Title: Arthur J. Altmeyer Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1904-1973

Creator:

• Altmeyer, Arthur Joseph, 1891-1972

Call Number: Wis Mss WP; Mss 400

Quantity: 16.6 c.f. (36 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:

Papers of Arthur J. Altmeyer who as member and chairman of the Social Security Board and as Commissioner of Social Security guided the development of the federal social security program from 1935 to 1953. In addition he served as a member of the executive committee of the National Youth Administration (NYA), 1935; member of the Interdepartmental Committee to Coordinate Health and Welfare Activities, 1935-1940; member of the War Manpower Commission, 1942-1945; and United States delegate to several international conferences and organizations. The papers primarily relate to Altmeyer's work in the federal government and his later consulting work, with the major portions pertaining to his administration of the Social Security Act. Correspondence, memoranda, and reports chiefly concern the National Recovery Administration, 1933-1934; the National Health Conference, 1938; the United States Employment Service, 1939-1949; unemployment compensation, 1940-1949; public assistance, 1938-1953; and old-age and survivors' insurance (OASI), 1937-1953. Among Altmeyer's correspondents were Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, several presidential assistants, Federal Security Administration heads Paul V. McNutt, Oscar Ewing, and Oveta Culp Hobby, and University of Wisconsin economist Edwin E. Witte, as well as Robert Ball, Wilbur J. Cohen, and Isidore S. Falk. Files of Altmeyer's speeches, press releases, and articles; personal correspondence files of Altmeyer and his wife, Ethel May Thomas; and reference files on national health insurance, pension plans, welfare, and social security are also included in the collection.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-wis000wp

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During much of the Great Depression, throughout the nineteen forties, and well into the fifties, the name of Arthur Altmeyer was synonymous with social security. First as chairman of the Technical Board appointed by the President's Committee on Economic Security, later as member and chairman of the Social Security Board, and finally as Commissioner for Social Security, he was charged with responsibility for administering the Social Security Act of 1935 and its amendments. He guided the program through its first eighteen years of trial and development. By the time he left government service, social security in the United States was firmly established and the original act had been strengthened, extended, and expanded.

Altmeyer, the son of John G. and Carrie A. (Smith) Altmeyer, was born May 8, 1891 in DePere, Wisconsin. Due to family difficulties, he supported himself from the age of fourteen. At twenty-one, attracted by the reputation of John R. Commons, Altmeyer began his studies at the University of Wisconsin, earning his degree and a Phi Beta Kappa key in three years. He received an M.A. in 1921, and a Ph.D. in 1931, both under Commons; and was awarded an honorary LL.D. in 1939, all from the University of Wisconsin.

After graduating in 1914, he spent four years as a teacher and principal in the schools of the iron range country in northern Minnesota. Returning to the University of Wisconsin graduate school in 1918, he became an assistant to economist John R. Commons, and served part-time as a statistician with the Wisconsin State Tax Commission. In 1920 he was made chief statistician for the Wisconsin Industrial Commission and two years later became secretary of the Commission. For more than a decade he was directly concerned with labor legislation, including the Wisconsin Unemployment Act which was passed in January 1932--the first such law in the United States. Following the financial crash of 1929, he became involved also with unemployment relief, and in 1931 began having more direct contact with the government in Washington as he sought federal relief money for Wisconsin.

In 1933 Mr. Altmeyer was appointed chief of the federal government's Labor Compliance Division under the National Recovery Act (NRA), and served from June 1934 to November 1935 as Second Assistant Secretary of Labor. In this latter position he was given responsibility for strengthening the administrative organization of the Labor Department and was also made chairman of the Technical Board appointed by the President's Committee on Economic Security. Thus, he was directly involved in helping to frame the Social Security Act. This led to his appointment to the new Social Security Board where he served as a member and chairman, and later as Commissioner of Social Security under the Federal Security Agency.

When Mr. Eisenhower became president, Mr. Altmeyer did not remain in office but returned to Madison, Wisconsin, to lecture, write, and serve as advisor to various labor groups and pension organizations. He also spent some time in Iran, Turkey, and Peru as an advisor for the development of social welfare programs. In 1964 he and Mrs. Altmeyer moved back to Washington to live, to continue his advisory work in connection with private pension plans.

