A Guide to the Papers of Thomas Walker Page, 1906-1937 Page, Thomas Walker, Papers 12777

A Guide to the Papers of Thomas Walker Page, 1906-1937

A Collection in
Special Collections
The University of Virginia Library
Accession Number 12777

Special Collections, University of Virginia Library

Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
USA
Phone: (434) 243-1776
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Processed by: Special Collections Staff

Repository

Special Collections, University of Virginia Library

Accession number

12777

Title

Papers of Thomas Walker Page 1906-1937

Physical Characteristics

This collection consists of ca. 5000 items (4.0 shelf feet).

Language

English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Papers of Thomas Walker Page, Accession #12777, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

The collection combines two separate accessions, a gift of Tipton R. Snavely in 1964 (originally accessioned as manuscript #7799), and a smaller bundle of ca. 1000 items given in 1985 by Rose Page Wilson. Two further items, formerly accessioned as manuscripts #227 and #551, have also been included.

Biographical/Historical Information

Thomas Walker Page (1866-1937), named for the well-known Virginia physician and explorer, was born in Albemarle County, Virginia. He was awarded the M.A. degree from Randolph-Macon College in 1886. He also attended the Universities of Virginia and Leipzig, receiving his Ph.D. at Leipzig in 1896. Dr. Page taught at several universities in the following two decades, including the Universities in the following two decades, including the University of Virginia, where he was James Wilson Professor of Economics; he also served on the United States Tariff Board. In 1918, he was appointed to the United States Tariff Commission, of which he later became chairman.

Scope and Content Information

The Thomas Walker Page Papers (1906-1937) consist of approximately 5,000 items (4.0 shelf feet), including personal and official correspondence (1918-1936), extensive notes and writings on economic matters, and various reports and records of the government agencies and charitable institutions with which Dr. Page was associated. Among the latter are reports of the League of Nations, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the National Tax Association.

The nearly apolitical stance and common sense approach for which Dr. Page was known made his opinion one sought after by many of his better known contemporaries. Letters among these papers reveal correspondence with such notables as Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Warren G. Harding, Herbert Hoover, and Woodrow Wilson. The collection also contains letters to and from Bernard Baruch, F. W. Taussig, Carter Glass and Edwin Alderman. Among letters to Dr. Alderman is one undated and handwritten which reveals the essential nobility of Dr. Page's character as well as his undying loyalty to the University.

Examples of his cogent and thoughtful argumentation can be found not only in his correspondence with colleagues, but through his published and unpublished writings as well. Textbook drafts included in the collection bear primarily on the tariff, as do the copies and drafts of articles that appear here; the tariff and taxation remained the focus of Dr. Page's research throughout his career.

While Page the economist was a rigorous theoretician, his ultimate concerns were practical and social. He fought the public's ignorance of economic matters, writing articles directed at laymen for such popular periodicals as the Saturday Evening Post. He participated fully in debates over taxation during his career, denouncing for example, the "trickle-down" theory used by the Republicans to justify proportionally higher taxation of the poor.

Organization

The collection totals ten manuscript boxes and is organized in eight series. Series I is primarily correspondence (1918-1936), although some lengthy enclosures remain attached; the arrangement is chronological. Series II incorporates book drafts, typescripts and manuscript articles written by Dr. Page. Series III is comprised of class and research notes taken by Dr. Page. These notes cover a variety of topics and are arranged alphabetically by Subject. Series IV is made up of miscellaneous writings authored by colleagues and others, many of whom are unknown. Series V combines reports, proceedings and organizational records of various government agencies and institutions; these are arranged alphabetically. Series VI designated statistical data, mainly charts and graphs of economic variables. Series VII is comprised of printed matter and newspaper clippings. Series VIII contains several folders of biographical information, chiefly concerning professional colleagues of Dr. Page.

Contents List

Series I: Correspondence

Box 1
1918-1927

13 folders
Box 2
1928-1936, n.d.

12 folders

Series II: Writings of Thomas Walker Page

Box 3
[Untitled text] "Introduction: The English Background" n.d.

TMs 14 p.
Box 3
[Untitled text] "Chapter I: The First Plantation" n.d.

TMs 26 p.
Box 3
[Untitled text] "Chapter Two: The Beginning of New England" n.d.

TMs 29 p.
Box 3
[Untitled text] "Chapter III: The Acquisition of the Middle Region and Settlement of the South" n.d.

TMs 33 p.
Box 3
[Untitled text] "Chapter IV: The Composition of the American People" n.d.

TMs 16 p.
Box 3
[Untitled text] "Chapter drafts [IV?] n.d.

TMs 22 p.
Box 3
[Untitled text] "Chapter V: The Occupation of the Wilderness" n.d.

TMs 19 p.
Box 3
[Untitled text] "Chapter VI: Social and Political Institution" n.d.

TMs
Box 3
[Untitled text] "Chapter VII: The Growth of Prosperity" n.d.

TMs 43 p.
Box 3
[Untitled text] "Chapter VIII: The Winning of the West" n.d.

TMs 28 p.
Box 3
Relation of the Tariff to American Agriculture , Intro., "Approach to the Subject" n.d.

