Records for the Study of Labor and Business History

Reference Information Paper 101
National Archives and Records Administration, 1996

Introduction

The National Archives at San Francisco, a repository for the historically valuable noncurrent records of the Federal Government, is a major source for research in labor and business history. One of the National Archives and Records Administration's 13 regional archives, it maintains historical records of Federal agencies in northern California, Hawaii, Nevada (except Clark County), American Samoa, and the Pacific Trust Territories. These records may be used to study a particular firm or labor dispute as well as broader industries, movements, and economic trends.

Records in the National Archives at San Francisco are not arranged according to subject but are kept in numbered record groups (abbreviated RG) established for the Government agencies that created or received them. Although arrangement by record group makes subject access more difficult at times, it preserves the organizational and contextual integrity of the records, making them more easily understood. A list of record groups cited in this publication appears at the end of this text.

To facilitate use of its holdings by researchers, the Archives attempts, wherever possible, to describe records by subject. This brochure provides descriptions of records at the National Archives-Pacific Region that document labor and business history in northern California and adjoining areas. With other finding aids and consultation with the Archives staff, it will help researchers link subjects with records to develop research strategies that recognize the overlap of topics among various record groups.

This reference information paper was prepared by Larisa K. Miller, Archivist, National Archives--Pacific Region.

Labor

Hours, Wages, and Working Conditions

The Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division (RG 155) administers programs related to various Federal labor laws, including the enforcement of child labor, equal pay, minimum wage, and overtime compensation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Case files of the San Francisco Regional Office document inspections of companies in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, from the 1940's to the 1970's. Some inspections were triggered by employee complaints while others were the result of routine efforts to ensure compliance with the FLSA and other legislation. Case files contain statistical information, such as the number of employees, hours worked, wages paid, and minors employed, and information about the findings, results, and disposition of the cases. The files may contain case summary sheets, complaint forms, correspondence and memorandums, employee statements, legal papers filed in U.S. District Courts, and statistical and narrative inspection reports. Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due to privacy concerns.

The National Recovery Administration (NRA, RG 9) was created in 1933 to rehabilitate industry and trade, expand employment, and improve labor conditions. It drafted codes of fair competition to govern industries and trades. The records of the Territorial Office in Hawaii, 1934-1936, include administrative files; investigative case files of wage and hour violations; and labor provision codes for various industries, such as construction, graphic arts, hotels, and alcoholic beverage wholesalers and importers. Included is a 1936 report, "A Survey of Labor Conditions in the Principal Industries of the Territory of Hawaii," prepared after the Supreme Court declared the codes of competition unconstitutional. Initiated to study the effects of the Supreme Court decision on employees and industries previously operating under codes, the report covers such issues as hours, wages, and unemployment, with statistical breakdowns by racial group.

To aid the war effort, the National War Labor Board (RG 202) sought to limit wage increases during World War II. Its short-lived postwar successor, the National Wage Stabilization Board (RG 202), continued efforts to stabilize wages and salaries. Records of regional offices serving Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada, 1942-1947, include administrative files, voluntary wage adjustment case files, and enforcement case files arising from violations of wage-stabilization regulations.

The Wage Stabilization Board (RG 293) was established in 1950 to control wages and salaries during the Korean War. The records of the San Francisco office, which served Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada, document rulings on wage and fringe benefit cases.

One of the primary functions of the Bureau of Mines (RG 70) was to improve working conditions for miners. The records of the Bureau's Petroleum and Natural Gas Division in San Francisco, 1915-1967, include correspondence and reports relating to fatalities, safety, and the Holmes Safety Association, a group of mining organizations involved in accident-prevention programs. Report titles include "Review of Fatalities in the California Petroleum Industry during the Calendar Year 1930" and "Selecting and Training the Refinery Personnel to Prevent Accidents" (1931). Damage suits for injuries received in mine accidents are common in the records of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada (RG 21).