During the years when Mr. Altmeyer was administering the Social Security Act he served in various other positions requiring a man of his capabilities, experience, and interests. In 1935 he was a member of the executive committee of the National Youth Administration (NYA); he served as a member of the Interdepartmental Committee to Coordinate Health and Welfare Activities from 1935 to 1940. This committee then became the Interdepartmental Advisory Council to Coordinate Health, Welfare, and Related Activities Affecting the National Defense. In 1939 he was chairman of the U.S. delegation to the Regional Conference of American States of the International Labor Organization in Havana, Cuba; and again in 1942 headed an American delegation, this time to the first Inter-American Conference on Social Security at Santiago, Chile. From 1942 to 1952 he was chairman of the Permanent Inter-American Committee on Social Security. In 1942 he was executive director of the War Manpower Commission and a member of the Commission until 1945. He was advisor to the U.S. representative on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in 1946. He was then appointed the U.S. representative on the Social Commission and served in that position until 1953. He spent the spring and summer of 1947 in Switzerland as executive director of the Preparatory Commission for the International Refugee Organization.

During the last nineteen years of his life he taught, lectured, traveled, advised labor groups and foreign governments, and met and corresponded with friends and former associates. As a visiting professor, he taught at the Universities of Utah, California at Los Angeles, North Carolina, Chicago, and Wisconsin as well as at the Salzburg (Austria) Seminar in American Studies. As an international authority on social welfare systems, he advised the governments of Turkey and Iran, non-governmental organizations in Peru and Colombia, and the Agency for International Development. Although urged by Wisconsin Democratic Party leaders to run for elective office, Altmeyer decided against a political career. His activism in the social welfare field did lead to his appointment as chairman of the Social Security Committee of the Democratic Advisory Council during the 1960 presidential campaign and to his return in 1964 to Washington, where he continued his advisory work with private pension funds. Having been the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Retirement Fund of the Coat and Suit Industry in the New York Metropolitan Area from 1943 to 1965, he became Chief Appeals Officer for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) Pension Fund in 1965. In 1966, he was chosen Public Trustee for the National Industrial Group Pension Plan. He also remained active both in the National Association of Social Workers of which he had been president in 1954-55, and in the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. In 1966 the Altmeyers returned to Madison. The final years of Altmeyer's life saw a gradual reduction of his activities due to unstable health. He resigned his ILGWU post in 1969 and his position with the National Industrial Group in 1971. Until his death on October 16, 1972, he maintained an active membership in the Committee for National Health Insurance and close contact with his associates in various social welfare endeavors.

Altmeyer wrote many articles and monographs in the field of employment and social welfare. He was the author of The Industrial Commission of Wisconsin--A Case Study in Labor Law Administration, Madison, University of Wisconsin, 1932 (his Ph.D. thesis) and The Formative Years of Social Security, Madison, University of Wisconsin Press, 1966. He also co-authored Estudio Economico de la Legislacion Social Peruana y Sugerencias para su Mejoramiento, Lima, 1957, with Romulo A. Ferrero and America's Role in International Social Welfare, Gloucester, Mass., P. Smith, 1967, with Alva Myrdal and Dean Rusk.

Note

Copy of the 1932 Industrial Commission study is in the Wisconsin Historical Society Library. Copy of the 1957 Peruvian publication and manuscript for The Formative Years of Social Security are in Box 11.

Altmeyer's appointments while in Federal service

1935	Executive Committee of the National Youth Administration
1936-1939	Interdepartmental Committee to Coordinate Health and Welfare Activities
1938	President's Committee on Retirement
1939	Chairman-United States Delegation to the Regional Conference of American States Members to the International labour Organization
1941	Interdepartmental Advisory Council to Coordinate Health, Welfare and Related Defense Activities
1942-1952	Chairman-United States Delegation to the First through Fifth Inter-American Conference on Social Security
1942-1953	Chairman-Permanent Inter-American Committee on Social Security
1943	Special Committee on Labor Standards and Social Security
1944	Interdepartmental Committee on Reconversion Statistics
1946	Advisor to the United States Representative on the Economic and Social Committee of the United Nations
1946-1953	United States Representative on the Social Committee of the United Nations
1946	United Nations Benefits Committee
1947	Executive Secretary-Preparatory Commission of the International Refugee Organization
1948	Vice-Chairman-International Labour Organization Correspondence Committee on Social Insurance
1951	United States Delegation to the International Labour Organization

The Arthur Joseph Altmeyer papers were received in the Archives in two parts: the Original Collection, dated 1914-1964, received in 1964; and Additions, dated 1904-1973, received between 1973 and 1975. The original collection was assigned call number Wis Mss WP and the additions call number Mss 400.

