. Burns.

1933/34-1934-35.  Research Fellow to the Council of Industrial Studies, Smith College.

1935. Publishes Economic History of a Factory Town: A Study of Chicopee, Massachusetts as volume 20, Nos. 1-4 (October, 1934-July, 1935)  of the Smith College Studies in History.

Pasted on the title page: “Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in the Faculty of Political Science, Columbia University.”

1935-37. Instructor in the Department of Economics, Smith College.

1937-38. Instructor in the Department of Economics and Sociology at Sweet Briar College, Virginia.

1938. Ph.D. in economics awarded by Columbia University.

1938. Hired by Queens College as instructor.

1944-46. Reported to have been a member of the Communist Party. One of the reasons why the F.B.I. had placed her on a watch list. [Not aware of any record in which Shlakman had ever confirmed or denied such activity.]

1952. Assistant professor, but summoned as vice-president of the Teachers Union local for a public hearing of the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee. After taking the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination in response to questions regarding  Communist Party activity, she (along with several others) was dismissed from Queens College.

1953. Unemployed.

1954-58.  Employed as a secretary and bookkeeper with some intermittent teaching.

1959. Hired for an administrative position at Adelphi University.

1960. Teaching position in Social Work at Adelphi University, achieved rank of associate professor..

1966. Hired at the School of Social Work at Columbia University, Associate professor.

1967-68. Supreme Court of the United States declares the New York state laws under which Shlakman and others were dismissed as unconstitutional.

1978. Retired from Columbia University as professor emerita.

1980. Official apology received from City University of New York.

1982. Trustees of the City University announced a financial settlement for its dismissed faculty. Vera Shlakman received $114,599.

2017. Vera Shlakman died November 5 in Manhattan.

__________________________

AEA Listing 1938

Shlakman, Vera, Queen’s Col., Flushing, N.Y. (1938) a Queen’s Col., instr. b B:A:, 1930, M.A., 1931, McGill (Canada); Ph.D., 1938, Columbia. c Economic history of factory town: study of Chicopee, Mass. d American economic history; labor.

Source: American Economic Review, Vol. 28, No. 3, Supplement, Handbook, Who’s Who in the American Economic Association: 1938 (Sep., 1938). List of Members, p. 83.

__________________________

Testimony by the Historian of Economics, Mark Blaug

I doubt whether it would have taken me so many years to throw off the weight of Marxism if it had not been for an encounter in 1952 with the spectre of McCarthyism. McCarthy was riding high in 1952, the product of the anti-Communist hysteria that held America in its grip at the height of the Cold War. And it was a hysteria as the following story will show. I had graduated from Queens College of the City University of New York in 1950 and was in the midst of my preliminary year for the PhD at Columbia University when Arthur D. Gayer, the chairman of the economics department at Queens College, was killed in an automobile accident. The department looked around for someone to take over his courses in the middle of the semester and since I had worked for him as a research assistant, I was asked whether I would have a go. And so I suddenly found myself teaching a full load of courses in microeconomics, consumer economics and marketing, a subject I had never studied. I can remember being so nervous about my first lectures that I literally memorized them in their entirety the night before giving them.

I was just getting on top of all this teaching when the Un-American Activities Committee, chaired by Senator Joseph McCarthy, arrived in New York city to investigate communism in the New York City college system. They called on three well-known professors to appear before them in order, no doubt, to ask them the familiar questions: “Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?”. All three refused to cooperate with the committee, pleading the First and Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits witnesses from incriminating themselves. Despite the fact that all three were tenured professors, they were promptly and summarily dismissed by their employer, the City University of New York.
One of these three professors was Vera Shlakman, Professor of Labour Economics at Queens College, a former teacher of mine and, at that point in time, a colleague. She was the president of the Teachers’ Union, a left-wing professional union of college teachers in the New York City area, and was herself left-wing and, for all I knew, a fellow-traveler. But having been taught by her, I knew that she was scrupulously impartial and leaned over back wards not to indoctrinate her students. A number of students organized a petition to the President of Queens College demanding Vera Shlakman’s reinstatement but, by the by-laws of the college, student petitions could not be submitted to a higher authority without an endorsing signature of at least one faculty member. The students went right through the economics department, which then numbered 40 professors, associate professors, assistant professors, and lowly tutors like myself, without encountering one person willing to endorse the petition. At the end of the line, they came to me and because of my personal regard for Professor Shlakman, and because I could not bear the thought of being pusillanimous, I signed the petition. Within 24 hours, I received a curt note from President Thatcher of Queens College (odd that I should remember his name after 40 years!) informing me that, unless I resigned forthwith, I would be dismissed, and black-listed for future employment.
For a day or two, I contemplated a magnifi cent protest, a statement that would ring down the ages as a clarion call to individual freedom, that would be read and recited for years to come by American high school students?and then I quietly sent in my letter of resignation.