Seagoing-labor litigation and cases relating to the defense of seamen's rights were heard by district courts with coastal jurisdiction, such as those in San Francisco and Honolulu. Records of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California are particularly rich in admiralty cases. However not all maritime cases involved the specialized realm of admiralty law. For example, the court's first 21 criminal cases were connected with the murder or mistreatment of seamen by Captain "Bully" Waterman and other officers of the clipper ship Challenge. Other cases relate to mutiny, piracy, slave trading, desertion, and wage disputes among seamen, masters, and owners.

Administrative files of many Federal agencies contain information about civilian and military employees and personnel policies including benefits, hours, and wages. Official personnel files are not among the holdings but correspondence, issuances, lists, registers, and in some cases individual employee files are available. Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due to privacy concerns.

Labor Supply

The War Manpower Commission (WMC, RG 211) was created in 1942 to establish policies and formulate programs assuring maximum mobilization and use of the nation's work force during World War II. Records of its Region XII office in San Francisco, which served Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, and of the Territorial Office in Honolulu, document plans and policies regarding control of hiring and separation, maximum and proper use of labor, and labor requirements for various industries. Included are appeals case files, labor use surveys, minutes of meetings, occupational analysis studies, and reports of plant visits. The appeals concern workers requesting release from jobs for reasons such as poor health, transportation problems, interest in relocating, or pursuing other work. Other files relate to Mexican nationals under WMC contract as railroad workers who wished to terminate their contracts and return to Mexico. Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due to privacy concerns.

Government action to maintain seafood production during World War II is documented in the records of the Area Coordinator of Fisheries for San Francisco and Monterey Bays. The area coordinator recruited labor, increased the number of fishing vessels, and secured draft deferments for fishermen. Also available are records of the Pacific Pilchard Administrator in San Francisco, who coordinated pilchard fishing and sardine canning operations during the war (RG 22).

The Bureau of Agricultural Economics (RG 83) was established in 1922 to conduct studies and distribute information relating to agricultural production. The records of the Western Regional Office in Berkeley, 1936-1949, document agricultural land use planning for the western United States, including farm labor, migration, and the effects of the internment of Japanese Americans on agricultural production. Included are narrative and statistical reports on subjects such as the use of labor in harvesting crops, farm wage stabilization and wage ceiling programs, adjustments in farm labor patterns during World War II, and the demographics of the Central Valley.

In the 1930's and 1940's the Farmers Home Administration's (RG 96) San Francisco regional office operated rural labor camps for domestic and foreign migrant farm laborers, and transported migrant workers to areas of labor shortage. Records relating to the migratory labor camps document subjects such as the need for agricultural labor and housing in California, public perceptions of the camps, use of Mexican nationals in the California sugar beet fields, and housing for Japanese Americans interned in Arizona.

Records of Civil Service Commission (RG 146) Region 12, which served Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada, relate to civilian labor recruiting activities during World War II, including the employment of women in war work and a 1943 investigation of the effectiveness of labor boards in nationwide recruitment for West Coast naval facilities.

Reports relating to the labor supply in the western U.S. during World War II, including employment trends and occupational information about recent migrants to California, may be found in the records of the Pacific Southwest office of the National Resources Planning Board (NRPB, RG 147), 1936-1943. For example, the 1942 report, "Current Trends of Employment and War Activities in the Pacific Southwest," provides both narrative and statistical information about employment in principal industries. Many reports were compiled by other Federal agencies and were collected by the NRPB. Other records documenting wartime needs for naval labor are in the files of the Supply Officer of the 14th Naval District in Hawaii (RG 181).

Labor market reports for Hawaii during the Korean War are in the records of the Wage Stabilization Board's (RG 293) San Francisco office.

