Title: Institute for Research in Land Economics and Public Utilities Records
Inclusive Dates: 1905-1933

Creator:

• Institute for Research in Land Economics and Public Utilities

Call Number: Mss 210

Quantity: 10.2 cubic feet (23 archives boxes and 1 flat box)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Records of a research organization founded in 1920 by Richard T. Ely as the Institute for Research on Land Economics. The Institute was headquartered at the University of Wisconsin until 1925, and at Northwestern University from 1925 until about 1935. The Institute performed basic research in fields such as land valuation, conservation, urbanization, and public utilities. Records include a subject file containing correspondence, reports, research papers, and other administrative and research material; a public utilities research file; financial records; and scrapbooks.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00210

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Richard T. Ely, the founder of the Institute for Research in Land Economics and Public Utilities (IRLE), defined land economics as “that division of economics, theoretical and applied, which is concerned with the land as an economic concept and with the economic relations which grow out of land as property.” It deals with a broad range of topics including urban and rural tenancy, land value, public and private ownership, conservation of natural resources, and public control over private land utilization. Ely was in large measure responsible for popularizing land economics as a field of study. His interest began at least by the 1890s and was heightened during the First World War when he helped found the American Association for Agricultural Legislation. With the formation of the Institute for Research in Land Economics, land economics became his major research and teaching interest.

The IRLE officially came into being in October, 1920 when the University of Wisconsin allotted Ely 1,000.00 dollars to establish a division of land economics. The Institute was intended to perform basic research in the field and thus aid legislators, courts, administrative officials, and others in forming constructive land policies. The IRLE also undertook research in public utilities and in 1923 changed its name to the Institute for Research in Land Economics and Public Utilities. To disseminate the product of its research the Institute sponsored a number of monographs and texts and, beginning in 1925, published the Journal of Land Economics and Public Utilities.

Funding for the IRLE came primarily from railroads, interest groups such as the National Electric Light Association, and from the Carnegie Corporation. In 1925 the Institute shifted its affiliation and headquarters to Northwestern University ostensibly to improve its sources of funding. At its height the Institute employed as many as forty people. Among the well known economists who worked for the IRLE were Edward W. Morehouse, A. J. Altmeyer, Martin Glaeser, George S. Wehrwein, Mary L. Shine, and Herbert D. Simpson. Due in part to its funding sources the Institute's objectivity was sometimes questioned. By the early 1930s the resulting bad publicity coupled with the beginning of the depression necessitated a drastic curtailment of IRLE activity. In 1932 Ely, then 78 years old, retired from the directorship and moved to New York City where he formed the Institute for Economic Research. Northwestern continued the sponsorship of the IRLE and the Journal until about 1935.

As a pioneer in the study of land economics, housing, transportation, and urbanization and in the development of a real estate education curriculum, the IRLE's records are worth studying not only for the history of the organization but also for the data they contain on these subjects. The records are divided into four parts: Subject Files, Public Utility Research Files, Financial Records, and Scrapbooks. Central to the understanding of the IRLE is the Subject File. It contains correspondence, reports, research papers and materials, and other types of records pertaining to the administration of the Institute as well as to its many research interests. Significant among these files are budgets, both proposed and actual, for the period 1920-1932. Overall policy making at the Institute is also well covered in the Board of Trustees minutes, 1922-1927, and staff meeting minutes, 1926-1927 and 1930. Research interests, especially in the areas of housing and taxation are documented in files on numerous studies proposed and/or undertaken by the Institute.

The Public Utility Research Files consist of charts, tables, and other types of data concerning the ownership and financing of various types of public utilities. The materials were probably collected for one or more of the studies conducted by the Institute. Data include comparisons of bond yields, ownership statistics, and rate information. Although the data covers the period 1900 to 1932, it was compiled sometime after 1920. Arrangement is alphabetical by subject.