I was now at my wit’s end. I had planned to apply for a scholarship to begin working on my doctoral dissertation and had been relying on my teaching salary from Queens College to carry me through the application period. I was broke and depressed by the entire experience when suddenly the telephone rang to inform me that I had been offered a grant by the Social Science Research Council to enable me to go abroad to write my PhD thesis: clearly, there were people here and there behind the scenes lending assistance to victims of McCarthyism.

Source: Mark Blaug, Not Only an Economist—Autobiographical Reflections of a Historian of Economic Thought, The American Economist, Fall, 1994, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Fall, 1994), pp. 14-15.

__________________________

Oscar Shaftel Papers

The Oscar Shaftel Collection documents Professor Shaftel’s tenure as a professor at Queens College, including his dismissal and his efforts to reinstate his pension. The bulk of the collection is from 1948 to 1982 and includes correspondence, flyers, printed materials, and hearing transcripts. The collection provides evidence of Oscar Shaftel’s personal experience at Queens College, as well as student activism on campus in the late 1940s and early 1950s. More broadly, the collection provides documentation of the McCarthyism and its effect on the New York City education system.

This series includes correspondence from Queens College President John T. Theobald (1953); a copy of the transcript from Oscar Shaftel’s testimony before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee; correspondence regarding Shaftel’s appeal of his termination by Queens College; testimony of former Queens College professor Vera Shlankman; court documents of former professors Dudley Straus and Francis Thompson (undated); and a letter written in support of Vera Shlankman and Oscar Shaftel from Queens College alumni.

__________________________

Image Source:  Faculty portrait of Vera Shlakman, Social Work. Alephi University (Garden City, New York), The Oracle 1965.

 

 

Categories
Chicago Economics Programs Economist Market Economists

Chicago. Memos discussing guests to teach during summer quarter, 1927

 

 

Apparently the 1926 summer quarter course planning at the Chicago department of political economy in 1926 was so wild that the head of the department, Leon C. Marshall, decided to start the discussion for 1927 on the second day of Summer, 1926. Four of the seven colleagues responded with quite a few suggestions.

This post provides the first+middle names where needed in square brackets. Also links to webpages with further information about the suggested guests have been added.

______________________

Copy of memo from
Leon Carroll Marshall

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Department of Economics

Memorandum from L. C. Marshall. June 22, 1926

To: C. W. Wright, J. A. Field, H. A. Millis, J. Viner, L. W. Mints, P. H. Douglas, W. H. Spencer

We really must break through the morass we are in with respect to our summer quarter. Partly because of delayed action and partly because of an interminable debating society in such matters we finally get a patched up program which is not as attractive as it should be.

I shall proceed on the basis of the homely philosophy that the way to do something is to do something. I shall try to secure from every member of the group a statement of his best judgment concerning the appropriate course of action for the summer of 1927 and then move at once toward rounding out a program.

Won’t you be good enough to turn in to E57 within the next few days your suggestions and comments with respect to the following issues.

  1. Do you yourself expect to be in residence the summer quarter of 1927?
  2. If you do, what courses do you prefer to teach? Please list more than two courses placing all of the courses in your order of preference. In answering this question, please keep in mind the problem of guiding research. Should you offer a research course?
  3. What are your preferences with respect to hours? Please state them rather fully and give some alternatives so that a schedule may be pieced together.
  4. What courses or subject matter should we be certain to include in the summer of 1927?
  5. What men from outside do you recommend for these courses which we should be certain to include? Please rank them in the order of your preference.
  6. Quite aside from the subject matter which you have recommended above, what persons from the outside ought we try to make contact with if our funds permit? This gives an opportunity to aid in making up the personnel of the summer quarter in all fields.
  7. Please give any other comments or suggestions which occur to you.

