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Title: Edwin Francis Gay papers
Date (inclusive): 1917-1927
Collection Number: XX085
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
6 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize folders
(2.6 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Correspondence, diary, reports, memoranda, and writings, relating to American economic mobilization and government control
of the economy during World War I, and to activities of the Central Bureau of Planning and Statistics, War Industries Board,
War Trade Board, Shipping Board, and Commercial Economy Board, and to the American delegation at the Paris Peace Conference.
Digital copies of select records also available at
https://digitalcollections.hoover.org.
Creator:
Paris Peace Conference (Date of meeting or treaty signing: 1919-1920)
Creator:
Gay, Edwin F. (Edwin Francis), 1867-1946
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired.
[Identification of item], Edwin Francis Gay papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Digital copies of select records also available at
https://digitalcollections.hoover.org.
| 1867 Oct. 27 | Born, Detroit, Michigan |
| 1902-1903 | Instructor, Economics, Harvard University |
| 1903-1906 | Assistant Professor, Economics, Harvard University |
| 1906-1919 | Professor, Economics, Harvard University |
| 1908-1919 | Dean, Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University |
| 1917 Apr.-1918 May | Member, Commercial Economy Board, Council of National Defense |
| 1917 Dec.-1918 Feb? | Special expert, U.S. Shipping Board |
| 1918 Feb.-1919 Mar. | Director, Division of Planning and Statistics, U.S. Shipping Board |
| 1918 Feb.-1919 June | Member, War Trade Board |
| 1918 May-1918 Dec. | Member, Conservation Division, War Industries Board |
| 1918 June-1919 Jan. | Chairman, Division of Planning and Statistics, War Industries Board |
| 1918 June-1919 June | Director, Central Bureau of Planning and Statistics |
| 1920-1923 | President, New York Evening Post |
| 1924-1936 | Professor, Economic History, Harvard University |
| 1936-1941 | Member, Research Staff, Huntington Library |
| 1941-1946 | Chairman, Huntington Library |
| 1946 Feb. 8 | Died |
The Edwin Francis Gay papers relate to U.S. government economic mobilization and government control of the economy during
World War I. They document Gay's work for agencies that collected and analyzed economic and statistical data to organize the
war effort. In particular, the papers provide statistical data about imports and exports, shipping, and trade routes during
World War I. They also provide information about the relationship between the U.S. and the Allies, and activities of the U.S.
delegation to the Paris Peace Conference.
Gay's diary runs from Dec. 27, 1917, to July 9, 1919, and covers much of his federal service. Diary entries list Gay's meetings,
significant actions taken, things to be done, and milestones achieved. Brief notations concerning subject matter are sometimes
included, and occasionally there is a more extensive narrative. A lengthy entry about the Chairman of the Shipping Control
Committee is attached to the entry for Feb. 12, 1918.
The series Notes for War Controls Book consists of preliminary material collected by Gorton James from 1925 to 1927 for a
proposed volume on war controls by Gay, which apparently was not completed. What may be drafts of chapters are available for
two subjects, labor and organization for the war. Included are typewritten memoranda of conversations with U.S. wartime figures
such as Bernard M. Baruch, Robert S. Brookings, Herbert Hoover, Vance C. McCormick, and Generals George W. Goethals, C. B.
Wheeler, and C. C. Williams. Some typewritten speeches and manuscripts written by interviewees are included.
The War File series documents Gay's war work, in which Gay was associated with a confusing array of wartime agencies. The
American Commission to Negotiate Peace (Nov. 1918 - Dec. 1919) was organized to negotiate formal treaties ending World War
I. Gay corresponded with his staff members assigned to the Commission, and with delegate John Foster Dulles.
The Allied Maritime Transport Council (Mar. 1918 - Apr. 7, 1919) was an inter-allied body that studied and recommended a concerted
shipping policy. The American Section of the Council included staff from the Division of Planning and Statistics of the U.S.
Shipping Board, which obtained necessary statistical data. Gay corresponded with his statistical staff in London.
The Central Bureau of Planning and Statistics (June 1918 - July 1919) prepared surveys of U.S. government war activities for
the President, operated a statistical clearinghouse, and provided economic data to the American Commission to Negotiate Peace.
It functioned as an independent agency under the President but reported through the War Industries Board until Dec. 31, 1918,
after which it was administered through the War Trade Board. Gay was Chairman of the Central Bureau.
The Commercial Economy Board (Mar. 24, 1917 - May 9, 1918), part of the Council of National Defense, studied commercial business
and identified economies to meet war needs, such as standardizing shoe styles. It was superseded by the Conservation Division
of the War Industries Board. Dr. A. W. Shaw was Chairman of the Commercial Economy Board and Gay was a member.
The Conservation Division (May 9, 1918 - Dec. 31, 1918), part of the War Industries Board, continued the activities of the
Commercial Economy Board. Dr. A. W. Shaw was Chairman of the Conservation Division and Gay was a member.
The Division of Planning and Statistics, part of the U.S. Shipping Board (USSB), was established on Feb. 11, 1918, to record
ship movements and study imports and exports to identify essential trade routes. The Division's data formed the basis for
recommendations to the Shipping Control Committee for the allocation of ships, and to the War Trade Board for restricting
imports. Edward N. Hurley succeeded William Denman as Chairman of the USSB; Gay was Director of the Division of Planning and
Statistics of the USSB.
The Shipping Control Committee, part of the USSB, allocated vessels to cargoes and routes and controlled the discharge of
U.S. tonnage. The USSB Division of Planning and Statistics assigned a representative to the Committee, which was headquartered
in New York. Gay corresponded with his representative and noted problems with Committee Chairman P. A. S. Franklin.
The War Industries Board (WIB; July 28, 1917 - Dec. 31, 1918) analyzed industrial requirements and capacities of the U.S.
and the Allies, set priorities in commodity production and delivery, and arranged price-fixing agreements for raw materials.
Bernard M. Baruch was Chairman of the WIB. Gay served as a member of the Conservation Division of the WIB and as Chairman
of the Division of Planning and Statistics of the WIB. (The Chairman of the Division of Planning and Statistics of the WIB
and the Director of the Division of Planning and Statistics of the USSB were separate positions in different agencies.)
The War Trade Board (Oct. 12, 1917 - June 30, 1919) controlled imports and exports, and conserved commodities and shipping
facilities for U.S. and Allied use. Vance C. McCormick was the Chairman of the War Trade Board and Gay was a member of the
Board representing the USSB.
In the War File series, papers relating to peace negotiations and international cooperation are in the file American Commission
to Negotiate Peace - General Records. Weekly reports and staff conference summaries of the Division and Planning and Statistics
(USSB) for July-August 1918 are attached to letters in the file Division of Planning and Statistics - Correspondence. The
Division of Planning and Statistics (USSB) file Special Report to Edwin Francis Gay on P. A. S. Franklin, 1918, contains documentation
of differences with the Shipping Control Committee Chairman about tonnage allocation between trade and military purposes and
data sharing with the Allied Maritime Transport Council.
The series Printed Matter includes speeches by Bernard M. Baruch at the Army War College and the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers. Printed reports of federal agency offices headed by Gay are in the War File series.
The bulk of Gay's papers are housed at the Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1914-1918 -- Peace
World War, 1914-1918 -- United States
World War, 1914-1918 -- Economic aspects
Economists
United States. Council of National Defense. Commercial Economy Board
United States. Shipping Board
United States. War Industries Board
United States. War Trade Board
United States. Central Bureau of Planning and Statistics