Henry Morgenthau, Jr., head of President Roosevelt’s Agricultural Credit Administration, which has been giving aid to farmers in need, was named on Thursday as the successor to William H. Woodin, Secretary of Treasury, who departed on leave of absence. Mr. Morgenthau will have the title Undersecretary and Acting Secretary of the United States Treasury, a position carrying possibly more responsibility than any man in the government except the chief executive.
Long considered a backer of the President’s monetary policies, Mr. Morgenthau has become widely known as an eminent authority on agricultural questions. His father was President Wilson’s minister to Turkey and one of the leading financiers of the world.
The new Cabinet member was born in New York City in 1891, studied at Cornell University but left to enter the business world. Since 1922 he has been the editor of the American Agriculturist and a member of Mr. Roosevelt’s “brain trust.” During the War he was a lieutenant in the U. S. Navy, and later was appointed by Mr. Roosevelt, then Governor of New York, as chairman of the Agricultural Advisory Committee in the State.
Messrs. Morgenthau and Roosevelt are very close to each other, having been so for years. The bond grew firmer since the President was first elected governor of New York State.
As head of the Farm Credit Administration, created last spring as a result of legislation passed by the special session of Congress, Mr. Morgenthau has done an outstanding piece of work in reorganizing the entire federal agricultural credit system. This task has been generally recognized as one of the most complicated assigned to any individual by the present administration.
Through a natural inclination, Morgenthau’s ties are close to the soil. He is keenly interested in agriculture and its manifold problems. In setting up the Farm Credit Administration, after being appointed by President Roosevelt, his objectives were to decrease the governmental credit costs, to increase the efficiency and credit service to farmers, and make credit available to farmers at lower interest rates. Agricultural leaders are quite satisfied with what he is accomplishing.
From early boyhood, Morgenthau has been interested in agriculture. When he was ready to enter college, he selected the State College of Agriculture at Cornell. Soon after he purchased a thousand-acre farm at Fishkill, N. Y., near Poughkeepsie. On this farm he has developed a large Holstein dairy and several hundred acres of orchard.
Mr. and Mrs. Morgenthau have three children, two boys and a girl. During the summer months and many week-ends during the year they make the farm their home.
In addition to his farming activities, he is the publisher of the American Agriculturist, which he bought in 1922. The periodical is one of the oldest farm papers in America.
As publisher, Morgenthau had an opportunity to disseminate some of his ideas about the economic and social forces which affect agriculture. He took advantage of the opportunity and soon became a recognized farm leader in New York State. When Mr. Roosevelt was first elected governor, Morgenthau was appointed chairman of an unofficial agricultural advisory committee.
This committee made a study of the major problems in the rural sections and as a result of this study, the New York state legislature enacted legislation which has attracted the attention of farmers and farm leaders throughout the country. Reforestation and conservation of natural resources were among the projects undertaken through legislation resulting from the commission’s study. Since the election of Roosevelt as President, similar projects have been undertaken on a national scale by the Federal Government.
During the President’s second term as governor, Morgenthau was appointed conservation commissioner. In this office he did much to further conservation and reforestation through taking waste land out of agriculture.
Morgenthau’s influence in framing and carrying out national policies becomes more and more evident as the months roll by. He is highly trusted by President Roosevelt, who depends on him to fulfil many difficult assignments. His appointment as Acting Secretary of Treasury climaxes a brilliant and thriving career.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