Part 1: Original Collection, 1914-1964 (Wis Mss WP)

With the exception of his Bachelor's thesis (1914), three papers on workmen's compensation prior to 1933, and several speeches and articles, this part of the collection deals entirely with Mr. Altmeyer's work with the federal government and particularly his administration of the Social Security Act. Material concerning social security includes the U.S. Employment Service, unemployment compensation, public assistance, and old age and survivor's insurance (OASI).

Before presenting the papers to the Historical Society, Mr. Altmeyer grouped them according to the committee, commission, or agency with which he worked; and he segregated materials relating to particular government personnel such as the president or the administrator of the Federal Security Administration. At his request, these groupings, with their descriptive headings, have been left as he made them. It will be noted in the contents list below that they generally follow a chronological arrangement. Papers within each folder are in order by month.

Mr. Altmeyer provided advice for social legislation and drafts for social security messages and speeches for both President Roosevelt and President Truman; and was in communication with Administrators Paul V. McNutt, Oscar Ewing, and Oveta Culp Hobby when each headed the Federal Security Agency. On January 4, 1936, Franklin Roosevelt wrote him concerning the need for further research on risks to economic security arising out of illness (Box 2, Health Insurance Report); and on August 22 of the same year the president wrote him his views on the extent to which the Social Security Board should answer attacks on social legislation (Box 2, President Roosevelt). Again, on April 20, 1938, Roosevelt suggested ways for improving and extending the Social Security Act; and in May, 1945, President Truman wrote of financing provisions for the Act (Box 3). In general, however, communications are from the office of the president rather than from the president himself.

Correspondence with the presidents is usually in the form of memoranda exchanged with presidential assistants such as Marvin McIntyre, Stephen Early, James Roosevelt, or John R. Steeleman; or in the form of drafts of letters Mr. Altmeyer prepared for the president and the FSA administrator in helping them to answer inquiries concerning the social security system. One such inquiry, for example, is a telegram to Roosevelt, January 7, 1935, from Governor Philip F. La Follette and Senator Robert M. La Follette, Jr. regarding the federal tax measure for unemployment insurance in relation to state laws, forwarded to Mr. Altmeyer from the office of Secretary of Labor Perkins.

With a few exceptions, there is very little correspondence between Dr. Altmeyer and other experts outside of government offices and Congress. In July, 1940, he received letters from Professor Edwin E. Witte advising him on an unemployment insurance plank Altmeyer prepared for the Democratic platform in that year; and in August, 1952, he wrote to Isador Lubin outlining information for a speech to be given by Adlai Stevenson in the presidential campaign (Box 4, Election platforms and related data). In May and June of 1948 he and Dr. Witte exchanged letters concerning the Appropriation Act of 1948 and its effect on social security (Box 9). These are examples of correspondence, but in general the papers illustrate proposals and arguments advanced in connection with social legislation and administration of the social security system as shown through interagency correspondence and memoranda, drafts for bills and amendments, and suggestions for speeches and presidential messages.

What appears to be an almost complete file of Altmeyer articles and speeches is contained in the first eleven volumes and in Box 10. Volumes 12 and 13 contain public statements and press releases from 1934 to 1952.

Part 2: Additions, 1904-1973 (Mss 400)

The papers in Part 2 are organized into three groupings: Correspondence, a Subject File, and Personal Papers.

The Correspondence falls into two categories: General and Specific. The General Correspondence consists of personal and miscellaneous letters sent and received by the Altmeyers. There are many gaps in the early part of the chronology and most of the letters are dated after 1960. Where there are a significant number of letters on a subject, they have been arranged chronologically under a subject heading and filed under the Specific Correspondence heading.

The Subject File comprises most of Part 2 of the collection. It includes the correspondence, data, clippings, speeches, notes, reports, and publications on specific subjects that Altmeyer saved, either for reference or for use in articles and speeches. In many cases the contents and titles of the folders are as he left them. The Subject File is arranged under eleven headings which are in alphabetical order. The research papers on health insurance under “National Health Insurance” are by Peter Corning of Columbia University, Monte Poen of Northern Arizona, and Isidore Falk, Professor Emeritus of Public Health at Yale. Corning's paper is the out-growth of Columbia University's oral history interviews with Altmeyer and Poen's is his doctoral dissertation. Falk's was prepared for the Committee for the National Health Insurance. “Speeches” consist of vague reference material, a few outlines, and a collection of Altmeyer speeches, ranging from one given at his grade school graduation to several national radio broadcasts. Most of the material on social security was gathered during Altmeyer's years in office; the rest of the papers are dated mainly after 1955.

