Summary Information
Charles C. Pearce Papers
1907-1973
- Pearce, Charles Chester, 1888-1974
Mss 342
4.8 c.f. (12 archives boxes)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Personal and professional papers of Charles C. Pearce, a lawyer who practiced in Washington, D.C. and New York City, and was a special assistant to the Attorney General of the United States from 1938 to 1946. Included is general correspondence, material relating to his work with the antitrust division of the United States Justice Department, private legal practice files, and personal papers. Papers relate to a variety of cases; however, the best documentation is of a fertilizer industry investigation, 1939-1940, and a small loan investigation, 1943-1944, done for the Justice Department. Also well documented are claims of German expatriots for property confiscated by Nazi Germany in World War II, handled by Pearce in his private practice working with the Milwaukee law firm of Wengert and Spenner through the Office of Alien Property and the War Claims Commission. Other papers concern the prosecution of a grocery monopoly case in Seattle, 1941-1942, and of a monopoly of soft drink distribution by Pepsi, Coca Cola, and local distributors, 1941-1942; the dissolution of the Japanese monopolistic control groups, 1946; research on food additive legislation from his work for South Dakota Congressman Usher Burdick, 1956-1957; settlement of the Amy Lesher estate, 1960s; and miscellaneous topics of personal interest.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00342 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Charles C. Pearce, son of Dr. William J. and Martha Cook Pearce, was born November 13, 1888 in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. He was educated in Wisconsin schools and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1909. Chiefly interested in debate and oratory, Pearce coached debating teams at the University of Illinois-Urbana, the University of Washington, and Columbia University. In 1915 he lectured on a Chautauqua circuit that included Glenn Frank and William Jennings Bryan.
Pearce began a long legal career in 1915 after graduating from Columbia Law School. From 1915 to 1938 he was in private practice in New York City, associating with several law firms, practicing individually, and acting as special counsel for other firms. During this period Pearce specialized in the law of foreign exchange, banking law, conflict of laws, and private international law. In 1938 Pearce joined the antitrust division of the United States Justice Department. As special assistant to the attorney general he was involved with two major antitrust prosecutions: the fertilizer industry, and small loan companies. He also worked in Japan toward dissolving Japanese monopolistic control groups in 1946. After he resigned from the Justice Department in 1946 Pearce returned to private practice. In 1947 he was a special consultant for the Tennessee Valley Authority. From 1948 to 1968 he practiced in Washington, D.C., dealing mainly with foreign claims resulting from World War II.
Pearce moved to Florida upon retirement. He died September 11, 1974 while vacationing in Reno, Nevada.
Scope and Content Note
In general the papers are representative of Pearce's legal career, although glimpses of his personal life are found throughout the collection, especially in the correspondence series. The collection has been organized into five series: Biographical Information; General Correspondence, 1907-1973; Justice Department Antitrust Division, 1938-1946; Private Practice, 1917-1938, 1947-1967; and Personal Papers, 1915-1954.
The GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE relates to his school days at the University of Wisconsin, his family and friends, and the operation of his North Dakota farm. Since some of his friends were also co-workers, Pearce's career is also reflected in this correspondence.
The JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANTITRUST DIVISION series is divided into a Correspondence file and the five sets of files discussed below:
The Fertilizer Investigation dealt with the nationwide prosecution of the chemical fertilizer and superphosphate, potash, and nitrogen fertilizer industries. Two indictments were returned in 1939 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the potash and nitrogen groups. Another indictment was subsequently returned in the United States District Court of North Carolina at Winston-Salem against the mixed fertilizer group. This file is the most extensive of the antitrust material.
The Pacific Coast Assignment files are the smallest. In 1941-1942 Pearce was transferred to San Francisco. He worked on various cases there and in Seattle. The best documented case concerned a grocery monopoly prosecuted in Seattle.
The Small Loan Investigation concerns action taken against firms that fixed uniform prices in making small loans at high rates. The firms were indicted in the United States District Court at San Antonio, Texas in 1944. Although numerous firms were indicted most of the materials deal with Rufus DeWitt King and with Household Finance.