IRLE Financial Records consist of journals, 1922,1928; ledgers, 1925-1932; and monthly financial statements, 1925-1931. The journals are a chronological record of receipts and expenditures which show the source of receipts and the individual or company receiving payments. Disbursements also frequently include an explanation of the purpose of the expenditure. Ledgers are arranged by account and show expenditures. For the period 1925-June 1928 the volumes are general in character including not only accounts for office supplies, printing, travel, and postage but also specialized accounts for salaries and expenses charged to specific projects. After June 1928 separate ledgers were maintained; one for general office expenditures, and one for special projects. Also in the financial records are monthly statements of IRLE bills paid by Northwestern University. The overall content and arrangement of these statements is similar to the journals.

The eight volumes of IRLE Scrapbooks are organized topically. Categories include “articles about the Institute,” “commendations and criticism,” and others. See the contents list below for a complete account of the topics.

The Richard T. Ely Papers (Wis Mss MK) include most of Ely's correspondence as IRLE director. In addition a ledger with IRLE accounts, 1920-1922, is contained in the Richard T. Ely Additions (Mss 411, Box 34).

Acquisition Information

Presented by Richard T. Ely in 1942. These records were originally processed as part of the Richard T. Ely Addition (Mss 411). They were separated and made an independent collection in February 1981.

Processing Information

Processed by Harry L. Miller, February 1981.

