Guide to the Paul Shoup Papers M0057

Processed by Special Collections staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Patricia White
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
1997 ; revised 2020
Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford 94305-6064
specialcollections@stanford.edu


Language of Material: English
Contributing Institution: Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Paul Shoup Papers
Creator: Shoup, Paul
Identifier/Call Number: M0057
Identifier/Call Number: 1457
Physical Description: 5.25 Linear Feet (12 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1884-1986
Abstract: Papers of prominent businessman and writer Paul Shoup, who was president of Southern Pacific Railroad. Contains business and personal correspondence, business, legal and financial papers, bills and acts of Congress, governmental documents, political campaign material, minutes of meetings, texts of articles and printed materials covering the period of Shoup's presidency (1929-32) and vice chairmanship (1932-1938) of the Southern Pacific Company and his interest and involvement with development and oil companies, notably the Tide Water Oil Group.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use. Audiovisual materials are not available in original format, and must be reformatted to a digital use copy.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The papers of Paul Shoup are the gift of his sons, Carl Sumner Shoup, professor of economics at Columbia University, and the late Jack Wilson Shoup, former Secretary of the Stanford Alumni Association. They were presented to the Stanford Library in the fall of 1961.

Biographical / Historical

Paul Shoup, son of Timothy and Sarah Sumner Shoup, was born in San Bernardino, California on January 8, 1874. While still in school, he worked delivering newspapers and later as a local correspondent for a Los Angeles paper. He was graduated from San Bernardino High School in 1891 and afterwards obtained a clerical job in the mechanical department of the Atchinson, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway at San Bernardino.
In 1892, young Paul began his forty-seven year career with the Southern Pacific Company as a ticket clerk in the San Bernardino office. Shoup quickly learned other aspects of the business and worked in the telegraph and freight offices before going into the general office traffic service. Miss Rose Wilson became Mrs. Paul Shoup on December 1, 1900. The Shoups had three children: Carl Sumner, Jack Wilson, and Louise.
In the year following his marriage, Shoup became district freight and passenger agent at San Jose, his first official position. He rose rapidly in the traffic department becoming assistant general freight and passenger agent and an executive of the line at Portland, Oregon. When the earthquake and fire struck San Francisco in 1906, Shoup returned from Portland to serve on the board directing rehabilitation work.
In 1910 Shoup was appointed assistant general manager in charge of the railroad's municipal and inter-urban electric lines in several California cities. Two years later he was made president of the Pacific Electric Railway Company. With the outbreak of World War I, the government took over the operation of the nation's railroads and Shoup was made vice president in charge of the property interests of Southern Pacific and its affiliated and proprietary concerns.
The Southern Pacific Company named Paul Shoup vice president and assistant to the president in 1920, and in 1925, he was appointed executive vice president. In 1929 he became president and in 1932, vice chairman of the board with offices in New York. He retired from the vice chairmanship and Southern Pacific in 1938 to serve as president of Southern Californians, Inc., an employer group organized to "fight racketeering in labor relations."
Shoup had many interests besides the railroad industry. One of his earliest ambitions had been to become a professional writer, and in his early career had had a number of stories published. He published numerous articles and made speeches on a variety of subjects connected with his business and political interests. According to various newspaper accounts of his career, Shoup is supposed to have been one of the initial founders of "Sunset Magazine"--originally a railroadmen's trade journal--and to have been instrumental in building it to become one of the West's leading popular magazines.
Paul Shoup was also president of the Pacific Oil Company and Associated 0il Company and served on the boards of several other oil, land, gas, electric, and railroad companies, including Tide Water Oil. He wrote and conferred a great deal with Congressional and governmental agencies on labor and management problems, ways to reduce the effects of the Depression, and spoke out against the Social Security Act and parts of the Interstate Commerce Act. A Republican in politics, he was very active in the campaign of Alfred M. Landon for President in 1935-1936.
Shoup belonged to a number of clubs, including the Bohemian, the Bankers (New York), the Pacific Union (San Francisco), and the Jonathan. He was President of the Merchants and Manufacturers Association, Inc. and was a member of the board of trustees of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Inc. and Stanford University, where both his sons received their undergraduate degrees. After a long, active and varied career, Paul Shoup died in California on July 30, 1946.
Most of this biographical material is drawn from "Who's Who in America, vol. 23, 1944-1945" and various newspaper clippings found in the collection.