Yours very sincerely,

LCM:G

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Response from
Jacob Viner

The University of Chicago
Department of Political Economy

July 1, 1926

Dear Mr. Marshall

I will want to offer 301 (Neo-class Ec.) & 353 (Int Ec. Pol) as usual next summer, though if we have a good outside theorist to give 301, I would like to give a course on Theory of Int Trade in addition to 353. I think we need someone especially in Banking, next in theory. Beyond these we should offer work in some of the following, if we can get first rankers: statistics, private finance, transportation, economic history of Europe & ec. Hist. of U.S.

I suggest the following from which selections could be made:

Banking

 Theory Statistics Transportation

Ec. Hist.
[Eugene E.]
Agger

 

[Benjamin Haggott] Beckhart

 

[Allyn Abbott]
A.A. Young

 

[Chester Arthur]
C. A. Phillips

 

[Oliver Mitchell Wentworth]
Sprague

 

[James Harvey] Rogers

 

[Ernest Minor] E.M. Patterson

 [Allyn Abbott]
Young

 

[Jacob Harry]
Hollander[Frank Hyneman] Knight

 

[Albert Benedict] Wolfe

 

[Herbert Joseph] Davenport

 [Henry Roscoe] Trumbower

 

[Homer Bews] Vanderblue

 [Melvin Moses] M.M. Knight

 

[Abbott Payson] A.P. Usher

As other possibilities I suggest [George Ernest] Barnett, [James Cummings] Bonbright, [Edward Dana] Durand, [Edwin Griswold] Nourse, [Sumner Huber] Slichter, John D. [Donald] Black, Holbrook Working, [Alvin Harvey] Hansen.

[signed]
J Viner

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Response from
Paul Howard Douglas

The University of Chicago
The School of Commerce and Administration

June 29, 1926

Professor L. C. Marshall
Faculty Exchange

Dear Mr. Marshall:

You have hit the nail on the head in your proposal to get under way for next summer, and I am very much pleased at your action. Answering your questions specifically may I say—

  1. That I do not expect to be in residence for the summer quarter of 1927.
  2. &3. Since I shall not be in residence no answers to these questions are, I take it, necessary.

 

  1. We should, I think, be certain to include adequate work in the following fields (a) Economic theory, (b) Monetary and banking theory, (c) Labor problems, (d) Statistics and quantitative economics, (e) Taxation and Public finance, (f) Economic history.
  2. As regards men from outside, I would recommend the following in each field: (a) Economic theory—[Herbert Joseph] H. J. Davenport, [John Rogers] J. R. Commons, [Frank Hyneman] F. H. Knight; (b) Monetary and banking theory—[Allyn Abbott] A. A. Young, [Oliver Mitchell Wentworth] O.M.W. Sprague, [James Waterhouse] James W. Angell; (c) Labor problems—Selig Perlman, Alvin [Harvey] H. Hansen; (d) Statistics and quantitative economics—[Frederick Cecil] F. C. Mills, [Robert Emmet] R. E. Chaddock, [William Leonard] W. L. Crum; (e) Taxation and public finance—[Harley Leist] H. L. Lutz, [William John] William J. Shultz; (f) Economic history—[Norbert Scott Brien] N. S. B. Gras.
  3. As people from outside to try for, might it not be possible to secure some one from England, such as [John Atkinson] John A. Hobson, Henry Clay, or [Dennis Holme] D. H. Robertson? Might it not also be possible to get Charles Rist from France or [Werner] Sombart from Germany?

Faithfully yours,
[signed]
Paul H. Douglas

P.S. The news that [Henry] Schultz and [Melchior] Palyi are to be with us next year is certainly welcome. Should we not let everyone know that they are coming, and should not a news note to this effect be sent on to the American Economic Review? [Handwritten note here: “Mr. Wright doing this”]

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Response from
Lloyd Wynn Mints

The University of Chicago
The School of Commerce and Administration

July 16, 1926

Memorandum to L. C. Marshall from L. W. Mints, concerning the work of the summer quarter, 1927.