	Series: Subject File
Box   1 Folder   1	Adult Education, 1923
Box   1 Folder   2	Agricultural Experimental Stations, 1929
Box   1 Folder   3	Agricultural Instruction Trains, 1920, 1923
Box   1 Folder   4	Agricultural Land Research, 1926
Box   1 Folder   5	Air Institute, 1930
Box   1 Folder   6	American Construction Council, 1926-1927
Box   1 Folder   7	American Land Economics Association
Box   1 Folder   8	Articles (re: the Institute), 1925
Box   1 Folder   9	Articles of Confederation, 1925
Box   1 Folder   10	Articles of Incorporation, 1925-1931
Box   1 Folder   11	Audits, 1922-1925
Box   1 Folder   12	Automobile and Highway, 1922, 1924
Box   1 Folder   13	Baker, O. E., 1923-1928
Box   1 Folder   14	Biographical Data (staff), 1925, 1927
Box   1 Folder   15	Board of Trustees Meetings, 1922-1927
Box   2 Folder   1	Book Plates, 1929
Box   2 Folder   2	Brookings Institution, 1927
Box   2 Folder   3-7	Budget, 1920-1932
Box   2 Folder   8	Bureau of Business Research, 1928-1929
Box   2 Folder   9	Business (General), 1930-1932
Box   3 Folder   1	California Trip (Ely and Glaeser), 1925
Box   3 Folder   2	China Land Utilization - Population Project
Box   3 Folder   3	Citizens Committee, 1930
Box   3 Folder   4-5	City Housing Corporation, 1924-1930
Box   3 Folder   6	City Housing Corporation - Printed Matter, 1924-1928
Box   3 Folder   7	Colonization
Box   3 Folder   8	Columbia University
Box   3 Folder   9	“Commodity Carriage by Railway and Airway - An Analysis of the Time Factor”
Box   3 Folder   10	“Comparison of Ad Valorem and Income Taxes” (Altmeyer Report)
Box   3 Folder   11	Conservation, 1912-1916
Box   3 Folder   12	Contracts, 1924
Box   3 Folder   13	Cooperation
Box   3 Folder   14	Curriculum Committee, July 1930
Box   3 Folder   15	Diesel Engines, 1929
Box   3 Folder   16	Doheny Research Foundation, 1917-1918
Box   3 Folder   17	“Economics of Water Power in North America,” 1926-1927
Box   4 Folder   1	Education and Research Conference
Box   4 Folder   2	Electric Rates, 1910
Box   4 Folder   3	Ely Alumni Association, 1930
	Fairway Farms; see Montana - Land Settlement
Box   4 Folder   4	Farm Mortgage Bankers Association, 1920-1923
Box   4 Folder   5	Farm Mortgage Interest Rate, 1923
Box   4 Folder   6	“Farm Relief and Research Activities of the IRLE,” Nov. 1929
Box   4 Folder   7	Farm Tenancy Study, 1925-1926
Box   4 Folder   8	Farms (size of), 1927, 1930
Box   4 Folder   9	Financial (general), 1922-1925
Box   4 Folder   10	Financial (Journal of Land Economics and Public Utilities), 1931-1932
Box   4 Folder   11	Financial (subscriptions), 1922-1927, 1930
Box   4 Folder   12	Fisher, E. M., 1923
Box   4 Folder   13	Forest Land
Box   4 Folder   14	Form Letters, 1922-1924
Box   4 Folder   15	Foundation for the Study of Construction Economics
Box   4 Folder   16	Garden Cities
Box   4 Folder   17	Gas Rates
Box   4 Folder   18	Housing (general), 1925-1929
Box   5 Folder   1	Housing Projects in Chicago, 1923, 1927-1930
Box   5 Folder   2	“The Influence of the Post War Emergency Problem on Permanent Housing Legislation,” 1928
Box   5 Folder   3	“The IRLE, What It Is and What It Does,” 1929-1930
Box   5 Folder   4	Institute News, May 1924-April 1925
Box   5 Folder   5	Institute News (Correspondence), July 1923
Box   5 Folder   6	Interchurch World Movement
Box   5 Folder   7	“The Intimate Relation between Land Economics and Public Utilities,” 1924
Box   5 Folder   8	Investment Bankers, 1922
Box   5 Folder   9	Irrigation, 1926
Box   5 Folder   10	Jefferson, Thomas
Box   5 Folder   11	Jorgensen, Emil 0., 1930
Box   5 Folder   12	Journal of Land Economics and Public Utilities (general), 1924-1927
Box   5 Folder   13	Journal of Land Economics and Public Utilities (mailing list), 1925-1926
Box   5 Folder   14	Kansas Court of Industrial Relations, 1923
Box   6 Folder   1	Land Agents, Auctioneers and Surveyors
Box   6 Folder   2	Land and Race, 1905
Box   6 Folder   3	Land Classification
Box   6 Folder   4	Land Economics Series, 1925, 1927
Box   6 Folder   5-6	Land Economics Round Table (American Economics Association), 1926-1927
Box   6 Folder   7	Land Holdings, 1920-1921
Box   6 Folder   8	Land Investigations
Box   6 Folder   9	Land Policies, 1919-1927
Box   6 Folder   10	Land Production, 1914
