BRIGADIER GENERAL FRANCIS A. WALKER - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 03/05/1896 - HFSID 174739

BRIGADIER GENERAL FRANCIS A. WALKER
The Union Army officer and pioneering economist signed this handwritten letter discussing speeches
Autograph Letter Signed: "Francis A. Walker". Three pages. 4½x7. Boston, Massachusetts. Dated March 5, 1896. To Mr. Roe. In Part: "I agree with you that this particular Congressman had it bad. It was cordially an acute attack. With strong chronic tendencies. I heard Andreas Blume, whom you know, tell a story the other day on the same theme. Which was almost killing. And yet I have seen and heard lots of past such speeches which at the time, however ridiculous they might be, were not amusing. I expect it is only when we hear about them + not when we them at first hand, that they became very funny. Many of Col. Breckenridge's speeches are really as [illegible] as that of Senator [illegible]." At the time of this letter, Francis A. Walker (1840-1897) was serving as M.I.T.'s third President (1881 until his death in 1897). One of the most prominent figures in the history of American economics, Walker served in the Union Army during the Civil War; he was eventually brevetted as a brigadier general. Walker, who sought to establish the "scientific" status of economics, was a pioneer in using statistical data to illustrate economic arguments. During his career, he was the first lecturer on economics at Johns Hopkins (1876), Superintendent of the U.S. Census (1880), an economics professor at Yale (1872-1889), U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs (1871-1872), President of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and first President of the American Economic Association (AEA), which awards the "Francis A. Walker Medal" to leading economists for lifetime achievements every five years. Best known for his theories on wages and profits and his advocacy of international bimetallism, Walker wrote a number of articles and books, including International Bimetallism, published in 1896, the year of this letter. Lightly shaded. Otherwise, fine condition.