  1. It is my present intention not to be in residence during the summer quarter, 1927, although I will be in the city, I suppose.
  2. It appears to me that we should attempt to get men from the outside who would represent some of the newer points of view rather than the orthodox fields. I should suppose that it would be desirable to have a man in statistics and, if he could be found, somebody to do something with quantitative economics. For the statistics I would suggest [William Leonard] Crum, [Frederick Cecil] Mills, [Frederick Robertson] Macaulay, [Willford Isbell] King, [Bruce D.] Mudgett, [Robert] Riegel. I am ignorant of the particular bents of some of the statistical men, but I should suppose that in quantitative economics [Holbrook] Working, [Alvin Harvey] Hansen, or [William Leonard] Crum might do something. Perhaps [Edmund Ezra] Day should be added to the men in Statistics.
    In economic history, as I remember it, we have had no outside help for a long time. I should like to see either [Noman Scott Brien] Gras or Max [Sylvius] Handman give some work here in the summer.
    Particular men who represent somewhat new points of view, and who might be had for the summer, I would suggest as follows: [Lionel Danforth] Edie, [Oswald Fred] Boucke, [Morris Albert] Copeland, [Sumner Huber] Slichter.
    In addition I should like very much to see either [Edwin Robert Anderson] Seligman or [John Rogers] Commons here for a summer.

[signed]
L.W.M.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Response from
Harry Alvin Millis

Answers to questions re Summer Teaching, 1927

  1. Yes, I feel that I must teach next summer unless that plan you have been interested in goes through.
  2. 342 [The State in Relation to Labor] and 440 [Research].
  3. 342 at 8; 440 hour to be arranged.
  4. 5. 6.: Should get a better rounded program than we have had. Should have an outstanding man in economic theory and another in Finance. For the former I would mention [John] Maurice Clark, [John Rogers] Commons, and [Frank Hyneman] Knight—in order named. For the latter I would mention [Allyn Abbott] Young, [James Harvey] Rogers. If we can get the money I should like to see [George Ernest] Barnett brought on for statistics and a trade union course.

 

  1. Would it be possible to have a seminar which would bring together the outside men and some of the inside men and our mature graduate students—these hand-picked? It might be made very stimulating.

[Signed]
H. A. Millis

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Response from
Chester Whitney Wright

The University of Chicago
The Department of Political Economy

Memorandum to Marshall from Wright

Summer 1927
First term some aspects of economic history
1:30 or 2:30
May have to teach the whole summer but hope I can confine it to first term.
Can teach any phases of subjects in any fields suitable for term.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Response from
James Alfred Field

[No written answer in the folder: however L. C. Marshall noted that Field would not be teaching in the summer term of 1927]

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Response from
William Homer Spencer

The University of Chicago
The School of Commerce and Administration
Office of the Dean

July 12, 1926

Mr. L. C. Marshall
The Department of Political Economy

My dear Mr. Marshall:

As Mr. [Garfield Vestal] Cox does not wish to teach during the Summer Quarter of 1927, I wish the Department of Political Economy would try to get Mr. [Edmund Ezra] Day of Wisconsin [sic, Michigan is correct] who could give both a course in statistics and a course in forecasting. Forecasting is not given this summer and unless we get someone from the outside to give it, I presume it will not be given next summer.

Why does not the Department of Political Economy for the coming summer get someone like Mr. [Leverett Samuel] Lyon to give an advanced course in economics of the market for graduate students? The Department of Political Economy could handle half of his time and I perhaps could handle the other half for market management

Now that it appears that the Department of Political Economy cannot get any promising young men in the Field of Finance, why do you not try for [Chester Arthur] Phillips of Iowa? He will give good courses and will draw a great many students from the middle west to the University.

So far as my own program is concerned, I have not made much progress. I tried to get [Roy Bernard] Kester of Columbia, but he turned me down. I am placing a similar proposition before [William Andrew] Paton of Michigan. In the Field of Marketing, I am trying for [Frederic Arthur] Russell of the University of Illinois to give a course in salesmanship primarily for teachers in secondary schools. Otherwise I have made no progress in getting outside men for next summer.