Unions and Alleged Antigovernment Activities

The records of the San Francisco District Office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS, RG 85) include the investigation case file for Harry Bridges, the leader of the West Coast longshoremen's union. From the 1930's to the 1950's investigators worked to document Bridges' alleged Communist Party membership and to demonstrate that the Communist Party advocated the violent overthrow of the U.S. Government. Also available are civil and criminal case files involving Bridges in district and appeals court records (RG 21 and RG 276). Access to some INS records may be restricted due to privacy concerns, law enforcement needs, and national security classification.

Among district court records for the Hawaii District (RG 21) are criminal case files relating to the prosecution of seaman and International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU) organizer Jack Hall and others for refusing to answer the question posed by the House Un-American Activities Committee, "Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?" Hall was subsequently accused of Communist Party involvement and was tried with several others for conspiring to violate the Smith Act in U.S. v. Charles K. Fujimoto, which came to trial in 1952. Under the Smith Act it was illegal to advocate the forceful overthrow of the United States Government or to organize or join any group that advocated such an overthrow. The file for this case contains legal papers, transcripts, and exhibits including books and other publications. Related records are part of the U.S. Attorney's files for the District of Hawaii and the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (RG 118 and RG 276).

Records of the Farmers Home Administration's (RG 96) regional office in San Francisco, 1934-1947, document the perception of migratory labor camps as a spawning ground for Communists.

Allegations that the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) interfered with the war effort during World War I, primarily by destroying property, are documented in the files of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California (RG 118). Related case files are part of district court records for the Eastern and Northern Districts of California (RG 21).

Labor Relations and Disputes

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB, RG 25), created in the 1930's, conducts elections for employee representatives for collective bargaining and works to prevent or remedy unfair labor practices by employers and labor organizations. The records of the San Francisco Regional Labor Board, 1933-1937, document the Board's activities in agricultural and industrial labor disputes involving labor representation or unfair labor practices. The Board settled strikes, averted strikes by amicable agreement, and informally negotiated minor disputes. Included are records relating to the 1934 San Francisco longshoremen's strike. The records are administrative files, including correspondence, labor agreements, and reports.

The U.S. Courts of Appeals (RG 276) heard appeals of the decisions of the NLRB. The records of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit provide extensive documentation of labor-management conflict in most major industries in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, as well as Guam and the Mariana Islands. The records are case files, which typically contain printed briefs, exhibits, opinions, and transcripts of NLRB proceedings. Among the many landmark NLRB cases in Ninth Circuit Court records is NLRB v. Red River Lumber Co., involving a bitter jurisdictional dispute between the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and the American Federation of Labor (AFL), which contributed to Congressional attacks on the agency. Also included is a case involving the dismissal by Walt Disney Productions of the animator of Fantasia for union activity.

During World War II the National War Labor Board (RG 202) settled labor disputes that hindered the war effort. Records of the Regional War Labor Board in San Francisco, which served Arizona, California, and Nevada, include case files of agricultural, industrial, and retail labor disputes. Case files typically include correspondence with the parties involved, documents introduced as exhibits at the hearings, and final agreements. Special reports and transcripts of hearings are occasionally included. Administrative files of the Board are also available.

District court cases include those in which injunctions were issued in labor disputes involving the enforcement of Federal labor legislation. For example, D.E. Loewe & Co. v. California State Federation of Labor involved a boycott in support of a struggle for better working conditions. The union struggle, initiated by the United Hatters of North America at Loewe's Connecticut hat-making factory in 1902, spurred organized labor in California to boycott the company's hats and the retailers selling them. In 1911 the Circuit Court for the Northern District of California (RG 21) granted Loewe a perpetual injunction against the defendants.

Investigation and settlement of complaints and labor disputes arising from the "bracero program" are documented in the records of the Regional Solicitor for the Department of Labor (RG 174) in San Francisco. The program employed Mexican nationals as agricultural workers under the Migrant Labor Agreement of 1951, as amended, until its expiration in 1964. Included are case files, correspondence, and decisions. Some case files relate to strikes by the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee involving wages, working conditions, and union recognition in which the employment of Mexican nationals became an issue. Other case files relate to complaints of alleged violations of the Migrant Labor Agreement. Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due to privacy concerns.

