John M. Carmody, administrator of the Rural Electrification Administration and Federal Works Administration during the nineteen-thirties, was born in Towanda, Bradford County, Pennsylvania in 1881 and died November 10, 1963 at age 82. He attended the Free Academy at Elmira, NY and studied at Elmira Business College, the Lewis Institute in Chicago, the Emerson School in Gary, IN., and Columbia University. Between 1900 and 1914 He worked as an inspector for various structural steel firms in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ontario, Canada, Gary IN, and Havanna, Cuba. He married Margaret Cross in Detroit, Michigan, October 4, 1913. Between 1914 and 1922 he held positions in the garment industry with H. Black Company, Cleveland, Ohio and Printz-Biederman. He worked with President Harding's Bituminous Coal Commission, his first Federal job, which led to employment with Davis Coal and Coke Company, Thomas, WVA between 1922-26. From 1927-33 he worked with McGraw-Hill Publishing as the editor of COAL AGE and later FACTORY AND INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT. He made a survey of industrial conditions in the Soviet Union in 1931 for McGraw-Hill. Carmody was named chief engineer of the Civil works Administration in 1933. In 1934/35 he served with the National Mediation Board and then Roosevelt appointed him in 1935 to the National Labor Relations Board. He also was a mediator in coal disputes and National Recovery Administration cases. At the invitation of Morris Cooke he became deputy administrator of the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) in 1936. Roosevelt appointed him administrator of REA in February 1937. In June 1939, Roosevelt made him head of the Federal Works Agency. As FWA head he supervised the Works Progress Administraiton, Public Works Administraiton, Public Roads Administraiton, and the United States Public Buildings Administraiton. He left the post in 1941. From 1941 to 1946 he was a member of the Maritime Commission. In 1947/48 he was a member, General Review Board, War Assets Administration, which passed on all proposals for sale of surplus property. In 1949/50 he was a referee with the Railroad Adjustment Board. In 1950/51 he was a consultant to the President's Water Resources Policy Commission. In June 1951 he was director of production assistance, Economic Cooperation Administration in France. He became a labor arbitrator in 1955. Carmody belonged to numerous organizations and was a former president of the Society of Industrial Engineers.

Carmody at American Steel Co., Havanna.

John M. Carmody's sister-in-law

John M. Carmody's brother

John M. Carmody's mother

John M. Carmody's father

Sister Mary Ann

Cousin

Cousin. Mrs. Raymond Sheehan

Cousin

Mrs. Leo O'Mara

Mrs. Kirby Daugherty

Cousins

Cousin - Mrs. Walter Hickey

Cousin

Cousin

Cousin

John M. Carmody's participation.

John M. Carmody's 50 yard touchdown run

One bound volume

Mrs. George Mathias

Mrs. Sussex Morris

Niece of Mrs. John M. Carmody

Not related to John M. Carmody

A. W. Calloway Correspondence

A. B. Stewart Correspondence

Carmody worked at McGraw Hill Publishing Company in New York and Chicago. He was editor of COAL AGE (1927-28). He transferred to Chicago in late 1928 to be editor of FACTORY AND INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT. In fall 1931 he was transferred back to New York, still editor of F&I.M. Carmody made a study of industrial conditions under the first five year plan in the Soviet Union, April-July 1931, for McGraw-Hill. During this trip he attended the Internaitonal Conference on Scientific Management, Geneva, Switzerland. Carmody traveled widely throughout this time, surveying mining operations and industrial plants.

Edit Manual; Ms. Treatment, etc. Budget, Sales, Circulation, etc.

Expense Accounts, Mailing and Distribution, Printing, Production, Sales, Subscription Records Control, NEWS BULLETIN, 1930-32

Printed materials arranged topically

Correspondence and articles about his trip to Russia for McGraw-Hill; also articles, and materials after returning from Russia.

Announcements of Carmody's return from Russia and speeches by Carmody on Russian Trip

Speaking invitations, 1931-33. American Companies and Engineers dealing with Soviet, 1930-31; conditions in Russia (letters from Anderson and Glickman); Contacts in Europe; Map of five year plan; reprint of article re Russia by Carmody and Others.