Box   6 Folder   11	Land Tenure, 1925
Box   6 Folder   12	Land Utilization
Box   6 Folder   13	Land Values, 1907-1922
Box   6 Folder   14	Landed Property, 1913, 1920
Box   6 Folder   15	Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial, 1925
Box   6 Folder   16	Letters of Commendation, 1921-1928
Box   6 Folder   17	Los Angeles District Park Regulations, 1928
Box   6 Folder   18	“Materials for the Study of Public Utilities Economics,” 1912, 1926
Box   6 Folder   19	Memorials
Box   6 Folder   20	Miscellaneous, 1920-1931
Box   7 Folder   1	Montana - Land Settlement, 1923-1930
Box   7 Folder   2	Mortgage Bankers Association of America, 1930
Box   7 Folder   3	Motor Transport, 1926-1927
Box   7 Folder   4	Mottoes, 1930
Box   7 Folder   5	Municipal Electric Light and Power Plait Survey, 1928-1932
Box   7 Folder   6	Municipal Establishments (list of), 1922-1928
Box   7 Folder   7	Municipal Ownership of Electric Light and Power, 1928
Box   7 Folder   8	National Electric Light Association, 1927, 1929
Box   7 Folder   9	New York Times Editorial, 1925
Box   7 Folder   10	New Zealand, 1910, 1914
Box   7 Folder   11	Northern Indiana Public Service Company
Box   7 Folder   12	Northwestern University, 1931
Box   7 Folder   13	“Outlines for Work in Progress in Public Utilities,” 1929-1930
Box   8 Folder   1-5	Pamphlets, 1908-1931
Box   9 Folder   1	Personal Memoranda, 1926, 1929-1930
Box   9 Folder   2	Personnel (appointments), 1927-1930
Box   9 Folder   3	Personnel Lists, 1925-1931
Box   9 Folder   4	“Price of Success”
Box   9 Folder   5	Privately Owned Utilities
Box   9 Folder   6	Promotional Program, Oct 1928
Box   9 Folder   7	Property in Land, 1919
Box   9 Folder   8	Program for Research, 1928-1929
Box   9 Folder   9	Public Service Company of Northern Illinois, 1930
Box   9 Folder   10	Public Utilities Courses, 1924-1929
Box   9 Folder   11	Public Utilities (general), 1922-1927
Box   9 Folder   12	Public Utility Education Survey, March-May 1925
Box   9 Folder   13	Public Utility Finance, 1925-1928
Box   9 Folder   14	Public Utility Labor Relations, 1926
Box   10 Folder   1	Public Utility Projects, 1929-1930
Box   10 Folder   2	Public Utility Regulations Seminar, March 1928
Box   10 Folder   3	Publications, 1926-1929
	Publications Correspondence
Box   10 Folder   4-8	1928-March 1933
Box   11 Folder   1	April-December 1933
Box   11 Folder   2	Railroads, 1923-1929
Box   11 Folder   3	Railway Terminal Problems, Nov 1924
Box   11 Folder   4	“Readings in Public Utilities Operation and Management”
Box   11 Folder   5	Real Estate Boards, 1919-1928
Box   11 Folder   6-7	Real Estate Courses and Conferences, 1923-1926
Box   11 Folder   8	Real Estate Valuation, 1921-1927
Box   12 Folder   1	Reclamation, 1924-1927
Box   12 Folder   2	Regional Planning Association of Chicago, 1926
Box   12 Folder   3	Regulation of Public Security issues (comparative study of state laws), 1927
Box   12 Folder   4-5	Reports (annual and special), 1920-1930
Box   12 Folder   6	Reports (monthly) on Activities of Staff Members, 1925
Box   12 Folder   7	“Research and Education Program in Land Economics,” 1924-1926
Box   12 Folder   8	“Research and Education Program in Public Utilities,” 1923-1925
Box   12 Folder   9	Research in Finance
Box   12 Folder   10	“Research in Land Economics by the IRLE”
Box   12 Folder   11	Research Topics, 1918-1922
Box   12 Folder   12	Rockefeller Foundation, 1923-1930
Box   13 Folder   1	Rules and Regulations, 1922
Box   13 Folder   2	Rural Planning, 1919-1920
Box   13 Folder   3	Rural Progress
Box   13 Folder   4-6	Salary Roll, 1925-1931
Box   13 Folder   7	Shaw (A.W.) Co., 1926-1927
Box   13 Folder   8	Social Science Abstracts, 1930
Box   13 Folder   9	Social Science Research Council, 1927
Box   13 Folder   10	Source Department, 1924
Box   13 Folder   11	South Dakota
Box   13 Folder   12-13	Staff Meeting Minutes, 1922-1924, 1926-1927, 1930
Box   13 Folder   14	Steam Railways, 1920-1928
Box   13 Folder   15	Subdivision, 1923, 1929
Box   13 Folder   16	Suburban and Country Homes Co., 1910
Box   13 Folder   17	Suggestions, 1921-1927
Box   13 Folder   18	Surveys for Cities
Box   13 Folder   19	Tax Exemptions, 1921
Box   13 Folder   20	Tax Investigations, 1926-1934
Box   13 Folder   21	Tax Study of Chicago, 1927-1930
