Guide to Archival Holdings (RG 103-147)

Records of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (RG 101)

Administrative History

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was created as an integral part of the national banking system by an act of Congress of February 25, 1863. The Comptroller, as the administrator of national banks, is responsible for the execution of laws relating to national banks and the promulgation of rules and regulations governing national banks in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. The Office of the Comptroller exercises general supervision over the operations of national banks, including trust activities, and overseas operations. Each bank is examined periodically through a nationwide staff of bank examiners. These examinations operate in the public interest by assisting the Comptroller in appraising the financial condition of banks.

Records Description

Dates: 1921-67
Volume: 28 cubic feet

Records of the following offices:

• Regional Administrator of National Banks, 14th National Bank Region, San Francisco;
• Office of the Chief National Bank Examiner, 12th Federal Reserve District, San Francisco.

Finding Aids

Draft inventory and folder/box lists.

Finding Aids

M816, Registers of Signatures of Depositors in Branches of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865-1874; M817, Index to Deposit Ledgers in Branches of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865-1874 .

Restrictions

Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due to privacy and/or banking concerns.

Records of the Farm Credit Administration (RG 103)

Administrative History

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA) was established March 27, 1933, as an independent agency to consolidate the functions of various Federal agencies concerned with agricultural credit. It established production credit corporations and created banks for cooperatives as a source of credit for farmers. From 1939 to 1953, the FCA was part of the Department of Agriculture but again became an independent agency thereafter. The Administration supervises and coordinates the activities of the Farm Credit System, a cooperative association of Federal land banks, intermediate credit banks, and other institutions financing farmers, ranchers, rural homeowners, owners of farm- related businesses, commercial fishermen, and of banks for cooperatives making loans of all kinds to agricultural and marine cooperatives. The System was created to provide dependable and adequate credit in response to the Great Depression and farm crisis of the 1930's. See RG 96 for related records.

Records Description

Dates: 1946-50
Volume: 13 cubic feet

Records of the Federal Land Bank, Farm Credit District 11, Berkeley, California, which served Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. The records relate to disposal of surplus property in Utah under the Surplus Property Act of 1944, and are primarily case files.

Finding Aids

Draft inventory (1997) and box contents list.

Records of the U.S. Mint (Rg 104)

Administrative History

The Bureau of the Mint, established in the Department of the Treasury by an act of February 12, 1873, succeeded the Mint of the United States, founded in 1792 at Philadelphia, and continued there after the Federal Government moved to Washington, DC, in 1800. Originally an independent agency, by 1857 the Mint had become responsible to the Department of the Treasury. The Mint has been responsible for manufacturing coins; for receiving, storing, and selling gold and silver bullion; for assaying and refining; and for a variety of functions, such as inspections and gathering statistics. The Mint has operated mints in several cities, as well as assay offices and bullion depositories.

Records Description

Dates: 1853-1994
Volume: 546 cubic feet

Records of the Branch Mint and Assay Office, San Francisco, 1853-1994. In 1850, Congress provided for the appointment of an assayer for California. Two years later, funds were appropriated for a mint in San Francisco. After 1955, the facility operated only as an assay office, but circulation coinage was reactivated from 1965 to 1974. Since 1974, there have been no ongoing circulation coinage operations, except for Susan B. Anthony dollar coins issued from 1979 to 1981. The Mint has issued American Eagle silver bullion coins since 1986; it also issues uncirculated proof and commemorative coins. The records relate to assay matters; manufacture of coins for the U.S. and foreign governments (primarily the Philippines); purchase of gold and silver; deposit of gold and silver bullion by mines in the western U.S. and abroad; routine administrative activities; restoration of the old Mint building, and other subjects. Included are annual reports, ledgers, letters, lists, registers and telegrams. Nontextual records consist of a separate series of photographs of Mint operations, ca. 1870-1940's and a poster of the 1973 re-opening of the old Mint building. For architectural plans of the U.S. Branch Mint, 5th and Mission Street, 1867-1950, see unnumbered microfilm, Architectural Drawings of the Mint Building ... and RG 121.