The Personal Papers are split into biographical materials and miscellany. The Biographical Materials document Altmeyer's life and include the transcript of Columbia University's oral history interviews with him. Miscellany contains Christmas cards and social invitations, along with letters that Altmeyer separated out as a “Personal File.”

Acquisition Information

Original collection presented by Arthur J. Altmeyer, Washington, D.C., Sept. 9, 1964; additions presented by the Altmeyer Estate via Mrs. Marie Aylward, Sauk City, Wisconsin, 1973 and 1975, and by Maurine Mulliner, Washington, D.C., 1974. Accession Number: M73-239; M74-189; M75-423; M76-239

Processing Information

Original collection processed by Margaret Hafstad, December 1, 1964; additions processed by A. J. Barnett (Intern) and Joanne Hohler, August 2, 1978.

Wis Mss WP	Series: Part 1: Original Collection, 1914-1964
Box   1	Wisconsin material: Thesis and seminar papers, 1914-1933
Box   1	National Recovery Administration (NRA): Correspondence, memoranda, releases, 1933-1934
Box   1	Committee on Economic Security: Correspondence and reports, 1934-1935
Box   1	Social Security Act of 1935: Correspondence, vote, endorsements, 1935-1936
Box   2	Health Insurance Report of 1935: Correspondence, memoranda, reports, 1935-1938
Box   2	Clark Amendment of Social Security Act: Correspondence, memoranda, reports, 1935-1936
Box   2	Social Security in general: Correspondence, memoranda, and articles by others, 1935-1939
	President Roosevelt
	Correspondence, memoranda, studies
Box   2	1935-1940
Box   3	1941-1945
	Speeches and messages
Box   3	Excerpts from , 1928-1945
Box   3	Message on health, 1939; Wagner Bill S.1620; memos on bill, , 1940
Box   3	Social security expansion, messages, 1943, 1945
	President Truman
Box   3	Correspondence, 1945-1951
	Speeches and messages
Box   3	Excerpts, statements, plans, 1945-1953
Box   3	A national health program, message, 1945
Box   3	Special report on proposed expanded social security system for America, 1946, February
Box   3	Social security expansion, message, 1946, March
Box   3	President Eisenhower: Speeches and messages: excerpts and statements, 1953-1954
Box   3	National Health Conference, July, 1938, sponsored by the Interdepartmental Committee to Coordinate Health and Welfare, 1935, 1938
Box   4	Election platforms and related data re social security, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960
Box   4	Election platforms and related data: 1936 payroll inserts re social security, 1936
Box   4	Administrator Paul V. McNutt (FSA): Correspondence and related papers, 1939-1943
Box   4	Administrator Oscar Ewing (FSA): Correspondence and related papers, 1947-1953
	Administrator Oveta Culp Hobby (FSA)
Box   4	Correspondence and related papers, 1952-1953
Box   5	Advisory Committee on Social Security Material for meetings, 1953, March 5, 17; April 1, 15, 23; May 1, 22; June 5
	U.S. Employment Service, 1939-1949
Box   5	Transfer from Labor to Social Security Bd. Reorganization Plan No. 1
Box   5	Transfer to federal control, December 19, 1941
Box   5	“And Elsewhere” Proviso Language in 1942 Appropriations Bill (H.R. 5417)
Box   5	Transfer from Social Security Board to War Manpower Commission (E.O. 9247)
Box   5	Transfer from War Manpower Commission to Labor Dept. (Truman's E.O. 9617)
Box   5	Return to states from federal control, by Appropriations Act of 1947
Box   5	Transfer to Social Security Administration by Appropriations Act of 1949
Box   5	Transfer, with Unemployment Compensation, to Department of Labor Reorganization Plan No. 2, 1949
	Unemployment Compensation, 1940-1949
Box   6	Dismissal wages, 1944