In 1946 Pearce was sent to Japan to work with the Antitrust and Cartels Division of the Economic and Scientific Section of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. Pearce was one of a group of experts whose task was the formulation of criteria for the guidance of military authorities in breaking up the Zaibatsu combines. They examined the various Zaibatsu companies and recommended policies to dissolve them and prevent their revival. This section contains very little on postwar Japan; most of the material is tourist-type information on Japan, Tokyo, and neighboring countries.
The Miscellany includes a 1945 telephone directory of the Antitrust Division, a waiver of immunity, questions regarding immunity, and several other undated items whose relationship to the above cases has not been determined.
The PRIVATE PRACTICE series is divided into nine sections, four of which are discussed below:
The General Legal Writings files consist of journals, notes, and briefs. The journals are daily logs of cases Pearce worked on and often contain the most informative material available on various cases. The notes and briefs are about the only documentation there is on Pearce's earlier practice in New York City. The 1963-1964 Notebook contains material on several of the War Claims cases and on the Lesher Estate.
The Soft Drink Monopoly files would seem to belong in the Justice Department Antitrust Division series but the dates indicate that the material is from Pearce's private practice. It concerned the monopoly of soft drink distribution by Pepsi, Coca Cola, and local distributors. Also included is a folder of notes on other private antitrust cases.
Pearce spent most of the 1950s and the 1960s working on Office of Alien Property and War Claims Cases. The majority of the cases deal with property confiscated by Nazi Germany in World War II for which the claimant was trying to get reparation. The correspondence is mainly between Pearce and the Milwaukee law firm of Wengert and Spenner with which he worked on the cases, and is perhaps the most revealing about the day-to-day and year-to-year procedures involved. The most extensive material on individual cases documents the Blum and the Spenner claims.
During 1956 and 1957 Pearce accepted part-time employment in the Office of Congressman Usher Burdick, a close friend and Congressman from North Dakota, where Pearce owned a ranch. The Congressman, at the time of Pearce's connection with the office, was working on food additive legislation. Pearce did research and wrote press releases. This period is also covered in the journals Pearce kept which are filed under General Legal Writings.
The Lesher Estate was handled by Pearce for Lillian Sullivan, a friend and the executrix of her sister's will. The correspondence is both personal and professional. The estate was complicated by a dishonest land deal in which Amy Lesher was defrauded before her death. A great deal of the material pertains to attempts to either get deeds for the land or reimbursement for payments made to the Desert Diet Development Corporation.
The PERSONAL PAPERS are a hodgepodge of unrelated materials. The Chautauqua Materials, 1915, concern travel arrangements for the speaking tour in which Pearce participated. There are three Speeches from a later period than the Chautauqua material; only one is titled and deals with monopoly and medical care. The Speculation section consists of material on oil and uranium deals in which Pearce was apparently thinking of investing.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by the Estate of Charles C. Pearce via the University of Wisconsin Foundation, 1976. Accession Number: M76-82
Processed by Kathryn Otto (Intern) and Joanne Hohler, May 1978.