Records of the Branch Mint and Assay Office, Carson City, Nevada, 1877-1925. Established in 1863, the branch mint opened for business in 1870. Coinage stopped in 1893, but the facility continued as an assay office until it closed in 1933. The records relate to assay, deposit and purchase of silver and gold, and coinage. They consist of lists and registers.

Finding Aids

• Inventory of the Records of the U.S. Mint, San Francisco (1995).
• Entries 423-431 in Forrest R. Holdcamper, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of the Mint, NC 152 (1958).

Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer (RG 111)

Administrative History

The Signal Corps, administered by the Chief Signal Officer, was provisionally established by War Department General Order 73 of March 24, 1863. The Office of the Chief Signal Officer was placed under the jurisdiction of Services of Supply (later designated Army Service Forces) in 1942; under the General Staff of the War Department in 1946; and under the General Staff of the Department of the Army in 1947. In 1964, the Office of the Chief Signal Officer became the Office of the Chief of Communications-Electronics.

Records Description

Dates: 1942-51
Volume: 2 cubic feet

Records of the Signal Depot, Sacramento. The records document daily operations and administrative matters, and include records relating to the Oakland Branch, Oakland Army Base. Included are issuances, memorandums, and weekly reports. Nontextual records consist of some maps and photographs of the facility interfiled with textual records.

Records of the Cost Analysis Agency, San Francisco. The records document administrative matters and office procedures relating to contractor-monitoring and procurement activities. They consist of issuances and memorandums.

Finding Aids

Series title list.

Related Microfilm Publications

T252, The Mathew B. Brady Collection of Civil War Photographs.

Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (Army) (RG 112)

Administrative History

The Office of the Surgeon General was established by an act of April 14, 1818. It is the headquarters of the Army Medical Department whose mission is to maintain the health of the Army and conserve its fighting strength. Components of the Office include the Medical Corps, Dental Corps, Veterinary Corps, Medical Service Corps, Army Nurse Corps, and Army Medical Specialist Corps.

Records Description

Dates: 1859-1980
Volume: 220 cubic feet

Records of Letterman General Hospital, Presidio of San Francisco, 1898-1980. The records, which primarily cover 1898-1913, relate to care of patients, and hospital administration, construction, and operation; and to the San Francisco earthquake and fire of April 1906, focusing on sanitary conditions at the refugee camps. Issuances, letters, medical case files, registers, reports, and rolls are among the records available. Nontextual records consist of architectural drawings and maps interfiled with textual records. See also RG 338.

Records of the Army Medical Examining Board, San Francisco, 1874-1875. The records relate to the board's examination of candidates seeking appointment as assistant surgeons and assistant surgeons seeking promotion to the rank of surgeon. Included are letters and proceedings of board meetings.

Records of Benicia Hospital, Benicia Barracks, California, 1859-1861; and the Medical Supply Depots for Northern Luzon and for Southern Luzon, Manila, Philippines, 1900-01. The records relate to medical supplies for military installations in the western U.S. and the Philippines, and consist of invoices, letters, and telegrams.

Records of the Alameda Medical Depot, California, 1951-55. The records relate to medical supply support testing, mobilization planning, and handling of classified documents. They include issuances, memorandums, receipts, and reports.

Finding Aids

• Descriptions of some series.
• For the records Letterman General Hospital: registers and name indexes.
• Entries 337-341, 354-376, 413, 414, and 417 in Patricia Andrews, comp., and Garry Ryan, rev., Preliminary Inventory of the Textual Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (Army), NM 20 (1964).

Records of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (Rg 114)

Administrative History

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) was established in the Department of Agriculture (USDA) by Secretary's Memorandum 1010-1, October 20, 1994. NRCS acquired all functions of the abolished Soil Conservation Service (SCS); functions of the abolished Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service relating to the water bank, forestry incentives, Colorado River salinity control, and wetlands reserve programs; and functions of the abolished Farmers Home Administration relating to implementation of the Farms for the Future Act of 1990. NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to land users and units of government with the aim of sustaining agricultural activity and protecting natural resources.

The predecessor SCS was established in 1935; in 1937 it began assisting farmers in soil conservation districts organized under State laws. The SCS acquired responsibility for farm forestry programs in 1938, for assisting in water conservation programs in 1944, and for assuming the soil survey in 1952.