Yours sincerely,
[signed]
W. H. Spencer

WHS:DD

Source:  University of Chicago Archives. Department of Economics. Records. Box 22, Folder 7.

Categories
Chicago Economists

Chicago. Paul Douglas pleads for a staff position for Arnold Tolles, 1928

 

Newman Arnold Tolles (1903-1973) has already been included in our series “Meet an economics Ph.D. alumnus/a” as a 1932 Chicago Ph.D. From my research in the University of Chicago archives, I came across the following letter of recommendation written by Paul Douglas on Tolles’ behalf that I now add to the collection of artifacts.

Fun Fact: Virginius Frank Coe mentioned in the memo by Douglas below later attained infamy as “a United States government official who was identified by Soviet defectors Elizabeth Bentley and Whittaker Chambers as being an underground member of the Communist Party and as belonging to the Soviet spy group known as the Silvermaster ring.” [See: Wikipedia, “Virginius Frank Coe”]

________________________

The University of Chicago
The School of Commerce and Administration

May 14, 1928

Memorandum to: L.C. Marshall
From: Paul H. Douglas

Subject: TOLLES

I have gathered that you are not certain whether Tolles should be retained, and I am writing to express my very deep hope that we may keep him on our staff. I certainly feel that Tolles is one of the most promising youngsters in the country. He and Virginius Coe have been the two best undergraduates whom I have ever had. Tolles has benefited enormously by his work at Harvard and London. He was, as you know, the best man in his class at Harvard and made a very real impression on Taussig and Allyn Young. He also did good work at London from all that I can learn. He has been doing most interesting research work with me this year, testing the question as to whether the system of unemployment insurance in England so maintains wage rates as to throw such a heavy burden on industry that it cannot recover. The question is the basic one as to whether unemployment insurance does not in itself increase unemployment. This has involved in [sic] a series of very interesting detailed studies. We are planning a joint reply to Pigou in the autumn and in preparation of this, Tolles has computed for it an index of production for Great Britain, based on the British census of production for 1907-1923. He has used Fisher’s ideal formula and has made some very interesting contributions to statistics as well as to the detailed subject itself. I look to see Tolles’ articles when they appear next year make a real stir and I think in four or five years he will be recognized as one of the solid men in his field. He is just the sort of man I should like to see retained on the staff, and I hope very much that it may be possible to do so. Some time if you like I should like to talk fairly intimately on the possibility of making a place for him.

[signed]
P H Douglas

Source:  University of Chicago Archives. Department of Economics Records. Box 6, Folder 6.

Image Source:  Senior picture of Newman Arnold Tolles from University of Chicago, Cap and Gown 1924, p. 139.

Categories
Chicago Economists Salaries

Chicago. Selected salaries. Hayek visiting, Friedman as associate professor, 1946

 

 

Since economists put much store in the notion of people putting their (own or other people’s) money where their mouths are, Economics in the Rear-view Mirror provides from time to time some historical faculty salaries to shine a little light on where those professors of economics before us stood in the willingness-to-pay of their respective departments and university administrations. In this post we see how the brief visiting professorship of Friedrich Hayek and the tenured associate professorship of Milton Friedman fit into the 1946 salary structure at the Univerity of Chicago’s department of economics.

Note: For his half-quarter service Hayek was offered $2,000 (quoted in a January 23, 1945 note  from the director of the U of Chicago Press to VP E. C. Colwell). I presume the $4,000 figure includes $2,000 compensation from (or on behalf of) Stanford University.

_______________________

Comparison: Selected 1945-46 Chicago Salaries
(and recommendations for 1946-47)

Jacob Viner. $10,000
Frank Knight. $9,000 ($10,000)
S.E. Leland. $9,000 ($9,500 Note: resigned to go to Northwestern)
T.W. Schultz. $9,000 ($9,000)
John U. Nef. $8,000 ($8,000)
Jacob Marschak. $8,000 ($8,500)
Paul H. Douglas. $7,000 ($8,000)
Oscar Lange. ($6,000) ($6,000) on leave 1 Oct 1945 to 30 June 1947
Henry Simons. $6,000 ($6,000)
L. W. Mints. $5,500 ($6,000)
Tjalling Koopmans $5250 ($6,740. Note: new salary effective 1 January 1946)