Paging

Page from catalog record https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/4082960

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of item] Paul Shoup Papers, M057, Dept. of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Scope and Contents

The Paul Shoup collection contains some 7,500 items, by rough estimate, and covers primarily his terms as president and vice chairman of the Southern Pacific Company between 1929 and 1938. There are some items dated 1928 and some pertaining to Southern Californians, Inc., which he joined after retiring from Southern Pacific in 1938. There are also a few items dated as late as 1945 and 1946. The collection is made up, in part, of personal and business correspondence, various business papers and reports, minutes of meetings of stockholders and boards of directors, financial statements, annual reports, governmental and Congressional documents, Depression relief proposals, clippings, memos, and Shoup's own articles and addresses.
The subject matter covered is rich and varied. In the area of business there are the railroad and oil companies of which the outstanding are Southern Pacific and Tide Water Oil Company. There are also the directors' and stockholders' meetings and the J. Paul Getty proxie fight. Agreements with persons such as R. Stanley Dollar and organizations such as the Calmexico Syndicate and the Mission Corporation also appear.
In politics, Shoup was a Republican. He was a personal friend of Herbert Hoover and corresponded with him on numerous subjects. There are some Hoover autograph letters in the collection including one on a White House letterhead. Shoup was also active in Alf Landon's 1935-1936 campaign for the Presidency against Roosevelt and there is a folder of material as well as a number of clippings relating to that subject.
Other subjects can be described as having both political and business facets. Correspondence about the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and with Jesse Jones, articles against portions of the Interstate Commerce Act and the Social Security Act, and Shoup's own indictment along with several oil companies by the federal government for violation of anti-trust legislation, can be placed in this category. The correspondence also points up how much effort in terms of time and money was spent by bankers and railroad executives to find some plan for stemming the Depression and increasing employment.
There is also a fair amount of correspondence relating to StanfordUniversity. As the father of two alumni and a member of the Board of Trustees, Shoup had an active interest in the school. He helped to finance the Hoover Library and the Children's Convalescent Home. During the Depression, he was concerned about the problem of bolstering finances of the University.
Some of the many important names which appear in the correspondence are given below. Arthur Ballantine, Undersecretary of the Treasury; Clarence Bamberger, Associated Oil Distributing Company; Ernest Bamberger, railroad and mining in Utah; Harry Chandler, president of the Times-Mirror Company of Los Angeles; Denver Church, U.S. House of Representatives, 9th District of California, 1933; Royal S. Copeland., U.S. Senator from New York and chairman of the Commerce Committee, 1937; D. A. Crawford, president of the Pullman Company; W. H. Crocker, banker of San Francisco; Joseph Di Giorgio, Di Giorgio Fruit Corporation of New York; J. S. Douglas of Douglas, Arizona; Lewis Williams Douglas, U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona; John Dickinson, assistant Secretary, Department of Commerce; Fred J. Fisher, president of Fisher Body Corporation, Detroit; Herbert Fleishhacker, banker of San Francisco; Carl R. Gray, president of the Union Pacific System; John Hamilton, chairman of the Republican National Committee, 1936-1937; L. O. Head, President of Railway Express Agency, New York; Herbert Hoover, President of the United States, 1929-1932; George Houston, president of Baldwin Locomotive Works; William Humphrey, president of Associated Oil Company and Tide Water Oil Company; Hiram Johnson, U.S. Senator from California; Jesse H. Jones, chairman of the R.F.C.; K. R. Kingsbury, president of Standard Oil of California; R. P. Lamont, Secretary of Commerce, 1932; Alfred M. Landon, Governor of Kansas and Presidential candidate; Clarence Lea, U.S. House of Representatives, 1st District of California, 1936; Charles Mahaffie, Commissioner of I.C.C., 1934; Eugene Meyer, publisher of the "Washington Post"; Daniel C. Jackling, president and director of Mesabi Iron Company; Ogden MiIls, Secretary of the Treasury, 1932; Walter Newton, secretary to President Hoover; Carl Rott, secretary to Governor Landon; Alfred P. Sloan, president of General Motors Corporation; Ray Lyman Wilbur, Secretary of the Interior and President of Stanford University; and Owen D. Young, chairman of the Banking and Industrial Committee, 1932.

