Description:

Herbert Hoover
Washington, D.C., February 21, 1930
Herbert Hoover Encourages the Head of the Shipping Board to Remain in His Position
TLS
A typed letter signed by Herbert Hoover to the Chairman of the U.S. Shipping Board. 1p, measuring 7" x 9", Washington, D.C., dated February 21, 1930. On White House stationery, signed "Herbert Hoover" and addressed to Thomas V. O'Connor. Hoover writes to urge O'Connor to continue as Chairman for a while longer, while acknowledging the strain of the job. The letter has been tipped to another sheet. With a flattened mail fold. Two hold punches at the top edge and two small holes from a removed staple. Very faint soiling. Boldly signed.

Reading in full:
"My dear Chairman O'Connor: I have your note of the 20th. I appreciate the strain it is to continue to act as Chairman of the Shipping Board, but I hope you can see your way to continue to remains as Chairman until such a time as I can make the necessary change. I am glad to know that you are going to Florida and hope you will find rest and improvement."

The Shipping Act of 1916, pushed through by Woodrow Wilson to increase wartime production, created the United States Shipping Board. Among its functions were subsidizing ship construction, developing a naval auxiliary, and increasing the size of the merchant marine, as well as regulating insurance, carrying rates, and ships' registries. The Emergency Fleet Corporation was immediately created by the board to build vessels to bring American troops and supplies to Europe in World War I. The EFC was mired in controversy from the start, as Shipping Board chairman William Denman locked horns with EFC general manager General George Goethals over finances as well as the details of ship construction. Both resigned, and President Wilson named Edward Hurley chairman of the both the Shipping Board and the EFC. Under Hurley, the board contracted to produce over 3,000 vessels, most of which were delivered after the Armistice. The war's end saw contracts cancelled and the ships still under construction sold throughout the 1920s.

While the EFC's fleet was sold to private shipping interests, former president of the International Longshoreman's Union Thomas Ventry O'Connor (1870-1935) took the helm of the Shipping Board in 1924 and held his position longer than any other chairman. During his tenure, he continued to remove actual ownership from the board's purview and instead return American ships to prominence in international carrying trade through administration and subsidies. Hoover's letter had the desired effect; O'Connor remained at the head of the Shipping Board until Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office in 1933.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 7" x 9"
  • Medium: TLS

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