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Woodrow Wilson Check Signed as President....
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Description
Wilson pays the very first of his "dollar-a-year men", the check that "coined" the expression!
Woodrow Wilson Check Signed as President. 8.5" x 3.25",
Washington, September 6, 1919, drawn on the Treasury for $1.00
payable to Clarence Dillon, for his service as vice chairman
of the War Industries Board. The check is countersigned by
Bernard Baruch, Chairman of the War Industries Board, and
Dillon has added his endorsement signature on the verso. The check
bears a printed memo, "Object for which drawn: In acknowledgment
of patriotic and valuable services given voluntarily to the United
States in time of war." The Texas-born Dillon (1882-1979)
attended the Groton School, then Harvard where his connections
enabled him to join the brokerage of William A. Read and Company.
Following Read's death in 1916, Dillon purchased a majority stake
in the firm that was renamed Dillon, Read & Co. in 1920. By 1957,
Fortune magazine listed him as one of the wealthiest
individuals in the United States with a fortune estimated $200
million. Dillon was asked to join the War Industries Board (W.I.B.)
by Bernard Baruch, whom Woodrow Wilson had appointed as chairman in
1918. Baruch (1870-1965) was already a highly successful stock
trader and financier when Wilson asked him to reorganize the board,
which had been established in July 1917 to help manage the
efficient production of war material after the U.S. entered the
First World War. The W.I.B. set production quotas and allocated raw
materials as well as dealing with labor-management disputes. The
W.I.B., like many of the emergency agencies established as the
United States mobilized for war, were run by prominent business
executives who became known as "dollar-a-year men", as they only
took token salaries for their services - a requirement of all
federal employees. (This term became a bit of a pop culture
phenomenon resulting in songs and even a 1921 film of the same name
starring Fatty Arbuckle!) Baruch and Wilson were longtime friends.
Following the latter's stroke in 1919, Baruch purchased a townhouse
for Wilson and his wife to live in, purchasing the all surrounding
properties in order to protect the privacy of the ailing President.
This check is the first issuance of a $1 check and represents the
initiation of an expression synonymous with public service! A
remarkable piece of history.
Auction Info
2008 June Grand Format Books & Manuscripts Auction #683 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
June, 2008
4th-5th
Wednesday-Thursday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 9
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 1,560
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
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