Source:  “Budget and Appointment Recommendations 1946-47 (December 7, 1945)”

_______________________

Hayek’s Half-Quarter, Spring 1946

 

May 10, 1946

Mr. Robert Redfield Social Sciences
R. G. Gustavson Central Administration

On May 9, 1946 the Board of Trustees approved the following recommendations:

It is recommended that Friedrich A. Hayek be appointed Visiting Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics for the period April 8, 1946 to May 11, 1946. For this service and a similar period of service at Stanford University it is recommended that an honorarium of $4,000 be approved.

cc:
Mr. T. W. Schultz
Mr. L. A. Kimpton)      Salary not mentioned
Mrs. K. Turabian)        Salary not mentioned

 

Board—5/9/46:

It is recommended that Friedrich a. Hayek be appointed Visiting Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics for the period April 8, 1946 to May 11, 1946. For this service and a similar period of service at Stanford University it is recommended that an honorarium of $4,000 be approved.

Form sent to Comptroller—5/13/46

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Milton Friedman’s tenured associate professorship
Effective October, 1946

March 19, 1946

Mr. Robert Redfield Social Sciences
R. G. Gustavson Vice President

On March 28, 1946 the Committee on Instruction and Research approved the following recommendation:

It is recommended that Milton Friedman be appointed Associate Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics on indefinite tenure on a 4E Service basis at an annual salary of $6,000 effective October 1, 1946.

cc:
Mr. T. W. Schultz
Mr. L. A. Kimpton)      Salary not mentioned
Mrs. K. Turabian)        Salary not mentioned

 

I & R. 28 March 1946:

It is recommended that Milton Friedman be appointed Associate Professor in the Department of Economics on indefinite tenure on a 4E service basis at an annual salary of $6,000 effective October 1, 1946.

 

Source: University of Chicago Library. Department of Special Collections. Office of the President. Hutchins Administration Records. Box 284. Folder “Economics, 1943-1947”.

Image Source: National Portrait Gallery. Photographs Collection. NPG x187289. Friedrich August von Hayek by Walter Stoneman, half-plate glass negative, June 1945. The portrait has been cropped to fit the format of this webpage.
Creative Commons License Creative Commons license. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Categories
Chicago Economists

Columbia. PhD alumnus. William J. Shultz, 1924

 

Today we meet a Columbia Ph.D. alumnus who was brought to the Department of Political Economy at the University of Chicago in 1926 by Paul H. Douglas. He was mentioned in the course description of the previous post. Both Douglas as well as the University of Chicago publications people consistently misspelled William J. Shultz’s last name as “Schultz”. We can be sure that the correct spelling of the last name is without the Chicago “c”. Cf. both the Columbia College yearbook of 1922 and his obituary in the New York Times (below).

While Shultz did not write a dissertation in economics, he immediately produced a work on inheritance taxation that  won him the first prize in the Hart, Schaffner and Marx prize in economics. He went on to teach economics and later marketing.

While the New York Times obituary (see below) stated that Shultz was an assistant professor at the University of Chicago in 1926, the University of Chicago’s Annual Register covering the Academic Year Ending June 30, 1926, with Announcements for the Year 1926-1927 (p. 137) gives his rank as “instructor” for the summer quarter of 1926 and lists him as “lecturer” for the 1926-27 academic year.

Shultz is a nice specimen of the utterly brilliant young graduate whose great expectations resulted in just a pretty good career without leaving a lasting impression in the history of economics.

____________________________

Abstract of Shultz’s dissertation

“The book written by William J. Shultz introduces us to the Humane Movement in America that is dedicated to the protection of animals and children. It represents a continuation of an older work by Professor Roswell C. McCrea. At the present time in America there are 539 organizations with approximately 200,000 members active in this movement: 307 link the protection of animals with the protection of children and 175 are dedicated strictly to the protection of animals. The common motive here is the Prevention of Cruelty. The author documents the development of these organizations during the period 1910-1922, together with the organizational structures, methods of fund-raising and their inner-workings….”

Source: Own translation of the review by Agnes v. Zahn-Harnack published in Zeitschrift Für Die Gesamte Staatswissenschaft, 80(2), 379-380.