Box   6	Displaced workers, payment of transportation costs to, 1945
Box   6	Disqualifications, 1944
Box   6	Grant-in-aid, 1945
Box   6	Liberalization of unemployment compensation, 1940
Box   6	Supplemental unemployment compensation in post-war period, 1944
Box   6	Servicemen's readjustment benefits, 1949
Box   6	Statements to Ways and Means Committee re unemployment insurance, 1946
Box   6	Temporary benefits, 1945
Box   6	“Possible uses of excess federal unemployment tax over expenditures for administration of unemployment insurance program,” prepared for Congressman Keefe, 1944
Box   6	Vinson, material for quarterly report, 1945
	Public Assistance, 1938-1953
Box   6	Bane: letter to Frank Bane re PA expenditures and recipients, 1951
Box   6	Children's Bureau, reorganization plan, 1946
Box   6	Confidentiality of records, 1951-1953
Box   6	Governors' conference, 1951
Box   6	Medical care committee, 1951
Box   6	Medical care statement, 1950-1951
Box   6	Ohio public assistance: Material on withholding of October 1938 grant
Box   6	Personnel proviso language material, 1943-1953
Box   6	Public assistance and maladministration, 1939
	Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI), 1937-1953
Box   7	Amendments to OASI, 1949-1950
Box   7	Civil Service and OASI coordination, 1940, 1951-1953
Box   7	Combined withholding of social security and income taxes, 1950
Box   7	Confidentiality of records, 1937-1953
Box   7	Disability, permanent and total, 1949-1953
Box   7	Disability, temporary, 1949
Box   7	Effect of OASI limitations on public assistance programs, 1951
Box   7	Extension of coverage, 1948-1949
Box   7	Financing, 1949
Box   7	Flexible retirement under OASI, 1953
Box   7	Hospitalization benefits, 1951
Box   8	OASI and unemployment compensation for armed services, merchant marines, and civilian employees, 1940 and 1944 material
Box   8	Stamp book samples, 1937, 1944
Box   8	Trust fund, 1950-1954
Box   8	Work clause, 1952-1953
Box   8	Flat pension plans, 1939-1940
Box   8	Flat pension plans and double decker plans, 1949--1957
Box   8	Curtis Committee hearings, 1953
Box   8	U.S. Chamber of Commerce proposal, 1952-1953
	Miscellaneous
Box   9	Appropriations acts re social security, 1947-1949
Box   9	Emergency maternity and infant care (IMIC), 1951
Box   9	Health, Education, and Welfare, Department of: Reorganization Plan No. 1, 1953
Box   9	International Labor Conference (ILO), 1951-1954
Box   9	International Refugee Organization: Preparatory Commission of 1947, 1947-1949
Box   9	Medical care, 1944 Bureau memo No. 57, 1944
Box   9	Miscellaneous opinion polls, 1936-1949
Box   9	Overall costs of social security, 1949-1950
Box   9	Private pension plans, tax status, 1948-1949
Box   9	Regional office and field relations, 1948
Box   10	Social Security Board, personnel, 1937, 1941
Box   10	Social Security Board, reports to Congress, 1935-1937, 1939
Box   10	Social Security Board, Reorganization Plan No. 2, 1945-1946
Box   10	United Mine Workers retirement fund, 1945-1954
Box   10	Winant's resignation, 1936-1937
Box   10	Speeches, 1952-1964
Box   10	Articles, 1952-1963
Box   12-13 Volume   1-5	Speeches, 1932-1951
Box   14 Volume   6-7	Radio speeches, 1935-1951
Box   15-16 Volume   8-11	Articles, 1919-1951
Box   17 Volume   12-13	Statements and press releases, 1934-1952
Box   11 Volume   14	Manuscript: The Formative Years of Social Security, now [l964] being published by University of Wisconsin Press, Madison
Box   11 Volume   15	Book: Estudio Economico de la Legislacion Social Peruana y Sugerencias para su Mejoramiento, Lima, 1957, co-authored with Romulo A. Ferrero
Mss 400	Series: Part 2: Additions, 1904-1973	⇧