In 1935 SCS regional offices were established to supervise conservation work in large geographic areas. In 1938-39 area offices were created to assist the regional offices. State offices replaced area offices in 1942. Regional offices were discontinued in 1954; the SCS subsequently relied on State offices to give technical and administrative supervision to local units. In 1998 the NRCS field structure included six regional offices, 17 Major Land Resource Area regional offices, many state offices, and a variety of institutes and centers.

Records Description

Dates: 1935-81
Volume: 48 cubic feet

Records of the Pacific Southwest Regional Office (Region 10), Berkeley, 1939-40. Established in 1935 to serve California and Nevada, the regional office was located in Santa Paula, California, until moving to Berkeley in 1939. A 1939 reorganization expanded its jurisdiction to include Hawaii. In 1942, it was consolidated with the Pacific Northwest Region to create the Pacific Region, and the regional office was moved to Portland, Oregon. The records relate to administrative matters; agronomy; cooperative programs, including work with the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Bureau of Indian Affairs; erosion control practices; forestry; hydrology; land utilization; range management; soil conservation; watershed projects; wildlife and woodlands management; and other subjects. Included are correspondence, issuances, and reports. Nontextual records consist of maps and photographs interfiled with textual records.

Records of the California State Office, Berkeley, 1950-81. The records relate to snow surveys and planning and construction of watershed projects. Correspondence, reports, charts, field notebooks, specifications, and other records are included. Nontextual records consist of a separate series of architectural and engineering plans of Calleguas Creek modifications.

Records of the following area offices, ca. 1935-42:

• Caliente, Nevada;
• Ukiah, California;
• Watsonville, California;
• Yerington, Nevada.

Finding Aids

• Index for Classification and Filing, Central Files, Soil Conservation Service, July 1, 1939-June 30, 1940 (SCS).
• Descriptions and folder title lists for some series.

Records of United States Attorneys (RG 118)

Administrative History

The Judiciary Act of September 24, 1789, made provision for U.S. attorneys and marshals who are appointed by the President and have functioned under the general supervision of the Department of Justice since its creation in 1870. U.S. attorneys investigate violations of Federal criminal laws, present evidence to grand juries, prosecute Federal criminal cases, and serve as the Federal Government's attorney in civil litigation in which the United States is involved or has an interest.

Records Description

Dates: 1865-1977
Volume: 281 cubic feet

Records of the following U.S. Attorneys:

• California, Eastern District, Sacramento. Significant civil case files (1899-1971) cover acquisition of lands for the Central Valley Project under the Reclamation Act of 1902; the fraudulent acquisition of drilling rights by oil companies; Native American land claims; and seizure by the Internal Revenue Service of personal property under the Prohibition Act. California, Northern District, San Francisco. Correspondence (1917-35) and significant criminal and civil case files (1865-1977) cover application of the Raker Act by the City and County of San Francisco in connection with the Hetch Hetchy project in Yosemite National Park, 1921-30; the "German-Hindu Conspiracy," 1913-20; malfeasance by Federal immigration officials, 1919-26; violations of the Sealing Act, 1888-1927; criminal prosecution of Iva D'Aquino ("Tokyo Rose"), 1943-69; a movement in the United States for the independence of India from Great Britain, 1908-33,(microfilm I7); and World War II Japanese-American internment, 1943-59.

• Hawaii District, Honolulu. Significant criminal, civil, land, and appeals case files (1932-70) cover the habeas corpus proceeding that overturned martial law in the Territory of Hawaii during World War II, and the Smith Act prosecution in U.S. v. Charles K. Fujimoto, et al., 1951-1958.

• Nevada District, Reno. Significant case file involving eviction suits at Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation, 1943-52.

Finding Aids

Selected series descriptions, box contents lists, and folder title lists.

Restrictions

Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due to law enforcement and/or privacy concerns.

Records of National Youth Administration (RG 119)

Administrative History

The National Youth Administration (NYA) was established within the Works Progress (later Work Projects) Administration by an Executive order of June 26, 1935. In 1939, it was transferred to the new Federal Security Agency, and in 1942 was moved to the War Manpower Administration. By the end of 1944, it had been liquidated under authority of an act of July 12, 1943.