Separated Materials

Materials withdrawn from the collection: Minutes of the Board of Trustees of Stanford University, Stanford Associates publications, and miscellaneous related Stanford publications were removed and placed in the Stanford Collection.

Conditions Governing Use

While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Businesspeople
Depressions -- 1929.
Social security--Law and legislation
Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964
Jackling, Daniel Cowan
Johnson, Hiram, 1866-1945
Wilbur, Ray L. (Ray Lyman), 1875-1949
Bohemian Club (San Francisco, Calif.)
Southern Pacific Company
Stanford University

box 1, folder 1-14

Correspondence in: A- M 447317

box 2, folder 15-20

Correspondence in: N - Y 447315

box 2, folder 22-38

Correspondence out 447313 1928 -1935 May 29

box 3, folder 39-53

Correspondence out 447311 1935 June 1-1946 January 14, and undated

box 3, folder 54-61

General and related correspondence: A - R -not to Shoup, arranged by sender 447309

box 4, folder 62-63

General and related correspondence: S - Y 447307

box 4, folder 64

General and related correspondence -unsigned, arranged by recipient 447305

box 4, folder 65-70

Out correspondence regarding Stanford 447303 1931 April-1946 July 1

box 4, folder 71-75

In correspondence regarding Stanford: A - Y 447301

box 4, folder 76

General correspondence regarding Stanford 447299 1931 January 4-1946 May 20

box 5, folder 77

Railroads, general - business reports, etc. and descriptions of smaller and branch roads 447297

box 5, folder 78

Southern Pacific Railroad - business papers 447295

box 5, folder 79

Southern Pacific Railroad - "Application to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation for Loan", bound 447293 1933 March 15

box 5, folder 80

Railroad Reports - St. Louis Southwestern Railroad - legal testimony and reorganization plans 447291

box 5, folder 81

Calmexico - appointments, agreements and etc. 447289

box 5, folder 82

Tide Water Oil Company - Getty proxie fight, mergers and other business papers 447287

box 5, folder 83

Tide Water Oil Company - Agreements and reorganization matters 447285

box 5, folder 84

Tide Water Oil Company - Misc. business papers and more re: Getty 447283

box 5, folder 85

Mission Corporation (Oil) - reports, etc. 447281

box 5, folder 86

Tide Water Oil Company -"Application to Securities and Exchange Commission for Permanent Registration under Section 12 (b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 of Securities Temporarily Registered", bound 447279

box 5, folder 87

Tide Water Associated Oil Company - bound, same as [folder] 86 447277

box 6, folder 88

Agreements - between companies and persons 447275

box 6, folder 89

Letters to stockholders and directors 447273

box 6, folder 90-91

Notices of meetings: A - S 447271

box 6, folder 92

Notices of meetings and proxies - Tide Water Oil Company 447269 1932 March 3-1938 June 9

box 6, folder 93

Notices of meetings: W 447267

box 6, folder 94

Minutes of directors - California College in China, California Palace-Legion of Honor 447265

box 6, folder 95

Minutes of meetings - Calmexico Petroleum, 2 committees; International Society of Christian Endeavor 447263

box 6, folder 96

Minutes of meetings - Pacific Fruit Express, Southern Pacific Railway 447261

box 6, folder 97

Minutes of meetings - St. Louis Southwestern Railway, Tide Water Oil Company 447259 1934-1935; 1932-1936