Harrington Emerson Dinner, Chapter Activities, Student Chapter

American Continental Development Corporation

Mr. and Mrs. C. Estes

Newspaper accounts

Army Defense Project

Radio station

Spencer Miller

In November 1933 Carmody became chief engineer, Civil Works Administraiton, Washington, DC. He organized the civil works program within the framework of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. He brought a large group of industrial engineers into the program to supervise and stationed them in the field as regional engineers. He put 4,000,000 people to work in the first 90 days. In cooperation with the National Safety Council, he organized and supervised the largest "safety-first" program ever undertaken in any government operaiton. He was responsible for handling labor relations with national trade unions. He left CWA in August 1934.

See also Federal Emergency Relief Administration

In August 1934 President Roosevelt appointed Carmody to the National Mediation Board (Railway Labor Act). He held public hearings involving employeer-employee disputes. He settled a case in Alaska in 1935. In 1935 he was reappointed to the National Mediation Board, but almost immediately appointed by the President to a three-year term on the National Labor Relations Board (Wagner Act).

3x5-inch index cards

3x5-inch index cards

3x5-inch index cards

3x5-inch index cards

3x5-inch index cards

Franklin D. Roosevelt was speaker.

Notes by John M. Carmody.

Letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Before transfer of the agency to U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Memoranda from Arthur Burns, Chief Economist, Works Progress Administration.

Report by Pare Lorentz.

As a member of the Maritime CommissIon, Carmody helped to manage the ship-building program during World War II. He was involved in real estate purchases, among them that of the Walter Chrysler estate on Long Island, New York, which became the nucleus for the King's Point Merchant Marine Academy. He retrieved one million dollars from private power companies due to overcharges for electric powrer delivered to the shipyards financed by the Maritime Commission and operated by private contractors. He also was instrumental in changing the the fee (over and above all other reimbursements to contractors) from $100,000 per Liberty ship to $50,000, saving $100,000,000. He sponsored a Safety First program for which he got full cooperation from the National Safety Council. During 1945-46 the Maritime Commission liquidated the War Shipping Administration and re-absorbed into the Maritime Commission all normal peace-time activities delegated to War Shipping Administration and greatly enlarged to meet wartime needs. War Shipping began in 1941 as a small cell composed of a few men from a private shipping firm and expanded to approximately 16,000.

Five volumes

In March 1950 Carmody became a consultant to the President's Water Resources Policy Commission and was a member of the board which prepared the final report. His work with the Commission ended in January or February 1951. From April-June 1951 he was a consultant to the President's Materials Policy Commission-William S. Paley, Chairman- and his work dealt with the availability of water as a material resource in industry.

This appears to be primarily a vertical file maintained by Carmody with printed materials, news clippings, articles, etc.

Contains about a dozen folders which include personal correspondence, a chronological file, correspondence after his return from France, an article for Labor and the Nation, administrative papers, field trip to Strasbourg, Grenoble, Besancon, etc., M. Tatin's trip to the United States, Community of Work project and souvenirs.

Carmody became a member of the General Review Board, War Assets Administraiton in fall, 1947. The Board passed on all proposals for sale of surplus property. Carmody did a report on proposaed sale of surplus blast furnace, built by Reconstruciton Finance Corporation during World War II for operation by Republic Steel Co., Cleveland, Ohio, to Tucker in conneciton with his new automobile company. Carmody left War Assets in July 1948 when the Review Board was liquidated.

About October 1951 Carmody joined the Small Defense Plants Administration, Washington, DC, as a consultant and assistant to the Administrator. He was made director, Office of Prime Contract Operations. The name of the organization was changed to Small Business Administration. He resigned about September 1953.

In May-June 1948 Carmody arbitrated a dispute between Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines, Inc. and Local Division 1210, Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway, and Motor Coach Employees of America, at Philadelphia, PA. He became a member of the American Arbitration Association and National Academy of Arbitrators. In June 1949 he arbitrated a dispute between Elite Laundry Co., Washington, DC, and the Cleaning and Laundry Workers' Union, Local 457, CMA. In August 1949 he arbitrated a dispute between Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad and the Industrial Union of Marine and Ship-Building Workers of America at Pittsburgh, PA. He was also made referee in several cases brought before the Railroad Retirement Board for settlement under the Railway Retirement Act. In May 1953 he arbitrated a dispute between the Mead Corporation, Heald Division, Lynchburg, VA, and the United Paperworkers of America, CIO, Local 1014.

Washington Merry Go Round Column - Pearson & Allen