	Subseries: Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   1-9	General Correspondence, 1904-1972
	Specific Correspondence
Box   2 Folder   1	1934-1939, Letters of congratulations received
Box   2 Folder   2	1953-1954, Letters to the International Organizations Employee Loyalty Board
Box   2 Folder   3-4	1953-1954, Letters Altmeyer received upon his retirement
Box   2 Folder   5	1964-1965, Correspondence with the State Historical Society of Wisconsin
Box   2 Folder   6	1972, Letters of sympathy received following Altmeyer's death
	Subseries: Subject File	⇧
	Democratic Party
Box   2 Folder   7	Altmeyer's campaign for the United States Senate, 1956
Box   2 Folder   8	Clippings, 1942-1955
Box   2 Folder   9	Correspondence, 1954-1972
Box   2 Folder   10	Democratic Advisory Council, 1960-1961
Box   2 Folder   11	Invitations, 1936-1965
Box   20 Folder   1	Invitations, oversized, 1937-1941
	The Formative Years of Social Security, University of Wisconsin Press, 1966
Box   3 Folder   1	Correspondence with the University of Wisconsin Press, 1962-1970
Box   3 Folder   2	Notes used in preparation of the book
Box   3 Folder   3	Reviews
	National Health Insurance
	Committee for National Health Insurance
Box   3 Folder   4	Correspondence, 1968-1972
Box   3 Folder   5-6	Minutes, 1969-1972
Box   3 Folder   7	Publications, 1970-1972
	General Reference Files
Box   4 Folder   1	American Medical Association opposition to national health insurance, 1932-1965
Box   4 Folder   2	Cost and financing of national health insurance, 1969-1970
Box   4 Folder   3	Foreign national health insurance, 1950-1965
Box   4 Folder   4-6	General materials, 1941-1972
	National health insurance proposals
Box   4 Folder   7-8	1939-1961
Box   5 Folder   1-2	1962-1972
Box   5 Folder   3	Clippings, 1939-1972
Box   5 Folder   4	Woodcock, Leonard: speeches, 1971-1972
	Research papers on national health insurance
	Corning, Peter A.
Box   5 Folder   5	Correspondence with Altmeyer, 1966-1968
Box   5 Folder   6	Medicare: Government Health Insurance--A Case Study, 1968
Box   5 Folder   7	Falk, Isidore S., The Costs of a National Health Security Program and Their Financing, 1971
	Poen, Monte
Box   5 Folder   8	Correspondence with Altmeyer, 1967
Box   5 Folder   9	The Truman Administration and National Health Insurance, 1967
	Nonprofit Organizations
Box   6 Folder   1	Citizens' Crusade Against Poverty, Commission on National Programs and Policy, 1965
Box   6 Folder   2	First Unitarian Society of Madison, Wisconsin, 1970
Box   6 Folder   3	Michael M. Davis Lectureship Fund, 1960-1964.
Box   6 Folder   4	National Consumers Committee for Research and Education Inc., 1962-1969
Box   6 Folder   5	National Consumers' League, 1965-1968
Box   6 Folder   6-7	National Policy Committee on Pockets of Poverty, 1961-1964
Box   6 Folder   8	Scholarship funds, 1953-1973
Box   6 Folder   9	Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, 1957-1971
	Pension Plans-Foreign
	Colombia
Box   7 Folder   1	Actuarial reports, 1964
Box   7 Folder   2-4	Correspondence, 1958-1960, 1964
Box   7 Folder   5-6	Data, 1957-1960
Box   7 Folder   7	Reports, 1964
	Peru
	Correspondence
Box   8 Folder   1-3	1955-1961
Box   8 Folder   4-6	1964-1969
Box   8 Folder   7	Memoranda, 1957-1960
Box   8 Folder   8	Notes, undated
Box   8 Folder   9	Reports, 1955-1960
	Pension Plans-United States
Box   9 Folder   1	Coat and Suit Industry in the New York Metropolitan Area, 1953-1963
	International Ladies Garment Workers Union
Box   9 Folder   2	Changes in regulations, 1967-1969
Box   9 Folder   3-4	Meeting records, 1964-1969
Box   9 Folder   5	Merged pension fund, 1963-1964
Box   9 Folder   6-7	Reference files, 1964-1972