The NYA conducted two major employment-training programs for needy young people between the ages of 16 and 24. The agency was headed by an administrator, who determined basic policies with the assistance of an advisory committee appointed by the President.

Operations in the field were directed by a network of regional, State, and area offices, assisted at each level by advisory committees.

Records Description

Dates: 1941-43
Volume: 9 cubic feet

Records of Region 12, San Francisco, serving California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. The records document the coordination of training and employment programs for youth ages 16 to 24, including clerical and war production programs, high school and college student work programs, programs involving racial minorities, and associated health and housing activities. Included are correspondence, memorandums, and specifications. Nontextual records consist of a separate series of plans for buildings and furniture.

Finding Aids

Restrictions

Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due to privacy concerns

Records of the Public Buildings Service (Rg 121)

Administrative History

Federal construction activities outside the District of Columbia were performed by individual agencies and, to some extent, by special commissions and officers appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury until 1853, when a Construction Branch was created in the Department of the Treasury. The Branch later became the Bureau of Construction in the Office of the Supervising Architect, and that office, in turn, was transferred in 1933 to the Public Buildings Branch of the Procurement Division. The Public Buildings Administration was created in the Federal Works Agency in 1939 by consolidating the Public Buildings Branch and the National Park Service's Branch of Buildings Management. The latter branch had inherited responsibilities for Federal construction in the District of Columbia from the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capitol.

An act of June 30, 1949, abolished the Public Buildings Administration and transferred its functions to the newly established General Services Administration (GSA). The Public Buildings Service was established December 11, 1949, by the Administrator of General Services to assume the functions once assigned to the Public Buildings Administration. The Public Buildings Service designs, constructs, manages, maintains, and protects most Federally-owned and -leased buildings. It is also responsible for the acquisition, utilization, and custody of GSA real and related personal property.

Records Description

Dates: 1898-1991
Volume: 306 cubic feet

Records of the Real Property Division, Region 9, San Francisco, 1945-73. The records relate to disposal of surplus real property and document the sale or donation of Federal property (such as airfields, forts, military installations, Post Office buildings and sites, and shipyards) in Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada. The records are case files, which generally include correspondence, deeds, reports of survey and title search, and site reports. Nontextual records include architectural drawings, maps, and photographs interfiled with textual records. See RG 269, RG 270, and RG 291 for related records.

Records of the Design and Construction Division, Region 9, San Francisco, 1898-1991. The records relate to Federal building construction projects in Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada, and consist of correspondence and specifications. Nontextual records include separate series of construction project photographs; drawings and photographs for the U.S. Post Office and Court House, San Francisco; and architectural drawings for the U.S. Branch Mint, and Public Health Service Hospital in San Francisco, the Sacramento Post Office and Court House, other California post offices, and the Honolulu Federal Building. Additional drawings are interfiled with textual records.

Records of the Federal Protective Service Division, Region 9, San Francisco, 1971-72. The records provide brief summaries of disturbances involving Federal property, such as bomb threats, antiwar and other political demonstrations, and various suspicious incidents. Included are incident reports for Fresno, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, and Tucson. The records consist of clippings, handbills concerning demonstrations, memorandums, and summary reports.

Finding Aids

• For records of the Real Property Division: folder title list (on database).
• For nontextual records of the Court of Appeals and Post Office Building, San Francisco: item lists.
• Draft inventory (1997).

Restrictions

Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due to law enforcement or privacy concerns.

Records of the Office of Territories (RG 126)

Administrative History

The Office of Territories was established July 28, 1950, by administrative order of the Secretary of the Interior to carry out certain of his responsibilities pertaining to areas non-contiguous to the United States and under U.S. jurisdiction. The office, the successor to the Division of Territories and Island Possessions, is concerned with the development of the economic, social, and political life of the territories and with the advancement of international peace and security by the close coordination of Territorial affairs with the defense and foreign policies of the United States.