Labor disputes involving cannery workers and fishermen in California during World War II are documented in the files of the Area Coordinator of Fisheries for San Francisco and Monterey Bays (RG 22).

The Pacific Coast Maritime Industry Board was created in 1942 to facilitate loading and discharging vessels at Pacific coast ports. It was composed of representatives of the longshoremen's unions and of ship owners, operators, and agents. Records of the board, among the records of the U.S. Maritime Commission (RG 178), document contract negotiations between the longshoremen's unions and waterfront employers, and other labor relations matters. Included are files relating to arbitrators' award reports, seagoing-labor union agreements, and statistics on ships worked by longshoremen at major Pacific coast ports.

The 12th Naval District (RG 181) in San Francisco monitored strike conditions in the Bay Area. The records of the commandant's office include a file concerning the 1936 San Francisco maritime strike. Most of the records consist of information copies of newspaper clippings and publications of various employer and worker organizations. Some naval despatches and reports are included.

Discriminatory Practices

The Committee on Fair Employment Practice (FEPC, Record Group 228) was established during World War II to formulate policies, combat racial and religious discrimination in employment, and investigate and adjust complaints of discrimination made against Federal Government agencies, private employers, and labor unions. The records of Region 12, which served northern California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, primarily document complaints filed by African Americans, although some were filed by Jews and others. The allegations include refusal to hire, discrimination in work assignments, and other discriminatory actions. Many cases involve shipyards, and shipbuilding labor unions.

When the FEPC's authority seemed lacking, African Americans filed suit in Federal court seeking injunctions against discriminatory shipworkers unions and shipbuilding companies. Case papers for Joseph James v. Boilermakers, W.H. Griffin v. Boilermakers, and Earl C. Brown v. Boilermakers, are among the files of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco (RG 21). When the Federal court claimed lack of jurisdiction, African Americans turned to State courts.

Discriminatory hiring practices case files of the War Manpower Commission's (WMC, RG 211) San Francisco office include records concerning the Los Angeles Railway Company's refusal to hire African Americans and Latin Americans. In 1944 the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) demanded that the WMC withdraw all the wartime manpower priorities and preferences that the company had been granted.

Business

Operations

Among district and appeals court records for California, Hawaii, and Nevada (RG 21 and RG 276) are many cases involving claims for damages, collection of debts, enforcement of contracts, and patent or copyright infringement. Mining, oil, and railway companies were frequently involved in this litigation. Records of the District Court for the Northern District of California reflect the work of late 19th and early 20th century San Francisco engineers, inventors, and manufacturers in the development of machinery and products. For example, copyright and patent infringement cases include those involving blue jeans manufactured by the Levi Strauss Co., Del Monte coffee, and the early San Francisco cable car system. Records of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit include a copyright infringement case concerning Mickey Mouse. The files of significant cases of the U.S. Attorneys for the Northern District of California (RG 118), 1899-1971, and for the Hawaii District, 1932-1970, may contain related records.

Information about Chinese and Chinese-American merchants and merchant firms was collected by the Immigration and Naturalization Service's (RG 85) San Francisco District Office to enforce the Chinese Exclusion Acts, 1882-1943. These business partnership files contain information about the incorporation of the firm, names of the active and silent partners, total investment, and stability of the business. Included are partnership lists, statements, and occasional directories and street maps.

The records of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM, RG 49) for California and Nevada document the transfer of land to non-Federal ownership, and include information about businesses that applied to gain title or to otherwise use public lands. Railroad selection lists relate to land selected instead of patents under the authority of several acts granting public domain lands to railroads. Among the railroads represented are the Central Pacific, Southern Pacific, and Western Pacific. A BLM investigative case file from the 1940's concerns the allegation that the U.S. Borax Company was a British subsidiary and thus not eligible to use public lands. This case was eventually appealed to the Secretary of the Interior.