____________________________

Links to copies of books by William J. Shultz available on-line.

The Taxation of Inheritance. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1926.

American Public Finance (3rd edition). New York: Prentice-Hall, 1946.

Outline of Marketing. Ames, Iowa: Littlefield, Adams & Co., 1956.

American Marketing. San Francisco: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1961.

____________________________

Paul Douglas on William J. Shultz (1925)

The University of Chicago
The School of Commerce and Administration

October 22, 1925

Professor J.A. Field
Faculty Exchange

My dear Field:

I quite forgot the other day in the Department meeting to suggest Dr. William J. Schultz [sic] as a person that I thought we ought to keep our eye on.

I got acquainted with Schultz’s work last year as a result of his application for an Amherst Memorial Fellowship and he seemed to me the most brilliant youngster that I have ever known, with the exception of Viner. Schultz took his Ph.D. at Columbia in 1924 at the age of 23. He wrote his dissertation on “The Humane Movement in the United States” which was published in the Columbia Studies. In addition to that, he has translated the important portions of Rignano’s book on the inheritance tax and Knopf has published this with an introduction by Seligman. On top of all this, in collaboration with another person he has written a history of commerce; while he submitted last June a manuscript on the inheritance tax in the Hart, Schaffner & Marx series, which Viner tells me was easily the best in its completed form. Viner thinks it was really a marvelous piece of work.

In addition to all this, Schultz is an accomplished musician and has command over some four or five European languages. He spent a summer in Mexico and has written on that country.

During the last year he was teaching at Hunter College but had some thought this year of going to Japan if he received an appointment at one of the universities there.

I met him and liked him very much. Seligman thinks him very brilliant, although one or two men at Columbia complained of his artistic temperament. I was in favor of his receiving an Amherst Fellowship, but the business men on the committee were afraid of his precocious brilliance and were fearful that he might “blow up.” It may be that he is somewhat unsteady, although I detected no signs of it. On the other hand, he is certainly close to being a genius, and there are all too few of those in economics. It would be a great card for us to get him in the Department, or in some way attached to the University of Chicago. It would be easier to get him before he wins the Hart, Schaffner & Marx prize, if he does.

He seems to be a person that we should fish for and that at the very least we should try to get him for next summer and then possibly we might also make connections with him for a later engagement.

Faithfully yours,

[signed] Paul H. Douglas

Source: The University of Chicago Archives. Department of Economics. Records. Box 6, Folder 7.

____________________________

1922 Columbia College Yearbook
William J. Shultz….BROOKLYN, N.Y.

Freshman Fencing Team (1), Morningside (3), History Club (2)(3)(4), Junta (3), Assistant in History Department (4).

Bill enjoys the distinction of being the only Columbia man who raised a mustache at the age of eighteen. He is also quite proud of his curly locks. “That,” said Bill as he pointed to one of his raven curls, “is what makes ‘em fall.” Bill is also a history shark. He can tell you when Abe Lincoln first donned long trousers and what size collar Napoleon wore at Waterloo. If Bill can do other things as well as he can sell books, he will not only read history but also make it.

Source: The 1922 Columbian, p. 153.

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Obituary

WILLIAM J. SHULTZ OF BARUCH SCHOOL
The New York Times, May 29, 1970

Dr. William J. Shultz, economist and author, who retired in 1964 as professor of business administration at the Bernard M. Baruch School of Business Administration of the City University of New York, died Saturday of a heart attack in Camden, Me. He was 68 years old and lived in New Harbor, Me.

Dr. Shultz was the author of several books in his field, the last of which was “American Marketing,” published in 1961.

He was born in Brooklyn on April 25, 1902, and graduated in 1922 from Columbia College, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received a Ph.D. degree from Columbia University in 1924 and an LL.B. degree from New York Law School in 1930.

Early in his career he lectured on history at Columbia and taught history at City College and social science at Hunter College. He was assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago in 1926.

Dr. Shultz was a financial consultant to the National Industrial Conference Board from 1926 to 1930, and joined the faculty of Baruch School in 1932.

His widow, Luisa, survives.

Image Source: The 1922 Columbian, p. 153.