Box   10 Folder   1	National Association of Labor, 1964
Box   10 Folder   2-6	National Industrial Group, 1966-1972
Box   10 Folder   7	Public policy and private pension plans, 1962-1968
Box   10 Folder   8	United Mine Workers, 1952-1969
	Social Security-Foreign
	Agency for International Development, 1961-1962
Box   11 Folder   1	Background information
Box   11 Folder   2	Iran--trip and report
Box   11 Folder   3	Pakistan--trip and report
Box   11 Folder   4	Iran, 1955-1960
	Reference files
Box   11 Folder   5-7	General, 1945-1972
Box   11 Folder   8	International reports, 1959-1972
Box   11 Folder   9	Turkey, 1953-1961
	Social Security-United States
	Old Age, Survivors' and Disability Insurance
Box   12 Folder   1	Claims, procedures, 1942-1968
Box   12 Folder   2	Criticism of, 1950-1972
Box   12 Folder   3	Criticism of, clippings, 1955-1962
Box   12 Folder   4	Equity considerations, 1949-1950
Box   12 Folder   5-7	Reference file, 1945-1972
Box   12 Folder   8	Social services, 1955-1957
Box   12 Folder   9	Statistics, 1953-1971
	Reference files
Box   13 Folder   1	Administration, Altmeyer's views on, 1938-1966
Box   13 Folder   2-3	Clippings, 1942-1968
Box   13 Folder   4	Federal grants, 1940-1968
Box   13 Folder   5-6	General Materials, 1936-1969
Box   13 Folder   7	Opposition to Social Security, 1936-1965
Box   13 Folder   8-9	Reform proposals, 1970-1972
Box   13 Folder   10	Writings by Altmeyer, 1942-1963
	Seminars
Box   14 Folder   1	Salzburg (Austria) Seminar in American Studies, 1962
Box   14 Folder   2	Seminars at United States universities, 1957-1961
	Speeches
Box   14 Folder   3	Materials
Box   14 Folder   4	Outlines
Box   14 Folder   5-7	Speeches, 1904-1968
	Washington Years, 1933-1940
Box   15 Folder   1	Clippings
Box   15 Folder   2	Correspondence
Box   15 Folder   3	Miscellaneous scrapbook items
	Welfare
	Problems
Box   15 Folder   4	“Democracy and the Welfare State,” 1943-1965
Box   15 Folder   5	Old Age, 1950-1972
Box   15 Folder   6-8	Poverty, 1949-1972
Box   16 Folder   1-2	Unemployment, 1935-1970
	Proposed solutions
Box   16 Folder   3	Food stamps, 1955-1972
Box   16 Folder   4	Guaranteed income, 1966-1967
Box   16 Folder   5-6	Public assistance, 1935-1968
Box   16 Folder   7	Unemployment Insurance, 1932-1972
Box   16 Folder   8	Workmen's Compensation, 1949-1972
	Reference file
Box   17 Folder   1	Addresses, 1954-1964
Box   17 Folder   2	Miscellany, 1943-1971
Box   17 Folder   3	Publications, 1953-1969
Box   17 Folder   4	Reports, 1954-1968
	Social Work
Box   17 Folder   5	National Association of Social Workers, 1954-1967
Box   17 Folder   6-7	Social workers, 1948-1970
	Subseries: Personal Papers	⇧
	Biographical Material
Box   18 Folder   1	Appointments and resignations, 1927-1953
Box   20 Folder   2	Appointments and resignations, oversized, 1913-1944
Box   18 Folder   2	Awards, 1952-1968
Box   20 Folder   3	Awards, oversized, 1952-1968
Box   18 Folder   3	Biographical sketches, 1939-1971
	Educational materials
Box   18 Folder   4	Arthur J. Altmeyer, 1910-1964
Box   20 Folder   4	Arthur J. Altmeyer, oversized, 1906-1931
Box   18 Folder   5	Ethel May (Thomas) Altmeyer, 1905-1941
Box   20 Folder   5	Ethel May (Thomas) Altmeyer, oversized, 1908
Box   18 Folder   6-8	Oral history transcript, 1967
Box   19 Folder   1	Retirement articles, 1953
Box   19 Folder   2	Tributes to Altmeyer following his death, 1972
	Miscellany
Box   19 Folder   3	Cards, 1913-1971
Box   19 Folder   4	Invitations-social, 1913-1952
Box   19 Folder   5	Non-specific materials, 1934-1961
Box   19 Folder   6-7	“Personal File,” 1937-1954
Box   19 Folder   8	Social Security data and payments, 1946-1964