Rural rehabilitation loans made to farmers in the 1930's by the Farmers Home Administration (RG 96) are documented in the loan case files created by county offices in Nevada and northern California. Information is available about the applicant's previous year's business, estimated income and expenses for the coming year, and assets and liabilities. The files typically contain applications, correspondence, farm and home management plans, farm visit reports, receipts, and other papers. Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due to privacy concerns.

National Park Service (NPS, RG 79) records include concession correspondence files of the Western Region Office, primarily dating from the 1940's and 1950's. The records relate to hotels and restaurants, and merchandising, recreation, and transportation facilities operated by private companies at NPS sites. Compiled income and expense data for principal concessionaires is also available.

Twentieth-century Forest Service (RG 95) records include permit application files for outfitter-guides, ski resorts such as such as Heavenly Valley near Lake Tahoe, power companies seeking to construct water pipelines and electric power lines across National Forest lands, and other commercial users of National Forest land. There are also timber sales files containing contracts and reports of timber cut by private companies.

Fulfillment of Federal contracts by private firms is sometimes documented in the records of the Federal agency involved. One example is an investigative case file concerning a series of contracts made by the Chemical Warfare Service (RG 175) with the American Cyanamid and Chemical Corporation in the 1940's.

Production reports submitted by oil companies operating in California from 1916 to 1921 are among the records of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Division office in San Francisco, a field office of the Bureau of Mines (RG 70). The records of the U.S. Fuel Administration's (RG 67) Federal Oil Director for the Pacific Coast contain oil company statements for 1918.

Assets

Tax assessment lists for companies in California and Nevada in the 1860's and 1870's, and for the San Francisco district in the 1910's, enumerate taxable articles and income and the taxes assessed by forerunners of the Internal Revenue Service (RG 58). National Archives Microfilm Publication M756, Internal Revenue Assessment Lists for California, 1862-1866, is also available. Tax-related records may also be found in the case files of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (RG 276), which formerly heard appeals from rulings of the U.S. Board of Tax Appeals.

Bankruptcy case files are available among the records of the district courts in California and Nevada (RG 21). In addition to the legal papers typically included in any court case file, a bankruptcy case file sometimes includes petitions of creditors and schedules of assets and liabilities.

Records of corporate lawsuits sometimes document corporate assets. For example, utility rate cases were filed by private utilities against municipalities in the district courts of California in the early 1900's. The companies argued that the rates set by municipalities were too low. Evidence of earnings, expenses, and assets were required to support corporate claims. In Oro Water, Light and Power Co. v. The City of Oroville, Spring Valley Water Works v. The City and County of San Francisco, and others, annual reports and lists of property are sometimes available in the case files. Other court cases involving corporate assets occurred in the wake of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. Many San Francisco companies with fire insurance filed claims that were denied by the insurance companies on the grounds that the losses were caused by the earthquake rather than the fire. When the claims involved foreign insurance companies, San Francisco businesses filed suit in district court.

The Foreign Funds Control (RG 265), a predecessor of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, was established in 1940 to administer import controls on enemy assets and wartime restrictions on trade with the enemy. Property report forms were prepared by individuals, brokers, banks, and other organizations to report property held by any citizen or business of an enemy nation or enemy-controlled area during World War II. The forms for Hawaii were maintained by the Foreign Funds Control office in Honolulu. Internee report forms prepared by individuals in detention or relocation centers to describe their property assets were maintained by the same office. Also available are records of the Office of Alien Property (RG 131) in Honolulu that document the disposition of property seized by the U.S. during World War II from businesses and individuals in Hawaii.

Land appraisal files of the National Park Service's (RG 79) Western Region Office, 1954-1963, include appraisal reports of non-Federal lands for possible purchase by the Government, such as the 1957 appraisal of El Portal Mining Company properties in El Portal, California, near Yosemite National Park.