Contents List
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Box
1
Folder
1
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Series: Biographical Information
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Box
1
Folder
2-5
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Series: General Correspondence, 1907-1973, undated
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Series: Justice Department Antitrust Division
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Box
1
Folder
6-7
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Correspondence, 1938-1946
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Fertilizer Investigation, circa 1939-1940
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Box
1
Folder
8
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Correspondence
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Box
1
Folder
9
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General Information on the Investigation and the Grand Juries
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Box
2
Folder
1-2
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Background Material on Fertilizers
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Box
2
Folder
3
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Statements to the Grand Juries
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Box
2
Folder
4
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Subpoena Duces Tecum
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Box
2
Folder
5
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Exhibits
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Box
2
Folder
6
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Briefs and Appeals
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Box
2
Folder
7
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Miscellany
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Pacific Coast Assignment, circa 1941-1942
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Box
3
Folder
1
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Correspondence
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Box
3
Folder
2
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Cases
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Small Loan Investigation, circa 1943-1956
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Box
3
Folder
3
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Correspondence, 1943-1956
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Box
3
Folder
4
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Notes, Research Material, Newspaper Clippings
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Box
3
Folder
5
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Indictments
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Box
3
Folder
6
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Specification of Papers to be Offered in Evidence, Lists of Witnesses, Bill of Particulars, and Addresses of Witnesses
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Antitrust and Cartels Division, Japan, 1946
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Box
3
Folder
7
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Working Papers
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Box
3
Folder
8
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Informational Material
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Box
3
Folder
9
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Travel Papers
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Box
3
Folder
10
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Miscellany, 1945, undated
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Series: Private Practice, 1917-1938, 1947-1967
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General Legal Writings
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Journals
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Box
3
Folder
11
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1938, 1951, 1953
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Box
4
Folder
1-4
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1954-1957
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Box
5
Folder
1-3
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1958-1961
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Box
5
Folder
4
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Notebook, 1963-1964
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Box
5
Folder
5
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Notes, 1917-1938
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Box
6
Folder
1-2
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Briefs
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Box
7
Folder
1-2
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Briefs, Records on Appeal
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Tennessee Valley Authority Consultant, 1946-1947
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Box
8
Folder
1
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Correspondence, 1946-1947, undated
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Box
8
Folder
2
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“General Survey of the Fertilizer Industry”
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Box
8
Folder
3
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“Review of Criminal and Civil Antitrust Prosecutions and Federal Trade Commission Investigations of Fertilizer Industry Groups”
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Box
8
Folder
4
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“Monopolistic Aspects of the Florida Pebble and Hardrock Industries”
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Soft Drink Monopoly
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Box
8
Folder
5
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Correspondence, 1948-1954, undated
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Box
8
Folder
6
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General Material
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Box
8
Folder
7
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Notes on Private Antitrust Suits, undated
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Office of Alien Property and War Claims Cases
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Correspondence
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Box
8
Folder
8
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1953-1954
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Box
9
Folder
1-8
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1955-1963
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Box
10
Folder
1-3
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1964-1967
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Box
10
Folder
4
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General Material
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Box
10
Folder
5
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List of Claims
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Box
10
Folder
6
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Claims & Exhibits
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Box
10
Folder
7
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Decisions
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Box
10
Folder
8
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Expenses
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Box
10
Folder
9
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Material Relating to Trading with the Enemy Bills and Hearings
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Blum Claim
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Box
10
Folder
10
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German Documents relating to the Cases, Some with Translations
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Box
10
Folder
11
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Miscellany
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Spenner Claim
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Box
11
Folder
1
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Notebooks, 1964-1967
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Box
11
Folder
2
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Transcript of Hearing, May 8, 1967
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Box
11
Folder
3
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Employment in the Office of Congressman Usher Burdick, 1956-1957
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Box
11
Folder
4
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Pryce Divorce, 1957-1958
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Lesher Estate
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Box
11
Folder
5-7
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Correspondence, 1957-1972, undated
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Box
11
Folder
8
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Statements of Hours and Services Rendered
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Box
11
Folder
9
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Interim Report of the Executrix, May 24, 1966
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Box
11
Folder
10
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Legal Documents
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Box
11
Folder
11
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Legal Notes
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Desert Diet Development Corporation
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Box
12
Folder
1
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Correspondence, 1959-1972
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Box
12
Folder
2
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, Undated Materials
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Box
12
Folder
3
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Promotional Material and Newspaper Clippings
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Box
12
Folder
4
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Will of Maude Ambrosia Gregory
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Box
12
Folder
5
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Miscellaneous Cases
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Series: Personal Papers, 1914-1954
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Box
12
Folder
6
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Chautauqua Materials, 1915
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Box
12
Folder
7
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Speeches, 1938, 1940, undated
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Speculation Materials
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Box
12
Folder
8
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Correspondence, 1951-1954
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Box
12
Folder
9
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Notes and Leases
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Box
12
Folder
10
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Oil Promotional Material
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Box
12
Folder
11
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Uranium Promotional Material
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Box
12
Folder
12
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Petty Cash Book, 1925-1928
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Box
12
Folder
13
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Telephone and Address Books, undated
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Box
12
Folder
14
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Membership Certificates, 1914-1951
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