Box   13 Folder   22	Taxation in Illinois, 1927-1929
Box   13 Folder   23	Taxation of Land, 1921-1922
Box   13 Folder   24	“Taxation of Public Service Industries”
Box   14 Folder   1	Taxation Research, 1925-1928
Box   14 Folder   2	Telephone Service (courses of study for), 1926
Box   14 Folder   3	Tenancy
Box   14 Folder   4	Texas - Land Policy
Box   14 Folder   5	Texas - Mineral Legislation
Box   14 Folder   6	Thrift, 1925-1926
Box   14 Folder   7	“Under All the Land,” 1922-1923
Box   14 Folder   8	U.S. Chamber of Commerce Committee on Taxation, 1925-1926
Box   14 Folder   9	University Courses, 1924-1926
Box   14 Folder   10	Urban Land Economics, 1923-1928
Box   14 Folder   11	Washington, George
Box   14 Folder   12	Zoning, 1927
	Series: Public Utility Research Files	⇧
	Analysis of the Capitalization of Public Service Corps.
Box   14 Folder   13	Electric Light and Power
Box   14 Folder   14	Electric Railways
Box   14 Folder   15	Telephone
Box   14 Folder   16	Analysis of Stock Issues According to Voting Privilege
Box   15 Folder   1-4	Bond Issues, 1926
Box   15 Folder   5	Bond Yield Tables
	Bond Yields
Box   16 Folder   1	Electric Railway and Light
Box   16 Folder   2	Gas and Electric
Box   16 Folder   3	Instructions
Box   16 Folder   4	Municipals
Box   16 Folder   5	“Pure” Electric Companies
Box   16 Folder   6	“Pure” Gas Companies
Box   16 Folder   7	Street Railways
Box   16 Folder   8	Telephone and Telegraph
Box   16 Folder   9	Ten Railroad Companies
Box   17 Folder   1	Census Readjustment List
	Charts and Tables
Box   17 Folder   2	General
Box   17 Folder   3	Gas Industry and Census
Box   17 Folder   4	Individual States
Box   17 Folder   5	Population and Technology
Box   17 Folder   6	West Northcentral Region
Box   17 Folder   7	Comparison of Yields
Box   17 Folder   8	Cost Analysis for Rate Making Purposes of an Electric Light and Power Co.
Box   17 Folder   9	Crerar List of Municipal Plants
Box   17 Folder   10	Customer Owned Securities (electric light and power)
Box   17 Folder   11	Electric Plant Survey
Box   18 Folder   1	General Tables, Public Service Industries
Box   18 Folder   2-3	ICC Reports, 1928-1931
Box   18 Folder   4	Investment Trusts
Box   18 Folder   5-6	Miscellaneous
Box   19 Folder   1	Movement of Public Utility Security Yields
Box   19 Folder   2	Municipal Plants (list of), 1927
Box   19 Folder   3	Non Utility Financing
Box   19 Folder   4	Physical Statistics of Public Service Corps.
Box   19 Folder   5	Public Utility Law
Box   19 Folder   6	Public Utility Trends
	Railroad Financing
Box   19 Folder   7	General
Box   20 Folder   1	General, continued
Box   20 Folder   2	Steam Railroads
Box   20 Folder   3	Rates (electric railways)
Box   20 Folder   4	Recapitulation
Box   20 Folder   5	Standard Statistics Study, Municipals, Industries, Public Utilities
Box   20 Folder   6	Taxation and the Cost of Money
Box   20 Folder   7	Taxation of Public Service Corps.
Box   20 Folder   8	Taxes Paid by Business Corps.
Box   21 Folder   1	Technology Tables
	Series: Financial Records	⇧
	Journals
Box   22 Folder   1	1922-1925
Box   21 Folder   2	1926-July 1928
	Ledgers
Box   22 Folder   3-4	General, 1925-June 1932
Box   22 Folder   5	Project and Salary, July 1928-June 1931
Box   22 Folder   2	Statements, 1925-1931
	Series: Scrapbooks	⇧
Box   23 Folder   1	Volume I, Articles about the Institute
Box   23 Folder   2	Volume II Scope and Content Note: This volume concerns Commendation and Criticism, and Activities of the Institute, including Building and Loan Associations and City Planning.
Box   23 Folder   3	Volume III Scope and Content Note: This volume concerns Activities of the Institute, including Farm Economics, Housing, Journal of Land and Public Utility Economics, Public Utilities, and Real Estate.
Box   23 Folder   4	Volume IV Scope and Content Note: This volume concerns Activities of the Institute, including Taxation, and Miscellaneous; and Books Written and Edited by Staff Members.
Box   24 Folder   1	Volume V, Addresses by Staff Members
Box   24 Folder   2	Volume VI, Articles by Staff Members
Box   24 Folder   3	Volume VII, Articles about Staff Members
Box   24 Folder   4	Volume VIII Scope and Content Note: This volume concerns Conferences, Visitors to the Institute, and Potpourri.