Benjamin Strong Jr. to Frank L. Polk
Title
Benjamin Strong Jr. to Frank L. Polk
Creator
Strong, Benjamin, 1872-1928
Identifier
WWP18661
Date
1919 June 10
Description
Benjamin Strong Jr. writes Frank L. Polk to ask for assistance in his trip to Europe.
Source
Benjamin Strong Jr. Papers, New York Federal Reserve Bank
Language
English
Text
Treasury Building, Washington
Dear Frank
Many thanks for your note of the ninth.
Possibly I should have explained more in detail the object of my trip and why it seems desirable to take some assistants with me.
Our Directors feel that the time has arrived for the Banks to get more information, by direct inquiry on the ground, as to conditions abroad as was done in 1916 when I spent two months in England and France,. Furthermore, we have important relations with the Bank of England and relations pending with the Bank of France which have not functioned because of various war measures, such as embargo on gold exports, control of foreign exchange, etc. Now that the embargo on gold exports has been lifted, it is quite possible that the relations between the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Bank of England, particularly, may become active and of great importance, and it seems necessary to discuss the operation of our agreement with them in some detail as soon as possible.
We are about concluding, at the request of the Treasury Department, an arrangment for the purchase of 510,000,000 marks gold from the German Government, or the Reichsbank, in cooperation with the Food Commission, in connection with furnishing food to Germany. This gold, for the present, must be left in Belgium and Holland, and it seems desirable that I should go to Brussels, Antwerp and Amsterdam in order to deal with that matter on the ground.
Other matters of less importance are pending which seem to justify this trip.
Much of our business is of such a confidential nature that I do not feel justified in relying upon obtaining a reliable secretary and stenographer abroad, and I am anxious to employ the services of a secretary who speaks and writes French, which explains the reason for my request for a passport for a secretary.
As to a servant, I can probably get one on the other side and would not consider taking one from here were it not for the fact, as you know, that I am obliged to take the utmost possible care of my health, and minimize the inconveniences and annoyances of travel, and particularly avoid carrying any heavy luggage. The most serious inconvenience is that encountered on the docks in England, crossing the Channel and at the railroad stations, and if I were able to take a competent servant with me, it would relieve me of much of the hardships and uncomfortable travel conditions, which, I believe, are still prevalent abroad.
If it is contrary to the policy of the Department to give passports to personal servants, please do not hesitate to so advise me, and I will rely upon getting someone on the other side.
As I am now planning to sail on the BalticJuly 1st, it will probably be desirable for me to obtain my passport before leaving Washington this week, otherwise I would not trouble so busy a person as yourself.
Governor.
Dear Frank
Many thanks for your note of the ninth.
Possibly I should have explained more in detail the object of my trip and why it seems desirable to take some assistants with me.
Our Directors feel that the time has arrived for the Banks to get more information, by direct inquiry on the ground, as to conditions abroad as was done in 1916 when I spent two months in England and France,. Furthermore, we have important relations with the Bank of England and relations pending with the Bank of France which have not functioned because of various war measures, such as embargo on gold exports, control of foreign exchange, etc. Now that the embargo on gold exports has been lifted, it is quite possible that the relations between the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Bank of England, particularly, may become active and of great importance, and it seems necessary to discuss the operation of our agreement with them in some detail as soon as possible.
We are about concluding, at the request of the Treasury Department, an arrangment for the purchase of 510,000,000 marks gold from the German Government, or the Reichsbank, in cooperation with the Food Commission, in connection with furnishing food to Germany. This gold, for the present, must be left in Belgium and Holland, and it seems desirable that I should go to Brussels, Antwerp and Amsterdam in order to deal with that matter on the ground.
Other matters of less importance are pending which seem to justify this trip.
Much of our business is of such a confidential nature that I do not feel justified in relying upon obtaining a reliable secretary and stenographer abroad, and I am anxious to employ the services of a secretary who speaks and writes French, which explains the reason for my request for a passport for a secretary.
As to a servant, I can probably get one on the other side and would not consider taking one from here were it not for the fact, as you know, that I am obliged to take the utmost possible care of my health, and minimize the inconveniences and annoyances of travel, and particularly avoid carrying any heavy luggage. The most serious inconvenience is that encountered on the docks in England, crossing the Channel and at the railroad stations, and if I were able to take a competent servant with me, it would relieve me of much of the hardships and uncomfortable travel conditions, which, I believe, are still prevalent abroad.
If it is contrary to the policy of the Department to give passports to personal servants, please do not hesitate to so advise me, and I will rely upon getting someone on the other side.
As I am now planning to sail on the BalticJuly 1st, it will probably be desirable for me to obtain my passport before leaving Washington this week, otherwise I would not trouble so busy a person as yourself.
Governor.
Original Format
Letter
To
Polk, Frank L. (Frank Lyon), 1871-1943
Files
Collection
Citation
Strong, Benjamin, 1872-1928, “Benjamin Strong Jr. to Frank L. Polk,” 1919 June 10, WWP18661, Benjamin Strong Jr. Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.