Real property disposal case files document the disposal of surplus Federal property, such as defense plants, housing projects, and naval and military sites, from the 1940's to the 1970's. Some of this property was purchased by private enterprises. The files contain appraisal reports, correspondence, property inventories, sales documents, and other records. Records of the Federal Property Resources Service, General Services Administration, Public Buildings Service, and War Assets Administration all contain these case files (RG 121, RG 269, RG 270, RG 291).

Trade

The records of the San Francisco District of the Customs Service (RG 36), 1849-1972, relate to smuggling, foreign trade, collection of duties on cargo, and ownership and movement of vessels. For example, there are administrative files concerning a vast array of goods including dolls, dried and green fruits, hemp seed, Japanese goods, prohibited plumage, and watches. Related microfilm publications of Treasury Department records, such as M174, Letters Received by the Secretary of the Treasury From Collectors of Customs, 1833-1869, are available as well. Vessel ownership and movements are also documented in records of the Customs Service Honolulu District, 1900-1967; merchant vessel logbooks for the mid-1900's collected by the Coast Guard Marine Safety Office (RG 26) in San Francisco; and files of the Maritime Administration's Pacific Coast District (RG 357).

The Island Trading Company of Micronesia was incorporated in 1947 as the successor of the U.S. Commercial Company to promote the economic advancement and self-sufficiency of residents of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. The company administered the import and export trade of the Trust Territories and Guam from its headquarters on Guam and later in Hawaii. The records, 1947-1954, relate to company finances, operations, organization, and projects. They are among the records of the Office of Territories (RG 126).

During World War II the Office of Defense Transportation (RG 219) worked to ensure efficient domestic transportation facilities. The records of the Storage, Tank Car, and Waterway Transport offices in San Francisco document development of port area storage facilities and movement of freight.

Licensing to engage in specific foreign exchange transactions during World War II is documented in the case files of the Foreign Funds Control office in Hawaii (RG 265). The files contain correspondence, reports, and forms TFE-1 (Hawaii), "Application for a License under Executive Order No. 8389, as amended." Examples of transactions involving foreign nationals include selling land, purchasing goods, raising employees' wages, and increasing the amount withdrawn from a business to cover household expenses.

Finance

Decisions made in 1918 and 1919 on applications for issuance of new bonds, stocks, and other securities in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington are documented in the records of the San Francisco District of the Capital Issues Committee (RG 158). The Committee was created during World War I to determine whether proposed issues of securities were in the national interest, and to discourage the diversion of capital to unessential projects.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (RG 276) heard appeals from rulings of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for all states west of the Rocky Mountains, except Utah. Court records consist of case files, which typically contain printed briefs, exhibits, opinions, and transcripts of SEC proceedings.

Supervision of national bank operations is documented in the records of the Chief National Bank Examiner in San Francisco, 1921-1960. These records are among those of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (RG 101). The records relate to appraisals of the financial condition and operations of banks, as well as mergers, establishment of branches, and organization of new banks. Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due to privacy or banking concerns.

Records relating to claims against and liquidation of Japanese banks in Hawaii and California that were closed during World War II are among the records of the Office of Alien Property (RG 131) in Honolulu and San Francisco.

The records of the Branch Mint and Assay Office (RG 104) in San Francisco, 1853-1960, include information about circulation, silver bullion coinage operations, and deposits of gold and silver bullion. The records of the Carson City, Nevada, Branch Mint and Assay Office, 1877-1925, relate to coinage operations and the deposit and purchase of silver and gold.

During World War II the Treasury Department (RG 56) authorized the destruction of worn-out currency in Hawaii due to the risk involved in shipping it to the mainland for destruction. The records of the Special Treasury Destruction Committee in Honolulu relate to destruction of unfit currency, and plans for destruction of currency and securities in case of emergency.