Records Description

Dates: 1944-76
Volume: 7 cubic feet

Records of the Office of the Governor, Government of Guam, 1946-76. Guam became a possession of the U.S. under the provisions of the Treaty of Peace, signed in 1898 by the U.S. and Spain. Administration of the island was under the Secretary of the Navy until 1941, when Guam surrendered to the Japanese. When the island was retaken by Americans in 1944 the naval government was reestablished. Administration of Guam was transferred to the Secretary of the Interior in 1950. In 1950, the Organic Act of Guam established a civil government for the island with executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The records relate to governmental organization, policies, rules, and regulations. They consist of executive orders.

Records of the Office of the High Commissioner, Government of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, 1944-75. The Trust Territory included the Caroline, Marshall, and Northern Mariana Islands (excluding Guam). Under the 1947 Trusteeship Agreement between the U.S. and the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. encouraged the development of the area toward self-government. The Trust Territory was administered by the Secretary of the Navy until 1951, when most of the islands were transferred to the Secretary of the Interior. Saipan and Tinian were administered by the Navy until 1962, when they also were turned over to the Interior. Following the transfer, the headquarters and offices of the High Commissioner were moved from Guam to Saipan. In 1990 the U.N. Security Council terminated trusteeship status for all islands except Palau (part of the Caroline Islands, which remained under trusteeship until 1994. The records relate to economic development, public works projects, agriculture, geography, geology, social and cultural heritage, the future political status of the Trust Territory, and other subjects. The records consist of textual and microfiche publications of executive departments and the Congress of Micronesia, with some earlier U.S. Navy and German publications.

Records of the Island Trading Company of Micronesia, Government of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, 1947-54. The company was incorporated as the successor of the U.S. Commercial Company in 1947 to promote the economic advancement and self-sufficiency of residents. It administered the import and export trade of the Trust Territory and Guam from its headquarters in Guam and later in Hawaii. The records relate to company finances, operations, organization, and projects. Included is a report of the 1946 naval inspection of the Caroline Islands, with information about commerce, education, health, industry, population, religion, sanitation, and the operations of the U.S. Commercial Company. The records consist of issuances, minutes, and reports. Nontextual records consist of photographs interfiled with textual records.

Finding Aids

Series descriptions and folder title lists for some series.

Records of the U.S. Marine Corps (RG 127)

Administrative History

The U.S. Marine Corps was created by an act of July 11, 1798, which authorized the Commandant of the Corps to appoint an adjutant, a paymaster, and a quartermaster. Around those three staff officers and the Commandant the branches of Marine Corps Headquarters developed. Although the Corps was at first subject to both Army and Navy regulations, an act of June 30, 1834, placed it under exclusive U.S. Navy control except for units detached by Presidential order for Army service. A staff system in the Headquarters organization was begun in 1918 when the first of many sections and divisions was created in the Office of the Commandant. When Headquarters was reorganized along General Staff lines in 1952, the Division of Plans and Policies was abolished and its sections, G-1 through G-4, were elevated to divisional status under assistant chiefs of staff. The Commandant of the Marine Corps is directly responsible to the Secretary of the Navy for all administrative and operational matters affecting the Corps. These include providing amphibious forces for service with the fleet in seizing and defending advanced naval bases, and conducting land operations essential to a naval campaign. Other duties include providing detachments to serve on naval ships and to protect property of naval activities.

Records Description

Dates: 1942-49
Volume: 4 cubic feet

Records of the Marine Corps Air Station, Ewa, Oahu. The records document administration of equipment, facilities, and personnel; war preparation and readiness; and World War II activities of the station and other military personnel concerned with aircraft. Included are correspondence, issuances, and reports.

Finding Aids

• Series description.
• Navy Filing Manual (1941 edition).

Records of the Bureau of Prisons (RG 129)

Administrative History

The Bureau of Prisons was established within the Department of Justice in 1930. Upon creation, it absorbed the functions of the Office of the Superintendent of Prisons, which had been responsible for Federal prison matters since 1907. The new Bureau became responsible for the administration of Federal penal and correctional institutions and for Federal prisoners held in non-Federal institutions.

Records Description

Dates: 1910-88
Volume: 558 cubic feet

Records of Oahu Prison, Hawaii, 1910-30. Includedare minutes of meetings and miscellaneous records of the U.S.Parole Board at the prison, and quarterly report of support of prisoners.

