Paul, Arthur Papers

Dates: 1942-1949

Assistant for International Trade to the Secretary of Commerce and Director, Office of International Trade, 1945-1947

The papers of Arthur Paul consist of correspondence, printed materials, speech notes, meeting notes, and other documents relating to Paul’s work as an economist and government official.

[Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List]

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: 1 linear foot, 4 linear inches (about 2400 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donor gave to the United States all copyrights which she had in the unpublished materials in this or any other collection of papers received by and deposited in a U.S. Government depository. Documents created by U.S. Government officials in the course of their duties are also in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Erwin J. Mueller (1978).
Updated by: Rachel Gard (2008) as part of the Truman Library Internship Program.
Supervising Archivists: Randy Sowell and David Clark.


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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1898 (August 28)

 

Born, Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania

1920

 

A.B., Princeton University

1921-1942

 

Vice President, Dexdale Hosiery Mills, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

1942-1943

 

Chief, Office of Imports, Board of Economic Warfare

1943-1945

 

Deputy Executive Director, Bureau of Areas, Foreign Economic Administration

1945-1947

 

Assistant for International Trade to the Secretary of Commerce and Director, Office of International Trade Operations

1947-1959

 

President, Overseas Corporation

1951-1958

 

President, Indevco, Inc.

1955-1959

 

President, Carbon Heater Corporation

1976

 

Died, North Egremont, Massachusetts

     
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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The papers of Arthur Paul mainly consist of correspondence, newspaper clippings, meeting notes and agendas, charts, reports, directories, printed materials, handwritten notes, and other items related to his work as an economist and administrator with the Foreign Economic Administration (FEA) and the Department of Commerce during and after World War II, with particular emphasis upon international trade, foreign economic policy, and industrial development.

Included among the materials in this collection are formal reports written by Mr. Paul, notes for speeches and addresses written for government and non-government organizations (e.g., the Export Managers Club of Chicago), published newspaper articles, and transcripts of a series of radio broadcasts that Paul took part in.

The collection includes memoranda, agendas, meeting notes, and reports relating to Paul’s work with the FEA and with the Office of International Trade Operations (later known as the Office of International Trade); Paul was Director of this office from the time of its establishment in the Commerce Department in October 1945 until his resignation in January 1947. Most of the correspondence is of a professional nature, and is primarily related to Paul’s work within the Department of Commerce. Included in the correspondence are letters concerning U.S. foreign economic policy, as well as possible measures that were to be taken in response to reconstruction efforts in post-World War II Europe. The bulk of this correspondence dates between 1945 and 1947.

In addition to the above materials, other items in the collection include copies of testimony that Mr. Paul gave at congressional hearings between 1945 and 1946, as well as copies of press releases that he created for the Department of Commerce spanning the entire duration of his position as assistant to the Secretary of Commerce (1945-1947). Also included are staff directories for those who served in government war agencies and charts relating to the structure and divisions within Paul’s department. Some items of particular interest include Paul’s report to the Board of Economic Warfare on the future of the Lend-Lease Act, and his proposal to the FEA on how the rebuilding of international trade networks could be approached at the end of World War II.

Related collections at the Truman Library include the papers of Thomas C. Blaisdell and Alfred Schindler.

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SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Container Nos.

 

Series

1-3

  SUBJECT FILE, 1942-1949
Correspondence, newspaper clippings, meeting notes and agendas, charts, reports, directories, printed materials, handwritten notes, and other items related to economics and Department of Commerce work conducted by Arthur Paul. Arranged alphabetically.
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FOLDER TITLE LIST

SUBJECT FILE, 1942-1949

Box 1

  • Administrative Orders and Reports, 1945-1946
  • Board of Economic Warfare, 1944
  • Business Paper Editors – National Conference, June 14, 1946
  • China, Industrialization of, U.S. Department Of Commerce
  • Commerce and Industry Association of New York – 1944-1946
  • Correspondence, General, 1945-1946 [1 of 2]
  • Correspondence, General, 1945-1946 [2 of 2]
  • Export Managers Club of Chicago (speech), June 25, 1946
  • Foreign Economic Administration – Branch Directors and Staff Meetings, 1944 [1 of 2]
  • Foreign Economic Administration – Branch Directors and Staff Meetings, 1944 [2 of 2]
  • Foreign Economic Administration – Branch Directors and Staff Meetings, 1945

Box 2

  • Foreign Economic Administration – Executive Policy Committee – Agenda, January – August 1945 [1 of 3]
  • Foreign Economic Administration – Executive Policy Committee – Agenda, January – August 1945 [2 of 3]
  • Foreign Economic Administration – Executive Policy Committee – Agenda, January – August 1945 [3 of 3]
  • Foreign Economic Administration – Executive Policy Committee Meetings, [Notes], May 1944 - August 1945 [1 of 3]
  • Foreign Economic Administration – Executive Policy Committee Meetings, [Notes], May 1944 - August 1945 [2 of 3]
  • Foreign Economic Administration – Executive Policy Committee Meetings, [Notes], May 1944 - August 1945 [3 of 3]
  • Foreign Economic Administration – General – 1944-1945
  • Foreign Industrial Development - FEA Report – February 1944
  • Foreign Service – Lists and Reports – 1944-1945

Box 3

  • General Documents - Charts, Directories, and Reports – 1944-1949
  • Import-Export Advisory Committee, 1944-1946
  • National Canners Association (speech) – February 5, 1946
  • National Industrial Conference Board – January 1946
  • Newspaper Publicity – 1945-1946
  • Organization Charts – Department of Commerce – 1942-1946
  • Personnel Data
  • Press Releases – U.S. Department of Commerce – 1945-1947
  • Radio Broadcasts
  • Resignation as Director – Office of International Trade Operations – 1947
  • Speeches – Notes and Correspondence
  • Staff Meetings, Office of International Trade Operations, Notes, 1945-1946 [1 of 2]
  • Staff Meetings, Office of International Trade Operations, Notes, 1945-1946 [2 of 2]
  • Testimony at Congressional Hearings – 1945-1946
  • War Agencies, Directories – 1942, 1944
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