Regulation in Time of Emergency

Regulation of commodities during World War I is documented in the records of the Food Administration (RG 4) and the Fuel Administration (RG 67). Food Administration records relate to food supplies, conservation and consumption of food, investigations of complaints, violations of food regulations, and wholesale and retail costs. Included are records of the Food Administrators for California, Hawaii, and Nevada; the Divisions of Baking and Sugar Distribution, and the Livestock Commission in California; and the Federal Milk Commission in Hawaii. The records of the Fuel Administration's Federal Oil Director for the Pacific Coast relate to oil production, distribution, and consumption, and consumer priority classifications. Oil company statements and oil supply tabulations are included.

As a rehabilitative effort during the depression, the National Recovery Administration (NRA, RG 9) drafted codes of fair competition to govern industries and trade. The records of the Territorial Office in Hawaii, 1934-1936, document agreements on these codes in various industries. An extensive history of the code for the graphic arts industry covers issues such as membership by racial group in trade associations and differences between alphabetic printers and printers of ideographic characters. Records of the San Francisco Regional Office, which administered codes in the western states, are also available.

During World War II, the Office of Defense Transportation (RG 219), Office of the Housing Expediter (RG 252), and Office of Price Administration (RG 188) were among the agencies regulating private sector activities. Defense Transportation records include appeals made by bus lines, farmers, taxi cab operators, and other commercial concerns for expansion of transportation services, additional allotments of fuel, and other exceptions to transportation regulations. The records of the Housing Expediter relate to rent control and include inspection of dwellings; computation of rent based on accommodations, equipment, and services; litigation of rent cases; and termination of rent control in the western U.S. These records also document the Korean War period. The Price Administration records document rationing, price levels of commodities and services, and the impact of World War II on domestic life.

The Office of Price Stabilization (RG 295) regulated prices during the Korean War. The records of the Region XII office document the community pricing program and maximum prices for dry goods in major cities in Arizona, California, and Nevada. The records of the Hawaii district office relate to establishing price ceilings for various goods and services, determining price differentials between Hawaii and the mainland, and evaluating the Hawaiian economy.

Record Groups Cited

Agricultural Economics, Bureau of, RG 83
Alien Property, Office of, RG 131
Attorneys, United States, RG 118
Capital Issues Committee, RG 158
Chemical Warfare Service, RG 175
Civil Service Commission, U.S., RG 146
Coast Guard, U.S., RG 26
Comptroller of the Currency, Office of the, RG 101
Courts of Appeals, U.S., RG 276
Customs Service, U.S., RG 36
Defense Transportation, Office of, RG 219
District Courts of the United States, RG 21
Fair Employment Practice, Committee on, RG 228
Farmers Home Administration, RG 96
Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S., RG 22
Food Administration, U.S., RG 4
Foreign Assets Control, Office of, RG 265
Forest Service, RG 95
Fuel Administration, U.S., RG 67
General Services Administration, RG 269
Housing Expediter, Office of the, RG 252
Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85
Internal Revenue Service, RG 58
Labor, Department of, RG 174
Land Management, Bureau of, RG 49
Maritime Administration, RG 357
Maritime Commission, U.S., RG 178
Mines, U.S. Bureau of, RG 70
Mint, U.S., RG 104
National Labor Relations Board, RG 25
National Park Service, RG 79
National Recovery Administration, RG 9
National Resources Planning Board, RG 187
National War Labor Board (World War II), RG 202
Naval Districts and Shore Establishments, RG 181
Price Administration, Office of, RG 188
Price Stabilization, Office of, RG 295
Property Resources Service, Federal, RG 291
Public Buildings Service, RG 121
Territories, Office of, RG 126
Treasury, Department of the, RG 56
Wage and Hour Division, RG 155
Wage and Salary Stabilization Boards of the Economic Stabilization Agency, RG 293
War Assets Administration, RG270
War Manpower Commission, RG211