box 7, folder 98

Financial statements - Tide Water Oil 447257 1927-1937

box 7, folder 99

Financial statements - Oil Companies 447255

box 7, folder 100

Financial statements - Southern Pacific Railway 447253 August, 1932-February, 1938

box 7, folder 101

Financial statements - St. Louis Southwestern Railway 447251 1931-1938

box 7, folder 102

Financial statements - Misc. Railroad, gas and electric 447249 1934-1936

box 7, folder 103

Annual reports I - general 447247

box 7, folder 104

Annual reports II Tide Water Oil 447245 1931-1938

box 8, folder 105

Banking - Debt and Credit 447243

box 8, folder 106

Government and congressional - Bills, Acts, Reports, etc. 447241

box 8, folder 107

Depression - R.F.C. and others, various proposals and plans to relieve it 447239

box 8, folder 108

Printed matter - Miscellaneous 447237

box 8, folder 109

Landon campaign 447235 1935-1936

box 9, folder 110

Bohemian Club 447233

box 9, folder 111

Shoup articles - printed and typescripts 447231 1931-1945

box 9, folder 112

Miscellaneous clubs - notices, etc. 447229

box 9, folder 113

U. S. Chamber of Commerce 447227

box 9, folder 114-115

Shoup lectures -- typed with handwritten notes and drafts 447225 1930-1936 and undated

box 9, folder 116

National Conference of Business and Industrial Committees 447223

box 9, folder 117

Organizations and institutions - notices, meetings, etc. 447221

box 9, folder 118

Transportation Association of America 447219

box 9, folder 119

Personal - business cards, invitations, etc. 447217

box 9, folder 120

W. J. Wollman & Co. Weekly Letter, - much material by Shoup 447215 1934-1936

box 10, folder 121

Lists - Shoup's memberships, organizations, contacts, etc. 447213

box 10, folder 122

Clippings - re: Shoup 447211 1929-1938, 1940

box 10, folder 123

Publicity file on Shoup retirement from vice chairmanship of Southern Pacific -bound clippings 447209

box 10, folder 124

Clippings - general 447207

box 10, folder 125

Dated memos, manuscripts, and typescripts of 447205

box 10, folder 126

Undated memos and manuscripts 447203

box 10, folder 127

Southern Californians, Inc. 447201

box 10, folder 128

Miscellaneous - business 447199

box 10, folder 129

Miscellaneous - Shoup, personal interests 447197

box 10, folder 130

Fragments 447195

 

Accession 2021-397

Box 11, Folder 1

Paul Shoup presentation at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco February 4, 1929

Box 11, Folder 2

Photo album from the San Bernardino Chamber of Commerce given to Paul Shoup on his homecoming day April 22, 1929

Box 11, Folder 3

Time magazine, Volume XIV, Number 7 (with photograph of Paul Shoup on the cover) August 12, 1929

Box 11, Folder 4

Sunset magazine, Volume 4, Number 2 December, 1899

Box 11, Folder 5

Newspaper clippings 1929-1986

Box 11, Folder 6

Paul Shoup photographs

Box 11, Folder 7

Photograph of Paul Shoup's children

Box 11, Folder 8

Paul Shoup and Rose Wilson marriage certificate 1900

Box 11, Folder 9

Rose Wilson Shoup photographs

Box 11, Folder 10

Rose Wilson Shoup memorial book 1942

Box 11, Folder 11

Rose Wilson Shoup compositions notebook 1888

Box 11, Folder 12

Rose Wilson Shoup autograph book 1884-1891

Box 11, Folder 13

Rose Wilson Shoup scrapbook of postcards

Box 11, Folder 14

Rose Wilson Shoup scrapbook

Box 11, Folder 15

Historical and biographical sketch of the Schaub, Schaup, Shaub, Shoub, Shaup and Shoup family

Box 12, Folder 1

Summer, Shoup and Bryant family record book

Box 12, Folder 2

Scrapbook