In the processing of Part 2 of this collection, correspondence from prominent people was noted. These letters are listed below, alphabetically by the person's last name, under the heading of the subseries in which they appear. These headings are in the same order as in the contents list for Part 2. All are typewritten signed letters unless otherwise indicated. Where a large amount of material is filed under a heading, a date is given to clarify the location. Multiple documents are indicated by the number in parentheses following the entry.

• Correspondence
• • General Correspondence
  • • Ball, Robert: April 9, 1965; April 28, 1965; March 11, 1968; August 21, 1968; July 25, 1972
    • Brown, J. Douglas: May 16, 1967, August 15, 1971, September 22, 1972
    • Calkins, Robert D.: February 27, 1967
    • Cohen, Wilbur J.: December 27, 1957; March ?, 1960 (handwritten card); February 20, 1961; May 6, 1963; August 21, 1963; September 4, 1963; May 26, 1964; June 11, 1965; May 5, 1966; June 3, 1967; July 19, 1968; August 23, 1968; January 26, 1969; November 21, 1970
    • Falk, Isidore S.: November 10, 1964
    • Fauri, Fedele F.: November 18, 1960; November 28, 1960; December 28, 1960; March 2, 1961
    • Howard, Donald: November 21, 1970; January 28, 1971
    • Cruikshank, Nelson H. : November 27, 1965
    • Mitchell, William L. : March 2, 1962
    • Perkins, Frances: March 20, 1953; November 15, 1960
    • Proxmire, William: May 12, 1970
    • Schlessinger, Arthur, Jr.: March 25, 1958
    • Sommers, Gerald G.: December 18, 1962
  • Specific Correspondence
  • • 1934-1939, Letters of congratulations received
    • • Farley, James (2)
      • Folsom, Marion
      • Gaus, John (2)
      • Johnson, Hugh
      • Lilienthal, David (2)
      • Story, Harold (handwritten signed letter)
      • Witte, Edwin
    • 1953-1954, Letters Altmeyer received upon his retirement
    • • Bondy, Robert E.
      • Brown, J. Douglas
      • Carey, James
      • Cooper, Jere
      • Dingell, John
      • Dunn, Loula
      • Falk, Isidore S.
      • Faulkes, William F.
      • Fauri, Fedele F.
      • Folsom, Marion
      • Graham, George A.
      • Haber, William
      • Hennings, Thomas C.
      • Herzog, Paul M.
      • Hoehler, Frederick H.
      • Lewis, John L.
      • Magee, Elizabeth
      • McClafferty, Msgr. John J.
      • Meany, George
      • Mills, Wilbur
      • Paunack, August
      • Posen, Harry
      • Rice, William
      • White, R. Clyde
      • Williams, Aubrey
      • Witt, Edgar
      • Witte, Edwin
      • Witte, Ernest
      • Woodward, Thomas
      • Youngdahl, Ben (handwritten signed letter)
    • 1972, Letters of condolence following Altmeyer's death
    • • Falk, Isidore S.
      • Hansen, W. Lee
      • Kastenmeier, Robert
• Subject File
• • Democratic party, Altmeyer's campaign for the United States Senate, 1956
  • • Doyle, James (many)
    • Reynolds, John W. (several)
    • Lewis, Robert G. (many)
  • Democratic Party, Correspondence, 1954-1972
  • • Lewis, Robert G.
    • McGovern, George
    • Proxmire, William
  • Democratic Party, Democratic Advisory Council, 1960-1961
  • • Kennedy, John F.
  • National Health Insurance, Committee for National Health Insurance, correspondence
  • • Falk, Isidore S. (many)
  • Nonprofit Organizations, Scholarship funds
  • • Ball, Robert (many)
    • Cohen, Wilbur J. (many)
    • Dunn, Loula
    • Lehman, Herbert
  • Pension Plans-United States, International Ladies Garment Workers Union, Reference Files
  • • Dubinsky, David: April 1, 1969
  • Pension Plans-United States, United Mine Workers
  • • Ball, Robert (2)
    • Lewis, John L. (autographed picture)
  • Social Security-United States, Reference Files, general
  • • Barker, Alben: February 17, 1956
    • Cooper, Jere: August 2, 1954
  • Social Security-United States, Reference files, reform proposals, 1970-1972
  • • Ball, Robert: May 11, 1971; October 6, 1971
  • Social Security-United States, Old Age, Survivors' and Disability Insurance, Reference Files, 1945-1972
  • • Ball, Robert: June 8, 1960
    • Cohen, Wilbur J.: September 9, 1957; May 18, 1972
  • Washington Years, 1933-1940, Correspondence
  • • Boughton, C.E.
    • Gaus, John (signed card)
    • Mathews, George
    • Perkins, Frances (2)
    • Roosevelt, Franklin D.
    • Wrabetz, Voyta
• Personal Papers
• • Biographical, Appointments and resignations
  • • Eisenhower, Dwight D.
    • Ewing, Oscar R. (2)
    • Roosevelt, Franklin D.
    • Truman, Harry S.
  • Biographical, Education, Arthur J. Altmeyer
  • • Dykstra, C.A. (2)
  • Biographical, Education, Ethel May (Thomas) Altmeyer
  • • Davenport, H.J.
    • Urdahl, T.K. (2)
  • Miscellaneous File, “personal file,”
  • • Adkins, Homer: August 18, 1945
    • Cohen, Wilbur J.: February 19, 1954
    • Commons, John R.: July 24, 1944 (handwritten signed letter)
    • Dykstra, C.A.: March 16, 1939; March 27, 1939
    • Falk, Isidore S.: November 30, 1953 (handwritten signed letter)
    • Green, William: July 17, 1945
    • Javits, Jacob: May 12, 1954
    • King, Grayson: November 18, 1954
    • La Follette, Philip: November 23, 1937; January 7, 1938 (both initialed)
    • Social Security Board Staff: July 16, 1946
    • Stevenson, Adlai E.: November 15, 1948 (handwritten signed letter). Truman, Harry S.: June 3, 1947
    • Warner, Robert: July 21, 1945
    • Witte, Edwin: April 28, 1949, May 20, 1953