Administrative records of the U.S. Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, California. The records relate to repair and maintenance of the buildings and grounds, procurement of supplies, and other administrative matters. Included are correspondence, construction progress reports, contract and bid forms, inspection reports, and invoices. Nontextual records consist of a few architectural drawings and photographs interfiled with textual records.

Case files of inmates incarcerated at the U.S. Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, California. The records comprise most of the extant case files, covering most of the approximately 1550 men incarcerated at Alcatraz during the prison's operation from 1934 to 63. Included are case files from other Federal prisons in which Alcatraz inmates served time, either before or after their incarceration at Alcatraz, as well as Bureau of Prisons central office files for Alcatraz inmates. Parole records are included in some files. A case file typically documents the inmates' entire Federal prison experience, including criminal conviction, sentence computation, activities and conduct in prison, medical matters, parole board decisions, and in some cases, post-release activities. Included are admission summaries, court commitment records, criminal record sheets, fingerprint cards, letters, relative and correspondent lists, and reports. A separate series of rap sheets is also available. Nontextual records include identification photographs of many inmates.

Finding Aids

Inventory, folder list, list of Alcatraz inmates and their offenses.

Restrictions

Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due to privacy concerns.

Records of the Office of Alien Property (RG 131)

Administrative History

The World War II Office of Alien Property Custodian was established within the Office for Emergency Management on March 11, 1942, under authority of the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 and the First War Powers Act of December 18, 1941. An Executive order of April 21, 1942, transferred to it the functions, personnel, and property of the Alien Property Division of the Department of Justice. The custodian was empowered to control or vest, use, administer, liquidate, or sell foreign-owned properties that were productive resources requiring active management, such as business enterprises and patents. Authority over foreign-owned properties that constituted general purchasing power and required no active management, such as cash and securities, was delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury. An Executive order of June 8, 1945, extended the jurisdiction of the custodian to all property in the United States owned by Germany and Japan or their nationals.

Records Description

Dates: 1935-58
Volume: 352 cubic feet

Records of the Honolulu office. The records document examiners' decisions, litigation, and other aspects of the isposition of property owned by businesses and individuals and seized by the U.S. government during World War II. ncluded are lists of detainees, internees, and repatriates. The records consist of case files, correspondence, financial ecords, indexes, issuances, ledgers, legal papers, and lists.

Records of the San Francisco office. The records relate to Japanese banks that were liquidated by the Superintendent of Banks of the State of California, and to German records used to demonstrate legal points in court cases. Included are correspondence, financial records, and legal papers.

Finding Aids

Series title list and folder title lists for some records.

Records of the Agricultural Marketing Service (RG 136)

Administrative History

The Agricultural Marketing Service was established in the Department of Agriculture in 1939 to consolidate agricultural marketing and related activities such as collecting and interpreting agricultural statistics, performing market inspection and grading services, and establishing official grade standards for many farm products. Its predecessors included the Bureau of Agricultural Economics. The service was discontinued in 1942 and its functions performed by other agencies. A new Agricultural Marketing Service was established in 1953 and was renamed the Consumer and Marketing Service between 1965 and 1972.

Records Description

Dates: 1927-49
Volume: 10 cubic feet

Records of the Market News Service, Grain Branch, San Francisco, 1931-49. The records provide agricultural production and price data for grain, hay, and feed crop markets in California, with related domestic and foreign market information. Included are market data on barley, beans, hops, rice, and wheat. The records are weekly market news reports.

Records of the Seed Testing Laboratory, Sacramento, 1927-33. The records relate to enforcement of the Federal Seed Act, seed importation and marketing, tests of seed samples for purity and germination, and administrative matters. The records are correspondence and transmittals.

Records of the Food Inspector, Honolulu, 1935-37. The records relate to disease control, legislation regarding food inspection and grading, marketing perishable foods, shipping perishable foods between Hawaii and the mainland, and administrative matters. The records are primarily correspondence.

Finding Aids

• Series title list.
• Folder title lists for some series.
• Entries 66 and 161 in Virgil E. Baugh, Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Agricultural Marketing Service, NC 118 (1965).

Records of the Federal Supply Service (RG 137)

Administrative History

In 1949, the General Services Administration established the Federal Supply Service to replace the Bureau of Federal Supply. It is responsible for the procurement of supplies for civilian executive agencies and administers the utilization and disposal of surplus property and the Government's transportation management system.