AMs 25 p.TMs 20 p.
Box 3
Relation of the Tariff to American Agriculture , Chapter I: "Vacillating Tariff Policy of the Farmers" n.d.

AMs 53 p.
Box 3
Relation of the Tariff to American Agriculture , Chapter I: "Vacillating Tariff Policy of the Farmers" n.d.

TMs 28 p.
Box 3
Relation of the Tariff to the American Farmer , "Influences of the Tariff on the Price of Domestic Products: Where Outputs Is Less than Consumption" n.d.

AMs 19 p.
Box 3
Relation of the Tariff to the American Farmer , Chapter II: "The Volume of Production as a Limit to Protection" n.d.

AMs 20 p.
Box 3
Relation of the Tariff to the American Farmer , Chapter II: "Defeat of Tariff Reform in the 19th Century" n.d.

AMs 9 p.
Box 3
Relation of the Tariff to the American Farmer , Chapter II: "The Volume of Production as a Limit to Protection" n.d.

TMs 17p., 2 copies TMs 6p.
Box 3
Relation of the Tariff to the American Farmer , Chapter II (IV): "Recent Inconsistencies in Tariff Policy" n.d.

TMs 24 p.
Box 3
Relation of the Tariff to the American Farmer , Drafts of Chapter III: "Difficulty in Defining the Objects of Protection" n.d.

AMs TMs 42 p.
Box 3
Relation of the Tariff to the American Farmer , Chapter III: "Price Raising..." n.d.

AMs 31 p.
Box 3
Relation of the Tariff to the American Farmer , Drafts of Chapter III: "The Adjustment of Agriculture to the Domestic Market" n.d.

AMs TMs, 167 p.
Box 3
Relation of the Tariff to the American Farmer , Chapter III, 9-21: "Effect of Tariff on Employment & Wages" n.d.

TMs 12 p.
Box 3
Relation of the Tariff to the American Farmer , Chapter IV: "The Purpose of Protecting Agriculture" n.d.

AMs 35 p.
Box 3
Relation of the Tariff to the American Farmer , "Notes on Manuscript, for Mr. Page" - from Mr. Hardy n.d.

TMs 4 p.
Box 3
American Agriculture and the Tariff , Chapter V: "The Purpose of Protecting Agriculture" n.d.

TMs 22 p. 2 copies
Box 3
American Agriculture and the Tariff , Chapter VI: "The 'Home Market' Theory of Protection" n.d.

TMs 20 p. 2 copies
Box 3
American Agriculture and the Tariff , Chapter VII: "The Extent of Protection for Agriculture" n.d.

TMs 11 p. 2 copies
Box 3
American Agriculture and the Tariff , Chapter VIII: "The Degree of Protection Extended to Agriculture" n.d.

TMs 10 p. 2 copies
Box 4
American Agriculture and the Tariff , Chapter IX: "The Degree of Protection to Deficient Products" n.d.

TMs 38 p. 5 copies
Box 4
American Agriculture and the Tariff , Chapter X: "Influence of a Tariff on 'Surplus' Products" n.d.

TMs 19 p. 2 copies
Box 4
American Agriculture and the Tariff , Chapter XI: "Influence of the Tariff When Output Balances Consumption" n.d.

TMs 14 p.
Box 4
Summary/Review of American Agriculture and the European Market , by E. G. Nourse n.d.

TMs 2 p.
Box 4
The Tariff and the American Farmer Chapter V: "The Purpose of Protecting Agriculture" n.d.

TMs 23 p.
Box 4
Corrections and questions for Chapters V - X n.d.

AMs ca. 20 p.
Box 4
Addresses n.d.

AMss 100 p.
Box 4
"Can Agriculture Be Adjusted So As To Be Protected?" 1927 Oct 26

TMs 16 p.
Box 4
"Comments on the Republican Party as the Guardian of Business" 1924 Oct 26

TMs 10 p.
Box 4
"Comments on Secretary Mellon's Statement" n.d.

TMs 7 p.
Box 4
"Comments on the Tax Commission" n.d.

TMs 12 p.
Box 4
"Commercial Relations Between States as Provocative of War" n.d.

1922 Oct 23
Box 4
"Discussion" n.d.

TMs 2 p.
Box 4
"Does the Tariff Raise Farm Prices?" 1927 Oct 26

TMs 17 p. 5 copies
Box 4
Extracts on Sugar n.d.

TMs 8 p. 3 copies
Box 4
"Facts About the Tariff (Further Elaborated)" [1930 Oct 10]

TMs 22 p. 3 copies
Box 4
"Failure of the Flexible Tariff" n.d.

TMs. 5 p.
Box 4
On "The Farmer and the Tariff" 1927 Aug 10 - 1928 Feb 10

TMs 4 p. 4 copies
Box 4
"The Farmers and the Tariff" n.d.

TMs 5 p. 2 copies
Box 4
"Future Need of Protection" (fragment) n.d.

TMs 3 p.
Box 4
"Notes on Speeches of President Coolidge and Secretary Hughes on October 23" 1924 Oct 26

TMs 8-10 p. 5 copies
Box 4
"Reform of the Financial System" n.d.