Records Description

Dates: 1976
Volume: less than 1 cubic foot

Record titled History of Federal Supply Service in Region 9, 1943-65. The record relates to the history of significant supply support operations, including establishment of the San Francisco Depot, the consolidated forest firefighting equipment project, the Guayule rubber project, and worldwide relief activities. It is a printed history. Nontextual records include maps and photographs in the printed history.

Records of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (RG 138)

Administrative History

The Federal Power Commission was an independent agency operating under the Federal Water Power Act of 1920 and the Natural Gas Act of 1938. Originally composed of the Secretaries of War, Interior, and Agriculture, it was reorganized in 1930 to include five full-time commissioners appointed by the President.

The Commission regulated the interstate aspects of the electric power and natural gas industries, including licensing the construction and operation of non-Federal hydroelectric power projects on Federal lands or navigable U.S. waters, regulating rates, issuing certificates for gas sales, controlling the holding of interlocking positions in public utilities companies, and regulating the securities, mergers, consolidations, and acquisitions of such companies. The Commission was terminated by an act of August 4, 1977, and its functions were transferred to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the Department of Energy.

Records Description

Dates: 1924-67
Volume: 5 cubic feet

Records of the Regional Engineer, Federal Power Commission, San Francisco, serving California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and parts of adjoining States. The records relate to flood control projects, power surveys, reservoir and dam projects, and river basin studies. Included are correspondence, reports, and tables. Nontextual records consist of maps included with the reports.

Finding Aids

Box contents list.

Records of the U.S. Civil Service Commission (Rg 146)

Administrative History

The U.S. Civil Service Commission was authorized to establish a merit system under which selections for Government service appointments would be based on applicants' demonstrated relative fitness. On January 1, 1979, many of the functions of the Commission were taken over by the Office of Personnel Management.

Records Description

Dates: 1883-1943
Volume: 10 cubic feet

Records of the Consolidated Board of Examiners, District of San Francisco, 1883-1906. In 1902, the Consolidated Board was established as a result of a merger of individual Boards of Examiners for the Bureaus of Customs and the Mint, and the Post Office, in the Bay Area, Napa, and Sacramento. The records relate to Board activities, examinations, individual applicants, and administrative matters. Included are clippings, issuances, letters, and minutes.

Records of the following offices:

• Carson City, Nevada, 1901-02;
• Fresno, California, 1893-1904;
• Hanford, California, 1900-04.

Records of Region 12, San Francisco, 1940-43, which served Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada. The records 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. The records consist of correspondence and reports.

Finding Aids

Series title list and inventory for some records.

Records of the Selective Service System, 1940- (RG 147)

Administrative History

An Executive order of September 23, 1940, established the Selective Service System to provide an orderly, just, and democratic method of obtaining men for military and naval service. Except between December 5, 1942, and December 5, 1943, when it was placed under the jurisdiction of the War Manpower Commission, the System was responsible to the President. The System operated through a director and national headquarters, regional boards, State headquarters, medical and registrant advisory boards, boards of appeal, and local boards.

There was a local board for each county and for each unit of 30,000 people in urban areas. Through the local boards the System registered, classified, and selected for induction male citizens and aliens subject to service.

Records Description

Dates: 1940-56
Volume: 278 cubic feet

Records of the State headquarters for California, Hawaii, and Nevada. The records document the selection of men for service in the armed forces. Records of registrants consist of: Registration cards, 1942-47, for individuals born in California and Hawaii from April 28, 1877, to February 16, 1897; DSS Form 301, "Application by Alien for Relief from Military Service," for Nevada, 1942-43; and DSS Form 304, "Alien's Personal History and Statement," for California, 1942-46, and Nevada, 1942-43. In addition, there is a master list of the lottery drawing for Hawaii on November 12-13, 1940, and various lists of registrants and statistical data for California, ca. 1940-56. Nontextual records consist of privately printed maps of California localities interfiled with the textual records.

Finding Aid

Entry 12A in Patricia Andrews, comp., Supplement to Preliminary Inventory No. 27, Records of the Selective Service System, 1940- , NM 32 (1964).