TMs 32 p.
Box 4
"The Republican Party as the 'Friend' of Labor" n.d.

TMs 6 p. 2 copies
Box 5
"The Situation in Agriculture" n.d.

TMs 12 p.
Box 5
"Trade Barriers" n.d.

TMs 4 p.
Box 5
"What if England Should Abandon Free Trade?" n.d.

TMs 27 p.
Box 5
Miscellaneous - Relating to Agriculture n.d.

TMs
Box 5
Miscellaneous Printed Articles by Thomas Walker Page 1920-1929

Series III: Research and Lecture Notes

Box 5
Notes on Communication in American Life n.d.
Box 5
Notes on the Economic History of the U.S. n.d.
Box 5
Notes on Economic Theory n.d.
Box 5
Notes on English Economic History n.d.
Box 5
Notes on Government n.d.
Box 5
Notes on the History of American Foreign Trade n.d.
Box 5
Notes on House of Commons Debates (Canadian) n.d.
Box 6
Notes on Immigration n.d.
Box 6
Notes on the Middle Ages n.d.
Box 6
Notes on Nicholson's Principles of Political Economy n.d.
Box 6
Notes on the Predominance of England in the New World n.d.
Box 6
Notes on Taxation n.d.
Box 6
Miscellaneous Notes n.d.
Box 6
Miscellaneous Notes n.d.

Series IV: Miscellaneous Writings

Box 7
Angell, Prof., Council on Foreign Relations "The Financial Foreign Policy of the United States" 1933
Box 7
Benner, Claude L., memo to Thomas Walker Page, "On Agricultural Credit" n.d.
Box 7
Dyer, Francis J., "Protection and the Automotive Industry" 1924 Nov 24
Box 7
Edminster, L. R., memo to Thomas Walker Page, Comments on "The Relation of the Tariff to American Agriculture" 1929 July 8
Box 7
Johnson, Lester D., "Proposal for a Sliding Scale of Import Duties on Sugar" n.d.
Box 7
Kiplinger, W. M., "Recent Developments in Tariff Legislation" 1930 Jan 28
Box 7
Nourse, Mr., memo to Thomas Walker Page concerning Chapters V-X 1929 Mar 19
Box 7
Wilson, Woodrow, Address excerpts 1912-1913
Box 7
"Bargaining Features of the Act (s) of 1890 (and 1897)" n.d.
Box 7
"Part III: Exports From the United States" n.d.
Box 7
"Productivity and Wages of United States and Foreign Workers and Comparative Price Levels" n.d.
Box 7
"Purpose of the Investigation" n.d.

Box 7

Series V: Reports, Proceedings, Organizational Records

Box 7
Advisory Committee to the Joint Congressional Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation 1926-1927
Box 7
American Council of Learned Societies 1924
Box 7
The Brookings Institution n.d.
Box 7
Canadian Debates in Parliament, Last Session - 1930, House of Commons ca. 1930
Box 7
Carded Woolen Manufacturers Association ca. 1926
Box 7
Federal Tax Material ca. 1927
Box 7
Federal Trade Commission Taxation Proposals w/Thomas Walker Page's notes 1924 Jun 4
Box 7
Foreign Commerce Department: "The Manufacturing Industry of the United States in Relation to Export Trade" 1923 Aug
Box 7
Guatemala Conference Committee on the Development of Uniformity of Legislation, Meeting of the Sub-Committee n.d.
Box 7
Institute of Economics n.d.
Box 7
Institute of Economics Report: "Memorandum on Agricultural Export Corporation" 1924 Mar
Box 7
Internal Revenue n.d.
Box 8
League of Nations 1924-1926
Box 8
League of Nations 1926-1928
Box 8
League of Nations International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation 1933
Box 8
The National Committee on Inheritance Taxation 1925 Sep 8-10
Box 8
National Tax Association 1918-1925
Box 9
Pan-American Financial Conference, Washington, D. C., Second 1920
Box 9
Special Joint Committee on Taxation (Virginia), Commission 1914 Apr 6
Box 9
Tariff Commission 1919 - 1924
Box 9
Wakefield National Memorial Association 1930 Apr 23
Box 9
War Industries Board - Minutes of the Cotton Committee 1918

Series VI: Statistical Data

Box 9
Agricultural Production Charts n.d.
Box 9
Economic Charts n.d.
Box 9
Materials dealing with British exports and tariffs n.d.

Series VII: Printed Materials

Box 9
Printed Agricultural Materials 1906-1932
Box 10
Abstracts for Books on the Tariff 1924-1928
Box 10
New Clippings 1928-1930
Box 10
New Clippings 1911-1937

Series VIII: Biographical Sketches

Box 10
Frederick Wesley Dewart - biographical sketch n.d.
Box 10
Walter Yale Durand - biographical sketch n.d.
Box 10
R. C. Fulbright - biographical sketch and recommendation n.d.
Box 10
Huger Family Record n.d.
Box 10
Charles W. Mixter - biographical data n.d.
Box 10
Joseph C. Rocca - biographical sketch n.d.
Box 10
Thomas Walker - biographical sketch n.d.